《ELECTUS - A Tale Of Peaceful Demons.》


 Chapter -3 - The 8 Sorts of magic and their Inner Demons!

    1. Lava Controlling/Manipulating. This is a power that was specifically designed for the Lava Controlling race known as the Calidum Lutum. With powers to control actual lava and the fact that they are very tall compared to most other races(You''ll see how tall), and also a lot stronger, giving an inner demon that aims to make you lose self control is no coincidence.A Calidum Lutum can rip an opponent in half bare handed.


    But will he or she be patient enough to hold back? Will they have self control? This inner Demon similar to the rest of the inner Demons aims to darken the heart until it is cold as a stone which like the rest of the Demons, leaves the Caster with mental issues unless the Caster beats that demon permanently which could be a lifelong process.


    2. Fire Controlling/Manipulating. This is a power that requires for the Caster to be rageless. The inner Demons of any Fire Controllers will aim to make the Caster lose control. With loss of Control comes great consequences such as hurting loved ones.


    The more the Caster struggles with rage, the more his or her heart will darken until the Caster becomes so rageful that the smallest of situations break his or her patience. Apart from that, it comes with many mental issues.


    3. Super Speed. Super speed comes with the inner Demon of patience. Although Self Control, Rage Control and Patience are indeed very similar, not taking each one with a careful approach is life ruining. With the ability to run faster than horses and the ability to outrun a Dragon ;). A Witch or Wizard of Super speed shall wait, observe the situation and perform according to a plan instead of just working recklessly. It is indeed the best form of attack.


    4. Teleportation Powers. This too is a power specifically designed for one race. The Demon of Egoism. Learning Teleportation requires one of the brightest minds. No Simple average person can do it. The feeling of being smarter than most leads to bits of egoism being added from time to time to the Caster. If the Demon of egoism is to beat the Caster 100%, it would lead to fatal circ.u.mstances even if the Caster was a Grand Master. Problems such as, making other people go insane, the Caster going insane, organ rearrangements and much much worse circ.u.mstances are common for such lost Casters. It is a power to be taken with caution.


    5. Healing Powers. To be successful with healing powers, the Caster must beat the Demon of Self doubt. Not being able to beat that Demon would lead to ineffective spells and feeling disabled even if the Caster is perfectly healthy which could be life ruining either way.


    6. Mind Control. Now this. This is a power that only the Lerazians are known to tackle. In order for one to be a proper Mind Controller, one must be able to beat all 5 of the previously mentioned Demons.


    Which is why the Lerazians are the most peaceful race on earth but also the smallest in population. They all live on top of a mountain after all. Losing to any of the 5 Demons can result to turning the Victim of one''s mind control completely insane. Insane enough to not be able to mind control him or her ever again.


    7. Freezing Powers. This power comes with the most odd combination. The inner Demon of l.u.s.t. Unless you think Freezing Powers are attractive, the Powers and the Inner Demons have no connection. L.u.s.t is a burden any person had to deal against sooner or later.


    L.u.s.t led to bloodshed, ****, war, brothers killing one another. If the Caster fails to beat this Inner Demon, the Caster is doomed with uncontrollable l.u.s.t for the rest of their natural born lives.


    8. Flying. This power comes with the Demon of Burden. Carrying constant Burden is similar to carrying constant self doubt. It could lead to the point where the Caster would feel disabled even though he or she is perfectly healthy. Apart from that it can lead to skin aging faster, One burden after another will come even if the problems are as small as a pigeon blocking one''s way. To be able to fly. One needs to let go of burden.

 Chapter -4 - Character list

    This list does Contain Spoilers!


    Eric. Main Character of the series.


    He is a 15 year old boy belonging to the Ignite race who lost his mother a bit after birth.


    he has short Dark hair and is 5 foot tall.


    Generally over curious and sometimes quiet.


    Has avoken to power once life put him to his limits(you have no idea). Once he avoke to power, he skipped 3 Levels and instantly became a Expert(Level 4) Fire Controller/Manipulator.


    Woldemir. Eric''s father. He is a 42 year old man also belonging to the Ignite race who hasn''t been the same since he lost his wife, but is still generally very well mannered and keeps everyone together. Typically over protective. He too has black hair but they are a bit longer, usually tied behind his head and he is 6 foot tall. He is a Grand Master(Level 6) at Swordsmanship but hasn''t touched a Sword for years in the first volume.


    Mogranius. Eric''s Mentor.


    He is a 58 year old man who also Belongs to the Ignite race. A spell gone wrong has sent him 200 years in to the future where War has obliterated most of the Ignite race. Generally very sarcastic and sometimes over competitive but  has wisdom to  spill. He constantly wears black clothing, and has a bit of a long black beard and has enough hair on his head not to be considered bald. He also is 6 foot tall. He managed to reach an Expert Level in Fire Controlling/Manipulating throughout his other lifetime and also used to mentor the Electus(Akareas) before he mentored Eric.


    Stefan. He is a 26 year old belonging to the Ignite race. He doesn''t have any kind of Magical Powers but if intelligence was a magical power, he would have it. When he isn''t wasting nerves with ill.u.s.tratios, he would be seen reading a book. He is a 5 foot man with short brown hair on his head. Usually the one who would be behind the Strongest if danger was near.


    Commander Alia. She is a 300 year old Women belonging to the Kastarian race.


    The Kastarians are known for having Teleportation powers. Or at least they did before their entire Continent, "dissapeared".


    She is a natural born leader but is a bit quick to Judge in some situations and sometimes a bit egoistic. She is also very good at manipulating simple Human minds. She plays with them like a Cat would with a mouse.


    Isabel. She is a  woman belonging to the Calidum Lutum race who in general has a history no one is certain about. she is a Expert(Level 4) in Swordsmanship and passionate about her skill.


    Xakro Ill.u.s.tratio lll. He is a 45 Year old man belonging to the ill.u.s.tratian race. He is more well known as the Grand King of Ignis which is the highest rank any person could ever get in Ignis. He is a mentally unstable man who is cursed with power. He has the ability to Wield all 8 Kinds of the Magical Powers but all 8 of the Inner Demons have beated him. He practically is wielding the Powers that his GrandFather stole from the previous Electus, Akareas. How? You''ll find out!


    Guard Commander Chan. He is a 25 year old belonging to the ill.u.s.tratian race. His parents died due to an Ignite led revolt, the revolt was short lasting but they killed every ill.u.s.tratio in sight. His parents were also victims. Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll helped him by giving him a well paying job as a Guard Commander.


    He will play the role as the King''s errand runner, well i''d like to say more but there are already enough spoilers!


    Aaron. He too is a 25 year old belonging to the ill.u.s.tratian race. But he too lost his parents due to an Ignite led attack and became an Orphan as well. Coincidentally, the same revolt that Killed Chan''s Parents. Seeing Aaron''s high academical capabilities, Xakro took him under his wing and gave him the second most paying job. A King''s assistant!


    1. Xalk. Xalk is a 1300 Year old Man belonging to the ancient thought to be extinct race called the "Calidum Lutum". He is a Grand Master in lava Controlling and has the ability to form Volcanos using nothing but Lava. He is the oldest of the five Grand Masters and considerably the most skilled when it comes to forming Volcanos. He has a stereotypical appearance for an old man. With a purely white beard reaching two feet long and without a single hair on his head, he still looks rather good looking due to the Race''s slower aging process.


    2. Altacin. She is a 983 year old women who like the rest of the 5, belongs to the Calidum Lutum race. She recently started her training on shapping Volcanos and is no doubt progressing rather well towards it. Apart from her age and power, she has a stunning youthful face, a well tonned body and rocks a killer Black Hairstyle with Golden features mixed up as well.


    3. Laza a.k.a El Atropes a.k.a the Beast.


    She is a 500 year old Lady belonging to the Calidum Lutum race and considerably an over achiever since she became a Grand Master at an unexpected age. She is called "El Atropes" which translates to "The Beast" because of her abnormal strength. An ironic name considering she is rather short for her age(7 feet tall).


    4. Pezik. She is a 1100 year old Lady, for sure being the second oldest of the five. She is half way through to being a master at forming Volcanos. She has a stunning height of 15 feet, and a stunning hair length of 6 feet.


    Her Golden hair is a slight manipulation to bone crushing strength comparable with El Atropes.


    5.Kazer. A 598 year old man who is to an over achiever due to his rare genes including blood red hair. He is the leader of the 5 according to Calidum Lutum ancient tradition due to the red hair. Along with the Genes comes stunning intelligence which even helped him learn English due to few human interactions.


    Character list for the Second Volume.


    Attention. the following character decriptions contain inevitable Spoilers about the second Volume.


    Zar. He is a 27 year old belonging to the ill.u.s.tratian race who became King of Pameres Kingdom ever since he was 17 years old and has all the skills he has today thanks to his assistant''s Guidance. He is a man sick of the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance and is the first ill.u.s.tratian King to oppose the Alliance. An Expert with a Longsword and decent with speechcraft, his Longsword can speak when reasoning doesn''t.

 Chapter 1 - The Silence

    Deep down in medieval times, there was a son of a poor farmer. That farmer has a rather unique son named Eric, most likely known as the black haired farmer who barely talks to anyone. Some called them the Poor farmers, some called them the helpless two but those offensive namings and mockeries didn''t seem to bother 15 year old Eric or his 42 year old father Woldemir.


    That of course is because even tho Woldemir is poor, he is a very wise, humble gentleman with patience as his best friend. And the reason of his current financial issue is of course not his fault, in fact it could''ve been worse unless a stranger offered him enough help that even a brother by blood would think twice about. But a tragedy that happened very shortly after his son Eric was born, is to blame. Woldemir had to leave everything behind for his son.


    Eric lost his mother at a very young age. He doesn''t even remember how she looks like. Even worse, he doesn''t know anything about her. He just knows her name, Isabel. A truly beautiful name indeed but it doesn''t feel the empty hole in his heart. He can''t get his mother back, but at least his pain would ease if he knew more about her. This confusion and lack of answers has forced him into a rather restrictive imaginary world of his own. He barely exchange any words with his father as a "silent treatment". But lucky for Eric, Woldemir was never abusive towards him in order to "mold him into a man". That is no way of life.


    Woldemir is a good father, yes, but it doesn''t add up when you consider how he refuses to talk to Eric about Isabel. Eric always wanted to know more about her, instead of just whispering her name on long nights filled with thoughts, losing sleep over it and tears breaking out often. But that''s something you, me and his pillow knows.


    Still he couldn''t help but ask himself why his own father won''t tell him more about his beloved mother. Is it some form of mental abuse? Eric took that theory into consideration. But when he recalled how Woldemir spent sleepless nights looking after a baby Black Horse who had a leg so injured that the bone was clear to see. As if something ripped the horse''s flesh without breaking the bones, he knew his father isn''t at all an abuser.


    When Woldemir is asked about his wife however, he does nothing more than changing the topic. A lot of times he even pretends that he didn''t hear that question and never aims to answer it. He always remains silent towards that topic and most, especially Eric. Don''t have a clue connecting to his silence.


    That silence is slowly drifting Eric and his father apart. Drifting away like an abandoned little boat floating across the ocean without an anchor. But in times like this, family needs to stick together. After all, Woldemir is all the family he knows. It is a cruel world out there in these dark medieval times, Eric just has to stay strong. So far it is his only option although that option is mentally and emotionally tiring. Summer is close to an end, and as always Woldemir and Eric have to worry about the food situation which will get them through the Winter.


    Winter is cold and harsh on these lands, and growing plants on the small cruel terrain that they own is difficult to tackle even at summer, they literally started a farm in a forest. This farmhouse used to be a Cabin to begin with.


    Attempting to grow anything at Winter especially is a foolish move and of course a waste of Gold Coins, gold that Woldemir and Eric barely earn.


    Sometimes Eric wonders how his father could even afford this small Farm house, surrounded by this cruel small forest. Its small but it still would need a few hundred gold coins to afford if not a few thousand.


    How they own this small property and why they are living in these conditions has always puzzled Eric''s mind along with his primary predicament.


    As mentioned before, Winter is next door and the food that should last throughout the winter is Woldemir''s biggest concern right now. He can''t risk starvation. Throughout the summer, Woldemir and Eric planted and harvested vegetables such as: Rice, Tomatoes, Beans and Cabbages. Plants that do not require any specific type of dirt quality or special care but also are worth a few gold coins.


    The plan is for Woldemir and Eric to sell those plants and use that money to buy cheaper food, such as plain wheat grain or bread who costs considerably more than wheat Grain.


    Cheaper food that will hopefully be enough to feed them through the blood freezing Winter. It might not be something that they prefer to do, but as their options are limited and because they don''t want to kill animals, risking their own lives in the paws of blood thirsty Wolves, They don''t have another choice.


    However to sell what they planted and harvested through the punishing summer heat, they would need to travel towards a Kingdom. A kingdom known as Crutal Kingdom. A Kingdom with walls strong enough to help her people withstand a lot of bloody battles for hundreds of years and has earned the title of being the Capital Kingdom in the entire country of Occidentis Igne.


    Woldemir and Eric couldn''t afford to live in that Kingdom.


    Which is why they live in a small house, located a couple of moons away from it.


    But of course that doesn''t mean that they can''t use the opportunity to sell their goods there. Crutal kingdom is well known as a place of trade. As the morning sun shone brightly and gracefully over the surrounding mountains, breaking through the cracks in Eric''s room leading to sunbeams usually waking him up in the Summer, he was approached by Woldemir who hesitated to wake him up from what seems to be a peaceful sleep, but had no choice.


    "son, it is that time of the year again. I know that staying here with me in the farm throughout the summer has limited your adventures you like to take around these woods, but we need to secure the food situation for the winter. After that, you will have more time for yourself." Curiosity has always been a part of Eric''s mindset. And in the forest there is a lot to explore due to the ruins which Snow Ignites left behind after the last Ice Age met an end.


    Eric doesn''t get along well with his father when they speak face to face. Well more like Woldemir tolerates Eric''s behaviour because he knows he is in a hurting. All because of the silence Woldemir shows towards Eric''s questions, but if he knew the truth he would be emotionally destroyed, but yet again facing an emotional barricade is what made Woldemir a gentleman.


    Eric thinks that his father is cruel. He thinks that his father, isn''t exactly father material. Which is why he is being silent towards him now. Eric is reasonable enough to help but he has chosen to not utter a single word towards his father until he tells him at least one thing more about Isabel.


    "I deserve to know the truth, but if my so called father has chosen to stay silent towards my questions, I will be silent towards all of his questions and topics as well." He thought to himself countless times.


    Eric stands up from his bed without saying a single word and makes his way towards the door in aims to wash his face with Water gathered from one of the many small creeks nearby, giving a rather unique beauty to the forest and making it look more life like.


    Woldemir''s heart is a bit shattered by this behaviour even though he doesn''t show it, standing strong. But it is a price he was willing to pay for Eric''s mental well being. He was willing to sacrifice his own feelings without thinking twice.


    Woldemir and Eric took their time to load all the fruits and vegetables on their Wagon, a Wagon for Black Wind to pull through these dirt covered roads. You may be wondering who Black Wind is? Well, Black Wind is a beautiful Horse that they own, who you guessed it. Woldemir helped nurture back to health. Although the flesh regenerated in time, the wounds are likely to stick for a lifetime.


    Blackwind is a six feet tall horse covered in beautiful black fur and with long majestic Pitch black hair going down from the surface area of his neck, stretching  2 feet long.


    And of course we can not forget to mention the eye catching strong leg muscles on him comparable to the finest horses in Ignis. In fact, Compared to how rare Black Wind is in Ignis, he would be considered the finest horse. The Wagon that Black Wind will be pulling isn''t exactly the best or the biggest but at least it works enough to carry those goods with a 1 time trip.


    The Wagon is about eight feet long and four feet wide. It might sound like an average normal Wagon but the different thing about this one is that it isn''t tall enough. It is a few inches over four feet tall and the top is completely cut off. Meaning it doesn''t offer any protection from the environment at all and it can not fit a good amount of fruits and vegetables due to the lack of options when it comes to stacking goods upwards.


    Even though Eric and Woldemir tried their best to fit in as many goods as they can, there just wasn''t enough space left for Eric to sit comfortably on that Wagon. However all the sellable fruits and vegetables are in the Wagon but if Eric wishes to join his father, he would have to sit over the cabbages because even Woldemir can barely fit in where the horse orientor(driver) should be. As if having no protection from the environment wasn''t enough to deal with. It gets even worse later on when night hits and the moon starts shining, bringing along cold winds which can be deadly if the weather was colder. Luckily it is September.


    Luckily they have sleeping bags. But that will fight off only half of the cold weather when they camp. Enough for them not to become frozen corpses by the morning at least.


    Black Wind has already enough burden over his shoulders. Literally! He is pulling a whole Wagon. And Eric just doesn''t want to stress the big beauty furthermore by climbing on his back. Basically Eric will be sitting on the back part of the Wagon. Over the Cabbages more accurately. Because cabbages are less easy to squash if sat on.


    They lock the farmhouse''s door and without wasting any more time, they start their 50 mile journey to reach the magnificent Crutal Kingdom. As being concerned of what to eat while on the road didn''t seem to be something to worry about considering them having crops on the Wagon. Something that got both of them tired though along that long road, was Boredom. Crutal Kingdom is two moons away if travelled by Wagon, the road is long and the summer end sun has no mercy at day. Result, Cabbages with sweat.


    This boredom, slowly and slowly got Eric tired enough to fall asleep. He fell asleep on lumpy and uncomfortable cabbages. That''s what boredom can do.


    But what both of them didn''t even expect on their first day of traveling is the fact that adrenaline rising danger is about to strike them when they least expected it. Because while they were traveling, ahead of them was a whole Black Wolf Pack blocking their path, approaching step by step as their group started to spread slowly.


    If Woldemir tries to slow the horse down and turn around, the Pack would catch up to them in no time and get all over the Wagon and of course both of them would be in grave danger.


    Woldemir didn''t care about his safety, he can weaponize a rice bag if he pleased, but it is his son Eric, he is worried about. He promised his wife that he will protect Eric at any cost last time he saw her, right before she took her last breath and left this world.


    And Woldemir is willing to put his life at risk to keep that promise.


    Woldemir would do that, yes. But would it be a good idea to fight a pack of four foot tall Black Wolves with nothing but a small rusty iron dagger? NO!! of course it isn''t. They both would end up being a special treat for the pack. So with no other options, Woldemir takes a deep breath and shouts from the top of his lungs


    "Do not turn back. Run forward BlackWind, do not stop at nothing. Run as fast as you can. Our lives depend on you now boy"

 Chapter 2 - First Glow

    And of course without hesitation, Black Wind first blows air out of his nose, with flesh ripping fury behind his eyes, making him look like a true fearless beast.


    And he went from being stopped at his spot to fast ground trembling speed. Faster than a wolf could ever achieve. As if he wasn''t pulling a Wagon at all.


    As Black Wind is running straight ahead towards the pack of Black Wolves, it didn''t take long to notice that the pack leader was fearing for his life because he was standing in the middle of the road, standing in front of a 6 foot Black Wind.


    One moment the leader was standing his ground and blocking the road, the other moment he cleared the way and rushed upwards the forest out of fear and of course the pack followed the leader shortly after, they had no other choice. The leader did try to stand his ground, but even an Animal can notice obvious Danger. If not crushed by BlackWind, the Wagon would crush at least a few of them.


    After BlackWind pulled them through that pack, bailing them out of danger, Woldemir turns his head around and shouts.


    "HaHaHa!!!!! Take that you cowardly dogs." But it surprised him why the Wolves didn''t approach the road again to start chasing the Wagon. Blood thirsty Wolves wouldn''t give up that easily.


    But one thing he also noticed as he turned his head around, was the fact that something or more accurately "someone" was missing. Eric!!! Eric was missing!!


    Eric seemed to have slept through all the thrilling danger due to the coma like sleep boredom offered and as Black Wind was running as fast as he could, the road became undoubtedly more bumpy.


    If Eric was awake he would have more chances to remain in the Wagon by holding on somewhere, even on Cabbages but because he was asleep, he fell off the Wagon to the hard dirty ground, which shocked him awake.


    But at this moment, having dry dirt on his face was the least for him to worry about.


    Do you remember that Black Wolf pack from a while ago? They came back in a blink of an eye due to the natural instinct of coming back where prey roams and finding Eric defensless on the ground against Several Wolves, he will be an easy meal, so they started surrounded Eric on each corner with their teeth upfront followed by growling and a death stare.


    The Wolf pack leader was slowly approaching Eric closer by the second, with his yellow bloody teeth shining and his mouth watering. The leader just kept growling in a soul trembling freakish way and suddenly stopped after he pushes Eric down to the hard ground with his paw, having no trouble to pin him down.


    The Leader''s paw being as big as an a.d.u.l.t human''s hand aided that move. After that the Leader leans down to bite Eric''s neck, to end his life. But is stopped as Eric literally slapped the Wolf, yelling at him to get back. But it had little effect and it pissed of the Wolf, making his death likely more brutal now.


    Eric is of course trembling in fear even though he had the courage to slap a Wolf. He is sweating enough that he would have easily been mistaken as a person who just came out of a river, if he was seen by anyone.


    His heart beat rapidly increases as he noticed Wolves approaching closer at each side as he fears to lose his life at that moment.


    With that fear possessing his soul and body, he was forced to push his body into new abilities, abilities he never thought possible for him to have. He even tested himself before after hearing all the stories of Slaughter.


    Eric suddenly uses one hand to grab the Wolf Pack leader by the neck and pulls him down to the position where the leader and Eric are looking at each other''s eyes. But this time, the Leader was in fear.


    As Eric''s eyes lighten up and change color to a Fire like color, the leader gets spooked down his soul as he witnessed the rage in Eric''s eyes.


    A split second after that, Eric used his other hand to grab the leader''s chest which was a grab strong enough to make the leader scream in pain and fear. Afterwards Eric blasted what seemed to be a small Fireball out of his hand.


    But not just a normal rapidly spreading fireball. This one was different.


    It was Fire shaped in a compressed like way. Fire that seemed to rely on its ability to pierce skin, more than it relied on its ability to burn.


    It was shaped like a long, slender, rounded piece of metal which first of all pushed through the leaders skin and reached out to his heart, burned it whole and pushed through the leaders back in a blink of an eye, ripping the Leader in two.


    It didn''t take much until that slender fire turned in to an actual typical fireball which exploded into a bigger size, enough to blast the remains of the bloodthirsty leader ten feet up in the sky, tossing one part at the forest and one part at the road, left there to burn.


    The leader is dead, but Eric is still in grave danger because the pack still remains standing around him which was a surprise. They didn''t scatter.


    Eric killed the leader, yes.


    But he has no idea how he did it and he isn''t sure how to blast more fireballs out of his hand again.


    Until a moment ago, he didn''t even know that he could do that.


    Several wild Black wolves started ignoring the fact that their leader just got burned to death and without fear they are approaching Eric closer and closer. At this moment, all Eric thought of doing was to cover his head with his arms and hands and just wait for his death.


    In a second, a sound...much like a blazing burning fire was easy to hear.


    It didn''t take long to feel that the sound was approaching closer every moment.


    The Black Wolves ignored that sound, like the wild animals they are.


    Their main goal is food. It was always food. And Eric is their bite sized target right now.


    Eric''s life flashes before his eyes. He didn''t do much.


    Apart from the small short adventures in the forest and working all day on the farm with a father who refused to answer his questions.


    He didn''t do anything worth remembering or looking back for whenever he was in a good mood, or at this situation, he couldn''t get a good flashback.


    But that sound. That fire like sound. It didn''t seem like it was going to fade away. It roared stronger every split second, like a Fire was eating up the forest.


    But that sound turned into something that was impossible to not pay attention to it at the moment.


    Even though the wolves weren''t the best at paying attention, this time they had no choice but to glance.


    Because now that fire like sound was much more easier to notice, because now it could be glanced upon as well.


    At first view it was clear to see that it was a burning hot Fireball.


    But this Fireball was nothing like the one Eric blasted out of his hand.


    It was clear to see that this one was way bigger. It''s round blazing shape measured six feet wide. And this Fireball, unlike the one Eric blasted, hit one Black Wolf, pushing it against another one that was close to the first hit, and when it reached the third Black wolf, it pushed all three of them about twenty feet away from Eric and a heart trembling explosion followed, leaving Eric''s mouth open.


    The explosion was Loud enough to be heard half a mile away no doubt.


    After that explosion, the fireball just disappeared into thin air.


    And those three Black Wolves were nowhere to be seen, reduced into nothingness. The Fire burned them out of existence. Even dusty ashes weren''t to be seen after the explosion.


    All that remained out of those three wolves was a tooth that flew and bounced it''s way near Eric''s feet.


    After that lethal blast, what seemed to be an old mysterious looking man appeared and was slowly approaching with a cold look on his face, walking towards Eric and the remaining four living and breathing Black Wolves who are still considered a threat to Eric, but the old man doesn''t seem to fear them at all. He doesn''t see them as a challenge. But more like target practice.


    After the old man made a stunning entrance, the Wolves quickly lost their attention towards Eric and didn''t target him anymore.


    They turned all their attention away from him and ran towards the old, obviously bigger(taller) looking human.


    Wolves have simple instincts! they hunt whats bigger.


    But if they can''t hunt down what''s bigger, they at least keep it away from their meal(Eric). Even though the old man wasn''t obviously going to eat him, the short minded wolves protected their meal.


    All the remaining wolves from that pack were running towards the old man, but they did not understand that they aren''t just facing against a normal or easy to tackle Human such as Eric.


    The old man didn''t even wait for the Wolves to approach.


    A second after they left Eric at peace, the old man furthermore unleashed his powers towards those wild beasts until they suddenly became a pack of blazing and burning running animals because of the old man. They were getting burned to death due to the old man quickly taking a breath and blowing short lasting blazing hot fire out of his mouth that easily set all the four(remaining) wolves on fire, leaving them to howl in pain as they randomly ran from the road to the forest and from the forest to the road out of panic, hoping they are put out of their misery. Hoping that they never tried to eat a kid.

 Chapter 3 - The strange Fire Wizard

    After making sure that all the remaining wolves were on fire(literally), the old man started flying off of the ground. He did so by blasting fire from his feet, to avoid getting too close to wild savage beings and to avoid getting caught on fire himself if a wolf was to approach him too close.


    He flew thirty feet above the ground and witnessed the harsh slow death of those Wolves who didn''t have a clue on how to escape this situation even though the river was about 50 meters away. But until they reached it, it would be way to late. The fire''s temperature is just to high. It didn''t take long until each wolf of that pack got burned down to death, only took half a minute. Eric was just covering his head with his arms, hoping no Wolf lands over him. But lucky for him no Wolf caused him damage and the land was finally safe to land.


    As he landed, the strange old man approaches Eric and after that scene Eric just witnessed, it was easy to notice that this old man was a Master of the magic that he trained for, no apprentice can achieve that. The old black robe he was wearing and the long thick grey beard, showed clearly that this old man spends all his time learning and studying his magical skills, rather then caring anything about on how he looks. A true Wizard indeed.


    But it is still unclear to Eric on how this Wizard managed to survive long enough to Master his skill at these high levels. As Magic was banned throughout the entire continent of Ignis. It was almost impossible to even become an Apprentice of any Magical skills in General without being burned alive, hanged or beheaded or r.a.p.ed before all that if one was a Witch.


    Magic is seen as an evil and unstable art. At least that is what most close minded ill.u.s.tratios think throughout Ignis due to the influence of the religious organization known as "illas".


    The wizard landed in front of Eric''s feet and helped Eric get up. But as he did so, he also noticed a rather uniquely shaped mark on Eric''s hand but he didn''t question him about it at first. But again he couldn''t help asking other questions. He had a lot.


    "What are you doing here in these woods alone child. Do you even realize how dangerous it is to walk in actual groups around here. Walking alone at this age is beyond foolish. You would of been Wolf food by now if I didn''t run in at the scene." Exclaimed the Strange Fire Wizard but not loud enough to further spook Eric.


    Eric, who was still in shock and of course terrified to the maximum. Replies to the Fire Wizard with a trembling voice by saying. "I....i..was heading towards Crutal Kingdom with my f-father. I suppose our horse ran very fast when he noticed these Wolves. I was asleep and m-most likely fell off of the Wagon and here i am now." Worth noting that due to avoiding communication with a lot of people, Eric isolated himself to the point where he has trouble speaking. He often mumbles, as if his mouth can''t catch up with his brain.


    The Wizard looks at Eric with a lot of curiosity and with a different, more calm comforting voice he says "I suppose that makes sense. But now you should calm down. As there is no Danger in sight. You are safe boy. However, I do have some questions about that mark on your hand."


    Eric takes a deep breath and lets it all out. His heart beat started stabilizing by the second. And right at the moment when the Fire Wizard was about to ask further questions about the mark. Eric''s dad, Woldemir with their horse BlackWind reached the scene. He jumps out of the Wagon and runs towards Eric and hugs him tight. After that with a shaking terrified but in another way, a relieved voice he says


    "Son, I am so glad you are alright. I didn''t think that i will see you in one piece again. I prayed for the best but the fear of losing the only family member i have left o-overwhelmed and got the best out of me. H-how did you survive. I thought you would of been d-dead by now"


    He said under his breath as he was checking Eric everywhere looking if he is injured. Of course even if they had comforts of thousand gold coins, healing strong wounds would be hard, light ones are of course easier but he still doesn''t have the required tools. The best Woldemir could do towards a bloody wound would be to rip a shirt and tie the wound. Even though a small attempt, it works well enough for someone not to bleed to death. But luckily Eric is alright.


    Eric decides to finally speak to his father. He noticed quite well the concern that his father had for him. Concern Woldemir was sure to show before, but not enough for Eric to notice apparently. In a gentle low volumed voice he says "At first, I killed the Black Wolf Pack leader with a FireBall. I think he was the leader. He was in the middle at least. I''m not sure how though...but a two feet wide Fireball blasted out of my hand and pierced the leader to the point of cutting him in two, afterwards burned the pack leader to death." Explained Eric as he struggled to fill full sentences at first shot, often mumbling.


    Woldemir doesn''t seem to be in shock off his son''s newly discovered abilities though. Which raised suspicion from the old Fire Wizard''s point of view. "I k-know how and where you got those powers from. I promise I will explain everything to you. Right now i j-just want to appreciate and treasure the fact that you are alive and in one p-piece." Gently told Woldemir as he started leading Eric towards the Wagon.


    Eric can see his father''s concern by looking into his eyes full of tears and hear it by listening to his shaking voice that Woldemir has, he clearly went through a lot. This situation broke him down a bit. In aims to calm his father down as they are walking towards the Wagon, Eric says in a low tone


    "Father, I''m alright, there is nothing to worry about. But this old man is to thank for that. If it wasn''t for him, I would off been dead by now. He saved my life." Said Eric as he gently got away from his Father''s grip and pointed towards the Fire Wizard. Woldemir turns his head towards the old man, noticing how he doesn''t seem like he is from around here but ignores it. He saved Eric after all. The last thing Woldemir would care about now, is appearance.


    "I owe you a life. you have my deepest respect and gratitude. Please tell me. How may I repay you? We don''t have much but, we can figure something out." Said Woldemir trying his best to offer assistance, seeing the old man travelling alone, he figured something is up.


    "There is no need to thank me or to be in debt to me. I did it because it was the right thing to do. But allow me to introduce myself. I am Mogranius, an Expert Wizard of the beautifully dangerous fire controlling abilities. May i ask where are you planning to go? I''ve been looking for a specific Kingdom for days and I wasn''t successful in finding it. I don''t have a map and i started at a point I don''t recognize."


    Now Woldemir is rather confused as well. He is quite certain that Magic of any kind is strictly forbidden throughout the entire continent of Ignis. At least it became that way after the ill.u.s.tratio race invaded Ignis. Apart from that, he claims that he started to walk from a place he didn''t recognize. How would he end up at that place to begin with?


    He turns to Mogranius and says "First of all, I would like to thank you again for everything. And second, me and my son have been planning to go to the Crutal Kingdom. But may i ask, how many of your kind are there? How did you survive? You do know which continent you are on, right?"


    Mogranius replies with "Well this is an interesting coincidence. I was looking for Crutal Kingdom all these days! Will you at least point me in the direction of it?


    But I am rather curious on what you are trying to say with this "surviving" topic? There are tens of thousands of young and old Witches and Wizards spread around through our fine country(Occidentis igne)."


    Eric jumps in the conversation and says"Father, weren''t all witches and Wizards killed by the ill.u.s.tratio? At least that''s what you told me."


    Woldemir replies with "Yes son but i don''t know how he survived. I am trying to understand what is going on here as well. Because I''m sure that there aren''t anymore people left who practice Magic here on Occidentis ignis."


    After that, Woldemir turns to Mogranius and says "Mogranius. Are you familiar with the fact that Magic is banned throughout all of the Continent of Ignis?"


    A shock occurs instantly on Mogranius as he heard Woldemir say that sentence he starts yelling his sentences "But that is impossible!! How would magic be banned when even the Queen of Crutal Kingdom is a Witch? I''ve been gone only for a few days, when did all this change happen?"


    After Mogranius finished that sentence, Woldemir jumps in the conversation and says


    "Where have you been these few days exactly? Because magic of any sort has been banned ever since the ill.u.s.tratio race invaded this country about two hundred years ago and enslaved us with taxes, hunted down and killed everyone who practices magic. They killed them all. Why do you think we live so far away from the wall''s protection?! It''s the only way to escape all the taxes and double standard circ.u.mstances. But I can''t say that the ill.u.s.tratio didn''t cause us trouble in the farmhouse either. They are power obsessed monsters."


    Mogranius replies with "H-Hold on!! I know nothing of this invasion!!! How did i get informed about it just now? How is it even possible? You two must have lost your minds!!"


    Woldemir replies to him with a rougher tone


    "Slow down there man. You can''t talk to us like that! If you don''t believe us, why don''t you come with us? We can show you the truth! We are going to go to Crutal Kingdom together."


    Mogranius replies with a bit of regret "My apologies, i lost my manners. But what you are claiming sounds bizarre. Occidentis Ignis is a hotspot for any Wizard or Witch to come and train all sorts of Magic! However, i will take that offer to join you. I need to see this with my own eyes. Otherwise i will never believe it!" Said Mogranius as he stroked his own beard, thinking of one theory after the other on how the ill.u.s.tratio would win, but he got no stable theory.


    "Very well. But if you wish to join us, you will need to dress in clothes that draws less suspicion on us. Thankfully i do have some spare clothes. And when we are there, don''t go by the name "Mogranius" if anyone asks you. Use a name that sounds more like a local name. Go by the name "Garther". Should be good enough to not be chased by people with pitchforks and torches or swordsmen too, in this matter." Exclaimed Woldemir the importance of blending in at Crutal Kingdom.


    If he doesn''t blend in, Mogranius would be attacked, Eric and Woldemir would be beheaded.

 Chapter 4 - New Electus

    Mogranius or as he is known now as "Garther" dresses up in those clothes using the woods to have a bit of Privacy instead of getting n.a.k.e.d in front of practical strangers. No one would want to dress in front of strangers, and the two didn''t want to see a n.a.k.e.d old man either. The trauma from the Black Wolves is enough.


    And since there is no place for Garther to sit on the Wagon, him and Woldemir switch places from time to time while one of them walks on foot, leaving Eric to not tire himself considering he is still a kid but as they were travelling, Garther started asking more questions, this is all to shocking. What should he believe first?


    "You claim that the ill.u.s.tratio race invaded us and enslaved us. How did this happen though? Our country(Occidentis Ignis) was always able to withstand invasions because of the large numbers of Powerful Witches and Wizards in these lands. How did we fall?" He asked, puzzling himself trying to put two and two together and puzzling Woldemir who had no idea what Garther is saying. Why is he talking about what happened 200 years ago?


    "As far as I''ve read, this disaster started right after the so called "Electus" passed away. Akareas was her name i suppose. She held this Country together. After her death, invading this place was rather easy, We were always vulnerable after her death."


    Garther fell in even deeper shock right now and he shouted "WHAT??!! Akareas died two hundred years ago? Either you are insane or i went insane. Because i''m her mentor. I mentored Akareas." Exclaimed Garther so loudly that it almost made Eric fall off of the Wagon. If Cabbages weren''t to be sold, he would hit Garther with one.


    Woldemir is getting rather confused right now. Because now Garther is the one who is sounding bizarre. Mental asylums aren''t invented yet. But if they were, Garther would be considered one who escaped it based on what he is saying. "Does shooting those hot fireballs drain your noggin? How could you possibly mentor Akareas? She passed away two hundred years ago. I can even find you a history book so you can read it with your own eyes."


    After that Woldemir grabs his bag and inside of it were several books. One was titled "Death of the last Electus". he grabs that book and says "Here you go, read for yourself. I don''t know how else to convince you at the moment."


    Garther opens the book, it seems like the text was copied from a Diary that was written by her second in command. The writings spell out "I am writing this journal with great despair, as last night our Queen. Our beloved Electus, passed away as she was peacefully sleeping on her bed. She died at a stunning age of ninety three. She is no longer with us, but her spirit will always roam this great Castle. The Crutal Kingdom will remember the great Akareas as a fearless Hero. She was a worthy ruler indeed, a fair honest Women without doubt. But more importantly, I treasured her as my close friend. Akareas will be missed."


    After reading this rather convincing part of the book, Garther got more and more convinced that Akareas actually did die so long ago. Because even if Woldemir was lying, he wouldn''t be able to write a book like that without being noticed or without taking weeks to finish it. Because the book itself was quite long to read through. Garther has only read a very small part. But he is indeed still in great shock and he is rather confused on how this is possible.


    "But how?? I literally had contactwith Akareas a few days ago. I left the Kingdom only for a few days, when did all this happen. This doesn''t make sense." He grabbed his head, letting out a deep sigh to ease his burden.


    "You aren''t the only one confused here old man. At first you seemed crazy to me, but I''m actually starting to believe you in a way. However, you might be able to find more answers to your questions once we reach Crutal Kingdom. The place is large but i do know a man there that we can trust. He owns a large collection of books and is selling them as well. But I''m sure he doesn''t mind if you just read them without actually buying them."


    Gently told Woldemir, trying his best to offer help.


    "very well, that idea sounds reasonable enough. And I do have a theory about what happened, how I got here and maybe even how to fix it. But I do have another question."


    Exclaimed Garther, suddenly putting burden aside and going towards hope.


    "Very well, I''m glad we finally reached an agreement. And yes, ask as many questions as you please." Said Woldemir trying to remain calm as much as he could. I mean this isn''t an everyday situation.


    "I will. But later! Now I need to think of a more well forged plan."


    After 2 hours have passed, Garther looks at Eric and noticed that as time passed, Eric fell asleep due to boredom yet again. As if he didn''t see Black Wolves being burned to death a moment ago. A perfect time for Garther to get his questions answered without freaking out a child though.


    "I waited for your son to fall asleep. I did not wish to burden him with a huge question mark on his mind furthermore. He is already very confused and i bet he is eager to know how he blasted fire out of his hand. But may i ask, how did he get his powers?"


    Woldemir''s face turned rather pale when he heard Garther utter those words. He then replied with "I am not ready to talk about that. It is a long story, that ended up with misery. I do not yet know where I will find the strength to explain this to Eric. It is a sensitive topic."


    "It is alright. I can understand how this topic is rather hard to speak about. But can you at least tell me more about the mark on Eric''s hand? There is a black mark that starts from the surface of his hands and runs down his fingers much like veins. How did he get that mark?"


    Woldemir replies with a confused voice


    "That mark on his hand, is a birthmark. He had it when he was born."


    Garther replies with a shocked voice


    "WHAT? It is a birthmark you say? Well that is most interesting. This just gave more light at this dark cloud of questions on my head. This started making more and more sense now."


    Exclaimed Garther as he stroked his beard.


    "What?? What started making more sense?"


    Asked Woldemir in great curiosity and concern.


    The relief was quite easy to be heard on Garther''s voice as he continually repeated "This makes a lot of sense". But of course he has more to say about this topic.


    "That mark on Eric''s hand isn''t a coincidence. That mark can only appear on one person. Apparently this seems to happen after every two hundred years. Maybe less, maybe more. It isn''t certain. But what I do know for sure is that your son...your son is the new Electus!!!"


    Exclaimed Garther in great enthusiasm. Understanding that Eric can be the key to bringing him back home.


    Woldemir''s face turns even more pale at this moment. He is surprised how Eric is blessed with such unbelievable power but yet he is terrified. He feared for Eric''s life. In an Entire continent where Magic is banned, where any being who practices magic is either hung, burned to death or beheaded. His son, Eric is born as a Wizard. Not a normal one either. So the risks of Eric getting killed are even larger because of the special attention he would get.


    He then utters with a terrified voice "But..But, it can not be!!! How is this even possible? Out of possibly tens of thousands of people here on Ignis, why my son? Oh my god. Those monsters are going to burn my son alive. Much like they did with his moth... oh my god. Are you sure?? Are you sure that he is the one?" Yelled Woldemir, with a tear rolling down his cheek, as he brought up earlier burdens, making him feel weak.


    Garther can notice all the burden on Woldemir''s voice and his eyes. As he can hear his voice trembling and his eyes tearing up. He replies with a comforting voice "Man, calm down. You should know that your son is steps away from becoming the most powerful human to currently walk the earth.


    His powers aren''t limitless but it would take decades to reach those limits. He can change the fate of so many people."


    "But you don''t understand. No matter how powerful he is, he can''t go against an entire continent. The ill.u.s.tratio owns this continent. They are in charge, they have the upper power, the upper advantage. We don''t have anything. Our powers are nothing compared to theirs, we lost."


    "But you know, the only reason we got invaded is because the previous Electus died. Without Akareas, our Country was just like a flightless duck. The ill.u.s.tratio didn''t attack Occidentis ignis before only because they feared her power. They feared Electus. They had no chance to possibly go against us. Akareas, held us together. After she died, chaos was short to follow."


    "But still, Eric has no experience. He doesn''t know what to do or how to do it. He doesn''t even know of his powers, if he gets attacked by a ill.u.s.tratio group he has no chance of surviving it."


    "That''s what practice is for. Heroes aren''t made in a day. I personally want to train him. I want to help him unlock his powers. I still don''t have the slightest clue on how i got here but it might be to help the next Electus. Maybe I was sent here to help bring balance to this Continent again. Maybe it is my destiny."


    Woldemir finds slight relief, but his curiosity is at its peak. He asks


    "Alright, i appreciate the thoughtful offer. But where will you train him. If one person runs in to us, the only thing you can do to silence them is to kill them. Even if they do want to stay quiet, they fear the ill.u.s.tratio. One threat and they sing like a bird. My son will be in constant threat."

 Chapter 5 - The Time Traveller

    Garther replies with a confident voice but mostly in aims to calm down Woldemir, whose father Instinct overwhelmed him and broke him down. "Quit your worrying. I am an Expert Wizard. Obviously i have access to secret hidden ruins. Or at least... I hope they are still secret. I have spent more time exploring and sleeping in ruins than i have slept in my own house. If anything backfires in Crutal Kingdom or anywhere else for that matter, I know a place where these morons wouldn''t look for."


    Woldemir is still under a lot of burden. But this at least gave him slight relief. But still, Eric''s safety is Woldemir''s main concern.


    "Very well. I will agree to this in one condition. Whatever secret ruin cave or whatever it would be you plan to lurk around, you go check the ruin first to see if it''s clear of the ill.u.s.tratio or any human in general, even if everything backfired, you check the condition first before we can enter. Once you make sure it is safe or not, you come back at my farmhouse or wherever we are, and we can consult our next move. What do you think about that?"


    "very well, I can work with that. I will travel to a cave once we take a look at Crutal kingdom. I have a feeling that it''s still untouched by the ill.u.s.tratio."


    "Yes, Thank you. Also, I do have a question. How.. just how did you end up getting lost in the woods and miss two hundred years of war, slaughter, beheading, death by ill.u.s.tratio lit flames, **** and injustice? You must have a longer story. I doubt that you slept through the war under the shade of a tree. How did you end up being lost in the woods." Asked Woldemir a question that has been likely puzzling both of them since they met. Garther did have a theory or two, but there were no solid evidence about it.


    The color on Garther''s face turned rather pale as Woldemir seeked a deeper explanation of Garther''s predicament. But yet he found the nerve to answer. "I was with Akareas, the previous Electus. We were researching more about the most unknown power to any Wizard, a power that was a mystery to every Electus who walked the Earth so far. The mysterious powers of Teleportation."


    "Correct me if I''m wrong but as far as i know, Teleportation is where you disappear into thin air and appear somewhere else. Typically somewhere very near. I''ve heard a few tales about it. But I didn''t think it to be actually real. How does it equal to you skipping two hundred years?" Scratching his head, Woldemir couldn''t comprehend this theory. What Garther is basically referring too is teleportation and above that, he is referring to Time Travel. Teleportation is a power that no Electus mastered and time travel isn''t even one of the 8 powers. The theory keeps getting crazier by the second.


    "See, before i found myself at these woods, we were tipped off by an adventurer that a book about teleportation was deep down an underground dungeon. Forgotten, abandoned and left to crumble into dust. But I don''t know if you heard this, underground dungeons aren''t a picnic. Going there is like begging the angel of death to take your soul." Explained Garther with hand gestures and body movements, trying his best to describe the situation. Which was rather funny. Something Woldemir needed to calm down, although the method strange.


    "So I''m assuming something went wrong?"


    Asked Woldemir in curiosity.


    "It did!" He yelled and continued


    "Disaster happened right after we found the book. We even managed to read a few pages of it but the dungeon was abandoned a couple of centuries ago. It didn''t take long for a disaster to follow. Out of nowhere, part of the dungeon collapsed." He yelled as he said the last word. Giving such a presentation that Woldemir felt like he was there when the disaster happened.


    "So that''s how you got here? Did the dungeon killed you or...?" Asked Woldemir still having it hard to put two and two together.


    "You would of known if you stopped interrupting my story!"


    But i didn''t..."


    "Considering the fact that i always lacked luck throughout my life, I was exactly at the area where the dungeon collapsed. A second before large boulders and dirt were about to crush the soul out of me, Akareas did a teleportation spell on me. That might explain how i got here."


    Woldemir is in great shock as Garther''s story sounds rather unbelievable. But for what reason would Garther need to lie to a poor farmer? What benefits would an intelligent Wizard gain from it? He must be speaking the truth.


    "But didn''t you say that she didn''t know anything about Teleportation Powers?"


    Asked Woldemir in further confusion. As if that wasn''t confusing enough. Woldemir knew a lot about a lot of things, but magic isn''t one of them.


    "That could be the reason why I am here now. That''s my best theory. I don''t know what else to think."


    "Your story does sound quite insane. But yet I do not see a reason why you would lie to me. But it looks like Akareas survived that dungeon collapse. Since she died peacefully on her bed at the age of 93. At least that''s how it''s written. Maybe she took that book with her. If she did, the book is sure to be collecting dust somewhere around the Crutal Castle. We just need to find it." Exclaimed Woldemir in enthusiasm, showing that he is more than willing to lend a hand through this predicament. If Garther can return to his timezone and undo what the ill.u.s.tratios did, his terrible present wouldn''t be happening right now and he would be holding hands with Isabel, the love of his life.


    "That could be very possible. And since Eric is the Electus, he could surely help in some way. I''m not sure how but i know he can. The training I went through to become an Expert of my Fire controlling abilities, took me a lifetime. Eric can learn it in a matter of several years, probably even better than I did. In this case, he is the superior."


    "You don''t fail to surprise me every time you explain something new about the power that each Electus had on their hands. And as much as i love to talk about it, we need to cut it out now. Because...well look forward and be amazed.


    The second that Garther looks forward, he sees the big and beautiful Crutal Kingdom after hours and hours of travelling. They even had to stop and set up camp. Garther has waited a lot to ask Woldemir about all of this "Electus" business. His mouth remains open as he is amazed to see his home again and of course because of the fact on how jaw droppingly beautiful Crutal Kingdom is.


    Roots of plants spreading out everywhere, each stretching several meters on thick stone brick walls and colorful flowers blooming on those roots as well. The Kingdom is rather large itself as well. From one end to the other it surely held around five hundred houses. Most of the houses weren''t exactly small either, it was indeed the wealthiest town in Occidentis Ignis.


    Its size shows quite well why it is the Capital Kingdom of Occidenits igne. A true rare beauty. He then says "So much has changed, yet it changed in a good way. She looks more beautiful than ever."


    "I agree it is beautiful. This race has a fancy about decorating buildings or anything in general with plants. Most likely supported from the money that they force out of our race though. They treat us Ignites like used old shoes." Explained Woldemir in grief.


    "It appears that way. Our beloved Crutal kingdom did not lose its beauty and maybe it is even more beautiful now. But the ill.u.s.tratio ruling it, along with the rest of Occidentis igne left a terrible scar on it and our country, and it kills its beauty in a way, sad to say." Garther felt grief for Crutal Kingdom. This used to be the place where hundreds of Wizards and Witches roamed, to train their powers. A few even came from other Continents because the school here outmatched theirs in their motherland.


    "Indeed it did my friend. But we need to keep our voices down right now. Maybe even stop talking completely. The ill.u.s.tratio is known to charge fines on people for the pettiest reasons. Basically anyone who isn''t an ill.u.s.tratio, gets fined for ridiculous reasons."


    "What sort of reasons?"


    "Last summer, i got fined for reading a book that wasn''t about the ill.u.s.tratio. The finnes are outrageous as well. If you can''t pay it, they throw you in the dungeon and beat you until your back is softer than your stomach, which in most cases no one can pay the fine. Those two weeks were rough for me. But luckily I came out alive. Unlike many unfortunate others." Lifted Woldemir part of his shirt, showing the scars that didn''t disappear for over a year.


    "I can finally understand why you are so protective towards Eric. But believe me, I will do everything in my power to free this land. Even if it means dying, which in these circ.u.mstances i most likely will. But let''s proceed into the Crutal Kingdom right now and go through that bookstore you mentioned."


    As they approach Crutal Kingdom closer and they reached the main gate, they immediately get approached by a couple of ill.u.s.tratio gatekeepers. Truly devilish looking characters, not literally though. Their skin color didn''t look like a typical stereotyped devil. Their skin color was green. And one other eye catching feature are their blood veins. From head to toe their veins were covered with a darker shade of green and a light dark shade of red as well here and there.


    But most of the blood vein color running through their body is green. But their eyes are the most devil like part about them. They have these freakish completely red eyes. Difficult to look at without getting uncomfortable. Especially if one is yelling at you. These gatekeepers have fairly long hair too. Much like every other race in these medieval times i suppose but instead of most races, their hair is green. But those body features weren''t nearly enough devil like compared to their tongue and behaviour.


    As soon as they approached the Wagon, one of the gatekeepers pulls out a longsword, turns to Garther and says "State your business here you diseased devilish Ignite or my sword will be meeting your neck."


    Before Garther utters a single word, Woldemir jumps in the conversation and shouts


    "Do not hurt him. He is my cousin. He comes from the bottom part of Ignis. You know, the frozen part of our great Continent?"


    The other gate keeper replies with


    "Oh so basically he is a worthless rag coming from Frozen Toe Kingdom?"

 Chapter 6 - Book Worm Stefan

    "Yes yes. He is that type of Worthless. He came for a visit a few moons ago and now he is going to help me sell my goods." Explained Woldemir trying to avoid uncalled for punishments. These people are notoriously known for double standards.


    "Very well, you may enter. But if you commit a crime this time, you won''t get so lucky. Either one of you. Understand?" Told one of the GateKeepers as they were abnormally laughing with each other. Afterwards he turns his head up and shouts "Open the Gates!"


    Shortly after, the great wooden gate opens. It was quite flattering to see a ten meter tall gate open, showing a 500 house Kingdom bit by bit. The strength and people needed to open it isn''t exactly small either for a door that is 16 meters across. One simple Guard can''t ever open it. Imagine if this door fell due to faulty construction, and landed on a person. Even the Witches and Wizards of Zameria can''t heal the victim.


    Upon entering Crutal Kingdom, Garther was dumbfounded on how much the city expanded behind these 10 meter tall walls. When he left, there were roughly 200 houses. Now he is witnessing well above 500 houses. More than the eye can capture at once. It is just a miracle. Crutal Kingdom couldn''t get more beautiful. It is the people in there who are a scar.


    They made their way towards the town center after walking through a 5 meter wide alleyway for a while, it was very populated, far exceeding the number of people this Kingdom can hold. Especially this month when it is harvesting season. People from everywhere who aren''t living in the Kingdom, come to sell their crops. The competition is rough, although it is bursting with buyers since Crutal Kingdom holds over 3,000 people.


    When they reach the city centre, they see a lot of men and women trying to sell their crops. Some carrying them with carts and some have settled in a small wooden booth, dragging more attention.


    "Fresh wheat grains here."


    "Get your potatoes here."


    "Get them while they are fresh."


    Shouting like that were heard over and over from people going the extra mile to sell their crops. Taking a left turn away from the city centre, the bookshop they were aiming to reach was very close by. It only takes half a minute of walking to reach it.


    When they entered the bookshop, The bookseller instantly notices new "Customers" since he isn''t used to ill.u.s.tratios or Ignites being crazy about reading. He gets a little disappointed when he sees Woldemir and Eric but still welcomes them with a good greet and asks "Who is your friend there Woldemir?"


    "A very special person. Dear Stefan, we need your help. Can we find a quiet place to talk this out? You know, a place where a diseased ill.u.s.tratio can''t overhear us and get us in trouble." Pointed out Woldemir, showing that this case is rather delicate to talk in the open. Which it is. Many lives can be at risk.


    "Of course, let''s go to the storage room in my bas.e.m.e.nt. No soul could hear us there." Told Stefan swiftly as he understood the importance of this situation.


    "Alright that sounds like a good place."


    And then he turns to Eric and says


    "Son, you stay here and keep a look out. If anything, knock three times on the door and enter. Alright?" Security measures have to be pushed to an extra mile after all. They are literally surrounded by ill.u.s.tratios. "Yes for sure. Go ahead and don''t worry." Told Eric, trying his best to help while avoiding to talk a lot.


    Woldemir, Garther and Stefan make their way down to the bas.e.m.e.nt, they didn''t find much to see. Only wooden crates who were either empty, cracked or filled with books halfway, rarely full and some half full bookshelves were here and there, forced in to fit in this small storage room. They take a seat on some wooden crates and Woldemir starts the conversation by saying


    "Let''s keep our voices down just in case. You can never be too safe around ill.u.s.tratios.


    Also, Stefan my friend. I''m sure your curiosity is at its pique about who this man is."


    "Well yes. I mean, you come in my shop, urge me to speak with you in private and now we are in my bas.e.m.e.nt. Of course I am no doubt curious." Added Stefan in a bit of sarcasm, but he meant well and just wanted to keep a good vibe up.


    "You do have a point. However, I am going to sound like a madman right now for saying this but, this man skipped two hundred years and appeared here, on our time and year."


    Explained Woldemir with his tone getting lower and lower by each word.


    "You got the Madman part right. How on Earth would he skip two hundred years and appear here? Seriously! How? I wanna use it to get out of this ill.u.s.tratio infested place." Exclaimed Stefan with a bit of sarcasm but he also meant what he said.


    "Shhh. Be quiet! My friend, I know it''s hard to believe this. Trust me, i still have doubts. But why would this intelligent man lie to me or you? What possible benefit could he have from it except for a waste of time? Eric saw him in action with his own eyes. You know that Eric never lies!"


    "You have a point there, that kid barely even speaks. But can you at least explain how you "skipped" those two hundred years and came here? I''m sure being shot from a Catapult wouldn''t do the trick." He said again with never ending sarcasm. For a bookworm he sure has a loud mouth.


    "Actually, have you read about the last Electus? He knows Electus personally. And he was her Mentor." Quietly told Woldemir.


    "Right of course. And i am secretly King of Ignis but i work as a shopkeeper to keep attention. How the actual hell do you expect me to believe that?"


    "You don''t believe because you haven''t seen anything yet. All Witches And Wizards were killed right? After the ill.u.s.tratio invaded Occidentis ignis, right? They all were killed after our country got invaded, correct?"


    "That is true. They wiped out every Witch and Wizard here on Occidentis ignis. Even on all the three other countries in our continent as well. All this genocide happened when Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l was crowned King of Septemtrionis ignis." Afterwards, Stefan became serious for a second because his knowledge strings were pulled, so he couldn''t stop talking history. "Invading the two other countries was a breeze but invading Occidentis Ignis was always impossible when Akareas was the Queen. So he waited for her to die, then launched an attack, Occidentis Ignis losing the support of the two countries, became even easier to invade."


    "Exactly. Xakro even assigned his knights to hunt down any Witch or Wizard in hiding. They wiped out each and every one without missing. Meaning there shouldn''t be any more of them left, or if they were, they would be extremely rare." Pointed out Mogranius, puzzling himself as he explained further.


    "Yes that is correct according to the books. So your point being?"


    "Garther whose name is actually Mogranius survived because he skipped through the entire war when Akareas unleashed a teleportation spell towards him. It''s a long story on why she did that, but the main reason is that teleportation magic isn''t well researched, so the results were unpredictable, but Akareas was left no other choice. This however, might prove our point a bit more."


    Afterwards he turns to Garther and confidently says "Garther, blast out fire out of your hands like you did back in the woods. But careful, don''t burn this store down."


    "As you wish but i hope you know what you are doing." Gently told Garther who has been holding in a lot of sarcasm outbursts.


    After that he breathes in and as he breathes out, fire comes out of his palm. Not a fireball but just a small amount of fire rising above the palm of his right hand. After it starts off from the palm, it goes down to the back of his hand as well. Reaching down to the fingers, it shows quite well that Garther''s right hand is surrounded completely by that fire, burning hot, further proving their point. Stefan''s face turns pale. Which is ironic because a warm fire is near him.


    "You see Stefan, if i was lying to you i wouldn''t even trust you enough to show you my abilities in these troubled times. And if there was some trickery behind this fire, I wouldn''t be able to hold this continuously lasting fire around my hand without burning my own hand down in the process and I wouldn''t be able to control it as I please." Said Garther a second after he shut down the fire on his hand.


    "W-well now i am a bit more c-convinced and i can understand why you aren''t using your own name. To dangerous to walk around telling people your name. Sounds to much Wizard like. But I am still confused on why you told me all this. What can I do for you?"


    "My friend, you''ve spent your entire life buying and selling books. I''m sure you can help us get unique books that will prove useful to us and history books that will shed more light to the situation Garther is in. And a bit more knowledge on how the war happened of course. You are one of the brightest people I''ve ever met. You grew up studying. You can be of much use to us." Slowly and quietly explained Woldemir.


    "With that i can be useful. Help yourself with any book you please sir Mogranius.


    Indeed I studied a lot. And about the unique books, what exactly are you looking for?"


    "You see dear friend, Akareas and i found a book about teleportation deep down in a dungeon. But disaster was short to follow after part of the dungeon collapsed." Explained Mogranius in as much detail as he could.


    "Oh crap. Then what happened?"


    "I was seconds away from being crushed by boulders and dirt but Akareas teleported me out of there. She read a page or two of the book and as I was poking around the dungeon, I became victimized from my own curiosity. Those boulders didn''t crush me, but at the moment I''m thinking that would be more lucky than living at these times.


    However, we need that book about teleportation. Do you have at least the slightest clue where we can find it?"


    "I''m not sure but i can help you filter things out so you''ll know where to look. I''ve read that Akareas peacefully died at the age of ninety three. And she died peacefully in her bed. At least, that''s what her second in command claimed. Was she that old when you were in that dungeon with her?"


    "Not at all, she was in her fifties at that moment. Do I look like that old to you? I''m clearly not over one hundred and thirty years old. I mean look at my wrinkleless face."


    Said Mogranius with a slight laughing tone.


    Stefan replies with a humourless look on his face "Right. Well that means Akareas along with the book survived that collapse. Meaning the book might still exist hidden somewhere. But I am not sure myself on where it could be. Perhaps in the Castle collecting dust?"


    Woldemir jumps in the conversation and says


    "Did Akareas have a journal or diary? You know, where she writes down her adventures, thoughts and such."


    "Woldemir my friend, you just gave us the break we have been looking for. That is a brilliant idea. And whoever became her second in command after me, had a diary for sure. We even have read it on that book."


    Exclaimed Mogranius, getting louder than he is supposed too.


    "Yes and if we find it, it might lead us to the teleportation book. And at least, these diaries or journals are less impossible to find compared to the book I suppose." Pointed out Woldemir.


    "Yes! I love it when a plan comes together. Lets do this!!!." Yelled Stefan.


    Both Woldemir and Mogranius look at Stefan with confusion and sounds of crickets shortly followed. After that, Garther replies with


    "You wish to join us? Dear friend, the Dangers along with it can be very unpredictable."


    Stefan replies with "The heck with it, I''m not living a better life like this anyway. Most of what I earn is stolen from the ill.u.s.tratio for "taxes". Plus I''m sure that you two have way more plans afterwards. I mean what would you need a teleportation book for if neither of you have the power to control it? You surely must have more plans, am I right?"


    "Indeed we have, we could use your knowledge at these troubled times. And there is more for you to know. My son Eric is actually the new Electus. He restored to me something i lost long ago, hope and faith."


    Explained Mogranius with his heart feeling warmer.


    "I always saw something different in that boy. He isn''t like the other mannerless kids. But i never thought he would be this special. What are your plans after you get the book?"

 Chapter 7 - Trouble

    "We are not sure. Teleportation was always that Magic skill that was a mystery to any Electus which walked upon the Earth. I know that for sure because while I mentored Electus, she did have contact with a past Electus, who had connection with the Electus before him, and so on and so on." Using hand Gestures, Mogranius tried his best to explain the fact that they still haven''t thought this plan through. Indirectly, asking furthermore for Stefan''s help for this matter. And Stefan indeed noticed. His perception has increased a lot because he is basically a trader. He trades books for gold, dealing with a lot of people has granted him perception bit by bit over the years. He knew what Mogranius wanted to say. But yet again he said something different, rather not the point of the topic.


    "Fascinating. Being able to communicate with a soul that passed away? I didn''t even think that this was possible." Expressed Stefan in amazement, temporarily losing focus of the main conversation until he heard Mogranius snap his fingers several times for him to come back to reality.


    "Oh it is possible. And other people apart from the Electus can do it as well. But of course they can''t communicate with an Electus'' dead soul. However, getting back to the point."


    He tried his best to remember what he was about to say before Mogranius interrupted him, it took a few seconds but he remembered most.


    "Where was i....oh right. She refused to say how she got into contact however. Considering the fact that the Electus before her, died one hundred and fifty years before Akareas was born, it''s a bit hard to figure out how she contacted him exactly. Also it can never be predicted when exactly a new Electus would be born or where they would be born. It just happens." Doing his best to make sense with information he barely knew anything about himself, mumbling, unfinished sentences, sentence redos were often to hear but Stefan was patient enough to listen and observe.


    "Makes as much sense as the illas'' claims of every Witch and Wizard. You would think that people would be smart enough to not believe that Demon''s whose origin isn''t well known and it''s theory doesn''t have a stable foundation, would simplu transform into Humans and bring us trouble. What smart person would believe this crap?"


    It''s just propaganda build up by Xakro ill.u.s.trario l, to strengthen his Alliance." Added Woldemir in anger. Especially him, is rather sick of the nonsense this Alliance has brought upon him and the Ignites.


    "However getting back to the point, Akareas did approve that no Electus ever had the ability to learn about Teleportation. It is a unique type of magic. Very raw, very unpredictable. It was chosen to be left at peace long ago. An Electus was even victimized by this power. It requires the strongest intelligence."


    Finished Mogranius his explanation about teleportation powers after constantly being interrupted halfway through explaining. If he didn''t try so hard on focusing to remember what he needs to say, he would burst fire in order to be the main focus. Dramatic, but works.


    "I suppose we are going to figure something out once we have the book. Let''s keep reading through some history books and hope we find something more useful that the ill.u.s.tratio probably overlooked. With this information in our minds, we are sure to spot anything unusual, anything that could lead to the book."


    Expressed Stefan and stood up, scrolling for some history books, and dropped 7 of them over a crate in the middle of the 3, so everyone could reach out and read.


    Guessing the situation will lead to nothing but wasted time if books are just laying around who might or might not have a stable source or theory. At this point, reading books is their best option. Stefan started off reading a book, afterwards Mogranius, afterwards Woldemir. They all were sunken in reading carefully every word in order to not skip any details which could provide them the information they need.


    The room is in complete silence, the only noise heard would be pages being flipped from time to time. But even though these books were only about the ill.u.s.tratios, two of them could not help but feel comfortable reading a book. Except Woldemir who was still stuck at page 1.


    Mogranius broke the magnificent silence by reading a part of the book he was holding.


    "Astonishing. Looks like right after Xakro ill.u.s.tratio became King of the country near us, Meridionali ignis, The war started days after.


    The country, Orientis ignis was their first target. Septemtrionis ignis was their second target and our country, Occidentis Ignis was their third target. They took them one by one instead of attacking all. A rather smart military move." He couldn''t help but envy Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l''s battle strategies. It''s not easy to conquer 3 Countries in a matter of 16 years.


    "I''m well aware of that but I''m still confused on how they did all this. I mean, it isn''t easy to invade a country filled with Witches and Wizards. There were countless Grand Master."


    Explained Woldemir while scratching his head.


    "Even harder if the countries had great relations with each other before Xakro was crowned king. It just doesn''t add up." Even Stefan was confused. He had trouble making theories that would shed light on this disgraceful disaster brought upon their country.


    "And of course not to forget, all the Kings in the big Kingdoms of Meridionali ignis, Would need to agree upon the war. Which they most certainly wouldn''t if relations are considerably good between the Countries. So the question is, how did all Kings agree to start the war?"


    Added Mogranius which only increased the confusion, rather than adding light. He himself isn''t used to fighting along the military. When he wasn''t reading, he was exploring.


    "Yes i do agree. There must be something else behind this. A war doesn''t start because things are going well. Let''s just read more and hope to find an answer." Swiftly added Stefan as he flipped the page of his book and then dropped it when Woldemir shouted.


    "I''ve got it!!"


    "What?? What did you get?"


    Both Mogranius and Stefan reply at the same time. They both noticed, but ignored that fact and focused on Woldemir.


    "Mind Control! Could mind control have done this?" He gave a further explanation after he broke the short silence.


    "Mind control is a Magic power, yes. But the people who can just simply mind control, are either the Lerazians or an Electus trained by the Lerazians, it simply isn''t easy. But we are getting somewhere with his. It could be a good possibility." Specified Mogranius and turned his attention back to the book he was reading.


    "That''s a fair point. But we will keep that theory in mind Woldemir. If more light is shed upon it, it can be our only stable theory."


    Expressed Stefan as he turned his attention back to the book he was reading.


    They kept reading page after page, but it didn''t seem that they could use any more information. Apart from all of that, Woldemir is still at page 2. So Stefan broke the silence this time with an idea.


    "It is clear that there isn''t anything more useful to be found here without eventually gaining suspicion by anyone outside. So I have an idea but it is crazy and insanely dangerous. What if we sneak in the Castle? Surely there will be something to be found at the Castle King Xakro first ruled. What if we go at the Capital Kingdom which Meridionali ignis holds."


    Stood up Stefan explaining his idea with an enthusiastic tone. As if it was common for a Bookshop owner to break in a heavily Guarded Castle located across the continent.


    Woldemir looks Stefan in the eyes with shock and says


    "Have you been smoking tree root again? That Kingdom isn''t exactly a moon away.


    It would take months to reach on foot. Black Wind couldn''t possibly carry a Wagon all the way up and down those hills. And as you said, it is way too dangerous."


    "Meaning we would need four horses since we are four people. Or three at least." Added Mogranius further encouraging Stefan to put the plan together.


    Woldemir feeling like he is getting ignored, added in a louder tone.


    "Um. Hello! Danger!!! That will not be easy to find. And have you considered the fact that all Ignites in Meridionali ignis are slaves. If they aren''t part of the ill.u.s.tratio race, they get chained and forced to do hard labour for diseased ill.u.s.tratios. The moment we get spotted by the ill.u.s.tratios, we get arrested and turned into slaves if not killed on the spot."


    "Meaning we need to move at night."


    Replied Mogranius who was no stranger to moving in the shadows.


    The moment Mogranius finished the sentence, three loud and quick knocks were heard coming from the upper floor, signaling that there is trouble above.


    Stefan didn''t waste a second. He took charge of the situation right away while remaining calm but yet again urging the two to follow the plan.


    "Quickly now, both of you grab a small wooden crate and act like you are carrying them up to the store."


    Mogranius and Woldemir did so right away and started following Stefan who was walking upstairs empty handed, as if he hired these two just to carry. And the moment they got up there they walked into five ill.u.s.tratio guards.


    "Welcome. What do i owe the pleasure of this visit Guard Commander Chan."


    Guard Commander Chan with a strongly weaseling tone replied.


    "That''s Guard Commander to you bookworm. I never said you can call my name."


    "My apologies sir. How may I serve you." Added Stefan aiming to raise Guard Commander Chan''s ego. Playing with his mind like a toy.


    "I will ask the questions here! What were all three of you doing in the bas.e.m.e.nt and left a child up here? What are you up to?"


    "I paid them to help me bring some crates up, I pulled a muscle earlier so I can not lift. I need to sell more books in order to keep up with the taxes. Taxes aren''t cheap as you know."


    Formed Stefan a believable lie in a matter of seconds.


    Afterwards, Guard Commander Chan turns to the Guards and yells a command.


    "Guards, crack those crates open and search them. There better not be any books that teach magic there. Or else you will lose everything."


    "I''m sure there aren''t. They come from Meridionali Ignis, Meaning no magic books."


    Confidentiality added Stefan. Knowing what to expect in those crates.


    After that the Guards cracked open the crates. They weren''t gentle at all with the crates. They damaged multiple books in the process but no one said a word because the ill.u.s.tratio were clearly in charge, those were the only fully filled, closed crates. Yet they didn''t seem to bother to know or care. They are indeed brutal if someone opposes them, even with an argument.


    Noticing there is no book that would break any law, Chan went back to his reason why he came here in the first place.


    "Alright, it seems like the crates are clear. However i''m here to inform you that the Merchant tax increased. You paid three hundred gold pieces this month. You need to pay another one hundred, King''s orders."


    "But i''m broke. I can''t afford it right now. I gave everything three days ago." Gently told Stefan, using reason over yelling but inside deeply suppressing his rage and hate towards the ill.u.s.tratios.


    "That does not concern me. Pay the tax or suffer in the dungeon peasant."


    Being unreasonable is something unusual coming from Guards or Guard Commanders. Stefan can die for all Chan Cares. It would be "one demon less" on his sight.


    "Is this your king''s continuous attempt to put the ignite Merchants here out of business? These taxes are ridiculously high. I barely make four hundred gold pieces a month, what am I going to eat? The ill.u.s.tratio merchant across from my store barely pays fifty gold pieces. Drop these source damned double standards for peace''s sake!"


    He lost his patience when he noticed Chan''s smirking face. Looking down on Stefan who was left as one would say "left without a door to enter through."


    Guard Commander Chan replies with continues smerk, practically taunting Stefan and furthermore making him feel small.


    "Again, this is not my concern peasant. Pay up."


    "I''m broke. How am i supposed too?"


    Guard Commander Chan says


    "This way. Guards. Arrest the peasant. Six months in the dungeon for refusing to pay the tax and calling me by my name. Your worthless book shop and your house now belongs to the King."


    "But you can''t do this. This is insane. This is insane."


    Eric jumps in the conversation and from the bottom of his lungs he shouts


    "It is insane. LET HIM GO NOW."


    "What are you going to do about it you filthy dog? Have your mother to spend a night with me. Oh wait..."


    Chan was well aware that Eric lost his mother after Woldemir spend a couple of weeks in the dungeon. That was the hardest year of their lives. Stefan supported them financially as much as he could after Woldemir and Eric got their crops "confiscated", but there was only so much he could doo. They had to scrap the forest for food.


    "Oh no!"


    Added Woldemir sensing what''s about to happen next.


    Eric tightens his fists out of anger and a tear breaks down along with another, steps a foot forward and then proceeds to move his arms forward as well, letting out a short lasting two foot wide Fire Ball towards Guard Commander Chan, which both gave a physically strong strike on his chest and lit him on fire. Chan was down screaming and burning 6 feet away from his former spot while a Guard yelled


    "Get the kid."


    Right after that, Mogranius shouted


    "No you don''t."


    And blasted thin concentrated one foot wide Fire towards the Guards from both of his hands. The Fireball was as thin as a single hair from a horizontal point of view, one foot wide if viewed from above and spread eight feet across which both broke the two guard''s ribs entirely and pushed them right through the store walls and twenty feet away from the place they were first shot at, leaving them split in two.

 Chapter 8 - Two Men versus an Army

    The two remaining guards were in shock, and were trembling on their feet as they glared upon a teenager taking down a Guard Commander with ease. But what scared the soul of of them more, was Mogranius who forced Guards to become airborne and split them in two in the process. "Just where did these Wizards come from?" They both thought but were left swallowing their spit, being rendered out of words and their eyes eyes started widening as they saw Mogranius aiming to bring death upon them.


    Not wasting a blink of an eye, Mogranius shot fire yet again by joining his palms together with a loud clap which shot fire but only reached close enough to the Guards to cause blurry vision and burned eyebrows, this is of course just a trick to buy time. His hands were touching each other finger by finger while he moved his hands quickly from the top of his shoulders to the bottom of his hip, which unleashed the sort of fire he used against the guards which he split in two a bit earlier, but this time he used the fire clap as well.


    The fire shot from that movement was very thin but its length started off from two feet, became six feet when it reached the two remaining guards and was twenty feet wide when it reached the wall of another store run by an ill.u.s.tratio. No doubt Mogranius gave more power to this one. Which was rather uncalled for, considering there were only 2 Guards, one of which already pissed his pants.


    The fire cut through the two remaining guards like a hot Silver sword through a rope.


    Their bodies got cut all the way through and were laying near the store wall next door. Cut completely in two, with their corpses slowly burning into a crisp.


    The store next door wasn''t a store anymore, because that last fire that Mogranius shot, broke the support beams and cut half way through the store as well. Fire rapidly spread through the store, leaving it no chance to be shut down with water and risking to catch the other stores on fire as well. The once big popular store started crumbling and turning in to a pile of rubble, damaged far beyond prepare.


    But when Mogranius pushed the last two guards through the wall, he accidentally lit part of Stefan''s store on which if not tamed, can deal serious damage as well. But that fire but it didn''t seem to be a problem for Mogranius. Because both the fire was currently small and Mogranius took charge of the fire rather easily. By simply breathing in, moving his right hand from forward to near his chest, which dragged the fire from the wood planks it was burning on and started circling around his right hand. Rising a foot high at first but slowly decreasing, taming.


    The Fire surrounding his hands spread out down his fingers, and ended up being shaped like actual bear claws in just a moment, leaving everyone glaring with widened eyes and inevitable envy. To be able to play with fire so easily? Fascinating.


    "Follow me." He shouted, breaking the silence and shining with hope in front of their eyes. They are about to deal with the most heavily populated Kingdom in Occidentis Ignis. They desperately needed such a Powerful Fire Wizard in their arsenal.


    Without a moment to spare, he walked out of the book store, and started running towards the main gate after they passed the city center. The center who was crawling with people before, was now empty due to everyone noticing the disaster, leaving their crops behind without thinking twice. None would be willing to sacrifice themselves so easily. No no they choose to evade the inevitable death if they faced against fire. But as soon as they passed the empty city center, tens of ill.u.s.tratio guards were already heading towards him and the rest of the group with weapons flashing on the sunlight.


    With little options left, Mogranius who was now leading this group, had to think fast. They can''t fight off one Guard after the other forever, most importantly they can''t do that because the Guards approach in bundles. Mogranius used his left hand to strike a big house down. Already understanding the concept of Double Standards, he figured that the King would never let an ignite live in such a big house. So he felt no grief using the house to his advantage.


    The bear claw like fire rapidly expanded once Mogranius did a fast swing towards the house. The Bear Claw expanded enough to recklessly split one third of the house with complete ease and dragged the rubble down the path and blocked the way which ended up victimizing several ill.u.s.tratio Guards in the process. that strike gave them a little time to think of a plan or just run.


    He saw the group behind him glaring in shock, understanding how powerful this Fire Wizard is. Mogranius himself broke the silence by expressing a shortly thought out plan of which he thought as he glanced at the group who were clearly shocked of his power. Especially Stefan who never saw a Fire Wizard in action.


    "Eric we need to fly out of here. Otherwise we will die. There are just to many of them, we can''t fight them all off. I can only carry one person. I will carry your father, you will carry Stefan since he is lighter."


    "But I can''t fly. How am I supposed to do it?" Asked Eric with a confused and hopeless look on his face.


    "You are more powerful than you think. You are a Wizard Eric. A very powerful one actually. Just concentrate your fire power towards your feet, put some rage into your feelings. You aren''t helpless." Expressed Mogranius as he witnessed Guards climbing over the debris blocking the entire main road. Acting perfect as a shooting point for Mogranius. He has better chances of taking them down one by one instead of having to deal with a bundle. Bundles got reduced by half due to the debris. "There is no time to discuss it, as soon as I start shooting, you start flying." He yelled out an order, making Eric''s goal clear. Eric didn''t like at all to be ordered around but at this case, he has no time to be dramatic.


    "Alright, we have little choice. Let''s do this." He snapped back to reality, burying his self doubt and constantly Whispered "I can do this." as he tried his best to focus.


    While Eric was focusing, Mogranius already started shooting six feet wide and two feet long Fireballs towards ill.u.s.tratio guards, each fireball burning down and killing up to three Guards if they were to rise above the debris at the same time which had a short push against 3 Guards, but managed to force any Single Guard to becoming airborne, forcing him to fly above 15 feet far, often landing over other Guards which slowed them down at least a little, buying more and more time for the group.


    He is a true force to be wrecked with indeed.


    But the more Mogranius was shooting, more and more ill.u.s.tratio guards started appearing, due to them noticing where trouble is and wasting no time heading towards it. The number of ill.u.s.tratio guards this kingdom holds is far beyond the amount of which Mogranius can fight off. The town holds over 3,000 people, and each Kingdom in Ignis pays tax to Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll, which gives him more than enough Gold to raise an army easily more than the Kingdom can offer. The Kingdom can solely survive by taxes coming from other Kingdoms. Even if they didn''t employ even 1 worker, they can have a great income, which gives him the ability to hire more Guards instead of people with valuable crafts, above that, they have imported Guards from other Domains who don''t have citizenship here, but are simply hired.


    Noticing the situation getting worse by the second, bundles of 5 and above becoming more common by the moment, he felt the urge to shout.


    "Eric, go! Fly already."


    Hearing his shout, Eric started concentrating but it was indeed hard to concentrate on something he barely knew anything about in the middle of a battle while never trying it before. All he could think of concentrating on, was his feet.


    If Woldemir didn''t indirectly prevent him from his destiny, Eric would at least learn a thing or two from Mogranius on the way to Crutal Kingdom, probably not a lot but he wouldn''t be such a sitting duck.


    But with all odds thrown against him, he buried the last piece of self doubt and actually managed to blast fire out of his feet. The first burst didn''t lift him off the ground but it did shoot out a bit of fire, which was better than nothing.


    "Try again. You can do this!" He heard Stefan yelling with a rather concerned tone. He didn''t want to end up dead or in the dungeons.


    Eric tried focusing again, killing all thoughts that could lead to a lack of concentration, and focusing his energy towards his feet. Which was extraordinarily hard to doo, since Fire is usually blasted from the hands. After the toughest attempt of concentration, he managed to burst fire out of his feet again. But he already felt worn out. He is most certain that he can''t push his concentration anywhere above the stage he just did, in such a short time with no past experience.


    The second burst got him four feet off of the ground but yet still he couldn''t keep flying, he fell on the ground from the 4 foot height, hurting his knee a little bit.


    "I can''t do this." He buried himself in self hate, making it clear to himself that he is incapable. He is sure that he can''t dig the group out of this hole. He feels weak, tired, worn out.


    "You can do this son. You have your mother''s bloodline!" Shouted Woldemir from the background, triggering Eric in an emotional way. The emotion that has been haunting him for years. The thought of his mother.


    Fire started burning from his eyes. Literally. Like a small amount of dust, fire burst out of his eyes and slowly disappeared as it flew towards the sky, and a fire like glow replaced his dark eyes. He attempted to fly again, but this time, the third and final burst was the one. It was the one that lifted Eric far off of the ground and the fire that came out of his feet this time was not at all like the first couple of bursts. That burst was so intense that it carved a half sphere like shape on the ground that was three feet across, that burst made the Guards stop and glare upwards, only to become easy shots for Mogranius.

 Chapter 9 - One eyed Man Beast

    Flying tens of feet above the ground. Eric feels the power pumping through his veins. Or his feet. Either point of view is acceptable. That fire roaring beneath his feet gifted Eric with much needed courage, draining his self doubt by each glance he had on the fire. His eyes widened in amazement and his adrenaline rose up along with him the first time he had a quick glance of the fire beneath his feet, he was left bewildered.


    A moment apart, he felt something different developing in his body in a flash. As if he was losing control of his own flesh and bones, his actions were no longer his. His eyes kept flashing, one time turning burning red in colour, the second time turning normal, then they turned red again. This constant change repeated several times before Eric lost complete control of his body, Eric fought it as much as he could but wasn''t successful. He doesn''t even know what he is fighting. Himself?


    He spread his arms wide open as he flew in mid air, started spinning and fire came out of palms. The fire beneath his feet started the process and the fire on his palms continued it, a tornado forming tens of feet above the ground. The fire didn''t take time to explode in size. Spiraling quickly around Eric, in a blink of an eye it transformed into a huge tornado like form, making it all the more terrifying. A tornado made out of fire. what a baffling view to witness indeed.


    Eric flew up until he reached the top of the Fire Tornado, stopped blasting fire out of his feet once he reached it, joined his palms together where each finger of his hands touched each other. Much like a clap, without actually doing a hard clap that is, it was more gentle.


    He started falling down from the sky, with his hands deep in the blaze of the Tornado, forcing the tornado to split each second he is falling down from the sky. The Tornado deforms heavily as it splits as it is of course given no other choice. From spiraling elegantly in the sky to deforming into a more wild, spread out and even a considerably more dangerous form. Imagine a Tornado being split vertically in half like a fruit tart. That''s how he split the tornado with his current hand positioning which sank down deeper every second he reached the smaller areas of the tornado.


    He lightly fell on the ground as if angels carried him down, afterwards using the highly deformed tornado he split in two, controlling it like he grabbed the bull by the horns and knocked him down. He used it to his advantage instead of making a quick show for everyone.


    "Eric! Do you even know what you''re doing? Why did you deform such a destructive Tornado?!" He heard Mogranius yell from the background but wasn''t able to respond as much as he wasn''t able to control his own limbs.


    "That Tornado could of been our way out of here Goddamn it!" Mogranius whispered to himself as he glared at Eric while moving his head from left to right for a while, obviously displeased. But he also felt dumbfounded when he glanced at this technique. Even Akareas didn''t use it. Could it be that Eric doesn''t know anything about Fire Controlling? Yet again if he didn''t, he wouldn''t be able to throw an expert move shot in such ease and perfection at first try.


    The raging fire above him roared enough to make everyone in the scene burn one sweat after the other, but that fire, it is completely under his control. It floats above him as if it were dancing in mid air. And as he disconnected his palms, moved his hands down hitting the ground with them, it made the two former Tornado pieces separate further from each other in a flash, as if the Fire trembled along with Eric''s hit on the ground. It started flying towards the ground at a speed which no one in the scene could comprehend. Reaching the ground in staggering speed, it quickly deform into a wild usual death bringing fire. After that he moved his hands up again and hit the ground once more, which made the Fire redirect itself. From going straight down to moving straight horizontally forward.


    Te fire followed shortly after, flew at rapid speed over his shoulders heading towards the ill.u.s.tratio Guards who were rushing in the scene, tens of them already over the debris who acted as a Barricade. That fire singularity burned over a hundred ill.u.s.tratio guards in seconds, some on the Barricade, some behind the Barricade and the Barricade along with them. The road is clear now. It didn''t just burn them. It obliterated them. It completely dismembered their bodies, burned them into ashes then burned their ashes as well as it rolled down all the way to the main road, breaking the big wooden main gate down as if it was nothing. He burned every living creature to be seen on that main road leading to the main gate. Except one.


    One ill.u.s.tratio. This one didn''t seem to be an ordinary guard. Not at all. He was even wearing a thick Silver armor which was not what Guards are clothed with. That extreme fire Eric released couldn''t burn that man. Or was he a man? Because no average being could withstand such heat without perishing. Is he a man or is he not? At that moment it was hard to tell.


    In a split second that man who seemed to be almost a hundred yards away, now was in front of Eric which forced everyone in the group to take a step back in shock except Eric who was forced to stay, he can''t control his body after all. Looking eye to eye or dare i say "eyes to eye. Eric is full of rage and the man holds a straight reactionless face. Staring at Eric''s burning eyes, he got rather more interested.


    His facial reactions are exceptional though because that man''s face was burned. Only one of his eyes seems to function, his lips were burned and full of scars. His nose seems to be completely cut off. And he didn''t have hair on his head. Burn marks followed his head from one side to the other. His head basically looked like a chunk of coal.


    Eric didn''t hold back, or whatever controlled him, didn''t hold back. He didn''t even bother talking. He continued to blast fire out of his hands. Slapping much like a bear he kept throwing left and right slaps. Or dare i say  "fire slaps" Towards the man. Those fire strikes seemed to light houses behind the burned man on fire but Eric''s target remained untouched by any of Eric''s attacks. How?


    The oddly overpowered creature said "I''m your superior, child. Stop trying."


    Eric who suddenly started feeling control over his body again, first off felt the urge to curse out this man from the top of his lungs but kept it together. And secondly, the glow on his eyes dimmed and returned to normal. "I burned half of your army. Give up or I will find a way to burn you hard enough for your ancestors to feel the heat, you chunk of coal."


    The odd creature replies with a cold low voice "Quite foolish of you to think... that this is my entire army. I control everything. This land, these people, creatures beyond your... reach or beyond your wildest imaginations. I am invincible. I am your... superior. You may go now go... dog but we will meet again. You will share a similar fate with your previous life form."


    After that, the creature disappears in the blink of an eye. Like he vanished completely. Deleted from existence. Snap!! Just like that, gone!


    As the creature disappeared, so did the fire Eric lighted when he kept throwing shots but kept missing his target and hitting houses instead.


    Eric turned to Mogranius with his eyes widened up in shock and yelled "How is this possible? Who was this man? Is he even a man?"


    "He is a man. In Fact he remembers me of my past adventures. Adventures with Akareas that is. This man was Electus level powerful. I have no idea how he got all this power but it is not normal at all. His fire powers clearly outcompete mine. And i had a lifetime of training." He swiftly explained as he grabbed Mogranius like one would grab his wife, getting ready to fly away.


    "Whoever he is we will figure out. But for now lets escape this hellhole." Said Eric as he noticed what Mogranius was doing, and couldn''t help giggling a little bit. Which made Woldemir feel embarrassed.


    As soon as they hit the sky, ill.u.s.tratio arches and spearmen did not miss the chance to try to shoot them down, that man beast distracting the group, was all these Soldiers needed to gather up. One spear and arrow shot after the other Eric had to dodge them by sense, if he just kept flying in the same direction, he wouldn''t of just get hit once but several times. The spears and arrows flew up so rapidly and constant, that one would think 1,000 Soldiers are underneath. But there are merely above two hundred and more just kept coming.


    Behind Eric was Mogranius who kept blasting fire out of his mouth which reaches the arrows and spears right away and burns off the sharp tips before they even reached Eric. He had to do it several times until they reached a distance away from the radius of the Spearmen, and did it less while they were still in the Radius of the Archers. It seems like there aren''t enough archers underneath them yet.


    The first rounds of shots were nothing compared to the second. This time, the situation got more dangerous. Over 50 Catapults appeared on the scene. Archers can no longer reach the group, but what about Catapults?


    This situation was exactly like a two men versus an army situation. Eric and Mogranius kept flying higher hoping to fly away from danger, not knowing that over 50 Catapults are getting ready to shoot. Also, Fire can''t simply burn a large rock equally fast to flesh. One they can handle, maybe even 10. But 50? No no this situation keeps getting worse.


    "Shoot!" Yelled the Guard Commaner of the Catapult operator Platoon. Only 50 Catapults require 100 people to operate them, so a Platoon could never reach 100 Catapults, good thing too. The odds of boulders hitting each other were too great in numbers that high. One Catapult after the other, Boulders kept meeting the sky in such a synchronized way that one would think of this as a huge automatic weapon.


    Noticing the Danger when he gave a quick glance, he had to act fast because the boulders approaching are faster. Eric threw Stefan on the air a bit, bursted out fire out of his hand which shortly transformed and shaped much like a bear claw. With that claw he caught Stefan and without waiting long he threw Stefan far far away in speeds that made it impossible for Stefan to open his eyes and view the scenery. Which was better for him, he would hate it anyway due to the thought of death overwhelming him.


    Stefan was set on fire just a little bit but he was flying towards the sky so fast that the back part of his clothes that caught on fire a second earlier, got shut down in a split second. The fire got shut down but Stefan''s speed wasn''t.


    While Mogranius kept flying towards the sky with no signs of stopping, Eric stopped in mid air. He turned upside down, opened his arms wide and spiraled on the spot blasting fire out of his palms and forming yet another tornado as he flew down, ultimately forming an upside down tornado.


    This tornado sucked in the boulders shot by the ill.u.s.tratian Catapulters like a sponge. If the shots were out of the Tornado''s physical reach, the Tornado sucked it in and blasted it downwards, those who were to far away lost their momentum and started flying down again, making the Boulders hit the ill.u.s.tratio ran kingdom. He used their weapons against them, destroying tens of houses and giving anyone hit by the boulders, no chance of survival. What an embarrassment for the Capital Kingdom of Occidentis Ignis.


    Without waiting for the ill.u.s.tratio to shoot the third round Eric stopped spinning, turned right side up and with a downward hand moving pose he made the inverted Tornado fly in lighting speed towards the hard ground of Crutal Kingdom.


    When the fire Tornado met the ground it spread around everywhere. Transforming into a shape much like a large piece of wheat dough falling from a high distance. As satisfying it was to see, it was beyond equally as dangerous. Apart from burning 1/6 of the Kingdom, it caused an earthquake. Enough to shake the entire Kingdom hard enough to leave the ill.u.s.tratio dumbfounded. While the ill.u.s.tratio used tens of seconds to analyze what just happened, Eric headed towards the sky.


    Shortly after Eric saw Stefan falling down from the sky and screaming at a high pitched voice. Much like a lady. Fortunately Eric caught him and the gang flew away from the Crutal Kingdom, leaving the fruits and vegetables behind, but what else was missing?


    After an hour or so of flying, they seem to have escaped the ill.u.s.tratio''s view and successfully hid from them using the large forest as a mist. They landed on the woods where no ill.u.s.tratio or other race could see them. The only people who could discover them would be passing animal hunters or Lumberjacks. But they are rare to see.


    "We just escaped that insane situation in one piece. Is everyone alright?" Mogranius was staggered of what just happened an hour ago. In fact he kept getting staggered ever since he met these people.


    Stefan replies while rolling his eyes


    "Apart from the fact that Eric tossed me far far off of the ground, I''m alright. I handled it perfectly."


    "Of course you did, we could tell by your high pitched voice when you were falling down." Laughed Woldemir loud with his hand above his chest but calmed down and added "Still you showed great bravery old friend. You left everything behind to join us. There is fight in you. I can sense a brave warrior in you urging to fight for what''s right. I sense that spirit in you. Instead of kissing the clearly superior ill.u.s.tratio''s boots, you broke free, every man and woman true to themselves can respect your deed."


    "It definitely wasn''t easy to leave everything behind like that. I worked for what i had my entire life. But someone has to step up and fight. I can''t wait for a miracle to happen." He expressed with constant sighs.


    "But it actually did." Exclaimed Mogranius as his eyes widened in excitement. "Eric, the fire power you unleashed back there was astonishing. I never thought that I would have the opportunity to witness such raw earth trembling power again so soon. You give me hope kid."

 Chapter 10 - The 8 Kinds of Power

    "I meant to ask, how and why am i this powerful?" Asked Eric feeling bewildered with his face portraying a "lost in thoughts look" I mean why wouldn''t he be confused. Yesterday he had no powers at all, like none! And today he faced against hundreds of ill.u.s.tratios. Coming back to reality, taking a bit of time to form the best sentence without mumbling, he added "Did you see what i just did to those ill.u.s.tratios? I don''t even know how I did it. I just felt full of Adrenaline and It just happened."


    Woldemir looks proudly at Eric, seeing a warrior. He didn''t see a normal defenseless kid anymore. He saw an all powerful warrior.


    He saw a fighter. And of course he didn''t see a kid who just caused a mass Genocide. Compared to how many people the ill.u.s.tratios killed over the past 200 years, this was nothing but a bite sized revenge.


    Woldemir tried to form the best sentence to break the news gently. This can come in quite as a shock. Is it everyday to be told that one is the Electus? He needs to do a careful approach. "Eric. Mogranius discovered something unique about you. You are a Wizard, yes. But not a normal one."


    "What do you mean by that?" Asked Eric feeling perplexed as his cheeks raising up made his eyes close a bit in confusion.


    "Eric, you see the black veins running down your hand? Only one person has those veins. Electus." His tone shook as he reached the end of his sentences. It wasn''t easy to say. This is a tremendous moment. The discovery of the new Electus.


    "What''s an Electus?" The deal was indeed big. But Eric still had no idea how powerful he really is. And it isn''t surprising. If it wasn''t for Mogranius, Woldemir wouldn''t understand the severity of this situation either.


    "Eric, you have been chosen to wield eight overwhelming powers. What other Wizards would take decades to learn you could learn it in months, weeks or even days. You have the power to change the fate of many."


    "I...I.."


    Without letting Eric speak, noticing his shock, Mogranius took charge of the conversation. He grabbed Eric by the shoulders, focused an unbreakable glare and added


    "Indeed. Eric, The ill.u.s.tratios invaded our country, their army is getting bigger by the day. Who knows when they will strike another continent. These foul beings are obsessed with power. They will end whoever opposes them. But you! You have the chance to end their ways." Finishing his sentences, the grip he had on Eric''s shoulders became tighter unintentionally. The severity of this hell of a situation in the overall Continent is no joke, this at least would help Eric realise better. He doesn''t have to speak and convince everyone that he is capable to make them feel at ease. All he needs to do is try. Actions speak louder than words after all. One can speak all day long how brave and strong he or she is, but how would they face against a Source Bear?


    "This is a lot to take in." Staring at the ground before his feet, he didn''t know what to say. He felt Bewildered. But he knew one thing, he is willing to fight. Trying his best to form a sentence without mumbling, he spoke "I don''t know how will i do it, but if i am as powerful as you say i am, the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance will fall by my hands."


    Mogranius let''s go of Eric''s shoulders which made Eric feel instant relief afterwards. Looking at Eric proudly he replies with "I missed hearing an attitude like that. You remind me of Akareas. She was so brave, so courageous. She looked death in the eye without blinking or looking back. She destroyed anything that would hurt the innocent. You have her attitude. I''m sure with your help we will cleanse this land."


    "I will do anything to free this land but i need training. Did you see that man back on Crutal Kingdom? He avoided my fire strikes without even moving. Tell me more about being the Electus. This is so new to me, I need to know more in order to win." And he was right. Whoever that man was, he seemed rather invincible. Yet Eric just scratched the surface of his own powers.


    Looking at Eric, Mogranius starts speaking with a dead serious voice. Which both grabbed all of Eric''s attention and didn''t let him interrupt. Eric wouldn''t interrupt even if Mogranius wasn''t so serious. He prefers to listen more and speak less. Worked wonders for him but he always felt like an outcast. Never able to fit in with the crowd. But how could he fit in? All they do is gossip, men and women, the same. He can''t relate to them, therefore having it hard to start any topic with them because they would start backbiting this person, then the other and then the other, Eric would just feel left behind in the Gossip. He isn''t used to it, he can''t keep up.


    "The Electus blood flows through your veins. You wield eight different types of magical powers while other Wizards can only wield one. With enough training, you can master all eight."


    "I have the power to wield all eight? I don''t even know what those eight can be. So far i only know that fire Controlling, mind control and Teleportation exists. Which are the rest?"


    "These are the eight powers you will need to learn. Each one will aid you sooner or later. Be it in battle, striking a deal, or ruling a Kingdom. Training Teleportation for example, will raise your intelligence. But however, let''s list the eight: Lava Controlling, The only known Lava Controllers come from the Calidum Lutum Race. If blasting lava towards an opponent won''t do the trick, they can use their massive body strength. Legend has it, they are 10 feet tall. They strive for peace, self control. However they strived for it because their civilization lacked it. So it is always best to not mess with them."


    "Hey, I would take no chances to mess with them either." Added Stefan. In life he wasn''t always the bravest. He always chose to evade danger instead of facing it head on like a madman. At least, that''s his point of view. His life mattered more than proving to people something he doesn''t feel like matches him.


    "We all know that buddy." Added Woldemir in both aims to try and let Mogranius continue, and show to Stefan that he didn''t just get ignored.


    However, let''s continue with Fire Controlling/Manipulating. We Fire Controllers are considered love wolves. Unlike the Lava Controllers who are known to work together, forming an unbreakable defense, we solely rely on our own individual abilities. The lack of teamwork is what likely steered our race into such a tragedy. The second reason, could be rage. Us Fire Controllers are known to be hot headed. Or dare i say, dumb brave. When Rage overwhelms us, we let our Guard down and face the consequences because of it. You need to consider rage from now. Try your best to avoid it."


    "Oh that wouldn''t be a problem." Interrupted Woldemir and for the first time throughout this journey, he spoke with confidence when Eric was the topic. "My son has been quiet his entire life. Rage, doesn''t suit him."


    "Oh believe me, it will. It is hard to explain, especially since I barely experienced it myself. But rage, simply roams in our blood. If he doesn''t have any rage now, he will later when tasks will get harder. However. Moving on, Super Speed."


    "What! I can also master SuperSpeed?" Yelled Eric in shock and excitement. Solely because he didn''t even know that people with Super Speed powers even existed. And now he has the chance to master it.


    "Indeed. The Molarians, are a civilization known for their super speed, but most importantly, patience. The Grand Masters of Super Speed have the patience to withstand any hardship. Imagine having the power to travel Kilometers in seconds. Would you stand still?"


    "I guess not. But can you tell just the names of the rest. I feel really tired. We need a place to rest soon."


    "Oh that is just because of your stamina. I will tell you about it later. But sure, the rest of the eight are: Teleportation, Healing powers, Mind Control, Freezing powers, And Flying. With these powers all mastered, you are practically invincible. You are lucky that you have Fire Power as your main power. That''s what saved all of us back at Crutal Kingdom.Akareas had Mind Control as her main power, sort of odd how she ended up in Ignis."


    "So much power in my hand. How do i learn all of those. We are in the middle of a war, we have no time to waste. Not to mention all other Witches and Wizards in Ignis are gone. You are able to teach me more about my Fire Power. What about the rest?" Asked Eric in concern. The Burden already got to him.


    "Eric, I''m not going to lie to you. This isn''t going to be easy. Not at all. Even a fully trained all powerful Electus can''t face against an entire continent and win. We need a battle plan indeed." Mogranius said while thinking something else and added


    "Also that invincible man you faced on the Crutal Kingdom is more powerful than you think. He was manipulating fire. Whatever shot you took against him, he would protect himself simply by using his mind. He would guide the fire in other ways. Away from him that is. To be able to do that, one would need to be a Grand Master of Fire Controlling.


    "Meaning he is a Wizard himself. It''s so pathetic how one Wizard killed so many other Wizard and Witches for power. This war isn''t going to be easy to end but I''m willing to try."


    "Indeed we will. But you don''t get my point. I have never seen a fire Wizard as powerful as him. Even Akareas wouldn''t be able to match his fire powers. He is a greater threat than we think. But you have one other upper advantage against that beast. Or may I say six. Seven if you consider teleportation. But teleportation is way too dangerous. Every Electus who tried it, ended up with foul results. Let''s not even consider normal Wizards and Witches. They are never to be heard off again if they try teleportation spells."


    "Meaning this man is more powerful than a normal Witch or Wizard. Even if i Master all powers, we shall not underestimate this man who faced me, He looked quite invincible.


    And as dangerous Teleportation powers are, i must find more about it. Maybe I can learn how to tame such raw unstable power."


    "A lot of people have fallen because of the poison of underestimation. We shall not be one of them. Teleportation is raw, unstable, dangerous, insane. But you have a chance to wield it without it being the end of you. You see your black veins, eight veins spread like branches. Those eight veins symbolize your eight magical powers." Glaring at Eric with the most serious face he added "Those veins are your source of power. There is so much power piled up in those veins. The fate of the earth depends on how you use your powers. This of course means that it is possible to use teleportation powers. You have the ability but you must be careful."


    "This is so much to take in. I will do my best to fulfill my duties as the Electus. But how did i end up with such power? My dad isn''t a Wizard." Then suspicion arose in Eric''s mind. turning towards his father he says


    "Father. Was my mother a Witch?"

 Chapter 11 - The truth behind Erics Mother

    Hearing that Eric specifically asked about his mother, Woldemir''s heart sunk in burden and anxiety was making his collar feel tighter. But after what he witnessed, he felt that Eric can be capable of handling the truth. He manhandled hundreds of ill.u.s.tratios. Maybe his heart is strong as well, what''s the worst that can happen?


    "Eric. Your mother was rather unique.


    We tried to hide that fact from the world before, but somehow... those god forsaken ill.u.s.tratios found out."


    As Mogranius sunk further into explanation, recalling this big burden in his life made a moment feel like a day. If it''s hard for Eric who doesn''t even know anything, how hard would it be for Woldemir who carried this burden for 15 years?


    "What did they find out?" Eric knew that everyone was looking at him, and usually he prefers to be a shadow, in the background, unseen. But he reached to a situation where he has to put his social anxiety aside, ignore the eyes looking at him and listen. He had to focus on what his father is saying, the topic is rather sensitive.


    "One night, i woke up to flames and smoke. Those ill.u.s.tratios found out that your mother is... a Witch." Letting out that information felt like an old burden was being lifted off of Woldemir, and replaced by a new one, probably even heavier.


    Able to put two and two together due to the stories he heard from other kids about witches, a tear drops down from his eye, flows down his cheek and gently landed on the ground underneath him. Having it hard to utter any word, with his upper lip quaking and his eyes shining in tears he is trying to hold back, he finds what it takes to ask a question.


    "So tho.. those bastards killed my mother? They bu... burned her? They burned my mother?" Asking that question, made him lose control of his feelings. What started from one tear, continued with several tears rolling down one after the other with no sign of stopping. He was close to a mental breakdown, but he stood strong in front of other eyes.


    "Yes. It''s hard to tell you this but the ill.u.s.tratios killed your mother. In Fact they tried to kill all three of us." Grabbing Eric by the shoulders to show comfort while telling the story, he continues with the hardest to hear part. "I woke up to flames and smoke but i wasn''t on my bed. The smoke put me in a deep sleep. The smoke didn''t take down your mother though. When i was awake she already dragged me all the way through the room and threw me out of the bedroom window."


    Feeling the warm presence of his father, his tongue felt lighter and his tears dropped less. Able to still think logically even after considering the bundle of emotions, he asks an obvious question. "But at this rate she should of survived along with us. She was a Fire Controller after all! How did she..."


    "Right after I woke up, I crawled up on the window and saw your mother approaching with three month old you on her arms. But... right after she handed you to me, the building... collapsed. Almost half of the house collapsed as the support beams that held up the walls, burned and broke. Your mother got crushed under the collapse." Taking a deep breath to relieve his stress, Woldemir added "That is how your mother, Isabel. Died."


    The skin around Eric''s eyes becomes more red by the second due to all the tears that have dropped from his eyes. But this, it was the final blow he needed to reach a mental breakdown. "So it is my fault. It''s because of me she couldn''t escape in time? Because of me she got crushed by that burning house? She died while rescuing me!"


    Woldemir shouts from the top of his lungs. "Neither you or I or your mother are to blame. If those bastards didn''t lit the house on fire, none of this would have happened. The ill.u.s.tratio are to blame. Right after the building collapsed, I''ve heard them yelling "Burn. Burn you wicked witch. The ill.u.s.tratios rule this Country. We rule everything. We are superior. Magical beings have no place here. BURN!" That voice has been haunting me ever since. It has been haunting me for fifteen years straight Eric."


    Reaching to the point where Eric can''t think straight anymore, he let out his anger through shouting! "VENGEANCE! VENGEANCE has to be taken towards those bastards. I will burn their entire Kingdom to the ground. My mother''s blood will never be left to dry on the ground."


    Trying his best to comfort Eric, he let''s go of Eric''s shoulders and pulls him into a hug. The warmth of a father''s hug removed half of the Burden Eric started carrying today from this topic. Indeed it was great, and he likely didn''t experience it for a long time due to the distance he kept from his father. But now he feels like a fool to do so, all Woldemir tried to do was protect him. "Indeed we will take Vengeance. I loved your mother more than anything in my life, do you think that i will simply leave her blood to dry on the ground? She completed me." Letting go of the hug and grabbing one of Eric''s shoulders lightly, he continues under a rather more lighter tone after taking a deep breath. "Eric, my son. We have a chance to fight back. We have the chance to free this land. We have the chance to take Vengeance in the name of many families whom died in the hands of these beasts. But they all have the date and time. First we need to find that teleportation book.


    I think that''s how Akareas was in contact with the Electus before her. We need as much help as we can get. And who would help better than another Electus?"


    Knowing the importance of this new task, he still felt very uncomfortable to proceed with it after what he saw in Crutal Kingdom. "But you saw that man or beast or whatever he was. He was too powerful to beat. Even compared to my powers, he is far beyond stronger. Even if i burst in the castle and shoot at everything, he will beat me."


    Feeling the appropriate time to jump in the conversation, when he saw that the Father and Son talk became lighter, Mogranius interrupts. "Eric. We won''t be bursting in. We can use smoke to become invisible. At your rate it will only take a moment to learn. We will go in and out of the Castle without being noticed by anyone."


    Hearing the word "invisibility using smoke", Eric felt quite mazed. But he will understand what Mogranius meant sooner or later. "In that case we do have a chance to find something." A thought popped up on Eric''s mind, concerning the one thing everyone seemed to have forgotten about. Rather acceptable considering that they were chased from a goddamn army in Crutal Kingdom. "But for now where will we stay? Going to our house is far too dangerous. Chances are they already burned it down. Speaking of houses, father. If we lost everything in that fire, how did you buy that Farmhouse?"


    Hearing that question, it was Stefan''s time to shine, again. "Actually, that farmhouse is originally mine. I let your father live in it with you. It was the least I can do. I wanted to help more but i already was paying outrageous taxes to the ill.u.s.tratios even back then." But yet again even though it is his time to shine, he chose to show admiration towards Woldemir. Talk about being selfless. "You and your father are lucky to be alive. Even after being weakened down from the smoke, he travelled from one Continent to the other without a Gold Coin in his pocket to escape the madness. It took him weeks. It''s not easy to travel without a horse."


    But Eric still couldn''t ignore the bundle of good deeds Stefan did, Eric sticked to thanking him. "Stefan. From the beginning you helped us a lot. You were like our Guardian Angel. And today you stood up against ill.u.s.tratios." Trying to tell a joke to lighten the mood, he added" I don''t regret at all for not letting you fall when I tossed you." But Stefan mentioning horses before, made Eric realize another fact. He first looked around to make sure his question is worth asking. But he found no horse in sight. "Speaking of horses. I think we left BlackWind back at Crutal Kingdom."


    "Oh no."


    "Well we can''t carry a horse."


    "Looks like we didn''t leave him there after all."


    After that they see BlackWind running through the woods braking branch after branch and bush after bush. A six foot tall half a ton horse would leave landmarks like that easily. But they all were happy that BlackWind made it. He is part of the family after all. Now all of the Gang members are together.


    The moment BlackWind reached them(with an ill.u.s.tratio guard''s helmet tangled on his hair), they were all happy to see BlackWind in one piece. And all of them ran towards the beautiful horse, and rubbed his fur and with big smiles on their faces they kept repeating.


    "HaHa that''s our horse."


    "That''s our beauty."


    "He is our soldier."


    "The ill.u.s.tratio he ran over will have nightmares."


    "If he is alive that is."


    "He is a good boy."


    "A good strong boy."


    But apart from all the compliments BlackWind got, he turned towards Woldemir and blew his hot nose air on Woldemir''s face in an angry manner. He didn''t like how he got left behind. Horses got feelings too, but loyalty even more.


    "I know boy. It was unfair to leave you behind. But we were all lucky to escape alive. I knew you can handle yourself enough to escape from that hellhole." Talked Woldemir to the horse as he rubbed the fur on the horses belly.


    BlackWind yet again blows hot air through his nose towards Woldemir''s face and walks away. Not far away though. Just a few feet apart from the gang to chew on a bush.


    "Well since the whole gang''s here, how about we move on?" Pointed out Woldemir but met himself seeing many perplexed faces.


    "Move on? Move on to where? We can''t live under a bush."


    "A moon away(30 km) is the underground town of an extinct race. The town is called Lan Zhe. Their race was called "Calidum Lutum". They were able to control lava. A small population though. Their underground town is mostly dirt and rock, but it leads to a stunning underground Volcano." Explaining where they are going, everyone but Stefan weren''t able to catch up and thought that Mogranius was talking straight fiction.


    "A race like that actually exists?"


    "Well i can see why their race included a small population. Who would want to live underground?" Pointed out Woldemir. "But still. How did they go extinct? Did the ill.u.s.tratio kill them?"


    "No No. Actually they went extinct thousands of years ago. When our Continent Ignis, was one. War followed when certain Kingdoms wanted their own "independent land".


    Even though they wanted that land to build an army to force more land under their name. That is how our Continent has four Countries now. Back then it used to be all one. The Calidum Lutums disappeared right after the war started." Its probably not the wisest idea for Mogranius to stop the group here and tell a story while Soldiers are probably being sent to hunt them down. But hey, education is important. "Which is hard to explain why they disappeared. Because they controlled Lava and were even ten foot tall. They weren''t defenseless either way. They were gone so long that everyone assumed they went extinct after a few centuries passed."


    "It is terrifying how many civilizations war destroyed. I will do everything in my power to stop this war. War destroyed a Civilization who sounds so extraordinary. I would''ve loved to learn more and more about them." Hearing what Eric had to say, Woldemir felt dumbfounded. There are three things that Eric hates, ill.u.s.tratios, learning and reading. Is he really his son?


    "It is a shame that they all died but in our case their home is our roof now. And since that race went extinct so long ago, I doubt that anyone would look for us there." Giving a smirk after, Stefan continued. "An ill.u.s.tratio is far too arrogant to know the location of such unique ex civilization."


    "Indeed. But we won''t reach there by talking. Let''s get moving, the ill.u.s.tratio could be by our tail." Pointed out Mogranius yet again grabbing the attention of the group.


    "And no flying this time. We might get spotted. It''s not an everyday scene for these people to see flying men. They would notice us. Also, last and most importantly, BlackWind can''t fly."


    "Ok then, I can''t argue with that logic. To the underground town named Lan Zhe we go."

 Chapter 12 - Lan Zhe. The once great Underground Town!

    After a long while of travelling through the thick forest which branched widely through the Continent, the gang reached their destination. Even though they had to convince BlackWind to stop chewing on random bushes along the way and the fact that they camped a night in this dense forest, they still reached it.


    The great underground town of Lan Zhe. The entrance wasn''t eye catching at all. It just looked like an entrance to a normal cave. Any hunter could pass by this cave without knowing it''s accurate origin. That''s how long ago these "Calidum Lutum" disappeared.


    The entrance was just ten foot wide and six foot tall. Even BlackWind was able to touch the top of the cave with his head, which he enjoyed rather a lot since it felt like a soothing massage on his head. Tiny rocks causing a bump in the way made it feel even better. Although he didn''t mean to get a dirty head. Not dirty as in, evil minded. But Literally dirty.


    Looking at what was in front of him, Eric wasn''t so amused. He wasn''t sure what to expect but he didn''t expect the cave to feel so, Blank! "This is the great town of Lan Zhe? Seems quite ordinary to me."


    Mogranius was here before, it is a great place for meditation. Let''s say, he can connect with spirits here better. So hearing what Eric had to say, he was rather triggered but understood what he meant. This place is indeed blank but Mogranius got confused about what more Eric expected? Giving Eric a glare, Mogranius spoke "This town is thousands of years old. Tens of Centuries have passed ever since the Calidum Lutum race disappeared. It''s a miracle that this cave is actually still standing." Remembering that Eric is still a kid who doesn''t quite understand the importance of relics, Mogranius calmed down. He took a deep breath and continued Never mind that. This is our roof for now. Let''s proceed to go inside. But everyone, watch where you step. I haven''t been here for 200 years and can Guarantee the stability of this cave."


    Mogranius entered first, and forming into a single line, the gang followed after him. Now expecting less from this cave, they felt bewildered when they came to the fact that this small entrance led to a wider opening, big enough for everyone in there to have personal space. Of course there aren''t fancy dining tables inside, fancy beds or grade A food. But it provided protection from mother nature''s elements. But apart from the cave reaching 8 meters wide, that was all it. There was only one short tunnel on the end of the cave leading to a dead end. That tunnel was barely 3 meters long but one can find more warmth there. September started anyway, soon the weather will become to cold to handle, warmth is one thing they need, but it will likely not be a big problem with 2 Fire Controllers in their arsenal. They can use their abilities to dry wet wood so they can maintain a fire, or if all other options aren''t available, a small ongoing fire on their palms would help defy hypothermia.


    The Tunnel was probably longer before, but a Century after the other likely shook the tunnel down. Or could it be something else, the history of the Calidum Lutum is so rare to come upon. It isn''t certain. Is this dead end the work of time or the work of a 10 foot tall individual? Even if there is something on the other side of the tunnel, such as rare artifacts, gold or any creature. It''s impossible to go through it without shaking the whole cave down. So it''s best for this tunnel to be left at peace.


    Trying his best to show gratitude after looking around for a bit, him being a man of knowledge able to appreciate such a relic of a cave, Stefan decided to break the silence by saying. "Well. It ain''t a vacation home but it''s better than staying outside on the unpredictable weather and arrows aren''t flying over our heads so it''s a win win. This place looks quite hidden. No one will find us here."


    With Stefan''s statements as a base, Woldemir considered the essentials a mile more. Trying to recall what he saw near the cave a while ago, he formed an idea. "I agree with you Stefan, but we still need to get a fire going. And by that i mean a campfire. Not a fireball."


    "Yes i agree, i didn''t experience the most comfortable sleep last night. I''d love to stay around a warm fire if i have to sleep on Branch Beds again." Usually choosing to listen to what the rest require, instead of forming a strong long lasting conversation, Eric could not help but add his thoughts to this part. Shivering a bit in the midnight cold last night, he has a point of reference.


    "Making a few beds out of branches and leaves isn''t a bad idea either. Unless any of you prefer the cold dirty ground." Added Mogranius in a pure form of sarcasm. Is he getting more open to them, or didn''t they ever have the time for Mogranius to be sarcastic?


    "Both ideas sound great. Let''s get this over with quickly. I do not want to work all day after walking all day." Told Stefan in a tiresome tone. Him basically being the second least physically fit man in the group, gives him complications when he has to walk or work like this in a long period of time. He''d rather be surrounded by books, sitting on a comfortable chair. But yet again he isn''t lazy to work for his survival. What moron wouldn''t work for that?


    Not taking a lot of time to collect enough firewood, due to the forest being intensively dense The gang managed to get a Campfire going in no time. The time being 6pm, made them feel the heat even more and no doubt appreciate it. Now at least they won''t need to risk getting hypothermia like they took that huge risk last night.


    Making the beds out of branches and big leaves took a bit more time, especially considering that they had to shake ants and various other insects from the big leaves, which took a bit of time. No one could sleep at peace with ants crawling over the skin. Making the beds was hard, but trying to stop BlackWind from eating them in the meantime was even harder, very challenging but doable. They even made a round bed for BlackWind to sleep on, but he ate it. So no one had the energy to make another one, especially now when they were certain on what happens to his bed. After they were done with everything which took 2 hours to complete, they all passed out. All of them are dead tired and most fell asleep right away.


    They thought they were alone, and the cave seemed quite empty as well when they arrived there, and remained empty while they were working around the place. They didn''t encounter any wild animal thankfully. Not that it would be a problem to handle them, just that they don''t have the energy to do an extra task. They feel like they are going to collapse.


    No one but the five was in the cave. But still, Eric heard noises whispering to him. Voices that no living being would dare to doo. No outsider would dare to do something so bold towards a group of people, and none of the other 3 has the energy too. So what could it be? Mogranius did have a better "spiritual" connection here, maybe?


    It whispered a few times and stopped after. You would think it''s the wind. But the wind can''t form a sentence. The wind isn''t nearly the source of the mysterious voice breaking Eric''s well deserved comfortable sleep.


    Eric ignored the voice as he was dead tired, at this point he wouldn''t stand up even if the world ends. And since the voice disappeared, he picked to fall asleep as it sounded the most reasonable. The voice is gone, it could of been an effect to being highly exhausted, who knows! He didn''t have the energy to think about it. His eyes were burning for sleep.


    But after he fell asleep, the voice came back. Stronger, louder, something that would push an aware and awake person through Oscitation. That voice moved from his ears to his dreams. Every dream started off randomly, and ended up with a black and golden spheric cloud repeating foreign words. He didn''t understand a thing but it sure gave him discomfort. He was sweating as if all the Black Wolves of Ignis were chasing him as the sheep.


    The voice repeated a few words. Mysterious indeed. And undoubtedly spooky. But the language still remained unknown by Eric no matter how much that, thing repeated it.


    "Graza Ho Dofet."


    "Graza Ho Dofet."


    "Graza Ho Dofet."


    Those three words were repeated on Eric''s dream so much that he woke up with those words completely memorized and soaked in his own sweat. He woke up to the rising sun shining on Mogranius a few feet away from Eric. The voice disappeared along with the darkness as if the sun was its enemy.


    He saw Mogranius mediating, feeling the gentle rays of the sun on his face and clothes, breathing air in and letting it out. Seated still, clearly mediating. Not surprising to see though. Considering the fact that he is a Wizard, this looks normal. But the fact that he woke up so early to meditate after such a tiresome day, it is just fascinating.


    Standing on his feet, and grabbing his shirt with his thumb and first fingers, he shook some sweat from himself and approaches Woldemir. "There was this voice in my dream, Repeating these same three words.


    Over and over. What do you think this means?"


    Mogranius while still remaining on his meditation pose replies with "I expected for something like that to happen. Especially here. You are the new Electus and we are here in an ancient place of which lava shooting ten foot tall man(and women) beasts used to live in. It''s not hard to put two and two together and expect this or to not be surprised. Chances of this place being haunted are large, and believe me i saw more than you can imagine here. It is not empty."


    Hearing what Mogranius had to say, Eric was shaken to the core with fear and wished for Mogranius to not be so truthful in the first place. What is he thinking to talk about ghosts to a fifteen year old who was possibly bothered by one last night?


    Seeing that Eric was practically paralyzed due to Mogranius speaking nuttily(mildly insane) sentences, he chose to break the silence. "What were those three words Eric?"


    "Graza Ho Dofet" i heard that over and over in my dream. All night long. When I finally thought that i will get a good night''s rest." Replied Eric finding it hard to form sentences without mumbling due to the minor trauma.


    "Interesting. I do not know what that means but this language sounds familiar. Although I don''t see this situation as a threat, why don''t you join me and meditate. It might help you sort this out, clear your mind. You might be able to find answers to your own questions, or to ones you didn''t ask yet." With the birds chirping, the ambience remain calm along with Mogranius'' voice, it is a rather great place for meditation. The ambience is just set into place for this.


    Without hesitation, Eric sits down and mimics Mogranius. He seated himself in the same position Mogranius did. But what now?


    "Its not working. What am I supposed to expect or do?"


    Mogranius replies with a rough voice


    "MEDITATE." Sounds of birds panicky flying off of branches were heard from the outside after. Mogranius has Vocational meditation skills, but Eric isn''t experineded, at all!


    "I am. But i''m only breathing. I breathe all the time. What''s the point."


    "Then you are doing it wrong. The point is to focus on your breathing. Let go of everything else. Let go of your thoughts. Like the dirt here who is dedicated to be firm and one with the cave, your dedication should be to stop thinking and start listening."


    "Alright. But what should i listen too?"


    "THE CAVE!!!" BlackWind stood up in panic, glared from left to right quickly, scanning the territory for danger. But he saw nothing. He blew air out of his nose, assumed it was nothing and fell back asleep. Not knowing that Mogranius is the one that spooked him.


    Eric stops talking and does as he was told(finally). And even though he had a hard time meditating, in about an hour or so(just about when he almost snapped), he actually manages to meditate hard enough to "listen to the cave." Listening to even the smallest grain of dirt. Aware of his surroundings. He finally partially understood what Mogranius tried to say.


    This cave is one. Each thing in it makes the cave the way it is. From small to big, be it dirt or rock, makes this cave one. If one grain of dirt falls from the top, that grain is not lost. It is still a piece of dirt. It has a purpose, a purpose to be one with the cave. And the bottom of the cave will be there to catch it. Everyone or Everything has a purpose.


    The ground is hard but it''s not bottomless and the ground offers much trees to climb on. Like the cave floor caught the dirt grain that fell from the top, Eric''s purpose is to catch  the innocent and helps them up. He is the floor that prevents the innocent from entering a bottomless like suffering. He is the balancer.


    Eric''s meditation was short lasting but in those few moments he tapped in a new understanding of his duties as the Electus. He thought to himself. "It is not just about taking revenge. It is not just about killing the bad.


    It''s also about defending the good. Defending the innocent. Defending what''s right. It''s not just about striking. Defending should be considered too. There should be a good balance between them both or what difference do we have from those who harmed us?"


    Although Eric managed to tap into a new world of understanding, his patience however did not improve. He brakes the deep meditation Mogranius was in to by shouting


    "I GOT IT" (He woke up the rest of the gang too, apparently his shout is stronger than Mogranius''.)


    "This better be good." Having his mediation completely broken, he at least hopes now that it was for a good cause.


    "I understand balance. It isn''t always about striking, is it? It isn''t always about revenge. Protecting what''s left is the way to go as well."


    "Indeed. Like I tried to protect the little meditation i finally managed to tap in too."


    "You have to be sarcastic, do you?


    Anyway, i''m glad i took some time to stop and listen. Sort of hard to do with all of these events going on all at once. But it was worth it."


    (Stefan would say something too but he loves his beauty sleep and fell back asleep shortly after Eric unreasonably woke them up. Who wouldn''t?)


    "To be honest, I didn''t ever expect that I would guide two Electuses in my life. And i didn''t at all expect to time travel at this hell hole. But if destiny brought me here, I will do anything in my power to help you free this land. I found my purpose."


    "Yes yes you are very lucky. We should perhaps call you The Chosen One. You were Chosen to guide two all powerful warriors."


    Mogranius replies with a mocking tone "Indeed. Very powerful."


    Eric says "Was that Sarcasm? Again?"


    "This still didn''t solve the spirit problem, interesting."

 Chapter 13 - Levels of Magic

    Seeing that his meditation was completely broken, having it rather difficult to tap into it again. Mogranius sighed so hard that his head was moving forward, closer and closer to the ground even though he was sitting. After sighing, he stood on his feet in a split second, deciding to do something else which is productive. Training! "Let''s get started with the first lesson, Eric." Looking at Eric with a devious face he couldn''t help asking. "Do you want to know how to become invisible to the human eye or any eye in that case, using only smoke." Indeed what Mogranius just pushed out of his mouth is crazy, even highly illogical. But yet again he did travel 200 years into the future. So this man can be full of surprises.


    "How is that even possible? Do we cause a huge fog or something?" Eric did hear Mogranius mention invisibility through smoke earlier, but no matter how long he thought about it, there were many pieces of the puzzle missing. As if someone made the puzzle pieces "disappear." No matter what, he just couldn''t find a logical explanation for this. But he knew that Mogranius will show him sooner or later so he chose to leave the thought be for now.


    "It''s simple. Or at least it sounds simple. But it isn''t. This is an expert level move, but likely simple for you. Wait, am I making sense?" Puzzled with his own words, it is hard to explain such a move to a child who barely knows anything about Magic.


    "Barely. I only understood the word "simple."" Due to Mogranius mentioning levels, a question arose in Eric''s mind. A question that might temporarily prevent Eric from learning this spell but it was worth asking. It was in the name of knowledge after all. "How many levels are there when it comes to magic?"


    Seeing it as an easy question to answer, he formerly says. "Six." As he raised his hand in front of him showing 5 fingers. A few seconds after he recognized his mistake and embarrassingly raised one more finger in the air to assure that it is 6. "There are six levels, on any kind of magic there is. There are six levels."


    "Do those levels have specific names or do they just go: 1,2,3,4,5,6.?" A rather insightful question for someone who hates reading. Maybe his new powers are changing him? If Woldemir didn''t fall back to sleep, he would be amazed.


    "Of course you can shortly describe them with numbers, but there are specific names for each level which we used in Magic schools." Looking at the sky(cave ceiling) while stroking his chin trying his best to remember the first levels, he got Eric watching a rather interesting show in the break of dawn. "Aaaa right! I remember. Level one is named "Hatchling". Hatchlings are ordered to read tens of books before trying any magic at all.


    They need to understand the basics. The more they know, the safer it is for them. I saw Fire Wizards and Witches blow their fingers off due to how impatient they were." Seeing that Eric got rather uncomfortable from the last sentence, he added in a speed talking sort of way. "But most never blew their fingers off!"


    "In that case, im glad I didn''t do the first level. Both because i don''t want to lose my fingers and of course I don''t want to read a bunch of books." Well this sounds more natural coming from Eric. You would think that books are his greatest enemies, not the ill.u.s.tratios.


    "Yes you got lucky. Or at least you think so. Although you won''t be as lucky when you tap in to the other powers. Even though all magic books are destroyed, I''m sure we can find something for you to read." Seeing Eric''s already weary face, Mogranius got pleased. He will find it amusing when he will make Eric read books. Of course, Eric might get used to it in time, but him finishing his first book or two will be amusing to witness.


    "Sounds like a blast." Expressed Eric with a rather sarcastic tone and intend.


    "Moving on, the second level is called


    "Young Cub". The name represents a Witch or Wizard who didn''t yet give up.((Leaning out towards Eric, raising his hand and placing it in front of his jawline and whispering to Eric''s Ear "This is you.") Rather confusing why he whispered though. What would anyone do with this information?))" Afterwards continuing to speak to a normal tone as he leaned back, he said. "It represents someone eager for more knowledge("This however is not you" he whispered again for some reason). Whoever reaches this level, sinks in to more books. Not in quantity compared to the first set of books. Just more advanced scripts and it takes longer to learn."


    "Is that the level i started off?" Trying his best to catch up with this mildly insane man, he of course had a lot of questions. But before Eric asked one, Mogranius continued with another sentence.


    "No. Not at all. You obviously never finished reading a book before hehe." Added Mogranius in sarcasm, but in aims to prove a point as well.


    "Yes yes. Now can you not be sarcastic just for a moment and tell me what level I am?" Catching up to Mogranius was hard enough. But Eric needs to catch up with his sarcasm as well, which is often light and understandable but still causes minor headaches sometimes.


    "You Actually started off at the "Magician" level when you shot that wolf. It is an interesting leap from your side. I didn''t expect you to start with such a level." Stroking his chin again trying to figure out why Eric is so powerful so early, he still had no theory.


    "What level is the Magician level though?" Acting as the barrier who keeps Mogranius from wandering off with his thoughts too far, Eric kept bringing him back with questions he had to ask.


    "Oh right! That is the third level. Students who reached this level were guided to actually do magic. As they were considered responsible and smart enough to cast basic magic spells without blowing off their fingers. Or their hair. Or other people''s hair."


    "That explains the bald spot on top of your head? haha!! So that''s the level I''m at? Level three?"


    Mogranius replies with an irritated face, in aims to throw sarcasm back towards Eric, but a rather stronger one. "Yes Yes an impatient student like you burned my hair. But luckily I didn''t have to guide you through the first two levels. The 8 sources blessed me."


    Looking at Eric who was clearly a bit irritated from Mogranius'' blows of sarcasm, he was pleased and continued with a smile." But you are actually considered an Expert now. You are easily a level four fire Wizard. I mean you already were able to create Fire Tornados. And you didn''t pass out in the process."


    "Wait. I can pass out during fire tornadoes?" Eric got in shock. Imagine a soul sucking Fire Tornado running wild while Eric is passed out, unconscious What would his fate be?


    "Yes. Your powers are actually based on your stamina too, i''m not even kidding this time. The more you blast, the more stamina you use. I did Fire Tornados before, but I passed out on my first three tries. Accidentally burning down a few houses."


    Wait. You passed out and i didn''t? Looks like the student becomes the teacher." Said Eric with a C.o.c.ky voice which obviously irritated Mogranius. With his eyes unblinking, his lips flat straight and his eyebrows very low, His face was frozen in irritation.


    "You couldn''t teach a dog to bark." Probably the appropriate thing to say to someone who has become a bit over confident. "However, You are the Electus. And you seem to progress on your fire power extraordinarily fast. Which is kinda normal for an Electus, but still a bit too fast. Don''t expect the same on your other powers though. They might take a longer while since they aren''t connected to your outburst of which granted you this level." Being lazy to describe the last two levels in great detail, he swiftly added. "However. The two last levels are Master and Grand Master."


    "So the man in Crutal Kingdom is a Grand Master?" Hearing a little bit earlier that even Mogranius struggled with Fire Tornados, he both felt more confident and less confident. "He is more powerful than both of us when it comes to Fire Power?" Sure Eric is confident that he technically is more powerful than Mogranius. But yet again he isn''t so confident. Eric can''t kill that beast for sure. But even Mogranius can''t kill him? How will they ever be safe if that one eyed madman actually decided to attack?


    "Indeed he is. He is a Grand Master.


    While you and I share the same level.


    But you will surely pass me very soon.


    There are many tricks I can show you which will help you progress." Hearing that, Eric became just a bit more confident. At least he is not having any trouble forming a steady conversation with Mogranius. That''s another way of progress for a boy who has social anxiety. This is mental progress.


    "The more I learn the easier it gets, right?"


    "well not entirely but knowing basic tricks will give you perks when doing advanced magic. If you don''t know the basics, doing the harder ones will be..well, harder. Tihihihihi."


    "Well isn''t that nice to hear!"


    "That outburst you had in Crutal Kingdom happened to every Electus before. But not necessarily on their firepower like you." The fact that Mogranius can push himself through constant mood swings through conversations, and still make sense. Makes one question his mental well being. But also admire it.


    "You mean when my eyes lit up like fire?" Eric didn''t like that at all. His adrenaline was so high that he thought he was going to die from it. It felt like he was doing tens of activities at once that would increase adrenaline. He felt like his blood was flowing on his body way too fast, and he felt like he was going to explode. He will never forget that feeling. But thankfully, outbursts only happen once.


    "Yes. That fire like glow represented your identity. It represented Electus.


    It represented the source of power. The source or shall I say sources where you got your powers."


    "Where do i get my powers?


    Another Electus? My mother?"


    "Well your mother definitely has a connection here but a very small one.


    The raw sources of power representing the eight magical powers that exist, chose you. "ELECTUS" means "The Chosen One". You have been Chosen to wield all eight powers. You are wielding a portion of power from each source."


    "Well that definitely sounds like a hell load of power. Will I be able to handle it all?"


    "That outburst of such raw power tested your ability. Your ability on how well you will handle them.


    And since your own power didn''t destroy you, You handled them quite well. I''m sure the sources are pleased."


    "That outburst was terrifyingly powerful. I don''t even know how I managed to handle all of it. But I''m glad that outburst happened on my fire powers. They proved quite useful against ill.u.s.tratios. And also, who are the sources?"


    "It was indeed powerful. But don''t expect more outbursts.  That is likely the only one you experienced or will experience." Knowing the next sentences will irritate Eric, he smirked and added. "The rest of your powers will be based on your knowledge and practice. And soon you will see that the rest of your powers can prove very useful as well. And the sources. Well that''s a bit complicated."


    Ignoring the fact that he will need to read a bunch of books sooner or later, he sticked to the new topic which interests him rather a lot. "How complicated? I''m eager to know more." Ironically. "Also, what side effects did fire witches and wizards have if "they weren''t ready" apart from obvious hair loss."


    Mogranius replies with a sarcastic tone with sentences that he knew would make Eric feel very uncomfortable. "Oh nothing to serious. Teeth lost due to explosion, a few schools on fire, permanent unhealable burn marks. You know, all the fun stuff. But who knows. A certain mentor might make you experience a few of them."


    Opening his eyes wide, fearing the mildly deranged Fire Controller in front of him, he speedtalked his way out of possible trouble. "Oh that won''t be necessary as I will shut my mouth now. Let''s get a fire going and learn that invisibility spell please."


    "Yes yes good. Also about the source.


    Even though I am not certain who or what the sources are. Akareas knew but she never revealed it. Although I''m a bit sure that it is a non materialistic source, my theory is not "solid" HA!."


    "Wow so funny." He added with sarcasm backed up by a straight face. Whatever the source might be, it does sound like something big. If Akareas discovered it, i''m sure i will as well eventually."


    "Likely yes. But let''s continue with the magic spell."


    Then Mogranius shoots a small fireball(to avoid accidents) on the campfire and gently lights it up. Small hard to see smoke followed shortly after. To Eric it seemed illogical how a grown man would hide on smoke just like that. Can he grab the smoke and drag it along with him? If so, it still can''t help hide each body part perfectly. But of course, Eric being the Electus seemed a bit illogical too so of course anything is possible.


    "See Eric. In order to become invisible, you need to connect with the smoke. You need to be one with it.


    As it was a part of you. Like a part of your body that you can''t simply detach."


    "What the hell is he saying." He thought, but chose to ask a more gentle question. "But how do i do that? I can''t grab the smoke can i?"


    "Well yes and no. The smoke will be around you but you won''t just grab it.


    You need to be one with the smoke. As if you were smoke yourself. Actually you practically become a source of smoke once you connect. So we don''t need to light a campfire when we need to sneak in the Crutal Kingdom if that''s what you were thinking."


    "I do get what you mean. But I still do not understand how I can connect with the actual smoke."


    Seeing Eric obviously having a lot of trouble to catch up, Mogranius figured that the best way for Eric to understand this spell more and more, is for him to glance upon it himself.


    "Watch and learn Child."

 Chapter 14 - The Invisibilty spell

    Mogranius positions his legs wide apart from each other, to the point where he almost looks like he is squatting. Rather interesting to see if you are up for a laugh! He straightens his right arm forward and his left arm straightened down towards the ground. On both of his hands he posed his fingers much like the peace sign but the two fingers were connected to each other.


    The light smoke that was just randomly spreading above the fire, suddenly started maneuvering towards Mogranius. As if he was a smoke magnet. The smoke started twirling around Mogranius and started off with thin grey smoke, and turned thick black once it reached him and started surrounding him, surrounding him much like a "TitanoBoa."


    From a small snake like form, the smoke that surrounded Mogranius kept expanding by the second. After a few moments, it looked like an upside down Tornado of Smoke appeared and Mogranius was in the middle of it. Which made Eric feel uncomfortable even though he technically has experience with Tornados himself. But how dangerous could a Smoke Tornado be? He could not predict so he indeed felt uncomfortable about it just a little bit. But he kept calming himself down by remembering that this spell is being cast by a level 4 Fire Wizard who trained his abilities his entire life. And even after seeing what Mogranius us up to, he still couldn''t see how he will turn invisible by doing that.


    The Tornado like smoke of course did cause light effects that a normal Tornado would doo. Such as drag Eric towards it, cause the dirt in the cave to cause a small fog and of course it shut down the Campfire. Imagine how Eric felt when his grip to the ground became tighter and tighter out of accelerating fear.


    Just before Eric felt that the effects this Tornado is causing would be to much to handle, the Smoke Tornado started deforming, spreading unpredictably in all directions but of course being harmless at the same time and eventually disappeared. But Mogranius did too Disappear. The most interesting fact about this, is that Eric can''t even see smoke anymore. The slight disruption the Tornado caused in the cave almost disappeared as well. The dust formed in the Cave felt like it was forced out by a superior source, claiming this territory as their own.


    You would expect a dark smoke cloud just floating around "hiding" Mogranius, but no. There wasn''t anything to be seen apart from the cave and the two other people sleeping as if nothing happened. BlackWind would be here too, but he went outside a bit earlier to chew on a bush. But most importantly, Mogranius is completely invisible.


    Not able to hold in his laughter due to Eric''s massively bewildered and slightly terrified facial expression, his was heard and a sentence after. "You see Eric, smoke has different forms. From Large impossible to miss smoke, smoke commonly seen on big fires, or buildings being burned down to smoke so light to the part where it''s impossible to see. Just because you can''t see it, doesn''t mean that its not there. Tiny slim bits of smoke are there which just rise towards the sky if left unsupervised." Mogranius of course was describing this spell by using a lot of hands and even feet gestures to portray the best image possible. But who was there to see them? He is currently invisible.


    But apart from all of that knowledge Eric received, he couldn''t resist asking a question which was no doubt less important but also portrayed what Eric looked forward to the most, doing things that appear to be more interesting for him as a 15 year old. You can put two and two together! He likes things that look "cooler". "So can you actually make the smoke more visible if you wanted too?"


    Letting out a big 15 second sigh and palming his forehead, Mogranius barely even found the energy to answer to such question. But he still found a way to answer the question, and make this kid a bit smarter. "Yes. When performing this spell, you are the source of smoke after it is successfully casted. You can toggle how visible the smoke is. From Tiny impossible to see smoke to this."


    After finishing his sentence, the crystal clear air in the cave, turned so foggy that you would think a village is set on fire inside the cave. It was impossible to even see your fingers even if you place them an inch in front of your eyes, if you can open your eyes that is! "I wonder how much Stamina this would consume." He thought to himself for a second before he started coughing from the bottom of his lungs in such a force that you would think he can close a door with his cough.


    The Smoke all came from one source of course, Mogranius. But is it physically possible for Mogranious to spread himself that wide? Or was he serious when he pointed out that "The Caster Connects with the smoke and becomes the source and guider of smoke himself/herself. Rather interesting and yet big to take in and understand completely. It no doubt needed further explanation, especially considering the lack of attention Eric gave in the first few moments.


    You know normally, thick black smoke would put a person furthermore into sleep. But was that the case today? No. Hell no! They saw Stefan running out of the cave shouting under his breath with his arm covering his eyes. "FIRE FIRE. THE CAVE IS ON FIRE."


    Seeing that the situation got a bit out of control, completely forgetting about the other two people in the cave when he started demonstrating this spell to Eric, Mogranius made the smoke completely disappear in a matter of seconds in order to stop this nonsense. Seeing the smoke completely disappear in front of him right before he was about to exit the cave(being only a few feet away from the entrance/exit)he stopped on his spot and swiftly turned around in shock, absorbing this rather "unique" situation, the moment he turned around, he only saw Eric Giggling, Woldemir sleeping stiff as a rock and eventually Mogranius who caused a bit of smoke before reappearing. The smoke was of course to make the entrance more dramatic. As he could of easily reappeared without it. But it was no doubt worth the time and stamina. The smoke looks like a giant mushroom before it deformed into smaller uncontrolled particles.


    Not knowing what to think about this whole situation in the middle of the morning, the best response he could think of, is clearing his own name! "Before you say anything. No i didn''t smoke tree root again. I saw smoke coming out of the cave."


    "What''s the deal with him and tree rots?" Mogranius thought but refused to ask about it. He heard Woldemir mention it too when they were in Stefan''s bookshop back at Crutal Kingdom but was both too confused and slightly disturbed to ask. "Yes yes we believe you, don''t worry about that. I caused the smoke to demonstrate a spell for Eric. I was teaching Eric a spell but i forgot you were here." "Sorry" He sarcastically whispered and with a normal tone continued "But i see Woldemir didn''t mind it."


    They heard Woldemir snore, kind off loudly right before Mogranius was even about to finish his sentence. But it proves how sleep matters to some people more than running for their own life. Or could it be that Woldemir has more experience when it comes to sleeping around smoke? Who knows how many spells went wrong if Isabel had to train her Fire Controlling abilities inside of their wooden house.


    "Well. Next time you cause a giant smoke fog, can you give me a heads up?" Replied Stefan in both irritation and embarrassment as he walked towards his bed made from branches and big leaves. It will take a while to live down today''s scene.


    "Maybe Eric should use the bear claw spell to transport you somewhere else before we cause smoke fogs." Mogranius cracked a joke with light giggling in his tone and a big long smile on his face. Of course he meant no threat. They are friends after all, what''s the point or friendship if they don''t crack possibly traumatic jokes between each other?


    But still being mostly irritated of being woken up for nothing, he didn''t have the energy or concentration to think of a comeback joke, so he stuck to complaining. He knows how to complain very well! "That won''t be necessary. I can walk by myself. Or at least BlackWind can give me a ride. I do not want to become a victim to a BearClaw again no matter what you want to test." He dropped quickly on his bed and focused all of his concentration on going back to sleep. It''s the break of dawn and a kid plus an elderly with a mind of a kid are not letting him sleep. Not the best first night experience here in Lan Zhe.


    After Stefan layed on his bed, Eric and Mogranius saw BlackWind rushing in the cave, with a branch in his mouth and chewing on the leaves, coming to the rescue, looking for Woldemir. Imagine how a horse felt after seeing that large smoke just simply disappear. He must of felt more confused than Stefan.


    "I see BlackWind saw the smoke and got worried. As far as I recall, he wouldn''t stop eating for anyone." pointed out Eric as he gave a gentle smile and went ahead to try and calm Black Wind down with a few belly rubs.


    Being face down on the bed, stefan gave out a partially thought out reply, already being half asleep. "Well i can find a way to appreciate the concern. But i can not find a way to appreciate how you interrupted my beauty sleep."


    "If beauty is linked with sleep, you should sleep until dusk." Sarcastically replied Mogranius which got Eric to laugh from the top of his lungs.


    "Mihihihihihihihi." Looks like BlackWind found it funny too. It is considerably a great morning for everyone but Stefan and Woldemir who slept through the whole thing but would most definitely laugh as well.


    "Ha Ha Ha very funny." Replied Stefan sarcastically with a sleepy tone and added. "Now don''t cause anymore smoke fogs before i wake up."


    "Of course. You take your much much needed beauty sleep. We will practice as quiet as possible." Replied Mogranius, but for once throughout the entire time he knew these people, he lied.


    "Thank you!"


    Mogranius started to get another campfire going. But how? He blasted a four foot across FireBall on the Campfire spot, which made a irritatedly loud sound which made Stefan jump off of his bed but no doubt failing to stand on his feet.


    Taking a few seconds to comprehend what happened, he managed to put two and two together and didn''t say a word but just kept a very irritated look on his face, he finally did realize that Mogranius was being sarcastic.


    He realized it a bit too late obviously.


    "Well Eric. Are you ready to try the spell." Asked Mogranius in a comforting tone. Eric needs all the encouragement he can get to further progress with his powers even though he can technically outmatch Mogranius in a man to man fight if he knew a few more spells. "You are already a level four Fire Wizard.


    This shouldn''t be too hard for you." Praise of course is another form of encouragement. Mogranius recalls using it a lot on Magic schools he taught at, he also recalls a lot of teachers using it on him when he was just a Hatchling.


    "I''m always ready." He replied rather over confidently with a slight smirk on his lips. "So I should pretend like I''m sitting on a chair for the spell to work?" The fact that Eric didn''t mean this as a joke, makes the whole situation a lot more interesting.


    "Ha!" Shouted Stefan of course in aims to tease Mogranius. It was little revenge compared to how much they irritated him today.


    Slightly irritated, he yells. "No you Goblin. The stance represents a source that sucks down energy. In your case, a source that sucks down smoke. The way you position your hands represents the way you direct the smoke." Yelled Mogranius while flapping his arms around like a bird, trying his best to describe what he meant. Fair to say he was irritated. He lost the sense of encouragement and was loud talking.


    "So just by doing the stance, the smoke will come towards me?" This however was meant as a joke. Eric saw how irritated Mogranius gets when a spell is misunderstood. So why not have some fun with it?


    "Almost. But No. In order for the smoke to come towards you, you need to drag it towards you. Drag it without moving a muscle that is." Interesting isn''t it. If he can''t drag it with constant hand movements breaking their way through air and aiming to drag the smoke, then how can he? With his mind?


    "But how would I do that? Do i yell at the smoke to come to me?" Yes the joking was getting a bit overdone, but it was no doubt fun!


    Stefan just kept yelling. "HA!" After every question Eric finished asking.


    Trying his best to ignore both Stefan and Eric when he finally caught up, realizing what they tried to do. He answered with more reasonable methods. "You will find out. Now position yourself."


    "Alright, I''m seated at the imaginary chair. What do I do now?"


    "You mock this position but you were the one who couldn''t shoot down one man back at Crutal Kingdom. And you won''t be able too unless you stop talking and concentrate." Such sentences coming out of Mogranius'' mouth made Eric skip a heartbeat. He tried his best to temporarily forget that invincible man, but Mogranius had to bring the topic up again. What a great Mentor.


    "Alright. Enough with the puns. What shall I do now?" Trying his best to push away fear from his mind, he replaced it with concentration. He felt ready.


    "Breathe and concentrate. When you breathe in, imagine the smoke coming towards you and when you breathe out, imagine you took stronger control of the smoke."


    "Sounds simple enough. Let me try."


    Eric breathes in and the fire moves around a bit, nothing that would cause damage but indeed interesting to witness due to Fire moving in such a way, being rather unnatural. He is managing to drag the fire a little bit towards him but not the smoke, at all.


    "Good progress but focus on the smoke, not on the fire." Guided Mogranius gently. Eric is trying to progress now, the best thing Mogranius can do is encourage.


    Eric breathes in again, strengthens his concentration, focusing on the smoke. The smoke looks hypnotic once focused on it for a while. He breathes in a few times until he actually manages to maneuver the smoke towards him a little bit. But the control he had on the smoke was short lasting. The smoke dragged towards him a bit, spread randomly and disappeared. While the smoke above the Fire kept doing what it is supposed to do.


    Seeing how displeased Eric became due to this failure, he tried to encourage Eric even more. He can''t have him quit mid lesson. That would never lead to progress. "Not to worry. This is all part of the process. No one got this at first shot. Try breathing in deeper. The deeper you breathe in the better. And when you breathe out, let it out all at once. Not slowly but all at once."


    Eric of course tries again but with a little bit less willpower. And throughout deeper breathing, this time he actually managed to maneuver the smoke halfway to where he was standing without passing himself out due to the interesting form of breathing.


    When Eric breathes out his deeply taken breath out all at once, the smoke stays in one place. Like it froze. It just floated in mid air as if it were waiting for Eric''s next command. Seeing how much breath matters at this case, he was dumbfounded. He wouldn''t have ever expected it.


    Eric takes a last deep breath and  concentrated twice as hard. The smoke reaches him this time and started surrounding him all over.


    Like it did with Mogranius a bit earlier, the smoke surrounds Eric like a snake. The smoke just keeps getting thicker and thicker until to the point where Eric is surrounded completely from it, forming an upside down smoke Tornado like Mogranius did Earlier.


    Seeing that Eric is one more step away from successfully casting this spell, he shouts. "Alright Eric now clap your hands to interrupt the Tornado. Or else you will be standing there all day."


    Barely hearing what Mogranius yelled due to the smoke making it rather hard to hear, he did hear one word that would help him put two and two together. "CLAP.". He proceeds to  clap his hands and the smoke Tornado gets disrupted and just bursts out on aimless random directions. The smoke that surrounded Eric wasn''t there anymore. But guess who else wasn''t there anymore either!


    Eric wasn''t there anymore Either. Invisible, unseen, but most importantly, he managed to tap into the spell. The spell itself appears very puzzling, and it is! Who would think that a living being can literally connect with smoke and control it with such immense accuracy.


    "Congratulations Eric." Smirked Mogranius in satisfaction, standing in a posture where his hands are behind him, tied together(not with a rope or anything similar, it''s just a posture one uses when his or her hands feel heavy).


    "You managed to tap into the spell. See how things workout when you stop running your mouth and concentrate?" No doubt aiming to take a shot at Eric with sarcasm, it was another way of Mogranius showing care or in this case, a different type of Congratulation but in a way, a step forward towards a better mentor mentee relationship.


    On thin air, Eric''s voice was to be heard. It is rather unsettling to talk to a person who is invisible. What exactly should the visible person look at. I mean even for people who avoid eye contact in conversations(social anxiety), they still know which specific direction to turn too and hold a conversation. But to talk to someone invisible? Simply uncomfortable the first few times. But Mogranius was sure used to it due to studying his skill for decades which led to seeing a lot of other people do this.


    "Ha ha, you are very funny." Replied Eric with dazzlingly obvious sarcasm. But it''s rather harmless. What harm could come from it? "I do like this though. I can approach an enemy and strike! Boom!"


    "That won''t be so easy, keep in mind that you need to be constantly focused on the spell to maintain your invisibility. Fear, joy, confusion, adrenaline, or basically any emotion that would lead you to focusing less on the spell, will lead to the spell breaking. Meaning you will be visible again when you don''t want too, which can be disastrous in enemy territory.


    "Focus. I just need to focus. It''s like i''m allergic to focusing. But i will try my best. How can I maintain the spell if any emotion can break it?" Still being invisible, he was basically answering his own question but of course not at all realizing it due to mainly focusing at his invisibility.


    "Do what you are doing right now. A person''s mind is far to perplexed to focus just on one thing. Other thoughts will always pop up, but you should always focus on the big picture and put less energy to irrelevant thoughts." For an old man that is almost constantly sarcastic, that was some great advice. A quote to be taken into consideration. Why not listen to a partially insane Fire Blaster? It is unreasonable.


    "I''m focusing... but this will take a lot of practice. I do have a question best asked while this spell is active, so we need to be swift. Because I clearly don''t do concentration." Speed talked Eric his part, even though Mogranious couldn''t see him, he heard that Eric is running out of breath when he noticed the end of his sentences getting less loud. Stamina doesn''t have part at this, Eric was just in a slight panic.


    "Alright. Calm down first and then ask. Don''t let any other emotion overcome your main focus or you won''t be able to keep this spell going! Breathe." Explained Mogranius under a low tone while raising his hand almost above his chest and gesturing his hands flatley downwards. Trying to calm Eric down.


    "Um. Okay. I''m breathing." Breathes in, breathes out. Repeats.* "This feels better." He said while letting out a deep long sigh. Alright my question is, If i shoot a Fireball while i''m invisible, would it be invisible too."


    Hearing a lot of questions similar to this one throughout his years of teaching, it wasn''t something he didn''t expect. And considering Eric who can''t focus on a conversation either, this question was highly expected. "As a matter a fact, you can''t even shoot Fireballs once you are invisible, not to mention invisible ones."


    "Well that sounds disadvantageous. Why can''t I?" Still not understanding the concept of becoming one with the smoke, and obviously not able to start focusing long enough around what Mogranius explained earlier due to his current main focus, Mogranius was prepared for this question as well. And at this scene, he is showing patience and understanding. He wasn''t better at Focusing when he was as young as Eric.


    "Your body is connected to the smoke. All you can control is smoking after casting this spell. Unless you saw smoke which can shoot Fireballs before, you are able to put two and two together and understand why it doesn''t work."


    "Oh. Well i can still make this work. I can just appear, strike and disappear again." Tried Eric to shed more light to this spell. He tried his best to have a positive approach, his adrenaline was still a bit high due to the fact that he tapped into this spell.


    "You can appear, yes. But you can''t disappear equally as quick. You need a few seconds, but you can disappear quicker after a few years of practice, nothing too hard." For a Man who spend all of his life and is still at level Four(out of 6) on his Fire Controlling abilities. Patience has grown to his side long ago, a few years of practice to master one thing has become the usual to him, but to Eric. No, not at all. Lucky for Eric, he is progressing extraordinarily fast.


    "Wow, just a few years, that will pass quick." Obviously focusing on sarcasm a lot this time, he almost reappeared. The little particles of smoke giving him the possibility to appear invisible, became thicker and more visible. Noticing that, Mogranius  swiftly pointed it out.


    "Focus, focus!"


    "Right. Sorry." The only way for Eric to master this spell fast, is for him to spend more time in this smoke form. So he will remain like this as long as he can, or at least until Mogranius advises him to stop(because passing out due to using all of his stamina in this spell isn''t a good idea either).


    "But what about that man in Crutal Kingdom? He disappeared right away." Feeling perplexed, Eric couldn''t help but asking this question that has confused him ever since he witnessed it with his own eyes.


    "Indeed he did. But that is a spell neither me or you tapped into.


    Although you might in the near future, i don''t know about me though."


    "I hope I don''t see him again before I reach level six. He would slice me in two." Being aware of the enemy instead of getting over confident to the point of underestimation, is indeed a smart move. Eric is aware that the enemy is stronger, which is the first step he has taken in the goal of defeating him one day.


    But now! It is time to have some fun with this spell. Eric approaches Stefan who is surprisingly sound asleep after that entire embarrassing scene he experienced, astonishing. But this will just make it funnier. "Watch this."


    Afterwards, Eric places his hand underneath Stefan''s bed made out of big leaves and branches, near the middle of it and starts releasing smoke. Apart from being one with the smoke, he is able to concentrate the smoke and unleash it through his hand as considerably pure natural smoke. No doubt amazing but still a basic move compared to what other Fire Controllers used to achieve.


    Putting his hand underneath that specific spot ane unleashing smoke, it Made it look a lot like Stefan''s bed caught on fire! Trying his best to yell enough to wake Stefan up without breaking his own concentration, rather difficult. "Stefan! Wake up! Wake up! Your bed is on fire!"


    "Whhh what? Uhh smkk... tree ro... Fire! I''m on Fire!"


    "Quick! Roll on the ground to stop the fire." Added Mogranius from the background. It is very easy to fool a person who just woke up, their concentration is so low that they would do what they are told easily, even if they mishear or do it the wrong way.


    Stefan starts rolling on the dirty ground like a playful dog(but at this case, Stefan is terrified), while yelling. "AAAAAA AAAAAAA. Put it out, put it out, put it out. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"


    And he kept rolling and rolling in panic several times. But after getting a couple glances at his bed, and himself. He was able to realize that his bed wasn''t at all on fire, and neither is he. He came into conclusion of reality when he realized that he isn''t feeling any burns on him.


    And after he stopped his loud screaming (which still didn''t wake Woldemir up), he was able to hear Eric and Mogranius giggling and of course BlackWind going "Mehehehe." again. Imagine a horse laughing at how gullible you are. Embarrassing, isn''t it?


    "Ha Ha. How original." Murmured Stefan in anger but containing his rage and no doubt about to start complaining big time. "All i asked for is a good long sleep. But you two ruined that as well with your weird Fire blasting."


    "Actually it''s Fire Controlling but both terms are acceptable I suppose." Swiftly explained Mogranius, trying to make a point. He has a problem with non straight facts, he has to straighten them up, or else anxiety would kill him(not literally).


    "Not my point. Now let me sleep will ya!"


    "Alright alright. That''s enough messing around for one morning." Clapped Mogranius which completely broke Eric''s concentration, making him unintentionally re appear.

 Chapter 15 - The Bloodlines Curse

    "Bring me that...worthless Guard Commander. Chan is his name...i think. If not, look for... recently burned Guard Commanders."


    One of the Guards gathered the guts to reply, stuttering his way through a sentence, but no doubt shaking on his combat boots. Noticing the name immediately because Guard Commander Chan commands the platoon this specific Guard is in, he thinks he has a proper sentence to say. "But sire, Guard Commander Chan, is... well he is still healing."Swallowing his spit out of nervousness before he dared to continue with another sentence, the King''s patience got him bewildered. The fact that the King didn''t kill him on the spot, got him puzzle indeed. So he said the last thing he had to say and prepared for the worst. "I doubt that he would be able to walk here Sire."


    The man sitting on the throne, who apparently seems to be the King on these parts, sticked firm to his order, he wanted Chan here no matter how severe his health is, he couldn''t bother less about Chan or his well being, but he needs Chan for his, let''s say plans... and healing him isn''t exactly a challenge.


    "Then Drag him here. Unless you... want to take his place." The fact that this King seems to be having breathing problems, makes him sound even more captivating, causing nervousness on any person who talks to him, such an effect would be caused upon any person with ease. But what power could this man have for these people to fear so deeply? Did these Guards see what others didn''t? Because simply ordering for a Guard to be beheaded, wouldn''t cause so much fear in them when they are in his presence. Could he be great with a Sword?


    Another Guard who was simply putting his life infront of anyone else''s, cut the conversation short so he can simply escape the King''s sight along with the one who keeps questioning the King''s orders. "Yes Sire. We will bring him here immediately." Grabbing the Guard by the arm and led him towards the Castle''s main door, he couldn''t help whispering  "Man what are you doing, I don''t plan to be burned alive anytime soon!"


    Seeing the two Guards exit the Throne room running, the King found the possibility to calm down, perfect timing too. He was on his last nerve, one more question and he would of split both of them in two. Smoke burst out of his nose as a form of relief. The smoke covered his face entirely before it reduced into nothingness, rising closer to the ceiling. Is he a human or a campfire?


    Waiting for about half an hour with all the patience he could gather, he witnesses Guard Commander Chan being dragged through the castle hallway by the two previous guards. Not paying much attention to Chan''s well being, they prefered focusing on possible outbursts from the King which could end all of their lives. His outbursts usually leave unhealable victims, of course if the victim isn''t split in two, he himself can help them. But he often chose not to do so, to form a set of discipline and order solely based on fear.


    Preferring his personal space, before they even were 10 feet near, in a cold low voice the king didn''t hesitate ordering. "That''s close... enough, leave the room."


    The two Guards of course responded to the order in a heartbeat, speed walking their way out and even bumping to each other, almost falling down on the hard plank floor. Chan was forcibly standing on his knees with the two Guard''s support(when they were there). And when they let him go, Chan fell on his face due to the lack of strength he was currently facing, unable to prevent his falling, unable to see that face plant a big pain compared to the burning sensation he was feeling on his chest lasting for days now. The Guards didn''t even look back to make sure that Chan is okay, they just left relieved to be alive. The King couldn''t care less about how Guard Commander Chan was dropped either.


    Afterwards not wasting a moment, The King stands up, looking quite intimidating for sure as he approached Chan, but Chan didn''t even notice the King, at least not before the King was standing about a foot away from him on the left side. Since Chan halfy crawled up into a ball form which to him felt like a slight relief to his pain. the King was now technically standing near Chan''s chest. Feeling it if that Chan received just one kick on the chest right now, he would be put out of his misery. Not to mention if he got shot with another Fireball.


    Seeing the King being this near, with his last bit of Strength, Chan managed to let out a few words. "Please Sire. Have mercy." What kind of Mercy is Chan asking for though? Could it be that he knew how the King responded to failure, or is there something else to witness?


    Not even feeling slightly bothered by the scene in front of him, the King just glared upon Chan. Not feeling sympathy, but indeed feeling disappointment. Starting to bend down towards Guard Commander Chan, with his left hand behind his back and his right hand reaching out for Chan''s forehead. Grabbing Chan''s forehead slightly hard and concentrating, a dark green light appeared an inch above Chan''s forehead and continued glowing more violently above Chan''s Chest. Precisely where Chan was shot, focusing most of spell''s energy on the wound.


    Noticing the tingling feeling on his chest, feeling his own skin underneath the burn marks forcingly detaching the burn marks from his body for the new skin to rise, like a new tooth pushing out the old one. That part of the process was something he didn''t enjoy. It was rather painful.


    Able to grab a really thin page like part of his skin which simply dropped on the floor due to him being shirtless, the after effect of this "spell" made Chan feel like he was a shedding snake. But, how could this "King" have powers. His own religious organization known as the "illas", calls any person with Magical Powers, a Demon. So how could a "Demon" simply become a King in a land heavily influenced by the illas?


    Suddenly finding the strength to at least sit normally now, he held the burned detached skin a foot away from his own face and murmured. "Well this is interesting."


    The glow above his chest lasted a moment, glowing even while Chan was holding his own burned former skin up, taking its time before it disappeared completely. His severe burn marks disappeared along with the green glow above his chest, as if they were never there. The strength of  the spell the King unleashed upon Chan, was indeed that strong.


    Struggling for a moment before ue was able to stand up on his feet again, a strong effort had to be taken for him to stand up on his feet again. But his strength would of course need more time to replenish before he could stand up again without falling. He just escaped a death ensuring wound, resisting it for days already has drained him in countless ways. Physically indeed but also mentally. He was in so much pain that he even felt suicidal. Asking Guards from his platoon to put him out of his misery, but what low level Guard would dare killing a Guard Commander? What eye witness would help his case?


    Due to this definition of tiredness, he lost his balance as soon as he stood up, almost falling on the hard ground. But he was prevented from meeting the ground again by the King, using his right hand to keep Chan strongly balanced. How strong could the King''s strength be? His left hand was still behind his back yet he is holding half of Chan''s body weight up with one hand. Seeing Chan''s puny chest, the King proceeded to be disappointed, but didn''t say a word about this topic. He had other things to talk about.


    Feeling the amazing sensation of relief on his body once more, he found the capability to focus on something else now, instead of strictly feeling pain, he felt stable again. "I feel great. No more pain. No more burns. I thought that i won''t make it." Finding it perfectly timed to ask an obvious question, he continued." But why did you save me sire, why did you save me, King Xakro?"


    Turning his back on Chan, the King walked towards the throne, sat down on it comfortably and said. "Chan...I didn''t put you out of your misery...yet. Because i require your...let''s say assistance."


    Encountering a tremendous shock when he heard the King ask for assistance, he was left speechless for a moment but remembered how to be a boot kisser(from experience). He wasn''t a Guard Commander before after all, he didn''t have this sort of rank. "Anything for you sire. You never ask anyone for assistance. I would gladly risk my life for you." His sentences weren''t entirely truthful, as this man wouldn''t risk his life for anyone. But in this case, if he doesn''t risk his life for the King, the King would take his life without blinking an eye.


    Being used to such boot kissing, and somehow even expecting more, the King proceeded to say. "Good. Although I didn''t ask if you agree or not. I just said  "I need your assistance."Meaning you have no other choice but to assist, or do you think otherwise?" Asking that question, you would think the King raised his eyebrow in curiosity. But no, he doesn''t have any. But he was no doubt curious.


    Doing his best to avoid a possible attack from the King, and still confused of the patience the King is showing. He chose to evade self based egoism and chose another approach often used on bargaining, praise. "Yes sire. My mistake. I got excited. I mean to be asked for assistance from the all mighty king. Its an honour." This is the first smart approach Chan did in a long while, even though it was bootkissing. Everyone has their specific sets of success after all.


    Finally putting pride aside and focusing on his main problem, King Xakro proceeded to say. "Good. See...the Electus has returned and I need you to find him....and end him."


    Not understanding how the King could possibly know that, he decided to stick to the obvious. Of course after Eric shot him, the world around him went dark. But while in healing, he heard the healers go on with one to one banter, the topic about a Kid causing great havoc on the Capital Kingdom of Occidentis Ignis, a.k.a Crutal Kingdom was one of their topics. One other thing he noticed about those healers, was the fact that they too unleashed such dark green light, but their type of healing was slow, less effective. Lower levels maybe? But how exactly do they live here without being burned alive?


    "The..the Electus? That kid who shot me down was the Electus? But sire, he took out almost half of your Kingdom. How can I possibly kill him?"


    Recalling such military embarrassment, the King got triggered. But considering his plans, it was a smart move. Because,  "I''m aware that you are weak compared to him... I would end his life myself, I almost... did when he was here."


    "But?"


    "But he would be useless... to me if i killed him, due to some unexplainable reasons. But if someone else... kills him, all my plans... are suddenly possible, world domination... would be on the palm of my hand."


    "In that case, I will take an army of a thousand men and hunt him down. He stands no chance against the ill.u.s.tratio." Hiding behind an army is his best move as a Guard Commander, and with War Generals under King Xakro''s employment, it is easy to send a large army into a wild goose chase, forcibly squeezing information out of Ignite families in the surrounding area. They have a lot of experience and a long brutal history of such acts. But with underpopulation striking a continent with 4 countries, would it be the wisest idea?


    "No." Coldly said the king as he clutched on the arm support of his throne, unleashing his anger there instead of on this fool no doubt unworthy of his title, who yet somehow shows great importance on the King''s plans. The King chose to reason instead for once upon this fool. "We can''t risk losing... more guards and weakening... our Capital. The ignites... although small in population, they are... sneaky ambitious people."


    "How would that help their case?"


    "Whenever they will... find the chance, they will strike back... to take our land."


    "I haven''t thought of that. Indeed its true. But how will I kill the Electus?" Chan is not physically fit, he isn''t even average. He is below average. So how could he kill an all powerful Electus? Eric is now even considered at his weakest as an Electus due to him just knowing Fire Controlling. And even considering that fact, Chan has almost no chance at all at killing the Electus. The chances are that low. It would be like a human baby attacking a Source Bear. The Human baby''s fate would be no doubt certain.


    "My great Grandfather, Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l. Obtained the powers he needed to...to invade this land.... By tearing out the Electuses... heart and eating it."


    "Wuh...what?"


    Seeing Chan no doubt uncomfortable, and likely even scared. It didn''t stop the king from giving a thicker explanation. "By eating her heart, he obtained... all eight of her powers. Making him... unstoppable. Making him an... Electus even stronger."


    "So if you eat his heart, you gain his powers as well? Like your Grandfather did?"


    "No...When my grandfather ate her heart, it also... came with a curse. Although the curse was beneficial, it also came... with side effects. He got all her powers. Everything he needed to mind control the... Kings on our motherland. He became... the Grand King and launched the... attack against all other countries." If it wasn''t for Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l who started this war in the first place, this Continent would of been more peaceful than it ever was. But l.u.s.t for land and power, always beats peace. Always.


    "Our entire military pride, all started by that brave man. Fascinating, however the stories I heard about our revolution, were rather different. But how did he even manage to kill an Electus?" With countless rumours going on, the truth was no doubt concealed by the public who might take it as a sign to help the Ignites. Chan is likely one of the few people who knows so much about Xakro''s Bloodline. For someone so unworthy, he sure knows a lot now.


    "It was a horrible battle. Xakro ill.u.s.trario l... got burned all over. His face, his body, chest, arms. It was... like he got burned up in hell. Specifically, I share the same wounds... with him due to the curse. But also, the same Powers!"


    "How is that even possible?"


    That is beyond my... explanation. However, as the Electus... was about to make the final blow upon... Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l, slit her throat which killed her... almost instantly. She died gasping for air. He ate... her heart, obtained... her powers but...the curse. He didn''t see the... curse coming.


    "Is it curable?"


    "Maybe... I have the powers Xakro took... from the Electus. But...as the powers were passed down through generations. So were... the wounds, burn marks, everything. I''m just another replica of Grand... King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l. I barely have a personality... of my own. I''m almost an exact drawing." Rather sad. The current King never asked for such power and responsibility, and even the curse. But he was forced to step up and keep the revolution going. But in a way, he is slowly failing. He would need to result into a suicidal measure if things don''t go well.


    "It seems both an honour and a burden to carry such power and responsibility." Trying to point out the obvious, Chan continued. "But I still don''t understand how i can help in this case. Without troops to command, I can''t promise success."


    "I have the ability to grant you magical... powers."


    "What? But the devi...."


    Avoiding to explain the concept of "All Witches and Wizards are demons", he just continued with his explanation instead of blowing a fuse. "It''s no easy task, and it... will be very painful for you. But once obtained, you... will skip all five levels of magic... and be a level six Grand... Master Wizard." To get powers, although hated by a lot, it is a dream that many powerless people had. It would be fascinating to get them. As it is the one thing gold can''t buy.


    "Sire. I would withstand any pain and or suffering for our land. A threat to our land is a threat to me. What shall i do to gain powers?" Of course, those words are only valid if Guard Commander Chan received minimal damage from this task. He doesn''t care about anyone more than himself. So Xakro made a terrible choice the first moment he thought of Chan for the quest.


    "We need three things. A heart... from a thought to be extinct species. Did....you ever hear about lava... controllers? The Calidum Lutum race?"


    "I''ve heard tales about them but i figured they aren''t real."


    "They are very real... and indeed they do still exist. They disappeared... thousands of years ago, like cowards. Leaving their outer... lands behind, our Kingdom for example, was their own domain, their own... village."


    "This can''t be! Our Kingdom belonged to them?!"


    Yes, a long time ago, before the... first Era. Their species isn''t extinct, but killing... one is no easy task. They control lava and legend... has it, they are ten foot tall. They would... crush you like a bug."


    "How can I possibly kill one of those alone?"


    "You. You won''t be... alone. This time, i will send thirty... of the finest men on this... Kingdom, Elite Archers. And i will arm you with a special... weapon. Something... that one of the brightest slaves... have been working on. You''ll see... the surprise once you pull the... trigger.


    "Now it sounds a bit more possible. But what are the other two things we need?"

 Chapter 16 - Deadly Ghost Tree

    Hearing the rather interesting question Guard Commander Chan asked him, the King wanted to smile. But even though that smile would be considered quite devious and no doubt based on a...different type of admiration. He still refused to smile and kept a firm look. He would have felt uncomfortable if he smiled due to the countless wounds on his face making him look, unnatractive. Even if it is in front of a person of his own gender. With Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l''s face burned black, one eye missing, and not having a hair on his head or even a beard. It is a surprise how this current King who shares the same wounds as his grandfather, doesn''t hide his face behind a mask. It takes a lot of guts to walk around with such unhealable wounds completely visible to the world, but yet it reminds him of the tremendous victories the ill.u.s.tratian alliance obtained due to this sacrifice.


    Still remaining with that firm look on his face, his tone sunk lower due to the flash of reality he faced just a bit earlier, the thought of him never asking for all of these powers in the first place, took over at a slower scale. But it still made his continuous bad mood even worse. The fact that he sunk in deep into a bad mood just because he refused to smile, showed how stable he actually is. Perhaps, this curse came in with more than just the wounds on the outside. Maybe there is more? "The other thing we need... is a branch from a...special tree. Yes, the ghost tree." Spoke the King with his tone becoming warmer by the moment once he started talking about things he studied, things he... enjoys.


    Facing a mild shock right after he heard the word "Ghost", it barely took a moment for Chan to start hating this plan already, this second part of the plan specifically. If lava controlling 10 foot freaks weren''t a tough enough challenge for him to conquer, now he has to deal with ghosts as well? But if only Chan knew how dangerous the Calidum Lutum are, the ghost tree would feel like a breeze to him. A really "cold" breeze. But yet again, the Calidum Lutum can be extremely dangerous as well if harmed, even though their kind is considered "peaceful".


    Still standing a bit frozen in fear in front of Xakro ill.u.s.trario lll, throughout a self forced effort he managed to let out a few words, enough to form a sentence. "G-G-Ghost tree? Why is it called a Ghost tree?"


    Trying to find the best way to dumb this explanation down for a unacademic man like Chan to understand, he decided to use the basic sentences the "illas" would use when they explain something "evil". "Because, the tree is... possessed. Well...more like, ghosts live inside them." Remembering what he studied about ghosts(through the little pieces of information one could study upon this subject), he sighed in satisfaction. Let''s just say, he likes paranormal figures. "Ghosts, the soldiers... of hell. A ghost from that specific tree only can...it can carry all the power. Without causing colossal... damage to you, me or half a kingdom."


    The fear of ghosts keeps overwhelming Chan''s ability to focus. Why would he fear something he never saw? Well it is simple, he saw them once or twice. The trauma caused from them remained deep down his soul, even though those ghosts didn''t actually physically attack him. Just seeing one is terrifying, imagine being beaten by one. Realizing he has been staring blankly for way to long, zoning out and sinking into memories. He blinked his eyes and came back to reality. No doubt struggling to speak properly due to the recalled traumas. "But how? All of this seems... well, no it doesn''t seem. This seems unnatural and traumatic." Finding the capability to recall most of the information the King literally just told him, he only managed to find more fear, nothing else. "How could a branch carry power?" He proceeded to ask, with hopes of escaping this task and go for a possibly alternative way. A branch with the capability to carry power? Clearly unusual, possibly unpredictable and likely very dangerous. Not to mention, Ghosts!What is there not to fear?


    Seeing Chan being halfway there from receiving a strong trauma, the King tried to actually help Guard Commander Chan calm down. But, he isn''t used to this helping thing, at all. "Coward..... scared, aren''t you? Well you should be. That...that tree is incredibly dangerous. Life ruining even. But I have a plan." This isn''t exactly helping though. A form of help, is assuring the errand runner of the possible danger in front of him. At least that was considered help in the King''s eyes, but it didn''t help with the possible phobia. He forgot that Chan isn''t qualified for both parts of this big quest. Everything has a high chance of killing him, even his thoughts are killing him. "I have a rather... strong theory, which could give you immunity towards these specific ghosts."


    "Immunity. That''s actually possible?" Having his fear slightly driven away thanks to Xakro''s "help". Chan was at least able to focus a bit more now.


    "Yes. The Calidum... Lutum are the key. If we don''t get this ghost branch, the two... other ingredients will be useless to us even... if we get them." Holding his head up with his right hand underneath his chin, which helps him concentrate more. Let''s just say that the amount of power he is carrying in his own body, doesn''t let him focus that easily. The deeper reason behind it, rather "outterwordly". But yet again if he managed to focus enough to form such an advanced plan, he is doing well.


    Finally able to understand and accept the inevitable dangers this quest can bring upon him, it helped Chan calm down a little bit more and do one of the things he does best. Pointing out the obvious. "Well it sounds like both ingredients are equally dangerous as well. At one side, i can get my skin ripped off of my body by a lava controlling ten foot tall freak. On the other side i can get possessed by a ghost."


    Strangely knowing both species enough to form a stable statement, he yelled out a word grabbing all of Chan''s attention. "False!" Afterwards continuing with his normal lower tone, he said with a small amount of concern(fascinating). "The ghosts are... way more dangerous...than you claimed. The tree is a part of them. Breaking... one of their branches means you damaged them. It means... that you damaged the ghosts."


    Ghosts, how can a ghost exactly be damaged? As far as legends, rumours and actual "recent" sightings go, ghosts are untouchable. A floating white figure who is almost colorless. Some claiming that ghosts have naturally given powers as well(if  by naturally you mean paranormally). Such as being able to move small to medium objects with their minds(if they have minds)? Helping sorcerers who are actually deep in demonic magic and or sourcing. And occasional but less common, human targeted possessing. What all these claims point out, is that ghosts do the hurting, not the other way around! So how could a living mortal actually hurt a ghost?


    "B-but they can''t do anything about it, right?" Hoping to finally hear a positive reply regarding this quest, he had a feeling of what the king would reply.


    "They will take revenge if you...damage them." Well that made it clear. Now it sounds more natural, ghosts doing the hurting.


    Guard Commander Chan replies with the strongly spooked out feeling he just snapped out of earlier who rearose in his heart with accelerating speed. "Revenge? What sort of R-Revenge?"


    "Disastrous consequences. They could beat the... life out of you on the spot or..." which compared to the following, would be considered the best option. Or do any of you have different opinions?


    "Or?" A question Chan did not want to ask with upcoming answers he did not want to know, but yet still curiosity managed to get the best of him.


    "Or follow you and beat the life out of your loved... ones." Chan being an orphan who lost the only family he knew(his parents) due to an Ignite led attack, and not having any friends who show actual unconditional care, this part of the damage of which ghosts can do, wouldn''t be considered the biggest danger but still damaged Guard Commander Chan here before he even started the quest.


    King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll continued with his explanation even though Chan is in the process of zoning out again due to Xakro saying "your loved ones", which brought back memories of his parents. "Make you a part of their experiments...who knows what they doo. And indeed, they can possess... you as well to do all of the above...yourself."


    "Please tell me that''s all!" Coming back to reality, he started approaching this task with more motivation even though his fear levels only shifted swiftly. Now at least, he felt like his parents are looking at him from the heavens above and he did not want to disappoint.


    "Almost. If you get attacked and manage to... survive any or all of the above, you... will likely end up insane." At this point, King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll had an extreme urge to smile in satisfaction for a few reasons. The first reason is the fact that he had this accurate information about ghosts, these even being considered a special breed of them. Knowledge of which is highly uncommon for random people to know, how did he get his hands on such information? Second, he really enjoys talking about paranormal topics, even if he is the only source of information in the conversation. Imagine a highly academic student talking your ear off with various topics, it is something he enjoys. But smiling, no.


    "Tell me you have a smart approach instead of just making me go grab it. You said something about the Calidum Lutum being "the key"." At this point still being halfway there from reaching a ghost phobia, his main goal now is to find the safest way to approach these ghosts. Since this quest is clearly not optional, like the fact that living isn''t optional if he refused this quest.


    "Indeed I have." Raising his head away from his own hand, and leaning back towards the back support of the chair, he let out a stressful sigh and continued. "If they choose to... take revenge on you, even I can''t... help you afterwards." Concern? The King has concern for Chan? Interesting.


    "Oh." Frozen in fear, this was the only word Chan could let out at the moment. It is a surprise how Chan didn''t yet reach a mental breakdown concerning this topic with previous traumas haunting his past. Maybe his strength is heavily underestimated(mental strength at least)?


    A phrase or might i call it, a word...gives you immunity." He gave an internal smile, because he felt sure on what he was talking about. There is no shame in being knowledgeable no matter what faction you qualify with.


    "Do you know the word Sire?" Well this question proves that Guard Commander Chan wasn''t paying attention here and there. And it was a dumb thing to ask especially considering the King''s easily triggered rage!


    "No you moron. How could i... possibly know that!" Shouted the King as he fisted the left arm support of his throne which cracked the arm thick woodwork a bit.


    "We will need to find it. Recite... it once, approach the tree...break a branch and just walk away. They can''t take revenge...on you." This was the clearest and most understandable piece of information Xakro had to dumb down for Chan to understand. And at least now he covered most of the questions and there are likely only a few to answer. The King remained oddly patient towards this fool, especially considering he dislikes answering any questions at all. He commonly does the ordering, and people just nodded in agreement and rushed out of the room, except for "Aaron". But that''s another story.


    "A sentence? How would that stop these powerful ghosts?" A rather expected question from Chan, but yet again he does make a good firm point. How exactly can a word simply grant immunity towards ghosts whose powers will likely remain a strongly kept secret by humankind. Powers highly unpredictable. But this special different breed! Did the Calidum Lutum have a brawl with these species of the unliving?


    "This sentence...well, it makes every ghost around you, freeze. Perhaps freeze isn''t...the best word to describe it, they won''t be... freezing cold. But they won''t be able to... move. Although the reason behind it unknown, even... to me! It works. Once you break the branch, the ghost... inside that one branch will remain frozen¡­ even after the effect of the phrase wears off." Could this mean that the Ghost is carrying the unstable source of power coming from another "ingredient"? How many twists does this explanation have?


    Finally sighing in relief, able to push his developing phobia away for a while, he happily replied. "As far as I understand, this means I can go there alone and come back alone, unscaved if we find that... word?"


    Gazing upon Chan who seems to finally understand this plan(or at least this part of the plan), the King found slight relief on his nerves. The abnormal patience he showed towards Guard Commander Chan, is wearing very thin. King Xakro isn''t sure that he will be able to finish explaining this plan to Chan without causing a scandal! "Indeed. And it is best if you do it that way¡­ alone. Barely... anyone knows about this possibility to gain magical... powers. And even those who do know, fear for their life... to ever try it."


    "But how do i find the secret phrase at this "Calidum llokum race"?"


    "Calidum Lutum.*"


    Right. How do i find it?"


    Feeling sure that he has information about the Calidum Lutum as well of which normal individuals couldn''t simply obtain, he felt comfortable giving an explanation without looking like a fool. Even if it was just in front of this simple Guard Commander. "Ego" comes above all to the King after all. "I''ve been studying the Calidum...Lutum race for quite a long while just because of this matter, let''s say... early preparation. I expected for the Electus...to return."


    "But how did you know that the Electus will return?"


    "That would take a day... to explain. Especially... to you!"


    "Oh."


    "Moving on, The... Calidum Llokum... No! I mean..."


    "Ha!" Let out Chan a short laugh when he heard this disturbingly knowledgeable ill.u.s.tratian Grand King make such an embarrassing mistake. But he regretted it the second he saw the King''s lifeless facial expression becoming more life filled. More angry.


    "Shut it!"


    "Yes Sire." Guard Commander Chan escaped this one rather easily. Because no one ever dared to mock the King face to face, and live.


    "Moving on. The Calidum Lutum... are tremendously skilled at hiding any information regarding... their race. That''s one of the ways they avoided war for... so long. But i...i have my ways."(Guard Commander Chan swallowed his spit due to nervousness caused by the King''s last sentence.). "I have reasons to believe that the phrase... is on their gauntlets."


    "Gauntlets? I didn''t think gauntlets existed back then. I mean, they disappeared thousands of years ago. So they wrote the phrase on their gauntlets?" Chan has a strong point here, but the Calidum Lutum are, let''s say magicians with iron(not literally).


    "Indeed. Written on... their Gauntlets.


    They discovered many things before the rest of humanity... did regarding iron. Their gauntlets are unique. Heavily... magically enchanted. They provide complete protection... from anything paranormal."(Chan smiled when he heard of the protective qualities simple iron Gauntlets can offer. Rather interesting to hear about as well, it even got Chan intrigued.). "But since our arms aren''t... nearly big enough to wear the gauntlets, the phrase written on it...will doo."


    "So both the first ingredient and the phrase i need to survive the second quest, are all in one creature. Well, at least this made everything easier. But may i ask sire. What is the third ingredient we need?" At least Chan managed to finally catch up and understand the entire plan. Took long enough.


    Choosing to go towards another way of explanation to make everything make sense, he ignored the question and went another way(in explanation). "Imagine this. We are trying to... make a magical staff. The Branch is where all the overwhelming... power will be stored. The Lava controller''s heart is the balancer, director...it holds everything together, preventing it... from causing disastrous damage."


    "And the...."


    "The last and final thing we need is of course...the source of power. Without the source. The other two... are useless."

 Chapter 17 - The story of the Giant ill.u.s.tratio

    "Source of power?" Asked Chan no doubt confused. It''s a surprise how the King even bothers explaining everything to him up to this point. He could have simply let out a Command for Chan to follow and save a lot of his nerves. It''s almost as if the King is strictly trying to educate this fool, feed him knowledge. But what the King likely doesn''t know, is that half of what he explained to Chan, has already left his brain for good. You can''t build up an academic in a day, especially one who doesn''t want too.


    "Yes. Without the source, the two... other ingredients are rather useless to us. Where else will you... use a ghost possessed branch or a heart from a thought to be... extinct species?" Well this formula for a staff granting power to a target is a whole mess itself, asking for ingredients of which no Alchemist would ever try to get or play around with. So even if these ingredients have other purposes in alchemy, it would of been unknown. The fact that Xakro knows of this recipe to begin with, is mysterious enough on its own.


    "You have a point there Sire." Answered Guard Commander Chan with bootkissing aims(He even slightly tooned out the King, but it escaped un noticed). "But what is the source of power for us to get the staff ready and get this over with!?"


    "It depends on what... power we want." The King replied, puzzled on his own thoughts. Thinking of the best power befitting this fool.


    "Which one do you think is more effective?" A rather smart question from Guard Commander Chan(finally). Perhaps smart questions are rare gems for him to spell out. Clearly nothing too often. But could spending time with a smarter man such as King Xakro, push away Chan''s stupidity? Well, the chances are slim. If that worked, Aaron would of turned Chan into a smarter man a long time ago.


    Thinking back of the time the new Electus caused Havoc on Crutal Kingdom, the King remembered the key moments. Its not exactly easy to forget something so powerful, different. With Fire Controlling Ignites being wiped out throughout the 200 years, its a good sight to see an Ignite using his powers(at least to those who didn''t suffer damage from it). Even if the Electus basically killed hundreds of Guards, to Xakro it was a good show. "The boy. The Electus, seemed to heavily rely on... his Fire Powers. He is so young... yet he casted Fire Tornados. Those are expert level spells. He is already... level four." Pointed out King Xakro as he stroked his own Chin.


    Feeling slight trauma from the Fireball he(Chan) received from Eric, it taught him one valuable lesson. Never underestimate. "The boy took out half of your Kingdom. He is undoubtedly powerful. What are the odds of him already being in the process of learning different powers?" Taking a second to think a bit deeper around what the King just discussed, Chan answered. "But fire has a weakness. Am i right Sire?"


    "If he trained his powers... a lot in the open, before he caused havoc on our Kingdom. There... would be many eye witnesses reporting him... already. So that makes it sure for... us that he just recently discovered his... powers. Likely even this week." Afterwards aiming to reply at Chan''s second question, the King said. "The opposite of fire...is ice. But that of course makes everything...more difficult."


    "How exactly does it make it more difficult Sire? Please elaborate because I don''t know anything about this topic."


    "Clearly." Xakro clutched stronger to the arm support of his throne and added. "Each sort of magical power, has that special... item that grants a source of power... for anyone trying to make a staff like this."


    Finally able to catch up, at least for now. Guard Commander Chan murmured a poorly thought out question, which led to a bit of improper sentences. "What do we need to. The source. Provide the source of power for the Ice Controlling magical ability? Surely it can''t be an ice spike." He tried to crack a joke with the last sentence, but King Xakro''s face remained stiff. Humorless. Chan even coughed awkwardly due to it and added. "So what do we need?"


    "Well...to obtain Fire Controlling powers... for example, you need a burning source of pitch... Dark flame. Which is twice as hard to get. But... for Ice Controlling we need, A toe."


    "A toe?" Struggled Chan to hold his laughter in. He curled his lips as if he was struggling to keep a burp in.


    Noticing Chan''s urge to laugh at this part of the task, he continued speaking with his thick low tone which brought Chan back to his senses, scaring the humor away. "As humorous as it sounds, it''s almost... impossible to obtain."


    "I never heard of Dark flames before. And I don''t even want to know how to obtain them. But a toe sounds more doable. Does it have to be a random toe or something specific?" Obviously getting a random toe won''t do the trick. How is a toe a source of power?


    Noticing the Clear misunderstanding, and knowing for sure that Chan couldn''t possibly know more of this topic, the King spared Chan''s brain cells by answering. "Frozen Toe Kingdom. Which is located... on the edge of the continent. It has that name for a...reason."


    "What''s the reason Sire?" Chan''s overall knowledge isn''t exactly big, but at least he has a reasonable amount of curiosity. Or could it be fueled by fear?


    "It represents the "Frozen Toes" of the Giant ill.u.s.tratio. Once... that toe is obtained, the staff...can be completed." Well at least the staff is now completely described. He can check further questions towards it off of the list. But knowing Chan, he might not have caught up entirely just yet.


    Guard Commander Chan replies with undoubtedly great shock. His eyes widened in surprise and even his hands subconsciously arose on the air at the heat of the moment. He even yelled out the question! "There is a Giant ill.u.s.tratio?" Just when you thought that the questions reached an end.


    Seeing the King getting angrier due to this disturbance of peace and quiet of which Chan Caused, Chan followed up with sentences in aims to calm the King down. Or at least prevent him from shooting Fireballs. "I suppose I would know if I read more."


    "Indeed." The King let out a sigh of dissatisfaction. He realised quite well that Chan is mountains away from becoming a well knowledged man. Finding ways to understand his overall brain capacity throughout the conversation they had, he learned to show at least a bit more patience and hope by the 8 sources that he will eventually become smarter.


    "Let me guess. To get the toe, I need to kill the Giant ill.u.s.tratio?" He wasn''t so far off with this question based on the information he was given, but no. Killing the Giant ill.u.s.tratio is impossible and even if they managed too, it wouldn''t serve them any purpose.


    But Xakro, he had enough of it. Even though he should have expected such a question from Guard Commander Chan. "No! You fool!" Shouted the King as he fisted the arm support of the throne so hard that he completely broke it. It even slid all the way to Chan''s feet. Which made him swallow his spit in fear.


    "You don''t have to kill him. Mostly because he is... indestructible and almost...immortal. But his toes aren''t indestructible. His toes are... beyond frozen, hitting it... with a sword it''s like hitting actual ice." At this rate, it doesn''t even sound like this Giant ill.u.s.tratio is real. I mean, how does the King even know that for sure without trustworthy eye witnesses? He could be sending Guard Commander Chan in a wild goose chase. But if we all look back, King Xakro seems to know a lot about the paranormal and the unusual. So maybe his points are fact based. Maybe he knows exactly what he is talking about instead of just throwing around theories and thoughts.


    "He sounds powerful enough to invade all of us. Why didn''t he already?" Another insightful question from Chan? Is the sky falling?


    "He can but he also can''t. His body can''t stand warm weather...literally. His body¡­ temperature is always scorching hot." With frozen toes? The irony is rather large. But this topic is no doubt interesting. Even to Chan. He even managed to catch up again.


    "So if he walks anywhere warmer, his body heat can kill him?"


    Giving an internal smirk in satisfaction, the King slowly says under his casual low tone. "Precisely. But His toes are not... affected by that body heat. An interesting creature... indeed. He won''t even feel it if you cut... one toe off. But of course... cutting it off is hard without... being killed. Even if he isn''t doing anything, it''s hard to simply... cut it off."


    Aiming to ask the obvious, Chan says.


    "How did this Giant even appear? Is he a magic spell gone wrong or just an ancient species."


    "You don''t read much... do you? He is all of the above." Shouted the King due to the dissatisfaction Chan''s lack of common ill.u.s.tratian knowledge is causing. There are countless tales and legends about this Giant ill.u.s.tratio, even written in some books as official facts. But he spared Chan the time of researching deeper into the topic, by explaining it to him by himself(Because from the looks of it, Chan wouldn''t look for more knowledge about it once he exited this throne room in one piece. "Way before... any other race existed, there were... only ill.u.s.tratios. We ruled everything. Our numbers were small but we were... on top of the food chain. The strongest....Unstoppable... We were around thirty feet tall. Living for hundreds of years at... a time. But of course, evolution... did its part. And here we are now. Six foot tall people."


    "Sorry for my continuous questions sire. But how did the Giant ill.u.s.tratio, remain...well a giant. And how is he "almost immortal?" Although an obvious question, it is still rather interesting.


    Letting out a large amount of smoke from his nose in clear annoyance, King Xakro replied with. "After you retrieve the ten foot tall Lava controller''s heart... I will definitely lock you down in the dungeon... filled with books and you aren''t leaving... until you read all of them. Let that be a punishment...for letting a child shoot you down with a two foot wide fireball." Feeling the smoke detaching from his face and rising towards the ceiling, he continued. "Even an ordinary guard could... shield against that."


    "Yes Sire. Indeed i need to learn more. I suppose that''s the only way I would ever read haha." He tried to crack another joke. But from the looks of it, even the finest Jester couldn''t ever make King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll smile, not to mention laughing. His face remained stiff as a board, it kicked the humour out of Chan right away.


    "Indeed... you fool. However, I''ll spare you the trouble on this topic. The Frozen Toe giant... discovered sorcery. After that, he did experiment after experiment." Rubbing his thumb with his forefinger, creating small smoke from it.(As a form of looking intimidating(which worked) and simply just playing with smoke.), he continued. "He wanted to... become immortal. And he almost did."


    "Almost?"


    Quitting playing with smoke, he leaned his head towards the arm support of the chair which was still in tact, holding his own head up with his hand, the King continued in dissatisfaction. "Much like my GrandFather. The Frozen Toe giant, he accidentally¡­ cursed himself. He didn''t become immortal... but he also did... in another way."


    ''That doesn''t make sense." Chan scratched the temple area of his head in confusion. Trying his best to understand.


    "He put himself in a constant... loop of rebirth. Every time his age gets the best... of him, he casts a spell on himself.... Rather suicidal." This story keeps getting darker by the second. Where the ill.u.s.tratios obsessed with power from the beginning of time?


    Finally able to catch up once more, Chan''s face lights up in satisfaction as he started snapping his fingers subconsciously in aims to ask another question. "So he kills himself to be freshly reborn? But how does he get reborn? He...well he is a male. Isn''t he?"


    "You are able to think more now... does fear equal intelligence to you?" Chan doesn''t give a reply and simply shows his white teeth in embarrassment.


    "Yes he kills..himself. His entire body disintegrates. It fades...on mid air. Except...his feet." Feet. Did this Giant ill.u.s.tratio have a fancy for feet? To the point where his rebirth and practical immortality starts from it?


    "Its like his feet aren''t a part of his body. Fascinating." Added Chan, who surprisingly was enjoying learning. Now that, is truly fascinating.


    "Indeed. Once he fades. He reappears on his feet....literally. He is reborn. He turns back to the age...the age he was when he first got the...curse. Two hundred and thirty years precisely." I doubt that''s on any book, so how does Xakro exactly know about it? Yet again it isn''t the weirdest thing he knows.


    "But what about his highly abnormal body heat?" This does not link to the feet in any way. It doesn''t make sense.


    "His body heat of course was also a...side effect. Frozen Toes and hot body. Ironic. But his toe is what we need for you... to gain powers. Powers strong enough to outmatch that Kid before he becomes... even more powerful." So the body heat could''ve just been a biological mutation. Who knows what ingredients this ancient ill.u.s.tratio was using.


    Remembering what the King mentioned a bit earlier about the toe being very hard to cut, Chan asked in slight fear. "Please tell me you have a plan instead of just me hitting it with a sword. I can''t face a thirty foot tall giant and win."


    "I know you coward. But fire. Fire can help you. But of course...you need to be a fire controller. Or not. I didn''t wipe out all the Witches and Wizards....because...."

 Chapter 18 - BearClaw

    "Because??" Pulling his head back in shock, no doubt rattled. Chan was raised hating ignites, especially Fire Controllers. So why would the King spare even one of them? It doesn''t make sense to him at all. And he even feels suspicious towards the King.


    "Because... I found use out of them." Replied King Xakro with his voice slightly raised. Thinking how he got them to work for him, got him to force in an eternal smile.


    "But why sire? Don''t they pose a threat? They are Witches and Wizards after all." Apart from the clear racism or targeted discrimination, he does have a point. How would Ignites with their friends and families killed react? They will strike whenever they have the chance and burn anything ill.u.s.tratian based, to the ground. The true Ignites would.


    "They are but they do... not pose a threat. They are my loyal... slaves. Just like you." Hesitating just a little bit before he murmured the next sentence. "They are of our own race...gifted i suppose." Well that makes sense and yet it doesn''t. It now makes sense, those swearing loyalty to him, aren''t ignites. But yet again, the fact that they have Fire Controlling abilities, they would automatically be labeled demons, which is why King Xakro hesitated to explain deeper at first. Personal benefit matters the most i suppose, as long as the general preview is still coated with race targeted discrimination and or hate. "They were naturally born with...the ability. Rare species. Only several... throughout Ignis." And at this point it is true, ill.u.s.tratios aren''t born with magical powers, as far as history goes, at least. Such prototypes are rare.


    Feeling conflicted with his own thoughts, Chan was practically batting with his own mind. He can''t hate his own kind but these unknown individuals have powers which associates them with Demons.  "I would say "Kill them" but of course they are of our own. And they would prove useful." Useful no doubt. They can get sensitive errands done. Unlike Chan here.


    "I forbid for them to use... their powers. Less of a threat, less of a headache. Except one... BearClaw. That women is beyond gifted... Collective." His voice slowed down as he was reaching the end of the sentence. Is this his way of showing respect and admiration?


    Having no clue who BearClaw is, never even hearing about her in rumors or banter usually heard in taverns, he finally found a way to be flexible. Found other questions to ask instead of making it clear to the King that he had no idea who BearClaw is. At this point, he might actually get shot if he doesn''t know anything again. "So she is allowed to use her powers. How did she reach level after level without being killed? I mean even as an ill.u.s.tratio you can''t be seen practicing magic and not expect to be put down for good."


    Noticing right away what Guard Commander Chan tried to doo, the King felt satisfied. For indeed fear is one of the best teachers. He decided to not say a word about it and stick to the main topic instead of wasting more time. "She wasn''t allowed... at first.  It was forbidden... for her like the rest. But...i saw her in action. She took out two hundred Guards... using Basic level Three spells." Hesitating to shame his own Platoons of Soldiers for a little while, he found a way to do it while shifting the blame on her. "She was toying around... with the Guards. As if they were no threat at all.. Used every bit of her ability...a battle expert." Even though it seems like a form of admiration, he was just shifting the blame.


    "She took out two hundred Guards. Did you punish her sire? She killed a lot of our own. That shouldn''t be left unpunished." Even though a basic ill.u.s.tratian mindset, King Xakro enjoyed these words a lot. It shows that his, his father and his grandfather''s work proved useful.


    But of course he did not like how a simple Guard Commander questioned his decisions, his ego wouldn''t allow it. "I do not need a Citizen to show... me how to be a Grand King." He replied trying to hold his anger in. He knew that it took one more rageful outburst to split Chan in half. Effects of which he can not reverse. "However... she did end up "unpunished". She escaped once i arrived...in the battle. Afterwards I tracked her down. Being an Ignite, she refused to... serve me. But now...she is under my Mind Control Spell."


    "My apologies Sire." Afterwards he scratched his head feeling Puzzled because the topic became even more confusing. He doesn''t even know a thing about Mind Control. His goals to sound smarter in front of the King, are now cancelled, clearly against his will. So he went with praising instead which can work just as well of course based on the King''s mood. "Mind Control. I don''t know much about that power. But it seems useful. You clearly are more powerful than the Current Electus. Why don''t you just control his mind?" He made a valid clear point here, although the King clearly thought about this before.


    "Mind Control. It is a power with levels hard to reach. My GrandFather was a Level... three Mind Controller before he obtained the Electuses powers... which made him Obtain level six." His voice started raising in pride and ego to the point where it felt like the Ground beneath his feet was shaking. "Giving him all the powers... he needed to become a Grand King through astounding mind control." Coming back to the topic, aiming to answer the question of which Chan Asked. Letting the throne''s arm support feel relief from his deadly grip in the process. "But the Electus, he is immune to... mind control. Every Electus is."


    "The Electus seems quite untouchable but why do we need this BearClaw lady. She killed many of us. She could turn on you in any chance she would get."


    Feeling displeasure from repeating his words to this fool. He let out a sigh, letting out anger just a little bit. "She would indeed...but she is under my strong spell. Almost... impossible to break. My mind control spells are spread... around on each King and Queen on our Motherland.(Meridionali ignis). Keeping them by our side. They are my...puppets with rather strong side effects as well. Although the royalty... don''t need mind control... anymore due to the propaganda the "illas" spread.."


    "But Sire. You have the power to mind control kings from other Continents. Our revolution can spread throughout the world if you please."


    "My powers need to go a long...road to reach their limits." Hesitating a little bit to continue at first, he said. "But indeed even a level six... mind controller like me. Has it difficult to have a large...number of people under my spell." Letting out a diss satisfied sigh before saying. "I don''t have the power to keep...anymore people under my control. I reached those limits... a while ago."


    "I will kill the Electus for you sire, even if it''s the last thing I do. Our revolution will spread worldwide.


    But may i ask Sire. Why don''t you take down the Giant? You clearly can."


    "Indeed... I am more powerful. Many many times more powerful. But I shall not waste my time on... such small task. It is...not of my standards." Of course this wasn''t standard based. How would it be of low standard to battle an ancient ill.u.s.tratio towering 30 feet tall? No, he didn''t want to do it because of other reasons. Self doubt maybe? We will find out. The Chances of the team finding out more about it before Chan aren''t rather slim either.


    Slightly being able to notice the lie of Which the King just spoke of. He chose to ignore it. The consequences of simply accusing the king, would be rather deadly. Like most Kings, ego has his heart corrupted. "Of course sire. A foolish question by my side."


    "Stop kissing my bottom you fool. You are a Guard Commander. Act up to your¡­ reputation." Now the King was twisting his own words. And even Chan noticed it. His words all changed based on moods. Even changing points of subjects. "You need to find BearClaw and tell her my... orders. She Can be found in Meridionali Ignis. On our... Capital Kingdom. Get her and cut off the toe. Once i can... eat the next Electuses heart, the rest of the world shall tremble beneath our feet. They will tremble... before the ill.u.s.tratios."

 Chapter 19 - Man Versus Volcano

    Meanwhile, back in the cave which holds the underground town named Lan Zhe(Or at least it used too). Something unexpected fell upon the group of heros. And no, it wasn''t the Cave''s Ceiling(at least for now)!


    The Gang is tight asleep as the moonlight gave a dim light throughout the cave''s entrance, not giving a lot of light to the rest of the cave though. But at least it made the cave at least not completely dark. Dealing with the morning cold can be tricky throughout this September, the start of fall. It isn''t everyone''s preference to stand in the long unpredicting dark, the darkness being cold, makes it even worse. Of course they keep the Campfire Going before they fall asleep, but it can only provide warmth for a few hours before giving out it''s last spark of light.


    People commonly like to have a better view of their surroundings, this is where the Campfire can be of big help, providing Warmth and in a way, security. They are in the middle of a dense forest after all, and there is literally nothing stopping any wild animal from randomly walking in the cave, they need to be able to see what''s around them whenever they feel the need too. As strong as two Fire Wizards can be, orientation right after waking up to a Source Bear is no doubt troublesome with light, not to mention without it.


    Throughout the day however, Mogranius showed Eric a few basic spells, tricks and battle strategies. Because it isn''t all about just randomly blasting Fire after all(the same goes if he had Freezing or Lava Controlling abilities). His powers are linked with his stamina, so of course he has to be careful where, how and when he uses it if he is to survive for a longer time throughout these troublesome times. It was a rather productive day, such wise battle strategies made Eric feel even more self dependent. But it doesn''t mean that Eric felt comfortable to fall asleep in this cave again. Last night wasn''t the best experience.


    "Graza Ho Dofet."


    "Graza Ho Dofet."


    "Graza Ho Dofet."


    "Graza Ho Dofet."


    "Graza Ho Dofet."


    Yes, that voice with it''s source unknown appeared again. Out of a sudden, all he was able to see is pitch black darkness. No light, no different colors. Nothing else, just never ending darkness all around, which increased his stress and anxiety even more. All he could do for now was listen. He couldn''t find the moonlight no matter which direction he turned too. So why bother looking around furthermore and increase stress? Instead of sitting in one spot, trying to calm himself down and make patience his best friend.


    His effort felt worthless to him, even if it helped for a little bit. The thought of unpredictability kept popping up in his head, dragging him back into stress. He felt that even a single fly could kill him at this point, he felt so unprepared. If he was too shoot, where would he? And would he burn the enemy or his loved ones? His mouth functioned perfectly, thank the 8 sources. But no one answered no matter how much he yelled for them. He felt himself sweating enough to create a creek, but yet he was shivering as if he was n.a.k.e.d in the last ice age. I don''t think that even Demons can cause such torture.


    The trauma he was experiencing was indeed rough, unexplainable, unpredictable but a bit expected(by him at least). No matter how strong this trauma was, like everything, it finally met an end. But now what might be thought by most as a "stronger trauma" started. What he heard next was twice as terrifying. He heard a few words of his own ignite language in fact. A final warming vibe arose with it.


    "Leave this place."


    He only heard that sentence once and this time instead of having it repeated several times like with the foreign sentences before. This time, whoever or whatever told Eric to leave this place, possessed a large hot threat. He woke up terrified. Not wasting a second, he stood on his feet posing a battle ready form, feeling the earth starting to rumble a blink of an eye later.


    "It was all a dream?" He thought to himself as he started touching himself to assure he is awake(and alive). As if he felt the rumble before time, waking up to it, prepared to fight right before it happened. At least, right before stage 1 happened. A rather unusual reflex considering that he felt so vulnerable a moment ago. After feeling the a little bit above light shake, he turned to his head to his left and saw the moonlight shining bright through the cave''s entrance. I suppose his subconscious wanted to be ready desperately but his body wouldn''t follow along(because he was sleeping, having a strong nightmare).


    "Yes. I''m awake!" He whispered swiftly and ignited light fires from the palm of his hands. Getting a much brighter view of his surroundings. Everything seemed normal at first, the Campfire seems to have burned out, Stefan was sleeping, so was his father Woldemir(duh). And Mogranius was listening to one of the Cave walls. Everything normal here. Not even Mogranius'' oddest behaviour so far.


    Mogranius noticed that Eric was awake, he knew it when he felt Eric swiftly stand up and form a battle pose. But he simply kept listening to the small dead end tunnel of the cave, concentrating further.


    "Did you... the Earthquake. Did you feel it?" Eric asked trying to form a sentence but mumbled heavily. It isn''t easy to form a sentence right after waking up to a voice telling him to leave this place, feeling as if he is drowning in his own sweat.


    "No, i''m just casually listening to the cave. Like I usually do." Even at such a situation, with dawn a couple of hours away, he still kept his signature Characteristic. Sarcasm. "Of course I felt the EarthQuake, why else would I be up this late. Listening to this tunnel?"


    "It isn''t the weirdest thing you did so far." Eric knows how to throw sarcasm as well. Not surprising considering he knows Mogranius for a few days now.


    Mogranius however, his eyes widened in shock topped with strong nervousness. Let''s say, his friends informed him of the upcoming earthquake before time. But he still felt curious enough to stand his ground and obtain more information about such sudden targeted Earthquake. If he doesn''t look into it now, when will he? When the cave falls upon them?(Explains how he stumbled upon time travel to begin with. Knowledge to him is worth more than safety.)


    "We need to get out of here. Now!" Yelled Mogranius from the top of his lungs. That''s when Eric knew that the situation was getting too dangerous. He never saw his mentor sound so nervous. He always saw Mogranius as the dependable c.o.c.ky Fire Wizard who always digs them out of trouble. But now, he seemed like he was begging for help even though he remained with a strong indomitable pose. That Got Eric even more nervous than Mogranius even though he wasn''t well aware of the approaching danger.


    The cave began to shake once more, hard enough to wake up everyone else. Even Woldemir(astonishing)! When Woldemir noticed the violent shake, he quickly orientated himself, and his first goal became to grab Eric. Fair to say, his father instincts kicked in. But his efforts were forced to become worthless.


    He stood on his feet swiftly, and as soon as he located Eric and took a step towards him. Lava was to be seen, breaking out from the end of the tunnel, specifically right where Mogranius was standing. The sudden impact forced Woldemir to take 3 large steps back by instinct. His heart sunk to his sock when he realized how close to the outburst of Lava Eric was standing.


    But what about Mogranius? He was right in front of the lava. A foot apart from it when it broke out! The lava was large enough to fill the entire Tunnel, no gasp of air would be able to escape from any part. But Mogranius, knew of the upcoming danger. Enough that you would think that he was on the other side, seeing it coming. But yet again, taking time to warn everyone led to him letting his Guard down.


    All he could do in that split second was break out a small Fire Shield Swiftly and stretch it enough to protect his body from the front, using the considerably upper advantage(the small time he bought with the Fire Shield) even more, he stretched the Shield enough to surround himself with it. Lava wasn''t to touch him. At least for now.


    The Fire Shield is a couple of inches thick. The edges at the bottom, had small flames burning lightly while the rest of the Shield was a light shade of fire which seemed very polished, while the top of the shield was spheric. Although the shield saved him from being burned alive, it did not stop the Lava from spreading through the other directions around him.


    The amount that spread in other directions wasn''t enough to fill the entire cave and boil the rest of the Gang alive, but it did manage to break out and spread in the forest a bit.


    However it did not spread for long. After Mogranius assured it to himself that he is safe(ish) and alive, he made a move to save everyone else and prevent the Lava from causing an uncontrollable forest fire.


    He stomped his right foot on the ground, squatted down and quickly arose high on his feet again, standing straight. As Mogranius stood straight again, the Fire Shield spread wider and wider by the moment.(Even while he was rising from the squat to stand straight).


    The Fire Shield first spread 3 feet wide, which stopped a lot of the Lava''s impact. But it wasn''t enough to stop all of it, and that''s what bothered him. He was still surrounded by Lava( even took a second to look around him in amazement) and the Shield was becoming harder to maintain by the moment, since he was opposing a larger amount now no doubt. If the Shield suddenly breaks, the impact of the lava itself can kill him on the spot before the heat does.


    Now having a bit more space to move around, he spread his legs wide and proceeded to do another squat. He clapped his hands rather loud which made the Fire Shield around him, tremble(or best described, wiggle.). As if it was ready to upgrade. The con from the clap, was that it made the Fire Shield half the time weaker. Meaning the shield thins down to an inch thick. He even saw the Shield breaking from several sides right after he clapped. Breaking like glass.


    Not planning to be burned alive today, he disconnected his hands from the clap and spread them wide on both sides without wasting a blink. And along with his hands, the Fire Shield spread wider and stopped trembling. It came back 2 inch thick and wide enough to spread on each side, preventing the lava from spreading from each possible side and or gap. The Fire Shield however, became far too lumpy to be considered spherical or circular.


    Sure it surrounded Mogranius, but it also connected to every part of the tunnel. Becoming very lumpy but no doubt preventing the Lava entirely from breaking out. Fitting like a glove.


    Seeing that Mogranius regained control of the situation with little damage to fix, Eric came back to his senses and began to use his mind for the better. There is no time to waste.


    He turned to his father who seemed no doubt terrified for Eric''s safety and had to yell since the Lava was being a bit loud.


    "Father. You climb on BlackWind and make your way to the main road. I will carry Stefan and blast out of here right after you." Woldemir however, was standing shocked. At a loss for words he just nodded in agreement, grabbed BlackWind by the lead(rope) and carefully pulled him out, guiding him to avoid Lava pots here and there. It would sure hurt to step on any of those.


    Seeing his father walk out of the Cave with BlackWind, Eric turned to Mogranius and started yelling. "Don''t let the lava reach the forest. I will be back as fast as I can." To assure Eric that he heard the request, he simply nodded his head in agreement. But it doesn''t mean that he liked the plan. He has the stamina to keep this Fire Shield up for a while, he knows that. But he is scared of the possible stronger amount of lava which might randomly approach, that could break his Fire Shield. If all goes wrong, he needs a powerful Electus backing him up. Standing like his Guardian angel. Even though he was scared for his life for once, he knew that getting everyone to safety first was the best idea.

 Chapter 20 - One Eyebrow less

    Since Mogranius blocked each and every gap of that tunnel, the Lava became heavier and heavier to withstand. At first, he noticed a sudden spike in his Stamina as soon as he filled each gap of the tunnel(caused while Eric was still in the cave).


    After withstanding that spike, he quickly adapted to it and felt like he can withstand it long enough. At least until Eric returns. But now ke knew that he underestimated the Lava''s power.


    Normally, once the Fire Shield is casted, the Caster only needs to focus on keeping the shield going. Having a firm grip to the ground is just a minor mostly unnecessary trait. Because the shield itself holds back any strong pushing force opposing it. Even if the opposing force is too strong, the shield starts breaking. The grip to the ground isn''t affected. But here! It wasn''t the case. The Shield isn''t braking quickly, so that tension has to go somewhere else, seeking a weaker spot.


    Mogranius felt his feet being pushed through the ground. Although not fast enough to tip him over, his feet were still slipping. Slipping might not be the best description. They were being pushed against the hard dry ground.


    Feeling that he was being overwhelmed, he knew he had to put more power against this lava, the shield has to be stronger in order to prevent this, sliding. Because if he keeps sliding like this, he will eventually meet the end of the tunnel, and the lava will spread in the cave wild enough that he won''t be able at all to hold back at such a short time given.


    Moving his right foot forward swiftly before he lost balance, he bent himself 65¡ã forward and started opposing such great force. Afterwards taking a left step forwards, he was able to reach his former location(specifically where he first started the Fire Shield) even though his legs kept sliding across the ground along the way.


    He did manage to fight back this large burden, yes. But he witnessed happening what he feared the most in this situation. The Fire Shield started cracking. A minor crack on the top left side appeared. Then a slightly bigger crack in the middle followed. Not wasting a blink, another smaller crack very near the middle appeared as well. If these cracks keep appearing, the shield will break and disaster will follow.


    Tightening his fists as they were in mid air and letting out a violent portion of fire through his nose, the cracks on the shield disappeared in a blink but so did a big portion of Mogranius'' stamina due to the shield expanded in width. It became thicker by an inch. Such shield upgrade takes a lot of concentration, rage and stamina. If one of the above is lacking or is overdone, disaster follows. It has to be perfectly balanced and takes years of practice and or research to master.


    But remember that spike in stamina he had to withstand once he covered every gap of the tunnel? Well, the spike has doubled now. At first he felt week on his knees but adapted to it quickly and took charge over the weakness, afterwards he felt his lungs burning harder and harder as a result which forced him to heavy breathe. What this signifies, is that he burned 60% of his stamina already. To make it worse, a couple of cracks reappeared on the Fire Shield. This shows that in order to beat this lava, a 4 inch Fire Shield has to be casted. Especially since he was still sliding across the ground, but half the time slower.


    But with such a thick shield, it can be unpredictable on how long it will stay active for a level 4 Fire Wizard. Sure a Level 5 or 6 Fire Wizard will have little to no trouble in maintaining a shield of such thickness. But for Mogranius, it could either last a second, half a minute or a couple of minutes. It really is unpredictable and it can wary on his overall concentration, put in rage and remaining Stamina.


    Mogranius was in second and even third thoughts about unleashing such a thick shield. But from the looks of it, his choices were limited. Two more cracks appeared very near to each other at the top right. First the lava favoured the left, and now the right. It really is unpredictable, which makes it all the more dangerous.


    "Where the hell is that kid?" He whispered to himself as he let out a strong breath and felt countless sweats dropping the ground. How funny would it be if he sweated enough to slip on it. It would sure be an adventure.


    He decided that forming a 4 inch Fire Shield at such a situation would be too dangerous and unpredictable. Instead, he decided to do an even more advanced and more powerful move that might be able to vaporize the Lava in front of him and cause a strong blockade. That could just work enough to solve 2 problems at once. He could possibly fight off the lava permanently, preventing it from causing colossal damage and he wouldn''t be burned into a crisp. But he will need to use the rest of his stamina against it if he wishes to achieve such a goal. Which could be the biggest risk if the move isn''t so effective towards this seemingly limitless lava. What did he have to lose? If a 3 inch thick Fire Shield can''t hold off this lava, he can''t simply wait. The shield might give in before his stamina does.


    To unleash a spell that can possibly fight off such force, he had to form a fire spell while still keeping the Fire shield going.


    Casting another spell while keeping another one going, can no doubt be tricky. And at this situation where Lava is a few feet away from him, it can be extremely dangerous. He will have to blow away his entire stamina along with this spell.


    Throwing a simple Fireball towards this huge amount of Lava wouldn''t be of help. It would just be a waste of Stamina. So he had to settle for a different, stronger spell. One that can oppose the Lava, push it away and explode at the end. Bringing the tunnel down. Which could be just what he needs to permanently prevent the lava from breaking out, or at least enough until Eric returns. He has a lot more stamina and power to burn.


    If there is enough dirt and rocks in front of the Lava, it will be what he needs to prevent the lava from causing Havoc, or from burning him alive. But yet again, this lava is bursting out intensively fast. It isn''t natural. The chances of the Lava breaking out again are large, but his Fire Shield is breaking fast and his remaining stamina even faster, and Eric is taking too much time to return. Even if the Lava breaks out again, at least Eric will likely be there by that time. This just needs to hold for a little if not forever.


    On his right hand, a Fireball started to form. Roughly Sphering around his hand, growing bigger by the moment. But he felt like it wasn''t enough. "I need to put more power into this. This shield won''t hold long." He thought to himself as his breath became heavier as time passed.


    Not wasting a moment, fire started breaking out of his nose and heading towards his right hand, giving more power to the forming fireball. A rather uncommon way to burst fire from, but it was helping.


    More cracks on his 3 inch thick Fire Shield started appearing, giving a quick glance and counting them. He found out that there were 9 Cracks on it already, ranging from small to big, but most were medium sized. It won''t work to his advantage if more cracks are forced towards the Shield. A few more cracks, and the Fire Shield will entirely break. He will be roasted into a good meal for a Source Bear to munch on.


    "I need to do this faster." He whispered to himself. In a blink, Fire broke out through his mouth, hit the Shield and bounced of it towards his right hand. That small spheric Fire, observing all of this power. Concentrating in one place, Although at first it grew bigger in size, now it was forcing itself to become smaller. Compressing, to make space for more power to roam around his hand.


    Two more cracks appeared on the Fire Shield. And on one of them, Lava was breaking through, slowly falling near his feet. With the spell''s range being minimized by the opposing lava who might have the chance to push this concentrated Blast back, how will this shield exactly withstand such explosion? Especially if it gets closer!


    Fire was blasting out of his nose, mouth and hand while the other hand was holding the Fire Shield up. His Stamina now is roughly 2/10. He could even feel his knees getting weaker and his eyesight darkening. He can knock himself out if he continues, so the time to attack is now!


    Giving out a final burst towards the Spherical fire around his hand, he tightened his fist hard enough for his fingers to start burning, feeling numb due to that last step. He Quitted blasting fire throughout his mouth and nose, but now his hand were shaking. There was too much power concentrated on one spot, he wasn''t sure at all if he can keep this fire for long on his hand. It can erupt before he can even unleash it. This spell is ridiculously unstable and packs a death promising blow. Luckily, he didn''t have to hold it in his hand and wait to see what happens.


    Pulling his right elbow back, and throwing that spheric Fire against the Shield and Lava as if he threw a rock. It managed to push through the Fire Shield without trouble(Thankfully!). Imagine being trapped in your own shield and killed by your own explosion! Not so wise but it wouldn''t still be the craziest thing he would doo). The concentrated spheric Fireball broke through wind so easily, that it even pushed through the lava as if it were nothing, as if it was still breaking through air. Thankfully, the lava didn''t bring the spell back. If it did, death would be certain.


    Knowing what he had to do as a last resort, with his arms already spread wide, he clapped his hands and the Fire Shield instantly expanded in Thickness. 3/4 of the cracks disappeared in a blink of an eye, the ones still remaining on the shield thankfully didn''t pose a threat at all. But with so little stamina left, how long can he keep a 4 inch Fire Shield going? This specially formed Fireball was his last hope.


    That Fireball reached the end of its road, but its effects were sure far from meeting an end! A large explosion was heard a couple of seconds after Mogranius made the Fire Shield Thicker. Judging from how fast it exploded and how fast it flew, the concentrated Fire Ball exploded anywhere from 15 to 35 feet away. It really is uncertain, but it exploded close by.


    The blast however was worthy to be memorized with song! The blast vaporized every bit of lava which reached its radius. A lot of the lava of which was near Mogranius, wasn''t there anymore but he had no chance of noticing that, due to all of the dust, rocks and dirt, flashing around him and the strong shake as the aftermath of the explosion. It is very likely that a lot of Lava from the other side was vaporized as well. Imagine burning super hot lava out of existence with super hot fire! That''s how strong a concentrated blast can be.


    The radius of the Blast however, still reached Mogranius with ease. It rushed towards the Shield with such a pushing force.


    When it hit the shield, a large rivering singular crack appeared from the left top of the Fire Shield and ranged all the way down to the bottom right of the shield. But, that crack was only to be seen for a blink.


    Right after, smaller branches of cracks started spreading near the first large crack one after the other with no sign of stopping. It all happened too fast! A four inch Fire Shield which can wipe out his stamina in a few blinks, seemed nothing more but a minor barricade in front of that concentrated blast. Piling up power all in one place, can''t always be the best idea as you can see.


    If breaking the Fire Shield in 2 seconds isn''t bad enough, he was tossed all the way through the cave near the Entrance and even was forced into a backflip in mid air. His strong grip to the ground caused such backflip. His back even hit the cave wall above the entrance before he fell on the ground. Thankfully there wasn''t lava where he fell, as if that spot was reserved for him.


    He raised his head up with the toughest effort and saw the tunnel collapsing, dust spreading wide through the cave due to the tunnel.


    As if him being tossed through the cave worked to his advantage, he also noticed rock and dirt collapsing around his former position and 15 feet behind that spot as well. So if the Lava is to appear Again, it will have it a bit harder to do so.


    Giving out a last blink towards the collapsed tunnel, his eyes closed as he reached unconsciousness. Stamina did its part and so did the minor damage he took when he hit the walls of the cave, hard dirt and rocks after too.


    But to his ridiculously large bad luck, after an exact minute, Lava broke out through the tunnel once more.


    Just before the lava was about to turn Mogranius in to an over cooked kebab, Eric jumped in front of the way. He unleashed a terrifyingly large amount of fire towards the lava. So much, that the ground started shaking harder beneath his feet the second he unleashed the fire from his palms. And this time it was partially because of the lava.


    The Fire he unleashed was so large, that the beginning of the blast was literally a blast, in an exploding like manner that made him loose grip of the ground in mere seconds. It threw him through the entrance and forced him tumble down through the hard dirt and rocks(mostly) outside of the cave like a tumbleweed.


    While Eric was just thrown all the way out of the cave, he kept the spell going even while he was in mid air, but still he wasn''t able to maintain the spell going for more than around 4 seconds. The blast was just to strong, it opposed the lava rather well.


    The Fire. Dear God. The Fire was terrifying. It measured 5 feet wide once it left Eric''s palms and expanded ten feet when it reached the Tunnel. It''s length behind didn''t tail long, but it''s strength still remained unmatchable. it had such a strong push that it didn''t just easily overpower the lava but it also expanded the used to be dead end tunnel to a ten foot wide and high seemingly endless hole, ignoring Dirt and Rock! It went through the tunnel so easily that it didn''t shake the rest of the cave down in the process. A win win.


    The heat of the fire was unbearable as well. Just by being the caster, Eric slightly burned his hands, burned his left eyebrow and even a bit of his hair. The hair doesn''t seem to be a problem because his black hair just looked better with it.


    However, Eric was knocked out from that huge blast as well, he got knocked out from the lack of stamina. As we mentioned before, his magic is linked to his stamina. The more he blasts the more stamina he loses. And this huge blast was way to much for someone who just discovered magic a few days ago. He didn''t yet figure out how to make the best out of his stamina.


    Surprisingly waking up half a minute after, crawling his way up to the cave which took a few minutes.(in his case it felt like forever) he finally managed to reach Mogranius. Glaring upon the tunnel, he saw quite well that he has won!


    He managed to gently(slapped) wake up Mogranius in to consciousness and while still under his breath he said, "Morning already?"


    They both are tired. All Mogranius is strong enough to do is sit and Eric burned out so much Stamina that he can''t even stand up yet. He would need a few minutes(or an hour) to catch his breath and get his energy back (enough energy to stand up. Not to replenish his stamina entirely. Until that time comes, they are quite defenseless.


    But unfortunately, time wasn''t on their side now. Because from the previous tunnel where all that lava came from, now came something possibly more deadly. Something everyone but one person expected dead.


    The Calidum Lutum. Three of them came out of that tunnel. One who seemed to be the leader, standing taller than an average ten foot Calidum Lutum, was in the middle of the three.


    His strong black Biceps were twice the size of Eric himself and the lava like veins that covered their bodies made each of them twice as intimidating. Luckily they were wearing grey breachers as well. Or else it would be really terrifying.


    The two other Calidum Lutum near him, seemed smaller, weaker but if the two of them were put together, they would be equal(if not stronger) to the leader.


    You would expect the Calidum Lutum race to be peaceful. Apart from their obvious numerous war advantages, they avoided war. But yet again they didn''t seem peaceful when they blasted all that lava towards the unsuspecting. The leader, forged his hands together, making them a large fist and was about to crush the life out of both Eric and Woldemir.


    A second before he was about to crush them, he heard a voice yelling in a commanding tone from behind.


    "AKI!"


    The seemingly giant Calidum Lutum stopped on his spot, as if he froze. And separated his hands from each other, stepped a couple of steps backwards, sparing their lives. Even though he was the leader, there seems to be a leader above leaders.


    The three large Calidum Lutum stood aside and what seemed to be a shorter woman was approaching. Well at least small compared to the other three. She was about six foot tall.


    She looked like an ignite but not entirely. You can define an ignite apart from similar looking races from the jawline and how wide their faces is. Interesting definition indeed.


    Ignites have a small jawline and their face isn''t so wide. Most ignite looks like that without doubt while some have minor differences. Not anything that would confuse them with another race though. But the woman that approached Eric and Woldemir had the complete opposite. Wider face and a sharp Jawline, six foot tall(while most of the other ignite women are around five foot tall.).


    And of course a big feature that defined her best, she had no ears. And I''m not using this as a metaphor, she had no ears. At all. There weren''t any holes around where the ears should be either. Nothing. Straight out flat.


    But oddly, she could hear everything.


    Apart from that, she was undoubtedly "otherworldly" beautiful.


    Her black hair reached all the way to the way of her elbows and she was obviously very physically fit, her body toned enough to be used as a military motivation, arm muscles a bit above average.


    Mogranius who a minute ago was laying on the ground gasping for breath, in less then a split second stood six foot tall(Still a bit shorter than her.).


    Mogranius who straight up believed that marriage was a waste of time, nerves and gold coins, suddenly fell in love at first sight. In a flirting like manner he said to her, "Who might you be, let me guess.... They call you Dandelion. Because you sure look as beautiful as one."

 Chapter 21 - The Earless Women

    Without even the slightest fear in her heart and with a strong boldness on her tone, she proceeded to reply with. "I step on Dandelions." To Mogranius'' flirting. Expressing clearly that she didn''t like it.


    The six foot tall earless women, seems to have heard every word Mogranius said, despite her clearly different features. And with a rough tone she proceeded to ask the two Ignites, well more like order. "You two have to leave this place. It isn''t for you to use as you please." But too who was she talking too? It is not like either of them were paying attention, Eric was close to losing consciousness due to how drained out he felt, and Mogranius...


    In nothing more but a blink, the women and the rest of the Calidum Lutum weren''t able to see Mogranius(including Eric). No one knows where he is going with this odd enough, self introduction! But I think we are about to find out. One of the Calidum Lutum growled and pointed his finger towards Mogranius who seems to be standing on his feet with his back against the cave wall and apparently with one foot against the cave wall as well, tipping his hat downwards(you would think that he wouldn''t be able to find his hat after such explosive battles).


    Not sure of what to expect from this old goof, the woman turned to the one of the two who wasn''t nearly acting like Mogranius. A bit concerned, she proceeded to ask. "What is he doing? Is he sane?"


    Eric However, is even more surprised than the rest of the people. Even though he knew Mogranius way longer than anyone else in this cave. There was just too much to explain, too little of what he knew and barely any energy on his body to hold a simple conversation. After a short thought, the best thing he could say was. "I don''t know, don''t move."


    Mogranius however, started shedding a little light to his nonsense if not more. "I''m Mogranius. Level Four Fire Wizard, fairly a time traveler and the eye candy in the group." Giving a glance at his own nails, talking about such acts as if they were no big deal. He proceeded to brag about an even bigger topic. "Used to mentor the previous Electus and now i''m mentoring the new one." Upon finishing his sentence, now he was just standing above Eric''s head and was pointing his fingers towards Eric from both hands. Making it clear who the Electus was. It can''t be put into word how he reached Eric even though he was 15 feet away just a moment ago.


    The woman changes her facial expression once hearing the word Electus, but not for the better. She got even more grumpy, if you can believe that! With a rougher tone she proceeded to say. "One Electus long before you, separated this good continent to many countries. Every Electus lost our support ever since. Or would I say they lost the support from the Calidum Lutum. I have been here for about two hundred years." Rather odd that she was revealing her personal information to people she wanted to kill a while ago. But it made it rather clear which race the men behind her belong too.


    Hearing the words "200 Years", Mogranius suddenly turns less flirty and uses his common logic to process this situation. Rather interested, he asks.  "Two Hundred years you say? That''s exactly when i got teleported here by the Electus herself. Fair to say it was a spell gone wrong."


    Not expecting such words from this Ignite but yet not surprised by it, she replied with ego as her motive. "Any Basic Electus wouldn''t be nearly smart enough to handle teleportation powers. Teleportation isn''t about brute crushing strength. It''s all about studying, concentration and a bright mind who can hold on to all of the information." Glaring at Eric(who was still lying on the ground) with a strong deadly stare, she finished off by saying. "Every Electus prefers war, suffering and power."


    Quite offended by what this woman is saying, he managed to focus enough and form a reasonable sentence. At this war, they are the victims after all. "What nonsense are you talking about? A huge war started right after the previous Electus passed away. If there wasn''t a war before she died, it was because she held everything together, at peace."


    A bit unaware of Ignis'' recent history due to the obvious insulation, ego was still by her side. "Ha. That''s all the races in these countries know. War. Endless war. This is why the Calidum Lutum disappeared thousands of years ago. Because they wanted no part of your nonsense. Whatever the case might be, you are not welcome here." Giving a glance at Mogranius and even irritated by the thought of him, she swiftly said. "Neither are you, aged weirdo."


    Fueling up with rage because of what he was hearing from a person who clearly isn''t aware of recent events, and even holds her lack of knowledge proudly, he started raising his voice sky high(even though a bit earlier he didn''t have enough energy to talk normally). Apart from that, her claims about peace aren''t so stable. "I will not accept to be taught peace and honour from someone who attacked a group of people with lava while they were sleeping." Taking big effort to seat himself instead of laying, he continued. "You are a coward! That''s why you and the rest of you hid underground for thousands of years. You hid instead of fighting for what rightfully belongs to you. You all are a disgrace. all of you."


    With such rage and words to match it, he touched the short tempered women''s every nerve. It is a surprise that she didn''t attack him yet. Because anyone else would. Having the urge to correct such nonsense(at least for her), she said. "You call this bravery? You can''t even stand on your feet but you dare to try and oppose me. Knowing that either of us can eliminate you right now, you oppose me? You oppose us?"


    Refusing to reply with anything to her sentences, Eric remained seated with fury burning through his eyes. The chances of him stalling them enough until he replenished his stamina, are large. Seeing such fury, she felt intimidated, surprised and thought that she said a few things that weren''t for her to say. In aims to loosen the tension in this situation, she added. "I suppose you can teach us a thing or two about bravery. But definitely not honour. All you know is war." Well she has her limits of kindness after all. Every person does, but hers is tremendously short.


    Putting up a strong struggle to try standing on his own two feet, using the cave wall to help himself up and with a bit of Mogranius'' help as well(who forgot that his stamina depleted and was at a loss for words towards this conversation. He was too focused on her!). After putting up such strong effort, he brought his attention back towards the woman and proceeded to say. "I can''t stand on my feet because I burned my stamina undoing what you threw against us. You keep yapping about peace but you could of killed hundreds with a forest fire. It isn''t peace if only your kind is peaceful, watching others suffer. It especially isn''t peace if you cause the suffering. It''s racial dominance."


    Although confused how such words came from a young ignite, she still had many other reasons to stand for what she believed in. Which made it easy for her give another reply. "So you say, making sure my soldiers aren''t killed in battle started from people who couldn''t care less about my soldiers or theirs, is a crime?"


    "No one was touching you or any of your soldiers. You attacked us!" Replied Eric, pointing out a detail this woman kept forgetting(or ignoring).


    Ridiculously, she still stuck to her self feeding ego and ignored everything else. Eric couldn''t see the peace of which this woman kept praising and Mogranius loved her attitude for some reason. "How could you possibly oppose all the lava that teens of soldiers just released. You are nothing but a small child."


    Although they attacked the group, he still agreed about one fact with her. The rulers, don''t care about the soldiers who died in battle as long as they get what they "fought for". So he ignored her terrible character and tried to show sympathy to this race, even gave a final attempt to reason with her. "I am not quite sure what the Electuses before me started and ended but i''m fighting this war so innocent people don''t get killed in battle anymore, so people escape slavery, so every person gets to taste peace."


    Getting a strong vibe that Eric isn''t a stereotypical warhead, she finally put ego aside and tried to befriend people she just killed. At this rate, Eric sounds more peaceful than the Calidum Lutum without a doubt. "You have to forgive me. I misjudged you. You clearly are a honourable... man? You are still a child. But anyway, me and my Guards would gladly assist you on your quest on freeing this land. but under one condition."


    Seeing that Eric is more powerful than she ever imagined, powerful enough to not even brag about his abilities. She had to try and get something out of this. But it wasn''t gold no. "After you win the war, you will do everything in your power to make ignis one. No countries, no borders. Everyone living together, peacefully. As it should be."

 Chapter 22 - Last of the Kastarian race

    Eric started calming down after he yelled out what he stood for from the top of his lungs. His courage was made certain. Against all odds he argued against that woman who had a clear upper advantage at that specific moment. He literally could of been killed just because of an argument but he still stood his ground. Anyone can take your life but not what you believe in.


    Giving this offer a short thought, he decided to agree with her. It would be amazing to have the Calidum Lutum''s support against this Civil War bottled in land l.u.s.t. Although, he isn''t sure that he can provide what he aims for which is very similar to what this Woman requested. Success is uncertain, but how would he know what the results will be if he doesn''t at least try?! So he kept his promises and offers short due to uncertainty. "You have my word. We will make Ignis one again. At this rate, any help goes a long way. We are basically scraping to survive. Which is why we are here in the first place. We needed a place to hide. We ran from a beast like person back at Crutal Kingdom."


    The Women stood in confusion, not understanding how a Fire Mage who out battled tens of her men, fail against one person. You can''t find people who can outmatch the Calidum Lutum too often, they are the definition of manbeasts and the only indomitable race (well at least in this underground town). "The all powerful Electus fled a battle? What possible circ.u.mstances brought you to the point of fleeing?"


    Hearing her surprise(which seems like a mood out of the ordinary for this moody woman), Eric gets a bit uncomfortable from the question she asked. I mean even if he hides it well, he got very discouraged because of failing to kill that manbeast(The King) back at Crutal Kingdom. Sighing to let out his stress, he proceeded to reply while forming improper sentences due to his stress and overall social anxiety towards new people. "Well technically i discovered my powers.. I did less than a week ago. Back at Crutal Kingdom, the manbeast... my powers had an outburst once the ill.u.s.tratio threatened to kill my companion.


    I took out almost half of the Kingdom, but the manbeast... But whatever faced me, was straight up a level six Fire Wizard. Maybe even more. My shots didn''t even touch him."


    Eric''s face was becoming massively red by the passing moment as he explained their tragedy to this fairly stunning woman. Sure he had no trouble forming sentences and push away Social anxiety(which is a shade of shyness) when he was arguing his points of view out towards her. But now? The conversation between them is a little bit friendlier.


    So he simply became shy of her presence, forgetting about rage and being nervous about not saying anything stupid or not appearing weird. The Calidum Lutum men behind the woman saw it clearly but didn''t react to it at all, they were a little bit nervous since even they know that he is a Fire Mage, thinking it''s an Ignite thing and that he might start breathing Fire. But the woman on the other hand, had a sense of what was going on, and even though she didn''t react to it so he wouldn''t explode out of shyness, she did find it ridiculously adorable.


    "Smooth." Replied Mogranius from a distance as he was analyzing the Calidum Lutum. Admiring them enough to invade their personal space. Until he was tossed all the way near the Cave''s entrance. And the two normal people barely even reacted to it. Eric knows Mogranius enough that he got used to such nonsense while this woman couldn''t care less while Mogranius seems to be leaving a permanent print above the Cave''s entrance. Art is beautiful.


    Although struggling just a little bit to understand Eric, this Woman furthermore became impressed by his Fire Controlling abilities. She proceeded to actually genuinely compliment(something that had very slim chances of happening). "It looks like a battle worthy of song. You will outcompete your opposition eventually, don''t worry about it."


    She even threw in support? Perhaps she noticed that this kid is under anxiety not only because he was talking to an attractive Woman, but also because he was quite possibly holding the burden of a Continent over his shoulders. His courage and motive is big, but burden will follow anyone no matter what. It is a terrible and beautiful part of life.


    Seeing the conversation reaching an end, she felt it appropriate to finally assist these people. Living in a cave isn''t easy after all(even though it provides fairly good protection from the unpredictable weather and the strong morning cold), the daily necessities makes it hard.


    We don''t value daily necessities before life forces us to live without them. If you can''t appreciate little things, your appreciation towards anything be it big or small will fade eventually. "Follow us and we will escort you to our great underground town. Do you have more people in your little group here or is it only you and this old goof?"


    Replying in a tremendously c.o.c.ky voice(very confident with himself absolutely no doubt), but also clearly putting in an attempt to flirt. "You mean the old goof you already love?"


    Grabbing Mogranius'' attempt and as if tossing it against the ground and stepping on it with both feet, she boldly replied with a face as stiff and serious as a plank. "No!"


    Used of Mogranius'' nonsense, Eric focused on the current most important matter. "There are two more of us, well 3 if you include our Horse BlackWind. The other two are my father Woldemir who is great with a Sword. And another man who is fairly a mastermind, called Stefan. He found the bravery to sacrifice all he worked for in his life to free our land." Feeling that he praised Stefan too much, he felt it fair to assure her that. "You will notice that he complains a lot though. So I hope that''s not a problem, miss?"


    "Call me Alia. Commander Alia." Replied the Woman with half a smile across her lips. Her eyes however seemed tired, almost reactionless to emotion. Perhaps, this situation is reminding her of her past. Perhaps she feels tired and drained out. She seems lost in her thoughts.


    Ignoring that different look, convincing himself that this is some sort of personality trait for her, he proceeded to say. "Alright Commander Alia, lead the way." Afterwards he turned his attention towards Mogranius and said, "Go find my Father, Stefan and of course most importantly, BlackWind."


    Mogranius simply nodded in agreement and almost started blasting Fire out of his feet, but Commander Alia stopped him.


    Waving for him to stop on his track, sunk his mind into nervousness and his mind went through countless thoughts. But her order was as simple as it could get. "That won''t be necessary. My men will hunt them down and bring them here, you two relax and just follow me." Seeing what her town put both of these people through, she didn''t find it fair to make any of them work more after this. They need to relax.


    Trying to find the words to explain the situation, his face became redder by the second and he started mumbling his sentences again even though they weren''t so complex. "Oh well in that case, tell them to look... the main road to look. We made plans to meet up... Horse. No, there meet once... you know, we beat whoever threw the lava at us."


    Making his social anxiety and overall shyness towards new people even worse, Commander Alia turned towards Eric, grabbed his cheeks and squeezes them like she would do to a child. With a playful tone she teased.


    "Look at you. All grown up and planning battles. Adorable, simply adorable." She finished off as she squeezed her cheeks strong enough to lift him off the ground by an inch. I suppose her weakness are children, she can''t resist teasing them and or playing with them.


    Feeling a bit of jealousy, no doubt wanting that attention from Commander Alia all for himself and himself only, he didn''t hesitate for a second to interrupt the teasing by saying. "Hey i''m adorable too."


    Ignoring the nonsense she got a little bit used too by now(even though, she couldn''t help but agreeing with his sentence even if it is just a little bit, to make it clear she didn''t agree with him out loud). She turned to the ten foot tall Calidum Lutum guards and with a surprisingly foreign language, she fills both of the Ignite''s heads with question marks, because they didn''t understand a thing.


    "Ta Astek yi sa garam ai er capit sada, asta ersa sadpu kempos.(This translates too "Two People can be found at the main road, bring them here alive.")."


    The huge Calidum Lutum leader grunts and his two companions start walking out of the cave and search for Woldemir and Stefan once surprisingly understanding his grunting Command. Well more like they had to crawl out of the cave like a cat. The exit barely fits BlackWind through.


    Feeling assured with her men''s work the other three will be here in no time, she felt it appropriate to assure these two as well. "Your companions will be shortly with us, so cross that out of your list of concerns for today. Follow me too the great Underground town of Lan Zhe."


    It seems like quite a walk to reach it, they have been walking for about 5 minutes and the tunnel doesn''t seem to find an end. At this case, they could do more with their time instead of just staying awkwardly silent and Mogranius just drooling while looking at Commander Alia who diss comfortably bursts out that, "I will stab you to death look.", every time she catches him staring. Point is, he barely glanced anywhere else but in the back of her head and burst in emotion due to it, but Commander Alia understood it wrong.


    It was weird for him to break the silence considering that he gets very nervous any time he isn''t arguing with her. But if he doesn''t distract her, she will stab Mogranius eventually. Breaking the silence, Eric proceeded to ask. "So Commander Alia. How did you end up here with the Calidum Lutum? I never saw someone like you before. What race are you?"


    Feeling like a horse kicked her heart as soon as he heard that question, Commander Alia stops on her spot and with a rough tone she answers. "I come from another Continent. Or at least it used to be a Continent. About two hundred years ago when I first got here, i got here for a reason. Rather desperate."


    Finally snapping out of his nonsense (at least for a little while) and able to put two and two together, he sprinted towards her, blocking her path with his hands raised in front of him in excitement. "Precisely two hundred years ago you say? Could it have any connection with me appearing here. I mean i teleported here after a spell gone wrong."


    Although not very surprised that such luck would fall on Mogranius, she decided to agree with him and give out the final piece of information of which sheds of the strongest light on this tragedy. "It might have. Several spells went wrong after...the source died out."


    Both of them not having the slightest idea what the source is, Commander Alia once noticing their lack of knowledge that would be considered basic in her Continent, she sighed in a little bit of diss satisfaction while holding her forehead and proceeded to explain this topic further. "The source that granted Teleportation Powers to Witches and Wizards in my Continent. Just like you have a source that granted and is still granting you Fire Powers, each other magic power has a source."


    "Whaaa."


    "Legend has it that, none of us can see them, none of us can touch them, some say its mythical. But i''m sure at your journeys you will eventually run into the sources. Point is, every continent has a source, it''s just almost impossible to find it."


    Now feeling a bit positive that Commander Alia has or used to have powers, he formed a little theory which he felt that he had to prove it true. Plus he wanted to sound smarter in front of her. "So meaning you accidentally teleported here as well?"


    Finding it a trauma to talk about this tragedy to begin with, she felt like she has what it takes to recall this part and explain it to these two. That''s all the mental energy she had left. "No. When the source died, so did my Continent. It seemed like the end of the world started. The earth greatly trembled, trees turned from rich with life to dead dark and the wind took them away in crumbled pieces, birds fell from the sky, some landing on people and killing them. Mountains literally falling down into nothingness."


    "Then how did you escape such disaster."


    "I made a run for it and hit the ocean.


    A sudden explosion appeared on the continent. It knocked me out. And i found myself beached on another continent. Ignis.(here)."


    Both Eric and Mogranius are shocked by this disaster, they were at a loss of words and didn''t know how to react to it, or to this woman who was shivering uncontrollably once she started recalling this traumatic disaster, I suppose she miscalculated her mental energy. Seeing such strong individual feel weak, made the two feel even weaker. Trying his best to comfort her, trying to help her let go of this seemingly irreversible disaster that for no doubt she has been holding in her heart for 200 years. Mogranius comforts her by saying, "It must feel terrible losing an entire continent just like that. Your family, friends, everyone. I could never relate to your pain enough to know a way to comfort you properly. But i can see that the Calidum Lutum filled the empty spot of friends and family in your heart." At such a sentence uttered from his mouth, she hated him just a little bit less now. Because it sounded rather mature for a goof of his kind.


    Subconsciously reaching in for a hug without even realizing it herself, she held Mogranius very tightly and uttered. "Indeed they did. But that won''t change the fact that a Continent of 400,000 people died that day. I am the last of the Kastarian race."


    Upon realization that she actually hugged Mogranius even though she didn''t aim too, she quickly backed off and slapped him(not too hard though) and yelled. "Don''t ever hug me again."


    "Wow that woman can slap!" Yelled out Mogranius even more. The slap felt like nothing because his face was already boiling red, which helped form some sort of resistance from the slap. His body heat increasing stronger is how she noticed that she was hugging him. He found this sudden burst of reaction very adorable, and he knew it was just an intense reaction when one is suddenly too shy.


    And it is fair to say that her heart is pounding strong in embarrassment now even though she would never admit upon it and kept a strict face with a small little blush forcibly breaking above her cheeks which was quite beyond her control.


    "Shut up and follow me." She turned around and started walking forwards, so no one can see her blush.

 Chapter 23 - The Underground Volcano

    Ignoring the whole boy girl situation between Commander Alia and Mogranius, Eric decided to focus on the main motive. Something that can help them figure this puzzle out and possibly plan their next move towards it. "How do you think the source just disappeared, snap. Like that? Does it fade out? Does it age? A source that an entire Continent greatly relies too, couldn''t just disappear! This is way too confusing."


    Being confused about the source herself and actually waiting for Eric to tell her more about it, she raised her shoulders up signifying that she isn''t informed. Proceeding to state, "I know about the teleportation source or any source in particular way less than you do. As the Electus you should be able to find more information about it than me. And I actually thought you knew more."


    Mogranius had questions to ask as well, a question based mostly on himself actually. Walking in front of Eric and literally grabbing all of Commander Alia''s attention, he proceeded to ask a question that might solve his own puzzle. "Do teleportation spells have time travel included? Because I literally teleported two hundred years in the future. I don''t know how and I don''t know what to think first. Your race is very good at hiding anything in particular about them so I don''t have enough information to form a plausible theory..."


    Being grown up around Kastarians, she of course had a couple of things to say, at least about time travel. It isn''t something she didn''t hear about before. "If you teleported here at the exact minutes where the entire continent of Kastaria was being destroyed, it might explain how you got here. Many other Wizards and Witches tried to teleport that day but it just led to the spells not working or them teleporting through random places through time. Time travel spells are based on Grandmastery, but with the source dying out, even a Level 1 Teleporter can possibly cast level 6 spells."


    Although it was a reply based on a firm theory, it still didn''t fill every piece of the puzzle, it wasn''t 100% certain. But Mogranius at least felt a little bit more relieved now. At least now he knows more about possibly how he got here.


    "Well it isn''t a vacation to live in this hellhole of a timezone but part by part it is getting better." Letting out a huge meaningful flirt afterwards, he proceeded to say. "I got to meet you." He didn''t exactly plan this flirt, it just went through his head when he started counting the good thing about teleporting on this timezone. Commander Alia was number one on his list. Although Eric is a good guy, let''s face it. Mogranius had to fry Black Wolves for him when they first met. It ain''t exactly something pretty to remember.


    Commander Alia though, actually liked what Mogranius just said. Even though it was flirting, she had a strong sense that he meant what he said. She just looked at the ground and her face got tremendously red, but of course she didn''t want to admit that she liked that a lot! Instead, she just wanted to irritate Mogranius as revenge for tangling up her feelings.


    He is the first man she reacted positively to flirts on. Her being s.e.x.u.a.lly attractive fairly above average, grabbed the attention of a lot of l.u.s.ty Kastarian men before. Which is why she doesn''t like men approaching her with such aims in particular. But she has a strong sense that Mogranius is different. "This isn''t right old man. I''m only three hundred years old. You look older." Well of course she had to annoy him.


    Smoke came out of Mogranius'' ears in anger as he yelled. "I''m only fifty eight years old. How can you be three hundred years old? I rarely met anyone who made it past through their 80''s. And why didn''t I ever hear about the Kastarian race before?" Older people do not like being teased about their age, keep it in mind please.


    Noticing clearly that she managed to piss off Mogranius greatly, she reacted in a calmer tone to add more wood to the burning fire. "Well a Kastarian''s average life span is seven hundred years. And you never heard about us because we chose so. Our continent was invisible to any other race or place. And there was peace. Here I see anything but peace."


    Secretly feeling admiration for the Kastarian Race, smoke stopped puffing out of his ears, he calmed down in no time. And asked a question that any individual who has a fancy for another would ask(if that individual lives 700 years that is). "Seven hundred years!? How many men did you meet that were worth your time?"


    Finding the courage to finally make eye contact with Mogranius after her blush faded, she boldly replied with. "One".


    Right after Commander Alia finished that small sentence, she left everyone speechless and started walking towards their destination. While they both were following her, Mogranius'' feelings were raging and he actually felt self doubt for once more. Thinking it over if he is the one or no.


    Taking another five minutes of walking, they reached their destination. A place which was forgotten by the outside world. An isolated place! The great underground town of Lan Zhe.


    Upon entrance, a huge hole was to be seen in the middle of this extensively large cave. The hole itself seemed around half a mile wide. As if an actual Volcano sunk down underground and its form remained unchanged. Inside the Volcano walls, hundreds upon hundreds of tunnels leading to likely bigger caves, personal rooms, natural resources, storage rooms, and the 7 Sources know what else would be there. The point is, there were a lot of entrances and space management seemed superior.


    Six foot wide walkways were to be seen, spiraling down the volcano. So its people could easily walk where they pleased, reaching down the spiraling tunnels. And at the very bottom, lava was of course to be seen. Half a mile of boiling hot lava. Who knows how deep that lava pool goes?! Could be a couple hundred yards, could be a couple miles. There may even be many branches the further they sink down.


    A truly an amazing and honestly a slightly terrifying sight to see. The lava is so boiling hot that Eric and Mogranius are able to feel it even though they are half a mile away from it, making one think if lava is supposed to have such an effect.


    Eric speaks out with a tear on his eye(Rather funny to watch.), he was filled with admiration. "I''ve never seen something so terrifyingly beautiful. I want to jump in but I''m afraid that I would turn to a fish stick. And i hate fish sticks."


    Trying to set some boundaries to these plausibly troublesome people, Commander Alia approached closer and kindly explained. "Amazing isn''t it. But we shall not go all the way down. The higher we stay, the less the chance for you to get boiled alive. The bottom is indeed very hot and only the Grand Masters can handle being a foot apart from the lava."


    Having it tough resisting to admire such amazing race, culture and power. Questions kept popping on his head, but only a few felt appropriate to ask. "Grand Master you say? So their levels of ability can be primarily measured by literally how much heat they can handle?"


    Alia replies with a calm voice. Likely a bit tired from having to explain everything to practical strangers. They just arrived after all, of course they have a lot of questions. But how far can she trust them. If they cause trouble, she has to take responsibility over it as she accepted them here. "Yes yes. It is fairly based on how much they can handle the heat. But everything here is balanced. There is another reason why the grandmasters are at the bottom apart from showing off their rough skin."


    Eric speaks out with curiosity, actually willing to know more. "Another reason you say? Well do tell. I never enjoyed learning this much."


    Mogranius follows in a mocking manner. "Believe me he is speaking the truth."


    On her last nerve Commander Alia yells out, "SILENCE!" To this lack of manners. They likely were too excited. After that she calms down again way to fast, realizing that she might have over done it a little bit. She proceeded to speak under a sweet tone. "Let''s continue. See the Grand Masters are like the source of lava powers. But not quite. In case of attackers, Grand Masters provide the troops with lava enough for hundreds of the Calidum Lutum to control. Even though there are only five Grand Masters."


    Mogranius speaks out with amazement on his tone, yelling in shock and desperate to know more. This civilization disappeared before the first Era. Having the opportunity to learn more about them, makes this trip worth dying for. And they might if they keep yelling. "Only five Grand Masters capable to provide enough lava for hundreds of people to control. Astonishing."


    Wild ideas going through his head, Eric added. "For sure. One of those Grand Masters should mentour me when it comes to lava controlling. But do the Grand Masters control the lava upwards straight from the Volcano or do they blast it out of their body like Fire Blasters do?"


    Looking at the lava beneath her with admiration, Commander Alia replies with, "They are actually able to do both. Making them a true force to be reckoned with. No Lava Controller could face any of them one on one and win. Rather impossible."


    Mogranius speaks out again with yet another question, if he had a piece of parchment to write all of this valuable information down, he wouldn''t drop the quill until the last drop of ink. But with no parchment in his current possession, all he could do now was listen. "So the Grand Masters are like the source of Power. What do the Witches and Wizards in other levels doo?"


    Commander alia repeated herself.


    "As i said. Everything here is balanced. The Grand Masters are the source of Lava. The Masters on the other hand are able to pick up all of that terrifying amount of lava and direct it. They seperate it in tens of pieces and direct it to the experts."


    Eric follows through and says, "The Grand Masters seem to provide all the lava but the Masters seem to hold greater responsibility. Or am i wrong?"

 Chapter 24 - A Human Staff

    Trying to make the Lava Controllorer''s of lower levels importance, certain to Eric. Who primarily asked this question, and to Mogranius too since they don''t need the wrong ideas in their head from the beginning.


    Commander Alia raised her forefinger and wiggled it in front of them, minorly disagreeing to Eric but also aiming to explain the importance of teamwork here in the underground town of Lan Zhe. "The Masters do hold great responsibility, yes. But so does every other Lava Controller. If one group of levels is missing, the rest can''t perform the main impenetrable defensive attack. Therefore can not defend this town if a large scale attack was in order."


    Surprisingly managing to catch up right away after Commander Alia dumbed down the teamwork motive in this town, Eric proceeded to ask. "So it''s all about teamwork! Am I right?" But his first questions still remained unanswered, and he became a little bit ambitious about receiving those specific answers. "Also! What do the experts and beginners do?!"


    Giving a small smile towards the fact that Eric understood what the point was. Afterwards she unintentionally ignored his other questions, again! And added something rather unexpected at such an early stage, being focused on what she wanted to say might be the reason why she tooned out Eric and everyone else for a few seconds. "Indeed. It is teamwork that offers an unbreakable attack to this town and it is teamwork that will help us reclaim our first kingdom." After finishing that staggering sentence, she winked at Eric. With a non flirting manner of course. It was war related, plus after all Eric is just a Kid when it comes to Romance.


    With perception not his best friend(like luck), Mogranius didn''t exactly hear the war talk and decided to talk about something that would feed his ego furthermore. "But I held a shield against your "Unbreakable Attack!" for quite a long time." Raising his hands up and gesturing as if he was calming down a huge crowd, with a c.o.c.ky tone he continued to boast. "Yes yes i am that powerful. Please settle down! Also Eric pushed back everything you had to launch against us so... Your attack isn''t exactly unbreakable."


    To such sentences, although c.o.c.ky and mostly true, she didn''t bother arguing about them. These two Fire Wizards are no doubt powerful even though they would be torched if the Calidum Lutum continued with their attacks earlier. No one managed to break the main attack before Eric did. Except one.


    She took a few steps towards Mogranius, approaching close enough that they were only half a foot apart. At first, Mogranius had to look up because Commander Alia was a bit taller than him. Looking up would also cut half of the chances when it comes to being tossed down that Volcano, because where he would look at wouldn''t be misunderstood. If he looked straight ahead or slightly down, he would start flying against his will. She doesn''t like men looking at her body.


    At least, he had to look up until she leaned down towards his slightly smaller size. To the point where their eyes(or faces) were only a few inches apart.


    To Mogranius it felt like his pitch black Robe was getting tighter around his neck. But it was just him being tremendously nervous. The chances of him getting beaten up are larger than anything else, and he was nervous enough to prefer that over anything else right now. He is 58 years old and was never interested in women before. Of course he will be extra nervous when Romance is thrown towards him instead of the other way around.


    His second reason of being this nervous, was the fact that possibly no grown man ever approached Commander Alia this close and not get critically injured. Commander Alia did unintentionally hug him before, which is why he gets a little bit more nervous when she approaches too close herself. Because even if she invades personal space, Mogranius will pay for it.


    But to the two Fire Wizard''s surprise, she calmly stated. "I usually toss loud mouths like you, all the way down that Volcano. But you''re lucky that I don''t hate you."


    Although it was more of a threat, he understood it as a flirt. Which is what made him even more nervous, to the point where he started heavy breathing. He liked it and didn''t like it. He liked how such a complex compliment came from Commander Alia, but he didn''t like how uncontrollably red his face got. Point is, his face didn''t get red out of anger.


    He felt frozen on his spot and shortly after he fell on his back. Not because he was hurt and he didn''t faint either. It was more of a "Heavily in love!" coma, but he was wide awake. This is probably another reason why he wasn''t interested in Romance.


    Not knowing exactly how to react to all of this awkward flirting kindly, Eric murmured to himself without aiming to be heard by the other two. "Alright I did not come here to see old people flirt."


    As soon as Eric finished his sentence, he noticed Commander Alia taking steps back from Mogranius and giving Eric a, "I will throw you down the volcano look." It is fair to say that she heard his carefully whispered murmuring. Which is kind of odd considering that she literally doesn''t have ears.


    Noticing her facial reaction and a possible upcoming head smacking, Eric covered up his words with. "I mean... beautifully old people flirt."


    Letting out a joyful sigh to such cute acts, she proceeded to mock Eric. "Fear does speak louder than reasoning to some."


    Although he passed that slightly embarrassing situation with ease, he still seeked answers to the questions Commander Alia caused in his head(which are now more than before). Before her and Mogranius started flirting that is. After giving it a short thought, he found the words to ask. "I have two questions. What do the experts and Beginners doo in this so called "Teamwork" and how are we going to reclaim "our first kingdom." Which Kingdom exactly?" Throughout these sentences, airpokes were inevitable. Even though he couldn''t do them properly. He mostly moved the rest of his body downwards instead of his fingers, but it still proved his point. He was getting a little frustrated about not having his questions properly answered.


    Being surprised at such questions coming from a child but yet not so surprised because she caused them to begin with. She answers with a strong will. "Insightful questions for a child. The Experts are like directors. They share a similar task with the masters. They make sure the lava doesn''t burn the beginners alive, like the masters make sure that the lava doesn''t burn the experts alive. Beginners can only handle so much, their main task is to aim the lava towards one target."


    Astonishingly able to catch up to everything, he stated the facts better than she did after he received a brief explanation. "Alright so basically this large team of Lava Controllers is like a human staff. Branching lava from the bottom to the top.


    "Yes. They..."


    "The Grandmasters are the source of lava, providing all the lava required to form this town''s Signature attack!"


    Yes... and..."


    Still being interrupted, unable to finish sentences. Commander Alia found it the best idea to just listen to him at the moment. Because Eric doesn''t sound like he will stop talking until he finishes everything he has to say. Rather adorable considering that he has trouble forming life full conversations, especially with new people.


    "The Masters and experts are the directors who keep everything balanced, branching the Lava instead of letting it flow wild and possibly hurt their kind. And the beginners are the Blasters, aiming the tremendous amount of lava bit by bit towards the target. Which of course means that this attack requires more beginners compared to the rest of the levels(4+)."


    Leaving Commander Alia at a loss for words when she noticed such capability to understand such complex information. She didn''t know what to do. Either hug him, or praise him. But she isn''t exactly the hugging type.


    Eric is among the rare ones to witness this main attack, revealed in front of him by the Calidum Lutum after thousands of years(Well more like used against him.). Not having this information to base anywhere but a "staff", he understood it extraordinarily well.


    Not noticing that he left Commander Alia in shock, he simply proceeded to ask about the other questions, again! "What about reclaiming a Kingdom though?" That question has been puzzling his mind and he has been itching for a stable answer and explanation ever since she said it out of a sudden. It could of been said as a joke after all but he had to be sure.


    Noticing that she has been accidentally ignoring his questions after partial parts of memories flashed in her mind as soon as she heard the word "Kingdom", she found the decency to apologize and Finally cut to the chase. "Have you heard about "Gaster Kingdom!"."


    Waking up from his love coma the second he heard the name "Gaster", He yelled. "I know this one. Actually I was born there and I moved to Crutal Kingdom to further my studies. But why that specific Kingdom?"


    Before continuing such a time worthy conversation, at first of course she had to do something of higher importance(at least to her), which is teasing Mogranius. "Look who finally woke up. Having nice dreams i suppose?"


    Knowing that there is at least a little feelings in her heart for him, he went into another level with the flirtful compliments. "Indeed. Dreaming about you is never a bad dream."


    At such a flirt, she acts like she ignored the flirt but her heart is pounding hard and her forehead started sweating. Trying her best to avoid a visible blush, she stock to war talk. It worked well. "I personally scouted Gaster Kingdom. I lived there for a few months. For research similar to this plan that is, looking for their weak spots."


    "Did you find out anything of use?"


    She boldly replied, "Yes." And continued to state facts as if she sat down and tried to memorize everything before. "Gaster Kingdom is too far. All the way to the edge of the Continent. It''s close to the ocean which is perfect for fishing, but it doesn''t have any crops. The land there is to harsh for farming, therefore leading to a flat profit."


    "But what does that have to do with..."


    "Yes Yes. Keep on offending my place of birth, i love it." Although not pissed enough to be considered angry, he still didn''t like how his home Kingdom''s name is slandered.


    Noticing that Mogranius wasn''t exactly angry, she proceeded with a bit of sarcasm. "You''re welcome." Afterwards turning to Eric who seemed to be the only one worthy to talk about such a topic, and continued with her explanation. "My point is, since the Kingdom is too far away from any other profitable Kingdoms, people rarely make their way down there. And since the Kingdom doesn''t have any wheat farms which can fairly be considered a big profit in most Kingdoms, the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance doesn''t support that Kingdom anymore. Especially after the mines depleted. Considering that, the religious organization known as "illas", aren''t there too since their monthly expenses wouldn''t be covered by anyone."


    Eric put up pieces of the puzzle together and stated a plausible theory afterwards. "Under these circ.u.mstances and visible betrayal coming from the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, those people might even cooperate with us!"


    The war talk was intense, informational and not just daydreaming, this was the base of a future collision with Gaster Kingdom. But Mogranius wasn''t uttering a word about all of this. No, he was too busy staying on his belly, keeping his head up with his hands and looking at Commander Alia''s shoulder length thick shining hair which was tied into a tail. If looked in good enough, you would notice a heart made out of a slim line of fire above his head.


    Not even noticing that Mogranius was looking at her, she just stuck to her war talk. "We can conquer it, put all the ill.u.s.tratios that give up behind bars and shoot down any travelling ill.u.s.tratio that comes down the Kingdom. Which should be tremendously rare. My point is, we can Conquer that Kingdom and still keep a very low profile. The other Kingdoms won''t have a clue that Gaster Kingdom got reclaimed."


    "And even if they did, they wouldn''t bother helping a Kingdom where they wouldn''t get a profit out of." Amazing isn''t it? From stuttering when he spoke, to finishing longer sentences with ease. It is fair to say that Eric got more comfortable around Commander Alia. It became even easier after she started praising him and his mind.


    Mogranius however, just sighed in deep satisfaction, saying. "Aaaaaahhhhhhhh she is so smart."


    Eric follows up, seeing the plan reasonable and of course doable. It would be stupid if they threw such a chance. This Kingdom reclaim could be the start of their revolution. "This plan sounds flawless. But exactly how many soldiers do you think we need?"


    Right after Eric finishes his question, he sees the two previous ten foot tall Calidum Lutum bringing in Woldemir and Stefan. They were carrying them on their shoulders though. Obviously they tried some sort of resistance against the Calidum Lutum, one of the large men even has a fresh cut through his chest. Likely the work of Woldemir with the help of his trusty Dagger. It doesn''t seem to have been enough though.


    Looking at the fact that Woldemir actually managed to cause damage on one of the Calidum Lutum, she states. "Looks like you have all the soldiers we need."


    The two large Calidum Lutum Guards put down Woldemir and Stefan(almost gently). As soon as they were placed down, Stefan stood up in a flash and yelled. "Haha! Looks like you two lava heads finally gave up and fled." The two Calidum lutum who brought them here, however, were simply walking away and ignoring this foreign language. Afterwards Stefan turned to Eric and stated, "I fought them both but they got your father so i had to join him."


    Pointing out the inevitable obvious, Mogranius replied with. "More like this man grabbed you by the head and lifted you here."


    After looking at this disaster, noticing how easily they were brought here, Eric turned his head towards Commander Alia and boldly said. "We are going to need more soldiers." He clearly felt uncomfortable with his group''s arsenal.


    Trying to assure Eric, she replied with. "No actually. Can your father hold a Sword?" Clearly, she toned out Eric before more than he thought. Because he did mention Woldemir''s skills with a Sword.


    Right before Eric was about to repeat his words, Woldemir stood up and kindly cut Eric''s sentences before he even started. He noticed that these new people seem to be their allies now, since they are talking peacefully and didn''t throw anyone down the half mile deep hole. "Yes actually. I didn''t hold a good sword for years because I had to sell it in order to survive! But I am a qualified Grand Master(Level 6/6) in Swordsmanship."


    Now feeling even more sure about this plan, she stated. "Well this is literally the whole team we need to invade." Taking her thoughts towards another direction and her head towards Stefan, she said. "From appearance and obvious slight lack of courage, it shows that Stefan is the brains of the group. Or at least that''s what Eric said."


    Stefan speaks up with strong sarcasm.


    "Thanks Eric." And afterwards states. "Well the courage part is definitely not true but i''m definitely the brains of the group."


    Commander Alia replies with "Here you go. You have a battle planner as well. Perfect. A Grand master Swordsman, a battle planner, and two Expert Fire Wizards. You are actually a bit over qualified. Gaster Kingdom is a lot smaller in population than Crutal Kingdom. It holds only about 100 Guards. If my people go there, we would burn it to ashes. So it is up to you."


    "Looks like we have all we need to start the invasion."

 Chapter 25 - The Great Extinction

    "I''m sure all of you must be hungry. I doubt that you were able to pack food while being chased by hundreds of guards. Let us eat." Offered Commander Alia as she gestured to a few Calidum Lutum Guards to bring food here, speaking their own language. With the little invasion plan put behind them, food would be the most polite thing to offer.


    Mogranius had an instant reaction the second he heard the word "Food". He spoke up in a sort of loud way "Food?!. Finally. We have been eating plants and nuts for the past TWO days. I need freshly cooked, delicious meat!"


    Meat. A rather hard to get food. Even the hunters who don''t live in Lan Zhe, have it hard and it can possibly be dangerous with more WildBoars than people roaming in Ignis. "It is the most difficult to gather food while avoiding being seen. As ten foot people, my men can not hunt animals without being noticed quite a while away, furthermore we can''t leave Lan Zhe often or it would attract many people here." Reasonable! But it is still a bit cut in their food supply considering that these 10 foot tall people could wrestle Source Bears.


    Considering their disadvantages, Eric can''t figure out how exactly these people kept a steady food supply if they remained in hiding. But he put his social anxiety aside for a bit and  dared to ask her about it. "Perhaps our gang can help you out with that situation. But may I ask, how did this entire town have a steady food supply if all of you remained in hiding. Hunting seems a bit impossible. So how did you have a steady food supply?"


    To this at least, she could reply with pride. A big smile on her face formed and she even rose up on her toes in enthusiasm. As if it was the light in her eyes! "Our indoor farm! We have a big one." But sadly, her enthusiasm met an end when she recalled the farm''s current condition. "Sadly, our food is barely half way through from growing and our supply from last year is almost at its end." After finishing that sentence, she continued with a calming matter. "But let''s not worry about that now. Now we shall eat."


    After finishing her sentence, a guard approached with what seemed to be a two foot long and wide bucket of food. It had a lot of vegetables in them. Melons, water melons, bread too, cabbages, etc. The bucket also carried a few fruits that are growable deep underground, such as gr.a.p.es and oranges.


    Eric''s tongue drops down after seeing so much taste filled food but his curiosity  at this point is greater than hunger. He asks, "You were able to grow all of this underground? You said you were short on food!"


    Not used of the Ignites eating habits, wearing a perplexed look on her face, she answered. "We did and we are. This bucket who could feed four of you heavily, can only barely feed one guard for a week."


    The gang didn''t exactly have the chance to count how many people are there, basing it only on how many people they saw, Stefan noticed one key fact. "Well in that case your farms must be miles long." And they might be. It would sure take a lot to feed this many people year round!


    Commander alia proudly answers. "They are. Each farm is a mile long. Except for the fruit farms. They are half a mile long, each." This doesn''t exactly make sense. How many farms could there be? And how wide are they exactly? Because if one farm is ten meters wide but stretches a mile, it can''t really provide enough for this town.


    Woldemir being a farmer himself for quite over a decade, insisted. "You have to give us a tour later."


    But before Commander Alia was able to say a word, they were hearing Mogranius doing a..rather shameful act. Not shameful as in running around n.a.k.e.d. But still shameful. Mogranius didn''t seem to mind that there was no meat. As the vegetables and fruits seemed just as fulfilling for a dry empty stomach! A second before anyone said anything or even managed to reach out for food, Mogranius already made his way to the Bucket and was already... flirting with the bucket. Yes, with the Bucket!


    "You are a beautiful food filled Bucket aren''t you. Oh yes you are. Oh yes. "After that he proceeded to chuck down as much food as humanly possible and ended up eating half of what the bucket offered before anyone even reached out for the food. He then was laying on his back with his belly fat and big, saying under his breath. "Now that''s a meal..."


    Commander Alia after witnessing such animal like eating, she had the urge to ask a question. But it came out as a joke. "He has a big appetite, that''s for sure. But yet he doesn''t seem overweight. I wonder if Akareas put him on a diet."


    Mogranius replied under his breath as he raised his finger on the air to grab attention. "Yes. I was not aboard with her plan though."


    Eric follows up as he got shocked simply because Commander Alia mentioned the name "Akareas". "You know Akareas?"


    Commander Alia shakes her head from left to right, which of course signifies that she doesn''t. "No no. personally I did not meet her. But the Guards talk about the great Extinction a lot."


    Stefan follows up while chewing down on some wheat bread and boiled potatoes. "The great extinction you say? Are you talking about the Blue Goblins?"


    Happy that these Ignites know about such rare to come upon knowledge, her entire face smiled as she repeated. "Yes Yes." Afterwards continuing. "Like my men, the Blue Goblins were Lava Controllers. But unlike my men, they didn''t plan to burn everything to the ground. Sparing no one, including children!"


    Eric follows up in disgust but he did not stop eating of course. He was too hungry to be dramatic. He asks, "In that case I''m glad they are gone! Less work for me. But how does Akareas connect to this."


    A second after they saw Mogranius standing near the edge of the Volcano, looking down at the lava. As if he wanted to look more attractive. Which kind of worked. But yet again no one saw him stand up and walk his way there. Perhaps he used the invisibility spell because of the Volcano providing little or no smoke. "It''s where Akareas discovered her powers. As a fan of nature she was just happily running across a field, Only sixteen years old. A hole suddenly caused by the blue goblins made her slide and tumble all the way down to their underground town. Which was quite a few miles down."


    Commander Alia decided to add a few words of her own towards this topic. "Indeed it was a few miles. It is a miracle how she survived. But it''s good that she did. Legend has it that she tumbled down a day before the Blue Goblins were about to burn everything to the ground."


    Then Mogranius was suddenly a foot apart from Commander Alia, staring directly at her eyes with strong seriousness, and slowly said.


    "I''m telling the story." After that he walked his way to the edge of the Volcano again and continued. "Yes it was one day before the invasion. A Blue Goblin who opposed her own kind''s plans, rescued Akareas and got her back on her feet in no time. But once the Blue Goblin King discovered that his own kind aided a non Blue Goblin, he executed the one who rescued her. Dumped her down on Lava!"


    Relating to his past experience. Eric asked. "That''s what triggered her powers? right?"


    "No. It was something else. The Goblin King was ten foot tall while his troops were five foot each. He saw it fair to duel Akareas one on one. After throwing her a vicious beating, Akareas discovered her powers out of desperation. Without an outburst that is. She started controlling lava. Putting an end to a five thousand people civilization."

 Chapter 26 - A Farm half a Mile Underground

    To add some humour to the massacre talk, Stefan mocks the Blue Goblins with little hesitation. I mean for what would he hesitate for? The Blue Goblins were a menace to society! "It seems rather ironic how Lava controllers found their end around Lava."


    Woldemir, doesn''t seem to like the Blue Goblins either. He barely heard anything about them until now, but they definitely don''t seem like allies. So after he swallowed a bite of wheat bread, he expressed. "Well it is a good thing that they met their end. They sound worse than ill.u.s.tratios." Coming from him, this says a lot! I mean, the ill.u.s.tratios even killed his wife.


    Eric who again his curiosity is getting to him, giving him anxiety and a lack of patience. He wanted to interrupt, but he knew that if he did, more eyes would be directed to him. Which also caused him anxiety to the point of sweating. Luckily, his curiosity is far greater. "Enough about the Blue Goblins. If everyone is done eating, and Mogranius seems to be clearly able to walk, how about we go check out those mile long underground farms? I need to see them!" Upon finishing his sentence, his usual low volumed voice changed and was replaced by a tone rising in enthusiasm. Enthusiastic about farms? He certainly is different like Stefan stated. Or could it be that Underground farms are something extremely rare?!


    Enjoying Eric''s unexpected enthusiasm about this farm, she didn''t waste more time and swiftly replied. "Of course! Let us go ahead. Perhaps a few thousand years of Ignite wisdom can help the food situation. However even though I arrived here two hundred years ago, I wasn''t of much help as i never took much interest in farming. Follow me!"


    The gang stood up and started following Commander Alia who seemed to be leading them downwards the spiral like roadway going down the Volcano. After going down one spiral, they reached a rather small entrance. But that small entrance was just an illusion to something extraordinarily big. The lava half a mile underneath their feet while they were walking down the Volcano, captured most of their attention. Commander Alia had to slap.. I mean snap them out of it once they arrived at the not so stunning entrance.


    As they entered they saw several types of farm fields, all practically merged together to form what seemed to be a super farm. The farm fitting several sorts of fruits and vegetables reached half a mile wide and a mile long. Simply magnificent.


    But the second Eric saw the farm he noticed something which could of both slow down or terminate the production rate. Light! This huge farm lacked light. It''s a surprise how they got any crops to grow here. At this point, Eric did not hesitate to point out the problem. Especially since he became more comfortable around these new people as the moment passes. He expressed. "This farm would grow watermelons half the size of my length if this cave had more light."


    Woldemir of course Complimented his sons words. "Yes i noticed it too. This cave does have light but simply not enough. Also, seeing that this place is already warm, obviously because of the Volcano, I expect that you grow crops twice a year?" The warmth was noticeable, the lava half a mile underneath their feet maintains enough heat for everyone to feel cozy even at Winter! But he didn''t like the lack of light bothered him a lot. It made the farm seem a lot smaller.


    Hearing what both of these Ignites have to say, Commander Alia replies with both confusion and raw strong curiosity. "So let me get this straight! You are saying that light can improve the production rate. Also, what does heat have to do with farming?"


    Confused how a woman coming from another civilization who succeeded to stand and perish in silence, not knowing something so simple, Woldemir was dumbfounded. The rest however, found the freedom to explore the farm. So Woldemir was left alone to describe these basic things to such a stunning lady. If Mogranius understands this the wrong way, he would chase Woldemir with Fireballs! But Woldemir put the Man Woman tension aside and explained it calmly. "Yes. The more light, the bigger and faster the crops grow. Having a constant source of indoor light is better than twelve hours on the sun''s light any day. That however can come expensive unless you have a massive storage of coal or Charcoal." While explaining such matter, Woldemir found an excuse to walk a few more steps away and inspect some Watermelons closeby. His primary aim was of course to give her personal space. However, she didn''t see Woldemir as a man who would try anything inappropriate, or best described, "Try his luck.". So she comfortably walked closer to understand more what he means. It got Woldemir even more anxious considering that he has strong gentleman etiquettes. Overdone no doubt, but he likes to respect personal space on a different level.


    Giving the growing wheat nearby a quick glance and returning to Commander Alia, to elaborate on his father''s earlier words. "And about heat. During the winter months, no one plants anything because the crop can''t possibly withstand the cold harsh weather. Here you have heat all year around. You can possibly even plant three times a year no problem if you know how to do it right."


    At such explanations, Commander Alia finds relief. Not only the food situation has been solved but it has found a permanent solution. Now the entire Calidum Lutum civilization will be able to be fed without having to worry about being savvy about the food. Or at least, they will after they figure out how to light this place up.


    She recalls some men avoiding food for weeks at a time for the love of their people. They did not wish to see them suffer hunger. Food is the strongest sacrifice one can make in these times. But now at least those days are behind them. Well almost. They found the solution to their future, but their present situation is a difficult task to complete. The lack of food is still there and it needs an instant fix.


    Although the food shortage is far from being behind them, she couldn''t help but show gratitude for these two Ignites. "I find great relief knowing all of this. I don''t know how to reward such knowledge. I''m very grateful but our current food problem isn''t solved. Even with all the adjustments, our food will not last until the planted ones grow. Harvest season is here but everything is barely over half grown."


    Seeing that this situation is only fixable if they obtain another source of food, Woldemir decided to step up for these people. With confidence he states. "Get me a sword. Any kind. I have some scores to settle with the ill.u.s.tratios at Crutal Kingdom and I can save your people from Starvation. There are plenty of wealthy fools I can force gold out of."


    Commander Alia replies with further relief on her tone. She seemed to trust Woldemir''s abilities greatly although she doesn''t know much about him. "I''ll have my men get you a sword that other races can actually lift off of the ground. I trust you will not disappoint."


    Now, Stefan had something to say about what this farm lacks as well. Odd considering that he doesn''t actually farm. "Now let''s go back to fixing this farm. After a while of being here, I noticed that over time, it gets difficult to breathe. That''s not good for any living kind and its not good for plants either. But I think I know how to fix this."


    Commander Alia adds up in a bit of a sarcastic tone. "Looks like a few thousand years of knowledge is helping out quite well. What do you suggest oh wise one?"


    Stefan ignored the sarcasm as he was too focused. He is used to tuning people out as soon as he met Mogranius'' sarcasm. Its inevitable to learn tuning out. Mogranius however became very proud of Commander Alia at this point. "Can you get one of your Grand Masters up here. And how deep is this cave below the surface?" She still couldn''t understand why he was asking about such unusual things, but she did want to hear more. She was itching with curiosity.


    Struck at such a reply, Commander Alia filled with curiosity replies with. "How could a Grand Master be of help here? And this cave is about less than half a mile below the surface. Depends where you stay as this whole town is built under a mountain."


    Stefan ended up explaining this more, but confusing everyone else. What could possibly be going through his head? "A Grand master provides a raw source of lava. If we try bringing the lava here with teamwork, we could burn the crops down. So a raw source of lava is mandatory instead of teamwork. This cave doesn''t seem to be deep below the ground so we can make this work."

 Chapter 27 - Grand Masters of Lava Controlling

    Commander Alia replied with curiosity


    "Make what work?"


    Stefan who seemed to have payed strict attention to detail says


    "I recall seeing the dead end tunnel back at the main entrance suddenly burst out with lava.


    That dirt and rocks causing the dead end tunnel didn''t seem to be like a thin wall. It seemed rather wide.


    How wide was it?"


    Commander Alia''s mind is bursting with confusion. Why would this small ignite want to know how wide the barricade like "dead end" was.


    She follows up and says


    "That tunnel viewed as a dead end from the other side was fifty meters across.


    Meaning fifty meters of rocks and dirt blocking the entrance to the actual town of Lan Zhe."


    Stefan calmly says


    "Exactly. Fifty meters of barricade¡­.


    He stopped his sentence as he saw BlackWind chewing on a halfly grown watermelon.


    Woldemir told Alia


    "Looks like there is trouble in Paradise."


    Commander Alia calmly says


    "Let him eat. Horses need food more than we doo. Please continue Stefan."


    Stefan puzzling with his own mind, comes back to reality and says


    "AAAAAA yes. The tunnel.


    As i planned to say, the barricade or differently known as the "Collapse" was fifty meters wide.


    But Lava was still able to blast and melt it''s way through the collapsed tunnel.


    That''s what is going to get more fresh air here."


    Eric follows up


    "So we are going to make an entrance out of this side too?"


    Stefan replies with a tone that shows he is getting rather irritated explaining everything in detail. But yet again his plan is slightly complicated.


    He says


    "No. not an entrance. It wouldn''t be of much help. I''m talking about foot long holes.


    If a Grand Master comes here and blasts lava out of his hand or wherever he blasts it from towards the cave''s side walls, he will make a foot long hole all the way up the surface. Meaning air will be able to come in afterwards."


    Commander Alia shouts with joy


    "THAT IS GENIUS."


    Eric, Woldemir and Mogranius add a few words too


    "Well done."


    "That''s our strategy guy."


    "Ehh, not bad."


    Eric thinks a little while this time before asking a lot of questions. He had a rather intelligent thought but of course he is going to ask a question about it.


    He says


    "But i turned that six foot wide tunnel in to a tunnel where even Calidum Lutum could pass with ease. Remember? Could my powers help as well? That goes the same for Mogranius."


    Stefan replies with great enthusiasm


    "OH YES. But you need to blast less in order to not shake the cave down. Meaning your powers will likely take twice as long to penetrate through the rocks and dirt and reach the surface.


    We need every available Grand Master up here. Five Grand Masters and two Expert Fire Wizards will shorten this task."


    Woldemir asks


    "How long do you think this task would last?"


    Stefan said something he rarely says


    "I don''t know. It all depends on how fast it takes to penetrate each hole.


    A hole dug up every twenty meters should be enough without causing a collapse."


    Eric adds


    "I hope it is not a problem to bring all five Grand Masters up here."


    Commander Alia replies with a confident tone


    "No issue. No one knows we exist and if an attack is upon us, those old men are quite fast on their feet."


    She then turns to a Guard and says


    "Asta zat qi er Kap Hukaerto le sadpu. Rakzipat''h pafe.


    (Translates too "Bring all of the Grand Masters up here. Captain''s orders.")"


    Afterwards, she turned to Stefan and said


    "Your plan has made the difference of life and death too my people. You have my eternal thanks. Our people will always aid you and of course the rest of you as well."


    Stefan not knowing how to reply because he was never treated with such kindness obviously because of the ill.u.s.tratios, replies with


    "It''s nothing really. The Wizards will be doing all the hard work."


    Commander Alia smiles and says


    "Well, Witches and Wizards. Three of them are Witches and Two of them are Wizards."


    Shortly after Commander Alia finished her sentence, the Grand Masters seemed to have arrived.


    Everyone in the gang thought


    "They arrived rather fast considering the fact that they were a half mile down."


    Commander Alia said


    "I know what all of you are thinking. Let''s just say they had Lava''s assistance."


    The first Grand Master to walk in the Door was a man.


    His White beard beautifully growing down two feet long downwards his torso. But he didn''t seem to have a single hair on his head.


    Commander Alia made a quick introduction


    "Grand Master Xalk. Recently reached his sweet Thirteen hundred. His skill level reaches to the point where he can form a volcano in a matter of weeks."


    Mogranius replies with the utmost amazement


    "I can''t decide which part is more amazing. The fact that he is thirteen hundred years old or the fact that he can form Volcanoes. Both sound amazing."


    Commander Alia replies with


    "indeed. But be amazed later. Now let them do their introduction."


    The second Calidum Lutum enters the farm.


    This one seems to be a women.


    Her gold and black hair going down her tightly exercised body showed that age doesn''t necessarily equal to a lack of beauty or fitness. At least not for the Calidum Lutum.


    Her face seemed so youthful and gorgeous that it would be hard to keep your eyes away from her. But yet again you should because looking at her gives be it both male or female, butterflies in their stomach.


    Commander Alia says


    "This is Altacin. She looks very youthful but she is near her sweet one thousand. She is nine hundred and eighty three years old.


    Age did clearly not get the best of her.


    Legend says it is because of her diet that this farm has to offer.


    Also she has recently begun her training on forming Volcanoes."

 Chapter 28 - Grand Masters of Lava Controlling(2)

    The Third Calidum Lutum to enter the Cave seemed rather different. She seemed smaller.


    Standing seven feet tall, she was just a bit taller than Commander Alia herself.


    Her pitch dark hair was tied up into a bun and like Grand Master Altacin, she seemed just as youtheful. She seemed to be the youngest of the five amazing Grand Masters.


    Commander Alia does a quick introduction for this Grand Master as well. Because clearly only she understands their thousands of years old language.


    She says


    "This is Laza. The youngest of the five and proudly one of our overachievers.


    She is more commonly called


    "Er  Atnopes" which translates to "The Beast".


    As you already saw or will see, her arms are bigger even compared to the men Guards or  men Grand Masters. The only one able to break a large boulder in half with a single hit.


    Unlike most of the Calidum Lutum who became masters at around their Nine Hundreds, she became one on her sweet four hundred and has held that title for a hundred years."


    The gang viewed in Amazement and of course a bit of fear. Especially Stefan, as the seven foot beast was standing quite close to him because the Grand Masters didn''t seem to line up after the introduction.


    The Fourth of the Grand Masters to enter the cave seemed to be yet another women.


    Unlike Laza, this one seemed to struggle to crawl in. Not because of the size of her muscles but because of her length.


    She seemed to be an astonishing fifteen feet tall. That''s almost triple the size of anyone in the gang(apart from Stefan of course.).


    Her Gold like Hair reaching all the way down to the edge of her spine(which seemed around eight foot long), shined as if a small amount of water was on her hair and shined in the sun.


    But yet again they were underground.


    Like the other two females, she as well seemed quite youtheful.


    As if the entire race of the Calidum Lutum was immune to the effects that age brings along.


    Commander Alia introduces


    "This is Pezik. Commonly known for her record breaking height. Her height of course equals to an abnormal body strength. She is not as strong as "The Beast" But of course she is close to her strength.


    Pezik recently reached her Sweet eleven hundred.


    Making her the second oldest Grand Master.


    But do not be deceived. Age doesn''t necessarily mean skill. Some of the Calidum Lutum met their end at the usual two thousand without becoming a Grand Master. Only the truly skilled hold the title.


    Pezik is half way to mastering Volcano Creation. A difficult skill to tackle."


    After that introduction, the fifth Grand Master walked in. Standing ten feet tall, the sense of leadership was instant as soon as he entered the cave. This one had short Blood red hair slicked back down to the bottom of his head.


    Seemed rather unnatural for hair to look like that. But at a time where paint isn''t even discovered, puting unnatural colors on one''s head seemed most unlikely.


    The size of his muscles didn''t seem to be much different from an Average guard. But his strength was proven differently.


    On his hands were two large swords. Each one starting off one foot wide and ending up two foot wide at the edge.


    The two sword''s length from bottom to top were five foot each. That''s half of his body length. And he was carrying two of them.


    It seemed rather unusual for a Grand Master of Lava Controlling to carry swords. As he is clearly powerful enough to provide lava for hundreds of Lava Controllers to handle. Why would he carry swords?


    Commander Alia proceeds with a short introduction


    "This my dear friends is the leader. Kazer.


    See in our race, a leader is declared from the natural colour of one''s hair. Blood red declares that he is one of a kind. Incomparably  intelligent from the rest of us. And although he came from a strong line of relatives who are still stuck on the Magician level(three). He proved himself more than worthy of his title. The leader.


    He is fairly young. Five hundred and ninety eight years old. But like Laza, he to is an overachiever.


    Able to cause Volcanoes with his swords, it is the main reason he uses them."


    As Commander Alia finished her sentence and proceeded to ask


    "Does anyone have any questions?"


    Everyone was at a lost for words. Both because they were amazed to witness the five Grand Masters and because the very leader didn''t stand in silence but proceeded to walk towards Eric until he was a foot apart from him.


    At everyone''s surprise(including Commander Alia), he started speaking the very language that Eric and the Gang are speaking. Although he wasn''t very good at it.


    He said


    "Welcome¡­.Electus. You visit. Bless us all.


    How we assist?"


    Everyone proceeded to look at the leader in great shock including The Gang, Commander Alia and the rest of the Grand Masters.


    Commander Alia saw that everyone was in  shock and decided to be the one to speak


    "As i said. The Leaders are blessed with incomparable intelligence. You aren''t the first to accidentally stumble upon this underground town.


    As Kazer saw those "visitors" explain themselves, he picked up a few words of their language. At least i suppose it''s that way."


    Kazer says


    "You... right."

 Chapter 29 - The Snake

    Stefan follows up in the conversation and says


    "Alright now that all of the introductions have been made. Shall we proceed to bring some life in to this farm?


    Kazer. I will explain the plan to you. If you don''t understand something, just ask."


    Kazir nodded his head and said


    "Yes!"


    Stefan continued


    "See to make this farm produce more and bigger crops, this place needs air.


    You and your team are going to blow lava on the cave walls until the lava reaches the surface, thus allowing air to come in.


    Any questions?"


    Kazer added


    "So i blow big lava and make big hole?"


    Stefan''s eyes widened up and he said in slight fear


    "Nonononono. We don''t want to bring the cave down. Just one foot long holes spread every twenty meters."


    he said while holding his hands on the air to show how big the holes should be.


    Kazer turned to the rest of the Grand Masters and proceeded speaking to them in their own Calidum Lutum language and made the plan clear.


    Kazer then turned to Stefan and said


    "We do the snake. Quick and less stamina."


    Stefan says


    "I am not familiar with a lot of Lava Controlling tricks or spells or whatever they are called. but doo proceed."


    Kazer Grunted and walked towards the cave wall and while everyone was focused on Kazer, no one has seemed to notice that the rest of the team already found their position. Approximately twenty meters from each other.


    Kazer positioned himself to unleash the lava by basically doing a sumo squat and proceeded to give a light punch to the cave wall with his right hand. The punch was light enough to break just a few small rocks.


    But what came after was different. His right pitch black hand started lighting up and becoming red. As if he was holding a Candle.


    However what he unleashed out of his very hand can melt rocks and dirt into nothingness.


    It was obviously molten lava.


    Considering the fact that the surface was approximately half a mile apart from the cave, it did take a minute or two for the lava to break the surface.


    But somehow, Kazer seemed to have noticed when the lava broke the surface. And instead of just letting it fly rapidly into the forest, he had further control over it and positioned himself to pass the lava to Pezik.


    He pulled his fist off of the cave wall and positioned it towards Pezik, literally.


    And as he removed his fist from the wall, a foot wide hole was of course to be seen.


    Pezik too did a Sumo Squat but unlike Kazer, she raised her left hand and slowly positioned it above her head, afterwards dropped the hand down and continued to control the lava with her right hand. Without punching the wall that is. She instead moved her right hand downwards and as far away from the opposite direction of her front facing body as possible.


    After a minute, the very lava that Kazer blasted was to be seen.


    Stretching ten meters long once it came out of the newly shaped hole, it floated its way to Laza under the control of Pezik of course.


    Pezik let''s go of it''s control and lets Laza take over. And she of course continued the snake like maneuver.


    I suppose this is what Kazer meant by "doing the snake".


    Said Stefan.


    They are using the same bit of lava without causing a collapse and they are just slightly burning whatever the surface includes.(they can''t all be winners.)


    Kazer and Pezik start walking, of course taking their time as it would take a while for the fifth Grand Master(Xalk) to receive the lava and start using it.


    To continue the snake like maneuver, Kazer was standing twenty meters away from Grand Master Xalk and Pezik of course standing twenty meters away from Grand Master Kazer.


    The rest of the Grand Masters will continue in that matter until they reach the very edge of the wall, approximately less than a mile away.


    Stefan turns to Eric and Mogranius and says.


    You two on the other hand have no need to do the snake maneuver.


    Let''s reach the other side of the cave.


    They proceeded to walk there and at their luck, they found that the cave wall there is slightly softer. Giving them an uper advantage.


    Stefan says


    "Eric. Mogranius. Fire seems to have less push and melt ability compared to lava.


    Unlike Kazer who blasted foot wide and ten meter long lava, you two need to blast two foot wide and thirty meters long fire.


    It should equal to a foot wide hole breaking the surface."


    Mogranius adds up


    "That''s going to take a lot of stamina."


    Stefan says


    "I noticed. So dig up as many holes as you can. The part of the cave that you didn''t have enough stamina to finish digging, pride apart, the Grand Masters will finish for you."


    But of course Mogranius is all about pride(and sarcasm) so he ran about forty metters and under his breath shouted


    "Can the Grand Masters do this?"


    Afterwards he proceeded to let out three two foot wide and thirty meter long fireballs at once. Rather amazing to see.


    Afterwards he clapped his hands and in adrenaline rushing speed, the fireballs proceeded to dig their way up to the surface.


    Twice the time of which each Grand Master took, but Mogranius unleashed three. So in his own prideful way, he did it faster.


    But his pride was at an end when the fire reached the surface, therefor making it easier for the fire to set free.


    Apart from losing complete control of the fire(which didn''t burn anything down.)


    He also lost control of his balance. Which send him face first on the mud.


    In his head he thought


    "At least Alia didn''t see this."


    Eric on the other hand didn''t think he was skilled enough to unleash three fireballs at once and not burn down part of the farm.


    So he proceeded only with one fireball.


    But at his case, he was able to melt his way through the dirt and rocks faster than Mogranius and even the Grand Masters.


    Half the time of which the Grand Masters took more precisely.

 Chapter 30 - Ignite Gems

    After approximately half an hour, all of the Grand Masters were done. They reached all their way to the edge of the mile long cave wall and seemed to barely have broken a sweat. Expectable from Grand Masters.


    Mogranius and Eric on the other hand, made it halfway. More precisely they finished the fruit part of the area. And thought they were done. And under deep breath they sighed, as they were exhausted


    "Finally. we are done."


    But what they forgot, is that the fruit area is only half a mile long. And since all the fruits and vegetables are barely away from each other, it means that there is a half more mile to go before they truly finish.


    Commander Alia approached them along with the Grand Masters. Seeing that they both are under their breath, she says


    "Why don''t the two of you take a break.


    It seems like you had enough fun."


    After saying that she gently wipes the mud from Mogranius'' face while Mograniuses feels frozen but his heart beats fast like a rabbit''s heart.


    She proceeds to say


    "The Grand Masters will take it from here. All of you served us more than enough.


    Follow me."


    Mogranius and Eric stand up and make their way to the exit. But seemed to have forgotten that the exit is a half mile away. So they sighed all the way there. When they almost reached the exit, they see Woldemir trying to hold off BlackWind from eating crops furthermore.


    Commander Alia with a small laugh in her tone says to Woldemir


    "Why don''t you take him out to the forest.


    He can eat until he collapses there. I will proceed giving the rest of your group a tour here."


    Woldemir replies


    "Good idea. You already have enough trouble."


    and then he turns to BlackWind and says


    "Come on boy, there is food in the forest."


    They proceed to walk their way up and go outside while the rest of the Gang follows Commander Alia as they make their way down the spiral like roadway.


    This time they did not enter a farm but entered what seemed to be a mine.


    At the very entrance of the mine, a six foot tall Calidum Lutum was to be seen.


    Rather unusual to see a Calidum Lutum this short.


    Commander Alia makes a quick introduction


    "This is our town''s Blacksmith. Overqualified for his job, possibly the best Blacksmith in the continent, able to merge lava and iron together and his body size gives him advantages on his job as well."


    The Blacksmith grunted in a way similar to greeting and with a hammer on his hand he proceeded to hit a boiling hot iron plate.


    Behind him appeared to be the most vicious looking weapons the gang has ever seen.


    Some being warhammers seemingly impossible to lift by an ignite or Kastarian.


    Some being swords with hard volcanic rock at the non sharp part of the sword.


    Some swords having multiple sharp edges giving a victim zero chances of survival.


    Some looking like spears with lava on the tip.


    Everything behind the BlackSmith looked like something that could kill you.


    Eric proceeded to say


    "It would be great if this Blacksmith made a sword for my father."


    Commander Alia replied with confidence


    "Oh he already is. The plate he is beating with a hammer is your father''s future sword."


    A second after, they saw a Mine worker carrying some sort of glowing gems.


    Stefan got greatly curious and asked


    "What kind of gems are these?"


    Covered with dirt, their value and origin wasn''t certain. So no one recognized them.


    Commander Alia replied with a sigh


    "Gems. we have hit a large deposit of useless gems. They will all end up down the volcano. Apart from replacing a Candle, they are pretty much useless."


    Stefan runs and stands in front of the mine worker carrying the load of gems and says


    "Stop!! Those are Ignite gems. Worth one hundred gold coins, each. This can literally solve your entire food situation and much more."


    Mogranius approaches and says


    "Well i''ll be damned. Those are Ignite gems."


    Commander Alia does a hand gesture telling the mine worker to gently place down the gems.


    Stefan says


    "These purple gems are too valuable. One of these fist like gems are worth four cold hard Iron ingots. How many did you find?"


    Commander Alia doesn''t know how to react to this discovery. She hits her forehead with her palm and says


    "The mine workers have been dropping hundreds of them so far down the Volcano. If i only knew their value.


    However, there are more. These gems stopped all our iron ore intake because it stood like a wall blocking the tunnels from further expanding."


    Stefan replies with an enthusiastic tone


    "Well these stones provide light five meters away. And unlike candles, they don''t burn out.


    If there are still many of them remaining, we can solve the light problem on the farm.


    And what''s left over, we can sneak our way to the closest kingdom and trade them for food."


    Commander Alia shouts


    "GENIUS. You should be crowned King as soon as possible. Your mind works way to much."


    Then she turns to the gang and says


    "Friends, you are forever welcome to Lan Zhe from here on forwards. I declare you honoured guests."


    Eric replied


    "Thank you. But i was more thinking about someone here to teach me Lava Controlling."


    Mogranius added up


    "Indeed. I can teach him everything he needs to know about Fire Blasting. But Lava Controlling is not my territory."


    Commander Alia replied


    "You are most welcome to come and learn here.


    But for the moment, you are more than ready to reclaim Gaster Kingdom. That should be your main priority for now."

 Chapter 31 - A Shot from the Shadows

    Eric looks to the ground and in grief he says


    "What''s the point of reclaiming the Kingdom? Sooner or Later that man beast i faced in Crutal Kingdom will find out and come burn everything to the ground. I can''t face against him and win. Why he spared me back at Crutal Kingdom is still a complete mystery to me."


    As soon as Eric finished his sentence, Commander Alia was about to reply. But she was struck speechless as a explosion was to be heard coming from the main entrance.


    The second they heard the explosion, everyone rushed out of the mine entrance and towards the main entrance.


    As they reached the entrance, it seemed that someone was courageous enough to make their way through the ten foot hole that Eric caused and shoot down a Calidum Lutum guard.


    As the Guard was gasping for breath and raised his hand towards Commander Alia to ask for help, he was yet again struck.


    Struck by another explosion.


    The explosion, tipped Stefan over and he almost fell down the Volcano, but Mogranius grabbed his arm, slightly yelled


    "Got ya."


    and pulled him to safety.


    Commander Alia shouted in despair


    "NOOO!!"


    And although that one Guard is already dead, she rushed to push the other one guarding the main entrance, to safety.


    Although a heroic, courageous and selfless act, it was also extreme.


    The chances of being shot down to death were too large.


    But this time everyone could sense where the explosions were coming from now. Whoever is shooting, is hiding in the shades of the tunnel(the main entrance).


    Commander Alia pushed the remaining guard to safety, but leaving herself exposed to life threatening danger.


    Obviously whoever struck twice already, had no one stopping them from striking again.


    Understanding this situation, Mogranius acted quickly. He was only a few meters away from Commander Alia.


    In a quick act, he reached her and was able to tackle her away from danger.


    He could feel whatever is causing the explosion, fly over his back as he tackled down Commander Alia.


    He saved her. And knowing his mysterious unexplainable yet useful reflexes, he stands on his feet again faster than the eye can blink and creates a shield.


    Creating a fire shield of which formed half a sphere like fire barrier, he provides absolute safety against whatever is threatening them.


    Commander Alia is safe, but that leads the rest of the Gang exposed. More precisely, Eric and Stefan.


    Not knowing how to yet do the Fire shield, Eric blasts out a blazing bear claw, Grabs Stefan(who always seems to be the victim of his bear claws) and throws him all the way behind the shield that Mogranius formed.


    He didn''t land on his feet and he certainly isn''t surrounded by the Fire shield, but it leaves him immune to the explosions.


    Seeing Eric as the only remaining target, the attacker shoots again. Eric reacts quick and blasts fire out of his legs, lifting him a meter above the air. The explosion struck the ground and damaged Eric''s feet enough to make him lose control over his flying.


    Although his feet now covered with a pitch dark colour mixed with his own blood, his feet were indeed damaged but he didn''t lose his toes or a foot as well.


    But his feet bleeding didn''t seem to be his greatest concern right now.


    While Eric lost control of the fire he blasted out of his feet, it resulted to him uncontrollably being blasted towards the Volcano and was now falling all the way down the molten lava that the bottom of the Volcano has to offer.


    Eric was quite Certain that this was his end.


    His life flashed before his eyes.


    He only sees small moments with his father, what he could imagine of his mother and the very first moment he discovered his powers.


    The short flash reached an end as he noticed that he wasn''t dying. He was all the way down in lava. Head to toe. But he wasn''t burning.


    Infact, he didn''t even feel heat.


    Even his clothes weren''t burning.


    In his head he thought


    "Have i died and gone to hell already."


    But he realized he was well alive once he tried to blast fire out of his feet again.


    He had absolutely no idea how the lava didn''t burn him into ashes, but he used it to his advantage.


    His feet were bloody, damaged, burned. But he could still blow fire out of them.


    A second after, he was flying away from the lava and as he made his way up a half mile in just a few seconds, he reached the edge of the Volcano to see stefan surrounded by the shield as well as the remaining guard.


    But what he also saw was about thirty ill.u.s.tratios who have surrounded the fire shield.


    Armed with bows and preventing Mogranius from doing anything.


    Leaving him no option to attack.


    Apart from seeing those thirty ill.u.s.tratios, he also saw Guard Commander Chan a few feet away from the group, pushing a knife down the dead Calidum Lutum Guard''s chest.


    Near Chan appeared to be a crossbow.


    Eric thought


    "Could it be possible that the explosions came from that CrossBow?"


    It didn''t take long for Guard Commander Chan to rip out the dead Guard''s heart out.


    And like a coward he ran out with ten of his archers escorting him towards safety.


    But his carelessness made him forget his crossbow behind.


    Eric did not hesitate to blast FireBalls as Stefan was running out.


    But he had to watch out how much fire he blasts. This situation can get worse lf he causes a collapse.


    But like the coward Chan is, he hid behind the archers, using them as shields to further his miserable life.


    Six of the Archers escorting Guard Commander Chan were burned to death.


    Since Eric unleashed less fire, the Archers weren''t burned in to nothingness, but instead just being burned alive with pain so unbearable that they met almost an instant death.


    But of course that let a rather disgusting scene to see after the fire burning on those dead archers, met an end.


    Guard Commander Chan got away and the twenty remaining archers who were surrounding the Fire Shield, suddenly all turned towards Eric. Making him his main target.

 Chapter 32 - Man Hunt

    They all proceeded to shoot arrows towards Eric. It was hard to predict when to dodge. As there were twenty archers randomly shooting arrows towards him.


    Eric could feel several cold arrows he dodged while almost getting hit.


    He felt the arrows scratching the surface of his skin and ripping apart parts of his clothing.


    He blasts a fireball whenever he isn''t dodging arrows. Which seems rather difficult to doo, resulting on unsuccessful hits most of the time. He doesn''t think that he will be able to fight off all twenty of them.


    Unlike in Crutal Kingdom, he fears for his life now. As so many innocent people could be saved and escape slavery if saved by him on the future.


    And on Crutal Kingdom, he could shoot freely.


    Here he needs to be careful to not cause a collapse, which would put many lives at risk.


    Just when he felt that he won''t be able to keep this up for a long period of time, reinforcements finally arrived.


    The Grand Masters seem to have made their way down to the volcano and with effortful teamwork, they controlled the lava upwards towards the rest of the lava controllers.


    What was awaiting the remaining ill.u.s.tratio archers, will give them eternal nightmares if they make it out alive.


    But under such circ.u.mstances, the chances are as slim as a single hair.


    Molten lava, coming from tens of ways was approaching the archers. Once closing up to their target, the lava was forced to blend together. Forming a ocean wave like scene.


    Except this wave would rip the skin off of your body.


    However when the lava was making their way in mid air, not even a small drop of it touched Eric. Either way he wouldn''t feel the burn. But the lava at this scene wasn''t holding still and would slam Eric against the hard ground.  Amazing compared to the part that Eric was right in the middle when such wave was forming.


    Making Eric look like he is doing the Lava Controlling. Which made it a whole lot more terrifying on the Archers points of view.


    The lava went above Eric and quickly made its way downwards again aiming for the archers.


    The blow was so devastating that it killed all the remaining archers almost instantly.


    And the people who were in the protective fire shield that Mogranius provided, were even able to hear the half screams one archer made as the lava was pushing him against the shield, burning him alive on the spot.


    But of course that display was short lasting.


    All the excessive amount of Molten lava that was pooling around on the main entrance, was quickly dragged back by the Calidum Lutum in a excusitie manner.


    Making it safe for Mogranius to break the shield.


    Due to the absolute control the Calidum Lutum had over the lava, the body of the victim shot by Guard Commander Chan wasn''t burned in to a crisp. The lava didn''t even touch him.


    Near the body was of course the crossbow Guard Commander Chan carelessly left behind.


    Perhaps this is what King Xakro the lll(current King of Crutal Kingdom), meant by


    "We have a new weapon that will aid you in battle."


    As Guard Commander Chan seemed to be the only one holding a crossbow.


    Crossbows were invented not to long ago. Less than a decade to be exact. And they each cost a hundred gold coins to purchase.


    Rather expensive as most people earn fifty gold pieces a month.


    However, no one ever saw crossbows that shoot explosive ammunition.


    What sorcery is placed behind this so called "Weapon" is not certain. But for sure Stefan would love to examine it after all of this.


    As Mogranius broke the fire shield that took half of his stamina, Commander Alia instantly shouted


    "Get them. Do not let any of them survive this."


    As Eric was flying on mid air, he instantly flew his way towards the tunnel, hunting for Guard Commander Chan and the four archers that were escorting the coward out.


    Ignoring the fact that he lost half of his Stamina, Mogranius blasted fire off of his feet and followed Eric shortly after.


    The guard who was saved by Commander Alia also unleashed a harsh, rage filled, animal like roar and followed Eric and Mogranius, aiming to brutally end the attackers lives.


    Although Mogranius was flying, he was shortly after given company by the ten foot tall guard who was shaking the ground as he was running.


    Expectable from a five hundred pound man.


    Reaching and shortly after passing Mogranius, it was rather interesting to see a large man run. And his speed was astonishing as well. But i suppose that the rage behind his eyes made him run a little faster.


    Eric who was a bit more further ahead, saw well that he was approaching the cowardly ill.u.s.tratios. Although the archers near Guard Commander Chan were qualified as an elite team, they didn''t seem to have shame in running away.


    But when Eric was able to spot them. The archers weren''t running.


    He saw his father who seemed to have utilized a stick, breaking the firm wooden bows of three archers which of course disarmed them. As for the fourth archer, he was being continuously stepped on by BlackWind until he was no longer able to stand up.

 Chapter 33 - Rough Skinned Beast

    While Woldemir was fighting two of the elite archers who seemed to have decided to fight against him with their bare hands, one Elite Archer grabbed the still functioning bow that the Archer who was stepped on and killed by BlackWind dropped.


    He grabbed it as he both saw a light from the far(more precisely he saw Eric) and he felt the ground shaking. Of course an effect of the Calidum Lutum Guard caused by his running.


    But unlike Eric, the Guard wasn''t far. He long passed Eric. But his pitch dark body colour gave him advantages in a dark tunnel.


    The archer who already had an arrow pulled against the bow, shot as soon as the Calidum Lutum Guard was in obvious sight.(about twenty foot apart.)


    The arrow pierced the Guard''s Skin and the body of the arrow followed and went halfway deep.


    But unlike an explosion, an arrow penetrating his skin was no more than a scratch to him.


    Well at least that''s what he felt under complete rage. Once the rage disappears, the pain will likely be greater.


    But for now, the arrow did obviously not stop the Guard on his feet.


    It didn''t stop the Guard at all as a matter a fact.


    With his shoulder brought upfront, the Guard ran over the archer like a bull. And after taking several meters to stop his speed, he managed stop in a rather fast time compared to his size, he pulled the arrow out of his left chest without effort and of course without breaking it. And threw it towards the Archer at the brutal speed a ten foot man''s strength has to offer. The arrow thrown, penetrated the back of the archer''s head and made its way through the whole head quickly and surfaced on the front part of the head. Which continued penetrating through the dirt, practically nailing the archer to the ground.


    Rather ironic.


    The Two other standing Archers, considered elite, witnessing the death of their partner in war made them urine their breechers as the Calidum Lutum guard turned his attention towards them.


    As he was approaching, the two remaining archers bend to their knee and begged for them to be spared.


    But of course all the guard could see was his co worker who was also his childhood friend, being shot down and killed by these ruthless people.


    The guard grabbed both of them by the neck, lifted them above the ground and was witnessing their death on his hands as they were gasping for air.


    The more they kicked, the more he tightened his foot long hands around their necks.


    A minute passed and the two archers weren''t kicking anymore.


    The innocent Guard''s death was well avenged, he can rest in peace.


    Woldemir watched in slight fear as he saw three ill.u.s.tratio archers being killed by one man.


    One Calidum Lutum''s impact in battle seemed almost equally impactful to a Magician(Level three) Fire Witch or Wizard even if the Calidum Lutum individual could not control lava.


    Sure a Witch or Wizard can throw life threatening fireballs who would kill you on the spot or ruin the rest of your life.


    But a Calidum Lutum''s skin seems more protective than a set of armour.


    Blind spots in a battle of one against ten would hardly harm a Calidum Lutum if used to the enemies advantage. As if they were immune to it.


    And let''s not forget the Strength they possess.


    If compared, A five hundred pound man''s strength sounds equal to the strength of several ill.u.s.tratio guards of which they would possess.


    If Eric could perhaps convince Commander Alia, the few hundred Calidum Lutum the Town of Lan Zhe has to offer could take on and win a battle against the thirty thousand People Kingdom which King Xakro lll rules.


    But of course the Gang Knows quite well that the man beast they faced(King Xakro lll) is a Grand Master Fire Wizard.


    He seemed immune to Fire. What else could he be immune from?


    Underestimating an enemy is the greatest flaw in battle. Expecting less, you would lower your guard which could ultimately lead to your defeat.


    And King Xakro lll practically being a more twisted and actually in a few ways more powerful version of Electus himself, underestimating him in battle could lead to the Calidum Lutum race being enslaved or actually extinct this time.


    However, getting back to reality. Eric reached the battle field and landed on his feet.


    He instantly noticed the total destruction one Man caused.


    "Judging from the scene, this situation seems taken care off. But where is that lap Dog Chan?"


    Said Eric with fury in his eyes. He to wanted vengeance for the poor soul. As Guard Commander Chan was clearly the one who shot the Guard to death, Eric seeked him.


    "Commander Chan was here? I didn''t see him in the tunnel. He must of ordered his archers to stand here as a barricade as that bootlicker made his escape."


    Said Woldemir with his voice raising while he was putting two and two together.


    "That coward killed a Guard, ripped his heart out and ran.


    Lucky for us Alia saved this other guard, then Mogranius saved Alia, then i saved Stefan and then the Grand Masters saved me.


    It was like a cycle of saving."


    Said Eric with a grateful but also griefed voice.


    "That coward couldn''t of made it that far. As soon as i heard whatever caused that explosion, i made my way to the cave.


    At first i thought i was hallucinating but the second explosion got me worried."


    Explained Woldemir.


    "However the case might be, there is no time.


    I need to hunt down and ki...


    As Eric tried to finish his sentence, he wasn''t able too. He was struck by Mogranius who flew his way above Eric''s head, grabbed him by the shoulders and carried him out of the cave. Which was short lasting, as they met the exit after half a minute of flight.


    Eric Blaster Fire out of his feet and started flying himself again.

 Chapter 34 - The "Sacrifice" of the King

    "The rest are dead except for that coward Chan. We must hunt him down and kill him. But we must try to get some information out of him. Why did he come here. Why did he rip out that Guards heart. He couldn''t of possibly known that we were here."


    Explained Eric to Mogranius practically shouting on mid air as they were flying away from the cave.


    "He ran away a few moments before the Grand Masters killed that bundle of archers. He couldn''t of gotten away that far."


    Shouted Mogranius.


    It was mid day. Indeed the tour Commander Alia offered took a few hours but the heat of the mid day September sun was still flowing on their head and although they had both the time and their powers to their advantage, you can''t find a green man in a thick forrest without a lot of effort.


    He could sit under a bush and wait untill the moon rises and everyone will have the smallest chance to ever notice him.


    "What is that?"


    Shouted Eric.


    What they saw seemed to be something flashing.


    The iron helmet Guard Commander Chan was wearing gave a flash of sunlight that anyone from a distance would notice.


    And when the two saw the whatever was causing the flash, move. they knew it was nothing caused by an animal. Unless some sort of armory was tangeled on an animal.


    But still they only saw a flash moving around the rich green forest. They didn''t see an animal. Which got the idea of the flash being caused by Guard Commander Chan further in their mind. As from a distance you can''t notice a green man in a forrest.


    It was easy to put two and two together. So they set that flash as a target and made their way towards it.


    The closer they approached, the easier it was to see a man like body figure running.


    At the point where they were thirty feet apart from the figure they noticed that it is none other but Guard Commander Chan.


    One noticable future of his was his women like long green hair. Of course every ill.u.s.tratio has thick vine like hair but the hair length reaching to his behind Guard Commander Chan has, is unique for a man.


    Even at that Third Era.


    (For those who are unfamiliar or a bit confused with the Eras the continet of Ignis holds, here is a short explanation.


    The first Era was started by ignites their selves as the most superior at their time and ended by them when they split ignis into four Countries.(ironic i know.)


    The Second Era started after Ignis was seperated in four and lasted a bit longer than the first. This Era met a terrible end when the ill.u.s.tratio invaded the Three other Countries of Ignis and enslaved Ignites and killed every other visible race with no discrimination.


    A few of the other races might remain in hiding but of course very rare.


    Now at the Third Era, we are at the year Two Hundred. Firmly in September and reaching towards year two hundred and one.


    Eric while on midflight, shortly reached Guard Commander Chan and tackled him down.


    Of course he wants some information out of Guard Commander Chan instead of burning him in to ashes, as now they were so desperate and lacking for information that even an enemy is considered the best source.


    After tackling him down, he is over Guard Commander Chan, holding down his neck with his left hand and blazing fire above his fist from the right.


    A foot long continues fire that behaved like a dagger.


    Eric approached the fire towards Guard Commander Chan''s face and with a murderous low voice he said


    "If you want to live long enough to see another day, you better answer my questions in great detail."


    "I know nothing. And if i knew anything, i''m certainly not telling you. Demon Child!!"


    Yelled Guard Commander Chan in anger equal to his fear.


    "Demon Child? You ripped an innocent man''s heart out you Bastard. For what reason in the world could you possibly need to do that?"


    Yelled Eric as he tightened his Hand around Guard Commander Chan''s neck even more.


    Gasping for air as much as he could, Guard Commander Chan could not find himself to shut his big mouth even in those circ.u.mstances.


    Under breath he says


    "That Demon isn''t innocent. Any Witch or Wizard is a demon. They come from the depths of hell disguised as people. They have no place here. Ignis was ours first. You demons came and invaded us."


    "Demons? Your race has tortured, enslaved, r.a.p.ed, massacred our kind for two hundred damn years. Even demons shouldn''t be treated in that manner.


    And ignites caused the borders and banned your Kind to begin with because your kind wasn''t as innocent a few thousand years ago as well."


    Yelled Mogranius in pure anger.


    "YOUR KIND ARE THE DEMONS."


    Shouted Eric.


    "My kind are not from the depths of hell. They do not posess evil magical powers given to them by their demonic ruler unlike you."


    Said Guard Commander Chan while desperate for air.


    "Quit it with the Demon talk or i will push this fire through your head. We are not demons."


    Shouted Eric.


    "Demonizing Witches and Wizards was a false claim to convince the King''s of your so called "Motherland" easier. It''s all rumours and superstition."


    Said Mogranius and added


    "Besides. Your beloved King is a Wizard. Isn''t he a demon?"


    "HAHA. My King is our saviour. He killed your belowed "Electus" two lifetimes ago which started of this revolution. He ripped her heart out, ate it and stole her "beloved powers". To free our land from you demonic bastards. AND IT WORKED!!! Hahahahahaha."


    Said Guard Commander Chan in full pride as he felt Eric losen up his grip around Guard Commander Chan''s neck.


    Hearing that, Eric was in shock and let go of Guard Commander Chan. With a tear dropping from his eye, he felt grief for the Electus before him(Akareas) even though he never met her.


    Mogranius on the other hand

 Chapter 35 - Source Bear

    Mogranius on the other hand doesn''t seem to have time for grief.


    He thought to himself


    "I don''t know if this fool is telling the truth. Could whoever Xakro ill.u.s.tratio be, possibly oppose the strength of an Electus, alone? Even an army of five Thousand couldn''t face a fully trained Electus and hope to win.


    And yet one fool managed to kill her?"


    "i am not experienced enough to know if an animal such as you is telling the truth or not. And i don''t care to know. But what you did to that Guard won''t escape unpunished."


    Said Mogranius as he was already generating fire on his palm which rose while he was speaking.


    The fire rising and crackling over Mogranius'' palm made Guard Commander Chan break a sweat right away. He damn well knew that Mogranius has multiple reasons to not spare him.


    But of course in Guard Commander Chan''s limited point of view, Mogranius was nothing but a demon in human disguise about to kill him.


    It was rather foolish to see Mogranius as a demon while the ill.u.s.tratio hopes to force the rest of the world to share the same fate the ignites have.


    And of course Mogranis did not at all hesitate to direct that fire towards Guard Commander Chan and blast him with life threatening fire out of existence.(Well his body would still exist, but burned in to a crisp.).


    At the second he blasted, a rather unusual animal came in the scene.


    Which caused Mogranius to miss. Well it wasn''t a total miss to be exact. Chan''s left arm was burned whole.


    At this era, it wasn''t of course too unusual to see such animals running around a thick forest. Although not as common as Black Wolves, it wasn''t too unusual. It was a Bear.


    I''m aware that it won''t cause goosebumps to most of you by hearing the name "Bear."


    But unlike the commonly non hostile, averagely three hundred kilo, plant eating bears, this one was a full carnivore.


    He could easily eat all three of them in a day.


    And if his weight breaking over a thousand kilo wasn''t intimidating enough, this species had a rather unique ability.


    The reason why Mogranius missed, wasn''t because he was scared by the bear(although it wouldn''t be surprising if he was.).


    He missed because of the roar the bear unleashed. And no it isn''t because the roar spooked him.


    The roar caused an interference to Mograniuses powers.


    After obviously making Mogranius blow an embarrassingly small Fireball(which of course burned Guard Commander Chan''s arm but not enough to cut it off whole.).


    More surprises followed. Well at least surprising for Eric who was new at all of this.


    I''m calling the Fireball small because it actually is small compared to what Mogranius can really unleash.


    However, the roar of which the bear caused also prevented Mogranius from further using his powers. Although the effect would last only a few hours, they currently weren''t in a good situation to be in lacking powers.


    No powers and a thousand kilo bear looking to rip them apart.


    He said


    "What a wonderful picnic."


    For Eric on the other hand, the roar was effective towards him as well but he can still blast a small amount of fire instead of losing complete access to his powers like Mogranius.


    As of course instant self defense instincts kicked in, Eric could not resist throwing a fireball towards the bear who was shaking the ground as he was running towards him to rip him in to pieces.


    Although the Fire he unleashed was roughly a foot wide and a couple of feet long, it was enough to set the darkish brown fur of the bear on fire.


    And he of course instantly flew off of the ground as the bear did not seem at first to bother changing directions as fire was about to burn his flesh.


    The Fire Eric blew out of his feet was roughly enough to keep him more than twenty feet above the ground.


    And as he rushes to carry Mogranius out of danger, who at first resisted and told Eric to shoot and kill Guard Commander Chan, they began flying out of danger in no time when they say that Guard Commander Chan made his way towards the thick forest long ago.


    "That Bastard got away."


    Yelled Mogranius as he was being carried by Eric out of danger.


    "That is not our biggest concern right now. If you didn''t notice, a large bear is trying to kill us."


    Shouted Eric.


    Due to the added weight, Eric could only fly fifteen feet above the ground now.


    Things were more difficult at the very few seconds Eric lifted Mogranius off of the ground because the bear who even when standing on his four feet was six foot tall, became twelve feet tall as he standed on his two rear legs.


    The bear tried to throw them against the hard ground with his Human head like paw but missed by an inch.


    It wasn''t a total miss. His ten inch nails broke through Eric''s clothes and skin just a small bit but it wasn''t enough to throw them to the ground.


    As if the untreated arrow wounds weren''t enough already, thought Eric.


    Due to the cover the trees provided, The bear shortly after lost the sense of direction for where his meal is heading. So it just ran around in random directions in the forest until it eventually ripped a tree off of its roots as he hit it with his head at full speed.


    Slight pain compared to part of his fur being burned down. But at least the fire on his fur stopped roasting his flesh.

 Chapter 36 - Hail to our Lord

    Eric flew himself and Mogranius in to safety.


    But for obvious reasons, Eric has a boat load of questions. For what happened now and even what happened when he fell down in molten lava and survived. Many of the Calidum Lutum saw that and by now they surely reported it to Commander Alia.


    But Mogranius and pretty much the rest of the gang didn''t notice it at the exact moment and just thought that Eric regained control of his flying shortly after and managed to fly again.


    But the fact that he fell in lava and didn''t feel heat, is confusion topped up with impossibility.


    Even a Grand Master of Lava Controlling couldn''t possibly swim in lava without dying or being heavily injured. And that says a lot.


    But first of course he is rather more curious to find out how his mentor who could cut people in half with his fire blasting, got defeated by a thick skulled animal.


    "What on Ignis was that thing?"


    Shouted Eric as they were about to land on the entrance of the cave."


    "Damn it. I hoped that those overweight blow horns went extinct."


    Replied Mogranius while trying to blast fire out of his hand. To see if his age and experience can perhaps overcome the effect that the bear caused.


    Last time he encountered one was a couple of decades before he accidentally time travelled.


    But no, he lost complete access to his powers. At least for a few hours. But now he would be vulnerable if another attack was to follow.


    "I never saw a bear as huge as that one. I''ve heard "fairytales" but i assumed it was a myth." said Eric and continued to say


    "I can barely blast any fire and you can''t blast at all. Apart from all that, Chan got away. That Coward. How is this possible?"


    "Source Bears. It was a source bear. They got that nickname because they are thought to be the very sources of Magic. However, they got that nickname centuries ago and it was soon proven that they were no source, just over powered thick skulled animals."


    Explained Mogranius with the most irritated look on his face. Rather interesting to witness.


    "Source bears. They seem very rare though. I suppose that was to any Witch or Wizard''s liking. But how was it proven that they aren''t the source?"


    Asked Eric with usual curiosity.(It''s becoming usual for Mogranius to answer a ton of questions.).


    "About Two hundred and thirty years ago, a hunter shot one down. Well more like, ten hunters shot one down. It would be impossible for one hunter to kill it. Even Witches and Wizards can''t because of obvious reasons.


    Since these bears are killable, they are no source.


    But yet again, One source disappeared which caused an entire continent to crumble into dust."


    Explained Mogranius while practically arguing  with himself.


    "So they are just over powered animals. Surprising how the ill.u.s.tratio didn''t hunt them down and killed them. But where do they get their powers? Do they go to school and write things down?"


    Mocked Eric even after such situation.


    "Well if there was a magic school, i would sure send you there. It would get you closer to actually reading a book. With slight risks of being eaten alive. Chances i''m willing take."


    Replied Mogranius with the utmost sarcasm he has been holding in through this whole situation. And continued


    "However, i have no idea how they got those powers. They are rare and impossible to study.


    They have an amazing sense of smell so it is hard to observe in the wild from up close."


    "What about trapping it and putting it in a cage? That way you can study it from upclose without having to worry about your arms getting ripped off."


    Added Eric


    "No No. No small human trap can restrict a Source Bear.


    Dig a hole, they climb out.


    Catch with a net, no net can "bear" its weight. And even if it did, it''s sharp claws come in handy.


    Even if somehow anyone managed to catch a Source Bear, handling the bear long enough to transport it and put it in a cage, is a risk no one is insane enough to take. Which is why we don''t know much about them."


    Explained Mogranius while they were walking in the cave and making their way towards Lan Zhe.


    "At this rate we would wish for them to be extinct rather than handling them."


    Said Eric.


    "Oh they should be after a few centuries.


    No prey is common enough to feed their daily hunger. I mean they grow above a ton. Surely they need a big meal everyday."


    Said Mogranius and added


    "But a bear shouldn''t be our main concern right now.


    It is well established that the manbeast we faced is a spawn of Xakro ill.u.s.trato ll.


    And that he has an actual Electus'' powers.


    But with all that power, why didn''t Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll end you? He clearly could. No offense."


    "The same questions have been puzzling me. But also, why did Chan come here just to shoot down a Calidum Lutum and rip his heart out. He shouldn''t of known that they existed.


    And also, i recall Chan being very stupid. He couldn''t of organized a plan like that. Unless he had Xakro''s assistance."


    Said Eric and then Mogranius continued


    "Which further raises questions. Why would Xakro send a Goblin brained moron to do such job. He could of sent his Grand Generals to lead a possibly race extincting attack."


    "There is one more thing. When i¡­."


    Trying to finish the sentence Eric got stunned when they finally reached the entrance of Lan Zhe and found all five Grand Masters bending the knee and shouting


    "HAIL TO OUR LORD!!!


    HAILLL!!!"


    Following the Chants of the Grand Masters were all Non Lava Controllers, Hatchlings, Young Cubs, Magicians, Experts and Masters.


    Their Chants were so heart felt that even the ground was rumbling.


    Commander Alia approaches, bends the knee and says


    "It is both an honour and privilege, My King."

 Chapter 37 - Golden Blood

    Eric of course has no idea what''s going on. He acknowledged that he gained Alia''s and the Grand Master''s trust already but he didn''t expect to be called a King all of a sudden.


    "I''m not sure what''s going on, but i am no King. I could barely protect any of you. I''m lucky to escape alive out of this situation."


    Said Eric with grief.


    "No, my King. This isn''t about who you can or can not protect right now. We don''t expect a child to guard hundreds of us. It''s about your¡­ let''s say newly discovered ability."


    Replied Alia with a comforting voice.


    "You mean?"


    "Yes Eric. Hundreds of my men reported that you swam in lava. And you are standing in front of me alive.


    See Eric, the Lava you see in the bottom of the Volcano is not ordinary.


    It is incomparably hot. No other Volcano can reach its heat."


    Explained Alia.


    "Well the Lava did not burn me. How come?"


    Replied Eric with the utmost curiosity.


    "Reach out your arm and be a tough boy now."


    Said Commander Alia in a teasing manner.


    With the tip of a sharp dagger, Commander Alia scratches the surface of Eric''s arm skin, somewhere around the middle of his arm.


    The scratch was enough to cause blood to surface but without of course causing any fatalities.


    It didn''t seem like a painful long task as the dagger was so sharp that the skin was cut like butter.


    When Blood broke out, there wasn''t anything unexpected. Apart from the obvious burn like pain caused by the dagger, there was only blood.


    "Didn''t i receive enough cuts today?"


    Complained Eric.


    "Patience Child."


    Teased Commander Alia.


    The darkish red blood was accompanied by a gold like blood. It wasn''t too visible, and there was mostly red blood to see. But the Gold like blood was there. Shining, reflecting.


    "I don''t see it."


    Said Eric.


    "Basically, hard to see Golden Blood flows in your body, eventually it will be more visible. This isn''t normal. It isn''t one in one thousand and not even one in one million.


    After the cold massacre i doubt that there are roughly above half a million to count in Ignis.


    But getting to the case, your blood is much like your ability. One in the world."


    Explained Alia with a enthusiastic voice rising.


    "Wow. Did every Electus before me have this kind of power? And also, apart from resistance of Lava heat. What other power does it grant?"


    Asked Eric with a sense of curiosity and amazement.


    "No, i don''t recall hearing that an Electus had golden blood. Maybe some did but didn''t realize it. Perhaps being The Electus grants bigger chances of having Golden Blood.


    I''m not certain. The last Known Golden Blood who died Three Thousand years ago and was actually a ill.u.s.tratio."


    Explained Alia but was interrupted by Eric as soon as he heard the name


    "ill.u.s.tratio".


    "A Golden Blood was an ill.u.s.tratio? Are you sure? Those people aren''t worthy of anything."


    Said Eric with pure hatred.


    "Although the ill.u.s.tratio are generally close minded and cowards, you will encounter the few who want to fight for justice like her but are afraid too.


    However, as a Golden Blood, your main power is lava heat resistance. It doesn''t give you fire resistance so be sure to have that in mind "my King"."


    Explained Alia and also said


    "However, your over eager questions caused for hundreds of my soldiers to wait for the ceremony longer than they are supposed too. We have been talking way to long."


    "Sorry Sorry. I mean, of course i will have many questions. I swam in lava and still am alive.


    But let''s continue with this so called Ceremony.


    What shall i doo?"


    Said Eric with still continuos curiosity.


    "You must take an oath. An oath sealed with trust and carried with honour. If you break the oath, you are no longer welcome here.


    Now bend the knee, and repeat after me."


    A - With my heart and with my blood i swear loyalty.


    E - With my heart and with my blood i swear loyalty.


    A - My Brothers and Sisters i shall always protect and guide.


    E - My Brothers and Sisters i shall always protect and Guide.


    A - With the will of a King and God like power, i shall sacrifice the weak by my side.


    "No."


    Said Eric interrupting the oath.


    "Child, what do you mean no?"


    Replied Alia in anger as the rest of the Calidum Lutum were heard whispering and mumbling behind her.


    "My Power and status doesn''t make me superior. And not a God for sure. And using my status i never want to shame or sacrifice anyone weaker. The weak are to protect, not to kill.


    The ill.u.s.tratio killed thousands thinking they were God''s soldiers fighting off demons. Which made people think twice if there is a god or demons to begin with.


    But no God would kill the weak and innocent.


    A God has the power to shape worlds from nothingness. I can''t even shape a clay pot. I am no God but i shall always fight by your side at the front line. Not as a God, but as your Soldier, as your friend."


    Spoke Eric with all this heart.


    Shortly after he heard his father who was not to far from Commander Alia start clapping.


    Stefan joined, Kazer who understood half of what Eric said also joined. Noticing Kazer, the rest of the Grand Masters joined and the rest of the crowd broke out in chants and clapping.


    Eric was yet again in shock topped off with confusion as he didn''t know what was going on and expected the worst.


    Commander Alia approached a step closer and said


    "You made it kid. You passed the test."


    "Test? What test?"


    "A King''s worth is proven by the love of what''s good and right. Not the love of power and selfishness. I am the most honoured to call you My King."


    Explained Commander Alia.

 Chapter 38 - The Throne Room

    I''m the most honoured to stand in front of all of you as the New King. But what are my responsibilites as one?"


    Asked Eric.


    "Ask questions latter my King. Now we need to crown you. Please follow me."


    Said Commander Alia with a proud voice.


    As Commander Alia was walking towards the crowd of people that were standing behind her, they all cleared the way and stood aside, bending the knee. As a way of saluting.


    Even though Eric is a newcomer, not to mention an ignite, the Calidum Lutum didn''t seem to have trouble at all accepting him as the new King. They all bend the knee.


    Well at least what the main entrance could fit.


    But the Calidum Lutum don''t even seem to know what racism is. Sure they disappeared to escape war but racism was never part of their dooing.


    As for Eric, this is an amazing experience. Days ago he was considered nothing but a dirty used rag and now he stands tall as tens of abnormaly powerful Calidum Lutum bend the knee for him and Hundreds more accept him as a King. Who wouldn''t be grateful of such honour?


    After Commander Alia and Eric passed by, the men and women who bent the knee, stood up, lined up and followed. Rather well diciplined.


    Passing the farm and the mine, they spiraled down a bit deeper to find what they seemed to call "The King''s Hallway".


    The Hallway didn''t include much. Several Ignite Gems were giving a poor view of the twenty metter long and ten meter wide Hallway. But it was to be seen that a Throne was standing at the other edge of the Hallway and a crown on the top edge of the thrown''s back support.


    Well a rough stone throne wouldn''t give much support to the back or bum for an ignite, but for a rough skinned Calidum Lutum, it was as soft as a pillow.


    Commander Alia stops on the doorway and says


    "My King. Only you may enter this room. As it prevents any of us from entering. Since the last King died, this Hallway became inaccessable. Only when a new King claims the throne, shall we enter this Hallway again."


    "So what am i supposed to doo after entering?"


    Asked Eric who didn''t seem to show even a bit of fear in his eyes.


    "Do you see that thrown over there? Approach it, grab the crown on it and put it on your head.


    If you are worthy, the Crown will shrink appropriately to your head''s size.


    If you aren''t worthy, the Crown will cause a massive explosion that will cause a mass collapse possibly killing half of us.


    Good luck."


    Said Alia while yelling a Command telling all the men and women to get to their caves.


    "Is it a good idea to send him in there?"


    Said Woldemir in a concerned tone.


    "What if the crown explodes? I was sworn to protect that boy."


    "I have good faith that he will claim the crown. You should have too. He is your son."


    Replied Commander Alia with a comforting tone.


    "You got this Eric."


    "Go claim what''s yours kid."


    Shouted Stefan and Mogranius from the backround.


    Unlike the rest who can''t even enter the doorway, Eric easily went in. And touched his arms and legs to see if any of them were missing already. Fortunately they weren''t.


    As he walked closer and closer to the throne, he could see the throne getting bigger.


    Perhaps from a distance, it''s size was underestimated.


    The Last King who sat on this throne clearly was over thirteen feet tall, as Eric had to fly in order to walk on the sitting area of the throne.


    That area was a bit more than five feet above the ground. And the back support area was another six feet tall. a Big throne indeed.


    But the throne was off less importance, the crown was what Eric is more concerned about.


    He reached this far already. Getting the Crown wouldn''t be a problem? You would think.


    But he is about to claim a throne untouched for three thousand years that could cause an explosion vicious enough to kill half of a seven hundred people hidden civilization. Even the Grand Masters couldn''t defend against this sort of explosion.


    So the fear of possibly killing so many innocent people, increased hesitation in Eric''s mind.


    He saw what One Guard did to Three ill.u.s.tratios just because one friend of his was killed. If an explosion erupts, the survivors would tear the gang apart and Commander Alia wouldn''t be able to stop them.


    Due to this hesitation in Eric''s heart, an earthquake appeared. The closer Eric reached out, the stronger the earthquake got.


    Eric flew away from the crown and saw the earthquake calming down to the point where the cave wasn''t shaking anymore.


    He dropped to the ground and hit the dirt with his fist and yelled


    "I can''t do this."


    And with a calmer griefing tone he said under his breath


    "I can''t do this. I''m just a kid. I''m not strong enough."


    When he raised his head up again, he saw an old women. She seemed to be on her nineties and was a clear Ignite.


    But her identity was proven when he saw the flame like glow burning in her eyes.


    And the Black Veins covered all of her arm instead of just one portion, like Eric. It was clear that this Woman was an Electus. But which one? And how can she be standing in the same room as Eric.

 Chapter 39 - Say Hello to my Mentor for me

    As soon as she started speaking, it was clear to see that Eric was face to face with a dead Electuses soul, she wasn''t alive. If she was, she would of been of great help. Two Electuses are a true force to be reckoned with. But that gave out the thought that she is dead?


    Well Apart from the obvious spooky sudden appearance, her voice gave it out.


    Her voice was so life filled and strong that it sounded like three women were talking at once in perfect harmony.


    Her voice was not loud yet Eric could feel the earth beneath his fist trembling. Anyone alive couldn''t sound like that.


    She said


    "You are an Electus. Rise and never fear anyone. Do not let fear stop you from succeeding.


    I didn''t keep perfect balance to this continent by hiding behind the comfort of my Kingdom''s walls. I stood in front of the problem and choked it. Just ask Mogranius."


    Said The Electus with each word giving goosebumps to Eric.(Both because of fear and because of the speech).


    "But the obstacles in front of me are to great. I''m facing against one continent. I can''t oppose one continent alone and win."


    Said Eric with disbelief.


    "Who is he talking too?"


    Said Stefan as he noticed the situation.


    "Akareas."


    Said Mogranius as a tear dropped from his eye.


    "You can see her?"


    Asked Woldemir in confusion.


    "Yes Yes. I can see all spirits and souls. Long story. Now shush."


    Explained Mogranius as he was watching like a fan towards them.


    "Eric. Like your Companions, you will meet many people who want to oppose the evil in front of them but coward in fear. They need a leader they can count on, they need you.


    This was started because of the underestimation i made towards Xakro ill.u.s.tratio.


    This war started because i failed to protect my people.


    I failed to protect the good and the innocent. Stand up and help me redeem myself. End Xakro''s Bloodline. Also, say "Hello" to my mentor for me."


    Said Akareas, reached her hand Towards Eric and yelled


    "Stand up and fight."


    As Eric grabbed her hand and stood on his feet, his eyes got that fire like glow right away and he noticed great tension on his black veins.


    For a second it felt like a dagger struck his arm but the pain vanished right away.


    He raised his arm and noticed that the Black Veins became half a foot longer. Which was likely the source of the pain.


    He didn''t pay much attention to it and proceeded to fly towards the throne.


    With no hesitation at all, he grabs the crown which unleashes a bright eye burning shine, the shine was so strong that it even almost blinded the rest of the gang thirty meters away.


    The Crown was three feet wide, it''s base with gold and it''s pyramid like points filled with shattered pieces of Ignite Gems. Which possibly caused the light.


    But with a fist like Ignite gem giving light only five meters far, how can shattered ones give out light even more than thirty meters away?


    The Crown shrinks down to a foot wide while being on Eric''s hand, and the long distance shine it unleashed, shortly after faded and the gems didn''t glow at all anymore.


    Eric lifted the crown and placed it on his head.


    And as he sat on the throne, the crown unleashed another bright light which again didn''t last long, but the few Ignite Gems in the cave, the Gems unleashed a stronger purple light. Like the Crown, the Ignite Gem''s light reached out to thirty, possibly fifty meters, illuminating the entire Hallway. But the light wasn''t blinding. The purple light was gentle on the eyes and yet it''s distance reached far. Astonishing.


    Mogranius who was basically leaning against the invisible barrier which kept anyone from entering The King''s Hallway, fell down face first on the mud as the barrier vanished.


    He stood up in a blink of an eye and under a calm but yet embarrassed tone he said


    "I meant to do that."


    Right after, everyone else rushed in and ran towards Eric with joy. They are happy that Eric got the Crown and the Underground Town didn''t get wiped out in the process. It is a win win.


    "Damn Kid you have much power in you."


    Said Mogranius in a proud Enthusiastic voice.


    "Yes. Also, Akareas told me to pass down a "Hello" to you."


    Replied Eric with a c.o.c.ky voice but it was clear to see that this situation tired him out.


    "That was incredible. And i only peed my pants just a small bit on the process. Still your achievement is incredible."


    Said Stefan with apparently no shame but rather noticeable confidence.


    I suppose not going number two was his biggest achievement today.


    "Enough about toilet humour.


    Eric. Your claim of the Crown made the farm situation much easier. I have never seen these gems glow this much.


    At first i was afraid the gems wouldn''t be enough for the entire cave but now it is a guarantee.


    Again, i am the most honoured to call you My King."


    Explained Commander Alia.


    "Yeah that''s my boy. Always helping. I knew you could do it son."


    Said Woldemir with a proud look on his face.


    Meanwhile, back at Crutal Kingdom and all the other three Capital Kingdoms on Ignis, the Ignite gems on their crowns also gave out a minute long beam.


    "So. The Golden Blood has returned."


    Said Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll


    Of course those Kings aren''t golden bloods, and the gem pattern on their crowns are different.


    But still there are ignite gems on their crowns. Only they fancy such luxury. Which explains why their crowns glew.


    The Grand King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll and the three Capital Kings knew what this meant.


    Every other Ignite gem in possession of any person gave out that shine. Which means more rebellions will start, as they know a greater force will aid them. They have hope now. This could strike their economy hard.


    As if it had senses, the Ignite gems continued to illuminate if there was no other light source in the area and if the area was well illuminated, the gem only gave out it''s usual five meter wide glow.


    This effect seemed to have reached on every ignite gem Ignis has to offer. And the effects didn''t wear off and likely won''t until Eric dies. Which could be a few decades.


    It was well shown. The Golden Blood has returned.

 Chapter 40 - Freeing the Spirit

    "What are my duties as the Golden Blood?"


    Asked Eric with a question that has been puzzling his mind even before he successfully claimed the crown.


    "Well. Your main duty is to lead our people into safety, peace and harmony. Considering the fact that safety is covered by the Lava Controllers, all you have to do is prevent people from knowing we exist, ultimately keeping us away from war."


    Explained Commander Alia with a smile but that smile quickly turned into a frown as the new King replied.


    "I wish i could do that. But you saw yourself! The ill.u.s.tratios found their way here. They are far too close minded to find this place themselves. Meaning a brighter mind led them here. Likely the Grand King. Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll."


    Replied Eric with obvious grief in his tone.


    "And since that snake Chan escaped, he will confirm your existence. You already got yourself into war."


    Added Stefan.


    "And even though a Calidum Lutum''s skin can withstand an arrow with ease, you saw that explosion. They know any front line Calidum Lutum can''t withstand an explosion. Giving them an advantage."


    Explained Eric who for once seemed to be insightful and continued


    "Our first line of defense shall be hard dried out lava filling the small cave you attacked us at and also filling the long tunnel leading to this town. We shall open an entrance when necessary but now we should close it."


    "I greatly want to avoid war but if those bastards want to hurt my people, i will rip them apart with my bear hands.


    I shall pass down the order to the Grand Masters. Or at least one of them. They shaped this underground Volcano to begin with. Adding a layer of rock shouldn''t be hard."


    Explained Alia.


    "I have many questions about the Volcano Shaping, but for another time. Aren''t we supposed to go to the funeral of the victim or something?"


    Asked Eric with clear sadness.


    "We shall. Or at least you shall. Here we don''t bury people who have passed away. He was born around lava, he shall pass to heaven around lava. That way, Our god will be pleased and the victim''s soul wouldn''t be cursed to haunt us."


    Explained Alia.


    "Now i have a boatload of questions. You couldn''t even imagine. But first about the funeral and later about everything else. How can he pass to heaven through lava?"


    Asked Eric while scratching his head in confusion.


    "You''ll see. Go down the area where the Grand Masters are and join the funeral. Because you are the Golden Blood only you can withstand the heat apart from The Grand Masters that can at least stay near the lava that is."


    Commander Alia explained while enjoying the confusion on Eric''s face and added.


    "You don''t need to walk half a mile down, just jump. You wanted too at the beginning anyway. And as some teenage girls reported, your clothes didn''t burn either. They sounded disappointed about it though."


    "Oh now you speak my language."


    Said Eric as his adrenaline increased rapidly before even standing up from his throne.


    After that he disappeared from his throne without a trace and everyone in the throne room heard him yell


    "Yeaaaaahhhhh!!!"


    As he jumped head first from the edge of the Volcano to the molten lava.


    "Did you teach him to disappear?"


    Said Commander Alia while looking at Mogranius with slight anger.


    "Well i can sense smoke here coming from the Volcano. Very light but i suppose still usable.


    So i suppose i''m a little bit guilty."


    Said Mogranius with slight shyness.


    "I will deal with you later."


    Said Alia with an intimidating voice and a wink with her right eye.


    Leaving Mogranius with his Cheeks red and his body feeling frozen as she walked out of the throne room.


    "Nothing like old people flirting."


    Said Woldemir with sarcasm.


    "Well judging from how she looks, she would be considered on her thirties in our lifespan. But mathematically speaking she would be considered on her forties even though she looks way younger than that. She is three Hundred years old after all."


    Explained Stefan while puzzling everyone around him except Mogranius who was so frozen that Woldemir had to lift him over his shoulder and carry him away from the throne room as Mogranious remained stiff as a board.


    Eric was falling down for half a mile until he met the molten lava again and caused a light splash.


    "Opecl. Er WelzerArtej ke sadpu.


    (Translates too "Good. The GoldenBlood is here.")"


    Said Grand Master Xalk.


    Eric swims around the pool of lava as if he was swimming on a normal lake. With great ease. And climbed out of the lava pool and sat down the walkways that spiraled down.


    "Funeral is begun."


    Said Grand Master Kazer.


    After that Eric saw the victim laying on a thin rock. The rock was reaching five foot wide and ten foot long. Able to carry the victim above the lava.


    Grand Master Pezik pushed the rock gently, to lead the victim away from the walkway.


    Xalk stood up and as he raised his right hand upwards and the left hand forward, a gentle wave of lava started rising. Pushing the stone all the way to the very middle of the Volcano. Which was far enough that Eric and the Grand Masters couldn''t see anything but a dot.


    But shortly after they did notice that the Victim''s dead body caught on fire. Expectable. I mean he is an inch above lava.


    But as he caught on fire, Eric noticed a cloud appearing in the entire bottom area of the Volcano. Like a mist. Or like a blizzard where you can barely see a few feet away.


    "What is going on?"


    Said Eric in slight panic.


    "Calm."


    Yelled Kazer.


    The cloud became thicker and thicker and as the Victim''s body slipped from the rock and fell in the lava. The cloud disappeared instantly and they saw a white spirit like figure flying out of the Volcano and upwards the sky as it broke the surface of the earth outside of the town.


    "Spirit Free."


    Said Kazer.

 Chapter 41 - Statistics

    "I wasn''t well aware what gods your people or at least now i can call them my people believed in. And i wasn''t sure your god existed to begin with. But what i just saw was very unusual but yet again there was nothing fake about it. I saw a soul rise."


    Said Eric to Kazer while arguing with himself as well.


    "God. People believe many. People believe several. Calidum Lutum believe one.


    Calidum. Our father. First Calidum Lutum to walk planet.


    Became god when died and send one hundred Calidum Lutum from heaven.


    Now we seven Hundred Calidum Lutum."


    Explained Kazer with the little Ignite language he knew.


    "Oooh i get you. Your race is named after your god, Calidum.


    My father says that gods are fictional beings Chapel members created for personal profit.


    But from a civilization thriving away from the outside world, i don''t see any personal profit here. I don''t know which god to believe in but i do know that this continent needs to be free from the ill.u.s.tratios. They all shall die by my hand."


    Said Eric with his motivation rising and continued


    "But as soon as we reclaim Gaster Kingdom, i will return here and all five of you respected Grand Masters will teach me to control Lava. I''m sure that with five points of view, my Lava Controlling will advance rather fast."


    "We live to serve our King. Respected Golden Blood."


    Replied Kazer with a gentle tone.


    "Hey you are getting better and better at speaking my language. You really do learn fast."


    Said Eric with a bit of a mocking tone.


    "Of course. You and friends talk a lot."


    Said Kazer with unintentional sarcasm.


    Eric returned to his throne room and on his way there he went in to deep thoughts. As he is basically a King now, no one dares to decline his orders. Giving him more ideas about Invading Gaster Kingdom and protecting it from invaders after the reclaim.


    And he also has ideas about increasing the first line of defence if the rock hard barricade in the tunnel is to fail.


    As he entered the Throne room he saw Commander Alia only.


    As he approached he asked


    "Where are the rest of the Gang?"


    "I ordered for them to start the project on the farm. Well more like i ordered the farmers and miners to do it but your group insisted on helping.


    But may we speak my King?"


    Replied Commander Alia in a concerned tone.


    "Of course. I assume the talk we had about war is troubling you."


    Replied Eric who again surprisingly was insightful.


    "Well. Yes. If it wasn''t for Mogranius, me and many others could of been shot dead. We already lost one Guard. This Crossbow that was left near the dead Guard seemed to have done all of this damage. I fear for the worse. If more troops strike this place with several of this crossbows that shoot explosive ammunition, we might lose way more guards. Tens even."


    Said Commander Alia while showing the Crossbow to Eric.


    "The Crossbow seems ordinary. If there are any Archers here, the Blacksmith can forge bolts. Basically ammunition for this Crossbow.


    If there aren''t archers, we train one to use this crossbow. Get a short guard for it. Someone seven to eight feet tall probably. It would be easier for a shorter person to operate it."


    Explained Eric.


    "But sire. This weapon is nothing compared to the strength of one Guard. Why do we need this?"


    Asked Alia in confusion.


    "It is nothing compared to a ten foot man or women but against an ill.u.s.tratio, it is a lethal weapon. This is a late discovery. On Crutal Kingdom i saw it being sold for one hundred gold pieces in the main market. Me and my father barely made that much a year."


    Explained Eric and added


    "Besides, with a crossbow you can shoot from a distance without being exposed to possible explosions or arrows or swords. It would be a good idea if the Blacksmith can actually craft these."


    "One man shooting a crossbow can help but he can''t fight of tens at once. Yet again, if tens of enemies were to shoot these so called explosive bolts, even all of our guards stand no chance."


    Replied Alia while not knowing what to think and believe anymore.


    "Exactly. But i did notice that one man could withstand one explosion with nothing but Gauntlets and helmets on. Meaning if we give the guards a full set of armour, they can withstand several explosions. Giving them more than enough time to reach the enemy."


    Said Eric and added


    "Also, the main entrance shall have more guards guarding the area as our first line of defence. How many Guards do we have?"


    "Oh i got the total population memorized. I know you are curious so i will list everything my King.


    There are five Grand Masters,


    Fifty Masters,


    One Hundred Experts,


    Two Hundred and fifty Magicians.


    Apart from the Lava Controllers we also have:


    A group of two Hundred people who don''t want to train their naturally gifted power(mostly Children), people who age got the best of them, powerless children, and Hatchlings or Young Cubs(Level one or level two).


    We also have thirty farmers,


    Twenty who work in the mine,


    And respectfully fifty five guards."


    Listed out Commander Alia and gasped for breath after it.


    "So i see that most non controllers are put in to good use. But what concerned me the most is that you left two guards on the main entrance, knowing that the tunnel was open. Where were the rest?"


    Asked Eric in confusion.


    "The rest were helping the minners dispose the large amount of ignite gems. The tunnels are so deep down that they most likely didn''t hear the explosions."


    Explained Alia.


    "Well i see it reasonable. But now we have new rules."


    Said Eric.

 Chapter 42 - I need ten Guards

    "New rules you say? I''m listening my King and i am forced to obey as well."


    Said Commander Alia.


    "From now on the main entrance shall have twenty men and women guarding the area. One guard shall be armed with this crossbow and hidden from a distance, and if the Blacksmith can forge more crossbows, tell him to forge eight more."


    Ordered Eric.


    "Yes my lord. But may i advise you for our main defence to have less guards armed with crossbows. Eight seems to much. You are limiting a guard''s potential by putting him or her behind a small crossbow."


    Said Commander Alia in concern.


    "I do not plan to put all eight on the main defence. I need ten guards. Ten Calidum Lutum guards that is. And four of them will be wielding Crossbows."


    Said Eric and with a bit of a nervous tone he said


    "Those ten Guards will join me on reclaiming Gaster Kingdom."


    "My King this is unacceptable. If the world knew we exist, you will find them doing whatever they can to scrap personal profit from Lan Zhe. If not war, we will face much different trouble."


    Explained Commander Alia with anger.


    "Chan got away from us. He will inform the King of your existence. War is already upon you. War is upon us. If we don''t start reclaiming Kingdom''s one by one as soon as possible, Xakro''s army will be so big that he would be able invade this place with minimal losses."


    Said Eric. Well more like yelled. And continued


    "Xakro mostly hides behind his army even though he can do much damage by himself.


    And considering the damage i caused on Crutal Kingdom, he can''t afford to lose more soldiers. Meaning we have the opportunity to attack small areas one by one until we make that coward bend the knee. For all we know, soldiers from Meridionali ignis are probably marching their way to Crutal Kingdom to replace some or all of the dead soldiers. We need to act now!"


    "But what if Xakro''s army actually does attack? We can''t risk having less guards here, ultimately weakening our first line of defence. I need all if not more, of my guards here. This is the place they should raise a sword for."


    Said Commander Alia.


    "That''s why i will only take ten guards. Forty five of our guards can fight off hundreds of ill.u.s.tratios. Imagine if all those forty five had full body armour. Not to forget the four hundred and five Lava Controllers. We have all the defence we need to fight off an army right now."


    Explained Eric and continued


    "But before the enemy''s army gets bigger or before they start invading other continents, we need to reclaim Kingdoms one by one. We are fighting against an entire continent here. We need all the troops we can get. And if Gaster Kingdom can offer fifty soldiers that will fight by our side. Temporarily having ten guards less here is worth the risk."


    "Gaster Kingdom has about one hundred Guards. And they are all ill.u.s.tratios. I doubt that any of the ill.u.s.tratios will side us. But i get your point of view. We need all the troops we can get. Be it ten, be it twenty, be it fifty. I''ll have the best men and women ready."


    Replied Commander Alia with a agreeing yet griefing tone.


    "No. I do not wish to take all of the best guards. Get me one of the best, three of the average and six of the worse.


    That way the ten will progress better. And the worse will escape their bad reputation.


    I will ask my father to squeeze in some training before the initial attack. He is a Grand Master when it comes to wielding a sword after all."


    Explained Eric with a comforting tone.


    "Agreeable plan. Sorry for having doubts. I only wish the best for this town. And you are a kid after all. I did not expect such battle plans from a child honestly."


    Replied  Commander Alia while looking at the ground.


    "I do get you. But to make Ignis one again, we need to fight for it. The enemy is thousands of steps ahead of us. We can''t risk going steps back."


    Said Eric with his tone gradually calming down.


    "I''ll ask the blacksmith to boost the production speed. We have swords for all fifty five men but we need full body armour for all of them as well. The Sword for your father should be done in a few hours. I''ll have a couple of the miners assist the Blacksmith as well. Although i doubt he can forge crossbows. But My King may i ask a question?"


    She proceeded to ask in a curious tone.


    "Twenty guards will guard the main entrance. Ten shall aid you on the battle of Gaster Kingdom, what about the other twenty five?"


    "If all forty five guard the main entrance all day long, if an attack is to happen, they will be to tired for it.


    We have forty five Guards. Make sure they all get enough rest and reward any guard with extra food if he or she works longer."


    Explained Eric.


    "But My King. We are already low on food. Is it wise to give out more? Some are already avoiding to eat in order for the weaker to survive."


    Replied Commander Alia with slight sadness.


    "I will solve the food situation within a week. First we need to see how many ignite gems we have after fixing the issues in the farm."


    Said Eric and continued


    "I will lead this great civilization out of darkness."

 Chapter 43 - A Hundred Ignite Gems

    Then they proceeded to walk their way to the farm. Commander Alia marching in front of their King like ten soldiers while Eric having trouble to focus on the real issues because of the teenage girls cheering at him. He didn''t mind it though.


    Reaching the farm, they lend a hand right away. Getting dirty along with the miners and farmers while pushing ignite stones on the cave ceiling ranging from twelve to twenty feet above their head. Although Mogranius could reach the farest points through flying, Eric helping as well showed solitude with his people. Instead of just looking at workers as peasants and his royal highness never bending down work, he got dirty along with them.


    While they were in the cave, they noticed right away that it was easier to breathe in now.


    With tens of holes on both sides of the cave, breathing in fresh air became good for everyone. For the farm, farmers and also the rest of the town. Air can flow easily all the way down.


    "Stefan''s ideas are genius. If Gaster Kingdom is to thrive, you should appoint him as the King there."


    Said Commander Alia.


    "Oh i will for sure. The little man showed King worthy bravery this week as well."


    Replied Eric with a slightly proud tone.


    Stefan seemed to be ignoring the world around him and thinking again. As usual. Basically tuning out whatever they both said.


    "Well it looks like he is on his own world for now."


    Said Eric and asked


    "At my farm, we usually harvested the crops at month nine of every year. It''s been six days since that month started. How many months are there left for all of the crops to grow here?"


    "Our civilization was out of touch from the outside world for thousands of years yet we still have names for the month instead of just using numbers to describe them. Fascinating."


    Said Commander Alia in slight sarcasm and continued


    "However. The month that roughly translates too "Rich month" is about twenty days away. This month is the longest one of the year here in ignis and it is proudly holding its name.


    "But from the looks of it, we will be lucky if even with all these improvements the crops grow in time for the rich month."


    Said Eric.


    A couple of hours passed, and with all the effort of the farmers, the miners, the Gang and Commander Alia put in, they were done.


    The Farm was shining in a purple manner, providing light for all the crops and the light each ignite gem provided was reaching fifty meters far yet the glow was to gentle on the eyes. It didn''t even force anyone to blink.


    The head miner approached Commander Alia and informed her of the results.


    With great manners and discipline he explained everything in detail, without paper he seemed to have memorized it all.


    After explaining it all, he returned back to his duties.


    Commander Alia turned to the gang and said


    "Well things turned to the best at last."


    "Do tell."


    "At last?"


    "We still have much to do."


    These sentences were heard from the group one by one.


    And Commander Alia replied


    "Well to start with, the Ignite gem barricade in the mine is no more. The miners broke through every gem deposit there is.


    Which of course means the miners can continue mining out iron ores. We only have enough Ore and Ingots to forge full body armour for roughly twenty men. We need all the ores we can get."


    "So you are telling us bad news wrapped with good news. Perfection."


    Said Mogranius in obvious sarcasm.


    "Well at least i have good news to tell. I still can''t figure out how two all powerful Fire Wizards let Chan escape."


    Said Commander Alia with sarcasm beating the rate of the one Mogranius has.


    "You try Fighting off a beast weighing a ton!!!"


    Said Mogranius in anger. Rather funny to watch.


    "You got attacked by a Source Bear? This is not your day."


    Added Stefan.


    "Wish i could see Mongranius'' face when he realized he couldn''t blast fire."


    Added Woldemir.


    "Cutting to the case. Almost three hundred Ignite gems were used to light up the entire farm. Good for us as well. Because we found only four hundred in total."


    Said Commander Alia after interrupting their slight arguing.


    "More would of been left over if you didn''t order the workers to throw them down the Volcano. Miss perfect."


    Added Mogranius.


    "True. Miss perfect could also "accidentally" throw you down the Volcano as well oh dear "wise one"."


    Replied Commander Alia in a sweet threatening manner which left Mogranius speechless and a bit terrified.


    "Well if each Calidum Lutum considers saving up their bucket of fruits and vegetables, we can buy a bucket of food for each one and still have thirty ignite gems left."


    Added Stefan who seemed to have already done the calculations.


    "My people can eat a lot at once, but one bucket of food keeps them well fed for a week. They can stretch a bucket for two weeks. Plus we still have food from the last harvest. We may pass this without any losses."


    Added Commander Alia with enthusiasm on her tone being adorable to hear. The tough strict girl softening up.


    "Tough lady getting soft?"


    Added Mogranius.


    "I don''t recall being soft."


    Said Commander Alia.


    "Getting to the Case, carrying seven hundred buckets of food is no easy task. We need more horses. Not to forget more Wagons."


    Explained Stefan.


    "A Cheap Wagon costs about Three Hundred Gold coins. But even if we buy a good quality Wagon, we still need two more to carry all of that food."


    Added Woldemir.


    "Meaning we need to spend two thousand gold coins on better bigger Wagons instead of cheap ones. We need three. Plus horses who can get the job done are surely not cheap. With luck it would be good if we get two for a thousand gold coins in total."


    Added Stefan.

 Chapter 44 - Dear Source of Fire he got possessed by a Demon!

    "I feel that all of you haven''t considered that i am the most infamous person in Crutal Kingdom now based on the ill.u.s.tratios point of view. We can''t go there carrying one hundred ignite gems and buy seven hundred buckets of food without being shot at and looted."


    Explained Eric and suddenly noticed that everyone was looking at him. He didn''t say anything until now since this topic started but he sealed the conversation.


    This topic is fresh, meaning everyone overlooked the fact that you can''t just freely go in to Crutal Kingdom with one hundred ignite gems on your back.


    Everyone was shocked for Eric to notice this first because this level of being insightful did not meet the previous Eric who was mostly dumb but curious.


    "How did we overlook a detail like that?


    The boy is right."


    Said Stefan while rubbing the back of his head.


    "If i may suggest, there are farms out of the Kingdom''s protection. Since Crutal Kingdom is our closest option that we can not use, we might as well just use the Farms near it. More swift, less attention."


    Explained Eric in detail but he could not help but notice that everyone is looking with shock at him again.


    "Dear source of fire he got possessed by a demon."


    Said Mogranius and a second after he tackled Eric down and held him down while yelling


    "Eric can you hear me? Fight the demon. Fight the demon." while occasionally throwing a couple of slaps.


    Rather funny to watch. But Mogranius got dragged away by Commander Alia who grabbed his black robe around the neck area and seemed to be lifting him above the ground with one hard. Holding him like a gold piece.


    She proceeded to say


    "The boy isn''t possessed by the demon.


    How can i put this in to words that even a moron would understand¡­"


    "Oh please doo."


    Said Mogranius a second before he was dropped at the ground. But stood up again in a blink of an eye as if nothing happened.


    "See the crown isn''t just for show. There are two things to remember about this crown.


    The first thing to remember is that this crown is obviously heavily magically enchanted.


    Apart from the true Golden Blood, no one can wear it and no one including Eric can remove the crown from his head no matter how hard you try."


    Explained Commander Alia and afterwards added


    "The Second less important feature of the crown is the minimal ability it blesses you with.


    For example if Eric lacked several perks like paying attention, being insightful, being less irritating, etc.(No offense). The Crown only seeks out what you lack the most and gives it a minimal boost. Explaining the Change of Eric being more insightful.


    Does that make sense?"


    After finishing her sentence she saw everyone either scratching their head, counting with their fingers or at Mograniuses case, looking at Commander Alia with love and saying


    "She is so smart."


    Only Stefan seemed to have understood everything and seemed to be appreciating the power.


    "Wonderful explanation but cutting back to the case. Eric''s idea is our best option. There are several farms out of the Kingdom''s protection. Meaning they aren''t big fans of the Kingdom. Giving us advantages as they would help us keep a low profile."


    Said Stefan while practically arguing with himself and continued


    "But one more issue, Could we possibly carry One Hundred Ignite Gems alone? It isn''t exactly a short walk to reach Crutal Kingdom."


    "Yes we can. Because i''m coming with you."


    Said Commander Alia with a firm assuring tone.


    "Would that be a good idea? All we need is four people really. And the group already has four people. Not to forget BlackWind."


    Added Eric in concern.


    "Woldemir needs to stay here and train the Guards. Training needs to start as soon as possible. As for me, i can''t be told apart from an ignite as long as i cover my head with a hood."


    Replied Commander Alia and added


    "Besides if we get attacked, i''m not helpless. Neither are two Expert Fire Wizards."


    "Brains make up for my lack of fighting skill. If it wasn''t for my brain you would be punching your way to death."


    Said Steffan practically mocking them.


    "I''m sure most of you need to fall asleep again. We attacked you in the middle of the night and dawn broke a couple of hours ago.


    Let me escort you to your rooms and we will talk plans later."


    Said Commander Alia.


    The Gang was send down a cave not to deep in and Eric was sent to his throne room which wasn''t to far away either. The Throne room included a bedroom and much more down the tunnels.


    Undoubtedly the rough skinned Calidum Lutum didn''t need soft beds to sleep in. Some slept on animal fur while some prefer rough stone. A bit bizarre but the Calidum Lutum had far different features from the Ignites, ill.u.s.tratios or any race in that matter. Making their different choices acceptable.


    But due to that, there wasn''t a lack of animal fur to sleep on. Meaning none of the Gang had to sleep on Hard rock.


    But as soon as Eric fell asleep, countless nightmares were to follow.


    First he saw his father being beheaded by an ill.u.s.tratio in front of his eyes. After that he saw what appeared to be his mother, burning down in ashes and flames. Soon after he saw the Calidum Lutum Guard being shot down again.


    Dream after dream each one got worse.


    But the last dream that woke him up from the rough nightmare was a scene where Woldemir, Mogranius, Stefan and Commander Alia were looking at Eric. Each of them expecting him to act like the hero he is supposed to be and shortly after Fire burning all four of them as Eric cowarded out. And King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll appearing to finish him off.

 Chapter 45 - The Rumbler

    Everyone woke up a while after mid day and seemed to have a good night sleep. Except for Eric of course. He managed to sleep but the continuous nightmares kept waking him up, making it impossible for him to even take his given time to sleep to his advantage.


    As mid day struck, Eric barely slept four hours while the rest slept nearly eight hours each.


    Perhaps the thought of failure is keeping Eric either sleepless or slashed with a wave of nightmares. His shoulders are already carrying enough burden. Such behaviour wasn''t unexpected. Especially from Eric.


    A week ago he was nothing more but a poor defenseless farmer. Now he is ruling over a ancient thought to be extinct civilization and on top of that, he has to provide food for seven hundred of them as soon as possible not to mention conquering Gaster Kingdom and everything else this quest of theirs Ignis could throw towards them. It is much to burden oneself a lot indeed.


    Providing food for the town of Lan Zhe was a task that Woldemir took over his shoulders to begin with but he is needed much more here now.


    His superior sword skills shall not be put to waste and they can''t wait around, Xakro''s army could be knocking on the other side of the volcanic rock anyday.


    Even Army Generals, people above guards and guard commanders, could not match Woldemir''s level of mastery so he is the best to train.


    Most Guards don''t live long enough to become Grand Masters and those who do are usually not skilled enough or don''t put enough effort to mastering the way of the sword.


    Woldemir is a rare gem and he shall be put to good use here.


    As Eric climbed off of his bed, he made his way up to the mine and saw his father testing out the new Sword that the Blacksmith made for him.


    The iron sword''s size from the left side to right  was as thin as one hair and the size of it from the top area to the bottom area was about half a foot. The sword was shining in an elegant manner. The iron on it was so pure and spotless that one''s reflection could be seen with ease. Which would probably give more points of view in battle. Views of which a Grand Master could take advantages from no doubt to avoid shots and swings from blind spots.


    The only thing adding additional weight to the sword was the handle. A handle thick enough for Woldemir to perfectly Grip.


    The odd thing about the handle was that it is unusually long. The handle was half a meter long while the thinn iron over it was one and a half meter long. Perhaps an appropriate combination for a sword a bit longer than Woldemir himself but the fact that the handle was made from Volcanic rock gave the vibe that there is more to this handle.


    "It''s a bit hard to maneuver but i can use it to my advantage."


    Said Woldemir with confidence and added


    "A sword as unique as this would cost five hundred gold pieces. The way this iron is formed would take months to shape with no guaranteed success. But this man did it in less than a day. Amazing. A true artist with the iron."


    Commander Alia who was standing on the side, watching him use his new sword said


    "I did say that this Blacksmith is over qualified. He is indeed one of a kind."


    "With a sword like this i can face ten ill.u.s.tratios at once without risking a scratch.


    Even Guards armed with Crossbows do not stand even the slightest chance of shooting me down."


    Said Mogranius while swinging his swords for test outs.


    "Perhaps you want to prove your words against five of my men and women in the training area."


    Said Commander Alia with a possible mock on her tone.


    "For sure but i do have two questions about the handle. Why is it so long and why is it formed from obvious Volcanic rock?"


    Asked Woldemir in curiosity.


    "The Volcanic rock is heavily magically enchanted. Meaning the Sword is enchanted.


    Although the sword looks sharp, elegant and exquisite. It offers a much more reckless and unstable power.


    See the Blacksmith planned to make the sword entirely out of iron to symbolize the outside world. Accurately the Ignites. But i told him to add Volcanic rock as a Symbol of our acceptance towards you."


    Explained Commander Alia while causing possible goosebumps.


    "That''s heartwarming and i am honoured. But i am curious, what power does the sword possess?"


    "The Volcanic rock is longer for a reason. For you to hit the ground with it easier without risking to cut yourself.


    When the ground is to be hit with the handle, it causes a violent earthquake. Able to knock most opponents off of their feet but it won''t affect you.


    Every Guard here has that enchantment but underground it can cause havoc."


    Explained Alia with a deep serious tone while explaining its importance.


    "It''s power will never be wielded for Evil i assure you. But i will wield it until i face death. Be it by age or be it from an enemy.


    That''s an oath.


    Said Woldemir and continued


    "And i''ve decided to name this marvelous sword, "Rumbler"."


    "Perfect now let''s make our way to the training room right below the farm. Let''s see if a Grand Master lives up to his title."


    Said Commander Alia.


    "Eric my son, i didn''t notice that you were here. Ready to see your old man in action?"


    Said Woldemir as he saw Eric on the mine entrance.


    "I suppose. But do not shake the cave down. We need that area the most for the troops."


    "I will try my best son."


    Said Woldemir is slight c.o.c.kyness.

 Chapter 46 - The Master and his Students

    As they entered the training room they saw various Weapons hanging on the Cave wall, from Maces to War Hammers to Swords to War Axes, all in a different design putting whatever weapon an ignite can forge, in to complete shame.


    Each weapon seemed more lethal than the other and they all seemed to have the Earthquake enchantment at their handle, making them superiorly dangerous.


    But they would be equally dangerous without the enchantment. A hit from any of those weapons is damage even a Calidum Lutum can not withstand with ease.


    Some Guards were seen training while some taking rest and some fighting against each other to have a more battle like practice, they weren''t using weapons against each other of course.


    Not a bad sight to see but it could use some organizing. However none of them seemed to be unfamiliar to Discipline.


    "FARAZAJ!!"


    (Translates too "ATTENTION!!")


    As soon as they heard Commander Alia yell the command, they stopped what they were doing right away, lined up and bend the knee in their own Custom.


    That is, Fisting the Ground with their right hand and lifting the left Hand straight upwards while squatting.


    "Do you prefer to fight against the best Soldiers or do you need the weakest to warm up. I recall that you saying that you haven''t used a Sword for a while."


    Asked Commander Alia in comforting concern.


    "No need. Bring five of the best in the battle ground. This won''t take long."


    Said Woldemir and added


    "And don''t tell them to hold back. If they can actually find a way to land a strike, let them do it. And let them carry their weapons as well."


    "I can''t tell if you are over confident, over qualified or just crazy. Either way, do aim to keep your head in place."


    Said Commander Alia and yelled out the  names of the five best guards.


    After it she proceeded to tell them


    "Baplem Taswem.


    Maz''p yib lert.


    (Translates too " Battle Formation. Don''t hold back.")


    "Oh believe me, they are going to embarrass themselves."


    Said Eric in a mocking tone.


    Three Men and two Women appeared to battle Woldemir. Each one looking more dangerous than the other and each one carrying a different looking Weapon and each one looking undoubtedly physically fit.


    As soon as Commander Alia yelled the Command for them to start they rushed towards Woldemir with the ground trembling beneath them.


    As ten foot tall people, speed was to their advantage.


    But their size can be easily used against them by a sword wielding Grand Master.


    Woldemir was remaining at a normal pose. Not even bothering to form a Fighting position.


    But as soon as the five Guards were a few feet away from Woldemir, they saw the guard who was marching in the middle start flying while Woldemir was running on the opposite direction.


    Woldemir seemed to have tripped the man marching in the middle with the handle of his sword and made a quick escape beneath his feet as soon as he went airborne.


    The Victim did a half flip once tripped and was slammed back first at the Cave wall. Nothing but a bruise for him but Humiliation was the biggest bruise he faced from this fight.


    The other four Guards though are not sure what happened. So naturally due to instinct, they turned around and started charging again.


    But seeing that charging in a bundle wasn''t to help them if they tried it again this time, they proceeded to attack in a straight singular line.


    The reason of this attack is to confuse the opponent. Since the remaining four who didn''t get knocked out, each had a different Weapon, it would result in to different attacks. Meaning after one Guard strikes once and retreats, Woldemir would need to be quick enough to think of different defences for the rest of the tree quick attackers, furthermore complicating the process and risking getting hit. And there was a surprise attack to this at the end.


    The first attacker is carrying a forty pound War Hammer with small dull spikes on the bottom and the top of the Hammer. Perfect for completely crushing a ignite skull with zero chances of survival if an opponent is to get hit on the head. Even Grand Master Healers wouldn''t be able to heal such an injury.


    This attacker is the twelve foot Guard Leader they met at the very beginning. His arm was almost as wide as Woldemir himself.


    But wielding such a Hammer comes with two weaknesses. Lack of striking speed and lack of defense.


    As the first Guard on the line was about to strike, raising and slashing his War Hammer would take the Guard about two seconds. Giving Woldemir all the time he needs to strike the attacker down before the attacker even reaches mid strike.


    Using again the handle of the Sword, Woldemir places the back of the handle in front of the direction where the attacker''s head was leaning while slashing the hammer.


    In the process he of course moved away from the devastating blow of the War Hammer, and when the hammer missed Woldemir and hit the ground, The attacker''s forehead didn''t miss the bottom of the handle.


    Woldemir''s body strength wasn''t of course enough to strike the Guard down but the Guard''s rush towards the handle was definitely something he put the hammer down to recover for.


    Meaning he too is out.


    Two out and three to go.


    But as he turned to expect the second attacker, he noticed the fourth was missing.


    Which gave him a better view on what this attack was about and what to expect.


    He raised his Sword to protect against the second attacker''s striking Sword and as the Swords were squeaking due to the defensive poses, on the reflection of his Sword he saw one of the Women striking from behind.


    But using the opportunity he left the scene in a blink of an eye to the point where the two Women Guards were holding their swords against each other in a defensive pose.

 Chapter 47 - Isabel

    Quickly noticing that they got played by the Grand Master, they pull back their weapons and charge all together towards Woldemir.


    Running again in a bundle at the start, they seem to have taken a different approach this time. They spread out in three directions shortly after.


    This battle method is very difficult to beat because the opponent has to defend or fight back from three different directions at once.


    And Woldemir doesn''t have three arms.


    Not to mention, Woldemir didn''t even cut anyone yet. Which makes his battle more difficult. He obviously can''t behead his students. They need all the soldiers they can get.


    Joining the audience was Mogranius who apparently was enjoying the battle and yelled


    "Behead them. YES!!"


    Everyone was used to Mogranius'' Childish behaviour so they didn''t mind it because they knew he meant no harm by it. He was just messing around to lighten up the mood.


    "It is probably not the best time to mention this but we forgot all about the book of Teleportation. After securing the food situation, will we sneak in to Crutal Kingdom to get it?"


    Said Eric grabbing Mogranius'' attention away from the battle.


    "Well i do recall Commander Alia saying that the souce "died out". I''m still not sure how a source would die out or just stop existing. But now even if we get the book it is no use to us. Even an Electus can''t revive a dead source."


    Explained Mogranius and added


    "Our main focus now should be gathering more Knights or basically anyone who can hold up a weapon. We have no time to be picky. We can''t afford it as well.


    Now enjoy the battle."


    As soon as Mogranius finished the sentence, their attention was immidately grabbed by Woldemir who seemed to already have either knocked out or disarmed two out of three of the remaining Attackers.


    With the last Attacker standing, which was a female. A much loved Sword to Sword combat broke out instead of a Sword to duck and cover one.


    The swords were swinging left and right, up and down, one combat move after another but neither of them seem to land a blow or a finishing blow for that matter.


    This female opponent was about eight feet tall and outstandingly beautiful.


    Insanely physically fit but doesn''t seem to be to slim as well. There were attractive features on her body which were hard to ignore, such as her abnormaly large and fit chest. And the lava like veins running down her body made her more and more attractive.


    Her gold and black hair even though tied up to a bun, gave out a beautiful scene.


    This is why Woldemir didn''t win yet. For the first time in fifteen years he got attracted to a women again. Partly because of her outstanding beauty and partly because of her fighting skills. He didn''t even manage to land a blow yet out of mainly deconentration.


    "Do you see what''s happening there?"


    Said Commander Alia to Mogranius and Eric.


    "Yes. Either that Women is to good or my father is sparing her for the fight to last longer. Which could only mean one thing."


    As soon as Eric finished his sentence, both the Women and Woldemir got disarmed.


    Their final blow was so harsh that it made Woldemir unintentionally drop the sword from his hands and he also cut clean through the Women''s Sword a split second before dropping his Sword.


    Well more like the Sword slipped from his hand and flew all the way towards the Training Area entrance were Stefan walked in to join the audience.


    Lucky for Stefan, his height came to his advantage for once as the sword flew half a foot above him and nailed itself on the walkway.


    "I swear that all of you are up to get me."


    Yelled Stefan.


    "Relax. Your head is still in place."


    Added Mogranius.


    The Women bend the knee right after, showing the upmost respect for Grand Master Woldemir and his skills.


    Woldemir reached out his hand aiming to make her stand up and said


    "You are one of the best Sword fighters i met in a long time. What is your name?"


    Refusing to grab his hand, she stood up by herself and was looking at Commander Alia for her to translate.


    She quickly walked over there and explained what Woldemir said. Which made the Women give a half smile and say


    "Fi Isabel."


    (Transaltes to "I''m Isabel.)


    Commander Alia said


    "I suppose you can understand that part.


    This is Isabel."


    Woldemir quickly sunk in to sadness but he didn''t show it to not ruin the positive mood. That name reminded him of his Wife Isabel who was burned alive by the ill.u.s.tratio. Specifically Eric''s mother.


    Woldemir still secretely blames himself for not being able to save her.


    "Nice to meet you Isabel. Judging from those moves you are already an Expert at Wielding a Sword."


    Said Woldemir in enthusiasm and curiosity.


    "Coincidentally, she wasn''t from our town before. She somehow roamed Ignis alone for a few decades and came here at the end.


    Although it shows quite well that surviving on Ignis alone gave her great capabilites.


    Such as you mentioned, becoming a Expert at wielding a Sword.


    But for some reason she refuses to reveal her age."


    Explained Commander Alia in detail.


    "Her past is her past and we should not pressure her about it or to explain herself.


    However, Taking Her to fight with us for Gaster Kingdom can be a great advantage. You said that Eric requested One of the greatest instead of ten. This one is for sure the greatest here as far as i saw. Ever since i became a Grand Master, no one was able to withstand so many strikes at once. Especially not an Expert. This Women is Gifted.


    Isabel is Gifted.

 Chapter 48 - Bloodlines Cure

    "Anyway, i came here to tell that we should not waste more time. We should pack and head towards the so called "Outer farmlands" that the specific territory of Crutal Kingdom has to offer if we wish for this Town to survive until the next harvest."


    Explained Stefan and added


    "But for a second there i saw keeping my head in place a main priority. Can you all play with your little swords a bit more carefully?"


    "That''s a little bit too much to ask Stefan."


    Said Woldemir.


    "Stefan is right. I ordered the miners to divide the one hundred Ignite Gems. Since four of us are in charge of this task, each sack carries twenty five Ignite Gems. A fair distribution but considering that i''m the one who is the most physically fit, there is no shame if anyone decides to carry less along the way."


    Said Commander Alia and gave a taunting smile.


    "Knowing my group''s ego, they would rather crawl there instead of asking you to carry more. But we would likely have to camp because the Kingdom is a moon away."


    Said Eric and added


    "We should also aim to keep a low profile. I doubt that Xakro didn''t order the entire army to keep an eye out for us.


    "Xakro is a big problem indeed. Perhaps it is not the wisest idea for me to leave this place considering that Xakro could be sending his army here any moment. But i need to step up for my people."


    Said Commander Alia and with a rough tone she said


    "Until i return, Woldemir will be in complete command of the fifty five Guards and also everyone else in this town. Including the Grand Masters. If our King of course approves it."


    "Well, seeing that each Grand Master plays a big role when it comes to defending this town, it is best for my father to lead an attack if one is to happen. Not to mention he already is in charge of training Fifty five Guards.


    That will keep him busy big time."


    Explained Eric, practically already approving Commander Alia''s wishes. And more like arguing with himself.


    Afterwards he swiftly added


    "I approve of this idea of course. It is well thought out."


    "Asking for my opinion doesn''t seem to be in your to do list son. But Being a Golden Blood''s father, it is the least i can do i suppose."


    Said Woldemir with a bit of teasing and sarcasm.


    "Alright. To much Chit Chat. You all didn''t even notice the bags of which the workers brought here a while ago. Grab one and off we go."


    Said Stefan and as he reached to grab and lift the bag, he was stunned when he felt the Bag''s weight.


    "Looks like someone has trouble with his bag. How does it feel to be a horse?"


    Said Mogranius with a practically teasing tone.


    "Well i didn''t expect for them to be so light. Otherwise i wouldn''t of put this much power in to it."


    Said Stefan while wiping the dirt off of the back of his head. Because he of course lost balance after realising the sack''s light weight.


    It only weighed around ten kilograms.


    You would expect a fist like gem to weigh a bit more. Especially considering them being harder than rocks.


    The Gang made their way towards the main entrance and started their journey to reach The Outer Farms of Crutal Kingdom.


    A long journey indeed, the gang ran from Crutal Kingdom to Lan Zhe a day ago and now all of them except Woldemir are making their way back to it.


    That caused a bit of disturbance on their motivation, but what other choice do they have? Seven Hundred Calidum Lutum depend on them.


    Meanwhile on Crutal Kingdom, Guard Commander Chan walked in Xakro''s throne room. Carrying the dead ill.u.s.tratio''s heart on his right hand and holding his right shoulder with his left hand so it doesn''t burst out more blood.


    "You''ve returned... alive. Perhaps i didn''t make the wrong¡­ choice when i picked you to kill The Electus."


    Said Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll in his cold deep voice.


    "I''m only alive thanks to a source bear interrupting the scene. The rest of the men didn''t make it."


    Explained Chan and dropped on his knees, looking at the ground, offering the heart to The King.


    "You did well¡­.Chan. What about the¡­ Gauntlet?"


    Said Xakro as he grabbed Chan''s forehead and healed his wounds completely in a matter of seconds.


    "Od enough, the language of the phrase wasn''t written in their language but in Ignite, the word itself wasn''t in Ignite but the letters were.


    So i was able to read it and memorize it before i was forced to flee from the scene."


    Raising his voice Xakro said


    "All you know... to do is flee. Yet you are somehow still... alive. Have you ever won a battle? Stand your ground next time or i will kill... you instead.


    However. Tell me the... phrase."


    "Azr.a.p.etos" it was "Azr.a.p.etos".


    I managed to read it and escape a moment before i felt lava trembling the cave and before The Electus himself almost burned me in to a crisp."


    "Interesting phrase¡­ Let''s hope it works when you use it against the¡­ Ghost tree.


    The Electus¡­ I suppose you didn''t take him as a target¡­ I can imagine why and it explains why i am not killing...you right now."


    He finished his sentence, started stroking his chin and added


    "So¡­ the Electus himself made a run for...it towards Lan Zhe. How could a small minded...fool know they even existed."


    "Fool''s luck sire. I smelled Burned lava on the cave entrance. The Calidum Lutum clearly attacked them at first. But somehow The Electus managed to fight off their attack."


    "The reward... for Killing that child became a whole lot... bigger.


    My crown shinned for the... first time since i claimed... the throne. Meaning, the Golden Blood has returned.


    If that Child¡­ Is the Golden Blood, and i eat his heart¡­ That civilization has no option but to obey¡­ me. His Golden Blood would be transferred to my bloodstream, possibly ending the Bloodline''s Curse."

 Chapter 49 - Kings Weakness

    "End the Bloodline''s curse. Is that even possible sire? Wouldn''t you risk losing your powers entirely or possibly dying?"


    "I have no solid... evidence about it. Because of the lack... of information towards this subject.


    All...i know is that the golden blood¡­ Was used by an ill.u.s.tratio¡­ one of our own, to break a heavy curse of his own, thus...ending the Golden Blood¡­ cycle. Killing a Golden Blood ends the... cycle."


    "I don''t want to know what it took to kill a Golden Blood. Those Calidum Lutum are almost unstoppable beings. It took two explosive Crossbow bolts to shoot just one of them down.


    Several arrows shot at once seemed ineffective. But what curse did he cure that was so strong to require Golden Blood?"


    "The specific Golden... Blood was the key ingredient to a¡­ healing potion. It has healing properties, able to break the strongest... curses also¡­ able to heal incredible wounds.


    He used it to break the curse... he put on himself. We ill.u.s.tratios rarely do sorcery, but when... we do it leads to sorcery to complex, leading to backfires.


    However, we don''t need... to ask that kid to politely donate some¡­ blood for my experiment."


    "Us ill.u.s.tratios are to pure to handle Demon Power. Perhaps that''s why it backfires.


    But Sire you still confuse me. The Electus, also possibly the Golden Blood is at the underground Town of Lan Zhe. You are way more powerful than me or him. If you at least capture him alive, i can kill him for you and you can proceed with your plans."


    "I could... but i would be quite possibly risking the entire¡­ ill.u.s.tratio revolution.


    See¡­ Due to the curse it is quite a difficult task to pass... down the powers to a child of my own. I gave life to four and none... are wielding my power. Marching down towards... an entire civilization of Lava Controllers¡­ and kill them all alone or with an army is¡­ no easy task.


    If i get killed, my powers go with... me."


    "Well that added another big piece of information to this mystery. Its a bigger mystery on why you never mentioned anything about your spawns.


    But if i manage to kill The Electus¡­"


    "My Levels of Magic would... have the ability to reach Level Twelve. No Witch or Wizard reached that... before, not even an Electus.


    Breaking the curse could possibly... let me have several kids who are able to reach those same levels. Without... them carrying the same wound marks. My four kids don''t... have the wound marks, they aren''t carrying the powers... and the curse."


    "If you have one it is like giving birth to two Electuses. If you have five it is like giving birth to ten of them.


    The whole world doesn''t stand a chance. Level Six Powers are a true force to be reckonned with, i can only imagine Level Twelve Powers. The World will be yours."


    "Indeed. But that''s... for the future. But now we have a situation... on our hands. The Electus brought quite... some havoc on his last visit here. He killed... to many of our own when he met... his outburst. The other Kingdoms... all have a shortage on... Men and Women due to our lets say, "purrification" throughout these two hundred years."


    "Do you need me to go to our Motherland(Meridionali Ignis) sire? In your name i can recruit Thousands. They have no choice but to obey."


    "Indeed they don''t have... a choice. But being in a shortage, that would... greatly harm their economy. A Kingdom isn''t a Kingdom without workers... to earn profit from.


    Taking their people only... harms our revolution.


    But one Kingdom, is ran... by my son. It is almost on the edge of the continent but it is worth the travel. It has people to spare."


    "Up until today i didn''t even know you had Children. But you do have a point about the economy. We should of killed less ignite slaves and made those demons work.


    I will make my way towards the Kingdom now sire. Just tell me which one."


    "Start making your way to the Kingdom first thing tomorrow Morning. Now you rest, you walked quite a journey and lost my elite archers as well. Do you know how hard it is to get Elite Archers?.


    Tomorrow make your way to Pameres Kingdom. When you reach there, you are to get me:


    Twenty Blacksmiths,


    Forty Miners,


    Thirty Farmers,


    Ten who are able to host businesses,


    Thirty Skilled in Building construction,


    Twenty Who can do jobs of less importance and Two Hundred and fifty Guards.


    Let forty of them be archers, forty Spearmen, twenty who can operate a Catapult and let the rest be Guards who carry Melee Weapons.


    Are you able to memorize them all Chan?"


    "The Electus would of killed me as well if a Source Bear didn''t make a surprising appearance.


    But i might have to write those down somewhere. I only memorized the first four you asked."


    "Chan. Your... mind is so empty. I will give... you ten books to read, understand¡­ and memorize on your way there and back from Pameres... Kingdom. You have weeks to study all. If you don''t, i will... behead you.


    Now go. I will have someone¡­ write everything down."


    "As you wish sire. Thank you for your understanding."

 Chapter 50 - Shift in the Budget

    Next Morning, as Guard Commander Chan woke up, he heard a knock on his door right after.


    Being a Guard Commander he had higher privileges, meaning he had a room of his own in the castle.


    Not small either. It was ten meters across and five meters wide.


    It''s a very big room compared to what ordinary Guards get.


    Which is a choice to either sleep in a bundle of other Guards or pick to sleep alone in a small room three meters wide and across.


    Either choice has benefits and disadvantages.


    If a Guard was to sleep in a bundle, he or she would lack personal privacy but food would be free and they wouldn''t have to pay rent. Every expense would be covered by the King.


    Getting a small private room, would no doubt have benefits when it comes to privacy, but as you might have guessed, the Guard would no doubt need to pay for food and rent.


    Which is affordable, being a Guard who is an ill.u.s.tratio which is a high position compared to what other races have a status of.


    Because in most cases, only the ill.u.s.tratio get to be Guards or any status higher.


    Each ill.u.s.tratio Guard gets one Hundred Gold coins per month as a salary, food for a month would generally cost forty Gold coins and the rent costs twenty. Leaving forty coins to spend or save.


    But the Guards who sleep in Bundles, get to save or spend all one Hundred Gold coins.


    Chan, being a Guard Commander doesn''t need to pay for food or rent at all. Apart from that, he gets two Hundred and fifty Gold coins each month. The only position higher than that is being a War General or the King''s personal assistant. He reached a lot already as a twenty five year old.


    However, as he heard a knock on his door, he right away granted permission to come in.


    Entering the room was indeed the King''s Personal assistant. A well educated, swift, smart and no doubt an overachiever.


    "Aaron my old friend. I''m guessing the King sent you here. Is that list ready?"


    Said Guard Commander Chan with a friendly tone.


    "Indeed. I wanted to give you a warm welcome with some refreshing beer yesterday but you hit the bed right away.


    Now you are headed to Pameres Kingdom. The King is really pleased with your progress."


    "Pleased? He would of beheaded me if i didn''t have that overgrown freak''s heart."


    "It is true that the King doesn''t show much human emotion, but i''ve been working for him ever since i was sixteen. I didn''t have to climb ladders, as the King greatly values academic skill. However, the King shows that he is pleased simply by not Killing you. Giving you more tasks is also a sign of satisfaction."


    Aaron and Chan were practically grown together. They have the same age and have a long history together. Sharing a deeper understanding they helped each other up through the toughest times. Their toughest time was of course growing up as Orphans. Which in this long lasting War is common to see.


    "I suppose you are right, old friend. But i feel there is a bigger reason behind the King''s choices.


    I mean there are Guards far more powerful and skilled than I am right now. Yet he chose me to complete a task for him that could lead to world domination.


    He could have picked someone greater."


    "The King sees greater purpose in you. He likely didn''t want to see you waste away as a Guard Commander. He picked you to do a task that even he would think twice about. You should be nothing but happy for that.


    He wants you to progress academically as well."


    "Oh so he wasn''t fooling around about the ten books? How am i supposed to memorize ten books. I was illiterate until I was eighteen."


    "He wasn''t fooling around at all. Did you ever see the King fool around? A horse and ten Guards are waiting for you near the Kingdom''s main Gate.


    The Guards are carrying the list you need, your books, a map, food and water. I''m sure you''ll do well with the books, they are short. There is no shame in learning.


    It will take two weeks to reach Pameres Kingdom. So don''t lose any of the Guards this time."


    "You and the King are both having a good time complaining about those Elite Archers.


    Only one of those beasts was able to crush several elite archers like bugs. Arrows were like a wasp sting to them."


    "It''s understandable. All of you were under informed, Under prepared and lacked enough troops. I mean practically nothing can stop lava but a Witch or Wizard themselves.


    Now go."


    As Guard Commander Chan made his way down the Main Gate, Aaron headed towards the King''s Throne room, holding a different list the King requested for shortly after Eric''s last visit.


    After Eric caused Havoc, Killing literally hundreds, Aaron had to get into detail about the Guards, Workers or just any random passerby who have been massacred by his outburst.


    Knowing such numerical detail would of course show the King what measures to take.


    "Sire. I got the list you asked for. It took me three days and I barely slept. But i completed it."


    Aaron being the King Most trusted Worker and practically the second in command, he is almost considered a friend to the cold hearted King who threatens to behead if tasks aren''t completed. And he doesn''t behead with a blade either.


    Meaning, he asked Aaron to not bend the knee anymore.


    "Good¡­ A bit to late, but it is understandable. It is not easy to go through five... hundred houses, asking for exact detail.


    I hope you bring news... that aren''t too sour."


    "My King. Unfortunately the losses were considerably big. The outburst that Kid had killed five hundred and thirty two Permanent residents and four hundred and seven Imported Guards or Workers.


    Not to mention the houses or businesses destroyed. This will be a great shift in your budget."


    "That Child¡­ Killed Over nine hundred people with¡­ his outburst. But now if he faced above one hundred... he would fail miserably.


    Luck... was by his side when he had his outburst in my Kingdom.


    Next time, he won''t... be as lucky.

 Chapter 51 - Rich Farmers

    It took the group almost two days to reach the outer lands of Crutal Kingdom.


    Due to the forest being in front of the Kingdom, there isn''t any farms at that specific location due to the obvious dense forest.


    Years of work couldn''t flatten an entire forest just like that. It would be too expensive to do so, lumber is their only profit from it.


    Meaning the outer farms are behind the Kingdom.


    Everything to be seen behind Crutal Kingdom is flatter lands which are quite perfect for farming.


    While some piece of land having bumps and proving a bit hard to raise a farm on, its nothing unfixable if several men and women put days of work into making that specific piece of land flatter.


    When it comes to farming business, Its a bit of a complicated process, but unusually profitable for farmers in that area specifically.


    Xakro ill.u.s.tratio doesn''t sell the land to farmers.


    But he rents it.


    Any ill.u.s.tratio can obtain as much farmable land as they please without having to pay even one Gold Coin for it, but there is a twist. The farmer has to give half of the farmed crops to Xakro ill.u.s.tratio, free of charge.


    It is a simple trick, but quite profitable for both the King and the Farmer.


    Xakro uses the obtained crops to feed all of his Guards, be it a permanent resident or imported resident, for free.


    He feeds them quite well too. I mean why wouldn''t he?


    Several ill.u.s.tratios are managing big farms in the outer lands and sending half of the harvested crops to him, he even has to much crops in his stock.


    He has to sell it to other Kingdoms under his control of course, to further strengthen his capital.


    He doesn''t like to take big taxes from his other Kingdoms, as every Kingdom needs a stable financial income to grow.


    If those Kingdoms become weaker and get invaded, it will only lead to a loss of troops and gold coins which Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll can''t afford at all at this specific time.


    So he only asks for a small portion of each Kingdom''s monthly profit. Basically ten percent.


    It doesn''t matter if a Kingdom earns less or more each month, the percentage stays the same which is way less nerve wrecking for both sides.


    In this reality, farmers are one of the richest. Well at least the farmers who are ill.u.s.tratios are, due to the huge piece of practically free farmable land they are given.


    So negotiating with ill.u.s.tratios will prove rather difficult.


    They will either refuse to bargain or try to sell the crops for higher prices or even report to the guards if they see Ignites carrying around ten thousand gold coins worth of ignite gems. The Guards will no doubt send that treasure to Xakro''s Budget if they get a hold of it.


    Hopefully, there will be farmers who are Ignites and hopefully none will recognize Stefan, as he probably is a fugitive right now in Crutal Kingdom.


    He is well known as he lived there for years and he was a business owner as well.


    At least until he got forced out of business due to ridiculous double standard taxes.


    "I''ll do the bargaining. I ran a business for years. I know how to strike equal prices if not cheap."


    Explained Stefan with a bit of confidence.


    Well ego doesn''t have part at this.


    Seven Hundred lives are to be spoken off after all.


    "That isn''t such a bright idea Stefan. You are practically a fugitive here now. I doubt that Xakro doesn''t want you killed."


    Suggested Alia who was a bit surprised that Stefan didn''t consider the fact that he was tossed away from Crutal Kingdom.


    Well Eric tossed him but it still happened.


    "I wonder if many Guards saw my face enough for a picture to be drawn of myself.


    It''s not like i don''t want to be famous or infamous at this matter, but i could bargain if no one knows who I am."


    Suggested Mogranius with slight sarcasm and c.o.c.kiness on his tone. But most of his thoughts were pure good intention of course.


    "We can''t risk showing a familiar face to any of these farmers. They could report us to the Guards in a heartbeat. I will do the Bargaining.


    I doo look very similar to Ignites and i''m a woman as well."


    "A very beautiful one no doubt."


    Said Mogranius(obviously) practically fangirling on Commander Alia.


    "Hmmmm. Agreeable. Which will give me an upper advantage even if we do business with an ill.u.s.tratio.


    Those fools stop thinking once a gorgeous woman approaches them. Be it ill.u.s.tratio, Ignite, Kastarian or any other race in general."


    "I agree. But do you all realize that we do need Wagons first, not to mention two more Horses.


    I doubt that any of you want to split on carrying ten thousand gold coins worth of food."


    Said Eric in aims to make the Wagons and Horses their main priority first.


    "The Kid is right. Stefan. Where can we get those?"


    Asked Mogranius.


    "Horses should be an easier task as many farmers use them to transport the harvested crops.


    If not sell us one or two, they will at least tell us where to buy them without entering the Kingdom."


    Explained Stefan in thankfully greater detail.


    "Since there isn''t nearly enough space in front of the Kingdom to hold a Horse Stable large enough to support a Kingdom of five hundred houses, and where Merchants constantly come as well, there should be one on the outer lands no doubt.


    Although, me and my father never visited the outer farms before because father said we can''t afford a stable fee. So i don''t know where the stable is."


    Pointed out Eric.


    "Wow that Crown sure is working hard. You are thinking wiser than Stefan."


    Laughed Mogranius with obvious never ending Sarcasm.


    "Alright Alright, these are just lucky guesses, nobody is as smart as me in this group. I am the Brains of this operation."


    "You there. Come closer. Come come."

 Chapter 52 - 200 Gold Coins a night!

    A rather unexpected character was calling for The group to approach.


    But it was soon certain that the character was calling for Commander Alia only.


    The beauty Commander Alia beholds, this doesn''t exactly look surprising.


    Alia no doubt she approached him, but her right hand was holding on the short sword''s handle sheathed on her hip just in case he is a man who would report to the Guards.


    She did a careful approach but didn''t worry about her safety to much. Two Wizards were behind her after all.


    "Yes. Did you call for me Stranger?"


    Asked Commander Alia in curiosity.


    They didn''t expect this character to turn up at all to begin with.


    They thought that they would be the ones approaching strangers. Not the other way around.


    "Indeed i did. I''m going to cut to the case.


    Do you want to earn two hundred gold coins per night?"


    Said the mysterious character.


    "Earn them how?"


    Asked Alia in actual confusion. She was never attracted to any man before Mogranius appeared in her life with a "Blast".


    So she isn''t getting at all what the mysterious man means."


    "I thought a beautiful lady like you would get the sentence. I''m sure you were provoked by hundreds of men before.


    I own the farm you are currently seeing.


    Albert''s farm. I''m Albert."


    "Oh I think I know what you mean. And I''m actually looking to buy crops in a big scale. Can we bargain?"


    Asked Commander Alia in a sweet tempting tone. Using this man''s obvious l.u.s.t to her advantage.


    "Indeed. But only if you are to join me and a few others when midnight arrives.


    See. My business is a farm at day and pleasuring spot at night.


    Me and a lot of farmers pay fine looking ladies more than they can ever earn per month, in one night.


    The better you look and the more toned your body is, the more you earn."


    Explained Albert leaving Commander Alia in complete disgust.


    But damn she is good at acting. She is hiding her disgust with a tempting smile.


    "I might join. But does a big strong man like you offer cheaper prices for a helpless lady like me? Men should be protecting woman kind after all."


    Said Alia in aims to raise Albert''s Ego and to make the situation even more intense, she used the tips of her fingers to touch the Albert''s right cheek gently.


    Eric was barely understanding what was going on.


    As a fifteen year old kid who stayed mostly in the farm, he didn''t know what s.e.x.u.a.l temptations are. In Fact he never even liked a girl before.


    Stefan was there seeing how easily ill.u.s.tratios are tricked, which made his ego rise sky high.


    Mogranius on the other hand, well smoke was coming out of his ears.


    Jealousy, rage, murderous thoughts. You name it.


    But he was waiting patiently for the best time to strike on such a disgraceful sc.u.m.


    He knew damn well how Commander Alia can protect herself as well.


    "I suppose we can make some adjustments miss¡­?"


    "Erzu. My name is Erzu and i love what i''m seeing."


    Lied Commander Alia. She felt like filths like this one shouldn''t need to know her actual name.


    "Well miss Erzu. Five...uh no...Ten nights free of charge and i''ll drop the prices by half. If you''re planning to buy in large scale that is.


    Those ladies...well they eat a lot of gold coins. I need more."


    "We have a deal oh big Albert.


    Can a strong and wise man like you, tell me where i can get Wagons and Horses?


    I''m expected to bring a big delivery in Pameres Kingdom.


    The King doesn''t like to be disappointed. Especially by his favourite bed friend.


    He would punish me greatly, if you know what I mean.


    Not like I wouldn''t enjoy it, but I hate to disappoint."


    Tempted Commander Alia the man enough for him to forget to put two and two together.


    Why wouldn''t a king send the horses and Wagons himself. Its something a King can easily afford.


    "Hehe there i can help gorgeous.


    Continue to head towards this main road until you reach the end of the road, there you will see a stable.


    Seek Iron Shoe Joseph, tell him that I''ve sent you.


    He is part of the special donors each night. He might give you better prices as well."


    Explained Albert in Detail.


    "I''ll be sure to please both of you very very well this night. Handsome.


    Now tell me how much crops do you have in stock. The King requires a lot of it, you wouldn''t want to disappoint the King, or me. Would you?


    We need enough for a whole Kingdom to be supplied for several months."


    "I have two hundred Bags of Wheat Grain. That''s currently my biggest stock.


    Each of them weighs almost as much as you. Each one costs twenty gold coins. But they are ten for you, beautiful."


    Said Albert with several twists on his words.


    "I''ll take your entire stock of Wheat Grain.


    But there is one more complication a sweet mouthed Man like you would likely have no trouble with.


    Our mines hit a huge deposit of Ignite Gems. Do you accept it as a payment?


    "That would mean you will need to pay with Twenty pieces of Ignite Gems. I assure they cost one hundred gold coins each.


    Do you have the Ignite gems with you? I require the payment right away."


    Commander Alia gently placed the bag that was over her shoulder, on the ground and said


    "There are Twenty five of them in this bag. We have more. What else is in your stock handsome?


    If you don''t have more, I''m sure you have more farmer friends i can please.


    I can do it all in one night. All of you don''t even need to wait until sunrise."

 Chapter 53 - Shire Horses

    "We have a deal mam. I will talk to my farmer friends. They might not cut the price in half like I did, but they will consider lower prices.


    I also have fifty barrels of these fruits called "Oranges."


    They are a bit sour but are only fruits of which the richer can afford."


    "Tell me the price, i would love to buy them and one more last request Albert. Mmm that''s a nice name.


    Don''t invite any other ladies tonight. I want to take you all, alone."


    "Are you sure? There are five men!"


    "Trust me. I can handle more than that."


    Little did Albert know, Commander Alia meant that as in, she will draw a sword and take all five.


    Sc.u.ms like these need to be disposed off.


    And since the Town of Lan Zhe will likely never need to do business in the outer lands again thanks to the adjustments Stefan helped to do on the Underground farm, she doesn''t mind heavily ruining the relationship with her new "friends" here in the outer lands of Crutal Kingdom.


    "Agreeable. But just for tonight. And as we agreed, you won''t be paid and will come for ten nights straight.


    About the Oranges, each Barrel costs a hundred gold coins each. But for you of course, fifty."


    "hmmm. Reasonable price, I''ll take all fifty.


    But how much does each barrel weigh?"


    "Each barrel weighs about half your weight. But the fruits last longer and the barrels are stacked more easier on a Wagon for long way roads."


    "We have a deal. My co worker will give you twenty more Ignite gems to pay off everything and I will make my way to Joseph Iron Shoe.


    If your warehouse is far, I suggest you to start bringing my purchases near the main road. I''m sure a wealthy man like you has employees and my co workers can help as well."


    "Sounds reasonable. I will start organizing everything right now.


    But if you plan to buy more crops, know that three Wagons won''t be able to fit them all.


    Buy at least five or buy bigger ones."


    "Thank you for your help Handsome."


    She said with internal disgust and walked towards Eric and Stefan


    "You two. I will need those bags you are carrying, hopefully i will strike good deals."


    "Of course mam."


    Said Stefan shortly and whispered


    "Are you sure you want to go there alone?"


    "I can handle myself Stefan, keep Mogranius out of trouble though. I will be back under an hour."


    ¡­


    "Hello mam. I''m looking for Joseph Iron Shoe. Do you know where I can find him?"


    "My Husband? What trouble did he get himself into now? Did he chase another Woman again? "


    "No No mam. I''m looking to buy Horses and Wagons."


    "Oh. He is behind this door. I only handle the Horses out here. He does the selling and fees."


    "Thank you mam."


    Commander Alia felt bad for the lady. She sounds so kind and looks so beautiful while her Husband spends money on Whores.


    "The Legendary Joseph Iron Shoe! Albert told me so much about you.


    He said that you are one of the richest businessmen in Crutal Kingdom."


    "Greetings miss. Well he isn''t wrong i suppose.


    What can I offer you."


    "I need Horses and good quality Wagons.


    Big Wagons and Strong Horses. What can you offer?"


    "You are in luck with both requests actually. Three Shire Horses have just arrived. They aren''t anywhere to be found in Ignis except for Frozen Toe Kingdom.


    You are aiming to buy Wagons as well.


    For each Horse and Wagon you buy, you get to pay two hundred gold coins less."


    "I love that deal oh great Joseph.


    Why do they call you Iron Shoe may i ask? Sounds like a name to a great story."


    Said Commander Alia in order to raise his ego which could lead to cheaper prices.


    "It''s a long story mam. But long story short, I ended up with an iron foot due to an accident with a horse. Rather unfortunate."


    "Oh that sounds like an injury only hard workers would gain."


    Told Alia after the aims to raise his ego went unexpectedly downhill.


    "Anyway, I can get you good quality Wagons. They are big and have strong sturdy wood work made to carry large deliveries.


    Along with one horse, each one will cost a Thousand gold coins."


    "A Thousand gold coins you say.


    I want three of those but I can''t invest all my budget on them, I need to buy more crops.


    I wouldn''t want to disappoint the King of Pameres Kingdom."


    "You work for a King you say."


    "Indeed I do. He sent me here to obtain a large amount of crops.


    And i suppose i need to tell that i will be pleasing you and the rest of your farmer friends tonight. I struck a deal with Albert."


    "Oh, in that case. If you can afford Two Thousand Gold Coins, I can happily offer Three Horses and Three Wagons."


    "Sounds like we reached a deal sir Joseph.


    But i need four Wagons.


    We already have a horse and all four Wagons will likely be packed from bottom to top. I have a big order to fulfill."


    "I can offer a Big Wagon for four hundred gold coins.


    Meaning your total will be two thousand and four hundred Gold Coins.


    It''s a cheap price for a Good Quality Wagon."


    "Sounds very reasonable to me.


    I hope you accept Ignite gems as a payment, I will throw one for free.


    Meaning twenty five Ignite Gems."


    Said Commander Alia in a tempting tone as she drops a bag of Ignite Gems in front of Iron Shoe Joseph''s desk and said


    "This bag holds twenty five Ignite Gems and they sell for a hundred Gold Coins in the market, but I''m sure a businessman like you can strike better deals."


    "I''m not the biggest fan of Ignite Gems but i can accept that deal."


    "Thank you. I''ll be sure to please you the most tonight."

 Chapter 54 - The swimming Rat

    As Commander Alia instructed Iron Shoe Joseph to specifically bring the Horses and Wagons to Albert''s farm, she made her way out of the stable and instantly noticed an ill.u.s.tratio giving Commander Alia an awkward eye.


    Unfortunately for Commander Alia, a strong wind followed right after and pushed her hood down and her black hair flew on the air beautifully. They weren''t tied in a bun this time which made her way more beautiful.


    But it made it very clear to the ill.u.s.tratio that Commander Alia doesn''t have ears(Literally)."


    His eyes widened as he realized that feature and he started walking towards a Guard who was about a hundred yards away at a slow pace to avoid getting more attention from Commander Alia or possibly being attacked.


    Alia noticed for sure what he saw and she also noticed the Guard approaching on the left side of the road, near the Kingdom wall.


    Keeping a low profile, she raised her hood, covered her head. She noticed that a river is near the castle walls when she made her way to the Horse Stable earlier.


    At this case, she will use the river to her advantage.


    Using the vegetation the river offers on its sides, she started following the ill.u.s.tratio who is no doubt planning to report what he saw.


    The river was about twenty yards away from the road the ill.u.s.tratio was walking on.


    Giving Commander Alia more complications when it comes to launching a sneak attack.


    "Who is there? Hello?"


    Said the ill.u.s.tratio as he heard a few sounds caused by Commander Alia''s miss step.


    Commander Alia threw a rock bigger than two fists together on the ill.u.s.tratio''s head with all her might which knocked him out cold.


    She didn''t just knock him out, it tossed him six feet across the ground as if a explosive bolt hit him.


    Giving Commander Alia way less struggle and all the time she needed to drag the body and let him float down the river.


    The ill.u.s.tratio Guard unfortunately saw Commander Alia dragging the body.


    And considering the fact that she is a lady, he was bold enough to not go get more Guards but approach alone.


    Well that wasn''t the Guard''s best day on duty. It was his last day on duty actually.


    That Guard floated down the river as well, but this one floated down in two pieces.


    "Now that this was taken care of, I need to return to Albert''s farm. This task isn''t over yet."


    She thought.


    ¡­


    "You''re here sooner than you said you will be but i got worried when the Horses and Wagons arrived here before you."


    Told Mogranius to Alia in great concern.


    "I had to dispose of a rat.


    It is all taken care off, I hope you didn''t cause any trouble my big strong Wizard."


    Said Commander Alia basically teasing Mogranius.


    But in her heart she is very happy that Mogranius specifically, was worried about her.


    As a three hundred year old woman who looks like she is in her forties when compared to an Ignite''s lifespan, she didn''t expect to find love in her life.


    "The Orange Barrels are Loaded on one Wagon.


    It took quite some effort but they all fit in. All fifty of them.


    Two Hundred Wheat Grain Bags might take Two Wagons of space though. It''s quite a lot.


    But we can still buy more crops with the thirty Ignite Gems left."


    Explained Mogranius in Greater detail.


    "Indeed. But as i see we will be able to save some Ignite Gems.


    One Wagon can''t fit thirty Ignite gems worth of Crops unless someone scams us."


    "Indeed. But "Handsome Albert" called another farm owner here.


    Let''s hear out his prices."


    Mogranius was in clear jealousy about Commander Alia calling Albert "Handsome".


    He understands the benefits of her doing so but jealousy is still there. He likes her a lot.


    "Don''t get jealous. Don''t tell anyone but you are the most handsome one here. You look in your forties, fifty eight year old man."


    She winked as she said that sentence which got Mogranius to burst smoke out of his ears again. But this time for good.


    "So what crops do you offer sir¡­?"


    "Call me Ebren, miss Erzu. I''m eager to see you tonight.


    I farm cabbages. All my stock has, is cabbages.


    I can fill this entire empty Wagon you own, with Cabbages for Two Hundred Gold Coins. It would normally cost five hundred, but a lady like you deserves cheaper prices.


    You will be joining us for ten nights for free after all."


    This is a cheap price considering that each Wagon seems to be three meters wide, and five meters long. Not to mention that it was three meters tall as well. it can fit a lot of cabbages.


    "Well this solves the last problem.


    Joseph, I have a question, can these four horses in total, pull six Wagons?"


    "Easily. If you attach two shire horses in three Wagons one after one. They have no trouble pulling them."


    "In that case I will need two more Horses and four more Wagons. The Horses and Wagons don''t need to bee of the best quality.


    I will offer you twenty ignite gems for it.


    She paused for a moment, turned to Ebren and said


    "You will fill this Wagon and the rest of the four that will arrive with cabbages and i will give you ten Ignite Gems.


    Even if the Wagons Turn out smaller."


    "The Wagons will be the same as what you see here but the Horses will be Chestnut horses.


    They are a bit smaller but can pull One Wagon on their own, each."


    "We have a deal in that case. Let''s start loading."

 Chapter 55 - About your obsession.

    It took both the farm owners, their workers, the gang and the Horse Stable owner all day to load all those crops.


    After they actually managed to load all, it was an amazing sight truly.


    Two Shire horses were attached too three big Wagons who were one after the other.


    The first Wagon was filled with Orange Barrels, the other two Wagons following, were filled with Wheat Grain bags from bottom to top.


    You would think that only two horses wouldn''t be able to pull all of that material, but you would be wrong when it comes to Shire Horses.


    It is uncertain how they are this big, but each Shire Horse reached two and a half meter tall to the shoulder and reached over three meters when they raised their head up high.


    A truly beautiful creature, even four Wagons seem easy for them.


    Following the first Wagons where one other Shire Horse and of course the bush lover, BlackWind. They were both pulling the other Three big Wagons.


    One Wagon was half filled with more Wheat Grain Bags, the Bags indeed took a lot of space.


    But the rest of the Wagon, followed by the two others were filled with Cabbages.


    BlackWind stood two meters tall on the shoulder.


    When he raised his head high he stood two and a half meters tall.


    A small difference really but he was almost as powerful, giving the Shire Horse ease when it comes to pulling the Wagons instead of leaving it all on one Shire Horse.


    And to make it better, BlackWind was actually liking his new horse Friends.


    I mean why wouldn''t he. Being surrounded by humans who forgot him on the outburst in Crutal Kingdom, play with invisibility, smoke and fire, constantly being pulled by them too not chew a bush, he needs Horse Friends.


    Following the second set of Wagons, were the two newly arrived Chestnut Horses.


    They have a beautiful colour on their fur, a reddish brown color shining(hence the name "Chestnut").


    It was more eye catching than seeing a three meter horse really, but they are considered less important because of their size and for the fact that they are more common. Easy to find.


    Those two horses standing a meter and a half tall on the shoulder and roughly two meters tall when their head is up high, they were only strong enough to pull two Wagons together without exhausting themselves after a short distance.


    Those Wagons were filled to the top with Cabbages, the gang got way more out of this than they wished for. I mean, they came for buckets of fruit and vegetables costing ten gold coins each, and came back with more than they asked for under amazing discounts.


    It is not an everyday scene to see eight big Wagons filled with crops.


    "Is this an Arabian Black Horse?"


    Said Iron Shoe Joseph out of great curiosity.


    He has been meaning to ask this question ever since he arrived on Albert''s farm and saw BlackWind.


    "Indeed he is. King''s favourite Horse actually."


    Said Eric as he noticed that Joseph looked at BlackWind with eyes that said


    "I need that Horse."


    "This beauty isn''t even to be found in our continent. He is so rare here.


    He would cost ten thousand gold coins.


    I could sell him for more."


    "Sorry but the King would be very disappointed. In a bad way actually. He loves his horse."


    Added Commander Alia.


    "A shame really. I would offer ten thousand on the spot."


    As Joseph finished his sentence, the other two farmers of the "pleasure group" arrived.


    Two farmers were already there, plus Joseph. The other two arriving made the group whole.


    It was perfect timing actually. Midnight was very close which explains why the men arrived with torches.


    Loading those crops sure took a while.


    "I suppose you all should start your journey to Pameres Kingdom my good co workers.


    Tell the King i will be back after ten days.


    A Woman needs some fun and games after such hard work."


    "As you wish miss Arzu."


    Said Stefan and moved the lead for the first Horses to start walking.


    The Horses started walking at a pace double the speed of a normal Human''s walking rate.


    At this rate, they will reach Lan Zhe before midday with a few inbetween short breaks for the Horses. They aren''t carrying a small amount after all.


    The Second Horses led by Eric shortly followed after at the same pace, to avoid any accidents they weren''t too close to each other.


    And seeing the other Wagons move, the Chestnut Horses followed after.


    But who led them?


    Mogranius isn''t on the Wagon.


    Where is Mogranius exactly?


    Well. Remember the torches? It isn''t much noticeable but the torches let out smoke. Small smoke which Mogranius dragged towards himself slowly and under the strongest concentration.


    The darkness the night provided made it easier for Mogranius to drag more smoke at a faster pace, allowing him to go invisible without taking an hour.


    But it did take three shots to accomplish.


    He kept everything at a low profile, such as not causing a smoke explosion the second he managed to turn invisible just to show off.


    No he kept everything at a low profile that even Commander Alia didn''t notice it happen.


    As the Stable owner entered the pleasure barn first, followed by the other four farmers.


    The fourth farmer didn''t manage to enter the barn.


    But nobody noticed as they were all focused on Commander Alia who was waiting inside of the barn for them. But her clothes weren''t at all off and her short sword was pulled out. To bad the door is closed and Guards roaming the area at midnight is rare. Bad for these men at least.


    The fourth farmer however who didn''t manage to enter the barn was the person they met when they reached the outer lands, Albert.


    "We need to talk about your obsession towards my lady."


    He heard a voice on mid air as he was being dragged like he was kidnapped.


    He tried to scream but Mogranius shoved a rag on his mouth.

 Chapter 56 - Underneath the Moonlight

    After a few screams, door bangs and light flickering noticed coming from underneath the barn, Commander Alia walked out of the "Pleasure Barn" with a torch on her hand and blood on her short sword.


    She noticed smoke appearing in mid air even though there was no fire(except the small torch that is. But that torch wouldn''t be able to cause nearly as much smoke as Commander Alia saw all at once).


    "Where is this smoke coming from."


    She thought.


    But her question was answered when Mogranius appeared out of mid air shortly after.


    "What are you doing here? You are supposed to steer the horses."


    Said Commander Alia in slight anger. The only reason why she wasn''t deadly angry was because she knew that Mogranius came back for her specifically.


    "Oh I came back for you. And also Albert wanted to take a midnight swim so I used my fingers like a torch to show him the way.


    Also the horses are smarter than these ill.u.s.tratios anyday. They can follow a Wagon."


    "Adorable. You got jealous of Albert. Just precious."


    "Well i do like you a lot as you might have noticed until now. I do get jealous.


    Also, I never thought I would say that to any person in my life."


    "I like you too. You are the first man I ever met who is worth my time and effort."


    "Do you mean that?"


    Commander Alia threw the torch on the ground, stepped on it until torch light was no more, sheathed her short sword and under the moonlight she awkwardly grabbed Mogranius on the shoulders and her lips touched his. (Worth noting that they both never kissed anyone before).


    Considering she is a Women, Commander Alia was unusually tall. So Mogranius had to stand on his toes just a little bit but that would also be their little secret like the fact that their noses bumped to each other awkwardly until they found the perfect pose for a short lasting kiss! A heartfelt hug followed after that light kiss.


    "All those fifty eight years were worth the wait."


    "What about me. I''m three hundred years old. This was more rewarding for me.


    "Handsome.""


    "Oh so you like my Black Wizard Beard. I knew it."


    "It is a beauty to see. It makes up for the fact that you are very annoying sometimes."


    "My beauty is overwhelming i know.


    But wait. What happened to the¡­"


    "They are alive don''t worry. But touching Women would be a waste of time to them now. Also worth noting that they can''t have children from now on."


    "Hehe. That''s my lady."


    Giggled Mogranius, lifted her off of the ground and flew towards the night sky with her, Fire blasting underneath his feet.


    You just read about two old people getting their first kiss. You''re welcome!


    Disclaimer!


    The first Volume is available in Amazon Kindle. If you would like to support me, purchase my book there.

 Chapter 57 - Beginning of the Second Volume

    It has been a week since the Gang arrived in the Underground Town of Lan Zhe with the 8 large Wagons of food gathered in the Outer Lands of Crutal Kingdom.


    The entire town celebrated their arrival and success with a big feast which was now affordable to throw.


    it is not easy to hold a feast where over 700 people are included. But Commander Alia made it all possible because of the l.u.s.ty Farmers she was able to manipulate without them getting anything good out of it except for giving huge stock with big discounts and loosing their precious "things."


    Since Eric was crowned King before they made their journey to the Outer Lands, it was no longer needed or reasonable for Commander Alia to have any control over the entire town like she did before Eric was crowned King.


    That''s a job for Eric now but everyone in the Town has a deep respect for Commander Alia and her act will be written down in the history of Lan Zhe. Which is a big honour itself.


    She is the King''s Second in Command and her word is as respected as Eric''s.


    Although Woldemir had the 55 Guards under his command for less than 10 days, he sure did help them progress in Combat a lot. Woldemir is sure dedicated to Sword fighting but he also discovered the love of passing his wisdom to many who appreciate the art through these past few days.


    The way of the Sword can''t be learned in a day, but Woldemir had exercises that could sure help them progress a bit faster than usual.


    Not to forget the Calidum Lutum are physically stronger and more endurable. They can handle more long term exercises better than an ignite ever could with an effort that doesn''t push them to the limit.


    A few of the exercises he made them doo was for two Guards to hold swords against each other. This exercise helps with preparation against if you Sword ever meets another. In these chaotic times they most likely will.


    This exercise helps keep a more stable stance, it helps to avoid being overpowered by another Sword, and to avoid another Sword making its way to the defender''s body.


    It was quite effective as standing still, pushing the Swords against each other with might, helped develop the muscles needed for that specific defense form. It consumed energy a lot though.


    To avoid any cuts, through the help of Isabel, Woldemir asked the town''s Black Smith to make dull Swords.


    It takes a while to make enough for all 55 plus Woldemir, and he still didn''t manage to make them all considering that he has his hands occupied with making full body armor for 55 Guards.


    But at first he made 10 dull Swords which Guards took turns on using while the rest did other exercises. So there was no time to waste.


    Then each day he made 4 more, the amount gradually increasing each day led to better more organized exercises.


    Especially considering that each Calidum Lutum needed 12 hours of sleep a day to function normally. They are on average 10 feet tall after all.


    So as soon as it was time to train, the Guards started training. Being late would lead to consequences such as doing more exercises while others were given the time to eat.


    Which would give the rest of the Guards the sense of order and discipline.


    Both order and discipline were needed if 10 of those Guards were to attack a Kingdom.


    The Kingdom has roughly 100 Guards after all but an opponent is never to be underestimated.


    They need order, they can''t be spreading around individually, risking being overpowered by arrows, split in two by a Cannon or fleeing the scene.


    After an hour of exercise early in the morning, each Guard would eat a light snack and were permitted to rest for a bit which averagely took 10 minutes. Getting food on their stomach and having a bit of time to catch their breath was effective for better progress.


    After that they continued to exercise for 4 hours straight with a minute break in between exercises so they don''t pass out.


    Woldemir is strict when it comes to learning the way of the Sword. He hates slacking around wasting precious time.


    During those 4 hours, the Guards were shown various types of attack forms and defense forms. The defense forms of course had to be done with dull Swords but the attack forms didn''t require them as the Guards wouldn''t be training it on one another.


    One of the attack forms was to stab with the Sword.


    To do the attack properly, one would need to get a firm grip on the ground with his feet. It required careful positioning.


    The right foot needs to be set forwards first to get a light grip on the ground and with that right foot used to do a biggish leap, while the left foot used to give a bit of an extra boost and the Sword pointed almost Horizontally straight forward, such stab could terminate an opponent. That exercise is to be repeated for an hour straight with no breaks in between. It would take a lot of effort to withstand such long exercises.


    Another Defense form would be one Guard holding his Sword above his or her head, the right hand on the Handle and the left hand on the other side of the Sword that isn''t sharp of course.


    While one Guard will be Holding the Sword like that above the head, the other Guard would attack.


    To avoid any accidents, the attacker swung down his sword at a slower lighter pace to see how much the defender is able of withstanding. If the defender can withstand more, the attacker can swing down harder.


    A bigger more fulfilling meal followed after such long exercises and of course a bit more time to relax was given.


    This break usually took 30 minutes which allowed the Guards to recharge rather well.


    Food gives energy, it clears the clouds on one''s mind and grants efficiency.

 Chapter 58 - Eat, Sleep and Train!

    Taking light breaks wasn''t a waste of time if well organized of course.


    After that meal, 4 more hours of continuous  lighter exercise followed which were mandatory to developing every muscle needed when it comes to wielding a Sword.


    Through these exercises, none will be handling a sword.


    They would exercise, such as carrying boulders for 100 yards back and forth with a short break in between.


    Push ups had to be done as well of course. Under an hour each Guard had to finish doing 200 Push ups. They can choose how to manage time through this exercise but if one fails to do it, he or she is held responsible for the failure and the last meal would be automatically skipped and to make it worse, the one who failed will need to do push ups while the others eat.


    They were baby step exercises but mandatory.


    Another meal and a 20 minute break followed after those numerous sets of exercises and finished up with 2 more hours of exercise gradually becoming easier too doo.


    Woldemir doesn''t expect them to be at top efficiency after such a long day.


    Basically they exercise 11 hours a day with in between breaks lasting an hour long when all combined, it sure is a hell lot ot exercises.


    Woldemir wanted to make Sword Grand Masters out of them indeed.


    Imagine a troop of 55 ten foot men and women who are all Sword Grand Masters, marching down a Kingdom. Even an army of 500 can''t face them with hopes of winning.


    Isabel Progressed tremendously and is half way there to being a master. She was very interested into any exercise and technique Woldemir offered ever since he started training them.


    Paying the biggest attention to every little detail each technique or training had to offer. she didn''t just go an extra mile to learn more, she went 10.


    But the other 9 Guards Eric has chosen to aid for the battle of Gaster Kingdom reached great progress as well.


    Through Woldemir''s order and discipline they managed to work as one.


    They knew each other''s weaknesses and advantages, using that in battle and knowing what to defend in battle.


    They helped each other progress faster no doubt. Woldemir noticed and pointed out that they indeed learned almost twice as fast as the rest of the Guards.


    It is different when a team as a whole aims towards progress.


    The Black Smith managed to make full body armor for 7 people through these days. It is not easy to make full body armor for 55 Calidum Lutum. Especially considering that they are 10 feet tall.


    It''s a task that a normal Black Smith would take several months too doo. Yet he managed to make 7 already in just 10 days.


    In two months or less he will be able to make all of them.


    The armor is so well forged that it would take several arrow shots at one specific spot to just break through the armour.


    And considering that it is quite difficult to hit a moving target at the same spot over and over, the armor offers great protection from arrows.


    But of course if one Guard was to face Over 20 archers who would take a bit of effort to reach, it would end up badly. Especially if the Archers are of an elite team.


    Elite team consists of archers above the expert level(4), so it is quite a task to just take one down. They are trained to stay as far away from a target as possible.


    The body armor like the Calidum Lutum themselves, was pitch black.


    But a hint of pure iron spreading down like veins was to be seen on the armor.


    Light and not overly spread, but it was there representing their lava like veins.


    The Blacksmith could have used Gold instead of iron, but that of course isn''t affordable.


    If the armor where to get stolen, they would be all the more valuable.


    The armor looked quite good on the men and women. Considering they were all in to an abnormally good shape, the armor on them looked even better.


    When Woldemir saw Isabel in full body armor, his heart skipped a beat.


    Her Armor brought up her feminine side, which was hard to focus on before from a Women slashing a sword ground trembling hard.


    That made Woldemir skip another beat.


    He has already been admiring Isabel ever since he saw how well she can fight.


    Her beauty was indeed overwhelming as well.


    She was of the Calidum Lutum race but her face had Ignite features making her beauty unique and different.


    After such grief from losing his wife 15 years ago, he managed to see brighter days thanks to Isabel without her actually doing anything.


    Woldemir would love to know her story. What her past is. How to help her. But Isabel isn''t agreeing to such plans. She remains silent and all she cares about is the way of the Sword. Perhaps her past was traumatic. Perhaps it still haunts her.


    Hard to tell but she is living between people who accept her as who she is and adore her capabilities.


    "What do you say Woldemir.


    Are my Guards battle ready?"


    Asked Commander Alia.


    She joined the training shortly after she arrived.


    "They certainly have made great progress. With full body armour they will be almost unstoppable."


    "On my last visit at Gaster Kingdom, there were roughly 100 Guards. I''m not aware of bigger changes but they don''t have the capability to get a larger amount of Guards in even a long period of time without the assistance from a bigger Kingdom.


    If they got more Guards, it should be 20 or less."


    "Considering the damages Eric caused on Crutal Kingdom, they won''t be getting assistance anytime soon."

 Chapter 59 - Downfall of Gaster Kingdom

    "We got Xakro''s army on a shortage. It will take him a while to repair the damages Eric caused and not to mention to get more Soldiers.


    Xakro will be to deep in repairing his town''s damages, to lend a hand in economies who just pay tax. Not to mention those who don''t pay tax at all."


    Added Commander Alia.


    "Meaning this is the perfect time to strike. It''s now or never. We can''t wait for his army to get stronger."


    ¡­


    Guard Commander Chan after being on the road to reach Pameres Kingdom for over a week, he is barely halfway there.


    His close friend Aaron''s estimation of the time it takes to reach Pameres Kingdom wasn''t entirely correct.


    Well he isn''t to blame, neither are the horses.


    They faced several steep hills already and the rain wasn''t stopping at all these past 3 days.


    If the rain wasn''t stopping at all for over 2 hours straight, for the horses and guards safety, they had to stop in an inn to get warm and wait for the rain to stop.


    Chan however, used the opportunity to read the books he was threatened to read before he started this journey.


    It mostly contained of ill.u.s.tratian history.


    Explaining the history of the Giant ill.u.s.tratio. Well more like theories about him. No one was ever that close to him and lived to tell the story.


    A book also explained the ill.u.s.tratain Revolution towards the "evil Ignites, was to be found."


    Mostly lies and propaganda forged by Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l. History is how the ones in charge tell it to be written.


    But one of the books tells of the rise to power of Pameres Kingdom.


    Pameres Kingdom started being built 16 years after Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l killed Akareas and took her powers.


    Gaster Kingdom used to be one of the few Kingdom on the so called "Clear Lands" and it also hosted several mines which were rich in mineral. But where is mineral, there is ill.u.s.tratians.


    "Occidentis Ignis" which of course is the Country Eric himself is living at, has a forest which covers over 60% of the Countries territory. So clear land is obviously more valued for farming in a big scale.


    The land around Gaster Kingdom isn''t farmable. It would be if work was put in the lands but they never considered it as they could afford imported food easily at first.


    Crutal Kingdom itself is surrounded by a forest, with a river slithering near it.


    That river slithers through 5 borders which makes traveling difficult even though it would make the road or "sail" to Pameres Kingdom closer. So they had to go through a rough poorly build road through a branch of the big  forest for 3 days in order to make it into the "Clear Lands".


    Getting to the point, the ill.u.s.tratio favoured such land and mineral l.u.s.t so after a very long battle that actually lasted 16 years, the ill.u.s.tratios actually managed to invade the most wealthy Kingdom in Occidentis Ignis.


    The Ignites there sure put up a fight.


    Their soldiers were of elite groups, their weaponry was of good quality and they managed to recruit small groups of Ignites one by one and form an army of 5000 Ignites.


    They stood a chance against Xakro''s army in numbers but their downfall was the lack of houses.


    They had housing for roughly 1000 but there were 5000 soldiers.


    People slept on the street, a huge part of the economy was spent in construction which backfired greatly.


    Clan Conflicts between famous Ignite last names occurred because of a food shortage.


    The natives wanted upper advantages in the food situation just simply because they were permanent residents to Gaster Kingdom.


    The imported Soldiers started a revolution towards the natives whose ego was taller than their height.


    Hundreds of soldiers were lost even though the King there tried tremendously to stop such conflict.


    Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l used that to his advantage.


    He promised the Imported Soldiers Permanent Residence if they helped him invade Gaster Kingdom.


    With the hatred towards the native Gaster Ignites the imported soldiers had, they made a mistake to partner with the enemy.


    The deal at first sounded fine.


    The imported Soldiers would run Gaster Kingdom, establishing their own community and becoming neutral with the ill.u.s.tratio.


    With just a 35% monthly tax to pay to Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l.


    But Xakro didn''t keep his word. The Natives were slaughtered by the ill.u.s.tratios and the imported ignites, then the Ignites were enslaved to work on the mines and the ill.u.s.tratio established a community there.


    After that long war, all the mines were at top efficiency. Hundreds of soldiers were put in to use in the mines, and the rest weren''t set free.


    To avoid an Ignite Revolution, they beheaded Hundreds of Ignites and tossed them on the ocean a mile away from the Kingdom.


    Using the very wealthy economy, they started building Pameres Kingdom.


    Xakro didn''t even tax the economy to boost the construction of Pameres Kingdom, he still isn''t. Because there isn''t anything to tax now in Gaster Kingdom. The mines are depleted, the road from Pameres to Gaster Kingdom is too far away to do constant business.


    And Gaster Kingdom doesn''t have any resources to offer anymore.


    The people there, including the ill.u.s.tratio are struggling to survive.


    From being a town that had Over 5000 people to becoming a town of 400 people with half of the houses abandoned, survival is only done by teamwork at Gaster Kingdom.


    The ill.u.s.tratio tolerate the Ignites a whole lot more there.


    The prices are almost equal, there is a small tax of 30 gold coins each month for every ill.u.s.tratio and Ignite. And there are no slaves.


    Earning a profit is hard there, but some are willing to travel for days just to earn that profit.


    You would think that the ill.u.s.tratios there would get in trouble for not enslaving Ignites and for treating them almost equally.


    But Gaster Kingdom is different.


    Being a Kingdom too poor to tax, Gaster Kingdom isn''t under Xakro''s support. Meaning, Xakro''s Rules don''t apply there.


    "Commander Chan. The sky has cleared, we should be on our way as we are already late."

 Chapter 60 - Zars Revolution

    "So the all mighty Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll requires my assistance. My sources tell me that nothing but a child Wizard almost wiped Crutal Kingdom out.


    Is it true?"


    Asked Zar. Second son of Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll. Sitting on his throne room while Chan was in front of him, listing the orders Xakro made.


    Since Zar failed to take the Bloodline''s powers at birth, he of course didn''t get the burn marks. No power, no curse. Blessing him with a clear face.


    "If it wasn''t true, I wouldn''t make a 3 week journey to reach this place on the edge of the Continent."


    Said Guard Commander Chan with clear egoism on his tone. He feels like he is above Zar even though Zar is literally a King and Chan is just a Guard Commander.


    He feels he is in a higher position as Zar is just a person disowned by his own father and Chan is running personal errands for the King.


    "Your attitude isn''t appreciated here you weedhead. If you weren''t sent by my father you would lose your head in a blink of an eye."


    "Strange of you to call me a weedhead. You are 27 years old and you don''t have any weed on your head.


    And strange of you to call King Xakro your father when he clearly disowned you."


    "Silence!"


    Yelled Zar with a deep cold tone.


    Xakro basically disowned all 4 of his children. They weren''t born with the bloodline''s power, so they were useless to him.


    He disowned them but he didn''t want his own blood to suffer. He gave each child a Kingdom or Town to rule under the ill.u.s.tratian alliance.


    Well. He didn''t exactly give such power to every child. Only 3 of them.


    Chan however, was intimidated by Zar right away the moment he yelled.


    Imagine a 6 foot tall, abnormally physically fit, bald, green guy in full body armor with a longsword on his side, yelling at you.


    Only Chan would get in such position.


    "I''m afraid I won''t be able to lend your Kingdom a hand in this predicament.


    I''m aiming to expand my Kingdom. I''m aiming for a better future for ill.u.s.tratio kind.


    I''m aiming to build residence outside the Kingdom''s walls. Once there are enough houses and businesses, I''ll build the second wall."


    "You dare to not fulfill the King''s request?


    You do know that he can put an end to your entire Kingdom alone."


    "He didn''t manage to pass down his powers to any child yet. He is to afraid to attack. He is becoming insane locked behind those castle walls. Over 900 of his people were killed in a moment and all he did was hide in his castle.


    I''m not rewarding such cowardness with precious workers."


    Said Zar and added in a mocking mysterious tone


    "If he wasn''t scared, a pest like you wouldn''t be running errands for him. I hear your trip to Lan Zhe was quite a "blast".


    What bullshit is he up to now?"


    "None of your concern. What should concern you is that according to ill.u.s.tratian law, if you fail to fulfill a task a Grand King gave upon you, as a King you lose all relations with the ill.u.s.tratian alliance. Meaning you will be exposed to attacks from any member of the ill.u.s.tratian alliance if they choose too attack one day and the rest of the alliance including the Grand King, won''t help or defend you."


    Lucky for Chan he read a book about the ill.u.s.tratian alliance. So in this conversation, he sounded well knowledgeable for once.


    "I''m aware of that. And I say, bring it on.


    Today i will declare independce from the ill.u.s.tratian alliance in front of my people.


    I do not stand with the views and agendas of the ill.u.s.tratian alliance.


    All of you are hungry for power, even if it means killing or raping families. You don''t care how many lives you destroy."


    He paused for a bit and added


    "Your alliance call Ignites "Demons" who came from the depths of hell, but your alliance is worse than that."


    "Are you absolutely certain that you do not wish to assist the Grand King? There is no going back from this. You will be kicked out of the alliance permanently."


    "Curse you and his god damn alliance. I wish to not be part of such brutal ways of life.


    By the name of god who granted the sources keeping this continent in tact, I will end the ways of the ill.u.s.tratian alliance, starting from my own Kingdom."


    Yelled Zar and added


    "Now be gone. Anyone of the ill.u.s.tratian alliance is no longer welcome in Pameres Kingdom."


    ¡­


    "My people. I come to you with good news."


    Said Zar. Speaking in the center of the town. Being considerate enough to come out and inform his people in person.


    "I declare independence from the ill.u.s.tratian alliance. Such way of life is no longer welcomed here. No longer will we kill the innocent for their personal profit."


    A "boo" on the crowd was heard.


    These people are way to convinced that ignites are demons from the depths of hell.


    The ill.u.s.tratian alliance even set up religious organizations in the main big Kingdoms of Ignis. Organizations that worship Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l as a god. And his Child Xakro ill.u.s.tratio ll as the son of the god who became a god himself once he died.


    Those Organizations being on Ignis for over a century, implanted the thought of Ignites being demons on the people''s mind deep.


    "I do not expect you to see things the way i see. If you do not wish to stand by my side, you can simply leave the Kingdom. Nothing will be held against you."


    He paused for a while and said


    "I declare that the religious organization known as "illas" is banished from Pameres Kingdom."

 Chapter 61 - Snow Ignites

    "Sire. Have you gone insane? What did those Demonic Ignites do to you?"


    Asked Zar''s Personal assistant after Zar left the Town center and made his way up to his Castle again.


    Zar didn''t feel the need to explain to his subjects why Massacring and raping innocent people is bad.


    Yet he couldn''t blame them.


    The Chapels of the illas have convinced the people rather well that Ignites are Demons from the depths of hell.


    "Much like the fact that my Grandfather isn''t a God, ignites aren''t demons. This was all the plans of Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l."


    Zar thought.


    "Seer. I''m going to ask you a question. Use your logic here with me. Don''t be short sighted like the common folk."


    Told Zar to his assistant.


    "According to the history books, the second Era started in Ignis when the war between Ignites and ill.u.s.tratios ended.


    They all settled in to co exist."


    "Right, but there were minor groups of people in our motherland who were ignites and the majority was illl.u.s.tratios."


    "Exactly. And the other way around here, Occidentis Ignis. There used to be more Ignites here with small groups of ill.u.s.tratios as well.


    But they co existed while most prefered their actual motherland."


    "What is your point sire?"


    "If they were able to co exist in harmony for hundreds of years before the third era started, why did everything change once my GrandFather killed the Electus on her own Castle?"


    "Because he took her powers. To use them for good. To kill Ignites."


    "Exactly. That''s what the books say. But if the Electus didn''t kill innocent citizens, and even threatened two countries(Septemtrionis Ignis and Orientis Ignis) to remain neutral with our motherland(Meridionali Ignis), how exactly did she use her powers for bad?


    If not anything, she prevented the Snow Ignite uprising. They would have eaten up Meridionali Ignis if it wasn''t for Akareas. They weren''t in the same alliance as us."


    "Ignites and Snow Ignites didn''t co existed with each other. Not to mention ill.u.s.tratios."


    "Exactly. Snow Ignites could have swallowed the continent. The Electus kept everything together. My GrandFather killed the Electus, launched an attack in Orientis Ignis, then Septemtrionis Ignis, leaving the Snow Ignites scattering around caves and ruins, and then attacked Occidentis Ignis.


    Why weren''t the Ignites demons before that attack?"


    "I..i suppose. Well. I mean. I think¡­"


    "There is nothing to think. The Ignites aren''t demons.


    If anything, we would consider Xakro a demon. He had magical powers, and so did his son and grandson.


    Do you think the Grand King is a demon?"


    "Of course not sire. He is a hero."


    "A hero. No. But not a devil either.


    Magical powers don''t have to do anything with hell. It''s just Propaganda my GrandFather payed priests to doo."


    "You might have a point Sire. But as that fool from Crutal Kingdom said, leaving the ill.u.s.tratian alliance will leave you vulnerable to attacks. Do you really think you have what it takes to withstand possible attacks from dozens of Kingdoms?"


    "Pameres Kingdom is the only place who has people to spare.


    I got word that the Snow Ignites are revolting. I''m not certain of the situation but all i do know is that they invaded the Capital Kingdom and beheaded every ill.u.s.tratio in that Capital Kingdom."


    "The Snow Ignites revolted?! How! They lost every Kingdom. They can''t simply attack the Capital Kingdom and win."


    "I''m not certain of the whole situation. But somehow they were able to withstand many attacks after claiming the Kingdom.


    Leaving the attacking Kingdoms without soldiers."


    "To attack the Capital and win is one thing. But to withstand many attacks. There must be something more to this!"


    "There might be. I''m not certain. But all the people our motherland had to spare, where sent to Septemtrionis Ignis.


    If my father or any other Kingdom here choses to attack the most populated Kingdom in Occidentis Ignis, they would need to consider the losses that even the Capital Kingdom in our motherland can''t provide help for."


    "The Capital Kingdom in our Motherland had over 20000 ill.u.s.tratios living on it. Not to mention the other Kingdoms having a decent amount of population as well. How could they not help?"


    "Have you forgotten the 100 year long civil war.


    Many ill.u.s.tratios died while fighting Kingdoms still not giving in to the revolution.


    Who do you think provided us with more soldiers? Our work on Occidentis ignis would have collapsed if Meridionali Ignis didn''t help us."


    "It''s been a hundred years since we declared Victory upon Occidentis Ignis. Our population started spreading well before that kid almost forced Crutal Kingdom to a collapse."


    "Indeed. Meridionali Ignis sent all the Soldiers they could spare to Septemtrionis ignis. Otherwise my father wouldn''t bother asking me for help.


    If they help my father or any kingdom who attacks Pameres Kingdom and fails, they would risk damaging their own economy in a long scale."


    "Crutal Kingdom lost over 900 people because of that kid, our sources confirm he is the Electus.


    Whoever he is, because of him Crutal Kingdom is no longer the Capital Kingdom of Occidentis Ignis.


    They had over 3000 people living there, now they have below 2100 while our Kingdom has over 2500 thanks to all of the Gaster Kingdom refugees."


    "The Electus is indeed a powerful boy. I''m sure my father already has plans for him, otherwise he wouldn''t send that fool to Lan Zhe.


    I have a goal. To help Ignis turn back at what it used to be and even better.


    To achieve those goals. I need the assistance of the Electus."

 Chapter 62 - Recruitment in Pameres Kingdom

    "Do you think that the Electus would actually be willing to help you? Nothing would stop him from destroying Pameres Kingdom if he arrived here."


    Said Seer in confusion.


    "Indeed he is powerful. But considering the fact that he didn''t cause any havoc at any other Kingdom before, what he did on Crutal Kingdom was surely due to an outburst.


    Now he can''t even kill 50 armed Guards without passing out because of his stamina."


    "Our sources say that he created Fire Tornadoes in Crutal Kingdom. Why would he be stoppable now?"


    "See before the outburst, an Electus would likely discover his or her powers first. The outburst is a test.


    That test pushes a soul to the very limit. During that test, the kid could of exploded while bursting those intense flames.


    He seemed to have passed the test.


    Passing the test would grant him with a level at Fire Controlling for example, that he didn''t need to train for."


    "Very interesting indeed. How do you know so much about the Electus sire?"


    "My father is an Electus you Goblin head.


    He is a more powerful and unstable version of an Electus. Not to mention he carries the "Bloodline''s Curse.""


    He said in a bit of an irritated tone and added.


    "Anyway. I have a task for you. If you are still standing by my side that is."


    "Sire. I owe deep apologies to the 300 Ignite refugees in our Kingdom. I''ll be sure to apologize to each one.


    What task do you have for me?"


    "This pleases my ears Seer.


    You see how our Kingdom is greatly overpopulated.


    We have 300 houses but people are sleeping on the streets even though many made their way in families and became one with them."


    "There are approximately 500 homeless people sire. A lot of them camp out of the Kingdom''s protection."


    "Exactly. There are way to many homeless people. I plan to give those people homes. They won''t need to pay for those homes either. All they would need to pay a monthly tax after they officially get a job in or out of the Kingdom."


    "Providing homes for so many people would be a great shift in the budget sire.


    Not to mention we don''t have nearly enough construction workers. You said you want to build a second wall as well.


    We need Stonemasons for that. We barely have any of those."


    "I''m aware that we currently don''t have what it takes to provide so much housing or a second wall to our people.


    But there are 500 jobless people wasting time here and there and we have 50 people skilled in construction, and 10 stone masons.


    If we take a slow approach, we can make this happen bit my bit."


    "Do you want me to spread the word for recruitment sire?"


    "Yes. Write a paper and pay some people to spread the word of mouth.


    Say "The King, is offering jobs for Construction Workers and Stone Masons."


    "Is that all sire?"


    "Not at all.


    Stonemasonry is a rare valuable craft. A Stone Mason with over 10 years of experience, shall be paid 300 Gold coins per month, those with under 10 years of experience shall be payed 200 Gold coins a month and those who have no experience at all but want to learn the craft shall be payed 85 gold coins per month with a 10 coin increase every year until they reach the salary of a normal StoneMason."


    "I''m able to memorize all of that I think. Is there anything more about the StoneMasons?"


    "Make sure for the payment details to be part of the declaration paper and make it mandatory for the applyers to be at least 16 years old and under 65 years old."


    He stopped, thought for a little bit and then said


    "I need 30 new StoneMasons. Don''t exceed that number for now. "


    "Is it wise to pay so much gold to StoneMasons sire? Even i as your assistant get 500 gold coins.


    If this goes on, farmers will get as much as War Generals(700 Gold Coins)."


    "If we lure people to try out the craft and get very experienced at it, we can build bigger better walls.


    Not to mention we will have more skilled people instead of helpless homeless people or just dumbass ill.u.s.tratios wasting households.


    Knowledge is power my friend."


    "You do have a point sire."


    Seer felt a little ease. Because after a decade of work, he was called "My friend" by the King himself.


    Zar was nothing but a child when he gained the throne. It was Seer who helped him rule the Kingdom. Seer molded him into a worthy King.


    "But what about the Construction workers?"


    Seer asked in curiosity and with greater enthusiasm this time.


    "Construction workers will have it easier to learn the craft. But it doesn''t rule out the fact that it requires good physical strength.


    The applyers who are experienceless would need to be at least 18 years old and those who do have experience should be under 60 years old."


    "Sounds reasonable enough? But may i ask about the monthly salaries?"


    "Those with over 5 years of experience shall be paid 200 gold coins per month.


    Those with under 5 years of experience shall be paid 160 gold coins and those who have no experience at all shall be paid 70 Gold Coins a month with a 10 gold coin increase every 6 months until they reach the same salary as a normal Construction Worker."


    "I assume those are all the requirements?"


    "Almost there!


    Both Construction Workers and StoneMasons will have a full time job, meaning those who do have under 10 or 5 years of experience, shall have at least 1 year of experience to be told apart from the experienceless.


    I need only 80 construction workers. Don''t exceed that amount."


    He stopped, took a breath again and said


    "Are you able to memorize all of that Seer?


    "Of course not. That''s why i''m writing!

 Chapter 63 - Hell Hole

    "How far are we from Gaster Kingdom? It has been almost 3 weeks since we left Lan Zhe."


    Asked Eric.


    "It shouldn''t be too far away. We did pass Pameres Kingdom yesterday.


    We have been spending most of the time traveling through the dense forest to avoid being seen.


    Not everyone wouldn''t report 10 foot Men and Women marching down a road.


    We are lucky that we didn''t run into any Source Bears.


    Even i can''t fight off a large beast like that."


    Added Commander Alia in hopes to shut her King''s Complains.


    Eric is lucky that he doesn''t need to hide his crown from the ill.u.s.tratios now.


    The only people they can meet in this dense forest is either hunters or those in the hunt for good lumber.


    "Exactly. We have been traveling through this dense forest. Without Horses. My feet are killing me."


    Said Stefan in a bit of an irritated tone.


    "Stop your complaining. I can''t tell you apart from an ill.u.s.tratio.


    Fall down and start crying while you''re at it."


    Added Mogranius in both aims to tease the two and to look tough in front of Commander Alia.


    Mogranius was always in a l.u.s.t for knowledge.


    And knowledge is to be found where typical humans can''t reach. Which occasionally led to thick forests in ancient Ignite ruins.


    So he is used to this kind of travel.


    But he did discover many sorts of magical powers. The Fire Shield for example.


    It was a spell that even Akareas didn''t know about.


    When the Continent faced an ice age, Snow Ignites made that specific ruin out of nothing.


    And when the ice age came to an end, they settled for Colder Climates and made their way up to the mountains of Orientis Ignis and Meridionali Ignis even though survival on Occidentis Ignis was very possible.


    They like what they like i suppose.


    But whatever they were doing on that ruin before the first era was even recorded, they were way ahead of time when it came to Magical Powers. Mogranius was able to learn the spell from a simple parchment they left behind.


    The rest were just books who were unreadable due to age


    Now they are still ahead but due to the countless massacres, there are mostly Snow Ignites who Control Ice.


    "Well can at least someone estimate how long it will take to reach. Or at least can we take a break?"


    Yawned Stefan Dragging his feet under the moonlight."


    "We are already way behind schedule. When I made my way to Gaster Kingdom for the first time, I was traveling on the Clear Lands.


    I did not expect for the travel to take this long.


    We passed the halfway mark 2 days ago though."


    Said Commander Alia and added


    "2 more hours of travel and we can rest for today."


    ¡­


    As they finally woke up from the 12 hour a day travel that knocked them out once they opened their sleeping bags, they made their way again towards Gaster Kingdom.


    It was rather hard to travel on foot.


    They left their horses back at Lan Zhe. Because horses would be useless at a dense forest like this and there weren''t enough for all of the 15 people.


    Only Shire Horses can possibly carry a Calidum Lutum.


    Commander Alia left one of the very capable Guards in charge. If an attack is in order, they can do well without Commander Alia.


    The first defense of Guards are now fully armored. Even explosive bolts wouldn''t pose a big threat.


    And to raise the defenses, the entrance which connects Lan Zhe to the outside world is covered with thick volcanic rock of which the Lava Controllers provide, throughout most of the day.


    They only open it in the morning and at night for the horses.


    They even assign a Guard each day to protect them.


    Woldemir is with the group right now but he made sure that the temporary Guard Commander is to make the rest of the Guards do exercises he assigned them too.


    Since the 10 Guards who will aid in the battle of Gaster Kingdom appear to be battle ready, the exercises at Lan Zhe are lighter now. Only 8 hours a day.


    "Alright let''s get this over wit...aaaaaaaaaaaaa..."


    Stefan tried to finish his sentence as he was woken up but fell down a hole not to far away from the camp.


    "Did he fall down a hunter''s trap?"


    Asked Eric.


    "No I don''t think so, I can still hear him scream."


    Told Woldemir.


    Fire ignited from Eric''s feet and he flew headfirst into the hole after Stefan.


    Whatever made this hole, it is sure very deep in.


    Eric is flying down at full speed but he doesn''t seem to find an end or Stefan.


    Luckily, the hole seems to be about 15 feet wide so a ragdolling man falling down it wouldn''t break bones if he was to hit the edges of the hole.


    "How did we not notice a damn 15 foot wide hole."


    Asked Mogranius in confusion.


    "Well maybe because all of you complained about being tired all the time. We are lucky that we didn''t all fall down there at night."


    Said Commander Alia in a bit of a complaining tone.


    "Are you familiar with this hole Mogranius? Could it be a ruin?"


    Asked Woldemir who seemed to be the only one not complaining or panicking.


    "No not at all. I never even read about holes like this. It could ''ve just been a Drunk hunter digging holes."


    "Wouldn''t he just bury himself like that?"


    Added Commander Alia.


    "Well..i.."


    Mogranius was interrupted by Eric who flew out of the cave with Stefan clinging on him.


    "Well i be damned. There is a whole world down there. Maybe Ignites being connected with Demons isn''t impossible after all."

 Chapter 64 - TitanoBoa

    Mogranius grabbed Commander Alia, Ignited flames underneath his feet and flew in the hole with her.


    Eric was already holding onto Stefan so without asking for his opinion, he flew down again with him.


    "Well what about me?"


    Spoke Woldemir to himself.


    "Well I can handle myself."


    He took a few steps forward and calmly jumped down the hole.


    As if he wasn''t falling down a damn hole of which he didn''t know how deep it is at all, he remained with a casual look on his face.


    Is this how all Grand Masters behave?


    After he felt like the bottom was closer, he pulled out two small daggers, stabbed them on the sides of the cave.


    His suicidal speed downwards the hole slowed down thanks to the daggers and he ended up dangling on what seemed to be the bottom of the hole.


    Well it wasn''t exactly the bottom, it was more like the end of the hole. Underneath that hole was more of a wide cave.


    In the bottom of that cave about 30 feet from the hole, was water.


    It was rare to see water deep down in caves.


    Even if it was a source of water that people could benefit from, it is considered rather useless if it''s all the way down there unless someone chooses to make a 15 feet wide well in the middle of a dense forest for some insane reason.


    Even building a town is insane there.


    It would take a huge budget and time since it was too far from the Clear Lands.


    Seeing that the water is deep enough, he proceeds to pull out the daggers out of the dirt and jump downwards the pool of water at the bottom of the cave. It would certainly be deep enough to slow down a fall without fatal circ.u.mstances.


    But as he fell in deep, he felt something swimming underneath his feet.


    Unfortunately it wasn''t any type of fish.


    "I wonder what Eric meant by his last sentence."


    He thought.


    Shortly after he felt something grabbing his leg and pulling him underneath the water.


    Again. it wasn''t any type of fish.


    It was a snake. A large snake.


    Thankfully the snake didn''t bite Woldemir. Or otherwise it would of been very fatal. The snake just used part of its body to start strangling him.


    Everyone heard the splash and those who could fly, arrived at the scene without wasting a second.


    They suddenly saw rocks falling down from the ceiling of the cave.


    It was indeed an earthquake but Eric and Mogranius weren''t able to feel it because they were in mid air.


    Shortly after they saw Woldemir rise from the water with his 2 meter long sword on his hand.


    He must of used the handle to hit the snake which likely caused the earthquake.


    "Don''t just fly there. Get me out of this god forsaken water."


    Both Eric and Mogranius flew towards Woldemir and grabbed him from the water without wasting a blink of an eye.


    It was a wise choice to do so, because the snake didn''t give up.


    The moment Woldemir escaped that pool of water, a snake head as big as a full grown sheep arose from the water and missed the guys by a foot.


    "By the 8 sources of magic. That''s a TitanoBoa."


    "What in hell is a Titanoboa?"


    Yelled Eric in mid air.


    "It''s a Snake. A big one. Before we become its meal we should reach that door we found."


    "Yeah no kidding."


    "What exactly is there demonic about this hell hole?"


    "You''ll see."


    As they flew towards the door they claim they found they see Commander Alia and Stefan waving their hands, gesturing them to fly faster so they can shove the thick stone door to close.


    In that door there were strange writings.


    This is likely from the first era since writing advanced greatly ever since the second era started. Or it could be worse.


    This doesn''t look like anything a snow ignite would write so it could be something before the ice age.


    Did Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l perhaps know more about the sources and the demons?


    The door itself was out of hard stone, on that stone there was a mix of red and black markings, giving the demonic vibe. What could there possibly be behind that door?


    That was the least of their concerns right now. With a snake looking about 9 meters long chasing them. At least that of course was the part they can see. there is likely more of the snake in the water.


    The snake was swimming in astonishing speeds, they weren''t able at all to fly a good distance away from the Titanoboa.


    Considering the dangers, Stefan and Commander Alia were already pushing the very heavy stone door in hopes of closing it a bit before the snake manages to reach the door.


    The snake dives in deep in the water. Looking back, the guys thought that the TitanoBoa finally gave up.


    They were dead wrong.


    The TitanoBoa arose from the water again and like it did a big leap, it got closer and closer to the guys.


    Their lives flashed in front of their eyes, thinking it was the end. A whole army couldn''t kill them but a mindless snake is about too. BUT. Mogranius has a trick up his sleeve.


    He risked it all and created a fire shield in mid air while proceeding to fly towards the Stone door. The fire shield wasn''t big. It was no bigger than the Snake''s head.


    It was a shield created with a whole lot of lack of concentration.


    The TitanoBoa hit the shield with its head hard enough to break the shield instantly. But even though it managed to break the shield, it wasn''t able to keep the same speed it had.


    It fell down the water causing a huge splash which raised a bit of waves.


    Well it wasn''t a bit. It was an amount able to wash off Stefan and Commander Alia.


    Fortunately the guys were able to enter the 15 foot tall door before the door was completely shut and before the waves reached.


    "So how will we get out now?"

 Chapter 65 - 12525

    Arriving at Zar''s throne room with a 4 fingers thick pile of paper was Seer.


    Seer placed sheets of paper declaring the King''s recruitment request and spent about 200 Gold Coins on several refugees for them to spread the word about the recruitment.


    The applyers all met with the King''s assistant i  person.


    Someone needed to write in their details as most of them couldn''t read or write.


    That''s why the King ordered for Seer to pay people to spread the word by mouth.


    It take Seer 3 days to fill all the doc.u.ments, he handled over a hundred people.


    "My King. I have gathered up a few requests for employment that your citizens responded too."


    "Do you bring me experienced workers old friend?"


    "I''m afraid the number of experienced StoneMasons is very low. While the number of experienced in Construction is bigger but more than we needed applied."


    "Tell me the overall statistics."


    He asked with a sigh holding in temperament as well.


    "There are only 5 experiended StoneMasons. 4 of them have under 10 years of experience while one has over 10. 25 years of experience exactly. He was grown with the craft but became a refugee once he fled Gaster Kingdom."


    "Gaster Kingdom shall be a project for later.


    What about the experienceless?"


    "A few applied but not as much as you required. There are only 15 of them.


    Perhaps they felt that StoneMasonry was a bit to dangerous considering your offered pay. They will be handling Large Stones after all. We are planning to build a wall here and big house foundations."


    Zar sat in patience hearing out the unsuccessful task and after a moment of silence he finally said


    "It is indeed a shame that we didn''t get 30 of them. But do not Burden Yourself.


    These people are just to under qualified.


    Do the experienceless StoneMasons show promise?"


    "Indeed sire. They come from rough backgrounds. They would work for 30 Gold Coins if they had too. They can not afford losing this job so they will indeed work hard. each of them has a family to raise.


    Even some teenagers who just reached a.d.u.l.tery have their families to feed since their fathers are either jobless, dead or incapable."


    "If you see such StoneMasons offer them longer work hours so they can earn a bit extra. The same with Construction workers."


    As he finished his sentence he after added


    "That man with 25 years of experience shall be the leader of the StoneMasons. Even for the ones we already had.


    He shall advise the ones with less experience if needed.


    With 15 experienced Stone Masons, teaching the Experienceless should be easier.


    Assign one experienceless StoneMason to each experienced one since the Numbers are even."


    "As you wish sire. How much shall we pay for those who work extra hours?"


    "Well they have to work 8 hours a day to get their normal pay.


    They will be working every day except Friday each week.


    Use that to calculate the amount needed. You are way to qualified to not be able to do basic mathematics."


    "Of course sire. I was just curious if the pay for extra hour was more than usual."


    "Gold has to be earned. With plans to give away 100 houses, I don''t plan to wipe out our entire budget.


    However. These 20 new applyers are now working for me, for Pameres Kingdom.


    They will be busy until retirement as I do not plan to stop at the second wall being built.


    Be sure to store the doc.u.mentations in the castle and be sure each one gives a signature about accepting the job. It doesn''t have to be fancy.


    Also, I assume you put in the dates of employment as well so we can keep track of the passing months. So we know who we shall give salary raises too."


    "Don''t burden yourself sire. I have everything under Control.


    I just needed your approval of employment. Also I have another question.


    10 of the applyers on StoneMasonry including the one with 25 years of experience are Ignites. Considering your recent revolution plans i assume their Salaries should be equal to the ill.u.s.tratios?"


    "Indeed. Equality will rule above everything. Statuses will be defined by work experience. Not the colour on their skin, Seer.


    Now tell me about the Construction Workers. Did you at least bring me good results about those?"


    "Actually I brought more results than I expected and more than we needed."


    "Pleases my ears. tell me more¡­"


    "It turns out that a Construction team migrated from Gaster Kingdom here about a half a decade ago.


    They have been scraping to survive ever since but all of them have at least 5 years of experience in Building Construction.


    Combined with the StoneMasons who can build a Stone foundation for the houses, we will be able to make some good quality houses without paying a fortune to imported workers."


    "Well that is news that will turn this over populated hell hole around. I have big plans for Pameres Kingdom and this will aid my plans in a big scale. How many people are in that construction group?"


    "35 Sire. They perform gracefully. With their help we can get a little boost in the construction speed, not to forget quality. Which can help us escape an economic collapse since people will enter the houses faster, start working and pay monthly tax.


    The rest however are 45 experienceless men. So i suppose that helps the economy as well."


    "This plan is coming together quite well even after considering the rough start.


    And how much does this impact the Kingdom''s monthly income?"


    "That''s the part that worried me a bit. But considering we earn 12000 from the monthly taxes just from the houses, we are able to escape with minimal monthly income.


    The new workers will take 12525 Gold Coins from the monthly budget.


    Considering the outer farms of Pameres Kingdom that give us half of their harvest, if people choose to buy the crops straight from the castle instead of merchants, we can make a good ongoing profit. September ended a few days ago after all."


    "What about the mines?"


    "The mines are a setback. Since we can''t sell iron to the Kingdoms which take part in the Kastarian Alliance. We need new big time trade partners.


    But considering that we did business with other Kingdoms before, we have 200000 Gold Coins to support your new expenses for a few months.


    Our monthly expenses reach almost 25000 when the new expenses are considered. Last month we earned 27000 so we can still make minimal profit from this."


    "You earned your big salary my friend. Few can handle so much information without a headache.


    But i''m afraid i need to form a new alliance with Gaster Kingdom. Or at least strike some deals."

 Chapter 66 - Zezezezezezezezeze

    As the Group of five made their way towards the Hallway after they closed the door, escaping the TitanoBoa, they continue to see strange Markings around them in the 28 foot wide and 19 foot tall hallway.


    The hallway has exquisite design. Far to much quality to be called just a cave.


    The red markings mixed up with the astonishing stone design, made the place look like a hell like structure.


    Moss was growing on those hallway walls, and even though the quality was good, cracks on the stonework were to be seen often. But the whole hallway seemed quite stable.


    Declaring that whatever made this cave, did it a very long time ago. Perhaps even far before the first Era started.


    It is a surprise that the TitanoBoa splashing on the water itself didn''t cause for this hallway to collapse. That''s how old it seemed.


    The first Era in general was started by the Ignites. Once the ice age ended, Snow Ignites returned to their motherland, leaving everything they worked on behind.


    Ignites declaring a peace treaty after Hundreds of years of war for land with the ill.u.s.tratios, settling for all the land the Snow Ignites left behind.


    Snow Ignites owned most of the Continent. The ill.u.s.tratios and Ignites had barely any land and the Calidum Lutum settled for one town(Lan Zhe) avoiding the war for land, isolating themselves.


    They walked and walked. The hallway seemed to be endless. Only strange Markings were to be seen. No one, including Mogranius or Stefan did recognize what those Markings say.


    If it was Ignite or ill.u.s.tratian language, it would be recognizable even if it was before the second era.


    Writing and reading advanced a lot in the second era but a few letters remained the same. So if the markings were written in ill.u.s.tratian or Ignite, they would be able to recognize it.


    Calidum Lutum letters barely changed ever since they disappeared when the first war for land started. They do love their language though.


    Not to forget, the architectural structures and Stonemasonry seemed a bit ahead of time.


    The Stones were just cut to well. Nothing before the first era could top that.


    After they walked for what seemed like forever, they reached a bigger opening.


    The opening included what seemed to be a throne room.


    The throne room is quite empty. It had nothing but the throne. Everything else seemed to have been ruined by time.


    Behind the throne was a bigger opening, leading to what seems to be a town. A big town. Could this bee a Blue Goblin domain?


    Wait. Did I say that the room included nothing but a throne. I forgot to add one tiny detail.


    It also included a Creature.


    Thankfully it wasn''t a TitanoBoa.


    Due to the red and black textures the hallway and the throne room has, it gave in very little to light.


    Torches wouldn''t help noticing a creature 20 feet away. The creature also had a dark texture which made it a whole lot difficult to notice it.


    However. The creature didn''t need to be found. It introduced itself with the green light in its eyes that appeared out of nowhere.


    Is the creature awoken?


    The group was left in shock because a heart beat after the creature''s eyes lit, gems spread all around the cave lit up.


    They weren''t Ignite Gems though. In fact these gems didn''t seem to be from this continent or this world for that matter.


    Could it be aliens? Well. Something close.


    They saw the creature seated on the throne. Trying to speak to them.


    When the Gems spread out the red light they possessed, making everything visible, out of a self defensive instinct Mogranius formed a Fire Shield in a heartbeat, surrounding everyone.


    Unleashing a fire shield for a beginner could take much longer, but Mogranius having it done Hundreds of times in his life, was trained enough to unleash one almost instantly.


    "What is that thing?"


    Asked Eric.


    "xbxjxkxkxlxkx"


    Said the creature.


    "Demon!"


    Yelled Mogranius.


    "Zezezezezezezezezezezezeze"


    Said the creature.


    "What is it trying to say?"


    "Maz''p graza!"


    "Wait that was Calidum Lutum Language."


    Pointed out Commander Alia.


    "What did it say? I''m about to Urinate because of this shit."


    Said Stefan in fear. As a man who curses intensely rare, this proved how terrifying the situation was.


    "It''s specifically telling us to not leave."


    Explained Commander Alia with her ShortSword up.


    "This is worse than the TitanoBoa and I was face to face with that Bastard."


    Yelled Woldemir holding "The Rumbler" up.


    "Thank you for your patience. I hope it didn''t take me too long to recognize your language."


    Said the creature who sounded like a she.


    Her tone was so gentle now and no one was forced to bless their pants now.


    Actually her tone sounded very welcoming.


    "Who are you. What the hell are you doing underground on this abandoned place."


    "I''m the last of the Earth Demons. A branch of the most intelligent Demons hell had to offer.


    Well at least before Magic was a thing in this World."

 Chapter 67 - Inner Demons(1)

    "If you don''t explain yourself. I''m Bringing this town down along with you."


    Yelled Eric in both fear and confusion but also rage no doubt.


    "I see rage has overcome the Electus'' point of judgment."


    "How do you know i''m the Electus?"


    "Son i can see your Veins from a mile away.


    Such a valuable experiment indeed grabbed my attention."


    "Don''t call my son an experiment."


    "I see where he gets his rage from. First I thought fire has consumed your mind and replaced it with rage. But it seems like your powers are all new to you."


    "How could fire consume my mind?"


    Asked Mogranius this time. Not like he wanted to make things all about him but she is talking about Fire Controllers after all.


    "Put that shield down. If i wanted to fight i would of come to the surface and end you long ago. I''m here to warn you of great approaching threat."


    "What can be a bigger threat than the ill.u.s.tratios? They are a plague on this land."


    "The ill.u.s.tratios are nothing but ants compared to the dangers as big as a TitanoBoa.


    I hope Betzy didn''t cause you trouble by the way. She is a sweetheart but she doesn''t like to be woken up from her sleep."


    "Okay. You''re a psychopath. Will you at least tell us about this upcoming threat?"


    Said Stefan bravely(hiding behind Commander Alia).


    "Let me start from the beginning. I''m certain all of you are aware of the 8 sources.


    Each source granting as you humans call "Magical Powers" to Commoners.


    The sources indeed Granted humans, powers. But it isn''t Magic. It''s just pure natural powers coming from your own genes.


    To put it in detail, the 8 continents are powered by 8 Demons."


    "So the sources i''ve been worshipping ever since birth as I recall. Are demons?"


    Said Mogranius in grief.


    "I did say. These Demons are one of the Smartest. They are of my kind but they are more powerful.


    They aren''t the stereotypical Demons who Torture Humans in hell.


    They are actually quite kind hearted. I mean they chose to fuel Continents so people don''t die. They could have abandoned all of you.


    I''ve lead all 8 of them. Only 9 of us came from hell."


    "Alright this is getting very confusing. Which says a lot because i am a Kastarian."


    Said Commander Alia while massaging the left side of her head.


    "A Kastarian. Beautiful experiment. How did you survive the great collapse?"


    "You know about that?"


    "indeed!"


    "I was near the ocean. So I managed to escape before disaster killed me.


    How did Kastaria just vanish like that?"


    "That''s why I called you here. Great threat approaches. You think that a 15 foot hole just appeared overnight? Betzy broke to the surface."


    "I officially have a phobia towards any snake now!"


    Added Stefan.


    "However. Let''s start from how you people got your powers.


    See when we came to this earth with a mission to turn Ignis into another version of hell. And I mean that as literal as possible.


    But we meant good. We saw the constant conflict on earth and tried to turn all the people, in to modified Demons.


    Specifically, Peaceful Demons."


    "Peaceful Demons. That''s something you don''t hear everyday."


    Said Mogranius in sarcasm(it''s just who he is).


    "As odd as it sounds, it was an aim. But we did figure out that there is no way to turn the people here in to peaceful beings using Experiments. But of course we did figure that out after countless experiments.


    We kidnapped people and made them drink blood from the 8 Sorts of Demons.


    Much like the people on earth, we demons have 8 sorts of powers as well."


    "This continues to get more confusing. But I am oddly eager."


    Said Woldemir.


    "I know. But it will make sense once you hear the whole story.


    Since Cannibalism wasn''t a thing in hell, we didn''t know that drinking demon blood gives the consumer, powers.


    It didn''t turn the people in to demons but gave them powers instead.


    But every power came with consequences."


    "Consequences like?"


    Asked Commander Alia.


    "It didn''t turn the people into demons but the powers became part of the people. As if they were born with it. Powers were part of the genes after it.


    It was rather a blessing, but the downside to it was the fact that every one who gained powers, had inner demons to beat.


    Those demons will constantly try to consume your mind based with what the powers come with."


    "So you mean every demon is different based on the power?"


    Asked Stefan in curiosity. He seems to be the only one catching on."


    The lady stood up. Even though being quite old, her black skin added complexion to her beauty. Her purely white hair added more beauty. Her youthful face made her look like an evil 23 year old with daddy issues but no doubt beautiful.


    And the demonic horns above her head made her look even better.


    She started talking again while walking around the Fire Shield


    "Lava Controlling for example, granted by the Demon of patience, named Zirinisen.


    Comes with the inner demon that tries to consume your patience.


    Lava Controllers can burn you alive with their ability. Not to mention the Calidum Lutum can kill you without it easily.


    Having patience to not destroy an opponent right away is a test every lava controller had to face. Including the nasty little Blue Goblins. That was the biggest failed experiment we faced."


    "Yes. No doubt about that. After the ill.u.s.tratios they were the second plague on Ignis


    What about the Fire Controllers?"


    Asked Mogranius.


    "Fire Controlling is a power granted by the Demon of Rage.


    Having faced a lot of rage control until beating her own inner demon, she was eligible to grant blood to the experiments, like the rest of the 8 who beat their own Demon.


    Alasteren is the Demon of rage. Fire controllers have rage to face.


    You, old man. Curiosity for knowledge has overcome your rage and you conquered your inner demon long ago.


    She stopped for a moment added with a serious, less psychopatic tone


    "This kid though, rage started consuming him too soon."

 Chapter 68 - Inner Demons(2)

    "Yes actually. I have been noticing more rageful behaviours on my son.


    Before we cleared some things out he was cold but not rageful. I thought it was because of the wild month we went through but I didn''t know at all about the inner demons."


    "I doubt that anyone knows of the Inner Demons. It''s a story as old as time. It''s a story from way back. Approximately 10000 years before the first Era started.


    The superior beings in these earth now formally known as Humans, ill.u.s.tratios, Kastarians etc etc etc didn''t know written language anywhere before 2000 years.


    Except Kastarians. They had their own written language a bit earlier but nowhere near actually recording that part of history.


    That is why you don''t know anything about the Inner Demons. But every "Witch" or "Wizard" has them.


    But at least men were 8 foot tall 10000 years before the First Era. What a joy it was to kidnap them."


    "So you experimented on us 10000 years ago before the First Era started? How old are you exactly?"


    Asked Eric. His rage was short lasting and was replaced with curiosity once he managed to put everything together.


    "Child i''m over 400,000 years old.


    I''m not alive but i''m not dead either. It is rather hard to explain."


    "I''m not sure why we should trust you with all of this. You do sound a bit crazy, not to forget that you keep saying you are a demon."


    Said Commander Alia. Her perception defines her judgment. And she saw a lot she doesn''t like about this lady.


    For example. Her dressing is a bit to "exposing".


    Her way of talking is tempting even though she is literally speaking how demons fed the people of this earth, their blood.


    Not to forget that she gives that psychopathic vibe.


    "Don''t get me wrong. There are Demons who punish wrongdoers. There are many dimensions of hell specifically for that. The badder you are, the rougher the hell.


    My people however, come from a peaceful dimension. We are visionaries, academics, thirsty for knowledge.


    We don''t waste our time punishing madmen. If anything, we tried to help your kind.


    But man did it backfire a lot."


    She paused and said. But enough of that, apart from the actual Civil War in your shoulders, sir Electus, there is a greater threat coming. So as you progress to new powers you must know about all of the Inner Demons."


    "What is this great threat you keep mentioning? Enough with the Suspense already."


    Said Eric keeping in his rage.


    "See. I''m helping you already."


    After Lava and Fire, comes Superspeed. But judging from the situation i suppose you started from Fire. Which is why your rage is getting more common. You didn''t beat the first demon yet. You skipped to the second."


    "I''m sorry. I couldn''t find lava when a Black Wolf was about to eat my face off in a middle of a forrest."


    "Nice Sarcasm kid."


    Said Mogranius with a short laugh.


    "Sarcasm won''t get you far child. I can claim Ignis if i wanted too."


    Everyone swallowed their spit out of fear after that sentence. It just sounded so...Demonic.


    "However. As i said, with super speed comes¡­.¡­..drum roll..... the Demon of Patience, Lartem."


    "But isn''t patience, rage control and self control basically the same thing?"


    Added Stefan out of great curiosity. Even though he is hiding behind Commander Alia, this is better than a trip to a big library for him.


    "They are very similar indeed. But if you don''t approach each one with Caution. The Demons will consume you. Permanently.


    Take Xakro''s bloodline curse for example. I''ve been studying their curse for two centuries.


    The curse doesn''t just pass down the wounds but the 8 inner Demons corrupt the heart and there is nothing anyone who carries those cursed powers can do about it!"


    "So Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll can''t help the way he is?


    Sad really. He didn''t choose to have his powers. They were forced on him i suppose."


    Added Woldemir showing grief even though Xakro is trying to kill his son.


    "Indeed. It is a sad story topped off with land l.u.s.t.


    However sad time over, moving on.


    The Demon of Teleportation, Talzejj.


    Which brings us back to the point. The source there disappeared somehow. I''m not aware how but i do know the overall goal for that disaster.


    That is for later to tell."


    "Yes yes. Keep giving us more Burden. As if we don''t have enough already.


    "The bright side is, you don''t have to worry about the Inner Demon of Egoism."


    "I suppose I can''t be offended by that since i didn''t have powers to begin with¡­."


    Said Commander Alia.


    "Moving on. The Demon of Healing Powers, Aresmqaal.


    To beat the Inner Demon of healing powers, you need to get rid of self doubt.


    Healing requires full confidence of your work. Not over confidence, but confidence based on your hours put in to work and practice."


    "I suppose that''s reasonable enough.


    Is that why Xakro didn''t attack Eric yet?"


    Said Stefan.


    "No. Well yes. But no. His plans are greater. Long story short, imagine how powerful he will get if he had level 12 powers."


    "He would be able to conquer Continents single handedly."


    Added Eric because he felt like a target.


    "Exactly. But he didn''t consider that he would go mentally insane. The Inner Demons would double their "Work".


    Moving on.


    The Demon of Mind Control, Zeb.


    This is a delicate art that could make you or your target go insane. Even a Grand Master has complications actually mastering it.


    To spank your inner Demons you need all of the previous five. Teleportation isn''t a big part to beat since the source disappeared but you do need to consider on how to beat egoism."


    "How exactly can i learn Mind Control? It sounds so confusing."

 Chapter 69 - Fresh Experiments

    "To learn mind control you need to beat all of the 5 previously mentioned inner Demons.


    Self Control, Rage, Patience, egoism and self doubt.


    Failed to beat 1, your target goes insane. Fail to beat 2, you go insane. Fail to beat all 5, people you didn''t even intend to mind control go insane along with you and your target.


    This is how Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l made the war happen, he made the Kings on their motherland go insane.


    On top of all of that, it needs a decade of work to level up. Even for an Electus. It is the only power you can''t progress through extraordinarily fast. Cute isn''t it?"


    Said the Demon while taking one final lap around the Fire Shield and sitting on her throne again.


    "To make this whole thing even harder, to actually learn Mind Control after beating the so called "inner Demons" you would need to travel all the way to the edge of the world.


    It''s hard to call the place a Continent.


    It is just a small island but only Mind Controllers live there so we can generalize it as a Continent.


    Akareas went through the same journey."


    Said Mogranius who has seemed to have calmed down a bit. It isn''t easy to calm down after seeing an actual Demon in physical form.


    And he added.


    "Leraz. It has quite beautiful mountains as she prescribed. It only has mountains actually. The Lerazians live on top of them."


    "Yes. I''m aware. My little paranormal friends have been watching everything but i choose to not intervene. You all are putting up quite a show though, I give you that."


    "P-P-P-Paranormal? Isn''t this P-Paranormal enough already. I don''t need another Phobia!"


    Said Stefan still using Commander Alia as a shield.


    "Don''t worry. They don''t bite. They just possess you and make you go insane and kill your loved ones. But as long as you don''t bug them, they are sweet as bunnies, just like me."


    Said the Demon and gave a psychopathic laugh.


    "We should leave before we get killed!"


    Said Eric and added


    "This Woman keeps saying crazier and crazier things."


    "Son. Behind that psychopath there is wisdom. She just expresses it differently. Let''s hear her out."


    Said Woldemir who eventually caught on the whole story.


    "Your father is smart sir Electus sir. Listen to him.


    Moving on, the Demon of Freezing Powers, Gazei. To beat this inner Demon, you need to get rid of l.u.s.t. An odd combination i know.


    But l.u.s.t clouds your judgment and darkens your heart. It could be life ruining. Just take the farmers on the outer lands for example.


    They don''t have their precious thing anymore. They don''t have any reason to l.u.s.t around now.


    Nice job girl."


    Said the Demon which made Commander Alia smile.


    "You did what!"


    Yelled Stefan and added


    "It is clear now. Don''t mess around with a Kastarian!"


    "Precisely!"


    Added Commander Alia.


    "Enough about genital talk. Moving on to the 8th and last power. Flying.


    To beat the Inner Demon of flying, Paramertezin, you need to let go of burden. To fly however, you need help from the Dragons."


    "Wait. Akareas didn''t need help from Dragons!


    And, there are Dragons??!!"


    Pointed out Mogranius. The topic of Akareas interests him a lot.


    He did mentor throughout most of her life. They created a strong Mentor/Mentee bond.


    Not to mention, this crazy Demon mentioned Dragons.


    "I know. She took the cautious approach, studying. But Dragons do exist. There is no bigger fun than being tossed from a sky island by a Dragon who wants to teach you flying.


    Akareas didn''t experience it but the Electus before her, did."


    She paused for a little while, stood up from her throne and said something with a dead serious tone


    "Beat these 8 Demons and your heart will be as pure as a newborn baby. Do not let the inner Demons consume you or you might end up ruling by Xakro''s Side."


    As she stood up, she approached the gang and the Fire Shield disappeared in a blink of an eye.


    The thing is, Mogranius had no intend to do that. He didn''t put the shield down.


    And since the Shield didn''t oppose anything, he had only depleted half of his stamina.


    "Listen up closely. My kind caused these experiments. Magic came from us 10000 years before the First Era but they were all failed experiments.


    After all this time, the Demons from my dimension want to start fresh.


    Their plan of starting fresh, is to remove the Demonite Gems out of the 8 Demons who hold the continents together, so the experiments will be evolved people who never had contact with "Magic".


    They already removed the Demonite off of the Demon of Teleportation''s forehead.


    The Demons can''t do anything about it because of a backfiring experiment, they got turned into stone, fusing themselves with the Continents. Being one with them and of course providing a Source for "Magic".


    If that Demonite gets removed, the Continent Collapses.


    I have no idea where the Demons(Sources) are and i have no idea how the Demons from my Dimension, are finding them.


    Even my Paranormal friends can''t.


    What I do know, once these Demons enter this World, they are Vulnerable to death.


    So when you see them. Kill them.


    A great journey is ahead of you, i wish you luck, ELECTUS!"


    As she finished her numerous sentences, the gang disappeared in mid air and re appeared on the surface where they spooked the 10 Calidum Lutum Guards who didn''t join them on this insane trip.

 Chapter 70 - Ore to Gold

    Approaching King Zar''s throne again was seer. He didn''t hold papers on his hands this time  but he doesn''t seem to be in a good mood.


    "What news do you bring me, old friend."


    "Sire. I hate to inform you this, but after the deconstruction of the Chapel started, people who stood in solitude with the religious organization known as "illas", Abandoned our Kingdom.


    They followed them out of the Kingdom, carrying their life savings. They also seemed to have sold their furniture that was worth a decent amount of gold coins. But everything cheap, they left behind."


    "Well that is actually good news. Were any of them my workers?"


    "No. Just people who made their life fortune long ago through Propaganda.


    The houses are of good quality as well. 10 people can live on one house without invading each other''s privacy!"


    "Well this is good news. We''ve let go of dead weight. What about the religious Organization. How many houses did they leave behind?"


    "7! They seemed to have shared houses to avoid big expenses."


    "Good. Now listen closely. We just recruited 100 Workers in total a few days ago.


    All those 100 shall live in those 10 abandoned houses of good quality temporarily, until the new houses are built.


    If for some reason any of our old workers don''t have a home, let them join the one of the 10 quality houses.


    Do not forget to fill papers and store them on the castle about the temporary residents. We need to doc.u.ment everything as none is smart enough to remember all of this!"


    "Of course sire. Those men and Women will be so happy. Those houses are big enough to even support their families.


    Judging from their background, they don''t mind sleeping with 10 people in one room.


    But what about the taxes?"


    "The Workers may bring whoever they please in their house to live, as long as it is a family member. And the tax is the same as per every house, 40 Gold coins.


    Each individual in the house needs to pay, but not 40 gold coins each. If there are 10 workers in a house, each one needs to pay 4 Gold Coins to make a total of 40 Gold Coins. That should at least help them feed their families more or even buy them new clothes."


    "Sire. You did say that you deny to run your Kingdom in Xakro''s way. I never realized that you meant it this much. I feel so much positivity in your requests.


    And i do feel that in just a few years, this Kingdom will be the strongest one in Ignis. You mean so well!"


    "The people have suffered to long for land l.u.s.t my friend. I plan to make Pameres Kingdom a place where any poor person can get wealthy with hard work."


    Said Zar while actually smiling for once. He faced a huge emotional change these days. In Fact he has been facing it for weeks. But just recently he found the guts and opportunity to defy the actual ill.u.s.tratian Alliance.


    "Sire I have one more question. What about the 7 houses the "illas" believers left behind?"


    "I''ve been thinking of a plan to make profit out of the mines. Our new set of workers we might be able to get, will live in those 7 houses.


    But first, answer me this question.


    How much does a raw iron ore cost?"


    "Interesting question sire. It costs 8 gold coins."


    "What about an Iron Ingot?"


    Said Zar with full concentration on Seer.


    "25 Gold Coins if i recall right!"


    "Perfect. And what about an Iron Sword?"


    He said with half a smile!(which is a big deal because he never smiles!)


    "70 Gold Coins Sire. It is a bit costly."


    "Are you seeing my point of view Seer. Did you catch on?"


    "Yes. You want to sell IronSwords. This could actually be very profitable. Selling 50 iron ores in a day for example and getting 400 Gold Coins is a good profit.


    But imagine using those 50 Iron Ingots to make 25 Iron Swords.


    That''s almost 4 times the profit from selling the 50 raw ores.


    But have you considered the wood, blacksmiths and leather strips needed to make them?"


    "We already have enough Workers experienced in lumbering. They are able to provide Planks for the 100 houses in Construction. Providing enough wood for Sword Handles should be child''s play for them.


    The Hunters and Blacksmiths however. Require some work to acquire."


    "Do you want me to fill out some papers for recruitment sire?"


    "Yes but for another day. I need to make 2 deals which could boost our economy.


    Gaster Kingdom is near the ocean and they have a port. I can''t afford to send my Construction Workers all the way near Gaster Kingdom and back just to build a port. It is too dangerous, expensive and time consuming."


    "So you plan to do business with another continent?"


    "Yes. For that we need to make a deal with that race of which has Witches and Wizards with Healing Powers. What''s it called?"


    Asked Zar. He isn''t trying to be racist, but he doesn''t know much of anything out of Ignis.


    "You are talking about the Zamerians, Sire.


    That is actually a very good idea. It takes only around 2 weeks to arrive from that continent. So sh.i.p.s will constantly be moving from that Continent to Ignis.


    But there is one problem!"


    "What could the problem be?"


    "Even if we make a deal with both Gaster Kingdom and the Zamerians, we will need at least 15 blacksmiths to withstand the daily amount of ore which is commonly around 20. Not to mention that Blacksmiths are harder to find. Even harder than Stone Masons."


    He stopped for a while and added


    "If a Blacksmith has over 10 years of experience, he can likely make 3 quality Iron Swords in one week. Making a sword requires continues banging with a hammer for days.


    An Experienceless Blacksmith could likely make only good quality Sword for one week."


    "Hmmm. Troublesome indeed. But if the monthly pay for a experienceless blacksmith is 100 gold coins, we might be able to recruit more. Ultimately leading to more income!"

 Chapter 71 - Kaleem and Saleem(1)

    Walking down an alley on Crutal Kingdom, was a little ill.u.s.tratian boy. Well not exactly "little".


    He was 17 years old.


    His name is Kaleem. He has been working on his father''s side ever since he was 9 years old, in BlackSmithery.


    He started off with tasks as simple as they could be, such as making it easier for his father named Saleem who currently is 46 years old, to reach Iron Ingots.


    Although the names are very similar, everything else about them is different.


    Let''s start with height for example.


    Kaleem is 5.5 foot tall while Saleem is 6.4!


    Not to leave out, Saleem''s arm only, is as big as Kaleem''s waist.


    Kaleem is more kind hearted, while life has turned Saleem''s heart a bit cold.


    However, getting to the point. As Kaleem grew older, his responsibilities grew along with him.


    Apart from being a bit cold, Saleem cares a lot about his son. So he does not wish to burden him with too much responsibility.


    But Kaleem is known as the most ambitious ill.u.s.tratio in Crutal Kingdom.


    Taking his father as an example who works almost 12 hours a day, he insisted to share the same amount of burden.


    Saleem of course never allowed it, but Kaleem worked after midnight to ease the burden on his father the next day, even though Kaleem himself is busy at the forge a good part of the day, assisting his father.


    In some days he even did half a shift throughout the strongest insist. He even does deliveries almost daily.


    It is no doubt that Kaleem is overly ambitious for someone so young.


    However, as Blacksmiths are rare and weaponry is very valuable, any Blacksmith would be overwhelmed with work.


    A cart of iron ore usually being very heavy, bringing it from the mines to the forge is mostly Saleem''s task.


    To him that heavy cart is like carrying two bags of wheat. The man is abnormally strong, Blacksmithery made him stronger but he lost his hair(or weeds, both terms acceptable) because of it.


    It doesn''t plague his appearance though, he looks much better without it. It matches with his body shape.


    Saleem being once again overwhelmed with work, forgot all about picking up the cart of ores from the mines, which is done twice a week.


    Guess who used the opportunity to help without being told too.


    You guessed it, Kaleem. But it wasn''t a good idea at all.


    Kaleem can''t hit a plate of hot iron with a hammer 20 times without killing all of his stamina.


    A cart of 50 iron ores, well it would be a miracle if he was able to move the cart for a meter.


    Disappearing as in mid air, he was used to sneaking just to force in more work in the forge. This was his second skill.


    Running his way to the mine which took him about 10 minutes, he lied to the Miners that


    "His dad sent him to bring the ores since he doesn''t have nearly enough time."


    Kaleem, doing deliveries and sometimes bargaining, gave him some abilities of speech craft. So it was easier for him to manipulate Miners.


    He grabbed the cart and was actually able to lift it off of the ground after trying 6 times. Perhaps hammering iron time to time has given him some sort of strength. But he also wanted to help his father in a large scale so that was his main motivation.


    To his advantage, the mine was on top of a hill. The road wasn''t too steep but it would make moving the cart full of iron ores, way easier.


    He had to turn the cart to the left bit by bit as he took a left turn which connected the short mine road to the wide main road.


    Through a bit of effort he was successful but trouble began once he made his way down the hill.


    A full grown man can lift and keep the cart under control down that hill but under great effort that would tire the entire body.


    For Kaleem, his first 20 feet of pulling were stable. On the 30th foot it became twice as easy.


    As he reached his 50th foot, he was practically running with the cart at full speed.


    He ran for 10 minutes straight before picking up the cart and he didn''t stop to catch his breath.


    So his stamina depleted quickly, making it impossible for him to keep up with the speed of the cart who was getting faster and faster.


    To his very bad luck, he tripped and fell face first on the ground.


    The cart having wheels big enough to support a heavy shipment, was very lucky of course.


    Thanks to those big wooden wheels, Kaleem was able to slide underneath the cart without the cart causing any fatal damage but a couple of small bumps and bruises.


    As he fell face first in the dirt, he heard a loud crash shortly after.


    By the worst ever luck, the crash was caused because of his father, Saleem.


    Saleem saw the fast approaching cart, and given no time to clear the way, by instinct he grabbed the two wooden cart handles.


    Due to his abnormal strength, he was able to stop the cart.


    The Cart after making contact with Saleem, it arose from the ground and leaped over Saleem and was thrown 30 feet away from him, and tumbled for another 60 feet.


    The cart itself didn''t damage Saleem itself. But the ores, brought havoc.


    Over 20 of the ores fell on his head and body.


    The impact on his body was nothing but a bit of bumps and bruises but the impact on his head were fatal.


    The iron ores knocked Saleem out cold and left a bloody wound on top of his head.


    Due to more miss fortune, only Kaleem saw what happened. The closest Guard was a kilometer away and he wouldn''t be of help when it comes to lifting a 300 pound man.


    Kaleem ran towards his father, being in shock, not believing what just happened, this felt like a nightmare.


    He yelled for help several times with all of his lungs and with tears in his eyes, seeing his father in such a condition. And blaming himself for this condition as well.


    Lifting the ores from his father one by one, he threw them away from his father as he was throwing feathers.


    After removing the ores, he tried to lift his father.


    But it was like moving a boulder. Kaleem is only 90 pounds. He could never lift a 300 pound man. At least, not without "special assistance".


    A moment after he felt a huge sensation of pain all over his body. He could feel every vein on his body pumping strong like hell.


    He grabbed his father''s right arm with such power, he almost ripped it off.


    Grabbing his father''s left leg after, he was able to actually lift him off of the ground as well and putting him above his shoulders.


    His body wasn''t breaking in half due to the weight even though his feet sank a couple of inches in the dirt, his father felt like a bag of wheat to him now!

 Chapter 72 - A R.a.p.ers Nigtmare(1)

    Approaching Gaster Kingdom wasn''t Eric with his 14 Guards and friends but it was rather someone different.


    Not knowing what is to hit Gaster Kingdom days after, Zar sent someone to negotiate a deal.


    He thought it to be to dangerous to send his most trusted over qualified assistant, so he sent someone of lesser experience but good at the art of speech craft.


    If Seer was to get injured, or died in this trip, it would take a miracle to find another ill.u.s.tratio or ignite of Seer''s qualifications. Seer even worked for Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll.


    Since the mines depleted, the Grand King didn''t find it reasonable to tax Gaster Kingdom. It wasn''t nearly profitable enough.


    Meaning he kicked the Kingdom out of the ill.u.s.tratian alliance and since all the Gold Coins were spent creating Pameres Kingdom, Gaster Kingdom collapsed economically.


    A lot of people migrated from there too Pameres Kingdom in hopes of a better life.


    But most being experienceless, it was almost impossible to get a job there even if they were paid as low as 30 Gold Coins a month.


    The mines were full of employees already.


    Approaching Gaster Kingdom was a woman called Alama. She is known in Pameres Kingdom as Alama honey mouth.


    She is a master when it comes to bargaining(if there were levels about that).


    As a woman in mediveal times, going on the road alone wasn''t nearly the best idea.


    If not robbed or r.a.p.ed, she can get jumped by wild animals and torn to pieces.


    But in her case, being tall-ish(5.8ft), and growing up with a battle axe on her hand, she achieved a lot as a 27 year old.


    She is more like the tomboy type of girl even though she is no doubt beautiful. She doesn''t pay too much attention to beauty though.


    Her pitch black hair is tied to a tail, but that doesn''t make her less attractive at all.


    Her hair is so long that her tail reaches the back of her knees.


    That''s the tail bandits would get attracted too, leting their guard down and losing their head after.


    Walking in full silver armor giving such an elegant glow, it''s a sight that every man would be attracted too. Long story short, she is attracting even though she couldn''t care less about appearance.


    As she neared the Kingdom''s gates, she was stopped by two ill.u.s.tratio Guards.


    The first thing they said was


    "Pay 40 Gold Coins to enter."


    "If you go around trying to scam people, might as well sit on a comfortable spot and raise your hand for spare change to people passing by."


    Their ego naturally getting hurt, they pulled out their Swords and said


    "You''re under arrest for threatening a Guard!"


    (Threatening a Guard? What is his highness thinking? Partnering up with such corrupt low lives! If there was an ill.u.s.tratio in my shoes, she wouldn''t be held guilty even if she stabbed these Guards to death.)


    She thought but held in her disgust and said


    "Oh so you will take me to the King in style. Perhaps i can bribe him to behead both of you."


    "You''re here for the King?"


    "Yes. King Zar sent me here. I''m sure both of you know of his importance. And me being sent by him, you now know my importance!"


    Pointed out Alema. She herself is actually very surprised that Zar chose her to do a job of such importance. She is an Ignite after all. This is highly unusual.


    Manipulating minds was her skill. She played with minds like a Cat with a Mouse. But Zar''s decision got her confused for the first time in 9 years. Last time she got confused was when she got called Beautiful by many people in a day. She didn''t see what they saw.


    She has been thinking about Zar''s decision ever since she was sent by him a week ago.


    Travelling on the clear lands even by foot would take only 1 week while in the thick forest it would take double the time if not more, so it didn''t take her too long to reach this wasteland.


    "You are free from arrest. You don''t need to pay tax either. You may enter the Gates and make your way up the castle. It is very visible."


    "That''s what I thought."


    Entering the Gates and making her way to the Castle which was oddly in the middle of the Kingdom, she did get a lot of strange looks from the citizens there.


    She would be already mugged if she wasn''t wearing costly armor, showing her status.


    People here are scrapping to survive. The only reason they are able to feed their families is because of the sea nearby. Giving them the ability to fish.


    Some men seem to be hungry enough to attack a lady in almost  full body armor in the middle of the day though. The only piece of armor she was lacking was a helmet which she doesn''t wear because if she would, she can''t tie her hair to a tail.


    But from the looks of it, they don''t seem to be hungry for money.


    Following her through 13 of the abandoned houses which were common, one was insane enough to grab her by her tied up tail and try to drag her to an abandoned house.


    Well. That man, lost his hand. And his head. Literally!

 Chapter 73 - Kaleem and Saleem(2)

    Kaleem, after lifting his father, he managed to carry him a kilometer through the dirty road and carried him another half mile through Crutal Kingdom with the help of some Guards and Citizens to reach the healers.


    He could see the people breaking hundreds of sweats, but he managed to bring his father here without breaking one which got him a whole lot more confused..


    (It must be the 8 sources. They heard my cry for help and sent angels to help me.)


    He thought. He wasn''t completely wrong. The 8 Sources have something to do with this but not the way he thought of it.


    At this moment he barely thought about that, he was more worried about his father.


    Arriving at the healers, they set him down on the floor, which too took a lot of effort to do in aims to not hurt him more.


    The healers told everyone to leave the room, including Kaleem. For some reason they didn''t want anyone to see their healing method.


    The room included 4 ill.u.s.tratios and Saleem. They all sat around him, one on top of his head, one underneath his feet, one on the left side and one on the right.


    They grabbed all of Saleem''s limbs and his head. Concentrating for a moment and releasing a green light which surrounded Saleem all over his body, they kept the process going for over an hour.


    Perhaps this is why they urged everyone to exit the healing room. These "Healers" are a group of two Witches and two Wizards.


    Ignites are commonly the ones with power on Ignis. It is extremely rare to see ill.u.s.tratios with power.


    But if these ones have power, it means that somehow they have ignite Genes.


    Perhaps their ancestors married an Ignite. It is not certain. What is certain, is that this group of 4 have magical powers!


    The Healers finally came out of the room one by one and entered the waiting room which was attached to the building as well.


    Following the four healers was Kaleem''s father, Saleem.


    Being 6.2 he had to duck a little bit to exit through the door but he seemed in top shape. As if nothing happened.


    Kaleem ran towards his father and hugged him tightly with tears in his eyes.


    "I thought I lost you."


    Before Saleem was about to say a word. One of the Healers interrupted and said


    "Your father is fine but people are telling me that you carried him on your back."


    Another continued


    "You look like a small breeze can knock you down but you managed to carry this large man."


    As this one finished his sentence another one continued


    "Do you have any idea how you did it? This isn''t exactly normal or natural. It defies all the laws of nature. The marks you left when you first grabbed him were almost equal to the wounds on his head!"


    "I don''t have any idea how i did it. Perhaps the 8 Sources heard my cry for help when my own kind didn''t!"


    "Wait you carried me here? But how?"


    Saleem asked but in his mind he had an idea where it came from.


    "That''s what we are trying to figure out. How? We can''t even call this magic because such physical strength doesn''t match any form of the 8 kinds of Magic."


    Added the fourth healer.


    "I suppose his father''s Genes finally came in!"


    Said Saleem in a bit of confidence but also in aims to remove "Magic" from the topic!


    "I suppose those two theories are our best answers for now.


    You may go but please visit us if your strength upgrades. We are more than eager to study your unique strength."


    They made their way down the Kingdom and entered their home which was connected to the forge.


    Normally, Saleem would of put this situation behind him and continue working. But for once in a long time he took a good break even though he wasted so much time already.


    What Kaleem did was nothing but a small mistake anyone could doo but what he managed to do after that mistake was extraordinary.


    "Son. Sit!"


    "I''m sorry father. I never meant for this to happen. I just wanted to help!"


    "I know son. I know. I''m not mad about that. I''m well and alive. Praise to the 8 Sources!


    But your strength. That concerns me."


    "I don''t have any idea how i got this strength. And i never interacted with Demons either as far as I recall. What''s happening to me?"


    "This could be a wild theory but. Your strength could be a new form of Magical powers. An evolution maybe?!"


    "How could I have magical powers. I never saw a demon before."


    "I know son i know. That is just propaganda spread by the illas Chapels."


    "So¡­ Ignites aren''t Demons from the depths of hell?"


    Said Kaleem innocently. He is used to hearing these words.


    The word of mouth is very effective in medieval times. One rumour and 3 Kingdoms will end up hearing about it.


    "Of course not. They are nothing but ordinary people blessed with powers.


    If anything, the ill.u.s.tratios would be connected to demons. They did so much damage to the Ignite race in general.


    I hope you didn''t offend or hurt any Ignite son."


    "I did not like them. But i never did anything to hurt or offend them either. Because they were nice to me."


    "That''s my boy. Because i''m about to tell you something. Do you think you can handle this. I''m not going to lie, this will be heart shattering."


    "Father. Whatever it is, i can handle it!"


    "Alright son. Your mother. Was an Ignite!"

 Chapter 74 - A R.a.p.ers Nightmare(2)

    As Alama turned around beheading the one who attempted to **** her. She noticed that 6 more men were infront of her. To make it even more disgusting, 4 of them are of her kind. Ignites.


    One of them, seeing his partner in crime losing his head, took a few steps backwards so the others can attack first.


    4 of them pulled out daggers and they kept saying sentences like


    "Give up already."


    "We will have fun tonight."


    "You can''t keep this up."


    "You''re weak."


    "You''re pathetic."


    "Dance for us, slave."


    It was even more pathetic to watch considering the fact that Alama was carrying a Battle Axe as big as half of her size while they tried to oppose her with daggers.


    As the first man approaches, he finds a blind spot and tries to stab Alama with his dagger. Her armor is so thick that he only manages to bend a small hole on it.


    Not penetrating it at all.


    For Alama who was raised with a battle Axe on her hand, these fools were nothing but practice.


    She head buts the first attacker which threw him on the group of 6 rapists and knocked 2 of them off of their feet.


    Another man approaches, but his fate was even worse than the first attacker.


    She didn''t behead him, but she slashed her Battle Axe on his "reproduction area".


    The man fell on the ground crying for help.


    The attack didn''t kill him on the spot, but he will live for a while in severe pain before meeting a well deserved death.


    Seeing that 2 people received fatal injuries already, the one who took a few steps backwards earlier. Made a run for it.


    He didn''t reach far. Noticing that he was running away from the scene, Alama swiftly grabbed the pathetic rusty Iron Dagger that one of the Rapists dropped, and threw it towards him. The Dagger was thrown in such strength that it didn''t just penetrate his skin, it almost went through him.


    "I killed 3 of you already. Will you give up or do you need to lose your genitals to be convinced?"


    "You will be our meal tonight. Both s.e.x.u.a.lly and literally."


    (Wait. Cannibalism? This town has gone down that bad?)


    She thought. But this didn''t matter either way. She barely considered these men a competition.


    She proceeded to behead another man but she didn''t notice that throughout the havoc, a group of 3 more men were approaching her from behind bit by bit. They hid around the abandoned houses and moved swiftly to avoid being seen.


    If she was to get jumped by 3 men from behind, she would be overpowered easier because her guard would be down.


    She beheaded another one after cutting off his arm, and seeing that they got clearly outmatched, the two remaining men in front of her. Made a run for it.


    They approached her in a group of 7 but left in a group of 2.


    Well they didn''t exactly leave.


    As they made a run for it, Alama grabbed 3 of the dropped Daggers and threw one of them to each.


    They met an end similar to the one who made a run for it first.


    "That''s what I thought. Low lives!"


    The 3 men approached even closer but she still didn''t notice anything yet.


    Could this be her breaking point. She came here for business and could end up r.a.p.ed and pregnant or dead! No woman should ever go through this just because some men can''t manage their l.u.s.t.


    But fortunate for her. A hero came out of this god forsaken place.


    At least Eric will purify this place. By purify i mean he will likely kill all 100 Guards and some citizens as well.


    But the hero this time wasn''t Eric although fire was to be seen.


    A Fireball struck the man in the middle and the impact was loud enough to make Alama turn around.


    But for a moment she wished that she didn''t. The man struck by the Fireball was being burned alive. Blood was breaking from his skin and the Fire that struck him was so hot that he lost ? of his body already.


    The 2 other men confused and terrified of what they were seeing, forgot their goals of ****. They let their guard down which is what Alama is looking for.


    Using the third dagger, she penetrated one man''s head and punched the other so hard that he flew for a meter and tumbled for another two, where he met an unfortunate end by another Fireball. But who unleashed them?


    Climbing down from the roof of an abandoned house was a man. It wasn''t hard to mistake him with common folk.


    He was just a normal Ignite. The only thing unique about him were his powers and the fact that he too had long hair.


    Well a lot of Ignites have long hair. But his hair were almost as long as Alama''s hair!


    He also wore wide clothes which made his long hair look more acceptable and matching.


    "Who are you? And thanks! I would of had a terrible fate if i was jumped by these men!"


    "I''m sorry I didn''t arrive in the scene earlier. I''ve been looking for reasons to kill those bastards for months now.


    I''m Michael!"


    "Nice to meet you Michael. I''m Alama!"


    She said offering to shake his hand.


    "Pleasure meeting you. I don''t shake hands unless you are family. Its a form of respecting a Stranger''s personal space in my point of view."


    "I can respect that. Were you born with your Magical powers?"

 Chapter 75 - For the Ignites! For Freedom!

    "An Ignite?!


    But you said she was an ill.u.s.tratio."


    Said Kaleem in strong confusion when he heard this information about his mother.


    "I did. To protect you from the heart break.


    Your mother didn''t meet the fate i told you about."


    Saleem was kind hearted and still is. But a heart turns towards the cold side at least a bit if losing a life partner in such an unsettling way.


    "You mean she didn''t die when she gave birth to me?"


    "No. She was killed by ill.u.s.tratios in the motherland(Meridionali Ignis)."


    "What. Why did they kill her? What reason did they have to kill a person who didn''t cause them harm before?"


    "She was a Witch. Through illas influences, the Guards along with the town folk burned her alive while I was at work."


    Not believing what he was hearing, Kaleem was at the point of an emotional breakdown.


    But he held himself together.


    (The enemy would laugh if they see me cry for my mother. Why waste time with it?)


    He thought and he didn''t resist to say


    "Then what''s the plan. I doubt that you will let her blood dry on the ground!!"


    "So you don''t mind that she is an Ignite or a Witch?"


    "My mother is not a Demon. If she was, you wouldn''t of married her.


    I know you to well. As you said, they are natural powers.


    She was blessed with them. I know you don''t lie unless it is for good."


    "Son i couldn''t be more proud on how you''re handling the truth but there is little we can doo.


    Even with your newly discovered powers, we aren''t enough to wipe out a Capital.


    There are over 20,000 people living there!"


    "I will train! I will work hard and reach a higher status. Using the double standards my race has to offer i can even rule a Kingdom with enough effort. I will burn that Kingdom to the ground!"


    "What difference will we have from them if we do that?"


    He yelled. But calmed down and under a calmer tone he said


    "If you ever wish to help this disaster of a Continent, do it to help Ignites. Not to burn down innocent families.


    How do we know that there aren''t ill.u.s.tratios who think the same as us."


    "You¡­ you''re right. I''m just so upset. They had no right to kill her."


    "This has been haunting me for 16 years son. I know how the pain is. But do you know what made the bad feeling go away bit by bit?"


    "What could it be?"


    "The smiles on the people I helped that couldn''t even help themselves."


    "Then teach me. Teach me to fight. Teach me to me to help those people!"


    "Son. You can help people in many different ways without risking your neck.


    Gold Coins for example. Many Ignites lack it even though they work their asses off all day.


    We always have Gold Coins to spare. I earn 350 Gold Coins a month."


    "But i have powers. I can lead Ignites to freedom!"


    "You discovered your powers today. You don''t know how to fight. You need time to concentrate that energy. With practice, you can rip a man in two."


    "Then we will be able to help Ignites?"


    "Yes. I''ll even do it with you. But first I need to train you. Once i feel that you''re ready. We will leave this Source Forsaken shithole."


    "Yes! Let''s start now!"


    "Now?"


    "Yes now! No time to waste!"


    "Good. But one thing first. From what your mother spoke about her Fire Controlling abilities, she did mention that rage almost made her heart dark.


    Considering your mother controlled fire, and you having abnormal strength which should lead to rage, you need to keep your rage under control.


    Your new powers seemed to have evolved from fire."


    "Rage. Hard to keep it under control in these times. But i''ll try."


    "I have an idea. Just replace rage with c.o.c.kyness. Such as doing a victory dance like this!"


    He stood up and with one foot on the ground and one hand on the air above his head, he started jumping and spinning.


    Which shook the entire house but it was adorable to watch and made Kaleem laugh.


    "That sounds acceptable. I will try.


    For the Ignites! For the innocent!"


    "For the Ignites! For the innocent!"


    Waking up earlier than usual to avoid the usual 12 hour long daily tasks, Saleem was aiming to build a training room in the bas.e.m.e.nt. Kaleem needs a place to train after all.


    He can rearrange the wooden crates who hold storage, here and there in the house.


    Their house isn''t exactly small so he has space to spare. But anything in the bas.e.m.e.nt had to go.


    Having a forge literally near his house, he could make what he needed. And what he couldn''t make. He had gold to spare.


    First he had to make a training dummy.


    It was a task easy to do.


    He just had to tie a bag filled with chopped wood with chains around a thick piece of wooden plank.


    Which was easy, as the wooden support beams right in the middle of one wall''s side provided such stability.


    Against that support beam, Kaleem will be practicing the ways of the Sword.


    Even though his strength gives him the ability to crush skulls without breaking a sweat, a sword provides attacks from a distance, blessing him with more safety to him.


    "I thought I heard something in the bas.e.m.e.nt. Where are all the crates? Did we get robbed?"


    "No, not at all. You will train here from now on!


    Do you like it?"

 Chapter 76 - 10%

    "My powers. Well. I recently discovered them.  Thankfully only an Ignite was around the scene and she didn''t rat me out."


    Said Michael in a calm tone and added


    "What brings a good lady like you on this hell hole?"


    "King Zar sent me here. He wants to strike a deal with Gaster Kingdom to use the Port!"


    Said Alama in a casual tone.


    "Why use the port of Gaster Kingdom when he can use Many ports near the main river? Including Crutal Kingdom!"


    "I suppose the word of mouth is slow here considering people mostly leave this place instead of coming here."


    "Oh there is something new?"


    Asked Michael in curiosity.


    "Yes. Something big. Zar left the ill.u.s.tratian alliance, banned the religious organization called "illas" and declared that ill.u.s.tratos and ignites will live equally.


    Hence the quote "Status shall be declared by work experience. Not the colour on one''s skin."


    "Hmmm. Interesting indeed. But is it a smart idea to trust an ill.u.s.tratio? This could be just a scheme to gain more power!"


    "No one would risk going against an entire continent for a small fortune.


    He is even building new houses and giving them away for free. But the people owning the house, have to pay 40 gold coins. They don''t have to pay 40 each either."


    "Well i definitely need to check this for myself soon. But please, let me escort you to the Castle. This town is not safe for anyone anymore."


    Seeing that the man is very well mannered and he literally just saved her life even though he could of joined the rapists, Alama decided to follow Michael.


    He was walking in front leading the way while Alama was on the back with her hand on the battle axe handle just in case any other guy has any funny ideas.


    She will not make the mistake of having her Guard down again in this disaster of a Kingdom.


    But when she couldn''t be focused on her surroundings for a second or two was because of Michael''s hair. It was unusual for her to see a man with such beautiful hair.


    His hair looked so thick and filled with life that it seemed like he washes them everyday.


    For people here or even in Crutal Kingdom, one is considered clean if they took a swim down a river or ocean once in 2 to 3 weeks.


    Yet this man''s aroma was a blessing from above. No stench was to be smelled from him.


    (His manners are something even the rich and royal have trouble competing against. What is he doing in this crap hole?)


    She thought but every time she had a small thought about him, she couldn''t help the weird feelings she had on her stomach. This is new to her. She isn''t used to it.


    A lot of men in Pameres Kingdom show no difference from pigs who roll around in mud!


    After what seemed to be an eternity, they reached the Castle in the middle of the Kingdom.


    They didn''t exactly walk far. But the Kingdom''s appearance in general is too unsettling, making it look like a long walk. As if time slowed down.


    "Oh you don''t have to go in there with me Sir Michael. I can handle it from here."


    "Oh trust me i have too."


    "Do you work in the Castle?"


    "Not exactly. I work for Gaster Kingdom."


    As they walked in, the King''s Throne room or King''s hallway(both terms acceptable) was to be seen.


    They walked towards what seemed to be an empty throne at the other side of the throne room.


    "So what do you work exactly? I''m thinking that you are the King''s assistant!"


    "Well you are close but not exactly."


    Said Michael as he sat on the throne and continued


    "Now tell me. What deal does King Zar have for me?"


    "You are the King!?


    But how? Ignites can''t be Kings!"


    "Need i to remind you that we were kicked out from the ill.u.s.tratian alliance long ago.


    It doesn''t just prevent us from getting support from the ill.u.s.tratian alliance anymore, it also makes us independent."


    "Meaning their rules don''t apply here."


    Alama was quick to catch on.


    Afterwards she asked


    "What about the "illas"? Do they have influence here?"


    "No no. They departed long ago. I didn''t even have to force them out. Without their influence, ill.u.s.tratios and ignites are able to coexist better now."


    "Yes, I did notice that half of the rapists were Ignites. This town is a hellhole.


    No offense to you, your highness!"


    She said with a followed bow which was done sarcastically. She felt like she is close enough to Michael to do a few harmless jokes.


    "Oh I know how bad this place is. Without Gold Coins, we met an economical collapse.


    Many people left to Pameres Kingdom for a better life. And I suppose they are very close to reaching it thanks to King Zar.


    All that are left here are low lives and bandits."


    "Look. I''m here for business but apart from that, this is just one job the King sent me too doo.


    After that i''m free to come here and help you form your Kingdom to its former glory.


    If not anything, i can bring professional bargaining skills to the table."


    "That offer is most generous miss Alama. But i can not afford to pay you. The Kingdom has no financial income at all. Even the Guards are only paid with free fish."


    "I do not need a payment Just give me a small empty room and free food, when I manage to help you gain income, we can talk about payment!"


    Alama was willing to help, but her businesswomen instincts kick in as well.


    She can help these people, plus herself. Not to mention, she tried to impress King Michael!


    "I suppose I am desperate for opportunities. Now let''s get to that business offer."


    "Certainly. King Zar wants to sell his weaponry to another Continent. To the Zamerians more precisely.


    Building a port so far from the Kingdom takes a lot of time, effort and gold. Not to mention dangerous, he likes to offer you a deal."


    "And the deal is?"


    Michael was losing his patience just a little bit because no matter what, his first question was still yet not answered.


    "For every Weaponry sale Zar makes to the Zamerians, you get 10% out of it.


    If he earns 300 Gold Coins, you get 30.


    If he earns 3000 Gold Coins, you get 300.


    It is not a huge profit, but Zar is constantly recruiting.


    His profit will increase over time. If you strike a deal now, you will earn big in the future."

 Chapter 77 - War Messenger

    Eric and his group plus the 10 Guards, are very close to Gaster Kingdom.


    Meeting what seemed to be a blind spot from any Kingdom, an area of the clear lands, very close to the forest was an area no Kingdom was near at.


    Given the opportunity, they walked through that clear land which cut off at least 3 days of their travelling time.


    That land wasn''t used because it was obviously to near the big forest.


    Farmers can''t risk planting crops there because wild animals will rush in the scene and eat portions of the farm bit by bit everyday until the farm runs out of business.


    So the Gang traveled through that clear land for 4 days until they met a branch of the large forest again.


    But that Branch didn''t consume much of their time. They went through it in 2 days.


    It would on average take longer but they were hyped that they almost reached the Kingdom.


    So they had the motivation to walk faster.


    By the time they were no less than 100 yards away from the Kingdom, Alama was already halfway there to Pameres Kingdom after striking a deal with King Michael.


    What happened though, is something they did not expect.


    King Michael sent a messenger towards the Gang.


    The Guards after seeing large men from a distance, instantly contacted King Michael for an order of attack or basically any order at all. They were shocked by what they were witnessing.


    It is not an everyday thing to see ten foot tall men. Otherwise they wouldn''t ask for the King''s assistance.


    The messenger arrived towards Eric and the Gang, fearing the 10 foot tall men behind them, he was shaking while he spoke.


    He said


    "My King requires to know what is your business here in Gaster Kingdom?"


    In war, when a messenger is sent, the enemy isn''t allowed to kill the messenger.


    It would be a war crime punishable by death or 10,000 Gold Coins and the party who committed the crime has no choice but to pay or execute that one person who did the crime.


    "I''m the Electus. I came here to free this town from your kind. You aren''t to enslave Ignites any longer!"


    Said Eric in a rough tone while everyone else was giving the messenger a murderous eye.


    "Slavery? There is no slavery in Gaster Kingdom!"


    "Of course there isn''t. Am I supposed to believe that?


    Tell your King to surrender or else i will burn all of you in to dust!"


    "Understood!"


    The messenger ran his way back to Gaster Kingdom. He was so relieved to leave the scene alive that he ran 100 yards in about 15 seconds.


    "What was that messenger yapping about slavery? It is certain that there is slavery there."


    Pointed out Eric.


    "Last time I went there, slavery was indeed common. Maybe there is a new King there now?"


    "We will find out because there comes another Messenger!"


    Running towards the group was an Ignite this time. He seemed to have ran here with so much joy and enthusiasm that he was even faster than the ill.u.s.tratio who ran away.


    As he reached Eric he bent the knee right away and said


    "I''m King Michael. It is an honour to Welcome you here sir Electus."


    "You are the King? But you are an Ignite!"


    Said Commander Alia in confusion.


    "Indeed i am. I remember you. Amesa!


    Well a lot has changed since your last visit. I claimed the throne and slavery is not to be spoken off.


    The ill.u.s.tratian alliance doesn''t support us, they have no word here.


    They didn''t have word here even when you were here last time."


    "You can''t be telling the truth. If Xakro found out that you have been treating Ignites equally, he would burn everything to the ground."


    Said Eric.


    "I assure you he knows and I assure you he didn''t do anything but sending down a few empty warnings. Gaster Kingdom is a place he wouldn''t waste soldiers on!


    Please join me."


    "I do not trust you. You could just be a paid fool."


    Said Mogranius and added


    "Right Amesa?"


    "Don''t tease me about it, I didn''t need to tell my actual name."


    Michael released fire out of his hand, not to shoot at anyone. But just to prove a point.


    He was playing with the fire, such as forming it into a circular form and deforming it in to a more wild form and it kept changing forms as he was speaking.


    "I have control over this Kingdom, i even disposed of a few rapists a few days before your arrival. Their bodies were torched out of existence.


    I do not intend to threaten one of my kind but i am willing to fight for my Kingdom if it is under attack.


    But before you choose to attack or not, why don''t you join me and see everything for yourself.


    I''m sure that an Electus wouldn''t hurt the innocent!


    And I''m sure all of you can handle 100 Guards if you are to be attacked!"


    "Let''s see what this Kingdom has to offer!"


    Said Woldemir in a confident tone.

 Chapter 78 - Are you certain of what you saw?

    "Sire. The Bargainer we sent to Gaster Kingdom has arrived. And it looks like she has good news!"


    Said Seer talking about Alama.


    "She returned rather quick. It hasn''t even been 2 weeks yet!"


    "I suppose she was in a rush to spread the good news once striking the deal."


    "send her in."


    Alama walked in, following the King''s assistant and bent the knee the second she was in an appropriate distance from the King.


    "What news do you bring me, Alama?"


    "I managed to make the deal you offered to them. King Michael was very reasonable. He agreed in a heartbeat.


    But¡­"


    "But?"


    "I might sound crazy by saying this, but i saw a group of Soldiers heading towards Gaster Kingdom while I was on the road back here."


    "How many Soldiers were there? They could be attacking Pameres Kingdom. Why would they go for such a poor place."


    "I am sure they were going towards Gaster Kingdom. They entered that upper branch of the large forrest, the one really near the Kingdom.


    I think they were about 10. Maybe 20!"


    "Then what''s to worry about. Such a small number of soldiers is surely sent to make a deal or at least pass down a command."


    "You don''t understand sire. A group of those soldiers were around 10 feet tall and they were led by Ignites.


    This is why i arrived early."


    "10 foot tall men! Are you sure about that?"


    "How can i be mistaken about such a sight sire? I thought i was seeing demons.


    I feared that if they saw me, they would shred me to pieces."


    "Could this be another race sire?"


    Asked Seer in both concern and curiosity.


    "I am not certain. It could be another one of my father''s experiments!"


    He released a sigh and added


    "If the Kingdom is under attack, those 100 Guards Gaster Kingdom can at least hold them off long enough before help arrives!"


    "With all due respect my King, even Guards who reached Grand Mastery in any close combat skill can''t hold off even one of those 10 foot men. Even the Guards from Crutal Kingdom can''t do it.


    They were in full body armor."


    "Whatever the case might be, King Michael could use assistance!"


    He paused for a bit, thinking of a proper solution to this and finally said


    "Seer. Assign one of the Guard Commanders to lead a group of 100 Guards to assist Gaster Kingdom.


    Tell them to observe the situation first before attacking."


    "But sire what if any other Kingdom attacks ours? Would it be wise to weaken our defences?"


    Asked Seer. He didn''t mean to question the King''s decision, he just wanted the Kingdom to be safe.


    "We still have 200 Soldiers even if we dispatch ? of the army to Gaster Kingdom.


    If that isn''t enough to hold off any attack, I can offer quite a helping hand.


    Carry out my order Seer."


    Said the King in a friendly tone.


    "As you command sire."


    Seer quickly carried out the order and vanished from the King''s sight.


    But Alama remained in the room with him.


    "Seer will be quite busy for a while but i assure you will get your payment once he is free.


    I assume you can clearly read and write?"


    "Of course sire. Speaking of that, here is the paper you required for King Michael to sign."


    "Perfect. Give that to me and grab a quill and some paper. I need you to write me down a recruitment paper.


    I would write it myself but I''m slow at it and i need this to be done fast.


    Once you finish writing it, you are to find Seer and give it to him. He will do the rest."


    "Of course my King but one question. If you are practically aiming to strike deals with minor Kingdoms, how can you afford having 300 Soldiers?


    Even if you pay them 100 Gold Coins each per month, it still costs 30,000 Gold Coins."


    "It''s simple. I don''t pay them. I offer them food and shelter. They all are immigrants.


    This is paradise to them considering their origin, but I do aim to pay them, even though I am giving them 2 meals a day, and trust me they are meals of good quality. But that is why I''m expanding my territory. I aim to pay them soon. They have done so much for this Kingdom."


    "Thank you for not misunderstanding my question sire. In Crutal Kingdom they had different rules, that''s why I asked.


    But please speak your plans so I can write them."


    "Perfect.


    Since you managed to strike a deal with King Michael, even if we don''t make a deal with the Zamerians, we can make a deal with some other place.


    But we do need Blacksmiths and Hunters as soon as possible!"


    Sounds reasonable. Blacksmithery is a craft requiring good physical strength and a long lasting Stamina. You will need to offer better salaries or you won''t get good results."


    "Yes. And not to mention that hunting can be dangerous even if they mostly set traps.


    I''ve been thinking about the payment.


    Write "Any Blacksmith with over 5 years of experience, shall earn 350 Gold coins per month with a 100 gold bonus every six months, but it is not a permanent increase.


    They have to be under 55 Years old as well."


    "That should drag in more workers. The word of mouth for such pay will be ground breaking.


    What about the ones that have under 5 years of experience?"


    Asked Alama. She secretly started admiring Zar''s skills when it comes to economics.


    Even though their age isn''t so different from each other, she already saw him as an inspiration. A mentor.


    "They shall be paid 285 Gold Coins per month with a 35 gold coin bonus every 4 months of work. Its considerably a good pay for Blacksmithery.


    I don''t need limits on how many recruits we need that have over or under 5 years of experience. But for the experienceless we need some boundaries."


    "How many experiencless Blacksmiths do we need my King?"


    "We need 60 at max. They will be paid 100 Gold Coins a month with a 20 Gold Coins bonus in every 3 months of work!


    Also, they should be at least 20 years old or under 40 years old since this is a long term job."


    He took a breath and asked


    "Do you think that''s a reasonable price miss Alama?"


    "I mean. Well of course but um¡­"


    Alama wanted to speak but was found nervous after the King himself asked for her opinion.


    "Take a breath. Don''t be nervous."


    Said the King in a comforting tone.


    "It is a good deal but blacksmithery is still a hard craft. May I suggest offering a 50 Gold Coin pay, on their first day of work. That should attract more people and prevent starvation."


    "You have a bright mind Alama. It shall be how you say!"

 Chapter 79 - An Armless Army

    Following King Michael back to the Kingdom, King Michael showed great trust already.


    He came towards them empty handed. He wasn''t armed.


    Plus he turned his back on them as they followed him, completely letting his Guard down to practical strangers.


    But King Michael wasn''t lying what he spoke about. Entering Gaster Kingdom they first found Guards standing on the walls, walls who weren''t too stable. With arrows pulled back and aiming at them, plus many Guards standing in front of the door with weapons pulled out, and a lot were waiting for an order behind the walls as well.


    A lot of them were Ignites and a lot were ill.u.s.tratios all working together.


    Just that alone proved a point but they of course could be slaves.


    "Weapons down. Literally.


    Everyone bring down your weapons to show that we mean peace. These are not our enemies. The Electus and his allies have blessed us with a visit."


    "The Electus?"


    "Could it be?"


    "How did he survive the massacres?"


    "Electus?"


    "He will save us from starvation!"


    Cheers were to be heard right after by the 100 Guards that the walls themselves shook. Which was probably not the best idea. The walls aren''t so stable after all. But luckily no disaster followed.


    Everyone proceeded to drop their weapons and considering expenses, a line was formed for the bows to be passed down outside of the comforts of the walls.


    They couldn''t throw the bows from the wall because they could quite possibly break them.


    "Assign 3 of the Calidum Lutum to Guard the weaponry. Tell them to terminate anyone who tries to grab a weapon. The rest of us will enter the Kingdom."


    "Yes. My King!"


    "You managed to recruit Calidum Lutum Soldiers? But they are supposed to be extinct!"


    "Yes they were supposed too. Just like Gaster Kingdom used to be wealthy!


    If this goes well, your Guards will be as good as them when it comes to Combat.


    My father is a Grand Master in the ways of the Sword."


    "Astonishing. Even with weapons we couldn''t oppose all of you.


    May we enter the Kingdom now?"


    Said King Michael in a friendly tone.


    "We may. We may!"


    As they made their way in, Mogranius turned to the Guards and said


    "Don''t bother the Giants over there. They haven''t had a good meal for days and eating any of you wouldn''t be considered Cannibalism for them."


    With that sentence said, at least a dozen Guards swallowed their spit out of fear and nervousness.


    Following King Michael, they witnessed what the Kingdom has to offer after a long walk.


    The entire Kingdom had around 300 houses and 200 of them were abandoned.


    If this town was well developed, those 300 houses can offer a profit of 9000 Gold Coins per month even if the tax was as low as 30 Gold coins per house. Not to mention any higher tax.


    "This place looks so abandoned. Do you have any income at all?"


    Asked Woldemir. This scene is very depressing. It''s a miracle how these people survived this long.


    "No. No profit at all for now. We practically pay Guards with fish."


    Claimed King Michael.


    "You said "for now". Do you have any plans?"


    Asked Eric who is carefully analyzing his words.


    "A bargainer from Pameres Kingdom just left a few days ago. The King himself wants to use our port. He offered 10% of the profits when it comes to selling weapons.


    The profit for now is not certain but i was told that the King has plans for expansion and he is constantly recruiting.


    This could be a life changing investment for all my 400 Subjects."


    Said King Michael in enthusiasm. He looks less stressed now as well compared to a few days ago.


    The deal Alama brought was groundbreaking.


    His people don''t even need to lend a hand in work, it was all covered by Zar''s people.


    "Why would an ill.u.s.tratio make deals with such a poor place to begin with when they can use many other ports throughout the main river or it''s branches?"


    Continued Eric with a question. He is doing everything he can to squeeze out any lie from Michael.


    "I suppose you didn''t hear the news yet.


    Zar, the King of Pameres Kingdom, has broken alliance with the ill.u.s.tratian alliance and he has banned any Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l Worshipper. Basically the illas."


    "Why would the King break such alliances when the financial benefits would be great if he kept the alliance."


    Continued Eric with yet another question. This all seems to insane for him.


    "He claims that he has had enough with Xakro''s ways of life and he wants equality for all races. Be it Ignite, ill.u.s.tratio or any other."


    "Michael. I trust in your words more now. But i can not determine if you are lying or not.


    You have shown great trust and kindness towards us and i feel you have a good heart with kind intention.


    I need to stay here with my troops to see more of the truth. I have considered the risks as well and I feel my troops can handle them if danger is to approach towards them.


    War is out of question but i still do not trust all of this."


    Claimed Eric in a calmer tone.


    "Please join me to my Castle!"

 Chapter 80 - Wolf Meat

    "What about the Hunters sire? How many Hunters do you need?"


    Asked Alama eagerly waiting to write down what King Zar has to say.


    "Hunters. Hmmmm.


    We just need enough leather to produce enough leather straps.


    A good amount should come from one piece of leather, meaning we can sell any extra leather for reasonable prices."


    Said Zar thinking of ways to squeeze any bit of gold from this financial movement.


    "Meaning you don''t need apprentices running around i assume?"


    "Perhaps when i manage to strike a deal for leather with the Zamerians or any other. But for now i need well experienced hunters only.


    Hunting is a dangerous task, but I don''t plan to send my hunters face to face with Wolves.


    They shall learn how to set traps and hunt mostly with traps."


    Zar does want financial profits, but he doesn''t want his people dying in the paws of a Wolf or Mountain Lion or in very rare cases, a Source Bear.


    He wants Hunters to take a careful approach.


    "Sounds much reasonable to me Sire.


    But I do have a question if you don''t mind answering.


    Do you have any hunters under your employment My King?"


    "I didn''t find the need to have Hunters under my employment. Leather straps are items easily affordable, i just paid for them to be imported along with other items.


    But now we aim towards independence. Slowly, we will produce each item my Kingdom requires and be paid for it as well."


    "Your recent decisions in general are rather a big risk. I mean...breaking deals with such a big alliance.


    But i feel that Pameres Kingdom will be the Strongest Kingdom in Ignis very soon."


    Alama had a lot of faith in King Zar already. He risked so much for Ignites to have a better life. He gave them homes practically for free and plans to give them more in the near future. To her, Zar is an icon. A hero.


    "We all hope and work for that miss Alama. But shall we continue with the recruitment letter now? Or do you possibly have more questions?"


    "My apologies sire. My curiosity gets the best of me often. Please continue."


    Said Alama a bit embarrassed. She is lucky that the King is very well mannered. Or at least he tries to be.


    He met an emotional collapse before Guard Commander Chan arrived, although he hid it a lot, he vowed to change his ways of life. Including his manners.


    In the past, his ego was so big that he spat on people below him. Literally.


    "Thank you.


    I need only 10 Hunters.


    They shall have at least 3 years of experience.


    Anyone with less than 3 years of experience shall not get employed!


    The pay is 200 Gold Coins a month with a 60 Gold Coins bonus each year.


    The hunter shall be at least 25 years old as well, as it is his or her responsibility to bring their hunt here to the Kingdom.


    "But what if it is a Wolf? What else could you need from a wolf carcass except leather?"


    "If it is a wolf, it''s meat shall be stored just in case we meet with a crisis.


    Half of that obtained meat, shall be donated to the homeless here in Pameres Kingdom.


    If it is any other meat, it shall be for sale here for half the market price."


    "With that sort of business plan you will earn a profit from 3 possible ways and make sure your Citizens don''t starve. That idea is ground breaking sire!


    But aren''t your requirements a bit strict? Not to mention you aren''t recruiting the experienceless which are the most common, especially here."


    "Even if we manage to hire one Hunter, one wolf leather is enough to make around 15 Iron Swords.


    If we get more Hunters we will of course have more financial benefits, but we wouldn''t lose any profit if we get only one.


    If we manage to hire enough Blacksmiths, we can cover the one hunter''s salary easily."


    "I see your point of view when it comes to financial profits.


    But I do have one more question if you don''t mind answering. It piqued my curiosity ever since i left to reach Gaster Kingdom!"


    "Ask anything you please miss Alama. Striking a deal of such importance for the Kingdom has already made you an honorary citizen."


    "Thank you sire.


    I have questions about your choice of building 100 houses! I feel that it isn''t the best idea."


    "How come? Tell me more!"


    "Well there were only about 500 homeless people, giving homes to 100 workers took over ? of the homeless off of the streets. And you didn''t even build any of the houses yet. You did it with only 10 houses!"


    "do you think that i''m building more houses than we need?"


    "Well. Yes! Even if you put only two families in one house, you would still need only 50 houses to get rid of the homeless."


    "I don''t just plan to get rid of the homeless, I plan to make this place a town where even the poorest of the poor can become wealthy with enough hard work. To achieve that goal, I need houses where people can live on, furthermore to pay tax."


    "So it is all about the taxes? The more there are that pay taxes, the more you can offer them?"


    "Indeed. And the more I turn the experiencless to  experienced, the more the Kingdom''s overall quality will grow. I don''t even plan to take for myself more than a blacksmith would earn on the way to that goal."


    The goal of being more kind and humble that Zar made for himself, is working.


    A King was never heard saying such words. Even Ignite Kings. Zar is facing a huge mental transformation. He went big towards this goal.


    "Sire. You are inspirational!"

 Chapter 81 - A Fisherman NEVER lets go of the Rope!

    3 Days after staying in Gaster Kingdom, Eric and the gang had a lot to explore. Well the exploration ended in 3 hours but it was a good exploration for most at least.


    The gang was spread in five, and each of the smaller, had 2 Calidum Lutum Guards, well...guarding them.


    It is not certain to them if King Michael is telling the truth or not, that is why they don''t dare to walk alone.


    Each member of the group is strong individually(except Stefan), but if they were to be attacked individually, they would meet a terrible fate.


    While Eric was walking around the town to explore, he wasn''t paying much attention to his surroundings. His soul was burdened with what the Demon said about the sources.


    If the Demon who took part on giving people Magical Powers doesn''t know how to find the sources, how to protect them or how to stop her Demon kind. How will Eric do any of the above, if even a Demon can''t do it?


    He can barely protect a town. Not to mention the entire world.


    But what did Eric see on his walk, was ill.u.s.tratios and Ignites talking to each other without aims to offend one another or without weapons drawn to stab each other.


    They were just having normal conversations. Such as conversations about fish.


    Like every town, Gaster Kingdom had bad people. Very bad. Like those rapists.


    But there are good, hard working men and women as well like what Eric saw.


    Their system of work seems to be all well distributed in Eric''s eye. He has been observing for hours.


    He sees that many ill.u.s.tratios and Ignites are married to each other as well.


    And they didn''t give birth to abominations either, don''t worry. The child would be either an ill.u.s.tratio or an Ignite.


    While working however, men did the fishing and after a long day, they were given company by their wives or Children to bring the fish home if the load was too big.


    Where at home the Wives would cut and cook the fish, while the husband delivered half of the load to the Castle according to Gaster Kingdom law. Such system keeps everyone fed. And the husband would return home to further help his wife prepare the fish!


    King Michael distributes the fish to the Guards and to those who aren''t able to fish.


    It is an unbreakable system and the ocean has plenty of fish to offer.


    The people manage to catch enough fish that each house of people has 2 meals a day, even considering the fact that half of what they catch goes to the Castle, they even manage to store fish. Food isn''t a problem.


    Such scenes gave hope to Eric. Some of the Burden went away from his heart as he felt that he isn''t the only one battling Xakro''s ways.


    The fact that Zar questioned the Grand King''s authority and kicked the illas out head before toes, gives Eric hope. The ill.u.s.tratian alliance is getting a kick from each side instead of Eric doing all the damage.


    If Eric knew that the Snow Ignites are revolting against the ill.u.s.tratios hard enough to wipe out every soldier Septemtrionis Ignis had to offer, leading Meridionali Ignis close to collapse due to the shortage, his hope and faith would triple.


    These days he has been feeling low. There is so much he has to do and he doesn''t feel like he is able to do it. He feels weak. He feels overpowered.


    He is fighting an entire Continent after all.


    And apart from that, there is a psychopathic man who wants his heart.


    Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll is already stronger than a full powered Electus without it.


    The theory that Xakro had about Eric''s heart was dead wrong. The heart would destroy him.


    Mogranius on the other hand, wasn''t walking around in the town. He was on the beach, seeing fishermen do what they doo.


    Some were using spears to fish.


    Some spears were just plain normal spears and some were spears with a rope as thin as a finger tied to it.


    The rope was about 10 meters long and such fishing technique was used against fish who would drag a spear with them.


    Specifically fish above 10kg.


    Fishing in such method could be a big risk. If a fisherman was to spear a  "Stripped Marlin" who in these medieval times grows up to 300kg and nearly 5 meters long, it would take 3-5 men to beach the fish.


    If a fisherman was to take on a big catch like that alone, he would go for a swim in the ocean. Permanently.


    Simply because of the instinct "A fisherman never lets go of his rope."


    A true fisherman could drown before letting go of the rope so spearing a Striped Marlin would be bad unless there are other fishermen in the scene.


    A 300 kg fish could feed the entire Kingdom for a day.


    A Fisherman''s fate though would be even worse if he was to spear a Black Marlin which is twice the weight and 2 meters longer in length.


    But luckily most considerably big fish going near the shore were fish called "Barramundi".


    In these medieval times, a full grown Barramundi is about 80kg in weight and 3 meters in length.


    But considering their size, most don''t live to grow that big as they are hunted down by sea predators, who like people, consider them an easy catch.


    Another form of fishing on these shores was a method called "fishing with an iron hook."


    The fisherman would chose the size of the hook, ultimately choosing the sizes of fish he wants to beach which made everything easier and under more control.


    The hook was tied with a very thin rope. Yes, even thinner than a finger.


    The rope was tied around a short stick as thick as 2 maybe 3 fingers.


    The hook would shine in the sea, making fish think it''s something to eat, ultimately making them bite the hook.


    Then the fishermen would pull the fish out by tying the 3-5 meter long rope around the stick.


    Mogranius when he was a child, used to go fishing with his father.


    His father actually met a terrible end after spearing a Swordfish.


    Interesting name i know, it''s sword like nose takes ? of their average body length(5 meters).


    They grow a groundbreaking weight of 700kg.


    Mogranius'' father took on that fish alone.


    There was no fisherman in sight but Mogranius.


    He tried to help but he was just 12 years old. There wasn''t much he could doo.


    He saw his father disappearing in the ocean depths and never returning.


    After that scene he never fished again and went on to study his powers.


    But today he feels like he is able to face his life long fear.


    "Can I get a turn of that spear?"


    He Asked an ill.u.s.tratio.


    "Of course. My feet are killing me."

 Chapter 82 - Kingdom of Maleemia

    "King Tamzar sir. We chased away what was left of the ill.u.s.tratian army and captured 48 of them. What are your orders?"


    Asked Lareem, a Guard Commander in the Kingdom of Maleemia, the Capital Kingdom of


    Septemtrions Ignis.


    "Offer them these two options. They can either work for me or be executed."


    Said Tamzar. Leader of the Snow Ignite revolution. Mastermind of the main attack who led the Snow Ignites to a groundbreaking victory and who caused the worst army shortage Ignis ever faced.


    He attacked with 300 Snow Ignites gathered after years and years of work, ? of those Snow Ignites didn''t have Freezing Powers either. He won a battle against 1000 Soldiers.


    How? You''ll see.


    "What use can we make of those Soldiers My King? We have enough Soldiers of our own. We didn''t even lose one after the revolutionary attack which costed us the deaths of nearly 140 Soldiers. Would it be wise to arm them from inside the Kingdom?"


    "No no my friend. They won''t be working as Guards or Soldiers. If they have any skills of value, they will be hired and paid.


    After 3 years of work they can decide if they want to leave the Kingdom or continue to work here. If they decide to continue to work here, they will be offered a house to live in except just living in one house with other sweaty meat bags and they will pay taxes like any other house of people.


    They will have a normal life instead of just risking their neck for their power hungry overlords."


    The newly appointed King, Tamzar is a very honourable man. His intelligence didn''t necessarily lead to "I should own everyone and everything" type of ego.


    He is rather a very fair person unlike his ancestors who almost swallowed Meridionali Ignis in the second era if Akareas didn''t prevent it.


    But if Meridionali Ignis was invaded in that time, perhaps this long war would of never happened. But yet again, if the Snow Ignites owned 3 countries, what would stop them from getting the fourth?


    "Sounds like an offer to good for Soldiers who just tried to kill our people sire. Is it wise to give them this much?! You would be considered the most generous if you spared their lives and made them slaves!"


    "The ill.u.s.tratian alliance overworked them due to the shortage they are having for almost 200 years now.


    To live here with reasonable working hours and a warm free house to stay in, they will see our way of life. Our points of view.


    If anything, we will bring peace to this race. They were above us but peace was never on their side even though they "won" before."


    "I''m not sure how this will play out but I don''t expect a miracle my King. I''m not going to lie to you! I think they will try to reclaim Maleemia.


    Should I give them a short interview sire. I''m more than willing to do it!"


    "Have our Guards bring them up here and you pass down the word to my assistant.


    She has been rather busy these days but have her make this task her main priority for now.


    We are looking at workers we didn''t have to put work in to get here."


    Snow Ignites have a long history of being ahead of time with Magical Powers. Even with Fire Controlling. Which is fascinating as it isn''t their main power.


    They spent their entire life studying and training.


    "Of course Sire. But what if one doesn''t want to die but has no valuable skill?"


    "Send them to the mines."


    Even in such cold conditions, Snow Ignites don''t have trouble working in a mine or carrying a cart through the snow.


    Their skin is as white as snow itself(literally).


    That''s why they are called snow Ignites.


    They used to be the same as typical Ignites but they evolved to be Snow Ignites due to their bizarre living conditions which was usually on top of the cold mountains.


    Their bodies evolved so well that freezing cold temperatures would feel like 20¡ãC to them as their average body temperature is hotter, to put up with the cold.


    They have the ability to swim through freezing cold waters for a kilometer and survive. If they don''t get dragged down by a fish that is.


    Their feet evolved in such a way that they can walk through snow barefoot without slipping or getting frostbite. They are basically mini yetis. Just less hairy.


    Their Hands are more like claws, proper for mountain climbing. Living scattered in caves and ruins after the ill.u.s.tratios invaded about 200 years ago, such attribute was enhanced more.


    If an ill.u.s.tratio or typical Ignite was to work in the mines however, he has to be properly equipped.


    "And if they don''t wish to work in the mines?"


    "Feed them to the Bears."

 Chapter 83 - N.a.k.e.d Wizard

    Mogranius took the spear, tightened the rope around his waist and was holding the spear on his right hand.


    The spear wasn''t of high quality, but it was certain that once that iron penetrates the skin, it would take a miracle for the fish to escape from it.


    Not touching a spear in aims to fish for 46 years, he threw the spear against the water for a few tries. To get the hang of it.


    After a few shots, he felt prepared.


    And he also didn''t want to dive to pull the spear out of the sand and rocks anymore. Messed with the Wizard hat.


    Imagine a 58 year old Fire Wizard who is only wearing underpants and a Wizard hat(to hide the bald spot), walking through the sea water with a spear. Apart from that he is in almost decent shape. Almost¡­


    He did manage to be close enough to a fish to have a reason to throw the spear. However, he didn''t spear any of them.


    The water made it seem like the fish was close, as if it was 2 meters away.


    But in reality it was 3-5 meters away.


    That brought in a few memories he had when he used to spearfish and uscusseful shots.


    He did spearfishing without a rope because he wouldn''t nearly qualify to pull out bigger fish while he was under 12 years old.


    Even grown men sometimes struggle to pull a fish out.


    He secretly grieved for his father throughout this. He was lost in thoughts even though he was walking.


    He remembered his father being sweet and calm instead of abusive and angry which is common "fatherhood" in medieval times.


    There is much a drunk father could doo.


    "Swordfish!"


    Yelled a man from the beach who noticed a massive Swordfish on the water.


    When that name is yelled, every fisherman would leave the waters as fast as possible.


    No one or ten have the guts to face against a full grown Swordfish.


    This one though, seemed like it is a freak of nature. He isn''t as big as ordinary full grown Swordfish.


    This one looks double the size. It looks like it breaks over 1500kg and it seems 8 meters long. And it''s Sword like nose is taking ? of it''s length.


    If it charged towards any man, it would push its nose through a man, leaving him with no chance of survival.


    Another key Characteristic on this Swordfish apart from being a large freak of nature, was that it had a full iron spear on its forehead.


    The spear was made entirely out of iron, even the handle.


    This Fish doesn''t look like a fish that any one or ten people can spear, pull out and eat. It looks like a fish who eats spear fishermen.


    It is not easy to withstand a spear on the head, let alone survive for a long time with it hanging on.


    The spear seemed so rusty. It was certain that it has been there for a while. Perhaps a simple spear couldn''t bring down a large beast like that and it remained stuck there.


    Who knows what happened to the Spearman because the rope is nowhere to be seen.


    Everyone rushed out of the water as if a Demon was chasing them. Some even left their spears behind.


    Iron Spears cost about 60 Gold Coins.


    It isn''t wise just to throw one away.


    But living mattered more than a spear to all of those Fishermen.


    Of course. I am only talking about the Fishermen.


    "Get out of the water old man. An abomination is in the water."


    As if the Swordfish was nothing but a 2 inch fish, Mogranius stood his ground.


    Rage was behind his eyes but he remained a calm position. Even his spear wasn''t raised up.


    "Eat Fire overgrown Barramundi."


    He thought.


    He proceeded to blast fire from his nose, which both elevated him off of the water and made the water underneath him boiling, a blink of an eye after he flew from the water.


    The boiling water made the Large Swordfish flee the scene for a little bit.


    But being surrounded by cold sea water, going through a small patch of boiling water for a blink of an eye, didn''t damage the Swordfish to much.


    But a light shined on the sea bed of which caught Mogranius'' attention as he was floating on air with fire beneath his feet.


    Here is the "Catch" though, the nose fire blew his underpants off.


    Imagine a 58 year old man floating in mid air with no clothes on his body except a Wizard hat.


    Luckily at that specific moment there weren''t ladies in the scene.


    However, losing his underpants was Mogranius'' second concern. His first was what caught his eye on the water.


    It was the spear previously stuck on the Swordfish''s head. It fell off due to the heat somehow.


    But that bent Spear looked quite familiar.


    This isn''t the first time he sees this spear.


    This spear. Had a special mark on it.


    Mogranius remembered that after his dad lost his own spear because of a fish to big to be speared without a rope, he used Mogranius'' spear afterwards as they could not afford a new one.


    That is Mogranius'' spear. How did he notice?


    Well it had a "M" smelted on it.


    Mogranius did it himself with little fire he could burst out from his finger before he studied his powers.


    He stopped blowing fire from his feet, fell down in the water and grabbed the old rusty spear.


    "Well i be damned. This bastard of a fish survived for 246 years. How the hell is that possible."


    He thought!


    Soon after, the Large Swordfish came for round two and was charging at Mogranius at full speed. It was going so fast that it seemed like it broke the laws of gravity. It went through the water as if it wasn''t there.


    Water was being splashed upwards because of it.


    "Now let''s dance. My way."

 Chapter 84 - Becky

    Mogranius lifted the spear above his head and was waiting for the Swordfish to approach close enough to a shooting range.


    If the fish reaches shooting range, Mogranius has to throw the spear before it even reaches that specific range, that''s how fast the fish was going.


    Lightning speed. It was angry. Very angry.


    It is a predatory animal, Mogranius can quite possible become a meal.


    The Swordfish was 100 feet away, as Mogranius focused on the target furthermore, the Swordfish swam another 40 feet. That fast. That furious.


    And as it was 20 feet away, Mogranius threw the spear and this time he didn''t blow fire out of his nose.


    If he did, he could risk losing the fish even if he managed to spear it.


    He instead moved to the side about 5 feet away and then flew off.


    Even if the Swordfish was to arrive before Mogranius blasted off, it wouldn''t cause any fatal injuries. As it was going to fast to change sudden direction.


    If the fin however, hits anything that isn''t a Sword at such speed, it is bone breaking.


    Mogranius was lucky enough to blast off with the Swordfish''s side fin going a couple of inches beneath his feet.


    The Swordfish swam near Mogranius so fast that it made him lose control of his flying for a few seconds.


    The second he managed to gain control of his flying again, the 15 meter rope with the end tied around his waist, proceeded to be dragged by the fish, with Mogranius at the end of it along.


    If Mogranius wasn''t already flying towards the direction the fish was swimming, it would break his spine rather easily.


    Having the rope tied around his waist, he had no choice but to be dragged by the massive Swordfish. At this point, even blasting fire out of his feet can''t keep him above the water.


    The fish is just to fast, to powerful. Even considering his size and length, it is way to powerful.


    This fish apart from living over 250 years, is massively big and abnormally fast and powerful. At this rate, even 50 men can''t pull it out of the water. What abomination is this.


    Mogranius found himself on the bottom of the ocean after having nothing but a blurry vision while being dragged through the water in such speed which no man can face without fainting.


    It only took one minute for the Swordfish to drag Mogranius from a shore a bit above a meter deep to a part of the ocean so far away that it seemed at least 1000 feet deep.


    It took off in such speed that it was impossible for Mogranius to hold on the old spear.


    After much resistance. Such speed finally knocked Mogranius out. He also was forced to drink a few buckets of water even though he tried his best to keep his mouth closed.


    "Wake up! Wake up!"


    Said a strange tone with its Origin currently unknown.


    "Where a¡­."


    Continues to throw up a hell load of water.


    "Careful Careful. It''s just sea water. It isn''t that bad!"


    "Who are you?"


    "Don''t you recognize me son? It has been 246 years. Where have you been? You never visit!"


    Said a man with a grey beard so long that it reached his knees.


    Which was good. Because he was n.a.k.e.d.


    "Impossible."


    "Son. Everything is possible. But that''s not why I called you here."


    "illusion. This must be because I swallowed a shit load of water."


    He said with himself and added


    "Did I die?"


    While checking his body parts if they were on place! But when he saw his n.a.k.e.d body he figured that what he was seeing is quite real.


    "Son you are well and alive. And n.a.k.e.d. Like me.


    The apple doesn''t fall to far from the tree I see."


    "You can''t be alive. It has been 246 years. This is impossible."


    "You can''t be alive either. It was 246 years since your last visit. But I suppose everything is possible aye?"


    "Where are we? What did you do here all this time? Why didn''t you come home?"


    "A greater responsibility called for me my son. I had to pick. My family or Ignis."


    "What do you mean father?"


    Mogranius said in confusion. This is pushing him to break tears from his eyes. He saw his father again after such a long time.


    "I suppose you are well aware that Kastaria vanished from existence."


    "Yes I''m aware. We meet a Demon who told us all about it. "Peaceful Demons" from another Dimension removed the Demonite from the source."


    "Oh, did you say "Hi" to Betzy for me?"


    "How do you know who Betzy is if you were here all this time?"


    "Hehe. I know all animals. Big or small, I see and hear every single one in existence."


    "Alright now i''m certain this is all an illusion!"


    It isn''t son. Why would it be an illusion to see your father which you lost 246 years ago? Oh...wait i see it.


    Anyway, those same demons who took down Kastaria have been trying to remove the demonite here for 246 years. Even before they tried it on Kastaria.


    Becky took care of them for all that time but she needed a land walker for assistance from time to time. This is where I came in."


    "Really? As simple as that? A Demon fish brought you here?"


    "Becky isn''t a Demon. She eats Demons. How do you think she grew so large, fast, old and powerful?


    By the way, thank you for removing our spear from her forehead. I''ve been trying too for 246 years.


    Becky is a sweetheart. When she isn''t hungry."


    "I need to sit down. This all sounds insane!"


    As he sat down, he saw a head of a demon detached from its body.


    There was little white hair left on it and there were horns on it as well.


    "You weren''t kidding about the Demons!"

 Chapter 85 - 48 years old and Single

    "Seer. Finally. I haven''t seen you in 2 days!"


    King Zar has been awaiting for 2 days with the greatest anticipation for the new Blacksmiths and Hunters.


    His plans were slowly getting together. If he Manages to strike a deal with the Zamerians, he won''t just sell Iron Swords, he can use the opportunity to offer them different items that aren''t iron related. Such as fur and leather they have to spear or even crops.


    Zar has more plans of expanding anyway.


    "I have what you are looking for sire. But I don''t have decent results.


    Also. Don''t you think we rushed this a little bit? You still didn''t strike a deal with the Zamerians."


    Said Seer. Seer is definitely over qualified for this sort of job. He has watched King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll expand his Kingdom from up close.


    Although Xakro is no doubt a madman, he sure knows how to handle a budget.


    "I suspect that there weren''t many applyers, that would be the worse case scenario, right?


    Regarding the rushing, you do have a point but our main goal was the port.


    Who we sell our Swords too is an easier process. But without the port, we would he sitting ducks."


    "That does make sense. But we still will need to cover the expenses before we start earning from this project. You offered every experienceless applyer, 50 Gold Coins.


    We have saved up 200,000 Gold Coins so those will prove useful especially now that we need to pay the Blacksmiths 9504 Gold Coins each month. It''s not a small amount."


    He paused for a quick breath and added


    "Speaking of expenses, using the stones the miners dug out and forming them into a foundation was a brilliant idea. You didn''t have to pay for anything."


    "It is brilliant. But setting the foundations is taking to much time i assume.


    Do they seem like they know what they are doing? A foundation has to be all flat. If it isn''t, it can lead to building difficulties or even a collapse!"


    Zar wanted this project finished as fast as possible but he doesn''t want to put his Citizens in danger. Nobody wants to die with planks and nails on their head.


    "They Certainly seem to know what they are doing sire. Even the experienceless seem very inspired. They are working overtime as well.


    But it is sure taking a lot of time. Without the foundations being built, the Construction Workers, can''t work."


    "Well i was worried about that. They have 100 foundations to make but they are only 20 people. Are the Construction Workers at least helping them? I''m not paying them to sit around all day."


    "Some of them are offering help yes. A part of them bring more rocks from the mines while a portion have taken over the responsibility to shape the rocks in an approvable manner under the experienced Stonemasons guidance."


    Seer was inspired of this scene really. If he wasn''t busy dawn to dusk, he would get dirty with them.


    "Very pleasing. Perhaps i should join and help soon as well. How many foundations have they managed to make so far?"


    King Zar was pleased of this sight as well. Even considering his status, he wouldn''t mind putting in free work to help speed up the process. Not to mention this would portray a good example for jobless people.


    "With the constant help of the Construction Workers, they managed to build 3 foundations in a week.


    When the foundation was built, a portion of the Construction workers started building the house while the bigger portion helped the Stonemasons.


    Since building the foundations in general was slow, the Construction workers didn''t speed up their work which is generally leading to better results.


    I have to say that the houses look nice as well. Rain is for sure not to enter and it blocks most of the cold. That''s how well sealed the houses are."


    Since there are 35 experienced workers in Construction, building houses of decent quality is no sweat.


    The Construction workers have a decent building plan.


    They put thick lumber in four sides of the houses as support beams and using that as direction, they start putting planks horizontally. The lumber/support beam is thick enough to support 3 layers of planks. It consumes a lot of time but there is no rush and it is worth it.


    "With such progress, poor immigrants with have houses only the rich can afford. This pleases me a lot. Let it be slow, I doubt that anyone will attack us before the wall is built.


    Make sure for everyone who works over time, to be paid.


    Your hands are already full, so don''t take it over you as a responsibility to handle all the payments. Hire who you think meets the requirements and pay him or "her" 250 Gold Coins."


    Why did he quote "Her" you''ll see.


    Certainly certainly. Thank you for your consideration and patience towards the workers Sire."


    Said Seer while swallowing his spit. He knew what Zar meant. Seer is a 48 year old man who didn''t get married yet.


    He had plans of marriage but the woman he loved, met an unfortunate end.


    He didn''t love anyone for years, but recently a woman close to his age has caught his eye.


    "Now considering all of that is cleared out. Will you be kind enough to show me the results lover boy?"


    Said the King with the clear intention of teasing Seer.


    "Certainly. We managed to get 3 Blacksmiths with over 5 years of experience. It isn''t a big number but with their level of expertise, we can teach the experienceless quite decently bit by bit."


    "Not the result I was looking for but it is better than nothing!


    What about the ones with under 5 years of experience?"


    "A rather different number. We got 16 of them.


    I didn''t expect this much honestly! I expected 5 at max. The people here are quite experienceless. No offense of course."


    "None taken but that''s very decent. What about the experienceless? Did the bonus attract them?"


    "When they heard about the 50 Gold Coin bonus, they rushed in the scene. That''s why I have been so busy these days. I interviewed 35 Experienceless men.


    That will take a little bit from the budget but nothing we can''t afford!"


    "Perfect. Put them in to work right away. We need a shipment ready to show the Zamerians we mean business!


    Now tell me about the Hunters!"

 Chapter 86 - 9th Source

    "I never kid around. Well maybe i doo. But this time i don''t.


    Demons are trying to wipe out Ignis. They want that Demonite. They almost got the Demonite while Becky was getting you here. But i bit off their necks. Tihihihihi."


    "Father. Staying here all this time has messed with your mind. You sound insane!"


    Said Mogranius while watching his father speak. He didn''t know what to do. Laugh or cry.


    "Oh i know that. It''s the Demonite. I''ve been near it so long. It gave me a longer life but i''m losing it son."


    "The Demonite prolongs life?"


    "Yes. But it drains the brain juice. Plus i did spend 246 years in this underwater cave."


    "True true. Apart from all of this madness, you sacrificed yourself for our entire continent."


    Grabbing his father''s shoulder he added


    "I couldn''t..be more proud of you. But I did miss you a lot."


    "I missed you too son. What have you been up too. Betzy saw that you are mentoring another Electus now. I lost track of you for 200 years. Where have you been?"


    "You know how Kastaria vanished from existence?"


    "Yes i saw it all happen. Well more like the fish and birds did. I saw it from their eyes. But considering the mass destruction, i needed to browse through many animals."


    "Well. At that moment, Akareas was trying a teleportation spell on me.


    Generally, teleportation is a power we barely know anything about because Kastaria was hidden from the world!


    So right after we found the spell, I was about to be crushed by a collapse in a cave. Akareas casted the newly discovered spell on me."


    "Don''t tell me she tried it while Kastaria was being destroyed!"


    "She did it while Kastaria was being destroyed."


    "No no no. So you traveled 200 years to the future! Are your organs in tact? I saw people with feet on their head due to the same problem you had. It wasn''t pretty."


    "I think so. I was lucky enough to teleport in tact but i wasn''t lucky considering I entered this hellhole of a timezone."


    "Whatever the case, this civil war is small like a bug considering the trouble ahead which is bigger than Becky."


    "Oh, I don''t think anything is bigger than becky."


    "Look son. The "Peaceful Demons" from another dimension had barely any information of what the 9 Demons were doing here.


    They were supposed to know everything once the 9 Demons returned to their Demonic Dimension.


    But due to a failed experiment, they became part of the earth. Literally. They transformed into stone."


    "Oh so that 400,000 year old Demon lady was being literal about the turning to stone part?"


    "Indeed she was. But don''t mind her craziness. She beat all 8 of the Inner Demons with little side effects."


    "So she is more powerful than all 8 of the sources?"


    "Yes. If she wasn''t there to handle half of the impact the failed experiment resulted, this world would crumble into dust.


    She was but a simple demon, but has so much power in her that are comparable to a hundred Electuses."


    "So if she dies?"


    "The world shatters into nothingness."


    "But she won''t die? Right?!"


    "She is immortal but the 8 sources give her life. If they wipe out all 8 of the Continents, she dies."


    "And the world dies along with her, she is the main source. The 9th!


    This whole situation is very messed up. How the hell do they want to start fresh if there won''t be anything to start fresh on if they succeed with their plans?!"


    "They don''t have any information about this. All they are doing is sending their minions down here on earth to search for the sources. But considering that Becky is blessed with Demonic powers, their immortality doesn''t play a part here. Which is why they didn''t remove the Demonite yet."


    "So that means they didn''t find the other sources yet?"


    "They didn''t. Even i can''t find them. No none Demon can resist being close enough to the sources without perishing from existence. Except me and becky. And apparently you as well. Look, you didn''t explode yet. Tihihihi."


    "You dragged me down here even though you weren''t certain if i can be near the source or not?"


    "Well you are my son. So you had half a chance to have these specific genes. A risk I was willing to take for a greater cause."


    "So I''m blessed with Demonic powers?"


    "Well you were since birth. You are a Fire Controller, but you have more power than you think."


    "What sorts of powers do I have?"


    "Powers are meeting an evolution after so many centuries. You are one of them.


    Any of the evolved are blessed to be near Demonite and not perish. Even an Electus can''t do that!"


    "Fascinating. Truly fascinating. This is an honour and a privilege. What sort of Power will I have?"


    "You already defeated the Inner Demon of rage so expect them soon as the chances for you getting them soon are greater.


    But for those who didn''t have any sort of power before, it is all based on luck about when they get their powers."


    "What other powers could there possibly be based on rage?"

 Chapter 87 - SpearfisherWoman

    Walking her way to the fishing area in the port of "Wide River" was 16 year old Lia.


    Wide River port used to belong to Gaster Kingdom way before Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l caused the Civil War, but that of course all changed before the ill.u.s.tratios broke through Gaster Kingdom''s defences and claimed their land as their own around 184 years ago.


    Xakro figured that if the ill.u.s.tratios can''t break through the impenetrable Gaster Kingdom defences, they had to cut their incomes. Which is why they invaded their port(Wide Rivers port), cutting half of Gaster Kingdom''s profit which send them all downhill.


    Gaster Kingdom resisted for 3 years but they finally collapsed.


    People were starving so they had to migrate someplace else, where they met a more brutal end in the search for salvation.


    The port of Gaster Kingdom was halfway through being built when the ill.u.s.tratio invaded.


    By the time the Ignites there decided to build the port, many people migrated already, never to return. They were heavily under staffed.


    But now that''s nothing but unchangeable history.


    Something else that seems unchangeable is how wide the river attached to the port of Wide River is. Hence the word, "Wide River" port.


    Although different in size here and there, the very entrance or the river connecting to the ocean, is 90-100km wide.


    Meaning all the rivers in Ignis aren''t exactly rivers since they are inverted and filled with salt water, making it all the more special.


    Lia is an Ignite girl with unusual strength compared to the rest of her female kind.


    While other full grown fishermen struggle to pull out a 100kg fish, she does it with one hand and she can sip tea with the other if she had too for some reason.


    So considering her massive strength able to be compared with 4 full grown men, she found it reasonable to fish with a spear and rope.


    And reasonable enough, her family is slightly above the common folk when it comes to a financial status thanks to her.


    Her reputation began when she pulled out a 200kg Striped Marlin out of the water, alone.


    That''s roughly half the weight of a full grown Striped Marlin, but it isn''t a task that one man can do without risking his life when it comes to fishing it out of the water with a spear.


    When selling fish, it goes a Gold Coin per kg. So considerably, Lia fished out a salary in her first try of spearfishing.


    Due to the risk Fishermen commonly take, they earn above common folk if they sell it themselves instead of selling half to the Castle.


    Selling it to the castle of "Wide River" means selling it for half the price.


    Which could be quite more profitable if you think about it. Its quick easy money.


    The Castle buys it right away while selling it on a store or anywhere else takes more work and can lead to fish rotting.


    The Fishermen can choose if he can sell the other half to the castle or not, but the other half is mandatory to be sold.


    Then the Castle sells the fish to its people for the normal price(1gc per kg).


    It is a way that benefits both the fishermen and the Kingdom, and what is excessive, is sold elsewhere.


    Lia chose to enter deeper waters this time, so considering she earned a reasonable amount of Gold ever since fishing when she was 14. She bought a big boat but not big enough to be considered a ship.


    The boat is about 10 meters long, 5 meters wide and is well constructed. It isn''t cheaply built and it costs 3000 Gold Coins.


    It was rare to see a 16 year old handling so much Gold.


    Her family dislikes how strict she is about Saving Gold Coins. They feel like the family should buy more expensive things which often aren''t necessary but all based on ego.


    Lia firmly sticks to the expression


    "If you want it, start working, get it."


    It isn''t exactly sane to buy things one doesn''t need when someone else is paying, putting in hard work for those Gold Coins.


    "Are we ready to depart Jim?"


    Asked Lia. She does want to spear fish but she doesn''t want to go there alone, moving a 10 meter long boat across the ocean is something she can manage to do but she would need to take breaks too often.


    So she promised all of the 3 crew members, a portion of her earnings if they don''t manage to catch anything out themselves. If they do manage to fish though, she doesn''t have to pay them anything.


    "Yes mis Lia. We are all ready to put her on the test!"


    Jim is just an experienced Fishermen Lia met on the Fishing area. She doesn''t share a personal connection with him but work relation.


    So if there was a secret to keep, Jim or the other two, aren''t the ones for the job.


    They are all in this for the gold after all.


    If they can assist Lia spear a full grown Striped Marlin or Black Marlin which is twice the size, they get a part of that small fortune because it would qualify as "their catch" not just Lia''s.


    But fishing a Black Marlin alone is something that even Lia isn''t confident about. It''s like trying to pull a boat on dry land, a boat that can run backwards that is.


    "Perfect. Let''s get that Gold! I assume we all are aware of the rules when it comes to profit. I don''t want "but i want more" after we start sailing this Boat."


    "We all are clear of the plan miss Lia. Let''s start sailing this beauty."


    Normally, one lady getting in a boat with 3 men sailing far from the shore, is generally a bad idea.


    The lady can get r.a.p.ed easily if she doesn''t cooperate. But considering Lia''s strength, the chances of her tying them all up and raping them one by one and throw them in the ocean is more possible than the 3 men raping her. Lia was never attracted to any man before so this is a good definition of the **** possibility with her being the victim(if that makes sense).


    They sailed their way a kilometer from the shore. It''s deep enough to find big fish and is close enough to not get lost in the ocean, the Kingdom of Wide Waters is clearly seen although it looks like one single boat from that distance.


    "Black Marlin in the water!"

 Chapter 88 - No i didnt!

    "Many. But since evolving to new powers is 1 in a thousand throughout any population, I didn''t see many examples In Ignis where the Demon of Rage lives!" Except for a boy named Kaleem. He obtained Super Strength!"


    Said Mogranius'' father while pointing at the cave ceiling as if Mogranius was imagining what he is.


    "So Super Strength is one of the Powers based on the Demon of Rage? But what about the Calidum Lutum? They live in Ignis! If the Demon of Rage meets an end like the Demon of ego, will Ignis parish?"


    Said Mogranius in pure confusion. Commander Alia didn''t mention anything about the Calidum Lutum''s motherland!


    "Having such power would certainly come with the Demon of Rage. And considering how ambitious and passionate Kaleem is about his powers, he will be one of the most powerful Wizards you will ever face!


    Even as an ill.u.s.tratio, he will most certainly be by your side!"


    "An ill.u.s.tratio! By our side? That''s rather difficult to happen! But tell me about the Calidum Lutum!"


    "Oh it will. The word of mouth has reached Crutal Kingdom rather quick. After Kaleem is ready, he will offer his services to King Zar ill.u.s.tratio along with his 7 foot father!"


    He took a breath, thought for 5 minutes before speaking even though Mogranius asked him to talk several times.


    "Calidum Lutum you say! Their race originates from an Island. Not necessarily a Continent but the source should be there somewhere.


    Calidia. Yes. Calidia is the name of the Island!"


    "Alia will be so happy of this information. The Calidum Lutum have been here before the First Era. who knows if they know of Calidia.


    And as amusing as seeing a 7 foot man is, I''m more concerned of Zar''s last name! Is he related to Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll?"


    "Xakro has more than one Child actually. But for some reason they aren''t carrying his power. He is doing what his Father and Grandfather did to pass down the power but he is failing.


    Those who fail to carry his power, he assigns them on different Jobs. Commonly away from him."


    "Well at least he doesn''t throw them on the streets. Which shows a bit of love at least!"


    Mogranius doesn''t know much about getting fatherly love. I mean yes he got it until he was 12 years old but he long forgotten how it felt!


    "Oh there is no love in his heart. He is completely corrupt out of feelings. If he didn''t behead those newborn kids, it''s because of ego.


    And he actually did throw one of his sons on the streets."


    "So Xakro has to be wiped out from existence no doubt! He is literally worse than a monster on fairy tales!"


    "Indeed. He will parish sooner than everyone thought tho. His dynasty is short lasting.


    Snow Ignites kicking him from one side and his own son kicking him from the other, the entire continent being on a shortage of Soldiers, this will aid to crumble the ill.u.s.tratian alliance to the ground!"


    Said his father while looking at the cave ceiling or the water near the cave surface while occasionally whistling.


    He wasn''t in a nearly stable mental state but it lifted Mogranius'' mood even though the topic they were talking about was dead serious!"


    "And with the evolved Witches and Wizards rising, that will be another thing giving him a kick in the ass. I mean even ill.u.s.tratios are getting powers.


    I doubt they will stand in solitude with the ill.u.s.tratian alliance once they get qualified as Demons by the population!"


    But this time Mogranius pointed at the ceiling and made his father look at it.


    "What are you pointing at?"


    "What did you point at earlier?"


    "I didn''t point at anything. Pointing a finger is judgy. Don''t be judgy!"


    "Yes you are right!"


    "Continuing¡­Destiny is forming itself bit by bit so you should worry less. I see so much Burden on you that one would think Paramertizin(Demon of Burden/flying) is your Inner Demon.


    But on the other hand barely anyone knows about the Inner Demons so i guess they can''t figure anything Tihihhihi."


    "Speaking of Inner Demons, which one did you beat?"


    Asked Mogranius smiling at his father''s nonsense.


    "Oh wait. Let me count!


    1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,19,23,18.


    Hmmm. 3 i think!"


    "How could you beat 3? You aren''t an Electus are you?"


    Asked Mogranius in shock thinking that his father is speaking further nonsense or actually being serious!


    "Being near the Demonite for 246 years gave me more Inner Demons to beat, and the occasional stereotypical Demon meat snacks I ate helped. Yihihihihihihihi!"


    "You ate Demons. Is that how you know any animal in existence?"


    "Yis. It''s a combination of powers blessed upon me by Zirinisen, Lartem and Aresmqaal.


    Zirisen offers self control such as not going completely insane with such power, Lartem offers patience when browsing through trillions of animals and Aresmqaal offers the lack of self doubt for such difficult power once beaten.


    Ultimately offering this power.


    But i feel that this big power made me lose my mind.


    Hahaahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahhaahahahaahahahahahaahahahahahahaaha.


    It''s not that funny, is it?"


    "Well i certainly am holding my laughter through this. Not to mention we are both n.a.k.e.d!"


    Said Mogranius while giggling. He sure is enjoying the time with his father!


    "That''s my boy. Now tell me! Do you want to see the Source?"


    "Hell yes! "Hell". Get it?"


    "You got it from your father no doubt. Your mother only laughed once when a Guard slipped and fell face first in the mud!"

 Chapter 89 - Fish to the Face

    "Miss Lia. Don''t even think about it!"


    said Jim trying to convince her to not spear the Black Marlin.


    Yes they were well equipped. Unlike the usual ropes tied to a spear which are around 3-5 meters long, the Spear Lia had on her hand was tied with a rope nearly 20 meters long and it was a bit thicker as well.


    So to toss such spear, a lot of strength is required because the weight of the rope is to be considered once throwing.


    Seeing that the Black Marlin is slightly above the common fullgrown''s size, her confidence to fish this one out was getting lower.


    So she took a different approach instead of giving up and fleeing the scene.


    Not wasting another second, she took the end of the rope and tied it firmly on to the practical front end of the boat. On that thick lumber that connects the two sides of the boat together.


    After tying the rope to the thick Lumber, she grabbed the spear she had to drop due to the tying and she was targeting the Black Marlin with the spear raised above her head.


    "Miss Lia this is still not a good idea. That fish is massive. Chances are it will drag the boat."


    "I didn''t bring you here to shit your pants over a fish Jim."


    "That''s true but¡­"


    "No buts. You are either in or out."


    "I''m in."


    "Then be quiet!"


    The Black Marlin rose towards the surface of the water further as it saw the sun reflecting light on the spear. For a fish, anything shining is massively attractive. Which is why the fish lost interest for a short bit while Lia''s spear was down.


    But now, the Black Marlin is swimming upwards in full speed. If a fish breaking over 800kg was to hit the side of the boat, it would be fatal. Not to mention if it hits Lia. It would be deadly.


    "Miss Lia. That fish is coming abnormally fast. If we don''t move the boat we will all drown."


    "Nonsense Jim! It''s just a fish. You are supposed to be smarter than him!"


    "That fish is showing no signs of slowing down!"


    Added one of the men two men and the second one followed with the same complaint.


    "Brace for Impact! Hit the deck!"


    Yelled Jim as he hit the deck face first. Fair to say he did it wrong but it was enough to avoid the massive Black Marlin.


    "Give me your best shot. Meat sack!"


    Her confidence was burned into a crisp as the Black Marlin leaped out of the water and with it''s 2 foot long sword like nose it hit Lia on the face.


    The blow was so devastating, bone breaking even. She was sent 20 feet in the air and then sunk down in the water another six feet.


    She managed to swim up to the surface, she wasn''t rendered blind either but most importantly somehow she was alive.


    "What the hell is going on!"


    She said while touching her face where no blood was to be found.


    In such a case, the Black Marlin would have completely penetrated the face and drag down the body and finish it off.


    But all the damage it managed to do to Lia is leave a sensation of pain on her face with no blood or broken bones.


    Bearing the pain she swam towards the boat, but when she reached the spot she saw Jim with a spear in his hand.


    He threw it towards Lia with all his might and saw it penetrate through meat and skin.


    But not on Lia even though it seemed like that for a second. What he speared was the Black Marlin chasing after Lia, to strike her again. Indeed it is angry.


    But it''s speed was slowed down as the spear penetrated above it''s head somewhere near the spine. After receiving the blow, it turned around trying to swim away from the pain.


    "Quick. Get her out of the water. This fish has a lot of fight in it until we tire it out and pull it on the deck!"


    The two men grabbed Lia and as if she was a bag of wheat they easily lifted her out of the water. The situation was fierce, the Black Marlin was fiercer. So they had no blink of an eye to waste.


    Their speed was proved useful, they pulled her out just at the right time.


    Because the Black Marlin dragged the entire 20 meter rope and the boat along with it.


    If Lia was left to swim in the waters with the sensation of pain she felt on her face until the crew manages or doesn''t manage to pull the Black Marlin out of the water, she felt like she couldn''t make it.


    She has never felt this weak and embarrassed. She knew she wasn''t sure about handling a fish as large as that but she still stood her ground. Ultimately leading to her flying out of the boat.


    The Boat is being dragged through the waters by the massive Black Marlin at 6 times the speed that it took all the four people to achieve.


    "What do we do now Miss Lia? That beast shows no sign of stopping!"


    Lia was shocked, in a moment she didn''t know what to say or think. She felt like she froze and finally came back to reality after Jim repeated the question several times and yelled


    "Grab the paddles, we will paddle backwards until we tire this fish out. If we try to drag it out of the water now, it will break our arms."


    Said Lia while trying to ignore the sensation of pain on her face. She was still confused and was still on great pain. But did everything to ignore that pain and continued to paddle!


    "That thing shows no sign of giving in!"


    "Keep paddling. Don''t consume your strength all at once. Start at a slower pace and gradually increase it!"

 Chapter 90 - Source of Fire

    Mogranius followed his father to see the source of Fire itself which is for sure a once in a lifetime opportunity.


    But they both were n.a.k.e.d so seeing a man''s behind who is nearly 300 years old, isn''t exactly the most desirable view any person would want. But luckily his behind was hairy. So the full moon is not to rise anytime soon.


    But he didn''t mind, his focus was mainly on seeing the source which seemed to be very close by but his excitement made it feel like it was miles away. He couldn''t wait.


    "Are you nervous son?"


    "A bit but i''m mostly excited. It isn''t an everyday opportunity to see the Actual source of fire. Days ago I wasn''t certain or well informed of its existence!"


    "Oh you are lucky you are an evolved Wizard. Or else your limbs would of been on the cave ceiling."


    "Your risk taking ratio didn''t change at all since I last saw you."


    "Tihihihihihi."


    The more they got near the Source of fire, the heavier it felt to walk forwards. As if the Demonite was pushing them away.


    "Why is it so hard to walk now are we getting to close?"


    "The Demonite. We are of the evolved but we aren''t Demons. Going to close to the Demonite such as a foot apart from it, would destroy us, not to mention touching it. I''m certain that you know what removing it would do."


    "How far do we have to walk li¡­."


    As Mogranius was about to finish his sentence, he was rendered speechless by the red light coming from the Demonite itself.


    It was a sight impossible to miss and it put the Demon of Rage, who was literally turned into stone, to shame.


    "Is every Demonite this bright? It''s almost blinding!"


    "Normally, it is nothing but a simple gem able to obtain from any of the Demonic Dimensions.


    But after the experiment went wrong, Demonite got attached to the 8 Demons, making them a part of this world even if they wanted to choose a different path. Each Demon got a Continent of their own!"


    "But what were they doing so far away from each other while trying the experiment? This seems rather unreasonable."


    "I''m not certain. I was not around by that time. And the only being the mother of all Demons talks to, is Betzy. So i don''t know anything about the Experiment."


    "I have so many questions. But you probably won''t be able to answer any. Let''s start with one you can probably answer!


    Why does the Demonite look so powerful and the practical statue looks, well. Empty. Powerless. Dead."


    "Although immortal, the Demon''s Powers and life energy left him after the experiment, and entered the Demonite.


    Meaning, that gem is holding Ignis together. That Gem, offers every Fire Controller, Fire to Control. Without this gem, your genes of power would be useless, as if you never had them!"


    "So this Gem is the Source, not the Demon?"


    "Yes, but it is being threatened.


    Unlike you and me, Demons from the same Dimension can walk over there and grab the gem and die out of the Continent collapsing. Not because of death caused by the Demonite directly."


    "As magnificent as it is, I don''t know what to do with this information. All I can do is help you protect it. Or send troops who are willing to sacrifice themselves to protect the Demonite."


    "If they aren''t of the evolved, they can''t be anywhere near the Demonite. Anywhere near a 50 yard radius would destroy them!"


    "I forgot about that!


    What if i bring the cave down. No Demon can enter if there wasn''t a way to go through.


    Their immortality here doesn''t play part right?!"


    "Right. They are almost like simple Humans. They can die out of any cause. Including age."


    "So they are just flocks of Demons sent here in hopes to remove the Demonite?"


    "Yes. They don''t even have powers. It''s just a poorly put together plan. But i see them searching everywhere. They have been searching for over 210 years. So considering that even they don''t know the sources and considering that they are generally as weak as a powerless human, they aren''t a big threat for now.


    But those Demons! They are far ahead with technology. I feel that they have a new plan. I feel that they will do more than just send Demons down here!"


    "This situation is crap. We are battling Demons who are way ahead with technology and are highly unpredictable.


    God damn it! We barely even know anything about them. Or how to put an end to their work.


    400,000 people went down along with Kastaria and no one knows what happened.


    Other Continents are at the same risk and no one knows about it. What should i doo. What can I do?"


    "That''s too thick for on a different time. We got visitors!"


    "Visitors? Who?"


    "Demons. Becky is dealing with them as we waste time here!"


    "Take a break and watch what I can doo."


    "No. You don''t understand!"


    "Just watch and don''t worry!"


    As Mogranius ran towards the entrance where he first opened his eyes on, he saw that Becky was overwhelmed with the Demons. The wave of them seemed triple this time of what they battled before.


    This however doesn''t seem to be the biggest problem.


    Mogranius rushed on the scene and seeing that the Demons had no weaponry, this felt like a breeze.


    "They are thousands of years ahead with technology but they can''t put any sort of weaponry on their Demons?"


    He thought as he blew fire out of his mouth and torched the Demons out of existence. Ironic, isn''t it?


    As a Demon was about to approach and claw Mogranius from a blind side, it met a brutal end as a Demonic bone struck the charging Demon on the head and went through its head as if it were a knife through butter! That bone was tossed by his father!


    "Brace yourself. More are coming!"

 Chapter 91 - Hunters

    "We got the Blacksmiths all covered. Now can you tell me more about the hunters? This part is easier since the amount we need isn''t great!" Asked Zar very eager to hear of the Results.


    "Yes we got reasonably good results. Although there were some complications. The people I paid misunderstood my words and told the population that we are hiring experienceless Hunters as well."


    "So i suppose you had trouble sorting them all out?" Asked Zar in curiosity.


    "Yes, i didn''t count but there were at least 80 trying to apply. It''s odd how they would be more interested in hunting. Probably because all they need to do is set nets and carry the catch. That slight misunderstanding took more time than interviewing the 54 Blacksmiths! But I got through it all with decent results. You said that getting even 1 Hunter is good, i got 6 of them sire!"


    "While 6 hunters can''t provide enough food for the entire Kingdom, they do make it easier at least. Bringing meat to the poor with affordable prices is something even Crutal Kingdom didn''t tackle yet."


    "Yes. I recall that only a kg of boar meat costs 20 Gold Coins there!"


    Said Seer pointing out the insane prices. It''s just meat after all.


    "Since we will basically get boar meat or any other for free, we can sell them for half the market price making them a food people can afford to enjoy from time to time if not everyday.


    Such prices might bring people buying in large amounts even if they come from a Kingdom under the ill.u.s.tratian alliance''s influences!" This at least makes everything easier. They could do the same if they wanted to sell Iron Swords to those business owners, but selling Iron Swords with half the price would slowly kill their economy as they would spend more than earning.


    "Right. Because the ill.u.s.tratian alliance doesn''t have word on businesses they don''t own. If the business owners are willing to do the travelling, they would come and buy or at least send someone else." Pointed out Seer.


    "However, the Hunters main priority shall be to provide leather for the Blacksmiths, the Blacksmiths are to turn the leather to leather straps. What is excessive for one week, shall be brought to the castle, where we can aim to sell the leather. A full patch of boar leather costs 50 Gold Coins after all, it shall not be wasted!"


    "If we strike a deal in selling leather, we can hire experienceless Hunters and train them, so we can expand this sort of business. It would be very beneficial to the economy.


    Said Seer in great enthusiasm but his tone changed in the following question he had to ask. "What if the hunters fail to bring any of the so called "Game" here? Do we need to fire any if they keep failing?"


    "The forest is practically next door, and I don''t expect them to hunt after bears either. They are however ordered to put up 10 traps and check them each day. If the hunt is to big to drag alone, they can ask for assistance from other Hunters, if the other hunters are busy themselves, they can ask Guards for assistance!" Of course Zar doesn''t want to tire Guards with responsibilities they technically don''t have to doo. But even if pulling with a cart, it is hard to carry big prey through a dense forest. The forest is so thick, it would be almost considered a Swamp!


    "That isn''t a responsibility for Guards to take with all due respect sire.


    I have a possibly better idea!"


    "Do you? Please tell!"


    Zar is keeping his manners under great control. Any other King would behead anyone who goes against the King''s word!


    But as mentioned before, Zar had an emotional breakdown. The forces of good and evil battling inside of him, were eating his nerves and emotions for a long time.


    That process went on for weeks until he found inner peace when he declared independence from the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance. He didn''t have precious time to support a father who publicly rejects him as a son.


    "What if we equip Hunters with machetes or axes, for them to clear out a road through the forest. The road doesn''t have to be of high quality, but over the years, if it remains with no vegetation on it, there will be nothing but small rocks, aiding on pulling the prey.


    I hear this is how the Lumbers drag Wood."


    "But will this be effective on a forest which is commonly flat with small hills here and there?" Asked Zar who seems to be approving this plan. He is open minded.


    "It will have some difficulties but it is better than dragging anything through thick trees and vegetation. And it will increase the productive rate more and more over time as forest roads get more common!"


    "Then it shall be how you say. We are already spending 10,000 Gold Coins monthly on Lumbers, so they might as well use the way Lumbers made, but they can create new roads on their own to not feel limited. However, Axes are the best for wood cutting but if one prefers Machetes, give it to them. Equip all 6 with both. If there aren''t enough for all 6, have the Blacksmiths make some!"


    "Thank you for considering my idea Sire. Speaking of expenses, I have to add, with the Blacksmiths and Hunters hired, it will cost 10,734 Gold Coins to pay them monthly. We need to strike a deal with the Zamerians as soon as possible or we will be spending more than earning."

 Chapter 92 - 10 Gold Coins per kg

    After an hour of paddling backwards, it finally seemed like the Black Marlin was giving in. The explosive power it had an hour ago, was cut in half. Now it can''t pull the boat even if Lia with the 3 spearmen stopped paddling.


    But they had to paddle if they wished to bring this fish to land. Putting it on the boat would be way to risky. If the Black Marlin so much as tail slaps one man, it can be bone breaking. Handling it on land would be better.


    In the first half hour of paddling, the fish was dragging them forward as if their attempt to drag it were nothing. So they ended up being 2 miles away from the shore before the fish''s explosive energy met a shortage.


    The Spear Jim threw against the Black Marlin is so well tossed that it showed no sign of letting the fish escape. The power which fear gives is very unpredictable!


    After the battle against the massive fish got easier to handle, everyone came back to reality. They had more time to think anything non fish related now, such as why Lia isn''t dead.


    A Black Marlin who was over 800 kilograms, charged towards her and with it''s Sword like nose it hit her face and sent her sky high.


    But when they got a glance of her face as they pulled her out of the Water, her face didn''t have a scratch. Even the sensation of pain was cut in half by now like the Black Marlin''s Energy.


    Jim decided to break the long lasting silence by asking


    "Miss Lia. Care to explain how you survived such a vicious impact?"


    "If I only knew myself. I simply don''t know how I''m sitting here alive right now.


    I keep checking if this is reality or just a dream. Everything just happened so fast."


    "When i saw you flying in the air and come out of the water without a scratch on your face, even I wasn''t sure of reality.


    People got their necks broken by a 60kg fish. We are dealing with a massive Black Marlin here, this just doesn''t make sense."


    "It makes sense even less to me. But don''t worry. I''m not a Witch."


    Jim agreed that Lia isn''t a Witch. He said it to her face. But the two other Spearfishermen, they had other thoughts even if what they said was different.


    The reward for reporting a Witch to any Castle under the ill.u.s.tratian alliance''s influences, is 10,000 Gold Coins.


    With such money they can secure their well being for 10 years at least.


    No one would pass such opportunity. So even if Lia was family to them, they would love 10,000 Gold Coins more than family.


    Apart from that, they will think that they will be doing good by disposing a Demon from the Depths of hell. That''s at least what the holy illas book says about Witches and Wizards with Ignites as their main target. A bunch of bullshit and propaganda in Lia''s eyes.


    After another hour of paddling, they reached the shore. Exhausted, barely able to walk. Sailing the boat is one thing but sailing it with a Black Marlin on the end of the Spear was even more difficult and time consuming.


    They didn''t even bother to sail the Boat near the port where they can tie it up. No not at all. They simply beached the boat.


    Several Fishermen and spearmen joined the scene and helped them drag the fish out of the water. None of them dared to untie the rope from the boat before the fish was completely beached. It would be arm breaking if the Fish decided to put up one last fight.


    They simply grabbed the 20 meter long rope.


    And considering that there are Several full grown men on the scene plus Lia with her 3 Spearfishermen, it was still insanely difficult to drag the fish. It got even harder once the belly of the fish met the sand. It was like pulling a boulder.


    The Black Marlin got his head cut off to be put out of its misery already. It lost the battle, so the wisest thing to do is at least not let it suffer due to suffocation. But cutting the head with a kitchen knife or even a Machete, is impossible. The fish is just to big. They had to use LongSwords and it wasn''t a pretty scene. They had to constantly slash the neck of the fish until the head separated from its body. The head itself is 3 foot tall. Such a fish will provide a salary for all four of them. Meaning they made a salary in one day.


    Men who went towards the Kingdom to bring two wheeled wooden Carts, came in the scene.


    To make the fish lighter, they had to cut its tail as well which reached 4 foot tall.


    Of course the tail meat will be used as well along with the head meat.


    Every piece of meat will be sliced into approximately 1kg and will be put in deep underground where the temperature is cooler, to prevent rotting.


    The only feature of the fish they won''t be eating, is the bones of the fish and the nose of the fish.


    The nose will be cut off and used as a trophy. While the bones that are extractable, removed. This fish breaking over 850kg will still be worth about 600 Gold pieces which is a good amount of money if sold for a Gold Coin per kg.


    Blacksmiths have to work 12 hours a day for 30 days straight to get half the amount. So even considering that 4 people beached this beauty, they will still get 150 Gold Coins each.


    What was left of the fish, was lifted with the help of 20 men and put on 3 carts who were tied one after another swiftly with ropes to avoid any of the carts slipping through due to the weight.


    Those 20 men proved useful even though they weren''t being paid. It was somehow enough for them just to take part in handling such a legendary catch.


    The cart handles were tied with ropes and with the help of 6 men along with the 4, they pulled the carts towards the Castle. The fish seems way lighter now to them.


    "Do you think we can get better prices for this Catch? Even the royalty doesn''t have what it takes to taste Black Marlin often."


    Pointed out Jim.


    "The chances of his highness to buy this fish for a gold coin per two kg are lower than the chances of him going through a night without a maid. I want 10 Gold Pieces per Kilogram."

 Chapter 93 - Atomic Fire

    The first round of Demons were nothing compared to the second round. In the first round Mogranius burned them out of existence with ease. But now, It feels like the amount has tripled.


    This is a wave which can overwhelm them or cause Mogranius to deplete all of his stamina with hours of recovery as an aftermath unless he used the Stamina wisely.


    It seemed like over 100 Demons were in the scene!


    "Where are these Bastards coming from?"


    Said Mogranius as he sliced several demons in two with pure fire concentrated in a horizontally thin form.


    With his hands joined together and with a movement which started off above his right shoulder and ended up underneath his left side of his hip, the spell was so powerful that it seemed like it split through the air along with the Demons.


    "I don''t know. But there are many of them. Brace yourself."


    Yelled his father as he knocked out 7 Demons under 4 seconds with just an old bone. Demon bone actually.


    So it was a "use the Demon to beat the Demon" move his father brought in the battle.


    "Wherever the hell they are coming from, fall back! I''m about to unleash some heat!"


    His father ran back and was about 10 feet away from Mogranius, but he wasn''t standing and enjoying the show. Finding fist like rocks, he placed them on the ground and with the demonic bone he hit the rocks one by one, hitting Demons on the head without missing a shot. As if this isn''t the first time he tried this.


    The Demons were knocked out one by one without doubt. They had no way to prepare against this attack no matter how advanced they are with technology.


    Mogranius however, was putting up a scene that would make anyone believe that he is the Source of Fire. To buy himself some time before unleashing his final blow, he was blowing fire both out of his hands and mouth which kept pushing him behind. He almost lost grip and fell down in the process.


    "Now I''m going to show you bastards what real hell is."


    He said under his breath.


    With his right hand above his left, separated by a foot apart he was about to attempt a spell that could quite possibly bring the cave down!


    Wildfire was coming out of both his hands and through his mouth and nose as well.


    All that fire was forming into a small ball in the middle of his hands. A hell amount of Wildfire compressing in that small ball, rather lethal.


    He kept the process going for almost 10 seconds before he stopped releasing fire.


    Without letting the fire he was holding get out of control which could burn him up in a blink of an eye, he bent down and fisting the ground with both hands, he unleashed the final attack.


    The Fire headed towards the Demons with the ground trembling, the dirt and rocks in front of it flying off of the ground once pushed by the fire penetrating through worse than lava.


    It went through the ground''s surface for 5 meters before that small ball of suppressed fire broke out of his former boundaries.


    It travelled through 5 meters so fast, that a blink of an eye was enough to miss the extraordinary speed.


    When it arose from the ground, the explosion was so lethal that it vaporized the front line of Demons from existence entirely, melted off ? of bodies of the second line and cut in half the ones on the third line.


    What Demons weren''t melted, were tossed against the cave walls where they met an inevitable end due to the intense impact against those walls which shook the cave, almost causing a mass collapse.


    The explosion was so intense that Mogranius had to unleash a Fire Shield in order to save himself and his father from being melted to death. That shield was almost immediately broken but apart from being knocked down, they didn''t receive any other injuries.


    "You weren''t exaggerating about the heat. Did you even try that spell before?"


    Said his father while trying to extinguish his own beard with his bare hands.


    "I discovered that spell. I call it "Atomic Fire".


    We are lucky we aren''t dead. I tried that spell only twice and it was worse each time."


    "Well it did the job. I see no Demons and most importantly, Becky is not injured."


    Said his father while hugging the 1500kg Swordfish. But unfortunately his joy ended up being short lasting as Becky was grabbed by the tail and dragged underwater!


    "Oh wait. This is not good. No not at all. Run son!"


    "By the eight sources, what the hell could pull Becky with such effortless ease!?"


    As Mogranius finished his sentence, he was after left speechless as an abomination arose from the water. Apart from its size reaching over 8 meters tall, at least that''s what they could see above Water, the creature''s size wasn''t the most eye catching feature. This thing was worse than anyone would dream off in a nightmare!

 Chapter 94 - Fist Fight

    "You want what??"


    Said Macek. The King of Wide River Kingdom.


    "I want 10 Gold Coins per kilogram! I think I said it very clear!"


    Pointed out Lia with a dead serious look on her face.


    "Why would I pay you 10 Gold Coins per kilogram when i pay everyone else 1 per 2 kg? It''s outrageous!"


    Yelled King Macek, banging his fist on the arm support of the throne!


    "What the rest bring you are mostly Barramundi and rarely underaged Striped Marlin. We are talking about a Full Grown Black Marlin here. No one beached such a catch before.


    You can sell it for triple the amount if not more!"


    Apart from her explosive strength, Lia is very good at manipulating. She bargained for 2 years straight now in the market, she has some new abilities.


    "Or I can take it from you and have the Guards throw you out and sell it for four times the price!"


    Threatened the King. The Kingdom of Wide River is built out of thievery and propaganda. Without the profit that the port they conquered offered, This Kingdom wouldn''t even exist.


    The Kingdom of 200 houses would be nothing but a field.


    "You can do that and earn a small fortune, or you can pay for what I require and not lose half of your income you make from Selling fish.


    I can get Gold wherever I go, but you won''t ever get anyone who can beach a 850kg Black Marlin without dying."


    Said Lia with jim hiding behind her. But the other two men weren''t in sight. As if they abandoned the catch.


    "5 Gold Coins per Kilogram and i buy the entire fish!"


    Said the King in a sudden Calmer tone hoping to still get something out of this.


    "15 Gold Coins per Kilogram or i''ll throw the fish back in the ocean."


    "What! Outrageous!"


    "Miss Lia what are you doing. 3000 Gold Coins is a great amount!"


    "Silence Jim!"


    "Take it or leave it. I have Gold Coins to spare. I don''t give a damn if this fish rots!"


    "I appreciate your courage miss...Lia. How about we settle for your original request?"


    Hoped the King to settle a deal. Such hard to catch meat is something the royalty would pay a Hundred Gold Coins per Kilogram. He can make a small fortune from one fish!


    "Approvable. I want the Gold by tomorrow. If I don''t get it, i can damage your budget big time and there is nothing according to ill.u.s.tratian law, you can do about it."


    Said Lia as she made her way out of the King''s throne room. Yes she was in his throne room.


    No fisherman ever had the chance to bargain with a King! They usually accepted the price to avoid a beheading but considering the extremely hard to land Catch Lia managed to beach with the rest of the 3, the King has to tolerate a lot.


    But as Lia was about to exit thinking this whole situation is behind her, finally able to rest, 15 Guards rushed into the Throne room and one yelled


    "Halt Witch! You are under arrest for Demonic interaction according to ill.u.s.tratian law."


    "Me? A Witch? Bullshit! Who lied to you about that?"


    "We have two eye witnesses. They saw you doing Magic in the Ocean! If you resist arrest, you will be slaughtered immediately!"


    "Bastards! I should of tossed them on the ocean when i had the chance!"


    "Well well well. Now that fish is mine.


    Guards! Tie her up. We have an execution to handle tomorrow."


    Said the King while throwing an evil laugh.


    "Surrender? I don''t think so!"


    "So be it!"


    Said one Guard and the other followed


    "ATTACK!"


    For Lia it was better to fight until death reaches her at this point. Instead of surrendering.


    Getting tied up will eventually lead to being burned to death. That''s what they do to all Witches.


    But what''s possibly worse, she will be tied up today and burned tomorrow. Meaning she will be all night Guarded by l.u.s.t Hungry men.


    She heard stories of Witches being r.a.p.ed by tens of Guards before getting burned alive. And the Kings didn''t punish any Guard about it. Even though Lia has a tomboy style, 2 years of Spearfishing has toned her body well. Giving her a gorgeous feminine form with some maleish attributes, and her black hair tied into a tail behind her head, reaching near the end of her spine gave her more beauty. Above all that, she has blue eyes. So she would sure attract any man. But these Guards would **** anyone. Slim or obesse, they have no boundaries.


    So fight to the death it is!


    As the bundle of Guards Charged towards Lia, she raised her fists high and waited to beat the crap out of them. She didn''t seem dangerous at all in their eyes though. Being 5.4 foot tall and a Woman, she didn''t show threat.


    Which was a stupid move on their side. They let their "Guard Down"!


    As they approached, 2 of them were struck down by Lia as she fisted their faces and threw them 6 feet across the air and 4 more feet tumbling over the floor.


    Using the Swords dropped, Jim grabbed the two Swords, tossed one to Lia and started putting up a fight.


    It Surprised Lia big time. She expected him to flee from the scene!


    "Do we have a plan Miss Lia?"


    "Yes. Fight!"

 Chapter 95 - Whale Bear

    "What the hell is that abomination!"


    "I don''t know. I¡­ I never saw anything like it."


    The Creature which arose from the water seemed to be like a mix of a whale with a Bear.


    As if a Bear matted with a Whale and they had a child.


    Imagine seeing a huge whale standing on its feet. Yes feet. The bear features on the abomination included having Bear like feet and arms instead of fins.


    The creature wasn''t even entirely out of the water and it was already standing 8 meters tall.


    Today Mogranius and his father will either be eating Whale Bear meat or the other way around.


    But to their advantage, the bear attributes weren''t from a source bear but from a normal respectfully smaller "Cave Bear" who if not mixed with such abomination, breaks about 600kg on the wild if full grown.


    How did they find out such information? Well the Whale Bear roared. Yes it roared. And as it did, more Demons rushed out of the water in aims to attack the two Ignites above the surface.


    "You know how you released the "Atomic Fire" a bit earlier?"


    "Yes?"


    "By the mother of all sources unleash it again!"


    "If I do it again, I will end up with no stamina. No stamina means no more fire to blast."


    "Tell that to the Whale Bear!"


    "Alright! Buy me a few seconds."


    "That''s easy. Tihihihihi."


    Said His father as he grabbed more fist like rocks and started hitting them with the demonic bone again as he was playing golf.


    He was surprisingly agile with this abnormal skill. He didn''t even miss once yet. Probably because the Demons are coming in groups, but the thing is he is hitting them on the head.


    Every second dropping another Demon dead. Yes dead! That''s how much of a heavy impact a 300 year old man can offer.


    As his father bought him some time, Mogranius was all ready to unleash another Atomic Fire spell. But he might not have the Stamina to pull out a Fire Shield again, which could make the Situation a whole lot more dangerous. So he chose to not throw the Fire against the ground this time but he did a different approach. He decided to throw the fire directly towards the Whale Bear! Or is it a Whale Bear? They didn''t see any fur yet! Just fins that seemed to have evolved to fins with claws and a roar that was less elegant and more wild.


    Mogranius shot the Atomic Fire towards the Whale Bear and under a blink of an eye it reached it and caused a huge hole on its belly before the fire expanded, cutting what seemed to be a 12 meter tall goddamn whale in half.


    The blast pushed Mogranius and his father off of their feet and tossed them against the ground. But luckily the blast was far enough to not cause any fatal injuries. Just a few bumps and bruises.


    But the Cave! Well. Half of it collapsed as the Fire struck the walls of the cave. Flesh wasn''t a boundary strong enough to slow down the Fire''s speed. So dirt and rock was. But the aftermath was "ground trembling".


    Most of the area where there was water, was overwhelmed with dirt and rock. And a part where there was dry land, it was also struck by rocks and dirt from the ceiling of the cave almost hitting Mogranius and his father. Such impact could sure crush the life out of them.


    "You did it. You blasted those goddamn demons into oblivion."


    Yelled his father and as he saw Mogranius knocked out cold his tone changed fairly a lot towards the negative.


    "Son?"


    ¡­


    "Aa you are finally awake."


    Said his father as he noticed Mogranius waking up rather in a tense mood.


    "Damn. What happened."


    Asked Mogranius as he witnessed his father cooking something.


    (Where the hell did he get the wood and how did he start a fire) he thought, but decided that it would be safer not to ask.


    "You took a bit of a nasty spill."


    Said his father as he was spinning the water in the bowl with some sort of meat in it.


    "How long was i asleep?"


    "200 Years!"


    "What?" yelled Mogranius in fear.


    "Just kidding. Only about 2 days. You shook the cave down so i guess your recovery time is acceptable!"


    "Did I get them all?"


    "Oh yes. I haven''t seen any Demons ever since. But enough about that, have some meat. It will help you back on your feet."


    "It isn''t Demon meat. Right?"


    "This? No. It''s just Whale Bear meat."


    "How does it taste?"


    Asked Mogranius in sarcasm. I mean it''s who he is. That''s how much sarcasm is implanted into his brain.


    "Like fish. It doesn''t have any bear features. And i know Bear meat."


    Ignoring his father''s obvious craze, he added


    "So it''s somehow just an evolved creature!"


    "Yes. Like Becky. Apart from Becky''s size, she has explosive speed and strength. But this one only had fins evolved into legs, so it could stand, and the seemingly call for help roar was also a part of it''s evolution somehow!"


    "So they are nothing but mindless fish? By the way. Where is Becky?"


    "Precisely. Dumb fish.


    The only reason the whale didn''t reach out of the water into the surface and only roared in the first place is because Becky was holding it down. She stabbed it''s leg and held on.


    Isn''t that right Becky?"


    Said his father as he threw a chunk of meat towards Becky who was swimming on the piece of Water that was left. Even though Mogranius shook the cave down, Betzy could still exit into the ocean. There was an exit big enough for it.


    "So what do we do now?"

 Chapter 96 - "A hand"

    Jim swung the Sword from left to right and a head detached from a Guard''s body as he did so. Having Swords on their hands came to their advantage big time.


    Although Lia very capable, no sane person brings Fists in a Swordfight.


    Several Guards tried to strike her at once, but she raised the sword horizontally above her head, holding off such impactful man power.


    Seeing a lot of hands all in one place, Jim took the liberty of swinging his Sword downwards towards that Bundle of Hands.


    As he did, he cut of 3 hands and heavily injured 4 others.


    The 4 heavily injured were Guards who had two handed Swords while the ones who lost their hands, were using one handed Swords. They didn''t prepare for it because that attack was highly abnormal. Everything happened in a blink of an eye as if Jim was waiting for that specific moment.


    The Guards fell down in pain and some fainted almost instantly while screaming in pain before they hit the ground.


    "Rude of you all to try and lay a hand on a Lady."


    Said Jim as he beheaded another Guard who tried to attack him from behind. Whatever Jim was doing, he was doing it well.


    He has to have a history with a Sword, he is a spearfisherman, not a Swordsman, there must be more to this.


    Even Lia isn''t certain of his history. She wasn''t even certain enough to trust him. She thought that he would either fight against her for Gold Coins or flee the scene.


    "Nice one Jim. "A hand"!


    "Haa. Glad you got it.


    Careful!"


    Yelled Jim as he threw his Sword at full speed towards Lia. For a second there, she thought that she will meet the tip of that Sword. But Jim aimed towards a Guard who was behind her. Hitting the Guard on his head, penetrating from one side on the other, Jim took down one of the final Guards standing.


    "Nice one Jim!"


    She said again but with thicker enthusiasm this time. Afterwards she grabbed the sword handle, pulled it out of the Guard''s head and gently threw the Sword to Jim where he grabbed it and proceeded to Charge to 6 more Guards who seemed to be hesitating to attack.


    "Leave these ones to me."


    She stopped Jim and added


    "They like to **** Witches? I like to behead rapists. It is a perfect scene."


    Said Lia with furry in her eyes. She couldn''t even imagine how traumatic would be to be r.a.p.ed by 1 man. Not to mention tens.


    With the fury of her fallen Witch sisters, she raised her Sword and charged towards the Guards who were near the closed Castle gate, almost ready to flee the scene. But fair to say, they aren''t going anywhere today.


    "As you wish miss Lia. Just yell if you need assistance."


    She charged towards the 6 Guards and as she did, 2 of them dropped their Swords already and tried to flee through the Castle Door. All of them, dead or alive, underestimated her in the beginning. Underestimation is any warrior''s biggest flaw if a Warrior had such attribute.


    Even against a bug one should keep their Guard up, that Bug could be poisonous or blessed with Demonic Powers, you never know!


    However, continuing on. Those two didn''t manage to flee the scene, they were swiftly struck from Lia from behind with her Sword swung horizontally from the left side to the right, leaving them with a wound so strong that they almost got caught in half. One Guard died almost instantly and the other is screaming in pain.


    What the other Guards who stood and fought witnessed, was so terrifying that out of fear, by instinct they immediately struck Lia from both sides as she was standing in the middle of the Guards. The Guards who tried to flee were in the middle. If they were to flee, they would call for more Guards or possibly even Citizens, so she had to act fast.


    Two Swords struck Lia on the neck, but as the Swords met the skin, blood didn''t break out and her head didn''t get cut off either.


    Although feeling a great sensation of pain on her neck, she arose from the half squatting position and stood up straight. Only to see the Guards shaking in fear.


    Sharp Swords struck with all their might wasn''t able to put a scratch on her.


    "What Demonic feature could this even be?" They thought while shaking.


    In a blink of an eye she bent down and pushed her sword through one Guards Chest and nailed him against the door where the Sword became stuck. She didn''t bother wasting time pulling it out but grabbed another dropped from the cowards who tried to flee the scene and she quickly jumped Backwards. Sure even Swords don''t seem to be able to break the surface of her skin for some reason but the pain sure seems to last long, she doesn''t wish to receive more blows.


    She felt like she would faint if she kept receiving more swings like this which felt like a thin portion of lava that was constantly being poured on her neck.


    Using the Sword, she raised it slightly above her torso as a defensive pose.


    She barely has any experience in Swordsmanship. She just observed what Jim was doing and copied him, finding it to be effective.


    Seeing hands detached from their fallen Guard friends, they didn''t dare to strike all at once again even though Jim was 20 feet away. They do not want to take any chances.


    Watching the show Lia put on, Jim didn''t notice at all that the King fled the Throne room and ran his way up to a tower attached to a Castle, yelling for help like a defenseless child.


    More Guards rushed in the scene. What was 15 Guards before, is 50 Guards now.


    The scene got even Jim in shock. Even Jim didn''t feel confident about it.


    "Miss Lia. Fall back!"

 Chapter 97 - Fire Bunny

    "Now. We survive. If a Continent as technologically ahead as Kastaria failed to protect their Continent. We have less chances. 400,000 people died in Kastaria like they were nothing."


    Said his father as he chewed on some Whale meat. He is crazy without a doubt but he for sure has the capability to show grief and solitude. He sacrificed himself for Ignis after all.


    "So all we can do is just stand and wait? Waiting for the end? There has to be another way."


    Said Mogranius in grief. Ignis is sure in a very bad situation but he doesn''t want to see it or any other Continent destroyed. He has a specific mindset, although commonly getting jealous, he thinks that with enough work, anything is to be over comed.


    "Well we can stand and wait like sitting ducks. But a special little bunny saw what it wasn''t supposed too, which gave Ignis more hope.


    You didn''t teleport 200 years through time and specifically arrive in Gaster Kingdom near the source in a coincidence. I sense destiny in you, son."


    Said his father with clear proudness on his face.


    "Yes sometimes i lose sleep thinking about that. But overthinking won''t win this war. Either against the ill.u.s.tratios or the Demons. But how is the bunny special and what did it see?"


    Said Mogranius in greater curiosity. Throughout life, behind sarcasm, thirst and curiosity for knowledge has helped him beat his Inner Demon of Rage. He of course is very willing to protect Ignis but also very happy to learn something new, abnormal and interesting.


    "You were raised with a good mindset my son. I''m proud of you."


    He looked at Mogranius in pride and added


    "The Bunny however, is an evolved creature. It has a rather interesting feature. Also a pet specifically to a very rare species. A Kastarian!"


    Said his father with a Dramatic tone to the "Kastarian" part.


    Mograniuses Jaw dropped as he heard what his father told. He couldn''t believe that there are more Kastarians. Alive.


    Even those who teleported out of Kastaria, died of a heart attack due to their freak like features as a result, Organs failing to function properly due to their relocation or simply killed by people who didn''t understand what they were seeing.


    "But you said that most who tried to teleport, had fatal results. How did this one survive?"


    "He didn''t teleport. He was washed on the beaches of Ignis. You even met him! He is disguised as an Ignite."


    "Who could that be? It''s not Eric. Is it? If he hid his identity, I will boil him alive.


    Oh no wait. Eric has ears. Or does he? Wait no. Yes. No he does."


    Mogranius was found arguing with himself.


    "No calm down. It''s Not Eric. The Kastarian, apart from Alia, isn''t in your group."


    "Then who is it?"


    "King Michael."


    "What?"


    "Yes. It''s King Michael."


    "You mean the King of Gaster Kingdom?"


    "The same! He has pure intentions. He is trustworthy, he will be our way to victory against the "Peaceful Demons!"


    "How do you know all of this?"


    "His pet bunny!"


    He yelled in a thin tone and continued


    "I''ve been observing the bunny specifically when I discovered her rather unusual evolution when i somehow ran across her eyesight through countless browsing. I was observing bunnies for a very important researchable reason."


    He tried to cover the truth but it was clear that he just loves cute bunnies.


    "What evolution did the bunny face? And how did she face an evolution. If the Demons are down here, how could she eat one up there. And why would she eat one. Why would a bunny eat any meat in particular actually?"


    Mogranius has way to many questions about this topic. What could a bunny evolve too? An angry bunny?


    "Oh you mean Marixha? She''s a sweetheart."


    "Marixha? Cute name. But what power does she have?"


    "You know a bunnies behind? Her rump!"


    "Yes?"


    "She shoots fire out of it. Literally shoots fire out of her rump. I don''t know how she evolved like that, but she has that highly abnormal power!"


    "I would love to research her powers all day long. I wouldn''t get tired of it."


    Said Mogranius in a l.u.s.t for knowledge and added


    "So through her eyes, you saw Michael?"


    "Yes. With his hair he managed to cover his ears rather well. That''s why you weren''t able to notice his earless features."


    "He had hair all the way down to his sideburns. Even though he had his hair tied behind his head, he would have easily hid ears in those thick hair if he pleased. I guess that''s how he hid his true identity. But why would he hide it?"


    "He comes from a Continent no outsider knew existed and he doesn''t have ears. It''s not easy to believe a story like that. I sure wouldn''t."


    "Reasonable. But what help will he be to us?"


    "Even though he is from Kastaria, he has Fire Controlling abilities. He wasn''t born with them, he evolved in to them. He obtained the genes. Meaning he has at least researched Demons for a long while."


    "So he knows more of this Demonic topic. He can offer help if we ask him to?"


    "Precisely. I have many eyes seeing for me but i don''t know nearly enough as he does about the Demonic Situation! He can provide big help!"


    "Do you think he can provide help about how to stop these Demons? Or at least where they are coming from? I doubt that they appear out of thin air. There has to be more to this!"

 Chapter 98 - Heads and Shoulders

    "This will be a tough dance Jim. Got any more bright ideas?"


    Asked Lia as she saw 50 Guards slowly approaching all around with their Swords, Maces, Battle Axes and Warhammers up.


    "Evade and attack. Don''t be dumb to throw yourself in the middle of those Guards. Even you would be dead meat."


    Said Jim as he gave a death stare to the 50 Guards. Them seeing their Coworkers on the ground laying in bloodpools all caused because of two Commoners, their overall confidence went down. The two were outnumbered but the Guards felt outmatched.


    "Attack!"


    Yelled one Guard


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"


    Screamed the bundle of Guards as they charged towards Lia and Jim with aims to obliterate them.


    Lia ran back, avoiding the crowd and the Guards who got out of line, proving more fast on their feet met the end of Lia''s Sword. It was easier to strike down such people because they don''t take part in a crowd where Swords can swing from all sides, proving difficult to avoid.


    The first Guard who ran out of line, was struck hard enough to lose his head. Lia Swung at him with such Sword and Speed that the Guard''s body kept running headless for several feet until he met the ground.


    She was quickly running out of space to evade because the Throne room was only about 20 meters long and 10 meters wide.


    But fortunate for her, at the end of a very short staircase 20 feet away from the throne, there was a 4 foot wide support beam holding the ceiling of the throne room from collapsing over everyone.  She might have the strength to cut the support beam down if she managed to evade the Guards enough to strike down several strikes on it but she would be risking Jim''s life with such battle plan so she used the Support beam to become airborne. With the right foot reaching 6 feet high after she made a little jump, her foot pushed against the support beam as she proceeded to push her body weight hard enough to do a backflip with her Sword raised vertically above her head. As she was flying in the air while upside down, she managed to cut through several "heads and shoulders" before she landed on the last two lines of Guards where she managed to knock four of them off of their feet with her body weight. But she did make a quick recovery, not wasting a second she stood on her feet again to avoid getting struck by the other Guards who were waiting for such an opportunity in this insane battle.


    Jim however, when they started to run in the first place, he took a different direction in aims to split the group of Guards which could at least make the situation a bit easier. But if they wished to take 20-25 Guards each, they would have to evade and strike all day long. No one would have the Stamina for that, not even Lia. So he took a rather different approach. He ran and threw anything he could find in the throne room, using everything to his advantage. Decorative shields and Swords seemed to be not so decorative, as they were made out of Iron or Silver. Throwing an actual Sword towards a Guard with full strength would no doubt kill the Guard if thrown correctly and a thrown shield would at least knock out a Guard if not killing him/her. But females being Guards would be something rare for people under the influence of the ill.u.s.tratian alliance.


    To his Advantage. There were Several decorative Daggers all in one place. He didn''t take a second to grab them all with one swipe and continued running and throwing Daggers.


    It was easier to strike any of the Guards because they had no base of attack whatsoever except chasing after Jim like animals and the Daggers were lighter. The Strikes didn''t even have to be on the head to stop one Guard. After being hit they would stop on the spot and cry for help, where they would cause for several Guards with Weapons to bash on the struck Guard, ending up with more Guards being injured as some lost balance and met the ground.


    These Guards are so disoriented, but they can still out match the two because their numbers are bigger.


    After a half hour of evading and striking when they found a clear opening, they still didn''t even manage to kill or knock out even half of the Guards. A bit over 30 were still standing although it was rather difficult to count them all. With more than half of their staminas depleted, they thought it best to escape this goddamn castle and flee from the Kingdom. Even if they win this battle, they will never be safe here in Wide Rivers again. Wherever they would flee, would be way better than this hellhole. However fleeing in the first place would mean running through the town where more Guards or Civilians could put up a fight. Quantity can beat Quality at this point unfortunately.


    They rushed towards the Castle door but found that it was barred from both sides. A foot thick plank placed horizontally in the middle of the door from one end to the other, prevented them from exiting. Sure they can lift the one from inside, but how will they lift the one from outside? It requires someone from the other side to do it.


    They tried to break through the door with their soldiers bashing like bulls on the door but even considering Lia''s abnormal strength, it seemed rather impossible.


    They were cornered by the remaining Guards as bashing the door took them to much time. Lia seems to withstand attacks without blood breaking out but who can guarantee that being struck tens of times would no doubt knock her out, put her in a coma or even kill her. She can feel pain after all.


    Hearing a thick voice on the other side of the door yelling


    "Ready?"


    And a thinner tone continuing


    "Yes sir!"


    And the first voice finishing it with


    "Strike!"


    As he yelled "Strike", the 12 foot tall and 17 foot wide Castle Doors were forced out of their Hinges and pushed 3 feet from their original spot before they made a large boom after they hit the Ground.


    The two people who caused this havoc were a 7 foot ill.u.s.tratian man with a 5.5 foot kid who seemed more like a sidekick but he seems equally strong if not stronger. They double fisted the Large Doors down after all.


    "Sorry to knock so hard."


    Yelled the little one.

 Chapter 99 - 126,389

    "Even though the first 9 Peaceful Demons to set foot on earth are extremely ahead in technology compared to us who sometimes can''t hold a Sword right tihihi, they didn''t have the option to simply teleport from one Demonic dimension to a non Demonic one."


    Said his father as he giggled often throughout the sentence and occasionally argued with himself, a bit of self blaming too, in aims to make as much sense as possible to Mogranius who was dumbfounded.


    "Well this information is just fascinating, although one piece of the puzzle prevents me from putting all the information I''m receiving together!"


    "Perhaps I can assist.


    HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAA. It''s not so funny is it? However moving on, ask your question son!"


    Said his father in the purest form of craze."


    "It is a bit funny tihihihihi. What are Dimensions?"


    "Dimensions are based in different planets and time zones. Although sometimes similar or inverted, they contain their own very different history but  dimensions who are related, all had the same start and separated in similarity as they progressed. There are 6 Demonic Dimensions as far as I''ve heard the mother of all Sources say, the 5 are stereotypical hell Dimensions but the Sixth contains of "Peaceful Demons."


    "Oh. So there could also be different planet Earth''s somewhere?"


    Asked Mogranius after he too 2 minutes to comprehend everything he just heard.


    "I''m not certain. It could have none, it could have 1, it could have 600. That I do not know. They aren''t bugging our Dimension so it isn''t for us to concern. Our "Beef" is with the Demons!"


    Said his father aiming to crack another pun.


    "Fish meet is technically not beef but that''s a nice one."


    Mogranius in aims to congratulate his father, proceeded to do a light clap.


    Thank you. Moving on again...it is a rather difficult task next to impossible to simply teleport through Dimensions, especially Dimensions who aren''t related to one another.


    Even though comparable to the speed of light, it took the first 9 Demons 60,000 Years to travel from their Dimension to ours in order to set foot on Earth."


    "60,000 Years. Fascinating. I have no idea how they discovered Earth to begin with but they sure are ahead in technology!"


    The hunt for knowledge was always Mogranius'' main l.u.s.t, even beating l.u.s.t for Women. Which says a lot. Even when he met Alia, he didn''t approach her with l.u.s.t. It was what they say "Love at first sight!"


    "When they did land, their impact was so fast that they sunk ? of Ignis. Luckily not too many people became Victim of such Catastrophe as the overall population in Ignis was scarce compared to some other Continents."


    "They sunk down ? of Ignis?! Such a waste of precious land. But yet again Ignites and ill.u.s.tratios didn''t occupy over 70% of the land. It is hard to use all of Ignis with what seems to be roughly 100,000 people now!"


    "126,389. I counted them all tihihihihi."


    "No wonder you went insane, no offense. But how many were there before the war? We never counted them all, we could just give an estimation but each thought was different from the other."


    "Before the war Ignis had, above 270,000 people were to be found here. Although almost equal in racial population, there were mostly Ignites compared to Snow Ignites or ill.u.s.tratios. Now there are roughly 20,000 Ignites and roughly 400 Snow Ignites and of course 700 Calidum Lutum. Xakro won in results to great. As if he didn''t even break a sweat at all."


    Said his father ashamed of his own race''s capacity.


    "He did. I''m still not certain how. Even an Electus can''t dominate with such ease and progress. He was indeed a genius when it comes to Continental Domination. But apart from us putting up a fight, the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance is also getting kicks by Snow Ignites who are able to progress in such efficiency even though their numbers are small. They even lead all of Meridionali Ignis to a shortage."


    "Not to forget, his own son is proving troublesome as well. I still can''t believe Xakro rejects his own kids. He doesn''t want them. What sort of fatherhood is that?"


    "Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l was indeed evil, but Xakro ill.u.s.tratio ll and lll are simply people overwhelmed with Inner Demons. They can''t help who they are. They didn''t choose their fate. In a way, they are innocent but in the other way they caused so much pain and suffering."


    "There is nothing we can do about that. The only way we can give him relief if we wanted to do good and to do Ignis good, is to kill him and prevent another spawn like him to appear."


    He did feel a bit of grief for Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll but he did feel grief even more for the rest of Ignis. The ill.u.s.tratios wiped out over 70,000 Ignites since the war started. It is just to much to forget and forgive.


    "That is true but that isn''t our concern right now. Go to King Michael. Show your pure intent, show the information i gave you. After over 10,000 Years, the "Peaceful Demons" from the other Dimension managed to teleport here although with poor results as it appears. But if they manage to teleport here in the first place, what is to stop them to teleport here more well equipped, Stronger. We need his assistance if humanity is to continue its existence."


    "So this is goodbye? I get why you can''t come with us, but everytime i enter the Fishing Waters of Gaster Kingdom, have Becky come and get me. I need to spend more time with you before age gets the best of me."

 Chapter 100 - Stunned

    Not seeing Lia and Jim anywhere, the two "heros" noticed that they smashed the doors over the two they tried to help in the first place.


    "They are under the door!"


    Yelled the little one. He had to yell because all the 50 ill.u.s.tratian Guards were whispering loud enough to make a normally said sentence a bit impossible to hear even by a person very near.


    "Lift from the side otherwise we would crush their heads!"


    Yelled the 7 foot ill.u.s.tratio. The door is generally heavy and although getting under the door didn''t break any of Jim''s bones, it sure left several painful bruises. But the good news is, the door was long enough to hit and break several ill.u.s.tratian necks, the Guards who were standing on their feet a bit away from Jim and Lia that is. It was extremely easy to break their necks because gravity made the door even heavier and their heads getting hit made the door less bone crushingly heavy for Lia and Jim.


    They lifted the Doors, allowing Lia and Jim to rise quickly and form a battle position.


    When Lia quickly stood up, it is fair to say that the little ill.u.s.tratian boy was stunned by her beauty. Beauty isn''t as important as a good character, but it is good to have both. And in this case the kid felt like beauty could be more important. And he isn''t so far off really. Lia has a beautiful feminine form with small male attributes, even though she is 16 years old, it is clear to see that her body has fully developed already. Spearfishing gave her that body form. An insanely fit a.d.u.l.t form.


    Lia of course is a very humble girl. Having her hair tied to a tail all the time and commonly wearing fishermen clothes, she never really cared about attracting males although she clearly attracted many before, including married men which in most cases led to her beating the crap out of them, but it made it clear to her that she is beautiful.


    "Kaleem. Son. We have a battle to focus on here!"


    Said Saleem as he lifted the door and held it horizontally, using it like a shield to bash down Guards as he ran towards them in the speed he could build up.


    "Right. Right. Hit the deck!"


    He yelled, clearing it out to the people he wanted to help and to his father as well. Even a seemingly indestructible lady like Lia would have chances of death if hit by a door tossed at his full strength.


    His father pushed through as much as he could before the force those Guards were showing, fairly slowed down and stopped his full charged attack after a while. Using it as a last option, he then quickly tipped the door towards the Guards ending up with some underneath that door.


    Hearing Kaleem''s warning to "hit the deck" a bit earlier, he used his 300 pound body weight to easier tip the door, falling along with it.


    It didn''t crush all of the Guards, a ? of what were remaining were on their feet and they are swiftly but disorganized, charging towards Saleem who was technically pinned down even though he did it on purpose.


    As several Guards raised their weapons to crush Saleem, they were the ones who ended up as crushed because the other half of the door was tossed by Kaleem at full strength which was so impactful that it split 6 Guards in half and instantly killed 7 others. Saleem himself was able to lift a door as big as that and use it as a shield for some reason, but he wasn''t strong enough to toss a door like that in such speed and strength.


    Kaleem has progressed through his powers greatly in just a couple of weeks. He even managed to add a bit more weight to his body now and doesn''t seem as thin as a twig. He is slightly above 100 pounds now and his muscles started developing. Slow but progressive.


    After that brutal battle, only 5 Guards remained alive and in tact. Even though their overall morale should be through the floor right now, they still had the courage to attack.


    As they charged to attack, they were stopped by Saleem who bare handedly grabbed two by the neck, lifted them 2 feet from the ground and threw them against the ground like they were garbage. Avoiding the weapons from the remaining 3, he "accidentally stepped on the necks of the 2 he bashed against the ground.


    Fair to say their fate was clear to be seen when a 300 pound man stepped on their necks.


    He punched one of the three Guards, which sent the Guard flying for 6 feet and tumbling for another 8. Saleem''s strength is no doubt extraordinary.


    As the two remaining Guards both raised their weapons and were slowly approaching Saleem from both sides, he had his fists up but it seemed rather ineffective against cold weapons.


    Two Swords came flying like eagles and reached the Guards. The Swords hit the heads and ripped them off of their bodies and their speed was only slowed down when they hit the support beam on the other end of the throne room with the heads remaining on the Swords.


    "Nice throw"


    They both said simultaneously as they heard cracks that sounded rather like a problem.


    The Support beam was also hit by the door Kaleem threw before and almost cut through that support beam as well. But it didn''t. The Swords hitting the support beam, killed the last bit of support the beam had to offer.


    Cracks became more fast paced and they showed no sign of stopping as all of them were making awkwardly still eye contact.


    "Run!"


    Yelled Saleem as he shook the ground with his body weight as he ran towards the exit with the ceiling behind him quickly meeting the floor. This is a situation where a blink of an eye isn''t to be wasted. Saleem did not look back.

 Chapter 101 - N.a.k.e.d man riding a Swordfish

    Eric, Stefan, Commander Alia and even King Michael were all on small boats, searching for Mogranius. They all thought him as dead. The Spearfishermen witnessed a 1500kg Swordfish dragging Mogranius down the Ocean. Everyone could put two and two together to calculate his unfortunate fate.


    But they aren''t at all certain of the abnormal fate Mogranius brought upon himself. They don''t know that his 300 year old father told the Swordfish to drag Mogranius a kilometer underwater. Even if they heard it, they would never believe it, not to mention spreading such a story with anyone without being called insane.


    "Do you think that we can at least find his body?"


    Asked Eric.


    "I doubt it, Swordfish are carnivores. They eat meat, he is likely dragged down an underwater den, saved for food if he wasn''t consumed right away."


    Said King Michael who was in a small boat with Eric.


    "So even if he died, the chances of finding his dead body is a case above rare?"


    Followed up Eric with another question. He was in large grief about his Mentor. They managed to build up a good connection, and just to lose him. For a boy who barely had any friends before he became the Electus, this is extraordinarily hard for him to take in.


    "We would be lucky if we found the same fish. If that fish managed to grow that big, it surely knows where to feed. It is no doubt smarter than average fish."


    Said King Michael. Although he did not want to make Eric feel worse, he just has to much knowledge and loves to express his knowledge whenever he gets the chance.


    "What does a fish''s overall intelligence has to do with this situation Michael?"


    In a bit of rage followed by grief, Eric was sure losing his patience which isn''t good at all. If he wants to defeat the remaining Inner Demons, he needs to keep his rage under control and not to mention his patience.


    "I mean, that fish figured out that Humans stay around these fishing waters. Meaning, it will come again when it gets hungry. Mogranius was but a snack for a Fish that large. This will likely mess with the Kingdom''s main food supply."


    "My friend is dead and you are thinking of the food supply? Don''t test my patience Michael."


    "Although I do feel grief for Mogranius, I also have sympathy for your situation. But i am a King, it is my responsibility to make sure that these 400 people don''t starve to death. Gaster Kingdom is already bad as it is. We don''t  need a foot shortage. Do you understand sir Eric?"


    Eric wanted to reply but he felt himself that what he was about to say would no doubt be harsh. He hasn''t had enough control over his feelings lately. His destiny is pushing him to the edge so he refused to reply.


    It''s better to not speak than to speak bad at this point. Arguing is pointless.


    "Wait. Am i going insane? The waters must have gotten me dizzy!"


    Yelled King Michael in both excitement, fear, happiness, and a will to shed tears of joy.


    "What? What are you talking about?"


    Said Eric after he dropped a tear on the Sea Water while refusing to move even an inch while looking at his reflection.


    "Just look up goddamnit!"


    "What the actual...Is that?"


    "It couldn''t be. This is impossible!"


    Added King Michael in shock and happiness topped up with self doubt. He didn''t trust his own eyes, or Eric''s eyes either. Because Eric was seeing the same thing as he was.


    "Is that Mogranius riding a Goddamn Swordfish?"


    Yelled Eric in confusion as he flew away out of the boat, leaving King Michael floating on the sea waters alone. What if a Swordfish dragged him too?!


    Eric tried to reach Mogranius but Becky was to fast for Eric to catch on, especially since he started flying from a nearly 80 yard Distance from Becky and he was 300 yards away from the shore.


    Commander Alia saw as well what Eric and King Michael saw, she didn''t believe her eyes either but she no doubt didn''t waste even a second once she had a small theory of Mogranius actually surviving the attack.


    She lost patience, she couldn''t nearly wait until She and Woldemir beach the boat, especially as Stefan acting sort of like dead weight. He is 5 foot tall after all. they were over a 150 yards away from the shore.


    She jumped out of the boat and swam her way to the shore.


    Her excitement was so great that she swam 150 yards in roughly a bit over a minute and her willpower didn''t let her get tired at all, not to mention she is in pique physical form even though considering she is 300 years old.


    As she arose from the Sea Waters, she quickly ran towards what seemed to be Mogranius and her theory proved correct.


    What rode the Swordfish was indeed Mogranius and as he turned around, in a blink of an eye he got tackled by Commander Alia which sent them flying for 3 feet before landing on the sand able to break most of the fall.


    Commander Alia broke down in tears of joy and kept crying in front of everyone over his n.a.k.e.d body but none of the main group members were there to witness it. It contained a crowd mostly of Fishermen and Spearfishermen. She cried in that crowd while hugging Mogranius tight. It was heartwarming to see but it was a bit hard as well. The strict lady who barely jokes around or smiles, broke down in tears of joy. She likely never did or experienced anything like this before.


    Eric after finally arriving, jumped over the couple as well but he wasn''t crying even though he felt the urge too.


    "Alright alright. Calm down you two. I''m well and alive but i do have a hell of a story to tell!"


    He said as he was hugging Commander Alia and patting Eric''s back.

 Chapter 102 - Kaleem the Witch

    The entire throne room collapsed because of Saleem, Kaleem and Lia, it also did damage to other parts of the Castle, such as in the dining hall, watch towers and even on the Royal bedroom. But it was nothing compared to the overall damage caused on the Throne room. There was nothing left in it but dead bodies. The King didn''t meet a fate similar to the Guards though, he ran and hid on the other side of the Castle, hoping for this disaster to end, praying to his lord Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l. And lucky for him, the situation ended. But in fatal circ.u.mstances. A lot of Guards were lost and it sounds like the group of 4 aren''t stopping there.


    "Where the hell did you two come from? You two really turned the tide in this battle!"


    Said Lia outside of the Castle as she tried to take in what just happened.


    "I am witch. I Mean Saleem. I mean Kaleem. Kaleem the Witch. No! Wizard!"


    Kaleem tried to form a sentence but he was stunned by Lia''s beauty, who like her power, was extraordinary, leaving him struggling to form a full understandable sentence.


    "Smooth!"


    Coughed Kaleem in the background.


    "Kaleem the Witch. Thanks for saving my behind. Literally. I would be dead meat before execution if those Guards were to arrest me."


    With a teasing tone but yet thankful intent, Lia expressed her feelings of gratitude towards Kaleem and Salem.


    "You are beaut...i mean welcome!"


    With further embarrassment, Kaleem finally managed to form half a sentence.


    "Our destination is Pameres Kingdom. King Zar kicked out the illas along with the ill.u.s.tratian alliance from his Kingdom. We were going there to support him but were stunned when we heard that a Witch is causing havoc in the Castle. We arrived just in time as it seems."


    Explained Saleem why they are on Wide River Kingdom to begin with. They were travelling to Pameres Kingdom.


    "But why do you go against the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance. You are an ill.u.s.tratio after all. So is this shy kid!"


    Pointed out Lia.


    "I''m not shy!"


    "Of course you aren''t."


    "ill.u.s.tratios killed my wife long ago because she was an Ignite and a Witch. I avoided the situation for nearly 2 decades but not anymore."


    "Many of the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance will die on our hands!"


    With an admirably brave tone, Kaleem finally came back to his senses, looking actually more attracting to Lia who was never attracted to any man before. But she hid her thoughts and gave a slight blush.


    "I hate to interrupt your conversations of bravery but trouble approaches."


    Said Jim who was carefully observing everything in the Background instead of speaking.


    As they focused on Jim, they noticed a big crowd in front of him. They were mostly ill.u.s.tratios with some Ignites here and there all booing at the group of 4.


    Lia''s family walked out of the crowd but they didn''t bother to run. Acting like spoiled brats from a higher financial standard, they kept their heads so high that they would trip over anything easily.


    Her stepfather was the one leading the family of 4. The family is following him out of the crowd, in hopes of reaching Lia.


    "Lia. Did you cause all of this havoc?"


    Asked her Stepfather. After Lia''s father died of a fate led by the ill.u.s.tratios, Lia''s mother re married to this man. Or merely a man. He married Lia''s mother to obtain the fortune Lia''s father left behind and no doubt spend it all where no man is supposed to. That''s why Lia is financially supporting the family and why this "man" didn''t disappear yet. Because he thinks there is more money to drain.


    "I might off. Why are you here? To call me a Demon?"


    Lia didn''t get along with her Stepfather. She knew of his intentions. And as older she grew, she became less depended of him or anyone else in particular.


    "Witches come from the depths of hell as far as the illas have told us and these two kind Spearfishermen have told the town the truth. A Black Marlin struck your face with its nose but you aren''t even bloody."


    Said her Stepfather in aims to put her below his feet. He especially started targeting Lia more when she cut of his financial income and started managing the Gold Coins herself.


    "Lia is that true. Do you work with Demons?"


    Asked her mother in concern and with her two older brothers looking down on her.


    "Of course not. Look. I have no idea how I''m able to withstand such attacks but I never saw any Demon. If i was a Demon i would kill all of you long ago!"


    Lia couldn''t believe that her own mother also thinks that she is a Demon. Her marrying an ill.u.s.tratio was nothing but trouble.


    "That''s not what your powers are saying Lia. What the hell is going on?"


    Yelled one of her Older brothers.


    "Are you really listening to what this maniac has to say? The ill.u.s.tratios killed our father, why the hell are you taking their side?"


    Hearing what Lia just pointed out, her brother went into slight sadness when his father was mentioned and didn''t let out a word after.


    "Alright. I''m going to make this situation very simple."


    Interrupted Saleem as he walked and stood in front of her family, leaving Lia behind him and continued


    "You can support your daughter, your family member through this awakening of power or you can go against her and call her a Demon. I couldn''t care less what you choose. Either choice would satisfy me.


    If you choose to support her, you spoiled brats will finally mature though to late.


    If you choose to oppose her, i can crush skulls. So either way, i''m satisfied!"


    Standing 7 feet tall, he made his intent rather clear.


    "You are either for or against. What will it be?"

 Chapter 103 - Robe please

    "Why is Mogranius n.a.k.e.d?"


    Pointed out Woldemir as he walked in on the scene with Stefan after he managed to paddle his way out of the Sea Waters.


    "I came up here riding a Demonic Swordfish and the first question you are going to ask is about my clothes?"


    "Well he means that this sight is more disturbing than the Demonic Swordfish!"


    Added Stefan in a bit of sarcasm.


    "What do you mean? I''m fitter than both of you."


    Which was a bit true. Exploring has given Mogranius legs like steel and prevented him from growing over weight. He would look like a 35 year old if it wasn''t for his long beard.


    "Yes it isn''t about the muscles. I mean your n.a.k.e.d. Here, put on your robe."


    Said Woldemir as he kindly offered Mogranius the robe he left on the beach before entering the Sea Waters to begin with. Even though they are already close friends, manners are everything for Woldemir so he saw no reason to drop a slight playful offense. Even under the toughest situation he would think of ways to express what he is feeling without cursing.


    "Alright alright that sounds reasonable. None of you can handle such beauty anyway."


    "Now seeing that you are alive and well, where in the name of hell were you and how did you tame a huge Swordfish?"


    Asked Eric. His language has rather changed lately. But he has reasons behind it this time. How else would he express this situation?


    "I doubt that i told any of you about my father?!"


    "No I don''t think so!"


    Said Commander Alia.


    "I barely know anything about you."


    Added Woldemir.


    "You had a father?"


    Asked Eric.


    "Even if we did, he would be dead by now!"


    Pointed out Stefan.


    "Anyway. He consumed demon meat, beat 3 Inner Demons and can see through any animal''s eyes! Also, he is 300 years old."


    "Next time take me to your adventures. They seem insane. I love it!"


    Said Eric in a happy tone. A tone he didn''t have for over a month now and possibly longer before that.


    Everyone noticed Eric''s recent mood and feelings but they chose not to say anything. He has already enough burden upon his soul. An argument could possibly break him more.


    "Oh you would love it. I fought Demons, a Whale who had feet and saw the Source of Fire!"


    As he finished that sentence, everyone looked at him as if he went insane. Who was to blame them? Everything Mogranius is saying sounds like something impossible, crazy and made up.


    "You gotta be kidding!"


    Said Stefan.


    "Even that Demon we met in the forest doesn''t know where the sources are but somehow you found the Source of Fire?"


    Asked Woldemir in both shock and confusion. He is having it hard to catch up. Which says a lot because he is a Grand Master(level 6) in swordsmanship where perception and agility is key.


    "I will tell all of you everything later. I could "write a book" out of this entire adventure I had but first I need to talk to King Michael. What I''ve told you so far is nothing compared to what all of you are about to hear a bit later."


    "Oh. King Michael. Well this is a bit embarrassing to tell. I left him on a boat once i saw you riding the Swordfish!"


    Said Eric and got a bit red when he saw how Commander Alia is looking at him. Commander Alia gives that motherly comfort if not more to him.


    "Well go get him!"


    Yelled Mogranius in a laughing manner.


    "Can I ride the Swordfish there?"


    "You could. If she was here!"


    "It''s a She?"


    Yelled Stefan in shock!


    "She is large."


    Alright i''ll go get King Michael. He should of made his way here for at least 80 yards already. He is a man, he can paddle."


    Fire broke out of Eric''s feet and he elevated from the ground in a split second after he finished the sentence. He flew a lot ever since his last visit in Crutal Kingdom. What he struggled to even start back then, is lifting him across the blue skies now. Practice makes Progress.


    As Eric flew away, Mogranius turned to Woldemir and said


    "The boy is struggling with the Inner Demon of rage. If he doesn''t fight it now, he will end up Like Xakro, insane with power."


    "I have noticed it but what can we do about it? He has my eternal support to his journey but i don''t know what more to do. If I knew, I would gladly do it."


    "You have been through a lot in your life Woldemir. If anyone knows how to be patient, it is you."


    Added Stefan in the conversation to make a point. He is very perceptive and saw rather well where Mogranius was going with this conversation.


    "But the Inner Demon of Fire Controlling is connected with rage, not patience. But I am very willing to help if you are certain that i can actually help somehow. "


    Said Woldemir. Like he was over protective in the very beginning of this whole story, he still aims to help, provide and protect now even though he did it at a slower pace now considering that Eric is more than capable to protect himself. But even though he is capable, he is just a kid. He is 15 years old. He needs guidance.


    "You can. Very much. You are a powerful man. You could at least behead tens before you ran away from that burned down house. But you chose to run. You chose to run in aims to save your kid. To save Eric."


    Explained Mogranius reminding Woldemir of his qualities.


    "If anyone knows rage control, it is you. You kept your rage under control even though you could burst in anger and behead one ill.u.s.tratio after the other."


    Added Stefan. He has known Woldemir for 15 years. When Woldemir was travelling with burned dirty clothes and baby Eric on his arms, passing by the farm house he was noticed by Stefan who no doubt offered help right away and was more than capable to figure out what happened before even asking anything.


    The farmhouse was just a small cabin where Stefan came to relax his nerves once in a while, he gave it to Woldemir and helped them financially for 15 years as much as he could.


    "You need to teach your son to control his rage. Like the levels of Magic, there are levels of Rage. Him advancing to level four in Fire Controlling, instantly gave him a level 4 Inner Demon of rage to fight. If that makes sense. If that Inner Demon reaches level 6, there is no going back."

 Chapter 104 - Kid versus WatchTower

    Her family stood quiet as Saleem asked them such question of importance. It was clear to see that her family won''t support her through this new ability. Through this new Power.


    Lia did expect this nonsense from her StepFather big time, she was uncertain about her brothers but the fact that her mother didn''t support her either, felt like a kick in the head.


    She felt like breaking down but she hid her emotions and stood tall(5.4ft) in front of her opposition. In most cases, she is the one who made whoever oppose her cry, but at this case where it feels like her family raised daggers and stabbed her continually, she felt frozen and helpless again for the first time in a very long while.


    "What are you bastards waiting for? Kill them!"


    Yelled King Macek from the Castle Watch tower ordering the remaining Guards who were standing along with the crowd, to attack.


    "Yeah that does it!"


    Said Kaleem swiftly and he started running towards the WatchTower.


    "Son what are you doing?"


    Yelled Saleem.


    "Trust me. I found our way out of here."


    "This looks promising."


    Added Jim.


    As Kaleem reached the Watchtower, he gave a punch to it with all his might which shook half of the Entire WatchTower but didn''t manage to make it collapse.


    "Oh I''m screwed."


    Whispered King Macek in a small cold tone.


    Kaleem proceeded to punch the Watch Tower again and again and every time he did, the Tower shook more than it did the last time, becoming a whole lot more unstable by the second.


    "Son. Whatever you are trying to doo, be quick. Guards are approaching from all sides!"


    As Lia witnessed Kaleem continuing to punch the WatchTower with his bloody fists, he wondered with herself, thinking


    "Does he have magical powers as well?"


    But her thoughts were stopped as the WatchTower started rumbling to the point of no return.


    The whole 40 foot tall and 15 foot wide Watch Tower collapsed as if it was nothing. But it was sure something for Kaleem. It took him 2 broken fingers and 19 Punches to bring the whole Tower down. Luckily the bones were only cracked. Not separated in two.


    Although he isn''t indestructible, super strength offered him twice the endurance he had before discovering his power. He punched a Stone WatchTower with crushing impactful speed 19 times and risked only 2 broken fingers. One would think that he has both powers.


    But the King as if angels carried him down, escaped the collapse without a bruise.


    "Come grab the King. He is our way out of here."


    Yelled Kaleem. No one would attack if the group of 4 threatens to break the King''s neck and send him up the river for good. And Macek nearly doesn''t have the courage to sacrifice himself for the 4 enemies to be killed.


    Thinking that Kaleem was calling Lia to do the job, she ran towards Kaleem which looked like a little duck was running before she got passed by Saleem shaking the ground as he ran, leaving Lia to stop on the spot and realising how awkward the situation she just put herself into is.


    "Oh you didn''t mean...i mean alright let''s get out of this hellhole. My boat is on the beach!"


    She yelled awkwardly.


    Saleem approached Macek who curled into a ball expecting fists and kicks. He grabbed 5.7ft tall Macek behind the neck and raised him 2 feet above the ground with one hand, before he said


    "Why not compare your strength with me now instead of a maid!"


    "Don''t kill me please!"


    "Kill you? No. You are worth a royal amount of Gold unfortunately to everyone. Now tell your Guards to drop on the ground or you lose your head."


    "Drop your weapons. Drop them on the ground and clear a way. That''s an order."


    Yelled Macek in a tone similar to the one scared little dogs make.


    "I said for them to drop on the ground as well you piece of crap. Do as i say!"


    Yelled Saleem.


    "Do as he said by the name of God Xakro. He will crush me to bits if you don''t."


    Seeing no other option to choose from and seeing it as a clear order of desperation from the King of Wide Rivers Kingdom himself, every Guard dropped on the ground weaponless and the Citizens cleared out the way. Lia''s family seemed to have disappeared on the crowd long ago, making their answers clear to Lia and everyone.


    "Run. As I said before, my Boat is on the beach, it can fit all of us. The two of you are more than capable to lift it and push it out of the Water, unless you want me to do it!"


    She said swiftly as she waved her hand towards the beach.


    "No need for you to lift. Let''s goo!"


    Said Saleem in a warm tone.


    "If any of you try anything Heroic, the King will lose his head along with you. Don''t be a fool, live longer."


    Yelled Jim reassuring everyone there their place in the world.

 Chapter 105 - Pull your Ears

    "What do you mean there is no going back?"


    Asked Woldemir in concern. They are talking about his son after all. He took an oath to protect Eric, even if he had to sacrifice himself and he would willingly doing without wasting a heartbeat. If he is willing to do that much for his only son, it would be easier to show emotional support like every parent should. Eric is the only family he has after all.


    "I mean, once the Inner Demon of Rage or any other actually manages to reach level 6, Eric won''t be able to recover from that misfortune, ever. He won''t be mentally different from Xakro, he will be a madman. I''m surprised how Xakro didn''t burn his own Kingdom down by now, he is very unstable."


    Pointed out Mogranius. His father told him a lot around that Campfire before Mogranius rode Becky back to the shore. And now he feels more prepared at least and he indeed knows enough to have a new more well thought out approach to this disaster of a situation.


    "Considering he has a level 4 Inner Demon of Rage to beat, he is holding up quite well. He just has short anger outbursts but none considered necessarily harmful. Meaning he noticed it and is already fighting it even though he isn''t sharing it with the rest of us."


    Pointed out Stefan who yet again has observed everything. Evading Danger practically all his life, Stefan''s Perception developed to being almost extraordinary. If someone can notice minor changes, it is him. His Perception is even strong enough to see where a conversation is going before it happens. His brain works over time.


    "How can we be certain that he is fighting it? I mean we barely know anything about the Inner Demons to begin with, how do we know they aren''t giving their best work yet."


    Asked Woldemir in concern. He can''t take any chances. He needs to be certain that his son is at least trying.


    "I can answer that!"


    Said Eric as he beached the 3 meter long and 2 meter wide boat with King Michael on it. As he walked out of the boat and made his way to the group, Mogranius'' focus wasn''t on Eric but on King Michael. He didn''t tell anyone about Michael yet. And neither of them would probably ever know unless Michael told them or if Mogranius chose a different path to this journey if he had a different path to choose from.


    "I have noticed my rage outbursts ever since the Demon we saw, pointed it out. I have been trying to fight it ever since but it is rather difficult to beat. Reason tells me that it isn''t a big deal, rage tells me to burn any problem i face to the ground."


    "Son. I can feel what you are going through, as the Demon said, this will be especially hard since you have awoken to Fire Controlling first instead of Lava Controlling, Skipping to beat the Inner Demon of Patience. This situation could have been a lot more worse but you fought out of it rather well."


    Grabbing Eric''s shoulder, Mogranius showed pride. It was all over his face. He almost even dropped a tear.


    "You need to let go of Burden. The ill.u.s.tratian revolution is slowly crumbling to dust. And you aren''t alone at this. I got your back, we got your back."


    "My entire Kingdom got your back!"


    Added King Michael as he raised his Iron Short Sword sky high and everyone in the scene followed with a heartfelt Cheer which caused goosebumps to a lot.


    After the cheer, Mogranius pulled the King by the arm to separate him from the crowd without making a scene and barely anyone noticed it because they burst in conversations. Discussing Inner Demons, ill.u.s.tratios, the deal with Pameres Kingdom and the overall war.


    "This might not be the best time. But I know your true identity. Sir Fire Controller."


    Whispered Mogranius in a tone that wouldn''t catch attention to anyone but Commander Alia who was sticking to Mogranius like a leach. She sure missed him and is insanely happy that he is well and alive.


    "So you figured out that i can Control Fire. I realize it is a bit of a big deal but we are in Ignis after all. Fire Controllers had to rise in one end or the other."


    "Son, don''t play dumb with me or i''ll pull your ears. Oh wait¡­"


    Hence the Sarcasm.


    "Well this situation is rather awkward. How did you find out?"


    Said King Michael without making eye contact to avoid a scene.


    "I wouldn''t off. You hide it rather well to be completely honest. But your little fire farting bunny told me."


    "I knew that little Demon could talk. What did she tell you?"


    "Oh no no it isn''t like that."


    Said Mogranius re assuring King Michael that his bunny can''t talk which made the King frown for a bit.


    "My father can see through any living animal''s eyes. Long story of which I will fill you in the details later. But my father told me that you will prove rather useful to fight of these "Peaceful Demons!"


    "As much as I would love to help, i can''t share my information with you before you and the rest of your group start trusting us. If you can''t trust me, why would i trust you with such sensitive information? An Electus is essential if we wish to save Ignis from facing the same fate my Continent did, so his assistance is vital."

 Chapter 106 - Nose to Nose

    The group of four made their way to the boat which was beached when Lia brought the Black Marlin out of the Waters with the help of Jim and the other 2 Spearfishermen who reported her to begin with.


    If they only knew that they would get 1,500 Gold Coins just by casually beaching a large fish, they would stick with Lia instead of going for those 10,000 Gold Coins which they have to split. I mean if they got 1,500 Gold Coins in a day primarily thanks to Lia, what if they went with her everyday? They would make their life fortune in a year.


    They would be as rich as a King or even richer. But they made their own bad decision when they chose to stab Lia in the back for a few Gold Coins which they might or might not get due to the massively corrupt system which values its people based on the pure foundation of one''s financial situation and overall social status.


    Jim however stood by her side. It is still not certain to Lia on why he did that.


    If it was love, it would be just creepy because Lia is just 16 years old, basically not even an a.d.u.l.t yet, and Jim is a 27 year old Ignite. I mean sure 58 year old Mogranius is in a relationship with a 300 year old Kastarian(Commander Alia), but considering a Kastarian''s average Life Span is 500-600 Years, she is considered in her early fifties.


    So if it wasn''t love that made Jim stick by Lia''s side. What could it possibly be? Does he want a bigger fortune or just a fortune that lasts forever, friendship?


    As they ran their way down to the beach with Saleem carrying King Macek on his back, they noticed that they weren''t alone now even though they literally just escaped the Kingdom. Although the boat was intact and wasn''t struck by anyone in the means of preventing them from escaping, a bigger problem was approaching.


    The life of King Macek suddenly became irrelevant as a Guard Commander took control of the scene seconds after the group of 4 left the Kingdom of Wide Rivers.


    Above 100 Guards came out of the Kingdom''s main door and rushed towards the group of 4, no matter how much King Macek yelled for them to stop on their spot, they just plainly ignored his Commands.


    That embarrassment of a King treasures nothing more than his life but at the moment even his life seems to be in a rather great risk considering the Guard Count and the lack of Control King Macek has towards them.


    "Push father. Those Guards are getting dangerously close."


    Yelled Kaleem urging his father in such a fatal situation. He would help his father lift the Boat but as mentioned before, he broke 2 Fingers bringing that WatchTower down and the pain now is getting greater although he is holding his hauls of pain in because Lia was near.


    "I''m trying. This thing is standing still like a boulder though."


    Said Saleem with King Macek still over his back.


    "It would be rather easier if one of you held Macek down!"


    "Alright! Drop the Bastard down. I''ll hold him still."


    Said Jim swiftly as he pulled out his Sword of which he took from a dead Guard previously.


    As Saleem took no time or caution to drop King Macek, Jim placed his foot over the King''s chest and his sword pointed forwards an inch away from the King''s neck, preventing him from making any moves.


    "The Guards are about a 100 yards away gentlemen. Why isn''t my boat in the Water yet? We can''t face 100 Guards, they would surround us on all sides and put us out of our misery."


    As she finished her sentence, she took a quick sprint, running towards the boat and actually managed to move the boat an inch. Which was progress because Saleem didn''t even move it until now.


    With a force of two people, the boat started to move inch by inch but they both killed all their Stamina because they put in 100% of their strength in aims of making this Boat move which still wasn''t deep in the water enough to float.


    "My hand is broken but the other isn''t. Let''s do it all together on 3.


    1, 2, 3!"


    As Kaleem finished his sentence, they all put in the last bit of strength they had, managing to move the boat at twice the speed they did before, which after 10 Seconds that felt like 10 hours, made the boat float.


    "Alright we have no time to waste. Move move move!"


    Yelled Saleem as he grabbed the King and tossed him along with Jim on the Boat. They had no time to wait for everyone to take their precious time on climbing the boat or struggling to climb it.


    "I said move!"


    Yelled Saleem when he caught Kaleem and Lia looking awkwardly at each other as they both insisted on who to climb first.


    Kaleem wanted Lia to climb first because he wanted to ensure her safety first over his own and Lia wanted Jim to climb on the boat first because he has a broken hand and could use assistance underneath while climbing.


    Which is why Saleem lost his last nerve and forced them to become airborne.


    But it was worth hitting the hard wooden plank for, because even if they wanted this or not, Saleem tossed them in such a way that Lia ended up over Kaleem, almost kissing him, practically being nose to nose.


    Seeing themselves on such an embarrassing situation, they both got red even though considering Kaleem has dark green skin but he no doubt liked it and Lia was a bit shy because no boy could ever approach her that close even if they wanted too.


    Pushing the boat deeper towards the Sea Waters and finally almost tipping the boat over while climbing on, Saleem did most of the work on keeping everyone''s behinds safe.


    "Paddle!"


    He yelled as he urged everyone to paddle with all their might, including King Macek because Kaleem''s hand was still broken and what bravery had King Macek to go against a 7 foot man''s word?

 Chapter 107 - Demon War

    After everyone gave Mogranius a warm welcome, King Michael reminded them that they can call his castle their home and led them towards the Castle as Dusk was very near. The Castle being a place more private, it is perfect for discussing the war against demons.


    Before they made their way to the Castle, a Fisherman approached Mogranius with the special spear he had 246 years ago and gently handed it to him. There is no way to use that spear now, it was rusty, bent and very old, but everytime Mogranius would glance at it, it would remind him of his rather insane and funny father.


    As they entered the dining room in the castle they got served some tea first by the Kind oldish maid ladies who yes, work for fish.


    Tea isn''t something hard to obtain even though considering their financial income is flat.


    There is a forest near them, the forest of which occupies 60% of the Continent where there isn''t Snow.


    Breaking the silence was Mogranius, he came straight to the point without wasting a precious second.


    "I''m aware you all aren''t so sure what happened to me in this rather short adventure. Let me start from the beginning."


    "Do tell. But next time if you don''t take me with you to your crazy adventures, i''ll be mad."


    Pointed out Commander Alia in a friendly tone as she gently rubbed her face on his upper arm. She missed him so much and is extremely happy that he is well and alive that even a leach wouldn''t be able to compete with her in this case.


    "I will drag all of you to my adventures don''t worry."


    "Tell me how it went once you go to future adventures."


    Added Stefan making it clear that he doesn''t want to be anywhere around Demons. The last Demon they met gave him a bit of a phobia even though she didn''t technically hurt them.


    "Such admirable bravery."


    Said Mogranius in sarcasm and continued


    "However, my father who I thought died 246 years ago due to a fishing accident, was actually somehow called down by the Source of Fire, to protect the source and he is still alive."


    "Wow to have an honour like that, to be the Guardian of the source. Incredible!"


    Showed Stefan his admiration for Mogranius'' father instantly.


    "It is an honour, but it is a burden as well. Being near the source and being given 3 Inner Demons to beat has made him go completely insane. While i was fighting off Demons with Fire, he was fighting them off with rocks hit by a stick which was surprisingly effective to be honest."


    "How could he get 3 Inner Demons to beat, is he an Electus? And that form of attack sounds amazing!"


    Slightly yelled Eric with a lot of enthusiasm on his eyes which felt like a gift to everyone. He looked adorable.


    "I might use that attack if I face a Source Bear again.


    Moving on, he isn''t an Electus. But such power is a combination of spending an extended period of time near the Demonite and eating "Peaceful Demon" meat."


    "You saw Demonite?"


    Asked 3 of the group members except Stefan and King Michael also didn''t bother to ask which raised suspicion to Stefan right away.


    King Michael gave such a facial expression, showing that he could easily follow the conversation unlike the rest who had a sudden urge to scratch their heads here and there. Stefan added parts together and had a theory where this conversation was going to, King Michael.


    "Demonite is a special Gem from hell as you all know. Well it isn''t but a rock there but here it got infused with the Sources. One plain red gem was holding the Source of Fire while the Demon of Fire himself was turned into stone, precisely as that Demon in the woods told us. She turned out to be the Mother of all Demons like my father said."


    "So she wasn''t bluffing when she said that she can invade all of Ignis if she wanted too."


    Added Woldemir who seemed to have remembered that sentence instead of remembering the boat load of information she gave them about the Inner Demons and how to beat them.


    "Oh she can destroy earth if she pleased. I think we offended the most powerful being on earth that day. It''s a surprise how she didn''t feed us to her TitanoBoa."


    Exclaimed Mogranius and witnessed Stefan getting shivers when he got reminded of the TitanoBoa.


    "You actually saw a TitanoBoa? They are on the edge of extinction! I''ve been studying them for years and I only saw 2 throughout thousands of hours of hiking. It was worth the hike in every aspect, believe me!"


    Explained King Michael in enthusiasm. Even his eyes expanded as he heard that name.


    "Yes and I hope we don''t see one again. I was eye to eye with the beast. If it wasn''t for my Sword, i would be snake food now!"


    Said Woldemir in a cold low tone. But as terrifying as the situation was, he didn''t get a phobia or a trauma from the experience with the TitanoBoa, unlike Stefan.


    "Getting back to the point people.


    The Demons are managing to teleport on our World, but since teleporting from one Dimension to another is such technology that a civilization as advanced as them took ages to gain, they are teleporting here practically n.a.k.e.d, killable, weaponless and even powerless. They have "Magical Powers" too like the Mother of all Demons pointed out, but here they don''t."


    Said Mogranius resulting to confusing himself on what he was saying and even struggling to form proper sentences.


    "Meaning we have bigger chances to fight them. You hear that Eric? We can oppose the Demons! It would be like fighting weaponless opponents!"


    Slightly yelled Commander Alia in enthusiasm which was rather adorable to see as well.


    "Adorable enthusiasm!"


    Pointed out Mogranius which instantly made Commander Alia blush for a bit. This is indeed something only one man managed to doo.


    "Yes we have chances to beat the Demons. But we need superior knowledge. Someone who has studied them for a long time."


    "That Someone is King Michael. Isn''t it!"


    Asked Stefan who proved his theory correct after a lot of thought.

 Chapter 108 - Natives>Imports

    "So. King Zar... refuses to fulfill the request i specifically... assigned him too?...Why?"


    Asked King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll, as he stood in patience, hearing what Guard Commander Chan has to say.


    "I''m about to quote his own words Sire. he said


    "I''m sick of my father''s ways of life and i want to bring equality in Pameres Kingdom.""


    Guard Commander Chan was trembling as he quoted what King Zar said. Knowing how capable the King is, fear is implanted in his mind.


    King Zar didn''t have fear towards his father. Because actually, Zar doesn''t even remember meeting King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll.


    The only time he was face to face with his father, were minutes after birth. Where Xakro refused Zar as a son and ordered for Zar to live in Pameres Kingdom, ordering the past King, to raise Zar to the point of Kinghood. But not Grand King hood as Zar wasn''t carrying the Powers, he was considered unworthy  for such title.


    So Zar grew up knowing that his own father didn''t accept him, and even blamed himself for it, feeling like a failure in a big part of his 27 years of life.


    But now he managed to take a stand and he did rather great progress so far. Considering how Bad Pameres Kingdom was, with 1/3 of the homeless escaping the streets, and with a possible income of over 10,000 Gold Coins just from Blacksmithing.


    The Kingdom is progressing considerably better when compared to the progress they had while being in the ill.u.s.tratain Alliance where they could make 5-10k Gold Coins income in total each month, because a lot of Gold Coins went in expenses.


    Now even people who escaped the streets are helping the homeless as much as they can with what Gold Coins they can afford to spare.


    "Did you...tell him that refusing to fulfill a task the...Grand King ordered, would kick the refusing Kingdom from the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance...with no hope of return. He can''t undo... what he did."


    Said King Xakro in a cold low tone as if he was dead of emotions, as if he killed each brain cell of his and was only able to speak. It would give anyone shivers.


    "I did. But he firmly stuck to his words. He even considered you a fool locked in your Castle!"


    Said Chan as he swallowed his own spit and heard his voice crack mid sentence.


    "What!"


    Yelled King Xakro as fire arose underneath his throne and flew harmlessly above his head for 20 feet high before it disappeared into thin air, leaving Guard Commander Chan to piss his pants. But it escaped unnoticed by King Xakro, otherwise he would burn Chan into a crisp even though he had many plans about him.


    "Sire i can make you eat his words for you. Let''s burn his Kingdom to the ground. Let''s show him what the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance can do!"


    Said Guard Commander Chan in hopes of preventing the King from burning his own Castle down with this sort of rage.


    "That... would be the Dumbest idea now. Our motherland... is in a military shortage Crutal Kingdom lost... 939 People when the Electus had an outburst and... the Snow Ignites could attack... any moment. If they managed to... invade the Capital of Septemtrionis... Ignis with an army of 300 and... withstand so many attacks after without losing a soldier, they surely discovered... some sort of power that aided them to Victory."


    "So what I understand from that is, you don''t want to lose more Soldiers?"


    Said Guard Commander Chan struggling to keep up even though the King took his time finishing his sentences.


    "Correct. I can''t risk weakening... the Capital. Right now i need... to spend a fortune to strengthen our... defences. We are very near... the border. The Snow Ignites could attack... any time they please."


    "How can we strengthen our defences? We can''t ask any of the other Kingdoms for assistance. Pameres Kingdom was our only option. They couldn''t of nearly provided even half of what you asked for as far as I saw, but in this shortage, they would at least prove a bit useful."


    Chan saw for himself how many homeless people Pameres Kingdom had. I mean even through the hardest attempts, Zar was only able to hire a handful of homeless people.


    "A rich city, is a strong city. If we can get... more income, we can afford more well... trained troops. By Killing 939 people, the Electus pushed... us from the title of "Capital City". Pameres... is the Capital Kingdom now and Zar is the... Grand King."


    "How can we make Crutal Kingdom richer Sire? Experienced workers are harder to get than Guards. Ignis doesn''t have more to spare no matter where we go!"


    "Indeed. But we have... untapped resources that we overlooked.


    We still have over 1000... Imported Guards. They aren''t natives.


    The dirtbags... on the streets aren''t proving useful on Pameres Kingdom... but Zar accepted them as natives, permanent residents. He doesn''t have any... imports. That''s his upper advantage."


    Said the King with his tone rising in rage in the last words of his sentence.


    "So you think that we should turn the Guards into workers. How is that strengthening the defences? We would be losing Guards that way."


    "If we can get... a bigger profit, we can hire mercenaries... from other Continents or even... pay for Soldiers from other Continents. They... wouldn''t refuse a deal with... us but we need to be able to... accomplish this task without leading the Kingdom... to an economical collapse.


    Even if we turn 500 imported Guards into workers, we would... still have over 1000 Guards in total due to the Natives."


    Said King Xakro while losing his breath often mid sentence. This is due to the wounds he was born with, for those who are wondering.


    "Which would also give us the title of being the Capital Kingdom again.


    Sire. Whenever you have a plan, it starts off as crazy and ends up so advantageous. I honestly admire you."


    "No time for... admiration. Get me Aaron. You both will be... very busy this month."

 Chapter 109 - 312 Years old

    "How did you figure it out?"


    Asked Mogranius in confusion.


    "Well we are literally talking about Demons and his expressions don''t show confusion or surprise. It shows that he is familiar with such topics."


    Said Stefan, listing out what made him gain suspicion towards King Michael.


    "Ah. I suppose I need to learn how to act better. I only had 312 years to learn. It''s not fair!"


    What King Michael is doing, would be considered teasing these people with the lack of knowledge they have towards him. Their brains would be overloaded with thoughts, they won''t know which theory that they created in their own mind, to believe first which is rather amusing in Michael''s view.


    "Hold on. You''re an Ignite, right?"


    Pointed out Commander Alia while scratching her head.


    "I would be considered one."


    He said as fire gently arose from his palm while he was seated. Which made Stefan spit his tea out.


    "You can Control Fire?!"


    Yelled Eric in amazement. He is so happy to see another Fire Controller.


    He only met one Fire Controller so far, and that was Mogranius. Considerably King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll as well. He is a level 6 Fire Controller after all.


    "I can. Native Fire Controllers would be even more Rare in Kastaria. 1 in 50,000 as far as i recall, isn''t that right Commander Alia?."


    King Michael felt like he was revealing a bit to much information, but for the good of Gaster Kingdom and for the good of Ignis, he had to get the Electus on his side. So he only gave sensitive information regarding his own identity in hopes of using his race and origin to his advantage.


    "How do you know about Kastaria?"


    Asked Commander Alia in confusion. No outsider should know about Kastaria.


    "Didn''t you figure it out already. I did tell that i''m 312 years old."


    "I thought you were joking about that. You look in your twenties."


    Pointed out Woldemir.


    "No my friends. I am a Kastarian!"


    "What?"


    "It can''t be!"


    "I already knew."


    "You can''t be serious."


    "Well technically i''m half a Kastarian.


    My mother came on Ignis 320 years ago, keeping her identity and Kastaria a secret. Afterwards she married an Ignite who indeed was a Fire Controller."


    He took a quick breath and added


    "So it resulted to this, lifespan of a Kastarian, body shape of a Kastarian, powers of an Ignite and heart of an Ignite."


    "Heart of an Ignite? What do you mean?"


    Asked Woldemir to fulfill his curiosity.


    "I mean, i had an Inner Demon of rage to beat instead of an Inner Demon of Egoism. My heart was almost overwhelmed with rage before. Hence the sentence "heart of an Ignite".


    I mean it is easy to admit, we Ignites are hot blooded."


    "You have a point there."


    Added Eric in a bit of laughter.


    "It is so nice to meet another one of my kind. I thought i was the soul survivor."


    "I noticed your identity ever since your first visit miss Alia. Nice to see you again.


    However, There are more survivors spread around the world but it is highly unlikely for us to meet any of them in our lifetimes. Kastaria is gone and there is nothing we can do about it."


    "I hate to interrupt but why did you tell us all of this information if we literally can''t help Kastaria in any way. We can barely help Ignis."


    Pointed out Woldemir.


    "Look. I''ve been studying these "Peaceful Demons" ever since Kastaria was banished from existence.


    These Demons are finally managing to teleport in our world. Their results don''t offer much but considering that they actually managed to teleport here, what''s to stop them from eventually teleporting here stronger?"


    "Yes but how can we lend a helping hand on this case? Do you need help burning Demons(ironically)."


    Asked Stefan in unintentional sarcasm.


    "The Electus. The Electus can help us. You are currently the third most powerful Fire Controller on Ignis. With your help, we can eventually locate and destroy the portal, that would take them at least a few thousand years to recover from. But yet again the recovery time is just a theory. These Demons hide everything really well."


    "I''d be glad to help out in any way I can but I do have a question!"


    "Yes?"


    "You said that the "Electus" is the third most powerful Fire Controller in Ignis. I know Xakro is the first, but who is the second?"


    "Didn''t you figure it out already? I''m 312 Years old. Why do all of you keep forgetting something that big? Focus!"


    "So you are the Second most Powerful Fire Controller? Which level did you reach so far?"


    "Indeed i am. I long reached level six. I can teach you things you never even imagined."


    "Hold on pal. I''m his mentor."


    Said Mogranius in a bit of jealousy.


    "Indeed you are, but there is still a lot I can teach him. With all due respect sir Mogranius, i have more experience in Fire Controlling. I can help him accelerate his progress. He will be able to deal way more Damage to the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance and the Demons with my help and guidance."


    "Sounds fair. But where were you over 200 years ago when I was teaching Akareas. I never heard of you before!"


    "I lived here but i kept a low profile. Gaster Kingdom had many civilians, it wouldn''t be a surprise if I escaped from your sight unnoticed."


    He paused and thought for a few seconds and shortly after added


    "Let me cut to the case. Eric. You assist me to research and beat the Demons and i''ll teach you everything you need to know about Fire Controlling. Do we have a deal?"

 Chapter 110 - Forests dont move.

    Shortly after King Michael finished his sentence a Guard rushed into the dining room and was quite out of breath. He seemed like he ran all the way from the walls to the Castle.


    "Sire. I deeply apologize for interrupting, but we have trouble among us!"


    Said the Guard under his breath.


    "What happened? Take a deep breath and speak!"


    Following the King''s Command, the Guard took a deep breath after such panic which calmed him down a bit and proceeded to speak


    "A lot of Soldiers are approaching Gaster Kingdom. We can''t count from a far but they are at least 80, because many torches are shining from a distance."


    "Are you sure it isn''t a forest fire? I mean the forest isn''t too far away from the main road!"


    Asked Mogranius who was no stranger to forest exploration.


    "Forests don''t walk Sir. If it was a forest Fire it would eventually get bigger. These are bits of lights set in a long orderly line moving towards us."


    "Gaster Kingdom barely gets people travelling towards it anymore, and when it does it''s almost never for good. People mostly leave from here."


    Said King Michael reminding himself of why this could possibly be an attack and shortly after added


    "If they are here to attack, we got the Electus'' assistance along with his flawless group, not to mention we have over 100 Guards."


    "If they are here for trouble. We will give them trouble. We have a deal King Michael. Let''s protect our Kingdom."


    Yelled Eric raising the overall morale.


    Eric finally felt home in Gaster Kingdom. He lived for 15 years in that farmhouse but it never felt like home without his mother around, no matter how much Woldemir tried to fill her spot it just didn''t work.


    Woldemir is a person everyone should use as a father figure, not once did he yell at Eric, not to mention trying to "educate" him through force which is rather common in medieval times.


    Which considerably means Woldemir already felt at home. For him home is near family, which is why he is as willing as Eric to fight for Gaster Kingdom.


    Mogranius was born here. This is his home. His abandoned house was destroyed long ago, so a new one can be constructed but Gaster Kingdom is his home resulting to him having the most willpower to protect this financially disastrous Kingdom. It''s a disaster but it''s his home.


    And of course Stefan being the brain of the Group, he can not risk for Gaster Kingdom to be invaded which inevitably would lead to King Michael being beheaded and taking his vast knowledge along with him.


    He can at least grab a bow and pull back an arrow as far as anyone is concerned.


    Meaning everyone in the dining room at least, have inspiration to fight for Gaster Kingdom.


    "Let''s go!"


    As they reached the Kingdom walls, with their weapons drawn, they noticed that one Soldier separated from the approaching group positioned around 100 Yards away was approaching Gaster Kingdom.


    War messengers were common in these medieval times. The Guard/Army Commanders ordered for one Messenger to pass down a request or order on the opposing Kingdom. If an agreement isn''t to be reached, the attacking army tries to get their way in battle.


    "State the message you have brought upon us Soldier."


    Yelled King Michael from the comfort of the Kingdom walls he was standing on.


    "We are the army of King Zar. The King of Gaster Kingdom. A Citizen has reported an invasion being brought upon you and we got here as fast as we could to aid your Highness in Battle."


    King Michael let out a loud long


    "Oh" before continuing to say


    "I''m most pleased by the King''s Concern but this is simply a misunderstanding. What your Citizen reported are considerably our new badge of troops."


    "That is right. I''m the King of Lan Zhe and i have reached an agreement with King Michael."


    "You? With all due respect, you seem like a child and didn''t the town of Lan Zhe and its people disappeared ages ago?"


    "You are right on both terms. But you see King Michael on the flesh talking to you. If we invaded this Kingdom, King Michael would be long gone."


    Pointed out Commander Alia.


    "I suppose you do have a point. I will go inform the Guard Commander!"


    "The moon arose a bit ago, tell the Guard Commander that I''m inviting all of you to spend the night on the Kingdom. They don''t need to camp outdoors as we have plenty of houses to spare. Tomorrow morning they may return back to Pameres Kingdom. Can you remember all of that sir Messenger?"


    Asked King Michael in such a kind tone. He felt moved of the King''s concern and assistance.


    "Indeed your highness. I will deliver the message shortly."


    The messenger shortly after ran towards his group and there was a noticeable sprint on his run. He was likely happy that a blood thirsty battle didn''t break for nothing.


    "Well that solves that problem. Now come with me. Don''t worry about the rest, I settled a deal with Zar which should bring a bit of profit at least, that''s why he is offering assistance. Now let''s go ahead and talk about our next move."


    He said casually and after turned to the Guards and said


    "When Zar''s Soldiers approach, lead them to the most recently abandoned houses. Let them feel comfortable for the night. They shall depart tomorrow."


    "Yes, your Highness!"

 Chapter 111 - Use the Demonic, to Beat the Demonic.

    "Alright we settled a deal. But how can i exactly help you research or beat the Demons? This isn''t exactly a topic we as a group know much about. We  were face to face with the mother of all Demonic Sources of Power and we still don''t know barely anything useful. "


    Asked Eric. Even though he settled a deal with King Michael, he has no idea what his responsibilities will be with this deal. What could he possibly do when even King Michael is more capable than him.


    "I need a Demonite Gem to fulfill part of my plan. Obviously going and pulling it out from the Source of Fire Controlling isn''t a good idea. So we need to find one that isn''t fused with any Demon. If we will be able to get our hands on such power, we will be getting the upper hand against this war with the Demons."


    What King Michael said got everyone goosebumps except for Mogranius who now is technically no stranger around Demonite.


    He saw Demonite himself after his father ordered for him to be dragged all the way near to the Source of Fire. But he still was curious enough to ask a question while the rest seemed to have several questions in mind but unable to form a proper sentence, therefore they remained quiet for a bit.


    "Is it possible to obtain Demonite? I mean if the Demons themselves are teleporting here practically n.a.k.e.d, I doubt that they can bring Demonite with them. And even if they did, will it be of use to us?"


    "I have reasons to believe that the only Demonite Gem we will be able to find in this Century at least that would prove useful, is in the possession of the Snow Ignites."


    Revealed King Michael, building up tension to everyone and leaving them to guess the rest. This piece of information makes a lot of the recent events happening in Septemtrionis Ingis and Meridionali Ignis make sense.


    "How could the Snow Ignites obtain such precious artifact. There are barely any Snow Ignites left in Ignis. Even if they were spread out all over the Continent, they wouldn''t be able to obtain it with ease. This gem isn''t even supposed to be here in Ignis. Do you all understand this vital piece of information. How by the Eight sources did the Snow Ignites get such artifact."


    Asked Stefan in confusion but yet amazement. For him to get his hands on such priceless artifact would be a once in a lifetime opportunity that he would treasure forever. Apart from all of that, he would love to research the Demonite. He wanted to be an author for a long time but insisted on writing something worth the time.


    "I am not certain. But if it wasn''t for the Demonite, they wouldn''t of re claimed the Capital of Septemtrionis Ignis. They wouldn''t be able to reclaim Maleemia without wiping out their own species."


    Demonite seemed to be a topic King Michael knew a lot about. He seems to know more than he is revealing but his intents even though insane, are intents that would benefit most with minimal losses.


    "They even led Meridionali Ignis to a Military shortage. The Kings are likely forcing jobless civilians or hired workers of all crafts to be part of the army.


    The Snow Ignites wouldn''t of achieved such results with a simple army of their kind who obviously took forever to gather."


    Added Woldemir from a Warrior''s point of view.


    "The Question is, are the Snow Ignites Friends or foes? Over 200 Years ago they didn''t have great relations with us Ignites. If war didn''t happen, it is because Akareas prevented them from attacking any country in Ignis."


    Pointed out Mogranius.


    He personally researched a lot about Snow Ignites and their advanced research and discoveries on "Magic" and adores their brilliant minds.


    A lot of spells he knows, is because of what he discovered in ancient ruins. Snow Ignite built structures long abandoned before the first era, before the last Ice Age met an end.


    Fire Shield, Atomic Fire, invisibility, they are all Spells he discovered in such ruins. The fact that Snow Ignites specialize in Freezing Powers says a lot about how ahead they were.


    "They are fighting the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance so they are considerably friends. But I doubt that they would simply hand over the tool of which helped them revolt."


    Said Eric being more realistic and added


    "So considering that possibility, how do you suggest we get that Gem King Michael. By force?"


    "Well to begin with. It is not their right to possess such gem. I have reasons to believe, that Specific Demonite is the very same which considerably used to be the Source of Teleportation Powers. The likelihood of that Gem belonging to Talzejj(Demon of Teleportation) is highly possible They used her limitless power to restart the Snow Ignite Empire from scratch."


    "That could be highly possible. My father told me that plain Demonite from the "Peaceful" Demonic Dimension is just a plain powerless Gem. It wouldn''t prove useful to them at all. It would just be worth a fortune."


    Claimed Mogranius adding as one would say "More Wood to the Fire".


    "So you want me to go to Maleemia and get that Demonite?"


    "Indeed. With the Demonite in our hands, I can aim to tame it''s limitless power to stop the Portals from appearing."


    "How could you possibly know how to do that? This smells fishy."


    Added Stefan pointing out what everyone else seemed to have overlooked due to the impactful information King Michael revealed.


    "I told you. I have been researching the Demons for 200 years. Putting my nose here and there eventually led to a firmish theory of which I told you just a moment ago. Explaining how it is possible would be like talking to a wall, none of you would understand."


    "That is likely possible, i''m still trying to catch up.


    But however they got that Demonite, if i go and take it from them, their revolution will crumble into dust. Is it smart for us to sacrifice what''s left of the Snow Ignites so we can beat the Peaceful Demons?"


    Asked Eric considering everyone''s safety.


    "If we don''t get that Demonite, i don''t think that any other technology this timezone has to offer, will be able to help us stop those portals from appearing. We must use Demonic Power to beat Demonic Powers."

 Chapter 112 - No, you Goblin!

    Waking up to the beams of light the sun shone on his face, Eric woke up from a comfortable sleep and the first thing he saw as he subconsciously peaked through the Window was Mogranius meditating in the backyard which was considerably small but since the house they sleep in was long abandoned, wild plants and vegetations were all over the backyard.


    King Michael insisted for the group to seek comfort in the Castle but Eric insisted otherwise. He preferred a small place able to fit all 5 of the group members where they wouldn''t be the main attention.


    The 10 Guards they brought along from Lan Zhe were located nextdoor. Obviously both King Michael and "King Eric" didn''t want to squeeze them all in one house with basically 300 houses available, but since a lot of those houses were long abandoned, the ten Guards had to settle for 2 cleaner houses to temporarily make space for the 100 Soldiers of which King Zar sent to aid King Michael if a war was in order.


    King Michael fell in love with the 10 Guards. Apart from those 10 belonging to the Calidum Lutum race, which were thought to be extinct for thousands of years, each of the individuals were considerably stronger than 5-10 stereotypical Guards. Even Woldemir being a Grand Master in Swordsmanship struggled to defend himself against one of these beasts. Considering the month long training he gave them, if he was to fight all ten of them he wouldn''t stand a chance of survival.


    These Guards are more well oriented and focused now instead of rushing through a scene and aiming to destroy everyone and everything while risking many many blind spots.


    King Michael even offered to hire these 10 Guards with a full paying salary once he secured an income instead of just paying them with fish. Apart from that he offered full doc.u.mented Citizenship to them with each of them getting their own house without having to pay tax before they get a stable salary. King Michael offered them what the homeless in Pameres Kingdom spent years possibly decades, trying to get.


    Eric gave these Guards the freedom of choice, even though there are only 45 Guards remaining in Lan Zhe, there are 5 Grand Masters who can provide Lava to 400 Lava Controllers, ultimately defending their town with ease from attackers. The Guards were just the first defense who buys the Lava Controllers some time. They can spare to detach 10 Guards from the first defence squad, permanently. It wouldn''t make a fatal difference.


    But regardless of the offer and freedom of choice King Eric purely offered them, these Guards belong around Lava and aren''t well adjusted to the outside world even though considering they were outside for almost a month now. In a simple sentence, they can''t wait to get home. Well, at least most of them.


    Isabel for example, felt like doing more with her life instead of isolating herself from the outside world which with a certain attitude can make her feel like a caged animal with limited opportunities.


    She is near to being a Master(level 5) in Swordsmanship and wants to use her skills to help Ignis. This country needs every bit of help it can get if peace is to harmonize in all 4 sides.


    Two of her Guard friends who recently became experts(Level 4) in Swordsmanship feel the same and one enthusiastic Guard who is still struggling with the third level(Wielder) is on board too. Being given the freedom to walk freely in Gaster Kingdom and possibly Pameres Kingdom without being called a freak of nature encouraged that feeling.


    Eric approached Mogranius to join him in some much needed meditation but was almost instantly prevented from doing so as Mogranius uttered some words in a calm manner while still remaining in a meditating position(cross legged with his elbows over his knees and his arms bent at a 45¡ã angle on the sides).


    "Do you know how to do the Fire Shield Eric?"


    "If I knew, I wouldn''t of swam in lava to begin with if I remember it right."


    Said Eric with unintentional sarcasm.


    "That does make sense."


    He took a deep breath aiming not to break his own concentration and shortly added


    "How about I teach you how to do it right now?!"


    "That would be great!"


    Eric screamed which completely broke Mogranius'' concentration and left him with a slight pain in his ears and a very displeased look on his face.


    "This is why you can''t meditate."


    Said Mogranius roughly but yet sarcastically and added


    "However. If you gave it enough thought, you would have unlocked the secret to the Fire Shield after the first time you managed to meditate. I even expected you too. Which is why I didn''t find it mandatory to teach you the Fire Shield spell until now."


    "What does that first meditation i had, have to do with the Fire Shield?"


    Murmured Eric asking himself that question over and over. He doesn''t remember exactly what he discovered through meditation he did almost 2 months ago. He can''t remember everything in great detail even with the Crown''s Assistance.


    "You said that Fire Controlling isn''t all about attacking. It is also about protecting. Protecting your loved ones, protecting what you stand for. Not brute force that burns everything to the ground."


    Exclaimed Mogranius.


    "So i need to put more emotion to my Powers? I need to feel what i cast?"


    Asked Eric in Confusion.


    "A bit like that. Imagine a large Fireball approaching your father, and the only way for you to save him, would be casting a Fire Shield. What would you do?"


    "I would fight the fire with fire. Like i did with the tons of Lava we faced in Lan Zhe."


    "No, you Goblin. That''s the issue. You still choose to attack instead of aiming  protecting. We just have to fix that."

 Chapter 113 - Farmers in January

    Walking in the Castle of Gaster Kingdom was Alama. The very person who managed to settle a business deal between Gaster and Pameres Kingdom.


    Considering that she informed King Zar of the successful deal, she was free to roam. She is a businesswoman so her existence isn''t dependent on a job either. She is rather wealthy and King Zar paid a handsome reward for her success as well which only increased her wealth. She has reached much under such a short period of time. She is only 27 years old after all.


    "Miss Alama! What a pleasant surprise."


    King Michael''s mood instantly changed once he saw Alama. A smart individual like her can prove very useful if Gaster Kingdom is to be economically stable.


    "I told you that i will come here after I settled the deal."


    Said Alama with a light tone as a blush on her face appeared. Her blush appeared because King Michael gave her a light hug which made her feel like her heart dropped down to her shoe.


    "I expected you to return after at least a week from now. You did come here without a horse if I recall right."


    Said King Michael showing that he cared about details regarding her.


    "Well i don''t have anywhere I need to be. My businesses are being ran by my employees and my income is sent to a secure place in my family. I''m free to help get Gaster Kingdom back to her former glory."


    Alama having a considerably big family with a well known last name(WolfHeart), she has countless people who can secure that her Gold isn''t being stolen or her income doesn''t start getting corrupted.


    She can come to her earned Gold Coins any time without worrying about losing even a single Gold Coin due to any possible reason. She was a free woman with incomes she barely even used until now.


    She wasn''t of course born rich and her family name wasn''t well known before she reached riches.


    Her father worked as a building constructor and her mother was jobless.


    She got her first bit of wealth after she opened her own store. To open that store she had to work 14 hours a day, earning every Gold Coin she could as a Black Smith apprentice.


    She started with 100 Gold Coins a month but earned 175 Gold Coins because she put in 14 hours of work everyday for 4 years straight.


    She started such an intense schedule when she was 16.


    The pure silver armor she wears was made by her as well.


    By 20 Years old she finally managed to open her own business. A medium sized shop who had a steady 600-1000 Gold Coins a month income.


    In just a couple of years she bought the Forge she used to work at. After that sort of income, she bought 3 more businesses in 1 year and her wealth along with her businesses just kept increasing and they still are.


    Considering the expenses and maintenance of those businesses, she still earns a steady income of 15,000 Gold Coins per month and has businesses not in 1 but in 4 Kingdoms in Ignis. But such an inspiring story all started in the Capital. Crutal Kingdom.


    You would ask about how Xakro allowed for her to own a business in the first place. You would ask why he didn''t force her out of business with increased fairly double standard taxes.


    Well she kept his pocket filled. First offering him 20% of her earnings in her first Business on that Specific Kingdom, then she bought her way out of that deal once Zar became depended on the Forge she bought, getting economical upper advantages.


    But with Kaleem and Saleem gone, the demands surely arose on Alama''s Forge because there are only 2 Forges in the whole Kingdom. That''s how rare Blacksmiths were and it is why the craft is paid handsomely compared to others.


    "King Michael. I appreciate the heartwarming welcome. And i would like to inform that i come here to offer business once more."


    She said while still trying to fight off the blush on her face.


    "Oh does King Zar have another offer for me?"


    Said King Michael in a curious tone but yet very happily.


    "No, not exactly. I don''t recall telling you but i own several businesses, meaning I have a lot of money to spare.


    I know we settled a deal to talk about a payment once i help you get Gaster Kingdom back to her former glory but i have an offer that can help us reach that goal sooner."


    She could see her breath floating on air like a small white fog while she spoke. It is already November, temperatures dropped so low that people had to wear two sets of thick clothes.


    "Your word is greatly respected in this Kingdom. I will do my best to cooperate with any offer you bring upon us."


    Said King Michael to further increase his status on her eyes due to economical reasons.


    "As far as I observed, Gaster Kingdom lacks natural resources. Your only natural resource used to be the mines before they depleted. Fish is considerably a natural resource but you have a Kingdom to feed so you have no fish to spare."


    "Yes yes. Getting a profit out of this land seems and sounds impossible. What do you recommend though?"


    "I recommend to start a farming project!"


    "With all due respect miss Alama, that isn''t a good idea. The outer lands near our Kingdom are almost impossible to start farms on. There are way to many hills and drops, not to mention the ground being to rocky."


    "I''m aware of that. I saw for myself. But I own 3 Farms and can provide you with 30 farmers, they aren''t all under my employment but i still can get them for you.


    They are considerably able to turn that piece of land into a farmable profitable place but you will need to cover their salaries under the Kingdom''s expenses."


    "If those farmers can turn the outer lands in to actual farms they can even seek permanent employment here. But our overall income is flat. How can I possibly pay them?"


    "This is the best part. I''m willing to offer you 200,000 Gold Coins for 10% of the Kingdom''s income starting right after December ends.


    This will be more than enough to keep the farmers paid for 44 months as they won''t work unless you pay them 150 Gold Coins a month."


    "Can those Farmers guarantee enough farmable land by the planting season? 44 months pass by rather quick. If they can''t secure profit, it would end up with wasted land."


    "They are 30 farmers, they will need to start converting the fields in January, possibly working through snow as well. But they can secure 3 miles wide and long of farmable land by the end of Mars. Which would for sure prove profitable in such a scarcely populated place."


    "In that case we have a deal miss Alama. I will prepare some proper doc.u.mentations for us to sign. We are in Business."

 Chapter 114 - Your mind is what you feed it.

    "How can we fix that?"


    Asked Eric. A specific question having to do about casting a Fire Shield.


    "With an Inner Demon who started at level 4 to beat, I doubt that we can change your rageful reactions in a day. But hear this, the mind is what you feed it."


    Exclaimed Mogranius while grabbing the neck area of Eric''s torso and yelling his sentence out all over Eric''s face which undoubtedly led to covering his face with spit.


    "Thanks for the shower. But what do you mean by


    "The mind is what you feed it."


    It is surprising how Eric didn''t have a rageful outburst after that spit covered scene. But Mogranius being his mentor for over 2 months now, they created a mentor mentee bond which was hard to break. They didn''t even have an argument yet. The only problem they had was Eric''s speed on catching up to the Mentor''s Wisdom and advice. Problems they are still having.


    "I mean, the mind is what you feed it. Well not literally. The mind is what thoughts you feed it. If you feed it negative thoughts all the time, your mindset will be overwhelmed with Negativity with a small portion of positivity streaming through. If you don''t let your Inner Demon completely beat you that is."


    Calmly said Mogranius as he focused on the vegetation that repeatedly bounced due to the light morning November wind.


    "But I''m struggling with Rage, as most of you openly claimed a while ago. I don''t struggle with negativity."


    "Negativity takes part in Rage. So next time you find yourself in a situation where you feel like you need to have a rageful outburst, think with yourself. Is it necessary? Can i find a way around it? What impact will it make? What difference will it impact?"


    "But I can''t control the sudden outburst. I appreciate the different points of view and thoughts to focus on, but I simply don''t have control over it."


    Said Eric trying his best to show respect and to accurately express what he is struggling with.


    "Yes you do. If you didn''t, your Inner Demon of Rage would have advanced to level 5 already. While you are so close to beating the Level four Demon and ironically advancing to level three."


    "So, I''m considerably winning against the Inner Demon?"


    Said Eric with enthusiasm adding up to his tone.


    "Faster than i expected actually. As the "Mother of all Demons" said, you skipped Lava Controlling and didn''t get the opportunity to beat the Inner Demon of Self Control. So this will be harder for you. But you are progressing rather well."


    "I want to start Lava Controlling but the situation doesn''t let me. I spent most of my time on Lan Zhe training my Fire Controlling abilities. And now I can''t go back because everyone else is here."


    "Indeed. And considering Gaster Kingdom being a very vulnerable place on their way to getting a stable financial income and population, we need every Witch, Wizard or Guard available to protect this Kingdom from King Xakro who will try to get a portion of the riches once this Kingdom starts earning. It wouldn''t be a surprise if he offers us to join the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance."


    "So that means i''m unwillingly isolated here even though I''m out in the open. Such feelings will definitely not help me beat the Inner Demon quicker."


    "The thought of isolation alone won''t help, yes. But look at it like this.


    The ill.u.s.tratian Alliance is more Vulnerable than it ever was for the past 200 years. The Snow Ignites aided a lot to this fortune. Keep a positive attitude, it will help you progress faster which would ultimately convert to the future of the remaining Ignites to turn brighter."


    "The Snow Ignites. That''s another task that has been bothering me. If i can''t leave Gaster Kingdom for even a day, when will i get the chance to go and take back the Demonite before their Empire increases and swallows up Ignis."


    Exclaimed Eric, yelling out his burden in concern of Ignis.


    "Gaster Kingdom''s overall profit is flat. 0. So if we are to go and get that Gem. The time is now!"


    "We?"


    "What? Did you seriously think that i will let you go alone? You aren''t of the evolved so the gem could quite possibly force you to explode into thousands of pieces."


    "Evolved? Hold on."


    Said Eric as he tried to figure out what Mogranius meant with "Evolved".


    But decided to think about it for another time and added


    "Actually nevermind. Let''s see if I can do the Fire Shield!"


    He said with a willing tone which was obvious to notice.


    "That''s the attitude I''m proud to mentor."

 Chapter 115 - Above the Sea Waters.

    "I didn''t get the opportunity to thank you yet. If it wasn''t for you and your father, i would of experienced a horrible road to death."


    Gently talked Lia explaining her gratitude after they woke up due to the constantly shifting boat while Saleem and Jim were still sound asleep.


    Kaleem woke up first and was concentrated on the Ocean waves while Lia woke up a bit after him and with a gentle walk, approached him.


    Ever since they escaped Wide River Kingdom, they have been travelling nonstop. At one point their bodies couldn''t bare more paddling so at midnight, they lowered the anchor to avoid drifting in the Sea and getting lost overnight. The world has mostly water after all.


    They didn''t have sleeping bags with them, so they had to sleep all crammed up in the "Captain''s room" where there were only 2 beds and the room itself is about 2 meters high and 3 meters wide. The rough November cold made it even harder to sleep. At this rate, it is a miracle how Lia didn''t lose any fingers due to frostbite and didn''t get hypothermia either. The overall temperature that day wasn''t extremely cold but still.


    Jim and Saleem chose to sleep on the rough wooden planks and they didn''t even complain about it. They all were really tired.


    The beds Lia and Jim slept at were bunk beds, which were specifically put there to save space.


    "It was nothing. I would sacrifice my own life for an Ignite. Be it you, be it anyone else."


    Said Kaleem in a slow low tone.


    "Oh so you are a brave little boy."


    Said Lia in aims to tease him and raise a good mood.


    "Little boy? I''m taller than you."


    Said Kaleem aiming to tease her back.


    "Only by an inch."


    "Still taller."


    "Alright alright. Enough about height big boy. I have a question for you."


    "Of course. Ask whatever you please!"


    "Why did you exactly risk so much just to save me. I know it doesn''t all have to do with bravery.


    You stood up for me even when my family didn''t."


    "My mother."


    Murmured Kaleem as he got lost in thoughts and walked over the boat edge and continued to stare at the ocean.


    "What about your mother?"


    Asked Lia in curiosity but somehow managed to get a few theories of what happened to his mother.


    "She was an Ignite."


    "But you are an ill.u.s.tratio. No offence. And so is your father."


    "We are. But my father was never racist. And he found love towards my mother. A very long time ago."


    "Did they kill your mother?"


    Asked Lia straight forward instead of twisting her words.


    "Yes. She was a Witch. They burned her alive claiming she was a Demon."


    "You poor thing.


    I have no idea what it feels like losing a family member like that. But as you saw Yesterday, I lost mine even though they are still alive.


    But I already see you as family, believe it or not.


    I will always support you when you feel down. You saved my life."


    "Anyone could of done that!"


    Said Kaleem with a continuous low tone.


    "But they didn''t. You did. The rest, including my family, hid in fear. It''s something else to defy an entire Alliance."


    "I would of done it for any person facing such a trial. It is called doing the right thing."


    He said as a tear dropped on the ocean because he kept getting reminded of his mother.


    Lia noticed the cracks on his tone during the last sentences and she figured out why he refuses to talk to her eye to eye about this topic. He is afraid he will break down in front of her. Which gave her a small but uncertain hint of his feelings towards her.


    Suddenly Kaleem felt a hand on his shoulder but still refused to move.


    When Lia saw that he refused to move, she used her other hand to grab the other shoulder and effortlessly turned him around.


    He was feeling weak and multiple tears have broken out from his eyes already.


    "It''s okay. Let it out."


    She said as she firmly hugged Kaleem.


    Hugging was new to Lia as well. She didn''t get one for years from her family and for sure refused perverts to hug her only because of her stunning appearance. So the hug was a bit awkward but for sure heart felt.


    Halfly separated from the hug, their noses were touching each other. Both of them hesitating to meet each other''s lips, asking themselves if they are going to far. Asking themselves if they look manipulative towards this situation.


    But...

 Chapter 116 - Beginning of the Third Volume.

    Year 201 has struck upon Ignis. King Michael held a huge feast in the Castle of Gaster Kingdom, inviting all 400 Citizens and respectfully Eric and his group as well.


    You would think how a Kingdom with a flat monthly income could possibly afford to give free food to over 400 people. Well, it is simple. He doesn''t have a flat income anymore.


    Zar, the King of Pameres Kingdom struck a deal with the Zamerians, and since the port of Gaster Kingdom has to be used in order to transfer the Iron Swords from Ignis to Zameria, Gaster Kingdom respectfully earns 10% of all the profits made from the Iron Swords in this 6 month project.


    It wasn''t difficult to strike a deal with the Zamerains either. Owning large land, they always need weaponry to either protect their land or often used to solve Local issues. There are several Alliances there. Zameria holds 3 Million People after all, so it wasn''t hard to strike a deal with a reputation of a King.


    The buying Kingdom no doubt demanded a big shipment of Iron Swords to be delivered on the first month, but considering Blacksmithery being a rare craft and Ignis holding just above 126,000 people, the buyers understood why Zar can only provide so much each month.


    The 54 Blacksmiths that King Zar managed to recruit, can only provide 304 Swords each month which eats up all the daily ore which is usually around 20.


    The considerably experienceless Blacksmiths proved the most useful because there are 35 of them.


    Even though they only manage to make a good quality Iron Sword per week(each), they still sum up a total of 140 Iron Swords per month. Multiply that by 70 Gold Coins, it makes up for half of the overall profit from selling these Iron Swords.


    The 16 Blacksmiths who have under 5 years of experience also manages to bring a good profit, almost equal to the experienceless. They manage to make 128 Iron Swords per month.


    While the highly paid Blacksmiths having over 5 years of experience in Blacksmithery, bring a stunning amount of 36 Iron Swords per month.


    Sounds small comparable to what the other 2 groups are providing, well it does.


    But if you didn''t know it yet, there are only 3 Blacksmiths with over 5 Years of experience.


    That''s how rare they are, 3 of them were found in a Kingdom of 2500 people.


    Although they only make 304 Iron Swords per month, when you multiply that with 70 Gold Coins, it equals to a stunning profit of 21280 Gold Coins per month.


    The Blacksmiths taking 9504 each month as a salary and Gaster Kingdom getting 10% of the profit as the deal was made earlier, they still earn 8368 each from this project, plus the Zamerians cover the transport expenses.


    The Buyers requested 2000 Iron Swords at the first month for a one time delivery deal. But considering that Pameres Kingdom couldn''t provide that much in just a month, they made it a 6 month project. Which is exactly the time King Zar needs to provide 2000 Iron Swords.


    Considering the recently hired 6 Hunters each providing at least 3 hunts a week, all be it leather or fur is stocked to be sold and every animal meat, including wolf meat, is sold.


    But mostly boars are caught, they roam these forests a lot due to the low hunting rate. There are more boars than people on Ignis.


    Boar meat costing 20 Gold Coins per kg naturally brings a lot of income even considering Zar selling it at half the market price, offering the meat to it''s people at a price of 10 Gold Coins per kg, the Kingdom still makes a stunning monthly profit of 12000 Gold Coins out of the whole hunting project. Pameres Kingdom has 2500 People living in it after all, and considering meat being rare, they are eager to buy it at such cheap prices.


    Pameres Kingdom earns a total of 55280 Gold Coins per month, but considering having to pay StoneMasons, Blacksmiths, Hunters, Construction Workers, lumberers and miners, which take 36734 Gold Coins each month, Pameres Kingdom still get a decent clear profit of 18546 Gold Coins, the fact that he only offers food and shelter for the Guards instead of Gold Coins, makes earning a profit easier. But he does have plans about paying the Guards.


    The budget increased to a total of 220,000 Gold Coins so far, but once the 6 month deal is over, Zar will need to think of different ways of profit from the Zamerians, which will no doubt be profitable for Gaster Kingdom as well.


    The Construction Workers along with the StoneMasons, managed to build 20 houses ever since they started the project about 2 months ago, which apart from Employees not having to share a house with several families anymore and more homeless people escaping the streets without an expense, it added more income(800 Gold Coins) to the monthly taxes(40 Gold Coins per month).


    To aid the budget, 3 people joined the mine which left no house profitless and less people on the streets.


    When the 100 house project will be done, there won''t be any more people on the streets but Zar will no doubt find a job for at least one house member on each house, it is profit from all sides.


    Throughout several urgent calls for recruitment, King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll managed to replace the workers and or Soldiers that Eric, the very Electus massacred on his awakening to power when he saw himself surrounded by hundreds of Guards trying to kill him, his friends and father.


    Due to his awakening to power, experiencing his first outburst, he actually managed to kill over 900 People. But now even if he was to face 100, he would face his own death. Especially if there are archers opposing him.


    The outburst for you who possibly didn''t read about yet, is a stage every Electus has to pass on his or her first days of awakening in to power.


    It is a test of overall endurance of the Caster.


    Xakro managed to replace most workers that he lost because he converted nearly 500 Imported(those who don''t have a full citizenship) Guards in to either StoneMasons, Hunters, Building Constructors, Blacksmiths or lumbers.


    60% of the recruits were experiencless. So considering that, Xakro will have less expenses but also less profit.

 Chapter 117 - Mister Shy Guy

    "Sire. What are we going to do about the other offer "of less importance" as that King in Lav Kingdom send word about on the recent shipment?"


    Asked Seer concerning such matter. The Blacksmiths are spread thin but the offer is so great for something so small and doable.


    "I have to say, i didn''t expect that offer. I expected a request for more Weapons if not anything from a Continent with over 3 Million people living there."


    Said Zar who was still a bit surprised of this offer.


    "So we won''t make Iron rings for the Zamerians?"


    "I need to consult with the main Blacksmiths. If they have the ability to finish the order in a short time without slowing down their other order, i''m willing to start providing those Iron Rings."


    "Certainly Sire. I''ll get them right now."


    As Seer was walking his way out of the Castle, he met a stunning woman of which he hired a few weeks ago heading towards where the Doc.u.mentations are usually stored. He met Maleesa.


    Maleesa is an Ignite women who lost her Husband years ago due to the Civil War, Seer shared the same fate towards his Fiance of which he was heavily in love with.


    Now Seer is 48 years old and single, and Maleesa shares a similar fate being 44 Years old.


    After they lost the ones they loved so deeply, they just didn''t want to marry anyone else. Their hearts felt like they were shred to pieces.


    "If it isn''t the guy who got me a job!"


    Calmly said Maleesa in a bit of gratitude but at the same time in a bit of a playful matter.


    "Yes, it''s me."


    Said Seer Awkwardly as he got shy every time he was around her. His mind went blank.


    After struggling a couple of times to form a sentence, he said


    "Why...how.. have you been these days. I figure that the employees aren''t giving you any trouble."


    "No no. I don''t allow them too. For example instead of tracking every employee on foot, i made a big list which holds all of Employe''s names and categorized each craft."


    She said with an enthusiastic tone which is rather adorable to see which got Seer adoring her even more.


    "So you can count the working hours."


    Said Seer who interrupted her mid sentence, finishing the sentence for her.


    "Exactly. The most experienced keep an eye on everyone else, especially the experiencless who might draw any tricks."


    "But do you make sure that they arrive at work on time?"


    "Yes. Before they start working, they have to check in here in my office which barely takes any time even if they are all lined up at once."


    "What about the working hours?"


    Asked Seer yet another question which sounded a bit paranoid and he was probably blowing his chances with this, but the mouth speaks by itself when her blue eyes are looking at him.


    "I keep a separate list for that dont worry. But considering some employees who work even in a free day, there is work all week for me. The Blacksmiths aren''t leaving any day for their selves. I figure their order is big."


    "Oh yes and it is about to be bigger. I''m about to get the most experienced ones here for another order the Zamerians send message for."


    And he shortly added as he saw the sparks of conversation going down thanks to his freestyling mouth


    "Which means I need to be on my way now miss Maleesa."


    After he said that, due to his shyness towards her he awkwardly started walking before giving a proper goodbye.


    But Maleesa grabbed him by the wrist and said


    "How about you meet me after work today."


    She said looking directly at his eyes with such glow and compassion.


    Her entire face was smiling, it was hard to say no even if he didn''t like her.


    He swallowed his spit and said


    "Ugh you mean like a..."


    He failed to finish the sentence and his face was getting red so he loosened his shirt up around the neck area.


    "Yes. Don''t take this the wrong way. But i want to get to know you. If that doesn''t bother you."


    "No no. I would love too. What time works best for you?"


    Sliding down her hand from his wrist to his hand, holding it firmly but gently she replied with


    "How about after 7pm. I''m sure you are busy most of the day trying to assist this Kingdom. You will have time to rest well before our..."


    Even she was too shy to finish that sentence. Which was rather adorable.


    "Date?"


    He said without actually intending too. it just went out there and he instantly regretted it for a second but became happy once her intent became crystal clear.


    "Oh so you are a brave man now. Mister Shy guy."


    She said in aims to tease him more and to fight off the shyness from herself.


    "I was never shy."


    He exclaimed but quickly calmed down when he saw her golden hair getting blown by the Wind making her a lot more beautiful. She even looks youthful, she looks in her early thirties at least.


    "Meet me at 7 in the Kingdom Center. I don''t intend to get drunk so no Taverns. Alright?"


    She said with a firm clear tone declaring Dominance.


    Which seemed less threatening considering she is 5.5ft tall.


    "Oh no no. I didn''t touch beer for years now. Messes with my concentration afterwards to much, i need concentration if not anything else for my job."


    He said finally able to form a sentence without awkwardly mumbling.


    "Perfect. Now go ahead and finish what you were doing Mister Shy Guy."

 Chapter 118 - No Fire

    "Again!"


    Firmly said Mogranius in a rough tone as if he was a Guard Commander.


    Still trying to form a Fire Shield, Eric managed to get some progress done over the past few weeks. He didn''t manage to cast a full Fire Shield yet but he managed to break out the base of the whole spell, he just wasn''t able to reach the end of it.


    Mogranius, his mentor suspects that this is due to his rather more "i need to attack" mindset instead of having a "I need to protect" one.


    With so much attacking spells working by his side instead of defending spells, his mindset isn''t a surprise and it is very common among Fire Controllers and less common, but with similarities not straying to far away, to those with Freezing Powers. They too have this sort of "i need to attack" mindset as well.


    Fire Controlling barely has any defending spells as far as Witches and Wizards discovered. No it is mostly about attacking.


    So that makes the whole process a whole lot more difficult.


    But it is very stupid to roam without a Fire Shield in these medieval times. Sure an Iron Shield is effective but a fire Shield is one of the few that stand a chance against Lava.


    Although Eric can swim in lava without getting burned into a crisp, he still needs to master the Fire Shield.


    But Mogranius suspected that since he  managed to actually start off casting the Fire Shield, he is progressing extraordinarily well considering he beat the Level 4 out of 6 Inner Demon of Rage just a few days ago. Which is a huge step to becoming an all powerful Electus.


    How would one know of a level descending?


    Well. Rage outbursts become less common, shorter and more harmless.


    Even Eric noticed more ease compared to what rage he had weeks ago.


    So Eric''s Inner Demon of rage now descending to Level 3, makes the whole process of Casting a Fire Shield easier. Not to mention, having a more peaceful soul.


    At this attempt, he again failed to cast a full Fire Shield. He managed to get a 2 feet wide one going which was oddly shaped, not at all able to surround Eric all over.


    Apart from that, the Shield was weaker, even weaker than an Iron Shield and he could only make it last for a few seconds. As if it wasn''t at all connected to the Stamina of which the entire so to say, storage of Magic in any individual Witch or Wizard was located at.


    "I failed. Again."


    "No you didn''t. It took me weeks until i got it right and i''ve been training Fire Controlling for decades now.


    Failure at this case is considered absolute failure only if you give up."


    "I feel like giving up. Even King Michael being a Grand Master, doesn''t know much about the Fire Shield. He simply redirects any fire tossed at him as he was invincible from it. He does it all with his mind."


    "Well he is a Grand Master after all. If you tried that spell it would be ineffective. While a Fire Shield is something even a Magician(Level 3) can cast with a few weeks or months of practice."


    He paused and shortly added


    "You are lucky that you have someone who can direct you, saving you more time and nerves. I had to discover everything myself.


    The bit of a bald spot on my head isn''t just because of an amateur trying Fire spells."


    Mogranius talked about the bald spot on his head because he knew how much Eric laughed about it. It was funny to see because the rest of his hair was so thick and life filled while at the bald part it was as dry as a desert. It was an instant mood lifter and it got Eric to try casting the Fire Shield again but he was stopped by Mogranius.


    "I have another idea. Do you see those training dummies on the Guard training yard near the Castle?"


    "Yes. What about them?"


    "Grab a shield. We will try something that might just help you progress towards a more protective mindset."


    They walked towards the training yard and without wasting time, Eric grabbed a Shield and asked Mogranius for more details.


    "So what will I do with this shield."


    "To start it off. You won''t use Fire at all. but i will. This will be fun."


    "I suspect that you want to give me a bald spot as well."


    "No no i would of done that long ago if i pleased."


    "Calming. So what''s the plan?"


    "You see those training dummies there? You will protect them using the shield you''re holding. No Fire."


    "Why not fire?"


    "Because you will be tempted to attack with fire. Here you will have only a shield to protect these training dummies. Pretend like that shield is your only source of Fire."


    "What if i use it anyway?"


    "I will meet you with your enemy. Reading books."


    "This might just work then."


    "I know. Learning is your enemy no doubt."


    Said Mogranius obviously sarcastically and his tone went from playful to dead serious in a blink of an eye while saying


    "One more thing. I won''t unleash any fire that could leave you unhealable burn marks or anything that could even bend the shield. The worst you can receive is a slight burn."


    "Just mind the hair. I love my pitch dark beauty."


    "Hair would be the least of your concern.


    If one of the training dummies gets hit, you will need to read and memorize half of a whole book."


    "No deal!"


    "What''s the matter? Are you a chicken or an Electus? Akareas would smack you right now if she was here."


    "Who are you calling a Chicken? Let''s do this. It''s a deal!"

 Chapter 119 - Fishy Business

    Landing one fish after the other, Lia, Kaleem, Saleem and Jim have helped setting a firm food supply for Gaster Kingdom.


    After they fled Wide River Kingdom, about a mile away from it they dumped King Macek on the Ocean after Kaleem constantly asked his father to do so. Fortunately King Macek could swim well enough not to drown.


    Several days of travelling near the shore, they saw an eye catching port. Making it clear that they are near the presence of the half abandoned town called Gaster Kingdom.


    They were well aware that the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance along with the religious organization known as illas, don''t have influence in this town any more. So they found it safer to approach this port.


    Considering the town being safer and being way better than scraping for food in the forest, they entered the Kingdom without a Gold Coin in their pockets.


    Fortunately for them, they ran across Mogranius and Eric. Of course even though a 7 foot ill.u.s.tratio is hard to miss, they wouldn''t of known each other at the moment if Saleem didn''t call his son''s name in the presence of Mogranius who was just passing by.


    Hearing such a unique name was hard to ignore. More importantly, Mogranius has heard this name before. His father told him of what he saw. He told him of a boy with evolved Powers. With physical strength able to oppose any living being. A boy with Super Strength. He even managed to bring down a stone brick watchtower using his bare fists and cracking only two finger bones in the process. That boy was named Kaleem.


    He knew that they simply won''t reveal their identities to a stranger if Mogranius went ahead and asked them. To make sure this was the Kaleem his father told him about, he had to bribe them with magical powers.


    On the surface of his palm, Mogranius burst a small amount of fire which immediately caught the group of four''s attention. Them seeing Mogranius bursting fire exposed to many eyes so freely without punishment, couldn''t help but ask for more details.


    Eventually Kaleem came to the point of demonstrating his powers when he felt that Mogranius is trustable. Not to mention Eric demonstrated his powers as well, freely claiming he is the Electus. Ruler of Lan Zhe.


    It was hard for the 4 to believe him at first, but when they saw a 10 foot Guard walking casually down the street, they were dumbfounded.


    Considering his super strength, Mogranius confirmed that Kaleem''s power was based on the Inner Demon of rage. Especially when he heard that he took a Watch Tower down Bare handed.


    Lia was asked to demonstrate her Powers as well. After a few light tests such as using a dagger to try breaking the surface of the skin a little bit which would burn a little but it wouldn''t be considered a fatal injury, he confirmed that Lia has evolved into a power best described as "indestructible."


    To Mogranius this is astonishing.


    Magical Powers aren''t Magic to begin with, they are naturally given powers roaming on the "Caster''s" Genes.


    Now somehow these powers are evolving using the well known 8, or now considerably 7 Powers as a base.


    These powers are considered secondary and in the future when more of the evolved rise, they might prove less powerful than the primary power they were based on.


    Powers used to be only:


    Lava Controlling,


    Fire Controlling,


    Super Speed,


    Teleportation,


    Healing Powers,


    Mind control,


    Freezing Powers and


    Flying.


    While Lia and Kaleem have powers but none of the above.


    Lia confirmed that although she can''t receive any wounds, the pain will remain on her for minutes to hours to days. All based on the impact of the injury.


    Mogranius had a theory that the only power her indestructibility can be based from, would be Super Speed.


    Although clear that Lia can''t run fast, Super Speed is based on the Inner Demon of Patience, considerably relatable to endurance. It wasn''t a solid theory but it was the best they can base it from for now.


    But the question is, how did the base power of Super Speed simply just roam in an Ignite Girl. Ignis is the Continent of Fire. Outsiders have become rare there.


    Coming to the conversation of broken fingers, Mogranius instantly send Kaleem to the castle to treat his wound.


    Since there aren''t any people with healing powers in the Kingdom, he had to use anything available.


    He firmly surrounded the bottom half of his arm with two planks to prevent them from moving and after just a month, Kaleem''s hand was healed. This is considered extraordinarily fast and adds the theory of those with super strength having the ability to heal faster without having healing powers.


    Lia being a SpearfisherWoman, instantly requested to aid them with the monthly food situation and the rest of the 4 also offered to help. She told that even though not comparable to Kaleem, she too has abnormal strength and can land a 200kg fish with ease.


    This brought a light on King Michael''s eyes and he instantly gave each of them a house and fully doc.u.mented Citizenship. But Kaleem was still often found sleeping in the same house with his father.


    Under just a month, they secured enough food for everyone in the Kingdom to have 2 fulfilling meals a day. They secured enough food for 2 months in just a month of progress.


    Of course the Spearfishermen who were there before the group of 4, helped secure 2/5 of that food. They were performing better because of the raise of Morale the group of 4 brought.


    With the assistance of Lia, Kaleem and Saleem offering their abnormal strength, they had no trouble fishing out 900 Kilograms of Fish each day. While before they arrived, it would be a plentiful day if the Spearfishermen fished out anything over 300 Kilogram, barely considered one meal a day for 400 People.


    The amount of fish they are bringing in is no doubt a lot, so King Michael delivered a letter to King Zar regarding business. Considerably Fishy business.

 Chapter 120 - Economical Rise

    When King Zar got a letter in December from King Michael stating


    "King Zar. I send you this letter in hopes to do business with you.


    New Citizens have made it possible for Gaster Kingdom to obtain 900kg of fish on a daily average, sometimes breaking over 1000 and as low as 650 at their worst day.


    I have more than enough to keep my Kingdom well fed, but i''m looking for profit from this project, therefore I''m offering to sell you a kilogram of any fish, for a Gold Coin.


    I wish to hear from you soon,


    King Michael of Gaster Kingdom."


    With the official stamp of Gaster Kingdom at the end of the letter which included a Fish on a white flag.


    You would expect something ore based but Gaster Kingdom was founded primarily because of the plentiful fishing area. The mines were discovered later.


    King Zar could not help but notice this situation becoming profitable for both Kingdoms.


    Gaster Kingdom has a lot of fish to spare and Pameres Kingdom will eventually run out of food before the next farming harvest considering the big population unless something is done about it.


    So King Zar quickly send a letter back saying.


    "Hello Michael. I am glad things are starting to look up for your Kingdom. This offer will indeed prove beneficial for both of our Kingdoms but i have a better deal in mind.


    I would like to propose a 6 month Contract. During this short period of time, you will provide 2,500 Kilogram of Striped Marlin meat each month, starting January and ending in the first of july, or even earlier if you can reach the 15,000 Kilogram goal earlier.


    I will offer you 3 Gold Coins per Kilogram and i will cover the transport expenses. Your people don''t even have to leave Gaster Kingdom throughout this project.


    Please leave your Signature on the bottom of the other letter attached to this one if you agree of the deal and leave the official stamp of Gaster Kingdom as well.


    I hope to do business with you, Kind Regards.


    King Zar of Pameres Kingdom."


    On the bottom of the letter, the official stamp of Pameres Kingdom was to be found, which included a Blue Sword raised up against a red sword with a green Background surrounding those Swords.


    King Michael was amazed of this deal and after reading the contract stating everything in detail, he loved each word in the parchment as it seems to benefit Gaster Kingdom in every way.


    But first he had to consult this with the leader of the Spearfishermen, Lia.


    In Wide River Kingdom, any fishermen or spearfisherman had to sell half of the catch to the Castle according to ill.u.s.tratian law, and they can sell the other half wherever they please, be it the Kingdom or anywhere else.


    But in Gaster Kingdom the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance doesn''t have a word anymore, since they kicked the Kingdom out of the Alliance when the income became flat. Meaning the law here is considerably different.


    It would be a hassle for Michael to buy the Fish with such a low income, not to mention it wouldn''t be as profitable.


    So starting it as a foundation to future plans regarding the fish business, he offered the 4 clearly capable of beaching a Striped Marlin an exclusive 6 month Job.


    Considering earning 7,500 Gold Coins a month from selling 2,500 Kilograms of Striped Marlin meat, and this job being no doubt Dangerous as a individual Striped Marlin can Grow up to 450 Kilograms, he offered each of the 4, a pay of 500 Gold Coins a month.


    It is a pay even Blacksmiths who work 12 hours a day, can''t reach.


    Spending 2,000 Gold Coins a month even though considering the deal isn''t permanent, meaning if he cuts 2,000 Gold Coins each month for the Striped Marlin Fishers, he will earn a total of 33,000 Gold Coins when this project ends instead of 45,000.


    But what right does he have to make specific demands from Workers if he doesn''t even pay them?


    The job also requires for the group of 4 to float across the fishing area with Lia''s boat for better chances of success instead of trying to spear anything from the comfort of the shores.


    Hearing Lia''s story with the Black Marlin, King Michael made it a rule of the Contract to not spear anything else that isn''t a Striped Marlin while on the Boat.


    Because it will be both time consuming and dangerous.


    The Contract also stated that if the SpearFishers are to fulfill the required monthly amount before the first of every month, they will no longer need to fish for more Striped Marlins and are obliged to fish anything they can from the shores throughout the rest of the month.


    This overall deal of course won''t give King Zar an income on the first months but more of an outcome as a lot can''t simply afford to pay 3 Gold Coins for a Kilogram for fish meat, but as the year reaches the quarter end, he will eventually make his money back and by the end of the year he will sell all of the Striped Marlin meat, making a total of 75,000 Gold Coins from this project with a profit of 30,000 Gold Coins. Which will not only raise the Kingdom''s Budget, but will also furthermore prevent starvation.


    With Pameres Kingdom bringing a pure income of around 2,100 income towards Gaster Kingdom each month due to the port deal, and again Pameres Kingdom Bringing 7,500 Gold Coins towards Gaster Kingdom after January due to the Black Marlin business, King Michael started paying the Fishermen and Spear Fishermen.


    There were only so many keeping a Kingdom fed, so why not pay them when one has the chances too?


    Again this being a base of Gaster Kingdom''s future more plentiful profit towards Fishing, King Michael did this to encourage more Fishermen and Spearfishermen to apply when fishing jobs are offered by the King.


    With Pameres Kingdom constantly expanding and the Zamerians willing to do deals with the Kingdoms of Ignis easily, this is a start up for a filthy rich income.


    There are a total of 23 Fishermen and 18 SpearFishermen(the 4 discluded).


    King Michael offered the Fishermen 65 Gold Coins a month and due to the larger risks SpearFishermen take, he offered them 85 Gold Coins a month.


    It is not much considering how important their job is here in Gaster Kingdom, but they won''t have to buy food like the rest of the Kingdom while earning an actual profit.

 Chapter 121 - Tea?

    The time is 7pm, it is time for Seer, the assistant of King Zar, to make his way towards the date Maleesa awkwardly proposed him too.


    He doesn''t know what''s going to happen but he knows how to approach this situation. Slowly.


    Losing the woman he loved on his wedding day was something he still didn''t recover from even though it happened 2 decades ago.


    He does not wish to get hurt from this situation in any way.


    Even though unusual to see an ill.u.s.tratio dating or marrying an Ignite, it is not something that hasn''t been done before and it isn''t something that people stopped doing, but it is less common no doubt.


    With tens of thousands of Ignites slaughtered in the 100 year war in the third era, plus a few thousand slaughtered to double standard governmental propaganda on the other 100 years, Ignis is left with around 20,000 Ignites and Over 100,000 ill.u.s.tratios.


    Sure if such a big population were united instead of spreading around all over the Continent, they would have a stronger united front against the ill.u.s.tratios, but most of them are either slaves or can''t afford long travel.


    Getting back to the date, it was probably not the best idea to go on a date at 7pm in December. Why?


    Well as soon as Seer arrived in the city square, he found Maleesa shivering under 2 thick fur coats.


    "Was it the best idea to have our date at 7 pm?"


    Asked Seer as his heart started to tingle when he saw Maleesa.


    Being already irritated by the cold weather, she gave a sarcastic and a bit rageful reply which seemed and sounded adorable


    "Thank you Captain obvious. I didn''t notice until you pointed it out."


    "Here you go. I''m wearing two fur coats anyway."


    He said as he took out his coat and surrounded Maleesa with it as if he was dressing a child and made her look like a child overly dressed by her mother.


    "What did you do with your hair?"


    Said Maleesa while giggling.


    "When I told King Zar about the date he laughed with joy and went overboard after. Before I knew it, I was showered with perfume and he insisted for me to oil my hair all the way to the back of my head."


    "Yes I can notice. You look like as if a cow licked your hair. Which is funnier when considering that your hair is green."


    She said as her mood got instantly lifted through the giggling she had while forming the sentence.


    "If your giggling wasn''t so adorable i would be super mad right now."


    Said Seer after his "green" face got "red" because of Maleesa''s teasing.


    Ultimately taking revenge and making her face red with a light compliment, leaving her speechless.


    So what have you planned for our date. We can''t hit the tavern so i figure..."


    As Seer was about to finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a group of 3 men with their faces surrounded with grey cloth and rusty Iron Daggers on their hands.


    "Hey you!"


    Yelled one of the three.


    If they are robers, normally it would be so stupid for them to try and rob people in the Kingdom Center as a lot of people would witness the scene and most would interwine. But now it is December! Those who aren''t in the Taverns, are in their homes trying to escape the cold. So no one was around except Seer, Maleesa and the 3 men.


    "Give us your Gold or feel my Dagger."


    Yelled the First Robber.


    "Give us your Gold or feel my Dagger? That''s the best phrase you can think of?"


    Argued the second Robber towards his own partner in crime.


    "What!? do you have a better idea?"


    Said the first in a low tone.


    "Yes. Something like "Drop your Gold or feel the cold."


    Argued back the Second Robber.


    "Drop your gold or feel the cold? That''s even worse!"


    Said the Third Robber.


    "Whatever. Just give us your gold goddamnit!"


    "No no, I don''t think I will."


    Said Seer Firmly to taunt them. He wasn''t even panicking.


    "Then feel my Dagger."


    "Sure."


    As the first Robber took a couple of steps forward, trying to stab Seer. He lost his balance and fell face first in the mud because Seer just took a light step and moved out of the way.


    As the first robber was wiping the mud off of his face, the second one also tried to attack but his strike was stopped mid way as Seer grabbed his arm and then headbudded him out of consciousness.


    The third one seeing one of his friends unconscious and the other face first in the mud, went into a state of panic.


    Maleesa was getting impressed of what she saw even though she considered his movements unusual and more of an evade and attack kind of fighting.


    The first robber was up on his feet again and they were now approaching Seer from both sides with their Daggers steadily held on their hands.


    Out of nowhere, a rock as big as two fists hit the first robber on his back which was no doubt painful.


    That hit turned the Robber''s attention towards what hit him, lowering his Guard down towards Seer and seeing that the rock was tossed by Maleesa.


    It was a fatal mistake as that first Robber found himself unconscious when the bottom edge of Seer''s foot meet the back of the Robber''s head, it was an instant knockout.


    Maleesa was furthermore shocked. In times where most prefer Swords, Maces and WarHammers, Seer is taking them down armless even though he could have easily grabbed a Dagger from one of the knocked out Robbers or even keep one with him.


    The third Robber again went into a state of Panic and started sweating in the freezing cold.


    "Drop the Dagger on the ground!"


    Was heard from a distance.


    And soon after they saw Several Guards approaching from each side with Arrows pulled back on their bows.


    The third Robber out of Panic started fleeing from the scene and soon met a foul end as several Arrows struck his back, making him drop dead on the ground.


    "That''s taken care of. Would you like to join me for some tea at my house miss Maleesa?"

 Chapter 122 - Lia and Kaleem!

    "Finally. Our shifts have ended.


    I love my job but I sure love some rest."


    Exclaimed Kaleem, showing how tired he is. He has been working from 8am to 4pm along with Lia, Saleem and Jim. It sure is tiring but it is no doubt worth the time. Their job plays a big role in the development of Gaster Kingdom.


    "King Michael has strict requirements. I saw 3 Black Marlins ever since we started this project. I could of speared them out of the Water."


    Said Lia pointing out what she doesn''t like about this project as if she didn''t hear at all what Kaleem said, but he didn''t mind. She is adorable.


    "Last time you tried to fish out a Black Marlin you became Airborne "Miss Lia"."


    Teased Kaleem as they were walking up the beach, witnessing the sunset coming down at 4pm. It is January after all.


    Over the past month, although their lips never met, they have created a strong bond with each other. Escaping from becoming a couple for now and teasing each other as a form of love and care.


    Apart from the teasing, no one understood Lia''s point of view better than Kaleem did. They both have a "If you want it, work for it!" mindset which ultimately turned into a bond, bringing the two closer together and forming secret admiration towards each other.


    "Miss Lia". You are acting like you aren''t crushing on me. Call me just Lia! There isn''t a need to be formal."


    Lia was well aware of what Kaleem was feeling for him but she isn''t used to this form of love or any other.


    So even though considering the fact that she no doubt has some sort of feelings for him, she chose to take this situation slow although they never talked about it. Both were too shy to do so. But what''s the rush? Lia is 16 years old and Kaleem is 17.


    "Alright just Lia. How are you doing just Lia. Will you join me for some tea just lia?"


    Constantly said Kaleem over and over aiming to annoy her all the way to her limits!


    But of course she didn''t just stand there while she got teased.


    While Kaleem was running around her saying "Just Lia" over and over, with her foot she made him trip and fall face first in the sand.


    "Some warm Tea sounds nice in this cold weather. Assuming either your father or Jim is in the same room with us."


    With a suspicion face she stared at Jim, but she didn''t expect anything bad to come from him.


    "Don''t worry about that. I like you, but i''m not perverted."


    "Wise choice of words. Now give me your face i want to reward you."


    She said teasingly as she puckered her lips aiming to more taunt him instead of actually kissing him. Even if she did, it would be on the cheek.


    They are still just kids even though they have responsibilities of a mature individual.


    "You have to catch me first."


    As he stood up from the sand he started running around in Circles and then shifting in ZigZags in aims to avoid being kissed. Yes, they bonded that much. He avoided being kissed.


    But as you might have known or probably tried, running in sand with heavy fishing boots could be tricky.


    It is easier to trip. And he did, he tripped several times in the process of running, and Lia wasn''t any luckier.


    The fact that they were losing their breath due to the laughter made it even harder to run.


    Every time one of the two fell down in the yellow clear sand, they both burst in heart felt laughter.


    Lia finally managed to tackle Kaleem and suppressed him against the ground by sitting on his chest and keeping his arms down with her hands. He could easily break free. He is a boy who fisted down a Watch Tower. Tipping a girl or any person in general over and running away is no doubt easier.


    "You caught me. Poor me."


    The obvious sarcasm was noticeable. He might have surrendered on purpose.


    "Don''t act like you aren''t enjoying this. You slowed down on purpose!"


    "Punish me then."


    "Sure!"


    Afterwards she slowly grabbed his hands and lifted them above his chest, leaning in for a kiss.


    But it was a trick!


    Using his own hands she made him slap himself and kept saying


    "Stop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself!"


    Again he allowed her to do so, it was just harmless fun and it would be rude if he overpowered her every time, making her feel weaker.


    He doesn''t want to risk anything that would lead to spending less time or activities with her.


    Alright alright. Now let''s go get that tea, this sand is freezing cold and i think i ate some!"

 Chapter 123 - Mini Library

    Maleesa was dumbfounded when she saw what damage Seer caused to those Robbers.


    Most of the times when she saw Seer, he was carrying thick doc.u.ments, risking grey hair sorting everything out and often Guards following him.


    She also noticed that Seer avoids eye Contact when talking to her. Causing suspicion but no doubt also courage to cause a date with him. She knew what was going on and him accepting the date, proved it.


    But when Seer struck down 2 Robbers as if they were no challenge at all, she couldn''t help but wonder how such a small and thin man can fight that well.


    But yet again, she always saw Seer wearing neetly fitting Black Torsos made of silk, reaching almost to the knees. Fortunately he was wearing black breechers as well, otherwise it would be a terrifying sight.


    They arrived at Seer''s House. You would expect him to live in the Castle. But even though given the opportunity, he was paid well enough to afford a home of his own.


    It wasn''t as big as a castle, but it had all the requirements a family would need.


    A Comfortable bed, a good quality dining table where food such as potatoes  and bread split in half were to be found, a few chairs around the Dining table, Cabinets who were just packed with food. From boar meat, to Fish meat, bread, potatoes to cabbages and underneath those Cabinets were sacks of wheat.


    A firmly placed Cauldron was near the Fire, no doubt used for cooking and the Aroma of burning dry wood added a cozy atmosphere to the whole house.


    Those were basic requirements any person would need, but the most eye catching part of the whole house was the mini Library he installed in the house. As if he spent 5 Salaries on books.


    The house was about 5 meters wide and 9 meters long, he used almost half of the house to form that library.


    Which further raises questions, how could a bookworm, owning 4 big shelves of books neatly placed next to each other, taking half of the houses space, be so good at fighting? It just didn''t add up.


    He took off her 3 coats, and hanged all of them on the coat rack, while being very careful not to touch her at all, respecting boundaries and personal space that even Maleesa herself didn''t ask him to doo but no doubt noticed it which made her feel more comfortable around him where they are literally alone.


    The Fire was burning high in the Fireplace, it seems like he put a lot of wood in the fire before leaving, as if he was sure he will return under 2 hours.


    In cold January days, it was common to do so even though it would be considered wasting wood which no doubt wasn''t easily affordable unless the man of the family had to do some adjustments to his time, avoiding to skip work but also succeeding in bringing wood home.


    Cutting wood for the Winter was a Season done before leaves started blooming in Spring and after the weather wasn''t deadly cold. So the wood would provide more heat in the next Winter and would be easier to start a fire with, due to it being more dry.


    But in Seer''s house, it seemed like heat can''t get out and cold can''t get in. The house is so well isolated with high quality layers of wood planks.


    But apart from wearing 3 Coats while she was outside and being in such a warm place now, Maleesa was still feeling a bit cold which in Seer''s eyes was adorable to witness.


    King Zar showing sympathy for the homeless, he is providing Firewood, tents, sleeping bags and thicker clothing which was easier to afford for a King. It was the least he could do before the rest of the houses were built, the timing of his project was just too bad.


    Such sympathy would also lead to more appliers once he forms another recruitment paper no doubt. The more qualified workers this town has, the better the town can progress.


    "Alright i have many questions about what just happened a bit earlier. I''m not surprised of the Robbers, i''m more surprised about you beating the crap out of them with such ease. Pardon my Language."


    Talked Maleesa freely as if she knew him for years. She noticed that under the King''s Guidance, Seer barely uses his status to raise his ego. He barely did before Zar''s revolution, but now it is even less.


    As Seer was approaching the iron tea pot holding cold water on the bottom tea pot which was twice the size of the top teapot who was holding Mint Tea.


    Mint tea growing easily where there is thick vegetation, a.k.a the Forest, was a common weed to find in Spring.


    It was easily affordable as well. Even Blacksmith Apprentices can afford it throughout the month, so it was a common item in the market.


    Putting the Tea to boil, he calmly said


    "Why are you surprised? Didn''t expect me to fight that well?"


    "Not at all. Don''t get me wrong, but you playing such an important part in the Castle, you are always surrounded by Guards and have superior authority over them. You never had the need to fight."


    "That is true. But in life there will come situations where it would be odd for Guards to follow me. Such as meeting a stunning woman like you."


    Hearing the less shy sentence coming from Seer''s mouth, her cheeks became instantly red and she mumbled a few times trying to form a sentence but also a thought on her mind growing that she refused to ask


    "Will he use me?" She thought constantly. They are alone. They like each other. What would stop them?


    The worst consequence they would have, would be having a child because of this night.


    "So you learned how to fight for emergency cases?"

 Chapter 124 - Mister not so Shy Guy

    "Indeed i did. What you saw was basic  hand to hand Combat moves every night has to learn for emergency cases. If they find themselves disarmed for example."


    "So you tried to become a night before?"


    Asked Maleesa in curiosity. Being a night simply doesn''t fit the man.


    "No. Not at all. I started learning it when i lost my Fiance due to an Ignite led riot. I doubt you were here when that happened."


    Said Seer as his tone got slower and lower.


    "I''m deeply sorry for your loss. I came here recently from Crutal Kingdom to avoid poverty from that bastard Xakro, so i don''t think i ever heard about this riot."


    "It included of 100 people. They started burning houses, murdering ill.u.s.tratios on the streets and in their homes and there were even some cases of ****."


    Explaining the intensity of the riot, he could not help but feel terrible for the victims even though it happened 2 decades ago.


    "I''m disgusted that my own kind did your people this wrong. I hope that you don''t look at me like a monster because of that tragedy. You know I''m innocent."


    "Of course you are innocent. You had nothing to do with it. But I have to admit, I hated the Ignites ever since."


    "Do you still hate them?"


    With a glow in her eyes she asked that question with all her heart.


    "King Zar has recently changed my views towards Ignites. After giving it some thought, we did what they did to us, hundreds of times for 200 years. What they did was merely a drop of water in the ocean. But they no doubt left a scar on people who survived the tragedy."


    "I am proud of your open mindedness and it is a great relief to be honest. I started liking you because of it. But if it isn''t too traumatic to recall, what happened to your Fiance? Did they burn her?"


    "No. They r.a.p.ed her. Several of them. While i was beaten into unconsciousness by the rioting crowd very nearby. I witnessed it all happen."


    He said as a tear broke out from his eyes even though he tried a lot to keep it in.


    "Monsters. I hope they all faced what was coming to them. What right do they have to hurt anyone that deeply?"


    "I guess they had enough of bullshit the ill.u.s.tratian alliance brought upon them. Pardon my language.


    But they all faced death. It was an hour long battle but all taking part the riot were slaughtered by the Guards."


    "They deserve to be tortured. Death is a gift for them.


    Did the Ignites kill your Fiance after raping her?"


    "No. They left her on the streets, with her clothes torn to pieces, it made her go mentally insane. She didn''t eat for days until."


    "Until?"


    "Until she ended her own life. Slit her own throat."


    Another tear fell from his eyes as he finished that sentence and he tried his best to form another sentence without his voice cracking.


    "I tried to convince her that it wasn''t her fault. That we can handle this situation together. But no. The trauma was just to great. She wasn''t able to withstand it."


    As he finished that sentence, his voice kept cracking and multiple tears dropped from his eyes. He wasn''t at a good place. 2 decades have passed and he still didn''t get over it.


    He felt useless and felt like he could have done more to prevent the situation. He blamed himself for this tragedy for 2 decades nonstop.


    Seeing the man in clear emotional pain, she approached him and gave him a heartfelt hug, showing support, showing that it is ok to cry.


    "It is okay. It wasn''t your fault. You did all you could do."


    Refusing to say anything more, he kept silently crying in her arms for 10 minutes until he let it all out and afterwards thanked her for the support he wished he got from anyone for all these years. He has been carrying the burden himself. He is an orphan after all.


    "I''m sorry. This tragedy has been haunting me my entire life. I tried to get over it but i found no way."


    "It is alright darling. It is alright to let it all out. We are in a safe place here."


    She said softly and added


    "I suppose to what you experienced, my tragedy was lighter.


    My husband died in a revolting war against the ill.u.s.tratios."


    "I''m sorry for your loss. I''m sure you miss him."


    "I do. I finally thought that i found the love of my life at that time. But I can''t say I didn''t expect it. We all know the situation Ignis is in. I just wish the Continent was more peaceful."


    "It can be. Zar will help us make it possible and rumor has it that the Electus is living in Gaster Kingdom. The ill.u.s.tratian Alliance will take long to recover from their military shortage. We are safe. At least for now."


    "I hope what you say will turn out for the best. I''m simply honoured to be part of this revolution. I have nothing else to lose. My family was killed long ago. I''m an Orphan."


    "Oh. I''m sorry. I feel your pain. I''m an Orphan as well."


    Afterwards he gave her a warm hug showing his support and sympathy.


    She no longer felt cold after the hug, and even had a red face due to the same hug. She still is shy.


    "How about that tea now."


    Said Maleesa breaking the hug and the silence. She trusted seer but feared where this situation could lead if they continued.


    "Don''t worry. I''m not a pervert. Do you really think I would touch a Woman without her intense will after what I witnessed my Fiance go through?"


    "I trust you Seer. I just don''t trust the situation. We are Single middle aged people who apart from the tragedies, have desires."


    "Understandable. I just like to assure you that you are completely safe here."


    "Thank you for being one of a kind. Mister not so Shy Guy."

 Chapter 125 - Farmer Revolution

    "Sire. We got a messenger from the little farming town taking place in the Clear Lands of Occidentis Ignis. The town is only a week worth of travel by horse away from us."


    Rushed in Seer through the Throne room belonging to King Zar!


    "You mean Bale Town? I''m aware of that Town Seer. I might not know much about the other Continents, but i know Ignis. I have ears everywhere."


    Normally towards such choices of words, a King would take an offence and greatly punish anyone who approaches the King with such manners due to an ego raised way to high for just one individual. But Zar regrets his previous ways of ruling and aims towards a different Goal. To be kind, open minded, patient and tolerant.


    "My apologies Sire. The Messenger from Bale Town requests to talk to you only. He urges to assure that he isn''t giving this information to anyone taking part in the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance.


    A bit over paranoid if you ask me."


    It was all over Seer''s face that he didn''t like what that messenger practically ordered Seer to doo and even cursed Seer a few times when his requests got denied for the first time.


    "Bring him in right away. He sounds a bit crazy but no doubt loyal there must be more to this."


    Seer left the throne room and ordered for the two Guards in front of the Castle door to let the messenger in.


    Rushing in through the Door, he alarmed the Guards and caused for them to raise their weapons, ready to obliterate the Messenger. And they almost did so if Zar didn''t order them to stop. He had to yell the order from the bottom of his lungs to calm down the Guards loyal enough to face Source Bears for his highness.


    "My apologies. I have been travelling without a horse for a week and I only slept for 2 days along the trip."


    Said the messenger out of breath, in a low tone with black sacks underneath his eyes proving his words true.


    "You must be bringing news of great importance then. Doesn''t Bale Town have any horses? Why did you travel here on foot?"


    Asked the King in concern, showing sympathy for a Messenger way below his status which helped Guards who were in a low social status as well show secret admiration towards King Zar, resulting to an overall raise of Charisma.


    "There used to be Horses a month ago. But the ill.u.s.tratians took them. They departed once they got an order from some King being desperate for troops in Septemtrionis Ignis."


    "Probably due to the havoc the Snow Ignites caused. How many Guards did they recruit?"


    Asked Zar in great curiosity even though his concerns towards a small farming town shouldn''t be so small.


    "Bale Town is just a small farming town. There were only 80 Guards from the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance.


    The King made a mistake of taking 50 of those Guards."


    "So I assume the people of Bale Town revolted."


    "Yes your Highness. With your work against the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance as an inspiration, Bale Town revolted against the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance with higher Morale. We lost 35 Civilians in the battle but it was worth it. Now Bale Town stands independent with a total population of 250 people, all being Farmers."


    "Amazing! It takes a lot of courage to do what''s right. Does your Town require Pameres Kingdom''s assistance?"


    "Yes your Highness that''s why i''m here. The leaders of the revolution ask for your assistance!"


    "I''m willing to help anyone who goes against the ill.u.s.tratian alliance. What does your Town require me to provide? Soldiers? Gold Coins? We have both!"


    Yelled Zar in a cheerful tone, proud of what that small population of Ignites have accomplished.


    "Your Highness. We are a town including of 50 houses. The ill.u.s.tratian Alliance took most of our farming profit, leaving us barely enough to stay well fed. We lack both.


    But for now the  leaders ask for Soldiers. Our town includes Farmers only, all being Ignites. We managed to kill 30 Guards but we don''t know how to fight. We need Guards."


    "Considering the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance being on a military shortage, I don''t expect a big army to attack you anytime soon. They won''t even know about the revolution before either the beginning of the next planting or the next harvest."


    "You do have a point your Highness."


    "However. we cannot risk for Bale Town to be Vulnerable to attacks. Be it now or in the future, be it because of ill.u.s.tratians or low life bandits."


    He paused, took a few seconds to think, turned to Seer and said


    "Dispatch a group of 100 Soldiers and send them to Bale Town. We will cover the food expenses of the soldiers, make them bring along tents as well as Bale Town clearly doesn''t have a lot of houses to support 100 Soldiers.


    All of the troops will travel by horse to cut the travelling time."


    Pausing again to think, but this time for a longer while he added


    "We should also assist them through this food situation. Order for some Guards to bring along Wagons carrying 300 Kilograms of Wheat in total, also 50 Kilograms of Venison(Deer meat)."


    Considering King Zar giving so much food for free even though Pameres Kingdom doesn''t have a stable food situation, is indeed very generous and a good example of using one''s power of status to help people who can''t even help themselves.


    Seer didn''t even say a word and already started organizing what the King has ordered. For him there was never a time that he should waste.


    King Zar turned to the Messenger and said


    "You are a brave person. Travelling what sounds like 100 Kilometers in under a week, on foot, risking your own life in the paws of any passing by Wild Animal. This shows great royalty. A pique Characteristic that any person should have.


    You will be rewarded 500 Gold Coins for your bravery. Now the maids will take you to a guest room. You are to get a good night''s sleep before leading the troops tomorrow towards Bale Town. You may also eat what you please while you are here."


    "Thank you for your generosity King Zar. You are better than the Merchants described you."

 Chapter 126 - The Gr.a.p.e Ale Project(1)

    Apart from taking in Concerns for his Kingdom, planning and thinking of one idea after the other, trying to figure out ways to bring the Kingdom more profit, he spends a good part of his day training Swordsmanship.


    Sure the Kingdom is making around 62 Thousand Gold Coins a month with 17 Thousand Gold Coins being pure profit, increasing the budget, but what would that budget bring if it just keeps piling up? It needs to be spend further more towards making more profit.


    It''s the best way to spend a budget.


    So after he finished his daily training routine, taking off his heavy Silver Armour to relax with some refreshing Gr.a.p.e Ale in his Royal Bedroom, he got an idea from that clay bottle of Gr.a.p.e Ale itself.


    "What if Pameres Kingdom produced her own ale?" He thought.


    With Gr.a.p.e Ale being cheap to make as it contains mostly water, selling it at the Market price of 8 Gold Coins would be very profitable if sold in large quantities, which were easy to produce with enough man power. But that was the problem. Man power.


    Pameres Kingdom is full of experienceless people, but yet again even a 14 year old with enough training can make a bottle of Gr.a.p.e Ale. Meaning Zar didn''t have to be picky.


    But there are expenses he had to cover. For a start, he can''t constantly have yeast being transported from Lav Kingdom(from the Continent of the Zamerians), since the product itself is very cheap, the transport expenses would be more than the yeast itself.


    For the Gr.a.p.es, he planned to use Pameres Kingdom''s Clear Lands to form a Gr.a.p.e farm. But there was one problem, Man Power. He needs enough Farmers. The farmers he has, are not under his employment, they just sell half of their crops to Zar and choose where to sell the other half. So that is another problem. He needs more Farmers.


    Cultivating the clear lands is an easy task. The land is so appropriate for farming, one would say that there would be a God of farming who blessed this piece of land, but Gr.a.p.es don''t require highly cultivated land. Any dirt that roots can easily spread at is good enough.


    Planting Gr.a.p.es is no difficult task either, Zar would need to make a one time Purchase including Gr.a.p.e Branches. Once soaked in water for a few hours, those Branches are eligible to be planted, and considering the Clear Lands being so appropriate for farming, the gr.a.p.e plants will produce fruits in late September if he plants them now in January.


    Picking up the fruits is something anyone can do, so Zar can recruit Farmers from his own Kingdom easy no doubt and wooden Support for the growing gr.a.p.es is something the Construction Workers can make even when considering their busy schedule. They have time and it really doesn''t require much work.


    One of the problems is wheat grain. Making Gr.a.p.e Ale requires Gr.a.p.es no doubt, but it also requires Wheat Grains, Yeast and of course Water.


    Since it is mostly water, Pameres Kingdom can produce a ridiculous amount even with a small Gr.a.p.e farmland.


    But Grain. Grain is the cheapest crop in the market, used to make the most affordable food, Bread.


    Zar would need to use his already very limited Wheat Grain supply In the Castle Storage. That is no option, it is the most bought crop and it could lead to starvation even though considering the 2,500 kg of Fish meat every month coming from Gaster Kingdom.


    Meaning he had to buy the Wheat grain from Lav Kingdom as well.


    Waking up the next morning, he called for his assistant, Seer who arrived in mere minutes as soon as he received the message.


    "How can I serve you, your Highness."


    Said Seer with an honorary bow.


    "We need more ways of profit instead of letting the budget pile up."


    He said casually without showing intensity to his tone.


    "Certainly Sire. We can arrange something as long as you have an idea in mind."


    Said Seer respectfully.


    "Do you think that we can make a profit through Gr.a.p.e Ale?"


    Asked Zar in a Calm tone to ease tension. It works wonders in a conversation and clears the mind for the other person.


    "The first expenses will no doubt be costly, but Gr.a.p.e Ale is easily produced in large quantities. So it can prove profitable.


    But you need to consider one time expenses yearly. Such as Clay bottles, Grain and Yeast."


    "Crap. How did I forget about the Clay bottles?" He thought without changing the expression on his face.


    "Can''t the StoneMasons make the Clay bottles?"


    "Your Highness, you know the StoneMasons are understaffed. If it wasn''t for the help of the Construction workers, we would be still at house 8 by now. While a Clay bottle costs 2 Gold Coins. Even if you buy too much, you can save them for next year."


    Said Seer showing pure reason, with aims to no doubt help form this project for the better.


    "You are my assistant for a reason. My plans need your filtering. Well done. It shall be how you recommend."


    "Thank you for your consideration your highness!"


    "No need to be formal Seer. You worked for me for years.


    However I do have a question.


    If we have a 1 mile long and half a mile wide Gr.a.p.e Farm, how many bottles can we produce?"


    "I can''t give an accurate number but I would say at least 10,000. There isn''t much Gr.a.p.e required for a bottle. Even less yeast. But Grain is required just a bit more.


    I suspect that with 1 kg of Wheat Grains, we can make 40 bottles."


    "So how much Wheat Grain do we need for at least 10,000 Bottles?"


    "I say at least 300 kg. But I recommend to purchase 500 kg of wheat, since the total amount of bottles isn''t certain."


    "Considering yeast being required less for a bottle, we should buy 300kg?"


    Asked Zar highly interested while tapping the arm support on his throne, creating a rhythm showing he is holding in his patience.


    "That would be the wisest idea. If we need more, we can purchase more."


    The ship which delivers the Iron Sword comes every month on the first. Passing a message to Law Kingdom is easy no doubt.


    "How much do you think the whole expenses would be from this first purchase?"


    "With Yeast being 10 Gold Coins per Kilogram, only the yeast will cost 3,000 Gold Coins.


    Plus Wheat Grain costing 2 Gold Coins per Kilogram, that''s another 1,000 Gold Coins. But the bottles are the main concern. As 10,000 Bottles cost 20,000 Gold Coins."


    24 Thousand Gold Coins is no doubt a lot of Gold. And it can cut big time in the profit.


    "Paying enough Farmers to run everything will take a good expense as well. I''m beginning to think this won''t be as profitable as i thought."


    Zar said with a sigh.


    "Well if you plan to hire Farmers, I suggest starting a second, different farm. Because after planted, all we can do is wait for the Gr.a.p.es.


    You can keep the Farmers busy with some other activity, leading to more profit."


    "How about training them to make Clay Bottles?''

 Chapter 127 - The Gr.a.p.e Ale Project(2)

    "That''s actually a brilliant idea. But we need to consider that they won''t be simply able to produce perfectly shaped Ale bottles if they never had experience."


    Said Seer pointing out the flaw on this shortly thought out plan.


    "With Practice comes progress. They will learn it eventually. Plus i figure Clay isn''t expensive."


    "It Depends where we buy it. But actually our mines can provide almost half of the clay we need. A lot of it is just stock piled due to it not being such a requested product.


    We just need to buy 1,500kg of clay since 3 bottles can be made from one kg."


    Said Seer explaining the simplicity of obtaining clay with such great detail.


    Well the man does have a personal library at home and he knows a lot about market prices. What are the odds of him even reading a book about clay?


    "How much will that cost if we buy it from Lav Kingdom?"


    "Clay commonly runs 2 Gold Coins per kg here but even if it is sold for more there, it isn''t a big issue. We can send the rest of the payment through the next shipment. So the clay would 3,000 Gold Coins or 5,000 at max.


    Making this first purchase a total of 7,000 to 9,000 Gold Coins."


    The numbers were already making Zar weary but still he tried his best to pay attention and keep up with Seer


    "Paying for this amount is way better, don''t you think? 20,000 is a lot for bottles."


    Said Zar jokingly.


    "I wish I thought of it myself. You have better ideas even though you aren''t certain of the prices! Inspirational open mindness."


    "Thank you."


    As the King said this sentence, Seer was humbled. Zar is a King but is talking to Seer like a brother. Which feels so fulfilling.


    "Now we need to fill a Recruitment paper."


    Zar said swiftly and added


    "Lav Kingdom will fulfill our purchase requirements easily, and they might even buy when the Ale is ready, but most importantly we will have ale to sell all year around. So this is a good form of advertis.e.m.e.nt for a startup business.


    But we need to start this project as soon as possible if the Gr.a.p.es are to produce fruits this year."


    "Certainly. I''m ready to write, just speak out your requirements."


    "The minimum Age requirement shall be 16 years old and the workers should be able bodied to carry gr.a.p.e crates, so people under 45 years old, can''t apply."


    "That sounds reasonable. People above 45 can''t make a profit before retirement from this job at such age But how many Farmers do we need?"


    "We can''t risk blowing the entire profit from this project, so we need only 20 for now."


    "We will eventually be under staffed due to this, but if we expand the farm, that issue can be solved easy later, it''s easy to get these sort or farmers."


    "Exactly what i thought!"


    Said Zar enthusiastically as he banged his fist on the arm support of his throne.


    "Splendid. But what about the Salary?"


    "The Salary will be 100 Gold Coins a month. It isn''t a back breaking job. But they will get a 30 Gold Coin bonus every 4 months.


    Experience doesn''t play a part in the salary and the experienceless can apply with no issue as long as they don''t have a criminal record. We can''t risk Ale getting stolen."


    "It will be easier to get experienceless employees like this, but i''m not sure about the experienced ones. This can affect the productivity rate and can cause constant minor setbacks if not big ones."


    Said Seer pointing out another hole to the King''s plan.


    "There are many people in the streets. The hired farmers shall be given priority once new houses are built. That would attract anyone. I would be surprised if at least 50 don''t try to apply! A few Experienced farmers will be applying if not half of them being of the applyers."


    "The working hours are the same as for everyone else, I assume!"


    "Yes. 8 working hours a day with 2 days off each week. Employees need time to refresh themselves. We are under staffed but we can''t risk productivity problems."


    Said Zar, proving that he has at least spend a few moments of his sleeping schedule to think this over.


    "People rarely have these work circ.u.mstances. This will attract many no doubt.


    If that''s all, I will be on my way. My job around here is never finished."


    Said Seer Kindly, indirectly asking to be excused from the King''s presence.


    "You may go. Bring me good results old friend!"

 Chapter 128 - No Fire(2)

    Mogranius walked 15 feet away from Eric and using his index and middle finger on both hands to point, he raised them like guns, ready to burst fire from them to train Eric.


    This is part of a custom training Mogranius specifically designed for Eric, to change his "i need to attack" mindset to a "I need to protect" mindset.


    "Are you ready?"


    Said Mogranius in a cold tone portraying a true battle mentor.


    "I''m always ready!"


    Said Eric slightly over confidently. He has trust in his abilities now. But fair to say, too much trust.


    "Remember. Failing to protect one of the training dummies, will lead to you reading and memorizing half a book! So at your case. Failure is not an option."


    No doubt being sarcastic, he pointed out Eric''s inability to read books without falling asleep from boredom.


    "Alright alright let''s do this already."


    Said Eric in a patientless and enthusiastic tone.


    Using his fingers, Mogranius started blasting fire, aiming to hit the 3 training dummies Eric was protecting.


    As agreed upon, the Fire would only cause a slight burn and it''s impact wouldn''t even be enough to bend the shield. He chose that specific Fire spell to avoid fatal training accidents.


    This form of a Fire spell would be something of which most Witches or Wizards who just discovered their Fire Controlling abilities would be able to use. It is barely enough to start a campfire so King Michael wouldn''t have to worry about replacing training dummies to constantly.


    Starting off the Training, Mogranius blasted Fire out of his Fingers, and even though he was 15 Feet away from Eric, the fire floating on air took half a second to reach the Target.


    Eric jumped horizontally in mid air with his shield up, in all aims to protect the lifeless training dummies, the fire almost missed the Iron Shield by an inch where it would meet Eric''s belly area, but he escaped the Fire Burn and met with a different type of burn. The ground.


    Even though his landing was even less smooth than the way he protected the training dummies, he still managed to protect them instead of blasting a Fire Tornado towards Mogranius. Which is fairly progress.


    "Smooth landing."


    Said Mogranius with sarcasm as he laughed at Eric who was covered in a dust cloud.


    "As you can see. The training Dummies are in tact. And I am as well.


    Sorta."


    Rubbing his waist for a few seconds, Eric lifted his Iron Shield, showing he is ready for round 2.


    "Hahahahaha!"


    Laughed Mogranius with his mood increasing due to Eric''s forms of protecting and swiftly added


    "This round i will shoot two almost at the same time. Do you have what it takes?"


    "I''m ready. Let the dance begin."


    "Remember to use your head. Not brute force."


    This time, instead of aiming to throw himself like a bag of wheat against the ground, he thought of a different approach because his Ribs weren''t simply cut out for breaking his fall towards the dirty ground.


    Keeping his body still, he chose to only move the shield where he can quickly think that the fire is going to hit instead of throwing himself.


    and even if he fails to predict correctly, his body would increase the chances of preventing the Fire from hitting any of the training dummies.


    It would be a 50% chance. If he raises the shield on the left, and the Fire doesn''t approach anywhere near the left, there is a 50% chance of the Fire hitting Eric or the training dummy on the right side.


    Being hit by the Fire would also increase a feel of being able to protect, just a bit more, which would also be beneficial to forming a new mindset as it would be considered "self sacrifice".


    Raising his left Fingers Mogranius shoots Fire once and using his right fingers he shoots fire a quarter of a second later. Meaning Eric needs to think fast, twice.


    By instinct, he raised his Iron Shield to the left which was able to prevent the first shot fired from hitting the training Dummy.


    But he didn''t manage to stop the second shot fire with his shield in time but however he did with his forehead.


    "Ouch.


    You said it wouldn''t burn!"


    "Alright that was not what I meant when I said "Use your head". And i said that it wouldn''t hurt to much."


    "Point taken."


    "But the training dummy isn''t damaged so i suppose you pass round 2."


    "I''m already mastering your just discovered training technique. You have to step up your game old man!"


    Said Eric in both aims to tease Mogranius and to speed up this training lesson, as it was fair to say that he didn''t enjoy it.


    "Is that so!


    Shield up in that case."


    Fearing that his mouth led him in trouble, Eric Swallowed his spit and raised his shield preparing for the worst.


    Blasting Fire 3 times under 1 second, and then jumping & rolling to the left side about 8 feet away from his former position, he shoots 5 more times from the ground which even though a foot apart from each other, were heading in different directions and were all differently timed.


    Stopping 3 with his shield, 4 with his body and one escaping him and just hitting the short wall behind the training dummy, Eric escaped this third round without risking reading half a book.


    But he no doubt felt the burn and even almost had a rage outburst  because of it which could result in the town being in trouble due to a short or long outburst from a kid who can literally form Fire Tornados.


    "You passed the third round. Although I''m not certain if you stopped half or all with your face this time."


    With Sarcasm aimed Mogranius to tick off his mentee.


    "None hit my face this time. I caught them all."


    "Not all. One escaped. But it didn''t hit the training dummy. Swiftly played kid. Now we aren''t just done yet. We will continue up to round 30."


    "If we go up to round 30, i will become as old as you when I finished the end of my bargain."


    Said Eric indirectly complimenting Mogranius and no doubt finding his protecting limit from the last round.


    "Technically i unleashed round 9 on you since you were being a loudmouth. Round 4 will be easier than the round you just withstood."


    "In that case, I''m ready."

 Chapter 129 - The War for Pameres Kingdom(1)

    "I need... 800 Soldiers ready for the battle of Pameres Kingdom."


    Exclaimed Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll as he banged on the arm support of his throne.


    "Sire. With all due respect, we can''t risk weakening our Capital. We only have 1500 Soldiers/Guards. If anyone choose to attack Crutal Kingdom, we would face great losses. Not to mention the Soldiers you will lose fighting for Pameres Kingdom. These were your own words before."


    Exclaimed Aaron pointing out the severity of this plan.


    "Indeed... they were. But if i allow... this revolution to grow, more and... more Kingdoms under our... influence will revolt. If one ill.u.s.tratian King... revolted, what would stop the... second or the third?"


    Although the plan desperate, King Xakro has a point. What King wouldn''t take the opportunity to take more for himself if he got the Chance?


    "But what if the Snow Ignites attack? Even if we reclaim Pameres Kingdom, will it be wise to just keep weakening the military? We already converted nearly 600 Guards into workers."


    Aaron paused for a bit and shortly added


    On top of all that, the Electus is roaming free. It wouldn''t be a surprise if we lose this battle."


    Remembering how Eric killed over 900 people, he saw for himself how capable and dangerous a 15 year old kid was towards an entire damn Kingdom.


    "Do not... question my decisions Aaron."


    Said Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll as he stopped mid sentence like usual due to the neck injuries he has, causing him trouble to breathe. These are the injuries his Father and Grand Father carried due to the Curse as well.


    "That''s not what you are... hired for."


    "As you command Sire. When shall they depart?"


    "Tomorrow but, which... would be the fastest way to reach... Pameres Kingdom?"


    "By entering the clear lands. But of course, that would mean the troops will first need to go around 100km through a branch of the dense forest in order for them to reach the clear lands.


    Luckily the old road made from people who constantly transported material using the forest as a shortcut, should prove useful to the soldiers."


    Explained Aaron, the King''s assistant lost in his own explaining as he went through everything in detail.


    "How long will it... take to reach Pameres Kingdom Aaron?"


    Said King Zar impatiently.


    "Considering Pameres Kingdom being 900km away, if all 800 Soldiers travel with horses, they will be there in 4 weeks at max. But if they are all on foot..."


    "Yes?"


    "It would take up to 10, maybe 12 weeks. The Kingdom is on the edge of the Continent after all. But the troops can find hospitality at other Kingdoms in the Clear Lands. Such as RedClay Kingdom, Gravel Kingdom, Dragon''s Flame Kingdom, Green Kingom or Silver Kingdom which are based in the Clear Lands since we nearly don''t have 800 Horses."


    "That. Would just slow... down their progress. The two Kingdoms aren''t just... connected to the main road."


    "Indeed Sire but it will respectfully prevent for their overall morale to drop below 0. And may I suggest upper class knights such as Cavalry. They will raise the morale of the army if there were 100 of them."


    Said Aaron doing his best to filter out King Xakro''s poorly thought out plan.


    "It shall be how you... recommend then. We will equip all 800 with enough... food, water and camping equipment... for their entire trip. They can also feel free... to stop at any of the two Kingdoms to rest and... under my orders, those two Kingdoms... have no choice but to provide."


    Explained Xakro with a calmed colder tone as he struggled to finish the sentence due to his breathing problems. His breath keeps getting shorter by the day and Aaron sure noticed it.


    "Wisest idea Sir. At this rate we will take Pameres Kingdom with minimal losses. But what about your son, King Zar..."


    "They shall Kill him on the spot!"


    Yelled Xakro in a cold determined tone.


    "As you command Sire."


    Aaron walked out right away in order to Organize this whole attack.


    The first thing he would need to doo, is go to the training yard and order for the Guard Commanders of every 100 Guard Platoon, to get ready. Considering that King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll ordered for 800 Guards/Soldiers to attack Pameres Kingdom, there would be 4 Guard Commanders. And since the amount exceeds over 500, a War General needs to be brought along.


    War Generals are the most paid people, second to the King. They earn a stunning Salary of 700 Gold Coins a month even if they host 1 battle in a year or none at all.


    They aren''t easily affordable by any Kingdom and on top of all that, it is extremely hard to meet the standards of a War General.


    Even if one could, they would be risking their neck in each battle.


    Well it is not like they fight in a battle, but they manage the whole thing. And if the army under the War  General''s Guidance fails to bring victory, the War General carries responsibility of the failure and would be executed in the town square in front of everyone. Which is why it is so hard to simply find War Generals. They aren''t even needed in half of the battles happening in Ignis, but when over 500 Soldiers are going into war, a superior mind needs to be there to think for all of the 500 or above instead of them just running around like wild animals.


    Crutal Kingdom has 3 War Generals. Respectfully 1 for each 500 Guard Platoon. And since Crutal Kingdom has around 1,500 Guards/Soldiers it is reasonable that there are 3 War Generals.


    "My King. Aaron passed me down your message. You called for me?"


    "Yes Chan. Are you ready to get that Ghost Branch?"

 Chapter 130 - Training Schedule(1)

    At this cold, even Guards traditionally  wouldn''t show up to train. The cold weather would run from their fingers first and then to their bones. Causing numbness in the fingers as a primary effect, causing them to be demotivated to do any sort of training was the secondary effect.


    But since Woldemir gained control of the 100 Guards with King Michael''s blessing, they have turned from a group of cowards who became Guards for free fish, into cold blooded Warriors able to withstand an attack if one were to happen.


    King Michael was more than willing to let Woldemir train these Guards the second Woldemir offered. It is not an everyday thing to meet a Grand Master of any sort.


    He even offered Woldemir a full time job as a Guard Commander and a Guard trainer, offering 400 Gold Coins a month as a salary which Woldemir saw no flaw to accept. It would benefit everyone.


    You would think that King Michael is doing a mistake to offer that much gold to one person, but since they are now earning a profit, with a large farming plan to be ready before the planting season starts, there is no telling when the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance will knock on the door demanding for King Michael to be beheaded. So this was more of an investment from King Michael''s point of view.


    So a strong army, able to withstand attacks, was mandatory. Along with the 4 remaining Calidum Lutum, Gaster Kingdom only has 100 Guards/Soldiers. Cleverly named by Woldemir as the "First Platoon".


    It was a name he picked up by reading books regarding armies in Ignis, mostly about the ill.u.s.tratian Army.


    Most books now after all, are based on the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance. They burned every book based on Magic they could, however it did not mean that Woldemir can''t use their wisdom to the Ignite''s advantage. Or at least to the advantage of everyone who doesn''t take part on the devious ill.u.s.tratian Alliance.


    However, if a group of Guards reached 100 in number, they would be considered a Platoon.


    If the Platoon exceeds anywhere over 150, even if it is 151, those 51 would be separated from the first Platoon and have a Guard Commander who is responsible for the second platoon and their training. Any failure regarding duty or training or even order, would be on the Guard Commander''s shoulders.


    Even though these military tactics are from the enemy, it didn''t mean that they weren''t clever. They were heavily well organized which would put in more sense into their large military success over the 100 year war and the following 100 year aftermath.


    The daily training schedule for the Guards of Gaster Kingdom, was similar to the training schedule the Calidum Lutum faced due to Woldemir, except the training schedule isn''t 12 hours long but it is 8 instead, which caused complications for Woldemir to adjust proper training methods to weak level 1 Guards. He was used training Calidum Lutum Guards who can obliterate a Source Bear bare handed.


    Before they all take a lap 6 times around the whole Kingdom, they would first need to eat a light breakfast including a small serving of Striped Marlin meat.


    Sure it isn''t a wise idea to eat meat this early in the morning, but they need the energy. Eating rare to get Striped Marlin meat for free was their motivation to wake up in the morning. They were tasting luxury but at a price of constant training.


    The Guards all having their own homes, need to come themselves at the training yard instead of Woldemir rushing in a room full of sleeping Guards and yelling at them to wake up as if their lives depended on it which was Common in other Kingdoms. By that I don''t mean that Woldemir took part in waking up those Soldiers from other Kingdoms.


    But to keep order, Woldemir decided to bribe them with what they valued the most. Food.


    Not showing on the training yard at 8a.m. sharp or minutes before it, would result to the Guard having to skip breakfast and run 10 laps instead of 6 like the rest.


    This would seem unfair to some but through his 2 decades of training Swordsmanship, he observed that discipline ruled over disorder.


    This system of training was man made to make these Guards understand the severe importance of being in order and taking responsibility for their actions instead of just shifting the blame.


    If Woldemir would lead undisciplined Guards to a battlefield, the slightest mistake would turn the situation into a military chaos, resulting in great losses even if he was leading hundreds towards the enemy.


    After running 6 laps around the whole Kingdom, starting from the training yard attached to the Castle, to running near the Kingdom walls and then returning to the Castle, it was fair to say that the Guards had a lot of trouble keeping up with such practice.


    Almost half even failed continuously for the first week, even at lap 2. Which is why Woldemir set another rule in hopes to raise their will power, anyone failing to complete the 6 lap run, would have to skip Dinner at 12pm which was the most fulfilling meal of the day.


    Dinner included a fulfilling meal of commonly cheap fish meat coming from the "Barramundi" species with a side of Striped Marlin meat in the sides, double the amount of Striped Marlin meat compared to the meal they get in the morning.


    King Michael saw this as a waste of inventory at first, but when he saw 100 Guards running lap after lap near the Kingdom walls, he was more comfortable with Mogranius'' work and gave him the freedom to use all available resources if it leads to progress. The Kingdom lacked progress so much that King Michael was open to any idea at all, especially from a Grand Master.

 Chapter 131 - Training Schedule(2)

    6 laps of course wouldn''t take 4 hours to complete. It took only a bit above an hour. Afterwards the troops were given an opportunity to catch their breath and continued with an hour long stab training.


    Iron Swords being the cheapest weapons, everyone in the Kingdom only had Iron Swords instead of having War Hammers, Maces, Battle Axes, etc etc. But that was just working to their advantage, because although Woldemir observed people with other weapons from close combat, he doesn''t have experience in any weapon other than Swords.


    The stab training included only a simple move, repeated over and over for an hour.


    All of the Guards would need to take one right step forward at first, and using both their hands they would push their swords upfront, having their arms fully stretched and with their left foot they would grant more support to the movement by pushing the foot backwards to secure stability.


    The movement would result in the body being positioned at a 45¡ã angle, granting the possibility to stab the enemy even if that certain enemy was up to 5 feet away. The attack could be life threatening if mastered, even towards an enemy wearing a strong Iron Armor.


    This was a basic move that any Level 1 Guard/Soldier would need to learn in order to progress.


    But skill level of course was separated in 6 levels.


    Beginner, Warrior, Expert, Elite, Master and Grand Master. While these Guards were all currently at level 1, except the 3 Calidum Lutum who had upper ranks.


    Failing to repeat this part of the training had greater consequences for everyone, even if one failed.


    One of the 100 failing to complete this hour long stab training would result to everyone Skipping Dinner and only eating a portion of food at 4pm, an amount almost as small as what they ate for breakfast.


    The whole plan for this training was for the Soldiers to create unity. If one fails, they all fail. Which would give upper advantage in battle. None would be cowardice enough to flee with this sort of discipline and raise of self esteem. Firmly holding to the phrase "No Soldier left behind".


    Of course at the first few days, fights broke out due to one two or ten people failing to complete their training. Literal fist fights.


    Which wouldn''t create unity but would create bad vibes and demotivational to those who are weaker but have the ability to better themselves through constant progress but are simply slow.


    So Woldemir set over the top punishments for those who started fist fights or were noticeably provoking weaker people in the Platoon.


    Once found starting a fight, the Guard/Soldier would be punished with 15 laps around the Kingdom after training hours. And if found provoking one another, they would need to do 8 laps after training hours.


    After setting this foundation, a rule making it clear that every action has consequences and can''t simply be escaped unpunished, fights decreased almost entirely.


    Woldemir used the best way to teach masses of people with no experience, fear. Of course the ones with a more ambitious mindset, would use these rules for self improvement.


    This technique of training worked over time. From having to break 5 Fights a Week, to barely facing 2 fights a month, this technique helped big time.


    So seeing the opportunity, Woldemir started implanting a better mindset to their minds since they are easier to manage after making punishments for trouble makers clear.


    Before each training, he repeated a number of sentences used often towards the Platoon to raise their self esteem as well.


    "You shouldn''t be afraid of failure, but you shouldn''t be afraid of success either. With enough training, you can become a Grandmaster no matter what status or experience you used to have.


    Even if you came from a long family history of farmers or fishermen, i can make you a Grand Master. No one was born a Grand Master after all."


    And on other days he would mix his motivational speeches, so those who listened, don''t have to stick to the same words as an inspiration but would have a wider field of view.


    "Among you there will be people who can progress easier than others. Don''t take it as a pride and don''t use it to body shame your troops who can''t progress as fast as you. We aren''t animals after all.


    Instead you should be advising who accepts to be advised, motivating who struggles to progress such as sticking with them when you see them struggling to keep up in laps. I can tell you from experience that the smallest sign of care can go a long way.


    You aren''t only training yourselves, your contribution to the troops can make the difference from all of you progressing to the next level and being the most feared platoon from the enemy''s point of view, and the most loved Platoon from our point of view.


    Or you can fight against each other, doomed to forever remain at level 1."


    Sure these speeches didn''t work right away, but day by day Woldemir saw slight improvement. Even the trouble makers refused to continue their undesirable ways and instead encouraged the weak instead of blaming them or at least kept quiet. While the weak sticked with each other, even asking permission from Woldemir to run an extra lap to keep up with the rest of the Platoon who with practice, can run another 6 laps without fainting.


    Woldemir was proud of the scene, every day the overall morale of the Soldiers increased, their self esteem and self dependence increased. They all made good friends in the Platoon and were found sharing a beer after training hours. Woldemir was proud enough of this work that he even kept boasting about it to King Michael, Eric, Mogranius, and basically anyone. Which is amazing because he never boasts.

 Chapter 132 - Training Schedule(3)

    He even highly recommended for King Michael to pay them, even if it is as low as 50 Gold Coins.


    But with other expenses covered such as paying Spearfishermen, if he paid 100 Soldiers, it would mean that Gaster Kingdom will have an economic collapse. A wall can''t be pushed with one''s head after all.(Unless you are Kaleem).


    So until Gaster Kingdom reached a stronger Economical standard, these Guards need to work for food, shelter and self improvement.


    After completing their hour long Stabbing Lesson, they would need to run 3 more laps after a short break of course. Repeating the same thing over and over would be hard even if one just jumped over and over, so they need time to relax.


    You would ask why Woldemir puts so much importance into running laps rather than learning more and more fighting techniques.


    Well running has many benefits when it comes to Swordsmanship.


    It was obvious to everyone in the Platoon that running laps became easier after constant daily laps. That isn''t just a coincidence, running clears up the body which increases Stamina over time, it doesn''t become easier just because of the developing muscles.


    Shorty explained, the more you run, the more you can run.


    Stamina is a vital upper advantage in battle. A Soldier who can land 20 blows and still keep going is always stronger than one who can land 10 and blow all of his or her Stamina at the end. The difference is obvious.


    Apart from Stamina, running laps starts forming a more dependable defensive form due to the stronger legs formed from the training and of course although minor, lower abdominal muscle development would be noticeable as well, also perfect for burning fat, resulting in a more reliable body form.


    After the second round of laps, half of  the Platoon would have shields up, while the other half would strike the shield with wooden planks to avoid breaking the shields who simply can''t handle swords being bashed at them day after day.


    Shields aren''t indestructible after all and are only used to stop fatal injuries, the result of getting struck on the shield will often lead to bruises. Which is why Woldemir took a slow approach towards this instead of temporarily disabling the soldiers. Instead of one soldier continuously striking a shield, the attackers and defenders will switch places after every strike. Which no doubt enhanced order as well because they all had the urge to keep up with the singual rhythm.


    After that of course Dinner followed at 12p.m. which was no doubt their favourite part of the day. The meal was enough to fill any stomach and weren''t poorly cooked either as they were made by the Maids living in the Castle. Those old ladies sure know how to cook. The Soldiers would lick their fingers and even the plate until Woldemir told them that it is both disturbing and unnecessary.


    Running another few laps after a big meal isn''t the best idea, so the Platoon is given a 20 minute break after Dinner so the food can go to the right place, giving them both more time to relax and get energized from the food to handle the rest of the training.


    So instead of running, they are taught a different attack which was used to mainly cut instead of stab.


    For this exercise to be done without accidents, the Guards need to stay 10 feet away from each other.


    The attack instructed to attack after lowering the shield once a Guard found him or herself withstanding an attack from the enemy.


    Typically it would take a few seconds for the enemy to recover if the enemy''s sword landed on a shield.


    So using that opportunity, the Guard would need to use the split second to attack with a sideways single handed horizontal blow from the right which would lead to the enemies head being cut off, or simply cut part of the throat, or face being cut which would leave a strong scar if the enemy survived it, or at least the chest would receive a fatal blow. Which were all considerably life threatening injuries.


    Now imagine what damage a soldier who practiced against mid air, basically battling his or her own body weight for hundreds possibly thousands of times, would do to someone in full body armor.


    It would make them flee the battle, die in the spot or just curl into a ball, covering their own heads.


    It was indeed a fatal combat move that every Level 1 Swordsman had to learn. Fatal enough to pierce armor.


    Level 1 Swordsmen had only 4 training methods they had to master as you''ve read so far.


    Running, Stabbing, Cutting and withstanting hits with a Shield.


    With such basics they are completely capable of protecting a Kingdom.


    After the cutting lesson, they would need to continue with a 4 lap Run, continuing their stabbing lessons afterwards for an hour and finally finishing it off with 2 Final Laps.


    Such a strict training lesson proved no doubt troublesome and tiring. Almost half felt like giving up in the first week, but if they quit they would need to say goodbye to the Striped Marlin meat and settle for Barramundi twice a day.


    While in the army they get two meals at work and two meals out of work for their families. Which was no doubt beneficial where food is hard to get. Before the four Striped Marlin Spearfishers arrived, people of this Kingdom were considered lucky if they ate 2 meals a day once in two weeks. Now they eat 2 meals everyday.


    Also if they left the army, they would be considered weak, having their social status greatly decrease and would also prove difficult being hired by King Michael himself when other jobs are available. So they were more demotivated to quit than they were demotivated to keep up with the training schedule.


    After 1 month of Progress however, most had no trouble keeping up with the morning laps even though they started off by failing at lap 2 in the very beginning. Which was astonishing progress and raised the Platoon''s morale and urge to better themselves.


    But still they are months away from beating level 1.


    Woldemir predicts that this Platoon will be ready when they won''t go to sleep at 7pm because of the training schedule. Which could range from 6 months to 2 years. Depending on each individual.

 Chapter 133 - A Trip for the Deadly Ghost Tree.

    "G-g-g ghost Branch? Is it time already to fetch it?"


    Said Guard Commander Chan quaking in his Combat boots.


    "Yes you Buffoon."


    Yelled King Xakro disturbing the peace and added


    "We even... are behind schedule. By now i... should of had the damn... Giant ill.u.s.tratio''s toe. But all I''m seeing is a coward who... wasted 30 Elite Archers for one damn heart."


    "I barely escaped with my life. One of them put 10 Elite Archers into shame. Not to mention they have hundreds of lava Controllers. I..."


    "Silence. I do not wish to... hear more excuses."


    Yelled King Xakro, trying his best to not torch Guard Commander Chan, holding back as much as he could.


    "This time... you won''t have Soldiers to waste. You will... be going alone."


    "I do not aim to question your wisdom Sire, but wouldn''t that be to dangerous? Where is the Ghost Tree even located?"


    Tried Chan to form a sentence without triggering the unstable King.


    "In your mother''s... Don''t question my choices Chan. You are walking... on thin ice. If it wasn''t for the fact... that you play a big role... in my plans, I would of torched you long ago."


    Like his breath, his patience was also growing short. He even regrets assigning him as a Guard Commander, not to mention making him a part of these sensitive plans. He could of hired an Elite soldier to complete the Job, but for some reason he chose Chan.


    Perhaps it wasn''t the best idea. But he is trying to form Chan into a man of power and knowledge. King Xakro made him read 10 books in aims to make him more knowledgeable and at the same time trying to grant him Freezing powers.


    It wasn''t poorly thought out. If Chan is to face an unstably powerful Electus, he needs to be as prepared as possible.


    Especially considering the Electus happening to have relations with the indomitable Calidum Lutum.


    There is a reason why Xakro didn''t try to get the Calidum Lutum race under his Control yet. Because if he tried, even with 10,000 Soldiers, Lava would dispose all of them unless those 10,000 Soldiers were all Fire Controllers. Then it would be bad. But Xakro recruiting 10,000 Fire Controllers even if he tried 100 years ago, would be impossible.


    Fire Controllers were heavily massacred by the Dominating ill.u.s.tratian Army and non Fire Controllers met the same fate due to Soldiers suspecting them to be Fire Controllers.


    "My apologies Sire."


    Said Guard Commander Chan in fear hoping to live longer.


    "You are to head towards... Septemtrionis Ignis. With Snow Ignites dominating... the Capital, it is best if you don''t wear your Guard Commander Armor.


    You are to go there... with normal clothes carrying 100 Gold Coins at most and... with a Dagger equipped, so you can''t be told apart from common folk... if Snow Ignites happen to be attacking another Kingdom. Those... beasts are unpredictable."


    As Guard Commander Chan was about to ask a question, he was interrupted by the King who wasn''t done listing the plan.


    "Being exposed... is not an option. You are to remain silent even if Ignites beat... the crap out of you. Nothing should... stop you from reaching the ghost tree.


    You should... avoid Ignites and even ill.u.s.tratios... as much as you can, so stick to the forest and get out of it to only buy food.


    If you are lucky, you won''t be chased by a wild boar. But if you are, climb a tree. If you try to stab a wild boar with a dagger, you will die in that forest."


    He took a deeper breath and said


    "Do you remember everything you moron? If not, I have one last nerve to repeat everything.


    Stay Hidden, keep your identity hidden and by all costs try to avoid getting in to a dungeon. Even at the slightest risk your first thought should be to run. I do not wish for my delivery to be delayed.


    If you do get in contact with people, tell them that you are a farmer named Jeb."


    "Sounds simple enough to remember. I will swallow my pride at all costs as you recommend Sire."


    Said Guard Commander Chan is a cracking tone.


    "Oh I''m not recommending. I''m Commanding.


    Here is the map. I''ve paid 20 scouts and they drew a map telling every detail, even an illiterate slave can read it.


    It is hard to tell apart the tree during the day, but at night you will start hearing voices, screams or probably even see "people". So it should help you figure out where to look.


    I suppose you aren''t dumb enough to approach before saying the phrase granting you immunity from those paranormal friends."


    Asked King Zar but he felt like he already knew that whatever Chan will say, will destroy his last nerve.


    "Right. The word was Ale... wait, no don''t tell me."


    "Silence you goddamn moron! The word is "Azr.a.p.etos"!"


    Yelled King Zar, fisting the arm support of the throne so hard that he broke it beyond repair.


    "Now go right... away. You are to travel by foot. It isn''t to... far away from the Border. It should take you


    2 Weeks to return, 3 if you are double the buffoon i think you are.


    Now. Be gone!"


    One foot after the other, Guard Commander Chan speed walked out of the Throne room, completely ignoring all of the offensive words he just swallowed and was just happy that he was still breathing. But he did not feel comfortable at all for the fact that he has to deal with Ghosts soon.

 Chapter 134 - Death Rate

    "Sire. I come with bad news!"


    Hurried Seer in to the throne room, filling that sentence under his breath.


    At Winter where temperatures drop life threatening low, King Zar had a theory or two of the situation, he feared this situation a lot even.


    "What happened Seer? Is it damage beyond prepare?"


    Asked King Zar in great Concern.


    "Yes Sire. Beyond prepare for the Victims but we can at least try to do more for the survivors."


    Said Seer under his breath as he was 6 feet away from the throne, trying to explain what happened.


    "What happened Seer? Tell me already!"


    Trying his best to remain calm and patient, he already had a burden of a Kingdom on his shoulders.


    "5 more homeless people died due to the excessive cold!"


    Said Seer with grief and a low tone.


    "What! You said that the help we provided would be enough to prevent such disaster Seer. I trusted your opinion above all."


    Yelled King Zar, losing his patience and holding the arm support of the Throne so hard, that the exquisite plank started crackling and shattered into pieces.


    Well at least he isn''t taking out that rageful force on Seer, otherwise it would be bone breaking.


    "I underestimated the weather Sire. I was certain that 3 layers of thick clothing would be enough, but tents don''t help too much when the cold at midnight is to be considered!"


    Said Seer with continuous grief. Feeling the most burden of all for these lost lives.


    "We lost 14 homeless people this month Seer. I don''t want to hear any "would have, should have, could have." We need to act quick before more people start dying! Above all. If those Victims had family members, the family will get a 500 Gold Coin compensation, like we did with the other 11 Victims."


    "I already finished doing the compensation Sire. Don''t stress about it.


    But what do you recommend we do Sire? Is there more we can do? If you have any idea in mind i will be glad to put it all together!"


    Tried Seer to calm down the King and provide as much help as he could.


    "The Elderlies and Children are the most sensitive to this cold weather. Correct?"


    Asked Zar trying to confirm his thoughts!


    "Indeed. 10 of the Victims so far were Elderly and Children, unfortunately."


    "I thought so. But our Castle is big. It is a 20 Room Castle discluding the Guard Rooms. Bring some of the Homeless here. They should be absolutely safe here until new houses are available to live in."


    Said Seer, ordering something no other King would have ever thought off.


    "But Sire. Not that I don''t wish to help these people with all I can, but they will no doubt be tempted to steal. They barely have anything because they came here with nothing and this castle has pretty much everything!"


    "I''m aware of that risk. Along with the Guards who already have shifts in the Castle, there should be 25 Guards assigned here until further notice. That way, if any of the homeless choses to steal, they would need to consider being caught and spending a month in the dungeon."


    "As you Command Sire. These people need all the help they can get after all. This Winter should be a good teacher for us, to try harder next time.


    As for me, if the rooms here aren''t enough, i''m willing to take elderly people in my house. My house can fit 5 at least.


    But which people should be given the main priority?"


    "Elderly people have one foot in the grave already, but that doesn''t mean they should spend their last days on earth freezing to death, they faced enough in life already. They are fragile. I want them to have priority.


    Orphans should be second on your priority list and Mothers with children should be your third.


    Men or Women from their 20s to 40s are in pique physical form so they can handle a few weeks of cold but if any of them have some illness, give them appropriate treatment from the Castle healers. Some herbs and warm tea usually help for a cold. Not to mention, give them two more sets of clothing!"


    "It shall be how you Command. But will 20 rooms be enough to stop this death rate there are nearly 300 on the Streets? How many can we put in one room?"


    "Of course it won''t be enough. I have more thoughts to this situation. But put 5 people in each room and do your best to separate males from females to prevent any conflict.


    Even if the men don''t provoke, those ladies with Children won''t have the comfort of their husbands in the same room, so conflict from the actual husband might be possible towards some random man. Women with kids are given priority after all, their husbands aren''t included."


    Seer was proud that the King considered everyone. He tried to give everyone personal space from opposite genders even though 5 people will be crammed up in a room.


    He continued to write everything down, still struggling to catch up, making it hard to form a sentence. But it didn''t matter because the King continued with his demands.


    "And tents obviously seem to not be enough to help against this severe cold. Have 30 of the Construction workers start building 2 meter wide sheds. A lot of them, enough for everyone."


    "But won''t that slow down the house building project?"


    "I don''t give a damn Seer!"


    Shouted King Zar as he fisted the support plank of the throne so hard that he broke it in 3 big pieces and trying to control his anger he added in a calmer tone


    "I''d rather see it slow down than see more innocent people dying. If anything. The StoneMasons are slowing everything down. This death rate can somehow work to both our and their advantage."


    "How exactly can this work to our advantage? It sounds devious!"


    Said Seer ignoring the outburst the King had.


    "It might sound devious but it is our best hope for faster progress.


    You are to fill another doc.u.ment, urgently requesting Experienceless StoneMasons and put the parchment on the town center.


    The pay will be the same as the one we have hired, but anyone hired will have priority acquiring a new build house. The houses are free. How better could it get?"


    "Won''t having so many experienceless StoneMasons lead to unstable foundations Sire?"


    Asked Seer trying to filter every detail instead of just waiting for chaos to happen.


    "It could, but the 5 main StoneMasons should agree upon their stone sculpting before it is put in to use like they did with the rest of the 15 Experienceless and the help of the Construction Workers."


    "Reasonable. What is the hiring limit?"


    "I need 30 Experienceless StoneMasons as soon as humanly possible!"

 Chapter 135 - No Fire(3)

    The 8th round passed, then the 17th, then the 29th!


    Eric managed to stop most of the little beams of fire shot at him, but he stopped half of them with his body and several went to his face.


    But it wasn''t something to be concerned about and it was above all beneficial as it aided him to get a more protective mindset.


    Reaching round 30, was the final and hardest to tackle round yet. He couldn''t risk for any of the training dummies to be hit again because they got hit 6 times already. Meaning Eric needs to read and memorize 3 books because of the deal he made. Which would be worse than getting chased by Black Wolves for him.


    As if reading was an enemy stronger than the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance for him.


    If Eric fails to protect the Training Dummies in this final round, he could be risking reading up to 5 more books. But lucky for him, he picked more tricks along the way. Playing purpose to help him go through this round easier.


    "Are you ready?"


    Asked Mogranius calmly.


    "Always!"


    Not wasting a blink of an eye bothering to tease his c.o.c.kyness, Mogranius disappeared on thin air and his foot taps were so light that no person on earth would be able to hear them. So it was impossible for Eric to track where the next shot would come from. He just had to listen and trust his senses.


    Suddenly Mogranius appeared again and 6 Shots of Fire were coming from the left 30 feet away, a foot apart from each other and each one timed a split second apart.


    Noticing the small roar that bundle of fire caused, Eric raised his shield right away and received 3 of those shots on the shield, 2 on the body and one hit a training dummy without causing it to burn.


    The only way a training dummy would start burning from this small amount of fire, would be if Mogranius shot it continuously from a very short distance.


    The second Eric took a moment to seek Mogranius, he had already disappeared and his next move was unpredictable.


    It would be more challenging if Mogranius shot this harmless fire while remaining invisible, but he simply can''t.


    Because once a Fire Controller is attached with smoke. He becomes smoke. And smoke of course can''t shoot fire but is just an aftermath of burned wood for example. Which is why Fire Controllers can connect with smoke to begin with, explaining their invisibility skills but can''t shoot fire while at that state.


    In order to shoot fire, he had to disconnect with the smoke, a.k.a re appearing.


    Appearing again from the right, but 20 feet close now, Mogranius started running from the right to the left in a straight line and kept shooting Fire until the count reached 10.


    Eric was able to stop each one except the 8th one when Mogranius took a sharp turn, on the opposite way he was running, so effortlessly that it didn''t give Eric enough time to think. The Fire hit the training dummy on the left while Eric was all the way to the right making it almost impossible to protect.


    But of course this was only wave two out of four of the 30th level.


    Not bothering to disappear again he used the two main fingers from both of his hands to continuously shoot at almost the same spots 20 times.


    That of course wasn''t challenging but in a weird way trained endurance.


    Of course Eric was able to hold off each one but the last and final wave of level 30 left him dumb founded.


    This time, Fire didn''t just go in a straight singular line but were widely slithering around like snakes, and were much longer than the previous ones.


    To make it more difficult, there were ten of them and they all were unleashed at the same time. As if he unleashed one from each finger.


    Eric was far beyond prepare towards this move. One slithering fire hit the training dummies after the other, leaving Eric only able to stop 4 of them. That was the hardest wave he ever faced and more than doubled his end of the bargain. Now he will need to read 7 books in total and memorize them all.


    But even though he doesn''t like it, it will work to his advantage sooner or later. Knowledge is power!


    "You did well!"


    "Are you kidding? I handled 29 rounds with only 6 shots hitting the training dummies but 1 round caused so much damage."


    "It was beautiful to see though."


    Said Mogranius while walking towards Eric and Giggling.


    "It felt like the Sun exploded!"


    "Hehehehe. You did well. We will continue this sort of training for a week everyday before you try forming another fire shield. Until then, don''t try it. It will mess with your self dependence."

 Chapter 136 - The Gr.a.p.e Ale Project(3)

    As King Zar was walking out from his personal training room, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his handkerchief and dripping perfume over his body out of a clay bottle to fight of the smell sweat would bring, he saw a sight that he is getting used to. Seer walking towards the throne with a thick pile of doc.u.ments.


    "Looks like we got more than we bargained for, Seer."


    "Indeed. The word of mouth at first was considerably slow, but it picked up at day 2. Me and Maleesa interviewed 38 Farmers, and filtered out 18 of them choosing the most able bodied ones since the most fragile men and women are already in the Castle. "


    Said Seer while browsing the doc.u.ments.


    "With Maleesa ha?"


    With a lightened mood asked Zar. "These recent events made me forget to ask about your date. How did it go?"


    "Well right after the date started, 3 men tried to rob us. 2 were arrested, 1 man died. Heck of a first date."


    With Sarcasm Seer explained the situation but it got Zar in rather great shock. So many job opportunities and they still run around trying to rob people? It is a good thing he asked for any employer to not have a criminal record here in Pameres Kingdom. Even if he or she spent 1 hour in the dungeon, they would lack the qualifications.


    But hiding that concern he proceeded with another question.


    "Did it end there?"


    "No no, not at all. I invited her at my house for some tea."


    Said Seer already knowing what to expect next.


    "Tea? Did you...."


    "Hell no. What difference would i make from a predator like that. We exchanged deep emotions and scars. Which rather worker well. We are closer than we ever were."


    He said with a sigh expressing love.


    "Good for you. When you two are ready for marriage, you can do the ceremony in the castle all expenses paid by me. Just get that lady. She seems nice."


    The amount of time and effort Seer contributed to Pameres Kingdom, this is the least Zar could do as a reward.


    "Thank you for your constant generosity Sire. But may we get back to business?"


    "Certainly!"


    "The Farmers we got are perfect for the job, and even though experienceless they won''t cause colossal trouble to the productivity rate.


    If we plant the Gr.a.p.es today, our lands might make it possible for fruits to be picked at the end of September."


    "Well what''s stopping you all? Plant them."


    "Indeed we will but I gathered some information which will respectfully be the best way to plant these Gr.a.p.es and i need your approval to start with this method."


    "Oh did you? Well do tell Seer. I''m open for better ideas."


    "Certainly. While buying branches from several people in town who had already planted White Gr.a.p.es in front of their homes, I noticed one key characteristic. The Gr.a.p.e Tree grew long and slim."


    Explained Seer while using his arms and hands to better describe what he saw. But Zar saw gr.a.p.e trees for himself before. They aren''t as rare as gold.


    "So you think that this project will require more space?"


    "We can get a profit by planting a 1 mile long and half a mile wide land with these Gr.a.p.es, the profit will even increase next year when these Gr.a.p.es are bigger. But they require at least 10 meters of space before the Gr.a.p.e in front is planted and 5 meters of space on the sides if you don''t wish Farmers to trip while carrying crates."


    "Hm. That is indeed a lot of space. Being this long, they will be no doubt heavy, so assure that the Construction Workers make very stable support planks."


    "I was about to say that as well.


    But moving on to the first year profit from this project, 1 tree will be able to provide 2 Crates of Gr.a.p.es.


    1 Crate can be hand carried by anyone and it provides enough Gr.a.p.es to make 50 Ale Bottles."


    "Seer. Do you realize how many Ale Bottles those are. You heavily miscalculated the overall profit from this project!"


    Said Zar with his kind tone turning into an angry one in a heartbeat.


    "What do you mean Sire?"


    Said Seer with sweat appearing on his forehead.


    "I''m not great at calculations. But the profit will be a lot more than 10,000 Ale Bottles. How many Gr.a.p.es can we plant in just one line for a mile, considering the support planks being 10 meters apart?"


    "That would be around 160 Gr.a.p.e trees Sire."


    "Do you see the issue here?"


    "By the 8 sources. You are right. At this case even 200 Farmers won''t be enough!"


    "I will not tolerate such miscalculation again Seer. We could of lost so much Gr.a.p.es due to being understaffed."


    "My apologies Sire. But what should we do now? 1 mile is definitely too long for us to handle at this period of time!"


    "If we cut 75% of the planned land for this project, how many Trees will there be planted? I don''t want another miscalculation to such big project!"


    "Give me a minute to Calculate everything Sire."


    Reaching out for many parchments. He started counting, multiplying, dividing for 30 minutes and he even had to triple check everything to avoid miscalculations at any cost necessary. At the end, he came up with a stable result.


    "Sire. Around 6,400 Trees, will be planted. This is still an amount we can''t manage without at least 100 Workers!"


    "Goddamn it. Alright, Plant 500 Trees. This should be very easy since the land doesn''t need to be cultivated. We almost made a big mistake here. How many Gr.a.p.e Ales can we make from 500 Trees?"


    "Oh that''s easy to calculate. 50,000!"


    "Perfect. Hire those remaining 18 who applied, try to get 2 more so we will have 40.


    Since this project seems to be paying double of what the entire Kingdom earned so far, we can invest more in Farmers. Don''t forget to buy what we need for 40,000 more bottles. Thank god i noticed this miscalculation, otherwise we would have faced great losses. Or we could of caused a Bee invasion!"

 Chapter 137 - Frostbite

    Running along with the Platoon on their morning run, Woldemir was always sure to not miss being a part of the run.


    The difference between a man yelling at the platoon to run while himself sitting down and sipping tea compared to a man running along with the Platoon as a unity, as one, motivating the weak and the strong to never give up even if your life depended on it, is very big. Anyone would be inspired.


    It doesn''t just increase the overall morale of the Platoon, it increases the motivation for progress, to get stronger. With the right mindset, these people will understand that now they all have the chance to become Grand Masters at Swordsmanship. and seeing a 42 year old man being completely capable to outrun them, their motivation just increases. Be it ego, envy or l.u.s.t for progress, they all want to outmatch Woldemir some day. They want to be the pride of the Platoon.


    For Isabel however, this training schedule is a breeze compared to the 12 hour long daily training schedule they had in Lan Zhe which knocked out cold any 10 foot tall Calidum Lutum when they went to sleep. It is even a breeze for the two considerably good and the one considered bad compared to the rest of the Calidum Lutum Guards. When they chose to remain here, aiding the Electus and aiming to do more with their lives was their first goal, witnessing many people who can''t match their skillset, just inspired them to stay and do more. Even the weakest of the four is stronger than any of the 100 Guards.


    Due to the Calidum Lutum being naturally faster, able to outrun a horse, they had to slow down their running, double the amount in order for the other troops of the Platoon to catch up or not feel worthless and weak, to act as a unit. But of course that only made the training easier for the 4.


    However what Woldemir just witnessed, is something he never expected from a strong, capable, independent, 8 foot tall woman. He never predicted it, never thought of it. Isabel, tripped and fell down when she was running. Well she didn''t exactly trip, she more of lost feelings on her feet. Her feet felt completely numb and a burn as if a dagger was constantly being bashed on her toes occurred which made her lose balance.


    "What happened! What''s wrong?" Yelled Woldemir as he ran towards Isabel with his heart feeling like it sank down. Seeing the Platoon''s most powerful warrior simply fall on the ground. He feared for the worst.


    "She fell Guard Commander Sir!" Exclaimed one of the Guards, not knowing what to do. How can he handle an 8 foot tall woman who is the pride of the Platoon? What experience he possibly had would help in this case?


    "I can see that Beginner. I want to know why she fell down! People don''t drop down because they are well and Healthy!"


    Yelled Woldemir trying to hold down his stress and not letting it turn into anger. No one deserves to be yelled at in this platoon after all, they are just confused. Even Woldemir is confused.


    "Check if she got shot anywhere!" He knew that a simple Arrow can''t bring her down. 10 could, but one no. Even if its on the head. Especially because she is wearing a helmet. Even a crossbow bolt can''t simply do it, apart from all of that, who would have the guts to sneak in  and single handedly face a platoon? There was no opposing army in sight!


    But since she isn''t wearing her full body armour, he had to check. Wearing a full body armour through an 8 hour long training schedule will slow them down greatly, the only metal she was wearing was her Helmet and boots. So Woldemir had to sew a 5 foot long fur coat for her and 4-5 foot long fur leggings. A bit to long, the fur coat reached almost halfway down her knees but like an overprotective father, he had to make sure she is warm and cozy and a longer coat didn''t fail to do that. But above from all of that, Isabel looked adorable in a fur coat. Imagine an 8 foot tall moody looking woman, with her lips covered by the neck area of the fur coat, and the fur coat failing to sleep with her body but hanging wide and somewhere lumpy. It was nothing but adorable. He didn''t insist for her to be dressed in front of him either, so don''t worry about that. Luckily he isn''t at all perverted. But considering that she isn''t wearing armour, checking for wounds is his one and best idea.


    A second before the Guards were about to examine her wounds, she crouched into a ball, gently tapping her feet, trying to point out what''s wrong with her current health. She doesn''t know any language but Calidum Lutum, so hand gestures are her best option. Even if she spoke in her language to the 3 other Calidum Lutum, it wouldn''t bring any information towards Woldemir because there wasn''t anyone around to translate.


    "I think she hurt her feet!" Swiftly said another Guard when he saw her pointed at her own feet.


    He didn''t spare a second and quickly removed her left Iron boot and witnessed a foot long...well. foot. He instantly noticed the problem the second he witnessed the inside of the boot. It was all made of Iron, no fur. no leather. nothing. Not only this would be torturously uncomfortable for the feet due to it being all iron, but it doesn''t provide warmth. It makes the feet even colder at Winter and even hotter in summer. Of course a Calidum Lutum''s natural endurance has little trouble battling the uncomfortability, but these people are used around the warmth of the Volcano. Cold isn''t for them even though Woldemir Sewed fur coats and leggings for all four of them.


    "By the 8 sources. this is not good! This is frostbite. If she doesn''t get warm soon, she will lose a toe or two!" Grief overwhelming his heart, he yelled out an order to the Calidum Lutum while doing hand gestures to make as much sense as possible! "You two. Lift her up and take her to my house!" Then he pointed to an ill.u.s.tratian Guard and said "You! Stand in front of them and show them the way to my house. They need to know where they are going." After they lifted her, one holding her from one side and one from the other by grabbing her underneath the arms, they made sure that her feet aren''t touching the ground at all.


    Woldemir took off his shirt and turned it inside out, seeing it being the only piece of warm cloth available for the moment, he had to act quick. I mean no other person would take their shirt off in this cold weather. He removed both iron boots from her feet, pushed her feet near each other and tied them up with the shirt gently without ripping the shirt. Since the shirt is inside out, Woldemir''s body heat will prove useful to warm her feet up. At least enough for her to not lose a finger while they get her feet near a FirePlace. Afterwards he turned his head around and while holding her feet with one hand, he pointed at the remaining Calidum Lutum and with a hand gesture and a Command he said


    "Follow us!" Afterwards he turned to an Ignite Guard and told him to continue the training. they already know the schedule so they should do fine.


    The two Calidum lutum Guards didn''t waste a second transporting her to Woldemir''s house. It only took almost a minute for them to reach it. They placed her near the FirePlace who was burning hot, hot air blowing on their face as soon as they entered the house. Woldemir left the house barely an hour ago, so the fire is burning bright.


    After setting her down to sit on a warm pile of fur near the Fireplace shaped and stacked to be perfect to sit on. With her feet half a foot away from the fire, he went ahead and threw 10 fist like coal chunks and 2 thick pieces of dried out wood, he started getting a closer look at her feet. And noticed something he didn''t expect to see. Her toes have turned from pitch black to boiling red. Pointing out that the frostbite was only halfway there from making her lose a toe or two. He sighed in relief when he saw that this damage is easily reversible. 20 minutes near the fireplace and she will be alright.


    "Sir. Put your shirt on. We don''t need our leader getting sick." Handed the ill.u.s.tratian Guard the shirt to Woldemir, noticing that the reason behind Isabel getting red, wasn''t only because of the Fire burning near her.


    Butterflies invaded her stomach as she witnessed Woldemir putting on his thick leather shirt on. Covering his large chest and 8 pack abs. His waist looks like it can endure arrows without a scratch. She didn''t bother to turn her head to see but managed to get a few short glances.


    "You 3. Get those iron boots off and put your feet near the Fireplace. I can''t believe I was shortsighted enough to not check if your boots are warm and comfortable." He said as he tried his best with countless hand gestures to explain what he meant, even taking his shoes off to show what he means. "I need to start making appropriate shoes for your comforts and sizes."

 Chapter 138 - The War for Pameres Kingdom(2)

    "War General Ace, according to the map, we are half a mile away from Red Clay Kingdom. Furthermore, you can see it for yourself from the highspot we are currently riding on."


    Approached a Guard Commander riding a horse, giving a short salute before he informed the War General of the situation. Pointing to the large mass of houses in front of them which were clear to see surrounded by a stone wall. "I recommend we camp there for the night. It will work to our advantage big time."


    "Perfect. We will camp near the Kingdom tonight. Tomorrow, we will continue our travel!" Replied the War General formerly. Showing no form of emotion due to being tired riding a horse just a bit above 8 hours today. Sitting on the horse got him more tired than he ever would be, walking. But at least travelling became easier since they entered the clear lands. They left a branch of the forest 2 days ago. Considering the branch being a stunning 100km long, "branch" is not the best word to describe it. But compared to the main part of the forest which spreads over 600 Kilometers wide, 100 kilometers would be considered nothing but a branch. But however the case, they all feel relieved to finally leave that branch of the forest. Transportation there was double the amount slower because the road was wide enough to handle only 2 horses at a time or 3-4 men at a time. So a long line reaching out hundreds of meters was formed, which as well slowed them down due to some men being faster and some men being slower, causing conflict from time to time, whom just slowed them down more, understanding that concept, the fights got fewer over time thankfully.


    "Near the city walls? Surely you don''t mean that all 800 Soldiers should sleep in tents while there is a Kingdom available to provide us service under Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll''s orders!" Pointed out the Guard Commander as his eyes widened in shock. His social status was too high for him to sleep in tents along with Common Soldiers. He preferred the castle or at least an Inn. The word can''t be spread that he slept in a tent when a Kingdom was nearby, and of course War General Ace was quite aware of that concept and he didn''t like it at all.


    "We have all the supplies we need. Red Clay Kingdom doesn''t need to provide us anything. It''s the break of January. They need their food supply to last through the winter, and until the next harvest!" War General Ace Lifted his upper lip explaining in a bit of anger hearing what the Guard Commander spoke of. Nails sunk down the ear would feel better to him than hearing this nonsense.


    "Well you do have a point. But can''t at least us Guard Commanders reach for an Inn? It would be free for us after all." Exclaimed the Guard Commander trying to provide comfort for himself primarily. In his mind, he wanted to curse out the War General, but he would be risking his neck by doing soo. So he kept a fake smile as he spoke to the War General hoping to convince him and try to bring him along as well to make this process easier.


    Making the Guard Commander admit what his true intention was, he became more than determined to make this man sleep in a tent tonight. Of course War General Ace doesn''t have anything against this specific Guard Commander. In fact, he doesn''t even know his name. Ace''s overall goal however, was to form unity between these people. "What happened to Unity? If you leave your Brothers in war behind while camping, what would you do in a real battle?" Glared the War General with his eyebrows up, making the Guard Commander feel smaller than ever, leaving him to a lack of words for a while but he still managed to form a short sentence.


    "I suppose you have a point. We shall all camp near the walls." Sighed the Guard Commander in agreement, but deep down he has been waiting with the strongest patience to reach Red Clay Kingdom. Indeed the Kingdom having a population of around 1,500 people can''t offer much to an 800 men army, but at least the Guard Commanders would have a comfortable bed to sleep in for the night. He couldn''t of cared less where the rest sleep as long as he is comfortable with a stomach full of ale.


    "Spread the word to the Guard Commanders so they can spread it to their platoons. No one is allowed to enter Red Clay Kingdom demanding for assistance. They aren''t allowed to go even with their own expenses. No man is to enter the Kingdom."


    He stroked his hairless green chin, thinking of the most appropriate approach towards this situation and added. "We have all the equipment we need to survive in a clear land, like we did survive in the forest. If anyone ignores my orders and dares to go in the Kingdom, punishments will be severe." His voice rose as he was finishing the sentence, giving a rather more firm order, declaring authority. "We stood in unity in the forest, we will stand in unity now. We will not be picked off guard from a small kid again or anyone else. The clear lack of Unity resulted to the loss of over 900 Lives. Are my orders clear or do I need to run over them again Guard Commander?" His eyes widened as he glared upon the Guard Commander, dragging all the attention for himself and making his own orders clear.


    This War General has a physique no doubt battle worthy. With a chest as wide as two men and a height breaking 6 feet, green hair reaching to the middle of his spine and a thick tone to compliment his size, it only took a glare for the Guard Commanders to follow the order. Not to mention Soldiers. But of course he doesn''t have much contact with soldiers since he teaches the Guard Commanders what to do with their Platoon''s ahead of time. The only way he would intervene is if a Guard Commander messed up badly, or died which in that case the situation would already be to severe for Guard Commanders to handle.


    "Send a messenger in the Kingdom to inform them ahead of time of our arrival. We don''t need trouble after a day''s worth of travel." Causally ordered the War General under a tired tone.


    "Of course sir." Replied the Guard Commander and disappeared in the platoon in front of them, yelling his way forward and eventually making his way on the side of the large platoons, making it easier to reach what he was looking for. He met with the group of 100 cavalry who were leading the way. Of course the Cavalry were riding their horses in a speed easy for the other 700 men who are on foot, to follow. Neither the horse or the men would benefit by running at full speed for a long time. They would pass out, and it would be quite unnecessary. They won''t win faster if they run more, in fact the chances of winning decrease because they would be tired and the overall morale would be low.


    After a short while, the War General riding his horse in the middle of the Platoon, protected from all sides, witnessed a Cavalry split from the front Platoon and sprint towards Red Clay Kingdom. By the time the rest would catch up to him in their current speed, the word would already reach the King''s ear due to this topic being of course rather sensitive. It''s not everyday to see over 800 men approaching the Kingdom, and of course it''s a Large army led by a War General sent by The former Grand King of Occidentis Ignis, King Xakro lll. It is indeed a big deal and it is a sight that hasn''t been seen for years by many.


    "A messenger has been sent. There is no obstacle in our plan so far War General Ace. Red Clay Kingdom shall be our camping spot for the night."

 Chapter 139 - A Trip for the Deadly Ghost Tree(2)

    "Goddamn King! With his Goddamn rules. Sending me alone in this...Goddamn Ghosts. I hate Ghosts, why do i need to fetch the stupid branch?! I''m a Guard Commander Goddamnit. This is no Job for me. What if i get possessed? I will haunt the King for life if I get possessed by a Goddamn ghost. Or i''ll haunt his wife. What maniac got in bed with this diseased maniac after all. He can''t finish a sentence without having a rage outburst. Unstable cunt." Murmured Guard Commander Chan with himself. Cursing out the King, the Ghosts, trees or plants that slow him down, basically anything he could think of. Neighbours, Guards he doesn''t like, people he doesn''t like, insects that have been bothering him for days. Everything. Best part about all of this, is that he is travelling alone. Is the Forest making him insane?


    Letting out rage by stabbing or cutting trees or basically anything that a dagger can cut! If an enemy faced him now, he would have obliterated the opponent even though he isn''t exactly the best fighter. Because Guard Commanders need to reach a certain level of Swordsmanship in order to be a Guard Commander. He certainly didn''t reach that level yet, he got in differently. Let''s say the colour of his skin didn''t have anything to do about it, this time.


    He has been travelling for a week, sleeping in the forest for 7 days straight has got the best out of him. If walking all day wasn''t enough, he had to sleep while trying his best to avoid the freezing cold weather. He is sick of pavement ants climbing on him and biting him while he is asleep, you would think that all ants would hibernate in winter but no. Pavement ants climbed on him apparently finding "warm spots" he had to take his pants  off in this severely cold weather several times now. He is in a continent where it''s mountains are covered with snow all year round, the weather is even colder here.


    But fortunately, he didn''t run into any big animals. Such as Wildboars, Wildcats, Source Bears, or any other sort of normal bear, not to mention other predators. If a TitanoBoa was to be found in Ignis, what else is hiding in these lands? This forest is thick in vegetation, leading to more insects living in it, leading to more birds being around who eat those insects, leading to bigger omnivores who eat those birds living in the forest, leading to predators who eat every living being living in those areas. Thick vegetation of course leads to animals like deers and wildboards to roam around in great numbers.


    The Continent has more Boars than people. Underpopulation works to their advantage at this point, because as long as domains have enough hunters, food is considered limitless for an overall population of 126,000.


    In Fact it is a surprise how he didn''t run into any wild boars. If he did though, he simply doesn''t have the brains to deal with one.


    "Well isn''t this perfect. Now i need to look for a village to buy food. Again!" He yelled after he reached in the bag he was carrying, noticing there is no food left, with a sigh he said "I swear i hate this Goddamn forest." He yelled as he kicked a rock in rage and cursed out several times after because it hurt his foot. Badly! "Wait, what do we have here." He noticed a short black figure disappearing in the woods and ran after it right away, ignoring the pain on his foot, see if something is able to move, it means its food. And he needs food. See this is another bad idea he followed, When did a figure who disappears fast ever represent something safe? He completely ignored the King''s orders of "If you are to sense... danger, your first thought should be... to run away!" But no, "Guard Commander" Chan is running towards the black figure that flashed in front of his eyes a while ago.


    He met at the point where he had to run up a short hill. Only to find himself on a higher vantage spot. He found himself above a boulder, about 10 feet above the ground, giving a short view of the surrounding area, he didn''t see anything yet. But his attention was grabbed furthermore when he heard a squeal from the left which made him turn his head towards that direction right away. He noticed that about 30 feet away, there was a Wildboar. Indeed that black figure that disappeared in the forest in a blink was a Wildboar covered mostly in pitch black fur.


    It is Hard for Chan to define how dangerous this WildBoar can be. The bigger a Wild Boar would be, the more dangerous one is. And if it looks tall but thin, the boar could be very old in age which would make it less dangerous or more dangerous. It varies from boar to boar. Starvatation wouldn''t be a problem because this forest is thick in vegetation, it can almost be considered a jungle. In Fact if vegetation keeps growing like this, it will be considered a jungle. Even at Winter, where snow covers the ground it wouldn be considerably difficult to find food, but not impossible. It offers survivable resources if not fattening ones.


    The snow covering the ground helped Chan figure out where that squeal came from. When he witnessed the Wild Boar, he noticed that it isn''t too big. A bit above half a meter tall. This could either be a mature female wild boar or an almost mature male Wild Boar. Either way, the Wild Boar was thick. When Chan saw it, he saw a walking big fat meal. This wild boar is no doubt only a couple of years old. Considered mature enough to breed but definitely not fully grown. This one seemed to be just above 70kg heavy. Due to overhunting not being common in Ignis, these wild boars can grow very large. There are tales of hunters who managed to bring home a 300kg WildBoar.


    While at some regions of Ignis where vegetation is thicker, the average weight of these boars breaks nearly 200kg, but their average overall size in most of the continent reaches 100-120kg and less commonly above 150kg and they averagely grow up to 1 meter tall in shoulder length throughout most of Ignis.


    Humans don''t overhunt them but there are other species who see them as a good meal. Like wolves or bears. If there weren''t any predators in sight, these Wild Boars would reach a terrifying weight of 300 kilograms on average. But of course, any Wild Boar reaching over 150kg is hard to be put down by wolves, so that can also lead to a population increase for the WildBoar species. Wild Boars are heavily overpopulated here which helps other predators survive, ultimately forming a strong ecosystem and making the forest rather indomitable by humans. There are only a few villages and Kingdoms living very near or in the forest, their population is scarce and their life isn''t easy either.


    But witnessing the Wild Boar, Chan figured out why it squealed. It or better now called, "she" had little ones to care for who were jumping around their mother in joy. Or could it be a form of training? Who knows! Wild Boars are known to jump high! Imagine a 100kg Wild Boar running at speeds equal to a human being''s running speed and jumping high towards your face with their horns in front, deadly indeed but not common. And the constant squealing between them seems to be a form of communicating. They seem rather happy as well although weird that their breeding time is in the toughest months of the year, they seem to handle themselves quite well.


    Touching his stomach afterwards pulling out a wooden spear he carved with his dagger for extra protection, he figured that this will be an easy meal for him. He could kill the mother and have meat to eat for weeks, and he can also kill the little piglets for a smaller snack. There are 6 of them so that can prove handy as well. He looked at the WildBoar again, touched his stomach and was ready to attack. But! A thought flashed in his mind before he started moving in for the kill.


    No, not the thought of Xakro killing him if he delayed the delivery because of an injury caused by a wild boar, he remembered something of greater importance to him. His parents. He lost his parents long ago due to an Ignite led revolt. The revolt didn''t last long but they killed every ill.u.s.tratio in sight, his parents were also victims. He knows how much he misses his parents and would do a lot to see them again. If let these Piglets live, why would he leave them without a mother to care for them. What will the piglets understand from all of this. They are innocent. He pulled back the spear, decided to not kill them but what he heard after made his heart sink. A growl was heard behind him, he turned around to see something he really didn''t expect.

 Chapter 140 - FrostBite(2)

    "Oh this won''t do! This simply won''t do." Said Woldemir as he tried to stare further in Isabel''s Iron Boot. This boot is completely made out of Iron. And since Lan Zhe''s Blacksmith actually measured each individual Guard, Woldemir can''t place fur into these boots. Well he can, but it will make them unwearable since the Iron Boots are designed to perfectly fit Isabel and of course the rest of the four''s foot sizes. Afterwards Woldemir proceeded to say in a rather deep diss satisfaction. "I can''t add fur to these Iron Boots. It simply won''t fit."


    He grabbed Isabel''s left foot and raised it up a little, to measure if the Iron Boot meets the length of her foot. Which got Isabel rather, shy. She wanted to slam her foot down with all her force, possibly even tipping over Woldemir. But no, she enjoyed the way his facial expressions were when he examined something, one of his eyes were usually closed in the process, and his lips shaped as if he ate something very sour. Which in some points of view might come out as offensive, but Isabel started seeing pure intent in him(now at least). She somewhat trusted him. So she just stuck to enjoying the scene instead of causing unnecessary drama. Of course, her black face cheeks were forced into a blush but no one noticed, except of course this ill.u.s.tratian man. Again! He either is only observing her or is very perceptive and pays attention to mannerism.


    Seeing Isabel oddly shy in front of the Guard Commander/trainer, he didn''t say a thing about it. He saw it as harmless and precious at the same time, because this is the first sign of emotion of which Isabel showed ever since she arrived here, and even after most of the troops fell back in Lan Zhe. "So what will we do now Sir? If we don''t have appropriate boots for them, they simply can''t continue to train under these conditions. The rest of us having appropriate fur shoes for this weather can handle it, but they? It is simply to torturous for any soul."


    Hearing an ill.u.s.tratio show such concern for a race that didn''t belong to his own, got Woldemir''s heart touched. It is amazing how open minded people can be without the illas influences or any negative influence in particular.


    As much as he appreciated this man''s concern, he tried his best to focus on the main task here. "Well we will just need to make fur boots for their sizes."


    "You know how to make boots?" Asked the ill.u.s.tratian Guard with one eyebrow raised in confusion and no doubt him being in shock. He even threw his hands up in the air in shock. As far as he knew Woldemir, his main characteristic is Sword Grand Mastery! Shoe/boot making didn''t exactly come up in the training schedule.


    Woldemir smirked before he proceeded to reply. "Who do you think made the clothing for them? You know? The ones you see them wearing. You can''t simply buy a 5 foot long fur coat if you never noticed." In the process of explaining 5 feet long clothing, he separated his hands far from each other and of course tried to gesture 5 feet with one arm posing straight and above his head, and the other straight downwards. Of course he had to let go of Isabel''s foot to gesture that. Otherwise she would misunderstand it and think its a joke about her feet being to big. And smack Woldemir.(She did smack him before).


    But Did perhaps knowing Mogranius for so long give Woldemir a sense of sarcasm. Last thing that Woldemir ever knew how to do before, was sarcasm. And now this joke came out normally. Simply precious.


    Seeing the Guard Commander''s no intent of harm with that joke. He ignored it as he didn''t know to do sarcasm and sprinkled more concern in the conversation instead. "Well you do have a point there. Will it take long to make them?" More concern from ill.u.s.tratio? Woldemir couldn''t get enough of it, one more selfless comment like that, and he might get distracted enough to temporarily delay start making the fur boots.


    "Why?" Raised Mogranius his right eyebrow up, seeing the ill.u.s.tratio with those questioning eyes. "Do you want to return to the cold asap?" This was of course a trick question used by Woldemir. Often not so important but just a bait to test unity at this point. And his answer got Woldemir dumbfounded, to the edge where he even felt racist.


    "Well. Don''t get me wrong, i hate this cold weather. But..."


    "But?" Arose Woldemir on his feet, took a step forward moving a bit away from Isabel. Paying his full attention to the Guard in front of him, with his eyes open wide in curiosity, and his lips strictly flat.


    "I don''t think it''s fair for them to stay in the cold, training. And for me to stay here in this warmth considering we both get the same... can I call it pay?" What else can he call a payment based on fish?


    Feeling extremely satisfied with what he heard, Woldemir placed the Iron boot on the table near him and with his arms staying loose(being a tactic that most wise Warriors know, which is always to have his hands near his Weapon instead of keeping his arms crossed or behind his back. Wasting a precious moment he could use to reach for his Sword if an attack is to happen. While at this case unnecessary, it is simply a habit now. He does it subconsciously.) "What''s your name Beginner?"


    Raising his front finger high in aims to correct the Guard Commander, the ill.u.s.tratian man replied. "Actually sir i''m a Warrior(level 2)."


    Ignoring the fact that this man seems to have trouble with inaccurate facts, sparing no second trying to correct any information meeting his "inaccurate radar", Mogranius just focused on the fact that it was a good quality, even though slightly paranoid or maybe even overdone. This man''s intent is pure after all."Well even better. What''s your name?"


    "My name is Arem." Finished the ill.u.s.tratian man his sentence with a warm smile forming at the end.


    "Arem. With your thoughts of unity, amazing perception, clear selflessness and as far as I noticed, an urge to know more. I don''t want to see you simply train to be a Guard, the time will come when you will feel that you don''t fit in. You will feel on another level. I''ve been there." Its commonly rare to see a 42 year old GrandMaster in Swordsmanship. Men on his age are considered gifted to reach level 4(Elite), while Woldemir is nothing less but a Grand Master(Level 6). Growing up with a "giving up isn''t an option" attitude, he always tried to fit in with the rest of the trainees even considering his and theirs large characteristic and progressive differences or better described, gap. Although ineffective towards lowlives, his speechcraft greatly increased.


    "What do you mean by..." No doubt confused, he couldn''t help but ask. It''s not like he did or didn''t expect these words from an ignite. No, he didn''t expect these words from any person.


    Firmly Grabbing Arem''s left shoulder and with a smile following, Woldemir asked. "Do you want me to take you under my wing, train you to become a Guard Commander yourself."


    Feeling no doubt shocked at first, Arem went with the obvious answer(for him at least) at the end."But that''s your position."


    "It is. But i won''t always be around. I''m 42 years old. Apart from that, with a smart man like King Michael, I doubt that we will only have one Platoon. We will need more qualified Guard Commanders instead of just putting some fool in the job." Saying that, Woldemir thought of Guard Commander Chan. He always thought that Chan got that job due to fools luck, or racial supremacy. Not because of his skillset who is no doubt very lacking, even Stefan can slap him to the ground. "In fact I''d like to use you as an example for the rest of the platoon to take. So we can form more Guard Commanders ahead of time. We can''t leave anything at the last minute."


    Having his heart softened. He is used to giving care, but rarely received it. At this point it isn''t care as much as it is encouragement, but still. It''s nice to hear something kind from anyone from once in a while. Especially from an always truthful man. "You really think i can be a Guard Commander?"


    "I don''t think." Smiled Woldemir widely and confidently added "I know. But."Afterwards raising his right hand up with the front finger sticking up. "It won''t be easy."


    Trying to assure Woldemir, Arem said under a firm tone. "If you feel that i can become one, then I will do my best to achieve that goal." Hearing that, Woldemir assured that Arem is indeed wise. He knows of the possible risk coming from the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance and even the fact that he will not receive a stable salary for the work he will intend to do. His intent was purely for the troops, for Gaster Kingdom. Shorty, patriotism.


    Seeing the two men having a conversation which from a person who simply doesn''t understand their language point of view. Their gestures portrayed that they were talking about the end of the world. It struck all four of the Calidum Lutum in that room, they were all wearing confused looks on their faces and were desperately trying to figure out what they were talking about. But with no translator in the house, they simply remained clueless.


    Widening his eyes after he remembered the main motive of coming in his house, he turned to the Calidum Lutum and said. "Alright let''s get into business. We need to measure your feet."

 Chapter 141 - Farmer Revolution(2)

    "This town." Guard Commander Delrus Aze sighed in pure diss satisfaction shortly after he witnessed his own race''s misdoing. "The ill.u.s.tratian Alliance has gone so low to try and steal from this town? They can barely even feed themselves." He whispered low enough for only one soldier from behind to hear.


    Travelling towards Bale town was a breeze if you consider it. They travelled on the clear lands, making it very easy for the horses to travel through, only encountering a couple of wild Boars on their way here. If they encountered Wolves, Bears or Source Bears, it would be a rather different tale. Fair to say, the boars are part of the freely provided food supply now. I mean the Wild Boars did face 100 Soldiers after all.


    As King Zar guessed, it was only 100 kilometers away from Pameres Kingdom. Because it took precisely 4 days to reach this town due to travelling by horse. If Zar reached some sort of Alliance with Bale Town, help it transform into a bigger more prosperous Kingdom or at least independent for now, they would form a rather strong Alliance(With Gaster Kingdom included).


    "Soldier!" Yelled out the Guard Commander and saw one man approaching swiftly after the Command(a.k.a the man who heard this Guard Commander Whisper before). "Have the men distribute the food house by house. Distribute it evenly, but if some families require more food. Don''t be stingy with it." Ordered the Guard Commander with his arms crossed, giving a set stare towards the houses in Bale Town. Thinking to himself, "These houses are crumbling. King Zar will need to do a lot more than just provide food and Guards. I wonder if we can get some Construction workers here. If the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance doesn''t kill  these people, the cold will."


    "Yes sir!" Saluted the Soldier, turned the other way around and aimed to dash towards the soldiers to carry out the commands. A rather common behaviour for a Beginner.


    "I didn''t dismiss you Soldier." Yelled out the Guard Commander which stopped the Soldier on the spot. This is Delrus'' first time hosting such an event. He does not want to mess it up and pass out the opportunity of getting great recognition from King Zar himself. But these soldiers are making it hard for him to keep his patience. They are so disoriented. Pameres Kingdom having 3 Platoons of Guards(who are used for various tasks since they all have the same pay. No matter if they were Castle Guards, Patrol Guards or Soldiers), the third platoon was sent down to this town, and the third is filled with the most inexperienced Guards.


    Since Delrus was an outstanding Guard in the first platoon, he got turned into a Guard Commander the moment this third Platoon was established. His position in the first platoon as a Guard was replaced by the most outstanding Guard of the Second Platoon to fill the gap, and it went on similarly between the second platoon and third.


    When it comes to the first Platoon, they are the most skilled compared to the other two due to Platoon of course being established before the other two. Since troop trade/transport is common within the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, it is rather hard to figure out when the first and second platoon were established. But the third one is certain. It was established just a bit before King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll requested all those Guards and workers from King Zar.


    "There are only 50 houses here according to that Messenger. Ask each one about their food supply. The food we brought can''t support this town over a month, not to mention until the next harvest." Feeling a bit of anxiety noticing the suffering that greed caused, he took a deep breath to relieve his anxiety and calmly added. "Now the population can be considered as 350 with us here. We need more food here. Which we will request from King Zar once we obtain the information about the town''s overall food situation."


    When it comes to food distribution, it is the best idea to keep all the food supply in one building, Commonly in the Domain''s Castle. And have the citizens buy them there. But in this case since it will be given for free, and since there are only 50 houses. It''s best for the men or other parental figures of the house to come pick up the food daily. But since a Castle or even a Warehouse doesn''t nearly exist here. They will have to settle with distributing the food house by house for now.


    "Is that all sir?" Asked the Soldier, hoping to not embarrass himself again. He doesn''t know the Guard Commander for a long time, but he can notice the grief on his face. Grief of course not related to this Guard for trying to rush his way through after the Command. No that wasn''t it, that is common for Beginners after all. He knows that the Guard Commander is griefing about this town.


    "Yes. For now." He gestured to the Guard with his right hand while his arms were still crossed. Afterwards glancing upon the messenger who was trying his best to be helpful, such as unloading cargo. "Messenger." Yelled out Delrus.


    Noticing the call, the messenger raised his head right away as a way of responding to the call. Let go of the Cargo he wanted to lift from the Wagon and looked around to see who called for him.


    Noticing that the Messenger isn''t yet clear who called him, he called again. Firmly shouting while waving his right hand high in the air and waving. "I''m here... Hello!" A few other Guards pointed the messenger towards the Guard Commander, or else it would take a bit longer for the messenger to realize. The road for sure got him tired. Especially since he was sleep deprived the first time. Noticing the messenger approach, he stopped waving his hand and crossed his arms again. This likely became a habit.


    "Oh you are the Guard Commander, aren''t you?" Asked the Messenger with his eyes shining in admiration. It was odd to see an Ignite admiring an ill.u.s.tratio this much. "I still get to keep the 500 Gold coins, right?"


    "Oh yes yes. Don''t worry about that. They are all yours." He raised his hands upfront, waving them up and down, trying to assure the messenger. "In fact if anyone tries to take even a Gold Coin for you, be it a townsfolk or one of my Guards. Tell me." Looking at the messenger with an unbreakable stare, he added. "If they try to do so, I will have them either imprisoned or kicked out of the Platoon." A few Guards heard that last sentence, and got a bit spooked. No Platoon, means no free food for them. And in these troubled times, people who had the circ.u.mstances to eat everyday, were considered of the richest.


    "Peeww." The messenger sighed in relief. "But I do not intend to stack up this Gold..."


    "No?" Raised the Guard Commander his eyebrow in curiosity. It was rather unusual to hear this from a person of this financial standard. He likely barely held any gold coins on his hand, what does he want to spend them on?


    "No. I want to help my town with them. Do... Do you think we can buy more food from King Zar with this gold?" Afterwards the messenger shook the 5 kilogram heavy bag of gold coins he was holding.


    "Although that would temporarily benefit the King, i''m sure he would not take your gold. He will provide this town free food until we help you become independent." Noticing that the Platoon will be here for a long while, the messenger smiled in joy.


    "Independent?" This town being independent though? That would take a lot of time and work considering the current circ.u.mstances.


    "Yes. All this town needs is a steady food supply and Guards who can offer protection. That can be done in no time." The Guard Commander couldn''t help but smile because of the Messenger''s aura. His energy and intentions were so pure. "But that''s not why I called you. You mentioned to the King that this town has leaders..."


    "Leaders of this revolution yes."


    "Take me to them."

 Chapter 142 - A trip for the Deadly Ghost Tree(3)

    Guard Commander Chan turned around, only to see trouble in front of him, standing 6 feet tall. As if The freezing cold and the pavement ants weren''t enough. Now he has to deal with this... new trouble. Hairy trouble.


    In Front of him, was another Wildboar. But this one was, different. His growl was so thick and gravely, the ground felt like it was shaking. Even scared away even the mother Wildboar with her piglets away. This large Wildboar, can''t technically even be considered of the same breed anymore. Because it was rather, different.


    His tusks stretched out around a bit above a foot long, a rare sight no doubt(especially with most Wild Boars having tusks around 1/10 of a meter long). But that, wasn''t the most eye catching part of the WildBoar''s figure. The most eye catching one, would be considered the fact that this one was even taller than Guard Commander Chan himself. This Wildboar, broke over 6 feet tall in shoulder length, and judging from the size, it reached around 500 Kilograms. What sort of prodigic monster is this?


    Obviously not even daring to try and attack this, creature. He didn''t even think twice about jumping from that 10 feet drop, at least it would give him time to run. The drop wasn''t too high to cause him any strong damage either even though he accidentally backflipped(in mid air), because his foot slipped on snow when he jumped. Losing balance before he even became airborne.


    As soon as he hit the ground, he started running towards a more dense part of the woods. Where trees were rather close to each other. Although clearly unintentional(he simply went through any direction he saw), it would be the smartest choice. This creature would have it hard to go through an area dense with trees obviously because of his size. I mean yes it could break down one tree or two. But it can''t go on forever. If he tried, he could even be stuck. But yet again, 500 Kilograms aren''t easy to contain with branches and trees.


    Chan didn''t even look back, he knew that if he wasted any second, he would meet death, a death no one would ever want to experience (or maybe there are rare gems who would? Hey i don''t judge). Although wild boars eating people was never heard off, here it could be a different case. This wild boar looks like it eats wolves. After all they are omnivores with canine teeth ;). Their diet usually includes leaves, flowers, roots etc etc. But they are known to eat insects and fish in less common cases. So what else could big ones like these eat?


    "Dear source."


    "Dear mother."


    "Dear god."


    "I don''t want to die."


    "I hate you Xakro."


    "Dear god."


    Guard Commander Chan whispered countless words, begging, and or cursings under his breath. But his panic was uncalled for. He was already far away from danger(from the WildBoar at least) the moment he chose to run through these dense trees. Falling down several times when he tripped on branches was a small sacrifice.


    Noticing that there is no more growling or quick foot taps behind him, he found the courage to look back. And it was fair to say, the Wild Boar wasn''t in sight. In fact Guard Commander Chan lost him around 50 yards ago.


    Seeing no danger behind, Chan started slowly slowing down, trying to observe the situation behind him. His heart though, is beating way too fast. He feels mortified. He had to take several deep breaths for his lungs to catch up with the rest of him. He isn''t exactly the most physically fit. Finally taking a deep long breath and letting it out, it felt like his fear came out with it. And 1/3 of the pain in his lungs was cut. The relief he started feeling felt like heaven.


    Looking back carefully after he switched places several times, he was able to notice that the Wild Boar was trying to pull himself away from a thick dark oak tree, which was bend 40% from its natural position. It seems like his tusks were stuck in it. Looks like he tried to bite off more than he can chew(if this Wild Boar eats trees as well).


    The Wild Boar managed to break a few arm thick trees down before it met this large dark oak tree, but even though the Wild Boar is a meter wide, he can''t bring down a 3 meter wide dark oak tree with roots as wide as Guard Commander Chan himself. Well this was at least good news for Chan, he can simply walk away from danger now, and this monster of a Wild Boar would take forever to catch up, even if he pulls himself out of the Dark Oak tree, which wouldn''t probably take too long.


    "Chan. here, drink this."


    "Thank you."


    The moment after he grabbed the leather pouch and drank a mouthful of cleaner water, it felt like his heart sunk down and went to his sock when he realized what was happening. He was petrified, he didn''t want to turn around and see who handed him the Water pouch. Who could possibly give it in this dense forest, in the middle of this brutal winter. Most importantly, who would know his name here?


    He didn''t have anything to drink ever since he woke up in the morning, he just ate Snow a few times and put the lack of food as his main priority. But that doesn''t mean that he doesn''t want to drink clear water. He ate snow, so he is technically hydrated. So cross hallucination off the list. He can''t just simply be hearing voices.


    Finally able to make a volition to talk to whoever handed him the leather pouch who apparently even knows his name, he asked without turning around to face this, source of the voice. "Who are you?" This male voice rung a bell, but he couldn''t remember its owner. At first he hope that it isn''t Mogranius, it is not a surprise for a big time forest explorer  to be found here. But he is all the way to the other end of Occidentis Ignis. While Guard Commander Chan just passed the border a day ago, he is in Septemtrionis Ignis. They are around 800-900 kilometers apart from each other. So cross enemies off the list.


    "Don''t you recognize me Son?" Afterwards the source of the voice was heard, giggling. It didn''t sound fatherly though. And it had no aims of comforting. It sounded, ill.


    Hearing the word "Son". Chan swallowed his fear and turned his head around in the blink of an eye.


    When he turned around, what he saw both scared him and made him tear up in joy. He saw, his father! His father who died several years ago. "He is supposed to be dead. So what the hell is going on?" Chan thought, it scared him quite a lot. But he was still happy to see the almost accurate figure of his father again.


    "But h-how..." Being at a loss for words, Chan didn''t know what to say, or what to do with himself. He even thought that he died from the Wild Boar attack. Part of the memory from the WildBoar already disappeared in his mind. Like the part how he made his way to this dense part of the woods? Since he didn''t remember that part, he started touching himself to make sure he is still alive.


    "I''m alive Chan. I''m here for you." Replied, his father? But yet again a devilish laugh was heard from him. Chan completely ignored it though, seeing his father again was his main focus.


    Reaching out to touch his father, to assure himself that he is real. His hand reached a solid but yet plump chest. It felt indeed real, which made Chan feel even more sure that this is his father, at least how he remembered him. He remembered his rather half a foot long roundish green beard as the main facial characteristic, and his short green vines on his head as the secondary characteristic.


    Feeling sure with himself, Chan leaned in for a hug, with his arms open, tear after tear kept dropping out of joy. Tears, he waited to let out for years. But when he got a closer look at his face, he noticed that something was wrong. His father''s eyes weren''t boiling red. They seemed, Ignite like, brown.


    "Father, what''s wrong with your ey..." His sentence was cut short when he glanced down, witnessing his father''s legs. His left leg from the knee down, was abnormally hairy and clothless. Above from all of that, it appeared like his foot is missing. What sorcery is this? Does his father have a goat leg?


    As Guard Commander Chan was giving an intense stare at his father''s left leg. He felt something heavy hitting the back of his head. And his father just disappeared in mid air. The same "fatherly" voice was heard after, shouting while laughing. "Fool. Fool. Hahahahahahaha!"


    "It was a good damn Ghost!" Chan murmured as he rubbed the back of his head, the pain on it was nothing to the pain in his heart at the moment, he wasn''t even scared. Just emotionally hurt. He wiped off the last of his tears, stood up and said. "Well, at least i know i''m close." As he glared upon the setting sun.

 Chapter 143 - Little Crush

    "Fire Shield. Interesting." Approached King Michael when he noticed Mogranius putting in great effort on training Eric(sipping a cup of hot tea while sitting on a tree stump. Why should he tire himself if he can just rest while working?).


    It has been a while and Eric still didn''t master the Fire Shield completely. However, he did make great progress. He is only a few days away from forming a steady reliable 2 inch thick shield which can surround him from each side. Mogranius'' method of training really helped him accelerate his progress.


    Every individual Fire Witch or Wizard has different perceptions and can progress through different methods. They aren''t all the same after all, there will always be people who progress slower at a certain task than the other, it doesn''t neccesarily mean that they are dumb or useless. They just have different perceptions, understandings and styles.


    "I remember learning that about 200 years ago." Giving out a small smile and a joke afterwards to appear more approachable, he continued in a friendly sarcastic manner. "It became my best friend after I ran into "Peaceful" Demons for the first time!" It''s not easy to fight off tens to hundreds of opponents, especially if one got cornered. Luckily Mogranius knew both the Atomic Fire spell and the Fire Shield.


    "Ha!" Laughed out Mogranius. He still doesn''t like how King Michael is slowly taking Mogranius'' spot as Eric''s mentor. But he knows it''s for the best after all. And he can heavily relate on the Demon part. Even though he preferred using the "Atomic Fire" spell against those Peaceful Demons.


    "Try battling a mutated whale." Rubbing his eyes afterwards when he remembered the "Atomic Fire" spell, King Michael could already put two and two together about what happened that day.


    "Is it weird that i want too?" Added King Michael in, i wish to say sarcasm? But his face was both eager and curious, making it clear that he actually wants to do it. But since he started cracking unintentional jokes with Mogranius, he definitely seems approachable(and funny too).


    "Um hello!" Spoke out Eric in quite a strong concern. "I have an issue here."


    "What the hell!" Shouted Mogranius the moment he turned around and saw something he didn''t expect to see, at all!


    "How did you even manage to do that. It goes against so many rules!" Yelled King Michael. Small mis shaped issues would occur sooner or later, it''s just the process of learning. But this, he didn''t expect it at all. Even Mogranius'' who mentored the Electus before expected something less bizarre than this.


    "Electus'' raw power. It won''t explode don''t worry, at least i hope! You will see many sights like this, good luck." Although sarcastic, he did show acception. He accepted King Michael as Eric''s Mentor even though he didn''t like it at first. I mean, considering King Michael''s years of research and Grand Mastery in the Arcane arts of Fire Controlling, Mogranius will finally have someone to look up to and learn from(that isn''t himself) and Eric too.


    What they saw however, was a highly misformed Fire Shield. It was too lumpy, had many spikes, seemed to even have a nose. And instead of having it''s usual light shade of fire as an overall colour, it was black here and there.


    Tilting his head to the left, Mogranius decided to point out. "It looks like Xakro if you tilt your head like this."


    Having no idea how Xakro even looks like, King Michael followed along and had the decency to point out. "Wow, he did not age well."


    "He is actually curs..."


    "How do I stop this thing?" Shouted Eric interrupting their deep prosperous research. They instantly noticed that the Fire Shield kept changing forms the more Eric panicked(Although not a breeze for Eric, this is the start of a detailed research about Fire Controlling. There aren''t such books anymore).


    Some forms were even very inappropriate. Perhaps portraying Eric''s thoughts? I know what you are thinking, but no. They weren''t s.e.x.u.a.lly inappropriate. He isn''t about that. The forms were just a rageful mess, even a boulder crushing someone was formed. A snout of a Wolf appeared too, and the black shade brought theories that Eric still might have not conquered his phobia he got from Black Wolves.


    "Just stop concentrating. It should be easy for you." Well there is the sarcasm. But he just wanted to stop this mess before it might actually explode. Although highly unlikely coming from a Fire Shield, with such raw power it isn''t predictable.


    "Ha Ha!" Forced Eric a sarcastic laugh, which made him drop his entire focus on the Fire Shield(i''d like to say, around him?). The Fire Shield afterwards, mostly disappeared completely in mid air, but some dark flames transformed into normal randomly spreading fire and flew towards the sky for a little bit before they disappeared. Dark flames, they overlooked it''s value greatly.


    "What exactly do you guide him to focus on for such results to appear?" Asked King Michael curious and yet a bit nervous. Thinking about the Inner Demons was his first thought and a plausible theory, maybe they are preventing him from progressing. He is a kid after all, how much can he handle?


    "Protection. He is focusing to protect. It worked well for me before." Even though he did not like his methods questioned, he still awaited for King Michael''s thoughts on it. He has far more experience after all.


    "It should work well for most individuals, but he skipped right to the second Power instead of practicing the first." The way how King Michael respects Mogranius'' teaching and still point out what''s wrong, made Mogranius feel more comfortable. Every King should be skilled in Speechcraft, but unfortunately they often aren''t and choose to yell for what they want. Rather prehistoric if you ask me.


    "Your point being?" Mogranius wasn''t being harsh with this, just curious. Just what idea could King Michael have in mind?


    "Patience won''t work for him." That sentence got everyone in shock, but it was still what Eric wanted to hear desperately. Even though he wants to protect his own, he still wants to attack whatever tries to hurt his own. His Inner Demon of rage craves it. But how would feeding the rage, help beat the Rage?


    Trying to respect a Level six Fire Wizard''s thoughts on this instead of yelling at this nonsense, Mogranius added. "So you think that he should have a more rageful mindset."


    "His mindset is already rageful. While caging the rage will benefit him in time, i have a method which can help him form a perfect fire Shield while still caging the rage and even reducing it faster. A method i wish i knew before i tried my first Fire Shield." King Michael''s words got everyone puzzled. What exactly could he mean by this? If it isn''t further described or even shown, it will never make sense. Countless theories can fly around in their minds and most could prove ineffective.


    "What did your first Fire Shield look like?" The question a lot have been waiting for(or at least since King Michael started talking about Fire Shields).


    "Umm... very inappropriate. It looked like a P..."


    "Minors around." Coughed Commander Alia as she walked in towards the group of Fire Wizards. It was rather heartwarming to see, likely the last of their kind consulting such important matters.


    "Oh...right." murmured King Michael when he realized his flaw. But actually, he felt more embarrassed that he almost said that with Commander Alia near. He doesn''t mind if Eric hears it. He has one after all. "Actually, perfect. I need you." Soon after he said "I need you". He stopped right away and tried to figure out how to dumb down this method for these people to understand. Which was rather difficult to do.


    But the point is, he ended the sentence inappropriately. While Commander Alia even got a little bit shy(which has been common ever since she met Mogranius), Mogranius was starting to boil with rage. He thought that King Michael is moving in on his lady. But that wasn''t the case of course.


    Understanding how embarrassingly he ended the sentence, he tried to save it right after by adding. "I need your skill with the blade to help Eric understand the Fire Shield better." At least, he can think about explaining this method calmly now.


    Mogranius sighed in relief. Commander Alia''s cheeks calmed down and Eric was still confused and didn''t exactly understand what''s going on with the male female drama. He focused on more important matters. For example, he thought about hoe Blades are mostly used for attacking, so how can it help?


    Trying to portray his pure intention furthermore, he gave another short explanation. "I would of asked Woldemir for help, but he is busy training the Platoon."


    "Hop two three four!"


    "Hop two three four!"


    "Hop two three four!"


    They heard the Platoon running from a distance right after. Almost half of their training schedule includes running so it isn''t a surprise to see them run. I can''t tell for sure what the Gang would say if they knew that Woldemir the almighty GrandMaster in Swordsmanship is making shoes for the 4 Calidum Lutum and teaching a Guard how to make them as well.


    "Oh i''d be glad to help such an adorable Electus." Being already very near Eric, she grabbed Both of Eric''s cheeks hard and played with them as if she was playing with an adorable baby.


    Eric both didn''t like it and liked it a lot. Obviously publicly being treated like a baby in front of 2 men is embarrassing, but that embarrassment came from Commander Alia. A person he cares about a lot. So emotions battled against each other. "He will be the most powerful person on Earth but he is still a sweetheart." Being already crouched down to his size, she let go of his cheeks, stood up and grabbed his shoulders with both hands and said "Right?"


    "Umm....Right. Yes... Right." He did not dare to look straight forward though, since he is shorter than Commander Alia by a foot(she is 6 foot tall), he only looked up and still tried to avoid eye contact(which was very hard) Commander Alia looks very physically fit, no doubt attractive. And Eric doesn''t want to seem perverted. His face simply became smoking hot in embarrassment while Commander Alia couldn''t hold in her laughter.


    Noticing how he tried to be well mannered, respecting a Woman''s personal space(even though she wasn''t respecting his, although intentions pure.). Seeing what was going on here, she just proceed to give him a tight hug(in a non s.e.x.u.a.lly provoking way that is(duh)). She managed to figure out how red faced Eric gets every time she pays him more attention or playfully touches his face. She knew that it is either a little crush, or he is missing a motherly figure(even though Woldemir filled both spots). Either way, hugs are nice(unless from a stranger). And if Commander Alia can relieve so much stress from a child, then why not?


    However, the affection she is showing is a surprise to both Eric and Mogranius. When they met her, she simply wanted to kill them. Even after she accepted them and declared Eric as the new King. She was still moody. Now her attitude feels like a source of never ending sunshine. Reasons behind it are numerous. King Michael however, wasn''t surprised because she was mostly like this ever since she arrived in Gaster Kingdom. But he did perceive both of their confused faces. And Eric''s red face even after the effect of the cheek squeezing wore off. He too understood what was going on here. Even Mogranius understood, but didn''t make a big scene out of it and showed sympathy(amazing).


    "Alright." She spoke out confidently breaking the awkward silence her affection caused. "How can I help?"

 Chapter 144 - Signature Hunting!

    Heavily willing to help, the messenger started leading Guard Commander Dalerus Aze away from the bundle of Guards who were unloading Cargo with the help of some townsfolk who noticed their arrival. The two made their way towards Town in aims to reach this Revolution''s Leaders.


    As if a lot ot sprint piled up on his knees, the Messenger speed walked his way to their location since this order from Delrus is of great importance, the town''s future can heavily depend on it. We could be looking at a possible union between Kingdoms here and the Messenger was more than happy to be a part of such an act.


    Seeing the Messenger walk this fast, Delrus could already sense the tension this man was carrying. This Messenger has been generally hyper active throughout the whole trip, always trying to help and even offering to bathe the horses. Even when he first rushed through Pameres Castle''s doors, his tension was large. But this time, the Guard Commander could sense even more tension. The people he is about to meet are the leaders of this little revolution after all.


    Not to be so surprised, the Leaders have already walked out of their houses and were rushing towards the scene. They surely heard about the Platoon''s arrival, now have an urge to find out more and see for themselves. You would expect those leaders to be as tense as the Messenger, but no. They were approaching the Messenger with big genuine smiles, almost unintentionally pretending that the Guard Commander isn''t there.


    "I knew you could do it!" Expressed one of the Leaders with his tone raised high in enthusiasm. He expressed his thoughts before even reaching the messenger, he was  around 10 feet away from the Messenger and Delrus when he expressed himself. Afterwards he walked in for a congratulating hug.


    "The good old mister Reliable arrived with help. I can''t say that I''m surprised!" Complimented another leader a few seconds after, when he reached the scene. You don''t see leaders anywhere else being this supportive.


    "I told you that i can do..." Trying to reply to such warm welcomes, the Messenger got interrupted by the third and final leader of this little revolution who ran his way here as soon as he saw the Messenger. Let me say it again. HE RAN HIS WAY HERE AS SOON AS HE SAW THE MESSENGER.


    "Gilbert!" The third leader yelled from a distance while still running at a medium pace. "You never fail to surprise us." Of course he was referring to the messenger. One genuine smile is enough, but 3? They are treating Gilbert the Messenger like a hero over heroes. His task was nothing more than delivering a message, even though he went the extra mile by barely sleeping throughout his journey, these people are still oddly over welcoming.


    On top of that, they lifted him off of the Ground, placed him on their shoulders and started cheering, "Gilbert! Gilbert! Gilbert!" And I know what you are thinking, but oddly enough they didn''t even take a glance at the 5 Kilogram sack of gold of which Gilbert was carrying. Their caring welcome seemed so genuine, you would think they all are dating each other.


    "I see you 3 love Gilbert''s work a lot. I''m not going to lie, he can''t stay in one place due to his never ending itch to help!" Expressed Guard Commander Delrus Aze. And much like the 3 leaders, his compliments were genuine too. Having a short view on how these leaders express what they think, gave him an idea on how to continue with this conversation. A lot of genuine compliments and a kind way of expressing, topped off with respect to differences.


    "Oh, the town would parish without his help and contribution over the years." Replied one of the 3 Leaders as they carefully set Gilbert the Messenger down.


    Another leader Continued with the Compliments, "Oh without doubt. He even struck the first Sword against our enemies." Paying attention to the color of the Guard Commander''s skin enough to not accidentally offend him. He finished it off by saying. "We thought of the plan, but he made it happen, he started the battle against the evil ill.u.s.tratian Alliance." The last thing these leaders need right now, is to insult a man who travelled 100 kilometers to help them.


    "Gilbert seems worthy to be memorized in song." Complimented the Guard Commander, but even though neither of the five have any trouble with going on and on with these compliments all day, he decided that it is the most appropriate to get into a different, more important future shaping topics. "Gilbert here tells me that you 3 are the leaders of this tremendous revolution." A rather nice way to start this topic without bashing plans and tension on their faces. It is all about the wordplay. It''s all about how Guard Commander Dalerus Aze portrays the plan. If described the wrong way, something random like feeding horses can sound bad and evil.


    Deciding to stay humble for the 3 of them, one of the leaders replied,  "Well we wouldn''t say leaders. We just tried to help this town with carefully thought out plans."


    Hearing what he craved wanted to ask about so badly, with joy in his tone and a wide smile throughout his face. Delrus expressed, "Well perfect. My point is, you 3 speak for the people and they listen to your words with the greatest attention. So that makes you three of great importance to the King and his intentions to help undo what the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance caused upon this fine town."


    "We really are that important to King Zar? Well, we got inspired from him. He is the first after so long to defy the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance. His courage gives us courage." Expressed the 3 Leaders, although interrupting each other, they still finished each other''s sentences.


    "King Zar appreciates your courage. What you see over there." Aiming to move on to more important matters, pointing at the bundle of Guards in the beginning of the town. "Is what King Zar offered freely and he will continue to offer more until further notice. Although the Guards will prove of great help, they belong in Pameres Kingdom." With such wordplay, he was already teaching these people to be depended on their selves. They just need to fuel up with motivation, from one source or the other.


    "Your point being?"


    "Well yes, that is their home."


    Although similar with thoughts, sometimes they still had thoughts of which were very different from each other. Differences shall be respected, especially since those differences don''t mean any form of harm.


    "Indeed. But what I''m trying to say, is that King Zar can help you become an independent town. With your own reliable Guards and a steady food supply. But it will need some official governing." Finally, the main topic was revealed. Governing. It is not like King Zar wants to claim this village as his own. This Village doesn''t even belong in Pameres Kingdom''s domain.  His aim is to help these people and he intends to do it professionally instead of helping like as if he threw a piece of bread to a hound.


    "Well that would be amazing."


    "It will take a lot of work and time."


    "King Zar is going the extra mile with all of this help!"


    Their thoughts? This time a bit different, but their will for success was very similar. Thankfully they didn''t let ego take part at this conversation and refuse official governing. These people clearly don''t have any qualified governors so it''s difficult to help these people without bringing governors from Pameres Kingdom.


    "Indeed he is. But my point is, we can bring qualified people who can help you govern your town. Their salaries are covered by King Zar so your town doesn''t have to hold such burden throughout its development. The Governors offer to form a stable economy, hire apprentices who will follow the skill of governing, with an ultimate goal of helping this town become independent and stronger than it ever was. But for us to start all of the above, we need permission from this town. This is where you 3 come in. We need your permission to start, your official signatures will be required as well." Guard Commander Delrus Aze felt like he was losing them after he noticed that they were struggling to catch up, so he slowed down a little bit which resulted to the 3 Leaders to catch up, understanding most of his words.


    "That sounds amazing!"


    "Are you serious?!"


    "All hail King Zar!"


    "All hail King Zar!" Followed people of the surrounding area who heard one of the leaders utter out such a Cheer, the Guards followed as well which shook the ground to its core and caused many goosebumps as well, Including on Delrus Aze. He can never resist such loud deep voiced cheers. He even followed the Hail without hesitation, he didn''t waste a heartbeat.


    Right after the cheer, one of the Leaders walked closer. Delrus could notice the clear confusion and curiosity on his face. The leader whispered in a bit of embarrassment. "So how do we catch these, "Signatures"."


    Perhaps they didn''t entirely understand the Guard Commander, it isn''t such a big surprise considering that there is no school in sight. Not knowing whether to smile or frown, he felt that the best way to approach this topic without offending any of the leaders, was to ask a simple question regarding their academic knowledge. He asked, "Do you three know how to read and write?"


    "No, not exactly."


    "I know a few letters."


    "No, we don''t have a school here."


    "Don''t worry about it." Answered Delrus as he gently grabbed one of the leader''s shoulder (specifically the one who wanted to catch a Signature). "You don''t need to catch a Signature. You just need to write it. A couple of letters is all it takes."


    "Oh then, bring the parchment so we can sign!" Broke another Leader the awkward moment, this isn''t how they wanted to portray themselves. Their minds go a long way, but they aren''t literate which makes them appear a bit less intelligent.


    Waving at a Guard who was a bit distant, even gesturing with his hands to be more clear, he proceeded to shout. "Bring the Parchment for the leaders to sign quick!" And afterwards turning to the leaders in front of him, continuing with some questions dipped in compliments as if dipped in honey. The leaders are being very kind and welcoming, it would be inhumane if Delrus Aze didn''t do the same for them at this point. He proceeded to ask.

 Chapter 145 - Arguing with the Paranormal.

    As Guard Commander Chan sunk deeper into the dense Woods, the area around him became darker faster than the beat of his heart. Apart from dusk covering the sky, the woods contributed to this darkness as well. Due to it, Paranoia followed him faster than that 6 foot tall Wild Boar did. He kept hearing noises from each side too often. Although he didn''t like it, he didn''t react too much to it. His worst concern were animals naturally camouflaged in the woods.


    Let''s pretend that this place isn''t heavily haunted. Let''s pretend there aren''t any ghosts around here. Good, but him simply walking in the dark can equal to his death. As many species which can be potential predators are Nocturnal. Example, Bears! It''s hard enough to survive a bear encounter in the broad morning sunlight. If a Bear decides to attack him at such darkness, death is inevitable. He doesn''t even have a torch, not to mention the required skill to survive an animal attack! Getting the opportunity to see a Source Bear in action, the last thing he wants to experience right now is to encounter another one of those. Thankfully, they aren''t so common in Ignis anymore.


    In this case, you would think that it wouldn''t get any worse. Well... once he started running away from that massive Wild Boar and made his way through the part of the forest thick in thorny branches, he lost his backpack which contained his Camping equipment, the accurate map to the Ghost Tree and the written special word that he needs to succeed with this task. This just makes survival even tougher.


    All of the equipment he has now, is an Iron Dagger. But unless he has an extensive knowledge in off the land survival, it won''t make much of a difference if he has a Dagger or not. You can give a Flamingo a knife but it would only be funny unless the Flamingo is a GrandMaster in Swordsmanship.


    Out of fear, he didn''t even notice that he was missing such important equipment until after he encountered the Ghost who portrayed itself as Guard Commander Chan''s long dead father, one bad scene after the other didn''t give him the time to check for his belongings. Would you check if you went through anything similar?


    The setting sun reminded him of the cold night, nights he got a bit used too but still had a strong hate for! He is now certain that he underestimated and undervalued the comfort of a warm bed and a roof over his head. When he first felt his back, his eyes widened in... I''d like to say fear? Fear from the cold would be the best description of his current feelings. And anger swiftly arose on his heart. It was hard enough to survive the night with the Camping equipment. But this? It is too much. He will turn to a frozen treat for Predators.


    "I''m sick of this bullshit." He yelled in anger from the top of his lungs. Scaring nearby crows and forcing them to fly towards the sky, he is fed up with this quest in general. Right  after he yelled, he punched an arm thick tree a couple of feet near him to at least let out some of his stress and anger, it only ended up giving him more. As you might already know, it isn''t a breeze to punch a tree with all your might. Even for an average or slightly a bit over average person, it would be a very painful experience.


    "Shit shit shit shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit!"


    "By the name of crap big and small."


    "Boarcrap!"


    As you can see from the... different dialect that ran through his mouth at the moment, beautifully expressing his pain, hitting the tree sure hurt his hand but it still felt minor compared to everything else he went through today. Even though hitting a tree in the freezing cold only increased the pain, with luck by his side trying to undo his nonsense, he thankfully he didn''t break any fingers.


    But now weighing his options, it was clear that he only has two. Proceed with this quest and risk his life with potentially life threatening Hypothermia, he could be risking to not wake up in the morning once more due to the cold alone! Apart from the cold, chances are that that possibly mutated Wild Boar is still on Chan''s trail. The Ghosts don''t seem so friendly either. His second option would be to turn back and tell King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll that he quit the quest when the odds didn''t work to his favour. The King won''t likely look kindly upon a failure.


    "Ghost Tree it is." He told himself feeling 100% convinced about it. Knowing that whatever danger awaiting him in this forest is nothing compared to being burned out of existence in a blink without the ashes remaining as an aftermath. Although that sort of death would be quick, he obviously wasn''t curious enough to try it or try his luck with King Xakro, an unstable psychopath.


    "Over here."


    "Huh." Another unknown voice? Getting a flash of memory on his mind due to it, remembering what King Xakro said. Ghosts will be more active as soon as the day turns into night. As soon as the sun sets over the horizon. So he started convincing himself to think for the better. At least it will be easier to find the Ghost Tree now. And compared to the lack of paranormal activities throughout the other nights, he must be very close to it.


    "Oh no. I ain''t going through this bullshit again. Call once more and i''ll freeze your ass!" Imagine having the guts to argue with a ghost! He is either getting used to them or feels too confident because he knows their weakness.


    "Kiss my fading ass." Apparently another nearby Ghost didn''t like Guard Commander Chan''s attitude. You would expect them to say something more spooky, but no. They are talking like people in Saloons who had too much beer. What an adventure it would be to study them!


    "Alright that''s it!" He yelled as he reached for his backpack to get the Parchment containing the special word which can freeze these ghosts. But.


    "Shit. The Parchment was on the Backpack." Upon realizing that he had lost the special word which can literally put this huge task to an end, his confidence went down and sunk below the ground.


    "Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha..."


    Laughed another voice from a distance, mocking Chan''s misfortune.


    "Shut the hell up." Yelled out Guard Commander Chan in anger, he was carrying enough stress. Realizing that he lost that special parchment, was the last thing he needed to go through today.


    Surprisingly, still avoiding to give up, he started Whispering to himself. "Alright let''s see if I can remember that word. I went too far in to simply quit!" While massaging his temples to think about that word with all of his concentrating capacities, yeah this was definitely something he doesn''t do often.


    "Alegale?" Spoke out Chan with a slight light of confidence. He felt so sure that the word was based on Ale, enough to keep arguing with the Ghosts. This is so pathetic. It was him who got his hands on this word, risking his own skin for it. How by the 8 sources of Demonic powers could he forget?


    "No darling. Try again." Replied a thick manly voice from a distance. It''s like they''ve put Chan on a circle and were messing with him to pass time.


    "Really? I was half sure about that anyway." Afterwards sitting on an old rotten stump, thinking about this harder as if he isn''t talking to actual ghosts... I have to say, his lack of fear towards Ghosts is unexplainable. "How about.... ahaaaa! Aletapos?"


    "Uuu you are so close."


    "Forget about Ale already. It ain''t it."


    Feeling that it would take way too long to remember the word by his own, he proceeded to ask, "By any chance, can any of you find and bring me my backpack so i can render all of you powerless."


    Perhaps Ale helps Chan think more clearly? Because at this moment he sounds like he chucked down 15 bottles of them this morning with its effects still active. He is making less sense than the ghosts even though unintentional.


    "Well, I wouldn''t say all. But no."


    "Common. Be useful for once god dammit." Yelled Chan at a tree. I mean, at least he has a direction to turn too instead of speaking with air.


    "Hey. We aren''t the ones wasting time arguing with Ghosts."


    "But you are ghosts..."


    "Yes. But i don''t argue with other Ghosts. My family from the first era had class, thank you very much."


    "Sassy little shit." Expressed Guard Commander Chan. Unfortunately for him, he expressed himself too freely this time. He turned around to a tap on his shoulder, only to see a light skinned 10 foot Woman. It wasn''t a Calidum Lutum though.

 Chapter 146 - Shield Bashing

    "Hhmmm.." murmured King Michael as he was lost in his own thoughts, trying his best to form a proper training method out of this as he was stroking his Chin, which helped him focus rather well.


    Seeing that King Michael is nowhere near this place(With his mind at least), Mogranius and approached and slightly yelled, "Hello..." While waving his hand in front of King Michael''s face. Trying to snap him back into reality.


    "Hmphh. Okay, Oh right, sorry." Good, his mind is here too now. And with fresh thoughts and ideas too. Sometimes it is worth it to zone out, but make sure you have someone who would slap you back to reality when they noticed that you sunk down too deep. He turned his attention back to Commander Alia and explained, "While seeing other people who were skilled in Swordsmanship train before, i noticed a key defensive move."


    Being confused about which one he means, since there are tens of defensive moves, both with a Sword, with a Shield, combined and some even not fitting the professional training schools, having its own uniqueness. She had no choice but to ask. "Which is?"


    "Shield Bashing. It''s where a Swordsman or woman(respectfully), who is armed with both a Sword and Shield, uses the Shield to bash an opponent. It often staggered the opponents, forcing them to drop their weapons."


    His enthusiasm was infectious and there was a shine in his eyes, comparable to a young lad who discovered something new. But he is the oldest in the game here. He isn''t exactly the best with a Sword considering his GrandMastery in the Arcane arts of Fire Controlling giving him barely any reason to learn Swordsmanship up to Level 6. But he did study a lot of non power based fighting styles and arts, which only helped him progress faster and have his spells become more unique and respectfully more powerful compared to what most Fire Controllers can cast.


    With him having his longer lifespan as an advantage to learn more and enhance his spells, he can be considered the best(non Electus) Fire Controller to ever exist. If other Ignites lived over 70 years and up to 700 like the Kastarians, King Michael''s unspoken title would be stolen easily. He is half Kastarian after all which may restrict his powers or slow them down from progress, but considering his lifespan, it isn''t really an issue to worry about.


    Calming the rageful storm of thoughts in her mind as soon as King Michael pointed out exactly which defensive form he was talking about, she stretched one sentence."Ohhh." For a bit too long before she expressed. "I know that. Its something that even the Beginners(Level 1) learn to do."


    Feeling relief when Commander Alia confirmed that she knows the move, instead of having to find someone else who knows it(likely Woldemir), which would take a bit longer and would slow down his current raging enthusiasm towards this spell. He expressed gratitude to her skills by asking her. "Yes Great! I want you to teach Eric how to do it if you are okay with it as well."


    But now, new questions stormed her mind. Considering that she doesn''t have Fire Controlling abilities herself, makes it a whole lot more confusing for her. "How will him learning to bash with a Shield help him from his own Fire Shield?" Giving it a little thought, she decided to say. "Arlight i heard myself outloud, let''s go!" Shields were mentioned enough in her question to make enough sense. Enough to answer half of her questions.


    "Perfect." Answered King Michael as he gestured for everyone to follow him, in aims to reach the training yard.


    Commander Alia grabbed a Shield from the training yard in aims to demonstrate it against the training dummy. It isn''t really comfortable to demonstrate it against a living being, it doesn''t feel nice to be thrown against the ground with an Iron Shield. In general, Shields weren''t exactly her fighting style. But she still can put out a great demonstration. Because shields require 2 key skills, strength and agility. And she fairly has both.


    But before she was about to show this dummy who is boss, she decided to give this move a brief explanation. "The key on doing the Shield Bash, is to know when to do it. If you do it while an opponent is wielding a Sword against you, you can easily sprain the opponent''s wrist, even if you aren''t that strong. The opponents own strength can be used against him." Looking at Eric, aiming to ask him a question which might define his overall knowledge in shields or his perception towards them, she proceeded to ask. "Do you know the risk of performing the shield bash while an opponent is swinging at you?"


    The thought of bashing a shield against an opponent mid swing, is what got him uncomfortable at the very start of her explanation. So he chose to use that as his answer. "The opponent could cut or stab you?"


    Feeling very satisfied of his answer, she proceeded with. "Precisely." with a little joyfull yell following along. Which got Eric a little bit nervous, but also happy. Being praised by her never feels bad, but it still makes him just a small little bit shy if not more. "So you always need to be agile. Or you can be severely cut." She added to assure Eric how important agility really is. Agility can fairly even upbeat strength''s importance in Shield Bashing specifically. On other moves, the importance ratio can change.


    Although this wasn''t what King Michael meant when he wanted for Eric to learn the Shield Bash, with just knowing this move or at least see someone demonstrate it, being enough for the Fire Shield to be more effective, he saw this explanation too deep and specific. But at least Commander Alia knew what she was talking about so it isn''t a complete waste of time.


    He wanted to interrupt her lesson and ask for her to cut to the case, but she just seemed to Adorable when she described it, her enthusiasm was sky high. Imagine asking someone to talk about something they love and have a passion for. They could go on and on with their explanations without ever finding themselves running out of sentences. So he decided to not say a word about this and just be patient until she cuts to the case.


    But to King Michael''s luck, he didn''t have to wait any longer. Commander Alia was finally ready to put up a small demonstration. "You just need to grab the Shield''s handle firmly and bash your shield forwards when you feel ready to attack your opponent with this move." While already pushing her strength against the shield, she let out a couple of louder rageful words "Like this!" as her shield was heading towards the training dummy.


    She got a tight grip against the ground with her left foot in front and her right foot pulled back. This way her stance would be more firm and reliable against attacks plus giving her a little extra burst of strength against the "opponent".


    And since she is right handed, she has to keep her Sword on her right hand and the shield on her left one. Which is why she put her left foot forward, to put more power to her left side with her right foot (if it makes sense) her left side can be considered almost half the time weaker since she doesn''t use her left arm too much especially considering that she doesn''t prefer shields.


    When she bashed on the training dummy though, it was broken off of it''s firm foundation to the ground and tossed around 15 feet away from its former position, tumbling another 7 feet through the fairly flat muddy frozen walkway nearby.


    King michael was amazed of her strength. Simply stunning. But you know what else he was amazed from? The costs. "Oh that will cost a lot of gold." He whispered to himself but Commander Alia did hear his little complain.


    Eric however looked at her in amazement, stunned by this strength that she actually barely showed throughout the few months they knew each other. If Mogranius had such strength, he would brag about it nonstop. Mogranius did find reasons to cheer and praise her strength from afar. "That''s my girl."


    "Calm down old man." Answered Commander Alia back, it sounded rather harsh but the intentions were playfull. Mogranius was used to it by now and felt no offense, understanding about the way she can''t often control how she sounds like. Her tone does equal her strength(respectfully). "I''m trying to teach the Kid a lesson!" She expressed, having her head turned towards Mogranius, he simply gave him a little wink instead of flirting in public. Because frankly, it made Eric gag sometimes and she is a bit shy to act like that in front of everyone unless she missed him to the extreme.


    Turning her attention to Eric again, with a way calmer delicate tone. She proceeded to say. "Okay darling now you try it." Handing him the Shield and helping him to handle it properly by positioning his form. Fairly moving his limbs like a ragdoll until she felt like he has a proper pose. It got Eric a little bit shy when Commander Alia was all up on his personal space, trying to help him hold the shield right. But that didn''t last long, and he found himself dragged to the next training dummy. Now since he has a bit of knowledge about the pose, he should try it himself instead of heavily relying on someone else to prepare him.


    "Its okay to not break the training dummy. We trust your skills." Added King Michael before Eric even attempted the move. Reasons behind it clear. The Kingdom doesn''t need further expenses considering that a lot of Gold is needed to get this place near or above its former glory.


    Gaster Kingdom just needs another stream of income to finally pay the hard working Guards with gold too instead of just free meals, considering how much work every individual is putting in, it really is mandatory to pay them, King Michael didn''t at all ignore Woldemir''s request about paying Guards, he just found it a bad timing to pay them now. Although, with a monthly income of around 9,600 Gold Coins and of course an outcome of around 5,000 Gold Coins, there are 4,600 Gold Coins which the Kingdom can spare half of it or more to invest on the Guards, but that would equal to the loss of above a couple thousand Gold Coins which the Kingdom needs to progress. So another stream is essential before managing to pay 100 Guards, and they don''t need unnecessary expenses slowing them down. Luckily, King Michael has an idea which can possibly double the income if not more. Tapping into an expensive market is a good idea if an entire Kingdom can work behind it. However cutting back to the case....


    Mimicking Commander Alia almost completely correct, helped him towards this rather strange process of Fire Shield training. Why does everything about the Fire Shield have to lead to an actual Iron Shield? I mean, even Mogranius made a whole custom training method with it! Also, since Eric is right handed as well. It will at least improve his form.


    While Eric was getting ready to bash, in the Background Mogranius felt the urge to ask King Michael about this since he still didn''t understand the point of this little training. He can''t link King Michael''s words and this training method together well enough for it to make sense. "How exactly will Shield Bashing improve his Fire Shield progress? I don''t follow." He whispered in aims to not interrupt and or distract Eric.


    Trying to focus on Eric''s practice and also hoping that there won''t be any further expenses. He answered. "You will know very soon. Be a little patient."


    Looking at the training dummy as his worst enemy, and feeling sure of his capabilities to hurt the enemy badly. He started feeding his rage while resisting the urge to burn down the training dummy.


    Crack!


    He Shield Bashed the training dummy with all of his might, putting his body weight forwards along with the shield and detaching his right foot from the ground. Which was his first mistake and it could have gone for the worst.


    Due to putting too much weight forwards, he hurt his arm a little bit. But luckily, his arm isn''t the thing who cracked. What cracked is of course the "opposing" training dummy.


    Its foundation cracked a little bit, but not enough to be knocked down with a small little push by anyone after. The training dummy was also moved from the ground a little bit and tilted backwards. Before it had a 90¡ã angle. Now it''s angle is 105¡ã. This can be considered a lot of strength for a 15 year old child. If some technology could accurately scale this strength, Eric''s would be considered a firm 2.5/6. While Commander Alia''s strength would be considered 5/6. It really is a lot.


    "Damn! This kid can bash!" Complimented Commander Alia as she messed his hair, giving him genuine compliments to raise his motivation.


    Feeling his arm with his right hand, Eric answered these results with, "Yes but I hurt my arm a little bit."


    "Let me see." After giving the arm a firm glance she stated. "Oh it''s nothing, it isn''t even a bruise. The chances of receiving damage like this is very common for a beginner and even a Grandmaster. Learn to live with it! Just keep your legs nailed to the ground before attacking, while attacking and after attacking. Your arm will be just fine like that."

 Chapter 147 - Contract

    After a couple of Compliments from Guard Commander Delrus Aze, one of the revolutionary leaders felt more and more comfortable towards Pameres Kingdom''s approach. They seem to promise a lot, complimenting their own work with a lot of good will. He felt the urge to say, "I feel sure that after signing this parchment, Bale Town will finally prosper like never before."


    With a wide smile on his face, Guard Commander Dalerus Aze replied with. "I''m glad you feel comfortable with our work." Afterwards gesturing as if he was writing, he stated. "We will make a request to King Zar to bring down people of other crafts here, experienced ones who can leave a mark by teaching others. Regarding that, I need to ask a few questions first so we can narrow the requests down instead of over or under requesting!"


    "Of course!"


    "Please, go ahead!"


    Starting it off with compliments first, so he doesn''t project his thoughts rudely. He expressed, "There are many farmers here. Your type of work is respectable, you have the capability to bring food to so many people!" Seeing their lips transform into smiles, he cut to the case fairly before one of the three leaders was about to say something. "But are there any people who know different crafts?"


    Being a little confused at the thought of different crafts in general, one of the Leaders asked. "Different crafts? Such as?!"


    Uncrossing his arms, Delrus continued with his right hand up near his face, numbering different crafts. "Hunting, Blacksmithery, Building Construction, Cargo delivery, Stonemasonry, Lumbering, Swordsmanship, Clay Sculpting. Basically any skill set."


    Being a bit bewildered when he heard all those crafts projected at once. He took a few seconds to catch up and giving it a deeper thought. He found the decency to finally answer. "Oh, we don''t have many."


    Urging to know how much exactly that "not so many" is, Delrus kindly started guiding them. Helping them Narrow down stats. "We can start by listing each craft and the number of people skilled with it." He Clarified. As soon as he did, a couple of the leaders sighed in satisfaction once they found this task way easier now. "Let''s start with hunters. Do we have any hunters in this town?"


    His mood switching as soon as "Hunting" was mentioned, one of the leaders answered. "Hunting isn''t exactly the safest work."


    "Yes, we only have 2 Hunters as far as I know." Followed another leader, complimenting his statement.


    Although not satisfied with the numbers, we can''t say he was surprised. Hunting without tools that can''t bring big game down is wildly dangerous. But those two Hunters can still prove very useful. "That''s a small number but they can prove of big help when it comes to training willing apprentices."


    Finding it difficult and a bit disrespectful to refer to these three as "you three", "you", "now you", etc etc. Delrus found it fair to ask, "Before we continue. May i please know all of your names?"


    "Im Bert."


    "I''m Mert."


    "I''m Eert."


    Impossible to not notice the strong name similarities. Delrus felt the urge to ask. "I''m guessing you three are related?"


    "Yes. We are the Willson brothers." Answered Mert with a lot of pride!


    "So you three are triplets?" Asked Delrus with one eyebrow raised in curiosity and his head tilted to the left a little bit while still keeping eye contact with them. They do sound quite proud of their identities.


    "No no." Answered Bert while shaking his head from left to right in disagreement. I''m(Bert) 32 years old. Mert is 31 years old and Eert is 30 years old."


    Amazed by such a streak. Delrus expressed while he crossed his arms. "Oh so in a way, you three are a year apart from the older?"


    "Yes we are apparently. But getting back to the case... I doubt that people will be willing to become hunters." Expressed Eert with clear concern all over his face.


    "They will if we offer a good stable pay." Pointed out Delrus with a smirk across his lips. He did feel sure of the impact Pameres Kingdom can bring upon this town. "However moving on, how about Blacksmiths. Does the town have any of them?"


    "No no. ill.u.s.tratian Guards usually got their weaponry from other domains, delivered here. We don''t have any Blacksmiths. We don''t even have a forge!" Upon expressing that fact, Bert felt uncomfortable. Thinking that the lack of skilled people will shun Pameres Kingdom''s forces away.


    But Bert calmed his thoughts down when Delrus answered with great understanding and sympathy. "Well, that''s unfortunate but understandable. Even Pameres Kingdom used to lack enough Blacksmiths and still requires more. I''m sure King Zar will help us figure this out."


    Feeling humble but also weird about asking and or receiving so much help by someone who literally doesn''t have to help them at all. Mert expressed. "Our requests are getting rather extensive. We don''t wish to burden King Zar after he offered us so much already, especially about Blacksmiths!"


    Waving his hands up and down a little bit, in front of them in aims to try and calm Mert down. Assuring him to not worry about the expenses. Delrus simply expressed. "Don''t worry, he is willing to provide a lot more than this, these are the bare minimums." Before he moved on to the next craft. "Let''s continue with another craft, Building Construction."


    Feeling sure about the amount they had but considerably not so proud, Bert swiftly answered. "We only have 3 people skilled at that craft here, but they don''t have the tools to be of much help."


    "That''s easily fixable. We have 80 Construction Workers at Pameres Kingdom and the King is constantly expanding, we are able to provide the appropriate tools." Swiftly moving to the next craft, assuring them that the lack of skilled people isn''t really a big problem. "How about Cargo delivery and stone Masonry?" After it, pulling out a Parchment so he could write these numbers down after realizing that he can''t memorize them all. Awaiting for their reply.


    Taking some time to count, Eert raised up 5 of his fingers and answered, "We have 5 Stone Masons here." Shortly after pointing at Gilbert, stating. "And good old Gilbert is great with deliveries, even with a horse."


    "This is turning out great." Thought Delrus to himself. With likely over 35% of this town which includes elderly people and Children not being able to work for obvious age disadvantages, the other 65% are capable and the future shapers in this great Farming Town. If over 40 people here turn up with different skills, getting this place independence will be a breeze. Even if this town reaches to the point where they can''t have any sales. Even if their income falls flat, they will have the capability to provide enough food and appropriate housing to their own town. In these times, it can''t get better than this.


    Very satisfied with the understood results, Delrus Aze proceeded to ask about a few of the last skills. "I''m assuming that there are many Lumberjacks and Swordsmen too?"


    Lumbering doesn''t require much skill as much as it requires physical strength and willpower to cut down several to tens (depending on the tree''s width.) of trees in a row, cut their branches one by one so they can be dragged across the ground easier and of course drag that lumber for a possibly extended period of time. For example if a Lumberjacks house is far, he will need to tie up the lumber together tight with a rope and start dragging it, and since there aren''t many hills across Occidentis Ignis for the wood to slide easier, it does require a lot of strength for fulfilling results. And Swordsmen, well. They did manage to kill every Guard in this town from the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance after all. So forming a reliable Platoon might not be too hard compared to the rest of the mandatory tasks.


    "Yes. There are many Lumberjacks, possibly over 20." Answered one of the leaders. Specifically, Eert.


    "And there are over 15 people actually good with a Sword. All 15 are Warriors(Level 2)." Followed Bert in aims to convince Delrus Aze about Bale Town''s quality. At least Guards and Lumberjacks is something they can guarantee to have enough compared to the town''s population.


    Moving to the possibly most important part, for Pameres Kingdom''s progress at least. A craft not so popular in Kingdoms where there is a lot of traffic of merchants or a Kingdom where there are a lot of stores that sell daily necessities. "Well this is perfect. Now finally, tell me if there are any Clay Sculptures?"


    A bit confused on why Guard Commander Delrus Aze put so much tension on the last craft, Mert answered while puzzled with his own thoughts about this. "The ladies are usually great with that, half of the houses here hold a lady gifted with such Craft!"


    "So 25 people?" Asked Delrus with his eyes widened in shock. Pameres Kingdom holds over 2,500 people and yet Bale Town with 90% less of the population count seems to qualify enough to compete with them. Proving it well that where there is a smaller market, there usually are people who need to rely on their own skills to make daily necessities. Bale Town''s gold income is flat after all. The ill.u.s.tratian Alliance invaded this little town just because there are a lot of farmers here. It proved well profitable for the Alliance.


    "Yes, that''s about right." Answered Eert, backing up his brother''s assumptions. "So did we make it? Will King Zar help us now?"


    Grabbing the quill with his entire hand to get a better grip on it, since there isn''t anything else to write. Raising his right hand and waving it up and down, in aims to relax them. With a big smile on his face, Delrus added. "You misunderstood me sir Eert. King Zar would of helped you regardless. I just need this information so i know what to request from King Zar to bring here, or what for the rest of the people in this project should expect. This is just to help you."


    Delrus'' sounded like honey was coming out of his mouth, the amount of help Pameres Kingdom is offering is something no other King would offer. Even the richest Kingdom in Ignis wouldn''t offer this much! Bert felt so much gratitude towards this project. Enough to put in 16 hours of work a day for free! Just to help. "Well that''s fantastic. Can we be of more help?"


    Finally getting to the point, Delrus felt at ease on his heart when he assured that these people are on board with this entire project, feeling proud of his skill and speechcraft. King Zar assigned this project upon him, it would be a shame if he didn''t succeed. "I will take it from here, you just sign this parchment agreeing to accept Governors." Noticing that no Guard reported anything about any school, Delrus kindly asked. "Do you want me to read the Parchment for you?"


    "Please."


    "I am very curious."


    Being handed the Parchment by a Guard who was awaiting for the Guard Commander to finish with his speech and offers, Delrus Aze proceeded to read the contents in it.


    "By Signing this Contract, Bale Town agrees to accept governing from Pameres Kingdom for an entire year without discriminating even a day. By Signing this contract, Pameres Kingdom is obliged to provide any reasonable request which got approved by Guard Commander Delrus Aze and the temporary Governing Party. King Zar, the ruler of Pameres Kingdom promises a more stable economy, a stable year around food supply, good protection and an increase of individuals skilled in various Crafts. The Craftsmen (or women) sent from Pameres Kingdom as teachers, shall only stay temporarily upon requested time and will not be permanent Residents in Bale Town unless they choose so after a year when this project is over. If the Pameres Kingdom''s governing party fails to provide at least 51% of the signed for promises, a compensation of 50,000 Gold Coins is to be given too Bale Town. Guard Commander Delrus Aze will be in Charge of the Governing Party and nothing shall be done without him being acknowledged and giving permission for governmental tasks and requests to proceed forward. Tradition based disagreements, Corruption, Physical Abuse, Verbal Abuse, Abuse of Signed upon Position, S.e.xual Abuse or Harassment, Intentional property and or Tool Damage and Disagreement to work if the person is clearly able. Will result into 5 years in the Dungeon in the Pameres Castle Dungeon. Both parties shall be held responsible if any of them are caught committing any of the above forbidden acts, clarifying that none has superiority over the other, any criminal shall be punished. If the above acts are committed with a c.u.mulative count of 15, the contract breaks and the two parties part ways."


    X_______  X________ X________


    At the bottom of the Parchment, there was King Zar''s signature already signed, who is the provider of the governing party and everything else no doubt. Second came Guard Commander Delrus Aze''s Signature. He will be in charge of the Governing party and no task shall be done without his knowledge and approval, he takes full responsibility for the governing party''s actions.


    And of course in the third underline, the 3 leaders have to give their signatures. It was a rather short underline so Dalerus had to extend it a bit right on the spot, it was acceptable.


    The punishments for the above "crimes" might be just a little bit overdone, but King Zar doesn''t need any petty acts slowing down or preventing his promised results. The last thing he would need, is to pay a Compensation of 50,000 Gold Coins after wanting to help this town.


    "Do we have any questions?"

 Chapter 148 - The Dense Forest Kin!

    "Who are you calling a sassy little shit?" Asked the ten foot tall Woman who suddenly appeared behind Chan, possibly being the biggest threat he faced yet! Clearly, she wasn''t satisfied with his expressions and or wordplay, likely with his overall approach on this part of the forest as well. Or at least, we can assume she is a she. It''s quite possible that ghosts don''t have gender or gender limitations, able to switch from one gender to the other with ease! Or appear as men but have a woman''s reproductive system, likely the other way around as well. With the lack of research towards this, species... we can''t really be certain.


    "Iaaa..." At first glance, he got no doubt confused over some... different features of which he saw on her. Taking it as a light little example, she had a thick wide Black Beard! At least, she did upon first sight. But a couple of second after, the Beard disappeared without effort. Perhaps Chan glanced upon her while she was still transforming to this, large form. He was so close to the ghost, that when he looked up all he could see was her chin and a small part of her lips. There wasn''t even a nose on her.


    Another eye catching feature which, fairly failed to change even after her effort. Was her arm, it was too hairy and it bent the other way! Apart from that, it only had 3 fingers. Perhaps they can''t mimic a human''s form entirely, or they took this form as an example from some other creature? Where Demons run wild with its consumption granting the capability to mutate any breathing being, we can''t really be sure. With the lack of well written research about it, we can''t point fingers. However, we are allowed to make assumptions.


    Not even allowing Guard Commander Chan to speak, she continued with her aggressively projected statements. "You come here... Disturbing our peace, arguing with our brothers and sisters, offending them too!! And from the looks of it, aiming to hurt our Ghost kind?! Tell me, how do you think i should handle a fool like you?" Her Grammar, compared to most of the Ghosts he ran into face to face or from a distance today was... how do you say? More diplomatic. She didn''t curse, she didn''t threaten him in any way(yet). She just didn''t like her kind''s peace disturbed.


    Chan still being Chan even though he could quite possibly be facing death after a moment, got into her nerves and possibly on the nerves of the surrounding ghosts who were in hiding, by replying with. "Perhaps give me some food and water? I''ve been travelling for a week in this bristling cold and i barely had anything to eat these last days. A nice warm bed would be heavenly too." The nerve of this guy...


    Leaving a several hundred year old ghost to a literal loss of words, all she could think of replying towards this groundbreaking stupidity was. "Are you drunk?"


    "I wish."


    Understanding that there was no way to argue with this person, she decided to ask a few questions. Hoping for his answers to be worthy, enough to not call this part of the woods his graveyard. But yet again, if he died here, certain paranormal territorial boundaries would force a result which would make Chan''s spirit a part of this clan. A part of this kin which would possibly be viewed as something worse by the ghosts who met him. "What is your purpose here? Why do you come on our part of the woods. You claim that you know the Word of which would freeze us Ghosts. That''s nonsense, no word could freeze us. Why do you come here with such fake threats?"


    Not completely understanding all of her questions, he decided to answer with for what he is here for. Dumb bold enough, he could be risking his own life by answering truthfully. "Well. No offense to you, your Ghostness. But i need a branch from this so called Ghost Tree who is apparently deadly." Hey he decided to sound diplomatic too. That''s for sure another twist.


    Imagine seeing a Ghost scared. Crazy right? They usually do the scarring and not the other way around. Well, this ghost who could transform itself to a ten foot tall being, was scared and hissed to the thought of. "What. You are insane if you decide to approach that Tree."


    Why would a Ghost fear another Ghost? Aren''t they at this eternal journey together? "Why so?"


    Taking a step back and sitting on the ground, reaching Chan''s size to the point where they were face to face. She answered. "That tree, belongs to a strongly different Ghost kind. A different Kin. A different Clan."


    Completely ignoring her different facial features (With the nose missing and an eye too), because he got used of such faces due to meeting King Xakro ill.u.s.trario lll a fair amount of times. He simply stuck to the ghost topic "Different?"


    Surprised by his blank reactions towards her face but not enough to ask questions about them, she stuck to the Ghost talk too. "Yes! They are our enemies. They caused The Dense Forest Kin tremendous trouble. Many brothers and sisters were dragged to that tree, never to be seen again. I can''t imagine what they would do to a living being. I suppose possessing one is the only chance of freedom they can get."


    Although it took him a moment to process all of this sudden information about a Ghost breed of which the mortals don''t know much about (even King Xakro), he gave out a little smirk once he understood that he could use this paranormal tribal hate to his advantage, making his task a lot easier and his return a lot quicker. He proceeded to state. "I need that Branch. And your kind seem to urge a taste of revenge for your fallen ghost brothers and sisters."


    Confused of his sentences, not understanding at first how exactly they can gain revenge. She had to ask, "What are you implying?"


    Close to revealing his entire offer, he expressed with a bit of hesitation. "Tell me the word which would freeze all Ghost kind. Alerato..."


    Finally filled up with his, bullshit. Even though he talked to him for a very short while, she yelled in anger while subconsciously raising her arms. "By Source''s sake! It doesn''t start with Ale!" Shouted the ghost as she slapped her forehead with one of her raised hands to this large stupidity. Thankfully she did it with the normal hand. Afterwards she proceeded to correct another one of his false claims. "Also, that word doesn''t affect "all Ghost kind". It will only affect the Cursed Tree Kin."


    Not hearing it expressed this way before, not even by King Xakro. He asked while scratching his green head. "Cursed Tree Kin?"


    "Yes! The place where you wish to obtain the "Ghost Branch", belongs to the Cursed Tree Kin."


    At this point, he asked a very obvious question. If he was close to a man who loves to obtain such uncommon knowledge, he would write book after book about this. But no he isn''t such a man. "But how is the tree... Cursed?"


    Finding the few nerves to even bother explaining anything to this fool, she proceeded to explain. "Long before the First Era, at a time and date not certain, a large man like creature did countless experiments based on trees, their roots and their overall nature. Whatever he wanted to discover, it only ended up with a strong fatality. Cursing the tree, from the looks of it, for as long as this Continent shall stand. Our sources of information tell us that whichever ghost kind enters that tree, corrupts him or herself with uncontrollable evil, doomed to live an eternity on the tree, forced towards its addiction."


    Confused to the point where he was forced to ask an intelligent question. Chan proceeded. "Then why not use the special word to become immune towards them? That way, none of your Kin has to suffer because of that tree."


    Her, surprised to this insightful question as a start coming from him, but again not being anything she didn''t hear before when she encountered other more reasonable mortals. She stated what she did state to other people before who asked a similar question. "We tried it for hundreds of times, it only resulted in blank effects and loss of allies. It doesn''t work for us, we can''t use it against them."


    Giving out a scheming smile, he confidently said something no other mortal was bold enough to ever dare saying before. Which is, "But I can!"


    Due to the fact of never hearing such a sentence before from a clear mortal, she had no other choice but asking a question which could help her catch up to his dumb bold mindset. "What are you implying?"


    To every roaming ghost in the surrounding Area''s surprise. He offered. "What if I break more than one branch? That way, whatever ghost gets stuck in that branch, will freeze eternally, never being able to move or cause more damage."


    Feeling a bit guilty, strongly unsure of this plan. She first expressed. "That''s actually a good idea. Theory has it, the less branches the Tree has, the smaller its Ghost Dragging Radius would be. At the moment, we can''t be less than 300 feet near the Cursed Tree, or it sucks us in!"


    Being a bit overconfident in his abilities and his current upper advantage to this, unique conversation. While crossing his arms he said. "Bring me an axe, tell me the word and victory shall be by your side for once."


    The guilt kicked in, and although this likely isn''t her true form... The guilt was all over her face, obvious to glance upon. "But our brothers and sisters... Even though now corrupted with evil, they still used to belong to our Kin. To our Tribe!"


    Finding an appropriate response to her guilt which might lead to him succeeding with his plans, he asked. "I assume you don''t know a way to pull them back from that tree and undo their new nature?"


    "No, no way in particular."


    "Then we should sacrifice them to prevent the rest of your Kin to share the same fate." Well damn. This was the smartest thing he said ever since the first time he was introduced to this story.


    Strongly displeased of his plans, she stood up swiftly and yelled her sentences in anger. "Impossible. We will never betray our Kin." Afterwards grabbing the collar of Chan''s Fur coat, lifting him a couple of feet above the ground.


    But before she was about to toss him possibly to the next life. A creature approached the two and stated. "The mortal is right, Tribe leader." The creature who questioned the leader''s wisdom was a Wild Boar. And, you guessed it. It is the same Wild Boar that was on Chan''s trail for so long. Forcing him towards this part of the woods in the first place. The same Boar that almost killed him.


    "Holy shit." Yelled out Chan in fear, feeling as if his heart sunk down to his sock. The fear from seeing this large WildBoar once more, far outbeat the fear of being lifted from the ground by this 10 foot tall ghost. Now he had even stronger reasons to be spooked all the way down his dumb soul. A talking WildBoar?!! Even though he saw one bad and weird scene after the other today, this one had to be the worst!


    To his relief, a blob like white faded figure slowly flew out of the WildBoar. SQUEL! SQUEL! SQUEL! Yelled out the WildBoar in fear and discomfortability as it shrunk smaller in size by the second, running away and disappearing into the woods until it was no longer heard. Does Ghostly possession improve or increase physical characteristics beyond the average or possibly even, beyond natural capacities? That was the best assumption based on what Guard Commander Chan just witnessed, but the theory was still not solid.


    That floating white figure, quickly transformed into a man. Well sort of. This one was almost hard to tell from a Human being if he managed to hide his thin long Lion like tail. His skin was as pale as snow. I guess this tribe of ghosts has the capabilities to transform to almost anything they like. What would you do with such power?


    "The Dense Forest Kin has suffered long enough. It is time for a change."

 Chapter 149 - Gaster Kingdoms Budget.

    This small little chart gives a brief simple but yet detailed explanation of where and how the Gold goes in Gaster Kingdom. A.k.a the place of which the MC calls home. I aim to put financial realism in this book series instead of making it seem like each Kingdom has an unlimited amount of Gold to randomly spend towards military build ups. Gaster Kingdom being the MC''s favoured Kingdom at the moment, makes this Kingdom number one on this budget detailing list. Soon, I will write about Pameres Kingdom''s budget too. And if it fits this book of the series, I will write about Bale Town''s budget too when it rises.


    Current Budget(January/201/Era 3): 200,000 Gold Coins.


    Income: 9,628 Gold Coins.


    10% deal - 2,128


    Striped Marlin deal - 7,500


    Outcome: 10,487 Gold Coins.


    Striped Marlin Gang(4) - 2,000(S - 500)


    Spearfishermen(x18) - 1,530(S - 65)


    Fishermen(x23) - 1,495(S -85)


    Woldemir - 400


    10% Alama = 962


    Farmers(x30) - 4,500(S - 150)


    Totalling: 9,628 - 10,487 = -839


    -About the Budget. This large sum of Gold was invested by the business woman known as"Alama WolfHeart". The same woman who set up a deal between Gaster and Pameres Kingdom about the port usage). This investment equals to her receiving 10% of Gaster Kingdom''s monthly income as long as the WolfHeart family shall stand.


    -About the income. The 10% deal. This deal was offered by King Zar in exchange of Gaster Kingdom''s port usage. King Zar needed the port to sell products outside of Ignis since it was left as his best business option considering that he left the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, therefore unable to sell them anything. His recent deal with the Zamerians, led to a 6 month deal. In this period of 6 months, Pameres Kingdom is to provide 2,000 Iron Swords to the Zamerian Kingdom known as "Lav Kingdom". A big order indeed, but with 54 Blacksmiths progressing each month, they might be able to provide the order even quicker, which could inevitably lead to future business deals.


    -About the income. Striped Marlin Deal. On the cold December of the year 200, King Michael sent a business offer towards King Zar, offering to sell him fish regardless of species for a Gold Coin per Kilogram. You would think how a Kingdom who could barely feed itself, would offer to sell fish meat to another Kingdom. Well, since the Arrival of Kaleem, Saleem, Lia and Jim. Given their natural abilities, they were able to fish out around 900 Kilograms of fish on a daily basis! That''s 27,000 Kilograms of fish a month. When King Michael became aware of such tremendous abilities, he instantly offered them full citizenship without wasting a blink. The Kingdom urged such capable individuals. King Zar however, sent a letter back requesting a specific breed of fish only and offering 3 gold coins per Kilogram. He requested 2,500 Kilograms of Striped Marlin Meat per month for 6 months straight. Of course equaling to an income of 7,500 Gold Coins coming from Pameres Kingdom, since King Zar offered to pay transport expenses, it became even easier for Gaster Kingdom. Before signing the Contract offered by King Zar. King Michael consulted this business plan with the four gifted Spearfishers. Even though they almost instantly agreed to help, King Michael offered them a handsome monthly salary since spearing a Striped Marlin who can possibly grow up to 400 Kilograms, isn''t exactly safe or easy. Apart from that he offered them a work contract. They can''t stop fishing for dull reasons before finishing their promised bargain. Since they manage to provide 2,500 Kilograms of Striped Marlin meat before the month ends, they work on the comforts of the shores to contribute to the Kingdom''s food supply. Keeping the amazing 2 meals a day streak going for a population of 400. And earning every bit of their 500 Gold Coin pay(each).


    ...


    -About the Outcome. Striped Marlin Gang. Considering that this job is approached with a 6 month Contract between Gaster and Pameres Kingdom. When Saleem, Kaleem, Lia and Jim were offered this job and a contract to sign. They were also offered a firm stable salary of 500 Gold Coins each for the work they are doing. A bit overdone, but their abilities prove useful and could inspire other Citizens to work more. And apart from that, they are taking a big risk handling such big catches to begin with. It is fair to say that they are the Kingdom''s biggest contributors.


    -About the Outcome. Spearfishermen and Fishermen. The Spearfishermen along with the Fishermen did keep the Kingdom fed with roughly 1 meal a day before the Striped Marlin gang made an appearance here in Gaster Kingdom, making these men an important part of the community. Even though them as 18 Spearfishermen can''t outcompete a group of four who only go after big game, they contributed a lot towards Gaster Kingdom for years at a time without earning a coin. And even though King Michael isn''t giving them large salaries(85 Gold Coins a month for each Spearfishermen and 65 Gold Coins a month for each fishermen), he does aim to pay them more the moment the economy rises as they clearly deserve much more.


    -About the Outcome. Woldemir! Upon realization that Woldemir is a Grand Master in Swordsmanship, King Michael immediately sprung into action. Citizenship was inevitable anyway since Woldemir roamed with the Electus, but King Michael also saw this as an opportunity to form a strong hard to tackle Platoon over a considerably shorter period of time due to Woldemir''s skill. Woldemir now is a registered Guard Commander and Trainer of the first and only platoon which includes 100 people(with the Calidum Lutum included). Earning a stunning salary of 400 Gold Coins a month, he is the second most paid employee in Gaster Kingdom. His pay is well earned considering that he is putting 8 hours a day into training this Platoon. With his training, Gaster Kingdom''s Platoon may get a big name. His contribution, is to take part in the history books.


    -About the outcome. Alama - 10%. As stated a bit earlier, Alama Wolfheart bought 10% of the Kingdom''s monthly profit for a sum of 200,000 Gold Coins. While now earning roughly a thousand Gold Coins a month from this project, her profit will increase over time as Gaster Kingdom progresses. Towards Gaster Kingdom''s progress, she offered different human resources. And while she is making a stay here in Gaster Kingdom, she is proving quite useful as a financial advisor and budget manager.


    -About the outcome. Farmers. When Alama offered 200,000 Gold Coins for 10% of the Kingdom''s monthly income. She also offered a set of Human resources. Specifically 30 Farmers of which King Michael has to pay 150 Gold Coins a month(each), under Gaster Kingdom''s expenses. Although throwing 4,500 (half of the income) Gold Coins a month towards 1 project might sound crazy, it might just be the most profitable project yet. These farmers started working in January! Crazy? Yes. But they aren''t planting anything for now. Their main task right now is to turn the Outer Lands of Gaster Kingdom into rich farmable land. Which became a tricky task considering the harsh terrain, rocks, slopes, small hills, holes, etc etc. But they did make a stunning progress. They managed to make an area of 500 meters wide and long land, farmable. And by the end of mars, they promise a land of 3 miles wide and long of farmable land. With that much land farmable, Gaster Kingdom would obtain another stream of income, facing a strong rise in economy.


    -839. Although it might seem bad, with 200,000 Gold Coins stored in the Castle, it won''t really be a problem as long as these 6 month projects are running. Until then, different streams of income are essential if Gaster Kingdom is to progress economically.

 Chapter 150 - As simple as a Snap.

    After the fairly successful Shield Bashing, King Michael approached Eric with a half smile on his face and proceeded to ask rather unique questions. It is fair to say that these sorts of questions weren''t completely expected by anyone watching Eric work. "How do you feel now?"


    Bewildered at such a question, Eric has to ask King Michael to elaborate on it. How exactly is he supposed to feel? "What do you mean?"


    Fairly confident with his words, confidence which was likely based on his own knowledge and capabilities, he of course had the right words to answer without giving much effort to form a proper sentence. "Considering that you hurted "Your enemy" but also defended you and everyone behind you. At this case, Commander Alia. How did it make you feel?"


    At first, not knowing how to put his feelings into words, he gave out a poorly formed sentence. "I... um. Good. I think i felt good. Wait..." before he answered in a more proper way. "It is hard to explain, but it feels as if a little burden was just lifted off of my shoulders."


    Smiling to the fact that his method actually worked, he answered with a little sigh of relief. "That''s the effect Shield Bashing causes towards a Fire Controller with an Inner Demon of rage to beat, or basically anyone."


    Throwing the Shield gently, making it wheel all the way to the rest of the shields while thankfully not causing a mess, Commander Alia complimented King Michael''s statements with. "Yes, bashing that dummy did feel good."


    "I should restrict you from using the training yard." Playfully replied King Michael, with no sense of meaning what he said but also indirectly asking her to stop bashing training dummies. They don''t have enough men to build new ones every week, even though they considerably have enough gold to support sudden training yard expenses.


    "We should make the best out of this before the Platoon arrives. Eric won''t be able to concentrate with a big crowd making noise. No one would be able to concentrate like that." Rather thoughtful of Commander Alia. She was at an indirect aims of respecting Eric''s differences instead of being a loudmouth about it. Example: shaming him in front of everyone about it or calling his differences, weaknesses.


    Throughout knowing him, she noticed that Eric doesn''t really fit in the crowds, gets shy rather easy even for small things, and that he prefers to work alone which often turns into better results compared to working with people, even if that people can be one single person. He is rather different, most kids his age are loudmouths, time wasters, and a waste of Gold Coins. Hearing his story, she came to the conclusion that isolation shaped this sort of fairly adorable personality, he just missed his mother. He needs time to put these sort of shy behaviours behind him in general. Not just in front of people of which he knows for a good long while.


    So considering those unique characteristics, she didn''t state that Eric is too shy to perform in front of a crowd. She didn''t portray his personality as something that would slow him down or slow the gang down from their overall goal. Because let''s be honest, no one likes a negative nancy. She described it as "He can''t focus." Genuinely putting the blame to the unnecessary murmuring and talks that are likely to happen if a large crowd is around, watching a kid who can blow fire out of many body parts, train with a shield. I would ask questions too.


    Mogranius however, could show off his powers all day long without getting discouraged or distracted. But Eric doesn''t have the same aura.


    To everyone''s surprise, King Michael made it clear that he wants to cut the Shield Bashing training short. Not putting too much importance on learning such move furthermore. "No no. Let me finish what i''m trying to teach the kid. I don''t need him to bash dummies all day, I just needed him to understand a concept." Taking Eric''s attention, King Michael firmly stated. "Tell me what you understood from this Shield bashing lesson. Think about it, how did your inner demon react to it? How you have the urge to do it again but not as much as you wanted too before your first try. Put the pieces together." Being sure that this trick worked due to Eric''s little expression earlier, he knew what questions to ask even though those questions seemed quite complex to everyone. To Mogranius for example, he still doesn''t get how an "I need to attack", mindset would help Eric progress against the Inner Demon of Rage.


    Although not the best with books, Eric had one key perk. He could catch up easily. Perhaps, not as fast as Stefan and fairly not as perceptive as him. But he does have strong capabilities when it comes to catching up. Taking mere moments to puzzle pieces of information together.


    As a base, he thought about the Inner Demons. He thought about how a small little burden got suddenly lifted from his shoulder. Which led to a deeper question in his head. Because before when he "fed the rage", this same burden only increased. It didn''t decrease as it did just a moment ago. So what is happening here?


    Following King Michael''s guidelines on putting the pieces together, he thought about the "urge". Although the urge to bash the dummy barely changed. He was able to notice one small little change within him. He had developed a small little resistance. He resisted to bash the dummy even though the resistance was as small as a cup of water spilled in a bucket. And he felt self assured that it wasn''t because of his small arm injury or the possible expenses. His source of resistance was hard to explain but was there. Raising more questions about the Urge. With his rage fed, how did that decrease too?


    Putting the pieces together, Eric theorized that it was all based on the Inner Demons. Well that wasn''t exactly hard to put into theory, but the point of it is that whatever King Michael''s technique was, it got him one step closer towards beating the Inner Demon of rage specifically without making the Inner Demon of Rage along with the Demon of Self Control too worst. Rather complex, but a beautiful complexity you are sure to expect from a Grand Master.


    "I feel a little shift in my rage." Giving it a short thought before he continued with a mild hesitation. "My group likely noticed that i had unnecessary rage outbursts up to this point, ever since i found out that I was the Electus."


    "Kind off."


    "Yes they did become more than common."


    "My point is, bashing that dummy made me let out some steam without making my rage worse. My rage feels smaller. As it someone came and compressed it further. Pushing it down with might!" Although maybe not the best description, it''s all King Michael wanted to hear. He confirmed to himself that the lesson worked well.


    "Which is the point of this exercise Eric. It is a little shortcut towards your fight against your own Inner Demons. You showed that dummy who is in charge, while still keeping your sense of protection." Indirectly complimenting Mogranius'' unique teachings, King Michael continued. "With Mogranius'' training, protection was sure in your mind even though i told you to focus towards attacks."


    Shocked at such pin point accuracy, Eric stated while scratching his temple feeling bewildered. "That''s... actually completely true. Are you a mind reader or something?"


    "No. But i simply knew it would happen." Afterwards respecting Mogranius'' teaching furthermore to the point of praising while still explaining what he tried to teach with this mini lesson. "You can thank Mogranius for setting a firm base for you. A protective approach is indeed worth the time, but one needs to know when it is the best time to attack and when it is the best time to protect!"


    "I... understand what you mean, it did feel tremendously nice to let out anger without having to worry about the safety of whoever is behind me. Knowing that my friends were safe cleared my mind too." Still not completely understanding what this training was about, with a bit of hesitation he found the courage to ask. "But how does this connect to the Fire Shield?"


    Getting to the point, being bodly clear about it. King Michael stated. "Put rage into your Fire Shield. Your aim is to protect, yes. But put more rage into it."


    "Ha?"


    "Is that really the best idea?"


    "Yes." Afterwards grabbing Eric''s right shoulder, King Michael continued in an understanding tone. "Eric, even though you are battling the same Inner Demon, an Ignite''s power is all based on rage. Rage is what fuels us while the Source of Fire is the base provider. Channel your rage towards the shield instead of containing it in you. The rage won''t have anywhere else to go but the shield, which will make it turn up stronger and more stable while at the same time you will tame your Inner Demon because you never failed to protect when you let out your rage in the Fire Shield."


    Still a bit confused, taking more time to catch up which was understandable of course. He at least felt, "I think I get it. I feel like I''m ready to try this spell again."


    In aims to clarify something very important, he raised his forefinger a bit nervous and strongly rushing his first few words. "Before you do, remember this. Never put rage towards any other spell that doesn''t have a defensive purpose. What I discovered, is the only known method to feed rage and at the same time tame it. Putting more rage into other spells, would actually make everything worse. For example if you are literally aiming to fry someone, fry them while trying to contain your rage."


    "I understand." But looking at Mogranius who for some reason was counting his fingers to comprehend this lesson, he stated. "Mogranius might take a while longer to understand you though."


    Not putting to much importance on that, trusting Mogranius'' skill and his very different perception towards everything. King Michael simply said. "It is okay, let him think about it." Before he urged Eric too. "Try the Fire Shield. Now!"


    Mimicking Mogranius, the best way to start off a Fire Shield was to nail the feet to the ground, getting a firm grip. One foot always had to be in front of the other, a bit apart from each other. So he put his right foot forwards and slid his left foot backwards a little bit. In the slippery snow, it isn''t the best idea to seperate the feet to far from each other either.


    Giving out a strong violent clap which is the starter of the Fire Shield, granting the spell a source and expanding with a balance of rage and the sense of protection.


    A small spherical form first appeared on his hands, in a split second it expanded to half his body size. And after another blink it exploded 3 times in size. Surrounding Eric completely and measuring around 10 feet wide. Commander Alia walked a few steps away before Eric casted the Fire Shield. But if she was near, she would have just been part of the circle. Because as long as Eric doesn''t tighten his fists, anything can go in and out of the Shield. Which in a way, makes it easier to protect a group of people.


    "By the Source of Fire. I''ve never seen such a fast Fire Shield cast!" Yelled Mogranius in the deepest shock. Him mentoring Akareas too, makes his shock a lot more interesting. Eric did beat the fourth level of his Inner Demon of rage and advanced towards the third, yes that''s true. But how much rage was this kid caging in to be able to form such a perfect and rapidly expanding Fire Shield?


    "He just needed to channel his rage differently." Stated King Michael. Afterwards snapping his fingers and to everyone''s surprise breaking Eric''s Fire Shield along with that snap, he made his power clear even though he had no intention of harm towards them. As if what he just did wasn''t such a big deal. He continued with a lot more enthusiasm. "Now with that task successfully finished, who wants to help me catch wild chickens?"

 Chapter 151 - Itch for Literature

    "Questions? You must be kidding sir Delrus. These circ.u.mstances are better than we could have ever asked for, better than any other King would be willing to offer. In Fact i feel like King Zar is offering too much, all we asked for is some food and some Guards." Answered Bert without wasting a second. The amount of gratitude he felt towards King Zar, the Guard Commander and his platoon, is far beyond expression. King Zar could of ignored the request and ship Gilbert the Messenger away in two pieces. There literally wouldn''t be anyone who could stop him or punish him for doing so. But instead he came here with an entire Platoon, promising to shape up Bale Town in a year. Who in their right mind would have any disagreements towards this?


    "Well, if Pameres Kingdom wouldn''t help you. No one else would be able too. With most Kingdoms being in the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance. We can''t leave this to fate, we are here to provide and protect." Although Delrus was simply pointing out the obvious, he partially revealed a big reason for their help. They don''t need factions who had the guts to oppose the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, crumble into dust. On the opposite, they need as many Domains against the ill.u.s.tratios as possible.


    "Wonderful words coming out of an ill.u.s.tratio. Who knew that there actually are ill.u.s.tratios that are this kind regardless of race." Thought Eert, but of course he didn''t express it by words. It wouldn''t exactly be kind, it would seem heavily racist even though his intentions aren''t based on any form of racism but instead were based on heavy examples. Even if he did express what he thought, Guard Commander Delrus Aze wouldn''t mind. He is well aware of the truamas, slaughter, ****, and racial cleansing the ill.u.s.tratios brought upon the Ignites. But yet again, no one should have the right to be racist, even as a victim. Racism is racism no matter what its form is. But Eert, simply kept quiet.


    Mert felt like he had the responsibility to ask Guard Commander Delrus Aze to finally proceed with this task, to get it over with as soon as possible. It was clear that all three of the Willson brothers wanted to get help down here as soon a possible, they more than Agreed to the contents on the Contract. Because all three felt like the Contract wasn''t one sided. King Zar didn''t even request anything in return. A smart idea would be to request 10% of the monthly earnings once Bale Town rises in Power a year after, once it becomes stable. But no, King Zar required no such thing. "Please help us sign sir Delrus. None of us can read or write, so show us how to sign."


    Illiterate people are the most common in these times, there really aren''t many schools to go and learn too. And even at the Domains where there are schools, the monthly fees don''t come affordable. So them being illiterate isn''t to be considered a shame. Especially since they live in a remote place, with Pameres Kingdom being 100 Kilometers apart located below them on the South West and Beach Bay Kingdom being 200 Kilometers apart located above them on the North East. These were the two closest Kingdoms, that''s how scarce bigger Domains or Villages at least, have become after the War met an end 100 Years ago. But even if it works to Ignis'' favour or not, a new war has arisen.


    "Oh, don''t worry about that, a lot of people can''t read and write. And to sign this contract it doesn''t require much skill." Turning to a Guard waiting for Commands ever since he handed the Contract to the Guard Commander. Delrus ordered with a gentle low tone while gesturing as if he was writing. "Can you please bring us a few Parchments. So I can teach these three kind Leaders how to sign before they do it on the Contract."


    The Guard of course rushed towards the task right away, he didn''t waste a blink. But since he wasn''t carrying any blank parchments with him, he had to dash towards the Wagons, were Parchments are sure to be found. All they need is a couple of averagely sized Parchments.


    When Delrus returned his gaze towards the Willson Brothers, he noticed that they seemed a little bit confused about the sudden request of Parchments. If anything, he can just use his fingers on mid air to give a short preview of how to write it. Or at least he could draw it on the snow. Why waste valuable parchment on something so unnecessary. It''s fair to say they were confused because these three brothers were raised with a savvy mindset.


    Although neither of the brothers said anything about it, since they didn''t quite understand what was going on. This is the first time they sign a Contract after all plus they didn''t want to appear rude. But to their relief, Delrus cleared it up for them. "Don''t stress anyone, we just need to be sure that you can sign a Contract with one effort. If either of you make a mistake that''s too visible, you can''t undo it."


    "Ohhhhh." Stretched Eert that single sentence rather long. It was pleasing to see these men catching up on things they aren''t really used too. To Delrus it was a mood lifter, a delight. But of course he meant no disrespect to the Willson Brothers.


    Returning roughly after a minute, actually sprinting through the snow. This Guard was either too excited or too physically fit. Either way, everyone preferred to get this contract over with as soon as possible.


    Grabbing the several Parchments this Guard brought, although more than required, it showed well that he wasn''t stingy with them. Actually, these are this Guard''s own Parchments. It is fair to say that he likes to keep a journal with him. Who knows, it could be read by thousands after a few decades, looked upon as a history mark. "Alright so your name is Bert Willson. So to do a simple Signature, you should just write it like this..." Afterwards Delrus simply wrote the letter B and then a W. "See you need to write a B and a W. Here, take this Parchment and quill, practice it a few times and don''t rush it. Take your time."


    "What about me?" Asked Mert, staying on his toes in enthusiasm. His urge for education was very affectious and Delrus was enjoying their enthusiasm quite a lot.


    "Mert, yours will be a bit easier. You need to draw an M, and then draw another M, but draw it upside down. When you write it upside down, you will obtain a W. Which signifies your last name, Willson." Handing him the parchment and quill, to practice upon. After it Gesturing to the Guard nearby to bring more ink. Because even if they will be able to learn these simple letter rather fast, their urge to write seems so large. Their small itch for basic literature was inspiring, they will likely write more even after they learn the Letters.


    "Eert, yours might be the hardest one, but you will just be writing lines, it won''t be too hard." Gesturing for Eert to come closer, grabbing a Parchment and showing him. "Alright, first you need to write an E, which is done like this.... And afterwards right After the E, you will need to write a W. Alright Mister E, get to it now."


    Seeing that they were so interested in writing, Delrus Aze couldn''t help but offering. "If you 3 want to, I can teach all of you how to read and write. I see that all three of you want to learn."


    "Yes please." Answered the three brothers simultaneously. But they were deadly focused on the parchments in front of them. They were standing on their feet, finding the best possible way to make the Parchment stand flat so they can write. Such ich for literature got Guard Commander Delrus Aze to offer to teach them in the first place.


    ''I''m ready." Shouted Bert a little bit. Handing Delrus his Parchment, he asked. "Did i do them right?"


    "Oh my god." Whispered Delrus as his eyes widened in shock. I mean, Bert isn''t exactly a kid to have trouble writing. But damn, his letters were written so perfectly. They seemed so flawless. Kids have to repeat one letter over a hundred times to properly learn it(And yet some still grow with bad handwriting). But when Delrus counted the attempt, guess how many there were? Around 15. They were carefully written, slowly no doubt. But they seemed flawless. "You learned how to write these letters with so little attempt?"


    A bit confused of Delrus'' sudden shock, Bert answered. "Yes of course. These are easy. When will you be able to teach us more? I can do this all day. It''s the best entertainment we get here."


    Proud of Bert''s work, Delrus simply answered. "Oh, with your enthusiasm, as soon as I will be able to get some free time. Any other Villagers are welcome to join. I''d be glad to teach any of you."


    "I''m ready too." Approached Mert holding his Parchment with even stronger enthusiasm.


    "Already?"


    "Yes. Look for yourself." Replied Mert as he handed the Parchment to Delrus Aze, feeling strongly confident of his work


    "Oh my god. These are perfect." His attempts seemed even less. Upon counting, he found out that Mert learned to write these couple of letters perfectly with just 8 attempts. Perhaps it is because W and M are simply inverted. Either way, this Progress is tremendous. With their enthusiasm towards learning, they will be able to escape their "illiterate" title in a month or less, even spread the knowledge to other illiterate Villagers. With a sense for more knowledge, these people will only progress.


    When Delrus detached his attention from Mert''s Parchment, he noticed that Bert has grabbed another blank Parchment and continued to practice these two Letters. He learned how to do them already, so this continued attempt seems to be just for fun. Thankfully, the Guard brought three small metal bottles of ink. Even the Guard noticed that one might not be nearly enough.


    Before Delrus was even able to analyze Mert''s Parchment, Eert was already patiently waiting for his turn. He was finished too. Urging to show Delrus his progress and get praises as well. But yet again, he didn''t want to interrupt Delrus. He didn''t want to appear like an attention hog even though praises do feel very nice when he thought about it.


    Upon Grabbing Eert''s Parchment, Delrus felt dumbfounded. When he counted the attempt and witnessed the results. He slightly yelled. "Only 5 attempts?!"


    "Is that bad?"


    "No no. It''s absolutely amazing, inspiring even." He was inspired to the point where he wished to include their urge for literature to King Zar. Imagine the honour. "You three are definitely ready to sign this contract. I''ll be sure to let King Zar know about your Academic progress. Maybe he will have a plan in mind about this."

 Chapter 152 - Damaged

    Dropping Chan down almost gently once this snow white Ghost made an entrance, the 10 foot tall woman being curious of the interrupting Ghost''s thoughts, couldn''t help but ask. "What do you suggest for us to do, Grand Leader." Grand Leader? This could explain his importance in front of these ghosts. This is a tribe of Ghosts after all, and although their society mostly unseen, they have their own lifestyles for sure.


    "This man, might not show our best interest at heart." Expressed the Grand Leader, as he glared upon Chan with not little but a lot disappointment. He noticed that Chan was far to lost, with Ale in his mind. "It''s not that I like him, it''s not that I respect his mindset." The Grand Leader continued to express, expecting Chan to not react badly to such words or at this point, facts.


    "Wow, so welcoming." Expressed Guard Commander Chan in strong sarcasm. Sarcasm isn''t usually his thing, in fact the Ghost didn''t even hurt his feelings. King Xakro made him immune due to the countless threats and offensive sentences he threw towards Chan. No no, Chan expressed himself that way because he didn''t want to stay quiet while others are offending him.


    But he regretted it almost instantly when he noticed the Grand Leader''s deadly glare, and felt himself being lifted a few inches above the ground, slowly but it was sure adrenaline rushing. Do perhaps different Ghosts have different Powers who might not be based on any of the 8 (or now best described 7) Sources? But saving his soul with an unintentional offension due to the fact that he was close to pissing his pants, Chan actually apologized. "Sorry, Mister WildBoar Grand Leader sir." As he felt smaller second by second. To his luck, the apology worked, his feet were on the ground once more. If Guard Commander Chan is to develop Ghost phobia, it would be because of the Grand Master.


    Seeing that Chan has been tamed, the Grand Leader actually proceeded with a lot of sympathy. I suppose Chan stopped the Grand Leader mid sentence. "However, when I was able to read the deep recesses of his mind, he is just a broken soul. It should dawn to us that he lost his Parents at such a young age, and it got the best out of him." At such expression, the 10 foot tall lady ghost had nothing to say about it. She was left speechless and actually felt sympathy, a bit of guilt too. She was too quick to judge but Chan was being an ass too. These Ghosts all lost families before, in both lives to be exact. The Grand Leader continued to express. "Furthermore although intentions different he aims to harm strong evil. An enemy of our enemy is our friend. That''s why I brought him here, we shall let him chop down the tree if he feels capable to do so."


    "But our..."


    Clearly considering the lost souls before he even made this decision, he too agrees with Chan. They can''t bring back the lost souls but they can save other souls with this approach. "Tell him the word!" Ordered the Leader with a thicker louder tone, which got the ground underneath their feet to shake, and small rocks disrupted, flying off the ground for a couple of feet.


    Even though she can''t understand the Grand Leader''s choices completely, she does have strong trust in him. "Fine. The word is "Azr.a.p.etos". She agreed because the Grand Leader is the wisest Ghost here, she didn''t agree because of the sense of authority.


    As soon as the tall lady finished that sentence, it was like a Command to other Ghosts nearby. The man who convinced her is the Grand Leader yes. But this lady could be the Leader(specifically one rank below). It really isn''t certain. As if by Command, an Axe appeared on Chan''s hand. A heavy one actually. The metal itself weighed around 10 Kilograms and the wooden tail on it was a couple meters long. So to Chan, it would feel more like swinging a battle axe.


    The leader(tall woman) grabbed Chan''s shoulder, and to his surprise the scene changed big time. Well not entirely, he still saw trees and snow, which became usual by now. But Also, he saw a few(tens) of paranormal activities. He was able to see the rest of the Ghosts who refused to appear in front of Chan with a solid form.


    Their seemingly natural form was something you would expect in stereotypical Ghosts. Whitish, half faded, blobby form. There were a lot of those, but there were a few who had more of a Mammal form. For some reason, they seem to mimic an animal form perfectly. Why do they have different results when they try to mimic Human forms? He saw pigs, boars, bears, deer, chickens.


    A lot of creatures, but he got mostly scared of the bears instead of the actual other Ghosts. His trauma towards Bears is strong thanks to the Source Bear he ran into, but somehow he is chatting it up with Ghosts like they were alive, barely being creeped out from them. Is this similar to what Mogranius sees? He did claim that he can see the unliving.


    The Grand Leader approached a few steps closer. His appearance became more bizarre by the step. Well more like, his size. When he was only a few feet away, his height seemed normal. But now that he is only a foot away from Chan, the Grand Leader is standing almost ten feet tall. Almost twice Chan''s size. Some sort of Ghostly illusion maybe?


    As chan moved his way upwards to glance upon the Grand Leader''s pure white face, he proceeded to ask. "So which way is the Ghost Tree?" He is so close to finishing his task, his willpower faced a large spike upwards.


    The Grand Leader sharing the same goal, an aim to get this task over with as quickly as possible, expressed his answer with a dash in his tone. "You''re roughly half a mile away. We can''t risk going anywhere around 300 feet near, in fact we prefer to stay half a mile or above it away from that living breathing evil sensation." Living tree? That''s interesting, what does it do? Walk? It''s full of Ghosts to begin with so we can''t be sure. When Chan was about to ask another question, the Grand Leader prevented him from doing so by continuing with his explanations, in order to save time.


    Pointing at the dense way behind Guard Commander Chan, the Grand Leader stated. "You need to go straight towards this direction, you have the "undead''s vision" for 24 hours only! So keep that in mind. You will be able to see living predators before they even approach, you will be able to predict their appearance simply because of your temporary vision."


    "Well, that''s one problem solved. What about the Ghost tree? Is it like the rest of this trees?" He couldn''t help but interrupting. Wow. But it was an insightful question!


    "With a normal vision, yes quite a lot. Which is why some Human bodies were disintegrated on the spot when they tried to axe down that tree, not being aware of its power, their soul trapped from that day onwards. At least, until the tree feeds on those souls, but you won''t share the same fate. Just keep repeating the word, since we aren''t sure how long the protection it offers, lasts. You should be fine."


    "Thanks, but how will i be able to tell it apart from the rest of the trees?"


    "You don''t pay much attention do you?" Towards that question, Chan smiled with his teeth shining. Embarrassed but proud of his title.


    "The Aura. That tree''s Aura is different. A dark portal like form will be in the middle of the tree, it will make you feel like you are being dragged in that dark sensation. Each time you cut a branch, it will feel like that black figure is sucking you in. But in fact it is just the Evil Tree''s suckage radius becoming smaller. You will be entirely safe with this word by your side!"


    Feeling respect for the Grand Leader, who expressed why Chan is this way, better than Chan could ever explain himself. His sense of ego for convincing all these ghosts to work on his favour faded. His ego and pride got replaced with gratitude. Imagine it, people have been trying to help him change for a decade, but he listened to Ghosts instead? "I sincerely apologize if I offended any of you. I feel sure that I offended some of you. But i just want to get this task over with and the cold got my nerves compressed all in one place. I''m honoured to help your Ghost kind." Proceeding with a strong burden that has been tiring his soul, he told them. "But I won''t apologize to the Ghost who portrayed himself as my father, it damaged my heart so badly."


    Confused about Chan''s experience, the Grand Leader replied while shaking his head in disagreement. "Chan, no Ghost did that. If they did, I would be the second to know, i know what every Ghost does."


    Wildily bewildered of the fact that he didn''t face a Ghost, Chan was lost in his thoughts but still asked. "So that Ghos..."


    "Wasn''t a Ghost. It isn''t our work."

 Chapter 153 - Chickens!

    "Chickens?" Bewildered towards the sudden strong shift in the conversation, it even got Mogranius confused and eniterly broke his concentration. He even stopped counting his fingers due to the sudden mention of Chickens.


    "Are you kidding?" Followed up Commander Alia. She only encountered a few Chickens in the wild in her past adventures. She noticed that Chickens don''t really have a strict diet, they are mostly scavengers. Although she didn''t see them eating meat(I hope), or any animal product in particular, they seem to eat everything else. But thinking that King Michael wanted to hunt the Chickens for meat, she got widely puzzled. These Chickens are around 5 Kilograms when full grown, let''s say some might push it to 10. But with more Wildboars than people in Ignis, who weigh up to 100 Kilograms in average, and their meat sold for 10 Gold Coins per Kilogram! Why would he try to hunt Chickens? It just seemed like a waste of time, it sounded like an unnecessary luxury.


    "How did a Fire Shield escalate to a Chicken?" Asked Mogranius right after Commander Alia. It is fair to say that the couple was very confused. While Eric was simply standing quiet, awaiting for a deeper explanation instead of asking him questions.


    Noticing that he clearly got everyone wildly confused, King Michael had to elaborate on it or else they will never understand what he actually meant unless they meet face to break with what he met(You have no idea how). "It might sound odd, but Chicken farming is a wealthy business. Their average market price is 20 Gold Coins per egg. With Chicken farming being rare in Ignis, I don''t plan to sell the Chikens with the market price of 250 Gold Coins either. Why offer other Kingdoms the opportunity to cut into our Business?"


    Being shocked at these prices, Commander Alia yelled in shock, "What!? Only one egg? How will one egg fill the stomach?" Recalling the outer Lands of Crutal Kingdom, she couldn''t resist pointing out. "With 20 Gold Coins, we can buy 50 Kilograms of Wheat Grain in Crutal Kingdom, not to mention any other Kingdom, the prices might drop even Lower!"


    She didn''t know the prices of anything Chicken based, it didn''t come up in the bargaining when they were on the Outer Lands of Crutal Kingdom, because they were looking for cheaper foods. That''s why these prices sounded insane to her, and even though she isn''t the type with Gold on her mind, she did like the thought of another stream of income bringing a stupid rich amount of Gold with low expenses. Most capable individuals in Gaster Kingdom have been working their behinds off, they deserve more than they are receiving although compared with other fates in Ignis they are doing quite well now and are considered middle class. Compared to a few months ago, they are living better than they ever did. They just have to work more.


    "Wheat Grain, um yes! I''ve looked into that as well. I actually have a project in mind about that too, but right now, we need to catch about ten Chickens!" What other project could he possibly have in mind? Considering that the Outer Lands of Gaster Kingdom are being developed into farmlands due to a lot of effort put in from the 30 Farmers (Who are taking fairly half of the Budget.). Future Projects due to so much landmass being available are inevitable. Yes the Farmers will only be able to convert 3 miles wide and long of land before planting season, but that''s not where they will stop. There is so much convertible landmass available, with enough work it can make all 400 people in Gaster Kingdom wealthy. But those are future projects, available after the Harvest season. What project does he have in mind about Wheat Grains in the very near future(1-4 weeks away.)?


    Commander Alia simply decided to focus on the first topic first. Because one project idea might lead to the other, and then to the other. With King Michael it really is unpredictable. So for now, she wanted to ask about Chickens. "Where do we find the Chickens? They aren''t exactly common, they are an easy hunt in the wild."


    Knowing well that the Merchant Alama invested 200,000 Gold Coins in Gaster Kingdom. Mogranius wanted to sound economically smart by pointing out. "You can just buy 10 for 2,500 Gold Coins. Why waste so much time Catching these Wild Chickens. After we catch them, they will need to be tamed. Which would just take more time." In fact he didn''t care about Gold, he could throw a sack of Gold down a River with no Regret anytime. He never struggled for food given his Fire Controlling abilities and the Forest basically next door. No he simply wanted time to focus on King Michael''s teachings towards the Fire Shield, maybe even give the Fire Shield a new attempt with this different recommended mindset.


    But to Compliment Mogranius'' statement, because it was the time of the Month for her where running wouldn''t be so comfortable. She asked. "Yes, why waste time chasing Chickens?"


    Looking at the group of people with much confidence behind his eyes and of course with his usual economical thoughts at the back of his head, he whispered. "It''s free." Followed by a big wide smile. This brings the thought that Gold might be the one and his only l.u.s.t. To Convince them towards this little hunt, he explained. "There are flocks of wild chickens near the Kingdom, using the forest nearby as shelter and the Kingdom as a feeding ground. Apparently there are these brown Mushrooms that they seem to love. There are loads of them here but some can be poisonous, a lot of them are different even though they look very similar. So the townsfolk decided it best to not eat those Mushrooms."


    Recalling what he saw in his Winter forest explorations in the past, Mogranius raised his forefinger with the Urge to point out. "But the forest is full of Mushrooms, why would they drop near the Kingdom for them?"


    Since King Michael can be entitled as quite an explorer himself, he knew the answer to that and wasn''t nearly stingy with the explanation. He just wanted to Catch Chickens as soon as possible. It isn''t too much to ask. "Simple, because they are way easier to find on plain flat land. In the forest they have to be told apart from Trees, Tree Stumps or small little pieces of chopped down wood if they are going through a Lumberjack''s walk path. Since Winter only provides a limited amount of food resources, using up less energy by scavenging for food in clear lands is a very reasonable solution."


    "Aren''t you the Chicken inspector. How do you know all of this?" Teased Commander Alia, although vast knowledge of any Kind shouldn''t be made fun off. This topic does sound rather funny.


    "This might sound odd too, but I have a considerably big Library containing information about one creature after the other with several books per animal. We Kastarians live for 700 years, I have to do something with my time." Although living for 700 years might sound good, it ain''t the best feeling when you mix up with other races who have Lifespans 90% shorter. Imagine losing your family 10 times over an over. He is already 312 years old, his smile and Vast research might be a mask to a broken heart.


    "Tell me about it." Added Commander Alia. She is a Kastarian 100%, instead of a half breed like King Michael, and knowing where to put the time sure becomes a hassle, but she didn''t suffer losing close friends over an over considering she lived with the Calidum Lutum for 200 years, their lifespan is more than twice as long compared to her.


    Thinking of something that neither of these people seem to ask about, Eric finally stopped being quiet and mostly pointed out a key feature of which King Michael possibly forgot about. "Where do you plan to keep the Chickens?" This is a rather strong question although it''s base very simple. In a way, these Chickens are similar to Chickens who lay Golden eggs, each egg worth 1/8 of an Average salary. It really is a lot. But no matter their worth, Chickens poop. You can''t really keep them right next to the living room, you can''t share a home with them and you can''t blame them for pooping either. They are Chickens.


    Looking at Eric, trying to tease him the way Commander Alia does. He shook his head slowly from left to right, grabbed Eric''s cheeks and said. "I already put some Civilians into work, they are building a Chicken Coop right in front of the wall and a 20 meter long and wide fence around it too."


    Although the teasing worked, it''s effect was smaller compared to what Commander Alia would cause. Eric still had the capability to ask a good question. With Commander Alia, it wouldn''t be so. "But are you sure that you will have customers for your Chicken farm?"


    Very confident with his research, King Michael simply answered. "Oh yes. With One chicken producing 30 eggs in a month, be it 0 today or 3 tomorrow, it will be quite profitable. Imagine what Gaster Kingdom can earn with 10 Chickens!" How exactly does he know how much eggs Chickens lay? Considering the fact that any Citizen in Gaster Kingdom doesn''t have any Chickens, it could mean that he studied wild Chickens instead. He could have even caught one and bring it to Gaster Kingdom, but research appears more important than gold.


    Hyping up King Michael''s idea, "Imagine with a hundred Chickens!" Commander Alia''s leader instincts kicked in. She saw this idea as quite profitable. After all, before Eric made a stunning entrance in the Underground town of Lan Zhe, she kept the place running. She has been running it for over a Century once her skill set was made clear.


    Considering risks and losses as well apparently, King Michael felt the privilege to point out. "Maybe there won''t be many Customers at first, but the good thing is that an egg isn''t a one time Purchase. Be it sold at Pameres Kingdom or all the way to Zameria, it will bring it another stream of income, considerably permanent if we maintain the Chickens right."


    Another risk would of course be considered theft, so Commander Alia pointed out. "But with such a valuable Animal being there for anyone to grab and run, who can you really trust to take care of the Chickens? They could steal all 10 and sell them for 10 Salaries!" Her point very strong, but Mogranius and Eric aren''t the wisest in the field of business, so they just landed an ear to these two Kastarians talking coins.


    Taking Woldemir''s suggestions into consideration, he decided to use this newly forming stream of income as a promotional gimmick. "I thought about that, which is why I''m going to use it as an opportunity to promote Salaries for Guards." Guards really do deserve salaries, they keep the Kingdom safe after all and they are putting in so much work too.


    Liking the idea, but strongly confused. She simply asked. "How?"


    "I''ll set 4 of the best Guards there, securing the Chicken''s well being. Giving them(The 4 Guards) a 300 Gold Coin salary (each), and offering a one year contract." Although unfair to leave the rest of the Platoon unpaid, it isn''t really fair to leave these 4 unpaid either. Especially considering that they have to hassle with constantly switching shifts. King Michael made it a point for each of the 4 Guard to only work 8 hours a day. With 24 hours in a day, 3 would be enough. But with only 3 Guarding the Coop, 2/3 would miss most or the entire daily training schedule. While with a fourth Guard, they would miss training way less often.


    But investing so much Gold in one stream, how wise would it exactly be?Every business has maintenance expenses but this sounds a bit too much. "Will it really be a profit if you give 1,200 Gold Coins to Guards?"


    But to make this stream sound even worse, King Michael stated. "1,400 actually. One non Guard Civilian will have the responsibility to let the Chickens out of the Coop in the morning, feed them twice a day and lock them in the Coop at dusk. The more they eat, the more they produce as far as I''ve researched. So an official employee has to be hired about such matters or it would cause a lot more profit loss."


    Finding the salary a bit small compared to the Guards, she asked. "Who are you going to hire for all of that work? I doubt they would want to work for such a low salary."


    "Oh it isn''t that hard. She doesn''t need to stay near the coop as long as she does the 4 main tasks." That doesn''t sound hard at all, at such task will the employee even work for 2 hours a day?


    "She?" It is rather uncommon for Kings in Ignis to hire women for suck tasks. Most common job option would be considered being a housemaid.


    "Yes. With a lot of men occupied with Fishing, and being in the Platoon, we need every hand we can get. There are only around 400 people down here and 120 are either Elderly or Children. I won''t let gender differences cutting in our profit." Well it appears quite certain that King Michael did research on various topics. But this type of research seems the most normal so far.


    "Pretty smart." Complimented Commander Alia when she noticed the rate of equal opportunities here. It is rather uncommon, but maybe Kastarians have different mindsets.


    With the statistics put behind, King Michael wanted to point out something very important. Something he didn''t yet figure out. "Thank you. Let me point out something, Chickens are very hard to catch. Which is why I''m asking for your help. Without non killing traps, it''s a hassle to catch them. Especially since we don''t have Hunters here." Although King Michael was shifting the fact that he actually tried to catch them earlier and failed, Mogranius while concentrating on him talking, he noticed a speck of mud on King Michael''s face.


    Bold enough to point out, Mogranius didn''t waste a second. "Did you slip on mud on the walkway?"


    As if a strong wave of embarrassment struck his heart, he swiftly aimed to shift that question with all his capabilities. "What do you mean?"


    But even pointing at the mud, Mogranius told him. "There is mud on your left sidebrow."


    Widening his eyes in shock and a bit of embarrassment. King Michael whispered. "Damn, I thought I washed my face perfectly."


    "You actually fell on the mud?" Asked Commander Alia while holding in her laugh, she was still giggling a little bit though, until. "Hahahahahahahahahaha!" She couldn''t hold in her laughter anymore and just bursted. She didn''t regret a second of it.


    "Alright alright calm down." Told King Michael as his face became red in embarrassment, to the point where the mud on his left sidebrow burned off, smoke came out of it. "Now I have a different approach. I will lure them down here with the one thing they are after, food."


    Taking almost a full minute to calm down her laughter, when she caught her breath she briefly asked. "What do they even eat?"


    With the embarrassment behind him, and with comfortable knowledge as his best friend, he swiftly stated. "They are crazy for corn! But that''s too expensive. So I''m going to buy raw Wheat Grain from Pameres Kingdom."


    Commander Alia had a chat with Alama before, and since Alama scrolled the Markets there, she noticed one gap. Wheat. "I doubt that they will be able to provide wheat Grain."


    Not stressing about the food supply too much, without worry King Michael replied. "If not, I''m sure he can strike some good deals with the Zamerians."


    Now the question all of you have been waiting for, a question that can make the difference between earning 6,000 Gold Coins a month or getting a face full of mud like our Dear King Michael. "So how will you lure them with food?"

 Chapter 154 - Letter to the King!

    The Willson brothers spared no second, they all lined up to sign this Contract with much enthusiasm. They are the three leaders of this little revolution, no one in town would oppose them. If it wasn''t for them, they would still be ruled by the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance now. Considering that, why would anyone oppose them? The offers seem great, but the rules are very strict. The rules of course are just security measures. And a trick to imply order in this town. When the ill.u.s.tratios ruled this little farming town, they likely forced order upon these Ignites. But of course it was one sided, working only to the ill.u.s.tratios advantage. Now it will work for both.


    All three of them signed the Contract, neatly as they were taught. Thankfully they were fast learners. Otherwise Delrus would have to wait ages for them, it isn''t really nice to wait in this Blistering cold. Eert was the last to sign. When he did, he gently handed the Parchment to Guard Commander Delrus Aze. This contract is very valuable and Eert likely didn''t want to damage it. He carried it like he would carry a child.


    The deed is done, the Contract is signed. Now all Delrus had to do was send a Message to King Zar, with of course this Contract attached to it as well and the other little letter containing statistics. That letter would be handed to the governors as soon as it reaches King Zar. It''s a valuable piece of information, because with it they know what measures to take. This town sure needs a lot more resources for a start. But Delrus was mostly excited about the itch for literature. These people really want to learn, or at least these three.


    "In the meantime, you can help the Platoon with the tasks they have. The town will be a little bit out of order until the Governors arrive." Told Delrus as he walked towards a Waggon. There at least he will have a small little legless table so he can write more neatly. Plus there are more Parchments and ink there. The Willson Brothers already used all of that ink.


    Entering his Wagon, he reached for a small metallic bottle, containing ink. It was plugged with a small neatly crafted piece of wood since having the bottle open while they are travelling, would be a bad idea. The Wagon could turn into a mess. Imagine if the ink reached the Contract! Thankfully he had several of these bottles stuffed in a bag too. You never know how much you might need here with the closest place to get more, being 100 Kilometers away.


    Quills however were easier to get. Especially at Winter when Chickens reach down for towns or Kingdoms, dropping feathers here and there. But in summer, other birds drop feathers which of course are great to use as quills. Pigeon Feathers are usually preferred by most, since it fits the hand better.


    The Wagon''s inside structure was simple. Since it wasn''t built to carry Cargo but people instead, it only had two bench like sitting areas with comfortable fur on them. One in front, and one on the back. In the middle, it had a small legless table. It stood rather firm through travel since it was nailed to the foundation. For a week, he called this small Wagon his home.


    "Alright now i should write this letter." Taking the statistics he wrote a bit earlier based on what the Willson Brothers told. It will be the base of what he will request for Bale Town.


    "King Zar. I''m proud to tell you that I managed to convince the three Revolution Leaders to sign the Contract, Bale Town shall have Governors for a year now. but as suspected, the town will need a lot of effort in order to become an independent domain. If you look at the letter attached with this message, you will see that Bale Town has roughly 160 people able to work, the rest are either Elderlies or Children. Most of the capable townsfolk are either Lumberjacks, Level 2(Warrior) Swordsmen and Clay Sculptures, half of them are farmers and some who have other skills, do farming to. The housing here is also a problem. When I got an overall look at the houses here, I noticed that most of them are damaged, crumbling. I doubt that any of them have a stone foundation. Considering that, we won''t need any StoneMasons for now here since they are used to it, I know how much Pameres Kingdom needs them considering that the second wall didn''t even start construction yet. We need at least 10 Construction workers up here, it''s a reasonable amount to borrow considering that 250 people here are battling the blistering February cold. Furthermore, with a lot of people here being farmers, we can teach them to be Construction Workers as well, but we need better construction tools as a start. And with so many lumberjacks capable to bring wood here, we need tools to turn that wood into planks. It would be a huge advantage. Please take it into consideration that the food is scarce to. The ill.u.s.tratian Alliance barely left them with anything to eat after the Harvest season. Because they send most of the crops at some other Domain. Considering that there technically are 350 people up here now, we need more food until we set a stable supply. Since Pameres Kingdom doesn''t have many hunters itself, we just need more proper hunting tools. I''m certain that they hunt from scratch here. There are no Blacksmiths here either, I have a thought that if we train Blacksmiths here, we will be able to take on bigger orders in the future if we provide these people with the Iron to work on. Last but not least, the Three leaders have an itch for education. I helped them sign the Contract, and they learned the letters almost instantly. I have plans to teach them more, but you might have better plans for them now that you know this Information. The town has 25 Clay Sculptors too, it can prove rather useful for your ale project, and bring some profit up here too. That''s all to tell from these parts for now, I hope you will take the requests into consideration and I hope to see the Governing party down here soon. I didn''t hear about a Governing party before, so I''m eager to know who you''ve picked for the responsibility. Delrus Aze."


    After he finished the letter, he went outside of the Wagon and called for a Messenger. There are many Guards with Horses in this Platoon. It''s easy to deliver the message under 3 days even though the distance is 100km away. A Horse can travel around 30 kilometers a day, some more. But the message can be delivered in 3 days. It is certain unless misfortune falls upon the messenger.


    Now all they had to do was put some work here and there until the second wave of help arrives. What else would the Platoon do with their time considering their shorter training schedule?

 Chapter 155 - Nope!

    Guard Commander Chan still remained puzzled about the scene he encountered before, the one with his father, of which fate forced him into. It wasn''t pleasant, it hurt his heart, it hurt his spirit even though he had actually had the strength to put that situation behind him. Because now, that wasn''t his main goal, not his main motive. This task has to be completed and he didn''t want to let past traumas stop him.


    Of course he could think about it all day if he wanted too, but it wouldn''t fix anything in particular. It would just result in wasted time, possible brain damage(Ironic for him i know!) and further frozen toes(Which could lead to amputation if the situation got to intense).


    Counting the negative sides was easy for him, now due to it he is able to focus on his main motive.(Which now due to the special Word of which that Ghost Leader provided him with, made this task a whole lot safer). All he wants to do is get that Ghost Branch and rush the hell out of here.


    There is a saying, "Don''t let the cold enter through your feet, or else you won''t be able to get it out." The cold in this case, is bashing all around him, not just his feet! Wasting time here is a deathwish or toe loss at least. He doesn''t want Hypothermia, he doesn''t want to experience amputation and he definitely doesn''t want to spend another night on these god forsaken woods. But he lost his bag, which also contained his tent. So what will his fate be even if he gets that Ghost Branch?


    First he uttered a last goodbye to the Ghost Kind who helped him towards his own task more than anyone else would (Or would be genuinely willing too.), they even equipped him with a strong heavy axe, they sure proved useful and dangerous at the same time. He then made his way towards the ghost tree. There is no time to waste, especially with time and weather not standing by his side at all!


    Now, even though the Grand Leader assured safety with that special word (Azr.a.p.etos), Chan still was sure of the possible Danger in front of him. I mean, if there wasn''t any danger then why did the Leader provide Chan with such a helpful vision? His fate can''t really be certain now, that''s why he kept repeating "Azr.a.p.etos" frantically. If a Ghost with good intentions can be tremendously dangerous, what could a corrupted evil Ghost do? And for some reason he thought that this word keeps wild animals away too, I guess he wasn''t thinking straight(Not rare.) at this part.


    Through the dense forest, he saw various shapes and sizes of Ghosts, each one seemed different to the point of uncertainty. There were likely many species or subspecies of Ghosts on his sight, he had a lot of trouble recognizing the Ghost species but he didn''t bother to know too much about them, it''s not like he would write a book about them or plan to spread Wisdom to the wiser. He just wants to survive and get this task over with.


    However he did notice that the Ghosts from the Dense Forest Kin, tried to mimic a large set of animal forms for fun, or training? He wasn''t exactly sure about their purpose with this shapeshifting. It is fair to say that most were doing a good job, while some were almost there. But they all seem to have trouble mimicking human forms! If one Ghost can perfectly mimic any animals, why would a Human be more complex to mimic 100%, or at this point, impossible! These spirits used to be Human after all! So why is it impossible to shapeshift into a Human? Are they cursed with an eternal afterlife, stuck on this god forsaken planet without ever having the Chance to be their former selves?


    Half of these types of attempts led to Human forms with left Goat legs! Freaky! I know. But having a Chicken leg seems even more disturbing. I wish to not become too graphic with this explanation, since it already is freaking me out as an Author. I spooked myself out, story of my life.


    If you had the chance to ask Chan, he would straight up tell you that he would rather take the chance to chop down each tree and hope for the best, instead of having this temporary paranormal vision and witness beings far from the ordinary, Chicken feet on Humans don''t mix well. This says a lot because as you''ve read this far, he can talk it up with Ghosts, not even carrying much fear towards them.


    Putting that part aside. If it wasn''t for the fact that these former Humans didn''t have different auras, Chan would never be able to tell them apart from actual animals. These specific Tribe of ghosts seem to have a grey smoke like aura. Now Imagine a possessed Wild Boar chasing you while you have this paranormal vision active! The smoke following the Wild Boar wouldn''t make the situation lighter or less terrifying.


    While small to medium big animals were easier to mimic, these Ghosts seem to fail to mimic larger animals. Such as a Titanoboa. It is acceptable. I mean Titanoboas grow around 15 meters long, maybe more! That''s a lot to mimic, a lot to recreate. Some were able to make half of a Titanoboa, while some just ended up making smaller snakes instead who didn''t quite specify as a Titanoboa but didn''t fail to appear intimidating (Half of a Titanoboa included.).


    It isn''t certain where these Ghosts found a Titanoboa to mimic, but it seems very recent. Chan just hoped to not run into one of those, it would be worse than running into another Source Bear. He put that thought behind rather quickly and just tried to focus on finding the Ghost Tree, or he would lose his sense of direction.


    As mentioned before, even though these Ghosts could shapeshift into different shapes and sizes, their original form is a white faded bloob like figure who floats above the ground, rather stereotypical. The Ghost kind are originally shaped like that(Or at least this Tribe.).


    But what about the unliving who are simply souls of dead animals? Well. They appeared different. Each animal species seem to have a single or a mix of colours instead of a grey one as their aura. In this way, true animal spirits were defined by this tribe of ghosts or any other tribe in particular. They were more colorful.


    Due to his granted temporary paranormal vision, he was also able to predict which living breathing animals would approach towards his direction, maybe Humans too, a lot earlier before it actually happens. But even Hunters don''t go to this part of the woods at any season, unless they aren''t informed of the terrible unusual dangers. So Humans can be crossed off the list. It isn''t unusual to run into Bandits in the forest either, but not this one. No one spreads rumours better than Bandits (Especially those who are Criminals in one faction and unknown on another one.), so they know of the Dangers here(Most at least.).


    Being able to predict upcoming creatures could be a life saver at this point. Because at this cold brutal season, who would come out of hiding for food? Animals of course! And not those who prefer plants. No no, Herbivores are fairly rare to see now. Unless you consider Hungry Squirrels as a threat(If you do, i ain''t judging.).


    Predators! Big strong Carnivores would walk upon this cold ice and snow. Animals of which couldn''t simply feed themselves enough throughout the warm season to pass this Winter. And since the food resources here aren''t at all scarce throughout those warm months, it can only mean that bigger animals would be roaming. Those unusual to see types, who break the average size, who need more, who devour more, who are a lot more Dangerous!


    Thanks to this paranormal vision, Chan was able to predict a large animal making an appearance. That large animal? What he feared the most! A Source Bear! A freaking Source Bear! Why does he run into these rare species?


    He was able to see a preview of a huge Source Bear breaking likely over a ton in weight, bashing through the trees and standing 8 feet tall in front of him before letting out a soul trembling Roar!


    Knowing this valuable piece of information, Chan played it safe and made sure that he won''t met this Source Bear Tonight. He took a sharp right turn and dashed through the Dense forest, while still attempting to have a sense of direction. Trying his best to Stand close to the way he was directed towards. Rather hard to do with his heart pounding as if he already faced the Source Bear.


    Although the preview of the possible encounter didn''t portray the Bear in great detail, showing a bit of fur here, the claws there and the jaws being the most detailed. Chan was able to figure out that its a Source Bear simply by its size and its shorter face (Which is considered the key feature by most who were able to see a Source Bear (And Live).). He was able to tell the species even though it was hard to do so because of the faded preview.


    One thing that assured him that he didn''t lose sense of direction, is when he noticed how there were less Ghosts to see now. It can be a sign that he is closer to the Ghost Tree, or it could be a sign that he is far away! First he got confused and started getting frustrated. Carrying the heavy Iron Axe didn''t help him relieve his stress, but one thing of which aided him assure his direction helped.


    What was it? Well... He saw a Ghost being dragged through the air, crying for help and not being able to resist the pull, impossible to do so. Chan has reached the Ghost Tree''s suckage Radius.

 Chapter 156 - Half of a Success!

    Giving out a little smirk when he got asked the question he wanted to hear ever since the beginning, King Michael decided to finally break the anticipation and clear things out(However he chose to not be so specific.). He mostly felt happy that they are so close to quit the Chatter and finally catch these Chickens, he wanted to cut the explanation short of course(Now he was even more motivated for it.). "Fishing nets of course! These Chickens want mushrooms, let''s give them mushrooms." That smirk arose wider after he came to the end of the sentence. It appeared quite a bit devious. But however the world can''t end because of a Fire Mage and a few Chickens, so there isn''t much to worry about. There isn''t Much! To worry about.


    Although King Michael seemed confident enough about his own plans, some of the group members came to think otherwise. "I''m not quite sure about how much I can follow your idea." Pointed out Mogranius of course! He tried to approach Wild Chickens before and well... It didn''t result in a happy ending. "Chickens don''t like being cornered." Is Perhaps Mogranius'' past fate with Chickens, different?


    But bold enough, King Michael answered. "I know..." Just how much bad experiences could he have with Chickens? "That''s why we will use Fishing nets. Even if they claw the nets beyond repair(Which is very unlikely.), its replaceable."


    "Oh so now you don''t mind wasting gold." Teased Commander Alia when he recalled King Michael going on and on about being careful enough to not destroy the training dummies. "You really are a confusing man."


    "Confusing...? Yes... I have been known to portray such a feeling. But actually, my point is that I almost lost an eye when I cornered a Chicken. My only option when I wanted to escape her claws, was of course the mud." So the reason why he is willing to throw a little gold to this project, is because he wants the people here safe? Isn''t it marvelous how his greed doesn''t get to the point of heartlessness? Yeah you can do that too!


    Realizing that rather thoughtful act coming from King Michael, Commander Alia felt a bit bad about teasing him. But she didn''t mean to be offensive to begin with. She just wanted to lift everyone''s mood. Rather sweet. Because right now she has all the stress she needs to wrestle a Whale Bear(And win.). "So you don''t want us to get hurt? That''s very thoughtful..." She didn''t know what to say to make up for what she blabbed about, but she was swift enough to tell him what he wanted to hear. "Let''s catch those Chickens! I''m eager to try your idea." That''s the least she could say. Everyone loves talking about something they are proud of. Even if that talk is about a plan of Catching Wild Chickens. Passion speaks.


    "Finally!" His entire face smiled along with that one word and then he just proceeded to walk forwards, making the rest of group follow in silence. There aren''t any more logical questions to ask. King Michael will just need to show them his plans. It''s hard to explain a plan by word(And be understandable.) without having the items of the plan to take as examples. Unfortunately he didn''t have a fishing net with him so he has to take them on the desired plan area.


    However surprisingly, King Michael didn''t walk through the Kingdom''s Gates to proceed with the plan. Instead, he walked his way near the Walls, climbed up the stairs attached to them and urged everyone to remain quiet while they were on their way up. By urge, I mean he simply turned around and placed his forefinger in front of his nose. Which of course signifies to be quiet. If he let out a loud "shush", he would scare away the Chickens. Believe me, animals can hear such a compressed sentence so easily. Try it on an animal if you wish to prove my words right.


    They obviously found themselves on the wall, I mean that''s the point of walking near a Wall(Unless you want to push it with your head. Hey, if you do that, I don''t judge. We all have our preferences). They witnessed King Michael pointing down at the scene just a few feet beneath them.


    They saw a few Chickens, four exactly. They either seem to have teamed up to form a flock, or simply not mind being close to each other due to the provided rich food resource, a.k.a the Brown Mushrooms. There were tens of mushrooms spread around in patches here and more there, a lot of them seem to be near the wall too. Some are growing near or have a root under rocks. Rather odd, but I guess even Mushrooms can evolve in order to grow with better potential. My point is, there were a lot of them. It''s sad how its dangerous to consume them. This can be a good food source. It wouldn''t fill the stomach all winter long for 400 People, but common. They right in front of the Kingdom. It would take barely any effort to collect them compared to a fish who can drag you in the Ocean, simply because a Fisherman or a Fisherwoman (Respectfully.) never let''s go of the rope. If only these Mushrooms weren''t so hard to be told apart from the poisonous ones...


    Seeing the fishnets neatly placed over the side support of the wall''s walkway, everyone could put two and two together, figuring out King Michael''s plan. Throwing a net from above is almost inevitable capture. But to everyone''s surprise, King Michael whispered. "Don''t touch the nets yet."


    First deciding not to question his plan simply because of the little embarrassment earlier, she kept quiet. But that doesn''t mean Mogranius followed the same thought. "But the Chickens are right there!" He whispered in raw impatience. This isn''t an opportunity worth wasting.


    "I know they are." Replied King Michael boldly but no doubt causing confusion. It became even more confusing when a Guard approached carefully carrying a net filled with these brown Mushrooms. Specifically, the ones these Chickens are after.


    "What do you plan to do w..." You might wonder who asked that question? Well... everyone.


    "Shhhhhh." Let out King Michael a light shush, he sure felt comfortable with his plan, considering he kissed the mud earlier, this rate of confidence looks suspicious.


    Then the King gently grabbed the net, carried it over the wall''s support bricks (Best described as that little wall over the big wall. I don''t know it''s official name, sue me.). He grabbed the rope with his left hand and gently dropped down the net filled with mushrooms.


    He had to get a good grip, lowering the mushrooms down slow enough to not force the Chickens into panic can be tricky. Not because these Mushrooms are heavy. I mean there are a couple hundred of them, carefully picked by the Guards. It''s not easy to keep them in a net if most are broken. It didn''t take long to gather these mushrooms though considering how much they are blooming near the walls, they barely weigh two Kilograms all together so they aren''t really heavy. The only thing that can be considered heavy, is the ten pound fishing net carrying the Mushrooms. It would just be a mess if he drops the mushrooms from this height. No one would want to clean that. Plus to make it worse, the Chickens would run away, only making this task a lot longer.


    "What is he trying to..." Couldn''t help Eric to ask in a whisper. King Michael''s actions got no doubt everyone confused.


    "Shhhhh!" Shushed Commander Alia. It''s a fact that she was confused, but she was curious more than she was confused. She wanted to see what this results too and not question anything. King Michael doesn''t seem like he wants to stop and explain right now.


    Slowly and carefully, the filled fishnet reached the ground. And the mushrooms popped out gently. As in, they didn''t explode all around. However, it will be easier for the Chickens to grab the mushrooms now while still taking a bit of time to drag more mushrooms out of the net. At this point, the mushrooms will be a distraction for them(The Chickens.).


    After setting down the Mushrooms, he silently gestured for the rest to grab the nets and get closer. The group didn''t have time to think what King Michael is trying to do, they just did what he gestured him too, in hopes to not lose this chance. They soon will catch these valuable Chickens. This can be a huge contribute to the Kingdom! They can be written down in history as legendary. Imagine! The legendary Chicken Hunters.


    It took awhile for the Chickens to notice the fishnet full of mushrooms, but once one of them noticed, the rest followed in a blink. Specifically, the other three Chickens.


    "Just throw the net and pull the rope right after it hits the ground. Don''t take time to check if you caught anything. Just pull!" Tried King Michael to explain as much as he could with a Whisper to these people rather impatient people.


    Commander Alia was first in line, she wanted to throw it right away. There is no time to waste. But she waited for Mogranius to reach on King Michael''s right side. Because if she fails, they have another attempt to their favour.


    Commander Alia did the honors of starting this little group hunt since King Michael doesn''t seem to say anything else. Which of course signifies that he is waiting for her to start. Its best to hunt with friends after all.


    As if she was made for this, she Caught two chickens in her first try. She never held a Fishing Net before! With King Michael''s Guidance, she at least had guidelines to follow resulting into her success. But here is the problem! There are 4 Chickens. So she failed to catch the other two! But yet again, it''s way better than pulling up an empty net.


    Let''s not forget Mogranius who was standing by King Michael''s right side. He dropped the Fishing Net he was carrying, and instantly caught another Chicken who panicked once she saw the first net and ran a few feet away from the net full of Mushrooms.


    But one, one didn''t stand her ground. Odd considering that they are territorial. She made a run for it, making it almost impossible to catch her, running around with a 10 pound fishing net isn''t easy. Chickens aren''t slow either.


    Not panicking but rather in joy instead, Commander Alia shouted. "Eric! Quick. Catch that last Chicken!" Her tone was rather strongly enthusiastic. She was having a lot of fun, rather adorable to watch.


    Eric had the last available fishing net, so of course they would turn to him. Or at least they would if he was standing behind them. But he wasn''t, he became pretty much airborne, chasing a Chicken.


    And he was quite successful too! However, he did freak out the Chicken. It isn''t quite usual to see a flying kid these days, so she was panicking hard in the net. Eric arose in front of the squad carrying the net with not one but two Chickenss. He apparently found another one. This can be interesting since this Chicken appears to be from another flock. They would be fighting now, but I guess Fire begs to reason. They are just panicking instead.


    So Commander Alia grabbed Eric''s net, pulled out a Chicken and started petting her. Ridiculously, the Chicken calmed down rather quickly, which caused for the other Chicken to calm down a bit and for the rest to follow. Odd, but it worked.


    Curious enough, King Michael asked. "Are you a chicken Tammer?"


    "No." She replied as she continued to pet another Chicken. "They are just scared, they mean no harm." At such a sight, One thought came into King Michael''s mind. "Spiritual connection." But before he was about to say something about that, he was interrupted by Mogranius who dared to bring out a moment you have been waiting since Book Two. "We only got 5. Do we need to fill another net with Mushrooms now?"


    "No, I think I have another idea. We need help from another friend."

 Chapter 157 - Battling the Cold

    A bit over three days have passed, King Zar ill.u.s.tratio has received the letter he has been waiting for in anticipation these past few days. You would think why he would be so happy about spending so much Gold and possibly risking to pay a large fine if things don''t go out as planned? It is indeed true that Pameres Kingdom is making many expenses to help these people, the main goal is of course to help these people. Let''s call it the good deed of the year, he will be helping 250 Ignites who dared to oppose an entire Alliance, an entire Continent. But what about the secondary goal?


    By helping these people now, he is also planting seeds for the future. Possibly not for the entire future of Pameres Kingdom though, this move wouldn''t be able to unleash such an impact towards the Kingdom in particular. What he is planting, is seeds for a pure side profit in the future. Take it into consideration! In a Country where there aren''t enough people to pull up their sleeves and put in work in various jobs, setting a stable base of skillful people who will stand in unity with Pameres Kingdom will inevitably lead to more profit even if those people are 100 kilometers away. When you take it into consideration, 100 Kilometers isn''t too far if the journey isn''t taken every week and the profit for the travel is worth the time.


    If not more, Zar can strike deals with the Zamerians and offer Bale town the main(Bigger) profit share. No matter what Local(Ignis) domain is providing the product, be it Pameres Kingdom, Gaster Kingdom or Bale Town. The neighboring Continent(Zameria) will be of big help when it comes to finding well paying customers. Zar can use his reputation as a King, to help Bale Town sell more. Because it''s quite hard to sell out of the Continent without some kind of superior social status. Being a King, works.


    Bale Town won''t have any other domains to work with after all, since it cut Relations(Or at this case, escaped Slavery.) from the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance. It can be considered an advantage for both of the Kingdoms even if Pameres Kingdom ends up with 20% of the profit or less, Gaster Kingdom with 10% of it(For the use of the port.) and Bale Town with 70%. For the Kingdoms getting the small profit it will be a profit without expense, and for bale town it would be a big profit but with of course more work and expenses.


    The Contract arrived, attached with a statistic parchment. This parchment was requested by King Zar. This way, they of course will know what Craftsmen or Craftswomen to bring on the first day. There isn''t time worth losing. A year sounds a lot, but for such purposes it is very little.


    Another Parchment attached to the Contract is of course the message of Which Guard Commander Delrus Aze felt the urge to send towards King Zar. Because one short statistic parchment isn''t able to explain what the Guard Commander saw with his own eyes. This message will be of great help too. Delrus Aze explained each topic of the written statistics in great detail and even explained some excessively optional information as well. This will help Pameres Kingdom to approach with a more professional manner. Although this whole detailed message was technically not requested, it was a great move. When King Zar read through that message, he felt even more comfortable about the position he gave the Guard Commander.


    The Messenger however seems exhausted. Its not easy to travel over 8 hours a day through this blistering snow. And although natural disasters such as Blizzards aren''t exactly common on this edge of the Continent, low temperatures can be deadly. If not taken with caution, Hypothermia, Toe loss and even death is possible. King Zar requested to pay such bravery and risk with a small Gold Coin bonus and a warm bed in the Castle for the night. Now that this messenger has more experience in this specific travel, he will be leading the team of Governors and cargo towards Bale Town tomorrow.


    You might ask why King Zar is giving bonuses this easily? Well it''s a bit simple when you take it into consideration, he wants to inspire more people to work. It''s a bit difficult to get people to work here in Pameres Kingdom even with good salary offers. A good portion of the unemployed are homeless but still have too much pride to work with certain crafts, some apparently don''t see the salary good enough.


    The town is overpopulated and there aren''t enough job opportunities, these people need to take that fact into consideration. If they agreed to work, they would help raise salaries. He wants to make these people understand that hard work can pull most out of a craphole. And that work will eventually grant a bonus since any craft has value, it''s worthy to be proud of and can grant a lot of independence the more experienced one individual has. The Craftsmen who have over 5 or 10 years of experience make a good living here.


    But another man(The messenger.) sleeping in the Castle? Is that a good idea? Considering that King Zar ordered for elderlies and women with Children to sleep in the Castle, you would portray this as a problem. Specifically because there are a lot of women in the Castle now. Women with Children. It isn''t comfortable to mix a young man in a room with anyone in particular, the same concept goes for a young woman with anyone in particular, if the two groups of people don''t know each other well enough that is, this isn''t boot camp. Well don''t worry!


    The Stonemasons and Construction workers did great progress. The year 201 of the Third era started in Pameres Kingdom with 320 houses, 20 of which were newly built. Well now it is the second month of the new year, February to be exact. Pameres Kingdom holds 360 houses now which caused a huge gap in the homeless rate.


    The progress seems small, slow even. But remember, before the revolution in the year 200, there were only around 300 houses in total. 60 houses can fit around 300 people, of course there won''t be less than one family in one house, but it is a fair temporary fix towards the homeless situation. That''s still 300 homeless people saved from the punishing cold, but at this point it''s way more than 300. Since King Zar has ordered for more people to squeeze in those houses. It can be a bit awkward to fit more than one family in a house, but it''s either share or face the midnight cold.


    A quarter of the people who used to temporarily live in the castle, now live in their own comfy houses. Which of course opened up more space for more homeless people, at this point it is less of a problem for the messenger to sleep in the Castle because now there are more homeless young a.d.u.l.ts in the Castle, because they weren''t prioritized before compared to the elderly, Orphans, or women with children.


    There are 35 experienced Construction workers who proved heavily productive and useful, there also are 45 other Construction workers who can be considered a bit experienced now, and 35 Stonemasons, 5 of which have a longer experience with their Craft, well known as the supervisors of the less experienced 35. This ensured 60 new and much better houses compared to the older ones in a considerably short period of time.


    The older 300 houses can''t be destroyed and rebuilt into a better shape at the moment, but they sure can be temporarily improved for the civilians, free of course. This work is put in by the Construction workers who don''t have their hands busy. A lot of them have free time since there are only 35 Stonemasons under the Castle''s employment. The house foundation building rate doesn''t meet with how fast 80 Construction Workers can build a house or houses. Laying stone foundations requires time and caution.


    The lack of Stonemasons sure proved to be a problem. Especially since the year started with only 20 of them hired. Here is the issue, if the Stone foundation isn''t layed, the Construction Workers can''t start building a house, so it became a big issue. Not being able to build the houses fast enough, resulted to losing 14 homeless people. They died due to the blistering night cold.  So King Zar urged his personal assistant "Seer" to file a doc.u.ment, urgently requesting 30 experienceless Stonemasons. A rather strong risk considering they will be setting foundations for houses people will live under, but with people freezing to death, what Choice did he have?


    But god damn it, these people do not want to work. They think the salary is too low for such mind scrambling work. They don''t take it into consideration that when they acquire this job, they will be given priority to obtain a house if they are homeless. They would be able to obtain a middle class status because of this job. Due to this nonsense, Seer was only able to recruit 20 Experienceless Stonemasons. Even after he spend a stupid amount of gold to spread the word about the offered position. The gossipers however, sure became rich.


    Now, by the start of March the 100 house project which started outside the protection of the walls, will be finished and there won''t be a single homeless person on the streets. Rather late considering that Winter ends by that time. But hey, these people will at least be safe from cold next winter. If King Zar didn''t take action and just decided to live with 300 houses, the death rate for these homeless people would be way above 14.


    King Zar plans to build around 100 more houses after this little project. This different patch of houses will be for sale, but not right away. Because after those houses are built, Zar also plans to rebuild the older 300 houses from scratch. And although he won''t destroy all 300 at the same time, he will still need houses for the Citizens to stay while their houses are being rebuilt. This my good reader, is called a good plan getting together. While the Construction Workers will be occupied with those old houses, the Stonemasons will be building the second wall. Employees here will always be busy, there is no gold without sweat. But to built a second wider and bigger wall? It requires a lot more than 35 Stonemasons. Perhaps King Zar will be able to hire more of them in time.


    There is one more problem that has been bothering King Zar. Guards don''t get paid. They work a full schedule too, so it would be unfair to not pay them. Solution? Well, he opened two new businesses. One very profitable locally, the other with half of the impact but still profitable if the products delivered to Zameria. Tailoring and furniture Construction are the two new businesses.


    See Tailoring can prove profitable since there are 2,500 people here, each house has at least one person working for a salary. People will eventually need new clothes. And since 300 Guards will receive a salary soon, what are the odds of a bit of the salary going back to the castle due to cloth purchase? The Salary will be a hundred Gold Coins, but they will still receive free food, but now half of the amount. It''s the most fair. Zar could of taken away their free food entirely now that they will receive a salary, but these Guards contributed a lot to the Kingdom. To squeeze in even more profit out of this idea, he also included shoemaking in the tailoring business. Since shoes aren''t a thing that 2,500 people will buy every month, it''s best to not seperate it as another business for now.


    While with furniture construction, there aren''t enough customers locally, since people don''t buy furniture over and over each month. The houses aren''t too big after all. But if taken to Zameria sold with the local(Ignis) prices, it''s a good business for both Domains. Especially for the Zamerians who likely resell it for half or double the price. With a Continent holding 3 million people, the economy there is sure to be different.


    He opened these couple of businesses quite close to each other. Near the main gate, destroying four very old houses and sending the families up the castle to rest there as the new houses are being constructed in the outer lands.


    There even are assigned Guards to these businesses, keeping the place safe 24/7. This is where King Zar found the opportunity to encourage salaries for Guards. These specific Guards assigned to these businesses, also signed a year long Contract. Gold Theft, corruption, material Theft or basically any illegal move towards these businesses will lead to a year in the dungeon and the best job the violator can get afterwards, is working as a shop assistant or practically anything that pays little, for a couple of years. It''s all in the contract and local business owners are forced to cooperate to such government rules.


    Now that we are all caught up, it''s time to reveal the Governing party. Now this is a rather sensitive subject where there is a lot of gold thrown at, and could quite possibly make the difference between helping a little village progress, or starving everyone there.


    To find good governors, is of course a duty trusted upon King Zar''s personal assistant. Seer. King Zar trusts Seer''s skill a lot even though considering the huge miscalculation he had with the Gr.a.p.e Ale Project. That was just a mistake, and now Seer is taught(ordered) to calculate everything three times.


    Picking Governors now can be a tricky task. Because he would need to find people of different skills instead of bashing the responsibilities all in one person. While nothing big is done without Guard Commander Delrus Aze''s acknowledgement and of course further acknowledgment here in the Kingdom, the governing party still needs skilled academics.


    For example, one has to deal with the budget, one has to deal with the employees, another has to deal with the employee salaries once an income is established and of course there are business managers in need, managers that the Business Governor has to find.


    So which people would even qualify for such important jobs?

 Chapter 158 - Great Fortune

    Chan of course can''t do anything to help that Ghost, it is considered rather clumsy to enter the Deadly Tree''s suckage Radius even with all the acknowledged warnings spread by any Ghost in the surrounding area. If it was a Human having such a fate, Chan would have second thoughts about helping that Human instead of leaving him or her to parish. But how could he help a Ghost? He can''t grab the Ghost''s hand and he certainly doesn''t wish to be possessed by the Ghost in order to save it. Because who could Guarantee that he wouldn''t be dragged along with the Ghost? And who can Guarantee that the Ghost would leave his body after being escorted to safety?


    He had no Compass to figure out which direction this Ghost was being dragged to, but when glanced upon from where Chan was standing, the Ghost was being dragged towards the Ghost tree with a sharp left. That pointed out how Chan was so close to losing direction. If he continued with this rate, dawn would break and he would be nowhere close to finding the tree, even walking far away from it enough to meet a town.


    Having no idea how to properly use his paranormal vision, since these are his first couple of hours with it, he still took a glance around to see if the Source Bear is close enough to attack him. He didn''t have to use his paranormal vision for such minor task though. However, he also wanted to assure himself if any Source bear would make an appearance here in the near hour or a bit longer than that.


    He didn''t quite see any animal in particular, but he did notice a small black dot being rather far away. His Paranormal vision wasn''t able to predict if that black dot would be anywhere near where he is or if it actually is an animal, what animal would be shaped as a Black dot? The fact that Chan can''t predict if it will be near him or not, makes it a lot more confusing. Especially since he can only predict upcoming animals. Raising a theory that the approacher isn''t an animal.


    I know what you might be thinking right now while you''re reading this. Wouldn''t he focusing on that strange black dot lead to losing this Ghost? He is already far away from that Tree. Well, the Ghost wasn''t being dragged fast. Chan would be able to stand close to it by just walking normally. Perhaps this Ghost entered the Ghost Tree''s suckage radius not to long ago, or this would be the average speed no matter how close the Ghost would get to the tree. The only way he would figure that puzzle out, is by continuing to follow the Ghost.


    This task however, did not fail to become mentally disturbing. The victim seemed to have noticed that Chan has the Paranormal Vision. How? Well the clue is in his eyes. Even though Chan hasn''t had the chance of noticing it yet, his eyes were glowing in grey. No pupil or lense was visible, just grey. Symbolizing that he has been blessed with Paranormal vision.


    Even if there wasn''t an official mark about this vision, the Ghost would be able to notice due to the fact that Chan is following the Ghost, with little distance apart from it. Plus, he keeps looking at the Ghost. It isn''t hard to put two and two together considering Chan''s acts.


    Now the Ghost was further screaming for help, in an ear bleeding rate even. The Ghost''s terrified tone though, sure portrayed an evil vibe. The tone itself made Chan feel like he was being dragged into a void. That tone even remembered him of King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll''s short breathed way of speaking. The difference? This Ghost''s tone was complimented by a higher pitch. It became rather interesting when instead of continuing to ask for help, the Ghost changed its way of approach. "Help me! Let me possess you. I will lead you to great treasure!"


    The offer is very tempting. What treasure could the Ghost be talking about? And would that offer just be a lie? Most likely. But yet again, if the Ghost knew about the treasure, it couldn''t do anything with it. Its dead! The treasure''s best use would be for a bribe like this, to victimize the weak minded.


    "I don''t think I believe you." Well. There, he did it! He started a conversation with another Ghost. But the fact that he didn''t get tempted enough by Ghosts to take this possible bait, proves some sort of intelligence at least? By the God of Sources is he learning?!


    "I promise. I''m not lying. The treasure is worth over a hundred thousand Gold Coins! Help me, and i will take you there." A hundred thousand Gold Coins? For Chan that would be considered a lifetime of salaries! He would be able to ditch this continent and be set for life. He would even be able to pay a few Guards on a monthly bases. And of course, the ladies. This is a dream life for a lot of people, ill.u.s.tratios the most. But of course maybe their rate is larger because the ill.u.s.tratio population is higher in Ignis.


    Chan was so close to believing this Ghost, in fact at first he almost fell for it before he made the clear rejection. But there was one small thing, stopping him from giving trust to this Ghost. What sign could be large enough for even Chan to notice?


    The Aura! The aura was different compared to the Dark Forest Kin. This Ghost has a dark Aura, comparable to what Aura one could find on a Ghost victimized by the Ghost Tree(Of course Chan didn''t see such a Ghost yet.). The Leader or even the Grand Leader for that matter, of the Dark Forest Kin didn''t warn Chan about any other Ghost kind, any other Ghost species in particular. So Chan was stuck between two options. Save this Ghost, chop down the tree, and return home with a large treasure, escaping middle class and becoming a rich man. Or he could just leave the Ghost to parish and return with only a Branch from the tree.


    He was stuck on his own thoughts, unable to decide. He just didn''t trust this Ghost enough. What if it is a more evil corrupt species? What if it even is a bait unleashed from the Ghost tree? A bit more unlikely since the King, Xakro claimed that these Ghosts never leave the tree. But yet again he was a bit wrong in certain cases. For example claiming that the Ghost is more visible in nightfall, even claiming that there should be more Ghosts around the tree.


    Well there was more Ghosts in the Dark Forest Kin''s territory, but nowhere around the tree''s radius. If it wasn''t for the Grand Leader deciding to chase Chan, leading him where the Grand Leader wanted too. He perhaps would never be able to find the Ghost tree, even with the map. So perhaps the scouts just brought fake information to claim the payment. If King Xakro hears about this, he will find and boil the Scouts. He doesn''t handle well anyone who opposes him or tries to cheat on his will.

 Chapter 159 - Fire Bubble!

    "Which friend exactly?" Asked Commander Alia. Not that she was jealous, she has no reason to be when you think about it, she is just puzzled. The situation continued to be confusing. What friend would he ask for help at this case? Alama? She wears a set of thick heavy silver armor, she only takes it off when she sleeps. So she can''t exactly be fast enough to catch a Chicken. Or at least she wouldn''t be able to keep up a fast pace for long. So if he isn''t going to ask for help from his Assistant, Alama. Who would he ask help from for this task?


    Since fishing is linked to fishing nets, Mogranius built up a question in his mind, and of course asked it with a lot of sarcasm. He had no chance of resisting. "Are you going to bring all the fishermen here?"


    Wanting to cut the questions short, he explained with a request at the end. "No no. If my plan works, we won''t have to deal with fishing nets too much. Please wait here." He didn''t waste time at all after he finished the sentence. He left everyone waiting over the wall. He isn''t ashamed to leave the scene, like written above, if his absence ultimately leads to a better plan forming together. Commander Alia was right, he sure is a confusing man.


    Since the castle isn''t exactly too far away from the main gate, not even standing in the very middle of the Kingdom which is quite common in other domains. He didn''t take too long to return. It barely took ten minutes because he speedwalked his way there. Of course, he could have flown his way there, but when flying fast, the cold weather blasting on his face tends to make him catch a cold rather easily. He would need to cover his face with cloth if he wished to fly through the cold seasons.


    He came back, holding that "friend" on his arms, and left everyone in shock. Its safe to say that he wasn''t carrying any man or any woman. Well, at least not a Human for that manner. He was carrying his Bunny! Everyone was freakingly confused, except Mogranius who was filled in with the details from his father. He knew about Marixha.


    King Michael bringing a bunny to help, forced Eric to ask a question. He is getting used enough to King Michael, so he doesn''t mind asking more questions than usual. Eric isn''t usually open around new people, so this is a great sign of a developing unity. Not just between kingdom''s but between friendship as well. "How would a bunny help!?" He even yelled out that sentence! That''s how much King Michael confused this little crowd.


    Confident enough about his bunny, first correcting Eric. "This bunny, is named Marixha." And then finding the time between his rapidly processing thoughts and ideas to  explain in a bit more detail. "She can help us catch the rest of the five Chickens, maybe even more. I mean, the more Chickens we get, the more gold we can squeeze out of this project, right?"


    He asked as if he was seeking approval. But actually he was just trying to plant this idea on their head more and more. Ten chickens are enough to make a profit big enough to maintain 40 Guards monthly, imagine if he made it possible for the Chickens to grow hatchlings. This can be the start of a very wealthy opportunity. He rubbed his forehead a bit before he continued. "I can''t believe I didn''t think about her when putting this hunt together, this will make everything easier."


    "But how will she..."


    "Just Watch." King Michael interrupted and started cuddling Marixha. He didn''t want to waste more time answering a boatload of questions, there were already enough questions answered so far. Rubbing her little white bunny head and teaching her. "You need to go close to those Chickens and catch them alive and unharmed." After that, his tone became high pitched, talking to his bunny as if he was talking to a cat or a puppy. As if his heart became overwhelmed by this cute furry creature. "Oh yes you will! Won''t you! Good girl." And Marixha seems to enjoy it, her foot started gently tapping King Michael''s arm.


    Eric has a horse, so he doesn''t see this affection towards animals as something new. Considering that, his reactions weren''t too out of the ordinary. Commander Alia was first confused by this sudden change of tone, but she admired this softer side. She herself has been through a rough life, watching such scenes helps her heal wounds remaining from her past, past that she didn''t yet reveal in detail. Not even to Mogranius! This scene helps her heal herself. Anything can be converted to self improvement if you know how to do it.


    But Mogranius? He thought this was dark magic. Mind control. And even some sort of new Kastarian technology. Even though he was aware of Marixha''s capabilities. He didn''t understand what King Michael was doing right now. Affection towards Humans is more common yes(Even though he himself didn''t have such affection to any Human before he met Commander Alia. 58 years, it isn''t a short period of time.) But this sort of affection towards animals? No he isn''t used to it even one bit. He is used to studying animals, researching them. He isn''t used to cuddling with them. But he refused to ask questions for once! He just sat back and observed this sorcery while taking a couple of steps back for safety purposes.


    After some Human to pet affection, King Michael gently placed Marixha over the wall, she hopped off of the wall without hesitation and unleashed her true potential. She blasted Fire out of her behind! Yes, from her buttocks she blasted actual Fire! Poof! Just like that. However, what she blasted from her rump, didn''t make her fly a hundred yards high(Thankfully). It was just enough to slow her down mid air and ensure a softer landing. The snow helped.


    After she left everyone but Mogranius and Michael at shock, she just hopped her way to the right, standing near the wall reasonably close. The Guards who witnessed Marixha''s... abilities, didn''t even appear shocked. As if they didn''t see this for the first time. They just continued their shifts without lending their attention for too long. The Guard who brought the fishnet full of mushrooms, didn''t even bother to look down. However, he did enjoy Eric and Commander Alia''s reactions. With so many Guards knowing about this Fire Bunny''s capabilities, why didn''t the word about it eventually go through any of the group member''s ears? Simple, Woldemir didn''t give them the chance to do so because of all the practice.


    As if the Bunny completely understood what King Michael asked her to do, she continued to hopp her way to the right until she spotted a couple of Chickens. Since she is white as snow herself, the Chickens weren''t bothered with her approach until she was close enough to offend their territorial differences.


    The Chickens first flew a meter away from the patch of mushrooms when they noticed Marixha, then when they saw that she isn''t exactly a big threat to them physically, they returned to the Mushrooms but they weren''t there to share. One Chicken was eating the mushrooms a bit faster, while the other jumped towards Marixha. Not in aims to hurt her, but to scare her away! Luckily with her claws down.


    But that''s where the Chicken made a mistake! Marixha swiftly turned around and began to use her... abilities. She blasted a rather unique form of fire out of her rump. Now since King Michael asked for the Chickens to be brought back alive, she didn''t torch the Chicken into a meal. The Chicken found herself surrounded by a spherical jail like formation of fire. The Chicken was trapped in it!


    The other Chicken got spooked of this sudden appearance of Fire. So she made a run for it, didn''t even bother to help the other Chicken escape out of this Fire Bubble. They either weren''t in the same flock or the Chicken was simply too spooked.

 Chapter 160 - Gustav Iron

    "Good Morning Sire. How was your sleep?" Asked Seer, the personal assistant of King Zar.


    "Yes yes. I was a bit anxious though, I lost a bit of sleep over it. We will finally be able to start this project and I just urge for everything to go right." The messenger arrived yesterday with the Contract signed. While today, they make their way to start this amazing task. "If only we could of gotten enough Governors." Getting governors at such short notice became a tricky task of course, but it didn''t go entirely downhill.


    "Sire. We have enough Governors to deal with the Current new income there. As for the rest, we will train some apprentices here as fast as we can and encourage Guard Commander Delrus Aze to scope out Craftsmen with Managing potential and allow the Governors to train them to a deserved position." Expressed Seer. Getting Governors has been a big hassle. Because appropriate Governors would be considered those who have enough qualifications, enough experience to host one specific task primarily. Most of which have to do with crafting, however the higher positions have to do with gold.


    The good thing is, Seer was able to find a fairly qualified Business Governor. A business governor''s responsibility, is to bundle up several people of any craft, appoint a manager on them and convert the work that bundle of people put in, into a profit. So since it isn''t nearly easy to find a manager, he first will have to deal with craftsmen of different fields. Later on when finding managers will be an easier task to tackle, he will be only dealing with managers.


    Who did King Zar trust with such an important position? An oldish man of course! Wait, that didn''t come out right. What I mean is, he trusts a retired man with the job. A retired businessman who recently rented a house here in Pameres Kingdom for temporary purposes. Apparently, this ill.u.s.tratian man wants a house in the Clear Lands. To live the rest of his life, away from the crowd, away from Kingdoms and the people in it. This man will have to live in the clear lands alone, for quite a long time. He is only 45 years old.


    Gustav Iron is what this man is known as. And although the name recommends, this man isn''t a Blacksmith or a Warrior. He doesn''t have any Iron body parts either. His last name doesn''t link to any personal trait or to his business. He is a farmer, coming from the Capital of Meridionali Ignis. Perhaps "A farmer" isn''t the best word to describe his past years of experience. But that''s how he started. He started as a farmer, and ended up owning his own farm, holding a hundred employees. He started his business at 32, and ended up making enough to retire at 45.


    He didn''t even close down the farm after he retired. He appointed a skilled manager there, and after every harvest season, the profit of which the farm obtains, will be sent to him and of course the expenses required for next year''s planting season will be held back by the manager. He still makes a tremendous profit each year though.


    Now I might of goten you confused, a retired ill.u.s.tratio man agreeing to help a small town of Ignites? How? When King Zar asked why he chose Pameres Kingdom out of so many domains, Gustav''s reply was simple. "I don''t fancy the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance. I chose to stand with what faction I see having better intends." He insisted on buying a piece of land a couple of kilometers away from Pameres Kingdom. And he did, although the land wasn''t too big, it did stretch a hundred meters long and wide. Specifically, it cost him 10,000 Gold Coins. But owning a business who has over 100 Employees, made that price look like a small bag of coins.


    His sympathy for the Ignites, didn''t end there. His form of patriotism? He made a big donation. Well more like another investment. But also a donation. A bit confusing, but since he noticed that other domains might take up to 30% of Bale Town''s budget when combined, he only asked for 5% of the future profits. 5 out of 100? It isn''t too big, but it isn''t too small either. Compared to the investment he made, its something small to ask. In a town of which holds 250 locals, he invested 150,000 Gold Coins. 150,000! He solved most of the town''s problems with that donation and relieved a lot of burden from King Zar too. But on the other hand, he added different burdens.


    Now since there will be a budget to work with, the Governing party needs the rest of the Governing team. Because everything will happen under a month. Profit might even occur after that month.


    The governing team currently only has four people. The Business Governor(Gustav Iron), One Business Manager that specializes in Blacksmithery, one Business Manager that specializes in Stonemasonry and one Business Manager that specializes in Building Construction.


    These three Business Managers were easy to find since they are considered low rank in the governing game. They even worked on Pameres Kingdom until now. Zar chose the best of the best for this task. However to fill the employee gap in this crisis, he immediately hired a few more inexperienced people. Zar can''t wait a year for these three Employees to return, and since they have the freedom of choice, they might decide to live there after the project. Which can be understandable. But if they chose to return, their positions are there for them to take and use, and of course the experienceless won''t be fired.


    Salary Managers and Budget Managers however, are too hard to find. Seer has a couple in training but they aren''t quite ready yet. So King Zar has to start this task with the group of Four Governors, because with only a year on their hands, there is no time to waste.

 Chapter 161 - Meeting with the Experiment.

    Following the Ghost sure became a mental hassle. It kept screaming in an ear splitting matter and kept offering the same fortune over and over, however overtime it raised the treasure''s value. Which of course gave a strong sense that this Ghost is lying, hard even. Just to survive or the 7 Sources know for what else.


    The Ghost became so loud as they got closer to the tree, that Chan had to cover his ears here and there. Stress and Anxiety arose uncontrollably because of those screams. It was a sacrifice he was forced to put up with in order to complete the task. But lucky for him, he finally arrived close enough to what he has been sleeping in the cold for. The Ghost Tree. He stopped on his spot and just watched the Ghost being sucked to it''s inevitable fate, as if saying goodbye to it. Quite frankly, he was glad to finally get some peace. His head hurts from all of the screaming.


    He was about 30 feet away but he could see the Tree''s Dark Aura. The Grand Leader''s words were proven right in every aspect. The Tree is exactly how he described it. How could the Grand Leader even get that close to the tree without being sucked into it?! How would he know all of this information?


    Now, the only thing that was in Chan''s mind is the special word providing protection from this horrible experiment. At first, he got distracted by the Ghost Tree enough to forget that special word. Forget it again! Imagine it. At the very beginning, he forgot it but the Ghosts from the Dark Forest Kin dug him out of that hole. Now he forgot it because of the tree secondarily and because of the Ghost who has been violently getting to his every nerve.


    Thankfully! He remembered. The special word remembers him of that ten foot tall Ghost lady, she isn''t someone easy to forget. Thanks to that lady, he has it a bit easier to remember this special word now since it''s linked to her in a way. A rather smart move from Chan when you think about it, but at least he knows it and that''s what matters the most in this case. But it also can be considered rather odd that he forgot it again just a while ago, because he repeated it quite a few times before he got distracted by that loud Ghost. I suppose stress tends to mess with memory often.


    "Azr.a.p.etos" is the word of course, and Chan is sticking to repeating it even though he is only partially sure that this is the actual word. It''s better to try what he thinks is sure instead of keeping quiet. The situation forced him to those measures. I mean what was King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll even thinking? Chan is in no condition or qualifications to complete this task, not to mention the whole Staff mission. He could have hired highly skilled Soldiers to aid his plans. But he ordered him. Why Chan? Why?


    The tree though, when glanced upon without the Paranormal vision, it would be extremely difficult... actually next to impossible to tell it apart from a normal tree. It was just a simple oak tree. The only difference is that it is bigger, considering that it''s over three eras old. It could explain how it claimed so many human victims who tried to chop this evil beauty down and possibly how it increased its suckage ratio over time. It is quite a possibility that the more souls this Tree feeds on, the further it can spread it''s death trap. What Lumberjack could resist a straight thick tree.


    But now, there is no time to waste or think(Which works to his advantage for once.). He got a better grip of his axe, approached the tree in caution and was ready to cut the first branch. Setting a strong pinpoint to his task. It''s what he came here for after all.


    Lifting the Iron Axe at first, wasn''t heavy even though just the Iron of the axe weighs ten Kilograms. No no, he was at the heat of the moment, feeling as ready as ever. He hit the closest and most straight branch he could find. The branch itself was arm thick, and considering Chan''s strength, he couldn''t chop it off at first shot but he sure caused some damage.


    He lifted his axe again, tried to maneuver the axe''s 2 meter long tail enough in mid air to not cause an accident, and hit the branch again instead of accidentally hitting his legs.


    Even though Chan hit the Branch in a straight line instead of hitting it narrowly which would help cutting it down easier, he still managed to chop it off because the front (Heavier) part of this medieval axe, managed to do most of the work for him. It was sure a strong hit even though he had no idea what he was doing, no technique.


    Noticing that he is alive, or at least not possessed. He reached for the Branch he just managed to cut down, trying to put it aside as it appears to be the best branch on the tree for his interests. This is the main part of his task here. He would need to put the branch on a safe spot before stripping this tree out of it''s branches. What nerve would he have to find an appropriate branch after cutting down so many?


    The moment he bent down, he felt the tree''s suckage effect. He was forced to crawl for a couple of feet forward because of the tree. Luckily, this weird dragging effect didn''t last long and as the Grand Leader pointed out, it''s quite harmless. It let go of him.


    Now, he felt more and more confident to continue with his second task, cutting the rest of the branches down! He feels more than capable to help the Dark Forest Kin. He felt truly useful for the first time. So it sure caused a spike on his motivation.


    He lifted his axe, aimed for a bigger branch and struck with all of his might. Seeing it not being cut off by that strike, he struck again. Then again, and repeated so, for a few times until the branch fell off! But lifting that 10 Kilogram Iron sure took a lot of his energy.


    ...


    Meanwhile at Gaster Kingdom where the gang was enjoying watching Marixha catching rabbits using her... abilities. Mogranius fell on his knees. I''d like to call because of physical pain. But that''s not the case here, it''s something quite different.


    First he fell on his knees, then he ran out of breath abnormally quick, and at last he got knocked out. He was behind the group so it took a few seconds for everyone to notice this silent fall. But when Commander Alia turned around, her heart sank in panic and she wasn''t able to move a muscle. She tried to speak but she couldn''t fill a proper sentence.


    "Mogranius!"


    "Mentor!"


    King Michael and Eric yelled in panic. It''s not easy to see such a self proclaimed "tough man" going down this easily. It''s a nightmare to watch.


    "Sire! Should we take him to the Castle?" Approached and yelled out the Guard nearby in concern. He didn''t know Mogranius personally, but he sure learned to value Fire Controllers. He feels that they are the future of Ignis.


    "Yes yes good idea. We need to check what''s wrong with him where it''s a bit more comfortable." Answered King Michael swiftly but in panic, even forgetting about the Chicken project. Imagine! He forgot about such a future changing project for the sake of his friends. He turned his head towards Commander Alia and yelled. "Alia, please help me carry him to the Castle!"


    Noticing that she was conscious but wouldn''t respond, her face quite frozen in fear. He approached her with a sprint and shook her shoulder. Calling her name, "Alia. Alia! Commander Alia!" But all she could do was stare at King Michael in fear, unable to reply to anything he is saying. She wanted to speak, but she couldn''t. Noticing that issue, he whispered. "Great. Now we have two problems on our hands!"


    ...


    Guard Commander Chan however, found himself taking a long break, with 6 branches near his feet. Each one was either bigger than the other or similar to the first cut down branches, in size. Each one however had a different difficulty when cutting down.


    Using such a heavy axe of course came with consequences. The first and probably the most important one, is the fact that Chan got tired in a short time no matter how much he pushed through, he used all of his capabilities but at this rate it will take a lot longer. He never worked so hard on his life, but it wasn''t enough to completely accomplish the secondary task. To everyone''s surprise, he wasn''t even thinking about quitting.


    The second issue would of course be safety. If he misses the branch while swinging, slowing down the heavy axe''s momentum can be more than difficult. For Chan, almost impossible even. It''s fine if the axe hits the ground or any nearby rocks. The sharp side of the axe facing a few cracks isn''t a big deal for him who will only use this axe for a day from the looks of it. But what if the axe hits his flesh?!


    If such a momentum wouldn''t break his leg, death from blood loss or Hypothermia is almost certain. Because if he covers the wound with his clothing, the cold would get the best out of him. And with a fresh wound, he can''t really walk out of this forest as fast as he walked in to.


    "Time to get back to work!" He murmured to himself as he stood up with the axe on his hand, with his mouth parched for water, and his muscles aching for a day long break. "For the Dark Forest Kin!"

 Chapter 162 - Internal Forhead Slap.

    "What happened!? Why did he faint?" Eric couldn''t help but yell. Just when he thought that he was getting his Inner demons of fire controlling, under control. Something like this happens to test his effort and patience, he isn''t ready to handle this calmly. People don''t usually respond to misfortune with rage, but for some it can be a great way to get that stress out. To get that rage out.


    Stefan was in the castle, having the permission to read through research handmade by King Michael. For him, this is heaven. Because all of the books he was allowed to own and sell when he lived in Crutal Kingdom, were books about ill.u.s.tratios. Rather arrogant from their side, but of course the main goal was to ban books that teach Magic. And what King Michael has stored in his research bookshelf, is amazing. Unlucky for him, his reading was cut short(Even though he locked himself in the castle reading all day. It isn''t enough.). He had to stand up and check this abnormal situation.


    "What happened to him?" Stefan followed them with a question as he shut the book in front of him and left it on his comfortable wooden chair covered with fur. But why does everyone keep asking? It''s not like King Michael is a doctor. If he had an appropriate answer or solution, he wouldn''t be wasting time right now.


    Luckily, Commander Alia snapped out of her shock. She proved quite useful with carrying Mogranius. And at some points, carried King Michael along too. She got a motivation as if entering the Castle would immediately heal Mogranius. Or at this point, fix him. If only health worked like that. But it sadly doesn''t.


    "I don''t know what''s wrong with him people. I''ve never seen a grown man faint like this before. He was doing just fine a moment ago." Stated King Michael with stress rising in his heart and a burden on his shoulders even though he has nothing to do with this unusual event. He kept rubbing his forehead in stress and occasionally ripped a bit of hair off. Losing such a valuable Fire Controller is a nightmare. Infact, losing any Fire Controller is beyond bad for the moment.


    Out of instinct due to her 100 year long experience in The underground town of Lan Zhe as the Commander, she finally decided to speak. "We should check him for wounds. Maybe he somehow got shot?"


    Confused with how Mogranius could of been shot at that spot. King Michael felt quite a bit offended primarily. "Shot by Marixha? No, that''s impossible. She wouldn''t harm us."


    She turned his head towards him and yelled in stress. "I don''t mean your pet bunny Michael. We should just check him for wounds. It''s the best idea I got. I''m not used to men collapsing in front of me either. Please, I can''t just stand around like this."


    "Everyone calm down. Shouting won''t solve anything." Pointed out Eric surprisingly. It''s odd for him to teach these people about rage considering that he yelled in panic just a while ago. And he has been yelling his way here ever since he left Lan Zhe. I suppose he is trying his best to fight off his own rage while even trying to calm other people down.


    Commander Alia didn''t waste a second. She made her way to one of the few Castle bedrooms and layed Mogranius there gently. Closed the door, left everyone out and started disrobing Mogranius, looking for any Blood wounds.


    Everyone was left in a bit of shock due to such actions coming from the newly nice and caring Commander Alia. But with the man she loves being unconscious, what choice did she have? It''s not like she is used to stripping men out of their clothes, this is her first time and she doesn''t even have such intentions. And the rest of the group doesn''t want to see him n.a.k.e.d either. So she didn''t become as rude as it seems.


    She removed All of his clothes and checked him for wounds, then flipped him over like a pancake and looked for wounds in the backside. It got her wildly confused. She didn''t find a single wound but he was breathing just fine. There wasn''t any physical damage. So where is the root of the problem? The stress just arose in her mind and she felt like collapsing. But what problem would that fix? She had to stand strong, for him.


    She put his clothes back on him, and went outside of the room. Calling for the rest of the gang who were waiting near the room in concern. "There isn''t a wound on his body? What do we do now? I''m freaking out! What went wrong?" A tear dropped from her eyes, she whispered with her tongue feeling heavy. "I can''t lose him. Not now, I''m not ready. I..."


    She was left in shock. A hug, coming from a person she didn''t expect one from, ever. Eric. Eric approached her with a sprint and hugged her. She has been there for Eric a few months now, hugs became common in good situations. The least he could do now is give her a hug in this nightmare even though his anxiety arose high in the process. His mind doesn''t follow along with what his heart wants to give. He wanted to help her calm down, but social anxiety doesn''t quite let him. He put everything aside and did it anyway. It worked. She calmed down and just hung on tighter to the little boy in front of her, until she felt just a bit better. No one here wants to lose Mogranius, the least they can do now is keep each other sane.


    While Eric was hugging her, Stefan who was the only one not greatly panicking, already made his way to the room where Mogranius was in. Holding a clay cup of water on his hands, having plans to wake up Mogranius with it. Very basic, but Stefan isn''t known to do dumb things.


    First he put his fingers in a cup of water and started sprinkling some on Mogranius'' face. Mogranius was reacting to it thankfully but he wasn''t forced awake. The water sure bothered him though. That''s all Stefan wanted to see and prove for himself. "This is just a simple fainting. He is 58 years old, why are these people panicking so much?" He thought to himself and did an internal forehead slap, using the rest of the cup to splash water on Mogranius'' face. And... it worked.


    Mogranius arose quickly, but it doesn''t look like he planned to sit. He was standing on the bed, having a battle pose formed. "What happened! Where am I?! What happened!" He yelled in panic with Fire forming on his hands, compressing into a couple of spheres. Quite deadly in such a small space.


    "Um. You fell unconscious for a..." Tried Stefan to explain, but was almost ran over by Commander Alia who heard Mogranius speak. She dashed through the door, jumped high and tackled Mogranius off of the bed and to the hard oak plank ground.


    "You moron. I thought I lost you!" She whispered in a low tone as she gazed upon Mogranius rubbing his head due to the sudden impact of the tackle and with the ground. Luckily it wasn''t anything serious.


    "How would you lose me from a simple fainting. Relax. I got a couple of decades left in me." He joked around while rubbing her cheek, trying his best to calm her down. He could see the concern on her eyes and it was quite fulfilling.


    But to break the romantic reunion, Stefan pointed out in a bit of sarcasm. "I can''t believe you stripped him n.a.k.e.d before trying to splash some water on his face."


    "I was panicking okay?" She yelled back, coming into realization that throughout that panic, she actually saw him n.a.k.e.d. Which got her a bit embarrassed, her face became red even. Uncontrollable.


    Mogranius followed with the same energy, his face too became red for once and he asked. "You saw me N.a.k.e.d!?" While now avoiding eye contact by all cost.


    "I had to! I thought you got shot!" She yelled back with her face becoming more red by the moment.


    "Well, I didn''t get shot but I think I can explain what happened. But not here. Let''s eat, I''m starving." He sure has a lot of explaining to do. He could have fallen off the wall if he fainted while throwing the net for example. It wasn''t a kind situation.


    You might be asking about the Chickens, they are very important yes and we can''t forget about them. Well King Michael trusted Marixha''s skill, and the Guards are capable of throwing a few nets over those Fire Bubbles. So it isn''t a problem, the project is still safe. Now the main focus is Mogranius.

 Chapter 163 - Second Batch!

    Along with that one business manager that specializes in Building Construction, 9 more Construction Workers were tagged along. Although they aren''t in the Governing team, they will surely prove useful for Bale Town, to at least fight off the blistering february cold. These Construction workers were the most vital to bring up there, even though Bale Town had a few Construction Workers of its own. But not enough to survive this winter when you think about it. Or they could just be lacking the proper tools.


    Their primary task shall be to cover houses with thicker layers of planks, considering that this team has better supplies such as Iron Hammers, nails, saws and even quality axes. It will be easier and more effective. They don''t have to wait for February to end in order to provide the town with some more warmth. They might not even have to work for a month there if improving houses is their only task.


    Although making nails for the Construction workers in the Kingdom, and those of which will be sent to Bale Town became difficult with their current larger task at hand. By putting in some extra hours of work, the Blacksmiths succeeded at this sudden task. 5 sets of nails are ready, each one containing exactly 100 Nails. When you take it into consideration, it isn''t a lot. But there are only 50 houses there. If more Nails are required, they will be ready by next week. Sending another set of nails to Bale Town would cover just about all the nails they need to fix the housing there, if they are savvy with the nails of course. If a lot of nails bend, Pameres Kingdom would have to send a third batch.


    Without Blacksmiths in Bale Town, any Iron Tools in general are hard to come upon. The only Iron they have there, is Weapons. So King Zar made sure that the Construction Workers would go there well supplied instead of being held back by the lack of proper tools. Which is why he maxed out and supplied them with 30 Hammers.


    Iron Axes were also a requirement, but harder to mass produce or find spares of. Bale Town has 20 Lumberjacks, they sure can use better tools to boost their productivity, it can be a tide turner. Although gifting each Lumberjack with a couple of extra Axes along with the new one isn''t quite possible yet, Zar made sure that each Lumberjack would receive a new Axe, plus 10 axes were sent as spares(Not per person.). A bit confusing when described, but he sent 30 Iron Axes in total.


    He pushed productivity to grant 10 extra axes Since cutting down trees can be tricky and can often break the axe when the branches are cut off. Not because the branches are rock hard, but because the ground where they put the cut down tree on, often has rocks.


    The last and possibly most important tools, are the saws. Without the saws, they can''t turn the lumber into planks. Without the saws, they can''t even cut the planks to the desired sizes. They can be considered as the most used tools, but also the most vulnerable. They are thin, so they can break quite easily. That can tend to be a problem without a Blacksmith in town.


    Luckily, the Blacksmiths in the Kingdom were reliable. They have been working extra hours, all of them! Even before the messenger arrived. How? Well Saws and axes are the most required tools. The construction workers pointed it out to the Blacksmiths before the messenger even arrived. And the word reached King Zar with a dash.


    Zar felt almost sure that they will strike this Contract, so he agreed to the requests in a Heartbeat. He even felt guilty for not thinking about it himself. Even If they didn''t successfully get this contract, the tools would simply be put into better use by the Construction Workers here, they would prove great spares.


    Zar supplied these 10 Construction Workers with 30 saws. Unlike with the Axes, Spares were wildly necessary and will likely be required in the future. However by the time when they run out of Saws, it probably wouldn''t be a big problem, since a Blacksmith is being sent from Pameres Kingdom with the Governing team. A team of Blacksmiths beginning training there is quite possible too.


    Hunting tools being urgently required by Guard Commander Delrus Aze himself, 20 Iron Spears were donated without hesitation. Each Spear costs 60 Gold Coins, so this portion of the donation didn''t come cheap. It would be considered ten salaries for some. But what''s required is required. Nets can be the most valued tool for hunting, since people would rarely face an animal with a weapon, nets are required to set good traps plus it is a lot safer. So King Zar donated 100 of those. He donated more since they are easily breakable and multiple nets would net to be set at a time from each hunter.


    Food is a constant problem in Bale Town, the problems aren''t scarce on Pameres Kingdom either. The hunter that got hired a few months ago, gained enough experience to keep the Kingdom''s food supply steady. Most importantly, they had experience before being hired as well. Now that they are used to the Kingdom''s rules, flow and requirements. They are capable to take recruits under their wings, give goals for them to follow instead of hunting randomly.


    Taking new recruits can be a large risk, especially at hunting where the recruit''s life can possibly be in danger. Wild Boars are the most common animal in Ignis, and they can sure be dangerous considering that they weigh around a hundred kilograms and can jump around 1 meters high. They are a force to be reckoned with and should only be approached with nets and traps. Unless the Hunter has enough experience to face it with a spear. But that''s just playing crazy.


    This time however, King Zar played it very safe with the recruits. Both the Experienced Construction workers and Stonemasons, filed complains about the experinceless recruits before this event. They can be a hassle to control sometimes and some won''t listen at all. So King Zar simply hired less for now even though they need a lot more with the tailoring business recently opened.


    He hired 3 recruits per experienced Hunter. Which means that he hired 18 new recruits. It sounds like a lot when approached with an overall count, but when split into 6 parts, it means that each Hunter will have to deal with 3 recruits only. It should make everything easier and should increase the overall hunting profit in the Kingdom.


    Since hunting is a dangerous job in general, these experienceless recruits will be paid 150 Gold Coins a month, but with no additional bonus after certain periods of time, unlike the experienced hunters. King Zar has been looking to remove all bonuses and increase salaries instead. Because it tends to be a hassle each month when the budget and profit is calculated. Each month some calculation goes wrong and it takes all day to settle everything down.


    Summing it up, because of the new hunters, Zar can risk to donate yet another portion of food with minimal or no consequences. With a lot of wheat grain previously ordered from the Zamerians not because of the Gr.a.p.e Ale project(Which will be tackled in Autumn.) But because the Kingdom needed it and Lav Kingdom offered a fair discount to meet the local Ignis currency, an offer Lav Kingdom made for Pameres Kingdom exclusively since they are in cooperation, plus Lav Kingdom has a lot of grain to spare since they have bigger farmlands and more employees.


    Zar managed to donate around 200 hundred Kilograms of wheat flour and 500 hundred Kilograms of Wheat Grain. Since the Kingdom doesn''t yet own a windmill, the newly hired farmers(For the Gr.a.p.e Ale Project.) crushed the wheat grains manually over the days. Which explains why King Zar donated Grains mostly. The farmers at Bale Town have a windmill and can put this grain into use, while a windmill is also being constructed in Pameres Kingdom.


    King Zar also managed to donate 150 Kilograms of WildBoar meat, since the Hunters are mostly bringing Wildboars to the castle thanks to the winter season, simply giving away such expensive meat didn''t become a problem. Donating Wolf meat became very easy as well, thanks to the season so he managed to donate another hundred Kilograms of Wolf meat too. Less tasty but it can still fill the belly.


    Black Marlin Meat although the most expensive so far, he donated 50 Kilograms of it. This meat will be exclusively available to the citizens of Bale town only. Since they agreed with the Contract, King Zar wanted to thank them with a taste of luxury.

 Chapter 164 - Buffoon

    Dawn Finally broke, now it seemed like the task became a lot easier considering the provided light. After all, it isn''t the best idea to work in the dark, with an axe. But what did this dawnbreak result too? Chan being pushed to his limits. Not the best idea, not his best move.


    He has worked through the blistering February cold, at the coldest time of the day(Or in this case, Night.). How would that be a bad thing you might ask? He has been doing this for two weeks. What''s a few more nights? What would a little hustle out of the ordinary cause?


    This night he pushed himself to the limits of which before he never found possible, limits he didn''t know off. His body was on continuous heat because of the work he has been putting on the Ghost Tree, but the environment around him was blistering cold, a deadly combination.


    A lot of Snow even, piled up on his head and on his shoulders too. The interesting thing about this is, It isn''t actually snowing. There is snow on him because once you hit a tree with an axe be it light or heavy, the vibration caused by it will force Snow piled up on higher branches to fall down rather easily. Since Chan was of course very close to the tree, part of that snow landed on him. It just made his overall health worse. He was steps away from collapsing.


    King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll claimed that this trip would barely last two weeks, if he has the capabilities of an average skill less person. Three weeks if Chan is double the Buffoon we all thought. And how did Chan fare? It''s been a bit over two weeks and he only arrived to the Ghost Tree, not to mention getting back home alive without having to amputate any toes.


    When talking about whose responsible for Chan getting into this situation, Chan himself shall be partially blamed. But King Xakro carries most of the responsibility. The sources know when he would admit his faults though. Or maybe he would? The Source of Egoism is gone after all. There isn''t a bit of egoism in his body, coming from an Inner Demon at least.


    Let''s start with the King. He trusted 20 scouts to tell him the exact location of a practically invincible and fairly invisible, heavily experimented on, Tree. The normal eye can''t tell it apart from an average tree, so how would those scouts find the Tree without the granted paranormal vision? They never even mentioned anything about such a vision, all 20 of them likely didn''t even know that such granted ability existed.


    It isn''t hard to put two and two together to figure out that the King was lied too! Tricked. 20 people claimed a handsome reward for their "Successful" task. Of course that wouldn''t harm Crutal Kingdom''s economy, but still. It is mostly an ego game when you think about it, for the King at least. Low rank Scouts were able to manipulate him. They managed to make a spawn coming from a bloodline of mentally unstable Masterminds, look like a Buffoon.


    As an aftermath to this fake map provided by those Scouts, the distance between the Tree and Crutal Kingdom was heavily miscalculated before this task began. Let''s not even mention the expected time for him to return. When King Xakro mentioned such topic, the task felt like Childsplay. But from the beginning and until now, this task felt like a mental asylum, nothing easy about it. And of course we can never forget the proper amount of equipment required for this trip. All miscalculated on each and every aspect.


    Moving through this forest can be time consuming in general, especially if he has to go through a patch of Birch Trees. God I hate travelling through Birch Trees! If he found himself surrounded with them, it would be double as time consuming, painful too. Birch Trees have randomly spreading branches with sharp points everywhere. These trees grow very close to each other as well, making traveling through them a lot more difficult than you can imagine.


    I hope you don''t have to travel through them because It can be a cloth destroyer too. Not a place for Models, if those are invented yet? They(The Birch Trees.) can prove a great emergency shelter if one has a bit of experience, the nerves and cloth to spare, risking a possible infection from cuts is there too of course. Never underestimate minor cuts if you find yourself in a survival situation.


    With an improper map, Chan would also lose his sense of direction big time. The fact that he managed to reach the Dense Forest Kin''s territory isn''t skill, it was just luck. He managed to keep a straight line enough to not get himself lost or meet the other edge of the Continent. At least some aspects worked to his advantage.


    Since the distance was miscalculated too, his equipment was very worn out. The tent he had already faced some complications due to the raging night wind a few days ago. It would last for a few more days after he completes this... let''s call it secondary task, but not long enough to reach home.


    His sleeping bag proved very helpful when battling the tent malfunction, but he lost the sleeping bag along with every other bit of equipment. As mentioned before, all he has now is an Iron Dagger.


    The lack of Food can be considered the main problem, because of the fact that Chan was ordered to only carry 100 Gold Coins. It wouldn''t be nearly enough to ensure food for from the looks of it, a 5 week long trip. Such gold could only ensure food for a couple of weeks if he was savvy enough.


    With King Xakro carrying so many faults with this task''s large downsides, Chan''s only faults are sleeping a couple of hours more than he is supposed too a few times, and putting a bit of time hunting animals. But that of course was out of desperation... the second part at least. Sleep, can not be controlled. A majority of people would sacrifice necessities for sleep.


    Everything about this trip was miscalculated and misinformed but even after considering the odds of which went against him, Chan got his hands on the Ghost Branch anyway, setting a large pinpoint on his task and proving useful for once. To aid his primary task, he even freely communicated with Ghosts. Maybe there is a lot more to this man? Maybe we underestimated his value?


    His sacrifices just for the sake of completing this task is worthy of song. If only he didn''t focus his energy for the wrong people, for people with impure intends. He would make a large difference in Ignis. Yes he. I can''t believe I''m even saying this. It got me as confused as you as a reader.


    But of course, pushing yourself to the far limits can often have strong consequences. He is hungry, thirsty, and out of equipment. On top of that he is deadly tired because he chopped down 13 Branches so far. It seems little, but to cut down 13, he had to lift and bash this Heavy Axe nearly a hundred times. He felt a strong chill up his spine to make this situation worse. His toes were blistering in pain, because of the Cold of course. That''s not difficult to figure out, they have become quite numb.


    This situation he was brought in, is hard to reverse. His motivation for helping the Dense Forest Kin, didn''t fade even after all of these circ.u.mstances were blown against his skin. Honorable, but also playing dumb brave. He can finish the second promised task after he fixes the issues, that from the looks of it can equal his death.


    Thankfully, after coming into realization that this task requires a bit more time. He gave a thought to the circ.u.mstances. There is no way he can escape this place alive if he keeps going on like this, and even if he quits this second task and runs his fate wouldn''t shift too far from the predicted first.


    He felt like the most important thing to do right now is to gain some warmth. When he took a look around, he found out that warmth shouldn''t be extremely difficult for now at least. Sure it''s morning now, but midday is to come after a few hours. Those hours are the warmest parts of the day and can make a large difference if he survives that far.


    As if the nine sources wanted to thank his warm hearted heroism towards a tribe of the undead, when he first took a better glance of his surroundings aided by the morning sun shining through the Oak tree branches, he found a rather unique natural formation.


    It appears natural, or it could be formed thousands of years ago by Humans or another species. Of course we can''t be sure that such structure would survive so long considering that animals run wild here. The structure wasn''t strong enough to survive for such a long period of time. But wouldn''t it be a historical treasure if it did? Perhaps.


    The structure included a large boulder, it stood around 7 feet tall but of course the rock could be dug an unknown amount of feet into the ground too. It isn''t certain. However the size isn''t what was a miracle about this boulder. The miracle is the small opening at the very bottom of the boulder. Specifically standing right in the middle of the boulder, but at the bottom attached to the ground.


    It looks like something or someone dugg it with a harder rock, or with a raw Iron ore maybe. It doesn''t look like something a Stonemason of this time would form. It was far out of shape.


    Odd looking no doubt, But it was big enough for Chan to slip in with some effort. Out of desperation he bent down and took a peek inside, it seemed quite dark so it wasn''t easy to determine how deep it is. That is, it wasn''t easy until his right leg slipped on some snow outside as he was taking a glance.


    He fell headfirst in that hole, to his luck he was swift enough to use his hands to soften the landing. And it was roomy enough for him not to be stuck upside down. He tumbled a couple of times until he met a hardish surface of dirt, or at least it felt like it is dirt. It''s pitch dark in there. The only bit of light he got, was from the window like hole he climbed down from. That isn''t a problem, at least he didn''t receive any head damage.


    Being inside there, made him notice that this place can be a lot warmer compared to what he felt outside of the boulder. Of course he wasn''t able to notice this warmth with information provided from the sensitivity of his skin. He just saw it logical. This place seems very isolated, and he didn''t yet feel snow anywhere else but near the window like entrance.


    The rest of the cave is pretty much dry. He even felt it with his fingers here and there. From the feel of it, this place seems large enough for him to sleep in. From the entrance to the other side of this little hole, it appears to be nearly 3 meters long. To make it even better, this hole is 2 meters wide as well, or at least it feels that way. He can''t be sure without proper illumination.


    This place can be heated up quickly, the longer he stays here, the more the cave will adjust to his preferred body heat. It would make survival a breeze. Hypothermia and Frostbite would be two things he shouldn''t worry about as long as he stays in here. That is, if he finds out a way to cover the entrance.


    Desperation being his source of energy now, he thought of a quick plan. But it would require going out in the snow again. What does he have to lose? Nothing. And of course he certainly doesn''t have any time to waste.


    He struggled to get out of the hole given the small entrance, but with some pushed effort he made it out. After that, he approached a roundish rock. The rock appeared to be barely a foot tall, but when he put in some work to rip it off the ground, it turned out to be nearly two feet tall. So of course it''s very heavy. Possibly breaking 100 kilograms. But when rolled? It can be a lot lighter of course.


    He pushed the rock all the way near the hole, went down there again feet first this time and with everything he could do down there, he slowly pulled down the rock, risking losing his fingers even. It took him a good ten minutes to cover the hole with that rock, from the inside, it required a lot of strength and nerves, luckily he had no energy to curse. He would attract a squad of predators if he did. What''s important is that he managed to cover the hole.


    Although he won''t notice the difference instantly, covering that hole made a lifesaving difference. As for water, he ate some snow before he went down there. The cleanest he could find since he heard a rumour that snow is impure. Now this can be a huge risk, if he gets infected that is. He can get dehydrated even faster without barely noticing it. What else would he do to soothe his thirst? He didn''t yet get a Fire going, he doesn''t have a bowl to melt some snow over a fire either. He can''t afford to be patient at this point. He pushed through long enough.


    The only thing he has to deal with now, is hunger. He hasn''t eaten in a while and he feels burned out from energy. The Wild Boar hunt yesterday was sure a fail hunger wise. But at least he can deal with hunger a lot better than he can deal with cold or thirst.


    He decided to tend to the strong pain he felt on his toes, removed his shoes and felt his socks being soaking wet. Walking with such socks in this weather is deadly. He put the socks and shoes away, started rubbing his feet and toes very fast and blew on them as much as he could in order to warm them up. Even he was aware of the possible amputation risk.


    He came into realization that he might be too late. If he won''t be able to move his toes even after the rest of his body feels warm, he has to cut them off. But what else can he do except to try everything in his power to save his toes first before grabbing that dagger and cutting them off. What if this pain is tamable, reversible? No sane soul would be willing to cut off his or her toes for fun. It''s only done for sane extreme reasons such as frostbite. And even then it can''t be done without absolute certainty.


    The only sane reasonable thing to do right now is wait and see how this plays out. Thirst is tamed, heat will soon not be a big problem. Patience should be by his side.

 Chapter 165 - Merged

    "You do realize that you have a lot of explanation to do?" Reassured Commander Alia. She wasn''t the biggest fan of this little event. "I was worried sick." We all witnessed that exact truth.


    "It''s true." King Michael complimented her claim, but also after unintentionally added more fuel to the fire. "I thought she got paralyzed for a bit. I had to yell to snap her out of it, rather stressful." He explained in a calm low tone while taking a mouthful of the fish meat in front of him. For years, fish has been the main meal in this half abandoned Kingdom. The difference now, is that they can afford to eat twice or more a day thanks to the earlier established Fishermen teams.


    "I realize all of your concern, but it isn''t my fault to begin with, its..." Mogranius tried to reason, feeling sympathy for them and their care but also hoping to gain their understanding.


    "Then what''s to blame?" Asked Eric accidentally raising his voice a little bit and even cutting Mogranius'' explanation short. Eric is concerned for his first mentor and is trying to hold in the rage storming in his heart as much as he can, which tends to be tricky with an Inner Demon of rage to beat which qualifies with Level 3.


    "Ghosts." Answered Mogranius Boldly. He was as straight ahead with his answer as possible but still didn''t fail to confuse everyone in the dining room. Some even stopped chewing because of the sudden mention of Ghosts, they weren''t fans of them because of the stereotypical rumors spread around about them from people who had encounters, or Have nothing better to do(Which is quite common.). Considering that Mogranius had these powers before and even after he met these people, proves how secretive he was with this whole topic. If we can recall right, he only mentioned these powers once when Akareas'' soul made a surprising entrance back at the Underground Town of Lan Zhe, and never again after.


    A bit spooked, Commander Alia asked in a strong wave of concern as she held his hand firmly, her hands felt as soft as a feather pillow. She was sitting close to him for the exact reason, for sympathy filled support. "Ghosts? What do you mean? Are you possessed by a Ghost?" Even after asking that question, she strongly refused to let go of his hand. If this isn''t couple goals, than I don''t want to hear anything else about Romance.


    "Well... not exactly. But, I''m a 58 year old man. Throughout my life I''ve had many experiences, explorations. And although most were beneficial, some... weren''t." Although not direct, his sense of sudden calmness is unusual. Because usually when he is calm, he is about to do something drastic, like the event with the Farmers back at outer lands of Crutal Kingdom for example. The last time he was almost genuinely calm, was at that day. Worth pointing out that his calmness, led to some of those farmers not having a good fare. Infact all of them which associated with the Squad at that day, ended up with a terrible fate. But of course, most of the work was done by Commander Alia when she left with a blast.


    "Get to the point man. I have books to read." Stefan urged him to speed up. He usually wouldn''t joke or be disrespectful at such cases, but there are so many books, so much research he is able to read, the day just doesn''t seem enough. He found a nice book about Wild Boars, Unusual interests but you can''t blame anyone for a passion if that passion doesn''t harm anyone. No one will complain about you reading too loud after all.


    "Oh please. You have no responsibility in this Kingdom, you can read anytime you want." Replied someone. I''d like to say Mogranius with his usual energy, but it wasn''t the case. Eric replied with such sarcasm, a bit rude but he only spoke the truth. However, he too was eager enough to find out what Mogranius meant.


    "People will you calm down? Let the man speak." Clapped King Michael to grab the two''s attention and calm them down. As a man who doesn''t want to waste time, this behaviour was bothering him quite a bit.


    "Thank you." Showed Mogranius Gratitude without an edge for once, rather odd since King Michael didn''t have to go the extra mile to be misunderstood by him. Afterwards he continued to explain before anyone else could interrupt him again, trying to add as much detail as possible. "About 20 years ago. Well, I mean about 220 years ago before I was forced through time... I met with a unique thing... in the Forest."


    "You met with Ghosts?" Asked King Michael himself. He was the last that wanted to interrupt but he wanted to know for sure if Mogranius is or is not associated with Ghosts.


    But to let out an answer of which King Michael didn''t want to hear at all, Mogranius calmly told him. "Quite a few times before I met with the accident yes. But that''s not what I want you to focus on." The Ghost part didn''t seem to bother him at all, likely because he is used to seeing the unliving all the time.


    "Can you be more specific darling?" Asked Commander Alia as she held his hand a bit tighter. She along with everyone is not clear with what Mogranius wanted to explain.


    It''s not like he wanted to confuse everyone, but he just kept getting interrupted before he could give a more accurate description. "Yes indeed. See once while I was exploring Snow Ignite territory, specifically Septemtrionis Ignis. I planned to call it a day and set up camp somewhere... I didn''t realize I was standing right next to something very unusual, and likely very powerful."


    "So you are possessed?" What does King Michael have with Ghosts? Mogranius'' words barely even linked to it.


    "No!" Replied Mogranius with a bit of anger in his tone, they just didn''t let him keep this calm way of talking for a bit longer. They just couldn''t let him have it.


    "Will you let the man explain? Don''t talk, just listen. It''s that simple!" Commander Alia was getting frustrated, she wanted to figure out what''s wrong but these impatient people just won''t let Mogranius explain.


    "Well, I tried to get a fire going. Gathering some branches, I touched the wrong tree. Whatever that tree was, once I touched it, I felt like I was being sucked in it. In fact I was! But luckily I was swift enough to find its weakness." Finishing his words, he wore a devious smile on his face. He felt very c.o.c.ky about his swift thinking in that day, and everyone in the room could notice it.


    "Was an axe it''s weakness?" Asked Eric in curiosity. When he lived in that little farmhouse, at winter he was quite used of cutting down trees and bringing them to the farmhouse. So his first thought about this "weakness" was of course an axe, he is used to it.


    "No. Fire!" Mogranius explained in a cold low tone and added in a suspenseful manner. "Before the tree got the opportunity to completely suck me in, I burned part of the tree with my available hand. Seeing me as a strong strong threat, it let me go. But to let me go, I suppose..."


    "What!?" Everyone asked in a simultaneous way. This was the answer they all were waiting for.


    His lips widening with a smile, Mogranius continued to explain with his tone feeling a bit lighter. "It had to make little sacrifices. It had to give away some of its powers since i''m sure it isn''t used to detaching itself from victims which already fell on its trap. I figure that it''s only used to sucking Victims in it, in just a matter of seconds." Taking off his Wizard hat and bowing down a little bit, he explained. "I got detached from the tree with a blast." While gesturing on the bald spots on his head. He was being as literal as one can be at such a unique case. "This isn''t a bald spot caused by a Student as i Claimed before. I wanted to explain this event long ago but I just didn''t know how to."


    "Before you ask once again Michael, No. I''m not possessed by a Ghost. At least, I hope not." Odd enough, he cut King Michael''s words with that sentence short before he even started talking. "I still possess Paranormal vision, but I''m seeing less Ghosts than i''m supposed too."


    "There are Ghosts here?" King Michael was obviously not pleased. Even standing up from his chair with a dash.


    Luckily, Mogranius knew what to say to calm him down at least a little bit. "Man there are Ghosts everywhere. Most don''t tend to be harmful though so don''t worry."


    "But this doesn''t explain how you fainted." Reminded Commander Alia as she held his hand a bit tighter, grabbing his attention in the blink of an eye.


    "Oh it does if all of you were careful enough to concentrate on what I''m saying. I told you that the tree had to make a sacrifice. I theorize that it''s sacrifice was part of its powers. I was granted with permanent paranormal vision as a power, but also linked with the tree, merged with its powers. In a way, merged with its soul."


    Stefan of course being the closest to catch up, thanks to paying a lot of attention to the conversation in order to cut the ongoing questions and answers so he can get back to the book he was reading, Asked. "So since you got merged with the Tree, I suppose it got damaged somehow and led to your minor collapse."


    "That''s my theory." Expressed Mogranius with a dash on his tone, being glad that at least one was able to catch up. "But I have no idea how any living or nonliving Creature would be able to do major damage to that tree. I must go there myself to see what happened."

 Chapter 166 - Political Statement!

    Since King Zar put a lot of employees into work a bit earlier before the messenger with the signed Contract arrived at Pameres Kingdom, the Governing team along with some employees, were all ready to start their journey towards Bale Town a day after the Contract arrived.


    As soon as dawn broke, they were already on their Wagons not bothering to load the Cargo. How and most importantly, why? Well because the Cargo was loaded a day ago, the task was tackled yesterday so they don''t have to worry about finishing it in the last minute. The people of Pameres Kingdom commonly don''t prefer hard productive work, but once they get a job and start adopting King Zar''s influences, loving work becomes a habit. Those under his employments don''t leave the task to the last minute, ever.


    They arrived at Bale Town almost at dusk, so the Governing team couldn''t start their full scale work right away since the road can sure be tiring throughout this February cold, especially since they were on the road for about 6 days. They of course had Horses to deal with the travelling speed and Cargo, but since they were carrying over a ton of it plus a ton''s weight of people, the Horses could roughly travel 15-18km a day, mostly 15km and even dropping to 12km a day a couple of times, poor Horses.


    Since there weren''t enough Horses to spare in Pameres Kingdom because a lot of them are in Bale Town, the Governing team along with the employees, had to be crammed up into two Wagons. Neither of them regardless of status had the option to ride a Horse on their own, so none of them would be able to arrive any day before the rest of the second Batch of people.


    The entire Governing team did help with unloading the Cargo once they arrived, even though it wasn''t necessary considering 100 Guards being there, able to lend a hand. Larger numbers sure can prove useful if fast unloading is the primary goal, the goal of which they faced today because as mentioned a bit earlier, they arrived a bit before dusk.


    Apart from the Platoon of 100 able bodied Guards, there are 160 capable helpful and healthy native people in town. Since there are so many people who could have done the work instead, the entire Governing team along with the Construction Workers didn''t agree to work at first, claiming that they are very tired thanks to the long journey.


    Gustav Iron begged to differ, using his own position to his advantage this time, he made everyone work due to various reasons he held captive in his mind, he only partially revealed those thoughts to the rest. He mostly scolded them and commented on their lack of work motivation. After all, this is a messy start since there isn''t enough staff to tackle every task. Everyone needs to contribute until priorities for certain groups of people are set.


    Gustav Iron unloading Cargo? Fairly back to basics for a man of his success. You would think that he as an ill.u.s.tratio and as a wealthy man no doubt, wouldn''t ever lift anything more than a parchment? That''s something no doubt common but the thing is, he had respect for these people who put in so much effort already in hopes of change and a better future for their families, even if these people are Ignites who oppose the force of which most of his race stands in solitude with. He doesn''t see the color on their skin as a Problem and is happy to coexist and cooperate.


    Gustav Iron wasn''t born a rich man, his family went through terrible poverty throughout fairly more than half of his life. Although he managed to dig most of his family out of that terrible rat hole, he couldn''t do anything about one very special person, but that''s a story for another day. Getting back to the point, since Gustav Iron started from absolute 0 himself, he doesn''t see shame in hard sweat breaking work. Often he was seen working along with the Farmers he hired, so their work would be a bit easier when there were big tasks to tackle. In these times, that''s a very rare case.


    Another reason why he lent a hand with the Cargo, is to form a good political statement from the very beginning, he didn''t want to lose this chance even though he could afford it with ease. He wants to show this town that his presence here is due to a pure intend. He is here to help these people more than himself. He is rich, he doesn''t need more gold, all he feels like he should do now is contribute.


    Profit wise, he asked as little as 5% of the future monthly income from Bale Town even though he could of asked for at least 15% easily thanks to the handsome sum of Gold he donated. Such a sum equals to a thousand salaries for some, it''s not an amount easily donated for the good of others, yet he did it against all odds.


    Apart from setting a political statement, Gustav Iron wanted to be accepted by this Town of Ignites. Their race met a mass massacre throughout the one hundred year war and even after it but at a slower scale. Even though this town is fairly accepting of King Zar and his revolution, it wouldn''t be a big surprise if there still are people in this town who don''t favour the ill.u.s.tratios to the point of murderous hate.


    To undo what the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance has done to these innocent people and their close ancestors, it would take years and even decades. Even after a longer period of time, a good portion will remember the Civil War and use it as a point of reference when on arguments about Equal rights or opportunities and even business deals. War crimes are never easy to forgive and forget and shouldn''t be if you think about it. Not everyone is as pure hearted as King Zar and the people following his revolution.


    Night fell upon Ignis, they all managed to take care of the Cargo through teamwork, but one problem did occur mid task. The Storage room wasn''t big enough to fit everything since the first shipment arrived roughly a couple of weeks ago, this second shipment wasn''t small either. When the lack of Storage was reported a bit too late unfortunately, Gustav found it best to take most of the Tools out of the Storage room and place them on the Wagons.


    They prioritized the food supply, because animals can''t eat Iron or wooden tool tails after all. This cold weather proves very useful with food preservation as well, so everything is slowly forming together if you take some time to think about it, thankfully! Upgrading the Storage room should for sure be prioritized because the Tools can''t stay on the Wagon Forever, the Wagons can be used for delivery or should he returned back at Pameres Kingdom too, they likely need some of them at least.


    After putting in all of that hard work through the pitch dark with torches aiding to illuminate the scenes a bit, making the task a bit easier and safer. They finally called it a day and fell asleep. They slept like baby sheep thanks to the road and this little task tiring them out, but they had to sleep along with Guards since there isn''t enough space.


    Since food distribution is tackled by the Platoon of Guards, under Delrus Aze''s careful supervising of course. The Construction Working team immediately put in work the next day, early in the morning. Before this team of 10 arrived, the Town originally had 3 people claiming to be Construction Workers. And since this Town can''t be depended on employees coming from another Kingdom who might or might not choose to permanently live here after this Contract reaches and end, these 3 plus another 2 were immediately hired as Recruits, taken under the experienced Construction Worker''s wing.


    Now since there are 15 Construction Workers in Bale Town, 7 of the experienced and 3 recruits set a task to turn Lumber into Wooden Planks. While 2 experienced along with a recruit were currently send to fix old Houses as much and as fast as they could with the given currently limited resources. The remaining 1 experienced and 1 Recruit will be working on the Storage room, trying to expand it as fast as they can to make space for the sets of various Iron tools.


    Of course there aren''t enough Construction Workers spread in the Town to build or repair, but Planks are desperately required if they wish to finish this Housing repair plan quickly. Without the Wooden Planks, everyone else would just stand around wasting time. In order to get the best Planks, they have to cooperate with the Lumberjacks for a bit to make some requirements clear for them, describing what they need for a more productive progress. That at least wasn''t a hassle since there are a lot of Lumberjacks here, plus the Construction Workers are used to cooperating with Lumberjacks back at Pameres Kingdom, so no problem occured.


    As for the Salaries, since there now technically is a budget they can work around, the hired employees have to be paid, even the temporary ones! Although the town can''t chip in to afford paying big salaries, a small one had to be secured. The governing team has to show these people that they mean business.

 Chapter 167 - Guardian Angel.

    His eyes burning for sleep and even letting out cold tears, this can be considered the worst day of his Journey yet. Luckily, it was dark enough down here to hide his tears, there is no one to see him cry in pain after all. Or is there? He is curled into a ball, rubbing his legs, arms and his toes too for as much he could reach. With such forced effort, he managed to survive through the first hour in this hole. Through the coldest part of the morning, and fairly the coldest part of the day if a Blizzard doesn''t fall upon him.


    Breathing hard due to shivers in a way is a park in this isolated place, breathing helped him warm up even if he didn''t notice it at all. The first hour became even harder when his body started cooling down from the hard work that he put in throughout the night. He was shivering so strongly under a short period of time, it felt like the cold was forcing his soul out of his chest. That feeling calmed down after he fell asleep mostly, yes he finally managed to call it a day and fall asleep.


    It isn''t easy to pull an all nighter in a Forest in these dangerously low temperatures without the proper equipment and proper use of manpower. If it wasn''t for this little hole just happening to be near the Ghost Tree, death would be certain this morning, he would have never reached noon.


    He fell asleep once he felt slightly warmer, his feet also started warming up after continuous rubbing. Removing the wet shoes and socks, really helped. If he didn''t do so, he wouldn''t amputate just one or two toes, but all of them. Since warmth was roughly a problem anymore, his body just gave up and fell asleep.


    Yet again, even after considering the added Warmth, amputation doesn''t seem completely avoidable. This warmth is Vital for Survival, but not good enough for this particular matter, specifically fighting off Frostbite. To his luck, after around 4 hours, his small toes became fairly better but not completely reversed. There was warmth on them, but not enough. The skin wasn''t too pale and his lush of green returned on his toes here and there. Taking off his shoes before he shivered himself asleep saved his toes, the rubbing he put them through helped more or less.


    6 hours passed and he was still knocked out Cold, he is too exhausted to wake up without getting the sleep he needs. Pushing himself beyond limits for days became the usual for him ever since he started this Journey, however last night caused most of this tiredness. Sleeping for this long burns less much needed calories because he doesn''t move around, yes that''s true. But this will also dehydrate him!


    Due to, let''s call it a "Guardian Angel" deciding to be bountiful with its capabilities, warmth can no longer be considered a vital problem for our Dear Chan. In fact, he was sweating! How? I mean, Okay he isolated himself in here, a life saver as mentioned before. This hole can''t nearly provide enough heat for him to actually start sweating, unless something went wildly wrong. So what''s happening, is he dying? Even if he was, he wouldn''t sweat his way to death in this blistering cold. The fact that it is noon now, can''t be it either. This environment just can''t equal to him sweating.


    9 hours passed, he woke up to a damn Fire near his feet. A Fire? What? How? When? How is it even possible? Did he die? Is he hallucinating or did he simply go completely nuts? Not at all, apart from being thirsty and hungry, he is AOK. The one possible problem that could of stupidly damage him, was Frostbite. But he got rid of it. Well more like, the provided Fire standing for possibly hours near his feet, got rid of the chances of Amputation. The warmth did the trick. Warmth always does the trick, unless you put it inside of a Food Storage Building.


    But again, Fire? Whatever started a Fire here, it would still lead to suffocation in this isolated place due to the smoke of which a Fire would cause being trapped in here. Interesting enough, the rock he isolated this hole with seems to have shifted just a small bit, enough for a speck of light to push through and enough for the smoke to make its way out without making the atmosphere inside deadly cold, untangling the smoke concept.


    What could of caused this? Who would come all the way down this hole and not wake up Guard Commander Chan to communicate with him? I mean, whatever got down here, even placed his socks and shoes near the fire, completely dried them off thanks to that effort.


    When grabbing his shoes to put them on in fears of Frostbite, he found a Parchment on one of them! A Parchment! He got perplexed and even a bit creeped out. What force of nature would be able to do this? If it was a Human we can consider them completely unstable. Puzzled indeed, but happy that he got to keep his toes. It''s not easy to simply let a body part go. It would be an emotional game as much as a physical one. He could feel them once more and wiggle them.


    Opening the parchment, he found the sentences few and very short but massively impactful. "Son, I saved your ass this time. Keep the Coal Fire going with the bag behind you." Right after reading that highly specific sentence, he turned around and actually found a bag of Coal behind him, heavy even! It looks like it weighs around a hundred Kilograms. This is insane! "How the hell is this possible? My father is dead!" Chan whispered as he shed a couple of tears of both grief and gratitude.


    Turning his attention back to the letter, he continued to read its contents. "Please enjoy the food and water too, I tried to cook the Venison just the way you like it son and the water should last you for days." Taking another glance around the hole, he found the food and water at the edge of this little place, likely put there since its a bit colder compared to standing close to a damn Campfire. With a dry mouth he whispered, "Whater!", then dashed towards it and drank a huge amount.


    But drinking a lot of water is never good if one didn''t drink any for a long time. He puked it all out! Luckily he had a bit of energy to handle it. Then he drank a mouthful of water, and found out that "his father" left around 15 Kilograms of Venison meat. 15! What the hell is going on? His father is supposed to be dead and not be bringing a barrel of water along with bottles and leather water containers!


    Taking a piece of meat and a liter of water with him near the Campfire, he continued to read the last part of the letter. "If you treasured me as a father, take time to reconsider your beliefs." And just what could he mean by that? What could this seemingly invincible and unpredictable creature mean? Is he trying to shift Chan''s life plans? Well, he would need to do a lot more than that. Chan isn''t the type to commonly use reason.


    We should take it into consideration that Chan didn''t cut down enough branches for any Ghost kind to approach this close. So if his father isn''t just a soul roaming the afterlife, then what is he? Because it''s not common for spirits to be this helpful. Setting his back on the wall to get comfortable, Chan even found a set of fur clothing! This will make him invincible throughout the cold!


    Although he has enough gratitude for this unusual but yet very helpful act, he is still perplexed. Apart from trying to figure out what happened and what his father is, he also tried to figure out the. "Take time to reconsider your beliefs." Part. What could he mean by that? It''s confusing because Guard Commander Chan believes in a lot of things.


    Ale would probably be the main one. But these days he has also believed in gratitude, he didn''t have such emotion for years in a row now. His main belief was burning down his sorrows with spiraling down a bottle of Ale. Did his father possibly comment on Chan''s Alcohol habits?


    It really isn''t certain, but for this case he will have a lot of time to think due to the situation he put himself into. He doesn''t plan to leave this place anytime soon, especially before cutting down the rest of the Ghost Tree''s branches. With gratitude as his motivator, he can''t quit, he simply just can''t. The Dense Forest Kin shall roam freely once more.

 Chapter 168 - Heated

    Mogranius'' predicament yesterday, to everyone''s luck was better explained. But he caused a fairly strong amount of Drama right after with his new goals. He firmly insisted on going back to that Ghost Tree to find out what happened, he wanted to figure out what could possibly damage such a powerful fairly invincible tree. If he was lucky enough, he would try to stop depending on this Tree as well. Even if he has to give up his Paranormal vision as an exchange to such a portion of Freedom.


    He is a 58 year old man with roughly a couple of decades left on his life to live, but would he want to spend that time being afraid or paranoid? Would anyone want to live like that? Would anyone even want to see their Elders live their last day scared and paranoid? The majority wouldn''t unless they had a strong reason to feel so, or were purely evil. There are two parts of every story I suppose.


    He doesn''t want his well being depended on whether the Ghost Tree is safe or not. No he doesn''t want to spend his final years like that, and he definitely doesn''t want to make Commander Alia go through what she went yesterday, ever again. She is portrayed as a Strong force to be reckoned with, and to find out that she almost faced a Heart Attack because of this little predicament? It was heart shattering! He doesn''t want it repeated, her soft heart can''t put up with it.


    His insistence to visit that Ghost Tree again once more is strong, but Commander Alia didn''t plan to let him go there towards that life threateningly dangerous experiment, at least not alone. But despite from whatever she said, Mogranius wasn''t listening. He kept insisting, insisting to go there but to go alone. At least he insisted to do so until King Michael proposed a solution to temporary keep Mogranius here until he calms down enough to reconsider his choices, Mogranius was asked for a favour in the name of his hometown, Gaster Kingdom.


    He proposed another project which can bring a rather large temporary profit, Mogranius was asked to be a Protector. At that offer, although a bit insecure and even scared that he will faint again when they need him the most, he accepted to tackle this project.


    What Project would King Michael ask assistance off enough to stop Mogranius from continuing with such an important goal? Well, he proposed a Project having to do with Wheat. We are not talking about a Couple Hundred Kilograms here but about ten thousand!


    With such a big future profit about to come from the newly established Chicken farm, why would King Michael waste time with something as cheap as Wheat? His plan with this entire project, is to replace the fish consumption with something cheaper. It isn''t a good economical move to have expensive meat as their main daily meal.


    This offer calmed Commander Alia down greatly, she was close to beating Mogranius up. After the Arguments calmed down, she approached Mogranius'' house here in Gaster Kingdom in order to get the chance of speaking with him privately. The heart is open the most when mouths aren''t yelling, and ego is replaced with understanding. That''s a known fact and she wanted to use it to her advantage, to reach some sort of understanding.


    Mogranius wasn''t dramatic either after he calmed down, he accepted her inside right away with a hug and apologized for yelling. Throughout these arguments he failed to express for what is he trying to do all of this for, so now it is time to reach out and connect. Her heart was hurting due to all of the worrying she was put through these couple of days, so she clung on with that hug for a full minute, she didn''t let go. This situation was even harder to tackle when she kept remembering that the man she loved fainted after they all were having such joyfull laughs.


    They grabbed a couple of wooden chairs and sat near the lit Fireplace, Commander Alia decided to break the silence by asking him the Question she should have asked before instead of calling his ideas crazy in front of everyone and start arguing. "Why do you want to do this? Why do you have to go all the way to another Country on foot, alone? What if you faint? This winter cold will not forgive you." Grabbing his hand, trying to get his full attention, she expressed with a tear dropping from her eyes. "I just don''t want to loose you Mogranius."


    "I have no choice darling. You saw how I fainted yesterday, I can''t live my life worrying that I might collapse sooner or later. What if I was in a mission? What if there were more lives at stake?" Getting a bit emotional but refusing to let out a tear, his pain was noticeable by his shaking tone. "I got lucky once, but Luck was rarely by my side throughout life. Sometimes I feel like these worries will never end!"


    As for support, Commander Alia knows best how to comfort him. This time she didn''t fail to support. "I will look after you, I will never leave your side. You can''t ever go anywhere without me! Even when you will be 90, I will feed you by hand." She expressed while holding both of his hands now, pulling him towards her direction and slowly removing her shoes using her own feet to do so.


    "You... you are the main reason I want to destroy this merge with that Tree. I don''t want to destroy your heart again." At such an expression, he couldn''t hold in his tears anymore. This last event has hurt his heart far more than expressed. Commander Alia managed to get some of the pain out with some tears she let out yesterday, but Mogranius has been holding all his tears in so far.


    Seeing the love of her life cry, she couldn''t take it anymore. She wanted to relieve his stress in a rather a.d.u.l.t way. "So you are doing this for me? That does it!" Her heart felt a strong ache, but it was out of love. She also felt a bit guilty about arguing with him while his intend is so pure. Mogranius was still seated, but she dragged him to the left so he can face the Fireplace. Afterwards sitting on his lap, using her soft lips she decided to thank all of this care.


    While still above his lap, she stood just slightly and removed her armour, pulling it up from below. While she was removing her own armour, she also accidentally dragged her shirt up just a little bit. Enough for Mogranius to see her belly. It appeared to be extensively toned, hard as a rock! This is the first time he was able to see this part of her.


    Noticing that the situation is getting very heated, Mogranius became shy. Even more than he was yesterday when he realized that Commander Alia saw him n.a.k.e.d. So while sweating enough to the point of stuttering, he asked. "I don''t know how to do this!"


    "I don''t have a clue either. But you won''t escape me this time. You got lucky in Lan Zhe!" Lucky? Perhaps something happened that I didn''t write down yet?


    "Yes yes. At least this time there won''t be any Kids to dash in." Even at such a situation, he will use sarcasm? This man really won''t quit it, but to his bad fate it only inspired Commander Alia to tease him more.


    "Good thing they walked in time too, they would think that I''m being attacked by a cave bear if they walked in a bit later. Learn to shave shortie!" Her pointing out that fact, reminded Mogranius that she actually stripped him n.a.k.e.d yesterday! So he lost the bit of confidence he had and became shy again, so rare to see but he was completely under her control for once.


    Surprising to both Mogranius and herself, her confidence was too large even after considering how intense this situation is getting. "Why are you so shy tough man? Did someone steal your c.o.c.kyness?"


    "I..." He tried to form a sentence, but was left speechless when Commander Alia dropped her armor down to the ground and pulled up her shirt after too, since she wasn''t wearing anything else from her belly to her shoulders once she removed that shirt, Mogranius got to see a lot more than her belly this time and was sweating in nervousness and keeping his hands on mid air out of panic and not daring to look down, he was only looking upwards, avoiding looking at her b.r.e.a.s.ts at all cost.


    "Stop talking old man." She smirked and sat on his lap too fast. She ended up tipping the chair over and falling down along with him. Luckily, her special week ended this morning. They had no reason to stop right now, everyone else is busy with another task. These two love birds are completely alone.

 Chapter 169 - Setting firm foundations.

    For the temporary Construction Workers, 50 Gold Coins a month per employee feels little no doubt, they have a lot more experience which would speak itself when it comes to figuring out a proper pay for them. But their food expenses here are covered, they are completely free! Apart from that proper benefit, their families are being well taken care off back at Pameres Kingdom. To be frank, anyone who was sent all the way up to this town, is considered a Hero. Apart from free food and lumber to burn being given to those families completely free until the Construction Workers return to their home Kingdom, their family''s social statuses are also increased thanks to this event!


    Gustav Iron is in charge of establishing the salaries. It wasn''t a hassle for him, but it still wasn''t his assigned and Contracted responsibility. Since he is only supposed to be dealing with managers to begin with, or with groups of Craftsmen at most until more managers are established. But someone has to do it and he sure has experience handling big coin more than anyone in this town.


    Since there is one Blacksmith here, a forge is required to be build from scratch, well not exactly from scratch when you think about it. This is the trickiest task yet though, and requires the proper items and proper experienced person to build it. Luckily, the Blacksmith had everything he needed plus was assisted by a few townsfolk to build the town''s first ever forge. Elderly people lended a hand mostly since of course they''ve seen more through life, they would need to be supervised a little less strictly and would sure prove useful.


    When it comes to building a forge, there are a few key requirements to making it happen. The first of course is the circular base, that will hold the Coal in. In the middle of that circle there will be a ditch, specifically for the burned out coal to slip through and be replaced by new ones. The ditch is considered the most important part by some Blacksmiths in Pameres Kingdom while some argue for the Iron to be the most important.


    Bellows is also a very important tool. It is used to blow air on the burning coal which of course speeds up the Iron melting process. The hearth of the forge is considered quite useful as well. It is where new bags of coal are dumped at while the old ones are slowly sent down the ditch in the middle and disposed off elsewhere. A metallic slide like plate stretching from the ditch and reaching a couple of feet out of the forge, helps the Blacksmiths to completely remove the burned out coal, bag it after it gets completely cooled down and throw it, commonly on nature. Medieval littering, nice.


    Some additional tools would be Tongs to hold hot metal, swages to melt Iron into a liquid form at, Anvils used as a flat hard surface to hammer Iron on, and sharpening stones which are used for Weapons mainly. These additional tools were easy to provide by Zar, but the Forge here took all day to make even with so many volunteers.


    As for new Employees, Gustav Iron couldn''t be stingy with them if this town is to reach total independence, Iron is used for everything after all. Since there is an Experienced Blacksmith broughy here in Bale Town, he can take apprentices under his wing and teach them this valued craft. So 5 Farmers were converted into Blacksmiths, this is considered a great way of managing Employees since there are more than enough farmers already to cultivate plant and harvest a winter''s worth of food each year. This town needs people with more perplexed Crafts (With all due respect to the hardworking Farmers of course.).


    As for the salaries, the 5 new recruits are being paid 70 Gold Coins a month, with of course having food and lumber available for free. Since this town needs to be savvy with the overall budget, the experienced Blacksmith will also be paid 70 Gold Coins a month, food and lumber will be covered for both himself here and his family in Pameres Kingdom. It''s a good living since food and lumber take most of the monthly salary, plus this project is where names are made. This little sacrifice now could lead to a far greater future, with someone as rewarding as King Zar, it is unpredictable.


    The shelter problem being slowly solved, setting up a stable food source is an issue they should give a lot of importance to. It desperately needs to be fixed, food needs to be stocked instead of worrying about what they will eat tomorrow. Although King Zar willing to donate even more, he still has 24 hundred people to feed and he can''t provide large free shimpents for Bale Town forever. Especially when Hundreds of Kilograms are involved.


    So to fix the food situation, a team of Hunters has to be set. This town originally has 2 Hunters, since now they have proper Tools to Hunt, they can keep the town quite fed. 6 Hunters kept the food supply steadier in Pameres Kingdom where there are a lot more people to feed, but at Pameres Kingdom there are other food sources, imported foods more precisely.


    So Bale town can''t work based on Pameres Kingdom Standards considering the lack of employees and Income. Instead of leaving Bale Town with 3 Hunters only (Along with the one sent from Pameres Kingdom to train them.), three more recruits were hired. With 6 Hunters putting in work, and a portion of imported food coming from another Domain (At this case from Pameres Kingdom, to Aid this town.), Bale Town will reach a steady food supply in no time.


    Take it into consideration, Wildboards are very common, 6 Hunters will be assigned to set traps on several places each. Now let''s not think about big numbers, just take it that these 6 Hunters together would managed to bag 10 hunts and bring them to the town. If those 10 hunts are Wild Boars, it necessarily equals to a thousand Kilograms of meat. Such an amount can be stretched for a long while.


    All that can be achieved with 10 hunts per week, imagine if that 10 turned into 15, or 20. After there is enough meat reserved for upcoming months, some of it can even be imported into other domains as a small profit. Gaster Kingdom would sure buy it since they mostly eat Fish meat and could use something new. When King Michael hears about this town''s little revolution, he is sure to help them reach financial independence by buying their products.


    As for the salaries, hunting can be generally dangerous and equally tiring as well. Because once a hunt is put down, it''s the hunter''s responsibility to bring the hunt down the town. It''s not easy to drag a hundred kilogram hunt(Or more.) for an extensive period of time. So their salaries barely differ from the Blacksmiths, they will be earning 60 Gold Coins a month with food and lumber covered in both domains. With the new Hunting tools, the Hunting will surely prove to be a success instead of a risky waste of time and energy.


    The governing team managed to bring this much order in a day to Bale Town. There were already many people working hard to improve this town. But there is a lot more to do with other groups of crafts which haven''t been even successfully established yet!


    The Construction Workers proved useful to turn lumber into around 200 pieces of fair quality Wooden Planks, with that many Planks into their advantage now, tomorrow most of them will be able to focus on improving the Housing on the Town, while less of them will work on generating more Planks! It''s a lot of great progress for just a couple of days.


    A few more tasks of which Gustav Iron will need to handle tomorrow (Specifically on day 3.), would be establishing different groups of Crafts! Let''s take the Lumberjacks as an example, they are very useful yes. But for the town''s Standards, there are too many of them. Many, of which can be put into use in another more profitable craft.


    Sure they are useful now, considering that there is a lot of Lumber needed for Planks and to bring in burning lumber too. But what will happen after the houses are repaired and summer hits? These Lumberjacks would just walk around wasting time. Given their physical advantages that Lumberjacking grants over the years, Gustav Iron talked it out with Guard Commander Delrus Aze and found it reasonable to turn them into Guards as soon as possible!


    With 44 other men who have no Craft but farming, why is Gustav Iron focusing on the Lumberjacks so much? Well, he will start working on the Farmers too. As far as he saw, the Town doesn''t need more than 20 Farmers to work through the farming season in order to set a steady food supply. But since farming is seasonal, they will have to put in some other work throughout the winter.

 Chapter 170 - Special Treat

    Although nice that the cute old little couple found an agreement after all of that passionate chaos they caused in between one another, trying to protect each other. Let''s get back to the Wheat Grain project King Michael specifically asked for Mogranius'' assistance on.


    Why would King Michael bother working with something so cheap to increase profit you might ask. Simple, it''s cheap! 50 kilograms of Wheat Grain costing around 20 Gold Coins here in Ignis at average, can equal to a total amount of 100 Gold Coins(50 Kilograms) worth of flour coming out as a result. When the hired Farmers convert Wheat Grain into Flour so it can be baked into bread or various other foods with it, half of the fish intake would be cut down in Gaster Kingdom! This is fairly an economic game changer, because Fish isn''t cheap and can be used to set up another stream of income.


    Since King Michael will have the opportunity to sell more Fish meat elsewhere, in a period of 5 months Gaster Kingdom would make a lot more than it invested in this project even if the product is sold on Ignis. How? Well cutting half of the Fish meat consumption means ultimately sparing over 800 Kilograms of fish to sell each month. That amount can be higher or lower than 800 Kilograms of course, but it is still worth a lot of Gold Coins depending on the Fish Species.


    With the BlackMarlin team lending a hand after they complete their monthly task sooner, sparing over 800 should be a breeze. People found entertainment at seeing two teenagers pulling out hundred Kilogram fish out of the Water with ease, while seeing a 7 foot man do too proved even more entertaining. As for Jim, he has been finding easy ways to land a catch, such as tying the rope to the Boat. He doesn''t want to be dragged in the Ocean any time soon.


    Estimating a profit can be unpredictable, but King Michael expects a decent amount. Take it into consideration, even if each fish isn''t worth 10 Gold Coins per Kilogram, it will still prove to be a good profit. Especially since the prices vary on the Fish Species. If 300 Kilograms of fish costs 3 gold coins per Kilogram for example, while another 100 costs 7 per Kilogram, with everything else costing underneath 6 to 1, The Town can reel in a steady side income. Especially since the Fishermen will aim to catch more valuable fish primarily after the Wheat Grain successfully arrives in Gaster Kingdom.


    Although this income not too impactful itself, when combined with the other streams of income of which King Michael spend a lot of time developing, it''s what this Kingdom needs to attain further financial freedom even after considering their lack of population as a disadvantage. Everyone in this town has the potential of being wealthy if the population remains around 400, and from the looks of it it will.


    5 months at least is how long this Wheat Grain Project can keep his people fed, the Fishermen will have to put in a lot more work throughout the months or at least tend to be more productive so they can sum up a total of possibly 1000 Kilograms of spare fish, that way it can equal to earning up to 6,000 Gold Coins a month when that fish is sold. And after the successful Harvest season this year on the newly established farm land, he can keep this passive income going year around.


    When those fields are ready to plant upon and harvest, he will also be able to sell spare Grain in a mass amount to the Zamerians likely, since Wheat Grain is a bit more expensive thanks to their economy of an upper standard. If Lav Kingdom doesn''t need it, they can at least resell it to another Zamerian domain easily.


    With so many tons of raw Wheat Grain costing only 4,000 Gold Coins, the Budget manager Alama, clarified that it won''t be a problem, since they have around 180,000 Gold Coins as a total budget. It is a risk worth taking and will prove profitable. But it sure came in as a shock when King Michael proposed the idea. Here is how the conversation went.


    While eating breakfast in the Castle Dining room, King Michael planted the seeds of this possible stream with. "I think I figured out another way to bring income to this town." This of course happened roughly a week before they officially started the Chicken egg project.


    Being used to him speaking of such ideas that would bring in income, she didn''t first react enough and simply kept chewing on a mouthful of Black Marlin meat. Yes King Michael sneaked in this special treat. Not for himself, but for her. She said that she was curious about the taste so King Michael asked Lia to sneak a Kilogram in. Lia understanding his effort in a matter of seconds, first teased the thoughtful King and then agreed to bring some. Luckily it went all well without unnecessary drama. "Tell me?" She expressed after swallowing the food. She didn''t prefer speaking with food in her mouth and Michael didn''t like it either.


    "I plan to buy ten tons of Wheat Grain." Pitched King Michael boldly, getting right to the point without expressing the benefits. It got Alama''s eyes wide open and she almost choked. But after reviewing the idea, she found it reasonable in most aspects and a good side income.


    Why do they need Mogranius as one of their protectors though? They would just order 10,000 Kilograms of Wheat Grain from Lav Kingdom and get this task over with. Although the order is Large, the domain would be able to provide it. That is true, but it would turn up to be too expensive with 50 Kilograms of Wheat Grain there, costing 80 Gold Coins. It''s different to pay 4,000 Gold Coins and different to pay 16,000 for the Grain.


    With Lav Kingdom crossed out, where else will King Michael order the Wheat Grain? Well, on the Domains of Occidentis Ignis itself. If you are thinking about King Zar, then you are thinking wrong. Pameres Kingdom doesn''t even have other farmlands but Gr.a.p.es, their Grains are all imported. So they have to buy the Grain somewhere else, specifically on enemy Domains.


    This is why Mogranius will prove very useful as a protector. They will be handling 10 tons of Wheat Grain throughout enemy territory, what if they get robbed or what if the art of fear should be used to bargain? A lot of providers would put racial differences in front and refuse to cooperate. Fire tends to change their mind, considering that Mogranius doesn''t care enough to spare racists, King Michael wanted him there!


    Eric will tag along as well of course, he is a lot more powerful than Mogranius in Fire Controlling at a lot of Aspects. Commander Alia will also tag along, considering her experience she will be the main negotiator, she will do the Bargaining. If the Grain providers are men for example, she can even get Cheaper prices for larger amounts and cut off their... well you know!


    Isabel will be the hidden protector, their Guardian Angel. She will be the Guard Guarder. A weird name I know, but she will mostly stand in the Shadows, hidden. She will only get into action when the situation becomes to extreme for the Group of additional 20 Guards to handle. She will be the close Combat expert in this case given her physical differences and advantages, their secret Weapon.


    There are three Domains as their main Target, the first and closest is Silver Kingdom. A place holding 1,700 people. Fairly enough Farmers there to buy Wheat Grain in mass amount from. Silver Kingdom is the closest, but it is still 300 Kilometers away. Such a distance would take almost a month to tackle if everything goes like it is supposed too!


    Although Silver Kingdom their first target, they will need to stop at Pameres Kingdom first because Gaster Kingdom doesn''t nearly have enough Horses and Wagons to tackle this task. If Pameres Kingdom doesn''t have enough horses to provide, they at least have enough Construction Workers to mass produce Wagons under a short period of time, although King Michael is willing to pay the expenses, King Zar will sure offer discounts.


    The lack of horses tends to be a problem in Pameres Kingdom as well due to most of them being sent at Bale Town when that little place required urgent protection. But if King Michael can afford to wait, those horses can be transported to Pameres Kingdom in a week or just a little bit longer than that. Buying enough horses to carry ten tons of Grain can be expensive, so King Zar has to temporarily lend them. I''m sure he would be willing to cooperate and provide more help. They are all aiming to become stronger after all.

 Chapter 171 - Apprentices

    On the next day, a pride for Bale Town occured at Noon. One of the new recruits managed to bring game home. As in, he managed to trap a Wild Boar with a net and put an end to it. No one is crazy enough to face a Wild Boar with a Spear instead of a net. Those animals inches thick fur, now at Winter it gets even thicker in order to adapt to the colder environment, in order to increase their chances of survival. This thick fur works to their advantage even more when facing deadly animals such as Black Wolves.


    This hunt barely breaks over a 100 kilograms, but it is still a big pride for the new established team of Hunters here in Bale Town. This hunt proves as a good sign that they are progressing. It is a sign that''s the work they have been putting in these past few days and even a week or two before that, is paying off.


    With now technically over 360 people in Bale Town, a hundred kilogram off Wild Boar meat doesn''t sound like a big deal. It should be taken into consideration that a kilogram of meat can last longer if stretched compared to other foods such as Bread.


    This one successful hunt it''s just the start of a future more stable food resource for these people, when these recruits learn the ups and downs of hunting they will surely be able to bring down more game therefore becoming a lot more dependable. They would escape their "Recruit" title. That one experienced Hunter coming from Pameres Kingdom will surely prove useful towards that aim. He has more experience which grants him the capability to do so, especially since he was skillful enough to be trusted by King Zar himself for such an important task.


    Although this newly established hunting team will become more and more useful over time, Bale Town can''t depend on hunting as a primary or only food resource. Harvesting a large farm Field is considered the best food supply to help a domain throughout the winter. Specifically because cultivation, planting and harvesting is done throughout the warm season mostly.


    The winter helps to preserve the food better, they won''t rot. Considering those aspects, farming should be the main food supply while hunting can either be considered a luxury or a source of income for the kingdom. With the farmers being available at winter due to seasonal work, they can join the hunt. Since even the Hunters themselves don''t usually face and animal, the farmers can simply help set up more traps or carry hunted down game which necessarily increases the productivity rate and of course income to.


    Gustav Iron expressed the lack of Governors in Bale Town to Guard Commander Delrus Aze, the Grand Manager of this entire Contract. It was rather a surprise that King Zar wasn''t able to provide each required Governor, it got Delrus shocked. But when Academically smart people came into mind, Delrus'' first thought was Eert, Bert and Mert. So he didn''t waste a blink with expressing that strong fact. "I got the perfect people who are more than willing to work hard for those positions. There is one problem though, they are illiterate!"


    When Gustav Iron heard the word "Illiterate", he immediately became displeased and of course discouraged of following Guard Commander Delrus Aze''s recommendation. It was hard to find a nice way to express what he wanted to point out, but he found a way. "Are you sure that illiterate people should be trusted with governmental affairs? It''s not that I mean any disrespect, I started from nothing myself. But... we can''t leave these jobs to people who don''t know what they are doing. It will be the death of this town." Him as a Donator, doesn''t want to see all of that Gold go to waste, it is the last thing he wants to see right now.


    "I get what you mean, but I suppose King Zar didn''t mention anything about the three brothers who are the root of this town''s revolution, I guess you need to see for yourself to be as convinced as I am." Gesturing for Gustav to follow him, as he started walking himself deeper into town. He also expressed when Gustav finally caught up on foot after a short jog. "These three men are the fastest learners I ever had the pleasure of seeing. I Guarantee that they could learn the entire Alphabet in a day!"


    "That''s impossible. Learning the Alphabet requires weeks of time!" That isn''t so far from being right. At least, younger generations require such time. But these men are in their thirties or late twenties, they are at pique physical and mental form.


    Maybe getting the chance to learn how to read and write at this age came with the advantage of learning fast! "I know what you mean, and it''s quite true that most would require such time. That''s why I''m fascinated by these men. Once they grab the quill, they won''t let go of it until they run out of ink. Their ambition to learn is large, but their brain capacity is astounding as well."


    Trying to describe their capabilities by word can''t be convincing enough, Gustav has to see them at work with his own eyes. "Very interesting. Let''s see them!" He expressed with motivation causing a little sprint on his feet.


    "Willson Brothers! A word." Waved Guard Commander Delrus Aze for them to approach. Since the Willson Brothers have no specific job yet, they are helping in every way possible. Today, they were helping the Construction Workers turn Lumber into Planks, since the rest were focusing on improving the housing.


    The Willson Brothers approached with a dash and greeted Gustav Iron. They met before when Gustav first arrived, but they didn''t yet hold a long conversation. Just a few greeting exchanges. "Gustav, these are the Willson Brothers. I''m sure you met them."


    "Indeed. It was very nice meeting them a few days ago. Their smiles were very welcoming." Expressed Gustav with a simple compliment to appear more approachable.


    Delrus decided to get to the point right away, with Governors lacking they can not afford to waste time. "Well I can guarantee you, if you take them under your wing, they will qualify for the Governmental positions in no time. I guarantee 100% that they will not disappoint."


    The position sounds very important, so putting the people of Bale Town first, Mert decided to point out right away. "Governmental positions? But sir, we can''t even write."


    Replying to Mert with an assuring face, Delrus continued to explain. "That''s why he will take you all under his wing. He has more than enough experience to shape all of you up." Delrus Aze is more than comfortable with this approach, the Willson Brothers could be the smartest individuals in this town. Their learning speed is extraordinary compared to most. Maybe there are more geniuses here, it isn''t certain since Delrus didn''t test everyone yet. But he does feel comfortable of Bert, Eert and Mert for such positions.


    Eert decided to speak for all of the Willson Brothers this time, he answered. "If Gustav is willing to teach, we are willing to learn." This isn''t a chance that they can waste. It isn''t an everyday scene to be offered to learn reading and writing. Not to mention such a great position.


    At such an expression, Gustav couldn''t help but smile. The Willson Brothers seem quite accepting and aren''t giving him weird looks either because of the color of his skin. "Maybe they are used to ill.u.s.tratios." He thought but didn''t express it by words. But no, The Willson Brothers were greatly accepting of Delrus Aze in the beginning and even asked Zar for help. They don''t mind the color of one''s skin, especially for those who want to help Bale Town.


    "Please follow me." Gustav gestured and started walking towards the Guard house. Since the Guards are either on patrol or lending a hand somewhere, it''s a great place to practice. But Bert insisted for them to learn the Alphabet at least, at their home. Its warm, soft and cozy there. They will be able to concentrate even more since they can feel comfortable there.


    Gustav Iron found it reasonable of course and didn''t waste a second. He agreed with them and started following them all the way up to a small house. As Leaders, they sure don''t seem to be demanding the bigger houses to live in. Which can be a great sign that they will earn these positions in no time.

 Chapter 172 - 5 Streams, 1 Source.

    Considering that King Michael consulted this Wheat Grain Project a week earlier before he started the Chicken Egg Project, he wrote a Parchment and gave it to one of the Cargo delivery men who comes to claim the profit from the Iron Sword project, that team also brings the Swords from Pameres Kingdom for the Zamerian delivery team to pick up. So when they meet on the assigned day, the profit from last month''s delivery is handed and the Swords for the next month are delivered. So he handed the Parchment to Pameres Kingdom''s little delivery team, so they can hand this letter to King Zar!


    It works to King Michael''s advantage since he doesn''t have to wait for a month or more to get another Parchment as a reply when it comes to forging some kind of potentially profitable deal. Because King Zar usually sends a messenger a day after if they aim to to handle this deal under a short period of time. To clear it out a bit, he requires King Zar''s assistance on some deals or at least help narrowing them down, on the other hand Zar can be a potential Customer when it comes to ordering Chicken Eggs in large amounts, because he has been aiming to increase food options for his people. Tends to be difficult really since a lot of people there refuse to work, they are picky with work even though their financial situation is terrifyingly bad.


    King Michael wanted to ask for help on both striking a deal with the Zamerians about the Chicken Egg project he had in mind (Which is now active.), plus he wanted to lend some Horses and Wagons for the Wheat Grain project. Rather a lot to ask considering that Pameres Kingdom might not get much out of these requests. So in aims of helping Pameres Kingdom too instead of just his own, he offered 10% of the Chicken Project''s profit. A rather good deal considering that it''s a side profit the Kingdom doesn''t have to invest a cycling monthly budget on.


    What King Zar replied with however, tended to portray realism instead of making too many promises. To make it clear, he is more than willing to help though. "King Michael, I''m happy to see you trying to bring more streams of income towards your respected Kingdom. I think that your Chicken Egg project would prove quite profitable if more Domains were by our side, in Ignis it would be an easy earning since it''s worth a lot and you don''t have much genuine competition. You might have heard that I''ve sent a Governing Team to Bale Town. At the first chance I get, I''ll ask them if they need imported eggs from yours truly. We will try to make this Project work here because with the Zamerians, specifically Lav Kingdom, I think it will be a bit difficult to reach some sort of deal considering they likely have a lot more Chicken farms than Ignis. When it comes to profit they get from Ignis, they look for cheap products that would sell double or more there, eggs likely have a price almost equal to what we can find in Ignis. But I will do my best to attain a deal for you! Apart from trying to work out a deal with Bale Town for you, I''d also like to place an order of Eggs. I''d like to make a permanent monthly flow of orders, this won''t be temporary so you will have one stream to depend on even if it isn''t that big! If you find it doable, I''d like to order 200 eggs each month for as long as both Kingdoms shall stand, I hope it isn''t too much to provide. I''m willing to pay 20 Gold Coins per egg, since I plan to sell them for 25 here. I''m sure people would be willing to purchase one or two as a taste of luxury. If 200 is too much to provide, you can cross the number off of the Contract and turn it into something more possible for your Farm''s rate underneath it. If you manage to provide more Eggs in the future, I''m more than willing to help you strike a deal with the Zamerians. If you can offer them to provide large orders, the chances of forming some kind of deal are of course bigger. Since you are looking for more streams of income, I''m willing to offer you 10% for a couple of offers I will propose to Lav Kingdom once our delivery team meets with theirs on the port. I offer 10% as a pay for the usage of your port of course. I plan to start a Tailoring business, if I manage to get a deal, 10% of this business is yours. It is the same concept about the Furniture making Business I lately established, your Kingdom will earn 10% of it too. I''m sure with 5 Streams of income coming from Pameres Kingdom itself, your Domain will further reach towards financial freedom. I''m more than happy that our Domains are working together, this is helping all of us progress. As for your Wheat Grain project, I can provide a few Wagons. I can get the Building Constructors to build a few for you to lend, that''s the easy part of granting this request at least! As for now I will send a couple of Wagons with the messenger, It''s all my Kingdom currently has with most being at Bale Town. The Horses however, your team has to wait a bit until we get them back from Bale Town, we can''t build Horses after all. Your team is welcome to start their journey towards Pameres Kingdom once my messenger brings you this Parchment. I hope we can agree on a deal, let''s help each others Kingdoms thrive." With this long message full of opportunities, came the Contract attached to it. In Fact, 3 Contracts! They all appear truthful and state Exactly what King Zar offered in the letter, except they are more detailed.


    This deal seems more than amazing. Because with the ten Chickens only providing around 300 Eggs a month, this deal matches what Gaster Kingdom can provide on a monthly basis even if the Chickens don''t manage to provide 300 Eggs. Plus King Zar even offers to work a deal for him with Bale Town, this just makes everything easier about this Project. Apart from that, Gaster Kingdom will be earning 10% out of two newly established businesses. This is profit that Gaster Kingdom doesn''t have to invest expenses on, apart from that it can be more profitable compared to the other 10% they earn from the same domain. Specifically the one they earn from the Iron Sword Project.


    But to King Michael it feels like Pameres Kingdom is mostly giving with little in return. So he decided to offer Pameres Kingdom a short lasting stream of income as a thank you for all the help they offered so far of which no other domain would even think of providing, however it might be a slow small income for their standards.


    Cloth! This will be like fishing out two fish with one hook. It will help Pameres Kingdom to earn a bit more, plus he can gift his own people with something unique for once. Clothes are expensive in Ignis and definitely not common in Gaster Kingdom, so King Michael won''t be able to sell any cloth here especially after considering the average salaries here, hence the word "Gift".


    He wants to buy Leather Jerkins to all 435 people on this Kingdom without discriminating a single person (Including the Farmers.) bit even for the Calidum Lutum! That would require a lot more leather and would likely cost more, but King Michael is willing to pay without even asking for some sort of Discount.


    These Gifts will be given as a reward for all the hard work his people have been putting in over the months even though they didn''t get much in return. But King Michael wanted to set a limit of how much he can pay for one month, all he can afford is to send 4,000 Gold Coins a month even after the established income from the Chicken Egg Project, he has 180,000 Gold Coins in the budget too, but he can''t risk throwing Gold at this order, so he made a rather unique request. All of the 435 Leather Jerkings will be delivered in the first month if possible, while the payment will be covered over the months depending on the total sum. It''s not a deal every domain wants to work with, but it''s still 4,000 Gold Coins stretched for at least 2 months.


    As for the Chicken Eggs they need to provide, the timing worked to their advantage in many aspects. Since it will take a while for this Contracted deal to finally be active, the Kingdom will be more than ready to provide the order of 200 eggs when the time comes. For now, King Michael''s primary task is to get the team ready for the Wheat Grain project.

 Chapter 173 - Another idea.

    It has been a few days since the governing team arrived here in BaleTown. The Construction Workers progressed extensively well with improving the town''s housing even after considering the short period of time they have been here. But one problem remained strong, this town doesn''t have an income of gold but will have a lot of monthly expenses considering the newly hired employees of different crafts and tasks. Why don''t they have an income? It''s because until now Gustav has been focusing on establishing teams that would cover the towns primary requirements. Income is the second issue since they have a budget to work with.


    Different from establishing new teams, he also converted 10 Lumberjacks into Patrol Guards. The town only has 15 of its own Native Guards, thankfully they all are Warriors (Level 2 in Swordsmanship.) Which can be a tide turner in Battle. But the quantity isn''t enough to provide professional protection if an attack was brought upon this little town. The town can''t be depended on Farmers to take on attackers with hoes, the town needs qualified Guards or some in training at least. 25 should be enough for now, they will earn 30 Gold Coins a month for now(Regardless of experience.) But will also be provided with free necessities. With the little equipment they have, they will aim to increase their level of skill with the Sword until better circ.u.mstances are provided, they have to grind.


    As for Lumberjacks, the town needs only 10 right now considering the lumber the town needs to keep warm, plus the thicker wood they require for planks can be provided by this small number of Employees. One experienced Farmer with a couple years of experience and a mildly proper physique, can cut down 50 arm thick trees in an hour!


    That defines that this is the only craft with a stable amount of employees in this town. As for the salary, dragging stocked up wood for an extended period of time can be both difficult and time consuming. You can consider it as a full body exercise since it engages most muscles. Don''t mess with a Lumberjack! They will be paid 45 Gold Coins a month with of course free daily necessities provided by the newly established government. But they will be given priorities when salary raises are more reasonable to do.


    Another issue that needs Counseling, is that the town has 44 men who just qualify as farmers and don''t have any other skills that would prove useful in the winter season, they aren''t assigned on different tasks either and just lend a hand here and there now. The best idea with such a predicament, is to establish a new business that brings profit regardless of the season.


    But what business could they start here? This question has been haunting Gustav and Delrus too! Although it isn''t entirely up to them to decide, they still need to figure out a solution since no one else will. With a Hunting team established, Gustav found it smart to start a tailoring business. Because apart from the 44 Farmers, there also are around 45 women (Clay Sculpters Discluded.), who don''t qualify with any specific task or craft except for helping their father with farming throughout the warmer seasons. It isn''t a good idea to let healthy capable people just stand around wasting time. The more employees, the more Gold!


    But to start a Tailoring business? Two problems come along with it. The first one would be to establish a stable income of fur and leather, which means that more Hunters are required to be hired in order to get enough material for a large team of tailors to tackle, instead of working with a limited amount of materials.


    The second one would be finding buyers, a stream of income. When thought about that, Lav Kingdom would be the best idea. King Zar opened a Tailoring business in Pameres Kingdom too. If he manages to work around some kind of deal with the Zamerians about tailoring, they sure would inquire a large order. They don''t work with a hundred but with a thousand or more. Because considering the different economies, most of the things there can be sold half times more, to double to triple. Depending on the product. Bale Town can help mass produce.


    Taking that into consideration, there would be nothing wrong with Pameres Kingdom cooperating with  Bale Town to tackle a larger order and bring a handsome profit for both Domains, Lav Kingdom would surely not say a word about it. It''s faster profit for them either way.


    As for the Salaries for the Tailoring Women, it will be 50 Gold Coins. Gustav feels that these salaries and the rest of the low salaries in different crafts, aren''t a problem. Since they won''t be this low once a new income is established. With food and warmth provided free, where will they use their gold here? No one would travel a hundred Kilometers for a sip of Ale, salaries are just a method to motivate these employees. This Tailoring business will make the difference from earning an income or spending all of this 150 thousand Gold Coins into salaries.


    So the next day after being astounded of the Willson Brothers being so quick with learning the Alphabet, Gustav and Delrus made their way to talk with the main Construction Workers, requiring a building which can give proper workspace for 20 women, and a smaller Storage Room near that building which can hold a months worth of leather be it a final product or a fresh patch. The Construction Workers found it reasonable to make a 3x3 meter Storage Room, it''s not too difficult to do considering that they have so many other tasks on their hands, and can hold in a lot of material if they manage the space properly.


    Having their hands tied with improving all the housing plus still working on the general Storage building, the Construction Workers pointed out that this request will have to be put aside unless some extra hands are lended. Which means that those extra hands will have to work a full shift for free for a few days, until they tackle all of these requests. Because what value could this governing team prove if they depend on spring for warmth?


    Tailoring for a profit is a good idea no doubt, but Gustav was struck with another amazing idea, it wasn''t hard to think of considering the idea literally walked towards him. This idea can make such a large difference for this town! So what exactly happened? Well, a couple of Farmers walked by with a few buckets containing something not so valuable by Kilogram, but when sold in masses it can make 250 people wealthy! They were carrying them as if it wasn''t a big deal, as if they were carrying something worth less than wood!


    Coal! The Farmers were carrying cold black coal! When Gustav saw them carrying so many of it, he immediately approached those couple of Ignites and asked with a lot of curiosity as he felt the shortness on his breath caused by enthusiasm. "Where did you find this Coal?! Taking a look at the buckets, he estimated that this amount of Coal is worth around 100 Gold Coins! Here, it''s like earning a month''s worth of salary in a day!


    Confused, not understanding the Coal''s value. One of the farmers answered in aims to impress Gustav. "There is an opening on the ground at the end of the Farmfields, it looks quite dark in there but in the entrance there is a lot of Coal. We usually use this to burn them on the Fireplaces when we want to save up wood."


    At first he felt shocked, his mouth started mumbling when he started thinking about the profit this will bring to the town and to him who literally joined this project with pure intends to help these people. In a way, giving ended up making him more. "What?! Take me to that Cave please!" This can be such a life changing opportunity for so many people here, there are only several Coal mines throughout Ignis, past ones usually depleted quickly, coal distribution is so scarce in this Continent. But the farmer claimed that there are a lot near the entrance and it is quite clear that this isn''t the first time they picked up coal there. Defining how rich this future mine is with coal.


    So one Farmer simply took the coal home, while the other led Gustav Iron towards this little possible future mine. Hearing out the history of this town before he even got here, this situation got him even more puzzled. "How can the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance be stupid enough to not start a Coal mine here? These people have been using Coal as a sub resource of warmth for a reasonably noticeable amount of time! 1 Kilogram of this precious flammable rock costs 5 Gold Coins!"

 Chapter 174 - Isabels thoughts.

    While King Michael was getting everything ready the next day, lending a hand with loading the Cargo primarily after he gave this little troop a set of rules, instructions they should follow in hopes of avoiding any possible problem. The main rule the entire unit was urged to remember is to keep their true identity and intend there, hidden.


    If anyone asks them where they are from, they would reply with. "We come from "Gravel Kingdom", we are running low on food so the King sent us to manually pick good grain." It''s rather believable, especially after considering the economical standards in Gravel Kingdom or the fact that they go for quality, however it might make bargaining a bit expensive. Commander Alia will have to find a way around that.


    You might have figured it out from the name, Gravel Kingdom doesn''t have farmable land. It is built on a huge patch of naturally generated Gravel. I guess the fact that it was generated on a flat land, makes its size a bit more understandable. It''s large, stretching an estimated 200 kilometers long! Yes, 200 kilometers! Apart from that astounding length, it''s also 100 Kilometers wide, but at some portions its smaller in width. It is almost shaped like the letter "C" but highly deformed instead, so that should help portray a proper Image on your head on how it looks like. Gravel Kingdom is located on the bottom half of this patch.


    About 40% of this Gravel patch, stretches through one Forest branch above the Kingdom (About 25 Kilometers away.), it reaches through the other side of this 30 Kilometer wide forest branch and meets an end on the uninhabited beach shores. As for the other part below the Kingdom, it only stretches an estimated 50 Kilometers long. But it is half the time smaller in width compared to the part above the Kingdom (Forest excluded).


    Although there are other smaller patches of Gravel spread out through Ignis, this is the biggest one in the whole Continent, it is incomparable to any other Patch. The disability to Farm here is a disadvantage when it comes to food distribution or dependence especially with hunting difficult because of the Forest being an estimated 25 Kilometers away. The two above issues however, don''t affect the Kingdom financially. On the contrary, they can put more staff on the numerous Gravel Mines. That necessarily equals to more income in many aspects, especially after considering the population of eleven hundred inhabiting the Kingdom.


    This place is a wonderland for Stonemasons, the import demands for Gravel from this Kingdom are high, especially from Meridionali Ignis(ill.u.s.tratian motherland). Thanks to such high demand, the salaries on Gravel Kingdom are 1,000 Gold Coins on average, their standards are immeasurable here in Ignis. The lack of population works to a Domain''s advantage for once. Because at this point, the less people there are, the more the Kingdom can afford granting bigger salaries for its people. Even the ill.u.s.tratian motherland can''t catch up to such economical standards, but they sure monetized this Kingdom both to get a profit from and to increase building material for individual domain purposes.


    As for what the troop requires for this trip to Silver Kingdom, they will need food primarily for this likely week long trip towards Pameres Kingdom. No long trip can be started without a proper amount of food for the trip. Now since the road is covered with Snow, Horses can''t run at full speed or medium speed for that matter, so King Michael took extra precautions and longer proper calculations for this trip that will likely take longer because of the environment. He can''t risk starving this unit, Commander Alia would chase him with a stick when she returns. Alama would help her too!


    Apart from food, the unit will of course need camping equipment throughout this trip or at least until they have more Wagons on their hand, because you can''t simply put 24 people in two Wagons. In Fact they won''t be able to access the Wagons at all while the Horses are travelling, it would just make everything more difficult and more than two or three people likely won''t be able to fit because the Wagons are loaded.


    They will have to travel on foot instead and likely help push the Wagons out of snow if it gets stuck. Small to large hills will be their worst enemy throughout this journey, no one would want to risk being run over from a sliding down Wagon, but there is no one else to risk it. They will move as a unit, they will work as a unit. There will be two Ignites to melt the snow if things get too difficult after all. If they are lucky enough, the Snow might melt before they reach Silver Kingdom at the end of February. After that of course, mud might prove even more difficult, because it''s dirty and cold too! But maybe Fire will help with those issues as well?


    The bad thing is, they might not be able to enter the Wagons even after they send the first couple of Wagons from Silver Kingdom. Because they would need to go towards, Green Kingdom right away, they can''t waste time. Luckily that Kingdom is below Silver Kingdom, roughly 35 Kilometers away. After Green Kingdom, they would need to go towards Dragon''s Flame Kingdom which is located approximately 130 Kilometers away from Silver Kingdom, towards the North East.


    Green Kingdom isn''t their primary choice because it might not have as many opportunities. It only holds 800 people in it''s two claimed Domains, it might even be a complete waste of time if the unit goes there to bargain. How do they have two Domains you might ask?


    Well, Green Kingdom was first built on the Clear Lands. Specifically a bit over 10 Kilometers above the Dense forest. Farming became their main food resource no doubt at first, but when they started including Lumber in their Kingdom as a form of profit, they became quite independent. At least they were before the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance spread wide.


    Since Lumber is a big source of their income, they have a second smaller... I''d like to call it town, approximately 115 Kilometers away from Green Kingdom. About 200 people live there, but they are all grown men who are able to put work in. They are toned and physically fit. Mostly men from their 20s to their early 40s. There aren''t any Elderly, Children or Women there. Men that work there, risk the chance of never being married. It isn''t fun for any of them! As for Dragon''s Flame Kingdom, we shall describe it on another Chapter.


    Isabel didn''t want to come at first, she didn''t want to join this Project surprisingly! But Commander Alia talked her into it throughout some... let''s call it love bribing. Luckily the rest couldn''t understand what they are talking about, infact they weren''t and still remain unaware that she actually disagreed at first, which is a big advantage if the two ladies wanted to avoid unnecessary drama caused from this little disagreement.


    When Commander Alia told her that she will be a part of this Project, Isabel simply replied. "No. I want to stay here and train!" This of course is translated from the Calidum Lutum language so we can describe this situation a bit quicker, so I hope it doesn''t bother the Calidum Lutum Language fans.


    Shocked how Isabel refused such an important task for something as simple as training, she asked her calmly in order to avoid attention from the rest who were talking it up about similar topics. "Are you sure you don''t want to come? What do you need to train your abilities more for? You are an Elite(Level 4) Swordswoman! You can afford to pause your training for a while."


    As soon as Isabel was about to express, Woldemir walked towards them and asked the ladies. "So is everyone ready?" Afterwards with a bit of guilt he added. "I''m sad that I can''t join you on this little mission, I have to stay here and train the men." His reason for staying here is strong indeed. But the unit has enough powerful people on their arsenal, they don''t need more. So this is the best choice!


    Being reminded that Woldemir won''t be able to come, gave her a quick theory on why Isabel might be acting strange about this task. She didn''t say anything about Isabel though and simply acted like they were all ready, acted like Isabel agreed. "Yes yes. I''m just telling Isabel about the mission, the main points to remember." She had to lie of course until she figured this out, they need an abnormally physically fit woman on their Arsenal. Furthermore she can''t tell him about a little theory even she wasn''t yet certain about. She can''t directly say, "She isn''t coming because she wants to stay with you." It would just cause unnecessary drama and awkwardness.

 Chapter 175 - Handmade

    It didn''t take long for the Farmer to lead Gustav towards that little opening to the ground. Gustav had a sprint on his walk thanks to the thought of possibly opening a Coal mine, this can be the most profitable establishment this town could ever experience, if the cave is big enough. He kept walking faster than the Farmer, often slowing down after a portion of speed walking so the farmer can catch on.


    When they reached the hole, there wasn''t much to see first! It was just a crack measuring about a couple of meters wide and around 5 meters long. This opening wasn''t even deep in a mountain or a hill, it was just a crack on a fairly flat land. Which makes this a lot more interesting, because this isn''t where one easily finds any Mine in particular. So the cave could likely be very small, or maybe... would need a Century to conquer. There is no inbetween.


    Before he was about  to walk in, trying to check what this cave can offer, he was struck by the dirt like aroma it unleashed with a radius spreading quite a few meters. It was as if someone was smoking tree leaves inside the cave and the smoke was getting right in his nose. Not healthy to breathe in no doubt, but this just signifies that there are a lot of Coal down there, more than usual. Since the Farmers claim that they have taken Coal from here quite a few times yet the strong aroma was still there, defines how much this Coal this cave could possibly hold. Shortly described, it isn''t little.


    He had to carefully climb down, since at first there was a meter high drop, followed by occasional stair like boulders leading him deeper down the cave. There was Coal rolling beneath his feet, he even almost fell down because of them a couple of times. It wouldn''t nearly be a nice experience to slip and fall on the hard cave flour, especially with possible Coal chunks laying around. It would be extensively bad if he takes damage to the head here.


    These Coal Chunks laying around however, is a result of  people being down here before. They broke a lot of it before from these cave walls, so they can use them for warmth or cooking reasons of course. As a result a few Chunks likely escaped their eye, It isn''t easy to find pitch black Coal in this pitch black dark. The only portion of illumination provided in this cave, was the one coming from the Sun, breaking through that little crack above his head. This can''t partially define how much Coal this cave is capable of giving.


    Seeing his limited capabilities to explore this cave, Gustav returned near the exit, called for the Farmer to approach and asked him. "Can you get me a Torch? I can''t see anything down here. But I smell the Coal, I sense there is a lot of it."


    Although Gustav''s enthusiasm high about this little exploration, the Farmer didn''t simply understand the value of these flammable rocks. He just saw them as a little material used to save up precious wood for the winter. This Town has been using it for years to the point of downgrading it''s value. "Sorry, we don''t have Torches here, we mostly use the Fireplace to provide us light through the night until we fall asleep. Mostly, to save wood we sleep earlier."


    Gustav understood these standards, it reminds him of his childhood really. So he didn''t nearly plan to mock their lifestyle, in fact he was too excited to waste anytime with such a toxic activity. Apart from that, he desperately wanted to make this exploration thing possible. "Oh, then can you find me a two foot long stick, a bit thinner than your arm?"


    Realizing that Gustav was very careful with his words, the Farmer got a little spark of motivation to lend a hand to this little exploration. "I''ll get on it. Please wait." He answered, and took off with a sprint.


    What would he do with a stick you might ask? Well he already has a Dagger, so he decided to make a little Torch of his own here really quick. Because when the Farmer arrives, Gustav will basically have all the required items and tools to do so. Gustav started touching around the cave, felt with his feet a little bit too which seemed safer for a bit. Trying to find the biggest Chunk of Coal he can under this lowly provided light.


    It took him a while, but it''s good because it took the Farmer a while as well to return with the specified branch, so it fairly worked to his advantage. While looking for an appropriately sized Chunk of Coal, Gustav''s hand also ran through a piece of Flint, it just fitted on his hand perfectly. This made things a bit easier since he wouldn''t have to wait for the Farmer to return with an Ignited torch either once Gustav made one.


    As Gustav made his way near the Cave''s exit, he saw the Farmer approaching with a sprint. He arrived near Gustav, fairly out of breath and gave him the required stick. However this Farmer was still confused with Gustav''s intentions so he dared to ask. "Here sir. But what do you plan to do with this stick?"


    "Simple." Smirked Gustav as he pulled out his Dagger from his little leather Scabbard (For those of you who don''t know, a Scabbard is a little leather item which can be used to hold Swords safely. It can be hung on a belt or put on with a strap.), and started working on the stick.


    He first carefully placed his Dagger right in the middle of one end of the stick and used a rock to hit the back of the Dagger. One hit managed to split the stick on the desired position, thankfully enough to break the stick though. This is just what he needed, it is even why he asked for a 2 foot long stick. Because if he didn''t manage to split it right, he could cut the failure off and try again.


    And afterwards he pushed the split end closer to each other, and split it once more but from another position, forming a plus(+) on that one end of this stick. Grabbing the fist sized Coal he found, he placed it in between this split side. This will prove great for holding the Coal for a long while before the Coal burns through them and falls off.


    After he saw that his Torch is fairly steady, a bit long too but it gives him more space, away from the burning Coal which would burn near him, he would have to inhale its smoke a lot less plus and it helps him explore this Cave better.


    Placing the Torch to the ground and afterwards using the Flint he found just a bit earlier in the same Cave, he tried to Ignite it with the aid of his Dagger. Bashing Flint against Steel can cause serious sparks, at this point it''s all he needed to finally provide more light to this cave.


    And it was fairly easy to light it, it just took a few strikes to achieve Ignition. Once listen, he started walking further down the Cave. The first portion wasn''t so promising, it was just a part of this Cave ranging about 12 meters long, it ranged from 3-6 meters wide too. However, the size of the Cave was the only thing not promising. As for the amount of Coal, well... It covered over 65% of the Cave walls!


    But once he passed that first materialistically promising portion, he discovered a bigger wider part deeper down. He didn''t manage to explore it since the drop was beyond the Torches reach! It would be very dangerous if he went down there unprepared or without the proper tools. All the tools he has is a Torch and a Dagger. However he did use a Chunk of Coal to determine how deep this second portion of the Cave is.


    Since he heard the Coal''s collision with the Cave''s floor shortly after. He decided that the drop should be 10 meters at least. It isn''t a lot to climb down with the proper Tools, but it would prove a hassle when an established Coal mining team would need to get the Coal out of here.


    He decided to not go down there alone, it is too much of a risk. He is needed here for many other governing jobs, he is a big help there and just an explorer here. He can at least get people down there who are more skilled, who are physically stronger. Or at least he can try sending down a long Ladder down there, or a Rope maybe. What he did know, is that he isn''t cut out to go down there. He could be risking too much even if he aims to help this Town attain financial Freedom.


    For now, he walked towards the Town''s newly established Blacksmith team. They could be looking at a possible Coal Mine here, but the town doesn''t even have one Pickaxe! Even King Zar didn''t send one since it wasn''t required in any way in Guard Commander Delrus Aze''s request list. If there were Stonemasons here they would carry such a Tool around to aid them even out land, but there isn''t a team of Stonemasons in Bale town. The hardest Iron they can hit the ground here is with a Hoe, and the closest people reaching the Stonemasonry craft here, are the Clay Sculptures.

 Chapter 175 - Blush

    Seeing her dressed from head to toe with Fur clothing Woldemir made for her a few days ago, made Commander Alia believe her own theory even more. The word about this little genuine heartwarming act made its way to the Castle, but not throughout the entire Kingdom. That''s fairly a good thing, because if the word spread wide it would have caused a lot of unnecessary drama.


    The word didn''t spread because most men didn''t care too much about it, they were too busy training or fantasizing about the next meal!And Arem didn''t bother to talk about it too much either. He didn''t talk about it even though he had the opportunity to see how red Isabel became, when she saw Woldemir Shirtless (Quick flashback, he took off his shirt in order to save Isabel''s toes from Frostbite. A worthy warmth sacrifice, it''s hard not to appreciate.). Arem was focused more on the fact that a Grand Master sees him as Guard Commander Material, furthermore he wanted to respect both of their privacies. It''s not a wise idea to get in trouble with two powerful people only for the sake of banter.


    The few who heard about it though,  thought it was a sweet act coming from a man of such a valuable status. But Women are more quick to notice any form of connection between two people, most at least. Even Commander Alia who wasn''t used to liking any man up until a few months ago, was able to notice at least a little connection between these two people. I mean, Isabel smacked him a couple of times without a bad aftermath! What other Guard would be able to do such a thing without receiving a beating at least?!


    After Woldemir walked away and started complimenting the other 20 Guards who will be joining this task, to cause a spike on their motivation and help them see their worth. Commander Alia turned her attention towards Isabel once more and saw a large difference on her clear skin.


    Specifically, on her cheeks! Her dark tone was transformed into boiling red, not for a bad reason though so calm down. They were bursting with a blush! Partially understanding what''s going on here, Commander Alia of course had the honour of teasing such a tough woman who apparently seems to have a little soft spot. "Uuuuu.... Someone has the fancies for her Teacher? That''s adorable." Her ways of expressing her own theory being proven. More specifically, her way of teasing, got quite the attention from the people nearby even though they didn''t understand a thing she is saying. Commander Alia was simply too excited, it was all on her tone! It was high pitched, ear puncturing even! Isabel wasn''t a fan.


    "Stop. Everyone will look at us and figure out what''s going on. He was just here, they aren''t dumb enough to put two and two together and figure out what''s going on." Luckily the three other Calidum Lutum men aren''t included in this task, King Michael wanted these men here along with Woldemir if an enemy actually decided to attack while the two other Ignites are not here.


    Although a smart decision from King Michael, here of course means that those three men aren''t close enough to lend an ear to this conversation, which was a good stress reliever for Isabel. It would have been really bad if a lot more found out about these little feelings, especially from Isabel''s point of view. She simply isn''t ready for anyone to know, especially Woldemir.


    "Oh. A secret isn''t it?" Asked Commander Alia with a Whisper. She got more excited about this than Isabel herself though. The reason behind it, is that she thinks she wasted a lot of time not paying attention to men. Mogranius proved why she was wrong to stay single for 300 years, especially a couple of days ago when they exchanged a few feelings. She doesn''t want Isabel to follow her footsteps.


    "I don''t know what you are talking about. I hate people!" Isabel of course refused what Commander Alia wanted to hear so badly. She isn''t used to expressing her feelings or anything about her for that matter. But when she figured out that Commander Alia might have picked up a lot more hints than she is supposed too compared to everyone else, her face became even more red out of shyness and Internal panic. She really doesn''t want anyone to find out, regardless of who it is!


    Commander Alia stuck to her proven suspicions with a big smile on her face. She didn''t regret a moment of it. "Don''t worry, your secret is safe with me!" Although this conversation adorable, she did realize that Isabel isn''t quite ready to talk about her feelings yet. But Commander Alia still wanted to acknowledge Isabel about the support she is willing to offer. "You know I''m here for you if you need to get all of this cheek exercising excitement out. Or basically if you want to talk about anything."


    Isabel didn''t hear such support just freely offered to her for quite a while. She has been distant with everyone who wanted to be friends, rather unnecessary. But the point is that this is nice to hear. So without saying a word, she just gave a hug to Commander Alia as a way of thanking her. Woldemir noticed it with the corner of his eyes, but decided not to say anything about it. Maybe he will ask Commander Alia about this when he gets the chance, but for now he decided to keep quiet and enjoy this special moment. He isn''t used to Isabel being this close to anyone, she is cold with most, gender neutrally.


    Seperating from the hug, Isabel softly expressed. "I will join you on this task, but when we return we will drink some Tea together and catch up." This was a form of accepting Commander Alia''s support, Isabel saw how genuine she is so at this point she just couldn''t refuse to be closer with her. If not more, she knew that Commander Alia isn''t trying to get too close, compared to the men who tried to befriend her before.


    Commander Alia on the other hand, was just happy that she will have someone responsible (Apart from herself.) joining this task. It''s not easy to control two mildly crazy Ignites, and twenty other men who have become a bit c.o.c.ky because they are being trained by a Grand Master. At this point, Commander Alia will be the mom of this trip. But she was also very happy about the fact that she is the one who actually got Isabel to open up and connect, no one managed to do this for years! Using her soft spot, clearly worked!


    Noticing that the two ladies might have cleared out what they wanted to say to each other, Woldemir approached to double check some important steps. He approached and as a first question he asked. "Have you told her that will need to stay in the shadows?" Only to find that they are quite unprepared for this step.


    Isabel at this point, was ready to burst out of shyness. She didn''t even get over of the blush that developed just a moment ago. So she kept her head high instead of looking down so she can hide her blush better and tried to calm down. To Woldemir, it felt like she is trying to ignore him for whatever reason, if only he knew. Afterwards, mumbling through her sentence a couple of times, she asked Commander Alia to translate.


    Without translating, Commander Alia answered for her instead of taking too much time translating. "Yes I acknowledged her. However I think it will be hard to do it." Isabel didn''t like it though, she wanted to know exactly what Woldemir is talking about. Because, with a translator present why wouldn''t she urge to know? What if he is asking about her red cheeks?


    With a worried look all over his face, Woldemir answered. "Um yes that''s why I''m here for. Where you are going, she won''t have a Forest to hide in." She didn''t like how they didn''t cover this step yet but he understood why. She is an eight foot woman, it isn''t easy to hide her. Apart from her height, she has a skin color that will also make her stand out of the crowd. Here in Ignis, people are mostly used of seeing green people. Seeing an 8 foot tall woman with dark skin and lava like golden veins? She is too unique to fit in the crowd!


    Still refusing to translate even after Isabel swiftly gave her a hard pinch without Woldemir noticing, Commander Alia continued to ask without regret. "So how do you advise us to hide this beautiful lady?"


    Picking up a bit of suspicion simply because Commander Alia decided to use the word "Beautiful" all of a sudden. He found it best to ignore such a puzzling shift of wordplay and focused on the idea which can keep her and the rest of the unit safe. "We will use Wagons."

 Chapter 176 - Coal Rush!

    Seeing the odds he has with this little exploration he urged to doo, he firmly decided to not go there alone. It is simply too risky! So he made his way out of the Cave and started heading towards the Town with a sprint on his walk. As mentioned a couple of Chapters ago, he requested the Blacksmiths to temporarily Cancel any given task they had and make a few Pickaxes as soon as possible. That was their main focus now, they couldn''t disagree if the town''s official Business Governor requested them. The main Blacksmith at least, was quick to guess that this sudden request necessarily links to a time worthy business!


    He seeked Guard Commander Delrus Aze right after. Why would he seek the Guard Commander for such a unique case? Well for two reasons actually! He needs to inform him about this astonishingly profitable opportunity, and make a request from him. To seek out the toughest, strongest Platoon Guards. The reason behind his second intend is simple, he needs able bodied men for that cave exploration. A smaller reason he barely thought about, was to give Delrus Aze the honors of helping to establish such a Business worthy of song!


    But once informed, Delrus Aze was shocked about the fact that this place has a natural Source of Coal. Actually, he felt very stupid too! Because he has been here a lot longer than Gustav Iron. Furthermore he didn''t ask the Revolutionary Leaders about natural resources. He figured that Farming is the only big resource here so he didn''t bother asking more questions about that particular topic.


    "Coal? Are you sure it is Coal?" At first it was hard to believe, of course. It was hard for him to believe the fact that he missed such a tide changing town characteristic. To clarify, he didn''t mean to disrespect Gustav''s word on any way.


    "Yes Guard Commander! I held it with my own hands and even made a Torch out of it!" When it comes to Coal, Gustav would notice it by smell before even getting the chance to see it with his own eyes! He would notice it by smell without a chance of confusion! To clarify, he didn''t finance a Coal Mine nor did he earn a Percentage from any Coal Mine business in particular. It is simply because a part of having a higher Financial standard, is avoiding to buy cheap Wood which is hard to Ignite, it takes a lot of effort to start a Fire with. It can even take above an hour if one doesn''t know how to properly start a Fire, they use tinder as an easily Ignitable Fire starter which can be rather hard to obtain on a daily basis. As for Gustav, he used Coal for cooking and warmth purposes. 100 Kilograms of it costs around 500 Gold Coins in average. But he could afford it, so why not live easier!


    With Gustav''s words, Delrus got convinced swiftly so he cut to the case right away. "Where is the Coal Cave? Can you take me to it? Is it far? By the God of the 8 Sources this is amazing!" Delrus was overly excited! He had a boatload of questions and didn''t even let Gustav answer one of them. Because as soon as he was about to answer, his word was cut short by another sentence! Furthermore, Delrus was quite happy!


    Glad that at least Delrus cut to the case in a short time instead of stopping and asking for every question to be answered in detail, so he started working up the conversation to form a list of requests for a bit later. Requests for this task that is. "Yes yes I can take you there! But we can''t go down there without proper equipment. I noticed that after going a few meters deep, a huge drop followed. I wanted to go down there myself but I''m not nearly prepared for such a task. The drop was at least 10 meters." The request was made almost clear right now. When it comes to finding proper explorers for such a deep drop, a tight strong grip both with one''s hands and feet is necessary.


    He was taking the conversation to borrowing some Guards. Well bororrow can be a strong word to describe this forming conversation, because at the end of the day they are all trying to help this town. So let''s best call it an expression. Luckily (Time-wise at least.), Delrus was quick to catch on such a topic. He swiftly stated. "I got you! I will prepare five of the finest Guards. I''ll ask them to find Torches since it appears to be a very valuable tool for such a task." That wasn''t hard to guess, Caves are usually dark, Delrus knew even though they aren''t used to Caves on such a Flatland(Clear Lands.).


    Confident no doubt, "No no. Leave the Torches too me!" Stated Gustav as he pulled a Couple of Coal Chunks from his pocket and held it on his hands for show. "You just get the Guards and at least three long and dependable ropes." He surely carried more Coal Chunks in his pockets. Imagine how much time he took to pick out the most appropriately sized Chunks of Coal! Putting Coal aside and focusing on the Ropes now, he continued with fairly enough sympathy on his tone. "Just because the Guards are strong, it doesn''t mean that we aren''t obliged to assure that they get down there as safely as possible. Please get strong Ropes."


    Knowing that they brought a few Ropes along with them from Pameres Kingdom, Delrus was confident with what he can guarantee. "Don''t worry about the Ropes, we have fine ones we bought from the finest bargainers in Pameres Kingdom." Moving on to the main topic, Delrus asked in utmost curiosity. "Do we need anything else?"


    "Um yes. But I will cover the rest of the requirements." At this point the least he could do is give a quick preview of what he is looking for. Maybe the Guard Commander can help filter out bad ideas from this plan thought out with a strong rush. "We need thick pointed Sticks that we can nail to the ground. There wasn''t a single Tree around that Cave so we will need to depend on sticks to hold the Guards as they go down there."


    Gustav didn''t take one thing into consideration thanks to this rush of excitement I suppose. They likely won''t be able to find a Rope that can stretch at least over 15 meters. Not to mention finding three in that length. It would be playing Crazy! But maybe if they find enough, they can tie them to a reliable knot! I suppose he will figure it out once he continues with this task. But I have a feeling that it will prove quite a time consumer in the near future.


    Why do they need a 15 meter long Rope you might ask yourself as you are reading this? Well it is because the floor of the Cave is mostly made of Stone and Coal. You can''t bash  a pointed wooden stick on it, or a piece of metal for that case, even if they found a patch of soft deep dirt inside it wouldn''t of proven safe. It would never be reliable and they can quite possibly risk killing the Guards or at least heavily injure them. Breaking one bone would be the easiest way out of such a predicament, out of such a drop!


    Parting ways with Delrus, he made his way to one of the Construction Workers to ask of the Nearest Lumberjack, he didn''t quite learn their schedule yet since the Lumberjacks were quite confident of their own daily work and barely required any guidance. To his time saving luck, one was lending the Construction Workers a hand since he brought his daily Lumber to the town for the day already. So this work can be considered voluntary no doubt, it''s nice to see people contributing.


    "Hello Sir." Gustav greeted the Lumberjack as he gazed upon the Lumber he brought. Looking for an appropriate peace he can use to describe while barely making any eye contact(With the Lumberjack.).


    At last he grabbed one stick, but it didn''t meet what he was looking for. However, it was great to use as a proper description to make the request. "I need about nine sticks almost similar to this one!" It was indeed hard to request so many sticks at once, especially since Gustav made the requests rather unique. The Lumberjack put in a lot of effort to bring this Lumber here. He was heavily sweaty from all of his work and felt like his work is being judged even though Gustav didn''t nearly have such intentions.


    "I hope it''s for a Good reason." Commented one of the Building Constructors, who came from Pameres Kingdom. This special request is rather a lot to ask. 9 very straight sticks, thicker than two arms combined. Plus they would have to be sharpened. It would take at least an hour to prepare all nine. Plus he was noticing how the Lumberjack was reacting, no Lumberjack wants his results easily questioned. Don''t offend a Man who carries a Sharp Axe even if your offension was accidental! Luckily though, there are 9 more Lumberjacks who can prove useful in providing the proper Lumber if one couldn''t provide all!


    "Oh trust me. This little contribution will make BaleTown rich! Rich I tell you!"

 Chapter 177 - Black Sorcery!

    "How will we exactly use the Wagons to hide her? They will be full with Cargo. I''m reminding you  if you forgot!" That''s the part that Confused Commander Alia the most, she is sure that Isabel can''t fit in these small Wagons. She would have to crawl into a ball and would for sure have a sore neck for weeks after they get this task over with.


    "They won''t be until you reach Silver Kingdom! When you are there I suppose you will need to figure out how to make space for her. Or you can move at night." Although Wagons his best idea, he didn''t yet think this plan deeper so at the moment he is just throwing around ideas until one seems reasonable enough to do, they need to think of this in detail before they start this journey.


    Moving at night? Hmm... that doesn''t sound like a good idea at all, to Commander Alia at least. "Don''t you think that it would be both tiring for the unit to move at night. Apart from that it would raise a lot of suspicion." She is comfortable with the Unit''s battle Arsenal, but it doesn''t mean that she wants to send them knee deep into trouble.


    "Screw moving in the night then I suppose." Scratching his head in stress, trying to figure out a solution to this issue. It needs to be tackled now or it can turn out to be quite a problem later on. He added a moment after. "Look. You will have two Wagons from the start. Plus King Zar will lend you a few more Wagons in Pameres Kingdom. I doubt that you will fill all the Wagons on Silver Kingdom. Manage to spare a Wagon for her, or at least a small portion of the Wagon. Considering her physique, she will get comfortable easily." At this point, it feels like this problem got terminated. They found a solution! But more trouble arose in this fine cold day, cute trouble to be exact.


    This time bad for him, he tends to use his hands a lot when he is talking, he does it almost subconsciously. So when he described the "physique" part, he used his hands to describe a sand clock form. Isabel understood it''s base meaning, but not enough to get what he actually meant. She thought for the worst in a flash! Due to her misunderstanding, the inevitable followed after! She lightly smacked Woldemir behind the head!


    This isn''t a favourable position to be in for any man. But it didn''t matter, even the Guards who witnessed such a reaction were forced to hold in their laughter. They just rolled their tongues around their teeth or faced the other direction to avoid showing any form of disrespect towards the Grand Master. Some on the other hand, understood Woldemir and his patience with a root of good intend, so they didn''t bother to mock.


    As for how Woldemir would react to this given situation, it''s simple to guess. He reacted to it kindly! He would never hit or disrespect a Woman in any way, especially for situations like this. There isn''t even a bit of egoism in his heart, he would only react badly if he had a Sword his neck. He shares almost the same thought about behaviour towards acting up men. Let''s say he is a bit tougher with them since the Guards for example have a big responsibility to put up with. If the Kingdom one day is under attack, the Platoon can''t risk having undisciplined Jesters messing up the order.


    At least Eric picked up that special characteristic perk. Until now Eric barely even looked at Commander Alia out of shyness. Which says a lot because she hugs him a lot. Having an itch about what Isabel might of misunderstood, she dashed to explain what Woldemir really meant. She explained it in her own language of course, Isabel is far from learning Woldemir''s Ignite language. "No no no. He didn''t mean anything like that! He described you as strong!"


    Seeing that she is clearly in the wrong here, she answered with a low tone. "Oh. I guess I misunderstood." As she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. Afterwards, she actually touched him without an intend of smacking for the first time since he met him about 5 months ago!


    Well, she didn''t know how to apologize even with a translator present. So she just grabbed Woldemir''s Shoulder and nodded her head down. I guess that''s her best form of an apology, but this time Woldemir was able to see her cheeks boiling with a red blush, but he wasn''t exactly sure why.


    He of course didn''t comment upon her reaction. He got smacked when he didn''t say anything bad. Imagine if he teased her! Instead, he felt his feet sinking deeper in the snow thanks to the added weight on his Shoulder. Literal added weight to his Shoulder!


    But his pride for once, didn''t let him flinch even for an inch even though he was ready to collapse. He really wanted to stand as a strong unbreakable figure in front of the entire unit, especially her. He just took it, the upper body exercises he worked on throughout his life helped him not fall down in the snow and face inevitable embarrassment.


    As for Isabel, she didn''t intend to sink the man. She just didn''t know how to react. Lucky for her, Woldemir understood her perfectly after he gave it a bit more thought of what''s happening here after he got the chance to worry about his Shoulder, less. She doesn''t know how to properly react, not to mention giving a proper apology. Well at least, her form of an apology is more than pure. Woldemir understood her unique character.


    Getting that cute situation over with, he turned his attention towards Commander Alia and made a little request. Best described, he let out a burden too. "I won''t be there, but I trust you with keeping Eric under control. He tends to get angry sometimes!"


    Confident about her abilities to control this teenager at least, she smirked before replying. "Oh don''t worry. He would never go against what I ask him to do!"


    A bit concerned about that fact but yet happy, he replied with an eyebrow raised and his head pulled back a little in shock. "I''m not quite sure how that''s possible, I''ve been trying for 15 years. But if it works, use it! Just be careful with his feelings, the boy is sensitive."


    "Don''t worry. I never intend to hurt our sweet little King."


    "Who are you calling sweet?" Walked in Eric with Mogranius behind too, with no intend to be rude even if his tone sounded like it.


    "Let me show you what I mean." Glanced Commander Alia towards Woldemir with confidence and approached Eric like a weasel with an evil plan, pulled him in for a hug after!


    All Eric could do at the moment, was remain frozen because of the hug, with his arms straight downwards, not even able to fully hug back even though he wanted too. He tends to get uncontrollably shy towards Commander Alia, no matter how many times she hugged him so far. He will always remain shy, at this point with so many men around he also felt a little embarrassed.


    "Interesting Sorcery." Expressed Woldemir. "I never would have thought that this works." Afterwards he approached Commander Alia and observed how she tightened Eric around her unbreakable grip to form a hug. And joined in from the side!


    As in, he joined the hug! He knew that Commander Alia is past overreacting if she got touched around the shoulders for example because of a hug from the side. She wouldn''t nearly over react even if Woldemir gave a full hug to her only come to think of it. She sees him as a town hero in Lan Zhe, here too. Plus she portrays him as quite honorable, each odd is on Woldemir''s favour. "I should of used this technique years ago." Joked Woldemir and with a pure intend he added. "Family feels nice." Well, that proves Commander Alia''s rush of thoughts right, Woldemir has no impure intentions.


    Mogranius saw no shame in joining as well, so he didn''t waste a second. He joined the hug on Commander Alia''s other side, he knew for sure that she felt comfortable with it. She was way too comfortable a couple of days ago, a hug feels little now but damn it is almost as effective.


    Afterwards Woldemir turned his glance towards Isabel and gestured for her to join the hug as he swiftly repeated. "Please come join." His intentions here were pure as well, he sees Isabel as family. He shares quite a few memories with her even though a quarter of them are head smackings.


    To everyone''s surprise, the unthinkable happened! Isabel joined the hug! I repeat! Isabel joined the hug! She covered all of them with a hug and was happy to be able to touch Woldemir''s shoulders even though she would never admit to that fact. Her cheeks were red but she hid it above their heads and lifted them a foot above the ground!

 Chapter 178 - Extra Safety.

    Eight men surrounded the little Cave entrance. The first was Gustav, he can sure be entitled as the most excited about this project, the thought of helping this Town reach an impacting form of independence has his heart overwhelmed with joy. The second was Delrus, he tried to be as helpful with this project as Humanly possible once he found out about this astonishing opportunity. He doesn''t want any form of entitlement, frankly he is very curious about the Cave more than he is excited about the Gold Coins it can provide.


    Third was the Farmer who helped Gustav in the first place, he wanted to go down there too since he claims to be used of going in the first section of the Cave by now. Gustav insisted for him to stay outside, he is needed for another strongly important task. And the rest were the five Guards Delrus Aze personally picked to explore the second section of this Cave. They are quite fit individually, they can sure provide a tight grip against the Rope.


    Most of them were carrying Tools on their hands serving purpose to this task, "If only we had Pickaxes." Delrus thought to himself. But to make up for it, he also picked up a couple of wooden Crates. They were rather small but could carry around 15 Kilograms of Coal Chunks. It isn''t necessary to fill them though if they can''t get it out of the second Section.


    Why would he get Crates with Pickaxes not available? Well there could be stray Chunks of Coal down there even though no one likely made their way to that darker area and hit the Cave walls with a Pickaxe. The Cave appears quite untouched even at the first small section of the Cave come to think of it. Even though people likely didn''t go that deep before, there still can be stray Chunks of Coal. It''s quite a natural process.


    So it would be a good idea to pick some up and get them up there, to prove how rich in mineral this Cave can be. Quite frankly, the town will be rich even if they mine out nothing but Coal from this Cave. It smells rich! First things first, Gustav took a peek at the Ropes tied on one of the Guard''s Shoulder. It appeared quite long at first, but Gustav had to measure in order to gain absolute certainty before sending the men down there. He can''t play luck games if 5 men depend on his technique. "Can you please give me that Rope?"


    "For sure Sir." Swiftly replied the Guard and handed the Rope to Gustav, frankly it was quite heavy. So he was forced to flinch because of the weight, luckily the ground was close enough so he simply dropped the Rope down.


    He grabbed one end of the Rope and started dragging it behind his back as he walked east from the Cave. What would he be doing you might ask? Well he just intends to do a simple measurement. It took a bit of effort to set the Rope straight though, especially since it got tangled badly! Or best described, they got tangled. Delrus had an expression on such an issue even though the Guards were doing most of the work. "It looks like you put the Ropes in a sack!"


    "I just grabbed them in a rush. You over reacted to the point where I thought we were being attacked." Expressed the Guard who was carrying the Rope a moment ago. He has a point, I suppose Delrus was quite excited.


    When they straightened up and divided the three Ropes, Gustav started measuring it with his feet, It''s a technique used for ages. He took large steps he thought as 1 meter each, to get a rough estimation of the Rope''s length as a result. At first glance he wasn''t pleased of their length though.


    He found out that the first Rope was an estimated 7 meters long. Not nearly long enough to even pass through the first section of the Cave from the outside, not to mention reaching all the way down to the Second section. But Gustav found it reasonably long enough if the Ropes were connected with each other, tied into a knot to be exact.


    The second Rope was a bit above 5  meters long. I suppose the Guard was right when he said that he was in a rush, who would pick a short Rope about anything but dragging Lumber? The third Rope however, will make this task a lot easier as it measured nearly ten meters. It gave Gustav hope for this project.


    That''s 22 meters combined. Let''s say a meter at max would be shortened due to all of the knot tying. That''s still 21 meters remaining. Even though they can''t tie it from the inside of the Cave, this length will still prove quite useful, and hopefully enough to help the Guards land on their feet safely.


    Gustav requested 9 sticks, since he thought that the three Ropes would be over 20 meters long! He wanted to throw three Ropes down there, he didn''t expect these short ones. But he could still use fairly half of the sticks without taking too much Rope and of course assure safety for the Guards too.


    He started nailing 4 sticks to the ground, so he can be absolutely sure that the trip down will be safe. He nailed the first one as close to the Cave as possible, nearly a meter of the stick was in the ground but a couple of feet were above it. To lower down the risks of breaking the stick, he would just need to tie the Rope a lot lower.


    At least he will once they nail the second stick to the ground, then the third and of course the fourth too. At first he thought it best for them to be in a straight line, but he gave it a little thought and was forced to change his approach. He figured that if all four of the sticks were suddenly forced to shift forwards, they would easily take off of the ground with the dirt working to their advantage, aiding dismount.


    So they almost shaped the sticks like an inverted letter "C" instead. This might take just a few inches of more Rope length but it''s better than the Guards falling down onto the hard Cave floor from a height of several Meters. The sticks were about half a meter away from each other, with an estimated foot taken per knot too! At least the knots were well tied and dependable. Because after tying the first one firmly, the rest were a Breeze.


    Measuring how much Rope there is left, he figured out that there is only 18 meters. It might just be enough to help the Guards get down there safely, but there is one catch. They can''t risk getting on the Rope all at the same time, it is too much tension for the Rope to handle. Only one at a time can go down there, but patience is a worthy sacrifice for this matter.


    As for the Torches, one Person will have to hold a Torch from above, providing as much light as possible from above while the first ever Guard to go down there, holds a dimmed Torch on his pocket or waist at least, whatever feels comfortable on the way down I suppose. Once the Guard makes sure that he landed safely, he won''t move far from where he landed and try to Ignite a Torch with the provided Flint and Steel Dagger too.


    It will be hard to do it in the pitch dark, but at least he can feel with his hands where the Torch is once he sets it on the Ground, it will make it a bit easier. Once lit, he will take a better look of his surroundings to ensure if it''s safe for five men to freely walk around. He will have to be very careful though, Gustav keeps urging safety!


    Delrus and Gustav will watch as much as the eye can see from the first section and the Farmer will be in charge of the Ropes outside. If the Rope malfunctions, at least there will be two men from above(The first section.) who can ensure a tight grip, until the third man(Farmer) arrives down there where he can get a better grip of the Rope and the Ground. It isn''t easy to pull with one''s entire force when there is snow around one''s feet.


    As far as they are concerned, 3 men can easily hold 1 man on a Rope. They have this little exploration plan all thought out even though they rushed it a little bit at first. Now, it''s time to put this plan into action. The First Guard will climb his way down, setting such an important foundation for the people of Bale Town.

 Chapter 179 - Feast

    The Unit of 24 finally arrived in Pameres Kingdom after a long Journey of 10 full days! Usually, it would take roughly a week to arrive, but the Snow was quite unforgiving, unwilling to cooperate in any aspect. The Wagons got stuck in Snow countless times, throughout half of those moments the two Fire Controllers couldn''t melt them out of trouble unfortunately, which made this entire trip a lot more tiring.


    Neither Eric or Mogranius couldn''t help because with aims to melt the snow, they would need to blast Fire very closely to the Wagon. It worked to their disadvantage because they could be setting the Wagon on Fire. With all the equipment in those couple of Wagons it is something they can''t risk, it would slow them down tremendously.


    The Wheels of these couple of Wagons weren''t completely made out of wood but it would still prove troublesome because the middle of the wheel, best described as the portion who holds the wheel steady and together, is made from wood. That includes about 70% of the Wheel''s total structure.


    So throughout half of the issues, the entire unit had to push the Wagons out of the Snow while some dragged a Rope connected to the Wagon from the front. The solid dry ground provided by the Fire Controllers, helped the Guards pull while ensuring a tight grip on the Ground. It is a good idea that they connected ropes to the Wagon and drag those instead of forcefully pulling the Horses, that would have hurt the poor animal, it already has enough weight on it''s shoulders. Literally! It would be the last thing they need, they would be stranded here.


    ImMogranius and Eric also melted the Snow in front of the Horses path when they figured that the Snow is too deep for the Horses to freely pass or when they were about to face hills as well. Hills although not too large, they proved troublesome. The men always had to push from the back in order to assure that the Horses don''t slide backwards. Because if they do, it would prove dangerous for both the Horses and the Units.


    At first the Horses were scared of the Fire that these two Ignites unleashed. They are animals, sudden Fire scares them of course. They sure aren''t used of Fire bursting people so it tends to appear terrifying for them. They even tried to run away in Panic quite a fair amount of times (Except for BlackWind.), but there was a Rope or best described a "Lead" stretching several meters from the Wagon. Once a few men grabbed a hold of it, they managed to stop the Horse from dashing in the Clear Lands. Isabel proved quite helpful too for such a case, but she only grabbed the Rope a couple of times even though she lend a hand on most of these problems. Figure out what happened!


    The issues they had were indeed tiresome, the blistering night cold was no one''s favourite without a doubt. Worst thing is that because of Predators roaming mostly in this season, at least four Guards had to stay awake at night. They would have to get some shut eye in the Wagons as much as they could in the daytime at the next day. Sleep is a big sacrifice to make but luckily it wasn''t a responsibility trusted on four Guards only. It was the responsibility of the entire unit, they exchanged shifts throughout the days.


    When they arrived at Pameres Kingdom, they were sent towards the Castle right away since it was already almost dark. King Zar has been expecting them no doubt. Once they arrived at the Castle, they found a feast already prepared for the Unit of 24. They were welcomed at the Castle as valued Guests.


    King Zar liked the idea of proper economical management King Michael is trying to accomplish, but he still found this task rather hard to tackle. So he knew that the people that were entrusted with this task, are the best of the best. He had respect for these people who agreed to take this task over their shoulders. Furthermore, he was happy to finally meet the Electus.


    "I hope you feel welcome here, brave warriors." King Zar expressed once they all sat down and got a couple bites of food to their stomach.


    No one had the heart to say otherwise after this warm welcome even if they faced any form of discomfortability on their way to the Castle, prying eyes would of been the one and only. Commander Alia was the first to reply, in aims to not allow for this situation to become awkward even though she was very tired of all the Walking she had to go through today. "It feels so nice to enter a warm building again. February Cold does not mess around!"


    Trying to show sympathy, King Zar expressed. "I''m sorry to hear about your struggle, but at least this week you will sleep here in the Castle. I would of granted you a few houses to temporarily live in, but all 365 are already taken!" He didn''t point out this progress in aims to brag but he just wanted some understanding from this unit.


    "Oh it doesn''t matter. The Castle feels even better to sleep in." Expressed Mogranius. He sure is sick and tired of all the Snow and the cold weather that comes along with it. This little journey however, is a two task way for him.


    Commander Alia was about 3 seats away from King Zar. As for the King, he was sitting on one edge of the 14 seat table. With Eric the closest to him (Standing on his left side.) And his personal assistant Seer standing on the right side. As for the rest of the Unit who couldn''t fit in at first, a new table arrived for them shortly after. Their patience was inspiring, they didn''t rush with the food even though this is practically the best meal of their life so far.


    Commander Alia, Eric, Isabel, King Zar and even Mogranius!, Insisted for the entire Unit to sit first but they all strongly disagreed. They lost their patience a little bit too because each one was refusing to sit even after the 5 took a seat. They put the other Units first and it was pretty funny to watch, they just refused to sit first! They would still be going on if Commander Alia didn''t get in between to settle everyone down by Command!


    Eric didn''t have the energy to talk much even though he was sitting near King Zar, he isn''t too open around new people either so these two facts build up a strong combination of silence! The King''s status didn''t make Eric nervous either, he is a King himself after all. The crown he claimed in Lan Zhe a few months ago is stuck on his head with an enchantment, until death.


    This is the first time King Zar meets these heros, he isn''t quite aware of their adventures either because King Michael barely exchanged a few words about the Electus and his companions. This is why he was confused about the crown on Eric''s head and even more confused when he saw Isabel who stood 8 foot tall. "May I ask young Electus, which Domain does your crown represent?" There is nothing a good clear question can''t fix, right?


    Towards such a question, Eric almost choked on a boiled potato. He gave this question a swift thought, asking himself. "Would me telling about Lan Zhe harm the Calidum Lutum?" It''s a responsible question to ask when considering the given circ.u.mstances. This man is the son of King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll after all.


    Of course it is well clarified that he is refused as a son now but Xakro still approved him enough to keep him alive or unhidden compared to the rest who might of shared a different fate. He answered to himself, "A lot of people know about the Calidum Lutum now in Crutal Kingdom for sure, plus these people here all saw Isabel. It should be safe if I don''t point out the exact location." After this storm of thoughts, Eric added with a bit of pride. "Lan Zhe. I''m the King of Lan Zhe."


    Taking a quick peek at Isabel who was standing right after Eric, King Zar continued without much reaction in order not to make the tall woman feel uncomfortable. "I heard Xakro going on and on about ten foot tall people, around 12 years ago when I used to live with him. "Noticing that the Unit doesn''t like that particular fact, he was swift enough to shift the topic at least a little. "I didn''t think that they actually exist!" Afterwards to clarify himself, he looked at Isabel and expressed. "No offense miss."


    "Oh she doesn''t speak our language." Pointed out Alia after she swallowed a piece of Wolf Meat. Yes Wolf Meat, odd taste considering she had so many other foods to choose from in front of her. But hey we aren''t here to judge.


    "Oh I didn''t realize." Answered King Zar, feeling a bit relieved that Isabel didn''t get offended.


    "However. Your father caused us a bit of trouble in Lan Zhe!" Commander Alia probably shouldn''t have pointed out that fact, but her skin was itching because of it even though King Zar had nothing to do with it.


    A bit dissatisfied for a couple of reasons, King Zar clarified with half a smile. "I''d prefer if you don''t describe him as my father. I''ve cut every possible connection with him." Afterwards he added in a lot of curiosity. "But anyway, what trouble did he cause?"


    "He sent a worthless Guard Commander with a few Archers. They shot one of our Guards with an explosive bolt! But that was the only trouble they managed to cause, only the Guard Commander escaped alive." At this point she appeared very confident about her town, but her heart still ached for the Victim even though she just exchanged a few greetings with him before, that''s what we can call unity!


    "I''m deeply sorry for your loss." Showed King Zar sympathy but wae also quite puzzled. "But all that trouble to fail that badly? I''m confused."


    "So am I, especially after I think about the heart that the Guard Commander stole from the victim."


    At such piece of information, King Zar dropped his fork. He was in shock, because from what he could remember. This specific theft isn''t a good sign. "Everything alright your highness." Asked Seer with a low tone as he reached down for the fork.


    "Um yes. It''s just that I found that act quite disturbing." Answered King Zar as he continued using the fork he dropped, Eric was not a fan but he didn''t say anything about it.

 Chapter 180 - Get your ass down there!

    The bundle of Guards walked down the first section of the Cave, with Gustav leading the way since he has the most experience exploring this little portion. Delrus was standing on the back, holding an Ignited Torch as well. As for the Farmer, his responsibility is to stay outside and alert if any Rope malfunctions are to happen in the process of this task.


    With some assistance from a couple of capable men, the first Guard started climbing down towards this dark unpredictable Cave. To his luck, he had where to put his feet on the way down. If he was just dangling on the rope it would require a lot of upper body strength to climb all the way down for 10 meters or more!


    After some shoulder bruising effort, he made it. He couldn''t estimate how many meters down the drop is, but it sure feels like a lot. There was only a couple feet of Rope left to his advantage. If he ran out of Rope, he either had to risk jumping down and hope for the best or risk climbing all the way back up which can be double as tiring considering he used a lot of energy already.


    Once his feet met the solid Cave floor, the second thing he had to do was feel the ground beneath his feet to check if he is standing on a patch of Coal deposit. It can be really risky to use Flint and Steel in such an environment, because the Coal can of course catch on Fire too!


    With dirt being so rare in this Cave (Or in the first portion at least.), all he had to look for was a smooth or edgy surface of rock. The only thing he had to confirm is that whatever he is touching, doesn''t feel ashy but rough instead. He could use the Dagger to confirm too! Coal can be easily chipped off with it while rocks require a lot more effort.


    Once he found a rocky surface, he could Ignite the Torch without having to worry about setting a large deposit of Coal on Fire. With such a clumsy act he could be possibly risking his life too. Because if Fire was lit underneath his feet, the first thing he would do is panic and dash towards a random direction. In this pitch darkness such an act is a deathwish.


    Unfortunately, the floor beneath his feet feels a lot like Coal. So he yelled out to confirm it to everyone above. "I landed safely but I think I''m standing on Coal." He felt a little bit demotivated of the results. But hey, at least there is Coal down here too. Likely a lot of it! As for a rocky surface, he would have to look a little bit more for it.


    "That''s alright, the Cave feels big enough to find another spot." Answered Delrus with a normal tone and asked. "Can you walk around?" Like this he is practically showing respect to Gustav''s approach towards this plan, putting more importance to his rules for the Guard to follow.


    "I''ll try, it''s Pitch dark down here though." That was unnecessary to point out, but I guess that the Guard is just a little bit nervous. It isn''t easy to explore under such circ.u.mstances.


    Calm enough trying to show understanding a bit but also urging to ensure safety, Gustav tried to speak as clearly as possible. "We are aware, please walk very slowly and carefully. Use your feet to determine if there is a large drop in front of you or not!" This little exploration is an effort to make the town rich but he can''t risk for anyone to get injured.


    "I''ll try!"


    Taking a bit more effort to walk around, using both his arms and feet to navigate as taught. He doesn''t want to fall down an estimate deep hole and he doesn''t want to mine Coal with his head either. So he had to use everything to his advantage in order to know his surroundings as much as possible.


    Taking about 15 steps which ranged roughly 5 inches to 12 inches long each, he started feeling a different texture against his boots. Bending down to feel the ground so he can confirm, it felt rougher. In fact, it hurt his finger a little bit. He was not a fan of the injury but he was a fan of this minor advancement towards the task. "I think I found a rocky surface."


    "Great. Place the torch on the ground and Ignite it with the Flint and Steel like I taught you!" Answered Gustav with joy, happy that the Guard is safe and progressing towards the task too!


    It took him a few attempts, especially since he kept looking for the Torch on the ground, it was easy to lose its exact whereabouts once he stormed his pockets for the other Tools. But he was finally able to Ignite it! "This place is huge!" He yelled once he had the opportunity to take a peek of his surroundings, he sounded quite excited for a change too! He was amazed!


    "How huge?" Yelled Delrus from possibly 10 meters above.


    "Well the only Cave wall I see is the one I climbed down on!" That answer didn''t define the exact size of the Cave. But one thing was for sure, this second section is huge!


    "Damn. That''s a lot! But we need to know its actual size. Get your ass down there." Joked Delrus excitedly. This little exploration is working to their advantage big time.


    As the second Guard was climbing down, using the first Guard''s Torch to light his once he reached the Cave Floor. Gustav was trying to estimate a more stable result of how far down this second drop is. He could see the Torches Ignited by the couple of Guards but it didn''t provide him with enough information to do a proper measurement.


    Why is he trying so hard to know for sure you might ask? Well if this place becomes a Coal Mine, they can''t rely on Ropes to get the Coal out of here. They need a stable set of Wooden Stairs with proper side support too. Knowing how deep it is, will help making the Construction process faster and easier. Considering the lack of Construction Workers, a proper estimation would work to the Town''s advantage.


    Gustav lost in thoughts with his estimations indeed a lot. But as he was thinking for the best of the Town, the fifth Guard was already half way down the Second Section. Luckily, they didn''t face any problems with the Ropes either. Or else it would have been really bad!


    "Sir. We are going to need a lot more Torches." Shouted a Guard from quite a distance. Looks like the Cave is a lot wider than they expected it to be. Gustav was more than happy before if the Cave had a 10 meter overall radius. But 4 men are spread already and they didn''t find another Cave wall yet apart from the one they used to climb down there easier.


    They could even get lost for a while if the Torches burn out. It can be tremendously dangerous to walk around without a Torch here even if they simply wanted to follow the Torch above. The Guards found several holes already that lead to deeper sections of the Cave. They could see the ground from a few but, half of them looked quite deep. Below the Torch''s illumination capabilities. Look how much fortune one little gap on the surface up there hid!


    "I''ll get on it." Yelled Gustav and turned towards Delrus, expressing a lot of concern. "Please don''t let them climb out without a third man ensuring the Rope is safe unless it is an emergency."


    "Don''t worry, I can take care of them." Answered Delrus, quite confident of his own capabilities to keep his Guards under control.  "You go do what you need to do. Try getting at least 10 Torches back here. If you need help to speed up the process, please ask a few Guards for help."


    "Thank you, I will make sure to call for them. Also please keep reminding them to watch their step, we barely know anything about this second section of the Cave so far, the situation can turn for the worst in a blink of an eye." Gustav a bit paranoid no doubt, but he just wanted the Guards safe. He can''t let an injury or worse, a Coffin rest on his conscious especially considering that he started this little exploration with hopes of having a mass impact on the town, he can''t risk having Guards injured because of his ideas. "They each have a spare Torch, they might last until I return." Raising his voice a little for the Guards to hear. "If you see that the Torches are close to running out, please return near the Rope as fast as possible."

 Chapter 181 - Tour

    The Unit arrived at Pameres Kingdom nearly at dusk. So after they ate Dinner, they all went to bed without wasting much time. The road sure has been tiring and no one had the energy to stay past 9pm, Isabel fell asleep last. Why? Well it is because the Castle can''t nearly provide a room for every individual of the Unit, especially with so many homeless people already occupying rooms.


    There were only 3 rooms to spare, so the Unit had to share them. This can be very tricky, especially considering that there are only two women in the Unit, one of which isn''t comfortable sharing a room especially with men. Isabel, she got very uncomfortable even though she didn''t express it by words. Commander Alia was first to notice it and King Zar was the second when he saw how she is looking at Isabel.


    Noticing the huge gap in the male/female ratio, King Zar immediately suggested for the two ladies to have a separate room they both can share for the night. He has been very strict with the male/female ratio ever since he started taking Homeless people in the Castle in order to avoid conflict as much as possible. Isabel didn''t understand what King Zar meant until she gave Commander Alia a fourth pinch to translate.


    After understanding what the topic is about, surprisingly Isabel strongly refused to get a seperate room with Commander Alia only. Not because she hates her, it isn''t because she fancies any of these men either. She just shared a form of sympathy with the entire Unit. This Unit has been sleeping through the Blistering night cold for 10 nights, she knew how hard it can become especially for people out of her race, the tents didn''t provide enough warmth even though they were in fairly good shape.


    She can sleep on rocks for all she cares, but these Ignites require more comfortability. "No no!" Repeated Isabel in her own language as she nodded her head from left to right. "If we share a room, it means that 22 men will have to fit in two rooms! I can''t allow that, they deserve to be comfortable, we all shared the same road after all."


    "Are you sure Isabel? I know that you don''t prefer men..." Reminded Commander Alia, not because she wants a private room. But because she wants the Unit''s Guardian angel to fare peacefully at least for one night. Commander Alia was able to notice how paranoid she has been throughout the days.


    "I don''t like anyone come to think of it. But I trust this Unit." Although she didn''t express her thoughts entirely, she felt a lot of trust towards them. So many men took shifts at night while she and Commander Alia slept. If anyone could have tried something, it was then. They could have greatly used the situation for filthy intends, but they didn''t. She is for sure that they didn''t even approach her and Commander Alia either, she is a very light sleeper.


    She woke up at least 5 times a night because of footsteeps 10 meters away, basically from the Guards in Patrol. None of them had such intends, she confirmed. It''s why she was paranoid the first few nights, she had to be sure. With Eric and Mogranius taking part in the Unit, no one would be crazy enough to try something filthy. But a lot can happen until they wake up!


    So after clearing out that she doesn''t mind sleeping in a bundle, She shared the bed with Commander Alia. While the six men (Including Mogranius, Eric and four other Guards (Two of which were Ignites and the other two were ill.u.s.tratios)). I mean if they are going to share a room, the least they can do is share it with the two absolutely trusted Fire Blasters. Two genders and 4 races in one room. If this isn''t equality and acceptance, I don''t know what is!


    The next morning, Seer personally gave the Unit a little tour of the Kingdom. First he had the urge to show them the Wagons under Construction, four were ready! That''s rather fast considering that the Construction Workers are spread wide throughout various tasks and are crafting something they aren''t supposed too (According to their signed for craft and responsibilities.). There are only 15 Construction Workers gifted with this responsibility. It''s all the Employees King Zar could spare even if he wanted to put more Employees through this task.


    The differences between these people however, tended to cause some discomfortability, for Isabel mostly though! These people are used to seeing Ignites because a lot of them migrated from Gaster Kingdom, 6/10 of the Homeless were Ignites. But what about an 8 foot tall Woman?


    They kept staring at her, acceptance all of a sudden is hard no doubt. The illas influences are banned since a few months ago, but there are still many people who don''t favour Ignites, Imagine a Calidum Lutum. The fact that these two races shared the same position in various Crafts, inevitably led to a better connection between the two races, an understanding to be more exact. They want better lives for their families!


    Ice has melted between these two races, which is Ironic because the ill.u.s.tratios used to call Ignites "Demons coming from the depths of hell." They are closer towards each other in this Domain than they have ever been for the past 201 years, those who worked with Ignites on a daily basis see them less as Demons and are understanding the illas'' propaganda more and more by the day.


    Some ill.u.s.tratios are slower with understanding this propaganda and still believe it, but they are coming to their senses, they will understand eventually. Some others however, didn''t leave Pameres Kingdom yet because they can''t afford it. They clarify that they don''t like the Ignites but fear King Zar to do anything too stupid. Maybe they will change in time? Miracles happen!


    But seeing an 8 foot tall Woman covered in wide Fur clothing as if she was dressed by an overprotective mother (Woldemir), it was hard for her not to stand from the crowd. Especially considering her unique skin tone.


    However Commander Alia forced away prying eyes by looking at them back, without removing her gaze from them at all! Girl for Girl I suppose. She even walked up to some people close enough to only be a foot apart from them, and stared them down. Which is easy because she is over 6 feet tall. When those people lost the stare off, and walked away. She murmured under her breath (But loud enough for them to hear.). "I doesn''t feel nice to get continuously stared at ha?" I think they got the message!


    They passed a mass of houses to reach the Wagon Construction all the way to the Outer Lands. The stable wasn''t under the first (And currently only.) wall''s protection. It''s the best choice since the Stable takes a lot of space.


    Seer managed to break the awkward silence by apologizing. For what would he apologize for though? "I''m sorry you have to wait for the Wagons, but it isn''t easy to stumble upon a bundle of them." And he is quite right, because with the entire Iron Sword order fitting in one Wagon, they don''t need more(For business reasons at least.).


    "It doesn''t matter. It''s understandable, Pameres Kingdom is trying to contribute all around. For such cases we are willing to wait, there is no time limit after all." Asserted Commanded Alia. It''s not like she wants to sleep in a tent as soon as possible. The more they stay here, it will be more likely for the snow to melt and the weather becomes a bit warmer. It''s a win win.


    "Thank you for your under..." Tried to express Seer but was immediately stopped by Commander Alia who has already moved to a new topic. A Question to be more exact.


    "I meant to ask since I saw them last night, why are there so many Construction Workers? Do you really need this Many houses?" The rate of employees here is astounding considering the economy. They are all working for more than they are getting paid. But with this strong rate of work, they will soon earn more than they work for. King Zar is one to give rewards lightly. When he will see the chance, he will.


    Seer wasn''t focusing on the Kingdom''s economy at the moment, but was just focusing on the asked question of course. "Oh they will be busy for a long while. We didn''t even manage to provide all of the homeless people with a house yet. It is why you had to share a room with 7 other people of your Unit. Not to mention the Construction Workers didn''t even start with a couple of other Projects yet!"


    "King Zar sure has a lot of ideas. He is literally using the overpopulation to his advantage."

 Chapter 182 - More Torches!

    Although running out of Torches became a minor problem at first, Gustav was there to save the day. Just in time too, when he returned he found out that most of the Guards almost burned out all of their Torches. Luckily, Guard Commander Delrus Aze seemed to have been listening carefully to Gustav''s recommendations for this Coal mine project.


    By that I''d like to clarify, Delrus ordered the Guards to make their way towards the Rope once their Torches were close to depleting, close to burning out. When Delrus himself could see(In a couple of cases.) that the Torches are dimming in the dark surrounding them, he urged the Guards to return. Yelling out one Command after the other, it was a hassle because he didn''t know all of their names, so he had to yell out their positions and their height(Example: Short one, Tall one, etc etc.) Instead. It accidentally brought other Guards who didn''t really need to approach the Rope and wasted a portion of their time.


    A bit of wasted time was a sacrifice worth making though. Because If one gets lost for example, it would be a bit difficult to find him. It would just burn out their much limited Torches. They are in a Coal rich Cave but can''t get enough Torches due to the lack of Iron Pickaxes. That''s their life now.


    If this project led to four men being lost, it would be a lot more risky and time consuming to bring them back near the Rope. First reason behind it is that this Cave is unpredictably big. To find a Guard who doesn''t have a Torch lit, would prove very time consuming because the Guard who got victimized by the Darkness, can''t move an inch. It is well verified that there are a lot of Holes here, they can''t risk walking if they can''t even see their hand in front of them. Now imagine if four of them got lost! It would take at least an hour and three Torches to bring them back.


    They could waste the entire day without getting much done if they aren''t extra careful. Lucky for them, Gustav brought 10 new Torches! 10! Just in time too. When he returned, the Guards were already waiting for new Torches. There is no time to waste, they will need new ones faster than Delrus can make them. But first he had to exchange a couple of words with Guard Commander Delrus Aze in order to catch up, since the Guards have been reporting the results to him.


    So after carefully delivering the Torches down there, Gustav turned his attention towards Delrus and asked under his breath (Because he has been running all the way here, rather tricky with Snow covering the lands.). "How are the Results so far? I assume that one of them reached at least one Cave wall so far."


    Trying to rush this conversation in order for Gustav to make more Torches since he seems to be quite crafty with them, he swiftly stated. "Yes yes. One Guard reached the end on the left side."


    "Really?! That''s good news!" Replied Gustav with a wide smile on his face. This wouldn''t be good news if the Guard found that Cave wall right away, but since they are down there for a while it just points out that this Cave shows a lot of promise.


    One issue which has been bothering Delrus however, is. "It is good news but I can''t know for sure how far it actually is since we have no way of proper measurement or a mildly accurate measurement for that matter. But based from the speck of light I saw from up here, it has to be from 20 to 30 meters when measured from this spot!" Delrus was wearing a puzzled face trying to figure out how far that Cave Wall actually is from here, but it wasn''t so noticeable because the Torch on his hand was burning out. Luckily he didn''t move around too much, so he could spare the Torches for a bit longer.


    But even after acknowledging the strong uncertainty, Gustav was quite happy since he focused on the bright side instead. "What! Imagine how big it is after we measure the right side!" The following question pushed Gustav through mumbling, mostly because of the wordplay but also because he was rushing due to excitement. "No one reached the end of the Right side, right?" Excited about Coal, that''s rich.


    "One thought he did, but after looking around a bit more, he figured out that it stretches further. The Cave has a bit of a sharp turn upwards I suppose." Rather hard to describe by word, but the point is that the Cave''s right side is shaped like half a triangle, with one edge starting from the bottom right corner and stretching to the Sources know where. They can''t be absolutely sure of its shape since they didn''t explore it properly yet, but it is a good prediction.


    Putting that thought behind, Gustav decided to ask about progress on the last but hardest to tackle side. "What about forwards? Did they find any Cave Wall in front of us?" Although the Sides of the Cave very important, the part in front can be a game changer(Profit-wise.). Caves tend to branch down in random directions, but the front part is the most important in half of the cases. Because its size can greatly impact how long this soon to be Coal Mine will last. Furthermore, it can lead to deeper wider sections of the Cave.


    "No no, they returned back here before they had the chance too!" Sadly, this is slight bad news since it could increase this exploration project for another day, Delrus had a strong itch to know now, Today!


    Gustav Iron on the other hand, was still aiming to stick with the more impactful positives. "This is such an amazing opportunity. It points out that this Cave is large!"


    Afterwards Delrus focused on the positive side, but with a spike joining it too. As if grabbing a Rose flower! "Indeed it is. The Guards even confirm that they saw Coal no matter how deep in they went! Your little discovery will make this town rich. It might make you even richer!" This is the spike, Delrus tried to taunt him profit-wise in order to figure out if his intends are firm and trust worthy.


    "Oh I don''t need Gold. I just love the fact that such a soon to be rich Town can oppose the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance." At this point, Gustav won against the taunt and accidentally won Delrus'' complete trust as well, because they are practically sharing the same interest. This is what pure intends can do!


    "We will need as many Domains as possible sharing our beliefs I suppose. That''s the only way we can oppose them." Although his reaction slow and calm, he opened himself a longish topic without even realizing it.


    "We have time too! Before I left the Capital at Meridionali Ignis, I saw hundreds of Soldiers being sent to the neighbouring Country, Septemtrionis Ignis. I think the Snow Ignites are causing them a lot of trouble." Well, this is their mutual interest. War Politics.


    "Oh right. The great Continental military shortage! Huge banter spread in Pameres Kingdom about it. But it proves your point, King Xakro wouldn''t nearly be dumb enough to attack us right now. It is our time to shine." So much for cutting the conversation short, this conversation can go on forever if there weren''t bigger tasks requiring attention.


    But luckily, Gustav decided to cut the conversation short and turn to his responsibilities, Ironic I know. Especially after we acknowledged that Delrus wanted to cut the Conversation short since the beginning. Let''s put that aside for now, there are Torches that need Crafting.


    Considering the rate of Torch consumption, he should be getting a bit of help with this. But he is the only one who seems to know how to properly make a Torch. Maybe there is more who know how too, but they don''t nearly have enough time to scroll through over 340 people to find one or two.


    He started looking around in order to find some proper Coal. It became tricky to do so since he already used over 20 Coal Chunks already from this very Section. There can''t be enough stray Chunks of Coal for another 10!


    After Gustav spent about 10 minutes looking for the Proper Coal Chunks with no exact success, Delrus had the decency to finally point out. "I forgot to tell you, the Guards have been collecting Coal and putting them in their pockets. While you were away we managed to carefully bring a Crate of them up here." It appears as simple as Delrus portrays it, but in actuality it was so difficult that one Guard had to climb up here in order to help Delrus with the delivery''s stability. Because they had to pull it up here slowly in order not to drop the Coal all over the other Guard''s heads, that would of been bad. But to drag it here slowly, it required an extra pair of hands since the crate became a bit heavy.


    That isn''t the point right now though. How could Delrus forget about something he broke a lot of sweat for? Oh right, the War talk! "I wish you told me that Earlier!" Gustav was a bit irritated no doubt, but at least he can speed up this task big time.


    He took a peek at the Crate of Coal Chunks and was highly satisfied with the results. Over half of the Coal in this Crate are properly sized to be turned into Torches. "I''ll go get a bunch of Sticks so we can make enough Torches." For that however, he would require a bit of help carrying them here. I suppose any townsfolk or Guard can lend a hand. Gustav Iron is doing all of this for the town''s better future after all, it was well established. Everyone in this Town is able to contribute, even some of the elderlies. There is no time to waste.

 Chapter 183 - The great Confusion.

    While Seer was giving most of the Unit a proper tour of Pameres Kingdom, Eric and Mogranius were held back by King Zar. Important topics have to be discussed and King Zar wasn''t sure if he should speak of them in front of the entire Unit last night. It can''t be sure how much trust Eric has put on the entire Unit, at least not too sure King Zar. Apart from that, the entire Unit was dead tired. They wouldn''t be able to focus on such a topic or any other for that matter.


    The topic King Zar wants to talk about, is the very topic he dropped his fork for last night! He played it off as nothing, but there sure is a lot to talk about! Luckily, the three are alone. The maids were ordered to stay out and only enter once called. King Zar didn''t mean any form of disrespect of course, It''s just that these topics require strong privacy.


    "You might be wondering why I asked to have a talk with you two." Broke King Zar the silence, and eased the two Fire Controller''s anxiety at least a little bit. They weren''t sure what to expect, they even told Commander Alia that they will join later since they woke up when she was about to leave for the tour. They didn''t exactly explain the situation to her in order to not make a big deal out of all of this, they didn''t tell her that King Zar called for the two a blink before Commander Alia passed through the scene.


    "Well yes! We were looking forward to the tour." Expressed Mogranius as if he was a child whose toy was taken away, it is nice to see that he didn''t drop all his childish behaviours even after the little tragedy he went through at Gaster Kingdom roughly a couple of weeks ago. As for Eric, he was waiting for a more proper explanation.


    "I wanted to talk about it last night, but all of you were already too tired!" Clarified King Zar to explain his choices, his behaviour.


    "Point taken. So what''s the issue?" Asked Mogranius as he sat on the dining table, taking a bite off bread. The rest had breakfast a bit earlier, as for Mogranius and Eric, they woke up later. Worked to their advantage for once I assume.


    "Last night you mentioned something about an attack at your town..." Cut King Zar to the case right away, there are a lot of points to clarify. There is no time to waste or he could forget what he wants to say.


    "Yes. The attack led by that worthless chunk of meat, Chan." Mogranius has a good description of him indeed, most aren''t good words though. Mogranius would of killed him long ago actually, but a Source Bear intervened. We further established that before. But the point is, he doesn''t like Guard Commander Chan.


    "I think I know what they might be doing. What they needed that Heart for." This can be rather impactful, it could unintentionally add more Burden to these two''s shoulders, especially Eric''s. But at least King Zar was quite straight, he doesn''t beat around the Bush!


    "Really? That would prove as big help right now. It has been puzzling us for the past 5 months!" Pointed out Eric, finally joining the conversation instead of just listening in silence. Mogranius is taking enough for the both of them so I guess Eric''s silence can escape unnoticed.


    Before they sunk deeper into this conversation, King Zar felt like he had the responsibility to point out. "I can''t remember his words in exact detail, he only mentioned it a couple of times a bit before I was sent here..."


    Luckily, Mogranius showed understanding for once and acted his age! "Its okay... Tell us what you remember!" Actually no, he just wanted to know everything about this topic right now!


    "Thank you." Rubbing his temples to remember as much as he can, King Zar first pointed out. "He mentioned that he would need to get three items in order to grant powers to someone who doesn''t have any." Then he proved that he can''t remember pretty well. He even accidentally offended an... well just listen to him. "I can''t remember what the other two were, but one was a Heart from a Caredum Letum."


    "I believe that you can''t remember everything in detail." Expressed Eric and afterwards had the urge to clarify. "They are actually called "Calidum Lutum"."


    "Right. Sorry." He didn''t intend to be racist in any way, that''s the last thing he wants to doo. He just didn''t hear enough about the Calidum Lutum throughout his lifetime.


    "It doesn''t matter. But who would he need to grant power even after considering how powerful he is! He doesn''t need any help." Eric was of course the one to point this out, he was eyes to eye with the "ManBeast", furthermore he does have a firm point.


    "I''m not sure, I''m as confused as you. Especially because at first, he wanted to give me Powers. But didn''t have the resources or information to do so. It escaped forgotten, until now." That''s a twist of events, but it just makes everything more confusing. Like the fact that he didn''t get rid of King Zar when he was born. A bit of a rude description, but you get my point. Zar''s siblings shared a different fate!


    "Do you think that it can be related to my recent appearance as an Electus?" Asked Eric, perceptive enough actually. If Stefan was here he would tell at least a hundred scenarios of what King Xakro might be planning, but they wouldn''t know which one to believe first. Less ideas, are good for once.


    "Very likely, but I don''t know why he would try to grant powers to anyone." The second part however, still doesn''t add up for them. As isolated King Xakro is, he could still take on Eric and inevitably win.(Like pointed out a bit after this paragraph.).


    "Maybe to hunt us?"


    "I doubt it. No offense but he could kill you easily!" Stated King Zar, he is quite aware of his Father''s powers, but so is Eric.


    "None taken, I know. It confuses me more. He could of killed me when he faced me in Crutal Kingdom, but didn''t." It became even more confusing once Eric found out that King Xakro is basically a more unstable version of an Electus.


    "What!" King Zar wasn''t of course well informed. There isn''t anyone who can provide him with such sensitive information.


    "You didn''t know that?"


    "How would I even know that?" Answered King Zar as he rubbed his forehead roughly, trying to make as much sense out of his Father''s moves as possible. But it just didn''t click no matter how much he tried to remember, he was used to tuning his father out.


    "Oh right, you cut your entire relations with him." Remembered Mogranius, a rather big detail to leave out but it doesn''t affect the conversation too much, apart from using a bit more time pointing out some facts that is.


    "Yes. But his actions, his moves. They aren''t random even though confusing to us. He is completely insane but each step he takes is planned years before. Don''t underestimate him!" This caused an ongoing headache, everything just continued to be more and more confusing.


    Confusion struck the three no doubt, but one thing slipped from this conversation that Mogranius didn''t ask much about. "Your Father tried to grant you powers?"


    "Yes. He wanted to grant me Mind Control, so one could finally claim the throne. But the required item was practically impossible to get." Out of all the 7 Choices he had, why would he Choose mind control? There must be more to this, but even King Zar doesn''t know what. They didn''t really share much conversations.


    "As hard as getting a Calidum Lutum''s heart?"


    "Maybe. I don''t remember what it was, I tuned him out. He talks about these ideas all the time but rarely does them." Imagine living with the most powerful human being who got cursed with 7 Demons, and not paying attention to what he says. Ladies and Gentlemen, King Zar.


    "Or maybe he is waiting for the best time to do them." Suggested Eric, using King Zar''s claims about his father as an aid. A man who plans everything, can''t be underestimated.


    "We can''t really be sure." Letting out a long sigh and aiming to be positive and more realistic actually, trying to relieve them too. "But he can''t do anything now, every odd is working to his disadvantage. All of Meridionali Ignis is trying to wipe out the Snow Ignites. We have time to prepare against anything he might be launching against us."


    "The Snow Ignites, my father told me about them. Me and Eric will head too Septemtrionis Ignis to see what''s going on, we will part ways with the Unit at Green Kingdom." Once again, Mogranius was careful with his words. It isn''t certain how much they can tell King Zar about their intends, King Zar has been very helpful but he shares Xakro''s genes after all. Mogranius feels like he has to be very careful.


    Confused how Mogranius still has his father alive no doubt, King Zar decided to Ignore that fact and focused on something more important. "I hope you shed some light to this story, the Snow Ignites can be great allies." Luckily, King Zar didn''t analyze Mogranius'' wordplay. If he did, he would need to ask at least three more questions, which would be followed by more questions, it is a vicious cycle.

 Chapter 184 - A new possible income.

    About three Hours later with around 15 more Torches burned, the Guards managed to make a rough estimation of the Cave''s size.


    They figured out that the bottom part of the Cave, is around 40 meters across from one point to the other. The triangular form which starts on the bottom right side, stretches about 30 meters before it makes another sharp turn towards the exact opposite direction. However, that sharp turn is followed by a Wall that is a lot shorter before it meets the top Wall of the Cave. It might sound wildly confusing, but it really isn''t if you read it a couple more times and try to think of a visual representation of it in your mind.


    If the Cave''s length was measured exactly from the sharp turn, it would range about 50 Meters across. Imagine the Torches they need to illuminate all of that space! Luckily the Town doesn''t need to Mine out 10 tons of Coal a day! However, getting back to measurements. Although the Cave is quite long when measured horizontally, it''s a bit different when measured Vertically. By that, I don''t mean the Cave''s height. I mean it as from the Rope to whatever width is in front.


    When they tried to measure from where they first dropped the Rope, it only seemed to be around 30 meters wide when they reached the other side of the Cave. More specifically, when they reached the Cave wall in front of them.


    30 Meters however, wasn''t the final estimation when they discovered some other portions of the front wall. Some portions sunk forward making portions of the Cave a bit smaller in Vertical Width. But most though expanded forward, which only made the Cave bigger. So the best way to describe the Cave''s width vertically from one edge to the other, is 30 to 40 meters.


    The width no doubt interesting, but they got shocked by a new discovery standing about 20 meters in front of the Rope. They discovered a wide hole, ranging around 8 meters horizontally and 3-6 meters vertically. As for how deep down it is, the Torch''s illumination radius couldn''t reach the end of this hole so it indeed became only more promising.


    One Guard even threw a Chunk of Coal down there but couldn''t figure out a proper estimation. Once he yelled that it is 15 meters deep, the second time he stated that he couldn''t hear the Chunk of Coal reach the Cave Ground, as if it didn''t have an impact at all. And on the third attempt he felt quite sure that it is around 20 meters deep. They didn''t really find a good way to measure it yet, but it isn''t a problem to worry about now with all this Coal around!


    Infact, a lot of the holes they found were too deep for the Torch''s light to reach as well. But they were less wide, most of which ranged around 1 meters. These little holes can be connected to the big one, or lead to another bigger or smaller portions. We can''t really be sure without exploring them. We need to take it into consideration that they could be resourceless dead ends as well. Here it isn''t predictable, one has to see with his or her eyes in order to be absolutely sure.


    The entire team felt glad to finally make a better estimation of the Second Section''s size though, and as much as they wanted to explore that large hole, they had to call it a day! Dusk is close and they are all tired. It''s not the wisest idea to walk around a Cave with several deep holes, tired. This can turn for the worse in a blink of an eye. One minute you explore the Cave, the other minute it becomes a rescue situation. They can''t take chances.


    These Guards have done their part, but they left the Rope there, no need to remove it. They will need it for countless more times, or at least other teams bringing different crafts down here will use it too! With no proper Staircase, everyone needs to use the Rope instead. Luckily though, no Rope malfunction struck them mid climb, they all made it out safe and in one piece.


    Now their next step shall be to bring as much Construction Workers down here as possible. Because without a firm set of stairs to their aid, they can''t carry the small Crates of Coal out of the Cave. Without these Cheaply built but yet essential Stairs, their productivity rate will be small no matter how many individuals the Mining team has. But if one Miner for example, fills a small Crate with 50 Kilograms of Coal and gets it out of the Cave himself, it would be a lot more profitable in many different aspects. The Miner would be independable, since the Town doesn''t have enough people to afford Teamwork it would greatly work to their advantage.


    The next morning, it was up to Gustav to establish a bigger team who can build that Staircase. He has full authority to do so, this will be difficult to do though. Because the Construction Workers already have a lot of Houses to improve, that should be set as a priority because they can''t risk for people to freeze, they can''t depend on March or on the Weather either.


    Apart from the houses, they need to work on the General Storage room (Or best described, Building.) For a few more days in order to increase its size and overall quality, they want to make it look nice. Technically they are spending more time on it than they are supposed too, but there are more items than the Building can fit so it is worth the time. It is the definition of productivity.


    To make it more overwhelming, they are working on another Building too! A new one they are building from scratch. The Business that was close to making a big impact before the Coal Cave was discovered, specifically the Tailoring Business. This building needs a bit more time since its supposed to give enough work space for 20 Women, plus it requires a Storage Room connected to it.


    The entire Construction team is quite stretched. To make it worse, Gustav wants to put them on two new projects. One is the Staircase of course, and the second is mass Crate production. They will need a way to transport all of this Coal, the Wagons will aid of course but they can''t just throw the Coal on it randomly. They need Cubic Crates, appropriately sized as well so they can fit it in a Wagon properly. The Crates can''t be too heavy either, they don''t need to carry half a Ton of Coal in one of them.


    So his plan is for Crates who are 1 meter Tall and Wide to be constructed. When they are filled with Coal all the way up, it will weigh around 200 Kilograms depending how they fit in the Coal. It is a nice plan and it doesn''t require an insane amount of Planks either, just enough people to make them.


    It will be easy to load the Crates here near the Cave, they can simply put an empty Crate on a Wagon and fill it with the aid of smaller Crates (That can carry 50 Kilograms of Coal for example.), as for when they unload them on the port, they would require 4-6 people to unload one of Crates. A Wagon can fit 3 of these 1 meter tall Crates, the Horse won''t have a problem to pull them though as long as the Road isn''t too disastrous.


    As for setting up new teams, he will need to put all of the unemployed people to work temporarily with a promised small reward at the end of each task. He can''t grant all of them a permanent job as Construction Workers, they will only be needed now when there is a lot too doo! With only 250 permanent residents living here, there won''t be much to do after all of these bundles of tasks.


    But to build Crates for example, an official team is required. Not too though large, 5 individuals should do it. Since the town is generally low on free hands, Gustav found it very reasonable to put women to this task. Anyone can do this job with a bit of experience after we put the gender stereotypes aside, it isn''t physically tiring either.


    These Women know the townsfolk so it wouldn''t cause any unnecessary drama when we consider the fact that they will have to cooperate with the Lumberjacks(Who are Male.) in order to get wooden Planks appropriate for their job. They will be considered as heroes if they make 10 Crates a day, that can literally carry a ton of Coal Chunks. The lack of Wagons will prove as a problem though, every Revolutionary Domain here suffers the lack of Wagons.


    Since these Ladies have no experience whatsoever, a Construction Worker from Pameres Kingdom has to teach them until they get the basics down. It wouldn''t take too long to teach them how to make Crates, it is rather basic. However since making Crates is time consuming and requires an official team of Constructors and costs a bit of lumber too, Gustav found it best to charge for the Crates per delivery. Since they can''t take them back and will always need to make new ones per every order of 200 Kilograms!

 Chapter 185 - No Gender Restrictions!

    To get the Staircase construction started, Gustav Iron had to assign around 20 unemployed men as an aid on other tasks, in order to spare some professionals for this one. A 10 meter tall Staircase would be too risky to be trusted primarily on the Experienceless. People will walk up and down these Stairs for months to years depending on how big this cave actually is, it could be predicted more accurately after searching down deeper sections.


    So instead he trusted the responsibility on 5 Construction Workers that came from Pameres Kingdom, they are quite experienced and can for sure be reliable for such a potentially dangerous task. Apart from the 5, he also put 2 of the newly hired apprentices. Best described, experienceless (On this Craft.) men from BaleTown. But compared to the 20 Farmers who have no experience at all in Construction, they can prove a bit more useful. The Farmers are doing these tasks just temporarily after all.


    A portion(3) of the 20 temporarily hired, were put in the Staircase Construction team. It isn''t a big team Quantity-Wise but with proper guidance they can prove quite useful along with the two apprentices. Since the entire Construction team has around 5 projects to work on, it wouldn''t be considered fair to put half of the experienced in one project and let the other 5 fare with Guiding around 20 experienceless. This has to be done because without the Staircase, this Mine is quite useless.


    The newly established team of Miners however, they will need to work on the first Section of the Cave for now and Mine out whatever amount of Coal they can. This Section doesn''t nearly have enough Coal to compare it with the second, but they can still fill a few Crates before the Staircase is built. In fact they might be done way before, since there are 5 Miners assigned. These 5 will work here until the entire Coal here is completely depleted, their positions here aren''t exactly temporary or short lasting either. They can make a fortune under a couple of years if Gustav Iron decides to impactfully raise their salaries.


    If the Miners are done with the first section before the Staircase is built, they have to lend a hand in order to speed up the process. They won''t be hammering nails or using any Construction tools in general, but they can lend a hand with carrying the Planks, it would inevitably speed up the Construction. The Salary for the Miners will be 45 Gold Coins. Gustav told them not to worry about the first month''s salary too much, because once they manage to get a regular buyer, all of the salaries will increase regardless of Craft. With the amount they will be able to Mine out of the Second Section, the Salaries may remain handsomely high for a long time (For other Crafts.) even after the Mine depletes.


    Building the Staircase however, will be astoundingly difficult because of two main reasons. The drop is ten meters deep, and the Cave is mostly made out of Rock and Coal. They won''t be able to bash a thick piece of Lumber through dirt in order to make a good firm foundation, they can''t push Lumber against the Cave Ceiling either. That''s just playing stupid, basically asking to be burried alive. That''s why Gustav trusted the most experienced with such a complex project.


    Getting back to the Miners. They will finally be able to put in some work, since the Town officially has 6 Blacksmiths now with an official Forge constructed too, they were able to make a few Pickaxes. 4 to be exact! In a single day. Not enough to equip every Miner but its still better than working with one pickaxe or worst yet, working with none.


    The Miner without a Pickaxe can either lend a hand on carrying the Crates that fit 50 Kilograms of Coal so the Miners can just concentrate on mining. Or he could lend a hand to the Construction Workers. There are countless ways to be productive with so many projects going on thanks to the adjustments the newly arrived Governing team made.


    He will need to know where to put his time in the first day only, as for tomorrow there will already be 4 more Pickaxes ready. He doesn''t have to worry about that and it will be even better for the team to have 3 spare pickaxes. This plan is slowly building together into a financial masterpiece.


    Another request that Gustav made from the Blacksmiths, is a solution to the Cave''s lack of illumination problem. He asked for Iron Torch handles! A bit confusing to describe, but not quite! Their main purpose is to hold a Burning Chunk of Coal. This way, the handles will sure be reusable unlike Wooden handles.


    A rather interesting Tool, economic too. With Lumber being in high demand thanks to the many active construction projects, Iron is a great expensive substitute. Because once a Chunk of Coal burns out on the handle, a Miner can simply replace it with another and Ignite it. It''s as simple as that and can be used dozens of times while a wooden stick can only be used once, in rare cases twice.


    "You''ve got the entire town on their feet with these Projects. I''m Impressed, you certainly look like you know what you''re doing." Complimented Guard Commander Delrus Aze as they left the sight of Crate Construction, aiming to go to the Guard''s building and sip on some fine quality hot black tea. He continued with another genuine compliment. "Putting Women to do the Crate Construction is simply raw genius. They seem very perceptive and careful with their steps of Construction even though they are complete beginners. I wish that new Guards were anything like that! They are a hassle."


    "Thanks. I honestly thought that more authorities would disagree, then I remembered that I''m part of the authorities." It was a busy day okay, he forgot about that fact completely. He was so focused on helping this town that he actually forgot such an important fact, he didn''t seem to have shame on expressing it though. "Considering some traditional ways, I thought about the men who would easily disagree for Women to work on such tasks, a few women elderly disagreed as well." But it looks like he got the situation quite under control, when reasoning didn''t work he used fear instead without getting hostile that is. With a wide smirk on his face he continued. "Then I reminded them that they won''t let old traditions (Work-wise.) get in the way, the town agreed to the Contract after all." It''s not like he wants to put these people in uncomfortable positions, the Town needs everyone to contribute if they are to achieve an impactful progress.


    "That''s very smart, it''s the only way to convince the older generations. You didn''t give them a negative strike did you?" Such a threat should be used as a last resort in a bluffing manner even, they still need to go on with this Contract after all. Especially for Gustav who will get 5% of the monthly income. Money didn''t matter until now and it still doesn''t for him, but it isn''t bad either to make a few thousand each month as a side profit.


    "Of course I didn''t. Why would I want to break this Contract considering how much of an impact it can make against the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance? I''m not dumb." That''s at least one personal benefit from this entire project! Well it can''t be considered entirely personal. 350 people in this Town hate the ill.u.s.trarian Alliance, even ill.u.s.tratios. Not to mention the two other Domains!


    "Your hate against the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance is deep rooted my friend, normally I would advise against using this Town to aid our beliefs, but this Town hates the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance as well. They would gladly help King Zar and his revolution by adding their own contribution." Thankfully Delrus Aze shares the same thoughts, he stood in solitude with King Zar ever since the start of the Revolution.


    "That''s my point. With the Coal mine to our aid, we will able to impact three domains for the better, corruption isn''t our intend of course but selling our Coal to Pameres Kingdom and Gaster Kingdom will massively increase Iron tool production, the Coal King Zar has is imported from Zameria as much as I''ve been told." A great idea from Gustav Iron no doubt, but here it wouldn''t prove much effective since he isn''t well aware of the two Domain''s sources.


    "Some of it is, he has discounts from the Zamerians plus the Mines there provide half of the required Coal as well. We won''t be able to sell anything at Pameres Kingdom, I''m not sure about Gaster Kingdom though." They would need to find different Buyers no doubt, but it wouldn''t be too difficult considering the amount of Coal they can mine out.

 Chapter 186 - Developing Friendship!

    Nearly a week later, a small unit of 10 Guards arrived in Bale Town, respectfully the ones sent by King Zar. Their presence here was made clear once the first Guard got out of the Wagon and clarified their presence here, they need to deliver the Horses along with the empty Wagons back to Pameres Kingdom. These Wagons weren''t all given to Bale Town for free after all, only a Horse and a Wagon were. They didn''t heavily concentrate on transportation in the beginning since they simply thought that Bale Town won''t need to deliver much items, they weren''t aware of the Coal mine.


    Guard Commander Delrus Aze highly disagreed at first of course, the Town needs these Wagons now more than they ever did before, but so does Pameres Kingdom for an agreed upon Project by King Zar. With about 10 Crates filled with Coal, ready to transport he wanted to acknowledge King Zar what BaleTown can really provide, the Town has been progressing tremendously.


    10 Crates filled with Coal equals somewhere around two tons in weight! Multiply that by 5 Gold Coins per Kilogram, it equals to 10,000 Gold Coins. They managed to prepare all of this in 7 days once they officially started mining! 7 days! The progress is no joke. Even the first Section of the Cave has greatly expanded to the point where the Mining team had to break the Surface in some portions. Luckily it didn''t come with any problems and will make transportation a little bit easier. As for the main entrance, it''s around 5 to 5 meters wide now.


    Even the Crates, of which Gustav found it as a problem at first, aren''t a problem anymore. The only little bit of Problems they faced was in the first couple of hours when they didn''t have anywhere to put some of the Mined out Coal. At day one, the team of 5 newly established Crate Constructors (Plus their more experienced temporary teacher.) managed to make 4 stable reliable Crates. For a team of complete beginners, this is amazing progress. As for day two, they managed to make 6! I suppose they got the hang of it enough to cut some tasks short, acknowledged all their basics. Seven days later, 10 Crates in total were used and 40 empty Crates were ready to either be used or sold elsewhere.


    Yes, sold! The Crate Constructing team, became so productive that they can actually manage to sell their product somewhere else instead of just piling them up here or worse, not being able to provide enough in Bale Town. But at first, Delrus found it reasonable for them to prepare 200 spare ones before they can start offering other Domains. When they start running out of them here, they can always make more, take on two tasks at once.


    No matter how strong their progress is however, the Horses and Wagons still belong to King Zar, they belong to Pameres Kingdom. The Town doesn''t have a single right to keep them even after considering the Contract, they aren''t donated but lended. So Delrus decided to send the Horses and Wagons back with a message.


    "King Zar. I''m happy to announce that the Town is tremendously progressing in many aspects. We even discovered a Cave packed with Coal, it is rich enough for us to Mine out 2,000 Kilograms of it in a week! Please enjoy this Crate full of Coal as a thank you from the Citizens of Bale Town, I''m sure it will come in handy. I''d like to point out that''s all the first small Section could provide(2,000 Kilograms.). A drop deeper in the Cave, leads to a tremendously bigger Section which  includes a lot more deposits of Coal. What we mined out until now is nothing compared to what we will mine out in the Near future. We also established a team of women to build Crates, so we can more properly organize the Coal we mine out, we divide them by 200 Kilograms and throughout some tests, we found out that a Wagon can fit three Crates without malfunction. To be exactly sure about the stability, we need to put a Wagon to the test. This little Donation to Pameres Kingdom is also a little trial. These ladies were fast enough to make 40 spare Crates as well! I think that your Kingdom and Gaster Kingdom too might need these unique Crates. They are amazing for any kind of delivery and quite sturdy too, reliable! If we sell these in a mass amount to the Zamerians, I think the Town can make a good side profit with them. As for the prices, it is up to you to decide since you know their economy a bit better. But I recommend to sell them for 50 Gold Coins each with an order of Coal and 75 Gold Coins if the Crate is ordered empty. We also have another smaller Project in mind, it might prove less profitable compared to the Coal Mine, but I still see promise. We plan to open a Tailoring business, Construction Workers are already making a little workshop for them and we plan to hire 20 Women to keep the place running. Let me know of your thoughts about this Project and please try to figure out business opportunities for this Town as well! Putting the requests aside, this time we are actually ready to provide you with an offer. We need 400 Kilograms of Iron Ingots and a lot of Wagons along with Horses too. We can exchange those items with Coal, I''m not aware of the total price but you can figure out and tell us how much Coal we need to send. For now, we need 5 Horses along with 15 Wagons. I hope this request is easy to tackle, and I hope you will be able to help us with this amazing opportunity. Respectfully, Guard Commander Delrus Aze." It was the best idea to deliver such a letter, at least Zar will be well informed of the amazing opportunities.


    Getting back to the progress all these teams made under a week. The Miners have 20 Spare Pickaxes, luckily they didn''t break any as well. After making the Pickaxes, the Blacksmith team used their last bit of Iron Bars they brought from Pameres Kingdom to make those Iron Torch handles.


    They only managed to make 15 of them, not enough to provide enough light for the entire second Section but its still better than nothing. They should last until more Iron arrives from Pameres Kingdom. Now the Town would be more proud about the next delivery coming from them, because for once it won''t be a Donation but a purchase instead.


    This delivery might work to their advantage time-wise because the Staircase isn''t finished yet. It''s only about 60% done, the Miners can lend a hand to speed up the process instead of just wasting time sitting around. It isn''t easy to build a ten meter tall Staircase but the Experienced Construction Workers managed to make everything stable with a few unique techniques that didn''t require rock or dirt penetration, but did require a lot of long Nails and a bit more Lumber instead! The Construction Workers and everyone lending a hand can even use the foundations to climb out of the Cave instead of using the Rope. Rather usual in this form of Craft but it proves stability.


    To speed up this process, both Delrus and Gustav are lending a hand without expecting a pay (Of Course). They both are quite good with organizing these Projects but there is nothing else left for them to do at the moment! The least they could do is lend a hand in this impactful task. The most they can do is help lift Planks, but still!


    This little teamwork between the two started forming a friendship, this is worth pointing out. It was nice to see, especially when they figured out that they both don''t know how to Hammer a Nail without a foul result. They both hit their own thumbs and broke a couple of planks too. Thankfully their thumbs are in tact, they can wiggle them.


    They decided to not use any Tools since they will just slow this project down, they can just lift instead. At least, they can now after one of the Experienced Construction Workers tried to teach them a bit more about the safety procedures they need to take once they grab a 7 foot Plank and put it over their shoulders. Gustav for example, almost hit other people with a plank several times. Most of which were accidental! Most! After that man made some rules straight to the two, their help actually sped up the process, since they basically save the Experienced Construction Workers from the trouble of climbing up and down all the time. With so many hands at work for this task, the Staircase Construction requires just a few more days.

 Chapter 187 - Gold-Wise

    When King Zar received the message around 8 days later, he was amazed by this amazing opportunity. But it was also made clear that there is so much to do, he didn''t know where to get started first! What Guard Commander Delrus Aze is describing is a stupidly rich opportunity and a big future impact against the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance. You don''t see small Domains donating 1,000 Gold Coins worth of Coal very often here in Ignis.


    The first issue that was made clear to him about this Project, was transportation! Damn that has become a headache for so many. Without the Wagons all that Coal can sit there uselessly, all of that Gold that can come from it becomes impossible to get. So King Zar addressed this issue first towards his personal assistant, Seer. Giving this problem huge importance even though it wouldn''t take too much effort to figure this problem out. "Wagon requests have become too intense for us to Ignore their Value! Bale Town discovered a Coal Mine and is requesting 15 Wagons and 5 Horses too! Not to mention, King Michael lended the exact same amount as well. They had that huge Beautiful Black Horse to their aid, though I don''t know why they requested 5 more instead of 4."


    "You mean Blackwind? Quite a rare breed I became aware. But coming back to more important matters! Bale Town brought us amazing news! Is the Mine that big for 15 Wagons to be requested?" To clarify, Seer has nothing against BlackWind and he doesn''t mean any form of offension towards him either. He just didn''t want to give King Zar more reasons to complain, especially about Horses he will eventually get back.


    Luckily, King Zar was excited enough about this amazing discovery that he cut the Horse talk out of the Conversation completely. "Oh yes. They already mined out 2 tons of it, they''ve even sent a Crate as a small donation! Delrus wrote that the teams will sink in deeper into the Cave where it shows a lot more promise!" There is just a lot to take in, King Zar is looking at several tasks right now that he has to tackle under a short period of days. Most of which include Import, Export and deal strikes.


    "Amazing just amazing! But how do you plan to tackle this request Sire? Even after we get the Wagons back from King Michael, we can''t spare to give all 15 of them!" The question, that brings out a different plan into action. Well technically it already is in action, but now it will become permanent or will at least last a lot longer.


    He thought about this opportunity more deeply, he feels like the Seven Sources want Pameres Kingdom to progress. It was hard to express this feeling by word, it felt heavenly. But he roughly found a way. "Thankfully when we decided to help King Michael, fate brought us to Helping Pameres Kingdom as well!" But he didn''t yet reveal his plan properly, his mind was still on the extra Horse the Unit lended even though he expressed it differently now. "We will need those Wagons after they return them. Glad that his Unit is on the road to Silver Kingdom already, we need those Wagons back as soon as possible!"


    With an eyebrow raised in a bit of irritation, trying to figure this man out. Seer asked for an elaboration. "I don''t understand how this will help us now Sire, we need Wagons now."


    "Exactly, so we need to establish an official team of Wagon Constructors." Finally, the point he tried to make from the very beginning of this Chapter. It isn''t easy to focus with a Horse on his head (Not literally.). "Those 15 men you set to make the Wagons, acknowledge them about the recent changes. Their daily job now is to make Wagons, I''m sure we will be able to tackle this order before the next delivery time." But where one question is roughly properly answered, another Question rises. King Zar mostly has amazing business ideas and overall managing skills thanks to Seer''s advice throughout the decade. But now he sure has passed Seer, King Zar thinks a lot but roughly explains the plan which tends to make everything a lot more confusing if a series of questions isn''t asked.


    "What does the delivery time have to do with this?" Seer had a couple of theories, but neither were firm enough to be spoken off!


    "Oh, we will send a few offers to the Zamerians and too King Michael as well. For the Coal primarily and for the Crates too!" Thank the Source above Sources, he cut to the point right away this time and added a big piece to the puzzle.


    "May I aid you to remember Sire, King Michael also requested 435 Leather Jerkings. Do you intend to fulfill their order." King Zar didn''t say anything about this order yet, the Kingdom doesn''t have enough Leather in Storage for such a task, they need a couple more weeks.


    But since Seer asked, now is the time to address this order. "Yes I do. But we need proper measurements, so draw some dimensions in a parchment." This is a good way to buy the Tailoring and Hunting team some time. It would take quite a few days to make proper measurements for 435 people. For the Unit of 24 who are on an active task, they literally have to assume their fitting size. "For example a 40cm long leather Jerkin is considered small sized, a 60 cm leather jerkin is considered medium sized and a 80 cm leather Jerkin is considered large."


    Quite capable to catch up, Seer swiftly added. "So using those sizes we can make a more firm result? As in, they don''t need to order everything medium sized for example?"


    Pleased how Seer managed to Catch on, King Zar answered with a smile. "Precisely, they will have freedom of choice. Measurement might prove time consuming considering he wants to buy 435 leather jerkins, but this will show a bit of professionalism and will allow for Leather to pile up for us to tackle such a large order. Not to forget, the Zamerians might have sent a letter back about our two proposals." At least, he revealed to Seer why he has been shifting this order for other days. At the end, King Zar appreciates King Michael''s attempt for double sided good but the Kingdom needs more time to tackle such an order.


    "Right. That will prove troublesome if we don''t manage to get a lot of Leather soon!" This struck a nerve due to some obvious reasons. King Zar hired 18 new apprentice Hunters but they are still low on Leather. Either the Orders are too big or the team of Hunters is too slow, Seer stuck with the Order being too big. The Kingdom can''t hire more Hunters, half of the Hunters would need to walk for over ten Kilometers a day to bring game home if more were hired. The team has occupied a huge portion of Hunting ground already.


    "Not necessarily, Delrus states that they also established a new Tailoring business. We can take on both requests with Bale Town''s aid. Of course we will pay their part of the work, this is just to build a good name in front of the Zamerians in order to secure future bigger offers." Seer is impressed by King Zar''s business points of view. They seem to be thought quite ahead of time, each step he makes secures future business.


    "But do you think you can strike a Deal about Coal with the Zamerians? They surely have more Coal mines!" This can be tricky though, which is why Seer wanted to be sure if King Zar can actually handle making a deal for such a case. If he can''t, it would be really bad!


    "Indeed they doo. But I''m sure they would reconsider after we Guarantee them at least 5 tons a month!" Smart, offering to provide large amounts. Seer thought about that too but didn''t see it good enough. He trusts King Zar''s word on this and he can''t say much against it anyway.


    "I see what you mean. Should I write a letter for you Sire?" Seer understands that King Zar can''t write properly for two reasons. He usually writes when he is proposing some sort of deal, and when he thinks of deals his mind works too fast for his hands to catch up. Furthermore, his hands are too big for a quill!


    "Indeed you shall. You need to include that we can provide up to 20 Wagons a month, medium sized. Their price will fairly be 400 Gold Coins." This offer can be an eye opener for the Zamerians once they get their hands on it. Take it into consideration, the average salary here in Occidentis Ignis in general is 200 Gold Coins. But the Wagons cost 400 Gold Coins. While in Zameria, the average salary is 1,000 Gold Coins. Imagine how much they can sell these Wagons there for. The worst deal would be selling it double the price. The worst deal!


    "Oh that''s good profit. So you want to Include the Wagons, Crates and Coal as a letter towards the Zamerians." He had to be sure about this, King Zar has many ideas but doesn''t reveal them properly without further questions. "Crates and Coal as a message to Gaster Kingdom. Correct me if i''m wrong." This entire conversation tended to become very confusing, but thankfully Seer stopped daydreaming about Maleesa for a moment and was able to catch up in most aspects. For what he wasn''t completely sure about, he asked questions of course!


    "You aren''t at all but I forgot to mention something else. Include King Michael''s egg offer to the letter we will deliver to BaleTown. Along with the total price of the Wagons plus the 400 Kilograms of Iron Ingots we will provide. The Iron might take a while to prepare but I think we can manage." These requests get even more confusing when they are revealed at the last moment, but at least he is making them clear before any messenger departs. "As for the Horses, we will order 15 fine Horses from the Zamerians and negotiate a good price. We need 10 here as well, so 10 of them will be for Pameres Kingdom. You never know the situation and they aren''t too expensive to keep in a stable either."


    This situation can get indeed tangled. There is just so much going on between these three domains! And King Zar is stuck right in the middle of them. Import, export, deals. All in his hand! But there is no time to break down in stress, there is Gold that needs making and an entire Alliance that needs opposing, this is the best time to do so! Only if they knew about the 800 Soldiers approaching Pameres Kingdom.

 Chapter 188 - Fancy Barn

    The Unit of 24 finally arrived at Silver Kingdom after two week''s worth of hard effort. It isn''t easy to travel for 200 Kilometers through the deep cold Snow! To their good luck, the Snow melted while they were in a week''s worth of time deep in Travel. March started roughly 5 days ago as well and it worked just to their advantage! The Weather has been shifting for the better ever since which helped cutting down the travelling time, it would take a few more days for them to arrive if the Snow didn''t melt.


    Now since they literally are in enemy territory, setting up Camp has become the main issue the entire Unit is worrying about. If Kingdom officials won''t prove threatening, low lives seaking for Gold might prove as a big problem. Disrespectfully, thieves! For a thief, risking to go and steal from a Unit of which includes 24 people, is more than a risky task. It''s just playing stupid!


    One can''t be qualified with the job, you see where this is getting right? Since one can''t tackle this task, they could be raided by overwhelming Numbers of Thieves or worse yet, Bandits. They could be stormed by Bandits who come from the Woods a few kilometers away too. In enemy territory they can''t be sure, none of these people (In this Unit.) are aware of what Silver Kingdom can offer (Be it good or bad.).


    Now there is a tricky question, where should the Unit set camp? They are a Kilometer away from the Kingdom, they can set up Camp here and risk being raided by any individual or team who discovers their location. It''s not hard to see a camp or at least a speck of light in a big flat land. They even are just a few hundred Meters away from the stretching Farmlands. It is Mars now, these Lands will soon be planted in order to harvest the yield at September or early October. A rather unique wheat planting season here in the Clear Lands!


    Another option would be risking renting 3-5 Rooms in a Tavern. They can qualify as a Unit coming from Gravel Kingdom like they were taught. King Michael even gave them extra Gold Coins for such reasons, food was covered from the Kingdom since the beginning though, worth reminding that there are Wagons filled with them. But if they do actually run out of food, they have extra Gold to buy some.


    King Michael gave them 5,000 Gold Coins, 4,000 of which are for purchasing Wheat Grain. The Unit is carrying a lot of Gold with them, they could quite possibly get robbed if they rent a few Tavern rooms. Because, where Thieves find out that there are Government officials, they figure out that there is Gold too! They would have to put down two thieves a day(At least.) if the word spread out that the Unit has enough Gold to supply Gravel Kingdom with Grain.


    The Unit''s main Goal here is to stay at Silver Kingdom for as little as possible, buy that Grain and move to Green Kingdom immediately! They can''t risk staying too long in one Domain! Camping near the Kingdom Walls isn''t a good idea either since the Kingdom is surrounded by farm fields on each side and Corner. The Fields are empty now, but the Kingdom wouldn''t want them trembled because it would take more time to prepare the Fields after.


    Everyone gave Camping a little thought, most agreed that they should camp here on the open and just buff up security for the night. 8 Guards will stay awake, including the newly nicknamed "Guardian Angel"! We are talking about Isabel of course, this unique lady can''t be confused with anyone else. With her standing Guard, the entire Unit can sleep like a newborn baby without a single bit of paranoia stuck on their brain.


    Thankfully, they passed the night without any noticed problem. It was just the bit of motivation they needed to progress further with this overall task. Suffering no losses became a good motivation, just to clear it out! Now, they are all ready to make their way towards the Kingdom and fill a couple of Wagons at least, with Wheat Grain. This too can be tricky though!


    "Where do you think we should look for Wheat Grain first?" Asked one of the Unit Guards in curiosity, they aren''t used to such business so this can be a great learning opportunity if any of them aims to be a Merchant someday soon. It doesn''t seem to be the case though, everyone is on their toes expecting an attack. Isabel is quite anxious too, she is hiding in one of the Wagons now which doesn''t help relieve her own stress.


    "Well, if the rules here are anywhere similar to the ones in Crutal Kingdom, the Outer Farm lands are our best choice." Commander Alia did the bargaining when they were there, she succeeded tremendously and left the Farmers with eternal traumas and their pride quite hurt too. That is, if those "Businessmen" are still alive after the considered damages. Hearing her story, King Michael found the best for her to do the Bargaining here too. Because she seems to find a way towards progress one way or the other.


    "Well this Domain is under the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance''s influence so maybe the rules here are mostly similar." Expressed Mogranius. As fun it was to permanently Scar or kill ill.u.s.tratios who have ill intentions, here they need to put racism or killing in general aside as much as they can since there are ill.u.s.tratian Guards in the Unit as well. Now, they should express anything bad towards the Alliance instead of primarily blaming the ill.u.s.trarian/ill.u.s.tratio(Both terms acceptable.) Race. "Or at least, I hope the rules are similar."


    "Let''s ask that man over there, the one standing in front of that little Barn." Suggested Eric after he hesitated to speak for a while, since the rest of the Unit didn''t bother to talk about it even after they saw him, he did in hopes of not letting this opportunity slip. It was interesting to see a Barn here though, they didn''t exactly see any back in Crutal Kingdom which is rather odd because the Farmers there were mostly rich. In Crutal Kingdom, there weren''t any Barns but Storage Buildings instead. They were blank, cubic formed and only had one color, brown! Here although the Color the same, the Barn seems a bit more different, more personalized and expensive.


    The man near the Barn seemed to have heard Eric say that, even though he didn''t intend to be loud. This Barn is quite away from the Kingdom, the Unit just entered the Farm fields actually. Interestingly, the man called for them, offering business as a first way of introduction. "My Farm is open for Business, are any of you Gentlemen looking for a Job?" "Gentlemen", well that''s no way to approach a Farmer whose status is generally frowned upon, but he was using speechcraft to try and win them over I suppose.


    Qualified as the bargainer, Commander Alia walked away from the Unit behind her and spoke. "No, none of us are looking for a Job but we are looking to buy Wheat Grain, a lot of it!" Cutting right to the case, a good way to save time no doubt.


    The ill.u.s.tratian man wasn''t too happy about doing business with a Woman, that fact was all over his face. Thankfully he wasn''t attracted to her features which made her feel a bit more comfortable, but seemed to be s.e.xist instead. Or he could be fearing the Unit behind her, we can''t be sure. This can either work for the worse or for the better.


    If he was attracted to her, she would use that against him and get ridiculously cheap prices. But he isn''t, so she needs to use his dislike towards the opposite gender to the Unit''s advantage. That can be a lot tougher to do though, but she has to try in order to find out.


    "How much Wheat Grain do you need?" Luckily, the Farmer cut right to the Case. No asking questions, no hesitation, nothing. Which gave a hint that he might be desperate to sell his stock. It could mean that he either bought it from thieves, stole it or is very short on Gold Coins. At this rate, she can get equal offers if not cheap ones.


    "How much do you got?" A simple question, but so useful for striking a deal here with this man from the looks of it. With this question she showed that she has Gold to give, but also other options she can choose from if she went deep enough. It was made clear that the Unit wasn''t nearly depended on this one Wheat Grain provider. Now all we can do is cross our fingers and hope that this Farmer will continue to Cooperate.

 Chapter 189 - 6 months old.

    The desperate part appears like the most possible reason right now, because this ill.u.s.tratian man doesn''t see it as a problem to negotiate a deal with an Ignite Woman, he is even rushing everything. A bit shady but it works to the Unit''s advantage. Of course, Commander Alia isn''t an Ignite but appears to be like one, her only difference is her wider jawline. This Farmer isn''t obviously aware of the Kastarian Race, all he is seeing a gorgeous Woman who looks like she is in her thirties. "I have about 50 sacks stored in this Barn behind me."


    He got to the point immediately, that at least solves most issues. The only thing she has to put up with now, is his attitude. All she has to deal with is his hateful glaring towards the fact that a Woman is doing the bargaining. "Are the sacks 50 Kilograms each?" That needs to be clear before they agree on a price, she needs to be sure that they won''t be scammed. It wouldn''t be a nice deal to pay 20 Gold Coins for 30 Kilograms of Wheat Grain for example.


    "Of course, that''s how all sacks of Wheat Grain are measured. We can''t sell a Kilogram of it after all!" His way of expression isn''t the kindest, it is clear to hear on his tone that he doesn''t like her position in his unit, but she feels like she can fix that.


    Because now comes the part of a little seduction. She needs to flatter this fool a bit before talking about the Gold. She doesn''t need to flirt in order to do so though, Mogranius wouldn''t like it at all and she is well aware of that fact. He would kill this man! "I suppose you are right. We are commonly used to buying in large stock, your Barn quite stands out from the rest so we were sure you can provide what we are looking for, furthermore we thought that your rules could be different."


    The flattering worked in some aspects, the Farmer was wearing half a smile on his face. A bit different from the expressions he had a moment ago. "Well right you are, 50 sacks will sure provide over 2 tons! I''m not sure for what you need so many, but I need to get rid of it before the nearby planting season."


    Now, Commander Alia got this man where he wants him. Whatever reason he wants to get rid of 50 sacks for, it feels like it is a desperate reason. Apart from some criminal act such as mass theft, it could mean that his sales just weren''t enough to sell everything until now and he needs to sell these in order to be ready for the Planting Season.


    Since he plans to sell them before Planting Season, it surely means that this stock is from the last Harvest Season. Furthermore when the Unit first approached, he asked if any of them is looking for a job. As fancy as this Barn looks, this man appears to be short on Gold Coins. "I will buy your entire stock." Calmly acknowledged Commander Alia. Any person who is short on Gold would love to hear this sentence, it would feel like heaven. "But how are the prices? A gold coin more can make a big difference when buying two and a half tons you know." Here Commander Alia showed that she is well capable of fast calculations, she is no pushover and is looking for affordable prices. She isn''t that easily scammed, her wordplay signifies soo!


    "How about 25 Gold Coins per sack?" Talk about pure stupidity, who would be dumb enough to increase the prices now? At this date, time and circ.u.mstances? Either he hasn''t been paying attention to her bargaining perks, or he is trying to scam them. Maybe the fact that he looks forward to scamming, equals to his slow business. But yet again In these times that wouldn''t have been a big problem, anyone would buy 50 Kilograms of Wheat Grain for 25 Gold Coins instead of buying a loaf of bread for a gold coin or two. People can''t really afford to be picky, poverty spreads wide.


    Commander Alia obviously wasn''t a fan to such a price, and she didn''t fail to express it a bit either. "You are joking right?"


    "What do you mean?" Asked the Farmer as if he was in shock, clearly trying to act his way towards a good business opportunity(For him at least.).


    "This isn''t my first time bargaining, we bought in large stock from Crutal Kingdom last year for 20 Gold Coins per 50 Kilogram." Here, she gained control over this bargain again. Knowing the exact price of the product (Even if it is Wheat Grain.), can lead to fair prices. Behaving like a rich person who throws gold can only lead to expensive prices.


    "In the Capital?" Here, the Farmer felt like he got caught. He technically is caught actually, but he is trying to play it off. Act dumb!


    "Yes. We bought them at September, at the end of the Harvest season. We were in the Grand Capital." That should help define how much the Farmer''s stock is worth, this should help gain a better price.


    But the Farmer is standing strong with his price, or at least giving a last fight if not more. "Yes but here you are in Silver Kingdom, apart from that this is a Private Farm."


    "A Private Farm with a stock of 2,500 Kilograms of Wheat Grain harvested 6 months ago."  The freshness of the Grain doesn''t usually matter, but now it is a bit too old. Enough to use as a point of reference in this deal.


    "Point taken. How about we settle for the same deal you got in Crutal Kingdom." Well, that was clearly his last kick, his last bit of fight. Now, she has him where she wants him! Eric and Mogranius are well aware, so they weren''t exactly stingy with the Compliments.


    "You got this Alia."


    "That''s my girl."


    "No deal." Answered Commander Alia all of a sudden and left everyone at shock! Why would she do this, she got the Farmer to agree with an affordable price. At this point she could be playing ego games and risking to lose this amazing deal.


    "What?" Mildly shouted the Farmer in shock! He didn''t like this one bit. First she drops his price and now she isn''t agreeing to it? "This is so unpro..."


    "What!" Loudly shouted Eric and Mogranius at the same time, cutting the Farmer''s words short.


    "You are selling us products far old enough to be worth half the price, private or not this isn''t the Grand Capital." She still isn''t happy with the price, or it could be that she doesn''t appreciate this man''s glaring attitude. At this point she is playing ego games, 1,000 Gold Coins for two and a half tons of Wheat Grain is quite affordable, why try to move it further down?


    "I see how the River is flowing down." There is no River in sight of course, it is just an expression. He is aware of what Commander Alia is trying to accomplish. "How about we settle for 18 Gold Coins per sack?" Thankfully he is willing to cooperate.


    "15 Gold Coins per 50 Kilogram or we take our business elsewhere." This Bargaining has become beneficial for one side primarily even though it started off from the other side at first. She is twirling this man on his finger without even laying a hand on him. "There seems to be a lot more farm fields close by. We can even go and buy from the Castle officials."


    Seeing that a lot of odds stand against him and considering the closeby planting season, he had to finally agree to this price. "Okay! I agree to that price, the Grain is in the Barn."


    "Fine. I will get the Gold ready, the men here will help you load the wheat Grain." Replied Commander Alia with a wide smile on her face as she took a step backwards, aiming to walk towards the Wagon in order to get the Gold ready. She has several spare sacks, thankfully the Gold is spread in them instead of putting them all in one sack. Each sack contains exactly 500 Gold Coins so all she has to do is put 250 of them in a sack containing 500.


    "Indeed they will, my back isn''t as fit as it used to be."


    "Oh, in that case don''t lift at all." Acted Commander Alia as if she showed sympathy, she doesn''t want to see this man for another moment to be exact. Afterwards she turned to Mogranius and reminded him. "Make sure the men are savvy with the Wagons, we need to buy a lot more Wheat Grain."


    Seeing 15 Wagons line up was indeed interesting, nice to see even. So the Farmer had to jump in the Conversation when he heard that they are looking for more. "Walk further towards the Kingdom, when you see a Storage room in a Farmfield, stop and try to bargain. I''m not aware how much they would charge, but they are less of a Hassle to bargain with compared to the Castle officials."

 Chapter 190 - Headache.

    Lifting a 50 Kilogram bag of Wheat Grain single handedly is hard to do, even for a Guard who has been under Woldemir''s training for quite a few months now. I mean a Guard can lift one and throw it on a Wagon, but it would take most of his energy. It isn''t so helpful when a Guard crouches over mud and tries to regain his energy after lifting one Bag. It would be a big time waster.


    So instead, it became a two man operation. Two men grab a side and lift it as they partially speed walk their way towards the Wagon, this is the best option. Weight distribution is fair, most can lift 25 Kilograms easily. Even 30 wouldn''t be a problem if the two don''t manage to distribute the weight properly.


    So two by two, lifting one Bag after the other managed to finish this task without any casualties, thankfully. A couple of Guard were standing in the Wagon, grabbing each bag thrown in it and trying to make it fit properly in order to provide proper space management. They had to kick quite often though since it isn''t easy to move a 50 Kilogram bag. The two men had to help with space management, because its the one thing they can''t afford to not be stingy about.


    On the first Wagon, they managed to load around 800 Kilograms of Wheat Grain! A couple of Bags more than it can manage to fit but it didn''t cause any casualties, the Wagon is new and quite stable. A Horse wouldn''t be running lighting fast with 800 Kilograms behind them so it isn''t really a problem.


    On the second Wagon they added another 850 Kilograms, they added one more since these Bags don''t seem to stop coming even though they are just 50! Well 50 isn''t exactly a small number either. As for the Third Wagon, it shared the same fate with the Second one.


    "Here you go Sir, 750 Gold Coins. You can count them if you please." Calmly expressed Commander Alia as she handed the Bag of Gold, it wasn''t heavy to carry either. It weighed just around 8 Kilograms, but since the Farmer seems to have a bit of trouble with his back, he had to drag it near a little sitting log attached to the Barn''s entrance, on the left side to be more precise. As if he made brought that little log there just so he can sit and count Coins.


    "Oh I sure will. I prefer if you don''t leave until I do so." Replied the Farmer before he started dragging the bag full of Gold Coins. At this point he wasn''t trying to be racist or anything similar, not s.e.xist either. He just needs to be sure that he doesn''t get scammed. That''s the downside of handling big Coin, Counting them.


    But it looks like the Farmer will have a bit of time to count, enough to not rush it to the point of a miscount. The Unit will be busy for a while because of a problem they didn''t think about up until now. There only are 6 Horses and 15 Wagons! A Horse naturally has the Strength to pull over a ton in weight behind them. But here there are three full Wagons which equal quite above 2 tons in weight together! They can''t afford to send two Horses along with these three Wagons and don''t have it as an option to send one with three either. Even BlackWind can''t pull such weight, Unit Guards would have to pull along with BlackWind if they did so.


    Maybe the Unit underestimated how much one Horse can pull and how much one Wagon can fit. It is interesting how Commander Alia did such a mistake, this isn''t the first time she does such a task. But yet again, at Crutal Kingdom they managed to purchase Shire Horses, who are indeed more powerful and half the times bigger than most of the Horses they have here. If only they had those big Shire Horses here, sadly those are in the Underground town of Lan Zhe, way out of reach!


    "Commander Alia, one Horse isn''t able to pull all three Wagons!" Approached a Unit Guard, revealing this rather big issue. He himself didn''t know what to do now, so he found it best to address the problem to the one in charge so they can both worry!


    "I was afraid this might happen. If we had Shire Horses this would of been a lot easier." Well, I knew that it would be odd for Commander Alia to not think about this fact. Since she put it into consideration at least once until now, maybe she will find a solution faster and easier. There is no rush or time limit, but everyone wants to return to the sweet comforts of Gaster Kingdom. No one likes to camp for weeks at a time!


    "So what do you recommend for us to do?" Asked another Guard who was close to the one reporting the issue, he was more than willing to get these Wagons moving as fast as possible. He also hopes that he gets chosen to accompany these three Wagons back to Gaster Kingdom, they can''t send the Wagons back with just one Guard after all. What if someone tries to rob them?


    "Sending two Horses with three Wagons isn''t the brightest idea either. We are supposed to fill all 15, not just 9!" Answered Commander Alia as she rubbed her temples in stress, she wasn''t quite prepared for this problem even though she gave it a little thought.


    Eric jumped in the Conversation, and suggested something rather smart. "How about we fill a couple more Wagons, how much do you think the weight distribution would be after we do so?" With that Crown on, hidden with a hood since it was stuck on his head forever. He sure has wise ideas for this problem, the Crown came in handy. But the plan could use some filtering and some test runs(Or walks) too!


    Commander Alia immediately came up with an idea, thanks to Eric. In fact, her idea is to add three more Wagons. So basically she took Eric''s idea and made it slightly better or a bit worse. Only one way to know for sure. "Seperate the Third Wagon and see if one Horse can pull the other two!"


    "Yes Sir! Umm... Miss!" Shouted the Ignite Guard who delivered the bad news in the first place, he and the rest aren''t quite used of Female Guard Commanders. But it doesn''t matter, such a mistake was nothing less but funny and cute. Even Commander Alia smiled and had it hard to not burst in laughter in the middle of this little crisis.


    After removing the third Wagon, and giving it a slight test they found out that although the Horse struggles a bit in the first few steps, he can pull over 1,600 Kilograms. She feels sure that it would prove very tiring for the Horse after a few Kilometers though, he won''t make it far daily. BlackWind is a bit heavier and stronger too, so he will be able to help ease the Burden on the other two Horses Shoulders. Yes, they want to attach Three Horses to six Wagons. It will prove very difficult in hills, but luckily there will be Guards who will help ease the Burden.


    "If I calculated it correctly, if we fill three more Wagons each Horse will have to pull around 16 hundred Kilograms! With these Circ.u.mstances we will be able to bring 6 Wagons to Gast... Gravel Kingdom. But it will prove difficult for both the Horses and the men!" Feeling a bit of relief that she didn''t blow her cover, she gave this little issue a bit more thought and added. "The three other Wagons will only be filled with 700 Kilograms of Wheat Grain each, pay a lot of attention to the weight please. As for now, remove the extra Bags from these Three wagons and put them on the fourth one. I want each Wagon to carry 700 Kilograms only. This will make transportation a lot easier and faster too. We all want to go home after all!"


    This plan seems flawless no doubt, but one problem remained in Eric''s thoughts that he had to ask more details for. "Do you really think that we can buy more Horses? We don''t have a lot of Gold to throw!"


    "I suppose I need to turn on the good Kas... I mean, Ignite Charm!" Replied Commander Alia with strong c.o.c.kyness on her tone, he entire face was deviously smiling too.


    "Oh I don''t like where this is going!" Mogranius was quick to reply with a Whisper, what could he say though? He knows that Commander Alia is tremendously loyal and would likely cut the men''s genitals if she sees them going to far, like the Farmers in the outer lands of Crutal Kingdom who offered here "200 Gold Coins a night.".


    Finished with counting the Coins, the Farmer approached to express (While still dragging the Bag of Gold.). "Alright, all the Gold is here and you may leave."


    "Thank you." Answered Commander Alia subconsciously and ignored his presence after, trying to figure out a way around this problem. Neither King Michael or King Zar is to blame for the lack of Horses they are facing now, they aren''t so common to find in large quantities. But the problem is still there and it won''t go away without a proper plan.


    Luckily the Farmer was slightly ready to put differences aside and provide the Unit with some information. "If you are looking for Horses, get near the City Gates. The Horse Stable is on the left side about 30 meters away. I doubt that they would give the Horses for a cheap price though." Although he didn''t express entirely what he wanted to say, secretly he thought. "The owner there isn''t as desperate for Gold as I am."

 Chapter 191 - Youre not a Man yet, Kiddo!

    The entire Unit doesn''t need to follow Commander Alia for a task who doesn''t have a firm certainty of success, it is best for half of the Unit to stay near the fancy Barn. Her going alone towards the Kingdom in aims of negotiation isn''t the wisest idea either so they chose to split the Unit in two in order to continue this task! I know what you might be thinking, splitting isn''t the best idea!


    Well, both sides are buffed with Security. Eric will be going with Commander Alia in order to provide dependable protection, he is pretty much the most powerful person in the entire Unit of 24 individuals, even more powerful than Mogranius actually, that is well established before. Along with the two, 10 Guards will join as well. This Signifies that Commander Alia will be absolutely safe.


    And if the situation comes where Commander Alia might need back up, Mogranius taught Eric how to handle the situation. "Blast a large Fireball towards us. It would take a while to arrive so don''t worry about the Unit''s safety. I''ll protect our own." Shooting a Fireball towards the Unit might not be the best idea but it''s the best they got, because if he shot it towards the sky it wouldn''t be as noticeable compared to seeing a 6 foot wide Fireball Approaching towards them, there are 10 pairs of Eyes to aid if Mogranius doesn''t manage to see it right away. As for who is protecting the Unit carrying 25 hundred Kilograms of Wheat Grain, Mogranius obviously but Isabel a.k.a the Guardian Angel too.


    Throughout this journey however, Eric gave his self value a lot of thoughts. Sure he wants to help Gaster Kingdom progress as much as he can, but is it really his responsibility to walk around Ignis to buy Wheat Grain when his potential is far greater? Bargaining aside, he should be in Maleemia right now or at least half way there, he should be in Septemtrionis Ignis.


    An entire damn Continent collapsed and the rest of the World has no idea that it even existed to begin with, furthermore Ignis went past a 100 year long war and through another 100 years after continued a silent genocide. There used to be nearly 130 thousand people in Ignis and only 15% of them were Ignites, he should be doing a lot more than what he is doing right now.


    As for the population at the moment, with so many ill.u.s.train Soldiers dying on the hands of the Snow Ignites in Maleemia, it is for sure that the Population was forced through a large Continental shift. They wouldn''t know the actual results for sure unless Mogranius meets his father again, knowing the overall population wouldn''t make much of an impact though so let''s forget about that for a moment.


    These were his base thoughts of course, he started it off with all of this. But afterwards he came into confirmation that King Michael is an amazing Mentor and has pure intends with an undying motivation to tackle those intends. He helped Eric to untangle the problems he had with forming a proper Fire Shield. Eric is stronger than ever now that he knows how to protect himself, King Michael is to thank for that.


    Maleemia however is still Eric''s Goal at the moment, he needs to meet the Revolution leader and consult a very important topic, consult King Michael''s theory. Demonite! If the Snow Ignites were so selfish to wipe out a Continent of 400,000 people just to win a War who is already over here on their homeland, then they sure wouldn''t be Eric''s friend.


    Furthermore, he doesn''t intend to cooperate with the Snow Ignites especially if they scooped that low, even though they share large race similarities. Snow Ignites are just a sub breed after all, even though they were quite ahead with their technology Power-wise.


    For now, he put that thought behind his mind and focused on the main task he has here, protecting Commander Alia from any possible danger coming from any direction. With a Fire Shield he can prove more than useful with protecting all 11 until Fire Power arrives. As for Maleemia, they will go there once him and Mogranius part ways with the Unit at Dragon''s Flame Kingdom. From there on, they can even fly to make travelling a lot easier. There literally isn''t anyone who can shoot them down, even King Xakro is quite harmless for that matter.


    "I think that''s the stable of which the Farmer talked about." Pointed out Commander Alia as soon as she was able to take a small peek at it. A moment after she started speed walking her way there, the Unit had to keep up with her speed of course. It wasn''t too difficult though as most of them were as excited as she was.


    "Yes that has to be it, I see Horses." Assured Eric, well all they need to do now is to strike a good deal. That shouldn''t be too hard right? The Unit is carrying a couple of sacks full of Gold, together they sum up 1,000 Gold Coins. As for Horses, all they need is a couple of them, they will prove quite useful at Gaster Kingdom too because they would be firmly considered the Kingdom''s property instead of something that they have to give back to King Zar.


    "Let me do the Bargaining please." Reminded Commander Alia, her position is made clear in this Unit but she still likes to remind them before time in order to avoid casualties even if those casualties have roughly 5% chance of happening. "It is better to be safe than sorry." Is what she always thinks but rarely expressed by word, in fact she expressed it differently. Why do you think she argues about Eric''s choices in Lan Zhe? In most cases it wasn''t about egoism.


    They walked in the Horse Stable''s... best called bargaining room(Or rooms.), the first person to appear in front of them was a short ill.u.s.tratian woman, well no. It was a kid, she seems to be around 13 years old but of course could be slightly older or younger, she seems slightly younger than Eric. The Unit didn''t bother to ask about such unnecessary information, they literally don''t need to know. The little teenager greeted Commander Alia with a wide smile that appeared quite genuine and called. "Mom! We have Customers."


    "I''m coming!" Yelled the Mother from another room behind this little kid. The Stable seems to have three rooms in total, the room where the mother is could likely just be some sort of partially filled Storage Room. "Hello, how can I help you?" Greeted the mother with a warming smile as she walked in.


    But at first Glance, Commander Alia was able to notice that this Mother was a bit uncomfortable with 11 men entering the Stable, she was carrying a forceful smile and was quite nervous. So she swiftly ordered the Unit that accompanied her. "This place looks quite safe. You 10 men can wait outside for me." The Mother quite appreciated the thought, this might prove as a bargaining advantage soon enough.


    As the 10 men left the building after asking Commander Alia, "Are you sure?" around 7 times in order to assure safety before they finally left. Commander Alia expressed, "Not you Eric." When she noticed that he is trying to get out too, and quite possibly understanding his reason for doing so as well! Afterwards with a gentle laughter she grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. "I said the 10 men, you aren''t even 16 years old yet kiddo."


    You might ask why Commander Alia tried to keep Eric here, well apart from making his cheeks red in slight embarrassment in front of these two ladies, there is more to this. It isn''t about protection either. She walked in a Barn full of men once and walked out without suffering a scratch or bruise, may I remind you the genital slicing day?


    No no, she kept him here because of the nice ill.u.s.tratian Teenager sharing this room with the rest. These two ladies have been welcoming Commander Alia with a wide smile even though they portray them as Ignites. "Excuse my son, he tends to lose focus due to nervousness when he meets new people." She knows Eric so much to read him like a book, she knows his behaviourism. But to publicly portray him as a son? It is quite new! Either if she is trying to form a proper cover or not, it felt nice to hear. "We need a couple of Horses." They didn''t expect the owner here to be a Woman, it isn''t quite common even for the ill.u.s.tratios. The Farmer didn''t specify any gender either and the entire Unit subconsciously assumed that she will be dealing with a man. Maybe this will be for the best, maybe it will turn out to work to their advantage?

 Chapter 192 - Nice Leg.

    "Horses. Umm yes we have many Horses." Interrupted the little teenage ill.u.s.tratian Girl, it wasn''t a strong interruption enough to be considered rude, she was just excited to do business that she forgot or at least chose to forget who is in charge here.


    "Ada!" Stretched the mother one word in a bit of an irritated tone, but she was actually just trying to get her daughter''s excitement under control. She wasn''t mad but she still had to show a hint of professionalism in this business even if they will just be talking about Horses. "I''m deeply sorry, she tends to get excited when we have new customers."


    "That''s quite alright." Seeing how much manners these two ill.u.s.tratios have regardless of what race they are about to do business with, Commander Alia got soft hearted because of these acts. A good choice as a Human being but a terrible choice for bargaining intends. She still can give out a compliment though. "She looks stunning, right Eric?" Give a Compliment and push it on Eric, well that isn''t nerverecking for the little Ignite at all, hence the Sarcasm.


    How many twists could Commander Alia''s intends have? First she kept him here, now she is practically forcing words out of his mouth. This is not how respecting differences looks like, unless she has something else in mind. Throughout 7 months now, she never intended to make Eric become more nervous than he can handle, so this basically proves that there is some other intend behind her careful wordplay. Well it is pretty obvious to notice what''s happening here, she is trying to hook these kids up. Breaking a couple of nervous sweats, Eric answered. "Um yes. The Mother looks lovely!"


    At such a reply, the mother got a bit embarrassed, was forced into a blush too and answered. "Why thank you." Her daughter however was just rolling her tongue around her teeth trying to hold in her laughter and Commander Alia was grabbing and pinching Eric''s cheek. "You are right boy, she is adorable. But her Daughter is cute too."


    Trying to put that Cute little scene behind, the Mother approached closer. She felt comfortable enough to even offer a handshake. "Hello, I''m Aat? Mase, owner of Mase Stable." It is clear that she is eager to get into business, Commander Alia didn''t just put Eric through an embarrassing situation, but Aat? too! So she tried to avoid that now as much as possible.


    With a wide smile on her face, Commander Alia explained. "Hello Aat?. We are in need of Horses but let''s not burden these young Children with bargaining work." Her intend indeed different from the words she was projecting, she couldn''t bother less if an all Powerful Golden Blood spends a few minutes tuning them out in a Conversation.


    Also, If she just wanted to catch this Lady alone, she wouldn''t bring Eric here to begin with. At this rate she isn''t intending to do anything bad to her but is trying(And succeeding.) to plant seeds elsewhere. "Eric, grab Ada... Wait no." She quickly thought, "That would never work." And came up with a new plan in a dash. "Ada, grab Eric and go play with the Horses." Commander Alia knew that Eric would be attached to the floor as if he nailed his shoes down, he would never agree to do this. If someone else drags him out, that would be a lot less anxiety raising for him and he would have trouble disagreeing too.


    Ada took a quick glance at her Mother to try and determine if she herself can go out, just by analyzing the look on her face. They aren''t attempting to be racist, it is just that Commander Alia got control over the entire stable just with wordplay. Luckily, Aat? appears to be quite comfortable with their presence, why wouldn''t she? Commander Alia did countless acts to grant this comfortability.


    And as for Commander Alia''s intend? Aat? was quite aware of what she is trying to do, she gave it a quick thought too before she assured Ada to go outside and play with the Horses. "Ada just turned 14, she will need a Husband in a couple of years, why not plant the seeds now? This little Ignite boy looks as harmless as a newborn Horse too so I don''t see a way of this going wrong." Well he actually is that harmless around people he trusts, it was noticeable all on his shy behaviour. If only the two knew that he caused the great massacre in Crutal Kingdom.


    Well enough about war for just a moment, Ada grabbed Eric''s han... wrist and pulled him out of the Stable with a dash on her feet. He was unable to say anything against it, in fact he didn''t react to Commander Alia at all about this matter until now thinking that this is just a plan to get cheaper prices. He didn''t speak, but his thoughts sure had no limit. "In Crutal Kingdom she had what to cut, what is she going to cut here?"


    You might ask how a boy who barely even talked to girls his age or even boys for that matter (Who spread this sort of information between Boys or maybe even a couple of Girls too.), knew about reproductive differences. Well, although he didn''t see anyone n.a.k.e.d yet(Thankfully), he did encounter two Horses of two different genders being put in a Barn for breeding reasons. So he figured that Humans have a different one as well depending on Gender. However, it took him three sightings to figure that out. This is a minimal reason why he tends to get shy around girls, gender differences.


    "This one here is Buck." Explained Ada as she dragged Eric towards the closest Horse. Before Eric was about to reply, Ada dragged him towards another Horse and explained full of excitement. "This one is Steve Socks." She was referring to the fact that "Steve" had ankles with shining white fur. Hence the surname "Socks". We also had "Gunther" but mom sold him to some man with a big head. Eric had no clue who she is talking about, but was also glad that it isn''t anyone he knows. She dragged him from one horse to the other, basically all 15 of them explaining each Horse, their name, breed and even what made them special! Such vast knowledge can help her progress tremendously in life, Profit-wise if she chooses to follow this type of business. From the looks of it, she has!


    But even though he had quite a few topics to choose from, he was still tremendously nervous because of the fact that she simply won''t let go of his hand even though she could have until now easily, but that didn''t entirely stop him from trying to form a conversation. "Uuuh. This Horse has a nice hind Leg." Well, that''s all he could come up with don''t judge.


    "Touch it." Repeated Ada a couple of times, the funnier part is that she isn''t even trying to be funny. She is deadly serious about it but wore a greatly enthusiastic smile on her face, that smile got Eric feeling tingly around his arms and a new uncontrollable war was happening in his stomach too. If you could only see it for yourself, his forehead was hot and sweating in negative temperature.


    So he proceeded to touch it, the Horse''s hind leg that is. What choice did he have? He couldn''t say no. He had the energy to repeat. "Nice hind Leg." A couple of times. Well, at least they have a topic to talk about right now. It is better than remaining in complete silence no doubt, silence tends to get wildly awkward if around people who don''t respect your differences. But in this case, Ada just wouldn''t stop talking. I guess that''s the result of having something one''s proud about as a Topic. It still works to both of their advantages though. The situation won''t get awkward and she still gets to hold this cute Ignite''s hand.


    Throughout this Havoc of Awkwardness, Eric managed to catch a better glimpse of Ada''s appearance. She is slim, half a foot shorter than him too even after considering her age. But god she has a beautiful smile and amazing hair too! Unlike her mother who keeps her hair tied into a Bun, here at the stable at least. Ada didn''t strain her hair like that but chose to let them be free.


    Doing so she would attract some boys her age easily, maybe even pedophiles as well. The second possibility bothered her mother a lot so she keeps yelling at Ada to keep her hair tied. They don''t need problems as ill minded as that happening to them. Aat? even tried hiring a Guard once in order to assure safety, but it only turned out slightly worse. Well the Guard didn''t bother Ada, but Aat? instead. Shortly described, he tried his chances with her and got fired.


    Furthermore, for once Eric loved the purely red eyes these ill.u.s.tratios have. He got quite used to it due to the ill.u.s.tratio Guards in the Unit, but seeing her wide smile accompanied by these beautiful red eyes along with Gorgeous vine like green hair too. His entire body started sweating!

 Chapter 193 - Beam of sunlight in between a Raging Storm.

    "Commander Alia, I think we might have a problem on our hands." Calmly entered a Guard in the Stable bargaining room in order not to cause suspicion towards whatever he sees as a threat outside.


    "I''m in the middle of a deal here, this better be important." Answered Commander Alia as she took a sip of Black Tea from a silver cup. She sure seems to have gotten comfortable here, most of her deals are quick, manipulative often with a bad aftermath for the seller, as if she was Karma. But with Aat?? She sure seems to be enjoying her time with her, or maybe she is stalling just for Eric to have more time with Ada, probably both but this kills racism in many aspects. Commander Alia doesn''t mind him being with an ill.u.s.train Girl, and Aat? shares the same view no doubt.


    "It is very important, please come and take a look at it yourself. We need Commands!" Whatever this might be, the Guard doesn''t want to specify the problem in front of Aat?. It is even more confusing since this Guard is an ill.u.s.tratio himself. I guess any stranger is an enemy regardless of Race.


    "Fine I''m coming out in a blink." She answered and gestured for him to get out. Afterwards she turned her attention towards Aat? and actually sincerely apologized. "I''m deeply sorry, I need to take a glance at this situation. I''ll be back as fast as I can."


    With an ongoing smile, Aat? replied. "Oh take your time Commander or dare I call you, Miss Alia. I''ll be here." Aat? didn''t want to stretch the conversation since there is an entire Unit waiting for Commander Alia outside. She really enjoyed Commander Alia''s presence here though, even if she failed to express it in most aspects. To herself she thought. "It is so nice talking to a person who isn''t trying to get in bed with me or isn''t talking about other people behind their backs." Well here Commander Alia won''t have anyone to talk about, even if she did she doesn''t really prefer gossip. If she needs to say something she would approach and say it to that person''s face, possibly smack them too. And she definitely doesn''t want to get in bed with Aat? either.


    "What''s so impor...Oh no!" Tried Commander Alia to talk but her word was cut short by a massive army passing by, marching quite strongly and causing for the Ground to tremble beneath their feet.


    Luckily though, this army was just passing by Silver Kingdom, they have no intention of attacking Commander Alia''s Unit. They wouldn''t attack "Merchants" especially with ill.u.s.tratios present in between those Merchants.


    Eric walked his way towards the Stable fence, taking a peek at the Army in front of him since it wasn''t hard to notice even though he has been spending his energy trying to look Ada in the eyes. He was able to see the rest of his Unit too from here, standing near the Barn. Luckily they weren''t in the way of the Army who seemed to have walked around the Kingdom instead of bothering these people.


    They walked around the Kingdom''s right walls while the Unit was standing on the left side. This is too much discipline for ill.u.s.tratios taking part in the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, the War General surely ordered for this level of discipline otherwise it would be a lot different. I mean, they would have put a Kingdom out of food stock if it wasn''t for the War General. How would it benefit the ill.u.s.traian Alliance in any way if people starved to death? Without people there isn''t gold!


    Eric though, didn''t like what he saw and even after considering the circ.u.mstances he wanted to single handedly cause a full on attack towards this Army. Fire started partially Blazing from his right palm, but enough for Ada to entirely notice! He somehow completely forgot about Ada to the point of not bothering to cover his identity.


    It doesn''t matter though, Ada reminded him that she is there. I know what you might be thinking based on how much you''ve read it so far in my series, and I''m sorry to disappoint some or probably most of you. But she didn''t smack Eric, for now at least. She didn''t run away in panic either.


    She grabbed Eric''s left hand who wasn''t yet forced into a Blaze due to his self feeding rage and whispered. "This isn''t the time, they aren''t even attacking your men. Please don''t do anything stupid, calm down!"


    No "How are you blasting Fire Eric?" No "Wow these capabilities are amazing!" No "How did you do that?" Nothing! She literally asked him to calm down! It partially recommends that she is quite aware of everything even though she is just a 14 year old. She is aware of the Dangers if Eric did this little stupid move and even is matture enough to control him.


    Her behaviour is as if she knew Eric''s Unit for months, knew their intend and knew what they are here for too! Did she possibly evolve to mind reading? No that can''t be it. Or can it? That would be an amazing power no doubt but it literally isn''t the case here. The best explanation is that she and her mother have a sweet spot for Ignites for some unknown reason.


    "Commander Alia what is your recommendation?" Asked a Guard calmly, he didn''t want to grab attention but it didn''t seem to matter. A lot of the passing by Soldiers shamelessly kept looking at Commander Alia due to her unique, fit and attractive form. They didn''t shift their gaze even after she caught them staring. They would continue to stare for over 50 meters. Disgraceful!


    "Well apart from making fools out of themselves, they appear quite harmless towards our Unit. But I still don''t like the look of this, I don''t like it one bit!" Now the first thing that went through her mind after seeing this Army is Eric, for all she knows he could be flying above their heads right now getting ready for an attack, Mogranius has been behaving more mature lately so it is less possible for him to do something this bold and dangerous. "Don''t do anything to draw attention, I need to go check on Eric."


    Afterwards she calmly walked back in the Horse Stable''s bargaining room and explained with an adrenaline rush going through her heart. "There are over 500 Soldiers out there." Her concern was all over her face even though she tried to be as calm as possible.


    At such a thought, Aat? loudly whispered. "Shit." Well, it appears like she lost her manners but she meant well. While lifting her dress up just enough to not make this inappropriate, she kicked open a Trapdoor which led to an underground room. Or best described, a "Bas.e.m.e.nt." Afterwards she swiftly stated. "Hop down there, I will get the kids."


    Her hospitality at this point was overwhelmingly heart warming, she wasn''t aware of which side these Soldiers stand for but there is no "Maybe they won''t attack us." in War! They can''t depend on that phrase. She wanted every woman and child of her reach to be safe or at least Survive.


    "No no calm down, they just seem to be passing by." Repeated Alia as she repeatedly waved her hands from left to right in front of her belly. "But I need to check on Eric, which door leads to where he went with Ada?"


    "Oh. Follow me." Replied Aat? as she kicked the Trapdoor down, closing it. She has lost her cool reactions for a bit now, but damn she means well.


    They didn''t make much noise while they approached in aims to not spook the kids more than they already might be, if the two "Mothers" were noticed walking in they probably wouldn''t walk in to such a cute sight. Ada was still holding on to Eric''s hand and wasn''t planning to let go of it, it for sure keeps him calm in the middle of these tremendously bad news. Eric would be shy if he saw A.d.u.l.ts noticing that they are holding hands, but Ada still didn''t care and was holding on to his hand tight even after noticing her mother walking in on them, they aren''t doing anything wrong after all.


    "What do you know, In the middle of all this negativity these two managed to find something positive." Let out Commander Alia one tear of joy, she was proud of Eric. But she was well aware that Ada made the first move (And it was quite worth it, truly wholesome.) Eric wouldn''t ever have made the first move and Commander Alia was quite aware of that fact. Aat? was keeping a wide genuine smile on her face, trying hard to hold back tears. Thinking, "My baby is all grown up now!" And she almost is physically, but mentally she is 20 years ahead in front of everyone here.

 Chapter 194 - Oh no. Not again!

    Putting the fact that these two "Mothers" caught these teenagers holding hands, aside rather quickly. Eric decided to cut to the case and ask Commander Alia. "How will we get rid of them?"


    "Wow wow! Get rid of them?" Interrupted Ada who obviously isn''t a fan of this idea. "Do you realize how dangerous that is? You can''t take them on with 10 men." Well at least that''s why she wants to stop him from doing something wildly stupid, at least she isn''t openly trying to defend the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance.


    Hot headed enough, Eric answered without hesitation. "I don''t plan to lead my Unit there, I will take this Army on alone." Is he really Ignoring the fact that there are two ill.u.s.tratian Women here who are practically strangers to him and Commander Alia too? How is he this open about such a sensitive topic? This exaggerated Boldness could lead to Silver Kingdom''s Platoons making their way down here as well, that would be terribly bad! Lucky for them, these two ladies aren''t intending to do anything like that.


    "Eric don''t be dumb. If we will take them on we need a plan!" Suggested Commander Alia as she tried to pull him away from trouble with Ada''s help too.


    "A plan? Hold on, I know Eric can blast Fire out of his little fingers but we can''t take over 600 men!" Loudly whispered Ada, I guess It is genetic. If only she knew how powerful Eric truly is and how much his value increased over the months not just for the people who stand in unity with him, but for people who want to see him dead too!


    "He is a Fire Controller? That''s amazing!" Covered Aat? her mouth in amazement. She seems to be quite a fan already, not planning to call Eric a Demon like most of the ill.u.s.tratios (If they encountered a Fire Controller that is.). This is indeed rare to see, because even the people who stood in unity with Zar and his Revolution in the beginning required time to change their views towards Ignites.


    "Uh I think we revealed more than we are supposed too..." Pointed out Eric once he decided to focus on the scene here in the Stable instead of the Army. Also, he can''t consider this mistake as a team effort, he is the one who revealed everything. Fire broke out over his palm around Ada to begin with. It''s all over him.


    "Don''t worry about it." Ensured Commander Alia who has had the time to get to know Aat? the most, they shared quite a few views once Commander Alia started questioning Aat?''s reasons behind her good manners towards Ignites.


    "Yes don''t worry Eric." Ensured Aat? surprisingly too! At least she and her daughter aren''t proving to be a problem for them. "We hate the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance as much as you doo."


    With his eyes widening in shock, Eric slightly yelled. "Really?" As he finally agreed to move from his spot, towards the two ladies dragging him out of possible danger.


    "That''s what I have been trying to tell you until now." Sighed Commander Alia in very slight dissatisfaction but mostly relief. Happy to finally drag Eric further away from danger, he is confused enough to not do anything stupid for now. "Stop giving the Army a hateful Glare and come inside so we can figure out a Plan Kiddo."


    "Alright alright." Eric finally agreed and afterwards they walked back in those warm rooms, thankfully there was a Fire going on the Fireplace too so it proved useful. Once Eric let go of rage he remembered how cold it is out here and went back in with a dash!


    As they all sat on firm wooden Chairs, Eric for once took charge on such a situation and even put his social anxiety aside to do so, trying to protect the entire Unit. In fact, he wanted to protect them since the beginning, it is why he wants to take on an entire Army by himself. "Before we continue with such a sensitive topic, I need to be sure that we can trust you."


    "Understandable." Answered Aat? as she grabbed TeaPot and started pouring black tea on four silver cups. "What do you wish to know?"


    "Why do you hate the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance? I''m being direct with you, I need you to be truthful towards us as well." Cut to the case hm? Well that''s a good way to negotiate and quite mature as well. He didn''t try to beat around the bush with such an important question.


    "Well I..." tried to explain Aat? but was shortly after interrupted by her own one and only daughter. "The Alliance killed my father."


    "What?!" Shouted Commander Alia in shock, and couldn''t help dashing from her Chair and giving Ada a big tight hug. The support felt quite warm, and I''m not saying so because they are standing in front of a Fireplace.


    "Ada calm down. We could of explained this slowly." Expressed Aat?, she didn''t feel like this drama is necessary but she sure hears the pain on Ada''s tone.


    "He wanted the truth, there is the truth. The ill.u.s.trian Alliance killed my father!" Repeated Ada as she clung on Eric''s hand harder once Commander Alia separated from the hug she gave. It is worth pointing out that Ada didn''t let go of his hand and isn''t planning too for now, even after he started questioning their loyalty. She showed a bit of understanding even though she was boiling with a lot of bad emotions, Eric is just trying to protect his own after all.


    "I''m sorry. I didn''t know, I just want my Unit to be safe from the same Alliance that caused you such pain." Tried Eric to explain himself, he is genuinely sorry if he caused these two kind ladies any pain already.


    Commander Alia though, was still very curious about one topic. Her skin was itching to know even though it might trigger bad memories. "It might not be my place to ask, but why did they kill him?"


    Aat? wasn''t stingy with the information either, but she is less intense when explaining about it. Rather slow too, this topic is triggering memories she spend years trying to put behind. It must be hard to talk about. "He was an Ignite, a loving man and a supportive father too. In their eyes however, just another Demon slaughtered by good people."


    Eric couldn''t take it anymore, he even lost his manners too! "That''s bullshit! We aren''t Demons. I lost my mother in the same way!" I guess having little rageful outbursts when remembering lost family members is at least one thing these two teenagers have in common.


    "I thought Miss Alia is your mother!" Asked Aat? who still dares to call her "Miss Alia". I guess "Commander Alia" really likes her.


    "She is... I see her as one and appreciate her effort, but my actual mother was burned Alive!" At such an expression coming from Eric for the first time, Commander Alia couldn''t help dropping a couple of tears both out of grief and joy. She is glad that her efforts are appreciated but also tremendously sad to see this child dropping a couple of tears because he misses Isabel, his mother by blood.


    "I''m so sorry, at least we have a similar pain to share." Grabbed Ada his attention with a tighter grip around his hand. When he managed to finally attain complete strong eye contact with her, he noticed that she already teared up. She wasn''t in a good place. He wanted to hug her, but his body wouldn''t just follow along with his idea, he is shy.


    "Feelings aside, we need to think of a plan now people." Reminded Commander Alia. They don''t have time to explain how powerful Eric is in exact detail, they just need to form an attack plan with the limited resources and Guards they have.


    "How''s everyone doing." Mildly yelled Mogranius as he dashed through the door and saw Eric holding hand with an ill.u.s.tratian girl. "Did I faint again? Because I had a dream similar to this one last time. Except Eric was flirting with Becky." Well at least we can rest assured that throughout this sadness, a grown goofball like Mogranius will be there to lift the mood with ridiculous wordplay.


    "Who is Becky?" Asked Ada partially in curiosity, but also because she was mostly jealous. There isn''t much to be jealous about, I mean they barely know each other for an hour now.


    Ada''s question was answered when Commander Alia covered her mouth and giggled. "A Swordfish."


    Feeling that Commander Alia might just be using bad words to describe a girl Eric "loved", she continued to ask with a little bit of hesitation. "Um. Was she prettier than me?"


    "Well?" Enhanced Commander Alia the jealousy and nodded her head towards Ada. "Answer the girl." But in actuality she was just trying to make Eric talk more with Ada at least if not more with other people, he isn''t the biggest conversationalist. Furthermore, she has become a lot more goofy the more time she spends with Mogranius. His unique self centered humor worked for the better towards her who could grab that energy and shape it how she pleased.


    "Of course not, she literally is a fish." Repeated Eric once more in order to assure Ada that there isn''t anything to worry about!


    "Fish aside. We need a plan!" Expressed Mogranius and sat on a Chair near the Fireplace along with the rest of the group and on a high pitched tone he continued. "Tea please."

 Chapter 195 - Arsenal

    "I suggest that we go ahead and attack the Army in front of us. It is clear where they are going! There is no other Kingdom in sight for exactly 100 Kilometers." Eric was already able to figure out that particular fact, this Army''s target to be more exact. And he doesn''t just want to sit by complaining about their weak Arsenal when Pameres Kingdom is a few days away from being invaded.


    King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll was actually dumb enough to send hundreds of Soldiers to conquer Pameres Kingdom even after considering the large millitary shortage the entire Continent faced because of the Snow Ignites, this is a terrible move and would greatly weaken bis own Alliance primarily if he lost. For what? Ego games!


    Another point is that Bale Town was able to finally prosper because most of the ill.u.s.traian Guards were sent on another unspecified Domain, it is easy to put two and two together and figure out why a bigger domain needed those Guards. Well it is because the ones of upper Skill went towards Maleemia for from the looks of it, to never return. Whatever the Snow Ignites are using be it Demonite power or anything else, it is working over time.


    "No. It is too risky, it doesn''t matter if you can Control Fire. They can shoot you down!" Reminded Ada, almost to the point of finally giving Eric a strong loving smack on the back of his head. She wants the boy safe, she doesn''t want to send him to his own grave at this young age. Especially after she figured out that she feels a bit tingly inside when looking at him eye to eye. Of course, full eye contact with Eric didn''t become possible yet because he tends to get shy easily, but it proves one point at least. She doesn''t want to lose him.


    Mogranius however, was not all caught up about who Ada and Aat? are and what intends they have. So he spit out a mouthful of delicious Black Tea and yelled. "What! You told them that you can Control Fire? All of Silver Kingdom will be by our doorstep!"


    "I..." Tried Eric to explain, but was interrupted by Aat? who took charge of the Conversation in a blink. She isn''t used to behaving like this but some comfortability lines have to be crossed once in a while, especially when assuring loyalty in such a sensitive case.


    "Not necessarily. I don''t stand in Unity with the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, they killed my Ignite Husband." She was swift with the explanation so she and her daughter don''t have to go through a small wave of tears again. She explained it in order to get that part over with, so Mogranius wouldn''t give her suspicious looks and be secretive with his wordplay too.


    "Oh I''m sorry for your loss. May we continue with the plan in that case." Mogranius was genuinely sorry about her loss and how he accidentally brought such a topic up again, he didn''t want to ask more questions since Eric and even Commander Alia seem to be trusting these two ill.u.s.tratian ladies completely. But he had to secure they won''t get in more trouble than they already are, he isn''t sorry about trying to keep everyone (And his self maybe a little bit too.) Safe.


    "I''m with Eric on this one, we should charge at them and soon!" Stated Commander Alia partially bravely but mostly because she has a small plan. Noticing how everyone turned their attention towards her, with their eyes opened in shock. Simply because the two Ignites for example aren''t used to such bold behaviour coming from her but are used to reasonable actions instead. As for the two ill.u.s.tratian ladies, they just see her as crazy. "Well I don''t mean just randomly attack them. We need a plan. Maybe attack them when they are asleep? They will be off Guard at that moment."


    "Attack 500 people with 10 Guards?" Aat? reminded them about that particular fact that these people aren''t taking it into consideration at all from the looks of it. She doesn''t want to push their motivation underground but they aren''t qualified to take on Hundreds of Soldiers and win, she is being very realistic. Odd to find such a bright mind on a 14 year old but it sure is proving useful in some aspects.


    "This little lady is right." Complimented Mogranius surprisingly! They all expected him to be on the first line of attack. But no, he is being reasonable instead to leave everyone at shock! "It is too much of a risk to take on the entire Army but maybe you are onto something with this night attack thing."


    At the thought that they will attack this Army, Eric got a wide smile on his face and assured. "I''m listening." He felt more than ready to attack even after considering the circ.u.mstances. The ill.u.s.tratian Alliance killed his mother, he doesn''t want to allow any more families to suffer the same fate.


    "Look we still can''t take on the entire Army, but what if we weaken their Arsenal?" The fun part here is, that an Arsenal can be weakened with more than one way, more than just going on a killing spree. Seeing that everyone was quiet, listening for a further explanation. He dared to continue. "Pameres Kingdom is their target clearly, we can''t let those people suffer defeat after they contributed so much to us Ignites and ill.u.s.tratios who don''t stand with the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance too. But the point is, Pameres Kingdom is 100 Kilometers away. A week''s worth of Travel, for an Army it likely takes longer." Feeling that most got bored a bit because of these listed statistics and attempted motivational speaking, he got to the fun part. "What if they arrive at Pameres Kingdom, hungry, thirsty and tired?"


    "Aaaa... I see where you are going with this, we should destroy their food supply!" Complimented Commander Alia, who was the only one able to catch up so far. Aat? caught up as well but she failed to reveal it by word, she prefers to be quiet and listen. As for the Kids, half of their  focus was on the fact that they didn''t let go of each other''s hand yet.


    But hearing out Commander Alia''s expression, Ada got wildly concerned and clenched on Eric''s hand. "That''s more dangerous than attacking them! How can you possibly sneak in and destroy their food supply?" She keeps trying to bring them back to reality, she doesn''t tend to be negative she just wants them to be absolutely safe.


    "Oh I think I can manage to do that." Reassured Mogranius with a lot of self confidence, fairly over done too. I would be able to describe how c.o.c.ky his facial expression is, but he is currently invisible to prove his well shaped plan more plausible. The only thing visible about him, is the tea cup he was holding. Odd how he managed to become invisible without the required pose, furthermore the Fire doesn''t provide enough Smoke to do it this quickly. I guess he is used to messing with people like this.


    "Oh right. The invisibility spell. My dad used to do that a lot, he tripped many ill.u.s.tratios hahaha!" Well at least that''s a good memory she has from her father, Mogranius felt heart warmed to remind this child of it to the point of making her laugh.


    Even though they didn''t express it, everyone was pissed off that the ill.u.s.tratios killed her father who even was a Fire Controller too based on these partial descriptions. A Fire Controller''s value increased tremendously over the years the more rare they became. But getting back to the point, Mogranius reappeared but not where he was previously seated. He reappeared near the Teapot. "This is amazing Black Tea." Taking a sip after he filled his Silver Cup, he continued with his plan. "I will go destroy their food supply, it is best that I go alone. But we also will do an official attack after it!"


    "Uuu this is the fun part!" Added Eric as he sipped his tea in anticipation.


    "I don''t like how dangerous this plan is for you Mogranius, but I suppose we have no choice." 25 Hundred people were at stake after all, their lives would return to being terrible if death isn''t their fate from this attack. Commander Alia is worried, but there is little she can do. Someone needs to stop this Army, and if Mogranius feels capable than she has no right to stop him, we aren''t talking just about one life here.


    "But our attack will be short lasting. Once I escape from the Army in one piece, Eric will rise from his hiding spot and we will attack from above as much and as fast as we can when we pass by above their heads. It will only take out tens of them but they will be tens less we have to worry about." Sitting back on his seat after that brief explanation, he finished off the attack plan by pointing out. "After the attack you will fly to Pameres Kingdom and to Gaster Kingdom after. If you can''t get the entire Platoon to Pameres Kingdom, at least get King Michael there. We need a Grandmaster in our Arsenal."


    Eric was able to understand the plan entirely, but one thing got him  confused. "What about you?"


    "I will go to BaleTown. There are 100 Guards there basing from how much Seer told me. If we attack them from three sides, it will be a lot more effective." An amazing plan formed here in this room even after considering their weak Arsenal, they have a mild chance of Victory if not more.


    "Make it four sides. I have an idea too!"

 Chapter 196 - Four Sides!

    You might be thinking until now, who offered to attack from the Fourth side?! Well it obviously isn''t the two ill.u.s.tratian ladies, they have no powers even if they wanted to attack. Their only form of help can be financial, and even that has its limits. Getting to the point, Commander Alia offered to attack from the fourth side.


    Just to describe the three other sides first, one will come from the right side which will be from the Platoon coming from Bale Town. Although not the main attack, their contribution in this battle is the second biggest, quantity-wise. Pameres Kingdom will face them straight ahead with 200 Guards, nearly 300 if the Platoon from Gaster Kingdom manage to arrive in time.


    Leading this main attack against the ill.u.s.tratian Army will hopefully be King Michael as the most powerful among these people. As Mogranius claimed, having a Grand Master in their Arsenal can be different. He can single handedly help turn the tides in battle since he will primarily provide ranged attacks unlike most Platoons who have to conquer close combat.


    The Third attack will be from behind, damage that will be dealt by Eric and Mogranius who will use the clouds as a camouflage until they manage to land behind them unnoticed. As for the Fourth attack, it will be from the left side and led by Commander Alia from the looks of it, if her plan works out well that is.


    "Alia. You can''t call it from four sides if you try to face them from the fourth alone!" Clarified Mogranius, he was a bit shocked too because Commander Alia isn''t one to behave so carelessly, or act without a proper plan.


    Trying to assure everyone, she explained. "I''m not going to face them alone, I will get all 51 Guards from Lan Zhe." Her smile once she clarified that plan was tempting, for Mogranius at least. But this plan doesn''t sound as plausible compared to what Mogranius proposed so far. "I doubt that "Grand King" Xakro would attack Lan Zhe anytime soon. He most likely won''t even know that all the Guards will be missing. Even if he did, it wouldn''t make much of a difference."


    Trying to be as sweet as possible instead of mocking her idea (Even if it was meant as a Harmless joke.), Mogranius asked a question just in aims to remind her of a particular fact she might have missed. "Do you think that you can make it back in time? I think it is a lot over 200 kilometers away from here, not to mention you will have to dash through the woods for over 500 Kilometers after in order to remain perfectly camouflaged." He made excellent points in most aspects. Having 51 Calidum Lutum Guards armed to the teeth will sure prove useful, but time isn''t by their side.


    Curious enough about a word that got stuck in her head, Ada asked. "Why would you need to hide the Guards through the Forest? Just walk through the Clear Lands and dash in the woods once you reach closer to the Army."


    "Eh no you don''t understand..." Tried Eric to explain, these two ill.u.s.tratio ladies don''t seem to be aware that the Calidum Lutum exist even after Commander Alia mentioned the name "Lan Zhe". Since she mentioned 51 Guards only, these two ladies assumed that Lan Zhe is just a small Town with an even smaller reputation. Well they got the reputation part right, the majority of Ignis doesn''t know about them. "The people of Lan Zhe stand out a lot!"


    Ada raised her eyebrow in curiosity, she is just expecting a few Ignites to live there after all. "Stand out how?" She wanted to know, she had a huge itch about it. The easiest way to find out is to ask about it of course.


    "Let''s say they are taller and have a very different skin tone. You are used to green mainly and white less commonly." Quite proud of the fact that he is the King of the Underground Town of Lan Zhe, he continued with a noticeable smile. "But are you used of black skinned 10 foot tall people with golden veins covering their bodies?" He also wanted to point out that each individual of Lan Zhe is more attractive than the other, but he felt too shy to say so. Because even though Commander Alia for example doesn''t share the same race with the Calidum Lutum, she still qualifies as a townsfolk of Lan Zhe, the second in Command to be more exact. And damn she is attractive too, that''s the main reason why Eric was shy enough to not mention the second part.


    "Heck no! Is that even possible? 10 foot tall people?" The color on their skin doesn''t seem to be Ada''s main focus, which is a perspective nice to encounter. Skin is just a color after all, she was more focused on how tall these people are.


    Commander Alia assured her. "Oh it is very possible. In fact we have one of them with us! But that''s not the point." Taking a couple of seconds to remember what she wanted to say. She explained slowly so the two Ignites don''t get confused. "They run faster than both of these two can fly! I think we will be able to arrive in time, likely before time too." In order to address a possible problem that might or might not happen throughout this journey, she had to add. "If we don''t report our presence there before the attack know that we likely just arrived a small little bit late and are ready for battle. You''ll know that we are there when we start ripping people in two from the left side."


    "Minors present." Whispered Mogranius from the background, surprising no doubt. He was never this careful before, perhaps the Ghost Tree clouded his judgment too in some way? Well that isn''t certain but it is interesting to see, especially for Commander Alia and Eric who know him for a longer time.


    "Oh please, Eric is a war thirsty hot head and Ada looks like an assassin. I think we are safe to use any bit language we please." Claimed Commander Alia, maybe she has a strong point too. But these two are still kids after all, they shouldn''t be exposed to this form of language.


    "Eh. You are right." Reassured Ada without aims of arguing about any fact of which Commander Alia just stated. She is well aware of her own physical strength too.


    "But what about the Wheat Grain task, King Michael trusted us with the responsibility." Asked Commander Alia once she remembered the reason why she is here in the first place.


    "I''m not planning to abandon this task either. You and Aat? will manage this task, I''m sure she is willing to provide Horses."


    Apparently, it feels like this is what Aat? wanted to hear so far. She was swift to offer all of her resources. "Indeed I am. Take them all if you need too. If Ada is okay with it, I want to come to Pameres Kingdom along with you once we win this battle."


    "Heck yes! Let''s get on the road today even!" Ada was more than ready, furthermore she understood that Eric had to leave eventually. Why be over 300 Kilometers away from him instead of just 100.


    Mogranius provided the save for both of these teenagers with some rather useful and accurate advice. "Pameres Kingdom is a good choice, but if you want to aid the revolution we need a woman of your skill at Gaster Kingdom. Our transportation capacity there is terrible." To make the offer sound even better, he dared to add. "You will get a free house so you don''t have to live in a stable like you do here." Perhaps he is more perceptive than we all thought? "Plus King Michael will provide you with a Stable, I''ll have him register the Stable over your name but you have to cooperate with his requests. You will likely receive a salary too!"


    "Well Horses aren''t a problem any more. As for moving to Gaster Kingdom, I''m more than willing." To such a reply coming from Aat?, Eric and Ada looked at each other and gave out joyful smiles. They liked the idea of living in the same Kingdom.


    Seeing that he managed to convince Aat? to join them, Mogranius started directing another matter. "I advise to not rush this task since I will destroy their food supply, they might rob you blind if they see Wagons full with Wheat Grain. They will be like hungry wolves. Give the Army a head start of at least 3 days. The more the better."


    "So the Unit will buy as much Wheat Grain as possible here and go to Green Kingdom, while leaving some Guards here along with the Horses and Wheat Grain." Turning her attention towards Aat?, Commander Alia asked. "Can we move our Wagons near your Horse Stable?"


    Commander Alia is quite sure that she alone will go get the 51 Guards, but one portion of Mogranius'' plan prevented her from doing so. So she decided to ask. "But wait. If I''m supposed to stay here, who will get the 51 Guards?"


    "Let Isabel do it. She is a lot faster than any of us here!" Reminded Eric who finally managed to focus since he got here in this Stable.


    "Then I think we have a strong chance against this Army who dared to enter our territory!"

 Chapter 197 - Single File Line!

    Night fell upon Ignis, the Army has set Camp around 20 Kilometers away from Silver Kingdom after a hard day''s work of travelling. Considering that Army didn''t camp in front of the Kingdom''s walls the same day when the group noticed them passing by, the Gang figured that this Army has camped on the opposite side of where the Horse Stable is at, last night. Otherwise why would they Camp so far away from Silver Kingdom, and start marching away from it so early in the morning?


    The point is, this makes their plan a lot easier. The Wagons filled with Wheat Grain are 20 Kilometers away and the empty ones are already in Green Kingdom trying to form some kind of deal there to return with enough to hopefully go home after this, they are sick of the road and aren''t nearly motivated to go all the way to Dragon''s Flame Kingdom. As for Silver Kingdom, Aat? managed to fill the three planned Wagons with the aid of some connections. The best part is, 2,700 Gold Coins remained for Bargaining even after filling six Wagons. They didn''t even tap in to the extra coins saved for food yet.


    Putting those statistics behind, it is time to get to the mission. It took them a while to locate the Army while trying to keep a low status, Eric had to fly high up in the air at midday first, at that time, the Army appeared near because they were only 8-10 Kilometers away. They didn''t travel too far under 3-4 hours, it was clear to notice. Their morale is likely very low.


    That was just a confirmation that the Army is moving forwards, so they can assure that they won''t turn around and take their rage out on the Wagons, once Eric and Mogranius cause Havoc at night. In order to locate them easier once they were over 20 Kilometers away, Eric had to fly as high as he could. Torches lit in midnight along with Campfires all set up in a bundle, helped define their location.


    However, the two Fire Ignites had to walk for 5 Kilometers in order to completely avoid detection. Mogranius'' minimal Paranormal Vision helped avoid a lot of WildBoars throughout this partially over an hour long journey. It proved a bit difficult because they(The WildBoars.) are Nocturnal and there are more of them in Ignis than people.


    As taught, Eric will hide in the Forest about 100 meters away from the Camp. It will cover him completely and if he gets attacked by an Animal he can simply fly away and hope to not be spotted. Most Soldiers will be asleep at this time so it will prove easier.


    Now it is time for Mogranius to get into action, but with no Fire around he had to sneak in completely visible until he reaches a Radius where he can drag Smoke from a Camp Fire towards him. To aid his camouflage, he was luckily dressed in Black clothing. His choice of basic fashion proved in quite handy. If the Snow didn''t melt a few days ago, his Clothing would make him an eye catching target and it would end up really badly.


    Of course he can''t just casually walk near the Camp and cross his fingers in hopes of not getting caught. His first thought is to crawl closer and closer to the Camp and then use the tents to tip tap his way from one position to the other until he reaches a reasonable amount of constant Smoke, so he can become invisible.


    That included most of his sneaking plan, at least it was until he figured out how dumb these Soldiers really are. Get this, they placed all the Wagons in one single file line on one side of the Road. Not even bothering to surround the valuable Wagons with tents or even Guard them for that matter!


    So he swiftly crawled underneath the Wagons without wasting a moment. He was quick to find out that these Platoons required a lot of food to make up for their journey. For one way at least, as for the way back it was likely assumed that they will conquer Pameres Kingdom and use it to supply their needs while they stay there and while they get back to Crutal Kingdom as well.


    The Wagons are an easy target indeed, but there were still 60 of them! Of course, that was just Mogranius'' estimation. There could be more or there could be less, it will be hard to set all of them in Fire without catching a lot of attention and possibly being caught too. The Army sure used Many Wagons of food until now, they can''t leave valuable Wagons behind so they sure kept the empty ones too.


    The point is, it will be hard to know which ones are filled with food and which ones aren''t. So he will have to set all of them on Fire. A troublesome and tiring task indeed since he can''t just blast a massive amount of Fire against each and every one of them without getting shot down by a Spear or Arrow. He has to light a hard to notice bit of Fire underneath each Wagon, penetrate the wood Foundation without being crushed by the Wagon''s weight and let it slowly burn from the Inside.


    Until the Wagon is noticeably on Fire, he would already move to the second third and even fourth one. Everyone will just be too busy putting down Fires instead of noticing him, or at least it should go that way. It will be interesting to see the Soldiers put down a Fire with water resources limited. They can''t throw their entire water supply in one Wagon for example and there is no noticeable creek nearby either.


    He reached the fifth Wagon, set it on Fire and heard a few Guards yelling for assistance. "The Wagon is on Fire! Move move move!" If only they knew of the upcoming danger. A few more Wagons lighting on Fire will be their least concern soon enough.


    He continued with his work as fast as he could, hoping to not get noticed along the way. Everything seemed to be going well, for him at least. Until a Soldier took a peek under the Wagon Mogranius was under. Somehow he managed to notice Mogranius either from a few meters away or he could be a smart lad between these idiots who decided to scout the Area for enemies. "We have a Fire Demon here!" The Guard alarmed and got a lot of attention, from several Guards to be more exact. Who individually alerted several other Guards.


    First things first, he dealt with the smarter blabbermouth. The Soldier who revealed his location, found himself without feet a moment after. Mogranius was able to cause such a slicing effect because he was literally laid to the ground collecting mud, he was in a position to attack ankles only.


    Afterwards to cut the Soldier''s scream for help, short. He blasted Fire once more and turned half of the Soldier''s upper body into nothing ashes. It wasn''t a delightful sight to see, especially after blood started coming out from what was left of the Soldier. The other Soldiers who approached, watched in Fear and quickly took a step back. Some who have sensitive stomachs, puked out their evening lunch.


    Mogranius crawled out using the other darker side of the Wagons to his advantage. Specifically, the right side. Seeing only one option possible since his cover is blown, he nailed his feet comfortably against the ground, did a half sumo squat and shot three Fireballs towards the Wagons as fast as the eye could blink twice.


    One Fireball just scratched the sides but managed to reach 5 Wagons in a row before it disappeared in mid air. It didn''t cause much damage since he started it off with his left hand who was nearly two feet further from the Wagons compared with the right one, the Fireball slipped without causing the desired impact.


    The second Fireball shot from his right hand, was a bit smaller in width but it managed to hit half of the front portion of a closeby Wagon. It tipped the Wagon over after making it slide for a few feet, accidentally victimizing a Guard who tried to go around the Wagon in order to find the attacker. Lucky for that Soldier, his death was quick and easy.


    The third shot Fireball reached further portions of the Wagon Line, but only hitting around 7 of them on the sides. Feeling that so many people were alarmed by this situation already thanks to the numerous blood curdling screams, he decided to finally become Airborne. He can''t spare staying down here vulnerably for another second.


    He took off about 15 feet from the ground and started flying directly towards the Wagons already set in flames. While flying horizontally, he broke randomly spreading Fire from both of his palms and started stretching it over the rest of the Wagons, thinking. "I should of done this since the beginning it is a lot easier." Seeing that the rest of the Soldiers are nowhere close to catching him, he continued to burn the entire line of Wagons. Now even if they don''t manage to kill even one person with the upcoming attack, they will have a fair chance of Victory at the final battle in front of Pameres Kingdom. The Army''s supply is entirely gone.


    He flew upwards the sky, this was a Signal for Eric to join the battle and spread the true Havoc. Mogranius waited for him just a little bit, feeling anxious about the fact that he can''t afford to be up here forever. He can be shot down since he isn''t too far from the ground and a glowing target isn''t too difficult to hit.


    Seeing that Eric got closer, he flew higher towards the sky. There at least they can exchange a couple of words mid air before they fly into action. "Change of plans, Shoot around the Wagons as much as you can. As for where are campfires, shoot as if you were playing a game based on luck."


    Eric didn''t even speak, he nodded his head down and started flying closer to the ground a moment after. He started shooting the Soldiers who were standing around the newly set Fires, Soldiers of which were yelling in panic since they literally have no water to put this Fire out.


    At this case, these Soldiers are just easy targets. He will have to shoot as many Fireballs as possible per second while flying over them. Luckily there are two Fire Controllers which can equal to a larger kill count when the individual results are put together.


    The first Fireball Eric unleashed, hit around 6 people and exploded in size once it met with the ground, victimizing around 5 more people after. The second split through a couple of heads and hit the third Soldier on the chest, knocking him against the ground with an inevitable fate of death. The third, fourth, fifth and seventh hit several Guards per individual shot, causing mass damage to any target before he completely passed the Wagons.


    Mogranius was following after and was tryig to hit anyone that Eric missed, and followed to shoot around the Camp grounds. The targets here are a lot more difficult to hit, its darker with Campfires here and there providing the only bit of light. So they had to hit tents instead and hope for success, nothing like getting burned alive while asleep.


    "War General, the Wagons are all destroyed by a Fire Demon! I recommend we go back to Silver Kingdom and resupply." Approached a Guard Commander who seemed to have run out of breath on his way here. "Tens of Soldiers were also burned alive, we are counting the bodies now. We would dig a few Graves but our Tools are burned too!"


    "This situation is foul indeed, but we can''t turn back. Pameres Kingdom is four moons away, we shall hunt for our food. As for the injured who survived, have a few men deliver them to Silver Kingdom for further aid." Expressed the War General but he also had another thought in mind which he didn''t put by word for a simple Guard Commander to understand. "This will be a great opportunity to form unity between these Soldiers."

 Chapter 198 - Green hat.

    When it comes to travelling on foot, it averagely takes 7-10 days to tackle a distance of 100 Kilometers. Travelling with a Horse takes 2-4 days less depending on the overall Cargo and how many people are travelling, be it alone or be it in a bundle. But what about flying using one''s Fire Controlling abilities as an aid? It doesn''t require any physical strength, but it''s solely based on Stamina instead, which gives advantages in some other aspects but also leaves the Fire Controllers Vulnerable to some other dangers, for example being spotted by an enemy or the weather can prove quite troublesome too.


    The main advantage with this sort of flying is travel speed as you might have already figured it out by yourself. it''s nearly 90% faster compared to travelling with a Horse. However, everything good comes with at least a handful of negative traits. It has some disadvantages, like for example Eric can''t fly at full speed for an extended period of time without wasting all of his Stamina in less than 20 minutes, which after would require at least 3 hours to fully replenish. Being stock in the wild without the energy to lift an arm up, can turn out for the worse in a blink of an eye. Waiting for his Stamina to replenish however, is the lightest aftermath.


    It would be dangerous on another level, if he was going full speed way above the ground and ran out of stamina. The impact with the ground would leave him with internal and external damage as a nice little gift. Plus, rolling for tens of meters through the ground due to massive friction(Which would cause a strong shift of momentum.) Would break quite a few bones too. Even the greatest healers of Zameria wouldn''t be able to do him any good.


    To clarify, Eric did start flying at full speed first until Mogranius caught up with him and yelled for Eric to slow down, catching up with an Electus was more than tricky though. It took half of Mogranius'' stamina and then they both had to fly at a slow low consuming speed. After that little tweak on his speed, they extended their flight into an hour long without risking any massive stamina loss.


    After an hour of flight, they would land on the ground carefully and take a good half hour break without aims of sleeping that would be a bad idea in so many aspects. If they felt like they required more than half an hour, they would stay more in order to be as ready as possible for this tremendously important journey.


    To aid their stamina replenish, Sitting on the most comfortable or dry rocks they could find is a good idea. If they couldn''t find dry ones, they put their powers into use. Mogranius prefered to sit on wood, so he tried to dry one up. Only to forget that wood is flammable, luckily he was capable to shut the Fire down, it was a level three power move. I suppose Sleep deprivation tends to make both of them forget some basic facts.


    If they felt like their Stamina is close to completely replenishing, they would stand up and walk slowly in order to cover a few hundred more meters without losing all of their energy. It might sound like a small contribution to this task compared to how much Kilometers they can cover while on the air, but once bundled up it can still equal to a few Kilometers.


    They continued with this technique back and forth for a few times until they parted ways once Pameres Kingdom was just a couple of Kilometers away, seeing local landmarks helped define where they are but their map also came in handy too. Reading a map can be difficult but only if one doesn''t acknowledge obvious landmarks.


    One landmark which isn''t too easy to forget, is the Forest closing in towards the road they took (To clarify, there are three main roads. One leads near the forest and is an alternative way to Green Kingdom primarily. The middle road leads towards Silver Kingdom primarily but as established, Green Kingdom is nearby too. This is the road they took. And the road at the very top leads to upper portions of the Country. Such as Gravel Kingdom, Red Clay Kingdom, Beach Bay Kingdom and even directly leads to Dragon''s Flame Kingdom.).


    Pameres Kingdom is roughly a kilometer away from a branch of this large forest, that branch almost shaped like the letter "C" helped them know where they are a bit better. It helped them find where the three main roads part, which signified how close Pameres Kingdom is.


    As for the Travel time, it took them a bit over 5 hours to arrive. They crossed a land of 80 Kilometers for 5 hours! This can define how easy travelling was over 200 years ago before this war began! For a King back then, it would be like having tens of extremely fast messenger birds.


    It is Eric''s responsibility to alert King Michael and King Zar of the upcoming danger, and it is Mogranius portion of the task to go alert BaleTown in order to get every possible Guard here at Pameres Kingdom before trouble rises over the Horizon. They need to be quick and agile, because for once more time isn''t by their side. The opposing Army will take their time to recover from that blinding night attack, but they are still just 80 Kilometers away while Gaster Kingdom and even BaleTown is 100 Kilometers away from Pameres Kingdom. If Pameres Kingdom is lucky enough, the two Platoons might arrive mid battle.


    When Eric dashed into King Zar''s Throne room at the break of dawn, he found no one there, obviously. So he had to cross his desired limits in order to alert everyone. He had to yell! And just when he started to get the Demon of Rage under his control too. What a pity.


    "Wake up! Where are the Guards? I need King Zar down here now!" Eric screamed from the top of his lungs, but the Guards took a couple of minutes to surround the Throne room, a good portion of them were likely holding a shift around the loyal bedrooms. King Zar has so many enemies now that he opposed the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, he can''t risk being off Guard.


    Another reason why it took awhile for people to notice Eric, is because there aren''t many homeless people left in the Castle. Most acquired their own house and likely obtained a job thanks to the newly opened businesses. The opportunities were available for both of the Genders, which will surely help boost the economy in many aspects and free the Castle Rooms too.


    Anyway, getting back to the point. When the Guards walked down they thought that the Caste is under attack! Even raising their Swords in wishes of slashing Eric in two pieces, more than half of them didn''t recognize him! Luckily a couple of Guards arrived who remembered his face, well more like his coal dark hair. Maybe it was a unique sight? "Electus! What''s the meaning of this panic?" At least the Guard didn''t make it all about ego, such as saying. "Why do you disturb the Royal Castle?"


    "Wake King Zar up and bring him down here. There is an entire damn Army coming to conquer Pameres Kingdom!" The Guard didn''t like the sound of such an issue at all, his knees felt weak and his stomach tied into a Knot. Not because he fears to put himself in battle, but because Pameres Kingdom doesn''t have enough Guards here to defend the Kingdom. They can quite possibly lose this battle! He didn''t say a thing and dashed upstairs right away seeking the King.


    Knock knock knock! "Sire wake up!" Knocked the Guard on the door, almost crushing it''s wooden form even. One would think that the world is ending if they woke up to such vicious door banging.


    "What what what! This better be important." King Zar was heard complaining from the other side, stomping his way towards the bedroom door. He walked out, dressed with a green robe and a cute little green night hat too. Throughout this chaos it almost made the Guard laugh but he feared the consequences.


    "The Electus is waiting in the Throne room, he claims that an Army is coming to invade us!" To such an explanation, King Zar''s eyes opened up in shock. As if cold water was splashed on his face against his will!


    "Tell him to wait, I''ll be there in a short moment!" Of course a Kingly figure like him, can''t walk down with night clothing if he has a few minutes to change.


    He didn''t take too much time dressing, he just put up some brown breechers, a black shirt and his chest armour too. "I hope you didn''t come all the way here from Silver Kingdom to crack a joke Eric." Spoke out King Zar as he was tip toeing his way down the stairs.


    Such an expression got Eric irritated a bit, he is sleep deprived and there is a developing headache right in the middle of this forehead thanks to it and this entire situation. Furthermore, he is battling a Level 3 Inner Demon of Rage! There are many odds against him, he could snap at any moment for the smallest tiniest reason, especially over such an expression. "Why would I catch a damn cold from all of the travel I went through just to make a Joke. What am I? Stupid?"


    "My apologies then. Tell me what you saw in more detail!" Asked King Zar once he noticed how serious this situation really is.


    "A large army, possibly over 600 men is marching down towards this Kingdom! I doubt that they are here for good because they either came from Red Clay Kingdom or Crutal Kingdom. And we know that only one Domain here can send down so many Soldiers, we know his reason too!"


    "Shit." Answered King Zar and swiftly added after. "This is bad, really bad 1/3 of our Platoon is in BaleTown. We could use them here more than ever!"


    "I know, Mogranius is on the way there. If we are lucky, they will arrive in time. Isabel is fetching 51 Guards from Lan Zhe and I need to go to Gaster Kingdom now." With this explanation, Eric was trying to convince himself that this battle will work to their favour. If it doesn''t, the entire revolution will crumble into dust.


    "Wow you two already went into action." King Zar is pleased, it isn''t easy to set everything up from here with resources limited but the Ignites found a way.


    "Well there is no time to waste, they are only 80 Kilometers away. Me and Mogranius caused a bit of Havoc to the army last night with what was planned as a sneak attack. He burned their food supply too, so that might work to our advantage."

 Chapter 199 - Wool Scarf

    After shortly consulting this large issue with King Zar, it was Eric''s responsibility to get his behind to Gaster Kingdom in order to inform King Michael as well. You might ask yourself, why would Mogranius put so much responsibility on Eric while he himself is just travelling to BaleTown? Well it is simple, Eric is a lot more powerful and can complete the task a quarter time faster without taking a large risk. After Mogranius put Eric''s speed into moderation, the 5 hour travel helped Eric determine what speed would be appropriate for such a distance. We shouldn''t forget that Mogranius is also supposed to travel 100 Kilometers in order to reach BaleTown.


    So this time, given the slightly longer distance from Pameres to Gaster Kingdom, Eric had to pick up the pace a little bit if he wished to save precious time. Now, he had to cover 100 Kilometers in 5 hours instead of stretching it to nearly 7 hours using his recommended speed. Thankfully, he reached his newly determined goal without any casualties worth noting. The only problem he encountered throughout both travels, was opposing the cold wind that blew against his skin. He is a Powerful Fire Controller no doubt, an Electus, a Golden Blood too. But he is still a Human being, Vulnerable to the simplest colds or flues.


    The weather is already cold since they just escaped February a few days ago. He feels sure that he is developing a Cold due to this travelling, half way there to getting it even. He was surrounded with Fur as clothing but it didn''t prove completely useful since his head is exposed, which led to a pounding headache too. Mogranius faced a similar problem, his older bones aren''t quite cut out for this long rush travelling anymore. Maybe when he was younger, like 46. It would prove less troublesome no doubt. But he reached his whooping 59 before they departed for this quest.


    12 February to be exact. Odd enough, Commander Alia asked when he was born a day before his actual Birthday. So she made him a special Black Marlin dinner, she had to negotiate a little bit with Lia and King Michael too in order to sneak a bit of it without anyone noticing. Thankfully it didn''t prove too difficult since it was just one Kilogram, it only costs 10 Gold Coins. However, Mogranius loved it and gave Commander Alia a little kiss on the cheek as a thank you! His stomach is the way to his heart.


    The flying sure got Eric beat, he has been doing it for 10 hours straight and it tired him in every way possible. The first to see Eric arrive, was his father Woldemir. His heart sank when he realized how early Eric has returned here. The worst went to his mind in a blink, especially since he didn''t see the rest of the Unit. He thought that the rest were attacked and didn''t make it! "What happened? What''s wrong? Why are you here so early? Where are the rest?"


    Many questions indeed, Eric didn''t know which one to answer first. So with a little bit of energy remaining in his body, he had the strength to answer. "I''ve been flying since midnight, I have no energy to explain in detail. Get the entire Platoon ready and head towards Pameres Kingdom, Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll has sent an Army to invade us!" Walking away and heading towards his house, he turned around and told his father one more bit of information before he was going to pass out in his bed. "King Michael should be in Pameres Kingdom even if the rest of the Platoon can''t catch up. We need a Grandmaster in our Arsenal. I will sleep and be there tomorrow, you start today." It''s not like he doesn''t want to stay and catch up with his father, nor does he intend to be rude or distant either. It''s just that he is dying for sleep, he feels like he can collapse at any moment!


    Understanding the dangers, Woldemir dashed towards the Platoon who were currently training and yelled out. "Every man get leather bags, fur bags, or anything else that can hold food and fill them to the top. We are heading to Pameres Kingdom immediately." Stressed indeed, he didn''t think about other requirements. Thankfully he got reminded by a Guard who wasn''t yet aware of the dire situation, so he could think a bit more clearly. "What about sleeping bags and tents?"


    Grabbing his forehead and rubbing it with his forefingers and thumbs to relieve his stress, he gave it a quick thought and ordered. "Ugh right. We will have to settle who will carry what. This won''t be a picnic but we need to get to Pameres Kingdom as soon as humanly possible."


    As for King Michael, when he heard about these tremendously bad news he didn''t even mention the Wheat Grain project thankfully which proves that he isn''t a total cheapskate, he is profit minded but not to the point of selfishness. He immediately aimed to spring into action, swiftly ordering Woldemir. "Get the entire Platoon ready. We are departing today."


    "I already am, leave that to me. Eric wants you at Pameres Kingdom today. I think you can make it. They need you there." Woldemir is quite aware that King Michael is nothing less but a Grand Master in Fire Controlling, Eric spoke a bit about Michael''s value too before he passed out. At least they can absolutely rely for him to be there.


    Confident enough about his own abilities, King Michael assured. "Oh I can make it in 3 hours." Asking another question as he was already walking out of the Throne room to start his journey. "Did Eric leave for Pameres Kingdom already?"


    Before Woldemir was about to answer, Alama followed King Michael and tied a Scarf around his neck. "This will keep you warm throughout your travel." Giving a little adorable smile before she continued. "But I want it back later." The scarf seemed to be knitted from wool, obviously imported and expensive too since there aren''t any sheep here or in Pameres Kingdom either for that matter. Ordered from the Zamerians maybe? Anyway, It was purely white and quite eye catching too! Reaching out for King Michael''s cheek, she granted him a light kiss and expressed. "Be back safe please." I suppose she has conquered her shyness, this even indirectly expresses how she feels about him. King Michael wasn''t ready to think about this now with an upcoming battle close, but this sure felt nice.


    Trying his best not to comment on such a personal matter, Woldemir stuck to answering King Michael''s question. "No. He is passed out in our house. He told me that he has been travelling for 10 hours!"


    Giving Alama a little smile as a thank you, King Michael became a bit shy and decided to fight off that shyness by focusing on the conversation he was having with Woldemir. "He travelled for 200 Kilometers? He will get a month long cold!" Worth noting, he has no intention of ignoring Alama''s cute little deed. He is just nervous.


    "That''s the least of our concern right now." That''s something rough coming from a father, but he understood this situation. "Please get to Pameres Kingdom!"


    Mogranius had it a bit harder, he took a bit longer to reach BaleTown since his energy is very close to being completely depleted. It took him 7 hours to arrive! Not a dandy experience but he flew at his own preferred speed. A risk considering that time isn''t by their side, but it would be an even bigger risk if he passes out mid air and didn''t manage to deliver the message.


    When he reached BaleTown, he could only exchange a few words before he passed out face first on the mud. Unlike Eric, he can''t push nearly 200 Kilometers over night or under 12 hours for that matter, without completely depleting his stamina. "Pameres Kingdom. War! Get there now!"


    "What do you mean?" The Guard who Mogranius flew towards, couldn''t quite understand what all of this is about.


    Before Mogranius was about to elaborate on that question, he dropped on his knees and passed out. It became a further problem since barely anyone in this town knew who he is! Most of them didn''t have the chance of meeting him, even when he stopped at Pameres Kingdom along with the rest of the Unit for a week.


    No one became hostile even though they saw him fly to Town. Since he is a Wizard, most felt half sure that he was sent by King Zar. Mogranius'' explanation however, wasn''t good enough to make proper sense. This can be a further delay and make the situation indeed a lot worse, they can''t afford to waste any time.


    To his luck, one Guard arrived in the scene who was familiar with this Fire Wizard. He has seen Mogranius in the Castle once and scrolling through the local markets to buy a new Black Robe. Interesting enough, Mogranius was wearing the same Black Robe he bought. It was only muddy since he crawled under Wagons a few hours ago. "I know him. What did he say? What is he doing here?"


    "I''m not sure. He just mentioned that there is a War in Pameres Kingdom and that we need to get there now!" A simple misunderstanding at this point, the war or best described, battle. Didn''t start yet! But it is about to start a few days later. I suppose the Guard didn''t understand that concept out of panic.


    "Acknowledge Guard Commander Delrus Aze of this information. We need to get the Platoon ready to depart as soon as possible!" Luckily, the Guard who knew Mogranius is a bit more organized, calm. He took charge of this situation.


    "What about the Fire de... Wizard?" That word almost slipped, but the ill.u.s.tratios are used to that name. The "illas" influences were indeed strong in Pameres Kingdom. Luckily King Zar removed most of such a mindset using a better offered life as a bribe.


    "Well he obviously has been travelling for over 100 Kilometers. My Grandfather told me that their Magic depletes easily, he just needs some recovery time. Let''s get him into a comfortable bed at the Guards bundle room."

 Chapter 200 - War Messsage!

    "Are any Platoons close to Pameres Kingdom?" Asked King Zar as he stood on top of the Kingdom Walls, waiting in anticipation for help to arrive and hoping that the enemy doesn''t arrive first, that would lead to this entire revolution crumbling into dust. It has been over 5 days and the aiding Platoons are nowhere to be seen, no sign whatsoever as if they didn''t even depart for this journey despite the clear solid Orders.


    To Pameres Kingdom''s luck, the opposing Army surely required time to recover from that midnight attack or at least take a day to restock using the Forest as their primary resource, the Clear Lands doesn''t commonly provide big game to Hunt unless that game is close to the mentioned Forest. If the opposing Army arrived yesterday it would be tremendously bad, because two Platoons (200 Guards.) and 3 Fire Controllers would need to hold off an Army that they thought as over 600 Soldiers. If only they knew that the Army had 800 men before that little attack, that night the Army just suffered minimal lossesW quantity-wise when considering the c.u.mulative count.


    "No my King. Our troops haven''t reported that they saw any Platoons yet." Answered a Guard closeby, since he was put in charge of delivering the message about such a matter. "If a Platoon is close, I will be sure to inform you as quick as Humanly possible."


    "Maybe I should fly and check again." Recommended Eric, who didn''t want to just stand by and wait for trouble to rush against the Kingdom Walls. "If I see our Platoon, I can at least tell them to make a run for it towards this Kingdom." He felt like a huge knot was tied around his stomach and it wasn''t for good this time, so many people are already depending on him. Untrained or not, he is tremendously powerful but he still isn''t ready to face an entire Army.


    But before he was about to blast off, King Zar slightly yelled his wishes. "No!" Out of stress of course, he doesn''t want to be disrespectful in any way. "We need you here just in case the opposing Army arrives. In fact they should have arrived yesterday when taking their travelling rate into consideration. But the point is, we can''t risk not having a large portion of our Arsenal here if the Army was to attack." Grabbing Eric''s shoulder after and expressing his thoughts with a wide smile, King Zar added. "We need you here."


    To lighten everyone''s stress, Mogranius bragged. "It''s not easy to recover once Mogranius attacks." We can''t consider this as a brag entirely, it is also dumb bravery salted with a lot of self dependance. I mean, he sneaked his way into an Army and burned 50-60 Wagons worth of food and general supplies! That isn''t luck.


    Letting out a stressful sigh after, King Zar felt like he should add. "Which is my point, the attack you two did proved as big help. Our troops aren''t anywhere to be seen! If the ill.u.s.tratian Army arrived at their desired time, we all would be as good as dead." Showing gratitude is a good form of keeping powerful people by your side, that''s a rather firm fact. But this wasn''t his aim now because he knew that every Fire Controller here wouldn''t abandon Pameres Kingdom at such a time of need.


    "Quit your worrying, we can hold them off." Assured King Michael with self confidence, it might seem overdone in some aspects but these people(Except Mogranius) barely know what a Grand Master of Fire Controlling is truly capable off, especially since King Michael barely shows off. As mentioned before, he had 312 years of practice and is still practicing. At least, he is here to ease all of this Burden from Eric. The expectations everyone has on him, are thrown over King Michael''s shoulders now. Lucky for everyone, this burden is barely but dirt he can shake off his shoulder.


    "Hold them off with 200 Guards? That''s next to impossible, most aren''t even Experts (Level 3) in Swordsmanship yet. Not to mention, Archery is just a secondary optional skill for each Guard." King Zar has a point, Archery for example would be impactful in this battle against hundreds of Soldiers. Tens of them could of been shot dead or slowed down at least, before the entire Army reached the Main Gate.


    At least Eric was here to assure, "You don''t have to worry about ranged attacks, three powerful Fire Controllers are to your aid." Hearing such a sentence coming from a Kid who doesn''t commonly brag or even speak, King Zar found a bit of relief. But just a bit!


    King Michael arrived at Pameres Kingdom exactly 4 days ago, he blasted off right after Eric arrived in his domain. It felt nice for these two Kings to meet in person once more (Apart from one more time when King Zar went to visit the Port, in order to travel to Zameria for the first ever deal he struck with them.). If only they didn''t meet the second time for such a desperate matter, but a good one instead.


    As for Eric and Mogranius, they took off for Pameres Kingdom a day after they crashed(Not literally.) on the two other Domains, both of them required a 12 hour recharge. A bit overdone, but they did travel overnight which contributed a lot more to this mass stamina loss. King Zar felt more than happy to have them here, it relieved a portion of his anxiety but it would be better to have 200 more troops here too, it would surely turn the tides in glorious battle.


    Both of the Platoons(That are supposed to arrive.) would prove powerful since the one from Bale Town has quantity as an advantage, there are 125 Guards coming from there. Half of which are quite skilled too! As for the 80 Guards from Gaster Kingdom, they have been training under Woldemir''s guidance for months now, they are a force to be reckoned with even though most qualify as Beginners(Level 1) in Swordsmanship.


    Unfortunate for them, the moment they all have been fearing has arrived. A Horseman arose from a hill, marching down towards Pameres Kingdom, alone. This surely is just a messenger. The opposing Army itself, is for sure at least a Kilometer away to avoid an Arrow''s range. It''s a good move to avoid a possible ambush too, here in the flat lands it is a lot easier to do so in broad daylight.


    It is interesting how this Entire Army found enough food to keep going for 5 days. People can survive without food for a couple of weeks or less depending on the used energy, but water? They wouldn''t make it further than 2 days, their bodies would be forced into a shut down. The only couple of possible explanations would be that they either carried Leather water bags with them, or clay bottles in their tents possibly too. Or the War General was smart enough to order a few Soldiers to seek for any creek, it isn''t impossible to find in a Forest thick with vegetation (Throughout the Warm seasons at least.).


    The messenger arrived towards Pameres Kingdom, to find over 30 people over the walls already. Which proved one point for him, the "Fire Demons" have at least some association with King Zar. "This traitor send Demons to stop us? Worthless! The ill.u.s.tratian Alliance is unbeatable, we shall slay these Traitors and Demons in the name of Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l, his son Xakro ill.u.s.tratio ll, and the future God Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll." An illas believer no doubt based on the wordplay, or at this point, his thoughts. But it proves one point, this entire Army thinks that they are doing a good deed with this Invasion. They aren''t particularly evil, they just think they are slaying actual Demons.


    The messenger stopped about 30 meters away from the Kingdom, not daring to come closer in the Fear of an Arrow being bashed against his head or worse, a Fireball. He almost even just dropped the message on the ground, and planned to fall back for 100 yards until a message is made clear.


    Lucky for him, King Zar send out a Guard to fetch the message. The Soldier was still scared of the circ.u.mstances even though he was armed from head to toe with heavy Iron Armor, a Longsword too plus he is on a Horse which can be considered a strong upper advantage. The Guard of which was sent from Pameres Kingdom, just has an Iron armor on his Torso and a simple 70 Centimeter Iron Sword. That was all the Iron he was carrying.


    Even under such circ.u.mstances, the Soldier tossed the message from about 6 meters away, refusing for the Guard to get any closer. Maybe because the approaching Guard is an Ignite? However, the Guard grabbed the message and simply returned taking steps backwards instead of turning his back on an enemy, a wise decision. King Zar got impressed.


    Once King Zar got the message on his hand, he removed the little string around it and read its contents. It stated. "Greetings Traitor. I, War General Ace order you in the name of Grand King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll to surrender and face your punishment for your Crimes against the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance. If you surrender, you will be the only sacrifice unlike what losses your entire Kingdom will suffer if you refuse to obey our Command. Your little attack near Silver Kingdom can''t stop the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, we overcome anything and we shall do it once more. Come alone, face your fate and disarm your entire Platoons as well before leaving. Deliver all of their Weapons towards our Army, bring the Iron here with your own hands. If you fail to obey our Command, your entire Kingdom will suffer the aftermath."

 Chapter 201 - Farmers Bacon

    King Zar was not a fan with the War General''s wordplay or requirements either. The entire letter is based on the Alliance''s self feeding ego, while at the same time this Army plays as the victim. This sort of nonsense is nothing less but a nerve wrecker to read, covered with a massive amount of delusion too. They really think that they are the Heros here. "How many Soldiers could this War General be actually leading to attain such a level of over confidence?" Thought King Zar to himself and afterwards expressed something different by word. "He must be thinking of us as weak and unprepared."


    "What does the message say?" Approached Mogranius, trying to take a peek at it. But only saw it being ripped in two pieces and being thrown from the wall and to the mud, it was a short answer to what King Zar thinks about these Commands.


    King Zar didn''t become too descriptive about it, but he did explain the main point. "They want my Head."


    Everyone was partially shocked by such a requirement coming practically from King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll. After all, he was the one who sent this Army to tame the Revolution. Sure King Zar isn''t getting along with his father, but to order for his son to get killed just for a piece of land, or at this point ego games? That''s low and keeps reminding these people why they hate the Grand King.


    "What do you recommend us to do, King Zar?" Asked King Michael, not that he was feeling self conscious about his abilities, but quite the opposite. He got bored of waiting and wanted to start this battle. He didn''t use his powers against an enemy for quite a while, last time was when he torched those R.a.p.ers/Cannibals, tough crowd I''m aware.


    Although the spawn of the most impatient person on Earth, King Zar chose to be patient for this case. Not because he is afraid, but because he feels like it is for the best at the moment. "We should stall them until at least one Platoon arrives, if the opposing Army made it this far even after the huge loss of supplies they faced, they can''t be underestimated."


    "Indeed you are right, we can wait." Tried King Michael to explain his choices and different War tactics. "But I have an idea which might cause a bit of a War Crime, but it might just turn the tide."


    "We are the Kingdom under attack, what possible War Crime could we commit?" King Zar has a point, but sometimes he forgets about the fact that Michael is 312 years old, with more experience in many aspects. As for King Zar, he became 28 after the new year. On the 8th January to be more exact, he still can be considered young.


    "Disorientate them of course!" Smirked King Michael in a bit of confidence and dared to point out an obvious fact. "We can''t do much against them after they break through the Main Gate, the battle would practically be over."


    Thinking about such a fate, King Zar let out a loud stress fueled sigh. Answering, "You are right!" And rubbed his temples after in hopes of relieving the developing headache right on his forehead. "But how can we disorientate them?"


    "Air attack." He answered calmly as he stared deeper towards those hills and the messenger too, trying to be quiet enough to not reveal this sensitive information to their enemy. "They are at least a Kilometer away, we can cause quite some damage until they arrive here. We have them at the position to attack before the battle even starts."


    Odd to hear a suggestion of War Crime from such a wise man, but who would have a better idea here? Mogranius maybe but it would still be a form of attack. "That isn''t exactly fair, but I need to protect my people."


    "There are no rights and wrongs in War, they won''t let anyone fare well if they win and they would sure commit a War Crime too if they had the option, they have been doing so for 100 years and another 100 after the War too." Added Eric in order to help King Zar feel less guilty about an idea King Michael didn''t even reveal yet. "I killed hundreds of Guards in Crutal Kingdom because they threatened my group, you have an entire Kingdom to consider."


    Finally deciding, "It is up to you King Michael, I trust your capabilities." King Zar didn''t find a reason to hold back anymore. With more damage dealt to the Army, they at least could have a bigger chance of success.


    "Thank you. I advise an attack from behind, we can use the clouds as a camouflage." Cutting to the case already, that''s a good way to speed up yet another situation where time isn''t on their hands. While they talk here, the opposing Army could already arrive and deal their damage even though the messenger is here.


    "What about the messenger? If he sees us flying towards the Army, he will run back to alarm them without wasting a moment." Addressed King Zar the issue of which most might have skipped, I did say most.


    A blink after, they saw Mogranius appearing behind the Messenger. While the rest were talking about a plan, he went into action since King Zar was obviously not agreeing to the Army''s requirements. Using smoke to grant him invisibility all the way there from the looks of it, but now he was quite visible and ready to spring into action. "Boo!" He shouted from behind and spooked the Horse more than he spooked the Soldier!


    A moment after, the Soldier was on the ground. It appears that he wasn''t holding on tight. "Stop Horsing around." Joked Mogranius as he faced the enemy. Well more like, the enemy had to raise his own head from the mud to face the "Fire Demon".


    Without letting the enemy Soldier speak, he broke Fire from his hands and showed whose land this Soldier is trying to invade. Clapping his hands, and lifting them up to his right shoulder first. He finished off the attack by bringing his hand to his left hip swiftly, unleashing a brutal cutting force of Fire from his hands which dealt damage one man couldn''t withstand.


    The attack split part of the enemy Soldier''s head. To be more exact, the top part of his head (About 10% of it.) was cut narrowly before this slicing formation of Fire met his back too, cutting the man in half and pushing him about 3 meters away. As if that heavy armour was nothing but soft penetrable human skin.


    The slice was so clean that even Blood took a couple of seconds to burst out before it spread all over the road, a disgusting sight to see because even his intestines spread across the road once he bounced away. Sparing everyone the trouble of looking at such a dismantled Corpse, he unleashed a 5 foot wide wildy spreading Fireball, burning the Soldier almost whole. But he had to unleash such a Fireball twice because the bottom half of the Victim''s body was several meters further away.


    The only thing remaining from this Corpse, was a bit of Armour here and there. The Iron boots were the most in tact. As for the Horse which appeared like a "he" made a dash for it right away. I suppose he got spooked by the sound of raging and at some point, explosive Fire. Fair to say he didn''t even get injured physically!


    The Horse is a valuable Animal, especially for transportation purposes. If only King Zar knew that 100 Horses can be to their disposal, it would solve most issues and he would still have a few Horses to sell. He can even spread them to Gaster Kingdom or Bale Town as a thank you for their contribution in this Battle. To their luck, most Guards tend to attack the Soldier himself instead of attacking an animal. Even after considering the Fire Controllers, only a few Horses might die or get injured.


    That''s not a case to worry right now, the Horses won''t make it far and would eventually be tamed after battle, if Pameres Kingdom wins that is. "Dash towards the sky!" Yelled King Michael as he passed 15 meters over his head, this plan is already in motion.


    After Mogranius took off, the two other Ignites flew higher towards the sky. Reaching the clouds could be time consuming since they can be at least over three Kilometers high, which means that they would need to go at full speed in order to appear behind them before it is too late. A bit too risky Stamina-wise, but they don''t exactly need to be in the clouds in order to become invisible to the n.a.k.e.d eye. After they are a couple Kilometers above the ground, one Ignite can only appear as a dot on the sky, nothing people would be able to notice without the utmost voluntary focus.


    While high in the sky, Eric took a look around and managed to spot what this entire Kingdom has been waiting for, the Unit from Gaster Kingdom. Now at least the chances of success are a bit larger. "I think I see my father''s Platoon!" Yelled Eric in mid air, trying to notify the two Ignites about this wonderful information. It became rather hard to do so because they are all flying as fast as they can, wind blew against their ears making them almost deaf towards a conversation.


    "You see a Farmer''s Bacon?" Answered Mogranius, trying to be reassured of what he heard. I mean, who wouldn''t ask twice if they heard it like that.


    "Oh nevermind!" The Guards will report it to King Zar anyway and do proper arrangements, all they need to do right now is focus on their new plan.

 Chapter 202 - Double Slicer

    Considering that they were flying so fast to the point where they couldn''t even keep their eyes open, it didn''t take long to arrive behind the Army of which from the looks of it was at least 2 Kilometers away from the Kingdom. The Army really didn''t take a risk, I suppose they were left traumatized by damage the two Fire Controllers blew above their heads.


    After that messenger got Torched, the Fire Blasters arrived behind the Army a bit over 10 minutes later with a lot of effort put in! Mogranius used a lot of his Stamina throughout the way due to the intense maximum speed required for this task, he won''t be able to provide a long lasting contribute in battle compared to the Grand Master and the Electus.


    To avoid detection, they landed nearly a hundred yards away from the Army, just in time too. Because they seem to be slowly marching down towards Pameres Kingdom, they either kept moving at this speed throughout their entire journey and sent a Messenger to dash towards the Kingdom. Or, they might have taken a hint that the Messenger obtained his foul fate.


    Either way, King Michael''s idea is Golden. Because if they waited for the Army to arrive all the way near the Walls, it would be tremendously difficult to hold them back and there would be barely anything stopping them from attacking a lot of innocent Civilians once they broke through the Main Gate.


    The Fire Controllers landed on the ground as light as a Feather to avoid detection. Being so far away from the Army, Eric was convinced to start attacking now since they would deliver a lot more damage while they are out of Steel''s reach, he is more than right about range but not on proper use of their position. Right before he was about to attack, King Michael grabbed Eric''s arm and loudly whispered. "What are you doing?" A bit angry about such a careless move no doubt, he got confused of such irresponsibility coming from the Kid who risked so much to protect his own before. That Crown on Eric''s head is supposed to grant some perks in his brain capacity, but what he tried to do is quite stupid.


    "What? Isn''t this why we are here for? Let''s roast these Bastards!" I''d like to say that such wordplay came from Mogranius, but no. It came from Eric, I guess he is a bit more comfortable using impetuous language when there aren''t any ladies around.


    "We are." Assured King Michael with a loud whisper, displeased of Eric''s approach too but not enough to express it by word. King or not, he is only 15 years old after all. "But if we shoot from here, we won''t be able to do enough damage and just waste Stamina."


    A bit embarassed of his dumb choices, Eric decided to cooperate with 312 years of Wisdom. "Oooh. Yes that makes sense."


    "Most likely." Responded King Michael with a smile and afterwards in a more calm approach he clarified. "Don''t shoot until I tell you too, we need to leave a large impact here instead of just setting a couple Soldiers into a Blaze."


    Tip toeing their way towards the Army, they managed to get as close as 50 yards near the Enemy without being detected. But even now, King Michael doesn''t see it as the appropriate time or distance to attack. I mean Common, the Army has occupied the entire Road and spread far wide around it too, they are basically sitting ducks at the moment, targets easy to hit. Why would he want to approach closer?


    Eric is getting anxious no doubt, they are so Vulnerable now to Spears and Arrows. If the Army turns around and charges towards them, they won''t be able to do enough damage without being forced to retreat or possible receive damage too.


    To Eric''s preference, sneaking was no longer an option past the 40 yard mark. Because a Soldier just casually turned his head around and found out that they are being followed, he didn''t spare a second with Alarming the rest. "Fire Demons are behind us!" Of course he can''t know that without seeing any of these three burst out Fire, but there were two common pieces of logic the Soldier managed to put together. The people behind them are Ignites and they weren''t there before.


    "Well. Looks like we need to attack now." Added Mogranius in partial intended Sarcasm but also because he didn''t want to waste time when there literally are Soldiers charging towards them.


    Without waiting for King Michael''s Command, he made a small jump before he unleashed what he has been holding back. Landing on the ground first and forming a half sumo squat after, he blasted the first Fireball which blazed in wind breaking speed. Taking only about 7 Seconds before it hit its first target, or targets. The Fireball spread about 6 feet wide, a big one considering that he doesn''t have as much stamina compared to the other two, but this will just be a quick attack and he isn''t planning to stay here forever. This isn''t a Picnic.


    The Victims were first blasted 5 meters back until they forced nearly 20 other people to tumble over as if this was a Domino effect, this impact was worse than being kicked by a Horse. The ones that tumbled down barely got burned, but the ones who got victimized were missing their upper body mostly and some of their lower body too.


    Imagine it, he attacked from 40 meters away. What if he was closer? Do not underestimate an Expert(Level 4) Fire Controller. Some of the closeby Soldiers covered the trail of blood with their afternoon lunch once they saw how disgusting a burned Human looks like.


    There is nothing nice about seeing a human hip with little flesh on it, bones would take a lot more to burn I suppose. Anyway, this attack isn''t enough against an entire Army, he only managed to torch 5-8 men and heavily injured several more.


    "Oh they noticed us!" Eric pointed out the obvious. Basically being sarcastic a little bit, quoting King Michael''s battle strategy.


    "I''m aware!" Swiftly replied King Michael, ignoring the wordplay. He dashed about 6 feet in front of Mogranius and showed once more what he can accomplish.


    Clapping his hands to connect them, he placed them near his shoulders. A move you''ve read Mogranius doing a handful of times so far but this one has a bit of a twirl, literally! King Michael spinned once as fast as the eye can blink and a thin formation of Fire made its way towards their enemies.


    Well I stood corrected, two thin rays of Fire were unleashed. One when he started the spin with his hands swiftly moved downwards his hip and the other when he finished the spin and moved his hands from his hip back to his shoulders. It just happened too fast for an eye to capture entirely.


    "Damn! The double slicer!" Gazed Mogranius in amazement. Of course this power move has many names, all linked to its result of course. But the "Double Slicer" is used on half of the cases to describe it.


    "What''s the Double Slicer?"


    "Watch!" Just when Mogranius finished his one word sentence, the double slicer reached the Army who was already running with aims to end these "Fire Demons."


    One double slicer stretched about 5 meters wide and the second stretched 7, but they were blasted out narrowly which only would manage to split a few heads and shoulders. If it was blasted horizontally, it would end tens of lives.


    The first one managed to hit one Soldier from the middle of his upper waist to all the way near his neck, split the head of a closeby Soldier''s on the right and cut off the leg of a nearby soldier''s on the left. And continued victimizing more men after about 6 rounds before it vanished into mid air. The blast was so impactful that it pushed each victim 1-4 meters back depending on where they were hit.


    The second slicer was around 2 feet away to the right from the first one so it managed to victimize another 4 rounds of men. Its durability seemed a bit lighter likely because it is longer in size, an effect much like a Sword but it sure dealt damage as well. This little attack victimized a bit over 30 men! That''s 30 less to worry about.


    But it won''t stop this entire Army who seemed to have adapted to the fact that they could for sure get killed even though they are wearing thick heavy Iron Armor. They ignored the quick death of their Brothers in War and continued to run towards their enemies in full speed carrying Iron Swords mostly while Eric spotted Arrows high in the air coming towards him and his two other companions.

 Chapter 203 - Man down

    Noticing that the two other Fire Controllers didn''t yet spot the Arrows, Eric threw upon himself the responsibility to dismantle this Air attack. So he decided to do something a bit bold to face these undoubtedly life threatening Arrows, using the Bear Claw.


    This is tremendously risky because he can terribly miss such as shot. For example, swinging before time. He would be showered with Arrows! Swinging too late might not even be an option here! Taking a look at his two companions first, and looking back at the arrows some of which were flashing in the sunlight, he blazed into action.


    Fire broke from his hand and shaped into a bigger hand. As described many times before, it shaped into a Bear Claw. In order to make up for a few inches he might be missing with his desired swing, he leaped as much as he could without breaking Fire out of his feet.


    Taking a right swing at the Arrows, he managed to hit seemingly half of the Arrows before he had to tumble forwards in order to avoid being hit by some that he missed. Not a second too late either, he even felt an arrow ripping a portion of his shirt at the very bottom while he was tumbling. Thankfully it didn''t meet with his skin! That little jump earlier saved him from several arrows even though he just managed to jump a few inches high.


    The arrows he managed to hit however, had their Iron Tip burned to the point of making it rain liquid Iron and their slender wooden bodies were tossed on the side of the road about 10 meters away because he didn''t manage to hit those wooden slender arrow bodies from one end to the other, he managed to hit roughly half of theirs at most.


    While a few of which he just managed to break their Iron tips of instead of a portion of the Wooden bodies(Or tails.) as well, twirled in mid air a few times and were even set into a blaze. But since it twirled rapidly in the air, the fire on them shut down. Good thing too, because several of them dropped around him once he stopped tumbling and a couple even hit his head. It would be disastrous if his hair were set on Fire, he just grew back the eyebrow he lost back when facing the Calidum Lutum in the Underground Town of Lan Zhe.


    Moving on, when he stood up on his feet he found out that the Army is roughly 15 meters away. This is a dangerous distance so Mogranius moved in the battle and did something he doesn''t quite usually doo power move wise. Breaking out a Bear Claw he dragged Eric back and threw him all the way towards King Michael while he himself was blasting Fire through his feet to enhance his leap towards the enemy. Using the Bear Claw while he was in mid air however, caused some problems with stability. Eric didn''t manage to land on his feet because of it but still didn''t suffer any permanent damage.


    "Fire Shield!" Mogranius yelled once his feet connected with the ground. A short sentence indeed but it was still clear as a stream of water, Mogranius was about to shake the ground! How would a Fire Controller do that you might ask? Well, do you remember the Atomic Fire power move?


    King Michael acknowledged what he meant (But didn''t know what move Mogranius is about to try, obviously.) and burst into action. Seeing that Eric is near him even though he is on his back, King Michael started off the Fire Shield with a clap accompanied by the traditional sumo squat and shaped a 5 inch thick Fire Shield with ease around himself and Eric too. Such thickness would be tremendously hard to do and maintain for an Expert(Level 4) Fire Controller, not to mention anyone with a lower rank. To make it even more difficult, the Fire Shield spaned 10 feet wide. That takes a lot of Stamina.


    Seeing Eric safe, Mogranius finally started blasting Fire from his hands once more to prepare for the final shot. These Soldiers are too close already, there isn''t any time to waste. Afterwards he blew Fire from his feet and started flying backwards in order to avoid the Army and in the process of the retreat, he started forming the spherical formation of Fire in between his two hands who were half a foot apart.


    To super charge this compressed blast, he used part of the Fire coming out of his feet to fly and the other part to fill the sphere. Naturally, he would also blast Fire out of his nose to speed up the provided resource, but there isn''t much time to waste and blowing Fire from every possible body part would require a bit more concentration. He is multitasking on so many levels, he can''t go any further. So he blasted Fire just out of his mouth instead.


    He only had a couple more seconds to spare as the Soldiers were getting closer and closer, to the point of being 5 meters away even though he was flying backwards. But to unleash this Power move, his feet have to touch the ground, his hands too. So he stopped blasting Fire from his feet, met the ground and punched it with both of his hands with all his might.


    Lucky enough, he unleashed it just before a Soldier was about to land a strike against him. This power move saved him because once it hit the ground, it sunk a foot deep and zig zagged its way forwards. Pushing/throwing away any rock, dirt and person for that matter, in front of it. The Soldier that was about to attack him, was blown an inch above Mogranius'' head. He saw his reflection on the narrowly pointed Sword once he ducked to avoid it and the feet of the Soldier flying on the left side as well, separated from its owner''s body.


    Knowing that the Atomic Fire move wasn''t charged enough to travel at least 5 meters (With information based on previous attempts.) he turned around and blasted Fire out of his feet in order to avoid the Blast''s explosive Radius, but it wasn''t enough.


    Going through a few Zig Zags, the Blast arose from the ground and unleashed its final potential. The moment it arose just an inch out of the ground, it exploded. Not giving anyone closebly, time to escape regardless of Race or faction. Since it wasn''t charged long enough, the spherical Compression of Fire didn''t manage to push through the Ground for a long time which resulted to this early explosion. Therefore, its blast radius partially hit Mogranius'' back to the point of tearing apart his thick black robe on the back Area.


    Luckily, he is in one piece and just sustained some rough burn marks. His flesh didn''t tare, that was at least a good side out of this explosion survival. He landed on his own feet even, feeling capable that he can withstand this burn enough to get out of here.


    The explosion only caused a couple of cracks on King Michael''s Fire Shield, it wasn''t really anything to worry about but it proved how dangerous this power move is. As for all of the Soldiers that became victimized by the explosion, their limbs started falling from the sky. I''d like to say that those were the least disturbing body parts everyone saw flying around. But no, the Human body isn''t just made out of Limbs and bones after all.


    The Blast Radius victimized at least 40 Guards and heavily injured at least over 20 and knocked many others off of their feet. Since the impact isn''t too strong once the Blast finishes its most deadly blow, it doesn''t quite reach out for anyone who wasn''t in the blast radius. As if it was a controlled explosion set with boundaries and firm limitations.


    "Let''s move!" Shouted Mogranius, Ignoring the sensation of pain on his back and started blasting Fire out of his feet. Best described unlucky, the moment he was a couple of inches above the Ground, an arrow flew right above his left shoulder and didn''t hit him but another one did on the right shoulder and messed up his orientation.


    Age isn''t by his side, his back just got burned and now an arrow too? He flew a couple of meters away and then got tossed to the ground, refusing to scream in pain and show weakness to the enemy. Glad his self feeding ego came in very handy this time.


    "Shit!" Whispered King Michael and was forced to break the Fire Shield in aims of springing into action to help Mogranius, but he helped differently.


    He took a few quick steps forwards while blasting two Fireballs on each step in hopes of fighting off the upcoming wave as much as he can under limited time. They barely managed to kill 100 men so far, the Army is far from being defeated and their waves won''t stop just yet. The Fire Balls he unleashed were around 10 foot each as if he had a Stamina 5 times bigger than Mogranius''. Terrifyingly beautiful to see but they sure proved useful too!


    The Fireballs didn''t just burn the flesh and bones from the opponents, but also completely obliterated their solid Heavy Iron Armor they had on. He even burned their ashes after it too! As if deleting a person from history.


    He continued to unleash Double Slicers after but this time they were horizontal instead of narrow. Which covered a lot more people this time in one row, but the slicers didn''t manage to cut through several rows at once since its durability is tested with more people this time.


    "Grab Mogranius and get out of here." Yelled King Michael as he stopped blasting Fire and took a quick glance at Eric. "I''ll hold them off!"

 Chapter 204 - Big Risk

    A bit shocked of this entire situation, Eric froze in his spot. It is not that he feared for his own life but quite the opposite. He has never seen Mogranius receiving this much damage ever since he met him! There is an Arrow on his shoulder, his back is burned badly and he is on the ground awake but too weak to move. Perhaps, the screams of pain he tried to suppress just to not sound weak, contributed to this fatigue because it would take a lot of physical and mental effort to do so, without a doubt.


    The wounds he saw on Mogranius, were only partial reasons why Eric felt frozen now. It is the fact that such a strong figure dropped down as if he dropped down dead, that got Eric terrified and even to lose a little bit of hope! If seeing Mogranius actually scared wasn''t bad and discouraging enough in past events, this situation today tips the clay bottle.


    "Eric!" Shouted King Michael once more after he torched over 30 men in front of him with a wave of continues Fire (Not a Fireball.) quite terrifying, King Michael appeared like a Dragon for a split second there. The amount of Fire he keeps blasting as if he isn''t considering the near future gives a hint that everyone might have underestimated him just because he didn''t show what he is capable off. "This would be a great time for you to do what I say!" King Michael also wanted to add that he can''t hold this Army back for too long. But the situation didn''t let him, the waves of Soldiers kept coming with most ignoring human internal Organs falling around them, others have weaker stomachs and a sensitive nose too!


    A slightly humorous fact about these Organs spreading all around, is Soldiers slipping on them and embarrassingly falling down either over someone else, over a Corpse or simply on the muddy ground. However, it became less funny (For the Soldiers at least.) when those who slipped, got trampled by other Soldiers walking over them. An Armor can withstand a lot of such damage, but ankles, knees, fingers and even the neck are very vulnerable and can quite possibly lead to death.


    Furthermore, it caused more people to trip and the aftermath of tripping continued to take other Victims like the Domino effect. Even though accidental, Mogranius bought himself time before he got shot down, simply because he unleashed the "Atomic Fire" power move. King Michael splitting tens of men in two contributed to this effect as well.


    Getting snapped back to reality, Eric decided to finally get into action. At first he wanted to grab the arrow on Mogranius'' shoulder, pull it out and hold the wound as he lifted him away. But the closer he approached the more he hated the burn marks Mogranius had on him, feeling a lot of grief to see his first mentor this damaged. It killed his motivation that it took a threatening army for him to regain.


    Sucking up the feelings of regret that he put Mogranius in this position to begin with, he just lifted Mogranius over his back since carrying him like he would carry his "future wife" on his honeymoon, doesn''t quite work for a 6 foot tall man. He doesn''t fit on Eric''s arms unlike Stefan. As for the arrow, if he simply ripped it out it would cause a lot more damage and even permanent loss of a meat chunk on Mogranius'' shoulder since the Arrow is shaped like a hook with sharp points on both sides. It''s better to leave this wound on someone who has a lot more experience dealing with them, Eric doesn''t know how to!


    Luckily, Mogranius was awake enough to cooperate against this disaster. He used his last bit of strength to make Eric''s job easier, the situation on their hand led to Eric getting a little bit of strength because of pure fear, fear of losing his Mentor that is. Mogranius felt a bit embarrassed that he got shot down, even if it was from behind. But there is no fair or unfair in War, you either die or survive. And since he is surviving, there isn''t much to be ashamed about.


    Seeing Eric blast off with Mogranius, facing no casualties, King Michael turned back to try something he didn''t try for a while! Because he always aimed to keep his abilities in the lowkey with all this war going on. Countless of Grand Masters were slaughtered in the 100 year war after all, back then he was just a Magician (Level 3) Fire Controller. He would die too! Even after the War it was never a good idea to assure people that he has powers. But the point is, he is ready to try a Grand Master move! A quite dangerous one even!


    Let me plant some seeds for you to understand this move better. Remember how Fire Controllers can physically connect with smoke and grant invisibility to themselves by choosing how much smoke appears to the n.a.k.e.d eye, a.k.a how much "human" appears to the n.a.k.e.d eye.


    Well, although he doesn''t intend to do a little trick and vanish, he is ready to connect. But with no smoke in sight, what would he connect too? Simple, but you might have not expected it throughout these three Volumes. Or maybe you did, I am not to say more about that. King Michael, is going to try connecting with Fire! This is a Grand Master level(6) move that he didn''t quite master yet. It is shockingly dangerous because he can end up burning himself badly or possibly even cut his own arms off or even any other body part including where any human is most vulnerable (Stomach and Chest area.) due to the intense raging fire that is soon to surround him as a process of this Power move.


    To actually connect with Fire, a large amount of it needs to rage wild without him being connected to the Fire, without having control over it, odd I''m aware. If there is no one around to provide Fire for him, how would he connect to a big or small source of it. Simple (Wait not really. It is for him at least.), Fire Tornados!


    First he needs to be off of the ground so he was quick to fly high as much and as fast as he could under a short period of seconds. First to assure that he is safe while on the bases of forming a Fire Tornado, he of course had to be far from a ranged attack''s reach. Spears can be deadly up close but arrows can indeed reach further and probe troublesome. So he has to be at least 300 meters high, but he can''t be that far off the ground since he isn''t sure how long he can be one with the Fire. So he had to stay 100 meters above the ground instead, a bit of a risk but he will only be vulnerable to Arrows for a few seconds.


    He spread his arms wide open as he flew in mid air, started spinning as fast as he could without losing orientation out of dizziness and fire came out of palms shortly after, enhancing the Tornado formation. The Fire beneath his feet started the process, setting the firm foundations and the one on his palms continued it, built up everything else. A Tornado ranging tens of feet high started forming around him while he was flying on the very bottom of it, the Fire didn''t take too much time to explode in size by the passing second.


    With a Fire Tornado perfectly formed, which has the capability of remaining in this position at least for a little while once King Michael disconnects from it, grants him safety from Arrows at least since they would simply be dragged in the Tornado and burned before they could ever reach him or be tossed away to the point of nailing Soldiers to the Ground! But there is a bigger risk now, the Tornado!


    Since he is at the very bottom, any shift of position the Fire Tornado might go through be it only a foot of distance, can cut King Michael''s leg off. This is the downside of disconnecting from a Fire Tornado while one is still in it! The risk of being killed or terribly amputated at least aren''t slim. As for the Soldiers below, they could only witness in fear, hate or amazement depending on the individual. If only they knew that this entire hassle isn''t just for show or proving a point of dominance.


    With his arms crossed over one another on his chest, he started flying higher where the risks of getting sliced are slimmer. Fire from the Tornado was branching out in several directions reaching out for King Michael as he went further up, starting to connect with him.

 Chapter 205 - Fate, it can change!

    The Fire reached for his hands at first, for a few seconds he was observing portions of this raging Tornado and afterwards his arms started glowing because they began to be surrounded by Fire without burn marks as an aftermath that is, his clothes weren''t burning up either which is a good thing. No one wants to see anyone else n.a.k.e.d!


    The Fire spread from his arms, headed towards his shoulders and then spread to his chest as if it followed his veins. His clothes were replaced with nothing but Fire and it seems like his skin and bones shared the same result. But he isn''t feeling any pain, he feels and is quite in Control!


    The Fire spread to his neck and then his head too, thankfully it expanded to his Hair without burning a single one. No one would want those beautiful black long hair destroyed unless that person had some sort of envy towards them.


    In a matter of seconds the Fire spread out towards the rest of his body as well, even on his reproductive system! As he was rising up, he spread his arms wider by the passing moment since there is more space the higher he goes of course, but the risks of losing his arms are still there if the Tornado shifts. This beautifully dangerous Tornado kept deforming the more he connected with the Fire.


    He reached the point of completely merging with the Fire, so in order to assure 100% of his success he deformed his body, or at least the formation of Fire that represented his body in to a size no eye can see and merged with the rest of what was left from the Tornado. After all, Fire can merge with Fire without a single discrimination, this proved his success.


    Now, it is time to attack these many opponents! He has only done this power move a couple of times and he sure hopes to be successful this time as well, he never tried this against any living being before so this should be interesting. He completely deformed the Tornado and like a Vertical moving ocean wave, he flew towards the ground!


    The Soldiers who were waiting for him, started shooting arrows against the Fire as it forced their eyeballs into a glow. The closer it got, the harder it became to look at and it''s heat radius was partially felt when the wave of Fire was about 30 meters above the ground. It is Mars now and still quite cold, so this proves a point. As for the arrows, well Iron can''t hurt Fire. The entire arrows were deformed into nothingness.


    The Fire spread 15 meters wide and 20 meters long, truly big and frightening but when it hit the ground, the impact somehow decreased its size for around 30%! That''s a big amount and can turn the "tide" in battle! Quite interesting no doubt but it just weakened the attack and it proved that this wave has some sort of durability which can be opposed after a few rows of enemies blazed out of existence, only one way to find out hm?


    Once hitting the ground, the wave of Fire shifted its direction towards the Soldiers and claimed its first victims. Since it stretched around 11 meters wide now due to the recent shrink, it was able to set 15-20 people into a blaze on a row! But the Fire somehow isn''t hot enough to completely melt the Iron, it left a few pre melted pieces of hot heavy Iron per individual on the ground as it shifted towards the second wave of Victims who saw their chances and chose to run once the Fire was too close. So did the first wave of Soldiers, but Fire caught on to them.


    You can''t swing a Sword against fire and hope to win after all. Claiming his first victims with this attack, King Michael felt that the Fire to his disposal was shortened from the front a couple of meters and half a meter from each side too. If precisely calculated, it would measure as a 15% shrink. So this means that 45% of that huge blaze of Fire is already gone with roughly 20 Victims claimed, this isn''t going according to plan.


    The bad thing about connecting with Fire is that, he can only shrink and choose which way the Fire can go, he can''t expand unless there is a continuously providing source of Fire! Like that he would be invincible but at this case he has no Source of Fire to drag power from. If he doesn''t return to his Human form in time, he can accidentally erase himself out of existence. Not a badass way to die? I think.


    On the second row of enemies, he managed to kill only around 15-18 men now since the wave is only 9 meters wide! And this time it was even less hot! It killed each enemy without discrimination but there was still some bones left on them, Skulls more commonly. This idea might not have been the best but it is sure a contribute. It is different to have around 100 men erased in an enemy Army, it helps fight off the invasion. Pameres Kingdom doesn''t have enough Guards after all.


    Once the second row was done for, the wave of Fire was only 7 and a half meters wide! So it only managed to claim roughly 13 lives in this row, one became heavily injured, half of his body burned. With medical attention scarce throughout Ignis, his fate is certain. He won''t make it for an hour!


    The Fire suppressed to 6 and a half meters wide after the third round of kills and its victim rate just kept getting lower and lower by the passing row. A few more rounds later, the victim count reached a bit above a hundred! A lot of men were left alive, with 10-40% of their bodies burned! Their chances of survival are below 0, and the screams didn''t make it easier on the ears. A large contribution to this battle but a big risk for him no doubt.


    Before the Fire shrunk to an irreversible size, he dashed towards the sky and felt a few arrows going through him once the Soldiers stopped panicking and knew for sure that they won''t get killed, at least for now. Luckily, you can''t harm Fire with Iron unless the Fire is attacking you.


    Once he flew about 500 meters high, he started returning to his normal Human shape since he found his surroundings safe. This blaze ended exactly the way it started, from his hands towards the rest of his body after in the most elegant and controlled manner possible.


    This is the purest form of badassery no doubt, but under what cost? Once he shaped back into a Human, he noticed the amount of Stamina he lost. Bad enough, he was falling down, but slowly! The last bit of Fire he has is keeping him above the ground enough to not turn into a pancake out of collision with what''s underneath him.


    He kept falling until about 300 meters of travel, he finally met the ground. With his stamina almost completely depleted, the most he could do is walk slowly and try not to lose orientation to the point of falling down on the ground.


    The worst part is, he didn''t yet outrun (Or outfly.) the Army behind him. Taking his chances into consideration and accepting his fate, he stopped and sat down, facing the Army. He formed into a mediating pose and closed his eyes, waiting for his destiny. He has done more than a big Contribute to Pameres and Gaster Kingdom, he can die with ease knowing that he fought for good. He is comfortable with the allies he made to run Gaster Kingdom after he meets his end here.


    The Army was around 30 meters away, they were running towards him with all of their might in aims to completely slaughter King Michael and dismantle him after until his remains are perfect food for predators. He killed so many Soldiers already so the entire Army is filled with rage.


    But lucky for him, before he was about to receive his foul fate. A little kid flew buy and decided what his fate is going to be, decided to grant him quite a good one as well. He granted King Michael, Survival.


    Coming from behind, he lifted King Michael and flew just a few inches above the Soldier''s heads and saw arrows and spears chasing after him. Luckily, he was fast enough to outfly those Weapons and ammunition just when an Arrow tickled his foot.


    "Eric? You saved me? Thank you!" Showed King Michael gratitude once he wasn''t drowsy enough to notice that he is flying again.


    "Yes. It would of been a lot easier if you weren''t sitting though." Let out Eric a little complain but had aims to lift the mood instead as he flew at least 400 meters towards the sky before he shifted his direction towards the Kingdom.

 Chapter 206 - Raining Arrows!

    Carrying King Michael through the sky, they finally reached the Kingdom walls. Eric''s arms have become quite sore from all of this carrying, he is just 5 feet tall after all with barely any arm muscle on him. He can''t easily lift an 80 Kilogram man and prescribe it as a light task after. The extra fish meat has been proving quite handy for King Michael at least, I suppose. Maybe because he doesn''t put in much manual labour? A bad choice too because he needs the Stamina for his powers and adding body weight just won''t cut it, well at least it isn''t greatly overdone.


    "How is Mogranius doing?" Asked King Michael once he struggled a bit to stand on his own two feet, using the side supports of the walls as an aid to stand up and not giving any public concern about his own current drowsy condition, putting everyone else first. "Are the wounds too bad?"


    "Well... he isn''t in a good condition but he won''t die from his wounds." Stated King Zar as he tiptoed and handed King Michael the scarf he was entrusted to keep safe for a little while. King Michael wouldn''t hear the end of it if he lost or burned the scarf. "All of your contributes in battle will be awarded, if we survive this that is!" Showed King Zar gratitude, but he wasn''t feeling sure that Pameres Kingdom will actually win. If a kid had to save a Grand Master, than this proves how severe this situation is.


    "How are the odds now? Have any of the Platoons arrived?" Asked King Michael as he grabbed the white wool scarf and carefully placed it around his neck, its warmth was quite comforting and it helped him avoid the pitty everyone is giving them. As for Stamina, he will need hours to recharge. He has done his part in battle, the best he can do now is cross his fingers and hope for the better. "I hope you say yes."


    With a half smile and a lot of nervousness, King Zar stopped his back and forth walking and answered. "Well the good news is, your Kingdom''s Platoon arrived."


    Sensing that the rest didn''t arrive, King Michael asked to confirm. "And the bad news?" However he is happy that at least his platoon arrived, now the chances of success are 80 men higher.


    "The bad news is, the Platoon from BaleTown didn''t yet arrive. So we are to face this Army with 280 men!" A bit hesitant to ask the following question, King Zar continued with his throat feeling heavy. "I hope you dealt enough damage to the Army?! It must of been hard!"


    "I think we managed to kill at least 200 together. And judging from the damage Mogranius and Eric did a few days ago, I think we will only need to deal with 300 Soldiers if there were really just around 600 in total!" At such an explanation, King Zar felt quite relieved and sighed with a lot of satisfaction! If a man who was able to see the Army eye to eye has hopes of Victory, then the rest should too!


    "Plus we have Eric." Added King Zar, trying to relive his own anxiety furthermore, his voice went through a monotone. He kept yelling even though he didn''t intend to do so. This entire attempted invasion has forced him to lose sleep for days at a time ever since he found out. "We might have a chance against this Army!" He finished it off with his deep voice forced into a high pitch.


    A moment later, they saw Grandmaster Woldemir leading his entire Platoon of 80 men! Marching down right in front of the wall in a neat, elegant manner with his Sword drawing a line against the ground since it literally is 2 meters long (Handle included.). The Platoons were split in 4 parts, holding around 20 men each!


    Once they reached their desired position in the battle field, a couple of meters in front of them, stood Woldemir and the three Calidum Lutum. They are considered the most powerful men of the Platoon even though one of the Calidum Lutum is just a Warrior (Level 2) in Swordsmanship! High level or not, his natural strength is bigger compared to an ill.u.s.tratian or Ignite. They will be the first to slice an enemy Soldier!


    King Michael also noticed that a lot of Archers already are on the wall, there must be at least 50 of them! They can sure deal damage before the Army even properly arrives to the battle field. Even a low level Archer can shoot an arrow around 100 meters far with promised minor to big damage.


    As for the Swordsmen, they were all on the battlefield already, waiting to spring into battle. They knew the odds, but are still highly motivated for battle. They have seen the Kingdom progress with their own eyes, most have family members outside of the Army who were provided a good job therefore granting individual houses better financial statuses. They want to protect what they worked so hard on building so far! If they lose this battle, they can kiss months of work goodbye just because of ego led bastards!


    The Swordsmen were split into 3 portions, the first was about 10 meters forward from the second and the second was 10 meters in front of the third. All of them were equipped with Bows as a ranged weapon they can use before they pull their Swords out and engage into close Combat. There are 150 men after all, if half of them or at least ? of them manage to land a hit, it can make the difference between failure and victory here. If these Swordsmen all die, the Archers on the walls are their last line of defense and of course Eric too.


    Waiting for the opposing Army became a hassle, each passing second became like an hour and although some felt ready to battle, others feared failure because the enemy Army is rumoured bigger than what they can oppose!


    Finally, the opposing Army arose above the cliff. They weren''t casually walking down either! They were running, running in boiling rage because they''ve lost so many Soldiers already and were carrying splitting headaches because of the food lacks. The last Soldiers King Michael killed, left a very disgusting and smelly scene. That just fueled the Army to destroy their enemies, oddly it didn''t demotivate them. Maybe that''s another explanation to their Continental dominance, but of course Ignites are quite ambitious too!


    The Army is nearly 400 meters away, so the two Guard Commanders of Pameres Kingdom took control of their Guards, shouting. "Bows ready!"


    When the opposing Army reached in closer, around 300 meters. The Guard Commanders yelled, "Pull back your arrows!" The Two Platoons of course did so in a blink of an eye. You might wonder why the two Guard Commanders are down there instead of having one up on the walls to deal with the 50 Archers. Well, a lot of smart individuals are already up there and they need every available Guard or Guard Commander on the battlefield.


    When the Army seem to have passed the 200 meter mark, one Guard Commander yelled out the first command of offense. "First patch, Fire!" With great discipline and a form of elegance, the Archers aimed towards the sky and obeyed the command.


    The 50 arrows reached towards the sky for about 150 meters and than started pre narrowly making their way towards the enemy Soldiers! As if a bit too late, more than half of the arrows didn''t reach the Army and hit the ground instead. But those who did, either shot Soldiers dead or penetrated their shoulders. Penetrating backs was a bit more difficult but not impossible.


    Although impossible to know the exact number of kills, they did see a few men fall down which forced many others to trip. This is off to a good start even though a lot of Arrows didn''t hit anyone. Furthermore, this is good information. The second Guard Commander took charge with a shout. "First patch and second patch! Arrows up, same position!" The first shot didn''t manage to kill a lot of people but now since the enemy Army closed in for almost 50 meters, most of the Arrows won''t go to waste.


    The second round was shot, and as estimated it dealt more damage. Some of the Arrows managed to slip through and hit the ground, but most didn''t. They either landed on Iron Helmets which through half of the times caused at least an inch of penetration due to the speed the Arrow gained upon travelling down.


    The ones that got hit on the shoulders had their skin a lot easier  penetrated and the Cavalry Knights suffered a bit of damage too. Some got knocked off their Horses when they got hit, or thrown by their Horses once they (The Horses.) got shot by an Arrow. Of course the Guards didn''t mean to shoot any Horses, you can''t control where an Arrow will exactly land with moving targets around.


    Seeing that the Army faced a minor setback due to all the tripping and Horses panicking, a Guard Commander signaled. "Patch 3 along with the rest, Fire!" While the other Guard Commander waved his hand for the Archers on the walls to shoot.


    200 Arrows flew narrowly upwards the sky, a beautiful sight indeed (At least for the Guards standing with Pameres Kingdom.) but for the enemies, it got their stomachs into a tangle with nervousness and fear.


    ? of the arrows managed to hit an enemy, and ? of them caused light to strong skin penetrations. As far as the two Platoon Guard Commanders are concerned, it immobilized at least 50 men and slowed down many others.


    "Men! Swords High!"

 Chapter 207 - Close Combat madmen.

    With the enemy Army approaching closer and closer to the Kingdom, every Guard on the battlefield pulled out their Sword and were ready for battle! Woldemir was the first one to take a swing against the enemies! His amazingly thin Sword made its way through a Soldiers arm (Which was covered with Iron Armour.). After cutting clean through the enemy''s arm it sliced against his torso but it only managed to sink in around 5 inches deep in the skin.


    It would be a bit more interesting if he slit a man in half, but this move provides inevitable death as well. He managed to to slice through Armour and sink in 5 inches deep without even stabbing! If he stabbed it would kill a Soldier no doubt, but it would take a lot more time to pull the Sword out. Wasting time is not advisable in such a battle where quantity isn''t by his side.


    He took a few steps back and pulled his 2 meter long Sword along with him using all of his might, which dealt a lot more damage as an aftermath. The Soldier''s rib is surely cut, he lost his arm and he sprayed 2 other men with blood. His fate is certain, death. "My arm! I can''t feel my arm!" The Soldier screamed in pain as he fell on the ground, trying to hold his wound with his other arm but it just wasn''t possible, he felt like as if he had reached some sort of paralyzation due to pain.


    Seeing their brother in war fall down so quickly with a terrible aftermath, the Soldiers close by swung their Sword trying to hit Woldemir from three sides (Left, forward and right.) but were forced to choose a different path! The 3 Calidum Lutum Guards nailed their own Swords to the ground which stopped each hit around their teacher.


    The tallest of the three, and fairly the best fighter of them too, lifted his Sword and pointed it forwards. Yelling out much like a beast before he started running towards the Soldiers and started stabbing one after the other with his 3 meter long Sword! Yes 3 meters, he can for sure use it without self casualties.


    Of course, a 3 meter Sword can only fit so many men in a row, so when there wasn''t any more space he, first kept pushing forwards until he found it reasonable to stop, knocked down and ran over around 4 men which broke a few bones no doubt, necks too! And he nailed the Sword full of Victims to the ground, putting himself through a large leap.


    How high can a Calidum Lutum jump? Well after pulling his Sword away from the Victims as a process of leaping, he jumped nearly 5 meters high and slashed his sword against 3 men once he finally met with the ground again, slitting their heads completely in half and part of their chests too!


    This proves how fearless one of these fellas is, they are fighting against an Army but don''t fear getting in the middle of it and risk blind spots. Yet again, there are few who would charge against a 10 foot tall opponent instead of a 6 foot tall one. Plus the three are wearing Iron Armor, not to mention their natural rough skin which makes an arrow shot feel like nothing but a light scratch, it isn''t certain about a Sword cut or stab though, especially against an ill.u.s.tratio or Ignite.


    The moment when the strongest of the three claimed his first victim, another 9 foot tall Calidum Lutum raised his Sword from the ground and head butted a ill.u.s.tratian enemy. The head bump crushed the enemy''s skull even though they were both wearing helmets, tremendous durability for one human being (The Calidum Lutum.).


    It tossed him against the crowd behind him and ended up forcing several men to trip which granted a bit more time for a different bolder move. Grabbing his 2 meter long sword throughout the process of head butting that man, he pulled it from his left side and swung it horizontally resulting to numerous vicious slaughter.


    Since he is taller, the swing necessarily led to a few heads being cut off clean and those who got hit on the shoulders were knocked against the ground without the capability to feel their arm, their fate is certain in this crowd of soldiers running around like Wildboars.


    Once he took that first swing accompanied by the head butt, to buy more time he tossed his Sword forwards against anyone in front. It pushed through one head, than the other and slowed down to the third, only penetrating a couple of inches through the fourth, but it is still as effective. A two inch head penetration can reach one''s brain.


    Why would he need to buy himself individually more time you might ask and why did he toss his Sword away? That''s a dumb move right? Naturally it would be, but he pulled out his secondary weapon. The one that Woldemir approved upon for such a situation, Swords are preferred in battle because they are light, fast and sharp! They are the definition of perfection and the primary weapon in any battle here in Ignis.


    But what about Warhammers? The 9 foot tall Calidum Lutum pulled out his Warhammer held with a strap behind his back. The Hammer''s tail is 3 meters long and as thick as an arm! As for the Heavy Hammer part, it is a couple of feet long, a foot wide and weighs 20 Kilograms! This is a special weapon made by the one and only insanely talented Blacksmith in the underground town of Lan Zhe.


    What''s special about Warhammers made in Lan Zhe, is that one doesn''t need to use the handle in order to cause an Earthquake. The enchantment is all on the heavy portion of the hammer, so someone''s about to shake the ground.


    Dumb enough, a Soldier charged against him and tried to cut this 9 foot tall Guard''s leg. It is interesting how brave these Soldiers are even after considering the circ.u.mstances but dumb bravery isn''t enough. Using the Warhammer''s tail, he disarmed that Guard tried to hit him. After disarming the Soldier, he used the tail to hit the enemy on his head to the point of knocking him off of his feet, that wasn''t necessarily hard. Afterwards he executed the Warhammer''s signature move, the head smasher.


    Lifting his Warhammer as high as possible and slashing it downwards wind breakingly fast, the Warhammer didn''t just crush the Soldiers head but it buried it in the ground. And when the Iron hits the ground, the shake follows.


    A lot of men were forced off of their feet because the Earthquake is just too violent, even the Guards that stood in unity with Pameres Kingdom had it hard to stand tall. The quake has no faction after all, it knocks people down without descrimination. Woldemir was smart and swift enough to make a light jump once the Warhammer hit the ground, therefore he is still on his feet and managed to slaughter the enemy Soldiers who were knocked down. Everything has to be used to his advantage at this battle where the quantities have a large gap.


    The weakest of the 3 Calidum Lutum Guards didn''t prove so weak once he started running through the Guards who were knocked down due to the sudden earthquake, at least half of his victims weren''t to stand up again, their damages are too strong and they need all the possible strength to oppose the pain, causing a lot of fatigue. As for the ones who were about to stand up, they were slashed in half. Well at least their heads were cut off!


    The entire described battle moves from the three Calidum Lutum and Woldemir too, happened in a matter of seconds even though the description became extensive. They did a lot of damage but the rest of the opposing Army is still charging against the rest of the Guards too, they aren''t all focusing on 4 men.


    The most dangerous of the enemy attacks, became arrows raining from the sky against Pameres Kingdom''s Platoons. Some were smart enough to put their Swords over their heads and hope it doesn''t hit it, but the rest weren''t as lucky. The arrows were tens and it shot down at least 20 Guards too, it can''t be sure if they are dead or not but it is certain that the opposing Army accidentally shot their brothers in war too, a risk of pulling back an arrow when the Close combat men have already slashed against the enemy.


    To enhance Pameres Kingdom''s chances of success, a Fireball seemingly 5 foot wide crossed above everyone''s head and reached further for the back of the Army. That way at least, he is sure that he won''t hit any of his own.


    King Michael saw it as a good idea, seeing that King Zar is already too nervous he decided to take charge even though he can''t properly stand on his own two feet yet. "Shoot as far as you can, we need to shoot down as many people as possible!"

 Chapter 208 - The Sacrifices of War!

    Following the Command, the Archers shot right away even though King Zar isn''t the one who shouted the order. They didn''t hesitate to execute the task nor did they plan on disagreeing, King Michael is the man who was ready to face death for the sake of protecting this Kingdom and the two domains it is supporting, his word isn''t to be taken as a joke and King Zar for sure didn''t prove troublesome, he even liked the idea.


    Although such an attack can cause a lot of damage, the enemy Army isn''t completely dumb nor frozen in fear to the point of being target practice.


    A new wave of arrows reached for the sky and then towards their targets. Although the first round caused an uncertain number of deaths, this time the story is different. 15 men are dead due to the arrow attack, they were either shot on the face, neck or faced a head penetration. Unfortunately, the victims weren''t anyone from the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance. Pameres Kingdom''s Platoons are the Victims! That''s the sacrifice of war after all, you can''t always win or escape without losses.


    But the battle goes on, King Michael did notice those men being killed already that''s why he yelled an order once again. "Don''t cease Fire, keep shooting at the same direction! If you are certain that you spot an Archer, try your best to shoot him down!"


    Afterwards with the little power he had, King Michael walked his way towards King Zar and tried to pull him back towards the other edge of the wall. "You shouldn''t be here, exposed to arrows. The Kingdom needs their King to be alive after we win this Battle!"


    Convinced partially about Victory but mostly trying to make King Michael sit, King Zar didn''t hesitate too much and aided him to walk. "You really think we have a chance of victory? These are a lot more than 300 Soldiers, or at least where."


    Drowsy enough to not notice that fact so far, King Michael at least had a valuable explanation. "I think Eric miscalculated the size of the Army, they were a lot more than 600!" Trying hard to take a peek at the battle field behind King Zar, he added with as much seriousness as a deadly tired man can have. "If we are lucky enough, this should be the entire Army. Pray to the Source of Fire or whatever you believe in that there isn''t a second round of Soldiers."


    While on the battlefield, the enemy Soldiers have broken a huge close combat battle against Woldemir''s Platoon, for a moment it seemed like most of the Army is charging at them. The waves of Soldiers did not stop coming! Kill one, another appeared! Kill 10 more, 15 more rushed into battle! A huge hassle. Possibly because the four most powerful men of this Platoon attracted a lot of Soldiers, seeing this small group as the strongest they chose to execute them first.


    Close combat is proven deadly and on this day it was proven once more, half of Woldemirs Platoon is gone! Dead! Nothing can undo life loss! As much as it pains me, they didn''t make it. As for the Calidum Lutum and Woldemir, they were still deep in battle slashing and smashing against as many enemies as humanly possible.


    Losing nearly 100 men so far might sound bad enough, it is over ? of the current available Guards! But the kill spree didn''t stop there! Arrows flew once more towards the sky and the enemy Archers had no intent of hitting the ground, they were targeting the Archers on the walls who proved more than troublesome to this ill.u.s.trarian Army.


    An Arrow broke near King Michael''s feet and a Guard fell after it too! It was clear that he was shot in the head with a penetration of at least 3 inches deep, apparently it was enough to kill the man! They can''t do anything to help this Guard with foul luck.


    It was a disturbing scene without thinking twice, after this day King Michael became quite used of slaughter. An arrow on a man''s head was nothing but a mildly disturbing scene, but it hurt more since this Guard died trying to protect his own Kingdom. He wasn''t the only one, 10 more Guards were shot dead and 5 others were injured, 3 of which have fatal injuries.


    "Shit!" Whispered King Michael and took a more analyzed glance around to see if Eric is shot or at least still Alive, this shower of arrows ended up as very impactful and they don''t seem to stop with one round. "We need to get you down from here. It isn''t safe!" Urged King Michael, trying to drag King Zar off of these walls but he is just as powerful as a newborn Deer at this very moment, he can''t walk properly. So he almost fell down from the wall!


    "Forget me, we need to get you down from here. We can''t loose a Grand Master!" Little did they know, while King Zar was accompanying King Michael down the Stone Stairs, some Guards from the two Pameres Kingdom Platoons already sneaked their way around the battling men and caught the Archers off Guard.


    The enemy Archers used to be around a Hundred when they reached the Kingdom but now their numbers dropped around 60! That''s still a large number compared to the 10 Guards who managed to sneak around them and slay 10 of them before the rest noticed.


    Once the rest of the Archers acknowledged that these slick enemies are close, 2 Guards from Pameres Kingdom ended up with several Arrows from their head to their chest and even as low as their knees while the remaining Guards took the opportunity to strike while the Archers were reloading.


    5 more Archers were slayed before 3 more Guards were shot dead! These Guards are working against all odds and are partially succeeding, even if their success led to their own death. They gladly sacrificed themselves for Pameres Kingdom, died in battle with glory and pride knowing and feeling it with their heart that they fought for the right Domain.


    On the other side of the Archers, the strongest Calidum Lutum started slicing through once he noticed how much of an impact these Archers are causing in this battle. Fighting an enemy through close combat is hard enough, but having to deal with unpredictable arrows too? It''s a big hassle.


    The remaining Archers shot one last time against the wall, and now since their numbers are lower, they only managed to kill around 4 Archers on the wall while 5 others were just lightly injured, not enough to stop fighting though.


    It is fair to say that all of the Guards that stand with Pameres Kingdom, don''t have to worry about arrows anymore throughout this battle, their odds of winning are still slim though. The 10 foot tall Calidum Lutum killed each and every Archer even though his torso was covered with one inch deep arrows! There has to be at least 20 arrows on him! How much can one man take before collapsing out of pain?! We get that he has rough skin but, isn''t this overdone? Good enough, out of 10 from those Guards who managed to attack the Archers, ended up with only 2 more remained. Obviously the lost lives will be missed, but there is no time to feel sad now.


    The strongest Calidum Lutum was sure under a lot of pain but he showed no sign of stopping, no sign of victims but quantities can prove dangerous. Once he killed all of the Archers, he continued to attack the Swordsmen from blindspots, commonly hitting two men at once. And with every successful swing, he swiftly pulled an arrow out of his body since the arrow tails slowed down his swings.


    Every hero however can meet a foul end, he was a bit cloudy minded to the point of not paying attention to his surroundings. While he was slaughtering some men from the side, more men surrounded him from all sides and struck many blind blows. Primarily hitting behind the knees until they managed to completely cut through! They cut his leg off!


    Howling in pain, the 10 foot tall Guard fell to the ground and received his fate. Tens of swings were already thrown against him once he hit the ground, he faced a horrible painful death but he died as nothing less but a Battle Hero. Such a kill however, raised the ego of these foul ill.u.s.tratios, they will boast about killing such a beast if they make it out of here alive.


    Woldemir''s Platoon lost 50 Guards so far and their losses wouldn''t stop there, Pameres Kingdom''s Platoons lost 100 men on the battlefield and 15 more Archers were killed on the walls. This only points out one thing, there are around 80 men left and nearly half of them were on the walls!


    As for the ill.u.s.tratian Army, there are nearly 200 of them still alive! At this rate, Pameres Kingdom has a slight chance of victory but all the Guards will die unless they retreat in the Kingdom, we don''t see that happening.


    Out of a sudden, it seems like their fate changed! Louder screams were heard from the back of the Army as if a Source Bear attacked from behind and was chewing through its Victim!

 Chapter 209 - Victory isnt cheap.

    The screams kept getting louder and louder by the passing second, Eric already noticed what the source of it is, but King Zar didn''t. So after asking a house closest to the wall to take King Michael in and let him rest, he himself dashed towards the walls and took a peek at the situation to figure out what''s going on.


    For King Michael, the Kingdom''s hospitality is quite heart warming. He was practically carried by an ill.u.s.tratio (King Zar) and left in a family full of ill.u.s.tratios who accepted him in there without causing any form of disagreement. The first reason for their acceptance is that King Zar asked them for such a favour, the second reason is that this family has put racial differences behind this past month at least, they are more open minded and it sure opened them more doors in light. King Michael felt honoured even though he is partially asleep. Progress is amazing even though if it comes late.


    Getting back to the battlefield... When King Zar took a peek at the situation, he only saw black shades dashing against this ill.u.s.tratian Army as if Angels fell from the sky and aided Pameres Kingdom''s beliefs. He wasn''t sure what''s happening even after taking a few seconds to figure out what''s going on, because this scene is happening nearly 100 meters away. So he shook Eric''s shoulder, and asked with knots tied in his stomach due to all of this overwhelming nervousness. "What''s happening down there? I heard the screams of fear all the way from inside a house nearby!" Eric even stopped shooting Fireballs and was watching the scene, which didn''t help King Zar feel any better about this whole new situation.


    Turning around with a wide relieved smile on his face, Eric explained in a low tone but not low enough for his words to escape unheard. "My Platoon arrived!" Afterwards he removed his hands from the wall he was settling them on, took a few steps back and blew Fire out of his feet, rising towards the sky and joining the battlefield!


    Nervous enough, King Zar didn''t understand that answer. It didn''t make it better how Eric flew in battle and left him tremendously confused either. Taking another look at the battlefield, he was able to see a large man jump from the looks of it, around 10 meters high in the sky! "What the hell was that!" Yelled King Zar in confusion and took a peek at another Archer here on the walls, asking for an explanation.


    "Sire. I think that''s the rest of King Michael''s Platoon!" Well this made it a hell lot more confusing, because King Michael mentioned no second Platoon!


    "King Michael doesn''t have a second Platoon, all of the Guards are or at least were already in battle!" Wanted King Zar to yell but instead he whispered to himself trying to fight all of this pressure. The last time he felt this nervous, was when he first arrived here in Pameres Kingdom 10 years ago. So one piece of advise scrolled through his mind thanks to that day, he remembers his personal assistant Seer saying. "If you feel uncontrollably nervous, just start breathing deep in and let it out slowly." Often it helped!


    Thankfully, throughout this madness King Zar could find the nerves to start breathing, he isn''t at the battle field after all. Able to think a bit more clearly now, he took another look at the sudden shift in the battle. He saw around 10 more men jumping high in the sky almost all at the same time, their jump height varied from around 7 to 11 meters and the Weapons they were carrying reflected the sun beams, one of which reached King Zar''s eye and flashed him to the point of knowing for sure what''s going on in a matter of seconds.


    He gave it another thought, before Eric flew off he explained shortly. "My Platoon arrived." And the Guard here on the walls, told. "The rest of King Michael''s Platoon arrived." The Guard might have explained it that way because he saw these tall people as a part of King Michael''s Platoon even though there used to be only 3 of them, so he automatically assumed that King Michael managed to recruit a lot more of these people for this battle exclusively. He has no clue that the underground town of Lan Zhe exists, Eric urged for King Zar to not be so revealing about such information.


    The second reason that now made sense once merged with the other, was the fact that Eric called this. "My Platoon." King Zar remembered that Eric is a King as well even though he doesn''t quite mention it too often, maybe because he was taught to be humble? The fact was made clear, the Calidum Lutum Platoon arrived.


    But they weren''t covered in heavy Armor so their speed and agility made it appear as if black shades flew across the sky and slaughtered those who dared to challenge Pameres Kingdom.


    Quite frankly, the battle took a big turn. These people although without Armour, they managed to slice through their enemies with little effort. King Zar figured that they aren''t wearing armour because it is heavy enough to slow down their travelling speed. I mean, they are already late enough. A lot of the Platoons are dead! So that fact wasn''t hard to figure out after giving it some thought.


    Throughout some slicing and slashing, the tides of battle were turned to Pameres Kingdom''s favour. The 200 remaining enemy Soldiers on the battlefield, were forced to a result of only 50 of them remaining. As for these tall powerful men, they show no sign of stopping and little sign of weakness.


    Even though clearly armourless, after slaying 150 ill.u.s.tratian Soldiers, 40 newly arrived Calidum Lutum men remained on the battlefield! However, 12 lost their lives! They will be remembered as heroes and their sacrifice is well respected. Their contribute against the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance is tremendous, now King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll is weaker than he ever was, Soldier count-wise.


    To make it even more encouraging, the 50 remaining Soldiers were making a run for it once they took a glance at the circ.u.mstances around them. It was quite hard to run away though since there are only a couple of Horses to their disposal, most Cavalry Knights were killed and their Horses had no intent of staying in the battle field, they made a run for it across the Clear Lands.


    The Soldiers who managed to run away the furthest, had a better chance of escape of course but there is still the chance of death! Who can actually outrun a Calidum Lutum? As for those who were last in line to escape, they were quick to lose their heads.


    With now 30 more Soldiers slayed, and 20 running far enough to escape the Calidum Lutum Guard''s sight. The battle is quite over and the winners are clear to see, Pameres Kingdom is victorious thanks to this sudden shift of battle. Otherwise, they would be sure to lose!


    Being able to notice that a lot of men ran away, Woldemir who seems to be quite alive, a Survivor. Yelled at Eric, pointing him towards the way the Soldiers ran away. To be more precise, towards Bale Towns direction or roadway.


    Eric flew right after and although Woldemir has no idea how to speak the Calidum Lutum Language, he used every hand and foot gesture humanly possible to make the Guards chase after Eric. With a man in the sky and a lot more on the ground, these escaping Soldiers won''t make it far. Dealing with 40 Calidum Lutum isn''t an easy task, lets not forget the two other men who share the same race, those who are officially from the Platoon of Gaster Kingdom. Isabel was the quickest to pick up this sign and shouted for everyone to follow her.


    The moment when all of these Guards left, Woldemir walked closeby to one of the dead Calidum Lutum Guards and witnessed the horrible scene. He doesn''t seem to be missing any body parts in particular but for sure received a lot of hits due to the lack of Armour, there is only so much one man can take.


    As Woldemir approached the Guard to close his eyes as a form of respecting the man''s sacrifice, he noticed something he didn''t expect as an aftermath of this battle. He took a glance at the man''s chest and noticed that his heart is torn out. What maniac would bother to cut a heart out in between a battle of such severity? If it is an action of any of the Soldiers that are fleeing, it won''t matter if they took the heart. They will die soon anyway.


    Eric followed the Soldiers and managed to pick up on their trail since they couldn''t have made it too far with heavy Armour on, a tiresome battle they went through, furthermore they are on foot. To his small surprise, he found out that the fleeing Soldiers have met with the Platoon of 125 Guards coming from BaleTown.


    This battle was quick, the Platoon was able to grab a hold of them until Eric struck from behind and torched a good portion of them. Throughout the chaos and panic, the Calidum Lutum Guards arrived and finished off the rest of their enemies.


    Luckily, the Platoon of Bale Town along with the others of this triangle of Kingdoms are wearing different Armours, otherwise it would be really bad. Isabel gave them a few pointers of who to kill and who not too and luckily they faced this slaughter with no losses but minor injuries instead. The Platoon of BaleTown arrived with 125 Guards and still has all of them.

 Chapter 210 - Comforting meals.

    This battle has officially ended, the Victim rate on both sides is large and this was a terrible day for everyone, even for the Winners. They won but at what cost? They lost most of the two Platoons here in Pameres Kingdom and Gaster Kingdom''s Platoon is only left with 30 Guards. 50 of them had a terrible fate! They all are dead, while the ones alive have quite some injuries too.


    The good news out of all of this, is that the Houses out of the wall''s protection aren''t damaged. Its residents were all crammed up in other houses for the moment but it seemed quite unnecessary since they are on the Kingdom''s left side, specifically near the road to BaleTown. It would be terrible on another level if Pameres Kingdom lost all of those Guards plus random Civilians. It would be a considerable shift on the economy.


    The losses great no doubt, but at least King Zar''s revolution still stands on its own two feet. Weak and damaged defense-wise but it still stands! This loss however taught King Zar a valuable lesson, he can''t rely on Soldier Count primarily to protect Pameres Kingdom, especially with under population as a big issue throughout all the Countries of Ignis at the moment, even at Meridionali Ignis thanks to the Snow Ignites. So after they won this battle, the survivors were invited for a midday feast.


    Before the feast started, King Zar approached his personal assistant Seer and ordered him. "Write a letter that we will send to the Zamerians upon the next delivery."


    Surprised a bit but also lacking focus because he is trying to lend a hand with the feast preparation, he didn''t want to start writing right now so he hoped he could remember this message word by word. "I suspect that it is related with today''s event?" What else could there be?


    "Yes. Pameres Kingdom didn''t have enough Soldiers to deal with this mess and won''t have them for a long while after it too! We can''t rely on the Soldier count primarily, we need Weapons here which pack a stronger punch." At this point, King Zar is referring to ranged weapons. He was able to see for himself how much of an impact arrows made in this horrible battle. If it wasn''t for the 200 Archers, the Platoons would be dead a lot sooner than this and the Calidum Lutum would face a lot more losses too.


    "What do you have in mind Sire? Do you mean those crossbows things?" Crossbows are a late discovery, they aren''t yet so common in other domains but they are sure more effective than bows for various reasons. "I don''t think they will come cheap."


    "Forget about Gold, we have 300,000 Gold Coins in the royal treasury room! We can spare to buy some Weapons." Replied King Zar feeling a bit annoyed by such a point of view. So many men died today trying to protect their Kingdom, their families. This is not a time to be savvy with Gold. But King Zar remained calm and thought about the bright sides of this battle. The ill.u.s.tratian Alliance is weaker than it ever was ever since its Continental Victory. "And I''m not talking about Crossbows, I''m talking about Catapults and Ballistas!"


    Urging to point out how expensive they are, but hesitating to do so since King Zar doesn''t look so kindly upon it. He went towards another direction with this conversation. "Those are indeed very powerful, but we will need officials to show us how to use them. Those weapons are a bit complex and can be dangerous if the Guards use them without having a hint of what they are doing." And he has a strong point, a shot from a Catapult can destroy houses and a shot from a Ballista isn''t light either.


    "You are correct, let the letter include that part. Request a couple of well trained men who can teach the Guards or at least one man who can teach both of these battle crafts." Getting to the most important part yet, he gave it a little thought at first. Catapults for example, require more men so he can''t make a mass order for them since he lacks Guards here. The Kingdom doesn''t have too many men! As for Ballistas, they only require two men or women to operate it successfully. Using these weapons isn''t gender specific, it just requires agile individuals who have strength to push as well! Which might make buffing up the defenses a lot easier. "Order 10 Catapults and 30 Ballistas!"


    Seeing that Seer is itching to know more about the prices, way of payment and the total sum too but refusing to say anything about it. King Zar decided to scratch his itch. Well not literally (Thank the Sources.). But by word he stated. "As for the prices, let it be how it is. Discounts aren''t necessary but appreciated, we will pay it all in one sum on the next delivery or split it in two or more parts if its too much for our economy to handle with one shot. I''m sure they wouldn''t mind. " Giving out a stressful sigh. He also added some slightly different thoughts. "As much as I would love for Pameres Kingdom to mass produce these glorious Weapons, we don''t have the technology. All we can do, is make the ammunition so order only a few of those so we can use as an example. Maybe just order a couple full sets of ammunition in total or however it goes."


    After clearing out that order, an hour after it the feast was ready. Although the Platoons lost many men, it was still hard to fit these living Guards all in this Castle for a feast. So some table cloths were set on the floor with various expensive food over them. No one minded the fact that they have to sit on the floor, there is no shame in it. Before the feast started, King Zar had to say a few words about all of these losses. He had quite a lot of sympathy and planned no scolding either.


    "Men. Friends! Brave Calidum Lutum ladies. I''m not sure how much you can understand me. But my point is, today we achieved glorious Victory but lost a lot of brave Guards too. The families of the brave heroes who died in battle, will be provided with free food and lumber for a year, longer afterwards if anyone in the house is unable to work. As much as I would love to compensate each death with Gold, our Kingdom can''t afford it. As for you brave heroes who managed to survive, you will each receive a 500 Gold Coin Bonus! The Platoon that came from Bale Town will be excluded for such a reward." King Zar has all the rights to exclude them from this reward. They arrived in battle, they had the will to fight but they just arrived too late. They arrived when the battle was practically won and faced no losses. "As for the Calidum Lutum, the survivors will too earn the same reward and a compensation of 10,000 Gold Coins will be sent to your town, Gaster Kingdom too. Of course some of you don''t understand me, but we will prepare everything for you so you don''t have to worry."


    Everyone cheered for King Zar to the point of shaking the Throne room (Which was the most appropriate for holding such a big feast.), even the 125 men who won''t get any reward, were chanting. They have no reason to disagree especially after they took a glance at all of the Guards lost in battle, they are happy to be alive.


    After raising his hand up, asking the Guards to settle down. He pointed out another important piece of information. "The Corpses of our fallen Guards will be honoured with a grave here in the Castle''s Catacombs! They will be remembered as heroes and any family member may go down and visit the Graves, they won''t have any restrictions. Please be sure to spread the word around about this, we will need help identifying the victims too so I hope all of you are willing to lend a hand in the name of your fallen friends and possibly family too."


    Shortly after King Zar finished his speech, a louder chant was heard after. All of these men agree and are more than willing to cooperate, a heartwarming sense of unity and humanity too no doubt! They all appreciated how much King Zar tried to contribute, donate and support. It is rare to find from a King in these troubled times!


    Finally, they all sat down to enjoy this feast. Although it is midday now, it has been tiring and troublesome for everyone without discrimination. Those who didn''t fight in battle that much were at least tired of all the travelling. A nice hot luxurious meal comforts any human being after this much hardship.

 Chapter 211 - Dinner Date

    The feast went well, the Guards broke the silence once they obtained the comfort of food which untangled their built up nerves. They started on and on conversations about the battle half of the times but also about various other topics. Some talked in groups and some grabbed a beer and started strolling around the Throne Room along with a buddy, trying to enjoy this day as much as individually possible. It became less of a feast and more of a low impact party actually, there was only light drinking and a bit of fun games too.


    Most popular of which, was this new fangled fancy game a father saw his children playing. They called it, "Thumb Wars"! Imagine seeing a room filled with tens of buff men battling each other''s thumbs! It became a bit more interesting when some tried it with Gauntlets on, Iron started screeching all over the large room.


    The sound was quite deafening so King Zar requested these men to play with Gauntlets off for the sake of having healthy ears, however he did try the game with a lot of men and found it quite entertaining. Most let him win due to stressing over exaggerated respect, but some proved quite troublesome in such a battle too.


    Apart from Thumb Wars, the men also tested their Arm strength against each other. The game, Arm wrestling. Playing this kind of game however required safety procedures. Because an Arm can be broken considerably common depending on the person, it happened before a load of times. The chances aren''t flat Zero! None however tried to battle Isabel or any other woman from Lan Zhe''s Platoon, it wasn''t because they wanted to respect their space either. Well maybe partially! But they also feared failure, they saw these people in battle.


    Eric though, faced Isabel in a Thumb War. Shocking too, because this game literally requires for two people to hold each other''s hand in mid air. Normally, Isabel would never do any activity which includes holding hands be it either with women and especially men! She doesn''t like it, but Eric is a child after all. Plus with Commander Alia''s recently shown humane support, Isabel has aimed to be more open. She even challenged Mogranius! But since he sustained many injuries in this battle, Isabel let her win. Mogranius thought that he actually won and was quite proud too! He started flying around through the throne room in joy, luckily it didn''t cause any casualties.


    King Michael on the other hand, wanted to test his arm strength for once, but his minor pot belly didn''t show any effectiveness. Luckily King Zar went easy on the guy and let him win a couple of times after King Michael faced 20 losses.


    It was troublesome for the maids to serve these many men, food for example was delayed. It took time to serve everyone! So King Zar used the opportunity to implant some seeds on these men''s minds! The lack of men for various tasks and businesses will be limited especially with the high demand of Guards which will soon strike this Kingdom thanks to recent battle and soon to be upgraded defense features.


    King Zar wants to put a lot of ladies in various jobs, even in the Army! The Kingdom desperately needs Guards and there are now nearly 2,400 people in this Kingdom. Yes there are elderlies and children but there are also many strong capable women who can help strengthen the Kingdom, make it more independable and indomitable than it ever was!


    The problem is, people aren''t used to seeing women work outside of the house unless it is for Farming reasons, without any Farms here except for the recently established Gr.a.p.e Farm, people aren''t used to seeing women out of their houses too much unless they are visiting neighbors or relatives or there is some religious celebration going on.


    So men of the House will likely not let women work a full time job due to soul thought of, "What will people say?". The Tailoring business was far easier to establish but this one will be a lot more different, difficult.


    How did King Zar plant a seed to these people''s mind that a task isn''t limited to one gender? A tricky way no doubt but quite simple too. He ordered... well not ordered, more precisely he asked around 10 Guards to help with the tasks in the Kitchen and 10 others with the task on serving the food.


    Of course, at least half of the Guards he asked had different thoughts about this. They didn''t want to do this to be frank! But they would feel quite embarrassed if they said no! The King is giving them free luxurious food, he is rewarding their bravery with Gold Coins and even is willing to provide the families of the fallen battle heros, with free food and lumber too throughout a year or permanently, based on different circ.u.mstances.


    The men didn''t disagree but gave the Calidum Lutum women of the Platoon a few weird looks, asking themselves why these ladies aren''t working instead. But at this point it was just another part of King Zar''s little master plan. It is amazing how far ahead he can think when he isn''t facing a nervous breakdown like he did a few hours ago.


    Although some men walked like turtles hoping not to spill the dishes, until they got the hang of it at least! With some others proving quite fast, for two reasons primarily. A lot of the men were mocking the 10 who were serving food, until King Zar gave them strong displeased look. The men wanted to finish earlier so there would be less eyes on them. As for the second reason, the ten men who served were quite hungry and couldn''t wait to eat.


    The 10 men in the Kitchen, were put to a task from the head chef! She made them boil potatoes, peel them and place them on bowls! Cooking meat would take a lot more time, so it wasn''t a task that could be done in 10 minutes. Unless the meat was already boiled!


    The Egg delivery from Gaster Kingdom didn''t yet arrive, but King Zar still had a small portion of Eggs because he bought them from travelling merchants who stop by here in Pameres Kingdom. Everyone loves eggs, boiled eggs are delicious. So the head Chef made them boil some, the eggs were given away with King Zar''s approval of course.


    Black Marlin meat was included throughout half of the dishes, the Kingdom can spare a lot of them. Especially for these people who literally risked their lives for this Kingdom, they deserve such luxury. And of course there were many other sorts of food that required preparing and serving, but it would take ages to explain all of them bit by bit. We need to move on to the most important part, since this is the last Chapter of this wonderful Volume.


    Although all these people were enjoying this amazing feast, Seer just took a few bites and made his way out of the Throne Room for another task. For a beginning, he had to get all of those rewards ready! It required a lot of leather sacks but luckily, that''s all of which the Tailoring Business has been making since there isn''t an official order yet.


    Counting to 500 is hard enough, imagine doing it for 200 times! It took most of his day, dusk broke and he still hasn''t all of the rewards ready. He has a bit over 1/3 of them even ready even after Maleesa joined in and helped him for about an hour. The most important part is giving the Gold rewards to the men who will be leaving from here tomorrow, the Guards who take residence here can wait for a few more days, it is no big issue.


    When the Candle in the treasury was close to burning out, Maleesa broke the nerve racking silence. "Guh!! I have no idea how you did this since midday. My head is aching!" Why were they not bursting in conversation until now even after considering the fancy they have towards each other? Well it is because counting until 500 requires concentration!


    "You are supposed to be used to this, you prepare all the salaries." Joked around Seer, trying to irritate Maleesa for all of the good reasons. He enjoys annoying people he fancies or basically just likes.


    "I have a month to do it! And no Salary is 500 Gold Coins!" She slightly yelled, irritated no doubt but mostly because all of the counting. "Besides I''m used to you helping me on your free time oh busy King''s Assistant!" Of course she can let out comments with such aims as well. Quite frankly she just wants his attention, it is why she started this whole conversation.


    "I suppose you will need to return the favour!" Joked around Seer, but was also indirectly asking her for help. He needs all available hands thanks to this recent battle. "We have our work cut out for us these past few days."


    "Oh we worked enough today." Expressed Maleesa trying to escape this task with another aim behind it. To clarify, she is willing to help however she can. "We need a break." Playfully tip toed Maleesa towards Seer after and bowed down, reaching out her hand to drag him out of work. "Will you join me for a drink Sir?"


    "Sir?" Asked Seer with an eyebrow raised, trying to be annoyed but Maleesa was doing quite some adorable acts, he couldn''t be mad. Accepting her invitation, he was dragged out of the Royal Treasury room and was led on the Castle''s second floor.


    A bit confused, he pointed out the obvious. "The Feast is down there." Infact, he could even hear all the commotion down there from men chanting through arm wrestling matches!


    "Just trust me, you are gonna love this!" She picked up her pace with a lot of enthusiasm on her spring, her tone too!


    However, the second floor mostly contains empty bedrooms, there aren''t any more homeless people in the Castle so where he thought that this situation might be leading, made him nothing less than nervous.


    To beat his expectations completely, Maleesa dragged him on a Balcony and the view there is just amazing! They could see a lot of the Kingdom from up here and the sunset too, with the moon rising up it became a lot more beautiful. The only bit of artificial light on this Balcony, were a couple of candles set over a small dinner table, the moon provided most of the light.


    But yes there is a dinner table in this Balcony, Maleesa didn''t set it up herself but it was all her idea. Of course, he asked King Zar first for permission. His mind going towards the same thoughts like Seer when he was being dragged up here, King Zar agreed in a blink of an eye and is literally expecting a marriage from these two soon even though he doesn''t express it by word.


    Furthermore, he even literally ordered for the maids to help set up the Table. All Maleesa had to do was stall Seer for an hour at max. With all this feast going on, the Castle is a little bit understaffed otherwise they would prepare it in a matter of minutes, the meal doesn''t have to be hot after all. To enhance the mood, King Zar restricted access of the second floor for this night thinking this little dinner date will lead to something, hotter.


    "Did you prepare all of this?" Asked Seer, quite amazed of the dinner. He has been working hard all day and this is quite a stress reliever.


    "Um. Guilty!" She smiled enough to grab his attention with a little giggle after, with a little bit of actual guilt she absolutely had to add. "I did have some help from King Zar and the maids though." Grabbing his hand after, and looking him directly in the eyes she asked. "Do you like it?"


    Joking around, he replied. "Oh, it is a little bit cold up here, but." Dragging her into a hug this middle aged man became a little bit more romantic to show gratitude. "But your warmth is all I need."


    Such a reaction coming from the guy who was too shy to actually do anything with her when they were alone in his house at night, made her indeed shy. She is used to herself teasing him, but now the tables have turned. Not the actual table though, that would be bad and would ruin the nice dinner.


    Pulling their heads back from the hug, he looked at her straight in the eyes and decided to show gratitude in two ways. One way, with a simple. "Thank you." And secondly, well. Let''s just say that this cute little couple kissed each other for the first time ever!


    The kiss became quite long lasting and neither of them wanted to let go, at this pace they would be doing "it" in the Balcony. But they are both quite hungry, so maybe that will be an activity for another time!

 Chapter 212 - Nicolas Deer

    The War of Pameres Kingdom was indeed one worthy to be written in the History books! Infact, the entire Revolution was almost forced to crumble into dust if the Calidum Lutum Platoon didn''t finally interviene at the very end of the battle. It was a terrible day but at least they can put it behind them now and look towards the future, the positives.


    Mogranius required some healing time, so after that big feast he rested for another week with food, warmth and even new clothes provided all by the Kingdom free of charge. More specifically, provided by King Zar! Mogranius made a huge contribute in the battle, before it even officially started in Pameres Kingdom. If he didn''t, the Revolution''s fate would be different even with the Calidum Lutum present. King Zar felt it as more as a privilege to help Mogranius live better than a King throughout his recovery time if not more.


    Although not completely healed, after a week Mogranius felt like he can take on a journey. There is no time to waste after all, because of the two main reasons mentioned in the previous Volume. He can''t rely on his well being on the Ghost Tree and they need to go to Septemtrionis Ignis after it too, towards the Kingdom of Maleemia and see if the Snow Ignites actually scooped low enough to sacrifice an entire Continent in order to win this War. If they did so, they wouldn''t be considered allies for the Revolution but quite the opposite, they will have a revolution of their own, a twisted one. Enemies of the Entire Continent.


    Taking King Michael''s fate in the battle into consideration, the two Ignites were more careful with their Stamina. They can never risk being without any Stamina in this thick Forest, not to mention in any battlefield. However, they are sure that they won''t be doing any type of battle soon unless with an Animal. Or at least they hope. So they saw it reasonable to stretch their travelling time into two weeks, be light with the Fire so they can be on the air for 2 hours and on the ground for 1.


    Once crossing the borders, avoiding Crutal Kingdom with a radius of 40-50 Kilometers in the process. They headed further North, that''s how Mogranius found the Deadly Ghost Tree last time. Once crossing the Border Just head North slightly to the East or follow the River up there.


    Luckily he remembered the main landmark linked to their aimed location. The River of course! While in winter it is frozen and barely noticeable, in Spring it can be spotted if walked upon of course. I mean common, it is a River. As for while being Airborne, it is also pretty noticeable.


    The River has a main branch, that main branch spreads in two ways at the end. Taking the left branch will eventually lead them to the Ocean, it doesn''t provide useful for them at this case unless they are trying to make a new settlement. If it was for such intend, it would be a great idea since in that Area people have everything they need to live a good life. The Ocean is nearby, a forest branch is above their heads to the South and a lot of natural water sources, Creeks to be more exact are on that Branch.


    However settlements aren''t their goal for now, they need to find the Ghost Tree. In order to do so, they just take the Branch on the right and follow it for a bit over 100 Kilometers. That at least is the easy part, especially since they don''t have to swim through it.


    After 100 Kilometers, this branch takes a sharp turn to the right where it meets a dead end 120 Kilometers away. However, they don''t need to follow it all the way to the dead end. Once they reach the sharp turn, they just need to fly straight for nearly 100 Kilometers, to the North. Yes, travelling is a big part of this journey but it isn''t anything particularly hard considering that they can fly.


    Since the Ghost Tree is very hard to be told apart from a normal one, Mogranius needs to be very careful with his travel distance. His paranormal vision is weak enough to fly above the Ghost Tree without noticing it''s Dark Aura. After travelling 90 Kilometers he will need to land along with Eric and travel on foot, that way he can detect the Aura better or at least see some kind of Ghost who has been victimized by the Tree''s Radius and follow it.


    To his luck, he saw... Well let''s say a Ghost that wasn''t particularly victimized. And although Eric couldn''t see him, Mogranius greeted him like a brother and expressed with a lot of joy in his tone. "Nicolas Deer! How are you my man." He has Paranormal vision, what are the odds of him knowing some of the Dark Forest Kin? He is in their territory after all.


    "Oh you know. Just dead!" Replied Nicolas the Ghost, not in a sad way either. He was joking around and burst into laughter after it too.


    "Hahahahahahahahaha! You still got it man! You still got it." Laughed along Mogranius once he let go of the Ghost''s hand and dared to ask for directions after too. "Man I need to find the Ghost Tree, I think something is up." His lack of fear towards Ghosts is amazing, but it of course is because he is used to seeing them for the past 20 years.


    Eric however, was a bit more terrified, even thought that Mogranius finally snapped, completely lost it. At least he did until Mogranius introduced the two. And now in order for Eric to see the Ghost as well, Nicolas transformed into a Deer. A talking Deer, ain''t that nice to see. Is it a bit interesting how his last name is "Deer" as well?


    After that little change, Nicolas remembered Mogranius previously asked question and brought it up again after he sat on the ground like a cute little cat. "Oh something big happened!"


    Shocked of the Ghost''s enthusiasm, noticeable all over his face. Mogranius had to ask. "What happened? Is the Dense Forest Kin all wiped out?" He thought for the worst first, he knows that Kin for a while now and wouldn''t want them to get hurt or permanently destroyed.


    Shaking his antlers in disagreement in front of the two Ignites, Nicolas answered. "No no quite the opposite! We are safer than we ever were thanks to a Hero!"


    Shocked by this valuable piece of information, he was focused less on who this "Hero" was and focused on what this "Hero" did instead. "A hero you say." Stroking his chin trying to concentrate, he came into a big conclusion already and just required validation to confirm his theory. "He didn''t... did he?"


    Able to partially understand what Mogranius meant, Nicolas answered. "Oh yes he did. If you mean that he cut down the branches that is." A big smile followed on his mammalian face after. "In Fact the tree is just 100 meters away. I would never be able to be this close if the Hero didn''t cut the branches."


    "That''s why my Paranormal Vision is so weak!" Added Mogranius once he managed to figure out this entire puzzle. And even confirmed another theory, "So the Tree can be damaged?!" Further confirmation is always nice of course.


    "Quite so. Follow me please, I can even touch the tree and it won''t do me any harm!" Stood up Nicholas and started walking further North.


    Once reaching the Ghost tree, what Mogranius saw was something he never thought would see for the past 20 years. The Ghost Tree with its Branches cut from the bottom to the very top. "Who would have the power to cut all of these Branches in the blistering cold!?" Asked Mogranius once he saw all the Branches on the ground, there has  to be at least 60 of them!


    "I''m not sure who he is or what his Origin was, but as far as I saw and heard. It was just some ill.u.s.tratio with Beer on his mind." Ain''t that a nice way to describe a Tribe Hero!


    "That defines most of the entire ill.u.s.train race." Added Eric, who was able to see more how ill.u.s.tratios actually are throughout his lifetime. He still isn''t a fan of most ill.u.s.tratios, but the ones who stand with the Revolution have helped change his mind just a little bit. "You need to be more specific."


    "Oh if I was still alive, that comment would have hurt me." Explained Nicolas, but he had no intend to start a fight. Quite the opposite he was just joking around. "But you do have a point, my race is tremendously terrible."


    "Nicolas focus!" Snapped Mogranius his fingers to grab his attention, afterwards asking. "Do you think I can burn the trunk too? Up to its roots until it is wiped out of existence?"

 Chapter 213 - Bloom

    "Uh. I don''t know about that Mogranius. The guy used an Axe!" Clarified Nicolas. When it comes to this tree, nothing can be sure about it without proper research. If he just agreed that Mogranius can damage it without actually being absolutely sure about it, Mogranius coffin could be resting on Nicolas'' conscious. If Ghosts even have a conscious that is. "Plus he used some kind of "special word" to grant him immunity against the Ghost tree." Explained the Ghost as he used his hooves to airpoke, rather adorable to watch.


    "Well that''s a smart approach, I doubt it is anyone we know." Quoted Mogranius, it is nice to know that even after the Ghost Tree stopped clouding his mind, sarcasm remained as a soul characteristic. As if it was genetic. Afterwards bold enough, he decided. "Eh the heck with it. I will try anyway."


    Taking a few steps back and gesturing for the two to back up as well, he started it off with a little Fireblast. It can''t even be considered a Fireball since it was too small and too short. Expecting the worst, Mogranius closed his eyes and raised his hands in front of him as if he was protecting himself from an explosion.


    Opening his eyes, he was slightly surprised to see that the Fire didn''t ignite the Tree. This proves that the tree isn''t so easily set on fire, but also that he can''t die if he tries to shoot again with a bigger Fireball. This just gave him less limits!


    Taking a few more steps back, he tried to shoot a bigger fireball. But another complication appeared, well more like the complication was already there, he just didn''t think about it yet. There are too many trees around too shoot a big Fireball from a distance. He could risk starting a forest fire just for a simple test, that''s not worth it. A lot of domains have thrived because of the Forest after all and it shouldn''t be damaged for a personal project, the Dense Forest Kin is safe already. He would only be shooting for himself.


    So he took a different approach, same plan different position. He flew over 20 meters high and aimed at the Ghost Tree, now it is time to truly test if this tree can be destroyed without a terrible aftermath as a result. I mean, at least he won''t be burning the Forest.


    Forming a Sphere of Fire lasting roughly a second, he unleashed it against the tree and crossed his fingers after it, in the hopes of success. Unfortunately, the tree stood still strong. Noticing it, he wasn''t a fan. "Son of a..." Out of rage he started shooting randomly spreading Fire instead of Fireballs who are a lot more directed. The Fire started spreading from 5-14 feet wide randomly and shifted sizes, against the tree.


    He even started flying higher because of all of that power blasting against the tree, the wave of Fire he was constantly unleashing started draining a lot of his Stamina too. Mogranius showed no sign of stopping until Eric popped up behind him and patted Mogranius on his shoulder. "This isn''t working. Don''t waste your Stamina on it."


    Luckily, Mogranius was willing to cooperate and tried to stop. There is one problem though, the Ghost Tree had other thoughts (If it can actually think that is.). Hence the word, "He tried to stop.".


    "Eric. We have a problem!" Yelled out Mogranius louder than the roaring blaze. "I can''t stop!"


    Eric didn''t understand what Mogranius meant and just figured that he is trying to show off again. "This isn''t a time to be a Hero. You need to stop!" Tried Eric to yell as much as he can in order to be heard, trying to drag Mogranius out of trouble as if he was his mother.


    "I literally can''t stop." Yelled back Mogranius assuring the severity of this situation, indirectly asking for help.


    Quick enough, Eric thought a little plan. And grabbed Mogranius on the arm pits, started pulling him higher after. He figured that if the Fire is out of reach from the tree, he can stop shooting. Since this problem is obviously linked to the tree, being out of reach might fix it.


    Since Mogranius was already flying higher due to all of this force being unleashed against the tree, it wasn''t hard to move him higher especially with an Electus as an aid. In a split second he moved around 30 meters high in the sky, but the Fire was still connected to the Tree.


    Seeing that this distance isn''t long enough, Eric flew even higher until he reached up to 100 meters above the ground! Thankfully, this time it worked. No matter how powerful the Tree is, it can''t push Mogranius through the limits he has with his Fire Controlling. Such continues lasting Fire can''t stretch 100 meters long!


    "Thanks Kid!" Showed Mogranius his gratitude and started flying on his own. The tree took a lot out of him with this little move, but he still has enough Stamina to fly. "I owe you one."


    "You owe me a hundred." Exaggerated Eric joking around. "I''m always carrying you out of trouble. It should be the other way around with me being a kid and all." For a kid who doesn''t talk too much, this sure exceeds his limits in many standards or aspects. I suppose it just means that he knows Mogranius long enough to be comfortable around him enough to offend him. Pure friendship.


    "Yeah yeah. Less talking more flying." Reacted Mogranius to such an accurate comment, but was mostly curious about the tree and why it dragged his fire furthermore towards it, as if just asking to be burned.


    Once he reached the ground, Nicolas dashed towards them, wearing a confused but also worried look on his face, he asked. "What the hell was that? Why did you fly that high?"


    "Well my most believable theory is that the tree is too hungry. Souls probably aren''t the only thing it consumes. I couldn''t stop blasting Fire from that reason." Taking a look at the top of the Tree after, he added with a lot of irritation. "The worst part is that the tree didn''t even burn!"


    "Let''s see how it fares against an Electus." Added Eric, ready to do quite a bold move. Even starting to form Fire around his palm, reaching out to the rest of his hand after.


    "No. We can''t risk it! The Tree can drain a lot more from you if you end up sharing the same fate as me." Tried Mogranius to stop Eric from doing something stupid this time, how the tables have turned.


    While holding Eric back, something caught his eye. He approached the Ghost Tree closer and took a glance at one of portion, specifically where a Branch used to be. It is just a little bump on the trunk as an aftermath of a branch being cut out from it.


    What caught his eye, is that something new appeared on that little bump. A small finger like branch bloomed on it stretching roughly a foot long. "Was this here before?" Gestured Mogranius at it, asking for other eyes to glance upon it. For one Eric is younger, therefore he can memorize more, able to notice something different. As for Nicolas, he claims to even have touched the tree so he must have had a better look at it until now.


    "What do you mean?" Asked Eric, not so clear about what Mogranius was pointing at.


    But Nicolas on the other hand, was more aware. Especially since the atmosphere for him individually changed. He felt as if he was being dragged in, but the suckage was very weak. Fightable even! He could easily walk, back but the drag was still there. "Something definitely changed. I don''t remember that little branch being there, I have been looking at this tree for days."


    Able to put two and two together, Mogranius specified. "Amazing. The tree drained my Fire and used it to bloom a Branch." At this point, it wasn''t so hard to figure it out. "I don''t think we should tamper with it anymore, it would take an eternity to grow the branches back anyway." Turning his attention towards Nicolas after, Mogranius requested. "The next time you manage to find a "Hero", please make him or her cut down this little branch. Don''t let it grow."


    Afterwards the two Ignites greeted Nicholas and took off towards the sky. It is the best decision for now. Fire doesn''t even burn it and it seems to use anything to its advantage. This form of dark magic shouldn''t be experimented with, it is the definition of demonic.


    Little did they know, once Eric and Mogranius took off. Another person approached the Ghost tree and grabbed a Branch from the ground. Nicolas was able to notice this person and approached it on his Deer form, asking. "Who are you?"

 Chapter 214 - Screaming Bird!

    Deciding that the Ghost Tree shouldn''t be tampered with, their next target of travel became the Kingdom of Maleemia, formally known as the Capital of Septemtrionis Ignis which became reoccupied.


    Travelling to Maleemia can be indeed troublesome, it is no place for an Ignite. You might be confused, so let me shed light on your questions. See, once heading east for nearly 200 Kilometers from the Ghost Tree, one would see snow covering the mountains. You can find snow on these mountains all year around, each season without discrimination. Terrible for Farming, but it has other advantages, literal upper advantages.


    The Kingdom of Maleemia is located up in the rocky mountains. Is is also worth pointing out that these are the only high rocky mountains on the entire Continent and they stretch all the way to Orientis Ignis below. And this everlasting snow (But without the rocky mountains.), stretches all the way to the ill.u.s.tratian motherland to. A.k.a Meridionali Ignis. But only a small portion, it covers less than 10% of the Country to be exact.


    To specify in the best detail described by word, these Mountains take 65% of Septemtrionis Ignis and 85% of Orientis Ignis. These entire mountains along with the everlasting snow around it, occupies 40% of the whole Continent of Ignis. They are large indeed, this entire mountain used to be Snow Ignite territory, and now the Capital sure belongs to the Snow Ignites and remains indomitable thanks to the recent revolution, with the use of Demonite as a theorized reason.


    Putting specifics out of the way, let''s get back to their travelling. Once reaching this everlasting snow 200 Kilometers east from the Ghost Tree, they have to travel another full 200 Kilometers to the East South in order to reach Maleemia up in the high mountains with an elevation of an unspecified few Kilometers high. There really is no way to measure it with the technology of this Era.


    The problem with such travel is, an Ignite is not naturally prepared to handle such altitude and low temperatures, it is a deadly combination even though they have Fire to their advantage, so they need to be heavily equipped for this portion of the travel. The coldest day in Occidentis Ignis is a temperature considered as the warmest here in Septemtrionis Ignis.


    They are not like Snow Ignites who can go barefoot through this blistering cold over the snow and face no casualties like frostbite or slipping, how much useful can a body part get than that? It is even odder once remembering that Snow Ignites evolved to face this environment, they used to be normal Ignites before.


    Even their Hands are more like actual claws, proper for mountain climbing and a crutal off the land survival tool. Living scattered in caves and ruins after the ill.u.s.tratios invaded about 200 years ago, enhances these amazing attributes even more.


    To face the freezing cold Septemtrions and Orientis Ignis has to offer, their average body temperature is what a normal Human would feel in spring. For them, it would feel like the temperature around them is 20¡ãC. Of course such measures aren''t even invented yet, but it is a good way to describe. Hell, they can even swim a Kilometer through freezing cold waters without dying or even gaining Hypothermia. Even Nature tells us that they belong in these two Countries of rocky mountains.


    Mogranius was told of these terribly dangerous environmental conditions, even experienced it for a bit himself in past adventures. Which is why he prepared a couple of big heavy backpacks for it, this is another reason why they were and still are travelling slowly. They can''t wear themselves out. In those backpacks, they have thick fur clothing to at least help provide survivable heat. They are for sure that they can''t completely block out this cold and are even using their Fire Controlling abilities to stay warm.


    As for food, two weeks of it couldn''t possibly fit in these backpacks especially with a tent and sleeping bags packed as well. But it isn''t a big issue, they don''t plan to be hungry though. Need I remind you that Ignis has more Wildboars than people, other animals too so they have options. They don''t even need to eat raw meat either.


    Travelling under these circ.u.mstances became tough indeed, but they figured how to cope with it. Day after day of survival helped them figure out new ways, flying less became the best tip of survival for these two. The wind blasting against the mountain became a wild enemy, it could easily disorientate them.


    A couple of days after, as if being dead tired wasn''t enough to demotivate them from this entire journey, they ran in to an even bigger problem. Well nothing can be as bad as freezing to death or being slammed against the mountain side, the cold of which would make it even more freezing, but this is still a great problem! No one wants to die whatever the sort of death might be or whatever the circ.u.mstances might fall upon any victim.


    They ran in to what seems to be a big nasty Eagle. And when I say big, I mean Big! It is standing as tall as an average Human and a bit wider than a Human as well, double the width actually. To make it more bizarre, this Eagle is covered in dark blue feathers. Only it''s head and the edges of its Wings seemed to be covered in a completely dark shade, beautifully dangerous. But you couldn''t Imagine how big the Eagle became when it spread its wings and took off from the rocky mountains, towards the sky. Its wingspan reached at least 6 meters! That''s as big as half a House.


    The Eagle is indeed a big and beautiful but it wasn''t exactly friendly nor it planned to be tamed. As it flew towards the sky, it stopped on one spot and released an ear shattering sound, the two Ignites couldn''t help but cover their ears and hope this madness meets an end. The Blue Eagle surely felt threatened seeing Humans that aren''t Snow Ignites or ill.u.s.tratios in these Harsh terrains, Ignites rarely encounter these magnificent beasts!


    So as many of us, they feel threatened by the unknown and they are kind of jerks as well. The Big beautiful Blue Eagle released that terrible sound again, still not comfortable for a Human to hear but this Time It was more like a call for help. Like rats, these Eagles seem to hunt in packs or protect each other in packs too. Not a typical behaviour you would find on other stereotypical Eagles who quite the opposite are territorial even towards other eagles, but it proves how dangerous they are.


    Quite unsure what these birds are, and even not knowing that they actually existed in the first place, Eric asked Mogranius in order to be absolutely sure even though he felt certain already. "Are they dangerous?"


    Rubbing his hands to gain some warmth, ready to attack he shouted. "They definitely aren''t our friends. Shoot!" Once finishing his sentence, he was of course about to shoot. But one of the Blue Eagles charged towards the two Ignites and the three others were just waiting their turn incase this one fails, Mogranius had no option to shoot.


    Luckily, they were swift enough to fly out of danger even after considering the impactful wind. They reached the solid rocks shortly after though, it was partially by choice. Standing on his feet, Mogranius started blasting Fire towards the Blue Eagle that charged on them. But this Fire wasn''t just a normal Fireball for example, he didn''t blast it out of his bare fists. He blasted Fire out of his mouth, its reach wasn''t long but the Blue Eagle was sure damaged.


    He torched the Eagle while it was charging towards the two Ignites for the second time, burning its wing to the point of its bone flashing, forced to be shot down from the sky and meet a terrible death tumbling down the rocky mountains.


    Another big Blue Eagle approached right after with an instinctive aim to handle this situation better, to kill his enemies. He seemed to be the Leader of the Pack, and what the Leader did was fascinating and unexpected. Well at least Eric didn''t expect it.


    The Blue Eagle blasted Snow out of its beak, it wasn''t as deadly as snow but once Mogranius and Eric dodged the shot, they saw the rocks around the aftermath starting to be covered in ice, as if he froze the rocks. Getting hit from this snow is definitely not an option, it would make survival even more difficult and even cause Hypothermia if they manage to survive this after.


    The two Ignites can''t fly for a long period of time, and there are four enemies in the sky who don''t see flying as a problem, as if they are immune to this terribly strong wind. "What do we do now?" Asked Eric in concern once he acknowledged how troublesome this situation really is. This Leader even seems to yell that ear pounding sound each time he notices that any of these two is about to shoot.


    "Keep Shooting!"

 Chapter 215 - Impeccable Architecture.

    The leader started charging towards Mogranius, to victimize him with those furious sharp claws! A normal eagle can crush bones with their deadly grip, imagine what a 6 foot tall one could do?! The chances of ripping Mogranius in half are more than high so he definitely can''t take any risks, he has to act quick.


    This leader is charging towards Mogranius, because he is closer to reach and instinctively a bigger prey, he would fill the belly more and the Blue Eagles feel like since Eric is smaller, he can''t be any more dangerous or agile than the bigger taller man(Mogranius), so he became a second choice in this hunt. This will prove as a huge advantage for these two Ignites.


    As the Leader flew closer, it felt like he was getting bigger by the passing moment. Beautifully terrifying but he obviously doesn''t have any time to glare in amazement. Seeing that this big bird is flying too fast for Mogranius to finally launch another attack, he found it more reasonable to dodge this charge. He bursted fire out of his feet and flew 3 meters higher, escaping the wing span by an inch. Luckily, the Leader folded its wings the closer he got to the ground.


    Although Mogranius chose to dodge, Eric stood his ground since he wasn''t a target here. Waiting for the moment when this Blue Eagle reaches the ground and unleashed a 6 foot wide Fireball towards it. To set a feathery animal on fire, it doesn''t take much effort especially with an Electus as an aid to one''s Arsenal.


    Taking a second to look back, he saw this Blue Eagle Leader tumbling down the rocks, set into a blaze. While the rocks where its claws met, were shattered in head like rocks and tumbled down after the Leader. If Mogranius fell as a victim to those claws, death would be inevitable and instant.


    "Two down, another two to go." Thought Mogranius after he stopped glaring at the spot he almost died at and aimed towards another smaller Blue Eagle who from the looks of it has just been waiting in line to attack, shooting it down before it could yell or charge.


    Infact, Mogranius was so enraged with these beasts, that this smaller Eagle was torched almost completely. There were only a few bones left on it with meat here and there, places of which the Fireball couldn''t cover. As for places that it did cover, even the ashes of it were burned.


    By now, he figured it out that as long as these Blue Eagles aren''t shouting or charging, they are Vulnerable. Eric is well aware of that particular fact too, so Mogranius cooperated to lure the last flying Blue Eagle to a trap, using himself as bait. Another risky part about this, is that he didn''t have the time to exchange any words with Eric so he just has to hope that Eric knows what to do.


    "Hey you flying Blowhorn! Here I am,  eat me you flying Buffon!" Shouted Mogranius from the top of his lungs to get the last Blue Eagle''s attention. With such an expression, Eric was able yo catch up and realize what his first Mentor is trying to do with this entire act, so he tightened his grip against the ground and was ready to shoot.


    Instinctively, the Eagle started chasing the crazy taller yelling guy instead of the one who was standing still, further away. Considering the Blue Eagle''s wingspan, Mogranius decided it best to fly upwards instead of on the sides. If those wings hit his body at full speed, Mogranius can be considered a goner. His rib cage would be broken and death would follow in a matter of minutes, he would become an easy meal. One time he got lucky, the second time it might not be the same case.


    The moment Mogranius flew high, is the moment when Eric shot. As if on cue, the last Blue Eagle flew right into the Fireball. It didn''t have the capability to change its direction swiftly once it charged towards its prey. Here, we are talking about split seconds.


    This Fireball was only 2 feet wide since Eric was a bit paranoid, trying not to hit Mogranius just in case they didn''t share the same thought with this little trap. The Fireball burned the Eagle''s head entirely, and part of its torso as well. Mogranius on the other hand, he flew too high and lost orientation.


    He even almost got slammed against the mountain side, but regained control the closer he got to solid ground. If he delayed his actions just for another heartbeat, he wouldn''t be the only creature dying in this Area. Afterwards he took a glance back and saw that this last Eagle didn''t tumble down.


    Likely because that Fireball wasn''t big enough to move a 100 Kilogram bird, lucky enough it was stopped on its spot once hit. Approaching closer he noticed that the Eagle''s feathers remained set into a blaze. Raising his Forefinger straight and positioning his hand near his chest, the Fire on the bird was soon reduced to smoke and transported around his hand. Shortly after, he shut down the Fire around his hand and pulled out a Dagger, stating. "Dinner is served."


    Chucking down as much Eagle Meat they could cook and eat at the moment until they filled that empty void inside only food can be an acceptable product off, they took a bit more time to prepare more of it to carry out throughout the rest of their travels. The Kingdom is still a while away and with the fur clothing already on them, there is space to store more food in their backpacks now.


    As for how this meat tastes, a lot like a Chicken''s actually. But a bit rougher since these Eagles likely are completely Carnivorous. Taste doesn''t matter much when it comes to long distance travelling. It fits and it fills the belly, that''s all that matters at the moment.


    It is amusing where the soul purpose of Survival might push an individual through. I mean, look at their situation! They just fought off Shouting Blue Eagles and now are eating one of them, they are cooking its meat using their abilities so I guess they differ from animals who would eat it raw.


    Furthermore, they are on the mountainside facing the blistering cold and soul darkening wind just to fill their bellies, to regain energy from it so they can push through for another day. After all, they have no chance of camping in such a place unless they find a deep cave. Survival is indeed tough in these parts but at least it is an option. How would a non Fire Controller fare here?


    They continued to climb the mountain side for what felt like an eternity, nearly 3 hours actually but without the capability to fly for more than a few seconds it felt even longer. To their luck it is still midday so they still have time to find a proper place for slumber, a proper shelter. At a point, they reached this portion which portrayed a form of a straight road, but if looked at it with more detail, it rivered upwards.


    This is a sign that the Kingdom of Maleemia isn''t too far away. If it is, the area up here seems a bit more less difficult to shelter upon. Caves are more common as if human kind carved them out of desperation in the same aims of shelter. Snow Ignites have strong claws after all so maybe there is more to this than a natural formation.


    Walking up the road for a couple more Kilometers, they met with a unique peace of nature. They found themselves sinking deeper between two large Boulders, and I mean Large. Of course, everything about this Mountain is large snowy and rocky, but these two boulders a couple hundred meters across!


    A path is carved between them, and the deeper they walk in the higher its walls rise, starting from 4 meters and rising up to 30 actually! That was their guess at least. This is likely a road carved through a huge boulder in order to make a reliable way inbetween it, so people can travel easier.


    The level of architecture, and the fact that this carving is as straight as a Pickaxe''s wooden tail, proves how ahead the Snow Ignites were and still are in every aspect possible. The road is just flawless! It is even properly measured as 5 meter wide from one end to the other and it doesn''t get out of line be it for even a foot, or half of it for that matter. It was hard to believe that this was made by humans.


    As the two Ignites glanced upon this beauty in the epitome of amazement, they ensnared themselves into an unexpected situation. Everything about this hazardous place is unpredictable, but this... This dare I say, tipped the bucket. They found themselves surrounded by a Fire Shield! Yes, a Fire Shield. But neither of these two clapped it active. It was indeed confusing until a couple of women dropped from the sky.

 Chapter 216 - Echo

    People dropping from the sky? Or at least dropping from a distance of 10 meters or more can be potentially life threatening so how exactly is this happening? How is it possible? Well, these two people used their naturally given capabilities to fly down like a light gentle feather. It is obvious that they are somehow linked with the Fire Shield surrounding Eric and Mogranius, it isn''t hard to put two and two together. We know that Snow Ignite territory is unpredictable, especially when you base it on what these two Ignites faced just a while ago but still, this is extensive.


    Fate, brought Eric and Mogranius to two more Fire Controllers! To make it more unique, they both are women! It was hard to notice at first because they are covered in fur to battle these negative temperatures, which hid the usual characteristics that define a woman from a man. Body shape to be exact! Although from the looks of it in cooperation with the Snow Ignites, these lady Ignites still can''t battle the blistering cold. Of course they would be wearing layer after layer of Fur clothing!


    They were sure that these two Fire Controllers are ladies, when one spoke out. "State your business here." Well hey, they are at least given a chance to talk. If Mogranius and Eric were ill.u.s.tratios, they would be long gone by now so the color on their skin proved useful, creating a bit of resistance from these possible enemies. Still these ladies need to be sure that there is no danger against Maleemia, because these days even those who share the same skin can be your enemies.


    The other lady seems a bit displeased as in why these potential enemies are still alive, she feels capable enough to kill them. A bit of overconfidence is roaming through her mind accompanied by Paranoia. Furthermore, she doesn''t know what these two are capable off since all of the Continent knows that the majority of Fire Controllers are slaughtered. "You better talk quick too, you won''t be able to breathe for long in there!" The fact that Eric and Mogranius aren''t exactly attacked yet, doesn''t seem to be her choice.


    Although trapped in a Fire Shield, Mogranius was still glaring at these two ladies as if he discovered some sort of hidden treasure, as if he struck a Kingdom Sized Deposit of Ignite Gems! He was astounded, and for the first time in a long while he was left at a loss for words! He didn''t dare to look at these Ignites with an impure intend, especially since he has a fancy for the groundbreakingly attractive Commander Alia, his pride would never allow him to look at anyone else with such an intend, ever!


    He is amazed by the fact that Female Fire Controllers exist! Two of them even! When it comes to powers regardless of what sort, they are naturally gifted to random people, gender has nothing to do with it. But the ill.u.s.tratios targeted women the most for two reasons. The first is that Ignite women are usually stereotyped as witches who give birth to even more Witches or Wizards.


    The second reason, is that ill.u.s.tratian Soldiers or Guards used that stereotype as an excuse to damage innocent women with more than any human being can carry, for filthy intends. **** being the most common torture before these ladies are actually killed! Ironically, the ill.u.s.tratios still consider the Ignites as Demons. However, this is why Mogranius is amazed to find Female Fire Controllers.


    Being trapped in a Fire Shield isn''t preferable by anyone, that isn''t so hard to understand. But Mogranius is amazed to the point of completely ignoring the fact that they are trapped! Luckily, Eric wasn''t as amazed and was focusing more on the fact that he and his mentor are in potential danger. He dared to express, "Whatever you are trying to do, it won''t be enough."


    "I told you that we shouldn''t have left them alive!" Slightly shouted the grumpier woman, even forming a battle pose to attack these two men once the Fire Shield breaks. "They could be sent here from the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance." At this pace there will come a time when no one will stop her from actually shooting.


    Sarcastic enough to prove a point, Eric took the conversation of which Mogranius should have been in charge off. "I doubt that the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance would hire Fire Controllers." Cracking a joke to lighten up the mood after, he continued with a crack on his tone since he tried to sound funny. "We are Demons after all!"


    "You two are Fire Controllers?" Asked the other woman who is more willing to reason. Male Fire Controllers aren''t quite common either after all!


    Having no idea himself how to break free from a Fire Shield, he touched Mogranius left side of the waist to snap him back to reality. "Um Mogranius..." Afterwards he continued to poke harder and harder until it actually hurt both his fingers and Mogranius'' waist.


    Finally able to cooperate, he first shook his head and then murmured. "Oh.. right right!" Swiftly and showed these two ladies what he is capable off. Well of course he didn''t attack or neither did he aim too. Unlike King Michael who can break a Fire Shield with a simple finger snap, Mogranius has to put in a bit more work!


    Raising his hand above his head and aiming towards the very middle of this half sphere like Fire Shield, he shot a long slender Iron Pole like Fire! It is only a few inches thick but strecthes 4 feet tall! This move, penetrated the Fire Shield from the inside of course and just continued flying towards the sky until it was reduced into nothingness like each shot Fire fares once its Source is cut.


    This shot a bit beautiful and satisfying too, there isn''t a doubt about that. But what''s a lot more important, is that the Shield around them broke. Shattered in tens of pieces before it too was reduced into nothingness. Although one of the ladies quite amazed that she finally encountered more Fire Controllers, the other one (Best described as the "Grumpy One".) has different thoughts.


    Seeing these two as a big risk, seeing them as two men who are about to attack! Without doing a Sumo Squat, standing straight as a pole she shot a Fireball which started off as a foot but stretched out to be 4 feet wide once it travelled further.


    Of course, Mogranius could have never had the time to analyze how big this Fireball is if the other lady didn''t grab her Companion''s arm and forcefully pushed it towards the sky, in aims of saving these couple of men. Afterwards giving her Grumpy companion a slap strong enough to the point of throwing her against the ground, she yelled from the top of her lungs as if she had the Source''s aid to yell. "Are you insane? Who in f.u.c.k''s name gave you permission to shoot?" But that slap, sounded even louder though! Anyway, although this piece or language quite beautiful, there are more important matters to focus on. As far as Mogranius can see, this lady who portrayed herself as "Calmer" until now has a rank above the grumpy one, not necessarily in Fire Controlling though. So he decided to reason with her instead of the other hot head.


    Embarrassed enough, the grumpy lady just stood on her feet and without saying a word she flew towards the sky avoiding any further conversations but also not having any aims of causing trouble either, she was even able to hear the slap''s echo stretching further down to the other side of this tremendous roadway. Although no one was given the chance to notice, a tear broke out from her eyes, rolled down all the way to her cheek and became frozen on her chin due to the blood freezing temperatures. That tear however, had nothing to do with the natural environment surrounding her.


    Taking a couple of more steps forward, the lady who was still down here trying to cooperate with these two men, wore a guilty face that her partner should of and had basic human decency to apologize. "I''m sorry for her behaviours. They are inexcusable and her actions aren''t linked to any of my or other Companion''s wishes." Wearing half a smile after, hoping to make this situation and the overall atmosphere calmer. She continued to add. "I''m Bittore Nardone, Civilian of Maleemia." And offered a handshake to Mogranius after.


    She tried to shake Eric''s hand too! But when it comes to new people, if he isn''t enraged enough to set anyone into a blaze, his rage is replaced with a strong amount of shyness sprinkled with unnecessary anxiety. I mean, he is sweating in this blistering cold! Trying to shake her hand, he looked down in hopes of avoiding eye contact and had trouble finding her hand to the point of grabbing her arm instead.


    Confused enough, Bittore took a peek at Mogranius hoping that this isn''t a problem in particular, but only found him wearing a normal expression since he is quite used to this behaviour. Considering that, she didn''t say anything about it and just helped Eric separate from the arm shake. Afterwards asking, "So tell me, what''s your Business here?"

 Chapter 217 - Dirty Looks

    Seeing that they can finally get to the point, Mogranius chose to answer truthfully but didn''t reveal his whole intend since it will no doubt be portrayed as more than threatening, the topic is more than sensitive. "We are here to talk with your King, about a possible cooperation."


    Of course, he can''t say something like "I might possibly attack your King if he is using Demonite." In this little explanation. The best option here is to use the color of his skin and what faction he stands with, to his utmost advantage. "It might not be as well spoken off compared to your amazing revolution that got the entire Continent on their feet but... We are here to speak in the favour of 3 Revolting Domains."


    "A revolt you say?" Asked Bittore while trying to stroke her chin, but was prevented from doing so because of the Fur surroundings her neck an even covering her mouth a little bit. The only visible skin on this lady, are her hands and more than half of her face too. She would likely cover her hands with leather or fur gloves if she didn''t have to take them off, thinking she is going to engage in battle with these couple of men depending on what their expressed intent is. Ending up rubbing her nose instead, Bittore continued. "Which 3 Domains do you represent? The word doesn''t really travel all the way up here, no outsider entered Maleemia ever since we reclaimed the Kingdom."


    Careful with his wordplay, Mogranius gave it a short thought before he answered. "Oh that''s understandable. We represent Gaster Kingdom, Pameres Kingdom and BaleTown." He took a little time to think, not because he forgot the names of these domains, but quite for a different reason instead. He can''t say that he is in cooperation with a ill.u.s.tratian King or this situation will turn for the worse faster than the eye can blink twice.


    Who would believe that an ill.u.s.tratian King revolted against the entire Alliance? For Ignites? It would be even worse if he told that King Zar is the son of the Grand King, no one would ever believe it without seeing it. "I doubt that you know these Domains though, they are not so wealthy nor popular." He added trying to avoid suspicion, but might have made it worse.


    Taking the fact that Mogranius might be making up these Kingdoms just to pass through or at least survive, and considering the fact that she doesn''t know much about what Occidentis Ignis holds since it isn''t a Snow Ignite Domain, she decided to trust these couple of Ignites enough to let them in the Kingdom. "Sounds like a matter of which you need to talk it out with the King, please follow me." Since these are just two people, Bittore didn''t find it extremely threatening for the Revolution even if both of these men are Grand Masters. Even if they try to attack anyone, there are enough individuals with Freezing Powers who can put an end to their intend, Maleemia even seems to have Fire Controllers too so this makes it a lot easier to fight off any attack.


    Since Bittore approved for these couple of Ignites to enter the Kingdom of Maleemia, the rest of her companions watching from above understood how important this situation is! No outsider entered this Kingdom ever since the invasion.


    Two more ladies dropped from the sky behind them, they flew down and landed like a feather which of course signifies that they are Fire Controllers as well. Normally the Fire blasting under a Fire Controller''s feet would be easy to hear even if one wasn''t paying attention. But both Mogranius and Eric covered their heads with fur hats connected with their coats, plus the wind blowing in between these Boulders is too deafening. That Grumpy lady however, wasn''t one of the Fire Controllers that just dropped down.


    These two ladies started following the three in front of them after, to ensure the utmost security. There might be more Fire Controllers above their heads but Mogranius or Eric insisting to see all of them won''t necessarily prove useful or required. Bittore allowed for them to go meet the King, and that''s all that matters for the moment.


    At the Castle of Maleemia, King Tamzar who is the Leader of this Continent shaking revolution, saw his personal assistant approaching with a dash. Her name, Medea Grivas. A very capable Woman carrying Freezing Powers, she is a Snow Ignite obviously but that''s not what matters right now. "My King. Two Fire Controllers want to talk to you!"


    A bit confused of the face she was wearing no doubt, King Tamzar remained calm because it wouldn''t be as helpful if they both started panicking. He proceeded to ask a question first to clarify the issue with an aim of giving permission to bring them in after. "Did any of our Fire Controllers encounter any issues? Why do they feel like they have the need to report this issue here? Did Bittore start a fight again?" Of course, he doesn''t understand what''s going on because his personal assistant was panicking to the point of not explaining the situation.


    "You Misunderstood me." Catching her breath and stroking her white hair backwards, to move those little bits of hair that got stuck on her face due to all the sweating she was pushed through due to all the panic followed by strong anxiousness. Taking one last deep breath she answered in as much detail as she could. "These are outsiders!" Afterwards, King Tamzar was able to see bits of sweat on her forehead reflecting the light provided by the Torch. Sweat in this freezing cold? She sure is nervous, but Snow Ignites do have a warmer body temperature after all so its a bit more explainable.


    With his eyes widened in shock, he proceeded to yell. "What? Have you all gone insane? Kill them!" He obviously isn''t a fan of such a decision. Snow Ignites didn''t exactly have a good relation with Ignites before the third Era started. In fact, the Snow Ignites almost set an attack to conquer the ill.u.s.tratian motherland, Meridionali Ignis. But the past Electus (Akareas) stopped them from doing so, threatened them actually. How a dumb move that was.


    Understanding the King''s concern, also considering the fact that no outsider entered Maleemia ever since the invasion. She tried to calm him down with common reason, explaining. "No my King you do not understand, they are approved by Vice Leader Bittore Nardone."


    "That doesn''t excuse this clumsy acti..." Before the King was about to express his disagreement entirely, Medea just had a bit more to say so she didn''t let him finish.


    "It''s important! The Fire Controllers claim to lead a revolution of their own and want to request cooperation." This Valuable piece of information turned the tables! At least now, King Tamzar doesn''t want them killed.


    "Bring them inside, but fetch two more Guards." He is deadly curious, but his curiosity can quite possibly lead to his death so of course he has to be safe.


    "Do you mean two more Frost Blasters?" Asked Medea to assure efficiency. It tends to get confusing since there are Fire Controllers, Frost Blasters and normal powerless Guards too. Narrowing it down, the King surely meant those with powers.


    "Yes I mean two more Frost Blasters Medea! The opposite of Fire is Frost!" Yelled out King Tamzar with boiling rage, intolerant of this lack of efficiency. He understands that she is nervous but that wouldn''t be an excuse if King Tamzar ends up dead. "Catch up Medea common, this is too important for any of us to mess up."


    Without saying a word, she rushed towards her duties. Her anxiety however didn''t become smaller, in fact it increased for the worse but tasks still need to be covered. Bringing the two Guests along with the three Ignites who led them to the Castle, plus two more Frost Blasters. She just nodded to acknowledge that the Guests are here, and without permission she went to another room.


    The two Frost Blasters walked near King Tamzar and stood by both of his sides forming a battle pose, ready to slice the Visitors in two if he tries anything. Although Eric didn''t express, he thought. "As if getting tens of hateful looks from the Civilians here wasn''t enough! Morons."


    Trying to lighten up the mood, Mogranius broke the awkward silence with a light joke. "Why so spooked? We won''t bite."


    Bold enough with his wordplay, King Tamzar replied. "It wouldn''t be a surprise if you did! The people of the lowlands are unpredictable, fighting like animals for worldly possessions." Although his point different, Mogranius focused more on the "Animal" part.


    Most of Mogranius'' comebacks are self centered and usually not so impactful towards anyone else, this time however he tipped the bucket with a short little reply. "Says the guy who lived in Caves." Unlike Eric, Mogranius tends to express what he doesn''t appreciate a lot more.


    King Tamzar along with the two Frost Blasters glared at Mogranius with anger while the three Fire Controllers behind the two guests rolled their tongue around their teeth trying to hold in the laughter. One didn''t flinch even though she was sweating because all of the laughter she is trying to hold in. And that really says something!


    Unable to come up with another comeback, and also wanting to cut to the case in order to figure out if these Guests should die or not King Tamzar asked. "Tell me more about your little, Revolution!" A little patience goes a long way after all.

 Chapter 218 - L.u.s.t

    Seeing that the wordplay is put behind for good, Mogranius decided to cut into the real case. The true reason why he along with Eric is here. He saw it better if he could have talked to the King alone instead of 5 more people lending an ear, but this will have to do. "Our Revolution can wait!" Shifting his facial expressions from a yapping jester to a serious madman real quick, with his voice sinking deep he dared to specify. "I''m here for the Demonite!"


    "Demonite? What the hell are you talking about?" Shouted King Tamzar, with rage overwhelming his common sense. Odd for a Snow Ignite who has nothing to do with an Inner Demon of Rage. But actually he is more mad about the fact that the topic is greatly shifted.


    Thinking that King Tamzar is just playing dumb, Mogranius kept his tone calm instead of yelling from the top of his lungs like a howling hound, even smiling. "You stole the Demonite from Kastaria!" Giving a big smirk after, confident that he got the King cornered in this conversation, he added. "We all know why."


    Now, unwilling to cooperate he compressed his rage and slowly spoke. "If you''ve come here to waste my time." Afterwards gestured at 5 the Guards in the scene to spring into action, he continued to express. "Then you are no longer welcome here."


    Feeling that the situation will get heated (Not in the good way either.) Mogranius drained all the smoke he could while walking through the Kingdom, going through the Blacksmith''s forge helped a lot but it wasn''t preferable, somehow its harder to control and requires a lot of concentration unlike smoke that comes from a woodfire.


    The Torches on the walls here also provided just a little Smoke, but it was enough to get him every bit of smoke he required to fulfill his plan of escape in case of a situation like this. Imagine how hard it is to drag smoke while walking or having a conversation, it was tremendously difficult.


    In a blink of an eye his entire body was replaced by smoke, representing that he linked with it successfully! With no aims to disappear, yet. The smoke he connected too started multiplying due to his command, fast enough to provide an escape without breaking a Fight. Enemy or ally, they can''t start shooting down Fire Controllers, they are too rare.


    The Smoke covered the entire throne room with a pitch dark colour, causing everyone to cough from the bottom of their lungs but for Eric this provided a lot more time to escape. Hearing Mogranius whisper in his ear, "Connect."


    Now the plan is almost clear, they are not going to fight but use invisibility to escape instead. Using the breathing exercises Mogranius taught Eric a bunch of times both in Lan Zhe and Gaster Kingdom, Eric managed to successfully link. Mogranius even felt his Smoke being drained and had the decency to whisper. "Careful, we ain''t dating."


    Once Mogranius assured that Eric has successfully connected with the Smoke he himself provided, he made all of the Smoke in the Throne Room disappear in the blink of an eye and granted everyone the capability of breathing without an additional cough.


    "Follow them!" Yelled King Tamzar at the five Guards, but was looking at the Fire Controllers mostly with blood boiling anger as if this is their fault primarily! Technically speaking, it kind of is! These ladies led them all the way to the Castle and now the two Ignites who are considered enemies of King Tamzar (And the rest of the Kingdom according to how things normally go.), are roaming free in the Kingdom without anyone even noticing them! But it is also worthy to be taken into consideration that Eric and Mogranius wouldn''t be considered enemies to begin with if King Tamzar didn''t thrive in Egoism. All of them carry a little blame, even Mogranius.


    Without saying a word, the Ignite ladies dashed through the Castle Door trying to find and kill the two men who embarrassed them in front of the Leader of this impactful revolution. Although embarrassment didn''t cover those Ignite ladies, this situation still did them dirty from both parties. Looking at the two other Frost Blaster men who have been standing by his side until now, chasing after the enemies too. King Tamzar yelled, "You two stay here!"


    Confused enough of the King''s decision, they stopped on their spot and awaited for further explanation until the King broke the silence. "They brought them up here, they will kill them."


    The two Guards returned and stood near the Throne, they didn''t say a word but both understood where this will lead eventually. The enemies will escape and King Tamzar will give these Ignite ladies a very rough time even though they don''t carry much fault with this minor issue! If he had the decency to yell at those ladies even though they are contributing to this Kingdom, to his revolution. What would stop King Tamzar from doing anything worse, anything more twisted?


    Without a rush, Eric and Mogranius just casually walked all the way down to the main entrance once exchanging some whispers. Without experiencing any problem, they even climbed over the walls and jumped since the Gates were shut. The "wind" carefully opening and closing the Gates wouldn''t exactly be too believable! To aid their escape. No one, even a Grandmaster in Fire Controlling can spot another once he or she went invisible. At least, no one discovered how to do that yet.


    Now that they have been given the chance to take a better look at the Kingdom and its surroundings, Mogranius understood why this Kingdom is still remaining strong against the entire ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, as for how they fought off thousands of ill.u.s.tratian Soldiers without losing a single Guard, Mogranius is sure that it is linked to Demonite. How else would they do it!?


    The Kingdom remained strong because in order to access it, one has to go through this amazingly carved road between the two large Boulders. Approaching the Kingdom from the left side is nearly impossible for a person without powers (And quite difficult for those with powers too due to the strong winds.) since one would have to climb through a Vertical mountain wall.


    As for approaching from behind or from the right, it is also quite impossible unless the ill.u.s.tratios figure out how to jump from 90 to 250+ meters without causing a horrific scene once meeting with the ground. The Kingdom is based on a natural formation of flatness accompanied by years to centuries of carving in order for a Kingdom to fit! The only way in is through these boulders and King Tamzar seems to have buffed up the defences with not one but two races, plus with the theorized help of Demonite this Kingdom is indomitable. From the outside at least! However they are using Demonite, is still a strong mystery.


    The three Ignite ladies however, are at the verge of a nervous breakdown. They''ve split in three ways and are trying to scope every inch of the Kingdom hoping to at least hear if not bump into these two newly declared enemies! Bittore Nardone was feeling the most guilt, not because she thinks that King Tamzar is completely right. But because he will punish the entire squad of Fire Controllers standing Guard in the Carved path. This entire team of Fire Controllers contains ladies, and Snow Ignites who have powers are accompanied by an Inner Demon of L.u.s.t. You can put figure out the puzzle on why this will end badly.


    Seeing that there is no enemy in sight, without becoming visible again Eric spoke with a low tone. "So much for trying to negotiate a deal!" And proceeded to ask since he himself is very uncertain. "What do we do now? We can''t go back home empty handed." Quite nice that he considers Gaster Kingdom his home, if King Michael was here he would be proud.


    Clear to hear that he already has thought off a plan, with swiftness Mogranius explained. "We need to sneak back in there and spy on King Tamzar until we manage to squeeze out any valuable information. They can''t possibly see us if we are invisible, even a Snow Ignite isn''t that advanced." This sounds like an amazing plan indeed but can be difficult in many other aspects. Prime example, what if someone bumps into Eric or Mogranius? It isn''t exactly impossible.


    Considering the dangers, Eric still likes the idea. For him, anything is better than going back home without accomplishing the task, they didn''t even finish a portion of the task. All they managed to do is see King Tamzar and get attacked after. He was about to speak for such a topic until he took a peek at the two large boulders about 30 meters away from where they are standing. "That has to wait for now!"

 Chapter 219 - Boulders in ones Chest!

    Once Mogranius turned his gaze around to find what Eric was pointing at, he was left shocked at what was approaching. Well not entirely, but still shocked. An ill.u.s.tratian Army is marching up and has already gone half way through the Carved Path, ready to attack the Kingdom of Maleemia! The only particular reason why Mogranius was surprised, is that the ill.u.s.tratian Army was dumb enough to send more Soldiers even after they lost so many, thousands even! Just to obtain one little domain in the mountain with no particular strong economic value. Pride can get the worst out of people or is there more to this little story?


    They can think about this tremendously dumb choice all day, but it isn''t neccesarily and it won''t prove useful either, it is just a complete waste of time in circ.u.mstances like these! If him and Eric show what they are worth of now, maybe King Tamzar will figure out that the Revolution back in the lowlands indeed shares one thing in common with the Snow Ignites, they both hate the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance. Of course, they don''t have to prove themselves worthy in front of a King corrupted with evil and from the looks of it, l.u.s.t. But if they help here it can play out differently, they will be one step closer to finding the Demonite!


    Breaking out of their invisibility, He dragged Eric right in front of the pathway, and they both were ready to give their best in order to protect this... different Kingdom. Well, we shouldn''t call it wonderful, but it is important. The people in it are important at least but are under the command of a King with a terrible character but an impactful revolution too.


    Odd enough, their sacrifice of invisibility became unnecessary in this battle against hundreds! Why you might ask? Every lending hand leads them one step closer to Victory! It would be the case in most battles, but here they have enough pair of hands to their aid. The most confusing part about this battle, is that neither of the ladies dropped down to start burning enemy Soldiers into a crisp! No, no one seems to have such an intend.


    One... thing appeared in front of the two Ignites who were ready to contribute so much for the Kingdom who wants them killed! What appeared you might ask already? I''d like to call it a Fire Shield but that wasn''t exactly the case here! But it did share the same intend and use, which is standing strong against an opposer. The Fire stood tall like a wall and worked its way up into half a curl but the upper parts didn''t exactly fit with the higher walls of the Carved Pathway, it just stood around 20 meters tall!


    Seeing that the battle has already started due to this wall of Fire, the opposing Army started charging forwards with a continuous strong Roar echoing through the Carved Path and making it quite difficult for everyone to properly hear anything else around them! Thinking that the two Ignites themselves caused that wall, the Army felt like they got this invasion in the bag! "What are two Ignites against our large Army?" A huge portion of them thought!


    However, two Fire Controllers wouldn''t be able to create such a large wall unless both are Grand Masters! This wall is 10 inches thick! This is easily the work of 5 individuals who have a rank of an Expert (Level 4) in Fire Controlling! The opposing Army came up here with a low Morale, uncertain of Victory. But when they saw that only two Ignites stand in the way, they were all greatly motivated once more! What''s to come after the two Ignites is partially uncertain since no Army managed to attain Victory after the Snow Ignites invaded, but the Guard Commanders feel like Victory is quite possible now.


    This Army doesn''t seem to be small either, the 5 meter wide way easily fits 4-5 men in one row! And this path is 200 meters across! Yet, Mogranius was able to see the end of the Army almost at the other side of this Carved Path!


    The Army arrived near the two Ignites and struck against the Fire Wall! Hoping to tare it down and proceed with the invasion! Their Morale is too high for people who were uncertain of Victory up until now. The Fire Wall even started cracking here and there even though it is ten inches thick, but the Army''s efforts proved useless because the cracks kept disappearing as if the wall kept renewing itself.


    One Sword strike after the other did its own contribution, if the entire Army had the chance to land one strike or two, the wall would have a lot more chances of being broken, but luckily the Carved Path isn''t wide enough for such an activity.


    Odd enough just after a few cracks were renewed, the Soldiers near it started punching their own chests to relieve the sensation around it that felt like swallowing boulders! They had trouble breathing, they were gasping for air as if someone was strangling them by the throat.


    The other Soldiers behind them started sharing similar fate and the disease like impact spread almost like the Domino effect! As if losing breath wasn''t bad enough, Soldiers started dropping to the ground a moment after! Gasping for breath, coughing up blood and trying to crawl their way out of this "Demonized" path but they felt too weak to do so! Eventually, these symptoms caused for the Soldiers to get knocked out cold!


    A few Soldiers all the way from the back, tried to flee the battle that didn''t even start yet and take their chances with the terrible environment they walked their way up too instead of dealing with anything like this. But it was a pale ineffective attempt! Another wall suddenly appeared from the other side! The wall wasn''t as big as the one in front of Eric and Mogranius but it was just enough to keep those few Soldiers in, they don''t have the energy to fight after all so all they can do is wait to share the same fate.


    One after one, the Enemy Soldiers kept dropping to the ground with no particular wound in sight! They have no visible wound but they kept falling down, without aims or the option to stand up once more! If any Soldier from past invasion attempts managed to survive, maybe they would have a different approach instead of just sending bundles of Soldiers to fail once more.


    Confused enough and intensely frightened, Eric dragged Mogranius back even though he refused, and shouted. "What the hell is going on here?" After dragging him far away enough!


    "I have no idea! I''ve never seen anything like it! Men just dropping dead? Mass poison maybe?" Mogranius was a bit frightened too but he is mostly curious. This just doesn''t make any sense! Why did it happen, how did it happen? "Either way, we won''t find anything out from here." Afterwards he tried to go back near the battle scene but Eric refused to let him!


    Uncertain how exactly they can poison an Army, Eric asked the "wiser". "They can''t poison an Army with a couple of Firewalls, can they?" He didn''t know what to believe anymore! Adding, "No, it can''t be possible!"


    To turn their curiosity for the worse, the Fire wall closest to Eric and Woldemir broke and shattered down into pieces with the biggest pieces reducing into nothingness once meeting with the ground because those pieces took longer to disintegrate.


    An Ignite lady dropped down after, and started bursting Fire out of her palms, burning down what she could of the aftermath from this battle. She actually started burning down Soldiers! Not to land the finishing blow either, but to clean the road!


    Apparently, some ill.u.s.tratian Soldiers didn''t die yet! So they kept screaming for Mercy, while some were screaming out of pain once feeling their limbs being burned badly! To make this scene even more disgusting, often half of their bodies were burned while the rest were left over to prove as a disgusting scene. No one would dare to look at them, not to mention smell!


    The Ignite Lady walked through the 200 meter Carved Path burning down as much as she could with her own pace! Afterwards from where this lady started, dropped another Ignite woman then the other and then the third! These ladies however, played no games! One started walking in front, made her way in deep for 20 meters and torched everything on the way there as much as she could.


    The second woman started following after and started torching out the ashes and bits of Iron left over by the now considered second Fire Controller to aid in this clean up. But that wasn''t enough, it takes a lot of effort to melt Iron especially if done with just a quick walk by! By this task spread in between four ladies, Mogranius was able to find out that none of them are Grand Masters!


    The last Fire Controller started off after the second one in line walked for 20 meters, and cleaned up what was left of these brave wholesome amount of Soldiers! Mostly ashes and just a little bit more of Iron. Flesh or bone wasn''t to be spoken off! They all even ignored Mogranius and Eric watching from a distance, since these two Newcomers were approved access already. They don''t know of the little fight with King Tamzar.


    Eric decided to point out. "Just look how unbothered they are! The Army they faced here is the same size if not bigger, than the Army we faced in Pameres Kingdom and lost hundreds of Guards for!" Feeling it but refusing highly to say it, he thought instead. "This portrays demonic powers if not less." He never wants to call his own Kind demons, but for such tremendous flawless success, they have to be using Demonite.


    "I''m aware, but we need to disappear!" Pointed out Mogranius, bringing Eric back to reality this time instead of the other way around.


    If how all of these Soldiers died isn''t confusing enough, Mogranius just confused him more. Baffled, Eric stated. "But there isn''t any smoke!"


    "That''s where you are wrong."

 Chapter 220 - Bring me your Arm.

    Throughout many situations in life, Mogranius had found himself in situations where he absolutely had to be invisible in order to succeed with a specific assigned task! Due to this fact, he taught himself how to find smoke even if it is from the smallest sources, even if he has to obtain the required smoke bit by bit! He taught himself to be more aware of his surroundings, one can find smoke easier with such perception.


    Since neither of the three Ignite ladies that are chasing him and Eric, likely aren''t in this scene yet but are scoping the Kingdom instead especially because the main Gate is closed! Mogranius decided to fly over this boulder along with Eric! Once he approached them, counting 12 ladies he proceeded with a warm approach. "Congratulations! This battle was tremendous! I''ve never seen anything like it." A bit of an interesting fact is that Mogranius isn''t faking all of this battle enthusiasm! He loves the work these ladies did even though he is highly confused and a bit scared too. Fear didn''t beat his curiosity however.


    Seeing that the ladies aren''t becoming hostile, Eric decided to ask about Mogranius thought out theory. "Did you poison the entire Army?"


    The same lady that was slapped down by Bittore Nardone, walked away from the bundle of ladies and spoke for all of them! "Such information will only be revealed after King Tamzar''s direct approval, we do not intend to reveal anything that might lead to Maleemia being conquered." At least this time this grumpy lady is willing to listen instead of trying to shoot either Mogranius or Eric down!


    Feeling quite confident that his own speechcraft due to countless life experiences, can help him with this case of finding valuable information. He said, "But that''s what King Tamzar send us here for."  Seeing that everyone is patiently listening, with a little smirk he continued. "To watch the battle and be taught the ropes by yours truly. We are now the part of this defence team." With this little wordplay, he is using the fact that King Tamzar "approved" their presence here to his utmost advantage.


    Perceptive enough, and having a developed hate already for these newcomers due to the embarrassment she faced a while ago, this grumpy lady started stating fact after fact. "First of all, that''s not how the procedure of approval here works!" Now taking the turn of putting a big smirk on her face, she continued with a lot of confidence. "Furthermore this is a restricted Area for any Fire Controller who didn''t pass the defence test yet." Taking a couple of steps back and shouting. "The King didn''t even know about the battle! Even we didn''t until we saw the Soldiers appearing on the road''s curve further away." With a sphere of Fire forming in between her hands that were seperated a foot apart from each other, she asked with a shout. "Now tell us! What are you here for!"


    Embarrassed enough, not because he was caught in a lie but because he failed to get any information from these ladies. With a couple of sweats breaking from his forehead he calmly expressed. "I can explain this bit by bit."


    Seeing that Mogranius still carried a calm tone even though the lady in front of him along with 11 others behind her formed a battle pose ready to banish these two men out of existence, she lowered her Guard down just a small little bit. That was her dumbest mistake here! And that''s saying something considering that she got slapped to the ground a while ago!


    Mogranius was replaced by a thick black formation of Smoke and spread in a spherical (But lumpy) with a radius of 15 meters! Just enough to help Eric be partially out of harm''s way and connect after as well! To make this escape even safer, the 12 ladies started coughing from the top of their lungs until one of them shouted. "Shoot the damn smoke!"


    These Ignite ladies aren''t used to fighting other Fire Controllers. And even if they do, Fire is rarely involved. So they didn''t exactly know that smoke can be shot and the "Caster" would be highly damaged by it. Even though Mogranius body is replaced by smoke, getting damaged by an opponent can be deadly. Unlike connecting with Fire, an attack sadly can''t just pass through without actually dealing any damage. It is the main downside of connecting with Smoke. Another reason why the ladies didn''t know of such a fact, is that Magic teaching schools aren''t common throughout Ignis after the War, in fact there aren''t any of them left at all. They were all burned down!


    Sad enough, for the ladies at least. Once one Finally shot, both of the Ignites are out of sight along with the smoke too. Escaping just by an inch! Now it is nearly impossible to find these Ignites, they can just hope that they reappear again and get shot by anyone else.


    How did Mogranius find smoke here you might ask? Well you can''t trust anything that you can''t see, Mogranius has proven that fact countless times up until now! Although not visible, the ashy aftermath caused for a lot of smoke to be released all around. The burning of Iron had a strong odor and once again quite hard to control.


    The two drops of sweat Mogranius experienced in this blistering cold, weren''t entirely out of embarrassment. Most of it was caused due to the wildly massive concentration he had to go through in order to drag every bit of smoke towards him enough to connect with it and cause that cloud of smoke!


    A lot of the Smoke came out of torched bodies as well, this didn''t make anything easier. He even felt the stench of it surrounding his body, he will need a wash after this!


    "What will we do now?" Asked a lady from the group with a lot of concern, the King clearly won''t tolerate such failure. She was scared for her own safety and for the rest of the group safety''s too.


    "We can''t do anything about it, we have no way to find those bastards!" Shouted the grumpy lady as she felt that little tear frozen on her chin, melt out and spread around her neck and a bit of it on her chest too. Feeling cold water on her skin wasn''t the best experience, but she literally melted it off due to the sudden rush of body heat she put herself through due to all of this eggarated anger, rage. I suppose she has work to do against her own Inner Demon. "We can just hope that someone else shoots them down!"


    Meanwhile, since Eric and Mogranius didn''t manage to get any information from these ladies, they decided to follow one of the previous plans. Which is to head towards the Castle in order to find any valuable information. However, since both of them spread in random directions and it is impossible to see an Ignite once he or she becomes invisible, they lost track of each other.


    They can''t yell out for each other since it would grab a lot of attention, so Mogranius did something else instead hoping that Eric is smart enough to pick up his unspoken sign. He just made a little bit of smoke appear, enough for anyone to see from close by but definitely not enough for someone who is over 50 meters away to notice.


    After a couple of minutes, Eric apparently approached close enough and had the decency to scold. "You know you aren''t supposed to be visible!"


    A bit angry that he got such a comment after taking such a risk for the boy, he just simply said. "Shut up." To avoid being detected and waited for any passing random joe to open the main gate, it is easy to jump from the wall when inside the Kingdom, but not easy to climb up when being outside. They are living breathing smoke at the moment after all, and smoke doesn''t break Fire from its feet. It doesn''t even have feet!


    In the Castle of Maleemia, a Guard approached carrying a leather bag and handed it to King Tamzar, stating after. "This my Lord, is what the Kingdom''s Blacksmith managed to make out of that... ore."


    Anticipation no doubt, he pulled the content out of the bag! He pulled out a little dagger, its blade around 20 centimeters but its size didn''t matter but its color instead! Like the Blue Eagle, its colour shone in a dark blue manner!


    "Hmm... amazing." Murmured King Tamzar to himself, and odd enough he asked in a low calm tone as if his request isn''t such a big deal. "Bring your arm closer."


    The Guard followed the Command without any disagreement but sure has some hesitation. In either way he doesn''t want to show weakness so he just obayed the King''s wish. Refusing wouldn''t prove useful after all!

 Chapter 221 - The Sacrifice of Safety.

    Once King Tamzar got a hold of the Guard''s Arm, he asked for the Guard to pull up his own sleeve. Getting a better grip of the Dagger, he uses the very tip of it just to drag it across the Guard''s Arm. He didn''t want to cause any strong deadly damage so he tried to be as careful as humanly possible with this light cut.


    The Guard took the cut without even flinching, because he didn''t want to appear weak and it didn''t really hurt enough to howl in pain. But what test would King Tamzar need to do on a Guard, why a Guard? It would make anyone over analyze this situation especially since he cut his own kind. A revolutionary leader like King Tamzar wouldn''t do something like this randomly, it is likely very thought out or it could be random! We never really know!


    "Good. How many ores of this new type have the Miners found?" Asked King Tamzar as he let go of the Guard''s Arm.


    Without even bothering to treat this little blemish, the Guard rolled down his sleeve and was swift to answer. "They told me that they mined out around 200 Kilograms! There is still a lot of it but this... ore is too solid, its hard to mine out!"


    "Hmmm." Taking a bit more time to think, he finally answered. "Fetch my assistant and tell her to hire more Miners. We need as much of these Ores as possible!"


    King Tamzar is quite pleased of this ore as well expressed how much he requires them, to the point where 200 Kilograms doesn''t seem to be enough. To give it another test, he stood up from his throne and squatted down. Holding the Dagger Vertically upside down, with a portion of his strength he bashed the Dagger against the solid stone ground!


    The resulting sound didn''t please him and he thought the Dagger''s tip broke! But when he lifted it up, the Dagger''s form still remained new and undamaged! Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, pleased no doubt but still eager to test it out further. He bashed the Dagger against the solid ground for the second time with a lot more strength!


    And the result still remained the exact same! The Dagger''s tip just didn''t break. Comfortable enough, he tried this once again but with all the strength he could push through this Dagger without hurting himself in the process. But the result? Still the same, the Dagger remained new like it came in this Castle.


    "Amazing." Expressed King Zar positivity for once, thinking to himself. "This... metal is next to being indestructible. With such Ore turned into Armour, we can claim our domains back with minimal losses!"


    "Would there be anything else Sir?" Asked the Guard whose arm got cut for a "test". He got quite confused when he saw the King looking like he tried to dig a hole with this new Dagger, but he couldn''t say anything about it or even speak before he was sure that the King is done.


    Twirling the Dagger in aims of playing with it, feeling how light it is he got amazed Furthermore but this time failed to express because he remembered that the Guard has been here the whole time. Pushing the little embarrassment away he ordered. "Yes, tell my Assistant to hire more Blacksmiths. There aren''t anymore in Town, so apprentices have to be put in to work."


    Sitting back on his wooden throne, he calmly expressed. "You may go now." After dismissing the Guard, he kept glaring at the Dagger on his hand and was forced into War L.u.s.t due to his raging thoughts.


    Pulling out a freshly smelted Ingot from the bag of which the Guard brought in, he glared upon it and was able to find his own reflection. The Ingot looks beautiful, revolutionary! With the help of this little piece of metal, a mass impact can be made in battle. If he plays his cards right, Continental dominance is even possible. But even when taking his deep thoughts into consideration, all he wants to do is take back what belongs to the Snow Ignites!


    To break the Throne Room''s silence, Bittore Nardone dashed in. Trying to catch her breath while approaching closer, she bent down until her knee met the floor. Kept her head down in embarrassment and explained. "My King, I''m sorry to inform that we didn''t manage to capture the enemies." Her body was shaking while she explained what happened. If only they knew that the "enemies" are sharing the same room here, listening to this Conversation. To be exact, they walked in with Bittore Nardone once she pushed the door open with a dash.


    But King Tamzar expected these results. He knew that it is almost impossible to find an Ignite once he or she is invisible yet again he sent them at a wild goose chase, although not expressed by the King himself she knew that this was just an excuse to throw a "punishment" against these targeted ladies.


    "What?" Yelled King Tamzar acting very displeased. If there was rage to burn, he would do it when the Ignites escaped. Now it is basically pointless especially since he knew that the Snow Ignites will escape. "This embarrassment of a failure won''t escape unpunished Bittore!"


    Shaking on her knees, she kept her tone under control at least and expressed. "I''m aware my King, I''m willing to take punishment for this failure."


    Giving a smirk when he heard what he wanted to hear, he decided to become bold and ask for more than he is offered. "Your little self sacrifice won''t do this time Bittore, I want the last one!"


    With a couple of tears breaking from her eyes, with her voice trembling she slowly spoke. "Please. No! She is only 17!"


    Filthy enough with his wordplay, he pointed out. "She is the only one that remained... deflowered from your little group." Well, there we go. Here we see that the Inner Demon of L.u.s.t is working hard.


    But it raised a big question in Mogranius'' mind who was close to cutting King Tamzar''s throat because of this terrible act. Why would these powerful Ignites to live under these terrible circ.u.mstances? King or not, no one would want to share a bed with a man she doesn''t love.


    "I don''t care about her age. She is mature enough, and quite frankly the other ladies don''t please me anymore." With a devious smirk on his face, he decided to bribe Bittore with what she feared most. "If your entire team doesn''t want to lose a loved one, you will bring Osira in my room. Now even, I don''t want to wait until tonight."


    Seeing that the King is using the tool he has used until now to drag 14 out of 15 of these ladies to his bed, including Bittore herself. She was left with no choice, refusing to let her daughter share a bed with this l.u.s.t corrupted Snow Ignite, would lead to some innocent individual''s death. She hated that the situation came where it is right now, especially because of her mistake, but she knew this would happen eventually. She just nodded in agreement and left the Castle with one ear breaking down after the other, refusing to let anyone else see her cry, she went into invisibility.


    This situation is rotten for her team! When it comes for herself and the older ladies in the group, they would gladly suffer through a night or even a thousand if it means that the minors or their families remain safe. Their first mistake here, is seeking help in a Kingdom filled with men and women corrupted by l.u.s.t. They had no chance of knowing that the Snow Ignites have an Inner Demon of l.u.s.t to deal with! In Fact they aren''t aware of the Inner Demons at all.


    Mogranius and Eric were both in agreement that they won''t let whoever Osira Nardone is, to get in bed with this maniac! They were in agreement even though they didn''t exchange be it one word with each other! Their pride, the fact that they share the same skin, and the basic thought of Human decency didn''t let them stay there and watch. What the King is doing is just a calm method of **** after all, this isn''t excusable regardless of status.


    An hour after, Bittore came in the Throne room with her daughter. This took longer than it should have, likely because Osira didn''t agree to share a bed with this retard. Who knows how many motherly tears it took to get her up here.


    Without saying a word, the King stood up from his throne and started walking up the stone stairs behind him which led to the "Royal Bedroom". Bittore and Osira followed after. The mother was bursting out one tear after the other, but the daughter remained as strong as a boulder!


    She followed him into the Bedroom and shut the door a couple of seconds after, with Bittore waiting outside of the Royal Bedroom. Little did they know, Eric and Mogranius used those couple of seconds to slip in the room along with the two.


    First things first, Osira pulled her hood down! When she did, Mogranius managed to notice right away who this lady is. This is that grumpy lady who has been causing them trouble until now. The flash of memories now explained why she is so strict! Mogranius can''t allow for this to happen!


    A Fireball broke out of one''s palms and King Tamzar was sent hurtling across the room like a ragdoll, falling on the ground and seeing his intestines rolling out from his stomach. With his last bit of breath and pale hopes of survival, he yelled. "Guards!"

 Chapter 222 - Big Budget.

    In the meanwhile, back at Crutal Kingdom King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll is making some final preparations to send Guard Commander Chan back on a quest! He successfully brought back the Ghost Branch even though it took him a lot longer than the King expected. Infact, he made his way towards Crutal Kingdom a bit before the third month started!


    The King wasn''t proud of such a delay even though him waiting a bit more doesn''t really have bad consequences! He completely blamed Chan about the whole thing even though it is the King who was fooled by simple scouts.


    Eitherway, the Ghost branch is here along with the Calidum Lutum''s heart. All they need now is a Frozen Toe from the Giant ill.u.s.tratio all the way back to the edge of the Continent, all the way back near Frozen Toe Kingdom in Orientis Ignis. Practically snow Elf territory but it is still crawling with ill.u.s.tratios, there isn''t even a single Snow Ignite to be found in Domains there.


    As for the scouts who managed to fool Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll, they will soon get what''s coming to them. He didn''t find them yet and certainly didn''t enjoy the fact that Chan was the one pointing out his deficiency on this task. If Chan was a bit more miss informed, he would die! But the King doesn''t really care about that particular fact.


    "You have called for me King Xakro!" Calmly spoke Guard Commander Chan as he walked in the Throne room. Since he arrived at Crutal Kingdom just a few days ago, the shivers didn''t yet leave his body. Not to mention he still feels tired! "I''m guessing we will start the new task!"


    King Xakro however, is not in a good mood. That isn''t really a surprise since he hasn''t been in an actual good mood ever since the start of the series, but this time it is  a bit over done even for him! "Stop talking!" He shouted from the top of his lungs! Certainly pissed off because of the Scouts primarily and yet screaming at Chan about it as if it was his fault.


    Even though he was told to stop talking, he tried to just let out one word of agreement. "Alri..." But was interrupted by King Xakro, yelling out once more.


    "I told you to stop... talking you piece of... shit!" Yelling however, has sure decreased his breathing capacity. He kept stopping mid sentence to catch his breath and still continued to yell. Afterwards taking a while to catch his breath, he explained without screaming for once. "You need to go... and find Bear Claw!"


    Not speaking a word since he was told to stop talking just a moment ago, he just waited for a further explanation. Until, King Xakro shouted once more. "This is where... you should start talking... you Buffon." Chan has sure become tired of this behaviour. Unnecessary yelling, cursing, sending Chan for a race to oblivion! He could have died twice and barely said anything about it yet King Xakro''s attitude is only becoming worse!


    "Eh... where exactly can I find him?" That''s where Chan made another mistake! He was told to speak yes, but he made a small grammatical mistake which would indeed gain a negative reaction. It is still just his memorizing capability to be blamed, or the fact that he tunes out King Xakro half of the times.


    "It is a she... you howling Buffon!" He shouted once more but this time instead of breaking the arm support of his very Throne, he became a bit more hostile. Towards Guard Commander Chan that is!


    He shot a small Fireball in front of Chan''s feet, if he wasn''t quick enough to step back with all of his capabilities, he would be shot down for good. But yet again he could survive since King Xakro has healing powers, maybe that''s why he took such a risk or it could be that he is a mentally unstable power crazed man. We can''t be sure.


    "Right." Swiftly answered Chan once he dodged the Fireball and saw a hole bursted through the wooden plank flooring! Luckily King Xakro was quick enough to reduce the Fire caught on the planks into smoke. Last thing they need right now is a Castle room Fire! The small Fireball dug a foot deep even though under the polished wood plank flooring there is nothing less than solid carved rock! If this small  Fireball was to hit him, it would split him in two. Healing Powers might not be able to reverse that.


    "Go find her at... Red Clay Kingdom. The residents know her... there." With breathing becoming harder by the passing day and moment, he took nearly half a minute to recover before he finally spoke. "Tell her that I sent you or... she will fry you like a... Fishstick."


    Struggling to remember as much as he can, but still tremendously failing. He had the decency to ask. "Ugh... Does she practice Cannibalism?" He just barely remembers anything about her even though he and King Xakro had a deep specific talk about her abilities. Maybe the traumas from the two tasks did its part, furthermore this topic was spoken off months ago.


    Surprisingly enough, King Xakro didn''t yell this time even though he had a slight reason to do so! With his pace, slight equals to tremendously big. Instead, he just spoke. "Do you want to... Die?"


    "Definitely not." Answered Chan once he realized that he slowly became a pain in the ass throughout this conversation. "Please explain them to me now and if possible have someone write them down for me. My memory is terrible."


    "I''m way ahead of... you." Answered King Xakro, afterwards his personal assistant walked in carrying a parchment. Once opened, it contained detailed step by step information designed for Chan to follow. The most important part about it, for Chan at least. Is the fact that he can''t have his resources limited this time.


    He glanced at the Budget for this task written right on top of the Parchment and he started punching his own chest to relieve his shock, his heart tightened as if he finally found his soulmate! King Xakro is providing 30,000 Gold Coins for this task, furthermore he can tag along 10 Guards with him at max, however they won''t be of Elite Level(4).


    Waiting for Chan to read through the Parchment, he finally added. "Failure is not... an option. You have enough resources... for the trip. You won''t have... to worry about the blistering... cold either. You will sleep... in one of the three Wagons." Perhaps King Xakro is capable of a little sympathy, perhaps between all of that rage rising since he was fooled by simple scouts, stands a bit of understanding. Or he could simply be aware of the fact that the cold bizzare mountains are even more dangerous than the freezing cold here in the lowlands throughout the Winter. On the mountains, there is only one season and it isn''t a warm one. Hence the fact, Snow Ignite territory.


    "I appreciate the provided Resources Sire." Calmly expressed Chan and tried to assure. "I promise not to fail you."


    "Good. You may... go now." Ordered the King, dismissing both of them actually since it is Aaron''s responsibility to orientate Guard Commander Chan towards the Wagons. As for the King, he doesn''t look so good!


    Well, it is hard to tell since his face is burned into a black shade, he is missing an eye and his nose is cut. He always doesn''t look good or healthy, but this time it appears a bit different. Perhaps age might be doing its effects? He became 46 years old in 17 November, but still that is still not enough to explain the change over the months. He is really struggling to breathe.


    While making their way down to the main gate, Aaron broke the silence with a little compliment on Chan''s progress. "How did you fare with the task? The King told me that you had the opportunity to speak with the unliving?" Although it does sound exciting, speaking with the members of the Dense Forest Kin wasn''t as interesting compared to meeting the being that represented his father.


    So his expression towards that portion of the Adventure was pale, he didn''t even tell King Zar about what he experienced with who he thinks is his father. "It was fun, but the ass freezing cold and the Wild Boar attack didn''t really let me focus on the Ghosts."


    Giving out a loud laugh echoing across the Houses around them, he grabbed Chan''s shoulder and expressed once calming down. "I feel bad that you have to go through "ass freezing cold" once more, but at least you will go well prepared and in style." Thinking about the scouts that fooled King Xakro, he was direct with his wordplay. "This time you won''t need a map, the residents will point you right towards the little hill the Giant ill.u.s.tratio takes shelter at."


    "Yes hopefully." Joked around Chan and added with a lot of relief. "At least I have a budget to rely on this time."


    "This will be a breeze compared to the past two Quests. Be back in one piece and we will celebrate with some fine Ale aye??"

 Chapter 223 - Meter thick Stone wall.

    King Tamzar gave out his last breath, the shot was just too vicious to survive. The Fire dug against his stomach, broke some ribs and the intestines spilled out. It wasn''t a desirable scene for anyone to witness, especially after the stench struck one''s nose. This is truly a terrible way to die, but this isn''t the part we should focus on.


    King Tamzar is dead, but Osira is the only living human visible in this room. Mogranius and Eric didn''t shoot since they had a couple of seconds to spare, I mean she just dragged down her hood. Nothing else.


    Bittore Nardone rushed in the room and yelled. "What have you done Osira?!" This was indeed a question but she was still able to see Tamzar dead on the ground and figure out what happened, she is the only one in the room and even if an Ignite was in this room, invisible. That Ignite or Ignites wouldn''t be able to cause this kind of damage while they are invisible.


    "I''m not a coward like you, mother. I won''t let anyone touch me for the sake of living in this god forsaken place." While Osira was yelling at her mother, Mogranius gave a slight whisper on Eric''s ear.


    Afterwards, Mogranius appeared in the room without a mass smoke cloud his aid on making a stunning appearance. "The girl is right." Once he appeared, Osira returned to her battle position and was ready to shoot Mogranius down.


    Infact, she even tried to do it but Mogranius was swift to crack a Fire Shield. Assuring his own safety first, he continued to explain himself. "I don''t mean harm towards any of you. In fact, I was going to kill King Tamzar myself because of these wild inhumane acts he has committed." Looking a bit proudly towards someone who for once wasn''t himself, he continued to add. "But you beat me to it." Afterwards he broke his Fire Shield to show a bit of trust and a lot of approachability.


    Letting her Guard down, since she doesn''t see Mogranius as a complete threat. Because when you think about it, he and Eric could have just watched Osira strip or being striped n.a.k.e.d while they just watch and enjoy without anyone noticing them. Even after she killed King Tamzar, he and Eric could have simply walk out and avoid trouble. It was that easy, so him making an appearance gives a lot of mixed signals but at least he isn''t hostile towards her and her mother.


    "See mother, even the enemy knows that King Tamzar is wrong." Osira had strong reasons no doubt, but Bittore had a hard time focusing on what anyone was saying. Taking one more glance at the disgusting scene her daughter caused, she puked out her lunch near the door for half a minute and then throughout that violent hurling she came up with a plan. It was simple but good enough!


    "We need to get out of here!" Infact she didn''t even wait for opinions or thoughts about this. Lightly clapping her hands, a tiny blaze of Fire burst near her pinky fingers and she moved her hands near her right shoulder. Afterwards, moving her hands from her shoulder towards her left hip wind breakingly fast, she unleashed a Slicer against the wall in front of her. She apparently knew that this leads outside.


    Taking time to run through the Castle''s main gate would inevitably get them killed with all these Frost Blasters around. However that shot wasn''t enough to break through the meter thick stone wall in front of her, letting out another Slicer she managed to push half way through.


    Confident enough, she felt like this is enough to launch a Fireball against without victimizing her daughter or Mogranius in the process. She was just thinking about her daughter though. Doing a little half sumo squat to assure tightness against the ground, she unleashed a 5 foot wide Fireball and another 4 foot wife one right after.


    An opening was exploded against the wall in front of her, roughly 3 feet round but it is enough to make an escape from here with hopes of not being frozen to death or nailed against the wall by an Ice spike! The Snow Ignites are a force to be reckoned with after all once putting the Inner Demon of L.u.s.t behind!


    "Go go go. Why are you looking at me like an idiot!" Shouted Bittore, towards I wish I could say Mogranius. But no! She was yelling like that at her daughter, the same one she pushed in a bed with the dead retard with. Osira does tend to have rageful outbursts but does she deserve what she is going through right now? Absolutely not!


    A guard who has seemed to have heard all of the commotion, rushed towards the royal bedroom to see what''s happening. Throughout the possible panic he was forced to go through, he likely didn''t notice that Bittore has puked a mass amount of what she ate, across the flooring.


    Embarrassing enough, his foot slipped and he found himself upside down flying through the air for a couple of meters before he met the ground again and dashed through one door leading to the Royal kitchen, apparently the King doesn''t like to eat with common folk such as maids or Guards, either way it doesn''t matter anymore.


    Osira already made an escape, in fact not quite just yet. She is flying from the other side, waiting for her mother to escape too but the situation didn''t allow her. To make this bad day even worse, another Guard arrived on the scene. And when he saw King Tamzar dead, the fugitive in the room, Bittore Nardone trying to escape and another Guard struggling to get up from the other room. The first thing that appeared in his mind was cooperation in murder.


    Without uttering even a single word, the Guard blasted a half foot wide ice spike towards Bittore. Aiming towards her shoulder, this 4 foot long spike won''t kill her but will nail her to the wall instead. This is a good way to figure out what happened here and quite frankly he didn''t hesitate to shoot against Ignites especially after walking in to this awfully disgusting scene of murder.


    The Ice Spike managed to hit Bittore, but since she was ducking to go through the opening she just blasted, the Ice Spike didn''t cause enough damage. It just knocked her head against the wall, scratched a good couple of inches of her shoulder along with whatever fur clothing the Spike could hit.


    As for the Ice spike, it hit the wall and bounced off towards Mogranius. He was quick enough to avoid, especially since the Ice Spike''s speed was slowed down. Hitting another wall once missing Mogranius, its tip snapped off and the entire Spike fell on the ground.


    Seeing that this situation is getting dangerous, Mogranius shouted. "Eric now!" In a blink of an eye, what was a clear sight of a murder scene, transformed into nothing but thick black smoke which forced the Snow Ignite into a cough.


    To his fate, he was taught before to shoot against smoke if it is clear that it was caused by an Ignite who has synced into invisibility. Odd enough it would hurt the Ignite tremendously. Aiming to preserve what was left in this room, he started blasting a cold wind of frost against everyone here, especially the smoke.


    He could feel the Door casing near him unleash a cold bliss due to all of this frost unleashed against the room, but he still hears a lot of foot tapping and commotion in the room which freaked him out in more ways than he can count.


    After a few seconds, all of the commotion stopped. The Guard felt finally secure, but he took a bit more time to blast Frost since the thick Black cloud didn''t disappear yet. "Aaah, I''m freezing." Faked Eric pain, but all of the Ignites knew for sure that he was messing around. All of the conscious ones at least.


    Finally, the smoke disappeared. So the Guard felt sure that he froze everyone here! Once he was given the opportunity to take a peek, he figured out that he was fooled in many levels. The only thing he managed to freeze, were the solid rock walls closest to him! He didn''t even Freeze the floor or anything else for that matter.


    Ice can damage smoke yes, but he tried to freeze everyone here. Smoke can''t be frozen so he was just blasting against an unintentional force field! The frost just couldn''t push through the smoke, resulting in this embarrassment. Slaughtered King, Frozen walls and escaped fugitives.


    Flying upwards the tall mountains surrounding the Kingdom of Maleemia, holding Bittore on his arms and dodging quite a few Ice Spikes once they got out. Mogranius yelled for aid. "Where do we go now? We need to tie your Mother''s wound."

 Chapter 224 - She can walk!

    Flying a couple hundred meters towards the sky, Osira Nardone led the group of four towards a Cave high enough to escape the now considered enemy''s reach. A Snow Ignite can''t fly and would require a lot of time to climb those mountains, quite frankly it''s enough time to treat Bittore''s wounds. The Ignites can''t all leave the Carved Path they are guarding and even if they could, it wouldn''t necessarily be a big problem. They wouldn''t attack the people they shared the same pain with.


    Flying against that strong wind became troublesome, but they had to do it. It took a lot of Stamina, concentration and actual physical strength to not get thrown against the vertical semi straight mountain wall! It was especially hard for Mogranius both physically and mentally, he can''t risk falling over a hundred meters down with another soul on his arms. Luckily, Bittore is actually shorter than her daughter so it wasn''t too hard to carry her. Perhaps that''s why the deceased King has been eyeing Osira, because of her early bloom.


    The Cave Osira lead them towards, appears to be quite extensive. It reached multiple sections deep but they stopped once sinking around 20 meters in. It is the best way to avoid the cold winds without sinking too deep. As for light, there are 3 conscious Fire Mages after all. A simple burst on one''s palm can provide proper illumination.


    "Set her down gently, we need to tie her wound." Uttered Osira in clearly noticeable panic and started taking her fur coat off and with another aim of taking her undershirt off as well in order to rip it up and tie her mother''s wound.


    Once setting her down, he took a glance back at Osira and was quick to notice what she was doing. This isn''t his first wound treatment! Luckily, when he glared back she has just taken off her first thick linen shirt. He couldn''t help but disagreeing with her choices! "What are you doing child?"


    "We need a cloth to tie her wound! Turn around, I don''t need men looking at me while I''m shirtless. Especially after what I just went through!" She expressed whispering angirly! It is not like she doesn''t want any outsider to hear her, but the cold tends to drain her energy. The cold wind blasting against her body on the way here was endurable but only because she was wearing a fur coat. She could still feel the cold wind creeping in from many sides though.


    Eric barely understood what she meant, but he did manage to understand one thing. To turn around, so he started facing the wall until they both were interrupted by Mogranius. "Don''t look at the wall Eric." Afterwards turning her attention towards Osira he demanded. "Put your shirt back on. Both of you are children and need the heat!"


    Halfway through removing her linen shirt, but thankfully there seems to be at least 4 of them afterwards to battle this blistering cold. She slightly yelled with all the energy she had. "My mother needs the cloth!"


    "I''m aware." Although Osira looks no doubt physically fit, mature and even out of the average. Her face makes it clear that she is still just a child. Furthermore, he heard Bittore point out that her daughter is 17 years old when she tried to convince King Tamzar not to touch her. "I''m older and have dealt with cold a lot of times." Trying to joke around in aims of lightening the mood, he calmly said. "Plus both of you don''t need to turn around if I take my shirt off."


    Wanting to break into laughter but refusing to do so because of this situation, she just formed a half smile and tried to teach Mogranius what sarcasm is. "Oh, I still might have to look away." If only she knew that no one can beat Mogranius in sarcasm.


    "Ha ha ha. Don''t get a big head kiddo." Afterwards turning his attention towards what matters here, he backed off from Bittore just a little bit and asked before he completely walked away. "Do you know how to clean a fresh wound?"


    "Ugh... My mother did it countless times but I didn''t quite master it yet." Explained Osira feeling just a little bit embarrassed, but hey at least she is being less grumpy now and is overly willing to cooperate.


    "It isn''t too hard, I would ask Eric but he can''t quite control how much he bursts. Just keep the Fire light and burn each Inner portion of the wound." Although he feels like he explained it enough, he still felt a bit paranoid and dared to point out. "You don''t need to blow flesh off, just burn the surface until it is dark brown!"


    "Ugh where am I?" Asked Bittore once she regained consciousness! The moment she woke up, she felt a burning sensation of pain on her shoulder and a lot on her head too. Luckily the head injury wasn''t bad enough to actually force blood to burst out.


    "We are in a Cave mother." Tried to explain Osira as clearly as possible. Luckily they have tied her wound already or else it would have been a lot more painful for Bittore, slowly burning skin isn''t a wound easy to withstand after all. It is much like having a hot knife bashed on her skin, except it wouldn''t cut anything.


    "What happened? Why are we here?" Dared to ask Bittore, afterwards reaching out to hold her own wound. "I feel dizzy."


    With her throat feeling heavy, having it hard to talk. It isn''t easy to see her only bit of family left suffer this much. "You... you don''t remember anything?" Was Osira finally able to ask, but sunk into sadness on the way there.


    "Give her some space, she needs to breathe." Pointed out Mogranius the obvious, and tried to pull Osira back by her shoulder. Only to see her already filled with tears once she turned around. It almost made Mogranius burst into tears as well even though he had no relation with these ladies.


    Trying to comfort Osira, Mogranius tried to explain. "Your mother will be just fine. She just has a little bump. It really isn''t anything to worry about since she doesn''t have an open wound, is speaking and can even walk I assume." Such logic is indeed impeccable even though proper reliable Medical attention isn''t a widely spread, unless they were in Zameria right now which is filled with Healers.


    It helped Osira feel a bit better, but she turned her attention towards her mother and asked one question that has been occupying her thoughts these past few seconds. "Mother, can you walk?"


    "I think so. Help me up!" Told Bittore and reached her right arm out. Osira grabbed her mother''s arm and used her other hand to hold her back, it is a lot more comfortable for both of them. It wasn''t too hard for her to lift her mother especially since Bittore is just 5.6 feet tall. However she is a bit heavy due to her muscular form.


    "See I can walk Osira." Tried Bittore to be as strong as possible. But most importantly, she remembers her daughter. No one mentioned Osira''s name yet so this is solely from her own memory. She still required her daughter''s aid to walk though.


    "You remember me?" Asked Osira while a lot more tears broke out from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. At least it isn''t cold enough here for tears to freeze or else she would have a frozen beard.


    "Of course child." Expressed Bittore with a low tone and with all her energy she touched Osira''s cheek, trying to wipe her tears off.


    Seeing that Bittore doesn''t have enough energy, Mogranius recommended. "Alright alright, let her rest for a while." Afterwards he put his fur coat on the ground so Bittore can rest comfortably over it. Warmth is a big sacrifice in these parts and shows who truly has intends who are a bit more pure if not unconditional.


    Assuring that Bittore is alright, Mogranius began to search for the burning questions he has had since he met these two at the Carved Path until at this point. He sincerely asked, "Alright, so may I ask what the hell is going on in this Kingdom?" His way of expression though, was similar to singing a lullaby.


    "Ugh, I realize you have walked upon this Kingdom in a very terrible situation. But there is a lot you don''t know, however I''d like to thank you first." Grabbing her own head and massaging her temples, she murmured. "I probably couldn''t have made it without you."


    "I think we brought the situation to that position so there is no need to thank me." Tried to show Mogranius sympathy and understanding.


    "No no. He would eventually find an excuse to touch my daughter, I''m glad he is dead." She feels quite good that Tamzar is gone, the revolutionary leader is gone and won''t be able to contribute. This Revolution as we know it might crumble into dust.


    "I think we destroyed this revolution, bad or not he helped destroy a lot of the ill.u.s.tration Alliance Soldier count. The Kingdom is vulnerable to invasions now." Mogranius does carry a very firm point at the moment, if he knew what was going on, however this would be considered the source of idiocy.


    "You didn''t destroy anything, the Kingdom stands strong but not because of his contribution!"

 Chapter 225 - All in good time my friend.

    "Sire, the Wagon production has officially started." Declared Seer as he walked in King Zar''s throne room in this warmer mid day! "I''ve set the official team for the task, with the help of Maleesa."


    Although such an important task for Pameres Kingdom would indeed be a topic worthy to talk about, King Zar was more interested that Seer keeps mentioning Maleesa! So he dared to tease, "I''ve closed the entire second floor in the middle of a big feast, just for you. And yet you didn''t manage to do anything!" He has a bit of a good point, but yet again he is still just 28 years old.


    Seer is a lot older and has a better understanding of certain things. And although feelings of l.u.s.t tend to get stronger the further one grows, his past doesn''t quite let him go too far with a woman he didn''t marry. "Everything has its own time Sire. Or do I dare to say, Zar."


    "Eh, you are allowed." Normally King Zar wouldn''t be this loose, but Seer filled the spot a father should have even though he didn''t aim too. He has shared the same journey with King Zar for 11 years. "Then get married already! Like I''ve told you before, you can hold the marriage ceremony in the Castle! All expenses covered!"


    To fill King Zar with over excitement, Seer confidently spoke out without noticing that his tone arose high. "I might use that offer soon Zar."


    Before King Zar was able to reply, some goosebumps arose when Maleesa walked in. Carrying two violently blushing cheeks with her, apparently she might have heard more than she is supposed too. This could be ruining the surprise, Seer doesn''t tend to reveal anything about his personal life and when he finally did at this moment it still went towards the worse but just slightly. "Ugh, I''ve came to inform Seer that I''m done doc.u.menting all the changes. I''ve also got more than half of the Salaries ready but I need some help if I can borrow your assistant for a bit that is?"


    There are a lot to talk about, but there is no rush with it! Plus King Zar has been doing everything he could to get these two lovebirds together so he has no reason to refuse especially after how much class Maleesa is showing with her wordplay even though she is filled with goosebumps. "Of course of course. Maybe he has something to tell you as well!" Replied King Zar, feeling more enthusiastic about this than the couple and even trying to tease them both. Because Seer is sharing a red face as well at the moment. "Infact, why don''t you two take the day off. King''s orders."


    "But the Wagons!" Urged Seer, there is much to talk about after it as well but they can wait considering how long it takes to receive a message from the Zamerians.


    "The Wagons aren''t going anywhere. Go enjoy this beautiful day!" There isn''t an official order yet, but they are sure to arrive considering how cheap the prices for a Zamerian are! Until then, they all have some free time. It should take roughly a couple of weeks for the message to arrive in Gaster Kingdom and another week to arrive here in Pameres Kingdom! It is good that they are aiming for new deals, because the Iron Sword project will end upon this next delivery (On the fourth month of the year.). It will be 6 full months, with 2,000 Iron Swords delivered in total.  Pameres Kingdom earned a groundbreaking 140,000 Gold Coins from this project. Of course, Gaster Kingdom earned 14,000 Gold Coins of the total profit due to the port usage, plus there was a lot of Gold spend on employees but they still made a good profit.


    Seer definitely wanted to work more, it is just midday and he isn''t yet tired enough. But both Maleesa and King Zar thought otherwise! Grabbing his arm, she gently dragged him out but at first she had to put in a bit more strength because Seer was standing still as if his feet were nailed to the ground. "I have a great idea I was going to leave for a free day, let''s do a picnic."


    The idea great indeed, until now "picnic" has been used as a term to describe something really bad and difficult to tackle. But this time, it will be used for a better cause. For an actual Picnic, crazy I know. The Snow has melted long ago and there barely is any mud. The grass wouldn''t be wet either because it is already mid day, the sun likely burned up any wet areas. They don''t need to picnic around the farm fields either (Which is on the Kingdom''s right side.), a good way to avoid the water canals used for farming, provided by the many creeks in the thick forest nearby.


    Maleesa went towards her house, and Seer being shy enough he waited outside. Last thing he wants right now is to make any passerby thinks that he is taking advantage of a 44 year old lady, he is 48 himself but still! There still are a lot of ill minded people here and the fact that Seer is an ill.u.s.tratio and Maleesa is an Ignite, will give many bad examples for those who tend to think towards the negative.


    But normally, Maleesa doesn''t really give a damn about what the majority thinks. She is a highly educated woman who knows how to keep her boundaries around men, even towards those that she fancies. I mean, she earned the title of an employee manager! That is a government job. Both as an Ignite and as a woman, that is a large achievement here where the overall s.e.xism, racism and lack of proper education roams wild. She grabbed Seer by the arm and dragged him inside, asking him to pick what food he fancies.


    The options were quite wide, not a big surprise either. She lives alone and earns 250 Gold Coins a month. One could save a lot of gold under such circ.u.mstances and still live as a middle class Civilian. There are various meat here, freshly bought bread, even a few eggs from Gaster Kingdom send as a sample. Those however were given free to Castle officials, even to the maids.


    A few minutes after, they left her house carrying everything they need in a handy leather bag. Seer wanted to contribute towards this little picnic too, but Maleesa didn''t agree in any way. So he tricked her into thinking that they will just go to his house to get a spare big cloth they can sit on!


    She believed him after he insisted around 7 times, but saw Seer come out with another leather bag containing more delicious food. He earns 600 Gold Coins each month so he indeed wasn''t stingy with everything he brought out. He was even carrying a couple Kilograms of cooked Black Marlin Meat.


    "You tricked me." Pointed out Maleesa the obvious, she is a bit mad but couldn''t help finding it adorable how he wanted to help form this picnic as well.


    "True, otherwise you would never let me come here." Stated Seer as he put both of the bags over his left shoulder, just so he can touch Maleesa''s nose with the other. Main purpose? Just to annoy her!


    Nobody likes their nose touched, so she just backed her head away as if she was a Feline aiming to bite his finger if he did it again! "I will take my revenge, you''ll see."


    They made their way behind the Kingdom, normally people who can afford to have a picnic go near the Forest in front of the Kingdom. But a bloody battle broke there a few weeks ago, and although the Fire Controllers managed to burn the aftermath to the last bit of ash. There still remains a foul stench, it would kill anyone''s appetite.


    Behind the Kingdom, the view is almost the same and the area is even less crowded. The only difference is the Forest, being a bit further away. It is a small sacrifice, especially since Guards and Hunters have been fighting off Wild Boars ever since the Gr.a.p.e Farm started.


    These Wild Boars are omnivores, eating just about anything offered by the wild and from semi man made (Or planted) portions. The Gr.a.p.e plantings are an easy pick, apparently they favour the roots of them. Meaning they pull the saplings off the ground and finish its roots off. Smart for an animal, but also very damaging especially since they are Nocturnal. A good thing out of this, is that there is a lot more meat available to sell. Hunting has become more profitable than ever for Pameres Kingdom. Although dealing with a Wild Boar in midday very uncommon, they don''t want to take chances.


    Setting up the picnic and starting to eat in aims of easing their nerves and feel a bit more clear minded, Maleesa wanted to build up the conversation once more, to try and figure out what Seer exactly meant with "I might use that offer soon, Zar." The thought of it makes her more than shy and she doesn''t want to squeeze it out of him before time, but hell she is curious about it.


    "Um so... I''m aware that you and King Zar have a long history." This isn''t as direct, but it is good enough to plant the foundations of this little conversation.


    "For sure, I''ve been helping him progress for 11 years now. You know, he was just a child when his father disowned him." The last parts of the answer coming through Seer''s lips were a bit bewildering.


    She has heard about the royal family parting ways, the Grand King even has 4 children which even Zar doesn''t know much about. But disowning? She never heard of it coming from the royal family, especially with King Zar is the topic. "King Zar is disowned? But he was given a Kingdom to rule!"


    "Yes, a Kingdom on the edge of the continent with not enough houses but still under populated instead of letting him rule the Capital of his motherland. This was just a low status way of getting rid of his son."  These facts are indeed stunning, it just proves how low King Xakro has sunk.


    But the conversation went towards the worse, she didn''t expect the conversation to sink deep in war talk. She just wanted to find out what he and King Zar were talking about earlier. "At least he willingly cut relations with that moron."


    "Indeed." He answered, and the conversation went blank.


    She tried to start a new one, but she had no ideas. In her mind, she was almost beating herself up. Thinking, "Speak Maleesa, speak!" But she had no idea what to say anymore.


    To her luck, Seer broke the silence by getting in deep in the topic Maleesa was struggling to get into without appearing rude. However, he did become very nervous out of a sudden. "Uhh. So, you know. The marriage thing." His wordplay dropped low as well, he forgot what to say and his mouth stopped working.


    "Yes. What about it?"


    "Ugh... I''ve been thinking about it. You know, we are already old and we shouldn''t waste anymore time." Perhaps pointing out age might have not been the best idea, but he does have a valid point. "You know, I haven''t loved anyone ever since my Fiance died. Until you came into my life, I never thought that I would fall in love with an Ignite." Now he is bringing racial differences in the conversation, this isn''t smooth at all.


    Lucky for him, Maleesa is strongly understanding of his past. "I''m aware, this is why I didn''t want to rush you until now."


    "And I appreciate that, ugh so." While they were still sitting, he stood up and then bend the knee. Fair to say he is still very nervous. "It is obvious that I love you, and I''m certain that you love me back. So..." Struggling to pull the ring out of his pocket, appearing to be stuck. After half a minute he pulled it out, and with his hand still shaking he murmured. "Will... will you marry me Maleesa?"


    "Yes. Yes. Yes!!" She shouted from the top of her lungs, bursting with joy and finally tackling him down with a strong hug following after.

 Chapter 226 - Hostage

    "What exactly do you mean?" Asked Eric surprisingly, feeling bewildered. The Continent was shaken to its source due to the Snow Ignites, of course the Leader should have a great contribution but yet Bittore tends to disagree. "Didn''t he discover the Demonite and use it for your revolution?" Bittore seems ready to talk, so why not cut to the case right away.


    "What on earth is Demonite? That sounds as ridiculous as Blue Eagles." Of course a Fire Controller wouldn''t like anything that links to the word "Demon", so we can''t expect for her reaction to be calm.


    Seeing how confused Bittore is, Mogranius figured that King Tamzar didn''t really tell her anything about the Demonite due to the rather noticeable racial differences, he used most of these ladies after all. Sharing any information about the source of his victory is for sure a no go. He wanted to build the conversation enough to not offend her, the last thing they need is to break a fight here. "Didn''t King Tamzar tell you that he used Demonite to fight off all these waves of ill.u.s.tratian Armies until now?"


    Well Mogranius'' intend didn''t exactly work out how he planned it too, for reasons of strong Contribution both of these ladies are offended by such wordplay. "I still have no idea what Demonite is, but King Tamzar did nothing but sharing a bed with one woman after the other once he claimed the Kingdom." The face she was wearing right now, included both anger and irritation. The pain in her shoulder is making her lose patience but Mogranius'' claims are just making her angry.


    "How is that even possible?" Shouted Mogranius with his echo roaring down the cave. "If he didn''t do any useful shit until now, how is the Kingdom not invaded yet?" He felt like Bittore is still lying at them, so his tone arose in anger and his dialect was crossing boundaries too.


    "All he did was gather up Snow Ignites and invade a Capital which was low on Soldiers, the rest of the work was done by my group." This at least explains a bit of what happened a while ago in the Carved Path, but it still doesn''t make any sense.


    "How could 15 Fire Ignites fight off thousands of Soldiers? Don''t lie to me please, me and Eric witnessed the battle that just happened. Ask your daughter if you think that I''m lying." This is indeed a confusing topic, Mogranius doesn''t know what to believe anymore and Bittore''s words aren''t quite adding up to making sense. "At least over 700 Soldiers just died in front of our eyes, you can''t tell me that Demonite isn''t associated!"


    "That''s information I can not reveal just to anyone." She continued to yell back instead of just letting him yell out. "How do I know that you aren''t sent by the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance." Giving a slight smile since she is winning this little argument, she firmly added. "Considering how much trouble you caused me, I shouldn''t trust you with anything."


    "Trouble? I saved your life!" Shouted Mogranius quite in anger, how ungrateful can one person be!


    "Mother!" Loudly whispered Osira once she noticed that her mother has gone too far! Apparently apart from being grumpy, she can be grateful too.


    "You shut your mouth! A.d.u.l.ts are talking!" She yelled at her own daughter. It is actually interesting because usually mothers are soft towards their daughters. Yet, Bittore slapped her down a bit earlier.


    "I won''t!" Osira answered, sick of her mother''s attitude. "Because of you, and your decisions as an "A.d.u.l.t", I almost got touched by that retard of a King!"


    "Don''t raise your voice against me young lady! You don''t know the sacrifices I have made for your safety." Well this has become awkward, what started as a little plot to get information out of these two, continued as an argument between a mother and daughter.


    "Everyone gave her sacrifice to Tamzar, where did it lead? We are fugitives now!" Last thing she wants is to be ungrateful, but here and there she is carrying valid points. "Now, the rest of the ladies are likely being threatened to have their loved ones beheaded unless they find and kill us. Is that what you call a Sacrifice? We are slaves! Slaves!"


    "Osira!" Yelled out Bittore, feeling at a loss for words. She knows her daughter is right but it was a sacrifice they had to make because surprisingly they are safer here than wherever they lived before.


    Losing her temper to the point of a bad decision, she shouted one last time. "But I will take revenge on  these retards for each sister even though all of them can''t even take revenge for themselves." Walking towards the exit, she gave one last glance back and calmly spoke. "Goodbye, Mother."


    Afterwards she bursted Fire out of her feet and flew out of the Cave, no one was sure which direction she went once she left the cave, but Bittore still had the heart to shout a request. "Go after her, don''t let her do anything stupid!"


    Mogranius still wanted to question Bittore even after this argument, and became quite tired carrying her up here so he turned towards Eric and asked. "Can you chase after her and try to bring her back?"


    Without thinking twice, he blew Fire out of his feet and blasted out of the Cave. Taking a look around, he didn''t spot Osira anywhere as if she disappeared in mid air. Invisibility is impossible up here, so she likely flew away towards anywhere but the Kingdom. Smart enough, she knew that anyone following her would look there first!


    Meanwhile back at the cave where Osira led the 3 behind them to begin with, Mogranius after trying to calm her down with firm assuring that Eric will get her daughter back here, he started asking questions again. Hoping to make her break, they could use this information. The Snow Ignites are well established enemies now and these four will likely never be able to set foot as free citizens once more, but he needs to know if Demonite is used here. If it is, Tamzar or whoever got the Demonite for him, must be one of the evolved. Like Mogranius'' father stated before, the evolved are one of the few who can approach any Source.


    But to start off the Conversation once more, he started with a question that has been roaming his head in the middle of this mother daughter argument. "I''m aware that you are not ready to talk about another topic, but may I ask what your daughter meant with, "We are slaves.", I''m not sure what she meant but I think we can help with that."


    Still not ready to answer his questions, with hopelessness on her tone she asked. "How can you help?"


    Mogranius at least was ready to talk and wasn''t holding in any secrets, what could Bittore or even the snow elves do with such information? A Snow Ignite can''t handle the warmer seasons, all they can do against a Kingdom in the lowlands is invade in the winter and demand a percentage of the monthly income. At least that''s what the Snow Ignites wanted from Meridionali Ignis in the tense relations over 200 years ago before the massacres. "As I said before, I represent 3 Domains in the lowlands. They would gladly accept your entire team and even the families of the team. Each Domain has an urge for population and would gladly grant citizenship, King Zar would pay you a heavy salary if you work to defend his Kingdom."


    "I assume King Zar doesn''t rule any domain in Meridionali Ignis, I''ve never heard of him." Well at least now she made it clear where her origin is from, even though she didn''t actually aim too!


    "Oh King Zar is amazing, he is the first to go against the Grand King''s word, even taking down the illas Chapel after." Last thing he needs right now, is to tell Bittore that Zar is actually the Grand King''s son. She would never agree and even possibly attack, thinking that he is a spy from the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance.


    "I''m not exactly sure how much I can believe you." Bittore still remained to her point, Mogranius sounds like he is talking fiction even. "But as for your question, yes we are pretty much slaves here." At least that question she is willing to answer!


    "We came here after the Capital was invaded, seeking shelter from ill.u.s.tratios. King Tamzar took us in promising a lot of comfort, but only took our families hostage instead." Her tone started shaking as she started explaining, for sure there is a bad past related. More than she has revealed likely. "We came here with 50 people, 15 of which were Fire Controllers. To keep us here, King Tamzar kept our families hostage. He already killed 8 of them because the ladies kept disagreeing to share a bed with him."

 Chapter 227 - Otherworldly

    "What the actual hell!" Shouted Mogranius from the top of his lungs once he heard what burden King Tamzar has put these ladies through just because of the shere desire of L.u.s.t! L.u.s.t! How far can a person push with these l.u.s.t games, We know each Frost Blaster has an Inner Demon of l.u.s.t to face, but this is over done. "Why do you still stand by his side, you all can just grab your families and leave!"


    "What part of "Hostage" don''t you understand?" Answered Bittore Nardone with a loud whisper, holding her wound since it started to ache even more. The burn didn''t really stop, but now it felt like someone keeps stabbing her shoulder. "Besides, we have nowhere to go. Stupidly, this is our safest place. it is better than being slaughtered!"


    Cornered by what decisions Bittore and the rest made, even finally agreeing with a proper answer. "Well, I understand the sacrifice you had to make. You didn''t have any other options!"


    "Yes, now the Snow Elves likely still carried out King Tamzar''s ruling and killed another hostage." Holding her head, trying to relieve her nerves. She continued with a stressful sigh! "Ugh, I don''t know how I can fix my Daughter''s mistakes. This is far beyond what I can handle!"


    At least know, knowing what to do and say. He wasn''t slow to remind her. "You are most welcome at Pameres Kingdom, Gaster Kingdom and even at Bale Town. I can talk to the King''s to accept you with permanent Citizenship." Bribing her with what she possibly valued the most, he dared to add. "All of you will be safe, we fought off an entire Army without Demonite."


    Although the offer very tempting, unbelievable even. She stuck to one thing that still kept pissing her off! "Again with the Demonite! When will you understand that my team is not associated with Demons?" Her tone arose in anger even, big energy for someone whose wound is forcing her through fatigue.


    "But how can you assure that "Your King" isn''t!" Air quoted Mogranius, even moving his body downwards along with the quote. I guess he picked up that little habit from Eric, lets hope it doesn''t stick.


    "Because I..." Just when she was about to answer some, different information. Her answer was cut short by another thought. "I don''t know. But I''m almost sure he isn''t using anything Demonic! He was retarded, but not a Demon."


    His hope rising high, just because one word. He asked with his curiosity no doubt piqued. "Why almost sure? Why not completely certain?"


    Recalling some strongly bad memories, taking over a minute even. She finally managed to answer the man who was almost bursting smoke from his ears out of anticipation. "The first time I... entered his bedroom. Something different caught my eye, I''m not sure what it was but..."


    "But?"


    "I don''t think its from this Continent, or world even." That''s at least what she could explain with her own words, it is fair to say that she even used his wordplay and what he wanted to hear in order to fill her own sentences.


    "Do you think it is still there? I didn''t manage to see anything throughout that mayhem!" The only special thing he managed to see in that Castle for that matter, was that special Dark Blue Dagger. That nearly doesn''t look like Demonite and not worthy of mention! It is just an ore and they have found large quantities of, it can''t be related to the success in battle so far.


    "I didn''t see it either, but I think I know where we can find it!" A sweet melody to Mogranius'' ears, the last thing he wants is wait for fate to shape up for them while they stay up here. Furthermore, he just wants his theory to be proven correct. "I just can''t go down there alone."


    "That''s easy, we can go down there as soon as Eric returns with Osira!" And just when Mogranius finished his word, Eric flew in the cave with his face clearly pale. Likely because of the strong cold wind, or could there be something else there. Like the small humiliation of Failure?


    He flew in the Cave alone, caught his breath for a few seconds and approached in aims to lighten the mood. "I have good news and bad news."


    "Bad news first." Requested Mogranius.


    "I couldn''t find Osira." At this point it is even stupid to ask, I mean the boy did fly in alone.


    "Yes no kidding!" Dared Mogranius to unleash basic sarcasm on such a emotionally sensitive topic(For some more than others.). "Now tell me the Good news."


    "Osira isn''t attacking anyone and the Kingdom looks calmer than I expected!" At such information, Bittore let out a strong sigh of satisfaction and thought to herself. "That kid better not do anything stupid until I take charge."


    Seeing that the situation became just a little bit calmer, he immediately started plotting out a plan. "Good news kid, we are sneaking back into the Castle."


    "For what?" Asked Eric as he shook his head in confusion, thinking. "I hope you aren''t as bold as you used to be with your decisions." But instead continued to express reason. "Why would we want to go back when we just got out of there?"


    "Bittore tells me that she saw something otherworldly in the recently deceased King''s bedroom!" Eric is down to help however he can, but at this point Mogranius sounds like he is talking fiction along with his new little friend.


    "We were just there, we didn''t see anything!" Pointed out Eric the obvious, Continuing. "I think we are just wasting time here."


    Trying to convince the Electus in lending a hand since they clearly can''t afford for him to sit this one out, Mogranius practically forced a decision on Bittore. "No no, if we can get the possibly spotted Demonite, we can get the hell out of here and take each Ignite along with us. Right Bittore?"


    Seeing that she has no other choice since even her daughter is against her points of view, she agreed with partial will. "Yes... I will try to convince the ladies!"


    "Oh you will do more than try! You will completely convince them to come." His tone became serious, he made it clear that "maybe" is not an answer. They aren''t throwing around theories after all.


    "Alright, I guarantee that I will convince them." This answer although what Mogranius wanted to hear, it raised suspicion in Eric''s mind. She is agreeing too easily! But he didn''t want to say anything without proper proof.


    "Good. Then where do you say we should look for that, "unusual item". It can''t be in his throne room!" Now he is just reminding her of what she said herself, he doesn''t want his bargain to go to waste.


    "You''ve only seen bits of the Castle that were above the ground, it is what''s underground that''s more important. This place was built over a flat ish natural formation, but what was in the middle of it?" She started to raise suspicion no doubt, but at least she is being less stingy with the information once a deal was negotiated.


    Managing to put two and two together, Eric answered with a low tone. "A Cave." Apparently he is able to think straight since Demonite isn''t occupying his thoughts. Mogranius however is only tuning out half of what Bittore Nardone is saying.


    "Exactly child, a big long extensive tunnel. Branching down for a couple hundred meters even! If King Tamzar was in the possession of Demonite, it is without doubt stored down there. Far beyond any commoner''s or even Castle offical''s reach. Apart from Him, only his assistant is able to go down there." This is a lot of information coming from someone who has been here for a few months only. I mean, favourable or not. The Hostages along with the 15 ladies are below commoners, how would she know anything about something forgotten by time?


    "Cut the details short Bittore, tell me how we can manage to get down there?" Mogranius grew a little bit impatient once he reached back to reality, now that the chances of getting their hands on this Demonite is a lot higher, they can not waste time.


    "Down at the bas.e.m.e.nt, in the royal storage room there is a hatch which leads about 30 meters down!" With a little smirk on her face she dared to continue. "Once we go through that hatch, there is practically nothing stopping us from staying down there for hours and even days if we want too!"


    "And why is that?" Asked Eric with his suspicion increasing, he still doesn''t like the sound of all this. Last thing he wants, is to be tricked by his own kind after doing so much to help her. He did get her into trouble to begin with, but still.


    "Because we won''t let anyone see us get in."

 Chapter 228 - Smoking hot

    "Excuse me kind lady, I''m looking for a man called Bear Claw." Approached Guard Commander Chan towards an elderly woman, faking to be kind just to squeeze some information out of her quickly instead of wasting nerves by beating the daylights out of her. Well the second option is less likely since this elderly is an ill.u.s.tratio, but still.


    "Oh you mean Dilli Flury? She is a beautiful young lady, are you looking to marry her?" Well this is the sort of banter that can easily go around in a Kingdom holding only 1,500 people. Apart from the wars, this can be one of the secondary topics.


    At such a reply Chan instantly thought. "Perhaps nicknames are less common here in Red Clay Kingdom. She seems to know who "she" is anyway, how do I keep forgetting that "she" is a Woman? I have to pay more attention." Although his thoughts roaming wild, the only few words he was able to reply with were. "No no, I''m not here for such business. I just need to talk to her."


    He of course can''t tell everyone along the way about who he is working for. Yes there are 10 Guards following him, but he could just be portrayed as a Merchant primarily. He isn''t wearing any armour in public places like this. He didn''t just travel 100 Kilometers through a forest branch and another 80 Kilometers through the clear lands just to have his progress held back by any passer by who decides to cause trouble.


    "Oh of course dear. Head straight this way and find the Tavern at the circle, she works there for a few months." This nice lady was pointing at the opposite direction of what she meant, perhaps her orientation isn''t as good as it used to be. But her information is enough, because one of the Guards was able to spot the circle.


    "Sir Chan we have to go." Stated the Guard once direction was made certain.


    Understanding what he meant and unwilling to play any ego games, he thanked the old lady with a small bag of Gold Coins and went on his way. The elderly woman was very thankfull, she started unleashing one good compliment after the other. "May our lord have mercy on you." or "May the god and his son clear your way." Etc Etc. Obviously an illas follower, but a good sight for Chan at least.


    Once they walked away for a few meters, another Guard approached Chan and whispered. "Why did you give her Gold for something so simple? We will need all of that Gold, the trip is long and draining."


    Having a soft spot for any elderlis due to his parents of which he lost over a decade ago, he just answered. "It was only 20 Gold Coins, she was barely standing on her feet."


    Still puzzled of Chan''s decision, the Guard didn''t hesitate to ask. "How does her age concern us? She is supposed to tell us what we need to know regardless of age or pay." That''s a common attitude found in Guards, its nothing Chan wouldn''t have said before but it is still idiotic in some aspects. It is a misuse of Authority!


    "She likely worked hard her entire life and contributed on shaping at least one spawn who aided the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, 20 Gold Coins is nothing but a small pay for her work and effort." Such words uncommon here where the only pay would come from a salary and bonuses nonexistent, this is especially confusing since it came from someone like Chan. But this Guard has no authority over him, all he can do is recommend.


    Reaching the Tavern, the first thing they managed to see and hear was a man being tossed through a solid wood window. such force would require a Guard of Elite level, especially after they saw that the woodwork is arm thick! "What the hell is going on here?" Shouted Chan as he took many steps back and hid behind a couple of Guards.


    The situation was shed more light upon once a Ignite lady walked through the Tavern''s door and grabbed the man who was tossed through the window. "Will you pay now?"


    One of Chan''s Guards approached her and slightly shouted. "What the hell is going on here? Who threw this man through the window? I demand an explanation!" There sure is a lot of questions to ask at a case like this. But one thing is clear, this ill.u.s.tratian man on the ground refused to pay for a reason. A petty price to fight about really, what did he prove but embarrassment with this little act?


    Letting go of the 200 pound man she just lifted off the ground, dropping him down like a bag of wheat. She turned her attention towards the Guard who is bold enough to approach her with his Sword raised, a couple of inches far from her skin even.


    Enough to scare the Guard to the core, smoke started blasting out of her nose! It surrounded both of them, and his Sword was heard dropping down. "Shit shit shit." Repeated the Guard in a loud whisper as he jumped around in panic, good enough he wasn''t being burned alive. "Its hot hot hot!" It seems like the Sword became too hot to hold, he even pulled his chest Armour off which became a bit difficult since it was hot too. He was relieved from this pain once the Guards got a hold of him and removed his Armour using Cloth and Swords, good enough they did so without causing any life threatening damage.


    Having forgotten BearClaw''s actual name already, Chan asked from a distance. "You are Bear Claw right?"


    "What''s it to you? Child." Her attitude seems to match her height as well, definitely not someone you can easily start a conversation with. Or at least, not when she is this pissed off.


    "Child? I''m likely older than you!" Chan''s ego was hurt, but no way did he dare to approach her closer to do anything like demanding respect or obedience, it didn''t end up well for the other Guard.


    "I''m 27, so I doubt it. Aren''t you like 16?" She does have a point here though, because apart from being short Chan also looks more youthful than he is supposed too.


    "I''m 25. But I guess it is correct that you are older." Taking a quick glance at what they are here for and what they are talking about, what they are doing is nothing but a waste of time.


    Luckily this lady who partially introduced herself as BearClaw, was able to cut to the case with a light smile. "What do you want with BearClaw?"


    "Cooperation. Considering that you clearly have Demonic powers, you must be her. Otherwise you wouldn''t be able to survive here without the King''s blessing." This answer, gave out little pieces of information even though Chan wasn''t being specific of his origin and employer.


    Since she doesn''t recognize who Chan is, she figured out right away that he doesn''t speak for the King of Red Clay Kingdom. Speaking of Red clay, he was already sick of it. Its all over the place and it becomes troublesome to walk upon. Who would be dumb enough to start residence here instead of anywhere close by? The Continent isn''t made of Red clay after all.


    "Whose lap dog are you?" Her expressions indeed rough, but its not rough enough considering the approach Chan''s Guard made. She is kind enough to not kill anyone with all this power on her hand.


    "Eh, I don''t recall sitting on anyone''s lap yet but for such a topic we need to speak in private. Any recommended Locations for such a task?" His wordplay is indeed different, although idiotic in some aspects it still made her smile just a little bit more even though she refused to show any compliments.


    "That was my last Costumer anyway." Looking down, she noticed that the man who refused to pay is already gone. Likely used the situation to do so! Noticing that fact, she just stomped on some wood work in anger and followed with several curses. Chan is 25 years old and he still felt like he isn''t old enough to be exposed to such language. Lets not get into detail! Feeling that she showed the broken window who is the boss in these parts, she remembered what they were talking about and stated. "The boss is not here, come in alone and leave your little buddies outside."


    "As you wish." Chan agreed once he understood that this is the only way to negotiate. This lady was even wearing a necklace that represents the illas religion, she is a follower. Odd enough, the religious flag contains of King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l''s head only. except it is green instead of black. The flag was carved in that necklace, this proves that she is a believer.


    "Sir, I can not allow that!" Stated another Guard of the ten.


    "She is a believer, I don''t think we have anything to worry about!"

 Chapter 229 - Im not trying to show everyone my Buttocks!

    The two love birds, finally managed to go a big step forward in their relationship. Although Seer proposed sooner than he originally planned too, it isn''t exactly a problem. They can afford it, King Zar is even very willing to lend a hand. Speaking of King Zar, when he heard the news he became more happy than Seer himself.


    "Congratulations!" He shouted with joy, his voice echoing through the dinning room and he even almost choked on his Ale! It wasn''t exactly a shock, but he didn''t feel like Seer can do it! Especially after taking the recent lives lost in battle, knowing Seer he would want to show respect for the souls and their families.


    Zar stood up and did something he doesn''t quite commonly do, he approached Seer and gave a tight strong hug. Zar is a lot buffer and even a bit taller, he doesn''t exactly know how to hug either which ended up with Seer being lifted a few inches off the ground. "Congratulations." He repeated once more, before letting go of Seer. His entire face was smiling and not because he was partially drunk either.


    "I hope your offer to do the wedding ceremony here still stands?" It is not like he wants to take advantage of his position, he just has an intend of not being seen by everyone doing the wedding. He wants to keep it as low key as possible. And where would one accomplish such a task easier than in a Castle? Sure it is a public attraction but no one can enter without the Guards letting them in, a activity of which Castle officials have to be included one way or the other.


    "Oh for sure, when do you want to host it?" King Zar''s enthusiasm still remained strong, he is more than willing to lend the entire Castle for a day, it isn''t a big issue and wouldn''t stop any important matters. But all they actually need is the first floor, it is big enough.


    "Amazing, can we do it tomorrow?There is no time to waste and I would like to do a so called "Private wedding." There will only be a handful of people, friends mostly." Seer''s request is indeed easy to tackle, in fact King Zar wanted to do a lot more!


    "Of course, lets have it in mid day so the maids have time to prepare the feast. Just tell me exactly how many people you wish to invite?" Although willing and a bit drunk, he still wants to be sure. This special event can''t have any setbacks, everything has to be perfect!


    "Ugh, I talked it over with Maleesa. She will only invite 10 people and it is the same case with me, do 20 in total." You would think that with no family in this Kingdom, who would they invite? Well, people they met through work mostly. When Seer began to become more open minded under the King''s orders, he made many great Ignite friends. Now, sometimes he even puts aside reading a book to go sip some ale with his buddies, crazy I know. As for Maleesa, helping many of the Homeless with her Salary has made her a town favourite, for the Ignites at least.


    "Wonderful, tell the guest that the wedding is at mid day. Write some invitations maybe?"


    ...


    The next day, as planned before time. Everything went how it is supposed too! The guests all arrived, 5 tables where set one after the other in the Throne room since it is the biggest room in the first flour, it is perfect for such an event. It is roomy so people don''t really have to snug in together to the point of awkwardness.


    To make this day even more memorable, King Zar even brought up the Ignite stone encrusted chandeliers he didn''t exactly like. Its Origin didn''t bother him, it just looked to fancy. He is a man who takes off his armour only when he falls asleep, his sense of decor doesn''t exactly link with such luxury to have it over his head every day. But for such a case it is worth the time!


    To break the ground with Luxury, the tables were filled with Silverware primarily! That''s not a usual case, since Silver isn''t used in weaponry Silver tends to be more rare and therefore more expensive. For a start, a Silver Ingot costs 50 Gold Coins! Although no one had the intend to calculate such detail, just the Silverware here costs 1,000 Gold Coins! King Zar went all out, he isn''t letting Seer pay a dime. Seer''s Contribution to the Kingdom is immeasurable, he is doing the work that anyone else wouldn''t want too. His work is nerve wrecking!


    Do you want to know the most important part of this attempt to go an extra mile? King Zar for once was seen not wearing Armour! This is indeed rare, because for the past decade apart from Armour he was only seen wearing night clothing as mentioned in Volume 3.


    What would he be wearing you might ask? Well he isn''t the most stylish person here neither does he know anything about such interests, but he did not fail to disappoint. Wearing Black silk pants and a dark blue Linen coat with dark triangle like sewing around his collar and sleeves. Luxury exclusively imported all the way from Zameria. It is hard to find them here in Occidentis Ignis! He got them just for this event, he felt like it might happen soon.


    To accompany his elegance, he also wore his Crown of course to resemble his Authority! Everyone was left at shock even after considering the King''s status, as mentioned he is never seen with such clothing.


    When King Zar arrived, the Ceremony officially started. How? Well since Maleesa''s family isn''t here, King Zar took the role of her father even though he is a lot younger than her. He had to walk out through the back entrance so he can join Maleesa in front of the Castle.


    Holding her arm, he walked in the Throne room with her. With instruments being a bit rare here, all the Castle could afford in short notice was to hire some drummers. The drummers wouldn''t want to rush the King along with the bride, so they were told to start light ear comforting music. However it didn''t at all fail to bring anticipation!


    Although King Zar stunning, Maleesa was dressed beautifully as well. A White Wedding Dress hung a bit widely on her, but just because she chose so. She even had a bit of an argument with the Tailors since they wanted to dress her with cloth that clinged tightly on her body. Her main reference remained, "I''m not a teenager, I''m not trying to show my buttocks to everyone."


    Although not common for him with other cases, Seer was becoming more nervous by the passing moment. Seeing her looking this stunning, without actually fixing her hair even keeping them into a bun. He realized how lucky he is, about to marry a woman who got such an amazing appearance accompanied by the most purest of Heart.


    She walked along with King Zar all the way near the Throne, where Seer was waiting for her. The tradition a bit different no doubt, a lady was holding the marriage rings ready to provide them to the couple.


    King Zar took a light grip on the rings and handed one of them to Maleesa and the other to Seer. According to the Kingdom''s bit of tradition mostly brought here from Gaster Kingdom, the couple has to put the ring on each other and exchange one Sweet heart felt reference in the process.


    Seer started it off, putting the ring on her hand and expressed with his tone cracking in nervousness at first. "You, came into my life when I thought that I will never love again. You opened my eyes towards further possibilities and I am forever grateful. I am the most honoured, to call you my life Partner."


    Dropping a tear of joy, her lip started shivering a bit before she gently put the ring on his now considered Husband! The doc.u.mentation work was done yesterday, all they had to do is put rings on each other. Since Maleesa accepted a Ring from the proposal yesterday, this will be the second ring on her hand. "You are a unique man and I do love you. You share different interests, not found in the common folk. We all know how many times we were in a Room alone, you never took advantage of me but it went quite the other way around hehe."


    She continued to giggle after, didn''t exactly feel shy to express such acts in front of everyone here. Breaking the tradition she continued with a second sentence, but no one minded it. "I''m happy to share my life with you, my only wish was to meet you earlier instead of in this age. But even though a bit late, I''m happy to share the rest of my life with you."


    Grabbing a Silver Goblet of Apple Ale and raising it high, King Zar firmly stated. "A toast, to the new couple!"


    Followed by dancing after, with the beating of the drum becoming a bit more fast paced to meet with the now louder crowd, everyone started enjoying their time even further. Most were dancing, even some of the maids of which Seer insisted for them to come. But King Zar was sitting on his throne, enjoying everyone smile and even laugh in joy. The crowd small but no doubt impactful.


    King Zar was alone, until a fine ill.u.s.tratian lady with short green wines approached, bowed down while reaching out her hand and asked. "May I have this Dance?"

 Chapter 230 - Kiss my

    Out of a sudden, a snowball hit one of the Guards down here in the Castle bas.e.m.e.nt and a man from on top of the staircase yelled. "Kiss my Ignite ass!"


    It isn''t certain which of the residential hostages would do such a bold act, maybe one of them or maybe all since they are fed up with nonsense. But as for Fugitives, we can narrow it down to one man. Mogranius! He even gave the 4 Guards in front of the Royal Bas.e.m.e.nt door, a flash of his own behind. It was a bit easier than lifting a robe from the bottom to do such an act!


    "Follow him!" Shouted one Guard as he saw the fugitive make a run for it! Three men followed and one remained here, since it is a ruling by King Tamzar himself that one Guard shall remain here at all times even if there is a situation to handle, they still honor his word since they assume that whatever is down there, can mean the possible downfall of the Snow Ignite Revolution.


    Little did they know, a couple of other Fugitives have made their way down here. Waiting for such an amazing moment to strike! And what''s a better way to attack, than for the enemy to have no clue what''s going on? It is indeed a passive but yet unexplained attack.


    At first, he just felt his throat getting heavier. Much like that feeling when one breaks into tears and each word feels heavy, but he is doing pretty good emotionally. Which can only mean that one of the fugitives is already deep in action!


    The burden became a bit heavier, when pain spread all the way up to his head. It started off as a small easy to ignore headache, and built up its impact by the passing minute until he could not help but try and massage his head to relieve some if not all of the pain. He skipped his breakfast, so he is assuming that this headache developed due to the lack of food.


    The effects spread down to his lungs and he started coughing lightly on the first few seconds, it became rougher by the passing second. Basing it on this rate, the fugitive doesn''t plan to take a day with this attack.


    After a few violent coughs, the Guard began to feel dizzy. He used the door as a way to aid his balance and took a look around to see what is going on here. Food poison, illness, unexplained death? It just doesn''t make sense until he remembered one thing, the Ignites. It can''t be a coincidence that these sudden effects appeared once that Ignite gave them a little flash!


    He tried to yell for help, but he only felt it harder to breathe by the passing second. It felt as if, someone punctured his lung canal. The burden just hung strong near his heart, the only way to ease the burden was to take a deep breath with his mouth instead of his nose. But it wasn''t good enough!


    Seeing that yelling for help won''t do the trick, he just abandoned his position and tried to make a run for it. But, as you might have heard. Suffocation doesn''t really take long to claim a victim! After he managed to get his back off the door and dash a couple of steps away, he felt his head hitting the solid stone ground. He didn''t make it, and he never will be able to.


    Bittore appeared in the scene after, undoubtedly was invisible throughout this whole time and killed this Guard too. It is interesting to see an Ignite kill someone who she has considered her own until yesterday, they did cooperate after all. It just shows how easily allies can put a sword against your neck once better Circ.u.mstances are offered to them.


    Once appearing she gave a small whisper. "Don''t break out of your invisibility until I tell you too." Eric didn''t disagree in any way, the last thing he wants is to share a same fate with the collapsed Guard. It was indeed interesting to see a Guard fall down to eternal slumber without an association of Gore.


    She started blasting Fire lightly out of her palms, nothing to burn anyone down but just enough for no one to fall victim of her doing. No fireball was shot even, the fire on her palms just blasted continuously just a couple of inches high. She just waved them around randomly for a few seconds until she let out a deep sigh, apparently she has been holding her breath right after she told Eric not to appear. "You can pop out now kid."


    Finally glad that this main part of the task is almost over with, he took a quick glance at the dead man close by and asked with a whisper. "What do we do with him? Permissible or not, the Guards will follow us down there if they see that he is dead. They will know that something is up."


    "Guh you are right!" Sighed Bittore with a strong whisper following after. "We will have to bring him down the cave with us!"


    Still not satisfied, Eric dared to take more time out of their hands and ask. "Is that really a good idea?"


    "No, but it''s a good way to hide a body." It is odd how she can even think about such acts considering that she killed thousands with likely the same method. But whatever works, works I suppose.


    She tried to open the bas.e.m.e.nt door in front of them and found out that it was locked. Seeing that she has no time at all to open this door in less violent ways, she whispered. "So much for keeping a low profile." And took a few steps back, ready to knock the daylights out of this door.


    Seeing what she is intending to do, Eric grabbed her arm and whispered. "Wait!" Seeing that he grabbed her attention, he gave out a considerably good theory. "This man could have the key. He yelled the Command and remained here after.


    "Oohh. You might have a point there boy." Complimented Bittore and just when she was about to do a deep rushing search, she found out that this deceased Guard was wearing the key as a necklace, odd enough but it helps their case.


    Grabbing the key, having no reason to be gentle she yanked it off and smashed the Guard''s head on the stone flooring on the process but it doesn''t really matter. Gently putting the key in, she thought to herself. "Please work."


    A stroke of luck accompanied by a stroke of quick thinking coming from Eric as an aid, the door opened but its rusty hinges unleashed an ear shattering tone. Good enough, no one else heard it. So they grabbed the Guard with them and threw him down the wooden hatch right in the middle of the room. No one spend time hiding this hatch to the point of making it a secret entrance. Odd considering that whatever is down there can be crazy valuable.


    Since the hatch reaches 30 meters down, the Guard which was tossed left a bit of a disgusting scene. Blood splattered everywhere and if the Guard was taken into further analysis such as flipping him on the other side, no human being could withstand it without making the scene even more disgusting with a puke. There is no reason to feel bad about this, the Guard was already killed!


    Climbing the way down, Eric asked about a detail of which Bittore was able to predict when they were up in that Cave. "How did you know that this hatch is 30 meters deep?"


    Hesitant at first, but seeing no reason to not tell him. She answered now with a louder tone since the door is locked with a key, the hatch is closed down and they are sinking deeper in. "This isn''t my first time down here, however the last time i wasn''t as successful."


    Puzzled with such an answer and action, he asked. "Why would you need to go down here? What were you looking for?" This can turn out for the worse if her intend was masked until now, but luckily her intends don''t sound devious.


    "The same item we are looking for now. I had to see what it is, but I didn''t want to kill anyone in the process. So I left this task for another day!" This at least shows some sympathy from her, she didn''t want to kill a race who did her kind wrong just because they were helping in another way. Now at least, the goal for her is bigger and she is putting sentiment behind, she is doing it all for her kind!


    To such a reply, Eric didn''t know what to say and just remained quiet trying to think for an answer until it was too late. Since the topic was shifted towards another direction. "This place is more beautiful than I imagined."

 Chapter 231 - Split Puppil

    "You still didn''t tell me who the hell sent you here." Reminded Bear Claw once the doors were shut, and went ahead to grab what Chan prices the most. No no, don''t think that... Naughty, she grabbed Ale. Pouring it on wooden cup and afterwards placing it on the table for Chan to grab instead of handing it to him.


    If only she knew how much information she bought herself just with this little cup of Ale. Chucking it down like it was water, barely even affected by it. He continued to tell. "The Grand King sent me here, we are heading to Orientins Ignis." Afterwards he even handed the cup closer for another shot.


    Almost dropping the Bottle of watered down Ale after, she answered. "Give me a moment to prepare." Even her tone switched towards softness, it felt empty actually. As if it was emotionless!


    Guard Commander or now best known as Errand runner Chan, didn''t really focus on her slight panic. He paid more attention towards what''s more important (For him at least.) the nice almost full bottle of Ale on the counter. Now, the written instructions clearly state. "No drinking in the Job." But how would King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll even know about such an act, the Guards wouldn''t really care about such a case and tolerate it.


    BearClaw came out of one of the rooms a moment later wearing a light weight silver chest plate, which leaves her stomach quite exposed but she thinks it is enough protection. Apart from that chest plate, she was wearing strap on iron shoulder armour. Accompanied by Silver greaves and a 80 cm Iron Sword, she just appeared even more dangerous now.


    You would think that a lady standing 6.2 ft. tall would rely on thick heavy Armour since she can''t avoid hits quite like a smaller person could. But no, she feels like this is all she needs. Furthermore it is interesting how she is carrying a 80 cm long Sword when she can easily use a 120 cm one. Her choices of Iron are indeed unusual for her body type, but maybe she is on to something there. King Xakro did say that BearClaw or differently known as Dilly Flury, is skilled in so many aspects.


    Pointing out one obvious environmental fact once he saw her on a thin linen shirt under the Armour. "You need to bring along Fur Clothing, Orientis Ignis will freeze you to the core if you aren''t prepared."


    Ignoring Chan''s nagging, she walked to the door and simply stated with her tone surprisingly calm. "I know. You will buy them for me."


    Seeing that Bear Claw is clearly in command here, Chan just agreed to what circ.u.mstances she offered and stormed the shelves for a few more Ale Bottles. Grabbing as much as he can carry! BearClaw is about to permanently abandon this job, so she didn''t really care about his actions and just waited while holding the door open.


    While running out, Chan thought of one fact. Sure he doesn''t remember much, but one thing he managed to remember is King Xakro telling that every Fire Controller he spared, was an ill.u.s.tratio. Chan''s eyes work rather well, he is able to notice that BearClaw is nothing less but an Ignite. She does follow the illas, but she is still an Ignite. So he started having doubts even though he didn''t express much care about it.


    He will likely ask questions about it later. For now he is just happy that he has Ale on his arms. He barely got a taste of if these past couple of months. Just when he managed to arrive in Crutal Kingdom alive, arriving with his toes in tact even. Xakro sent him towards another task, wildly pissed off that he is a lot late. As if time was on the Grand King''s neck!


    He is used to the King''s behaviour and doesn''t really care about it, most of them are empty threats and even when he gets hostile it is just a warning, towards the errand runners at least. Although at a task for the Grand King, he at least won''t see him for a couple of months or more.


    Walking out of the Kingdom along with BearClaw first, with the Guards coming down a bit later due to some purchases they had to make. Such as food and water primarily, but also Fur Clothing for the lady. The rest already have them considering the quest, the clothing for one person would cost around 100 Gold Coins so it isn''t a big issue considering how much budget they have.


    At day, the Guards travel on foot along with the Wagons, while at night they just camp for the night. Some sleep on the Wagons and the rest sleep on tents. But now since it is broad daylight, with the two most important individuals in this quest travelling in the Wagon, it is time to ask some questions. Both of them had many no doubt.


    Chan broke the silence after being half drunk, with a rather unique question. "How does it feel to be mind controlled?" A rather dumb question, but hey this is Chan. He didn''t do this for banter either, he is just curious and I suppose this question popped up first in his mind. She is an illas believer surprisingly, so this makes it a lot more interesting.


    "What do you mean?" Asked BearClaw no doubt confused, definitely not a question she expected at such a ride. She will be stuck with this fool for quite a while, so might as well learn how to get along. "I''m not even sure what that is!"


    "Oh common... Don''t try to brush it off, King Xakro put you under his control after you attacked ill.u.s.tratian Guards." For someone who has a lot of trouble remembering, this sure proves difficult to comprehend. It feels as if he only remembers enemies or possible enemies.


    "Xakro is our Grand King and our worthy ruler, I have served him all my life." Yet again, BearClaw stuck firm to her belief. Even grabbing her necklace and kissing is after to prove a point. "I made many sacrifices for King Xakro and i''ll do it once more."


    "Sacrifices such as?" Chan was eager to know once the topic shifted so unexpectedly. He saw that she claims to be an illas believer, but he didn''t exactly expect it to be this thick.


    "None of your concern, I am commanded to stay silent about the King''s past or current tasks." Afterwards she started moving her body forward and than backwards as if she was sitting on a rocking chair. This isn''t the Wagon''s work since Chan didn''t experience the same. Perhaps it is due to the size differences.


    Having it hard to chuck another mouthful of Ale down due to the scene in front of him, he put the bottle down and asked. "Hey, why are you doing that? Are you okay?"


    The scene started becoming a bit more complicated to the point of Chan being scared down to his core, when he started shaking her shoulder trying to snap her out of it. He took a glance at her eyes, managed to notice that one eyeball is half white and half completely normal. As if someone put a ruler over her eye and drew the line between her green pupil. The left eye had its left side completely white, while the right eye had its right side white.


    "I''m completely fine." Answered Bear Claw with her tone cracking and dared to point out. "This happens often, don''t worry about it."


    Chan never managed to see anyone under mind control before, but analysing her behaviours until now he managed to at least figure out that she is a lot more than mind controlled, she is messed up mentally. Whatever King Xakro did, isn''t anything favourable even for Chan who partially sees her as an enemy.


    "But your... your eyes." Stuttered Chan his way through a short sentence, still quite rattled about the situation he went and still is going through.


    "My eyes have always been like this, it is nothing new." Throughout all of his meetings in life, Chan never managed to see such eyes. He doesn''t even know how it is humanly possible, so he portrays her nothing but delusional. Perhaps this is how mind control works? He is not certain but it most likely has some sort of connection.


    "I don''t think that''s true, but since you insist." Chan tried his best to he kind, and it wasn''t because of a pure intend either. He is still quite scared. "Are you sure you are alright?" He doesn''t exactly care much, but he needs her for this task greatly and for sure doesn''t want to sleep in the same camp with someone who looks like she is possessed.


    Standing straight on her feet after even though she doesn''t have too, crouching down because the Wagon is shorter than her, she remained in that position and just stated. "Of course, I''m alright." Taking nearly 5 minutes to finish her sentence, she finally added. "I just have different ways of getting comfortable."


    Throughout that period of time, Chan didn''t have the guts to touch her or even yell for help. He just glared at her with his fear rising higher by the passing moment. This is insane, how is she doing all of this now. When before she entered the Wagon she was quite normal, fitting in the crowd perfectly even. Is this form of behaviour episodic or triggerable?

 Chapter 232 - Different progress.

    Although every event going on throughout Ignis leaves little space for the smaller achievements, those achievements are still there! One prime example is what has been taking half of Gaster Kingdom''s budget since January, why Alama has rightful ownership over 10% of the monthly income here in Gaster Kingdom. We are talking about the farm project! A.k.a the wheat planting project here in Gaster Kingdom.


    Since Mars passed, the 30 Farmers didn''t fail to deliver what they have promised. A 3 mile long and wide piece of land, transformed into a farmable field. This roughly calculates to 230 Hectares of farm fields able to be farmed upon. The cheapest option is of course planting wheat! It has low maintenance requirements and can feed the Kingdom year around!


    It doesn''t require countless channels of water since spring usually brings rainy days throughout half the month and fall shares the same intend. The clear lands give a perk of planting wheat on Mars and harvesting it on the colder seasons. Rather inverted, but it proved useful enough.


    The 30 farmers expect that 230 hectares of wheat can possibly yield 40,000 Kilograms of wheat grain! When given an hour to form some rough calculations, to feed 400 people daily with fish meat included, it only requires a bit over 20,000 Kilograms of wheat grain.


    The best part is that from now on, Farmers can only be hired seasonally. Half of the budget shouldn''t be thrown on them anymore. It is hard to pay 150 Gold Coins to 30 people and it has been eating up small portions of the overall budget. They just need to go such economical nightmare for a couple of months throughout the year. What is lost throughout these two months can be compromised with the 20,000 Kilograms of spare Wheat Grain which calculates to a worth of 8,000 Gold Coins!


    The size of the farm is amazingly big, it isn''t easy to tackle a 5 kilometer wide and long farm field but the 30 farmers tackled it. The farm field itself is as big as 9 Gaster Kingdoms! Yet it can feeds 400 people throughout 2 years (With fish meat as an aid.).


    Throughout Mars the entire farm field was planted, King Michael can''t afford to loose these Farmers after losing about 60 men in the war for Pameres Kingdom! The last thing he needs right now, is set more men to farm instead of putting them in the Platoon.


    So he gave them an offer a bit hard to refuse. These 30 Farmers will work year around, but when they aren''t farming they will go fishing. This will indeed eat a lot of the budget but it will increase profit in other ways since the fishing team will be almost doubled for 10 months each year which will necessarily open more business options, such salaries will be able to be covered. Their salaries will remain 150 Gold Coins with food and heat for them still free.


    This rattled the rest of the fishermen and spear fishermen too! Because their salaries are a lot lower comparably. The Fishermen for example, earn 65 Gold Coins while the Spear Fishermen just earn 20 Gold Coins more. So King Michael had to take action, he even personally walked down to the beach and explained why he took such a drastic action with a little speech. Even making them take a break followed by a nice extra meal.


    "Friends, your Contribution to Pameres Kingdom is not forgotten nor will it be taken for granted. Show sympathy for these Farmers who have worked around the clock to give us 230 Hectares of farm fields! It wasn''t a task easy to tackle, they even had to shovel snow throughout most of their work! They contributed to Gaster Kingdom a lot, but you did as well. Therefore, you all will get 20 Gold Coin raise. But not now! Word is around that two friendly domains plan to use our doc for numerous business reasons, that will aid greatly for a task of raise. Furthermore, Pameres Kingdom has made a permanently ongoing order of 200 eggs each month. That will grant an almost 100% guarantee for you all to receive a raise. All 41 of you are the soul of this Kingdom, now thanks to the farms your contribute will inevitably lead to more and more raises after this promised one. The 30 Farmers bringing in more fish along with you, will aid towards that task. I don''t plan to raise their salaries until yours meet theirs."


    The 41 men were more than happy of such big promises coming from the man who got this Kingdom up and going once more, they understood how important Gaster Kingdom is becoming thanks to the port. There is so much potential of possible profit which doesn''t require any financial maintenance.


    Speaking of minor progress, Alama has become a lot more open compared to when she first arrived. Sure the first time she visited, she was almost r.a.p.ed and eaten by Cannibals but she was clear to understand that King Michael is nothing like them, he even spent a fair amount of times trying to catch them on the act and kill them!


    Although not commonly used to engaging in romance, he has been noticing what Alama is trying to do. Or at least, what she has been trying to express. It became quite interesting at the first few months since Alama has been nicknamed ad a Honey mouth, yet when it comes to contact with King Michael her mouth froze.


    For her to open up towards King Michael for conversation that doesn''t include business, it took quite a few weeks. One topic that came into mind, was braiding King Michael''s long coal black hair. Of course Alama''s hair are literally almost the same, but surprisingly King Michael washes his on a daily basis. Even for men it is all about the hair!


    To have his hair touched by anyone else, it wasn''t an option before. He strongly refused twice even though his expression was as soft as talking to a new born. He was about to disagree the third time, but Alama did something she didn''t ever do in front of anyone ever since she arrived in Gaster Kingdom, she untied her pony tail and let hair down! Accompanied by light brown eyes shinning in the light like honey, King Michael''s heart was softened to the point of agreeing to her clear little plan of bonding. She became too cute, he couldn''t resist! Imagine a 5.8ft tall lady with a small face giving you that look. Would you be able to disagree?


    Once getting her hand deep in his thick voluminous hair, it felt like a thousand very light kisses struck her hand. She even forgot that she is supposed to braid them! Either all Kastarian hair are great to such level, or he is just highly caring for his hair. Which appears to be the case! She can''t be for sure before braiding Commander Alia''s hair. Which can be a highly difficult case because she hates it even more for them to be touched! She mostly keeps them into a bun unless she is playing with Mogranius or trying to strike a deal with a dumb as hell ill.u.s.tratian. But maybe she won''t be able to resist such a face either.


    Alama used a wooden comb to brush his hair first, it felt like heaven was at the palm of her hands. The cone went through his hair without any difficulties, as if he spends all day combing them! She took about 10 minutes combing his hair letting out one compliment after the other, such as. "Your hair is otherworldly great. What''s your secret?" Of course she wanted to imply whatever routine he does, to her own hair. Because even though she tries to wash and brush her hair dailiy, she just can''t catch up with King Michael.


    Confident enough, after getting a bit comfortable with her touching his hair. He dared to tease her. "Oh, you''ll figure it out eventually. You have been following me everywhere anyway." Although a bit of a cheap shot, it still proved a point. He has been enjoying her presence, but he can still use some private time.


    Although not noticable, she was forced into a blush thanks to such wordplay. She took a few seconds before she replied with her face cheeks becoming more and more red by the passing second. "Not necessarily. Do you have a secret room to fix your hair or something?" Eh not her best wordplay, but at least she is talking instead of leaving the atmosphere to become awkward.


    "Not specifically but that''s a good idea." Continued King Michael to tease, and handed a wider wooden cone. "Try this one, it works even better."


    After giving it a couple of tries, she answered. "Oh... this is indeed better!" With her cheeks still set into a blush thanks to the previous wordplay, she still insisted. "Oh common please tell me how you do this?"

 Chapter 233 - Attempted Manipulation.

    They reached down to the Cave and found that it is pitch dark! It isn''t a surprise since only 2 people rarely came down here, and when they did they had a torch on their hand. If it was a different case, for example several people coming down here and setting up torches on the walls, it would be a lot different. It would be even easier for intruders to illuminate the place, even though it might be a bad idea to do so.


    They didn''t bring Torches here, mostly because they didn''t have the option to do so. But both of them are Fire Controllers, and just need to burst a little fire from the palm of their hands. they won''t need much illumination either, since the cave seems to be several meters wide and tall only around the hatch. Afterwards, it just minimises towards a tunnel which has a span of about 7 feet wide.


    This is an obvious option, clearly what they should be doing next. Sinking in deeper towards the tunnel, about 15 meters after they walked in a bit of a complication. The tunnel split in to ways, but surprisingly both of these tunnels are wider than the one attached to the now considered main entrance, these tunnels seem to stretch about 10 feet wide.


    The next move requires consultation, although Eric and Bittore don''t really know each other enough. She has been living in the Kingdom of Maleemia a lot longer, not to mention she is 37 years old! She has a lot more experience on anything in general and could probably give good advice.


    "What do we do now?" Asked Eric the obvious once he gave a quick glance at the situation, hoping that she would speak first to spare him the trouble but that didn''t happen.


    Taking a bit awkwardly long to reply, since she was thinking it through. She took a peek at Eric and decided to say. "You''ll go left and I will go to the right side." Her decision isn''t random just to confirm. Through a few events, noticing that the King is right handed, she decided to take this path which might necessarily lead to more danger depending on what''s down there. One thing could be certain, if there is anything valuable down there, King Tamzar could have chosen the right side most likely.


    Before they split ways, she called for his name and warned. "It is rumoured that these tunnels branch down in several ways, if you feel like you are getting lost just head the opposite way you went down at. We can''t risk losing another Fire Controller." She is behaving nice no doubt, but she oddly doesn''t know yet that Eric is the Electus! Mogranius never really had the chance to brag about his companion and friend, so Eric is just labelled as just another Fire Controller. Either way, maybe it is for the best.


    Going down deeper, Eric found that his side of the tunnel takes a semi sharp turn to the left. 50 meters deeper, the tunnel splits in two once more but this time the Circ.u.mstances are a lot different. One of the tunnels just keeps stretching straight and, but just giving it a look he managed to figure out that this one sinks deeper down unlike the other one who has the same elevation.


    The other tunnel, best described as the one in the left. Continues the sharp turn to the left, and might likely lead to more and more tunnels. One can easily get lost down here, rumours couldn''t have been more true for once. Seeing that he has options, he went straight down.


    Interesting enough, the mud was dry but very slippery. So at first he slipped and fell on his rump, and continued to slide down for about 7 meters. Giving it just a little bit of thought, he figured that it is just a big smooth rock sprinkled with dirt from the ceiling of the Tunnel. He didn''t really pay much attention to it and rubbed the minor pain away, it would be a lot more painful if someone saw him.


    He tried to sink deeper down, but something loud has caught his attention. Thankfully, it wasn''t no animal or any living or unliving creature. He felt an Earthquake at first, but after thinking it through he understood that this is more than just an Earthquake, something happened.


    Crawling up that slippery rock like an animal since he knew that if he just ran up he would break his nose at least if he is lucky, heading down up the straight line as an aid of remembering where he started from. Reaching at the very first split ways, he found that the entire right tunnel has faced a collapse. It isn''t certain how far this collapse reached, but judging on how violent the shake was. It can''t be just a couple of meters, or 10 either.


    He figured that Bittore likely faced a bad fate, she could have been crushed by this collapse or she could have been deep enough to survive. Either way, he only saw one way to figure it out. Blasting the tunnel open, he is a bit experienced for such a case! Getting a good grip against the ground, doing a full sumo squat after. He started breaking out Fire from the palm of his hands!


    The blast started off as a foot wide and didn''t even reach the part of the Collapse, a split second after it was 3 feet wide and it started digging through some portions of the dirt in front of him. But it unleashed its true potential once it spread 5 feet wide!


    He didn''t want to risk killing himself here, or torch Bittore out of existence. So he kept his long lasting Fire ball smaller in size, he didn''t spread it 10 feet wide! However his attempt became troublesome, once more people arrived at the scene. They weren''t allies either.


    A snow elf dropped down and threw a spike against Eric. Perhaps blinded of the sudden burst of Fire and that Eric is a small target, the Spike just went over his shoulder, tremendously close to his Ear even. Good enough, Eric spotted the danger and immediately sprung into action.


    However this means that he had to stop blasting the tunnel open. He just blasted around 12 feet deep, but it didn''t seem successful at all. He couldn''t see an opening. Turning around, he spotted one person only. A woman standing just a couple of inches taller than him, but noticeably a lot older in age. She appears to be small and skinny too, unusual here where most Frost Blasters pay a lot of attention to their physical strength.


    She asked with a shout. "Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?" Afterwards she clarified. "This is a restricted area, punishable by death only!"


    Having a flash of memories, he thought of Bittore mentioning that only two people can get down here. One of those two people is dead, so this has to be his personal assistant, a.k.a the person who keeps this Castle going and sets up at least half of the rules or upgrades. Seeing that she has her Guard down, he remembered Commander Alia''s skill of manipulation and tried to buy himself time with such an attempt, asking. "Here is a better question. Why is this a restricted area, and why are you allowed down here? Do you fancy the King?" A rather interesting question coming from someone who barely talks, it sure takes anyone a few seconds to think it through.


    "Watch your tongue, I''m the King''s personal assistant! I am Medea Grivas! And you are about to be nailed against the ground!" Well it definitely bought Eric a bit more time, but it for sure made the situation worst as an aftermath.


    Noticing that she was about to shoot, he blasted Fire right in front of her feet. He felt guilty about trying to kill a Snow Ignite, because one way or the other she shares half of the genes! She is just a evolved Ignite! This however, was another trick to buy himself time and make an escape before anyone else drops down here.


    When Medea Grivas took a second to defend herself from the roaring Fire, Eric became air borne and slipped by her left side. Even making a bit of eye contact with her before he blasted up the hatch.


    Dodging one ice spike after the other from the Guards who too have heard the Earthquake and made their way down here, he only had to slightly burn 4 Guards one after the other in order to escape. He often shot in a bundle of Guards to clear his way, which often works. The ones that were hit were either too bold or to slow. The Fire he unleashed however, has the same burning capacity as a half heated pot of tea. It wouldn''t leave any permanent damage, and it has even less chances of death!


    Running out of the Castle, he saw Mogranius dropping from the sky and telling him to fly up! Their first goal was to fly up and reach their cave, there is no time to discuss details now. After Eric gave a brief explanation that Bittore is likely dead and they didn''t find the Demonite, Mogranius had the decency to say. "Well this isn''t a final loss."


    "What? Why?" Asked Eric puzzled of his wordplay, and trying to put the thought of strong failure behind him. He is already feeling enough guilt for not being able to save her.


    "I stole the King''s Dagger." Mogranius specified once he waved the little bag tied on his waist.

 Chapter 234 - Phobia

    Meeting BearCalw was sure interesting for Chan, even though he might have pissed his pants just a little bit because of her... unusual behaviours. King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll did mention that BearClaw is under his control, but he didn''t mention that she is undoubtedly crazy. Maybe he has a different definition of crazy, whatever the case might be, it doesn''t matter anymore. Chan just wants to get this task over with!


    It became a bit more interesting when they had a little situation with creatures that Chan has built quite a strong phobia against. Wild Boars! The Dense Forest Kin grand leader helped develop such a phobia, even though he or best described "it" had no such intend. Well maybe just a little.


    Seeing that the man who was brave enough to enter the Tavern with her alone even after considering the risks, crawl into a ball out of fear due to a group of Wild Boars got her a bit puzzled. Where did the little man''s bravery go? "There must be more to this." She thought and dashed out of the Wagon to take a better look at the situation.


    Seeing around 7 Wild Boars storming against the 10 Guards, she didn''t consider any risks nor was she scared like Chan and even the Guards who are barely handling their selves in this situation. One thought came into her mind, "Finally, some good food." Respectfully, she is sick of eating 5-8 days old bread. They did have meat to eat, but less commonly since there are 12 mouths to feed. At this case, she is looking at around 500 to 700 Kilograms of Free meat. It would provide as a month''s worth of free luxurious food. The Continent has a lot of Wild Boars to spare, it is no big issue.


    The moment she walked out of the Wagon, one of the 7 Wild Boars changed its target. The men with sharp shinning sticks (Swords) look a lot more dangerous than a woman who is a bit taller, but doesn''t look armed to the teeth. The Wild Boar seperating from the pack, charged towards her at the speed it could gather under a short distance and using its short strong legs, it made a little leap.


    The Wild Boar itself, looks like he breaks over 80 Kilograms. Maybe 100? Either way, such a mass hitting anywhere on the upper body is lethal even if she was wearing a set of thick heavy Armour. To leave everyone surprised, she didn''t reach for her Sword. Seeing that she had to act quick at this moment, slicing the Boar isn''t an option.


    The Boar leaped over a meter high, trying to avoid its lethal short tusks, she just dashed towards the Wagon with all her speed to avoid getting hit and unleash a move which isn''t crazy but isn''t common either. Using split seconds to her advantage, she charged against the Boar''s waist with her shoulder and forced it to lose orientation.


    It was like hitting a heavy lumpy rock, but not neccesarily damaging to her arm. The Wild Boar''s back side was first forced to the right side and since she charged with her shoulder almost from below the belly, the Wild Boar hit the ground head first before it tumbled a couple of times.


    This move however, isn''t really damaging to a thick skinned beast and was just a move that was both bold and desperate at the same time. The Wild Boar growled in anger and stood up to fight against the enemy who dared to enter their territory.


    Little did the Wild Boar understand, this time Bear Claw has the ability to arm herself. Instinctive enough, the Wild Boar made another leap at almost the same height as before. However this time it was drained out of luck, because her sharp 80 Centimeter Sword sunk a few inches deep.


    The momentum the Wild Boar gathered however, made it impossible even for someone as strong as her, to keep her Sword at the same position for more than half a second. It didn''t work for the worse though, because the Wild Boar was lifted over her head as she bend backwards as much as she could and was sent tumbling down against a couple other Wild Boars.


    The ten Guards proved useful enough as it seems, they managed to kill three on their own already and only one Guard is on the ground, he doesn''t appear to be dead though. Maybe just knocked out, he is lucky enough if he didn''t break any bones.


    A move these Guards seem to all follow, is to all stab one Boar at once instead of taking on one of them alone. A smart move they likely trained for, the odds of running into Wild Boars through travels is more than common. It tends to be a hassle since more than half of them walk in packs, or best named "Sounds" especially through the mating seasons regardless of Gender.


    While 2 or more Guards aim for the head, the rest stab all around the backside until the Wild Boar drops dead. It became a bit difficult especially with bigger male Boars in the group, they have become the most troublesome.


    She took quick glance at Chan who is now sweating in fear, and dared to ask. "You are afraid of these little things?"


    Without giving Chan the chance to answer, he saw another Wild Boar taking a leap and hitting Bear Claw on the right side of her waste, sending her down as if she weighed nothing over 5 Kilograms. This Wild Boar however, appeared to be a little bit smaller. Likely around 40-60 Kilograms, a new a.d.u.l.t to be more exact.


    Fearing that he will loose the person who plays so much importance to this task, he tried to be bold enough to help her. But hesitated once he grabbed his sword, then decided to go forward with this when he counted the circ.u.mstances of failure.


    But again, he was hesitant once he reached the door. With his mind he wanted to go, but his body just didn''t follow along. These Wild Boars are totally killable, but the image of the large one he ran into, keeps popping up in his head which just increases his resistance.


    Finally deciding to step out, he was even more scared to see that Bear Claw has grabbed the WildBoar by the head and has started twirling it around! "This woman really is crazy! Chan thought to himself, feeling a bit bad about it but also glad that it proved tremendously useful. "What the hell did King Xakro do to her?"


    Trying to mimic her moves, he positioned his sword forward and was bold enough to yell. "Toss the Boar!" He did come out to help after all, he even felt embarrassed to let everyone know that he is scared of these furry beasts and this is a good way to cover that fact.


    Seeing that Chan is positioned, Bear Claw tossed the Boar towards him but not Head first. Such a manoeuvre would be hard to attain, so the Wild Boar just spun once before its belly met Chan''s Sword. Such an impact, pushed Chan about 4 meters back along with the Wild Boar but surprisingly he didn''t cut himself and neither did he fall down like an embarrassment either.


    The intense fear of humiliation accompanied by the anxiety caused by the growling Wild Boars behind him gave him more strength than he usually has, in aids of escaping or winning against this threat.


    However, the wild boar isn''t yet dead. It was growling in anger followed by pain and even tried to get up again, the Sword dug through its waist begged to differ. Putting his leg over the Boar''s bell and pulling the sword out, he aimed against the Wild Boars neck and pushed down with all his might.


    The Wild Boar let out a last growl before it passed away, and turning around he saw that the team of 10 Guards have already taken care of the rest. Good enough, only three were on the ground. Approaching closer to see what the situation is, he saw a Guard who was holding his wrist and asked him. "How did we fare here?"


    "I just sprained my wrist badly when the Boar moved while I was stabbing him! The jackass was bigger than the rest!" Beautiful peace of language, but acceptable in such a situation.


    "How do you know your wrist is not broken?" Asked Chan just to make sure that this Guard is still usable.


    "Because I can move my fingers." Well at least the Guard is skilled enough to know basic biological facts.


    "What about the rest?" By that, the Guard knew that he meant the three men on the ground.


    "They are roughed up bad but I think they can survive this if they can rest in the Wagons." Such an act, meant that both Chan and Bear Claw have to walk on foot since the 2 other Wagons are filled with Gold and supplies.


    Interesting enough, Chan ordered. "Alright, let''s check how much we can help them now and let them rest in the Wagon after." Gesturing at another Guard, he requested. "Try to find some straight sticks, I was told they help with sprained arms and even cracked bones."

 Chapter 235 - Stupid rich

    April has struck upon Ignis, although the cold season is gone for now, the heat won''t prove as satisfying here now with so many projects going on. It is great that the triangle of Domains has projects to work on however, it is of course better than nothing.


    Speaking of projects, the Zamerians have offered another deal having to do with Iron! Apparently all those 2,000 Iron Swords made until now, were just used for practice in various training yards spread around a portion of Zameria, 1/3 of the Swords even are unusable now.


    That might come out as a bad thing considering the period of time(6 months), but when we think that Zameria is the Continent carrying people who have super speed as a power, this is actually a great result. The King of Lav Kingdom complimented the Blacksmithery here in Pameres Kingdom. Stating that 2,000 swords used to last for a year at max. 3 million people live in Zameria so that isn''t really a big surprise.


    The King made a new 8 month long order. It will start now in April and end in the new year! But there is a twist, he requires 4,000 Swords. He is well aware of Ignis'' lack of population which inevitably leads to the lack of proper blacksmiths, so there wouldn''t be any casualties if the all 4,000 Swords aren''t delivered by the end of the year.


    With an experienced Blacksmith sent at BaleTown, one idea popped up in King Zar''s head. Cooperation. They can cooperate to make a good profit together! However, since Pameres Kingdom will provide all of the Iron ore for Bale Town to convert into Iron Swords, plus considering the travel expenses. Pameres Kingdom can''t afford to give Bale Town 100% of the profit from each Sword. He is thinking about providing them with 50% of it!


    It can be considered the most fair for both domains. As much as we are concerned, King Zar can just stretch the project for 10 months for Pameres Kingdom to tackle this task. Another portion which might come as as tempting, is that 10% of the overall profit Bale Town makes from this project will not help on paying the port of Gaster Kingdom in order to avoid big mathematical complications. If Bale Town later on manages to provide more swords, they will have to pay a seperate 10% fee at the port.


    This sort of deal will benefit them both, but timing will be troublesome for the first month at least. Because the Zamerians come at the dock to pick up the Swords at the beginning of each month. So for Bale Town to properly deliver their craft, they need to have the Swords ready in the middle of the month. It will no doubt prove troublesome at first but it is in all ways manageable afterwards.


    The miners have been piling up more Iron from Pameres Kingdom''s mineral rich Mines due to the order reaching an end. So delivering a months worth of Ore to Bale Town won''t neccesarily be a problem. Although not well informed, King Zar assumes that there are 10 Blacksmiths there by now. And since they are all apprentices, they can only make a Sword per day! So he sent a couple of Wagons carrying Iron ore, together of which summed up around 500 pieces. The blacksmiths there have to turn the Ore into Iron, King Zar wanted for Pameres Kingdom to tackle the task for them but the Blacksmiths here have no time since they will be tackling most of the order.


    6 months of fast paced experience proved useful for the 3 most experienced Blacksmiths along with the second batch of less experienced (Compared to the 3.) and of course for all of the Apprentices too! When they started the first Iron Sword project 6 months ago, their best progress was 304 Swords per month for this entire group of 54 Blacksmiths.


    But now? Although one experienced Blacksmith is replaced by an apprentice, they manage to make 400 Swords a month thanks to all of their experience so far! The Apprentices of which bring the most progress since some have started making 2 Swords a day! If these 54 Blacksmiths one day all manage to make 3 Swords a day, there won''t be any order too big!


    Another considerable progress, is that Lav Kingdom has offered to purchase a lot of sets of clothing. Which resulted to King Zar having to hire a total of 20 Tailors (Previously hired ones included.). How big is this order you might ask? Well they ordered 1,000 sets of leather clothing. Which includes leather pants, a leather jerking accompanied by a harder to tailor Leather shirt and even cute little leather hats. When put together, each set costs 100 Gold Coins!


    But there is a twist! This is no project that would take 6+ months! Lav Kingdom requires their order to be completed under 3 months! This can be tricky since one tailor can only make a complete set in 3 days, all of them together can only make 200 sets. So this project requires 5 months! So along with the offer of making some profits from the Swords, King Zar also sent another offer to make profit from some leather.


    Considering the hunting team there, it wouldn''t be much of a problem especially since they ordered them to be made from Boar Leather. Apparently Boar Leather is less common there, so Lav Kingdom will make big Coin selling it to the richer with an estimated 66% profit. When it comes to splitting profit, Bale Town can make 50% of the whole project if they manage to deliver at least 200 sets each month. Since both domains have 20 Tailors each, it isn''t really a problem. For this task however, both will have to pay the 10% fee at the port. It isn''t neccesarily a problem, both will make a whooping 18,000 Gold Coins each month from this project! For 3 months at least.


    The Wagons are another set of profit for Pameres Kingdom primarily! When it comes to transferring such products to another Continent, it is no doubt tricky! Reason? Well it requires bigger sh.i.p.s who can only accept Wagons to transport, and only about 10 of them can fit in those bigger sh.i.p.s.


    For Lav Kingdom, it is a risk they are willing to take considering the profit of 66% or more from each Wagon! That''s a lot of Gold Coins and such opportunity can not be thrown! Lav Kingdom offers an ongoing order stretching to a year! Yes a year. Each month Pameres Kingdom will provide 30 Wagons, totalling 360 after the end of the project and undoubtedly an income if 144,000 Gold coins for Pameres Kingdom. With this many offers at hand, each civilian here will be filthy rich in just a decade.


    Eggs have become a bit popular in the triangle of Kingdoms! Pameres Kingdom ordered 200 each month, and Bale Town has ordered 50 each month. Such a treasure of a food can''t be given for free. So its price is dumped down to 5 Gold Coins, to inspire people to work so they can afford them. Considering all of this profit from 3 projects, it is totally affordable.


    The 435 Leather Jerking order has been temporarily put on hold. The people of Gaster Kingdom aren''t exactly in the mood due to all of this loss! Perhaps in the future it will be a different approach towards this project.


    Last but not least, lets talk about Coal! Ignis isn''t quite known for Coal so such offer came as a surprise in Lav Kingdom. The order is too good to be true but there is still only so much one domain can afford even if it comes from a richer Continent. So taking the offer to a neighbouring Kingdom in Zameria, the King of Lav Kingdom managed to strike a deal for King Zar. Necessarily, for Bale Town.


    Good enough they even offered to buy it at Ignis'' usual price. It is not easy to sell it in Zameria, but that King apparently has other ideas. It is none of the King Zar''s business either way! Since the Mine is rich, that King has ordered 5,000 Kilograms of it! Favourably delivered under 4 months but can be stretched if neccesary.


    The Crates are also to be paid, it is a pay that no Domain will be able to earn a profit from except Bale Town. They are already quite cheap.


    The shipping expenses will be covered by the buyer, all they have to do is provide the Coal. The total income of this deal is 25,000 Gold Coins! King Zar has helped strike this deal, so he gently requests 5% of its profits and of course Gaster Kingdom will earn another 10%. Bale Town will still earn 21,375 Gold Coins so it isn''t a big deal. Such fees aren''t a lot, but Pameres Kingdom needs a lot of Gold back of which it spend and will continue to spend due to defence upgrades.


    Speaking of defences, with most of the two platoons gone. He requires 60 Guards of the 100 to stay in Pameres Kingdom, while the other 40 go back to Bale Town. It is a rather desperate move, but if Pameres Kingdom is invaded, this triangle of Kingdoms will crumble into failure after.

 Chapter 236 - The deed is done.

    Although getting the unusual Dagger along with everything else in that bag is considered a small win, it certainly doesn''t help at all with the situation. They are fugitives here, Bittore is as good as dead and her daughter will attack the Kingdom of Maleemia sooner or later which will inevitably endanger a lot more of the Hostages.


    Seeing that Eric is in no good condition, mentally at least, to talk this situation out. So he decided to proceed with a calmer approach, they didn''t talk details yet. "Eric, what happened boy?" Putting the main task here to thought, he dared to ask about it in such a situation. "I don''t see the Demonite nor Bittore."


    Giving himself a bit of time to calm his own nerves down and think through what just happened since it doesn''t even feel believable, he continued with a stutter followed by a loss for words. "I''m not sure what happened!" The situation was a bit blurry no doubt, but there is one thing he is sure about. "I think Bittore didn''t make it!"


    Shocked and even feeling a bit sad about such a result, but mostly feeling confused. He asked with his tone rising in anger. "How? How didn''t she make it? What happened to her?!" He isn''t neccesarily mad at Eric, not at all even since he knows this boy for months now. Last thing he would want to do is wish for an ally to be lost, even if that person is just half of an ally.


    "An Earthquake happened!" Shouted Eric with little force, since his throat already felt heavy along with his heart tightening on his chest. He doesn''t know this lady long enough, he just feels guilty that he wasn''t able to help her and had to flee the scene for the good of the Continent. He wouldn''t be much of use to Ignis if he was dead, and he for sure didn''t want to kill a Snow Ignite. "The tunnel collapsed and she is likely crushed by it!"


    "Oh..." Answered Mogranius, even putting the Demonite aside for once. Trying to understand a bit more about what happened and even what it was like down there, he sat across Eric on the cold cave floor, asking. "It clearly isn''t your fault, you couldn''t do anything about it. But what could there be down there to cause an Earthquake, barelyo anyone is allowed access."


    A bit irritated of Mogranius'' lack of proper sympathy throughout the whole time they''ve been here no doubt, he still chose to not say anything about it. Last thing he needs right now is to start an argument, his heart is already aching. So he just decided to answer his question! "As far as I saw, there was nothing but a set of stairs near the hatch. The tunnels are empty. At least my side."


    Such an explanation, just opened more questions. Such as, "What do you mean at your side?"


    "We split, i checked the left side and she checked the right. When I was just a few minutes deep, the Earthquake of Tunnel collapse or whatever it was. Happened!" He pushed himself through this explanation, it was indeed hard to relive that situation through spoken word and spiraling scenes in his head.


    Mogranius was too left speechless, because Bittore had so much value. Without her, they can''t convince the rest of the Ignites here to accompany him and Eric back home. Furthermore, Bittore would possibly be the only person who would shed more light to the art of killing so many without even shooting against them or touching them. Last but not least, this whole situation makes finding the Demonite a hell lot harder. He started sinking in silence and the Cave became cold in conversation almost equally to these negative temperatures.


    Silence can be good and it can be bad. In a lot of cases, such as showing understanding. Silence can be the key to unlocking someone''s story and therefore seeking what''s more valuable than gold, a well kept relation. Silence can also be bad, such as standing silent in solitude when any soul is mistreated, mutilated or molested in front of the masses. Those are two good examples, but here? The gift of silence accompanied by just a little bit stroke of luck and the art of being unaware, they heard something from outside that turned this situation around completely.


    What could it be you might be curious enough to ask? Fire! Fire blazing against the strong wind up in this elevation, crackled enough for Eric to hear it clearly. Mogranius would never be able to hear it himself, his ears aren''t how they used to be. Best way to prove my point is to remind you about, "Farmer''s Bacon".


    His eyes widened in shock and was even ready to expect someone flying in the cave, even hoping for the Fire Controller to be Bittore. It is not like seeing Osira is a bad thing either, he just can''t really face her right now and explain to her that he lost Bittore, her only piece of family left.


    "Someone is coming!" Although he alarmed Mogranius about what he heard and now they are both waiting for someone to fly in, their patience felt eternal. One because this is a unique situation and two because no one actually flew in the cave.


    "What the hell." Eric murmured to himself and started thinking that he is hearing things, standing on his feet he carefully walked towards the exit to check the situation.


    "Be careful." Mogranius unleashed a loud whisper. "For all we know, the rest of the Fire Controllers are likely forced to hunt us down."


    Eric wanted to reply with, "I''m aware." But his mouth wouldn''t follow along with his attention gifted to who ever flew outside, taking one step after the other carefully towards the previous sound.


    He walked out and didn''t exactly see anything he didn''t see before. An edge of Maleemia visible, flakes of snow raging fast due to the wind and the green low lands hundreds of Kilometers away. This place is high enough to see a large part of the Continent, but he didn''t see no Fire Controller.


    Seeing his odds, he just decided to turn around and figure out the next move with Mogranius. Such as, should they continue to stay here? It would be rather odd if they did, it would just be nothing less but a time waste. At least, that''s what his thoughts stormed through before a black mark imprinted on the mountain side caught his eye.


    It wasn''t a big mark, but it was half a meter near the Cave''s entrance. This is no doubt caused by a Fire Controller. Touching it made him realise that it is recent, whomever flew by was forced no negotiate her directions in order to not get slammed against the mountain side. Most importantly, that someone flew upwards.


    "What could they be doing higher in the mountains? It is already tremendously cold, Ignites aren''t made for such a climate." He thought to himself, even murmuring some of his words out before he turned around and saw Mogranius staring him down.


    His appearance came in as spooky, but he was just curious. "Well...?"


    "Someone flew up, what do you think we should do?" The decision quite obvious, but someone who is older and has more experience in life should be asked about such a task. The temperature further up can be tormenting, deadly. This isn''t a decision he can make himself.


    "We need to follow whomever it was, but we have to be absolutely careful. Who ever it was, is likely ordered to hunt us down. We are fugitives after all and this is their home either we like it or not." Well this is why mature advice can be useful, however Eric never expected Mogranius to have such level of maturity. The only thing left from Mogranius'' past behaviour is his extensive sarcasm.


    "If you say so." Answered Eric and blazed Fire from his feet, and started flying up. The first seconds caused a lack of orientation, but he managed to get back on track. Surprisingly, using the semi smooth vertical mountain wall to his aid even.


    A hundred yards after, they met what at first felt like the top of the mountain. But no that wasn''t the case, they just reached another semi flat portion of rock. Like the one where Maleemia is based on. It was beautiful indeed for those who enjoy landscape, but the two Ignites were forced to put their attention towards something or best described, someone else.


    A group of Ignite ladies were up here already and they weren''t unfamiliar faces either. They saw a lot of the Ignites ladies who guarded the Carved Path, Osira too. But what caught their attention most, was Bittore Nardone standing on her own two feet holding a tremendously glowing Ignite gem!


    The Ignite gem changed its colour from purple to blood red in a matter of seconds, getting acknowledged of the two Ignites attention, Bittore handed the Ignite Gem to one of her Companions and stated under a low tone. "It is ready."


    The Companion grabbed the Ignite Gem and flew up, before she headed straight down towards the Kingdom of Maleemia. Both of them confused no doubt, Mogranius decided to melt the ice between the two groups with a question. "I''m glad you are alive but, what are you all doing here?" He didn''t pay much attention to the lady flying down, but was forced to pay attention to something else before Bittore was about to speak.


    A loud raging explosion happened hundreds of meters beneath their feet, followed by an earthquake even stronger than the one Eric felt down in the tunnels. They were all knocked off of their feet regardless of faction, Mogranius even covering his head by instinct. Last thing he needs is a boulder falling on his head.


    The lady that first flew down with the Ignite Gem, flew up and joined the scene. Carrying a face painted black by the explosion''s smoke, she walked closer to her group and proudly stated with her tone low. "The deed is done."

 Chapter 237 - Ballistawomen

    After the War of Pameres Kingdom, 120 men of the two local Platoons taking part in battle, were slaughtered. Which caused a lot of disorder since a lot of the best Guards lost their lives that terrible day. With 60 more men from the third Platoon ordered to stat here, Pameres Kingdom is left with 140 Guards.


    The Kingdom became tremendously weak defense wise due to this war, yes the Calidum Lutum dug them out of trouble last time, but who would help them if a battle is to break in the near future. Even Isabel isn''t fast enough to reach back in time with more Guards and the town of Lan Zhe can''t really afford it either.


    The Army of what they thought off as 600 men at first, caused a great Soldier/Guard shortage in three domains. With just one attack?! King Zar realized at that point that he can''t solely rely on the number of Soldiers but better technology instead.


    Let''s think one fact through. Before the attack, these three domains carried 400 Soldiers all together! And those couldn''t have nearly fought off 800 alone, special assistance was required. But now? Gaster Kingdom is left with 50 Guards, Pameres Kingdom is left with 140, and 65 more are at Bale Town. From 400, only 255 Guards are left! It nearly isn''t enough to fight off another attack, not a chance.


    So Seer was ordered to write a recruitment letter and put it up on the Kingdom centre, furthermore he and his wife Maleesa were ordered to manage the current amount of Guards. A boat load of work fell upon them, such as the fact that Guards are paid with more than free food and warmth now!


    The Patrol Guards, who take shifts around the city to assure the Kingdom is crime free and like everyone else these Guards would stand for Pameres Kingdom if a future battle was to happen, earn the lowest salary. They will earn 75 Gold Coins a month, but free food and warmth will still be provided for them. With the recent battle, a offered salary was the best way to keep the Army together and lure in new Guards. To assure that the Guards don''t quit over a period of time, they were all ordered to sign Contracts. Each Guard regardless of importance and salary, will have to serve 5 Years in the Army. After 5, they can choose if they would continue another 5 years or chose another craft.


    With all the recent business relations set with the Zamerians which increased the monthly income for an estimated 40,000 Gold Coins(Expenses exlcuded), Pameres Kingdom can afford to pay 100 Guards. If Pameres Kingdom spends under 20,000 Gold Coins in the entire army monthly, they can all even make a bit of profit instead of letting the budget sink to the negative.


    But what about other weaponry that requires a bit more skill and caution? Such as Ballistas and Catapults! King Zar ordered 50 Ballistas from the Zamerians ensure a bit more quality compared to here in Ignis, but also cause double the price! One Ballista only costs around 500 Gold Coins here in Ignis! But at Zameria? Only one costs 1000 Gold Coins!


    It is tremendously expensive to buy 30 Ballistas in Zameria, so the King of Lav Kingdom negotiated some deals with the neighbouring Kingdoms there, solely due to the fact that Pameres Kingdom has proved very useful even though population low. So instead of paying 1000 Gold Coins, Pameres Kingdom will have to pay 900 per Ballista which equals to a total of 27,000 Gold Coins.


    Ballistas require 2 men each to operate, thankfully there are two Soldiers sent with the Ballistas and Catapults to show the Guards here how to use them. So, in that recruitment letter the Ballista Operators were offered the biggest Salary. Catapults are more deadly yes, but Ballistamen (Or women, respectfully.) would be in more risk. They would need to leave the comfort of the Kingdom''s wall in order to provide impactful in battle, there is only so much a Ballista shot can reach and they can''t wait for the enemies to be close to the walls, to attack.


    The man who is here to train the Ballistaguards, claims that this fine piece of weaponry reaches a range of 300 meters per shot! It is a good way to attack from a good distance and back up in the process, letting the close combat Guards deal the final damage after.


    One particular problem with their duty, is that they won''t focus on Swordsmenship. So if the enemy reaches them in battle, they will be 60 sitting ducks. Which is why their pay is the biggest, reaching 120 Gold Coins. Warmth and food are provided for free as well, it is a low price compared to how much other people of different crafts earn but King Zar requested understanding, their salaries are promised to be raised for at least 20 Gold Coins, this year! Not just for the Ballista Guards, but for the entire Army! Paying 7,200 Gold Coins monthly for the Ballistaguards is a hassle, but necessary for the Kingdom''s defences.


    As for the Catapults? Each one requires five people to Operate, five! King Zar did a good move at this case, if they ordered 30 Catapults it would be tremendously hard to find Guards for each one under a short period of time. The art of war is unpredictable, you can never now when the enemy can be at your door so they can''t risk stretching this recruitment project for too long.


    These Catapults are medium sized, otherwise it would take up to 10 people to operate just one. It proved good Gold-wise too, because one Catapult was reduced from a price of 2,400 Gold Coins to 2,100 Gold Coins. When put all together these Catapults cost 21,000 Gold Coins. It isn''t hard to calculate but it sure ate up the Budget. King Zar decided to pay everything at first month, the Kingdom can afford it and such an expense will be replenished in a matter of months. Such a Catapult would cost 1,200 Gold Coins here in Ignis, this proves how much they have spent here just because of the fact that they are defying the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance.


    These Catapult operators will be offered 100 Gold Coins a month, 50 of them will be paid so this neccesarily converts into the smallest portion of pay in the Army. When all calculated, these recent expenses eat up most of the Iron Sword project, considering that Lav Kingdom will offer to purchase more Iron related products, this won''t neccesarily be a problem.


    One thing that caught a lot of attention, is the fact that Seer stated that there are no Gender restrictions. Women and Men can join the Army as long as they are at least 20 years old. A bit different compared to other Crafts which usually requires 16 year olds and up, but Ballistas require matture mental and physical strength.


    Here is a twist on the plans, there aren''t any gender restrictions for Ballista operations. A man can be mixed with a woman to operate a Ballista, since they are just two. But a women or two can''t be mixed with 3 men to operate a Catapult. King Zar can''t risk men getting caught up on glaring at women and cause casualties. They will be flinging large heavy rocks after all across a distance of 400 meters! They can''t risk wiping out houses here along with people due to the lack of attention! A Catapult is tremendously powerful!


    So King Zar thought it best to use the 40 remaining men on the Catapults and hire 10 more to ensure full proper operation. As for the Ballistas, men and women can join but they don''t have to be 25 with 25. He is aware that the soul thought of women working in Houses only won''t get him much female recruits.


    So he had Seer add something in the letter that might grab more attention, on the bottom of the letter it stated. "Women will be given priority on salary increases."


    Men of these times tend to be egoistic to the point of facing financial trouble due to the soul thought of, "I don''t need no man to stare at my daughter or wife." But along with the salary raise priorities, King Zar stated that if the men of the house disagree to let a women join the Army even if she wants too, will have to pay a fine of 100 Gold Coins or face 30 days in the dungeon.


    A small reasonable price to pay, but it isn''t about the gold. The Kingdom just can''t afford to be invaded due to such normalized s.e.xism. This will be a good way to establish a even stronger financial situation for the Kingdom in the near future. They managed to bring so much income with barely any women included, but what if Women take part in forming this community even more? The average salary here would increase to 300 Gold Coins instead of 150!

 Chapter 238 - Guilt

    "You maniacs!" Shouted Mogranius with a pure source of Anger! "What did you do?" It isn''t quite easy to see an entire Kingdom blow up, even if it was a certified enemy! This whole situation itself is very confusing, he doesn''t know what to think or do. But his intends aren''t exactly nice!


    Deciding to not say anything, even to Eric of which she shared a journey with just a bit earlier. Bittore gestured for the ladies to do a round up. One thing was made certain, in the Kingdom of Maleemia you can''t know who is your friend and who is your enemy.


    Bittore started taking slow steps forward towards the two Ignites after and with a calming tone she dared to ask. "You need to calm down, the Snow Ignites are our enemies. They tried to have both of you killed!" Reasonable no doubt, but her intends felt more and more impure by the passing word.


    Mogranius was aware of her intends of manipulation, he went through countless cases before. This is just a rouse to get these two men by her side, or to prepare some sort of attack. Such as getting close enough to cause more damage, it is easier to hit targets up close.


    Out of a sudden, both Mogranius and Eric felt something heavy hitting them at the back of their head! They both fell down to the hard ground underneath them, knocked out cold. That is likely the best way to contains two Expert (Level 4) Fire Controllers without lives being lost. Both of these men are powerful enough to at least kill 2-3 out of these ladies who now are considered enemies, which is why Bittore has ordered for such an approach. She can''t afford loosing her own, especially Fire Controllers.


    If Mogranius was given a bit more time to talk, he would express that he is mostly angry about the Ignites down there held hostage! He saw what the Kingdom of Maleemia had to offer, and he wasn''t a fan at all. But the victimized Ignites? It is hard to think about!


    But who hit these two men you might be curious to know! Well, Mogranius and Eric both saw familiar faces yes but they didn''t see all of them. A couple of Ignite ladies from the group of 15, appeared out of thin air and asked. "What do we do with them now, Grand Leader Bittore." It is well established that these two ladies were left at charge for protection. Although not specified by word, Bittore explained that if she doesn''t start shooting, the enemies should only be knocked out. Considering that fact, she has no intends of killing these two Ignites yet.


    "Bad or not, they are of our kind. We can''t just kill them!" Expressed Bittore, at least in between her propaganda there is some passion and pure ish thinking. "Tie them up for now, we have bigger matters to attend too." Before she was about too leave, she turned her head around and reminded. "Be sure to tie them good enough for them not to be able to move a limb, the old one is tricky."


    If Eric and Mogranius were conscious, they would be able to figure out at least a portion of the puzzle. This entire situation is shocking, a explanation would feel nice but it would also make them even angrier. There is just too much propaganda in between.


    Walking towards the mountain wall about 20 meters away and feeling its rough surface accompanied by thin bits of dirt stretching from a couple of inches to a few feet, rather random but it proved one sole fact. This portion of the mountain wall isn''t solid rock. Odd enough, the dirt is only located in one circular portion stretching 10 meters long!


    "Ladies. Behind this worthless piece of dirt and rock stands the future for our group." With her throat feeling heavy and even feeling a bit light headed, she hesitated to recall bad memories for her group but she felt that the reminder of their intend is neccesary. "We all have suffered the worst of the worst, what Ignis or the world for that matter has to offer us, isn''t anything we can favour."


    She had to remind such a fact, because there are two Fire Controllers on the ground after all. These ladies want freedom and are willing to get it in the darkest of ways, but they aren''t monsters. A good portion of them felt guilt to see their own hurt. "Behind this wall, we will find a peace of mind. We will find freedom! We won''t have to work for anyone but our own!"


    A good sense of leadership is remembering the team their goals, ambitions sometimes can cloud reason. To keep her group going this is what she needed. "Are you ready to put in the final fight for our own, for what is left of the innocent?"


    "Yes Grand Leader!" The group shouted subconsciously at the same time, with their tone echoing through the mountain side their sense of motivation was proven present. "Alright then!" She yelled with more motivation and forced pain away from her tone. "Let''s blow this door wide open!"


    Turning around to face the ladies, and pulling out a orb like... thing on her hand, much shaped like an eyeball actually but it only had one speck of a red circle in one portion while the rest of the orb was covered in a pitch black colour. Its size was as big as an Ignite''s head. It doesn''t sound big considering that Ignites have small faces, but it still takes two hands to hold properly.


    Bending down on her knee and holding the orb above her head, while alluring her glare towards the ground she gently commanded. "Spread out."


    The ladies spread about a meter away from each other, it feels odd to see such an effort but it will make sense soon enough. Interesting fact, 2 more of the ladies stood back and helped the other two who were previously indivisible, to tie the two men faster.


    "Osira start!" Shouted Bittore, knowing that her daughter is at the edge without even looking for her. Osira has been ordered to start even before this time, as a way of honouring her Contributions. Everything, including the King''s death, is plotted. This will make the two Igntes rethink the whole situation, there is so much to take in.


    Doing the honors, Osira blasted a Fireball spreading 5 feet wide towards her mother. But here is the interesting part, her continuing Fire became minimized, thinned to the width of a Finger and it was straight sucked into the orb! If Mogranius was awake, he would see this Orb as Demonite! It even gives that sense.


    The lady near Osira began to blast Fire after she counted until five! Her Fire touched Osira''s but when reaching the Orb the Fire''s direction was parted! Counting until eight, Osira stopped Blasting Fire. A couple seconds after, the third lady in row started to blast Fire. This technique was continued until the tenth lady gave in her last bit of effort! How did they know about this technique? Well that''s a story for another day.


    Once the tenth lady was finished, Bittore stood on her feet and glanced upon the magnificence of the orb. Now shinning in a Fire like colour, the next step can be taken. "Osira, bring me the Ignite gem!"


    Interesting procedure, where could they get Ignite gems even? Apart from being expensive, they are tremendously rare up here. "I''m ready." Assured Osira before she mimicked her mother, with her knee to the ground and the Ignite gem above her head.


    The rest of the ladies immediately backed away, knowing the procedure already as if it became their natural born instinct. Leading her right foot forward, trying to blast Fire out of her hands as she moved the Orb forward followed by a warrior shout, she activated the Orb''s finishing potential.


    For Osira, this is nothing but a breeze. But for Bittore? The Fire left the Orb at a thin pole like concentrated matter and immediately entered the Ignite Gem without blowing Osira''s fingers off. Bittore however, she was pushed behind as if 10 people were pushing her. All she could do was try not to loose balance while her feet caused mass friction against the ground as she was pushed over 5 meters behind, her back even softly meets the mountainside. A toe destroyer at worst, but it is worth it.


    "Its ready." Osira whispered to herself as she saw the Ignite Gem which is now red in colour! A beautiful sight, but if it fell from her hand it would wipe all 17 on this mountain side out of existence. They all felt what it did to Maleemia! "Mother may I do the honours of such a tremendous day for our group?"


    "I was hoping you''d say that!" She expressed, wanting to hug her daughter as well but with a super charged Ignite Gem in between them, it isn''t a good idea. "Grab the men and all of you fly out of here. We just need to do one more step right now and I''m sure that all of you know what it means!"

 Chapter 239 - Quite a show.

    After the Ballista and Catapult delivery arrived here in Pameres Kingdom, the next morning time arrived for training! Such Weaponry is of advanced level, even King Zar didn''t want to take the risk of working mindlessly on such a task. The Ballista for example, is a late discovery about a decade ago actually. Brought from the Zamerians themselves in Ignis about 3 years ago. The ill.u.s.tratian Alliance possesses tens of them, but they are used on wealthier Kingdoms, such as at the motherland!


    Thanks to the Ballista being constructed in such a large size, inventors managed to minimize this Construction in Zameria 5 years after, and so was the Crossbow discovered and brought upon Ignis a year ago. When it comes to weaponry, the Zamerians carry many battle oriented individuals who spend countless hours a day thinking, testing and trying to discover. Their worth there, is close to Kings!


    It is perfect how the Zamerians want to pass down their marvellous weaponry to other Continents, but one problem occurred with the sent trainers, Language! The Ignite and ill.u.s.tratian language for example, are nearly similar. Their similarities end with different dialects, but they still can understand each other with the ill.u.s.tratian language being the most popular.


    But what about Zamerian? They have an almost completely different, and what words are similar have a different meaning. Sh.i.p.s usually carry a translator, who knows both the languages most popularly spoken in Ignis and Zameria, but the sh.i.p.s are long gone and will return upon the next delivery where they will pick up the next merchandise and the Trainers.


    King Zar personally joined the training session, just to see a Ballista''s might and figured out the problem he heavily overlooked. "How could I forget that they speak a different language, I was at Zameria myself at first." He thought to himself, and by word he turned to Seer who also joined the scene. "This is so embarrassing!"


    "Indeed." Answered Seer with a low tone, and was willing to help in every way he can. "I should try to go there and communicate, the Guards aren''t understanding a single word."


    Feeling a bit relieved, King Zar asked in curiosity as his eyes widened in shock. "You know Zamerian?"


    "Well, no not at all. But I think I can still negotiate with the Ballistamen... ugh and women. Respectfully, trainer." To specify, Seer doesn''t exactly have anything against women joining the Army, it is just very uncommon in Ignis and it ended up costing a lot of time and money for the Castle. Since he had to train the town rumour spreaders new wordplay to use in the aid of recruitment. Such as recalling how women slack around less, we need them since we have such a small population and of course that tradition based disagreement leads to a fine!


    King Zar at this case, still felt a bit more relieved. Such a task is trusted upon his tremendously academically smart personal assistant, how hard could it be for him to pick up? Hand gestures aren''t completely hard to pick up after all.


    Approaching the Ballistaguard trainer and shaking his hand as a form of greeting, Seer patted his chest lightly and spoke. "I''m Seer." A longer introduction here isn''t necessary and would make the whole task more confusing.


    The trainer understood him, and separating from the handshake he continued. "Ku Fenderik." Interesting language indeed, but it just proved how difficult it is to understand.


    There aren''t enough new Guards who applied to work a Ballista, but it doesn''t mean that there are none of them. So far 5 applied, 4 of which are men! At least these 5 can pass down the wisdom to future Guards who might arrive when the Trainer returns to his motherland.


    Slapping the wood work of the unloaded Ballista, Seer tried to Gesture. "We don''t understand a word you are saying, but please try to explain it to us." Hilariously, his tone arose along with the effort of trying to communicate. In no way did he try to sound rude, but slowing down his words surprisingly made his tone rise higher. It became quite an amusing show to witness.


    Seeing that the Trainer has no clue what he is saying, Seer gestured at two men in the background and calmly spoke. "You two, please come here." At this point, he didn''t think about gender and just tried to communicate.


    King Zar of course, wanted to use this opportunity to implant the input of women in the Army. These people have to get used to such a cooperation if Pameres Kingdom is to remain triumph in defense. "Wait, lets see how this lady can work first." Afterwards he gave the lady a gentle push from the back, since he was just a few meters far from her.


    Seeing what the King is trying to do, Seer followed up right away and swiftly spoke. "Yes yes, I forgot. Please approach miss." Afterwards he turned his attention back to the trainer and while taking a few steps back he gestured with his hands. "Train these two." And even tried mimicking the shot of a Ballista by rubbing his right hand over the left once as fast as he could. Quite a show to watch for the few other Guards, who don''t share the same task but are here to witness the force of a Ballista here out of the Kingdom. They can''t test it where residents are present after all.


    At least understanding that part, he went ahead and approached one of the two Guards. The man that is, and grabbed him by the shoulders. Leading him towards one side of the Ballista, and trying to move his hands to the point of properly holding the ballista, he finally felt satisfied by the Guards position. It only took a few seconds, but to the Guard it felt like an hour because he was more anxious than focused. Crowds don''t appear to be his favourable activity, and he is about to use a Ballista. So the nerves just pile up there!


    As for the lady, he just slapped the slightly bent woodwork of the ballista, gesturing for her to get there. Trying to get her ready was a bit more difficult since for some reason he didn''t feel as comfortable with grabbing her hands and positioning them properly, she was confused about it for a bit and began to become uncomfortable.


    But it was made clear when he used his left hand to lightly slap the woodwork of the Ballista again, the lady was able to see a golden ring which could signify that he is married. If he is making his distance because of that, it is quite honorable. A lot would use this opportunity even though touching one''s hand is very simple and ineffective at some aspects.


    Finally positioned, he walked a few steps back and waving his hands backwards trying to make the two Guards move this wheeled Ballista, he kept repeating. "Han!" After repeated a few times, the Guards figured it out that it either means. "Move or walk." Or any other similar definition.


    Understanding that fact, the lady turned her head towards the man and specified. "I think he wants us to move."


    "Ohhh." Sighed the Guard in relief and gave a little boost, his excitement led to the Ballista''s movement to become uneven, but it was manageable. The lady had to put in a bit more boost compared to his brother in duty, but she was able to catch up.


    The Ballista is about 200 Kilograms heavy and 1.5 meters tall, it is very light compared to most since it is wheeled. The ones that are grounded however, can weigh tons and can''t be shipped anywhere. These ones are the most affordable, manuveurable and battle effective here in Ignis at least.


    The two Guards got a bit of a fast boost out of excitement, almost even ran the Trainer over. Thankfully he was quick on his feet and repeatedly shouted. "Gest!" As he jogged backwards in front of them with his hands raised forwards.


    Luckily, the two Guards were able to pick up what he is saying and slowed down. Turning his attention the man first, he reached his side of the Ballista and tried to request. "Lo Han." He repeated that sentence over and over, at the end he decided to pull the Ballista from his side a bit to help the Guard understand.


    This Guard was quite dull at communication with this Zamerian man, but the lady is able to pick up a lot faster. She recommended, "I think he wants your side to move only!"


    And she is quite right, a spark of joy shone on the Trainer''s face when he saw the man only moving. Half a meter after, he repeated. "Gest Gest Gest!" Considering the repeated shouting earlier, the man understands what this means now. The Trainer wants him to stop.


    Relieved that the man understood this time, he went towards the lady and repeated the same procedure. Luckily she was already aware of what she is about to do and just waited for the Order. Both of these Guards have no training whatsoever, but it seems like some can progress faster than others.


    Able to analyse the situation more, Seer approached the scene and specified. "I think he wants to show you how a Ballista is maneuvered." Pretending like he understood, or possibly understanding something similar or completely different. The Trainer nodded his head with joy and agreement.

 Chapter 240 - Crater

    The entire group of 15 flew away from that firm almost flat like mountain side, including Osira who was given the honour. Eric and Mogranius were not left to die either, surprisingly they don''t see these two Ignites as complete enemies and find other uses on them.


    Osira flew higher up the moutain, until she felt like she has a good chance of landing the Ignite Stone at the desired location. At first of course, she waited for her team to reach as far down as possible before she went into action. They saw the detonating force of the super charged Ignite Gem, last thing they need is to a victim of its radius and aftermath.


    Clinging on the mountain side with one hand and holding on to the blood red Ignite gem, she took a quick peek at her team and saw them flying down, from the looks of it downwards the neutralized Kingdom. Eric and Mogranius aren''t awake, if they were they would be both terrified and amazed of the aftermath.


    In the bottom edge of the kingdom, specifically at the right side. They saw a huge Crater, spanning 50 to 70 meters wide! And 10-20 meters deep. Its shape isn''t exactly spherical nor should we expect it. The exploding them was a raging terminating force to be reckoned with and likely spread randomly.


    But apart from that half Spherical crater, what else was to be found in this aftermath? Well, houses were no longer a part of this Kingdom, their only remains are pieces of wood either blasted hundreds of meters lower from here or against the mountain side, covered with falling boulders and blown off rock and Kingdom walls too.


    As for people, there are no visible survivors. Even Corpses are scarce, if one was crazy enough to join the limbs and ribs together, they wouldn''t be able to form 10 full Corpses. From Hundreds of people be it Civilian or non Civilian, to nothing but a few limbs and blown off body parts. If only they had such technology at the war of Pameres Kingdom, it would have turned the tides in battle inevitably. They wouldn''t have lost a single Guard.


    These bits of Corpses managed to survive some of the disintegrating radius, because they were the furthest from where it happened and were in their homes. The limbs were nothing but burned flesh and bone, the Ignite Gem showed no discrimination.


    But what about the Ignites, there were powerless Ignites here too! "I assume you were successful with the task I have given you."


    "Yes mam." Answered a woman to her right side, and continued to explain. "Our people are at Fictil''s Cave!" Well that explains their actions, it would sound too evil even for Bittore to slaughter their own kind at such a form.


    "Splendid, there is no way of walking up to reach the hidden Kingdom so we will need to carry all of them. It should take less than half an hour but we have to be more careful."


    This at least, explains the whole intend of this group. Blowing a mountain side open does seem bizarre, but Bittore claims that a hidden Kingdom is behind it. That at least shows why they did all of this, they did it in the hopes of freedom and they for sure didn''t want to take the blood of their brothers and sisters dry to the ground.


    This group of Ignites came up here in the hopes of finally not being judged by the colour of their skin, but what did they attain instead? Their pain up here is almost equally terrifying than the one they suffered from the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance. Powerless people claimed as hostage, those same people either r.a.p.ed or killed if the 15 Fire Controllers disagreed to cooperate, the King raping 14 out of 15 of those Fire Controllers? Yes they had no reason to spare these Snow Ignites, who knew that the l.u.s.t for s.e.x.u.a.l activities and the l.u.s.t for military superiority can make these people scoop so low! L.u.s.t is indeed a curse upon humankind with the actual devil giving his contribute towards it!


    The chatter was scarce, no one had the motivation to speak with the smoke of overly burned meat and various burned construction blessing the land with such foul aroma. Even the Castle was blown away and what was left of the tunnels collapsed along with it, it was noticable since the gap is deeper where the Castle used to stand.


    Reaching out of the Aftermath, and walking towards the Carved path with Eric and Mogranius on their backs. It was noticable that a portion of the Carved path was blown off sky high. But the damage isn''t as terrible, only 20-40 meters out of the 200 meter long path were blown off. If a domain is to be formed here in the near future, the Carved path is still usable!


    The moment they crossed the Carved path, it is a sign for Osira to drop the Ignite Gem! As for what the Ignite Gem blows off, it doesn''t matter even if the whole mountain side collapses as long as the rock and mud gate is blown open. Even if part of the way towards this, hidden Kingdom is blown off it isn''t a big deal.


    Osira was taught one thing to remember for her task, that is to throw the Ignite Gem as far away from its actual target as possible. The distance she has from that semi flat land where Eric and Mogranius were knocked out, will force the Ignite Gem to return closer to the target.


    If she threw it straight down, it would blow her away and miss the actual target badly. Reason behind such a complex plan, well it is because of the wind. It can blow a 60 Kilogram human against the mountain side, a Gem is but a feather.


    Letting go of the rock she was clinging on, and aiming almost straight forwards at a angle of 50¡ã, she tossed the blood red Ignite Gem against the wind and immediately blew Fire from her feet after to assure that she completely escapes the radius. Even a force that doesn''t burn but push, would disorientate her badly which would lead to her body spiraling against the mountain side and eventually falling against the hard ground.


    The Ignite gem flew down nearly 200 meters and approached the mountain side by a few inches every split second! Reflecting the sun light once before it actually made impact with the ground around 4 meters away from the target, the huge explosion let out an ear shattering sound and it shook a good portion of the mountain.


    Flying up, she felt the vibration on forced upon the mountain and the situation turned for the worse for her only. Because the flattish mountain walls she was using to manuver herself as she flew up quickly, started cracking around her and falling down.


    The sudden shift almost dragged her down along with the rock, but it explains the severity of such an explosion. It brought down the mountainside regardless of size, but luckily it can''t bring the whole mountain down and it just proves as a barricade if any army decides to attack, it is tremendously hard to walk upon and running through them would twist knees and break bones.


    The team of 14 felt the earthquake caused by the explosion partially but a small part of the mountain side collapsing gave its own contribute as well! The team did not turn back and just continued their way down to reach Fictil''s Cave, the next step is to bring the rest here, as if they are more than sure about the Kingdom being behind that semi natural barricade.


    Osira is the one who has the honour of taking a peek at whatever is on the other side of those walls. Flying down, he noticed that the natural semi flat land they previously stood upon is completely wiped out. Even if there was anything left, it is covered by countless rocks and boulders now.


    The rumoured entrance is true, she flew down and found a 5 meter tall and wide entrance! This entrance has a flat ground, impeccably horizontal walls and is covered by a curved ceiling, it takes a complete 5 meter turn until it connects with the other wall.


    Osira doesn''t see anything but Darkness ahead, she doesn''t exactly see a Kingdom. Not quite what she expected, she waited to see a large Kingdom in between a huge oasis. But no, she is just seeing a fancy tunnel.


    Blasting Fire out of her hand to illuminate her surroundings, she took caution at each step she took. But couldn''t help checking the eye catching stone masonry blessed upon this tunnel, one thing that confused her is the red and black style here. "Why would the ancient Snow Ignites use this colour?"


    An average colour to use in a Snow Ignite domain, is any shade of blue basically. Red isn''t commonly an option even though it looks nice, white is commonly used up here too. "I should wait for the team to return." She thought to herself as she reached a splitting offering 3 roads after she went 15 meters deep.


    The tunnel in the middle continued to be 5 meters wide, the one in the left seems to be smaller, around 3 meters tall and wide. While the one on the right is just two meters. Such a Dungeon like place shouldn''t be explored alone. Although dangerou creatures here inhabiting the structure sound impossible, it is better not to take risks.

 Chapter 241 - Quite a show(2)

    Giving the two Guards a simple training on how this huge Ballista is operated, the Trainer approached the ballista once more and gestured for the lady to go on the other side, specifically near the man. Raising his two gesturing fingers (On one hand.) And hovering them near an eye as a hint, pointing those fingers towards the Ballista after, it was made clear that he wants them to pay attention. This time however he didn''t speak a word since he was clear that no one here but the other trainer in the crowd, understands him.


    Reaching for a Crate of ammunition around 5 meters behind the Ballista standing 2 feet tall on the right, he grabbed one out of the Crate carrying 30 and proceeded to mount it on this wonderful piece of weaponry.


    The Ballista itself is 4 meters long, so the Ammunition or best described Arrow it can support in order to provide a good distance accompanied by a deadly blow, is only 1.5 meters long! Considering the Ballista''s length, that sounds small right? Well not neccesarily, handling a damage from a human sized arrow isn''t no easy task.


    The arrow''s body itself is 6 inches thick with an Iron head spanning 12 inches wide! If this large Arrow is weighed, it would measure around 5 Kilograms! It is so large yet it can reach 200-300 meters far! 30 of these Ballistas sent in the battlefield would turn the tide as each one could claim at least 3 victims if shot in a bundle! The Ballistaguards can contribute their damage and flee the battlefield for all Pameres Kingdom cares, the damage they would deal 300 meters in advance would be more than enough.


    Fenderik (The Trainer), placed the arrow gently on the Ballista. Even trying as much as his body could allow, to slow down his process so the two Guards watching on the other side can observe better.


    The finger thick rope stretching a meter across the swing arms can''t hold the arrow at the current position, so it has to be stretched now while the Arrow stands over it.


    This is a two Guard job because while one pulls down the rope, the other can hold the arrow steady until it is appropriate to put it behind the string. So he tapped the Arrow first, gesturing the lady Guard to hold it steady while he uses the winch at the bottom of the Ballista.


    Some of you likely have no idea what a winch is! Well to pull a Ballista''s rope back it requires a unique technique. One can''t hop over the Ballista and arm pull it. No no, the winch is this toothed circular mechanism which allows the Guard to pull down the pouch of the Ballista with the drawstring as an aid.


    The pouch is the little spot in between the swing arms, and is pulled by the drawstring using the wrench at the bottom of the Ballista, that''s how it works. The Trainer bent down and started rotating the wrench, the 6 inch handles surrounding it made it a lot easier but it still took some good strength.


    Every rotation kept releasing clicks, it hurt the ear for those who have sensitive ones but most could ignore it if they wanted too. Each click could only provide half an inch of pulling though, rather slow but he is demonstrating after all. At battle, it would be pulled down quicker no doubt!


    After a few rotations, he gestured for the lady Guard who was holding the arrow, to place it on the pouch. Now the Ballista can hold it worry free, it won''t fall down. Since the winch mechanism is toothed, the pouch won''t go up no matter what unless there is some kind of malfunction or the drawstring is cut.


    She placed the arrow over the pouch and patiently awaited for a further command, her next task however is very simple and it shall be specified after. The male Guard had it very hard to catch up, its not that he is dumb it is just that he is very nervous which necessarily cut down his perception and logic by half!


    The Trainer tried to bent him down to use the winch but no luck no matter how much he tried to communicate, so he grabbed the Guard''s shoulder and with a bit of force he bent him down and placed his hands over the 6 inch winch arm, repeating. "Gelem!" Several times after!


    The Guard finally cooperated and pulled the pouch down in around a minute! Seeing the speed, the trainer couldn''t help but compliment. He raised two thumbs up along the way several times, that at least helped this Guard calm down and concentrate. This speed is perfection for a Beginner, he didn''t even damage any Ballista part.


    Now the pouch is pulled exactly 135 centimetres down, the Trainer even used a rope to measure it. The whole thing can''t be pulled all the way down for two reasons, the swing arms aren''t too wide for that and the Iron head requires some space to avoid any backfires.


    Knowing for sure that the Ballista is ready, Fenderik turned his attention towards King Zar and frictioned his left palm over his right quickly, trying to tell that the Ballista is ready to shoot! King Zar just gave a simple gesture, allowing for Fenderik to shoot.


    How will the arrow be shot? Well, as simple as a snap! You have no idea how literal I mean that! The Trainer pulled out an Iron Dagger from his Leather Scabbard, and kept swinging it down a foot near the drawstring of which pulled the pouch down.


    The drawstring itself, is nearly as thick as the rope stretching across the swing arm. Why is it a bit smaller, well it has to be cut! They can''t risk not having the capability to cut the drawstring right away.


    Being able to catch up easily, she looked at King Zar at first and wanted to clarify. "My King, he wants to shoot the arrow. Shall I proceed?" They just can''t randomly shoot a deadly arrow, further acknowledging has to be assured.


    Knowing that this shot won''t cause any damage since it is shot at an area where people don''t usually walk through, a.k.a to the north east far to the Clear Lands, mostly towards the way of Bale Town. He gave the Command to proceed. "Cut the string!"


    "Yes Sire!" She firmly spoke up like any true Guard and pulled out her Iron Sword, that''s the only thing Ballista Guards are equipped with except for some light armour. Appropriate to escape a battle scene faster!


    With one swing, she cut through the drawstring and send the 5 Kilogram Iron tipped Arrow flying towards the sky granting it utterly terrifying speed! The pouch went up so fast, that the arrow escaped quick enough for no eye to capture. It was nothing but a flash!


    This fine piece of weaponry can launch arrows or bolts faster than any arrow or crossbow ever could! It has the capability to slice a limb off! This will indeed prove useful if another battle is to approach Pameres Kingdom, they don''t need any Fire Controllers to do half of the Contribute anymore.


    "Amazing! Simply amazing!" King Zar murmured once he noticed that that 1.5 meter long arrow is nowhere to be seen! Giving the sky a quick glance, he only saw a small dot flying swiftly across the sky! "I''d like to see King Xakro try us now!" He even felt convinced that this fine weaponry can give his own father an end! Even he as a slightly more powerful Electus has no chance of avoiding a shot travelling this fast. Any 100 meter range would give him an end!


    Ordering a Guard after, "Grab an Arrow and hand it to me!" The Guard of course executed the order in a blink of an eye, what logical reason would he have to disagree?


    Seer became a bit curious even though he almost figured it out, "What do you need an Arrow for?" A good option would be that the King wants to try out the Ballista himself, but no.


    "I will take it at the Blacksmiths later, we can''t depend on any domain to provide us with the Ammunition, we will need to be our own heroes." He does have a point here, they would need to wait 1-2 months if they order ammunition from the Zamerians, in two months they can be as good as invaded. Pameres Kingdom has more than enough Blacksmiths to fit in crafting some Arrows.


    Looking at the lady in the group, he ordered. "Shoot another one!" The rest of the ammunition can be used today as much as he cares. No domain is ready to attack Pameres Kingdom, especially an Army sent by King Xakro. They likely don''t even know that his Army lost the battle!

 Chapter 242 - ?

    Osira was about to head back and wait for her team along with her people at the very beginning of this, lets call it dungeon. This place, is far beyond her and her team''s expectations so she feels a bit frozen and optionless. Because, what if there actually is something in there? What if it catches her off guard or at a blind spot? She could be dead before she knows it and let all of this contribute go to waste without ever having a taste of proper victory!


    She grabbed a boulder blasted in because of the explosion, maneuvered it just a little bit so her back can meet the tunnel walls and was ready to wait. It would take at least an hour for her people to arrive here from the Cave they took residence at while the plan was in motion!


    Keeping one eye at the road and the other at the tunnel behind her to assure safety, she patiently started her little task of waiting as she crossed her arms to attain some body heat. The thought of this place not appearing how she figured it, started storming through her mind like raging thunder setting a little village on fire. But at this case, the village was her willpower.


    "What if this place isn''t big enough to support her people?" She bursts a thought of worry, "No snow Ignite or ill.u.s.tratio has the slightest chance to kill us. But starvation will!" It became troublesome, because they didn''t think about the food situation they might or might not face after blowing a whole damn portion of the mountain off!


    They thought that the Oasis would carry one fruit after the other, unlimited trees providing shelter along with enough food to last for ages! They thought of this place as heaven on Earth, but judging from the black and red colouring in the tunnels, it can be quite the opposite!


    She was forced out of her deep thinking when she heard a loud pig like scream echoing across the tunnels, after that scream countless others followed and it was nothing like a harmonious melody! No not at all, for one second she even thought that this place is haunted.


    Standing on her feet and raising one arm over the other to form a battle pose, she awaited boldly to face whatever scared her down to her soul. She is scared of the unknown here, but she isn''t scared enough to flee and drop everything she and her team contributed upon!


    At first, several pairs of red eyes shone across the tunnel, seemingly 15-20 meters away! A thought appeared right away that these yelling creatures are ill.u.s.tratios, because they are known to have blood red eyes! "What the hell are ill.u.s.tratios doing here?" She whispered to herself as rage arose in her heart with the thought of ill.u.s.tratios putting their nose everywhere as a source of her rage.


    "If anything, Snow Ignites should be here primarily!" Thousands of thoughts went through her mind at the moment! Especially since the first snow Ignites inhabiting this... place are rumoured to be extinct. The inaccuracy her team is about to go through because they based their work on rumours and legends, is far beyond managable.


    When these, creatures managed to reach closer by the passing second, the fire she has already burst through her palm to fry anything approaching, illuminated the Tunnel and shed more light to this sudden puzzling event.


    The Creatures approaching, indeed had red eyes but along with such a characteristic came pitch dark bodies! Hard to spot in the dark indeed, but their horns somehow reflected the light. Considering that fact, she noticed the bundle of bodies storming their way through the tunnels.


    Giving it a quick thought, these screaming human like horned creatures aren''t allies, they are charging with all their might! Having a firm footing to the ground already, she crackled a 6 foot wide Fireball which carried a short tail afterwards but packed quite a punch.


    The first round of... Creatures were burned almost in half Vertically and some portion of Fire of which slipped through the first round, damaged a few of the second round far beyond prepare. Although Osira had no chance of knowing, she blinded 4 of the second round and badly burned 3 others.


    A few of the first round fell on the ground along with the second and managed to trip countless others even though they had no further life intentions! Such a move helped turn the tides in battle, here it is more than required.


    Her shot indeed effective against a handful of enemies, but at this situation a blink of an eye is enough for her to met eternal slumber! She took a glance at her chances and just flew out of the Cave before it was too late! And her choice is indeed great, because if she stood her ground here? Well, take a look at the situation.


    These, creatures didn''t stop running even though they were meeting a 200 meter drop below! Naturally the drop would be even further down, but part of the mountain was shaken to its foundation and the aftermath formed like a natural set of stairs upwards. Anyone could climb it with care but it would break bones if anyone ran through it on their way up!


    The creatures fell to their doom, mindlessly running through the exit even though they saw wave after wave meeting a sharp turn down! Maybe they are crazed? It is not certain, but for a bundle of tens to possibly hundreds, their average IQ seems zero with zero.


    Osira never saw such a sight, these human like creatures are like animals! Even some animals have the capability to think beyond their instinct, but them? No. She witnessed in interest accompanied by fear as she clung on the side of the mountain 15 meters higher from the exit.


    "What did these Snow Ignites do? How did they meet such a transformation?" She thought to herself as she witnessed body after body going splat on the ground with their internal organs spreading across the rocks 200 meters deeper to slightly soften the fall of their brothers and sisters in craze! "Perhaps standing up here for so long has made them go crazy?"


    She wanted to analyse the situation deeper even if it means just staring at these beasts fall to their death, but fate didn''t allow her to do so! Because, apparently these creatures aren''t as mindless as we thought of them!


    One of these creatures climbed its way up! A thought is that it was smart enough to notice where its kind is mistaking, or maybe it managed to take a whiff of a different species above its head.


    Using its thick claws it climbed up the mountainside with ease and was aiming to reach Osira with intentions undoubtedly impure!


    Having a little peek, she noticed that its claws are at least 4 inches thick each! Far worse than a Cave Bear, a Source Bear even who breaks around a ton in weight doesn''t have claws this thick.


    To make it worse, they were about 10 inches long and faced a curve before meeting their sharp pointy end. Perfect for mountain climbing, Osira even saw the Creature clawing the rock so hard that bits of rock broke and fell behind it. Fascinating but terrifying.


    This creature interesting indeed, but there is one key characteristic here which we have to remember. Fire can burn it! Using one hand to cling on the mountain side and the other to shoot, she blasted a foot wide Fireball to blow this swiftly climbing creature off the mountain.


    The shot is destined to kill it, but just in case it doesn''t, the large drop beneath it will contribute to deliver the finishing blow! She could have blasted a Bigger Fireball and victimize a few others of these Creatures, but blasting anything above a foot wide could hit portions of rock and possibly blow them backwards due to the impact.


    Bits of hot rock hitting the skin, would grant pain strong enough to take her focus hostage and the chances of disorientation aren''t slim either! Either way, the shot worked!


    The Creature fell on the bundle of bodies behind it with its head mostly blown off! She could even see its white shinning bone before the corpse was lost in the wave of its brothers and sisters in insanity or animalism.


    Giving it a quick thought, she decided to leave this situation be. There is no way for her to fight off hundreds... yes hundreds of these Creatures! And the suicidal drop most of them are making is doing the work for her, she can just stand here and watch the bodies pile up. It is the best she can do apart from blasting a few who approach too close.


    She felt like this situation is manageable, but the tides have turned for the worse when several of these beings crawled their way up the mountain with a dash on their claws, shooting one down as a start of this battle wave, she only saw a handful of these creatures climbing up as a second wave before even more followed!

 Chapter 243 - BowWomen

    Gaster Kingdom has lost a lot of Soldiers as well at the battle of Pameres Kingdom! At that moment, they only had 80 Guards as the remaining 20 were at a task of bringing 10,000 Kilograms of wheat Grain back to their home domain.


    At that brutal Battlefield, 50 Guards from Gaster Kingdom''s platoon meet with eternal slumber, never to return. It was quite hard going there with 80 Guards and returning with 30! Sure they still have 50 Guards remaining here in the Kingdom, but the wound of such loss still remains fresh. A lot of these Guards befriended each other, had a bond.


    Gaster Kingdom can fare quite well with just 50 Guards, it isn''t neccesarily a big problem with a Grand Master of Fire Controlling inhabiting the place. Furthermore, Gaster Kingdom wasn''t a target by any Domain ever since its mines depleted and the word that the port of Gaster Kingdom continues to earn gold likely didn''t get through any ruler''s ears.


    Although paying 100 Guards is quite hard, now with so many sources of profit coming from the 2 friendly domains, paying 50 Guards isn''t neccesarily a problem! But how much can the Kingdom actually afford to pay without blasting what''s left of the town''s budget?


    King Michael gave it a long careful thought, and after hearing his financial advisor/assistant''s word about it, he decided that 50 Gold Coins is the best option of pay at the moment. He can''t give out more than that, especially since a raise of 20 Gold Coins is promised in the near future for all of the Gaster Kingdom staff! This raise will of course include the Guards as well. Furthermore this is just a little effort of motivation, he can''t have Guards quitting their jobs.


    Paying 120 Gold Coins to 50 Guards will indeed get Gaster Kingdom in a lot of debt if nothing more, plus this is just a slow approach to one day give these people the capability to purchase food and warmth on their own. It wouldn''t be advisable to give out free food once most earn 150 gold coins a month, with the population low it inevitably means that 1-3 or possibly 4 people in a house are bringing home a salary. They wouldn''t have to eat anything cheap actually, plus it would further give Gaster Kingdom financial independence.


    There are quite enough Fishermen and Spearfishermen here in the Kingdom, but what about people carrying other crafts? There aren''t lumberjacks here nor Construction workers! Not to mention Blacksmiths, no there is nothing to be spoken off. Sure 30 Farmers are hired which will leave a great contribute but they don''t handle Iron.


    The Kingdom looks like it did when King Michael first struck the Black Marlin deal, normal. There is nothing out of the ordinary taking place here, although by some it is considered a blessing it could be a sign of an economy slowly dying. They can''t depend on the two neighbouring Kingdoms for everything, including profit.


    Gaster Kingdom needs a stable income of lumber! Sure they had enough to survive the winter thanks to a few men giving in some contribute, but they can''t depend of several to supply the entire Kingdom when the cold season hits.


    It would be advisable for any ruler to hire Lumber jacks who work all year around. Although cutting trees down in the warm seasons isn''t advisable, there isn''t anything stopping them but the thought of having to put in harder work. Yet again the thought of a pay that will rise thanks to any Lumberjack''s contribute to the Kingdom.


    This is just an effort to put more people into work! Sure it would be an option to put everyone in the fishing spots and fish out tons, but the beaches have to be replenished as well. Fish doesn''t just jump out of the ocean and asks to be speared down, they would deplete the fishing areas which would just ruin the main source of living here.


    There are 150 jobless people, 50 of which are women! He planned to mix women with men as lumberjacks, but when taking a look at the Kingdom''s recent history, he didn''t think it to be a good idea. I mean, the first time Alama arrived in Gaster Kingdom, she was almost eaten by crazed lunatics who yes, wanted to **** her first.


    King Michael is afraid that some old habits aren''t yet kicked out of everyone''s systems, especially out of those who don''t yet work! What do they do with all of their time? Nothing holy you can assume! Sending women along with men all the way to the forest where they could be r.a.p.ed and claimed as lost or attacked by a wild animal, it is definitely something that would kill the morale of work for many women here.


    So at a final decision, 10 men will be hired to cut down wood year around! But that is not all! Although there are many abandoned houses here, those houses who are in use can require to be tampered sometimes. Wood can root after all and there aren''t any stone foundations here apart from the one in the Castle.


    These Lumberjacks will be paid 50 Gold Coins a month and they too will be included in the soon to come 20 Gold Coin raise! Why exactly did he want to hire Lumberjacks? Well warmth and construction are very specified reasons, but furthermore? He noticed the consumption of wood in Pameres Kingdom!


    Wagons, housing and in Blacksmithery as well no doubt! Wood is a highly required material and although the Lumberjacks there have it fairly under control, the time will come when they won''t! King Zar is just bursting with businesses and new sources of income, the lumber here can be used as a quick profit or an ongoing one too! If not, it can be used here for future constructions.


    When it comes to hiring new people, the process here has become a bit different compared to Pameres Kingdom. Although a bit unfair, King Michael makes them work! He always goes by one phrase, "What would they need to sit on their asses for all day!" Although he doesn''t prefer to use such language especially in front of Alama, sometimes he doesn''t have a choice.


    He is trying his best to raise this Kingdom from the dirt and grant financial freedom, last thing the Kingdom requires is people who refuse to work. There are 250 people in this domain who are perfectly capable of working, nearly a hundred are already hired the the rest of the 150 will share the same fate sooner or later. The Farmers are now permanent residents, so we can consider it that 280 can work. As for the rest of the 150 who can''t work, they are either elderly or children, they aren''t cut out for work.


    There are a few axes in town, but a lot more have to be ordered from Pameres Kingdom in aims of granting a better income of wood. Construction tools such as Hammers, Nails and saws are also a good requirement. All together they would barely cost 3,000 Gold Coins, it is nothing but a small investment and gold that can be replenished in a month or less depending on the order.


    Furthermore, the domain needs another source of food. This is where hunting comes in as a great option, if they manage to attain a stable hunting team, food will never be a problem since they will have 3 sources, 4 if someone actually wants to buy Chicken Eggs.


    This move would kill 2 birds with one stone, because apart from meat, fur and leather will also be provided by hunters which will inevitably aid to pass winters. They likely can''t provide 380 people with clothing in a month, but in 6 months or maybe a year it is much more doable.


    But here is one issue, women can''t be mixed with men here too thanks to the reasons of which I specified before! But luckily this time it has a proper solution thanks to the sole fact that women are known to be fast and agile. Therefore they will do hunting without nets!


    With nets being the most used hunting tool, what buffonery am I talking about? I''m talking about using bows, to hunt small game or even bigger games if one meets the qualifications! Rabbits can be hunted and one women only can carry 5-10 at a time with ease for a long distance, if one manages to hunt that much in a day that is.


    But they can also hunt game which isn''t neccesarily dangerous, such as Deer. They are agile and can disappear in a blink but they can be hunted down. If so, their 200 Kilograms of meat will prove more than useful. To drag such big game, the hunter would require a nice dependable rope to drag it to the clear lands where transportation can be a lot easier, one good option is to carry a 4 wheeled cart all the way near the forest.


    King Michael hired 30 of these Hunters, equipped them well and is paying them 90 Gold Coins a month just because hunting can be very dangerous especially if not done with nets, plus this is a good way to promote females working in tasks they are not quite seen doing before.

 Chapter 244 - Little Lady

    This is no situation where she can get luck involved! These creatures have claws that can smash rock, we can''t even imagine what they can do to flesh and bone. Her thick fur clothing is nothing but small protection! They even seem to have horns, she doesn''t even want to see how powerful the Horns are.


    Trying to be as swift as possible, she kept shooting foot wide Fireballs against these fast climbing creatures with screams similar to monsters in a horrible nightmare. But the more she shot, the more she attracted!


    She has a feeling that it she didn''t shoot that first creature down, more wouldn''t have tried to climb up and claw her down! "What the hell are they?" She whispered swiftly as the cold fear of being clawed to death haunted her down to her bones, she was forced to take a different approach.


    Leaving the comforts of the mountainside and blasting Fire out of her feet to fly away from these Demons, she found it best to take a sharp turn right at first to avoid demons as much as possible and afterwards fly straight down!


    The comfort of the ground will keep her away from the mountainside, and these Creatures are far from making a safe landing unless they crawled 200 meters down. If they did so, she feels capable of handling them! It is different to blast a foot wide Fireball and it is far different to unleash slicers or 4 foot wide Fireballs, any battle down there is tameable.


    While going down, she just tried her best to not look at the disgusting scene below. Red blood has rivered its way down the rocks and is reaching all the way to the bottom of all these rocks! If this mindless running continues, the blood will reach all the way down the Crater and even towards the Carved Path! As if all that destruction wasn''t enough to leave a foul scene here.


    ...


    "Grand Leader Bittore, why did we leave the two enemies at the Cave?" Asked one of the Fire Controllers feeling bewildered, if anything they shouldn''t leave them there where they can return and cause damage to what her team has been doing countless sacrifices for!


    "Oh, do you have worries Mollara?" Asked Bittore, her aims here was to tease her partner in war at this point. She is damn sure of this lady''s strength and loyalty, furthermore she is Bittore''s closest friend.


    Mollara Erk, a bit late to do an introduction but it is worth specifying. She is a mother of 2, Belet is her first born who has reached the age of 24. He doesn''t have any powers, but has done a lot of contribute over the years especially when it comes to protection. Raze is her second child, a lovely lady who became 16 a bit before they made their way up here. She doesn''t possess any powers either, or at least not now. Coming into power can be random!


    Mollara herself is 49 years old, she is single even though her husband is well alive. She has revealed her abilities to him 6 years ago, and him being a firm illas believer, left her and even tried to have her killed.


    A sad story indeed, but once she grabbed her Children fate met her with Bittore who already had a handful of friends along with her.


    They met at the forest, Mollara was searching for a meal to fry while Belet was left at the Camp they''ve set up, to protect his sister from anything that poses as a threat. Coincidentally, Bittore was searching for food as well far from Camp. That is where they''ve met and exchanged burdens, 6 years ahead now they''ve found themselves having a strong bond of friendship and with a group bigger. They did loose some allies yes, but it was a small sacrifice to what they thought as eternal happiness and stability.


    "Um. Yes I have worries, I''m usually not ahead of you with these things but wouldn''t us leaving them this close eventually cause trouble?" Taking a look at the group behind her, she decided to deliver her final thought. "They will know where to find us."


    "So you recommend to kill them? Kill Ignites who too have the abilities?" It was clever but yet simple wordplay for her to make her point, but yet her intend is still to tease. Mollara gets this small red patch underneath her eye when she gets a bit embarrassed, quite frankly Bittore enjoys it more than anything. Messing with this lady can be a mood lifter.


    "No no of course not, I just think that we should have delivered them far away!" Her voice arose in embarrassment once she was publicly labelled as an Ignite killer, it is of course a joke and most are able to catch on, rather funny to see her reactions.


    "If we directed them towards another domain they would at least be disoriented, giving us more than enough time to settle in. That''s what I meant!" She loud spoke as she shook Bittore''s shoulder, knowing what she is doing here, loving and hating it at the same time. "Don''t twist my words!"


    "Oh trust me little lady, I''m counting on them to find us!" Here at least, she shed a bit more light to these confusing steps she is taking. It made Mollara feel at ease, if anyone can figure out a good reliable scheme it is Bittore. She organized this whole thing to begin with, poking her nose everywhere and mostly staying invisible to the world has granted her such sensitive information. She didn''t want to ask anymore questions, Bittore will guide them in the future towards her steps it is certain.


    But why did she call her a "Little lady"? Bittore is 37 years old, 12 years younger than Mollara! Well it is explainable, she isn''t exactly the tallest here. Although deadly power-wise, she(Mollara) just stands 5.1 foot tall! Bittore isn''t the tallest either(5.6ft) but that nickname has been stuck on her for years now, hopefully it won''t disappear.


    The situation was going all well and dandy, until they saw Osira flying a few meters above the ground with these dark toned creatures following her right after. Apparently they are far faster than humans, interesting indeed but it just made the situation a whole lot worse.


    Seeing that whatever is chasing her are not friends, Bittore shouted a firm command. "Battle positions! Cover Fire!"


    Afterwards 8 ladies joined her side by side and performed the optional sumo squat to attain a firm footing to the ground, while the remaining 6 started grabbing two people at a time, flying them out of this hell hole! What was left on the ground, started running behind the 6 ladies.


    They can fly far faster than Ignites can run, so this will make transportation to safety a hell lot easier now that the rest are running them! Osira flew up once she reached her teammates, which is an unspoken Command for them to attack.


    The 8 ladies Blasted fire against these foul creatures, torched the few tens that were howling like crazed lunatics! Osira herself couldn''t have shot all of them down considering their speed and agility, but 8 Fire Controllers have different luck because no creature could go past a wall of 8 ladies providing Cover Fire!


    As for where the rest of her people are hiding, they have entered the Carved Path just a moment ago so the 6 flew them up over it, around 60 meters high! It should provide enough protection, but "should" can never be a 100% guarantee!


    Noticing their fate, these Creatures took a different approach. They can think more than we thought! They started crawling up the Carved Path to slaughter what they see as enemies. Considering this rate of craze, every living being are their enemies. Chances are these Creatures would slaughter animals randomly aren''t slim either, but I feel they would have a rather bad fate if they faced against Blue Eagles. Those over sized blow horns will eat anything, and there is nothing better than a meal coming to them!


    Seeing that there aren''t anymore enemies on the ground, the 8 ladies started shooting down as much creatures as they can who have already crawled up the Carved Path! Last thing they need at the moment is for these Creatures to climb up there and attack everyone or for them to drop down on the 8 Fire Controllers here!


    Luckily, the Situation appears to be quite tameable! After shooting down 20 Creatures, they saw 7 more falling down from the sky, shot down by a few of the 6 ladies up there! Wait 7 actually, Osira is here too!


    Once they saw that the enemies have been successfully defeated, Bittore approached Osira with actual concern and asked. "What happened here?" The last thing she wanted was for her daughter to get killed in this outrage, but this situation does not surprise her. It is all over her face, or maybe it is that she can be considered quite reaction less!

 Chapter 245 - By the name of Xakro ill.u.s.trato l

    Training the Ballistaguards is interesting indeed, but they had to call it a day! Although this is the first day of training, the 5 hired Guards have got the ups and downs! But they have only shot 10 arrows, 7 of which have been retreated. The remaining 3 were found but were just too broken for reuse.


    They can''t use all 29 to just shoot the ground, it would just be a waste of time and ammunition. They would have to wait until the Guard retrieves the Arrow, or else they could shoot one down. Furthermore, they don''t need to shoot the ammunition for such first steps of training.


    For now, they just have to learn how to load one and prepare it to Fire! As for knowing how to hit a target, it is a step they shall accomplish once the Blacksmiths bring 10 sets of arrows! It shouldn''t take too long considering that it doesn''t require too much Iron, and even if all 300 Arrows are broken they would just be replaced by other ones in the near future.


    Tomorrow the Catapultguards will learn how to to operate the Catapults, it is a more complicated process requiring the strongest concentration. King Zar finds it more reasonable to practice it at daylight, they can''t risk losing any Guard!


    They were about to call it a day, until a Guard sounded the alarm for unwanted visitors! Such an alarm is sounding by continuously hitting the bell until further orders are taken under procedure!


    The Guard saw a scene that didn''t quite match stereotypical merchants! There were sets of Wagons led by ill.u.s.tratian Guards! The first procedure they should take here is send a messenger towards those heavily Guarded Wagons to clarify what these approachers are here for. Normally the Kingdom wouldn''t make a fuss over it, but considering the battle they faced a few weeks ago, they don''t want to take any chances.


    2 Ballistas joined the road and awaited a sign from the messenger to shoot, if they are enemies the Ballistas will get into action! What would the sign be? Simple, a red flag would be raised after the horseman reached about 50 meters away from the enemies, to avoid both a shot from the Ballistas and the enemies.


    "Why are we going to Pameres Kingdom?" Asked Bear Claw as she sat down on her seat after standing on her feet for about an hour, apparently that''s her way of getting comfortable.


    "We need some more supplies, plus I want to see who the new King is down here!" Answered Chan calmly, he has become used of her behaviours. Now at least he doesn''t have to walk, the Guards feel a lot better thanks to the sticks tied around their legs, they can actually walk now. However the hurt Guards take shifts with Chan and Bear Claw in order to assure healing, it was Chan''s idea actually. He hates Ignites, but would do a lot more for ill.u.s.tratios.


    "What do you mean with, "New King"?" Asked Dilli(Bear Claw), puzzled of such wordplay. However she asked this question while keeping her eyes closed, maybe Chan didn''t notice it before but she closes her eyes when she is asking a question. Now that he can see her eye to eye he can notice it easily.


    Seeing no reason to keep this information hidden from her now that the battle is over, he answered. "King Xakro sent 800 Soldiers to kill the rebels and reconquer Pameres Kingdom!"


    "Oh right, I''ve heard about the Revolution." Answered Dilli as she revealed her half pupil eyes, afterwards asking. "I guess King Xakro didn''t like such betrayal."


    "Oh no! Not at all!" He answered as his eyes widened with the moment to give a slight hint of how the situation went down, but it was all noticable on his tone too, it arose in excitement actually. "He even ordered for his son to be killed!"


    "How is his son related to this revolution? I didn''t even know he had other Children!" Interesting choice of words, but Chan was far lacking focus to consider that point. The close by Gr.a.p.e trees he can see from the wooden window has reminded him of nice tasty ale. Tasty for him at least!


    "King Zar, the King of this little betrayal is Xakro''s son." He answered without care as he continued to glance upon the Gr.a.p.e trees, when out of a sudden the Wagons were forced to stop on their spot.


    "What is your business here?!" Yelled a man in heavy armour riding a fine Chestnut Horse, his voice matched his arsenal even. Thick and tempting.


    "We are here to attain some supplies from the local stores before we make for Meridionali Ignis." Answered Chan truthfully as he walked out of the Wagon, and liking to boast about a prime fact, he dared to add. "This is official royal business, I have the Grand King''s authority to pass." Furthermore he just wanted to get this task over with, and expected special service from this Horseman along with the rest of the Kingdom.


    "Oh I see." Answered the Horseman casually, trying to keep a low profile here against the handful of Guards. "You may pass." With this little expression, he assured peace in this situation. The last thing they need is for these Guards to charge at full speed towards the Kingdom, this is all target practice after all.


    The Horseman first travelled at the same speed as the Wagons, afterwards the Horse he was riding gradually increased his speed. One sentence the horseman spoke out before he forced the Horse into a dash, was. "I need to go tell the Guards to cease Fire, we weren''t expecting visitors."


    Chan didn''t see anything wrong with such a move, but a couple of the Guards accompanying the Wagons did, one of which was of the injured. It was odd to see a Horseman move at such speed, furthermore one of them saw a structure with a shine at the top near the Kingdom walls.


    "Finally we are so close to some fine ale." He thought with a smile of utmost satisfaction, surprisingly he spiraled down the bottles he jacked from the Tavern. "Nothing to worry about." He expressed by word as he sat down on the little bench in the Wagon.


    Meanwhile, the Guard outside noticed a red flag being raised by the hors.e.m.e.n as he lowered his head for what the Guard here near the Wagon thought as a trick to attain more speed.


    This strange move was made clear when the flash near the wall disappeared and was seen high in the sky instead, flashing a couple of times before he alarmed. "Ballista!"


    "Wha..." Chan tried to speak and obtain more information too before a crash cut his word short.


    What crash you might ask? Well a big arrow came bursting through the wood work of the Wagon, with a helmet of a Guard taken as a victim. Thankfully it didn''t have a head on it, this looks almost like a warning shot although the intend is no where close to that.


    The impact has made Chan duck his head just a little bit, it didn''t really matter though since it busted through the Wagon at 15¡ã a foot above his head. Without turning her head around to see the rest of the Arrow just a few inches away from her neck, she dared to reply. "Interesting." In a calm matter as she glanced through the new Window, looking at the man who leads the horse whom has turned around to see his helmet nailed against the other side of the Wagon, he indeed looks terrified!


    Without waiting for another large Arrow to blast through the Wagon once more and actually claim a victim, Chan shouted. "Retreat! Retreat!"


    The Guards agreed in a blink of an eye, one of the injured even made his way in the Wagon since he is the slowest here. He didn''t plan to lay down either and take all that space, he just forced Chan to scotch over. So much for respecting those of the higher standards.


    The second injured Guard tried to do the same thing but he tried it at the bench Bear Claw was sitting, only to feel like he hit a hard rock wall and fall of the Wagon. Seeing what he tried to do, Bear Claw moved herself closer to the window and awaited for the Guard to enter once more.


    All of the Wagons took a "U" turn, it is the best way to avoid having to deal with another Ballista. If they are lucky, the next shot will hit the ground only. "So you have chosen to flee?" Asked Bear Claw calmly as she felt the other Guard injured jump in. Opening her eyes, it was indeed how she felt it.


    "I''m not planning to fight an entire Kingdom with 10 Guards! By the name of Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l, the Army of 800 lost!"

 Chapter 246 - Sentiment

    "So these are the three ways you''ve mentioned earlier?" Asked Bittore once a portion of her team flew up the entering, this isn''t at all what the entire team expected to find behind that natural wall but their morale still remains in tact. "We shall not give up, I am certain that the hidden Snow Ignite Kingdom is deep inside."


    The rest just agreed, here dungeons aren''t so common. It is the same concept at Meridionali Ignis, so they aren''t exactly used to such infrastructure. "The Snow Ignites surely made it a bit difficult to reach just in case of intruders, so their people wouldn''t be easily attacked." Complimented Mollara her theory as she patted Osira''s shoulder to help her feel better. "All our work can''t be for nothing, we all contributed to this freedom."


    "Mollara is more than right, but first we need to find where these Demons came from!" Bittore stated, but her wordplay indeed captured some attention. Every girl here is more paranoid than the other due to the fact of facing so many of these Creatures earlier and that they are naturally smart.


    "Demons? What do you mean Demons?" One asked in paranoia, awaiting further explanation only to hear another follow.


    "The Snow Ignites are corrupted with l.u.s.t but I doubt that they have association with Demons." That of course is where this topic led, all their lives they have heard the sentence of Demons being associated with Ignites, women targeted primarily but a lot of men were slaughtered too. It isn''t a surprise to see the word reach here!


    Yet another lady of the team dared to point out. "I think that this is a coincidence, think about it. If Snow Ignites wanted to cooperate with Demons, why would they seal this place?" A firm point indeed, but another lady created another set of confusion.


    "Ladies, does this look like an Ignite domain? It looks like it was burned with Fire and afterwards carefully painted with blood, I doubt Snow Ignites can be that psychotic."


    "It can''t be a coincidence that Maleemia was built a bit below, there has to be some connection!" A lot of theories indeed and without proper proof they can never figure this out, especially with rumours.


    "Quiet quiet quiet!" Bittore started the demand with a low whispering tone and ended it with a shout, thankfully they all listened to her command and cut their theories short. "Just trust me, I have it all under control. I''ll get rid of the Demons too!"


    Seeing that the ladies have calmed down and are furthermore awaiting for her Command, she gave security another thought and afterwards ordered. "I don''t think we need to go all down there, we have 8 people here already." Looking at the 8 ladies in front of her, she chose a couple of them skilled in defense and ordered. "Karlie and Hade, go Guard the rest of our people and await for our Command."


    "Yes Grand Leader!" The ladies agreed right away of course, no one would want to go down there and face more of these "Demons". It is interesting how Bittore describes them like that, her reactions almost made it sound like this isn''t the first time she dealt with them.


    But as the two ladies walked their way out, they saw Eric and Mogranius fly in the Cave. A.k.a their enemies! With tension rising high now, the two ladies immediately went into a battle form and were ready to shoot the enemies down. The only thing holding them back is the fact that these two are Ignites, sentiment can indeed be troublesome.


    "What have you all done!?" Shouted Mogranius as his feet met the ground with a bang! Fire blasted horizontally through his feet, the interesting part is that it expanded over 5 meters but had no chance of burning flesh or slicing for that matter.


    The foot tall Fire hit through the two lady''s feet like a wild boar and it sent them face first to the rock flooring, thankfully no bones were broken. "All those people died because of your l.u.s.t for power!" He shouted as he shot a blank Fireball towards the bundle of ladies behind the two he just knocked down.


    What is a blank Fire ball you might ask? They are like the ones he used to knock the two down, no burning effect. But this time he shot a 3 foot wide Fireball, it looks lethal indeed. And furthermore no one knows that it is a blank Fireball, so two of the Ladies cracked a Fire shield open as much as they could under short notice.


    But it wasn''t enough, the shield was busted open and the two ladies were tossed against the crowd behind them. Luckily some were passionate enough to catch them from hitting the ground head first.


    "Double shield!" Bittore shouted as she herself bent down to a sumo squat, clapping her hands and afterwards spreading her arms far from each other. Seeing that her shield has spread enough to cover all the ladies, she tightened her fists which of course completes the Fire Shield, gives it its firm reliable protection.


    Two other ladies started off a Fire Shield around 6 feet away from Bittore and connected them by clapping each other''s hands, the Shield surrounded the rest of the ladies and there for provided the second Fire Shield. It became a bit tight in there, but it is worth it.


    Mogranius continued to blast Fire balls against them, but this time they aren''t blank. He wants to show these double crossers what a 59 year old Fire Controller is capable off, quite frankly he is sick of their bullshit too!


    He blasted a 4 foot wide Fireball, it is his preferred size often. It is effective and doesn''t drain too much stamina. Afterwards he blasted the second one spanning 3 feet wide, which finally gave the wide shield provided by Bittore a little crack.


    The third he blasted became 4 feet wide and the fourth was the biggest one yet, ranging 6 feet wide! This one tipped the bucket, it cracked the shield and a portion of Fire breached it and reached the second shield.


    Thankfully no lady was injured, but it just proved how many shots these couple of shields can withstand before they break and expose the ladies into danger. It is worth pointing out that Eric didn''t even shoot yet!


    "I think I know how to break this shield!" Eric thought as he remembered a move Mogranius once pulled in training! He tapped Mogranius on the shoulder and stated. "Leave this to me!"


    Mogranius didn''t yet calm down, it was clear to see it when Eric gave a glance at his ears now letting out smoke due to the rage he is experiencing. But he did see cooperation with Eric, he is an Electus after all. He overpowered lava, how hard can a Fire Shield be?


    Putting his right foot over the left, avoiding to do a sumo squat. He placed his right hand half a foot above his right and tried to gain concentration, trying to focus his aim primarily. He doesn''t want to hit anyone, he just wants to break the shield. The two ladies he first knocked out would have done something to stop them, but as mentioned they are knocked out!


    A small orb stretched from the middle of his palms and ended up reaching the fingers, that is the sign of the power move being ready to use, ready to shoot. Moving his right hand and placing it behind the palm of his left as he raised them vertically with the orb following along.


    Tapping his left foot against the ground, the concentrated blast crashed through the air. This shot is a lot like a straight pole, a few inches thin and around 6 feet long. Its primary goal is to penetrate, not to burn!


    The shot travelled faster than the eye can blink, before they knew it both of the shields were penetrated. As Bittore felt the shot fly over her shoulder, almost hitting her. She saw both of the shield shatter like glass and fall beneath their feet.


    Without having the time to think, they saw a 8 foot wide Fireball reaching to deal the finishing blow! They thought that this is it, they thought that they will meet an end after reaching so far. Little did they know, it was just another blank shot! Mogranius is steaming mad but he wouldn''t shoot these completely rare Fire Controllers, again sentiment begs to differ at such a case.


    The radius reached all 6 of them, and it felt like someone tossed a wall against them. It didn''t feel nice at all, but thankfully it isn''t bone breaking. The ladies were knocked to the ground, walking towards them while keeping a portion of Fire bursting on his left hand.


    "Are you ready to really tell me what''s going on now?" He threatened Bittore, seeing her having it hard to stand up.

 Chapter 247 - Second section

    "You need to calm down!" Bittore reminded, wanting to do some cooperation now that the tides in battle have turned! "I promise you my intends are pure!"


    "Pure you say?" Asked Mogranius, but he didn''t believe at all. He doesn''t want to kill her and the rest either even though he has the position to do so, there were 8 women on their feet here and 7 are knocked out cold. "I don''t think so!"


    "I promise I''ll explain everything in detail, just don''t shoot!" Her devious intends were cut short, Mogranius for once attained the superior position in this hell hole!


    "Lets start with what did you find down there?" Giving it another thought after rubbing the back of his own head, recalling a memory he stated. "I saw a red gem blowing up the damn Kingdom, how did you do that? Did you use Demonite?"


    Trying to wave her hand as she tried to stay seated with the other, she repeated. "No no no!" Afterwards trying to explain, she continued. "I used this Dragon eye to super charge an Ignite gem!"


    Shocked at such choices of words, but being glad that she is obviously direct for once, he dared to ask. "Do you really think that this is a time for jokes? Dragons don''t exist!" Although he didn''t express it, he added. "If an Electus didn''t run into them than I doubt that we ever will." He of course can''t explain his past to people who have tricked him several times in a period of a day!


    "Oh they did exist! Legend has it, a huge battle happened here a tens of centuries ago! Plus..." Pulling out the eye of the Dragon from her coat, apparently she dug it deep in her fur coat for protection. "I''m holding it, does it look like Demonite?"


    Mogranius was given the chance to glance at Demonite before when his father forced him to meet, and this orb looks nothing like Demonite. He even refuses to touch it, he has no information what so ever about Dragons. He thought, "I don''t want to be touched by crazy." Odd of him to build up such a sentence considering that he is mildly insane but it doesn''t really matter. "Put that away!" He continuously repeated with a loud whisper.


    "Just don''t shoot, I did it for my people. It is revenge for the 8 innocent men and women they killed just because we didn''t want to sleep with the King!" Hearing out such a sentence, his heart softened up a bit and he felt sympathy. Seeing a bunch of Ignites over the Carved path made him feel even better, enemy or not at least 42 Ignites weren''t killed in this violent explosion.


    "I''m not a fan of the Snow Ignites either, I saw what they had to offer and I did not like it." Specified Eric surprisingly, cutting in the conversation trying to input some common sense and try to calm down Mogranius too to get rid of his murderous thoughts. "But what you did is low, by the god of sources if we were down there we would be wiped out too!"


    Feeling that she finally got the upper advantage to this conversation, she pointed out. "Believe it or not, we waited to knock you out so we can drag you out of danger. The girl intentionally flew near the cave you were seeking refugee from to grab your attention." Seeing that the other ladies are knocked out, she revealed another little secret. "Between you two and me, I knew that these Demons would puke out of this place. I need your help to seal the hell hole they are coming from so I can secure a safe place for my people!"


    Interesting no doubt, not knowing what to believe anymore. He first decided to temporary cease Fire, Bittore is in no position to be caught in a lie again. Furthermore, her actions were all done for the safety of the Ignite race, even if it was just for a handful of people.


    "Do you know how to find the damn hell hole?" He asked with a shout, finally giving in to her aims of convincing. I mean, he didn''t find any Demonite nor will he ever find them here considering that Maleemia is gone. The least he wants to do is secure safety for this handful of Ignites and head home after. The Snow Ignites already lead the continent to a military short out, or at least these 15 ladies did. The contribute is big enough!


    "I think we can find it at the end of this... I''d like to say Kingdom?" Trying to joke around to lighten the mood, she stated. "This place looks more like a dungeon if you ask me!"


    "Well then you, me and Eric will give an end to this "Hell hole"!" Taking command of the situation furthermore he dared to state with a bit of sarcasm. "If any of "your kind" follow us, I''ll blow this place down along with me!"


    Bittore understood here what an unstable man Mogranius can be, but. "I''m counting on that you fool." She thought to herself as she agreed to the deal with spoken word. "Agreeable, thank you for your contribution. Your bravery will not be forgotten!"


    Adjusting the ladies, helping them wake up and telling them where Bittore will be heading, they made their way deeper towards this section. But there are 3 people who can explore and 3 ways to choose from, they can''t leave Bittore searching with one of the two men only and definitely not alone. For all they know they could be shot down before they even notice it.


    They saw it best to use the biggest way, the one in the middle spanning 5 meters tall and wide. Judging on how domains usually are shaped, the biggest ways lead to the most important structures. 10 meters deeper from where the 3 ways split, they met with a staircase leading 20 meters down.


    Torching light near it, they saw that the Staircase is badly clawed! Obviously because of the Demons who rushed here a bit earlier, or maybe they have been clawing this place for a long time now? What gave such a thought? Well, they saw countless skeletons of creatures with claws.


    Perhaps these Demons have been eating each other for survival? It doesn''t sound impossible, they are almost animalistic and obviously crazed. Even predators don''t run around yelling from the top of their lungs like a crazed hog!


    Mogranius remembers his father specifying that these demons come here practically n.a.k.e.d through teleportation, perhaps a side effect is losing their mind? They are a race of highly intelligent people and yet they are behaving worst than animals! Perhaps the "Peaceful Demons" haven''t perfected their teleportation enough!


    Furthermore Mogranius doesn''t expect a hell hole, but a fancy red portal instead! He can''t reveal such sensitive information to Bittore of course but it is a very firm theory.


    Apart from the Staircase sinking 20 meters deep, the opening they met is wide! Possibly 40 meters wide and around 80 meters long! How did they find out? Well Mogranius lit up a large Fireball, placing it above his head and using both hands to provide it with a source of Fire!


    Whatever made this structure, sure had a clue of architectural superiority. Not everyone or everything can shape such big practically underground structures through carving. Even Lava Controllers just blast through rock and dirt to shape their homes, they don''t use any tools to carve. Maybe it is because they can even sleep on rock? It is not certain, all we know is that this structure here is amazing.


    One thing that is tempting, are the so far 8 entrances they saw on each side standing 8 meters away from each other. A marvelous sight but they have to focus on following the main road, they can even see the 5 meter wide and tall entrance waiting for them on the other side.


    Each of these smaller entrances on the sides though, appear to be about 2 meters tall and wide. The sources know where they lead, but Bittore and her team will surely explore them when they get the chance.


    "Were you aware that this underground town is this big?" Asked Eric once he saw that the situation has calmed down a bit, quite frankly he is happy that Bittore is alive. He didn''t fail to protect her, she just schemed by faking her own death. Sounds even worse doesn''t it? But at least Eric doesn''t have to feel guilty anymore.


    "At first I actually expected a Kingdom between an Oasis, but later on I figured out that the Snow Ignites had some sort of association with these Demons!" Interesting information indeed, it becomes even more confusing since she is being too direct.


    "So they worked together with Demons?" Asked Eric directly, wanting to find out more about this situation as much as he can.


    "Not exactly, the hell hole appeared out of nowhere and started attacking everyone. My theory is that the Snow Ignites blew the entrance down and fought to the death with these Demons. Obviously they didn''t win." She pointed out as they stopped on a skeleton that actually looks Human.

 Chapter 248 - Main Mast

    "Well I don''t think we thought this through!" Spoke out Chan as he stood near the main river in Meridionali Ignis, on the other side Wide River Kingdom was to be seen as nothing but a dot, thankfully this place is a bit of a high point so they aren''t disoriented.


    This river spans 50-100 Kilometers long, it is indeed large and a true unique piece of nature. At the spot Chan and his group were standing at on the other hand, the River spanned 70 Kilometres wide. Or at least that''s what the sailor man here claimed when Chan asked about this monstrosity of a River.


    "Can your ship carry 3 Wagons sir?" Asked Chan kindly, seeing that this senior civilian man is an ill.u.s.tratio who is carrying the necklace symbolizing the illas religion.


    "Well... I don''t think so, they could tip the ship over." We shouldn''t even call it a ship, it is just 10 meters long and 6 meters wide. Perfect to fit one wagon packed to the top with supplies, but to carry 3 it will tip the ship over as the sailor stated.


    You would ask why Chan didn''t take the journey through the river to begin with, especially with the last branch of the River reaching practically 20-30 meters near Crutal Kingdom! It would make their journey a lot easier and as the Grand King prefers it, shorter.


    Well the prime reason for taking the long road around and wasting brain cells over it, is to see the progress in the thought to be invaded Kingdom. Quite frankly, King Xakro wanted to be absolutely sure that his son Zar is history, enough to risk such an important case.


    The second reason is to wait the cold away, although a bit tricky to tackle, the cold mountains are a lot less cold when the winter season ends here in the low lands. You would think King Xakro is thoughtful enough to consider Chan''s trauma, but no it is quite the opposite. He doesn''t want this fool killed considering that he is so close to getting this task over with.


    Having a assassin under his command, with Frost Blasting abilities is nothing less but an advantage to have the Electus killed and his heart brought as a prize to the one and only Grand King of Ignis, or at least the Grand King of 3 Countries. Considering the population drop he faced when the Electus attacked, based on tradition Zar is the Grand King of Occidentis Ignis now if not anywhere else. And considering that Zar is of another faction, Xakro''s title here in this country is stolen.


    But enough about that, this nice old man recommended to hire 2 sh.i.p.s if this costumer can afford it. 2 of the Wagons will be loaded on another ship while one Wagon along with the group of 12 will be on the first ship led by this kind old man, at least that is what he recommended.


    Making the situation a bit awkward especially when it comes to racial pride, Bear Claw cut in the conversation and suggested. "This sounds like a scheme to steal 2 Wagons, their value isn''t low and neither is the contents we are carrying."


    This is a bad move due to two prime reasons, she revealed that this group leader(Chan) is momentarily rich and she made the group of 11 ill.u.s.tratios look like complete fools. Ignites aren''t given the freedom of speech, especially here in the ill.u.s.tratian motherland where the odds are 11 to 1.


    "Uhhh... Is she serious or do I have to call for the Guards?" That''s a kinder way of stating that this lady Ignite has no word here even though she didn''t neccesarily do anything bad. You would think that there aren''t Guards here, but it is a medium sized dock carrying several sh.i.p.s. Theft can be common here so it is a bit explainable.


    "She is joking she is joking!" Chan repeated, afterwards taking Bear Claw''s word into consideration he asked. "But just in case of tides turning here in this practical ocean, can we tie the second ship here to yours? We can''t afford losing a ship or the King in the Kingdom across from here would have all of our heads." The smartest move from Chan right here, he used the man''s loyalty to the Kingdom and a few sea references to his advantage.


    "I suppose we can for such a case, may I add that since this is royal business I can offer the deal for 30% less. So if you can pay 70 Gold Coins for one ship, we can be on our way right now." It is good business for sailor men, travelling from this doc to the other takes 2 hours at most. He would make half a month''s salary in 2 hours! And when he gets there he can wait for another individual requiring his ship, although there it is less common considering the work flow, population and current military focuses.


    "Than we have a deal sir, when do you think we can depart for Wide River Kingdom?" Asked Chan kindly now that the deal is done with, the last thing he needs is to raise his attitude and drop his chances of crossing this damn river. They had to dash through the forest for tens of Kilometers so they can reach this port. The forest surprisingly seemed less troublesome or boring compared to the 500 Kilometer flat land they had to cross along the coast in order to reach this port, there were no Kingdoms or ports along the coast, it was indeed troublesome supply wise.


    "Oh as soon as I find the other sailor, of that boat." He stated as he pointed towards a ship next to his. "I''ll also have to turn the ship around for the Wagon to load." At least the Horses can fit too, when they discussed the weight distribution, the horses were subconsciously included with the Wagons.


    ...


    "How long have you been doing this sort of business?" Asked Chan to kill the time, Bear Claw isn''t the most talkative person here and it sure tends to get too quiet. She became especially quiet now that a racist old man has brought her down in the conversation.


    "50 years!" He shouted with a lot of enthusiasm, but accompanied by the fact that he isn''t satisfied enough of what he contributed so far. "Back when I bought the ship, a trip used to cost 20 Gold Coins. They were the worst 10 years of my life!"


    "Well at least the pay has increased over the years." Tried Chan to compliment his work, it is indeed hard to steer a ship... or at this case boat alone. "Why don''t you hire a crew?"


    "These younger men ask for too much even though they can''t pull a fish out of the ocean without hurting their selves!" Stated the old man, indirectly telling that he is in the fishing business too! "I fired my entire crew, I was losing more than I was earning. Darn morons didn''t even listen to my commands!"


    Having a bit of a soft spot for anyone older, he comforted. "They just don''t want to work, don''t mind them. Looks like you handle things just well on your own even after considering your age."


    "Are you calling me old?" Asked the sailor with a murderous look in his eyes. "Gilbert the Sailor is not old!" He shouted after, finally revealing his name.


    "Of course of course." Taking a little whiff of the place now that fishing was mentioned earlier, Chan dared to ask. "So you say that you need fishermen?" If he directly stated that this place smells, Gilbert would likely give Chan a smack on the head even after considering the 12 to 1 ratio, he sounds crazy enough to do it.


    "I sure do, I won''t pay more than 10 Gold Coins a day though. You ain''t going to rob me blind!" Stated Gilbert feeling that Chan is looking for a job.


    "No no. On the opposite, we have time to kill here and there are 12 pair of hands who can offer help." I did say that he has a soft spot for the older generations, it doesn''t neccesarily mean that he likes a loud mouth like the Grand King though.


    "There are rods behind that hatch down there, feel free to lend a hand!" He accepted the offer without making a big fuss over it, it would be a great bonus to make two pays out of this trip.


    Trying to reason with this old temperamental man, Bear Claw explained. "I can fish too!" Considering how tall she is and her natural strength, she is perfect for pulling out a big catch.


    "Tie your rope on the main mast, most of the fish in this region call pull you in the water!" He accepted his help, but he also stated that she is weak compared to the rest of this man, he didn''t show any care here for her here.

 Chapter 249 - Mistaken as a Demon

    "You sure do know a lot about such sensitive information." Pointed out Eric, trying to find the actual source of her never ending knowledge. This isn''t exactly things you can find in a book here, in fact he didn''t even see any books in Maleemia so far. Perhaps there just used to be books based on ill.u.s.tratian history, it isn''t a shock if the snow Ignites threw them(The books) down the mountainside.


    "The King loved to boast about Snow Ignite history often, even about sensitive information like this one. As for finding this place, it was partially from rumours but mostly won out of a conversation Medea Grivas had with the King. They wanted to storm this place for this precious dark blue ore." She definetly isn''t hoarding information, as if they all put the past behind and are looking towards cooperation. Although he threatened them, Mogranius does want to seal that portal in any way possible. If not for this group of people, he wants to seal it for the rest of Ignis. These demons destroy everything in sight and are in search of Demonite too. "I''m sure we will run into it."


    Pulling out the dagger he stole from the deceased King, he boasted. "You mean ore of which this Dagger is made off?" You would think that the ladies would take it from him when they knocked both of these men out, but no he stuffed it down to his fur clothing near the crotch. Stupidly dangerous but at least he still has it. "I stole the King''s entire bag of this dark blue ore and products out of it, but i left them at the former cave."


    "No way to get in now." Joked around Bittore with a laugh, but indeed did show care too. "A pity really, we could have borrowed them to make their production easier."


    "So you killed them all for the ore?" Became Mogranius more direct than ever, not that he cared for the Snow Ignites, the feeling of connection with them is far gone. They turned out to be more evil than the ill.u.s.tratios, Mogranius doesn''t remember them being like that. He didn''t become dramatic about it either, he just casually asked it as they continued to walk in aims of reaching the end of the second section.


    "Well not exactly, but I suppose it is a nice bonus." She stated with a good wide smirk, proud of her own work and gains. "Making a few full sets of armour out of these ores will grant us superiority in defense in case of attackers, I suppose it worked out well even though it had many ups and downs."


    "Or explosions." Added Mogranius as a joke but his tone remained firm. So far throughout this task, one eye of his has been on the structure they are at and the other eye is on Bittore. Well not that way! He is just expecting her to stab their backs sooner or later.


    "Haha true." Bittore laughed, but her joy was cut short when she noticed a unique creature down here. Did I say unique? I meant disgusting!


    At first its red eyes shone in the through the dark, making her think that more of these Demons are coming! She was quite ready for battle, blasting Fire out of her palms and shooting towards it.


    When the Fireball gave the place illumination, they figured out that she didn''t exactly shoot a demon but this creature sure looks like it came from hell. "Squeak squeak squeak!" The creature shouted as half of its upper body was burned into a crisp by the 3 foot wide short tailed Fire Ball.


    The illumination made the rest see a group of these creatures a few meters away and they indeed began to charge when they saw their pack member burned into a crisp, two of them though stopped and began to feed on the carcass.


    "Kill them kill them kill them kill them kill them kill them!" Bittore repeated in anxiety as she flew 10 meters above the ground to avoid these creatures.


    Running out of the shadow and reaching Mogranius'' illumination radius, Eric finally managed to have a better look at these creatures for a split second before he shoot 5 down with a 6 foot wide long tailed Fireball.


    The shot also victimized three others behind, it burned their faces badly and some lost their feet. They weren''t dead but sure started running around in panic thinking that they will outrun the pain. Good enough Bittore, shot down those injured creatures from above.


    Eric managed to see a rat like face, even saw a red like tail at the end of them. This sure portrays a rat or anything similar, but this jackass is 2 foot tall! Imagine seeing a rat as big as that! To make it a lot worse, these rats appeared to have these bug like legs at the side of their waist. Considering what he saw, he hoped he was blind for that moment or hallucinated. This is the last thing he wanted to see, he never saw anything like it though.


    "No wonder Bittore is scared of them." He thought as he rubbed his tongue against the roof of his teeth to hold in the laughter. These creatures are disgusting but the all powerful Bittore being scared of these over grown rats? It is beyond hilarious, he would laugh from the top of his lungs if he wasn''t shooting these rats down at the moment.


    Putting this pac of rats to an end, Mogranius shut down the torch like Fire on his palm once he got a good sign of where they exactly are and afterwards shot 3 Fireballs in a row. Starting it with the left hand, he shoot a 4 foot Fireball. A split second later he shot with the right hand a 2 foot wide long tailed Fireball. For the final shot he joined his hands together, locked his fingers and shot as he slapped the floor beneath him with both of his feet.


    A plate like 7 foot Fireball blasted from his fists and blew the remaining over grown rats against the wall close by. One would think that this is a Fire ball who would knock the daylights out of you, it was only half a foot thick but indeed powerful.


    Still flying high, Bittore asked. "Are they all dead?" She got even more scared now that there is no illumination below.


    To give her relief, Mogranius lit a bit of Fire on his hand to grant illumination and raised his tone. "Yes yes they are dead." Just to bring her down, giving out a little laugh after when he thought of how scared she was of creatures who are this easily killable.


    "God I hate these Ratbugs." She stated when her feet met the ground and walked away from them as much as she could.


    "Look at this thing, it has to be 20 Kilos." Stated Mogranius as he approached one of the carcasses. "Is their meat edible?" He asked as he grabbed his stomach who is now roaring that he is smelling torched meat.


    "Yes but it tastes incredibly sour, it will make you thirsty." She stated as she stood behind Eric to avoid the carcasses as much as possible. Its not like they will explode but she clearly doesn''t favour these creatures to a point of a phobia.


    Quite used of eating random creatures in the Forest due to his intense curiosity which led to months long exploring, he knows how to use a dead animal to its bone. "That''s what the blood is for I think I should point out." Mogranius explained as he used his unique dagger to cut off the pair of legs that aren''t bug like.


    Raising the leg over his head after, and trying to catch the dripping blood with his mouth to quench his own thirst. "Gross why would you eat that while you still have Blue Eagle meat in your bag!" Shouted Eric as he almost hurled across the floor, this scene is indeed disgusting and he is having it hard to keep his food on his stomach.


    "I''m curious!" He explained before he swallowed a mouthful of blood and yelled enough for his tone to echo across the tunnel close by. "Hiyuuuu!" He shouted like a man who jumps in cold water. The taste came in quite as a shock of course, I mean common it is Ratbug blood.


    "This tastes worse than wild boar blood." He stated as he started torching the leg with his other hand To cook it for later. It is interesting how far appetite would push a human being, or at this case curiosity.


    "Then why the hell are you cooking it?" Asked Bittore, but more had a goal of scolding him. She sure wanted for him to drop this leg down.


    With a voice much like a child who is trying not to get his or her toy taken away, he explained. "I never tasted Ratbug meat."

 Chapter 250 - More Ratbugs

    "Why are you so scared of these Ratbugs?" Eric asked as they walked in the third section. He sure doesn''t like how he got double crossed by her before the Kingdom was blown into bits, but he has sympathy for her thoughts. Her rate of sacrifice is far beyond normal, "I saw you shoot down Demons earlier without blinking an eye!"


    "Eh. Lets just say that I''ve met with Ratbugs when I first got here." Seeing that both of these Ignites are awaiting for a further explanation, she continued shortly. "Imagine one of these Demons waking you up with their tongue in the morning, licking on your wound they chewed open." She specified as she pulled her arm out of her fur coat, the collar of the coat is quite wide so it wasn''t exactly hard.


    Rolling up the sleeve of her leather shirt after, she exposed her smooth arm skin followed up by three wounds on it. The first is small, the middle one is larger and the third just has several small wounds all in one place. The wounds seem a few months old, there are no blood clots just permanent wounds.


    "This makes sense." Specified Mogranius as he took away his gaze from her arm and continued to walk his way through this main tunnel. To not appear rude, he just kept his pace slow and gave a better look at his surroundings. "I had a similar experience with a Wild Boar back on my younger days."


    Why does it feel like every time Mogranius speaks about his past, it has to be something stupidly interesting. No other thought can be an option, his past is unluckily hilarious. Eric is understanding bit by bit that his set of craze wasn''t just because of the Ghost Tree so far, his life experiences made him the way he is. But he had to ask one question about a topic he didn''t quite hear about yet. "Wild Boars eat people meat?"


    "Wild Boars would eat about anything you give them!" He shouted with his voice getting thinner from the middle of the sentence until the end, in a way it explained how serious he is being about such a topic. "They will ram you down, stomp you to death and eat your remains." A terrifying end to experience no doubt but it shed light into one firm mystery. "Why do you think there are so many of them in the wild?" Now at least he sounds a lot smarter than usual even though he isn''t exactly dumb. "You just wait for a Wild Boar invasion, its coming I tell you. It''s coming!" Well there is the crazy.


    "Ookayyyy." Stretched Eric his reply as he too paid attention the the 3 ways already offered by the tunnel, if they took time to check each one they would be down here forever and become insomniacs. Each section seems to offer something different and interesting!


    Unlike the wide second section, they fought their way through a bit earlier. This third section is a lot smaller, well at least the tunnel they are walking through is. The architecture is impeccable, the main tunnel is remaining 5 meters tall and wide. Not so small when you consider it primarily, but when considering the second section this is rather small.


    If they paid attention to the size of the side tunnels at the very first section, they would see that the sizes at the side tunnels here are the exact same size, except they are inverted. Walking only 10 meters deep, they found that the left side offered a tunnel 2 meters wide and tall while the tunnel on right side spanned 3 meters.


    They had no idea where these tunnels lead towards nor did they want to find out for now, the only thing they look forward to finding yet they still hope there isn''t anything to find is the portal to hell or as Bittore sees it, the hell hole.


    The tunnel appears to be calm, with hopes high Bittore doesn''t want to run into any more Ratbugs. Here she can''t fly too high, she would flee the scene instead. Considering her clear phobia it isn''t a slim chance!


    "Squeak squeak squeak!" Shouted several Ratbugs from a distance! Apparently coming from another set of side tunnels approximately 20 meters away! Maybe this is where these disgusting creatures hatch at or multiply or however their nature of reproduction is like.


    One thing interesting about this rate of Ratbugs, is the fact that they haven''t all been hunted down by the Demons. Were the Demons also scared of the Ratbugs, didn''t they have access to their packs or did these disgusting creatures reach these tunnels recently? Considering those huge buck teeth it isn''t a surprise if these Ratbugs tunnel through the ground.


    "Oh no not again!!" Bittore whispered as her knees started shaking with fear as a base, hidding behind Eric. A bit funny since Eric is literally shorter than her, but at least she sees him as a good protector. Or feels desperate? Probably the second, again she is not aware that Eric is actually the Electus.


    Quite sick of these creatures already, even though he tasted what meat they have to offer. He used the small space here to his utmost advantage, blasting 5 feet wide short tailed Fire balls across the tunnel until he hit one after the other with accidental pin point accuracy. It isn''t hard to hit a 20 Kilogram target at a small place, especially since most came from the left side.


    "By the 8 sources where do these rats come from? I thought those Demons eat everything!" Complained Mogranius as he saw the Ratbugs fall on the ground with their spines visible, it was no pretty sight.


    "I think we will have to deal with a lot of them later on!" Advised Eric as he walked away from Bittore, separating her hands from his shoulder. "I mean we just started walking yet we met with another pack of them."


    Although it is clearly not a favourable theory by Bittore, Eric does have a firm point. She can only hope to not run into more of them, as if hope would deal with such a case.


    Seeing her this scared is no doubt interesting for the two mentally, because at first they underestimated what Bittore can do. She appeared so kind, reasonable and would beg if done wrong. Half of her plans were revealed and it was clear that she isn''t one you would want to mess with or even trust! And now, she is scared of little creatures who are so killable? When they gave it a thought it was nothing but mentally consuming.


    "Let''s just move in deeper through this main tunnel and hope that the p... hell hole is on the other side of this section." Mogranius almost slipped there didn''t he?


    If there is a portal, Bittore will see it anyway but she can''t know that Mogranius is acknowledged of their existence! Although not noticable Bittore might think of a hundred ways to use Mogranius and his information, and get rid of him when he doesn''t prove any further use.


    He even slipped when he mentioned 8 Sources. Ignis is well aware of what people other Continents carry, the tales have reached this Continent due to the countless shipments they recieved until now. 7 Continents or islands carrying people with specific powers have been brought as a tale here in Ignis, but never 8!


    Bittore instantly noticed his wordplay even though she was breaking down in fear behind Eric''s back, but didn''t say anything about it. This man drank Ratbug blood just a bit earlier, she can''t take all of his words seriously and just figured that he is uneducated on some points even after considering his older age.


    Walking down further, after they passed the second set of side tunnels they met a third set specifically 20 meters higher. Their architectural knowledge is impeccable, perhaps the Demons transformed this place into dark and depressing? Or either the Snow Ignites were trying out new looks.


    A lot of their questions found an answer when they met the actual end of this specifically 5 meter wide and tall tunnel. They met with another set of stairs, but unlike the first ones who lead 20 meters down, these ones lead 20 meters up! It takes quite some effort to match such accuracy, especially if they had to carve their way up with no natural cave provided. This place is so perfectly sculpted you would think it is work from the god above the sources.


    But with what did they meet? Going up, Mogranius'' illumination provided from his palm became no longer necessary as different light outshone the one he burst.


    Glaring at the structure in front of them with an absolute base of amazement followed up by the additional gasp and mouth covering, Bittore asked with a loud whisper. "What on Earth is this thing?"

 Chapter 251 - Impact

    They walked their way up the Staircase, to find their selves glaring upon a portal carrying a purple like colour, spanning 6 meters horizontally across the ground! If finding a portal here deep in the mountainside isn''t interesting enough, its true colour is overwhelmed by the purple light the Ignite Gems are providing above their heads!


    Yes the ceiling of this room is filled with them, perhaps it is what the Snow Ignites where after? One Ignite Gem can be sold for 100 Gold Coins, this place was made before the 100 year long war and its terrible 100 year aftermath, so trading wasn''t neccesarily hard. The prices a few centuries ago perhaps were smaller but it still met the economy standards at that time.


    Another sign that this specific room isn''t modified, is the fact that there are no fancy over the top carvings. There is just rock and dirt around, nothing fancy about it. It portrays a normal cave. There are two possible options of what happened up here!


    The first option, is that this portal was here before this domain was even made! It was probably stuck up here and the Demons had no where to go but to turn back or fight for survival. The second option, is that this portal appeared shortly after the Snow Ignites dug up here. A good sign about it, is that the staircase of which rises 20 meters is well constructed but everything else in this room isn''t.


    However that doesn''t really matter now, they need to act before more demons puke out of this place. One thing that can work to their advantage, is that whoever is blasting these Demons through this portal probably figured it out that there is no effect, no good result. So he or she might not send Demons here, at least not before they find out a way to seal it!


    "What the hell is this? Where is the hell hole?!" Asked Bittore with a shout, breaking the silence since the other two haven''t spoken a word yet ever since they met with this unusual technology!


    "Well... I think we should call this a fancy hell hole." Slowly spoke Mogranius in a low tone, as he looked around this cave to figure a way that would lead towards their success with termination.


    "What the hell is a fancy hell hole?" Asked Bittore immediately feeling irritated, as she eyed the Ignite Gems above their head. There has to be over 10,000 Gold Coins worth of gems up there, that''s a prediction. There are possibly more!


    "Forget about hell, how do we shut this hell hole down?" Asked Eric, well more like commanded. Because as beautiful as this portal is, he doesn''t want to see it nor fight off a wave of Demons.


    "Stop saying hell, for hell''s sake!" Shouted Mogranius, trying to tame the damage control of such a over used word in a matter of second.


    Having a second look at the Ignite Gems above their head, Mogranius dared to ask something that at first appears like it doesn''t meet this situation. "Can Fire brake an Ignite Gem?"


    "What?" Shouted Bittore, feeling bewildered of this question. The portal has already grabbed her focus, she isn''t one to focus on two confusing things at once.


    "Can Fire break an Ignite Gem?" Repeated Mogranius trying to keep his tone low in aims of not grabbing attention from anything standing on the other side of this fancy hell hole.


    "It can, but why do you ask that now?" She still didn''t manage to catch up, the portal has taken a lot of her focus or otherwise a lady who can scheme as good as her would be able to sense the pattern of his plan!


    "Can we use the Dragon Eye to blow this cave down?" The idea crazy indeed, but his face remained serious.


    It threw Bittore into shock, and she immediately disagreed. "I''m not planning to blow this entire place down god damn it!" She yelled from the top of her lungs like a panicking boar. To sacrifice this much and to loose their win due to such a bizarre plan? "I won''t allow this even if I have to fight you to death." She thought, but didn''t speak it by word just yet.


    "I don''t plan too either. Keep your voice down god damn it, we have to use this silence to our advantage unless you want to fight another horde of Demons!" Loudly whispered Mogranius as he rubbed his teeth against each other firmly, making a rough squeaking sound. Obviously holding in rage he added, "Can we make a smaller blast? One that won''t blow us into bits?"


    "Um. Yes..." Mumbling her way through after she added. "I mean... I never... I never tried it but... we are only 3 people so... so very possible." She started panicking, because she doesn''t quite know how to succeed in this situation and feels like the weakest here with her options limited. Her anxiety is sky high, even feels like she needs to go to a hole and let out a dunk.


    "Let''s do it and quick!" Mogranius let out a loud whisper. "Me and Eric can charge it quickly. Pull out the eye!"


    Seeing that this can be their only option to completely block the portal or at least its surroundings, she pulled out the Dragon Eye and lifted it above her head. Nervous enough, indeed panicking internally she still could warn. "Take a few steps back and just blast continues fire." Letting go of the orb with one hand and using that hand to rub her temples until she can focus, she then added. "Count until 5 and stop blasting Fire, Eric count until 3 and then start blasting Fire. We can''t let two sources stay together for two long or we can all die here!"


    It is a mystery how she knows that specific piece of information even though she just tried it twice until now, but that''s to think about later. At least they can ensure safety! "Done." Replied Mogranius and he swiftly took several steps back.


    Without the usual sumo squat, he proceeded to blast Fire out of both his palms and without saying them out loud he started counting. "1, 2, 3."


    Afterwards he saw Eric blasting a tremendous amount of Fire near him, it almost even dragged Mogranius along with the Fire considering how fast it passed through. "4, 5." He finished counting trying not to loose his focus.


    A good show indeed, the massive amount of Fire was forced towards compression the closer it got to the Eye. Sparing Bittore her Fingers from being blown off, indeed a powerful tool... or body part. It makes one think that such technology indeed came from a powerful being.


    3 counts after, Eric too stopped blasting Fire from his limbs. The Orb after began to shine in a fire like matter. With a dark shade of red and a mild shade of yellow, as if a Fireball has started forming on her hand.


    Aiming at the bundle of Ignite gems after, and like the procedure requires she has to blast Fire from the hand possessing the Eye. Trying not to miss such an important shot, she took a few seconds to find a proper aim.


    Finally blasting, she felt the force of the pole like concentrated shot shooting from the Dragon Eye. It didn''t hit her directly but the force pushed her behind without an option of proper orientation!


    The staircase was behind her, unlike the semi flat land that there used to be in front of the entrance, here she has to face a 20 meter drop! The shot although less impactful compared to several ladies charging it, it still blew her 5 meters behind before she was forced to meet with the rock hard clawed staircase. Because of it, Demon blood isn''t the only type spread across them anymore.


    Hitting her head on the staircase first and having her head punctured by some sharp rocks spread around the staircase, her knees hit the staircase after and the result was indeed troublesome.


    She continued to tumble down, each round contributed to her reaching death closer and closer. If she was on a flat surface she would be able to orientate herself a lot easier but once the first hit took impact, the rest just went downhill.


    Eric and Mogranius didn''t notice her state, figured that someone as strong as her can''t get that hurt! So spotting the blood red Ignite Gem around 7 meters above their head, he shot a 10 foot wide Fireball for once to assure absolute impact and success.


    Knowing what will happen after a blink, Eric tried to form a Fire Shield as fast as possible to save himself and Mogranius from the blast. The Shield wasn''t even half way from forming, but the Fireball has already hit the super charged gem.


    The Shield protected them from having their limbs blown off, but it was shattered in a blink and threw them both against the staircase. However, their fate was a bit lighter. They only faced a couple of bumps and bruises through their tumbling, cuts as well but nothing serious.


    Eric arose on his feet and saw the elevated room blocked by rocks completely, a lot of rock and dirt even covered the top portion of the staircase along with anything below it.


    "Bittore we did it." Stated Eric as he let out a sigh of relief but got no reply. "Bittore?"

 Chapter 252 - Unique... Healing?

    Seeing her at such a foul position, Eric couldn''t help but shed a tear. Sure she did a lot of propaganda behind his back until now, but she is still an Ignite who gave so much sacrifice. It was hard to see her head covered in blood pooling up around her. He went ahead and shook her shoulder, repeating. "Bittore, Bittore?"


    His tone started cracking due to the thought of her death, hard to swallow indeed and his throat felt heavy. A tear rolled down from his eye, went through his cheek and fell down towards her head.


    A green light surrounded her head with a light glow, it faded so quickly that one would not be able to notice it. Thankfully it is dark here, so Eric did notice it even though he didn''t quite understand what happened. It even looked like her soul just left her body with that glow?


    But no, blood stopped bursting from her head and she opened her eyes with a cough! Apparently that was the biggest damage she recieved until now, but still has it hard to move. Her knees are roughed up pretty bad and unless she doesn''t try to heal them with the technology this time has to offer, it can only get worse.


    "Good, you are alive." Spoke Eric with a sigh of relief, refusing to let out anymore tears. "We did it, we shut down the portal." Perhaps "shut down" isn''t the best choice of words to use here, but it does clear out a point. No Demon can get through even if they clawed their selves out, however further walls of protection might be neccesary to completely prevent these beasts from coming in. That might not be a hard thing to do considering that they have time, but a wall is absolutely neccesary.


    "Mogranius wake up!" Eric shouted and proceeded to shake him on the shoulders violently, but even though Mogranius is generally a very light sleeper he didn''t wake up.


    He knows for sure that Mogranius isn''t dead, or at least he hopes. He doesn''t have any wound on him and practically rolled down here, less damaging compared to everything Bittore experienced. Shaking didn''t work, "Perhaps more wounds could wake him up?" He thought and with a devious smile he gave Mogranius a hard slap across the face. But no luck!


    He began to worry, because when trouble approached Mogranius was always the first on his feet, probably because of Paranoia? Whatever his intend, he should have been woken up by now. Out of a sudden, a devious thought came through Eric''s mind. "Wild Boars are attacking!" He shouted from the top of his lungs, it made Bittore smile although no one saw it.


    "Shit shit shit shit." Mogranius repeated as he woke up and stood on his feet faster than the eye can blink, this unusual speed makes Eric believe even more that Mogranius is of the evolved. "You can''t eat me bastards!"


    "Ahahahaha!" Laughed Mogranius with a set of craze as he blasted countless Fireballs going with the rhythm of his laugh, thankfully he didn''t hit anyone at that set of rage!


    "There are no Wild boars are there?" He asked once he was able to think better and view that he is in a practical Dungeon. "Stupid kid."


    "Hey at least you are okay!" Joked Eric around as he let out a light laugh, but remembering the most important part after he cleared out. "Bittore is roughed up really bad but she is alive. I think we can save her!"


    "Really?" Mogranius asked, afterwards tried to find where Bittore is. His brain managed to catch up and he figured out that he needs light to see, he just woke up after all.


    Blasting Fire from his palm to illuminate the place, his soul got shaken when he saw her laying on a pool of blood! "You think we can save her after all of this?" Approaching closer, seeing some half dry blood on her temples he stated. "This girl is dying."


    "No you don''t understand!" Tried Eric to explain in a loud whisper, as he shook his shoulder to attain Mogranius'' attention. "There was a huge wound on her head but it disappeared."


    Seeing where this conversation is going, with no need to ask more questions he put two and two together and asked. "Did anything odd happen before her wound disappeared?"


    "Ugh... yes there was this random glow..." He still didn''t understand what it was, and even thought that Bittore had some other unrevealed sorcery that she used to heal herself.


    "Glow you say?" Rubbing his forehead to remember some past events, events before he time travelled here that is. "Can you do that glow again?"


    "Ugh... I didn''t do that glow..." Explained Eric as his anxiety arose due to the unknown and the pure fact of not understanding at all what''s going on.


    "Yes you did. I think you are tapping into your healing powers, do exactly what you did before the glow appeared." Mogranius is forming a good approach indeed even after considering that he forgot what light is a bit earlier, but will it work?


    Eric just approached her, and carefully dropping on his knees he just stood near Bittore and started shaking her shoulders, repeating. "Bittore, Bittore!" He didn''t manage to catch up yet, but this is exactly what he did earlier. Furthermore he didn''t even notice his tear dropping before. "Bittore, Bittore." He continued to repeat until he was stopped by Bittore herself.


    "This ain''t working." She mumbled under her breath, in her thoughts trying to figure out how a Fire Controller can attain healing powers? If she could gain such powers as well, her people would fare a lot better. Even at such a position she is thinking about her own, amazing isn''t it?


    "I think I know how to fix this." Mogranius thought to himself as he tip toed his way behind Eric, with his palm he smacked the daylights out of him behind his head.


    Mogranius figured it out once he further based it on past experiences or tales brought upon the previous Electus, but Eric was still lost. The smack behind the head made him loose track even further.


    Another green glow appeared lightly over Bittore''s head and it disappeared in a blink. But this time it got everyone''s attention. "Eric, cry!" Urged Mogranius as he witnessed Bittore now wiggling her feet, this is definetly helping her heal.


    "What? No! Why would I cry?" Asked Eric as he tried to rub the pain away from the back of his head, Mogranius'' bony fingers sure pack a punch.


    Seeing that Eric isn''t willing to cooperate, likely using the term. "Boys or men don''t cry!" As an excuse, Mogranius smacked Eric behind the head the second time.


    Little did Eric know, a third tear was shaken out of his eyes and dropped on Bittore''s cheek. Yet another green glow shone for a split second before it disappeared, interesting enough Bittore can now use her feet perfectly. She used bits of her strength to lift her self up and sit a bit away from the pool of blood.


    "Why the hell are you hitting me man? I thought the Ghost Tree dropped its effects?" Eric asked, not as a joke but he genuinely thought that Mogranius returned to his usual pace of craze.


    "Tears help her heal... If I remember it right, Healers under level 3 can use tears as a way of healing only!" Growing older tends to mess with memory, but at least he recalled enough to escape this situation with minimal losses.


    Bittore began to feel more and more guilty, she used them to blow up a Kingdom yet they still didn''t want to leave her to the mercy of the Sources or the god above them. They could have easily killed Bittore here and sneak their way out with the Dragon Eye, but Mogranius smacked tears out of Eric instead to help Bittore survive.


    She didn''t know what to say, but Mogranius has indeed a lot to talk about. "I told you to cry but you didn''t, what else was I supposed to do?"


    "By the Source of Fire if you explained it a bit more I would be able to cry!" Stated Eric as he tried to assure that Bittore is alright and comfortable, asking her. "Are you cold?" It isn''t easy to not feel cold when sitting on carved rock.


    "No no, I''m alright. Thank you!" Explained Bittore, stopping Eric at first since he already was half way through from removing his fur coat.


    "No no, you''re cold." He insisted, using Mogranius'' influence of helping the less prepared. She just escaped death, Eric is in a better position so he can indeed help.


    He pulled of his fur coat, covered her with it and along with Mogranius'' help they made her sit on Eric''s soft backpack filled with meat. "I''ll go get the other ladies."

 Chapter 253 - Avoiding disaster

    With the 7 ladies joining the scene once the explosion shook the ground, they ran in without even waiting for any type of permission. The ground shaking was their permission which made them break the deal, what if their Grand Leader was blown to bits? What if the three need help fighting demons?


    Staying all the way back to the entrance wont help them figure out whats going on in any way, they had to intervene. But it wasn''t no trouble, because as Eric crossed the second section half way to invite them down here.


    He felt more than happy to save Bittore''s life even though he was smacked in order to help, and to have 7 pairs of hands helping settle everything down is indeed more than they asked.


    How did they help? Well while a couple of ladies where helping Bittore treat some wounds, since them as women don''t mind giving a deeper glance at what injuries she is carrying, they managed to find a few wounds that Bittore herself didn''t notice due to the intense pain on the head and knees she had a while ago.


    Several spots on her legs faced cuts, the same situation on her waste and stomach. The wounds weren''t deep but indeed troublesome if not treated right away, they weren''t deep but each one was bloody! When combined this can lead to constant blood loss, this will weaken her more and more because she lost a lot of blood when her head injury wasn''t tamed.


    These wounds were likely recieved from the shattered staircase clawed by the Demons before they even entered this place. Perhaps Eric healed them a bit if not all when he dropped 3 tears on her. But where did they give her a deeper more analytical check?


    While two of these ladies grabbed Bittore carefully, the other 5 gave the place a through and through check. They are ladies who had to survive in the wild for a while and handled some pregnancies too, finding private spots has become a habit. Specifically knowing that she is injured further triggered these instincts.


    5 ladies stormed two openings on the second section, specifically on the left side starting from the bottom. Interesting enough both of these spots appear to be sleeping areas, the first sleeping area is closest to the second section, having only a short tunnel before all those beds catch one''s attention.


    While the second sleeping area is a bit further from the first, by that I''d like to specify that the tunnel is longer. But how come you might ask? Well both of these sleeping areas are 30 meters wide upon entry and 20 meters long. The tunnel leading to the second sleeping area takes a right turn for 10 meters before it takes a left turn forwards for 20 more meters, leading to the second sleeping room. Such trick was used to fit these large sleeping rooms, 30 meters wide doesn''t sound too big does it?


    Well considering how big the beds are, yes it is large since it can fit precisely 100 beds! Each bed is 2 meters long and 1 meter wide, they are separated a meter away from each other. When the calculations are done, exactly 100 fit. The Snow Ignites likely did the required calculations before they went into action. They are also only half a meter above the ground, perfect actually because if one rolled out of bed the fall wouldn''t be too damaging.


    Getting to what''s a bit more important, the two ladies brought Bittore on the first sleeping room and stripped her n.a.k.e.d to treat her wounds. One highly embarrassing situation Eric managed to avoid thanks to Mollara shooing him away, was him almost walking in on Bittore while she was n.a.k.e.d.


    There was this entire place to explore yet he wanted to ensure that Bittore is doing better or at least be here if her situation turns for the worse, he wasn''t at all aware of how these ladies check for wounds.


    Although Bittore doesn''t necessarily care if she gets caught n.a.k.e.d by someone who wouldn''t try to approach her thanks to it, the situation would become awkward and they would have to avoid eye contact for a few weeks.


    Lucky enough, they stripped Bittore out of her clothing on the second bed at the left side. Therefore Eric didn''t even manage to look at her feet for that matter, not to mention anything else.


    Getting back to the wounds, Eric managed to tame a lot of them, more than he thought actually. Bittore was cut more than she was bruised, you would think that the thick fur coat that makes her look like a ball would protect her more but no it was as if she didn''t wear them at all.


    These ladies evacuated the Kingdom too quickly, everything they have is the clothes on their bodies, here their clothes are their best sort of tools to tame wounds. Ripping their fur coats open isn''t the best idea at all considering the cold weather but they can rip their leather shirts.


    Considering the wounds, only one shirt had to be ripped in order to tie each wound! So after shooing Eric, Mollara took off her fur coat and afterwards her leather shirt too. Leaving nothing to protect her upper body from the cold apart from the under clothes she was wearing that didn''t cover her body at all.


    Good enough, she didn''t want to get into action partially n.a.k.e.d. She put back her fur coat and started ripping her leather shirt using her bare hands! She didn''t require any dagger even though all of them are equipped with one, mostly because she is naturally strong but also because her shirt is quite a few months old, handmade by deer skin actually.


    Speaking of clothes, these beds here have nothing but carved rock on them. There was likely leather here as a Snow Ignite''s physical durability isn''t so different from that of an Ignite, but thanks to this place being untouched by outsiders for decades and due to Demons likely storming this room too there is no fur to be spoken off.


    So they had to use Bittore''s clothes along with Eric''s fur coat to provide her comparability as they flipped her around like a pancake to check and tie wounds, the soft fur indeed made everything more comfortable.


    They tied every wound using that one leather shirt, making her wiggle her fingers and toes, move her arms and legs. They assured that she doesn''t have any cracked or broken bones, little did they know her knees were shattered a bit earlier. Perhaps Eric''s tears focus on the worst wounds and leave the lightest ones last?


    They put her clothes back on her, they didn''t want her to feel cold wearing ripped clothing so each lady exchanged a more durable cloth for her ripped ones. Some gave their leggings, some gave their coats and Mollara gave her hat.


    The rest gave their hats too so Bittore has some comfortable cloth to sleep over instead of just Eric''s coat, they can fare without hats here where cold is less impactful. Bittore is alright, they covered her like a mother would cover a newborn child. But she has lost a lot of blood, the best way to replenish it, at least the best way claimed by people who faced blood loss before, is to eat something heavy.


    But as mentioned before, they left the Kingdom with the clothes on them only, no food. Bittore didn''t have enough energy to talk, or else she would point out where to get food. 2 ladies walked out of the room, and talked with each other. "We need to go hunt a Blue Eagle, Bittore loves that type of meat."


    Eric jumped in front of their path, asking. "Is she okay? Can I do anything?"


    Finally able to give this boy another look in the illumination, they noticed that he is the one who gave the fur coat. Odd enough he wasn''t shivering, little did they know he used fire to keep himself warm as he waited.


    "Yes yes. Nothing but minor wounds, you can have a look for yourself If you''d like." Grabbing his soft cheeks as she walked past she stated. "There isn''t anyone n.a.k.e.d in there this time."


    Seeing this fine Ignite lady with her hat off, Eric immediately felt nervous. Furthermore she even squeezed his cheek, nothing less but intimidating and it made him quite shy. She appears to be on her late twenties but for a second it didn''t really matter to him.


    He was snapped back to reality when he heard them murmur about food as they walked away. "I have food!" Eric spoke a bit loudly to grab their attention. "I have Blue Eagle meet even, we killed a bundle right before we reached Maleemia."


    "Really?" Asked the lady who grabbed his cheek, feeling relieved that she doesn''t have to face the cold just yet.


    "Don''t brag child, I have 4 types of meat in my backpack." Specified Mogranius as he walked closer towards the illumination.


    When they managed to take a peek at him, they saw him dragging two Ratbugs with their heads torched off. "There is a whole den at the second section, second tunnel on the right. If you don''t fear Ratbugs, I recommend to take care two things at once."


    "Which is?" Asked the other lady feeling a bit confused.


    "Secure a bit of food and get rid of the Ratbugs completely, those little critters can poison your food supply considering how filthy they are." He specified as he dropped the torched Ratbugs down and threw his backpack towards them after.

 Chapter 254 - Queen

    After giving Bittore Nardone some of Mogranius'' food, or at least leave it there for the rest to feed her or their selves. The two Ignite ladies assigned with the task or terminating the rat bug den, made their way towards section 3, entered the second tunnel on the left so they can begin with their task.


    Now it is time to do a little introduction don''t you think? The oldest lady on this group of 2, more specifically the one that squeezed Eric''s cheek is called Zelimia Hekz. She is a 28 year old who is only a few steps away from being an expert(Level 4) in Fire Controlling. She has thin black hair, usually tied in a bun and covered with a Fur Hat. As for her size, she is pretty normal when based on most. Standing 5.6 feet tall and weighing 55 Kilograms, she is what every Ignite man would love.


    And as for her friend in this task, she is called Samantha Olem. She is a 24 year old Level 3 Fire Controller, her speciality is launching sneak shots. Nicknamed "The assasin", she is the most agile in the group even though she is so young! She only stands only 5.4 feet tall, perfect to engage in assassination, especially since she often leaps and weighs 50 Kilograms. Her facial beauty can be intimidating, especially since it isn''t like the ones you would find on most Ignites. Her jawline is a bit wider and comes along with these adorable little freckles. She has blonde hairs too with a small hint of black on her roots. But like Zelimia''s, hers too is usually tied in a bun.


    Here both of their skills can prove useful, Zelimia is more powerful and Samantha is agile. They walked in the tunnel and met with a small room, it''s only 5 meters wide and long. Nothing particularly interesting about this room apart from the fact that there a black piece of carved rock pushed out of its former position.


    This little hole in front of them made because of that carved rock pushed out, had a lot of dirt and random chunks of rock around it. Signifying that this opening is fresh, the Ratbugs just discovered this place from the looks of it and the Demons couldn''t quite reach them since one of these carved stone blocks is a foot tall and 3 feet wide. Impossible for a Demon to slip through but just a little sweat for a Ratbug.


    Interesting enough, Mogranius said that there is a den here. But this room is literally empty so what exactly did he mean? To make the situation a bit less boring, a Ratbug squeezed through the hole and squeaked its way towards an attack.


    Agile enough, Samantha blew a foot wide Fireball and hit the Ratbug directly on the head! We did specify that she is nicknamed, "The Assassin!" That title isn''t random at all.


    "Nice shot!" Zelimia complimented as she took more careful steps towards the hole, giving it a little thought she figured. "Mogranius probably took a peek at this hole and figured out that there is a den here, or he mistook the rooms?" That''s at least what she thought, and tried to test some theories.


    But she isn''t clumsy enough to take a peek as close to the wall as humanly possible, no she has no plan to get her eye clawed out by these disgusting creatures. She stood a foot away from the hole and bend down to take a peek, this way if a Ratbug charges she can twist her body away from danger. Protecting her own eyes is a main priority.


    She couldn''t make up much from it, except this type of whiteish blob on the other side of the opening behind this wall. She wanted to look more at it but managed to hear quick footsteps taken by these creatures on the other side, Samantha heard them too so she swiftly pulled her friend away.


    "Be ready." Samantha specified and kept illuminating the room with one palm and was ready to shoot down the little enemies with the other.


    Two snouts popped out of the hole, and both of them tried to squeeze in at once. But there is only so much a 3 foot wide hole can fit. The two Ratbugs found their selves stuck, but not forever.


    Samantha unleashed one shot faster than the eye could blink and shot again to kill the second, but was a bit too slow since Zelimia already shot the other. The little foot wide Fireball just disintegrated against the carved rock flooring as they witnessed the two Ratbugs being blown behind.


    They killed the little enemies yes, but they were shot near the small entrance and the view now is blocked. So of course one had to point out, I think we need to remove the blocks or at least blow this place open.


    "Blowing this place open would be a bad idea." Specified Zelimia, trying to point out the main problem she grabbed the pushed out block and showed Samantha. "This block is a foot thick, it requires a lot of Fire Power."


    "We can get buried alive." Managed Samantha to catch up right away, as fun as it is to blow entrances open here it would be a terribly bad idea. "Who knows how unstable this place is, we technically are underground after all."


    Pulling out Daggers after, Samantha jabbed it in the side of one block and used any bit of strength available without breaking her own Dagger. The Block tilted forwards, giving it one little push after she managed to grab the block and pull it out.


    Since these Blocks aren''t evenly placed over each other on a 3 foot to 3 foot way, the wall is still holding up quite well. This proves a lot of stability, they could try to shoot the wall down now but it still is risky. Over ten minutes later, they pulled out 6 more blocks and had to shoot another Ratbug down who heard the intruders.


    Now they can definetly manage to get a better look. They figured why these Ratbugs can get out with such ease, there is no dirt attached to this wall. Actually it is like a dirt door, but it is 4 feet tall. Pulling out 6 more blocks after, they now can manage to enter this little doorway to their den.


    Squeezing in, the scene they found is indeed interesting. But before they managed to get a better look at this place, they saw a huge Ratbug charging towards them. This beast has to be at least 4 times bigger!


    "Holy sh..." Zelimia shouted, but her word was cut short as she saw the quick and agile Samantha shoot a 3 foot wide short tailed Fire ball towards this beast of a creature.


    Odd enough, it didn''t stop it and it was still running regardless of its face being set into a blaze. Samantha shot once more, but it aimed towards its feet. The two foot wide Fireball blew the Huge Ratbug''s right foot off before it was forced to tumble down for a couple of meters, it sure took a lot of charge.


    "Look at that thing, it has to be at least a hundred Kilos!" Shouted Zelimia as she approached the beast, seeing it twitch its legs as its head was still set into fire, she shot this beast for one last time and ended its misery.


    "I think this is the one who made all these eggs!" Managed Samantha to catch up quickly once she gave these hundreds of half foot eggs a better look. "This was probably the queen."


    "Probably?" Partially complained Zelimia, "This is the biggest Ratbug I''ve ever seen! And I saw tens!" Survival of the fittest I suppose, at some point of life they had to eat Ratbug meat for the pure intend of survival.


    They both gave a better look at the eggs, they are white but one can still see through them. In the middle of each egg there is this black dot, some have more legs than others. Apparently it depends on the age of each egg.


    These hundreds of eggs are all merged to each other, covering these walls entirely and spanning about 7 meters long, but it was a bit hard to walk through since this stereotypical tunnel is only 4 meters wide, 2 meters of which are occupied by eggs. You would be surprised how the queen ran through without bursting even one egg.


    They tried to have an even better look before they burned this place down, just for the pure purpose of learning one thing more today. Their focus was cut short when 2 more Ratbugs appeared in the end of the tunnel, luckily they look a lot smaller. Likely under 20 Kilograms.


    Sparing no second to shoot both of them down, Samantha went ahead to take a closer look at these carcasses with their head blown off and expressed. "They taste Horrible but I guess these will have to do!"

 Chapter 255 - Take off your Clothes!

    They pulled the smaller Ratbugs through the floor and afterwards threw them through the little opening behind them, Dragging the Queen out however became troublesome since she is a lot bigger. They thought that she is around 100 Kilograms, but when they grabbed this 4 foot tall Ratbug to drag it out, it felt a lot heavier!


    "Damn what has this thing been eating?" Complained Samantha, she is a bit smaller here and younger in age so she is having a bit of trouble when it comes to giving an even Contribution! "Dragging a Wild Boar would be easier than this!"


    The fact that they are touching these disgusting creatures also tends to mess with their will power, necessarily partially defines how much strength they can give at this. Seeing the Queen''s 6 foot long tail didn''t make the situation any less uncomfortable.


    "She probably ate her mating partners." Zelimia joked around and let out a little giggle after, it is important to keep a positive attitude after all of this I suppose.


    Thanks to this joke, Samantha broke in to hard fulfilling laughter as well. "Hahahahahahahahahaha!" Her tone echoed across the den and behind them too, thanks to laughing this hard she lost a bit of focus and lost balance after.


    Her foot slipped and she ended up knee deep underneath the Queen, they have been dragging her from behind since one of the Queen''s feet is blown off at the front hands. Luckily this little slip didn''t cause any damage but a little embarassmant and laughs getting louder from both of them.


    Zelimia was holding her stomach out of laughter as she bent down with he face turning red and tears dropping, how funny could a situation based on Ratbugs get?


    "Bite her tail!" Zelimia proceeded to joke around further after she managed to catch her breath, but only ended up being short of it when Samantha replied.


    "Ew no! We don''t eat the tail part what''s the matter with you!" She did a little complain, grabbed the Queen''s 6 foot long tail and whipped Zelimia around her upper leg with it!


    Jumping around trying to avoid the tail, she bounced her way behind Samantha and pulled her away from the Ratbug even though she disagreed and wanted to fight more, but actually she was just trying to fight off her blush of embarassmant, the tail almost worked for such a case completely. Let''s say her blush is hidden by the fact that they got red laughing.


    She got Samantha on her feet and gave her a little hug from behind to calm down her vengeful attempts, to put this awkwardly adorable situation to and end, more Ratbugs popped out of the hole at the other end of this den. This time however, 3 came out at once.


    "Let me show you how to shoot!" She grabbed Zelimia''s hug as she was still under her hug, "Shoot when I tap."


    By the time they were ready for battle, the closest Ratbug was about 2 meters away and coming in quick! Samantha tapped Zelimia''s arm and shot! The aim before the shot was quick, she just moved Zelimia''s arm slightly to the right and tapped.


    The second Ratbug was further on the right and it clumsily smashed many of these fragile eggs as it ran through with a hint of rage! Samantha dragged Zelimia''s arm further to the right and tapped on it right after!


    The shot didn''t miss at all and like the first it too was fatal, each shot is on the head. "It is the best way to kill most animals or enemies." Samantha often specified before they met with this situation.


    The third Ratbug was further to the left so it required a bit of faster thinking, especially since it only is a meter away now! To make the situation worse it took a sharp turn right a split second before Zelimia was tapped on her arm to shoot!


    The shot actually missed and the Ratbug used the carcass of its dead brother to make a big leap, jumping a meter high! Samantha tried to aim as fast as possible but had no luck, to herself she thought. "Oh I screwed up!" And closed her eyes awaiting the rat bug and its disgustingly filthy buck teeth.


    She heard a set of Fire having a strong impact very close to where she was standing, she opened her eyes and saw the Ratbug in front of her feet with its head blown off! "I have two hands." Zelimia joked around as she grabbed Samantha''s hands and straightened them down, giving a tight hug after.


    "Thanks for teaching me how to shoot." She joked in a low intimidating tone, whispering in Samantha''s ear actually. It was easy since she(Samantha) is a bit shorter, "Now let''s get these Ratbugs out of here shall we?"


    Samantha was left with her cheeks red boiling in a blush, but couldn''t say anything about it as a result. Keeping her head down she grabbed the Queen''s leg and started pulling!


    When they reached the little hole of which they removed the bricks out of, they found out that the queen is a bit too wide to fit through! They pushed as hard as they could but no luck, that''s when Samantha got a little idea!


    "I''ll try to pull from the other side!" She explained under a low tone and seeing the foot wide opening above the Ratbug Queen, she jumped head in and tried to slip through. She found herself in another slightly embarrassing situation, she became stuck with the Ratbug!


    "Shit, I''m stuck!" Samantha told and heard Zelimia burst into laughter after!


    "How can "The Assasin" trap herself with a Ratbug?" She joked around with an air poke, giggling her way through the sentence.


    "Just shut up and push me out!" We should pay attention to the word play here, she said "push me out." instead of saying, "pull me out." A task of which would have been a lot easier strength-wise but she would have to reveal her boiling red cheeks to Zelimia.


    "God this Ratbug smells even worse when torched!" Samantha complained as she tried to push herself out while Zelimia was still laughing from the top of her lungs. "Push me out!"


    "Alright alright." Zelimia finally answered with a little giggle and lifted her by the legs just enough to push her arm underneath to get a better grip.


    Giving a dash of a push after, Samantha slipped through as she dragged Dirt along with her. "This would have been a lot easier if you took your fur clothing off!" Zelimia specified with no impure intend, Samantha does wear full leather clothing underneath after all and this fur clothing makes her look almost twice the size, she looks like a walking fur ball.


    "No deal." Samantha answered and to cease Zelimia''s thoughts from jumping into conclusions, she added. "Its cold here."


    They both knew that this was a little lie, the temperature here is good enough for her to fare well a few seconds without the fur coat. Eric is still walking around without one ever since he gave it to Bittore.


    But getting back to the case, they squeezed the Queen through and afterwards spared no second to throw the smaller Ratbugs through. Giving them a little look, Zelimia considered this a bit of a win. They had no food but the one Mogranius and Eric provided. "After we butcher these Ratbugs, I think we can manage to get 200 Kilograms out of them. Enough to provide food for a week until we bring one or two Blue Eagles down!" Apart from the 15 ladies, there still are 42 people to feed. They can''t base the food situation on luck.


    All of the Rats are shot down, and it doesn''t look like there are more of them. If they came here a couple of weeks later, they would probably have to deal with hundreds of smaller rats which can indeed prove troublesome.


    "So what do we do now? Just burn the eggs?" Asked Samantha after calming her self down, looking for a solution from someone older and in some aspects smarter.


    "Yes, but we also have to fill that hole across this tunnel there. Who knows how many others can pop out of there!" A good idea indeed, the last thing they need is to get attacked by these creatures at night when everyone is asleep.


    "But how would we do th..." Samantha tried to ask, but her word was cut short by a Fireball raging through the air and hitting the 2 foot wide hole, shaking everything down.


    It hurts both of them to kill so many unborn critters, but if these Ratbugs get into a food supply, 57 people can get infected and die! They have to keep the Ratbug situation under control! They could of course let this hatchery expand and hide the food well enough, but Ratbug meat tastes disgustingly sour.


    Zelimia set a blaze of the eggs from below and surprisingly the fire spread quite quickly, these eggs are surprisingly flammable. They found their selves in between Fire from all sides, even from eggs attached above their heads. So to escape a possibly chance of being burned alive, they swiftly walked out of the Cave.


    "What''s the plan after the Fire shuns down?" Asked Samantha, eager to know if they can leave now or not.


    Tapping Samantha''s hat to shun a little Fire set on her shoulder, Zelimia explained. "We will just shake the place down and place these bricks on their former position."

 Chapter 256 - Giant Trevally

    Guard Commander Chan along with the rest of the group finally docked the couple of sh.i.p.s they rented, but the situation ended up a bit differently than expected. The sailor for example who heavily doubted Bear Claw, ended up shaking her hand and wearing a big happy smile on his face, repeating. "Thank you, thank you!"


    But what did Dilli Flury do to get appreciation from a man who hated her a bit earlier? Well she fished out over 10 Barramundies in a span of an hour! When brought together Weigh-wise, it summed up over 400 Kilos. These fish are half grown, spanning from 40 to 70kg at max and were mostly half a meter. If they were full grown the result would be over a ton!


    It doesn''t sound much does it? Only 10 Barramundies? Well they still cost 400 Gold Coins, maybe 500 if he manages to find buyers who offer a better deal. He is an ill.u.s.tratio himself so it might not prove too troublesome. Barramundies are the most common fish near this continent, therefore their price goes a gold coin per Kilogram usually.


    The Sailor was more than thankful that Dilli donated most of her catches, but he was especially thankful for the Giant Trevally! Why is this fish so special and how does it out match the 10 Barramundies? Well the answer is simple, price!


    Due to the fact that they are hard to sell due to having a large head they can ram sh.i.p.s to the point of sinking, Giant Trevallies have a market price of 5-7 Gold Coins per Kilogram. Spearfishermen have it tremendously hard to land such a catch, because of their explosive speed and strength comparable to a Black Marlin who has 5 times the weight.


    The Trevally she fished out breaks over 60 Kilograms but is a meter and a half long! Considering how usual lengths go, how is that exactly possible? Well it is because these Trevallies are thin horizontally but wider vertically. If gender matters at this case, they figured out that this catch is a male. Because it was mostly covered in black with some silver patches here and there.


    Price wise, this will cost 250 to 350 Gold Coins. Maybe even 400 since the a.d.u.l.t fish are known to taste better, this one is definetly an a.d.u.l.t. So considering the fish and the fee for using the ship, the Sailor made 800 Gold Coins with one trip!


    The Sailor wanted to convince Dilli to not pay for this trip, she contributed a lot already and the rest of the men just put down their spears and hooks once they got tremendously out competed.


    Now I did mention that Dilli donated most of the fish, what did she keep? Well not a whole fish to clear out confusion, just a couple of Barramundi tails. She sliced them off herself, apparently she likes them more compared to the meaty body parts on the chest.


    When they walked out of the ship and gave their greetings to the Sailor, Chan asked Dilli as they walked up towards a Tavern. "Where did you learn to fish like that?"


    "Oh can''t a lady be naturally talented?" She joked around trying to avoid the question, Ironically because she didn''t want to brag.


    "Yes she can but... Such skill at least requires a few years of practice!" Tried Chan to reason, he indeed makes a good point.


    Two men were almost pulled over board because they felt like they didn''t need to tie their ropes to anything stable, yet she didn''t tie her rope anywhere but successfully managed to pull out each fish she speared without any casualties. Fish managed to escape her only a couple of times, they were quick enough to spot the spear and flee.


    "Well lets just say that I lived in the forest for a while and had to fish out my meal with the most cheap and basic tools." She specified, and not being used to such a lifestyle Chan had one theory in mind of what she used.


    "Rotten Iron?"


    "No, wood!" She finally told as they walked in the Tavern casually.


    They left the three Wagons near a stable on the right side of the Kingdom, it wouldn''t make sense if this stable was near the port because the whole thing would turn in to a mess work-wise, so being on the side is the best idea. Furthermore they left 3 Guards there to protect the Wagons just in case of thieving criminals try their luck, they aren''t aware of the royal loot.


    Walking their way to three empty tables, they were immediately followed by the clerk after asking what they would be having.


    "Give me the biggest bottle you''ve got!" Casually answered Chan, not exactly making a big deal out of this order. This is his normal dosage after all.


    "Ale or Beer sir?" Offered the clerk further options, just to sell a nice expensive bottle to this seemingly rich costumer.


    "Oh you have beer here? Bring me a nice big Beer." Answered Chan with his enthusiasm getting higher thanks to the thought of Beer.


    The clerk continued to ask the 2 other men on the table even though Dilli is closest to Chan, the clerk started from the other side. Rather disrespectful but perhaps he meant no harm? The two men just ordered a couple goblets of Gr.a.p.e Ale, they didn''t want to over do their consumption, they only drink at rare occasions.


    Finally asking Bear Claw, she just answered in a normal calm tone. "I''ll just share the bottle of Beer with him, can you get me an empty Goblet?"


    "Of course..." Answered the clerk with a sigh, noticable dissatisfaction on his tone.


    Chan didn''t exactly mind Dilli sharing his Beer nor did he mind the moody clerk, he was too excited to finally sip some nice relaxing Beer after so long (A week.). The Clerk asked the two other tables of what they will have, both tables just ordered a medium sized Ale Bottle which they will share. Fair to say that Chan is the heaviest drinker here.


    As they were waiting for their shots of Beer and Ale, they heard a couple of men banter about an event a few months ago that they didn''t yet let go off. "People are saying that the Lia child was a demon covered in human skin... the men that fished with her say that she took a live swimming Black Marlin to the face but she didn''t die."


    "Well she is an Ignite, so what are the odds." Answered the other man sitting across the table.


    "They almost even killed our King with their corrupted ill.u.s.tratian allies." Now that is a interesting topic to be spoken off, the entire Tavern could hear him yell as he explained. Perhaps he raised his tone now that an Ignite is present? Very likely.


    "Who knows what they did to those men, why do we even allow Ignites to exist? They probably let Demons possess them for gold!" Offensive indeed, but Dilli broke no sweat when it comes to ignoring these practically brain washed fools. "An ill.u.s.tratio would never cooperate with a dang Demon. F.u.c.k them and their sources!"


    Dilli still remained patient, actually she didn''t care at all what they are saying. She had to deal with a lot of men who shared the same believes when she was working in a Tavern, regardless off her necklace symbolizing the illas Alliance she was always publicly bad mouthed.


    Cutting their conversation short after several more back and fourth offensive banter, they arose from their seats and started a game against each other determining strength, fair to say both of them are quite drunk.


    This game however, is a bit unique. A local treasure here in the motherland! Two men or two men battle their heads against each other, literally. They touch their foreheads and try to knock each other down, but there are some firm rules everyone who wants to play the game should follow.


    They can mostly push with their head, a bit like a bull! And if for 30 countings none managed to knock the other out, they can hit do a head butt in aims of success. If no one succeeds, they can keep going for another 30 countings. Also, after every 45 countings any player can pull back and try to trip the other over.


    They started the game and added additional screaming too, creating quite a disturbance from the group of 20 costumers in this place but no one is supposed to say anything based on tradition!


    30 counting after, the man who ran his mouth less until now or at least at a slower pace, head butted the man he was opposing who is a bit taller actually. The hit was so heavy that the man backed out, felt dizzy and sat on a man''s lap close by.


    "I''m the strongest in this Kingdom!" The victor yelled, becoming a little bit less humble. "Are there any other competitors in this Tavern?" He asked in general but was directly looking at Bear Claw.

 Chapter 257 - Tavern Fight!

    Dilli still kept her rage under control, but for sure wanted to battle this fool. As she stood up, Chan grabbed her arm and asked with a whisper. "Do you want to kill him?" This isn''t exactly something she wouldn''t do, she killed hundreds of ill.u.s.tratian Guards before she was crazed with mind control.


    "No no don''t worry." She answered calmly and gently removed his hand from her arm. "Don''t touch me." She stated after, gender differences have no word at this case she just doesn''t like being touched. But wants to battle this fool head on... Interesting don''t you think?


    She threw her torched Barramundi tail on the air and swallowed it with a catch, an interesting scene indeed but she just wanted to show off a little bit. "I''ll challenge you."


    "You? You are an Ignite!" He answered, considering her more than weak especially since she is a woman too.


    "What''s the matter? Scared?" She asked as she stood taller than him by half a foot.


    "No, lets get this over with!" He answered with a shout and threw the bottle of Ale he was holding, against the floor. "I''ll bet 50 Gold Coins that I can beat you under 15 counts!"


    Dilli gave Chan a quick glance and pulling a little bag of Gold from his belt, tossing it towards Dilli without fearing at all that she will loose, the challenge was accepted. She clung on the little leather bag to let out her rage there and faced this loudmouth head on!


    The Tavern clerk took the honors of starting the match, first he tried to make their heads fit better according to the rules since she is taller and with a little pat on both of their heads the match started!


    This man tried to push Dilli from her feet, but it felt like trying to push a wall with his head. "How is this possible?" He whispered lightly and took a couple of deep breaths as the sweat he was breaking out of nervousness made both of their foreheads slippery.


    Trying to unleash more power with a burst of energy, he almost slipped enough to accidentally kiss her lips in the process. If he did, the situation would have turned into a disaster. Because his honour would be spoiled for kissing an Ignite and Dilli would likely make him meet the Tavern''s wall through and through.


    Dilli on the other hand, just kept firm with her hands behind her back. So when she wins, they can''t say that she cheated in any way! Apart from remaining firm with her footing tight against the ground, she was counting and already reached 20.


    This man out of fear of failure forgot that he can pull back and use her mass to trip her down and win, by now he has already lost the deal since he said that he can put her down in 15 countings. As for Dilli, she had no plan to trip him.


    Thankfully the Clerk explained the rules too before they started, so she wanted to give him a lesson that he actually might forget. Reaching at 30 with her countings, she pulled her head back and gave this c.o.c.ky loud mouth a strong head butt and forced him to become airborne.


    Flying 3 meters far before he met with an empty table after, breaking the table some of the wooden barrels too that are sometimes used as chairs, it was made furniture breaking clear that Dilli has won.


    But of course here where double standards are very common, the Clerk walked buy and yelled. "Hey, you aren''t supposed to break furniture in this game, you''ve lost and you''re paying for the things you''ve broken!"


    "Bullshit!" Chan screamed across the room and he stood up with his Beer bottle at hand. "She won fairly and the rules you are mentioning are non existent."


    "So you think this Ignite is rig...?" Seeing that this clerk isn''t willing to work fair, Chan didn''t really bother to reason and just wanted to distract him for a little bit until the rest of his group stands up.


    Dilli has made a good name in between this group of 11 ill.u.s.tratios even though she almost torched one like a fish stick at the very beginning. When Wild Boars attacked the squad, she walked near the Wagon so the injured can sleep inside. That is kind hearted and they knew it regardless of race.


    And although some of the 11 don''t quite have a good relation with her yet, they couldn''t sit and watch while the rest are up for a fight.


    When Chan was a foot apart from the clerk, he smashed his Beer bottle right over this moron''s head and send him falling down unconscious a moment after. "Tavern fight!" Yelled a man across the room, and the guy who lost the battle first and sat on someone''s lap, charged towards Dilli trying to tackle her.


    Anti climactic enough, Dilli just moved out of the way casually and saw the opposing man run like a wild boar and dash his head through the Clerk''s place of alcohol and transactions. Watching him head deep in plank built counter, she just moved her head from left to right repeatedly and whispered. "Drunk bastard."


    The rest of the 20 men in this tavern stood on their feet to fight the opponents since they can feel like they can outnumber them, got into battle. Their main target however became Dilli and Guard Commander Chan.


    One tried to attack Chan from behind, but met with a kick on the head from the left side. These Guards have a duty of protecting Chan after all. The charger was forced to change direction, he didn''t even manage to tap Chan and found himself charging towards 2 other men who just stood up, accidentally tackling both of them and breaking another table he just repeated. "Shit shit shit!"


    "Nice hit!" Complimented Chan as he struggled to keep his balance, he already had drank half of the bottle before he cracked it over the Clerk''s head.


    6 more men tried to charge Dilli from the side, but where stopped by the Guards surrounding her who indeed stand out in size and strength, well at least most of them. The biggest of the Guards grabbed two men by the neck and slammed them down like a bag of wheat.


    As for the smallest of the group who had his armour roasting after the threatened Dilli upon the first meet, charged at one man like a bull and knocked him over the other. One sided enough when it comes to rage, he used a Chair after to become Airborne and tackle two other men through a table after.


    Standing on his feet swiftly after he shouted. "Woohoo!" Indeed out of the thought of success and was sniffing for another enemy to tackle.


    As for Chan, he still is dead ass drunk. Taking on a 6 foot tall man alone, even asking the Guards to back off, the opposer found himself in quite a dance as Chan moved sloppily around enough to avoid all of his swings. At the end he just clung upon the opponents shoulders and with a head butt he threw him down to the ground and found himself sitting on the 6 foot tall man''s head.


    As for Dilli, the guy she hurled across the room at the beginning has stood up again and gathered his guts enough to face her again, not breaking a sweat all she did was punch the man on the forehead and sent him hurling towards another table, she has months of experience I suppose.


    The rest of the Guards took care of anyone who was left after Dilli and Chan victimized a few men. Chan even grabbed a couple of bottles, cracked it against some heads and started cutting people with what was left of the bottles.


    The scene began with a little head butt, and ended up with a bloody floor, broken furniture and a knocked out clerk. Indeed a day to remember, the Guards around here are used to Tavern fights so much that they have been ordered to no longer intervene especially after considering the military shortage. So there is practically no one to stop them or punish them here.


    Chan walked out of the Tavern last with as much bottles as he can carry on his arms and threw a few bags of gold in the Tavern, no one was conscious but he still spoke. "Take this for the trouble."


    Now, they have to make their way along the shore and just fish out their food when they run low. The shores anywhere around the continent are often filled with fish, so food won''t neccesarily be a problem for a while.


    Throughout this way they will eventually met the colder parts of Ignis, their targeted spot is on the edge of the Continent after all and what better way to reach an edge than to follow the shore from here on out?

 Chapter 258 - The Two Explorers(1)

    The Ratbug problem was tackled without any losses, the only thing bad about it were the slightly embarrassing situation the two ladies faced with each other. With Bittore resting and food secured for at least while and already under cooking by the two hunters, there is a lot of time for the group to know their surroundings.


    Even the 42 people with no power, along with the 6 Fire Controllers up over the Carved path have made their way up this place and are congratulating the Grand Leader for a job well done and they were especially thankful for this new fancy home.


    It became a bit awkward when they congratulated Bittore in front of Eric and Mogranius who fell victim to her plans, but she genuinely publicly admitted it that she was wrong to use them, even explained that Eric saved her life. As for Mogranius he has no guilt at all about giving her the idea to begin with, he considers it as vengeance well returned.


    Mogranius and Eric were accepted warmly on a circle of dinner, they''ve all laughed and opened up after so much struggle but Eric being naturally curious, wanted to explore this place further now that there isn''t an injured to worry about!


    As for Osira, she too shared the same thought and her belly is already full with the smell of torched Demons and humans. To be more specific, she lost her appetite. So just after a few bites she stood up and announced that she will explore this place, Eric was too shy to stand up and follow at first but his curiosity got the best out of him.


    This place is huge and at least half of this entire group of people has to put in an hour or two of exploring if they wish to know the ins and outs of this place, but for now just her and Eric are willing to explore. So to clear confusions they''ve decided to start from the very beginning, the first section!


    Walking their way up, to fight off the awkward silence Eric asked. "Do you think that... rumble of dirt and rock can hold off Demons?" A question of which is a bit sudden no doubt, but at least now they have something to talk about.


    "I don''t know." Osira answered shortly, as she turned her head behind to see the rumble but it was too dark to see it at all. "Maybe."


    She doesn''t sound pleased, or she could be confused. Well she at least decided to clear something out. "Mother told us that you saved her with your tears..."


    At such a sentence Eric got a bit embarrassed and of course had to fight it off. "I didn''t cry, it was dusty in there."


    "Sure..." She answered with a half smile and afterwards pointed out. "However you did it, I appreciate it. It''s a bit weird to be in the same room with both of you now considering that we took you as enemies and tricked you a couple of times."


    Well at least now the silence is fairly explained, it will take a while for everyone to become friends here. But I think that Mogranius doesn''t have the same problem, he has already gotten all of kids around him with a couple of boys on his lap and was telling his crazy stories.


    "And so! I found this weird stick, it seemed a bit like it was burned." He continued to tell another story, the kids were already listening in anticipation with their eyes shinning and ready to burst into laughter. "Then I remembered that I just woke up, afterwards realizing that I was holding a snake!"


    "Hahahaahahahahahahahaha!" Echoed laughter through the room, not just from the kids but also from a few a.d.u.l.ts, the laughter became contagious.


    "Oh uncle Mogranius!" A little girl reacted with a burst of laughter after.


    "What uncle? He is a grandpa!" Added another boy, with no aims of joking or offending actually.


    "I''m not a Grandpa, I''m only 59!" He urged, as he ran his fingers underneath his short Black Beard, its interesting how it is still black, he is old enough.


    "Tell us more of your stories Grandpa Mogranius!" Asked another young girl, at this point he just sighed and just refused to argue about this little fact any longer.


    Meanwhile, Eric and Mogranius made their way into the first section''s left wing. More specifically at the entrance where the 3 ways first split! This tunnel is specifically 3 meters wide and tall, like a tunnel with its ceiling curved like half a circle.


    As they walked about 15 meters deep, the scene they found wasn''t quite nice to experience. Well, at this place it is barely out of the ordinary. "This looks like a dung..."


    "Shhh!" Eric interrupted, why? Well as they passed through the tunnel a odd little sound got in his ear before Osira spoke. It was a bit hard to not notice, Eric figured that she couldn''t hear it because of the fur hat she is wearing.


    He tip toed his way deeper Dungeon, giving a small glance each cell or cage or however these Snow Ignites called it, looks tremendously small. Each cell is 2 meters wide and long, with a little hole to clear business on the left side and a nearly 2 meter rock slab on the right elevated a foot above the ground, chances are these beds were never accompanied by fur.


    And as for privacy, anyone who wanted too could see the prisoners handle their business at the little hole, that''s the only bathroom privilege any prisoner got. I suppose the Snow Ignites made it clear in this underground domain ages ago, crime isn''t a good option at all. Physical torture here doesn''t even sound necessary, the psychological torture could be equally bad here.


    Moving down to the fifth cell they saw a little pink tail hanging out, chewing sounds became rougher the closer they approached. Once they managed to get a better view, it was made clear that this is a Ratbug even though its head was deep in a corpse or carcass... I''m not sure how to describe it.


    It appears like a Demon bashed it self here through the little opening used for feeding prisoners, to feed on portions of rotten meat still left on one of the several skeletons here, on the process it accidentally cut itself with the Iron cells because it bashed through in the average beast like manner.


    This carcass looks recent, and this Ratbug appeared to have made a good meal out of it. But as Mogranius told his stories down near the source a few times, Eric recalled that this is a totally bad idea so this critter has to be shot down as long as it is still a Critter.


    As he held the Fire illuminating the room on his left hand, he focused his shot on the right. He could only shoot the Ratbug''s behind, considering how hot his Fire burns and how fragile these rats are towards it, this shouldn''t be a problem right?


    Well the situation met with a little twist, even after the Rat wash shot it just rushed forwards with the Demon around its head and bashed against the close by wall. But there is the problem, it should have been dead until now instead of running around.


    Pulling its head out of the Carcass, it took a peek towards the two humans in front of it and looked at them in not fear but out bursting anger, it doesn''t look like it wants to die without putting up a big fight!


    One thing that reflected against the light as it faced them, were the buck teeth this little Ratbug was carrying. They have stretched a foot long now, likely because of the meal it was consuming. That''s the dangers of eating Demon meat, a mutation like effect would follow and it sometimes can be very bad for the consumer, but for this rat it worked for the best!


    Charging towards the two humans in front, it found the cell as an obstacle now preventing its set of rage, so bitting one of the 3 finger thick poles and pulling back after it ripped it right out of its former position with ease.


    Definitely not wanting to know what this Ratbug can do once it manages to get through that cell, Eric started blasting a huge continuously going Fire in the cell and swallowed the little enemy with it.


    Squeaking sounds were at first common but after a few seconds became less and less. This is the sacrifice of survival, one always has to kill the other if cooperation isn''t an option. This is an animal yes, but tens of lives can''t be risked because of it.


    Finally stopping his blasts, he didn''t really find anything after but ash which in a way it is good enough. He definitely didn''t want to see another burned carcass, he already lost his appetite once and it is the same case with Osira.


    "I think I saw something else."

 Chapter 259 - The Two Explorers(2)

    Osira thankfully didn''t gesture at any more animals or beasts or anything similar, nothing alive at least. She walked towards the fourth cell and pointed, "There is a gem encrusted necklace over there."


    What she pointed at, was at a Snow Ignite skeleton, who has died with this necklace around his or her neck. Without fear she just hit the lock with a Fireball and dragged the door open, there is so much rust on it that the entire cell door fell off in the process. These Dungeons won''t hopefully have to be used, but they look quite repairable.


    She approached the skeleton, slipped her hand behind its back lightly and pulled the necklace out with aims of not ruining it. "What''s so special about that necklace?" Asked Eric, a bit confused how she considers jewelry more interesting than a Ratbug who could bend metal with its pure newly given strength.


    "I think you are under estimating the value of this little necklace here." Osira stated, and of course had more to say about in hopes of convincing him to help search for more. "See the gold part that hold the necklace together barely costs a hundred gold coins, but the gem you are looking at is a Mountain gem."


    "So this... mountain gem is more important?" He was still confused, expecting that it is heavily magically enchanted.


    "Well it doesn''t have any magical value but the gem alone costs 300 Gold Coins, so this little trinket here can get us 400 Gold Coins worth of food!" Well at least now her intend is made pure.


    As a sign of trust, she tossed the necklace at Eric and explained. "Put that in your pocket, we will search every corner of this Dungeon, grab anything valuable." Trusting him is the least she could do to show a sign of apology, even though being direct about it isn''t her cut of beef.


    She afterwards gave the fire in her palms a bit more power and managed to illuminate half of this entire dungeon, it was made clear that this place is small. The fact that intruders getting up here is rare also explains why there aren''t any big dungeons.


    But space management is important too considering the mountain wall is just a few meters away, which is why the snow Ignites made this left wing follow the main tunnel with just a 65¡ã forward, they had to make space even though they almost reached the second section with it.


    However, once Osira illuminated the place further she spotted a couple of rings on this skeleton''s finger. One of them is made from silver and the other is made from gold, together they just cost around 100 gold coins. Small compared to the first one but this is considered a whole salary for many people.


    "I think this cell is clear." She pointed out as she walked in to check the third cell and anything before it!


    Twenty minutes later, they started counting their loot. Eric had to hold a flaming torch over her head while she counted the loot on the ground trying to calculate, repeating. "These Snow Ignites sure fancy jewelry, I wonder why these of the richer ended up in the Dungeon."


    "Yes it is a bit weird." He replied, feeling a bit happy that there is barely any more awkward silence now.


    They have found 10 rings, 4 necklaces and a golden dagger too. Gold is a terrible idea for weaponry, it bends easily. Hard Iron is always the best idea, but it appears a bit clear that he or she used this dagger as a fancy way of showing off gold. Touching Skeletons wasn''t the best experience it but it was sure worth it!


    "I can''t be absolutely sure, but these should cost 2,500 Gold Coins, 3,000 at max." She finally told, it is a very good find. Depends what they would buy really but if they would settle in for wheat grain, they would get around 7 tons! But transportation is the biggest problem here, they can''t go down to the low lands to buy so they have to depend on the neighbouring kingdoms here in Septemtrionis Ignis.


    They''ve walked out with gold and silver on their pockets, and since the day has still an hour of daylights in it they went ahead and checked the left wing on the first section. If they are lucky enough, it won''t just be a room leading to more and more rooms, that would take a lot of time to explore.


    The right wing had a considerably long tunnel after thinking about what they found after, a bad idea actually. It first stretched 65¡ã forwards for 20 meters along with the main tunnel, almost reaching into the second section before it takes a sharp turn completely to the right for another 20 meters.


    When they walked in the room, they saw a lot of cobblestone slabs elevated a foot above the ground, and on the walls close to them there were also some more beds. Considering that this place is only 5 meters wide and 7 meters long, only 12 beds fit here.


    It was hard to figure out for what it is for, but they saw Iron weaponry here and there on the walls between the beds, bad idea since the weapons could have fallen any moment while the people here were sleeping but considerably good space management.


    Since this room is the second closest to the exit, it has to be a Guard room. Osira was the quickest to figure out. Eric was surprised and dared to ask. "How did you figure that out?"


    "The rusty Swords, they are all over the place and there are a lot of beds here. Easy to figure out." She specified, showing off her rate of perception.


    These rusty weaponry are basically useless, they will be thrown away and this room will be refurbished but at least something valuable came out of it. On the beds there are a couple of golden rings and another necklace, likely placed under the pillow but the fur decomposed after a year or two and this jewelry was left exposed.


    "Oh I think we can easily sell all of our jewels for 4,000 Gold Coins." Spoke out Osira with a lot of enthusiasm on her tone and with her face smiling, adorable to watch really.


    Feeling a bit of loss for words once he took a glance at her smile, he just gave out a short reply. "Well maybe there is more, lets search."


    There also several Demon skeletons in here, the Guards likely fought a lot of them here especially since a lot of the weaponry is knocked over. There some fractured human skeletons and a Demon still has a Iron Sword through its ribcage.


    "Looks like a big battle broke here, I think this race really under estimated how much enemies could get up here." She started another conversation, there is obviously a lot to talk about here.


    "Yes, I''m surprised how there are just 12 beds here. Considering all those rooms on the Second section there should at least be 50 Guards." Now he showed that he has some knowledge when it comes to managing such cases, he spend a bit of time with King Michael. He constantly talks about ideas and he picked some of them up, not to mention Lan Zhe used to have 55 Guards even after considering the hundreds of Lava Controllers.


    "My point exactly, I''m glad that you can at least catch up in this topic." She joked around, with no intention to offend this kiddo but to tease him instead.


    Taking the contents of this room as an example, he took a little deep breath and said. "Oh, I''m sorry. I''m very used to talking about Demons, it is very clear." At this point he was being sarcastic, Mogranius had a huge contribute to this little attitude.


    "Wow, you do know how to talk." She continued with another joke, her entire face still remained smiling and it is not just because there is jewelry in her pockets.


    Trying to avoid that question he looked at a skeleton and asked, "Are these sets of armour useful?"


    Taking a glance at the skeletons who were apparently fast enough to put their armour on, she specified as she tapped on a few spots on the armour. "It looks like the Demons roughed this guy up really bad, do you see the armour literally torn here and here on the chest."


    "Yes..." He replied as he too bent down to see the skeleton, eager to hear her out more. She clearly sounds like a battle expert until now.


    "Well this would he hard to repair, it is a waste of Iron. Not to mention all the rust." You would think that it is weird for her to know so much about Iron.


    Eric found it a bit weird too, so he asked. "How do you know so much about Armour?" Well, he meant to say Iron but got his words mixed up a little bit.


    "My father was a blacksmith, I learned everything from him. At least I did until he sold us to attain a bigger position."

 Chapter 260 - Survival of the Fittest(1)

    Eric and Osira made their way back to Section 2 and entered the first tunnel on the right to show everyone what they have found, it is a considerable win because you can''t find 4,000 Gold Coins just anywhere, her and Eric were so happy to start off this exploration with a huge win and neccesarily a contribute but they found their selves in an embarrassing situation.


    More specifically, everyone in this room but the kids, thought that Eric and Osira will hit it off! As in, connect in that way! I mean although the minor age difference, they are both Ignites, fairly attractive and were often seen arguing it out. Well Osira mostly but still, everyone expected something including Bittore!


    Starting off the conversation with a taunting smile on her face, Bittore asked. "So what did you two love birds find?"


    "Love birds?" Asked Eric, this came in as more as a shock. This is indeed embarrassing so he became a bit red, but just a bit!


    As for Osira, "Mother!" She pouted with a loud whisper as she quenched her teeth in just a little bit of anger, the stomp on the ground in embarassmant proved her bit of rage but her face becoming mostly red proved her shyness at this point.


    "I told you he wouldn''t try anything!" Reminded Mogranius as she bit a chunk of Ratbug leg that he hunted down himself. "You would have to push this boy over her for him to ever actually touch anyone, he was even against hugs until a while ago!"


    "Mogranius!" He lightly shouted, hoping he will shut his mouth.


    Most in the crowd just giggled while Bittore herself has busted in to laughter because of Mogranius'' nonsense of a sentence, big energy for someone who broke both of her knees earlier. She has come to like how sensitive Eric is, if it wasn''t for his tears she would be left for dead right now. She did have a hole on her head after all!


    Her laughter became contagious, half of who giggled joined her in laughter as well and those who didn''t giggle before started giggling now. The kids were laughing too but they didn''t understand half of what the a.d.u.l.ts were talking about and are laughing with a little force of fitting in behind them.


    "I like this kid, I don''t understand him but I like him." Expressed Bittore as he calmed down her laughter after over a minute, for some reason Osira''s red face made her laugh even harder. Afterwards wanting to crack another joke to bring back the laughter on the wonderful people surrounding her. "Osira I approve, hit on him!"


    Although the jokes are getting out of control, most in this room respect Eric as a person as for those who had different thoughts they were either suspicious or confused. It is generally hard in any time line to find a man who doesn''t have double intentions, yet he dug them out of trouble, practically forgave them for all this nonsense even though not spoken by word, is still helping them yet he has no request in return, rare indeed.


    "We''re leaving!" She pouted and grabbed Eric by the arm, pulling him out along with her. But it only made the situation worse for these two "Love Birds", the crowd behind her burst into laughter.


    "Ugh but we didn''t show them the jewelry!" He reminded with a loud whisper, they were so excited about it when they got here now they are just shy instead. Osira had it worse here than Eric though even though she doesn''t get shy easily nor has problems intercepting a room full of people. She does get moody yes, but that''s another case.


    "We will show them later, let''s just explore more!" Now it feels like she could really make a move here, escaping the scene with the guy everyone sees her cute together with, oh the misunderstandings can be big.


    "Ugh... good idea." He replied while giving a little boost on his step to escape her grip, he doesn''t like getting dragged across the room. "Sorry my mentor caused this much trouble, he likes to mess around a lot! You''ll hate him a hit more the more you know him but he is also very sweet."


    "Such a confusing man..." She added in a low tone, but actually meant Eric. Until now he barely let out a few words but at this moment he is talking her ear off, she just put that behind and in some way found it just a bit cute, afterwards wanting to apologise. "Sorry for all that drama my mother caused, this confused me too. She mostly talks about plans and schemes."


    "I guess she doesn''t have anything so scheme about anymore." Added Eric as a joke, but his little joke actually explained this situation to the most exact detail.


    "I think you figured it out quite well there, I''ve never seen her this happy." She explained as they subconsciously walked down to the third tunnel. "Most days she was on her toes, expecting the worse and not getting proper sleep.


    Now when I said that they are walking down, I was being as literate as possible. This third tunnel is more of a staircase 20 meters down, the Snow Ignites sure fancied for their architectural work to be even, odd but helpful in a way.


    They walked into what appears to be a storage room, spanning 20 meters wide and 45 meters long! Huge indeed, but it appears to be rather empty. Sure there isn''t anything like food in it considering that no sane human has been down here for hundreds of years, but considering that this room is lower than some others and neccesarily colder, food was likely stored down here!


    Although there is only so much they can illuminate without blasting a tremendous amount of Fire, they could see metal shelves here and there near the walls, likely used to store sacks of food, that would be a good option and indeed a nice theory. But with all that rust, they have to be extra careful for the food not to touch the rust, it can poison the food at a low pace. There is no absolute rush to replace them, but it is a good idea to do so.


    They''ve also managed to find some rotten wood here, perhaps at some cases used to lift any item off of the ground, likely to symbolize that there are more fragile or possibly more valuable contents in specific areas, a good idea at that time but what is the aftermath when the smell of rotten wood is compared with the smell of rust, two types of skeleton and even signs of recent battle, there is blood on the ground!


    The result of all these smells building up over the ages is truly suffocating, the stench is just to hard to bare. It smells worse than shit! They were forced to hold their noses and breathe with their mouthes, until they ran into blood that is.


    She bent down with Fire blasting from her palm to illuminate the place, and fresh blood reflected on her Fire. "Look, blood!" It became even easier to see once Eric walked closer with fire blasting from his palm as well. The place is quite large and two torches are better than one.


    "Damn, why does it look so fresh?" Asked Eric, since Bittore is more ahead with these things.


    Afterwards to make the atmosphere here horrific, a loud animalistic scream echoed across the room, Osira remembers that sound. "This is not good!" She whispered, expecting the worse.


    Meanwhile that one scream echoed its way up towards the second section and entered Bittore''s ear, but not enough to panic because of it. "Did you hear that?" She asked Mollara since she was the closest here in this circle of people.


    "Hear what?" She asked with a bit more confusion, she is 12 years older than Bittore so her ears don''t work like they are supposed too.


    "I don''t know, It sounded like a..." She tried to explain, but was interrupted by Mogranius who had the audacity to finish his story with.


    "And that''s how I almost kissed a Deer." Hurls of laughter followed after, the kids contributed nearly half of all this noise and quite a few a.d.u.l.ts laughed too. That scream Bittore heard has fairly escaped unnoticed.


    Back at the third tunnel, Osira warned with a whisper. "We need to be very careful, I think that was a Demon!"


    They tip toed their way towards the sound, fairly at the other end of this room. They didn''t find any living Demon, however they did find three large Ratbugs! When we say large, I mean 4 times the size of an average Ratbug.


    "Shit!" Bittore expressed with a loud whisper, "Those are Queens!"


    Seeing that they are quite kill able even though bigger than most Ratbugs, he told her. "No, they are our food supply!"


    "You don''t understand, one Queen can host a clan of up to 250!" She was swift enough to specify before one of the Queens charged towards them after an obligatory loud Squeak to declare territory, as the two other Queens feed on the Demon they just killed apparently.


    After the Queen, followed 6 More smaller Ratbugs, hearing their insect like legs crackling swiftly against the ground all Eric could reply with was. "Well shit."

 Chapter 261 - Survival of the Fittest(2)

    Unwilling to let danger approach any closer, Osira aimed at the charging Ratbug Queen and tried to shoot it on the head. However since the target was around 15 meters away, and she shot a foot wide Fireball thinking it will burn her enough until she drops, the Ratbug was fast enough to escape the shot in the last second.


    However, the fireball did fly and hit another Ratbug Queen behind this charging one, on the shoulder. The shot painful indeed, it made the Queen howl in pain. Apparently they can do more than squeak! However a foot wide fireball wasn''t enough to make its way to the bones, it barely burned off the skin but the fur it hit had a different fate.


    With her shoulder fur still set to a Blaze, the Queen she just hit started charging towards the enemies. Bad enough she too came with a clan, however they were slightly less in number only counting as 4!


    This really is a bad place to fight, they obviously can''t shoot all of them at once so they have to run a little bit to avoid being pounced by one of these disgusting creatures and shoot whenever they find an opening. But the problem here is the risk of amputation, there are rotten planks and rusty Iron on the floor on every few steps they take! One slip, they can get cut rather easily and risk a terrible infection or any form of bad penetration.


    He started taking steps backwards and shot 3 Fireballs one after the other first on the right, afterwards in the middle and at last on the left! It took a couple of seconds, but it sure left an impact against these 12 charging enemies!


    The Fireballs were tail less and 3 feet wide except for the last one who was only 2, he has used quite some stamina today and last thing he needs is to run completely out in a middle of a battle, Osira shared a same fate today Stamina-wise.


    The first Fireball hit a Ratbug right on the head and due to the sudden shift of momentum the rat faced, it was forced to tumble down for a few feet before it stopped on his spot for eternity.


    As for the Ratbug Queen, the shot hit her mostly on the chest, partially on the left right side of the shoulder and a couple of inches hit the neck! Impactful indeed, it stopped her on the spot for a couple of seconds and she could even see her own start of the ribcage when she bent down to lick away the pain!


    Its always hard to kill an animal but at the high mountains, survival of the fittest is taken on a whole other level! You either eat or get eaten, and from the looks of it the Ratbug would eat them too if it had the chance.


    The third and smallest Fireball hit the Queen again, partially on the leg and the rest of the Fireball blew the near by Rat''s leg off before it too was sent tumbling like its brother or sister in territory. Good shots indeed but there are still 10 Ratbugs charging towards them, 2 of which are equivalent to the size of an over grown or demonzied Wild Boar!


    Osira has ran towards the right to get another angle of shooting and possibly get the second queen''s attention, she wants to kill these beasts as fast as possible because it isn''t certain how many of them can join the scene, Their rate is 250 Ratbugs per clan or differently described per queen. She doesn''t want to wait for more of these creatures to bundle up in the scene and make survival difficult.


    As she ran on the side she directly shot at the biggest Target, but this time didn''t want to be savvy with her shot! Getting a better angle and having to act quick enough in order not to miss the shot, she blasted a 4 foot wide mild tailed Fireball from her right palm, even using the additional sumo squat known to help burn better thanks to the firm foundation.


    It hit the Queen''s behind, forced it to take a sharp turn to the left from behind and it no longer had the capability to walk even though she is still alive. The shot cracked through her insect like shell and burned half of her h.i.p.s into bits!


    They sure have durability, no Human could withstand such a shot equally with this Queen. The toppling over took another Ratbug victim, although not noticable its neck was broken and it faced a quick death compared to every other here.


    She made a finishing 3 foot wide shot on the Queen''s head and put her out of her misery. Now all she has to do is kill her 3 remaining followers, less difficult but not easy either.


    Meanwhile, as the Queen is still chasing Eric he shoots one final 5 foot wide Fireball against her! Terrible idea when Stamina is taken into consideration but it did the job more than well! The Queen''s head was blown off all the way to the start of the spine, she fell down and tumbled around 5 meters from his feet and another Ratbug who was unfortunate enough to stand by her right side got half of its body burned into nothing but ash.


    6 killed and 6 to go, this situation became a bit more tammable for a moment at least but as if they are carrying Mogranius'' horribly bad luck, the moment they thought that they are closer to winning a new problem occured but it was indeed predictable!


    The third queen likely hosting another clan but had some sort of cooperation with these two others, decided to join the scene with her 5 other soldiers behind! "Well shit!" Eric whispered as he heard the Queen''s shout for back up!


    "Where are these Ratbugs coming from?" Bittore shouted from a distance as she shoot two out of the three little remaining enemies. "They weren''t here before!"


    Being chased all the way to the end of the storage room and given an option to either flee the place, take any sharp turn to the sides or... Well seeing it as the best option he decided to fly above the head of these remaining Ratbugs.


    Terrible idea! Ratbugs are known to be great at leaping, one of them took a quick turn backwards and jumped towards Eric, clinging on to his leg! It worked to his advantage as the Fire he was blowing from his feet torched the Ratbug''s neck!


    The bad part is that the extra weight and the Fire power he put on the Ratbug instead of against the air made him loose balance! With the Ratbug still clinging on his feet he was forced to meet with the hard ground!


    He didn''t want his nosebleed


    go to waste though! A split second before he went down, he shoot two Fireballs from his hands. The left one blew the Queens leg off and the right one contributed to the leg damage but also mostly hit its head.


    Both of the Fireballs were 2 feet wide, especially that he flew know it is all he could spare. But it thankfully did the work, a sudden missing leg stopped most of her speed and the damage to the face contributed a lot too! The Queen dropped to the ground and was facing a few final breaths before Osira made the finishing blow on this one as well, blowing her head off completely.


    She has killed one Queen so far and 4 of her companions too, as for Eric he shot down two Queens with the help of Osira at the end, along with 4 smaller Ratbugs!


    The only remaining enemies are the two Ratbugs from the first Queen''s clan and the five yet untouched Ratbugs from the third Queen''s side. As he lifted his head up, realizing that he almost lost his life thanks to almost receiving a small curved pole on the head.


    He gave attention to the other two Ratbugs chasing him from behind, he saw them took a leap to fight him at such an uncomfortable position, but was quick enough to shoot them both as they were on mid air.


    Trying not to be caught under 40 Kilograms of carcass, he reached for his toes and afterwards priyed the Ratbugs hands off his foot! Turning around he saw 5 Ratbugs running towards him, actually only 3 meters away at the moment!


    Timing perfect enough, Osira shot one from the right and got the attention of two others! The shot enemy fell to the ground, twitching to death and the two remaining leaped towards Eric!


    Pissed enough of these Ratbugs already and further getting angry because of the nosebleed, he stood up swiftly and aimed to grab both of their necks! With success he managed to strangle them for a couple of seconds before he pinned them down and burst Fire from his hand, cutting both their heads off as his palms touched the cobblestone flooring he heated in the process.


    Osira was shocked of such a bold move, focused on him to the point of distraction so Eric had to shoot the last Ratbug for her! "Damn!" He murmured under his breath. "Do you think there is more?"

 Chapter 262 - Survival of the Fittest(3)

    "I''ve been giving this place a better look through split seconds." Walking closer towards the end of this storage room with Eric following her in curiosity, she gave a little bit more light through her palm for several seconds to show him what she meant." I think a big fight happened here."


    The scene became a bit hard to watch, sure they have killed many Ratbugs until now but the scene here is horrible. "Damn, it is hard to determine who won here!" Expressed Eric as he took a quick glance at his surroundings, a lot of fresh blood shone as light reflected on it.


    "Look at that Demon skeleton over there!" Osira pointed at the end of the room, apparently there are more than one of those down here. It is hard to figure out what happened but it looks like 3 Clans had a battle against these Demons down here.


    "Yes I see it, there is still flesh and meat on it so it has to be recent." There are Ratbugs piled one over the other on one edge, another pile on the other edge and a lot of limbs are just spread around the ground here. "It looks like the Ratbugs won, but at what cause?"


    "There has to be at least 200 Ratbugs down here, and who knows how many others, Demons took away to feast upon!" It isn''t easy to determine what happened here, but surely Demons who are vulnerable to wounds can be starved as well. Osira in a way became happy, this neccesarily is a win in many ways. "We are looking at meat and leather here provided for free, its cold down here too so I doubt that it''s rotten."


    "Yes I see, and its better than us fighting 3 clans of Ratbugs alone. The Demons did it for us, or we would have lost allies." Still trying to catch his breath after all that nonsense he stated after with his sentences interrupted in between just to breathe. "We almost got killed by a handful of them!"


    "Well I wouldn''t call three Queens a handful, they are stupidly strong." Taking his word in to further consideration as well, to show respect she added with a half smile. "But yes fighting over 600 Ratbugs would kill us all!"


    A bit baffled, with a developing headache because of all this fight he asked. "I thought you said that each clan has 250 Ratbugs!"


    "Usually that''s the count, but it can go up to 400 or the Queen could be strolling alone." As they walked further towards the other end trying to find the den or a hatchery to this place, the stench proved further success. "Here it looks like the Ratbugs fought hundreds of Demons, like it or not they made it easier for us to fight what Demons were left!"


    "And the rest of the Demons probably fled the battle here when the explosion occured!" Became Eric quick enough to figure out, he doesn''t know anything about Ratbugs but the patterns here make sense enough for him to form a stable theory.


    "You''re a smart kid!" She complimented, genuinely appreciating his intelligence. To lighten the mood that the foul stench of which flesh and bone has caused, she wanted to make a little joke but it went a bit downhill. "I almost feel bad for tricking you earlier!"


    Genuinely she does feel bad about it, but considering all that drama they got on the first tunnel just because she showed signs of friendship, the last thing she wants to do is appear too close to him! Luckily Eric isn''t one to have ragefull outbursts anymore, infact hilariously the cold up here has in a way kicked a lot of rage out of him. He was too focused on staying warm and fed instead of staying angry or anything similar, all that contributed to save Bittore up here a bit earlier, who knows what would happen to her if he came up here with the same rage from Occidentis Ignis.


    "Oh wow thanks!" He answered in a bit of sarcasm, as he tried to take a peek at what they will find or more specifically what she is doing. He never saw how a true Ratbug den is before, this is a great learning opportunity. Knowledgeable enough, Osira just moved a few Ratbug carcasses and found a 3 foot tall and 2 foot wide opening in the walls!


    "Dang how did the Queen fit through there?" He asked in curiosity as he took time to look at the Queen''s behind and at the entrance here. "They can''t teleport, can they?"


    "I hope not!" She answered with a little giggle, thinking that he just tried to crack a joke but quite the opposite he was dead serious. "The Queens are mostly meat and fat, with enough effort they can squeeze through here!"


    "Oh well that makes sense, so what do we do now?" He asked her for a bit of authority once again because he still has no idea at all what they are doing, at this point he just knows how to shoot things down and follow her!


    "Take off your leggings." She answered casually as she lit Fire from her palm and pushed her head in the opening to confirm that this is a den.


    "What?!" Eric asked with a loud whisper, getting a bit shy because of that sudden answer. "Why?"


    "Take your leggings off, you will be stuck if you try to push in with that thick fur on!" She specified after she pulled her head out of the little entrance, blasting a bit more fire so her blush isn''t noticable as she recalled what she just said. "I''m not spending all day pulling you out of there!"


    "Fair enough!" He answered and untied the little rope around his waste, his leggings fell down in a blink after that. Thankfully he was still wearing leather pants under them!


    Osira had to undress the thick fur on her as well, so without giving it much thought she just tried to pull her Fur coat off! But thanks to aims of not letting cold in, the collar around her neck is very small that it meets skin from each side. So it was stuck around her head as she tried to pull it off!


    "A little help please!" Her voice vibrated her coat as she stood up straight.


    "You got stuck?" He asked as he tried to get a good grip of her coat, but she just started moving a bit too much when she tried to answer.


    "Yes, why else would I ask for help?" A bit of sarcasm, but she is a little mad here. It never feels nice to get stuck in shirt or coat or anything actually.


    "Fair enough fair enough..." He answered as he pulled her coat off with a bit of struggle. It became easier once she set her arms straight.


    "Finally, I can breathe!" She whispered as she pulled her head up, her hair was no longer tied into a bun thanks to all of that struggle and a lot of her pitch black hair just fell all over her face! "Thanks for the help."


    She noticed that her hair became a bit of a mess now, so she just ran her hands through it and tried to tie them back into a bun. The little circle cloth she used to tie them with, fell on the ground so at first she started looking for it. It was right in front of Eric''s feet so he too bent down to get it, only to give her a little head but!


    "Dang, what''s wrong with you!" She gave out a little shout, being already a bit embarrassed by the fact that someone finally saw her with her hair down, and even having a bit of anxiety from all the rush she has to tie them back up, the head butt tipped the bucket.


    "I was trying to reach this!" He answered as he held her little cloth with 2 fingers, trying to give it to her.


    "Oh, thanks." Feeling a bit guilty that she yelled, she specified. "I apologise, I feel a bit embarrassed. The only person who saw me with my hair down was my mother and father too before he stabbed us in the back." Her hair is indeed beautiful, they look mild in volume and stretch all the way to her elbows.


    "Oh don''t worry, If it makes you feel better I won''t tell anyone about this." The type of wordplay awkward in some ways but at least she understands what he meant.


    "Thanks." She answered as he raised her arms around her head to tie her hair back in to a bun. Such a pose made it even more possible for her feminine figure to appear more clear. Eric only gave a peek for a split second before he looked towards the hole, but for a 17 year old this sure can be considered an early bloom.


    With physical matturity she looks almost equal to Commander Alia and that really says something considering that she spend decades training. Tying her hair into a bun again, she afterwards removed her fur leggings and told Eric. "You go first, if I get stuck you can pull me from the other side."


    As if she predicted that event perfectly, she indeed got stuck while Eric squeezed through with barely any effort, he is 5 foot tall after all and barely breaks over 40kg! "Damn, I knew it!" She complained as she tried to squeeze her h.i.p.s through!


    "Well at least you thought before time." Expressed Eric as he tried hard to hold in his laughter, pushing his tongue against the roof of his teeth. "Give me your hands." He suggested after, trying to pull her through.


    "Be careful not to slip, it is muddy here. That''s likely Ratbug pee!" Warned Osira, mostly because she doesn''t want to fall on it!


    "Odd that you know that but thanks for the warning." He expressed as he gave one more pull!


    Dumb enough, he actually did slip and found his head feeling a bit cold from the liquid on the ground. To make it a whole lot more embarrassing, he succeeded on pulling her out. The bad thing about it is that she was pulled over him, if anyone else walked by and found them like this with the fur clothing dropped close to the opening too they would think that they are going for it!


    Her face landed close to his face and she unintentionally kissed his chin, both of them felt it but tried to act like it never happened. But of course to fight her embarrassment away, Osira nagged. "I told you to be careful!"


    "You shouldn''t complain!" Spoke Eric with his tone rising bit by bit. "You squeezed through and I''m the one deep in Ratbug urine!"


    "Yes yes stop complaining." She joked around once the thought of him smelling like rat pee went through her mind. She even giggled after but Eric just smiled and didn''t say anything about it. This is funny, there is no doubt.


    "Says the one who just complained." He felt embarrassed enough to fight a little too.


    "Shush." She spoke as she walked deeper in the Ratbug den. "This place is huge!"


    "Well three Ratbug Queens lived in here." He reminded as he too blasted Fire from his palms to take a look at the place. It appears to stretch 15 meters wide and 30 meters long! "This is the whole Den? I expected it bigger!"


    "No this is just the hatchery." Taking a look at the end of this place at last, she pointed at 3 holes and explained. "Those small tunnels lead to bigger openings, enough to properly hold a couple hundred Ratbugs."


    "Its probably empty now, it isn''t easy fighting hundreds of demons!" Common logic at its finest, even the Queens have ran out to fight.


    "You are right, but we can''t take any chances." Afterwards she shot Fireballs against the three holes, brought them down and specified the next steps of the plan. "Now we have to get out of here, set the hatchery on Fire and bring it all down after the Fire ceases to exist."

 Chapter 263 - Underneath the Glowing Fire.

    Eric and Osira returned back to the first tunnel on the left, up to to the second section not with Ratbugs but with rotten pieces of wood. The reason behind it? Well there is a opening exploded in the first section where all the cold can go in and dusk has set as they walked their way up the staircase. They need to go through this night with as much warmth as possible, how odd is it that there are a couple hundred of Ratbugs down at the storage room but not enough leather or fur up here to get a comfortable night sleep.


    There are tens of men and women in this group, if they put in some work they can indeed strip some Ratbugs out of their leather to at least provide some warmth for the children and elderly, Mollara of which almost falls in the category since she is 49 years old.


    "Sounds like you too have put in a lot of work." Complimented Bittore with a smile as soon as the two little explorers entered the room. But one thing she noticed at Osira was her face smiling and a bit of hair falling on her side since she tied her hair into a bun swiftly. Bittore immediately thought the worse of what could have happened and was bold enough to ask. "Why are you smiling?" Surely expecting that she and Eric went at it and actually not minding it if it went that way.


    To fight off any suspicious theories made by these people who just sat here while these two worked, she swiftly answered. "We just found a lot of goods down there, we shot down 3 Queens!" Considering the Ratbug problems they have been facing ever since they got here, they all figured what she meant by "Queens".


    "We need a set of extra hands, there are over 200 Ratbugs down there and a bit of planks." Specified Eric and by the end of his word 6 men stood from the crowd already to lend a hand. They all seem middle aged and likely are the fathers of the younger here, and the fathers of Fire Controllers in this group too. At least they didn''t abandon their families regardless of the religiously spread trickery.


    A lot of ladies stood up in the crowd as well, 13 of which were Fire Controllers. And a handful of non Fire Controllers as well, knowing these people like the back of her palm thanks to the experience together. She immediately pointed out in aims of protecting their mental wellbeing, "I think some of you should sit this one out, the scenes there are graphic." To give a bit more information so she can do a better filtering, she specified. "Demons fought with 3 Ratbug clans."


    "Oh." Replied a non fire controller lady in the crowd and decided to sit this one out, but felt a bit guilty about not being able to lend a hand and asked. "Leader Osira, can I do something else to lend a hand here?"


    "Not now specifically, just try to keep the Fire going." She requested as she dropped the rotten wood to the ground lightly. "We need some warmth. The men will butcher the Ratbugs and you ladies who can sew have to try and make as many beds as possible for the night."


    "Yes Leader Osira!" Answered the middle aged lady in enthusiasm, very happy that she can help.


    Trying to make them put in a lot more work, she gave them a few reasons to gain pushed motivations on. "We are very low on sleeping bags as you all know, so ladies with children and husbands have to try to squeeze in one sleeping bag for the night." Seeing that a lot of people started smiling, thinking about couples sleeping together. She decided to light the mood a bit more with the thought of success. "Tonight we will sleep rough but by the next night we will hopefully have sleeping bags for most of us, there are enough Ratbugs to work on and I don''t think we will have to worry about food for a long while!"


    Now for the ultimate set of motivation, she pulled the gems she found at the right and left wings of the first section along with Eric and stated. "Me and our friend here found 4,000 Gold Coins worth of gems. Even when all of this food runs out we can buy a lot more if we manage to sneak to a domain and buy food, I''m happy to tell you that we won more than we asked for!"


    Bittore was just watching as she was seated, happy to see her daughter take this much charge when she herself is recovering. The way she motivated people with her soft wordplay reminds Bittore of her young self, and now although Osira portrays herself as grumpy in the face of the unknown and enemies, she is the kindest with her friends and family. It is indeed nice to see, it proves loyalty in a slightly dysfunctional way.


    "Alright people let''s move it! We have a lot of work to do and midnight is only a few hours away! It was a long day for all of us, but we can push through!" Afterwards a lot of the ladies got into work, here with coal torches not an option they will prove more than useful on illumination and will make everything a lot easier since they too have strong backs to carry goods.


    The men joined too, as specified earlier their job is to butcher since they tend to be less grossed out with such a task and they usually skinned hunted game. But as for now they can help bring the first round of Ratbug carcasses, a couple of these men have dealt with Ratbugs several times before so they will lead the entire group of butchers towards a better result.


    Bittore stood up to help as well, and as Osira was about to leave she noticed her mother following after. Turning back, Osira requested. "Mother please sit, we will take care of everything."


    "But... we need every bit of help we can get here, I don''t want anyone to feel cold." As always she has put her people first, it is why she did all of this scheming to begin with. She of course wanted to help now as well even though her overall health was terrible an hour ago and she needs time to recover although mostly healed.


    "They won''t, we will keep a fire going all night long. You just take your time to relax, as much as I''ve heard your state was terrible a bit earlier." Convincing Bittore to sit is hard, but she should try for the sake of her well being.


    "But.."


    "No buts mother, you need to recover." Osira insisted, putting her arm around her mother after to walk her back at her comfortable fur seat.


    "Alright... But I have to handle my business, I haven''t gone all day." Aiming to tease her once more to lighten the mood she asked. "Did you two love birds possibly find a bathroom here, I''m sure the Snow Ignites didn''t poop on the mountains."


    "Stop calling us that!" Osira urged with a loud whisper with her cheeks getting red again! Trying to fight it off she just answered the other question. "There are little holes in the dungeon at the first section, you can get relieved on. We didn''t find an official rest room yet but I hope that will do." Redirecting her to the other direction, trying to lead her up to the first section she expressed. "Let me help you get up there, there is quite a set of stairs."


    Afterwards she grabbed her mother from the knees, got a firmer grip around her shoulders and lifted her as if they got in a wedding. "Uuu Osira shouldn''t you be doing that to Eric?" Even at this case she still tried to tease her daughter, even throwing a bit of sarcasm on it too.


    "Just stop talking about that mother!" She expressed in a tone which had a hint of a little giggle, as she walked her way towards the stairs.


    As for down at the storage room, Samantha the swift was clumsy enough to carelessly grab a rotten piece of wood and get several splinters. At first she didn''t say anything to anyone and just cursed several times under her breath. "Shit shit shit shit!"


    Most didn''t hear it, except Zelimia who was looking for the biggest planks to carry, the smaller ones can''t be given much attention since a couple other men are gathering a lot of them already. "What''s wrong, why are you jumping like a River duck." Her wordplay funny indeed but she had a firm point, Samantha was jumping along as she cursed.


    "Nothing, I just got some splinters." She answered as if it is nothing even though the pain of several splinters burns quite a lot.


    "Oh we need to get rid of those, you can get an infection." Trying to give more severity to this little situation she reminded. "Remember Henry one arm?"


    "Oh... you have a point there." Actually asking for help after, she requested. "Just keep a fire going near my hand and I''ll pry them off with my Dagger."


    "Nonsense, just hold a fire near me and I''ll remove them for you, quick and painless." Expressed Zelimia, wanting to help her very close friend as much as she can.


    At first Samantha disagreed, "No no, I got it." But once recalling how many splinters Zelimia removed from little children of this little tribe, she decided to agree. "Actually, alright but please be quick."


    The first round of people mostly made their way up, the last bit of ladies carrying a few Ratbugs over their shoulders so they are all alone down here. Perfect, just what Zelimia wanted.


    Removing the first couple of splinters with ease, burning three more others after and just pulling the long ones out with her fingers she gave Samantha the pleasure of relief. Now to fight off any infection, she lightly burned the places where bits of blood burst out thanks to the removed splinters.


    It hurt a bit no doubt but she remained a strong figure, noticing that a bit of hair has gotten out of place surely from all the bouncing she did when she got all those splinters, Zelimia ran her hands through Samantha''s hair and leaned in.


    Underneath the set of Fire bursting above Samantha''s hand, Zelimia lended a little kiss. Not to be alarmed it was set lightly above Samantha''s cheek, it is fair to say that both became abnormally red and hid their blushes with a hug after.

 Chapter 264 - New Dawn

    A new dawn has risen for the Ignite race, well at least for those up in the mountains here on this formerly hidden domain! After some hard few hours of work put in once dusk fell behind the horizon, the now considered group of 59 Ignites managed to make a fair amount of leather sleeping bags so the traumatizing cold doesn''t get through their limbs as they take a good night''s rest near a big fire set into a blaze.


    Now setting campfires like this so openly indoors isn''t the best idea, one could suffocate it is true. But there is a group of 17 Fire Controllers up here who can soak up the smoke like a sponge in order to provide cleaner air to breathe through and as for turning invisible they don''t have too, the smoke will eventually leave their bodies without doing any harm to be taken under consideration.


    Some children squeezed in with their mothers in bed and a few couples slept together with their children in between, there was enough leather to work on down at the Storage room but not enough time to work on them, although 59 people they still need a few extra pair of hands.


    Now they have woken up with a busy day in front of them, sure they did a lot of propaganda to get their hands on that Dragon Eye, well Bittore did! But that doesn''t mean that this place will magically fix itself. This is still a Kingdom and its structure can indeed be considered magical in some aspects, this is still a Kingdom it just isn''t one in the middle of the oasis like they expected.


    But it can still provide Good, Water and Iron. They did find a whole lot of rusty Iron Ingots down at the storage room so we can''t rule out the possibility of a mine providing Iron and a Forge, to run a forge one requires a lot of coal and considering the remote location here, they had to have a Coal mine too! There is indeed a lot to explore, Eric and Osira were the most enthusiastic about such a task.


    Sure the rest can lend a hand in exploration, but the storage room has a lot of work that needs some hands on. Some Rotten wood still remains, Ratbugs are still piled up high, and there are a lot of Rusty Iron shelves. Based on past experiences, Bittore the grand leader finds it best to not risk food infection just to have a few shelves more.


    So wearing a few gloves or at least pieces of cloth around their hands to avoid getting any cuts from this rusty metal, the men have been assigned to lift the most rusty shelves out of the Storage room and toss them down the mountainside, it doesn''t really matter where they land since the Fire Controllers will burn them whole along with the Demon carcasses.


    The 13 Fire Controlling ladies have been given the task to get every bit of Ratbug up in the first sleeping area for some other men and ladies who can handle these slightly graphic scenes, to butcher these carcasses and strip them out of meat and leather.


    And as for the few remaining planks, several boys and girls on their late teen to early twenty years have been put in the task. They have quite some strength in them and can get this job done quickly, afterwards they shall be assigned to another task. Such as throwing those Iron Ingots down on the mountain side, they have rust so they are quite useless. You can''t burn the rust out of metal after all!


    Eric and Osira have gladly taken over their shoulders the task of further exploring this wonderful domain, to keep track on things instead of randomly bursting in to each tunnel, they have made a small dependable little map and marked each tunnel with what it can offer.


    The first and second tunnel have a hundred beds each, so they are best marked with the letters SA which stands for sleeping area. As for the third tunnel leading down towards the Storage room, it is simply marked with SR. They even drew a Rectangle like map and drew squares on each tunnel, simple but effective.


    They wanted to draw the two wings of the second section at first as well but found it unnecessary shortly after, it is very easy to remember what''s up there. Now they are heading towards the fourth tunnel on the left side of Section 2! Unlike the third tunnel who led straight down, this one doesn''t neither go down or up! It just goes straight for about 10 meters before they found them selves in a rather interesting room.


    They walk in what to appears to be a Stonemason''s workshop! The first thing they saw as they took a glance to the left were piles of uncut rock, at first they thought that a land slide or a little earthquake took this place hostage. But no, this is just rock of which the Stonemasons at their time didn''t quite work on yet!


    This pile of rock stretched for 20 meters long, and when looking at the line separating the pile of rocks from another section of this workshop, it surely was around 30 meters! But what they saw on the right had caught their entire interest, cut and prepared pieces of rock stretched all the way to the end of this workshop, roughly around 60 meters!


    When glowing fire near them the wall was spottable about 20 meters away! So to their disposal they have 20 meters wide and 60 meters long piece of space piled one over the other with cut brick like rocks they can use! Odd enough, they have a red and black colour, so the Snow Ignites surprisingly chose this seemingly demonic colour their selves!


    "This place is amazing." Eric expressed under his breath, with his joy rising high! The important of this work shop is beyond average. "With this we can repair any room in this place."


    The word "we" sounded nice to Osira, a pleasure to hear that Eric has already accepted them. With a smile she requested, "Mark this place as SW, standing for Stonemason''s workshop."


    Its one thing to have all of these bricks ready to use, but as they walked further deep on the left they saw a lot of Iron tools accompanied by unfinished pieces of rock. This little section of the workshop stretched around 40 meters long and 30 meters wide! Indeed big, there were countless Iron tools but a few big structures closer to the left walls caught most of their attention!


    "What is that?" Eric pointed at the structures and walked towards to have a much closer look, Osira joined him without wasting a second. The giant saws didn''t really satisfy her much so she wanted to assure safety. Curious enough he proceeded to ask Osira the wiser, "Is this used to cut stone?"


    "Well we are surrounded by rock so I''m going to say yes." She replied with a bit of sarcasm, but this time there was less joy on her tone because of the saw standing as tall as her.


    A huge saw stood on the end of each structure, the structure itself stretches 5 meters long! It looks like one of those saws along the river side used to cut lumber in half, but this one has a saw made out of Dark Blue Ingots, likely used to cut hard surfaces such as rock without breaking. This is a Stone mason''s workshop after all!


    "Marvelous, do you think we can get it to work?" Afterwards he looked around this stone cutting structure to find out a way to make the saw work. "Maybe we need to push continuously push something to make it work, you know like they do on windmills?"


    "I don''t think we should mess with that." Osira disagreed gently, even grabbing his arm after trying to pull him away!


    Walking towards the other side he saw a wheel like wooden structure attached to this stone cutter, it reached the ground and sunk in deeper for a couple of inches which made it whole lot more confusing. "Oh common, what''s the worse than can happen?"


    Not knowing what to list first out of all the dangers that can possibly come from this saw, she decided to list the top three. "Umm. The saw can fall apart, we can get cut, we can possibly ruin the other saws?"


    "Nonsense." Eric replied feeling quite sure of himself and escaping her light grip.


    He walked towards the wheel like structure and gave it a little push. It was hard to get it started considering the rust on it and the rot on the wood but once it spun twice, the wheel started spinning itself at twice the speed Eric started it.


    The saw at the other end, first had a little nudge of a movement. A couple of spins later it slowly started moving towards the direction of the wheel but thankfully stayed in place! The saw started moving faster by the passing second and making more noise along the way.


    "I think we should give it some space!" Osira urged once again and this time forcefully dragged Eric away from it.

 Chapter 265 - Possessed Saw!

    The saw just became faster and faster by the passing second, it appeared really stable but such technology got Osira a bit spooked. Usually it requires a moving river or pure man power to get a saw moving, this breaks normal. It moves itself, considering the current technology one would think this is demonic.


    "What is this contraption, even the Snow Ignites of Maleemia didn''t have it!" Stated Osira as she walked further away from it with Eric on his grip.


    "Just relax, we should be happy!" Eric replied with a lot of enthusiasm on his tone as he tried to escape his grip, however he failed because in order to escape he would have to grab her arm. That''s a no go, he is too shy to ever do that! "This will help us build whatever we want a lot faster!"


    "Let''s just get out of here!" She started to panic furthermore, almost lifting Eric over his shoulder. She just required one more reason to do so, at least that way it would be less awkward. "This can slice us in two if something goes wrong!"


    Even the metal on it started screeching as they debated if they should stay here or not, subconsciously it just made Osira feel a lot more scared. She just doesn''t understand how this saw moves it self. "Maybe it is posessed?" She thought as she dragged Eric further from it.


    Although Eric is considered strong when considering his size, he just failed to fight Bittore''s grip. She was dragging him around like a bean bag, because when it comes to physical strength she is a bit stronger and taller too which is literally an upper advantage.


    As he was pulled to the 10 meter wide road separating the sections, Eric just decided to gather his guts and insist on staying here. However to explain that he is very serious about it, he had to make complete eye contact. That just started tying his stomach in to knots!


    Getting a firm footing on the ground and first refusing to move further, he turned around and with a firm soft tone he requested. "Relax, this isn''t as scary as it seems!" Making strong eye contact for once instead of giving small peeks explained how serious Eric is being for once.


    But she still refused! "No, that thing moves itself and is very old. What if the saw''s support falls apart?" She indeed makes a good point, her tone rising along with her sentence explains it too. But she is still over reacting, either just scared of machinery or scared of basically anything advanced!


    Still insisting as he finally lost her grip, "It sounds stable, look at that speed!" He pointed towards the saw, now moving so fast that its sharp jaws look nothing but a rapidly moving piece of metal, as for the wooden wheel on the other side is seemingly moving slow enough for its arms to be quite visible, they aren''t moving at rapidly fast.


    "Well, I''m not approaching that thing!" She hung firm to her thoughts, that contraption just looks to unstable. The saw nearly reaches 4 feet in size, there is a lot to be scared of here!


    "You don''t need too, just say here." Giving her one final glance he stated, "I will check it out and see If I can stop it." Showing enough sympathy to cause a small little blush on her face, he added. "I hate to see you scared!"


    "I''m not scared!" She gave a little shout, as her cheeks became a bit red in embarassmant. The tough girl who killed the King is finally scared, rather adorable to watch!


    "Of course of course!" He added in a bit of a joking matter, fairly not believing anything she said but hey she at least let him go to the saw again!


    As he dashed closer to the stone cutter as fast as he could, trying not to trip on any other Iron tools and make this situation go for the worse. As he approached the saw with fire blowing from his palm to illuminate the place, he found the scene beyond amazing.


    His fire was reflecting on the fast moving saw, and it appeared to spin quite in a straight dependable direction, no buts about it. He even was dumb bold enough to walk in front of the saw to check that stability, there are at least a handful of ways to check how stable it is but he was in a bit of a rush.


    Looking back at a piece of unfinished brick near him, he still kept the fire going on his hand and grabbed the brick with his other. This one looks 6 feet tall, so it clearly isn''t ready yet since all the bricks here appear to be 3 feet long unless there are support beams or tunnel ceilings built.


    The brick is way too heavy to lift with one hand, so he had to slip his hand underneath it he still tried to keep the Fire on his palm going. Rather hard to do at first but he managed to maintain it after he lifted the brick completely off the ground. It feels like 15-20 Kilos. Nearly half his weight but he can carry it for a few meters easily. The backpack he carried for weeks was almost equally heavy.


    He wanted to put the brick vertically towards the saw first since that''s how lumber is cut to make planks. But considering that it is only a foot wide vertically, he felt like it made no sense to cut it like that. So he just decided to turn this 6 foot long brick to a 3 foot long one, that at least makes a lot more sense.


    Placing the tip of the brick over the arm like smooth support of the stone cutter, he slid it forwards after with a bit of effort until he felt like it is set even. This is clearly a job requiring two people, since he can''t push a 15 Kilogram brick from one side himself.


    Deciding to ask for help since his anxiety started to rise, he shouted. "Osira, come here!"


    "Turn it off first!" She shouted from the far distance, able to hear him more now that the stone cutter is screeching less.


    "Oh nevermind!" He replied after, he came up with a little idea!


    Dashing towards the other tip of this contraption, on the opposite side of the saw. He gave a little bit more illumination to the place around him so he can focus a shot. The brick is set evenly on the support of the saw, standing just a couple inches away from the blade.


    Now he doesn''t want to break the brick with a Fireball, he just wants to give it a little even push! Focusing his aim for a few seconds, he shot a foot tall Fireball towards it. It was almost a blank shot, Mogranius tried to teach him how to shoot one before but Eric has just too much power, he has to burn!


    The shot just scratched a couple of small pieces from the brick, but at least it pushed it enough towards the saw. Once a couple inches of the brick sank in the saw, the rest was just pulled in! The brick was pulled to the ground at the other side of the blade, Eric approached it right after and saw it perfectly cut. The only bit of imperfection is the bit he blew off!


    The saw cuts amazingly well, but it is time to shut it down, calm Osira and report this amazing piece of information back to the Grand Leader, Bittore Nardone!


    Giving it a little thought, he theorized that the way to stop this saw is possibly related to the way he started it, on that wooden wheel. But he wanted to be careful, the wood is quite rotten and to get a splinter from that thing is like asking for a risk of amputation.


    He got his Fur Coat this morning and his fur hat too. So pulling his hat off, surrounding his right hand with it to protect his grip. He approached the wheel closer and closer, grabbing it lightly after and trying to pull it back he felt himself being dragged down with the wheel.


    Luckily he was able to let go, but one thing he noticed after is the wheel moving about 30% slower! It was easy to know since he paid half a minute of attention to it so far. Now it even feels a bit easier to get a firm grip on it, so he grabbed one of the arms instead this time!


    Holding it just for a couple of seconds before his grip was dragged down by the wheel, he found it that not only the wheel is moving slow enough to stop it with his head or his behind, but he also is able to see the sharp tips of the saw.


    Giving it one last grip and able to stop the wheel completely, he just glanced upon the saw on the other end of this contraption slowing down noticeably fast. 20 countings after it just gave a couple final spins before it completely stopped!


    "Osira, I stopped it." He yelled as much as he could, trying not to sound weird in the process too. Yelling isn''t exactly his thing, he isn''t used to it!

 Chapter 266 - Alcon Epke

    As Bittore was standing near the Fire, trying to fry some meat near it for the kids to enjoy... Well fill their stomach, it is hard to enjoy Rat bug meat and the two bags of food Mogranius and Eric provided can only supply them with a better taste only a few days if they solely depend on it, they had to make it last a bit more.


    She saw Eric and Osira carrying a few Bricks together, to show off what they found. The perfectly carved rock is just an example of the technology awaiting for them on the fourth tunnel. Putting two and two together, Bittore thought that they didn''t find anything special on Tunnel 4 and just brought these bricks up from the storage room, lending a hand.


    But yet her face still smiled, an idea popped in her head right away and she was eager to present it for the good of this little tribe. "You didn''t tell me that there are spare bricks down there!" She complained in a little bit of enthusiasm as she tried to stand up after.


    "Oh there isn''t!" Answered Osira directly since she understood that her mother meant the Storage room, gently putting down the 3 foot long bricks after she approached her mother and repeated. "Please sit!"


    "Alright alright, I''m fine thanks to Eric you don''t need to worry about me!" She kept showing gratitude towards Eric but unintentionally kept reminding everyone that he cried, even funnier it kept reminding everyone that Eric''s tears were smacked out of him. There are only a handful of people up here at the moment but still. "He is the one we should thank more often, this little kid saved my life!" Afterwards as if irresistible, she grabbed Eric''s cheek and squeezed it hard. Leaving a small little mark on it.


    "Um yes indeed he helped us a lot so far." Regardless if she wanted to admit it or not, Eric was bold enough to figure out how the scary saw works. "We found something special at the fourth tunnel in our exploration row, I think you will love this."


    The reason why Osira used those specific set of words? Simple once you get to know Bittore a bit better. Ever since she started living deep in the forest along with this tribe of Ignites, she has always tried to provide all the comforts of home. So when she wasn''t hunting, she was building anything that would provide more and more comfort.


    "There are a lot of these bricks down here, possibly thousands!" Osira explained in enthusiasm as she sat on the same piece of fur with her mother, to make her feel a lot more comfortable or at least make her sit longer.


    "No way." She answered with her tone gently rising, "There are thousands of them?"


    She sounds quite happy about it already, this one will surely tip the bucket. "Yes! And something a lot better, are you ready to hear about it?"


    "Tell me!" She gave a light shout as she shook grabbed Osira''s shoulders and shook them.


    "I didn''t like it, but there is this stone cutting saw that spins itself without any type of man power!" Once that sentence rolled out of her mouth, an approaching 37 year old man tripped on his own feet and almost fell on the Fire with a Ratbug on his shoulder.


    Once he managed to regain proper control of his own balance, he took a peek at Osira and shouted! "What? That can''t be possible!"


    "Why can''t it be possible?" Decided Eric to jump in the conversation, he operated the Stone cuter himself, saw it with his own eyes. "The Snow Ignites made the Carved path, not to mention this whole underground Kingdom!"


    To back up Eric''s word and fairly her own too, Osira added. "Yes, like it or not they are amazing at Stonemasonry. An effect of staying up here with no god damn vegetation to work on!" This place is nice yes, but the cold weather can be torturous.


    "Take me there, please!" The man requested, apparently having a fancy for Stonemasonry.


    "Should we...?" Tried Eric to ask gently, he doesn''t know this man long enough so it isn''t up to him to call the shots when it comes to assigning a possible future task.


    "Oh totally." Answered Bittore with a fair amount of confidence, "Alcon Epke here is good with carving rock, you should totally trust him with that stone cutter."


    "Yes!" Alcon celebrated with a fist on the sky and his foot long bush like blonde beard shook along with him, "Let''s go right now."


    Seeing another Fire controlling lady coming up here, Bittore repeated. "Wait wait wait." Fast enough to manage a situation even though she is just sitting near a fire, she with her position as a Grand leader stated. "Osira and Eric are noticeably very good at exploring. I need them down at the fifth tunnel on the left side."


    "But what about the stone cutter?" Asked Alcon in disappointment with his enthusiasm dying down.


    "You will still go down there, Ella will take you!" As much as Bittore is concerned, she can stop some or slow down some operations and send several people to explore, but she wants for Osira to spend as much time with Eric as possible! Bittore is 17 years old, after 16 a lot of girls start looking for a husband. Or their parents look for them, either way it is the age for engagement.


    There is no rush up here but Eric had proven himself more than worthy. From facing demons, to helping them after betrayal. There is nothing not to like, she wants them together so as much as she is concerned this entire place will he explored by these two unless a rush is required.


    "Me?" Asked Ella in curiosity, trying to figure out where the Grand Leader is trying to go with this, Alcon is a married man who even has a child. He is the father of the second youngest fire controller here, while Ella herself is the third youngest with an age of 22. "But the Ratbugs!"


    "They aren''t going anywhere, Alcon has to check this stone cutter out!" When Bittore gives an order it isn''t certain what to expect, considering the effort she is publicly putting in to get Eric and Osira together, she got a bit spooked and suspicious.


    But she just can''t disagree with the Grand Leader, especially after considering how far she got them. "If you say so, can I do anything else?"


    "Yes, Alcon tends to not pay attention to his safety. Please make sure he returns in one piece!" You would think that Alcon would be offended by that little comment, but no.


    With a little sigh, he expressed. "Fair point." Afterwards with his tone rising he added. "Let''s do this!" And ran out of the room, returning a few seconds after he asked. "I forgot to ask, where exactly is this magic stone cutter."


    As if Ella expected for him to return, apparently knowing him for a few months to predict this act. She just slowly walked towards the exit until Alcon returned.


    "Tunnel 4, on the left!" Answered Bittore swiftly as she shook her head from left to right showing both a little dissatisfaction from this set of hyper energy, and thanks to having her joy and humour set on point. Staying with children all this time helped too, they ask the most interesting questions and she has the most tremendous patience to answer them all.


    "Now why won''t you two get back to exploring aye? The kids are getting hungry!" Bittore requested, trying to make them explore alone again. Terrible idea if they face a tribe of Ratbugs but a fairly good idea to make these two "Love Birds" spend more time alone.


    "Hey, I''m getting hungry too." Tried Osira to play around. "Most importantly, I''m your actual kid!"


    "Oh fine!" She acted as if she complained and afterwards trying to tease her once more she added. "You need to add more weight on you, boys like a nice strong lady."


    "Mother!" Osira pouted with her tone rising in embarassmant, even the little kids close by laughed.


    "What? You are like a twig, right Eric?" Of course she had to push such a question on Eric, it appears like a direct question but indirectly she is trying to find out if Eric is one of those who constantly look at girls and what shape they have to offer.


    "Uhhhh..." He stretched that one word, not knowing what to say. Based on one short peek he managed to get when she tied her hair up, Osira can be used to define the word perfection when it comes to fitness and a proper form in general. But how could he say that in front of Osira and her mother? His forehead started sweating from that very question.


    "Mother stop!"

 Chapter 267 - You mean talk Privately?

    As Eric and Osira mare their way towards the fifth tunnel, they found a staircase unlike any other here based on the whole experience! The Staircase doesn''t sink 20 meters down nor does it rise 20 meters up! To break the usual here, this staircase sinks 40 meters down!


    But what would require to sink that deep? Sure there is enough mountain to dig through but is it worth it? The deeper they go the stronger the weighing pressure is from the mountain, or could this just have been a natural cave tunneling down 40 meters so they used it to their advantage. The staircase is surprisingly straight but of course if there is a tunnel to work on, they can carve their way straight and put walls on the side to create an illusion of architectural perfection.


    Before they reached down, Eric gave out a little complain. But thankfully it wasn''t based on all the drama Bittore is causing, here where they are all alone such a topic would become insanely embarrassing. "Why does this tunnel lead so deep? This makes me feel like we will reach a Volcano!" Since it is 40 meters down, it neccesarily equals to 160 stairs! Nothing easy for the leg muscles.


    "Oh do you fear Lava?" Osira asked, but it was more of a way to tease. They have known each other for a couple of days, but silence is still there even if it has become a lot less awkward! The cause of the silence is still Eric, he tends to reply shortly or not talk at all. It''s not that he wants to be rude or anything, he just doesn''t know Osira enough yet. "I thought you were a tough guy!" Of course she still continued to tease!


    "I wouldn''t say tough guy..." Eric tried to clear it out truthfully, "But trust me when it comes to Lava I have no fear."


    "Oh now you are just bluffing!" She of course had to add, first he says that he isn''t a tough guy and now he says that he isn''t scared of Lava, which neccesarily means that he isn''t scared of being close to it. "Weak guys wouldn''t be able to even say that they can be around Lava."


    "And why would I lie to you?" He asked when he noticed that he just gave out a bit too much information here, sure this tribe is being nice now but they did cause so much propaganda behind them as they kept a smile on their faces. He can''t tell them that he can swim in lava without torching up! "I don''t usually lie, its not how I roll."


    "Well maybe you just want to sound tough in front of girls?" She dared to finally ask, but what girls is she talking about? She is the only female walking down with him at the moment.


    Bold enough at such a topic for once, he asked. "You mean sound tough in front of you?"


    "No!" She shouted a bit roughly, her tone echoed all the way up to the second section and she almost slipped, which could have sent her tumbling down the stairs. Afterwards with a slightly softer tone she continued. "Why would you want that?! Sounds like my mother has convinced you more than me!"


    "Well I wouldn''t say convinced, but she is either plotting again or she really liked me this time!" In a joking matter he asked Osira, "Are you plotting against my back again?"


    "No!" She shouted a little, assuring certainty. "There is nothing to plot, we could have thrived here with or without you." This reality came in true but a bit harsh, but in another way it carries a lot of positivity.


    "Relax relax, I''m joking!" He added with a giggle and asked after. "So she does actually like me?"


    "I guess so, but it is also a Ignite mother thing." She wanted to specify, but got Eric a bit confused.


    "What do you mean?"


    "I''m 17 already, she thinks that women should engage at 16 to 18, marry at 19 and have a baby at 20!" Walking further down, almost reaching the end she wanted to express. "Kind of old fashioned if you ask me."


    "I think so too, there is no rush to it." He expressed it calmly of course but in his head he thought. "What the hell does a husband have to do with a baby?" Well that''s how over protective Woldemir was for 15 years. There are a lot of things Eric still doesn''t know and he didn''t quite fit in with other kids who apparently know such information from younger years, so he grew up not knowing it.


    They finally reached to the end of the Staircase, and illuminated a bit more light to see what''s to find here. To their surprise this place appears to be smaller compared to the rest of the rooms in general! Well it isn''t exactly too small, it stretches 15 meters wide and 20 meters long. It was small enough to theorize its estimated size.


    But the size isn''t the most important, what does it behold? Well, a lot of Iron for a start. There is a badge of it piled up near the entrance/exit. They are tipped over, so chances are a Demon crawled its way down here, saw that there is nothing to kill or eat and left.


    Apart from those Iron bars being tipped over there doesn''t seem to be any recent activity here, no skeletons either. Nothing! There isn''t even any ore smelted or half smelted for that case, it just looks like the Blacksmiths did their job for the day and left for other workers to bring the Iron up in the Storage room.


    Either that or they piled up Iron here to craft a more complicated product, there is a similar pile up in the Storage room so this just doesn''t make sense. However, whatever their materialistic plan might have been, now it doesn''t matter.


    "Wow, this is one of the most undamaged place so far!" Osira broke the silence again with her tone carrying enthusiasm.


    "Yes, even the forge looks in good shape!" Eric walked towards it after since it is very close to the entrance standing on the right.


    "Oh yes this is definetly still usable!" She confirmed after as she tapped on the walls of this little forge after. "This structure is amazing!"


    They have used Black bricks as a foundation, rising 2 feet high than another foot of it is covered with red bricks. An amazing construction in all honestly, unlike most Forges this one is shaped in to a square and looks more than dependable, not even an inch of its walls flinched.


    One of these forges stretches just 5 meters wide and long, it is perfectly made. I did say one of these Forges right? Well in this room stretching 20 meters long, there are 3 of these forges. So of course Osira had to give the other two a better look once she noticed their presence.


    "This one is perfect too!" She stated as she circled around it, they are even perfectly placed around 130 centimetres away from each other, yes she took the time to measure them! "This precision is amazingly accurate, I almost feel sad for killing them."


    "Well technically I only saw you kill King Tamzar." Tried to specify Eric in such a situation, a bit odd but there is no damage hopefully.


    "Don''t remind me of that day." Expressed Osira with no hesitation, maybe she isn''t a fan of killing humans? That can''t be it, surely life has forced them kill a handful of people at least, before the explosion.


    "You mean Yesterday?" Joked around Eric, he indeed lightened the mood a bit but although dead she still hates King Tamzar.


    "Yes... My point is, It still disgusts me how that grown man wanted to put his hands on me." Osira tried to explain without getting in too much detail, but Eric had it hard to catch up.


    "Put hands on you how?" He was less informed enough to ask.


    "You know, like to "get at it" as my mother says." She air poked, apparently she slightly squats down too when she air pokes. If you remember right, that''s what Eric does as well!


    "As in talk privately?" You would think that he is joking, Osira thought that he is joking too but she changed her mind when she saw his curious yet serious look on his face!


    "Kinda like it, but it is a bit more complicated." Feeling a bit embarrassed to talk about such a topic with the one her mother wants to see Osira together with, so she just wanted to change the topic. "Let''s just say that you will know the older you grow, you''re still a kiddo!"


    He has heard that sentence a lot of times before, well the "You''re still a kiddo!" one more specifically, mostly by Commander Alia but he still doesn''t know how to not be annoyed by it. "I''m kind of a kid, but I still faced many tough situation." Trying to crack a joke after, he added. "I''d say I''m older than Mogranius when it comes to maturity."


    "A Ratbug is more mature than Mogranius." Continued Osira the joke and the awkward room turned in to a harmonious laughing one!

 Chapter 268 - Wizard with the Craft

    Bittore saw her daughter Osira walk in along with Eric! Her daughter is carrying a noticeably big smile on her face and Eric seems to have half of that energy, likely because of different interests he has. Blacksmithery isn''t exactly his profession or hobby for that matter.


    "I assume you found something even better this time!" Asked Bittore before the two even arrived close enough, she just couldn''t help it anymore and had to ask. "What did you find?"


    "These Snow Ignites had everything! Maleemia sounds nothing but a pale imitation the more we explore!" Osira expressed, but didn''t yet tell what she considers an absolute win on this place!


    "I''m getting that feeling too." Bittore complimented her daughter''s word as she tried to remain patient, afterwards repeating the question. "What did you find?"


    "We found a forge!" She answered in enthusiasm, she hasn''t had the opportunity to pound on some metal ever since her father sold them out to the illas and they had to flee, there was a forge here in Maleemia but King Tamzar refused to her work there. "It is so fancy, it has everything! There are 3 wide Forges down there!"


    "That''s great!" Replied Bittore with a half smile, this Forge is a huge win yes but it inevitably reminds worse days. She is just a bit scared that her daughter might or might not have those bad memories returned the more she spends time on that Forge. "But, do you think you can handle being down there? You''ll suffocate."


    Bittore tried to reason of course, but there is one key piece of information she forgot along the way. Thankfully Osira was happy enough to think it through and remind her. "Mother I''m are Fire Controller."


    Baffled how Fire Controlling could even lead to suffocation, actually not able to figure it out even after all of that disaster. He tried to ask. "What does Fire Cont...."


    But his word was cut short by Bittore who recommended, "There is no one here who can do Blacksmithery better than you, we are dull when it comes to that craft so I trust it on you."


    "Thank y..."


    "But I don''t want you to do all of that work alone." Bittore interrupted once more and of course this little word play had to lead towards. "Eric, will you please work with her until we settle things straight with the rest of this place?"


    "I have no experience but I can assist." Eric specified but also clearly offered to help.


    "Mother, there are 3 Forges down there. I think we have place for more than just two!" Osira pointed out, she noticed what her mother is trying to do and just doesn''t want to be embarrassed anymore. To clarify she finds Eric as a great person, its just the embarrassment can be overwhelming some times. "I think we need more."


    "I understand you Osira, but so far we have a lot of tasks on our hands and not enough people, we can''t send 10 people down at the Forge." She doesn''t know much about Blacksmithery but she watched her husband enough to know that a fairly big Forge can help up to 3 people work, not to mention assistants are required. "For now it is in both of your hand to operate it, and we don''t really have a high demand of tools. Just make some good spears just in case a Fire attack doesn''t work when the girls hunt."


    "Will do mother." Osira replied with a bit of a stressful sigh, her mother is making complete sence and that''s why Osira became a bit mad. Even had the decency to express, "I hate it when you are right." Her mother is great at wordplay and overall convincing people to do what they are supposed to do.


    "I know honey." Bittore replied with a wide c.o.c.ky smile on her face, obviously used to her daughter''s attitude. "Now go explore Tunnel 6. There is still a lot to do before we can get this place under full operation!"


    As Eric and Osira left to complete their given task, Alcon Epke walked in about half a minute later and showed a lot of enthusiasm about the 4 foot Stone Cutter. "That thing! That saw is amazing! The kids were right, it doesn''t need any man power to operate!"


    Bittore instantly thought, "I don''t think that my daughter would lie to me about such a case but I''ll let this pass." And instead she spoke out. "That''s amazing! It is actually so convenient because I have two tasks for you already."


    "Really? I''ll get right on it!" Alcon yelled out in excitement and dashed out of the room, a few meters far from the first tunnel he remembered that he doesn''t know what the task is.


    "Ugh... I know I know, I rushed again." Alcon stated as he walked back in the first tunnel. "Tell me what I should do."


    Knowing that Alcon is quite passionate about his craft and considering that he isn''t on his right mind most of the times, knowing that it isn''t exactly his fault she tolerated it and welcomed Alcon with a smile. "I need you to build a row of walls at section 3 near the portal!"


    "Oh I can totally do that!" Answered Alcon and once again tried to dash out of the room.


    "Alcon!" Stretched Bittore her word and once again yelled. "Alcon."


    "Right right, I should stay until you tell me to leave." Alcon remembered, he just wants to work now.


    "See we don''t know if that Demon portal is still functioning or not, nor do we want to go there and see. But we have to build big strong dependable walls, a meter thick each and just leave a foot wide space in between!" Getting the wall build as soon as possible is a good idea, they likely won''t ever have to deal with Demons again.


    But it got Alcon very confused. Because as much as he is concerned and capable off, "Why not just build a 10-15 meter wall or however long it is? It would take time but I can build it." Leaving the walls just a meter thick can give the Demons a small upper advantage of digging through.


    "I understand why you think like that, but this task will be a bit hard since I will ask of you a special request." Now we did mention that Bittore had a plan ever since the Stonemasonry was mentioned here.


    "If it has to do with my craft, I can do it no matter how hard it is." Alcon is known to take the toughest Stonemasonry tasks and was even valued by King Tamzar since in some ways he out competed the Snow Ignites, Alcon is known as a tremendously hard worker. Often he was even seen sleeping in his workplace, meaning on rock.


    "You will dig small foot wide tunnels on the sides of the main tunnel there at the third section." Trying to put her request in to detail as much as possible she added. "See the reason why I want you to leave foot wide space in between those walls, is that we need to have the chance of suffocating the Demons if they try to break through, if you know what I mean."


    Remembering the work of the fifteen ladies back at the Carved path, Alcon became even more enthusiastic to set up such a dangerous trap for the Demons. He feels happy to help his people. "Oh I understand you, trust me the Demons won''t even know that the tunnels are there."


    Pleased that he already catched on, but wanting to make absolutely sure that he understands what she meant. "Just to confirm Alcon, I want the little holes to be a foot wide on the foot wide opening! So we can suffocate them from the other end of the walls without even facing the Demons."


    "Don''t worry, I completely get you!" Answered Alcon with his enthusiasm still high, waiting for Bittore to give him permission to leave so he can get on this task as fast as possible.


    To test his patience even more, Bittore still made him stay with further suggestions. "But you can''t do all of that alone, Ella Angloma will be your protector when you are on the job, she can also lend a hand in construction and you can also take 3 more people to help you with this job." He knows that Alcon is a die hard worker, but she can''t have him push himself over 16 or more hours a day until he collapses. Alcon would gladly do it, but him dying because of the lack of nutrition or water will only slow down every process. He tends to forget that humans need food and water.


    "Um, yes that''s okay but they have to work exactly how I tell them." Alcon demanded, after all he is given responsibility over such an important task, he can''t flop it.


    "We all know that you are a Wizard with the craft, but please be kind with them. Because I''m sure that they all have to help." Giving a look at Ella who just walked in, likely because Alcon ran up in enthusiasm a bit earlier. She stated. "Ella will be in charge, if she tells you to eat, drink or stop working please listen to her. She wants the most skilled man safe and healthy, we all do."

 Chapter 269 - Warm Welcome

    Cold can be consuming, especially for Chan who faced the close to trauma experience of almost losing his toes. We all remember the experience he had there, what he accomplished and what he encountered. Reaching the cold parts of Ignis gave him small flashes of memory, most of which were bad.


    The only bit of sanity he managed to maintain when thinking about such a journey, the aid of the unliving he recieved there makes him feel better. Father or just a teasing ghost, a desperate tribe or a sympathetic being. For Chan, help is help. Although in most cases he is quite dumb and a die hard alcoholic, he knows how to appreciate and remembers each good deed people did towards him no matter how small the deed.


    Once they reached Snow, their final task to such a travel would be to locate Frozen Toe Kingdom where the locals afterwards will direct him towards the Giant ill.u.s.tratio, but that shortly became a problem! Why would it even become a problem you might me curious enough to ask?


    Well, there is no road and the map just shows a simple dot symbolizing Frozen Toe Kingdom. Although this is the smallest country in Ignis with barely any green land mass, it still stretches 600 kilometers long and 400 kilometers wide. If they don''t have a proper guidance of how to find this place, its like looking for a needle in a haystack!


    They can get lost here, and just staying too long in the open leaves them vulnerable to dangerous creatures. Such as white bears or Blue Eagles, a Clan of Ratbugs, even Shire Horses are proven violent in the wild up here. With vegetation barely available, what do you think they eat? The ones up here in the snow that is, the ones down at the small land mass of vegetation surely eat grass.


    War or no war, Frozen Toe Kingdom remained the only domain in Orientis Ignis. There aren''t even any villages in this huge place, no just one Kingdom. There are camps occasionally but they don''t last long.


    Furthermore, there aren''t any known Snow Ignites or Ignites for that matter here ever since the hundred year war that started after the second era met an end. Even before that, the Snow Ignites never mentioned any domain in this tremendous tundra, yet again they are known to be secretive so what are the odds of another domain being hidden to escape the Continent''s affairs? The Snow Ignites where Eric now takes residence likely did it for such a case and the Calidum Lutum were advanced enough to do it thousands of years ago.


    So without a proper way to find the Kingdom, how did they arrive here in the first place? Well there is a simple way to explain it all, luck! For them it is perfectly timed to become lucky, because if they extended their travel time, BearClaw would have to hunt Blue Eagles if they wished to survive.


    To make their travel easier, Bear Claw had to melt their way out. It was nothing but a continuously blasting Fire and became boring to watch after a while, as for how the Horses handled this bit of help?


    Well at first they were spooked but later on they became very appreciative towards Bear Claw. The Wagons kept getting stuck on the snow and sometimes ice made it hard to manuver the Wagon behind them, so to have all those worries literally melt it away? It proved as huge help and to show appreciation the Horses kept leaning towards her or kept bending their head down to stroke it against her shoulder.


    Dilli didn''t quite know how to handle such a thank you coming from an animal, but thankfully she didn''t react badly to it at all. She just became strongly confused, especially when they tried to lick her here and there.


    Although animals, they felt thankful! Anything would if a snowy road of 120km was made easier for them! Thankfully the trip through the snow only lasted two weeks, there isn''t even a road to follow they could have easily gotten lost.


    "So do we head towards the Giant ill.u.s.tratio directly sir Chan?" Asked the head Guard, he obviously wasn''t dumb enough to yell it out here in public. He whispered on Chan''s ear. "I can ask some locals to tell us where to find him."


    "Although I want to get out of this place as soon as possible, we need to sleep the night here. Dusk is close!" Here at least he showed reasoning, the cold is a considerable trauma for him yet he is willing to put it behind for the rest to have a warm bed to sleep on for tonight. Either that or he just wants to sleep in a warm bed tonight, sleeping in a tent is terribly cold, not to mention the Ale an Inn can offer.


    "I''ll ask that man over there for an Inn, I''ll be right back Sir." Answered the Head Guard and walked towards the civilian.


    Returning a few seconds later he stated, "The Inn seems to have closed down long ago, but that man is welcoming us all to his house for the day. Free of Charge actually."


    Afterwards they saw that man waving from the background. They all are ill.u.s.tratios here after all, the man is confused on why there is an Ignite in this group but it still didn''t stop him from helping.


    "Sounds suspicious." Bear Claw was the first to point out, feeling a bit paranoid and giving the man a firm look after. His smile still remained firm, but "I don''t trust that guy." Dilli re expressed.


    "Nonsense, let''s go in there before we loose any toes." Chan replied with a sigh of relief and started walking towards the man and shook his hand after, repeating. "Thank you thank you, you will be well paid!"


    "There is no need for a payment, I can''t leave you out here in the cold now can I?" Spoke out the kind man, afterwards giving a small introduction. "I''m Rowan, pleased to meet you all." Afterwards he gestured towards the house behind him and added. "Please come in."


    Settling in, they moved the Wagons near his house and asked. "Is there any stable close by? We didn''t see one at the entrance." That''s at least where most Kingdoms have a stable at.


    "Um no not a stable technically but I have a barn behind my house, I think they can all fit for the night." The amount of help help he is offering tends to be suspicious for an ill.u.s.tratio, but at least he is trying to help.


    "Perfect, we wouldn''t want them to freeze to death now do we?" Chan tried to be as nice as a person can with cold numb hands and ordered the Guards. "Please lead the Horses to the barn."


    After settling in, the men and the lady circled around the Fireplace to get that cold out. Luckily there was a Fire going when they entered, last thing they needed was to wait for a Fire to start. Or maybe they wouldn''t have to wait with a Fire controller in between the 13 people.


    "Do you live alone Rowan?" Asked Chan as he settled in with some warm ale on his hand, he already spiraled down on everything he had from the Tavern, and even drained each and every bottle he got from the nearby Kingdom before they entered this unforgiving tundra. But luckily there were a few bottles of ale here, some were empty which is why Chan asked that question to begin with.


    "Yes for now, I had two sons but they were recruited by the Alliance, so they can put those rebels in to rest back in the other country." It appears he didn''t handle it quite well, he is wearing the necklace symbolizing the illas religion too and maybe it is because of his faith that he didn''t do anything too stupid yet.


    "The Alliance asked for Guards all the way here?" Chan asked as he felt a bit surprised, to come all the way to the edge of the Continent for a handful of Guards?


    "Yes, this place used to have 400 people!" Grabbing an Ale from the floor, likely left there to stay cool. He too sat down near the Fire and continued to explain. "Now there are 150 people here."


    "Oh they really didn''t discriminate?" Asked Chan, feeling even more surprised that the Grand King of Meridionali Ignis would make such a desperate move. King Xakro did send word that the Snow Ignites must meet an end no matter what, who would know that his own word would be his worst enemy. Self afflicted is the best way to describe it. "How come they didn''t take you? You look young enough!"


    "Son, I''m 65!" Stated Rowan as he took a mouthful of Ale, "If I was a decade younger maybe I would have a chance. All we have here now are elderlis."

 Chapter 270 - Desperate recruitment

    After so many weeks, Chan and his crew had a warm and comfortable good night sleep. It has become a hassle, and even though Chan has grown used to it a little bit it still was rough. Especially the last two weeks as they went through this blistering cold.


    Getting the Chance to give this Kingdom a closer look, he wasn''t so pleased with what he saw. This place looks even poorer than Gaster Kingdom before King Michael started bringing in profit.


    There are so many houses destroyed by the weather, with no one to care after them since they are practically abandoned now with its residents dead at Maleemia. Sad really, and yet so many elderlies here are waiting for their sons to return. Heck, the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance is so desperate that they took mothers along with kids or teenage girls who are over 16. This is highly unusual for the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, but the only discrimination they made were elderlies.


    This place looks like a ghost town, even the walls look like they are a Blizzard away from crumbling. He barely even saw any Guards, heck a Blue Eagle can invade this place if he or she wanted too! Heck, Gaster Kingdom can just send 30 Guards here and they can obtain this Kingdom for their own.


    But would it be worth it? There is no income, there is no support. Since there are elderlies here only, the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance won''t likely show their support to this town again now that they have gotten 250 useful people(War-wise) out of here.


    These elderlies are left for dead, no merchant would risk it enough to come all the way up here just to donate and no elderly has the capability to make a journey towards Meridionali Ignis to buy or ask for food and support.


    The Grand King of Meridionali Ignis was damn well aware of such a result, the elderlies here are the sacrifice for war. The elderlies here are left to starve. They are lucky enough if they don''t get raided by low rank bandits for what little gold or resources they have!


    Rowan proved quite useful when it came showing them where the Giant ill.u.s.tratio takes shelter at, he even volunteered to guide them all the way there. No one else would go that far when it comes to help regardless of race, when asked to just tell them by word where to reach their aimed for location. He just shook his head and stated, "I have to take you there, or otherwise you can never find him."


    It is good that he didn''t ask any deeper questions like, "Why do you need to find that beast?" How would Chan explain himself? He can''t say that the Grand King send him there to cut off the Giant ill.u.s.tratio''s toe for a staff that will give him freezing powers, who would show understanding for such a task?


    No no he can never explain it and sound sane at the same time, as much as the crew is concerned the Grand King just needs the toe, they don''t know for what he needs it for nor did they know how to figure it out, they are being paid to not ask questions and Bear Claw just accepted to join, the lack of questions here made Chan''s life easier.


    You might ask how 14 people slept in a mediveal house, well it isn''t so uncommon come to think of it, families are used to sleeping all in the same room especially when its colder, here it is always cold so you can say they used to sleep all in one room together year around, hence the word "used to".


    The men used their sleeping bags to sleep on the floor, Chan was given the opportunity to sleep closest to the Fire partially because of his status but also because the crew has heard of his fate with cold. Bear Claw slept along with the men, thankfully no one tried anything stupid as for Rowan he just went and slept in another room.


    Although most in one place this is the most comfortable good night sleep they got ever since they started this journey, Chan of which became the most thankful. In the morning he even tried to thank Rowan for his assistance with a nice sack carrying 100 Gold Coins.


    I mean, Rowan accepted them in their house and even gave the horses a warm place to sleep. There are tens of people in this town who would do the same for a fellow ill.u.s.tratian traveller in need but the deed that Rowan did is still there, Chan felt the most grateful and although he won''t spend another night here he still wanted to reward Rowan.


    Odd enough, Rowan refused it with all of his guts. After several times of simply saying, "No no no no no!" To convince Chan towards the other way around he stated. "I am not in need of Gold, a man can have everything if he works hard enough aye?"


    The moment he said that, the best source of profit anyone could think of here at the edge of the Continent was related towards a Horse Business. Generally Horses are worth several or even over ten typical salaries, here where Shire Horses run wild scrapping for food, they can be vulnerable towards taming.


    One could make a life Fortune with 50 Shire Horses, if Rowan worked on such a business for a span of 5 years he would probably tame more than 50 Shire Horses. It is a risky job indeed considering that these Horses are 2 meters tall to the shoulder, but it sure pays well!


    Kingdoms from the ill.u.s.tratian motherland who are the most superior in this Continent when it comes to the economy, would pay even more for Shire Horses. Every domain would want a Horse who can pull 2 tons!


    Such action coming from Rowan got Chan confused wildly. Until now he never found an ill.u.s.tratio or Ignite for that matter who couldn''t get bribed by Gold, with salaries in Occidentis Ignis spanning from 100-200 Gold Coins at average, one could bribe most with 20 Gold Coins.


    But to make it even more confusing, Chan was in no way trying to bribe Rowan, he just genuinely tried to reward him. He refused the gold and offered to lead them right towards the Giant ill.u.s.tratio, crazy indeed or at least far out of the ordinary.


    As they were on the road, with the Horses left on the barn since they don''t require them to reach the Giant ill.u.s.tratio. To kill some time, Chan decided to ask Rowan about how exactly he made his income enough to refuse a reward.


    "Um so... what did you work before retirement?" Deciding to be direct about this topic, he afterwards added. "No offense to you and your help but I never saw anyone refuse a reward before."


    "Let''s just say that I did everything." Answered Rowan casually as his heavy boots continued to stomp down on the snow, feeling that he left everyone confused he continued. "For 5 years I was a merchant, that at least can be considered my best source of income. Before that I worked several low pay jobs. Shop keeping, Stable cleaning and I even worked as a Lumberjack!"


    "You weren''t kidding when you said that you did everything." Spoke out one Guard from the background, he became indeed impressed by this hard working man.


    Bold enough, the shortest man of this little crew dared to open a possibly sensitive topic work related. "What about your boys, were they Guards?"


    Rowan flinched a little bit, the question came a bit suddenly but indeed he loved talking about his boys. "No no, they too just worked on petty tasks. When they became 16 they started working and we managed to save up a lot more gold."


    "So that''s when you became merchants?" Asked Chan, as Bear Claw and the rest were listening with enough attention in the background.


    "Well not instantly, it took us a few years until we could pile up enough Gold to take risks on such a business." Rubbing his hands to fight the cold away, and holding the axe Lumberjacks use between his pits. He added, "We headed to Meridionali Ignis, that''s where a fortune can be made."


    Grabbing his axe near the Iron after and flinging it back and forth as he walked down hill along with the rest, he continued. "In just 5 years we made 10 fold more than we did doing all those jobs, I have enough to feed half the Kingdom for years."


    Seeing that no one is interrupting him and are further awaiting for his word, he firmly added. "But that wealth can only fill the bottom gap here." At the end of his sentence he lightly patted his chest, "I haven''t heard a word from my boys. I feel that they didn''t survive the vicious war!"

 Chapter 271 - Third in the room.

    "I want the walls in front of the portal built as fast as possible!" Bittore spoke to Mollara, trying to explain how important it is to achieve such a task. Their contribution here throughout the couple of days would go in to vain if more Demons pop out of that Portal with no wall to prevent them from breaking through the domain again. "We need to put more people in that task."


    "Just be patient for a bit, as far as I saw a bit earlier when I went to lend a hand, our people are almost done with cleaning up the Storage room." A lot of them spend so much time and muscle on that task, they are indeed appreciated.


    "What about the Rat hole at the edge of the wall?" That can be considered equally important because they are close to sending all their food down there, last thing they need is for Ratbugs to poison the food supply. "Is it sealed yet?"


    "No, but Alcon send his best "student"." Mollara quoted with a bit of a joking matter, and continued. "To patch the hole with Bricks, he will have a peek at it later to approve if its good or not. As much as we are concerned it will look like the hole was never even there!"


    "Good, I trust your word because with Osira and Eric exploring the place I need you here to look over the place." She is still recovering of course, nearly doesn''t have enough power to constantly be on her feet. Her body still needs time to heal and Eric most definitely won''t drop any tears if even a single person knows what he is doing.


    "Don''t worry, I understand. I''ve been close to you enough to know how your mind goes, well at least when it comes to telling everyone what to do." Joked around Mollara and couldn''t help smiling after, because when it comes to schemes no one knows how Bittore''s mind works. "You just relax here, you won''t help our people if you collapse."


    Meanwhile, Eric and Osira have made their way towards the 6th tunnel in aims of exploration set as a task by Bittore. Although not expressed by word, Bittore thought. "I might as well kill two birds with one stone, the entire clan has their hands full for now and can''t handle taking more tasks over their shoulders, and the two lovebirds will have more time alone." We did say that no one here can quite scheme as good as she does.


    The sixth tunnel appeared to be the most normal out of the rest and at the same time the smallest. Walking in just 5 meters deep they found their selves on the room, perfectly built as 10 meters wide and long. But what does it contain you might ask?


    Iron, a lot of it! From one end to the other this place is filled with Iron Ingots, spilled all over the place. A Demon likely stormed here and tipped everything over, or could it be a Ratbug? No, Ratbugs only appear where they sense food and sometimes a bit too far from food but still at a direction for it.


    Want to know the worst part about all this Iron? "They have all caught Rust!" Osira felt her chest tightening a bit, she is used to pounding on Iron after all!


    "We can''t use them?" Asked Eric feeling a bit bewildered, "Won''t the rust go away if we remelt them?"


    "No, the Rust would still be there when the Iron cools down." It is a shame really, so much Iron just going to waste. There was a room filled with them, 1 meter wide batches spread a bit far from each other.


    The room is the smallest compared to most of the rooms but when you consider that it is filled with Iron it just shows some form of superiority. The Snow Ignites had a lot of rock as a resource along with Iron as well and obviously all the coal required to smelt it, Ratbugs perhaps became a ongoing food resource and based on the Stone Cutter they also have Dark Blue Ingots, it is just a matter of finding them. Point is, these Snow Ignites had everything yet they lost everything in the search for more or at least in aims of expansion.


    "You sure are bonded to your craft." Asked Eric as he saw Osira dropping a small tear, he thought that it can''t primarily be related to the Iron here. "You can let it out if you want to cry, we are alone."


    "Cry for Iron?" Osira asked as she tried to keep a smile on her face but the second tear already rolled down her cheek.


    "Osira you know I''m not talking about Iron." Expressed Eric, already thinking that this burst of emotion is linked to her father.


    "Well... It has been hard... How could my own father betray us for a bag of gold coins." She finally decided to express, afterwards gently sitting down on some tipped over Iron Ingots. "And just when things started to look up, we had enough Gold, enough food on the table and we had a lot of orders."


    "And out of a sudden he just sold you out to the illas?" Thinking how much better Woldemir is compared to that retard, he couldn''t help but feel bad for giving him a rough time. So he wanted to point out to Osira, "He just wasn''t a good father, you should be happy that you survived it."


    Eric wanted to sit down along with her, to try and comfort her with a hug maybe. But with all of this drama going on, that would just turn out for the worse if anyone saw them. Well Bittore would approve it but it would still just add more drama.


    "I know, I realized that but sometimes I think that with gold not a problem, he saw us as true Demons." At this point her tone started cracking and her throat felt heavy, such a sudden burst of emotion is indeed hard to tackle even for the toughest of the tough.


    Which gets Eric thinking, "Is this why she acts tough all the time? To avoid emotion?" But instead he expressed himself differently. "If he did, it is his fault Osira. You aren''t to blame of the abilities you gained, he is to blame for actually believing the nonsense of which the illas spread through the Continent."


    Well he can''t give comfort even though he wants too, so he went for reasoning instead. Osira has proven generally smart and skilled, perhaps reason will make her feel better he thought.


    "It just has been a long while, I barely talked about this with my mother." She expressed as she stood up from the Iron Ingots since it started making her buttocks feel cold, "But I know one thing, my father betrayed us."


    Afterwards heading to do something that Eric would never dare, or at least didn''t plan to for today. She put her arms around him and tightened him around a hug and wanted to thank him. He is a bit shorter so he just sunk in her hug, "Thank you for listening, this has been eating me alive for years."


    "Anytime, I''m glad that I could he..."


    Eric tried to respond to all of this shift of emotion, and was getting a bit nervous about it and fairly a bit red.


    But his word was cut short when Osira warned! "If you tell anyone about this, I''ll torch you while you sleep." She didn''t want to admit that she cried even in front of him, but it was made sure what she meant. She doesn''t want to let anyone know that she cried.


    She separated from the hug, and trying to fight away his nervousness, he just tapped on her back to show a bit support and said. "Let''s tell our Grand Leader of what we found." He joked a bit with his sentence, but it worked rather well. She began to smile a bit more.


    He blasted Fire from his palm so they can at least know their direction. When they hugged, neither of them could kept a Fire going without burning the other so they had to shut them down, or at least he had too. Osira already did when she sat on the Iron Ingots. It worked for the best I suppose, no one saw them hug.


    Little did they know, they weren''t alone in the room. Mogranius appeared in the scene after without making much of an impact and whispered to himself, "I knew this kid would never take his chance. He has a thing going with that little ill.u.s.tratian girl too."


    Afterwards he just casually walked out of the tunnel and thanks to the provided dark no one could see him even though he was no longer merged with Smoke. As he walked behind them over ten meters away, he thought to himself. "But there is one thing for sure, this lady is catching feelings."

 Chapter 272 - Bittore outmatched

    As Osira and Eric walked closer towards the first tunnel, they saw seven of the Fire Controller ladies walking towards the first section carrying bones on their arms, Ratbug bones that is and a couple of them were dragging a dismantled Snow Ignite skeleton along with them.


    Stopping the last lady on the line, Osira asked. "Where are you taking all of these bones?" If they dump them in the dungeon it isn''t exactly the best idea, who knows maybe it will prove handy to hold something else. They likely won''t have prisoners since intruders are killed and traitors would share the same fate.


    "Grand Leader Nardone has ordered us to toss them down the rocks underneath the entrance, as soon as we dump all of them down we will melt them." Replied the second youngest Fire controller of the 15 and walked away with the Ratbug bones, it isn''t exactly nice to keep them on her arms. It stinks rather badly.


    As far as dumping what they don''t need all the way down there, it is actually a great idea. Primary reason would be the fact that they would be able to obtain a lot of space here, the Storage room is close to being cleaned considering that the ladies are up here and not down there.


    Getting a 45 meter long storage room to their advantage is more than great, they can practically store anything there since it will likely be hard to fill it all with food. And considering that they are melting the practical trash down there it is a great idea as well.


    Or at least it is a great idea if you take it from a faithful perspective, how come? Well to begin with it would also be a good idea to not melt the trash since it would tangle up anyone who wants to invade and it would smell bad enough to shoo people away, but that would also stink up the domain.


    Such a small good idea has a couple of benefits but comes with bad perks, as a start if it keeps piling up it will eventually reach the entrance and at that point it would take a month to melt it all. But if they melt it from now?? The smell would still be bad enough but not for the above domain to experience it.


    And the melted Iron along with the torched bone will one way or the other make it harder t walk over the rocks, the more rust the better for the Ignites above. Not to mention it would make everything more slippery, Iron and snow don''t mix well.


    Osira thought a bit about those benefits, but just didn''t waste more time on it since she knows that her mother has likely thought about it in further detail. Her body might be recovering but her mind is still as sharp as a new blade.


    So Osira just told that, "There are a hell load of Iron ingots at tunnel 6 on the left. We need to get rid of all of them since they have all caught rust." A good idea indeed, she will need that room ready as soon as possible to transport extra badges of Iron Ingots.


    But the lady who just walked away didn''t hear her, however Bittore did since she is the closest to Osira. "Osira come here." She gently spoke, trying to figure out more of what they found.


    "Coming mother." Osira replied and just decided to not repeat her words again on the lady who couldn''t hear her.


    "Did I hear that you''ve found Iron Ingots?" Finding a room full of Ingots is great indeed but she already figured that they have caught rust even though she didn''t hear the part where Osira pointed it out. "Mollara just gave us an idea which I think is more than useful!"


    "Mother before you tell me your idea, know that all of the Iron Ingots are rusty." She specified as she walked closer towards the Fire her mother is sitting near at. "We can''t use them, we can''t risk getting any form of illness up here."


    "You are right, I already thought so. But the idea is still great!" Replied Bittore with her enthusiasm remaining undamaged as Mollara sat close holding a half smile towards Osira for a couple of seconds before she continued to strip the Ratbug Queen out of her meat. Luckily they''ve sent the kids in another room and left a few elderlies to play with them and keep them under control. "We can use it when we find where the Iron mines are."


    "What kind of idea could it be to make you wait this much?" Osira became quite curious even though she asked her question as if she just cracked a joke, thankfully she already has fought the tears away. Or at least, rubbed them off using Eric''s fur coat when they clung in a hug.


    "Metal containers!" Bittore answered shortly to let the idea out already and lightly added after. "To keep food safe."


    When food was mentioned, one thought stormed through Osira''s mind and she put it by word too. "That would require a lot of Iron but can be made a bit faster. 6 plates just need to be pounded on and connected!" This made one thing clear, like most good ideas this one also has a bad side. It is made fast but needs a lot of Iron.


    "I thought so, but you found a room full of Iron Ingots." Bittore reminded, but her daughter didn''t quite catch up.


    "So? That Iron can''t be used!" She repeated in case her mother didn''t hear it thanks to the crackling fire nearby.


    "Oh I know that. But if you found a room full of Iron Ingots, there must be a good resourceful mine who provided the past residents with them." At this point, Bittore''s point was made clear but one thing still remained a puzzle to Osira.


    "Why do we need containers though? We can just make a few new shelves to keep the food off the ground." She makes a good point, especially since she saw a lot of rusty shelves down there she figured that''s how the Snow Ignites did it.


    "Yes but, we can''t be sure that Ratbugs won''t ever appear here again. There were 3 clans down there, they likely sniffed out food and made their way in." Now at least Osira started figuring out what her mother and Mollara are up to, but she still has another question.


    "So you think that the containers would keep our food safe?"


    "Yes indeed, because with hunting being generally dangerous up here the last thing we need is to throw all our food out to avoid infection." Bittore always carried good ideas, but this time Mollara out competed her. This idea is gold... um well Iron.


    Eric surprisingly, jumped in the conversation to furthermore convince Osira. This is no time to be savvy with the Iron, "Yes, and with the Containers available to us we can shoot the Ratbugs before they get their dirty hands on our food. Even a Queen would have it hard to bend metal or rip it off!"


    "See even your lover boy agrees with me!" Bittore couldn''t help but joke, her morale was already high and with this joke it arose even higher along with her laugh.


    "Mother!" Osira shouted once more, and felt her cheeks getting red already. But she decided to blame it on the fire if someone mentions it, she is sitting close to it after all.


    "Oh just calm down, I''m messing with you." Afterwards she thought about all that Rusty Iron and ordered. "We can''t melt all that Iron at once along with all the bones, we will melt this portion at first and melt the rest later. Perhaps tomorrow since this would require a lot of Fire power as you know. We have been dumping down Garbage since yesterday!"


    Having her slightly red cheeks already calmed down now that the topic has shifted towards work, she just decided to agree with her mother because she is spitting strong logic here. "You''re right."


    But she can''t have the conversation go cold here or else Bittore will start teasing both of them to pass a bit of time, so Osira asked. "How is our food situation?"


    With noticable enthusiasm Bittore answered. "Quite good actually, we had to throw some meat that looked too rotten but after stripping all the meat from the bones of the fresh looking meat, I think we have broken around 2 tons of meat!"


    Feeling a bit shocked of all that amount, but afterwards remembering that she saw over 200 Ratbugs down at the storage room, she simply answered. "Wow, sounds like we have enough food for a couple of months."


    "Indeed we have, but this Ratbug meat tastes so terrible. We need to bring some Blue Eagle meat up here."

 Chapter 273 - Weve got Visitors!

    The group was debating where they should hunt, as Eric and Mogranius just lended their ears to see where the can and can not help. Bittore along with the rest have been in Maleemia''s territory for a while now and throughout their travels they have found various sources of food, they are who to ask in terms of hunting.


    Osira and Bittore were the ones debating the most, and when they almost reached an agreement one of the 15 Fire Controlling ladies dashed through the first tunnel and as she held her breath in she swiftly spoke. "Grand Leader Bittore, we have company!"


    Considering the panic this lady is in in, it certainly can''t be good company. Bittore was aware of that fact thanks to tens of past experiences in the Carved Path, so he didn''t waste a blink. She asked, "How many are we talking about?"


    "Two!" Answered the lady, and indeed got everyone in this room confused. Including Bittore, if she was on her feet she would smack this lady playfully.


    "Well that was anticlimactic." Added Mogranius as his tone cracked through the long word, obviously he didn''t say that word enough yet to not get tangled up through it.


    "Why are you panicking then?" Asked Bittore as she covered her face with her right hand and rubbed her forehead, trying to fight a headache away.


    "You don''t understand, it got all of us confused. We didn''t manage to look at them good enough from up here but one of them is an ill.u.s.tratio and the other is an Ignite!" Well now she tipped the bucket, everyone''s eyes suddenly widened in shock and Bittore almost poked her own eye with her thumb.


    Clapping afterwards to grab everyone''s attention after collecting her thoughts, Bittore ordered. "Get 5 ladies and lead them to the Carved path for an interrogation!"


    "Right!" Answered the lady who brought the information and dashed out of the room.


    "By the Source of Fire I had more to say!" Complained Bittore as she turned her gaze towards Osira. "Lead the 5 ladies, if they prove as a risk don''t face them head on. Suffocate them!"


    Osira might not be the best one to chose when it comes to launching a hidden attack since she would gladly face the enemy head on, but she is the Leader after all. Although just a level 3 Fire Controller, Osira can be trusted with most of the tasks.


    "Alright!" Osira answered and stood up to dash out of the room after the lady, so she can catch up before they blast off.


    "Osira, I mean it. Don''t attack head on!" Bittore insisted with a shout as Osira ran out, hopefully she heard her.


    But to make her be sure at least for a nudge more, Mogranius stood up too and stated. "I''ll keep an eye on he, don''t worry." Before he blasted Fire out of his feet and flew through the room. Clearly his stamina is fully replenished.


    Noticing the look on her face when he blew off, "And I''ll have an eye on Mogranius." Eric stood up after, knowing what his mentor is capable off. Thankfully Eric just ran through the room instead of flying.


    "Thank you!" Bittore shouted once more, thanking Eric. 8 Fire Controllers are better than one after all, they can''t loose any of them. She feels guilty that she can''t be down there herself, but she is better off up here than down there. Thankfully Mollara is here to keep her company.


    "Don''t worry." Mollara tried to comfort as she noticed the worried look that remained on Bittore''s face. "This sounds like a very small managable case and will prove perfect training for her to become a Grand Leader."


    "You''re right, let''s hope everything goes like it is supposed too." Aiming towards realism accompanied by her countless worries she stated. "I don''t like bad mouthing my daughter but she is as impatient as a Wild Boar."


    ...


    A lady flew down in front of the two visitor''s path like a falling feather who was on Fire, that lady is of course the Leader of this little tribe, Osira Nardone. "What''s your business here?"


    This is indeed an Ignite and ill.u.s.tratio, she noticed and was proud of the sharp eyes her ladies have. But this is still an odd scene, especially since the ill.u.s.tratian lady looked younger. This could mean that this Ignite lady married an ill.u.s.tratio, or there could be several counts of propaganda or possible brain washing going on here with illas influences.


    "We are here to reach the Kingdom of Maleemia, I hope we are in the right path." Answered the Ignite lady, trying to be as nice as possible to the grumpy looking Ignite lady that flew down. "Amazing, I never thought that I would see a lady Fire Controller."


    The Ignite seemed surprised, which made this whole thing a lot more confusing and made it hard not to bash these ladies to the ground until they explained their selves. "How would a lady befriended with an ill.u.s.tratio like me as a Fire Controller?" Osira thought to herself as she was resisting the urge to bash them.


    Instead she took her mother''s advice and decided to do a semi passive aggressive approach.


    "What do you intend to do in Maleemia?" Osira acted as if the Kingdom isn''t blown to bits, it is not easy to see the Kingdom up here especially since after the Carved path a mild right turn has to be taken.


    "We want to tag along with some friends." Answered the Ignite lady and with a noticeable smile on her face she continued. "They came here a while ago and we wanted to tag along after, this is going to be a little surprise for them."


    Interrogation wise, the word "Surprise" is a terrible example to use. Now these two partially sound like assassins, or a scheme by the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance. Which is to send two of their own and dismantle the defences from the inside.


    As the three were debating in the Carved path, Mogranius and Eric who were carefully watching from above tried to hear what''s happening. The ladies are about 60 meters down, so it became hard to do so.


    "I hope we will have to kill them." Mogranius thought to himself, "We didn''t find any Demonite but figuring out how these ladies make enemies drop dead could be equally as rewarding."


    But the Ignite lady''s delicate tone echoed through the Carved path and managed to reach his ears. He noticed it right away and didn''t waste a blink, he dropped down not like a feather but a boiling rock.


    When he took a glance at the ladies, his theory was proven correct. "Alia!" He shouted and ran towards her.


    "Mogranius!" She shouted back and ran towards him, but one force has to be stronger than the other at this case.


    She tackled Mogranius, tossed him against the ground and tied him around a hug. "What are you doing here? Mogranius asked as he was being strangled out of breath.


    "We came here to help you!" Ada spoke from the background as she saw a fluff ball with only a face showing, dropping down form the sky.


    "Damn why is this man hugging the suspect?" Eric thought, he didn''t hear them yell each other''s name because he started flying down a few seconds after him and the Fire on his feet made it hard to hear.


    As he walked towards the two on the ground, he took a peek at Osira''s confused face and then spotted the ill.u.s.tratian lady standing a few meters back. "Ada?"


    "Eric?" Ada spoke out in confusion, still not able to know for sure if its Eric or not but sure hoping so.


    They two ran towards each other but thankfully none of them knocked each other down, both of them were a bit more gentle and sunk in each other''s hugs perfectly thanks to the minor height difference.


    "What are you doing here? It''s so dangerous!" Eric felt happy, but also started to nag. I suppose it runs in his bloodline.


    "We are here to help you, did you find it yet?" Asked Ada, with that question it is made sure that Commander Alia might have told more than she is supposed too.


    "Um, no the situation here appears to be quite different from what we thought it." Answered Eric as he separated from the hug and saw Commander Alia and Mogranius after approaching them.


    "Can you be more specific?" Commander Alia asked as she first took a peek at Eric and afterwards towards Mogranius.


    "Oh it is a long story, but for now meet Osira." Mogranius stated as he pointed his hand towards Osira while keeping Alia on his hug. "She is the Leader of the 15 Fire Controllers of... ugh Maleemia I suppose?" He tried to explain, but wants to put introductions as a main priority.


    "Oh she looks beautiful." Commander Alia was quick to compliment, it instantly made Osira smile but she became more concerned of the ill.u.s.tratian girl on Eric''s arm.


    Out of a sudden, she approached Osira and gave her a nice comfortable hug. "I''m Commander Alia, but you can call me Alia for not killing my man." She joked around, which rather gave even more smiles to everyone around.


    This situation has made her very confused, but she didn''t know what to say without offending Eric and Mogranius who helped them so much even after the back stab. This is especially hard for her, since she isn''t used to seeing friendly ill.u.s.tratios.


    To make it a bit more complicated, Ada walked closer to greet Osira as well. But the closer she got, Ada noticed it quite well that Osira isn''t the happiest with this meet and greet. Either way, they hugged as well and after all this silence Osira wanted to ask what has been itching under her skin.


    "I hope neither of you don''t misunderstand me, but what is an ill.u.s.tratio doing with you?" It was hard to ask, but the safety of her people comes first.


    Understanding her point of view, since ill.u.s.tratios tortured Ignites enough already. Ada decided to remain quiet and just let the others speak for her, it will be a lot more believable that way.


    "She is our friend, recently moved to one of our three friendly domains." Answered Eric, wanting to stand up for her. "See in those three domains, most Ignites and ill.u.s.tratios learned to get along and are working together towards a better life."

 Chapter 274 - Delivered warning

    "You brought her up here?" Yelled out Bittore as she saw two new faces entering the first tunnel of the second section.


    "Relax mother." Walked Osira closer to the fire as she slowly flapped her hand up and down, trying to stop her from yelling. She even carried a bit of an irritated look on her face, and it is fair to say that it is not just because of her mother''s yelling. "They are allies of Eric and Mogranius."


    "Yes... Mogranius filled me in." Commander Alia spoke out, carrying suspicion and a untrusting look on her face, her eyes were half closed and her lips were flat. Obviously Mogranius was bold enough to tell them that they got stabbed on the back at first. "I like the work you''ve done down there." A rather sensitive topic to talk about, but even though Commander Alia is surrounded by potential enemies she feels like her arsenal is strong enough to take everyone here, even though there is a 14 year old in this specific arsenal.


    "Thanks, I see Mogranius filled you in." Trying to find reasons to trust these ladies, she tapped on the fur seat near her and added. "Please sit down and tell us about yourself." Skilled enough to toy with words, Bittore continued to add in ways where she can control her tone upon wish even though this situation is hard to tackle calmly. "I apologise for yelling, Mogranius might have told you that we are very untrusting towards outsiders."


    "Indeed, it became a bit of a hassle coming up here to begin with. Your little Fire Controlling friends refused to let us in at first." Was Commander Alia bold enough to point out, indirectly quoting Osira and her actions. Chances of her attacking these two ladies if they were in no way related to Eric, were large. It felt so uncomfortable for her to stay calm at such a case.


    "Well, that little lady there is my daughter." Bittore raised her chin and glanced towards Osira, "I''m sorry if she offended you in any way. She does tend to become angry a bit too common."


    "Oh I don''t mind, I see you are protecting a lot here." Commander Alia spoke firmly and got to the point immediately after. "So what do you need to know?"


    A bit shocked of how direct this lady is being, noticing that her smile is a bit forced as well. Bittore proceeded to ask with caution, "Umm, let''s start with what relation you have with Eric or Mogranius."


    "Oh me and them go way back!" Commander Alia answered with her enthusiasm rising a bit, and indeed they do know each other for months now and throughout that short period of time they have been through a lot together. "We parted ways over a month ago because we had to fight off an ill.u.s.tratian army."


    Turning to Mogranius after, since that day was reminded to her she added. "By the way, nice work with the ambush. You''ve terminated a good portion of those bastards."


    "Um... minors present..." Mollara spoke from the background, she tried to be mad about such language around them but the fact of ill.u.s.tratians losing a battle just couldn''t help make her smile and change her tone.


    "Oh right, sorry." Commander Alia stretched her word, she didn''t neccesarily look like she felt guilty. Maybe just a little? Afterwards she thought about Ada, thinking that the lady who spoke in the background could have quoted this little lady who looks beyond adorable thanks to all the fur she is surrounded with.


    "This little lady near Eric is Ada, and I''m Alia by the way." Trying to find what point she wanted to prove after, she rubbed her temple a little bit and firmly added. "Ada has recently joined our Domains, parted ways with her mother at Silver Kingdom so she can help Eric up here along with me. It was hard to say no to her."


    "So she and Eric are?" Asked Bittore a bit direct, because she wants to see Eric with her daughter yet Osira is near her mother and Eric hovering (Not literally) over Ada''s shoulder.


    If you think it looks bad for Bittore, you should have seen how Osira felt when the shy and isolative Eric didn''t hesitate to lift Ada and fly her up here. You would think that this boy would be too shy to ever get too close with a lady, in a second she thought that Eric''s father was dumb enough to marry an ill.u.s.tratio or the other way around. Simply, she thought of Ada as Eric''s sister.


    "Let''s just say that they have a connection." Commander Alia replied with a smirk across her face as the thought of these two went through her mind, it feels nice.


    "With an ill.u.s.tratio?" Became Bittore direct to the point of sounding rude, "Don''t misunderstand me but this is very unusual to see!"


    At least she didn''t say directly racist comments like, "There is no such thing as a good ill.u.s.tratio." Or "You must be crazy to cooperate with this green fool." But beat around the bush instead with sugar coated questions. When Bittore is calm, she can quite control what to say and can get most of the information she wants to know without drawing a Dagger.


    "It is indeed, especially up here I think? I wasn''t able to see many examples. But back at Occidentis Ignis she is one of the few hundred ill.u.s.tratios who have opposed the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance." Became Commander Alia direct, protecting Ada and tried to keep a smile on her face but found Bittore a bit rude.


    "Interesting. I thought Mogranius was joking when he said that." Odd enough they didn''t talk this topic further, they have been busy one day after the other.


    But Bittore found one problem with her own way of speech, she has offended this little lady. She looks young, who would she want to destroy? If only she knew what a great mother Ada has, Bittore wouldn''t waste a second being suspicious.


    As a way of further acceptance, Bittore pushed herself hard enough to stand up. Afterwards she walked towards Ada and asked her to stand up, after she reached in for a hug and squeezed a bit tight. Gently speaking in her ear, but loud enough for everyone else to hear her. "I apologise if I offended you. You are obviously a brave young lady."


    After seperating from the hug, she turned her glare towards Osira and requested. "You''ve pushed these ladies a bit too hard, please hug them both."


    Luckily there aren''t a lot of people in this room, the ladies who escorted them here were dismissed by Osira and asked to return to their previous tasks. Bittore is aware that her daughter doesn''t like hugs, nor does she like how people look at her when she hugs.


    So seeing that there aren''t many people in this room, she found it as the best time to let go of little or no grudges without making her daughter uncomfortable. She sent Osira down there to handle this task so the least she can do is assure that Osira doesn''t get too uncomfortable.


    With Commander Alia closer, she hugged her first for a couple of seconds and tried to pull out of her hug quickly. But only found herself being hugged tighter by Commander Alia who pulled her back in the hug.


    As everyone was paying attention to Osira and Commander Alia, they have forgotten about a little fact. Bittore is still recovering, but what does that mean in this case? She clung hard on Ada, trying to keep her own balance since her own knees started feeling weak.


    Eric healed her to the point of allowing her feet to move, but he didn''t heal her entirely. He doesn''t feel like crying right now, even if Mogranius keeps smacking him it won''t neccesarily work unless he cries out of pain and that might not be the best idea.


    Ada noticed it, but she didn''t make a big deal about it. She heard Mogranius talk a couple of sentences about a lady being hurt badly and Eric healing her, so she just assumes that that lady is the one who has clung on to her.


    She just refused to let a hurt person fall no matter how much power she had to put in to keeping her up straight. She even put her arm around Bittore''s back to get a better hold on her, whispering enough for Bittore to hear. "I''ve got you."


    The hug with Commander Alia felt quite nice, tremendously soft even. "Eric must love them." Osira thought, once she figured out how good at hugging Commander Alia is. But she finally separated from the hug, interesting enough Alia had to let go.


    With a bit of a blush on her cheek, Osira walked towards Ada and tried to hug her too. But seeing that Ada has clung to Bittore, she figured what''s going on here. So she just hugged Ada from the side as comfortably as she could and whispered, "Sorry." On her ear.


    Afterwards she disconnected from the hug and grabbed Osira''s other side. Stating calmly, "Let''s get you seated mother."


    "Thanks, the pain has gotten a bit stronger now that the heat has calmed down." She spoke a bit loudly, to excuse her daughter from this rushfull behaviour.


    "With hugs and introductions out of the way." Commander Alia spoke out grabbing all the attention, and added. "There is an army of over 300 a couple of days away from your domain."

 Chapter 275 - Overpopulation?

    There is a lot going on in the high mountains, there is absolutely no doubt about it. But what about the events going on in the lowlands? Well although progress has been steady on the triangle of Domains, they are even managing to pile up sack after sack of gold. However, something out of the usual tipped the bucket and got King Zar up on his feet, thankfully it wasn''t anything bad.


    May (The fifth month.) has recently struck and since many deliveries are handed and payment is recieved by the end of each month, a special letter arrived for King Zar from the King of Lav Kingdom himself and its contents indeed proved interesting.


    As he opened the letter, it stated. "King Zar, I''ve come to you with an offer that will for sure benefit us both considering your set of attributes when it comes to business and for as far as I''ve been told, managing people. See, we have ran in a bit of an overpopulation problem, Zameria holds over 3 million people so of course such problems tend to become common considering the amount of big domains we in general have available, they are scarce.


    However, we have tried to tame this overpopulation over the past three months by giving people jobs and housing to in exchange for tax. But the more we seem to provide, the more people appear in our Kingdom as if it was a sick joke by an over powered Wizard.


    Well, humour aside. A portion of these people who are aiding this overpopulation, are homeless. They''ve came in Lav Kingdom from three towns higher in the mountains for a more stable life as much as my assistants told me, those towns are fairly big.


    We gave jobs to those who have skill, most of which included Lumberjacks and clay sculptors. As for the rest they don''t identify with an Official skill or experience which makes it hard to get them a job, the positions are already full and it would tend to mess with my Kingdom''s economy if I hire more people than we need, we already have too many apprentices and not enough housing.


    These homeless people count 247 at the moment but might increase if they figure out that a new life can be offered to them far out of the Continent, they are rather desperate. Word of warning, there are elderly and children who won''t prove as help when it comes to running a business. My most favoured assistant did some calculations and these specific portion of people count as 24% all together, meaning there are exactly 49 elderlies and children all together who can''t work.


    It would be easy to just not include them, but that way their children and grand children wouldn''t even set foot on the ship which will mess up all of this damage control. So I recommend you to take them all, because I think it would be easy for you to hire at least one of their children or grand children for that matter, and attain tax from the same house. It is a win no matter which way you put it, however some elderlies don''t have children and can''t work either. So I think you need to open your heart and accept them, I tried to do it here but there isn''t a single available house.


    I think this is a good opportunity for you as a King, your Continent in general suffers under population and I think they will prove useful to attain stronger defences, you mentioned a war earlier so this will just aid you further. If not in the battle field, you might need new apprentices on different crafts, may I suggest in Blacksmithery? The more gold you have the stronger your defences can be.


    As for the Travel expenses, you don''t need to worry about it. We will ship them all there, I think three sh.i.p.s would do it so the expenses for my domain are affordable. The only thing you need to worry about is to pick them up from the port and take them to your Kingdom, I can''t help you with that part because I would need to transport over 30 Wagons there to do so.


    Please get your answer ready for the captain to pick up by the next month, and hopefully we will get these homeless people there in the 7th month. If for some reason you can''t afford to have these people in your domain, rest assured that I won''t mind if you send them to another Domain. Just give them a place they can feel happy to call home."


    As King Zar took a peek through this letter, he found its contents indeed interesting. "This isn''t a deal for me." He spoke out as he read the two sided letter and got Seer a bit confused. King Zar never refused an offer from the Zamerians, this is rather unusual.


    So he asked, "Why so? What did Lav Kingdom offer us this time?" Even as a personal assistant, if the letter is meant for the King he is educated enough not to open it. That at least proves that Seer deserves his position furthermore and his 500 gold pay as well.


    "They say that there are 247 homeless people in their domain, they want to get those people here in Pameres Kingdom!" As he answered in a short detail, he started rubbing his forehead to think of an idea. Where exactly can he put 247 people to work on.


    "We just fixed the overpopulation here in February, do we really need more people?" Specified Seer right away since he has been the closest to Maleesa and saw the employee count quite often.


    "We don''t. That''s the problem, but it still isn''t a bad idea to get them here in Ignis if not in my Kingdom!" King Zar instantly stated, they need as much people as possible if they wish to not be dominated from what''s left of the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance who might or might not shoot desperate shots.


    "How about King Michael? Sure they don''t have many people employed but they still just have a bit over 300 people in total!"


    "Indeed, grab a Messenger and make him send this letter to King Michael. Attach another one to it stating, "Just take it as he is talking about Gaster Kingdom and write me a Parchment back telling me what you think, we need to answer him in the next delivery."


    "Will do Sire." Seer answered quickly, grabbed the long two sided parchment and reached for another parchment nearby to write what he has been ordered too.


    As for housing it won''t neccesarily prove troublesome, the second housing project has officially started over a couple of months ago and there are nearly 40 houses constructed with an aim of 100. They are located below the previously built houses, outside of the Kingdom walls standing on the right.


    By the time when these homeless people arrive here, there would be enough houses to fit them all and even have nearly half of the houses to spare. So housing isn''t a problem at all, what is an issue is the rate of unemployment the Kingdom would face if 247 more people will arrive in town, 198 of which can become apprentices!


    Through some calculations a couple of days ago, they figured out that Pameres Kingdom has already hired over 500 people, even though most of them are male it is still a huge number. But where does the problem stand? Well after setting the elderlies and children aside, there still are 1,000 unemployed people in this Kingdom.


    Sure no one would starve to death since each and every house is paying a monthly tax, which neccesarily means that there is at least one individual in each house that brings gold home but the unemployment rate is still large.


    He would put more of them in the army since they require their defences to become indomitable without a Fire Controller present, but now the Guards/Soldiers aren''t paid with free food but gold instead.


    The Army is already eating up over 20,000 Gold Coins each month, if Pameres Kingdom so much as doubles their Guard/Soldier count they won''t even be able to break even. They would start losing gold, it would be a bad idea considering that they just managed to gain a total of 220,000 so far. Pameres Kingdom would have a lot more but it did raise the triangle of domains in their feet and the Weaponry costed a hell lot as specified on Volume 4.


    "Ready?" Asked King Zar after a minute, becoming a bit impatient and wanting this task to be over with asap even though they have a month''s time to figure this all out. Well considering the travel distance they can get all of this done and still have a week of time.


    "Ready Sire. I''ll get our most skilled Horseman so we can get this task done with before the deadline."

 Chapter 276 - Ass breaker

    Throughout the morning they''ve spend about 3 hours travelling through the blistering cold, stomping on the frozen snow before another light wave of snow fell upon it as the weather shifted just a nudge.


    The morning cold indeed proves troublesome, since they have been in considerable enough warmth throughout the night and now when they went out of their comfort, sudden cold temperature hit their face like a fresh wave to wake them and their souls up as well.


    The morning cold is even stronger than the one at midnight, yet Rowan insisted to wake up as early as possible. Claiming that it would take a while to reach it, they need time as their advantage unless they want to arrive back in the Kingdom at the next morning.


    They have walked fairly over 10 Kilometers so far, which made Chan feel confused and a bit irritated about Rowan insisting to not take any Wagons along. At least now they wouldn''t feel so tired but have their behinds seated in the Wagons instead.


    Chan tried to keep quiet about it at first since he figured that the Giant ill.u.s.tratio can''t be this far, but considering that Rowan didn''t warn about the distance before time, even Chan is becoming a bit suspicious about it.


    "Why didn''t we take the Wagons? My toes are freezing up!" Chan asked his tone arose just a little bit, showing irritation but to point out that he is a bit suspicious, he added. "Why are we this far out of the Kingdom? I was told that the Giant ill.u.s.tratio is very close."


    "He is very close." Stated Rowan as he kept stomping down on the snow to get a firm grip one step at a time. "I think our definitions of close and far are different."


    Well at least here Rowan started making a bit more sense instead of just avoiding questions. To fight off suspicion without even knowing it himself, he continued to explain some of the Country''s attributes. "Here resources are scarce, a lot had to walk 10 hours a day to bring home a meal."


    "Exactly my point, the resources are scarce. So why didn''t we bring our resources along with us?" Unfortunately, for once Chan is making the most sense here. It had to happen eventually right?


    "This is Blue Eagle territory." Rowan finally answered as he pointed his Iron axe towards the sky, following the end of it the group was able to see a group of 5 Blue Eagles. Thankfully they were flying on the opposite direction but it proved Rowan''s point. "It would be too dangerous if we brought along meat, they would eventually find us if not right away."


    "Neither of you would want to fight a flock of Blue Eagles, I assume?" As he walked further down hill carefully, he stated under a low tone as his arms were spread wide from his torso to at least cushion a fall for a small bit if he slips and falls down. The snow here is almost equal to ice and last thing he needs at this age is to bump his head violently against it.


    "Well you saved our assess at this point." Chan finally quit his complaining and decided to trust Rowan more. He has spend decades in this tundra, who would know this place better than him?


    A shift in attitude is what Chan needed at this point and the timing worked perfectly, because the next challenge they would have to face is a lot worse than just walking on frozen snow.


    Rowan stopped on his spot, turned to the right and pointed towards a mountain of ice with his axe. "We will have to climb up here, after we reach the top we can find the Giant ill.u.s.tratio there."


    Everyone looked at this mountain with a lot of dissatisfaction, it looks rather hard to climb up it and the ice just makes it worse. Yes, there is ice on this one instead of frozen snow. Well, snow is also here and there but it is scarce.


    "How are we going to climb up there on foot?" Interrupted Dilli this time, if Rowan told before time they could at least have brought tools along. "The only way up there is through flight, and I doubt that that beast would wait for all of us to arrive there. It will chew us alive!"


    "You are right there... miss Ignite?" Complimented Rowan her word for once and dropped down his backpack. "We can''t walk up there but we can climb."


    Afterwards he pulled out a couple of hook like pieces of metal stretching 2 feet long and a foot wide! "This will get a good grip against the ice, try to dig it as deep as possibly at each swing or you will be sliding down all the way down here."


    "Well shit, this will be worse than sleeping in the cold." Chan complained as he grabbed one of the hooks and had a better look at it.


    "It definetly is worse, but it should only take us a couple of hours to get up there. The elders before me, said that the top is a Kilometer far from here." Afterwards he pulled more and more hooks from his backpack, it seems like he carried a lot so far and didn''t even complain.


    While Chan complained more than a child even though he didn''t carry anything. See, people who would give a shit would be a bit embarrassed about that, but no Chan felt no embarrassment but procrastination instead. Two hours of climbing against the cold ice!


    "What do you mean that it is definitely worse?" Asked the Head Guard from the background before grabbing a couple of hooks of which Rowan tossed on the Snow near the backpack.


    "Oh, you will mostly be on your belly and your knees will hurt for a month." At least at this part Rowan didn''t spare any information to tell for later, at least this will have the entire group a bit more prepared.


    To cause a bit of drama in this situation, he added a couple of words which define racism even though he doesn''t feel like he is wrong. "As for cold, your tall Demon lady will take care of it after we reach up there. So our knees should be our biggest worry."


    "I follow the illas, old man." Dilli a.k.a Bear Claw returned the favour. What else would she do? Stand there and be offended, oh hell no.


    "You still blast Fire miss." Rowan continued with his offensive comments, the illas influences have been deep up here especially since there only are ill.u.s.tratios at Frozen Toe Kingdom.


    "Let''s not toy with words here, Bear Claw is our ally and I expect you to respect her Rowan. She doesn''t like Ignites more than you do!" Jumped in Chan, protecting Dilli once more. But not from a Wild Boar this time thankfully, just a racist.


    "Alright then, my apologies miss." Was Rowan brave enough to apologise, or it could be that he just wants to move towards a different point before they start this part of their journey.


    "If we are over half an hour high up there and one of you happens to slip down here, don''t bother climbing up again." Although he projected it a bit harsh, its a melody in the ears of some here.


    I mean why wouldn''t it be? They won''t have to climb all the way up there for over 2 hours and they won''t have to fight the Giant ill.u.s.tratio. No one is dumb enough to risk their own damn neck for gold!


    But Chan of course had to stall them a bit more with a question he was itching to answer. "Why so?"


    "Because the Giant ill.u.s.tratio won''t wait for us to prepare our arsenal." Direct enough, Rowan closed down any more questions with his answer.


    Or at least he hoped so, but no. Chan again asked, "Why would you face a beast for strangers?"


    "Let''s just say it is a personal achievement." Rowan answered as he put his backpack on and prepared to climb this mountain of ice.


    As they took a better glance at it, the view in front of them can actually be considered two mountains. They are close to each other but in the middle it literally looks like a naturally formed kilometer long slide.


    The middle of these two mountains spreads over 10 meters wide and its surface is smooth enough to slide down without facing a bruise. Waving his hooks, he pointed one to the left and recommended. "Half climb that way and the rest follow me, we can''t break the slide unless you want to break your ass on the way down."


    The mountain has an angle of 40¡ã, I suppose it is better than climbing up vertically and it shows strong chances of survival if one is clumsy enough to mess up a good grip, but it is still torturing especially since they don''t have the appropriate boots for this task.


    "Let''s go."

 Chapter 277 - Leap

    Breaking through the ice with their Iron hooks held with gloves to fight off the blistering cold metal has to offer in such an environment, they''ve managed to climb up the first 100 meters up and although the scene indeed beautiful, it got a few of the group tad tired.


    I don''t think we need introduction for such a case, the smallest and weakest man of this group was facing complications. That man of which, is Guard Commander Chan or now best known as Errand runner Chan or Lap Dog Chan.


    As he gave in as much force as he could once more, his hook broke through the ice. Feeling tremendously tired under his breath he said, "I wish I had some Ale." Afterwards slipping as he tried to get a firm footing on the ice, he barely hurt his knee thankfully but the sudden commotion made him loose grip of his left hook!


    "100 meters up and he is losing his hook?" Thought Rowan to himself as he took a glance at the commotion, seeing Chan''s hook slide down he yelled. "You''re having trouble already? If you told me that you can''t climb this shit I would let you climb on my back!"


    Well the fact that his language has become tad offensive might mean that he is facing trouble too, he is 65 years old after all. Normally people would feel embarrassed to be out matched by an old man, but no. Chan didn''t face such an issue.


    Rowan indeed let his anger take control there for a second, but the moment he looked behind to check over Chan he saw the beauty this place offers the higher they climb. The white tundra along with the sun''s beams reflecting against the ice, complimented by a small patch of clouds who have hit the ground here and there. It indeed looks beautiful and it warmed his soul here where any spirit can be frozen.


    "I got him." Assured Dilli, she was climbing right below Chan. So with one hook against the ice and with the other secured over her arm, she grabbed Chan from the collar of his Fur Coat and threw him over her back.


    Although not surprising even for Chan, this little act from Dilli got him a bit embarrassed. He wanted to say something about it but he feared the consequences. Because if he ran his mouth against Dilli, he will use all this soft comfort on her back and be tossed over the other men. Dilli hasn''t yet attacked her own once the deal has been made, but the chances aren''t next to zero.


    If he offended Rowan, it would just be playing wrong even though he was the one who ran his mouth. Why? Well he is 65 and is climbing this mountain of blistering harsh ice along with them, taking a shot at him be it with a word or with a hook would just be playing wrong. And he doesn''t look quite defenceless or harmless either so it would just be playing stupid.


    "Hold on tight this time." She partially joked, and started kicking the ice by each hook she struck. How would that help? Well it certainly is hurting her toes here and there but she is blasting Fire through her feet, directed towards her toes actually.


    It sounds a bit odd and definitely difficult to do, requiring a few bruises as a sacrifice but it pays off as the most secure grip against the ice because the ice melts around her toes allowing her foot to go half way in the ice.


    To make this trick a lot better, the other men behind her have a more secure way up. But I don''t think they will be able to use her gift for a long while, because running a bit out of patience she decided to pass Rowan.


    In order to do so, she would have to tilt her body along with Chan to the right for about 20¡ã! It made everything harder because to cling on the ice with such a position, all four limbs have to work overtime in order to guarantee success. The success here would be not slipping, which would result to falling towards a side which doesn''t nearly guarantee a smooth experience.


    "That woman is absolutely insane." Rowan thought to himself as he saw Dilli pass him by, standing 3 meters actually away from him.


    He should be mad for having his guidance under appreciated, but when he looked at how shocked Chan himself is, Rowan couldn''t help but smile and proceed to climb after her. Looking back at the men behind him, they shared the same expression as Chan.


    ...


    As they''ve reached 500 meters high, they''ve already met with some complications. As a start, 2 men have already lost their firm grip and slid down the naturally formed slide in the middle. They''ve escaped this situation rather well, because if they slid too far in the opposite sides of these two mountains, a broken ass would be the easiest to tackle punishment.


    Seeing men stronger and younger then him slide down like absolute fools, he just thought. "Morons." And yelled from the top of his lungs, "Don''t bother climbing back up."


    Well it is a good idea to remind them but they wouldn''t try to climb up here again, their progress wouldn''t be equal to what they''ve obtained before they''ve failed. Both of their knees have suffered a bit of damage, they need some recovery time.


    "They are supposed to be the toughest of the toughest." Chan thought to himself as he watched them slide down from the comfort of Bear Claw''s back. "I''ll ask the Grand King to give them a smaller pay." He finished off his thoughts as he saw Dilli blasting Fire through her feet.


    She has already been blasting Fire from her toes, so what exactly am I referring too you might ask? Well with a couple of her small toes already cracked but thankfully not broken, she figured that if she continues this way she will have to amputate at least half of her toes and that would in no way benefit her regardless of who she is working for.


    She started blasting fire from underneath her feet so she can elevate herself along with Chan from the ice and fly up there as fast as possible. But of course to assure that she won''t damage Rowan behind her with this trick, she had to give a boost in advance so the moment she attempted this move she was already 15 meters far from Rowan.


    But blasting fire up a mountainside with a 40¡ã angle? That''s just playing mad especially with a weight on her back. Don''t be alarmed or happy, she didn''t cut loose of dead weight.


    Although her first burst towards the mountain of ice was tad disoriented, she managed to regain control shortly after with an aid of another idea she literally planned to use before she elevated.


    The idea? Well with her hook against the ice a couple of inches deep, she got her first bit of orientation before she used the other hook to attain complete control.


    Picture it, hooks against the ice but her body a foot above this knee shatterer. She doesn''t know if anyone ever attempted this trick nor does she care, it is working for her over time.


    Feeling Chan cling around her harder, she feels like the reaction he has as the one who got to experience this trick along with her isn''t too different from the reaction Rowan along with the rest is carrying.


    Although unintended, when she blasted off she made another man loose grip of the ice. Interesting indeed for the rest, that man showed more shock than the rest which didn''t result how anyone wanted it too.


    Rowan didn''t see this one fall down, the man was at the very bottom in this line of climbing men and the fire closest to him caused a bit of a noise. But one of the other men who saw the last slide down, assured that everyone else knows.


    "Another man slid down!" He yelled, scaring the other men who didn''t hey fail. They weren''t scared that the man fell down, but all that shouting got them tad scared.


    As Rowan took a peek down, he wasn''t a fan of such a result. He wasn''t quite sure if that failure was because of that sudden burst of fire nor did he care, a fail is a fail. "Don''t bother climbing back up!" He yelled once more, reminding now the third man who failed.


    Now at least he won''t have to yell it again if another fails since that sentence has been implanted on the mind of the ones who didn''t yet fail. They didn''t fail but they aren''t too far from it, they are lucky if they reach the top with 5 men.


    "Common, tighten your assess. There only is half a Kilometer left."

 Chapter 278 - Giant versus Giant

    Although Dilli managed to elevate herself along with Chan from the ice, she couldn''t keep it up forever. See the weight on her back along with the fact that she is using hooks to pull herself closer towards the ice, which doesn''t allow her from flying off and being dragged by the win as a result, doesn''t allow her to fly too long.


    We can consider her trick as a long long leap, it would be more appropriate. Her first leap got them 30 meters up, as for the landing on the ice again it indeed became tricky and if not careful it can become bone braking too.


    The first leap hurt her foot but not enough to break it, what was the result of it? She learned how the land the second time she does this leap. She figured out that the trick to success here would to blast a bit more fire than usual through her toes in order to melt through the ice and confirm a grip.


    The other part of the landing trick would be to kick the habit off constantly sinking her hooks lightly through the ice for a couple of inches in, a habit of which she got with her first leap as she quickly dug her hooks to assure orientation.


    She would need to dig her hooks as deep as possible before her feet meet with the ice, because what help would her feet half way deep in ice be if she hasn''t a good firm grip with her hooks? She would slide down after getting this high already.


    Once she made her first leap and land, she whispered. "We should wait for the rest."


    "Why? Just keep flying!" Answered Chan who wanted to get this humiliation over with as soon as possible. Well, the humiliation and the fear of falling down on the sharp ice at the other side.


    "We can''t face the Giant ill.u.s.tratio alone." She reminded as she turned her head back hoping to look at Chan. "That''s crazy even for me."


    "Perhaps I didn''t explain her enough of the plan?" He thought to himself as he recalled the past weeks. "Look, when I said that "We will cut off the Giant ill.u.s.tratio''s toe." I really meant that, "You will cut the Giant ill.u.s.tratio''s toe."


    "Yes, I''m aware of that fact." She answered swiftly, trying to figure out where he is trying to go with this specific piece of wordplay. "Leave that to me, but we still need distractions."


    "Good point, wait here I suppose." Chan decided to finally reason and just lightened his grip around her, her shoulders likely feel sore already although they do feel like boulders.


    He whispered in her ear, "I heard cracks when you landed. Are your feet okay?" Here at least he proved that he has concern for more people than himself, well he proved that at Volume 3 as well but we are just using this piece of wordplay as an example.


    "They are just cracked, not broken." She answered, knowing it as a fact because although painful she can move her toes just a little bit. "They will heal when I rest."


    Seeing Rowan climb close enough to them, they heard him advise. "Don''t fly when you are almost at the top, you do not want to face a 30 foot man alone."


    Finally making it to the top, they just saw another man slide down to the bottom. Meaning now there are 6 Guards who made it up here, along with Rowan, Dilli and Chan there only are 9 people at total who will face the Giant ill.u.s.tratio.


    As they got up here, Rowan gestured for all of them to get closer together and whispered. "Try to make as little noise as possible, if you want that Toe and get out of her alive we must not make any noise."


    The scene they found up here is indeed interesting. It looks like a semi flat land, all shaped in ice but there is snow to be seen up here too. A lot actually, the higher they climbed the more snow they walked or slashed over against. And unlike down there, it feels a lot softer.


    This signifies that snow is almost constant here, it likely snowed minutes before they arrived.


    "Follow me." Rowan whispered as he spotted something shinning around 30 meters away.


    The semi flat land here seemingly stretches over a 100 meters long but it seems a bit smaller in width, so they have to keep that in mind if they actually want to fight this Giant beast. Or at least remember where the slide is located at so they don''t slide their way to death in any other direction.


    Once they''ve reached what Rowan found, he turned around and stated with a small hard to hear whisper. "This is his foot."


    As for Dilli, this is like an indirect order to do her part of the job. She stepped towards the foot closer, which stood only a foot above the ground. The foot stood a foot.


    Or at least the toe did, the big toe. This explains where Frozen Toe Kingdom got their name from. This Giant ill.u.s.tratio''s toes are indeed frozen, they almost look like the same as ice. Although ill.u.s.tratios are green in colour, these toes look pale enough to be called blue.


    Based on the books she has read, he won''t feel it if she touches or even burns his toe off. Tapping it at first to determine how tough it is, she figured that just a simple fireball won''t do the trick here. Even a Sword wouldn''t cut it for the job.


    She took a couple of steps backwards, and prepared to unleash a move which will indeed guarantee success. The Slicer.


    Without wasting a blink, she sumo squatted her way towards finishing this task. The Fire cut through the toe, and to make it a lot more confusing but thankfully not disgusting, portions of the toe shattered like actual ice.


    The bottom portions to be more exact, afterwards the toe just spun itself towards the snow close by. Chan tip toed his way towards it and grabbed it carefully, it is lighter than it looks.


    As if the Giant ill.u.s.tratio didn''t loose the toe at all, he just continued to sleep or whatever he is doing underneath the snow. It became relieving equally as confusing. "That''s it? It was this easy?" They all shared this same thought or anything similar as they slowly walked towards the slide.


    A few blinks later, they''ve all heard what they didn''t want too. They were quick and well informed enough to figure out that the Giant ill.u.s.tratio wasn''t sleeping. But what gave that hint?


    Well, they saw a half body running towards them. That''s right, they only saw the Giant ill.u.s.tratio''s legs and genitals. That was the toughest part to see here apart from who he victimized.


    The legs of this beast charged right towards Rowan, and kicking him hard enough to break bones at the spot before he was elevated 30 meters high and send hurling across the air, about to face the end of his time against the harsh ice.


    "I will finally see my boys." He whispered to himself as he felt the raging burn on his chest.


    "Holy shit, did that just happen?" Chan yelled out as he saw the n.a.k.e.d Giant''s body being close to being reformed completely.


    "It just happened." Yelled Dilli, grabbing everyone''s attention and knocking them out of their sudden shock. "Run!"


    Well no one disagreed to her plan and without wasting a blink they started running towards the opposite direction, looking for the slide they climbed along too.


    Seeing the Giant ill.u.s.tratio up on his feet, she figured out that his foot only stretches over 70 centimeters long if not over a meter. And nearly half a meter wide too, there is no fate of life left for Rowan or anyone who faces the same fate as him. But at least he can see his boys.


    Dilli shot towards the Giant ill.u.s.tratio, hitting his arm with a 6 foot wide Fireball. He might not feel any pain on his toe but the rest of his body is totally burnable.


    She saw his arm falling down, and as his head finally became reformed he unleashed a large ice shattering shout. "Roar!!!"


    The rest just didn''t want to face it along with Chan who is already sliding down along with the toe of which Dilli cut off. This Giant ill.u.s.tratio''s head looks a bit different, the primary difference of which is its canines stretching all the way down his cheek. Talk about primitive.


    However the fact this beast can be shot down, gave her a lot more confidence. She proceeded to shoot another fireball towards the beast''s chest, perfect timing too because he has already started chasing.


    The second 6 foot wide Fireball stopped him on his spot for a couple of seconds, she could see a lot blood falling down after and giving the snow a new colour. But the Giant didn''t want to stop just yet.


    A different creature joined the battle here, and thankfully it isn''t a Blue Eagle or a flock of it. No, a man 1/3 of the Giant''s size joined the battle. She never saw a man this big and couldn''t see who it is since he was covered in fur clothing.


    But he managed to knock the Giant ill.u.s.tratio down once he got a grip of his leg, as if he waited for the Giant ill.u.s.tratio to be weakened. The Giant ill.u.s.tratio hit the ground and shook a good portion of the mountain, the snow up here near the slide started rolling down.


    Dilli slid down along with it, not because the fall knocked her off balance but because she used this odd situation to escape. The last thing she wants right now is to face a semi giant along with a giant.

 Chapter 279 - One thought ahead

    "What?" Bittore yelled and almost fell down badly as she tried to sit, this piece of information indeed came in as a shocker.


    "Well, I figured that I shouldn''t rush with the information. You have 3 days, I don''t think 300 Soldiers will prove as a problem for you." Answered Commander Alia feeling a bit confused of her reaction, "Why would a woman who exploded an entire Kingdom of dangerous Snow Ignites fear a small Army?"


    Commander Alia does carry a point here, I mean how much had 4 Domains to sacrifice just to kill 800 enemy Soldiers? 3 Fire Controllers had to be included in such a battle along with 51 absolute man/woman beasts. Yet they barely won.


    And Bittore with the help and sacrifice of the 14 ladies managed to wipe out an entire Kingdom using nothing but an Ignite Gem. Who else would have such grand levels of knowledge? Even the Grand King seems unaware both of how they practically bombed a Kingdom and how they defended the same Kingdom against thousands without facing any military losses!


    "This is no time to throw words around." Bittore replied with a bit of rage as she violently took a peek towards Commander Alia, "No matter if 300 or 30, they are a threat to my people. You should have made it as a main priority, a main topic even if the soldiers were 3 months away."


    Odd enough, Bittore is making a lot of sense and Commander Alia found herself at a loss for words. Feeling guilty for a bit before she gently replied, "Well that''s my bad. I''ll face those enemies along with you. In fact I did before."


    "How did you do it before? This is your first time up here, I never saw you before." Asked Bittore feeling a bit confused, obviously misunderstanding what Commander Alia meant.


    "That is true, but I caused them a bit of a situation to fill their hands. Why else would I be 3 days ahead of them up here?" At that wonderful piece of information, Bittore finally felt relief and indeed became more and more sure to trust this lady. I mean why wouldn''t she? Alia defended Maleemia, or at least tried too days earlier before she got here and was introduced to the people here.


    "What did you do to them?" She asked a bit more kindly now and Mogranius became a bit shocked too.


    To face 300 people alone? It certainly requires some guts and is at some aspects crazy. "Yes, what did you do? That sounds completely dangerous." He became concerned, what if her fate became different from what it is now? Would it be pleasurable to see the woman he loves, as a corpse laid in these mountains? Of course not, "I''m just glad you made it out alive." He added at last, and finally letting her speak.


    She tried to explain, but the moment she was about too her word kept getting cut by a complaining 59 year old man. "Relax, I didn''t even have to kill any of them!"


    "Then how did y..." Bittore tried to ask but Commander Alia already prepared an answer.


    "Some Blue Eagles were following us already, we tossed our backpacks full of food all over the Soldiers'' heads!" She answered with a bit of a smirk across her lips, as she got a better whiff of the food here.


    "That''s my lady!" Mogranius added proudly as he gave her another hug once he sat close to her.


    "Yes yes... Do we have any food here, we haven''t eaten in three days!" She asked as kindly as a lady with an headache caused by hunger can ask. She already took a whiff of the fried meat nearby, she feels sure that there is food here.


    As she took a peek back at Mogranius, she figured out that he has already stood up and has approached a stack of meat a few meters away from the Fire. He returned a few seconds later and dropped a Kilogram heavy chunk of meat on her lap, "Chuck down on that, it tastes horrible but..."


    Mogranius didn''t even have to finish his sentence, Commander Alia has kept her patience and manners until now but her teeth sunk in deep in the Ratbug meat the second she got a hold of it. With meat in her mouth, chewing a bit fast she spoke. "Food is food."


    Afterwards carrying another kilogram of meat he walked towards Ada and handed it to her. Odd enough, even as a child who didn''t eat for 3 days, her manners remained admirable.


    She grabbed the meat which was handed to her and gently grabbed a small piece without a rush. Looking at such patience, Osira thought to herself. "I get why he likes her, who else would be able to be this patient? This other lady is likely over 40 yet look at her manners."


    She thought all of that, but when it comes to speech she too became as quiet as Eric, just another person listening in the background. But there is a major difference here, Eric is standing there listening to the conversation while Osira is standing there with her feelings hurt in a rather strong level.


    "I think Mogranius killed that Ratbug himself, I know it tastes too sour but you''ll get used to it." At this point it was a bit hard to determine if she was talking about the meat or her attitude.


    But it was made clear differently, with an apology. "I''m sorry for yelling, I do anything to keep my people safe but looks like you did it for me."


    Already having 1/3 of the Kilogram of Ratbug meat eaten, she just raised her head from her meal for a short while and answered with a bit of food hanging from her mouth. "You''re welcome."


    With that over with, Bittore decided to not waste any more time and cut to the case immediately. "I think we should wipe these ones out of existence as well, Osira what do you think? This will be good practice for you."


    At this case she also wanted to point out that Osira is a leader here and remind it to the rest who already knew it, specifically Eric. She did not yet want to give up on the thought of Eric and Osira being together forever and ruling this domain together.


    But where was Osira? Here with her body but elsewhere with her thoughts, buried in sorrow at the thought of having her little crush already taken away from her hands before she even tried anything and yes the fact that an ill.u.s.tratio succeeded her made her feel a lot worse and stupidly dropped down her self esteem.


    "Osira?" Called her mother again, trying to grab her attention after figuring out that she is a tad lost in her thoughts. "Do you think we should suffocate the enemies?"


    "Um... yes of course." She answered as her eyes directed towards Bittore, figuring out that she zoned out there for a little while. "Why would we even risk anything else."


    "Well then it is settled, you will handle this situation. It is a small army, you can handle it just fine." Here she wanted to boast about Osira more and more even though her tone remained firm and serious. This is indeed a grand level of social manipulation but no one keep statistics on that.


    Oddly disagreeing even though he would finally see how these ladies do their signature attack, Mogranius shouted his suggestion. "That''s a very bad idea."


    Trying to keep her patience about her idea being called bad after finally putting the plan behind her, she asked gently. "Why is it a bad idea?"


    "Well it is because if you keep killing them, new badges of Soldiers will never stop coming up here. They will never leave you alone." He did make a firm point, but what difference did it make in the middle of hot heads?


    "I don''t care how many come up here, they will all die at our hands." Proved Bittore how hot headed she is, and of course depended on the capabilities she and her team has. "Won''t it be better to weaken all that big Army?"


    "You''ve weakened the army already, now we need to assure that no one tries to conquer this place." Answered Mogranius, rubbing his temples a bit to think it through and finally added. "But if they come here and see that there no longer is a Kingdom to invade, they will go report back to their Kings and no one would come up here again."


    Hard to argue with such a good idea, she gave it a bit more thought and answered with a sigh. "Alright!" Afterwards continuing, "We will do it your way, but if the Army tries to climb up here..."


    "We will shoot them down, that would be as easy as "suffocating" them." He air poked, and already thinking ahead with this plan now where most are focusing on boy girl drama, he recommended. "We also need to get rid of all that melted Iron on the rocks, even a moron can figure out that there is something wrong down there."

 Chapter 280 - Unique Figure

    Hard to argue with such firm logic, Bittore just decided to agree and ask further questions about it. "That''s a good idea... But how exactly will we remove melted Iron? It isn''t exactly easy considering how thick the shelves where, they weren''t small in number as well."


    Able to catch up with what exactly is she trying to say, he asked as he rubbed his chin. "So we can''t completely melt the Iron?"


    "We can melt the rock sooner than we can melt all that Iron." Bittore theorized, perhaps she exaggerated it a little bit but she still has some hopes of sticking to her own plan and has fair points of argument against his plan. "Melting everything would take two maybe three days, what if your plan fails and we have no Fire power to defend this place?"


    "Oh that would be bad." Agreed Mogranius to reasoning for once and got Commander Alia confused, she even stopped chewing on her Ratbug meat for a split second to see if she is hallucinating from hunger.


    Only to see Mogranius ask for advice on handling this task, which made it a whole lot more confusing for her. "What do you suggest we do, if not melt all that Iron?"


    As Bittore thought it through instead of just directly refusing his plan and prove herself one sided, another lady walked in the room soon enough to hear what topic was spoken off, that special lady is Samantha. She didn''t waste a blink and didn''t really care about speaking out of order, it is for the good of her people after all.


    "I have an idea, and I think it will work overtime." As she approached the Fire, her eyes shone near it along with her innocent looking face. She grabbed all of their attention and was ready to reveal her plan.


    "Samantha?" Glanced Bittore towards her and instantly felt relieved, at least her ideas are rarely to be taken lightly. Her brain tends to work over time when it comes to covering a scene, she is nicknamed after all "The Assassin". And assassins don''t leave traceable scenes, do they? "Tell us your idea." Requested Bittore and proceeded to listen in the most pure anticipation


    "At Tunnel 4 we have a massive amount of uncut stone, they are basically boulders varying 30-70 Kilograms." As she started explaining this plan, a smirk on her face already arose and she was eager to explain it completely.


    But was interrupted by Mogranius who remained a bit impatient, feeling that his idea has been left in the dust for now even though it is great, or at least he sees it as great. "What do rocks have to do with this?"


    "If you''d let me finish!" Samantha answered with her tone rising just a little bit, obviously feeling annoyed. "We can take those rocks and throw them over the melted Iron, we can afford it since there literally are hundreds of cut stone ready to use. We have a huge reserve regardless of what we want to build."


    As she finished projecting her idea, she took a peek around and saw everyone looking at each other with their eyes wide open, until Bittore broke the silence with a compliment. "Sam... Samantha that''s brilliant. It would look like it used too before we dumped down the Iron, except a bit taller but an enemy could never tell the difference!"


    Of course Bittore caught up with the rest of the plan, which neccesarily makes this whole situation better. Mogranius thought of the plan, Samantha made it better and Bittore approved it. Everyone had a bit of a contribute I suppose, but Mogranius felt happier than the word can describe that they will be doing his plan instead.


    He would stand up and hug Samantha, but with his lover in the room it might not turn up for the best. Commander Alia isn''t generally jealous, and considering his age it would be like hugging a kid but he doesn''t want to take any chances I suppose. He had the opportunity to share a bed... or chair with Commander Alia, why would he want to risk losing that after he experienced it??!


    "Thank you." Answered Samantha without paying much attention to all that praise and the fact that she left everyone in shock, and proceeded to stand up. Adding after, "Well common, you don''t want to leave this for the last day do you?"


    ...


    Everyone but Bittore stood up and went towards Tunnel 4 to get this task started, in aims of not wasting too much time in this little project they called for more men to handle this task. Lifting a 50 Kilogram rock isn''t exactly the easiest task, so they do need extra hands.


    As the people grabbed one rock after the other and forced their way up the stairs, to drop down all this rock below the entrance. Eric walked closer with Mogranius and Commander Alia, himself carrying a 25 Kilogram rock and asked.


    "Do you really think we can trick the ill.u.s.tratios to never come up here again?" Tricking the Alliance that dominated this entire continent? It sounds particularly hard, Eric still has doubts even though he wishes badly for this tribe to be left at peace.


    But of course Mogranius seems prepared, analyzed the whole prespective. "Um yes... From all the way down there it is barely noticable that there is a Cave down here, it looks like a dot no matter if you look at it from below or from the top of the Carved Path."


    Commander Alia complimented his theory by adding, "So if they don''t heavily focus on the dot so far away from them and focus on the whole god damn havoc down there, I doubt that they will ever come up here again."


    Mogranius smiled that his lady is backing his word up and truthfully managed to catch up with him too, he couldn''t help replying with. "That''s right, for once I beat Stefan with ideas."


    "But Stefan isn''t even here..." Eric tried to joke around, even making Mogranius mad a little bit.


    "You just couldn''t let me live in triumph couldn''t you." Afterwards being a bit dramatic he lifted his nose up, and proceeded to walk a bit faster.


    Little did they notice, Osira was too walking behind them and listening to their conversation. Eric has been a bit distant since these friends arrived and it isn''t easy to comprehend, it stings quite a lot. Because she was just getting used to his unique characteristics.


    As a tear rolled down her cheek and hid down her fur coat, her eye caught a rather unique figure. What could it be thought? Well as she subconsciously slightly turned her head to her left, it appeared like a face was hanging on the wall.


    Terrifying indeed, giving it another look to make sure that she isn''t hallucinating nor gone crazy either. She did indeed see that face a bit more clearly but it just disappeared before proper illumination could reach it, as if it feared Fire.


    Osira had no idea what''s going on nor did she ever experience anything like it, but she did hear stories of the unliving. Camp Fire tales regarding ghosts and what power they possess. As for this encounter, whatever that thing was it looked like a lady.


    Osira decided to not pay too much attention to it, because she isn''t even sure what she saw. With a little sprint on her feet she walked closer and closer to the group in front of her and tried to keep a reactionless expression, last thing she wants is to alarm them about something even she isn''t sure off.


    ...


    3 Days later as dawn broke, the enemies have already marched their way up to the Carved Path and were roaring for battle. Thinking that they will finally be the ones who conquer Maleemia, thinking that the defences have been weakened thanks to all those waves of Soldiers sent up here.


    But what did they face instead? A huge Crater as soon as they crosses the Carved path along with snow covering the place where once Maleemia used to be. You would think that the Snow would eventually cover all that melted Iron, and yes you have a point there but they did not want to take any chances.


    Mogranius was watching them almost eye to eye, he almost laughed at their reactions when they saw that the strong Kingdom of Maleemia is no longer up here. He wanted to be up close and listen to what decisions they will make once they see that there is literally nothing to fight for, he wanted to hear it with his own Ears.


    One thing he couldn''t help noticing, is the fact that this Army doesn''t look like it counts around 300. It barely counts over 200, so he instantly thought. "How many Soldiers did the Blue Eagles eat?" Chances are, the more blood fell to the ground, the more Blue Eagles were attracted.


    He wanted to hear them out, but a rather unique figure flying down from the domain he is trying to protect, but the problem is no one else but him is seeing this... figure.

 Chapter 281 - The most Unbearable Heart Break!!

    Luckily, that figure showed no sign of attacking these Soldiers and mess up this entire plan. If signs of life are shown up here, the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance won''t leave this place alone. Even if the Alliance can''t easily climb all the way up there in the hidden domain, it still doesn''t wipe out the fact that this tribe can be exposed.


    But enough about that, what exactly did Mogranius see and why aren''t the soldiers underneath this figure panicking? Well... because this creature doesn''t seem to be alive to begin with.


    The closer it got, the more it looked familiar to this kind yet crazy man. "A...Akareas?" He murmured to himself in a volume low enough to stand out in the group of bantering soldiers, thinking that this is too good to be true.


    I mean, as a start he only saw her alive once before he went through time travel and the second time he saw her as a spirit. But with all these enemies around, why didn''t she stop up there instead of down here.


    "Hello my mentor." She finally spoke to him, still invisible to the crowd likely because she chose it that way in order not to cause trouble for these people.


    Trying to hug her, he remembered that it is impossible for now even after considering that the past Electus can resemble a physical form enough to give a hug. The problem here, he has synced with smoke and if he breaks this connection or makes the smoke thicker enough to resemble a firm grip, he would be spotted by several here who would alarm the rest.


    To make it a lot easier, the Electus spoke. "Look, I don''t have time so please just listen." He still felt confused on how exactly she found him considering his invisibility, perhaps she discovered some Grand Master move that even he doesn''t know about, perhaps King Michael can shed more light to this once they meet.


    Mogranius didn''t speak, and just waited for her to explain what she is doing here at this exact situation. Is it a coincidence, intentional or a pure act of desperation?


    "I have reached the end of my life form energy." She spoke swiftly not not waste her precious limited time, I tried to warn Eric about it last time but I just didn''t have the strength to stay visible for long to more than one person who doesn''t have the gift of paranormal vision."


    Hearing her speak felt pleasing indeed, Mogranius missed his mentee but more importantly he missed his life long friend. "If only fate wasn''t this rotten to us." He thought as he didn''t want to waste Akareas more time and let her speak the urgent matter.


    "I only had a portion of specific time left before it was too late to free my soul, and sadly that time has passed by now." This specific portion of information couldn''t do anything less than striking Mogranius with insane sadness.


    "However, my soul is close to being completely devoured by the Curse I obtained once defeat struck me. It is happening now and I only have a few counts left before my soul completely disappears and looses the chances of transmitting to the next world, I won''t be staying here either. I will be gone forever."


    "I..." Mogranius tried to speak, feeling guilty that he didn''t prove any help to her with his task and wanting to cry madly about it but in his current smoke form he can''t do anything but mimic his own tone.


    "Please don''t speak. You have mentored me for half a lifetime and I truly am grateful, I love you with all my heart nor did I marry anyone hoping you''d return." Seeing Akareas'' tears dropping down one after the other as she spoke, Mogranius felt like the world is suppressing him, as if the world is stepping on his neck and yet he couldn''t say a word about it as if his breath was taken away.


    Now, he regrets for refusing her love 10 years before he teleported to this time zone. This lady sounds so emotionally damaged, but Mogranius had reasons too. He was a couple decades older than her at that time, that is a long story about it.


    "You can''t save me, but you can reverse my failure along with the new Electus." Wiping off her own tears, she continued to explain. "Xakro''s Bloodline originally reached close to an end, but his Grand Son is working over time to not let that happen. Soon enough, he will sacrifice himself to grant powers to another son of his, Chan."


    "Wha..." Mogranius almost yelled but afterwards remembered that he has another mission down here he has to focus on.


    Luckily Akareas cut in his words and gave out her last bit of explanation. "You must stop that from happening and use the opportunity to let age kill his Grand Son, or else Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l''s bloodline won''t end anytime soon and your revolutions all over Ignis will eventually crumble into dust regardless of their disadvantage at the moment, if Chan manages to pass down his powers to one of his own sons, he won''t be isolated like Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll. He will come and destroy you all with powers bigger than the one''s of an Electus."


    After finishing that sentence, she ended this little meeting with a heart felt apology. "I''m sorry that I couldn''t see you with my current form for more than once, the Curse devoured me enough to take away those capabilities. I''ll be gone but please keep me in your heart, I know you don''t feel what i feel but please do me that last favour..."


    The moment she finished that sentence, as predicted she completely disappeared. Gone, as if a god erased her soul from existence. Either heaven up there or the earth down here won''t be a home for her, the chances are gone.


    With his feelings completely destroyed at this point, he just remained there invisible and noticed that throughout the talk the Soldiers were already in the process of returning towards where they came from, a good thing for the hidden domain but badly because he soon had to turn visible.


    The bad thing about it, is that if he has no reason to remain invisible, the rest will see him cry. This is no natural heart break, this isn''t romance either. It is that huge unbearable heart break of a mentor losing his student, to make it worse it is a student who indeed had strong feelings of romantic love for him even though he did not mention it.


    He didn''t mention it because he found her love a bit creepy, no that is not the case. He feels guilty because he is the source of this life long and afterlife long heart break, the pain was all over Akareas'' tone and yet through all that pain she shortened her life energy towards the end of existence so Mogranius along with his new mentee has a winning chance.


    One Guard Commander of these 2 Platoons headed to the front and the two remaining Guard Commanders took charge at the back of the Army. It might not be a coincidence that the Guard Commanders survived here, they likely hid as the rest of the Soldiers faced the Blue Eagles.


    It is a mentality based on great wisdom, which is to not let leaders or at this point "Guard Commanders" who are considered of higher intelligence since the battle would be lost without them. But at this case it is just an excuse to cower in fear and hide under someone else''s ass for defence.


    The entire Army indeed remained confused, but the Guard Commanders found no reason for the Army to remain present here. Whatever happened to the Kingdom, it is gone and no magic in the world can return it. Furthermore they are sick of this blood freezing temperature, they don''t want to stay up here especially now that they have no reason too.


    Following down at the Carved Path, they made it a journey to first camp a few kilometres away from here before they make a further journey of returning to Meridionali Ignis. The former place of Maleemia is a good place to camp but it proved a bit intimidating. "What if whatever blew up this place, does the same to our Camp?" The Guard Commanders thought along with a lot of Soldiers/Guards too.


    Climbing his way up the rocks and standing there waiting for the Army to completely go away, so he can consult a plan with Eric after. His thoughts turned wild, for example. "What if I accepted her proposal long ago? Perhaps me as a lover would never let her go down that dungeon and perhaps I would be there to protect her against Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l. Perhaps Ignis wouldn''t have faced such a sickening fate?"


    His thoughts roamed wild, zoning out he didn''t even notice that half an hour passed. It felt just like a few counts, who knew that sadness can be this time consuming. He came back to reality when Eric flew down and called for Mogranius'' name.


    To whom Mogranius answered right away once he appeared with his eyes red, "We need to go back to Crutal Kingdom."

 Chapter 282 - Kindest Soul

    With so many events already going on throughout Ignis, we should take time to comprehend the less impactful events going on down at Gaster Kingdom. This time however, financials or business ideas aren''t at all a topic. These are just more personal scenes experienced by one of Eric''s great friends.


    The unthinkable has happened, Stefan the respected tree root smoker has gotten a fancy towards a local resident here. As smart as he is in most cases, here he feels dumbfounded in more than one aspect.


    For example, what does this lady have for him to have feelings enough for her to not regard it as a small crush. He had many small crushes throughout his life, but this time the bucket has been tipped. Literally actually, he got distracted of what view this fine lady portrayed that he tripped on a Bucket and fell face first in the mud caused by the melting snow which lasted quite a few weeks.


    To take it as a start, this lady didn''t just laugh when Stefan met such a fate with the mud underneath his feet. Quite the opposite, she kept a straight face and actually showed concern.


    "What the hell is a bucket doing in the middle of the road?" He complained with a murmur before a kid probably being around 7 years old approached him, grabbed her bucket and gave him a hateful look for kicking her bucket. Afterwards she lifted her head up and walked away, I''d like to say in some type of elegance?


    The lady he fancies, jogged her way towards him after and repeated. "Are you okay?" Before she used a piece of leather to wipe bits of mud from his face.


    "Yes I just tripped on a bucket, rather embarrassing I''m aware." He tried so much to swallow this embarrassing situation but it indeed requires a lot of effort.


    "Nonsense, It can happen to anyone." Comforted the lady, showing genuine care and helping them get up.


    After cleaning his face for a little bit he continued to use the leather rag, trying to wipe as much mud from his torso as possible, he really absorbed a hell load of mud there as if he tried to shovel it on himself.


    "I''m fine I''m fine. Please... I already feel enough embarrassed." Added Stefan, not trying to be rude but just trying to fight off all that red colour conquering his face. One would mistake him for a stereotypical demon, red and boiling.


    Fortunately, this fine Ignite lady showed no displeased across her face but carried a wide smile instead. She understood what this man who she doesn''t even know his name off is going through. I mean regardless of how long he has lived here she barely knows him, likely since he tends to stay in the Castle all day long reading books from King Michael''s extensive self written library.


    He spotted this lady about 3 days ago when he went out and ask Lia for a solid, he wanted to sneak in King Michael''s much praised Black Marlin meat for himself, even half a Kilo would be more than enough really. He has a lot of food to fill his belly with, this little meal of luxury is nothing more than a meal of luxury for him. He wanted to taste this praised fish meat.


    However, as he almost reached the fishing area behind the Kingdom. The same lady who literally helped him out of the mud today, captured his attention entirely. It is most worthy to point out that beauty took no part, it is not why he got attracted.


    Actually, the lady in front of him would be considered below average when it comes to how many curves her body carried, attributes that most men here wouldn''t prefer to be exact. Like Stefan she looks quite flat and light weighed, as for how much beauty her face carried. It is fairly average. Even her black hair is shoulder long and is tied in to a bun.


    The freckles stretching from her nose to under her eyes make her a whole lot more beautiful, and she has this slim face complimented by a short round jawline. If it wasn''t for the freckles this would be considered an average Ignite face.


    Although her physical characteristics quite average, her acts of kindness is what got Stefan''s utmost attention. Because three days ago as he was walking towards the back of the Kingdom, he could hear a crying child from quite a distance and in a way he wanted to seek out its source and deliver the child to his or her parents.


    Only to see this same lady who is standing in front of him, help an elderly lady walk carefully around the mud, afterwards helping take her shoes off before entering the house and even helping her to settle in comfortably. She swiftly spoke, "I''ll come and set the Fireplace in to a blaze right after I calm down this child misses Wood."


    Like projected, she dashed towards the kid with careful steps to not fall in the mud and asked. "What''s the problem Billy?"


    "My mama beat me with a sandal." Afterwards his snot started blowing in to a circle below his nose before more tears flew down.


    Child abuse at worst but oddly it isn''t the worst thing she saw here, a slight ass whooping is the smallest punishment here. Some kids were beaten with brooms often, and we should not even list what brutally happens if an a.d.u.l.t clashes with an a.d.u.l.t.


    "Well did you make your mama mad?" Asked the lady as he wiped his tears and face with the same leather rag she wiped Stefan with today.


    "Um... I just kept knocking on the door." Answered Billy as the gentle wipe this kind lady gave him didn''t bother him at all, he kept his face still.


    "Well Billy, your mama already has enough worries over her shoulders. You shouldn''t do anything that makes her mad, you shouldn''t do that to someone who loves you." At such sentences, Billy started calming down a bit.


    "She loves me?" He asked as his crying completely stopped, waiting for an answer.


    "Of course she loves you, more than anyone ever will. So please go hug her and kiss her cheek, don''t make her mad again and maybe help her so she has less things to worry about?" Now Billy started completely calming down and gave this lady a tight loving hug before he dashed towards his house and shouted. "Mamma I love you." Repeatedly.


    "Be careful." The lady repeated so Billy doesn''t fall down.


    As for now, she feels it unnecessary to explain Stefan some safety procedures when walking since he seems as old as her. Luckily, Stefan decided to break the few seconds of silence by finally asking for her name. "I''m Stefan." With a followed handshake he asked, "What''s your name."


    "I''m Dea. Dea Katezet." Seperating from the half minute handshake with a bit of a smirk across her lips she pointed out the obvious. "Why don''t I see you too often? I''m out in the Kingdom every day!"


    Having answered this question several times here and countless times in Crutal Kingdom, he decided to be a lot more polite this time since this is the woman he fancies. "I just like spending my time with a book on my hands and some nice Black Tea from the forest at my table."


    "Oh so you love reading books?" Dea''s eyebrow rose in curiosity as she felt instantly impressed, because here at the edge of the Continent although a lot are interested in reading they just don''t take enough actions to become literate even though their chances aren''t slim with a smart man as their King.


    "Well, I think sometimes I forget to eat. King Michael has to drag me away from his book shelves." He tried to joke here, and indeed succeeded partially.


    Dea let out a small giggle, but was mostly impressed. "Sounds interesting that you know the King, you must be one of the new comers. Friend of the Electus?" Realizing that she sounds a bit too interested in titles, she tried to excuse her behaviours and refine her way of projecting her intends. "The people talked about you all for weeks, some weren''t saying nice stuff though."


    Seeing that Stefan is still maintaining a smile on his face although barely keeping eye contact, she decided to get to know him a bit better even though she currently has no fancy towards him. "Would you like to join me and Misses Wood with some tea."


    Afterwards with a whisper she continued, "She doesn''t have any more family members remaining, her Husband died years ago and her sons work at Pameres Kingdom. They only visit her when they want to bring her some gold."


    With her tone changing a bit towards the negative, she stated. "Between you and me, if King Michael didn''t feed her along with the rest of us she would starve."


    Trying to figure out why would their kids send her gold considering that the King freely feeds everyone, he came into confirmation that they just use it as an excuse to visit her a lot less common.


    So in aims of getting to talk to Dea more and getting a good deed by giving Misses Wood company, he agreed. "I would love too, you got me at "Tea". Making a nice old women happy is a good bonus." He answered with a smile and got Dea heading towards a little giggle.

 Chapter 283 - Romance Novels?

    Walking in Misses Wood''s house for a cup of tea, the first thing Stefan was able to notice is how warm it is here. I mean, the fifth month just started and although still muddy due to the intense cold, it still is warm here.


    Yet, the Fireplace is lit and providing so much heat that it felt like a pan hit his face as he entered. Apart from the heat, he took a glance at misses Wood and she did quite an introduction.


    "Aldo? Is that you?" She asked, once getting a slight view at Stefan. Perhaps the fact that both her son and Stefan have black hair, has made her think so?


    "No Misses Wood, he is one of the newcomers." Walking towards her and giving a couple of light kisses on the cheek, she added. "He will be joining us for tea today. And he loves books, so maybe you two will get along."


    Afterwards, Dea turned her attention towards Stefan and gestured him to come closer. But already noticed the displeased look on his face, he keeps waving the bottom of his long sleeved shirt.


    Understanding the problem, Dea decided to clear it out. "I''m sorry if it gets too hot for you, misses Wood doesn''t have much Tolerance towards cold weather."


    "Oh don''t worry about that, I can get used to it." Stefan refused to complain and summoned a smile back on his face.


    Feeling a bit heart warmed that she is showing this much extensive care to someone she has absolutely no relation too, but being neighbours. Stefan felt touched and he would grab his heart too, but causing a little scene is the last thing he wants to do in front of people he just met.


    It yet takes time for him to open up completely, by opening up he mostly complains but stoll. Taking that point in to consideration, Stefan who used to run his mouth up and down Lan Zhe complaining, isn''t complaining here for the sake of two reasons which don''t need description. I think we should see this act as tremendously sweet, fighting one''s nature is hard.


    "I thought you were my son, my apologies. You look a lot more handsome than he does, isn''t that right Dea?" Well of course that''s where the topic would have led. Undoubtedly she doesn''t hate her sons, but she is cooking up something new here.


    Trying not to panic, and pinning back the banter to these two ladies after with a little sentence. "Oh I''m sure they are a lot more handsome." And to cause a bit of atmosphere with followed smiles and small laughter, he asked. "Right Dea?"


    "Well at least we know that he is smart." Dea thought to herself as she felt satisfaction to know a man who isn''t an absolute buffon.


    However, by word she expressed. "They are alright, but they are dumb as a board." She added with a little smirk, not just because she partially won this conversation but also because she indirectly stated what she values.


    But yet again to make sure that no one gets offended here, she directed the conversation towards Misses Wood by asking. "No offense too you Misses Wood."


    To grand a lot more humour to this conversation, she replied with. "I should have let a Horse kick me when I had the chance."


    Dea started giggling and Stefan started pushing his tongue against the roof of his teeth to hold in his laughter, unlike Dea if he starts laughing a lot more people will hear it. Last thing he wants to do is laugh like a mad man here.


    But at the same time it is also sad, she has so much love for her sons yet she is regretting not getting them aborted. Of course, dependable abortion tools aren''t common here but a kick by a Horse would do the trick. She is of course basing it on a couple of past events that ladies older than her had the displeasure of experiencing.


    "You''re a funny person Misses Wood." Stefan couldn''t help complimenting, and indirectly quoted her sons next. "Why wouldn''t anyone not want to spend more time with you?"


    "Oh I suppose it is a long story." Misses Wood answered, able to catch up with what this young man had to say. "My sons have different priorities now. They are married and have kids, they live in Pameres Kingdom too."


    "Oh that''s tough, I was told by King Michael that it takes about a week to get there on foot." Now that the conversation has been told towards royalty, the conversation shifted a bit even though Stefan just intended to make her feel better. But is it something that Misses Wood hasn''t heard before? Well no quite.


    "So you know King Michael?" She asked in curiosity as the light in her eyes started shinning, stereotypically older generations like connecting their younger generations with people containing some sort of power.


    But odd enough the conversation and goals here turned a lot more different than expected, Misses Wood wasn''t trying for Dea anymore. Even with her tone becoming more life like, she immediately added. "Can you help me meet him?"


    "I can try for you Misses Wood but is it important?" Asked Stefan feeling bewildered and at some point weirded out, but mostly he tried to figure out where she wants to go with this conversation.


    "I wanted to ask you about it, but I intend to ask him for some books." She finally cleared it out, giving Dea''s first few words once she entered here a lot more sense.


    Feeling a bit shocked at the result and in some ways expecting the worse, he went towards the topic that interested him the most. "You can read and Write?"


    "Well... no, my sons can but I don''t know how to do either of them." Understanding where the next question might possibly lead, she of course depends on the most valued person for her in this room. "But Dea will read them for me."


    "Oh so Dea can read and write?" Now he just faced internal satisfaction, and showed it with a smile too. Its one thing that she is kind, but educated too? At this rate it sounds too good to be true.


    "Yes. Dea is the smartest girl in all of Ignis." Misses Wood clearly exaggerated once she remembered what her first goal was.


    "Well, in that case. Why don''t you two stay here and I''ll go ask King Michael what books I can borrow from him for you." Afterwards he stood up with a smile, turned towards Dea and requested. "Please keep the tea warm, it smells delicious."


    Naturally he would use this opportunity to tag Dea along and show her how much he has read, to come out as smart. But King Michael portrays himself as quite strict when his unique extensive Library is a topic. The last thing Chan wants to do is bring someone he just met to that Library.


    ...


    "Common!! She is an old lady and she wants to read... Well listen." Starting to argue with himself in nothing but a blink, he added. "Well I don''t think she could see those little letters."


    "Stefan!" King Michael snapped his fingers after to grab his attention, after he swallowed the chunk of Barramundi fish meat on his plate. "I can''t just give my hand written books to anyone, I still have second thoughts about giving them to you!" King Michael carries a point, why wouldn''t someone be protective about books?


    Stefan rushed in while they were eating, luckily they''ve just started and there are no maids around. Well I don''t think that would be a problem, they do clean the shelves after all.


    Seeing that there is a little bit of a misunderstanding here, he decided to clear it out. "No no no, I don''t mean the ones you wrote. I mean the other ones that just have romance stories, I''m sure she would love them."


    "You''ve touched my Romance section?" He asked in a bit of rage, but then remembered that there is a lady in here too. Well he has bonded a nice friendship with her so far but last thing he wanted anyone in general to know is that he is attached to love stories. It would feel weird, because outside he doesn''t really show affection towards any woman. "I mean, how did those get in there?"


    "Well common, they will return these Romance books... I still don''t know how you got them in the first place since they aren''t based on ill.u.s.tratios but..." Stefan started arguing with himself again, trying to part things together obviously at the wrong time.


    Until, King Michael interrupted again. "Just take them, but they better not be damaged a month later."


    "Don''t worry about it, no one would be careless with Royal property." Answered Stefan and tip toed his way out of here and said. "Thank you." Before he left through the door.


    "So... Romance novels ha?" Asked Alama, avoiding eye contact and keeping a smirk on her face as she used her knife to cut a piece of meat.


    "Haha... well...."

 Chapter 284 - Poem

    As Stefan made his way out and dashed towards the Library under King Michael''s possession, a Guard walked in carrying a handful of Parchments. He first started it off with an apology, "My King, I apologise for not knocking but this is very important!"


    Not sweating small things like this, he just waved his hand for him to approach as he kept his glance towards his own plate of food. He would talk but his mouth is full so he can avoid the Romance Novel questions.


    The Guard instantly specified after once reasoning was put aside, "A messenger from Pameres Kingdom has sent a letter requiring instant attention and answering."


    Once he heard what all of this is about, he almost choked on fish meat and had to wash it down with a silver goblet of water. And some of Alama''s water too. "Give it to me."


    Reading the first letter, he instantly became amazed. 247 people just waiting to be picked up, it would be the source of stupidity if a King refused this offer without a proper reason. But King Michael became confused about why this letter is sent to him, when the Zamerians are clearly quoting King Zar.


    It didn''t make sense, until he took a peek at the second letter stating. "Just take it as he is talking about Gaster Kingdom and write me a Parchment back telling me what you think, we need to answer him in the next delivery."


    Now it was made clear what the topic is, and King Michael couldn''t help getting goosebumps about the idea. Sure he doesn''t have many people under employment now, but the more people he has to his disposal the easier it would be to bring business in Gaster Kingdom even though at the start he has to give more than double the food.


    These people don''t have any skills, like the King described. But here where population is very scarce, King Michael would even take a chance taking in bandits to work. Even though he would have to teach those bandits some manners.


    Alama was waiting patiently for a reply, King Michael''s reactions however made her a lot less patient. Forcing her to urge under a low soft tone, "Well common!"


    Let me cut it short for you, after nearly two months we will be expecting over 200 new Civilians here in Gaster Kingdom. Now she nearly choked on her food as well, but was a bit more lucky.


    With her happiness raising a lot, but her curiosity stronger. She asked, "From Pameres Kingdom?"


    "No, from Zameria." He answered with his lips stretching to a satisfactory smile. Afterwards he handed Alama the two parchments for her to quench her curiosity and for himself he grabbed the two other questions.


    The hand writing on these two letters looks the same as the parchment of notice King Michael has read, he noticed it instantly since he is very used to this hand writing. If only he knew that Seer writes them all! To make it more interesting, this isn''t a letter with business as a topic.


    Reading his contents, he found it short enough to read out loud. "The following letter is a poem, please enjoy it as a small gift of gratitude from the ill.u.s.tratios of Pameres Kingdom. It has been sung for weeks now after you took your leave."


    "Uu a Poem?" Asked Alama and instantly grabbed the letter from his hand, "I love reading poems."


    Normally having contents snatched from his hand would piss him off, but what could he say to such a cute face? He just breathed in a bit and awaited for her to read it. However, her delicate tone proved as an antidote to his mood facing a nudge due to that previous snatch.


    It sounds like 3 Angels singing at the same time in perfect harmony, with a tone that would soften the soul and carve one''s nerves for the good the moment she sunk a verse deep in it.


    "Fire and Blaze Source to be praised, a Hero came by with skills to Admire, Burning down enemies with his blessed Hellfire.


    King Michael the brave, King Michael the deffender, facing the enemies with no plans of surrender!


    Cursed Alliance and evil by blood, trying to throw our Defiance down to the Mud!


    But what Chance did they have against King Michael the Brave?


    With waves of Fire the Army was enslaved!"


    Once reading the poem, she took a quick peek at King Michael and found him with his eyes wide opened and his arm hair raised all up, obviously goosebumps.


    Giving him a smile followed by blush occupying her cheeks, asking. "You like it?"


    "Yes, you''re amazingly talented." He answered immediately once her question snapped her back to reality.


    "I meant the poem, but thanks." She answered, her cheeks becoming more red and noticing that he shared the similar fate at a lower pace.


    "Ugh... let''s read this last letter shall we?" Grabbing the fifth from the table het set them down at, he cleared his throat hoping to avoid embarrassment and read its contents.


    "As you see, these are words wrriten from an ill.u.s.tratio and spread like wild fire in the Taverns and streets. Although there still are a few hundred people who still fancy the illas and the Alliance it is in cooperation with, a lot of ill.u.s.tratios have seen the difference after the Revolution. They also knew what would happen if the Alliance took charge once more, poverty. So they are the most grateful for your huge contribution towards Pameres Kingdom, without you we would be not one but two steps closer towards failure. With this huge nudge of acceptance towards Ignites, I expect the productivity to increase once cooperation between the two races becomes more common. Specifically, this will benefit both domains. Pameres Kingdom salutes you."


    "Wow, they see you as a Hero." Alama added, feeling a lot of admiration towards the King and what he managed to accomplish in a day.


    ...


    "Misses Wood, I''ve gotten you the books!" Bashed in Stefan with a lot of enthusiasm, carrying 7 Books on his hand but also feeling a bit bad about the fact that, "However, they are the King''s personal property and you should return at least half of them under a month."


    That''s not what King Michael said but it is what Stefan feels to do, this is an old lady with barely any entertainment and people to talk to. So why rush to take books off her hand? At least for two months she will have books to read until Stefan figures out how to get more on his hands so he can give them to her.


    "That''s wonderful dear... What are they all about?" She couldn''t help asking, she could see them clearly and did notice that each one ranges from a medium to large sizes but you can''t judge a book by its cover.


    "As far as I''ve read them, they are about Romance. You know... love." Stefan specified, feeling a bit embarrassed to put it in to word. But didn''t worry much about it until now since Dea will be the one reading them to the kind Misses Wood.


    "Oh... Well I can''t wait to hear them out." She answered, feeling satisfaction no doubt. But perhaps this is a bad idea, she did loose her Husband years ago after all.


    "Well, in that case let''s have Dea read them." He softly answered and handed Dea the first book closest to his grip.


    The title, "What an Ignite Heart can Carry." This instantly points out how old this book alone is, because Ignite based books in general have been burned in to ashes as soon as control has been attained from the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance. This fine piece of parchments sewed together is at least a Hundred years old if not more. There is still dust on it, which specified that King Michael has read it long ago.


    "Ugh... Maybe we should leave them for later." Dea expressed, with a noticeable blush forming under her eyes.


    "Common now Dea, no need to be shy in front of Stefan. He was kind enough to bring us these wonderful books." Well now it was made clear what''s going on here, she isn''t yet comfortable to read in front of Stefan even though until now she projected herself as quite extroverted.


    Stefan couldn''t help but smile and picked up the third cup of tea, set close to where the books were set down as soon as he walked in. Taking a sip, he added his own sentence to back up Misess Wood. "Yes, don''t worry I won''t judge you. No need to be shy."


    "Alright alright!" She answered, and finally opening the thick leather cover of this wonderful piece of literature. At the first page it firmly stated, "Written by Diotrephes Katezet."


    She couldn''t help covering the gap through her lips once her mouth hung open in shock! "By the Source of Fire, this is a book written by my Great Great Grand Father!"

 Chapter 285 - Kind or Suicidal?

    As they''ve spend about an hour, listening to Dea read. Indeed possessing a soft tone, but yet enthusiasm in her voice was easy to determine. Finding such a rare book, one would be excited just by its presence. But to figure out that it was written by a blood relative?


    No honour would be large enough for Dea, this is practically an artifact. And unless someone else stashed precious books like this one, to save it from getting burned by the ill.u.s.tratios. It is fair to say that this book is the last of its kind.


    As for Length, this great Romance Novel only breaks above 30,000 words. So it took an hour to read, you would think she would stop for a pause in between. But no, after an hour broke she was done and took a moment of silence to appreciate this amazing piece of literature.


    "Looks like you really love Romance Novels." Stefan broke the silence, because he got used to her voice for the past hour and hearing it shun for a few seconds felt weird. He wants to hear her talk all day.


    "Well... typically yes even though they are hard to run upon. Most are about ill.u.s.tratios wanting to marry Princesses." She joked around, caused quite a couple of smiles in this room before she added more. "Plus, this was written by one of my own blood ancestors. The honour is beyond understanding."


    Seeing someone appreciate literature so much, his heart felt touched. To himself he thought, "Where have you been all my life."


    While on expressed word, he stated. "I''m going to talk with King Michael, seeing the importance of this book I''m sure he wouldn''t mind letting this book go."


    Hearing his words puke out like honey, she wanted to jump over the table and hug him. But then remembered how inappropriate that would be! So instead, she thanked him by word. "That would be the highlight of my life, please convince him."


    "Oh he is soft hearted even though he doesn''t like his books touched, I guarantee you that he will give you this book to keep forever." The smile on her face after Stefan assured this unique kind of success was too big for the heart to bare.


    As she scrolled through the book, she became more and more amazed about how well kept this book is. It''s cover is made out of two layers of thicker parchment combined with a layer of leather at the top as well who seems a bit more mangled and mutelated.


    As for the pages in between these covers, portraying wonderful piece of literature standing 238 years old. They are completely made out of thinner layers of Parchment, it is amazingly durable and the ink it was written with is barely faded.


    At the end of the book near the cover, its date of release is written. The date specifies. Era 2, Year 1801, Month 11, Day 22. This Story carries two Eras, and it was written 20 years before the Author''s death. Somehow this too is stated in the book but with a different hand writing and fresher looking ink, perhaps King Michael added that part himself to make it a whole lot more unique?


    Finally giving a bit more information about her past, she revealed. "This book would keep me close to my family a bit more, war took them all away from me."


    "Oh... I''m so sorry, please don''t feel bad now. You have such a valuable book on your hand, please focus towards the positive." Odd wordplay considering the fact that it would take a little trip on a rock to make him complain for 10 minutes, but it is interesting how much he shifted his own nature so she wouldn''t feel sad.


    Feeling a bit bad, and out of reach as well since she was standing near the Fire and he was sitting near a Dinning Table a bit far from it. He would want to comfort her with a hug, but even if he was near he doesn''t think he can do it.


    As for this sudden burst of positivity, he stole those words from Commander Alia since she repeated them quite a few times. Well mostly when it is her week, quite inverted or perhaps she is using that advice for herself? As he glanced upon Dea smiling at the book, he thought. "Well whatever I just said, it seems to be working."


    However, the Fire made her quite sweaty and she too joined the dinning table to have a Chat. Stating, "You''re right, it just has been easy."


    Looking at Misses Wood after and squeezing her cheek, she continued. "I would say that I want to keep Misses Wood company, but it''s also working all the way around."


    Looking at the wooden window to her right near the Dinning Table, Dea expressed. "It gets lonely, I have a house and I keep it clean but there isn''t anyone to share laughs or burdens with. Through time it has mostly become a House of Horrors, it feels like the walls want to squeeze me to the point of putting me out of my misery."


    A lady who carried a tremendous amount of positivity before, is in one way or the other suicidal? It really is hard to watch, it feels as if kind acts are the only way to feed her soul apart from sinking deep in a story.


    "I hate to bring back bad memories but, how did you loose your entire Family?" As hard as it is to ask, he wanted to know in order of figuring better ways to comfort her.


    "Well most of my family was killed by War, but the only piece of family I had left. My Mother and my Father died at Pameres Kingdom." Afterwards a tear broke from her eye and rolled down her cheek before it went splat on the table.


    Wanting to return the favour of being literally pulled out of the mud, he reached his hand for her face and using his thumb he wiped the next tear off from her freckles underneath her eyes as he used her cheeks to support his hand. Gently wiping the tears off and under a soft tone saying, "It is okay, just breathe."


    "Thanks." She answered with her throat feeling heavier by the second, taking a deep breath after Stefan moved his hand away from her soft face. She continued to shed more light to this sad story, "My Father died in a mining accident and my Mother died fighting off a Burglar."


    "Those are quite huge reasons to be sad about, how are you even standing here until now?" He thought, referring to the fact that most would commit suicide at this rate. All alone as a women? There were Cannibals in this Kingdom for crying out loud, and they don''t seem to kill ladies instantly.


    As he took a glance around subconsciously, he noticed that Misses Wood has fallen asleep on her Chair and missed this whole scene. Maybe that''s a good thing too, she is old fashioned and might urge him to marry her for daring to touch her face. And it is good too that she isn''t seeing Dea burst in to tears, her old heart has already taken enough.


    "After the compensation I got from King Zar 6 years ago, I''ve used it to move here and buy a House too. But it was offered to me for free by King Michael who was more than happy to accept new Citizens." It sounds like perfect timing too, chances are she came at the same month here when he became a King.


    "I''m sorry you had to go through it, but know that I''m here and have no plan to leave this place. I can keep you company and lend you an ear to fight off most bad thoughts." Giving a bit more thought at what his word play would make her think, he wanted to point out. "And don''t worry, I''m not trying to take advantage of you. My mind doesn''t work like that."


    The fact that he managed to say that and mean it at the same time even though he technically caught a little crush for her, says a lot about how great he is as a Human being. Behind all that complaining and tree root smoking, stands a kind heart filled with compassion. He helped Eric and Woldemir long ago after all, he was never a bad person.


    "Don''t worry, I don''t think you are retarded like the rest..." Noticing what language she used already, she felt a tad embarrassed and swiftly added. "Umm... Pardon my language."


    "Oh, it''s nothing rea..." He tried to finish his sentence enjoy his time with her but was quite interrupted by someone from the outside.


    "Battle formation! Battle formation!"


    "Right wing! Right wing!"


    He remembered that this house stands just over 20 meters away from the training yard, so these Guards in panic are either under a new type of training or there is something going down.


    "Get your Weapons, this is not a Drill!"

 Chapter 286 - Big Argument!

    As Eric was told about this sudden change of quest, he had no choice but to agree even though past insecurities are kicking in. Think about it, Eric is an all powerful Electus who has the capability to wield all 8 of the base powers yet he wasn''t strong enough to even scratch the nicknamed Man Beast.


    Sure he later found out that the reason behind it is indeed large, theft of power and murder as a motivator. That helped tame his insecurities just a little bit when it comes to dealing with such a disaster of an enemy, but now he has to face them again.


    Even though both him and Mogranius qualify as Experts(Level 4) In Fire Controlling, they still can''t out match a man who is even more powerful than a fully trained Electus! What good would it do to Ignis considering that they are practically flying to their death.


    The moment Chan will get a hold of the passed down powers, The Electus will be a target. After all, this process of passing down Power won''t in any way kill Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll if he does everything right.


    What if Chan kills both Eric and Mogranius with all that overwhelming power now that the Inner Demon of self doubt won''t entirely hold him back? With two power crazed men in the room, Eric can be killed as far as they are concerned and his heart would be gifted to Xakro, perhaps by curing the Curse Xakro would evade death and live to see another day?


    Considering his theory, if the Curse goes away so will the wounds, he would be able to reach Level 12 in each sort of power and, will have more of a personality formed by himself instead of being almost an exact clone of his father and grand father. One thing that merges with this theory, that Xakro over looked due to the lack of information to the topic. Is the Inner Demons, they would be reduced to Level 0.


    It merges with the theory, but as the mother of all Sources specified when the gang met them. The overwhelming power the second consumption of an Electus'' heart offers, wouldn''t cure anything and would just destroy King Xakro permanently. The odds of an explosion aren''t slim either.


    However as they debated about leaving to reach Crutal Kingdom today or tomorrow since a few minutes after snow started falling down heavily, showing signs of a blizzard which would make survival hard even for an Ignite. More trouble arose over their shoulders.


    Well we can''t call it trouble, let''s just say that a huge argument broke between 5 people. Three of the five had the most contribute but it was indeed a huge nerve wrecker. Commander Alia along with Ada wanted to join, and they had more than one reason to do so.


    First things first, why wouldn''t they come and help in every way they can? They are in this together after all, that was Ada''s piece of the argument but she didn''t keep it going for too long. Amazing indeed considering that she is a child, chose to stop herself instead of being yelled at to stop.


    Secondly, Commander Alia wanted to join because she knew that this journey would likely lead to death. And with death almost inevitable, why would she let the man who she shares love with, die alone? If they are going to die, they will die side by side. That was her claim but it sure messed with the Eric''s self esteem towards this task, he felt weak.


    Third, although they didn''t express it by word. Both of these ladies miss both of the men, be it Mogranius'' crazy stories and jokes or be it squeezing Eric''s cheeks and give him lots of hugs. All four missed just spending time with each other, and to make it worse Mogranius insisted for the two to remain in this hidden domain instead of going back to Gaster Kingdom.


    Stating that it is a lot safer for the moment. Sure the people here are kind, but they still know each other for just a day. It would become tremendously awkward in the first weak, and they had to withstand cold conversations because these two ladies suddenly appeared and claimed to be lovers of the two, well one did but the point is still there.


    But who brought the most impactful argument was Osira and she carried the most valid point until now. Eric and Mogranius made Commander Alia and Ada stay with the excuse of taking to long to reach Crutal Kingdom if the two joined.


    But what about Osira? She wanted to help them in this journey once their Origin and acts of bravery were made clear in the middle of these arguments. Furthermore she would prove very useful to the arsenal since she too can fly, and although just a Magician (Level 3) in Fire Controlling, three Fire Controllers is better than two for such a task.


    She wanted to repay for all the kind acts of which Eric and Mogranius have provided regardless of the huge back stab. She felt guilty about the fact that such acts were her only option for Victory against the people who did them wrong and to aid the rest of her people.


    But Mogranius strongly refused. "It is way too dangerous!" He stated, and to describe the fact a bit more he added more sensitive information but it wouldn''t damage him or his own gang in any way. "We aren''t dealing with Snow Ignites here, we are dealing with a man who is practically above an Electus power wise. And we might have to face two of them."


    "I don''t care. I will come and help you either if you want it or not." She still insisted which brought in this huge argument. Her pride wouldn''t allow her to evade this suicidal task, she wanted for debts of loyalty to be repaid.


    "You are needed here, we don''t need you there if you just become a Corpse as a result." Stated Mogranius, a bit rough for once more but he had to do so in aims of keeping her here. "She is just 17, she doesn''t have enough power to survive there." He thought as his mouth ran against her wishes.


    She still remained insistent, in no way did she want to leave them take this journey alone. There was only one thing that could stop her and it worked, Bittore.


    Bittore is the Grand Leader of this little Tribe and further more she is Osira''s mother. In no way would she allow her daughter to fly towards her own death no matter what the intend would be. Even when she sent her to King Tamzar, the situation was staged.


    "Osira, you can''t help them like this. Neither of us can, we are needed here and they insist to face their enemies alone." A rough language indeed and at some point sounding a bit ungrateful but Bittore was quite aware of what she is saying, for once not speaking in rage.


    She just wanted to convince her to stay, and Mogranius became quite aware and ignored this rough wordplay. But did it stop Osira, no. This can''t be possibly staged.


    "Yes we can! What difference would it make if five of us go down with them? Ten Fire Controllers would still be here to protect our people from any threat." This just proves how honorable she can be towards her people who she now considers her own.


    "Osira, I need you here for a special task. We have to double our food supply or else we will face complications soon, I need you here." Quite the opposite, she has several qualified Fire Controllers for the task be it for hunting or anything similar but this is just an attempt of keeping her here. "Plus you have all those containers to make, please stay here."


    Finally she came to an agreement, became convinced to stay here even though she figured out what her mother was trying to do. All odds were working against her favour, she found it pointless to argue further.


    Afterwards a lady was sent to see if it is still snowing, so they can determine if they can take this journey today or tomorrow. In the meanwhile Commander Alia was trying to figure out why Osira had such a strong insistence, sensing a scheme behind it too.


    Now trust can''t be 100% considering that she tricked Mogranius and Eric once. But Osira''s behaviours didn''t make sense at all. "Why would a Woman coming from a group who sacrificed so much and did so many tricks for the sake of her people, insist on helping at such a dangerous task?" Commander Alia thought to herself as she sat near the Fire along with Ada.


    The lady returned and declared, "There is a Blizzard going on out there."


    Considering another problem first, Bittore expressed with a gentle tone. "Let''s hope that the ill.u.s.tratian Army survives it, they have to deliver this information or we would have to step on this land with paranoia."

 Chapter 287 - Youre his Mother?

    In the next morning as the snow has lessened, flaking lightly here and there. A few of which could land on one''s face after several meters walked across the ground, declared that it is a lot safer today to travel across these high cold mountains.


    But although the weather is working to their advantage this day, tomorrow isn''t certain and neither is an hour''s time from now. Weather chan change for the worst and if it does, they had to be prepared for it.


    Commander Alia oriented them about this preparation, being equipped for the worse neccesarily means that they will have to carry a weight on their back. Food for example, they only need to carry a little bit of it and be savvy with them. If they need more food they will have to hunt, that might prove slightly difficult up here but it isn''t impossible.


    As for warmth which up here is considered the most important case, they are currently wearing an extra layer of Ratbug leather clothing along with the fur clothing above. Furthermore, Mogranius is carrying a tent and sleeping bag while Eric is carrying extra clothing for both along with a sleeping bag.


    Such careful space management required Commander Alia''s magic touch, she likes organizing things while Mogranius although having years of experience in the forest, tends to just stuff everything down almost carelessly.


    Travel time is the most nerve wrecking part about this journey. The Kingom of Maleemia is around 400 Kilometers far from the low grounds if one would take the safer road around, at the beginning Eric and Mogranius didn''t take this road before and they don''t intend to this time even though they have a better map now showing where it is.


    That would just take too long. Instead they will be piercing through the roads by flying above them, well more like leap above them. Although summer is getting closer by the day in the low lands which of course slightly affects the temperature up here, the winds are still strong.


    If they are not careful, they can be bashed against the rocks and face a horrible bone breaking death. So although leaping above the roads makes their travel distance half the times shorter (Nearly 200 Kilometers.), it will still take two weeks for them to reach the low lands, where they would need to travel for another week if they want to reach Crutal Kingdom.


    So although in a rush, this journey will take 3 weeks. Taking another 3 weeks to return would feel more like a vacation if they survive this crazy situation. If Xakro ill.u.s.tratio at least can''t pass down his powers, he will die in a matter of weeks due to age and wounds who get rougher by the passing years since some are linked to his throat and lungs.


    As much as Eric and Mogranius are concerned, the entire ill.u.s.tratian Alliance will be weaker than it ever was if they loose their Grand King. All they will be able to rely upon, is their military forces who met a huge shortage over the past year.


    Guard Commander or best known as Errand Runner Chan, might or might not arrive in Crutal Kingdom before the two heroes. I see how you find it illogical considering that they are at the opposite side of the Continent while Crutal Kingdom is literally at the other side but there is one thing working to his advantage, that he can use to cheat distance and it isn''t Bear Claw.


    See at the beginning, Chan was sent to handle this task round the Continent so he can Check on Pameres Kingdom. To see what Progress they have made there, thinking that the invasion was a success.


    But hell no, that wasn''t nearly the case. However, now they don''t need to go around the Continent. It would take them about a week to escape Orientis Ignis. Afterwards they would follow the close by River which punctures Orientis Ignis as well, it is also the main place where Shire Horses stand because of the River.


    However, that portion of the River wouldn''t prove effective to them since there isn''t a port or sh.i.p.s for that matter too, no one would come here since there isn''t any business. Good news for them though, is that after travelling about 100 kilometers near the River, they will meet with a town full of Lumberjacks which held quite a big population before the military shortage and likely still has a reasonable population now.


    There they will find a port, they can rent a boat there or boats... But it won''t be cheap considering the travel distance of 1,000 Kilometers. The Boats wound need to travel with the main river as an aim, and take a sharp right where they would aim for Crutal Kingdom.


    These Boats usually travel 50-100 Kilometers a day, so when they will arrive will solely depend on how fast their Boats can travel. What a Journey Chan might face, he expects to attain Freezing Powers yet there is so much power at the palm of his hand and he doesn''t even know it.


    To break down the silence as an aftermath of all that Argument, Bittore spoke as the rest were working except for Ada, Commander Alia and Osira. Stating, "I realise that a lot has been going on here, but we still have a lot more to do."


    It became a bit odd, since there are only four people around the Camp Fire it felt like she quoted Commander Alia and Ada, it felt like she indirectly calling them lazy or dead weight. But thankfully she clarified her intend before anyone had the chance to speak.


    "We still have a lot to explore in this place, it was a task Eric and Osira was assigned too." At this point, she wanted to point out that Eric spend a bit of time alone with her daughter. But at the process of explanation she indeed sounds very innocent, adding. "I can''t let Osira explore alone, Ada can you please join her?"


    At first her intend sounded pure, she wants this place more and more independent. And the reason she is assigning Ada with Osira is almost random, she doesn''t want Osira to show this kid what''s what.


    In a joking matter, Bittore added. "Let us grown ladies catch up and see what Eric and Mogranius represent. They spoke about three or four domains under their control but they didn''t really specify each one."


    "I''m sure they had a reason too." Commander Alia added with a smile and tried to think this situation through. Eric likely just wanted to keep quiet, since it is his nature. But Mogranius? If he loves one thing more than sarcasm, is bragging. So she tried to figure out why he barely bragged.


    "Well... rest assured that you can trust me." Bittore spoke as the two younger ladies walked out of the big room.


    Bittore didn''t need to remind Osira which room to explore next, she has had it as a responsibility and likely knows that she has to explore in an orderly matter. In a straight line before they explore the right wing of this second Section.


    Showing a bit concern on her face since Commander Alia barely yet spoke, she added. "Okay I will be honest with you. I didn''t want to talk about it in front of the kids, it would embarrass them both and cause a huge iceberg between them. I don''t want kids to fight." Here at least, Bittore portrayed herself as a responsible woman.


    But curious enough, barely knowing where this conversation is going and thinking she will talk about war. Commander Alia asked, "What do the four domains have to do with the kids?"


    "It doesn''t. I want to talk to you about Eric, I don''t know if you are his mother but I think that you are the only person I can talk such a topic seriously with." Now at least she has shed more light to her intend and Commander Alia caught on here and there.


    But of course, first she had to specify. "I''m not Eric''s mother by blood, but I think I partially replaced that spot by now. I tried so hard." Looking at the burning Fire in front of her, it reminded her of the tragedy that linked to Eric''s losing his mother. Or it at least is how Woldemir described it. "I hope you didn''t open such a topic about Eric''s mother, he is sensitive about it."


    "Why sensitive?" Asked Bittore, assuming that Eric''s mother just disappeared.


    "She was burned alive in a house fire, caused by ill.u.s.tratios." Commander Alia spoke firmly, with little hesitation. If Eric was around she would never open such a topic so she can save his feelings, she has been careful with his feelings most of the time and it really describes the definition of motherhood.


    "What!" Panicked Bittore, instantly imagining how hurt Osira would be if she had the same fate as Eric. Apparently Osira didn''t manage to tell her about Eric''s fate with his mother. "Poor child, yet he is so kind!"

 Chapter 288 - Numb

    "Indeed he is, but thanks to the Inner Demon of rage he did have complications in the first few m..." Felt Commander Alia stupid all of a sudden, she knew that Mogranius doesn''t entirely trust Bittore yet such information slipped through her mouth.


    Bittore indeed noticed it and instantly became intrigued, aiming to ask. "What do Inner Demons have to do...."


    But her word was cut short by Commader Alia who got back to the first case. "So what did you want to talk about regarding Eric?"


    Although that piece of information sounding important, the spark in her eyes reappeared by the thought of Eric and Osira together. "Look, as a child I find Eric amazing and I have a hunch that he will be even better the older he grows." Collecting her words, trying to figure out how to say this good enough to convince Commander Alia. "I want him to be together with Osira, although marriage is a long shot, I''d like to see where this goes."


    A bit shocked although expecting that the result would lead here based on Bittore''s previous wordplay, with her eyes wide open looking towards her. Alia replied, "Well I don''t think if this is for me to have a word about...."


    "Oh common, he sees you as his mother. Who would have a better word about this? You have all the rights!" Well that''s how far medieval logic would go, at least forced marriage isn''t a common thing in this tribe.


    "He still has a father, I''m sure both him and his father would trust my word completely but as I stated before. He has a fancy for Ada." That was the key reason why Commander Alia didn''t want to cooperate, she doesn''t want Eric growing up thinking he can leave one girl once he finds someone who looks physically more attracting.


    "That little ill.u.s.tratian girl?" Bittore felt dumbfounded, and actually. "I thought you were joking about that. How is an enemy compatible for such a fine boy?"


    Keeping calm, understanding her point of view since perhaps Meridionali Ignis didn''t have less racist ill.u.s.tratios compared to the amount Occidentis Ignis carries. Commander Alia reminded, "We don''t like looking at our allies as enemies, this girl and her mother sacrificed their business to join our Revolution. Furthermore her mother was married to an Ignite, before he was slaughtered."


    Finding such information hard to believe, she took a few seconds to comprehend this but Alia sure had a bit more to say.


    "Let''s just wait for Eric and ask him what he feels, he literally knows Ada just for a couple of days so I doubt he is in love." That''s where Commander Alia felt sympathy, although not a mother herself she could sense Bittore''s good intends. "Pray to the source that he doesn''t die out there."


    "You''re right." Bittore finally admitted, and even realized that she projected a terrible image of herself towards Commander Alia for a couple of minutes although her intend pure. "It''s just that... Osira had a rough past, I want her to smile more at least now."


    Realizing where this is going since Osira is both an Ignite and a Fire Controller, she wanted to know a bit more detail about it, asking. "I''m guessing the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance caused you trouble?"


    "Well yes it did, but that''s not the worst part as we were used to it throughout her life." For someone who heard her story before this would make a lot more sense.


    But to Commander Alia? She was quick to ask with her eyebrow raised in confusion as she felt the warmth of the fire on her face. "What''s worse than the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance?"


    "Betrayal." Answered Bittore with no intend of hoarding information. "My husband sold us out to the illas once he figured out that both of us posess Magic."


    Since she still calls her powers, "Magic". Alia figured that Mogranius nor Eric might not have told them about how exactly "Magic" was brought upon the world. Giving it a bit of thought, she zoned out and accidentally missed a few words from Bittore.


    As she snapped back to reality, she heard. "Forest for quite a while." Giving a bit of thought instead of asking her to repeat her words which might appear rude since they are the only ones in the room.


    Figuring out what Bittore might have said, she added. "Living there must have been rough."


    "It had its ups and downs but there were officially soldiers and experienced hunters send to put an end of our tribe."


    ...


    As Bittore stood near the campfire, she felt the world go a bit blurry and her movements became much more sloppy despite the attempted urge to gain control. Her vision became blurry too, it felt like hundreds of thousands spike like white waves pointing all in the middle of her view.


    With little decision over her subconscious, she found herself gently lying on the side and taking a nap near the Campfire. It felt warm, cozy and made up for all the wounds her body is recovering from.


    But then, she woke up. Found herself at a new surrounding although not very different of her first. Specifically, she was at the opposite side of the Campfire where all the Ratbug meat is temporarily piled up, until the Storage Room is cleaned a bit better and the new Metal Containers are made.


    Odd indeed, "Perhaps Osira didn''t find me comfortable so she moved me." Bittore instantly used logic, still feeling a bit numb when it comes to attaining complete control of her actions.


    The good news is, her vision cleared up by half. The bad news is, it would be better if it didn''t. What would cause such a result? Well as she took a look to the left, she saw... Herself. As if a Mirror was reflecting her perfectly at each and every detail.


    Looking at herself directly in the eye, she tried to take her gaze away but petrified in fear until once more she used logic to her aid. "A dream. This must be a dream!" She thought to herself and tried to speak it out too but a couple words from her sentence felt like as if they were eaten.


    Trying to wake up from this... unique dream, she gave herself a hard left slap and afterwards a hard right one. But her face felt numb and she barely felt a thing, however she did manage to knock herself out.


    Falling on the fur seat once more, a bit less gently this time with her arms barely used to cushion the fall. She wake up about a blink later and continued to once more glance upon herself, "Oh, I still didn''t wake up." She thought with her vision becoming a tad worse compared to the second time.


    Her vision even started tilting from left to right, slowly but it just made the whole thing more and more uncomfortable. Staring directly at what resembled as her perfect copy, Bittore blinked and opened her eyes to something rather... traumatic.


    She witnessed a Ratbug, sitting straight at where her copy used to sit at. With its buck teeth carrying blood and its tongue slithering below. "Shit shit shit shit." Bittore thought as she tried to take a desperate right swing against this beast.


    However, her swing just didn''t hit the Ratbug as if her arm became 10 fold smaller when her fist reached across the Ratbug and returned back at its normal size once the swing clearly missed to damage the target.


    She found herself waking up, near the Campfire again. And feeling a lot more under control, but with a big headache which made it hard to determine if she is still dreaming. She took a peek at her left side and on the right, but didn''t find any Ratbugs nor a clone of herself.


    She pinched her hand, and felt no numbness but a light burn instead. "Good, I''m awake." She murmured to herself feeling huge relief.


    "You were cursing a lot while you were asleep, are you alright?" Spoke a familiar tone, slowly turning her head behind to see who it is and hoping that Ratbugs didn''t learn human language.


    She saw Mollara, sitting over one of the beds over a leather sleeping bag which she herself sewed together. Sighing in relief, she answered. "Oh it was just a bad dream, I swear I''m having it hard to sleep because of them."


    Feeling that she knows what Bittore might have nightmares about, she asked. "Are your nightmares related to Maleemia?"


    Feeling a bit embarrassed that her body apparently did a workout, since she is covered in sweat. Over a dream including a Ratbug, she just evaded the question. "Well not specifically, but in some yes."


    Bringing much beloved reason for Bittore, she explained. "Don''t worry, I remember that many ladies in the past have reported more frequent bad dreams once they sustained an injury. They should pass along with your wounds, just try to relax."


    "You''re a good friend."

 Chapter 289 - Traumas Surrounding

    There is indeed a lot of events going on, and with Eric not part of this hidden domain at the moment there is no reason for Bittore to be slow about exploration, her plan to get her daughter together with him momentarily a fail but she can''t wait for him to return possibly 2 months after and continue with the exploration.


    Ada has been assigned to explore side by side with Osira as mentioned a bit earlier but afterwards a second team of explorers was put in to work as well even though they just count two other people. And as much as some of you might want it, the two explorers aren''t Samantha and Zelimia.


    No no, they are two other Fire Controllers who are a bit older than most of which I introduced. The oldest of this little group of two ladies, is Jone Weiss. Respectfully an Expert (Level 4) Fire Controller, the second oldest Fire Controller in this group of 15 actually.


    Counting 42 years old, she takes a category as one of the best fighters in this group. When trouble arose, she and Mollara were one of the first to face the threat as the rest of the ladies lead the tribe out of danger. She is considered a force to be reckoned with and the fact that she survived for 42 years proves my point furthermore.


    When it comes to appearance, she portrays a tall strong image. Standing 5.8ft tall, she sure gave many enemies a chill. Ironic, but it proves my point. Her height is almost as tall as her fearless attitude. It is one of the reasons Bittore chose her to explore.


    Her face is a bit rounder compared to most Ignites, her jawline is small but her chin is round instead of pointy and her cheeks go outside of the line a bit as well. She has brown hair, but unlike most here who tie their hair in to a bun, she tied it in to a tail.


    But her hair isn''t the longest. When not tied in to a tail, it just reaches a bit below the shoulders. At her roots, she has a bit of white hair spread around here and there. A bit too early even though she is just 42, but a life of an Ignite is mostly with stress.


    She doesn''t usually talk much, unless she is close to someone she knows for a longer time. Tends to be secretive even though she doesn''t neccesarily have trouble communicating with most people. Her past is considered the roughest here from all, she has overcome what most ladies here couldn''t. At least that''s what Mollara says.


    When she was just 8 years old, she unfortunately was r.a.p.ed. If it was by an ill.u.s.tratio, at least the pain would be just a nudge less considering the usual **** rates they''ve caused over the past 201 Years. But no, an Ignite brought such a foul fate upon her.


    Living in the Capital, the number of employed Ignites varied in sections. In the richer parts of the Kingdom there were barely any Ignites hired, but Jone came from a rich family close to the unmentioned border separating the poorest from the richest.


    But what would Jone be doing in the rich sections of town? When her father died thanks to an unknown disease, an ill.u.s.tratian man proposed to Jone''s mother thanks to her attractive features. When it comes to how than man treated Jone, it was considerably well.


    She considered her as one of her own, and when her abilities were discovered he was ready to accept her the way she is. He knew more about what the illas represents and what schemes they carry, so he knew darn well that Jone doesn''t have Demonic origin.


    However that''s a different part of the story, let''s list her first tragedy after he father''s death. Since the rich and poor section are so close to each other, Jone found herself close to the poor territory in the busiest part of the day.


    What does that mean? Well when it is the busiest part of the day, the residential areas are commonly empty regardless of wealth. An unemployed alcoholic ran in to her, based on the entitlement it is easy to assure that he was drunk at that moment.


    However, drunk or not it doesn''t excuse what he did. If **** wouldn''t be a official crime in some domains heavily based on status, it would be a moral or anti humane crime. He dragged Jone in an ally, clumsily covered her mouth as well.


    The process started, she was ripped out of her clothes from the waste down and penetration was achieved by that Ignite mad man. Just a minute later, another Ignite man ran in who just happened to walk by. He grabbed the Rapist and slammed him against the wooden plank wall until blood started bursting out of his back and he was knocked out cold.


    Jone didn''t understand what was happening here, but she knew it wasn''t anything nice. Unclothed, she ran towards her house close by and locked herself in the bas.e.m.e.nt. She was terrified and her body hurt, she was scratched with his nails and of course deflowered too which added a lot more pain.


    For two days, her parents have been searching her all over the Kingdom and just assumed for the worst the longer they couldn''t find her. If she dashed to the poor section, she would probably face **** more than once and it is what they feared.


    The man who saved Jone a bit too late, reported this crime to the Guards and considering whose daughter Jone was, they''ve instantly arrested the rapist and awaited to be told what to do with him. It wasn''t hard to decide, execution was a sentence. He was beheaded, and her parents gladly watched him getting killed.


    When they finally found Jone in the bas.e.m.e.nt when her mother just wanted to get some pots, Jone was hungry, dehydrated and no doubt traumatized. For two years she didn''t get out of her house, and her trauma slowly converted in to rage when she was forced to make new discoveries a bit too soon.


    However, we will describe the rest of her story later. The other lady accompanying Jone on this little exploration quest, is Clarry Ritter. She holds the title of the third oldest in this group of 15 Fire Controller Ladies, but her main title is being the most attractive one.


    Standing 5.7 feet tall and 70 Kilograms heavy, such weight is all due to her attractive features. What most men of this Continent want, when they are looking for a spouse. Are attractive curves, ladies who are too thin are often discriminated and ladies who are too obese share the same fate.


    But Clarry, she isn''t neither slim or obese. She carries muscles forming in to attractive curves, all thanks to her dedication to mastering combat skills. Once she joined this tribe she wanted to do all she could to protect it, which led to these attractive features.


    But bad enough, these features is what caused for her to be King Tamzar''s first **** victim. And when she refused, her son was killed by the Guards, her only family member left was killed by the urge of l.u.s.t. King Tamzar threatened to kill any random person of this tribe each time she disagreed, at that rate she couldn''t take a risk anymore and had to accept her fate.


    She has blonde hair, featuring long curls and reaching all the way down to her buttocks. Considering that, it is well to establish what a beautiful sight she would portray once she let her hair down. She too keeps her hair tied in to a tail, since tying them in to a bun takes a lot more effort considering their size.


    King Tamzar favoured her because of her larger b.r.e.a.s.ts compared to most, easy to notice regardless of what she was wearing to evade that feature from the eyes of others. It was hard for her to withstand the fact that a lot of men stare at her with such impure intends. And it was even harder to share a bed with him, but what had to be done was done.


    Once Clarry became the first victim, Bittore broke all her relations and sentiments towards Maleemia even if she didn''t declare it to King Tamzar by word. Poking her nose everywhere she could to claim victory in exchange for the traumas and victims, she found out about a Dragon buried deep beneath the Castle. The rest of the story can be put together, this little tribe won and put an end of what was left from this race. Perhaps there are more hidden domains, we can never be sure. But here her tribe is safe.


    Now it is the time for progress, they have an upper advantage against any domain or race at the moment. Although just a group of 15 ladies who don''t break over Level 4 in Fire Controlling, they have discovered suffocation with the aid of their powers long before they even reached Maleemia.

 Chapter 290 - Raging Strategies!

    Stefan rushed out of the house and saw tens of Guards rushing towards the right wing or best described as the right walls. This piece of land carry no value, considering that the 230 Hectare new farm is in front of the Kingdom. It''s just a flat land with the forest above its head.


    It became easy to spot the approaching soldiers, on the walls a Guard shouted with a guess. "Enemies are 300 Meters away!" And his word was carried on all the way here for the rest of the Guards to hear.


    This most definitely proves war, because they didn''t send a messenger demanding any requests but charged right away. They are running with all their might towards the Kingdom, and furthermore King Michael wasn''t informed of any Soldiers stopping by the Kingdom. They can''t be any friendly Platoons and green skins are spreading all over the field.


    Stefan ran back in and shouted. "We are being invaded, grab Misses Wood and lets go to the Castle!"


    It is not a good idea to stay here, because what if the fight extends here inside the Kingdom? The ill.u.s.tratian Alliance is known to attack, slaughter and even **** enemy Civilians in mid battle. They have no limits, Stefan was aware of that.


    He grabbed Misses Wood on her other arm and lifting her a bit above the ground they were heading straight in the main road to reach the Castle. Stefan figured that King Michael might already have been alarmed, the Guards would be stupid not too. Because like it or not, he makes up for half of the Arsenal considering his Grand Mastery in Fire Controlling.


    Most of the 50 Guards have already made their way out of the gate at the right wing and are awaiting to face this opposing Army possibly counting over 200, maybe even 300? It was hard for the n.a.k.e.d eye to determine unless someone has a superior gift brain-wise or just did a lucky guess.


    Their move here was to wait if the Army is going to stop, taking a few seconds and seeing that it isn''t the case due to the roaring enemy Soldiers with their swords up on the sky and with Arrows shinning high with the aid of the sun''s reflection.


    "Arrows. It had to be arrows." Woldemir thought once he remembered how many Guards were lost at the Battle of Pameres Kingdom thanks to arrows.


    However what he thought, didn''t match with what he is about to do. From the top of his lungs, he shouted. "Attack!" And raised goosebumps of the Guards who had such a pleasure of hearing his voice roar like a raging Cave Bear.


    To make this battle a bit confusing, the enemies have build up a different strategy instead of all just charging at once and some Archers making it rain arrows across the battlefield, arrows were raining not to be confused but since the Platoon of Gaster Kingdom charged, no Guard was taken victim of this first wave.


    But what made it confusing? Nearly half of the enemies stopped on their spot and a group of 30-40 maybe even 50 Soldiers separated from the rest of the army and charged towards Gaster Kingdom''s Platoon.


    This approach is confusing indeed, but it wasn''t the only reason to cause such a puzzle. They weren''t wearing armour and they seem to be carrying Hatchets! It wasn''t easy to get in to specifics from afar, but once Woldemir the Grand Master took a victim under his feet. He noticed that these Hatchets aren''t qualified for battle. They are too small, possibly used by Lumberjacks.


    But these enemies aren''t the only ones who can be categorized as strategic. With decades of training to his aid, his leg muscles along with the rest of him carry admirable muscle. He managed to outrun his Platoon by a distance of 30 meters and charged at the patch of enemies single handedly.


    Before he was about 10 meters close from reaching them, he used his 2 meter long sword which is gifted with an enchantment, the Rumbler! He struck the ground with his handle made from Volcanic rock and the ground shook beneath his feet with a violent wave, as if a concentrated Earthquake struck the ground. As if large Wild Boars bashed against their knees.


    Nearly half of these enemies carrying Axes/Hatchets, fell to the ground indiscriminately. The other half who didn''t immediately fall, were just out of reach but no need to worry. The sudden change of battle disoriented them and they tripped over one another, some panicked and immediately assumed that Woldemir is a demon considering what he unleashed and the colour on his skin.


    The moment he caught them down on the ground, he was swift enough to make one of the Soldiers permanently stay there by forcefully nailing him to the ground with a Dagger he was carrying on his waste as an emergency Dagger, that''s where he noticed the Hatchet staggered from the enemy''s hand.


    Two other Soldiers although in shock, were quick enough to stand up but Woldemir is quicker. His 2 meter long Sword became an advantage, and the thin Iron representing the sharp side slit through the air before it slit through their exposed necks.


    And a couple more that were still on the ground, were beheaded as he struck his sword down horizontally first at the right and after on the left. He hasn''t been in the battle for more than 10 seconds yet 5 Victims have been claimed under his name. This is a good definition of what a Grand Master is capable off.


    More and more Soldiers stood up from the ground, but were taken at a disadvantage as the Platoon of Gaster Kingdom charged against them. 10-15 men were slaughtered while they were trying to stand up, and the real battle clashed when there were 20-30 enemies already on their feet.


    Now it is a very bad idea to cause another Earthquake since his own Guards would fall victim by the Soldiers who might be able to get up faster. That of course can be dependent on luck, because these 50 Guards have been trained by Woldemir for months and have developed a physical advantage or against these men with Hatchets, a physical superiority.


    However, Gaster Kingdom''s platoon couldn''t escape victimless. Several Guards are already injured by the Soldiers who managed to fight back regardless of the circ.u.mstances and 4 Guards are knocked out, down to the ground. If they are alive or just knocked out by a sudden strike of pain, it is not certain.


    In a matter of a minute, this batch of enemy Soldiers just kept dropping in numbers. What was 30-40 became 10 and half of these remaining were taken victim by Woldemir, the thought of already losing more of this Platoon has forced him to act a bit recklessly. Emotions have overcome his moves a bit here and there.


    Enough that, when he was in the process of taking down the fifth victim of the remaining batch enemies, he was almost struck on the head with a Hatchet from a blind spot he could have taken under consideration if he didn''t Roar in rage.


    A hit to the head would be fatal, even though he has an Iron helmet on. The main reason behind it, is that a Human''s head is fragile and if not death it can lead to brain damage bringing memory loss, craziness, or disability as a companion. And those are just the easiest parts.


    To his luck, Arem the favoured Guard was there to withstand the blow. Raising his sword against the hatchet, he was able to over power the opponent. Staggering the Hatchet off of his hand once metal against metal struck, and broke the opponents wrist too!


    The enemy fell down in pain before another Guard nailed him to the ground, and the rest charged to finish off the remaining 5 in the same process. This first wave of battle was hard to handle in some aspects, but most of them are alive.


    Now with 7 on the ground, either too injured, dead or knocked out cold. And with 10 injured by a hatchet, they stood strong against enemies who are standing their ground 100 meters away. But right now they are out numbered and King Michael is no where to be seen.


    To make this battle a lot more difficult, another wave of Arrows flew across the sky. Being quick to notice them, Woldemir shouted loudly. "Shields up, arrows incoming."


    Almost in perfect synchronisation, the Platoon raised their shields up and awaited the arrows with confidence. They remember Woldemir telling them, "Getting an arrow to the leg is nothing and highly survivable, just protect your head."


    Those Guards who were a bit slower however, faced no consequences. They were slow because they were injured, bleeding actually. Woldemir doesn''t have a shield considering that his sword is two handed.


    So he hid behind a shield provided by Arem, but it wasn''t enough. An arrow struck on his left leg, almost at the genital area and another arrow struck him on the same leg except a bit lower.


    As he glared down to break the arrows, refusing to let out any howl of pain. He saw three pairs of feet landing on the ground, glaring a bit more up he noticed that it is Isabel. He is used to her unique figure thanks to all these months of training her. Two Calidum Lutum stood by her side, one which qualifies as Level 2 and the other qualifies with Level 3 in Swordsmanship.


    But what does this exactly mean? Well these 3 Calidum Lutum Guards arrived in the battle late, and they''ve literally jumped over their own Platoon to rage in to battle. But that wasn''t all.


    Taking a look at the right, Woldemir was able to see a piece of metal flash across the field as fast as an Arrow. Seconds after he saw Saleem running, with the ground shaking beneath his feet and more spears armed on his back.

 Chapter 291 - Human Spear

    Tens of men followed Saleem after, and they didn''t join the scene empty handed even though the only protection they have is the cloth over their skin. Their marching against the ground thundered as if the Army counted over a thousand, they showed no sign of fear and they were charging towards the enemies head on.


    As for the first spear, likely tossed by Saleem. It split through the air and bashed one of the enemy soldiers on the head. Now the damage wasn''t completely fatal since he tossed it from quite a distance and unlike the Hatchetmen, this one was wearing an Iron Helmet.


    The Spear hit his head, and knocked him down but his head wasn''t penetrated. The Spear bounced off as impact was made against his head, and hit another Guard on the arm. Although cowardly, his scream of pain was equal to one who would take a shot to the head.


    Kaleem, his 17 year old son dashed in the scene behind him and too tossed a Spear against the invaders. His shot hurled above the ground as if a thunder throwing god joined the battle. And unlike his father, Kaleem managed to penetrate his spear against the enemy.


    In a blink of an eye, his spear hit a Iron armoured Soldier against the chest and he was tossed 4 meters behind before the spear went through him and hit another Soldier. The second soldier shared a lighter fate, with the spear only half way through. But death was inevitable for him too!


    Unlike Saleem who is a muscular prodigy, or Kaleem who is of the evolved in power. The rest don''t quite have the capabilities to toss a successful shot for more than 50 meters. Still the distance they can achieve is promising since even trained Spearmen in the army break over 30 meters, those who are the most trained do.


    The muscles these Spearfishermen have developed due to their daily duties, and the game they had to pull out of the water usually ranging around 50 Kilograms. Have made these men Spearing prodigies!!


    Woldemir took a more detailed look at what Saleem brought to the scene, and he could see some of the Farmers too. When these Farmers aren''t on the field, they are assigned in the fishing area. There has to be at least 15 of those Farmers here.


    But even with pain on his legs due to the Iron still remaining even after he broke off the wooden tails, he managed to think this situation through. These enemies appear to be strategic, so he managed to predict their move.


    For the enemies, taking on men who specify in ranged attacks with close combat attacks would be considered quite a stupid idea. Because at a distance of 50 meters, two waves of shots is all it takes to dismantle half of the army.


    So neccesarily, they have to weaken the ranged attacks the enemy is causing in order for the close combat Soldiers to overcome this battle. Which means that a wave of Arrows will be shot against the Spearmen in a matter commands.


    "Shield the Spearmen!" Shouted Woldemir from the top of his lungs and afterwards urged. "Move move move." So they tackle this task a bit faster.


    He didn''t care about his own safety, and feels like he can take care of himself when it comes to evading arrows. But the Spearmen aren''t even wearing a bit of iron over their skin, they are very exposed to danger.


    And although patriotic that they stepped up for their Kingdom without even a dash of fear, it is still very stupid. If half of them die in battle, the profit can be highly effected which neccesarily will tamper with the overall hunger.


    The Guards dashed towards the Spearmen with their metal shields up, but here the split second varied. The Spearmen have already dashed 50 meters in front of the Platoon, which made it a bit difficult to reach them under a couple of seconds.


    Arrows already hit the sky and enemy close combat men, were commanded to attack Gaster Kingdom''s Spearmen. But there are 3 wonderful people aiding to attain a few more seconds for everyone standing with this wonderful people.


    Isabel and her friends in battle and origin, Jamelm and Hetoz! They''ve faced the army breaking for sure over 100 and started slicing through Iron and flesh. Isabel along with her friends decided to use a move with Calidum lutum Origin, Woldemir can''t do this move nor can anyone who doesn''t have abnormal strength.


    With the right foot forward, and afterwards their swords pointed right over their head. They are a blink away from becoming human spears, a tremendous move and a tide turner in battle.


    They soon became airborne and hurled across the sky before they stabbed through one head after the other with the most ease. Well we can''t say that they''ve hit each victim in the row to the head.


    The first penetration was successfully through the head, the second victim got hit through the throat a bit as well considering that no one can throw him or her self at a perfectly balanced position, the penetration usually sinks down the deeper they reach.


    As the victims on the third row were hit, the Sword penetrated their chest instead of their heads. And so on the penetration just kept sinking lower until the genital area was reached at the 6th row of victims.


    The move was successful, 18 enemies met a foul end. But did Isabel want to stop there? Hell no! As her two companions just used the corpses to cushion their fall, her feet didn''t yet reach the ground.


    Using the momentum she gained at that earth trembling speed when she ran across the field, so she can do a flip instead of falling down. She gave every bit of muscle she could give to maintain her balance above the sword handle.


    With her head almost reaching the handle as she stood upside down, her sword hit the ground and as she took a quick glance at the corpses she has gathered, she used her fast momentum along with her muscles to rip her Sword out of the Corpses.


    Successful indeed, but why go through all that trouble when she could have fallen over the soldiers like the rest? Well as she found herself high in the air, two more rounds of people of which here sword didn''t manage to penetrate, were standing their ground.


    Balancing herself mid air, she slashed against two more enemies! The tip of her sword sliced the last man''s head nearly in half and the pre last man had his shoulder sliced as if a raging Source Bear took him as a victim.


    The enemies were caught in shock, it isn''t every day to face enemies who slice through people like butter, and she used it to her advantage. Jamelm and Hetoz stood up and started slicing men in the bundle as much as they can while Isabel herself dashed towards the Archers hiding behind this group of people, these Archers possibly count over 50!


    Archers are the greatest threat an enemy can offer, because it is a ranged attack. Able to unleash multiple waves before the enemy even approaches, so the Archers became her prime target now. It would make the battle easier even if her armour has to withstand a few blows.


    The second wave they have shot, has taken several Spearmen victim, but they aren''t dead. The Guards arrived in time, but there were just too many to shield. However Arrow can penetrate skin, it has a different fate with these people''s morale!


    With spears on their hands, they''ve unleashed another wave of spears at the side where the Calidum lutum aren''t slashing through flesh. 10 Soldiers fell down, either if they are dead or just knocked out it doesn''t play any importance. They can no longer contribute in this battle.


    As Isabel was close to reaching them, another wave of Arrows was hurled through the sky. But stupid enough, they took Woldemir as a target. Perhaps they figured out who the Guard Commander is?


    She didn''t know who the target was and didn''t want to find out either, if she did her morale would likely be damaged and she would have become more and more reckless!


    Woldemir managed to spot the arrows on the sky, and with Iron still on his leg he tried to move out of the way. Good enough, he didn''t become too slow because of his injuries.


    He heard the arrows swiftly tapping down against the ground, only a foot away from where he tumbled through. But one thing that made his battle morale increase, was the fact that some arrows were carrying smoke and had their Iron tip possibly blasted off.


    Now at least it makes sense how some arrows almost reached him considering that he tumbled away a few meters from where he predicted the arrows will land.


    He glared towards the sky and saw King Michael with fire underneath his feet, about 20 meters above the ground. Taking a peek back down, he saw the 6.4 foot tall ill.u.s.tratio named Saleem approach the enemies dangerously close.


    10 meters close, he tossed a spear of which has a thick rope attached to it. Penetrating two men in a row, he forcefully started pulling the rope back and threw them against the ground.


    Although down, he didn''t stop pulling them. With a dash on his feet, he moved closer to the enemies he pulled out of the battle and grabbed the rope where only 5 meters separated them.


    With all the force he could give, he started spinning the two men until they became airborne! Such a move indeed requires a prodigy, who else would try such an insane move?


    While above the ground, he gently let out more rope to stretch by a foot every time he spun them two times. Until, the ratio of this twirl stretched 10 meters wide!

 Chapter 292 - Superior Morale

    As more than half of the remaining enemies were dealing with the three Calidum Lutum who stormed them, what was left started charging towards the Gaster Kingdom Guards who are shielding the Spearmen and woman, respectively.


    The enemy Army lost orientation even further when King Michael launched his first attack, a 7 Foot wide Fireball struck right in the middle of all those Archers. Moments later Isabel slashed through the same way King Michael shot with no fear against the enemy nor fear towards King Michael.


    She knows for sure that someone as skilled as him wouldn''t shoot blindly, he still remains the greatest of this Arsenal even though there are over a hundred people in the battle field who stand with Gaster Kingdom.


    Getting back to the point, the enemy Army lost orientation since half of them faced an end already. Their strategy was taken in vain when they underestimated the power of Gaster Kingdom''s Platoon of Guards. Odds are, they expected the Hatchetmen to kill half of the Platoon.


    The Hatchetmen occupying 1/4 of the army were slaughtered a bit to quick. Woldemir figured that they are just tools to weaken the defences considering how vulnerable and unskilled they were, plus they aren''t the biggest part of the Army.


    If he guessed their strategy right, the Archers and Hatchetmen should have weakened Gaster Kingdom''s Platoon before the big attack was unleashed. The big attack is differently referred as the formerly 100 standing men carrying Swords and maces.


    Its odd to see Soldiers using Blunt Weapons, even the toughest armies here in Ignis don''t include them enough. The odds are these are just soldiers who were forced to handle whatever weapon they were offered. Considering how many Soldiers died in Maleemia, it wouldn''t be a big surprise if even the Capital at Meridionali Ignis is at a Iron shortage.


    Getting back to the battle, the Guards clashed against what soldiers separated from their patch like spooked animals. The Spearmen behind the Platoon of Guards, took steps back so they don''t get slashed.


    It is a good move, because they are used to taking ranged shots. Close combat might not be the best idea for them and here they are practically useless because if they shoot, they can kill their own allies.


    There are more enemy soldiers than Gaster Kingdom Guards. So a portion slipped their reach and aimed to attack the Spearmen behind. But the odds here are a bit different, there are over 30 Spearmen and only 10 enemies heading their way.


    The Spearmen didn''t want to run, regardless if they die here. They can be considered the most motivated in this battle, they kept Gaster Kingdom fed. Would they let what they worked for, be claimed by some power hungry maniac?


    Hell no! With most Spearmen having 1 or 2 Spears remaining sheathed on their back, they can give a final fight here. Getting a firm grip against the metal on their hands, they thundered their spears through the air and none of them aimed to hit anywhere lower than the neck!


    All 10 Soldiers fell on the ground like bunnies, a success without loss is the best way to describe it! The Spearmen charged once more when they saw one of the Guards of their own fall dead to the ground, they roared in battle.


    Grabbing the Spears they bashed on the previous 10 Guards, they didn''t try to do any ranged attack this time! With their spears pointed forwards, a couple of feet away from their torso. They''ve charged against the patch of Soldiers from both sides.


    A lot were stabbed on the waste three or four times before the Guards sliced through them like butter and moved against the other. A perfect example of patriotic mad manery.


    As for Kaleem, he was seen taking a long 10 meter leap before he kicked a face in, breaking it entirely and tumbling himself down against a bundle of Guards. He doesn''t have a weapon, he used his spears a bit earlier and sure has done some damage.


    Spotting several spears in the crowd of dead bodies, but only one closest to his reach. He dashed towards it and stabbed a Soldier who was changing him, just a split second before he could have been taken down by a left horizontal swing of sharp Iron.


    He was about to attack two other men, who were already charging towards him. But Saleem took his spark as he tossed the two men he has been spinning! They landed against the two men and tossed them 10 meters far, there intestines spilling out all across the field so Kaleem just decided to look away.


    Kaleem charged towards more Guards behind him, who were trying to kill the two raging Calidum Lutum men who have slaughtered a good portion of the Army. Stabbing a Soldier from the back, than moving to the other and afterwards to the third, he met with a drastic scene.


    A Soldier was about to slip a blind spot against one of these two large men, although it might not kill this man who is armed to the teeth. He can''t take his chances, tossing the spear he forced the enemy to fly a couple of meters but the enemy was no longer in piece. His head flew off and nailed to the ground.


    As he tried to get another spear, he saw another man flying across the sky and tumble down several Soldiers. Taking a look at the left he saw Lia and Jim smiling from the distance, "Did they do what my father did?" Asked Kaleem to himself as he grabbed another Spear and took out some of those Guards who fell at that vulnerable position.


    King Michael kept shooting Archers, from the comfort of the sky. Although powerful, he would find it too vulnerable to face more than 20 men at close combat. Unlike Isabel, he can''t take over ten hits and still fight.


    There is blood on her armour, the vein like Iron detailing on it looks rather torn as well. He didn''t manage to spot that blood is already dripping from several spots on her body, but did she stop?


    No, she broke one Arrow tail after the other so they don''t prevent her swings and shredded against her enemies. Her smaller jawline portrayed rage as giving up didn''t become an option, kill or be killed is her motive here.


    There is a lot she can withstand, she is the second greatest person when it comes to the ways of the Sword here in Gaster Kingdom! She has an Elite level(4) in Swordsmanship, it is a level indeed hard to reach and when accompanied by a skin as tough as rock she is practically unstoppable!!


    King Michael gave out his last Fireball against the Archers and saw Isabel victimize two of the remaining. It is fair to say that they were fleeing, so she had to chase them for a few short seconds.


    They''ve turned their attention towards what Soldiers remained in the battlefield, and saw that Gaster Kingdom was a few swings away from glorious well deserved Victory! The Guards and Spearmen have slaughtered their way through their previous problem and joined the battle here where the Calidum Lutum and Kaleem were close to being overwhelmed.


    Noticing that they''ve lost the battle in the worst way possible, the 15 remaining Soldiers found an opening behind them and were ready to flee the battle. Noticing this cowardly but at this point smart act, the men and women who fought for Gaster Kingdom shouted "Victory" across the field and had no intend of chasing these Cowards.


    They won''t be dumb enough to return, or at least not with the numbers they''ve remained with. Out of a Sudden, Isabel dropped in front of them, returning from the chase she went through seconds earlier.


    Growling at them, with her Helmet already fought off in battle. Her Gold and Black hair was forced to hang loosely thanks to all that battle. For the enemy Soldiers, it appeared like a Beautiful reaper has come to claim their souls.


    But for Isabel, these are just enemies who don''t deserve any mercy. Slicing through these men who were already in panic and dismotivated for battle became rather easy. They are like chickens, vulnerable even though they can put up a little fight.


    Two men remained alive, and she had no intend of sparing them! Raising her sword, she was ready to swing across their faces and put them out of their pathetic existence. But she heard a shout echoing, "Stop!" From the background!


    She knows that voice, she has heard it countless times and every day even! She didn''t even have to turn around nor exchange any sentences, they can''t understand each other after all.


    She dropped her sword and grabbed the two enemies by their necks, and they dropped their Swords long ago too! Lifting them off the ground, she turned around and saw Woldemir.


    Noticing a 6.4ft tall ill.u.s.tratio following him, the bufest in this Kingdom to be more exact. She just walked a few feet and tossed these sc.u.m bags towards him, knowing what the point here was without even asking. Interrogation.


    Approaching her closer and closer with Iron tipped arrows still on his leg, he stared at her face and spoke. "You''re hurt, it''s not just these wounds is it?"


    Observing her way of battle so far, it is far beyond over done and at some point suicidal. No one fights the way she does even though their morale aren''t majorly different.


    Running his hands through her cheek, moving her hair away which were attached to the skin with the aid of Blood. He felt a couple of tears rolling down and touching his hand, washing the blood off he obtained when he tried to remove the Arrow heads.


    It is clear that in some ways, she understood what he meant. She tried to reach for his face too, she isn''t sure what she wants to do here but pulling back isn''t an option.


    "Let''s treat your wounds." He softly said once he saw several swipes of Iron that has ripped through her Armour and cut through the skin a little bit as well.


    Afterwards he grabbed her wrist, knowing that she might not have completely understood him. Little did he expect, this brutal fearless lady finally gathered the courage to remove his wrist grip and slip her hand down until they were holding hands instead.

 Chapter 293 - Interogation

    "Who do you work for?" Shouted King Michael from the top of his lungs as he hatefuly glared at the two Captives. Punching the table along with that roaring shout.


    But yet the Captives remained silent, acting like they don''t know what an Army is even though they just shared a Unit with one roughly an hour ago. Perhaps they haven''t yet sung like a bird because the toughest punishment King Michael gave so far, was yelling.


    "Still won''t talk aye?" Trying to calm down, gathering his nerves to stop this splitting headache. He figured to himself that he might not be too intimidating to these ill.u.s.tratian Soldiers. He is used to smiling more these past few months with Alama around and his face just looks too youthful and smooth, the only thing he can intimidate is a Chicken. "Alright, have it your way."


    "Saleem!" Called King Michael, bringing a beast inside of the interrogation room down here at the Dungeon. It is weird because they barely used the Dungeon after the Alliance separated from Gaster Kingdom, enemies were mostly killed afterwards and there were no law breakers.


    The Dungeon is underneath the Castle, stretching down enough to hold 30 cells and one interogation ropm. But luckily there are no torture chambers, the people here never wanted to indulge on such an activity.


    Saleem walked in the room, he was called to accompany King Michael at the Castle for this main purpose. When he walked inside of the room, he had to turn to the sides so he can fit through the door and he had to duck a little bit as well.


    As he walked in, the two little birds who didn''t want to talk eyes became wider by the second. One reason is because Saleem is huge, the second reason is they saw what he can do in battle. One of his arms is half as thick as King Michael''s waste for the love of Sources.


    To show how dangerous he can get, he slammed the door right after he walked in and it god damn well sounded like an explosion. It felt like that bang haunted their souls, King Michael got scared as well.


    Unlike King Michael, he didn''t intend to talk this out. Grabbing one of these Captives on the neck and pulling him over the table, he tightened his arm muscles and hurled him across the room and through the door.


    "I think I know someone who can fix that?!" Murmured King Michael once he saw that the door was completely broken with no chance of saving it, not caring much about the Captive.


    I mean if this Captive dies out of that impact, the second one might talk more. Tip toeing his way towards the door, King Michael took a peek at the Captive and saw that he is for sure knocked out. But not dead, he could see his chest rising and lowering with the intake of air.


    "I suggest you talk." Added King Michael as he turned around, taking a peek at the Captive who already started sweating. "The door is broken, and the rest of this room is made out of cobblestones."


    The passive threat was quite clear here, the chances of breaking several bones with one smash against the walls isn''t slim. Now, the Captive finally decided to talk but he started it off with mumbling.


    "Macek Macek! He um... he and the send us... the Grand King! They sent us here to invade!" His tone started cracking and he panicked more and more by the passing second because Saleem was approaching closer and closer.


    Grabbing the Captive by the shoulders with two hands and lifting him above the ground he asked. "What about King Macek?" He knows that name, he knows that name quite well.


    What bothers him more, is that he had a chance to kill that Buffon yet he decided to show some humanity instead. But now? That fool is trying to invade this Kingdom of people who work their assess off to have what they have. He wanted to crush this man, break him like a piece of wood but they need the information out of him first.


    "Tell me every bit of detail or I''ll end you." Saleem demanded, afterwards he just dropped the Captive to his chair.


    ...


    After the interogation, everything was made clear. The Captive was brave enough to even draw out the plan of this invasion. King Macek of Wide River Kingdom asked permission along with some help from the Grand King of Meridionali Ignis, Alector Ager!


    But considering the military shortage all of Meridionali Ignis faced indiscriminately because of the Snow Ignites, Alector refused to lend Soldiers for such a small domain. The only reason why the Grand King even agreed for this attack to happen, is because King Macek pointed out how many sh.i.p.s sail there each month.


    Considering that last part, Saleem asked even more questions. How would they know about the sh.i.p.s? Good enough, the Captive answered the questions without wasting a second.


    There were scouts sent by King Macek himself, once they saw how many sh.i.p.s arrive here they figured that another mine has been discovered. That became the King''s motivation and excuse to invade. But still the Kingdom doesn''t have enough people so the Grand King didn''t want to waste his own forces.


    But yet going to invade a Kingdom with a small Army might not be the best idea either, so King Macek asked to take some Guards from a Kingdom at Occidentis Ignis. That''s where Lumberjack''s Kingdom came in useful.


    Notice those 50 Hatchetmen in battle? Well it isn''t a coincidence. But it was indeed a desperate move, because they didn''t take Guards from there but Lumberjacks instead. That Kingdom now holds 600 people, half of which are still Lumberjacks.


    It is what the Kingdom lives out of and it is split in two sections. The first is based on a clear opening, close to a river branch. And the second section is indulged deep in to the Forest, nearly 100 Kilometers away actually. Well, not all of the Lumberjacks go in that deep but that''s the furthest anyone would go.


    In little camps away from this Domain, live a couple hundred Lumberjacks. They are all men and they are the Kingdom''s main profit. However getting back to the case, Lumberjack''s Kingdom had no Guard to spare since all of them were sent to war.


    Since most here are armed with Axes, it was a good excuse to take every single Guard out of this place, saying that these people can look out for each other. So instead, the Army just took 50 Lumberjacks to fight in battle and like Woldemir predicted, they were just a way to weaken Gaster Kingdom''s Army.


    Bad enough for the Captive, a Guard walked in and informed King Michael of the losses. Although they dominated in battle, 20 more Guards have died and at least 25 are injured but can survive their wounds. This situation keeps getting worse and worse, Gaster Kingdom used to have 100 Guards now they have just 30.


    As King Michael was thinking of an appropriate reward for the Spearmen who survived this battle without facing any deaths! And of course a reward for the 30 survivors, Saleem became more enraged throughout the process.


    He took a peek at the conscious Captive and grabbed him by the head with aims of crushing it like an apple. Seeing what''s going on here, King Michael ordered him to stop and said. "Let me handle this, throw the other Captive inside."


    Saleem regained control of his rage and just let the Captive live for a couple more seconds. They both walked out, and as King Michael stood by the door he began to blast Fire from his mouth and gave the Captives no chance of survival. They couldn''t even yell out in pain, their death was quick and their bodies were burned out of existence even quicker.


    He turned his attention towards the Guard who brought this information and ordered, "There should be tens of Hatchet''s in the battle field. Don''t throw them away, take them and anything else usable to us. We faced enough losses and we could use some compensation."


    ...


    Meanwhile, Woldemir was helping Isabel treat her wounds. At first she refused at all cost to take her armour off, that confused him a little bit because he wasn''t able to spot the problem. The battle is over and she does have clothes underneath it.


    But as she finally agreed to remove her Armour, it made a bit more sense. Her shirt is quite torn because of the several Swords who have ripped through her Armour. Although those places are covered with blood, they are still a bit too private for a man to treat regardless of this situation is.


    Seeing that she is a tad shy, along with the fact that she doesn''t like anyone touching her, especially men! He gently spoke, "Sit here, I will get some ladies to help you."


    To give her more privacy, given that she is the only lady in the Platoon. He even took her at his own house and wanted to use whatever he has to treat her wounds, he understood that at some point it would become awkward but that''s nothing to slow down about. She is wounded!


    A few minutes later he walked in with 4 ladies older than him, fairly elderlies. Having told the ladies what the situation is before entering the house, he just smiled at her once guiding them in and left the house. Patiently waiting outside for her wound treatment.


    Nearly half an hour later, one of the ladies walked out and kindly spoke. "She has a lot of wounds but they are light." Thinking how she didn''t even flinch while they were treating her wounds, she proceeded to add. "Her wounds will heal in a week, she is quite durable."


    He walked in to check on her after, and the rest of the ladies walked out. Considering that Isabel has lived here for months now, she knows some Ignite words and communication has become a small bit easier.


    "You did great in battle." Woldemir approached with a smile, but panicking enough he forgot about the fact that Isabel held his hand earlier.


    Considering that fact, she became confused and just answered. "Thanks."


    Feeling a bit awkward, he wanted to break the silence. "Um, can I ask a question?"


    Understanding these light short words, she swiftly answered. "Yes."


    "Well, who hurt you this much? Your actions show me that you want to die." He became more and more concerned about that fact. She is an amazing fighter and deadly loyal, most importantly she is a good person in many aspects.


    "I don''t want die. But I bad past." Hardly a sentence, but it made complete sense. Her past is haunting her, well her mind at least.


    "Can you tell me about it?" Asked Woldemir in concern as he sat close to her, finding it adorable how the ladies have covered her with his blanket since there is no cloth big enough for her around here. Due to that he thought, "I should make more shirts for these people." Obviously referring to the Calidum Lutum.


    "No, I Can''t." She answered under a low gentle tone and another small tear dropped from her eye and rolled down her cheek before it met with the Blanket.


    "I understand." Spoke out Woldemir, noticing that she might take years before she is ready to talk, but still found it interesting how tears drop from her eyes everytime he touches her. When he sat down near her, he also grabbed her hand and held it trying to show support.


    "But you know I''m here to listen, think of me as Alia." Added Woldemir once more, and she actually understood enough to start laughing. Thinking about how Woldemir would look if he had long hair.


    "There you go. Laugh!" His heart felt overwhelmed with joy, afterwards he stood up and tried to tie her hair together. Seeing that it is bothering her from resting comfortably. "Let me just grab a little rag."

 Chapter 294 - What is Love?

    As Ada and Osira made their way to the 7th Tunnel of the left side, they both instantly noticed something out of the usual here. The Staircase is way too long! This was either a method to evade clashing with another room or the Snow Ignites tried to get this room away from most people''s reach!


    One can measure its length simply by counting the steps, so far they are 126 steps deep. However it becomes tricky to count while having a conversation, Osira was itching to ask. "Um... So you and Eric?"


    Although a short sentence, Ada could understand what Osira meant by it. "What about us?" But of course she still had to ask, with no intend to be rude but precise instead.


    "Will you two get married?" Osira decided to become more and more direct, what''s the worse that can happen? She can''t beat Osira up and on the opposite sounds too mature for her age.


    "Well our mother''s certainly like to see that happen." She answered with a little giggle, to lighten the mood once getting a hint that Osira might not be in her best mood. And afterwards continued, "But as ridiculous as it seems, I only know him for two days!"


    "Just for two days?" Osira shouted, in both confusion and a bit of joy. But let''s not let anyone know about that aye? "How did you decide for marriage under such a short time?"


    With a smile growing on her face once noticing how confused Osira is, she wanted to clear it out. "We didn''t decide about anything, our mothers just figured that we both should know someone new considering he is almost 16 years old and I will be 16 in two years."


    Although the "16 years old" part might not be too descriptive, Osira could immediately understand what it meant. Because it isn''t just Ignite tradition, its an ill.u.s.tratian tradition too! But to make sure, Ada added. "You know how those things go."


    "Oh..." Osira let out a small sigh of relief once she finally figured out what the situation is here, but to fight off suspicion she put all the pressure back to Ada. Immature but it works, "So do you love Eric or?"


    "Well love is a strong word, I don''t believe that anyone loves anyone or anything. We just love what that someone brings to the table! Be it materialistic or..."


    "Or?"


    "Calmness of mind, spiritual blessing or at my case the shared love for Horses." With this wordplay she didn''t just show maturity but intelligence as well.


    Although Osira couldn''t understand what she is meaning with all this wordplay, she understood enough to put a question together. "So what do Horses bring in order for someone as smart as you to love them?" She tried to tease a little bit, with her mood meeting a sudden shift that she even started giggling.


    "A good looking butt!" Ada replied shamelessly, but odd enough in great seriousness.


    Osira on the other hand burst in to laughter, and her tone echoed all the way to the second section''s main area. Ada stared at her, feeling puzzled. Trying to figure out what she said that made everything so funny.


    "Are you okay?" Ada asked her, showing concern and considering to go back up and ask for help.


    "By the God of Sources you were serious?!" Osira felt stunned at her spot and forgot how many stairs she counted. But at the other hand this makes it even more funny and she felt like she was holding a thunder of a laughter in her stomach.


    "Of course! Have you seen how nice their butts look! I think it is the most beautiful part of any body." She continued with her tone crackling a little bit just because she found Osira''s laugh contagious.


    And afterwards she started laughing along with Osira who now stopped on the spot and is holding her stomach because of all the laughter, even her throat started feeling dry. It felt nice to laugh this much after all that burden she got from providing for the tribe or burden from her more private cases, like who she fancies.


    But to make this laughter meet and end although unintentional, Ada bent down to peek at Osira''s behind and said. "Speaking of which, you carry the most perfect butt I ever had the pleasure of seeing."


    Although she shouldn''t be shy of a compliment like that coming from a girl who might not see her "that" way, she still felt a bit embarrassed since someone is talking about her behind. Her cheeks were covered with a blush as she asked with a bit of anger with shyness as a source. "You have been staring at my but?!"


    "How could I not?" Ada answered shamelessly once more, still not understanding what the problem is here. She goes by one sentence often, "What''s true is true." But to Osira she replied. "You''ve maintained your physical form regardless of what the situation was, I don''t see everyone doing the same!"


    "Well I wear thick fur clothing for a reason Ada." She replied once figuring out what the situation is here, Ada has no impure intend thankfully. She just has weird types of appreciation, "Perhaps it is just a phase?" Osira thought.


    "Which is?"


    "I don''t like anyone seeing or having a hint of how my body looks like." Having an urge to clarify it more, she added. "The Snow Ignites are the most hungry people I''ve met, it wouldn''t be the best idea for me or any other woman or man for that matter to walk around looking hot!"


    "Ohhh." Ada answered, trying to comprehend her words and finally understanding Osira''s point of view.


    "By the Source you made me talk about Behinds to the point where I forgot my question." Osira dared to point out and without wasting a second she instantly added. "So Eric is just your crush?"


    "Indeed. I think he is a kind person, but I''m not sure about marriage. Two days aren''t enough to decide." She finally cleared it out, giving Osira much deserved ease at last.


    Finally walking down the stairs, they''ve met with rather unique figures. Well as a start they''ve found a lot of shattered glass reflecting the light of which the Fire above Osira''s palms provided. It instantly caught their eyes because of that fact.


    They even saw dried blood on the floor, a lot of it! So if possibly a Demon stormed down here, it got cut once it smashed whatever was made of glass and ran upwards shedding blood. Perhaps it didn''t kill it instantly, but once these Demons come here on Earth they aren''t immortal, surely they are prone to death caused by blood loss.


    They''ve approached the place closer with caution and found that there is a human skeleton near the shattered glass as well, chances are that more Demons ran down here recently and stepped on glass. Blood can''t remain intact on the floor for hundreds of years after all, but glass can.


    "I''m guessing this one fought a Demon." Ada pointed out without hesitation, and gave Osira a little bit of shock.


    Not because her tone scared Osira, but she remembered that it might not be the best idea to let a 14 year old see a human skeleton. "I think you shouldn''t be staring at that." Osira finally alerted and tried to drag Ada''s gaze away from the skeleton.


    "Oh please, I saw worse scenes." Such a sentence made Osira think that Ada has witnessed Gore, little did she know Ada was talking about seeing her grandmother n.a.k.e.d.


    However, they''ve at least met an agreement. Whatever trauma Ada faces here, Osira won''t be held responsible. They''ve figured out that this room isn''t like any other, there are weird things down here.


    Apart from the shattered glass and Skeleton, there are Human arms on the walls at the very right end of this room. Or at least they look like Human arms, what could anyone be possibly doing with Human arms? Are they collectables or experiments?


    Most likely the second option but the first one can''t be scribbled away. It is good that there isn''t any flesh or nerve on those arms or this scene could have become a lot more disturbing regardless of age.


    Giving the place a view with more intended detailing, Osira saw buckets on the ground. Empty but still raised curiosity, first glass and now a bucket? This gives a preview that this place might have been used for experiments.


    Glass for example is a good way to mix liquid substances without mixing anymore things to it by accident, like mud or wood. Glass is as pure as it is expensive, but what is it doing up here? Glass is a discovery made in the previous decade!


    Suddenly, Ada alerted about something they might have missed once this right side caught their attention. "Look there is a large book shelf on this side!"

 Chapter 295 - Gibberish

    The room of which Osira and Ada discovered, is perfectly sized as 10 meters wide and long! Whatever the reason why the Snow Ignites felt like they need a place this big for experiments or whatever else they did here, it seems unnatural.


    It feels like a piece of this room is missing, as if someone dashed in and stole its contents. There isn''t any food here, so Demons couldn''t be the case. Or this could just be a theory of which Ada thought of.


    As the left side caught their attention, they saw books. Lots of books, but not enough to fill the shelves! Yes, they discovered that there is more than one book shelve here. Three occupy 4 meters of the left side with ease, it reaches almost near the area where the room splits this mini library and the experimental side.


    Three tall shelves appeared in front of them once they had a closer look, they immediately grabbed a couple of them and tried to see what information it can carry. Snow Ignites have been known to be ahead in time on most cases, so this is worthy of checking out.


    Opening the book, Osira could read a lot about some sort of animal. In the first page it wasn''t easy to make up what animal the author of this book is talking about, but at page three it specified a creature as big as a bear with horns on its head.


    This creature was first mistaken as a demon, due to the horns as you might have guessed. The topic here is about this animal called a "Cow". Although this is an animal more common in Zameria, it is intensively rare here in Ignis.


    Reading further, the book stated. "This "cow" lets out this white substance, drinkable and delicious but it becomes a hassle to get it out of the animal as they kick." Or at least that''s what she understood, this is Snow Ignite language from the second Era.


    Although not completely different from the language most use now, it has a thicker dialect and accent. Not to mention it is hundreds of years old, the parchment preserved this information tremendously well but a half of words still sound so gibberish.


    The book further stated, "The reason why these animals are rare, is because they are not animals originating from Ignis. And those who were left here by sh.i.p.s who had to cut down some cargo due to unspecified desperate situations, were hunted down by people who thought that they are Demon Bears. Brown Cows faced the worst fate!"


    It is weird why this type of information is down here, and it doesn''t belong in an experimenting room. Unless the Snow Ignites did experiments on cows or other animals? Well at least books seem to have labels, this book states "Cows".


    At page 7 she saw a drawing of a Cow and she understood why a lot of people saw them as demons. They are big and have horns, this at least unintentionally adds another piece of information.


    The illas for example, were established over 150 years ago. Before that, Ignites weren''t exactly stereotyped as demons considering how much people see them as one at the moment. But apparently the word about demons still spun around at that time, perhaps thanks to ancient religions who don''t have any followers right now? There are plenty of them.


    Ada was trying her best to figure out what she was reading, the book she picked is different. Well maybe not in form but, this one has different content. Although at some aspects smarter, the content here made absolutely no sense and the book even seems older. The pages are a bit more mutilated.


    10 pages after, Ada figured that this book is about the types of rocks and what they are good foor. Their durability and their sharpness too, the Snow Ignites sure had time on their hands.


    Well they can read these books all day if they had the time, but they still have a lot more to explore and Bittore has to be told about this. The best people to work here are the elderlies, although not guaranteed they are smarter than the younger generations since they know more.


    However they are more close minded and are taught to live by their boundaries, they won''t discover anything new if they experimented. All they could do is read all this information no one else would be willing too thanks to two reasons.


    Half of it sounds gibberish and there is a lot to read. A rather bad combination from a prespective of any individual who doesn''t favour books? These two don''t exactly know what to do about it, it is why this requires further guidance from the Grand Leader or at least dump this find on her and let her worry about it, these two are just sent to explore after all.


    "There are so many books here!" Ada pointed out the obvious as she tried to read more and more even though when she tried to sound the gibberish words out she almost chocked.


    "To bad it looks like demon language." Osira joked around, not minding at all to call the Snow Ignites demons. I mean they do fit the title in some aspects, although we can''t say for sure about the Snow Ignites of this domain.


    ...


    Meanwhile, at the right wing on section 2. Jone and Clarry are exploring the first tunnel. Good enough for the knees, they don''t need to go up or down a staircase. The tunnel seems quite straight and to make this situation a lot more odd, they actually faced a metal door for once. Signifying at least some sort of superiority if not mass materialistic value like most of what was discovered until now. What could be lurking behind that door, or what could be collecting dust to be more precise.


    Well they are close to finding out because this tunnel is only 10 meters long, one of the shortest actually. Jone already had a hint of what might be behind this door, perhaps a private room for someone who thought himself as superior?


    Walking close to the solid Iron door, Clarry tried the doorknob and was quick to figure out that it has collected more than enough dust. So being gentle has been ruled out as an option.


    "Let''s just blast this door out of its hinges!" Lost Jone her bit of patience and gave a bit more stamina to the fire glowing above her right hand.


    "No!" Clarry tried to calm her down while already developing another plan in her mind although her wordplay different at first. "What if there is something valuable behind this door?"


    Thinking about what she theorized earlier, Jone calmed down a little bit and backed away a couple of feet. "Well what do you think we should do?"


    "Move aside." Clarry smirked, dependable on her attributes. "I''ll kick this straight pile of rust down."


    In this group of two, Clarry is the most reliable when it comes to kicking doors down. She is an inch shorter than Jone but definitely has more muscle to work with, she is 70 Kilograms of muscle.


    Fixing her hat so it doesn''t fall down, she charged towards the door and both her feet separated from the ground! With both feet, she kicked almost the top of the door. It is a good move since hinges are usually at the top, middle and bottom. While at the top they are the most vulnerable.


    The doorknob will likely be weaker and budge open, it is not certain so let''s move on shall we? Kicking almost at the top of the door, she felt the light smash of an impact once her speed was slown down by the door.


    But she became victorious indeed, the door got its top hinge broken and the doorknob broke as well. Most of the door still remained in tact but it was still broken beyond repair, they don''t need it anyway.


    Bashing through the door like a boulder, she swiftly turned around mid air before hitting the ground. Last thing she needs is to land on her back where pieces of Iron might or might not be on the floor underneath her.


    She landed on her hands and feet, almost looked like she did a push up and became more and more glad that she didn''t sustain any injury.


    "Good work." Complimented Jone and walked in to provide illumination to this place.


    "Thanks!" Clarry answered before she stood up with little effort, "So what do we have here?"


    "Skeleton." Jone answered calmly, not disturbed of what content this room offered.


    "Looks like this one locked himself in." Clarry added, trying to figure out what happened here hundreds of years ago.


    "Well it isn''t a surprise for men of higher standards to hide and let others fight for him!" Jone found disgust of the double standards more than the actual skeleton.


    "Wait what''s that?"

 Chapter 296 - First attack

    As they focused their gaze on the left, they were quick to notice a little something reflecting the light of the Fire they have above their palm. Walking closer, they found a 2 meter long and wide Cobblestone slab elevated 50 centimetres above the ground.


    "This place surely belonged to someone important, look at the size of this bed!" Clarry declared quickly, noticing that this is a bed even though there is no fur or leather on it. No animal skin can be preserved this long!


    "Forget the bed, look at that gem. It is as big as my hand!" Jone tried to joke around a little bit but in no way did she exaggerate, the gem is big and shinning.


    Letting out a green colour accompanied by a red core right in the middle that only shows colour in the inside, this is indeed like nothing they ever saw before. Typically the more rare the gem is, the more expensive it becomes. Depending on where this gem would be sold, the price can go above 1,000 Gold Coins.


    "Bittore will sure love this necklace, this can single handedly improve our food situation." Clarry gazed upon the gold encrusted necklace once she lifted it closer to her face.


    "Not to mention Osira and that new guy found many other gems, Bittore led us to more treasure than we bargained for." Jone showed gratitude and tried ignore the fact that whenever she thinks about Bittore, she thinks about how King Tamzar managed to touch her along with 14 of the Fire Controllers, it sickens her stomach.


    Well apart from this gem, this room shows no other interesting contents. There is a kitchen full of silverware at the other edge of the room and there is a 8 meter long Book shelf stretching from one side to the other. As for the width it is a bit unusual, its only 4 meters wide.


    With all this space offered by the mountainside and considering what position who ever this man or possibly woman... was. Why did they make a small room? Even if short of working hands, adding a couple meters of width wouldn''t take months.


    Whatever the case might have been, Clarry and Jone have completed their task here and in no way are they returning empty handed. All they have to do now is report to the Grand Leader and most likely get sent to the second tunnel in aims of exploration.


    ...


    Meanwhile, at the very end of this whole domain of best described the third section. Alcon Epke has made great progress over the past days, even though he became quite a handful for Ella Angloma. Because like Bittore predicted, he will work more than any other human would here.


    The average working hours for Alcon stretched 16 hours, one day he even worked for 18 and Bittore had to intervene in order for him to stop. The crew he was assigned too, worked 10 hours at max even though they were assigned to work for 6-8 hours. Let''s say that Alcon motivated them in some aspects.


    "Grand Leader Bittore!" Alcon greeted with a little salute, by Salute I mean he lifted his little hammer a little bit and waved it once he noticed her presence.


    "I see you all have progressed tremendously!" Bittore complimented right away knowing that nothing would make him stop from working in midday. "How many walls did you all built so far?"


    "We are on the third!" Alcon answered proudly as he gently placed another brick, aiding to thicken the wall.


    Half meter of the wall thickness has already been build, it is the safest way to build it without a failure or someone being victimized. Now the other half meter has to be build, but it still can be considered a third wall right now. Who could just easily break down a half meter thick wall?


    "Well this is great, you''ll get to the tenth wall in no time!" Bittore couldn''t help but compliment, this wasn''t a trick either. She for once gave out a genuine compliment, there isn''t anyone in this domain working harder than Alcon does.


    "Shush shush shush!" Alcon asked for everyone to stop talking, a bit too late to be more precise since Bittore stopped talking and everyone else remained silent.


    "What''s the matter?" Asked Bittore in concern as she glared upon Alcon having his ear attached to the walls. "What could possibly stop Alcon from working? He even dropped his small hammer!" She thought as she approached closer and closer to grab him by the shoulder.


    "There are Demons!" Alcon shouted, alerting everyone as he reached for a bigger hammer a couple of meters close to him. Taking several steps backwards before he raised his 5 Kilogram hammer to face the demons.


    "Are you sure they aren''t Ratbugs?" Asked Bittore, but her question was answered when a wild scream echoed through the little side tunnels.


    GIAAAAH!


    Well that sums up how a crazed demon sounds like, and as the rest of these Stonemasons who don''t have any powers froze in fear, Bittore took a peek at Ella before they both rushed to the sides of the tunnels.


    They both knew what to do, but in order to assure absolute certainty in the middle of this madness, Bittore shouted. "Suffocate them!"


    Last thing they need is damaged side tunnels, it is hard to fix them since it would require the destruction of all these thick walls.


    A little shield like ray of fire surrounded their hands, signifying that whatever they are using to suffocate these Demons, they don''t want it to reach the people standing behind them.


    Afterwards nothing much of a show happened, or at least the two Fire Controlling ladies didn''t put up a great show. It seemed rather blank, however the sounds were as deafening as much as they were traumatic.


    In the middle of the screams, Bittore shouted. "Go get the other ladies!" Towards a few of the Stonemasons, since Alcon would provide quite useful if demons break through.


    The rest are just traumatized and would just be slaughtered on the spot. At this rate they need as much Fire Controllers as possible, they are in a tight spot but it can be used as an advantage, these Demons are pretty burnable.


    However apart from the screams, what annoyed Bittore is the fact that no one rushed up here until now. How would they not be able to hear it until now, she felt like even someone from outside of the Domain could hear it.


    As the time passed, screams become smaller and smaller. However big the waves of Demons were behind these walls, it sounds manageable! One thing they know for sure is that the small space on the other side of these walls can be proven as a upper advantage.


    Because thousands of demons can''t fit in, perhaps just a bit over a hundred? And for more Demons to deal damage against the wall, they had to eat slash and rip their way through the suffocated corpses.


    Which will cause a lot more trouble, because a lot of Demons can fall back in the portal and with a set of crazed rage they can damage the "Peaceful Demons" who are considered more sane compared to the ones who passed through the portal.


    Furthermore, with so many demons already spread around the world. How much can they afford to send at a mountainside, they can''t have unlimited Demons can they? The fact that they are sending more demons here might give a hint that the Demons behind this portal aren''t quite aware that the Demonite is located all the other way to the edge of the Continent a few kilometers near the shores of Gaster Kingdom!


    When about 7 Fire Controlling ladies arrived in the scene including Osira, Jone and Clarry. The Demon shouts have already calmed down, but to make it sure Alcon was asked to lend an ear.


    He managed to hear their presence when they didn''t even start screaming like the crazed creatures they are, he obviously hears better despite his age. Attaching his ear to the wall, and listening for nearly half a minute he indeed gave everyone crippling anticipation.


    "They are dead." He finally answered with a sigh of relief, and decided to point out something of more importance for him. "And I think the first wall held off quite well, I didn''t hear anything crash!"


    "Well they can''t dig through hard rock after all, they can only claw it." Added Osira who had the opportunity to see these Demons climb, small bits of rock often cracked off but none managed to rip off a large chunk.


    "That was close, we need to build the rest of the walls as fast as possible. Who knows how many waves of Demons they might be sending our way." Urged Bittore and was already trying to figure out a plan, or more specifically she was picking out more people through her thoughts who can lend a hand here.

 Chapter 297 - Preperation

    The Demon situation appears hand down tamed, but Bittore can''t risk for them to bash through the walls if more decide to come through that portal of which apparently wasn''t destroyed. As far as Bittore theorized, that portal was just covered with Dirt and rock, it wasn''t smashed or blown in to bits.


    However, she can''t risk for Demons to catch them off Guard. For example if the Demons appear at night when everyone is asleep, it would indeed be a terrible situation for this tribe to find their selves in. Even if they manage to tame the situation, there surely will be several victims at least.


    So she came up with a solution, Fire Controlling ladies will take shifts to Guard the walls. They are the most vulnerable now that there aren''t even 3 walls built so the whole tribe has to be secured right now. 8 Fire Controlling ladies have been assigned to Guard the walls!


    8 does sound excessive considering that this Domain is too big and requires every available hand to make this place fully functioning again. And you do have a point, it is why all 8 won''t be Guarding the walls at the same time.


    They will take 6 hour shifts, each team will include only 2 people which equals to 4 teams. For example team one takes the morning shift today and tommorow will take the shift at noon. And the day after that they will take the shift at dusk and so on and so on.


    Come to think of it, this is the most boring task yet the most difficult. It is boring because they would likely just have to walk around doing nothing for 6 hours every day, I mean Demons can attack but they won''t attack 24/7.


    "I doubt that Demons have the power to reproduce like Ratbugs." Bittore thought while she was putting this plan together.


    At the same time this task is very difficult because each team will eventually face the night shift every 4 days. The shifts constantly move just for he soul purpose of one team not being stuck at the night shift all the time, it is fair and balanced.


    Actually more than balanced since only 2 Ladies will be here each 6 hours while the rest will work at some other tasks. The Second section has 16 rooms and only half of them are explored until now, who knows what they behold!


    Furthermore, they desperately lack Iron at the moment. They need to find where the mine is here quick and get some ore smelting, they only have Daggers and Short Swords as weapons and they desperately need Iron food containers. The Containers can be made quickly since only 6 thin plates are required to make one, but they still need enough to supply a tribe of people.


    Because like it or not, considering how many people this tribe holds, half a container of food is required to feed everyone once a day and 1 full container is required to feed them twice. Lucky enough, they found a lot of gems, which moves us to another topic about food.


    The reason why Bittore managed to keep Osira here at the first place, is because the Tribe needs her to handle the food situation. Meaning, this Tribe''s leader will have to travel to a close by domain and get as much food as possible using these gems.


    Bittore found it best for 10 men of the tribe to travel along with her just in case if any man from the near by domain becomes hostile, and because they are good at carrying heavy weight. For this she picked the most able bodied men who proved their strength through labour.


    Along with these 10 men and Osira, will join 4 more Fire Controlling ladies. There are two reasons behind this choice, they too can lift heavy weight and they can dig the team out of trouble if the situation becomes too tough for peaceful or rageful communication to handle.


    The Domain is approximately 140 Kilometers far, considering the snow it will take nearly two weeks to get there on foot and a week to return back with the Horses they have to purchase. I know what you''re thinking, will this team of Ignites be welcome there?


    Not in the least, but the residents there won''t turn hostile right away. However, if anyone knows that this team is carrying over 5,000 Gold Coins worth of jewelry, bandits or thieves attacking would be a situation the lightest to handle. Kingdom officials would no doubt try "confiscate" the loot.


    But Bittore of course has it thought out, at this specific domain where she plans to send the team too, which is named "Belinot Kingdom", they have a special someone from the inside. And when I say a special someone I ain''t talking about Romance, I''m talking about a man who has connections with the local businessmen. A man who isn''t brainwashed by all this propaganda and even helped the whole tribe slip through the Kingdom''s reach undetected.


    Oddly, that man isn''t an Ignite. It is an ill.u.s.tratio, who at that time helped change Bittore''s view of the ill.u.s.tratios just a little bit. Not to get confused, she hates the ill.u.s.tratios with all of her soul and still doesn''t trust Ada but she knows for sure that they can trust this man.


    Due to the fact that they had to be very sneaky at that day, Bittore couldn''t thank him for his help and regrets it ever since. She wanted to be a part of this plan herself but she is still recovering and they need a more experienced individual here to run everything, to carry the entire burden of a tribe.


    Osira is to sneak in the Kingdom while being invisible, seek out this man who helped them of which goes by the name "Kanel Root" and propose him the plan or at this case ask for help. Kanel is to purchase everything with the gems including Wagons, Horses and Foods. Telling everyone that he scored a big delivery down at the Low Lands, it is believable since he is a businessman.


    Worth pointing out, Bittore just thought of this plan. She didn''t share it in detail with anyone but Mollara yet. The plan will get in motion when the two teams of explorers scope out every inch of this domain, they are rather close come to think of it. Now that there are two teams it should only take a couple of days.


    The reason why Bittore chose the risk of waiting, is because she can''t choose the risk of making a team go to Belinot Kingdom twice. It is twice as risky and time consuming! What if the tribe finds more valuable gems? Who would have the motivation to go back right after returning from a 3 week cold long trip?


    She has to wait for the whole place to be explored and then send the team of 15 to buy all that food. Risking to wait for a couple of days more might not be a good idea when it comes to how long these people would willingly eat Ratbug meat, but if anything the remaining Fire Controlling ladies here can shoot one or two Blue Eagles down and soothe everyone''s taste buds. One of them is enough to feed this tribe enough until their tummies hurt.


    Apart from all this thinking, once the Demon situation was tamed, the second team was left to guard the place just in case of another attack and the two teams of explorers went ahead to do their thing once they''ve reported what they found.


    Bittore found this gem very interesting, and has no plan of selling it. For all we now, the fact that it is this rare, it can have some type of power she is eager to unlock. Every single individual of the tribe will be asked if they recognize this gem. If not, the chances of this necklace containing power is more than average.


    As for the Demon situation, if the team and Alcon are even partially sure that one of the walls have been destroyed, the Stonemasons have to alarm more Fire Controllers so they can come here just in case the Demons manage to bash through all three walls. The odds of that happening are slim considering how much space the Demons have behind this wall, but it is always better to be safe than sorry!


    Ada and Osira had it easy to explore their next tunnel since it is tremendously close to section 3, Exploring tends to take time here considering all those Staricases. They have explored Tunnel 7 a bit earlier and now they have to explore tunnel 8, on the right side of course. This made them feel a bit more motivated, especially Osira. They are so close to exploring the whole second section thanks to the new hands who can help.


    As for Clarry and Jone, they had to walk a bit further to get their task started. They saw it coming but it still tends to become slightly tiresome, the urge to know what''s through those tunnels keeps them going.

 Chapter 298 - Mine

    As they tip toed their way down to the second tunnel at the right wing, the cold stone flooring beneath their feet reminded Jone of one of her foul past traumas. Cold has victimized more than one can count, but Jone is a victim who survived.


    When she discovered her powers at 12 years old, she fled so her parents won''t get in trouble. As mentioned before, they''ve accepted her the way she is. Including her step father who was an ill.u.s.tratio, but the word about her newly discovered abilities spread wide.


    And the illas intervened right away, if it wasn''t for the fact that her father was wealthy, they would have burned their house down along with everyone in the family. Status and power indeed works for the best, but they wanted Jone''s head.


    Seeing her chances, she fled the Kingdom for a different fate. The illas would eventually cause traumatizing trouble to her family, and with her abilities she felt capable enough to survive. But then, Winter struck the continent.


    She camped in the forest at that time, a branch smaller compared to what Ignis has to offer. She found herself under the mercy of the blistering cold, about 30 years ago it was a bit colder at winter compared to what winters they are facing now.


    She had a little shelter out of twigs and big leaves, it was enough to keep half of the rain or snow out but it nearly wasn''t enough to provide enough heat for a human being to survive. Even for a Fire Controller, it was too much to handle.


    At that time, she wasn''t qualified as a level three Fire Controller but only stood with Level one. At that time, she couldn''t even blast an entire Fireball. But could only blast enough Fire from her fingers to start a Campfire, come to think of it people of this level typically wouldn''t be allowed to blast fire at that level when in schooling.


    Getting to the point, thanks to that winter she had to cut three of her toes because of Frostbite. Her toes felt lifeless and ironically it felt better to cut them off than keep them. As if cold and hunger weren''t enough to crush her spirit, but amputation too? It was even harder to face such a situation alone.


    As for Clarry, she too has some memories with such blistering cold but thankfully didn''t loose any toes. Everyone in this tribe had to camp in the winter eventually, but thankfully Clarry had a bit more luck. She was found by Mollara over 10 years ago in the forest, when this tribe wasn''t even a tribe. At that time it was only Mollara, her two kids and Clarry, it is fair to say that they share a strong bond.


    As they walked just a few meters deep in the second tunnel, they found out that it is rather different here compared to everything else. The floor beneath their feet isn''t made of perfectly cut rock but out of dirt instead. From the looks of it this could be a mine, it became more certain when they saw a couple of Iron tailed pickaxes near each other set up straight.


    Inverted enough, Iron seemed to be more common here than wood so the tails are made of Iron. The temperature up in these mountains is so cold that vegetation has it hard to grow, meaning trees have it hard to grow. However it is not impossible, Spruce trees are known to handle these low temperatures.


    Good enough, these trees are usually large so it makes getting enough wood easy. Getting back to the case, this mine already started to become difficult to handle or at least more time consuming. They''ve met with a three way tunnel, and a fourth thing caught most of their attention.


    20 meters deep where these ways split, they found an Iron cart tipped over. This cart has carried metal Iron ore, it became easy to spot since there are over 50 ores spilled near it. And since Iron ore doesn''t rust, this is completely usable. Osira will surely love this.


    Giving their surroundings a better glance, in the main tunnel they noticed a skeleton. Approaching closer they figured out that it is a Snow Ignite skeleton, or at least it looks human.


    "Look, this one died with a Pickaxe on his hand." Jone spoke, feeling no sympathy for this man who was bested by a Demon.


    "Yes." Clarry assured, and giving the skeleton a further look trying hard not to touch it. She added, "Looks like he took a hit on the chest, his Ribcage is broken."


    Broken in pieces actually, it looks as if a Demon came by and pulled this man''s soul out of his body with a swing. Three of the Skeleton''s ribs are broken and the rest are cracked, no human would be able to withstand such a hit with hopes of survival.


    At this rate they both found it great that none of their tribe was victimized by these Demons, the scene wouldn''t be pretty and the victim or victims would face a strong trauma before death.


    Walking nearly 30 meters deeper, taking a detailed look of the tunnel surrounding them. It was well established that there isn''t any ore here. Considering how much Iron they threw out to melt, it points out that this mine could be very extensive.


    But bad enough, they''ve met a dead end once sinking 20 more meters deep when they picked the main tunnel to explore, and what was the result? More skeletons! However, this one doesn''t look Human.


    "Look at the claw of this thing!" Clarry felt just a little bit amazed but at the same time feeling glad that this Demon is as good as dead.


    When grabbing the claw, it easily disconnected from the rest of the Skeleton and ended up on her palm. At least now she can get a better look, it is odd how she didn''t want to touch a Human skeleton but has no trouble holding a Demonic one on her hand.


    Spotting a rock on the ground spanning a foot wide, she firmly held the claw and aimed her force towards the rock. This sudden impact forced for a couple of pieces from this rock to be chipped off! "It is still in tact." Clarry referred to the Demon bone and noticed that Jone is keeping her distance from it.


    "Just touch it Jone it is nothing to be scared off." Clarry insisted with a bit of enthusiasm, even trying to tease her a bit just to raise the mood. She doesn''t seem like she wants to be here or anywhere else for that matter.


    "No thanks, I''ve got a good look at the other one here underneath the rumble." Jone took a couple of steps back before she pointed at the Demon a few meters close to them.


    "Do you think these Demons caused a Collapse?" Clarry asked after, once coming to agreement that nothing will make Jone willingly touch Skeletons, she even carried thick rotten lumber instead of any lighter in weigh skeleton. "I don''t think it is a coincidence that there are underneath the dirt and rock."


    "Maybe they did." Jone gave it a little thought and swiftly pointed out. "But even if they didn''t it doesn''t matter, this still means that our tribe would have to dig through this rumble."


    Less curious and more of a realist, that describes Jone. Or it could be that she just wants to get out of this tunnel, it tends to get scary with all the Skeletons around. Furthermore who can prove that this tunnel won''t collapse once more?


    The support beams who hold the tunnel up seem in tact, so Clarry''s theory is that the Demons rushed to a support beam and caused this collapse. They can''t dig through the tunnel themselves considering the rusty pickaxes who can cause quite an infection, and the fact that this would require more helping hands.


    So they turned around and decided to explore more of this Iron mine. There are only two mining tunnels left to explore as much as they know, it would be an idea to split up and explore both sides but not a good one.


    They both made their way to the left side, and like the main one this shows no ore on its walls full of little rocks and dirt. As for support beams, they are perfectly placed 10 meters away from each other.


    30 meters deep, they found another dead end and this one doesn''t look like it collapsed since there aren''t any skeletons around. It could be a natural cause, but Clarry was paying enough attention to figure out what happened.


    "This Support beam is covered with dirt almost completely!" Clarry pointed out with a lot of enthusiasm, because she felt happy of her perception.


    She grabbed Jone''s attention by tapping the wood on it, until she answered. "So, what does that mean?"


    "It means that there is more behind this little collapse, we could be finding a lot more Iron ore."

 Chapter 299 - Sensitive Nose

    In the meantime, the first exploring team have made their way to the 8th and last Tunnel on the left side. Lucky enough for their legs, they didn''t have to go down another staircase in order to reach the contents of this room. At first Osira thought that it is because there is enough space to keep it at the same leveled elevation, since the rooms before this one sink down.


    Her theory felt even more plausible when they saw that this tunnel is shorter than most which admitably made it a tad confusing before they reached the room, this tunnel is only 10 meters long. And what followed next got them just a little bit shocked on the spot.


    "Did the Snow Ignites really need this much Lumber?" Asked Ada, since she isn''t much well informed about what Snow Ignites prefer.


    They''ve walked in a room containing a lot of lumber, it was filled up to the ceiling with only a thin meter wide walk way in the middle of both these walls. If it wasn''t for the strong metal poles holding the two sides up and stable, anyone could be victimized if one just coughed too loudly.


    The room itself can be considered medium sized compared to the rest they''ve found, it fits in the mild category and can almost be considered large! This room is about 15 meters wide and 20 meters long, a bit inverted size-wise but it was likely built this way to manuver long pieces of lumber easier instead of having to spin it around 360¡ã.


    "I think they used it for tools mostly." Osira spoke with ease, now that they''ve cleared the Eric drama out, she can even look past the fact that Ada is an ill.u.s.tratio which neccesarily required a lot of effort considering the mass racial hate from both sides. Ada showed too much responsibility for a 14 year old, it is hard not to like her. "As for warmth, they don''t need it."


    "They don''t?" Ada asked feeling puzzled, "Up here doesn''t everyone need warmth?" She asked once more considering that she feels cold even though she has fur clothing over leather clothing and that here it is always winter without any season in discrimination.


    Thanks to the fact that Ada is under informed, Osira felt like the smartest for once in this group of two. She instantly explained, "Oh not Snow Ignites, crazy enough they have a huge tolerance against cold weather." Osira raised her tone along with her arms up in the air to specify the severity of her words, to show that she is dead serious.


    "That''s how they are from birth? Or do they have some sort of magic that helps them?" It was important to ask such a question now, because people who managed to build a domain this big surely had some type of advantage that other domains or races don''t have?


    "As far as I know, they are like that since birth. Those crazy sons of..." Osira was about to curse but remembered how young Ada is. "Umm they can sleep in snow n.a.k.e.d if they wanted too, and they wouldn''t loose any toes or die."


    "By the God of Sources, even Cave Bears need their cave to survive the winter. Here it is always winter!" Suddenly, an idea or best described a picture of the Snow Ignites appeared in her mind. But now she had to ask, "They are not covered with fur are they?"


    She never met one although the rumours spread wild where she used to live thanks to all that trouble the Snow Ignites caused to the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance. However, this means many descriptions went through her ear thanks to all the heavily rumoured conversations brought to her place of business.


    "Oh they aren''t covered in fur, but you can consider them as White Bears." The thought of White Bears being with fur, instantly made her think that she is confusing Ada. So she added, "They share most attributes except they are smarter and furless."


    "The Snow Ignites or the White Bears?" Ada joked around this time, finding that this tribe hates the Snow Ignites she found it light to crack this joke but had a little bit of hesitation at first.


    Good enough, Osira burst in laughter and became glad that she too hates Snow Ignites. Grabbing her by the shoulder from the side and giving her a light half hug she added. "You''re a good kid."


    "Um thanks!" Replied Ada as she carried a smile on her face, but found it interesting how short lasting Osira''s laugh is. "What do we do now, do we carry the Lumber or?"


    "Well this definetly will prove useful to keep us warm if not useful for tools but we don''t have time to carry all this!" Osira was kind enough to explain instead of yelling at her for not knowing what to do, oddly such a reaction is common within the older generations. "We will go tell about this find to our mother, she will likely send someone to bring more wood so they can keep that fire going."


    "I find your mother really smart by the way." Ada had the sudden urge to compliment once the Grand Leader''s name was mentioned, unintentionally forgetting about the other topic they were talking about. But at least she kept a nice smile on her face signifying good will. "She has everything under control even though she is recovering."


    "Thanks." Osira answered with a wide smile once she gave Ada a quick glance, but a question arose in her mind which she had an urge to ask. "Speaking of mothers, why isn''t yours up here?"


    "She went to go help Gaster Kingdom establish a Horse Stable, it is a business we have experience on and we were pretty much sick of living in Silver Kingdom." Well now she had a lot to say considering it is a topic she didn''t talk about for the first time, so she is just recycling her past sentences.


    "Oh right you love Horses." Osira remembered, and afterwards thought of the times she had to visit stables in order to borrow Horses. "How do you handle the smell? Horses poop a lot!"


    "I can''t handle it that''s the problem!" Ada''s eyes widened up to show the severity of her words, and with her tone cracking before she was about to say another joke. "But I used the dunk to hit the ill.u.s.tratian Guards!"


    "Hahahahahahaha!" Osira stretched her laugh longer this time and it was louder as well, one would think that she is laughing to bad jokes from a man she fancies but no not at all. She was laughing from the top of her lungs at the fate of ill.u.s.tratios who might even have tasted it! "You''re crazy, I love it."


    "Um most people see me as smart but alright." Ada felt puzzled as she laughed along with her.


    "Oh but speaking of smell we should get out of here, these rotten pieces of wood smell so bad!" Indirectly, she was referring to the fact that Ada has a bit of a sensitive nose. Osira saw countless facial reactions so far thanks to the smell primarily, she couldn''t help smiling at that fact but she also doesn''t want to torture her with this smell.


    "Yes it reacks!" Ada finally expressed and had an extra sprint on her step while going out.


    As they walked out, they noticed that the Stonemasons are progressing even better now thanks to the adjustments, feeling even safer now increased productivity. More men are now working on this project as well and Alcon surpisingly appears to be socializing a bit more with those workers. Not because he wants too, but because he wants the walls to be the definition of perfection.


    If not just for the fact that he is responsible for the stability of these meter thick walls, he wouldn''t sleep alright if he knew that the walls aren''t built right or at least the way he wants them to be. It shows a great bond with the craft, it shows how dependable he is for such a case even though he isn''t the most mentally stable. It is weird how loyalty and dedication is abnormally high for those who aren''t considered stable.


    Not to confuse this situation, he wasn''t yelling at anyone or hitting them with a Hammer. No one is as skilled as him in Stonemasonry, so he wants to make sure that every step they take is done perfectly. After all, only a small piece of parchment can make a wall uneven.


    He makes them scope the bricks, to know if they fit the criteria required to be a part of these walls. Afterwards he gives them a peek himself and let''s the Workers build the wall. When not monitoring them, he places bricks himself too, especially when the rest are on a brake. But often he manages to do both monitor their work and build the wall himself too.


    Her and Ada paid Alcon little attention, knowing that he has this situation under control. Her and Ada have other tasks to deal with after all, they need to inform Bittore Nardone of what they have found primarily and afterwards they have to go explore the right side.

 Chapter 300 - Dead End

    At the moment when Osira and Ada were sent to explore yet again after they brought the found out information, Clarry and Jone walked in the sleeping area of the Second section or best described Room one on the left side, and brought some interesting information.


    Well for a start, "We found a mine Miss Grand Leader but it looks empty at the moment." Clarry tried to explain without doing any greetings first, I mean if they were too greet like this several times a day it would feel more like a joke.


    Paying attention at Clarry''s wordplay, Bittore raised her eyebrow feeling puzzled and didn''t hesitate at all to ask. "What do you mean with, "At the Moment."?" Bittore knows Clarry for years, she rarely expresses herself clumsy so Bittore has a strong itch to know for sure.


    "I mean that the Tunnels in that mine are collapsed, there were three branches and they all had a dead end." Sitting near the Campfire to heat herself up now that she has the chance, she continued to express her theory of what happened. "There are Demon Skeletons down there so my theory is that they rammed on the Support beams and caused portions of the tunnels to collapse."


    "That means this situation is rather manageable." Bittore felt like she could suddenly stand up in joy thanks to all the excitement but her wounds said otherwise, well at least they are getting better by the day. "If the tunnels collapsed because of the Support beams being broken, we should be able to dig ourselves through in no time."


    Able to catch up on what Bittore means, as Jone stood on her feet near the fire because she didn''t feel like sitting, she questioned just to be sure because for once she felt curious. "Are you saying that these portions of the Collapse are short in length?"


    "Exactly!" Bittore replied with a smile on her face, feeling joy that Jone has chosen to connect for once. Since Jone is one of the oldest, Bittore has always treated her kindly. Especially after she heard about her history, but again she does wish for Jone to talk more.


    However, Bittore continued to explain. "I''m not a Miner, nor did I ever spend time in a mining tunnel but I don''t think that the entire branch could collapse due to one support beam being broken!"


    Giving it a little bit more thought, trying to calculate from what she can use as an example. She at last added, "Maybe it would stretch for another 10-20 meters where it would take victim more support beams, but not entirely. We could be looking at branches sinking hundreds of meters deep here."


    "You might have a point there!" Clarry answered without care, knowing that Bittore wouldn''t be offended by the word "might". A thought popped in her head when Bittore mentioned Support Beams. "I saw a Support beam in tact even though it was halfly covered with dirt and dust."


    "Well this proves it!" Bittore''s willpower arose high and she instantly ordered. "Leave the rest to me, I will send men down there. Maybe 5?" She argued a little bit with herself before she officially ordered. "You go explore the Fourth Tunnel on the right side, Osira and Ada are already exploring the third."


    "Oh you might want to send more men down at the mine." Jone recommended once she remembered a piece of information that Clarry might have skipped thanks to all her excitement. "There is a cart full of Iron Ore, it didn''t seem Rusty so Osira can definitely use it in the Forge."


    "Excellent!" Bittore became overwhelmed with joy while Clarry started rubbing her forehead in embarrassment because she forgot this part. "We need Iron Containers soon, and we can''t wait for the tunnels to be dug through!"


    At the moment the tribe has helping hands to spare, because most of these people have been working to clear out the Iron Storage room since the general Storage room has been cleared and cleaned as much as one could without a broom or water to throw.


    All that room filled with Iron ore was nothing but a tiresome task since the Iron Ingots have caught rust and are unusable! They all would just need to be thrown down the mountainside, melted by Fire Controllers and afterwards covered with rocks to hide tracks of existence.


    But now considering that task regarding the Iron ore, it won''t be easy for the people who will be put in charge of bringing that Ore down to the forge. Because the forge itself sinks 30 meters deep below the elevation at the second section, when counting the stairs it equals to around 100!


    Just tossing the whole cart down the stairs is an idea but not a good one, because all the stairs would be chipped and broken. Bittore''s fate with the chipped staircase at the third section proves my point here, if someone tumbles down death could be the most preferable option.


    So instead of tossing the ores down, each man will need to grab as much ore as they can carry and walk their way down there once they''ve dragged the Cart near the Forge''s tunnel. It is the best way and at the same time the most tiresome and time consuming, but at least it will be done by several people instead of one.


    As for the rest who will have to deal with the mine, Bittore thought of using the rusty Iron Pickaxe heads to dig through the collapsed parts until new pickaxes are made. She did not know that there are some pickaxes still in tact although rusty. Either way, she planned to have the men wear an extra pair of gloves in aims of avoiding any infections.


    ...


    Meanwhile, at tunnel 3 on the right side. Ada and Osira found their selves with a rather difficult task. Good enough they aren''t fighting any Demons or Ratbugs, nor are the they carrying a weight on their back. But this tunnel is sinking tremendously deep!


    "Why is this place so deep! I''ve counted 150 steps already!" Ada complained, now that she feels like she can express herself more freely thanks to Osira being more approachable.


    "I don''t know but I think we might be finding something big here." Osira spoke in enthusiasm as she tried not to loose count of the steps, she wants to know exact measurement just in case it is required when assigning various tasks.


    300 steps later, they found their selves with a mine! Yes another mine, but these two ladies weren''t aware that the other team found a mine a while ago since they didn''t manage to meet each other at that time and they left to explore before Bittore knew of this information.


    "What do we do now?" Asked Ada, this is a new situation for her and she has no experience in exploring. Ada mostly stayed in the Horse Stable before so this proves the point, Osira is more experienced in exploring since she lived in the forest for years.


    "We need to explore a bit further, to find out what this place offers." Looking at a couple of rusty Iron tailed Pickaxes at one side of these dirt and rock filled walls, she continued to express. "This is likely a mine, we need to know how deep it goes and for what it was used to mine."


    Excellent plan, even proving herself as a worthy leader here. Yet at the same time it sounds reasonable, or they could just choose to turn back and leave older people to explore. But neither Ada or Osira want to portray their selves as weak.


    As they walked further down to see what this cave has to offer, more questions popped up in their mind. Although they didn''t find any Iron ore or anything dark enough to resemble coal, they did find out that this place is too dusty.


    It was easy to figure that out considering how soft the ground is, signifying that these are just portions of dirt that have fallen from the ceiling. Good for them there are enough Support beams and although the wood rotten, the Iron enchantments on each four corners of the thick carved lumber helps to keep the ceiling above their heads at bay.


    Counting their steps, they figured out that they have gone 30 meters deep already and the tunnel still seems quite empty. All they saw was a couple of pickaxes at the very beginning of the tunnel, nothing else.


    No Skeletons, no ore, nothing! Which made it a bit confusing, but not frustrating. As much as they are concerned, they can just lightly walk above the ground and avoid touching anything in aims of avoiding any collapsing.


    Walking in about 50 meters deep now, they''ve met with something they expected but at the same pace it still disappointed them. "This is definitely a dead end."

 Chapter 301 - Gold!

    As Ada and Osira have come to report what they discovered, Clarry and Jone are deep in the fourth tunnel of the right side. Like the second team of explorers, their legs are too facing torture. And by that I mean, they are walking down many many stairs.


    Little did they know, this Staircase reaches down even deeper than the one at the third tunnel. So far they have counted over 200 steps yet they did not reach down at the end.


    Clarry took a glance towards Jone, seeing her out of breath she couldn''t help asking. "Do you want to take a break? I don''t think we will reach the end of this Staircase anytime soon."


    Taking a deep breath and bending down a little to rub her knees, she afterwards looked at Clarry as countless droplets of sweat rolled down her forehead. "That would be nice, why on earth is it so deep?"


    Clarry is three years younger than Jone, and at many aspects heavily physically fit. As mentioned before she is 70 Kilograms of muscle, for her this deep staircase is but a warm up. Considering the fact that she saw how she out matched people before in terms of physical strength, she learned to let others catch up by slowing herself down. The last thing she needs is for a 42 year old lady to collapse out of exhaustion and roll down the stairs.


    However, to make her feel a bit comfortable by removing her focus on the fact that Jone is sweating hard, she answered her question with a little theory in aims of shifting topics. "It could be another mine, I mean look at this logically."


    Clarry tried to explain her theory that has built up in her mind the deeper they walked down here. Sitting on a staircase, she continued to explain. "They wouldn''t have want for tunnels from different mines to meet each other and mess up their order, so they started new mines deeper and just headed towards a direction equal in elevation to the end of the Staircase."


    Sitting a couple of feet away from Clarry, she took another deep breath to relieve her lungs and decided to compliment. "Well that actually makes sense, it could be that they were looking for more precious minerals."


    ...


    Finally reaching down the staircase over an hour later, they estimate that they have walked down a 150 meter long staircase! One would think that the Snow Ignites are holding secrets for world dominance here! What contraption would require a tad over 450 steps? It felt like they walked down to hell although the scene very different.


    Gold! They have struck Gold! Walking just 10 meters deep they found an amazing and at the same time disturbing scene! A cart filled with gold ore stood on the middle of the tunnel, along with many demons.


    Gold is the world wide currency, and hundreds of coins can be made a day if several Blacksmiths are put in to work on them, not to mention if tens work on them! Perhaps this was some source of income, although unnecessary since the only thing these Snow Ignites worried before would be food, they have everything else.


    They were focused so much on the cart of gold or which reflected light that they barely took a peek at the skeletons several meters in front of the cart. Clarry instantly walked towards the cart, grabbed an ore and proceeded to speak with her tone rising in enthusiasm.


    "This is gold ore, do you understand how valuable just this cart is?" Clarry''s tone arose, one would think she is going crazy or would stab Jone and make out with the gold. But no no, she is happy that her tribe will progress greatly thanks to all this gold!


    "That does look like a lot." Jone became surprised and in some aspects happy, but not enough to nearly reach Clarry''s energy. "How much do you think is all of this worth?"


    Jone''s step father was a rich ill.u.s.tratio, she has seen a lot more gold than what she is seeing here. The only thing why her energy shifted from the usual a little bit, is because she knows this gold will benefit the tribe of which she shared burdens and tears with.


    "Umm I think that there are around 100 ores here." Clarry replied as she rolled over a few ores to and glanced upon the size of the cart in better detail to make a hard assumption.


    At this explanation, Jone''s eyebrow raised high and she became more and more energetic about this find. Asking right after, "So this has to be worth a couple thousand Gold Coins right?"


    "No, it''s worth more." Clarry replied, carrying a smile of which looked devious. You would think she will make this gold disappear overnight. "Considering that once separated from the Quartz, two ores are required to smelt an Iron Ingot weighing a Kilo."


    "Wait!" Jone felt puzzled out of the sudden mention of Quarts, she hasn''t been in a Gold mine before so she doesn''t know how the process goes. "Gold is made of Quartz?"


    Smiling a little bit, considering the fact that this question is in many terms adorable. Clarry shook her head from left to right and clarified. "It is only attached to Quartz, deep underground here it is the most common." Of course she would know something like this, gold is a popular topic and she pokes her nose everywhere to know more.


    "Ohhh!" Jone stretched one word and more thoughts rolled in her mind, none of which carried embarrassment for the lack of knowledge. "Isn''t this Quartz thing used for healing?"


    "Yes it is!" Clarry smiled, happy that Jone is at least catching up now and as a treat she appears knowledgeable on other things, Clarry always feels happy if her tribe learns more. "This is considered a powerful healing stone but it doesn''t work for every wound obviously."


    "Right. What about the gold?" Jone asked once more, seeing that they have tip toed their way off the main topic.


    "Oh right!" Clarry tapped her temple with her two front fingers, doing a bit more calculations she added. "This should sum up 50 Kilograms of pure gold, an Ingot weighing a Kilogram is worth 150 Gold Coins so..." Clarry tried doing more calculations just to be more and more sure, finally answering. "This cart of gold can be sold for over 7,000 Gold Coins! Maybe even up to 8,000 if there are a bit more than 100 ores here!"


    At this case, Jone''s eyes opened up wide with her energy rising higher than before based on the past decade. "It is really worth that much?" Her face carried shock too, this is indeed a great find.


    "Yes it is!" Clarry answered swiftly and tried to grab the cart from the bottom and try to lift it so they can carry it up, a dumb move from someone so smart.


    "Clarry, we can''t carry the whole thing up 450 stairs." Jone brought logic here this time and pulled Clarry lightly on the shoulder.


    "You''re right." She turned around at a mild speed and her eye was caught by the skeletons on the ground she faced, "Damn this scene is ugly."


    "You mean the Skeletons?" Asked Jone as she too focused her gaze towards what she pointed.


    "Yes." Clarry answered and afterwards walked closer to the Snow Ignite skeleton. "Look, this one has its head separated and that one has a Pickaxe on his head."


    Luckily, the Skeleton with the Pickaxe on his head appears to be a Demon Skeleton. As in, these Snow Ignites didn''t get at it to the death for the l.u.s.t of gold. Not to mention, Quarts isn''t so cheap either once heated up for crystallization.


    But quite the opposite, someone was brave enough to face a Demon head on and bash a Pickaxe through it too. Obviously the Snow Ignite hit the Demon a split second or more before the Demon charged and ripped his or her head off, but this just proves bravery if not less.


    Jewelery can be made out of it, It is common and due to the hand craft they are stupidly half the price of a Gold Ingot. Currencies here tend to get confusing, but people found out way after way to make it work for the better, or at least for the better of the richer.


    This is a great find indeed, but they need to explore what else this tunnel has to offer. What are the odds of them finding another cart filled with these precious ores a bit deeper? Following this tunnel at a straight line for twenty meters, they faced a mild turn to the right and walked another fifteen meters before they found their selves with more options.


    However, these options don''t sound so plentiful. They don''t offer anything but dead ends! Straight ahead towards that mild right turn, they see a dead end 10 meters away from where the tunnels split towards other directions.


    To their left, they see a strongly sharp turn to the left. But as mentioned it is a dead end, they can see it clearly since it is only 5 meters away.


    Basing it on the information at tunnel 2, Clarry adds. "There is definetly more to find if we break through these dead ends."

 Chapter 302 - What did you Maniacs do?

    Reaching the low lands through day after day of travelling have granted the two heroes with something they for sure have missed, the comforting warmth of the sun. As soon as they crossed the specific part where snow and greenery separates, they started feeling the amazing warmth and their frozen souls started heating up.


    Now it is June in this fine continent and world for that matter, but the Climate in these High mountains of Ignis still remains as cold as ever. You would think that by the passing years the temperatures would eventually get better but no!


    However apart from freezing your soul, this Continent''s climate is amazing, one would think that an ice age has specifically hit only one portion of this world. This exaggerated coldness doesn''t just occupy the High mountains of Ignis, but the cold sea waters behind these mountains is also a victim along with a small portion in Ratan, the Continent of the flying people and fairly the biggest Continent in this world.


    It is as if the previous ice age left an aftermath on corners of the world when it met an end at the beginning of the first era, 6,112 years ago. Amazing indeed and as good as it is to share this world''s History, we will have to get back to the story.


    They are very close to Crutal Kingdom, but more and more worry has struck them the closer they''ve got. Eric for example, about 9 months ago when he was just living in a little farm house near Crutal Kingdom, life and death didn''t really matter.


    He spent his whole time with his father, at winter battling cold and at summer battling the unforgiving summer heat. Death would be a reliever for him, but what about now? He has made so many amazing friends, this way or the other escaped poverty and he even is close to getting a girlfriend.


    Would he be able to do any of those when he was isolated from the rest of the world in that little farmhouse? Hell no, the best friends he could have made would be Wildboars who would try to kill him. He doesn''t know if he can let go of the world and leave everything behind, these thoughts have occupied every corner of his mind and he isn''t a fan of it.


    You would think that he even is a few steps away from depression, he barely spoke throughout the journey. Less than usual actually, which really says a lot. This task has taken his energy more than any power move ever could, but what''s more? He is scared for once again, he knows that he can''t win against the manbeast with the current arsenal to his disposal.


    What''s worse? He turned 16 years old when he was a week deep in to this journey, at May 15. Heck of a Birthday isn''t it? The climate freezing his behind, no friends or family around apart from Mogranius, and all those thoughts occupying his mind.


    And as for Mogranius although he portrays a fearless figure, he too is scared. I mean, he is 59 years old and has lived his life the way he wanted. But what about now when he made new discoveries, such as love? As if the Ghost Tree being damaged wasn''t enough to steal portions of his sense of humour. Well I did say portions! Throughout the journey he cracked jokes often to keep the morale up.


    ...


    Reaching closer and closer towards Crutal Kingdom, they''ve decided to hide what they have already at the forest surrounding them so they can pick it up for later if survival becomes an option. They don''t need camping equipment in a battle field and carrying the extra fur clothes they stuffed on their backpacks made the load on their backs a lot heavier.


    They tip toed their way towards Crutal Kingdom, with no aims to hide their faces and a lot of confidence in their step even though deep down they were cowering in fear. The Guards likely forgot their faces by now and if the special farmers walked by, they would surely keep their mouth shut in hopes of not losing more than their genitals, if they survived all that blood loss that is.


    But as you expected, the Guards at the main entrance debated the second they had the chance. Two of them stood by the Gate, but Eric knows for sure that they are different Guards. Perhaps the ones that harassed them year after year were victimized by the blazing flames Eric unleashed when met with his outburst?


    "What is your business here? Where is your Wagon?" Became the first Guard suspicious, he doesn''t know these two "visitors" which gives a hunch that they don''t live here. So stereotypically, merchants or any other come with a Wagon.


    When the first Guard finished his sentence, the second one is either more paranoid or more retarded. Because he slowly started pulling his sword slowly from his Scabbard, ready to slice these two upon the smallest mistake.


    Right before Mogranius was about to answer, a thunder like explosion echoed behind the Guards and grabbed everyone''s attention! Wasting no split second, the other Guard pulled out his sword and bashed through the main entrance along with his Guard friend to see what happened.


    Mogranius took a peek at Eric, looking him in the eyes without saying a thing he just tilted his head to the left, gesturing to dash in to Crutal Kingdom along with the Guards. Although they didn''t exchange any word, they both are smart enough to understand that this distraction can be used to take the king down by a blind shot.


    But once they''ve entered, what was to see? People sliced in half across the street, some being children and some being random passer by''s and a lot of Guards were dead too. A terrible scene to look at indeed, the Guard who pulled out his sword to begin with at the main entrance, threw up all over the walkway thanks to this scene, his stomach couldn''t take it.


    Seconds after, they saw random civilians running towards the main entrance, obviously scared of the explosion. But the aftermath of the explosion brought a lot more deaths to this Kingdom, because pieces of rock ranging from big to small started falling from the sky.


    Hitting people on the head, breaking their necks or crushing them completely depending on the rock. Throughout the process, Mogranius took a couple of steps back before he grabbed Eric by the arm and forcefully pulled him from his spot


    A second later Eric saw a boulder half as big as a house fall to the ground and crushing a portion of the house he was close too, more and more rocks fell after but neither of them managed to hit Mogranius nor Eric since once he pulled Eric over ten steps back, he busted a Fire Shield open without the fear of being seen using his powers in public.


    The situation is already a big chaos, and last thing they both need is to panic like the rest and become victimized by this situation. As for the Guards, they just glanced at the shield once and never again since they have a lot more trouble on their hands.


    "Explosions can''t slice people like this, can they?" Eric asked as he started to panic, shaking Mogranius'' shoulder to further grab his attention as he was under the comfort of the Fire Shield.


    Seeing that rocks stopped falling from the sky, he broke his Fire Shield and answered. "No, they can only rip people in half!" Approaching a dead child a few meters away from him, he continued to explain. "These people are sliced clean!"


    Afterwards they heard one of the Guards yelling, "I thought you said that the Guards can handle that large man!" Throughout that sentence, he gave the Guard a strong punch and threw him to the ground as if this was all his fault.


    The explosion got them distracted to the point where they didn''t yet figure out where the explosion came from, they became so focused on the dead people that they didn''t see a huge piece missing from this Kingdom. A piece that was visible instantly once any individual passed through the main gate.


    The Castle! The whole god damn Castle is missing! Eric became the first to notice this tremendous fact and instantly became terrified of the circ.u.mstances of this explosion. "Chan came here before us, I think he got Xakro''s power!"


    Eric didn''t know what else to think, had it hard to put pieces of the puzzle together. Wouldn''t such transaction of large power cause a terrible aftermath along with success? The odds are likely!


    "We didn''t make it in time..." Mogranius instantly felt disappointed, they failed! Failure isn''t something good to taste.


    A flash of a moment later, they both heard a shout behind them from a familiar voice. "What did you Maniacs do!"


    Turning around, they saw none other but Guard Commander Chan along with his crew of 11, blaming Eric and Mogranius for this Earth trembling explosion.

 Chapter 303 - Im coming Brother!

    They''ve stared at Chan and his group in confusion, puzzled to the extreme. "If the explosion wasn''t caused by the powers being passed down then what caused this?" Eric thought to himself as a blazing piece of fire began to form above his soft palm.


    "How the hell is this possible?" Questioned Mogranius himself as he glanced upon this old enemy, yet at the same time feeling relieved that the power hasn''t been passed down. How did he know? Well, Mogranius figured it out completely when he asked the true question to himself. "Why isn''t he attacking?"


    Surely someone who has been blessed with so much power would attack, little did they know King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll''s theory that a Golden Blood''s heart can get rid of the course. But that''s not the case here, Chan is as confused as our Heroes and is even blaming them for this explosion!


    "Attack!" Yelled Chan from the top of his lungs like a howling wild dog and pulled out his sword to fight the enemies of Crutal Kingdom.


    ...


    A bit earlier, a man charged against the Main Gate of Crutal Kingdom before this disaster of an explosion happened. Grabbing the two Guards by the head and smashing them against the wall, he ensured that their death was quick when he stepped on their necks after but he indeed ensnared more attention by Guards who happen to patrol the area, walking above the walls.


    This at least gives us a small hint of where the Guards who usually stand by the Main Gate, might have went to. To hell! A well deserved punishment for such foul souls, at least one who doesn''t stand in Solitude with the illas religion would think so.


    An alarm rang, one Guard yelled after the other until the message reached to the Guard who is in charge of hammering the bell, located at the training Yard near the Castle. When that large bell was hit, it was made sure that Crutal Kingdom is under attack.


    So much panic struck this Capital Kingdom, that one would think all of Ignis has stood up to tear this Kingdom down to every last bit be it flesh or rock! But the only considered enemy here is one man!


    A bundle of Guards appeared right in front of him as soon as he entered the Kingdom, and he could hear a lot more shouting like madmen from the left side and smaller portions here and there from the left.


    Waving his sword once, he victimized half of the Guards closest to him and kicked one of them right to the gut, making that enemy fall down and quickly after cough up blood accompanied by the fact that the pain remained so insistent, the enemy felt like someone was suffocating him, as if someone punctured his lungs.


    Two more opposing men fled the scene when they got a taste of their friend''s blood, and the three remaining had their head sliced clean off their body as if they were battling a god of swordsmanship, but in the process he accidentally hit a few innocent civilians, causing wound too rough for them to have a chance of recovery.


    He couldn''t care less, knowing that he did it by accident and that the people he sliced are ill.u.s.tratios of whom even their Ignite friends despise. But when he noticed that he sliced a child, the least he could do was put him out of his misery. He approached the child closer, raised his swors


    The man opposing Crutal Kingdom, made a run for it straight ahead to reach his target, the Castle of Crutal Kingdom! Once me made his way up to the Kingdom centre, he could hear many many rough footsteps behind him. Signifying that the enemies have caught on his trail and are ready to put up a fight regardless of the Arsenal gap.


    "I should loose this tail!" The man thought and afterwards made a sharp turn to the right. Bashing his sword through a house before he started dragging it across, making the house collapse behind him followed by many screams of the family inside.


    Again he thought, "Those were likely ill.u.s.tratios." That small guilt still existed throughout this rageful behaviour, but he is not here to raid the Kingdom and kill as many Guards as he can. His target still remained the Castle!


    He saw the men behind him stopping around the house, with more aims of looking for him instead of trying to save the victims under the collapse. Using the opportunity, he ran as fast as he could straight ahead before he made a right turn to once again connect to the main road, leading towards the Castle.


    And indeed it worked, the enemy Guards are now at least 100 meters behind and they are getting further back by the passing moment. Best part yet, he is only meters away from reaching the Castle. Reaching step by step closer to his destiny.


    The Castle had no Guards in front of its door, signifying that there might be even less Guards inside considering the fact that the alarm bell rung. Using the opportunity he did not slow down, bashing against the door with both of his feet forward and forcing it out of its hinges.


    The door slammed down and he could see a rolled parchment flying at his right side and blood blowing up on the left. Signifying that he has taken either a Guard victim or anyone else with this door solely.


    He ran straight forwards for a few steps before he saw the target, sitting on a throne and not even moving a muscle in this situation. Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll, he is the target. He is the reason why this 10 foot tall Calidum Lutum stood like a mountain in this castle today and killed so many just to get here.


    "What... Do you want... fine creature?" Xakro didn''t know if he should either feel amazement or anger to see a Calidum Lutum with his own eyes, he even felt envious before that his rotten son Chan managed to see a town full of these large humans.


    Not understanding a word of what Xakro just said, this Calidum Lutum man just reached for the staff sheathed on his back and pulled it in front of him. What was to see? Simple beauty! Once merged with the aid of Cauldron, melted in to perfection.


    The heart of the dead Calidum Lutum back at Pameres Kingdom mixed along with the Frozen Toe from the Giant ill.u.s.tratio back at Orientis Ignis, form a special substance. Which regardless of how many time it would be tried, it would always end up looking like an orb with 6 thick dull spikes at the top accompanied by a light blue colour occupying most of the orb, and a lava like colour spilling from the top of the spikes like a river with many many branches.


    A beautiful sight indeed but what is the purpose? Without understanding what King Xakro meant, this tall Calidum Lutum man shouted in a language King Xakro can understand. "You killed my brother!" He shouted in the ill.u.s.tratian language.


    Afterwards he put his right foot forward and with a strong forceful motion he moved the staff forward too and a beam of dark heavily visible light split through the air and reached Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll!


    The light occupied his chest, making him feel like his soul was being drained out of his chest, taking the ability to even move a finger muscle for him and at the end rendering him powerless!


    The dark light disappeared in mid air, and afterwards the light of the same colour arose from Xakro''s chest and formed near him like a blob before it flew at inhumane speed towards the staff.


    A second after, Chan opened his eyes again... I did say eyes... He is finally able to see with both eyes! He glanced down at his legs, noticing the extra vision and then he saw his hands too, but they no longer had any burn marks, they were no longer torched in to shade of black, moving his arm more he even saw green hair reaching all the way down to his buttocks and he could feel his chin getting heavier because of his sudden growing beard.


    Taking a deep heartful breath after, finally breathing freely and feeling his thoughts clearing up. He murmured to himself, "The Curse has been cured." And afterwards he felt his intentions shift by the passing second, with his main motive being to see his kids.


    The Calidum Lutum man noticed this sudden change of colour primarily, but Xakro felt more and more confused because he didn''t kill any Calidum Lutum directly. However, whatever the case this beast is ready to attack so Xakro stood from his throne and tried to form a sphere of fire in between his palms.


    Tried it once, no luck. Tried it again, he began to become frustrated. Tried it for the third time, he just began to look stupid. Now he finally came in to realization, "You took away my powers!"


    King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll might have not been the most truthful with Chan, because he never intended to give Chan only freezing powers. He wanted to pass down everything to him, since no child carried his power through the bloodline. This staff, is designed to give power but also to take.


    And the Calidum Lutum man carried more knowledge about this staff, but it isn''t something hard to believe either. If this staff is aimed anywhere that isn''t a human, it will cause a devastating explosion! "I''m coming brother."


    The Calidum Lutum man aimed the staff before his own two feet, his brother who got shot down by a explosive crossbow bolt went through his mind and he finally waved the staff towards the ground.


    The dark matter smashed against the ground, and an explosion formed so fast that a blink of an eye would be enough to miss everything, or sleep permanently. The Castle''s ceiling shattered and flew high towards the sky, the walls separated in large chunks and houses in the nearby area shared a devastating fate.

 Chapter 304 - Death brought within the Circle!

    This situation suddenly turned for the worse faster than the eye can blink. Well it can''t be considered the worst situation for everyone in this ten meter radius, but mostly for chan specifically! Bear Claw or better known as Dilly Flurry, became more and more hostile but this time towards Chan''s group instead of anything else!


    At first she just took a quick peek on her left then on her right to scope the situation, before she attacked the two closest guards or better describe companions, by grabbing their waists and bursting enough fire to destroy half off their belly. Their guts spilled all over the ground, with the few seconds of life that they had before inevitable death, they just glared at Bear Claw with both hate and confusion.


    Questioning theirselves, questioning their fate but most importantly questioning Bear Claw''s sudden change of behavior, the sudden change of hostility towards her own group! What could it possibly mean and why exactly did it happen now? Right after the whole goddamn Castle exploded in to bits? Right after they faced the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance''s toughest enemies!


    "What are you doing your crazy demonic bitch!?" One of the companions shouted from the top of his lungs once he noticed this slaughter, obviously waiting to use that sentence for a long time now.


    In another way this describes just how much trust this group of 12 people had between each other, or in other terms they were waiting for that opportunity to kill each other. Ain''t that pretty? Clearly a nice reward of gold coins forced them to cooperate. But what about Bear Claw? There is no pay in this for her, it was never mentioned!


    However the man who cursed was forced to share a similar fate, except Bear Claw grabed him by the throat instead of the waist, like she did with the other two Victims. And fire swiftly broke from her palm cutting off his God forsaken head. Perhaps he should of thought twice before offending a Fire Controller, either way he would likely die!


    This further shows that Bear Claw is spiraling out of control, she has no hesitation at all to kill her own and she is practically killing everything that''s near her as if she''s gone completely crazy! I mean she was already close to it when Chan went to recruit her, but now it looks like she went entirely crazy.


    Or maybe she isn''t crazy? Now it is not certain because all that''s going through her mind is, "Kill kill kill kill kill!" Accompanied by a strong, twitching, nerve wrecking headache.


    Two of her Companions, didn''t want to risk it. They''ve just started taking quick steps backwards and fled the scene. Obviously they didn''t want to share a similar fate, like the tree guards who have no bit of breath left on the lungs to live. At this case even 10 sacks of gold coins is not worth it, I mean for who would it be worth it? Or what will they use those gold coins for if they''re not even alive!


    In aims of using this situation, to have an upper advantage against the enemy, Eric and Mogranius started shooting as well! Regardless if Bear Claw attacked or not, they would necessarily have to blast fire because there are Guards charging towards them with their Swords pulled up in front of them, in aims to slaughter the two fire controllers in half!


    The head Guard was at the front line, who didn''t bother debating with Bear Claw and chose to attack the Fire Controllers in front of him instead, two more Guards joined him at such a task of bravery before they heard guards behind them howling in pain.


    His attack, was forced to become short lasting! Because, Mogranius was quick enough to unleash a slicer and cut through bone, flesh and Iron! The head guard fell to the ground with no life in his eyes, slit in half. And one of these three Guards who managed to escape Mogranius'' slicer, was shot down by Eric with a Fireball spanning 4 feet wide!


    Afterwards Eric shot yet another Guard near Bear Claw, who was about to stab her from a blind spot. But quite frankly Eric just wanted the Guards in front of them dead even though it looked like he saved her there!


    Mogranius'' slicer did more damage than required! Slipping from his palms at a narrow angle, once it sliced through the two Guards it made its way towards Bear Claw and the Guard she has lifted a foot above the ground with aims of smashing him over the other and burn them both like a pile of old rotten wood!


    The shot missed Bear Claw''s knee by an inch, and Chan became lucky enough to dodge the shot thanks to his short height, but the man on her grasp felt a sharp hot cut on his waste and afterwards his world went dark due to the sudden impact of pain! Looking down to see why this weight has become lighter, she saw the man''s lower body down to the ground, shedding blood in large amounts!


    Now all who is left in this battle field, is Chan and the three Fire Controllers surrounding him. His fate looks a bit obvious doesn''t it? Between all those thoughts urging murder, Dilli found something else to think about but yet it only occupied a fifth of a quarter in her mind!


    She grabbed Chan by the Collar, spined her herself along with him a couple of times before she threw Chan towards the sky, flying above two houses and landing on the third, denting the wooden ceiling and eventually falling through!


    Unwilling to debate with this lady who killed everyone on sight, Mogranius yelled. "Fly!"


    Afterwards with Fire crackling underneath their feet, they made their way up towards the sky and escaped this situation. At those couple of seconds before they flew away, Mogranius'' mind went through a lot of theories but he knew one thing might be the most plausible, if King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll was caught slightly off Guard in this explosion, his chances of survival would hang over a thread.


    The best type of protection the King would use in the middle of such a wild explosion, would be a Fire Shield. But even a Fire Shield spanning 15 inches thick wouldn''t be able to completely withstand this explosion!


    And considering that Xakro was originally mutilated by the Curse and that he is old now, even a Dagger to the gut would put him down for good! But the pushing force of an explosion? It can blow the life out of him! That is the King''s weakness, his vulnerability to death and the incapability to pass down his powers like his Father and Grand Father did.


    Mogranius'' decision was proven even more correct when a hell load of Guards arrived in the scene to tame the situation here! As much as they are concerned, this Ignite lady in front of them killed many ill.u.s.tratian men, it was easy for the to decide a move here especially since several Guards saw her blast fire.


    She turned around to face them, and under her breath she spoke. "I''ll show you why they call be Bear Claw!"


    No one heard what she said because the Guards were murmuring between one another trying to determine an attack, until someone finally yelled. "Attack!" It became well determined that she is a Fire Controller, and either if she killed these people or not, she has to die thanks to the soul fact of her being categorised as a Demon right now.


    Bending her knees in aims of doing a sumo squat, she blew fire from both of her palms as she opened her arms wide open along too. That glorious burning fire, formed in to two Bear Claws. Each one bigger than a human, each one lethal.


    The Bear Claws reached for two houses who are still in tact, from both sides. After digging the fire like claws in the roof of those houses, a second is more than enough to capture how fast those two houses were sliced almost in half.


    The rubble of the houses was pulled by the Bear Claws and afterwards bashed together right in the middle of the road! Clenching her right fist after, she blew a 5 foot wide Fireball half to the ground and half to the rumble of planks and logs spread all over the road.


    The pieces of wood closer to the fire, were of course set in to a blaze and everything else around it blew to the sky and everywhere else around. The wood planks flew across the air and bashed all over the Guards in the middle of the road.


    Pieces of wood went through skin, some even went in to people''s eyes and considering the size those people will likely never see the world again even if they survive here.


    This little move, proved enough for her to make an escape. Blowing Fire from her feet, and making towards the sky, she took a glance at where the castle formally was. It is completely gone, along with a lot of houses around it occupying 1/5 of the Kingdom!

 Chapter 305 - Pain on her chest.

    The residents of which lived in the house where Chan broke through the ceiling at, recognized him although they didn''t see him for months because ever since Chan took upon himself the responsibility of gathering all three ingredients for the staff, he normally stayed in Crutal Kingdom for a day or two at max between tasks.


    The family recognized him, and swiftly tried to help him in the middle of this crazy situation. Chan obtained some minor cats due to going through a ceiling, so the woman of this family instantly grabbed a rag and the man in this family helped him sit up and started pulling pieces of wood planks out of Chan''s skin.


    A small girl, possibly 4 years old. Approached Chan gently, and grabbed the bottom of his shirt. Pulling it a bit roughly to grab his attention, she repeatedly asked. "Is the big bad man gone?"


    After feeling his shirt pulled for the third time, he looked down towards her and felt instantly puzzled. He has absolutely no idea what she is meaning, considering that the tallest person in that little battle was Dilli Flury standing 6 foot tall, and she is a woman.


    Having enough nerves to treat a little ill.u.s.tratian girl kindly, he replied. "Yes the Demons are all gone." Angry enough, when he spoke about Demons here he meant Dilli Flury again. It stung him in the heart for a bit, because they just started getting along.


    "So Demons attacked the Kingdom? I only saw one and dragged by daughter inside immediately!" The man spoke as he grabbed the cloth that his wife provided and started wiping off some blood here and there, afterwards holding it firm on Chan''s arm before he requested. "Get me another rag."


    I''m not sure what happened, at this point you know more than me about the situation." Chan still tried to remain patient, urging to sip some ale so his brain can go numb enough to forget this whole day at least for a while. But he also felt a small urge to specify, "I just came in the Kingdom."


    ...


    Over ten minutes later, Guard Commander Chan walked out of the house of that nice family who helped him and noticed that the situation in this Kingom has already become better and better. Not to be confused, there are still dead people under rumbles of wood and rock but at least there aren''t "Demons" shooting at anyone in sight!


    With rags tied around both his shoulder and a big one tied around his waist, he made his way up towards where the Castle used to be. "This is crazy!" He murmured to himself as he noticed how the entire towering castle that was easily visible from any part of the Kingdom, is no longer there.


    Walking closer to the Castle''s radius, he saw countless Guards digging out people from all this rubble. Some were alive, some had bad wounds and were immediately sent to the healers of this Kingdom who have a Zamerian origin, and some just didn''t make it. Either way, each scene carried a new type of trauma and most who handled this situation won''t sleep well.


    ...


    "Lift!" Shouted a Guard in between 30 other Guards once the sign of life was heard in between rocks blasted in such a way that they didn''t kill anyone who was caught in it. Luckily throughout all this panic, someone heard them call for help.


    "Lift!" Another Guard shouted once more, noticing that the first attempt wasn''t enough to move this rock ranging possibly over 5 tons!


    "We need more men!" Shouted one, and the rest repeated until more and more joined the scene.


    Now with over 50 people in the scene, they managed to move this large rock! But they did not yet manage to get anyone out, they didn''t move the rock enough for such a purpose.


    "We need more men!" One man pointed out the obvious, and more Guards joined the scene. Luckily the Grand Capital always has enough Soldiers/Guards to spare.


    Now with over 80 people in this scene, giving in all their effort to move this rock and save the poor poor people stuck here, they actually managed to move it enough! They even lifted it off the ground for a foot, before they dropped it after pulling it back for 6 meters!


    5 kids ran out of it with joy of finally getting out, and three a.d.u.l.ts ran out as well. The Guards who went in to check for more bodies, noticed that these pieces of rock were formed in such a way that it looks like a house in some points of view. It had four walls and a roof, even though those walls might have weighed over 20 tons.


    One last man was helped to walk out, finally seeing the light from the sun out of a sudden, his eyes were forced shut. Gently opening and closing them until he got used to this ray of light, he glanced around and noticed that one man stands out from the crowd even though he is not the tallest.


    With a thick tone after a cough, he glanced in confusion and asked. "Son?"


    The man he is looking at, is none other than Guard Commander Chan who has rushed his way up here once he heard that the Guards need help lifting a rock. Chan giving a shit for people? That is new in some aspects, but this situation is different. He isn''t talking to old ladies or kids.


    However that''s not the point! This tone sounded very familiar to Chan, the only difference is that this time this man who came out of the rubble, didn''t take a few seconds mid sentence to talk.


    "Grand King Xakro?" Asked Chan in curiosity. And once he spoke so, everyone took his word seriously. Because if there is anyone who can recognize the Grand King, it is him due to all that time spent with him, which reaches second to Arthur. This seriously says a lot because apparently the Grand King shared beds with women before. "What happened to you?"


    ...


    Flying for about a Kilometer, she felt her head clearing out more and more by the passing second. As if the kiss from the summer heat accompanied by the light breeze one would attain while flying through the sky, helped her feel a lot better.


    The breeze amazing, she felt on top of the world. But most importantly all her thoughts met a large shift, she doesn''t want to stand in unity with the illas Alliance. Grabbing her necklace she torched it on her hand with a tight grip before letting the ashes fall down underneath her.


    Now she feels a lot more calm, that splitting headache is almost gone but when one problem closes, more open. Her chest suddenly felt very tight, and she started losing control of her powers but not enough to force her in to a dangerous situation, such as going splat on the ground.


    The fire underneath her feet started reducing, and she started falling down at a mild speed. She tried to fly so she can get as far away from Crutal Kingdom as possible but the fire underneath her feet just kept reducing and the pain on her chest kept getting stronger.


    Finally reaching the ground, but falling down fast enough for her to tumble twice. Luckily she didn''t break any bones or faced any cuts from the small rocks on the road she fell over, but that pain in her chest didn''t stop.


    She clenched on the dirt underneath her palms with tremendous strength and with a cough, blood puked through her mouth. Only a few drops fell down, at least it was just a few drops before she coughed for the second time.


    When she coughed the second time, the blood dropped down tenfold and she covered the field in front of her with it. It felt like her soul started getting out through her throat, this is the most violent puking she ever faced, it felt like her guts want to explode.


    Coughing up for the third time, she unleashed twice the blood compared to the second time and this time there was this type of darker blood mixed with it. Finally her world started becoming dizzy and she collapsed.


    ...


    Waking up at night time, at first feeling like she became blind until she found the stars on the sky. She felt her clothes soaked in blood and the terrible odour that came along with it.


    Blowing a bit of fire from her hands to check her surroundings, she could see many red eyes in the forest only about 15 meters near her, but thankfully none chose to attack due to the fire. At this rate, she felt like she can''t take them on.


    She barely has enough energy to stand up, as if she used her powers for 24 hours nonstop. She used all her stamina before but she never felt this tired. Along with this tiredness she felt that the pain on her chest is completely gone now, and most importantly she feels free.


    But, "I really need some help." She murmured to herself with the little energy she has.

 Chapter 306 - Help, I keep Coughing Blood!

    Eric and Mogranius debated their choices the moment they''ve reached the location where they''ve stashed their supplies a few hours earlier! Eric wanted to return and fight King Xakro, but Mogranius found it pointless and dangerous! "Xakro couldn''t have survived that explosion!" Mogranius kept repeating.


    "How can you be for sure?" Eric insisted to go back, even walking towards the Kingdom''s direction through his sentence. "He is more powerful than a full trained Electus!"


    "He is!" Mogranius agreed to that point, grabbing Eric''s shoulder and pulling him back, he added. "But if he was alive, he would face us again. Don''t forget that he wants your heart, why would he miss the chance?"


    And that''s where sense and logic struck through Eric''s mind and he felt frozen on the spot, although insistent to go there and stop a possible Ignite extinction, he still doesn''t want to die. As mentioned before there is so much to sacrifice now for the sake of his race.


    "You are right there." Eric agreed and tried to think it through, the crown stuck on his head forever helped him think a bit better once panic rolled out of his mind.


    "I know I am, didn''t you hear the Guards? Someone rushed in the Kingdom and caused all this trouble. Who ever that person was, he did what we weren''t given the chance to!" At this point Mogranius just wanted to make himself feel better for not being able to do anything, but Eric is more of a realist at this part.


    Recalling the first time he faced Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll, he added. "We had the chance as well, we were just too weak to damage him."


    "That''s true, but at least the King is dead. The only thing the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance can rely upon now, is their weakened military." One more thought finally popping in his mind, which might completely convince Eric to finally ditch this idea of attacking, he added. "That explosion blew down 10 meter thick Castle walls, no Fire Shield could withstand it. King Xakro is absolutely dead!"


    "Those walls were ten meters?" Eric asked in shock, trying to confirm that Mogranius wasn''t just throwing around his theories. "How do you know?"


    "Oh the Stonemasons used to boast about it all the time, the Castle was rebuilt shortly before I arrived to the Kingdom in search for a Teacher." This might not be the best time to tell more of his past adventures, but it proved his own point and finally convinced Eric to retreat.


    Their destination now is rather Certain, they are going to the hidden Domain above where Maleemia used to stand. Commander Alia is there and Ada too, along with all those Ignites who might require some help settling in.


    They have no idea what''s going on here due to the fact of being a couple hundred Kilometers apart, the two Heroes have to bring the good news up there. And if everything is right, they will escort the two ladies back home.


    It would be unnecessary to stand up there forever, they would be isolated from possibilities and most importantly the Demonite isn''t up here. But the Demons are still a problem, Mogranius planned to see how they handled the situation up there to know if he should stay up there a bit longer.


    If the tribe of Ignites can handle the portal there, he plans to go back to Gaster Kingdom. A portal has to be in that area under seas, which raises another question in mind or at least a spike occurs in his theories. If the Demons are as vulnerable as humans, how do they not drown if they appear deep in the ocean?


    He can''t be sure unless they find the portal and take a peek at the Demons up close, for such a case they would need help from Mogranius father who might or might not have found out more about the Demons.


    As for meeting him it is rather easy, he can just speak to some fish as far as he is concerned and Becky would arrive in half a minute or so. The fishes won''t go and tell Becky of course, but his father has developed the capability of seeing through any animal''s eyes. Chances are he is watching Mogranius right now!


    ...


    They''ve crossed the border, set up camp a few times since they are not in a rush. It feels like a good reward too even though they walked 10 kilometers on foot each day and flew a 20-30 Kilometers as well. Compared to how much they exhausted their selves going to Crutal Kingdom in a rush, this is a breeze, a treat even.


    But as they set up camp on the third day, torching some deer meet over a campfire to satisfy their bellies, a rather interesting scene approached them to disturb their peace.


    "I need help!" A lady yelled with the little energy she has gathered up and fell on the ground knees first once she landed on the ground.


    This face looks more than familiar, this is none other than Bear Claw. The lady that turned on Chan and killed his Guards. The two Heroes didn''t even take this topic in to consideration since they couldn''t care less of Chan''s fate now that they know the King as dead. And since Bear Claw associated with Chan to begin with, the two heroes Categorized her as untrustworthy even though they didn''t talk about this topic.


    "What do we do?" Eric asked instantly, since he felt guilty about shooting down an Ignite. "Do we kill her?" If they kill her, Eric doesn''t want to be the one who does it. It feels emotionally hard to kill a Fire Controller!


    "I don''t know!" Answered Mogranius truthfully as he took step after step back, the further he is from the potential enemy, the less likely he can be shot down.


    "Please, I keep coughing blood." There is a word you wouldn''t hear Dilli Flury say every day. "Please." Afterwards she continued, "Please you have to help me!"


    Suddenly, her words were proven right and suspicion rivered down with the blood on the ground. Like the first process she went through, the first hurl was but a few drops. The second time she puked out a mouthful and for the third time she hurled intensively all across the field she was over, carrying dry twigs and rocks with dirt.


    The scene indeed looks disgusting, but what hurts their souls more is BearClaw looking at them terrified and feeling helpless as her chin was covered with dry blood as a base and a new layer of blood rolling down too.


    It is a miracle how she found them, and even a stronger miracle how she managed to travel over a hundred Kilometers in this condition. They can think about this all day if they want too, but it isn''t going to help her in any way.


    Now, it is a couple of hours past mid day. They have travelled for a few hours and they figured they could use a break, it worked to Bear Claw''s advantage I suppose. But however since it is broad daylight, Mogranius managed to notice something very important in that pool of blood.


    His eyes widened up in shock, and instead of rushing towards Bear Claw to help her, he jabbed his finger down to the pool of blood for a bit of an inspection. He took a whiff of the black substance he scooped up with his finger, and almost hurled across the field along with Bear Claw.


    "What''s wrong with her?" Asked Eric in concern as he went against his own nature and already had Bear Claw''s head on her lap, trying to shake her awake.


    Anyone knows that who ever is sick at this rate, shouldn''t fall asleep no matter what. He didn''t want to let a Fire Controller die, and quite frankly he was waiting for Mogranius to smack him behind the head so he can drop down a couple of tears to help her heal.


    "She was under mind control." Mogranius answered, raising suspicion. Now Eric feels a bit stupid for trying to help a stranger, she could still be under mind control and turn this situation for the worse.


    "How do you know? You can''t tell that by the drops of blood." Asked Eric once he managed to put two and two together, I mean stuffing a finger down a pool of blood? For what other possible reason could he have done that for apart from inspection?


    "I can! I saw Akareas getting an enemy under mind control and then snapping him out of it." Wiping the dark substance to the grass so that terrible smell won''t go through his nose when he is eating, he continued to explain. "This dark blood is like a poison, it goes straight to one''s mind. From the looks of it she was under heavy Mind Control!"

 Chapter 307 - Expect a change.

    "Was?"


    "Yes. Her body is kicking out the poison now that she has a chance!" Feeling c.o.c.ky about all those claims he made a few days ago, he added. "Since the King is dead, his mind control effects are forced to wear off. Anyone he put under his spell, will undergo the same process."


    As Mogranius finished his sentence, something even more bizarre begun to happen. A ray of light started forming behind Mogranius, making a noise gentle to the ears. Eric managed to notice instantly and wasn''t hesitant to point out out, "What the hell is that!"


    Turning around, Mogranius saw a woman forming in front of him out of light and wind itself. Finally shaping, he managed to recognize her arm filled with black veins to the top and, she is wearing it with pride enough to pull her sleeve all the way up.


    "Akareas?" Mogranius asked as two tears instantly broke from his eyes as a start and countless others followed. "I thought you were gone forever!"


    "I thought so too." Akareas answered softly, reaching out to grab Mogranius'' cheek and continued after. "But my powers reached me and found me, giving me all the energy I need!"


    Feeling a lot of guilt in an instant, he replied with his tone shaking in regret. "If I knew that you would regain your powers if the King died, I would have done everything to kill him!"


    "It wouldn''t have worked, his father and grandfather died before along with their powers. The process would just have been repeated!" She answered, rubbing his face to calm him down and wiping away some of his tears. Let''s not forget she is still at a spirit form, spirits or ghosts can indulge in physical contact. "I''m not sure what happened while I was gone, but it worked."


    "I feel so happy that you are finally free." Mogranius answered as his tears flew more and more, while Eric just glanced in amazement and felt eager to talk to her again.


    Taking a glance at Eric after she gave Mogranius a big smile, she approached him with her feet not even meeting the ground and added. "You are progressing well, great Electus. Is my mentor doing a good job?"


    "Oh he could be less sarcastic but I suppose he did quite well." Eric answered, ironically being sarcastic here too after he caught his tongue and spoke.


    "Oh you are asking for too much." Akareas joked around before she took a peek at the passed out woman on the ground and the blood near her.


    She managed to put two and two together, asking. "Mind Control?"


    "Yes, she just came here and fainted on our hands." Eric replied, because Mogranius was in no state to talk. He felt stunned as much as he felt happy.


    With a green orb forming on her right palm, she aimed towards Bear Claw and shot the orb towards her. It hovered through the air with ease and elegance before it hit her head lightly, deforming in the process like shattered glass.


    It is amazing, even as a spirit, even as a form of soul only, she can use her powers. If she can stand around in Ignis for a year or so, every foul act from the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance can be reversed. But, every good thing comes with a foul friend.


    "I''ve disintegrated most of the poison, she will puke for one last time before she is completely free." Akareas specified once she recalled how dangerous this process can be, she saw several people die in the same process Bear Claw is going too. Mostly because of the brain shock, but also because of the intense pain. "She is a very strong woman, I''m figuring Xakro''s grand son put her under his spell."


    "Yes I think so to." Eric answered and wanted to ask more about healing right after but never managed to ask questions.


    Because she didn''t waste time to tell, "I have no time, the next life awaits me." Turning his attention back to Mogranius she wanted to show more gratitude. "Whatever you did, it broke every law I knew and freed me. Thank you."


    "I didn''t do anythi..." Mogranius tried to fill her in, but she instantly turned her attention back to Eric and stated.


    "Young Electus, you have a large journey in front of you. But for now, you need to start taming the Demon of Self Control, please don''t proceed any other power without taming it!" Apparently she found out a lot of information as she travelled Ignis as a spirit, or perhaps she over heard Mogranius before?


    "You know about the Demons?" Asked Eric in shock, trying to figure out how she knows given her lack of resources and power.


    "Yes, speaking of which your Inner Demon of rage has descended to Level 2, I can see it!" She answered with pride, happy that the new Electus at least is progressing well. "Expect a new type of glow in your eyes as soon as you know how to control Lava."


    Without getting in to more detail, knowing she only has a few more seconds left she took a peek back at Mogranius and approached him calmly. Grabbing both his shoulders, this old lady moved closer towards him and gave him a little kiss on the check. "Treat Commander Alia well please."


    Afterwards she started deforming, representing a form which could be categorized as a blob, resembling a soul. Flying towards the sky after, her light shone at a slow pace until at a certain distance she completely merged with the light on the sky.


    "I hope she didn''t see me get at it with Commander Alia." He thought to himself once he noticed how his privacy might have been invaded countless times.


    "Shit!" They heard a sound behind them, turning around they saw Bear Claw holding herself up from the ground. "I fainted again?"


    "Yes. But please relax, we healed you a bit." Explained Eric a bit untruth fully, I mean regardless of her race and power they can''t tell her everything. "You should get all that poison out of you after one more puke."


    Just now, Eric managed to take a peek at what eyes she is carrying. Before when she was conscious they just looked at her from a distance, and considering the blood all over her chin they didn''t think of looking at her eyes in detail.


    Her pupils are split in half, he noticed it and instantly decided to ask. "Are your eyes like that because of the mind control?"


    "How do you know I was under mind control?" Asked Bear Claw in confusion, they never met her and she never met them although she understood who they are.


    "The dark blood, it is poison." Answered Eric as Mogranius turned around to wipe away all his tears.


    "That explains why I have been coughing blood, thank you for healing me." She is healed now, she likely won''t die because of this process either but she still looks like a complete mess.


    Able to approach older women more, thanks to all the motherly affection Commander Alia showed. Regardless of his social anxiety disorder which is a shade of shyness, he approached Bear Claw with a small cloth on his hand.


    Starting to wipe her chin, he had to use both sides of the small cloth just to wipe off 1/3 of the dried off blood. Bear Claw just stood in patience and appreciated the kind gesture, with no aims of causing a scene about it.


    With all that she went through these past few days, letting a kid touch her face is nothing at all to be mad about. Helping her sit up straight and afterwards dashing towards his backpack to get another cloth by ripping off parts of his fur clothing.


    He approached her once more and wiped off the rest of all that blood from her face. "You must feel tired from losing so much blood, would you like some meat to eat?"


    "I would love that, please bring me some." Again using the word please, doesn''t sound so common for her but desperation opens up new doors.


    Finally wiping away all his tears, he approached Bear Claw with red eyes and asked. "Speaking of tired, how did you get all the way here to Septemtrionis Ignis in this condition? Losing all that blood should have put you in an eternal slumber." It is not like he wants an Ignite dead, but this just breaks so many rules of what''s common.


    "It was like hell, but you are the only people who could possibly help me and I was right." She felt proud of her choices as everything she saw looked blurry and she kept getting dizzy.


    "Here eat this meat, it should get some blood back in you." Eric offered hospitality, even lifted the food all the way close to her face. With much will he would even help her eat too.


    "How do you know that we could have helped you?" Asked Mogranius in curiosity, now that sadness isn''t entirely occupying his mind.


    "You both are Fire Controllers, and Chan talked all the time how big of a hunt you two would be." Bear Claw answered truthfully, having no reason to hide anything since her hate towards the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance grew stronger. "So I figured you two can help me."

 Chapter 308 - Arsenal enhanced!

    "Chan guhhh!" Mogranius felt sick on his stomach instantly once thinking about him, and further suspicion raised through his mind once his eyes became less and less red, he stopped crying thankfully. It isn''t always easy to see an old man cry. "Why didn''t you kill him when you had the chance? I took a peek at him before I left and he seemed quite alive." Mogranius had a urge to complain at this point.


    "He doesn''t deserve to live I''m aware." Bear Claw specified with a smile oddly and before taking another bite from the chunk of meat on her hands and added, "But he isn''t a complete retard either."


    Here she based her thoughts on the soul fact that he faced his own phobia, his own fear in order to help Bear Claw fight the Demons. He was concerned about her, even though for a second it might have seemed like he saved her just so the task given by the Grand King, doesn''t result in to failure!


    "He exploded one of our Guards right in front of our eyes." Eric revealed, but didn''t go in exact detail. Revealing such sensitive information to a potential enemy is nothing short but a stupid idea.


    "Oh I wasn''t aware of that." Bear Claw answered with a bit of shock, as her vision felt dizzy but in a way she is getting better. "But that''s common between wars, he did what he was told too after all."


    "Yes." Eric tried to back her up, but in another way he just wanted to let out more steam about a specific enemy. "It is King Xakro who deserves all the blame."


    "I think he is as good as dead, his spell wore off. I''ve never felt so free." She specified, but under mind control or not she still has her pupils split in an unique ways.


    "So King Xakro is the one who had you under his mind control?" Mogranius asked oddly with joy when this theory was proven correct, "This explains all that poison, there is just too much of it."


    "And your eyes?" Eric finally asked, his curiosity getting the best out of him ever since he noticed them.


    "I guess it is an effect of the mind control." She answered not feeling so sure, she has gotten used of all these effects thanks to all the years.


    "I think it is a bit more complicated than that." Mogranius tried to explain more of what the mother of all Demons told him and Eric too, but of course didn''t want to reveal the source. "He has no proper grasp of his mind control powers, so anyone who he tries to put a spell on, ends up leaving permanent damage upon them."


    "Meaning?" Dilli asked, not being able to think straight because of the headache developed from hunger. The headache will perhaps pass away shortly, but for now it is giving its love and affection.


    "Your brain is damaged, and no magic on earth can help you reverse that! Somehow, it made its way to your eyes although I''m not sure how." Here he just wanted to be direct with the lady, he has absolutely no bond with her since she is an absolute stranger to them so the best day to be direct is now, he has no plan to save her feelings. "So I hope you''ve got used to different behaviours you have from the rest."


    "Oh I don''t mind them, I like seeing people scared." Dilli answered with a smile, proving Mogranius'' points in every way.


    There is absolutely no way for Dilli to be absolutely stable once more, but she doesn''t seem to have a problem with it. But what''s better? She is no longer under mind control and even put behind the fact that she mindlessly stood with the illas Alliance.


    "Your first words regarded coughing blood for more than once I assume, how many times did you cough up blood?" Asked Mogranius, just to be sure. It can define how strong this lady really is, in other terms he wanted to know more about her so he had this as a first topic.


    Dilli didn''t plan to horde such information so she casually replied, "I think this is the fourth time."


    His eyes widened in shock, and he started choking on a piece of venison meat! Slamming his own chest like a gorilla, his eyes started tearing up in the process until the piece of meat popped out and went straight in the fire.


    "Four times?" He asked with a shout, intensifying the situation. "How are you even alive?"


    "What do you mean?" She asked, feeling puzzled and quite frankly she started seeing this old man as funny.


    "Um well based on some valid information by some friends, most die at the second time they throw up blood." This is where he began to glance upon Bear Claw in amazement and started realizing how big of an Arsenal she would help the team form.


    And to add more fuel to the fire, Eric reminded. "Not to mention you travelled for days without food and little energy."


    "I felt desperate." She answered without care, what ego would she have to the people she thinks saved her life at this point. "I flew for 6 hours straight before I passed out for the second time." This at least explains how she caught up, but just keeps adding more pieces to the pie.


    ...


    As topics were cleared out, and with headaches and heart pains getting lighter. Introductions were exchanged and bonds just started getting their base. Mogranius continued the topic he planted seeds on earlier, now an hour later. "So where do you plan to go once every bit of poison gets out of your body?"


    "Ugh. I have no particular plans, no family or friends to rely on." Bear Claw specified, not to make the two feel sorry for her but in another way she beated around the bush, wanting to ask them to tag along.


    "So your best choice of asking for help were strangers?" Eric tried to say, but end up just thinking it instead. His heart ached a bit because of it, after all this lady is innocent and never actually damaged either Eric or any of his friends or family.


    With no aim to reject him or either to call the shots here if she should join or not, he went ahead with a compliment instead. "You seem to handle yourself pretty well miss Dilli, I think you will survive in any environment."


    "What happened to your family Dilli?" Asked Mogranius in curiosity, already having a theory but he still wants to be sure.


    "They died at a raid in Silver Kingdom, or better called the Revolution of 177. I was three years old when my parents were slaughtered, I never saw them again." Yet again she didn''t want to horde information, and in other terms she wanted to prove her innocence more by the passing second.


    "Trying to raise that Revolution back on its feet more than a Decade later, I got victimized by King Xakro." Finally turning their gaze towards Mogranius, looking him in the eyes. She added, "You can guess the rest from that point."


    "I think I know your pain." Eric added, grabbing her attention for once curious to look at someone in the eyes. "My mother was killed shortly after my birth."


    "I''m sorry." Dilli showed sympathy.


    And Mogranius got back to his point, "Well since you have nowhere you absolutely have to be, how do you feel about joining us?"


    As Mogranius asked that question, with an eyebrow raised in a bit of rage Eric glared upon him with confusion until Mogranius answered to his glare. "What? She is no longer under mind control!"


    Suddenly, the last bit of poison that was left on her head started making its way out. Blasting through her mouth and landing over the campfire, but luckily it wasn''t enough to shut it down. And yet again it is unlike the past four cycles of hurling, the amount she let out didn''t meet the first round or second but stood in the middle.


    What''s more, she didn''t hurl more blood after. This is likely the last time she will have to spit this "Black Blood" through her teeth. So like Akareas told earlier, this should be the last bit of poison that will come out of her brain.


    This opens doors for new opportunities, like Mogranius requested. If they managed to get a crafty Fire Controller in this little arsenal, every situation they would face would be a lot easier. When it comes to terms of trust, the poison is out of her body.


    Seeing the Campfire form in front of her right after she almost shut it down, she wiped he blood of her chin herself this time using her hand and as she turned her gaze towards Mogranius, she answered. "I would love to join you."

 Chapter 309 - Different finds.

    Although absolute hell has happened down to the low lands, the tribe of Ignites here in the High Mountains have kept up their pace of work even though the fact that Ignis can become worse than it already is discouraged them a tad bit. Whatever the odds, they can''t wait and see what will happen and drop every bit of work as an excuse.


    Now that Progress is a topic, Osira along with her small group successfully came back from the neighbouring Kingdom carrying various foods. As a start she brought 2 tons of wheat Grain, along with many other types of meat that can be preserved here.


    Short to be said, they could afford buying meat thanks to that Cart of Gold Ingots who helped sum up a total worth of around 13,000 Gold Coins! Meat that stood out, is the Blue Eagle meat. They''ve bought 300 Kilograms of it since the seller tried to get it off his hands desperately.


    Thankfully with the help of the man from the inside who doesn''t hate Ignites, they managed to get many discounts too although not necessary at this rate. When all combined, the good tasting types of meat sums up 1,000 Kilograms and has cost them 8,000 Gold Coins! Generally such an amount costs a lot more, but discounts were given.


    As for the ones that don''t taste that good but still can be preserved for a long time, they got a thousand Kilograms of it. What Meat could it be you might ask? Well none other than Ratbug meat.


    A hunter has found a nest near the Domain, so he used to opportunity to make a small fortune here although he claimed that he almost died in the process, A tribe of Ratbugs can count up to 250, even Fire Controllers have it hard to survive such an attack.


    The hunter offered a thousand Kilograms of it for half the price, which summed up to 2,000 Gold Coins. Typically a Kilo of it costs 4 Gold Coins but due to the lack of Costumers because of the drastic population drop, the Hunter easily dropped his price from 4,000 to 2,000.


    What was left of this fortune was used to buy Horses and Wagons to carry all this loot, they barely got enough Wagons to fit them all. Everything is scarce up here now, as if it wasn''t before. So as a start of carving their way to survival, the hidden domain must establish their own steady food resource. They can''t depend it on another Kingdom.


    Combined with the meat they already had, and some hunted by the fire controlling ladies after Eric and Mogranius left for their Quest, this tribe has enough food to last for 6 months. Osira even brought some coal up to the domain where she got a good deal out of, they need it right now a lot.


    The better part is that thanks to this reserve, they can hunt without desperate measures which will only increase their overall food supply. After all they don''t need to wait until the food supply is over so they can hunt.


    But along with this food situation came a task that has to be rushed, like the amount of Iron containers they will need to fit all this food in aims of preserving them better and protecting them from a possible Ratbug attack.


    They need the metal containers to organize their foods better, they have so many tons of it and need to know which one is older and which one is the freshest otherwise a lot of food will be forced to go to waste if not instantly.


    Osira is deep in to that task now that she has the opportunity and Ada has become her assistant to this task. Originally Osira was supposed to work with Eric but obviously that''s physically impossible at the moment.


    Getting the Horses up in the domain along with the empty wagons became a bit tricky. Obviously they can''t leave the 5 Horses down there now that they''ve spend gold on them and leaving the wagons too is just stupid.


    Lifting a Shire Horse became no easy task, but they come along with a bold character. When they were lifted off the ground they didn''t panic too much which is great because no one wants to see a Horse go splat or be kicked by one of them either.


    A better idea became to tie their eyes so they don''t know what is going on, and admitably it made the whole task a lot easier for the 14 ladies set in charge to carry each one up there, they are for sure heavy. 900 to 1,100 kg.


    Lifting the empty Wagons became more of a breeze, they were half the weight of the horses and thanks to the weight spread between 24 ladies it felt like carrying a bag of wheat grain for each of them.


    Now when they would need to go to the neighbouring kingdom again, they would need to lift the Horses and Wagons down in order to do so, a tiresome task but the best idea they''ve got. But Bittore used all this structure as a motivation to carve an idea, meaning she wants a small tunnel to be dug near where Maleemia used to stand so they can hide the horses there. A lot easier even though it requires hard work at first.


    As for what they discovered at the tunnels that were left to explore, the finds are indeed interesting. Apparently the Snow Ignites found it smart to store spare weapons at the fifth tunnel in the right, it is a bit too far away battle wise. Because the Guard room is all the way up in the first section at the right.


    For whatever reason they stored it up here, Bittore finds it troubling and would rather store extra ores. Which is a brighter idea considering that the room is 20 meters long and 10 meters wide. Eventually the tribe won''t need that much Iron, so they would need to store it there. The general storage room can''t fit everything after all.


    What they found at tunnel 6 on the right side, got them confused at first. They automatically assumed that it is just another sleeping area, and considering the three mines near it, it made a lot more sense. "Perhaps this is where Miners rested." The two explorers thought.


    But after giving this straight 30 meter long and 10 meters wide room, and the way three rows of beds occupied 3/4th of the room. It made more and more sense for this place to be a medical room.


    Because at the very end of the room, occupying 1/4 of the of this room they found things resembling medical tools. For example there are a lot of smelted quartz, which turn in to a crystal otherwise known as a healing stone.


    Along with all those crystals, came all these tools used to squeeze medicinal qualities out of certain vegetation. Some glass tools used to purify certain liquids in order for use are there too, which says a lot because these types of tools are a late discovery down at the low lands.


    Hell there even are cauldrons here, the Snow Ignites sure knew a lot more about medicine. Giving it a bit more thought, it makes sense how the medical room is closest to the mines, that is where most accidents likely happened.


    As for how to use these tools, there are plenty of books in this medical room too including some experiments. But thanks to the different accent, the timeline when this was written and the fact that the Snow Ignite language was slightly different even at that time, half of the contents in the books look gibberish. The people who will be set up here to work will have to use their imagination to progress.


    Tunnel 7 got the explorers the most confused, because it looks nothing less than empty. They had to give it a good detailed look and formed a base theory of what this room was used for. To aid their theory, they found needles who shone thanks to the fire burning on the two explorer''s palm.


    They have a theory that this used to be a sewing room, it would make a lot of sense if it was so. There are two sleeping areas here carrying 200 beds combined, there for sure were a lot of people here and someone had to make all the fur beds and clothing.


    Considering that fur and leather has it practically impossible to be preserved for hundreds of years, everything here decomposed and all that was left were countless needles and dry blood on the ground, a Demon likely bashed here with the over animalistic rage it has.


    At room eight, the final room at the Second section they had to explore. They found something that makes a lot of sense for it to be here, it looks like some type of classroom. 20 meters long and 10 meters wide, both of the walls at the left side and the right were filled with books. Carrying information from the earth, the plants that grow above it and all the way to what each animal can bring.


    Bittore considers this find, along with the bookshelves at the sorcery room very great. They still don''t like the Snow Ignites, but their knowledge can be used. Elders were given a task to read these books since they don''t have any other task apart from taking care of the smallest children.


    They can understand more of these books due to their older age and knowledge of what words were used at earlier times. Even if they don''t understand what the sentences mean, they can just explain what most of the words mean to everyone else so they can use this knowledge.

 Chapter 310 - Interested in the Craft

    Considering the work people have put in the mines, the odds were to their favour in terms of progress. In the Iron mine for example at tunnel 2 on the left, some men took it upon their selves the responsibility to dig through the collapse located in the main branch of the tunnel, exactly in the middle.


    The feeling of success when they busted through that tunnel felt indeed overwhelming for the bunch but this mine is hundreds of years old so of course more complications came with it. Luckily no one got hurt, they just met with more old collapses.


    Through the main road for example, they found two more new ways to explore. Sounds good and it will eventually prove profitable, but the main tunnel along with the two new ones dug in the sides which they discovered, have a dead end, a collapse.


    Since there was a hell load of Iron stored in two areas, the miners know for sure that more hides behind this collapse which is why they are trying to keep their morale high. Eventually they will break through each collapse and hit Iron, these collapses can''t go on forever after all and they have some iron ore to use.


    As for the second mine in the third tunnel, five more men are digging through it and it has proved the most tiring and most demotivating mine so far. Because all they saw before starting to dig through, is a tunnel taking a very light turn to the left stretching 50 meters long before meeting with a dead end.


    There are no side tunnels, or best called branches whatsoever. Until now they have not met the end of the Collapse, they''ve dug through 30 meters already. Such work required the men to work 10 hours a day! Getting all that dirt out of here became the most tiresome part, as for the rocks that look usable they have been sent to the Stonemasonry room. Imagine walking up and down through 100 meter long stairs.


    The third mine located at tunnel four or best described the gold mine, is their best progress yet thankfully. But since there only are 16 men in this tribe and a portion of them were still handling inventory at that time, 5 ladies had to be send down to mines ranging between the ages of 22 and 37.


    They just had to dig through ten meters of dirt to get through the collapse, but found another branch on the right that too faced a collapse. As for the now considered main tunnel in front of them taken ever since they started digging through the tunnel who took a sharp left, they are now they are exploring deeper parts. Let''s leave the details for this mine for later!


    ...


    "The walls are looking great aren''t they?" Asked Mollara, as she stood near the Campfire with Bittore at the first tunnel.


    "Yes they are, I can''t believe that it took Alcon Epke barely a week to finish ten of them!" Answered Bittore still feeling a bit confused of his speed but at the same time with pride, they have a magician with the craft on their hands.


    "Well you did assign more people to work there." Reminded Mollara, finding it tad funny how her grand leader here missed such an important detail.


    This mention of more people assigned there, instantly reminded Bittore of the Guarding ladies which in other terms reminded her of the Demons they have fought off. "Either way the walls are still heavily durable, I don''t think that even the first wall broke and not to mention any other." Trying to prove her point better, she stared at Mollara and with her tone intensifying she added. "We fought off six waves already Mollara, and we didn''t even get a scratch!"


    Well that just explains how tough a meter thick wall is, as for Alcon everytime he heard that an attack is in process he dropped any work and just rushed his way to the site, feeling sure of his work he felt like if any Demon is to go through, he will be the one to face them because these walls are his responsibility. Much honour for a crazy man aye?


    "Calm down Bittore." Mollara tried to joke around, "I am not your enemy, I don''t want the walls to fall."


    "Right right, sorry I''ve got tad excited." There is nothing wrong with apologising after all, but at this case they are both joking around.


    Due to the fact that Mollara is practically baby sitting Bittore, they have developed a bond greater than before. Typically Mollara would be elbows deep working on any task that needs work on, but now with leather sleeping bags made for everyone in this tribe thanks to all those Ratbugs, she has nothing else to do.


    Now her duty has become to take care of Bittore until she completely heals, keeping her safe from either a Ratbug attack or out of trouble because Bittore can''t stay in one place that easily. When it comes to knees the thing that they need the most for healing is rest.


    They are no longer broken thanks to Eric, they just have minor damage to the point where she can''t stay up for too long. But thankfully she is seeing a lot of progress over the weeks, the knees have begun to hurt less and she is getting more sleep thanks to that fact.


    Furthermore she can walk through half way when she needs to use the bathroom at the Dungeon all the way up to the first section, that is good progress but she can''t go alone. The times Mollara lifted her as if they just got married are uncountable but in no doubt it seemed overly cute.


    The bathroom situation has raised a lot of questions here, two rooms explored in the first section and 16 rooms explored on the second one yet they did not find any bathrooms. Did the Snow Ignites drop their dunk 200 meters below or something?


    Using the Dungeon is okay but there are 59 people up here who use these 10 holes up to twice a day, the dunk magically disappears if pushed down with a litre of water but that still doesn''t get rid of the smell that fast. Some holes were even clogged so a couple of ladies found their feet covered with ancient odour.


    Wherever this poop sinks down too, it became very convenient for this tribe. Last thing they need is to fly down in these cold lands every time they need to handle their business, considering the rate of trees up here one wouldn''t get too much privacy.


    ...


    Ada and Osira too have gotten their hands busy with work, their main task ever since Osira returned from that little trip, has become to make those Iron containers required to finally store all that food. The few crates that came with this new shipping are useful for the moment but they can''t rely on them forever.


    So far, Ada and Osira have made 5 of the required metal containers and life indeed became more easy for those who handle inventory. The oldest food have been put closest to the entrance/exit, regardless of the fact that it is Ratbug meat everyone is to eat it if not enjoy it.


    Because if they become picky now and choose the good stuff, the time will come when they could be running out of food and end up eating Ratbug meat who might become rotten by that time, who would want to live such a life?


    Osira has been trying here and there to teach Ada, since she might not be staying here forever Osira didn''t make it a main priority to teach her. She did appoint Ada to be her little assistant though and admittedly she has taken a lot of interest in the craft.


    Which is nice to see, girls aren''t usually Blacksmiths here and her enthusiasm is contagious. She wouldn''t sit still until Osira taught her more of this, than taught her more of that. Ada has been caught a couple of times sneaking in the forge and doing work for herself.


    Admirable act and one couldn''t in no way get mad at her, Osira even hugged her a couple of times in forms of admiration. A lot of people in this tribe has been questioning her skin pigment, some even making laughable banter behind her back. But she slowly started being approved through more hearts.


    She is so calm, collective and would never yell. Whatever one says to her, she would out smart them. Which eventually led to more people liking her, Bittore talked directly to the people who have been giving her a bit of a rough time and that''s where most problems ended.


    Today, Ada has been given permission to assist Osira more towards their main task. They need extra hands to put in work due to the mass request, but can''t put in people who have no idea what they are doing. This is where Ada comes in as help, she has been showing a lot of interest for the craft and is tremendously progressive.


    "Alright Ada, hand me the nails." Requested Osira as she held the two walls of the Iron Container as straight as she could.


    "Yes Ma''am." Ada tried to show formality but in other terms is just joking around a bit, they have a lot of work to do and although an assistant she doesn''t want Osira to loose motivation.


    Handing her the newly crafted, finger long and thick nails. She took Ada''s hands, placed them on the positions of which this part of the crafting requires and slowly moved away from the Container. "Alright, as I taught you earlier, you are to keep them as steady as possible. I will hammer down a nail and it will feel a lot easier for you after that."


    To make this construction easier, she has attached Iron support poles on each corner of the foundation. To make it easier she has melted a few little holes through these poles so the nails can fit in easier, once the nails through they will be hammered at the right or left to completely mend with the Container and provide further stability.


    Bam!


    Bam!


    Bam!


    Osira nailed in the three nails required on this one pole, the first one shook Ada a little bit but she managed to maintain control. The second and third were a lot easier, "Okay now let go of the plates."


    Standing up, they both saw the two plates who were just connected to each other stay firmly in place, and she felt flattered. The way the newly lit torches shine on the metal is in some ways satisfying.


    "You did a very good job." Complimented Osira, feeling proud of having someone this smart by her side. She has bragged a couple times already, it confused Bittore but it is fairly worth it.


    Ada felt joy with those compliments, but of course. "Thanks, now don''t forget to mend them!"

 Chapter 311 - What is warmer than a nice hug?

    Speaking of ladies who are working down here in the gold mine, Samantha Olem and Zelimia Hekz are one of them. I mean it isn''t such a bad idea, they are both in their twenties which is a pique of one''s age physical wise. They have strength to put in work here, and most importantly there is nothing else to do.


    Eventually, they would be all alone down here in the mine which almost instantly made Samantha shy. Zelimia didn''t hold back to kiss her on the cheek the first time they found theirselves alone and although she didn''t do it again, Samantha still has a few questions she doesn''t have the courage to ask.


    "Guh, I''m a sweaty mess!" Zelimia complained as she pushed the pickaxes tail to the ground with force and sat down on the dirt.


    "Still sweaty?" Samantha asked curious but yet not surprised because she didn''t fair any better. "But you took off your fur coat."


    "It''s not working!" Zelimia complained once more and without asking she pulled off her leather shirt as well, but not to be alarmed she still has under clothes on made out of a thinner layer of leather. And the only bit of skin that is more exposed now are her arms up to the shoulders and a bit of the area below her neck.


    Glancing at Samantha who has appeared to merged in with a bit of a shock, she smiled and asked as if she complained. "What? We are all ladies here, no one would walk 150 meters down here for fun."


    She does have a point indeed, but that is not why Samantha stood in shock. Her reason, a bit more related to romance. The first thing Samantha glanced upon, is Zelimia''s b.r.e.a.s.ts who are half the time bigger than her''s. Now they might not be the biggest in the tribe and almost fit in the mild category, nor would it matter if they were bigger than that.


    But the thing here is that Samantha is getting to see more curve of the women she fancies, yes fancies. That little kiss developed more than just a cute feeling of friendship, although they didn''t talk about it yet nor will Samantha ever get the courage to even mention it.


    "Guh... uhhh." Samantha tried to talk but got a bit focused on something else, I think that i don''t need to point out on what.


    "What?" Asked Zelimia, and for once she became a bit shy. However it wasn''t anything that would be noticeable, unlike Samantha she can control her shynnes extraordinary well, she rarely gets shy actually. "Don''t tell me you feel shy!"


    "I don''t!" Samantha yelled out with her cheeks becoming tremendously red in an instant.


    "Aha." Zelimia glanced at her with an eyebrow raised and a smirk crossing her lips as she crossed her arms too! Aiming to tease her more she added, "If I was a guy I would understand your shynnes, but we both are girls. Relax."


    Here she showed that regardless if they fancy each other or not, Zelimia wouldn''t go further than a kiss on the cheek. Ladies kiss each other on the cheek all the time, race regardless. It is a form of greeting, but when done alone like that I suppose it can have a different meaning, yet not overdone.


    "You''re right." Answered Samantha with a sigh, feeling a bit relieved that Zelimia won''t get completely n.a.k.e.d. But at the same time she felt sad, "That kiss was just as a friendly gesture?" She thought to herself as she kept a shy smile on her face.


    "Now common you are sweating like three people." Zelimia complained and approached her closer step by step, "Just take your fur coat and leggings off."


    "But I will catch a cold If I do so." She does carry a good point, but yet again working her behind off in fur clothing isn''t the best idea.


    "You won''t." Zelimia tried to reassure, and reminded her of one little fact. "Remember what Bittore told us?"


    "What?" Asked Samantha feeling puzzled, mostly because she can''t focus due to all the effort she is putting to calm her shyness down.


    "The more people stay in an isolated room or place, the faster it will heat up." Recalling the stench of sweat everyone is letting out here due to the hard work mining requires, she added with a little empty barf. "We have 5 people down here." Even Commander Alia is lending a hand, it is a lot easier for her compared to everyone else.


    "Alright alright." Samantha complained a little bit and started lifting her fur coat from the bottom, trying to take it off but her coat came along with a tight collar.


    So she became ensnared of her own coat, struggling to take it off and even having a bit of trouble breathing. With her voice compressed by the coat around her, she requested. "Help me a little bit, I''m stuck!"


    Giggling her way through, Zelimia grabbed the fur coat and started pulling gently as Samantha bent down at a flat angle with her arms up to make this embarrassing task easier.


    Finally, they managed to take it off. Letting out a deep breath of relief, Samantha spoke. "Thank you!"


    Getting a glance at her, the collar has forced her hair to escape its usual position, which is tied in to a bun. Now rather messy, her golden hair gave out a tremendous view and the black roots helped tremendously.


    Snapping out of it a bit faster than Samantha, she grabbed Samantha''s chin shook it from left to right and as if she was talking to a cute kitten, spoke. "Aren''t you adorable."


    "Alright alright, didn''t the fur coat give me enough trouble?" She complained, but quite frankly wanted this to end since she started to become more and more shy.


    "Hehehe." Zelimia giggled and just walked away, to give her a bit more privacy. She knows Samantha for a few years, knows how easily shy she can get.


    Now she has to take her fur leggings off, although she has leather pants underneath and a pale imitation of longjohns made of leather as well. Samantha could still get shy if she catches someone just staring at her. Swiftly untying the little rope around her waist, her fur leggings dropped off and now they can finally continue with their work.


    "Wow I should listen to you more often." Samantha joked around, but also wanted to show gratitude. "It feels so free to work without leather clothing."


    But now wanting to make Zelimia shy for a turn, as a form of revenge for all the times she made her shy. Samantha added, "If I catch a cold, you will look after me." Grabbing a bit of dirt and tossing it towards her playfully, "Hopefully you will catch it as well for staying to close to me!"


    "Oh don''t worry, you will be fine." Zelimia answered feeling a bit irritated, as she wiped the dirt that was tossed towards her, away from her chin. "If not, you will be dressed in 3 layers of fur until you sweat it out."


    ...


    As everyone was working their way towards progress in this great hidden domain, the two Fire Controlling ladies set as Guards near the entrance to spot if any enemies are at bay, noticed someone approaching towards the Carved path.


    From the distance they are at, it looks like nothing but a dot. However since it obviously isn''t an army they''ve decided to wait. It is nearly July now and the two heroes have been gone over a month.


    Considering the danger they''ve described, the tribe would be more than happy to see them again. Everyone would be happy considering their immense acts of heroism and understanding these two showed.


    Jone and Clarry are the two ladies who have been set as guards here, as you might guessed it they have been chosen due to their expertise and higher level(4) in Fire controlling.


    Spying on an enemy from above isn''t a hard task, but they have encountered some problems with blue eagles who have detected the large amounts of food here by smell. They want to fight for their food, unlucky for the eagles, the tribe will put up a fight as well regardless. The good part about this is that they are getting more meat in stock.


    Deciding to wait and spy from above in order to determine if these are enemies or not, once passing the Carved path these approachers seem to know which way they are heading and did not stop to check this ugly aftermath visible now thanks to snowing being a bit more scarce due to the season.


    If there were only two people, who would blast fire out of their feet and fly their way here it would be totally fine. Because they would almost definitely predict that is is Mogranius and Eric. But there are three people and to make it more confusing all three blasted fire from their feet.


    Noticing this problem, Jone and Clarry both glanced at each other with shock and without exchanging words they took steps back, bent down to a sumo squat and as they set blaze the foundation of a fire shield, they bended their waists towards each other until both fists connected.


    Therefore forming a fire shield big enough to cover the whole entrance, but also able to provide a thickness of 8 inches since the entrance isn''t tremendously big. This shield might not be necessary, but they have to be secure.


    Two familiar faces popped in front of their eyes, and they both sighed in relief. Considering the fact that there is a third fire controller here, they deformed their fire shields even though both were hesitant throughout the process.


    "Welcome back, Heroes." Clarry glanced at them with pride and welcomed them in.


    ...


    "Eric!" Both Ada and Osira yelled at the same time and tone of joy as they rushed towards him with a sprint on their footing. You would think that Osira wouldn''t do this considering that she tends to get just a bit shy around Eric and that there are too many people around. But no, she didn''t care. She missed him a hell lot.


    Seeing both of them hug him, Eric felt like he is in deep trouble now. Bittore has been yapping all the time about these two being together and Ada clearly fancies him. Although he couldn''t figure it out, it felt like trouble.


    However, the hugs feels more than nice. After so many weeks they get to see each other again and are welcomed with such warmness, what could be cozzier than a hug? "Looks like both of you missed me?" Eric asked, trying to tease them for once.


    "Yes we did." Ada answered truthfully not giving a damn how anyone would take it and Osira didn''t want to accept it so she kept quiet, although she almost killed him with a hug.


    Mogranius was almost taken a permanent victim of Commander Alia''s hug when she finally arrived in the scene, carrying the usual tradition of tackling him down. A few even thought that they will go at it in public but thankfully no such thing happened.


    Bittore walked her way towards Eric in her own two feet and gave him a warm hug as well, thankful that he is alive and feeling blessed of his presence. Commander Alia followed along, which might be his favourite part here, hugging a woman that feels like his mother.


    Noticing the new lady, and how anyone isn''t giving her a welcoming hug. Without asking any questions or showing any great suspicion, she trusted Eric''s choices if not Mogranius'' and gave Bear Claw a big warm welcoming hug. Little did she know, Bear Claw felt so warm for once that one small tear developed in her eye but didn''t manage to roll down.

 Chapter 312 - Happy Birthday Woldemir

    With July arising upon Ignis, in the year 201 of the third Era. More tasks have already risen above the group''s shoulders, such as the trip they have to take all the way back to the underground town of Lan Zhe. The two heroes found it best to escort Commander Alia and Ada their selves.


    Commander Alia is a very important person in the eyes of these two, they have gone through so much together in this span of 10 months. The last thing they would need is for her to be eaten by a Blue Eagle, although they did handle their selves great alone with no fire at their aid.


    As for Ada, she is a child. Only 14 years old, would they want for her to get hurt? No it would hurt their will of kind sense, this little girl has been given under Commander Alia''s care as a main topic to talk about. How would anyone face Aat? and say that her daughter has frozen to death or has been eaten by a Blue Eagle?


    Obviously it is hard to put in to word for anyone, so Eric and Mogranius didn''t hesitate to take all that cold road again and escort them. They could have made their lives easier and send a Calidum Lutum up there who can survive this terrible nature but pride wouldn''t let them.


    Speaking of feelings of family and unity, since it is specifically the second day of July today. Woldemir has gone under a bit of a sad feeling, odd for someone so strong willed I''m aware. But here the topic is about family, no soul can properly withstand the feeling of missing family members.


    Or at this case, missing one family member. Eric is his only bit of family left by blood, they have no one else thanks to the more violent massacres at the Capital and its surrounding villages. He misses Eric, hasn''t seen him for months yet.


    He is used to having Eric stay close to him at all times, not having him around has indeed damaged his will power the more days passed by. Not to get him wrong, Stefan for example is also considered like a family member due to all the help he offered and sacrifices he made. And it is great that he remained in Gaster Kingdom to help aid sanity.


    Mogranius and Commander Alia are considerably great people as well, but admitably he is enjoying the peace and quiet that became more effective once Mogranius left along with his sarcasm.


    Today the feelings of missing family have been hitting him at ten fold, and he almost did the unthinkable for a man of his high intellect and manners. He almost grabbed a bottle of ale to spiral down his sorrow, what kept him from doing so was the presence of Isabel in his house.


    But what made Woldemir sink almost towards depression? It isn''t a usual day, today is his birthday. He has reached a stunning age of 43, and he would rather celebrate this fine day along with who he sees as family but more than half of them aren''t here.


    You would ask what someone as socially isolated as Isabel would be doing alone in a house with a man she in a way fancies, well nothing but talking. From that day onwards when she had the courage to hold his hand in front of everyone, she has pushed her walls of isolation just a nudge.


    Typically, she would never visit anyone gender regardless unless that someone would be Commander Alia. That lady is a tough figure against enemies, but she is the most soft hearted person in front of people she cares for or at least people who she doesn''t see as an enemy. It isn''t a surprise for Isabel being willing to communicate willingly with Alia on a daily basis.


    However now, she has pushed her anti social walls a bit and is visiting Woldemir, but obviously not daily. She only visits once a month or possibly twice, to "borrow" some of the good quality mint tea of which Woldemir hand picks on his free days and to learn the Ignite language better.


    She progressed enough in the language to be considered at a level of 2/6 if such a thing was scaled with levels at this time. Today specifically she chose to visit, because the word has spread about Woldemir''s birthday.


    Alama spread the word to a few Guards, asking if they were going to do anything special for the respected Guard Commander when she was handing and the word just went wild even though Woldemir had no clue. Isabel understands the language enough to figure it out as well, and she didn''t want him to spend this day alone.


    Her presence in his house, stopped him from grabbing a bottle of Ale. In a way, she didn''t want her to see him as an alcoholic. He just sometimes drinks in special occasions, he never does it for fun but he might do it to tame his sorrow.


    Trying to connect, she asked. "I hear its birthday for you?" Not the most grammatically correct sentence, but she is trying at least and it is understandable considering the situation.


    Forcing a smile on his face, he gave her a little glance and softly answered. "Yes is is." Trying to keep his mind away from Eric and all the family he has lost, he proceeded to ask in hopes of her finally revealing more of her past. "When is your birthday though, I think it never came up?"


    Even at the parchments Isabel had to fill, with the aid of Commander Alia as the translator of course. She did not list her day of birth although it was necessary. Considering the life span of a Calidum Lutum and the technology there, Alama didn''t make a big fuss over it. They can out work any Ignite after all.


    "Ummm." Isabel got in deep thinking, good enough not hesitant to tell him. She just can''t remember it right, then she remembered the date 15! Followed by that, she linked it with a childhood memory and found the month 4.


    "Yes?" Woldemir insisted to know, finding it adorable how she is glaring at the ceiling thinking of her birthday.


    "15 April I think." She answered as she gave it another thought and approved it, "Yes that is."


    "Looks like you already had your birthday!" Woldemir felt a bit guilty that he didn''t make anything special, but yet again she never told anyone including people the town at Lan Zhe so he can be excused this time. As for next year, Isabel is quite a smacker. "I''m sorry I wasn''t able to gift you anything, you never told me!"


    As for Gold, it wouldn''t exactly be a problem. Considering the months he has worked here and the handsome salary coming with it, he could more than afford one or two gifts. Or at this case he could at least make her an extra large coat, it is cute.


    "Let''s today." Isabel answered, not remembering how the word "Celebrate" is said in this Ignite language.


    Not understanding, he asked. "What do you mean?" In another way hoping he did not misunderstand what she just said.


    "The stars beautiful, come look." Here it was made clear, and a sigh of relief was unleashed.


    Grabbing his wrist and not asking either if he wants to go out or not, he lifted him off of his chair and dragged him outside. If asked kindly he wouldn''t have the motivation to go out, with his shift ending a couple hours ago as part of the excuse.


    Luckily Isabel didn''t ask, she just said that he needs to look at the stars. Walking out of the Kingdom and letting go of his wrist once he started to cooperate, she instead did a more kind approach and started holding his hand instead.


    This at least started softening his heart, the toughest most socially isolated lady she has ever met, makes it obvious that she likes him. It took her months to build up this courage, but she didn''t even talk about her feelings to him, ain''t that adorable.


    There are barely any people out in the street, and the few Guards who take shifts around here wouldn''t really mind. The Guard count here has become very scarce, no one would care about love right now with so much friends and family lost.


    "How far exactly do you plan to go?" He became curious because it is night time now, this isn''t the best time to go alone due to predators walking across fields at night. He didn''t even grab his sword, all he is carrying is a little dagger. "This isn''t the safest season to go out at night."


    "Is Woldemir scared?" She referred to him at third person, but this time with actual aims to tease him.


    "I don''t have my Sword, I want to protect what family is left." Here he revealed more of what has been bothering him, but it is not like she didn''t expect it.


    "No worry, we are fine." She answered as she continued to drag him gently across the field, walking nearly 50 meters away from the Kingdom.


    "Look at stars." She pointed towards the pitch dark sky, accompanied by the moonlight that shone across Isabel''s face, his sight was blessed with beauty.


    An entire moon accompanied by so many stars one could glare in admiration towards, yet he found the lava like veins on her face beyond amazing.


    "I don''t think he is looking at stars anymore." She figured once glancing down, noticing that he has set his gaze towards her cheek. But she didn''t want to say anything about it, she doesn''t mind it now coming from him.


    "Maybe it is time for me to get over her death." Woldemir started thinking of Isabel and about love. His wife died almost 16 years ago and he did not want any other, but Isabel is going through her own nature just for him to feel better.


    Neither Isabel or Woldemir were willing to move this quick, nor do they plan to force the pace. For now, they both turned their gaze towards the stars after seeing the spark in both of their eyes.


    Although easy to escape, a form of light shone across the sky behind them. Paranoid enough to look back instantly, he saw a Fireball flying towards the sky until it deformed once reaching nearly half a kilometer high.


    "What''s happening?" He started to panic, recalling that this breaks the usual and isn''t any form of an official alarm. "I think something went wrong."


    "No. King Michael and Guards have feast for you." Isabel specified, finally gutsy enough to pull him in to a hug. She softly spoke, "Happy Birthday Woldemir."

 Chapter 313 - Debating Decisions!

    Up here in the high mountains after a good night''s sleep, the group was debating their next move. Well debate is a harsh word since they already know what the task is, but the topic here became none other than Dilli Flury.


    What could they be talking about Dilli? Trust? Well no that topic is quite over with the moment they heard that she killed ill.u.s.tratian Guards right when she got the chance, trust no longer became an issue even though she technically associated with ill.u.s.tratios.


    The group knows that, but doesn''t really care. King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll died as well on that fine day which explains her sudden change, furthermore she puked out dark blood. Two trust worthy people made the mind control part clear.


    The topic is, if she should stay here up in the hidden domain and provide as many help as she can throughout tasks or tag along with the group forever. The tribe up here is now acknowledged of who this group if Ignites really are, and how powerful Eric is.


    At first Bittore felt dumb for tricking an Electus, at the other hand she felt proud became she managed to trick another Electus. She just got a hunch of who they are before they rushed out of the domain, but when they returned everything was explained. But the point here is that she completely trusts Eric''s choices, so if Eric decided for Bear Claw to stay here, there would be no one to say otherwise except Bear Claw.


    "We could use her here, considering what level(4) she is at her Fire Controlling abilities and considering that she is only 27 years old. She can help us out around here big time." Bittore insisted, she has been eyeing Dilli for a long time now and it became well established that it wasn''t with a bad intend.


    Proceeding to praise her, Bittore added. "Plus look she is even fitter than Commander Alia." Trying to do everything to keep her here, but at the same time Bittore isn''t exaggerating.


    If she would be compared with a man, she would flip and probably tackle him. But if compared with a child or women, Commander Alia would call them stronger regardless. But at this case it is very true, "Indeed, I was going to ask her what exercises she does. 27 years old and this strong? There has to be a secret type of training." She ended her sentence with a wink towards Dilli.


    She is even 6 feet tall, which adds up to being a tremendous warrior. The silver greaves around her leg explains how much muscle she is carrying in between them, it would take 6 hands to get a grip around and the curves on her body are abnormal as well. She caught men looking at her b.r.e.a.s.ts with a size a fourth above the medium for more times than she can remember.


    "Oh I can show you, I''m sure you will out compete me eventually." Spoke Dilli, with no intend of ego as it is clear to see.


    She has been having thoughts that are a lot clearer days after she got that poison out of her head, she has never felt this free. Her mind is clear and rage is out, although some old habits are still there. Like, she would prefer to stand up instead of sitting to stay comfortable.


    She is even standing up now near the fire, given the people a glimpse of the aftermath that damaging mind control got, people became less freaked out of her behaviours.


    "But can I say a word about this?" She asked, and hence forward showing another behaviour she sticked too. Closing her eyes while asking a question, no one saw it considering that everyone is seated near the Campfire which has become almost ongoing all the time.


    "Please do."


    "We could use it here."


    "Don''t be shy."


    Everyone else of the group was here near the Campfire now that they are debating on this decision, you can guess who of the group said what.


    "As much as I would love to stay up here and help you all, I''d prefer helping Eric and Mogranius." Here she became a bit abnormally sweet considering the fact that she is asking for other people not to decide her future, but she didn''t want to speak rudely to the people who welcomed a stranger so warmly.


    Then she continued to explain her point so there wouldn''t be any hard feelings between them. "Here I can''t really meet with my enemies from the past, but down at the Lowlands I''m most likely to see them again."


    Seeing that the people became confused, she added swiftly. "The Grand King is dead, yes. But there are many pieces of shit out there who deserve to die." She cussed with her tone remaining calm, and then remembered that Children are around playing with Mogranius. Rubbing the back of her head later in a bit of embarrassment.


    To give her a bit more right here, and mostly considering his own group. Eric has a word here since after all he is the Electus and at some aspects a bit smarter. "We need her a bit more, only I and Mogranius have fire controlling abilities and it tends to become difficult in tasks. We need her in our Arsenal.


    Now with aims of proving his point with the aid of ego, he continued to explain. "Plus you 15 ladies managed to single handedly shorten the entire ill.u.s.tratian Army, the ill.u.s.tratios are weaker than they ever were for 3 Eras. I think you will be fine here."


    "The boy has a point." Spoke Mogranius in the middle of the story he was telling to the little kids around him.


    Bittore realized what he is trying to do, no one can out manipulate her. But at last it is Dilli''s decision as well, if she wants to stay with this little group then she can. "Alright alright, I can''t argue against that logic."


    But now with keeping secrets out of the way, Bittore wanted to let them in on a little trick. "But before you go, do you want me to teach you how we suffocate enemies with the aid of your powers?"


    That''s where their eyes opened up in the l.u.s.t for power, with Mogranius carrying half of that l.u.s.t. He has been trying to learn it ever since he found out about it but this tribe wasn''t so open with their little secrets.


    "Yes please!" Mogranius shouted with a tone equal to a panicking boar.


    And now he can finally know it, it felt like heaven. But Dilli on the other hand became confused since she didn''t understand at all what Bittore meant. The only form of suffocation she knows with the aid of fire, is cutting heads off. "I don''t know how that''s possible?" Dilli added under her breath, but no one heard her.


    Now with that part over, it became well established to them through a conversation earlier that Eric along with the group will be heading to the underground town of Lan Zhe, there are no secrets here and even a 15 Fire Controllers can''t push through if they chose to stab them on the back.


    So Commander Alia wanted to point out one important fact, "We might send one of our own kind to deliver messages here from time to time, so we can make sure that you are alright or require any kind of help." It is a good idea to mention this earlier, because who would take seeing a ten foot tall Calidum Lutum lightly? Anyone who wasn''t aware of their existence would freak out.


    "Yes indeed, you mentioned that they look different?" Asked Bittore, who of course as always paid detailed attention to what anyone says, even kids!


    "Yes, very different!" Commander Alia urged as her eyes widened up to enhance drama. "They are ten foot tall, have veins in a colour like Lava and have pitch black skin too."


    Everyone near the Campfire remained silent, trying to debate within their selves if Commander Alia is just messing with their heads here or if she is serious, Osira remained the most shocked and became more willing about another thought.


    Seeing that she is adding no more words to this explanation, Bittore asked. "Anything extra we need to know?"


    "Oh right!" Commander Alia snapped out of it, clearly spending too much time with Mogranius has its effects. "They can be temperamental if you try their patience, so don''t. One of them can take 30 arrows to the chest and still walk."


    Thinking of other facts she forgot in this rush after being asked, she finally added. "Oh also, they don''t speak or understand your language."


    "Wow sounds like it will be tricky communicating with one." Bittore added, and afterwards she wanted to ask the most common words in such a task so she can remember them but.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll tell them what to do before time so all you have to do is read and write parchments." Added Commander Alia, giving ease to everyone here.


    "Gre..." Tried Bittore to finish a thank you but her word was cut quick by her own daughter.


    "Mother, is it bad if I go with them this time?"

 Chapter 314 - They need me.

    "You want to go with them?" Asked Bittore kindly, not even portraying shock as everyone stood quiet to listen her out. Well everyone but the kids. "Why?"


    "They obviously need help mother, they helped us even when we didn''t deserve it." Here she basically recycled old phrases she used when she wanted to go with them and battle the Grand King, this time she hopes they become effective. "Their arsenal is too weak, these people want to change the fate of the Ignite race. They need help."


    "I suppose you are right, but we need you here as well. What would I do without my daughter here?" She didn''t want to admit that she would miss her dearly in front of all these people, but Osira could understand what she meant. This is all the family Bittore has left once they parted ways from that Kingdom where her husband betrayed them.


    "Mother I was grown up in this tribe, and It is hard for me to let this place go. But now we are living better than we ever did, I think you all would live just fine here." Osira directed it towards the needs towards Blacksmithery or hunting, it is what the tribe requires most at the moment.


    "That''s not my point, I need my daughter here. I need you to take over for me when I get old." Trying to convince her a bit more, she finally added. "You are the leader here, one day you will need to take over."


    "Until that day comes, I want to gather knowledge and skill along with the Electus." Here she gave a little hint of what she means, and given Bittore''s intense skill of speechcraft, she picked up right away. "I''m not going away for ever, just give me a few years. I will be back here and will be able to help my tribe more.


    Recalling how Osira told her earlier that Ada and Eric aren''t married or engaged, Bittore started thinking about the good of the tribe and afterwards considered Osira''s beauty and skill, she could attract anyone including Eric. If one day Osira would be married with an Electus, this tribe would be protected and aided by an all powerful Electus!


    "I suppose you are right, but promise me that you won''t be gone forever Osira." With a tear actually starting to drop down her cheek, she added. "I will miss my daughter."


    "Oh mother." Osira sighed and swiftly walked towards her, hugging her tightly and saying. "Who else would I put this much effort too? You were my shelter, a warm place who protected me. I want to do all of this so I can continue your work as good as you could."


    Although smart, Osira can''t yet catch up with her mother''s intelligence. She needs a decade if not more to learn everything, and giving it a thought. The isolation up here won''t help her learn much. She wouldn''t nearly be stupid enough to leave her tribe she shared burden with for years, to chase after a boy.


    She just sees this as an amazing opportunity to be a better leader, she would be elbows deep getting her hands dirty with experience instead of waiting for her mother to do most of the work. And if someone as powerful as Eric falls for at the process, it is a win win. If it wasn''t for these two facts coming together and giving a tremendous reason, she would never even think about it.


    And to aid Osira''s decision, Eric added. "If it is of any consolation, we know someone who is a Grand Master(Level 6) in Fire Controlling! We will eventually see him again, and I think that Osira can learn a lot from him."


    Here it seemed like he was trying to convince her mother even further to let Osira go, but it was for two different reasons. Eric appreciates why Osira is trying to do all of this, and would enjoy her presence at the same time. As a friend of her age of course, he finds Osira unique. Furthermore he spends all of his time with a.d.u.l.ts, he could use some time with kids his own age and Ada is clearly joining as well.


    "That would be fantastic!" Bittore replied with her mood shifting a bit towards joy as she tried to figure out how exactly a Grand Master exists at these times.


    But now her main focus is Osira, she continued. "But you can''t go today or tomorrow." Here it felt a bit like a deal breaker, since it looks like she is stalling.


    "What do you mean mother?" Asked Osira with a low tone as her heart stung a little bit.


    "Look you can go after a month or two, but first I will assign assistants for you whom you will train Blacksmithery." Seeing that Osira gave a sigh of relief, Bittore felt flattered and continued. "You are the only one who knows the Craft this well, we need you to teach a handful of people who can work Iron."


    Aiding Bittore''s point, Commander Alia added with a smile. "When you do I can have one of our men escort you to our town, you will reach down there around a week."


    ...


    "Alright so the first thing you need to learn about suffocation, is how to trigger the unique function." Spoke Bittore, as she sat on the cloth she has brought along here to make sure that they get the entire concept.


    "This is tremendously different, because it goes against that little urge we get to torch everything to the ground the moment we see an enemy." Although they told her much about their origin and past adventures, they might have forgotten to tell Bittore and the rest here about the Inner Demon of rage.


    "That little urge, prevented us from casting this spell many many times. I think you might have the same problem here." Bittore specified, in another way telling them that it is okay to fail the first few times.


    Eric wanted to tell her about the Inner Demon of rage each Fire Controller has, but he didn''t want to lecture her about such a topic and put this demonstration to a pause. He fears what Mogranius would do if he slowed Bittore down, perhaps throw a tantrum to a Fireball? It isn''t certain.


    "As my daughter Osira will demonstrate, you will first need to unleash a fire shield so you don''t end up suffocating yourself." Bittore stated as she pointed at an entrance near where she was sitting at.


    They are on the Second Section, right in front of the entrance at the second tunnel on the left. This is another sleeping area containing 100 beds, but at the moment it isn''t in use so it will be easy to demonstrate the spell/move without a terrible terrible aftermath.


    Covering an entrance five meters high and wide is no easy task, but this demonstration requires it as it gives the best preview of what''s happening. Osira bent down to a sumo squat and fire arose around her palms before she clapped her hands and forced the Fire shield to expand and cover the whole tunnel.


    Doing something rather unusual, she calmly stood up and approached the front wall of this fire shield and throughout some extended effort of concentration she punctured two holes in the shield without breaking it in the process.


    Fitting her hands through and making the shield surround her wrists after so nothing slips away to suffocate her, she took a deep breath and let out relief so the process can go smoothly.


    What happened next was nothing visible, they only saw Osira with her hands through the shield holding completely still. So of course Bittore had to be the commentary here and explain this move further.


    "See what she is doing now, is in some terms poisoning the air." That sentence doesn''t fit so well together doesn''t it? How would a Fire Controller possibly do that, most importantly how would a Magician (Level 3) Fire Controller do it?


    "How could we poison the air?"


    "Yes, we shoot fire not poison."


    "Whaaaa."


    The three Fire Controllers disturbed the calm atmosphere, but luckily Commander Alia spoke. "Hey let''s not forget that you can sync with actual smoke, just shush and watch."


    "Yes, she needs to concentrate." Bittore urged, "Or else you will have to wait more to understand how this works."


    "Um good thing that the beautiful Alia here mentioned smoke." Bittore spoke at a low tone and saw how the little compliment made Commander Alia blush a little bit.


    "You might know that if you make a lot of smoke appear in front of an enemy or basically anyone, you can make them cough from the top of their lungs." As she spoke calmly, all the two male Fire Controllers could think of here, is how much they messed with Stefan using the aid of smoke.


    "But when smoke isn''t so visible, no one would cough because of it right?" Now she isn''t making enough sense and is having it hard to put her teachings together. How would anyone explain this with ease?


    "That substance in the smoke that makes people cough, is originally invisible. We learned how to produce that substance only, at quantities big enough to kill anyone! Which means we learned to do it without including the smoke that usually should come along with it."

 Chapter 315 - Told you Ive got this!

    "What!"


    "How is that even possible!"


    "I''m still lost."


    The gang spoke one after the other, loudly even to the point where they''ve broke Osira''s concentration. So she dropped the Fire shield and before this suffocating air would reach her friends and family, she lightly blew fire from her hands.


    "Great you broke her concentration." Commander Alia complained a little bit, as if she was an embarrassed mother whose two kids just wouldn''t stay quiet. Or dare I say three kids, because Dilli spoke too although at a low tone.


    "Why is she blowing fire now?" Asked Mogranius eager to know more, but Eric understood just a hunch more about what''s going on here when recalling Bittore doing the same after the suffocation process once she took victim a Guard at the Castle bas.e.m.e.nt. Yet he wasn''t sure enough, so he just let Bittore speak.


    "This is the fastest way to undo the poison, by burning it." The simplest sentence so far but at the same time it makes no sense and nothing seems to link for the three Fire Controllers wanting to learn this extraordinary move.


    "How did you even learn something like this?" Asked Eric once his mind felt like it was scrambled thanks to all this new information, he wears a crown which boosts his intelligence yet he barely understand a thing. This just gives a hunch of how complicated this work is. His brain needs to be refreshed for a few minutes.


    "That fool of a King taught us as soon as he found out that there are Fire Controllers in the tribe." Feeling a bit c.o.c.ky now once recalling the tremendous victory against them, she continued to explain. "He knew that the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance would eventually break through the defences they had, which is why he required a move that no ill.u.s.tratio would know how to deal with."


    Able to catch up battle wise (While having the same luck with understanding the previous move with the Fire Controllers.), Commander Alia complimented Bittore''s words with. "Making whole Armies dissapear without a trace aided to that plan right?"


    "Indeed, this spell doesn''t see the colour on your skin. It can and will make you cough up blood until you drop and face the sources up in heaven." Seeing someone as smart as Bittore talk about the sources as if they are actually gods, it just makes it funny a little bit.


    Mogranius too has started planning to explain more about the Sources and the Inner Demons to this lady, but for now he has to learn how to do this spell. He doesn''t want anything slowing him down from learning it, there is no Demonite here but at least this will prove as a great substitute.


    But when he was about to speak, Commander Alia asked another question with her rage rising a little bit as if she too has an Inner Demon of Rage to beat. "How could someone who spent his time trying to **** innocent women, know something this advanced? I doubt that any of us here understood the power move yet he discovered it!"


    Now Bittore paid mass attention the word "Power move" finding it as an interesting choice of words considering that she can use something more common like "Spell". For now she put this aside as a phrase used by people from a different Country and continued to answer.


    "Oh he was smart battle wise and in terms of manipulation, but not smart enough to discover this move." Giving everyone the satisfaction of describing King Tamzar as a dumbass, she shed light of this spell''s origin.


    "Apparently his assistant, Medea Grivas. Specialised on studying Fire Controlling in some aspects more than studying her own magic, she discovered this move years before they even invaded the Kingdom and her intelligence became the reason behind her status." She begun to notice that these people might not be the happiest about a Snow Ignite out smarting them again, but what''s true is true.


    ...


    History time! The Snow Ignites used to dominate the whole Continent before the first Era here in Ignis started! The Ice Age aided them to dominate Ignite and ill.u.s.tratian land, to the point where the ill.u.s.tratios and Ignites were left fighting over a land equal to 50,000 km2.


    Such land isn''t even 1/10 of the Continents size, yet the Ignites along with the ill.u.s.tratios were given only that much land mostly at the beaches of the Continent way above Bale Town. Getting to the point, they didn''t invade all that land because they''ve got lucky.


    Although they are just a sub race of the Ignites who just evolved due to the start of an ice age thousands of years before the first era started, they were superiorly intelligent in most aspects you can think off. They progressed because they always had a nose to know more and they always discovered more.


    Thanks to the Ice Age they even occupied 1/5th of Ratan (The biggest Continent on this world.) Because the ice stretched all the way there when the Ice Age was the most active. When the Ice Age began to fade and ended at the beginning of the first Era, the Snow Ignites retreated because they would die in the heat they can not withstand.


    Although heat became their worst enemy and was the only way to stop the Snow Ignites at that time, it still doesn''t rule out the fact that the Snow Ignites could dominate any land they chose. What''s true is true, they did it all because of their superior intelligence and discoveries.


    ...


    "Can I try out the move now?" Asked Mogranius with a lot of willpower, trying to wipe away all the Snow Ignite talk. He had the chance to know how they are like and now he is no doubt not a fan!


    "Do you think you can do it?" Asked Bittore, trying to make sure that he won''t end up being discouraged. "This spell is really tricky."


    "I got this." Mogranius felt confident with himself although pretty clueless. "Just tell me what to do."


    "I thought you said you got this." Bittore teased, trying to put his insanely over done c.o.c.kiness at rest for a few seconds so she can teach him better.


    "Oh he doesn''t got this." Eric reassured, getting used of his Mentor''s behaviours and knowing where this will eventually get too.


    Commander Alia stood in silence and shook her head a bit, trying not to smack his lover. And Dilli Flury just stood quiet and listened with all the concentration she can develop.


    Luckily after teasing, Bittore became willing to cooperate and get this over with. "The trick here, is to be as calm as a new born on their mother''s arms."


    Recalling the Inner Demons, Eric''s group could understand this part very well except Dilli. "This trick requires you to lower your blasting power, so nothing but that suffocating substance comes out of your palms."


    Making this situation noticeably more confusing, Commander Alia instantly asked. "So Fire has that suffocating thing as well?"


    "Yes it does, otherwise we wouldn''t be able to let it out without connecting with Smoke." Bittore specified. But when one thing made sense, 3 more questions opened. So everyone was just trying their best to puzzle everything together.


    "You need to be as calm as possible so when you try to blast Fire out of your palms, the suffocating substance comes out instead." The fact that this spell or power move is discovered in the previous Decade, makes a lot of sense.


    Fire Controllers have an Inner Demon of rage to beat, so the usual became for those under training to put more rage behind their spell. Rarely anyone did the opposite with success by their side. So when Magicians(Newbies) tried their powers out for the first time, they were nothing but calm. Since it would result to a scene of failure, meaning no fire would come out.


    Since no fire would come out, people would consider it as a fail even though many might have shot a hell load of this suffocating substance throughout training, and if anyone collapsed in the process, everyone would just see them as weaklings.


    "Alright I will try it!" Spoke Mogranius in enthusiasm as he tip toed his way towards the entrance of this second room.


    Skilled with making Fire Shields, he crackled one open and surrounded the entrance with ease. Since he doesn''t want to waste too much stamina and concentration, this time he only made the Fire Shield an inch thick!


    Nothing is opposing him from the other side and he definetly needs his first attempt to be easier. Although rage might not overcome him since his curiosity has beaten that Inner Demon long ago, the adrenaline of learning such a valuable power move got him goosebumps over goosebumps. To him this feels like discovering 100,000 Gold Coins.


    He punctured the shield and pushed his hands through, trying to mimic each move of which Osira did earlier. And now, letting out a deep sigh of relief he tried to blast out fire.


    At first, little sparks of fire blasted through his palm and were quite easy to notice in this mildly illuminated place. He became just a tad discouraged until he heard Bittore reassure, "You''re doing great, try again."


    Before she even finished her sentence, he already started trying again. Feeling the sensation of calmness which became easy for him to achieve, he felt that something is coming out through his palms but when he opened his eyes there wasn''t any fire.


    He gave a bit more boost, but noticed that Fire came out with that little excitement so he slowed down to his previous pace. "Well what do you know, she wasn''t speaking fiction." Mogranius thought to himself as he broke the fire shield and started blasting small amounts of fire in the atmosphere so he can undo the suffocation qualities.


    "Told you I''ve got this."

 Chapter 316 - We have to talk

    "King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll, I think it is time for us to talk." Chan spoke with a bit of grief, feeling puzzled and carrying a lot of questions behind him.


    "About what Chan?" Spoke the King as he sat on the fancy chair he now considers as a throne, carrying a bit of anger as well towards the situation one man brought almost a month ago.


    They have occupied the biggest house in the Domain, located at the right, 50 meters away from where the Castle used to stand. The explosion damaged the house a little bit, mostly because of the rumble that flew towards it but it is still very usable.


    As for the previous residents of this house, he has promised them a compensation of 10,000 Gold Coins for the temporary use of their house. This temporary use might stretch for a few months until a small imitation of the previous castle is built, but who would disagree with a Grand King?


    The previous residents have been moved to a house where they don''t pay rent at and they are practically living like Kings with all the free food provided for them and promised free lumber for the upcoming winter.


    The house they are at has 6 rooms and a very big one in the middle, which gave a feeling like a throne room. It is made almost completely out of wood carrying two layers of wood planks as walls and at the bottom the house is surrounded by a rock foundation which breaks out of the usual here.


    "When me and the men dug you out of those walls you were stuck in between, you called me your son." Chan became straight and direct, not caring of the Grand King''s reaction like before. Now the Grand King barely throws his mini tantrums, he has changed almost completely.


    Itching the top of his head a little bit since this topic brought enough discomfort for him to move on his spot, he moved his loose long green hair above his shoulder for more comfort and decided to shed more light upon this mystery. Imagine, it happened a month ago and they are talking about it now. It is obviously unsettling for both of them.


    "Chan, I''m going to be honest with you. Please grab a chair and sit." He waved his hand a little bit from the right and pointed towards the direction he wants Chan to sit at, about a couple of meters away from the throne so they can have an eye to eye talk.


    "Alright." Answered Chan with no enthusiasm on his tone and did as he was told. "I''m listening."


    "Chan, you know that I did a lot of unsettling things in my past when I was cursed. In a way they were my decisions, but in another way they weren''t." Trying to give a better preview of how it was to be cursed with such power, he added. "I had a headache for 45 years, I think that explains the severity."


    Trying to catch up, this time acknowledging most of his words instead of zoning out, he asked. "So where are you getting with this?"


    "I had four kids until now and neither of them carried the power I had. Crazed with the fact that my domination plans were put to a hold, I got rid of my Children." He became more and more honest here. And each time he spoke, Chan understood more where this was going and was a step away from depression.


    "I guess you can''t be blamed..." Chan tried to show sympathy even though he did not agree with his own words, with his own sentence.


    "I can be blamed, regardless of the Curse I still was conscious and could have held back." It is unsettling to blame everything at the curse, at least for him. Luckily his ego remained but it worked for the better this time.


    "Ugh I..." Chan didn''t know what to say, at the same time more rage began to form in his heart.


    "Chan my point is that I want to apologize, you are my son and I gave you away to a poor family and couldn''t care less for a while when you''ve become an Orphan." With tears wanting to drop out, but in no way accepting it. He continued, "I want to get my family back together, but I don''t think it will be possible."


    Remembering that Chan tends to zone out, and he doesn''t blame him considering how much trauma he tamed with Ale. Xakro got to the most important point, in his tone as thick as the tone of three men. "I want my only bit of family at the moment to show some sympathy for my mistakes and remain here with me, I might sicken you right now but I ask you for this request not as a Grand King but as a Father."


    "I suppose you can''t be entirely blamed for your actions and I don''t really have anywhere to go at the moment, but I need more time with this." Chan remained calm, you would think that a man who just found out about his true father after 26 years would be panicking.


    But no, he has swallowed the fact that the Grand King might be his father through this month and although not a fan of many aspects, this still has its advantages. Well apart from the fact that he is the son of the most wealthiest man in Ignis, he finally has family.


    "I don''t want to blame you, but I also want to know who the rest of my brothers and possibly sisters are." Decided Chan to use the opportunity, now that his father isn''t being too secretive with such delicate information.


    "You always had a bad memory Chan." King Xakro joked around, but at the end knew who is responsible for the lack of memory possibly associated with brain damage from all the alcohol. "You''ve literally met one of your brothers."


    "Um... Is it Aaron?" At the thought of Aaron he just tapped his chest and then his stomach before saying, "God Xakro blessed." And the Grand King did the same.


    This is a form of honouring the dead once their name is mentioned, remember the person of which that Calidum Lutum crushed with the door? It was Aaron. Even if he survived that bone breaking experience, the explosion would still vaporise him.


    "No no, I wish but no." King Xakro joked around, recalling how many times he saw Aaron as a son even though he never mentioned it by word. "I mean the King at Pameres Kingdom, Zar."


    Remembering Seer but thinking that it is Zar, he just went along with it once he connected the trip he took together with his brother and answered. "Oh right you told me that he is your son." Although an improper sentence, it proved that he managed to catch up.


    "Yes he is my son, but also your brother although he is from a different mother." Thinking about Zar, he wanted to explain why he didn''t allow for Zar to share such a fate and even let him live in the Castle for 17 years.


    "You have to understand, he is my first born so although cursed I didn''t let him go with hopes that his powers will eventually arrive, but they never did. So I''ve sent him to rule a worthless domain instead of sending him to worse circ.u.mstances."


    Although he barely remembers King Zar, he still wouldn''t want him to have a bad fate. He found out that Zar is his brother, basically today but he wouldn''t want someone in his blood to suffer. So he started feeling bad for him almost as much as he felt bad for himself, in a way wanting to make things right with him but like his father seeing it impossible.


    Now, a more important question came in mind. He now knows who his father is, but a man alone isn''t enough to make a child. "Do you know who my mother is?" He asked, taking under consideration that the curse might have messed with his memory.


    "Your mother... her name is Amye." Xakro spoke, trying to figure out where her origin is and where to find her. "But once giving birth to you... she changed... Giving birth to a child carrying half of my genes forced her to go towards those changes."


    "What type of changes?" Asked Chan feeling a lot of grief for her mother by blood. As if him officially knowing today that the Grand King is his father, he now has to know of a seemingly terrible fate about his true mother. How could he not grab a bottle of ale at this case? "Is she alive?"


    "I''m not sure, an hour after giving birth to you she charged towards a couple of guards before making for the exit. She kept complaining about a unbearable headache before that." Letting out a sigh carrying a lot of stress, with his heart feeling pain in the process. He finally added, "I''ve sent Guards to find her, but they failed. I didn''t see your mother since your day of birth."


    "What do you mean you couldn''t find her?" Stood up Chan from his chair as rage arose in his heart and mind as well, yelling from the bottom of his lungs as if a ghost posessed him. Who would be able to do this before without losing his or her head regardless of blood? "And you just left it there? You didn''t try harder to find her?"


    Afterwards he grabbed the chair he was sitting at and with all the strength he has, he hurled it across the room for about 5 meters. Well that''s all the strength you can get out of him I suppose, the Chair didn''t even break.


    A lesser man would laugh a bit here, but Xakro showed sympathy instead. He stood up from his throne and approached his own son, hearing him continuing to shout. "If you tried harder my mother would be here right now, we don''t know if she is either dead or alive!"


    King Xakro walked closer towards him, and pulled Chan in to a hug trying to tame his rage. At first he tried to fight it and pull back, but King Xakro is physically fit enough to be considered in the mild category, it isn''t anything to take lightly. "I''m sorry son, I promise I will do my best to find her."


    The calmness that came along with a father''s genuine hug, was indeed beyond describable. He felt peace, yet at the same time he wanted to explore in rage due to his mother''s fate. A single tear dropped down from his eye as he heard his father speak, "I will do the impossible to get the whole family back together."

 Chapter 317 - Where has the Grand King fallen to?

    One thing that has struck Crutal Kingdom at a bad term, is the lack of gold the Kingdom faced thanks to the Castle exploding. The entire royal treasury is gone, which was used to pay employees and enhance on new business opportunities.


    You would ask how much gold was lost in that explosion, well considering the expenses made to crumble the Snow Ignite Revolution in to dust which took about 30 million Gold Coins from the budget here in the Grand Capital, yes 30 million!


    About 100 million Gold Coins remained in the royal treasury but got blown in to bits! You would ask how a little Kingdom carrying only 3,000 inhabitants, would attain so much fortune comparable with a Doman who has 100,000 people living in it.


    I would ask that question as well! The 10% pure income became the Kingdom''s greatest upper advantage. Because when piled up, this profit equaled 300,000 Gold Coins each month. At least that was the profit before all of the Snow Ignite trouble they''ve experienced.


    This income aided them to achieve one key goal, the Grand King had the capability to make big business risks. Such as hiring 100-500 people in one craft all at the same time. Usually, domains of the same population would hire 1/10 of his amount considering the risk it would be on a budget.


    The biggest investment he made, was to convince hundreds of farmers to work on the fields. The best part here, he didn''t pay them anything but took a risk of wasting a year''s around of harvest here in this domain only.


    Considering the fact that the King offered of the highly unusual, which was to keep half of the harvest to either sell it or keep it. Hundreds of farmers be it Ignite or ill.u.s.tratios applied to claim a farm land. At the end of the harvest, the royal treasury recieved a crop profit of 1,000,000 Gold Coins.


    Half of it was sold instantly to domains in Ratan, who you guessed it. Thanks to the different economy, sold the crops at a more expensive price there or aided other affairs of power perhaps? Whatever it might be, the domains of Ratan bought it all and asked for more.


    But he didn''t sell the rest, the rest of the crops were sold here in this domain. And some were sent to the motherland with a price of course, it is the best way to earn more and keep the Alliance strong. Month to month after, the crops alone provided around 40,000 Gold Coins.


    It still remains a great investment, and it is the second purest kind because he didn''t have to spend a dime over it. In that same process he invested a lot of gold coins on other crafts, Blacksmithery bringing the most.


    Investing on this and investing on that, the average monthly profit in this domain alone equaled 500,000 Gold Coins. Of course there are a lot more investments he made that might have eaten more gold than it gave, but 100 million still remained in the Royal Treasury.


    Now? All of that gold along with all of those crops which could at least help tame this wild economical nightmare, is gone. And the Kingdom is chest deep in debt, yes debt! You would be surprised how a grand King would be in debt here, well listen to this little order between him and some Guards in the next day.


    "You are to go at the Grand King of Meridionali Ignis and demand 100,000 Gold Coins from him alone and 200,000 more from the closest domains there all together, not each." What the Grand King is making clear here, is that he is ordering for a pay of 300,000 Gold Coins.


    But this isn''t something he wouldn''t want to pay back, the last thing he would need now is to make a move as stupid as this. The entire Alliance is weaker than it ever was thanks to the Snow Ignites, in every aspect you can consider.


    Let''s remember that the Crutal Kingdom had to throw 30 million in this war because the Kingdom''s couldn''t afford everything. Grabbing 300k would be greedy and in all ways a stupid move, people could even starve and cause a even bigger population drop.


    So he assured they remember, "Tell the Grand King there, that this pay is only a debt. Explain to him our sensitive situation, and tell him that they can hold back the 10% they are supposed to send here each month until every gold coin of the debt is paid."


    Speaking of debt, the Kingdom has been forced to take on even more desperate measures. Do you remember that half of the crops each farmer can keep for himself, what was left there was taken under the order of the King with saying no not being an option.


    But even with his status, it would be a stupid idea to take everything like that since it would cut the farmer count almost completely next year. Even though these crops are old, from people who didn''t manage to sell them, he offered those farmers 25% more than they would usually pay for it.


    Now, it is just a debt considering that there is no budget to use. Unlucky enough, the Castle exploded a day after the 10% profit from each Kingdom of the Alliance arrived. When all combined these thirty tons of Wheat Grain mostly, cost 20,000 with the promised 25% more included.


    What position did the Grand King fall too? One man was all it took to strip him out of powers, put him 320,000 Gold Coins in debt and made him demand left over crops from Farmers. Due to the sudden deaths, a few tons were just "Confiscated".


    Now Crutal Kingdom has no imported Guards which is a large downgrade, although it used to have 1,000 before. It only has 2,000 residents even though it used to have 3,000 before (Imported Guards excluded.).


    Another thing which will give a stain to this domain, is the fact that last month''s salaries and this month''s salaries have been cancelled! There is no gold to pay the salaries with, and considering all the people Xakro hired, it isn''t exactly a small sum to pay.


    There are 1,300 people under the employment of the Crutal Castle, or at least now we can describe them better under the Kingdom''s employment. 600 of them are Guards and Guard Commanders, and the rest are Hunters, Blacksmiths, etc etc!


    When all these employees are counted, the Castle would have required to pay 294,000 Gold Coins even though the highest salary is 300 Gold Coins. When divided by the total sum, the Average salary sums up 226 Gold Coins. Big pay, it is noticeable!


    This is the amount they have to pay now that the total population is 2,000 people. When there were more people the monthly expenses were almost double the size, but so was the profit.


    Now, they can''t even earn an estimated 15,000 from the monthly house to house taxes. Here, either if people have a job or not they are supposed to pay tax. But considering that there are no salaries, the Kingdom can''t claim tax.


    The only bit of profit they have at the moment, is the lumber they sent all the way down to Meridionali Ignis to sell. Luckily the Lumber Storage rooms weren''t damaged and the Kingdom could afford selling them at a mass amount while putting all the Lumberjacks in to an around the clock work.


    The Kingdom received 10 thousand Gold Coins in this investment, obviously it isn''t even enough to pay the miners. The fact that sh.i.p.s travel three times as fast as a Horse, the Kingdom managed to attain the Gold within one month.


    There are 100 Blacksmiths still under employment, luckily they didn''t face a bad fate. There is a order for full body armour from the closest domain of Ratan, the Continent a 1,800 Kilometers behind the high mountains of Ignis.


    With a month''s of work, the Blacksmiths will be able to bring 120,000 Gold Coins here in Crutal Kingdom but it obviously isn''t enough and the pay will in no way arrive under 2 months. We are talking about sending a shipment while avoiding the ice behind the high mountains.


    The port in Ratan, is completely covered by the aftermath of the Ice Age. The ice still didn''t fade away and the only reason why a port was built there, is to carry out business transactions with Ignis easier. Otherwise why would anyone build a domain in ice and snow instead of going where precious green farm lands can be found?


    The good thing is, this request of body armour will become even more ongoing since the Kingdom can only provide 400 full sets of body armour, there only are 100 Blacksmiths now after all. This doesn''t even fulfill half of the order, but they won''t break any relations because of it. It would be like kissing a business bringing 60% profit goodbye.


    The point here is, after two months this economical nightmare will be a lot easier to handle thanks to the monthly income of 120,000 Gold Coins. Last month the armour order was put on hold so Iron armoury can be sent at the Grand Kingdom at the motherland.


    One thing that will tremendously save them here, is the 14 hours of daily sun in this blessed continent. Odd enough, even though the high mountains of Ignis have an average year around temperature of -40¡ã, here in the low lands it is the other way around!


    The heat at summer can go up to 40¡ãC and the day when spring hits, the sun stays up in the sky for 12 hours and stretches for 14 hours at summer. The great advantage here is that crops such a wheat, require 1-2 months less to grow. The planting seasons here for wheat are inverted, people can plant at summer as well and it is how most here do it.

 Chapter 318 - Burying Burden in Knowledge.

    One thing that comes as a problem with it, are insects who damage the crops. So Farmers are on a day to day look out for them throughout the planting season, killing as much as they can. It fairly deals with more than half of the damage.


    The Wheat Grain was planted in mid mars and can be harvested in late August or Early September with a handsome yield. This method proved rather useful, because as mentioned before the Farmers brought a profit of 1 million Gold Coins after every harvest season.


    That 1 million can this year be considered 800,000! Because they were planted when the Grand King managed to tame most of the 900 people population drop and the Castle explosion didn''t even affect 1% of the crops. And considering that there are less farmers to kill insects now, it makes sense that the yield is a profit of 800,000!


    Let''s say he sells half of it and buys the rest from the Farmers with a 10% more offered profit, he can break even with 600,000 Gold Coins and still can keep the Kingdom fed.


    Speaking of food, it has become a common problem in Meridionali Ignis. Hunters were considered strong so a great portion of them were sent in the Army, there are barely any food now with the Harvest season being a couple of months near. It is a great opportunity to bring profit with expensive meat.


    There are 100 Hunters in this domain remaining, and considering how many Wild boars are running wild due to the hunting rate slowing down when 900 people were slaughtered, these remaining hunters managed to bring 6 tons of various meat in one month.


    Considering that meat is expensive, this will bring home 100,000 Gold Coins. Another great way to tame this situation as you might have noticed. And added up with everything else, the Kingdom will at least be able to afford paying the first month''s salaries it got in debt with and the Harvest season will end up helping to pay the second and third the Kingdom will likely end up being in debt for.


    The 200 Stonemasons that have remained alive, have almost set all the foundation required to make a Castle 30% smaller than the previous one. Still it will end up really large, and will be able to hold a lot of Royal treasury and crops. In the future, expansions can be made on it but for now they need a Castle as soon as possible. What Gold Coins they can earn is just too vulnerable to thieves.


    ...


    Throughout the Chaos, Chan has stupidly found the time for self improvement. There were hundreds of books to his disposal before the Castle exploded, but he has chosen to start reading more out of will now.


    The first time he actually took time to read, was when he was sent to Pameres Kingdom in request of craftsmen. And at that time he didn''t read willingly, he read those ten books because his head was on the line.


    Crazy enough, the Grand King was serious about killing him if Chan didn''t read those ten books. If he was asked now why he made Chan read, the Grand King would answer more honestly although harsh. "I don''t want my blood to remain a dumbass." That''s what he would say and he would surely mean it.


    Now books are very scarce here, he has borrowed a couple of books from people who have read them already. These were books containing around 10,000 words containing ill.u.s.tratian history. The reason why he wants to read them, is because he wants to be smarter for once thanks to obvious reasons.


    First things first, he is doing this because of how clearly he could think half way and after he went through those ten books. Although Ale washed away the progress at that time, the sensation of bliss was imprinted on his brain and he is looking to gain it again.


    Second of all, he is sick of people calling him a "dumb f.u.c.k". He has heard these couple of words enough to remember 50 events with it which really says a lot because he couldn''t remember things for shit. He even forgot about his own brother so I think this is enough to explain the situation.


    Third, he realizes that thanks to the foul fact of the family being completely separated, he is the best option as an Heir to throne. He is ten grades under qualified if such thing was possible, so he doesn''t want to embarass himself in the future.


    Fourth but not last, he has seen this as a good way to bury his burden. He lost the parents who adopted him and now he figured out that his mother by blood might or might not be out there. This feels like losing his parents all over again.


    The books, are a good distraction especially since his father asked Chan to stop drinking or at least greatly reduce it. He insisted that it is the reason behind his low memorisation capabilities, low focusing and overall low brain capacity.


    "No one is truly born stupid unless actually disabled, it just takes constant effort to become smarter." Reading has been proven as the most important part for becoming smarter, along with getting hands dirty with more than one task.


    ...


    Now walking directly in the house of which the Grand King calls, "The temporary Castle". Chan had a thought in his mind to directly request books. To Xakro such words coming from his son''s mouth would almost feel like finding his lost daughters.


    Speaking of his lost daughters, those are his two last kids. Three men who are considered the most loyal, have been put in charge to look for an old man called "Dem". He was associated with the disowning of the two daughters and he can provide more information of their where abouts. For now, Xakro can just wait to hear word from the men searching the Capital.


    "Father good day." Chan greeted, the Grand King has asked for Chan to get rid of the formalities when talking to him such as using the words "King or Grand King" towards him, the King finds it unnecessary.


    "Good day son, what are you doing with those books? Did I request them?" The King began to become puzzled, this isn''t exactly a scene he is used off and his mind went countless thoughts per second to figure out if he asked for books but forgot.


    "No no, at least I don''t think so." Answered Chan, as well becoming confused if the King requested books or not. Chan''s memory can''t improve all of a sudden in one day! "Um, I''m reading them."


    "Really? That''s amazing!" The King stood up and pulled Chan in to another hug. Hugs have become common these days, it is because Xakro doesn''t want his son to leave. Chan is the only bit of family by his side, although King Xakro''s egoism is growing higher, it isn''t high enough to avoid affection.


    Chan is still taking a while to get used of the hugs, but it will sure take a few more months. At least now he is sometimes returning the hug instead of keeping his arms straight down.


    "Which page are you on? How far have you reached?" Asked King Xakro in curiosity as he led Chan towards the Kitchen.


    "I''ve read both of them! I was kinda hoping to get more but the only book store has been demolished." Answered Chan, not wanting to mention the Castle over and over as it tends to piss of the King.


    Sadly, all the maids have died in that Castle explosion and the only people who are cooking are some Guards. No one is applying to become a maid considering how the last ones fared, and now that Salaries are very late and basically unpaid, it is a second reason for no one to apply.


    Grabbing some boar meat and heating them on the fireplace above a small net like piece of metal used to roast meat, since he figured out that Chan likes his food warm. He listened to Chan read, as he was preparing the meat softly.


    After a few pages of reading, he stopped Chan to congratulate him. "Wow, you read better than most people I heard."


    The compliment from his father felt warm, it was enough to at least tame the burden arising in his heart by the passing day. Weights on his shoulders getting heavier, it isn''t something easy to tame completely for now. "Thank you!"


    Good enough, the King continued with more compliments. "Perhaps a developing mind like yours can help me figure out something that has been puzzling me."


    The Grand King not calling Chan a Buffon! Who would think that such a day would come? Compliments do feel nice, the King got to the point. "When my powers were taken away from me, an explosion happened right after."


    "Right, you told me that a couple of times before I think?" Chan remembered this part since it is something very important.


    "I did, see you are progressing really well!" The Grand King continued with another compliment, "But the question is how did I survive it without a single scratch?"


    "The Castle walls didn''t fail to protect you father." Chan joked around, and the King broke in minor laughter after right away.


    "That is true, but I mean that I was too close to the explosion. I should have been ripped to pieces, but here I am." Finally another memory popping in his mind, he added. "The people I was stuck with shock me awake, and told me that I just had a few rocks over me. Nothing but a few bumps and bruises."


    "So you''re point is?" Asked Chan once more, sadly being zoned out throughout half of the conversation and missing the point.


    "My point is, those few bumps and bruises are the only bit of injuries I''ve got. Considering how many houses and people were destroyed near the Castle, I shouldn''t have had a better luck." Grabbing the pieces of boar meat with a fork and dropping them on a plate, he finally added. "Whatever happened when I was rendered powerless, it was enough to protect me."

 Chapter 319 - Greet of Honor

    August is near here in Ignis, the group escaped the high mountains just to reach down here so Eric can start taming his Inner Demon of Self Control, which is of course associated with Lava Controlling.


    Of course, everyone here has different intends. Commander Alia mostly wants to stay by Eric''s side regardless, which is why she came alone all the way up to the hidden domain in the high mountains. That proved her pure intend and she can be considered the most unconditional ally here.


    Helping Eric occupies most of her intends, but she is also glad to visit the place she called home for 200 years. She misses all her friends, and in another way doesn''t know how to face them considering how many men died in the war of Pameres Kingdom.


    12 Calidum Lutum guards died in that dark day, 13 if we count the Calidum Lutum that was a Guard in Gaster Kingdom. This race isn''t so forgiving, one death can make the entire tribe go wild. Imagine 12, they might get a situation on their hands but luckily Eric is here whose word is respected as a King.


    Mogranius is here completely under Akareas'' recommendation, since she wanted them to be here. Recalling the "glow" on an Electus'' eyes when he was her mentor, he remembered that it can randomly change.


    But yet again in some other aspects it doesn''t look so random, if he asked Akareas at that day who seemed to have a better view of the demonic situation, she would have told him just a bit more but with all those emotions getting together, who would remember to ask?


    Although while under his mentorship they just labelled the glow as random and just decided to not pay more attention to it, he has a couple of theories on what''s going on here since the fire like glow is noticeably reducing. He thinks that it is too based on the Inner Demons!


    Akareas had a variety of differently coloured glows and they all happened when she started training a new form of magic or now better described, power. That can''t be random and Akareas mentioned in as well on their last and final meeting.


    Eric''s glow started off occupying all of his eyes in the very beginning, Mogranius thinks that happened because Eric just accessed his powers and hence for the Inner Demons started working as well, describing his fearful rage.


    In another event, a small dot in the middle of his eyes showed his pupil in the middle of the glow, getting the fact that it couldn''t be random aside. That happened when he became just a bit less rageful, could it be a coincidence and could it be associated with that current rage?


    And at the third time half of that fire like glow was gone and it spread further away from the pupil, a.k.a from the middle of the eye. That is when he became generally a much calmer person, so do you see where his theory is going here?


    At first he was just introduced to the Inner Demons, who gave him the rage to burn that wolf down. Later on as the glow on his eyes wasn''t occupying his eyes entirely any longer, and it just reduced more and more.


    His theory is here that the glow is associated with what Level the Inner Demon of rage is, as Akareas specified Eric has descended towards Level 2 which means that he is almost beating the Demon.


    All of these are just theories of course, they have no solid knowledge on it. Akareas failed to tell them and no book would contain such information, all they can do now is wait for Eric to go through this "change" once he learns just a bit of lava controlling, meaning that he would need to become a Magician (Level 3).


    That would take a long time, so Mogranius just needs to hold on that theory for a few months or years. He has been asking Eric a boat load of questions, thankfully Eric remembered them all in detail so he helped Mogranius form this theory although to him it didn''t matter that much.


    As for what intend does Ada have here, she is just curious for a start. She never saw a Calidum Lutum, and is more than willing to see them although she is a bit anxious if they will be accepting or not. The ill.u.s.tratio killed 12 Calidum Lutum, how would they see her now?


    Furthermore, with a month spend along with Eric now due to the fact of travelling, she has come to like him more and more as a person. He is quiet yes, but at the same time it is a lot better than yapping on and on like a mindless fool, spending time with Mogranius made him realise that!


    And he fancies her as well although he is too shy to get to close, such as kissing or hugging. No, the best form of connection he can offer is talking to her a bit more than he usually talks to everyone else, it is a slow pace but they are kids after all.


    ...


    As they reached in the glorious under ground town of Lan Zhe, they''ve met with their first problem although it isn''t anything particularly dangerous. The big tunnel Eric blew ten feet wide open at the first time they''ve been here, is covered with dried out molten lava.


    Last time, Eric was bugged big time by this voice who didn''t let him sleep. The source of that voice was never specified, even Eric forgot it due to all of those events happening at once here in this very town.


    Today, that same voice chose to become more useful and it is a lot less concealed when compared to the first encounter. That same voice didn''t speak in the Calidum Lutum language, but Ignite instead. "Welcome, Golden Blood ."


    "Oh my... the voices are back." Spoke Eric in a bit of concern, and got everyone''s attention.


    Ada is new to such a sentence so she started thinking that Eric might have lost it here. She asked, "What Voices? Do you want some water?" Afterwards she pulled a bottle of it from her backpack and tried to hand it to him.


    "Relax." Tried Alia to calm them down, and appreciated how Ada is trying to look after him. She is a child yet she is trying to care for a guy who is two years older than her, simply adorable. "It is just one of our Grand Masters."


    "How could I forget to ask about the voice who gave me a month''s worth of traumas." Eric complained a little bit and could almost feel the headaches he had from the lack of of sleep.


    Turning his attention towards Commander Alia, he asked. "How can the Grand Masters speak to me? This blockage doesn''t speak, does it?" Although it seems like a joke, it became his best theory here and he is dead serious.


    "I don''t think anyone reached such a technology yet, but you''ll know along your training don''t worry." Afterwards she grabbed them by the shoulders and pushed them to one side of the cave, awaiting for the blockage to open.


    "Ummm." Ada started to become puzzled, as she rubbed her temples a little bit to figure things out. "Who are we waiting for?"


    "Just watch." Commander Alia spoke, and as if planned the ground started lightly trembling.


    The shake still remained light for about half a minute, afterwards the Cave started shaking enough to wake almost anyone up if he or she was under deep slumber. I think we know who wouldn''t be woken up, even though that someone isn''t here.


    15 seconds later, the shake became so strong that dust started seperating from the ceiling and falling all over their heads, furthermore standing up on one''s feet became troublesome!


    Boom!


    A man blew through the barricade of dried lava like a an arrow through skin! Making a stunning entrance indeed.


    "Aaaaaa!" A feminine scream echoed across the cave. Most could figure who screamed since most wouldn''t be too surprised of such a scene considering what more they saw.


    Ada stood behind Commander Alia, using her as a body shield. Not that she wants Commander Alia to be hurt first, but because she saw up close what Alia can do to any enemy. In a way, Ada looks at her as a protector.


    "Calm down girl." Mogranius complained as he bashed one finger on his ear, as if it would push the pain away. "It is just Kazer."


    Getting a better glance at the man who just went through a wall of dried lava as if it was nothing, they figured that it is indeed Kazer although Commander Alia already knew. She knows all of the customs and how things flow here.


    "Commander Alia." Kazer spoke in the Ignite language and bent down with his right hand stretched out, fingers spread wide apart from each other with the palm facing upwards. And his left arm placed a bit narrowly behind his back.


    "You may stand." Commander Alia replied as she tapped her right upper leg with her left hand.


    "Golden Blood." Kazer continued his greetings as he just shifted his body to the left a little bit to greet the King.


    "Um hello." Spoke Eric, unaware of this greeting since it wasn''t really common last time.


    "Psst Eric." Whispered Commander Alia, as Kazer still stood bent forwards until the custom is properly answered. "Tap your right leg with your left hand and tell him that he may stand."


    Eric did so, and this slightly embarrassing situation faded. Kazer continued to greet Mogranius afterwards, luckily he was quick to catch on.


    Now he finally reached Ada, saying. "New girl." And honouring her as well.


    Although just a simple gesture, it felt amazing. This is a Grand Master we are talking about here and he just bent down to greet a child, who furthermore is an ill.u.s.tratio. It just showed how accepting he is, or did he just honor her because of Eric?


    The greet continued on at Dilli, and she has already quite understood how this goes. She too returned the greet kindly.


    "Let''s inside." Kazer spoke with the little Ignite language he knows.

 Chapter 320 - Welzer Artej

    As they walked through the tunnel of which Kazer broke through, apparently with the aid of lava on his palms. Kazer explained it to Eric with the little Ignite language he knew, the reason behind it?


    When Commander Alia exchanged some dialogue with Kazer as they were walking through the tunnel, she explained that Eric is here to train Lava Controlling, what better place could they use for that than the wonderful town of Lan Zhe?


    However, Kazer showed Eric how this trick works just to get him as excited as possible to train his magical powers. He blew lava against the side of the tunnel where more Volcanic rock was left, it worked rather well as the lava sliced through the rock like a knife through butter, if that knife wasn''t hot that is.


    Um, Commander Alia doesn''t really like the term "magic" anymore since she got to meet the mother of all Demons face to face. These are just pure powers born with any random individual who in some terms met the biological build up.


    She will have to explain more about Demons to these people, but for now she just wants to take a good long rest and possibly chow down on some watermelon. Odd enough, Commander Alia didn''t see any watermelons on any other domains, most grow wheat grain.


    ...


    "Zat Kuzar Welzer Artej." Was heard out of a sudden once they''ve reached through the tunnel.


    The sound echoed like thunder and could shake one''s heart with ease, once one would see what''s going on, a lot of goosebumps would follow. The people who shouted like this, were the Calidum Lutum gathered here to give the Golden Blood a kind loving greet.


    "Zat Kuzar Welzer Artej." They''ve repeated again, beautiful to see and wonderful to hear but Ada took one step backwards and hid half of her body behind Commander Alia. I mean this scared almost everyone until they figured out what''s going on.


    "They are saying, "All hail Golden Blood." Commander Alia bent down a little bit to meet the King''s size and whispered to her ear, telling him to act according to custom. "Tap your right leg with your left hand."


    And so he continued taking a step forward although all this honour made him intensely nervous, he spoke "Thank you thank you." In his own Ignite language as loud as he could under pressure and tapped his right leg with his left hand. "I''m honoured."


    Like Commander Alia, Eric too expected that the town wouldn''t be so welcoming due to the fact that 12 Calidum Lutum guards died in the battle of Pameres Kingdom whe they were under his Command.


    But no, the main entrance up here in the beginning of the town is carrying as many Calidum Lutum as physically possible with some rowing up in the spiraling down walk way in the Volcano, taking a peek on his right he could even see a lot of Calidum Lutum around the Volcano.


    There is little space there considering that everything else is carved in the Volcano walls including residence but they managed to fit. As he took a peek a bit upwards, he could even see a couple of Calidum Lutum men up in a little cave wielding an enlarged crossbow.


    It seems like they honoured Eric''s order back in the beginning when he became King, he wanted for men to Guard the main entrance here with a Crossbow. Or women for that matter too, the Crossbow requires a wielder shorter in height even though the Crossbows are built larger here by the wonderful Blacksmith.


    Getting back to the point, Kazer spoke a one word sentence. "Feast."


    Mogranius'' favourite words. He basically eats anything you give him and has a curious taste, but he could sure use something that tastes a bit better for once. Because although the Wild Boar meat tasty, it feels too heavy in the stomach.


    Almost a year ago when they''ve first arrived here, there was barely any food and the 700 people here were starving. Now the population count has increased although 13 Guards died, thanks to all that food provided people here weren''t so worried about feeding children properly. So they made more.


    What was a town of 700 people a year ago, now counts 800. Shortly speaking there are 100 babies ranging from 0 to 10 months old. It is indeed a huge increase and in enough time it will just make Lan Zhe further indomitable.


    The Calidum Lutum cleared the way for the King and his companions to walk down on the feast room located once going down two spirals, 15 meters on the right away from the mine. This room has been specifically designed for big feasts and is not used every day.


    It can fit everyone here because it is 50 meters wide and 200 meters long, in fact a whole lot of space will be left untouched. The advantage of living around a half mile long volcano is that they have a lot of place to carve, it took quite a while to even reach down to the second spiral due to the long distance.


    As Eric was close to finally enter the room after all that walking, a child''s scream was heard which was loud enough to grab his attention in between all the murmur. He took a peek back and saw a child falling down the volcano head first.


    Not wasting a second, he blew fire from his feet and flew head first towards this kid who in some way slipped off the 2 meter wide walk way nearly 20 meters away from Eric. Approaching closer and closer, he is further figuring out that this child might not be a complete child after all.


    The person who started falling down, now has reached half way down the Volcano. It will really prove troublesome since he has already gathered a lot of momentum due to his or her weight.


    It will take a whole lot of effort to save him or her without accidentally causing a wound with the fire blowing down through his feet.


    Now being just above 100 meters away from the lava, the kid seemed to have accepted his fate (Eric realised that it is a he.) And he just didn''t notice Eric thanks to all the panicking people screaming above their heads.


    If any of the Grand Masters were down here they would have helped in some way but they are up there because they wanted to welcome Eric.


    Eric Grabbed the kid underneath the arm pits and tried tremendously hard to slow him down from falling and manuver himself in such a way where he doesn''t burn the kid nor makes the fall worst.


    The kid he has on his grasp, weighs equally to an a.d.u.l.t Ignite man. Eric doesn''t know for sure, but it feels around 70kg. Due to all of that momentum, this 70 kg child feels like trying to lift a Kingdom''s wall from the ground and slip underneath it.


    Bad enough, they are just about 90 meters away from the abnormally hot lava. The kid can already feel the heat and has started panicking, but not enough to yell out exaggerately.


    Out of a sudden, he saw another pair of hands grabbing the kid around the waist area and when very focused he could see another pair of hands underneath the falling kid, pushing his legs up.


    The person closest to Eric is Mogranius who too has flown down here when he noticed the Kid falling and Eric flying after him. The women underneath the kid''s feet trying to lift him up, was Dilli Flury. She followed Mogranius once figuring out the situation.


    Adjusting their bodies so they don''t accidentally burn anyone, the sudden shift of momentum was more than noticeable and it felt like a relief on Eric''s arms.


    Bear Claw gave out a lot of energy underneath and thanks to it slipped higher and started hugging the little boy''s knees. She has the strongest advantage here because she doesn''t have to worry about burning anyone while Eric and Mogranius have to blow out their fire on the sides!


    Mogranius gave enough boost as well, and they finally managed to slow down the heavy falling. Just in time even because the Lava is just 10 meters underneath! In great panic that her feet are burning this bad, Bear Claw gave double the power and started flying the kid along with the two Fire Controllers upwards.


    The shift became so sudden that they had to stop blasting fire and clung on the kid so they don''t burn him accidentally. In a matter of seconds, Bear Claw flew them 200 meters high until her feet felt relief.


    Right after, Eric separated from the three since he is the lightest weight and wouldn''t cause much of a orientation problem and Mogranius detached after him which caused Dilli just a little trouble but nothing she couldn''t handle.


    The two fire controllers maneuvered their selves mid air and flew upwards gently while Dilli gradually slowed down her speed. The amount of fire she blew through her feet at that moment showed quite well what danger can unlock within a soul.


    Dilli flew all the way up the second spiral of the walk way and gently dropped the kid on it, she saw a couple larger Calidum Lutum rushing through the crowd.


    As they approached, they hugged the kid and showered Dilli with countless sentences of love and gratitude although she couldn''t understand a thing.


    They pulled Dilli from mid air and trapped her in a family hug, she felt a bit squeezed in between but couldn''t help blushing a tad bit over this kind warm feeling.

 Chapter 321 - Feast

    The child has been saved and the overall morale returned almost back to normal thanks to that adorable scene with Dilli and that kind family. Apparently the child they saved is 29 years old. Considering the 1,500 year old average life span here, this 29 year old can''t even be considered a teenager.


    Some kids around his age told what the situation was, they were rushing a little bit to see the Golden Blood first and thanks to some shoving along with some slipping, the 29 year old kid slipped and fell. It was just all a terrible accident and no one can be blamed here.


    They''ve finally walked in the feast room, Commander Alia appreciated Mogranius'' heroic act with a smooch on his cheek. Although it would be the right thing to do for most, dropping food to help someone can be in some small aspects hard for Mogranius.


    It is even ridiculous that we are talking about this fact, but Commander Alia understood it quite well how this was a bit more heroic compared to the normal. She didn''t say anything, just smooched him on the cheek as he grabbed an apple and ate half of it with a bite.


    The group here are guests of honour, so they can just sit down and other people will do the serving. Considering the count of 800 people, some here with babies on their arms, only around 50 people are required to provide fast serving.


    Handy enough while Kazer was blasting lava from his palms, destroying Volcanic rock. Many people here began to bring food here since Kazer ordered them too, in aims of a feast.


    Since both Eric and Commander Alia weren''t here, the title of commanding was automatically given to the most gifted person here. Specifically, the person with blood red hair, Kazer.


    Knowing what Commander Alia favours, a lady here brought a nice big watermelon in front of Commander Alia. She just lightly placed the Watermelon on the ground, there are no tables in this room nor chairs.


    It is just a cave carrying dirt, rock and Ignite gems shinning on the ceiling, granting proper illumination on the place. But it won''t neccesarily prove troublesome for the Calidum Lutum, they sleep on rock.


    The watermelon is as big as half of Eric''s size in length and weighs fairly over 30 Kilograms. Seeing the humongous size, she looks at the kind lady and says. "Looks like the farm has brought more than we asked for." Of course she spoke in the Calidum Lutum language and this is translated.


    "Yes. We have enough food for two years." Answered the lady which also sheds light to this feast, they barely had any food before now they can manage to feed 700 people daily, people who have higher requirements even though they can stay without food much longer compared to an Ignite.


    Kazer grabbed Alia''s attention when he spoke, "We thank Stefan, we send Watermelon." He tried his best to communicate on the Ignite language so everyone else understands but it brought complications.


    So Commander Alia instantly asked in the Calidum Lutum Language, "You''ve sent him a Watermelon."


    "No no." He shook his head a couple of times from left to right before he continued in his native language, "We want to send him a Watermelon to thank him for all that help. We would be starving now if it wasn''t for him."


    "Oohh." Commander Alia sighed as she stretched one word a bit more than she is supposed too and explained to the rest. "They want to send Stefan a watermelon."


    "I''m sure he would love it."


    "Who doesn''t love Watermelons?"


    "This Watermelon can feed a house for a week."


    "Let me grab another."


    The feast is indeed enjoyable, there are countless fruits and vegetables spread on the ground already in a straight line, Eric and the group sat on one side and the Grand Masters sat on the other side so they can face each other.


    There is another line of fruits and vegetables being set in a straight line about 6 meters from the first one, so more people can sit down and eat. The men and women serving here are indeed fast and considering the overall discipline here, only the children are a bit out of order.


    Speaking of watermelons, Commander Alia explained to Kazer in the native language in this town and afterwards translated for the rest too. "We are planning to send messengers to Gaster Kingdom and Maleemia as well, so I think you will be able to deliver the watermelon easily."


    After the translation, he noticed that Kazer is carrying a rather displeased look on his face. Deciding to ask immediately once she noticed, "What''s the matter?"


    "Last time the Guards left, 12 didn''t return and another has fled battle." Kazer specified as the Ignites and ill.u.s.tratios just chewed on food, not giving much attention to them since they figure that they are just catching on.


    "Who fled the battle?" She asked in a low tone, curious enough as she started slicing the Watermelon with her trusty Iron short Sword.


    "Kalashat''s brother." Kazer specified and considering that Commander Alia knew all Guards by name, he wasn''t worried if she would remember who.


    "The brother of the man who got shot down with a Crossbow?" She asked, trying to reassure her thoughts.


    "Yes, Jataket fled the battle." He specified. You would find it interesting how these people would remember such complex names.


    "Are you sure he fled? Jataket is one of the most fearless people I''ve ever met." Commander Alia stated after she almost choked on her watermelon.


    "Countless Guards told me that he fled after stabbing one of our own Guards." Kazer finally told this impactful part of the information and got her indeed in a great shock.


    "Are you sure it wasn''t an accident?" This has to be taken under consideration! Because an accident can describe this rather well.


    "No, I think he tried to put a tremendously hurt Guard out of his misery." Kazer finally decided to cooperate with Alia''s thoughts of a Calidum Lutum always doing the right thing.


    "I still don''t know how it explains the fact that he ran away." Commander Alia replied with a sigh, in a way wanting to end this conversation. She doesn''t know how this happened nor doesn''t understand, but she knows one fact for sure. This wasn''t done because of fear.


    But when one topic closed, another one opened. And this a topic that both Commander Alia and Eric feared. "What plan for the 12 lost lives."


    "Your point being?" Commander Alia asked calmly as the rest stared at him, due to the fact that he spoke in Ignite language.


    "You won''t allow blood to dry on ground?" He asked, but due to the lack of a proper sentence it sounded more like an order but she didn''t mind.


    Afterwards he continued. "ill.u.s.tratio King send army Pameres Kingdom, we want kill King."


    Although unclear, everyone could understand it. King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll sent the army to Pameres Kingdom so he can be held accountable for the 12 lost lives, meaning he should die.


    "I''ve got some news for you." Commander Alia spoke clearly, and added. "He is dead, blown in to bits along with the Castle?"


    "Really?" Asked Kazer with a loud tone and just saw Commander Alia pull her head back and nod lightly. "Haha!" He laughed loudly to the fate of the Grand King and his tone was easily heard in the crowd of murmuring and talking people. "That is great news."


    ...


    Apart from that small debate if they should attack or not, everything went smoothly. Everyone enjoyed their food, they watched Mogranius eat 20 Kilograms of watermelon and got scared a little bit because of it too, because he entered a temporary food coma.


    Onwards, Kazer told that there was a huge debate between the five Grand Masters here before the group arrived. They did not want to let this go easily and nearly the entire population shared the same exact spot.


    They wanted to burn all of Crutal Kingdom to the ground, it wouldn''t be a tricky task either. These 5 Grand Masters can take on the Kingdom alone and win, not to mention if Masters, experts and Magicians were included.


    Solely, they just wanted King Xakro dead. But he was surrounded by people who stand with him in unity. And Eric came along months ago carrying a lot of hate for the ill.u.s.tratios, the word spread around here and they''ve picked up on that hate.


    The only reason why anyone didn''t carry out this plan, it is because the Golden Blood''s word has to be given here. He has the highest standard and to do this without him agreeing too, it would be considered the greatest dishonor.


    ...


    Sitting on the walkway, glancing upon the lava underneath their feet and admiring its glory. The rest were just celebrating, some still eating and some dancing with the slapping of some flat rock as their music.


    Tons of laughter is still heard there, as Eric and Ada sit close to each other out here on the pathway. "It''s beautiful isn''t it?" Eric spoke lightly, being used to her to the point where heavy breathing has faded away.


    "It is." She answered lightly as she slipped her hand, touching his pinky finger with hers. With her head on his shoulder as well. "This is fun."

 Chapter 322 - Hand Stand

    The feast went rather well and they all had a good night sleep, most were sent to sleeping rooms except for Eric who is the King here. His bed is located on the throne room, through a tunnel on the right wall.


    Luckily, this time he came prepared against that any Ignite would despise (Woldemir mostly), the lack of a good night sleep. Last time he came here, he had to sleep on a hard rocky surface that represented a bed.


    Sure the Calidum Lutum can handle it, but for an Ignite it is torture. I suppose none expected for an Ignite to be a Golden Blood. This time, he has a thick fur covered sleeping bag.


    It might portray itself messy, since it doesn''t spread out like a blanket but it is always better than sleeping on hard rock even though he is sweating it all out in there!


    In the next morning, when their minds are a bit more clear. They have the time to do something a bit more important than just stuffing food down. Writing letters to their families.


    Today they will need to write all the letters they need too, and tomorrow two Guards will be sent to an adventure of delivering the messages. It won''t take more than two weeks to return regardless of the hundreds of Kilometers.


    Although Ada was put under Commander Alia''s care, Aat? still must be worried due to the fact of her being gone for over 3 months, what parent wouldn''t be worried at such a case.


    Although there would be nothing that can convince Ada to return home at the moment, or now to Gaster Kingdom which is her and her mother''s new home, sending a letter to assure her mother about safety can be a huge reliever.


    As for Woldemir, I think we all saw how he fared at the beginning of this Volume. He was a step away from syncing in to depression, thinking that Eric might have died due to the fact of everyone missing for this long.


    They were sent to search for Demonite! Obviously just the word Demonite itself makes the task look dangerous, but when accompanied by the fact of how dangerous the High Mountains are, he become more worried by the day.


    This letter will indeed grant Woldemir much required relief, he couldn''t withstand to loose the last family member he has. The Domains at Meridionali Ignis are less sparing, brothers and sisters of his along with uncles and aunts all met with a horrible massacre.


    As for the Calidum Lutum sent to the High mountains, there is no rush for him since Bittore required for more Blacksmiths to be trained before Osira can depart on her journey of "Becoming a better Leader."


    ...


    Moving on to matters which in front of some people might be previewed as more important, On the next day, Eric wanted to do something he has quite missed. Jumping from the edge of the Volcano and down in Lava, he is the Golden Blood. Wouldn''t you do it if you could?


    He walked towards the edge of the Volcano, gave himself a little boost with Fire bursting through his legs so he doesn''t accidentally hit any edge of the walk way and turn this situation for the worse.


    Flying about 10 meters, and afterwards falling down like a fat rock, head first towards the Lava. Fun, but not so fun for the uninformed.


    Ada just casually walked out of her cave where she slept, and as she rubbed her eyes she noticed this activity which obviously looks suicidal. "Did another kid fall?" She murmured to herself and started yelling for Eric to fly down and save him or her.


    Rubbing her eyes again and giving the kid another look, it was none other than Eric. She recognized him due to his pitch black hair, and the usual dark leather clothing he wore throughout their travel in the warmer areas.


    "Why isn''t he flying? Is he asleep?" She murmured to herself gaining more and more panic and started yelling again, "Mogranius! Eric is falling down the Volcano!"


    She felt like calling for someone else who can actually fly, would be a good way to handle this situation. She herself would do anything to save him, but jumping down the Volcano would just equal to two deaths.


    "Relax." He walked out of his own cave (Of which he shared with Commander Alia.), opening his mouth wide with a yawn since her screams woke him up. "Lava doesn''t burn him, he does this for fun."


    She took a peek at Mogranius and noticed that his hair is a lot messier than usual, to shed more light to this little story that no child would possibly understand, he asked. "By the way have you seen Commander Alia?"


    Whatever affair they had last night, it looks like she won. Also, she is usually an early bird so finding her asleep after mid day like some people, it isn''t the most common to see her asleep after mid day like some people here.


    Knowing that she tends to work out in aims of keeping her physical form and fighting skills sharp, Ada answered. "Have you tried the training room? I think we saw one yesterday in that tour?"


    "That makes sense." He answered as he reached his toes a couple of times to stretch and with a front flip forward, falling off the Edge of the Volcano he started flying in aims of taking the short way there.


    Thanks to the provided information by the man who was shocked awake, Ada started calming down by the passing moment and just sat on the walkway to think this through. They called Eric "Golden Blood" for more times than he can count, but how does it neccesarily link to the fact that Lava Doesn''t burn him? She saw no connection at all, but is glad that Eric is safe.


    Speaking of the tour, the great underground farm they had the pleasure of seeing might be the best thing they saw in this whole Town. Imagine, countless fruits and vegetables who grew large thanks to the 24/7 light above them.


    The greenery is more than amazing, and Ada feels a bit sad that she couldn''t be here when this all started forming. She also wants to meet this Stefan everyone kept talking about, considering the hype they made about him, Ada thinks that he is big tall and muscly. If only she knew how much she would be let down by his size.


    ...


    Falling down the Volcano like a fat rock, and finally going splat like it but not enough to make a big scene.


    "Opecl. Er Welzer Artej ke sadpu." This of course translates too "Good. The Golden Blood is here." Grand Master Xalk calmly spoke, he is the oldest of the five and fairly respected.


    In a way, he has missed Eric doing this type of nonsense. Odd enough, Eric is a lot more talkative around the Grand Masters, as if talking to old people feels a lot more relieving. Furthermore, he has missed saying the same sentence he did just now.


    "I''m here for training." Eric expressed after he casually swam to the side of the walk way as if he was on a pool.


    "We know." Kazer spoke, being the only one able to speak his Ignite language due to the fact that Kazer''s intelligence is outstanding. As mentioned way earlier, he can pick up a language just by watching someone repeat it a couple of times. "Sit."


    "Sure." He pulled himself out of the Lava and let out a little complaint. "Tommorow you didn''t let me train, do I actually get to blow Lava this time?"


    "We plan good train for Golden Blood, we no rush." Kazer tried to explain with this harshly build up sentence, understandable and the best part is that he will learn more here the more time he spends with Eric.


    A bit irritated thanks to the Child''s impatience, he continued to explain. "You blow Lava at Level 6, not early."


    Again understandable but at the same time demotivating, how could he forget that anyone with a rank lower than a Grand Master can''t blow lava out of his or her own limbs? Sounds tad stupid to forget about such a thing.


    He just tried to keep his motivation firm, swallowing the fact that he might be down here for years or possibly a Decade until he becomes a Grand Master and proceeded to ask. "So what do I do first?"


    "Hmm." Kazer went in to a bit of deep thinking and tried to figure out what could fit an Ignite better, any type of training here can crush this small life form. "Can stand with hands?"


    An odd question indeed and at the same time not very understandable because he couldn''t figure out how exactly this would link to Lava Blasting training? "You mean walk with hands?"


    "Yes." Answered Kazer, taming his curiosity.


    "I''m not sure if I can." Eric answered truthfully instead of lying now and embarrassing himself later when he is made to try it.


    "Try."


    Although still confused, he found no reason not to try this. These are Lava Controlling Grand Masters were are talking about here, with the oldest person being 1,300 years old and the youngest being 500.


    He stood on his feet, and with one attempt where his feet met the ground too quick, he tried again trying to find the best balance. Trying the third time, he actually managed to do a hand stand and as he attempted to move, he fell on his back.


    Thankfully, he didn''t get hurt at all and the embarrassment here feels a bit more rougher than the ground. He heard Kazer speak, "Good."


    "Does this really help me become a better Lava Controller?" Eric asked, still tremendously confused of this training exercise since he never saw any Calidum Lutum do it.


    "Not really." Kazer answered, and a light giggle was heard from him and passionately continued over the others.


    "Hehehehehee."


    "Hehehhe."


    "Heheheheheheeehehehehehee."


    "Hehehehehehe."


    Xalk liked this the most apparently since his giggle stretched the furthest. Hundreds of years of knowledge in front of him yet they started off the training by messing with him a little bit.


    Well it is at least nice to see that these Grand Masters have a unique sense of humour.


    "Now we train."

 Chapter 323 - Chicks

    There is indeed a lot of progress and set backs going on around Ignis, some can be happy about it and some can be angry. But we should take time to mention the progress going on the domains this story started gradually forming at.


    Such as Gaster Kingdom, the domain who started off as the most struggling. To start it off, the Domain has got a good profitable order from the friendly neighbouring Kingdom. Specifically, from Pameres Kingdom.


    Along with the Leather Jerkings that the King ordered, sadly with tens of it now not being able to be used due to all of those deaths. The King sent a letter of offerings.


    The Striped Marlin deal that specifically ended in July, has been renewed. Originally the deal was to provide this type of meat for 6 months. Luckily, the sales there have been going tremendously well. People who had salaries bigger than the rest, tended to buy this cheap meat often.


    It felt like a cheap luxury, because Striped Marlin meat is generally very expensive to buy yet the King offered it for half the price. The fact that it was offered half the price, increased sales greatly since even apprentices could spare to buy them.


    Due to the fact of the sales going well, King Zar has offered a year long Contract here. Although trust has been built between these two Domains, it is always better to put words on Parchment.


    The Contract started at July and will end on July in the next year (202), but this time it has minor differences order-wise. Last time, Gaster Kingdom was supposed to provide 2,500 Kilograms of Striped Marlin meat each month and earned an income of 7,500 Gold Coins each month because of it, no pay was too late or not handed.


    Now, the Striped Marlin team (Including Saleem, Kaleem, Lia and Jim.) will have to provide 3,000 Kilograms of this meat each month. Which of course comes with more income, the Kingdom will receive 9,000 Gold Coins each month for 12 months.


    When all put together, this brings a handsome total income of 108,000 Gold Coins. When including the salaries for these four special spearfishermen and woman, the total profit here would be 84,000 Gold Coins.


    However, like in any Kingdom that profit would be spent on other affairs which are required to maintain the Kingdom. Such as paying on other salaries, yet the Kingdom still manages to earn enough to break even and put a few thousand gold coins to the royal treasury.


    I realise such information thrown in a bunch might not look so appealing here, but these are important pieces of the story we need to cover. Each domain has its own type of progress after all.


    I think you are going to get a big kick out of this one! Remember that poor little town that practically begged King Zar of Gaster Kingdom for help? Do you remember Bale Town?


    Thanks to the fact that they started off with small salaries and free food and thanks to the great fact that they got their hands on a Coal Mine, they currently have the biggest Budget in the triangle of friendly domains.


    Their budget counts up to 450,000 Gold Coins! Even Pameres Kingdom can''t measure with it at the moment. Mainly because they''ve spent a lot of Gold Coins in the past battle that happened there but also because Bale Town out matched them with a pure profit of 37,000 in February. It is indeed a lot to compete with. We will get on better detail about that later on.


    For now let us stick to the progress here in the loved Gaster Kingdom where our heroes used to take residence at. Chickens! How can anyone forget about the wonderful Chickens that forced the legendary King Michael to attain a face full of mud!


    Thanks to spring providing warmer weather, eggs started hatching. King Michael has studied Chickens in the wild for a few years, but due to the fact that they tend to run away very fast and actually become very territorial, it was hard to study the reproduction part of that little journey.


    So in the first time, a couple of chicks hatched unintentionally. This specific one Chicken has been very territorial about a handful of eggs and two weeks later, their mini version started following them and going "Kik Kik Kik Kik"


    It was glorious to watch, as it resembles the joy of seeing new life. Fairly, the Chicks look adorable. But King Michael was never one with the Chickens, so when he tried to approach it and see what is study worthy, the mother Chicken went. "Grrrrrr." Softly and pecked him on the head about 7 times.


    No big injuries but it was worth putting in to word. Yet he did not want to give up on finding out how to hatch them, these are chicks made without effort we are talking about!


    He asked the Guards about what they did and did not see, any bit of information is worth hearing at this point. The lady who fed the Chickens daily and collected the eggs, is the best source of information here.


    It is she who explained how one Chicken protected these eggs and under no condition let her pick them up unlike the other chickens who are three times softer about it, apparently that one chicken has chosen to become a mother.


    Considering that bit of information, King Michael ordered for the lady to not touch any eggs of whom a Chicken violently protects, since they will bring along smaller chickens, respectively, chicks.


    Although it was hard to tell their gender, some chickens showed difference in size and feather. Shortly described, they grew up prettier and had beautifully blended feathers. But they are more rare compared to the female chicks, which in another way is a good thing because they don''t lay eggs and are territorial against other male chickens or best called, hens.


    So far, 50 Chicks have cracked open from their shells and have filled the coop in a considerable amount of joy. Although feeding them is not neccesarily a problem, other issues arrived with their birth.


    For example, a few of them got lost or snatched by an animal. They are just too small and can slip through the fence, so once noticing that three of them are missing and due to the fact that they had to chase a couple others through the field, action had to be taken to keep them safe.


    King Michael ordered a few men to gather finger thick smooth straight branches from the forest, so they can isolate the fences better while at the same time a second wall of fences was being built 15 meters around the original one, since the coop was getting a bit tight for all of the chickens to fit in.


    The situation was tamed, but sadly in the process a total of 15 baby chicks have been lost. They were most commonly snatched by foxes who have picked up on their scent, a couple of wild hounds looking almost similar to wolves, have snatched a few as well.


    Now, a total of 40 Chickens run around proudly in the coop. The 15 dead chicks will be missed, but this result isn''t exactly bad either. Of course, 30 of them are just chicks and hens who can''t lay eggs yet. But eventually this will quadruple the profit, it will be just what the Kingdom needs to support the upcoming population rise.


    With only 10 full grown Chickens, Gaster Kingdom managed to earn 5,000 Gold Coins a month. Easy math there, they will be able to gain 20,000 when they attain a business contract either here or on Zameria.


    Another source of profit that fairly started bringing Gaster Kingdom great fortune, is the great business move of which King Michael made when he hired 30 Female Bowwomen hunters!


    They are bringing in averagely 1,000 Kilograms of meat per month. It isn''t particularly hard to bring such big game considering that they occasionally use nets as well, furthermore there are 30 Ladies putting in that work!


    One animal, lets take Wild Boars for example, equals around a hundred Kilograms at average. Smaller animals are set free or not shot down at all, it would be like poisoning a food supply. Deer are also very common, accompanied by many species or subspecies who almost share the same gene.


    The more people die in war here, the worse Ignis gets over populated with animals. In a way it is working to Gaster Kingdom''s advantage big time.


    Thanks to the usual 4,000 Kilograms of meat each month, the upcoming population rise will be easier to feed. The 20,000 Kilograms of extra wheat grain for example, won''t be touched. There are fish meat and mammal meat to support such a population. The food situation will be barely touched.


    To make this business investment a lot better, with the aid of King Zar they managed to strike a great deal with the financially great Bale Town. Every month at the first when transactions here in the port are handled, Wagons filled with 1 ton of meat of which Gaster Kingdom can afford to sell, are sent to Bale Town.


    Mostly it is Wild Boar meat, it occupies 60% of the delivery. But regardless of the meat type, they just decided to stick on a fixed price of 7,000 Gold Coins.


    This deal benefits both Kingdoms, as for now this meat at BaleTown is handed for free once bought. And here at Gaster Kingdom, 1 ton of the meat is handed out for free and the remaining two tons are stored in the cold bas.e.m.e.nt of the Castle just in case they might face a food shortage (Less likely to happen.).


    Or with the winter season coming up now which can help them preserve the meat longer, they can sell it with a mass amount to the Zamerians.


    Both of these domains deserved to taste such luxury, profitable for Gaster Kingdom enough this deal doesn''t have a time limit.

 Chapter 324 - A Dumb Genius!

    Speaking of progress, Aat? has brought in more help than one would take time to put in to word. Thanks to her, Gaster Kingdom has a proper stable. Of course, a big stable could have been built but it would be empty. Because Horses are both rare and expensive.


    Before she arrived, Gaster Kingdom held a minor stable at the other side around the fishing area. Enough to hold the Horses brought here because of the Wheat Grain project. Even at that time, some horses were bought and the rest were borrowed by either Pameres Kingdom or Zar.


    Now, it holds 13 Horses most of which belong to Aat?. She came here with hopes of aiding the newly formed Revolution, she was sick of ill.u.s.tratios even though she shares the same race.


    She felt heart warmed due to all of the welcomes and hospitality she got here, it felt as if she had entered a different realm. Instantly after she arrived, with the proper tools bought from Pameres Kingdom they''ve expanded the stable.


    Typically, Aat? wanted to just live in the stable and grant access to her Horses for free. In exchange of free food and lumber too when the cold season hits. The people she joined in this journey gave her a detailed description of what Gaster Kingdom carries.


    So considering that fact, she just didn''t want to rob them out of their budget. Plus it is a lot more peaceful there, so she kept convincing herself that gold isn''t better than peace. And when Gaster Kingdom progresses, she planned to ask for some kind of reward for her contribute.


    Originally, King Michael didn''t want to let such a contribute slide by unrewarded and his personal assistant and business partner, Alama had almost the same thought. But she wanted to reward Aat? a bit more.


    So she started the conversation with, "I think Aat? should be given a monthly pay for her contribution."


    King Michael is all on board with this plan, but didn''t exactly understand what she meant although he felt like he understood it. "I know, I want to offer to buy all her Horses and pay her 200 Gold Coins a month to run the place."


    Letting out a stressful breath, she added as she waved her hands left to right rapidly in front of him. "No no no." Afterwards adding firmly, confident with her words. "That isn''t a good idea."


    "Why not? She would earn a decent pay! I''m not trying to rob her out of her Horses for a small price. That doesn''t define what this Kingdom can offer." He felt a bit offended, thinking that Alama was calling him indirectly cheap.


    Comfortable enough around him to use language that doesn''t fit in with the one people would use on royalty, she said. "Slow down there Mister obvious."


    Seeing that this light joke has made him smile either if he wanted too or not, she continued. "If we just buy her Horses and offer a small salary, she wouldn''t really care enough to give the Stable professional hard work."


    Seeing that the King isn''t talking, patiently awaiting for the Business woman''s point of view. She continued to speak, "But if you offer her this thing called, "Rental Pay". She would be a lot more enthusiastic towards this work and maybe even end up bringing us more Horses here, possibly by reproduction."


    Although it was hard to say this in front of a lady, King Michael added under a low tone. "Um yes, I mean no one would willingly help Horses reproduce for such a low pay... Especially for Horses that aren''t hers by parchment."


    Unwillung to admit that he saw Horses reproduce when he was studying them, he added. "I hear it is a mess to do so."


    "Exactly, I saw it with my own eyes." Although feeling a bit embarrassed, but on the other hand able to hide that embarrassment more than well. She continued to explain her point, "Anyway a rental pay, means that we will pay her a monthly tax to use her Horses whenever we please for any affair."


    "So what you are saying is, we won''t buy the Horses but they will be ours to use as we please?" Now the King is catching on, although such a topic is new and at the same time confusing.


    "Yes. Most of Ignis struggles with Horses, yet at the same time they are too cheap. She wouldn''t be happy at all if you just took her Horses away for 300-600 Gold Coins." There is a reason why she is the advisor here, a business point of view is always useful and King Michael feels proud to be corrected for once.


    Now getting him to the point where she wanted for him to be, she finally added. "Plus, just getting a bundle of Horses here would cost a few thousand Gold Coins for travel and at least two months. They are just too rare and catching them in the wild isn''t a skill we specialize on!"


    "You have excellent points Alama but how much do you want me to pay her, be direct here." The King was finally willing to cooperate, and considering how many fair points she has spoken here, he would be willing to offer up to 800.


    "Pay her 500 a month. I guarantee you that she will make this pay worth more than our time." The offer came indeed as a shock, but what reason would he have to disagree at this point? If only they both knew that Aat? was going to offer them freely thanks to all her compassion.


    ...


    Salaries have faced a 20-40% change for all the employees under Gaster Kingdom''s employment who earn under 150 Gold Coins each month. Now, the lowest salary in this domain is 90 Gold Coins but like everyone else they get free food and wood in the winter.


    At first, King Michael offered the guaranteed 20 Gold Coin raise for anyone who earns under 150 Gold Coins. It is the fairest move and with all expenses covered for each individual, everyone is basically entering middle class in the joy of life.


    Recently, he gave another 20 Gold Coin raise when they struck the deal with Bale Town. Considering that they are left here with 30 Guards only, giving this raise was painfully easier.


    Now, the monthly expenses have increased from 10 thousand to 23 thousand! Almost one and a half time more, but yet again the Domain breaks out with a profit of 9,200 Gold Coins a month.


    He needs to provide proper salaries here, because for once when everyone earns more than 200 Gold Coins a month, the only thing he would need to provide for free, is wood for the winter. With a salary of 200, and months of salaries saved previously, anyone can afford to buy food from the Castle. Especially if more than one salary goes in a house.


    ...


    While the Continent is going through its worse for some and its best for others, Stefan has been keeping busy with other activities. But thankfully nothing demoralizing.


    Dea, the kind girl he began to have a crush on... Well until now they have been in a couple of dates, by that I mean they met up alone and not with kind and lovely Misses Wood.


    There really isn''t really a good place to have a proper date here, well at least when you take this stereotypically. The Kingdom doesn''t have a Tavern nor does it have an Inn. There aren''t many options for people to get their hands on Ale.


    He could take her to the Castle, King Michael wouldn''t really mind it but quite the opposite he would give dating advice to the Genius although he is sick of his Romance Novels missing often, that specific shelf is never full now. But last thing Stefan would need at that time would be the King teasing them here and there.


    So their best option for a light innocent date, became to scroll through the flat fields on the front side of the Kingdom walls. It is the only place not overwhelmed with the bursting agriculture, stables or fishermen.


    The area is quite calm, and most importantly private. Luckily they didn''t run in to any wild animals either, because admitably both wouldn''t be able to fight back.


    They had picnics, using fur to cover the ground and he even managed to sneak in some striped marlin meat with the help of... you guess it, Lia. She became the reason why men are stealing hearts here, although it seems odd to steal hearts with fish meat!


    The topics they had in these picnics, were both light and heavy. Stefan made it a bit complicated because although a Genius and a known idea man, he had absolutely no clue how to properly ask this fine lady out.


    His best description when asking her to join him on a picnic for the first time, was. "Will you join me on the thing that people do when they want to eat but also the reason isn''t just to eat as well?"


    A poorly formed sentence for a genius and an all around flop, but it worked. She realized where he was trying to go with this so jokingly she answered, "Sounds like fun, I''ll join you to eat but also not to eat."


    Cute language but at the same time they understood each other, at such a rate she didn''t want to reject him and crush his spirit, noticing that he was in war with himself while asking.


    But on that picnic, she figured that he is even more amazing than she figured, his points of view in life are amazing yet at the same time illogical in this Continent. He explained quite well that gold couldn''t mean a thing to him and before he was indirectly robbed with taxes, he donated most of his earnings.


    Heart warming, but at the same time very rare. Here everyone just looks out for their selves race regardless. Noticing what a soft heart he has, she decided to not miss out this opportunity although the best she could do for now is give a light hug.

 Chapter 325 - Black Tail Town

    BaleTown has made the most tremendous progress in a time span of 6 months. As mentioned on a previous Chapter, they have a total piled up Budget of of 450,000 Gold Coins. Based on that number, they have the biggest Budget in the triangle of Kingdoms.


    They''ve reached such a large number because they earn barely made any expenses due to King Zar helping them out, lifting them from the ground. And because they either thought of or discovered two amazing business opportunities.


    The biggest one, is the Coal Mine business who has currently met a little shift in income and arose to 30,000. Secondly, they thought of a Tailoring Business who brings them 18,000 a month with just 20 employees.


    At the start, BaleTown managed to pile up such a big budget because of those sole reasons but also because the monthly expenses are around 4,000 Gold Coins. Fair to speak, the employees weren''t paid well.


    The small pay was continued for nearly three months by the Guard Commander since he figured that BaleTown would need a lot of gold if they want to stay untouched by the hungry ill.u.s.tratian Alliance. Food and warmth were provided as well, so he figured it unnecessary to raise the salaries too quickly because where would they spend that gold?


    Once the third month in business almost ended, Delrus Aze noticed a lot of slacking around. Asking some Guards to tell if they heard anything, the topic immediately became Salaries. That''s when the Guard Commander decided to do a pay raise, because regardless of where they want to spend it, the current salaries are just too low.


    So for a start, he decided to give a 20 gold coin raise. It felt good enough as it neccesarily equals to a 30% raise here which is indeed great. Most employees became happy about it, and what''s better? The total expenses shifted only around 1,600 Gold Coins more. Meaning, 5,670.


    We need to take it in to consideration that this still isn''t a big pay and at some aspects it is pathetic. But compared to 6 months ago when they just worked for free to unwillingly support the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, this is heaven even though the salaries haven''t reached over 100 Gold Coins yet.


    Delrus Aze feels it reasonable to do another pay raise at the end of the month. Because the Zamerians, who before ordered 5 tons of Coal each month for 4 months, have now made a new order asking for 7 tons a month.


    Considering 15% of the Coal profits spreading around on different domains, such as 5% towards Pameres Kingdom and 10% towards Gaster Kingdom for the usage of the port, they still will make a stunning 29,750 Gold Coins each month from this little shift on the Coal order.


    Considering all expenses, plus the 5% Gustav Iron claims for his investment in this town to begin with, the monthly expenses rise around 10 thousand and the town still remains making a great 37 thousand Gold Coins as a pure profit!


    Another reason why Delrus found it a good idea to stretch raising salaries, is because with so many employees bringing profit, it is time to invest on employees that won''t bring any profit gold-wise but will bring protection and better living conditions. Such as more Guards and Stonemasons.


    Stonemasons are generally a huge problem throughout this set of years because there aren''t too many to use and the demand for them is high, especially in Pameres Kingdom. Hiring more apprentices is a good idea, but only when there are enough skilled people to host them. For such a case Delrus would need to consult with King Zar.


    ...


    Mert, Eert and Bert have done great self progress in the past few months. They now can properly read, write and count. These are enough characteristics for one to get a governing job here, so that''s what Delrus did.


    With the increasing salaries, the town needs official people who count the coins by hand and fill little leather bags with them, so every individual can get their salaries. Delrus trusted the Willson brothers with such a task, since they are tremendously progressive.


    They have learned the Alphabet in 1-2 weeks and learned to read without stutter in 2 months, not to mention count up to a thousand. This all happened in a time span of 2 months, it got the whole town in shock and they indeed were valued thanks to their abilities.


    Now they are in charge of the treasury, and make sure that everyone gets their salaries in time, they do all the preparations while Gustav Iron just manages the employees and what task they are supposed to take.


    They play an important role in this Town, although their task is becoming harder by the passing day due to the salary raises. Counting all day long is indeed hard and requires the toughest concentration.


    But at least they are very dependable for such a case, to make it even better they would never dare to steal the treasury although they have a great chance to do so. They wouldn''t need too either, being governing officials they now earn a salary above any other, 150 Gold Coins a month.


    ...


    One thing that will most likely develop in to a minor to huge problem the more popular BaleTown gets, is the fact that people will try to rob the treasury brutally if not kindly.


    BaleTown has 450 thousand Gold Coins in it, who would not risk a lot to steal it? The Alliance for example, the moment they will find out that BaleTown has a nice coal mine they can use to gain tremendous profit, there would be an Army up here willing to rip every Ignite in two until they reclaim BaleTown.


    Thankfully no army came up here to battle, even if they found out officials wouldn''t really care since BaleTown isn''t the richest domain. If they would consider loosing Guards over some wheat, than they could attack. After all they likely don''t know about the Coal Mine yet.


    Other dangers BaleTown is exposed too, are groups of bandits or pirates. Bandits for example, just walk around Ignis robbing individual people (Mostly Merchants) on the road, but if they find a domain who has around 60 Guards in total, they might gather forces to conquer it. Especially if they knew how much loot the town is carrying.


    Pirates are probably a less possible danger, since the sea is around a hundred Kilometers away from the town. But if they have been monitoring the countless sh.i.p.s coming and going to Zameria, they might track the source back here. Although less common for them to do so, since they consider these domains poor.


    All of which these possible encounters are pointing out, is that BaleTown needs a wall surrounding it and of course more Guards. Let us take the wall as the prime example, it wouldn''t be impossible to build if they just start a small one which doesn''t really give the town much space and lets them do most of their businesses outside of the walls.


    For example farming and mining, it would be a economical nightmare to cover up such a landmass and at many aspects it would be unnecessary. Covering just the town on the other hand, might be not so expensive since it requires 200 meters of walls to cover each side and it doesn''t have to be circular either.


    We can get in to further details about the walls later, but for now let''s consider how hard it would be to get their hands on proper Stonemasons. The amount they manage to recruit and the work they can put in neccesarily equals to how long it would take to build a wall.


    Pameres Kingdom has hired Stonemasons over and over, meaning they have tens who have at least a few months of experience. They can come in handy, but King Zar is trying to build a second wall that would take years and a hell lot of gold. Bottom line, he can''t spare any Stonemasons at the moment.


    For such a case, Gustav Iron has a better idea. He knows many ill.u.s.tratios who specialize in Stonemasonry, hopefully they weren''t forcefully recruited in the army. Mixing more ill.u.s.tratios here might cause conflict, so he wants to try recruiting Ignites.


    In another way, this means that he will have to leave the domain in order to help BaleTown progress. He has to make his way up to the other side of the Continent, surf the Capital and come here with at least 10 Stonemasons if not more.


    It might be hard, because if not recruited in the Army, the Grand King of Meridionali Ignis might be paying them a lot more just to keep them there, race regardless. If he manages to recruit more Stonemasons however, it will prove as a Victory ego-wise. Because first this town revolted, now they would be stealing their craftsmen.


    As for getting Guards, it isn''t really hard considering that it doesn''t require any experience and let''s people just swing swords, but training them requires extra work since after all they will be responsible for the safety of the prospering town.


    Another good idea about recruiting Stonemasons, is to visit this other Ignite ruled town nearly 100 Kilometers away, of whom the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance didn''t touch because their main food resource is just fishing and they aren''t fishing out enough to make a profit out of them.


    By Chance, a Stonemason or two might be isolated there for any reason. Although they don''t plan to have great relations with that town, if they somehow can monetize an income there as well, it would neccesarily equal to the triangle of domains turning in to a line of domains or left turn of domains.


    Now, two journeys will start. Gustav Iron the respected will be heading with 10 Guards towards the Capital on his motherland and 10 more Guards will be heading towards the town 100 Kilometers away, or better known as Blacktail Town.

 Chapter 326 - A thousand people are unemployed!

    As they were casually just sitting in the dinning room, King Zar eating a piece of the delicious Striped Marlin meat brought on his plate thanks to the special deal with Gaster Kingdom, along with 5 boiled Chicken Eggs set on the middle of the table for anyone to grab.


    His personal assistant, Seer seems a bit troubled. Slicing a piece of bread with the silver knife on his hand afterwards just lightly nibbling on it, he decided to speak. "I think Pameres Kingdom is doing great but we just aren''t getting enough profit."


    That at least explains what has been troubling him, odd at the same time since Pameres Kingdom remains as the most powerful in the triangle of Domains. Swallowing his bite, King Zar answered. "You have a point there, but also don''t."


    The answer came in a bit rough and Seer felt like he accidentally offended the King''s capabilities of ruling a Kingdom, so he tried to ask for more detail to determine if he should apologise or not. "What do you mean Sire?"


    "I think I know what he means." Added Maleesa, sitting along in the dinning room here along with the King and his husband, carrying a rather abnormally big stomach with her. (Abnormal compared with the rest of her body shape at least.).


    "Please enlighten us Misses Delegate." King Zar answered with aims of teasing, because now that these two love birds are married, she has taken Seer''s last name with her.


    "Gladly." She smiled and ate a whole boiled egg at once, "I think the King means that we are getting enough profit considering that 20 thousand are being spent on the Army."


    "Excellent." The King slightly yelled, although still trying to mess around.


    Maleesa is 5 months pregnant, they are expecting a baby in December and the father is of course Seer. Thanks to that reason and due to the fact that it has become overwhelming, the King hired 10 Official coin counters to prepare salaries but at the same time placed more Guards there so theft wouldn''t be possible.


    These Coin Counters were hired a bit late but at the same pace just in time because their 200 Gold Coin salaries will be earned along with Migraines. Because, "I understand that fact, but my point here is that there just aren''t enough employees who bring actual profit."


    Trying to explain his point better, seeing that he grabbed the King''s total attention. He added, "Don''t get me wrong, the Kingdom is stronger and more beautiful than ever. But if it wasn''t for the recent tailoring, furniture and Wagon making business, our Budget would eventually fall flat."


    To give a final blow to his point here which might ruin the King''s appetite, he explained. "We have monthly expenses of 63 thousand Gold Coins! We could use more employees that bring in more profit."


    "Yes but at the same time thanks to all the businesses we still earn a profit of 37 thousand." King Zar insisted, explaining the key point here. The recent businesses have been really working over time.


    "Indeed, that is great. But I have registered many complains by the people, even the experienced men and women feel like their salaries are too low to cover the costs of living." This explains another key part.


    "What are you getting at Seer, you are giving mixed signals here. First you say that we don''t have enough profit now you want to lower the profit." It indeed became confusing, since Seer has countless thoughts going through his mind at once.


    "I recommend a 40 Gold Coin salary raise for anyone who earns under 200 Gold Coins." Such a bite is hard to swallow alone, but to make it harder he made another recommendation. "I also recommend to hire 400 more people."


    Finally, the King almost started choking on his dinner. Beating his chest like a primate, he cleared his throat by dropping the food on Seer''s mint tea. With his eyes in tears due to the fact that he almost choked, he answered. "Do you realise how risky that is for our budget?


    "I do! But in other terms this is the perfect time to take risks." Knowing that Seer mostly brought great ideas, the King decided to listen out towards what he has to say.


    "The gr.a.p.e Ale project will bring us a big profit, we have developed good relations with the Zamerians. On top of that, we can easily convince our people here to pick up a craft if there are better salaries under topic." Finally finishing it off with a smirk, he added. "Hiring 400 people will double if not triple our profits. There are 1,000 unemployed people."


    Able to think a bit more straight now thanks to the fact that she ate an unholy amount of food, Maleesa decided to back him up not because he is her husband, but because she handles every doc.u.mentation about Employees and knows what she is talking about. "We have around 500 Employees, yet our profit is 37 thousand regardless of half of the Employees not bringing in actual profit. Imagine if 200 more of those bring profit!"


    "You both have great points here, but do we have enough budget to handle it?" King Zar exclaimed, worrying about the most important part here. If the budget went flat, the Kingdom would be doomed towards failure.


    "It will eat up a lot of our Budget at first, but we have 2 domains at our support if things get too rough. But if we succeed, a 70 thousand gold coin profit would be estimated." Explained Maleesa, she is the best here when it comes to terms of hiring employees. Plus she takes in all the profit brought from external sources.


    "I''ll leave it all up to you two, numbers aren''t my speciality. From now I''d like you to focus on Stonemasons, they don''t bring profit but they bring protection and comfort."King Zar explained with a headache already developing, grabbing his plate and just casually walking out of the room so he can go to his personal training room he added before he left.


    "I have complete trust in you two, don''t let me down."


    ...


    After dinner, the debate of employees took place. Because first things first there has been many newcomers in various crafts who have escaped their titles as apprentices and have become experienced. They deserve two salary raises. One of which comes with the advancement in the craft and the other comes with the 40 Gold Coin raise.


    This will be hard, because they will need to rewrite doc.u.ments from scratch and at the same time pick out which type of employees to hire. The raises must be put in as mandatory, because they will build up hype before offering jobs. It will only result better.


    "I think we should hire 150 Stonemasoms as a start." Maleesa exclaimed. Making even Seer feel scared of this business risk.


    "Isn''t that a bit too much? What will they do when the second wall is built?" He tried to reason, and furthermore explained. "Striping them out of their title by firing them will effect the Castle badly."


    "Stonemasons will always be required Seer. The wall won''t be built in a day and the King wants to build hundreds more housing, housing requires a proper stone foundation as much as you told me." Ain''t seer a man of conversation? He talked about Stonemasonry in some of their dates.


    "You do have a point, but it still looks a bit extensive." 150, apart from being a nightmare to pay them all they would require guidance so they don''t make a mess of the new constructions.


    "It is, but if there isn''t any work to do. They can be sent to other domains, this will only help Pameres Kingdom be stronger." Fair to say, they both carry great points.


    "Alright, we will hire 150. Let''s just hope it turns out how you think it will." Getting back to a point he wanted to talk about.


    Seer added. "About protection, I feel like we should hire a hundred more normal Guards. We have enough Ballistaguards and Catapult operators but we still have too little ordinary Guards, that Army would have squashed us if it wasn''t for those large men and women." He finished it off with a little burp, he ate his food in a hurry so they can debate this Maleesa''s office.


    "We already spent 20 thousand a month in the Army, would it be wise to spend more?" Twenty thousand is indeed a lot, it eats up most of the income they get from the Iron Swords.


    "It is, because we can''t be vulnerable now that we are richer than ever. If Pameres Kingdom falls, so does Gaster Kingdom and BaleTown." A revolution they worked so hard on, just poof. Gone?It would be worse than a bear attack nightmare. "With gender restrictions gone for any craft or work, we have the opportunity to progress faster than we ever did."


    "Alright. Fair point." Maleesa finally gave in and afterwards wanted to determine another business venture. "What do you think about hiring 80 Blacksmiths?"


    With a firm reaction, he came to like this idea but didn''t like one thing about it. The complexity. "Agreeable, but how about we call this the second team of Blacksmiths?"


    "How come?" Maleesa felt puzzled as she raised one of her eyebrows.


    "It is just getting too confusing, plus we can use them to handle other orders that aren''t Iron Swords. It will only bring us more profit, although we have to squeeze in experienced Blacksmiths within them for half a year if not more."


    Complimenting her husband''s words, she replied with. "How about a experienced Blacksmith for every group of ten? It is affordable."


    "Splendid!" Yelled out Seer, glad that their ideas finally cooperated and he reached out of her forehead, granting her a kiss.


    "Thanks dear." Maleesa answered with a little blush. With the rest already easy to figure out since they can only hire 100 more people, she added. "How about we hire 10 more tailors and 10 more miners?" With certainty she explained. "Both demands are getting extensive."


    "Agreeable. And speaking about demands, wood is heavily required. Our stock is near 0 and winter is close. How about we hire 50 more Lumberjacks?" Wood has been known as the most important item on mankind, it is used on a lot of things regardless of the purpose.


    The ideas are getting extensive clearly, but at least these are two people the King can heavily depend on. And considering how they started it, the old business ideas will increase in profit and the new ones with bring in more profit. Only time will tell to determine the value of this risk!

 Chapter 327 - Self Control Training(1)

    Commander Alia has brought in new information to the Grand Masters, it was best for her to describe them due to the language differences. She spoke to them about the Inner Demons and how the Calidum Lutum originate around it.


    Now considering the sudden impact of facts, the Grand Masters tried to shift their traditional training methods just a little bit so it meets the terms of self control. Even thousands of years of knowledge can be shifted for the better if stronger methods are introduced.


    Due to obvious reasons, books aren''t available in this underground domain. So unlike what process a Hatchling would go through Fire Controlling, Lava Blasters/Controllers (Both terms are acceptable.) go through physical training instead of mental.


    ...


    "Are you fall young Golden Blood?" Kazer asked, trying to tease the young Electus and his capability to handle the training that was given to him.


    "I can do this all day." Eric spoke with a mumble, but quite the opposite was close to falling down.


    The exercise, is much like touching his toes. His h.i.p.s are raised high and his hands are just two feet away from his toes. You might ask how this training exercise would give one self control, since it neccesarily mixes with patience and physical strength.


    It is explainable, this trains discipline which is a strong shade of self control. It is difficult, tiring, can make you dizzy but it is in a way teaching him self control, not allowing himself to drop down is self control although circulated around ego.


    It is hard to put in to word, but when taunts are mixed with it, it makes a whole lot more sense. 4 of the Grand Masters can''t taunt him by word, but they found new methods.


    A prime way is to tip Eric over. For example, Xalk would walk over gently kick him head in to Lava. This method was obviously not used on anyone before since anyone else (Including the Grand Masters.) Falling in lava, would burn up. But for young Eric, it works.


    "Good. Because we do all day." Kazer continued, and with a light push he tipped Eric over and threw him in Lava.


    How would this help? Well apart from trying to control his own form, people come ruin that form completely. Most would be steaming mad about it and loose control, attack even.


    Eric in a way can attack them, but in another way can''t. Sure he is powerful enough to put up a fight, but is it a good idea? Horribly no, he would be torched like a fish stick thanks to the unholy amount of lava from 5 sides.


    The debating thoughts in his mind, are giving him discipline and furthermore self control. Because he is using reasoning instead of howling from the top of his lungs like a Boar. He is using reasoning although the Grand Masters in a way aren''t through this form of training.


    Without throwing a tantrum (This time.), Eric swam out of the Lava and continued to do his assigned training. Stretching a little at first to slightly tame his sore muscles, he bent down, touching his toes first and afterwards moving his hands 2 feet away from his toes.


    In aims of taunting him further, Laza walked closer towards Eric. She is an over achiever, the youngest of the five, has muscles as big as Eric''s waist and most importantly she has no sense of personal space.


    How would it help here? Well nobody likes their personal space invaded, but Eric hates it on another level. First, she just walks close to him and starts rubbing her toes around his neck, even pinching his neck with them.


    What does this teach? Consequences! For example if her over reacts or makes her angry, his neck can snap. A great way of taming the Inner Demon specializing in self control, is to consider what would happen if he did this and that.


    Seeing that the little toe rub won''t break him, she just laid down on her side here in the walk way close to Eric. Putting her arm close to his head, specifically her bicep and in that way irritating him.


    Every time she flexes her muscles, her bicep hits Eric''s head and does two things to poke his self control. It can knock him down and it keeps invading his personal space.


    This trick has made Eric tip over countless times so far, so she keeps using it regardless of who bizarre and unusual it is. The aim here is to try and temper his control, some of these training methods are old but Laza specifically started trying this one when she knew that these powers are based on self control.


    "Keke fe Motafet Welzer Artej?" Laza spoke, as she continued to bash her bicep on his head with every aim to annoy him.


    "What did she say?" Eric asked, with much sweat already breaking from his forehead. One because he is trying to maintain control of his form, two because he is trying to maintain control of his attitude and three because the invasion of personal space is making him very anxious and in some terms shy.


    "Will you snap Golden Blood?" Kazer explained, without giving much care if he wants to say this sentence or if he is translating for Laza. He figures that Eric is smart enough to catch on due to the fact that he asked this question.


    "The only thing you can make me snap out of, is my form." Eric insisted, this has been a tiring day. This exercise has been going on for 4 hours!


    "Alright." Kazer spoke, and gestured for Laza to stop and get back to where she previously sat. She has done an amazing job, and so did the rest of the five. How? We will get in details a bit later.


    "Go eat." Kazer tried to explain that Eric is finally given a break.


    "Finally!" He gave out a big sigh releasing stress and stood on his feet swiftly. With enthusiasm he asked, "Am I Level 2 now? Am I a Young Cub?"


    "No no, you''re not close." Kazer broke his spirit, but in another way it is a way of motivation. Lesser individuals would stop by now, but the superior minded would draw motivation from it. "Be back in hour."


    ...


    "Welzer Artej!"


    "Welzer Artej..."


    "Welzer Arej."


    Shouted a group of ladies in enthusiasm, once they saw Eric walk by. In the very beginning when he got here about 11 months ago, and today as well. There are teen ladies here who just love him, a lot see him as attractive.


    Of course, these teen ladies are around 60-90 years old! Most of them stand 6 feet tall, but there are some who are his size. This is just a completely different world isn''t it? One would require to be 300 years old to escape the title of a Teenager and one would require to be at least 60 to escape the title of a child.


    They all surrounded him in a hug and almost squeezed the life out of him, but thankfully they''ve let him go when Commander Alia ran by. Scolding them a little bit but at the same time finding this scene adorable so she didn''t go over board with her scolding.


    Of course, Eric wasn''t quite sure of their age so when Commander Alia asked. "How did it feel like to be hugged by 90 year old ladies?"


    "They are 90 years old?" Eric asked in shock and even jumped a little bit, as they walked their way up to the third spiral. "But they look so young!" Afterwards he recalled that 90 year old Ignite ladies would be lucky to live that long, and even if they did they would look very very old and helpless.


    "That''s considered young here, people aren''t considered elders here before being a thousand years old." Commander Alia explained and noticed the amazed look on Eric''s face. He looks more happy about the fact that they live this long instead of being happy that girls are going crazy over him. "But the teenagers here are cute aren''t they?"


    After being asked this little question, he recalled how they look. In the previous circle of girls there, most had a physique almost enough to match Commander Alia. Which says a lot because when she isn''t sleeping, eating or baby sitting everyone, she is working out.


    As for their facial appearance, they look so youthful and the lava like veins spread randomly around their face just add a lot more beauty to their already beautiful dark toned complexion. Shortly described, they outshine most Ignite teenagers and typically look like well trained Ignite a.d.u.l.ts.


    So he answered, "Um yes, very cute and at the same time very different."


    Hearing him agree, she decided to tease. "Would Ada like it if you talked about Girls like that?" As if she didn''t plant that seed herself.


    "Doubtful, she is more excited about them than I am." He replied, and left Commander Alia in a bit of shock, once she got a flashback of Ada admiring Alia''s behind through their travel.

 Chapter 328 - Self Control Training(2)

    He made his way up to the farm, while Commander Alia parted ways and wanted to head towards the training room once more. She has been on her break this past hour, after eating a little bit she wanted to check on Eric, to see what progress he is making.


    Eric, just couldn''t get enough of the wonderful farm here. There just is too much greenery, it is so comfortable on the eyes that one would want to take a nap here, and considering all that training he just might.


    This time, this is where he can eat a bit of lunch. The feast room would no longer be an option for that and reaching for the storage room all the way to the end of the farm just would take too long and he could accidentally damage perfectly grown crops.


    He feels beat, and all this walking isn''t the best thing to experience. It feels like something is constantly slapping his feet although it is the other way around, this is Volcanic rock we are talking about. Might have just flown up here but what''s done is done.


    As soon as he entered the farm, he made his way towards the bundle of apple trees. They count 30, and can perfectly fit in here due to the half a mile long space provided. He tried an apple early in the morning since he had a craving for one, oddly half an hour later he felt a lot more energetic. Odd for someone who isn''t a morning person.


    But of course an apple wouldn''t be enough to fill his belly, so on the way there he was looking for some perfectly grown watermelon. He didn''t know which one to pic, since even though they look big, their colour is too light which in another way signifies that they aren''t ready for anyone to eat. They are in August after all.


    Once close to the apple trees, after deciding that the Watermelons aren''t just ready and he isn''t in any way walking for a mile to eat. So apples it is, he might try to eat some figs too although he found it confusing to determine what they are or how to eat them. Fairly there are 20 trees to give a little test try on.


    He never saw figs before, he isn''t even sure how much they cost but obviously they won''t come in cheap due to the fact that they are rare in the forest. As for apples, although he couldn''t afford them in the Marketplace due to the fact that they went ten gold coins per kilogram. There are tons of them in the forest throughout the end of summer, sometimes he feels stupid about not selling them.


    Close to the fig tree, he found none other than Ada. When she saw Eric, she got even more excited and with a couple of figs on her hand she approached him, saying. "Have you tried the figs? They are delicious!"


    Afterwards she shoved one on his mouth and made him chew, with a rather displeased look on his face he wanted to explain the bad taste but at the same time didn''t want to ruin all this enthusiasm. "Um... I think we need to figure out how to eat them first."


    Afterwards he grabbed another fig and tried to figure how to attain the good taste only instead of tasting both the good and bad. He made a theory about watermelons, and how the parts surrounding it are inedible.


    He wanted to see if it is the same concept here, but he got distracted. A farmer approached, carrying a little giggle as well. He grabbed a fig and with his big hands he tried to rip it open without completely demolishing it.


    He ripped lightly open in two, showing its red contents inside close to their faces so they understand how this goes. Afterwards he tapped on purple external tasteless part and wiggled his forefinger, trying to explain to not taste that.


    Right after, he began to eat the fig although it barely took a few seconds even though the figs here are as big as apples in the forest. He showed them the fig again, and the red inner part of it is mostly gone.


    With a smile he gestured at the fig several times before he dropped it on the ground, completely explaining that this part is inedible even though they didn''t exchange proper sentences.


    He grabbed another fig, ripped it open and handed it to Eric. The Farmer wanted to assure that Eric understood the concept of eating a fig. It is not that anyone here is dead dumb, it is just that figs are way too rare.


    Having a theory about this even before the Farmer showed them, he started eating the red part of the fig and started admiring the taste that came along with it. "This is amazing." He exclaimed as he almost choked on it.


    Eric grabbed another fig closer to his reach, ripped it open and handed it to Ada. "Try it without the purple part, we have been eating it wrong."


    Seeing that the two kids have figured out how to eat the figs, the farmer just gave another smile and returned back to work. With all these crops growing, grass grows along with it and this place becomes a bit hard to walk through. It will eventually slow down their work which could lead to food rot.


    "The people here are so nice." Ada complimented after the farmer left, she wanted to thank him but didn''t know how. "I thought they would kick me out if I came up here alone."


    "They do hate ill.u.s.tratios due too 13 Guards dying on their hands, but if you entered Lan Zhe with me, they will honour you as much as they honour me regardless of your origin." Trying to explain it a bit further so Ada feels like she fits in here, he added. "Once you are one with this town, they will accept you as one.


    "By the way you never told me that Lava doesn''t burn you. I was worried sick when you jumped earlier and thought you were trying to kill yourself or something." Ada showed concern, wanting to smack the boy but he looked cute eating the fig.


    "Oh sorry." He felt stupid about forgetting to tell something this important, afterwards he asked. "Why would I want to kill myself?"


    "I don''t know." Ada answered, feeling a bit embarrassed for even thinking it. But in another way she didn''t want to throw his past on his face again, chances are he got hit by it hundreds of times. At least that''s what she thought.


    ...


    Shpllup!


    Fell Eric through the Lava, and Xalk calmly spoke. "Opecl. Er Welzer Artej ke sadpu." This of course translates to, "Good, the Golden Blood is here."


    "Hi everyone." Eric answered in a low tone, a bit refreshed now that he managed to eat, drink, relax and see Ada for a little bit. Yet his muscles are still sore, and he would like for this day to end.


    "Perfect. We new exercise." Kazer instantly explained not wanting to waste a second here. "Do you do this?"


    After, he went towards a flatter surface of the Volcanic rock so he can put his head over it without damaging himself, although his skin is tough like rock. We are talking about people who can withstand the heat of the abnormally hot lava here, he mostly needs the flat surface for balance.


    Putting his head on the volcanic rock, he lifted his legs up and tried to stand straight with his head as a base and his arms as the balancors. "Remember stand with hand?" Kazer asked with ease, as if the fact that he is upside down and facing no trouble with balance is nothing.


    "Yes..." Eric answered, as he already had a theory where this exercise is going. He didn''t quite like the looks of it.


    In a blink, Kazer removed his hands from the grounds and crossed his arms. Staying perfectly balanced, upside down with his head against the Volcanic rock, standing straight. "This close to handstand, this head stand."


    "And how exactly will this help me learn Fire Controlling?" Eric asked directly this time without giving care if he offended the Grand Masters and their wisdom. Earlier he was asked to bent down for 4 hours straight, last thing he would want to do is do a head stand for 4 hours straight.


    "Balance, self control. If not control your body, than how control lava? You have be tough as rock." Afterwards he hit the Volcanic rock close to his head lightly with his knuckles.


    Now, Eric understands why the Calidum Lutum are extraordinarily tough. Not to be confused, genes have a hand in it too but also the fact that they do training as difficult as this.


    "I don''t think I can stand like that." Eric answered with all honesty.


    Luckily, Kazer explained after again crossing his arms. "You do this short time, no long."


    "Anything would feel better than doing this for 4 hours." He answered, in a way it sounded like a joke but if they only knew how sick he is of this bizarre training since day one. He can understand in some ways why he is doing it but at the same time it doesn''t make sense since he is way too under qualified to work this hard. He is 16 after all.


    "Try." Kazer answered, as he used his arms to lift himself off the rock and even do a little bit of an inverted leap before he landed on his feet. "We need check strength."

 Chapter 329 - Self Control Training(3)

    And so Eric gave this bizarre bit of training a shot. I mean how bad could it be right? He tried this a couple of times on rainy days when he couldn''t go out, to beat boredom. But yet again his head was over a soft comfortable fur blanket that time.


    Placing his head on the flattest piece of Volcanic rock he could find, he started lifting his legs high in aims of attaining balance. At first, he just tipped over and fell on his back. It hurt more than one would consider for it to hurt, his shoulder blades took in a lot of impact and so did his h.i.p.s.


    Luckily though, nothing is broken. He decided to take a different approach towards this unique training method. He directed himself straight forwards the lava, so if he fell again it would at least be a lot softer. Ironic isn''t it? But lava doesn''t burn him so hey this is very smart.


    He placed his head against the Volcanic rock as softly as he could, and prepared himself to try this trick again. He realized that last time he might have given a bit too much thrust, so this time he slowed down.


    At the first attempt of lifting his legs up, he didn''t yet get straight enough, meaning that he didn''t give enough thrust this time. Not to worry, at least he can easily try again.


    The second shot became a bit more progressive of course, that''s how progress naturally works. But just a second later his feet met the Volcanic rock, he doesn''t have enough abdominal strength to keep this going and his arms are just not helping.


    "You good. Keep it up." Kazer encouraged as he stood 10 feet tall a couple of meters away, "Use arm."


    This time, deciding to rely on his arms a bit more, his feet raised high but he didn''t tip over. Managing to hold this pose for 3 seconds, he already started shaking and felt a lot of his muscles twitching.


    Kazer walked over closer, and asked. "Can you stay this?"


    Able to catch up what he said, he answered. "Barely."


    "Good." Kazer answered and without allowing him to see how many seconds he can keep it up, he pushed Eric and threw him down to the Lava.


    Pissed off, but at the same time feeling a lot of relief thanks to the fact that he won''t have to keep that form up anymore, he popped his head out of the lava and as he clung to the Volcanic rock he asked. "Why did you do that for?" But he didn''t ask it angrily.


    "Do you angry?" Asked Kazer as he grabbed Eric by the collar and dragged him out of the Lava.


    "I''m not angry, although I find this training a bit pointless." With no aims to offend them but on the other hand having it hard to understand why does it have to be this hard. "The hardest training exercise I had, was when I learned the fire shield. Yet that seems a lot easier now compared to this."


    "Is this Fire Controlling?" Asked Kazer with his eyebrow raised as he walked over to his preferred sitting place and awaited it for Eric''s answer.


    "Well no..." he answered, not quite understanding where this will lead.


    "This no fire, this lava. It wants control, it want stronger man." Although a rough sentence, Eric could understand the concept. This is no job for a weakling, it literally requires strong brute strength.


    "So I need to be stronger? When will I know that I will be strong enough to at least reach Level 2? I don''t think I can do this for years." Eric became brutally honest here, these training exercises are just not for him. At least Akareas got lucky when she came in to power with Lava as an aid instead of Fire.


    "Controlling Lava is like grabbing Lava and carry all weight. If no carry, you crush." Kazer answered brutally honest, in some terms this doesn''t exactly link with self control but at the same pace it doesn''t have to be all about it. Lava Controlling obviously has more to it, like the required strength.


    "I understand." Eric answered, and trying not to let his motivation fade here he continued. "I will need a lot of time from the looks of it, I''m not as strong as any of you."


    "You not need, you just not be crushed." He explained, and with the bit of Ignite language he knows, he wanted to explain another training method but this time it focuses less towards the physical. "Now we do different train. Hmmm."


    He tried to think it through, how could he explain this to Eric in a way he could understand? "Do you know kids?"


    "Yes..."


    "Kid have no discipline, no order. You teach them order." With that part down, thinking that he might have understood it enough.


    He decided to explain why the Grand Masters have chosen this type of training exercise. "This is self control train, but no strength needed. Just mind."


    This made one thing clear, the physical exercises are over. Now it gets mental, after all it is all about perception. But what low life would loose their control thanks to kids? What would Eric do? Torch them? No that''s tremendously stupid since he flew down and gave all of his capabilities to save a kid.


    But if not torch them, he can''t slap them either. They can pretty much beat the daylights out of him even though in Ignite years they would qualify as 3-10 years old. I suppose the best way to find out is to go and try it up there.


    "So do I have to go there now?" Asked Eric hoping not to stay here and balance himself upside down all day. If he came back tomorrow and tried it, it would feel a lot easier since he would be well rested.


    "No no, now touch toes." Kazer answered with a smile across his lips and tried to sync in meditation himself. The team of 5 have decided to keep him with this exercise for another hour and for the two more hours he will be babysitting the kids.


    Commander Alia specified that Ignites have it hard to work after 8 hours of labour, so they decided to make the last hours physically easy. They don''t want to break the Golden Blood, on the other hand they want to make him more and more worthy of his title.


    ...


    "AAAAAAA!"


    ''Hihihihihihi."


    "Meow."


    "Hahahahahaha!"


    As you might have noticed, these are kids. Although Eric found it confusing how they know how to meow considering that felines aren''t so common in Ignis, a bit less common than Black Wolves even.


    He became glad that at least the wild cats here are of a species smaller than average hounds, they are not harmful. Most importantly he wanted to figure out why did these kids meow.


    He was a kid as well, but this type of behaviour was too rare for him. As if it was seasonal, and furthermore these kids remind him of the rotten kinds in Crutal Kingdom. I''d like to say that ill.u.s.tratios only, but not really. Some Ignite kids showed behaviour that some might consider demonic, but they are kids after all.


    To make this task a lot less difficult, actually it can even be considered a cheat. He brought along a special lady that did not have a tantrum or set of rage ever since they met, Ada. If anyone can help him deal with kids it is her, or Commander Alia but she tends to tease a lot.


    "Welzer Artej!"


    "Welzer Artej...?"


    "Welzer Artej."


    Repeated the kids one by one, after they saw the respected King, the respected Golden Blood. They even started calming down, instead of yelling and shouting. Eric has been sent here to a room in the first spiral but this time he was smart enough to fly up instead of walk up.


    "Are you sure you shouldn''t be doing this "training" alone?" Ada asked, still not understanding the point of it but trying to respect the word of the Grand Masters.


    "I didn''t want to face so many people alone." And of course here Social Anxiety is working hard, for some reason he has developed a dislike towards Children. Mostly because he technically escaped the title of a child a couple months ago when he became 16, but also because he knows how devilish they can be. "And I think you mentioned something about loving kids."


    "Correction, I love the chubby faces they bring." Ada explained as she grabbed the possibly youngest of this bundle of kids, he seems to have trouble walking so he must be around 10 years old. Inverted but at the same rate it proves how long Calidum Lutum take to be physically ready. "Touch them."


    Of course she would ask to touch them, but how could he say no? Ada is just too enthusiastic. He grabbed the youngling''s cheek and squished it a little bit, finally could understand why Commander Alia loves doing this so much.


    "Those are soft." Eric complimented although the kid just stared blankly towards the King, not quite understanding what a Golden Blood is even thinking that it is because his small size. But the other kids are making a hype out of it so why not aye?


    "But they do yell a lot." Eric pointed out what he doesn''t like about kids apart from some other demonic behaviour.


    "They are just kids, they yell to discover." Ada spoke, and it even felt like a joke.


    Until Eric asked, trying to carry out the joke. "Discover what? How fast can my ears bleed?"


    "I''d say they want to discover how much they can yell." Ada explained, as she afterwards glanced at another kid who keeps poking another kid because the finger sinks down every time he pokes.


    "If you don''t want to loose control here, just become as mindless as they are." She explained as she gave Eric a shove, pushing him inside the circle of kids. "Just have fun."

 Chapter 330 - Self Control Training(4)

    Although the lack of communication became a considerable problem, Eric did start having fun. But by the Source these kids can get out of control, let''s try something new shall we? Let''s hear Eric narrate it out from his own personal point of view.


    "Hmmm... how do I tell this kid to stop howling?" Obviously not the best way to continue the bond, considering that they started interacting a few minutes ago.


    "These kids are cute, but they are just too loud." He thought to himself as he tried to show the kid through gestures to not yell. With sign language not invented yet, he can''t make a proper understandable gesture, especially to a child.


    He decided to wiggle his finger, hoping that the child will understand. But no, the boy tried to bite his finger. Considering the average Calidum Lutum strength it might not be too different from a bite coming by a new a.d.u.l.t cave bear.


    Luckily he moved his finger away in a split second, a bit awkwardly he started rubbing the kid''s head hoping he will behave. But no he just ran away and started riding another boy like a horse. "They are so wild..." He thought as he was looking for Ada to see how she progressed.


    Odd enough, she has managed to get 5 kids under control and the rest seeing other kids behave, began slowing down their self. Seeing many kids standing still, of course would make others do the same.


    "How does she do it?" He became puzzled with himself, and took other educational methods throughout Crutal Kingdom for example. If a child misbehaves, a nice thin branch against their skin would teach them a thing more.


    But here? Eric feels like even a arm thick stick wouldn''t stop them and anyone who would do them harm, would be thrown down the Volcano. So considering that Ada is in no condition to beat these kids up, how exactly did she make them become this quiet?


    Simple, a distraction! She has grabbed three holdable rocks and started juggling them! She can juggle! A unique skill and in no way is she a jester, she managed to calm most of them down and the rest are just following along to see how this green lady is doing the special trick.


    18 kids in the room, now they are mostly quiet. Those who speak are just going, "Uuuuuu"


    Isn''t this a perfect way to calm kids down? Eric''s ears stopped ringing, no kid is in pain and their curiosity hasn''t been limited. Scholars would be proud if they somehow managed to hear about this.


    Anyway, one of the kids started to try mimicking the green lady. He grabbed a couple of rocks, and then he grabbed 5 more. Luckily they are small, small enough that an Ignite can grab three with one hand.


    This skill isn''t easy, the kid thought it would be enough to throw them on the air and to move his hands randomly. He caught the first rock, 4 landed on the ground and almost around Ada''s feet as for the rest they all landed on the kid''s head.


    "Hehehehehehehe." The kid giggled widely as if the rocks did nothing but tickle him.


    "Okay okay, go stand there and I will teach you how to juggle." Spoke Ada at her ill.u.s.tratian/Ignite language but the kids did not understand a thing.


    It was made a bit more clear about what she meant, when she started waving her hands trying to teach the kid how to juggle. Although it took him a few seconds to understand, now at least when he slowed down he could catch the rocks.


    Or at least both rocks, he started with two. Switching them from one hand to the other, to the child it felt like he made the most amazing discovery in the history of the world! Juggling in this town isn''t really spread wild, perhaps a couple elders know how to do it here but yet it doesn''t mean that they do it daily. Perhaps once in a decade? Who would remember that!


    More kids started grabbing rocks, when they grabbed big ones, Ada wiggles her finger until they drop it and then she holds the small rocks straight so they can see what she has, eventually they started grabbing smaller rocks and telling their friends which ones to use.


    "For yelling farting kids, they sure are progressive." Ada spoke to Eric, knowing that the kids won''t understand.


    "Yes, I mean look that boy is close to mastering it." Eric added, while in another unintended way this could feel offending towards Ada''s unique skill.


    "Eh he is doing great!" She replied, not really being offended to his wordplay and rather trying to disagree because a little girl here is progressing a bit faster, at least through Ada''s skill critical eyes. "But that one is better."


    The little girl she is pointing at, is juggling her two stones a bit faster. And unlike most, she is barely dropping them to the ground. "But that one is a natural."


    "How did you manage to calm all of them down though?" Eric asked, still feeling confused. "I thought they were eventually going to make me loose my hearing."


    "They are kids, if they are getting too loud you just distract them." Ada explained and even started lecturing Eric after. "I know you are supposed to learn how to control your self around loud kids but what if you try something else?"


    "Like?" He still felt puzzled.


    "Distracting yourself by distracting them. In a way you would be controlling them and calming yourself down. Isn''t that a way to tame your own self control? I mean you will be taking other action instead of losing it, wouldn''t that grant you some type of progress?" Such an insightful view from a child, a 14 year old. Eric has a crown on his head that boosts certain intelligence perks yet he didn''t think about this.


    Worth noting, she filled in all of those sentences while teaching the kids how to juggle, great multitasking. So Eric just glanced at her blankly, in shock after considering how much sense this made. "You are more than right there!"


    Trying not to steal Ada''s spot as the main distraction, he explained. "Tomorrow I will show them something unique and hopefully they will act less like animals."


    ...


    In the next morning, after eating a light breakfast he made his way down to the Volcano, and you guessed it. He didn''t either fly or walk down there.


    "Opecl. Er Welzer Artej ke sadpu." Xalk spoke the moment Eric splashed against the Lava. He is getting used to saying this, and undoubtedly he likes it. I might as well not translate it since you might now what it means.


    "You came Welzer Artej." Kazer expressed in a bit of surprise, he thought that after all that hard training their King would at least stall his presence or at least find some excuse to get out of this town. "You want train?"


    "That''s what I''m here for." Eric pointed out after he popped out of the lava and on to the side walk made out of Volcanic rock. "What did you expect?"


    "Fleeing." Kazer spoke directly, most of the Grand Masters even thought that he will do that considering how hard the exercises are even though they slowed them down to his size. It is not like they want the kid out of here. "Our exercise not easy."


    "Neither is living with a demon." Eric answered boldly for once, it had to happen even eventually aye. He quoted about the Inner Demon that almost triggered him several times yesterday with all those kids around.


    Considering that he qualifies with level 1 in his Lava Controlling powers, his Inner Demon should be Level 1 as well shouldn''t it? Well not quite! Like a few claimed, Eric skipped Lava Controlling and came in to power with the aid of fire.


    In another way, he started with his second second demon without beating his first. He can''t predict the exact level of the Inner Demon now, but he theorized that it is at least Level 3. And that got him worried, because what if that level increases along with his lava controlling?


    "I think you know what to do Eric." Kazer spoke as clearly as ever.


    "Hey you are learning my language so perfectly." Eric couldn''t help but compliment. He did not yet find anything sweeter than an all powerful man trying to communicate with him, it shows so much effort.


    "Indeed, Commander Alia say that you no talk but you talk a lot." Kazer gave out a little complaint but it more came out as a joke.


    Eric is socially anxious yes, but somehow talking to older people is a lot easier for him compared to talking with teenagers or kids. As for when he wants to complain, man he can talk a lot.


    "Well the exercises are a bit tough, it is too hard not to talk." Getting on that topic, he decided to ask. "Can we shorten some exercises?"


    "You mean?" Asked Kazer feeling puzzled.


    "I mean that I don''t mind if it takes me a bit longer to learn Lava Controlling, it''s just that I''m not cut out to keep one position for 4 hours straight." At this point he didn''t beat around the bush, but became very direct. Regarding his sore muscles he does not want to go through the same process again.


    Using his large forefinger, Kazer pushed Eric on the chest to test something and prove a point. "It has one day and you are strong." Trying to refer to the fact that the intense exercises made him stronger Kazer continued. "You can stop push now."


    "Really?" Eric asked with a shift of enthusiasm as he tried to flex a little bit until he can push even more.


    "Yes." Kazer answered swiftly and gave him a stronger push throwing him in the Lava, man that is fun.


    Popping his head out of the Lava, Eric saw Kazer stating. "But you is right, 4 hour is to much for Ignite. We cut to 2 hours today, touch toe."

 Chapter 331 - Midnight Thoughts

    "What has been troubling you my Sire?" Spoke a fine lady, in a delicate tone that would calm down any soul or spirit, as she gently massaged his neck.


    "Just Castle stuff." King Zar answered, not panicking about this lady in a way invading his personal space because he has become quite used to it. Massages have become more common is what I''d like to specify. "Why are you up this late?"


    It is past midnight now, King Zar should be in bed a couple of hours ago but he is sitting on his throne. Rather unnecessary and in other ways it shows a slight form of paralysis by thought if not physical disability. The past few months he hasn''t been able to sleep well, and the reasons behind it are more than just Castle affairs. They are more than he is willing to tell.


    "Because you are awake." Answered the lady directly, seeing how the King is already feeling just a little bit more relaxed thanks to her light massage. "How can I go to bed if you aren''t well?"


    "You don''t have to be concerned Crisa, this has become the usual for me." Zar answered boldly, not wanting to hurt her in any way but at the same time not wanting to reveal his burdens to her.


    "That''s why I''m worried, before the battle here you never stayed past 10pm." Crisa revealed her knowledge, as if she has been monitoring the King''s behaviour before it.


    With a bottle of Beer on his hand spiraled down until the middle, he has become used of the midnight blurry vision and blank thoughts. But yet, he is capable enough to remain with a admirable etiquette. He isn''t cursing, nor shouting and furthermore he isn''t using the nice lady here to his advantage.


    "Well, the battle... My father. Yes, that''s the problem. My father." Zar tried to explain but at the same time he didn''t want to explain, he swallowed another mouthful of Beer which in a way blurred his mind even more, his sentences are coming out equally blurry to his vision.


    "Your father what?" Crisa asked, now that the King is as drunk as his idiot brother he might as well reveal his Burden to this fine lady.


    "He clearly wanted me dead." Zar answered directly for once and afterwards his vision became more and more blurry until he passed out. His bottle of Beer fell on the floor, but it didn''t crack.


    It only spilled all around, but no big issue. Because after all Crisa is paid to clean up such a mess, she is a maid here. Fairly the youngest actually, only being 25. A nice ill.u.s.tratian lady, in other words she isn''t physically unattractive either although she just breaks the normal by a hunch.


    "Passed out on the throne, again..." Crisa felt a bit bad about his behaviour and recent schedule, this is no behaviour for a man whose attitude is like an opposing mountain, unbreakable. "I should get him to his bed..."


    But yet again that might not be the easiest task, he is a 100 Kilogram man who barely has any fat on him. Getting him up to his bedroom might not be the easiest task alone and she doesn''t want to wake up any of the maids, as for Guards they have become very scarce here after the Battle.


    Grabbing him from underneath the shoulder, she started lifting him from his throne and used to her advantage the fact that he is slightly conscious, enough to walk on his own two feet just slightly instead of spreading around like a ragdoll.


    One step after the other, although she has to use up all her strength. She helped him make his way up the staircase, where his bedroom wouldn''t be too far after that. Helping him walk up the stairs, walking on a flat surface after would feel like a breeze.


    With the last bit of her strength she rolled him on his bed, and was about to leave the room now that she secured the King''s well being or best described physical comparability. As for well being, obviously a lot seems to be troubling him.


    She was about to leave... but instead she felt a firm grip right above her wrist. Turning around, it is of course none other than the King. Almost unconscious, he murmured. "Stay."


    If she stayed now and continued with this affair, when they wake up in the morning it will look like she used his current condition to her advantage. There isn''t another way for this to play out, it is all based on status and how things roll.


    "I really shouldn''t..." Crisa tried to get rid of his grip but no it was locked in like a shackle, a bit concerned about her safety but mostly concerned of his mental well being she added. "I''m not your wife... It is not for me to stay.


    With his consciousness fading, he finally knocked out and his grip found ease, letting go of Crisa. Feeling sympathy for the King''s situation, she refused to panic and covered him with the thin blanket. Although she found it removing his armour a bit impossible and considering this rate it can go for the worse.


    ...


    Crisa has known King Zar for a few years now, although most topics just included greets until recently. She seeked employment about 3 years ago, and was quickly accepted due to the fact that most 22 year old would be at their pique physical form, meaning they can work a lot more.


    Now the topics have become deep enough for the King to share a burden or two, it is fair to say that they are just friends. She is the nice lady who asked the King to dance, in the feast after the battle of Pameres Kingdom. From there, Zar has come to consider her unique characteristics. He sees her more than just an attractive maid now.


    She grabbed a rag, and wiped what bit of Beer was left on the wooden flooring, that neccesarily became the easiest part of her job this night. Afterwards she grabbed the bottle and just carried it along to the Kitchen, since it can be reused if plugged again.


    "The Sire isn''t well... What did mother call it?" Crisa debated with herself as she walked towards her bedroom, it is a small bedroom but she has found it appropriate to sleep here since her shifts are 12 hours long. "Mental illness or was it mental distress? Depression maybe?"


    She continued to debate what it is, and furthermore she tried to think of a solution. Because if the King becomes in no condition to host this Kingdom, they can kiss this sweet life Goodbye. The maids even started getting a salary now and she over heard that all maids will get a 40 gold coin increase.


    She doesn''t want the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance to rule again although she doesn''t really care about the Ignites enough to hate them. As for the King she sees him as an approachable figure, obviously more than worthy of his title.


    As she tried to think of a solution, her other plans came in to thought and she almost forgot what she was thinking about previously. Tommorow along with three days after it is her day off. Maids only work 4 days a week, example 5 of the maids take a 4 day shift than the other 5 maids take the other 4 day shift.


    It just goes on like this every week, but it is a good living. The King isn''t like others who would tempt or worse, order a maid to share a bed with him although he has that type of privilege. Furthermore the maids here are mostly middle aged, so Crisa never had any problems with them. Such as she wasn''t slapped by another maid who sees her as competition, a competition for the King''s affection that is.


    She decided that before she leaves for her days off, to visit her family and share a dinner with them and maybe help her mother with the daily duties. She will talk with King Zar, although in no way she would want to embarrass him, this problem has to be solved. The King shouldn''t be wasting his intelligence with Alcohol.


    ...


    "May we talk my King?" Crisa approached calmly, with her tone low and her intention clean but she has changed her intention a tad bit.


    Remembering last night in a blur, he wasn''t sure if the fact that he asked her to stay was a dream or reality. With embarrassment, his face started to become slightly red and he hoped that he didn''t do anything more stupid in his drunk state. He answered, "Of course, is it important?"


    "Yes... Um I''m about to go to my family, would you like to join me for breakfast there?" Debating it in the morning, she found it best not to torture the King''s thoughts with the slightly embarrassing acts he did while drunk but instead she wanted to help him find some type of relief, perhaps talking more or leaving the Castle might help?


    "My little brother has been dying to meet you, but every time you were on the town he was either asleep or playing somewhere else." She continued to explain, in hopes of convincing him more.


    Feeling that this might not be the topic she wants to talk about but at the same time feeling that he owns her a solid here considering all the help she is trying to provide, with his face calming down he answered. "I''d love too."

 Chapter 332 - The Medieval Psychologist

    "Mother!" Crisa gave out a light shout right after she went through the door, it is roughly 10am now and knowing her mother she must be awake. "I''m here."


    "Why are you so loud for!" Her mother complained, as she detached her gaze from the book she was reading and glared towards the door.


    "I have a guest." Crisa spoke with a bit of enthusiasm, yet she was holding a devious smile due to the surprise she is making for her brother.


    Her mother was found in shock, when a buff tall figure walked in the house, even walking in from the side since if he walked straight forward he wouldn''t fit. What''s more surprising? Crisa has grabbed him above the wrist and just pulled him in.


    "Is that...?" She asked in shock, as goosebumps arose and she could feel her arm hair going up.


    "Yes mother, this is our King." Crisa answered with a wide smile and proceeded to ask, "Is Miguel awake?"


    "Kinda... I called him for breakfast 4 times already." Her mother complained about the little boy''s morning behaviour.


    "Allow me." King Zar waved his hand, granting them relief but at the same time he raised more goosebumps. "What''s his name?"


    "Ugh I forgot." Crisa tapped her forehead lightly, his name is Miguel and this one is my mother." She pointed out the obvious and afterwards revealed her name. "Tedradia Carara."


    "Pleasure too meet you misses Carara." Zar walked closer towards her after she changed direction and gave her a firm handshake, finding a bit humerus how she is glancing at him, with full shock. "Miguel''s room is at...?"


    "This one straight ahead." Crisa answered pointing at the left side of the house, knowing that her mother is frozen at the moment.


    "Miguel." King Zar whispered softly once opening the door, afterwards repeating a couple of times until he grabbed Miguel''s attention.


    Opening his eyes once, than the second time. Miguel noticed that this figure isn''t his father, it would be illogical for his father to be here considering that he is working at one of the rows of forges made outside the Kingdom walls, since a few of the forges couldn''t fit. But the important part here is, his father is working.


    Opening his eyes again, he noticed a figure he managed to see from the crowd a few times but never actually got to talk to him. "AAAAAAAA!!" Miguel yelled out with joy and bounced off his bed. "King Zar!"


    "Looks like Miguel is finally awake." Crisa joked around and noticed how her mother is glaring, wanting to say something but not when the King is around.


    "Oh cheer up mother, I didn''t do anything." Crisa directly added, not caring if King Zar would hear or not. She didn''t do anything wrong and neither did the King come to think of it, it is better to clear it out now instead of having a cold room in this summer heat later.


    Noticing what Guards did once the King was close by in past events, after clumsily yelling from the top of his lungs Miguel tried to mimic the Guards, bending the knee. "Thank you for your visit King Zar." Miguel spoke, unsure if he said it right but its better than staying awkwardly quiet after all.


    "Stand up Miguel, no need for the honouring greets." King Zar spoke and pulled him up, tying his arm around Miguel''s shoulder after as well and telling. "Your mother told me that you won''t wake up when she calls you, why won''t you listen to your mother?"


    "Ummm Because..." Miguel tried to find an excuse as they walked out of the room, until King Zar warned.


    "It is not nice to lie Miguel!" He softly spoke, getting him all the way to where he saw food at or best described, breakfast.


    "Oh I was just sleepy." Miguel answered truthfully, and became bold enough to add. "Mother wants us all to wake up at the break of dawn, I need my beauty sleep."


    "Beauty sleep?" King Zar asked in a bit of shock, uncertain how a child heard about such a procedure but of course had to add. "You don''t need that Miguel, I bet that many ladies want to talk to your mother for your hand in marriage."


    Best thing to say to a child is it not? After all it isn''t too graphic and it is how marriages are hosted, some can date of course but they aren''t ad common. Connections between friends and families create marriages.


    "No no my mother doesn''t want to talk to them." Miguel let out a compliant, and continued with another. "I''m 12 years old, I can handle anything. She won''t even let me join the Army!"


    "Miguel, let''s not bother the King with such banter..." Tedradia tried to snap her son out of this deep wholesome conversation.


    "Miguel, your mother knows best." Zar complimented as he smiled at her and Crisa. "You should listen to her, until you can make decisions of your own."


    They''ve all sat down on the dinning table to have their light breakfast, including six boiled eggs, home bread and a mushroom stew as well. This looks like middle class eating and it isn''t a surprise considering that two people bring in salaries here, one of which is a Blacksmith. The Castle offers half prices, so that should make the cost of living here a lot easier.


    "I''m sorry to barge in practically uninvited, but when Crisa told me about Miguel I just couldn''t say no." King Zar explained, witnessing Tedradia''s nervous look in the process.


    This isn''t normal, the King entering a commoner''s home? It was never heard off! So Tedradia is just trying to figure out why the King is here, even thinking that her daughter is pregnant and wanting to smack her if she did anything like that with the King.


    Answering the King finally, after Crisa elbowed her gut a little bit. "Oh it''s nothing, you are welcome here anytime. Would you like anything else Sire?" She asked, standing up from the table willing to reach for the house''s storage.


    "Oh this piece of bread should be enough, I''m not really hungry." King Zar grabbed the Cheapest thing he could find, bread seems like a good option since there seems to be about 3 loafs cut in half and put in a bowl, a piece of baked bread would just cost a gold coin in the Market.


    "Don''t be so careful Sire." Crisa added, noticing where the King is going with this and glancing at her mother she asked. "Is there any Stinging nettle tea left mother?"


    In a way understanding what her daughter might be meaning here, Tedradia gave it slight thought before she answered. "Yes, I''ve picked up many of them last week." Afterwards she stood up and prepared a cup of tea, luckily the pot was already heating.


    Giving the King tea, Tedradia sat down and just blankly stared at both of them trying to figure out what''s going on. Analysing both her daughter and the King, to notice if they have any behaviour which links Romance.


    But no, the King is making Miguel eat more than he wants too. Repeating, "Soldiers need food to grow big and strong."


    While Crisa repeated the King''s words a couple of times, finding it very interesting how her brother is eating this much for once. Miguel rarely ate breakfast, and not because there isn''t much to eat but because he doesn''t want too. Food-wise, life has been better than ever.


    Before King Zar even knew it, a bowl of mushroom stew was already slipped near him. Mother and daughter noticed that he didn''t want to reduce their food supply, and they found it honorable. But yet again not necessary, pay day was roughly a week ago, they have enough food for the month and have tens of Gold Coins saved up just in this single month.


    "This mushroom stew is amazing Misess Carara." King Zar complimented as he tried to excuse himself. "I do not wish to overstay my presence, if you don''t mind I have to go."


    "Thank you thank you." Tedradia repeated, still confused of why he is here at the first place but she is firm to believe that her daughter is pregnant.


    But yet again, if she was pregnant wouldn''t the King request her father''s presence instead of coming here? He is the King after all and can practically get away with anything he wants here. "You can come back any time." Tedradia insisted, while feeling relieved that no topic like that came up.


    As the King left, she grabbed Crisa and led her towards the dinning table, asking. "Why did the King come here?" A bit angry, she took a step back and viewed her. "Look at me! Are you pregnant?"


    "No mother, that''s not why I brought him here." Trying to plant more seeds to her explanation she added. "Did you see how happy he was before leaving?"


    "What''s your point here?" Tedradia asked still puzzled, but at the same time happy that her daughter isn''t pregnant. Most would be happy if she was, but the last thing Tedradia would want is for them to gain monetary superiority with such a method. "You brought him here because he is sad?"


    "You catch up fast mother." Crisa complimented to calm her down a little bit. "You talk about how the mind works all the time, I thought you can help him."


    "The king isn''t mentally stable?" She asked in great shock of course, a man of such power and economical knowledge to be unstable? It is hard to believe.


    "No no he is very stable, he is just going through a rough time after that battle." Crisa tried to specify, hoping that her mother''s loud talking won''t be heard from the outside and spread unnecessary banter. "If there is anyone who can help him let go of such burden it is you, if the King goes on with this pace he will eventually be unstable."


    "Meaning we can kiss this good life goodbye..." Tedradia managed to catch on with her daughter''s thoughts. And at last mostly figuring it out why she brought the King here, "We can''t allow that to happen."


    It might come out as confusing at the moment, because the same mother who wouldn''t want her daughter to sleep with the King for a status and gold is the same person who wants the King to be stable so they can maintain this financially good life. Well it is simple to explain, 16 hour shifts before weren''t good enough to have enough food. She doesn''t want her family to sink back in those times.


    "Exactly mother, I will try to get the King to schedule some type of daily Dinner with you or how you call it...?" Crisa tried to think of the most appropriate word for this case.


    "Therapy... mental therapy." She repeated. "It''s not too different from just talking to the King, I will help him jump out of this phase."


    "Exactly. But you need to convince dad first, you know what kind of banter this can open up." Of course, Tedradia''s well being has to be taken under consideration here as well.


    "Oh that''s easy, he loves the King."

 Chapter 333 - Big Moves

    A week later, after spreading all the rumours by word about the employment and of course placing a nice piece of parchment declaring what jobs are available, they''ve got decent results.


    Sure, the last battle has gotten people a bit startled since two Platoons were completely gone but two reasons worked two the Castle''s advantage. The pay rose by 40 Gold Coins for those who earn under 200 and people are loving King Zar more by the day due to the good living he is providing.


    They managed to get every bit of employee they required, all 400 of them and even a few were left unemployed because the numbers grew too big! Apparently the fact that the King is looking to hire 400 people, got them intrigued.


    Most could figure out that this is just a new way to bring in more profit here, meaning eventually it would bring a better life here. People especially became motivated when King Zar ordered the Construction Workers to break down old houses and build new ones.


    If a King can offer something as good as a brand new house, which provides three times the warmth, what else can he provide? A lot were curious, and they just wanted to be part of it in order to progress.


    At the bottom of the Parchment, it is written. "No gender restrictions, anyone can apply regardless." This might be their best move yet, because what good would it prove to the Kingdom if they hire 500 men now and end up not having any more to hire for future projects?


    But here comes the hard part, crunching numbers. With so many employees hired, they will need to prepare every calculation so the budget isn''t accidentally damaged or people aren''t accidentally left unpaid. Plus they need to know what the total profit will be after this.


    Originally, King Zar included small bonuses for certain craft after each period of time so he could attract workers when the Kingdom was the most desperate. That just became too confusing to calculate each month, so they decided to split the bonuses in 12 pieces and include each piece in a salary.


    That being said, it made the calculations a lot easier today. Because along with the bonuses, a pay increase of 40 gold coins has to be added. Every man and women they hired this week are apprentices, experienceless.


    The 150 newly hired apprentice Stonemasons for example, are the most important part of this move and they required the most work. Each of them have to be assigned over an experienced Stonemason, this is where the first hired ones come in handy.


    Even Stonemasons who a few months ago were as dumb as a board towards the Craft, can host a few apprentices of their own. This opens up new doors, because not only the house foundations will be built faster and the Construction Workers can finally focus on their own work instead of Stonemasonry too.


    This caused a lot of work because Maleesa with the help of Seer, had to debate with the most experienced about where to assign everyone. Eventually, after 3 hours they all reached an agreement and the Kingdom will now progress faster than ever.


    As for the pay, apprentices in Stonemasonry originally earned 85 Gold Coins a month. Small but better than nothing and overall fair considering that they don''t know a thing. Now with the 40 gold coin increase, they earn 125 Gold Coins a month.


    When you multiply that with 150 people, the experienceless Stonemasons alone will take 18,750 Gold Coins each month! That''s almost as much as the Army previously took.


    The Stonemasons are what Seer calls, people who don''t bring in monetary profit but bring better or fancier living. It is a good investment, even though this investment just ate up half of the profit.


    With this rate, even the large wall won''t take a decade to build because after all they need it quick and not after they get invaded or anything like that.


    Speaking about protection, 100 Patrol Guards were hired. These people play an important part, because when not patrolling the streets and when in war, they can either be Archers or close combat Swordsmen or women.


    Respectfully, Pameres Kingdom can''t depend on other domains to protect it, if anything this fine Kingdom should be protecting other domains like BaleTown or Gaster Kingdom.


    The expenses however are tad strong, along with the 100 previously hired Patrol Guards, the monthly expenses have arisen to 23,000 Gold Coins. That is, just to pay these 200 Guards.


    The salary is low even after the increase, we are talking about people who would put their life on the line here. 115 Gold Coins just isn''t enough but it is all the Kingdom can afford at the moment.


    Because even though salaries low, in this army of 310 men and women including Ballistaguards and Catapult Operators, a total of 38,400 Gold Coins are spend on the Army. This are more than double compared to last time and it almost eats up half of the monthly income.


    At this rate, you might be thinking that Seer did the dumbest mistake ever here and doomed the Domain. Or at least, King Zar did the dumbest mistake of allowing these two main actions?


    Worry no longer, because now we can talk about a set of people who will bring the Kingdom a lot of profit. Blacksmiths! 80 people were required to take a career as Blacksmiths and all 80 filled the spot with 14 rejected who just didn''t qualify enough age-wise.


    This is an important number here, because 80 of these men and women can accomplish what the first team of Blacksmiths couldn''t at the very beginning. These Blacksmiths all together can forge 320 Iron Swords in a month.


    Seer has already made letters ready for the Zamerians to pick up next month, offering new deals now that a second team is made who can almost out compete the first team of 54.


    Although he couldn''t care less what the Zamerians would require as long as it it a cutting weapon, he is sure that this team will eventually bring in profits and the best part is that they don''t have 300 gold coins salaries like the most experienced Blacksmiths.


    To make a workspace for these men and women however, more forges had to be made outside of the City walls because as mentioned previously they just won''t fit inside of the Kingdom walls.


    With that aside, let''s sum up the total expenses. The original salary was 100 Gold Coins, splitting up the 20 Gold Coin bonus every 3 months they are supposed to get, this pushes the salary to 107 Gold Coins a month.


    And of course along with the recent raise for anyone earning under 200 Gold Coins a month, the pay is 147 Gold Coins! This is why a lot of people applied, it is just a salary too great for an apprentice. I mean, even the experienced Lumberjacks earn 190 Gold Coins a month now. Who would miss out such a chance?


    Summing up the total cost, these Blacksmiths alone take out 11,760 of the monthly income. A small price to pay, considering that if they got a deal now they would fish out double the income! However, along with the first team of Blacksmiths, the total pay for all Blacksmiths is 24,765. That 100 thousand a month income doesn''t sound so big now does it?


    Moving on to smaller moves, Tailors and Miners. Originally, Tailors were paid 200 Gold Coins a month and they still are considering the fact that they don''t go under the salary raise section.


    King Zar offered the Tailors big salaries, so he can attract more people. Women working outside of the house is just too rare in these times so he had to compromise, even offered penalties for men who don''t let the women of the house work.


    Now with 40 Tailors employed, they take 8,000 Gold Coins out of the monthly budget. Smallest price to pay really, clothing is very expensive regardless of the Continent they are sold at. With only 30 Tailors they managed to bring in a great 18,000 Gold Coins a month.


    As for the Miners, 10 more of them were hired due to all the recent increases in Blacksmithery. They aren''t required at a large amount considering that even the most experienced Blacksmiths now use 6 ores a week, but it is good to have them here so the orders can be handled perfectly.


    They earn 140 Gold Coins a month, considerably one of the smallest pays here since it doesn''t require any experience but at least they aren''t earning a hundred anymore and chances are that more than one person in a house is earning a salary.


    All 20 miners together, take out a small amount of 2,800 Gold Coins from the budget each month. The smallest outcome here no doubt, even though without them great sources of profit would go flat.


    Last but not least, the Lumberjacks. 50 more of them were hired, now Pameres Kingdom has 90 in total. Wood consumption has increased rapidly due to the house construction, Wagon Construction, Furniture and Weaponry too.


    Along with the salary increase, they now earn 190 Gold Coins a month. All together, they take 17,100 Gold Coins from the budget. It might sound large but after all they play the possibly most important part here. If they don''t bring in wood, Pameres Kingdom might as well hand their behind to the Alliance because the Economy would collapse in no time.


    Now moving on to more important matters, what did all these expenses result too? Due to the 40 Gold Coin increase on certain crafts and groups of people, with 400 more people being hired and considering the fact that Pameres Kingdom imports food.


    The total monthly expenses now are 165,015 Gold Coins! You know what this means! In order for the Kingdom to earn profit again or at least break even, they need to figure out a way of bringing over 60 thousand Gold Coins in the Treasury.


    This is the biggest move Pameres Kingdom ever did, even when it was under the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance''s influence. At the same time it can crumble the economy in to dust and starve everyone unless the King fired 400 people which is another bad idea.


    Like it or not, the monthly expenses now have increased by a hundred thousand!! 165k isn''t exactly easy to tackle, but now there are 718 people under the Kingdom''s employment.


    They indeed have chances to bring in big profit until a day comes when they can monetize the Stonemasons as well. Until that day, they now can primarily rely on the Gr.a.p.e Ale project.

 Chapter 334 - Therapy for the King

    About a week later, Crisa was finally ready to ask King Zar the big question! No not like that, I mean she is ready to advise the King about dealing with this rage. Typically he is great compared to Kings who have attitudes equal to hogs but the better he gets, the richer Crutal Kingdom gets.


    Knowing the King''s schedule, she made her way down to the training room. It can be considered a bas.e.m.e.nt actually, but it was most appropriately named as the royal training room. The King has a great physique although he isn''t jacked at a 6/6 scale. We can consider it 4/6, and he wants to put in work in order to maintain that physique.


    The King would be alone, meaning she wouldn''t embarrass him or shame him in front of everyone else, no one would appreciate being called a unstable man. She could of could of course address this at midnight since the King doesn''t sleep, but that''s not a good idea.


    One reason is that the King has more odds of having his nerves screwed or would be drunk. The second reason, is that if he is drunk again the situation might turn for the worst. She is attractive and his nerves are more than screwed enough to cloud his logic drunk or sober. It might turn for the worst.


    With a bottle of water along side with cups, she knocked on the royal training room before coming in. The King answered, "Come in."


    "I hope you don''t mind, but I''ve brought you some water. My father told me that the Guards drink it a lot while training." Here of course she is showing good will, in a way caring for the King''s well being in two ways. Hydration and mentality.


    "Oh..." King Zar didn''t know how to react, this is rather unusual and the maids rarely serve anything outside of the Kitchen or Dinning room. "Thank you, you can set it down there." He pointed at a little table, close to a chair. Obviously only he enters this training room.


    Afterwards he reached for a rag close by and wiped off the sweat from his forehead along with what he could reach around the arms. He is aware that exercises force out a foul odour, and he tends to be private about it. It is why he has a private training room.


    After getting the thought of sweat out of his mind, seeing that Crisa hasn''t yet gone out he tried to ask as kindly as possible. "I''m guessing you have something to say?"


    Breaking her out of her focus, that is... The focus on the King''s arm size once in the middle of the exercise, oddly with no embarrassment she put that little scene behind and added. "Me and my mother have been consulting an important topic, and I think you should hear it too."


    "What is it about?" King Zar asked in curiosity, feeling that his mind is a bit blurry due to last night''s continued heavy drinking.


    "I have been recently noticing that you are in very bad moods, late night drinking and stuff." It was hard for Crisa to put this in to word, it isn''t easy to call a King unstable.


    "Ohhh..." The King felt a bit of embarrassment, and further he disliked the fact that he can''t express his pain more than the fact that it got directed towards him by a maid. Ego had small bits of work here, he added. "You came to tell me that I shouldn''t drink?"


    "In this case, that''s like telling someone to stop drinking water. Your body doesn''t need it, but your heart needs it to slow down the pain." Crisa spoke clearly and without hesitation this time, although she almost forgot where she is going with this. "I''m talking about a way to get rid of this heart pain, so you don''t have to rely on Beer to do it."


    At the very end of the sentence, his attention was grabbed completely and his facial expression shifted as if someone came in crackling explosive crossbows. One thing is for sure here, he is curious more than he is irritated. "How do you suppose we do that?"


    "Look... I''m not qualified with it but my mother has a lot of experience... She helped a lot of neighbours overcome..." Again, she forgot what the official name for this term was so she started thinking.


    "Trauma. Yes trauma. As far as she explained it, that''s a bit like a brain shock and it requires the right words to cure it. Or else it would be hard to continue day to day life with it." At this rate she is trying to use the good words here, so the King doesn''t send her out. This is indeed a sensitive topic.


    "I doubt that I have a brain shock..." He added, knowing his very source of the pain. "I''m just not in a good mood these days, hundreds of people died in my watch."


    "I know that. You are way too strong to get in a brain shock!" Crisa complimented, so she can have the honours of continuing this conversation.


    "But at any case where the heart and brain needs to find relief, my mother can be considered over qualified." This is as if she pitched a business offer, but oddly it is working.


    "That''s never heard off... But I suppose the Kingdom deserves a King who doesn''t waste his time spiraling down a bottle... I can''t even think straight, I wasn''t like this before." The King expressed his personal issues here more than he ever did to her.


    "I''m happy that we reached an agreement my King... If it comes for what is heard off and what is not. You an consider this a luxury, you would have a super smart lady who can help you overcome any mental affair. The Kingdom will just progress if you progress." Crisa explained more, detailing topics that neccesarily can bother the King. Such as people thinking he has lost his mind.


    "You saw your mother handling many cases?" The King planted a question which at the same time it is a statement. Able to think enough to form a business opportunity, he asked. "Did people perform better at work once they''ve gotten out of shock or felt a lot better?"


    "Of course! Some people even thanked her with free boar meat, she helped a hunter overcome the fear of Bears." Crisa specified to spice up the conversation a little bit.


    And of course he immediately asked. "So did he bring back better game?"


    "He brought down a Bear!" Crisa had no hesitation to tell, which in another way proves another fact.


    "I see two opportunities here." Zar answered right away, glad that he can talk business but of course he is a little bit dizzy. "Ugh wait no, three."


    "I''m listening."


    "Um this Magic your mother does... It can help me, it can eventually bring another source of profit and it can increase productivity. Oh also, there still is some illas propaganda here and there, can she fix those as well?" Zar asked after he stated the opportunities, realizing that he didn''t count well again.


    "Its actually not magic, she just knows how to help people feel happy independently." Getting back to the most important point, she answered the question. "Also yes, my mother can convince anyone to do anything, she can even teach a hound to not bark."


    "Then it is settled, first she will have a few talks with me and if she is as good as you tell her to be, I will give her a building to manage along with a good salary." Able to think business-wise again which is great considering next month''s expenses being 165k.


    "If your mother can help increase overall productivity for at least 5% in a matter of months or a year come to think of it, that''s a thousand steps closer to being indomitable." Such a small percentage might not be too great, but it is a step closer towards economic bliss.


    "I''ll even give her apprentices to control, the more the better right?"


    ...


    When Crisa explained it to her mother that she actually convinced the King, she almost choked on her bread. All she wanted to do was help the King, she didn''t see monetary value in it. Well at least not directly.


    The "Therapy session" was scheduled at Sunday, when most are away including Guards. So no one would walk in and figure out that the King might not be as stable and dependable as they thought.


    As for Crisa''s father, he immediately approved this activity. He loves the King and Crisa made him promise not to tell anyone, even the men at the Forge. Nope, not a single one. The last thing the Sire needs, is another Migraine.


    "My King, first of all I''d like to thank you for understanding our point of view and approving this meeting." Tedradia thanked, starting off this conversation.


    "Ummm... So how do we do this?" King Zar asked uncertain, afterwards adding. "Do you have powers?"


    "No no. Just consider me as your auntie who secretly gives you the good tasting snacks." Tedradia planted the little seed here, and asked the burning question. "So can you tell me what has been bothering you, don''t hold back."

 Chapter 335 - New technique

    Training indeed is difficult, but as time passed it tended to get a lot easier. Although, it does feel like his muscles have become like stone due to all the soreness, day by day the pain is reducing.


    Like Eric debated it a bit earlier, 4 hours doing the same exercise is just too much for him. So just slitting the exercise in half time-wise, helped in many terms. Here we are talking about the exercise where he almost touches his toes.


    To be more specific, he is supposed to touch his toes but found it very difficult. So Kazer made him start with a couple of feet away from his toes, it fairly is better. In a matter of weeks he will be able to do the exercise properly.


    As for the second exercise, it doesn''t have a minimum time requirement. It used too, but for now it would be pointless since he hasn''t yet learned how to do it. As in, he still can''t balance himself with his head.


    For now, he can just focus on trying to do it right and hope it will become easier as time passes. With the couple of exercises already introduced, since Eric understood the fundamentals, the Grand Masters decided to approach with yet another exercise, thankfully it isn''t physical.


    "Can you do this?" Kazer spoke clearly, while holding a fist like rock on his hand and afterwards placing it above his forefinger.


    Perfect balance was achieved seconds later, the Grand Master held still and so did the rock on the end of his finger. At first sight it does look amazing, but giving it a second thought he can already feel the headache.


    "I definitely can not do that." Eric spoke, as he glanced upon the rock in amazement. Thinking that the Grand Masters exercise their fingers as well or something.


    "Try." He answered shortly, afterwards tossing a smaller rock towards him. We can consider it that it has a size of a half fist, it is as big as half of Eric''s fist that is.


    Catching the rock with a bit of effort, he first gave it a quick thought of how to do this. "Throwing the rock high likely isn''t the answer." He thought to himself, and started trying it out.


    He used his right hand to balance it on the left one, with a lot of effort he could only keep it above his finger for about 2-3 seconds. In the middle of all these attempts, he took a peek at the Grand Master who now is sitting back to his place and asked. "What''s the point of all this?" Although he had a theory already.


    "Brain challenge." Kazer answered swiftly although it might not have made much sense, afterwards adding. "This pokes self control."


    Although an unclear sentence, it still makes a lot of sense. Trying this move over and over, failing in the process countless times will sure mess with both of his patience and self control.


    As much as we are concerned, even if Eric whispers. "Screw this shit." And tosses the stone as far as he can, it still can damage his progress big time. Imagine spending countless hours of work only to have half of your progress gone by a little burst of anger.


    An hour passed, maybe even a little bit more than that. But has Eric mastered this training exercise? No, nothing good can be mastered this easily. The longest he could keep this little rock balanced above his finger, is 8 seconds.


    While when he took a glance at the Grand Master, he still is keeping his rock above his finger even though he is under deep meditation. We are talking about balance over an hour here.


    As for how much this exercise has tired Eric, he feels like his arms are going to fall off and the mental challenge could be ten fold worse. At this rate, even if some minor inconvenience happens he could loose his absolute shit.


    "I wonder if I..." Eric gave it a quick thought and formed a rather devious smile.


    Walking closer to the lava, he gave it another shot there and his little stone accidentally fell from his hand, down to the Lava. "Okay um so with the stone gone I should act like I''m looking for another one." He thought to himself as he lightly walked across the volcanic rock.


    A second after, he saw Pezik walking towards him. Communication is obviously difficult since they don''t speak each other''s languages, so he just waved her finger in front of him with a little smile.


    After it, she reached high above 17 feet high and ripped a piece of Volcanic rock from the walls of this Volcano, rather easy to do for a 15 foot tall lady. Her height is indeed record breaking!


    The nice 1100 year old lady handed Eric the little rock and just got back to her place of meditation. If she could speak, she would tell Eric that he isn''t that slick.


    "Well ain''t that nice, the rock is even heavier now." So much for his idea, he gave a little grunt and returned to his training, thinking. "At least there aren''t any yelling kids around."


    ...


    "Enough." Kazer lightly spoke around an hour after, thinking that it would be enough for a day. Two hours of the same activity appears to be the most this little Ignite can handle.


    "Do you guess you close to master exercise?" He asked lightly, knowing what to expect. Mostly failure come to think of it.


    "Not really, but I did manage to hold it for 10 seconds this time." Eric asked proudly but yet tired, "How do you keep it up that long?"


    "I training this exercise for Centuries, simple but helps." Kazer tried to explain the importance of this exercise and this time added a bit of encouragement. "You are good, you need time."


    "Alright... so what do I do now? I feel like I deserve a brake here." Eric asked with a joke, but not entirely. He wants to calm down his nerves, eat a fig or two and see Ada. He hasn''t seen her this morning.


    "You do, in one hour. Now you touch toe." Kazer answered boldly, unwilling to shift towards the Golden Blood''s demands. They have finally formed a schedule that wouldn''t destroy him, they can''t dump it down lower.


    "Again??" Eric asked, obviously not a fan of the exercise.


    "Yes, I count. It only 3 hours now." Guessing the time is usual, but counting it? It is no wonder that he is the smartest person in this town even with the Golden Blood included.


    Without much hesitation, he went back to his exercises. And of course, to make it more difficult the Grand Masters are poking at him, trying to make him loose control both physically and mentally. The fact that he is resisting to loose control, is helping him progress.


    This time, another lady of the 5 wants to poke at Eric. Altacin, the lady with over a year in training at Volcano shaping. This grand master is Commander Alia''s favourite because she took Alia in over 200 years ago.


    Basically, she saved her life after finding her at an unfavourable position. And I''m not talking about the fact that she was beached, what happened that day shall remain hidden between these two friends.


    Apart from being favoured by the elected Commander, Altacin is known for being insanely attractive. Perhaps the most attractive in this whole town, which says a lot because even the elderlies make you get goosebumps.


    Here it proves another point, because Altacin is 983 years old. Yet her face, it looks so youthful and soft. She has gold and black hair, which adds more beauty to all this complexion.


    Apart from everyone else here who has tried breaking him out of this exercise, she is the most normal here. What couldn''t anyone withstand for long? Tickling!


    She started tickling his waist and afterwards moved underneath his pits. "Hehehehehehehehehe." He giggled under his breath and tried to fight it off.


    But no... Ain''t nothing you can fight off here. So he thought it as a good idea to bounce himself away, to escape the tickling. So without messing up his form, he bounced once and then twice.


    But of course, it isn''t so hard to follow a little boy who just moved a few inches away. She took another step, reached him closer and started tickling him again, even pulling his shirt high to do it.


    "Oh I''ll spare you the trouble." He spoke quietly and dipped in head first in to the Lava.


    This time however, he did something he doesn''t do quite often. He opened his eyes while deep in lava, his lashes don''t even get burned down there so what would it do to his eyes?


    At first glance, he didn''t see anything tremendously interesting. Just a orange like colour accompanied by black colours either slithering or blobing around.


    Those facts aside, this place still looks very beautiful. But one thing started catching his eye, but he didn''t want to analyse what it is nor could he do it because he was running out of breath, he can''t open up his mouth while deep in Lava after all.


    "Is Lava supposed to be blue?" He asked in curiosity and a bit nervous too, once popping out his head from the Lava.

 Chapter 336 - He doesnt explain unless you ask him.

    Roughly two weeks later, in the middle of August or best described the hottest few weeks of the year, they got a new ally down here at the Town. Of course before it there were some debates on certain cases.


    For example, the Grand Masters insisted that whatever Eric saw must have been an illusion from opening his eyes once deep in Lava. At the same time, Eric had a good debate against it. For example, "How could you know that if you never swam in Lava?"


    The debate didn''t last long, since after all this Volcano is in other terms hand made. Grand Masters of the ancient times formed it, or best described the first Calidum Lutum send down by the God "Calidus".


    If there was something to see down there, they would have seen it. In any case Eric could object religious claims since most tend to be untrue, he even has facts against them. But the religion here? It sounds the most believable.


    Mostly because he saw a soul transcending to the heavens, he saw it with his own eyes nearly a year ago when that Guard was shot down. So now, what can he really say against them if wisdom tends to be passed by in this town. Who could say otherwise if the Grand Masters Claim that there is nothing down there?!


    So they''ve just let it be, because Eric tried to see the "Blue Lava" again and didn''t find anything. He tried it several times, and just settled with the fact that it could he an illusion.


    Training-wise, Eric has progressed slowly but accurately. He now manages to reach 2-4 inches closer to his feet, managed to balance the rock on the top of his finger for over 20 seconds and can even balance himself with his head for more than 10 seconds now.


    It might not seem progress which can be listed as tremendous, but the fact that he didn''t break throughout all of the exercises has helped him tame his Inner Demon that pokes self control. Yet still he is very far away from reaching Level 2.


    Now let''s get back to the first claim, the ally. Osira has made her way down to the town in the span of two weeks with the aid of a Calidum Lutum Guard. When she hopped off his back, her hair tied in to a bun was all messy and was pushed entirely behind.


    Typically when she would let her hair down it would be tremendously beautiful, because the bun would form a set of wide curls on her hair. Accompanied by the fact that she has black hair, it would form the epitome of beauty.


    At least that''s what would happen in normal cases, but here? Her hair looks like she just faced an explosion, all forced up due to the wind and pushed behind a lot as well. It is as if someone just invented a super substance that lets you form your hair the way one would like it, although no one would like this.


    A Calidum Lutum''s average running speed out matches a Level 4 and even Level 5 flying Ignite. It sure is a lot to put in to consideration, their speed is matchable with the Molarians.


    She was welcomed with a hug by Commander Alia, the second in command around here. "I''m glad you finally made it." Commander Alia repeated as the man who brought her here casually started walking in the town, as if he didn''t travel hundreds of Kilometers.


    "It was... Interesting getting here..." She gently spoke and tried to fix her hair. Last thing she would need right now is to walk in towards new people looking like a failing Sorcerer.


    "Yes I can see." Commander Alia added, giggling through her sentence. "Let me see if I can help you here..."


    Afterwards Alia grabbed the water bottle on her waist and started gently sprinkling Osira''s hair. In some ways it worked and in other ways it didn''t, it would take a while to tame this hair, a few long showers would help.


    "Just relax." Commander Alia tried to comfort and assure, seeing that she started panicking because most of her hair keeps staying up. "Nobody really cares about hair here as long as its not red."


    "But that man who brought me here had amazing hair, they were so soft and were always shinning." She was closest to his hair, since she was over his back. Most appropriate position come to think of it, "And my friends are here."


    "Aha..." Commander Alia spoke, knowing what''s going on here due to the fact that she had a bit of a talk with Osira''s mother. "Well don''t worry, you''re still very beautiful." She complimented and started leading her towards the town tunnel.


    The tunnel here has been open since yesterday, since the allies here were expected. As for the ones sending messages, they will be here after September starts with the new messages.


    ...


    "Wow." Osira glanced upon the wide Volcano in amazement, suddenly forgetting that she attained a Goblin hairstyle. "This Volcano is huge."


    "So you saw a Volcano before?" Commander Alia asked in curiosity, knowing for a fact that there isn''t one in Occidentis Ignis.


    "Yes there is one between the border of Orientis Ignis and Septemtrionis Ignis." Seeing that the country talk might be a bit confusing she swiftly added. "Basically right in the middle of the High Mountains."


    "I''m guessing it is smaller." She asked, once recalling how amazed Osira is from the size.


    "Its barely 50 meters across, the tip I mean." Trying to explain in more detail she added, "We explored it a little bit, once a theory came by that it might have many resources."


    "Oh they have resources, you just have to dig through the walls." Alia based it on the mines here and how much Iron along with Ignite Gems they mined out.


    "Amazing." She continued to glance upon the wide beautiful Volcano. "Where are the rest?"


    "You mean Eric?" She teased, and noticed that her face got a tad red but they blamed this one on the Volcano.


    "No I mean everyone." She tried to fight off the blush, and got a bit curious about other facts. "Where are all the people?"


    "Well they all have their own duties, as for Eric and the rest they should be in the farm." Alia answered casually, as if it wasn''t a big deal.


    "There is a farm down here?" She asked in shock, trying to put it all together on how would it be possible.


    They''ve exchanged words as they walked down the spiral like walk way, Commander Alia answered. "Yes and it is very rich thanks to Stefan and the rest of the group a bit too, they saved our behinds big time."


    "Who is Stefan?" She asked in curiosity, being it the first time to hear this name.


    "I''m guessing you and Eric didn''t have the chance to get in to specifics about allies." Commander Alia pointed out the obvious.


    "No, he just referred to all his allies as "them"." Osira specified, shedding light to this minor mystery.


    ...


    "Osira!" Her two friends shouted at the same pace, as Mogranius was demolishing some figs behind them.


    They''ve ran towards her, and Ada gave in the first hug. Welcoming her friend, "Welcome welcome."


    Afterwards Eric gave a light hug as well, although they were a tad shy towards each other. Osira mostly come to think of it, but she managed to hide it well. Although she mostly felt shy due to the fact that her hair is a mess.


    "Come eat! I''m sure your belly feels heavy from eating meat all the time." Ada offered, grabbing her wrist and leading her towards what they still find amazing. The fig tree.


    Eric followed after, along with Commander Alia. She poked Eric''s arm and teased. "They both are pretty aren''t they?"


    "Everyone is pretty in their own way." Eric fought off the question and led his own attention along with Commander Alia''s towards Mogranius.


    They saw him, nearing a food coma as he laid on his back. "Ohh the food here is amazing."


    They all glanced at Mogranius and shook their head from left to right, as his childish behaviour has become more common. Either way in Commander Alia''s eyes he is adorable, she wants to kiss him as much as she wants to slap him.


    "I think the scenery here is a lot more amazing than the food." Osira took Mogranius'' word and shaped it to her liking.


    "Um yes... The Ignite gems was an idea our group had last year." Eric tried to prove himself useful in front of a new visitor here.


    Commander Alia just glanced at him from behind the girls and with a smirk she shook her head from left to right. Until he glanced back with the, "Don''t you dare." Look, the last thing he needs is to be teased about romance in front of Ada and the girl he isn''t sure if she likes him or not.


    "This is the most beautiful place I''ve ever been too." She continued to admire and through her head she thought, "I really did make a good decision of coming here."


    By word she continued to add, "Eric didn''t tell me that the town is this beautiful."


    "He doesn''t tend to explain anything unless you ask him." Complained Ada, "Like he didn''t tell me that Lava doesn''t burn him, I almost died of fright."


    "Lava doesn''t burn him?" Osira asked with a shout, becoming overly curious and in other ways wanting to analyse this situation or better described, study. "How is that even possible?"


    "He is the Golden Blood, even the Ignite Gems here started shinning stronger because of him." Commander Alia explained, thinking that Eric might not have told them.


    And she was right, because they both glanced at Eric with shock. "Ignite Gems started glowing because of you?" Osira asked, since she had a few under her possession.


    "Pretty much." He answered with a light smile, grabbing a fig and offering it to her. "Eat."

 Chapter 337 - Blacksmith meets Blacksmith.

    In the next morning, after a good night sleep and a good proper lunch. Osira along with Commander Alia made her way down to the mines, because she was told about an amazing Blacksmith here who can forge a proper dependable sword under a day.


    She has it hard to believe, especially when Commander Alia added that he can enchant weaponry with "Magic" as well. However after, she explained that the word Magic is just a coat to explain high intelligence easier.


    As for Osira, if she gets experience from a man carrying such skill it will no doubt grant a lot of advantages for her Tribe. She has to see more about this or in other terms "borrow" the wisdom. The Town of Lan Zhe is still fond of sharing knowledge with the King''s allies regardless of the recent events.


    In the process of spiraling down the mine, Osira managed to see Eric dip in lava for the first time. "They weren''t joking were they?"


    Osira asked the kind lady along her side (Commander Alia), to what she replied with. "Most of what we say here aren''t jokes, unless you are talking to Mogranius." She warned.


    "He still has a lot of wisdom to share though." Osira stuck to complimenting Alia'' lover.


    "He does, but at the same time he is more puzzling than a teenage girl." She joked around, finishing the sentence with a giggle but forgetting one main fact here.


    "So you think I am puzzling?" She forgot that Osira is a teenage girl as well, oh at least she can recover from this improper wordplay.


    "I still have it hard to accept that you are a teenager, your words and body show maturity." Well at least she recovered from her own wordplay with a little compliment, quoting Osira''s early glow up.


    "I''ve got a hell load of comments like that from perverts." Osira shared her past burden and added. "It feels nice to be appreciated by a lady who doesn''t have impure intentions though."


    "Haven''t you got enough appreciation from Ada yet?" Commander Alia asked with a giggle, Ada wasn''t the easiest to understand throughout the month long travel. Her liking and paired intentions with her liking is tremendously unusual.


    "Oh she is the sweetest complimentor yet, best of all she too doesn''t have impure intentions." It is odd how Osira gets along with Ada at such a pace, considering that both technically "like" Eric the Electus. But what works, works.


    "I don''t think she understands how l.u.s.t works for the moment, she just likes butts for some reason." Alia answered confused, as said before Ada has the most weird combination of thoughts.


    With girl talk going back and forth between the two ladies, they''ve finally reached down the mine for approximately half an hour. Walking down this spiral sure takes time considering the Volcano being half a mile wide!!


    "This Osira, is our Town''s legendary Blacksmith." Commander Alia introduced, with her hand pointing towards his direction once they passed the entrance a couple meters ago.


    "Wow... he has so much muscles." Realising what she just said, she just shook her head and cleared her throat. Luckily he didn''t understand anything, she asked. "How do I say hi?"


    Luckily they have a translator in the room otherwise they would have no sense of communication but banging on the Iron. "Say "Lat, Fi Osira Nardone." Commander Alia was quick to explain, and opened up the first firm of communication between these two fine Blacksmiths.


    "Lat, Fi Osira Nardone." She was quick to speak and reached out her hand.


    The Blacksmith reached for her hand, and gave out a soft greet. However the rough skin caused due to the fact that he holds a hammer throughout most of the day, it left light white marks on her when he pulled his hand away.


    This little painless scratch, reminded Osira of her father. This is how his hand felt when her hand was held throughout the domain during various tasks. Like shopping or pulling Osira a bit away from the scorching hot forge.


    Although this hurt her heart a bit, she just kept a smile and felt a lot better when the Blacksmith mixed both languages trying to communicate. "Hi, Fi Katapa."


    "You didn''t tell me he speaks our language." Osira felt shocked by the 6 foot tall Blacksmith but at the same time heart warmed.


    "He doesn''t, he just could have caught up with the conversation." She explained, complimenting the Blackmisth''s capacity even though he doesn''t understand anything.


    After the little introduction, Commander Alia started the topic with Katapa at his own Calidum Lutum language to give out every detail with exact clarity. "Qet ke xo Geteripar vatam, lu hopik Ertekal varam Usepikeq vast me gmu tetetekat."


    This specifically translates too. "She is a Blacksmith too, and would love to learn more with your aid." A complex language I''m aware, but they had no contact with the world for thousands of years.


    Katapa just grunted in agreement and waved for her to follow, now to avoid confusion the sentences will be translated for your proper understanding. "To succeed, you need to be quick with the Hammering. The Iron won''t wait for you all day with this heat around." Katapa explained the first part, basic but highly important.


    After the translation, Osira glanced at this technique with curiosity but at the same time was aware of the fact. For an Ignite, "It is easier said than done." She gave out a little complaint and Commander Alia translated shortly after.


    "Watch." He spoke gently and before Alia could translate he started pounding on the iron he got a hold of with his tongs.


    The speed, amazing. He is pounding on the Iron with three beats per a count(second). He isn''t keeping the Hammer a few inches away from the hot iron either, no it stretches three feet above his head.


    It feels like he is breaking speed and gravity. This just proves that he is made for this craft, look at the speed and precision. He isn''t even pounding randomly, because after the iron is slightly bent to his will he moves on to the nearby surfaces and evens out that part as well.


    Short said, he has full control of how the Iron is being shaped and has full control over the speed he has on his thick arms. Osira is right, he is very muscular. Come to think of it they are comparable with the one "Er Atnopes" has a.k.a the Beast.


    "Try." He added as he handed her the hammer and held on the hot iron himself with the tongs so Osira doesn''t have too. It will at least give ease on the process since she just has to focus on pounding the iron.


    Grabbing the hammer, at the first outburst she managed to bring in 5 hits in 3 counts! Good progress, but it nearly isn''t enough to form a sword in a day. Especially since after a few swings she got a tad tired and her breath intake and out take spiraled a bit out of control but nothing to cause damage to her well being.


    "She is good." Katapa complimented, he expected less since he was told about the limited Ignite physical capabilities. "But she has to manage her strength properly." He added after lifting his tongs up along with hot iron.


    Jokingly adding after, "We''re not trying to make curved swords." She has bent the Iron tremendously rough, it is almost folded like a book. The people here under valued Ignite physical strength so much that he thought she wouldn''t be able to swing the hammer more than ten times.


    Afterwards they all broke in to a little giggle, Commander Alia tapped Osira''s back and added. "Just hold on girl, we can''t handle your strength here." Of course it was just a way to boost her self esteem.


    Katapa even started crackling his knuckles, and trying to fight away the numbness as well. Holding the Iron straight sure took some effort even for him.


    "This explains how he can make a sword in a day." Osira spoke towards Alia, in a way admiring this vast skill and feeling that her decision to come here is worth the time. Who else could teach such knowledge?


    "Uh well I should leave you alone with the fellow Blacksmith here and check on everyone else." Well more specifically she just wanted to hit the training room, there isn''t a better time than now.


    With a little blush, she unleashed a loud whisper. "No!" And afterwards added, "I wouldn''t be able to understand a thing, I need you here."


    "Alright alright! How long will you be here?" She had to ask such a question, because for Osira this warm place is heaven.


    "Enough to pick up a few tips, I promise I won''t keep you here all day." Quite frankly she felt shy towards the Blacksmith a tad bit. She isn''t crushing on him not to get confused, but the complete lack of communication can get embarrassing.


    "Alright alright. I''m supposed to train with Dilli soon, she wants to learn defensive moves." Alia replied with a little complaining tone, asking. "What do you want to learn next?"


    "Last night Eric mentioned that his father has an enchanted sword, it causes Earthquakes!" Osira planted the seeds of what she us urging to learn, and finally asked. "Can you tell him to show me? Magical enchanting isn''t exactly common."

 Chapter 338 - Volcanic Mushrooms!

    "Enchantment?" Commander Alia suddenly remembered that this is the main reason why they''ve got here to begin with but she lost track. "Right, do you think you can manage it though? It is really tricky."


    "Oh please." Osira answered in a rather c.o.c.ky tone, continuing. "I''ve been a Blacksmith for years."


    "Alright alright." Alia instantly got a theory that Osira either picked up such c.o.c.kiness from either Eric or Mogranius. Both tend to be overconfident in their powers, could she be applying it on her craft or is she really that good? "I''ll tell him to teach you."


    After it, she turned her attention towards the kind Blacksmith and asked. "Can you teach her how to do the Earthquake enchantment?" Of course this sentence is already translated for your proper understanding.


    "That requires at least 5 years of experience!" Katapa urged! From the beginning here making it clear by word that this isn''t easy to do as it requires more than just banging on Iron with a Hammer. "Does she have that much experience?"


    "I don''t know, let me ask her." Commander Alia expressed after she lifted her shoulders up by an inch, signifying the lack of information. "Osira, how many years have you been a Blacksmith?"


    "Honestly around a decade, but since I had to travel a lot I didn''t really have constant access to a Forge." At the same process of explaining this bit she started counting the years with her fingers, looking at the ceiling as well, blankly.


    Snapping her fingers to get Osira back in this room, Alia asked for better specifics. "With a hunch, how many years of experience have you actually managed to fill in, full schedule-wise."


    "It has to be 3-6 years, I really can''t be sure." She answered truthfully instead of lying about it just to learn the enchantment process.


    After a couple of exchanges in sentences, with a smile Commander Alia translated for Katapa. "He will teach you, but we need to do some tweaks to your ways of crafting." Commander Alia felt happy that such a skilled lady can learn even more now.


    "Tweaks?" Asked Osira feeling puzzled, what could they possibly be?


    "Its your man strength." Commander Alia quoted, which although not biologically correct it proved a point and was completely understandable. "It can ruin the process, it requires a delicate touch."


    "Ohhh." Osira sighted in relief, she isn''t even offended but rather feels c.o.c.ky that she can match or even out match a man by physical strength, as if pissing on stereotypes. "I''m not sure why we need to do it delicately but I''m willing to cooperate." She finally added, with a rather adorable smile too.


    "Good." Commander Alia answered lightly and went straight ahead to exchange some dialogue with Katapa.


    "Alright, so the reason we need to be delicate is because we are trying to merge a sensitive type of stone with the Sword handle." Katapa explained and his words were immediately translated.


    "What type of stone?" Osira asked instantly, as her eyes opened up in shock with her pupils expanding as well.


    "Volcanic Mushrooms." Commander Alia explained with no need to ask Katapa, she has lived here for 200 years and the Volcanic mushrooms were quite a hilarious topic to talk about due to the fact that it is uncommon.


    "How can any mushrooms grow around a Volcano?" Osira asked feeling perplexed, forgetting that Katapa mentioned a rock earlier.


    "They aren''t actual mushrooms, that''s just their nickname here." As the two ladies were talking about the name, Katapa has already reached in for one and showed it to the ladies.


    "That''s a Volcanic Mushroom." Commander Alia pointed at it, or more specifically towards Katapa''s hand.


    At first sight, the blood red colour caught her attention right away. But seconds after the completely smooth spherical form of this little creation looks a bit more interesting, although the size of this "mushroom" very small. If not red, one would mistake it as a pearl, how they grow here is confusing.


    "How are they even formed?" Osira asked, as she glanced towards them in amazement.


    "It just takes a few hundred years, it is kinda like heat compressing Volcanic Rock and forming it in to this little orb over the years." Adding more specifics to it, she explained. "The Grand Masters hand pick them, they are at the very bottom of the Volcano."


    "Amazing! Just amazing." Osira continued to praise and wondered if she can get her hands on at least ten of these Volcanic Mushrooms.


    The attack forms she can think of with the aid of an Earthquake are almost unlimited. Even hunting wise, if she matched them with a spear, commoners can be sent to hunt Blue Eagles.


    "Can he show me how he does the merging?" Osira asked, more curious about that than the fact of why these little mushrooms cause actual violent Earthquakes.


    "Of course." Answered Katapa after receiving the translation. "The best idea is coating them with Volcanic rock."


    Afterwards he grabbed the fuller, it surely weighs over 80 Kilos. Its use here, is to allow the Blacksmith to pour melted substances on it with the aid of other tools, such as small metal containers.


    As for now they only need the fuller that resembles a sword handle, they need it as a prime example. As for attaching the blade on this specific handle later, it is possible but requires a bit more work.


    Afterwards he grabbed something that doesn''t really fit with making handles, he grabbed this thin small metal plate possibly of another type which can resist the heat more than the Volcanic rock.


    Using the plate, he placed it right in the middle of the fuller and explained. "We need to make space before time for the mushroom, we have to make sure it gets a firm place right in the middle of the handle."


    A unique method indeed, and it certainly shows levels of creativity he had to use in order to discover this enchantment. Seeing that the ladies are listening carefully, he continued to explain. "We need to place the mushroom right at the moment when the volcanic rock is half way from getting dry."


    Although this bit of information aspiring, she still managed to find some confusion between it. Asking as the Volcanic Rock started melting. "Why does it matter that we place the mushroom in the middle? Can''t we smelt it at the bottom of the handle, it is a lot easier."


    "No no no no!" He repeated swiftly, explaining. "It is highly sensitive, it can break the Caster''s legs."


    At such an explanation, Osira swallowed her spit and further understood why Katapa asked about her years of experience. This can victimize the Caster, last thing she would need is for an Ally to die thanks to her lack of knowledge.


    Furthermore, Katapa explained. "But if placed in the middle, it grants a two feet wide safe radius for the Caster. It is why the Caster never gets knocked down, most of them at least."


    Asking a rather insightful question, proving that she has been paying attention. "Can''t we increase the radius?"


    "With a Sword handle, that''s a big no. But if merged around with more metal than it is very possible." Katapa explained, being a tad irritated by the constant questions but at the same time surprised of how much she wants to learn.


    Of course she followed along with another question, one that has been troubling her for two reasons. "Why are we using Volcanic rock though? I didn''t even know that it can be melted."


    "Two reasons." Katapa raised two fingers in the air after hearing the translation and explained. "It doesn''t rust and Iron makes it too over reactive."


    It is well determined that Katapa here tried more than one ways of enchantment, otherwise how would he know such unique information?


    It is no wonder that he has a title of the best known Blacksmith.


    "But won''t the Volcanic rock hurt your hands?" Osira continued with yet another question, it still continued to he an insightful one.


    "No no, it is very smooth once melted and carefully tampered with a rasp." Katapa shed light upon the shade of confusion and now they can finally get to making the handle.


    "Alright so after all of these questions answered, you will be fine alone here." Commander Alia added, and saw that Osira didn''t really panic this time. She understands the procedure and all that is left to do is watch.


    Commander Alia walked out of the forge, and started making her way towards the training room. Along the way, she met Ada sitting at the side of the Volcanic Rock walkway.


    "What are you doing here?"


    "I''m waiting for Eric to come back from training, I like having walks with him." Ada anwered calmly and quite innocently.


    "He won''t be here for at least 3 more hours." Commander Alia specified, she has a good grasp of his schedule since she talked it out with the Grand Masters.


    "Aha." Ada answered without forming much of a sentence. "I know."


    "Come with me." Commander Alia added, with a smile too. This is indeed an adorable scene but she can''t waste three hours here getting her behind sore.


    "Where to?" Ada asked, feeling hesitant to stand up.


    "Join me at the training room, you can come wait for him a bit later. It is a good way to kill some time aye?" Quite frankly Commmander Alia just wants her to feel home here, she doesn''t have to communicate just with one person.


    "I''m not that good with swords." Ada replied honestly, hoping to stay here.


    "You don''t have to be, I can teach you hand to hand combat. Let me show you some Kastarian Customs."

 Chapter 339 - Black Riches

    Bale Town has made the most tremendous progress in the triangle of domains, reason behind it of course is the Coal Mine and their undying commitment to progress. Thanks to this fine combination, they can put their best foot forward with ease.


    They have managed to attain over 40 tons of coal chunks from this mine, best part yet is that the second section still contains a few more tons of Coal to finish up this month''s delivery. So much coal yet there is more to explore, for example the big deep hole around the middle of the mine.


    Exploring that hole has become just a little bit easier, although they did not yet manage to see the bottom even with the aid of the most proper torches. But let''s get back to the first part, why did it become easier to explore?


    It is because the more coal they mined out, the flooring of the cave reached lower and lower. Now if approached with a long rope it will be 20 meters easier to reach the bottom of the large hole.


    Now this mine has gained them three benefits, I''m not talking about ore though. A good example is that the flooring in this second section wasn''t filled coal on the whole area.


    When breaking it down, 70% of the flooring contained coal, 25% contained rock and the other 5% just had coal. Where will the other two help you might ask?


    Stones for example, can be used by the Stonemasons once of course carved to each requirement and the dirt can help to form flat foundations. This mine has helped the town attain more benefits than they were looking for.


    The walls of the second section have been dug 10 meters deep, so that really proved useful mineral-wise. Now there is a little exploration team including the best miners, forming so they can explore the big hole and form what can be as the new section.


    A little bit of change which could use some mentioning, is the big staircase which connects the outside world to the big mine. Or best described the second section to the first.


    Technically it was supposed to be 10 meters long, but it was cut by 2 meters to meet the lower elevation of the first section caused by mining. It worked to their advantage since it offered more stability and a longer surface.


    "Seventy nine, eighty, eighty one." Eert counted coins one by one, trying to prepare the salaries of this month. This of course is their assigned job, and it might increase due to a planned salary increase.


    "I think is our brake time." Mert reminded, carefully waiting for the time when they can relax. Counting all the time tends to get tiresome.


    "Uuuuhhh how many salaries are we supposed to prepare before our mid day brake?" Asked Bert, well more like he wanted to remind his brother of the procedure.


    "40!" Eert answered without hesitation, having memorized it.


    "We didn''t reach 40, we only reached 34 so far." Bert stated, signifying that he has kept count.


    "But I''m so tired!!" Mert complained, wanting to convince his brothers to come.


    "So are we, but as Delrus told is, positions can be made here." Trying to help his own brother progress, Eert continued. "We can''t be caught slacking off."


    ...


    As mentioned a few chapters earlier, the town needs Blacksmiths desperately! Is it easy to get them though? Hell no! King Zar has a couple hundred of them yet they aren''t enough considering the work they have to do there.


    A letter requesting Stonemasons have been sent to King Zar, now that it is the middle of the month all the products were sent to the Kingdom. The nice horses bought from the Zamerians with King Zar''s aid sure come in handy for such a point.


    Apart from a letter to King Zar, a handful of Guards were sent to Black Tail Town in the search for Blacksmiths, quite frankly it would be nice even if they manage to recruit just one from there.


    Sure one Stonemason won''t form a large stone wall alone in a month but they need to start from somewhere, after all Bale Town has the gold they just don''t have the experienced Stonemasons.


    What''s the downside of having this much gold? Danger! They are so vulnerable to anything. Be it the Alliance, Bandit or Pirates. Getting more Guards here might not be the hardest task to do, equipping them isn''t hard either since the town has Blacksmiths.


    Something that gold can''t fix here, is the lack of Stonemasons. They need a wall and they need it as soon as possible. It doesn''t even have to be wide enough to hold guards above it.


    At this rate, the wall being half a meter wide with a meter thick foundation dug in the ground and watch towers spread around the walls enough, is the best option and highly affordable.


    The wall would be 200 meters long around, but it wouldn''t grant the town much space. It is basically just enough to keep unwanted people or creatures in. Each wall would be 50 meters, and it would form in to a cube.


    Considering the size, if they just had 20 experienced Stonemasons in this town such a wall would have been build in a time span of a year! As for now they are trying to increase protection with Guard Count.


    Meaning, they have to put gender differences aside. Most men are set at another task, so 20 women have been hired to work as the town''s protectors. It might have been the best idea yet because the town is twenty swords and shields safer.


    ...


    A great source of food and possible profit here is the 250 Hectare piece of land carrying fine agriculture. It is fully planted with wheat and considering the population count here, half of the 45 ton harvest can be sold.


    It isn''t neccesarily the biggest profit, but it shows that they won''t have any problem with food, even the hunters are brining luxury here with the game they manage to bring down.


    Luckily there are enough farmers to handle such a land mass, but it doesn''t mean that they aren''t digging in the budget. Like every employee, the Farmers have to be paid as well.


    ...


    "Bill how is the operation?" Asked Delrus as he casually walked in the mine.


    "We have managed to mine most of what is left in the second section. It my calculations are correct we should be breaking the last bit of coal at the 28th of this month." Answered Bill, the most perceptive miner here and the head of all miners.


    "Do you feel like we can find more Coal down there?" Asked Derlus, it wouldn''t be a major deal breaker if this mine depletes but it is still best if it doesn''t. "You know this is our biggest source of profit."


    "I think we can, because even after we dug out most of the Coal and the rocks in the middle of them there still are small holes that we can''t see an end at. Maybe they too can lead to dark riches." Bill quoted all the coal, the holes here have been covered with planks so no one falls in.


    "If we manage to get coal enough to match everything we got here, we can break over a million in total profit!" Delrus specified the large wins here with absolute enthusiasm. Who wouldn''t be excited about a million??


    "So you would be okay if we can''t find anything after the possible third section?" Bill asked in confusion, more like he wanted to test what the Guard Commander had to say.


    "With the current gold we have and can get, we can open several businesses and bring in more profit." Of course he thinks of this business wise, spending time with Gustav has increased such a thought.


    Gustav is all the way back to his motherland now. He is on the search for Stonemasons as well, they need as many as possible here now that they can afford to pay them.


    ...


    Due to the recent hiring of Guards, and the payment of farmers accompanied by another 20 gold coin salary raise, the monthly expenses have made a shift of 7 grand.


    However regardless, the town still earns a clean income of 30 thousand gold coins! Amazing, and the best part yet is that there isn''t any salary now less than 70 gold coins? The highest salary at the moment is earned by the Blacksmiths, they earn 130 Gold Coins a month.


    Regardless of what anyone gets, they don''t have to spend it on anything. Food, wood and even clothing is being under process of being provided for free. The clothing part might take a bit longer due to the monthly requirements, but everything should be ready before the coldest months hit.


    Delrus still found it best if they delayed the salary raises for a few more months, but at this rate if the salaries reach over 200, the people of this town have to pay for their own food instead of piling up all that gold.


    As for warmth, it has to be provided for free before salaries reach over 300 because both wood and clothing tends to be expensive.

 Chapter 340 - Reversing Nightmares

    With August ending just a couple of days ago, harvesting season has struck Ignis. It is that time of the year when most crops are harvested, wheat being the most planted crop. For everyone this is just a great way to increase the food supply, but for a specific Kingdom across this Continent is a big way to be bailed out of trouble.


    Crutal Kingdom! We are talking about crutal Kingdom, the Grand Capital here in Ignis. Due to the fact that this Kingdom has been under heavy debt, this is what they need to reverse a great portion of it.


    An estimated 800 thousand gold coins worth of crops are being harvested in this domain, half of which rightfully belong to the Castle thanks to the agreement every farmer or farm manager took when requesting pieces of land to work on.


    Now the 400k alone are enough to reverse a lot of debt and build up portions of the crashed economy, but the King also requested to obtain about 200k worth of crops. This specific portion will be given for free to the Castle, under the Grand King''s request.


    It does sound like a deal breaker for the Farmers doesn''t it? But after paying off the 20k debt to the farmers, he wants to use this farming opportunity to obtain 600k for the Kingdom. This will help solve the economy crisis, and in exchange the King promised to pay for the crops 10% more within a year.


    It is a great deal for the farmers, and momentarily a great deal for the King. But eventually the King will have to pay 220k for 200k worth of crops, by that time it won''t be such a big issue but the Kingdom needs it now desperately.


    As for the other remaining 200k worth of crops, the farmers can sell them wherever they please which thankfully keeps them from being bankrupt. They can sell them utside or inside of the Kingdom, although due to avoiding bankruptcy they''ve all sold it to the Kingdom.


    The King is offering to buy them because after all the Kingdom can''t starve year around and the crops are perfectly sellable to the people although the first few months food is supposed to be given for free due to the economic crisis.


    As you might have guessed, the 600k worth of food will be sold around Meridionali Ignis. Reason behind it, is that the hunter rate has dropped tremendously due to the recent war with the Snow Ignites primarily.


    The domains in Meridionali Ignis has farms, we shall not confuse it here. But even there they are facing minor to medium budget crises, so they mostly sent the Crops at Ratan for a better price, mostly 20% more profit-wise since the large Continent can afford to buy it and sell it for more.


    Buying crops cheaply from Crutal Kingdom is their best solution, it keeps people feed and they will have more time to build up better incomes of food. It would cure one problem and inevitably start strengthening the Alliance since the battle with the Snow Ignites is technically over.


    Speaking of food, in the past two months Crutal Kingdom has earned around 200k in total by selling 12 tons of various meat types to the domains in Meridionali Ignis who as mentioned have food shortages.


    This profit, helped pay in some of the nastiest highest debt Crutal Kingdom currently has. Hilariously, this large debt was partially paid with a smaller debt(300k) gathered around domains in Meridionali Ignis.


    The large debt I''m talking about, is the one Crutal Kingdom owes to its own civilians. There are 1,500 people under employment here and for 3 months they didn''t receive a salary but free food and lumber instead. 3 months of salaries, equals to 741k worth of gold coins!


    With the help of the debt attained in Meridionali Ignis and with the profit from the sold meat, 1/3 of this large debt has been paid a couple of weeks ago. Meaning, 247k has been paid and 494k remain in debt.


    This large debt is the main issue here, because regarding the 300k debt in domains around Meridionali Ignis, the 10% monthly income they have to hand in to the Grand Capital will be used to get rid of the debt favourably as soon as possible. Meaning Crutal Kingdom won''t have to send in gold to them month by month until it is paid.


    A day ago, another form of profit reached the Kingdom. Specifically 200k! What could this profit be you might ask? Well Crutal Kingdom only owes debt to a few domains, not all of Meridionali Ignis or Ignis at this point. Meaning the 10% of the income in the other domains has been handed to the Grand Kingdom, twice.


    The first one was instantly stored in the Castle so a budget can be built, the King didn''t want to focus his prime attention to removing the debt. As for the second one brought here recently, all of it has been used to pay off the second set of salaries he owes to the 1,500 people.


    200k alone isn''t enough to pay the second set of owed salaries, so the King used the profit from the sold meat to cover it, 53k still remained in the budget from the meat profit which helped save up a total of 186k for now. The math might sound confusing, but I''ve did it so you don''t have too.


    What these calculations portray, is that Crutal Kingdom is just a few steps away from being debt free. The total of 200k monthly income coming from all the Domains in the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance will help achieve a stable economy again.


    What helped the Kingdom even more, is the 400 sets of armour they''ve sent to Ratan in the july. Due to the fact that it took 2 months for such profit to arrive here, it wasn''t big help instantly but now it brings a nice 120k in the Budget.


    Along with the other saved up gold, Crutal Kingdom now has 306,000 gold coins in the royal treasury. As much as Grand King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll is concerned, this economical nightmare is close to being over, there are 1,500 employees splitting 494k in a span of two weeks and the domains in Meridionali Ignis are recovering from the monetary losses they had due to the recent war with the Snow Ignites.


    What''s better? Thanks to the 600 thousand gold coins worth of crops which are close to being shipped to Meridionali Ignis, 200k as an income from the 10% taxes coming from domains in the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, 100k coming from the meat shipped to Meridionali Ignis and 120k coming from the monthly 400 sets of armour sent to Ratan. Crutal Kingdom is a couple of months close from recovering.


    With the remaining 247k debt to the employees about to be paid in this month, at October Crutal Kingdom will have a total of 1,079,000 Gold Coins in their budget! Of course the Kingdom will owe another 220k to the Farmers but there is no rush with it, it can be paid off in November.


    After all that farming business handled, the Kingdom will still earn a profit of 323k each month and it will gradually increase when more debt gets paid off. Short said, King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll managed to reverse this huge crisis in a span of 3 months.


    I hope all the numbers don''t sound confusing, and I hope the finishing sum makes sense. I could have skipped all of this but the last thing I need is to make budget problems magically disappear here, even fantasy has boundaries. So to the economic lovers out there, this 3 hour work is for you.


    ...


    As for now, let''s get back to simpler literature. For example let''s take a quick glimpse at what has Chan been up too, the King''s son.


    Due to the recent fixes in the economy, King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll has obtained upon himself the capability to invest on his own son in a monetary way. Because as much as he wants too, he can''t be with Chan 24/7.


    Now when I say "In a Monetary way.", what exactly could my point be? Simple, he has hired a lady who is practically babysitting Chan. That would be the best way to describe it, but in a professional view it is a complex matter.


    This fine 31 year old lady, has a prime job of keeping Chan out of trouble and has some years of experience regarding how to keep a person calm, happy and productive. Short said, she is called an "illusionist".


    Just to confirm, she doesn''t have any type of "Magical Powers", she just knows how to make someone happy without sharing a bed with him or in some terms, her. We can call her a psychologist!


    Yet again that is not the only quality under her possession, she is also a great body guard. At a rate of 1/6 her muscles can be rated in the middle as a 3/6. Height wise she isn''t too different from Chan, only 5.3 feet tall but that doesn''t neccesarily affect her capability to protect or fight.


    Best part yet (For Chan at least.), she is an ill.u.s.tratio. So the whole racial differences drama won''t affect her work. Apart from protecting from physical harm, and keeping him mentally calm she also has more complex responsibilities.


    For example, she has to make sure that Chan doesn''t spiral down a whole bottle of Beer. Short said, she is keeping Chan from becoming an Alcoholic. Now since he used to heavily drink, completely getting rid of alcohol can have a bad effect so instead he can just take a couple of light goblets per week.


    Other responsibilities include making sure that he reads enough books. Proven throughout hundreds of examples through time, although reading can not heal most brain damages it still can help boost brain capabilities. Short said, it can make one smarter.


    Since Chan took an interest in reading before this fine lady arrived, this isn''t the toughest part of her job. He can easily read 5 books a month and can even stretch to 10, because after all most books through Ignis are just 10k words long.


    This lady, has to make sure that Chan reads at least 5 books a month. Eventually it will pay off since most books include ill.u.s.tratian history, some including ill.u.s.tratian stories. It will help deal with the brain damage caused by intense consumption of Alcohol.


    Chan never would have thought that he would be happy to see a stack of books, King Xakro ordered the delivery team to find as much books as possible regardless of the cost. He got three crates of them, each one is different. In the temporary Castle, Chan even has a few Bookshelves to hold them all in his room.


    Throughout the couple of months he even felt slight improvements, for example he can remember things just a hunch better. The lack of beer has helped clear his mind, therefore he attained such a boost in his mental capabilities.


    Apart from books, Chan is also supposed to stay out of trouble in any terms neccesary. Meaning, no flirting with ladies or starting pale fights with random men, no no those attributes are hideous on a Prince. That''s right, he was publicly announced as a Prince.


    Now pay wise, this lady earns a total of 800 Gold Coins a month and after each year of work she will earn a 500 Gold Coin bonus! Hell, even the War Generals don''t earn that much. She indeed landed a great job and proved that rare skills pay off best.


    Walking across the Castle which is in the process of building, her and Chan witnessed the first floor being over half way built. The Castle will be 30% smaller than the previous one, but at least it will be built quicker.


    "The polished rock looks beautiful doesn''t it?" Asked Chan, as he nodded his head towards the Castle.


    The "illusionist" which goes by the name, "Arbella Nicia" answered. "Indeed, can you remember how such a nice surface is attained?" Afterwards she gently stroked her own hair, which has been blocking her vision a tad bit. She pushed them behind her head with the aid of water.


    Her hair, they reach nearly to her buttocks. Green, thick and life filled they almost look like vines. She added, "We learned this a week ago."


    "Ummm... Don''t tell me!" Chan joked around and went in to a state of thinking, trying to remember what he studied. 10 seconds later he answered. "This is made from rocks in the mines, put in a furnace to attain a smooth surface and afterwards worked on with tools that can even rough surfaces."


    "Perfect! You remembered each detail!" Arbella congratulated and continued to praise after, which is a great way to tame mental damage. "You are truly over qualifying your position as a proper King!"


    "All thanks to your help Miss. Arbella!" Chan complimented back, showing gratitude. In past events he didn''t have trouble with showing gratitude to people or any other being who helped him. But now it has increased by a hunch, "Can we stay here a bit? I like seeing these people work."


    "Yes we can spare a few minutes." Arbella answered with a smile and dusted a fine spot for Chan to sit. "You can sit here my Prince."

 Chapter 341 - I want Grandchildren!!

    With September breaking a couple of days ago, light to a slight mystery has been shed upon. The word is about the 247 people that were supposed to be sent here in Gaster Kingdom 2 months ago.


    Apparently, the reason why they weren''t send was to shorten travel expenses. You wouldn''t expect authorities to spend an extra few hundred gold coins for people without a proper skill.


    The King explains that right before the homeless were about to be sent, over a hundred more reached down in Lav Kingdom due to the news of a better opportunity here in Ignis. Apparently the homeless people spread the word when they had time to wait.


    Spending 2 medium sized sh.i.p.s on 347 people sounded like a bad move because the King wanted to use one only. It wouldn''t be comfortable but it would be cheaper, no one is getting paid for this after all.


    So without asking if Ignis wants more or not, they just waited until the homeless numbers increased so sending two sh.i.p.s would be worth while. It might sound irresponsible for the King not to ask, but Ignis is facing major under population problems.


    The talk about the war and smaller revolutions behind it even reached the Zamerian''s ears. So they just figured that sending more would help them, and using the opportunity the Ignites would likely ask for more.


    You might be asking how much they have sent here? 500! 500 clean and clear, not one less and not one more. In Gaster Kingdom where the population stood around 320 before these people arrived, this is but a blessing. Even though these people are experiencless, they can be put in to use.


    Now with the population bustling at 830, they can invest a good portion at the Army. Gaster Kingdom only remains with 30 Guards, they are very Vulnerable protection wise and could use an Army build up.


    With the recent fail, it is unlikely for the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance to send another Army here but it is better to be prepared for them before time, because eventually they will be strong enough to launch another attack, now they just are strong enough to prevent future attacks upon their domains.


    100 of these people are converted in to Guards, and put under training of the Grand Master Woldemir. They will have a good fate and finally feel useful, due to the fact that he doesn''t let anyone grow weak.


    As for pay-wise, the Kingdom can''t afford to suddenly pay 100 new recruits. So King Michael asked sympathy from them, free food, housing and warmth will be provided to these people without doubt salaries will be held back for a few months until he can establish a better source of income.


    A pay is guaranteed for these recruits, along with anyone who would work here but it won''t be instant. It didn''t neccesarily cause trouble, because these people came from villages with food scarce and ended up homeless.


    Food and Warmth is what they pursued, and when it is handed to them for free now most wouldn''t be putting up a debate. Especially when he told them that they won''t have to pay for food if their salaries are under 200 gold coins.


    A war won''t be happening any time soon against Wide River Kingdom either, sure they deserve it since they tried to claim this Kingdom at a l.u.s.t for Gold. But Gaster Kingdom can''t afford losing more people even after this large population increase.


    Most actually adored King Michael almost instantly, the offers he made aren''t too bad. But you might ask, with different languages in place and understanding towards each other being zero with zero, how did he communicate with these Zamerian people?


    Easy! This time, the King there at Lav Kingdom send down a translator as well. This translator isn''t an Ignite, but a Zamerian who studied the languages in Ignis so business deals can be made. His importance is great and he indeed gets a good pay, you can tell by all the Guards following him.


    So with this kind translator''s help, the 500 people here were helped to settle in. The Kingdom has enough houses for each of these people to settle in, it helped that some families counted up to 10 people.


    Of course the King ordered a few men to refurbish the old abandoned houses, and due to the 70 Guards lost in war around 10 houses were free as well. So with 100 houses to their clear disposal, the 500 people managed to put their heads under a nice comfy roof.


    Food won''t be a problem either, because apart from all the fish here multiplying due to the 30 Farmers putting in work and the 230 Hectares of wheat in the process of being harvested, they can feed the entire population of Gaster Kingdom two meals a day year around and still end up having 10-15% of the food supply left.


    If all salaries can raise over 200 before the next harvest, there would be even more food left. And what is best, the fishing projects which are a huge part of the Kingdom''s income won''t be harmed.


    Apart from the army, 50 of these men were instantly sent to the newly build forges! Yes forges, with the help of some Blacksmiths at Pameres Kingdom they''ve built 5 forges here outside of the Kingdom walls, specifically to the left walls where other operations can''t be harmed.


    Of course there was no need to wait this long to set a few Blacksmith teams, but he wanted to put all these people in to use. Originally 30 Blacksmiths were supposed to be set on these Forges, but since the Kingdom has the capability, why not put 50 in the task. It only equals to more income.


    The experienced Blacksmiths are putting in work to build new forges with the limited resources, building 5 more would equal to the 50 being less restrained so that''s their task for now.


    Of course their time spent here is well paid, they will be here for 6 months and the fee at the end will be 20 thousand gold coins. Lending Blacksmiths for free would no longer be appropriate, and Pameres Kingdom can spare 5 Blacksmiths here due to all the recent recruitments there.


    Blacksmithery is a respected craft and requires hard work and patience, not paying them would be a bad idea. So King Michael decided to pay them now but pay them a small sum. At the moment they will earn 30 Gold Coins a month, with a 20 Gold Coins promised increase once an income is well established.


    The Blacksmiths have 50 people to manage, meaning 10 apprentices each. Meaning they will have no time their selves to pound on Iron, meaning the production is reduced by a hunch. At the same time it is better than letting apprentices go loose and cut the production rate by half.


    King Michael instantly handed a letter to the Zamerian Cargomen, offering a deal regarding Blacksmithery. Daggers, he offered them Daggers by 30 Gold Coins a piece. Not the most expensive, but at the same time the easiest to make.


    One apprentice can make three of them in one week which neccesarily equals to around 600 Daggers in one month, gold-wise it equals to 18,000 A month. This is a product that any a.d.u.l.t can buy, it doesn''t require soldiers since it is a self defense tool.


    Due to that fact, this can be sold in mass quantities in likely bigger prices there, it can go up to 100 gold coins in the economy rich Zamerian lands. So King Michael requested if it can be a 1 year long deal, it would highly benefit this small Kingdom and of course benefit the Zamerian domains.


    But Gaster Kingdom doesn''t have any functioning mines, so 600 ores will be set under a continuous order with Pameres Kingdom. Due to an ore costing 8 gold coins, it will be a bit expensive, 4,800 Gold Coins each month but it kills two birds with one stone.


    Pameres Kingdom has a new source of Income (Good thing they hired those Miners.) which will help tame all the new expenses at least by a little. And Gaster Kingdom establishes a new source of Income as well and better yet trains a team of Blacksmiths. This deal was already made, but the quantity will be asked for an increase by a hunch.


    Getting such a great income here would be more than great, but the town still needs more types of income, one of which doesn''t bring monetary value. What I''m talking about are Construction Workers, 3 of them were hired for House to House maintenance, if something brakes they go fix it.


    This craft isn''t required in mass quantities, the houses were refurbished and they won''t be working all day long. Half of the month they probably won''t even have anything to work with, so their pay is the smallest so far.


    20 Gold Coins but the King promised to increase it by 30 more once the Iron Dagger income is established, like the Blacksmiths they will attain free food and warmth as well.


    Along with the offer for Daggers, King Michael saw the opportunity to put more people in to work here and establish a new income with another offer.


    Remember the Chickens he caught in the Winter, who hatched a lot of little Chicks in spring. Well now those Chiks that survived are full grown now and are bringing more eggs than King Michael can eat. All together this set of 30 new Chickens bring in 700 to 800 eggs a month.


    So once discussing it with King Zar, they found it the best idea to offer the Zamerians a deal. Sure Lav Kingdom won''t be able to buy all this merchandise but it can be a bridge to opening business deals with nearby domains here.


    A deal of 700 eggs a month has been made, since it seems to be the minimum of which these Chickens can provide. Considering all the grain they are fed, these numbers aren''t crazy believe me.


    The eggs of course are offered for 20 gold coins a piece here in Ignis, but due to the fact that the Zamerians likely won''t make much if they buy it at this price since they have a lot more chicken farms, Zar recommended to scoop down the price at 15 per egg.


    It won''t neccesarily be a problem though, because all together this source of income will bring 10,700 Gold Coins a month! Maintenance wise, 10 people in total are now hired to work there. Only the lady remains as the previous Guards are dead.


    These people will earn 20 gold coins a month but their pay will meet a 30 gold coin increase once an income is well established.


    Since this is a food product, King Michael asked if this deal can go on for a year, until the next September at the year 202. It won''t neccesarily be a bad deal for either sides.


    The elderly and children rate has met a shift due to the count going up to 500. Now there are 30% of this new patch of population who are either elderly or children, meaning they can''t work.


    When counted, it neccesarily counts up to 150 so only 350 can be put in to work. So far, 163 have been put in to work as for the rest King Michael is looking to put their heads in new tasks.


    There aren''t any businesses in the process of being built, but it doesn''t mean that he can''t invest on the old ones. Therefore, 20 of these people were turned in to spearfishermen and 30 others were turned in to fishermen.


    Their pay similar to the rest is 20 gold coins but will increase based on experience, eventually the salary will be equal to the old fishermen and spearfishermen or women respectively since gender restrictions are gotten rid off.


    With 50 new people putting in work, Gaster Kingdom can help the Zamerians get a taste of some local Ignis fish which can''t be found 1,400 Kilometers away (At Zameria).


    And of course King Michael had this planned, so he also offered them a fish deal. Barramundis are the most common fish here, so he offered it to them at a deal of 3 gold coins per kilogram.


    A bit unfair since the price here goes by a gold coin, but what are the disadvantages when the Zamerians can sell it for triple the price?


    With the help of the experienced fishermen and women and with the work put in by the apprentices their selves, 5 tons can be easily fished out a month! The Barramundies weigh around 20 kilograms and aren''t the hardest to catch.


    This will bring in a nice income of 15,000 Gold Coins and is the final key to earning a great income here instead of fighting to earn little profit. Since food is an every day item, he asked if the deal can be ongoing for a year. Sounds fair.


    20 more Lumberjacks is what the town needs, due to the fact that 830 people live here now warmth is required throughout the winter. And 10 Lumberjacks can''t handle it all alone, it is just too much too handle.


    Like you might have guessed the salaries will be 20 gold coins with a promised increase of 30 once all the new incomes are well established. Free food and of course warmth will be provided, this is the best way to battle the cold as no one would want to shiver all day long to be savvy.


    233 of these new people are hired, big numbers I''m aware. It is even comparable with the new recruitments at Pameres Kingdom. As for the remaining 117 people who can work, their head will eventually be put in some type of work soon enough, business opportunities are plenty but at the moment he has enough apprentices.


    Once all these new incomes and outcomes become active, the Kingdom will have an income of 76,350 an outcome of 35,560 and of course a nice warm profit of 40,790 each month!


    Of course 100 Guards are unpaid for now, the new employees were promised a raise in salary and the more experienced employees could use a salary too. So this 40k profit won''t last long, at least they can enjoy the warmth of it for a little while.


    ...


    Now with all these numbers and calculations this Chapter is getting extensive, so let''s take some time to appreciate other beauties of this nice Kingdom like what Dea and Stefan have reached so far.


    Throughout the span of 4 months they''ve went in quite a few dates. It was well established that they have a fancy towards each other, although Stefan struggled to make it clear.


    Yet again they are taking this relationship slowly, there is no reason to rush it and both feel comfortable if it isn''t rushed. They are in their twenties and have time on their hands, why get in bed so quick?


    Their favourite activity remained having nice picnics alone and eventually star gazing became a favoured activity as well although less common due to the fact that more animals roam in summer, they both suck at wielding a sword so its a no go.


    Just a month ago, the mood eventually reached towards more romance. Both Stefan and Dea managed to get their first kiss, at this age? It well determines how much they preserved their selves, although both can''t be considered anti social.


    Stefan was a merchant and constantly had to deal with people and Dea always deals with people since she wants to help, lucky for her she never ended up in those Cannibalistic hands a year ago.


    Now they once again are in Misses. Wood''s house, and the little talk includes all this population increase and something rather more hilarious. "Have you seen how much Woldemir struggles to teach the new Guards?" Stefan asked.


    "Yes yes I never saw him yell this much!" Dea specified, since she is used to Woldemir having calmer approaches.


    "You would too if you had to deal with people who don''t understand a thing you are saying! Recruits are a Migraine when they can understand, but when they don''t?" Stefan excused his friend''s behaviour although he still finds it hilarious and is giggling through.


    Misses. Wood however is thinking of different topics and she wasn''t really aiming to hold her thoughts in, she asked. "So when will you two get married?"


    At such a question Stefan spat his water all across the room and Dea became a bit red, asking. "Who told you that we are dating?"


    "You just did." Misses. Wood answered deviously and started giggling but got interrupted by her own cough.


    "Misses. Wood!" Dea stretched one sentence in embarrassment, feeling rather teased here.


    "Misses. Wood what? I want grand Children!" She mumbled through her words, but the fact that she said, "Grand Children" proves one thing.


    She sees Dea as her own daughter and possibly Stefan as her own son due to all the time they all spend. Now I''m not talking about i.n.c.e.s.t, but it is clear that they see each other as family.


    Dea smiled as a tear dropped from her eye, she lost her mother and father in Unfortunate events and to find someone who sees her as a daughter? It felt heavenly. She went ahead and hugged Misses. Wood, smiled at her and said. "We will think it through."


    "Might as well do it quick." She complained in that cute elderly way, and afterwards in aims of convincing the two she added. "I''m very old. Today I''m here but tomorrow I might not be."


    Afterwards Dea glanced at Stefan, didn''t say a thing to him but comforted Misses. Wood instead. "Oh you are a strong lady, you might even see our kids get married." Of course she exaggerated it a bit, but at least it is more comforting.


    Stefan paid attention to the words, "Our kids". It felt kind, it means that Dea actually wants to marry him although unsure of the timing. "Dea is right, you will likely see Our kids get married."

 Chapter 342 - 100k

    In the triangle of domains, there indeed is a lot of progress going on or at least motion. Let us move towards the soul domain, Pameres Kingdom! Before we can get behind the statistics, let us indulge in to something lighter.


    For example, Crisa the lovely caring maid in the Pameres Castle. And Zar, the respected ruler of Pameres Kingdom, the first son of Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll.


    "Have you had your dinner?" Crisa asked as she returned from her house to continue her shift. She was on break for three days based on the schedule and the first thing she asked is if the King ate.


    "Yes, I did about an hour ago." The King answered lightly, with a smile across his face happy to see Crisa. He missed her a tad bit, missed the way how she always tries to look out for him. "How were your days off?"


    The King caring about her day? Sweet at least, and commonly unusual since she wasn''t asked to share a bed with him. "Oh it was nice, I helped my mother settle in her new office."


    That''s right, new office. Well more like, building. This is a new building made outside of the first walls and already has people under recruitment, people of which Tedradia herself is hand picking. People that she thinks can perform the duty swimmingly.


    "I assume she is doing a great job there aye?" King Zar showed trust but on the other hand wanted to ask for a second view on it. "I''ve asked her to look through the Craftsmen and see if any of them show signs of stress."


    "Yes she told me and yes she is doing an amazing job, she is very excited." Knowing how many times her mom has mentioned support and compliments as a great way of mental progress, Crisa used the opportunity. "By the way that was a great idea, I don''t think people would come to the office in another way."


    "Um yes." King Zar started thinking it through and accepted her compliment. "Thank you. I really thought that portraying this new building as a luxury would drag in new people, I had to pay a lot of rumour spreaders to change the preview."


    "It is off too a rough start I''m aware." Crisa tried to protect her mother and this new building as well, "But eventually it will pay off better, this is too unusual for the masses and a lot tend to avoid being part of a banter."


    "Oh I know that." King Zar answered as he waved his hand down, signifying Crisa to be calm. "Me and Seer have reversed a lot of bad mindsets so far, this is but a little seed."


    Seeing that Crisa is mostly out of words, he wanted to open up another topic. He asked, "Would you like to come with me? I want to visit the therapy building."


    "I would love too!" She answered with joy and immediately complimented. "If people see you there, they would be more motivated to try it out."


    "Exactly my point." He smiled as he stood up, walking towards Crisa so they can start their little walk out of the Castle and towards the building.


    But getting a little bit nervous to walk along the King throughout town this time instead of to her house which is close by, as she started to walk she tripped over her own foot and almost fell down.


    Well... I did say almost, but if it wasn''t for King Zar she could have caught a nose bleed here. He tried to be as agile as possible, quickly slipped his arm underneath her belly and kept her up. Although... he almost fell down over her due to the fact that he had to find a firm position in a split second.


    Feeling tremendously embarrassed, she stood up straight as King Zar removed his arm from around her waist. She spoke under a low tone, "Thank you very much Sire."


    "Oh you''re welcome." He smiled, keeping calm and barely embarrassed. Afterwards adding. "Shall we go now?"


    "Of course of course."


    ...


    The therapy building has been put under a budget limitation, meaning Tedradia can''t hire 30 people for example. Due to the fact that they have 150k of expenses to deal with, the monthly budget here is 2,000 Gold Coins.


    Along with the work Tedradia does with King Zar, her salary in this building is 500 gold coins a month. As for how much apprentices are paid, it is all up to her. She receives the Budget and she will be handing it out to her apprentices.


    As for how much progress King Zar has made? Well before Tedradia put in work, he used to stay up until midnight and throughout most of the week he used to get very drunk.


    Now that damage hasn''t been dealt with entirely, but thanks to all of Tedradia''s help under a short period of time such behaviour has been reduced. He only gets drunk at midnight only twice a week, eh it might not be the best deal but it is progress.


    In no time he will quit such behaviour completely. Now whenever he grabs a bottle late at night, he remembers Tedradia''s words of wisdom. "You can''t be held responsible about what your family did out of their gold l.u.s.t. You can only take responsibility over the deeds you do, in front of your people here you are a Hero."


    To some it might just be a pile of works but to the King, it is all that he wanted to hear. The progress is great, and with her help the King even increased his own productivity. He can feel his thoughts clearing out, he feels a bit more free.


    Due to the fact that Mental Therapies are having a hard time being accepted from the people, in the first year it won''t bring in any profit. It will be completely free and anyone can go there, after a year the King wants to put a cheap price over each session.


    Not only will it increase overall productivity due to the mental relief, but it will also bring in some nice profit which is in all ways nice to see. As for now the thought of using this luxury should be imprinted in their minds.


    One great business deal that saved Seer''s and Maleesa''s behinds here is the fact that the 80 hired Blacksmiths have been putting in their hours of work and granted the Kingdom an income.


    Of course they required some tampering first, meaning they needed an order. After some market research, Seer found out that Iron Shields are a great business opportunity.


    Reason behind it, is that it is made fast and doesn''t require much material apart from a couple of Iron ingots and wood. One apprentice can make 4 shields each week! A great amount isn''t it? One Iron Shield costs 50 Gold Coins.


    So what would it equal when 80 apprentice Blacksmiths make 4 of them each week? 1,280 Shields can be made in a span of a month! The Zamerians wouldn''t ever miss such an opportunity to triple their money in vast expanse.


    Gold-wise this will dig them out of trouble, 64 thousand Gold Coins will be sent each month for an expected 6 months. Since the quantities are big they can''t really stretch this work for over a year.


    Of course this deal isn''t official yet but it likely will be because King Zar has guaranteed good work throughout all of their business transactions. This is all the Kingdom needed to at least break even here with the 400 new employees hired.


    The Blacksmiths alone will make it possible for all the Stonemasons to keep their job, meaning the wall will be built under a short period of months or maybe a few years depending on how fast the pace is.


    ...


    With a new set of Boar Leather clothing under process of being ordered, and the quantity this time being large enough to bring in 60 thousand gold coins. The order is too big however, the work has to be tackled with the team at Bale Town.


    For BaleTown the pay will remain 18,000 until the new year as for Pameres Kingdom it will be 42,000! Such a deal can only be handed now with 40 tailors in total being hired.


    With this upgrade in the budget, the Kingdom breaks even with a profit of 40 thousand. Amazing isn''t it? Over 700 people under the Kingdom''s employment yet they still earn a great profit.


    Seer was the definition of a Genius when he pitched such a great move, it inevitably upgraded the Budget which led towards another form of progress. Since in most houses, more than one salary is brought home it opens up new doors.


    He no longer has to sell food at half a price, here it will bounce the budget a little bit and they could be breaking with a profit of over 60,000 a month!

 Chapter 343 - Diversity

    A month has passed, October has struck across Ignis. Eric has repeated his given exercises, he has become better on most of them although he still can''t touch his toes. Yet it is still progress, he can feel himself grasping more control of his own feelings.


    He hasn''t felt such control in over a year, which says a lot because before he came in to power he was angry and in some aspects depressed most of the times. This can give a good view of what it is like to have Inner Demons to beat.


    Apart from this progress, he has felt a sense of relief due to the fact that the farm is doing great! 12 tons of various fruits and vegetables are stored in the storage caves! This is enough to feed everyone year around, and a good 20% of it will remain in the reserves even with two proper meals consumed a day.


    The Grand Masters of Lava Controlling have given a rather accurate specification that Eric is almost half way there to reaching Level 2 in his Lava Controlling, respectively he isn''t too far from escaping his title as a Hatchling but obviously far away from becoming a Magician, he is far from being able to Control Lava.


    Now of course with further advancement in his training, new methods have to be introduced in the aims of progress and of course he is in no way abandoning the old methods.


    Kazer, the much mentally gifted has learned Eric''s Ignite language enough to exchange almost proper communication. If scaled, we can consider it a firm 3/6! Amazing isn''t it? To be able to learn a language simply by hearing someone talk and studying body language that comes with sentences.


    It is well determined that Kazer could be the smartest man or person for that matter, they have ever met. Stefan would come in second, Bittore and King Michael would share a spot as third.


    Although it is practically impossible to measure intelligence accurately regardless of technology, actions speak louder than words here and grant these four mentioned people with the top 3 ranks.


    However the point here is, thanks to Kazer learning the language this well, training has become remotely easier due to the fact that Kazer can explain them better. Perfect timing too, because these new training methods require proper explanations or Eric could be wasting time.


    A new technique, throws in a sense of self authority and possible consequences. Because, if Eric fails to do the move properly for an hour straight, this specific training is stretched for another hour. Obviously, Eric wouldn''t want that so he has to he in all ways careful to not fail!


    What is this new training method you might ask? A trick as old as time come to think of it, placing a rock over his head. Now to fight away confusion, this rock isn''t large nor would its weight crush him like a bug.


    This rock is almost the size of Eric''s fist, about 10% smaller come to think of it. But it is very spherical, meaning it can roll off rather easy. So to prevent the possibility of Eric holding on to this move for 12 hours due to the consequences of dropping it, the Grand Masters decided for him to train it for a week first, an hour every day.


    Now, it is fair to say that he has a bit of control over the exercise. Although the first three days after the week long preparation, he dropped the rock 6 times. Meaning the 3 hour training split between 3 days, turned in to 9 hours of training! Truly tiring, and nothing he would want to experience again.


    But in another way, it helped in a couple of aspects. A 16 year old boy figured out that actions can have a consequence, that''s big progress itself. But the fact that each failure formed a new step for Eric to walk over made it a whole lot more rewarding although not impactfully noticeable immediately.


    On a different aspect, this has slightly imprinted a little fact on Eric''s head. If he lost control of his anger, or himself for that matter, consequences will inevitably follow. It is a law of common sense come to think of it.


    Now in October, he is still continuing with this exercise along with all the older ones he is closer to mastering. He trains 7 days a week, 4 hours each day (Or more If he fails on certain training.).


    The Grand Masters helped form a schedule for him so each exercise is done at least once a week, none of it can be skipped. Speaking of which, directly mental exercises have become more common.


    As a start, he has to look over the bundle of kids up to 3 times a week. Specifically without Ada''s help this time, the Grand Masters want him to tackle such a task alone.


    Although not the best around kids, he just aimed to keep them distracted. Of course he used Ada''s advise, and when he revealed these methods by word to Kazer, he found Ada more and more insightful. For a 14 year old these are indeed wise methods of handling a situation.


    Another new training method of which Ada might not be able to help Eric with, basically includes running back and forth at full speed. Doesn''t look so complex, and doesn''t really feel like it mixes with self control training.


    You do have a point, but what would you say if I told you that he only has a line measuring 5 meters long to work with?! Run 5 meters in full speed, and try to stop exactly at his marked spot. Sounds practically impossible doesn''t it? Considering the fact that he can''t be too slow when starting to run or can''t take much time when stopping.


    When he stops, he has to stop immediately and fast as if nailing himself to the ground. He has to stop his build up momentum exactly after he crosses the line, without moving over a foot away from the line.


    He has to give his entire strength and speed on it, he can''t start slow and he can''t stop slow. This training method has both mental and physical benefits.


    Physical wise, this will give him rather good calves in a matter of time which in a way is great because a lot of physical strength is required to Control Lava, in many ways it will determine what he can achieve.


    Mental wise, it is also a considerable challenge because the constant failure of attempting this exercise will no doubt tire him out mentally and often poke his self control, many times he will have the urge to throw a tantrum although it might not be physically inflicting towards the Grand Masters.


    Osira on the other hand, has been spending most of her day at the mine. Specifically to work with the tremendously gifted Blacksmith. There really isn''t much work to do there in aspects of providing for the Town, so she decided to make a few things for herself with his aid.


    For example, using the Volcanic Mushrooms to enchant the Sword with The Blacksmith''s help of course since she doesn''t know how to do it perfectly just yet, she has made herself a nice 75 cm long sword including both Calidum lutum and Ignite customs.


    The smooth Volcanic rock handle of course resembles the Calidum Lutum, and the Iron of course resembles Ignites. Because way before this war started, Ignites were known for their work around Iron.


    She calls this nice sword of her''s, "Diversity". Because come to think of it, if it wasn''t for diversity she and her tribe would have never survived. They went through ill.u.s.tratian land, it was the roughest but they''ve learned more.


    They''ve went through raping across Snow Ignite land, obviously rough as well but they still learned more. Last but not least she is now in Calidum Lutum territory, being accepted as family and thankfully not suffering.


    What does all of this come down too? Diversity! If it wasn''t for the fact that the tribe had to deal with different religions, customs and traditions and even pain. They would not have survived, the tribe of 57 people would likely have been a tribe of 10 or less.


    Where their journeys fun and pleasing? Mostly no, but due to the diversity they have attained survival. After all, losing and dying is far worse than living and suffering. At the end of the day, the rules are written by the winners and adapted upon by the Survivors.


    At the beginning, she wanted to make a Sword because she was sick of using Daggers. But of course the Urge for a bigger sword didn''t make her go over board with the size of it. The Sword''s length of 75 Centimetres perfectly fits her Battle-wise.


    To go along with this beautiful sword, she also made a little helmet for herself and this resembled some ill.u.s.tratian ways yet it doesn''t mean that she can''t use it to her advantage.


    The ill.u.s.tratios give extra attention to head protection, after all a mentally disabled Soldier can''t be made use off. Neither would it be useful if the Soldier lost his head, so they merge two Iron plates in one helmet while most domains or Alliances only use one.


    Now she didn''t put any ill.u.s.tratian mark on her Iron helmet, she just made it thicker, heavier and more dependable. As far as Bittore told her, she has had a hole on her head when she was tumbled down the stairs back at the hidden domain when barricading the portal.


    Would she have that hole if she wore a helmet? Most likely no! Osira wants to live long enough to see her tribe progress tenfold, and she feels like Diversity will help her achieve that goal.

 Chapter 344 - Mantek

    The four ladies of the gang here who have been gathered up in the Underground town of Lan Zhe, have fairly learned how to get along and even are sharing the same favoured hobbies. Well, most of them at least.


    As specified on a previous Chapter, Commander Alia wanted to show Ada some Kastarian Customs at hand to hand fighting. It is fair to say that Ada has fallen in love with this style, as it mostly aims towards evading injuries more than causing them.


    The hand to hand fighting style of the Kastarians is specifically called, Mantek! When put in to translation, it means "To not kill". Kind isn''t it? And in the same way odd to expect from a Continent of whom the Inner Demon of ego took place in many hearts.


    Ada''s favourite fighting move became the one called, opponent flipper. Basically, to attain such a move one would need a strong arm as well as a strong posture.


    She is supposed to grab an opponent by the shoulder, and with her right foot she is supposed to swipe the opponent off of his or her feet. Once doing so, with her arm she gives a huge thrust which will aid on flipping the opponent.


    If done correctly and with enough force, the opponent should be doing a front flip and at the end falling straight flat on his or her face.


    Of course Commander Alia didn''t demonstrate such a move on Ada and risk possibly breaking her nose, but you might have guessed until now that someone might have under estimated the move enough to become a test dummy.


    That someone in most cases can be Mogranius, and yes it was him this time. Considering Commander Alia''s massive strength, Mogranius wasn''t flipped once but twice before he met with the ground! But thankfully he didn''t break his nose, however a little nose bleed did process.


    Ada still doesn''t meet the physical characteristics to attain this move, but she sure loves training it. For a month straight ever since she was introduced to it, she did not let this battle craft go. Obviously like any warrior she has a long way to go if she wants to be a Grand Master, but at least she has the motivation to do so.


    "I like how Mantek fighting doesn''t focus on killing, that rarely should be the option." She kept repeating, when anyone commented on her little dedication to learn Mantek Fighting more and more. It is fair to say that Ada is in love with this Kastarian way of fighting.


    Three of the ladies have been training to fight almost every day, because with the Harvest season over there really isn''t much to do. Dilli is bringing rather interesting ways of fighting to the table.


    Her way of fighting doesn''t really qualify as an official art but hell it is useful. She is 6 feet tall, and inevitably strong. Her way of fighting doesn''t really aim towards evading, quite frankly she just loves tossing enemies around like wheat bags.


    So when she tried to give Advice to Ada, it didn''t really mix well. Because Commander Alia was teaching her in all ways to avoid getting hit, which of course means to not face an enemy head on especially if that enemy is armed.


    But Dilli was teaching Ada to fight head on and hit as many times as possible. Obviously the two grown ladies have given opposite battle advises, but it didn''t neccesarily prove as a bad thing. Confusing yes, but bad no.


    With the mix of Mantek and Dilli''s fearless fighting style, Ada has become nothing less but a better fighter. Most punches one would throw at her, she knows how to evade them with minimal damage and when the time is right she can knock the daylights out of an opponent.


    The two grown ladies even wanted to suit Ada with a sword, but she refused it. In no way would she want to kill, if the situation came to face an armed opponent she would just choose to run or hide behind the stronger. Herself killing, isn''t exactly neccesary.


    Dilli isn''t the biggest fan of evading and none the less fleeing, she kept telling Ada. "Be unstoppable, be a Mountain!" She does have a point there, considering that she obliterated most of her enemies but Ada just isn''t up for such a style.


    ...


    At the moment Ada, Dilli and Commander Alia are in the training room. To make it better, Osira just walked in as well. In a way, seeing these ladies connect proves rather heart warming. There are three races here in this one room, people with and without power. Yet they still managed to connect, diversity rather wide when Religions don''t cloud minds.


    Osira came up here to keep herself at a nice form, because as tiring and exercising Blacksmithery is, she does feel tremendously sore. Stretching here would feel nice and so would training her waist a little bit.


    Furthermore she came to spend time with the three ladies here, she misses the 14 back at her tribe so these ones here are considerably nice to tame this... home sickness.


    It feels nice to spend time with them, because they aren''t of the kind who would try to pin each other down unless they are training. Short said, she feels comfortable around them and even though she mostly was at the forge they formed a nice little girl group here.


    To break this Harmony and of course bring a bit more humour here, Mogranius walked in because he was bored. "Good day." He shouted, grabbing all their attention as he walked in.


    "This is an unusual place to find you at." Commander Alia teased, wondering why he came here in the first place but in no way trying to be mean.


    "Yeah well I have no one to train and apparently eating more than 5 times a day isn''t humane." He complained, quoting Commander Alia''s words.


    She asked him to stop eating so often, because she remembers her mother researching the human body. Those who claim that they ate more, had at least one health issue after their 400s.


    If it was troublesome for people who commonly live for 700 years, how strongly would it affect people who live 10 times shorter? Bottom line, she meant nothing but good and wants her lover to live a bit longer.


    "Well I think we can all agree to that fact." She giggled, and as a little form of revenge she wanted to use his over c.o.c.kiness against him. In a playful intend of course. "Would you like me to teach you how to fight with ancient Kastarian arts?"


    "Oh no no no." He waved his hands in front of him and once recalling another case he added. "I''m not dumb enough to fight anyone who can slice off... well you know." At least he remembered that there are minors present. But it is also fair to say that his common goofyness is returning back to normal as time passes.


    With a wide smirk across her face, she turned her attention towards Ada and with her aid he ensnared Mogranius. "Well at least can you be a harmless opponent for Ada? We need to see if she can handle an opponent, to determine what training methods to apply next."


    "Oh right right you told me how gifted she is." Mogranius remembered, and of course after still underestimated. "How hard can a kid actually hit?" He openly expressed and formed in to a battle position.


    Although it might not be visible due to the fact that he is wearing a black robe, he has formed in to a sumo squat. This at least is a firm position, even hard for Commander Alia to handle without breaking a sweat.


    "Are you ready little girl?" Mogranius asked, feeling rather confident.


    "Mogranius, remember." Commander Alia grabbed his attention. "You are a Harmless opponent, you can''t fight back."


    "Why didn''t you tell me that earlier?" He shouted with a complain.


    "I did tell you!" She yelled back, although still playfull. Finding this goof adorable.


    When Mogranius turned his attention back to Ada, he noticed that she has already become airborne. Her attempt here was to break Mogranius'' pose, so she of course jumped and kicked him on the right shoulder.


    Mogranius'' stance still proved strong against a light weight short opponent, which is what she needed actually. Last thing she would want to do in battle is tumble along with an opponent.


    Once breaking his form to the slightest, she used his resistance to push her body backwards and up a couple meters more, enough to do a backflip.


    Once landing on the ground, she charged towards him as well since he isn''t. To break his expectations, she started sliding down and quickly swept him off of his feet without ending up under his body weight after.


    To attain such success, she swept through his left foot because of the fact that he placed his left foot in front. Which in another way specifies that he depends on his left foot more, it is his preference and strong point.


    Due to the fact that she has weakened his right side earlier be it little or much, he of course is putting in more strength to his left side so he can depend on it more. Rather complex to observe all in a fast battle, but that''s what preparations are for. And as Commander Alia told, this is one of the best way to defeat a strong form. To use the strong form against the opponent.


    With his face on the mud, but thankfully not with his nose broken or bloody. He raised his head up and complained. "You trained her well, I give you that."

 Chapter 345 - We dont know

    The next day, as Eric was making use out of his Lava Controlling training. He noticed something rather unusual. At first thought, he would think that this is some type of illusion due to mental exhaust, this is the fourth and final hour of his daily training and it can get tiresome enough for his brain to not calm down even when he is trying to sleep over 6 hours after!


    But this can''t be an illusion, he is no expert but illusions aren''t supposed to be this familiar. As you might have guessed by now, he noticed Blue Lava. But this time it came in a new form and at the same time more noticeable.


    A bubble arose from the lava, possibly around 20 feet away from where Eric was standing. A bubble blue in colour and 4 feet wide in size! Unusual, never seen before by the six people here and the only way he knew to handle such a case is. "Did you see that?"


    "See what?" Kazer asked, once acknowledging that Eric''s shout broke the five''s meditation.


    "There was a blue bubble, but it disappeared." These sentences sound familiar to Kazer, although he just recalls Blue Lava being spoken off.


    Not a fan, thinking that the young Electus might be messing around here. Kazer replied with. "I told. There is no thing as Blue Lava, I don''t think there is Blue Bubbles at heats this large." His sentence started off with a yell and ended up with calm reasoning.


    The young Electus felt a tad offended, but as Kazer ended his sentence. Laza gasped in shock and pointed towards another bubble. Now, they all saw it.


    "Well, I''ll be damned." I think we know where Kazer learned such a sentence at. "That really is a Blue Bubble."


    "I told you." Eric expressed, glad that he didn''t just see illusions all this time nor is he going crazy. Well described, he isn''t feeling c.o.c.ky about this.


    Before he knew it, the five Grand Masters have already started debating a move with their own language. The following sentences will be translated, for the pure pleasure of translations not ruining the flow.


    "What do we do here?" Kazer asked confused, although possibly the smartest man in Ignis he could use older wisdom here. Specifically, he is looking at Grand Master Xalk, he is the oldest here standing 1301 years old.


    "Um this is unheard off..." Xalk expressed truthfully, indirectly making it clear that he has no idea what the hell is going on.


    "Forget that, do any of you think it is Dangerous?" Kazer asked the most important question here, they have over 800 people to consider here. There are so many newborns.


    "They are blobs... and they are blue...?" Laza reminded, trying to figure out where this can be considered dangerous.


    "I think we need to check it from up close." Kazer recommended, feeling rather paranoid now. Because after all the safety of this town is obviously not solely dependent on a child, they hold the most responsibility here.


    "No, those blobs could tip our rocks over and we can fall in the Lava." Xalk reminded, this is where old wisdom comes useful at least. Perhaps did he see Grand Masters get burned?


    "You have a point. What if we sent the Golden Blood there?" Throughout their murmuring, the word "Welzer Artej" went through Eric''s ear and he managed to pile thoughts together and know where this will lead.


    With an urge to flip, but at the same time trying to be as respectful as possible. Pezik asked, "Would it really be a good idea to send a highly untrained child? I mean we don''t even know what those bubbles are made off! They can even withstand Lava''s heat."


    "But they burst right after coming out of Lava... hmmm." Kazer focused on Pezik''s last words rather more than on the criticism she gave.


    "The boy can swim in Lava, we can send him further down to figure out the Source of this Blue Lava." Xalk complimented Kazer''s idea, after all it is better to send a boy who can easily withstand Lava than sending anyone who can''t.


    "He can''t hold his breath enough to properly analyse the Source." Altacin reminded, and afterwards recalled what the young Golden Blood explained about swimming in Lava. "It isn''t like swimming in the river, it would take twice the effort to swim down."


    "She''s right." Kazer aimed to reason, no research would be worthy enough if any of the Grand Masters or the Golden Blood died here. "Do any of you think that it would be a good idea to wait?"


    "Well the Bubbles aren''t exploding or bringing the town down... Why rush it?" Altacin calmed them down with reasoning, fairly the calmest here in a high pressure situation like this.


    "She has a point." Kazer complimented with a swift tone, as reasoning furthermore became acceptable in his critique. Afterwards he continued, "I recommend an around the clock stake out. None of us will sleep until we know exactly what these blobs are."


    The fact that the four other Grand Masters didn''t carry shock at such a recommendation, Kazer became pleased because in a way it determines that they aren''t scared of such a task. "Are all of you in?" Kazer asked, with no aims of breaking good relations by ordering.


    All at the same time, they either grunted or said yes. "Perfect." Kazer sighed in relief, this situation can be possibly dangerous but at least all five are on board.


    "I''m guessing you want to send me down there to get a better peek at the situation." Eric asked nervously, but at the same time not exactly unwilling to proceed with such a inevitably dangerous task. Hey he handled worse.


    "No no, that would be stupid." Kazer explained as he kept his gaze firm towards where the bubbles previously came out of. "Those bubbles could burn you, we don''t know what they are made off."


    "So we will just leave it be? Is that the wisest idea?" Eric asked, he wants everyone to be safe but most importantly he wants his gang to be even safer.


    "Of course we won''t, but we can''t do anything if we don''t know what we are dealing with." A rather clear sentence from Kazer, you must be aware but furthermore he has good points. "So we will be watching the area with no sleep until we know."


    "Makes sense. Anything I can be of help with?" Eric asked, feeling a bit dissatisfied that he has to stay here more than four hours again but this is a sensitive situation.


    "Not really. You can stay here to lend us your eyes... but first go eat." Knowing that Ignites have less tolerance against tiredness, Kazer wanted him here sharp. "After an hour come back here."


    ...


    As Eric flew his way up, afterwards entering the farm and walking towards the end of it in aims of reaching the Storage Area. He saw his little gang there, already making a feast near the Storage room. They have set nice flat rocks to use as seats, and a bigger flat rock in the middle resembling a table.


    Eric didn''t panickly run over there but instead kept a firm humourless face instead, enough to get Commander Alia concerned. Because Eric often smiles, but she figured that he could be tired from all the training.


    "Would you like some boiled melon slices?" Commander Alia asked once Eric sat down.


    And of course hungry enough, after noticing the cauldron near the seats he answered. "Yes, if it isn''t troubling."


    "A little gentleman aren''t you!" Commander Alia spoke in a semi pitch tone as she grabbed his cheeks, squeezing it but noticed that Eric didn''t get shy this time.


    Leaving it be, she walked towards the Cauldron to prepare a little dish for him. Eric on the other hand, took a peek at Mogranius and hoped to grab his attention. Asking, "Do you know anything about Blue Bubbles?"


    The group glanced at Eric afterwards, with considerably enough shock. Could the training and hunger made him all shaken? "Blue Bubble as in?"


    "As in Blue Bubbles coming out of Lava!" Eric specified, keeping his tone low and not alarming although he inevitably has grabbed attention.


    "Ummm Let me think it through." He answered as he chewed down on a nice foot long Carrot. Fair to say the Harvest was a great success.


    "Blue Lava... hmmm." He continued to make noise, not panicking thankfully. Trying to recall every bit of experience Akareas has faced with Lava Controlling. There isn''t really much information to fish out considering that she came in to power as a Level 3 Lava Controller and obliterated Blue Goblins with it.


    "I don''t think I ever saw Blue Lava Bubbles, nor did I hear about them." He finally expressed, giving an end to the anticipation.


    With a kind gentle tone, Eric asked. "What about the rest of you? Ada? Osira? Dilli?"


    He forgot to mention one lady here, and she grabbed his attention when gently placing the Iron plate in front of him. Commander Alia of course, that''s who he forgot. "Anything we should be concerned of?" Alia asked, referring to the Blue Bubbles.


    "We don''t know yet, I was hoping that one of you would know more. I mean after all there are three races around this rock." Eric spoke calmly to not alarm them, and put a little bit of pressure on the Diversity.


    "I didn''t really see Lava before I''ve got here." Commander Alia expressed, leaving Eric feel even more puzzled.


    Because Mogranius along with the bundle of people here were his last hope of shedding light towards these mysterious bubbles, yet they do not know a thing about them.


    "I guess we will have to wait." Eric spoke calmly, and enjoyed the sweet taste of the nice boiled melon in front of him.

 Chapter 346 - Elevating

    Another day passed, the Blue Bubbles have been put under strong dependable scoping. But did much happen? Not really. Come to think of it, those two bubbles that bursted once on Eric''s sight and secondly in front of everyone else, were the only Bubbles they have seen.


    Which in one way is good, but on another aspect it is disappointing. It is good that it isn''t posing a threat towards this beautiful hidden civilisation, but at the same time it is disappointing because they''ve spent 24 hours staring down at Lava.


    Well at least most of them did, once coming back there after eating for a little bit, Eric didn''t stay down there near the Lava all night. He lended his eyes for another 6 hours before he specified that going on any further would be considered pointless, and also that he is very sleepy.


    The 5 Grand Masters are way older by age, have seen a lot more battles and therefore have a better sense of authority for this town at least. As for Eric, what more could you ask of from a kid?


    The Grand Masters kept their positions, without losing focus too much they glanced upon the Hot Lava in hopes of seeing or not seeing those bubbles again, the feelings about it were really confusing.


    ...


    "So any luck?" Eric asked, after once again diving in the Lava. The Grand Masters have become accustomed of this cute proceedure. If you think that jumping in Lava is cute that is...


    "Not really." Kazer Answered, a bit sleep deprived no doubt. Him along with the rest of the Grand Masters haven''t slept in over 30 hours, but they can fairly handle a lot more before they drop.


    "So what''s the plan now?" Eric asked still feeling rather puzzled.


    "We still have to watch, if nothing comes out for another 24 hours than we have to go there up close." Kazer specified, describing a potentially dangerous plan.


    "Didn''t you say that is dangerous?" Eric reminded, feeling nervous about going there to the unknown alone.


    "If no bubble comes out after so long, we can see there in a few counts before going back. I think is doable." Kazer specified although partially unclear but obviously understandable.


    ...


    Another 24 hours have passed, yesterday Eric didn''t do any exercises due to obvious facts. Before he was the quickest to notice these potentially dangerous bubbles. They think it is a worthy sacrifice to take a couple of days out of a boy who isn''t in a rush to train.


    To get in to other specifications, this time they didn''t see any Blue Bubbles either. Which makes the whole proceedure a lot more confusing, because if the Quantity underneath was big enough for Eric to see through the torched scenery of lava while diving, and big enough for 4 feet wide bubbles to pop out. Why didn''t more Bubbles come out be it small or big?


    "Now it is time for us to see this sensation from up close." Xalk specified, who has kept the most count over how much time they have spent scoping the area.


    "Indeed." Kazer answered, and as he dragged a big wide plate like rock from the rooms they have behind them in the little caves they one by one became ready to set sail towards this odd situation.


    "Are you sure I can''t come?" Eric interrupted with a question. He doesn''t really feel comfortable to go there but there are little limits to what he would do for this town.


    "No, this can be dangerous." Kazer reminded, it is best for you to stay here.


    "What if I just fly near you?" Eric asked, at least this way it proves less dangerous.


    "I haven''t thought of that." Kazer felt a bit dumb for not taking that fact in to consideration, but yet again even geniuses have it hard after not sleeping for nearly 60 hours. "You can come, but don''t be too close. You are only to approach if any of us are close to falling in Lava."


    "Yes Grand Master." Eric answered with joy and afterwards felt stupid, "What have I gotten myself in to." He thought.


    ...


    As the five Grand Masters walked over these plate shaped rocks, with their arms pulled backwards and their left foot forwards they forced the rocks to move towards their desired direction.


    The secret behind it? Well they are making the Lava underneath the rock do all the work. The Lava is carrying the rock, not allowing it to sink along with any Grand Master.


    And when any of the Grand Masters want to manuver their individual rock either to the left or to the right, stretching the arms a bit wide, moving one further from centre of mass than the other determines which way to go and how sharp the turn will be.


    Interesting move isn''t it? And rather complex as well come to think of it. For a new comer like Eric for example, it would take a lot more time to get a hang off maneuvering. Although it wouldn''t neccesarily prove dangerous for him since Lava can''t burn his skin.


    In a short time, they''ve reached their destination with Eric floating above their heads. It didn''t really take long to reach, it was only 20-40 feet away from the Volcanic walk way. It all would depend where the Grand Masters started to sail at.


    "Do you see anything down there?" Kazer asked, puzzled to not find much here.


    "No." Laza answered and the rest just followed along sharing the same word.


    "By Calidus this is so tiring!" Kazer complained. "All that waiting yet we didn''t even find anything worth the time?"


    "Hey at least there doesn''t seem to be anything down there!" Xalk reminded, and gave out a cute elderly giggle. But quite frankly he is just highly sleep deprived.


    "Yes well it still is disappointing." Kazer continued to complain, as explained a bit earlier feelings are a bit mixed about this.


    Out of a sudden! Xalk felt his elevation rising more than it is supposed too, as if the heat from being surrounded by Lava wasn''t enough.


    In a matter of a second, he was lifted above Lava along with his rock 3 meters high, thankfully balanced enough to not tip him over and toss him down in the unforgiving nature of Lava.


    "What the hell." Eric thought and instantly flew towards Xalk, grabbing him underneath the Shoulders of which due to size differences it more seemed like a hug from behind.


    However, that is not the point and this is absolutely no time for Romance. He didn''t start lifting Xalk up, nor would he have the required capacities to do so. He just wants to help Xalk keep balance.


    As for the other Grand Masters, apart from cursing the bad timing they also glanced at the Blue Bubble in amazement. It can survive Lava, manage to lift a large man along with a large plate like rock yet it bursts seconds after it leaves Lava behind.


    Wait... at this specific case this isn''t a good thing! A moment after, the blue blob burst and disorder followed after! Xalk has for sure lost concentration of the Lava that was under his control, and the rock requires Lava Controlling to float!


    The plate like rock fell flat on the Lava, and it of course splattered hot boiling lava around it. A bit of which, unfortunately reached towards Kazer... Burning his toes a little bit but thankfully his toes are still in tact and in all ways functional.


    He moved his foot away from the Lava and afterwards urged everyone to move away from it. "Back to the walk way!" He spoke on his own language.


    When he took a glance at Xalk, he noticed that Eric is with all his efforts trying to keep Xalk safe above Lava. The rock of which Xalk had under his possession is as good as gone.


    "Keep him up just for a little while." Kazer shouted as he maneuvered his own rock towards Xalk as fast as possible. It can certainly fit both.


    Although giving far too much energy to actually say something, Eric thought. "Yes, no kidding."


    What appeared to be a life time after, Xalk felt his knees touching the rock of which Kazer was holding up with the aid of Lava. He of course had to lift his feet up, or else they would have been gone a few seconds ago.


    Depending on the fact that Kazer can''t fail, the rest of the Grand Masters just made their way out of danger. Bad teamwork, but sleep deprivation tends to mess with judgement.


    Xalk getting over the plate like rock didn''t cause any balance trouble worth noting about, in fact the main concern now became Eric!


    Once assuring that Xalk is safe, he just laid himself over Xalk''s shoulder and sighed. "Damn you are heavy!" And afterwards passed out right on the spot.

 Chapter 347 - Valtera Katelyn the Seventh

    In aims of describing some rather important specifics, we will be rolling back in time here to fish out a little parchment resembling a map to specify how many tons of Coal have been mined out of the third section.


    As you might have figured it out from the previous paragraph here, yes the third section has been successfully established and mined. Going back on August 28th... best described when the Head Miner Bill estimated that the second section would he clear out of coal to mine.


    With a team of five miners, Bale Town managed to tap in to more Black Riches a.k.a coal. However we can say that it did prove troublesome at first and in a way it still is!


    That large hole, almost located at the centre of the Second Section went 50 meters down! That deep even after the Second Section''s flooring was dug down for 20 meters. So it is well determined that before the annual mining this drop was 70 meters deep!


    Working with such a drop is troublesome enough when going down, specifically dangerous because one slip can inevitably lead to death or being disabled for a long time and even permanently.


    It is even more difficult when trying to bring material out of the third section, because they can''t do it at large quantities and the hole doesn''t exactly have smooth perfectly Vertical walls!


    Building a 50 meter tall Staircase isn''t the best idea either, nor is it possible due to the fact that it would require at least a 150 meter wide opening to spread on, while the second section itself is only 50 meters long, not to mention the hole who is only several meters across.


    How did they handle this situation then? Well one of the Lumberjacks came up with a bright idea, in a way inspired by these long, straight almost branchless forest trees called "Ponderosa Pine".


    They are favoured by Lumberjacks since removing the branches after cutting it down isn''t exactly hard, since it requires several hits only at the higher spot. By higher spot I mean the top where most of the Branches are at.


    The top can be cut off and disposed off, it doesn''t really play an important role. Not to forget that in half of the cases this tree can have its lower body covered with branches, but they are considerably scarce and the Lumberjacks still favour them.


    The part of the tree that is left over for use on the other hand, stretches commonly for 5-20 meters. It is straight, strong and usable in many tasks.


    Here the idea is to connect these trees one over the other, to form a tower like structure which will make transporting coal easier. But it comes with a twist! Apart from the fact that it is hard to build such a structure without any casualties, it requires a lot of manpower.


    Because the concept is, to lift the coal up while it is still on a crate. A special platform that carries the crate has been made as well and it hugs all four of the tall support beams with four holes on each side, meaning the platform has 4 holes on each side. It is a bit hard to put in to description.


    Now the problem here is that one Crate measures up to 200 Kilos, so when they want to pull it up for 50 meters it requires the strength of 4 men at least or 6 to avoid casualties.


    To prevent the rope from snapping, they also have built much like a crane like figure on the right which holds the rope up, away from the rocks. It can easily hold a mass of 200 Kilos, but once the platform is pulled up, 4-6 more men have to throw a rope over the Crate and pull it closer to the rocky floor of the second section.


    Obviously this work is a lot harder to do compared to anything they worked on the second section, and to make it a bit more troubling it isn''t as rewarding as the second section.


    At the second section they managed to mine out around 50 tons of Coal! Yet at the third section 50 meters deeper, we can consider it as only 1/10 of the previously mentioned amount.


    It became a problem, because at the second section they ran out of Coal to mine and for the third section, building that 50 meter tall tower like figure required 2 weeks to accomplish with the aid of 50 men! It sure ruined the order, but it wasn''t impossible.


    In August 28 when Bill got a deep and detailed view of how much the third section can offer, he alarmed that it won''t be enough to meet the monthly requirement of 7 tons! Hell, on August 28 the entire second section depleted and they had piled up only 4 tons. They are supposed to send the coal out on the 15th of every month so it can reach on the first.


    In a way, it screwed up their income just a little bit, but they didn''t necessarily end up breaking even profit-wise or go negative. They still pocketed a fresh 15k.


    But it became embarrassing in some terms, because the middle of September arrived yet they were just done building that 50 meter tall tower, they could only send out 4 tons of Coal instead of 7!


    Now, they have started working on the third section but as mentioned before it isn''t so promising and they would be lucky if they manage to mine out 6 tons of Coal! They''ve sent an apology letters to the Zamerians about it, but they didn''t make a big fuss and told Bale Town to not worry since it can happen often in such businesses.


    Regardless of what the Zamerians think, Bill estimates that they will only manage to mine out around 4.5 tons! Meaning, the Delivery they have to send out in the middle of October might end up being half full as well.


    With the 50 men finally able to return on their other duties, farming became their main focus at the moment since it is the harvest season and it will provide a dependable year around food supply even though it is just wheat. Still, 250 Hectares of Wheat Grain still isn''t little and won''t only feed them for one year but two!


    Now getting back in to deeper specifics of the third section and why Bill thinks it isn''t enough. Well he actually has drown an excellent parchment, estimating how much each portion of the third section can write with pin points to mark spots and statistics on the other side, he is indeed gifted.


    Well to start it off, once reaching down the 50 meter drop they see a main tunnel leading to three smaller branches, while the main tunnel leads to another drop after a couple of turns.


    Specifically, once accessing the third section, there is a tunnel on the right about 10 meters away and another tunnel on the left 20 meters away from the start point. This portion of the main tunnel itself before leading to other paths is 20 meters long and 5 meters wide.


    Its walls and cieling contain around 50% Coal, 35% rock and a good 15% of dirt. All of which are useful be it for monetary or structural reasons. When given a rough estimation, it should have around 170 Kilos of Coal! Now we can describe each branch and portion of the second section but that would take far too long! So let''s list the three main deposits instead.


    The very first branch on the right from the start point, goes on for 30 meters before it leads to a 20 meter long and 15 meter wide opening! Now the tunnel itself should have an estimated 150kg due to the fact that stones take 60% of its space but the large opening deserves to be number one on the list.


    This opening, will help fish out a nice profitable 1.4 tons of Coal. In Value it is almost enough to cover the town''s monthly salaries but considering the monthly order from the Zamerians being 7 tons, it isn''t so promising.


    The second biggest deposit is almost at the end of the third section, and it grants a nice 1 ton of Coal! Now although in size bigger than the first in the ranks by a few meters, its walls, ceiling and floor contain 65% stone. It isn''t the best deposit monetary-wise but the stone can be useful.


    The third biggest deposit, is found once taking a right turn 20 meters from the spawn point. It takes almost a U turn and leads to an opening 35 meters long and 10 meters wide. This Contains 70% rock, 27-29% Coal and the rest is just dirt. All together, Bill estimates 500-600 Kilos of Coal.


    With those portions of specifics out of the way, due to fairly detailed research Bill estimated 4.5 tons. But as a couple of weeks passed, he was forced to change his mind since he seemed to have over looked one fact.


    Some portions of coal can lead to bigger portions connected to it or very close to it, even if it isn''t visible behind these coal, stone and dirt walls. Those deposits could either be 20 kilos more or 2 tons, you can never really tell for sure.


    But still his guess wasn''t too far off and it won''t prove equally embarrassing for BaleTown again. Now he estimates it to be 5 tons or a bit over it, well he still got very close. They mined out a nice profitable 5.3 tons. So at the beginning he was around 800 Kilos off, it is still a good estimation though.


    The''ve finished mining out what the third section had to offer, in a span of 3 weeks. Now they are on the tenth of October and are looking to expand towards new deposits.


    Now there are two possible ways to attain such a task, and I apologise if this Chapter is getting expansive. Coal doesn''t just grow on trees and we need to specify the struggle of maintaining an income, it isn''t all sweet meet and warm ale after establishing an income, it still requires hard work.


    After walking around 40 meters in the main tunnel, there is another branch to the right and it has a 15¡ã upwards form. It stretches 60 meters and the miners only managed to get 200 Kilograms of Coal out of it. But to more important matters, it looks like it can lead them to what they can call the right wing of the third section.


    The tunnel meets... something that can''t be called a dead end but can''t be called an opening either. It looks unstable, and it shows signs of a past collapse. But if Miners work against the rumble, they could be discovering more deposits.


    The second option is all the way to the end of the main tunnel, after taking a sharp left turn for 20 meters and another sharp right turn for 50 meters after, they meet something they are both glad and angry at. Another drop!


    From the first view, they can see the ground. It has to be at least 20 meters deep, as for what it contains they can only find out by dropping down there and optionally drawing a map.


    ...


    A couple of days after, with the possible fourth section still in examination and the possible right wing still under work, the Guards came back from Black Tail Town. They came here a bit early come to think of it, but their response to it was. "There wasn''t much to see."


    However, they didn''t really fail at their task. Delrus specified that it would be beneficial even if they found one Stonemason there who would be willing to come in to BaleTown. Coincidentally, they actually found just one!


    Specifically, she is a lady going by the name Valtera Katelyn the seventh. Long name I''m aware, but the entire town there agreed that she possesses the craft, furthermore she doesn''t have any family there due to her parents dying off old age and the rest of her family scattered around Ignis.


    She is 36 years old, a mild body size and has light blonde hair. She has a bit of an attitude problem, but it won''t necessarily prove troublesome. Also, with working men being on a shortage and with the other fact that women can work better with women, it is best to put gender differences aside and hire 5 more women.


    The Amount still low even after the 5 recruits, but it is better to hire a small amount now so teaching can become less difficult. When these 5 are taught well, more apprentices can be hired.


    They might not have to hire more apprentices at all if Gustav Iron returns back here with Stonemasons, but just in case if he doesn''t succeed they still have a base of Stonemasons.


    Salary wise, both Valtera and the recruits will earn 110 Gold Coins. Rather unfair considering that one has a lot more experience. But when food, warmth and clothing is covered for free than who can complain?


    Now all that is left to do, is consult with the Blacksmiths about what kind of tools Stonemasons would need, and get in to work on making that wall. Little progress is better than none.

 Chapter 348 - Lifespans

    Now as they broke in to October a few days ago, after the Harvest Gaster Kingdom has gone through considerable progress. As mentioned in a previous Chapter, the population has leaped to 830! That came with new problems as well as opportunities.


    For example with the recent rise in human power, they can establish more sources of income. But until those sources are well taken care off, they have to pay the new employees with their limited budget.


    It is fair to say that it went all smoothly, the Zamerians accepted all of the offered deals by King Michael thankfully. And due to those facts, salaries were raised not once but twice, for the most profitable crafts at least.


    As for the rest, their salaries will be raised as well because after all the goal is for everyone to have a salary of over 200 gold coins. In a way, they are half way there to reaching that goal and on another way they aren''t.


    Sure there are some people who earn a salary of 400 Gold Coins a month, but when put in a pile of over 300 Employees that really doesn''t make a difference for the rest of the people.


    Currently, there are exactly 379 people under King Michael''s employment and when calculated based on how much gold is put in to all the salaries, the average salary breaks out 78 Gold Coins.


    Now the reason why it is this low even after all the salary raises, is because the new badge of Guards are now paid, and they are not paid enough. 20 Gold Coins per new Guard, but such low procedures were taken just to be savvy and careful with the Budget. Sure they will earn a salary raise considering that they are the Kingdom''s protectors it just might take a bit longer.


    Raising the salaries for the Guards will inevitably move the average over a hundred Gold Coins easier, after that they can take on the goal to raise the salaries at least 200 gold coins for each and every individual, after that of course food won''t be free. Reasonable since at least one salary will enter each house and 100 gold coins can cover the monthly food expenses for a family of 4.


    Apart from all of that, the Kingdom is still earning enough to build up a big budget in a matter of a year. At the moment, after all the expenses the Kingdom is earning a profit of 35k a month. It is fair to say that this population rise helped a lot, even though there are about 202 people left unemployed. The 249 other people that can''t be employed are elderly and Children.


    ...


    Now with these slight specifications of the budget cleared out, we can move on to lighter matters. Such as what kind of progress Alama and King Michael have attained in almost a year''s worth of time.


    Taking a day to fish out old memories, King Michael could have written down a list of what activities have been normalized by passing time of which if seen in the very beginning of when they met, it would feel a lot more awkward.


    For example, the fact that King Michael hates for his hair to be touched by anyone. Alama has been granted the opportunity to braid his hair once, and afterwards it became more common. She loves his hair, and he likes how she is a big fan of his hair so it isn''t really hard to get along here.


    Apart from that cute gesture, talks have become a lot lighter. They can talk basically about anything, and when one topic ends another starts. In another way it was adorable how Alama''s mind would go blank in the beginning, considering that she is a very successful merchant and a known honey mouth, that shouldn''t have happened.


    It is fair to say that she can get nervous towards a guy she fancies, but now that she was given the chance to speak about deeper topics. She asked the now 313 year old King if he has plans of marriage. His Birthday was back on July 16th, he didn''t really care about it much though.


    "Marriage isn''t for me." The King answered boldly, leaving Alama both in confusion and disappointment.


    Although they are not a couple even after nearly a year of knowing each other, such an answer got her hurt in so many ways. Before going through many thoughts or accusations which might not be so favourable, she asked? "Why? Not a fan of loving a woman?"


    A dumb question in some ways, since it might offend his manhood in some aspects. But a hurt person can go overboard with his or her words, Alama went over board just a little bit.


    "That''s not the point Miss Alama." King Michael answered with a forced laugh to lift the mood up, since he noticed her mildly rageful expressions. "It is just pointless to marry anyone here considering that I live a lot longer than any of you do."


    At the first thought, Alama figures that Commander Alia could meet his lifespan considering that they are almost the same age and in a way with the same lifespan. But she is trying to mix his lifespan with her own.


    "You are scared of losing loved people... over and over I can assume." She asked, putting aside that marrying him has become impossible and tried to show sympathy instead.


    "I am." He answered truthfully, although he let the silence stretch for over 10 seconds. He didn''t mean to be rude in any way, this is just a sensitive topic hopefully it won''t hurt their progress as friends. "It is just hard to tackle... why Marry someone if I have to live another possible 300 years without her?"


    "You have a good point there Michael." Afterwards a thought came in her mind, but at the same time she wanted to speak so she said her thought out loud. "I wonder if Demon meat can make me live longer."


    "Why would you want to live longer?" King Michael asked, assuring Alama that she said that sentence out loud.


    "Ummm..." Alama'' thoughts rushed, trying to find a proper lie, a believable one. "So we can be friends longer?"


    "That''s the case?" He asked, not sure if he can believe her at this point and could see many reasons for her to lie considering how shy she tends to het specifically around him.


    "Yes. What else could it be?" She asked boldly, getting her nervousness in strong control for once by remembering how hurt she got about the fact that she can''t marry him.


    Trying to respect the same lady who offered so much help when Gaster Kingdom was 0 with 0 financially speaking, he offered a solution to her thoughts. "Nobody can be imortal, but I think I know how to prolong anyone''s life come to think of it."


    "How?" She asked in shock, jumping off her seat a little bit as her lips wore a great big smile. "I hope you aren''t joking."


    "Well it is just a theory." He added, and recalled different points throughout past adventures and information being several months old. "Mogranius told us about his father being over 300 years, due to a certain mix of two possibilities."


    "Which are?" She tried to remember Mogranius'' exact words but doesn''t remember much considering it happened nearly a year ago.


    "The exposure to Demonite and the Consumption of Demon Meat." He answered boldly, as if he has plans to make some changes on her diet.


    "You want to take me all the way to the Source of Fire?" She asked in shock, hoping that the King is talking fiction for once.


    "No, you are not of "The Evolved", the Source would rip you into pieces." He specified, and getting a flashback of a scene he had on the shores of Meridionali Ignis a Century ago in one of his research expeditions, he added. "Some ill.u.s.tratios once fought off some "Demons" and fed its meat to a hound."


    "Did they really kill Demons or Ignites?" She asked, fearful due to the fact that ill.u.s.tratios might have fed Ignite meat to hounds.


    "No no they were actual Demons, you could tell by their stereotypical description. Big horns, dark skin and big claws, a lot of shouting." He continued to list characteristics, until Alama helped him get to the point by snapping her fingers.


    "Oh right... Well my point is, the hounds changed. Some grew bigger, some fell dead, some even got Horns! But one, one of them still lives by this day!" King Michael''s words are indeed inspiring, but at the same time they sound unreal.


    "Are you sure you''re not talking fiction... Wait can we be in a fictional world? Made by a brighter mind?" She felt puzzled, with all the unusual talk going on she has reasons to do so.


    "No... This is real life, no one would be smart enough to write Novels in Novels." He replied to her paranoia with trustable logic and moved to the main point. "Also, I saw the dog a few years ago, I recognized him by the Horns."


    To complete this rather fictional talk but at the same time inspiring. "If we can filter out any bad side effect of eating Demon meat, and utilize the fact that it can prolong life several fold... I think we can prolong your life span."

 Chapter 349 - Productivity Theory

    One thing that has saved Seer''s behind as well as the whole Kingdom come to think of it, is the fact that a main profit of 64,000 Gold Coins has been established. More precisely, the Zamerians have accepted the Iron Shield mass production offer, but have shifted it to another domain since Lav Kingdom can only afford so much at once. Either way, it is making all of them very wealthy.


    Now, this main income alone can only cover 1/3 of the monthly expenses, but when combined with all the other sources of profit including the new Boar Leather Clothing deal which brings in a profit of 42,000 Gold Coins, the Kingdom managed to finally build up a tremendous profit.


    The profit, after all of the expenses paid off, is 42,628 Gold Coins! The move of hiring 400 people was indeed great, because it opened doors towards other opportunities such as the ability to increase the food prices to market value.


    Based on what they have earned before ever since starting the evolution, the profit they make now is record breaking even though the profit from sold food has just met a 20% shift upwards. This points out that people tend to buy less when prices rise, or at least buy more responsibly. Either way, it didn''t really damage the profit.


    Now they will need this current profit to be ongoing at least for a few months, they need to build up a budget. At the start of the Revolution the Kingdom only had 200k on the budget to start new projects, it isn''t a small sum but compared to how much the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance has under its possession, it isn''t a lot.


    Come to think of it, BaleTown currently has more Gold in the Budget even if they don''t even have half of the assets of which Pameres Kingdom has. All combined, this triangle of Domains only has a total of around 1.1 million Gold Coins all together. It can''t really oppose the Alliance, just Crutal Kingdom can out compete it now when they are practically recovering from an economic nightmare.


    What does all of this lead down too? Well it is a clear sign that Pameres Kingdom primarily needs a bigger budget, meaning they need to pile up more sacks of gold. Because with more gold on the Castle saved up, they can afford it if a future business move possibly fails.


    Sure Seer pulled it off this time, but if he didn''t the Budget wouldn''t be able to maintain the expenses for more than 4 months, it would have gone flat bankrupt.


    Apart from being able to manage business deals in the future better, a larger budget can be dependent upon if sudden military expenses have to be executed. Military expenses haven''t given the Budget a good brake as you know!


    40,000 of it is spend in the army in a monthly basis and a huge sum of money was given to buy Ballistas and Catapults, not to mention all of the Compensations given to the families for losing family members in the last battle, specifically losing Guards.


    It is easy to understand that after all of those expenses made to keep this Revolution alive, the Pameres Kingdom Budget needs a break, to prepare against any misfortune that might be thrown upon the Kingdom.


    At the moment, there are 340,000 Gold Coins saves up in the Pameres Kingdom treasury room, better specified that is their budget at the moment. To cut possible future bankruptcy or invasions chances in half, they need to save up at least 1 million Gold Coins.


    As for keeping the Revolution alive, they need to have at least 600k. Be it for emergency military expenses or be it for major business deals, 600k would be a sum they can easily depend on.


    Short said, Pameres Kingdom along with the entire revolution need at least a year to prepare against anything that might be thrown against them. In a span of a year, at this pace the triangle of Domains would have over 3 million Gold Coins all piled together, if something doesn''t go wrong.


    ...


    Back on to some lighter matters, therapy sessions. Throughout the span of a few weeks, with a hell load of gold thrown on rumour spreaders and with direct orders from the King in some aspects, the Therapy Building has found itself dealing with not one or two but over 40 people.


    Some people were sad, some depressed, some just solely dismotivated and some just wanted to taste this luxury, after it was made clear that only the richer can afford it in other domains.


    The smart lady in charge, miss Tedradia has managed to find at least a handful of people who show behaviour that signifies that something is bothering them mentally. Anger and stress were the two most common traits.


    Upon talking it out with those stressed men, under the order of the King to cooperate if Tedradia asks them too, she managed to find one mutual reason behind many sources of stress, the working hours are too long!


    Blacksmiths have it the most difficult, due to the fact that they have large deliveries to tackle, even with the second team of Blacksmiths established, their working hours are never under 10.


    This can be a big problem, because apart from the fact that it makes people feel like over used tools, it will harm the production rate and is possibly stopping people from unleashing their true potential.


    Originally, more working hours should equal to more products, right? Well, what would you say if I told you that during those working hours people tend to become slow, and often loose focus? It indeed messes with the production rate, big time. We aren''t talking about 5% here, but far greater.


    After hearing out many of these men, with the help of the three assistants she hired and pays under the limited budget of 2,000 Gold Coins. She decided to deliver this word back to the King, to see what measures he would take. I mean, most of the employees don''t even have a day off.


    Hearing it out, and obviously noticing that the complains are too numerous to ignore, King Zar had to take action upon it. With sentiment taking place strongly at such affairs, he has an idea in mind. A public speech.


    He noticed his own productivity change with the aid of therapy, he wonders how much it would change if people had more time to relax.


    ...


    In mid day, at the very centre of the town where now all employees are on a break, he ordered for all of them to be gathered around... Hundreds of people all in one place and even unemployed civilians gathering around to see what all of the commotion is about, this can work for the best as well since they can be future employees here.


    After banging on some bells to keep everyone quiet, continuously hitting the bells until some order can be attained. The King finally had the opportunity to give his speech.


    "My people, my hard workers. I have gathered you all around here today in order to bring you some news which most of you may like." He started it off, grabbing their attention and with suspense they all kept quiet.


    "It has come to my realization that most of you have been over worked, all of you gave in big contributions to this Kingdom, if it wasn''t for all of the work you have put in then we would have never come to where we are now... Independent, wealthier if not rich but now there is only one goal to attain, we have to be happier." He was yelling enough for everyone to hear him, although half of them might have missed what he said. No matter, eventually the word will be spread to all. This here is just a political gesture.


    Using the silence to his advantage he continued, "The Therapy Building is open to anyone, and I highly recommend to try it if you don''t feel like yourself. I have personally tried it and miss Tedradia is amazing." Him as a King honouring Miss Tedradia, furthermore him as a King indirectly admitting that he had mental problems? Rather large indeed, but thankfully it was welcomed with a large nice cheer.


    Taking nearly a minute to calm the masses down, he continued with his main point of being here. "Each and everyone one of you will get a day off in Wednesday and Sunday, meaning at those two days you won''t have to work." In aims of using this silence to his advantage he quickly got the final point. "Furthermore, working hours for everyone here have been reduced to 9 hours."


    Afterwards a loud joyful cheer broke out in the crowd, and this time it didn''t seem like they had a sign of stopping. But it isn''t a problem, he said what he had to say and once more won the hearts and loyalty over the masses.


    Tedradia was on the little stage around with him, a stage built under an hour with the help of the much gifted construction workers. It only is a 4 meter wide and long platform, fancy in a sort of way but it can also be taken down quickly.


    He walked towards her, and with a depending mindset he told her. "Let''s hope your theory of productivity works to our advantage, if not we can kiss the 42k profit Goodbye."

 Chapter 350 - Congratulations, Isabel.

    A good example of heroism, and the pure will to see his Platoon progress is Arem from the first Gaster Kingdom Platoon, or at least what was left from them. Arem, one of the few that managed to survive here and fairly a team player.


    Since the beginning, Woldemir noticed something special in this man. Something that not everyone could have, well more like he has several characteristics that would make a Grand Master proud.


    With the recent increase in Guard count, firmer procedures have to be taken. See Woldemir over looked the fact that each individual Guard could have some trait that is slowing them down from becoming a battle beast, and it was his responsibility to figure out that trait and get rid of it so a Guard can be molded to perfection, but he didn''t.


    Yet he can''t be completely blamed for it, because as a start it isn''t easy to remember at the very last detail of what every Guard is lacking. Furthermore, even after he would notice what Guards have been doing the wrong way in training, he can only lead just a handful at once towards the most accurate progress, after all he is one Guard Commander.


    Now with his title as the main and only Teacher/Guard Commander, Woldemir has recommended to King Michael for Arem to be promoted as a Guard Commander with his own Platoon to deal with.


    It wasn''t really hard to promote him, King Michael trusts Woldemir''s word and considering that the Platoon contains 130 people now it is the best idea to have two men in charge of these men and women in the Army.


    Woldemir shared his missdoing to King Michael, which led to this recommendation being approved. And once getting him promoted, Woldemir shared what he didn''t do correctly with Arem so they can have a look out for men and women who are doing the training incorrectly.


    Which can be very common, all of them are new at this and when it is put under consideration that most can aim to make their own exercises easier once they get tired, extra care has to be given to the training exercises.


    There is an under population crisis all across Ignis, they don''t need to send anyone out there in Battle as bait meat and neither should they loose these Guards in battle for any other reason, they need this population to stick over 830 and rise by the passing months and years.


    As for Arem, this is a wonderful opportunity. Not only does he match for this job due to the fact that he has an admirable perception, but this promotion also made him very happy. He feels in debt to Woldemir for thinking it can be done before and actually doing it now but Woldemir well established it that this is all on Arem''s own Merit.


    Productivity has risen a bit within the Guards due to envy, which indirectly turned in to a good thing. But most importantly they can make sure this time that the Army can come out stronger and by the end of this year due to the granted concentration upon the 30 men who survived the battles, Woldemir estimates that they will all qualify for Level 2 in their swordsmanship by the new year. He will have to test them for that though.


    That is indeed a level for one to raise his chest forward, and it will inevitably make the Kingdom harder to invade.


    ...


    "Is Woldemir ready?" Isabel asked as she bashed in his house, with no actual aim to be alarming. The point here is that she woke up in the morning, got ready and went to Woldemir''s house to go with him to train.


    But, walking in to a rather embarrassing scene she saw Woldemir undressed, the only thing he was wearing is underwear. At such a sight, she got instantly shy. The only other time when she saw him exposed, was when he took his shirt off to save her toes from possible Frost Bite.


    It worked but... that day he only took his shirt off, and today he isn''t even wearing pants. Keeping rather calm, since he is in his own house to begin with and he doesn''t often get shy around Isabel. He answered, "I''ll be ready in a few minutes." While actually he became more embarrassed about the fact that he over slept. Trying to excuse himself, "Even Grand Masters can sleep in some time aye?" He hid his embarrassment rather well.


    Isabel on the other hand, spoke in her own Calidum Lutum language. Mumbling a lot of words as she walked out in embarrassment, not being sure how she could handle such a situation. Sure she in a way has gave a hint that she likes him, but seeing him this exposed was something she was not ready for.


    He came out of his house a while after, acting like nothing happened here but one thing got him rather confused. Isabel isn''t here, she was supposed to wait here but he supposes that she just went to the training yard.


    Once arriving there, he took a peek of his surroundings to find Isabel but for a completely other reason. He found her easily due to the fact that she is 8 feet tall, but quickly noticed that she is avoiding eye contact with extended effort. He could even see a little blush on her face.


    "Isabel." He called, grabbing her attention and afterwards Commanding. "Can you approach please?"


    Still not fluent with the Ignite language, but knowing it enough to understand his order. She still kept her head up and approached him, got by his side and stared at the Platoon as if she became the Guard Commander. It is fair to say that she got more nervous and forgot how she is supposed to act.


    "Um Isabel..." Woldemir mentioned her name once more, snapping his fingers to in order to grab her attention. He continued, "I''ve been studying your progress lately, you have gone through a boost in your capabilities, i see motivation."


    "Um thank you... I work hard." She at least said this sentence clearly, she will need more time to learn it fluently though.


    "We can all see that." He complimented although his tone remained rough as usual, well low in some aspects but his intend is rarely bad unless facing an enemy. "But my point is that I think you are ready to ascend in the next level with your Swordsmanship, you can become a Master (Level 5)."


    "Me a Master?" She asked, in light shock. Well most saw it coming, but not this soon. Such a title would require a lifetime of practice.


    "Yes." He answered as Kindly as his tone can be projected. "Do you know the procedure of Leveling up?"


    "Ummm." She started thinking, touching her chin with her forefinger. "At Lan Zhe, Masters are made by doing trick."


    "Indeed, but I think it is different compared to how they did it in Meridionali Ignis. Well with races and ethnicies aside, since you are under my training there is a trick or best called move that you need to do in order to show that you are Level 5 potential."


    "I honoured to do trick." Isabel answered as her gaze still remained straight, away from Woldemir.


    "Good. Now let me see if I remember this right." He mumbled with himself and walked away asking for some room to be cleared.


    Afterwards, with his right foot forward at first, he took 3 steps forward with a strong dash and became Airborne.


    A second after, he attained a double Backflip! Yes, that is how much a Grand Master is capable off and a Master come to think of it.


    He did a double Backflip but his feet did not yet touch the ground, it is worth pointing out that he didn''t fail either.


    His Sword is nailed to the ground, and he is at the top of it, keeping himself balanced with the aid of the handle with the pure strength of his arms, it is fair to say that his veins are rather visible due to the fact that he is putting a lot of strength in to this. All she could envision here is his back, filled with muscle.


    He witnessed how the Guards viewed in amazement, be it old and new. They realized among their selves that they are far away from reaching such a level.


    Bending down while still above the 2 meter long sword, 80 cm of which has been nailed deep to the ground. His feet touched the handle, as his hands let go of it. A few seconds after he was balancing himself over the handle with one foot, being close to finish the move.


    "You see men and women, this move can prove if Isabel is ready to Level up. Without practicing it she should be able to do it based on her past experiences in training or battle." Afterwards he jumped down from the sword, pulled it out and threw it to the air.


    Walking a couple of steps towards Isabel, he felt the sword fall down and smoothly enter his Scabbard. "And that''s how the move is done."


    Such elegance, such style and furthermore such skill. Shocking to the ones who see him as a man who just gives them training instructions.


    "Do you think you can do this? Soldier Isabel?" Of course it has to be assured if she feels ready, this is nothing done by force and in other words is simply an honour.


    "Yes." She answered shortly and was already in the process of doing the trick.


    Jumping as high as she could, she did her first Backflip and while still on mid air did the second as well. But! When she nailed her sword to the ground she struggled to keep herself balanced.


    Almost fell on her back even, could feel her gold and black hair hanging down. Finally gaining balance and sweating to the point of getting her face red, not for good this time.


    Bending her legs down, so they can touch the handle. She managed to do this a lot easier compared to the first part, in fact she did it fast in order to avoid balancing everything with her arms.


    As her foot touched the handle, she slowly stood up and kept balance. Saw her hair falling in front of her face, connected with her skin thanks to all the sweat.


    Keeping her form exactly how long Woldemir did, since she kept count earlier. She jumped from the sword after, threw it to the sky like Woldemir did and almost as high as he did.


    Her Scabbard isn''t on her back, but around her waist instead. So she had to settle for a different approach, thankfully it landed like it is supposed too even though while falling half way in, it almost fell off.


    "Congratulations... Swords Master Isabel." Woldemir congratulated, raised his hand to shake hers.


    Accepting the Congratulation, she answered. "Thank you for training me."


    "Well, it is all in your Merit." He answered, as he let go of her hand and turned his attention towards the Platoon.


    "All of you can do it as well!" He shouted, "Let this be a motivation, all of you can be this legendary, all of you can attain unimaginable wealth based on your skill." In the process of shouting his thoughts out, he also heard the Translator speaking for him after the sentences ended.


    "Now, let''s work hard so we can reach high." And for once, with aims of using languages he never wanted to use. He said with aims of motivation, "We don''t need to kiss Anyone''s Ass!"

 Chapter 351 - Inbetween a Warm Hug

    It became established that Eric hasn''t been knocked out cold due to the fact that his Stamina might have depleted, but it was all because his body was overworked! He carried a 250 Kilogram man for goodness sake, that isn''t so easy to accomplish.


    But the fact that he got knocked out isn''t really a problem, he can sleep it off come to think of it and his entire body is where it is supposed to be, it is all in place. And most importantly, the oldest living Calidum Lutum here gets to live to see another day.


    How awful this situation might have turned towards if Eric didn''t insist to fly above their heads, Kazer would have been responsible for Xalk''s death and would have been responsible for not letting Eric tag along. So much fault would be tossed upon him and this bad decision would never have been forgotten, yet Kazer never intended to do anything bad. Even super geniuses can mess up sometimes, but thankfully he didn''t.


    Waking up an hour later, he saw the Grand Masters around him. They didn''t even bother to walk all the way up, because after Altacin gave Eric a few tests with her gentle touch she confirmed that he is alive and nothing is broken or out of place, he just passed out due to sudden extended exhaust and over working his body under a short period of time.


    Altacin, is in some terms smarter when it comes to health. I mean, she is a 984 year old Calidum Lutum here yet she looks so youthful, obviously it wasn''t an accident and it isn''t common in the elderly years even for this naturally beautiful race.


    Her knowledge on health is expansive, she even knows internal human body parts although she had to study victims to figure out such information. Either if those Victims were of the Calidum Lutum or any other race.


    "What happened?" Eric asked, but at the same time glad that everyone is around him and in one piece. His brain trying to catch up on memories, he just woke up after all.


    "Bubble lifted Xalk." Kazer Answered, breaking the 2 second long silence and noticed that Xalk has noticed that his own name has been mentioned. "He almost fell in Lava but you carried him here, you saved one of the Grand Masters."


    The honour felt indeed amazing, yet Eric didn''t know what to say. He just tried moving his arms a little bit to check if everything is in place, they all are but he instantly noticed how tired he is and the developing headache because of it.


    "He is welcome." Eric answered, and with barely any motivation left he still managed to ask. "So what''s our next move?"


    "We Grand Masters have to talk it out." Kazer answered directly, in a way showing that Eric has no place in the following debates. Eric is the King, but still barely has any experience at such fields of work and has made minor contributions in a span of a year.


    "Alright, I''ll wait here then." He insisted to stay, mostly because he doesn''t feel like he can fly all the way up there. Furthermore he thought that the debating would be short, so why go up now?


    "No no, this will take a bit longer." Kazer Answered, and with a tone sounding a bit harsh unintentionally he added. "There is no point for you to be here right now, please go relax a little bit. Maybe have something to eat."


    Trying to explain his point of view better, he added. "This could be a possibly major situation, and we need every bit of concentration here and we need you to be as ready as possible. We don''t know if this is a disaster and we don''t know how fast it can come."


    "Alright, I can''t argue with that logic!" Eric complimented the incredibly gifted Kazer and admired how fluently he is speaking the Ignite language, but not wanting to compliment that because he knew the answer. "You complain a lot." Kazer would reply, if his language progress was complimented by Eric.


    As Eric walked up the spiral, aiming to walk just a little bit until he can manage to gain some energy to fly up. The Grand Masters started the debate, Xalk being fairly the most pissed off here.


    "I reccomend to turn this whole thing in to nothing but rock!" Xalk pointed at the Lava, slightly yelling his sentences out as his white long beard bounced with his fast moving chin.


    "No, are you crazy?" Laza answered with a bit of rage, her nickname indeed matches her attitude. She is the youngest Grand Master here(501) but she can notice when a move is wrong, and rather felt shocked how someone this old could think of it. "We are nearing winter, this Volcano is our only source of heat. People would freeze to death!"


    "She has a point." Altacin complimented, looking at Kazer as the leader to slow down this slightly temperamental old man.


    Noticing that look, he turned his attention towards Xalk and added. "Yes, that is not the brightest idea. You are choosing decisions based on your Sentiment, please calm down."


    Xalk got mad, but he is still reasonable. He added as a last resort before his idea could be permanently rejected, "You are right, but I''m just saying. There won''t be any Blue Orbs if there is no Lava."


    "And how do you propose we melt it once more? It would take forever, this is half a mile of space we are talking about." Laza added, a bit temperamental too, but she is trying to input reasoning here. Well at least people can''t see her rageful facial impressions at the moment because she is 15 foot tall.


    "We can just blast more Lava over it, the rock won''t melt but do we really need the Lava to be more than 50 or a hundred meters deep? What difference would it make to the overall town? Only we will be affected, even the Staff formation won''t be harmed. It would just take a while of getting used too!" Xalk indeed started making great points, and became glad that he didn''t get interrupted. He kept his "sentiment" Under control and just used reasoning, it worked but not enough.


    "I still think it is a bad idea, we could be panicking over nothing here. Sure they are bubbles that fly a meter above the lava and pop, but what else is there? What danger could it bring? If it wasn''t for the fact that we didn''t approach it closely, no one would be affected." Pezik brought some more reasoning to the table, slowing the old man down. Luckily she can think with a clear head at a high pressure situation like this.


    "Then what do you recommend we do?" Xalk still refused to stay and wait. "Sit on our... well we can''t sit and wait to see how dangerous it can get." He almost used an unfavourable word but remembered that it just wouldn''t suit an old man neatly.


    "Waiting appears to be our best option Xalk, if this was at Spring we would be all on board to try your idea." Kazer calmed down the situation, seeing that it might have gotten a bit out of hand. "But there are 800 people we are talking about up there, and we had a lot of newborns this year. Do you really think we can survive a Winter without our Volcano''s heat?"


    To compliment Kazer''s reasoning, Laza added. "And without the heat, the next planting season can be damaged. Who knows how hot it would get up there if we move the Lava higher? Just the heat we have now can make it feel like Summer at Winter up there!"


    "Alright. All of you have a good point." Xalk finally gave in but still sticked with some other points he previously mentioned. "But we can''t sit and wait. If not turning the place in to nothing but rock, can we at least find another idea. Waiting can also be dangerous, we don''t know what those Blobs can do in the future. This could just be a seed planted for future disasters."


    ...


    As the Grand Masters were debating the next move down there, Eric made his way up the Volcano. Once his feet touched the Volcanic Side Walk, and made his way towards the farm, walking for about 50 meters clumsily and slowly as if he was just woken up from the dead.


    He saw Ada, and it is fair to say that his mood changed for the better by the passing second. He wanted to give her what they recently started and felt it amazing, hugs! Don''t think about something else naughty, they are kids!


    But as soon as he reached her, his body just couldn''t handle it anymore. He passed out for the second time, but on her arms. Ada isn''t the strongest physically, but she still couldn''t let her little boyfriend fall to the ground and risk a nose bleed.


    She caught him, and fell along with him on her back. Eric ended up over her, tied around her with a hug and cuddling her more. Well at least this made sure that he is alive, so Ada figured that he could just be very exhausted or is playing some type of game to mess with her, he tends to do this a lot with the women she fancies apparently.


    But this isn''t in no way making her mad. The only bit of Concern she has here, is if anyone walked by and saw them like this. It might seem embarrassing, but she doesn''t want to move because this both feels tremendously nice and she wants Eric to be comfortable. Luckily he didn''t fall close to her enough for them to be face to face now.


    About an hour later, Eric woke up and noticed the situation. He noticed that he has passed out again, at a rather unintentional embarrassing position.


    Ada has fallen asleep as well, it just felt too comfortable. But when Eric moved, she woke up seconds after. Standing close to the Volcanic wall, they saw Commander Alia. Glancing upon the two cute kids and moving her head from left to right, with a wide smile across her face and inevitably about to tease them.


    "I don''t think you understand how this works." Her teasing here was rather complex, an a.d.u.l.t joke come to think of it but she knew well that neither Eric or Ada would understand it. They think that babies fall from the sky or something.


    "I fainted, its not my preference to sleep over other people!" Eric complained, explaining the situation.


    "Fainted? Why? Is she this cute too you?" She teased again to lift the mood but hoping that everything is alright.


    "No, there is a situation with the Blue Bubbles going on down there. The Grand Masters told me to come refresh up here a little bit before returning." As Eric explained, Commander Alia figured that since they''ve send Eric up the situation can''t be severe.


    So she answered. "Let me handle that, you go eat and then sleep. You need your energy, we don''t know what will happen." Rather interesting how she said the same words as Kazer.


    ...


    An hour later, Ada arrived to the King''s Throne Room bringing as much food as she can carry. She insisted for Eric to directly head towards his throne room bed and take a quick nap, while Ada herself would go to the farm and bring him food.


    Upon entering, she noticed that Eric is already sound asleep. It felt troubling to wake him up, but he can''t eat food in a rush. "Eric, Eric!" Ada repeated calmly, trying to wake him up as gently as possible.


    Unfortunately with embarrassment as if following them today, she felt Eric''s grip around her neck as he unconsciously dragged her over his body then close to his chest as they both turned to the side. Cuddling her from behind, apparently this boy has been in desperate needs of more hugs.


    "I want to wake him up, but this is so comfortable." She thought, and taking moments to debate what to do here she ended up becoming sleepier and sleepier until she decided. "Oh well, he can eat later."

 Chapter 352 - If only theyd listen

    As November broke, the coldest season of the year started spreading around Ignis like wild fire, Ironic choice of words but that''s how fast the weather can shift here in Ignis. Until the middle of October it was considerably warm enough, warm for one to sleep in the wild with nothing but a Blanket. And now? Staying inside for some people can be cold as well.


    This didn''t neccesarily affect Eric and the rest of the town here in Lan Zhe though. The beautifully dangerous Volcano at the very bottom proves as a great source of Warmth, it is one of the reasons why Crops grow so perfectly, well apart from the Ignite Gems providing light nonstop and of course the additional holes of which the Grand Masters have dug with their gifted Lava Controlling.


    Well now getting in to more important cases, let''s mention the weird formations that posed as a threat nearly a month ago. The Blue Bubbles, or differently called the Blue Blobs.


    Through a strong debate regarding how to handle this situation, the result would always end up putting the entire town of 800 people in Danger. So the best decision always ended up at the starting point, waiting and stalking the Blue Bubbles.


    Sure these Bubbles are in some aspects indestructible, and somehow pop only after they leave the surface of Lava which is tremendously confusing. But apart from Grand Master Xalk who almost fell in Lava thanks to one of those bubbles, no one else really got endangered by these unknown substances.


    So there isn''t really a need to panic, the debate always ended up with waiting to see what happens. Grand Master Altacin and Kazer insisted the most on that matter, while Grand Master Laza and Pezik shared the same view but they didn''t want to debate it too long, only had short outbursts of anger.


    Grand Master Xalk on the other hand does not want to let this go, one idea after the other he wanted to convince the rest to do something. He does not trust these Bubbles in any way, because at the end of the day the ancient Grand Masters before his time molded this Volcano in to perfection, Blue Lava or Bubbles for that matter shouldn''t be here.


    He doesn''t want to see this problem develop in to a large one, one that could destroy the town and its people even though they don''t understand what this is. He has good points and has considered safety the most. "But without a little risk, we can avoid the big ones." He always insisted, but if only more people listened to him.


    However his motivation still remained in tact, while the rest sometimes forgot about the Blue Bubbles and while Eric was training, Xalk always kept his eyes open to see more Blue Bubbles and try to figure out where they came from. His sleeping schedule now, is usually from 4-6 hours. Paranoia won''t let him sleep due to the odds of missing something.


    It made it even more nerve consuming, due to the fact that these Bubbles break out of the surface of Lava rarely or randomly, this month they only popped out 9 times. There is no accurate way to predict when another one would come out, and there is no way to go deeper and see what there is to be found even with a boy who can swim in Lava as a part of their Arsenal.


    Oh well, let''s hope that Xalk is wrong at this point. Let''s hope that the Blue Bubbles are nothing but nature being weird, confusing and hard to explain sometimes. Only time will tell, as for now the time is to train.


    ...


    Apart from training his Lava Controlling, due to the fact that his mind has become slightly more clear ever since he started taming his Inner Demon of Self Control, he managed to unlock... well what should I call it? Further perfection to his first powers, we are talking about Fire here.


    Repeating the exercises of which the Calidum Lutum assigned him too, has granted him a handful of enhanced capabilities. For example his body has met changes, he has been gaining more muscles.


    Battle-wise this wouldn''t be a tremendous difference. But who would you rather have in your arsenal? Someone who can nail his feet to the ground firmly and blast an unholy amount of Fire, or someone who gets blown away once unleashing the unholy amount of fire? Obviously you''d choose the more stable one at a consideration of your own well being.


    Indeed the exercises have made him stronger, Ada didn''t seem to have a problem with it and Osira sometimes sneaks a peek when she isn''t at the Forge. But apart from that main physical advantage, his Stamina has also met an increase.


    A rather isolated rumour here in the Town only, mentions that anything grown here in the underground farm will help practically anyone increase his or hers personal stamina, be it someone with power or someone without it. Accompanied by the exercises, it is the perfect formula to a dependable stamina.


    Getting back to the first point here, the mental benefits from those exercises have helped him the most in terms of being a better Fire Controller as well and not just a Lava Controller in training.


    In the first months of being a Fire Controller, he has struggled having a Grasp of Controlling how big the Fireball will be after it gets wider than 4 feet across. Constant practice should have fixed that issue, but it really didn''t.


    What fixed it, or at least improved it by a mile is the fact that the mental and physical exercises the Lava Controllers have given him, has bit by bit helped to clear his mind for the better.


    It Isn''t really a Surprise that he reached this point of progress now, due to the fact that he started off with a Level 4 Inner Demon of Rage and a unspecified Inner Demon of Self Control. It is well determined now that those Demons are being tamed, and therefore he is becoming better and better with his powers thanks to the granted clearer mind.


    Now that Eric has noticed these changes and told this progress to Mogranius, in a way more Burden ended up being thrown on his plate. Mogranius wanted to use this opportunity to train Eric further more.


    At the Battle of Pameres Kingdom they helped tame the situation by killing a couple hundred or more enemy soldiers, how would the story have been if Eric was a Grand Master in Fire Controlling at that moment? Obviously different.


    It isn''t well determined where the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance will strike next and it really is unpredictable when they will strike due to the military shortage. But when they do strike, and if Eric is there then he has to be more prepared or in other words Stronger.


    They have to use this situation to their advantage, because a Clearer mind can easily lead to level ascending. So Mogranius held a conversation with Kazer, asked him to cut Eric''s exercises an hour shorter so Mogranius can keep Eric for another three hours in aims of training him.


    Kazer and the rest of the Grand Masters agreed that it is a good idea although the Electus will be more tired. Well at least in given time Eric will adapt to the sudden shift of exercise hours, for now he as the King is just being bossed around for the better.


    ...


    "Are you ready?" Mogranius asked, with a smirk across his face and a small freely moving portion of Fire on the palm of his left hand.


    "Yes I am." Eric answered with his tone firm, cracking actually in an unintentional way. Puberty maybe? However, he is surrounded by his own Fire Shield, awaiting a shot.


    Pow!


    Mogranius'' fireball shot through the air and made a slight slapping sound once hitting the Shield, no crack was to be seen on it and denting the shield is practically impossible. One can either crack it or not.


    "I still don''t understand the point of this exercise though." Eric complained, and had a rather good reason. He knew what to say here to his Mentor. "The Grand King is dead, how many other Fire Controllers could there be here in Ignis that would try to shoot me?" It is worth pointing out that he asked this question while his Fire Shield is still up and surrounding him.


    "Oh so you don''t enjoy the new training yard?" Mogranius of course swept away from the actual point, actually trying to bug the young Electus. What''s a better way to poke and tame his rage or self control for that matter, while he Electus is holding a Fire Shield up and around?


    "Well it is kind of cold." Eric played along, but on the opposite this cold November feels but a breeze compared to the blood freezing cold year around on the High Mountains.


    "It is the best place to train your powers at full scale. We are over the town, half a mile up and there barely are any trees up here for some reason." Mogranius explained and at the same time complained, because he likes trees. He grew up around trees come to think of it. He is an explorer after all.


    "Maybe it is because of the heat of the Volcano underneath us." Eric shed some reason to this conversation and Added. "I mean it affects the farm even when it is half a mile higher."


    "No that can''t be it. There are trees in the farm too." Mogranius answered and as he thought about other topics he let silence stretch for a few seconds. Until he found the reason why both of them are up here, "Oh right, I''m shooting Fire against your shield because there is nothing in Ignis and above that can interfere with Fire more than Fire can."


    "So this will make my Fire Shield stronger?" Eric asked, catching up to one fact but not the one of which Mogranius had in mind.


    "Oh yes that too! But also, the constant tampering you will go through when fire is blasted against your shield, will step by step help you reach towards another level. Struggle makes progress after all." He is becoming his usual self by the passing time, be it because of age or another reason. But he still has a lot of wisdom to share.


    Now, trying to sound a bit manlier he asked in an exaggerated thick tone. "Ready?"

 Chapter 353 - Progress... In a way.

    And so on training continued for about an hour with a few breaks in between of course because even after the noticeable upgrade on Stamina it would still deplete his entire Stamina if he kept a Fire Shield going. One reason behind it is that the Fire Shield naturally drains more Stamina and the second reason is that he didn''t master yet, meaning he uses even more Stamina just to gain the required concentration.


    Throughout the exercise, Eric noticed that Fire does indeed tamper with his raised Fire Shield, for example it doesn''t give the cracking effect like everything else does. Honestly this is not at all what Eric expected, he expected to handle it swimmingly actually.


    The way it interfered, it broke through the barriers and made the shield shake, well more like wiggle. This effect was mostly achieved when Mogranius was a few feet close and blasted continuously lasting Fire against Eric''s shield.


    And of course, another move that shattered the Shield almost every time with ease, was a concentrated blast. Meaning, Mogranius would pile up some fire in between his palms and unleash a pole like shot. This shot was slender, a few feet long depending on the power given on it but most importantly broke through Fire Shields with ease, due to the fact that it is concentrated.


    This of course started pissing of Eric more times than he can count or comprehend, because his confidence was built up the first few times when Mogranius failed to break the shield.


    But when the Shield started breaking effortlessly, Eric of course gained reasons to be mad. He is a powerful Electus yet his shield kept getting broken, however due to the fact that he kept his rage under control, he managed to progress on taming his Inner Demon of Rage even if those steps were small and minor.


    I mean, the Inner Demon of Rage has already descended to Level Two, eventually Eric could beat it permanently. And if he manages to tame the Inner Demon of Self Control as a side effect with exercises that aren''t meant for such a task then it would be in all ways a win.


    "Common!" Eric complained with a mild shout, not wanting to yell but sick of having his Fire Shield broken all the time. "Can''t you throw another shot?"


    "What''s the matter?" Mogranius asked, with his face remaining firm. "Is the Electus giving up?" Using titling can indeed taunt one to work more, depending on the mindset at least.


    "Never!" He answered confidently, as he cracked open a new Fire Shield with King Michael''s method as an aid. "But it became well known that a Concentrated Blast can break my shield, can''t we try others?"


    "You want to skip towards other exercises... Even after you know that you aren''t resistant against a Concentrated Blast?" He makes a point, but yet he doesn''t. Fire Controllers are rare, and the ones he knows don''t oppose him.


    "What''s the point? There are no Fire Controllers who oppose us." Eric dared to point it out, in the pure aim to get rid of this exercise. His tone rose a little bit, although he didn''t intend it that way.


    "But it is a weak point." Mogranius insisted with his point and afterwards explained a deeper reason to this exercise. "See Eric, by the time when you will become a Grand Master accompanied by the extra power any Electus gets on any of the eight, you will have the opportunity to form almost indestructible Fire Shields. But until then..." He tried to finish his sentence.


    But Eric interrupted, "The Weak spots have to be gotten rid off." Well at least now he understands what the point is.


    Now his motivation arose a little bit, he is willing to handle this exercise over and over again but the failing part doesn''t really sleep with his subconscious considering the fact that him being powerful has been imprinted on his mind. So he asked, "I want to continue the exercise, but can you at least give me advise on how to withstand the Concentrated Blast?"


    "Hhmmm. You might have a point." He answered as if he was cooperating with Eric here but quite the opposite he is debating with himself.


    "Alright so you will need to focus on giving a bit more strength to the part where you see the Concentrated Blast coming, at this case your front view." Trying to dumb the move down, so Eric can understand him and do it properly. He furthermore added, "Focus your power on the front, as if the other sides don''t exist."


    "If you say so." He answered with motivation, although sceptical about this move. But he would rather do this than fail again!


    And so, Mogranius started off the power move by placing his hands horizontally half a foot away from each other. By doing so, he can start forming a little orb in between them. This is the Source of the concentrated, highly penetrative Blast.


    The Orb expanded in a matter of a second, and when it reached his fingers it signified that it is ready to be unleashed!


    So, with a swift movement he placed the orb in front of his left palm and placed his right palm over the left one. And now to finally unleash the move by raising his left heel a little bit and tapping it against the ground.


    Giving it a bit less power this time, this concentrated blast stretched 3 feet long only. As it hurled its way through the air elegantly, making an Impact with Eric''s shield fast than the eye can blink and the momentum even making Mogranius'' robe bounce.


    But what did they find their selves in to? Eric opened his eyes and saw his Shield at front cracked almost completely, you would think that a leaf blowing with the wind would crack this shield if it landed on it. Thankfully there barely are any trees here.


    "Looks like you gave in a bit too much power at your front side." Mogranius pointed out, but furthermore glad that this is progress.


    The ways of the Fire Shield are interesting, Eric put in more power towards the front side yet the shield did not increase in thickness. Seeing a bit around him, Eric noticed that the rest of the fire shield is gone. All that is remaining is the one at front, transparent.


    "It worked didn''t it." He answered, with his confidence meeting a rather considerable bounce upwards. His shield is almost completely shattered but the shot was stopped, this signifies progress if not perfection.


    ...


    Meanwhile down at the Underground town, Ada is connecting to her new passion. Well she still loves Horses, but she has found the Kastarian way of hand to hand Combat both beautiful and inspiring. She is in love with the combat art named Mantek.


    At the beginning, Commander Alia just taught her so Ada can kill some time but now? In no time Commander Alia will run out of moves to teach and she knows it.


    The move she has been struggling to learn this month, is one called "The sliding snake." Odd combinations of words since snakes don''t usually slide.


    But the point of this move is to evade an opponent''s forward tossed ranged weapon or blade by sliding underneath the person, be it on the sides of the legs or in between the legs.


    But the issue here is not touching the opponent at all, sure hitting one of the legs will both help evade blows and damage the opponent too but the point here is to entirely escape an opponent''s sight, buy a few seconds and strike from behind.


    Ada managed to get the sliding part right, although sliding in between the legs became difficult at first and still is. But what she can''t do correctly is stand up fast enough.


    If she knocked an opponent off balance while sliding across the ground, she would buy herself a lot more time to unleash a second attack. But here? All the opponent has to do is turn around and take the swing he or she previously missed.


    At first, this move gave in the hint as useless. But the more she slides, the more she can understand the move. It isn''t really usual for Ignites as an example, to find a proper way of hitting an opponent, if that opponent just slid down near by.


    The confusion and the fact of inexperience, would help on defeating an opponent because the moves would be unleashed randomly after the sliding, well at least in most cases.


    "Common Ada, use your legs!" Commander Alia tried to advise, after seeing this move fail for about 7 times... Today.


    Alia even recommended to leave this move for later training, when she can get a better grasp of the Mantek Art. But no, Ada insisted with all her guts to try it again and again until she learns it. She is a fair definition of hard headed when it comes to training, which is weird because she is possibly the most reasonable person everyone here met.


    "I''m trying!" Ada gave out a mildly high in tone reply, and wondered if this move would be done easier if she slid faster. "Any other advice? I''m just not fast enough... Yet."


    "I admire your motivation Ada, but I don''t think there is another way to be faster here. At least not more than you and I know, we should stick with the current method until you can become faster." Commander Alia remained dead honest, knowing that someone like Ada wouldn''t be motivated in any way.


    "Now let''s take a break, food helps attain a bit more energy." And from the looks of it, they might need it. Ada isn''t letting Commander Alia go until this move is properly mastered.


    "Well okay." Ada answered, using reason again. She wants to learn this move, but when it comes to exercising it is well determined and noticeable as well that Commander Alia is Superior. "Maybe it can help me think of an idea how to handle this."

 Chapter 354 - Is it illusion??

    In the very next day, Eric made his way down the Volcano. Meaning, he jumped from the edge of the Volcano and down in the Lava as if he jumped in a lake, head first. Xalk enjoys the sound of splatter once Eric dives down the Lava, but recently he has been busy with other things, The Blue Bubbles.


    Although Eric still isn''t scared enough to let go of this habit, Xalk''s paranoia towards the new bubble has led him towards the fact that life isn''t how it used to be anymore. It is all Paranoia and detachment now, followed by sleep deprivation.


    Eric thought that the Calidum Lutum can''t get noticeable eye sacks due to their natural dark skin, but man he was wrong. Considering the fact how Xalk currently looks, he wouldn''t escape the description of a crazy man.


    His beard isn''t combed, his eyes are constantly wide as if he saw a ghost and he is constantly looking out for the Blue Bubbles the whole time he is awake. You would think that an elderly would at least have a better life at the last years, or at this point at the last couple hundred years.


    However, regardless of how paranoid one of the Grand Masters is, the other four of the five are more than capable to continue teaching Eric more and more. It is a fact that they have no plans to stop it at the moment, they did stop it a couple of days when Xalk almost got torched due to a Blue Bubble but afterwards training continued.


    It has been a few months since Eric started with his training, and although he still is Level 1 (Hatchling) in Lava Controlling, new training methods have to be introduced to him since he got a grasp of the older ones.


    Recently, he has been training the toughest once mostly. For example, balancing a rock on the tip of his finger. That still remained the toughest exercise yet, but it is not impossible. With time in his hands, he managed to hold the rock up for 117 countings, which means roughly 2 minutes.


    It isn''t anything comparable with what the Grand Masters can achieve, but considering the fact that his previous records originated around 20 countings, this is indeed progress. And the mental challenge that tagged along due to the attempt of getting this training exercise right, helped on the long run and could be one of the main reasons he can think a tad more clearly now.


    "The exercise you need to do now, is associated with an exercise you did in the first days. Or at least you tried to do it." Kazer spoke clearly, slightly giggling actually. Which is weird because his friend is going insane with paranoia. Yet Grand Master Kazer managed to find humour in the midst of all this.


    "You don''t mean...." Eric tried to ask, having a little theory of what Kazer could be talking about, but not being exactly sure. So he stretched the last word of his sentence.


    "Yes I do! You will attempt a Hand stand, but this time you will walk with your hands." It is amazing how much Kazer has progressed with the Ignite language, in just a matter of months he went from skipping several words in a sentence to making full understandable ones.


    "I will fail... I think all of you are aware of that fact." Eric pointed out, knowing the Grand Masters will get a laugh out of this.


    "We know." He giggled, roaming a couple of feet back and watched the show. Requesting, "Now try it."


    With the given exercise, he placed his palms over the ground and tried to get his feet up and balance them with his belly. But of course, at the first couple of shots he couldn''t really get there. His feet raised high half way and then they met the ground once more.


    This is where he found out by common logic that he should give a little bit more thrust, but thanks to past experiences with similar moves he knew that if he gave too much thrust he would fall on the other side.


    With his belly used furthermore to balance his hand stand, he managed to finally attain such a move properly. But now comes the most challenging part of the move, walking with his hands.


    Not wanting to try his luck on how long he can stand like this, in a dash he started walking with his hands. Due to the fact that his body is slightly more well toned with muscles now, he can keep this form going but not for long. After walking about three steps... or how should we call this? Hands? He fell down on his side, using his shoulder so he doesn''t fall on his head.


    No injury followed, at least none that would last more than a few seconds. But of course he had to ask for a little refresher, "Can you explain to me the point of this exercise, before I spend another hour doing it?"


    "Simple." He answered, as if the ways of how the mind works is child''s play. "Physical self control, how will you control Lava if you can''t control your body properly? You need the physical strength, and this exercise will build up half of the required muscles in half the time.


    ...


    In a matter of an hour, Eric repeated the move over and over. In fact, he feels strongly dizzy now, being upside down all the time caused such an effect obviously. But the important part is that he got a better grasp of the exercise, he knows how to do it a bit better if not mastered it completely. His record for now, 5 steps.


    The Grand Masters suspect that he will attain Level 2 in the new year or a bit after it. Fairly faster than the Grand Masters suspected it but after all Eric is the Electus, the gifted, the all powerful.


    But after Kazer gave the word that the exercises for the day are over, something rather unusual stopped him from walking up to take a break. And I''m not talking about Blue Bubbles this time.


    Technically, after a short lunch break he is supposed to get out of the Town and up over the mountain which covers this Town, so he can continue his training with his mentor Mogranius.


    But... what followed along is a small scene that managed to hold a firm grasp on every bit of his attention. He could see a bone, long and thick but yet slender, nearly his entire size come to think of it. This bone, is floating above lava about 10 feet away!


    Still Dizzy, he shook his head a little bit and afterwards rubbed his eyes to determine that what he saw wasn''t just an illusion... Yes that''s what the Grand Masters call it. Opening his eyes, he saw the bone again.


    He could not let this opportunity slide away, so without asking the Grand Masters he walked a few steps back to gain some space in aims of momentum, and afterwards ran as fast as he could, leaping and going head first in to the Lava.


    When he broke the Surface, looking around a little bit he noticed that the bone is just a foot away from him, well more like behind him. The leap he took was tad too big.


    At first grasp, he noticed that the bone is heavy. But he made it this far and he is the only one who can get it back to the Volcanic side walk the fastest.


    Trying to push it, he found it easy. The Lava made it feel a lot lighter although the bone alone could be anywhere from 20-50 kilos heavy.


    Tying his arm around it and trying to swim with the other, it became rather easy since Lava doesn''t burn him and due to its natural thickness, each swing to swim elevates him higher a lot easier.


    "What are you doing out there?" Kazer asked with a shout, after seeing the boy with a large bone on his hand. Rather confused of this sight and slightly mad that Eric appears to be doing something potentially all on his own.


    But when he saw weird stuff they called it illusion and when they cooperated once for research it really didn''t go so well. He is the only one who can jump in Lava and execute a task quickly, he did not want to wait.


    "I got a giant bone!" Eric shouted as he managed to swim a couple of feet closer towards the Volcanic walk way.


    In a blink of an eye, Eric found himself elevating. This time again, it wasn''t due to a Blue Bubble. He saw a huge skull underneath him, possibly 7 feet wide and 12 feet long!


    And when he took a peek behind him, he could see a large spine along with the ribcage and when he turned around, the Skeleton''s long and bat like arms swung through his eyes too.


    "What the hell is going on?" He asked himself with a mumble, and taking a glimpse in front of him he saw Xalk frozen on his spot. Wanting to attack but not knowing what to do, Eric thought. "It doesn''t look dangerous, or alive."

 Chapter 355 - 1,200 Years Ago

    The Grand Masters glanced upon the Large, seemingly 40-60 feet long Skeleton in shock and possibly exaggerated shock. But yet again, what would be an exaggerated expression in this point?


    "Impossible." Spoke Xalk on his own language, glaring at the Skeleton with hate. Not because he knew what was going on, but because this doesn''t meet what he expected. It doesn''t link with the blue bubbles but is a new possible problem.


    "Eric, can you fly over here with the Bone?" Requested Kazer, in a way over estimating the bone''s weight.


    "I carried one of you, how heavy would a bone be!" He answered, trying to not mention any names to spook Xalk, he already looks very paranoid.


    Afterwards, he stood up, blew Fire from his feet and elevated a few meters away from the Skeleton. Looking down, he noticed that no damage was left behind. I mean this Skeleton survived Lava, what would a little burst of fire do?


    "Do you think what this could be?" Eric asked, but only saw the Grand Masters hoarding up together and debating a decision. Well all except one, Xalk of course who was walking back and forth on the Volcanic walk way trying to analyse the large skeleton in front, barely paying attention to the one Eric brought.


    "How the hell did a Skeleton this large come down here with us missing it?" Laza asked, grunting her way through the question in their own Calidum Lutum language. Eric a few feet close by couldn''t understand anything, just four tall people unleashing loud rough whispers.


    "Maybe it was down there since the beginning, from the ancient times." Altacin added, feeling the calmest at a high pressure situation like this, too bad that her aura wasn''t so spreading around the panicking Grand Masters.


    "Do you think that such a tale would be forgotten, do you think that the ancient Grand Masters would keep it a secret?" Pezik added, a bit ragefull on her tone but bringing in the most common sense here to the table come to think of it.


    "She has a point." Kazer complimented, but compliments are the least of what he would want to do right now. Now to input some more reason here but at the same time raising more questions, he added. "Let''s think about more of what this Skeleton used to be when it was alive, maybe that will give us a slight grasp on how it got here and how it isn''t being burned in to ashes by Lava? That thing isn''t even sizzling!"


    "I don''t know... I didn''t even think that Skeletons could be this big... Or that a creature could be this big." Altacin, the calmest here answered, giving the Skeleton another glance.


    Although not hard to comprehend each of its parts, it still doesn''t make sense. It has a big ribcage, the Source of Lava knows if it has feet and its arms portray a large skeleton.


    One thing that minorly catch attention, are the two button like bones on the Skeleton''s skull, a foot over the eye. If it had large horns, they can all assume it is a Demon, but no Horns, just button like bones as wide as a hand.


    "This is a Dragon." Xalk spoke in a low tone, mumbling. Pezik heard him and so did Eric. But instead, through his ears the sentence ended with. "Paratalakadon."


    Hard to say for anyone, even Xalk struggled to say it properly. But attention has been grabbed once Pezik pointed out what Xalk has just said.


    "What do you mean it is a Dragon?" Laza asked, a bit rageful with her tone but she just became more confused. "How would a Dragon get down here?"


    "I don''t know." Xalk answered boldly, not ashamed of the fact that he can''t know everything. "But I remember such a form described... by my long dead father, he spoke about them once over 1,200 years ago and never mentioned them after."


    "Are you sure you remember this right? Your father mentioned it too long ago. I barely remember anything on my one hundreds." Kazer answered calmly, delicate towards the Grand Master''s current paranoia, knowing the root.


    "I almost categorized this Skeleton unknown." Kazer spoke, still glancing upon it as he felt the heat of the Lava underneath him, providing the most warmth around his knees and slightly less on the rest of his body.


    Pointing at a specific part of the Skeleton, he said. "But when I saw those bat like wings, it really isn''t something I could overlook or forget."


    Since Xalk is the most informed about this Skeleton, everyone thought that he would know more or possibly shed light upon the mystery of its presence here. But, he killed this specific part of curiosity when he answered without being asked. "But that''s all I know, I have no idea how it got here. My father told me that they fly high on the skies... While the large hole here is but a natural formation, all the ancient ones had to do was burst Lava over it. But we all know that."


    For a sleep deprived old man, he shed more light upon this mystery than the rest could. But it still isn''t leading them anywhere to figuring out how it came here and best yet if it is associated with something that has been bothering the Grand Masters over a month, the Blue Bubbles.


    "Do you think it can be associated with the Blue Bubbles?" Altacin asked, possibly feeding Xalk''s paranoia but since he is the most informed at such a topic, not asking him doesn''t really look like an option.


    "Highly doubtful, does it look blue?" Xalk answered with unintentional sarcasm.


    "No... Also this thing doesn''t look like it can melt. Things would need to melt to unleash little or no colour right?" Altacin asked, not paying attention to the old man''s words too much.


    "Yes that is how things go... So it can''t be related with the Blue Bubbles, a whole other problem. Great!" Kazer complained, rubbing the parts over his nose with his thumb and fore finger.


    Afterwards he felt a tug on his breeches, looking down he saw Eric trying to grab his attention. "What''s the matter?" Kazer asked.


    "Well there is a large Skeleton and you five are yelling at each other a little bit. Anything I can do?" It was well determined by his word play that Eric wanted to be helpful, come to think of it the least spooked towards this Skeleton so no one can help better. Well... we can''t say no one.


    "I don''t think you can help here." He answered truthfully and finally revealing what''s going on. "Unless you know about Dragons and how on earth it got here."


    "Dragons?!" His eyes opened up wide with considerable joy. "Um I don''t know much about them but we have right someone in this town who could know more!"


    "Who?" Kazer asked with a shout, knowing that every bit of information here could help them big time.


    "Osira my companion, one of the Mountain Ignites. Well her mother could know more, but she isn''t here." His enthusiasm arose high, to the point where he didn''t really think everything through. "I should get her down here to take a look!"


    "Boy she would be torched down here! The heat isn''t for anyone but a Golden Blood or a thick skinned Grand Master!" Well at least Kazer is thinking things through.


    "Right right." He repeated, not at all embarrassed and afterwards added. "I''ll take the bone up there, maybe it will help more to gain accurate information."


    ...


    "So?" Eric asked, getting tad impatient. "You have been "analysing" this bone for half an hour." He air poked, squatting down along with the poke.


    "It barely has been five minutes." She answered to his impatience, not even looking at him come to think of it since Eric is shirtless. Perhaps concentration would be lost if she did look up. Eric doesn''t have so many muscles, but she also isn''t used to seeing him shirtless. At least he is wearing pants.


    "Well this is definitely a Dragon bone." She finally answered, and furthermore explained. "I have no idea how it got down there, but you would expect rare creatures hiding and being mysterious."


    Seeing that Eric is listening, she added. "Their bones are practically indestructible. Or at least it would take a huge amount of force, like being buried a hundred yards deep. An Earthquake for example, that shifts the earth can separate the bones from their sockets but to break them it is almost impossible."


    "Which is why Lava didn''t burn it!" Eric added with a large sigh, finally understanding this huge piece of the puzzle.


    "I doubt that Dragon Eyes came out with it too, those things are tremendously powerful but I don''t think they can withstand Lava." She knew what should happen, but given that the Dragons are too rare she can never know with absolute certainty regarding each species.


    "No, I only saw a large empty skull."

 Chapter 356 - Biggest income ever

    Yeast! Do you like it? Well if you can cook then you probably know this ingredient, Commonly used on bread but now we are going to continue what was planted on Volume 3, literally!


    On Volume 3, 500 roots of Black Gr.a.p.es have been planted a bit away from the right walls of the Kingdom, come to think of it the second wall will even be built over that farm.


    What does it have to do with yeast you might ask? Well it is one of the ingredients required to make Gr.a.p.e Ale. Apart from that, it also requires Wheat Grain. But thanks to the continues import of Wheat Grain in the Kingdom coming from the Zamerians, covering that part of the ingredient was the easiest task.


    The yeast on the other hand, since a kilo of it sells for 10 Gold Coins and considering the fact that 2,000 Kilos of it were required to perfectly tackle the large quantities of Ale they will make in a span of a month, 20,000 Gold Coins were spent on yeast alone.


    40 Farmers were hired in the beginning, when this Gr.a.p.e Ale project was thought of and brought in to motion, they expected the trees to give their fruits on late September but instead they were ready in the middle of October.


    Clay Bottles became an issue in the very beginning, because they had to buy them in mass quantities and each bottle costs 2 Gold Coins. This meant that the bottles alone would cut in the profit big time, but thankfully King Zar came up with a rather smart solution.


    The idea was based on one fact, that after the Farmers planted the 500 roots, they would literally have to wait around until the harvest season because the work in between it was extremely minimalistic yet there are 40 employed.


    So, the solution became to make the Farmers become Clay Sculptors, specifically they had to sculpt empty Ale Bottles. This move, saved a lot of profit especially since half of the Clay was used from the local farms here, while the rest was shipped from the Zamerians.


    In the beginning, being the experienceless workers they are, getting a few badges shaped badly or mildly good was inevitable. But after 20-50 Bottles formed, they managed to perfect their techniques.


    Considering the required Bottles(50,000) to be made in a span of 7 months, they were fairly at least 10 workers under staffed. Tackling the whole order in this span, was fairly difficult. Even if they did manage, the bottles wouldn''t have a good quality.


    So as a solution, King Zar requested for each individual to make 150 Bottles a month each, it sounds good enough individually but when multiplied by 40 it equals to 6,000 Bottles made. Hell, even if they sold the bottles without the Ale, they would have made a good profit.


    When we multiply the above mentioned amount with 7, they are still 8,000 Bottles short. But since it would be practically impossible to fill 50,000 Bottles in one month, they have time to make the other ones while the gr.a.p.es are in the process of brewing, or best called sugar extraction.


    The work they have to do might sound expansive, but their pay isn''t the worst either for people who got a job without a single day of experience. They started it off with a salary of 100 Gold Coins and now earn 140 due to the 40 Gold Coin increase made possibly by Seer and Maleesa as an aid too.


    As you might have figured it out, this yield will fish out an estimated 50,000 Bottles of Gr.a.p.e Ale. But you might be wondering about the math behind it.


    Well since this is the first year of production, meaning the roots were planted 7 months ago and grown quickly due to 14-16 hours of sunlight a day, the yield didn''t neccesarily reach full potential.


    For example, the roots aren''t full grown just yet. So at every individual Gr.a.p.e Tree, two small crates can be harvested. Each Crate isn''t really heavy and can be lifted by a child. But when you do the maths, 100 Gr.a.p.e Ale Bottles can be extracted from these two crates.


    When we multiply that by 500 trees, it neccesarily adds up to 50,000! The math is quite simple, although the work expansive and tricky.


    How can it be tricky you might ask? Well since there are 500 Trees planted, it neccesarily means that they need a lot of Ale brewing Kits in order to prevent Gr.a.p.es from going rotten.


    To handle such a brewing task in a span of a month, 200 brewing kits had to be installed before time and placed near the farm or best described near the walls.


    One of these brewing kits fit 5 Crates of Black Gr.a.p.es each, when we multiply that by 200 it equals to 1,000. Neccesarily, it covers all of the estimated Crates from this Harvest.


    Management was a little issue due to the fact that even though they are 40 people, they are still under staffed. There are clay bottles to be made, gr.a.p.es to be harvested and brewing kits to be managed.


    30 Farmers are currently harvesting, 10 are managing the Brewing Kits and as for the 8,000 Clay Bottles they have to make, there is no complete rush with it because even the Zamerians can''t order 50,000 Bottles of Ale and sound logical doing it. Gr.a.p.e Ale Bottles take at least a year to go bad, their only problem now is making sure that the Gr.a.p.es are harvested and brewed in time, preferably under a month.


    Now, the part that you might be most interested in, I know I am. The profits! How much Profit can they make from all of this? Well if they managed to sell all 50,000 Ale Bottles in a month or two, they would earn a total estimated income of 400,000 Gold Coins since a bottle of Ale costs 8 Gold Coins.


    Truly a tremendous boost in the Economy if it was possible, but at the same time it can''t be possible because no one in Ignis or beyond would buy 50,000 Gr.a.p.e Ale Bottles in a month but when spread for 10 months as an example, the monthly income would be 40,000 Gold Coins! After all Ale takes time to go bad so it is highly possible, their only issue is harvesting and brewing everything in time.


    As for where they would sell all of this Ale in a year if not 10 months, The Zamerians for a start have made a order lasting 6 months. Throughout each month, Pameres Kingdom is to send 3,500 Ale Bottles.


    Apparently they will split it between three domains there, as both profit and pleasure best put in to word. Regardless of what they do with it, King Zar wouldn''t even bother to care as long as the Gold is delivered.


    Like in other projects, this order will last 6 months only since the Zamerians want to test how good Pameres Kingdom is with this task. If they succeed to impress, next year''s order can be bigger. For now, they can enjoy the monthly income of 28,000 Gold Coins from the Zamerians alone.


    The word about the gr.a.p.e Ale production has reached Gaster Kingdom and BaleTown with a letter, naturally both wanted to taste this middle class product and they can both fairly afford it, but the word went the most wild here locally. It could be the second biggest income from the Gr.a.p.e Ale project.


    Let us start with BaleTown, their population is around 300 people (With the Pameres Kingdom Platoon included.) So they can''t order as much as the Zamerians, they don''t need drunkards and they don''t need the budget majorly involved to it either.


    So they made a year around order, which is good in a way since the income would last for a year, but this income might not be the largest from this project. They order 300 Bottles, it could be considered as one for each but there are people who don''t drink, half of which are children. I suppose these people aren''t too attached to Ale, so they won''t be drinking 30 Bottles a month.


    This isn''t the biggest profit of the project, but hey who would give you 2,400 Gold Coins these days? That''s 10 salaries here at Occidentis Ignis.


    Moving on to Gaster Kingdom, they have met a recent population boost. Since they have 830 people there, and Ale being commonly uncommon, they have ordered 500 Bottles each month. However, this order will last only for 6 months.


    King Michael doesn''t want to blow too much Budget on it, and wants to see how they sell with the price being 10 Gold Coins so they make some type of profit from this, they will likely sell fast though.


    Either way, Pameres Kingdom will earn 4,000 Gold Coins from this third most profitable source from the project, now moving on to the second most profitable. It might already been made clear, the local income.


    In Pameres Kingdom, once the first few badges were made they ended up being sold in a short period of time at a break of November, basically sold in two days.


    Now this is just the start and the sales will reduce, but to sum it up with an estimated 800 Bottles sold here year around, the title has been earned as the second greatest income from this Gr.a.p.e Ale Project.


    Like everything else here recently, the Ale is sold at the Market price, 8 Gold Coins per bottle. When all calculated, it sums up to around 6,400 Gold Coins a month!


    When these 4 Sources of income are all combined, they calculate to 40,800 Gold Coins. A bit more than they expected, and until May an estimated 30,000 Bottles will be sold. Hey, that''s a bit more than half in half the time. But if the Zamerians don''t make another order after 6 months, around 25,000 Bottles of Ale can remain unsold!


    With all of those specifications aside, how much will this Gr.a.p.e Ale Project aid the Budget? Well, the monthly profit (Not to be confused with Monthly income.) has bounced to a bit over 78,000 Gold Coins each month!


    Tremendous profit isn''t it? This will definitely aid on building up a big dependable Budget, they have to do a hell load of work if they are to be indomitable from the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, but this is indeed a big boost. Quite frankly this is the biggest profit they ever got ever since the Revolution has started.

 Chapter 357 - Is this support?

    Progress has been happening for the Ignites, well at least in some portions of Ignis. The Mountain Ignites for example, all the way up to the Hidden domain above where Maleemia used to stand, as a Tribe they have made huge progress.


    One of the biggest progress here is that no Army came to invade after the last one arrived up here, what would they fight for considering the fact that the Kingdom of Maleemia was blown up to bits? There is nothing to fight for, and the enemies don''t know about the Hidden Domain over 200 meters above it.


    Quite frankly even if the enemy Armies discovered the Hidden Domain and tried to invade it, it wouldn''t neccesarily prove difficult for the Snow Ignites to stop them.


    After all, with a little trick of mass suffocation, 15 Fire Controlling ladies managed to lead the whole ill.u.s.tratian Alliance to a military shortage. They did all the work yet the credit was all given to the Snow Ignites, no matter.


    The point here is that the Hidden Domain can handle any invasion as long as they cross through the Carved Path. Considering the surroundings, enemy Armies have to cross the Carved Path. There literally is no other way since Maleemia was halfway sunk in to the mountainside before it was destroyed.


    Dealing with armies is indeed a large task, but let''s mention smaller progress. Like assuring some daily requirements, I''m not talking about food at the moment. I''m talking about Indoor plumbing.


    At the very first section near the entrance, on the left wing there is a Dungeon. They likely will never have to imprison someone from the tribe, and enemies are killed on the spot.


    Most importantly, there are these types of toilets there. Basically they are just holes separated in 10 cells but they serve the purpose. The problem with them, is that they got filled to the top in no time.


    The solution to it? Well one Fire Blasting lady for example, can melt it all out of existence come to think of it. But that isn''t neccesarily a job anyone would want to do, and it can make the lady smell like the business people did down there.


    Well smelling like it once can''t be a big problem, so they burned it and asked everyone to hold it in for a while until the gifted Stonemason Alcon Epke removes the bricks to see how these holes work and to see if the business leads down somewhere else, specifically if he can make it so no one has to be on Bathroom duty.


    Although funny to think of it at such an aspect, Alcon admired the architecture in the toilets. It is shaped in such a way that it would appear round, although it isn''t. The blocks are placed in such a way, that it appears round, sort of a step by step way.


    He figured out that at the very top left edge, there is a two foot wide hole. He doesn''t know where it leads but it looks like Fire didn''t really reach it. It has a horrible smell, although nothing in there since dunk can''t last that long.


    He has a theory that this hole leads 10-30 meters down and could lead out to the mountain side, that''s where business would be thrown without care come to think of it.


    Now these long holes seem to be clogged, one solution would be to break everything and unclog these holes but it would take too much time, no one can hold it in for two weeks!


    So he asked the lady in charge of him and his safety, Ella Angloma to blow fire down the hole as deep and as thin as possible. It is indeed a difficult task, but not if enough concentration is put in to it. Fire can stretch for hundreds of meters if done well, but it will drain out a ton of Stamina at once.


    Ella gave it all her concentration, and afterwards they heard cracking rock echoing out of the hole. It isn''t certain if it worked, but there is a way to test it. With water of course, but it would be seen as a bad move since the water sources are limited even though a lot of snow is boiled daily.


    So he tried it with a rock instead, about the size of his fist and asked Ella to go out in the entrance and see if any rock will pop out. It isn''t a complicated process and it can determine if the move was successful or not.


    Ella stuck her head out to the mountain side and saw how the rock actually blew out of the mountainside, falling down to the rest of the Rumble underneath them.


    "Well the people who call him crazy are the craziest." She thought to herself as she saw the rock, afterwards feeling gratitude. "I will never have to burn poop again!"


    Now all they have to do is continue the same process with the nine other holes, come to think of it even if just five of them get cleared up without a problem this would be an absolute win.


    ...


    On the right wing of the first section, the small thought to be Guard room has been restored to its purpose. Weaponry has been stocked in there, enough to handle a battle.


    10 men constantly stay either in that room or near the main entrance which is now fortified with a brick wall accompanied with an Iron coating from the inside, since from the outside it would reflect light and catch attention.


    This fortified wall proved on making the entire Hidden Domain a bit warmer since Cold can''t get in. Not to confuse it, it still is very cold up here due to the fact of temperatures dropping under -40¡ãC.


    However getting back to the first point, this wall will also prove good agaisnt invasive protection but there also are different types of protection set up here with spare men and women.


    There are 10 powerless men, armed from head to toe and constantly training as well. Apart from that there are 5 more dependable (Battle-wise) Fire Blasting ladies who guard the spot. If any invader actually managed to climb up here, they will be terminated quickly.


    Speaking about Stonemasonry a bit, even Alcon still hasn''t figured out how the Stone cutters work without man power. The saws are just too large for them to work without man power, he doesn''t know how it works but the saws sure prove useful.


    The ten walls at the third section which are built with Alcon as the leader, are holding off hordes of Demons quite well. The Fire Controllers are constantly suffocating the hordes, but without the walls there would be at least a few Demons until now.


    Due to the fact that each of the walls are a meter thick, flawlessly built and with Fire Controllers as an aid to suffocate any Demon from the other side, this Tribe will likely never be attacked from any Demon. At least, not from the portal coming from the second section.


    ...


    The Blacksmiths specifically trained by Osira Nardone, or best known as the Leader of this tribe who now is at Lan Zhe to learn more, explore more and become a Future Grand Leader. Well, the Blacksmiths that she trained have done a great job.


    With the three mines completely functional, including the gold mine (We will get to that at another Chapter.) they have managed to coat the hidden Domain with enough tools, Armour and Weapons to last for a long while.


    But most importantly, they have made 100 Food Containers. Osira helped them make the first few badges while in training, but they handled the rest.


    These hundred Containers can hold up to 5 tons of food, depending on what food they are and how they can be stacked. At the moment only 70 Containers are filled while the other 30 are empty.


    As you might have guessed, there still are Rat Bug meat they can use fit in the first containers. This meat is old and naturally sour, but it won''t kill you after consumed. It proves as a great food source up here, and there are even more Containers stuffed with them, more precisely Containers starting from 57 to 64. This meat is a lot fresher at the moment, they''ve dismantled a couple other new nests here since the Rat Bugs sensed food but they also killed a little tribe in the wild. This after all is Survival of the fittest.


    Hunting while still having food in stock will keep their supplies from going completely 0, after all they can''t wait to hunt when the supplies drop tremendously low. Keeping a Source steady now will prevent possible starvation in the future. For now, they have food enough to last for 6 months.


    ...


    An issue that has made fairly most of the tribe scratch their heads, is the one at the Third Section. They have found new mines, although they can''t determine what ore it will bring.


    The reason why they don''t know, is because they faced this strong unbreakable rock in front of them. Three Tunnels on the left wing of the third section, and all three of them lead to a dead end with practically indestructible rock. Even Fire can''t break it, and as for the Dragon Eye, perhaps it can break it but it would be regarded as a bad idea.


    The left wing of the third section doesn''t really have anything but three rooms either being empty or having tools who have caught a lot of Rust.


    ...


    Bittore Nardone, the Grand Leader of this tribe has fairly recovered almost completely, her knees hurt a little bit but she can walk perfectly. Hopefully she will never have to go through closing a Portal like that again and receiving any similar injuries.


    Today at the break of November, after she ate a bit of lunch and tried to make her way down to the Forge in order to lend a hand with the work and see how things are going, in the middle of two tunnels at a poorly illuminated spot she noticed a rather (In her point of view.) uncomfortable scene.


    She couldn''t believe her eyes at first due to the poor illumination, but she did make it absolutely sure after. Samantha and Zelimia are going at it, well that might not be the best word to describe this situation but the point is that these two ladies are kissing each other rather passionately.


    "What''s going on ladies?" She asked with a mild tone, slightly rough and with her eyebrow raised in curiosity. "When I say support each other, this isn''t quite what I mean."

 Chapter 358 - They wont understand you.

    In Section 2, Tunnel 1 on the right wing. Bittore has asked Zelimia and Samantha to follow her there, so they can talk about that little scene she ran in to. The strong Iron Door in this private room sure proves useful for such a topic, the word won''t likely get out.


    Upon entering, she offered them a little snack. Because after all, this isn''t a Torture chamber and she would not want to harm one of her own. Knowing that most would prefer Blue Eagle Meat, that is the food she offered.


    With her brown, tied in to a bun hair shinning due to a torch close to her, illuminating the place. Bittore started it off, trying to get information out of them. "So... Is there anything specific you would want to tell me here? Because what I walked in to was more than a friendly gesture." It won''t neccesarily be a challenging task for Bittore to find something out, practically being a certified Honey mouth.


    Becoming rather red due to these questions, Samantha Olem swallowed her spit in nervousness. Trying to speak, not wanting to lie but trying to find an excuse. "Um, she wasn''t feeling alright so I figured she could use some support."


    That is actually what happened come to think of it, but it isn''t the entire truth yet again it can be masked or sugar coated. Zelimia woke up feeling cold due to obvious reasons, she ate Ratbug meat after and she sprained her arm too when she tripped while going up the stairs.


    "That''s all?" Bittore asked once more, paying detailed attention to every word Samantha says and memorizing it all. "Honestly if you were at a more private spot, I was sure that you two would get at it." Her last few words not very specific, but all three of them know what it means.


    "So what?" Zelimia added with a mild shout, slightly angry and not at all embarrassed. "It''s not like we have a God to fear, we all know the Source is just a Demon."


    At such wordplay, Bittore instantly noticed why Zelimia shifted this towards a religious view. She wants to excuse both of their actions by trying to make Bittore accept what''s different. Of course, Bittore has the proper words to say here without forming a Grudge towards these useful Fire Manipulators.


    "I realise that there is a lot of Atheism happening recently due to the last information about the Sources, and due to the fake Gods the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance tried to force on us. But you need to realise that towards the same gender there are limits you shouldn''t cross, regardless what religion you do or don''t follow." Bittore has always been a Lady who makes a lot of sense, commonly gives the best advice and only acts stupid around enemies. But to her debate, these two ladies have reasons to disagree.


    "Why? It doesn''t really matter if we reproduce!" Zelimia continued to debate while Samantha stood quiet in embarrassment, having a lot in mind but not knowing how to specify. "We don''t desperately need new allies, food will often be scarce and..."


    "And?" Bittore asked, carefully analysing and remembering her words.


    "We all know that men don''t treat women right most of the time, do we really need to tolerate a man when we have the chance not too?" Bittore noticed that Zelimia is fishing out one excuse after the other, to perhaps let that scene escape unmentioned.


    But furthermore, she realized that Zelimia is quoting Bittore''s very bad fate with her husband. After all, her husband has sold them out to the ill.u.s.tratian for gold, so Zelimia does have a point in some aspects.


    So there is just one thing to say here, "Look, I understand you but I also need to do whatever you want to do in private. I don''t need elderly, kids or anyone for that matter to be exposed on something that would harm their productivity."


    Seeing that the two ladies are listening, Zelimia having an angry look on her face and Samantha being red in embarassmant. Bittore continued to request, "If you want to get at it, with all means do it. I won''t say anything about it as long as I don''t see it or hear it. Do whatever you want, but rest assured that people will likely never understand your points of view."


    Afterwards they were dismissed, they of course took Bittore''s word in to large consideration and will honour her request. As for stopping this... we can call it love, but at the same time neither of them were in a relationship before to understand how love works.


    The point is, they have no goal of stopping it. It is a good thing that Bittore didn''t publicly shame them but at the same time the furthest these two ladies went through all these months is kissing. That just gives them personally more reasons to keep this going.


    ...


    Now to continue specifics on how and why this hidden Mountain Ignite Domain has progressed. On Tunnel 7 at section 2 on the left wing, there are a couple of elderly ladies working there, well more like reading.


    They also have three teenage apprentices, one being 14 and the two others both being 13. Although these kids could use another year or two to perform heavier duties, being in the Sorcery room can''t be considered the most difficult task.


    Throughout reading all the content that in some aspects looks gibberish, they gave in the most attention to a liquid promoting instant health. Most precisely, a Health potion.


    They still haven''t figured out how to do it, although the concept sounds too simple. Their problem is understanding what those ingredients are, they are written in practically ancient Snow Ignite language.


    Two of the ingredients they understand, but the third one is a true head scratcher. The first ingredient is a Blue Eagle''s claw, it should be boiled in a pot, chopped in to three parts after and boiled once more with doubled heat.


    Once those three steps are taken, the liquid left over from it is the base portion of this potion. The second ingredient is simple really, wheat Grain. Three of them exactly.


    When put in the liquid obtained from the Blue Eagle Claws, they almost instantly melt in it and with a little jiggle on the bottle, the liquid turns from black to blue.


    Those two ingredients and the process that comes with it is what they understand clearly, but the third ingredient feels impossible to understand. Its name is "Keketemat", that doesn''t even sound like an Ignite word, not even Snow Ignite come to think of it.


    They have no idea how to figure out this massively important potion recipe, but they will definitely not give up. Reading more books in this domain may shed light to this mystery.


    ...


    At Section 2, Tunnel 6 on the left wing, the Iron Storage room has once again put in to use. Reason behind it, is that the Iron Mine has become completely functional and so far they managed to get 3 tons of ore out of it.


    Speaking of Storage rooms, the Lumber Storage room has been also put in use. But with trees being scarce, this room is half filled with Coal meaning that the whole coal mine has become completely functional again.


    Coal is an important item here, be it for heat or for on the forge it is required on a daily basis. To save up coal, illumination across walls still remains scarce and they keep the main fire going at the sleeping area, they don''t need warmth on every room and that fire can easily make the whole tribe feel warm.


    With an Iron door made to not let the heat escape, and with the excessive smoke or suffocating substances burned off with the small aid of fire, they have for sure utilized their resources responsibly.


    So far they have managed to mine out around 7 tons of coal, the most attention and manpower has been given there. They still have enough to last for 4 months, and are still mining out Coal.


    As for Lumber, they are the most savvy with it for obvious reasons. They are just too scarce around here.


    Gold has been given the second most attention as well, because with a gold mine on their side they can just buy everything they need for day to day living.


    Quantity wise, gold isn''t exactly the most common even in a mine like this. If one is lucky, the walls or deposits would contain about 10% gold per certain mass.


    So far they have managed to mine out and smelt 300 Kilos of Gold Ingots, this number alone doesn''t look big does it? But when you multiply 300 with 150 it neccesarily equals to 45,000 Gold Coins!


    That is indeed a large quantity, for a tribe of 57 people this alone can support them for 2 years, 3 if they are a bit more savvy with it. By that I mean if they don''t eat 3 times a day!


    Come to think of it food isn''t as big as a problem than leather is, because there are 57 people who need more than one set of clothing per individual. So 20 Gold Ingots have been spend on clothing, with this quantity and a bit of a discount from the man helping them settle deals in the neighbouring Kingdom, they all got 3 sets of clothing.


    As for proper sleeping bags, most have them but it isn''t a bad idea to have an entire set of spares for everyone. However to achieve such a task, they are hunting Cave and Ice Bears. Quite hilariously, for the ladies it is a lot easier than hunting Blue Eagles.


    The meat of these Bears isn''t the tastiest, but it tastes at least 3 times better than Ratbug meat so no one is complaining.


    A bit of a last word about Storage rooms so we know what goes where, at Section 2, Tunnel 5 on the right wing, they have used the weaponry room to put in extra Iron ores. The Blacksmiths don''t need to use everything at the same time and since most weapons are in the first section it isn''t a problem to repurpose this Room''s use.


    ...


    We mentioned the private room a little bit earlier, well to be more specific it belongs to Bittore. The tribe insisted for the Grand Leader to have her own room, for personal uses. She is the only other person who can take coal with her to warm up her room but she doesn''t commonly do it. After all what are a few coal chunks for the one who helped them at this extend?


    ...


    We have two more rooms to mention, to specify the progress and how it happened. And of course we can not skip the medical room, healing stones are used the most there and there are leather straps or cloths packed there as well to tie any wounds, thankfully though they have not faced any deaths or big injuries. Just cuts and bruises mostly coming from hunting or butchering.


    Last but definitely not least, the mini school at Tunnel 8 on the second section''s right wing. Everyone uses this place time to time, be it to become more knowledgeable, pass time and sometimes even gather up with friends and mess around.


    Elderlies and children use it the most due to the fact that they have free time, but they barely understand what the books say due to ethnical, time zone and accent differences.


    ...


    As Samantha walked alone down to the mine, trying to lend a hand and Zelimia claiming that she will join later once using the rest room. Samantha, faced a situation she would rather not face.


    One of the Blacksmiths, kind with gestures and fairly with the purest intend, having a crush on the beautiful Samantha he asked. "Um... So are you seeing anyone?"


    At first glance, she thought that he too has seen her and Zelimia kiss before. So she instantly evaded that fact by answering, "Um no... We are a small tribe, I''m sure you would know if I did see anyone Daler!" She spoke calmly, although her cheeks were a bit red already.


    With a smile on his face after letting out a big sigh of relief, he gathered his guts and as sweat rolled down his forehead he explained. "Well, I think I like you. We are isolated here so I''m not sure if I can take you out on a date but..." In the meantime, the other few Blacksmiths in the room acted like they didn''t hear anything.


    Not knowing how to handle this, since she knows that Daler has been kind to everyone as far as she could remember, she heard Zelimia''s tone handling this situation in a bit of anger. Apparently she is done with her business up in the rest room already. "She doesn''t really trust men Daler, marriage is out of her plans for a long while if not forever."

 Chapter 359 - Financial Adviser

    Fourth Section, yes that''s what they call it here in Bale Town. We are talking about the Coal mine of course, it has met a rather admirable breakthrough. Well, it still isn''t half as comfortable with the second section of the mine but it still isn''t bad either.


    This fourth section is uniquely formed and when drawn out in a map it looks admirable. The main reason behind it is that it has too many twists and turn, accompanied by huge openings ranging from 10 to 50 meters wide or long.


    But of course, like the trouble on Section three this one can also be reached with a drop. Meaning to reach this Fourth section, the Miners would need to tie some ropes around something heavy and sink 20 meters deep.


    With enough manpower by their hand, they made another tower here which both helps to transport humans or coal. The concept is the same as the 50 meter tall tower I specified on the last Volume, it just is 30 meters shorter this time.


    The most beautiful part of the cave, can be considered the very end of it. It is a wide opening stretching 60 meters long and 30 meters wide, and to make it more interesting at the left a spiraling tunnel leads at the possible fifth section, it really is beautiful.


    The fourth section, can be considered about 20% bigger than the third, as for the resources in it the size is fairly triple. When we give it a overall overview, with some ratios being too high, some being too low and most originating around the middle, the Fourth Section contains 65% Coal, 33% rock and only 2% dirt!


    Dirt is becoming more and more scarce, but at least it has a logical explanation for it and at the same time it makes everyone''s work a lot safer. In the fourth section, they are basically 80 meters deep underground so it explains how scarce dirt is.


    And due to the fact that these Caves held on for who knows how long, it would take a lot of carelessness and stupidity to cause a Collapse. These caves are merged in to perfection with rock and ore used as its mending, it would take a lot to cause a Collapse.


    Getting on to estimations, Bale Town managed to cover this month''s delivery (7 tons of Coal.) and there is an estimated 9-10 tons left for people to mine in the fourth section, they fairly have enough to cover the next month''s order too and by then they would be exploring the possible fifth section.


    On related news, on the Third Section''s right wing they have discovered something they did not expect here, Iron ores! When drawn on a map, this right wing looks a bit funny, much like a deformed big Mushroom with two smaller mushrooms close to its root.


    However, looks don''t really matter here as the Iron ore hidden here is the most important. Being understaffed they haven''t mined out its entire contents yet but since Iron doesn''t commonly have long branches of ore, it is easier to estimate the amount.


    After a big detailed view, Bill figured out that 70% of these tunnels and large openings contain Stone and the rest is Iron. When all piled up, they should be mining around 4 tons in total out of here, with 1 ton already mined out.


    This ore will prove useful to cut some expenses from Pameres Kingdom and cover the shared order of Iron Swords with Bale Town''s own Iron ores instead of maxing out Pameres Kingdom''s resources.


    Furthermore, there is enough ore to make spare tools for every craft and task which they will likely need in the following months with the recent hirings, increased work and Stonemasons.


    It would be tremendous luck if they discover more deposits of Iron ore, but this one will do for a long time as well. Specifically for a year if they don''t over do it with the spare tools.


    ...


    When success is a topic, Gustav Iron can not be left unmentioned, as promised he has brought the town Stonemasons, in the middle of this disaster and population drops he managed to find Stonemasons, not a small amount either.


    He managed to recruit 17 Stonemasons to aid a developing future rich town, at least that is how he portrayed it to them so they would come here, but that wasn''t enough so he has spent about 50,000 Gold Coins all together to convince them, that''s about 3k each. Apart from that they will also recieve a salary here.


    You would think why Gustav made yet another investment for Bale Town? Well the answer is simple, this has become more than a good source of profit. He is earning around 5,000 Gold Coins at average from the 5% he has bought from the Town''s Budget. How would the tale be if the Town earned more?


    However, getting back to a bit of individual specifics. These 17 recruits are mostly men, only three of them are women. Based on years in experience, they range from 1 to 5, some ranging 6.


    With the Blacksmith brought from Black Tail town, Valtera Katelyn the Seventh having the longest experience will be in charge of these recently arrived recruits.


    Uniquely, 10 of them are ill.u.s.tratios. If there weren''t any other ill.u.s.tratios here, it would neccesarily lead to drama. But with King Zar who has helped them tremendously, Gustav Iron who too has given a lot of gold without robbing them blind as a return and most of the third platoon of Pameres Kingdom being of the ill.u.s.tratian race, Drama due to racial differences is the least thing that can happen here. Baletown has come to accept the fact that not all ill.u.s.tratios are rotten in the head.


    Pay-wise, these Stonemasons will earn a bit more than it was planned too just to keep them here and keep productivity up. Sure it will slow down their tremendous budget upgrades, but it will grant safety and what could be more important than safety?


    All 18 of the Stonemasons earn a nice 150 Gold Coins a month, all Together the town will need to pay 2,700 Gold Coins a month. It really doesn''t look too big, but it still is Gold. And at the same time this is the highest salary anyone earns here.


    After all those expenses, Black Gr.a.p.e Ale from Pameres Kingdom included, Bale Town still breaks with a rather dependable profit of a bit over 18,000 Gold Coins. It is not as great as earning 37,000 but it still is not a bad number.


    ...


    However, getting to the part that I want to mention the most, the construction of the square shaped wall. Now as mentioned on the previous Volume, the reason why it is square is due to aims of building the wall fast and cutting material or monetary expenses at the same time.


    Each side of the wall will be around 50 meters long, with a foundation being a meter thick but the wall itself narrowing to being half a meter wide. Obviously Guards can''t walk over it easily, but there will be built enough watch towers to compensate for that part.


    With a 200 meter wall accompanied by enough watch towers built, not to forget the fact that there are only 18 Stonemasons at the moment, the Construction of this wall will take about about a year and 2-3 months to construct, perhaps even a year and a half if nothing goes wrong.


    Only time will tell, but it is already in the process, the ditch is being built around town and the Stonemasons are filling in 8 hours a day, every day.


    ...


    On unrelated news, regarding the Contract Bale Town and Pameres Kingdom made over a year ago, it has been continued for another year. BaleTown has thrived due to the new governing team brought from Pameres Kingdom and they need this thrive to last more.


    Obviously there won''t be any penalty paid since the governing team managed to provide the minimum 51% of the required daily necessities, King Zar would not need to pay the penalty of 50,000 Gold Coins especially since he tried to help. Imagine loosing 50 grand now, when they are trying so hard to build a budget.


    Furthermore, the craftsmen that came from Pameres Kingdom have no plan of returning home as long as the governing team is here, but they asked for a break once every three months so they can go back home and visit their families.


    They won''t make a huge difference if they all leave at once but it is best if half leave this month and half on the other, repeating that process. Regardless of how much they want to help, everyone misses their families.


    ...


    "What exactly is a financial adviser?" Asked Bert, being offered this special position by both Guard Commander Delrus Aze and the investor Gustav Iron.


    "You will make the big decisions regarding expenses or new business deals. You as a financial advisor will be responsible for the profit, it is a big opportunity and can be risky. But you have been performing the tasks perfectly, without mistake and a lot of motivation. You deserve it." Delrus explained word by word, seeing Bert being both happy and confused.


    The first thing he asked was, "What about my Brothers?" Of course he wants to see them progress as well.


    "Your brothers need a bit more time, they need to fill in a bit more hours. They too are gifted, but Bert it is well established that you are smarter. Not just smarter than your brothers, but smarter than me too and I''m stinken rich!" Gustav explained, including wealth here to prove a point.


    To convince the smart Bert Willson completely, Delrus explained. "There are other positions in the governing team that we desperately need before this Contract is over, but for the sake of Bale Town they have big shoes to fill. Your brothers have what it takes, but just need a bit more time."

 Chapter 360 - Spiraling Demon

    Due to the fact that a whole God Damn Dragon Skeleton appearing at the bottom of the Volcano, a lot of confusion has struck the town. It was visible from the very middle of the Volcano, and the word spread like Wild Fire. Everyone in town knew about this mysterious Skeleton of whom Lava doesn''t burn.


    No one, including the Oldest Calidum Lutum (Xalk) doesn''t know the origin of this Skeleton, it just doesn''t add up. The Calidum Lutum don''t have a history of Dragon slaying, but there is a theory about this Skeleton that might be believable.


    What if the Ancient ones, just found this Cave and reached a special spot that has a big hole in it, they throw a rock down it and they can''t hear the rock hit the ground, which signifies that it is very deep.


    With the ability to blast Lava out of their own limbs, and in need of a new Domain, the ancient ones just started blasting a lot of Lava down it and officially forming a Volcano. Filling a mile wide and long hole could have taken a while, but with several of the Grand Masters blasting Lava, the chances would just increase to accidentally kill an unsuspecting Dragon down there.


    Think about it, Dragons are rare and Furthermore they are mysterious and almost impossible to study, the odds of studying a Dragon would be a million to one. What if a Dragon was down this hole and no one knew about it, including the ancient ones?


    Could have just been sleeping, could even be harmless since them attacking towns is no where to be heard off. This can be the only explanation, the Ancient ones accidentally killed a sleeping or unsuspecting Dragon, its Skeleton was somehow stuck down there and now it got unstuck and popped out.


    The fact that one bone appeared first and afterwards the entire skeleton followed could be a proof that the Dragon carcass got stuck, and since Dragon Bones are almost impossible to break, it didn''t float up all this time.


    The first bone didn''t come out broken, just separated from its socket. Dragon Bones can''t be cracked that easily, but can be removed from its sockets if heavy pressure is applied to them in a long period of time, a.k.a Lava. This could explain the whole reason why a Dragon Skeleton is here, but yet again it doesn''t explain where the Blue Bubbles are coming from.


    If they don''t know what was down there when they unleashed Lava for the first time, what else would they not know about? What else could there be hidden underneath this large body of Lava?


    The questions are indeed great and hard to find an accurate answer out of, the fact that Xalk''s father knew about Dragons makes it a whole lot confusing too. But for now, they just slowly removed the Dragon Skeleton from the Lava and stored it in the biggest room down at the Grand Master''s den.


    No one can meditate peacefully or exercise for that matter, when knowing that a large skeleton is floating on Lava, so it was best to place it where eyes can''t see it as easily.


    With the theory of how the Dragon got here in mind, life returned almost back to normal after they removed the Skeleton from the Lava. Well at least, it returned to normal for most people.


    You might have figured it out that I''m talking about Xalk, now that a Skeleton popped out of the Lava he has gotten more and more paranoid. Wondering what else could be down there, loosing sleep over it.


    They didn''t know what solution to find for Xalk, until Commander Alia came up with a little idea. Regardless who mentors who, Eric is still the King of Lan Zhe due to the fact that he is the Golden Blood.


    "Eric says that he orders you to go to sleep." Kazer translated for the young King.


    But of course, with the lack of sleep and paranoia by his side. King Xalk instantly replied, "So you talked him in to it?"


    "It isn''t important who did it, what matters is the fact that he has ordered it. You know that refusing the order can prove you disloyal, and the Calidum Lutum don''t have disloyalty in their blood." Now Kazer touched Xalk on veins he knew it would prove effective.


    Regardless of the situation, regardless of what he thinks, as a Grand Master he especially can''t go against the King''s word. "Alright, I''ll play along with your little game."


    ...


    In the next morning, after the four hour exercise with the Grand Masters down at the bottom of the Volcano, Eric made his way out of the Domain and climbed the mountain over it to get in to his Fire Manipulation training. In unrelated news, he felt glad that Xalk has lost his eye sacks and is thinking slightly clearly although still Paranoid. Oh well, progress is progress.


    After an hour of practicing the Fire Shield, shot after shot managing to withstand the Concentrated Blast better, Mogranius decided to let Eric in another move, to make training a bit more interesting.


    "I will show you a move you don''t know, a move which would be inadvisable to attempt before getting a good grasp of what the fourth level has to offer." Mogranius set the base of the move introduction and finally explained it by name too. "I will teach you how to do the Spiraling Demon move!"


    "The name sounds interesting, does it actually have to do anything with Demons?" Eric became indeed curious about the name, because it is the first move he heard about with the word "Demon" in its name.


    "Not really, it just is complex and too dangerous that people actually started calling it Demonic." Afterwards trying to explain the origin of it, Mogranius added. "It is a move a few hundred years old, discovered by a few Grand Masters come to think of it but we can do it too."


    Afterwards, he gave a brief before action explanation of the move, using all of his limbs to perform the strongest and most detailed preview. And of course he performed the move too, seemed simple enough and Eric understood why it is called the Spiraling Demon.


    And so you can understand it too, let''s have Eric perform it as well! The move, uniquely starts off with a push up! Yes with a push up, and the reason behind it will make sense shortly.


    Well we can''t consider it a full push up, because Eric would just need to keep himself up away from the ground using his arms. Afterwards, fire has to be blown from both his feet and hands, fire has to blow from all of his limbs!


    Once elevated a few meters from the ground, with fire spreading fast and wild he is supposed to do the part that adds Spirals to the Spiraling Demon move.


    He has to position his arms and feet in such a way that he won''t fly off too high from the ground, but he also has to spin in place. It is indeed difficult, but Mogranius showed detailed information on how to attain it properly, he gave a preview without using fire.


    Spiraling in mid air, will create such a formation of fire underneath him that will look a lot like a Tornado but much shorter in vertical length and much wider in horizontal length. It basically looks like a snail''s shell.


    Once the spiral has been officially made, Eric quickly raised his arms above his head and stopped blasting fire from all of his limbs.


    Quickly moving downwards the fire, aiming to reach the very middle of the spiral, he blasts fire again once close to what he has previously formed while spiraling.


    When he blasted fire again, the middle of the spiral opened up and started deforming and at the same time expanding.


    Once close to the ground, he blasts fire at double the amount which will not only cushion his fall but will also quickly expand the fire he has unleashed in the first few steps of the process.


    When expanding, this spiraling demon takes everything with it, a pushing and burning force to its aid. In battle it can become very dangerous against an enemy, but it requires time to perform which can also be dangerous.


    Covering himself with a dependable Fire Shield, trying to shield himself from Eric''s holy amount of fire. He saw the spiral having a starting base of 15 meters wide and expanding to 40 meters when Eric made contact with it again.


    Dropping down his shield after seeing that the area is safe, he complimented for once but salted it with Sarcasm too. "You are a quick learner, see how much you can accomplish when you aren''t complaining?"


    "Yes well in my defense apart from this move looking pretty, I don''t think we will use it too often. So in some cases I do have reasons to complain." Eric tried to protect himself, but indeed said something very stupid in the process.


    Noticing the rather unmissable wave of stupidity in Eric''s words, he chose to spare him this one time and actually not use Sarcasm but a bit of reason instead. It is fair to say that this can actually work for the better of things. "Oh don''t act like you didn''t love the move, it''s not like we can''t have some fun sometimes."

 Chapter 361 - Hunting Technique

    "What are we looking for again?" Ada asked, rubbing her eyes and walking tad clumsily over the cold and lightly covered with snow, field.


    "Red Mushrooms and Deer hair!" Osira repeated, with enthusiasm still plentiful, sharp on her feet and looking a bit more spiffy than Ada. Reasons behind it, is because Osira woke up a bit earlier and had time to prepare. "Finding the red mushrooms shouldn''t be too hard, as for the Deer hair I doubt we can get it from a living one." Osira signified that they have to kill a Deer, although mildly indirect.


    "And you need these for an enchantment?" Ada asked, tuning out half of Osira''s words including the part where they have to kill a Deer. "Do you really think that I''m the best for the job?"


    "Yes, Katapa thinks that he can unlock a whole new enchantment with the proper mixes and timing. At least that''s how Commander Alia translated it." Osira fantasised, her tone still bursting in enthusiasm but of course she can make her friend feel wanted too. "Also yes you are, we both need to go out and walk sometimes, being crammed up around the Volcano isn''t too fun, plus I miss you."


    These are words Osira never expected to say to an ill.u.s.tratio, but what''s done is done and it feels really nice to see a sleepy person smile. "I miss you too." Ada replied, and the more she fought off her sleepiness, the more curious she got. Asking, "So what is this enchantment anyway?"


    Upon asking that question, Osira let the silence stretch a little bit because she checked around to see if there are any Red Mushrooms near by. "Um well, it is really painful against an enemy. I wouldn''t even have to slice them, but yet the enemy would still be too distracted with pain to act in battle."


    "I like the not slicing part, but some don''t get entirely distracted even when sliced. How could you achieve what you just said?" A slight shock came to her once hearing Osira''s explanation, but she does like her enthusiasm. Would make anyone want to pinch her cheeks.


    "The enchantment should unleash exactly three boiling hot liquid iron balls upon swing, without deforming the Sword, at least not right away." Her idea, the enchantment sounds like fiction. But her enthusiasm remains so strong that one can not disagree.


    But Ada can of course kindly ask, "Will that really work?"


    "It is just a theory, Katapa thinks it will work. The trick is just softening the Volcanic Mushroom that we will also mix with this, when softened we can utilize its internal properties of the Volcanic Mushroom." You can''t really call a theory coming from a man who managed to enchant many times before, not possible.


    ...


    To get in to further specifications, the idea is that after the Red Mushroom is boiled for a while, the fluids left over can soften the Volcanic Mushroom so the Blacksmith(s) can crack it open without a fatal circ.u.mstance.


    Katapa believes that the reason behind this softening, is thanks to the fact that the red mushroom is typically poisonous. Its poisonous qualities can soften this dangerous rock and turn it semi liquid.


    Since while in production, both mushrooms with either be completely or semi liquidated, the Deer hair can withstand the strong possibly melting substances both mushrooms can develop once merged together, and the Deer hair can merge the two substances back in to an orb.


    It won''t look pretty, and in some points of views it can really look disgusting. But what would that matter? The orb will be merged around the middle of the sword, which of course means that the sword will be thicker in width and inevitably heavier.


    Any Swordsman or women, who is above 70 kilos or 6 feet tall, can wield the sword with little trouble or without risking instant loss of fatigue. In some aspects, the heavier the sword the better because more swings can be taken before the sword completely depletes, before only the handle is left.


    ...


    "Is that a Deer I see?" Ada asked after rubbing her eyes, with her vision a bit blurry due to the fact that she still is sleepy.


    But talking and moving is where she made the mistake, the Deer instantly dashed off and got out of their sight in a matter of seconds. "It was at least." Osira laughed, her enthusiasm still remaining undamaged.


    It is tremendous how Osira''s attitude was when meeting Eric for the first time, trying to kill him on the spot. And now, she remains happy even at such a case towards a lady who is dating the guy Osira herself fancies?


    It just proves one thing, Osira can be mean and dangerous only to people she chooses. To her friends she can be as sweet as honey.


    "Sorry." Ada apologised, feeling instantly guilty.


    "It''s alright, even if you breathed come to think of it, the Deer would have ran away." Osira lived in the wild a lot along with her Tribe, hunting became a almost daily task.


    Hunting a Deer with a spear can be the trickiest, and often times difficult. So she discovered a unique technique, with a little of modifications on the technique by her mother, Bittore.


    Taking a few minutes to explain this technique to Ada, she afterwards asked. "So, are you in?"


    "Do we have to kill the Deer? We don''t need food." Although she ate meat before, she does feel a bit uneasy about reasonleessly take a soul away. They have enough food at Lan Zhe to go for a year!


    "If you can get hair out of it without killing it, then do it by all means." Osira specified that she has other options, but at the beginning of course recommended the easiest.


    "I''ll see what I can do." Ada answered, raising her arms up and forming the letter T. "I''m ready."


    "Hehehe, I haven''t done this in months!" Osira answered, with a wide smirk across her face and afterwards walked behind Ada, slipped her hands underneath Ada''s shoulders and flew up along with Ada as fire blasted through Osira''s feet.


    Flying for a bit over 30 meters high, spotting an opening in the forest about a hundred yards after and a Deer running across it too, Osira flew along with Ada on her grip.


    The Deer noticed that something is above, thinking that it could just be a large bird, the Deer just kept running. What worked to their advantage here, is the opening being about 200 meters long and scarcely having trees here and there.


    This allowed Osira to gain at least a couple of seconds, to throw down Ada at a safer matter. Yes throw, typically the trick is to fall over the deer like this and slice its throat after. It kind of is a mix of a flying and running predator, Osira can shoot it but she doesn''t want to light the forest on fire and catch attention.


    Ada dropped down, hung upon the bottom part of the Deer''s back, afterwards she crawled up as fast as she could, trying to keep her grip on the Deer as strong as possible so she doesn''t get thrown off.


    Feeling it on her grip that there isn''t any thick part with hair for her to grab on and rip it off, she tried to pull out her Dagger, well technically Osira''s Dagger, given to her for this task.


    Tying her legs tightly around the Deer''s belly, she used the Dagger to shave out some hair from the Deer and even became skilled enough to stuff it down her small leather bag!


    Going in for another shot of hair, she scratched the Deer just a little bit but nothing to kill it. Swiftly after she swiped the hair she just shaved off the Deer''s back and and stuffed it down her bag.


    Attempting to shave some hair off for the third time, she felt herself elevating higher, the Deer has jumped. Ada felt herself hitting the ground, tumbling for a few times until the friction slew down her momentum.


    At the end, she stood up on her feet. Unintentional in many aspects but hey it worked, and she only got a few scratches.


    Half a minute after, she saw Osira flying down. "Look, I got them." Ada instantly expressed, feeling happy about her success and ignoring the minor pain.


    "You actually did it?" Osira asked, not believing her eyes and feeling shocked once looking in to the bag. "You can keep the Dagger, you earned it."


    "Told you that we didn''t need to kill the Deer." She answered, a wide smile stretching across her face. Suddenly after, something caught her eye. "Are those red mushrooms?"


    "Would you look at that, we killed two birds with one stone." Osira expressed, happy but at the same time a bit sad that this fun hunt with her friend has to end.


    Reaching in to grab the red mushrooms, she was quick to feel a pain, strong as if boiling water was thrown on her hand. And it wasn''t caused by the Mushroom.


    "Shit, shit shit shit!" Osira yelled out, Repeatedly and shot a 4 foot wide fireball in front of her.


    "What happened?" Adda asked, being spooked of this behaviour but also wanting to make sure that Osira is alright.


    Angry, in pain and with a shout Osira answered. "A Source forsaken Snake just bit my hand!"

 Chapter 362 - Hound Head Snake

    Seeing the blazing fireball setting a tree on fire, warming Ada''s face from afar. She approached Osira, who has been cursing in pain over 10 times now. "Let me cut the place where it bit you, my mother told me that''s how I can get most of the Venom out."


    Trying not to offend Ada even at such a state, Osira shouted at first. "No!" And afterwards continued to explain, "That''s a bad idea, it doesn''t work and I can get an infection."


    In a blink, she remembered how a couple of men in her tribe fared when they were bitten by a snake and sliced the wound to get the venom out. The infection was so bad, that the arm had to be completely cut off in aims of survival.


    They did not survive, died a few days after. Not because of the Venom, but because the infection. Apparently the snake that bit them wasn''t even a venomous one. So we can call this tremendously bad luck with a hunch of being misinformed.


    However, handling a snake bite in these medieval times can be tricky. Because in most cases, people don''t know how to get the Venom out. Some who are lucky enough, are bitten by a snake who doesn''t have strong venom. At such cases one would get the Venom out in a span of a day by dropping a dunk in the rest room.


    "Well what do you want me to do?" Asked Ada, confused for once and scared too. Shouting, "I don''t want you to die."


    "I''m not going to die!" Osira shouted back, once the thought of death further increased in to her subconscious, Osira instantly thought of her mother and her tribe.


    Calming down just a hunch due to the thought of her mother, enough to think of a great idea she spoke. "We need to get to Eric, he has healing powers. Maybe it will work on Venom!"


    "That''s a great idea!" Ada replied with her facial expressions meeting a tremendous shift towards the better, her face smiling in concern. "Can you fly?"


    "No! One of the fire controlling ladies tried that before, she is dead." Osira explained, trying to handle this situation from all of the experiences and events she managed to grasp in the past, be it little or huge. "Ada, you will have to carry me."


    "But the town is almost half a Kilometer away, I don''t think I can carry you." Ada has been training for over a month yes, but her physique didn''t meet enough changes for her to lift and carry a person who weighs more than her by half!


    "Well, at least carry me from underneath the shoulder. My stamina has to be minimized, or else this will turn out for the worst. Aaaa shit!" She tried to explain, but couldn''t help commenting on the pain on her hand, the snake bit her right a bit over the knuckles.


    ...


    "She got bit by a snake?" Commander Alia shouted in fear, showing sympathy for Osira''s fate. Luckily she just happened to walk by up near the main entrance, she can lend a hand better than Ada can.


    "Yes, we need Eric here right now!" Ada shouted, with Osira having her arm over her shoulder trying to contain the howls of pain.


    "He will be no help, he doesn''t know how to heal yet!" Commander Alia replied, but yet still wanted to help Osira as fast as possible.


    She ran towards the edge of the Volcano, and shouted a word in the Calidum Lutum language. Afterwards she heard the same word being repeated by another lady, and afterwards by a man and so on it echoed all the way down the Volcano, the word being delivered all the way down there in perfect Harmony.


    A moment after, they saw Eric fly out of the Volcano. He noticed instantly that Osira is not well, and ran towards her after his feet meet the ground. With a mild shout repeating, "What happened?"


    "She got bit by a snake, you have to heal her." Ada replied, and although most did not notice Osira has already broken a couple of tears due to all the pain.


    Refusing that he doesn''t know how to heal, he instantly tried it although he doesn''t know how. Waving his hand towards Osira, so the green aura can return and stretch over her and get the Venom out.


    He tried to mimic the scene Akareas did, when she got the mind control poison out of Dilli Flury. But no, he is far too untrained with this type of power, he can not help her. But he did not want to stop, because Osira is the topic here and not someone who he sees as a half enemy, like Bittore in the beginning.


    Hearing all the shouting echoing on the Volcano, all the Ignites started making their way up. Well more precisely Dilli and Mogranius, they both can fly so it wasn''t the hardest to get here.


    "What''s happening?" Dilli asked, trying to help when she noticed the look on Osira''s face, her hair out of place and sticking to her forehead due to sweat.


    "She got bit by a snake!" Commander Alia replied swiftly and afterwards said in panic, trying to help. "This isn''t working, we got to take her to the healers."


    "It will work." Mogranius said calmly, ran towards Eric and was quick to smack him on the head once he stopped near Eric.


    Although not visible, and by everyone around seen as a rude gesture and uncalled for in such a situation. A tear has been forced out of Eric''s eyes after he recieved a smack on the head. That tear, flew towards Osira''s face and a green dim light appeared around her.


    Barely anyone noticed that glow, but Mogranius kept an eye out for it so he did manage to spot it. "The Venom has been slowed down by a quarter, now the healers have a bit more time."


    ...


    "Drink this." Commander Alia handed a wooden cup to Osira, containing this weird dark green water, well semi water at least. It feels thick enough to be considered a semi solid form.


    Without asking what this is, out of desperation Osira grabbed the wooden cup and clumsily drank it, some dripped alongside the cheek and rolling down until it dropped to the ground.


    Everyone glanced at Osira in concern, but they were more concerned of the preparations the three ladies in here were making. These are the healers, and they specifically reached in for hot coal in one of their smaller cave rooms in this same place. Why use coal for such a case?


    "Alright I need all the boys to get out of here, the girls can stay if you want to support her." Commander Alia explained, once she saw one of the healer ladies grunt with a nod.


    "Why do we need to get out? Eric has to be here in case the healers can''t help her." Mogranius spoke in concern for once, because after all she is a kid. He kinda got used to looking after her, ever since he gave his clothing to her up in the cave at the High Mountains.


    "She will be stripped n.a.k.e.d, neither of you is close enough to her to see that." Commander Alia explained her reason, and indeed it seems something no one could argue against, but Eric would in terms of health even though he would be very embarrassed.


    Osira heard this part, she still is conscious and she has no disagreement with it since Commander Alia feels sure enough that it will work.


    "Out out out." She kicked the two only males here out, and rolled in a flat stone near the meter wide entrance. It was specifically left small so it can be sealed, in aims of giving any injured person privacy.


    Commander Alia and Dilli helped Osira to get her clothes off, while Ada held them so they won''t get dirty. Afterwards a fire was lit with the aid of flint and steel over the coal they have spread, perfectly placed in order so one wouldn''t accidentally step on any of them.


    The three healer ladies walked towards Osira and without saying anything they gently grabbed her. Walking towards the set fire, they kept Osira exactly 8 feet above it with their own hands, being careful not to touch the private parts, holding the head, feet and belly. Holding her up is no issue either, these ladies are 8-10 feet tall and strong.


    "Why are they holding her over a fire?" Ada asked, as the fire itself unsurprisingly made Osira feel a bit more conscious.


    "The liquid she just drank is only active if the person is close to a source of heat, this will help force the large quantity of venom out of her body. She should throw it up in no time." Commander Alia explained calmly, so no one would be in panic, so no anxiety would strike the three lady healers.


    "And why is she n.a.k.e.d?" Dilli dared to ask the possibly most concerning and at the same time embarrassing part.


    "Well the liquid can''t get all of the venom out." This part concerned Osira once she heard it, her face turned towards a bad mood although no one noticed it. But luckily Commander Alia explained the rest. "The fire will help her sweat out the rest of the venom, this way we can assure that she will be absolutely safe."


    About half an hour later, the three ladies dropped Osira gently to the ground. She felt her body being tremendously warm, and didn''t like how this rock feels so bad on her buttocks as well, it is too rough for a person without clothes to sit on it.


    Before anyone spoke anything, she felt nauseous, her stomach ached a bit before she threw up all across the room. Afterwards, one of the healers raised her hand and gestured that Osira is fine.


    "She is alright, the Venom is out." Commander Alia specified and the first to make Osira feel even warmer was Ada.


    She ran towards her, gave her a nice hug and whispered. "I thought I lost you."


    "Don''t worry, I''m not going anywhere." Osira replied, feeling embarrassed that she got bitten and feeling embarrassed that 6 ladies just saw her n.a.k.e.d, she isn''t comfortable for anyone to see her this exposed gender regardless. So she asked, "Where are my clothes?" After seperating from the hug.


    One of the healer ladies approached the vomit, poked it with her pinky finger and put the substances in her mouth. Disgusting no doubt, but it is for research purposes.


    After some exchange of dialogue, in their own Calidum Lutum language. Commander Alia approached the group and explained, "You got lucky Osira, the snake that bit you was only mildly Venomous. It was a Hound Head Snake."


    "I didn''t see any hounds." Osira replied, with no aims of joking but still being dizzy from all of this.


    With a smile on her face, followed by a light giggle, Commander Alia explained. "No no that''s just a fancy name. The point is you can forget that this snake bite ever happened, the Venom has been tamed. What didn''t get out yet, will get out on your next bathroom break."

 Chapter 363 - Sudden Expanse

    The very next day, in hopes of Osira''s enthusiasm not ending up damaged, Ada made her way back in to the forest so she fan fetch the one ingredient that is essential to creating the enchantment.


    It is fair to say that due to the situation that happened yesterday, and because she doesn''t want to be stripped n.a.k.e.d like Osira, she kept a detailed eye out for any slithering enemies in the area.


    She does not want to get bitten, because if a snake bite got a 18 year old girl to become that weak, a girl who has spent her entire life training and has such a finely toned body, how bad would the same snake species affect Ada, who technically just started training a fighting art? It obviously would be a different story, especially since she is alone and her physical resistance to pain can be lower.


    After a short hunt, it is fair to say that she got enough red mushrooms, found about 10 of them actually. She thinks that it is enough, considering that Osira was happy just to see three of them.


    Now with these mushrooms in hand, she walked back to the town but little did she know that a warm scene is approaching her. It is Osira! She has instantly walked out of the town once she noticed that Ada isn''t either in the training room or in the farm.


    "I got you the mushrooms." Ada wiggled them in the leather bag, holding it a couple of feet away from her face.


    "You are absolutely amazing." Osira complimented, and recalling how well Ada fits the definition of a good friend, Osira showed more gratitude and it wasn''t because of the mushrooms but because of the thought behind it. "I couldn''t find the best time to thank you, for being the first one to wish me the first happy birthday a couple of weeks ago."


    "You told me that it is on 22 October, I couldn''t help but counting the days until it arrived. You are my best friend after all." Ada explained with a smile rising on her face, without realizing that the talk about the mushrooms was quick to fade.


    Remembering Ada''s birthday as well, which is perfect for this situation since it would be both hurtful and embarrassing if she forgot. Osira started teasing, "Your birthday is close too, 17 November if I remember it right. You are becoming more beautiful by the passing day, Eric is truly lucky."


    "I''m not even sure what he likes." She replied, with no actual aim to complain but simply trying to talk about the fact that Eric barely reveals anything about his feelings or himself. "As for me, I like his but!"


    "Of course!" Osira shouted in a laughter, and followed a long with a short lasting mild giggle. "There is a lot to like about you, you have nice hair, a beautiful nose... and those eyes..." Osira found herself lost counting these features, getting to the eyes is what got her most... let''s call it weak.


    "Well thank you." Ada replied, appreciated Osira''s kind wordplay and moved in for a hug.


    ...


    Meanwhile, down at the Volcano. As Xalk thought about the fact how the King has used his position as an authority to test his patience and force him to sleep, something else caught his eye and forced his thoughts away.


    He saw a bone like pyramid, it seemed like a bone at least. It wasn''t easy to determine due to the fact that it was boiling over Lava.


    Slapping the Volcanic rock underneath him with his own feet, he saw the bone fly out of the Lava because it was pushed by it. He managed to catch it with a bit of effort, and instantly analysed it.


    Well it is a bone alright, but could it belong to the Dragon Skeleton that arose from the Lava earlier? It isn''t easy to determine, since this bone is barely half a finger long and about two fingers wide. While the Skeleton itself is a few hundred Kilos heavy.


    Shortly after, he saw another identical bone on the Lava and was quick to turn it Airborne. He has both now, and still they don''t make any sense but since they survived Lava it most likely belonged to this Dragon or another one. Who knows how many are down there?


    Focusing his gaze towards Lava after, he noticed something change quickly. So quick that if he had blinked, he would easily miss it. Deep underneath the lava, as if a mass upgraded to the point of being suddenly visible from above.


    He too now can see the Blue Lava, as if it had expanded and conquered more territory. From his point of view, and due to the fact that it isn''t close to the edge, the blue lava only seems about 10 feet wide and long, it is much like a circle or blob.


    Afterwards, he saw dots separating from it who got bigger and bigger by the passing second. In a split second, it arose from the Lava. The image is unmistakable and something that has been tampering with his paranoia all this time, a Blue Bubble.


    His facial expressions remained... well expressionless. This event has gotten more energy out of it when it was smaller and invisible to anyone but Eric who could stick his head in Lava. Now, well there is no more energy left to give.


    His paranoia has faded, and he has confirmed to himself that he can not be held responsible considering that he warned the Grand Masters all along. Of course it took a couple of nights filled with enough sleep for him to realise this point.


    He walked towards the Grand Masters and with the only language he understands, he pointed towards the Lava and with dissatisfaction he tightened his mouth as if it was dry. "That thing is getting bigger, what do you propose we do about it?"


    Opening their eyes, thinking that is is just Xalk''s paranoia kicking in, they felt dumbfounded when they saw the blob actually visible. Questioning their selves, "How?"


    Eric noticed them debating something, but it was made to him clear as well when Xalk pointed towards the Lava. He too could see the Blue Lava visible from his point of view, although he became just mildly shocked compared to the Grand Masters. He saw the Blue Lava before anyone else, even though by accident.


    Debating it between each other, they had no plan of including Eric in it. But of course, without being asked he budged in recommending. "What if I go see it up close?"


    "No, that is a dangerous idea." Kazer found the time to answer in the middle of the debate and got right back at it shortly after.


    "But it is closer now, maybe I can reach it!" Eric insisted, finding it weird how they don''t take his decision under consideration. He is the King after all, why turn his ideas down this easily?


    Concerned, still not knowing what to do or expect especially since the Blue Bubbles or Lava do not show any direct threat. They afterwards heard whispering and mumbling spreading around the Cave like wild fire.


    The Masters a 100 miles above their heads saw the Blue lava, hearing the whispers, the Experts stuck their heads out to take a peek and started whispering as well and so on spread the word upwards. It is fair to say that many are either concerned or amazed by this phenomenon.


    The decision still originated around the same one, they want to leave this situation grow in a way. Because in no way is this situation bad enough for extreme measures to be taken on it. It just is weird, unexplainable and unheard off.


    ...


    In the very next day, Commander Alia walked in the little dinning area they have prepared near the storage room at the end of the farm. And it doesn''t look like she is in a good mood, her face carries both annoyance and anger.


    "We have a situation." She expressed, after sitting on the stone of which resembles a seat. Well if she sat to eat then the situation can''t be that bad right?


    "What''s the matter?" Mogranius asked as he completely devoured a Carrot with two bites.


    "You know how the Blue Lava is visible all the way up to the middle of the Volcano now?" She set the base of this problem with that little sentence, her tone as if a angry whisper but indeed loud. "The people think that the Volcano asks for a human sacrifice!"


    "What? That''s ridiculous!" Eric was forced to speak at such a case, instantly getting a hunch that the rumours might directly or indirectly be targeting his close group of friends. It is never certain with these people, most still haven''t let go of the 13 dead lives lost in the battle of Pameres Kingdom.


    "Indeed it is, but there isn''t much they can do against your word." Commander Alia specified, with a smirk stretching across her face thanks to this idea. "I recommend you to do a public speech!"

 Chapter 364 - Test 1,2 and 3

    Rather serious with this lifespan prolongation activity and goal, carrying a main reason behind it followed along by sub reasons that wouldn''t really affect the main plan. But, how did he even start? It is not like Demons are breaking from the beaches of Gaster Kingdom.


    Well, to make this test at least possible, he asked for help from a rather special and in many terms crazy as much as he is powerful. King Michael asked for help, from Mogranius'' father.


    Considering that Mogranius'' father isn''t physically here? How did King Michael make this possible? Well for approximately 4 hours he has spend his time talking to fish! Small ones at least, grabbing them and pulling them out of the water and shouting. "Can you hear me Mogranius'' Father? I don''t know your name but I need Demon meat!"


    How would King Michael talking to fish neccesarily connect to Mogranius'' father you might ask? And why would King Michael do such a thing in a middle of a working day, making everyone think that he is crazy?


    Well the reason is rather simple, but at the same time it is complicated. Mogranius'' father is of the evolved, he has special powers that far out stretch from the main 8 and could be a mix of 3 Inner Demons.


    Mogranius'' father, can see through animal eyes. It is still uncertain if the animals know it when or when not he is using their eyes, but it proves one fact. He could be watching anyone at any time, he was blessed with such a capability due to consumption of Demon meat and exposure to the very Source of Fire he is guarding.


    So in a way, King Michael yelling at fish for 4 hours makes sense. It is always the ones with the oddest ideas who they call crazy, but it didn''t stop him because regardless, he is the King around these parts.


    And furthermore it worked, Becky showed up on the shores of Gaster Kingdom with a freshly killed Demon in her mouth, and another around her nose too. To give you a little refresher, Becky is a Swordfish. She and Mogranius'' father are friends.


    Being this large, and being so close to the King. The surrounding Spearfishermen were quick to approach her, raising their spears up to toss them against her.


    Noticing their intentions, King Michael shouted. "Lower your spears, this is a friend." They have many reasons to toss a spear against a sword fish almost double in size compared to the average ones, if they only knew that mutation explains her size.


    Turning back to Becky, he spoke. "Thank you, send your master my regards." Rubbing Becky''s back slightly after, he pulled the Demon from her nose and asked one of the Spearmen to come and carry it.


    As for the second Demon... I''d like to call it corpse? But their behaviours are too animalistic, they can''t be considered as intelligent beings. However getting back to the point, he put the second Demon carcass over his shoulder and walked out of the waters, feeling it by the sudden motion of waves that Becky has made her way out of here.


    ...


    The goal and expectation from the Demon meat is to prolong Alama''s lifespan, possibly stretch it as long as a Kastarian''s average life span (700). Most specifically, King Michael wants Alama to live as long as he does.


    But of course directly making her digest Demon meat can have consequences that they do not please to get, I mean the odds of receiving a prolonged life span from its consumption isn''t even known, she could get it or she could get horns as well and badly damage her brain too.


    The goal here is to filter the bad and unwanted effects of eating Demon meat and focus on one only, prolonging life span. But of course to achieve this goal, tens to hundreds to thousands of tests have to be done.


    What''s the rush really? Alama turned 28 on last july, it is fair to say that she has at least 40 years to live. Maybe King Michael can filter out the bad effects of consuming Demon meat by that time, no rush.


    But if not testing it on Humans, where exactly could he test it on? Well, something that he can afford to test this on, Rats!


    Although some might not favour to test such an experiment on animals, seeing it as rude and uncalled for especially since the goal is in half terms personal, King Michael actually has no intends of hurting these rats. It is better than using it on Humans after all, he doesn''t need a deranged mutated Human running wild in his Domain.


    Although he doesn''t have exact specifics, the Demon meat will most likely not kill the Rats, it will just mutate their original form and shape it randomly, or perhaps it is not randomly?


    How did he get the Rats you might ask? Simple, although the Guards risked a possible infection from bites. He made Guards put in several cages throughout the Kingdom, and afterwards placed foods that give an odour strong enough to attract rodents, he put in half rotten meat on those cages.


    It is fair to say that it became a success, he has 3 rats captured and the cages have been reset. Who knows how many Rats can be here?


    "Are you sure this isn''t dangerous?" Alama asked, being in the same... Let''s say Laboratory with him. He has a few spare rooms here, no one really uses them.


    "I have absolutely no idea." He answered boldly, although his enthusiasm made it sound like a joke. "That''s what tests are for, plus they are just rats in a Cage. They have limited capabilities regardless of the mutation."


    "You have a point." She complimented, and watched King Michael proceed with a test.


    To see which body part meat or organ grants what, he grabbed the toe of the terribly smelling Demon and sliced it off with an Iron Dagger. The Demon is bashed in the other edge of this room, releasing a terrible odour but thankfully the opened window helped deal with some of the damage.


    Wearing a pair of leather gloves so he doesn''t get more bloody and smelly than he already is thanks to the Demon he carried, he sliced through the toe with ease, slicing it several times so the first Rat can consume it easier.


    "Let''s see if this one will eat it." He spoke, curious and enthusiastic about this procedure as if he didn''t just slice Demon meat.


    Dropping the meat in the cage, turning his gaze towards Alama after and asking. "Are you ready to write?"


    Of course every bit of this experience needs to be written down, so they know what they are doing in the future and narrow experiments down. Alama has written it in this order, "Demon Toe, Rat as the Consumer ="


    "Ready." She answered, and already noticing how the little Rat in the cage is changing.


    "Are Rats supposed to have legs this big?" He asked after giving another glance at the Rat, noticing that it''s read legs got so big that its face planted in the cage base.


    "I don''t think so!" She answered after taking a few steps closer to the cage. "Look, it''s standing." She pointed, and afterwards the Rat''s legs grew just a hunch more.


    Interesting enough, now its rear legs are as big as its whole body and they are seemingly packed with muscles. Out of a sudden, it jumped with its rear legs forward and hit the roof of the cage.


    The Cage lifted up just by an inch thanks to the impact. Marixha, King Michael''s mutated Bunny was spooked a little bit by this behaviour because it woke her up. She followed them here earlier and fell asleep because these two Humans talk too much. Marixha already started hating the Rats, she dashed out of the room.


    "Amazing." King Michael admired and placed a wooden plank over it. It might be just enough to hold down the Cage from falling from the table it is set at. "Write this down, this mix increases Leg size and muscle!"


    Afterwards he went towards the Demons again, sliced a bit of meat from their stomachs and brought it back to the table, sliced it several times before he threw it on the other Rat''s cave. "Write this down." He requested, looking at the Rat and explaining. "Demon waist, Rat as the Consumer="


    "Got you." She answered, and as she wrote it down the Rat has already consumed portions of the meat and is going through changes...


    However these Changes took a bit longer to notice, and he probably wouldn''t have if he didn''t notice the Rat walking weirdly. Squatting to take a look from below, he noticed that the Rat''s buck teeth have at least tripled in length and are scratching the base of the Cage.


    "Interesting, I expected an increase or decrease in the abdominal area really." He showed a bit of dissatisfaction, because these experiments are making one thing certain, these mutations can be random. "Write it down, this mix results to buck teeth size growth by at least three times."


    Going towards the Demon once more, utilizing the last Rat as an aim. He sliced a chunk of meat from the Demon''s head and came back to the third Cage. Requesting from Alama, "Write this down. Demon Head, Rat as the Consumer."


    Of course they both got used of this procedure already and Alama actually started writing things down before King Michael even asked, shows rather admirable productivity really.


    The Rat consumed the Demon meat, and afterwards started running fast around the Cage''s walls, ceiling and base as well. It ran so fast that the Cage started shaking mildly, he had to put a plank over it and it stopped most of the rumble.


    Enthusiastic about this one, getting a thought of super fast running soldiers in mind or at least instant message delivery, he requested. "Write this down, this mix increases running speed. This could be an evolution that can grant instant super speed, it needs testing."

 Chapter 365 - Test 4,5,6,7,8 and 9

    In the very next day, King Michael called Alama along so they can get in to doing more experiments on the Rats. The Guards came along in the morning, and although confused of the King''s decisions they did bring more Rats, 4 of them to be more exact.


    With three of the rats, he intends to do the same experiment he did with yesterday''s three Rats. You might be asking yourself why he would repeat the process, he knows what will happen.


    Well he actually doesn''t know it, at least not 100%. What if the mutations were Random and what if the mutation can vary on every individual rat based on individual mental or physical background? He can never be sure about it, so new tests have to be made.


    You might be thinking, after knowing what specific portions of meat will do to the Rat, would he want to keep them and where would he keep them if experiments go on for a month? Eventually the Rat count would be over 100, squeaking and possibly fighting since making a 100 cages would just be a bad idea.


    He does have a plan, to put the rats in to use. But doing so would require a bigger count, for now we can just say that he has plans for these Rats.


    However getting back to the experiment, before he is about to test the three rats, he wanted to test the fourth in a rather different way. How, well listen out to what he said to his assistant here. Calmly calling her name before requesting, "Alama, write this down. Demon Toe, waist, head. Rat as the Consumer."


    Afterwards he dropped the three mixed up piece of meat and continued to glance upon the Cage. Thinking, "We sure will need more Cages."


    The changes on the Rat that followed after are more than noticeable. The Rat grew in size, not in just a individual spot, but everywhere and I do mean everywhere!


    The Rat pounced against the Cage and knocked it all the way near to King Michael''s belly, not being dumb enough to rush and grab the Cage which could lead to a very possible bite.


    He walked away from the Cage calmly, and heard that with another pounce the Rat knocked its own Cage from the Table. He grabbed three planks and placed them right over the Cage, not paying more attention how the Cage is placed as long as it is flat.


    Although not particularly scared of Rats, when King Michael took a glance at her, he noticed that Alama''s eyes have been opened wide in shock. He guessed that if panic broke here, Alama would be quick to join in the panic.


    "Write this down, the Result of this mix causes Quadrupled size, perfectly balanced." He specified, making sure that everything is written on Parchment.


    "We will need at least 10 more specimens like this. Write it to the corner of this experiment log in smaller letters, so we remember." For what he needs them though, he did not specify. That would take too much time, and he likes how Alama doesn''t ask questions for such a case.


    "You sure are having fun there." She teased slightly, after doing the final punctuation in this experiment.


    "We might be the only ones who are keeping experimental logs on such a test, this could be written in the History books!" Although he does not care so much about titles, he sure would want to be in a book. So that feels nice to think about.


    "You do have a point there, but how do you think that you will notice a longer lifespan, should there be a special glow or something? Because all I''m seeing is these Rats suddenly grow in size." This has been the only question that has been puzzling her, and she did not want to ask until now so he can keep his concentration. But this itch had to be scratched and soothed.


    "I''d say that the most obvious sign would be the Rat actually not changing in to anything. It is those specific Rats that we need to take to another room and keep." It is fair to say that he has all of this thought out, he will use everything he can to find what he or they are looking for.


    "So we have to wait a decade or two in order to assure that we have found the secret to a longer life span?" Before King Michael was about to answer that question, she asked another. "How long do Rats even live?"


    "Well in the wild they averagely live 6 months, there are many predators out there so there even are many newborns eaten. Here in a Cage, I''d expect these Rats to live for a year." This at least is good news, and he specified it why by adding. "So we likely won''t have to wait a decade, just three years to be sure."


    "That sounds faster than I expected actually." She complimented with a wide joyfull smile across her face, getting more and more hope that this will work. But of course she feels a bit guilty as well, "Sorry I interrupted you, can you continue with your research.?"


    "Thank you." He answered with joy as if a child who just got his toys back. And in order to make up some more time he spent talking, he quickly threw Demon Toe meat on the first cage, Demon Waist meat on the second and Demon Head meat on the third.


    "Now let''s see what happens." He whispered, and tried to look at all three of the Cages at the same time. Not the most effective I''d like to specify.


    Like yesterday, the first Rat got bigger legs and as if discussed this with Yesterday''s Rat it jumped against the Cage and dented it a little bit.


    He didn''t rush to put a plank over it, knowing that it won''t make it so far. The Cage isn''t that easy to completely break, and even if the Rat can and chooses to be Hostile, King Michael is a Grand Master in Lava controlling and can easily handle such a situation.


    Looking at the second Rat, well actually squatting down to look at it, he noticed that this Rat has bigger buck teeth now, meaning that the same process has been accomplished here, they are on a roll.


    Knowing that this one won''t neccesarily manage to move or dent the Cage, he moved on swiftly to glance at the third and saw that the Rat started running swiftly around the Cage once it noticed King Michael approaching.


    Getting a couple of planks to stop the denting and rumbling on Cage 1 and 3, afterwards with a smile he glanced at Alama and requested. "No need to write anything down, just give it a little plus (+) it will tell us that the Rats follow the same procedure."


    ...


    "Where should we place the Rats Sire?" A Guard walked in, speaking for 2 other Guards behind him as well. He has made his way all the way to this experimental room.


    The scene of which the Guard walked in would be considered cute in some aspects, King Michael has walked close to Alama and is asking for her opinion in these experiments. They are practically debating it, aiming to at least narrow everything down by a hunch.


    However the Guard wouldn''t be able to spot anything cute, considering that a rotting Demon Carcass is on the other end of this room, near the window so the bad nose burning smell can get out.


    "Just place them on the table." He answered, knowing that every Cage has been already well sorted.


    The Rats are on the right walls of the room, set carefully close to another with a parchment placed on each one and of course planks upon requirement.


    Before the Guards could go, King Michael requested. "Can you bring me more planks?"


    "Yes your highness." One of the Guards answered, obviously willing to carry out the Demand. Well actually he just wanted to get out of this horribly smelling room as soon as possible.


    Thinking about requests, something else crossed his mind. "Oh also tell the Blacksmiths to make as many Cages as possible under a short period of 3 days, but they should not stop the main operations for it."


    "You sure are friendly with the Guards." Alama complimented, and continued to explain why she gave out this little compliment. "I remember King Xakro torching 24 Guards once because they failed to properly arrest a thief."


    "Mistreating Guards or anyone for that matter will lower down morale, which neccesarily could tamper with their loyalty. The last thing I need right now is any problem like that, we need every Guard we can get." Well this specifies that his niceness has a bit of a bad twist, but at least it is for the good of the Kingdom.


    Trying to get back to the experiments, he added. "Anyway, we need to upgrade with the experiments a bit. We will feed the most recently mutated Rats, meaning the three."


    "Which body part will you feed them? Could they be mutated twice?" Of course even though she did not want to ask questions, it was just too hard not to at such point.


    "Demon Head, and I don''t know so we have to find out." Afterwards he approached the Rat on the right side of the room, the one that has been mutated to having Bigger legs.


    Dropping it in the cage, and glancing at it right after without breaking his view from it he noticed instant change! Its front paws started changing, he could even see the Rat''s pink paws getting bigger.


    "Alama write this down. Demon Head, Rat who has been previously mutated with Demon Toe as the Consumer=." The writing this time indeed a bit long, Alama took a few seconds to catch on and knowing that fact he waited before he spoke of the result.


    "Also write. Result, front legs increase by triple the amount." As he specified that fact, he thought. "We need to write the new result on the Parchment above the Cage. But we can leave that for later."


    Knowing that Alama has likely already caught on or at least is close too, he moved on to the second Rat and dropped the same Demon body part on it, a chunk of head meat. Of course he could feed it waist meat to see what happens if consumed twice but it is better to have 9 results than 3, he will try everything else later.


    As the Rat was in the process of being re mutated, he spoke out. "Can you write this down?"


    "Yes." She murmured as she swiftly wrote on the Parchment.


    "Demon Head, Rat who has been previously mutated with Demon Waist, as the Consumer." After saying this part, he could practically hear Alama''s arm winding up and down, left and right trying to catch on.


    He decided to give her a bit more time now, but of course to notice changes on this one he had to sit on the ground. This is the Rat with bigger buck teeth, triple the size actually. He noticed a change, that in some aspects it would be considered Random since it has no link with the previous mutation.


    Waiting 10 counts until he spoke again, he asked. "Are you ready?"


    "Ehmmm..." She spoke in a low tone.


    "Result, the Rat has gotten a bigger Abdomen." Trying to say something but not wanting to confuse Alama, he just thought it through. "How backwards, according to common Logic it should have gotten a Bigger Abdomen when it ate Waist meat."


    However he felt a little bit heart warmed, when he noticed that the Rat can walk a bit more properly now. The Abdomen grew twice the size and its cute buck teeth won''t scratch against the Cave flat base anymore.


    Finally moving on to the last Rat of this portion of the experiment, he threw the Demon head meat through the Cave and to enable the Rat to eat he walked away. This Rat just keeps running in an unholy speed whenever it panics, it needs some space.


    "The second one is the most interesting one yet." Alama expressed after putting the quill down with her hand aching a little bit.


    "It might become the second most interesting." He replied, and feeling that Alama already knows the procedure he added. "I think you know what to write."


    Afterwards he was quick to walk towards the third rat with actual aims of spoking it. The result? Well this is absolutely amazing, "Write this down. Result, super speed cut by half!"


    And he was being as literal as possible at this point, the Rat is still running in panic. He could only see the red tail and a black shadow, but before he wasn''t even able to see the tail thanks to the bursting speed!


    This 9 Rat research proves one main thing, this mutation won''t follow logic or common thinking. What they expect the mutation to turn in to, can almost always never be the case! On new research at least. This will make research confusing as it is exciting.

 Chapter 366 - 2 Years

    Due to the recent mass upgrade in the Budget, King Zar himself found it the best idea to invest in the Kingdom''s protection. There are Catapults, Ballistas and Patrol Guards. Archers can be a great form of defense, King Zar saw their affect in battle so he chose to take action upon it.


    He put out a recruitment order, and an officially signed doc.u.ment as well which is spread around in the town centre, due to the recent raises in Salary, many people found him trustable enough to apply.


    Because after all, this is a great opportunity for some men and women to bring another salary in the family, a great portion are already bringing in two and a smaller portion will be bringing in 3 salaries in one house now!


    Another reason why many felt it easier to apply for this job, is due to the fact that Archery commonly doesn''t really lead to death. Most of the times, the Archers defend the Domain from the comfort of the walls. So knowing that death in battle is almost avoidable, a lot applied.


    How many Archers did King Zar require you might ask? Well, exactly 100! It won''t make a massive impact on the profit, meaning it won''t take half of it alone. The Salary for each of these new inexperienced Archers is 110 Gold Coins, it isn''t exactly a small salary especially after considering that most families have already a salary flowing in before this job.


    All together, these new 100 recruits take 11,000 Gold Coins from the Budget. Of course when a salary raise is in order, the expenses can become bigger but for now they will enjoy the month by month Budget increasing thanks to the 70,000 Gold Coin remaining as a monthly profit.


    Well, that at least is the profit now right after he hired these 100 new Archers. But something that might come in as a deal breaker for a lot of residents, is the taxes raising by double.


    Seer made a deep research from house to house, most specifically there are 1,080 people hired but there are 400 Houses. See where this is going? Each and every house has at least 2 Salaries going in the house, mostly over 200 Gold Coins and some breaking over 500.


    So since obviously no one will starve here due to a tax increase, it is safe to raise it. Before, since the monthly tax for each house was 40 Gold Coins, the Castle earned a nice 16,000 Gold Coins a month. But do you know what is better than 16,000? Well the handsome fact that 32,000 Gold Coins will come from taxes starting from December.


    So putting that fact in to consideration, the monthly profit raised to 70,000! In other aspects, Seer hiring 400 people a few months ago has led up to this tremendous profit.


    I realise that the numbers should be higher, but we forgot to include the 10% tax of which Gaster Kingdom takes when allowing Pameres Kingdom to use the port for external merchandise export. My bad, well the good news is that Gaster Kingdom earns 50,000 Gold Coins a month as a profit.


    Bottom line, this tax increase is for the good of the people. Because after a few more months of piling up Budget, or at least until a new source of income is established, the employees will inevitably face a Salary Raise.


    This is the fifth living Platoon established in Pameres Kingdom, there are a handful of Survivors from the tens of survivors from the battle of Pameres Kingdom, so establishing a Commander for this new Platoon won''t neccesarily be a hard task.


    ...


    Now getting to a case I wanted to specify to the every last detail for a long time now, but couldn''t because Pameres Kingdom didn''t have enough Stonemasons, I of course am talking about the Construction of the Second wall around this fine Domain.


    Now to specify, the first wall is almost completely circular and stretches 140 meters across, holding 300 Houses in between it. The 100 new Houses are built outside of the first walls but very close to it.


    Now the second wall will be Circular as well, but this one will be a lot wider, triple the size come to think of it. Well not in all aspects, just in terms of how wide it will stretch. The Gr.a.p.e farm will be protected by this second wall as well, best part is that there still will be a lot of place left for the King to build whatever he pleases.


    Now when measured from one side to the other across, the second wall will be around 400 meters long and wide! That is a lot indeed, and it would perhaps take a decade to complete with the previous amount of Stonemasons, especially since they barely even started the Construction of the wall due to the fact that most of them were and still are working on the Housing.


    This second wall, when measured all around instead of across, it will be 1,100 meters long! That''s rather large. But exactly how long will this Construction take? 2 years!


    Even after considering that there are 190 Stonemasons hired in this Kingdom, 150 of which are working on the Second Wall and the other 40 on the Housing. The Wall is just too large and thick!


    It has a base which is 5 meters thick, while at the top it is 2 meters thick. This wall is appropriate to hold hundreds to thousands of men at once, and can easily withstand Ballista shots, while Catapult shots can breach the wall but it isn''t anything unfixable.


    The wall will be 6 meters tall, this is enough to hold off any Close Combat enemy and it gives a vantage point to shoot down those enemies.


    There will also be a few towers, of which only Archers of higher Level will be able to use in order to gain increased protection from the tower itself and shoot as many enemies as possible mostly from a medium to long distance. But of course the Towers just increased the time it requires for this wall to be built.


    These are all the Reasons why the wall will take so long to build, but we also need to take in mind that there are many inexperienced Stonemasons here as well which could either increase or decrease the estimated time of its construction.


    It can increase the time if the Stonemasons keep doing mistakes, or have to redo specific parts which will only take more time. And it can decrease the estimated time if the Stonemasons avoid mistakes and actually become a bit faster in a span of a year.


    Whatever the case might be, the Kingdom will be considered lucky and at the same time a lot safer if they manage to finish building this wall on December 203. Let us see how the situation will be until then, perhaps the productivity will rise with the help of Tedradia.


    ...


    "Happy Birthday Crisa!" Everyone shouted once she walked in the throne room. The older maids have kept her busy by sending her to the Second floor in aims of cleaning. Only if she knew that they were preparing a party for her.


    When she heard this surprise, she dropped her broom and tripped over it, losing her balance and clumsily running across the room. King Zar is the closest to her physically, so he proved quite useful to catch her from falling. However this time he did not grab her belly, but her shoulders instead.


    "What is all of this?" She asked, confused equally to being happy.


    "I asked Seer to keep me in track with the Birthdays in this Castle, according to Doc.u.ment your Birthday is today, on November 10." His intend is pure, but he slightly made Crisa confused with all these numbers, she stared at the King speechless.


    "You are losing her Sire." Seer whispered from the background, obviously meaning it as a joke.


    "Nevermind that, happy Birthday Crisa." The King congratulated personally this time and dragged her in to a nice warm hug in front of everyone.


    "Thank you." She spoke after seperating from the hug, just slightly blushing but because of all this care and attention from everyone. "Thank you all."


    "We have prepared the best food for you, I hope you will enjoy them." King Zar specified, admiring the glow on Crisa''s eyes but not having the guts to make eye Contact non stop.


    "We?" She asked in curiosity, with her mouth still open.


    "King Zar wore a cooking dress!" Miguel spoke from the background, unwilling to tease but just wanting to answer. King Zar invited Crisa''s family here as well which is very fulfilling.


    "So you helped to cook?" She asked, giggling her way through and at the end laughing at Miguel''s description.


    "Well more like he was my little assistant." Derada answered, she is the oldest maid here and no doubt bold enough to say whatever she wants. It feels even funnier to call him little, considering that she is short and he is tall.


    "Alright now let''s spare her from the details." He requested, feeling a bit embarrassed and adding with a mildly loud tone. "Drumers, Tingalins!"


    Afterwards music broke out in a harmonious manner, not too loud and not to quiet either. Playing a tune that would make anyone move their feet.


    We are all aware what Drums are, as for Tingalins they are like a Guitar. 3 feet long, two strings and a midly rough sound. When effort is put in to it however, it provides a ear blessing melody. It has been used in Ignis for generations now, about 300 years old.


    "This time, may I have this dance Crisa?" He asked, kneeling down awaiting her hand.


    Crisa took a glance at her family, noticed how her Father is smiling at her with his entire face, Tedradia pulling her husband in to a dance by force and Miguel has started dancing with the 58 year old Derada.


    "I''d love too." She answered, with a tear of joy dropping from her eye and rolling down her cheek before it fell to the ground.


    Meanwhile, Seer was trying to convince Maleesa not to dance. Stating, "Honey you are pregnant, you shouldn''t get tired."


    Insisting enough, after looking at her own grown belly. She said, "Oh just one short dance. They are playing my favourite song, Dance of the Deer."

 Chapter 367 - Bear Fur Carpet

    Fancy, what do you use this definition for? Well we could be talking about clothes at the moment or how the richer feel like they are better than anyone else. But no no, the topic today is none other than Love.


    Although he had no where to take her on a date due to the fact that snow and cold is all around, and most would prefer to sit in front of a fire. The place for his attempt was rather... unusual but it still worked.


    My point is, he finally gathered the guts required to propose to a woman, for marriage! Most specifically, he proposed to Dea in front of Misses. Wood. It went a little something like this.


    "Ummm Dea." He spoke her name, trying to grab her attention away from the Romance novel she was reading and started sweating already. "Can I talk to you about something?"


    "Of course." She answered kindly, calm enough to keep her gaze allured to the book she is reading.


    Barely noticing his motions, she didn''t realise that Stefan has already bend down on his knee and has pulled something out of his small leather pocket.


    "What are you..." She tried to ask, puzzled towards this situation and taking a few seconds to catch up.


    But Stefan cut in her words, proposing. "Dea, when I''ve saw you for the first time... errr my heart skipped a beat I''m not going to lie." As he started off this sentence, Dea caught on what he is trying to do and covered her mouth with a gasp, already starting to tear up.


    Misses. Wood noticed what''s going on as well, Dea noticed that her eyes are opened up wide in shock trying to figure out what this man is doing. This isn''t the usual way of marriage!


    He continued, "I admire your kindness, and would die for how you react when the Novel characters do something cute." Now, Dea just glanced at Misses. Wood once and started shaking her head. Happy, thinking before that Stefan might never get the guts to do this.


    He finished off the proposal with the sweetest words, "I love you from the bottom of my heart and you know damn well that I mean it, I want to spend the rest of my life with you arguing over the blanket. Will you marry me Dea?"


    Nodding her head up and down, raising her arms to get a hug, while full in tears of joy she answered. "Of course I''ll marry you Stefan!"


    Afterwards they hugged each other, Stefan trying to fight off the sweat and nervousness while Dea being filled with tears of joy. They remained hugging their hearts out for a while, and when they separated, Stefan walked towards Misess. Wood, starting it off with a light tease. "Your majesty."


    "Took you long enough." She answered in that cute elderly tone as if she wanted to smack the man.


    "A man needs time." He answered pridefully, but of course meant as a joke. "But that''s not the point, you practically raised Dea. It only feels right if I ask for your permission to marry your daughter here?"


    "This girl has been waiting for you you to propose shortly after you meet!" She complained, and grabbed the walking stick she has close to herself and tried to hit Stefan.


    Although not used to it, Dea stomped her foot on the ground and in embarrassment added. "Mother!" Reffering to the fact that she told him about how much Dea waited.


    Smirking, wanting to tease Dea as well, he once more got interrupted by Misses. Wood before he even had the chance to speak. "You can marry her, as long as you promise to visit me every day. I want grand children as soon as possible, you got that giggling boy?" Afterwards she used the walking stick to poke his head lightly.


    "Actually, I wanted to ask you if you both would like to come and live in my house?" Seeing that he got both of them in shock here although not exactly unhappy. He continued to explain. "We both are used to your cute mother here Dea, we wouldn''t want her to live alone. She needs special care."


    "If you have a fireplace where I can warm my toes at, I would gladly come live with you." Misess. Wood answered, making this happy day even better. "I heard that in some houses here there are 3 families living in it, let our houses become a gift to the previously homeless."


    "You are a kind cute soul Misses. Wood, don''t worry my house is big enough for all of us." And it actually is, the King gave him such a bigger house in the beginning because Stefan was travelling with the Electus. His house contains 2 bedrooms and a living room. Rather a lot here where half have just a living room.


    "It is settled then, we will have a big loving family." He spoke, glad and happy for his 100% success.


    ...


    "A toast, for Stefan and Dea." King Michael spoke, mildly shouting and holding a Silver Goblet of Ale. He has offered Stefan to hold the wedding in the Royal throne room, a small treat for the Electus'' companion.


    "A toast!" Everyone else around these perfectly set up tables spoke up.


    "Stefan, you are a great man and you are going to become a great father in no time. We can call you lucky, you managed to convince someone like Dea to marry you." Of course the King joked around here for a little bit, and the crowd indeed started giggling, happy even that they can share a joke with royalty.


    "I hope you both have a long happy life together, I promise all of you protection." As the King he of course had to include the Kingdom here a little bit, the little crowd loved it. "But please, stay away from my Romance Novels."


    Afterwards, the crowd burst in to laughter. When Stefan almost chocked on a chunk of meat, everyone laughed even harder while some just remained giggling. Typically, before he would be less talkative about Romance Novels but nearly half of the people in this table know so what''s the issue?


    "Cheers." Everyone spoke up almost at the same time, with some dripping the Black Gr.a.p.e Ale over their selves trying to catch up.


    This wedding isn''t a big extravaganza with golden plates and bird milk on the table. Just a simple Dinner with all the castle officials included, even maids come to think of it. Dea likes them and the work they put up with, having to care for all this Castle.


    Furthermore apart from the just married couple, there also are a few friends of Misses. Wood and Dea too. They are people who fit the Criteria as people, meaning they are from head to toe worthy of being here. All together, they just are fifteen people with the five other Drummers and Tingalinmen not included.


    After Dinner, music started bustling in the Throne room, upon demand of course. Stefan instantly asked, "May I have this dance Dea?" As he bent his knee.


    "Of course, you deserve at least one." She joked around and reached for his hand.


    In a playful manner, although a bit drunk. Alama reached out for the King''s hand and asked. "May I have this dance your highness?"


    "Um I have a confession to make." He whispered in her ear so the others can''t hear him.


    "Yes?" She asked, confused but thinking that he will propose too.


    With a smaller whisper, as if in shame he added. "I can''t dance."


    ...


    They walked Misses Wood home, she will start living in his house tomorrow since tonight the newly married couple require some time alone.


    They walked in their own house, tumbling against their own feet, in many aspects shy because they know what is supposed to happen next. Dea''s wide blue dress kept hitting on Stefan''s legs, which caused a bit of trouble walking for both of them.


    Eventually he slipped and fell on the mud, covered with just a bit of snow. When he stood up, his white breeches got mangled with mud and Dea couldn''t hold in her laughter.


    "Ummm. Soo...." He let that one word stretch for an unreasonable amount of time and the silence after even longer, it is fair to say that he is shy.


    But Dea has become twice as shy compared to him, her face red and having no idea how to handle this situation.


    Stefan seeing that she might not be ready for this just yet, decided to offer another option. "If this is just too quick for you then we can wait and just cuddle, I mean I did propose yesterday."


    Out of a sudden, with an ultimate aim to fight shyness away she stood up from the chair she just sat at and ran towards Stefan, taking a large leap and falling on his arms, forcing him to tumble all together with her. Luckily there was a soft bear fur carpet where they fell.


    ...


    In the next day, happy and tip toeing his way to the castle with a few romance Novels on his arms of which he wanted to return. He snuck his way towards the King''s expansive library and left the books there, looking to find and take a few of which he hasn''t read.


    "What did I tell you last night about the Romance Novels?" King Michael spoke, he was in the room already trying to read some of the research material about Rats. But Stefan did not notice him.


    "Pretty sure I forgot, it was a... different night." Stefan replied, messing around since there only are two men in the room.


    "Oh so now you are a big tough boy, because you got some..." He tried to tease, but noticed Alama walking in. She basically heard everything but pretended like she didn''t.


    "Speaking of marriage, when will you propose?" Stefan started teasing, didn''t mention any names but it was rather clear.


    "Ummm."


    "He is umm..."


    "Well actually."


    "It hasn''t no..."


    Both the King and Alama spoke out, not having a way of answering that question but at least they both are embarrassed and confused.


    "Hehehe, I got what I came for." Stefan giggled and started walking out of the library. "I''ll leave you two alone now!"

 Chapter 368 - We own Xalk an apology!

    Although Eric doesn''t nearly prefer to do any public speeches, the situation demands to do so. He is the King around these parts yet he didn''t make enough Contributions as a King should. In most cases he is just supposed to give orders yet he barely did that until now.


    At the state of panic, from possible dangers from the unknown, the King is supposed to stand up and calm his people down, with words of wisdom and promised protection.


    Since understanding each other due to the different languages is tad hard, Commander Alia stands close by him and is about to translate everything he says.


    "My people, my friends and my hard workers." He started it off like Commander Alia taught him too, already sweating it all out, his forehead damp.


    And of course, Commander Alia translated each and every word of his once he stopped for her to do the work. We can write the translations, but it will make everything too confusing. So let''s consider that she is translating in the background.


    Seeing that Commander Alia has stopped translating, it was an unspoken sign for him to continue. "In this unusual situation, I ask for something which might be a bit too much to ask for. I want you to be calm, I want you to trust your safety on my and the Grand Master''s hands."


    Of course managing to remember most of Eric''s words of which he just said, Commander Alia started translating, forming the wordplay towards the best translation even if she had to skip or add more words.


    "Me and the Grand Masters are trying our best to determine if this Blue Lava is a threat, and so far it hasn''t really posed danger or taken a Victim." At this part he mumbled it through just a tad bit, even forgetting what he wanted to say for a few seconds but who would notice it apart from the few who can understand him?


    But as Commander Alia finished the translation, several people pointed towards the Lava and in panick explained something. Eric could not understand him, but Commander Alia''s face lost colour and she ran towards the Edge of the Volcano.


    They''ve all rushed towards the edge of the Volcano, trying to see what the situation is as a panic was in motion of being created, but now it can be considered way under the mild category of panicking.


    When Eric glanced down the Volcano, he noticed that the Blue Lava has tremendously expanded. Yesterday it was just a small blob, not noticeable from all the way up here. But now, it has covered 3/4 of the Lava!


    An interesting part about this is that the Blue Lava is still over ten meters under the surface, they figured that''s the case because they can see Blue and Orange Lava Combined, giving out a complicated colour.


    As they took a few seconds to glance at this Blue Lava, those few seconds were not left unfulfilled, at least from one side of the stick. The Blue Lava, continued to cover what was left of the Volcano underneath. Meaning it has covered 100% of the half mile wide area, but it is still under the surface of Orange Lava.


    Out of a sudden, an Earthquake happened. Could it be perhaps it touched the Edges of the Volcano? Ada and Osira were smart enough to instantly pull back once recalling the fate of that child who almost fell in Lava a few months ago.


    Commander Alia and Dilli had slightly worst fates, but one of them can fly and Alia managed to pull back. Mogranius on the other hand was still far behind, lost in the crowd.


    The Earthquake became so violent, that although even 2 seconds short it managed to rupture everyone''s peace and over 30 people still failed to ensure safety and fell over the Edge, most of which were children!!


    "Mogranius!" Eric was quick to shout before everyone else started panicking, indicating that he will need help from him.


    Eric instantly flew up and afterwards down towards two of the children, trying his best to properly grab them under a short period of time.


    Osira followed after him, well in other terms flying around 10 meters away from him, trying to grab as many kids as possible. She grabbed one by the arm, in mid air as she fell down along with this kid she threw him over the shoulder, and afterwards blew a bit of fire from her feet to maneuver towards another kid, managing to grab that one as well and afterwards going for the third.


    Mogranius flew up from the crowd and afterwards flew towards the Volcano, last in line as Dilli flew in around 3 seconds before him. He noticed that Eric is already coming up with 2 large kids on his arms and Osira just gained control of her falling, even though she has 3 kids around her shoulders.


    Dilli was aiming towards an a.d.u.l.t, since those fall faster. In the meantime in a blink of an eye Mogranius could see some of the a.d.u.l.ts being either dragged in by a.d.u.l.ts who caught them, or clinging on the Volcanic walk way their selves.


    Commander Alia ordered for all of the people up here above the Volcano, to quickly walk out of this town before another Earthquake hits. There are 800 people in this town and most or them are all spiraled down the Volcano in a very long line, came up here to Listen to the King.


    With all the people above the Volcano ordered to go out of the town, people who were spiraling down the Volcano now have the opportunity to flee as well.


    Eric threw the kids in the crowd, and afterwards he returned to the Volcano trying to catch those who he previously couldn''t. He noticed that Dilli has grabbed 2 a.d.u.l.ts already and Mogranius has grabbed two more kids, while previously with Bear Claws he tossed 2 other people up and in to the crowd above.


    Osira was going head in to fetch another child, while Eric could already see that 3 a.d.u.l.ts already fell in Lava, there is no saving them. To make it even worse 2 kids fell in as well, they are dead. But the two remaining kids who can be saved are currently in mid air, they are small and just started walking.


    Eric blew out an unholy amount of fire from his feet once he attained an appropriate distance away from the crowd, he does not want to burn them.


    Osira is closest to the child she aimed to save, they are 100 meters away from the Lava. Slowing down the Momentum of which the kid has build up, it requires a lot of power.


    While the second kid, is about 50 meters above Osira''s head. She planned to grab him after grabbing the one who is the most in danger.


    To her aid, Eric reached in time as the Fire that he was blowing from his feet was 10 feet wide! It is fair to say that he has put a whole lot of energy in this, seeing 5 people fall in Lava triggered such a rageful power. Although at this case he could be feeding the Inner Demon of Rage and the Inner Demon of self control perhaps as well!?


    He grabbed the falling child, reduced the amount of fire he blew from his feet so he doesn''t burn the child and afterwards gave in more power, the fire beneath his feet stretched 5 feet wide.


    He felt the falling slowing down drastically, and when looking down he could see that the Lava is about 60 meters away, or at least that''s how much he guessed.


    He also noticed Osira, she has reached down here a few seconds earlier and had already grabbed the child before Eric even reached down here. She has started flying up, but it is fair to say that they escaped by ten meters.


    "Here they are!" Commander Alia replied, being happy that the two were able to save two more kids. If they only could save the 5 other Calidum Lutum. But there were just too many people falling and too little time.


    "Hot hot hot hot! My feet are hot!" Osira started jumping around, and so did the child, jumping and cussing at his language. Well at least cussing the way he knew how to cuss.


    "Mine too!" Eric spoke, but he wasn''t jumping. He sat on the ground, and everyone could see smoke coming out of them with burn marks accompanied. His shoes have been completely burned off due to the intense heat of fire he unleashed.


    "I almost fell in the source damned lava!" Osira indirectly cursed this town''s way of living. She didn''t mean too, but the situation sure got crazy and she saw kids die. Who wouldn''t be angry at this case?


    They saw the Parents of these kids coming back to the Cave, coming back hoping that their kids survived. The kids ran towards their parents, while another couple Unfortunately walked out empty handed.


    "What do we no now?" Eric asked, angry, pissed of and sad for the lost lives and cussing this situation. "Where are the Grand Masters? We all own Xalk an apology!"

 Chapter 369 - Uninhabitable

    Victims were unfortunately were left behind and the townsfolk escaped this dangerous place. Well, most escaped, the Grand Masters were down there when this disaster happened, now they want to analyse the situation. Unfortunately, they had to witness 5 people boil in Lava, all of them felt so useless due to the fact that they could not help them.


    They want to figure out what is happening here and if they can fix this bizarre unheard of situation, Eric jumped down here to look for the Grand Masters, he could fly down but he blew a lot of his Stamina while saving those people and it is uncertain what could await them next do he needs the Stamina.


    Dropping down the Lava, Xalk saw him but had no motivation to say the special phrase he always does when Eric jumps in. He swam out of the Lava without taking damage, the Blue Lava is still over 10 meters deep.


    "What do you plan to do here Kazer?" Eric asked in anger, in a way blaming all of this on Kazer for insisting just to wait and see what happens, well the saw what happened god damn it, and it wasn''t nice. "All of us own Grand Master Xalk an apology."


    Afterwards at a pure set of anger, even with a tear dropping because of those innocent people dying, when he turned around and could notice some of their bones still burning in the Lava, he gave in a large rageful shout and afterwards blasted a Fireball against the Lava.


    It will likely not damage the Blue Lava here but it doesn''t really matter even if it did, those lives are gone and this place has practically become uninhabitable.


    "Shooting at the Lava won''t help!" Kazer expressed, angry himself but not enough to start a fight with the Golden Blood, his loyalty to this town doesn''t allow him too.


    "Well neither did standing and waiting as you see!" He shouted once more, and pointing at all four of the Grand Masters in a lower tone he added. "Those lives lost are all over your shoulders, Xalk was right!"


    "Yelling won''t fix anything and it is just wasting us time." The Grand Master could of course yell back, but his tone remained delicate. He has beaten his own Inner Demon of Self Control over a Century ago, all Grand Masters did. "Every second we waste now, could be used to our advantage."


    As he finished that sentence, the usual ray of light that the Lava used to let out, was quick to dissapear. It was replaced by a dark blue light of which barely illuminated the place!


    He turned around, took a glance at what is happening and was quick to notice that the regular orange Lava has completely disappeared and has been replaced by Blue Lava, spreading like a vicious unstoppable disease.


    The six people here were left speechless, unable to say a word and feeling like they have lost entirely. Afterwards they saw a ray of mild orange light, but it wasn''t caused by Lava. Mogranius, Dilli and Osira have flown all the way down here.


    "What the hell is happening?" Mogranius asked. They flew down here to get Eric but were quick to notice that the Blue Lava doesn''t burn as much as the Orange Lava did.


    They reached all the way down here to the Grand Master''s dens. No non Grand Master or non Golden Blood would be able to do this without burning up, this shows how much the Volcanic heat has been reduced.


    "We don''t know." Kazer answered calmly, while Eric was using the dim illumination to hide his tears. Angry about the lost lives, angry about failure.


    As if this day hasn''t been disastrous and confusing enough, they heard sounds much like crackling stone and they could see the illumination dimming rapidly until it became completely dark.


    Subconsciously, the four fire manipulators busted a small fire ball above their palms to illuminate the place, and the first thing that managed to catch their eye is the semi dark stone standing flat where the blue lava previously was.


    Well at least in most places, this rock was spreading from each side and a large crack close to where Eric was standing, still having a bit more blue lava, took little time to dissapear. Meaning, the crack sealed up, connected.


    "The whole place has turned in to stone." Mogranius pointed out the obvious, the most shocked here even though he saw more (By Quantity) bizarre cases in life.


    "Then it means we can blast lava over it, at least for illumination." Kazer specified, unhappy with the current amount of illumination.


    Afterwards with his body arched forward and his right arm stretching out, he burst lava from his own palm and threw it to the left direction and afterwards to the right.


    The Lava stretched about a hundred yards long on both sides individually, and provided a lot more illumination than the Fire Manipulators could.


    "At least Blue Lava isn''t connecting with this one." Dilli pointed out, but afterwards remembering why they got here she added. "But Eric, we need to get you and everyone else out of here. Commander Alia demands it!"


    "What he hell is that? Is it a Demon?" Osira shouted and pointed out right ahead of Eric, this thing was probably a bit over 200 yards away.


    "A demon is the last thing we need right now." Dilli Added, being ready for battle and shooting directly at it.


    The illumination of which this 5 foot wide fireball provided, helped them figure out this situation a bit better. The thing over 200 yards away, isn''t a Demon. To be frank it isn''t even moving nor did the Fireball damage it.


    Stepping on the dried Volcanic rock, Kazer stomped on it after and was able to determine that this whole mass body of Lava is dried out shut. "We need to check it up close, but I don''t want for anymore lives to be lost. Joining me is voluntary, all of you can choose to get out of here if you want to."


    Right after he walked towards this thing that appeared almost in the middle of the Volcano, trying to analyse it more. He didn''t bother to look back, and mostly focused on assuring that every step he takes is secure.


    But how would ego let anyone of them back out? They all followed him Race regardless. In the meantime, Mogranius started to become a bit paranoid. He stopped seeing every ghost or spirit in the area, before he could see many even though his paranormal vision was massively reduced when the Ghost Tree Branches were cut down.


    After careful tip toeing over the semi hot Volcanic rock, they finally reached the thing that has appeared right in the middle. What they found did not at all meet what they expected to see here.


    A god damn tree! Yes, a tree. Well more like a trunk. This is no ordinary tree and it isn''t the average way of life. No tree can grow over half a kilometer long in 10 minutes.


    "Do not touch that!" Mogranius instantly noticed its bad twisted qualities. "I swear it will drain the soul out of your body."


    Eric noticed it as well, although it took a few seconds more for him to realise it. "By the Source and what''s beyond it, how on Earth did the Ghost Tree reach all the way here?"


    "Ghost Tree?" Kazer asked, blazed in confusion. He never heard of such a tree before and what it is capable off.


    "Yes it is a Ghost Tree." Mogranius answered and was swift to explain, "It traps any soul and devours it to grow bigger."


    At the same time when he described this characteristic, most of them could see several branches growing out of the tree in a fast matter. It took a few seconds for each branch to grow.


    "As you can see, its Radius was large enough to drain every free loading soul around here. Perhaps even the souls of the few Victims we just lost, which explains why so many branches grew out so quick." Hearing him out, Kazer straight up thought that Mogranius is talking fiction, but how would someone know it to this exact detail without bothering to think about it?


    "Can we destroy it?" Kazer asked the most important part.


    "It reached all the way here, travelling for over 500 Kilometers, somehow sensed the large quantity of souls and spirits here, unleashed blue lava and dried it all shut, do you think that anyone could stop or destroy this Ghost Tree?" Upon numbering its dangers and successes, it became quite noticeable that there is no hope.


    To break their spirits completely, Mogranius added. "Face it, this town has become uninhabitable!"


    A fact hard to accept, I''m aware but what''s done is done and there was no stopping it. Throw Lava over it, it will eventually unleash more Blue Lava and dry the whole thing all over again. The best decision now is to seal this place shut, and leave this town possibly forever. There is no saving it.


    Eric as the King, taking this huge loss in to consideration added. "We should talk to the townsfolk, we all will be heading to Gaster Kingdom!"

 Chapter 370 - New Plan

    Deciding to flee this town, possibly forever is something hard to accept for most of these people here. Something regarding pride doesn''t really let their subconscious accept fleeing because of a weird tree, even though that tree caused all this damage and can suck the soul out of them.


    Of course here is where Eric, as the ruler of this town comes in. No one can directly refuse his commands according to tradition and how things go here, the best they can do is advise him to do differently and that''s where their freedom of speech meets an end.


    Its not like they would be punished if they refused, here it would just be dishonourable. Furthermore since Eric is considering their well being and fleeing is possibly the best decision, this tradition is working to their advantage.


    Grand Master Xalk especially, refuses to leave this town. He was right all along that big danger is approaching even though he did not quite know what that danger is, now since his thoughts were proven correct he wants to stand and fight for this town.


    Come to think of it, even though they had different thoughts in the beginning even the Grand Masters want to stand and fight. Furthermore, most of the town wants to stand and fight! But when the King says otherwise, then fighting isn''t really an option.


    Mogranius who is the wisest in this topic, numbered a list of reasons why fighting with this Source forsaken tree is a bad idea and one end to the other a total waste of time. Regardless of the idea anyone had, the word just rolled back down to the tree being indestructible and apparently capable of unleashing Blue Lava. It just isn''t worth it to fight something they can''t beat.


    Considering the fact that no Earthquake happened after that big one of which killed 5 people, the Townsfolk felt it safe to barge in the town and take as much food as possible for their trip to Gaster Kingdom, yes most have accepted the fact that they are leaving this place.


    Regarding travel, they understand that the Domain they want to reach is at the edge of this Continent, travelling for 500 Kilometres on foot is not the easiest journey. So it became well determined that they will need a lot of food, being 800 people and all.


    So the first move became to get enough food out of the town to feed everyone as much as they can humanely eat. Being biologically unique, this intense eating alone can keep these people fed for a week.


    The second move is to fill those Wagons, of which they bought a year ago when they tried to tame the food situation, with as much food as it can carry. They don''t have enough Wagons to feed everyone throughout the journey twice a day, but it is enough to survive.


    Since BlackWind is back at Gaster Kingdom with Woldemir, a couple of Wagons have to be dragged by the strongest men and women here. The buff and strong Laza volunteers to do this task, but she will switch shifts, there are 800 people here after all.


    Who won''t be pulling Wagons, will be carrying one of the many Leather Bags of food. Each bag has enough to support each individual for a few days and as for the rest they will have to depend on the Wagons and their travelling speed.


    There also are many natural resources here which they wanted to take, in order to make resettlement easier. For example Iron, there is a lot of Iron here along with enchanted Weapons. They can''t take the Iron anywhere and even though Weapons are not a natural resource, they still took as much as they can carry for defense reasons primarily and not having to ask anyone else for them as a secondary reason.


    Bottom line, considering that there also are kids here, running their way to Gaster Kingdom to cut travel time is not an option. So since they have to walk almost equal to normal races, they will be lucky if they reach Gaster Kingdom in December.


    They will be travelling through the forest for a while, pop out of it once they get far from Gaster Kingdom and pop in again when they reach closer to Silver Kingdom who is practically near the main road. Travelling in the clear lands will for sure cut their travelling speed in half, and they hope to not kill any ill.u.s.tratios along the way.


    ...


    "Do you really think that we will be able to fit 800 people in one town, I remember that Gaster Kingdom has 200 houses only, half of which are occupied." Commander Alia asked, judging Eric''s one directed decisions as they made their way through the lightest parts of the forest so the Wagons can fit.


    Instead of Eric, Osira answered this question with a rather different point of view. "The point isn''t if they will fit, it is better to live at the edge of the Continent surrounded by allies instead of here where the enemy is just a few moons away."


    Osira has lived in enemy territory almost her entire life, she knows the different feeling of living where you don''t belong. So she has the most appreciation about joining these said allies, or best described living in between the Triangle of Domains.


    "She has a point." Kazer added who has managed to hear what they are talking about, the top authorities are all behind the bundle while the Masters guard the sides and the Guards stand in front. Kazer continued to explain, "Lan Zhe has even contributed to these Domains, the least they can do is help settle us in."


    "Well more like the town contributed to Pameres Kingdom." Mogranius specified, feeling that his home domain is being attacked a bit. "We are going to Gaster Kingdom."


    "I''m aware, we didn''t Contribute to Gaster Kingdom but our own serve the place now." Kazer specified, not forgetting such an important part.


    "In such a case no one owns anyone anything." Eric became the most fair, not even mentioning his life threatening contribution in the battle of Pameres Kingdom. "And it is best not to mention how we helped in the past, there are three domains there and they would help even if we don''t ask them nicely."


    As for how much Gaster Kingdom alone can help, the gang is not aware of some recent population changes. 800 people won''t be able to fit there, all Gaster Kingdom can help with is food.


    Pameres Kingdom can help as well in terms of materialism, but not with housing. Its Construction Workers are still demolishing and rebuilding the 300 old houses, and the new 100 houses are all occupied.


    Housing is definitely a problem throughout all of the three domains, but they can help with everyone else. If Lan Zhe faced such a situation a year ago, even food would be something hard to provide.


    Bottom line, the triangle of domains meeting a population spike of 800, not to mention that this spike brings battle god like humans, the Revolution will be a lot safer. Because after all this time if an attack happens on Pameres Kingdom for example, the Calidum Lutum can run there in no time and there even are 5 Grand Masters in their Arsenal.


    ...


    "Aren''t we going to rest for the night?" Eric asked Kazer, so they can slow down for a bit and rest. Midnight broke a while ago and the Horses are tired as well, they have limitations even as powerful animals.


    "Calidum Lutum travel for two days and rest for one, it will increase the odds of reaching the place we aim for before temperatures become truly hazardous." Kazer has indeed learned many words of the Ignite language and what he just said was practically flawless.


    "But Ignites can not travel that far without dying of exhaustion." Mogranius spoke instead, not having trouble himself but instead trying to tease his group.


    Thinking about the Horses a little bit, he called for a handful of Guards in his own language and in little time they saw Horses getting lifted and placed over their shoulders, Wagons being pulled with man power and Kazer afterwards offered Eric to sleep over his own shoulders.


    "You really don''t stop do you?" Osira asked from the background, in a way admiring this crazy motivation.


    "No, also don''t feel bad for the Guards. This will tire them as much as walking for a day will tire you, they won''t die." He cleared everything out and by that time the whole gang had climbed over the Grand Masters.


    Well all apart from Mogranius of course, believing in his exploring capabilities and bluffing a bit he added. "I can keep this up for a week."


    The only two other people who can withstand this type of travel are Commander Alia and Dilli. They both have the physical capabilities and Dilli has a crazy resistance to such a task.

 Chapter 371 - Fled, and at the same time didnt.

    When finally settling down for a rest after two days, it is fair to say that they ran in to a little problem. Well at least Grand Master Kazer did. This might already confuse you, how and why would a Grand Master get in trouble and why him alone?


    Well, a moment before he was about to sleep, making sure that everyone is settled in for the night, even the Guards since they have practically worked the hardest. They found it the best idea to sleep in mid day since dangerous predators are less common at that time.


    However getting to the point, the problem he walked in to is big and harry. A bear arrived near the group and was rather close to the children, although its main motive is reaching the food in the Wagon. Since the child''s mother had a bag of food near her, the bear made out with it.


    Kazer does feel tired, but not tired enough to protect his people. Furthermore the physical exercises each Grand Master takes in order to achieve their title, is far harder than walking for two days straight.


    He sprung in to action, didn''t even bother waking anyone up since this bear doesn''t look so huge. Getting close to it, he kicked the bear to the face from the right side which moved it far away from the sleeping mother and her kid.


    The Bear didn''t in any circ.u.mstances get knocked out, in fact it stood up on his hind legs in aims of showing who is in charge here. Apparently it is a he, it is noticeable by the tremendous size.


    "Why did this Bear look smaller from over there?" He thought as he noticed the Cave Bear''s tremendous size. He specified the Bear''s Species too, good work for a guy who misjudged its size.


    Standing about 14 freaking feet tall, the Cave Bear took a swing against Kazer accompanied by a tremendous growl.


    Grabbing the Bear''s arm with both of his hands, he made a quick burst towards the opposite direction of which the Bear took a swing at, aiming to do a rather bold move.


    Kazer has enough power to tip the bear over, and so he did! The sudden force put in that opposite direction forced the bear to be tipped off balance. The Bear''s front legs are tremendously strong and so are his hind legs, but once standing up being tipped off balance is easier!


    "Nice try fur head, I''ve recieved many spanks on my behind until I learned to challenge this move." He murmured with himself as he saw the Bear tip down and fall on its back.


    Considering that Kazer can blast literal Lava from his hands, why is he bothering to fight fist to fist with a large Source damned Cave Bear? It isn''t hard to figure out why, there are people here. People who can get easily burned by a sudden outburst of Lava.


    Although tipped over, the Bear did stand up again to fight and is more pissed than ever against his opponent. Because not only did the Bear get kicked on the face, but now was even tipped over. Bears hate that if you might not have known until now for some reason.


    The Bear stood on his four feet, and afterwards raising his front feet mid way he struck Kazer on the Chest, the impact indeed knocked Kazer off his met and pushed him 4 feet back!


    The Bear barely dug his claws on his chest, as the intend was to just push him away and possibly mess up his internal organs. Rather interesting battle method for an animal, but it is actually a hunting method, used to take down bigger game.


    "Oh you want to dance?" He murmured, rather pissed about the pain on his chest. Lava burst out of his palms, stretched to the ground and he dried the quantity out quickly once stopping the burst of Lava.


    He raised the 4 foot long (Each) Volcanic rocks, trying to act like they are his dual swords of which he forgot to pick up before getting in this battle.


    "Let''s dance!" He continued, putting his right foot forward to get closer he proceeded to hit the bear on the head with both Volcanic pole like rocks.


    The first one broke in half and the second one shattered close to it. With a force dropping them against the ground, he dug his fingers on the Cave Bear''s fur on the chest area since the Bear was quick to stand up again.


    Kazer felt the Bear''s large and sharp claws dug behind his shoulders, but it was a minor sacrifice.


    Lifting this bear a foot off the ground, lifting this bear who might be breaking over a ton a foot off the ground and afterwards taking a spin to the right, tossing this heavy weight fighter 10 feet away, taking Victim several trees along the way from small to medium!


    Who knew that a 10 foot tall Grand Master had this much fight in him? Well we all knew but who would imagine this situation? Fighting a large Cave Bear! It is even more terrifying when you consider statistics, these Bears aren''t nearly as rare compared to tremendously powerful Source Bears.


    Considering the Wild Boars of which Bears can hunt, Wild Boars of which this Continent contains perhaps 5 times more than people, it isn''t technically hard for Bears to reproduce. Their biggest threats are their own species. Although unknown in numbers, there has to be at least 20,000 Cave Bears in Ignis!


    However getting back to the fight, the Cave Bear stood on its four feet again. Angry, growling and with many scratches on him, blood coming out of his back due to the impact with the trees.


    The Bear stood on his hind legs, fell back on his four and turned his brown fured back on Kazer, giving up on this battle although not fleeing in pain. He wasn''t running, but he noticed who has the rightful claim of territory here.


    As a territorial animal, he noticed that Kazer is trying to protect his own. As a solitary animal, he did not like it but as a territorial one it made sense to him. Well although Bears like each animal, want food. They know other senses, like territory and protection.


    Male Cave Bears themselves don''t really protect anything and on the contrary attack young ones of its own species, they still understand the definition of protection although it might be a blur towards Humans.


    The Cave Bear disappeared in the woods, Kazer could still hear its heavy footsteps breaking branches, footsteps of which became harder to listen too by the passing second.


    The Bear walked out of this battle without a broken bone, it is a good definition of what they are capable off. And Kazer even won this battle and remained alive, also a win.


    Where does this lead us down too? Brutal strength accompanied by high intelligence works the best in a hand to hand, or hand to paw fight!


    Kazer found it interesting how this Bear is up this early, it should be a night predator and furthermore should be in Hibernation! While here it is November, and 3pm.


    This is obviously a survival situation for the Cave Bear and he felt a bit sad about taking the food away from him. But the provisions they have here might not be enough for a Bear who possibly needs around 15 Kilograms of food a day to survive.


    I guess that is the sacrifice for being this big and powerful aye? Survival becomes Harder, a bit ironic really. But this is a ton heavy Cave Bear we are talking about, and there are a hell load of Wild Boars here.


    A full grown Wild Boar here can feed this beautiful animal for almost a week, and 20-30 Wildboars will hopefully give the Bear enough fat to sleep for another month before having to go through another hunting session.


    For whatever reason this large bear failed to hunt enough throughout the warm seasons, killing 20-30 more Wild Boars could actually take him through the winter if he did mildly good enough throughout the warm seasons.


    Eric woke up right after the battle, I suppose all the noise have eventually ruptured his sleep. He asked, "What happened?"


    At the same time, he is sleepy enough to not notice the light blood on Kazer''s chest caused from the first impact. As for the other people, they didn''t really bother to wake up. No animal would be dumb enough to attack large humans and would mostly snoop for food, and these people know it quite well.


    Furthermore they are knocked out cold, tired from all the tiring and work a quarter of these people did for the pure purpose of delivery.


    "A wild animal just ran in on us, but don''t worry he fled the scene." Kazer explained lightly, not mentioning the name of the animal so panic doesn''t break.


    "I''ve slept last night, kinda... If you''d like I can take a shift." Eric offered, sleepy but not enough to let his people get in danger.


    "You have been sleeping for a couple of hours now, perhaps you should take a shift." Kazer requested, for himself finding a spot to sleep after.

 Chapter 372 - Declaration of independence

    As they were a few months away from completing the rebuilding of the Crutal Castle, King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll got a rather unpleasant message. One of which in many terms can be considered a nightmare both pride-wise and economical-wise.


    Grand King Talato Irontooth the sixth, ruler of Meridionali Ignis and in command of every domain in the ill.u.s.tratian motherland has send a message. Short said, he is in command of the Richest Country in Ignis! Well, in sub command. King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll takes all of the big decisions, or at least he used too.


    Now technically, since King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio l took Command of the motherland 200 years ago, all of the Domains in the Alliance are supposed to send a monthly 10% tax of the incomes here to the Crutal Castle.


    This explains how and why King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll had millions of gold coins in the royal treasury up here in Occidentis Ignis, specifically in the Crutal Castle before it got exploded.


    Now getting to the bad news, Grand King Talato Irontooth the sixth has declared independence from the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, meaning Grand King Xakro can no longer control Meridionali Ignis and can''t earn the 10% tax from them. Rather odd wordplay and decision, since the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance takes root where most ill.u.s.tratios live, Meridionali Ignis.


    Now normally, it wouldn''t be this easy to get an entire Country out of the Alliance and it wouldn''t be a good idea either to anger a crazed with power man. But the thing is, Grand King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll has lost his Electus like powers and is practically a normal human now.


    Considering the Soldier count in Occidentis Ignis and Septemtrionis Ignis (Of which Grand King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll still has control over.) he can''t really do anything to punish this rebellion or best called declaration of independence.


    Specifying what the independence parchment contained, it went a little bit like this. "Grand King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll, I feel proud to announce that due to your extensive fails in the battle against the Snow Ignites, it has been easier than ever to no longer be under your command and ruling. Rumour has it that you even lost your God like powers, my sources confirmed that Rumour."


    Upon reading this first paragraph, King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll could notice clearly where this went even though this Parchment is covered with Talato''s ego. Xakro covered his face with one hand and murmured. "This Bastard."


    Afterwards he went ahead and read what else this Parchment has to offer. "The ill.u.s.tratian Alliance has been nothing but a financial and population drainer for my Domains, we are done fuelling your battles and obsessions, we will only look in to restoring our Domains to their former glories, and you feeding on our riches is clearly a barricade. We won''t be dumb enough to attack your Countries in the middle of the worse population drop in the past 2 Eras but I can''t say that you will hold your throne for long, I''d be lying."


    "Did this fool really send this message right after I paid the debt?" He murmured in anger, cussing and hitting the arm support of his throne over and over until it no doubt broke.


    He glanced at the messenger which has been armoured to the teeth, wanted to blast a Fireball at him and blast him out of existence. He doesn''t miss his Inner Demons but would sure do a lot to get his powers back.


    Deciding to cage his rage after noticing that the Messenger didn''t even flinch, he took another glance at the parchment in aims of reading the third paragraph. "If you wish for my forces to not set foot on your domains, you need to make a compensation. See my Grand King, my people are rather rattled due to this war started by your urge for more domains. They have lost families, businesses, and I''m lacking a lot of craftsmen. To tame this situation, I will have to donate millions of gold coins to increase the quality of living and restore what you have damaged. Those are gold coins that I know you can''t pay me at the moment."


    Reading this angering paragraph, he stood up from his throne and started walking back and forth. Holding the parchment behind his back and cussing over and over. "Not only did he do this betrayal, he even asks for gold? Is he crazy or at the edge of becoming crazy?" He shouted, kicking the throne as if it had something to do with it.


    Standing on his feet, he finally read the fourth Paragraph after noticing the messenger''s glare. "The compensation you need to give is 250 million gold coins! I don''t care how you get them and I don''t care if Occidentis Ignis has to burn in order for you to attain this goal. You have fed on my domains for over 200 years, I won''t be bold enough to ask for that Gold as well but get me my 250 million. You have time until January at the 212th year, meaning you have 10 years to pay this debt. Prepare for it, either the gold or the Soldiers. Because if you fail or refuse, my Armies will strike your domains from all sides no earlier than January 212."


    At the end he has even signed this parchment, the signature is unmistakable and King Xakro has seen it countless times. This is indeed a letter from Grand King Talato and he indeed has left the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance along with all those Domains.


    This is a nightmare income wise and a nightmare pride wise too. Grand King Talato has obviously taken the chance of making his domains richer than ever, and used King Xakro''s battle failures against the Snow Ignites as a valid excuse.


    While the base of this declaration of independence is all due to the fact that King Xakro has lost his corrupted Electus like powers, Talato knows quite well that there won''t be a power crazed man after him due to this decision so he took it!


    Getting 250 million is no doubt a hard task, even after giving it a quick assumption, with the current Arsenal of Kingdoms under King Xakro''s control be it here in Occidentis Ignis or above their heads at Septremtrionis Ignis. Even if they raise the taxes by 30%, he can''t even pile up 100 million!


    Drastic business measures have to be taken or drastic military upgrades, King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll has a bit above 10 years to decide what to do!


    Walking to a close by table and grabbing a Parchment, an ink and quill after he swiftly wrote. "I''ll tell you my decision a bit before the deadline." He kept it short, and in some terms it might sound like he is declaring war. But war will not hit the Continent again at least for 10 years, King Xakro wants to handle this situation without killing more people.


    "Here." He tossed the parchment, and yelled. "Now get the hell out of my Domain. From the new year it will be considered trespassing, penalty will be death. Stay the hell out of my lands!"


    ...


    Meanwhile, on the other edge of this fine continent, bad fate has struck the less fortunate. Mentioned in previous Volumes, due to the recent past war with the Snow Ignites, 250 men and women and kids have been harvested in Frozen Toe Kingdom with the aim of using them in the war.


    All that remained in Frozen Toe Kingdom, were elderlies. Left for dead, left with no resources or men who can bring those resources. All they had was gold saved up for retirement, but it proved useless for obvious reasons.


    No merchant is crazy enough to withstand such harsh weather conditions for what, 300-500 gold coins a month? And no civilian of the Frozen Toe Kingdom has what it takes to travel through the blistering cold.


    The result, every civilian has died out of hunger and turned in to a frozen corpse after. Every single civilian has died, and the 250 people send in war likely died as well. Frozen Toe Kingdom has officially become a dead town.


    Now the man who found out about this information thanks to some external sources, is King Zar. And although he feels sad about not being able to help them in time, not even knowing what happened before the damage was done, war-wise this is an amazing opportunity.


    Well profit-wise it is just a bad move since Frozen Toe Kingdom has no natural resources, survival alone is hard and a lot of heating sources are required.


    But what King Zar wants out of this domain, is Outposts. He plans to plant small military camps there, for now the main outpost will be Frozen Toe Kingdom but afterwards he plans to build more of them apart from each other.


    This will no doubt cost a lot to maintain, but it will provide him with upper advantages in war. Be it to prove a point or to attack Meridionali Ignis from both sides, it is always a good idea to have a bigger millitary, even if it is on the other edge of the Continent.


    As a start he sent a message to Bale Town, asking for the 40 Guards he lend them there to return. Getting those 40 Guards won''t neccesarily be hard, and he plans to hire 60 more in order to build a full platoon.


    Now feeding these Guards won''t neccesarily be a problem since Pameres Kingdom has its own food resources such as hunting, plus receives different varieties of Exported food.


    To make sure that feeding them doesn''t neccesarily tip in the income too much, they will be a bit savvy with the food they deliver. Of course each Guard of this Platoon will eat twice a day.


    Furthermore they will receive a salary and will train there, since they will be taking this mission far away from their families they will be paid a bit extra. Experienced or inexperienced, they will earn 150 Gold Coins a month each.


    So King Zar will only have to worry about paying their salaries which will now take 15,000 Gold Coins from the Budget.

 Chapter 373 - Outpost plannings

    64,400! That''s how much Pameres Kingdom is currently spending at a monthly basis on the millitary! After the war that happened in Pameres Kingdom over half a year ago, King Zar does not want to take any other chances. Because after all, his own Revolution stands strong thanks to the help provided by the Calidum Lutum and the three Fire Controllers.


    It is better to be safe than sorry, even though this little sacrifice of safety is taking nearly 1/4 of the monthly income. If it wasn''t for the newly established income coming from the Gr.a.p.e Ale, he likely would have it a tad more troublesome to pay them and build up a bigger budget.


    The Gr.a.p.e Ale is a good reminder, since the 40 Farmers/Clay sculptures couldn''t really withstand to make 50,000 Ale Bottles and tend to their farming duties at the same time. And considering that there will be half or twice more black gr.a.p.es to handle the next year, King Zar found it best to hire 20 more. It is a minor sacrifice budget-wise, that will pay tremendously well.


    Getting back to the Armies, Pameres Kingdom has build it up stronger than ever. Sure losing 2 Platoons in the previous battle was at first demotivating, but thanks to proper pays and removing gender restrictions, they now have 5 Platoons!


    As a start, there are 200 Patrol Guards taking shift around the Kingdom. Rather small considering the diameter on the first walls, but they won''t even be enough when the Second Wall is build and more residence constructions burst out within the second walls.


    The third Platoon can be considered the one that will be sent to the other side of the Continent at Frozen Toe Kingdom to establish an outpost. These Guards count up to 100, which of course is the size of a full Platoon so they get their own Guard Commander which was easy to find considering that 60 recruits were partnered with Practical War Veterans.


    Ordering the Platoons based on size, we can''t of course skip the newly hired Archers. By King Zar they are considered prized, even though they are all Beginners (Level 1) in Archery. The reason why they are considered prized, is because they can throw ranged attacks.


    King Zar saw their effect in battle, it is surely a tide turner and he doesn''t want to enter another battle without them. Heck he doesn''t even want his Soldiers to enter another battle, which is why he invested half of the Army budget on Ranged Attacks, it will hopefully lead to less losses.


    The fourth Platoon, can be considered the 60 Ballista Operators. As mentioned on previous Volumes, King Zar invested on smaller wheeled Ballistas. He bought 30 of them for 1,200 Gold Coins each! And damn they sure are deadly, it could be the best investment yet because they can shoot far, can knock out several enemies at once and requires only two Guards to operate it.


    It is indeed a weapon worth the time, but the Catapults he has bought, although more confusing they too can be deadly. Like the Ballistas, the Catapults can take out several enemies at once and when 10 of them are involved in battle, well Pameres Kingdom can fight off double its Armada''s size!


    Since Catapults require at least 5 people each to operate them properly, there are 50 people hired to operate them. But since one bad move can be fatal, King Zar made sure to not mix up men and women here to avoid distractions. A minor sacrifice for safety.


    However, getting back to the outpost they plan to build. In order to make this plan successful, King Zar needs 2 medium sized sh.i.p.s. One to transport the 100 Guards and the other to transport enough food. Obviously the second one will be constantly functional, but he bought both of them at once so his Guards don''t have to starve.


    He found out about this disaster at Frozen Toe Kingdom in beginning of November so of course his Guards couldn''t be there now. Because first the sh.i.p.s that he ordered, need to arrive from the Zamerians.


    Pameres Kingdom doesn''t have sh.i.p.s, and they will of course need to be left at the Gaster Kingdom docs, until then there is a bit more time left to send the Platoon to Frozen Toe Kingdom.


    Price-wise, one of the captains that takes and gives the exchange back at the port, specified that such a ship can cost 15,000 Gold Coins each! It really is a big price to pay, and obviously another big investment in the Army.


    But even after covering these expenses, Pameres Kingdom will be left with a total piled up budget of 410,000 Golr Coins. Double compared to last year, but when you look at it from other perspectives it isn''t enough. It would be triple if they didn''t have to spend so much on the millitary. I guess we can call it another sacrifice for safety.


    Furthermore, King Zar felt tad bad about being so invasive on other people''s homes, on a completely other Domain. But who else will use this domain? The ill.u.s.tratian Alliance kicked Frozen Toe Kingdom out of the alliance after taking the usable manpower.


    Even bandits wouldn''t want this place, it has no natural resources apart from huntable predators. People can get profit out of this Country if they don''t go up the cold mountain at all, and try to tame wild Shire Horses in the little bit of greenery near the border with Meridionali Ignis.


    Short said, no one will come up here so why not use the opportunity to compress the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance from two sides?


    Regardless from that fact, King Zar still felt bad about being invasive. So he has ordered the Guards to be respectful towards the Frozen Corpses. If there is an official graveyard there, the Guards are to dig individual holes and place the elderlies in it. If there isn''t a Graveyard, they just have to pick a random spot.


    These elderlies are long dead, their families are sent to war and are likely long dead as well or living a life close to being considered a slave, so it is up to the Platoon to honour their corpses and at least grant them a proper ceremony.


    After the ceremony, the Guard Commander is to report anything that the Kingdom needs. Be it tools to improve housing, perhaps even stonemasons to fortify the place and even report how many houses are here.


    Knowing the amount of the houses here is very important, because King Zar doesn''t plan to send one Platoon only here. After he establishes more sources of income, another full Platoon will be sent here and afterwards the other.


    So he needs to know how much Frozen Toe Kingdom can fit, if a time comes when the domain can''t fit in anymore Guards, another Outpost will be build 10 kilometers closer towards the opposing continent and of course 10 kilometers away in width from the Kingdom so the Outposts aren''t set at a single file line but have more angles of attack.


    These Outposts, could be the biggest investments in the Army yet. But Pameres Kingdom can''t handle it alone, so King Zar plans to offer an investment. An investment for safety to the triangle of Domains.


    Pameres Kingdom clearly has the most people to spare, but it obviously can''t afford for half of the Kingdom to be transformed in to Guards. This beautiful domain has long surpassed its Guards/Soldiers capacity, it should have had only 200 considering that most domains only put 10% of their total population in the Army.


    Pameres Kingdom has enough people, but not enough gold to support a doubled Army increase. So in the near future he plans to ask the two friendly domains for monthly investments, be it 10,000 or 20,000 or even 30,000 Gold Coins. Anything they can afford really!


    These gold coins are non refundable, they will be entirely invested in the Army and are for the sake of everyone''s safety. The ill.u.s.tratian Alliance is weaker than ever, but they are still dangerous and one day their numbers will increase.


    It is always a good idea to be one step ahead, it is better to compress them from both sides. To warn them, if they do anything drastic then our forces will attack where you least expect it. If the enemy Alliance actually knows about the Outposts, it would be a damage in pride but at the same time they would think twice about attacking!


    As for the triangle of domains this can indeed be something that can even eat up their piled up Budget, but it is either this or waiting for 20,000 Soldiers to be sent here and tear this place to the ground!


    ...


    "I am very proud of you!" Crisa spoke, her tone as delicate as ever although carrying a lot of enthusiasm, her face carrying a wide joyful smile. She continued to add, "You really have quit alcohol, and you are performing better than ever. I see you everywhere!"


    Of course the topic is about King Zar, who has been suffering with what Tedradia called "Depression". He felt bad of the lost lives in the battle of Pameres Kingdom but furthermore he felt bad that his own father by blood, wanted him dead.


    Tedradia has helped him through by simply talking to him, well it is a little bit more advanced than that. She didn''t just talk, but shaped his mind towards the better with words worth more than gold. King Zar confirmed that she isn''t just doing fancy magic, which is even better because it means that everyone can do it with enough training.


    "I indeed feel better, my mind hasn''t been this clear in months." He answered, actually happy once throughout his life.


    He managed to let go of what has been bothering him, but half of the happiness at the moment is coming from Crisa and the way she laughs and smiles in joy.


    In the midst of being lost a tad bit on her smile, he managed to add. "Your mother is single handedly increasing the production rate of my workers. I mean, each are working two days less yet the numbers of products increased by 2%."


    Finding the numbers a bit confusing, he gave it another thought and added. "Or at least that''s what Seer said."


    "Hehehehhehe" Crisa unleashed another giggle, finding the King''s slight confusion entertaining. Afterwards feeling that the silence has stretched enough to being awkward, she expressed with a sigh. "Well, I have to get back to my duties now."


    "Say it man!" He yelled at himself, with his own thoughts. Contemplating with himself, wanting to ask something that has been troubling him for a while. Finally, he managed to say. "Wait."


    Crisa turned around, and awaited for what the King had to say. Afterwards he expressed. "Would you like to have dinner with me later, up in the Second floor. The Stars are just beautiful at night."

 Chapter 374 - Caves can look alike

    Although they still have work to do on the Fourth Section of the Coal Mine, it is never a bad idea to discover more portions of this Coal Mine before time. They have big orders to fill every month, now that it is winter the orders can and will increase.


    Actually, the Coal Order has been turned in to continues. As long as this Coal mine is functioning, Bale Town will have orders to fill in for the Zamerians. Now since that Continent has richer folk who prefer coal as a primary heating source, the monthly order has bounced to 10 tons a month!


    Obviously that''s a lot, the town has a lot of work to put in, exploring a new section sounds an even better idea now right? They have to be prepared, they have a good name in front of the Zamerians yes but they can not risk losing such money because they are late with their progress.


    Speaking of Winter, originally the Boar Leather sets of clothing project is supposed to end in the end of this year and it actually will. But they got a even more profitable order in line regarding tailoring, well Pameres Kingdom and Bale Town do.


    The richer in Zameria want Fur Clothing, it provides a lot of warmth and it looks good once properly tailored. These medium quality full sets of bear leather clothing cost 200 Gold Coins each!


    A great number indeed, even with the local prices here it reels in a beautiful 100,000 Gold Coin profit since the Zamerians have ordered 500 sets a month. Bale Town can handle only 200 sets a month so its pay is 36,000 Gold Coins, that''s actually double from what they got out of the Boar Leather Clothing order.


    Pameres Kingdom has more tailors, so they can handle making the other 300 sets of this monthly order. Neccesarily, they are earning the most out of this project. A handsome 54,000 Gold Coins a month!! This is big coin indeed, the only thing bigger than it is any order having to do with Iron.


    Gaster Kingdom earns the least profit out of this project, but King Michael isn''t really bothered about it. All his domain has to do, is allow the usage of the Port and earn 10,000 Gold Coins a month out of this!


    Now this project will only last until March, but in the aims of getting bigger budgets and increasing military forces, this sure is an aid since it is literally making 3 Domains richer.


    Now we can get in to vast detail about how much each of the Domains are earning now thanks to these two new orders alone, but those are for other Chapters and we should stick to Bale Town for now!


    The monthly profit has met a tremendous bounce upwards, 49,000 Gold Coins are coming in as a clean cut profit. Amazing isn''t it? I mean just a month ago the profits sunk below 20,000. That isn''t neccesarily a small number either but compared to this bigger one, it is small.


    Budget-wise, Bale Town still stands at the number one spot actually although maybe not for long. Transforming this town was tough, but it was sure worth it as they have piled up 530,000 Gold Coins! This is obviously the highest number ever for this little village of 50 houses and proves rather well that quality and quantity can go well together.


    In pre related content, with enough work they also managed to dig out 4 tons of Iron ore out of the third section''s right wing! This iron will inevitably last long, since Iron consumption is low here and they do not plan to sell it unless they have a financial crisis.


    The ore is still, well ore. And will take a long time to all be turned in to Ingots considering the current amount of Blacksmiths but it is always nice to have them since they can be used basically everywhere in a developing domain.


    ...


    The walls here in Bale Town are at a great start, they have managed to dig a pitch around the Domain in no time. This pitch will support the whole wall, but of course it has to start with the meter thick foundation.


    Since King Zar asked for his 40 Guards back, the town went in a slight state of panic. The Stonemasons have been put in a bit more work hours wise, and they are about 70% done with laying a foundation equal to ground elevation.


    Well at least they can support this project for at least half a year material wise. They can support it financially no doubt, but the last thing they need here is to import stone from another domain.


    They are trying to support the required materials with the local coal mine, in the process of mining coal they also got a lot of stone out of the mine. And undoubtedly, the amount increases every month so they might actually not meet a shortage material-wise.


    They won''t have to purchase actual stone from another domain. Not that they could, King Zar needs it more than anyone due to the 400 meter wide second wall he is paying to build around the Kingdom and Gaster Kingdom doesn''t really have a functioning mine.


    One thing that is bad on one way and helps in the other, is the fact that stones become more common the deeper they go. Dirt mostly dissapeared and could appear in a small patch randomly, but rock no. Rocks just get more common and the material in between it gets more expensive.


    So what does this prove? Stone quantities will eventually increase monthly which is practically perfectly timed, the wall will have no material shortage problems.


    In order for the rest of the Miners to access the fifth section, another tall tower has to be build so transportation of materials becomes a lot easier. However this time, the tower is shorter than ever since the drop is only 10 meters deep.


    They started building the tower now, although they aren''t even half way there to mining the Material in the fourth Section. This will increase the odds of success when trying to fulfill the 10 ton monthly order that has been increased this winter.


    Now when Bill examined the fifth section, two things came in his mind right after a quick view. This is actually a cave, and not a tunnel and it looks a lot like the Second Section.


    Shape-wise, its walls are too lumpy to actually determine an appropriate size. But is is 50 meters long and 40 meters wide, a bit bigger than the Second Section no doubt (About 15-20%) but the reverse fact here is that it has a lot less coal compared to the Second Section.


    This wide structure with its cieling about 10 meters above their heads, has around 40% Coal, 10% Iron Ore and 50% Stone. When you put those in percentages they give and at the same time don''t give an accurate view.


    To make it more clear, there is an estimated 9 tons of Coal here, 1 ton of Iron Ore and at least 15 tons of Stone. The Stone is a different topic and really depends on how much the Miners can afford it time-wise.


    9 tons of coal might not be the most to support a 10 ton monthly order, but when paired with the fourth section it sure is a lot! I mean, these 9 tons alone can bring 45,000 Gold Coins in this town and split them according to the deals in between the triangle of Domains.


    Something rather interesting they have found here, is the fact that they managed to find some gems here. They are just a handful of red powerless gems commonly used on jewelry for the Richer.


    Gustav Iron found them interesting, so he paid 3,000 Gold Coins for it. He doesn''t like fancy jewelry, but he likes their natural shape. Well hey, either way this is 3,000 more Gold Coins in the Budget.


    Although it is in the far future, moving on to the sixth section could be the easiest so far. The drop is just 10 meters and the ground will inevitably be dug in deep. If they become a bit lucky, they will only have to build a staircase there instead of a tower.


    Time wise this will prove the most effective because they won''t be held back by such a construction and can get behind a pickaxe right away!


    ...


    Bottom line, this town has progressed tremendously. But there are only 3 types of profit, in other words three assets. Other domains might have assets that earn less, but they have over ten of them which build up a tremendous profit.


    They have to find a fourth or more source of profit, for the sake of not blowing their whole budget on monthly maintenance if their sources of income were suddenly cut!

 Chapter 375 - Revolutionized Battle Tactic

    King Michael has to continue with the mutation experiments, this can be the most important part of Ignis'' History in many aspects, and the best thing King Michael researched throughout his entire lifeline, it does sound like a lot of pressure is here right?


    On the newest rats he has repeated the same 9 experiments just to make sure that it will exactly turn out as it did in the first time. Luckily, in aids of not making these logs a hell load more confusing, the experiments ended up the same.


    Now the combinations of body parts they can mix to mutate a Rat, can range to hundreds and it really is hard to tackle under a short period of time, if Alama did not write everything down, this whole thing would be a lot more confusing as it becomes harder to remember everything by passing time.


    Where does this lead to in a side prespective? Well, they literally have run out of Rats. They have tried to catch as much as possible throughout November, they''ve got nine only. Just enough to repeat the past experiments no doubt, but what about new ones?


    For new experiments, he has 3 rats and another animal he will be trying out first. Now I''ll tell you about that a bit later, it will be the first thing he experiments on today. But first we need to run over another primary topic.


    King Michael has sent a message to both the officials all the way up to Bale Town, and a message to King Zar as well regarding Rats! What would both of these Domains have to do with such a topic you might be curious enough to ask?


    He literally asked both Domains to gather Rats for him, although he offers no monetary pay for such a task, he explains that gathering them could turn the tides against the enemy in every aspect.


    At first glance towards this request, it sounds odd and most would be hesitant to help him out since they don''t see this situation as a live or die situation. But to convince them, the second paragraph is there to do its part.


    He explained that he is mutating Rats with the aid of Demon meat, and these experimental logs can one day equal to revolutionized battle tactics. Although King Michael''s intend still blurry now, considering that he started all this to prolong one''s life span. When the word "Revolutionized Battle Tactics" are mentioned, no one could resist considering how Vulnerable they will be soon enough.


    Both Domains got in a bit of a rumble, everyone was looking for live Rats in the order of King Zar and the townsfolk at Bale Town were cooperating a bit more towards this aspect.


    Maybe it is because King Zar offered 10 Gold Coins per caught living Rat? That might be the reason, and Tedradia had a fun time studying this Human behaviour, took the Liberty to write everything down.


    Eventually, 40 Rats in total were caught in Pameres Kingdom and 20 in Bale Town. To King Zar, this might be the cheapest investment (400 Gold Coins.) he ever made in the military and to both Domains this is the most bizarre thing they did, which says a lot because they saw Ignites as Demons!


    The Rats will be shipped to Gaster Kingdom at the break of the new year, he will indeed have a lot of fun experimenting considering how many Lab Rats he will have in his possession!


    For now he just has to deal with the strong suspense of not experimenting on anything for a month. He is feeding the Rats normal food though so don''t worry about that!


    ...


    Now, getting on to the first experiment King Michael can do at the moment. He is about to experiment on a Chicken. Yes a Chicken!! He can''t experiment on more than one since these species are both rare and expensive, plus they pay a big part in the monthly income.


    Since he can''t repeat the experiment on Chickens over and over, with the little gathered information he is about to Mutate the Chicken multiple times in order to attain his main goal today, weaponizing a Chicken.


    This is a tricky and unpredictable task indeed, but he has a good plan for it. If the mutations occurring on Rats are at least half similar to a Chicken, this will be a big step up towards a millitary Revolution.


    According to the fourth Experiment done on a Rat. If one consumes Demon Toe, Demon Waist, and Demon Head he or she or it will be transformed in to a bigger animal, or at this case Rat.


    As a Start, King Michael wants to test if the same effect would occur on a Chicken. Just to be prepared, he had the Blacksmiths make a bigger Cage. I mean, the Rat got Quadrupled in size!


    A full grown Chicken is usually around a foot and a half, what if she got quadrupled in size? They do not in any case want a 6 foot tall Chicken loose, it can do a hell load of damage alone.


    The Cage they have made, is more of a cell actually. It reaches from ceiling to ground and is 5 feet wide and long. The Bars are thick and close to each other, it should be able to hold a 6 foot tall Chicken in if something like that actually happens.


    Alright now getting to the experiment, "Write this down Alama." King Michael requested in a delicate tone, focused primarily on the Chicken. "Demon Head, Waist and Toe, Chicken as the Consumer."


    Writing it on her parchment placed over the big table in the room, and actually standing behind 3 Guards for safety. She has to be safe in all costs, and the Guards should get a great show here as a bonus pay.


    "Done and done." She answered with a light tone and tried her best to peek at the Chicken from the protection of the Guards.


    "Here we go!" King Michael answered and threw in all three pieces of these terribly smelling Rotten Demon meat at once.


    A chicken, is a species that can consume both meat and weeds. In the wild it is really hard for such a vulnerable species to survive, so I suppose they at least have this characteristic to their aid. But in this case, it will make the experiment possible.


    Without hesitation, the Chicken pecked on the meat and consumed it all in a matter of half a minute since they were cut in small pieces.


    PUK PUK PUK PUK!!!


    The Chicken panicked a little bit and started running around the cell, although not in super speed if you were curious enough to know. Perhaps it noticed itself changing, mutating and possibly never having the chance to be the same ever again.


    Checking out the final result of the Chicken, King Michael added. "Well it worked, the Chicken grew Bigger."


    Alama poked her head out, she has hidden when the Chicken started panicking before. Looking at it, she was both satisfied and sad. "Its not 6 foot tall." She pointed out the obvious.


    "Nope, but she did double in size. Um I''m guessing that she is about 3 feet tall now so please write the result as, "Double in size." He specified, feeling happy that this experiment has gone better than he expected it.


    The accuracy is interesting, because if it continues for the results to be similar to Rats, he actually will be able to weaponize a Chicken!


    "Now write this down." King Michael requested once more. "Demon Toe, Chicken who has been mutated with the three main combos as the consumer."


    Without waiting for her to catch up, curiosity got the best out of him and he went ahead with the experiment, dropping the meat down.


    Dumb enough, the Chicken pecked on the rotten meat again even though it did not work to her favour last time. Becoming bigger likely opened up more appetite? That is not certain as the Chicken can not tell, but what is Certain for sure, the Chicken Double mutated!


    Looking at its claws, he smirked and even let out a slight giggle. Requesting, "Write the Result as the Claws tripling in size."


    Now this mutation is rather accurate to what a Rats recieved once fed one Demon Toe. The fact that it is the same effect even after it is mutated once with a different recipe, gives out mass clarity to these experiments even though the results proved random in the beginning.


    This is turning out the way he likes it, and he couldn''t be more grateful about it since it actually could be opening doors for the fourth mutation on this Chicken.


    With Guards in the room protecting her, she couldn''t really burst in to conversations with the King, which in another way is good because they can work faster but less cute I suppose.


    "Please write this next log down." He requested once again, feeling pleased that they are making such great time and results. "Demon Waist, Chicken who has been mutated with the three main Combos, and an additional Demon Toe as the Consumer."


    Definitely something long to remember and write down at once, so he looked at the Guard who is seeing him write and he repeated it when noticing that Alama failed to catch up on the last few words.


    King Michael threw the Demon Waist meat in, the Chicken pecked on it again and ate it whole. Although this time in less panic, perhaps that she is getting used to these Experiments, she did mutate for the third time.


    "Result, Doubled Beak size!" He requested with a laugh as if he was an evil sorcerer. "Ladies and Gentlemen this is the greatest mutation I ever met and will turn the tides in battle!"


    Before the Guards or Alama were about to ask anything, he gave out another request. "Write this down please. Demon head, Chicken who has been mutated with the triple combo, Demon Toe and Demon Waist as the consumer."


    Afterwards of course he instantly threw the meat in the cage, not to make Alama''s job harder but because he is far too curious to wait and is no doubt rushing!


    "I knew it!" He shouted in joy once noticing that the Chicken''s wings are touching against both sides of the Cage now that she tried to jiggle them a little bit.


    "Write in this result!" He mildly shouted in joy. "Um from the looks of it, Wings grow three times the size!"


    Waiting this time for Alama to finish writing since this experiment is over. He decided to explain the intend of this experiment. "Ladies and gentlemen, this Chicken is worthy to join you in battle."


    Seeing that all four of his audience got confused, he continued to explain. "It is double the size now, well almost triple actually. It has bigger wings to fly long distances, a bigger mass to pounce on enemies, a strong puncturing beak to damage enemies and bone crushing claws to her aid as well."


    With a wide smirk across his face, he continued to explain. "Having 100 Chickens mutated at this exact same manner, will not only grant us an attack from above against the enemies, but it will also be an attack from a close combat perspective. Furthermore, we will loose a lot less Humans in battle!"

 Chapter 376 - 3 new Experiments and a Bonus Surprise.

    With the admirable mutated Chicken safe in the cell, he will be able to experiment on the three remaining Rats that have never been tested on before. There is no reason to leave this experiment for later. There is enough space for more, however experimenting on them now will mean that he will have to wait to work on this again in January.


    He has tested what external parts of a Demon can do to a Rat and a Chicken come to think of it, after consumption. But what if they test the consumption of internal organs on fresh Rats?


    As a base of these completely different tests, he has chosen to let the Rats consume Demon Liver, Demon Lung and Demon Heart. What will happen after consumption? Well there is only one way to figure it out.


    "Alama, can you write this down please?" King Michael asked, after spending half an hour admiring the Chicken. It is fair to say that Alama got jealous about it just a tad bit.


    "Are you sure? Or do you need a moment alone with your little girlfriend there?" She joked around of course, but it is still a bit jealous.


    "Hehehe." He giggled a tad bit and added, "Don''t worry, this is just a work relationship."


    "I beg to differ. But what should I write?" She finally got to the point of experimenting, hoping to get his attention away from the mutated Chicken.


    "Demon Liver, fresh Rat as the Consumer." He specified with short phrases, at least both of them will be able to understand it if they look over it a month or a year from now.


    King Michael dropped the rotten smelly Demon Liver through the little cage, witnessed the Rat rush to consume it once it figured out that it is food. It barely took a few seconds for the mutation to follow, King Michael figures that the mutation follows the second after the meat reaches the Consumer''s stomach.


    What they witnessed now, rather interesting. He actually feels happy that the mutation turned out this way, although pretty much useless in many aspects. The Rat grew horns above its head, nothing beautiful like Deer Antlers either. They just look like pure typical Demon Horns.


    Black in colour and with a curve in the middle which makes the horns point slightly inwards towards each other. These Horns aren''t tremendously big either, by that I mean they did not grow half a foot long. They are just big enough to fit the Rat''s head perfectly, and really are just a couple of inches long.


    "Fascinating, random at best but fascinating." He spoke with a mild tone, eyebrows raised trying to figure out how a Demon Liver leads to a head mutation.


    To make this experiment a tad bit more interesting, it seems like the Rat''s aggression has multiplied by an unpredictable amount. It is hitting the Cage with all its force, although ineffective against metal, it feels like this little fellow can pierce flesh.


    "Write this down Miss. Alama." The King requested, not even bothering to look back since he knows that the Guards are still protecting her just in case the Chicken gets out of Control.


    Seeing that she hasn''t spoke, signifying that she is ready to hear him out, the King continued. "Result, 2 inch Horns on its head and a massively increased aggression, demonic craze is a possible side effect." Obviously with such a result he will never test this on a Human, but it is good that they found out about it before time instead of letting a Human randomly consume Demon Liver.


    "Done and done professor, shall we move to the next experiment?" She joked around, but to King Michael it feels like a sweet light melody. One because she has an amazingly soft tone, two because she isn''t holding him back with pointless questions and conversations.


    "Yes my assistant." He teased back, and could already feel the grumpy glare of being called an assistant considering that she literally is an investor.


    He moved on to the next Rat, at the second cage and dropped in the Demon Lung in there. The Rat consumed it as if it was told, and the result although not the most interesting so far, it sure came out unexpected like everything else in this experimental log. "Demon Lung, Fresh Rat as the Consumer."


    The Rat''s pink tail grew almost triple in size, stretching a foot long now. The Rat doesn''t seem to have it difficult on maneuvering the tail though, meaning it isn''t dragging it behind.


    The Rat can move the tail a few inches in front of its face, resembling some sort of attack? It isn''t absolutely certain why it did this activity. But the point is that the tail is bigger and stronger, furthermore it even uses the tail to hang on the ceiling of the little cage, much like a Bat.


    "Well the results are definitely interesting although I don''t know how it would turn out on another animal, nonetheless what would happen to a Human if one would consume it. We should figure it out for later. For now just write that the Result is a Foot long tail, strong and agile." Obviously he had a lot to say about this experiment but can''t in no way figure out how to weaponize it, it definitely doesn''t link with a longer life span either.


    "Lets get it over with the third Rat already, those Demon Carcasses are smelling worse by the passing day!" Alama complained, saying what the Guards never could have.


    "You''re right, you''re right about the stench. Next time we will get nose plugs or anything like that, the smell tends to tamper with concentration a bit." King Michael protected her word, although in a small little aspect it felt like the word was against him.


    "Write this down and we can be done for the month. Demon Heart, Fresh Rat as the consumer." When he is talking about a Fresh Rat, he of course means one that never has been mutated.


    He tosses the small bit of Demon Heart meat in the Cage and prepares for the worst, hearing the story of the past Electus it never is a good idea to eat a Heart, especially if that Heart belongs to someone or something unusual.


    "Write this down, write this down, write this down." A tone repeated, but it wasn''t King Michael nor the four people behind him!!!


    They all were left in shock, and for a break of a second thought that a Ghost walked in the room and was mocking the King. The tone, squeaky and medium but it resembles Human language.


    "By the love of Sources and the God above them, this Rat is speaking!" King Michael panicked, but also felt amazed about this amazing discovery!


    "Speaking speaking speaking speaking speaking speaking speaking speaking speaking speaking." The Rat continuously repeated, as if it was broken or anything similar to that.


    "Cross that, I think it has just attained tone mimicry. Possible intelligence boost could be a side effect, be sure to write that down." His enthusiasm met a horrendous nudge down, at one second he thought that he figured out how to make Rats talk and now he understood that it is but a pale imitation.


    Right after Alama wrote it down, more surprises came in this very room, well technically from an external source. My point is, a Guard rushed in the room in the lookout for the King.


    "Sire, there are over 600 people walking towards our Domain!" The Guard spoke without asking for permission, gasping for air obviously because he ran here.


    "Do they seem threatening?" King Michael swiftly asked, fearing that this situation can turn for the worse. How much sacrifices were made to finish off 800 enemies in Pameres Kingdom? Gaster Kingdom would not stand a chance at the moment.


    "We are not sure, they are over half a kilometer far. All our Platoons are out in the open in aims of withstanding the possible threat. There was some talk that these people have black helmets." The Guard specified bit by bit as much one could under breath.


    ...


    Flying over the wall to check on the situation, King Michael spotted this mass population. They don''t seem like Soldiers, although he could see all the Black Dots from this distance.


    Afterwards, interesting enough he saw four people of this group blasting Fire from their feet and flying up, they have likely noticed the King flying.


    These approachers are obviously Fire Manipulators, so he has much hesitation to shoot them down considering the fact that how rare they are. However he can take them if things turn out for the worst, as long as all four of them aren''t Grand Masters.


    A minute after, he could recognize familiar faces more and more. A little boy, with short hair as dark as coal along with a kind face. This for sure is Eric and it only took the King seconds to recognize him after they got close enough.


    As for another familiar face, this old man with a short black beard beneath his chin, and a Hat over his head surely to hide some bald spots. This is indeed Mogranius, and the King could practically sense the sarcasm.


    In mid air, the King decided to exchange some dialogue along with a warm welcome after he sighed in relief. "Welcome, looks like you made some new friends." Of course here he is referring to the lady Fire Blasters here, Dilli and Osira.

 Chapter 377 - 6,313 Year old Castle

    "So 500 people have been sent here from the Continent of Zameria?" Eric asked, puzzled on why his father did not mention such vital information in past messages.


    "Yes, they arrived back in September and have proved quite useful on building a better economy for us, they are hard workers without a doubt and their loyalty was bought with these good offerings." King Michael expressed his points of view, but also felt bad about the terrible fate back in Lan Zhe.


    "So my guess is that there are no new Houses under construction?" He asked as they were flying down gently, feeling sad about the fact that Gaster Kingdom pretty much is looking like a blank option at the moment.


    "No, we haven''t really gotten to it considering that we had just enough houses to fit all 500 new Civilians." Thinking it through a tad more, King Michael decided to put this mistake over his own shoulders. "Now I see that I should have invested more in housing, all I did was have people refurbish the old ones."


    "So we will be homeless here in this cold? We can''t live in tents forever, the coldest month of the year hasn''t even hit yet and we feel as numb as a Corpse." Dilli specified, in other terms complaining but of course she is right in every way.


    As they were debating a decision and ideas, Woldemir along with Isabel walked over towards the group that has started debating right in the middle of the two groups. The rest of the Platoon is waiting near the Kingdom walls by given order.


    "Eric!" Woldemir''s tone arose in a high pitch, happy to see his son as he started speed walking towards him. "About time you visited us." Afterwards he pulled Eric in a hug, although Eric was a bit shy about it here in public.


    "We don''t come here with good news." He complained in a mild tone, noticing that Woldemir isn''t really caring what his son is saying and just keeps hugging him.


    "Alia." Isabel murmured softly and went ahead to hug the only other person she would feel comfortable hugging. And then to surprise her, in Ignite language Isabel continued. "I''ve missed you."


    "Oh you finally learned the language?" Commander Alia spoke at a high pitch and followed it along by a light giggle right after she found herself near Isabel''s arm pits due to the height differences.


    As the group was welcoming and greeting, the five Grand Masters approached in the scene to do a little introduction and find out more on what''s happening.


    "Father, you remember the Grand Masters right?" He pointed at them in aims of having Gaster Kingdom welcome them.


    "Of course, they are hard to forget." Woldemir spoke, in the meantime King Michael glanced upon the amazing 15 foot tall Pezik and noticed a glare back as a return.


    ...


    Throughout short debating, Kazer the leader of the Grand Masters and pretty much every other Lava Controller in this town, specified that this situation isn''t as bad as they think if the Children and Elderlies have a safe warm spot to stay in.


    Sure this domain can''t in any circ.u.mstance fit 800 more people in here but with contributed thoughts and ideas they have found an alternative solution.


    30% of Lan Zhe''s population are either elderlies or Children, when you put that in to counting they are exactly 240 people. Not a small number indeed, but they managed to figure something out.


    Eric''s gang will all be sleeping in Woldemir''s house temporarily, meaning Isabel, Commander Alia, Dilli, Osira, Ada, Woldemir, Mogranius, and Eric will all be sleeping in one house. This inevitably means that they have given their houses up so others can use it, it is only temporary best described.


    Which people can''t fit in the houses, will have to sleep in bundles in the Gaster Castle, luckily a lot can fit there but everyone has to sacrifice personal space, even the officials.


    Alright now, 240 people have a warm place to stay if not cozy. But what about the other 560? Well they all are a.d.u.l.ts or new a.d.u.l.ts, so they can withstand rougher conditions.


    Grand Master Kazer has proposed to build Volcanic Rock Igloos! These are half circle like structures, 20 meters across and can fit about 50 people each and it is as stable as a big Volcanic rock, no one has to worry. Meaning the Grand Masters have to make 11 of those in order to fit the whole population.


    All together, it shouldn''t take more than a day to build considering that there are 5 Grand Masters and 50 Masters as well who can lend a hand if they are guided accurately.


    Normally Calidum Lutum shouldn''t have to form Igloos, this technique is originally used to form Volcanoes. Example the Volcanic Walkway that spirals down in Lan Zhe was build this way.


    The Grand Masters blast Lava from their palms, and with the aid of the Masters they will shape the Lava in mid air to their preferred position and with both sides putting in effort they dry the Volcanic rock. It will also be hot thanks to the fact that they are using Lava, but hey it works out for the best in this cold.


    800 Powerful Calidum Lutum living here is a dream come true for King Michael, protection would no longer be a problem and he eventually can build a bit over 200 new houses so these people can live in them, but this is not a life that the Calidum Lutum want to become a custom off and King Michael noticed it.


    So it has come to their decision that these Igloos are a temporary solution for anyone, they need a new place to live.


    Towards this decision, King Michael proved the most useful. He has a basic map of Occidentis Ignis but furthermore he has explored a specific spot himself.


    Along the coast over 100 Kilometers above Gaster Kingdom, there is a rather nice spot for better housing. The root underneath this idea, is all inspired because of the fact that the Grand Masters and Masters can actually build stable houses out of Volcanic rock under a short period of time!


    These houses can of course be minimized, which offers more heat in the winter and can inevitably keep animals out, that is a firm fact. But when you compare that amazing ability with natural resources to their disposal? A new Domain can be established.


    What''s even more interesting about this proposed spot, is the distance between the three friendly domains. You can even consider it that the location is right in the middle of them although it isn''t.


    For example, they have Gaster Kingdom below them to the South 100 Kilometers far. Furthermore, they have Bale Town to the North East, which too is around 100 Kilometers far. And to absolutely tip the bucket, Pameres Kingdom is also only 100 Kilometers far from the proposed spot even though it is almost at the South East.


    What does this bring the facts down to? This triangle of Domains can be formed in to a Square of Domains, kinda. Well more like in a Parallelogram shape but you get the idea.


    Apart from becoming a square of domains, Bale Town who is the most vulnerable friendly domain at the moment, will at least recieve a small aspect of protection. With fast running tall people a hundred Kilometers near, if they ever get invaded they can just send out a messenger and the Calidum Lutum can help big time.


    To fit all 800 Calidum Lutum in this proposed spot, the Grand Masters and Masters have to make about 200 Igloos. It should fit every family in but if it doesn''t, more can be constructed in a short time, it isn''t really something that requires material.


    Furthermore, apart from being near the beach which is a great water resource be it for farming or for Boiling it in order to make it drinkable, the spot is still on the flat geeen Clear Lands so they can in indulge in to big time farming. There really are no limitations as long as they have the Farmers to do it, 10,000 Hectares and above is an option as well although not neccesary.


    Now of course it is almost the middle of December and they can''t plant anything, that''s what the sea nearby is good for. Calidum Lutum don''t have it hard to spear and pull out a 200 Kilogram fish! If they just set 10 men in the job they will basically have a unlimited food supply since the beaches can stretch for a stunning 500 Kilometres without getting in to enemy territory.


    King Michael will provide these people with the appropriate spears, meaning the Blacksmiths should quite possibly make bigger ones to make them appropriate for the 10 foot tall people.


    Furthermore, Gaster Kingdom has enough farmed and fished food to support all 800 of these people at least until the next planting season although it won''t definitely take that long.


    King Michael will be their base, while the Masters and Grand Masters will only have to worry about making the 200 Igloos and possibly a wall around them too. It should take a month to make them, so the people here should be heading towards the future New Lan Zhe 3 weeks after the Masters and Grand Masters make their journey there.


    Another key feature about this proposed spot that the Calidum Lutum can utilize if they wanted to, is this ancient Ignite Castle! There are a handful of ancient Castles throughout Ignis, but this one could be carrying the most History.


    This Castle, was made as a sort of pride to taunt the Snow Ignites. See before the first Era, both Ignites and ill.u.s.tratios were in constant war for a very small territory of Ignis. This territory was at the top of the Continent, because Snow Ignites had the rest of the land here and even 1/5 of the Continent of Ratan.


    About 200 years before the first Era when the Ice Age started ending, Ignites claimed more land deeper within the Continent and build this Castle more as an outpost to taunt both the ill.u.s.tratios and Snow Ignites.


    Now, it is abandoned and all that is left is rock that can shatter but not decompose. Regardless of this fact, this Castle is a stunning 6,313 years old! Astonishing isn''t it?


    Although it is best to leave it untouched as a relic, King Michael recommends to enhance it with Volcanic rock to prevent any collapses, if they want to use it that is.


    With these facts and ideas well behind them, now it is the time to play with the mutated Chicken.

 Chapter 378 - Testing the Chicken

    "There is only one thing we need to remember here regarding safety." King Michael spoke, trying to get in to one specification before letting this Chicken loose. "If it''s charging towards you, crack a fire shield open or get behind one who can."


    They have let the Mutated Chicken out of the Cell about half an hour ago, although it didn''t show hostility towards any human, safety still can''t be certain. This Chicken has the size and the Weaponry to cause serious damage, although it is just roughly 15 Kilograms heavy.


    To prevent her from flying away, since she clearly has the ability to do so now, she can fly as high as a hawk. He has tied a mildly thick rope around one of her leg, this rope stretches 10 meters long and is tied around Saleem''s arm.


    Saleem is a 6.4 foot man, breaks about 150 Kilos and is tremendously buff. If anyone can keep a mutated Chicken on the ground, it is him.


    Well apart from him and King Michael having to test the Chicken, Alama has also gotten out of the Castle. Stefan has joined them as well to catch up with the men and women here, and is glad to meet new people as well.


    Dea in the other hand is back in her house, getting to know Osira and Dilli as an intend of connecting with Stefan''s past or at this term new friends. While the origin behind this decision is double intended, King Michael found it best if less Fire Manipulators were in this scene, although protection a bit weaker it will prove safer for the Chicken.


    Mogranius and Eric are on the scene as well of course, they are quite powerful when it comes in terms of protection but also they really wanted to see this, Mogranius got the closest look to Demons before so he really wants to see this.


    Commander Alia is here too, but only because she has this sort of gift for animal taming. Although the Chicken won''t most likely run away from everyone since it is used to approach Humans, considering that they see Humans as food providers, it is still best to keep Commander Alia close, she knows how to calm down animals.


    "Alright, let us see what you can do Miss. Chicken." King Michael spoke, being careful with his every move.


    As the first test, he placed wheat grain on the ground. He basically rolled out a handful that piled up in a semi pyramidal form. The Chicken of course rushed towards it, she is still an animal after all and goes after food.


    The Chicken pecked on the grain, and thankfully it didn''t mutate again, as you might noticed this grain is rather normal, from this Dimension at least.


    At first it seemed normal, apart from the fact that this Chicken is a bit bigger than a Hen, there is nothing else special here. Just a Chicken pecking on the ground.


    But it became interesting when they noticed the result after, not the result on the Chicken but the result on the ground. Apart from the fact that the Grain was finished off comedicly fast, there are a lot of holes on the ground where the Chicken has pecked.


    Inch deep holes spread over a limited mass of dirt, this proves one thing. If she can penetrate dirt by an inch when its eating food, she can possibly sink an inch in flesh in someone or something she is trying to attack which can be rather lethal.


    "Interesting." King Michael murmured among himself and this time didn''t find it troubling and explain one key fact here. "Can any of you imagine if a Chicken with claws strong enough to break bones, clinging on you while fearlessly pecking on your head."


    As he explained this small information regarding the Chicken''s Weaponry, it was made clear throughout everyone''s mind that this Chicken although not the biggest, it can be more dangerous than a Human if properly trained.


    "I''d rather go back in the wild and take my chances with another Source Bear." Mogranius joked around, and hilariously took a couple of steps back rather swiftly.


    "Yes I have the same thought." King Michael added, recalling another fact. "At least against a Source Bear we have the slightest chance of running or flying away."


    This little wordplay however, is but a seed for another test. The Chicken is obviously still hungry considering her size, so he placed more Wheat Grain on the ground. But this time he walked about 12 meters away from Saleem, even counting the steps on the way.


    The Chicken instantly noticed what is happening here, well by that I mean she knows the King dropped more food. She recognized the bag, the sound grain makes once being dropped and even the body motion of which the human food provider makes.


    With a little bounce, she ran towards the grain and showed exactly how much force she is able to give in. Although the strongest here physically, Salem can feel a strong tug and since he noticed where the King is going with this, he followed the unspoken plan and kept his footing firm.


    The Chicken turned around, noticed what''s keeping her from getting the food and pecked a couple of times the Rope, forcing it to break. Afterwards, as if Sassy she casually walked towards the food.


    "Interesting, as if her intelligence was boosted a tad bit too." King Michael murmured with himself.


    "That Chicken is definitely powerful." Salem walked over and tapped on King Michael''s shoulder as if they are life long friends. It is fair to say that King Michael was almost knocked down on the mud.


    But what''s more important here, Salem even had a rough estimate of its power. "Holding her back felt like wrestling 2 Barramundies out of the water at once."


    Basically, a Barramundie grows in bizarre cases 2 meters long and can weigh up to 60 Kilos, however in most cases it is half the above size and amount. And if one Chicken felt to someone like Salem like 2 Barramundies, or on other words hard to maintain. It means that this mutated Chicken is tremendously powerful.


    "At this rate it isn''t a surprise if this Chicken swoops in and lifts an enemy Soldier from the ground." Mogranius spoke, and noticed the devious smile on King Michael''s face once this idea was put in his mind. This mutation recipe can make a large difference in battle, this Chicken alone is far too dangerous, imagine 100.


    As they were testing out the Chicken to a further extend, Mogranius approached Stefan casually and asked. "So you actually gathered the guts to ask someone out, did she bite you?"


    Recalling the wordplay Stefan used when he asked her out, he played it frosty here by adding. "No thankfully, but I barely had any trouble asking her out. She values smart people so..."


    Since the topic is about marriage, and originally dating. Stefan instantly thought about Eric, adding. "What about Eric, if anyone would have it difficult to make a move it would be him."


    "My lady hooked him up." Mogranius added, and could already sense that Eric has gotten a tad shy. "Otherwise he would be single until 58, like me."


    Of course he joked around at this part, but in some aspects it could have been the future. Mogranius decided just not to date up until 58 even though his options amazing, but Eric would just be too shy to actually try to talk to a girl he fancies. So him marrying, would likely include two mothers pushing them closer towards each other.


    In the midst of their little chit chat, something else managed to catch their attention at a rather expansive rate. King Michael apparently has decided to feel the tug on the Chicken''s force.


    Due to that fact, he has started flying. But not above 100 meters high, roughly 2 meters. "This Chicken is definitely strong!" King Michael mildly shouted as he was in mid air.


    This scene, rather embarrassing for him as a King but after all he is surrounded by friends and friendly faces, even though these faces are giggling. Actually he is the most embarrassed about being caught this weak in front of Alama.


    "Salem some help." He murmured, but enough to be heard and Salem was about to grab his foot and drag him down.


    But Commander Alia prevented him from doing so, with a laugh throughout the sentence. "He wanted to feel the tug, let him handle the tug."


    It was rather hilarious to see him fly, but at the same time confusing since he has developed a small pot belly and weighs 80 Kilos now, but apart from all the fun and games this is tremendous power coming from one bird.


    "Salem I am your King, pull me down." King Michael tried to shout rudely but couldn''t help to laugh at well because of this situation even though it is he who is the Victim.


    "Just fly down, you have powers." Mogranius reminded with a mild shout although he couldn''t help to smile at this, well more like he smiled on how devious his lady can be.


    Embarrassed enough that he actually forgot that fact, he replied. "Oh right."

 Chapter 379 - Relaxation

    Although the group commonly have burdens over their shoulders and actually still have them, one should always take some time to relax. Everyone has different methods of relaxation, some like to walk and some like to stay at home with a book as a comfort.


    But Commander Alia and Mogranius decide to relax with each other as a comfort, spending time together alone in their house. Well being alone in a house has become impossible thanks to all the kids occupying them but now in mid day when everyone else is away, they can spend some time alone.


    Throughout the month they barely got any privacy thanks to the travelling, which neccesarily means that they had to keep their professional standards high, well more like Commander Alia kept it and Mogranius continued to be a goof to keep the kids laughing. But my point is that they had no time to "Connect".


    Well it is either now or never, Commander Alia prepared some tea and Mogranius started doing one dumb thing after the other to appear more attractive. As the last move he threw his black robe away, thankfully still wearing clothing to defend his personal areas, and tried to flex his arm muscles without making it too obvious.


    He lifted a chair and moved it closer to the fireplace, tightening his arms as much as he could with a hope that she will get a glimpse. But, Mogranius although a lifetime explorer he isn''t the buffest man in the group.


    With all honesty if he wanted to flex a muscle, his legs would be the best option as they are thick enough to out compete a Grand Master in swordsmanship like Woldemir.


    Throughout the process of moving the Chair, he tripped on a cloth that was thrown on the ground earlier while getting the proper firewood. Obviously he lost his balance a tad bit, and uncontrollably rushed a couple of steps forward.


    But he made enough sound to startle Alia a tad bit, she poured a bit of boiling water on her hand and although it isn''t enough to peel her skin off, it is certainly enough to make her cuss. "Shit, my hand."


    Afterwards she looked at Mogranius to make sure that he is okay, only to see him rushing towards her. Grabbing her hand lightly and asking, "Did you get burned? Let me see."


    "Its just a little bit of boiling water, it scares me more how you decided to take your clothes off now that the room is still cold." Of course she said this with an effort to tease, and it worked.


    "Its not like you don''t want to see all this muscle." Afterwards he flexed his arm, but there wasn''t much to see. I suppose we can rate his arm muscles as a 2/6.


    "I''d be more attracted towards that booty, better not show this curve to Ada." Alia teased furthermore and shamelessly slapped Mogranius'' behind.


    "Oh wait I see what you are trying to do here." She added with a smirk, deciphering his attempt. Afterwards adding, "Not before tea."


    ...


    Meanwhile, back at the Stable. Surprisingly Ada has decided to relax by working. By work I don''t mean a full schedule, but she is just helping out her mother. King Michael is paying a handsome stable fee thanks to Alama convincing him to do so. Like suspected, productivity is high.


    The Horses are brushed, washed and fed rather well. Furthermore they are given the chance to walk free a few hours a day. Thanks to the soul thought that free unlimited food is back at the Stable, the Horses have no intend to run away.


    Horses are highly valuable of course, so a handful of Guards are always sent with the Horses to prevent for them to get stolen. There is little the Guards can do if one or two Horses chose to make a dash in the forest, but in all cases the Horses return.


    Ada has been here a few hours now, and Eric was wondering for a while where she went because it isn''t common for Ada to simply dissapear. Most of the times she follows Eric around, not seeing him just as a lover, but as a best friend as well.


    Quite actually they haven''t even kissed yet, whatever romantic move they make is commonly highly private and in many extends limited. They are kids and haven''t quite developed specific hormonal needs yet. Even if they did, they aren''t quite sure what to do about them apart from ignoring them. There really isn''t an influence inbetween giving them ideas.


    Giving it a short thought, he figured that Ada is inevitable at the Stable with her mother because they obviously missed each other. So this time, he decided to follow her around now that he is given the Chance.


    "There you are." He spoke with a mild tone, carrying the joy of seeing her and surprisingly moved in for a hug. Yes he has gotten close enough to her, enough to give her a hug without having a mild anxiety attack.


    "Why? Have you missed me?" She joked around, tying around the hug a bit tighter.


    "Of course, I''m not used to not seeing you." He answered truthfully, grabbed her hand after separating from the hug and said. "Let''s walk."


    ...


    Speaking of relaxation, after a few months of work the new Platoon has finally managed to settle in on their schedules. Until then, it became a burden over his shoulders since he is in charge of them and their success on duties.


    Before, individual perks and disadvantages have been over looked and it inevitably lead to a fail in the battlefield. Sure they have been out numbered and were either level 2 or 1, but they still could have done better.


    He has made sure to observe each one, and actually managed to filter out countless bad moves be it with a sword or throughout the exercise. In other words, Woldemir is giving 125% of his effort on making this Platoon as if they were Soldiers from the god of sources herself.


    Every Guard has procedures to follow in order to better themselves, which inevitably means that Woldemir has bought himself some free time. The Master in Swordsmanship has invited him for some tea, which in other terms means that Isabel has invited him.


    The most relaxing thing for Woldemir is always a nice cup of Black Tea, surprisingly not only are his nerves calmer but he can even think things through at an improved extend.


    Isabel has managed to push throughout a lot of her limits as time went by, understanding more and more how Woldemir''s thoughts are in many aspects extraordinary. In other words, he is the purest man, the purest human come to think of it.


    He doesn''t harm anyone who didn''t harm him, be it emotionally or physically. Furthermore he never uses anyone for personal gains or advantages and in 99.9% of the cases has a clear pure language. Meaning, he almost never curses, perhaps once in a year or so but never towards a friendly face.


    It is why she has pushed her limits, or at least has made new boundaries which would take a lot longer to cross, because she knew that Woldemir wouldn''t do it for her. The point is here, that she feels sure for him to be hers although she wasn''t the best to express it.


    Furthermore, Isabel has learned the Ignite language almost perfectly thanks to the year of time granted to her advantage and the fact that Woldemir won''t stop talking about swordsmanship, passion I suppose but it worked to both of their advantages.


    "You know Commander Alia was the first to know about this." Isabel explained a tad bit, referring to this connection or in other words, feelings.


    "Yes, I was wondering why you turned red when saying your goodbyes before departing for the Wheat Grain Project." He added, carrying a smile and quite liking the fact that she fancies him. "It took me months to realise why it happened."


    "Oh well, now you know." Actually aiming to tempt him for the first time ever, she added. "So what will you do with that information to be exact?"


    But of course she is terrible at such a game, and instantly got red thanks to her own words. Woldemir didn''t even do anything here, except from answering. "I''d say that you are adorable."


    "Why?" She asked, feeling close to fainting. Such a sudden burst of good yet shy emotions, it isn''t the easiest to handle them.


    "Well at first I thought you want to beat me up or something, but now you apparently fancy me?" He stated, maintaining strong and firm eye contact with her which became all the more difficult for her to face.


    "No I never wanted to beat you up, if I wanted to harm you I would have when we met at first back at Lan Zhe." She managed to control her cheeks now and let out a full sentence.


    "Oh so you were going easy on me?" He asked, placing his hands over the table and locking his own fingers. Glancing at Isabel directly in the eyes, understanding with absolute certainty that she likes him.


    Getting nervous again, actually forgetting what the question was. She answered swiftly, "Um... I don''t know, I forgot."

 Chapter 380 - Demonic Islands

    The new year here in Ignis is close to breaking, a mass celebration for most on one hand and the end of a business deal in the other. In terms of business, this time we are talking about the Kingdom with the most assets in the Triangle of Domains, Pameres Kingdom.


    They had a Iron Sword deal whose income included three Domains. Pameres Kingdom took the most income of course considering the fact that it has the most Blacksmiths. Gaster Kingdom took 10% of the income in exchange for port usage and Bale Town took a small fraction of this income, due to the small amount of Blacksmiths there.


    However, this Iron Sword deal has been renewed with a bigger better deal and at the same time more difficult. In a span of 5 months after December ends, Pameres Kingdom will have to fill in an order which includes 100 Iron Gauntlets, 80 Iron Boots, 90 Iron Breeches, 130 Chest Armours and 150 War Hammers.


    You would think that a rich domain wouldn''t tamper much with the quantities and in terms of full body armour, they would have ordered every piece at the same amount. But no, here they are ordering quantities based on their usage and exposure to danger.


    Example, Iron Chest Armours are the most commonly damaged in battle so their quantity is 130 while Iron Boots are the least commonly damaged in battle, so 80 are ordered a month. Rather smart budgeting come to think of it.


    In this deal, Bale Town won''t be included. The order is just too complex while the pay is small, the quantity of Blacksmiths there just isn''t for this order. Plus it is perfect timing, because with so many hired men and women in Bale Town, they will need every Blacksmith to make various tools.


    As for what the Zamerians will do with this order, the answer is rather simple. They will resell them! There is a Continent behind Zameria named Kutulat. And considering the different economies, both selling Continents will benefit and the consuming continent will get good products.


    Kutulat is a Continent about 20% smaller than Ignis, and it has a rather interesting population mix. The two main races there are Zamerians and Molarians. In two points of view, this big island was used to handle over population in the main Continents.


    Now Kutulat is considerably an independent Continent, and they can afford to purchase such Weaponry from the Zamerians thanks to Port Fees. The origin of port fees is of course made thanks to the fact that Zameria and Molaria are far too apart, it is almost like they are a world apart from each other.


    Come to think of it, Zameria and Kutulat are 3,400 Kilometers away from each other, not to mention other distances. So it makes sense for the two Big Continents to stop on Kutulat for a short break between transactions.


    But the fact that Kutulat ordered these war tools, raises another question. Why order them considering that there is no war going on there. Simple, well not really. They want to explore and conquer the Demonic Islands which are an estimated 1,400 Kilometers below them.


    Those who lived long enough to tell the story, explain that this landmass is mostly submerged under water, but there still remains many Islands there which can be used at a rather considerable extend.


    The explorers could not do anything to occupy these Islands due to the fact that they are packed to the top with Crazed Demons. Well regardless, there are 22 Islands there which can be conquered and used. All together, these Islands have a land mass about 2/5 the size of Ignis. That''s almost as big as Occidentis Ignis, who would not want to risk it?


    However getting back to profits, all together these orders will bring in an income of 47,300 Gold Coins! Not as big as the Shield order, but it will of course make Pameres Kingdom richer.


    Considering the 10% port tax that Gaster Kingdom takes (4,730 Gold Coins), Pameres Kingdom will be left with a nice income of 42,570 Gold Coins. Now it looks even smaller doesn''t it? Well when looking at this order only it does sound small, but when combined with the other sources of income it brings a profit of 97,075 Gold Coins after all the expenses are covered.


    This is the biggest profit that Pameres Kingdom made, be it in or out of the Alliance. It is rather easy to determine that King Zar has made a tremendous move when leaving the Alliance, who else could have brought Pameres Kingdom this much profit?


    When we can count all the Budgets, even after December ends, Bale Town remains number one in this Triangle of Domains with a total piled up Budget of 582,000 Gold Coins! At this rate it feels like the is no topping them, but Pameres Kingdom can and will this year at least.


    As for after this December, Pameres Kingdom will have a total piled up Budget of 470,000 Gold Coins. Sounds large doesn''t it? And as mentioned before, it is only second in size because of all the War and Aiding expenses.


    Gaster Kingdom again comes third in line, with a total piled up Budget of 420,000 Gold Coins after December ends but there are three reasons behind it.


    This Domain doesn''t have crazy profitable assets, has more people to feed and has far too many apprentices. This Domain doesn''t bring too much profit now, but after a year or two it will inevitably bring more profit thanks to the apprentices escaping their titles as apprentices.


    An order including 550 products of various shapes and sizes is indeed hard to tackle, but the order is given to the first group of Blacksmiths who by time are just getting better and better. Them handling this order is no sweat, well it will be difficult but they won''t fail to meet the required quantities.


    Even better, Seer reports a 3% increase of productivity across the employees. This isn''t directly pointed at the Blacksmiths, but it inevitably means that they will handle the order and perhaps even make extras to make the next order easier.


    Giving people two days off a week indeed proved useful, the total monthly product didn''t drop, but is even meeting an increase. Which proves a rather firm point that people can work more if they have enough time to rest.


    Tedradia made a huge contribution in Pameres Kingdom, and now that this project is proven effective and trustable, the therapy building''s Budget has been doubled. Starting after December, Tedradia will need to manage a Budget of 4,000 Gold Coins.


    This Budget can be either used to give the apprentices better salaries, or hire a handful of more apprentices. If she hires more, it inevitably means that more troubling men and women will be forced in to Therapy in the order of the King and be it slow or fast, become happier.


    ...


    Now, let''s include a little scene easier to comprehend than all this business talk. King Zar just walked out of his Royal Bedroom with a plan of visiting the Restroom. As a King, he has the luxury of having an indoor toilet and the quantities drop down to a big hole.


    Enough about duty talks, he was in a bit of a rush so he did something that he doesn''t quite often do, he went out of his Royal Bedroom while still wearing his Green Pyjamas.


    Crisa has seen him like this only a couple of times throughout her years of work, it is easy to determine that he keeps a Royal standard of clothing.


    She is carrying a small plate carrying a Royal Breakfast. Which including a couple of boiled eggs, three pieces of sliced bread and half an apple. At this time the King is throughout most of the times at the Dinning room, since he didn''t come this time due to the fact that he overslept, she decided to bring his food in his Bedroom.


    It is a kind gesture, but where did it lead to? King Zar speed walking for the rest room, wearing baggy green Pyjamas. She has it hard to hold in her laughter now, and holding her breath she spoke. "I brought your breakfast."


    "Thank you, please leave it on my bed." He spoke fast as he rushed for the Restroom, bashing through the door and closing it fast after.


    Afterwards an explosive sound echoed across the Royal hallway, and it wasn''t an enemy attacking. King Zar didn''t bother to be slow here as it is obvious to hear, but thankfully it happened just around Crisa.


    She walked away with a small giggle and entered the Royal Bedroom, near his bed there is a small wooden table so she placed the tray there.


    About ten minutes after, King Zar walked in. Stating, "We are out of water in the Restroom, please have one of the maids replenish it later. Maybe wait for an hour."


    Pushing the roof of her teeth with her tongue, trying to suppress laughter she asked. "I guess you lost your appetite by now."

 Chapter 381 - Strange Sounds

    Alcon Epke, a beautiful name isn''t it. Some consider him a genius and a lot consider him Crazy, and he is a little bit. But mostly he is bursting with ideas, has an unmatchable work ethic and furthermore is topped off with a strong dedication to help his tribe progress.


    The Tribe''s most recent Dilemma, is down at the mines of the third section. For months now, they were unable to break through these weird rocks. These rocks can be barely scared by Pickaxes, the most one can do is break a small chip.


    Well, Alcon Epke has thought of a beautiful plan regarding how to break these rocks that block the passage in all three of the mines in the third section.


    First things first, it was absolutely necessary to propose this idea to the Grand Leader Bittore Nardone first. Since this idea, will include the Blacksmiths and the Miners. In other words, it has nothing to do with the craft he favors and is tremendously good at, Stonemasonry.


    Bittore accepted the idea right away, and in a way found it dumb how she didn''t think of it, considering that Alcon''s idea is actually based on a Fire Blasting move.


    The Idea, is to make a 10 meter long pole which is half a meter thick! Who would be able to lift that thing though? Ten people! It isn''t really important who those 10 people can or will be, but the point here is that 10 handles will be attached to this big pole''s sides. Meaning, one side will have 5 and the other will have 5 as well.


    This pole, has a cone like shape right in front of it. And that is the bright idea behind this plan, carried, ran with and bashed against the rough rock which blocks their way, will cause a concentrated blow.


    Its genius, and it is actually working but it is as tiresome as it is effective. This pole took over a month to make, took a hell load of Iron and weighs a tad over 300 Kilos. Thanks to the weight distribution to each man it will feel like carrying 30 Kilos, but carrying 30 kilos all the time is tiresome, and teamwork ironically makes it worse.


    In a matter of a day, the 10 men manage to puncture through this large previously thought unbreakable rock. They had to bash the pole against the rock, stop so they can remove debris and then bash again.


    Once successful, they ventured deeper in to this first tunnel of the third section, it has precious yet strange minerals inside. This mineral, was gone for nearly 3 Volumes now but has managed to make a stunning entrance, an entrance with a "blow".


    Of course, we are talking about Dark Blue Ores! They are used to form nearly indestructible ingots, in other terms they can be used to make Weapons and Armour. The Snow Ignites of Maleemia actually broke through this discovery, but their work and research is sitting under the rumble of the mountainside.


    Now it appears that the Snow Ignites who have abandoned this place hundreds of years ago, wanted to put this metal in to use their selves. Perhaps they failed to do so, because the Demons might have prevented them to do so?


    Or perhaps they just have chosen not to use these Dark Blue Ores, considering the large almost indestructible boulders, it isn''t surprising if the Snow Ignites put them there.


    Regardless, this is a big discovery and a huge advantage in battle. Unlike Iron Armour, it would take a far stronger force to penetrate through Dark Blue Armour, only a mature Calidum Lutum can deliver such a devastating blow, or someone as strong as Saleem.


    Come to think of it, even Demons might have it difficult to kill a man or woman dressed with this armour. The Armour could definitely be penetrated by one, but at a very limited extend, it can be considered as a dent.


    Now imagine if Grand Masters in Swordsmanship dress in this type of Armour, it would be practically impossible to stop them without tremendously heavy weaponry, like a Ballista.


    They have indeed made a tremendous discovery, and if the situation requires it, they will be even stronger in war.


    But furthermore, this new discovery has caused a lot of excitement throughout this hidden domain. Most in this tribe, have found a sudden motivation to drop everything and rush to work in the mine.


    Most tasks are taken care off ever since they settled in, now they mainly focus on food so it isn''t a surprise if a lot of men and women have free time. But in another point of view, all this excitement can cause disorder and maybe even accidents.


    The Tunnel is only so small, it isn''t wise to put 40 people in there regardless of how much they want to lend a hand. It is obvious that Bittore has a lot of work in front of her with this new discovery, but at least it is for the better.


    In related information, people working in this Tunnel have reported hearing weird sounds. Sounds that they can''t really specify. As if a wet boulder tapped against the ground, tripped and shouted after. It is obviously a horrible description, but no doubt the most accurate one Bittore heard so far.


    ...


    Hunting, for what is it neccesary? Well in these Medieval times, it is mostly done in the means of survival with a small percentage doing it in the means of profit.


    Hunting was and is remaining the most providing food supply, one hunt can bring a weeks worth of food for an entire tribe, not to mention how much it would bring for one person.


    In the Duty of hunting today, is Jone Weiss and Clarry Ritter. There are a couple of other Fire Controlling ladies in the duty of hunting today, but they are as a separate team in order to include the chances of success.


    Furthermore, there is a group of 10 men considered as the third team, hunting. They are obviously hunting a few Kilometers away from the tribe, the next meal won''t walk or fly over to you.


    Clarry and Jone are about 3 Kilometers South, actually able to see enemy territories from the view here, these Domains are lower so survival can be more plausible.


    Clarry and Jone are carrying 2 Backpacks each, so when they shoot a Blue Eagle down, they can carry as much meat as possible with one go. Of course they can come later and carry the meat that they couldn''t in the beginning, but it can''t be guaranteed that the Meat will stay there.


    There are Bears, other Blue Eagles and a hell load of different predators who too are trying to survive, they won''t think about other animals and they will definitely be greedy with the food.


    Each, these two ladies can carry around 40-60 Kilos of meat for an extended period of time so it only makes sense if they try to shoot down just one Blue Eagle. One of them can averagely weigh 90-120 Kilos so it makes sense to shoot just one of them down.


    It does make sense, but is it easy? Hell no. These Blue Eagles rarely travel alone, most commonly they travel in pacs or herds or however you would like to call it. And even if they somehow managed to sneak a shot, kill the Eagle and hide. It wouldn''t work, because in these Mountains, Cannibalism between Predators is rather common. They would make a meal out of the shot down Blue Eagle.


    "Let''s shoot one down as soon as possible so we can be done with this day already." Jone spoke, at a low tone no doubt but it still came out harsh.


    "It''s a beautiful day, have a little bit of enthusiasm in you please." Clarry complained about her friend''s depressing behaviour.


    "All I see is dark and grey." Jone answered, practically adding fuel to her own fire.


    "Stop being so dramatic." Clarry answered, as she took a second to stalk her own surroundings.


    "No, I''m serious. I don''t see the green you all kept talking about in summer when we were on the low lands, all I saw was a dark shade of green." Thinking it through, based on what she remembers of her childhood. She added, "In fact everything has become more and more grey throughout my life, maybe it is because of my age..."


    "Age likely doesn''t have anything to do with it, just have more enthusiasm and the colours will return." Clarry replied, trying to help her friend.


    "There isn''t much to be happy about, all our lives were terrible." Jone wasn''t planning to hide this little fact.


    "But we are better now, we have our own place and all we have to worry about is food. What other Ignite in Ignis is blessed with this luxury?" With these couple of sentences she managed to return a glimpse of gratitude back to Jone, I suppose Clarry is the only one close enough to do it.


    But of course Jone has it tad hard to accept this fact. "You are right I guess, let''s just focus on our Hunting for a while?" Although sneaky, she had a smile on her face and avoided to face Clarry.

 Chapter 382 - Preparing against a Disaster.

    The new Crutal Castle is very close to being built, it requires just another month or two in order to give some finishing touches and perhaps another month to settle in with Furniture and fancy extras.


    Chan and Arbella Nicia walked in the temporary Castle they have taken property over, he is in a rather calm mood although craving Beer a tad bit.


    Chan walked over to his father and greeted, "Good morning."


    "Back from your morning walk I see." King Xakro asked, forgetting to return the greeting due to the fact that there is a lot in his mind.


    "Well Arbella has forced me in to so many walks that I''ve come to like them, I understand a bit of her points there." Chan explained in a little bit of detail, and in other terms wanted to show Gratitude. "Thank you for not cutting her Salary, she is indeed over qualified for her job."


    "What are a few hundred Gold Coins compared to forging a worth future King? If it wasn''t for our current Dilema, I would have doubled her salary." Xakro is tending to encourage them both here, and his words are sweeter than honey in many aspects. Who would know that the King would eventually speak at such a good intend?


    "A King, as much as I want to be one, i feel like it will hang on a thread." With his wordplay, Chan is quoting the trouble of which the Grand King from the motherland brought.


    "Yes that can be a problem, I never thought that my own motherland would turn against me. This is a big loss, because not only did we loose a tremendous financial support, we can easily be conquered considering the Soldier Count they have and can upgrade." Xakro did not beat around the bush here, he got directly to the point.


    "Like how on Earth does he expect you to pile up 250 million Gold Coins in a span of 10 years?" Arbella spoke, making it obvious that she has done rather extensive research in this matter by adding. "I''ve seen the monthly income. Even with the recent changes, making 250 million is impossible!"


    "I don''t think he wants you to succeed, my thought is that he wants more power. So he first declared "independence" and afterwards gave you an impossible goal. Us failing, is an excuse for his forces to attack and claim all of Ignis." I''d like to say that it was Xakro who spoke these rather intelligent sentences, but no. It is all Stefan and his own merit. Even adding. "He wants to be the Grand King of Ignis, being one in just the motherland wasn''t enough."


    "I shared the same thought a while ago, but his words and his intentions did not link. He made it all about knowing what''s best for the motherland, yet at the bottom sentence he threatens to invade which will only harm the population count of the motherland. I suppose he never cared about that anyway, it is obvious that he wants more power." King Xakro complimented his son''s words, rather interesting for him to see Chan be this smart though.


    Here Chan might be having a strong point, because when all of Meridionali Ignis dropped out of the Alliance, the income from the 10% tax faced a significant nudge down. What used to bring Crutal Kingdom 240,000 Gold Coins only brings 25,500 now!


    The gap is indeed large, but the Kingdoms in Occidentis Ignis and Septemtrionis Ignis aren''t exactly the richest. And what better way to defeat an enemy than cut down on their profits in such a crisis?


    However, it is clear to see that with the 10% income from the taxes, Crutal Kingdom will never manage to pay 250 Million in a span of 10 years, it is simply impossible. So the King has ordered that after December ends, the tax will be increased to 30%.


    It is a drastic measure, but it will help deal with some of the damage while King Xakro tries to figure out other ideas. In the meantime, the profit from the tax now bumps up to 76,500 Gold Coins a month. It sounds bigger indeed, but not much compared to the 240,000 they used to get just from 10%!


    Furthermore, local business taxes here in Crutal Kingdom have been tripled! This won''t make a significant difference in the profit, but now Crutal Kingdom will get 15,000 Gold Coins a month out of them instead of 5,000. Business men obviously aren''t happy about it, but it won''t damage their earnings in a large extend.


    Housing Taxes have been doubled as well, Crutal Kingdom still has 300 houses after the destroyed ones were reconstructed, so all together now they will bring 30,000 Gold Coins. Paying a 100 Gold Coin tax just to live in a house is indeed big in these financial standards but considering the hundreds of people hired in this Domain, every house has at least two people bringing gold home so it is manageable.


    In good news at least, Ratan has not stopped their orders and they continue to order in large quantities. Ratan is pretty much a super Continent so Ignis can never give them enough products, meaning that Crutal Kingdom will always have business there as long as it has the people to put in the work.


    Ratan is keeping their orders continues, they have no deadlines. They have bought Iron, lumber and even animal products from Crutal Kingdom due to the fact that they can sell it more there thanks to the different economies.


    But, regardless of this good fact it still isn''t enough to pile up 250 million Gold Coins! Sure, Crutal Kingdom is managing to maintain a beautiful profit of 264,500 Gold Coins which is the biggest profit in Occidentis Ignis, this profit can only pile up around 31 million in a span of 10 years, perhaps 40 million with all the farming products included.


    Clearly, it isn''t enough so this opens up another topic. A topic about Dark Blue Ore! This is a rather sensitive topic, and only the highest officials of the Alliance knew, at least at the time before the Snow Ignites conquered Maleemia.


    "In ten years we can never pile up 250 million, but what if we out source the Dark Blue Ores where Maleemia used to stand?" King Xakro pitched, leaving the two others in the room no doubt confused.


    "What on earth are Dark Blue Ores?" Asked Chan in a mild but yet high pitched tone before Arbella could, although it is certain that they both had the same question.


    "The reason why the Alliance is breaking apart, is because I refused to let the Snow Ignites horde these ores. Or else why would I care about a little revolt to the point of facing these many losses?" King Xakro specified as clearly as he could, adding a big piece to the puzzle and explaining why thousands of soldiers died to invade a little Kingdom.


    "So this ore must be very valuable, I''m thinking that a piece can be sold for at least a thousand Gold Coins. That at least makes more sense behind your decision." Chan asked, trying to figure out more behind this story without pissing off his father.


    "I''m not sure of the market price per piece." King Xakro added as he shook his head from left to right repeatedly but yet softly and afterwards continued to add. "An Ingot can go for a hundred Gold Coins here I guess, but that''s not the point. These ores can grant us almost indestructible Armour, and we are the only ones in the world who can provide it if we get our hands on it. To Ratan, we can sell a full set of Armour for 2,000 Gold Coins."


    "Not only will this help us pay the fine, but it will give us two options. With indestructible Armour on, even a small force can withstand whatever our motherland has to throw against us." Chan added, clear minded and actually bursting with ideas. Arbella for sure has molded him in to a man better than anyone ever could.


    "That is a great option yes, but we need to get our hands on that Ore first. Now our Sources tell us that the previous Maleemian mines are nearly impossible to break through, that''s why we will need someone who can help with the case and a lot of Miners as well." Thinking it through a bit more, the King added. "It is going to cost us no doubt, but this might be the only way to escape this trap."


    Showing off that she is smart as well, Arbella pointed out a fact. "And Septemtrionis Ignis is still in our Alliance, meaning they are in your command. And since Meridionali Ignis is banned from entering your lands, no one will stop you from attaining those riches."


    With these thoughts and plans in mind, they at least have set the base of attaining these riches, although it might take a while for them to succeed.

 Chapter 383 - 460 Hectares

    With the recent upgrades in the overall profit in Gaster Kingdom, it became considerably inevitable for another Salary raise to be declared. Throughout time, gold or possessions have been a rather great motivator.


    But furthermore, if anyone deserves to earn more are the Employees here in Gaster Kingdom, they worked their behinds off when the pay was food or very minimal in quantity. Plus they still work hard, them having better lives is inevitable.


    But throughout building a budget, it is never a good idea to be drastic with the salary raises, there is no absolute rush especially since every other daily necessities are provided for free. It is better to take these steps carefully, minor salary raises at a time when more sources of income get established, when the monthly profit increases.


    This time, King Michael found it best to do just a 10 Gold Coin increase in the Salaries of his loyal employees, well not all of them. Just the ones that have a salary that is under 150 Gold Coins. As said before, it isn''t a major increase but it would sure make everyone happier. Food and warmth provided for free, plus they are earning more? Everyone would have motivation to work harder, earn more.


    Raising the salaries for 10 Gold Coins more doesn''t sound like a big deal. But when combined all together, the monthly expenses have met a nudge up by around 3,000 Gold Coins.


    Meaning, after December Gaster Kingdom will earn 3,000 Gold Coins less. It isn''t a big deal but not a small one either, and in other terms explains why budgeting should be appreciated with Caution. What they did in Pameres Kingdom when they hired 400 people at once is anything but cautious, but hey it worked for them. Yet still it is better to play it safe.


    Regardless of the extended expenses, after December Gaster Kingdom will still earn a stunning profit of precisely 47,182 Gold Coins. Well at least that is the estimation if everything goes right, if all orders are fulfilled.


    It is still a tremendous profit, rather a lot to be proud off considering that their total Budget before Alama arrived was 0 with 0. And King Michael doesn''t even plan to stop with the Salary raises until every employee in this Domain earns a beautiful 150 Gold Coins a month at least! After that, he can at least tax the people for using the houses or better yet charge people for food which can be tremendously profitable.


    The people King Michael feels most guilty about Salary-wise, is the second Platoon of Guards which has Zamerians in it only. There is no doubt that they are still apprentices, new and in some points of view useless. But paying them 20 Gold Coins a month? It still isn''t enough even after the salary got raised to 30!


    But this situation has to be approached cautiously, because this Platoon contains 100 Guards, paying all of them 150 Gold Coins would require 45,000 Gold Coins a month! If King Michael paid them this much at the moment, the profit would collapse!


    This Budget and profit has been cautiously build over the span of a year, being irresponsible with it can lead to an economic nightmare and cause a mass depression when King Michael would be forced to cut the salaries short!


    For now, their salaries will be 30 Gold Coins each. When new sources of profit are established, bigger salaries will be established, that''s how Budgeting works in these parts.


    As for establishing new sources of income, it is really hard at the moment since they already have orders to handle and at the same time the apprentices can only produce so many products at once.


    In time, these apprentices will become more and more skilled and inevitably bring in more profit. Regardless of the fact that 830 people live here, it still isn''t enough to make 100k a month as a profit.


    Gaster Kingdom has their hands tied with this set profit at the moment, but it doesn''t mean that the two friendly domains have their hands tied. The port is Gaster Kingdom''s best friend, because all together it is bringing a stunning income of 30,130 Gold Coins. How would the profit be if the port wasn''t here?


    ...


    In Gaster Castle''s library, reading through some books along with Alama, finding his own research throughout various animals beautiful. These books are Decades old and some are even over a Century old, he barely remembers writing this content but he is glad he did. Animal behaviours are beautiful to read.


    He doesn''t remember the Content he wrote himself, which is something you will find common amongst Authors but he does remember the struggle that came with this research. Such as staying still and invisible for hours at at time, all in the means of research regardless of the Weather.


    But either way, it was worth it doing this research. Although for King Michael it was a way to bury emotional pain in it, this information gathered and written by him can last hundreds of years per parchment, and rewritten in new parchment if necessary.


    In the midst of all this however, Alama proposed an idea worth taking in to consideration. In fact all of her ideas are worth taking in to consideration, this is one of them. "What if we double the Hectares of Farming land, turn it in to 460! Our Farmers managed to do it once, surely they can do it again!"


    "Establishing a bigger food supply isn''t really a bad idea." King Michael answered after he separated his eyes from his book, thinking it through recalling a situation. He added, "I mean, look at our most recent situation. We suddenly have to feed 800 more people, what if we weren''t prepared? What if our population rises soon because of Zamerians over populating Lav Kingdom? We need to be prepared, prepared for an opportunity."


    "You see my points of view here." She answered with a smile expanding across her face and afterwards she decided to explain her first sentence to a further extend, even jumping from her spot to make it a tad bit more dramatic. "You literally just said everything I was about to say!"


    "Really?" He asked, feeling a bit puzzled at first but afterwards happy. Complimenting himself and Alama with, "Two great minds think alike I suppose."


    "Indeed." She answered, her mood high. But another question is puzzling her mind and can use a second opinion. "But do you think we need to hire 30 more Farmers for this? Because after the harvest season, they will be sent to the fishing spots."


    As if taking Alama''s thoughts and putting them on his own words, he continued for her. "We already have enough people in the fishing spots and it can become over populated, which can tend to mess with productivity."


    "Oh shut up, you stole my words again." Alama spoke, obviously playful but a little bit annoyed as well.


    "Well, I''ve spent so much time with you I can almost precisely predict what you are going to say, good friendship I suppose." He went a little bit off topic at this case, but he showed appreciate in many aspects.


    Getting a 460 Hectare farm field is indeed a big advantage though, because it will be able to provide an estimated 80,000 Kilos of Wheat Grain. Its market value isn''t anything that would make the Kingdom rich, but it will at least keep everyone fed year around.


    At Market prices, this can all be sold for 32,000 Gold Coins. Sounds little, but 50 Kilos can be sold for 10 Gold Coins so it is best not to sell them. It can just be used as a primary food supply.


    "Well anyway, based on the past calculations and due to the population is in some aspects doubled, having a 460 Hectare farm land will provide food for everyone for an estimated 650 days, that is if we mix the meals with fish." King Michael loves it when Alama talks statistics, it is even more pleasurable when she remembers year old details like this, it explains why she is so successful.


    Seeing that King Michael has become tad lost here, not because of the numbers it is obvious. She continued to explain her point of view. "Based on these Calculations, after the next Harvest season we will have enough food year around even if the population rises around 1,300-1600 people. Best of all, the sources of profit wouldn''t be damaged at all! I mean, we are even providing food for Bale Town."


    "It sounds like you have gone through this situation in exact detail, since when did you think of this idea?" He asked, having an itch to know.


    "Oh I thought of the idea this hour, as for the stats they are just a rough assumption based on basic math." Letting the silence stretch for a few seconds, she added." But my question is that do you think the Farmers can multitask? They have to plant 230 Hectares and convert another 230!"


    "They can multitask, they can start digging in January and plant in Mars. If they still need time to convert more land, the Farmers can be split in two teams. Meaning half will be planting and the other half will be digging, come to think of it I''m sure the old 230 Hectares could use some work too." Recalling all these facts, he decided to add. "But if they still can''t handle it, we will have some of the fishermen lend a hand for a couple of weeks, they can really help tend the waves."

 Chapter 384 - Inverted Blast

    Since a chance has been given to him, Eric found it best to train his Fire Controlling abilities now. He has free time, and it is best if he trains as much as possible because regardless of the 15 months of experience, he still hasn''t escaped his Expert (Level 4) title in Fire Manipulating/Controlling.


    But also, becoming better and better in Fire Controlling will inevitably help him obliterate what little Inner Demon is left on him, and learn Lava Controlling better and faster. A mind that is transparent can pick up more wisdom after all.


    Here, he has a big advantage in terms of becoming a better Fire Controller. A Grand Master in this power is to his disposal, King Michael has become his temporary Mentor here once more and will inevitably prove useful to forming Eric in to a stronger Fire Controller at least.


    The training exercise of which King Michael wants Eric to do, is rather drastic! He wants Eric to strip almost n.a.k.e.d, with just under pants on and try to keep himself warm in this blistering December Cold, using his powers only.


    This is an exercise as old as time, it was mostly used before the first Era when Ignites inevitably had to face blistering cold due to the Ice Age. Now, this exercise is used to boost the odds of ascending to another level. For Eric here it will prove more than useful, and the sooner he reaches Level 5, the quicker his Inner Demon of Rage will descend to Level 1.


    Osira and Dilli can benefit from this exercise as well, perhaps Osira could finally reach Level 4 with its aid and Dilli would finally attain Level 5 as well. But for women, this exercise isn''t preferable. Because in many cases, the cold hits the chest tremendously. In other terms, it means that these ladies shouldn''t wear anything that covers or protects their chest. The only thing they would need to cover, is their most private part.


    As you can see, it is obvious that they can''t do this exercise out in the open, especially with a male mentor and a male friend around. It would feel embarrassing, the scene would be hard to live down for anyone there, and these ladies both have attractive features that would attract not only men but women too. Which would inevitably break the Kingdom''s productivity. It is best for them to skip this exercise, unless they prefers to go do it alone in the woods.


    So Dilli will tag along in other exercises, and watch Eric try and master this one. It should be interesting, because the thought of being almost n.a.k.e.d in front of people makes the young Electus nervous and shy. He is used of it in front of the five Grand Masters, but not in front of anyone else.


    Osira on the other hand, she will join the other exercises later. There are numerous forges here in Gaster Kingdom, with 10 Blacksmiths who have years of experience. The methods here are different compared to Meridionali Ignis where she used to live with her father, who knows how much wisdom she can pick up here! And at the same time, she will make everything easier for the Blacksmiths.


    Ada will be watching Eric here, she has helped her mother all day yesterday and told her that she is going to stay with Eric for a while. Little did Aat? know, Ada actually knows quite well that Eric will be doing this exercise today, that''s why she came to watch.


    This will indeed be a good scene for her, because not only she will find Eric adorable when he gets nervous with this exercise, but seeing her boyfriend almost n.a.k.e.d wouldn''t be such a bad thing either.


    However, getting back to the training. The whole concept of it, is survival. That''s at least what it was used for over 6,000 years ago, to rely on oneself''s power to survive blistering cold. But now with new information on their hands, knowing that this exercise can tamper with many negative feelings, it is perfect for young Eric in terms of progressing.


    "Alright Eric you can disrobe now." King Michael reminded, and glanced at Mogranius after who doesn''t seem to be having any trouble whatsoever with this exercise.


    Mogranius has removed his robe, everyone could notice his jacked up legs, thick with muscle. And although less noticeable, his rib cage was slightly imprinted on his belly which signifies that he is a little bit thinner on his upper body, has less muscle there. Common for an explorer.


    "Alright let''s get this over with." Eric added with a deep long sigh, removing his long robe which he has borrowed from the Castle.


    "See, its not that cold is it?" King Michael teased, and using Mogranius as an example he added. "Look at your Mentor, he is as ready as ever. Change your attitude a little bit towards this exercise."


    Afterwards, letting Mogranius take the lead in this exercise. King Michael asked him, "Would you like to tell Eric what the easiest way to gain enough warmth is?"


    "Of course!" He answered, and afterwards was quick to aim close to his own two feet and blow a foot wide fireball.


    The fireball melted the snow quite efficiently in a circular manner, which means that he can blast for a second time. Blasting a two foot wide Fireball this time at the exact same spot, he saw it melt a bit more snow and remain in tact after.


    Meaning, a little fire has started beneath his feet even though there is barely any burning material. Afterwards Mogranius himself started explaining the concept of this move, "This fire won''t last long, but blasting foot wide fireballs over and over won''t drain your stamina to the point of a black out. It warms the most vulnerable body parts, your toes. So if you actually find yourself in such a situation, make sure to warm your toes the most."


    Complimenting Mogranius words, King Michael spoke. "Beautifully explained, but make sure that if you find a bush or tree, it is better to set that on fire since it would burn longer. You will have it a little bit harder to set it on fire if its wet, but we aren''t working with flint and steel here."


    While these two Mentors were explaining this move and what it is good for, they have barely noticed that Eric has blasted several little fireballs near his own feet already as soon as he heard the word "toes". Stepping in this snow bear foot is like dipping your feet in the cold sea waters in this winter, it isn''t nice and he couldn''t help but curse internally more than ten times.


    "It looks like Eric has gotten the fundamentals of this move, we can move to the second. As effective as the exercise is, it isn''t the wisest to stay here for more than half an hour." King Michael pointed out, hoping that Mogranius will know the next and put in a good example.


    And interestingly, he did. Blowing a bit of fire through his mouth and to his own hands. "My hands are getting cold damn." Mogranius spoke with his tone rising at a high pitch.


    "Oh so you didn''t read my mind?" King Michael asked, finding this situation funny.


    "I have more to care about than your mind at the moment." Mogranius answered as he blew more fire on his hands, as the two other Fire Controllers watched it roll around his hand, without burning his skin. "Its official, I''m getting old."


    "The exercise is quite simple Eric, just try not to burn your..." King Michael took a peek back at Eric, and saw that he already has started blowing fire around his hands and is quite successful.


    Comprehending the situation, King Michael added. "Alright it seems like this exercise is roughing both of you up really bad, so why don''t we move to the most important exercise?." Grabbing Mogranius'' attention by snapping his fingers, King Michael asked. "Do you know the inverted blast?"


    "I can''t believe I didn''t use that in the first place." Mogranius found himself stupid, bend down on his knees and slapped the ground with his hands.


    Afterwards, he made a bit of a commotion. Giving in effort as if he was facing an enemy, and a very dim yellow/orange glow shone beneath his palms.


    Afterwards, Mogranius stood up on his feet and a red blush was to be seen on his face. Not because he is shy or anything like that, it is because his body temperature arose towards the hotter.


    "See Eric, the concept of this spell is easy. You just act like you are facing against an enemy, that''s the type of rage you will need for it. Act like you will blast a fireball, but keep it majorly compressed to the point where it will seem like you didn''t blow out any fire at all. The spell or now best called power move, will backfire and heat you up for an hour here in these conditions." They way King Michael explained it is quite simple, but will Eric manage to do it?


    Eric bent down on his knees, and slapped the ground as well. The concept felt a bit puzzling for him, but he didn''t want to spend another second or minute asking questions and just wants to get warm.


    As an imaginary enemy, be pictured Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll. He is dead, at least in their points of view. But it is still a good example! With much force, he pushed his hands through the ground once more and blasted fire from his palms.


    However, the fire he blasted was a bit too much. It slipped from his palms and surrounded him, luckily it didn''t leave him any major burn marks but his under pants have been completely burned off.


    King Michael noticed Eric''s buttock gap, couldn''t help laughing a tad bit and spoke. "It looks like you need to slow down a little bit."


    Eric stood up, saw that his under pants are missing and noticed how Ada is watching from a distance, giggling.

 Chapter 385 - Salary for a 14 year old girl

    Green glow, what does it remind you about. Or best yet, what do you think it can be? Well in this world, it resembles healing powers! What King Michael along with the rest discovered here is amazing, well more like King Michael didn''t discover the powers but an opportunity.


    A 14 year old girl from the group of 500 Zamerians who live here now, has arrived in to power. She discovered her own abilities, quite hilariously she didn''t even know that she has them.


    But what might interest you more, is how she discovered these powers? Well, Eric was walking in the Kingdom along with the friends he had with him at training. He is wearing a thick fur robe, but it isn''t covering his hands.


    This 14 year old girl saw a small durable burn mark over his knuckles. He barely felt it really, the embarrassment he faced in training is a lot more tormenting.


    Thanks to her nature as a Zamerian, she felt a sudden urge to heal, a reflex. In fact she barely realized that she did it, until she saw a green glow shinning dimly. She barely even realized that she waved her own hand, she saw an injury and just wanted to help.


    "Did you see that?" Mogranius gave out a mild shout, followed up by a voice crack.


    "See what?" Eric asked, rubbing his ear since the tone felt as if it pinched it. He could also feel a slight relief of pain on his hand, but did not pay enough attention on it to link it with the situation.


    "There was a green glow, I am sure that is a healing spell... Er power move." As Mogranius pointed at the little lady, noticing wide eyes around her after, she could barely understand what they are saying but felt like she did something wrong, even though all she did was help. I suppose Mogranius got too excited.


    Eric is barely here with his thoughts, keeping his mind on the embarrassing situation earlier. While King Michael here saw an amazing opportunity, having a healer in this Kingdom can turn the tides not only in battle, but in small or medium injuries on work.


    "I''ve ran a deep check, hoping to find healers here. How did I skip you?" King Michael asked the 14 year old girl, but seeing that she is getting confused a little bit he went a bit more slowly towards this situation. "What''s your name little girl?"


    "Um I''m not little, I''m 14." She answered, with the little Ignite language she knew. "My name is Ladia Ketuk."


    "Perfect, Ladia. Do you wish to join me to the Castle? Can you bring your parents along too?" King Michael can not let this opportunity slip, so he wants to talk with her and her parents.


    ...


    "Did you know that your daughter has healing powers?" King Michael asked her parents, having them invited to a dinner. Ladia''s father is a blacksmith so he has been called from work to talk about this situation and Ladia''s mother doesn''t really work.


    Not knowing the language enough, her father answered. "She powers? What is power?"


    "Healing spells, she healed the Electus here although the injury was minor." King Michael pointed at Eric across the table, and asked him. "Can you show your hand please?"


    Eric afterwards waved his hand upwards, pointed at the small burn wound and said. "This used to be a bit bigger, my friend saw a green glow on me, your daughter waving your hand and now the wound is almost gone." For someone nervous in social situations, he sure explained it in detail although in a slight rush.


    Speaking to Ladia in their own Kastarian Language, he asked. "Since when did you gain powers? Did you get in trouble with the King? Because that would be very stupid, we are still guests here and would take decades to fit in!" Her father has a different point of view indeed, but in the midst of all this he is just trying to protect his daughter.


    "I didn''t get in trouble, I healed the Electus. I guess I discovered my powers today, it kinda just happened." Ladia explained as calmly as she could, here she is practically being yelled at because she helped someone.


    "Mister Litwak." King Michael spoke, grabbing his attention and trying to explain some fundamental facts. "It is obvious that you all as a family are misinformed. But I think the concept is simple, healers don''t really need training to avoid self damage like Ignites have too. What she attained as a Level 1 Healer is in some terms random, but it can help Gaster Kingdom more than you think."


    As King Michael explained, the Healers are indeed interesting. They don''t need to be paranoid about blowing their own fingers off like Ignites in training, and in no way could they hurt someone else with their powers.


    Her instinct when she tried to heal Eric''s wound shows her origin as a Zamerian, as if fate has called her here, she will be very useful to helping Gaster Kingdom progress, although she has a lot to learn and most likely can''t heal big wounds like an arrow shot yet.


    "Mister Litwak, we can consider your daughter as a Guardian Angel. I''m going to get it straight with you here, with her help we can have a millitary advantage even though she will fight behind the walls, fight as a hidden hero, she will never be in battle." King Michael might be stretching his sentences here a little bit, both Ladia''s parents don''t speak the Ignite language. They have only been here for roughly 3 months.


    "My daughter in the Army?" Ladia''s mother asked, not liking this idea because she barely understood everything else that King Michael said.


    "Not exactly, she won''t be in the battlefield. She won''t have to fight anyone." King Michael explained, putting out a Dagger on the table, tapping it and waving his forefinger signifying that she won''t touch a Dagger.


    Seeing that her parents are listening, he used the silence to explain his thoughts a bit more. "I want her to get in to training tommorow, she will train her powers 3 hours a day for now and gradually work it up. If you know anyone who understands how these powers work, please ask them for as much information as possible." King Michael began to be lost in his own words, explaining a bit too much.


    "But, she young. I feel she needs time, grow older so she decide." Ladia''s mother explained, obviously still refusing for her daughter to be in the military.


    "Misses Litwak, rest assured that your daughter would be under my personal protection, she will barely work at this age and I''m willing to offer 200 Gold Coins a month for her, here with this much gold your family can really shape your life together faster than anyone else." Perhaps gold can change their mind, King Michael thinks. Accompanied by the absolute guarantee of safety.


    "She will be paid?" Her father asked, feeling shocked. Even Zamerian Kings wouldn''t pay Healers unless they are Experts or more, because there are more than enough healers there.


    "How much?" Ladia asked, dropping her fork and almost choking on a piece of steamed Barramundi meat.


    "200, and it will increase by a hundred every time you Level up. Meaning if you reach Level 6, if you become a Grand Master, you will earn 700 Gold Coins in a month. That''s more than anyone else earns here, but if its not enough I am willing to increase the pay for a Healer." The deal here he is offering is indeed big, and one would find it hard to believe considering the different ethnicities and origins.


    "My daughter can earn 700 Gold Coins?" Her father asked in shock, finding the King''s words hard to believe.


    "Well not instantly, but she will earn 200 Gold Coins now when she won''t be doing much. We need her, for the sake of the Ignites. For the sake of helping wounded Soldiers, to give them another chance of life if they fall in a bad dilemma." King Michael tried to explain as slowly and as clearly as he could, considering that this family barely knows the Ignite language.


    Earning this many Gold Coins here where one of the best salaries is 150 Gold Coins, it is a huge advantage. Because if she reaches Level 2 for example, she will not bring one but two salaries in her home. Furthermore, if she actually earns 700 one day, it would be a huge salary. And the only person to top her would be Alama the investor.


    "Okay, if Ladia agrees, I allow. This is big gold, she should never skip this opportunity." Ladia''s father spoke as clearly as he could, but regardless it is obvious that he is agreeing to these conditions.


    Having a strong attitude, Ladia didn''t feel shy to answer. "I definitely will work, for gold and for Gaster Kingdom!"


    King Michael liked this attitude, although at the same time he found it just a little bit annoying. But he wanted to repeat some points now, "You will start tomorrow, please come at mid day. And please try to gather up as much information as possible about learning your healing powers, we are pretty much clueless."

 Chapter 386 - Sentimental Manipulation

    Healing Powers, or differently called in Zameria, "Healing Magic". At least that''s what it roughly translates too! It is unique and although now not heavily valued in Zameria where healers are everywhere, but in any place out of Zameria Healers are better than a chest of gold considering how scarce they are.


    Gaster Kingdom, although not the richest in the triangle of Domains, they have managed to find a healer which in many terms is a luxury and a large battle advantage, chances are that Ladia will become the most loved girl in town thanks to her abilities.


    But with a Hatchling (Level 1) in healing all the way here in Ignis, it is tremendously difficult to train them due to the very limited educational resources. Even Mogranius, who got to see Eric heal Bittore up close and who actually watched the past Electus heal hundreds of people throughout their time together, has no clue how Healers train.


    With scarcely gathered information throughout the 500 people, well a portion of them, most of which were the elders. Mister Litwak has piled up information that might be helping his daughter at least get a head start here, and in private he ran it over with King Michael for approval and a second view.


    The Elders explained to Mister Litwak that Zamerians, especially those with powers, have a good nature. He brought this information to King Michael as much as one who doesn''t know the Ignite Language could.


    And accompanied by the information that King Michael explained after, about Zamerian Healers having to deal with the Inner Demon of self doubt, they managed to forge a master plan.


    The plan, is based on a Zamerian''s good nature. They have a pure intend to help, which perhaps in thousands of cases so far has helped them conquer their Inner Demon of self doubt! Because their urge to help, commonly slandered the thought of not being enough, the thought of failing.


    The Zamerians might have not realised that simple concept due to the lack of information and in some aspects, religious believes and points of view that lead towards other beliefs. Regardless, this urge to help has aided them towards individual progress throughout the ages.


    Now accompanied by the information that King Michael gave Mister Litwak, he has thought of a plan. Pitching, "What if cut arm mine." Afterwards with his fingers, as it trying to signify something small, Mister Litwak continued. "Just little cut, so Ladia think I danger. It will make good nature work."


    It is easy to determine that Mister Litwak is all on board at the aspect of turning his daughter in to a Healer, he even suggests cutting his own arm. The injury of course will be minor, but the effort put in shows how he wants his daughter to progress.


    "That idea is splendid, but are you really comfortable with cutting your own arm?" King Michael is glad that Mister Litwak wants to help, but of course has concerns. "I''m telling you, it can burn like hell."


    "Nonsense, I slice hand every week. I can work." The sentence not the most perfect, but he is making more sense than Mogranius talking to food.


    "Well since you feel comfortable with it, do it. But remember that Healers suffer with self doubt, don''t yell at her or she is doomed to fail today and its effect could last longer than we can afford." It is important to recount important parts, they can''t really risk it to push Ladia to the point of being a Healer who can''t heal.


    ...


    With a fresh hot Dagger he just made at the Forge, Mister Litwak ran the tip of it across his arm which inevitably pierced the skin and forced for blood to gush.


    A few other Blacksmiths of his race noticed what he just did and couldn''t help but ask with a bit of panic, "Why would you do that intentionally?"


    "Don''t worry." Litwak answered in Zamerian and turned his attention towards the head Blacksmith in charge of this one Forge, asking him in Ignite. "Can I go? King and I working, daughter Powers." Obviously not the best sentence but the man has a bloody arm and is taking about the King, the Head Blacksmith can not disagree at this case.


    ...


    Walking towards his daughter who now just walked out of her house to head for the Castle, Litwak approached her and spoke mildly loud. "Sweetie, I''ve cut my arm at work. Can you please heal it so it doesn''t become any worse?"


    Looking at him, she found the scene quite shocking. Half of Litwak''s arm is covered with blood, he is holding it with his other arm as if it fell off and there is a bit of dried blood as well, crusty at the far corners.


    "How did this happen?" She asked, a bit terrified of her father''s condition and getting a base thought of what she would have to deal with in the future, looking at wounds is rough for her. "I''m not skilled enough." And there is the self doubt.


    Although clumsy but intention pure, he ran his hand coated with blood through Ladia''s hair, trying to support. "You''ve got this, it is just a small wound. I can treat it myself but why endure the pain for a few days after? You can do this, just try."


    Encouragement accompanied by the good nature of wanting to help, Ladia gently stepped back to escape her father''s blood covered hand and with little knowledge tried to unleash a power move.


    Looking at the wound, desperately wanting to help, she waved her arm towards her father once. It didn''t work, so she tried it again and that''s where the Magic happened.


    A very very small and dim green orb like light thundered across the air for a split second before it reached Latwik''s arm and mended itself around it. The Green Light expanded to a foot when it reached his arm, and afterwards it shone fore a second before it disappeared.


    Litwak felt the process a bit tingly, and at the same time it felt like a thousand Daggers were stabbing his wound with the tip, but in the good way, it barely hurt and in some terms felt nice.


    Looking back at his wound, he could notice that nearly half of the wound is gone. Ladia could see the process just a bit better, the skin first just slapped against each other and afterwards the green light shot patches here and there randomly, healing half of the wound.


    Ladia found the process amazing, and if it wasn''t for the fact that Mister Litwak has used sentiment for this case, she might have been unsuccessful today.


    But furthermore, he managed to notice that a lot of blood has dried off at an instant, not because its stream was cut, that wasn''t the case. But the "Thousand Daggers" he felt, might have been just some sort of warmth.


    The wound on his arm isn''t completely healed, but even the slice that is left over, has been tamed just a little bit if not entirely which has cut down on a lot of pain, Litwak is barely feeling it at all now.


    Still not understanding what the plot here is, Ladia grabbed her father by the wrist and explained to him. "Please be more careful father, I haven''t learned anything yet and can not heal you if the Injury was any bigger. Let''s wash your arm."


    "You did amazing, the Elders told me that most Kids can never cast a spell before Level 3, they can''t do anything without being Magicians. You did most than anyone could, I''m proud of you." Of course Litwak has lied here a little bit about the speed of progress, but his daughter needs the confidence. What are a few little lies in exchange of forming an amazing Healer?


    ...


    "I found it inevitable that we will reach to this point." King Michael spoke after Ladia left the Castle, she has trained for 3 Hours today and out of the hundreds of attempts she only managed to unleash the green light twice!


    "She really has no idea what''s she''s doing." Alama expressed here, although until a moment ago she congratulated Ladia for her success today.


    "She doesn''t, because there are no examples to take and no one to learn from. At this rate it wouldn''t be surprising if she hits Level 3 after a Decade, and who knows what would happen until then." King Michael spoke, recounting his thoughts and fishing out an idea he obtained mid training.


    "Indeed, I don''t think that the Inner Demon has much to do with this. The case here is that she doesn''t know how to cast Spells or best called Power Moves." Alama made a great point here and it only fueled King Michael''s idea.


    "For the time being, we will train her like this. At the end of January I plan to bring her every required book to become a Grand Master. I don''t think that the Zamerians will refuse to provide us, in many ways it will benefit them too in the aspect of quantity in orders." It is clear that he has thought this for quite a while, otherwise he wouldn''t really have this last thought.


    "How much does a Magical Book even cost?" Alama felt curious, due to the fact that she never saw one here in Ignis thanks to the ill.u.s.tratios burning them all.


    "I''m not sure, back before the war here they used to cost around thirty Gold Coins, which now would be equal to a hundred Gold Coins Coins due to the developed Economy." Lost in his own words a tad bit, he stopped for a second and recalled the main point. "But Gold doesn''t matter here, we have a Healer and we need to train her. I don''t mind even if we pay 50k for these books! It is an investment that will pay off in the long run."

 Chapter 387 - Dagger with a Foreign Origin

    The fancies, it isn''t the hardest to define this concept. It is easy to determine that the topic here is when one human likes the other in that way, but what would you say if I told you that Osira is being fancied by a fellow? Not hard to believe, in terms of attraction Osira has it all.


    Now this Zamerian boy or best called man, is 21 years old so there obviously is a 3 year gap since Osira is 18, regardless in these times it wouldn''t really be seen as a problem since Osira is mature.


    Explaining it a bit more, this man has developed a fancy for Osira ever since she started lending a hand in the Forge, let''s just say that her pure intend to help here and furthermore learn, has become more attractive than her features. However, he is attracted a bit by her features as well.


    But Osira isn''t quite aware that he has developed the fancies for her, and neither would she care really, she is here to pick up knowledge.


    This man, approached and with the little Ignite language he knew, he tried to talk to her. "Ehhh, do Dagger? They nice."


    It is easy to see that he is getting nervous, and therefore he cut in Osira''s words right before she was about to reply. "I''m Eyil Denver, I Blacksmith."


    "Yes I can see that." Osira answered, avoiding to giggle although she really wanted too. Her aim here is to portray a hard wall to smash, if this boy wants to talk more he has to put in a lot more effort which can be more difficult due to the different languages.


    "Hehe, I make Dagger." Afterwards he pulled out an Iron Dagger, it is about 25 cm long with its handle included. A further feature, includes a green cloth or best called stream stretching a foot long.


    He handed it to Osira, she grabbed it gently avoiding to touch fingers, knowing that men often use handing items to touch a lady''s hand. She twirled the Dagger on her hand and wasn''t really impressed, she has a special enchanted Sword named "Diversity" which far out matches a Dagger. But furthermore she has used Daggers for years and is quite sick of them.


    "Your skill with a Hammer is good I''ll give you that, but why would you give it to me? Would your Head Blacksmith allow you to use up the Iron for a non profitable intend?" Here Osira spoke like a businesswoman, mostly because she wants to mess with this guy.


    "No, I ask. He said yes." Eyil explained, and took a step back once instantly noticing that she appreciates it when personal space is given.


    "Good, but tell me what this Green cloth is for? Is it merged between the Handle?" The craft here is interesting, the Dagger''s handle is unique. It is entirely made of wood, and it has no nails to keep everything together. Meaning this boy figured out a way how to slot two handle pieces in to place and put the stream in between to the point where one could grab it and spin the Dagger too without it flying off.


    "Zamerian trick, all Blacksmiths know." Eyil became happy that Osira seemed to at least remotely like this Dagger and his joy was easy to show thanks to the high pitch in his tone.


    This Dagger is unique, but she also understands the concept behind it. Here in Ignis and perhaps in less fortunate Zamerian villages too, giving someone anything that isn''t food signifies a good gesture, it shows a little bit of sacrifice for the sake of connecting with someone. Although not completely sure, she knows that this Dagger wasn''t gifted for nothing.


    But the most important question here is, would Osira consider taking a road along with him. In terms of men, she goes by one thought. "If I can trust him enough to sleep in the same camp, I can trust him with anything."


    The thought here perhaps a bit dirty but it explains the fundamentals. When a human is asleep, he or she is more Vulnerable than ever. But for a woman, although death less common, s.e.x.u.a.l assault is rather often. So if Osira can trust this man to that extend, she can take a road along with him.


    This man is gorgeous, and by his tone it is easy to determine that he is sweet, he respects personal space and from the couple of minutes here he seems to know when to step back. To make it a bit more interesting in terms of physical attraction, he can be considered muscly although his body shape medium. His work in Blacksmithery inevitably has given him a beautiful form.


    "Smart." Osira continued the conversation, after a lot of thoughts running through her mind. Now she brought up a question, "Why did you give me this though? You already have a lot of work in your plate."


    "I feel giving, you work hard. I respect." Eyil is clearly beating around the bush here, not wanting to admit anything. But is is rather clear what the intend is here.


    Now the topic is, would Osira drop her feelings about another specific person and move on with this pal? It is rather hard to get over it, Eric is actually the first guy she liked and when she found out that Ada is possibly his future wife, it is fair to say that she met the definition of a heartbroken girl.


    Eric isn''t a boy who would leave Ada even after a big fight, not to mention for any pale reason, he isn''t exactly a guy like that. And Ada, well she would avoid leaving him at double the amount.


    Furthermore, even if this little power couple actually broke up, it would be a tremendous low blow if Osira wrapped around Eric after. She and Ada are practically best friends and have bonded at an extend that Osira did not expect. Dating his man after would be a bad idea and unfriendly.


    So, she walked a step closer towards him and with her right hand she touched his face, stroked his cheek for a blink and afterwards squeezed his cheek for just a little. Feeling gratitude with a simple, "Thank you."


    ...


    Now she has to move on to training, so after giving Eyil Denver a little greet she was quick to head towards training without an aim of being late. Here she has attained a chance to train with a 313 year old Grand Master of Fire Controlling, and it will quite meet with her calling. Becoming a better Fire Manipulator will inevitably make her a better Grand Leader one day.


    Starting off the training with a little joke, to lift up the mood around this cold snow, away from the Kingdom. He said with his tone cracking and eyes wide, "I''m sorry for dragging you out here but I''ve burned enough roofs myself training."


    It sure brought a few giggles in the midst of the four other Fire Controllers, even though his little joke here might not be based on actual facts. Mogranius noticed the little lie though, it was commonly used before by Mentors to make the Fire Controllers more comfortable.


    He noticed the lie but kept quiet and allowed the Mentor here to proceed with his wisdom. "We will be doing an exercise here that Eric is quite aware off, although he hated it. It is a method that I have discovered myself, this move will strengthen your Fire Shield, tame your Inner Demon and in some terms help you progress with your powers so one day you can reach another level."


    "You don''t mean..." Eric found the nerve to ask, already not being a fan of this idea.


    "Yes, we will be focusing our rage on our Fire Shields!" King Michael spoke, with a smirk across his face.


    Continuing, since his students old and young are listening. "This move is heavily based on Sentiment, as all of you know we all have an Inner Demon to deal with although one of you has won against it. Knowing that Rage feeds the Inner Demon and can push a Fire Controller to the point of being insane, we all know that it isn''t the best idea to put more rage in any move."


    Dilli spoke, obviously not shy at all to add something. "Trust me rage does not pay off well, I can squash enemies but I had a headache for years, possibly because of the mind Control but still."


    "Exactly, rage isn''t a good idea." King Michael got back his word, and explained his concept after. "But with the Fire Shield it is quite inverted, the more Rage you put in a Fire Shield the better. And since the rage doesn''t really end up towards an offensive but instead a defensive attempt, the Inner Demon ends up being tamed for the better." The concept a bit complex, but at least King Michael understands it.

 Chapter 388 - Melting Point.

    Dark Blue Ores, a valued discovery. and based on a quick count, 3 Factions wanted to get their hands on it but failed while the 4th faction got their hands on it without actually aiming to in the beginning, which from other points of view can be listed as unfair, but for the little tribe of Ignites it can be listed as a blessing.


    They have managed to find tens of Kilos of these magnificent Ores, but due to their unique nature it has become rather difficult to handle them. As a start, they are difficult to mine due to their durability. It takes 3-6 times more effort to break them compared to Iron ore. And furthermore it is hard to smelt them and turn them in to Iron due to the required temperature that can melt this tremendous metal ore.


    But what tips the bucket in difficulty is the fact that making Tools, Armoury and Weaponry out of this ore is the hardest. Imagine trying to form an almost indestructible metal to one''s desired goal, it is indeed difficult.


    Even the Snow Ignites that once roamed this Hidden Domain, somehow failed to make tools out of these ores, perhaps this is why they blocked these mines, in a way perhaps labelling them as useless?


    The only civilisation that shows legitimate use of these special ores, are the Snow Ignites that reclaimed Makemis. Although minor products, they actually managed to make something out of the Blue Ores after tremendous effort.


    Specifically, a Dagger they made has been stolen from them. You can guess from who, but I will tell you instead. Mogranius stole it, and often he used the Dagger''s durability to skin animal carcasses.


    Locked in her private room in Section 2, room 1 at the right wing. Bittore Nardone, the Grand Leader of this tribe and undoubtedly the smartest individual here, is trying to think of a solution. She wants to utilize the Dark Blue Ores as fast as humanly possible. And there is no better way to think of an idea than being completely alone.


    The main problem is figuring out a proper melting peak for the Dark Blue Ore, it obviously requires a lot. Coal can provide it but when you consider the amount required to melt one badge of these Dark Blue Ores, they would be better off tossing their finds down the mountainside.


    She has collected a lot of information from both the Miners and Blacksmiths regarding this ore, most specifically how much power it would take to work with them. Now, she is holding her chin and blankly staring at the little chart she has made, she has been looking at this chart for over 3 hours now.


    Blacksmithery has made Bittore inevitably think about her daughter, Osira Nardone. It isn''t the hardest to link these two thoughts together but it is easy to determine that Bittore is tad procrastinating here now that a solution seems... As if looking for a flee in a wheat field.


    "I wonder how she is doing... I didn''t recieve a letter yet, I hope she is alright." Yes indeed she is trying to figure out a solution for her tribe, but after all family by blood matters more. And here where the only way of communication is a large fast man delivering them, they are rather isolated from each other.


    As a row of thoughts, when she thought of Osira, she also thought of all that time spend together above the Carved Path, fighting off thousands of Soldiers from the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance for just a short period of months.


    This thought, led her to thinking about the melting capacities against Men and Iron she hae seen tens of times in her experience of Guarding the Kingdom of Maleemia.


    After a short battle of suffocating Soldiers, a handful of Fire Manipulating ladies would melt away the evidence of war. For example the first row of ladies would melt most of the portion, the second row would melt another considerable portion and the last row of ladies would melt what is left over, rarely leaving metal behind from Armour.


    These memories led her to recalling an Ignite''s average melting capacities against Iron! With 3-5 attempts, an Ignite can melt an entire Iron Plate Chest Armour, this can heavily depend on the Stamina put on it and can be achieved with 2 shots as well if the Stamina is extended all the way up.


    It is important to remember that even a Level 3 Fire Controller can achieve these melting capacities, this could be the break through she has been looking for.


    The thing to consider here is that, a Level 3 (Magician) Fire Contoller putting in mild effort against Iron, won''t turn the Armour in to liquid but burn it in to ash instead. Based on this Calculation, Bittore thought of a Solution.


    "Aha!" She spoke up with her tone reaching a high pitch, her mood instantly lifted up for the better and she thought it through further. "If a Fireball or blow with medium heat can turn Iron in to ash, than a controlled blow/continues fire could be helping to smelt the Dark Blue Ore. This can be our breakthrough here!"


    Getting c.o.c.ky with herself no doubt, she murmured. "And they say Snow Ignites are smart! Pff... They can''t think this well."


    ...


    "Keep it slow and steady." Bittore spoke to Ella Angloma, as she glanced upon her blowing fire on Dark Blue Ore.


    Ella typically is a Body Guard and isn''t quite used of working in a forge, but everyone else is busy on different tasks and Ella as a young woman can put in more work compared to most Fire Controllers here.


    "I''m trying." Ella responded, focusing the Firr that is blasting through her palm and already feeling herself becoming more and more sweaty, using her left hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead.


    Bittore asked Ella to blow fire on the ores, at a low heat. But neccesarily, low heat for a Fire Manipulator isn''t exactly low, it would leave terrible wound marks unless the shot is meant as blank, like the Fire Wall move for example.


    Bittore is glancing at the ores, from a distance of a meter, liking the warmth of the Fire actually. She can melt the ores herself but wants to see more specifically how this will play out.


    The ores started heating up and is picking up a red colour, of course caused because of the heat. Thankfully the ores did not turn in to ash, which wound render them useless. In fact there isn''t even any form of deformation on the ore yet.


    Bittore glanced at it and ordered Ella, "Keep it going, we need to be sure if this pace can eventually smelt the ores."


    About ten minutes passed, the room has become tremendously hot because of Ella continuously blasting Fire against the Dark Blue Ores, the whole Blacksmith team is sweating to the extent, actually missing the cold.


    The Dark Blue Ore on the other hand, is starting to deform. Well it still hasn''t turned in to liquid, but some of its parts are becoming softer and thankfully no part is being burned down in to ash.


    "I think you have it easy to keep this flow going." Bittore broke the long silence in this room, making it a bit less boring.


    "Considering Stamina, I can keep this up for 3-5 maybe even 6 hours. But honestly it gets more tiring to keep my arm up like this." Ella explained, letting out a little complain too.


    "One problem at a time." Bittore answered with a smile, still keeping her own morale high here.


    Afterwards she continued to guide Ella with a little request. "You can give just a little bit more heating power on your blast here, maybe 1/4th more of what you are already blasting."


    ...


    Zelimia Hekz, Samantha Olem and Mollara Erk are nowadays often seen working together in various tasks. Now there is a bit more behind this fact. Quite frankly, Bittore assigned Mollara over them just to have a sense of control, wanting to steer them away from that "Supportive Behaviour".


    At the moment, these three wonderful ladies are working in the mines of the third section or more specifically called the Dark Blue Ore mines! Originally they would lend a hand on carrying material, but with it scarce their main work has become just guarding the mines.


    They still don''t know what this tunnel can bring, and just in case of a collapse they would be here to help dig out the Victim which in a way increases the odds of survival.


    "There it is, it''s that weird sound again." Zelimia complained, having enough of it over the past weeks.


    "I don''t hear anything?" Mollara expressed, trying to pay more attention to this sound that Zelimia keeps talking about.


    "I hear it as well, it is driving me crazy." Samantha added, showing that she has more sensitive ears.


    "You two still fail to give a proper description of the sound for me." Mollara complained, hoping to know more and being stressed how she can''t hear it.


    "It just sounds like a smooth rock slapping the ground, but it brings a ear piercing sound after the base sound..." Samantha explained, but still barely making sense.

 Chapter 389 - Year 202

    The new year here in Ignis broke yesterday, most throughout the Continent decide to celebrate this day with some Ale and a feast, to congratulate one another for surviving this long. Here in Gaster Kingdom, a feast that can hold 800 people would be rather hard to organise due to the fact that even the Castle can''t hold them but it would be unfair to say that its Civilians weren''t rewarded.


    An extra bottle of Black Gr.a.p.e Ale has been delivered house to house along with an extra badge of free food for the day, of which had better quality and taste compared to what they usually eat.


    King Michael even sent an extra badge of food and Ale to the 800 Calidum Lutum in front of the Kingdom. They didn''t exactly like Ale due to the fact that they just discovered it here a few weeks ago but they can appreciate the gesture.


    As for Castle officials and King Eric''s friends, they have all held a little feast in the Castle. They are celebrating Survival and the inevitable progress they have all made thanks to hard work, the Castle was free of Children and Elderly since they all went to celebrate with the rest of their race.


    The extra donated food, was given in aims to further win over the masses here in Gaster Kingdom. It''s people are obviously in some aspects over worked but in no way underpaid.


    Sure when you look at it from a prespective where salaries were as low as 20 Gold Coins, it does sound like underpaid. But when you look at the fact that food was freely distributed 2-3 times a day, it makes up for the low salariess. In a family of four, it can cost 100-150 Gold Coins a month to feed the members twice a day depending on what food they pick, which gives a grasp of how much expenses King Michael covered.


    Regardless, a lot of people still look at the fact that salaries were as low as 20 Gold Coins which is why he had to win over the masses with free food, he needs their productivity to stay sharp as they develop this Budget.


    Considering some calculations, after the new year here King Michael has decided to win over the masses furthermore with another Salary raise for any Employee who earns under 150 Gold Coins a month. This will prove the promises he made in Autumn true, it will prove that he is trying to give them more gold.


    The raise is another 20 Gold Coins higher, it doesn''t look like the biggest but it inevitably means that more Employees are bringing gold in their house without expenses after, which will make selling them food easier in the future since these people just keep piling up cash. But to sell food to them, they all of course have to earn at least 150 Gold Coins.


    ...


    Due to this little Salary raise, the monthly expenses here in Gaster Kingdom have bumped up to 59,528 Gold Coins. For this Kingdom it is large, but in a way it is also showing a limit. It is telling King Michael that he needs to be a bit slower with the Salary raises if he wishes to build up a biger Budget, without establishing another Source of income it would be a bad idea to tamper with the Salaries.


    Well now regardless of that fact, the monthly profit hasn''t been damaged beyond prepare. For Gaster Kingdom it still remains as a big when sum considering that they have started from absolute scratch. At the moment, Gaster Kingdom will still make a monthly clear profit of 40,102 Gold Coins.


    In the following chart you will see how much Employees Gaster Kingdom has, how much they earn each and how many individuals each craft has. The intend behind it is to give a proper definition and overall understanding of the salaries, it tends to favour realism.


    Striped Marlin fishers (4 Employees) - 500 Gold Coins each.


    First team of Fishermen (18 Employees) - 135 Gold Coins each.


    First team of Spearfishermen (23 Employees) - 155 Gold Coins each.


    Guard Trainer/Commander Woldemir - 400 Gold Coins.


    Healer Ladia - 200 Gold Coins.


    Farmers (30 Employees) - 150 Gold Coins each.


    First and most trained Platoon of Guards (30 People) - 130 Gold Coins each.


    First team of Lumberjacks (10 Employees) - 120 Gold Coins each.


    Bow hunters, which includes a team of 30 Females - 160 Gold Coins each.


    Blacksmiths (50 Employees) - 110 Gold Coins each.


    Construction Workers (3 Employees) - 90 Gold Coins each.


    Chicken keepers or guards (10 Employees) - 90 Gold Coins each.


    Second team of Fishermen/women (30 Employees) - 80 Gold Coins each.


    Second team of Spearfishermen/women (20 Employees) - 80 Gold Coins each.


    Second team of Lumberjacks (20 Employees) - 80 Gold Coins each.


    Second Platoon of Guards (100 People) - 50 Gold Coins each.


    It is rather easy to see from this chart that the salaries here aren''t the worst and that the King has proven effective on raising them. The second Platoon of Guards still earns the least, but eventually they too will earn 150 Gold Coins.


    As you can see, the first ever team of Spearfishermen along with the Bow Hunters that contains females only, are now earning over 150 Gold Coins which in many ways is a big achievement. It means that King Michael managed to pay 48 people here over 150 Gold Coins and that he has 48 people less to worry about when declaring another Salary raise.


    This will inevitably make the expenses rise slower after another Salary raise, and furthermore increased the morale of the Kingdom, with the most earning employees as an inspiration, most of the Kingdom''s employees are working harder.


    ...


    In the meantime, with January breaking King Michael has been gifted with tens of rats to continue his marvellous experiments on! Now he feels eager to try new mixes, to see what it will bring to the table. This will make the whole experimental log more complicated but that''s what ink and quill are for, right?


    As a method of training, Ladia has been brought to the experimental room. If throughout the experiments a Rat actually gets hurt, she will be there to try and heal one. It is good practice and it wouldn''t be a huge loss for the Kingdom if she failed so they have barely anything to loose.


    The couple of Demon Carcasses at the end of the room are getting more and more disgusting by the passing day, their stench is so bad that you would think even a Rat has double thoughts about digging its teeth in one. But King Michael wants to test if the freshness of the meat affects the experiments, that''s what the extra rats are for.


    Today, he has decided to continue this mutation cycle he started weeks earlier. Example what can double mutated Rats turn in to, now that he has more Rats, why not.


    "Alama can you write this down?" He requested, turning around to see the two ladies holding their noses because of the stench and Ladia being close to throwing up.


    "Common it doesn''t stink that bad." He added, finding this scene in front of him hilarious. "It is in the means of Research."


    "Research is disgusting." Alama added, trying to look away from the decomposing Demon.


    "Just write this down." He waved his hand a bit as he turned his attention to the fresh three rats in the room. Well not exactly fresh, they have been mutated a bit earlier by him with Demon waists. "Demon toe, Rat who has been mutated with Demon waist as the consumer."


    Afterwards he spared no second with dropping the meat in and watched the changes upon the test subject. "Well this is interesting." He murmured a tad bit as he witnessed the changes.


    Afterwards, without looking back he requested. "Write down the result. The Rat has attained a triple head size." After a short second, they heard the just mutated Rat repeating. "Triple head size, triple head size, triple head size."


    After hearing it out, King Michael added. "A possible side effect could be increased intelligence."


    Jotting down swiftly on the Parchment, she swiftly responded in the meantime. "Yes yes yes, go ahead with the second Experiment, this stench will be the death of me."


    "Calm down, we can''t afford inaccurate experimental logs." He said, with a smile across his face. As if the smell isn''t annoying enough, the King is teasing them.


    Turning to the second rat, he spoke (To Alama). "Demon Waist, Rat who has been mutated with Demon Waist as the Consumer."


    Thinking it through as he tossed the meat in the Cage, he said. "Double mutation with the same type of meat, this should be interesting."


    This Rat has been earlier mutated with Demon Waist and has attained Quadrupled teeth size, so what it will turn out now should be interesting. Its not like anything in this experimental log isn''t interesting but still. "Well I''ll be damned." He shouted mildly.


    Standing up again since he almost did a push up trying to glance at the Rat''s teeth, he continued to explain. "This Rat has gotten a set of Razor sharp teeth, imagine applying this on a Chicken."


    "Oh my Source again with the Chicken." Alama gave out a large loud sigh, obviously more irritated with the stench.


    "Just be patient, we have one more experiment for today and you are free. I should bring you nose plugs next time haha." He still remained giggling, happy about this highly usable mutation.


    "Write this new long down! Demon Head, Rat who has been mutated with Demon waist as the Consumer." Afterwards as if this process has become something he can do without thinking, he dropped the meat in the cage.


    Afterwards the Rat bursted towards the Cage walls and started chewing on them, although ineffective. This move however made King Michael jump back a little bit and afterwards he smirked with joy realising how dangerous this mutation can be against an enemy.

 Chapter 390 - 200 People are unemployed!

    Pameres Kingdom, we all know it as the most assetful Kigdom here in the triangle of Domains. King Zar has managed to build up a tremendous budget accompanied by a strong profit. But one thing he realized throughout his work here is that hiring a mass amount of Workers at the same time, helps.


    This idea in his mind was pushed in by his Personal assistant Seer who a few months ago hired 400 people of different crafts and accompanied it by a 40 Gold Coin salary raise, inevitably it became the most profitable idea they had, the Budget just exploded for the better.


    Through December, he decided to make a similar investment with the most profitable craft here in Pameres Kingdom, he hired 300 more experienceless Blacksmiths. At first glance it sounds dumb doesn''t it? Such an amount is double the Blacksmiths Pameres Kingdom hired after the Revolution started and they can cause disorder.


    Well, let gold be their motivation to stay in order. As absolute beginners who barely have any ideas what they are doing, they will be paid 120 Gold Coins a month! Considering how people here used to earn a lot less or nothing at all, this can be considered the entrance to middle class.


    Hiring these 300 people will make a tremendous difference in the monthly expenses here in Pameres Pameres Kingdom but it is in all ways worth it! From now on (With an upcoming Salary raise unincluded.) 36,000 more Gold Coins will be taken away from the Budget to pay these Blacksmiths.


    Considering the profit they can bring as apprentices, not to mention as experienced, this is a small sacrifice of gold. And furthermore another intend behind this mass employment move is to reduce the unemployment rate as much as possible.


    By doing so, he can grow another source of income, of course here we are talking about taxes. With so many people hired and with Salary raises becoming more and more common throughout this developing Budget, it wouldn''t leave anyone without food if the monthly home rental tax was raised to a total of 100 Gold Coins per house.


    This is a big price for the poorer it takes more than half of the salary, but the poorer can''t even be considered poor due to each house brining in at least 2 Salaries in their house, some even bring 3 or 4 while in rare cases they bring 5.


    Look, this is a small Kingdom with a tremendously large employment rate, it is as if every member in a house works. Each house brings home somewhere between 250 - 1,000 Gold Coins. The Coin of which these people have piled up over the year has helped them escape their title as poor and homeless people.


    Raising the tax to 100 won''t damage them, and it definitely won''t make them starve especially since they have Gold piled up, and salary raises are common. For a while, the monthly resident rental tax will freeze to 100. For now, it bringing in a stunning income of 40,000 Gold Coins is enough and with new residential projects close to starting, it has chances to bring in even more coins.


    With so many Blacksmiths hired and with a hell load of Ore being shipped and sold to Gaster Kingdom, hiring Miners has become inevitable. In this project it is the easiest part I suppose, and it barely tempers with the monthly expenses.


    King Zar has hired 20 new Miners which when piled up with the previously hired ones, it sums up a total of 40 Miners. They will help tame the daily requirements of Ore throughout Pameres Kingdom, but they inevitably have to work a little harder.


    With the recent 320 Employees hired, and after looking through some charts with Seer it has become rather clear that they are running out of people to hire. Considering that 30% of Pameres Kingdom are either elderlies or children, it doesn''t really let King Zar hire all 2,300 people in his Domain.


    Having no more people to hire isn''t neccesarily a problem since he has developed an amazing Budget which will grow bigger over the months due to a lot of employees still being apprentices.


    The biggest problem here is that he will need these 200 remaining unemployed people for the Outposts he plans to build all the way across the Continent, which will force salary raises and income to grow slower.


    Nearly 80,000 Gold Coins a month are already put in the Army which sums up a stunning 20-30% of the income, yet still King Zar wants to invest more in it. With so much invested in the Army just for the sake of Safety, Pameres Kingdom will most definitely grow slower.


    So now after considering that fact, it makes it clear that he soon will need to ask the other two friendly domains near his, for financial support. As long as this support covers half of the expenses from the men and women sent to the Outpost, Pameres Kingdom will be free to grow a bit quicker.


    Apart from that fact, accompanied by a business offer he has sent the King of Lav Kingdom a request to bring in more homeless people if there are any. The 500 homeless people that were sent to Gaster Kingdom helped build a tremendous profit there, and he can only imagine how big the Budget would be if 500 more people lived here in Pameres Kingdom.


    Of course, to support more people living in his Domain, Zar would need to order for more houses to be built. And with the hired stonemasons a few months ago this has become easier than ever. All the 300 old houses in inbetween the walls have been renewed and they have already started building a badge of 100 more.


    These houses are warmer, better looking and have been built by professionals. But most importantly, each can fit 3-5 people based on preference without the invasion of personal space.


    Pameres Kingdom already has 100 houses to spare which are located out of the first walls, located to the west of the Kingdom or most appropriately called the right side of the wall. These houses were built with an intend to sell them, but they proved as a worthy temporary residence for people having their houses renewed in between the first walls.


    Now these 100 houses can support 400-500 people, and since all the employees have nothing else to do now after renewing the 300 houses in between the first walls, Zar doesn''t see it as a bad idea to have more and more houses built just in case.


    At the moment, he has ordered them to build 300 more houses out of the first walls of course and close to the 200 houses built out of the walls, this will allow bringing more people here which will inevitably equal to a bigger income.


    King Zar made all of this preparations happen in the midst of December, so now in the midst of January he has recieved a respond towards two topics. Population, and a the new deal offered regarding Blacksmithery.


    About the request for population, the King of Lav Kingdom has written. "Please request as much as you can handle, they are flooding bigger domains now for help and no one would want to blow a Budget on people who won''t work due to all the job positions being filled. Like last time, I could ship 500 people towards you and I hope they come in handy. Please tell me if you need more people, I can have another 500 shipped to you by next month."


    And it looks like the King 1,400 km across the sea didn''t fail to deliver these 500 people now in January. They have all arrived here safe, sound and a bit hungry. But King Zar will inevitably use them to grow the Budget, now that the Kingdom has 2,800 people living in it!


    They won''t be taxed at the moment due to the fact that they have no jobs here for now, but no one remained in the streets of Pameres Kingdom and although 30% of them are elderlies, they can still contribute a tremendous amount.


    In the meantime, the Construction Workers and Stonemasons are more than capable of building 100 new houses before the midst of February where King Zar has asked for 500 more people to be delivered here. Considering the quantity of workers that specialize in this area, it will be to their aid.


    However, getting to the second letter. With the 300 newly hired Blacksmiths, King Zar gave Lav Kingdom an offer regarding Iron Daggers since they are the easiest to make for an apprentice, and one can make around 16 Daggers a month!


    Lav Kingdom''s lord responded with. "Buying Daggers would be a bad investment for me at the moment due to the fact that Gaster Kingdom is providing them and that many Domains here make them as well which tends to cut in our income. But I have established a business route with the Continent behind you, Ratan. They claim that they have 40 million people living there, so I don''t think they will ever get enough products from you and me. So I will buy your Daggers, but I will ship them there. So you should be quite proud as a ruler, you are indirectly working with Ratan! If your Blacksmiths can manage it, I want to purchase 4,500 Daggers a month for a span of 6 months, this will make your Domain very wealthy."


    It would be stupid for King Zar not to accept this deal since the new Blacksmiths can make a few hundred more than that, but at least like this they can fill the orders with a chance to breathe a little bit in between and focus on being precise instead of fast for a while which will inevitably make them become better Blacksmiths one day!


    With this new deal made, King Zar decided to push the Kingdom through another salary raise but this time it had lower standards to help the poorer catch up and pay rent easier. By that I mean, he only gave a 30 Gold Coins salary raise to people who earn less than 150 Gold Coins a month instead of people who earn less than 200. This raise won''t grasp everyone, but it is at least easier to comprehend profit-wise.


    Thanks to it, most of the employees are actually a similar raise away from earning at least 200 Gold Coins a month! Considering that progress, he can focus on giving better salaries to the new badge of 500 Civilians here and plans to maintain the food at half the market price since he can''t really sell them how everyone else here does. To do that, each employee here has to earn at least 200 a month, it sounds reasonable.


    Getting back to the profit from this new project, since one Dagger costs 30 Gold Coin here, this project will bring 135,000 Gold Coins here in Ignis! Since the transactions will be handled through the port, Gaster Kingdom will take 13,500 Gold Coins from this income as a 10% tax. And Pameres Kingdom will take the rest of the 90% (121,500 Gold Coins.).


    This is inevitably the biggest profit yet, and it proves that King Zar was smart to invest on so many Blacksmiths. Now, with all expenses discluded, after February starts Pameres King will earn a ground breaking profit of 151,035 Gold Coins.


    A large amount indeed, in fact the biggest ever. And rest assured that these calculations were made after all the salary raises were included, so that won''t take anything more from this profit. If King Zar continues towards this route, even Crutal Kingdom with the support of practically two Countries, won''t be enough to face Pameres Kingdom and with all the new people brought here who can be hired, only time will show us how rich this wonderful domain will be!

 Chapter 391 - Tourists

    Bale Town, we all know this place as the little Farming town that used to have Ignites only, a town that goT rich thanks to the cave found near it. The town is rich, and the employees there have attained middle class since they don''t make any expenses. Yet again with the smallest salary being 90 Gold Coins and the biggest being 150, it never really is a bad idea to declare another Salary raise here.


    The raise will be 20 Gold Coins now that January started, however people who earn more than 150 Gold Coins won''t be getting a raise. Raising salaries here where sources of income are scarce opens up new opportunities, such as finally being able to sell food even if it is by half the market price. However they are far from monetizing food here.


    Giving a salary raise here isn''t neccesarily the hardest thing to do considering the fact that there aren''t over a thousand employees here like in Pameres Kingdom. This salary raise by 20, which alone isn''t a small amount for a salary, doesn''t really make much of an impact at a c.u.mulative point of view, the monthly expenses have made a 4k gold coin gap only.


    However, getting to different topics. With ten tons of coal being shipped to Zameria each month, it isn''t exactly the hardest to outsource every Section of this expansive cave, or best called every discovered Section.


    They are currently down at the fifth section, mining out every mineral they can. However this Section will only be enough to fill in January''s order and a quarter of it can be used to fill in the order in February as well. Short said, they need more Sections to mine if they wish to earn 42,500 Gold Coins from the Coal alone.


    In the middle of the fifth section, there is a little drop that leads to another bigger place, most appropriately named as the sixth Section! Bill, the wise and chart oriented is exploring this section to determine how much they can mine out of it. Such research regarding quantity is important because it can show the town if they need to move in to the seventh section (There is one thankfully). Or work at the sixth one only.


    "Interesting..." Bill murmured to himself, as two more Miners stood close to him, waiting so he can write everything down. It is always better to explore caves and tunnels together just in case of a collapse.


    "Well this portion of the Section should get us about 4 tons of Coal, a hundred Kilos of Iron as well." He spoke out loud, which raised the enthusiasm between these Miners because this inevitably means that there is more material to mine, they can keep their salaries. "Let''s move on to this tunnel." He pointed to his right.


    This Section is rather complex to put in to word, a drawing would represent it best because it would be a visual representation. Well hey, at least Bill knows what he is doing right?


    After an hour or two of exploring, getting a good view of the Coal and other minerals, Bill was able to determine a heavily accurate assumption regarding how much this cave has to offer. He is even considering that deposits of Coal might or might not stretch, which is helping him get a proper number.


    "Looks like this Section has anywhere between 11.5 to 13.5 tons of Coal here. There is Iron too, but we would be lucky if we get 500 Kilos out of it. It''s not like we need it desperately, so it is a good bonus." Now making the hardest yet easiest assumption, which are the rocks. He stated. "Mining the Coal will get us around 20 tons of Coal as an outcome, that is if we bother to mine it. Yes, this Section is definitely profitable."


    The five meter drop which allows access in to the sixth section makes transporting material a bit easier. All they had to do was build a small staircase before time which didn''t really ruin the flow, they didn''t have to wait in order to work in the Sixth Section.


    But what we consider as the end of this winding section, there is a 20 meter drop which leads to the seventh section. Which means that the Miners have to start there in order to reduce the height by mining out the Materials, once mining that small portion, the Construction Workers with the aid of some extra hands, can make a Tower which will likely be 15 meters high.


    ...


    A rather interesting letter, something that no one in Ignis ever expected, has arrived to Bale Town from the Zamerians. The richer from there, have heard a lot about the Mines of Bale Town who rarely failed to fill in a big order.


    These richer people are not offering to buy any coal, but are offering a handsome amount of Gold to come here and just look at the mines in amazement, just to look at how the process goes here. The Zamerians call this fancy work, as "Tourism."


    It is a perfect way to establish a new income since there won''t be any expenses over it since the Zamerians come with their own sh.i.p.s and they are willing to pay a thousand Gold Coins per person!


    Zameria holds 3 million people and over half of the population can afford to give a thousand gold coins for a vacation, for luxury. So this inevitably means that several if not over ten people, will come here in Bale Town as Tourists.


    If everything goes well and the Zamerians return home satisfied, this can bring more gold over the passing months. Gaster Kingdom owns a port, so according to a basic deal, they will earn the 10% of this income. It isn''t neccesarily a big deal since it opens up this business opportunity to begin with and there are no expenses here.


    If Bale Town agrees of course, these Tourists will be here in the midst of February!

 Chapter 392 - Skin of Fire

    Although happy that he is progressing against not one but two Inner Demons of rage thanks to the daily training, he does feel bummed how he still remains as an Expert (Level 4) in Fire Controlling regardless of the fact that he has been training to level up almost every day ever since he met Mogranius.


    Imagine training every day, only to hear someone come and claim that our Eric is Level 4. Although most friends praise his abilities, in another way they are pointing out that he is still remaining Level 4. He knows that they aren''t trying to throw a negative comment and sugarcoat it with a compliment, but he keeps getting reminded that he is Level 4 and that''s what is bothering the young Electus here.


    With not one or two but actually four Fire Manipulators around him today, which itself is very rare to encounter in the third era, he decided to bring up the Leveling up topic. He definitely won''t like being the main attention again, but this slow burn (Level-wise) has been tampering with his motivation and he has to get rid of it.


    Furthermore, getting an opinion from four other Fire Controllers in this topic would be amazing. Because in these troubling times, all four of these people have met with troubling fates of which one way or the other has forced them to rely on their natural powers only. King Michael''s point of view would matter more at such a case, but four opinions are better than one.


    With a single sweat breaking from his forehead, he started the conversation, knowing that he will grab all the attention he got a bit nervous. "Before we start, may I ask a question to all of you?"


    Osira got instantly interested, Eric asking a question? It isn''t something common, she added eagerly. "Of course."


    Mogranius, knowing him for a lot longer, already feels like Eric will ask something stupid. He didn''t say anything and just listened eagerly.


    King Michael wanted to do a bit more exercises but dusk is already close so they can spare a few minutes here, so he requested. "Do ask us."


    He started off the question with a bit of stuttering, even paused after his two words trying to put an answer together. "How long does it take to Level up?" But afterwards he found it easier to build his sentences. "I''ve been training for hours a day, every day, but I feel stuck here. I can feel the Inner Demons calming down, I kinda have it easy to analyse that based on my overall moods but as for my Fire Controlling abilities, I feel no progress."


    Mogranius is a bit used of these constant complains, so he chose not to speak here for a little while longer and let Grand Mentor King Michael take charge, and he came up with a rather good answer but at the same time demotivating.


    "It took me 250 years to become a Grand Master, you should go easy on yourself and realise that Fire Controlling is one of the most complex powers out there, fast progress isn''t an option for anyone but you." Taking a second to breathe, stretching the silence for a few seconds before he continued with his words slower and his smile wider. "So although it might seem slow, it is better than working on a Level for decades."


    With King Michael planting ideas in his head, before Eric could speak, Mogranius took the lead. With a high pitch on his tone he spoke, "I''m turning 60 years old next month yet I''m still Level 4, and it might take a lot longer for me to reach Level 5." With that sentence finished, he glanced at Eric rougher and spoke. "So imagine what I think when I hear you complaining about Levels."


    "I''m not complaining, I just asked a question, god..." Eric murmured amongst himself as he comprehended the reply from both his Mentors.


    "You were kinda complaining." Osira added, not feeling shy or thinking twice to point out such a fact and with a rush of thoughts scrolling through her mind, she build up a more proper sentence before anyone could speak. "But I share the same thought with the Mentors, mother told me that most Fire Controllers tamper around Level 3. It is really hard to Level up with our powers, I''m not sure about the rest."


    Dilli, listening to their conversation, decided to back up Osira with this saying. "Typically, I had no trouble massacring ill.u.s.tratian Guards, and I never had trouble with progress. Some even called me abnormally gifted with my "Magic" (She air Quoted.) but even I needed more than a decade to become an Expert (Level 4), not to mention a Master (Level 5), I''m far from it."


    Finally accepting facts, Eric decided to cooperate with the Fire Controllers here with this little answer. "I guess I should kiss Grand Mastery good bye for at least a Decade."


    But where one question ends, another begins thanks to the thoughts planted by this conversation. Eric first pointed out, "I came in to power as a Magician (Level 3), and progressed to being an Expert (Level 4) when I had my outburst." Thinking it through for a couple of seconds, he added. "Well at least that''s what Mogranius said."


    Seeing that everyone is listening, trying to understand Eric through the common stammering and sentence pauses, he continued. "So how do I know that I progressed to becoming a Master (Level 5)?"


    With his name mentioned, Mogranius instantly added a comment. "Well you caused Fire Tornadoes in Crutal Kingdom so that''s basically an official rule that you qualify as a Level 4 Fire Controller."


    "Yes, Levels are basically fancy talk that determines how many complex moves one individual can do. Fire Tornadoes aren''t easy, and impossible for a Magician (Level 3) Fire Manipulator." King Michael added, explaining the full concept.


    "So which move can declare me as a Master?" Eric asked, its not a question that anyone didn''t expect.


    "Might walk a few steps back for this?" King Michael answered and mostly walked away himself, trying to demonstrate the move.


    Fire blew from his nose as soon as he attained a firm standing position he can rely on, that fire stretched all the way to his palms and started surrounding them. From surrounding the palms, to covering all of his arms, it moved to the chest area as well.


    This fire, is coming from his nose only and has an intend to cover all of his body with a few inches thick layer of fire, so it should give a slight definition of how much fire is needed here.


    The Fire continued to spread elegantly through the rest of his body, avoiding to touch skin but obviously making him sweat. In other terms, here it is showing that King Michael is choosing where the Fire is going, with nothing but his mind.


    The Fire went all the way down to his knees, and has quite well surrounded everything above. King Michael has his eyes closed, and trying his best to concentrate as much as one human could, the break of concentration here can cause for the spell to fail and accidentally cause minor burn marks.


    As soon as fire covered King Michael''s body all over, even careful around the hair, giving a bit more space so they don''t burn. He started walking forward, with Fire still surrounding him and refusing to break the beautiful flow.


    From walking, he started to run for a few meters and at last blew fire from his feet so he can attain a little leap. Once his feet met the ground again, the Fire surrounding him transformed in to a large orb, 20 meters across. Obviously it can do a lot of close combat damage in battle.


    The snow beneath his feet melted for more than 25 meters across due to the intense heat, signifying that this move can burn badly, an enemy would definitely not want to experience it.


    Seeing that his little crowd here has been left amazed, he walked towards them, with talking to Eric as the main goal and calmly spoke. "What you saw there is a little move called "Skin of Fire". It requires intense concentration and it is a start for Fire Manipulating based on nothing but your mind, when you become a Grand Master you should already know more about Controlling Fire with your mind."


    "I''m definitely far away from concentrating that much." Eric spoke, knowing his limits but at the same time this laid more questions. "How can I learn concentrating to even reach close to what you just did."


    "You will just have to be more calm and actually know what you are doing every time you take a shot, being self aware. Even analysing how much fire you blast, when you blast it, will help you to become a concentrated well oriented Fire Controller." Happy that he can speak out this sentences out to anyone else except Marixha, he continued with his most favourite part. "Mastery in Fire Controlling favours perfectionists in emotions and focus."

 Chapter 393 - Hit with a Hammer

    Throughout the series, we have mostly talked about how Eric is battling his Inner Demons and what he has thought off through the process. But it is also worth taking in to consideration what other Fire Manipulators had to go through, looking at different points of view can help determine a more stable definition regarding powers.


    The talk about Inner Demons broke loose after Eric asked so many questions regarding his powers, it isn''t hard to link the two topics together and forge a new conversation. And what is best than to talk about something they all seem to be passionate about, accompanied by the warmth and comfort of a Campfire?


    Technically, they were half an hour away from finishing off with the daily training King Michael is putting them under. And since this topic seems to interest them a lot, it only is fair to sooth their curiosity and questions here.


    Getting a few logs to sit on was easy, with Lumberjacks under the Kingdom''s employment. They''ve set the whole thing up in 10 minutes and even brought Barramundie meat to keep them a bit more energised now at Dusk where the sun goes down along with people''s overall energy, they all had a tiring day.


    Getting back to the topic of Inner Demons, Dill dared to ask for... we can call it constructive criticism from the rest here, hoping to get opinions from the elders mostly. "With a quick guess, what Level do you think my Inner Demon is right now?"


    "Oh definitely a Level 3 Inner Demon!" Mogranius answered right away shamelessly, he did not beat around the bush no doubt.


    "What do you mean?" She asked, looking directly at Mogranius. Dilli tried to determine if he is being sarcastic and could already sense King Michael opening his eyes wide thanks to Mogranius'' semi stupid world play.


    "Uuuuhhhhh." He tried to think of better words, freezing on the spot just before he was about to eat a bit of torched Barramundie meat. "Um you know, your Inner Demon is a bit tougher because you were under mind Control for years."


    "Smooth." King Michael added with a cough, congratulating Mogranius for his immense effort of sugar coating the base of stupidity he set.


    But furthermore Mogranius didn''t just speak out of blank thoughts, although his way of expression not the best. When he has nothing better to do, he likes observing common human behaviour. Especially those with powers, to learn determining what Inner Demon a person could be dealing with so in the future, the Ignites can be more knowledgeable about it, it he decides to pass down this information that is.


    The point is, Dilli isn''t the best at handling common life burdens and tends to snap a lot easier to a rageful outburst. But she doesn''t blast fire as an aftermath, which is good but it also points out that the Inner Demon couldn''t be over Level 3.


    Rather calm, finding Mogranius clain as reasonable she decided to share more of her experience. "Well that is true, the mind control has affected me a lot. I had a headache that lasted for years, but it is fair to say that my "rage" was cut in half after I got set free."


    "Akareas told me a bit about Mind Controll, you know she went all the way to the other edge of the world, in Leraz so she can train her mind Controlling abilities. I didn''t see her for over a decade thanks to it." He took a second to realise that he drifted off topic a little bit, staring blankly at the campfire and feelings its heat on his thighs, he added. "Oh right, a mind control "spell" casted incorrectly or from an unstable caster, can cause this long headache you talked about and even major brain damage, you slipped by easily."


    "Is that why my Pupils are split in half?" She asked directly although a bit insecure about this fact, adding. "Yes I have noticed constant stares on them, but I swear my vision is as sharp as ever."


    "I''d say the poison might have caused this when passing up to reach your head, otherwise I don''t think that splitting pupils can cause brain damage. Of course I can''t be sure, the Leraz could tell you better." Indirectly, Mogranius is being supportive at this aspect. Even King Michael is listening carefully, finding it admirable how this old goof is actually so knowledgeable.


    Regarding mental problems for Dilli, they haven''t faded even after she slipped out of mind control. The symptoms on a external point of view are only a handful, and most have already noticed them although they did not comment much on them.


    For example, often times she sits and stares on something blankly for an hour at a time. It isn''t really exact what mental problem this signifies, but it doesn''t even seem like she is thinking through that hour. Mostly, it feels like her brain is at a complete shut down, as if it over loaded and taking time to recover. Obviously a unique case, something that even a healer from Zameria wouldn''t be able to change for sure.


    A bit more rarely, she tends to tone everyone out. Even when someone tries to talk to her, it looks as if external sounds did not enter through her ears at all. She is obviously not doing this intentionally, but it is emotionally troubling to be around even though they all know her condition.


    She still favours standing over sitting in terms of being comfortable, which makes it confusing because she has no wounds on her lower body which would prevent her from sitting comfortably.


    And possibly the most frustrating part for both her and anyone around her, are those hours where she is unintentionally speaking Gibberish. Complete gibberish, words that don''t exist regardless of language and accent. This can last for hours at a time, and like every other symptom she doesn''t know how to control this either.


    Those at least are all the symptoms visible to other people, but what about symptoms that only she knows about? "I don''t think that the Leraz can tell me enough, and regardless if they do tell me anything useful I doubt that they can heal me."


    Taking a few seconds to think it through, and feeling nice that everyone is listening. She decided to explain, "I can''t control how my mind works, sometimes I can''t think anything at all regardless of effort and sometimes I think everything at once even though I don''t want too." Her mood switching towards sadness a split seconds after, she asked. "Can the Leraz fix that?"


    "I''m not sure, but eventually me and Eric will be going there. Although not any time soon since he has to master 5 Powers before studying Mind Control. You should join us there, we can see what we can reverse. I''m sure you must be tired from all these symptoms that you never asked for."


    "I would love th..." Dill tried to answer, but all of a sudden she dropped down from her log and held her head. "Guh that Bastard hit me with a Hammer again!"


    Her behaviour got everyone in shock, King Michael blasted a lot of fire from his palms a split second after to identify who the attacker was. The answer? No one. They are practically on a flat land, and the forest is over a hundred yards away from here. If an attacker could strike, he or she would have it impossible to disappear this quick.


    "Dilli are you alright?" Osira asked, moving in and checking for a wound.


    "The pain is gone." Sitting on the lumber again with a bit of effort, she gave out a big stressful sigh and spoke. "This is the second time since last month, I swear if I find who is hitting me I will end him."


    "Dilli, if there was someone here who hit you, it would be impossible for us to miss him." King Michael explained, as Fire still blew on his hand.


    "Oh great so this is another mental issue." Dilli decided to point out the obvious, knowing that her friends wouldn''t lie to her for such a case and even tried to find an attacker that did not exist.


    "Don''t worry, soon enough we will be going to Zameria. Our path will cross there, we will find the best healers and see what they can do. Those people can regenerate bone and muscle, mental issues should be easier right?" Mogranius tried to calm her down, actually feeling very sad off what she has to go through due to a corrupted man wanting power and authority.


    "I guess I can handle a few more years." She spoke softly, and trying to tame the situation that she unintentionally caused, she turned her attention towards Osira and requested. "But let''s have Osira shine upon us with progress."


    Seeing what Dilli is trying to do, Mogranius started the conversation with a high pitch on his tone, waving his hands up. "She definitely was dealing with a Level 4 Inner Demon of Rage when we first met her!"


    Immediately after, he saw a death look on Osira''s eyes. Little did she know, Mogranius set a base for a compliment. "But she has progressed a lot, in no time she has descended her Demon to Level 3. I''m honestly proud."


    Still a bit mad over what Mogranius said at first, she answered. "If you lived with those retarded Snow Elves just for a month, your Inner Demon would discover a new Level. I turned out quite well considering what real life Demons I was dealing with."


    "Well you are proving my point, your Inner Demon has descended thanks to the fact that you won''t have to deal with Snow Ignites anymore." Mogranius still stuck to his point although he modified the concept a tad bit.


    Getting a bit c.o.c.ky now, as if she wasn''t boiling mad for a second. Osira replied with, "Hey life is good. My tribe is safe and well fed, me and my 14 Ladies alone have pushed the entire ill.u.s.tratian Alliance to a millitary shortage, we even blew up the entire Kingdom of Maleemia when the time was right."


    Now, with a smirk across her face she added. "I think it is fair to say that I found numerous reasons to be happier after ending King Tamzar''s life."

 Chapter 394 - My Biggest Emotional and Physical pain.

    Its nice to hear the two ladies express their selves regarding their life trials and overall Inner Demons, but it is also a good idea to listen out the older. As tough as they sound, how do we know that their tremendous individual progress doesn''t have struggle as a base foundation.


    What they went through in life can be numerous regardless if they share their experience with everyone by the comfort of a blazing Campfire, but we should focus mainly on rage as it is what a Fire Controller goes through, as established.


    It is even nicer that Mogranius is willing to share without being specifically asked too. Since the topic about Inner Demons is still fresh as a daisy, he decided to share a little bit of his past after eating a 4 pound fish. "As an early teen I had so much rage... If there was a proper way to measure it back then, I''d say I was dealing with a Level 5 Inner Demon of rage."


    "Why be that angry?" Osira asked, curious and unaware of what this Mentor has gone through as a child.


    "Oh my father was dragged in the Ocean by a Swordfish." He answered casually, as if what he just said isn''t exactly a big deal. As if he spoke of something light as a feather to comprehend.


    Osira just pulled her face back in confusion, trying to determine if what he said is just sarcasm or is he being serious? Asking after, "Really?"


    "Yes, but that is not the point... Well wait it kinda is. Well there are two points on why I won against my Inner Demon." Mogranius found himself arguing with the facts and points he wanted to nail down in order to tell his story. "See due to the fact that I lost my father, I kept myself busy with Fire Controlling so I can keep my mind off his dissapearance."


    "So in a way, you used Fire to tame your own Inner Rage. Kind of a fighting fire with fire situation, rather sentimental." Dilli pointed out, finding Eric''s Mentor here an interesting old man although no doubt crazy when based on his behaviour up until this point.


    "Now that I think of it, that''s almost exactly the case." Mogranius complimented Dilli''s claim, and tried to explain furthermore regarding his first point. "But Fire Controlling opened up a lot more doors for me. One of these great doors is my urge to know more, expanding bigger and bigger."


    "That''s how you know about Lan Zhe?" Eric asked, well more like tried to point out to the newcomers a little bit more about how they have befriended a town of Calidum Lutum. The newcomers know a bit about it here and there, but a solid origin of this friendship hasn''t been explained to the very last detail.


    "Yes indeed, but back then it wasn''t so hard to find. Grand Masters treasured it as a highly spiritual place, perfect for advanced meditation." Mogranius tried to explain as much as he could regarding his past, although it didn''t shed much light on his or their history with the Calidum Lutum.


    "Aha, yes. Meditation, lots of sitting." Eric rushed it through with his tone cracking a bit in between, obviously showing once more that he isn''t the biggest fan of meditation. Furthermore he got to the topic that mattered to him the most, "Tell us the second reason, that helped you beat your Inner Demon."


    "Don''t tell me its sarcasm." Osira added lightly, and witnessed how King Michael gave her a rough stare and wiggled his eyebrows, as if trying to tell her to not offend the man who is getting emotional.


    "Sarcasm is a heavy source behind my... success aye? That''s what we can fairly call it." He answered, not seeing Osira''s wordplay as an offense.


    A tear dropped from his eye, but it became almost too easy to conceal it because of the Darkness surrounding them as the sun hid behind the forest. A tear dropped, not because he took offense from Osira but because he thought a bit more of the second reason behind his success.


    "Akareas is the second reason." He continued to tell his story. "Thank the Source that her soul is free now, but hell she has caused me emotional and physical pain."


    "You two dated?" Osira asked, being a bit too bald and didn''t really realise how emotional Mogranius is getting. Afterwards she felt her mouth being covered by Dilli''s hand, and a whisper went through her ear after, telling her to. "Shut up."


    "Well no... She was in love with me come to think of it, while I had to reject her because the age gap was just uncomfortable." Mogranius explained, showing a hell lot of reason for once.


    "But in Meridionali Ignis some old men married 14 year old girls, how big could the age gap have been for you to reject an Electus?" Osira asked, with obviously no intend to tease right now and basing Mogranius'' event on her own reality although the two situations are not the same.


    "Just because some or more people are doing it, it doesn''t mean that it''s right. However that''s not the point, she proposed to me after she came back from Molaria. Afterwards she trained with me for another year after I rejected her since she was only an Expert in Fire Controlling regardless of attempt, I''d say she was more focused to get some or more revenge on me for not respecting her feelings enough. After a year of training she went to Zameria and didn''t return for over a Decade... The rest after that is a very long story." Mogranius realized that he has been talking a bit too long, but it is obvious that everyone is listening in a lot of anticipation, with their heads leaned in towards him and the fire.


    To finish the story, he did not fail to add. "Akareas was my greatest distraction and greatest pain too, and that says a lot because I lost my father. Handling her has pushed me towards exploring the Forest as a result of fighting the emotional pain away, because my dumb choices pushed her to another Continent."


    Seeing that Mogranius has let the silence stretch for a bit too long after, they pulled their faces away from the fire and felt developing sadness in their hearts. To think that Mogranius is just an old goof who has a mind of a child, obviously they have under estimated him.


    "With Akareas gone, it has become my calling for me to redeem my mistakes. Eric, I could have ditched all of you and live in one of the many small islands between here and Zameria, this war and your Journey could have not been my problem even though I teleported here to your timeline." Stopping for another second to collect his thoughts, he added. "But with Destiny calling, I will help you more than I helped Akareas. This time, I will give my full effort and forge you to the all powerful Electus you are destined to be."


    Feeling that tears will break in sooner than he wanted too, before his tone starts to cracking he pushed the attention to King Michael. "But I shared enough, I''m sure considering his Age King Michael has a lot more stories to share."


    Seeing what Mogranius is trying to do here, King Michael took charge here knowing that he can damn well control his own feelings. "Um well, like a lot of Fire Manipulators I did face a lot of rage although I had no idea that it had anything to do with an Inner Demon."


    "So you were clueless?" Dilli asked, most interested at what this Grand Master can bring to the table.


    "Not at all, but Rage was a huge part of me... Especially after I lost my father." Here the king is expressing one of the biggest sources linked to his so called rage. "I was 40 years old back then and the war wasn''t nowhere close to starting, but in Kastarian years that isn''t too different from being a teenager."


    "A teenager at 40 years old?" Osira asked, being very curious and seeing the concept as nonsense because she herself grew up too early thanks to her rough life.


    "Yes." Mogranius answered for him with his tone at a high pitch, he has concealed a few tears while King Michael was sharing his own past. "Kastarians live for 700 years." Of course here he mostly thought about Commander Alia.


    "Yes... So I was just a teenager who lost his father, and a new a.d.u.l.t at 100 when I lost my mother too." He explained, showing a lot of pain behind his words but no tear managed to escape.


    "Wasn''t your mother a Kastarian?" Eric asked, memorizing quite well what the King has told them over a year ago.


    Figuring that Eric is referring to the 90% Bigger Lifespan a Kastarian has, he quickly explained. "Yes, but she got an disease which got the best out of her. She died on my arms, it isn''t something easy to comprehend."


    Seeing that everyone is listening, he continued to explain. "I even lost some friends due to age after my mother, afterwards I mostly lived alone for 2 Centuries. I only dropped in town when I needed more Parchments or Ink."


    What he refuses to explain however, is the fact that sadness and overall depression has kept him busy when he wasn''t exploring or researching. So between that, there wasn''t enough time to be angry which inevitably has cured his Inner Demon of Rage.


    It is fair to say that the toughest have the worst past, I mean look at King Michael. He is explaining how he lost friends and family, yet he has no more tears to shed. What can you consider sadder than that?


    Finishing off his own story, he added. "Thinking about the friends I lost, has helped me keep busy more than exploring and researching animals ever did."

 Chapter 395 - Confidence

    The talk about their pasts is best described informative, but at the same rate it shows the emotional and in some terms physical struggle everyone had to go through in order to be where they are now. Knowing each other''s weaknesses be it past or present, will help to understand each other better no doubt.


    The Campfire was extinguished after an hour when the weather kept getting colder with no sign of stopping, they weren''t training at that moment so it is only sane if they went all home, they were all tired.


    However, the younger were not tired of putting a thought that was imprinted in their minds, to action. I''m talking about the power moves that can determine which level one Fire Controller is worthy of identifying with.


    Unnecessarily, Dilli, Eric and Osira have been motivated to try out the moves that determine a new level. However, they knew that if they asked an authority figure to look over them, the figures would inevitably refuse. So they want to try it all alone, without anyone joining them and I mean anyone. These three who want to try the moves didn''t even tell each other.


    They all want to try these complex moves, and they all have rather strong motivations behind their decisions due to the fact that they have been training their asses off, even though one could have trained more than the other.


    Eric for example, could possibly be having the most motivation and self confidence here. Which is in one way odd because he quite possibly could be dealing with an Inner Demon of self doubt brought upon him by Aresmqaal, who is the Source of Healing and furthermore the Source of this specific Inner Demon too.


    But on the other hand, him being this confident could be making a lot of sense because he Eric has been training the most out of all in a span of a year because of his advantages. Osira and Dilli trained a lot less because Osira was constantly on the move and Dilli was surrounded by ill.u.s.tratios who would punish Fire Controlling.


    Apart from that handsome fact, until a little while ago he has trained alongside with 5 Grand Masters of Lava Controlling. This doesn''t directly link to Fire Manipulating but when you look at the fact that throughout half of the training, these Masters gave mental challenges, this attempt to try out the move makes more sense since the move focuses mostly on concentration.


    Bottom line, he is also the Electus. So even as a 16 year old boy, he thinks he has what it takes to become a Master soon.


    Eric made his way out of the Kingdom hours after they broke up just to fight off suspicion if there is any, most specifically he went out right after midnight.


    Taking a deep breath, and letting it all out he took a second to acknowledge his surroundings. Listening to the comforting silence around here with snow lightly tapping against the ground, and wolf howls possibly over a kilometer away. He sure wouldn''t want to see one of those again, but their soothing howl helped him concentrate a bit more.


    He lightly starts bursting Fire from his nose, and that fire spreads a bit out of control. It doesn''t come out at a vertical slim angle, but instead spreads wide and fluffy like a cloud. This is good, because it gives in more fire to work with.


    He takes in a deep breath again, which means that no more fire is bursting from his nose. Now with the little fire that he got out of himself, he starts molding the fire to his preference, or at least tries too.


    The fire coats over his chest, and stretches to his shoulders and afterwards surrounds his armpits. Keeping his concentration as sharp as possible, he leads the rest of the fire down around his stomach, being careful not to burn himself.


    He breathes in deep, and with a sigh lets out a lot more fire from both his nose and mouth. Perhaps not the best idea, because too much Fire came out and now he has a bit too much to comprehend.


    Because not only he has to control this new badge of fire, hold it still in mid air so it doesn''t float its way up to the sky reducing in to nothingness but he has to be concentrated on the fire he already has molded around himself.


    "Dang there goes my eyebrow again, it grew just a while ago." He complained to himself, his facial hair always seems to be a victim to his lack of control towards Fire.


    Most of the Fire he just blasted out, flew towards the sky and disappeared. However, the little bit that didn''t manage to escape, connected along with the rest of the Skin of Fire, although it made little difference.


    He felt ready to blast fire out of his nose again, but something else caught his attention rather well. Fire... yes Fire. It is shinning about a hundred yards away from him, and at a rather extended amount.


    He saw it pop out big at first and dim down a second later, so this can''t be a torch. However, lending his focus to this fire far away from him, he lost most focus on the fire skin around him.


    The skin broke, separated in all ways and made itself up towards the sky. He has failed to do this move, and considering how with three blows he only managed to cover 1/4th of his body, he has a long way to go in order to learn just this move, not to mention being a Master. However this is progress in a way, at least he could get it started.


    With confidence as a previous topic, Dilli considers herself gifted in terms of Fire Manipulating. That''s what everyone told her throughout her life and she even became a prized hunt for the Grand King, good enough to be put under mind control instead of being murdered.


    Considering all of this, she went out to try the Skin of Fire a bit after Eric. And giving in three tries, failing miserably the first two times, on the third shot she found herself being half covered with Fire.


    Seeing her progress and being happy about it, she kept her feelings under control and continued with the move. At this third shot, she has blasted fire through her nose twice so far and now burst out for the third time.


    "I see you are doing better than I am." A male... childish tone grew behind her far from the comfort of light lended by her fire.


    Ignoring the sound... thinking that no one would be out at this time, thinking that this could be just another one of those Voices she randomly hears. She continued with her attempt, refusing to break the skin of fire.


    The voice behind her failed to break her concentration, but a large sum of fire in front of her did. She saw it growing larger and larger, and spiraling its way to the Kingdom.


    Osira has gotten the least training out of the five Fire Controllers gathered up here in the domain, but she still feels confident enough to try out the power move that can determine if one has progressed enough to become an Expert (Level 4) Fire Controller, she wants to try out the Fire Tornado.


    Personally, she never tried it but she did see a handful of the 15 ladies ascending to Level 4. She flew a bit above the ground, maneuvered one arm up and the other straight down, started blasting fire massively out of them and with the aid of her feet she started spinning in one place.


    Three spins later, she felt a sharp pain on her arm. She has spun a bit too randomly and a bit of fire has landed on her arm, burning through her fur coat and making her arm feel like she has put it in a boiling pot.


    Seeing the odds, she stopped blasting fire out of her hands and blew more through her feet. That sudden blast from below reduced the Fire Tornado a bit more, however it isn''t enough to completely stop it.


    "Do you realise how dangerous this is?" Dilli shouted from the background, afterwards blasting one after another concentrated blast towards the Fire Tornado.


    "Um let''s see if I remember how to do this." Eric murmured within himself as he did a sumo squat and aimed towards the half Fire Tornado which is expanding by the passing second.


    He put his palms half a foot away from each other, blasted a little fire from both of them until a little orb formed big enough to touch his fingers. Afterwards he placed his right hand over the left, stretched out his arms forward and lightly tapped his left foot against the ground.


    A 6 foot long concentrated blast made its way throughout the Tornado, reduced it at a considerable amount before it was tamed by six more shots brought upon by Dilli.


    "You could have wiped out half a Kingdom, this is an incredibly irresponsible thing to do." Dilli scolded, looking at Osira.


    Eric on the other hand, paid more attention on the fact that Osira is holding her arm. Hearing what King Michael theorized about a Zamerian''s pure intend to help, he incorporated that thought in his head and waved his hand towards Osira.


    A dim green light shone over Osira, and she felt a bit of her pain fading away. Looking down on her arm, the big wound that was caused because of her cloth burning on her arm, has mostly dissapeared. Ignoring Dilli''s scolding, Osira spoke. "Thanks Eric."

 Chapter 396 - 40 Hectares of Wheat Fields, Seer Suggests.

    With 500 new people living in Pameres Kingdom already and with 500 more coming next month, it has become an inevitable fact that better more dependable food sources have to be established without blowing too much Budget on them.


    It is a bit troubling since Pameres Kingdom doesn''t really have any Wheat Grain farms to heavily depend on. This Domain only has a Gr.a.p.e Farm and those are definitely not for eating. However, the good thing about food is that wherever it is purchased, half or more of the money spend on it can be recovered due to the fact that the whole Kingdom buys it.


    The Striped Marlin Meat coming from Gaster Kingdom can be taken as a prime example. King Zar settled a deal from the very beginning to purchase it at a rate of 3 Gold Coins per Kilogram. It is way below the Market value, but at that time a good deal for both ends of the stick. Most importantly, Zar set a rule for it to be sold for 5 Gold Coins per Kilogram here.


    Half of the food Resources for Pameres Kingdom come from the Zamerians, most of which is Wheat Grain and sometimes other Vegetables as a good bonus. However the prices there even after a Discount are 20% bigger compared to the Market prices here in Occidentis Ignis. And with the population rise, it will just get worse expenses-wise.


    But furthermore, Zameria is too far away and King Zar can''t risk having a food shortage in case the shipment doesn''t come through like it is supposed too, or if one day business relations with the Zamerians are broken. Unlikely to happen but it points out that getting a deal here with a close by neighbour is the best choice.


    When we are talking about Neighbours, we of course mean the great Gaster Kingdom. That Domain has three Natural food resources, when looked at in a deeper prespective, these three resources can lead to many sub resources. From fishing for example, there are various species who sell at various prices.


    These food resources are powerful, and can easily help Pameres Kingdom be fed three times a day throughout the month, although the King plans to be a bit more savvy than that. At this rate, he is even willing to offer better prices for fish compared to last time.


    As a start, we all know how Gaster Kingdom has been delivering 3 tons of Stripped Marlin meat here in Pameres Kingdom, selling for 3 Gold Coins per Kilo. Well now although the price per kilo won''t shift, King Zar proposes a new contract which includes increasing the monthly shipment to a total of 5 tons per month.


    This beautifully big order, will lead to Gaster Kingdom earning 15,000 Gold Coins a month just from this project, and the fact that it doesn''t have a time limit makes it a whole lot better! The fact that here at Pameres Kingdom, the meat will be sold for 5 Gold Coins a Kilo means that 25,000 Gold Coins a month will be earned out of it.


    But of course, 5 tons of fish meat and the fact that Pameres Kingdom has hunters itself isn''t enough to feed a stunning 3,100 people each day, twice a day for a month. These resources are off to a great start but are not enough. According to some rough calculations, it can only feed the whole Kingdom for 7-10 days.


    The second and possibly cheapest food investment that King Zar is making, includes a monthly never ending order. This order, will bring Pameres Kingdom 5 tons of Wheat Grain per month.


    5 tons of Grain does look like a big number now does it? Well it is, and due to the fact that its Market price here is 20 gold Coins per 50 Kilos, it means that only 2,000 Gold Coins will be spent on it.


    Now this low price opens up other options, it solely means that King Zar can sell it half the Market price without risking wasting the Budget. This cheap price will continue to ensure that houses who earn less will no doubt manage to have food each day of the month, even if that food might not be the fanciest of them all. Getting half of the gold back each month that is spend on this project, is a nice little bonus. Obviously Wheat Grain will sell the most.


    Bale Town has cancelled a deal with Gaster Kingdom. The deal was to bring a ton of various animal meat to Bale Town in exchange of 7,000 Gold Coins. Considering meat''s Market value, that was a rather large discount.


    It doesn''t neccesarily mean that they don''t like the products or aren''t happy with the prices, the issue is that Bale Town has its own hunters who bring in hunts every week and a 250 Hectare field that has brought a lot of Wheat last harvest. Short said, a lot of food is going rotten so this order has to be cut short.


    However this isn''t necessarily bad news and in other words it is perfect timing. Because it means that this meat can be sent to Pameres Kingdom. King Zar doesn''t plan to drop this delivery''s value as it is already very low.


    Pameres Kingdom will pay 7,000 Gold Coins a month for this various order of meat, but since its Market price is a bit too big for a commoner or poor man to buy, it will be sold at half the market value so no one goes home hungry even though they work 22 days a month.


    Regardless, this still means that 3,500 Gold Coins will come back to Pameres Kingdom which helps tame some of the expenses instead of straight up letting 7,000 Gold Coins being spent.


    Now let''s talk about fish! At Gaster Kingdom''s shores there are tens of fish species and a large landmass to fish, so obviously they will never run out of fish, which is a good thing.


    However, only a handful of fish species fall under the cheap category. When we are talking cheap, we don''t mean rotten meat, but just those who are more common.


    King Zar has offered to pay 3 Gold Coins a month for these species, but most importantly to fed the whole Kingdom a lot better, he will have them sold for half the Market price.


    The price will be that low here and he will order 3 tons a month, this order all together will bring 9,000 Gold Coins to Gaster Kingdom. Inevitably, this domain whose income was flat, is earning a beautiful profit of 68k Gold Coins now.


    Everyone is winning, Gaster Kingdom is earning more and Pameres Kingdom has better food options. Now you might be wondering if these 14 tons of imported food, 200 eggs and hundreds of Kilos of food brought from the local hunters here, will be enough to feed everyone.


    Well, two meals a day are an absolute guarantee. But for those who can earn more or want to buy at bundles in the very beginning, 3 meals a day is very possible.


    These options are nice, but Gaster Kingdom is far outsourced now with the new deliveries being established after February starts. And if the population here will rise, a better more dependable food supply has to be established. Seer suggests, 40 Hectares of Wheat fields.

 Chapter 397 - Stamina Scale

    Setting a little mental preview of how a Fire Controller uses Stamina, we will use Ella Angloma''s effort as a prime example since she is working with nearly indestructible ore. Let''s say that there is a scale from 1 to 10, this scale determines how much Stamina a fire controller is putting in a blast, be it a short blast or continuous.


    A scale originating around 1, can only cause minor damage against Iron Armour for example, in most cases not managing to melt it or burn it into ash. While a scale of 10, can rip the skin off your body and burn your bones after along with most Armour clothing if there was any. Logically, the less one blows, the longer the Stamina will last.


    On the nearly indestructible Dark Blue Iron ore, Ella Angloma has put in a scale of 1 out 10 out of her Stamina on the ore at the very beginning but even after an effort lasting 10 minutes, which made everyone in the room sweat it out to the extent, the ore did not turn in to liquid, therefore making it impossible to turn the ore in to Ingots.


    However, when scaling her Stamina up to 1.5 out of 10, progress came along. The ore, although slowly it did start deforming for the better. Meaning, it did not get blown off in to dust but just lost most of its original rough form.


    This is progress, but Bittore Nardone feels like it is not enough to determine better means of production. So after taking off her fur Coat and leggings, wiping the sweat off her forehead after, she proceeded to guide Ella. "Maybe give it a bit more power, Scale 2."


    "Scale 2?" Ella asked, feeling a bit confused as her arm felt sore. She wants to be absolutely sure about her next move before putting the request in to action.


    "Yes, we mostly referred to Stamina with scales before in training, although we mostly used Scale 4 in battle since it burns enough and doesn''t drain us too fast." Scaling of Stamina, especially when living off the land where possible enemies or wild animals could be lurking, is important. But here, Bittore found it useful to determine a well described move. "Scale it up to Level 2, we need to find the melting point."


    "Alright, anything to get this over with." Ella complained, aching her arm. She has kept this continous fire going for 20 minutes now.


    And with little effort, she gave in a bit more power to the continuesly blowing Fire in front of her hand. Once increasing the scale, the fire of course got a bit bigger and hotter, felt nice on Bittore''s skin from a distance of 2 meters now. The Blacksmiths have taken their fur clothing off, and would have taken off everything else if there weren''t any ladies present but I suppose they have to withstand the heat now.


    About five minutes later, very small portions of the ore have started to smelt and its dark liquid started dripping down, collecting on the stone foundation below it.


    "We''re finally in business." Bittore celebrated after seeing some liquid ore, smelting by the passing minute.


    "It is smelting, but compared to most Iron ore it is still too slow." Bittore pointed out after ten more minutes, after glancing at the fact that only 2/5 of the ore smelted down in to liquid.


    "Can someone at least hold my arm up? It feels like it will snap off." Ella complained right after Bittore''s statement.


    "Right right." Bittore shook her head, cutting her gaze from the ore and pointing at a Blacksmith. "Hold her arm, you will take short shifts with your friend there until we figure out the melting point."


    The Blacksmith of which she pointed at, hurried towards Ella right away and lightly grabbed her arm. Ella gave out a big sigh after, both because her arm started feeling relief by the passing second and it was a sigh of disappointment as well because she will have to keep this going.


    "Good, now crank the Scale up to 2.5." Bittore became quick to command after assuring that her arm is feeling a bit of relief.


    Concentrating a little bit more so she can properly hit the middle of this scale without reaching up to Scale 3, she blasted a bit more fire which made the whole atmosphere here more and more hotter.


    In just a span of five minutes, the ore melted almost completely and the liquid substance it formed, took place in between the Rectangular stone shape that represents an Ingot. Thankfully the stone can withstand the heat both from Ella and the liquid ore.


    "We did it." Bittore congratulated her team, a smile across her face cherishing the discovery. "We found the best melting point for the Dark Blue Ore."


    "Good, can I stop now?" Ella Angloma asked, feeling pain on her arm even though the Blacksmith near her is helping to keep it up, literally.


    "Yes yes you can stop." Bittore answered and watched the flame shun down. Afterwards she assured Ella of a fact she is sure to like, "And don''t worry, you won''t work here in the Forge. I will assign another one of the ladies over this task, but I appreciate your contribution to this discovery."


    "Peeww." She sighed in relief once more, obviously showing that she hated this job.


    Afterwards Bittore explained the reason why she doesn''t want her here in the Forge, without degrading the Blacksmiths. "Besides, I need you guarding Alcon Epke. He seems to get along with you really well, we need him to work reasonable hours."


    ...


    Meanwhile back at Section 3 at the first mine. Mollara, Samantha and Zelimia are watching the Miners getting out after a long tiresome day. The task of which these ladies have, is just to Guard the miners just in case of anything. They don''t know what they will find here apart from ore, and it is a good idea they did so.


    Why? Well, those weird sounds came back. And closer than they wanted this sound to come, and actually bringing danger.


    A demon, fast and hurling across the tunnel is approaching the three ladies while the Miners just made a run for it knowing that a screaming human looking creature is no good news. Obviously the creature did not intend to be sneaky, it wouldn''t be smart enough to do so and it is fair to say that we can degrade it under an animal.


    Mollara was the first to turn around between these split seconds, and after locating the Demon who is swiftly running through the Tunnel, only showing itself through the dim illumination of the few torches hung across the cave obviously too far apart.


    Having a few years of experience in hunting, she has taught herself to attack by reflex as soon as a lifeform is in sight. She took a shot towards it, with a 6 foot fireball occupying most of the tunnel as it flew across, she managed to hit the Demon right across the head.


    The shot blew the Demon''s head off, along with most of its upper body and of course left a disgusting scene after. Approaching it, they saw a small portion on the top of the Demon''s body, being torched in to a crisp and through it leaked blood at an uncomfortable amount, forming a blood pool right at the spot.


    Finding the opportunity to crack a joke at such a unrequired time, Mollara asked. "So this is the wet rock you two were talking about?"


    "It doesn''t look like a rock to me." Samantha pointed out the obvious without an intend of being sarcastic.


    "Obviously." Mollara answered, and being quick and wise she pointed at one Miner who had the guts to turn back and peek at the situation. She requested from him, "Can you get Grand Leader Bittore here?"


    They can leave this place and fetch Bittore herself, but who knows how many Demons can poor through here in the meantime, they need to Guard the spot regardless how tired they are of this day.


    A split second after, the three ladies saw Bittore Nardone pouring in along with 6 more Fire Controlling ladies and many muscly men with Spears. Bittore shouted, "What happened?"


    Giving her a brief explanation of the seemingly minor situation, after taking a couple of minutes to think it over, Bittore decided after. "Looks like we need to explore this place."


    "But are you sure you want to go?" Mollara asked, showing the most concern for her decade long friend. Being one of the oldest of this tribe, she has to assure that the decisions aren''t faulty. "You still need a bit more time to heal."


    "I''m sure." Bittore answered, although she doesn''t actually feel so confident about it. Regardless, at such a sensitive task she has to be here and supervise. Afterwards she decided to express. "I have a feeling that the nearly indestructible rock was here for a reason."

 Chapter 398 - The first Big Breakthrough.

    Starting it off with slightly political news, but we can also refer to it as development news. With the profit bouncing up to 68k, it has never been a better time to establish another Salary raise. Although the salaries considerably large when you look at the fact that no civilian is making expenses, King Michael declared a 20 Gold Coin salary raise for anyone earning under 150.


    What made this salary raise a bit easier, is the fact that two sets of crafts have already hit and gone above the 150 Gold Coin Salary mark. Obviously it is easier to do a Salary raise if less individuals receive that raise.


    With this Raise, the first team of Fishermen and the first Platoon of Guards have gone above the 150 Gold Coin salary mark. Now, the employees that are left below it, mostly lurk around a 100 Gold Coin Salary with the Second Platoon of Guards earning the least a month (70 Gold Coins.).


    But of course, everyone who are learning less are Zamerians. Racial difference isn''t the problem here, but the fact that they are all apprentices is explaining their smaller salaries. Regardless, they will earn 150 Gold Coins eventually and it is far better than earning 20-30 Gold Coins a month like they did in the beginning. And still, King Michael is covering all the living expenses with the Kingdom''s Budget.


    This raise of course did force the economy, expenses and profit to changes. But let us focus on the overall monthly profit only to keep everything a lot less confusing. Starting from February, Gaster Kingdom will earn a profit of 61,732 Gold Coins. Nearly a 7k drop, but much worth it considering the overall Morale it will raise.


    ...


    We need to get back on specifying a rather complex piece of work, mutation. King Michael has taken over himself the responsibility of finding the mutated combination that grants a longer Lifespan. To make it a whole lot more perplexing, he is trying to filter out bad effects that can come with that mutation.


    At the moment, he is stuck experimenting on the cycle he started at the very beginning. Which is mixing up Demon Toe, Waist and Head meat to see what will happen. He has three more combinations to try before switching to trying new cycles of experiments.


    The base fundamental of this experiment is having three Rats mutated with Demon head meat at first, this neccesarily means that the Rats have attained super speed. With this mutation as a base, he wants to figure out what mutation or in some terms, "powers" the Rats will get once eating either Demon toe, waist or head meat.


    "Are we ready Miss. Alama and Miss. Ladia?" King Michael spoke calmly, himself too trying to ignore the tremendously terrible smell that the Demon Carcasses carry.


    "The nose plugs aren''t helping enough." Alama spoke, rather hilarious to watch. People with cloth up their nose have a funny way of talking. They talk, well... Like people with small bits of cloth up their nose.


    "We''ll be doing three Experiments only, then we can get out of here." He spoke swiftly, trying to reason with the two ladies who have more sensitive noses than he thought. He doesn''t want to rush the experiments for two reasons.


    The first one is, he doesn''t want to over populate the number of mutations. He wants to keep better track of which Rat lives longer. Although other effects visible, based on the current technology no one can tell if a longer lifespan has been granted to any of the Rats, that wouldn''t have a sharp external change. So the best choice is to wait and know which is which and why it is that way.


    The second reason behind his slow mutating pace, is that he wants to see if the mutated rats will develop other attributes or mutations as time passes, before trying this out on any Human of course, especially Alama.


    "Let''s start by writing this log down." King Michael requested, and thinking it through a split second to get back on what he wanted to state. "Demon Toe, Rat who has been mutated with Demon Head as the consumer."


    He spared no second to drop the meat through the cage, and although expected he still didn''t like how the meat spread in various directions due to Rat chomping it at thundering speed. Luckily, the King has chosen older clothes for these experiments, although the experiments are just three.


    As expected, the Rat started changing. But is it for the better or for the worst, every eye would have a different opinion of course. Laying down on the ground, as if doing a push up. With aims of having a better look at the Rat since the mutation from an above point of view seems extremely minimal.


    "Well I''ll be damned, I expected a change on the jaw area but not to this precision and extend." The King admired, wanting to reach his hand in but obviously knowing that it is an extremely bad idea.


    Afterwards, the Rat dashed around the cage at super speed again which in other terms specifies that super speed has not been tampered and King Michael specified, "This Rat has gotten a perfect row of sharp, well settling curved teeth. We unintentionally made a super fast land shark, although a lot smaller."


    "So I should write the Result just how you said it there." Alama asked, just to be absolutely sure. This is a sensitive experimental log after all.


    "Yes, I don''t think that I can have a better explanation for it." He answered and afterwards let the silence stretch for a short while as he glanced upon Alama writing it down.


    Now getting on to the second experiment, he glanced at her and asked. "I''m sure you know what to do." Which in other terms asserts trust, but he also wants to spare their noses... and his own.


    "Yup for sure." She answered and swiftly jotted down, while also sensing Ladia''s glance upon the Parchment.


    King Michael dropped the meat through the cage, and already felt the meat splattering on all directions. This mutation once more raises curiosity and enthusiasm, because like with the first experiment they did today, they don''t know what this one will bring.


    The Rat stopped on its spot after chewing down on the Demon waist meat, and afterwards fast continues ear puncturing stomps were thrown against the metal cage. The King dropped down, and saw something rather unusual happening around the Rat''s stomach.


    Yelling out his sentence after a short analysis, he explained bit by bit. "It seems like the Rat has grown a lot of extra footless legs on its belly. Very pointy, and I think its trying to drill through the Cage, although ineffective."


    Now this mutation can be weaponized, especially since the Rat isn''t stopping which in other words means that its new legs aren''t breaking. "We have made an Urchin Rat." He murmured with himself at a low tone, obviously joking and for sure it hasn''t been heard due to the constant stomping.


    The Rat stopped stomping and just moved on the side, dropped on its back and seemingly died. "Uuuu... this is not a good combination. Mark it as dangerous, can kill a test subject."


    "Maybe I can help it heal!" Ladia felt uneasy about its death and moved forward, away from Alama to approach the Cage.


    "No, its pretty much dead. I don''t think Healers can bring one from the dead." King Michael explained, which made Ladia get back on her spot.


    Feeling sure that Alama has written the result because he yelled it out, he moved on to the third experiment while feeling sad for this Rat. Sure it is just an animal, but the way it dropped felt hard to watch.


    "Moving on to the third and last experiment for the day. Demon Head, Rat who has been mutated with Demon Head as the consumer." This should be a bit more interesting compared to most, because the Rat will be double mutated with the same type of meat that it got mutated earlier.


    "Am I delusional from the smell or is this Rat..." King Michael felt shocked, afterwards flapping his hand back and forth for the two ladies to come and have a look.


    "Either we all are delusional or this Rat is actually flying!" Ladia spoke, not believing her eyes. Not only did the Rat attain super speed earlier, now it is actually flying.


    "Minor flight abilities at best, and it stopped running fast." Alama spoke, trying to sound smart for once instead of constantly complaining about the bad stench.


    "Yes, this is indeed a big discovery and we should specifically keep this Rat under our glance for a few months to see if side effects fly by." Having people who can fly can be a huge advantage in battle, this is basically equal to discovering how to attain flying powers even though one wasn''t born with it.


    After watching Alama write everything down, they grabbed the Experimental logs and went out of the room all together.


    Alama spoke out in a low tone towards King Michael, "You and I need to talk."


    Not sure at all what the topic will be, he first turned towards Ladia and told her. "Ladia you are done for the day, you may go home and relax your Nostrils."


    "But I didn''t do anything today." Ladia pointed out, feeling bad about earning without working but furthermore fearing that she will eventually be fired. Its nice that Ladia became quick to learn the Ignite language.


    "It''s alright, without the books we are basically wasting time and messing with your self esteem. Soon we will get them, and that''s where the true training will come in." He specified, grabbing Alama by the arm in the process and moving to the Kitchen while Ladia was pointed towards the door kindly.


    ...


    "Don''t get mad, but Dilli told me how you are growing a little trauma within yourself, your fear of losing people is becoming too strong." Her opening to the conversation came out sweet, but at the same time with a rough tone unintentionally.


    "I guess she isn''t the best at keeping the conversation to the Campfire only." He complained, while at the same time rethinking how much he will share his past to people.


    Wanting to protect Dilli, but also knowing that regardless she wouldn''t care what happens due to her decision of bringing the word to Alama. She tried to reason with him, "That''s not the case, she felt concern for you and knew that you would listen to me the most."


    He is in a mood good enough to not disagree with that point, so he went towards another. Keeping his shoulders stiff as he leaned towards the Dinning table, "I thought talked about this, why are you opening the topic again..."


    Prepared for this answer, she spoke softly at a mildly low tone. "I don''t think we did, at least not enough." Taking in a deep breath and letting out a sigh, she added after at an even slower pace. "Look, we will all face death eventually and we will see people around us face it as well. It is an inevitable piece of life, so why worry about it before time and go through it twice? You have isolated yourself and your feelings because of this fear."


    "I have lost many loved ones through my life, and considering my Lifespan it doesn''t really get better due to the fact that I have more time than anyone here to think about it." Taking a second to collect his thoughts, he added. "I just don''t want to get attached and have my feelings harvested once more."


    "We will find the secret of increasing Lifespans, and we will have all our closed ones live longer. You don''t have to go through the trauma over and over again." Now leaning back to her chair, she took a few seconds to gather her guts and leaned back in again.


    Being at the side of the long Dinner table, with King Michael being at the very end of the table and neccesarily very close to Alama. She leaned in closer than personal space would see reasonable, and expressed. "But just in case we don''t, I won''t cage my feelings like you do anymore."


    Now, she leaned in for a Kiss and landed a quick one on the side of his lips. Shocked at first, but understanding completely what she meant. He decided to shift the barrier of his feelings, and with a thrust he went ahead to hug her.


    Unintentionally, he tipped her along with her Chair over and they both fell on the floor. That''s where an old, friendly looking Ignite maid walked in this poorly timed moment and asked. "Do you need a moment?"

 Chapter 399 - Tourists Arriving

    The stone wall! In Bale Town considered one of the most important Construction yet by its residents. The Foundation has been successfully set, and it almost looks 100% pristine. The reason why it isn''t entirely perfect, is due to the fact that the Stonemasons are trying to build this wall as fast as possible.


    Parts of the Constructions that will take the most time, are the Watch towers. They are thicker in width and taller too so it isn''t a surprise that they take more time. But the choices are either building watch towers or meter thick walls, the second option can take 3-5 years at least with double the employees. 3-5 years if they are lucky.


    But they need a 200 meter long wall fast, and the Watch towers will compensate the wall''s lack of thickness. For now, the Blacksmiths just need to give their best in order to make the construction possible, after all they are earning a fat bonus along with a Salary. What would this town do without the great ill.u.s.tratian, Gustav Iron?


    Speaking of Salaries, it is worth pointing out that there are no new hires and no Salary raises either. This isn''t necessarily a big problem since they are all earning a Salary while eating almost whenever they please, this is middle class life here in the not so fine Country of Occidentis Ignis.


    At more wholesome news, the rest of the Willson brothers have attained a promotion at work under the declaration of Guard Commander Delrus Aze. Bert has earned a promotion way before the rest, he is a financial advisor and quite deserving of his title, being smarter by a Nudge more.


    But today we will be speaking about Mert and Eert. As a start, Mert will be a town Leader. This is a big title, and in most points of view the biggest title yet. But do his brothers find jealously that Mert has gotten this title instead of them? Hell no, they are too smart to have envy on their own brother.


    Mert is very deserving of this title, and when this Governing Contract from Pameres Kingdom meets with an end, Mert will be taking the big shots onwards with of course his brothers giving their opinions as well due to their titles.


    It is a great title indeed, but who holds a Domain up and helps it progress? Employees of course, without employees an income would drop and be flat. Eert will be in charge of the Employees from now on.


    Hiring new employees or raising Salaries is a big deal, and it can determine if the income grows or drops. Eert will now have full control on how many Employees to hire and when, but it is also a good idea to consult it with Bert and Mert before time to figure out at an more accurate extend if it is worth the shot.


    With these wholesome parts covered, we can move on to the most unusual thing that has happened to Bale Town, Tourists.


    ...


    14 people have reached Bale Town now in the midst of January in the midst of this freezing cold. They have brought along a translator, he is a Kastarian but has studied both Ignite and ill.u.s.tratian language. Their value there is big and although not specified, it could be ranging around 2,000 Gold Coins a month there with the Economy bigger.


    It isn''t certain if he paid the thousand Gold Coins for this trip or not, but since he is a hired translator it isn''t the most uncommon if one of the Tourists paid his fee.


    Now, since the numbers of Tourists that will come each month can''t be specific, we won''t include the 14,000 Gold Coins earned from this trip only in the overall profit, but we will include it in the Budget build up only.


    The Budget before it was 582,000 Gold Coins, now that the Tourists have handed their fees at a handsome amount, the piled up Budget arose to 596,000 Gold Coins. Yes, that''s the best way to make this description as simple as possible. This amount still maintains Bale Town as the superior total Budget-wise.


    ...


    Bill will be their guide today, he is the most acknowledged based on overall statistics he jotted down since we can fairly call it his passion.


    Before they started, he sorted things out with the Translator after a simple greet. They found an agreement, Bill will explain first in Ignite and the Translator will do his job after him. To make this work more pristine and less repetitive, we won''t be including what the Translator says.


    Entering the first section, Bill explained. "This, my friends is what we call the first section. This is where our investor and dear friend Gustav Iron has discovered this amazing extensive mine after seeing a Civilian here using Coal ironically as a Secondary heat option."


    Taking a glance at the translator, Bill asked. "Did you get all that? It was a bit too long."


    "I''ve been trained to memorize triple the amount, please feel free to elongate your descriptions as long as you like." The translator expressed, and afterwards turned to the rest of the 13 Tourists, translating for them. Bill felt impressed.


    As they moved on to the Second Section, Bill took the liberty to explain. "This is the Second and most profitable section of the cave. Getting down here has been troublesome before and after we made this big staircase."


    As they walked down, Bill explained a little bit about the size in this Section. "The rock flooring you see now, has been about 10 meters higher than you see it now. But due to the fact that we mined out Coal, it has sunk down. We can of course mine down even further which can possibly lead to the discovery of more ores and at the same time we can get more stone out of it but this will mess up the working pace we have achieved on the further Sections."


    Seeing the translator do his job, Bill felt like he is hearing Gibberish but judging from the long sentences he is forming, Bill felt sure that this man is not bluffing about his memorisation capacities.


    Seeing that he is done, and feeling satisfaction when he saw the amazed faces on the Tourists. Bill spoke, "We can move on to the third Section now. I think you will like the tower we have build to access it."

 Chapter 400 - Getting some Limits straight.

    A lot of people from Gaster Kingdom have noticed the large Fire Tornado growing and heading towards them last night, well technically just a handful noticed it but in the next morning the word spread like a disease.


    Obviously, not many people became a fan of a Big bad freaking Fire Tornado and a lot even became misinformed or best described they misunderstood the situation. Since Civilians aren''t Hostile towards each other here, most assumed that this was an enemy attack that the King dismantled. They saw King Michael as the protector even though he did not do anything.


    Poorly timed, the Guards who had a shift at the front part of the Kingdom, were at the other side taking a routine walk while a minor portion were on their break, sipping on some ale to beat this strong January cold. The night shift definitely is hard to tackle, the first Platoon usually takes this shift since they have what most call "Thicker Skin".


    In the morning, King Michael became well informed of what happened last night, a Guard brought in this sensitive information and tried to determine if the King was training his students or did an enemy actually attack?


    Puzzled without a doubt, he ordered for the four other Fire Controllers to be gathered so he can figure out if an enemy did this or them? If it was an enemy, he or she would have not deformed the Fire Tornado so he practically figured what happened here seconds after considering their Levels in Fire Controlling. However, asking them will make everything clear.


    ...


    "You might have noticed the biggest banter of the day." King Michael opened the conversation as he glanced upon the four Fire Controllers, they are sharing a calm breakfast here. "I want to know if any of you attempted it, so we can put this investigation to rest. My Guards weren''t at that part of the wall when everything happened."


    Trying not to force Osira towards an uncomfortable position, Dilli decided to take the blame over herself. Quite at the right time too, Osira was just about to speak. "I did it, I wanted to train after hours as well. But it was obviously a bad decision, I was too tired and lost control of it."


    "So you caused a Fire Tornado?" King Michael asked her, first taking a look at Osira and afterwards making firm eye contact with Dilli.


    "No she didn''t." Osira spoke fearlessly, its not like she is proud of what she did but she will not in any way let Dilli take the blame. Besides, what''s the worst punishment King Michael can give to an Electus'' friend? "I did, I was trying to see If I can qualify as an Expert."


    Letting the silence stretch a little bit, he took a glance around the table and noticed how Eric is avoiding eye contact, Dilli staring blankly and Osira looking directly at the King, fearless no doubt.


    Trying very hard not to yell, he took a deep breath and scolded. "Osira, I assure you that what you did is nothing to be proud off. Do you know that with one Fire Tornado you could have burned down half of my Kingdom, is your personal Level up more important than the lives of 400 or more people?"


    King Michael is definitely speaking firm reasoning here, but before anyone could add their thoughts here, Mogranius took the head light and pointed out. "He is right, attempting this move alone is nothing but the definition of stupidity." Obviously a bit rougher on his tones and wordplay here. "You could have taken advantage of your warm homes, why sneak out?"


    "I wasn''t alone, Eric and Dilli were with me." Osira answered boldly, not trying to excuse herself or trying to get anyone else in trouble but she wanted to show that everything is under control, or at least was forced under control.


    Now figuring out why Eric was avoiding eye contact, King Michael decided to ask another question. "So you two attempted the Fire Skin?"


    "Yes." Dilli answered for herself and Eric as well.


    Finally, feeling sure of himself, Eric decided to add. "What''s the issue with me or her attempting the Fire Shield? The worse we could have done was injure our selves. Plus I was over a hundred yards away from the Kingdom."


    "You were impatient." Mogranius answered, his tone rising a bit. Trying to make Eric acknowledge his mistake, his tone lowered down on his second sentence. "You can''t become a Grand Master in a year or two, your failure last night proves my point."


    Feeling weird that he is the one defining responsibility and reason here, Mogranius continued to explain his point of view. "For Hell''s sake, we have all the time in the world. King Xakro is dead and the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance is getting weaker by the day, why rush to reach Level 5 or 6?"


    "No rush? We were forced out of our own homes by a god forsaken tree, don''t talk to me about rushing or time management. In this hell of a Continent there isn''t a telling of what will hit us tommorow." Eric brought a valued point here, but it became a tad bit off topic.


    "Speaking of that, everything is still okay. Your entire Civilisation are well fed and warm, and soon enough they will have a safer home than they ever had." Here King Michael might be numbering the good deeds he did, but he is just trying to prove a point. "Which brings our back to the first point, there is no rush."


    "It is unnecessary to help if you going to mention that you helped us in a topic like this." Osira became the boldest to point out such an issue.


    Ditching other topics, and moving to the sentences that he has developed through this talk, King Michael decided to set these three straight. "I hate to make people feel that they are under my Command, I especially hate for someone to fear doing something because of me and what I might or might not do as a punishment. I would never want that type of authority over my Employees, not to mention any of my friends."


    Taking another bite of the sliced bread in front of him, he let the silence stretch for a few seconds until he continued with his point. "But what you three did was completely irresponsible, damaging to both your personal progress and almost to my Kingdom. I do not want to point fingers, but Osira you were the most irresponsible one here."


    Getting back to one of her past points, mildly shouting Osira expressed. "But we got the Tornado under control right away, no one got hurt or killed."


    "Last night yes, but what if Dilli and Eric were not there to tame the Tornado? Doing it alone would require a lot more Fire Power, you wouldn''t even have enough time to dismantle it." King Michael the most logical in this room no doubt, and it is a shame that Mogranius became the second most logical today.


    Not allowing anyone to give further comments regarding this topic, especially Osira. The King continued with his tone and attitude becoming rougher after every single word. "Not only did all of you stupidly put yourself at risk just for a bigger personal status, but one of you did not consider other lives you could have killed or ruined. And today you come to me lying about it regarding whose fault it was."


    Alama is in this room as well, and she is being the most surprised in this room at the moment. She has never seen the King this angry, which says a lot because she saw him take down Cannibalistic Civilians in his own Domain. She wanted to say something, but regardless how close she became since yesterday, she has no say in this topic.


    But that doesn''t matter, the King did not want to let anyone else speak here. With a sigh letting out stress, he decided to finally set some limits. "This time I will let you go with a warning, but next time any of you put even one of my Civilians at risk, banishment will be the only option I will have to result to."


    Trying to clear out that he isn''t being too drastic here, he added. "Considering the risk factor you caused yesterday, I should deprive you all from my teachings. But I won''t go that far, have your breakfast here and I will be waiting for you at our usual training spot."


    Standing up himself and taking a glance at Dilli after, he spoke. "Dilli, I''d prefer if you come with me now."


    ...


    "I know I know, what I did was completely irresponsible." Dilli pointed out the obvious right after they left the Castle.


    "I didn''t ask you to come with you so I can blame you to a further extend, I want to get some things straight with you." He immediately made his intend clear, with no attempt to beat around the bush.


    "I''m listening." Dilli of course felt shocked, but considering the anger he held in there, this isn''t the most shocking.


    Laying down his requirement, the King specified. "You are the third oldest Fire Controller in my Kingdom, and unsurprisingly more responsibility is awaited from you. I''m glad you were there to take charge and tame that deadly Tornado that I had no knowledge off until today, but you shouldn''t have been out there last night at all. If the kids see you not caring about safety, they will inevitably put their selves at risk. I want you to be a perfect example of an authority figure, as they will look more at what you are doing than what me or Mogranius are doing."

 Chapter 401 - Sleep Deprivation.

    Dismotivated, sleep deprived and angry that King Michael told her what''s what, she has decided to not join the Fire Manipulating training today. Originally, she doesn''t really care that she got yelled at by a Grand Master but she lost sleep over the fact that she failed to build a proper Fire Tornado.


    Failure is making her angry, the fact that she isn''t qualified enough makes her angry. And of course she considered the King''s words, especially when he spoke about the innocent who almost got killed.


    Furthermore her ego has been hurt a lot, again it''s not because she got yelled at but its because she felt sure that she herself could have reversed the Fire Tornado, regardless what King Michael said about the required time to stop one.


    Eric and Dilli appearing in the scene became in her point of view, a misfortune. It is not like she hates them, but because of their interference she has been portrayed as weak in front of everyone.


    Hell, she is 1/15 of the reason why the entire ill.u.s.tratian Alliance is at a millitary shortage, obviously more than capable to stop a Tornado even with the wound she had. Perhaps these thoughts of growing egoism is more rampant because she is lacking sleep, but like every individual she thinks that she has a point.


    Obviously refusing to go training for today, or maybe the day after that as well, she makes her way to the Forges. There she obviously won''t become a better Fire Manipulator/Controller (Both terms acceptable.) but at least in another aspect she will still become a better Blacksmith, lots of knowledge to pick up from this bundle of 50.


    She felt like she will be able to find more peace here in the forge, or at least let out a bit of her rage piled up due to last night''s event. Pounding on some metal will surely help for this case, but at the same time it can heavily tire her out. Regardless, that''s not really her concern.


    Eyil Denver, the Zamerian young man who has gifted her with a beautiful Dagger, approached her. Sensing that she is mad, he tried to be as calm as possible before talking to her. "Good afternoon."


    Refusing to speak, Osira still continued to pound on the metal underneath her hammer. She wants to pretend like she didn''t hear him, breaking in a conversation now is the last thing she would want to do.


    "Hello..." Eyil spoke again, trying his best to communicate.


    Stopping her work, avoiding to make eye contact with him with a tear already developing, she mildly shouted. "Why don''t you just get back to work?"


    "Alright, talk later." He answered, feeling bad that he couldn''t help but also very embarrassed that he got yelled at by a girl in front of everyone.


    This outburst caught the attention of a few Blacksmiths who heard Osira while they were on a mid swing against Iron, but to break their work and banter is obviously a bad option with a large monthly order to fill, delivery day is tommorow according to date.


    Spending a couple more minutes on the forge, taking second after second to realise that she has over reacted, she stopped pounding on Iron and instead of going towards him with aims of apologising, she just casually walked away from the Forge, trying her best to avoid attention but not giving a damn even if she got any.


    Making her way to the stable, she seeked Ada. They are best friends and if there is one person here who wound want Osira around regardless of how angry she is, it''s Ada. Its not like Osira would want to get accepted by anyone, but she wants to be around a calmer soul with hopes of that calmness rubbing off on her.


    Finally seeing Ada, she approached her and tapped on her shoulder. "Mind if I join you for work today?"


    Recognizing Osira''s voice as fast as the eye could blink, she answered without even turning around because she is brushing a Horse at the moment. "Of course, this place always needs extra hands."


    Osira grabbed a little brush and started gently stroking the Horse from the other side, unintentionally the two ladies were forced to make eye contact with each other and Ada managed to see a tear slip.


    Caring and bold enough, Ada asked. "What''s the matter? Why are you crying Osira?"


    Trying not to yell again, especially towards someone she cares so much for, Osira answered. "I... It just has been a rough day..."


    ...


    Helping out in the Stable can fill a person with experience, and at the same time can torture nostrils. Around a person like Ada, Osira could obviously be learning a lot about Horses considering the overall knowledge in this Stable.


    Obviously Osira did not come here for the Horses, but she did calm down by the passing hours and racked up some work experience as well. Upon finding a bit more peace, although sleep deprived she managed to count down the reasons of why her actions were nothing less but irresponsible and that everyone is just either trying to protect her or what they treasure.


    Realising these facts, embarrassment rose higher and higher to the point where she made a horrible decision. Well she didn''t kill anyone which is a good thing, but the bad thing is that she has chosen to part ways with everyone.


    She doesn''t feel like she fits in anymore after this mistake and often times has realized how her friends have become victim of her temper tantrums, today she even hurt the man she fancies.


    She needs some time alone to figure things out, in the meantime she has decided to leave this place without a single trace. Sure a Calidum Lutum can be sent all the way to the edge of the Continent in the hidden domain do deliver a message regarding Osira, but who can say that she is going there?


    Osira definitely does not have that decision in mind, she wants to tame her rage at the best way she sees possible, surviving in the wild. That can get anyone straight.


    She will leave at the break of dawn, when everyone is asleep. As for will she ever see her friends again? Ada, Eric, Eyil, Dilli or any other? Only time will tell us about this decision.

 Chapter 402 - Figuring out this Puzzle.

    "Has anyone seen Osira?" Eric asked the question everyone else had in their head, but figured that Osira is just being a drama queen due to the recent debate regarding responsibility, they think that''s the reason why she is avoiding training.


    Being an "early bird" due to the fact that she has constant firmly random nightmares (Which she doesn''t tell anyone about.), Dilli woke up early enough to specify that. "Osira wasn''t there when I woke up at the break of dawn."


    "Where could she be heading before the break of dawn?" Mogranius asked feeling rather puzzled, taking his time to think everything through after he laid out that question there, he didn''t speak just to banter.


    "It''s two hours after dawn, we should have seen her if she was anywhere in the Kingdom. Although crowded, there aren''t many places to go here." King Michael pointed out, bringing in the most logic here but at the same time raising more question marks in everyone''s mind.


    And Dilli dared to ask that question first, "If she isn''t in the Kingdom, then where is she?"


    King Michael doesn''t hate Osira and although the conversation got heated a couple of days ago, he still doesn''t want to deprive her of proper training. Due to the situation, King Michael couldn''t help thinking once more. "Maybe I was a bit too rough with her."


    "People." Eric spoke at a mild tone, letting a second stretch before he built a proper sentence in his mind and put it in to word as well. "Regardless where she is, this is Osira we are talking about. She can take care of herself better than most, better than me even."


    Here he raised her name by degrading his own, but he does make a point worthy of comprehension. Osira is one of the toughest here, especially after you consider that she is only 18 years old.


    "You have a point there." Dill complimented Eric''s words after letting a yawn stretch. "A girl who could withstand a Hound Head Snake bite, is no soft girl."


    But of course, King Michael feels the most concerned here. With ego non existent in his mind, he doesn''t really see her as less just because he is more powerful. Or in other words, he doesn''t want to use his status to come clean himself and blame everything on Osira. So he asked, "Are you sure? Because if something happens to her because of me, because of I yelled at her... I would never be able to live it down."


    "I don''t think that any word can break Osira, she has withstood the worst of the worst back at Maleemia." Eric protected her name again, but it is fair to say that every thought became a lot worse.


    This makes it worse, because everyone becomes more and more confused. If Osira is practically unbreakable be it emotionally or physically, why on Earth would she leave? Considering the facts, most here narrowed down their thoughts to two options. Either she is heading back to her home or she has gone for a morning walk that could be lasting half a day.


    Regardless, they all hope for her to return. King Michael wanting this to happen the most and Eric being second in line, he has gotten rather fond towards her.


    Taking both options in to consideration, they know that if Osira gets back home, they will eventually hear word from her thanks to Calidum Lutum''s helping to exchange letters.


    Speaking of the Calidum Lutum, it has become rather certain that they have lost their homes due to that unexplainably powerful Ghost Tree, Lan Zhe has become uninhabitable.


    Now getting back to the point. Since Lan Zhe has become uninhabitable, new Lan Zhe had to be built exactly 100 km from all three of the friendly domains here.


    The Grand Masters of Lava Manipulating accompanied by the Masters too, have managed this situation rather well. In just a matter of weeks they have built enough homes for each and everyone of the Calidum Lutum race.


    As mentioned way earlier, they can built igloo likes houses with the aid of Volcanic rock. Considering the tens of men and women who can put in work at such a task, making the houses in a matter of weeks became easier than expected.


    As planned, after three or more weeks of waiting here at Gaster Kingdom, the rest of the Calidum Lutum can now depart towards their new forever home. Or at least they can call it their forever home, who knows what danger awaits there where the Ocean is so close, what can possibly go wrong?


    The Calidum Lutum should arrive at new Lan Zhe in a week at max, but it will most likely take 5 days even though they are travelling on foot. An able Calidum Lutum can travel three days at a time without rest, but there is no rush with food enough food around plus there are elderly and children in the midst of these 800 people.


    Eric is the King yes, but it isn''t exactly absolutely necessary for him to join on this route. In terms of protection, a group of 800 Calidum Lutum can fight off half of Occidentis Ignis.


    The only reason why Eric would travel with them, is to show a Kingly figure. Normally he would want for his people to love him even further but after weighing his options it is best if he stays here for a while.


    His Inner Demon of self control has been tamed for at least a Level, however big that Level used to be. And considering the fact that Lava Controlling would take at least a few years to Master or Grand Master, it is best if he stays here and trains his Fire Controlling for a while.


    The reason behind it, is that Fire is his only form of self defence and intended offence. He has to be better at it just in terms of helping this revolution last longer, all can''t be done in a day after all.


    And with a Grand Master of Fire Manipulating actually present in this area, it is only the wisest idea if he uses this opportunity to better himself. Who knows what Level he would be stuck at if King Michael was to dissapear.

 Chapter 403 - Your 313 year old Wisdom.

    As the morning sun shone across the horizon, one of the head Blacksmiths has found himself in a minor dilemma. One of the most productive Blacksmiths is missing. Although this won''t affect the overall productivity in this craft too much, it is worth taking a look at.


    For example, the Head Blacksmiths can''t confirm for 50 Salaries to be sent out if only 49 Blacksmiths gave in enough work to earn that salary. But most importantly, he wants to check in on this one employee to make sure if he is alright or not. It''s the Human thing to do, regardless of the racial differences.


    The Head Blacksmith made his way to what used to be the Abandoned Houses section, not sure where the boy''s house is he asked around a little bit before he was directed to a house very close to the walls. It was hard to understand the Zamerians, but since he constantly works with ten of them alone he managed to push through the conversation.


    Before knocking on the door, the Head Blacksmith actually hopped that this boy is being lazy for once. He couldn''t have over slept, considering it has already become 2 hours past noon since the sun granted Ignis with its illuminating light.


    Whatever the case might be, we are about to find out. He knocked on the door lightly, and hoped to see the boy answer the door. But no, instead an old lady popped out, she is possibly near to her 70s.


    "Hello Misses Denver, I''m looking for your son Eyil. He hasn''t reported to work today, I wish to speak to him about it." The Head Blacksmith explained, tip toeing a couple of steps backwards after to give this nice old lady some space.


    "Eyil... Not here." Misses Denver answered lightly, but spoke out her reply with a little bit of resistance.


    "Not at home either? Do you know where he is? To be honest I just want to make sure that he is safe." He managed to show his primary intend here. He has not come to scold Eyil, nonetheless try to slap him or something like that.


    Almost immediately sensing the good intend on this man, solely based on how soft his tone is and the kind concern on his face. Misses Denver became confident to give the best explanation she can, feeling almost certain that this man won''t bring his boy trouble.


    "He has love of his life. He has chase..." Taking a few seconds to collect her words, trying to be more and more descriptive she finally added. "He go at sun, early... Way early."


    "Aha." The Head Blacksmith gave in a sigh of relief, he is glad that Eyil is alright. Now with that fact apart, business has to be consulted. "I''m guessing he won''t be back anytime soon?"


    "No no no no." Misses Denver shook her finger repeatedly, massively out of sync with her words however. "The love, stone head. Eyil can''t beat obstacle and bring here. So no, long time no Eyil."


    Seeing an old lady trying to communicate in a language she wasn''t used with at all, has perks. For example it is very adorable to watch, this lady seems to describe everything while moving her limbs so it becomes more interesting.


    It struck the Head Blacksmith that Eyil could have left his mother here alone, financially unsupported so he can go after a girl. So he wanted to do a good thing here for Misses Denver, that will at least give her options for food when everything won''t be for free anymore.


    "I will talk to Alama, and the King as well. Regardless, Eyil has put in a months of work so I will try to bring you his salary. It should be about 60 to 70 Gold Coins, I hope it will prove useful for you Misses Denver." He showed a lot of good intend here, but what Misses Denver said next struck him rather well.


    "I have 8 Children and a Husband. 5 work, so 600 Gold Coins in house month." Misses Denver showed levels of badassery here in terms of financial freedom, and with gender restrictions nearly non existent in Gaster Kingdom it isn''t a surprise that 600 Gold Coins are coming in this house.


    "I feel happy for you Misses Denver, but it is only right if I bring you his salary. You can give it to him when he returns, or spend it. That will be up to you." With a smile across his face, he greeted Misses Denver and made his way to the Gaster Castle.


    Misses Denver is of course disappointed a little bit how her son made such a bald decision, dropping an amazing opportunity to chase after a lady who admittedly told him to f.u.c.k off although indirect.


    But at the same time, she admires his courage. Leaving his home and family is hard enough but talking to Osira again will feel 10 times harder, she obviously isn''t at the best place at the moment.


    As for the Head Blacksmith''s duties at the moment, his job is to report King Michael of the missing employee and ask for Eyil to be replaced by another so filling in monthly orders won''t be even harder.


    Getting a new Blacksmith won''t likely be the hardest thing to do, with trust on King Michael being build tremendously and the sole fact that only one employee is required but most importantly he wants Misses Denver to receive her son''s half Salary.


    ...


    While the Fire Controllers were training, the Head Blacksmith met with Alama and explained the situation. She didn''t want to make a big deal about it, but the talk is about Osira after all so it is worth putting in to a full topic.


    It has become a small little habit to come and eat here in the castle after training, usually around 6pm but sometimes they came here as early as 3pm depending on the overall morale.


    So with the Fire Controllers present, Alama wanted to explain what the Head Blacksmith told her and she didn''t plan to beat around the bush. "Osira apparently has a lover, or at least so I have been told. He is a Blacksmith, and has left the Kingdom to go after her."


    Everyone was left at shock here, considering that they understand quite well how no one would have the chance to get this close to Osira. Mogranius went in to the biggest shock, since he knows a bit more what Osira could be feeling.


    Unusually, Eric broke the silence here first with a little expression. "Well well well, would you look at Osira. She didn''t tell me anything about a lover." Obviously he didn''t let out this sentence as rough, but instead meant it at a teasing matter.


    "Very romantic really, he dropped everything and went after her." Alama expressed, as if poking King Michael here although they never had such a situation before between each other.


    Mogranius added after swallowing his food, "Well at least the Hidden domain gets a new useful member, they need Blacksmiths there."


    "Are we sure that we are going to leave this situation be? We don''t know where Osira is, if she is safe and where exactly she will go." Dilli added, trying to put in effort since she got used with Osira around. Letting the silence stretch for over five seconds, she added in guilt. "I feel like we should do... something."


    "Osira is practically unstoppable, she will be fine don''t worry." Eric boasted her name again, but meaning every word of course.


    ...


    The talk about Osira stretched for about half an hour and regardless of any thoughts and expressions King Michael just could not fight off that feeling of guilt in his heart, feelinf that her disappearance is all because of him.


    Of course he would feel even more guilty if Osira got in a uncomfortable situation because of him, be it physically or morally. She is a lady in a Continent where she could be stepped on.


    He has locked himself in his Library, knowing that people rarely walk in here. Stefan is occupied with is little lady most of the time, so that''s the reason of the emptiness in this room.


    Surprisingly, Michael has even grabbed a bottle of Gr.a.p.e Ale with him. He doesn''t drink, he hasn''t done it for years but in situations like this when guilt is unstoppable, this could be a good temporary solution.


    Wondering where the King has gone too, Alama went through a few rooms until she finally reached for the Library. She saw King Michael at one edge of the room, sitting on a fur covered chair, quietly near a torch giving out just a bit of light.


    At this time, she couldn''t notice the bottle on his hand which has been mostly camouflaged by the Darkness. But when moving closer towards him, at a specific angle she saw the bottle shine due to the Torch.


    Seeing that he is obviously at a bad state, not even willing to talk even though Alama has entered the room, she took the initiative of joining him without permission.


    When I say she joined him, I don''t mean that she too has grabbed a bottle to drink it. From the side, she sat on his thighs mostly and lightly snatched the bottle of his hands and placed it on the reading table near them.


    Not sure what to say here, she narrowed it down to either being overly clingy or too supportive. She understands that the King won''t express his feelings easily, so she decided to soften this sadness in another way.


    "Can you remove the band from my hair?" She turned her back on him, while still on his lap which in many ways can be triggering. And the fact that she asked for him to remove her head band, points out where this night will lead to.


    After he helped her, she stood up and afterwards sat on his lap once more but wanted to face him, eye to eye and lips to lips.


    Five minutes later, after obviously making the King feel a lot better. She decided to move on with what she had in mind next. First, she dimmed the light. Well actually splashed a cup of water on the torch as throwing the torch down in a place full of flammable content would obviously be a bad idea.


    She removed her fur coat after, this place obviously got too heated and there is only so much she can handle. Now at least she can move a bit better, her leather jerkin met his with a strong cling and she softly breathed on his neck. "Can you show me your 313 years of wisdom tonight?"

 Chapter 404 - Surprise behind the Lady.

    "It has been three days since I left Gaster Kingdom." Osira spoke to herself, taking a second to breathe. Afterwards she took a glance at Eyil, standing to her side and smiling. "I might have been over dramatic, leaving the Kingdom was a bad idea."


    "What will do?" Asked Eyil, curious if she wants to go back or continue her path.


    He managed to catch on to her rather quick, she hasn''t been rushing her way through the fields and hasn''t touched the forest yet, although they are 30 Kilometers away from Gaster Kingdom. She plans to reach the 100 kilometer wide river first and follow it. Meaning, she has to walk through a very wide semi flat land first to reach it.


    There are two reasons why she prefers the river for such travel, it makes it easier to reach Septemtrionis Ignis and there are a lot of animals or fish on the way there so she doesn''t neccesarily have to carry 20 Kilos of meat on her backpack to stay, well alive.


    Plus this river, although it gets smaller in width the deeper it indulges in to Ignis, it does have other perks such as being able to enter four Countries in a week since it passes right near the middle of the four borders.


    Since Osira wants to reach this big river, it neccesarily means that she will have to get in to enemy territory first (Meridionali Ignis). She could have gone through the forest to avoid this part, but it would have taken a lot longer and it is far easier to get disoriented there considering her only way of navigation being a poorly drawn, half of the times inaccurate, map.


    However, getting back to the conversation. Osira decided to express herself at a deep extense, considering that she is a lot more calmer now.


    "I would feel far to embarrassed to turn back now, I think it is best to avoid the Kingdom for now and go back to the Hidden Domain." Now after taking that fact in to consideration, she glanced back at Eyil with stronger focus and expressed with seriousness. "You don''t have to come with me, I''ll be fine. You have a family and my home is practically at the other edge of the Continent and will freeze your ass off. You don''t have to tolerate that, or me."


    "Family have gold lot, you need me here." Eyil spoke, trying to be as descriptive as possible with the little language he knows, it tends to get rough to communicate but he finds a way.


    "The temperatures I''m talking about are hazardous. I don''t know how seasons are in Zameria, but up in the High Mountains it feels like three Winters happening at once... while at summer it feels like two winters. You probably won''t be able to adjust to those Temperatures, I''ve seen you shiver countless times today." Although she hasn''t been in the best terms with Eyil, she doesn''t want him to make the sacrifice of warmth. They debated this once when he found Osira, but he didn''t give up on joining her.


    "I slept under a tree, no house. That''s why I''m jiggling." This sentence made Osira giggle a little bit, it is a hilarious sentence but she tried to keep a serious look on her face to convince Eyil on turning back.


    "Oh, I should get a fire going then. How did you forget to pack a tent? We are in the middle of January." Here she scolded a little bit, but started to become more concerned about the fact that she might have to share a tent with him.


    "Mother hit with a broom for one meter, I escaped quick." Eyil explained jokingly, trying to lift up the overall morale here.


    "Your mother is right, but let''s warm you up first. You obviously aren''t giving up, I''d like to know why but I have a few theories about it." Afterwards without letting him speak, she walked away from him and headed for the forest.


    The forest is about 50 meters away from them and it is a great way to keep track of where she is, since the fine line between it and the flat land will eventually lead them to the River.


    She pulled out a Dagger, the same one that Eyil gifted to her a bit over a week ago and started cutting through some branches. It took several hits to cut down one arm like branch, but it didn''t really tire her considering her time spent beating against Iron.


    Eyil joined her nearby, cutting fresh branches down and throwing them behind on the flat land. It took them about twenty minutes, but they managed to cut down about 15 branches and afterwards broke them in to smaller pieces using their own two feet.


    To make this campfire a bit warmer, she blew fire slowly on the snow in front of her. At a diameter of 10 feet wide, she melted off the snow and didn''t even leave liquid as a leftover however the small remaining grass on it is rather torched. No matter, they both wouldn''t mind having their fur leggings black on the buttock area. This isn''t a fashion competition, but survival.


    These branches are rather wet, which makes it a lot harder to start a fire not to mention to maintain it. So to dry them out, she started blasting a minor amount of fire. This is close to blank shots, where a Fireball wouldn''t burn but push. However, to push the branches would be a very bad idea and this fire does indeed burn, but very slowly.


    The goal here is to start smoking out the liquid out of these branches so they can burn easier, and fairly provide more heat. This took nearly five minutes, and when she stopped blasting fire they did see that the Campfire has been started and is burning properly.


    Eyil has been warmed up by all that Fire Osira blew on the branches but this is nice too. Considering the quantity, this Fire should last for half an hour. That would be enough for Eyil to start missing the cold again, this fire is large because of the many branches.


    Ten minutes have passed, and Eyil felt like this is the appropriate time to reveal more of what he feels considering how often she is giggling here. They haven''t really talked it out yet, and the only thing Eyil made clear is the fact that he won''t leave her take on this journey alone.


    He started it off delicately, stating. "I inform... I need to..." As he took a few seconds to collect his words, glancing at how willingly she is listening with her eyes wide open. He noticed something from the distance behind Osira.


    The scene hundreds of yards behind her became hard to comprehend without panicking, he stood up and pointed. "Army!"


    Osira got goosebumps instantly, stood up and although hesitant to look back and with hopes that this is a joke, she finally took a glance behind her and noticed that there is indeed an Army approaching with its quantities tremendously tricky to predict.


    "We kill fire?" Eyil asked in a rush, panicking and trying to think how will they withstand this Army alone.


    He has heard stories of the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, these Soldiers on the other side can''t be here for good, they are here in aims of asserting dominance.


    "They already saw the Fire, it is best to rush in the forest now." Afterwards she grabbed him above the wrist and dragged him in to the forest. "The Kingdom is too far to run or fly back to, so I just have to launch a sneak attack here and hope that Gaster Kingdom is prepared for Company."


    ...


    "Guard Commander, two people just went in to the forest. What is your Command about them?" A Guard reported, and awaited for orders.


    Feeling that he is smart enough to analyse this situation, the Guard Commander expressed. "Well if they fled in the Forest, they obviously are no threat to us. They could have been low life bandits or just some Lumberjack, leave them be."


    ...


    "How many are there?" Eyil asked, grasping on some branches high up a tree, awaiting an answer from Osira close by on top of another tree.


    They are mostly camouflaged up here thanks to the many branches and due to the fact that these couple of trees they are at the top at, aren''t exactly much taller than the other trees in front of them.


    The Army, well they are about a hundred yards away now and their quantities seem to be getting larger and larger. "There has to be at least a few hundred, although I doubt that they are over a thousand. The ill.u.s.tratian Alliance can''t afford to send that many Soldiers to a Kingdom who only have 800 people living there."


    "You are smart, what do we do?" Here he practically complimented her observing skills, but also felt curious of the next move.


    "I will need to wait for them to pass, so I can attack them from behind and end at least 20% of this Army." Looking at him, she pointed behind him and stated. "You need to start heading this way right now, I can''t carry you but we do need to run away fast since this Army will no doubt try to kill me and you after my attack."

 Chapter 405 - Does intelligence pass down through Genes?

    With her feet over inches thick branches, and her palms firmly grasping upon the body of the tree, she saw Eyil slowly drop down on the ground and run away, just like he has been told. Thankfully he didn''t show heroism against an entire army alone today, although he did feel guilty about it.


    With Eyil possibly over 300 yards away now, she witnessed the Army getting closer and closer without any aims of touching the Forest. Obviously they chose to walk on the softer flat land for the sake of their own feet and Stamina.


    The Army is passing about 50 yards away from her, and now that she managed to get a closer look it has become clean and clear that this Army is bigger than she comprehended. Although she had a slightly accurate feeling that this Army won''t go over a thousand, they aren''t less than 200 either.


    Now why did we exactly mention 200? Well an Army of 200 is the easiest for Gaster Kingdom to withstand in exchange of minimal losses. Facing against 200 people, Gaster Kingdom would likely just loose 10-20 Guards. The Fire Controllers being there is the biggest advantage, and the reason why they can escape with minimal losses.


    Since she is alone up here, glancing upon the Army. She has gotten the opportunity to think everything through at a better extend, putting Bittore''s genes of being a battle strategy goddess, in to use. We all know that Bittore is tremendously smart, but how much did those smarts pass down to Osira?


    Let us see, some say that overall intelligence grows on a person along with age. She glanced upon what might be around 400 Soldiers, analyzed how much land they are taking to simply walk, and afterwards took a second to glance at the Forest on her side.


    There are some big trees nearly 100 yards away, now to imagine if they catch on fire. How much attention would they drag? With this cold weather, a large forest fire is highly unlikely so what does she has to loose.


    She slowly started climbing down the tree, knowing that she might not have enough time since the Army has almost passed by the spot she stalked them on. Climbing down the tree fast enough and without catching any attention is hard, but thankfully the tramples and chit chats across the Army deafened the sounds of crackling branches and raging curses because the branches kept cutting her.


    She sneaked from tree to tree, taking seconds to leap from one bark to the other in aims of avoiding detection. It became a bit easy to do so since the Soldiers did not consider Osira and Eyil a threat big enough to monitor the forest.


    Running for about 80 yards, she lost track of the big trees she wanted to set on fire. There are so many trees here, and from below it is hard to find a tall tree she saw from a distance of 100 yards.


    Considering that she doesn''t have enough time, she just decided to set a thick tree on fire. She doesn''t know if its the tallest one, and flying up would obviously be a bad idea.


    After setting that one tree on fire, she went ahead with the second and then the third. She didn''t blow massive fireballs on them, just foot wide ones that have a capability to burn more. She didn''t put too much stamina on this, otherwise the fireball would break through the tree instead of burning it.


    The trees started burning slowly, and that''s her intend. She doesn''t want to grab the Army''s attention in less than 3 seconds.


    The wind and cold did not manage to shun the fire, on the contrary it started spreading wider by the passing second and smoke made its way inbetween the blazing fire.


    This is what she was hoping for, to get smoke out of this burning tree, burn it slow enough so she can use the smoke but fast enough so it won''t pass undetected from the Army.


    She raised one arm above her head and the other straight below her hip, concentrated as much one very nervous lady could and took a deep breath. Upon breathing, she could see the smoke make a sudden shift of direction and head towards her.


    She has tried this move countless times, so obviously she can be successful here with one shot. The Fire became bigger and the smoke accompanied it to a further extend, this is what she needed.


    Taking in a deeper breath, she found herself surrounded by smoke and saw it spiral around her like an upside down Tornado. Finally, she pulled her arms close to her chest and broke the little Tornado here.


    "Fire!" She heard a shout from the army and the panic spread like wild fire amongst the Army.


    Regardless of attention now, she has synced in to invisibility so it won''t matter if they rush towards or away from the Fire. Her plan is to take their focus towards something entirely insignificant, so she can deliver more damage and use the distraction to buy herself a few seconds.


    As most of the Army focused their gaze upon the Fire, she has already made her way out of the Forest and all the way to the bottom left side of the Army, standing 50 yards away from them completely undetected, because she is invisible at the moment of course.


    After a short glance she made sure that no one has their gaze focused towards where she is standing, this is why she needed a distraction. She broke out of her invisibility without causing massive smoke as a dramatic entrance. To people who don''t understand how this works, seeing someone appear out of thin air like this would be nothing less but Traumatic.


    Well perfect, now with a lot of her Stamina scaled as 8/10 towards a Fireball she aimed towards the edge of the Army.


    This will burn, a lot. It has the capabilities to scorch through Iron and flesh for 3-5 rounds before leaving terrible wounds on the two next rounds. Regardless, this 5 foot wide Fireball will deal a lot of damage, it will take in at least 10 Victims.


    She didn''t spear a second to unleash more Fireballs, the first one hasn''t reached the Target yet. She did aim towards other directions instead of at the same spot, this will get a bigger grasp of Victims. Life is weird right? Grown up this old and shot down at a mass extend by one person?


    The first Fireball hit its Victims, and that''s when hauls of pain and panic spread across the Army. For Osira, this is a bit of an instant reminder to fly off.


    To fly off and to continue with the next step that is. Standing on her spot is a bad idea since she would eventually be showered with Arrows, and the close combat Soldiers would reach to her. Even a Grand Master isn''t fast enough to shoot down 400 people in such a short time.


    She flew towards the sky, but she doesn''t have any aims to fly away. She flew Higher so Arrows have it harder to reach her, and at full speed she flew above the Army and shot three times before she went all the way across the Army.


    These shots killed at least 10 people, but since Arrows aren''t flying at the moment it is only a wise idea to return for another round.


    She took a sharp U turn, took a second to get a glance of where the best place to shoot is and was quick to notice that some Soldiers have gathered up to a bundle.


    Afterwards she saw metal shinning, this isn''t a good thing. She shot a four feet wide fireball towards them instantly, and we can consider it that she was lucky to do so because a split second later, several Arrows flew beneath her feet.


    The Fireball hit what seems to be the Archers, and a couple of them weren''t even given the opportunity to shout out in pain. They got killed instantly and what was left of them was a quarter of bone, flesh and Iron. While the Archers a foot close by got terrible wound marks, to the point where they can no longer focus on performing good enough in battle.


    As she flew across the Army one time more, she noticed that screams and shouts have become louder. Confidence struck her, hearing her enemies in panic and in pain.


    But when she flew about a hundred yards away, thinking that going back for another shooting would be too dangerous since the Army has likely adapted a hunch towards this situation, they could shoot Osira down be it with emergency Spearmen or obligatory Archers.


    Focusing towards the Army, she noticed that at the top right there is a new enemy at bay. And it wasn''t a Human, from the looks of it this is a whole god damn Brown Bear.


    Afterwards she took a glance at her left and noticed Eyil on the plain field, waving for her attention and afterwards waving his hand above his head towards the forest.

 Chapter 406 - Ridiculous Offer

    Rushing in the Gaster Castle Throne Room, under his breath and sweat breaking over his Forehead now at the edge of January when blistering cold is a friend or foe. A Guard explained the situation, shedding light on his own panic and granting King Michael a burden. "Sire, there is an Army of at least 500 Soldiers a Kilometer away of our Kingdom and a messenger has arrived to negotiate a deal for his Superiors, he requested you specifically."


    Standing up from his throne and speed walking his way through the Throne Room, the King complained. "Why is it that every time there is a War amongst us, I only get informed after the enemy Army has already arrived. Do all of you sleep on your Jobs or are you voluntarily blind?"


    "Sire I..." The Guard tried to answer but he had nothing appropriate to say for this case, neither did the King let him because he has already walked out of the Castle and flew his way towards the sky, elevating 50 feet high. Regardless the Guard couldn''t have said anything and just ran along towards the Battle field.


    ...


    Dropping down right in front of the main entrance, he saw one man riding a Brown fured Horse. This Enemy Soldier is covered from his toes to his green head with Iron Plate Armour, obviously taking extra precautions in terms of protection or best described self defense. This Soldier is even about 120 feet away from the Kingdom of 200 houses, it can be considered the appropriate distance for such explicit negotiations.


    King Michael noticed instantly from obvious reasons that the situation isn''t a disaster... At least the moment. To his left he saw Arem standing with the First and strongest Platoon in the front line. They are about 50 feet away from the beautiful Kingdom behind them.


    And reassuring this First Platoon of 30 Guards, were the 47 Spearfishermen. They can aid to make the first Platoon look larger and at the same time more dangerous against the enemy.


    In front of the Spearfishermen stood Saleem, the largest and toughest man Gaster Kingdom had seen and has to offer. This man can hurl a spear at lightning speed at a range of 50 meters. Behind him stood Kaleem, Lia and Jim. These four fine individuals obviously got all the Spearfishermen and women together in short notice.


    As King Michael took a second to view on his right, he saw the Zamerian second Platoon of 100 people and Woldemir standing in front of them, shouting commands to get everyone in the best order.


    This Platoon although larger in Numbers, they can be considered the weakest since their disadvantage is their utter lack of experience. Regardless, Woldemir has been making sure to focus on every individual instead of giving everyone the same training exercises, that will make them a hell lot stronger. This possible battle will explain how much progress they have made.


    Once arriving to the messenger, taking careful steps once in a 15 feet radius. He heard the messenger speak in ill.u.s.tratian, which is almost exactly like the Ignite language so communication wasn''t a problem. "You are the King? You are just a small Ignite."


    "Yes I''m the King, the Hell do you want with my Domain?" King Michael answered, his tone gravelly and his intention to scorch the Messenger as soon as the proper opportunity is given to him.


    But first he wants to hear the Messenger out, since the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance trying to negotiate instead of instantly attacking, is nothing less than rare. To let out some rage he of course had to offend the messenger a little bit, unkingly but he doesn''t like his own Domain getting threatened. "How many battles do you all intend to loose before figuring out who is the Superior?"


    "We do not represent the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, Meridionali Ignis has left it and we are here in the name of Grand King Talato." A rather odd situation, especially for King Michael. But it became a bit stunning when the messenger tossed a rolled up Parchment and mildly shouted, "Catch."


    "How the hell did Meridionali Ignis leave the Alliance when the root of it is in that Country? What kind of nonsense is this? What kind of trickery do you intend to do?" King Michael obviously didn''t fail to express himself, and the Messenger is remaining surprisingly tolerant. He isn''t replying, meaning he isn''t shouting with ego as his root intend.


    The Parchment fell on the ground since the distance between them was too far and the Parchment too light, but the King did not fail to retrieve it while keeping a suspicious eye on the messenger.


    Walking about 15 feet backwards after, to get a little bit of distance from the enemy and afterwards calling for Saleem and 3 Guards as protectors, this way the King would be a lot less paranoid. He finally opened the Parchment and read its contents.


    "Greetings King... Whomever you might be. I am Grand King Talato. You might be wondering why 600 Soldiers are in your doorstep today, well they are here to offer you the chance of survival. See I couldn''t help but notice that your Domain has become the main spot for transactions between your Neighbouring Domains and Zameria, don''t ask yourself how I found out." Upon reading this first Paragraph, King Michael already noticed where this was going but he had to continue in order to be absolutely transparent before obviously attacking.


    "I can easily swallow your Kingdom, don''t let my recent unnecessary losses hypnotize you, but neither you or I can afford to loose more Soldiers, that is a fact we can''t lie about. So I''m here with an offer that no enemy would bother to send." Well, here comes the most important part. Grand King Talato is doing a good job of sugar coating everything, last time he just sent Weaklings from Wide River Kingdom to invade this Domain without trying to negotiate since he figured Gaster Kingdom as weak.


    Regardless, we can reach to the third Paragraph now. "If you accept governing from our motherland, from my forces and qualified intellectuals of higher standards. I will protect your Kingdom from other external threats, such as the famous King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll and what''s left of his forces. In exchange, your Domain will pay my Capital Kingdom 30% of your Domain''s monthly income, not to be confused with your monthly profit until further notice."


    "What kind of Bullshit is this." He thought to himself but also murmured a tad bit. The Guards heard him but they barely understood.


    The King moved down to the last and final Paragraph which stated. "Fail to cooperate with us and that Army of 600 in front of your Domain will be sure to attack, I doubt that you have more soldiers to fight for your Kingdom after the last battle. And for f.u.c.k''s sake if your Army survives again, another one will be against you soon, asserting Dominance."


    King Michael obviously isn''t planning to agree with this over confident Grand King who speaks without knowing thick details. But in between the Anger that has quite over flown his head, he thought of an idea which can categorize him as evil. But after all there is no fair or unfair in War.


    The King walked in front of the bundle that has been protecting him for the past minute and spoke to the messenger. "I will consider your Grand King''s offer, how much time do I have."


    "The Main Guard Commander explained to me that you have until dawn to decide." The Messenger answered, feeling a bit confident now that Gaster Kingdom is a step away from being reclaimed. That''s what he thinks at least.


    "I''ll let you know in the Morning." King Michael answered and walked away.


    But before he did so, Saleem could notice a smirk between the King''s words, and considering what complex work he has been doing lately, there is no doubt that the King is a mastermind. So the large Saleem didn''t say a thing and just went along with it, walking backwards so the King receives absolute 100% protection from any threat.


    ...


    "Oh good you all are here." King Michael spoke lightly as he glanced upon the three Fire Controllers. "Follow me."


    Afterwards Michael knocked on the closest house and by the authority of the King he said. "I need your house for an hour or so, make your way to the Castle and enjoy a free meal."


    Luckily, this house contained Ignites only and communication was a breeze. To be asked for a favour from the generous King is one honour and to eat in the Castle is the second, possibly bigger one based on personal points of view.


    The Ignite family walked out swiftly and Mogranius wasn''t shy to ask. "What the hell is going on here."


    "Hehehehe..." King Michael let out a short laugh, and speed walked towards a Chair. Afterwards he shed more light upon this predicament by saying. "I figured out an expert battle plan, that''s what''s going on!"

 Chapter 407 - Battle Plan

    "King Talato did two battle mistakes here. First things first, he was bluffing about the number of Soldiers in front of us and second he gave us time to decide if or if not I will apply to his demands, he thinks my Kingdom is weak." Explained King Michael, with his tone bursting in enthusiasm, happy about his own plan.


    The three Fire Controllers in the same house with him are obviously confused, obviously they can''t read his mind and they haven''t read the letter either. Mogranius once more took the honour of immaturily asking, "The Hell are you talking about?"


    King Michael explained a bit more about this although he doesn''t like answering too many questions and is eager to get to the battle plan. "The Grand King Talato, demands 30% of my Domain''s monthly income in exchange of his protection. Hence the quote, "From external Sources like Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll."


    Now this got everyone confused, because for a start Eric decided to point out. "Doesn''t he know that Xakro is dead?"


    "And isn''t he by Xakro''s side?" Asked Dilli Flury, she has no interest in politics between Countries but is aware with this commonly spoken off fact.


    "The entire Country of Meridionali Ignis has left the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, if that makes sense." King Michael granted the final piece of this interesting information and without letting anyone speak he got to the battle plan.


    "Talato made a mistake of giving me time to consider his offer. I''m not considering anything, but this time can be heavily used to our advantage." King Michael''s world play is rather interesting since he refers Gaster Kingdom as his own and when it comes to tasks he refers to them as "ours" or "we".


    "I''m guessing that we will ambush them." Mogranius finally spoke a sentence that didn''t include the word "Hell" in it.


    A smirk widened across his lips as King Michael answered. "Precisely, and they won''t see it coming because we will be invisible." This basically explained most of the plan, but there are still some confusions.


    And Dilli did not fail to ask more about this. "We will face them straight ahead as the first attack and leave the rest of the work to the Army, right?"


    "The Army will fight for us, but we won''t leave it mostly to them. We will remain in battle after, but we will strike from above." And as he forged these couple of sentences, he already thought of the other. Battle talk is his favourite after all.


    "But as a start, we Fire Controllers need to attack from all four sides. The Army will be compressed and will need at least half a minute to adjust, be sure to back off every time you shoot to increase the odds of your own survival." Letting the silence stretch for a couple of seconds, not allowing anyone to talk he added freely. "After all when you will start shooting, you will be clearly visible. Feel free to fly up, and shower the Army with Fireballs as fast and as much as you can. Keep your distance and please keep your own personal safety as a top priority."


    The conversation about the battle can go on forever, but King Michael has a battle to host so he felt as a strong enough authority figure to add. "Please take your time to prepare for battle, have a snack or drink some water. We will strike in an hour. In the meanwhile, one of you please call Woldemir, Arem and Saleem here and give me a second to breathe. I need to think this through to the last detail."


    The sign is clear, the King wants to be alone even if it is for two minutes. This battle can determine if Gaster Kingdom survives with 250 Guards and Spearfishers around him, or with 1/4th that amount.


    In the midst of the Battle Plans he thought a little bit about Grand King Talato''s offer and what would Gaster Kingdom turn in to if this deal was accepted. Based on the current income rate, Gaster Kingdom would need to pay 39,000 Gold Coins month as the requested 30% just to maintain peace and attain "Protection".


    Where would this lead to? Well the monthly Profit would be a catastrophe. A couple of Salary raises after or one business deal less, this fine hard working Domain has to settle with breaking even every month or even spend more than they are earning.


    It is obviously a terrible deal and the employees here do not deserve it. Furthermore although the Guards almost lost the last battle, their overall Morale has grown along with the Salary raises. They all have made it in to a middle class life here, and neither of them are willing to give this up. The Elders especially in this Domain saw what the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance had to offer before and they are not fans.


    "You have called for us King Michael." Saleem spoke, his tone a bit high and his enthusiasm for battle even higher. He really wants to hurl a Spear against these enemies.


    It was a bit stress relieving when King Michael saw Saleem struggling to get in the house, having to walk in from the side and duck at the same time while Woldemir and Arem were just waiting for him to get in.


    "Yes yes, please come in." A split second after he did not spare them enough time to sit on a Chair, he immediately laid out what''s happening by first pointing out the obvious. "As you know and see there is another Battle upon us, King Talato wants our Gold and supposedly has left the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance."


    "What kind of nonsense is that?" Woldemir shrugged as he almost completely closed his eyes and curled his lips with an intend to cuss at this Bullshit, but he doesn''t really like cussing. "The Capital especially had pride on being in that Alliance, claiming that without them there wouldn''t be an Alliance."


    Woldemir here has lived in the Capital for most of his life and for sure knows what he is talking about, it isn''t exactly the hardest to understand common behaviours once living in a place for a few Decades.


    "That''s what I found crazy as well, it all takes root there but what confused me more is that he indirectly portrayed King Xakro as alive." After King Michael left everyone at shock with this little explanation, he already sensed questions coming so he skipped to the battle plan right away. "But we can compress this Army with minimal losses, Talato lied about having 600 Soldiers in front of us today, I had a look and those are barely 500."


    "Maybe they have been attacked on the way here." Saleem pointed out what could be a possibility, everyone has skipped that possibility in their minds, they aren''t really stressles to think.


    "If they did it isn''t probably any of our Friends, the Messenger didn''t show any form of hate. Perhaps he had it as difficult as us to link their losses with anything Gaster Kingdom would do." Of course King Michael here put a dot on this story with this firm logic and wanted to move in to the battle plan right now, he knew unnecessary topics would burst.


    "Am I late." A tiny Ignite man busted through the door, seeking King Michael here.


    A bit stressed, wanting everything to go according to his planned pace, he expressed. "Stefan? I didn''t call you here."


    "And that''s your first mistake, you can''t plan a battle without me." Surprisingly, sharing a similar thought with the King although unintentional. He added, "The enemies are waiting out there, this is a once in a life time opportunity."


    "If anyone can plan like an Expert, it is Stefan. Let him join." Woldemir requested, he has known Stefan for over 16 years so who would know this little man better than him?


    "Alright, what do you have in mind." To cut confusions in order to plan quicker, he pointed out. "The Fire Controllers have already a job assigned, now we just need to orient the Guards and Spearfishers."


    "The Army out there is plentiful I''m assuming." Stefan asked, to shed light on his own plan a bit more and saw King Michael nod in agreement after. "They are, good so I feel sure that after the Fire Controllers land a blow they will mostly focus on taking on the biggest portion of the Army."


    And of course Woldemir reassured Stefan''s words. "That is true yes, since the biggest portion can bring all sorts of trouble. When they beat the biggest, the smallest portions after would feel like Target practice to them. That''s at least how they did it in the Army there."


    "Well while the Second Platoon takes most of their focus, the First Platoon can strike from one side and the Spearfishers can strike from the other." Finally sitting on a chair and tying his fists over the table, Stefan let out a sigh and added. "This way, they will be compressed from three sides. Their larger Soldier Count would be rendered almost useless against our men and women."


    Tipping the bucket, completing this plan. King Michael pitched an idea with a laugh. "And once their attention is stolen from all four sides, me and the rest of the Fire Controllers drop for another round of strikes from behind. But we would have to fly off quick after because we can either get shot or shoot our own Guards."

 Chapter 408 - New Home

    100 Kilometers from Gaster Kingdom, 100 Kilometers from Pameres Kingdom and 100 Kilometers from Bale Town stands a new domain firm. It''s name? Well we can call it the New Lan Zhe.


    We have laid out a detailed definition before why Lan Zhe had to be rebuilt somewhere else, and although they aren''t around a boiling hot Volcano here all the way across the Continent, it would be unfair to call New Lan Zhe any less beautiful.


    There are over 300 Igloos made out of dried out Volcanic Rock, and a beautiful wall made out of the same material as well. This wall covers all the Houses, and provides an extra layer of protection from any external threat.


    Let''s just hope that the Ghost Tree won''t find them all the way here. And it won''t, that is unless if it has anything against or for the Calidum Lutum. Mogranius theorises that the extensive soul and spirit count of the unliving at the old Lan Zhe might have led the tree here, let''s hope the Calidum Lutum''s abnormal funeral ceremonies don''t bring the Ghost Tree here.


    Getting back to Domain details, there are a bit more houses than planned because of two reasons. The first reason is that Calidum Lutum are larger, so it is most likely that 5-8 people won''t fit in a small Igloo.


    The second reason why they built more Igloos, is because they could. They have 50 Masters lending a hand, along with 5 Grand Masters. These are 55 people who can control, form to the desired shape and dry Lava to Volcanic rock which as a result makes Structures.


    The point is, they had enough people to make these 300 Igloos along with the long wall in less than 2 months. Other Kings of other races would give anything to build a domain this quick and cheaply.


    Let''s talk about the wall a little bit, to meet Calidum Lutum standards it has been stretched 6 meters tall since Calidum Lutum are usually half that size. Building a wall that tall, of course requires a foundation almost twice as wide to keep everything in place.


    The foundation stretches from 9 to 15 meters wide, these people didn''t need anything pristine to the Centimeter, they just need something that works. And a 15 meter thick wall definitely works, there is no creation in the Human race that can break this wall... Well apart from Eric, a Master Fire controller or any other Lava Controller.


    Well at least enemies or weaponry can''t break it in any way. It is fair to say that the wall took most of the time considering the thickness and length, in fact it isn''t even entirely build yet. The Igloos have been given the main priority since they are residential structures.


    Regardless, it won''t take that long to build the wall and now with 800 Calidum Lutum here there is no force that can cause mass damage here.


    This town is very unique, because it isn''t one that focuses on becoming financially unstoppable or bigger. Their main focus is primitive, but in another way it is the best way to fight away greed or any trouble that comes with it.


    Their main focus is to establish food sources, and live off from those food sources. There won''t be a Budget, there won''t be a Gold income or outcome, there won''t be business deals between Domains, there won''t be anything that involves gold.


    Do they ow King Michael a hell load of Gold? Yes they do. He has fed them for over a month, will continue to feed them until a proper food source is established here in New Lan Zhe and would gladly help them at any occasion.


    Until now, considering the amount of 800 people that have been fed and the land they have used in front of Gaster Kingdom, in Monetary value New Lan Zhe ows about 20,000 Gold Coins to Gaster Kingdom. And if the Calidum Lutum don''t establish a food source in the following month, this debt can go up to 35,000 Gold Coins.


    Now King Michael has no intend to mention this debt, what he did was repaid when this beautiful race agreed to his recommendation. With them near Bale Town, the massively successful (Profit-wise) Domain will be under better protection.


    Getting back to food sources, around new Lan Zhe there are three possibilities but like everything else it needs work to establish.


    The first and most easiest way to get food at this spot is of course fishing. It requires no pre work for results and it is as simple as walking in to the water and grabbing a fish. King Michael has given them enough Spears and Ropes for this task, well at least for about 50 people to work on it.


    It isn''t well established how much fish they will be able to bring to the table, but it won''t be little and it will most certainly make Gaster Kingdom''s job easier.


    The second and possibly weakest Source of food would be to hunt any animal around. At Flat Lands, Wild Boars are the most common Semi-Big animal. There are plenty of bunnies as well, but what would a Kilo of meat prove to hundreds of people?


    Hunting Wild Boars is the best idea, but they aren''t exactly the most common so this Source being listed as dead last is the best idea.


    The third but at the same time the Source that can bring the most yield, is of course Farming. There are Kilometers beyond Kilometers of land to farm on, but they only need a Kilometer long a Wide space to have a proper food amount year around.


    So if for some reason the two other food sources don''t work out like they want it too, the Farmlands would be there as their Saviour. But of course a Farmland this big neccesarily equals to 10 Hectares and requires about 50 people to put in work in to Cultivating this flat land before Spring and 20 people to look after it year around.


    Its Yield however is profitable, although insects and sudden bad weather can take a portion of the yield, they can expect about 2 tons per Hectare which neccesarily equals to 20 tons per Harvest from the whole field. It is indeed a good yield, and can feed the whole town rather well.


    This neccesarily points out that with less than 100 people, this beautiful town can establish a nice dependable food source. There is nothing else to do here apart from protecting their selves or others, so these people are basically in paradise. They will mostly just eat, sleep and breed.


    They have been underground for over 6,000 years and now they are experiencing the outside, although they started it rough they can surely survive in the outside world.


    ...


    "We lost our homes, and now we are here..." Kazer started the conversation, after a hard day''s work he wanted to lift the morale amongst the Grand Masters.


    "To think that a tree would push us all the way across the Continent." Xalk joked, with a giggle following after. Ever since his sleeping schedule improved, it is fair to say that his common character returned.


    "I miss the warmth of the Volcano, well kinda. But this place isn''t actually that bad, the Structures are beautiful and resemble our culture and food can be much more plentiful after a couple years of work." Altacin specified in their own beautiful Calidum Lutum language. The Five Grand Masters have an Igloo of their own, it is great for privacy as they don''t really have a family to take care off.


    "I think the main problem in the New Lan Zhe is that we can''t weaponize our most effective attack, the Human Staff manuver is useless here since there is more than one spot to blow." Laza specified, being more of a battle person and more invested in war.


    "Regardless of the Human Staff, we still are capable to withstand most of what Ignis has to throw against us. The only person or general force that can cause us big damage, is our King. And he obviously won''t do his Town any harm, although he hasn''t proved the most useful as a King lately." Pezik spoke, obviously showing some wisdom and some bad feelings.


    "He is just a kid, plus his allies have granted us much help in the Old Lan Zhe and different allies of him are helping us a lot now. Although indirect, it would be impossible without Eric." Kazer protected his King''s name, and he does have fair points too.


    Protecting but at the same time slandering Eric''s name, Xalk added his own thoughts. "He is young, but at the same time to get the experience he needs as an Electus, he will need to leave the Continent eventually. Although he won''t fill in the Criteria as a King anytime soon, I think we will be just fine on our own, he won''t be of aid to us until then."

 Chapter 409 - 800 Houses, 600 in use.

    As a method of taming the overall food situation, King Zar has hired extra Farmers a few weeks earlier to Cultivate 40 Hectares of land. They will start as soon as a bit of the Snow melts and although they might be planting Wheat Grains a month after the usual time in Ignis.


    But since there is a lot of sun here throughout the summer it won''t be a big problem, the crops will grow and Snow doesn''t hit before December anyway.


    Forming these Farm fields will also prove useful when the population meets yet another possible rise in the future, the King has already brought two waves of Zamerians in his Domain and plans to bring more in the future are in process, although not put in to word yet.


    Simple reason behind a population rise is that more people equals to more income. However profit might be damaged if too much Gold was spend on food, especially if spent on meat. That would not prove as an aid to the overall Budget development.


    Wheat Grain is the cheapest and most yielding option. According to common yields here in Ignis, Pameres Kingdom will harvest about 2 tons of Wheat Grain per Hectare. So when we combine them all, the average yield from the future farm fields will be anywhere around 80 tons. It sounds beautiful doesn''t it? 80 tons!


    This amount alone with no meat included, can feed the Domain of 3,200 people rather well for a span of 4-6 months. Maybe not twice a day, every day. But it still proves useful since buying enough food, especially meat from any other external Domain to feed this many people is hard to tackle. It is best if Pameres Kingdom establishes its own natural food sources.


    However when you include the various options of meat in any individual''s daily diet here, everyone will be properly fed. The Wheat Grain is a good way to ease expenses, it is a good move really although next year this Domain might need to double the Hectares due to the increasing population.


    Regarding population, it has risen to 3,200 people recently. 1,000 of them are Zamerians and the last five hundred of these Zamerians arrived just a couple of weeks ago. The Kingdom could easily fit the first arriving 500 since there were already 100 Houses available.


    Even after that, in just a span of a month 100 more Houses were built to fit the newly arriving 500 Zamerians that came two weeks ago. All this became possible because of the expansive count of Construction Workers and Stonemasons who with just 8 hours a day could tackle such a demand.


    200 more Houses will be built as an order from King Zar, these houses won''t be filled with people immediately but it is good to have them before time instead of rushing it a month before newly arriving people which can mess with the overall quality of the Houses. In total, there will be 800 Houses here in Pameres Kingdom by the end of April, 600 of which are already in use.


    ...


    In terms of employment, King Zar did not rush. There were 253,000 Gold Coins spent on employees before January while the Income is just over 445,000 and not to mention that there are other expenses apart from the employees.


    In one glance it is obviously a bad idea to invest this much Gold Coins on employees, and the constant Salary raises pushed the overall monthly Profit to this point. 150k of clean Profit a month just isn''t enough when you consider the business deals settled and the expenses.


    But there is also a good thing behind all those Salary raises in the past. For example now that there are 1,000 new people living here, there will be a lot less expenses when employing these new people.


    It doesn''t make sense now, but it is actually quite easy to comprehend.


    One reason behind this concept, is that apprentices won''t be paid over 150 Gold Coins right at the beginning yet the income these apprentices can bring will make a difference. In other terms, expenses on these employees will be low but the income they will bring has chances of being high.


    There won''t be any rush to giving them Salary raises either, and when given it will be small. Since most Branches of older employees now earn over 150 Gold Coins, Salary raises won''t include these older employees which will be easier on the Budget. Meaning when a Salary raise would be neccesary, it won''t cost much since it will only include 15-25% of the employees.


    Before getting in to how many new people were hired, we can talk about a couple positive side effects of hiring them. Since there are more people hired of the 1,000 Zamerians, 200 more homes can be taxed.


    It won''t leave anyone hungry so don''t worry about that, but for now it can leave them without savings depending on how many Salaries go in one house.


    These taxes, push up the monthly income earned from Houses up to 60,000 while before it was only 40,000 Gold Coins. In the short term it doesn''t look too big, but in the long term when you consider how much Gold was spend on just 1,480 employees before January, these taxes just enhance the monthly profit for the better.


    The second benefit from hiring more Zamerians, is the fact that income from the various food sold has increased a tad bit here and there. It isn''t a tremendous income, it barely reaches to 10k but it will help tame the expenses and inevitably raise the monthly profit.


    Now finally, getting to how many people hired, on what branches and for what reasons. When Hiring people, King Zar can not help but think about the most profitable craft of them all, Blacksmithery.


    These craftsmen can bring a shit ton of Profit, but yet again they take a lot of gold as a Salary the more they progress with the Craft so he had to go easier on employments this time. He only hired 200 experienceless Blacksmiths, and their first task has become making Daggers.


    Their salaries however will be a good 120 Gold Coins for now, they will increase in time and most Kastarian houses have two or more incomes flowing in so there isn''t any disadvantage here.


    However, this time Pameres Kingdom did not tie a new deal with the Zamerians but with the Ratans instead! Odd right? Because for a start this super Continent doesn''t make small deals, not to mention Daggers. And at the same time Ratan only made deals with the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance before which gives a sense of a preferred business faction.


    I guess Pameres Kingdom''s name grew bigger after the Revolution, but furthermore the employee count here became impressive. There are doubts about Domains in Ratan caring about the War here, they just want to be richer.


    But what can be considered a side profit in any Domain of theirs there in Ratan pays off really well, as Daggers can be sold for triple the price there. One Domain in Ratan, closest to the ice caps has ordered 3,500 Daggers a month, this order will last for a whole year!


    The main reason behind it, is that Ratan holds the biggest population on the planet and Daggers are self defence weapons that anyone out of the Army can cary, Daggers can never be enough.


    Now technically, this new team of 200 Blacksmiths can only handle an order of 3,000 to 3,200 Daggers each month. 3,500 is a bit of a far shot so to their assistance has been put Blacksmiths from team one and two. The most experienced Blacksmiths can make triple the amounts of Daggers a month so this is no problem that can''t be tackled.


    These stats are getting a bit boring, I''m betting you care more about the overall profit from these Daggers. Kind on the eyes, this project alone will bring 105,000 Gold Coins a month starting from this February.


    2/10 of this income will be spent on paying the Blacksmiths but that''s a small sacrifice for the sake of a profit this big. Gaster Kingdom will be taking 10% of this income in exchange for the Port usage so technically Pameres Kingdom will earn 94,500 Gold Coins a month from this project (Paying the Blacksmiths discluded).


    With so much Iron required, 20 new Miners have been hired to tame the daily demands. Although each Miner earns a whooping 170 Gold Coins a month, the monthly expenses made on them only shifted by 4k. This is King Zar''s favourite expense since it fuels so many Incomes, he would blow another 4k on them without regret.


    ...


    Now Hiring 220 Kastarians only and taxing 100 Gold Coins a month per house isn''t exactly the best idea so King Zar has established an official team of Wagon Constructors so more people can bring Salaries to their homes.


    This team won''t be categorized under the "Construction Workers" section anymore. Actually this team will never build Houses, their numbers reach 100 now and they will solely build Wagons.


    Throughout some sources of information, Ratan has figured out that Pameres Kingdom makes Wagons and sells them cheap. What Wagon costs 400 Gold Coins here in Occidentis Ignis (Country) can cost up to 3,000 Gold Coins there. We are talking about medium size and quality, nothing bigger or better.


    Apparently its some type of luxury to have a Wagon in Ratan and the middle class have high demands for them. The Demands are high but buying them for 2,500 and selling them for 3,000 isn''t the best business deal so that''s where King Zar with his beautiful Domain comes in handy.


    In a span of 9 months, Pameres Kingdom will deliver 100 Wagons to the Domain in Ratan which is located near the Ice Caps. They even offer 100 Gold Coins more from the average price around here, so that''s 500 Gold Coins per Wagon which equals to a total income of 50,000 Gold Coins a month.


    Gaster Kingdom takes 5,000 of course as a 10% deal so that leaves Pameres Kingdom with 45,000 Gold Coins as a pure income (Without the Employee expenses included that is).


    Now these Wagon Constructors will earn a good income of 130 Gold Coins per month. But 100 of these people can make far more than 100 Wagons per month, they can make over 300.


    So with that under consideration, another nearby Domain in Ratan has ordered 150 Wagons a month for a span of 4 months with a slightly bigger offer of 550 Gold Coins per Wagon.


    Now these Numbers are getting too extensive and confusing so I will cut it short for you, the overall income from this second deal will be 74,250 Gold Coins. A beautiful number isn''t it?


    It feels even nicer how two sources of profit come from one branch of work. Better yet, the 100 Wagon Constructors can handle the orders so they can mainly focus on quality which will inevitably increase orders in the future.


    Now with 320 Kastarians hired, it has become quite certain that each house can afford paying a 100 Gold Coin tax, they won''t be able to save up gold but the cost of living will be covered which is good enough for now.


    Now with all these expenses, you might be wondering how big the profit will be when March ends? A stunning, a beautiful 351,385 Gold Coins a month as a clean profit!


    This is insane, because for over a year and a half of work Pameres Kingdom has piled up a bit over 600k Gold Coins. But now? The Domain will earn half of that amount in just one month!


    At this point they seem practically unstoppable right but there is a twist. Well the gap between the income and outcome has become rather wide, mostly because three new sources of income have been established but also because the new expenses have been explicitly minimalist.


    Not giving any Salary raises this time helped as well of course! The King has been increasing Salaries over and over, now it is the time for the Kingdom to make a good profit out of all those expenses made. In other terms, it means that raises will be a bit less common now although the overall goal remains for everyone to earn over 200 Gold Coins a month.


    In another way, it is a good thing that there aren''t any salary raises yet. Because the twist is that at the end of March a few business deals will meet an end. These deals equal to 1/3 of the current profit being sliced, so it is obviously big. These deals could be renewed, or they could be not. March will tell us, but for now it shows that Pameres Kingdom isn''t economically unstoppable.


    In terms of the total Budget now that January has ended, Pameres Kingdom still remains second in line in the title as the biggest Budget with a total amount of 621,000 Gold Coins saved up.


    That''s huge, and by the end of February this domain will be close to piling up one million Gold Coins and no doubt be first in the charts as the biggest Budget in the Triangle of Domains.


    The tremendous profit indeed proved useful, and it will be a great way of funding the Outposts all the way across to Orientis Ignis. Although, it would still be great if the two close by domains chip in and it would be even better if the gap between the income and outcome here in Pameres Kingdom stray further away from each other.

 Chapter 410 - Bale Town still remains Number 1

    Bale Town or best known as the former poor town who made it big after Gustav Iron discovered that there has been a Coal Mine near them all along, is continually making tremendous progress! Since that day, they have made huge profits from these beautiful black riches.


    What aided to get such a good profit, was the minimum expenses they have made on Salaries there. Payments started off small and gradually increased, thanks to this move and of course thanks to the Coal mine accompanied by the additional profit they made out of Tailoring and the profit from tourists (This month included).


    Bale Town now at the beginning of February has piled up a total budget of 670,000 Gold Coins! This quantity is large without a doubt, and it still stands bigger than the Budget at Pameres Kingdom and the reasons are obvious.


    With the current profit of 52,000 Gold Coins here in Bale Town however, it is noticeable that Pameres Kingdom will pass this Domain Budget-wise by the end of February since the profit there (Not to be confused with Income) is around 350,000 Gold Coins! That amount is legendary.


    However this isn''t a race on who is richer and more powerful, since they helped each other out in several cases, furthermore they are in this together. By in this, I mean they are facing the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance together.


    Sure it has become a blur regarding which Domain stands with the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, but it is no blur that they can get attacked any day at any time. That''s when sudden military expenses come in handy, and that''s where a Budget can aid it.


    Hell, it doesn''t matter if the sudden expenses are 20k, 50k, 100k, or even 500k. If they have a budget backing them up in severe cases, it is a lot better than not having one at all.


    A good example of using a Budget, is regarding the outpost all the way to another Country [Orientis Ignis], all the way to Frozen Toe Kingdom. King Zar is covering those expenses with the monthly income instead which doesn''t let the Budget shrink, but it is still a good example.


    Apart from military expenses, Budgets can also be used on making any mass expansion on a Domain or buy material from any other domain to aid that mass expansion. These are differently called "one time expenses" who Doc.u.mentation-wise aren''t included in the monthly income and outcome but are quickly covered with the piled up Budget.


    The triangle of Domains are in this together, they are against the whole Continent together. Meaning we can calculate all three Budgets together and sum up how strong they are Economically against Every other Domain who might or might not oppose them.


    At the moment, when we put all the three Budgets together they have in total piled up 1,772,000 Gold Coins! That amount is large no doubt, the three Domains have proven economically smart.


    When we consider military numbers, this total piled up Budget can support 10,000 Soldiers financially for a span of 10 years! Considering the military shortage across Ignis, this gold is enough to compress both the Alliance and Meridionali Ignis who apparently has left the Alliance.


    But of course, 1.7 million can''t suddenly be blasted all over an Army, that would be a bad idea in the long term. The best idea is to gradually grow the Army at the outpost for example where they can be required more than here in Occidentis Ignis in terms of keeping peace through threats.


    The second reason why spending 1.7 million on the military isn''t an option, is that these three Domains would not have 10,000 people to hire. It would be straight up impossible considering that the total population on all three of these friendly Domains barely breaks over 4,000 people.


    Pameres Kingdom has set a foundation of military expenses when they sent 100 people to Frozen Toe Kingdom to set up an outpost. That outpost will have to expand sooner or later and when a certain point reaches, Pameres Kingdom alone won''t be able to support further upgrades.


    Because as rich as Pameres Kingdom is becoming, no Soldier would volunteer to freeze his or her ass in those extremely cold temperatures for 100 Gold Coins a month. The preferred pay about this starts over 150 Gold Coins, meaning a platoon [100 Soldiers]  alone would take 15,000 Gold Coins.


    And when a year''s of expenses are considered, the salaries alone from one average Platoon range 180,000 Gold Coins!


    That''s when the three Budgets will come in handy, that''s when the three Domains will practically hand out their gold earned with hard work in the exchange for safety.


    ...


    Meanwhile, the Touristic attraction which is the big and beautiful Coal mine here in Bale Town has not failed to drag in more... well Tourists.


    Last time, 14 tourists arrived here which equaled to a total secondary profit of 14,000 Gold Coins. It is an insane amount for something so simple, Bill would practically have to walk these Tourists around the mine, explaining in detail what happened here and there while at the end the pay is 1,000 Gold Coins per individual.


    It is indeed a great way of making more gold, and this time thanks to recommendations from the previous badge of tourists, 22 people have arrived now in the break of February.


    That''s 22,000 more Gold Coins that will fly in the Budget. Since it can''t be predictable how many Tourists will come each month, it is best to label this as a secondary profit and just pile it up in the Budget.


    There is no reason to include it in the monthly income which will cause a shit ton of more calculations for the officials due to the randomness of this secondary profit.


    These Tourists come with a translator, and Bill makes sure to give that translator enough time after every explanation he lays upon them.


    At the moment, they have already reached the third Section, and for sure liked the Tower who descends or elevates people in or out of the third Section. Although they had to sweat in order to use it, and only 5-10 at a time could step over it since it can''t carry everyone at once.


    This can be considered Bill''s favourite Section since it holds a bit of sentimental value. This is the first Cave/Tunnels he was authorized to explore and determine how much Coal the Miners can get out of it.


    Bill started to explain, "Although this Section looks and is expansive, it made it difficult for us to fill in the order since it only yielded 5.3 Tons of Coal."


    And of course, afterwards he [Bill] gave the translator a bit of time to do his work. He tried to keep his explanations comprehensive for the Translator, explaining something for over a minute without a break is something obviously hard to suddenly memorize.


    "To make it even more difficult, that tower behind you also took a few weeks to build. So you can understand that we were far behind schedule, the order was 7 tons and the yield here was 5.2. We had a bit of Coal left from the second section to fill this order in, but overall this was a setback." The explanation here became a bit extensive, but the translator looks more than capable to catch up and Bill doesn''t start another topic if the translator hasn''t yet finished explaining to the crowd.


    While the translator was doing his job, Bill led everyone towards the first right turn in this Section. This turn, features a tunnel smaller in width that stretches for about 30 meters in length and leads to a big cave that stretches 20 meters long and 15 meters wide.


    "This Cave alone here, has granted us with 1.5 tons of Coal. That''s the most we got here out of one specific portion in this Section." Letting the translator do his work, Bill bent down and felt the ground which gave him an idea of what to explain next.


    "If you feel the ground, it is noticeable that there is nothing but sharp-ish rock left, along with small pieces of coal here and there." Trying to make a joke, he added. "So be sure not to fall down."


    ...


    In the meantime, we can describe a bit about the wall that is surrounding Bale Town. The first Watch tower is being built, it was a good idea to do so since it will sleep better with the wall that stands on each side.


    They have built the Watch tower in one corner, and more will be built soon enough. The soul intend of these Towers is to grand the Guards with what the wall couldn''t, a safe place to shoot enemies from.


    The wall is only half a meter thick, in the heat of battle it would be a bad idea to run over it and over 50 people running at one spot is also a bad idea.


    However the wall being this thin isn''t necessarily a bad thing. Since one side of the wall for example is only 50 meters long and an Arrow can be shot for over 100 meters so they have a grasp of control regarding where they can shoot. There will be more than four towers here, which will make everything even better for the Guards defending this fine Town.


    The best thing about the way this wall is being constructed, is the fact that it''s cheap and it will be built faster than usual. Most walls take over a decade to build, but yet again the Domains who can afford to build a wall are usually bigger in width and population.

 Chapter 411 - Reaching the Outpost

    Two sh.i.p.s had arrived in Gaster Kingdom a month ago [January], but these sh.i.p.s weren''t there to bring gold or deliver products and last but not least they don''t belong to Gaster Kingdom.


    If you can remember it, a couple of months ago King Zar ordered two medium sized sh.i.p.s from the Zamerians. These sh.i.p.s, will be used to transport either food or Guards all the way across [Country] Orientis Ignis to form what King Zar calls the greatest military move yet, an Outpost.


    Frozen Toe Kingdom doesn''t have any people living in it any longer, so it proves useful as an outpost. As specified before, the intent of this Outpost is to cause military suppression towards the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, specifically any nearby domain in the Country below them, Meridionali Ignis.


    One of these sh.i.p.s can carry a whole platoon [100 Guards] easily since it is a medium sized sh.i.p.s. Hell, Lav Kingdom used two of these sh.i.p.s to transport 500 people so it can obviously fit one Platoon with ease.


    This luxury however did not come cheap, these sh.i.p.s together has cost the Pameres Kingdom Budget 29,000 Gold Coins although the Zamerians formed some kind of minor discount thanks to all the business deals they had and still have up until this point!


    Obviously that is a large price, but it can''t damage the Budget considering how much Gold Pameres Kingdom has piled up.


    The expenses have been paid, the whole third Platoon (Which includes War veterans) are close to reaching Frozen Toe Kingdom. In the meantime, now in February King Zar has found it reasonable to start building up a couple more Platoons of Guards which includes a mix of Zamerians, Ignites and ill.u.s.tratios who will too live in the Outpost later on.


    Is it a bit too early? Yes, King Zar has no idea how many Guards Frozen Toe Kingdom can fit. But if it can fit another 200, it is a good idea to hire more Guards now and fill in a month or two of training before sending them to the real world.


    Two months ago, King Zar wouldn''t have made this decision. It would have been a bad idea since the monthly income wouldn''t be able to handle it. But now, with 350k as a monthly profit (Not to be confused with the monthly income which is 685k), it is completely affordable for Gaster Kingdom to hire 200 people who don''t bring monetary income but safety instead.


    In fact considering the current large profit, it wouldn''t be a big issue even if he hired 300 More Guards and send them to the outpost, the monthly expenses could cover it.


    But with the total population here being 3,200 around 950 of which are Elderlies or Children, there are only 250-300 people left for employment.


    These unemployed people can be used to bring in more income, but there is no rush with it. King Zar wants to see how things go after March when many business deals end!


    Because after all, if there aren''t enough deals to put everyone in the current number of 2,000 Employees into work, then what''s the point of hiring 250-300 more people?


    For the moment, King Zar requires a full report of what Frozen Toe Kingdom contains. Be it how many houses, or how many tools or people to fix those houses or anything other additional, it will be useful for establishing the next move towards the outpost.


    As for the newly hired two Platoons, although they aren''t going to Frozen Toe Kingdom now their pay is equal to the men and women who took this difficult and fairly much different Journey, their pay will be 180 Gold Coins a month.


    That''s the most any other Platoon of Guards earn, and it is fair to say that these big pays along with the fact that there are 2,000 out of 3,200 people employed in Pameres Kingdom, has made living easier for everyone here.


    Most in this Domain are middle class residents now since most houses bring home three salaries and a small portion of houses have synced in to rich class residents! This small portion of rich residents contains either Blacksmiths or 4+ Salaries that come in to one house.


    Regardless of how things are in each house, the masses who earn a bit less have taken over the few little who earn more than most and the average salary has sunk down from 172 to 164 Gold Coins.


    This doesn''t necessarily mean that King Zar has lowered the salaries, but it means that there are more employees now and a huge portion of them are apprentices who earn apprentice salaries. Of course they will receive raises in time, and until then they will bring in more profit so that''s a win in both ends of the stick.


    Everything is good for the people, they will be able to live better. But what about the monthly expenses in this fine Domain? Well, the 300 Guards alone that belong to the Outpost take 54,000 Gold Coins a month from the monthly income.


    That is large no doubt, but the monthly Profit still remains a stunning 315,385 Gold Coins. Well at least until March!


    ...


    Since Frozen Toe Kingdom is around 200 Kilometers away from the sea, it is the best solution for the sh.i.p.s to dock very close to the borders between Orientis Ignis and Meridionali Ignis.


    It is a landmark, easy to remember since there is no doc to play that role. And best part yet, all they have to do is walk directly towards the North for 200 Kilometres to reach Frozen Toe Kingdom.


    Although it took nearly three more weeks to walk through this blistering snow, it was successful. The Platoon finally reached Frozen Toe Kingdom, and thankfully no one froze to death along the way although most had it hard to adapt with these extremely cold temperatures regardless of the thick fur clothing.


    They''ve reached the Kingdom at midnight, and didn''t enter. The reason behind it is that they do not want to witness countless corpses before falling asleep.


    They are very tired and can not afford to have a sleepless night. The Houses here can''t be used either considering the fact that there might or might not be Corpses inside.


    They are camping right in front of the Kingdom for the night, they have the required equipment to do so. As for tomorrow they have a lot of work to do.


    ...


    Three hours after noon, with dusk close they have made all the mandatory progress required to transform this place in to a proper Outpost.


    For a start, with King Zar''s commands they are to dig enough graves for these elderly people. Their families are long gone so the least the Platoon can do before using their homes is grant a proper Funeral.


    It is obvious that the main reason why the elderly people died here, is because all Merchants stopped travelling up here once it was made sure that it is not worth the risk. Handling Blue Eagles a.k.a Screaming Birds isn''t worth it enough for a small sack of gold.


    The second reason why they have died, is because the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance stopped giving their support to this domain once kicking them out of the Alliance.


    Hey, they obtained all the usable manpower from here and this Domain had no income after. Politically it''s a good move, morally it is inhumane. Which makes it clear that Humanity can''t always be a part of Politics, especially in the medieval times.


    The Corpses however are well preserved, it''s extremely cold here and there are no animals who discovered them to feed off them. So at least all the Platoon had to deal with here was the minor bad smell spread around the Kingdom.


    Well that and digging enough graves for all these people, it took most of the Platoon to dig 70 graves and they still have a bit of work to do tomorrow for a bundle of Corpses. Thankfully there is a Cemetery here, so they at least got an idea where to dig the graves.


    Some Guards reported that there are 90 houses here, so this necessarily means that the Platoons of 200 people can come here next month and fit all in this Domain. Their personal space will be invaded here and there, but this is the Army not a cozy family home.


    Now, the goal is for about 20 Guards to return to the Sh.i.p.s tomorrow (Where they have left 10 Guards to protect the sh.i.p.s) and all together they need to return back to Pameres Kingdom.


    First of all, it''s because that''s how King Zar ordered them too and second of all they need to bring back what from the looks of it, seems like a handful of Construction Workers and Stonemasons along with a ship ton of material.


    The Kingdom has been damaged since no one has looked after it, but it can be repaired. Until then, the Platoon of 70 that remain here have enough food for a few months just to be on the safe side.

 Chapter 412 - What they did not expect!

    This battle will be tough, because bluffing or not there still are 500 Soldiers a Kilometer away from Gaster Kingdom, this amount can easily overwhelm Gaster Kingdom''s Army of 130 Guards.


    This points out towards the fact that the four Fire Blasters can''t mess up, they will attack the enemy Army from each side. To increase the odds of success they need to shoot down as many people as possible once they officially start the attack because after it success will be solely dependent on Gaster Kingom''s Army.


    So an hour later, with the plan rehearsed and repeated so the odds of messing it up are slimer, the four Fire Blasters with King Michael included have tip toed their way towards the Army.


    Of course the Fire Blasters are invisible at the moment, since four people standing against them from four sides will come as threatening. The enemy Army constantly murmuring helped to deafen the sound of their footsteps, it also allowed them to move freely.


    King Michael advised the other three Fire Blasters before battle, to go after any spot where there are more Soldiers since shooting at 10 of them for example is far better than shooting at 1.


    Shooting down Archers is preferable since they can be very dangerous in battle, but if Archers are separated from the larger groups than it is best to leave them alone.


    Furthermore, with personal safety set as a main priority, all four Fire Controllers are ordered to keep at least a distance of 50 meters from the enemy, shoot as much as possible before being detected, take steps behind after every shot and fly off if the enemies have reached less than 20 meters close.


    The Fire Controllers should not be too invested in this battle, because the odds of Victory are already big enough for Gaster Kingdom. Overdone Patriotism isn''t necessary, especially since another battle might be upon them after a few months.


    With all of that in mind, it is time to get in to battle! King Michael will be the first one to blast Fire from his palms which will declare that the battle against the enemy Army has started.


    He is the King, apart from that he is a Level 6 Fire Controller so most of this first attack is dependent on him. He can cause the most colossal damage, and the move he has chosen can shake his head rather nicely.


    First he snapped out of invisibility, obviously he can''t blast any Fire when in smoke form. It will take 1-10 seconds for him to be noticed by any enemy Soldier, since he near the right side of this big army.


    And until he is noticed, Fire would have already taken out at least a few of them. What will he use against them? Well, a beautiful but yet simple move called the "Double Slicer".


    Clapping his hands to connect them, placing his hands near his shoulders after. King Michael spinned once as fast as the eye can blink, his hands touched his h.i.p.s before he truly spun which caused a thin formation of Fire to make its way towards the enemies.


    Well no actually two thin rays of Fire were unleashed. One that started off with the spin, and the other that blew against the Army once he ended the spin.


    It all happened so fast, and the spin wasn''t with an intend to be fancy. It is required in order to unleash both slicers instead of one.


    Now it is the best idea to unleash one slicer, spinning will eventually get him dizzy and it isn''t a good idea to fly off disoriented.


    Swiftly moving his hands from his shoulders to his hip, afterwards returning his hands back to his shoulders to renew the move. He managed to land multiple blows against the enemy before he even got detected.


    The most lethal part about this move is that it can slice through Iron, Bone and Flesh easily. Hence the word "Slicer" and considering that King Michael is a Grand Master and is putting maximum power to each move, each Slicer will take victim at least 5 rows of soldiers before disappearing in thin air.


    Howls of scream and anger echoed across the Army as they noticed Fire being blasted from a person who appeared from thin Air, the Army instantly directed their forces towards King Michael which points out that the Slicer won''t help to fight them all off.


    So as a finishing move, before he blasts off since getting shot down is obviously not preferable, he wants to unleash a 15 food wide Fireball.


    There are two particular reason why Fire Blasters don''t use Fireballs this big too often. First of all, one can''t commonly find 15 foot tall enemies so often times more than half of that Fire will go wasted. Second, it takes a whole lot of Stamina and only Grand Masters can withstand the sudden stamina drop this move causes.


    The move itself doesn''t require anything special, no big gesture just a strong sumo squat to keep balance because hey, he is about to unleash a 15 foot wide Fireball!


    Blasting it with full force, he saw the Fireball blast in front of him, to claim as many victims as possible he kept it going for a few seconds so the Fireball stretches longer.


    Ending the Fireball, he did not want to stand here and assume the body count of his moves. Blasting Fire from his feet he swiftly flew towards the sky, good thing too.


    Because as he glanced down to look at his hand aching with burn marks, he noticed tens of arrows nailing on the spot where he stood. A break of a second was enough to kill him, so his decision of blowing a holy amount of Fire was worth the burn mark and advising the other three Fire Controllers to fly away as fast as possible was a good idea too.


    The great King Michael alone here has taken around a hundred people Victim, the Slicers did most of the Damage while the 15 foot Fireball managed to enslave 6-8 rounds of people with its hell like heat.


    Apart from a deafening blow, King Michael starting off the battle is also a hint for the other Fire Blasters to attack, the first time he landed a blow the rest were quick to follow.


    In fact King Michael could even see some people flying, and his only guess is that this Army figured out why Dilli Flurry is nicknamed "Bear Claw".


    As a start, Dilli Flury Blasted a couple of Fireballs towards them from the left as a main intend to grab their attention, obviously the opposite with the opposite goals that the three other Fire Controllers have.


    There are no Archers on this side so thankfully she wasn''t showered with Arrows, the Army was too focused on King Michael after all.


    But the small portion that ran towards her, recieved what was coming to them! They ran towards her and she ran towards them!


    And when the distance of ten meters was met, she broke out a couple of Bear Claws! Large formations of fire that look like Giant hands, but have a main focus as pointy claws.


    One claw of hers is 6 foot wide and 9 foot long, commonly this is used to push or throw people, but at the moment she has no intend to push!


    One claw caught two men victim, pushed them against the ground and kept them there while sizzling them alive! The heat is truly unbearable and she is keeping that claw under her command while swinging her left one against close by enemies who want to surround her.


    Two swipes later, men fell down on the ground in three pieces which only points out that she has put maximum heat on this move since Bear Claws need more power than the rest to burn like this!


    The men she pinned on the ground have gotten their spine and portions of their internal organs burned, death is inevitable so she pulled that Bear Claw up and swiped on a couple of men on the right who thought they could land a blow on her, that''s how King Michael saw men flying 50 feet high.


    As a final move, she blew fire through her mouth and burned what was left of the little portion that attacked her. Still refusing to fly away, she first shot a few more 3-5 foot wide Fireballs towards a bundle.


    She felt like the enemies she took victim where too low, she even kept count. 23 killed by her so far, that''s low for a certified smartass who dealt with tens of Guards alone before.


    She shot a few more Fireballs and found it best to fly off, since the amount that turned around to face her became too large, reaching over a hundred.


    It has become certain to her that the Army they are facing are stronger than King Michael thought it is, because although not directed towards her own allies she could see things exploding within the bundle of men she has blasted.


    Recalling a little memory Commander Alia told them about, this can only mean that the Army is carrying explosive Crossbow men!

 Chapter 413 - Bad luck, my old Friend.

    While King Michael and Bear Claw attacked from the sides, Eric attacked from the back and Mogranius attacked from the front. This all happened in almost the same seconds, so you can consider that all Fire Controllers attacked almost at the same time.


    There is a reason why Mogranius is in front of the Army and Eric is in the back of it. For a start, it would take a few seconds longer to recover from an attack that came from behind. And obviously, King Michael wanted a highly powerful person doing the damage.


    Eric can burn harder and longer without dropping to the ground because of Stamina. Mogranius was set in front, because he is known to be more slick, more agile.


    He can avoid attacks which are the most common when facing an Army head on, and he can definitely catch a bit more attention so the other three Fire Controllers can compress the enemy Army better from all sides.


    This battle plan is sweet and all, but I''m guessing you are more interested on details of how Eric and Mogranius attacked.


    Mogranius was the third to pop out of thin air. And his first move was his favourite one, Atomic Fire! Although terrible when you consider that he can''t waste a second, it sure blurred visions of anyone who saw it.


    The atomic Fire definitely can''t travel 50 meters and at such a distance it can''t hurt anyone either, but the seconds he spent creating this anatomy of a blow, bought him double the time in comparison to the time he could have had if he didn''t make the Atomic Fire Blast as his first move.


    Why? Well as he blazed Fire from his hands, mouth and nose, forming an orb in between his palms separated by a foot from each other. Making this beautifully destructive force, he bashed the ground with it, watching it zig zag for a few meters which was his hint to fly off in order to avoid it''s deadly radius.


    The explosion after the orb zig zagged underground and broke towards the surface was both loud and blinding!


    Some enemy Soldiers were covering their ears, some covering their eyes and some were just shooting randomly, hitting either the ground or the hard Iron Armour of their own kind.


    For Mogranius, this is but a sweet delicate melody in his ears. It points out that he is in control, although just for a few seconds.


    As a second favourite move, he unleashed the trick he tried to impress Commander Alia with in the very beginning! Shooting three long but thin Fireballs at the same time!


    These Fireballs have a specific form when set loose in thin air like this, they slither left and right covering more bodies although they burn less since a lot of Stamina is put in the fact that they are 100 meters long!


    Yes, 100 f.u.c.k.i.n.g meters long but a couple of feet wide each! It is a huge Stamina drainer, and it can drop this man to the ground but for hell''s sake it is effective.


    What''s more interesting, he doesn''t blast them for a second and let''s them fade after. The Fireballs are enslaving the enemies with unholy Fire, while still connected to his palms a hundred meters away. If they aren''t connected to his palms, control is permanently lost.


    Trying to move all three elongated Fireballs from the left to the right in order to cover more bodies, felt like grabbing a whole damn Titanoboa on the head and move it from its spot.


    Okay that was maybe a little bit exaggerated, but turning his body to move the Elongated Fireballs is extremely hard. A shit ton of concentration is required, and throughout the whole time he has to murmur to himself. "Don''t break, don''t break, don''t break!"


    Regardless of its complexity, it is still very effective. Although he did not burn them to the bone or penetrate their Armours, he did set a lot of heads on fire. Over 200!


    Some managed to put their own flames out, some dropped on the ground to roll on the snow but got trampled on instead, while a minority just started hitting each other on the head to help.


    This move alone, has killed at least 60 people. Considering the c.u.mulative death counts of three Fire Controllers, 200 enemy Soldiers are dead. Huge progress, a huge impact. It shows what happens when one uses the old Noggin.


    But, even fun has to eventually end. Because while he was taking men victim, he felt an explosion on his right side. It didn''t hit him, but it was too close! It blew up only 2 feet away, it''s likely an explosive bolt!


    The explosion broke most of his concentration, which broke the whole offensive move he unleashed. To make it worse, it knocked him to the ground, face first to the snow.


    "I''m not even surprised, I wondered when my bad luck will follow." He complained within himself, also murmuring a little bit.


    Thankfully his leg hasn''t been blown off, but the push was enough to do damage. If his hands were not forward blasting fire, he could have lost at least one finger!


    Blasting fire from his feet, he flew towards the sky in order to avoid being blown to bits. These explosive bolts could kill a whole Calidum Lutum man, Mogranius couldn''t even take half of what a bolt can deliver.


    He was smart to fly off, because several more bolts blew up around right where he was standing, only a second later! That would have torn him into bits!


    Now last but not least, you might be wondering about the impact the young 16 year old Electus caused upon these foul people?!


    He broke out of invisibility last, and obviously not by accident he had the most time to attack and fly off, since the three Fire Controllers have already called for the most attention. And when being attacked by four sides who will the enemy fight off first?


    He didn''t want to do any special move, reasons behind it is that time is little and enemy count too high. Hilariously, although a child he is the only one who took King Michael''s battle plan more seriously.


    He started blowing 3-7 foot wide, short tailed Fireballs to any direction he could, as fast as possible. Reason behind it, each shot only takes half a second and the only thing stopping it after its shot is another body, it won''t burn off for a long while otherwise.


    He didn''t even count how many Fireballs he blasted, neither did he see how many people he shot dead, he just moved his arms backwards and forwards trying to take the least time possible per shot.


    He doesn''t know how many seconds he took to shoot at everyone, but it sure felt like forever. By each second he was expecting to be showered with arrows, by each second he thought eventually someone will fight back, by each second he tried to observe how much seconds he could or could not have before he can fly off!


    Taking one step back after the other, out of a sudden he saw a bundle of arrows land in front of his feet, one of which followed the random pattern and actually managed to nail Eric on his left foot!


    The arrow tip broke the surface of his foot and nailed to the ground on the other side, this points out that it built up a lot of momentum while diving down towards the target.


    Due to the sudden pain, Eric immediately blasted Fire from his feet. And it is a good thing he did so, although it hurt even more for a second while the Arrow tip was being pulled out of the ground, it also helped!


    The arrow was pulled deeper through his left foot, which in other terms means that a small portion of the wooden tail is to be seen underneath his foot, a couple of inches long.


    Melting Iron under his own foot could have caused long long pain because of liquid Iron, but since the arrow was pulled down deeper, the wooden body of the arrow ended up being burned instead and forcing the Iron tip to fall off.


    Most of this problem is fixed now, all that is left to do is pull the tail out. Tricky in mid air, but flying with what was left of the arrow on his foot is even harder.


    He grabbed the tail, yanked it out and shouted. "Ouch! I swear I will murder you all!"


    Lightly dropping the arrow, he flew towards the Army from a height of over 80 meters and started showering them with Fireballs. He is flying fast to avoid being shot, and can''t see where the Archers are but sure hopes to hit as many of them as possible as revenge for putting a whole f.u.c.k.i.n.g hole through his foot.


    "Maybe Ladia can help heal it?" He thought, as he took a couple of men victim with a seven foot hatefully blown Fireball!

 Chapter 414 - Main Gates

    As all the Fire Blasters made their way towards the sky, blasting how many enemies they could from the comfort of a longer distance, this became a sole hint for Gaster Kingdom''s Army to attack!


    And equal to the Fire Blasters they come with a solid, possibly effective plan too. The only way to find out, is to put their work deep in battle.


    The Zamerian Army which includes a team of 100 men and women are on the front line. These Zamerians have been trained by Woldemir himself, and thanks to the extensive effort he made on every individual after hours, this Army progressed in half the time!


    Bottom line, every individual progresses differently and can have different obstacles who might prevent them from progressing. Woldemir figured them out, bashed the obstacles away and now they are as powerful as the oldest Platoon of 30 Guards!


    Enough about that, let''s get into glorious battle! With the ultimate fact that it would take a miracle to shoot any of the "Fire Demons" down, instinctively a portion of what Platoon Commanders were left, started shouting commands from the top of their lungs to leave the Fire Demons and head for the Army in front of them.


    Specifically, the enemy Army is now aiming towards the biggest portion of Guards in front of them, a.k.a the Zamerians.


    Number wise, the Army approaching Gaster Kingdom isn''t to be taken lightly either even though half of them were wiped out already! There are 250 people in this [enemy] Army, most of which are heading against the Platoon of 100 Zamerians primarily.


    F.u.c.k''s sake, with all the Spearfishermen together the Gaster Kingdom Army doesn''t even equal to 200 people, they are still out numbered and the enemy should not be underestimated even though everything has gone great so far.


    The local Zamerian Army is battle howling their way towards their enemies, the Spearfishers are 30 meters in front and 30 meters on the right, separated from the Zamerian Army.


    While the Platoon of 30 Guards only, is 50 meters in front and away on the left. They have no intent to do close combat, but instead their goal in this battle here is to shower the enemy with Arrows.


    The Spearfishermen on one side, the 30 Guards of Archers on the other, this battle plan only points out towards one goal, oppression. Considering that the enemy Army is in the process of being oppressed by each side, battle Victory seems more likely.


    The two Armies finally clashed, howling and slashing their way through each other, the ill.u.s.tratian [enemy] Cavalry men got an upper advantage, since they were on the comfort of a Horse, slashing a sword against the Zamerians!


    Some Cavalry men in the Army although rare, are wielding a bow in such close combat. Terrible choice in general, unless they really know what they are doing.


    Regardless of the upper advantages on the hands of the enemies, there are some blood boiling Zamerians who even though they are carrying heavy armour, weighing them down they still managed to leap and either tackle or slash the enemy Cavalry, men and women truly worthy of song.


    Furthermore knowing where to attack, the Archers and Spearfishers of Gaster Kingdom started attacking from both sides, one by one tacking enemy Soldiers down although it didn''t necessarily take one shot only to do it.


    The Spearfishers had it a bit harder, since they had to manhandle a Spear across the air to hit enemies from a semi-comfort of 30 meters. Some couldn''t make it that far and approached closer regardless of the King''s warnings before, fair to say no [Enemy] Soldier came against them.


    While some people like Saleem, the comfort of 30 meters feels like a gift to him! He is a large man and can hurl a Spear in a thundering force, often not penetrating one but two Soldiers with a toss, mending them together although Romance had nothing to do with this.


    Occasionally, there are portions of Soldiers who charged towards the Spearfishers once they acknowledged them as a problem. But Saleem would jump in front of the enemies, toss a spear or two to fight off half of them and use a bigger spear as a defensive blade until he punctured each enemy to the ground.


    Detail here isn''t the most necessary, you can just imagine a 6.4 foot man weighing around 300 pounds, swinging a large Spear back and forth, stabbing everyone until he got his way in battle.


    Of course he [Saleem] got a few cuts in the process, but it''s nothing a man of his size would complain about.


    Kaleem [Son of Saleem] contributed a lot in battle, as his heavenly hurls of Spears against the enemy often took 3-4 men victim and injured others. Rather powerful for a teenager, but he is of the evolved. There is no who or what!


    Everything is going... good enough. The [enemy] Army is being compressed from three sides and it obviously wouldn''t take just a second to kill one Gaster Kingdom Guard, so that proves useful to hold them off while the rest do their thing.


    But to make this battle even easier, the four Fire Controllers gently or roughly dropped to the ground behind the enemy ill.u.s.tratian Army! Their goal now is to burn, but their overall goal is compression.


    With 4 men and woman twirling Fireballs behind now, the battle time can be sliced by a quarter if not more. There is much one can do against an arrow, but little against an Iron burning Fireball.


    The fact that the enemy Army is wearing Iron, forces them in some cases to be boiled in them when they escape a Fireball for an inch for example.


    While in most cases, Iron and bones mend together to form a terribly painful death. Although it would take just a few seconds for Fireball wounds to torture an enemy to death.


    King Michael took the honours of blasting the first Fireball against the enemy, a 6 feet wide one with short tailed. A second after it, he reminded with a shout. "Keep your Fireballs short tailed, we don''t need to kill our own Guards!"


    The three other Fire Blasters followed, trying to reach as many victims as possible instead of shooting at the same spot over and over. This method can lower the number of Archers although they aren''t seeing any enemy arrows on the air.


    The ill.u.s.tratian Army got so disoriented once being attacked that, the Archers got lost in the bundle instead of keeping a distance from the main Army and actually proving useful.


    Archers can have a major contribute in battle, solely because of the fact that they can either disarm or kill their target from the comfort of 60-100 meters!


    Archers don''t seem to be a major problem in this battle though, but a new problem emerged! Upon the break of a second in between blasting Fire Balls, King Michael can see minor explosions going on within the Army.


    This can only mean that a few of the Soldiers have some type of superior weaponry. A second after, a medium portion of possible 80 Soldiers, found a way to practically skip past the 100 Zamerian Guards, and are banging and bashing against the Kingdom''s main entrance.


    This shows that the Zamerian Army is becoming short on men and obviously overwhelmed, regardless of how many Soldiers the rest have put an effort to shoot down.


    King Michael could hear the door banging between all these battle howls, and the rest could hear it as well.


    King Michael has a plan, but doesn''t want his Zamerian Guards to be left for dead either. So he shouts, "We need to get behind the main entrance and fend off the enemies if they break through. Shoot as many Soldiers down on your way there, slow down your flight if you have too!"


    Afterwards, the King took a small jog before he pounced and blew Fire from his feet which granted him the capability to become airborne.


    "Let''s go, go go!" Mogranius stretched his sentence and did a little twirl as he elevated towards the sky. Fancy at best, but it shows that he has become a bit enthusiastic for battle. Has the effects of the Ghost Tree hit him again?


    Regardless, Eric and Dilli joined them. Taking no second to elevate, and as they flew by their main target became the Soldiers of course.


    Eric managed to spot a pool of them, separating from the main group and sneaking their way to the Main Entrance of the Kingdom.


    This pool contains at least 10 Soldiers, and they are running. So he wants to focus his blow and at the same time is calculating where and when the Fireball will hit. The Zamerian Guards are just near by and he doesn''t want to hit any of them.


    He launched a Fireball stretching 8 feet wide, and Boom! He hit half of the enemies while some were injured a little bit but still managed to go on.


    Eric wants to stop in mid air and continue to shoot them down, but the rest of the Fire Controllers are already on the ground behind Gaster Kingdom''s walls!

 Chapter 415 - Explosive Bolts

    Boom!


    An explosion echoed throughout Gaster Kingdom, and the location of its source is near the main gate.


    After covering his eyes, King Michael could see bodies drop to the ground. Hilariously, these bodies were mostly belonging to the opposing army. Whatever they are doing, they are doing it clumsily.


    King Michael has already made his way inside the Kingdom along with the rest of the Fire Controllers, and thankfully is just about 20 meters near the Gate so the explosion didn''t touch them.


    Regardless of their distance near it, the Gate has been blown to bits and a large plank almost hit the King''s head! Risky, but it''s a bit riskier that any [enemy] Soldier can barge in now and spread around the Kingdom!


    At the moment, there are 10-20 Soldiers running in. This is only a small portion, nothing the four Fire Blasters couldn''t handle, so they started taking the enemies victim with the enslaving raging Fireballs.


    After those 10 were shot down, about 50 more entered as if they were running away from the Army outside. These could be another bit of Soldiers who managed to slip through the Zamerian Guards, or maybe their own explosives spooked them?!


    With amounts like this bursting in, eventually the Fire Controllers will be outnumbered since they can''t run away in the Kingdom and risk a civilian being hurt in the process.


    Something has to be done about this, and fast. The situation was enough of a handful without the Gate being blown, but now since this beautiful Domain has been breached basically anyone can run in!


    Looking at the small road near the main gate, surrounded by houses on the left and on the right, King Michael thought of an idea in the midst of the heating battle.


    He crouched down to a sumo squat, clapped his hands and a Fire Shield started surrounding him! He tried to extend it as big as possible before tightening his fists to make it firm and strong because at this case, the bigger the better.


    The Fire shield stretched about 6 meters long, obviously enough to cover the road and he almost even started touching houses which would be bad since the Houses would slowly catch on fire and possibly burn innocent civilians to death.


    Walking towards the enemies, he started blocking the road. They tried to swing Swords against the fire shield, but only embarrassed theirselves since they had no chance of penetration against it.


    Although wide in size, King Michael even managed to make the shield 3 inches thick! Which proved the most useful, Lava would take a while to break a 3 inch thick Fire shield, Iron is useless against it!


    Seeing that they are practically hitting an unbreakable wall, the enemy Soldiers were smart enough this time to back off, after several shouts of commands from their own kind.


    10 Guards with Crossbows on their hands appeared in the scene, and they were all aiming towards the Fire Shield with hopes of breaking it open. If the Fire Shield breaks, this disaster of a battle will finally start working for the better [again] for the attempting invaders.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The bolts exploded amongst the shield, shaking the stone wall close to it a tad bit. The smoke that came after the bolts exploded, started disintegrating in mid air as seconds passed, making what progress they made against the Shield, clear.


    Once the Crossbow men saw that the shield is well intact, and the cracks they managed to cause are actually regenerating, they [Crossbowmen] took a deep breath in shocking fear and afterwards let out a loudish sigh signifying more fear.


    A split second later, they felt their foreheads getting hotter and afterwards didn''t feel them at all. Well at least 3 of the 10 Crossbowmen didn''t feel their foreheads anymore, mostly because they lost them!


    At the top of the wall, on the right they saw a little kid hurling one Fireball after the other. They didn''t get to see this sight for long because just two seconds later they were either split in half by a Fireball or got their heads blown up into bits!


    You would think Eric would fear explosive bolts, last time he faced one he ended up in Lava back at the huge Volcano in the old Lan Zhe. He does have fear a little bit, those things are obviously dangerous.


    But he has enough power to contribute in this battle, so why hide behind the King and let him do all the work?


    Seeing that their chances of survival are tough, the enemies [That aren''t Crossbowmen] focused on their main target again, which is to break the Fire Shield with what little force they have left.


    Morale is low for the enemy, their numbers have been forced to be even lower! And to make it worse the three other teams finished off slaughtering what portion of the enemy Army was fighting them, and so they focused their forces towards the 40-60 enemy Soldiers who are around the main entrance.


    The Zamerian Guards stood aside for this one, as the best solution now is to have two teams shooting everyone down instead of the Zamerians getting in front and blocking the shots of the two other teams.


    A bit complex, but hey at least the Forces of Gaster Kingdom know what they are doing after the main men shout a few commands. And just in case the [enemy] Army fights back, the Zamerian Guards will return to shove a Sword up their asses and inevitably protect the ranged combat teams.


    Spears, arrows and Fireballs started flying against the enemy Guards. Mogranius and Dilli joined Eric, attacking from the sides. This time they don''t have to worry about hitting an Ally, because the Spearfishers and Archers are keeping a good distance.


    A minute later, one man after the other started dropping down in this enemy Army. As you can see, when strategy is strong, quantity is nothing! Of course in half the cases it didn''t take just a second to shoot an enemy down, but Gaster Kingdom still managed to progress swiftly towards this battle!


    Eric turned around, glanced at King Michael and shouted. "We won!"


    What was left of Gaster Kingdom''s forces started howling, shouting "Victory" either in Ignite, ill.u.s.tratian or Zamerian!


    The pride here feels even more wholesome when you consider that everyone here comes from a poor background, yet their ranks have reached high enough to face against the ill.u.s.tratian Army of [Country] Meridionali Ignis!


    One particular fact that raises pride, is that there are also ill.u.s.tratios in the Gaster Kingdom Army! They don''t mind killing people of their own race, they have been enlightened enough to understand the wrong doing of which the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance brought!


    Prideful and cheering, they have won the battle. Now all that''s left is to clear up the mess, that''s where Fire Controllers can come in handy!


    Well that and... there are actually some enemies who have surrendered! Their Numbers count to 7, they ran to the sides with their hands up facing either the Archers or the Spearfishers.


    Tapping out in battle is a disgrace, but the odds weren''t to their favour. If King Michael spares them, Grand King Talato likely won''t.


    ...


    "What do you think we should do with these who surrendered? They aren''t just a couple of people, they are seven!" King Michael asked, debating with himself the most instead of anything else.


    "Maybe turn them into slaves? They did it to Ignites for 200 years!" Mogranius recommended, obviously the most drastic here.


    "Plus it would ease up on the Budget a little bit, you are already paying hundreds of people." You would think that a rougher soul would recommend this, but no. Woldemir did.


    This army was sent here at a thirst for territorial dominance, while their overlord wants more Gold. Due to these couple of facts, a portion of the Guards Woldemir himself trained, have died. His vengeful thoughts at this case are acceptable.


    "Gaster Kingdom is being built up by the hard work my Civilians are putting in, I don''t need demonic money in it." King Michael expressed his thoughts to this situation, and added. "Slavery is nothing but a Demonic act."


    Coming in with Arem, Saleem over heard the topic and spoke. "Just write a message 7 times and shove it up their arsses, we will put shackles on them so they won''t be able to remove them for a while. Which should be funnier!"


    "Yes, that''s a worthy punishment. And even if they don''t make it back to the Capital in their Country I couldn''t care less really." King Michael expressed, and started walking towards the Castle for some parchment and a quill.


    Mogranius started following him, turned his head towards Saleem and spoke. "In the meanwhile put shackles on them and get their asses out."


    It''s Arem''s time to speak, he approached Woldemir and explained. "Guard Commander Sir, there are only 40 Guards left from the Zamerain Platoon."


    "60 of them died?" Woldemir asked, rubbing his forehead and letting out a sigh signifying stress.


    "Yes, unfortunately. What are your thoughts on it?" Arem asked, since Woldemir is the most experienced.


    "They definitely will need to become a part of the first Platoon of 30 men, all together they don''t even make a Platoon." Thinking it through, considering Arem''s future as well. Woldemir added, "For now you will be an ordinary Guard until we establish a new Platoon."


    ...


    Meanwhile in the Gaster Castle, King Michael started writing that little Parchment of a message. You might be the most curious of what that letter contains, nothing complex really. Read it for yourself, your eyes only hehe.


    "Oh the Great King Talato, your Army is torched. Next time, don''t bluff about your number when you don''t know who you are dealing with. You will never get this Domain''s 30%, we haven''t reached to the point where someone like you can command us. I hope you find these Parchments smelling like shit, the smell defines your plan. Launch your whole forces against us, we can handle it. And as for who the King is, remember the name well. I am King Michael, a proud Kastarian Ignite!"


    As he finished that doc.u.ment, Woldemir walked in explaining the losses today. He explained how 60 people are dead, and how the best idea is to give compensation bonuses to keep the overall morale high and fend off a possible riot.


    After some quick thought, King Michael found it best to hand out 1,600 Gold Coins to the families per each man or women who died in battle today.


    When we pile them up together this necessarily equals to 96,000 Gold Coins! Large indeed but these people entered the battlefield knowing that they are outnumbered and can die, only the strongest can do that.


    96,000 Gold Coins is nothing for this case although for a Zamerian living here it will feel like 16 salaries!


    King Michael''s appreciation doesn''t stop there, he will also grant salary raises for everyone who was in the battle field today. The 40 Zamerian Guards that survived this battle for example, are getting the biggest salary raise since they faced the biggest danger.


    Before this battle they used to earn 80 Gold Coins, and now they will earn 120! It will increase the monthly expenses by 1k but that won''t do damage to the overall profit!


    The group of 30 Guards have gotten salary raises as well, now they earn 180 Gold Coins a month while before they used to earn 150! The two teams of Spearfishermen and women have gotten salary raises too, but it''s taking too long to put everything to detail.


    Overall, today a lot of expenses have been established and it''s fair to say that''s for the better. These men and women offered a large contribute today, a pat on the back referring Congratulations isn''t enough.

 Chapter 416 - Lizard

    The battle was rough, losing 60 men and women was even rougher especially since they were Zamerians, people who come from another Continent. Although they are in no position to complain and act given that they come from poor backgrounds, King Michael does not want what now are the majority of his people demotivated.


    Zamerians picked up the Budget, and raised it up for the better which is the prime reason why King Michael does not want to look bad in front of them, that''s why all that gold was given out and that''s why he will continue to offer them more stable lives.


    Furthermore, we can''t blame King Michael for these deaths. The blame can be solely placed over Grand King Talato of the neighbouring Country, Meridionali Ignis.


    It is Talato who wants power, it is Talato who wants more gold and it is Talato who sent out 600 Soldiers here to reclaim Gaster Kingdom if King Michael doesn''t agree to his [Talato''s] demands.


    Apart from all of that, the 96,000 Gold Coins that King Michael handed out as a compensation will inevitably keep the overall morale stronger, gold can''t replace lives but it''s better than a pat on the back.


    Extensions in the Cemetery had to be made and there is a new fence being constructed around there too, but that''s not the major issue here with souls lost.


    ...


    The next day, everything went mostly back to normal. The Spearfishers along with the Fishers were doing their jobs, along with every other employee in this fine Domain.


    King Michael is training the three Fire Controllers a fine distance from the Kingdom, and the overall situation is calm. People can''t really be mad at the King when gold is involved, although no monetary value would replace a loved one.


    Everything went fine up until a couple of hours after midday, that''s when a... new problem arose amongst King Michael and his allies.


    No one is revolting, thankfully. But visitors are close, and this time they don''t come from any human enemy.


    A creature, with a rather unusual form for this timeline... Is arising from its ocean depths and running its way towards where it sees the most commotion, at this case King Michael and the three other Fire Controllers since this creature submerged around 100 meters from the Kingdom!


    "What the hell is that?" Mogranius was the first to spot it, and dared to point out the bizarre sight with a shout. "Don''t tell me it''s another Whale Bear."


    "I don''t think whales look like that." King Michael pointed out the obvious once he took a clear glance of the creature. Being practically a medieval biologist he added, "Whales don''t have pointy snouts."


    With a semi large being charging towards them, their first thought or best called instinct as Fire Controllers would be to either shoot it or fly away, this thing that emerged from the Ocean can''t fly... they hope.


    Since this thing isn''t specifically charging towards the Kingdom, King Michael chose to blast towards the sky and the rest followed.


    The creature, stopped on the spot where the Fire Controllers used to stand, loudly opened and closed its mouth with gave out a bony clapping sound and afterwards it started spinning in place and tried to elevate it''s upper body but didn''t have enough strength to do that.


    "Should we shoot it?" Eric asked, debating between two decisions.


    It is common for people to attack what they don''t understand, but what they are looking at here is a rare case. This creature came out of the ocean, ran it''s way in speeds half the time faster of an average human which in another way points out that it has claws... Ocean Creatures aren''t supposed to have that.


    It is confusing, but at the same time it isn''t a major threat. Maybe it would take a troop of 20 men armed to the teeth in order to take it down, considering it''s large semi pointy mouth filled with pointy short teeth. A Fire Controller however, has it a lot easier to kill one.


    This creature doesn''t seem to want to reason, and it brings along this crazed Aura. Which points out towards another possibility, but King Michael needs to take a closer look first.


    He specifically requested, "Stay on the skies, I will shoot it down." And flew away towards the East. Away from the ocean and necessarily away from Gaster Kingdom.


    Surprising, but at the same time typical, the oceanic creature started following King Michael, seeing it as prey who is "running away". This points out predatory animal instincts, and checks one question from King Michael''s long list.


    King Michael tried to fly away as fast as he can in a matter of seconds, doing so once he considered the beings size. Plus the move he wants to attempt on the creature requires a couple of seconds.


    He dropped on the ground, and could see the creature swiftly running it''s way towards him, currently at a distance of 20 meters away.


    Seeing that he might not have much time, he placed his palms a foot far from his stomach and half a foot apart from each other. To officially start off the move, he started generating a small orb in between his palms.


    It took a second for the orb to grow up until the point when it touched his fingers. Although it didn''t burn, it signifies that the move should be ascended towards the next step.


    He moved his hands to the point where they are vertically forward, placing his right hand over his left after it, he stretched his hands forward after and as the finishing portion of the move he tapped the back of his left foot to the ground!


    A 6 foot long, thin blast made its way towards the strange ocean creature. This move is unmistakable, this is a concentrated blast!


    However, the King might have dropped down to the ground a few meters too early. Because the second he blew the concentrated blast, the creature was already about 5 meters close.


    The 6 foot long, pole like blast punctured through the creatures head as if a sword was bashed in an apple. This move is dangerous enough alone, but when a Grand Master uses it, this move becomes extremely dangerous.


    The blast went through the creatures forehead easily, and made its way through a portion of its back and continued to fly by a few meters below the 3 Fire Controller''s feet, they are tens of meters away which points out how powerful this move is.


    The blast was strong enough, too strong. It went through the creature so forcefully but yet smooth, that it didn''t manage to slow down its build up momentum. In other words, it''s semi pointed snout was bashed on King Michael''s hands and then his chest too since he didn''t manage to man handle a possibly 900 kilo creature.


    He was knocked down a few meters back, right after blood blew up all around him. One who would be less informed, would think that King Michael was bitten several times considering all the blood.


    But no, the only damage that King Michael received is the fact that both of his wrists have been sprained. That''s an injury that can take a week or so to heal, or less than an hour if Ladia can cast a healing power move on him.


    He saw the three other Fire Controllers surround him, shouting the following sentences.


    "Are you okay?"


    "Do you have your arms?"


    "That was a dumb idea."


    "I can''t believe you faced a sea monster."


    And the first thing King Michael could say, which didn''t even relate to his overall health. "This ain''t a sea monster." He answered Eric''s claim yes.


    "Forget about the species, are you in one piece." Dilli asked, coming in just a little bit as rough but she has a point.


    Still not putting much care to his health, King Michael stated. "I''m most definitely in one piece, I''m excited to inspect this creature so please take a few steps back. I have a feeling this one has Demons written all over it."


    Itching to ask the obvious question once comprehending King Michael''s wordplay a bit deeper, Eric asked. "How do you know this has Demons written all over it? This could be just another weird rare creature."


    Furthermore, Eric just wanted to convince himself that Demons haven''t located this Domain. He really doesn''t want to deal with Demons now, or ever come to think of it. Generally, they are very dangerous creatures who want to destroy everything in sight so it isn''t a surprise for one to hate to deal with them.


    "This creature originally is a Great-Headed Lizard, my memory is blurry but I know that oceanic creatures don''t have claws." Recalling the adventures that Mogranius told over and over and over and over, King Michael added. "This thing either ate Demons or was purposely mutated by them."

 Chapter 417 - Wrist Tapping

    Now considering the fact that most Demons who entered this Dimension are crazed, there are extremely slim chances that this creature attacking today was plotted by a superior mind.


    It is most likely that this creature saw a bundle of demons and charged towards them, biting and ripping through flesh until mutation followed.


    It''s sad that this specimen died today considering how rare they are amongst the world''s oceans, it feels even worse how it died in an unnatural form and totally crazed mentally.


    King Michael has this specific guilt about killing this creature but it wasn''t particularly a bad decision in the long term, if this thing bred with one of its kind it would just continue to spread a bloodline of craze.


    Generally, mutation wouldn''t be frowned upon if it brings some benefit or at least doesn''t bring more trouble. But this freak of nature jumped out of the water, slapped holes into the ground by every step and was at an urge to kill and destroy everything and everyone in sight.


    Obviously, there would be no peace if this creature lurked around Gaster Kingdom. What if it popped up near the Fishermen and Spearfishermen? They couldn''t have managed to bring this 900-1000 kilo thing down without losing at least 10 people.


    Although his wrists hurt since he got struck by this beast, his curiosity was greater than the sharp pain when he moved his hands too much. Mogranius helped him cut a bit of cloth, afterwards King Michael tied his wrists tight and started analysing the creature.


    Just by giving one look on the creature, he noticed how and why it has grown claws and why it has become this mad and crazy. No animal would run around trying to bite everything, each animal species has their specific instincts.


    "This Lizard has gotten at least three mutations, which points out that it either completely obliterated one Demon and swallowed it whole, or it took several chunks out of a group of Demons." This little explanation by King Michael points out that him messing around with Rats has come in handy, he managed to accurately picture what this Lizard did before being at a set of craze.


    He noticed how everyone is staring at him blankly, confused at best but they know this man is smart. Using the absolute golden silence, he continued laying out more information. "Considering its long pointed mouth, and these straight teeth. This creature commonly grabs on to prey and shakes until it rips a large chunk off."


    "Meaning..." Mogranius asked, very curious about this creature but at the same time lost.


    "Meaning it couldn''t have swallowed a Demon whole. Chewing a Demon would take enough time itself, and would particularly be troubling to swallow down so taking a chunk instead is better for its overall individual safety." Beautiful information, perfectly described but biology isn''t a big hype these times.


    This creature is big, obviously can fit a whole Demon in its digestive system considering it''s large size of 900 Kilos but biting chunks off is just its instinct.


    The Great Headed Lizard although dangerous, it isn''t the most beautiful creature. It''s textureless, Imagine a 9 meter long carrot shaped creature with 4 flippers. That describes its overall shape, it has a body colour mixed with gray and blue.


    Its shape, size and texture just points out that it''s a species far older than the human race who is slowly going extinct because of the ecosystems who keep shifting along with the Centuries.


    And finally laying down a bit of information that might seem as scary, King Michael added. "Although this mouth explains it a lot as a creature, along with the rest of the body it explains that whatever Demon(s) it bit through, they must have been very close."


    Walking around the creature and analysing its lower abdomen area, he pointed at some claw wounds and said. "Look at these wounds, they are still bleeding. This isn''t dried out blood brought down here because of its head exploding!"


    ...


    As King Michael was analysing the Great-Headed Lizard, the word about a running ocean creature has spread wide in Gaster Kingdom and its people there prepared for the worst.


    But in other words it means that important people such as Ladia, Commander Alia and Woldemir have made their way up to the scene.


    Woldemir wanted to aid in battle since he thought the Lizard is still attacking, Commander Alia wanted to help but was also very curious and Ladia mostly came here to see if there is anyone to heal.


    Ladia became the most useful in this little group here, the rest mostly became spectators. This time at least she will have it easier to heal people, King Michael could use her powers right about now.


    She has gained a tad bit of experience as a Healer due to the books arriving all the way from [Continent] Zameria, but we will make a special chapter about that soon enough.


    As for now, she asked with the little Ignite language she knows. "Did anyone lose foot?"


    "No one in particular." Eric answered, noticing that the young Ladia mentioning feet can be a bit of a joke related to the fact that Eric has a hole in his foot. "But King Michael can use a little bit of healing."


    "He lose toe?" Ladia stuck to questions regarding decapitation.


    "No, he just sprained his wrists." Dilli Flurry claimed and rubbed her own wrist with the other hand to signify what''s hurting, being from another Continent Ladia might not understand the word "wrist" in Ignite language.


    "Aha, that''s easy heal." Ladia answered and tip toed towards King Michael who is still observing the dead animal, completely ignoring towards anything else.


    Grabbing his wrist without any form of warning or request, she pulled it towards herself and raised his thick fur sleeves up. Michael looked at her and had the audacity to say, "When did you come here?"


    "I heal your wrist." She answered, completely ignoring his question.


    The type of healing she is putting in to process, is fairly different. She isn''t waving her hand and waiting for the green light to do all the work.


    Muscle healing, has a lot of finger tapping included in it. From the outside, they can just see small green light glowing on Ladia''s finger.


    But when she touches his wrist in one spot, that glow lasts on his wrist for a second or two before it fades. But the compelling part about it, is the pain!


    She has tapped 4 times above the wrist and each time King Michael flinched in pain as if his wrist muscles are untangling by each tap. This type of pain is short, and by each effort his overall wrist pain is slowing down.


    She gently turned his hand around so his palms would face towards the sky, and started tapping on places around the wrist until he got completely relieved from pain.


    Repeating the process on the other wrist, she managed to heal the King here and win over his further appreciation. Apart from the fact that she asked no permission for anything, she did a pretty good job for someone who started reading about her powers a few days ago.


    Eric got another check up too, 1/3 of his wound has been healed yesterday but since Ladia is a Hatchling (Level 1) Healer, she needs a bit more time to tame an entire hole through one''s foot or any other body part.


    Although his feet stinky from all the sweating, Ladia just went. "Pff pff pff." Before she went ahead to further inspect his foot, stench can''t kill her after all.


    First she waved her hand towards his foot, they saw a faint green light over the wound after, taming some damage. This "spell" is particularly harmless and wouldn''t cause any pain, it mostly tickles.


    But the next one might not be as fun, since a hole in his foot necessarily damages some muscle too, she needs to help regenerate muscle as well.


    So she started tapping on the Electus'' stinky stinky foot, a sharp pain followed after of course. Although, getting a sharp pain on one''s foot is a bit less painful compared to getting that same pain on the wrist.


    He endured an entire arrow going through his limb, this is nothing although it definitely makes him flinch.


    "You need time heal, I will heal you day to day. 7 days and hole poof, gone!" Her Ignite language definitely is getting better, plus she is a delight to be around.


    But enough about that, a strong screeching shout echoed across the flat lands, it caught all of their attention inevitably.


    They all turned their heads towards the ocean, thinking that another large Lizard will submerge out of it. But no, that''s not the case. Another ear piercing shout was to be heard, then the other and afterwards the next.


    King Michael poked his head over the Great-Headed Lizard''s hip, and noticed several crazed Demons running on four limbs, it isn''t certain if they came from the ocean, but they are sure aren''t far from it either as they took a shift directly towards the closest bundle of people.


    Or best called, running towards the young Electus and the rest of his friends.

 Chapter 418 - What about Matilda?

    "Shoot them! Shoot them. Shoot them..." Ladia repeated over and over and flapped her hand towards the Demons as if it will stop them.


    King Michael took command over the situation, or at least over the kids. Pointing at Eric and demanding, "Grab Ladia and get her out of here!"


    In that break of a second, Dilli and Mogranius are already up in the sky and aiming towards the external offenders. Without asking questions, Eric grabbed the little lady underneath her armpits and flew off.


    "What do we do?" Woldemir asked, with his two meter long Sword already up and ready to slice.


    "We can handle those Demons!" Commander Alia backed up Woldemir''s words.


    "Just hide behind the Great-Headed Lizard, fighting these Demons with a Sword would be a bad idea. They can rip you apart!" King Michael pointed out the obvious and demanded for them to not do anything, finally adding after. "Besides, there are just a few of them. We can handle them, no problem!"


    A raging Fireball sliced through the wind and bits of snowflakes, unleashed by Mogranius the quickest and heading towards the bundle of Demons in front of them!


    Boom!


    The 4 foot wide Fireball finally reached the crazed enemies, and limbs were blown off from one Demon and the other one behind the first victim got its head blown off! Dangerous no doubt, but one Fireball alone can''t tame this situation.


    Dilli Flurry unleashed a long tailed 3 foot wide Fireball, and when I say long tailed I mean that the Fireball stretched 6 feet long!


    As it was raging through the air, the Demons actually ran into it. As if between a break of a second Dilli could predict where the Demons will be once the Fireball reaches them.


    The intent of this Fireball is in no way random, it burned the first Demon''s spine and inevitably halted its momentum, pushing it back actually!


    The Fireball continued to rage through the second Demon, then the third and fourth! Powerful indeed. It shows that Dilli has put effort to make these Fireballs burn hotter, in other terms she upped the heat scale in exchange for more of her Stamina!


    It proved useful, she killed 4 Demons with one shot! And the situation is thankfully not that bad yet since this threat is over a hundred meters away from this beautiful Kingdom!


    As soon as King Michael took a better look at the numbers in this situation, he figured out that in the short term this won''t prove as a problem. The Demons running wild on his lands now don''t even seem to count up to 15!


    But in the long term this can become a problem, because first an almost extinct mutated species breaks to the shore and now there are a handful of original Demons.


    In the long term, more and more waves of Demons might breach towards Gaster Kingdom. Their numbers can be unpredictably random, they will either be a group of 10 or 1,000.


    We can never be sure how many will strike and when they will strike, that''s the disadvantage of not knowing where that god forsaken portal is.


    King Michael shot a 6 foot wide, short tailed Fireball against the Demons and witnessed two of them losing one shoulder each along with their arm(s) of course, while one Demon who was behind these two got its head blown off along with portions of its chest.


    A limb or two isn''t enough to slow down a whole Fireball and this Demon was practically standing in the middle of the two who lost their shoulders although a few more feet behind.


    Half of the approaching Demons are already gone just by three shots, and it is fair to say that they have left an awful scene. Disgusting is the best word to describe it and it would make a soft skinned man or woman throw up all across the field.


    There are intestines, body parts, other internal organs and blood, a whole load of blood spread all across the white snow and pieces of land where the white snow has melted due to the Fireballs.


    If Osira was here she would at least help clean up the scene, she has burned thousands of human corpses before in the Carved Path, this type of job won''t make her hurl.


    Anyway, apart from the bad stinky scenes they are leaving behind, these Demons are really easy to kill. A Fireball can burn tremendously bad and the Fire Wizards and Witches here are unleashing ranged attacks.


    If they were to face Demons with a Sword their armour along with their torso would have been ripped, thankfully they don''t have to and thankfully Fire Blasting can make one superior in battle.


    A few short Fireballs later, all of those Demons were shot down. This situation was easy to tame, by the time Eric came back there wasn''t anything to shoot down actually.


    He congratulated them by shouting a compliment since Fire blowing beneath their feet tends to deafen other sounds. "You all are quick! You couldn''t leave one Demon for me to shoot ha!"


    "What about Matilda?" Mogranius the less hearing shouted back, it isn''t a surprise that a man who flew a lot in his lifetime to have trouble hearing.


    ...


    "I need to get more Guards, more than ever." King Michael thought to himself as he marched towards the Castle.


    He has left the three other Fire Controllers as Guards against Demons just in case of another badge of them head towards this Domain. Of course he Isn''t leaving all the work up to them, he just needs to make a few touches in order to make this place safer from Demons.


    "How many employees do I have again? 300? 350? 400? Why can''t I ever remember numbers god damn it." Even his thoughts are fast paced like his walking at the moment, but to clear all confusions he needs to talk details with Alama.


    Reaching the Castle a couple of minutes after, she noticed that Alama just walked out of it. Seeing King Michael she asked, "I heard there is a large Lizard dead near the shore. Is that true?"


    "Most definitely, but the situation is a bit worse than that." King Michael answered as he marched towards the Castle with no sign of stopping, grabbed Alama around the shoulder and pulled her in. "A little group of Demons attacked us too, their remains are being burned down at the moment."


    "Demons?! That''s new." Alama dared to add, she has lived here for a while now and although Demon talk was common, she did not expect them to attack Gaster Kingdom, not this quick. "Are there more coming?"


    "For that I''m not sure, but it would be stupid to wait and find out." Finally starting a topic of why he is here in the first place, he asked. "How many unemployed people do we have?"


    "Ummm... 135 if I remember right. Why?" She asked, understanding that it has something to do with new employment but still a bit blurry towards his vision.


    "We need to hire all of them as Guards, I don''t care even if we pay them 250 Gold Coins a month, I need to protect my Domain!" It is certain that he has become a little hit emotional here, but he definitely isn''t exaggerating the possible danger. 135 new Guards might not even be enough to fight off 30 Demons.


    "250 Gold Coins is a good motivator to hire them all, but we can''t handle paying that much for Guards. What if we scale it down to 200?" Alama recommended, she does understand King Michael''s worry but most definitely doesn''t want him to do dumb economical mistakes.


    "Sure, well now old and new Guards will earn 200 Gold Coins. I need to talk to Woldemir, we should mix up the two Platoons so new recruits work alongside with older Guards. That way there won''t be any weak platoon in an upcoming battle." His decision is wise here although it will make Woldemir''s job harder when assigning training for portions. He will basically have to remember what 100 people individually have to train.


    "I will need at least a day to put everything together, will you be able to fend off Demons in the meantime?" Since she hasn''t been on the battlefield alone, she can''t really tell what they are dealing with so asking questions is the best solution.


    "Unless a hundred of them attack, we will be able to handle them. If you have time write a letter requesting... wait no I''ll get Dilli up to the New Lan Zhe." As he walked into the Kitchen to grab a sack and fill it with food, he walked out again and said. "We will pull an all nighter, getting employed in the Army is not optional. We all need to do our parts into keeping our homes safe!"


    A rather strong decision, unfair at best. But the monthly profit will meet a big shift for the sake of safety, 60 Guards died a day ago as well. The last thing this Domain needs is for Demons to tear down other civilians through the shade of the night.


    Well on the upside at least the average salary tomorrow will be 200 Gold Coins, while before it was all the way down to 127. The employments in process and Salary Raises did their job.

 Chapter 419 - Wake up your Highness.

    "How has the situation been?" King Michael asked as he approached the three other Fire Controllers.


    Trying to be more and more social by the day, Eric took charge of the conversation first. "Stable, a couple more Demons broke out of the Surface but they are practically fish food now."


    "How are they fish food?" King Michael asked, thinking this through logically and added. "Fish wouldn''t get beached for a bit of meat."


    "Oh no, Mogranius hit them with Firewalls and then burned them down." Commander Alia continued to explain here once sensing that Eric hasn''t thought of a proper reply yet and is mumbling.


    Overall she loves bragging about her lover [Mogranius], but King Michael also knows that Eric isn''t the most talkative so he doesn''t mind anything here.


    "Looks like we will be here for a while though." Dilli tried to ask once she smelled food in that sack.


    "We will be here overnight, Woldemir is setting up the Army to protect the Domain against Demons. Until he prepares everything we have to shoot down any Demon from these lands, you know one Ignite or ill.u.s.tratian can''t do much against just one of these Demons and if 3 or 4 Demons climb over the walls we could be looking at a minor massacre." The word Demon a bit overused, but the King is proving a good point.


    Then the King opened another topic with Dilli before anyone else can speak. "I need you to go to new Lan Zhe, you will seek out Kazer and explain to him that we are in need of 10 men for the sake of fending away Demons. They Don''t need to be Lava Controllers, although that would be nicer."


    "Also tell him that I as their King approve of this request." Eric added, showing his consent. He most definitely wants to help, the Calidum Lutum are the only people who can fight off a Demon without any powers. F.u.c.k''s sake, Kazer fought off a whole Cave Bear!


    "Perfect then." King Michael smiled at Eric and got back to the conversation. "Tomorrow isn''t guaranteed, and Mogranius told me you are tough as nails. You have what it takes to get there quick and return quick, we need any given forces here to aid our Arsenal."


    ...


    "It''s almost midnight, I don''t think any Demons will show up tonight." Eric pointed out, and to convince the other two to end this stake out, he added. "We won''t be able to see Demons in this pitch darkness."


    "We don''t need to see them, we just have to hear them." Mogranius added, putting an end on Eric''s complains.


    Well Eric could be having a point here though, there hasn''t been any trouble ever since they slayed that small bundle of Demons. We are talking about nearly 10 hours here, so it is a lot to consider.


    "We could be blasting against snow all night long but if you say so." Eric ended his own complains.


    They are camping near the Great-Headed Lizard and are actually eating portions of its meat too. It''s completely safe to consume, meaning there won''t be any mutations happening.


    King Michael discovered this a while ago, when he fed one rat to the other... Insane at best but it''s for the sake of knowing what will happen.


    Mogranius discovered this a year and a half ago when his father made him eat Whale Bear meat. Where does this point out too?


    Simple, consumption of a mutated animal won''t mutate the consumer. It is just a wild guess but King Michael thinks that although the Demon Meat can change an animal, it is still categorized as a secondary species characteristic.


    The primary species characteristic is how the animal was born, it does make sense. Because if you see a dog with horns, the first thing you will think is that this is a hell hound and not a horny creature.


    Bad example possibly, but the primary species characteristic doesn''t let the secondary additional characteristics compromise it''s retro identity, therefore making this Great-Headed Lizard safe for consumption.


    Apart from trying out this meat, they have also gotten a campfire going. Getting wood wasn''t a problem with Lumberjacks hired a few months ago, plus this portion of light in the middle of a field swallowed by darkness will no doubt drag attention to any practically brainless Demons.


    Furthermore, King Michael let out an order to shun every light in Gaster Kingdom be it on or around the walls, be it around the castle or be it in any individual house.


    These demons are stupid and will likely chase what''s shiny, King Michael now hopes that these Demons don''t have a good sense of smell, that would be bad especially since the Guards can''t see any Demon coming until it''s too late.


    ...


    Dawn is close to breaking, due to the fact that it is very cloudy it will probably feel like it is still night even after the sun pokes its head above the Horizon.


    That''s not the most important case here though, there haven''t been any Demons attacking all night. In one way it''s good, because other Demons might not have detected this location as a place of life and might not come in bigger bundles.


    However the bad thing is that the team of three felt a bit disappointed, they''ve stayed awake (Mostly) all night with no action. Boredom and drowsiness was the biggest enemy they faced through the night.


    But there is a saying, The enemy strikes exactly when you aren''t ready. I have no doubt that these crazed Demons would be strategic, this is just terrible terrible timing.


    Another bundle of Demons arose from the shores, some were running on their four limbs towards the group or most specifically towards the campfire.


    A smaller portion is heading directly towards the Kingdom and the smallest portion are in debate of what to follow so they are spreading in between the two options, meaning on the snowy fields with no particular aim.


    Drowsy but yet the most woke, Mogranius was the first to notice these Demons since they haven''t yet shouted in the ear puncturing way they do.


    He slapped King Michael across the face, woke him up enough and shouted. "Wake up your highness, Demons are approaching!" His wordplay obviously sarcastic, even at such a situation. But hey, it''s not stupid if it works.


    Although Mogranius yelled, Eric has fallen sound asleep while sitting actually so Mogranius took two leaps and smacked him behind the head. Well, that woke him up. "Demons! Demons are approaching!"


    King Michael took a look around and was woke enough to notice that some Demons are approaching Gaster Kingdom and fast. To deal with this damage, they need someone who can bring the heat. Specifically, "Eric, shoot those Demons down!"


    King Michael even pointed towards the direction the drowsy but yet panicking Eric is supposed to go, while Mogranius made his own orders and went after the Demons who spread wide on the fields.


    Mogranius can shoot them down easier given his better accuracy as someone who has trained for decades, plus his job is the easiest so he might need to help Eric!


    While the biggest job is left to King Michael here, it is up to him to burn down the biggest portion of this attack, specifically 20-30 Demons!


    As a first step he of course blew Fire from his feet and flew towards the sky, facing these beings up close is nothing but stupid.


    He unleashed a 10 foot wide Fireball underneath him as a second step, while he was flying up actually.


    The three men here have spent enough seconds to make a plan, King Michael figured that by the time the Fireball reaches the ground the Demons will already be tumbling the Campfire and jumping to reach the weird glowing and flying human.


    His calculations, good enough I suppose! The Fireball managed to hit 3 Demons and kill them of course due to the intense heat provided by the Grand Master.


    He shot too early, but at least the Demons aren''t running off. They are leaping towards the sky, occasionally clawing each other when trying to land.


    He started spinning on his spot a few times while blowing fire from his palms, if he continues like this he could be forming a Fire Tornado. He doesn''t prefer those near his Domain, so he stopped after a few spins.


    He gathered a lot of fire around him, the Fire is circling around him like a slithering TitanoBoa, completely under his control and with no intent to slowly fade away in the air, he is controlling every inch of this raging Fire.


    He made another spin, the Fire spun with him although it is at an appropriate distance of 6 feet from the King. When he ended the spin he waved his arms towards the ground!


    The Fire managed to torch leaping Demons before making impact with the ground, a couple of Demons were split in half even!


    When hitting the ground, the slithering fire flattened and spread wide up to 20 feet! The Demons got burned so bad that nothing remained of them as an aftermath, even the ashes were burned down.


    Behold, the power of a Grand Master. But he isn''t stopping there, mostly because there still are around 10 Demons underneath him who don''t seem to be showing any fear.


    "Well at least we can handle these attacks for now." King Michael spoke to himself as he blew two Fireballs at once!

 Chapter 420 - Double the Trouble

    Osira, you know this beautiful name. But we know her as the lady who took on an entire Army a bit earlier, reducing their masses. She is a Hero no doubt, never a coward. And today her heroism is being once again tested. How? Read for yourself.


    They have made their way through the forest once walking over the flat lands for a while, it was the best option to do so in order to avoid being followed by any enemy.


    At the moment they are about 300 Kilometers away from Gaster Kingdom, that means they didn''t even reach the middle of this large forest.


    "Can we break already?" Eyil asked, poor wordplay at best but he wants to stop and catch his breath for a while.


    "You get tired this easily? You are a man, you are supposed to be stronger. What''s the matter tough guy?" Osira teased her no doubt, but she understands her upper advantage here.


    Although Eyil comes from a bloodline of villagers, Osira has spent a lot more time in the forest for years. She can walk for a long time while Eyil can only do half of what she can. However that doesn''t stop her from teasing him.


    "You have strong legs, I can''t catch up." He replied, but just baited himself to another tease.


    First walking a bit faster just to piss Eyil off, she asked. "Oh so you have been looking at my legs?"


    "Yes, your bear legs covered with fur." Eyil joked around, his sentence again a bit disordered but Osira could understand that he is quoting her fur leggings and how no curve would be noticeable because of those leggings.


    "Hahaha." Osira sarcastically laughed, and decided to get a little revenge too. "We just need to walk for two more hours until we can take a break."


    "Oh common, I will die if we walk for two hours!" Eyil complained like a little child, his voice at a high pitch while holding his knees.


    Out of a sudden, their heroism and overall bravery went through a test. Because two green Portals appeared out of thin air, spanning 6 meters high and round.


    They appeared 15 meters away from each other, Osira and Eyil were found standing almost in the middle of them. It is well determined that the Peaceful Demons are spawning Portals randomly, there isn''t any Domain close by here not to mention the Source of Fire.


    "What the hell..." Osira murmured, her mood shifting for the worse in less than a split second. It''s too bad, she was having such a good time teasing Eyil.


    "What are them??" Eyil asked with a shout after he caught up with her, standing in front of her in aims of protecting her from possible danger.


    "Portals, we need to get out of here!" Osira shouted, recalling her mother''s story about seeing a portal she managed to link everything together.


    She slipped her arm under Eyil''s thighs and around his shoulder too, lifting him up after and blasting towards the sky with fire blazing through her feet.


    "Couldn''t you grabbed me different?" Eyil complained, obviously pointing at the fact that Osira lifted him as if Eyil is a bride here.


    "Do you want to take me back to the Demons?" Osira replied instantly, and in the midst of her sentence actually they started hearing a lot of crazed screams!


    Looking down, they saw over a hundred Demons storming the place, shouts getting larger to the point where Eyil had to cover Osira''s ears once noticing her face flinching due to the noise.


    "Nonononono." Eyil repeated, obviously not a fan of Demons, those things are terrifying. He also found it best to ask the lady in control, "What do we do now?"


    "Fighting them obviously isn''t an option, they would tear us apart, they are spawning in four directions so we have no vantage point." Smart, although it appears more like they are fleeing at this point.


    ...


    About 500 meters to the west, Osira found a little cave to hide too. Here they can at least have a bit more time to think a decision through, it isn''t the wisest idea to face such unpredictable beings without a plan.


    This cave is perfect for hiding, it has a small entrance that would require to slip in head first and furthermore when inside it''s 4 meters round, so there is enough space to move and absolutely no need to snuggle together.


    "How do we end portal?" Eyil asked, puzzled how they appeared out of thin air like that but at the same time hoping that Osira has a solution.


    "We can''t end those portals, blasting a Fireball at it isn''t the option, it will just go through." Thinking what her mother accomplished back at the Hidden domain, she added. "My mother, Eric and Mogranius just blew a cave up to cover the portal. Here we can''t do that, trees aren''t enough to stuff it."


    "Trees can stuff, but we need 20 men." Eyil took it a bit more realistically, although Osira was joking about that part.


    RIEEEEEEAAARRRRR!


    A demonic shout screeched, making them cover their ears right away. Luckily though, the Demon didn''t spit the two humans here and is just running wild.


    "By Source I hope all die." Eyil murmured, quenching his teeth and feeling his anxiety going up because of that shout.


    "I definitely need to shoot a few of them down, there are just too many. If they reach Gaster Kingdom it will catch them off Guard and do massive damage." Well, there it is. Heroism returned although she chose to follow reason a little while ago.


    "Osira that''s crazy, let''s fly away. We only 2 people, they can fight off much Demons than we." Eyil tried to convince her towards a safer direction of course, and oddly he carries the firmest point here although his words equal to a Coward.


    Pulling out her sword, that she herself forged back at the old Lan Zhe. Obviously she won''t threaten Eyil to agree with her but had something else in mind. "I will have to shoot a few down but I will come and get you."


    Tossing him the sword, then removing her Scabbard (Sword holder) too and tossing it to him after, she continued with the plan. "Demons are pretty stupid, if one pokes its head in this little entrance just bash my sword in their head and pull it back."


    Trying to assure him, although she is certain that this man isn''t scared for himself. She added, "I doubt any Demon will find you with me grabbing all the attention, but it''s better to be safe and sorry."


    Trying to look around if there is any Demon nearby who could pounce on her while she climbs out, assuring it''s clear she looked back at Eyil once more and said. "Don''t worry, I will be safe. I''ll attack them from above."


    ...


    BOOM!


    A fireball exploded within a bundle of Demons near the portal, Osira found it the best option to shoot there since the Demons are just showering this snowy forest, coming out in extreme numbers, it might have gone over 300 now.


    These Demons spread around randomly in Ignis, which makes it a bit more threatening because it isn''t certain where they will go and who they will attack yet their numbers large.


    To shoot in the midst of the two portals is the best idea, burning a few trees down near the portal is helping as well. Because the Demons are dumb enough to chase after the glowing fire set a blaze on top of the trees, where they will be burned badly as a result.


    There are no Domains nearby either so she doesn''t have to fear about burning down innocent people when burning these random trees around the portals.


    Aiming became a bit hard, but right where the portals are, there is a bit more space to shoot due to natural formations.


    BOOM!


    Another 6 foot wide Fireball exploded where most demons stood, taking victim 12 or so Demons and badly injuring half of that amount.


    She glanced down and saw that several Demons have located where she is flying, they have gathered up around her, some leaping from the ground but only having the capability to jump 1-2 meters high. Obviously not good enough considering that she is over 30 meters high.


    Some Demons even put in more effort, climbing up the blazing trees just so they can leap higher. Some jumped off of the trees, with their bodies literally on fire and met the ground after which ended their stupidly formed misery.


    While some who leaped from the trees where shot down by Osira before they could even meet the ground, regardless they have absolutely no way of reaching her.


    She took a glance towards the west, and noticed that over a hundred Demons have started running towards the Direction where Eyil is hiding.


    As a first move, she decided to blast a 9 foot wide Fireball but to scale down the heat to 2/10 so her Stamina doesn''t get wiped out by this massive fireball!


    Taking a deep breath, she unleashed it with as much precision as she could. But a portion of it still managed to hit a couple of trees, while most of it managed to meet the ground and take 15 Demons victim!


    She started flying to the west, blasting as many Fireballs as one can without aiming at all. How many Demons she hits with this move is uncertain, but it will definitely ease her work when she drops to the ground to protect Eyil.


    As she was flying through the sky, blasting Fireballs like a maniac. She thought to herself, "Stay with me Eyil, I can''t lose you."

 Chapter 421 - A 100 foot Monstrosity

    Finally reaching Eyil''s hiding spot, after blowing through the air in maximum speed in hopes of not being late, she noticed that a small portion of Demons have stopped right in the entrance of the little Cave Eyil is at.


    A few seem to be clawing the entrance and several more are just screaming randomly or pacing around. This is far too dangerous, something has to be done about it.


    She shot a 3 foot wide Fireball towards the bundle, wanting to kill them but it''s hard enough to do so without accidentally burning Eyil.


    The Fireball was effective though, One Demon was inevitably sliced in half and the second one behind got its legs blown off. A three foot wide Fireball isn''t exactly small when you think about it.


    Aiming a little bit to make sure that she doesn''t hit Eyil, she shot the second Fireball. But before this one even reached its enemies, Osira saw a burst of blood in the midst of the Demons.


    "I hope that''s not your blood Eyil." She murmured to herself, and took a better glance at where the Fireball is landing.


    Taking the risk of flying 15 meters lower to take better shots after, she noticed that Demons already started climbing trees once noticing the glowing lady in the sky.


    Now this is the most dangerous, she is just 15 meters above the ground and it isn''t the hardest for trees to be that tall, there are a few tall trees (16-22 meters) on her left and shorter ones(12-14 meters) on her right while in the midst of them there is a clearing stretching about 7 or so meters wide.


    This opening is Osira''s safe spot, she just hopes that Demons can''t take a 4 meter long leap, they likely can but let''s just hope they don''t.


    She shot two Fireballs at once now that she has it easier to do so, it ripped apart the couple of Demons that were near the Cave and a little fire blew in the entrance as well.


    But she could see Iron reflecting sunlight, so likely Eyil wasn''t hit by this Fireball but the Sword was. No biggie, one Fireball can''t melt that Sword this easily.


    She heard a Demon breaking branch after branch on a tree over her left side, they aren''t the best at sneak attacks either because they shout all the way up and when they jump too.


    That Demon leaped towards her, she turned her glance slightly towards it before shooting. The Fireball struck the Demon on the chest, slowing down its gained momentum and bashing it against the ground 15 meters below.


    That was close, if she took another second to acknowledge the target, she would have several broken bones and a large claw mark across the left side of her waist.


    This situation is becoming more and more dangerous, the Portal just keeps spitting Demons out and 200 more arrived here near Eyil''s cave, luckily they are targeting Osira only or Eyil would already been dead. It wouldn''t take too long for a bundle of these Demons to claw a rocky entrance open.


    A thought ran through her mind, an idea which might help tame these Demonic numbers while she grabs Eyil and get the f.u.c.k out of here. She can''t hold it over her subconscious for Eyil to die because her Heroism couldn''t let this situation be without shooting a few Demons down!


    Her idea, what King Michael doesn''t recommend for her to do just yet. You got it, you guessed it, a glowing blazing Fire Tornado! Only that mass of Fire power can tame these Demons.


    To accomplish this move, it is obviously the best idea to reach closer to the ground first. Because if done from this height then the Tornado will just fly around on the sky without reaching the ground.


    She flew 5 meters closer to the ground, thinking this is the lowest she can go without being killed. Looking around, she spotted tens of Demons up on the trees already, some jumping off with no target and meeting the harsh ground.


    She shot one fireball first, then the second and then she shot three between one second. She isn''t aiming at the Demons though, but all the trees on her left instead.


    Shooting two more fireballs, and then again three more and so on continuing with better targeted shots, she managed to set all the closeby trees on her left on fire.


    Now, when Demons climb up they will likely be dead by the time they reach the top, if not they would still be far too disoriented to jump off with a proper targeting effort.


    She turned to her right, blew fire through her mouth towards the closest trees, moving her head she managed to catch a couple more trees on fire with this move alone.


    And while she was blasting fire through her mouth, she shot a couple towards the furthest trees. Stopping the fire that''s blowing through her mouth, she shot the remaining trees.


    Well now it''s a lot safer, for her at least. She will have to do the move fast and move to Eyil even faster after, this move will attract a lot of Demons in a matter of seconds even though the portals are over 300 meters away.


    Blowing Fire from her feet already, she maneuvered her feet so the Fire beneath them will make her spin in mid air, that took only a couple of seconds since the force below her feet is strong.


    She started blowing Fire from both of her palms after, and saw herself being surrounded by cone shaped Fire walls! This inevitably points out that the Fire Tornado started forming correctly and she can even see it growing bigger when looking up.


    But it needs to grow faster, so she started blowing fire from her mouth and gave in a bit more power to the fire blasted on her palms and started degrading the amount of fire she is blasting through her feet.


    She is blowing less through her feet because the Tornado needs to reach closer towards the ground. She is completely safe now, if any Demon charged towards the Tornado it will be sucked in for a few seconds and puked out set to a blaze.


    The only thing that can hurt her now, is if she made any wrong move and touched the Tornado around her. That could rip her arm off in a break of a second!


    Blowing fire, up to the scale of 8/10, she saw the Tornado super charge in size. What gave her little space to move around at the bottom of the Tornado a while ago, is now 6 meters of space. The trees around her have been taken victim by the Tornado.


    With the Tornado touching the ground now, while still spinning she stopped blasting Fire from her mouth and hands.


    With a lot more Fire blasting through her feet now, maneuvering her feet to spin a little slower now, she blew towards the sky in order to escape the Tornado.


    Once Fire from the Source (Osira), disconnects from the Tornado, it will run wild! The Tornado will suck in and burn everything in sight, Demons won''t be a challenge anymore.


    Flying away from the Tornado, and watching it go to the east away from Eyil, Osira noticed what a monstrosity she has created!


    This Tornado isn''t small, it Isn''t an embarrassment of a half Tornado she created in her first attempt. This freak of nature stretches 80-110 feet tall and is sucking in everything in sight!


    A Tornado this size isn''t for the light hearted and definitely not for the weaker Fire Controllers, this is huge progress for a 19 year old girl. I guess the thought of  losing Eyil has triggered her abilities for the better.


    To avoid the devastating heat of the Tornado, she flew around the opening she was at before. Dodging trees for a while until the Tornado went further away from where Eyil is standing, and closer to the Portals.


    Dropping to the ground, she noticed that there still are a lot of Demons here. The Tornado took most of them out, but at the moment there are about 50 of them running wild.


    Taking no chances of fighting each of them off, and risk seeing more of them eventually arrive. She shouted, "Eyil get out of there."


    A lot of Demons noticed her, and started charging towards her without thinking it twice, if they could think that is.


    Shooting the closest Demon she could see with a 3 foot wide Fireball, clapping her hands and moving them from the right side of her shoulder to the left side of her hip, she sliced a couple of Demons with this little move called the "Slicer".


    Feeling her Stamina dropping dangerously low, she shot another Demon with a two foot wide Fireball, blasting it''s arm and bit of its torso off and shouted again. "Eyil let''s get out of here!"

 Chapter 422 - Claw Marks

    Glancing at the large Fire Tornado she caused taking victim hundreds of Demons, afterwards looking at the Demons closest to her counting over 40, decisions became slim considering her low Stamina.


    Eyil isn''t making a sound, he isn''t answering regardless of how much Osira is shouting. Turning around, she ran towards the cave and leaped in head first!


    Thankfully, she didn''t fail to slip through the small entrance. Last thing she needed right now was a bump in the head or a cracked neck come to think of it.


    From this Cave she at least has a vantage point, her Stamina can recover a little bit and all she has to do is blast a Demon head or two once they try to slip in.


    It wouldn''t take much heat for a head to be blown up, which means she won''t blow herself into unconsciousness after a few shots due to intense lack of Stamina.


    Tumbling through the dirt in the little cave a couple of times, once regaining orientation she witnessed a scene she never wanted to see.


    She finds Eyil knocked out cold, a blood pool growing underneath him and claw marks across his upper chest. Apparently the sword he has wasn''t long enough to fend off Demons without getting struck by one of them!


    Shouting his name first and murmuring after. "Eyil, by the god of Sources!" She couldn''t help but to instantly break a tear as she ran towards him as fast as she could!


    Holding his stomach, she managed to figure out if Eyil is breathing or not. "Thank Source, he is breathing."


    She slipped her hand under his shoulders and lifted him up enough for him to sit, although unconscious.


    She removed his fur coat first and afterwards removed his leather jerking as well, the idea is to cover the wounds so he doesn''t drop more blood.


    HIAAAAAA!


    A demon shouted through the little entrance as it tried to claw its way in, deafening really and can shock one into unconsciousness if not expecting it.


    She jumped back a little bit, and didn''t hesitate to attack. With a one foot wide low heated Fireball, she shot the Demon''s arm off along with the left side of its head.


    Talking to herself, sweat breaking from her forehead. "That should do it."


    Putting his fur coat behind him, and letting him down lightly, she grabbed the Sword from Eyil''s hand and started cutting through his leather jerking.


    In midway of her work, trying to rush it all through since Eyil is losing a massive amount of blood, another Demon poked its head through the hole.


    But this one didn''t yell, surprising really. As if it was trying to see what the Cave has, but what happened next was worse than being clawed by these foul creatures.


    The Demon opened its mouth and started making weird sounds, low toned and actually soothing to the ears for once.


    However, the reason of this Demon making that sound is less soothing. It appears that this Demon is mating with another from the outside, at least that''s what Osira figures considering all the heavy breathing coming with it.


    It isn''t certain if it can spot Osira due the the lack of illumination the Demon caused once stuffing its head through the little entrance, but at this point Osira hoped for the Demon to shout instead.


    Trying to think positively about this, she spoke to herself. "Well at least it will keep other Demons out for a little while."


    Afterwards she continued to cut through the cloth, trying to form a patch big enough to cover all the claw marks!


    The marks through his upper chest stretch 4 to 7 inches long, there are three of them which means that Eyil got struck once only.


    She lifted Eyil for him to sit again, and tried to tie the leather cloth around him as quickly as possible. Hard to do really since she has to hold him and tie his wounds too.


    "Osira... what happened?" Eyil murmured, and twitched in pain right after.


    "You''ve been struck by a claw Eyil." Osira became very direct, and showed him what he is supposed to do. "All you need to do is try not to die, leave everything else to me."


    Becoming more aware of his surroundings, noticeably tired in his tone Eyil asked. "Ummm. What''s sound? Why dark?"


    "Oh right." Osira answered, shot a one foot wide Fireball against the Demon and provided the cave with a little light once bashing the Demons away.


    Afterwards, she wasn''t shy to explain. "Those Demons were f.u.c.k.i.n.g."


    "Really? Now? This situation?" Eyil felt a bit shocked, but once considering how mindless these Demons are he lost his feeling of surprise.


    AAAAAAAYIIIIIIIGGGG!


    Another Demon poked its head through the little entrance and thankfully just shouted this time.


    It terrified both of them, Osira out of reflex hugged Eyil and caused a bit of pain on his wounds, but immediately backed off once she noticed him flinch in pain.


    "Sorry." She apologised, last thing she wanted was to hurt him more.


    Shooting a one foot wide Fireball against this Demon, she found satisfaction seeing blood blow up from its head.


    After that, she found it best to point out, "Try to get used to those shouts for a little while."


    Feeling concerned Eyil had to catch up on the situation. "We won''t get out?"


    "We will, but I need to stop your blood from dripping or else you will die Eyil. I''m not going to lie to you, this situation is bad!" This isn''t the time to lie, Eyil isn''t a child and needs to understand this situation.


    A minute or so later, Osira managed to patch him up perfectly. Him being conscious, able to sit straight helped her a lot.


    Dizzy, his vision blurry and hardly able to move his limbs, he spoke. "I feel weak."


    "Well you lost a lot of blood, members of my tribe felt better once eating meat when going through large blood loss like this." Well at least Osira can help with this too.


    She rushed towards Eyil''s bag, tossed by him on the edge of the cave for the sake of feeling loosened and fight better. She is panicking a little bit, even forgot that she is carrying a backpack too.


    Pulling some meat out and shoving it into Eyil''s mouth later, she encouraged. "Chew on this as fast as you can, I unleashed a Fire Tornado so we do have a little time to recover."


    "Really? You Expert now! You Level 4!" Eyil celebrated with a chunk of fried meat in his mouth.


    "I guess I am, I really didn''t expect to become an expert today." She sat close to him, happy about her progress but also sad since a Fire Tornado also links with her biggest embarrassment. "I feel very tired."


    HHHHAAAAOOO!


    Another crazed Demon pinned its head through the little hole, and Osira felt a bit less spooked this time and yet again did not fail to blow a head up.


    Thoughtful, although still feeling sharp pains on his chest. Eyil tried to guide her, "Your little Stamina, stop shooting."


    Becoming a little bit descriptive about her Stamina, she explained. "These Fireballs take little Stamina, I''m regenerating about 8 times more than I''m wasting. Or at least that''s what I feel it''s happening."


    Completely dependent on her, Eyil tried to compliments. "Good, then we survive."


    Pitching an idea, she explained. "We will, but your wounds are bad. We need to get to Gaster Kingdom, it won''t be easy but at least Ladia and Eric can spare you from months worth of healing."


    ...


    Crawling out of the Cave, she saw herself surrounded by over 70 Demons and couldn''t see the Fire Tornado anywhere either.


    Considering that fact, there will be hundreds of Demons here any moment so they need to move fast!


    Feeling a little bit stronger, she saw three Demons close by on her left and didn''t fail to shoot them down one by one.


    However, that Fireball caught a lot of attention. She started noticing Demons running through the woods on her right and a good portion running towards her from the front.


    She started shooting as much Demons as she could in front of her, and occasionally tried to look around so she doesn''t get jumped.


    She shouted, "Eyil hurry up."


    Wounded, Eyil first pushed his backpack through then tried to climb out himself. But his power wasn''t enough no matter how much he kicked up.


    He refused to ask for help, but Osira noticed him struggling. So she shot the closest Demons as fast as she could, three Fireballs a second and turned around.


    She grabbed Eyil by the Elbows and pulled him through under two seconds, his wounds might have gotten hurt here a little bit but there is no time to waste!


    She turned around to shoot a few more Demons as Eyil tried to stand up straight with his backpack on his hand.


    "Okay now let''s go!" She spoke swiftly once seeing that the area is  a bit more clear.


    Slipping one arm underneath his shoulder and the other underneath his knees, with struggle she lifted him up and tried to fly away.


    "Eyil try to empty your bag, I don''t have enough Stamina!" She shouted as she flew about 15 feet above the ground.


    "But the meat!" Eyil complained, unwilling to let go.


    "Forget the meat, we can get more along the way. Empty your bag!" She shouted once more, trying to reason with this man.


    As he was emptying it, they were already close to the portal. Meaning Osira although lacking Stamina, carried Eyil along with two filled Backpacks 15 feet above the ground.


    She is a strong lady, but the backpack being emptied now is terrible timing!


    Because although Demons thankfully stopped bursting through the portal, the dangers are in no way over yet.


    15 feet close to the portal, she sensed a Demon jumping from a tree with the two Humans flying across the air as a target.


    Eyil getting clawed again will definitely kill him and if Osira gets clawed they are both as good as doomed, they wouldn''t be able to fly away.


    Clearly unable to fly up, she flew down about ten feet, and that''s where they dug themselves in to more trouble!


    Trying to avoid that Demon she flew right through the portal, leaving Earth together with Eyil.

 Chapter 423 - Puk pak puk puk

    What remained of the Great-Headed Lizard has been distributed as food throughout the beautiful Gaster Kingdom, you would think that consuming a possible demon can be harmful, but no.


    After all, this Lizard is just a rare species who has been mutated from Demon Meat consumption, it becoming food is completely safe for Humans.


    The rules are weird, but at least they work for the Domain''s favour. It would be a shame to watch a literal ton of meat going rotten, although it is just enough to feed these people for a week or less.


    Security measures have become a must ever since the Demons first attacked Gaster Kingdom! Guards have been on their toes, most have been taking 10 hour shifts for the sake of protecting their families and slacking off is in no way an option logically or morally.


    Since they had to work only 8 hours a day, it shows that most extra work has been put in voluntarily. Of course the salary spiking up to 200 Gold Coins a month granted some motivation, but most wouldn''t choose gold over family.


    Since it has been well proven that ranged attacks work best against these crazed Demons, all of the 205 Guards have been practicing Archery lately. Since all 205 can''t be on the walls all the time, half trained and the other half were on patrol.


    This situation isn''t as bad as King Michael thought it to be in the heat of the moment, although one Demon can take twenty or so men victim in close combat, it can''t even do half that damage to Archers.


    50 Archers on the walls, showering these wicked beings with sun reflecting arrows is good enough to fight over ten Demons at once in short notice.


    Now imagine if all 205 were to defend this place against 10 Demons!


    The enemies would have been dead before even reaching a 50 meter radius from this Domain.


    King Michael taught the Guards one simple rule. If any Fire Controller isn''t yet in the battle field against Demons, the least these couple Platoons of Guards can do is prevent the Demons from reaching the walls.


    If they reach the walls, the tides can be splashed against this Domain for the worst. These Demons have claws sharp, curled and big enough to be excellent climbers.


    This wall would be but a short lasting obstacle, so the Guards have to be the main obstacle keeping these crazed beings away.


    And they are succeeding, there have been small bundles of Demons attacking this nice Domain with hours and hours as a gap.


    Archers were able to penetrate through their skin and bones, putting them down for good.


    One Fire Controller always has to stay on the walls along with the Platoon while the rest would only join if the approaching Demons are too much to handle.


    In other words Eric, Mogranius and King Michael are putting in 8 hour shifts at the moment.


    ...


    Having these Guards going an extra mile to protect this place is nice and all but eventually the numbers of Guards will drop due to these Demonic attacks.


    King Michael can''t have these Guards only protecting the whole Kingdom alone, and he certainly can''t have the Fire Controllers sleep 4 hours a day or so, sleeping with paranoia, waiting for another Demonic attack.


    It is best to increase security measures! One solution would be to send a message all the way across the Continent towards the Hidden Domain and ask to bring more Fire Blasters here.


    And of course another solution is to bring Calidum Lutum men and women here to aid against the Demons, that plan is already in process since Dilli is flying to the New Lan Zhe for recruitment.


    But King Michael has another idea in mind, a little project that was active before these Demons started attacking. Mutations!


    The King has done countless mutation experiments on Rats and discovered what no other Human put to the test, in Ignis at least.


    Although he can''t send Rats to battle Demons, one beautiful specimen has been mutated to perfection, battle-wise.


    The Chicken!


    Of course I would be talking about that 3 foot tall Chicken, a tremendously powerful bird capable to lift up to 100 Kilos once getting a firm grip of the enemy.


    This is a good way to fend off enemies because one, losing a Chicken isn''t as bad as losing a Human and two, this Domain has enough Chickens to mutate.


    But before mutating more of them, this one Chicken has to be tested in battle and today a beautiful opportunity arose.


    7 Demons are coming from behind the Kingdom, on the opposite side of the main gate and quite the opposite side from where they first popped up. They aren''t directly coming towards the Kingdom but are running randomly enough to pose a threat.


    King Michael flew towards the sky to end most of them while the Chicken stood firmly close to Commander Alia.


    Her and the Chicken have formed a good bond, mostly because this is the same Chicken Commander Alia calmed down in the very beginning when they were panicking because of being in a net.


    Commander Alia has it easy to bond with animals and grand peace with them, calm them down for the better.


    I mean just look, a mutated Chicken powerful enough to easily break bones with her claws, is casually standing close to the Human lady, watching King Michael fly away.


    Flying across the sky, King Michael saw a couple more Demons rising from the sea and following their brothers and sisters in craze. This firmly points out that the 7 other Demons also came out of the sea, although still uncertain why the numbers are this small.


    These Demons aren''t running together, and they are fast. Both of these facts equal to the soul point that these Demons have become hard to hit.


    He shot a two foot wide Fireball, trying to be savvy with his Stamina for the sake of not wasting a 6 foot wide fireball to the ground.


    He was right to do so as he missed his target by a meter, saw the Fireball burning a small circle of snow. Satisfying at best but he can''t waste much time, the Archers can''t help him much unless one Demon is far away from the King.


    He started following a Demon, hovering 10 feet above it and trying to find the best time to shoot.


    Noticing that other Demons started following him, or best described following the strange glowing Fire beneath the King''s feet, his job has been made a bit easier here.


    These Demons are running on their fours, so it has become a bit easier to inflict more damage to individual Demons with just one shot from above.


    But that of course means that it''s harder to shoot several Demons at once since them being on their fours takes more space across the snowy fields.


    He first shot a Fireball against the Demon he was chasing, a nice three foot wide Fireball which hit the Demon through most of the spine and split its whole body in half.


    A terrible scene to see, but considering the heat a Grand Master of Fire Blasting can pack, there are barely any internal organs to see. The snow has been mostly coated with blood, so that''s the most disturbing apart from the stench that will follow shortly.


    Slowing down after shooting that one Demon, he slowed down and flew about 5 feet higher for the sake of safety.


    Counting, he saw 6 Demons jumping around below him. Trying to kill the strange glow above them, although they are hurting theirselves mostly instead since illogical Demons with sharp claws jumping around only leads to cutting one another.


    Seeing the golden opportunity, he crossed away being savvy and blew a ten foot wide Fireball against them!


    It howled across the air shortly before it struck one jumping Demon first, giving it no chance to howl in pain and then it took victim most of what was beneath him.


    Noticing that one Demon is running away with a limb missing, he took the Demons disability to his advantage, being swift to shoot a two foot wide Fireball before the Demon runs away.


    Most of the Demons have been taken care off, while two more are running wild.


    One actually charging towards the Kingdom and the other running around the fields. He shot the closest easily and didn''t rush towards the one rushing towards his domain. There are a bunch of Guards and this is when the Chicken can be put to the test.


    Commander Alia tapped the Chicken''s head lightly and encouraged. "It''s your time to shine now girl."


    The Chicken first leaped over the walls and afterwards spread its wings open, beautifully 10 feet across, proving how big she has become.


    The Demon although fast, it wasn''t quick enough to escape the Chicken''s attack!


    She swooped down from the sky, bashed its claws through the Demon''s back flesh, lifted it up for about ten feet and tossed it with all its might about twenty more feet away!


    The Demon ended up terribly wounded but it is still strong enough to stand up and fight, although it didn''t really matter.


    The Chicken swooped down again, this time managing to grab its head since the Demon was standing on its hind legs.


    The Chicken''s claws are strong enough to crush bones, so in this case it crushed the Demon''s skull badly and caused a quick death.


    Oh it would be terrible to look at it up close, there are six holes behind the Demon''s skull and two on the sides.


    She tossed the Demon again for another 15 feet, noticing how it''s dead now she dropped to the ground and tip clawed towards the Demon.


    Puk puk puk pak.


    The Chicken spoke lightly amongst herself, assured that the Demon is 100% dead and started pecking on the carcasses neck.


    Thankfully the Chicken didn''t get mutated again, as its intent wasn''t to eat the Demon and her beak is as good as closed.


    Ripping the carcass'' head off after a few pecks, she picked the head up and started flying towards the walls.


    Eventually reaching Commander Alia, she dropped the bloody ugly Demonic head to the ground and went. "Puk pak pak puk."


    A bit confused and no doubt disgusted too, although proud. She asked the Chicken, "Is this some kinda gift?"


    "Puk puk pak pak puk."

 Chapter 424 - She doesnt like you!

    With the Battle Chicken terrifyingly successful against these wicked Demons, King Michael found it best to mutate four more Chickens to increase the odds of battle success just in case of an overwhelming demonic attack is in process.


    After all what are a few eggs less or best described a few gold coins less, when safety is a prime aim? Since these Battle Chickens are so effective, it only makes sense to have a few more ready just in case.


    When you glance at this from another point of view, 5 Chickens in total can only do so much against Demons. For example they can''t blow Fireballs and massacre a bundle of Demons at once.


    Most specifically, individually they can commonly handle one Demon at a time which when fighting off over a Hundred Demons won''t pay off in the short term.


    But these beautifully mutated Chickens bring at least three battle perks. First and foremost, they are almost invincible against a crazed randomly running around Demon.


    They can just swoop down, clash their claws through a target''s skull and f.u.c.k.i.n.g toss it 10 feet away. In most cases that would cause a near death experience to an enemy or at least mass disorientation since those claws are strong enough to crash a skull.


    Secondly, although valuable these Chickens aren''t as valuable as a Human being. Sure they have rights, but in a Continent where everyone is facing a mass population drop, losing more Humans is just stupid especially if those people are Zamerians.


    The Zamerians came all the way from another Continent, 1,400 Kilometers away for a better life. No one would want to face a Demon and think, "Yes I will die for 200 Gold Coins".


    The Zamerians came here to live a better life, and most would put in work and effort to attain that better life. Killing them in battle against these Demons wouldn''t be favourable.


    Is sending animals to possible death for the sake of survival, the best thing? Hell no! But it is either win or get killed, King Michael personally wants his Domain to win and any other King would want the same.


    Third but definitely not least they can ease the tension of battle when the mass Demonic invasion bash their feet against this snow, with aims to destroy everyone and everything in sight.


    Let me break it down for you, let''s say there are 400 Demons busting out of the Ocean in their crazed usual way, trying to slaughter everything.


    Now since battles between Demons and Humans are mostly tackled quickly regardless what side wins, it points out towards the sole fact that each of the five Chickens would have at least a few minutes to contribute in battle.


    Let''s say one chicken manages to kill 2 Demons per minute and the battle lasts ten minutes. When you pile numbers together, each Chicken would kill 20 Demons between those ten minutes.


    This narrows everything down to what the two Platoons would prefer to deal with. Would they want to deal with 400 Demons or 300?


    The answer is simple, they would want to deal with less and the death rate in that battle for the Humans would be lower.


    These Chickens almost being invincible towards Demons in other terms points out that their rights have been fulfilled too, they likely won''t die in one battle and they can contribute in other battles with a massive kill count considering how little they are in numbers[5].


    This explanation has become rather extensive, but it shows us the c.u.mulative badassery of 5 mutated Chickens although they too have weaknesses.


    One bonus perk I''d like to butcher, they are freaking mutated 3 foot tall Chickens! Who in their right mind wouldn''t want them in their Army?


    King Michael is truly a genius and his curiosity towards mutations leads to the fact that he is using Demonic attributes to beat the Demons.


    This is survival of the fittest, or the smartest if you will. It adds a lot more meaning when you consider how his curiosity towards the unusual started when he wanted to bury emotional pain!


    Okay now moving to the most important points, four more Chicken mutants have to be made today.


    Eric is dying to know and gaze upon how these mutants are made, he isn''t the most used to them although he has seen mutants before.


    His curiosity is raging through his mind to the point where he can''t sit without itching once thinking that one man close by is mutating Chickens.


    He had to ask Mogranius to take his patrolling shift for now because as mentioned before one Fire Controller has to always stay with the Guards just in case of an overwhelming Demonic attack.


    Mogranius agreed within a break of a second, he was bored already and isn''t the most interested in Demons considering he was eye to stone with the actual Source of Fire.


    He also saw a Whale Bear so there will be little that surprise him or interest him from that point, mutant-wise.


    Alama is sitting this one out though, these mutations won''t be anything new or anything worth writing a parchment for, plus she can''t handle the stench.


    Oh my Source the stench! A Demonic carcass smells so bad, that it would be equal to putting 6 dead animals together, throwing garlic over them and dumping human shit over them as well.


    In other words, the stench is traumatizing although King Michael negotiated with some fish to bring another Demon body while he torched the two previous bodies.


    Spotting Ladia and Eric walking in, King Michael instantly spoke. "Alright kids, who wants to see me make these Chickens battle perfectionists."


    But before King Michael could properly finish the sentence, Eric held his nose and with a high pitched tone complained. "By the God of Sources, the smell!"


    Finding his reaction funny, considering that it''s happening to someone new now, Ladia the nice little Zamerian lady added. "You will learn the smell."


    Holding three separate and different chunks of meat on his hand, having this recipe memorized already. He tip toed towards the first tall but thin barred Cage, and said. "Okay Chicken, chew on this."


    And afterwards gently threw down the Demonic pieces of meat. Now the effort behind this mutation is to grant the Chicken with the three sided combo.


    This combo includes Demonic head, toe and waist meat! It''s effects? Well let me refresh your memory!


    Eric Jumped two steps back and mildly shouted, "Wow!"


    Reasons behind his amazed shock? Well, "So that''s what makes these Chickens so tall?"


    "Um yes... well yes. They grow in size, double the size if I''m correct." Checking Alama''s parchments to reassure, the King added. "Yes yes, definitely double the size. Three foot tall."


    Continuing to glance upon the Chicken in amazement, Eric murmured. "It''s amazing!"


    Another similar tone complimented the King''s tone, as she walked in the room. "Rats taught the King how to mutate."


    Turning around, and instantly noticing a friendly face, the King answered. "Not exactly Alia, but Rats should be worshipped at this rate."


    Knowing that possible embarrassing situations are close, Eric asked. "You heard about the mutation ha?"


    It''s not like he doesn''t love Alia, but she tends to get too motherly and start pinching his cheek and stuff. Not used to social interactions, nonetheless love and care, Eric would get as red as a ruby in shyness.


    "I''m curious." Alia answered, although heavily lying.


    Most of the reasons she is here, is to make sure that Eric won''t end up traumatized by anything happening through these mutations.


    Ironic considering that Eric killed before, but her motherly instincts tend to kick in although illogical sometimes.


    As the two were having this small little talk, King Michael has already added the additional Demonic Toe meat required to continue with the second stage of this mutation.


    They didn''t notice that mutation happening though, up until the point where the Chicken made them look at her as she bashed her claws against the metal base of the cage a couple of times, forcing a ear punching sound.


    Eric covered his ears, Commander Alia gazed upon the majestic feathery Chicken and pointed out with her tone rising in enthusiasm as if she found her long lost cousin. "It has bigger feet!"


    Feeling an itching urge to correct, King Michael spoke as he raised his fore finger. "Claws technically, they are triple the size now!"


    "Whatever they walk on, I don''t want to be close to them. I always wondered how you made their feet that big." She is the closest to these battle Chickens considering she is almost a certified animal whisperer or tamer, she knows how to calm them down and loves them a lot.


    "Now you know hehe." The King giggled as he glanced at the Chicken and requested. "I need you close by for this one though, it could get dangerous."


    "Really? Well better crack a Fire Shield open." A golden recommendation really, why should she be close to danger?


    Walking towards the Demon carcass and cutting off a piece of waist meat from it, he explained. "It''s not that dangerous, just stay close just in case the Chicken needs calming down."


    Dipping the little chunk of meat through the tall Cage, they saw the Chicken obtain a beak double in size and a couple of seconds later, using that powerful beak she started chewing on the thin metal bars.


    Almost finishing his words, King Michael spoke. "This is why I needed you close by, this beak can now peck through flesh and bone."


    But was interrupted by Commander Alia who was bold enough to stuff her hand through the cage, started petting the Chicken and repeated in a soft delicate tone equal to that of an Angel''s. "Calm down baby girl, it''s nothing."


    Trying to excuse his own work, the King pondered. "I don''t think these Chickens feel actual pain through these mutations... stress maybe."


    Bold enough, and although unintentionally funny, Alia added. "It''s not that, she just doesn''t like you."


    Confused, and taking a step back, he answered. "And you understood that from a peck?"


    Uncomfortably detailing, Commander Alia continued explaining. "Not the peck itself, but I can sense her back arching against you. Animals actually have preferences, grudges and individual personalities if you actually paid attention enough to notice."


    Recalling some memories, finding a horrible realization he felt comfortable enough around these people to explain. "I think this is the same Chicken that made me kiss mud when I tried to catch her and the rest in the beginning."


    Considering danger factors, King Michael pitched. "We just need to expand its wingspan and we are good to go, later you will help me fix my relationship with this Chicken."

 Chapter 425 - Healing Training

    Being given an hour or so to breathe freely, thanks to the fact that there are only 2 or so Demons emerging from the water under an hour or two and of course thanks to the fact that Mogranius is all over the Patrol shift, young Eric here has a bit more time to sharpen his powers.


    He is an Expert Fire Controller no doubt, a Hatchling in Lava Controlling too but the power he looks the most forward to train at the moment are his beautifully helpful Healing Powers.


    Eric is powerful enough alone, but life has no limits when it comes to bringing physical damage! He can get hurt, his friends can get hurt as well and having healing powers helps him feel the sense of immunity towards danger although not immortality.


    He obviously won''t be able to become a Grand Master in a span of a day or a year come to think of it, but it''s always handy to have a healer in his or best called their Arsenal!


    The best way to hone his healing powers properly, has become through reading pricy books written in the Zamerian language, thankfully Ladia is here to be a good translator and learn herself too.


    Mostly, King Michael likes to monitor Ladia''s progress since she is a very valuable person in this Kingdom and if there is any way he can help her progress faster, he would want to help.


    Furthermore he is interested into researching how Healers do their thing, although he most likely won''t become a healer himself since he doesn''t have the power.


    Those two facts aside, he can''t be here and help these kids progress since he along with Commander Alia are trying to train the Chickens, trying to prepare them for battle in any way possible.


    ...


    Ladia practically being Eric''s teacher at the moment, although younger than him, decided to help the Electus by starting off with the most basic spells or best called power moves.


    Muscle healing! Starting off with healing sprained ankles, wrists or any kind or muscle tension can help set down an essential base of practice which can help any Healer progress a hunch faster when they try more advanced pieces of work.


    Well, at least that''s what the book for Hatchlings (Level 1) healers says. So trying her best to explain, with all the Ignite language she knows, Ladia spoke. "Uhh, do you know wrist slapping?"


    Trying her best to understand her, which in a way pushed his social anxiety away, he let silence stretch for a few seconds before answering. "You mean that thing you did on King Michael when he got struck by that big Lizard?"


    Roughly understandable, but good enough for the older Eric who often stutters, she explained. "Yes yes, it''s child toy. You just need to tap arm or leg with finger and try heal patch by patch."


    Although willing to learn, he sure hopes this is easy so he bumps from one word to another trying to express himself quickly. "Does it require concentration? Because King Michael and Mogranius idolise concentration!"


    Understanding the Electus, since as a child she isn''t the best with concentration either, she tried to reassure him. "No no it easy, you just focus tiny and just tap tap tap tap!"


    Tapping made her think of something else she read in the book, and since Eric doesn''t usually reply in 2 seconds or less she used the silence to give a better explanation as she tapped her book. "It says in book that Hatchling can heal wrist with 4 - 8 tap tap taps and ankle with 7 - 11 taps."


    Concern growing through his subconscious, he decided it best to ask about it. "Its no problem if we over do it right? I''m not the best with remembering numbers."


    Having read this book for hours at a time now, she memorized everything enough to answer with 100% accuracy. "No harm, if muscle healed they will no longer pain sharp taps by every hit."


    Pointing out the obvious, he spoke. "I guess I need to wait for anyone to sprain their ankle to use this one."


    Freely expressive although younger, she spoke. "Boar crap, you can try on my wrist. If you can make finger glow its good enough."


    After that she reached her arm out, lightly dropped her book on the table and said. "Try, imagine you healing muscle."


    Not so comfortable with holding anyone''s wrist, especially a lady''s for obvious shy reasons, he tried to sugar coat his words with. "Are you sure it won''t hurt?"


    Appreciating the Electus how he doesn''t want to hurt any friend, it gave her more motivation to help him progress so she insisted. "Very! Even if it will, a sprained leg hurt a lot more than sharp heal."


    Avoiding grabbing her arm, he just started tapping on her wrist without giving much of a reply. "Okay."


    Rushing it a little bit, he tapped on her arm 7 times without even a tiny bit of light shining from his forefinger.


    Seeing that he is rushing, which in countless ways can take that little bit of concentration he has, Ladia advised. "Slow down, book speaks no run."


    Since these books are once again a topic, they didn''t come cheap at all. Crazy expensive even though the Ruler of Lav Kingdom helped Michael attain small discounts.


    The first book alone for example, meaning the book that teaches everything a Healer needs to know about progressing through the Hatchling Level[1], has been bought for 500 Gold Coins!


    Crazy expensive for a book, half of an average Zamerain salary actually but it''s little compared to book 2 who teaches Young Cubs [Level 2] Healers. That book alone has been bought for a total price of 1,400 Gold Coins.


    But the prices don''t stop there, they continue to ascend towards the furthest. Magicians or differently called Level 3 Healers, would need to pay 3,000 Gold Coins if they wish to progress through Level 3 with a book to their aid.


    To cut it short, ook 4 has been bought for 4,600 Gold Coins.


    Book 5 has cost 7,000 Gold Coins.


    And book 6, the highly valued piece of beneficial literature that helps one learn everything a Grand Master needs to know, has a total price of 10,000 Gold Coins!


    You would wonder why the King would pay this much for books, especially since the Kingdom would likely not need the three last books for a painfully long time.


    His answer is simple, tomorrow isn''t promised and now that he had the chance to buy all 6 books, why not? Paying a total of 26.5k for these books is hectic, but it''s better to get it over with.


    Having a full trained Healer in his Domain will prove extremely useful in terms of keeping the population count steady here, one is enough to sustain all these 800 people.


    Hilariously, King Michael hopes that more Healers won''t emerge from the Zamerian citizens he has in this Domain because it would necessarily mean that they would need separate books as well.


    Sure Eric and Ladia are sharing these books, but it would become more troublesome to learn if 3-6 kids share one source of "magical education".


    On another side note, thanks to this purchase the total piled up Budget here in Gaster Kingdom has dropped from 385,500 Gold Coins to 359,000.


    It''s hard to see it drop this fast considering all the work the whole Domain put in to attain this gold, but between giving compensations and making necessary payments like this one, extra spending can and will become more often for the sake of progress and protection.


    "Hello hello hello..." Ada stretched one word as she burst through the Kitchen doors.


    The two Healers here didn''t stray from the Castle, it''s cold outside and who wouldn''t want to be around fancy King food?


    Her attitude sweet, the look on her face being blank enough to express calmness, these points alone make it clear that she didn''t come here to cause any trouble. "King Michael told me you two are here, I want to see you two train."


    Feeling a lot more comfortable that he and Ladia aren''t alone in a room anymore, although that little lady wouldn''t do anything to attract the Electus and just wants to train. Eric gave a little unnoticeable sigh and expressed. "Glad you are here."


    Although unintended, Ladia projected a slightly harsh thought. "Now we have another subject train on hehe."


    Basically any human being having it irritatingly hard to offend this kind 15 year old ill.u.s.tratian lady, she once again showed her level of maturity by tagging along. "Anything you need me for, I can help. So always call me when you are training!"


    Although beating around the bush for the sake of not fighting over silly stuff like this, Ada is jealous! Having female friends is alright, but being alone with them and holding wrists like that can be easily misunderstood for the worst.


    Highly agreeing, Eric smiled widely and nodded. "Totally!"

 Chapter 426 - Please help my Daughter!

    "Hehe your muscles are getting bigger, just in case you didn''t notice." Kaleem complimented, but doesn''t this mean that in one way he has been purposely looking at Lia''s arm muscles daily?


    Smiling, and flexing her right arm with a curl, she asked. "You think so?"


    Trying not to sound too weird, although they are dating each other, trying to keep his tone normal as well, he found a little excuse. "Definitely, all the work we are doing paid off."


    A huge fan, although extremely capable of hiding it, she pointed out with a bit more enthusiasm. "You have completely buffed in size, double actually. I remember how you were like a twig when we met."


    A bit shy, thinking his past is a little embarrassing, he thought it best to use his powers as a little gate way to escape the bad sides of his past. "A twig, who punched a tower down and Kidnapped a King."


    Jokingly, trying to tease him once noticing what he''s trying to do, Lia spoke out with a giggle interrupting her own sentences. "A very powerful twig."


    The conversation of muscles although interesting at first, it turned into a teasing battle in a matter of seconds.


    Hoping that it won''t lead to any fights, although a little paranoid since these two kids are only playing, Saleem [Father of Kaleem] interrupted. "Kids, we all know who has the most muscle."


    As he finished that little sentence, he was already mid way through flexing both his arms as he arched his back forwards, almost forming an upside down heart with his arms.


    His muscles are almost the size of Kaleem''s waist, a little bit bulk and textureless now considering all the meat he is chucking down, and he even has a little potbelly.


    However the case, he is the only powerless [Or magicless] guy who can hurl a spear in terrifyingly fast speeds for over 50 meters, so he wins this little muscle show.


    Daydreaming, Kaleem added. "I''ll eventually grow as big as you pops."


    Jim, feeling left out as the least muscly person here, added as he tip toed over the sand. "Brute strength doesn''t matter if you don''t know how to swing!"


    It''s nice to see Ignites and ill.u.s.tratios getting along, and actually dating... although Saleem and Jim aren''t a couple obviously.


    To refresh your memory a little bit, Kaleem and Lia are two people with powers who fit in the "Evolved" Category.


    They are called evolved, because although their powers are based on one of the eight Sources/Demons, they don''t have any of the 8 usual powers.


    Kaleem is now 19 years old, his ability is Super strength obviously. He discovered his powers while he accidentally buried his father [Saleem] with iron ore.


    While, Lia the 18 year old tiny nugget who grew just an inch taller ever since these two met a year and a half ago, is indestructible.


    She discovered her powers when she took a Swordfish to the face while on a boat, an extremely painful way to discover them but hey at least she is alive.


    Now these four people are all piled up together in Gaster Kingdom, getting a 500 Gold Coins salary, fishing out Striped Marlins to aid this Domain''s income.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in the Gaster Castle, a Guard rushed in the dining room and with sweat breaking from his forehead, explained. "I''m sorry for interrupting my King, but a Zamerian man desperately requests to talk to you!"


    A bit shocked, it came in as adrenaline rushing considering his peace being suddenly disturbed. All the King could say was, "Really? Why?" As he chewed on a piece of bread.


    Knowing his responsibilities and procedures as a Guard through a situation like this, he was ready for this question and swiftly answered. "He won''t tell me, I can''t understand him enough but he is very scared about something."


    Seeing that the situation is very sensitive, King Michael didn''t bother to go to the Throne Room where a lot of Guards can hear about this delicate topic. "Bring him in here."


    The Zamerian man walked in half a minute after, looking down towards his own two feet first which in one way shows a little shame but mostly well intended silence.


    King Michael understood right away what''s happening here, so he glanced at the Guard first then turned around to spot a couple of maids behind him and said. "Can you three give us a minute?"


    He didn''t say anything to Alama, and hopes that this Zamerian man under stress is open around her as well. Overall she felt happy to not get kicked out, but has enough manners to ask. "Should I get out too?"


    Smiling at her, even in such a situation, the King murmured. "No please stay."


    Without even waiting for the King to grant permission of speech, the second those three people left. This Zamerian man, with a small hard to notice tear breaking out and with his tone shaking, spoke. "Daughter gets help healing? She is cursed today!"


    Having it a bit hard to put two and two together considering the massive language differences, this Zamerian man not understanding or speaking the Ignite/ill.u.s.tratian language enough as well.


    With a calm, comforting tone King Michael asked with aims of understanding more. "I''m sorry, I didn''t understand you. You think your daughter is cursed?"


    And as King Michael asked that question, Alama was already two steps ahead on discovering what''s happening here.


    She thinks that this Zamerian man either heard some stupid rumour about his own daughter or saw her do anything abnormal.


    Nodding a few times, the distressed father repeated. "Yes yes yes." And tried to explain a little bit more regarding this topic. "I see blue light."


    Trying to tame this situation, he first assured. "No one can hurt your daughter with me as the Ruler. No one!"


    The King figured that since privacy was demanded, along with the request to heal his daughter, this is a loving father who doesn''t want to see his own daughter being called a Dark Sorcerer.


    But for the sake of research, and understanding this situation furthermore, King Michael found it best to request. "But you are being unclear, can you bring your daughter here in the Castle so we can see. I have high doubts that she is cursed."


    With firm confidence that the King is wrong about the curse, and with an upgraded hope that the King will help heal his cursed daughter, the Zamerian man nodded and walked out of the room.


    A bit glad that this uncomfortable situation is half over, Alama also was curious to ask of the King''s opinion. "What do you think his daughter can do?"


    Puzzled, recalling that healers burst Green Light when they use their powers, King Michael stroked his beardless chin and answered. "I''m not sure... maybe it''s a new form of healing?"


    ...


    The topic obvious, sitting on his throne as he glanced upon the young lady. King Michael requested, "Show me what you can do, show me the Curse."


    Looking at her left, spotting her father and waiting for him to give permission as well. She heard his encouragement a little while after, in the Ignite language even. "Do it, he banish curse."


    Turning her gaze towards the King once more, without a thread of fear, a stiff face showing neither sadness or happiness, she waved her hand towards the King and a blue orb shaped glow soared across the air.


    It hit the King right to the head, although he didn''t feel any pain since glows like that don''t have a physically impactful blow at all!


    Instead, he felt his mood shift from confused and curious to fearful but too lazy to get up. These new feelings are minor, and his curiosity still wins.


    A theory went through his mind, but he felt a bit lazy to arrange a few other living targets so instead he requested with his tone low. "Do it again."


    Concerned, wanting him to be safe, Alama started trying to stop this with a question. "Are you sure about this?"


    Giving a little sigh, stretching one word for a couple of seconds he answered. "Yes."


    The second he answered this question, although the Zamerian lady a bit confused of his reactions, she got rid of those feelings of hesitation considering the King is demanding for another shot.


    She waved her hand once more, and once again a blue orb shaped light flew across the throne room for 8 meters and surrounded the King''s head.


    And again, he felt fear along with laziness arising and taking half or so of his subconscious already.


    This is abnormal, but in another way it proved one of Alama''s theories right, this Zamerian man thinks that magic necessarily equals bad.


    Seeing that this is no accident, knowing that it would take a lot for himself to get scared, the King explained his theory shortly and at a low volume. "I think, your daughter is of the evolved!"

 Chapter 427 - 30 Experiments

    It took a little while for King Michael to gain excitement over this new discovery, he was under a spell or differently called power move which in one way or the other tampered with his excitement and overall motivation.


    Regardless of that fact, throughout less then 30 minutes or so, he pulled a plan together but had to order for a few Guards to come back in and put his plan into motion because himself... well he became lazy!


    But after those demotivating 30 minutes passed, his enthusiasm kept growing strong and loud the more he thought about this situation battle-wise!


    The two Zamerians in front of him along with Alama noticed that growing enthusiasm, although they all did not fully understand his plans much at first.


    But at least execution, bans or anything bad just because this 17 year old lady has powers, won''t be happening. And it would be ilogical to happen considering the King himself having powers.


    Alright now the plan is test these newly discovered powers on a few people, because like indestructibility and Super Strength they do not fit in the usual 8 powers worldwide, experimenting will help determine what this Zamerian Lady is capable off.


    Although her power can''t physically harm a living target directly, it still can f.u.c.k someone up bad since her power is to mentally manipulate a target.


    Since playing with one''s brain is her power, King Michael wouldn''t want any of his friends to be a target or Alama. He got to experience her power head on, and it ain''t anything nice.


    King Michael ordered to gather 30 men and women, 10 from each race. Chances are these new powers that the Zamerian lady has, won''t work differently on any other race but its best to know for sure.


    But of course, these people''s feelings matter too and the last thing he needs is for any of them to feel like Rats one can experiment on, so in the actual Royal Castle here in Gaster Kingdom, he held a little speech for them.


    He started it off by raising his hand, signifying request for everyone to be quiet and stated. "My friends, I''m glad you are all here today to help me out."


    Noticeably, most have turned quiet with little to no murmurs in between so he used this golden silence to his advantage. "You know the situation. Meridionali Ignis and Demons, we have been attacked by both and stood victorious!"


    Finishing those couple of sentences, the throne room transformed from dead quiet to wild ravaging cheers! Most Citizen here would be happy about Gaster Kingdom winning.


    The Zamerians barely understand everything so it is a bit more wholesome when they are this happy and loud.


    Waving his hand, shouting from the top of his lungs but his tone being easily swallowed by the ear piercing cheers, he repeated amongst each shout. "Please be quiet, please be quiet!"


    The little crowd became quiet after half a minute or so, meaning the King can continue his speech. "What was I about to say... oh right. But apart from our Victories, we keep losing good precious people."


    Letting the silence stretch for a few seconds, pointing at the 17 year old Zamerian Girl who has these new powers. With a louder voice, the King pitched. "But I''m proud to announce that this lady, Toto Fasoli the Zamerian will help us turn the tides in battle!"


    Now! The crowd went absolutely wild, and the Zamerians are causing half of this tremendously loud noise across the Royal Throne room although the twenty other people are ear piercingly loud as well.


    It took well over two minutes to calm everyone down, and the Guards had to try and calm everyone down along with the King although no physical motivation was inflicted.


    Toto glanced upon her father on her right, wanted to say something but decided not to say it.


    Finally calming everyone down, King Michael continued what he had to say about Toto. "This lady, she is of the evolved. Rare everywhere in the world, and she is carries tremendous powers that can aid us against these Demons."


    Turning to his right completely to face Toto, the King asked. "Will you work for our Kingdom? I will pay you 200 Gold Coins a month, and you will be completely safe throughout your contribution."


    Not the most fluent in the Ignite language, but enough to ask a question. Calmly, with barely any reactions Toto asked. "How can I help? I don''t Fire hot."


    Understanding that it would be boring and confusing to understand if he started explaining everything to the last detail, the King just shortly explained. "Leave everything to me, trust me on that."


    Seeing no reason to blow the chances of earning more than her father and hearing how the King promises safety, she answered with a dry tone. "Okay I work."


    Another Cheer burst amongst the crowds, which made Toto feel a bit more comfortable with her decision. Knowing that the King has more to explain the crowd kept their cheers short this time, as it is getting annoying.


    Satisfied, smiling he turned towards the crowd of 30 in this Throne Room and continued with his speech. "You 30 people will join us in an experiment, Toto will cast a physically harmless power move on you and you will tell us how the move made you feel."


    The crowd remained quiet, it is certain that most wouldn''t want to be mixed up in these kinda experiments especially since individually they still refer to powers as magic.


    King Michael expected this, so he decided to mention the good side of this massive project. "It will barely take two minutes for each person here, I asked her to try her powers on me and here I am, safe and healthy. But for your trouble, each of you will earn 300 Gold Coins as a bonus!"


    And now, the Cheers showed no sign of stopping. Talking about t his Kingdom''s past Victories tasted sweet and all but Gold is even sweeter.


    Of course if anyone faces permanent mental damage, he will compensate that with a shit ton of Gold Coins so his people don''t get massively upset but he doesn''t want to mention that publicly.


    Because aa much as anyone would want to prove helpful, a lot would act sick or crazy if a huge compensation is 100% possible. For the Zamerians it would likely be less common to act crazy, since they are used to bigger salaries but Ignites and ill.u.s.tratios would try to fool the King.


    ...


    Blue light shone across the throne Room, an Ignite man as a target. It hit his chest but the glow still managed to surround his head.


    King Michael took a couple of steps towards him and asked, "How do you feel?"


    Hesitant and with little effort to form a sentence, the Ignite man answered. "Calm... I expect worse."


    ...


    12 Experiments have been done so far, and the results are nothing less but interesting. Considering base facts on other powers, he expected for the effect to be the same on each race.


    Is that what happened? Definitely no! The three races expressed three different moods once the orb was casted upon them.


    Right now, an ill.u.s.tratian lady is in the process of being tested on. Another Blue Orb flew across the air, putting another test in to motion.


    With Alama following the King, carrying a piece of Parchment with an aim to write everything down.


    The King asked this ill.u.s.tratian lady, curious if the effects have the same pattern as the rest. "How do you feel?"


    The lady jumped a step back once hearing the King talk, but instantly calmed down... which points out one key characteristic which the Lady wasn''t shy to answer. "Calm."


    Pointing out something else, the King added. "But you were also a little scared."


    Trying to excuse herself, although she is supposed to answer truthfully. The ill.u.s.tratian Lady answered, "Because I didn''t see you."


    As the three were debating what to write this experiment down for, Toto started struggling to stand straight. She tried to focus on doing a good job, but her vision became blurry for a couple of seconds.


    She murmured to herself, "Shake it off!" And shook her head swiftly a couple of times.


    ...


    20 people have been casted a spell upon, and the Results mostly similar although everyone tends to Express it differently.


    Ignites for example, they attain a minor mood shift towards laziness but also overall calmness.


    The ill.u.s.tratios face a different result. Once casted an orb upon, they inevitably feel minor sudden fear but also a lot of calmness which is perplexing because the two new moods forced upon an ill.u.s.tratio are battling each other.


    As for Zamerians? They too share a different pattern that derives them from the other two races, they attain a different mood once a "spell" is tossed against them.


    What moods do they get? Well they are the most interesting part of these experiments yet! Why? Read for yourself.


    Toto casted an Orb upon a Zamerian man and the first thing he answered after being asked was. "I feel great! I''m amazing!"


    King Michael glanced upon the man in interest, turned his gaze upon Alama and told her. "Yet again, Motivation for the Zamerians."


    Looking back at the other Zamerians who have been experimented on, picking on each other. The King also requested. "Write the urge to be Destructive as another side effect."


    The effects seem to last around 20 minutes or so, half of the people who have been experimented on report that these odd effects are wearing off.


    As for Toto, she isn''t feeling the best. Her vision is getting worse, blurry to the extend and she feels weak to the knees now. But she keeps repeating to herself, "It''s nothing, fight it off."


    ...


    Reaching the 30th experiment, with patterns upon the tests similar to the other, these experiments are successfully over.


    Toto managed to push through each one, but she isn''t feeling her best and is down sitting on the wooden flooring.


    Tired, close to getting knocked out. She noticed King Michael approaching and complained, "You said no danger."


    Feeling guilty, squatting down to show sympathy the King answered. "I forgot about Stamina, you have to be careful to not tire yourself out."


    Trying his best not to get her demotivated, he decided to make it right. "You will get a 200 Gold Coin bonus now, but you will get your salary at the end of the month as well."

 Chapter 428 - Demonic Breach

    "Demons are attacking!" A Guard shouted from the top of his lungs, which revealed the severity of this situation!


    King Michael heard that shout, that alarm and in one wicked way that call for help! As, the Guards never call unless the situation becomes hard to handle!


    In other words, there are a hell load of Demons coming for Gaster Kingdom!


    The semi-echoing shouts spread like a disease amongst the Domain, one Guard picked up the alarm and shouted too in order to get everyone ready.


    King Michael first set his feet at a blaze and shouted at a Guard, "Get the Fire Blasters!" Before he made his way towards the sky, to get a better point of view on how many Demons are on their way.


    Yet he can''t take much time to look around, these Demons can run on their fours twice as fast as any Ignite.


    It didn''t take long for him to realize that the Kingdom is in a sour situation, the screaming and running Demons are far too big in Numbers, his guess is that they stand over 150 although he likes to believe that the numbers are small, maybe tricking himself towards motivation will aid in this battle!


    Each of the 205 Guards here in Gaster Kingdom are armed to the teeth, but most importantly all of them are equipped with a bow just in case of a Demonic invasion such as this one. It isn''t the wisest to face a Demon in close combat.


    Arrows fluttered towards the sky, pushing against air as they went up and reflected the midday sun''s rays as they went down head first against the Demons!


    Shouts increased as the 30 or so Arrows landed against flesh and bone, the Demons aren''t obviously fans of the weird sharp sticks that fly but since one Arrow is usually not enough to kill a Demon, the vast majority who survived this first attack are even more pissed and crazed if you believe that possible coming from a Demon!


    KIng Michael finally got close to the battle field, it took him seconds that felt like hours. He could even hear the fire beneath his feet rage across the air as he gave a maximum scale to it, couldn''t even open his eyes until he slowed down.


    Knowing how fast they are, knowing how dangerous this situation can become in a break of a second, he blew a 12 foot wide Fireball, with a 6 foot wide tail following it.


    Obviously not savvy Stamina-wise, it torched over 20 spines, before the large Fireball made its way through flesh and bone melting these wicked beings all the way down to the knees.


    The heat behind this Fireball is scaled all the way up, it has no intent to spare anything.


    Since the Fireball has a six foot long tail behind, and considering the tremendous heat, the Fireball did not stop contributing after it met the Ground.


    It spread across the ground, like a terribly misshaped but yet circular flour dough that accidentally falls to the ground.


    This dough like Fire took 15 or so more Demons victim, or more like took their knees victim as it was only 2 feet tall although it spread 17 feet across!!


    Their howls increased, as the Demonic bodies who fell to the ground with their limbs missing, forced unscaved Demons to trip over them which caused a minor massacre. One Demon clawing the other to death as they piled 15 feet high one over another.


    He shot another Fireball of the same size, highly effective although he instantly felt dizzy due to all the Stamina these Fireballs are consuming.


    This one too scorched through 40 or so Demons, and as he noticed the first pile up he caused, he flew 20 feet closer and blew Fire through his mouth, which stretched over 15 feet long and torched over 20 Demonic bodies in less than 10 seconds.


    He turned around and saw that many Demons have ran past him. Although his Fireballs effective, the time he needs to shoot every enemy down compared to the time these Demons need to reach the Kingdom has an awful Gap in between.


    Out of a sudden Hundreds of Arrows shower against the Demons, taking out enemy after enemy through the left wing of this large group.


    This necessarily points out towards the glorious fact that most of the Platoon have dashed their way across the Kingdom, have climbed over the walls and are contributing against this attack.


    Unlike the first, second and even third Arrow ranged attack, this one actually landed a bloody blow!


    Literally!


    The King could see blood splatter across the sky, as several Arrows hit each Demon which made death almost the only option for each enemy afflicted by this Iron on a stick!


    The death rate inflicted upon these foul Demons by the Archers has gone well above 40 now, it is good enough to turn the tides if they had a few more seconds to continue with this attack.


    The majority of the surviving Demons are only 15-40 feet away from the Walls, in other words they just need another few seconds to breach through the walls and massacre everything in sight.


    Michael''s vision became blurry, but he could see Demons emerging from the sea right where the Spearfishermen and normal Fishermen are at, luckily the numbers there are not overwhelming.


    With two of the evolved to their aid it is only a matter of time until the Spearfishermen lend a hand against the battle of the main pile of Demons coming towards the main gates!


    being over a hundred feet away from the walls himself, King Michael has no option to work fast since Eric and Mogranius aren''t anywhere to be seen yet.


    Unable to think straight, he flew downwards until he was actually a feet or two above the enemy''s shoulders.


    Bad idea at best, but it comes along with a suicidal strategy!


    He blew a horrendous size of Fire underneath his feet, which blew him across the air fast enough that he again can''t keep his eyes open.


    The strategic part of this move however, is the fact that the Fire beneath his feet stretches a meter long!!


    So as he is soaring over their shoulders, he keeps burning everything in sight... or in front of him at least.


    This will reduce the overall Demonic count and ease the Burden of the Archers.


    As a Guard saw the King fly across the Demons in horribly fast speeds, he shouted as much as he could. "Cease Fire!"


    The point behind his howl of command is to not hit the King, that would be bad on so many Levels!


    They want the King safe, but the extra seconds they wasted here to put in contribution in this horrible battle is nothing but a big mistake.


    The Demons reached the walls, started clawing their way up, chipping off pieces of the stone wall as tens of them climbed their way up.


    Opening his eyes, having it hard to take this situation in, the King shouted with all his force. "No!!!"


    The King dropped near the main gate, blew several Fireballs against the Demons in front of him, to buy himself some time with Fireballs stretching 4-6 feet wide.


    Seeing his vision becoming a tad blurry, he gave a glance to his left and blew a 7 foot wide Fireball against the Demons climbing the walls and shot 4 or so down.


    That''s where a little thought took over his attention mid battle, "These are a lot more than 150 Demons."


    He turned his gaze towards the right, saw a Guard being dragged down from the walls by a single swipe thrown by one of these foul beings.


    That Guard, fell to the ground and started shouting as much as he could while several Demons started to further claw through his flesh and Armour.


    The King tried to shoot the Demons who have already started climbing thes 10 meter tall walls, that required blowing bigger buzzling Fireballs.


    Shooting a couple down, he was forced to fly up as these wicked beings started surrounding him.


    He saw several Guards getting clawed across the chest, some against the head and some actually got their head ripped off giving no chance of survival whatsoever.


    This bloody battle has gotten far out of hand, regardless of the training that the Guards got these past few days as they shot small portions of Demons down, today they just don''t have enough time to not face any losses.


    This battle isn''t lost, as a Zamerian middle aged Guard lady shouted. "Banish these Demons!" And she swung so hard that she sliced a Demon''s arm off, then went for the head, slicing its neck half way through.


    She bashed her Sword against the dead Demon''s chest after, bashed it against the wall''s support and kicked it against the other side of the walls as she pulled her Iron Sword back out.


    Seconds after, King Michael saw that a few Demons are actually running away from the Kingdom, Several Guards shouting from the top of their lungs as they surrounded one lady. "Protect Toto!!"

 Chapter 429 - Demonic Breach(2)

    A Fireball raged across the sky, forced its way through flesh and bone, burst through a couple of Demons at first, and took three more enemy Victims after.


    A man soared 60 feet above the Kingdom, making his contribution in battle blazing clear!


    It''s Mogranius, right in the last minute too when you look at it from another aspect.


    As over 50 Demons have climbed their way up the walls! He stood closeby to the Guards and started shooting down as many Demons away from the walls as possible.


    An ill.u.s.tratian Guard shouted, his voice thunderous and his intention as pure as a new heart as he stood over the walls. "Attack!!!"


    He bashed his Iron Longsword through the Demon''s crotch, pulled it back with horrendous strength after which forced blood to explode all over his face.


    Tasting the crotch blood, watching the Demon fall down dead and he shouted once more. "For Gaster KIngdom!"


    He had enough courage to go against three Demons at once, he is outnumbered and his allies in war have their steel bloody and buzzy.


    Swinging his sword from the left, he cut off one of the Demon''s claws, heard it howl in pain and didn''t waste a second.


    Giving his sword an air splitting swing from his right, he saw the Demon''s chest getting ripped from one side to the other, his Sword sinking 5 inches deep throughout that cut.


    But all horrendous Heroes are doomed with bad luck, a Demon jumped him from behind after climbing the walls and clawed him through his back, forcing blood to puke wide and the sudden shock of pain along with that demonic swing forced him to the hard stone flooring of the wall.


    With all the energy he had left, this Brave ill.u.s.tratian man tried to turn around as quick as possible to face his enemy.


    Raising his sword up, although he couldn''t feel his shoulder, he watched the same Demon who clawed him charge right towards the Sword.


    Leaping first, meeting the Sword after. Cold Steel bashed through the Demon''s chest.


    Landing over the ill.u.s.tratian Guard, struggling a couple of seconds before it puked blood and was forced to the Underworld, it was made clear who gave the last fight.


    Tired, in pain and his vision almost gone, the Guard pushed the Demon away from his own body and murmured. "You Demonic Motherf.u.c.ker."


    Meanwhile about 20 meters from where this brave ill.u.s.tratian man met a foul end, 6 more Guards got jumped on by a group of Demons seeking blood and bones.


    They had been surrounded from three sides, trying to fend off these crazed Demons but left their backs exposed.


    Three Demons jumped them from behind, completely breaking their [6 Guards] Orientation, and therefore the Demons who were already attacking from the three other sides, joined in the feast as killing these 6 Guards became childsplay.


    Many Guards are dying, Mogranius is trying his best to fight off the Demons that are climbing the walls, King Michael wanted to fly down and aid him but noticed 7 or so Demons sneak past the Guards above the walls.


    Decisions here are rough, he can either stand and fight against the Demons in front of the walls or fight the Demons who completely breached the walls.


    In one way, more and more Guards will die the more time he takes hunting down the Demons who have breached the Domain.


    While on the other hand, if he leaves these Demons run wild in the Kingdom, it is only a matter of time until claws dig through innocent citizens and force them to face a foul end!


    His mind raging between decisions, feeling frozen although he was flying in mid air, a tear broke from his eyes as stress captivated the rest of his conscious.


    Stressed, angry how this Domain has not been given enough time to fight back, he decided to reason with himself for the sake of Victory. "We can survive this if Eric gets here soon, stay strong man!"


    He slapped his feet against the air quickly, looked down and started flying towards his Domain, chasing one Demon he managed to properly locate.


    Taking only 15 seconds to reach that targeted Demon, he thought it best to give value in precision here where Houses can be set on Fire.


    6 Feet close the Demon''s ass, literally. He shoots a 2 foot wide Fireball which pierced through the Demon''s Skin and the heat that came with that Fire replaced its hip with ashes and Fire.


    The Demon tumbled through the ground, clawing the snow created a beautifully bloody painting.


    Still alive, the Demon howled in pain. Unable to move its rear legs it started clawing its way towards the weird flying man, obviously with an urge to kill.


    SPLEGH!


    A pitchfork bashed through the Demon''s skull, if King Michael looked back he would have seen an old Ignite lady killing this Demon and cussing. "You gave all of us a bad name you Source Forsaken piece of pig shit."


    Meanwhile, back over the walls an Ignite Guard lady shouted. "Protect lady Toto!"


    Unbothered of the scenes of Blood, heads and intestines falling all across the snow and walls, Toto stuck firm to her goal for the day. "Fear me Demons."


    Surrounded by a group of Guards, to unleash a blue orb against any Demons she would only need to stick her arm out and aim.


    An Ignite man shouted surrounding lady Toto shouted, "Demon on the left!"


    Hearing that alarm, Toto had to turn around completely and unleash an orb without aiming, as this Demon would only need a couple of Seconds to arrive.


    HUEEEEEEH!


    A demon shouted, panic overwhelming it and fear closing the lid as it jumped from the 10 meter wall and went splat on the Ground.


    If these crazed beings from another Dimension had any kind of common sense, jumping off the walls wouldn''t have been an option.


    Calculating that there are three Zamerians trying to protect her, finding out by hearing them speak. Remembering King Michael''s Research session, she came up with an idea.


    A Smirk ran across her lips, she waved her arms left and right at first and then in front at last, helping these Guards in terms of Morale.


    Only two seconds later, she heard the three Zamerians shout in their native language.


    "For Gaster Kingdom!"


    "For Victory!"


    "For my Family!"


    Luckily this time the young Toto knows exactly what she is doing, such a power move thrown against a Zamerian will only increase their confidence and even make them Destructive. Perfect for Battle!


    Meanwhile, down at the main Gates, Mogranius was forced to crack a Fire Shield Open.


    Hating this situation and not being shy to cuss at it, he shouted. "I hate you and you and you and you, sun of a Demonic Bitch!"


    He has kept this Fire Shield Going for about 20 Seconds now, as the Demons surrounding him became nothing less than overwhelming.


    But the longer he is keeping this Fire Shield Going, he is realizing one tremendously important fact. These Demons are very attracted towards the Fireball!


    What Demon was left on the ground started chasing the weird glowing ball, and regardless of their skin sizzling as they bashed their claws against the Shield, they kept clawing and clawing.


    So far, 2 Demons have died trying to hurt the weird FIre.


    One Demon accidentally clawing the other aided this Death Count.


    These Demons don''t nearly have enough power to break this Fire Shield open, if his Stamina wasn''t endless he could keep this up forever.


    Mogranius eased the tension of battle of which the Guards had to face, attracting Demons with this Fire Shield is a Golden Idea although unintended.


    Throughout a gap of Demonic flesh and bone that piled up close to him, he could see bodies dropping from the walls far too often.


    The good thing about that though, they aren''t Human Bodies.


    Battle Shouts echoed above the walls, shaking this Domain to its foundation and Mogranious could even feel his Fire Shield Vibrate!


    More Demonic bodies fluttered from the walls, met the Ground and painted the Snow with blood, glorious nasty blood!


    For just a second, paying no attention to the tides in battle turning, Mogranius instantly came up with an idea.


    He lightly started blowing Fire from his feet, not yet elevated from the Ground but wanted to get it started to spare a quarter of a Second.


    He broke the ceiling of the Shield open so he can make himself an escape, and immediately started blasting a horrendous amount of Fire from his feet and broke the rest of the Fire Shield a second later.


    He flew 20 feet up the sky faster than the eye can comprehend and noticed that his little move has taken half of those Demons that surrounded him, victim.


    10 or so Demons remained on that spot and he has no intent to let them escape his grasp and climb the walls.


    He started shooting three Fireballs a second, without putting much attention to aiming and enslaved these Demons with what they deserve, Fire.


    Ironic.


    Behind the Kingdom''s walls, with most of the Demons who breached through the walls killed, one Demon continued to elude the King.


    King Michael spoke to himself as he flew above this Domain''s Houses. "Where are you."


    Turning his head to the right subconsciously, the one remaining Demon caught his eye.


    As he moved his feet to force a sharp right turn, he spotted that three Children have somehow slipped their Parent''s sight and walked out of their houses to see what''s going on.


    The Demon is only 10 feet close to these Children, while King Michael is over 50 feet away.


    Michael shouted, "Not the Children." And blew an insane amount of Fire through his feet although low in Stamina.


    He flew across the air so fast, that he started losing control of his balance.


    Kissing the ground, tumbling for about 20 feet, King Michael''s urge to help was proven as miscalculated.


    Trying to stand up and see if the Kids are still alive, he saw that one Demon split in half, it''s limb only 10 feet away from where the King crash landed and...


    Eric standing close to the Kids, urging them to go Inside.


    The Battle is over, Gaster Kingdom won but this was a close one.

 Chapter 430 - Gold Sucker

    On the very next day, giving last day''s battle 26 hours to comprehend, King Michael started paying more attention to the aftermath.


    With the word "paying" mentioned, it is worth noting that the Compensations will be sucking the Budget out of Gold.


    Is it worth filling in Compensations? Definitely yes! Those Heroes died protecting this fine Domain!


    But yet again when you look at this from another perspective, 30% of the total piled up Budget in the past year and a half have been given away as compensation!


    In the Royal throne room, with a handful of important people brought here, King Michael first needs to open a Topic with the Kingdom''s Financial Adviser and Investor, Alama.


    Shaken from yesterday''s battle, he nearly isn''t in a good mood but still tries to keep his tone delicate towards her, asking for her opinion. "I think we should give out another Compensation of 1,500 Gold Coins for each of the 48 fallen Guards, what do you think about it?"


    Trying to crack a joke to lighten the overall Aura in this Throne Room, she answered. "I''m Surprised you want to pay less this time."


    Seeing that the King forced a smile and that no one else laughed or giggled, Alama switched to being strictly professional. "But it''s still too much, considering that a Salary still goes in every House here, and that food expenses are 100% covered by us, I recommend 800 Gold Coins as a compensation. No one will Starve."


    Respecting her opinion, he tried to use it but tamper with it a little bit as well. "They won''t starve no, but my whole people losing their Morale can only doom them."


    Letting silence stretch for a few seconds, after thinking it through the King also added. "To hell with the Economy, if these people don''t have motivation to fight then we are all doomed."


    Catching up with his Mindset and exactly what he is trying to say, she complimented his point of view. "Ahh you are correct, I don''t think anyone would want to fight for a stingy Ruler."


    Interrupting this important conversation, Mogranius pitched an idea with a tone signifying minor irritation. "Just donate 1,100 Gold Coins per fallen Guard."


    Although rude, he has made the best point yet today. This is a plan both minds can get behind so King Michael and Alama said at the same time. "Agreeable."


    Of course considering these expenses, it means that Gaster Kingdom will lose about 52k Gold Coins trying to compensate for those lost souls, in other terms it plunged the Budget down to 305k Gold Coins, that''s all the Gold in total Gaster Kingdom has now.


    With the matter of gold aside, King Michael decided to address another problem. "The situation keeps getting worse, now we only have 157 Guards and no more people to hire!"


    The talk about Guards kept remembering Eric of the New Lan Zhe or most specifically the town he is the King off, so he reminded everyone here of a golden fact. "It''s not all lost, there are 10 Calidum Lutum Guards coming here sooner or later."


    Having that considered, King Michael answered. "True, well now at least it will feel like we have 205 Guards again... But it''s still not enough."


    Being in the same room with them, taking advantage of a Chair''s comfort, Commander Alia added. "We need more serious Fire Power."


    Hearing out that sentence, Mogranius sunk into some deep thoughts, trying to remember something from the past, although he didn''t say a thing.


    King Michael on the other hand had something to say regarding Commander Alia''s claim. "You are right, I have a guess that we have been attacked by over 300 Demons yesterday, if only a hundred more attacked we would have lost half of the people here!"


    Although she didn''t give the biggest contribution in Yesterday''s battle, Gaster Kingdom could at least have lost ten more Guards if she wasn''t there.


    Of course we are talking about Toto, the evolved Zamerian lady. King Michael got massively interested of how her power works against Demons.


    Although a blurr how a Demon''s mind works even though we can easily call them crazy, what''s important is that Toto can scare them to the point where they shit all over the field as they run away.


    King Michael asked for her to be here today, just for the sake of making her value clear both to this group of people here and Toto herself.


    She might not understand her worth, and chances are high that she actually wouldn''t care at all of her value in front of others. This isn''t just a saying, she really doesn''t care.


    King Michael decided to point out her worth by first addressing where others have failed yesterday.


    Although slightly hesitant because he doesn''t really want to be too harsh on anyone considering how Osira handled his scolding before, important points have to be made. "We need to be faster next time, Toto joined the battle faster on foot than two of you couldn''t while flying."


    Awaiting for such a topic to pop up, Eric felt comfortable enough to speak openly around this group of friends mostly but also wanted to clear his own name although he slightly yelled by accident trying to talk. "I have a perfectly reasonable explanation for that!"


    Hoping that it is anything reasonable, King Michael stated. "I''m listening."


    A bit embarrassed now once he thinks his reason twice, with a low tone Eric answered. "I fell asleep."


    Trying to find sympathy, but ultimately failing. King Michael asked, "In Midday?"


    Although still sleepy, this 16 year old boy is still aware enough to put two and two together. He pointed out the Patrolling Routine. "I''v been awake from 6 am to midday holding my shift, it was just bad luck. It''s not like any of you don''t sleep after you finish your shifts."


    Bringing the topic back to Toto, although he agrees with Eric''s point of view, the King added in a tone complexing a soft tone along with general proudness. "We were lucky that Toto was with us yesterday."


    Hearing her name being mentioned by the King for the second time now, truthful and shameless Toto expressed. "Thanks you, I love how Demon shit."


    A different lady indeed, fearless at least but King Michael and everyone in the room could find more than a few reasons to like her as a Human being.


    Ladia lightly pushed the Castle''s door and walked in, she has been passed down the word by the King that she is invited today although she was hesitant to walk all the way here from the Castle''s Dungeons.


    The Dungeons are almost never in use and considering the severe situation they have been turned into a healing center although little work has been put in to make this place less smelly.


    Spotting her, King Michael spoke one word at a loud high pitch. "Ladia!"


    That shout forced her eyes open and made her a little bit more alert although King Michael meant well.


    He started praising her now, saying. "Talking about Heroes, this little lady is healing over 100 men and women with basic healing spells."


    And she really is, although not so good at it she managed to help at least ten people escape death little by little. If she didn''t cast Healing power moves on a few people, their wounds would have overpowered them in a matter of hours.


    Tired, her Stamina drained since she is trying to heal so many people and prepare them for a possible upcoming battle. She Clumsily expressed. "Uh I walked here now that. I stop blood for most, big wounds sealed and no more blood."


    Poorly expressed, but anyone could understand her if they gave even the smallest attention.


    You might be wondering why Eric isn''t down there healing people? Well it is simply because he doesn''t know how to. He only knows how to heal muscles and such, no regenerational properties either just muscle untangling capabilities.


    Since all are here now, the King added a big piece of the puzzle. "I called all of you here, because I need to ensure that all of you will be on your top performance. We need to keep this Kingdom together, as we are blessed with the capabilities to help more. Power or not, each of you aren''t average."


    Eric had nothing to say apart from agreeing with the King. "You''re right, we should work more." After all he feels the most embarrassed about joining the battle after it was all over.


    Having a different point of view in this topic and also trying to protect Eric although everything wasn''t related directly to him, she expressed. "It doesn''t matter how much we work, we are outnumbered."


    Breaking the King''s speech in half, putting everything together from what he started earlier, Mogranius added. "Yeah yeah yeah yeah. Alia said something about requiring more Firepower, I might know a way!"

 Chapter 431 - Large Visible Traces!

    GIEEEEEEEEH!!


    A Demon screeched across the snowy flat lands, spotting a target and already able to taste blood.


    It dashed towards the Target with no signs of stopping whatsoever, its Claws pounding against the ground as it thundered towards a straight path.


    At a distance of 8 meters, the Demon pounced on its victim with its claws forward and intents murderous.


    Swinging her arm, punching the absolute shit out of the Demon and forcing it to her right side, this fine Human lady who managed to punch a Demon cussed. "Screeching bastard, no one taught you sneak attacks huh."


    But who is this lady you might be curious enough to ask, well she is just an elderly Calidum Lutum, 1,412 years old to be more exact.


    Although old, she isn''t used of this outside world and started falling in love with it as days passed. She has spent all of her life underground, this outside world is different for her.


    So considering that fact, she likes to go out and walk. She can obviously handle herself given that she just knocked out a dang Demon.


    Although knocked out, this Demon can still be a threat to anyone weaker so she took the liberty to be a Hero today.


    With no weapons on her, she decided to use her body weight against the Demon.


    Not that I''m calling her fat, but she is a 9 foot tall lady so obviously she is heavy.


    She walked closer to this Demon and stomped on its neck, not hearing a crack she did it again and again.


    Looking at the Demon''s stomach, she noticed that it stopped moving.


    Good, this foul being is as good as dead now but where did it come from? She is about half a kilometer away from Town and there are no visible structures in sight (Apart from the Town) not to mention Portals.


    So where, just where did this Demon come from?


    As badass as this nice old lady is, it is best if she reports this case to the Town''s officials and let them deal with it.


    Because as good as she is in self defense, she wouldn''t want herself facing another Demon, nonetheless tracking them down.


    ...


    Seeing an old lady walk in their Volcanic Rock Igloo, Kazer couldn''t help but to give a kind greeting. "Misses Kukus, welcome. I hope everything is alright."


    Not in the best mood considering the situation although she did win against a Demon, Kukus answered. "Not alright, I''ve met with one of those plagues to society."


    Recalling a few past dilemmas, Kazer reassured. "Misses Kokus please, we told you that some ill.u.s.tratios are good hearted."


    Seeing the misunderstanding although unwilling to react softly to it, she slightly shouted. "I know that, don''t tell me what to know. I saw a Demon, it tried to kill me but I killed it instead."


    As she uttered that sentence, the Five Grand Master''s eyes all opened up wide in shock, they did not expect this to happen.


    Kazer broke the painful silence by reassuring, "Was it really a Demon?"


    Getting a bit more ticked, she waved her arms trying to convince them, shouting. "I know a Demon when I see one, it had claws, horns and was dark in colour. It was yelling like the Source of Lava was chasing it, crazy."


    Trying to protect Kukus'' words, but also wanting to take more safety measures, Xalk spoke out. "This can''t be no coincidence or imagination, it isn''t likely for her to lie either."


    Also willing to take action, Altacin asked. "Can you tell us where you killed this Demon?"


    Nodding several times, she explained. "Yes yes yes, just walk from the main entrance here until you see a body."


    It is easy to say that no one here favours this situation, sure one Calidum Lutum can beat one Demon without using a Weapon but the odds will be to the Demon''s favour if more and more suddenly appear across these lands.


    ...


    As they reached the main entrance, Kazer and Laza saw a Human figure flying across the sky, being used to such scenes ever since they met Eric, they hopped to see him fly down.


    About going to seek the Demon, it is best if only 2 Grand Masters go check it just to be sure that Lan Zhe will remain safe. If the Town suddenly gets attacked by waves of Demons, it is best that three Grand Masters remain here as an Arsenal.


    The flying human finally reached the ground, having their attention already caught this Human go welcomed after landing.


    Kazer greeted, his tone stable but his intent pure. "Dilli! Welcome."


    Although the welcome warm, she couldn''t help but keep a rough attitude. She has been flying for days and has a feeling that Gaster Kingdom might have gotten invaded. "I didn''t come here for good, I''m here to carry King Michael and King Eric''s word."


    Obvious that something bad might have happened, Kazer asked. "What happened?"


    As for Laza, she just stood there listening unaware what''s going on but sensing that it isn''t anything good. She doesn''t understand the Ignite language like Kazer does.


    Cutting it short, unwilling to have a long conversation, Dilli answered. "Demons are attacking Gaster Kingdom, we need 10 Guards to aid us there or we are doomed to fail."


    Although unaware of what happened to Gaster Kingdom ever since she left, she has a feeling that things aren''t going well. Demons are the topic here after all, although crazed they can be powerful.


    Eric is a kid, but what he says in this Domain goes even though technically he isn''t here contributing to the New Lan Zhe so Kazer had no way to disagree. "You can get the Guards, but right now we have a Demonic Dilemma of our own. Someone claims to have slain a Demon."


    KUUUUUEEEH!


    They heard a sound echo across the Domain, from the other side of the walls to be more exact.


    "Well, that''s a Demon." Dilli pointed out the obvious and flew off the Ground.


    Elevated up in the air for about 40 meters, she managed to spot the Demon considering that it is just a dot above snow.


    Chasing after it, although unwilling to spend much time fixing a proper target, once reaching about 15 meters close to it, she shot a 5 foot wide Fireball, hitting the Demon in the middle of its spine and splitting it in half.


    Its death quick and meaningless, but it is giving more pressure to the fact that Demons are around here and it can get worse.


    Landing near it, seeing what was left of its internal organs spread wide across the snow, creating a horrible painting.


    She took a deep breath and enjoyed killing one of these Demons once more, they have been on their mind ever since she left Gaster Kingdom and seeing one dead relieved her anger and frustration.


    The smell of blood mixed with snow, unleashed a horrible aroma but for Dilli this felt Delicate. She wants to wiff it, she takes deep breaths trying to take it all in.


    Interrupting her unusual preferences, Kazer walked close and said. "That is an actual Demon."


    Sarcastic, although unintentional. Dilli answered. "No kidding."


    Blowing a long lasting Fire from her palm, enslaving the Demon''s carcass with a blaze, not to be mistaken with a Fireball, the sole intent here is to burn th Demon''s body so no one else has to see this foul scene.


    At first Kazer wanted to ask what she is doing but once remembering the work that Osira along with the rest of the 15 Fire Controlling ladies put against the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance, he could put two and two together.


    Getting that portion over with, she turned her attention back to Kazer and asked. "Can you get my Guards ready now? We will depart this hour."


    Genuinely concerned for her, he asked. "Are you sure you don''t want to sit back and relax for a while? We have fish and water, you must be very tired."


    Ignoring his offers, as something else caught her attention. She let the silence stretch for over half a minute as she squatted down and glanced upon the snow.


    These Demons leave awfully visible tracks considering the size of their claws, so she started walking and following a path she chose.


    Having not much options but to follow, Kazer and Laza walked after her with curiosity of where this is going.


    Circling around for a while, considering that Demons would run crazily far too often, after 5 minutes they found their selves close to the long ruined Ignite Castle.


    This castle is over 6,000 years old, long abandoned after the ice age met an end.


    The Calidum Lutum used this Castle as a landmark, and built the New Lan Zhe only a hundred meters away from this Castle but decided to label it unusable since it can crumble down at any time.


    Dilli Flury pointed at the Ignite Castle and stated. "The Demon came out of here."

 Chapter 432 - An Ignites Help.

    Considering this explicitly unique situation, to have an upper advantage against the Demons two steps have to be taken.


    Although a good portion of the Town could have done the same if they paid attention, they didn''t. It is Dilli Flurry who has made the firmest theory of where the Portal might be, by simply using Demonic traces.


    And of course, they did not just burst in the Castle after forming a theory, that would be a bad idea in many aspects.


    For example the Town could be caught off Guard if Hundreds of Demons suddenly decided to appear everywhere, even people as physically powerful as the Calidum Lutum could suffer large losses from a low tone Ambush.


    Two but equally important, if Laza, Kazer and Dilli just went into the Castle without informing anyone. If the Demons actually overwhelm the three Adventurers, there will be no saving them, no back up.


    They first went back to Town, arranged all of the Guards to be on their pique performance, even encouraged some non Guard men and women to lend a hand in this defensive task.


    That should keep everyone safe from any possible attacks, if Close Combat isn''t enough to handle the Demons, the Lava Blasters are here to cause colossal damage against anything who dares to hurt this Town.


    Apart from that golden move of protection, they reconnected with the Grand Masters to propose a plan that Kazer thought off and Dilli modified.


    Kazer stated after he entered the Rock Igloo, "Demons are here, we need to work fast. I need you Xalk."


    Happy that he can get into action although he kept it calm, trying to not become similar to the situation in the old Lan Zhe.


    Xalk answered, "What do you need me to do?"


    Speaking in their own Calidum Lutum language although Dilli can''t understand anything, Kazer pitched. "That old Ignite Castle has most likely a portal inside, we need you to surround everything with Volcanic Rock so we can seal the Demons in."


    Although wanting to help, this idea might not be the best in Xalk''s point of view and he didn''t fail to express his disagreement either.


    Starting it with a minor shout, Xalk stated. "That''s crazy! That Castle is over 30 meters tall, I need the rest of the Grand Masters there if not 20 more Masters."


    Xalk is taking this situation logically, which is ironic considering how he behaved back in Lan Zhe because of the Blue Lava.


    Unwilling to sit and wait for something to happen, Altacin offered her services. "Then I''ll come and help you."


    Having that thought over already, Kazer expressed. "No, I need you three here to protect Lan Zhe."


    Turning the topic back to Xalk, Kazer continued. "Xalk, take 10 Masters with you. Don''t rush it, the Town is protected and I''d like to think that 21 people can take care of theirselves against mindless Demons."


    ...


    As they walked closer to the Castle, Dilli couldn''t help but be amazed of the Architecture although it is rather simple.


    From the ground, she feels very small compared to the Castle as one of its round, moss covered Towers is 30 meters tall as mentioned by Xalk earlier.


    Furthermore, a little while earlier she could notice half of the Castle''s left tower crumbled down to the ground close by, a 10 or so meter tall rubble to be more exact.


    Apart from its massive height, this Castle is over 70 meters wide. Although she can''t be exactly sure of that, it still is huge.


    The entrance she along with Kazer walked through, it''s around 13 feet tall which points towards the fact that Ignites favoured to exaggerate Architectural works 6,000 years before.


    What points out towards that fact? Well since Wagons weren''t invented by that time and since Ignites ranged around 7 feet tall then, Building a 13 feet tall entrance was completely unnecessary.


    Apart from its height, the walls granting entrance to the Castle aren''t so thin either, approximately 20 feet wide which is logical considering the wall heights.


    But as they passed through the entrance, they took a left glance to seek what else this Castle has to offer and noticed that the walls aren''t equal to the entrance, they are a few feet thinner.


    This Architecture is nothing less than different, you would expect that since the towers are over 30 meters tall, the Castle would be enormous.


    It''s quite the opposite, looking to their right they also spotted the Castle and considering the towers and walls around this Castle, this size is tiny.


    The Castle only stretches 30 feet across, has this sort of roundish shape and is only 10 feet tall. 10!


    Considering this odd architecture, one would think that the walls are just for show but when you look at this from a battle point of view, it is Genius.


    Sure it isn''t fancy and holy, but since it is made entirely out of rock it would face little to no damage from spears and arrows.


    The walls protect this little Castle from receiving damage and considering the height of the Towers, the Ignites could have done massive Damage without Fire, although it is unlikely that they''ve put Archers up there.


    Everything about this Castle is bizarre, there are only three Towers. Be it intact or not, so you would expect the walls to be triangular in order to both cut expenses and lead enemies towards the Towers.


    But no, these walls are formed into a square and although there is a tower on the left and right in front of the Castle, there is only one tower right in the middle on the back side of these walls.


    As they walked towards the Castle, Dilli asked. "Why do you want to build a stone wall around it? You could just go in here and surround the Castle."


    Expecting this question, but not from Dilli, he felt well prepared to answer. "This is ancient Ignite History, our situation is sensitive but it doesn''t mean that we have rights to destroy this precious Landmark. The easy way through would be considered selfish here."


    Liking how Kazer is protecting Ignite History although she has it hard putting every logical fact together, she decided to ask. "But we will cause Damage when we bring that Portal down, some kind of Collapse is inevitable just to make the portal unusable for a while."


    Not liking how she thinks, although understanding why, he pointed out. "You''re thinking the easy way through, see that''s what will harm this relic. I have an idea about that too, just leave it to me."


    ...


    Entering the Castle was easy, the stone door of an entrance was long crumbled by time. Broken in 3 big pieces, and complimented by thousands of ash like tiny rocks spread around here and there around it.


    Walking in the Castle became tricky for Kazer since he is ten feet tall, it was hard for him for a little while until they figured that this Castle is bigger on the outside than on the inside.


    10 meters in, they found theirselves going down stone stairs, covered with moss, cracked all over and they could even see small animal bones here and there.


    To make it more clear, everything is becoming more spacy. The Stone staircase is 30 feet or so wide, and it isn''t certain how deep they go.


    Dark down here without a doubt, Dilli broke out a bit of fire From her palm and kept it going to grant this place a gift that it might not have seen for 1 to thousands of years, illumination. Light.


    Now why did I mention 1 before 1,000? It''s simple, many people could have walked here after the Castle was put out of use.


    Be it an explorer, be it a treasure seeker, be it a man or woman hungry for knowledge, many could have been here.


    Relics usually sell for big coin, so if not sold to a rich ill.u.s.tratian, Relics could have been sold to some rich Ignite anywhere before 202 years.


    That''s one reason one would be inspired to explore this Castle, gold.


    Feeling like they are half way deep through the Staircase, they heard something they did not want to hear but are also glad to hear it. Complexing to comprehend, but what happens happens.


    AAAAIHGGGGGG!


    A Demon shouted from the top of its lungs, chasing the light and thinking it would scare illumination with such crazed behaviour.


    Dilli was the first to spot this Demon, although they both heard it yell like the crazed Bastards these Demons are.


    She shot a two foot wide Fireball, small in size because she perfectly fixed her aim.


    But second and the least favourable, this Demon was already 3 foot close.


    It''s head blown off, momentum piled up through its previous dash did not cease to exist.


    Dilli got tackled by the Demon''s carcass, tossed against the stairs because of it.


    Thankfully alive and mobile, she pushed the Demon away, stood up alone refusing Kazer''s aid and removed her shoulder armour strap, glancing at the claw marks left on it she expressed. "Well at least we are on the right path."

 Chapter 433 - A kiss

    As they ventured down this old Ignite Castle, one fact became clear. Most passages, or what we can consider passages have long been decapitated by what instability time can tag along.


    Point is, dirt and stone have blocked most of the tunnels this place has to offer. Although illumination dim, half way through the staircase as they gazed upon their left side they could spot ancient Ignite architecture that symbolizes doors or tunnels.


    These doors have been overtaken by crumbling stone, broken beyond repair and rendered out of use.


    As curious as they are, the two explorers can''t be wasting any time trying to dig through these collapsed tunnels. Clearing a tunnel is a job for 10 people and at such a case it wouldn''t be necessary because it would never lead to a Portal.


    Most passages are blocked yes, at least that''s what they saw so far and like everything this has a good and bad side.


    Let''s venture deep into the good side as a start, after these Demonic attacks it would be nice to hear something delicate to the ear right?


    Since most passages are blocked, it will slice their work over and over like a leek. Meaning they won''t need to explore this obviously large structure end to end to find that Demonic Portal.


    The passages being blocked, will only lead them towards where the Demon came from. Considering that cut down in walking time, all they need to do is keep their skin away from skin obliterating claws.


    Protection should be set as a main priority, because before even tapping all the way down the Staircase, Dilli got jumped by a Demon. It wasn''t anything peachy to face and if she was a hunch slower, she would have been as good as dead.


    This isn''t a fist to fist fight, either side of the stick won''t need to land one blow after the other to win. Here, it is either strike first or die first.


    Okay now getting to the bad side, this one is mostly sentimental and refers to the terms of relic admiration.


    Time will slowly but surely swallow this beautifully ancient piece of History, it is inevitable. Thankfully the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance didn''t try to damage this Castle specifically but there still are numerous factors that will destroy this Castle slowly.


    One is the lack of care and work here. This place is strictly unusable, hard to live in and impossible to repair.


    Two is that weather will give its contributes of crumbling this place to its last carved slab. Rain and snow is enough to weaken a structure over a course of 10 Centuries, not to mention if a strong soul shaking Earthquake captivates it. This Castle would be as good as gone considering its current state.


    Third but not least there is no activity to keep this Relic''s impact going, to give it a voice. There are no books that briefly or deeply grants us an introduction of what this Castle represents or was about and if there were books before about this Castle sold in the local Markets, the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance would Label books as Demonic and destroy them. If you can believe that.


    We all know that it belonged to Ignites, its long abandoned and it''s over 6,000 years old but that''s where this delicate dance meets a cliff and falls over.


    One thing that this exploration keeps revealing, is that Ignites had the weirdest Architectural tastes.


    As the two Explorers met with the end of the Staircase, they spotted more than a bunch of blocked passages in front of them, maybe 7 to 9 all crammed together in this little piece of space. Although the entire left side started becoming a blurry view due to the crumbled rock and dirt overwhelming it.


    With all passages blocked but one, Dilli pointed to the right and stated. "Seems like this is the only tunnel we can take."


    At first not saying a thing, but becoming concerned after seeing how the tunnel is shaped, Kazer complained. "I don''t think I can fit through that."


    Looking at the Tunnel and looking back at Kazer, Dilli advised. "Yes you can, but you will need to crawl." After that she pointed at the tunnel, trying to make him go in first.


    Complaining again, although he has no goal of fleeing from this little quest, he said. "But it''s half my size."


    Unwilling to take no as an answer, Dilli stabbed the air with her arm again, pointing at the Tunnel. "Crawl."


    Comprehending what they saw of the Castle so far, they could notice the compensation of size and space. What this Castle lacks from the outside in size, comprehends it in the inside with expansive Tunnels and or Rooms.


    Seeing Kazer crawl in front of her, finding it interesting since she is used of the Calidum Lutum being all tall and stuff, following after him as they''ve sunk 15 meters deep in this tunnel. Kazer asked. "Why should I stand in front when you are the one who has light?"


    Forgetting about that, she lightly slapped her forehead, feeling tad embarassed of this dumb move and requested. "Try to scooch aside so I can get in front, at least I can walk my way through."


    Leaning to the side, bashing his knees against stone trying to cooperate, he jumped a little and sighed. "Ouch!"


    Although not used to teasing, this here is nothing less but a Golden opportunity so with her tone high pitched and her intentions obvious she spoke. "Oh what''s wrong? A big tough Calidum Lutum can''t stand Tunnels?"


    Not embarrassed but more pissed instead since knee pain has to be one of the worst out there, trying not to be rude he excused himself. "I''m trying to not damage the Tunnel."


    Sighing to this little lie, fairly happy, she answered stretching one word for a few seconds. "Sure..."


    Walking and crawling about ten meters more, she decided to point out a fact they both might have missed. "Have you noticed that this Tunnel is leading us towards the opposite way, like we are walking towards where we first started although the starting point is 50 feet above us."


    Although appreciative of this Relic, Kazer too has noticed how different it is and is not liking some parts of this Architecture. "Us Calidum Lutum keep it simple, wide opening and barely any Tunnels. You''ll live longer."


    With no intent to be judgy, she just pointed out what of his words don''t really make sense. "Safe with a Volcano in the middle?"


    Not getting mad about such a small piece of criticism, but choosing to use reason instead he stated. "That Lava made us unbeatable against attacks, we could have used the Human staff defensive formation against any big threat."


    Letting the silence stretch a tad bit, he decided to point out a sole fact. "While here, we can''t use this battle Formation since it would require to attack in all sides."


    Getting completely off topic, asking an unfavourable question after. "Are you married?" Definitely a question to spook most men.


    Kazer answered firmly but swiftly, "No." As he tried to think why she asked this question.


    Thankfully shedding more light to her own different behaviour, she spoke. "You won''t get married if you keep talking about battle formations." A bit harsh but straight to the point, she means no harm after all, this is just another tease.


    Trying to tease her as well, but unwilling to break any fights in such a snug spot, he beated around the bush. "I wasn''t there when it happened, but word is you almost killed the man you fancy."


    Breaking into laughter, forcing it to echo all across the Tunnel she felt the most sure to answer. "Oh I didn''t kill him because I missed the shot, I wouldn''t like anyone who cooperates with a Mind Controller."


    Seeing that this conversation has taken a savage turn, Kazer tried to crack a joke in order to lighten the mood. "Well I don''t think I will ever marry, unless that lady knows a lot about battle Formations."


    Understanding the joke, she turned around to look at his sweaty face and spoke. "Just get her some flowers, that could be the only thing bailing you out."


    Trying to answer, "Well I..." But having his word interrupted by something they both don''t like.


    GUEEEKKKKK!


    A Demon shouted, crawling its way through the tunnel as fast a Human would run in plain lands.


    BOOM!


    A Fireball shone from her palms, breaking through the air, massacring an edged carved rock hanging from the tunnel''s ceiling and making its way towards the Demon.


    Blood splattered across the Tunnel, a mouthful of the same blood landed in front of Dilli''s fur boots.


    Standing firm, she saw the Demon''s head bouncing a few times before it landed near her feet too. Somehow she managed to hit the Demon''s head and cut it all off, nice.


    Thankful that he and Dilli are in piece, he still has a little complaint. "I should have shoved Cloth in my ears before coming here, that shout is too much."


    Finally reaching the end of the Tunnel, Dilli walked out first of course and looked behind her to seek Kazer.


    He crawled out, slapped his knees a few times to get the dirt off, rubbed his neck too and just as he was about to say something... Another Demon.


    It pounced on Kazer, luckily using the illumination to his aid he managed to grab the Demon underneath its claws and close to its elbows, tossing it to his right against the stone wall encrusted with dirt just 4 meters away.


    Dilli shot a 4 foot Wide Fireball against the Demon''s chest, blowing off its head along with its chest and shoulders, all that was left is its belly and legs.


    With that over, he shouted. "By Calidum, I kissed that Demon."


    If there ever was a time to tease, it is now so Dilli added with a giggle. "You finally got a date, sorry that I had to kill her though."

 Chapter 434 - Sticky Stonework

    As their attention towards the Demon spread thin, with the aid of Perception they spotted what''s different in this Room. Books! They''ve found books.


    A wholesome find isn''t it? Stefan would go absolutely crazy in happiness if he was here, it''s extra special to find books in such an Ancient spot.


    Not screaming about it obviously, not used of reading books although she can read. Grabbing the closest one, trying to open it and read with one hand as she is trying to illuminate the place as well. "I have no idea what any of these words mean."


    Of course she didn''t say that immediately, but after flipping a few pages and trying to make a sentence out of all this. Sounding it out, so Kazer can grasp how confusing this language is, she slowly read a small sentence out loud. "Kuzar er Atnopes..."


    Hearing that very sentence, Kazer''s eyes opened up in shock and his mouth too. Snatching the book off her hand, pushing his big fingers through the edges of each page trying to find that same word after he lost the page.


    Giving up on that first sentence that Dilli read, he just decided to read the contents of the page he paused at. "This is... this is the Calidum Lutum Language."


    Struggling to explain how bad this situation can turn to, he translated the first word Dilli read out loud. "That first word you''ve read, it means. "Hail the Beast". I''m not sure what Beast they are referring too, but these books shouldn''t be here."


    The most calm here this time, because she isn''t in the same puzzling situation, she recalled some key History facts and decided to make them clear. "Didn''t your people start hiding when the first Era began, over 6,000 years ago?"


    She didn''t need to say anything more, this brought Kazer back to his senses, he is a tremendously intelligent man and panic doesn''t really fit him. Taking Dilli''s guess and expanding it, he swiftly spoke. "There is no Historical record of Ignite and Calidum Lutum cooperation but yet again there is no Historical record at all, just words passed down from Generation to Generation."


    Sealing this bewildering Dilemma, she pitched. "These books could be over 60 Centuries old, you don''t know what happened back then and neither do I."


    As they searched this odd room for more books, they had a bit more time to comprehend its Architectural values. A good example, this room looks like a A stick. I''m not even kidding!


    Although not the best in measurements, these two can have a wild guess of this room''s size. It''s 3 meters wide and 15 or more meters long so yes it is a sticky Stonework.


    One more key fact, this room is a lot more well preserved which is staggering in the long term considering that it''s deeper underground. One small shake from above and this place can go down.


    Maybe the ancient Ignite Architects chose to make this room stronger? Even the stones here look different. The cut slabs they saw so far although covered in moss, they have a strict grey colour, some portions forced dark gray with the aid of age.


    While in this room every side of the wall has an eye catching green colour, it''s not because of the moss.


    Although a blurr regarding which basic material from mother nature can gift this green colour, it is unusual. The Walls are flat, no edges or fancy work here and there. Just flat, maybe for a Reason?


    There are countless markings, letters forming a word or a full sentence. She can''t read any of them and Kazer has no luck either. They are almost sure that it is some Ignite language and accent but far out dated.


    Markings aside, they did manage to find 5 more books! These books however carry a Language that Kazer can''t understand, nonetheless Dilli. Looking at the books and at the markings, she assured that the language is the same.


    Confusion aside, it''s a good thing that these books are mostly readable although not understandable. If they are this old, you would expect everything to go for shit use-wsie.


    Finding which way to go next as they searched this... different room for books. Dilli pointed at the other side of the room, and gently said. "Let''s go now." After putting the 6 books in her backpack, sharing space with meat.


    Apart from his stick like stonework, this room has three passages on its right side while only one in the right side, a.k.a the same passage that the two Adventurers came out of.


    Now on the right side, the first tunnel along with the second are as good as gone, corrupted by scattered stone bricks, dirt and boulders.


    But, the third and furthest passage all the way across the room is open, that Tunnel is practically screaming that Dilli and Kazer are on the right path.


    Realizing something, Dilli decided to express it. "This Tunnel is green too."


    "Maybe that''s why it''s still stable." It''s nice to see them on the same thought for once really.


    Walking for just 4-5 meters, they''ve already found another room. Kazer became the happiest, as he doesn''t need to crawl anymore just to follow Dilli but at this point he wished to crawl some more.


    They''ve found another long endless looking Staircase, about 10 foot wide though which is a bit smaller compared to the first one but the Stairs are the problem. They are Short!


    Dilli can barely fit her foot on one of them, imagine Kazer''s struggle! He will need to walk like a lady with a wedding dress if he wishes not to tumble all the way to the other side.


    Letting out a little complain, Kazer spoke. "Perfect."


    Walking down this staircase was forced to become a minor problem because countless shouts echoed across this large room.


    GAAAAAAAAAAAAK!


    HUEEEEEE!


    KUUUUUUTAAA!!!


    SAAAAAAAAEEEEEEL!


    You get the point, Demons! But this time the situation isn''t similar, she can''t shoot anything down without being mutilated beyond healing.


    She dashed close to Kazer, slapped the ground with her foot, squatted down and clapped her hands. Fire broke from her palms, and thinned like a piece of leather as it spread into an Orb.


    Before either of them could speak, Demons surrounded them! Chipping the stairs with their powerful curled claws as they ran up, clawing one another as they followed the light.


    Trying to speak, but having to shout since these Demons are of course screaming, Dilli tried to explain the severity of this situation. "I have no way to shoot them, we can only wait for them to burn against the shield."


    Understanding that Dilli has been rendered out of options, smart to crack a Fire Shield open in such a compressed space where battle seems a stupid thing to do. He decided to lend a hand here this time, assuring. "I''ll help."


    He squatted down, trying to squeeze in and even pushing her legs away with his shoulder, trying to touch the ground.


    Slapping the ground with his palm, keeping it there. His hand glew, bones could be spotted in between the Skin thanks to all the sudden light beneath his palm.


    She felt the ground beneath her feet shift, lift and move. Dirt and stone cracking, thin branching rivers of Lava captivating them all around although not toasting their feet.


    Although it started slow and with a dim impact, Lava exploded around the whole Fire Shield! It first burst 2 meters high and overwhelmed these God Forsaken Demons like an Ocean wave, slapping their faces and shunning their screams.


    KIAAAEAAAAA!


    Well, mostly shunning them.


    Enjoying their screams, focusing on them to the point of forgetting that she is holding a Fire Shield, Kazer interrupted her. "I think that''s all of them."


    Dilli answered, "Right." And broke the Fire Shield after. "I thought you didn''t want to damage this ruin."


    Seeing where she is getting at, he excused himself. "Right, but I didn''t bring the whole place down now did I?"


    Joking, Dilli said. "Not yet."


    Apart from the jokes, the deeper they go one fact became clear. This place is large and it will take a bit longer until they actually reach the Demon.


    Sure a bundle of them attacked now, but that could just be bad luck. Chances are one Demon followed the other and they clumsily made their way here, it is a great possibility.


    From this point they will meet face to face with more Demons, but with one or two instead of a Bundle such as now.


    Looking at Kazer struggling to walk down the Stairs, Dilli couldn''t help but giggle. She pitched a little idea, "Why don''t you just make a little slide for yourself."


    "Ha Ha Ha." Pissed and laughing sarcastically a bit too no doubt, this idea doesn''t seem so bad after he thought about it twice. "Wait, I can do that."


    Afterwards, he sat down on the stairs and simply placed his palm 2 feet away from himself and on the Stone stairs.


    Lava puked out of his hands, slowly but surely making its way down the long set of Stone Stairs.


    A minute later, feeling that he let out enough Lava, he slapped the stairs under his palms and the Lava near him started drying out and turning into Stone.

 Chapter 435 - Kutuk Re Qutuk

    "Ring of Kushraz!" Mogranius shouted, remembering its name and assuring that its introduction will enslave everyone''s attention.


    Being the first to break the silence after that unnecessary shout, bewildered and unsure what''s going on, King Michael spoke. "What''s that?"


    Direct, showing that he wasn''t using anything as a metaphor, Mogranius answered. "A Ring."


    Certain that everyone will follow up with a boat load of questions, observing how everyone around him are lost in this conversation, Mogranius continued with a brief explanation. "It belonged to an Ignite King in the late first Era, he died roughly over 2,100 years ago and such."


    Asking the obvious question, firmly decapitated in terms of linking this topic with more Fire Power, King Michael asked. "What benefit does it bring us though?"


    First showing dissatisfaction by shaking his head left to right repeatedly and saying. "I thought you would know about this more than me, a pity really."


    Second and most importantly he described the Ring''s attributes, "Shortly, it can make a Fire Controller a hell lot more Dangerous. Even a Magician can blast 10 foot wide Fireballs without even wasting 1/10th of his or mam''s Stamina."


    Although he has seen some bizzare things in his life so far, Mogranius an example. King Michael doesn''t see this ring as something real and he did not fail to express it. "Are you sure this isn''t fiction? That ring sounds far too powerful to be in anyone''s possession."


    His ears blowing out smoke, literally! Mogranius expressed his gathered up nerves by yelling his logical wordplay. "I''ve been to his Dungeon myself your "Highness"! For some reason no Fire Blaster can ever get in there so you know something valuable is down there."


    Poking at Mogranius'' plan once more, not because the King doesn''t believe him but more like he wants to piss the old man off, Michael asked another Question. "Do you think Marixha can get down there, she is a Fire Blaster too... although through an unusual end."


    His face red, smoke covering his Wizard hat and ears completely, not shouting this time but whispering instead, Mogranius answered. "How about we toss you against the Force Field with a Bear Claw and hope for the best?"


    Realizing that he might be going too far, the King cut the jokes and tried modifying the idea. "How about we send Commander Alia and Isabel down there, they are more than capable."


    Calming down in a break of a second, as if he was a moody Teenager although he is 60 years old! Mogranius both loves and hates this idea. Sure these two ladies could pass through the forcefield, but what other dangers could be collecting dust, set up straight by this King who can enchant.


    Unaware of any offensions he can cause with his wordplay, Mogranius answered. "That''s a good idea, but they can get killed. They have no Fire."


    Commander Alia, being in the same room, jumped in the conversation and had an urge to smack the man behind the head. "I can survive in a Dungeon, you can barely survive in the shit shack alone."


    Raising his forefinger high, Mogranius stated. "Okay that was one time!"


    Interrupting this... unique topic. King Michael asked. "In which Dungeon exactly can they find this Ring?"


    Mogranius immediately corrected with his forefinger still high. "The ring of Kushraz!"


    Understanding his points of view, King Michael went along. "Yes, the ring of Kushraz. Is the Dungeon far away?"


    Realizing that he might not have thought this entirely true, putting his forefinger down Mogranius stated. "It''s about 30 Kilometers away from Dragon''s Flame Kingdom..."


    Shocked, looking at this time-wise. King Michael slightly yelled. "What? That Kingdom is nearly 500 Kilometers away from here!"


    Based on experience, Mogranius explained. "Isabel can run faster than I can fly, this mission will take 2 weeks tops."


    Trying to prove that she is strong as well as smart, Commander Alia released a firm fact. "And if we get it, it will be much like having 2 Grand Masters in our little group here."


    Well the plan is settled from this point, the Fire Controllers can stay here and protect the Kingdom from Demonic invasions. In this sensitive situation it is a relief that they prove absolutely useless in that Dungeon.


    With no time to waste, the two ladies will be well equipped and heading for Kushraz''s Dungeon."


    ...


    Looking at possibly 700 potential enemies in front of him, standing firm in front of Gaster Kingdom. These... creatures have not yet attacked, and Demand to talk to the Ruler of this Kingdom... they want to talk to King Michael.


    Not sure what kind of title to use, never seen these beings before he figures that the "Peaceful Demons" have something to do with this. King Michael spoke as he approached the Leader. "Greetings... Sir...?"


    Thankfully, able to speak the Ignite language this creature Answered. "I''m Sir Kutuk Re Qutuk. Leader of the Goblin Demons, claimer of land and treasure."


    Seeing where this situation is going to, King Michael tried to remain calm and kind in order to avoid a possible conflict. "Hello Kutuk Re Qutuk. I''m King Michael, what brings you and your Army here today?"


    Like any enemy or potential enemy, these... Goblin Demons came here unannounced. Although 4 foot tall, they sure can prove dangerous considering all the one handed Iron battle axes they are carrying.


    The Leader of these puzzling beings, cut straight to the case without any fear whatsoever. Getting c.o.c.ky once seeing the smaller Army size in front of the Castle walls. "I demand 20... no 30 Gold Coins a week if you wish for your Domain to not be attacked by us Goblin Demons."


    As the leader made his demand clear, those of his own species cheered him on with countless whispers or loud talks.


    "Yes 30 Gold Coins."


    "We are big army."


    "Gold or war."


    "Kutuk smart!"


    "I need new underwear."


    Looking back at his army, Kutuk shouted. "Quiet."


    If King Michael wanted to battle these Goblin Demons today, he would just squat down and tease the Leader''s height and then cut his head off. But he will never get an opportunity like this one again.


    Seeing that King Michael hasn''t yet replied, Kutuk attempted to intimidate. "We are raiders, we have claimed many lands as our own! Now we only need more Gold! Pay us, or we shall claim your walls."


    Understanding that this branch of self acclaimed Demons aren''t particularly bright, King Michael the much smarter decided to kill two birds with one stone here. "I will pay you 30 Gold Coins a week for peace. But see, another species of Demons is causing us trouble. If you are willing to keep some of them away from my Kingdom, I will pay you a 500 Gold Coin bonus now and 70 additional Gold Coins every week."


    Particularly smarter than the usual Demons who run around and shout until they got killed, but not too smart either. Kutuk Re Qutuk raised his hand and started counting his 7 fingers with the other, murmuring. "That''s a lot of Gold."


    Overall, apart from their short size King Michael is much intrigued by how their heads look. A key characteristic, they only have one eye right above where the nose is supposed to be. Compensating the other eye most creatures are supposed to have, with size as this one eye alone is big!


    Apart from this unique eye, They have two long Donkey like ears which points out towards the Goblin attributes the King supposes. And right under the Ears, two Horns stretch Horizontally to the left and right. Mostly straight, but have a sharp curl at the end.


    And what could be the most bizzare feature, their Chin is almost normal... The Jawline starts normal but the Chin stretches down, 1 inch or so thick and 4 inches long.


    When these beings turn their head left or right, the King can see that the back of their head is longer than any Human would have. Starting from their neck, the back of their head takes a curl backwards, a foot long basically.


    No doubt, these are the most interesting creatures he ever saw, and likes to learn more about them.


    The Leader interrupted the King''s curiosity by shouting. "I accept your offer."


    "Perfect." Taking the opportunity to use these Demons as a Source of information, King Michael offered as he remained careful with his words. "You and your men might require a meal. How about you join me in my Castle, to see if we can make any other Deals and in the meanwhile my men will feed every Soldier of yours for free."


    Agreeing to this more than reasonable offer, Kutuk turned around to face his Army but bumped into one of his men. That pissed the short leader off so he shouted, "Move you son of a Blue Goblin."


    Kutuk continued to shout after, but this time for good. "Army!! We need gold, we will get gold. King offers Gold. You will stay here and not cause any trouble, or I will personally use you as fish bait."

 Chapter 436 - Where they came from?

    Delicate with his tone, with no aim whatsoever to start a fight, fragile with his wordplay as if talking to a newborn. King Michael asked the first question after they''ve settled down in the Castle Dining room. "Sir Kutuk, you claim yourself and your Army as Goblin Demons. How exactly did you get here? You know this is a big title to claim, right?"


    Confused, as if the sea salted fish hypnotized the Leader, he clumsily answered. "How we got near your place? We Walked."


    Seeing the misunderstanding, and getting a little doubt that these Goblins have actual Demon origin, King Michael modified his question. "I figured that out, but my point is there isn''t really a Demonic Branch that started on this planet. Did you get here through a Portal?"


    Punching the table, making the fried fish fly 7 feet and drop in his mouth, swallowing it completely without even chewing, Kutuk got satisfied enough to answer. "Oh... yes. My ancestors did, in fact my Father did but he passed 30 years ago."


    Trying not to annoy Kutuk, King Michael followed up lightly with an offer. "I have so many questions, I can pay you for answers."


    Instantly liking the deal, Kutuk asked. "Pay me how much?"


    Trying not to sound scammy in order to fit in with the standards these species have set, letting silence stretch for a few seconds as he thought it through. King Michael answered. "I will pay you 10 Gold Coins per question."


    Of course 10 Gold Coins aren''t much... considering the average salary in Gaster Kingdom being 200! But these Demons don''t seem to understand how the current economy works. It can become bad if they figure out how, the Goblin Demons can get pissed but they asked for 30 Gold Coins to begin with and they threatened war so the King''s actions are acceptable.


    An ill.u.s.tratian Guard walked with a leather sack full of gold over his shoulder. Barely 10 Kilos heavy, but for Qutuk this is paradise... Ironic.


    After a quick greeting, "Hail to our King." The Guard placed the sack of Gold right near a Chair where Kutuk is at and explained his work''s Origin. "These are the 400 Gold Coins you requested from the Royal Treasury."


    Not paying much attention to the Gold, Kutuk glaredu upon the Guard. Holding his Iron Battle Axe tight even, expecting a fight. The Leader didn''t shy away with his questions. "Why do you have these traitors here?"


    Offended, but unwilling to say a word and let his Iron speak if the situation turns for the worst. The ill.u.s.tratian Guard grabbed his Sword''s handle and expected the King to speak up.


    Spotting the obvious fact that a Dilemma is one swing away, King Michael didn''t spare his words to tame the masses. "I might understand why you hate ill.u.s.tratios, but every man and woman in my Kingdom is on my side. Each have put in work for the better."


    Trusting the King''s words, since he didn''t fail to deliver all this gold. Kutuk loosened his grip around his Axe''s handle and actually has the courage to say. "My apologies then, the ill.u.s.tratios in Meridionali Ignis are Devils. Which really says something, because I''m a purely breed Demon."


    Respecting a man that can apologise, the ill.u.s.tratian Guard softly murmured. "It''s okay." And turned his attention back to the King, Asking. "Do you have any other requests Sire?"


    Glad that no conflict occured right now when he actually needs these Demons to stick close his Domain, King Michael first ordered the Guard. "I will be needing 200 more Gold Coins as soon as possible. This fine gentleman is cooperating with us."


    ...


    Meanwhile in front of the Main Gate with a few sub leaders yelling out Commands, 15 Lines of Goblin Demons formed and are awaiting for the promised food.


    Preparing food for 700 individuals at the last minute is hard, but some Fishermen were sent to help out the Castle maids and throughout pale communication with the sub leaders they figured out how much food to give in order for every Goblin Demon to be fulfilled.


    Although not the brightest, they are very disciplined and execute orders in just a few seconds after being told. What measures have been used to reach this level of Discipline is a shrouded Mystery, they used some kind of fear method likely but if it works than it''s not stupid.


    "Next!" Shouted a sub leader as each individual first in line was provided with a meal.


    The 15 men and women with a meal turned to the left and started walking away to make room for people behind them.


    As for how much these species eat, half a loaf of bread can keep them fed for Dinner but for the whole day they would likely need more than that.


    Being warriors, Winter chilling their spines as well. The best option is to feed them nice warm fish meat. Now there are more than 10 species of fish meat in the Castle''s inventory, most of which are cheap. But it''s better to use them all instead of putting one portion out of stock."


    Good thing is, the Goblin Demons love this idea so it''s a win win.


    Each of them are getting about half a Kilo of fish meat alongside with half a Wheat Bread loaf. Of course they can eat this all, and it is their decision what to do with this food but they might feel bloated.


    Last but not least, Water. With countless creeks in the forest supplied by the main River piercing the Continent, It isn''t really a Dilemma to quench thirst of 700 beings although each of them would need a Liter a day or so to survive.


    Treating these guests good enough at such short notice for sure required the serving men and women to be on their pique performance now and possibly for two hours but the Resources they have given away today can be replenished in a week without letting anyone go Hungry.


    ...


    Coming at this directly, although King Michael did not ask a question regarding this topic. Kutuk stated. "We Raid for fun. We don''t need Gold for food, we hunt our own food. But Gold Does look good in the Treasury."


    Ignoring this senseless activity since it isn''t inflicted upon his own Kingdom, King Michael asked the first question and piled up one Gold Coin over the other on the table, pushing it towards Kutuk with a fork. "For 10 Gold Coins, can you tell me when and how your Ancestors called this Realm home? I know a lot about everything, but I never heard about the glorious Goblin Demons."


    Although ashamed, Kutuk sweet coated what happened. "An ill.u.s.tratio tricked us 250 years ago, we were locked in a Cave for 250 years."


    Piling up 10 more Gold Coins and once again carefully pushing them towards Kutuk, Michael asked. "What did they lie about? Which deal did they break to the point of tricking you?"


    Hesitant to answer this one, Kutuk glanced upon a young boy and asked. "Who is that kid? When did he get here?"


    Turning around, King Michael didn''t even notice the boy came in. "He is Eric, he rules a Kingdom of his own."


    Although Kutuk wanted to say more about this but unwilling to infuriate Royalty he knows nothing about, he decided to answer Michael''s question. Yelling it through. "An ill.u.s.tratio lied to us. He said that deep underground there are Golden Tree roots. We all went down there to find these treasures but got locked in a Cave by countless Boulders. The ill.u.s.tratio probably had hand in that too. But what''s worse, he stole all our Loot we got for 10 years before being trapped."


    As Kutuk revealed this important but also hilarious piece of information, King Michael did everything in his power to hold his laughter in while Eric was pushing his tongue against his teeth trying not to laugh.


    Keeping a stiff firm face, trying not to infuriate the Leader since there still are a lot of questions that crave answers. Michael decided to show sympathy. "That''s dark, I can see why you hate the ill.u.s.tratios."


    Although feeling sympathy, King Michael couldn''t resist the urge to use these potential enemies against Grand King Talato of Meridionali Ignis. "I hope you got your revenge on that wicked man and the ill.u.s.tratios in Meridionali Ignis who might have thought the same as him."


    Shouting again, trying to sound tough and bad, Kutuk answered. "We tried! But it turns out Humans live for 70 years only. As for Kingdoms there, they have grown too large for us to Pillage."


    Trying to reason with the man, King Michael stated. "As you see here we are nothing like the ill.u.s.tratios there and are willing to cooperate."


    That should be enough to avoid trouble from these Goblin Demons so far, but now getting to a vital question. "You mentioned that your Ancestors went through a Portal, but why? Where you sent here to handle some mission?"


    Waiting for King Michael to count the Gold Coins up, and push them over. Kutuk finally answered. "We had no exact task, in fact we weren''t even sent to pillage. Our overlords wanted for us Goblin Demons to spread as much Havoc through this Continent as possible for 1 year and when we are done with our mission, we can go back to our Realm with 1,000 Hectares of land as a reward alongside with 100 Kilos of Diamonds."

 Chapter 437 - Proven Worthy.

    As the King along with the Goblin Demon Leader were discussing what happened and when it happened, yet another Guard burst through the Dining Room Door and alarmed. "Sire, Demons! Over 200!"


    Hearing, understanding and fed for battle. Kutuk grabbed his bag of gold, piled up at exactly 500 Coins now. Throwing the bag over his shoulder, he ran across the table knocking a couple of goblets over and reached the Door.


    Looking at the two men behind him who have been left in shock, he forced an encouragement. "It''s time for battle! Come!"


    Spending a handful of seconds trying to comprehend what just happened, Eric and the King dashed after Kutuk following him out of the Castle.


    Running across the Throne Room, not quite the time to fly off to battle yet since they are inside the two men were gifted with a moment to think.


    Looking at the Goblin Demon far outrunning the King and Eric with his little Goblin feet, all Eric could think of. "Why do these Goblin Demons have pink skin?"


    It''s the most bizarre color he saw on a living creature although Kutuk and the rest of his kind''s skin have a dark shade of pink. This colour makes them seem less intimidating but Kutuk is proving in some ways that he is a force to be reckoned with


    ...


    Finally making it to battle, they''ve managed to figure out that the Demons are attacking from the left side. We can use the gate as a point of orientation to figure out which the left side is or we can specify that they are coming from the Forest instead of the Sea which is near the right side of the Kingdom.


    The Demons have not yet reached this beautiful Domain, thankfully the Fire Controllers can deal some to half a damage to the whole group of enemies approaching.


    They see Mogranius up in the air, enslaving one handful of Demons after the other with his Fire blessed by the Source. Although short tailed, his Fireballs are stretching 6 foot in width!


    You would think an Ignite at such a case would be sparing with Stamina to contribute more in battle! But when you consider that there are around 200 Demons, it is the wisest solution to blast more and slice the battle''s arms and legs before it advances where Civilisation stands.


    King Michael didn''t waste a break of a second to join this battle, fear nonexistent but concern to keep his own Guards safe growing like a fertilised plant.


    Fire stretching 4 feet wide echoed beneath his feet, raging across the sky as he tried to reach the Demons as soon as possible to end them there. He can''t afford for more of his Guards to die.


    Flying fast and barely able to see, he did notice something he had doubts about. The Goblin Demons tightening their weaponry and running in battle with a l.u.s.t for blood!


    There are few who would face against Clawed Demons, you would expect less from a demonic branch of Goblins whose individuals are 4 foot tall each.


    700 Goblin Demons, all willing to aid in battle although the exchange for gold has been made transparent earlier. They are doing it for gold, but their battle morale says otherwise.


    As the two large forces met, King Michael could see a wall of blood separating the Clawed Demons from the Goblin Demons!


    Eric has been following the King as they soared across the sky, and now they both have managed to finally reach the battle field. Active 200 meters away from the Kingdom.


    Unleashing a few Fireballs as they made their way to the Ground, with a plan to attack the Demons from behind in order to tame the masses.


    Trying not to burn any of the Goblin Demons 30-50 meters on the other side facing this battle head on. King Michael shouted to Eric, "Short tailed Fireballs!"


    They wasted no second. Fire broke from their palm, granted illumination around their hand just for a moment and 5 foot wide Fireballs battled the wind before they''ve encrusted these Clawed Demons with much deserved Semi-holy Fire!


    Eric could hear Demons howling from the other side, screams of pain aren''t easy to tell apart from screams of craze but the Goblin Demons managed to make the two sounds differ. As if the young Electus doesn''t have enough nightmares!


    "Come here blow horn!" A lady Goblin Demon went into an attempt to lure a Clawed Demon to attack.


    As the Clawed Demon ran away from its large group, charging against the small 3.10 foot lady Demon and engaged to a high jump... The Clawed one felt a large pain in its throat, painting a 4 foot line of blood across the stomped on snow.


    So small, yet so dangerous. She tightened her hand around the Battle Axe''s handle, found satisfaction from the blood on her steel and shoulders and finally charged against a Demon who has leaped from the group and failed to pay attention towards all directions.


    Mogranius flew across the sky, gazed upon the Kingdom''s one and a half Platoon of Humans running towards battle and isolating the Demons from the left side.


    With the Goblin Demons isolating the front and the right side, compressing the Demons in such tremendous blood puking way. King Michael and Eric were already shooting from behind so in one way this means that the Demons are being attacked by all four sides although this wasn''t planned.


    Five sides actually! We did mention that Mogranius is taking enemies victim from above.


    A 4.2 foot tall Goblin Demon swung his Battle Axe to the right and saw Demonic claws crack along with one of its horns. Such damage would require tremendous force! Worthy! The Goblin Demons are proving theirselves worthy!


    As Eric surrendered his attention to the largest group of Demon howling and burning on his left side, he did not notice that a couple of Demons have slipped from the Slaughter and are coming his way.


    GIIIIAAAAAA!


    One of these foul Clawed Demons shouted, piercing ears with its foul sound and now being just 6 feet away from Eric while the other Demon is behind the first, only 9 feet away!


    Out of a Sudden, taking half of a second to their advantage. Two Goblin Demons leaped with their right foot forward and Jaw kicked the two Clawed Demons who would have ripped Eric in more pieces than Ladia can heal.


    Their one handed battle axes held so tight that it''s wooden handles are close to cracking, the Goblin Demons jumped a foot high almost at the same time and ripped through the Clawed Demons. Cutting their heads off, sacrificing the sharpness of their Weapons as bone was worked on.


    Swing after swing, Fireball after Fireball and slash after slash. The unified Armies massacred their way through this crazed threat.


    An awkward situation arose at the end as they raised Weapons against one another. They did not expect for this battle to be this short, especially the Guards. So when the last few Demons were put down for good, the two different origins met with each other and took a second to realize that they technically aren''t enemies.


    King Michael shouted the Celebration and broke the silence at the same time as he shouted. "We won!"


    Thunderous shouts of Glory and joy thundered across the fields a split second after, getting louder by each shout.


    The Goblin Demons making the most noise while the Platoon and a half of Humans trying to shout louder than them 7 Platoons!


    It is obvious who the odds favour at such a call for Glory.


    ...


    Finding King Michael in the midst of the celebration, catching up with him late although Leader Kutuk did not fail to contribute in this battle. The two Leaders made their way back to the Castle together.


    The Goblin Demons proved their selves extra ordinary in battle, so the King does not want to miss this opportunity. He wants to form some sort of an Alliance with this Demonic branch in exchange for their services.


    Making it into the throne room, but sitting around a table on the right side of the room and cutting the Royalty crap to not make Kutuk feel as less. King Michael first complimented. "Your Army was amazing! We lost 60 men in a battle a bit bigger than this one!"


    Although he knows that the Goblin Demon Army is amazing, Tutuk wanted to put pressure in some other facts that led to success. "They just knew what to do. These Clawed Demons are apprentice practices in our Realm."


    Battle-wise, it is certain that these Goblin Demons are ahead with their work although just carrying rusty Iron Battle Axes.


    To win him over, King Michael decided to become truthful about the economic standards of this Era before he learns it from anyone else and costs Havoc with his Army. "I haven''t been the fairest with you. 400 Gold Coins is no pay befitting the services you bring on the table. You deserve more."


    Catching the King at a loss for words, Kutuk Re Qutuk directly answered. "I know! Salaries at the ill.u.s.tratian motherland start at 800 Gold Coins."


    Confused, not knowing what to think first. King Michael could only ask. "Then why did you ask for 30 Gold Coins a week in exchange for peace if you know that you can demand thousands."


    Hearing sentences that the King might never hear anywhere else, ever! Kutuk explained in detail. "Because you didn''t attack us even though I threatened to attack your Kingdom. You welcomed me in the Castle and fed my men and women for free! You showed us... what you people call Humanity while everyone else we ran across for the past 260 years have called us Ugly and Demonic."


    A tear almost dropping from his eye, King Michael began to be eaten by guilt but Kutuk lifted the mood when he added. "Plus we don''t need much gold, we just need it to look nice and shiny. We can get food, wood, clothes and Iron ourselves therefore Gold only needs to look pretty for us."


    Grateful that he met this man, King Michael decided to make an offer that is much befitting to these wonderful beings but first started it off with a Compliment. "You truly are Peaceful Demons."


    And since Kutuk mentioned something about a reward from their Lords earlier, he decided to use a similar route. "I''m willing to pay you 5,000 Gold Coins if your Soldiers can teach my men those battle tactics that work well against the Clawed Demons. Apart from that Gold, I can bestow above your Army 10 Hectares of Land be it on land or in the Forest. I don''t know if you understand how Hectares work though... but my point is I need you and your Army close by."

 Chapter 438 - Finally, an upper Advantage.

    With that amazing deal made yesterday, it inevitably pushed the two parties towards a deeper Cooperation.


    To be clear, the Goblin Demons will still recieve 100 Gold Coins a month for peace and protection. Putting ego aside, the King thought of this as a good idea in terms of grabbing as many fruits from this branch as possible.


    Of course King Michael is still in charge of his own Domain, Kutuk hasn''t any authority above the King. Furthermore Kutuk has no intent to become hostile towards the Civilians of Gaster Kingdom considering the hospitality they have been gifted with in the beginning.


    King Michael also found it a good idea to label a few places untouchable. The Goblin Demons aren''t to attack Pameres Kingdom, Bale Town and the New Lan Zhe. Kutuk agreed right away, considering that there are a lot of Kingdoms and towns in this country alone that his Army could pillage.


    Although feeling guilty about allowing Kutuk''s Army to pillage the other Domains, it can serve as a good vantage point. Potential attackers will be weakened as the only City/Kingdom in [Country] Occidentis Ignis who can withstand the Goblin Demons at the moment, is Crutal Kingdom.


    Only their Army is big and blood thirsty enough with ego and pride fueling their crave to paint their Iron with blood.


    As promised, King Michael will be paying the amount they made a deal about although at the moment he is in Patrol. Giving the young Eric a few hours to relax.


    The Electus however hasn''t yet thought of to relax. Although calm about it, he doesn''t see these Goblin Demons as trustable.


    The King is on Patrol, so Alama is preparing the 5,000 Gold Coin pay with the aid of a few Guards since counting up to 5,000 alone can be mentally and probably spiritually consuming.


    With those facts stated, this solely screams at the fact that Eric and Kutuk Re Qutuk are alone in the Throne Room.


    This room is the most appropriate place to wait for a pay considering the King not being here and Eric isn''t sitting on the King''s throne either.


    On that little rounded table on the right side of the room, he and Kutuk have started a conversation.


    A sentence hung in Kutuk''s mind since yesterday and now might be the most appropriate time to ask about it. "Which Kingdom do you rule?"


    Trying not to trigger this powerful little man, Eric filtered the words he wanted to say which left him only with three. "New Lan Zhe."


    Confused, new questions captivating his mind since he heard "New" in the Kingdom''s name. Kutuk asked, "So you run two Kingdoms? I''m assuming there is an old Lan Zhe too."


    Trying to ditch the fact that an entire Civilization has been bested by a Tree... King Eric the younger coated. "Technically yes. But the original Lan Zhe is but a ruin now. We have created a new settlement just a Hundred Kilometers from here."


    Curious and too being careful with his words so he doesn''t infuriate a King, Kutuk asked one more question. "How many Soldiers do you have?"


    Uncertain of these numbers, the young King let silence stretch for a few seconds as he glanced at the ceiling trying to count. "Around 450 I think, but 400 of them are Lava Blasters."


    As Eric answered, Kutuk''s eye widened up to its limits! Apparently knowing what Lava Controllers are capable of and still wondering. "How did a Kid gain such a title."


    That''s what he thought at least, but by word he gave half a Compliment. "I''m glad yours is a Kingdom we can''t attack then." And gave out a smile, although his lips can''t stretch enough.


    As this conversation met an end, 3 Guards arrived from the treasury located deep in the Castle Bas.e.m.e.nt. They are carrying 8 sacks filled to the top with Gold Coins, about to pay Kutuk Re Qutuk for his services as the King ordered.


    But merely at the same time, a Goblin Demon walked in the throne room and seeked Leader Kutuk although not in panic. This man Goblin Demon here has been given a task to collect some statistics.


    A Guard carefully dropped one of the bags he was carrying and slightly shouted although gasping for breath, those coins weren''t light. "Here you go. 5,000 Gold Coins as the King ordered."


    Another Guard dropped the two sacks he was carrying and joked, "You can count them if you want to but please don''t."


    The third Guard in line sweet coated his Comrad''s words in order to avoid unnecessary suspicion. "We spent all morning counting, it will kill ya."


    Alama walked behind the Guards, half a minute after hoping that the King is here although she knows where he is at the moment. Spotting Kutuk, she walked towards him and said. "I hope you are satisfied with your earnings Sir Kutuk."


    Nodding, he glanced at the sacks in front of him and repeated a couple of times. "Very." And felt it best to state, "I trust King Michael, I see we will be making many deals."


    Waiting his turn to speak, disciplined no doubt. The Goblin Demon who walked in a little earlier reported. "Leader Kutuk. I bring you an official report. We have lost 4 men and 2 women in yesterday''s battle."


    Satisfied that the Numbers are small, Kutuk answered. "Right. Have you located all 7 bodies?"


    Nodding, the Soldier replied. "Yes Sir! We will be burying them in the Forest this hour. The Sub Leaders find it best if you say a word or two in the Funeral."


    You might be wondering how many Human Guards died yesterday. Surprisingly 0!


    They have arrived late in battle and caught the Demons unprepared. Thankfully the Platoon isn''t sinking in numbers this time and thankfully there won''t be any Compensations to fill.


    ...


    As he watched his Guards learning the Anti Demon tactics from three Sub Leaders tagged along by 10 Soldiers to give examples. The King understood that there are three main ways to obliterate a Clawed Demon without getting ripped apart.


    The first one, is to raise a Longsword forward and just wait for the Demon to bash on it. These Demonic bastards are nothing more than Crazy and they can''t sense Danger. If they see a sharp sword in front of them they will just keep running forward.


    The Goblin Demons obviously don''t use this technique often considering that they all wield Battle Axes but it is a good method to keep in mind.


    The second battle tactic, well the Sub Leader is explaining it right now. It is so convenient that they can speak the Ignite/ill.u.s.tratian languages. How confusing would it be if they couldn''t understand each other?


    One Sub Leader explained. "These Demons leap a lot! It''s their main attack apart from clawing like some maniac Bastard. This might work the best for us but if you of the shorter can slip underneath when the Demon leaps, and cut it anywhere from the throat to the chest. You will be killing more Clawed Demons than you can count."


    The 10 Soldiers behind the Sub Leaders already started doing a demonstration. They started ducking and swinging their Battle axes left and right.


    It didn''t take much for the Guards to understand that the more they duck the easier they can kill a Leaping Demon.


    With aims to explain the third and safest method before they officially start training. One other Sub Leader explained, "The third best way is to jump on the side when these Clawed Demons charge at you. They have no sense of orientation and will mostly run forward after they start Charging so use that to your advantage to leap out of the way and slice the Demon from the side."


    ...


    Feeling a bit relieved that Kutuk has left the Castle and is heading for the Forest, where they will be building their new Settlement. Eric can now pay attention to some other matters such as training.


    Of course he is supposed to sleep now but with so much going on, he really can''t sleep that easily although he is dead tired. There are black sacks underneath his eyes, his air is oily and a mess thanks to the lack of care and he is basically walking with his eyes closed.


    Wanting to train his Healing powers more since they are needed now more than ever, he started walking towards the Castle''s Library. That''s where Ladia is usually at, reading and training every day far longer than the King has assigned her to.


    The young Electus also wants her to take another look at his foot, wounded by an Arrow. It feels itchy most of the times and he has to take his shoe off often just to itch his foot!


    He felt surprised to not find Ladia in the library, sleep deprived he can''t really think of where else she could be but thankfully at that moment Ada walked in and ran towards a hug. "I miss you."


    Feeling guilty, Eric stated. "I wanted to visit you in about two hours, but I want to get some training done too. You know the situation!"


    Not a fan of this situation although with no aim to complain, she hugged him tighter and said. "It''s okay, this is no time to be all smoochy. We need you down at the Dungeons, some men need healing. They are complaining about sprained ankles and wrists."

 Chapter 439 - Willpower

    "Damn my arm is getting tired." Toto complained, grabbing her left shoulder and trying her best to enhance a proper massage.


    Spending about a minute or so relaxing, with her right arm this time she continued her training.


    Since there technically aren''t any enemies in the Area, it means that she needs to cut her training short because progress or not, no one would want to be her training dummy when you take it into consideration that this power can make one go insane.


    Although no enemies nearby she refuses to cut her training short. King Michael recommends for her to just go in the Library and read what she deems interesting.


    Toto isn''t the best with books and she doesn''t really understand the Ignite language enough to have fun reading.


    So at the moment she is here in the Castle, in the hallway near the Experiment room where people don''t usually walk by considering the foul Demonic smell.


    She prefers this silence, and prefers to become better with the power that has been bestowed upon her by the Holy Source. Last but the most troublesome for us to comprehend, she enjoys the smell of Rotten flesh.


    Perhaps her ability to manipulate minds to her will has enhanced her preference to what''s dead and lower. Whatever the case might be, she loves her training spot here even though she is just waving against the wall.


    With an aim to reach the experiment rooms, urging just to check how the experiments are faring. Wanting to know if the mutational properties advance as time passes.


    He spotted Toto close to the room and couldn''t help but asking. "Hello. Why are you training here?"


    Unwilling to stop waving her arm, casting power moves against the wall she briefly answered. "It''s quiet here."


    The King didn''t want to ask anymore questions regarding her training preferences and was a bit more curious to check what the Rats are doing so he just walked in the room after giving a nice little smile.


    ...


    Spotting Toto, taking firm but quiet footsteps towards her and wanting to connect. Ada proceeded with a light Compliment, "You have nice powers."


    Getting a little spooked since she didn''t expect anyone else but the King to walk in this far end of the Castle, Toto turned around in a blink of an eye and due to muscle memory she unleashed one of her power moves towards Ada.


    Realizing who she struck with her mind toying move, Toto immediately spoke out. "I''m sorry!"


    Not knowing what quite the problem could be here, Ada just glanced at her carrying a puzzled face and asked. "Sorry for what?"


    Now feeling a bit weak but mostly staggered, Toto asked. "You ill.u.s.tratio right?"


    Not knowing where this is getting at although she did hear Eric before mentioning something about Toto''s powers, Ada shortly answered. "Yes as far as I know."


    This odd situation is forcing Toto here to become a bit more talkative, she pointed out. "You''re face blue no!"


    Having a sense that Toto doesn''t know her colours, Ada corrected. "My face is green. So is the rest of me."


    Hearing the two ladies chatter, King Michael walked out of his experimental room and asked. "What is this about?"


    Happy that the King is here, knowing that he might be able to shed more light upon this shrouded confusion of a puzzle. Toto cut any effort to explain by word and requested attention for once! "Look."


    She swung her arm towards Ada once more and an orb like blue light floated for a second before making contact with Ada''s face.


    His mouth hung open as he stated with his tone rising by each word. "Ada, the blue glow didn''t surround your head."


    Sighing in relief that at least the King can understand what Toto tried to explain to Ada earlier, she nodded her head and said. "Yes yes, no blue."


    To further advance this unusual occasion, King Michael asked. "Ada how do you feel?"


    Firm and direct, Ada answered. "Confused."


    Getting to the point, the King asked one more question. "So no fear?"


    Confused and in no way offended, Ada answered. "Why would I be afraid? She didn''t hurt me."


    ...


    The King along with the two ladies are without a doubt confused of this unusual situation. There isn''t a person or Creature that Toto failed to emotionally manipulate which screams out since even King Michael was manipulated before. And we all know how Powerful he is.


    Eric talks about Ada a lot in front of everyone and although Eric can not remember every detail, he does know enough to link Ada with a great character.


    We are talking about over kindness, over understanding, over loving and that golden urge, that itch to never give up!


    So he has a theory about those characteristics being able to fight off Toto''s power moves. Tremendous courage can''t be a characteristic that would fight off the power move as Toto has casted spells on Zamerians before mid battle.


    This in another way means that no matter how courageous an individual, Toto can break them. Especially ill.u.s.tratios who feel fear and calmness when they get casted a move upon.


    Okay now with Ada being the only known Human to resist these powers, King Michael found it best to tag her along with Toto. Ada doesn''t have any official task apart from helping her mother in the Stable so there is nothing stopping these two young ladies from spending a few hours together everyday.


    These two ladies befriending one another has double intentions. First things first, King Michael wants to see if Ada will be manipulated in the future just because she sees Toto as a friend and absolutely not a threat.


    Such minimalistic research can prove useful to understand these powers they barely know anything about although it might not lend the biggest hand of help in battle.


    Last but definitely not least, King Michael is concerned of Lady Toto''s mental well being. She needs to connect with people, maybe share a burden too.


    And who would be better for the task than Ada who would kill to help. Okay bad example, but the point is she offers that purely unconditional love and care so it can rub off on Toto and perhaps soften her spirit for the better.


    King Michael made it certain by word to these ladies by word, "You two will spend at least 3 hours a day together now. Ada will help your powers progress Toto and maybe one day you can actually scare her to death hehe."


    ...


    Meanwhile down at the Castle Dungeons which now look less like Dungeons and more like a Healing center, Eric along with Ladia are lending a hand to heal these precious Guards who have contributed so much in battle.


    With Ladia handling the biggest wounds, all Eric has to do is help a few men and women heal from sprained wrists while a smaller bit of people need help healing their sprained ankles.


    It is no surprise that people have sprained wrists more commonly, considering the Guards here wield swords against flesh and bone.


    No matter how strong the grip, handles will spin on their hand sooner or later which forces a lot of wrists to sprain.


    With most men healed, now he has to tend to some of the ladies. Yes this is his least favourite part of lending a hand.


    Not because he hates any ladies no, but he gets extra shy around them. The only people he isn''t completely shy towards, are people he got used to.


    As for anyone new, especially women. He gets ultimately shy! So without saying a thing, he grabbed a lady''s arm and started tapping on her list.


    This lady seems to be in her early thirties, a beautiful Ignite actually and she is keeping a friendly face regardless of how many times she jumped after feeling several sharp pains on her wrist.


    Glancing at Eric''s red face, she made the situation worse although she tried to make him feel more comfortable. "Why are you shy? I''m old enough to be called your big sister. Common give me a kiss right on my cheek here."


    His face more red than blood now, he turned his head left to right several times, refusing. "Nononono. Okay shyness went away now."


    Seeing that it went all south so quick, the Ignite lady continued with her request although now she just wants to tease. She feels a lot better now with that annoying pain on her wrist gone.


    So she repeated. "Common I''m like your sister! Just one kiss on the cheek."


    Not knowing what to say, Eric could just murmur. "Ma''am I''m an only child."


    Although no one heard him since the crowd of ladies close to them started insisting for Eric to kiss her cheek.


    Chanting, "Kiss her cheek! Kiss her cheek! Kiss her cheek!"


    And the men joined as well, although they might not have the same teasing intend as the ladies.


    Realizing that this situation will continue to swim louder the more he refuses, he just leaned in far too fast in order to give a short cheek kiss and get this over with.


    But unluckily, the Ignite lady turned her head to the left to see her chanting ladies.


    So instead of kissing her on the cheek, the young Eric accidentally kissed her right above the lips. Touching both her lips and her nose with his''.


    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!


    The crowd cheered, panicked and laughed while Eric felt like he was getting buried alive.

 Chapter 440 - Human beings have needs.

    Locked alone in the Library, well not with a key but more of a psychological kind of way since he wants to live down that embarrassment that just happened.


    Calling himself stupid for accidentally kissing that lady above the lips, he feared the most what Ada will feel about this when she finds out.


    Sure that Ignite lady just tried to make the young Electus comfortable and even called herself his sister, but it was still very inappropriate and most saw it happen.


    So he plans to tell Ada himself before she figures it out from someone else''s banter. Banter can get a lot more dangerous so he can''t let it run wild and risk his bond with Ada.


    She is the best Human being he ever met, the epitome of perfection so such a risk can never be granted with the capabilities to grow bigger.


    Yes well he will tell her a bit later, now he wants to live down that harsh embarrassment. Ever since the Clawed Demons started attacking Gaster Kingdom he hasn''t been able to put in much training.


    And with the King heavily busy, the young Electus can''t train his Fire Controlling powers so it is best to put in the few free Hours learning more about Healing.


    Even this is a problem, since Ladia is usually here to roughly translate what any of the thick book''s Content mean. But with her down in the Dungeon, using up her Stamina to tame deep cuts and blue bruises, he doesn''t have the slightest clue what anything in the book means although he has been trying for approximately 2 Hours.


    Hilariously sad, but at least he can live down that embarrassment that happened earlier here. With no particular progress fished out from the Book of healing made for Hatchlings, he decided to grab one of King Michael''s Romance Novels that Stefan kept talking about.


    It''s a bit hard to find these however, since the specific genre small and the room has literally four walls of books!


    But using his logic just a tad bit, he decided to look for those with the least dust on them. Opening one book which has a title that sounds peachy, "Loving an Ignite, a true story." He figured out that it truly is a Romance Novella when he read one verse of the book, saying. "His Royalty grabbed the Castle maid and pinned her head against the wall."


    That little sentence spooked him enough to skip this book, although 16 he still feels like Romance is not for him! Instead he bounced his way to the animal research books, grabbed a book about bunnies and thought. "I need to wash that off my mind."


    Since maturity is bouncing as a topic, we shall not fail to take the 15 year old Ada into consideration. When her and Eric met, she did not know what l.u.s.t is.


    It''s tremendously puzzling how she admired asses, literally. Admirring animal, female and male asses even as long as they are shaped nice. And she is still admiring them, but l.u.s.t was never a fuel to this admiration. It was just a weird hobby, preference.


    Now, she feels the effects of growing up. Although not physically, she is still pretty short. She does feel changes internally, such as urges and needs.


    Thankfully she fancies Eric and he fancies her regardless of racial differences, so she isn''t lacking male attention and is often seen clinging to Eric''s arm and sometimes smacking his ass.


    Although ordered to stand side by side with Lady Toto for progression purposes. Toto has gone home to take her break, eat food and such and using the free time Ada sneaked her way to the Library. Hoping that Eric will be there although she understands that the odds of him reading a book are thinner than a Goblin Demon''s chin.


    She finds him trying to understand what the much researching King Michael has written in this book, his hand writing isn''t the best as if he wanted to make these books for him to read only.


    Quite adorable in her eyes really, she caught him moving his head back with his eyes mostly closed, trying to figure out just what in hell''s name the King wrote. It is fair to say that he mostly forgot about the romance book.


    Trying to tease, noticing that he is a bit sad but just guessing it''s because of the book. She tried to lift his mood up, "Well well well, look who''s reading a book today. You must be very bored."


    Getting a little flashback of what happened in the past hour, he is certain that boredom did not strike today. "Bored... no. I''m just trying to hide from everyone for a while, and hoping that I will never see a few people again."


    Tad scared, she asked. "You still want to see me, right?"


    Nodding over and over, Eric repeated. "Yes yes! Always! I meant to say that I got embarrassed a while ago in a room full of people."


    Grabbing a chair and sitting near him, she said. "I''m listening."


    ...


    Ada shouted, "You did what?"


    Trying to prevent any big argument from happening, he waved his hands in front of her and repeated. "It was an accident I swear."


    Not understanding what Eric is talking about, Ada expressed. "No I mean why did you make such a big hussle over kissing an old lady on the cheek?"


    Thankful that this situation didn''t go for the worst with Ada, Eric simply answered. "Because of you. I wasn''t sure how comfortable you would be with this."


    Although Eric''s talking at the moment, with kissing mentioned a couple of times she remembered an ill.u.s.tratian couple kissing each other''s lips in the middle of the road a few days ago, and yet she still wonders why they kiss lips.


    So, she gently snuck her hand underneath Eric''s chin and pulled his attention completely. Reaching for his lips after, she landed a two second smooch but it was more of a peck since both of them don''t know what''s happening.


    Although the kiss over, their faces are still close to each other. All Eric can say, is. "That was... nice."


    Feeling a bit entitled, Ada added. "Well at least now you can consider me as your first kiss. First full kiss at least, although I still don''t get the point of this."


    Confused along with her, he pitched a theory. "As far as I''ve heard recently, the point is to feel good doing it and that did feel good." Thankfully he isn''t too shy this time, he feels very comfortable around Ada.


    Ladia walked in the room, with no shame whatsoever she shouted. "Wo ho ho... you two are breeding like rabbits here." Apparently she is a bit more informed about such topics, although both of them don''t want to hear more about it.


    Not shy about what she just did, Ada stated. "I was just curious, plus he has the cutest little mustache."


    Shocked, Eric swiftly turned his head towards Ada and slightly yelled. "I have a mustache?"


    King Michael walked in at that very moment and said, "Relax, they are just a few bits of hair, you can cut them off soon."


    Curious of why everyone has gathered here, the King asked. "So what''s happening?"


    Continuing to live and talk without shame, Ladia answered for them. "These two were kissing."


    Ada is fine about this bit of information being spread between friends, but Eric is still a bit shy so he just glared at Ladia, hoping she will shut up.


    Bewildered, King Michael asked. "This early? Nonononono and no! You should both wait until you are 40 or something."


    Continuing her raging storm of shamelesness, Ladia pointed out. "Miss. Alama 28. But you smooch her in Kitchen."


    Rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed obviously although he is the grown up here. All he could ask is, "Oh, you saw that."


    Ladia instantly advised, "Yes, close door often."


    ...


    Confused, reading one portion of the book about 7 times now, Ladia tried to translate. Hoping that the King will understand, "What does, wiggle the limbs mean?"


    Uncertain regarding why would such a training exercise a power move would take part in a book about Healing, all the King could think of is. "Maybe it''s some sort of stretching exercise, before casting a power move?"


    About this, Ladia knows a bit more and she didn''t fail to put it into word although not the best at the Ignite language. "No. Stretch at page one. This is Healing."


    Getting more curious about this Healing move, although not a fan that Ladia has gone through half of the book without knowing the basics first, he encouraged. "Try it out, wiggle your arms and do whatever else the move requires."


    Since the King is on board with this as well, she stood up and read the scriptures a few more times to memorize it properly before trying.


    The first thing she needs to do, is step forward and then backwards. Feels more of a dance now come to think of it.


    Second, she needs to wiggle her right arm and then her left. She also needs to keep her arms stretched forward as much as possible in the process.


    Last but not least, while keeping her arms stretched forwards she jumped with little effort but tried to slap her feet against the ground as much as possible.


    Although not the most effective, green light bursted out of her palm but this time the light is formed less like an orb and more like a snake, rivering it''s way around the room before finally reaching Eric''s foot.


    "My foot finally stopped itching." Eric pointed out.


    And without thinking this through much, King Michael revealed his theory. "Looks like this move locates the worst wound and heals it. What does the book call this move?"


    Not sure how to translate it, letting silence stretch for a few seconds before she answered. "The wiggling Snake."

 Chapter 441 - Shame, relation and revenge.

    Cooperation between Demons and Humans, who would think it possible? The Human nature strongly goes against it no matter what religion one follows. The guilty feeling of such cooperation has grown so much in people''s subconscious that it almost feels like a seventh sense.


    Regardless of that uncomfortable fact, the King is working together with Demons even though at first they''ve approached as Hostile. We can consider desperation as the base of this teamwork, King Michael required and still needs help fighting off the clawed Demons.


    It was either tolerate some low IQ bullshit threatening and find a way of working together or take his chances with the Clawed Demons. He knows that taking his chances with the clawed Demons isn''t the best idea especially since the population has plunged 100 people less. Gaster Kingdom only has 700 Civilians now.


    And the Goblin Demons have proven more than useful, they''ve lended a hand in battle which could have obliterated at least 10-15 Guards if Gaster Kingdom faced it with a ranged attack, not to mention close combat.


    Apart from that, Kutuk Re Qutuk has agreed to share Anti-Clawed Demon battle tactics which will pay off in the long run.


    With those short but important facts gone over once more, it is certain that the Goblin Demons and Humans here have formed a bond strong enough to share a burden, a shame.


    Well to be more exact, one Ruler will be talking to the other about one shame.


    In the next day, taking a shift with the King. Kutuk followed him around to catch up how things roll here. The Goblin Leader has great interest how everyone works to make this Kingdom self sustaining and profitable. Everyone is breaking a sweat for their salaries and it shows.


    Feeling grateful of King Michael''s acceptance and hospitality so far, Kutuk expressed one shame his Army faced although as a start he is laying the event down easily. "When we emerged from the Caves, under a month we built half of a settlement in the Forest near the Capital. In [Country] Meridionali Ignis that is."


    Flinching his face, not liking the idea. Michael did not fail to express, "People there caused you trouble immediately didn''t they?"


    Trying to recall everything that happened in the midst of Winter, Kutuk detailed. "It was horrendous really. One day we sent a Soldier to see what wares can be bought. He was thrown in Jail and executed a day after."


    Kutuk could notice Michael''s sour facial expressions although they have it hard to look at each other''s faces due to height differences.


    Using the golden silence to his advantage, Kutuk continued explaining what happened. "The ill.u.s.tratios didn''t want to reason so we kidnapped one of their Guards, and got the questions we wanted to hear in the first place. Then we cut his head off."


    Not the biggest fan of such a move, although the King has killed many many people before in War. King Michael tried to understand why Kutuk made those decisions. "I guess the odds have been evened. They killed one of your own, so you killed one of theirs."


    Stopping on his spot, recalling the horrible day and expressing it with a whisper. Kutuk grieved for his own, "One week after we were sent a Merchant to trade for goods and the other they''ve sent over 10 Platoons to get rid of us! Ballistas were on the scene, they''ve had these explosive crossbow bolts too! 300 men and women have fallen dead that day, a quarter of which were children."


    Failing to compress his emotions no matter how much he quenched his teeth or tightened his fists. King Michael yelled, "That''s mad! How could they just kill Children?"


    Almost breaking a tear, but his tone shaking unstable. Kutuk added, "We had to flee, we lost over 300 people in 5 minutes. If it went any further we would have all been dead. Some men tried to fight while some had no option but to fight. If it wasn''t for a few holding them back, half of my people would have been dead!"


    Showing understanding, The King pointed two facts. "It was either flee or die, you did the right thing. You have 700 Living breathing people now."


    Kutuk corrected. "900 actually, elderly and kids have been hidden in your Forest before we approached your Kingdom."


    A bit happier, the King expressed. "Even better, you have 900 living breathing people to care for."


    Willing to share one of his own military losses, King Michael said. "We handled a couple of attacks from Talato before, but were much more low scaled. Compared with the losses from the Demons, I think we lost two Platoons so far... We also aided in the great battle of Pameres Kingdom."


    Trying to get to the point, but also showing Sympathy. Kutuk added. "Great losses indeed, but my point to all of this is that we need to get revenge somehow. I can''t do it alone, and could use your forces."


    ...


    Walking into the Castle''s experimental room, King Michael explained to Kutuk. "Sending our forces to the Capital, now for revenge is a bad idea. We need all the Soldiers here or my Kingdom will be breached, but I think we can still do some damage."


    Instantly spotting the dead Demon on the edge of the Room, close to the window releasing a nose torturing Odour. Kutuk didn''t quite know how to feel about this, it doesn''t seem something King Michael would do although the Goblin Demons and Clawed Demons never really got along.


    Curious to ask, although hesitant. "Do Clawed Demons have anything to do with your idea of a revenge?"


    King Michael answered, pulling a thick book from a box underneath the big table where Alama used to write mutation recipes at. This book is compressing pieces of Parchment, telling what a Rat would turn into if it was fed this part of the Demon and that part of the Demon, etc.


    Waving the pages all the way to the Chicken experiment, King Michael explained. "I figured out how to turn Chickens into great powerful beasts, they can kill a Demon with little to no chances of dying in battle. I will mutate three new ones and lend you those three to send a few men and cause a bit of trouble in the Capital."


    With this idea pitched, Kutuk instantly thought of another himself. "Can you make my men bigger and stronger?"


    Hesitant, not liking the fact that he the well researched King doesn''t know about this. Michael answered, "I don''t know if your men from another realm will have the same effect as us here, did your people ever eat Clawed Demon meat?"


    Confident, although unaware of where this will lead. Kutuk answered, "Tons of times! It''s a sport to hunt them in my realm, makes one battle ready."


    "Then I most definitely can not mutate any of your Soldiers. Here all one has to do is just bite a chunk of Demon meat to force changes over their bodies." It''s sad that the Goblin Demons can''t be mutated though, they are more powerful than a Human although 4 foot tall. Imagine what damage they can deliver to whom threatens this Domain if they were 6-8 feet tall!


    Noticing that Kutuk has become displeased and might not approve of this plan at this rate, King Michael continued to pitch. "But I will mutate 3 Chickens, they can cause brutal death. I will also be unleashing about 50 Rats to the wild, I''m trying to discover the key to a longer lifespan. I''ve tried the same experiments on a lot of Rats, of course I will keep one of each experiment to see what happens but we can release the rest in the Capital. It''s no big damage but they have what it takes to bite through flesh and cause a few houses to collapse."


    Not wanting to commit a war crime, Kutuk added. "My people are used to raiding, but I don''t want no children dead. That''s going too far!"


    Understanding why he doesn''t want to commit such crime, the King pitches. "Your men were able to find and kidnap a Guard, so you should have them locate any Guard barrack and unleash all Rats there at nightfall."


    Truthful, Kutuk explained. "I would die for my men, but I don''t think they are able to handle Giant Chickens."


    Laughing lightly, the King added. "No one can just casually tell a Giant mutated Chicken what to do. But Commander Alia, a skilled animal tamer will help your man understand what they should and should not do. In a week''s of determined training, a few of your men can depart to rain revenge upon those Monsters."


    This plan a bit complex, highly unusual for both the Humans and the Goblin Demons but it needs some testing and what better testing than to unleash it upon an enemy.


    Kutuk Re Qutuk decided to be on board with this plan, "If you put it that way, I''d be glad to receive any of the Guard''s heads or bones. The Capital killed 300 of mine, and these Chickens are just the beginning of the pain they will withstand from the Goblin Demons."

 Chapter 442 - Arem, the much known.

    February 17, not much has happened today. It is currently 2pm, the sun hardly shining but managing to melt more snow, forcing puddles to occur in and out King Michael''s domain. March is close yes, so it only makes sense for snow to be taken victim under the sun''s rays, as their rain of territory Dominance has reached an end.


    I''m talking about the Snow of course, the war against Demon''s isn''t over at all! Although not experts to this matter, everyone feels that the Demonic invasions are just starting above the surfaces of Ignis.


    But as mentioned a tad earlier, today has been slow. Eric is taking the Patrol shift, walking around the Kingdom''s walls making sure that he has a better vision of what''s happening around him. This is the easiest part of the job come to think of it, as the Walls aren''t endless Kilometers long. Although holding 700 people, Gaster Kingdom is only 70 meters wide and long, capable of holding 200 Houses although that length sounds small.


    That fact under consideration, it means that he only needs to cover 300 or so meters of walking across this lumpy but almost circular wall, in order to check the area of a possible Demon attack.


    Not the hardest thing to do really, but after walking around over and over, it tends to get boring and he actually wishes for ten or so Demons to attack so he can finally do something else.


    Currently at the Kingdom''s rear side, close to the ocean, his boredom finally managed to meet an end as exactly four Demons shouted their way out of the water, taking victim anyone''s sense of hearing.


    At first, these Demons just randomly ran around away from the Kingdom and across the fields. Not the oddest thing to see, considering that they are just crazed animals in their own realm.


    Eric blew fire from his feet, wanting to torch the Demon and fight off boredom a hunch more later when he will need to burn these Demons whole. Not the best thing Stamina-wise but someone has to do it.\


    As soon as he elevated 10 feet over the 10 meter walls, he saw Arrows enslaving the sky and with an intent to pierce flesh or bone.


    One Guard shouted, "Get down, we can handle these."


    Admirable enough, Eric spotted that over 30 Guards have noticed the Demons by now and are taking action, explains how so many arrows suddenly whistled against the wind.


    For a Fire Blaster to hunt Demons while Arrows are soaring across the sky, well it''s nothing less but a deathwish. Just 30 Archers managed to shoot one running Clawed Demon over 10 times, it''s nailed to the ground now posing like a broken statue.


    Eric flew down, a bit upset that his boredom will continue soon enough but at least he can watch this battle and burn the dead Demons later.


    Spotting Iron Gauntlets and Helmets reflecting the midday''s sun, the Clawed Demons started chasing what looks nice and shiny.


    10 more Archers joined the battle half a minute later, aided completely butchering 2 more Demons before they even reached the Kingdom''s 30 feet Radius.


    One of these four Demons however, is far from joining the battle. It has ran over 100 meters away from the Kingdom. No Archer can be skilled enough to hit a running target at such a distance.


    Now naturally, Eric would be asked to go and hunt this Demon down. It isn''t the brightest idea if a blood craving crazed creature ran randomly around especially now when deliveries from Bale Town and Pameres Kingdom reach here for exchange through Gaster Kingdom''s port.


    Eric blew Fire from his feet again, rising from the walls until he heard another shout. "Sit this one out, the Battle Chickens need training."


    Giving out a long sigh, Eric answered. "Okay." And flew down to the wall, sitting over it and watching the Battle Chicken flap it''s feathers 50 meters above the ground. That Clawed Demon won''t know what will rip it''s head off.


    Reaching the Demon over 200 meters away from the Kingdom now, Battle Chicken forced her claws against the Demon''s spine and as she pulled the Demon off the Ground, she heard the Enemy''s spine crack although she has no remorse whatsoever.


    Tossing the Demon 15 feet above the ground, watching the enemy bash the ground a second after and collecting a pool of blood. She landed 7 meters away from the Demon and started running towards it, leaving claw prints across the snow.


    Breaking another bit of the Demon''s spine although it''s dead by now, the Battle Chicken pecked the Demon''s head off but the neckbone took her a few shots.


    Returning back to the Kingdom, carrying the Demonic head along with her and handing it to the Guard who released her. Eric could hear a little celebration within the Guards, the one who unleashed her congratulating. "Good job Rebecca." And even giving half a Kilo of Barramundie meat as a reward.


    ...


    As if scheduled to tire out the Archers, 20 more Demons rushed out of the salty Sea Waters with Gaster Kingdom as a primary aim. It appears that they have no intent to randomly run around!


    Although hating to be babysat, Eric approached the Guard who kept telling him what to do and asked. "Can I fly now Sir Guard?"


    Trying to avoid formality even at the Heat of battle, the Guard favoured. "Call me Arem, Sir Electus."


    "This is the Arem my father kept talking about?" Eric thought, but didn''t want to discuss such topics now and answered. "Okay Arem, can I fly?"


    Pulling back an Arrow and enjoying the Bow''s relief once his Arrow flew against these enemies and nailed a Demon right to the leg. Arem added, "They are too close, it is best if you stay here and try to shoot them down. If they start climbing the walls, you have an advantage to shoot them down quicker."


    As they''ve had this little chat, most of the Demons are only 10 feet from the walls now, ready to climb!


    But thankfully, with over 50 Guards at this side of the walls now, 40 of them rained the Demons with arrows almost at the same time, which killed 12 Demons!


    4 Clawed Demons have already been killed earlier so now 4 more Demons remain!


    Spotting the closest one, Eric howls a 5 foot wide, short tailed Fireball through his palm and looks away once assuring that the Demon will be shot. Although he was bored up until now, watching a Demon split in half isn''t the kindest to his mental wellbeing.


    The three other Demons were stupidly agile enough to escape that large scale ranged attack and have dug their Source damned claws against the Kingdom''s walls.


    Half of the Archers now are ready to shoot, so aiming against these fast climbing Demons, they managed to kill two of them although these beings still remained hanging on the walls. Their claws are just too sharp and powerful.


    That one Demon who managed to escape all of these attacks, poked its ugly head and faced Arem and Eric.


    With his arrow already pulled back, Arem murmured. "Die you demonic s.l.u.t." And relieved the bow''s tension, releasing the arrow and watching the Demon''s head pierce through and through.


    Out of muscle memory, Eric unleashed a Fireball right when Arem shot his Arrow. A one foot wide Fireball broke, since he can''t risk accidentally burning any nearby Guards.


    The Demon remained hanging on the wall, although dead. But Eric striking the Demon, has forced skin and bone to obliterate which forced a hell load of blood to burst.


    Before they knew it, Demon blood painted Arem and Eric''s faces along with their torsos and even slipped through clothing, reaching the crotch but at least they both had their mouths closed.


    Sarcastic, although unintentional. Arem added, "Good job."


    ...


    It''s about 3 pm now, the Guards have settled down after that last attack and managed to calm their nerves as hearing crazed Demons shout isn''t always the easiest thing to handle.


    Eric has been given the Honour to burn the Demonic bodies. Although King Michael advises to be savvy with Stamina, it is best to scale up the heat behind his continuously blasting Fire in order to avoid both traumatizing smells and views.


    Eric is the Electus and it gives him an upper advantage heat-wise, especially since he is an Ignite and had his outburst based on Fire instead of any other power.


    He can burn a complete Demonic body by scaling his heat up to the middle while for someone like Dilli it would require triple the time or a bigger scale of heat.


    Mid way through burning the Demons, taking a little break. He heard Guards shout for backup from the other side of the Kingdom, specifically from the front.


    Feeling sure that Demons are attacking although uncertain how many, he jumped first and blew Fire from his feet which instantly elevated him towards the sky, saving a couple of seconds.


    Rising 20 meters above the ground, he stopped bursting fire from his feet so he can quickly adjust his body to fly horizontally and finally blasted off towards the battle field as fire stretched a meter wide behind him.


    Arriving, he thought to himself, "9 seconds, not bad!"


    Flying 10 or so feet above the Guards, noticing a lot of Demons from a 300 meter distance he thought it best to fly there and shoot as many as he can. Arrows can reach that far, but chances of hitting a Demon are slim.


    Reaching a 100 meter Radius near the Demons, he started blowing heat packed Fireballs, knowing it would take a while for the Fireball to shun against the wind.


    4 of the 20 or so blown Fireballs, actually managed to hit Demons and ease the Burden of battle. Having a quick guess that 40-50 Demons are in this group when he got closer, he thought. "Glad they didn''t emerge near the Kingdom."

 Chapter 443 - Kyanite

    As they slowly but surely made their way down the long staircase through this underground structure, their expectations were forced to be shunned really.


    It''s not that they have nowhere else to go, but although they''ve spent the last half an hour walking and sliding down this Staircase, they''ve only counted two more passages, one of which is barricaded by time.


    Feels like a small reward considering they''ve just overcome a 300 foot long staircase! Why would the Ignites build a staircase this big and build nothing else near it?


    It is tricky to learn this place''s history, almost impossible in some aspects but such acts occur only when something goes wrong. As if they were forced to abandon this specific work mid construction.


    At the last few stairs there is more dirt, overwhelming this ancient architecture and at the very end of the Staircase there is no Stone wall, just dirt.


    So this either means that this piece of the Castle has been discontinued or perhaps a large collapse has forced a Barricade to initiate.


    Regardless of this fact, as I mentioned there is a passage Kazer and Dilli can take. At the bottom right side of the Staircase, there is a little hole of a Tunnel with its destination unknown. But this one is only 4 foot wide and tall so it inevitably means that they both will  need to crawl this one through.


    Letting out a loud 10 second sigh, Kazer complained. "I have to crawl again?"


    Walking near the Tunnel, bursting more Fire from her palm to hopefully see if the other side is a few feet away. Disappointed, she expressed. "Well it doesn''t look like I''m any luckier."


    Recalling a previous safety mistake, she added. "I will crawl in front of you, at least I can see any Demon coming."


    "Good idea." Kazer assured, not wanting to kiss another Demon. That was probably the worst experience of his life, and he saw his own people die. Which really says something.


    Crawling about 30 meters into the Tunnel, both Kazer and Dilli noticed something about the architectural values of this Tunnel. There is no Value.


    It''s just mostly dirt, with rock spreading around here and there which is really giving their knees a lesson. Well Dilli barely paid attention to how this Tunnel is shaped, but Kazer could notice everything.


    50 meters into the Tunnel, Kazer decided to say something about this. "I don''t think this Tunnel is a man made structure, it''s just so clumsily dug. Maybe Demons clawed this Tunnel open, they can chip rock after all."


    More worried about her knees, Dilli doesn''t really care of who made this Tunnel but of course she has kind ways of expressing her thoughts too. "It''s no big deal, if it leads us to the Demons then it doesn''t have to be fancy."


    Scarce conversations helped pass time yes, but they are now 100 meters into this Tunnel and they haven''t yet found the end of it. Of course they have no way of measuring how many meters they crawled, to them this is just becoming harder to tackle by the passing minute.


    200 meters into the Tunnel, Dilli finally gives in but of course doesn''t give up. "We need to pause, I''m sure my knees are bleeding right now."


    His knees hurting, but not as much as Dilli''s due to natural stronger endurance his race shares. Kazer stopped close to her and encouraged. "Take as much time as you need. This task is taking longer than we wanted it to anyway."


    Taking her fur leggings off, but still having leather pants on don''t worry. She pulled her leather pants up, partially resting her back on the Tunnel''s wall. "Yes they are bleeding."


    Taking his big fur coat off, and then his Leather Jerkin too. He ripped a piece of leather with his bare hands and handed it to her. "This should be enough to patch your knees up."


    Ripping a bit of his fur coat too, he gave this one to her as well. "Use this to protect your knees, It''s Brown Bear Fur."


    A thanks is in order yes, but instead she found it best to complain. "How come your knees aren''t bleeding?"


    Confused, especially since he has pants and leggings on, Kazer asked. "How do you know they aren''t bleeding?"


    "Oh please, I''ve smelled blood a thousand times. At the moment I can only smell mine." Uncomfortable piece of information, but she did prove a point... or complaint.


    Patching up, they continued to go through this punishing Tunnel and just after going over 100 more meters they''ve actually found the light at the end of the Tunnel.


    A 300 meter long Tunnel they had to crawl through, well this certainly won''t be something they will soon forget. While almost reaching the end, Kazer thought. "This is worse than kissing a Demon."


    That aside, where they ended up to actually has a bit of light. No natural reasons no, but a Demonic carcass is dimly burning right near the entrance, with it''s back resting on a Gem encrusted wall.


    "Who could have burned these Demons? Did you bring Eric with you too?" This is wildly puzzling, because Fire is the Source of this Demon''s death.


    There is a huge hole on the left side of its chest, and its left arm is completely blown off. This is no natural cause.


    Paying little attention to the Demon and more curious of the stonework here, Dilly just casually blasted a 1 foot wide Fireball, exploding the Demon''s head and asked. "What kind of wall is this? I''ve never seen a blue wall before."


    Enrooting attempts to not get his own noggin blown off, Kazer decided to share his wisdom. "It''s Kyanite. Technically a stone but can be formed in to a shiny gem."


    "How could you possibly know that? I''ve never seen a gem like this before, this is literally a wall!" She has it hard to put two and two together here, although she knows a bit about gems.


    "We discovered a few hundred Kilos 300 or so years ago deep in the mines of the old Lan Zhe. The elders of that time held a Ignite man Hostage, and sent his friend to check the Market price for this Gem." Not the best work coming from a Peaceful Race, but it''s for the means of curiosity.


    "That''s low... but at least you figured something out I guess." Dilli answered, toying with the Fire on her palm, giving it more Stamina and blunting the odds of light versus darkness. "How much do they sell for."


    Well informed, Kazer explained something that does sound very stupid. "At that time they could be sold for 400 Gold Coins per kilo, but with no person of the outside world trustable enough to not scam us. We just threw everything in the Lava!"


    "What!" Dilli shouted as the Fire on her palm arose 4 foot high, torching the Kyanite ceiling on top of her head! "Your Town could have made a fortune!"


    As they''ve started walking through the straight, 8 foot wide hallway this structure has to offer. Kazer expressed, "Trust me I wasn''t on the same side with that decision, but at least now they are worth a lot more. Over 1,000 per kilo maybe."


    With the thought of debt running through his mind due to mentioning gold over and over, he stated. "We will mine this place after we get out, ask King Michael to send a few Wagons. His Kingdom is struggling thanks to helping everyone, this should give him a huge head start!"


    Although she likes King Michael as a person, towards this idea all she can say is. "You''re mad! These walls are cut and smoothed. Who knows how heavy they are, you can make millions!"


    Denoting at what mostly looks like a Skeleton, carrying weld due to the little meat on its bones. Kazer stated, "A skeleton, It''s in shackles too! I think this was a Dungeon."


    Juggling decisions between touching this smelly thing or moving on, they took a sharp right turn as that one path met an end.


    This tunnel like structure continues to be 8 foot wide and maybe even 8 foot tall but fast enough they''ve actually found another passage to go to and a little room featuring book shelves made out of Kyanite stone.


    Well it''s just Carved Kyanite, carved into the wall so it can hold 30 or so books but it''s still fancy and such although likely a few hundred years old if not Thousands.


    The Kyanite doorway leading to the room, is parallel with the passage they will be taking. To make it clear, the passage is on the left side of this hallway and the room is on the right side. While in front they see that this hallway continues and takes another right turn.


    Although just 3 books intact, Kazer opened one book and saw how the wordplay is forged to reticulate. Rhymes sort of bit, pointing towards Poetry but seems a bit more advanced than that. He stated. "Yes, this is too written in Calidum Lutum."


    Dilli tried to read through another book, but absolutely nothing makes sense to her which is a bit funny because she has lived a few months in the Old Lan Zhe.


    It would be a bit of a misdeal to stop here and read the books cover to cover considering that they haven''t found the portal yet. So she took her back pack off and said, "Put the books in here, you can read them later."

 Chapter 444 - Smart Demon

    That passage Kazer and the lady took, leads to yet another Staircase. Thankfully, this one has bigger steps. Enough to even fit Kazer''s foot so it''s less of a problem.


    He almost cries when remembering that he will need to go through that 300 meter long tunnel again, this is the worst relic experience he ever had. Well his first actually.


    Anyway, thankfully the Staircase they are slapping their feet over right now is a lot smaller. Having a quick glance, Kazer figures that this Staircase is only 50 meters long and isn''t really narrow so it likely leads only 10 meters deeper underground.


    There''s no injustice against their feet this time, so they can spare a bit more attention towards the Architectural values of this Staircase. Kazer could notice best that it has no Ignite attributes, the stonework just looks bland.


    No fancy stone cuts, no writings on the walls either. It''s just a staircase with straight grey walls and a flat ceiling too. It isn''t so roomy either so often these two are invading each other''s personal space.


    "Man these stairs are ugly." Dilli pointed out, but mostly talking about the excessive moss grown in these stairs.


    Finally reaching the end of the staircase, their journey is forced towards a sharp left turn leading to yet another... you guessed it, staircase.


    This one however seems more fun, for Kazer at least. This Staircase although double the size of the one they''ve just climbed down from, is paired with a long attractive stone slide.


    In terms of fancyness, this Staircase is the same as the previous one, bland or blank. Well apart from the stone slide that is.


    Everything here is made of stone, chances are whoever made this place had to carve through a large Boulder!


    Both of them infusing an idea, although not realizing yet. Dilli first thought it best to tease. "This slide is just for you!"


    Blowing Lava from his hands, letting it fall flat on the ground and forming it round then thin, drying it to Volcanic rock with a slap after. Kazer grabbed Dilli around the waist and made her sit on the rock he just formed. "You will slide as well."


    Knowing she will try to resist, Kazer just pushed her to enjoy the slide. Perhaps not the biggest fan of slides, Dilli shouted. "AAAAAAAAAA!"


    This could possibly be the first time for him to see Dilli scared, or hear her at least. The rock isn''t even moving that fast as the Staircase isn''t too narrow. She could literally completely stop her momentum if she reached her hand for one stair.


    Perhaps a misdeed, but he absolutely didn''t think that Dilli would be scared of a slide.


    Not needing Volcanic rock to slide, since he can handle any possible damage from the chipped slide. He went after her and covered his ears so he doesn''t have to hear all the screaming!


    Finally reaching the end of the stairs with no damage taken whatsoever, Dilli jumps from the rock she was sitting on and is patiently waiting for Kazer to arrive. The Fire on her palm getting hotter and her attitude edgy enough to match that heat.


    Feeling a bit more awakened once noticing the illumination at the end of the slide, Kazer wondered if he can use his powers somehow to go up the slide.


    Jokingly, he mildly shouted. "Don''t shoot me aaaa!"


    "Come here!" Dilli insisted with a shout, and as he stood still seated this is an advantage for her.


    Massively reducing the Fire on her palm, letting out just a little from her pinky finger. She leaned in and burned off his right, blood red eyebrow as a form of revenge, relegation!


    Having a thought of what Kazer expected from this mass invasion of space, Dilli continued to tease since burning off his eyebrow doesn''t feel like enough. "I wasn''t going to kiss you, you aren''t a v.i.r.g.i.n anymore after kissing that Demon."


    "I don''t think it works that way... but I was mostly expecting to get my eye burned out or something." A bit over the top, but he is being truthful at least.


    The tension built up in her mind relieving, she still gave a half bluff threat. "Throw me down another slide and I will shoot your pinky off!"


    Kazer''s face remained stiff, although his eyes are carrying shock. Thinking it through for a couple of seconds he swiftly realized that Dilli isn''t talking about no hand or foot!


    At the end of the Staircase, a short tunnel led them to another big section of this Structure but Source to be thanked, this one doesn''t have a long Staircase and they don''t have to crawl either because the this Structure is 7 meters tall! That''s Kazer''s guess at least.


    Apart from that comfortable height, this place is 30 meters long and 10 meters wide! Granting a lot of space to move around of course, but for once the two explorers were happy to see such a boring structure.


    Dilli blasted a blank four foot wide Fireball across the room to see before time what they will discover. And that''s where this place gave that blank expression.


    It just looks like a Rectangular shaped room with blank straight grey walls and no carvings or markings whatsoever, well at least this fits the description of a structure before the first era. No architectural value.


    As if walking in a battle field, a horde of Demons made their presence transparent as they''ve shouted across the room. If they''ve showed up here a few seconds earlier the Blank Fireball would at least distract them.


    Dilli didn''t waste a second to shoot a 4 foot wide Fireball which comes along with a 2 foot tail behind. Perfect against a bundle.


    This battle field has become more of a Dance field for the powerful Grand Master of Lava Controlling, Kazer!


    He has enough space to unleash a decapitating move but yet the space is little enough in width to let no Demon live to see the Sunlight.


    Blowing Lava from both of his hands, enough to overwhelm the room with a 10 meter wide glowing wave of Lava, snatching the ability to pass through be it on either end of the stick.


    Making one jump forward since this move requires it to advance. He started blowing double the amount of Lava now from his very palms, knowing it''s enough once seeing the Lava come back and steam near his feet.


    With a second left, he quit blasting Lava and started punching the air. This isn''t even a metaphor! He literally started throwing blank punches against the air, but the Lava in front of him did not fail to disappoint as it arose into a 8 foot tall wave and made its way towards the Demons before it splashed against the floor again!


    This wave of death completely swallowed all of the attacking Demons and almost reached all the way across the room.


    It''s great that Kazer took this situation under control, as Dilli wouldn''t have been given enough time to shoot at 30 or possibly 40 Demons. Because although this place roomy, it''s still very limited.


    Respecting his work, although having it impossible to not test his patience a little bit. Dilli asked, "I thought you said that you wanted to preserve this Relic?"


    "There is nothing to preserve, this room is blank and it was either do or die." Glancing at the destruction he just rained upon these foul beasts, he spoke. "Besides, It will just get a flooring do over."


    Afterwards, he jumped and slapped his feet against the floor as hard as possible once landing and then slammed his palms to the ground as well. Finishing this move, they saw all that molten hot Lava in front of them transform into Volcanic rock!


    "Nice job. You actually saved my ass here, I wouldn''t be able to handle all of this alone." Dilli expressed, showing appreciation for once instead of a light tease.


    Liking this lady, understanding where she comes from with her points of view. Kazer added, "You''re welcome. What friend would I be if I let you die here."


    The chit chat is nice and all but as they walked towards the end of the room, they''ve met with something a weak stomach wouldn''t be able to handle which is extra upsetting considering they were having a good time warming their feet as they walked above the Volcanic rock.


    A creature dark in skin colour, carrying small but bent horns on its forhead more than on the top of its head. However, what''s unsettling about seeing this Demon is that it has its entire legs cut off!


    Looking to the left they can see the creature''s legs, and as it''s fighting against its last breath, it lets out a sound signifying that of a male. "Help me."


    Shocked, never seeing one like this before since this Demon is actually wearing clothes and speaking instead of running around n.a.k.e.d. They''ve watched it give out its last breath, there is no saving it. The damage is beyond healing.

 Chapter 445 - treasure

    That Demon who just died in front of them, forced them into a puzzled mind. Especially since it can speak the Ignite language, yet makes it a hunch more complex to comprehend when you think that this talking Demon has been found in such a position at this Dungeon.


    Why does it make this more confusing? Well it''s because this Dungeon solely carried Calidum Lutum literature, although it''s a blur to both what those books represent.


    So if we think it through, a talking Demon who can speak the Ignite language, was found giving its last breath in a Dungeon that points out that the Calidum Lutum were here before.


    This is the most puzzling situation Kazer ever had the displeasure of facing, would have been better off just to seal the Castle with Volcanic rock and cross their fingers for the best.


    However, Dilli and Kazer won''t really progress if they continue to stare at the dead Demon. So as they took that sharp left turn once overcoming that wave of Demons, they found a Hole!


    This ain''t no metaphor, they''ve found a hole stretching 20 or so feet wide right in the middle of a Cave.


    Not the biggest fan of this hole, or this whole adventure come to think of it. Kazer added, "Well this will be hard to climb."


    "Nonsense, I will carry you." Dilli assured, and without asking she grabbed Kazer underneath the shoulders and flew off the floor.


    "No!" Kazer tried to resist, but got easily overwhelmed.


    Dilli is naturally physically fit and brings along tremendous strength as a pair, and although this man is heavy enough to make her struggle as they''ve ventured into the unknowingly deep hole, she couldn''t resist teasing. "What, are you scared of heights?"


    Direct, a little pissed since he was grabbed without permission, he directly answered. "No, I''m scared or falling."


    "Relax, you are like a feather." Dilli added, although she is dripping sweat all over his head.


    Before they started flying down this hole, they''ve noticed that this one too looks like it was clawed open by Demons. They''ve walked into a 50 foot wide Cave once taking that left turn before and the hole was almost in the middle.


    The Cave has no stonework, no architectural value whatsoever yet this Dungeon is connected with it, even offering a left turn to walk after which points out that this place could have been abandoned mid construction.


    "I can see the ground." Kazer pointed, but didn''t want to move in order to make Dilli''s easier.


    They''ve been flying for 2 minutes, which points out that the hole could have been at least a hundred feet deep! She flew down slowly to keep her balance, ain''t no benefit if they fall flat.


    It''s an extra advantage that the hole is 20 feet wide, it would be horrendously dangerous if she flew down, carrying a 400 pound man and having no space to move.


    With no warning, she dropped him once spotting the ground herself as well. Kazer landed on his feet, although he ran forwards a bit since she tossed him like a bag of wheat.


    Complaining as he saw her fly down slowly for herself, he said. "You could have been a bit more careful Miss. Strong lady!"


    "Relax. You are 10 foot tall!" She reminded, and blew Fire from her palm to see what this place has to offer.


    "This place is huge!" Dilli slightly yelled, and her voice echoed across this what seems to be a Cavern.


    Agreeing, he nodded and added. "Yes, but it will only take us more time to find the Portal now."


    They see no walls, no end so Dilli took an extra precaution to understand her surroundings, blasting a three foot Fireball with a short tail following it.


    Shooting it in front of her, she saw pointy rocks shinning under the Fireball soon as it travelled 30 feet away.


    Travelling for a few seconds, her shot broke loose once meeting the Cave''s walls far on the other side. She isn''t the best at calculations but the wall seems to be 80 feet away.


    Becoming a bit childish with his complains, Kazer asked. "Great now we know where the wall is. But where should we go?"


    Smacking his buttocks, Dilli asked. "Do you want a treat? I have food on my backpack. Maybe that will shut you up."


    ...


    Considering the size of the Cavern, their only option is to walk and hope of finding another passage. Contemplating how big and dark this place is will only keep them on that spot.


    Thankfully a bit of fresh meat fueled their willpower and a gulp of water refreshed their minds.


    10 minutes into exploring, reaching that wall they saw in the beginning with the aid of a blank Fireball. They walked near the wall after, hoping that it will lead to some passage because that''s where tunnels are usually at.


    "Do you think that my race ever set foot here? These books are written in the Calidum Lutum language but in the old Lan Zhe there were barely any books." These thoughts have occupied Kazer''s mind, now that he has time to think.


    Finally giving words of wisdom, leaving Kazer at a shock for words she added. "Maybe they did, maybe they didn''t but it''s obviously all in the past so why put so much pressure in it. It''s okay to not understand some things, let''s focus on shutting that portal down."


    Through his mind, Kazer thought. "Why do they call her crazy? Only the wisest can be this dedicated to finishing their tasks."


    Of course he can''t say that out loud, since he can have his pinky cut off so instead he expressed. "You are right, but I meant to say that I hope my race didn''t have anything to do with Demons."


    Soon as he finished his words, with his attention captivated towards the conversation with Dilli, he tripped and fell right over a few small rocks and heard something crack too!


    Thankfully he didn''t break his nose, but when he lured his gaze behind him to see where he tripped and what cracked, he noticed his foot entangled in between a rib cage!


    A Human ribcage!


    Thankfully this Human... either Ignite or ill.u.s.tratian when he lived, seemed to have died a long time ago and his Skeleton was blessed with making Kazer trip today.


    He shook his leg, forcing the Skeleton away and couldn''t help but being disgusted. "I wondered where this foul smell came from."


    "What''s this." Dilli spoke with excitement overcoming her tone, grabbing a small Iron jewelry box which has been collecting rust so far.


    "What is it?" Kazer asked, standing up but got no answer.


    Seeing that this little jewelry chest is locked, she slid fire where the key is supposed to go and afterwards with a tough grip she ripped the box open but of course careful so she doesn''t throw around its contents.


    This Jewelry box although small, it''s a foot long and 7 or so inches tall. Referring towards the fact that it could carry a lot inside.


    Once opening it, Dilli counted 6 Diamonds inside! These are extremely rare across Ignis and can sell for a lot of Gold, however only royalty can buy them and it would take a bit of effort to sell.


    "Oh by the Source of Fire!" Dilli shouted, not scarce with her tone. Everyone would be happy to find Diamonds, even if it is near a Skeleton.


    "What kind of gem is that." Kazer asked softly, completely unaware of what Diamonds are.


    Still shouting, Dilli explained. "Diamonds! They cost 4,000 Gold Coins each!"


    Debt in mind, Kazer thought it best if. "I think you should keep them, we will send the Kyanite stones to King Michael anyway and you deserve a reward for all this help."


    Although loving these Diamonds, her tone converted softer as she stated. "This is too much for me."


    Kazer insisted, wanting her to be rewarded. "Nono, you deserve them."


    Feeling guilty about taking them all, she planted a seed which can lead to her and Kazer splitting the loot. "But there are more than Diamonds in here."


    Leaning over to see, it is indeed the case so they started counting everything.


    Specifically, this little jewelry chest contains these gems and Dilli knows how much most of them sell.


    6 Diamonds, they cost 4,000 Gold Coins each.


    4 Rubies, these cost a bit less but still enough to carry them around. 750 Gold Coins each.


    There also are 7 purified Kyanite Gems. Like everything else in this box, their sizes are small but Kazer has a rough guess that they cost 300 Gold Coins each.


    Last and probably least, there are  17 Ignite Gem shards. Not whole Ignite Gems, just its shards likely obtained from a cracked gem. They are very small, barely bigger than a toe nail but cost about 10 Gold Coins each.


    Giving a rough calculation, this jewelry box all together can help Dilli pocket around 30,000 Gold Coins! It''s enough to set her for 20 years if she lives on average standards. That is, if she sells these precious gems.


    Even after seeing all that expensive loot, Kazer advised. "I still insist for you to keep them, you contributed enough in both Kingdoms and I think that King Michael would agree with me."


    ...


    As they''ve followed the wall they reached earlier, what they spotted got them shocked beyond comprehension.


    A Demon emerged from the shadows, two of them followed as well but they aren''t screaming or attacking.


    These seem to be of the same species with that 7 foot tall Demon who was sliced in half. The one they saw before flying down that large hole.


    The Demon in the middle walked forward and asked, his tongue speaking the Ignite language. "What are you doing here?"

 Chapter 446 - They are right there!

    "Dilli. Why did you stop walking?" Kazer asked, harshly perplexed of her behaviour and looking around regarding safety.


    Instantly pissed, finding it odd how he can joke around in such a potentially dangerous situation. Dilli gave out a loud whisper, "What do you mean why? There are three f.u.c.k.i.n.g Demons right over there!"


    Concerned of her well being, walking back to see from her perspective. He gazed at the direction she pointed at, and ensured after 5 seconds. "Dilli, there are no Demons there."


    Grabbing Kazer by the arm, looking at his face for half a second before she started shaking his arm with half of her strength and pointed again. "They are right there!"


    As she turned her gaze once more towards where she pointed at, to mess up everything she tried to prove until now, those three Demons have just disappeared in thin air.


    Panicking, tightening her grip around his arm until the tip of her nails sunk in his skin, she shouted. "They were right there! How could you not have seen them, we could be in danger! Maybe they ran back in the shadows!"


    Ignoring the slight pain on his arm, Kazer gave an attempt to calm her down. "Dilli, I think we are safe. Those rocks must have looked like Demons." And he even tried to hug her from the side, rubbing each other''s shoulders.


    "No you don''t understand." She pulled away from the hug and as she did a sumo squat and clapped her hands, a Fire shield surrounded both of them. "It wasn''t a rock, I heard them talk!"


    The Fire Shield''s illumination to this Cavern made it possible for both to see up to 20 feet far, spotting the 7 foot tall Demons once again walk towards the light. She started shouting, "There! The Demons are right there!"


    Hearing no sound whatsoever from Kazer, thinking that he is still not seeing anything and about to smack him if he doesn''t spot the Demons once more. She lured her gaze to her right side in order to face him.


    What she saw behind her, further pushed her towards craze as Kazer is carrying the same face... the exact same features as those 7 foot tall Demons, short horns curled above his forehead.


    With little option, panick overwhelmed her heart and she felt forced to scream. "AAAAAAAAAAA!!!"


    ...


    "Dilli, Dilli... Dilli?" A familiar tone repeated her name, although her vision blurry at first she managed to see who is calling her name in a matter of seconds.


    It''s Kazer and thankfully there aren''t horns on his forehead, so she didn''t want to startle him any further, keeping her tone delicate and steering away from screaming. "What happened?"


    Tremendously happy that she is okay, carrying a wide smile across his face although unwilling to express the rest of his emotions, he explained. "You fainted right after we counted all them jewels, I didn''t know they would make you that happy."


    Feeling that her head is over his knee, it''s a little time for revenge. "It''s because I carried your heavy ass down the Hole, that probably knocked me out."


    And in the midst of her hardly put together sentence, she lifted her head and tried to hurt him a little as she hit his leg with her head. Unfortunately she ended up hurting herself a bit more here.


    Understanding the concept of revenge, something went through his mind. "If it''s my fault then I should carry you now!" And afterwards he slipped his hands behind her shoulders and knees too, lifting her up with little effort.


    Kicking the air, punching his shoulder and shouting. "No! I hate being picked up!"


    Her punches feel like butterfly kisses, although she can hit bone breaking hard. And giving out a fake little panic here, her voice sounding slightly like one of a male''s, made this whole thing adorable in his eyes.


    So he insisted, slightly tightening his arms a bit more around her. "I don''t like debt! You carry me, I carry you!" And continued to strut across the Cavern.


    ...


    As they ventured deeper into the Cavern, occupying its corners, rocks and dirt trying to progress with this quest. They''ve finally found another deep hole they see as an only option of going too.


    Dilli resisted for about ten minutes, giving light punches on the man''s shoulder to let her down. But seeing that he most definitely won''t let go for a while, she decided to enjoy the ride.


    What are the odds of a ten foot tall man carrying her, his biceps are big enough that it felt like she is sleeping on feather pillows.


    "I''m sorry to break your comfort but I have to let you go now." Kazer stated, as he stood two feet near the hole they are about to go down at.


    Still a bit dizzy, drowsy even and almost fallen asleep. Dilli murmured, "Just 5 more... I mean... sure sure. It''s not like I wanted to sleep here anyway."


    A smile stretched across his face although she can''t see it from down there, he let her down carefully and had an urge to tease her but the weight of safety concerns win this bargain so he advised. "You don''t have to carry me again, I can climb down."


    Still considering safety and paying little to no attention towards comfort, he offered. "You can climb on my back if you see it easier."


    With no energy to fight him now, especially since he is thinking a lot about her safety, she ensured. "Nono, I can fly but I don''t think I can carry your big ass again."


    With decisions debated and filtered, they started making their way down the Hole. You might be wondering about the jewelry box, well it''s in Dilli''s backpack with the Diamonds probably mixing up with fried bunny meat or something since the chest''s lock hole has been forced open.


    For Dilli, flying down here is nothing but a breeze. The hole is around 10 feet wide, which gives her just enough space to move around as she pleases.


    And as for Kazer, he only struggled the first half a minute as he figured out where and how to grip but it went mostly smooth sailing from that point onwards. He climbed down almost as fast as Dilli flew, and she often pinched his ass the way down to irritate him a little.


    To their luck, this hole is only around 40 feet deep and they''ve managed to find the other side in no time although it did feel like half of a full workout for Kazer the deeper he climbed.


    Their feet touched Ignite carved stairs again although Kazer had to jump from a height of ten feet.


    Dilli pointed out the obvious. "I think we got back to that Castle we walked in the beginning."


    This is fascinating, they''ve made all that journey only to end up on the Staircase they''ve failed to go down at earlier. There is a wall of dirt and rock running above the Staircase so one theory has been proven, this place collapsed and barricaded everything.


    These passages leading towards all sorts of directions, through dirt, rock and even a Dungeon just to get back here... in the relic of an Ignite structure points out towards a fact puzzling and a bit scary to run over.


    Kazer managed to catch up first once Dilli mentioned the Ignite carved staircase, his face carrying suspicion with his eyebrows arched. "I don''t think Demons dug those holes and tunnels."


    Coming to realization, Dilli took Kazer''s thoughts and pushed them further. "This is far too strategic for crazy Demons."


    It''s a staggering puzzle who made these tunnels, but the collapse likely happened because of some Earthquake.


    With little information, pitching an idea of what might have happened, Kazer said. "Do you think those couple of Skeletons had anything to do with these Tunnels?"


    Not used of poking her nose in the past this much, her brain became overwhelmed by all these theories and thoughts so she decided not to think it over anymore. "Maybe... but it won''t help us today. Let''s walk."


    As they''ve tip toed their way down the Staircase, remembering how wide this place is and actually liking how it only goes deep considering what they did just to get there.


    The only thing they hope now is to find the portal, do everything in their power to stop these Demons from popping up and rest before they make their way back up, this journey has been tiring.


    "How deep do you think these Stairs go?" Dilli asked, but felt irritated to not get an answer from him.


    Turning around, her palm bursting more fire just in case he is stuck behind a little bit. She started debating if she fell unconscious again, as Kazer has started floating in midair... slowly.


    Seeing no other option, she expressed her distress with a shout. "What the hell is going on."

 Chapter 447 - Azr.a.p.etos

    "Azr.a.p.etos!" Kazer shouted, taking command of his predicament.


    In a split second, whatever grabbed and lifted him just let go! He landed above the Stairs, hurting his feet a little bit since it''s undoubtedly hard to gain control of his balance... considering the stairs descending deeper, being one higher than the other.


    Gazing upon proof that whatever he said worked against this mysterious force, she first shouted. "Azr.a.p.etos!" And ran towards Kazer, to see if he is alright.


    Grabbing his arm, a bit of fear raged through her tone as she asked. "Are you okay? What was that?"


    Kazer shortly answered, as he is tremendously certain. "Ghosts."


    Not the biggest fan of Ghosts, although she isn''t scared of them either. Dilli''s jerked her head back, staggered. "How do you know it was a ghost?"


    Sitting on the stone stairs encrusted with moss, taking his shoe off and then pulling his foot up too. He briefly butchered, "The word you and I just said, is used to freeze ghosts on their spot, forever. Since this one was Hostile, I didn''t really feel guilty to do it."


    Impressed by this level of power against the unliving, she started pushing concern away and admired with a tease. "So you know how to torture Ghosts, that''s Ironic for a Human. I thought you were just all ass."


    Pulling a sharp small rock off his foot, likely bashed in there when he was dropped down, blood puked out a little bit before he ripped a bit of his leather jerking, trying to tie the wound.


    With that little Dilemma pulled out, he felt ready to answer. "I literally have a connection with the unliving, I can see them mostly and sometimes talk with them. In the old Lan Zhe at least, out here I couldn''t even see these coming."


    Recalling what Mogranius was shouting about months ago, something paranormal. Dilli brought it up here with a question, "So you have Paranormal vision, like Mogranius."


    His eyes wide open as he heard that question, thankful that he isn''t burdened with such a curse. Kazer explained with a dash, "Oh nonono. He is cursed, severe case come to think of it. Mine just came with birth, along with my red hair. My paranormal vision is painfully limited."


    As this little conversation steered close to an end, what ran towards them... disturbing. It would be better if they dealt with more Ghosts, at least that''s what Dilli thinks.


    They could only hear this odd being approach once it was only 15 feet close, the conversation these two had, deafening the potential enemy''s fast foot steps!


    Dilli spotted it first, approaching and shouted. "Look out."


    Still tying his foot, Kazer gazed forward and noticed the slender and yet tall creature running at uncomfortably fast speeds.


    Mostly using his other foot, he stood up and leaped to the left, thankfully avoiding the creature by an inch but was also able to comprehend a better look. Understanding what this creature brings, an odd shape but not danger.


    It''s literally a 6 foot tall worm with legs! That''s what it looks like, but it''s blue in colour. It has nothing else but a worm like body and legs at the bottom granting it superior movement.


    Not blessed with vision or an overall ability to think a situation through, the two legged worm just kept running up until it''s skin met the Debris.


    It bashed against the wall, against the collapse featuring dirt and rock. Since this creature is oddly fast, the impact made it fall over and excessively wiggle on the ground.


    Understanding the low risk factor, Kazer slowly walked towards this disturbing being, slow walking because he doesn''t want to get another chipped stone on his foot.


    Dilli followed as well of course, and got bored once Kazer implored. "What the hell is this thing."


    Not wanting to explore what a 6 foot tall, two legged worm brings, she generated a Fireball on her palm and obliterated the Worm''s flesh, cutting the being in half.


    A little enraged, since he got dazzled by this creature, he barked. "Why do you keep shooting stuff you don''t want to see?"


    Puzzled how he is interested in this disgusting thing, she stated. "It''s a worm, it walks and I don''t want to see it wiggle."


    Covering his face, surfing his fingers down to the chin, he weighed in. "That Skeleton before didn''t wiggle, you shot that too."


    Spotting that he''s become agitated, wanting to apologize but failing to find the right words, she instead hollered. "Don''t yell at me!"


    Letting out a long sigh, trying to fight away irritation just so this situation doesn''t go out of hand. He slowly muttered, "My apologies. But please stop shooting stuff I want to check first."


    And right after he finished, he reached out for her nose and booped it, leaving a bit of blood there since he treated his foot a bit earlier.


    Her heart rate dropping along with the flame on her palm that has been providing illumination, she responded. "Alright, you can keep your Pinky."


    ...


    As Kazer took a moment more to patch up his foot, tying it nice and neat, at the end finally putting his big shoe on. They''ve been approached yet again by strange beings, Demons.


    And not the yelling kind, these emerged from the Shadows, surrounding the two Humans from each side except from behind where the wall out of dirt stood.


    These creatures carry one handed Battle axes, made completely out of Silver and what''s the most noticeable feature is that they are all dark pink in skin colour and are 4 foot tall.


    The one in the middle approached, apparently a Leader of some sort, at a shock it speaks the Ignite language, stating his business. "We are the Goblin Demons! If you wish to pass, hand me 100 Gold Coins."


    "Hahahahahahahahahaha!" Dilli burst into laughter, knowing she can''t shoot just yet, that''s all she can do. "You all look ridiculous."


    Not understanding how these Humans aren''t scared, all the Leader can say is. "I... shut it and hand the gold."


    Calming down her echoing laugh, but continuing with a giggle, she appealed. "Why is your crotch on your chin?"


    Before the Goblin Demons could advance their demands, Kazer took the privilege to stand on his feet.


    Looking at the huge, dark toned and Golden Veined man stand up. These beings couldn''t help but take at least one step back, tightening their hands around their weaponry.


    Not willing to cooperate with such stereotypical marauders, even though Dilli has enough loot on her bag to fulfill this Demand. Kazer butchered, "You aren''t getting any gold, but you might get your head torn off."


    Brave enough and equally dim minded, a Goblin Demon from the left threatened. "Then we will claim your lady friend, mating season is close."


    Pissed, especially since this four foot tall shrimp is looking at her as some kind of tool or pleasure toy. Dilli asked for the curious Kazer''s permission. "Can I shoot them now?"


    Waving his hand at them, pushing his lower lip a tad forward, he welcomed. "Please, by my guest."


    A split second later, the same Goblin Demon who demanded Dilli as a compensation for passing down the Stairs. Met with a blazing hot Fireball, blood puking all across the stairs close by  as his arm ventured into darkness.


    Spooked, disappearing in the darkness faster than the two Humans could comprehend, it feels like this battle has started and ended.


    Counting for a few seconds, the Goblin Demons ceased to appear so Dilli emphasized. "Looks like they ran away."


    Mid way through sentence, one of these shrimps leaped out of the shadows and bashed its Silver Battle Axe in Kazer''s lower right arm, right near the wrist.


    Obviously unable to cut such a large man''s entire hand off, especially since this Goblin Demon struck almost vertically, the axe forced itself stuck on Kazer''s arm and the attacker remained hanging in mid air, refusing to let go of the axe.


    Although still able to move his fingers, this hit sure packed a sharp pain! Not used to cursing at all, but the situation forcing him too. He exclaimed, "You son of a Demonic s.l.u.t!"


    Right after, he grabbed the attacker by the head and began to dig his fingers in the Goblin''s skin. A few screams after, they heard the skull crack and his fingers completely dug in the Demon''s head.


    Dead, bashing its body against the stairs. Kazer pulled the Silver  Battle axe from his arm and tossed it against a Demon approaching Dilli from a blind side.


    She has shot about 4 Goblin Demons so far, and her joy hearing their screams is beyond explanation.


    The Axe nailed the Goblin right on its arm, cutting it off whole and screams followed. Dilli noticed the attacker, turned around and unleashed a two foot wide Fireball from her palm... blowing the Demon''s head off, ending its misery.


    Impatient, not wanting to wait and shoot these wicked satanic beings one by one whenever they choose to emerge from the shadows, she started blasting two Fireballs per second, shooting against the darkness.


    No one would approach a madly shooting lady and would rather choose to further hide, so she is mostly safe.


    Shooting a couple more down already, the several Fireball shots helped her find where the remaining three are hiding.


    So joining her hands together, forming them like a butterfly, she blew three Fireballs at once in different directions.


    One Demon lost its leg, hopped a few times before falling down the stairs and making its own contribute towards death.


    The second remaining Demon got sliced in half, a three foot wide Fireball hit him just right and Dilli could even see his spine shine before it fell above the stairs in two pieces.


    The last remaining, alive Goblin. The Leader, managed to sneak away from the Fireball and continued to run down the moss covered stairs.


    Spotting where he is, a stone howled across the room and hit the Leader right behind the head.


    Gup!


    The stone was heard smashing against the Demon''s head, and tapping down the stairs after.


    "Nice shot." Dilli complimented, once noticing that he hit the Goblin she couldn''t.


    ...


    Walking further down the stairs after Kazer patched his arm as well, seeing no end yet or any new passage be it blocked or opened.


    Instead, they''ve found another Human Corpse... well it''s a bit of an empty Skeleton as well here and there but it has flesh and organs intact as well.


    Different from the rest, this one is carrying a Journal. Dilli opened it this time and could recognize an ill.u.s.tratian accent.

 Chapter 448 - Where to shoot first?

    As Eric pierced the sky with his blessed hot fire burning underneath his feet, his attention soared towards the Demons sneaking away from the bundle and heading for the Forest!


    There is little he can do to shoot them, as the bundle of over 40 Demons are hollering underneath his feet. Some trying to jump and catch the flying boy, although he is over 20 meters above their head.


    With the opportunity of facing a bundle given, he joined his palms together, making them face forward shaped like a butterfly.


    Three Fireballs at once descended from his palms, heading towards the Demons and stretching 3 feet wide each!


    He could hear the howls of pain, brought upon these wild beasts by the young boy''s attack. But which Demon he hit and what damage he caused is uncertain to the Electus, hard to see from up here.


    If detail is your prime interest, he blew a couple of heads off and sliced away limbs as well.


    These Clawed Demons are uncomfortably unpredictable, so while most of them are here the young hero pleases to shoot down as many as possible.


    Therefore as he took a second to breathe this time, a 8 foot wide Fireball blew from his palm followed by a 3 foot tail!


    It soared through the air for a second before it met with the Demons, blowing off skulls faster than they eye can blink, no Demon under that Holy Fire was given the chance to live.


    But it doesn''t stop there! There is a reason this Fireball was followed by a three foot long tail, instead of a wall shaped sensation.


    What Fire didn''t enslave a victim, slipped and torched it''s way to the ground! When there not only did it spread, cutting off legs of Demons who died from the first stage of the attack.


    But it also escaped that 8 foot wide radius, reaching three more feet further on each side at a circular manner!


    Deadly, effective and a way to turn the tides of battle. 30 Demons have dropped dead, only a bit above 10 of these crazed enemies remain on the ground... while the ones who sneaked for the Forest earlier aren''t to be seen anymore.


    Dealing with these Demons, in the midst of blasting a Fireball he noticed a wave of Clawed Demons rise from the shores 100 meters away from the young Electus is flying, or best described 100 meters closer to the Kingdom.


    Unfortunately, this wave is getting only bigger and bigger. Almost double the size of the bundle Eric just dealt with, so it has to be 70-80 more Demons attacking the Kingdom.


    Dealing with the few 10 Demons now underneath him is a bad idea. Out of 70 Demons, a handful can slip away from the Guard''s defences and cause havoc in the Domain.


    Maneuvering his feet to face the new threat, Fire stretched 3 feet wide through his feet as he tried to reach the new wave.


    And good enough, the 10 or so Demons he wanted to deal with followed the Fire underneath Eric''s feet. At least these ones won''t escape into the forest.


    Once in a 20 meters close to them, catching the attention of at least halt of these clawed Demons. A 5 foot wide Fireball howled from his palms and blew off heads and stomachs, terminating three Demons.


    Scared that he will loose too much Stamina, but unwilling to leave everything to the other Fire Controllers who are not yet in battle.


    He blew a 10 foot wide Fireball, followed along by a 5 foot wide tail! This alone took a quarter of his whole Stamina once it escaped his palms and went after the Demonic spines!


    Feeling a bit dizzy, he could only hear the Demons scream once his Fireball made an impact, plaguing the ground at a 15 feet Radius!


    Looking down again, shaking his head to fight off the blurry vision. He can take a rough guess and suppose that only 30 Demons are standing underneath him.


    Great right? That means he killed over 40 with just one shot.


    Wrong!


    He might have killed 20 or so, as Demons won''t really stay in one place and await to be fried.


    Gazing upon the Kingdom, he could count over 40 Demons running towards it!


    Now his decisions stretch thin, because he can''t let those 40 Demons reach the walls and yet if he follows them, the 30 Demons below him will follow along and enslave all of the Guard''s capabilities.


    As if the Devine source has sent him, Mogranius landed right in front of the Demons... well about 100 feet away from them and started shooting like a madman.


    His preferred move for such a problem, unleashing three Fireballs at once!


    Pushing his palm forward, forming them nearly like a butterfly. He started tapping the ground with his right foot, three Fireballs stretching two feet wide started shooting down these crazed enemies.


    With the Demons approaching closer, with their running speed being twice of that as a Human''s. A bigger blow has to be encouraged, or else success should be solely based on the Archers and 100 Goblin Demons lent by Kutuk.


    Aiming to be quick, he reached his palms close to each other and blew Fire from both. Forming an orb in between them, instantly blowing Fire from his mouth to enhance this orb''s strength.


    Taking only a couple of seconds to charge this orb, unleashing it appears as an only option with the Demons only 20 feet away!


    Bashing his fists against the ground, he stood up as fast as he could and blew Fire from his feet. Not fleeing from the Demons, but from the Atomic Fireball!


    The orb sunk in the ground, pushed forward at a zig zag movement just for a few feet, forcing rock and dirt above it to blow a couple of feet up as it ventured towards the Demons with every zig and zag!


    Rising from the ground, with half of the wave of these Demons already surrounding it... the Atomic Fireball finally unleashed what it has gathered up!


    As it blew up, the Demons closest to the orb got completely disintegrated mid run. Flesh, internal organs and bone completely vanished before the Orb completely expanded!


    Those who were only two feet away from the orb, got their bodies obliterated up to the neck... with their heads only remaining... well more like skulls as most flesh got burned off!


    The Demons that ranged 5 feet away from the orb, got their legs blown off as they were walking on their hind legs.


    As for the rest of their bodies, half of the flesh around their ribcage has gotten burned off! Causing for internal organs to spill from over 10 Demons.


    But a good half of them have been burned into dust by the split second of an aftermath raging across the ground, cooking what internal organs were left as a last result.


    You can understand how the Atomic Fire burns, and you can comprehend what each foot around it can cause.


    But the ones that have it worst, are the ones 8-20 feet away! Since the Atomic Fireball can''t completely burn off bodies that are that far, a quarter of these Demons where tossed in the sea...dead.


    While the rest where of course tossed on all other sides, up to 100 feet away!


    This solves one problem as one attack obliterated over 60 Demons were awfully slaughtered with one move!


    Now all that remain underneath Mogranius, are around 10 Demons... beautiful. This situation is gained control over, working at Gaster Kingdom''s advantage.


    With Eric killing those ten Demons he had to deal with, it''s all nice and peachy right? Eric even shouted from 40 feet, "Aye watch the Atomic shots!"


    Seeing it as an insult, Mogranius hollered back. "Obviously your moves weren''t working so well against half of the Demons."


    Flying about 10 feet close now, aiding Mogranius to kill the 10 remaining Demons. Eric once again howled, "Now you barely have any Stamina, go sit this one out."


    Agreeable, with his vision mostly forced to a blur the old man made his way towards Gaster Kingdom''s walls and left Eric to burn down the small group of remaining enemies.


    This battle feels as good as over, most of the Demons are dead and the Archers didn''t have to flick an Arrow. Beautiful.


    ...


    King Michael flew out of his Kingdom, wanting to aid this battle. A battle of which has met an end, guilty indeed but at least everyone is intact.


    As if on cue, before he could even say a word to the other Fire Controllers... A large snake started approaching from the Forest!


    Once it got 100 feet close to Gaster Kingdom, the King noticed it''s distinguished large feature and shouted from the top of lungs, waving his arms at the Archers and Eric as well of course. "Don''t shoot!"

 Chapter 449 - 11 Marks, 12 Quests.

    King Michael repeated his demand with a holler, "Don''t shoot!" Waving at Mogranius to fly back.


    With everyone called back, the King personally flew towards the large snake... with features ringing a bell he became intrigued.


    What convinced him that he made a great decision, is the Snake''s behaviour itself. The large being stopped 100 feet away from the Kingdom, laying flat and unwilling to cause any trouble.


    There, the Snake proved itself non hostile although not harmless. If it decides to attack, it can easily swallow a few people whole before getting killed. Considering its size, endurance would work to the reptile''s favour.


    Landing around 20 feet near the Snake, the King could notice it curl into a circle and poke its large head up. The King murmured to himself, trying to not startle the Snake. "Yes, that''s definitely a Titanoboa! I never thought I''d see another one."


    Commander Alia can probably tame this one, but putting her in such danger is nothing but a bad idea.


    Although the King himself has a horrible history with animal taming, mostly failing. He wants to try it out, so he approaches mouthing a soft tone. "Hello Mister Titanoboa, I''m not your enemy. I won''t hurt you."


    The Titanoboa raised its head a foot further, hissed as it stuck its foot long tongue out!


    At a glance, not understanding the Reptile hissed especially since the King took no step forward. An idea bashed in Michael''s head, so he corrected himself with a soft. Whisper. "Misses Titanoboa?"


    Lending his attention to the strange Human in front of her, she lowered her head down and mostly hid it behind her body.


    Feeling certain, the King muttered. "Yes, it''s a lady."


    Taking a step forward, actually having the guts and curiosity to form touching the Titanoboa as a plan. His heart went to his sock when the Titanoboa raised its head up again, even leaning forward and gave out a loud hiss!


    Whispering, the King stated. "I would be surprised if one animal liked me."


    Eric along with Mogranius flew down a few feet near King Michael, a bit c.o.c.ky over their own capabilities. Thinking, "If this thing attacks, we can shoot it down."


    Noticing new presence, the Titanoboa stuck her head out again but this time didn''t hiss, curious mostly instead.


    Spotting the shortest boy, the Titanoboa exposed more of her spine, allowing a Dagger to shine. Dug in her flesh, probably wouldn''t hurt a Titanoboa that much considering the natural endurance.


    Gasping, Eric shrieked. "It''s hurt."


    King Michael corrected, for the sake of safety. "It''s a she."


    Taking light foot steps forward, King Michael has been left speechless. Although trying to sneak, the young Electus isn''t so successful with that. The large reptile noticing each of his step.


    That''s why the King is in shock, the Titanoboa isn''t attacking regardless. Concerned, Michael hummed. "Eric, are you sure this is the best idea?"


    The Titanoboa moved her head closer to where the Dagger is bashed near her spine, glancing at the young boy utter the name. "Betzy?"


    "That''s Betzy?" Mogranius spoke to himself, not fearing to take a step forward and approach the beast.


    "It''s okay Betzy." Eric tried to comfort, but now being close enough he noticed three rolled up Parchments attached to the Dagger.


    Grabbing the handle, rubbing her slithery skin to provide comfort. Eric slowly pulled the Dagger out, and a bit of blood puked out of the wound.


    But to Betzy here, it made barely any difference. She didn''t move and just kept glancing at the young Electus.


    Wanting to heal her little would but unsure how to do it, Eric waved his hand towards the wound and a dim green light hovered across the air before meeting skin, forcing the wound to seal with a layer of dried blood.


    With the deed done, Betzy unwinded from it''s circle like form, reaching her head towards the cold snow behind her and slithering away from the scene.


    King Michael joined the two Fire Controllers and cited. "Why didn''t you convince her to stay? I want to study her."


    Knowing where Betzy came from, Mogranius lightly tapped the King over the shoulder a couple of times and intoned. "You don''t want to do that, her owner would have all of our heads."


    Pointing out the obvious, Eric digressed. "I think these are letters from that Demon lady, what else would Betzy be doing out here with a Dagger in her flesh?"


    Opening one of the Parchments, Eric could see a lot of long paragraphs exposing its contents. This seems to be the one, as the other two parchments just hold a map of [Continent] Ignis and names of some clothing.


    Literate, Eric began to enumerated the letter''s claims out loud as the rolled Parchment bounced down nearly to his knees.


    "I am your friend, I''m that Demon that tipped you off last winter. Eric, I''ve watched your progress and work against the Demons but I wish to point out that everything you and your friends are doing is firmly pointless.


    The Demons you are dealing against are infinite in number, what you call the Clawed Demons are so common in my former Realm that it would take three of your worlds to kill them all, you can''t afford it and you will be overwhelmed and loose everything you fight for if you keep going at this direction.


    If this Realm is to withstand the Demonic invasion, you need to destroy the Portals. That way, your allies will at least have a chance to breathe as I feel certain that my former Realm has limited capabilities when generating Portals.


    Of course, closing them is easier said than done. The only known way to close a Portal between our two realms, is to bash Dark Fireballs through them.


    Although difficult to explain how it works, somehow it ruptures the Portal''s momentum, forcing it to dismantle.


    You can''t generate Black Fire even as an Electus, your friends can''t either. It''s so complex, it requires so much power that a new Level of Fire Blasting has to be dedicated to it.


    One of the first ever Fire Controllers, who has lived an estimated 10,000 years before the first Era, when the Ice Age swallowed all of Ignis instead of just a part, only she is known to ever Generate Black Fire.


    She was no Electus, but a holy Prodigy instead. Kashantis! That''s her name yes, I remember now.


    Living over 16,000 years ago, that lady prodigy is long dead of course but the Relics she left behind may help you attain enough Fire Blasting Powers to generate Black Fire and slowly but surely undo all that effort my Realm is putting in.


    In that Map attached to the Dagger you will see every location that holds the 10 Relics, Enchanted Clothing and Accessories you will need to super boost your powers.


    Apart from those 10 Relics, you also need to find a Scripture. An Ancient Parchment, enchanted to never fade with time, indestructible.


    It was written by Kashantis herself but of course she hid it so only the most dedicated can attain everything she had.


    That Scripture will help you unlock the Secrets of Black Fire. Without it, all the work you will put in will go to waste.


    Apart from attaining those 11 Relics, you will have to become a Grand Master of Fire Controlling before attempting the Black Fire power move. You need all power to your advantage, you can''t do anything as a Level 4 little Ignite.


    Attaining the 10 Relics one by one will help you progress faster, after all they are entirely enchanted. Do what you have to do, write down Master and Grand Master training sessions for the road if you have to but you need to become a Grand Master as you seek the Relics.


    If curiosity beats you, the third Parchment attached to the Dagger explains what each Relic will enhance.


    Young Electus, I wish you good luck. No stress, but you are the only living being with the slightest capabilities to protect your Realm."


    This Parchment is far too much to comprehend, this just opened up a new bigger destiny. The ill.u.s.tratian Alliance looks like a zit in comparison, this is about slowing down a whole Realm''s attack!


    Eric coughed, rolled the Parchment back up and weighed in. "Wow... just wow, we finally have a fighting chance."


    Considering his own people before anyone else, King Michael debated. "But you can''t leave Gaster Kingdom, our Arsenal would be terribly weak."


    Mogranius chipped in, clamouring. "Didn''t you hear him read? If we keep this up, soon enough there won''t be an Arsenal to consider."


    Still willing to put up a debate, King Michael contradicts. "Are you sure we can trust that Lady Demon? I mean, 16,000 year old Relics. It sounds a bit... well. Fiction, maybe this is a rouse?"


    Determined to accept this Destiny, Eric beckoned. "She has absolutely no benefit if the Demons succeed! She literally lives in Ignis and can''t leave either, so if her home breaks down into nothingness then she won''t benefit."

 Chapter 450 - Fresh minds, fresh ideas.

    7 pm, the sun has sunk over the Horizon. The cold weather advances after this time passes, often dismotivating the Guards but nothing too serious. And with a new journey made certain, extra protection has to be set a base upon before Eric departs.


    This Domain''s options are limited and they are gambling against an entire Realm, this is where creativity has to emerge in order to fight the already set odds of impossibility.


    At this rate, King Michael doesn''t even want to do much in terms of landing heavier attacks, he just wants to defend his Kingdom.


    The people here are sick of losing family members over petty battles, soon enough even Gold won''t be able to tame the masses.


    With these facts considered, King Michael has gathered up minds, young and old. Planning to ask them about defense plans, every idea helps although it will likely need modifications.


    Chances are, some might not pitch ideas at all but it''s nice to have more minds around as the number of ideas will grow bigger.


    You might be wondering who and who has been invited for Dinner in this delicate, quiet night.


    Well, the number of people is quite large really. There aren''t only three or four, but 17! That many brains, bright or dumb have been invited. With the King counting as the 18th in the Dining room.


    These people are, Eric, Mogranius, Woldemir, Stefan, Arem, Kutuk, three acclaimed Goblin Demon Geniuses, Ada, Toto, Ladia, Alama, Saleem, Kaleem, Jim and Lia!


    You might recognize most of these names, most have shown brilliant performances throughout time and the new ones are worth considering.


    They all can sense that something is going on here, they understood something about a Demon and a Titanoboa but that''s where their comprehension meets an end for most here.


    So as food got served by the kind Maids skilled with their craft, mid way through Dinner, King Michael called for attention as he tapped his fork and spoon on his plate.


    Standing up, he started narrating the complex situation. "People, friends and family. I have called all of you here tonight, as I request your ideas in terms of defending this Kingdom."


    With their attention fairly captured, the King didn''t fail to use this silence in order to continue with his citing. "Eric, our friend and the living Electus has been burdened with a quest neither of us could handle. A Destiny has been laid on his path, which can help fight this Demonic invasion but it requires his attention across Ignis. He won''t be able to help us here for a while."


    Half of the crowd gasped, although they aren''t the most surprised since it does sound like the destiny of an Electus. Stories of people so powerful are often linked with big responsibility, and if books failed to pass this fact, story telling didn''t.


    Grabbing two Silver Goblets and clinking them against each other, demanding silence. The King rejoiced, "He will stay here until we get everything together, thankfully he agreed to that and we can have him in our Arsenal for a little while longer. But if he doesn''t go soon, we will all eventually die from these Demonic attacks."


    A blink after, Michael repeated his first point as Silence remained firm. "I called you here tonight to help with your precious minds, if there is a time to be creative and show yourself above average... more than you already have of course."


    With the most battle experience, being a certified Grand Master in Swordsmanship, Woldemir dictated. "To fulfill what my son can do, we need a replacement of a thousand Guards. Ask that Zamerian King for help, would improve relations and even the newcomers would admire you."


    Battered of such a mindset, across the table Toto scoffed. "My Villagers aren''t a rag, they''ve traveled sea for life and are fighting for Gaster Kingdom like you are."


    Seeing where he went wrong, ego rarely in his subconscious, Woldemir corrected his own words. "My apologies then, we are thinking about this battle-wise."


    Although loving and respecting Woldemir as a person, this plan seems to have many holes in it. So Stefan corrected. "We don''t really have space for 1,000 Guards, it''s still cold outside."


    Trying to find a solution and not minding his idea talked over or rejected, Woldemir reasoned. "Then ask King Zar for help, I''m sure he would be willing."


    Calculating further risks, across the set of tables King Michael muttered. "We can''t weaken King Zar''s Army, we don''t know when or if the Demons will attack his Kingdom as well. He has his own to protect, we can''t deprive him of power."


    To enhance the King''s words, Eric stated. "The letter states that the Clawed Demons alone will need three of our worlds to fight them off, not to mention any other so neither of the friendly neighbouring Kingdoms should be weakened."


    Perhaps that crown merged with his head is working over time right now, because the young Electus is making the firmest point in this dinner party.


    But going against his own word here, Eric also added. "10 Calidum Lutum Guards was a request too small, we need 100. They can handle their selves just fine, if anything they can just seal the new Lan Zhe with Volcanic rock."


    Remaining to his previous point, King Michael needled. "They are close to the sea, they can easily get attacked so it''s a bad idea to borrow more troops from them."


    Focusing mostly on the fish in front of him, although he didn''t completely shadow this battle conversation. Mogranius pitched an idea, one that no one can correct all while picking his teeth with a fish bone.


    Tapping his plate with the same fish bone, urging attention, the Geezer asserted. "Just ask one of the Grand Masters to build a big Volcanic wall, it ain''t pretty but it can slow down most attacks. Have them build the walls curled forward, half of the Clawed Demons would fail to climb that."


    As a team of Spearfishermen, Saleem spoke for his brothers and sisters in work. "Wouldn''t that kill our main food supply? The fish are bringing a good profit too."


    "Make a lot holes, many many many. Fish will slip in." Ladia the Healer pitched this modification.


    Instantly showing admiration, Kaleem weighed in. "That actually solves so many problems at once, of course we would need to make a passage for Lia''s boat as well."


    Considering this idea gold-wise since it opened as a topic, King Michael added. "We need a passage for the sh.i.p.s as well, the ones that come from Zameria and of course a passage on the other sides where Wagons can pass."


    "This yells out that we will always need a Grand Master here, to operate every passage." Eric persisted, feeling guilty that he has to leave. Knowing that he can get a Grand Master here, he has the authority.


    Seeing that his plan is plausible, King Michael decided to go with it. "Mogranius provided us with a grand idea, and if anyone else doesn''t have more to add. All of you can continue enjoying your Dinner, a solution has dawned."


    ...


    After the little Dinner party, they''ve spent an hour or two catching up because you know they live in the same Kingdom yet don''t see each other enough due to different tasks demanding different attentions.


    Stefan of course stuck with his original little group, asking Eric what progress he''s gained with his Fire Blasting abilities and of course asking more about this big quest.


    Ada and Ladia were trying to get Toto join in a conversation, asking her a ton of things after every opinion or question so she talks more, it annoyed the hell out of her but they did see progress.


    Despite the constant attacks that Gaster Kingdom has been dragged towards, it was nice for everyone to meet, chat and laugh for a little while.


    Such a gathering forced Mogranius to miss his time in the hidden Domain that''s submerged in the high mountains, the warmth of family there burned the hottest with all those kids around.


    But after 11pm, slowly but surely people started getting back to their homes. Most of them have responsibilities to fulfill tomorrow, and all Fire Controllers shouldn''t even be here at the same time come to think of it.


    Most left in that hour, except Eric and his oldest friends and family along with the two ladies, Toto and Ada.


    With the opportunity given, Woldemir felt it best to fix the harshly destroyed relation with this young lady. Won''t be any fun if they live in this small place and hate each other, not the wisest idea considering that they are both powerful in their own way.


    So Woldemir tip toed towards her with a fresh warm plate of Striped Marlin Meat, fetched from the Kitchen and warmed up by the young Electus.


    Sitting close to her, Woldemir handed it over and said. "This is fresh expensive fish meat, uhh... Sorry for offending you and your race, didn''t mean too."


    Although not the best with people, not used to forgiving either. Young lady Toto isn''t quite used of seeing older people apologize, fairly uncommon.


    So she accepted the meal, pulled it closer to herself and mumbled. "It''s okay."


    Now although not meant to, the Grand Master offended Ladia next. And she didn''t fail to express her emotion, hollering. "I''m Zameria too! Where is my expensive fish?"

 Chapter 451 - Training! Debates and an introduction.

    Since the young Electus will be departing on a large quest, alone and won''t be in Gaster Kingdom in a long time, King Michael urged for him to put as many hours as possible training his Healing powers.


    Ladia won''t be there to patch his wounds, neither will be Mogranius to cover for him if Eric got hurt in between some battle. He will be alone out there, so he must be prepared.


    I''m sure you already puzzled together why he will be going alone, it''s because Gaster Kingdom needs every other Fire Controller here, or else this Kingdom will collapse before two of the 10 relics are recovered.


    Since Eric won''t be departing too soon, such as going tomorrow. He does have a few days at least to train, Ladia has been assigned to teach the young Eric 8 hours a day.


    Furthermore, the young boy won''t be holding any shifts so he can solely focus on his Healing powers. In other words it means Mogranius and King Michael will be holding 12 hour shifts, at least until Dilli arrives.


    Where is Eric, studying with a young lady. It necessarily means that Ada will be too, although she hasn''t thrown any Jealousy tantrums yet.


    Starting this little training session in the Library by opening her book,


    "King Michael say you learn Green Orb spell."


    A bit more comfortable around Ladia now, especially comfortable since Ada is here too. Eric alleged. "Yes he gave me a 30 minute lecture this morning on why I should learn it, I hope I can progress with it today."


    Confident with what she can teach, considering she spends all day reading, Ladia cited. "You will, it''s child''s garden. I don''t understand how you not know it."


    Consistent with her urge to teach, Ladia bargained. "Show foot hole, try to heal it."


    Not understanding what she meant in the first two seconds, catching up he digressed. "You''ve healed my foot with the wiggling snake, so I think we will need another wound to train on."


    Not feeling like going down to the Dungeon just now, since she has to go there anyway a bit later. Instead, Ladia pitched. "You can try wall, or table. No damage, no explosion, just Stamina loss."


    Glad that they aren''t going down there again, although he accidentally pitched the idea himself. Eric went on, "I can try, but I need more help. I mostly failed with this."


    Trying to help, Ada chipped in. "Can you tell us if the book says more about the Green Orb, or how he can do it better?"


    Having memorized this bit of the book already thanks to reading it over and over, Ladia weighed in a ton of effort trying to translate. "Focus focus focus. Focus on wound, nothing else or no Magic."


    Understanding this fact, Eric repeated to himself without uttering a word. Thinking, "You can do this, you can. Just focus, meditation. Yes, what was Mogranius yapping about that?"


    Standing up, he swung his arm across the air, motivation rising along with the swing. And boom, nothing happened.


    He just swung his arm as fast as he could, thankfully not hitting anyone and no light whatsoever blew out of his palm. A fail at best, but progress since he is putting effort into this I suppose.


    With the idea of a wound and strong motivation in mind, Ada grabbed a little Dagger that''s just conveniently laying on another Table at the other edge of the room, and ran the tip of that Dagger across her palm.


    Eric didn''t see it, as he is constantly trying to unleash the green orb against a wall of books, so Ada can act out a little pain here followed by a shout. "Eric, I accidentally cut my hand. Heal it!"


    Bewildered of how she got cut in a Library, he took a leap towards her before starting to run, noticed blood dripping on the wood plank floor and grabbed her hand. Repeating, "How could this happen?"


    Looking back at Ladia, Eric shouted. "Don''t just sit there, come heal her."


    Knowing what happened, Ladia kept calm and just answered. "You do it. Good training."


    "By the Source." Eric murmured to himself, anger invading his subconscious.


    Although close, Eric can move his arm just a little, enough to perhaps unleash what can heal the young lady.


    With a swing, a dim green light shone from his palms and ventured across the air a little bit before meeting Ada''s hand.


    This light, is no way like an orb. It has no shape, just something highly lumpy and at a few sides edgy and not to forget that it barely shone compared to what Ladia can blow out.


    It sealed Ada''s freshly cut wound with a thin line of blood that has been forced dry, well almost sealed.


    A bit of blood continued to drip from her little palm, not wanting her to feel any pain he swung his arm again and once more unleashed a dim light although not an orb.


    The little bits of blood dripping from her palm, forced shut with a fresh line of dried out blood and he could notice that on one edge of the cut, blood clots have been replaced with fresh skin. The would was half an inch longer just a while ago.


    "I did it." He congratulated himself, his rage forcing to replace with that sense worth more than a chest of gold, accomplishment.


    Flashing the Dagger she has been concealing behind, Ada assured. "Yes you did."


    Hating what she just did to herself just for his progress, Eric hollered. "Why did you do that? What if it was a bigger cut?"


    Petting his cheek with the other hand, delighted that she helped the Electus progress. Ada chittered, "I''m okay, don''t worry. You need to learn more, I want to help in any way I can."


    That calmed down Eric for a mile and now he feels a little shy too, but he can cite. "I don''t want you to hurt yourself just to help me."


    Direct, Ada''s not scared to express. "And I don''t want you to die either, please learn more."


    ...


    An hour later, with over a hundred swings unleashed amongst one of these book filled walls, Eric just managed unleash 15 Green Lights although not orbs.


    The shape doesn''t matter come to think of it, as long as the healing move does what''s it''s supposed to do. Eventually he will reach perfection, Ada might have helped to break the biggest barricade, getting it started.


    With the opportunity given to relax a little bit, since Eric''s arm is sore from all the waving. They''ve sneaked to the Kitchen, hoping to get a snack without the maids seeing them.


    Those old maids tend to slap buttocks with a spoon if they catch kids grabbing food before the appointed Dinner times.


    As they''ve returned to the Library, with the best smelling Fish meat sneaked back, after a few bites Ada asked. "So when will we go to find the Relic the King kept talking about?"


    Choking on a bit of fish, his tears dripping as he reached for a clay pot of water, Eric quizzed. "We?"


    Ada cited, sure of herself. "Of course we! Don''t think for a second that you will go to 12 dangerous places alone!"


    Insistent, although not liking the idea of going there alone either, Eric debated. "Ada, it''s too dangerous!"


    Unwilling to ever let this boy go and tackle a big quest alone, she still countered. "I know the Mantek arts, I can defend myself!"


    Pointing out the obvious although not wanting to call her weak, Eric stated. "Fist to Claw won''t work well against Demons, Swords barely do!"


    Not sure how to debate against that part, she just insisted on her first point. "I''m coming with you, either near you or while stalking you. So choose what''s easiest for both of us."


    Ladia didn''t know what to say here, she just kept looking at Eric and then Ada, then Eric again and Ada after every time either of them replied harshly.


    She doesn''t really want to get mixed up here, it sounds personal at best and she would be carrying some sort of responsibility regardless which one she backed up in this debate.


    Soon as Ada ended that firm point she wanted to make, King Michael walked into the Library followed by a 10 foot tall Calidum Lutum who of course had to bend down just to enter.


    Knowing that a lot of questions might follow here, the King swiftly introduced. "Meet Sekun, this fine man will be joining you in your quest."


    Knowing this man, practically travelled with him from the old Lan Zhe to Gaster Kingdom in the very beginning, Eric''s tone arose in enthusiasm and he even stood on his feet, asking. "Really?"


    Based on his wordplay, making it clear that this man is all about tradition and such, Sekun left everyone at shock when he cited everything in fluent Ignite language. "Yes my King, sir Golden Blood. I was the weakest of the 10 people that joined you that day but now I''m more than qualified to put in my Contribute."


    "Thank you, I accept your contribution." Eric stated and most importantly now took Ada once again into consideration. "Ada, now you can come with me too. He can easily help protect you, and me as well really."


    "Ada is coming with you?" King Michael asked, at shock as his tone arose.


    Now with safety out of mind, Eric can consider benefits from her joining. So he dictated, "She will, I saw the map and we will be going in enemy land eventually. I need an ill.u.s.tratio with me, she can persuade people that I can''t for information."

 Chapter 452 - Winter Torture

    Now, it''s 6 in the morning across Ignis. The Guards of the night shift are Patrolling over the walls, carrying torches with a sole intent to attract any nearby Demon.


    It''s better to face them and get it over with than letting them run wild across the Continent, Pameres Kingdom is what King Michael is specifically concerned about considering how much profit has that domain brought.


    The biggest challenge of the night shift is of course staying awake, there rarely are any Clawed Demons after dusk falls behind the Horizon so even when the Guards attract a few, they usually are small in number. Either alone, or at small groups of 2 or 3. A breeze to handle even at night.


    Speaking of breezes, throughout the night shift King Michael has blown blank Fire on his palms over a hundred times even though wearing gloves.


    The Winter night is harsh and snow just has started melting even though they are close to march. It only gets worse as they patrol the walls towards the morning as cold can overcome most.


    Sure King Michael has Fire to keep himself warm but what about the other Guards? This cold, running down their spines can break the toughest souls.


    And that''s where the King has come to a realization, these Guards don''t have such motivation for the sake of Gold. Food expenses are covered by the Castle, these Guards all have houses and families to go to.


    Recent losses of Guards have pushed many people towards the value of life itself, and they have a large motivation to protect their families, a motivation gold can never buy.


    That''s the only thing that can explain this motivation, as the King personally wouldn''t hold another night shift even if he was paid 200 Gold Coins a night. It''s too harsh to handle, he has found respect for these Guards more than ever thanks to that fact, they too are putting in 12 hours a day.


    Blowing Fire once more, submerging his palms in such heat and watching them appeal hot and red, Michael spotted the sun''s head slowly but surely rise from the sea.


    He could feel the sun''s faint rays illuminating his face, the only bit of skin exposed to such harsh weather apart from his palms before he puts gloves on.


    Although the sun rising, his face has been long numbed by such cold and warmth from nature isn''t soon to come, not before mid day at least. But what''s the point then, as he will be going in the Castle for a nap.


    Rubbing his eyes, urging to go and slide in his bed as he isn''t used to such 12 hour shifts, the call for battle woke him up.


    Right in front of the Kingdom, 150 or so feet away, much like Farmers the Clawed Demons got into work with the rising of the sun.


    Giving another look, he can count above 20... thinking it though for a split of a second, his best idea is to demand with a holler. "I need 40 Guards here! The rest of you, remain true to your shifts."


    10 Guards were already close to him, spotting the Clawed Demons almost at the same time as the King. So they''ve already started pulling Arrows back, knowing that there isn''t a need for further commands.


    Their arrows shone across the sky, piercing the Ice age like punishing cold and warming up the Soldiers of light with the call to battle!


    What woke the rest of the Guards up, are the Demonic howls. They are so harsh to comprehend, ears of these brave souls burn despite the muffle that each quick foot tap provides, despite the song that each bow plays.


    Three Demons fell to the ground, Iron tip arrows victimising their spines and dismantling their h.i.p.s function.


    With the next wave of arrows short to come, King Michael shot a 6 foot wide Fireball from the comfort of the walls, allowing a 3 foot tail to follow behind, raising the odds of taming a bundle.


    He looked around, saw the Guards approaching and shouted. "Faster, move your feet. Wake up people!"


    Alluring his gaze upon the battle field, he could see a few Demonic bodies collecting blood across the field and could even spot a couple of burned carcasses.


    Arrow tips flashed over 100 feet away, he could see blood doting on more than ten spots and saw 5 more Demons drop dead while more than half of the arrows just dug into the snow.


    The Guards are tired, sleepy while the targets are over a hundred feet away and dancing across the snow.


    The King here has to prove as the best support, so before the Guards could shoot another round of arrows, 3 Fireballs blew from his palms, stretching 5 feet wide each and howling above the white snow.


    A Demon leaped, trying to catch the weird glowing thing and next thing it knew, well it didn''t know anything. It''s dead, with the head blown off and the Fire sunk down to the Rib cage before the carcass forced other Demons to trip.


    Two on the sides met a bad fate as well, and with half of the living Demons enslaved by the wave of arrows, 12 or so Demons remained standing, 70 feet away.


    Now, battle has become easier although the Clawed Demons closer. With another wave of arrows enslaving the sky, 9 Demons dropped dead with arrows across their spine and limbs.


    And the three remaining of course have no aim whatsoever to slow down, crazed beings in every aspect and dialect.


    These three are easier to handle, chances of them reaching the walls are slim but from the other side of the Kingdom, specifically from behind. Guards hollered for help.


    Blowing Fire from his feet as he made his way to the sky, from a higher vantage point King Michael could count well over 100 Demons just 50 feet away from the walls!


    This situation is becoming terrible, do these crazed pieces of shit rise with the sun?


    Fire urging 6 feet wide behind him, reaching battle as fast as possible is the primary move! He wanted to tip a Guard on calling for Mogranius, but time isn''t something he doesn''t have at the moment.


    Landing on the ground, with the Demons 20 feet near his Kingdom already, the King wanted to try out what Mogranius discovered.


    Time limited, the Demons 10 feet away from where he has dug his feet. An orb formed on his palms, tremendous power blown at once, enough to unleash 10 foot wide Fireballs from each of his palms.


    But not blowing Fire from his tongue since he doesn''t have time, he bashed the orb against the ground and got a glance of it zig zaging left to right before he blew fire from his feet once more and made for the sky!


    An explosion echoed across the field, likely waking up many citizens and last but not least, the King could see tens of bloody limbs surpassing his speeds and flying for heaven.


    Luckily, this Atomic Fireball hasn''t been super charged or else even the Guards would face some damage apart from temporary blinding.


    Although bloody, unforgiving damage just inflicted. As the King looked down, he spotted that half of these crazed beings haven''t even been killed.


    Over 60 are leaving their wicked footprints across this precious snow, over 60 are a hunch away from climbing the walls and taking the fight with the Guards up there.


    A second after, battle cries howled as the back gates opened. Goblin Demons poured all across the battlefield, taking the fight head on with the Clawed Demons, crossing out fear or remorse.


    Counting a hundred, the Goblin Demons turned the tides in battle, pushing the Clawed Demons as the two factions collided.


    With numbers and experience to their advantage, hundreds upon hundreds of battle axe strikes were to be heard, punishing flesh and bone.


    Noticing the clear line between Demon and Goblin, King Michael shot a 10 foot Wide Fireball right at the bottom of the enemy tide, relieving battle stress at a big rate.


    Now, the Goblin Demons managed to filter the numbers down to the point of surrounding these Demons from all sides.


    Just one minute later, this battle met an end as the Goblins have massacred through the Demons like a hot Dagger through a Rope!


    Looking at a couple of them dead, the sub leader of this platoon of Goblin Demons hollered. "Injured Goblins, please stand on the left."


    With this command repeated a few times between the shouts of Victory, 40 or so Goblins stood on the left while only 8 with injuries severe.


    Severe as in a whole claw mark across their chest, but they are still able to walk laugh and talk. These pink former marauders are tough as nails.


    Landing above the blood and snow, King Michael waved at a Guard above the walls and shouted. "Get Ladia here, go wake her up!"


    With that command clear at least, the Guard ran down the stone stairs and disappeared in the snowy roads looking for Ladia''s.


    From the other side, or best called in front of the Castle. The call for battle echoed, several Guards calling for backup.


    Looking at the Goblin Demons and the ugly scene they left behind, King Michael shouted. "We are needed on the other side, healthy Goblin Demons, let''s go!"

 Chapter 453 - Kushenisura

    50 feet above the Kingdom, flying towards the battlefield and knowing that 60 Goblin Demons are following him to battle.


    Roughly opening his eyes as Fire echoed from his feet, he could see this Battle''s ugly head and spotted that this situation could be more severe than he thought it to be.


    There aren''t thousands of Clawed Demons attacking no, that would be horrible indeed but the Dilemma this Domain has been pushed in, isn''t any lighter!


    Emerging from the Sea Waters, is a creature that echoes no sound, Demonic screeching doesn''t seem to be one of its attributes.


    What this creature can''t fulfill in deafening, soul trembling shouts is harshly replaced by its Humongous size!


    This creature, having stripped colours over its skin, red and yellow stretching from one end to the other, with the stripes parallel aligning at a 45¡ã angle.


    So from its head to the tail, the colours go red and yellow. Not so intimidating but as we pointed out, size compensates for everything this creature doesn''t have!


    It stands 15 feet tall and as its entire body escaped the water, King Michael had a guess that this obviously Demonic thing is at least 60 feet long, maybe even up to 80!


    Near it, poured over 200 Clawed Demons from the sea and their target became clear, Gaster Kingdom!


    As this large obviously Demonic being took a second to turn left and face Gaster Kingdom, Michael couldn''t help noticing the Worm like form.


    A rough guess really, but he figures that this being is about 20 feet wide. At least that''s what he can guess from a distance, they are over 400 feet away this time thankfully.


    Flying down, landing over the walls, King Michael laid out a set of commands and of course battle encouragement. "It doesn''t look so bad, we can shoot this thing down. One of you go get Mogranius and wake up as many Guards as possible, you will shoot as far as you can, don''t let them get too close!"


    Fire entangled against the rock wall under his feet, he made for the sky and started flying at hair pulling speeds to reach the Demons before they reach Gaster Kingdom.


    Enemy count is large, the Source damned thing following these Demons even larger so King Michael has to bring big heat, something that can blow his head off along with the Demons.


    With these wild enemies 300 feet near the Kingdom now, he landed just a hundred feet away from them so time works to his favour this time.


    With no seconds to spare, luck heavily working against this whole Domain. He started blowing Fire from his palms, mouth, nose and even elevated a foot above ground by blowing Fire from his feet.


    His long dark gorgeous hair started elevating as the Fire he is blowing from his hands, has power enough to shift any little mass lightly although at the moment it''s only compressing into one point.


    I think his battle decision is clear by now, you saw it before and you will see it again today, unleashed at sizes even the holy wouldn''t replicate. The Atomic Fireball.


    His vision blurry, panting, heavy breathing too. He knows for sure that half of this Stamina has been enslaved by this power move, still he insists. "Just two more seconds..."


    Ceasing Fire, he landed above ground once more and slammed his hands against the rough snow, getting a glimpse of the Demons just 30 feet away, he felt tad stupid for not waiting longer.


    Dirt and snow mixed with each other more than they ever did, as the zig zagging Atomic Fireball dug through the ground and tossed everything on it''s way, 10 feet above the ground!


    Understanding the risks, as he took less than half a second to fly away with Fire stretching 7 feet wide beneath his feet, he heard the deafening explosion erupt.


    A second later, losing control of his own two feet, he met the ground and slid for 13 meters before having the chance to stand up and glance upon the destruction he brought to these foul beasts.


    "Haha!" The King laughed with a chest shaking shout, celebrating. "Claw that, Bastards!"


    He feels successful, there is a huge dust and snow cloud in front of him, his feet are thankfully intact with just the wood of his shoes blown off.


    And last but not least, there aren''t any Demons puking out of that cloud, considering the large Demonic Army he just faced, killing only half of them with one shot would be success.


    Looking over his right shoulder, he could see limbs falling in the sea, giving its waters a faint red colour. A few bodies can''t overtake the sea''s whole natural light blue colour after all.


    Taking no chances, he made for the sky to take a better look at what enemy is where.


    Comprehending the battle ground, beneath the dust and snow he can spot a half sphere like hole stretching possibly 20 feet across the ground.


    This itself, explains that what the Grand Master just unleashed obliterated soul, bone, flesh and ashes for 20 round feet before it started dismantling the rest of the Demons for another radius of 30 feet!


    Deadly, a game changer. He is lucky to have all of his limbs intact, a second too late and he would share the same fate as these Screeching Beasts.


    Making sure that no living Demon will escape his sight, and at the same time paying attention to the biggest threat, King Michael murmured. "Where are you, Demonic worm."


    The clouds slowly but surely cleared out, and he could see the strange worm 40 feet from where the explosion first took root.


    Apparently, it''s dead as it stopped moving. That''s a grand sign that a creature gave its last breath, if this thing breathes at least.


    Furthermore, all those 200 or so Clawed Demons have been massacred by the Atomic Fireball, none has been spared and the few who actually managed to survive the attack, died in less than a minute as they tried to fight off getting their internal organs boiled from the cloud''s heat.


    Taking precaution, he landed 15 feet far from the Crater he caused and could feel the ground warming his feet. There, he cited to himself. "I was stupid to not use this move Earlier, the ancient Ignites were Geniuses."


    Behind him, running out of the Kingdom and reaching for Michael, he heard the Goblin Demon Sub Leader shout, "Stay away, fly! Fly! That''s a Kushenisura!"


    Not hearing the panting Goblin well enough after such deafening explosion, the King shouted. "What?"


    Facing the big worm again, laying dead around 30 feet away. Michael spotted it move again, and that''s where his heart sunk to his sock.


    If the Atomic Fireball wasn''t able to blow its head off or at least shock it to death, then what can kill this thing?


    The King couldn''t spot a few features of this creature from the Demonic realm when he was above Gaster Kingdom, but now... he wished to be blind.


    As two stick like legs, long enough to fit this creature''s size, emerged from its spine and bashed its pointy feet to the ground, lifting the creature''s head up 7 or so feet from the ground.


    Next, two more legs of the same size and intent, arose from the spine and repeated the procedure but these ones came out of the other side, the legs lifted the Worm''s rear.


    Trying to comprehend this bizarre sight, all Michael can mouth is. "What the..."


    Although not dashing to swallow the King whole, this thing blew out a  green substance from its mouth, against King Michael.


    It hit him, forced him to become airborne for a few feet before he could sense the key characteristic. He hollered, "This smells disgusting!"


    Trying to stand up, since this possible snot that the worm just blew on him, isn''t sizzling his skin. He slipped and fell down, covered in this slippery substance makes one feel disabled.


    After the second attempt, he spotted the creature high in the sky and wondered. "Were those disgusting things, wings?"


    Not waiting to see what will happen once it lands, he unleashed a 5 foot wide Fireball, trying to hit this monstrosity as it soared across the sky.


    Feeling like this is the end, knowing that he will be devoured by this strange Demon worm, he decided to not go down without a fight.


    The Fireball he shot, greatly missed the foul being, so he joined palms together and tried to slap the ground with his foot, although now laying on his back.


    Three Fireballs fluttered against the large enemy, soaring across the sky at once.


    This time, one managed to hit the fast flying creature but it didn''t seem to have done much damage as he doesn''t see blood raining down.


    Meeting the ground, the large legged worm doesn''t seem to have Michael as a target since it has dug its four spider like legs to the ground, 40 feet away from where it enslaved the King with his slime.


    Better yet, it didn''t kill that Goblin Demon who tried to alarm him either, he is literally underneath the worm, alive.


    Suddenly, the large worm started blowing its snot like properties towards Gaster Kingdom, one shot after the other with no signs of stopping.

 Chapter 454 - Stopping the Beast!

    It''s attacking, although not causing any particular harm apart from  stench and the inability to walk once being overwhelmed by its snot.


    The Goblin Demon who tried to warn King Michael in the beginning, well and alive approached the man covered in snot and hollered while keeping distance. "Common, burn the goo. We need to stop this thing or it will eat all of your people!"


    A split second later, they''ve heard the monster shout, even started shifting around. With a glance, the two noticed a person soar across the sky with Fire underneath their feet. This is either Eric but most likely Mogranius.


    King Michael torched the smelly disgusting glue all around him, and tried to remove it from his clothes as well but that might take a long while.


    Finally able to stand up, wiping what goo was left on his feet across the snow, he tapped the Goblin Demon on the shoulder to grab his attention and asked. "What is this thing and how on Earth will we stop it? An Atomic Fireball ain''t really weak."


    "No, you need to do it again!" The sub leader insisted, raising his finger as joy took half of his conscious. "It has big endurance, but I''ve never seen a Kushenisura just drop down like that. It was either kill it whole or not at all."


    Puzzling it all together, the King queried. "So I only made it mad?"


    The Sub leader cited, "It''s a she."


    A bit battered how the beast''s Gender opened up right here, right now. King Michael tried his best to be nice and asked. "How can you possibly know that?"


    "The snot." Sub Leader stated as he pointed at the nose punishing goo across the field that stretched 20 feet wide just a while ago. "Ladies have green snot, and males have blue snot."


    Unwilling to know further, King Michael cut to the main point. "Noted, you said something about stopping it?"


    His joy remaining sharp, the Sub Leader recalled. "Aha, yes yes. Here we have no Weapon strong enough to kill it with one shot. You need to sneak underneath her belly and throw that boom boom Fire."


    As they''ve debated what to do here, the Kushenisura showered half of the Kingdom with its foul snot. It wouldn''t really take much to overwhelm a Domain tiny in width.


    Before departing to put this plan into action, King Michael spat some snot out and bargained. "Anything else I should know? Can it kill me?"


    Painfully descriptive, the Goblin Demon tipped. "Watch out for those legs, they can crush you. And kill it quick, a few more shots and she will start eating your people."


    Alluring his gaze towards the beast, he saw another Fireball sore across the and hitting the creature right on its rear long foot.


    The Earth shook beneath their feet a split second after as the Worm''s bottom met the ground, it''s leg damaged but sadly not blown off.


    Mogranius landed near them, Eric was spotted on the air, howling Fireballs against this creature over and over.


    Aiming towards Eric, it shot a snot ball trying to pin the glowing boy down. No luck. Seeing it as a large risk, Eric stopped blasting Fire from his feet and let his body limp towards the ground.


    Seeing that he dodged the shot, Eric began to blow Fire from his feet once more and once gaining balance, he echoed another 6 foot wide Fireball against the large Demon.


    Hitting it near the belly, the creature shouted once more, obviously the Electus can burn a bit rougher.


    Grabbing Mogranius'' arm and pulling it near the worm, King Michael swiftly explained. "We need to blast Atomic Fireballs underneath it, I''m close to collapsing but I think we can deliver a big blow."


    "Just sit this one out." Mogranius ensured, and a bit too confident without a doubt, cited. "I have more experience with Atomic Fireballs, you can''t escape for shit if you don''t even know where you''re going."


    With that out of mind, Mogranius pulled the King towards the Demonic Worm''s direction as he might not have known, that feeling this dried out made him head for the sea instead of the enemy.


    Swiftly, with a few seconds bought thanks to Eric''s attacks, Mogranius pitched. "Get Eric down here, tell him what to do and try to get this Source damned thing distracted."


    Trying to shake this off, although it would take a whole meal to gain his energy back. King Michael nodded and flew to get the kid.


    Not wasting a second, Mogranius ran towards the Kushenisura, taking advantage of the blind spot Eric helped provide.


    Trying to land a blow on her side, it''s perfect timing that Eric shot its long leg and forced the whole creature closer to the ground.


    Now, standing near her left side. Mogranius will try to blow her entire rear, it would be a bonus if the Atomic Fireball can rip through its skin this time.


    With his hands paralleled vertically a foot apart from the other, he began to blow Fire from his palms as much as he can under a few seconds.


    In other words, it means that he is scaling everything up. 10/10. This risk is beyond calculation, if he doses off when he is supposed to fly away for example, losing a foot would be the easiest punishment.


    The orb growing large, touching his fingers for a few seconds before it crammed down to a smaller size, making space for more Fire.


    Noticing that the Demon worm is regaining control, trying to stand up and continue its work against Gaster Kingdom.


    Mogranius lightly blew Fire from his feet, melting the snow underneath and with aims to have an upper advantage when it comes to flying off.


    Smashing his fists against the soft white snow, he didn''t even bother to see the Atomic Fireball zig zag through the ground as he understands that time is strictly limited.


    He could hear the explosion echo under his feet after, and the creature letting out the loudest shout this old man ever heard.


    GIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!


    "That must have blown a few of its small legs off at least." Yes, the old man did notice that this worm has more than 4 legs. There''s a row of smaller feet attached to its belly.


    Falling in the sea, thankfully entirely intact. The cold water woke him up, as he flew here with one eye open although very agile with his battle planning.


    Blowing Fire through his mouth to attain at least a little heat, he began to splash his hands through the bone chilling waters, trying to swim out and repeating. "My balls are cold. My balls are cold. My balls are cold!!!"


    Getting a better look at the damage he caused, he spotted a lot of blood painted across the snow. It can''t be Mogranius'' blood so it likely used to belong to the Kushenisura.


    Giving a better look, the creature''s rear is torn off. There is a 8 foot wide chunk of meat blown off from its rear and that long leg used to stand a bit taller is blown off too.


    As he blinked once, looking at the 10 foot wide crater he caused. Another explosion took everyone''s ears victim from the other side.


    Covering his half deaf ears, protecting his eyes too as dust with snow slipped through a little gap, and waved towards Mogranius, almost burying him alive.


    He looked up, and could see Eric fly for the sky. But this time, the situation is a hunch different.


    The worm, the large being from another Demonic realm did not shout this time. So it can only mean one thing, it''s as good as dead.


    To be absolutely sure that it''s dead, Mogranius decided to unleash a few more harsh attacks that even a creature as powerful as this one can''t comprehend lightly.


    Separating his hands a foot apart from each other, laying them horizontally and forming a small orb in between them as soon as Fire broke from his palms.


    This is no Atomic Fireball, but it''s effect is half as lethal if not more. The orb grew quick, within a second it started touching Mogranius'' fingers.


    Quickly moving his hand only forward, allowing the orb to have a bit more space.


    He placed his right hand over his left hand, pushed both of his arms forward this time instead of just one hand.


    Tapping his left foot on the ground, a compressed pole like 6 foot long and only a few inches wide Fireball blew from his hand, with the Kushenisura as a prime target.


    This, is a concentrated shot! And it did not fail to pierce skin and possibly bone too, he doesn''t know what''s inside this thing.


    Blood splattered backwards, landing all over his face and showering his chest too. "Yes this move works quite well against it."


    The creature didn''t flinch, although damage strong enough to pierce this thing through and through so it''s another sign that it''s dead.


    "Can never be too safe." He advised to himself, as he started forming another concentrated shot.


    His plan is to shoot this thing at least 10 more times. He has the Stamina to do it.

 Chapter 455 - Different Mutations

    The Kushenisura is straight ahead the most bizarre creature these Humans have seen, the Goblin Demons are used to them of course. Well most of them!


    Talking it through with one of the Sub Leaders who saw living Kushenisuras back at the Demonic Realm, pointing out that this specific Goblin Demon is almost an elderly.


    He states that the reason why the Kushenisura overwhelmed the Kingdom with snot, instead of just charging in and using its massive body size and endurance to her advantage, is to render her targets defenseless.


    It''s their main hunting method, they render prey defenseless by covering them with slippery snot and then just charge and eat everything and everyone who can''t run away.


    Although animalistic, it proves superior hunting techniques and points towards the sole fact that the Kushenisuras are perhaps the smartest beings of the animal kingdom, in the Demonic Realm.


    Well, King Michael enjoyed such vital information. At least for next time, they know to keep the Kushenisura away is the main task and shooting its longer legs is the best way to slow it down.


    Furthermore, they have a big pride about killing such a powerful being. It shows that Gaster Kingdom has an arsenal strong enough to deal with the worst.


    But in other words, it means that the "Peaceful Demons" from the other side of the portal aren''t just sending Clawed Demons, but anything they deem right.


    Last but most definitely not least, this large being that died in front of the Kingdom has a shit ton of experimental mutation values. It''s a different species, it likely brings different mutations too.


    And there are a lot of its body parts to rip meat out of, but the King wanted to start it off with 8 Mutations only as he has caught just 8 Rats that have moved from the Forest and into his Domain.


    ...


    "I never want to smell that snot again." Alama complained, as she stomped across the Castle''s hallway along with King Michael and Toto.


    Finding it hard to link two and two together here and finding her comment a bit offensive too, Toto quizzed. "But you smell Demonic dead body? That''s okay?"


    Understanding her different point of view, Alama cited. "At least I''m used to the dead Clawed Demon stench."


    Feeling proud of his own people, although not so proud of the nagging ladies here, Michael stated. "Eric is carefully burning down snot and a lot of people have grabbed shovels too, they should get rid of all that stench in no time."


    Unwilling to drop stench as their grand topic, Alama has concerns. "Why are you joining us today Toto? Not saying that I don''t want you around, but the stench is traumatizing."


    Short, but straight forward. Toto stated, "I know. I like it."


    Odd preference no doubt and from that reply Alama got a strong hunch that Toto''s mental endurance has been highly underestimated, or something more could be going on here.


    As they''ve walked into the experimental room, Alama laid her little book over the big table taking 1/3 of the room and awaited for the King''s commands.


    Jogging across the room, King Michael swiftly spoke. "Alright I want to get this over with quickly, I don''t know when Demons will attack again."


    With a couple of silver knives tightened around his hands, he started cutting through Demonic flesh. He has ordered Guards to bring the various meats here earlier.


    Handing a chunk of meat in Toto''s hands, he cited. "You will be feeding a few Rats with me, but when I tell you to."


    Moving to the second leather bag of meat, inked with the name "short leg". He told Alama, "Okay you need to write down two things."


    Taking a few seconds to think it through, the King recited. "Write. Kushenisura long leg meat, Rat as the Consumer."


    Going over the experiment over a few times in his head to make no mistakes, as he walked towards the cave he requested. "As for the second experiment, write Kushenisura short leg meat, Rat as the consumer."


    Pointing at a cage, he guided Toto.


    "Alright, you feed that Rat over there and I''ll feed this one. Just drop the meat in the cage."


    Nodding, she pushed the chunk of meat through the cage''s thin bars and witnessed how the Rat stupidly dashes towards the food with a foreign origin.


    King Michael knows the procedure he created pretty well so he dropped meat down the Cage too, and witnessed changes.


    Looking at the Result Toto helped bring, he turned his head towards Alama and said. "About the long leg thing, write that the Rat dies."


    Obviously a rough start, but this scene isn''t bothering lady Toto to the slightest, this Rat could become just another awful smelling carcass to enjoy.


    Not used at all to experimental Rats dying, Alama nodded and mouthed. "First time for everything aye?"


    "Um yes..." The King agreed, not paying much attention to the Rat''s death.


    Looking at the one he fed, the mutation is certainly different. Thankfully the Rat didn''t die but as the King tried to rub his hands, trying to fight away cold.


    He felt something different over his skin, raising his hand up spotting a thin layer of Ice covering his palm... it''s quick to notice that this experiment is like no other.


    It fits in a category where the Consumer obtains one of the much known and praised 8 powers. The only other mutation similar to this one in the past, is a Rat flying or obtaining super speed!


    The Rat continued blowing frost across the cage, covering the King''s shoes with frost. This is the most unique mutation he ever saw, apart from super mutating a Chicken of course.


    A light ray of Fire emerged from his palm, battling the ice and heating his hands up a little bit too. He requested, "About the short leg mutation, write that the Consumer blows frost from its mouth."


    Well those are a couple mutations initiated, written down and gotten over. Now we need to explain 6 more, but they have to be cut short.


    Next the King fed the third Rat, a chunk of Kushenisura Inner Mouth meat and the result turned out astounding.


    The little Rat bit a hold of the Cage and for a few seconds nothing happened. Next thing you know, the thin bars started melting away.


    The Rat almost ran away too, but with no fear Toto grabbed it by the tail and asked where to put it.


    Having a thicker metal container handy, just laying there over the big table, King Michael pointed. "Put it there."


    And helped lady Toto to contain the Rat by swiftly putting its lid on, great teamwork. Well this definitely is a unique mutation and will make bugging the Capital in [Country] Meridionali Ignis a lot more interesting.


    This points out that the Rat has mutated its jaw into acidic values, that''s what likely helped it cut through the cage as the bars are fairly melted.


    Moving to the fourth experiment, dropping a chunk of Kushenisura outer flesh in the Cage. The Rat obtained a row of spine spikes, ranging from half an inch to two inches long.


    A green little glow ranges a centimeter on every tip, no one wants to touch that spine and see what it does but chances are it''s venomous or just tosses snot as a form of a developing Hunting technique.


    Moving on to the fifth experiment, with snot in mind the King also ordered for a Kilo or so of it to be brought here earlier.


    Toto fed a bit to the Rat since she is the only one willing to touch this stinky substance, they were left disappointed to figure that it has absolutely no effect.


    But it does make sense, King Michael accidentally swallowed at least a few mouthfuls when he got attacked by the Kushenisura.


    Tens of Guards in the Kingdom have swallowed this disgusting snot as well, and neither of them are facing any changes apart from letting out green poop. The Goblin Demons insist that it''s nothing dangerous.


    The sixth experiment didn''t bring something the King hasn''t seen before, but it has its own unique attributes.


    Feeding the Rat the Kushenisura''s outer head meat, the mutation instantly upgraded towards the Rat having big front paws.


    Now there are similar cases, but the Rats back then got bigger front legs along with paws.


    This one, just got bigger paws and its nails are a bit curved as well which points towards Mole like characteristics. This mutation is probably good for the Rat to dig underground.


    Moving to the two last experiments, King Michael felt glad to get this over with. "Okay, Kushenisura stomach and heart meat. Let''s see what it does."


    Dropping the stomach meat through the Cage, looking at and smelling the resulting mutation too. He cited. "Okay, this one can launch snot."


    "What did the Heart Meat mutate Toto?" Alama asked, covering her nose with one hand and writing with the other.


    Not sure how to say this in Ignite, she gave all of her capabilities to explain. "Pointy long back legs, it''s kicking Cage and maybe hunt better today."


    These Experiments have been nothing less than interesting, half of these have weaponizing potential and you can be sure that King Michael will make it happen.


    For now, he can think about what and how to mutate as he gives his attention to the fields around Gaster Kingdom.


    Considering the Peaceful Demons unleashed such a big enemy along with hundreds of Demons in one day, King Michael has a big guess that more might be coming. So much for sleeping.

 Chapter 456 - Betrayal on a Parchment

    With an excuse to stop for a little while longer to catch their breath and trying to respect Kazer''s differences too, Dilli Flury cracked the Journal open to the first page and started reading it all out loud.


    It''s quite thick, so it might take a little while to read it through. Sitting on the Staircase, he heard Dilli narrate.


    "Era 2, Year 1815, March 12.


    Dear Diary... wait no... father doesn''t like the word Diary. Dear Journal, today I''ve become 18 years old. Me Davidius 18 years old. Time flies by fast but I finally am old enough to go adventuring, that''s what father told me at least. I heard a Rumour that there are two Ignite adventurers in Kintur''s Tavern, I should go and talk to them."


    "Era 2, Year 1815, March 14.


    The Adventurers named Zadie and Johnson ignored me, they called me weak and young. But Kintur promised to spread a good name if I carry his Cargo, it took until dusk but I did it."


    "Era 2, Year 1815, March 27.


    Dear Diary, I am so happy!!! The Adventurers recruited me for a big quest that promises great riches. The Adventurer ill.u.s.tratian lady said that I have potential and the Ignite man just nodded, I know what they meant. Kintur said that they are just desperate for recruits, no one would take their crazy quest. But that''s just nonsense, they need me."


    "Era 2, Year 1815, June 3.


    Dear Diary, I like these people, they are nice. There was this simple misunderstanding with Zadie, she told me to stop looking at her. Let this be our secret, I love her. I wonder if she and Johnson are married? If no, I will pick her flowers. She looks young enough, 30 maybe? I don''t know and I don''t care."


    "Era 2, Year 1815, June 4.


    Today we are looking for a new recruit in this place called Silver Kingdom, there are a lot of Ignites here. Maybe since the quest is based on them, they will join us. They better join us, we left the Capital in Meridionali Ignis over 2 months ago and our options are spreading thin."


    "Era 2, Year 1815, July 29.


    We did manage to recruit someone at Silver Kingdom, Annie. She is a skilled Ignite lady, knows how to swing a blade and has a lot of muscles. She is a bit moody, but will only help us to reach great riches. We have reached our destination as well, this ancient Ignite Castle supposedly over 6,000 years old. Johnson talks a lot about the Ignite Gem Cavern, I hope there really is one down there. We would be rich like Kings and Queens."


    "Era 2, Year 1815, July 30.


    We have camped near the Castle for the night, and early in the morning we went in the Ruined Castle. There isn''t much here, a lot of passages are blocked and the Staircase that is supposed to take us to the Ignite Gem Cavern is blocked as well. We took a right turn, but only found a dead end. Johnson expected this, so he bought a lot of pickaxes and shovels in Silver Kingdom. We start digging today."


    Era 2, Year 1816, January 12.


    Dear Diary, I haven''t talked to you for a while but I''ve been busy. We have dug a very long tunnel, it took me a month to adjust to all that work, everything hurt but we did it. We have found something bizarre, a room full of weird light blue walls. We will camp here tonight since it''s fancy."


    Era 2, Year 1816, January 13.


    Something horrible has happened, we found a box of jewels yesterday and Annie had an eye on them although we agreed to share. Johnson explained that she became especially crazy after reading these strange books, I don''t know what these books say and Zadie told me not to touch them either. Sad that Johnson had to shoot her, Annie did half of the work. That woman didn''t know how to stop."


    "Era 2, year 1816, September 12.


    By the god of sources, we met with another dead end. Johnson saw it a great idea to dig down and seek for the Staircase that was blocked, the Caverns are supposedly deep deep underground. This took a lot longer than it''s supposed to, but I think we are close to reach the Cavern. I feel so hungry, I''m sick of eating Rats."


    "Era 2, Year 1816, September 19.


    Dear Diary, we are on a roll. The hole we dug collapsed somehow and we climbed down to a Cavern, although there aren''t any Ignite Gems here. We might have to dig another hole, but at least it''s paying off. Zadie complimented my muscles, I got it from all that work digging tunnels. These two aren''t married either so maybe there is some hope for me Davidius."


    "Era 2, Year 1817, February 7.


    We had to dig another Tunnel where Johnson feels like the Staircase is at. This has been the toughest journey in my life and it''s not because of all the hard work and eating absolute crap. Johnson tells me about the foul act Zadie tried to do last night. I was granted the responsibility to carry the box full of gems but Zadie had enough and tried to steal them. Johnson explains how I was half awake, thanks to that Zadie tried to kill me in order to prove that she didn''t steal anything."


    "Era 2, Year 1817, February 16.


    We have dug through that hole we started, we found the Staircase the hard way. We fell and I hurt my hip and Johnson hurt his wrists. We are so close, we can see the purple light down the Staircase but right now we are patching up."


    "Era 2, Year 1817, February 16.


    "Dear Diary, Davidius has died... a rock fell on his head. Sad, I wanted to have the pleasure of killing this annoying dumbass after we got a few bags of Ignite Gems out of here, that would be enough to get a whole better team down there. Oh well, at least Annie and Zadie died in my hand... Poor bastard, he really thought that those ladies are traitors."


    Slapping Kazer across the face, Dilli shouted. "You better not be trying to kill me!"


    Trying so hard not to cuss at this woman, Kazer hollered. "What the hell did I do?"


    Recalling how Kazer talked a lot about mining, Dilli stated a fact. "You wanted to mine the Kyanite walls, how the hell would you know what those gems are?"


    Grabbing her by the chin and giving a little push, he stood up and said. "Calm down lady, I love gems but I ain''t killing anyone for it."


    Yanking the journal from her hand, he cited. "But if this is true, Gaster Kingdom can become richer than ever. Even the two other places can, I hear they helped Gaster Kingdom a lot."


    Finding a bit of relief and kind of liking how her chin got grabbed, she butchered. "This is where you prove trustworthy, you''re thinking about debt. You didn''t mention anything about Lan Zhe earning a ton of gold."


    Trusting on what his people are capable of, Kazer weighed in. "My people don''t need gold, we live without it just fine but King Michael has helped us more than anyone else would, his Domain prospering is going to be well deserved."


    Bashing her hand around his chin as she reached her arm out and up, trying to push him away as well but with no success, she hummed. "Let''s get moving now, the Journal says that the Cavern is just at the end of this Staircase."


    ...


    Finally finding the end of the Staircase, their expectations have been shattered as there is no wide opening leading straight to the Ignite Gem Cavern.


    It''s not entirely bad, there is a small tunnel here as well but it necessarily means they have to crawl again, hopefully for a short time.


    One thing that helped both of them feel better, is another Corpse right near the small tunnel.


    This Corpse stood buried underneath rock and dirt, obviously Jonathan''s body. It would make one think that the Gods have put in work to bring this greedy bastard to hell.


    There is a lot more flesh on this skeleton, but this has to be Jonathan although this corpse looks just a week old considering the body being 4/10 intact.


    This is easy to explain, these people have died close to each other by date but one has died deeper underground than the other.


    The temperature here feels a lot colder, and it wasn''t that warm either in the Cavern above them so this can only point to that fact that cold and the shier lack of Humidity has contributed in to keeping these corpses mummified although all four of them are a bit over 210 years old.


    "Looks like that bastard got what''s coming to him." Dilli pointed and crawled in first.


    Crawling about 20 feet deep into this tunnel, Dilli could see something that proved the 2 Century old treasure hunt true.


    Faint purple light shone on her face, getting motivation she started crawling faster despite the sharp pain on her knees.

 Chapter 457 - Guardian

    Reaching the end of the Tunnel, that little legend about the Ignite Gem Cavern proved more as a fact. The light in the short tunnel just got stronger and stronger by the step... or crawl.


    And the delicate purple glow as they''ve walked in the Cavern overwhelmed their eyesight, although not blinding them.


    Their hearts became occupied with a bliss of accomplishment, although they''ve read about this Cavern just a little while ago.


    This place is large and this time the two have it easy to comprehend a section''s size as the Ignite Gems are providing light from one end to the other.


    This is a rough guess here, but the Cavern has to be at least 300 meters long and 100 meters wide. That''s just a guess, they have no way of properly measuring it.


    If you reconsider this from other aspects, other points of view. The fact alone that these huge boulder sized gems are bigger than these two can see, the fact that they could be digging be it 1 or 100 more meters in basalt, further proves the wealth that can be milked here.


    Some Ignite Gems stand out in the Cavern like a zit, as they are standing slim and straight here and there. Some ranging 10 feet tall and some 30, various sizes are easy to comprehend.


    Although, Dilli for example is beyond captivated of the scene above their heads, it feels like these Gems glow better 50 meters above their heads.


    Hard to comprehend all this beauty, Dilli asked. "Do you think this Cavern was made naturally?"


    Citing what''s clear and true, Kazer added. "Obviously it isn''t man made."


    Looking down, glancing at her head. Kazer pointed out, "You look purple."


    Not giving a damn at where she is going, she gazed upon the 10 foot tall man''s face and giggled. "You look like a rotting Demon."


    Wearing a turbulent look on his face, Kazer replied. "I didn''t expect that."


    Actually putting in effort to make him feel good, she cited. "Nono I meant it in a good way."


    Puzzled beyond prepare, he queried. "How can that be meant in a good way?"


    Noticing that this has gone for the worst very fast, she simply giggled and added. "You will never understand ladies."


    The deeper they''ve walked, the more they understood how huge this Cavern is. On some portion it even appears like a flat smooth hill of Ignite Gems has been formed by natural causes.


    As if this place has its own design and ecosystem, although there ain''t no life here apart from Demons apparently.


    Speaking of hills, as they''ve ventured higher following one, they''ve discovered what they came here for.


    The Portal!


    It''s natural green colour has been overwhelmed by a shade of purple, the strong illumination across this Cavern can easily overthrone any original colour.


    Near it, they spotted one of these 7 feet tall Demons. Easily similar to the one they saw split in half before, except this one is healthy and standing on its own two feet.


    Pinching herself, digging her nails a little bit on her skin even to check if she is awake this time, she asked. "You see it too right?"


    Reassuring her in more than one way, he cited. "Hell yes, don''t worry we can take him."


    Not granting this day a second to trust a Demon, Kazer raised his hands ready to blast Lava and Dilli formed a glowing bit of Fire above her palm, ready to shoot.


    They''ve slowly approached the slim and tall Demon, it''s noticing the two approaching and yet it isn''t attacking.


    To be on safety''s side, they walked around the portal keeping a good 20 meter distance instead of rushing towards it.


    They can easily be pounced by any new wave of Demons if they are just a meter close to this hell Portal.


    As they''ve took careful steps around the portal, this tall short horned Demon just slowly moved its body from left to right, following these two Humans with its eyes.


    It isn''t certain what gender this Demon identifies with, but considering some features based on the Human world, being completely curveless points out towards a male gender.


    Raising the Fire above her palm bigger as they''ve approached the tall Demon closer, Dilli found the responsibility to ask. "Do you want to die?"


    Answering, the Demon started uttering a handful of gibberish words. His tone deep, screeching at the same time and even talking slowly. Which solely portrays as a Demonic tone, it''s different.


    "Zezezezezezezezezeze!"


    "Gulu gulu gulu."


    "Hisi kitikul.u.s.tura shakin..."


    "Hala keshalat zuniken rashik latun."


    "Kuztztz lagic shetekeshitulazanit kart."


    Adjusting and trying out languages, now the two can understand what this Demon is trying to say as it spoke the Ignite''s tongue. "What are you doing here?"


    Truthful towards the enemy, finding no reason to beat around the bush. Kazir weighed in, "Trying to shut down the portal you''ve caused."


    Shifting a little off topic, the short horned tall Demon stated. "I didn''t open this portal, I''m just a Guardian."


    Losing every bit of her patience, that heavy tone triggering every bit of her anxiety, Dilli blew a 3 foot wide Fireball from her palm.


    For a second, the Fireball came out in a natural colour and even forced the gems to reflect light, blinding the Demon a bit since he was looking directly at Dilli.


    However once hitting this tall Demon, the Fireball''s original colour became corrupted by this Cavern''s overwhelming purple colour.


    Blood puked out of the Demon''s chest, as it laid there dead with his shoulder blade blown off and half of his chest terminated as well.


    It is easy to say that Dilli missed her shot by a hunch as a 3 foot long short tailed Fireball would easily split the Demon in half. But the Demon is dead, so it''s good enough.


    Having the upper advantage over a corpse, Dilli mocked. "Not so Guardian of you."


    Congratulating this time instead of yapping, Kazer uttered. "Good job."


    Getting to the point before more Demons pour out of that hell forsaken Portal, Dilli weighed in. "You said something about closing the portal, do it."


    He shortly answered, "Right." And dashed towards the Portal.


    Stopping 10 meters near the Portal, he first started blowing Lava from his palms. Covering the Gem encrusted floor beneath the portal with this hot substance.


    The Portal is just a body of piled up light, floating a foot above the ground. It has no base, no stonework or anything whatsoever.


    Now when you pair this with the 10 meter wide, circular shaped Lava pool blasted beneath it, the Grand Master has forged a beautiful weapon.


    A bundle of Clawed Demons suddenly popped out of the Portal, thankfully they don''t range over 300 either. Just 7 or so Demons, shouting their way out of the portal and howling their way to death after.


    From a distance of 5 meters, Dilli pinned. "Nice plan but I don''t think this will hold off these bastards for long."


    Ignoring that little tease, he instead requested. "I know, this is just the base. Shoot down anything you can, I need to focus."


    Blowing a tremendous shot of Lava out of his hands again, he witnessed it spreading out wider in all directions. Now, the pool of Lava has stretched 50 meters wide.


    In the midst of blowing, over 15 Demons rushed out of the Portal but they proved no threat as they couldn''t even make it out of the Lava.


    It takes hundreds of years for one to become a Grand Master of Lava Blasting and once attaining that ability to blow Lava from one''s very palms, I bet you it will burn worse than hell.


    Not sweating that little bundle, Kazer continued to blast Lava from his palms while Dilli stood behind her trying to figure out what he''s trying to do.


    Stopping, he first took a few steps back and as he stretched his arms wide horizontally, he took slow steps forward, mostly keeping one foot up above the gem floor.


    With such gestures, Lava he blessed the floor with earlier started moving to his will.


    By each step he took forward, he moved his arms closer to each other, pulling them closer to his chest as well.


    Stopping with his right foot forward, his hands connected, fingers tied. With his arms pulled in and attached to his chest.


    Now, proceeded to do a spin using his left foot to build momentum. If there wasn''t Lava in front of him, one would think this golden veined man is just dancing.


    The Lava in front of him started closing in from all sides, arising taller at the same seconds and not losing its circular shape although reducing in width.


    Over 20 Clawed Demons burst out of the Portal but the two foot deep pool of Lava they''ve found theirselves in assured a quick and uneasy death.


    One almost made it out of the Lava, but with its flesh and meat burned to the bone around the legs it had no more power to go on and submerged entirely in Lava as it fell on its side.


    Reaching down to a pre sumo squat with his hands still touching his chest, he did another spin and so the Lava met a mass shift towards the smaller in width, as if everything was being pulled back and reversed.


    Forming similar to half a sphere, the Lava now stands 4 meters deep and will quite sure make it impossible for any Demon to burst out of the Portal and live long after.


    Submerging into a full sumo squat, he this time didn''t spin but instead separated his palms from his chest and slowly raised them straight above his head.


    The Lava in front of him rose along with his hands, rising an inch above 12 meters high and forming a big glowing sphere of Lava, although lumpy.


    With this plan working the way he wants it to, in a break of a second he slapped his palms over the Ignite Gem flooring.


    Witnessing the glowing hot Lava in front of him transform into hard dark grey Volcanic stone! Stretching 12 meters high of course as mentioned but also 20 meters across!


    Not understanding how that worked, but still elated. Dilli pounced the man, climbed on his back and shouted in his ear. "You did it!"

 Chapter 458 - Developing Friendship

    With time given, the Guards of Gaster Kingdom have been putting in effort to learn the anti Clawed Demon combat moves.


    Thankfully from the comfort of the walls their developing skills haven''t been put to the test and might as well not be for a while until they are actually ready to face Clawed Demons without dying.


    Leaving it to the Fire Controllers is a good method for a while and what the sons of fire can''t handle, the arrows can shower upon enemies and turn the tides of battle.


    Kutuk Re Qutuk would send more Soldiers here to make each battle a breeze, but he needs every available pair of hands to build his Domain in the forest.


    It''s not easy to build a whole town in the end of winter but thankfully they have this bit of cold resistance, they handle theirselves quite well with just a bit of cloth over their skins.


    Recently, Kutuk has wandered into King Michael''s Domain and has requested some basic structure building tools that specialize in woodwork.


    They need a hell load of nails along with a few good axes since the ones they are using are best for battle and are becoming dull, overused against wood.


    Apart from that little request, the Goblin Demons can look after theirselves quite well. In just a week, with 600 pairs of hands putting in work, they''ve managed to build half of their town.


    Each individual doesn''t request much really, half of the families have been granted with a good sturdy 3 meter long and 2 meter wide house.


    It''s good enough to grant protection from nature that their own bodies can''t compensate for, good enough to sleep in as well.


    There are also a few tree houses fulfilling the role of a Watchtower, these are to spot any potential enemy of course.


    Brave enough to not yet have a wall surrounding their little town, they want animals to wander here for a little while until a good food supply is stacked up.


    Overall, it''s fair to say that the Goblin Demons appeared and adjusted in no time due to the simple fact that they are too stupid to be selfish and have a huge sense of teamwork and unity.


    Much more like prehistoric humans, all they know to do is to eat, sleep and mate. That''s what''s keeping the average morale and happiness bigger than any group of Humans can achieve.


    ...


    "I still don''t think this plan is damaging enough, will all due respect." Kutuk Re Qutuk cited as they''ve stood in the mutation experimental room, glancing at Rats.


    Appreciative towards this Goblin''s manners, softly but surely King Michael weighed in. "Oh you will once you see the new mutations, the Kushenisura brought reasons to use Parchment again."


    Pointing at the cage closest to his left, Kutuk queried. "You gave that one pointy legs?"


    "The mutation did." Michael corrected, finding it reasonable to stick with that fact. "There are other great mutations though, one even able to melt metal with it''s jaws. Imagine what that would do to armoury!"


    Convinced, Kutuk gave his word. "I think that''s good enough, I''ll have a few of my men send these to the Capital tomorrow. You promised Battle Chickens as well if I recall right?"


    "Yes yes, they are ready." Michael ensured, fulfilling his end of the bargain will only keep relations strong between the two factions. "You can ask a Guard, they will lead you directly to the Chickens."


    Kutuk nodded and prepared to leave the room and set everything up before time, but as the silence stretched for a few seconds. King Michael offered, "But I''m forming a new breed of battle Chickens. Do you want to watch the creative process?"


    ...


    Taking a minute to set everything up, with four bits of meat set up across the long table and labelled with a page of parchment placed underneath every sack of meat.


    On each of these Parchments there is a name written on it, telling which meat is what and with the book of experimental logs overseen a few times before he submerged in these experiments, the King figured that Clawed Demon Head meat should start off these experiments.


    Alama isn''t around to lend a helping hand in terms of writing a new experimental log. It''s a bit after 7am and the lady tends to sleep late, cuddling King Michael''s pillow in the royal bedroom.


    So King Michael will be writing everything down this time, telling Kutuk which meat to feed first to the 3 Chickens that will be experimented upon today.


    "Okay Kutuk, cut a small piece of meat from that bag and feed it to the first cage in line." King Michael specified, first pointing at the meat second in row and then at the first cage in row from the right.


    Dropping it in the cage after running  the silver knife through the chunk, Kutuk found it especially amusing to see such a small animal change because of Demon meat consumption.


    The Chicken didn''t face any body changes, no. Based on the experimental log and the living example in front of them, this Chicken is supposed to obtain super speed just like Rats did.


    She started running around the cage, fairly fast. They can''t even see feathers, just a dot spinning in place.


    "Okay we are off to a good start. If you are unaware, Chickens can''t run that fast. This one has obtained super speed, it''s one of the eight prime powers worldwide." Revealing such information to Kutuk is fairly informative.


    He was stuck in a Cave for ages, he might not be well informed of what this Human realm carries and what powers are evolving or have evolved too.


    Logically, Kutuk would be focused more on the Chicken now instead of focusing on which meat to cut so King Michael became a bit more specific with his demands. "Cut a piece from the bag last in row, start from the left. Feed it to the same Chicken."


    Taking a second to process his request, Kutuk walked a few feet and asked. "This one?"


    Smiling and nodding, Michael uttered a light compliment. "Exactly, your perception is flawless. That''s Clawed Demon Toe meat."


    Dropping this one in the Cage, Kutuk''s face showered with tiny bits of meat. The Chicken somehow hit it while still running and in a way made the half hand sized chunk of meat explode.


    "Yes that fits with super speed." Kutuk weighed in as he wiped the bits off his face and hoped that this mutation is progressing.


    The Chicken stopped running, not because it lost this unique ability but because she noticed changes.


    Looking at her claws, with a soft tone she went. "Puk puk puk."


    Smiling, further analysing the Chicken''s claws. Kutuk added. "Yes she bit the meat, her claws are growing."


    Trying his best to help Kutuk catch up with all of this, King Michael described. "Nice. Usually when two mutations mix, changes can be different from seperate singular mutations. Two mutations can merge and form a new result, but this one is working to our advantage thankfully."


    Putting all his effort to understand, all Kutuk can reply with is. "Interesting."


    And so on the Mutation continued, King Michael pointed at the meat first in row from the left and taught. "Cut this one now, it''s Clawed Demon Waist meat and should give us the second best mutation yet."


    Dropping the bit of meat after half a minute, the Chicken actually awaiting her meal after running a few hundred times in circles.


    The Chicken panicked a little bit at first, jumping up several times at average speeds, even yelling in panic.


    But at last, she calmed down and continued to just look around as if nothing happened.


    "Are bones supposed to come out of the Chicken''s chest?" Kutuk asked, fearing the Chicken''s wellbeing.


    Running over to the Cage, not expecting this to happen. Breathing a few seconds through analysing, the King explained. "The Clawed Demon head from earlier should have set a base to mutate tiny pointy legs on the Chicken''s chest but looks like the toe meat contributed as well."


    "Does it hurt her though?" Kutuk insisted, killing a Chicken for the sake of food is okay in these times but this is torture in a way.


    Calm, not wanting to put a bad expression on Kutuk regarding these mutations. Michael cited, "I doubt it, she looks calm. If she was in pain she would be still panicking. Those bones look sharp as a Dagger, this is better than I hoped."


    "Are you ready for the last bit of this experiment?" King Michael asked, trying to fight off the semi bad mood.


    The rotting Clawed Demon smell might have affected Kutuk as well so far and it is understandable but him respecting animals enough to not want them tortured contributed to this had mood as well. It''s sweet in a way.


    Short and simple, Kutuk answered. "Let''s hope this one doesn''t hurt the lady."


    King Michael rushed towards the parchment, wrote down what this experiment includes and added a simple plus underneath the script to signify the experiment advancing.


    Trying to be as clear as possible, Michael recited. "Grab that bit of meat third in line from the left and feed it to the Chicken, this one is Kushenisura stomach meat and should make this Chicken battle ready."


    Reaching the end of this mutation, they''ve witnessed the lady hurl a snot blast through its beak and against the Cage''s bars.


    A few seconds after they witnessed the thin metal bars slowly but surely melt as the snot continued to drip down on the wooden flooring of the room and the base of the cage as well.


    Left at shock, understanding how powerful this mutation is. Kutuk stated, "This one definitely has acidic snot, even the Kushenisura doesn''t have that."


    Finally, shedding light to what he wanted to discover today. King Michael yapped, "I wanted to make a Chicken with super speed who cuts Clawed Demon legs and drops a lot of snot under their feet to make them slip and fall."


    Taking a breath, he continued. "But one mutation merged with the other and gave us a masterpiece, these lady Chickens will help slow down large waves of Demonic attacks."

 Chapter 459 - Lady puk puk

    "Are you sure letting them out is the best idea?" Eric quizzed, taking a step back as he glanced upon the three new breeds of mutant Chickens.


    "They are totally safe to handle." King Michael reassured as he ordered a Guard Commander earlier to unleash the Chickens while himself, taking flight is the best option.


    He''s flying 30 feet above the walls and hollered from up there, "Besides, Arem is here."


    Aiming to tease the kid a tad bit, Arem grunted. "You really don''t trust me Eric. Tsk tsk tsk."


    Before the youngster could reply, Arem pulled the top of the cage open and stuck his hands down there, lifting the Chicken.


    King Michael hollered from the sky, "Arem, you weren''t supposed to let them out like that."


    "If the Chicken is to trust us, we must trust her. Right?" A few thoughts running across his mind, he cited one key fact. "At least that''s what Commander Alia told me."


    Not willing to talk with the other Humans anymore, he opened a little  conversation with the Chicken. "Ummm... can I call you Jill?"


    Surprisingly, the little lady Chicken here shook her head. Noticing the disagreement but thankfully there isn''t any panic or hostility.


    Arem pitched another idea for a name as he lifted her up near his face to stare eye to eye. Stupidly dangerous at best, but sweet. "How about Lady puk puk?"


    "Puk puk!" Lady puk puk answered, a bit louder than Arem but he can only sense satisfaction, especially since she isn''t melting his skin off.


    Placing her over the wall, trusting her and even rubbing her back a little to help her feel good and comfortable.


    A bond has been planted as she isn''t rushing away, "Okay lady puk puk, your job is to go hurt any Clawed Demons and not get killed doing so. Do you think you have what it takes?"


    "Puk puk!" The cooperating Chicken answered, and even did a little hop!


    Having a full on conversation with this Chicken, Arem the kind ill.u.s.tratian man bargained. "Perfect, let me see if your sisters in war agree. You will speak up for me right?"


    "Puk puk!" Lady puk puk shook her feathers and hopped twice.


    As for King Michael glancing from above, he has no idea how this is working so well. He is getting a strong sense that this new breed of mutated Chickens are a hunch smarter.


    This second Chicken is a bit more shaky, she is wiggling on Arem''s hands but thankfully isn''t puking acidic snot or didn''t rip off his gauntlets along with his fingers either.


    "Puk pak!" Lady puk puk unleashed a minor screech and flapped her wings a few times.


    And so, the Chicken on Arem''s hands calmed down almost instantly and gave Arem less of a struggle so he had to thank. "I love you Lady puk puk."


    "You really are taming these Chickens as good as Alia." Eric complimented from afar as he took one more step closer, theory of trust has been proven.


    Utterly ignoring the young Electus and solely paying attention to the super dangerous mutation on his palms, Arem pitched a new name. "How about I call you... Linny. That was the name of my mother."


    "Pak?" The Chicken on his hands expressed as she alured her gaze towards Arem the Guard Commander.


    Shaking his head left to right over and over, Arem weighed in. "It''s okay, I loved my mother so there is no bad omen in my intends."


    Placing the Chicken near Lady puk puk, the sign of cooperation became certain when Linny here stood firm on her spot.


    It isn''t a sign that could help one write a novella sized analysis log, but she isn''t shooting acid snots so that''s enough.


    Rubbing both of their backs, softly so he doesn''t hurt these foot and a half ladies, he alleged. "Okay now you two stay here and I''ll grab your friend there, I need you two to convince her as well okay?"


    Slipping his hands in the cage after cracking the top open, he pulled her out and instantly offered. "Do you like the name, Cassandra?"


    This one oddly the most cooperative, she simply wiggles her claws and urges to touch a harsh surface again. Answering, "Puk."


    Placing her too over the wall, all close to each other. Arem ran over the plan again, hoping these Chickens will understand him to the last detail. "You three have been picked to kill Demons, I think you have what it takes with all these new fangled features."


    Lady puk puk chipped in, assuring eye contact. "Pak puk."


    Interposing in greater detail, Arem prattled. "Yes exactly! But some Demons are our friends so please attack those who want to cause us harm. They walk on fours, yell a lot and usually want to kill us all. Try to cut their legs to slow them down but most importantly stay safe and alive!"


    ...


    "Demons from the Forest!" A Guard shouted and left everyone at a bit of a shock.


    With 600 able bodied Goblin Demons living in those areas now, how would Clawed Demons slip their view and come here?


    Chances are, it happened so because the enemies attacking are just a handful... until now the Guards counted 7 Clawed Demons.


    If they were more, chances are high that they would become a meal for the Goblin Demons. It''s a proven fact that they don''t face a mutation if they eat these foul creatures.


    Holding one chicken, rubbing her back to be more exact. Arem pointed at the Demons and encouraged. "Okay ladies, go show those enemies whose land this is."


    "Puk pak!" Cassandra intoned, flapped her wings against the air as she jumped from the wall to the snow.


    Lady puk puk and Linny followed her of course. As soon as they''ve met the ground, snow arose behind them as they''ve tapped against the snow.


    They''re fast enough to appear like a fast travelling dot in what sight a Human pair of eyes can capture.


    When the snow they''ve forced up met with the ground again, several stronger hollerings echoed across the land.


    KAAAAAAIIAAAAAAAA!


    Tens of Guards could see blood exploding from a distance, about 200 feet from the Kingdom''s walls.


    This could mean that the Chickens could have been slaughtered. Or worse, accidentally slaughtering their selves.


    Concern arose in between the Guards waiting from the comfort of the walls, but only a second later they could see 3 dots running towards the Kingdom, with snow arising behind them.


    One second later, Lady puk puk made her presence clear here. "Pak pak."


    Turning around, Arem saw a Demonic foot attached to the lady''s sharp 3 rows of chest bones.


    This appears to be the Demon''s hind leg, as it doesn''t have any sharp claws replaced as toes.


    The Demon''s leg has been completely sliced off! A clean cut, as if the lady took a short delicate moment to run around the Demon''s leg and put her sharp chest bones into work!


    And as for the two other ladies, they seem just as successful. No flesh has been stuck on their weaponry but they do bring a lot of blood, thankfully this blood doesn''t belong to any of the Chickens.


    As a Guard Commander and for the sake of research, he pitched. "Everyone with a strong stomach gather up and go see what damage the Chickens made. You are to report here in the greatest detail."


    Still flying above their heads, King Michael shouted from above. "I will go see, everyone here stay true to your shifts. I have a weird feeling that more Demons will attack."


    ...


    Landing near the victimized Clawed Demons, the scene he has to witness for the sake of research might haunt him for a few days.


    Dismantlement is harsh enough to see, it''s bad enough for a human mind and stomach to handle. But pairs of legs and claws being cut out clean isn''t the only thing that happened here.


    Near the claws there''s snot acid! Meaning one of the Chickens used it''s other ability to faster cut these enemies down!"


    There also are a lot of claw marks over their bodies partied with 3 long cuts as if these Demons hit each other but no that''s not the case!


    Based on what he is analysing from these wounds, after cutting the legs down, the Chickens have taken the liberty to torture these Demons furthermore.


    They''ve ran up their enemy''s bodies and even bashed their sharp bones across their chest or any other side of the body in the same process.


    It''s a complete f.u.c.k.i.n.g massacre with a 100% chance of death. They have completely butchered the Demons and even blew snot acid over them in the end, as if spitting.


    After showering these victims with a nice hurl, granting them his lunch as this death scene is too harsh to see. He went on, "This might be my best mutation yet."


    Above the walls, he heard a Guard shout. "Demons behind the Castle!"


    Which can only mean that the Demons are attacking from the other side of the Kingdom''s walls.


    With the opportunity given, he mouthed. "Let''s see what these Chickens can do against a little army of Demons."

 Chapter 460 - Largest wave yet

    Flying across the Kingdom, the King felt shocked for a second after he grasped a glance of the snow arising from the ground in 3 straight parallel lines, a few meters away from each other.


    Thinking it through, this can only mean that the second breed of mutated Chickens beat him to it.


    They''re already made it behind the Castle a.k.a where the battle is, and are clawing the ground through a 400 meter distance to devour the Demons.


    At least it looks like the Clawed Demons are 400 meters away, he can only see a lot of dots... more like a small dark mist awfully visible above the snow.


    This is a good brake, because it means that the Demons are far away and they are small in number. Bonus side, the Chickens will get a bit more training.


    Landing above the stone, crack encrusted walls, about 20 meters to his left he saw the first ever breed of mutated Chickens flying into battle.


    Of course we are talking about the 3 foot tall badass Chickens who like to rip Demonic Heads off and bring them back in exchange for pettings or cheers.


    Running towards Arem, elbowing a few Guards out of the way. The King shouted, "The two breeds will slaughter each other, why did you let them go into battle?"


    Calmer, although his eyes widened once hearing that possibility, Arem answered. "I doubt that Chickens with super speed could be harmed by the first breed."


    "Blood!" One Guard shouted, acknowledging the rest about the success.


    A second later, snow once more arose from the ground in 3 parallel lines. One can only grasp such a scene for a few seconds, because it just looks like a dot torturing snow.


    "Puk puk pak puk puk." The small little bundle of Chickens gave a sound behind the two debaters.


    "Lady puk puk!" Arem slightly shouted, feeling a bliss as he raised his arms up trying to congratulate.


    Remarkable, gazing upon them feeling staggered, King Michael mouthed. "They really do work fast."


    "Puk puk." Cassandra replied, dropping down a Demonic hind foot she held with her beak.


    As Arem Congratulated all of them, King Michael stood firm a foot behind him, glad that these lady Chickens aren''t shooting snot acid at him.


    "There she goes." Another Guard pointed afar, moving his arm towards where the Chicken is flying. "She grabbed a Demon."


    Pushing his hands against the walls, leaning over. King Michael babbled. "Didn''t the first breed kill them all?"


    Protecting the ladies he built a bond with, Arem coughed. "Doesn''t matter, I think there were 40 enemies in total. What the Chickens can''t kill, we will."


    Pitching a different idea, Michael cited. "Or we can send Eric over there."


    ...


    The situation was easily tamed, it was a minor wave of Demons and it didn''t even require a Fire Blaster''s attention as the large Chickens just toyed around with the enemy Demons.


    No wave showed it''s ugly head for an hour, nearly two. But as if to make everyone''s shift a little less boring again, a creature arose that Mogranius would love to see again.


    Sadly, he is asleep now because of holding a 12 hour shift before. His contribute is astounding, over the line and suicidal in some points. Aspirational.


    However, 300 meters away from the Kingdom''s rear walls, a Bear popped out of the sea and started slapping his claws around like some motherf.u.c.ker.


    Spinning around a little bit, stomping its claws harsher against the ground until it found Gaster Kingdom.


    A loud, ear piercing howl echoed from its wide mouth. Strong, the stone wall even shook a tad bit. Minor vibrations massaging everyone''s swollen feet.


    The howl did not last long, but a bigger disaster did not fail to follow. Thankfully the Castle did not collapse because of that shout but half a minute later, hundreds of Demons puked out of the ocean.


    Not waiting for the Whale Bear to shout once more and call its horrible friends into battle, King Michael hollered a 10 foot wide Fireball from his palm, with a 7 foot long tail following it.


    The Whale is too far away, but is standing out like a zit from the rest of the rest of the Demons considering it''s 10 meter tall height.


    Taking a handful of seconds to cover the 300 meter field, his Fireball finally reached the massive enemy''s radius.


    Not a direct hit, but it can''t be said that damage hasn''t been done. The Whale Bear''s left upper claw along with a good foot of its shoulder got blown off.


    Blood exploded, showering the wounds and the Whale Bear echoed once more but no more of its friends came to aid.


    Still doesn''t rule out the fact that 500-700 Demons have just arose from the ocean thanks to that first holler.


    Beneath the Fireball once King Michael threw it tad earlier, ran the second breed of mutated Chickens to grant their contribute in this battle.


    Their contribution escaped mostly unnoticed as the Fireball took most of the attention, but these blessed little dangerous Chickens ripped through flesh.


    Blowing around snot acid has become a bit more common in between this battle now, as the masses are harsher to tame its tides.


    Most importantly, they are avoiding every swing and or bite thanks to the sole fact that the Demons are failing to understand what''s attacking them.


    These lady Chickens are so precise with their work, they don''t even risk the slightest cut upon their selves.


    It would make one think they have time to pick where to dash and who to cut, mid battle. Which points out towards another fact that they are smarter than the average animal.


    Half a minute later, the small Chickens returned behind the walls. They haven''t massacred 500-700 Demons of course, that would be impossible even for them.


    But instead, chances are they''ve gotten tired. Being that invincible in battle perhaps comes with a set back, a limiter.


    In this case, Stamina. These Chickens have been mutated into owning one of the eight main powers, it isn''t a puzzle that it came with stamina too.


    The 3 foot tall, larger Chickens however. Are ripping through spines, lifting demonic bodies up and dropping them one over the other.


    Considering that getting ripped apart by one of these Chickens is a firm possibility, King Michael still shouted at Eric. "Let''s get into battle."


    As if being told to get away from battle, the large Chickens flew away from battle once noticing Fire blowing across the sky.


    The Whale Bear is not yet dead, although it''s arm socket has been blown off and painted with layer after layer of blood.


    With the Clawed Demons 200 meters close to Gaster Kingdom now, and with the two Fire Controllers meters away from submerging into battle, a 6 foot wide Fireball blew from Eric''s hand.


    Torturing the sky, illuminating the way for every Demon underneath, his short tailed Fireball hit the running Whale Bear right near the chest, almost in the middle.


    Hitting its chest, burning skin along with bits of its internal organs too and breaking 3 bones of its ribcage, cracking 5 more.


    A good hit, the mutated Whale dropped over the other Demons and considering it''s 10 meter tall size, it crushed at least a gaggle of Clawed Demons.


    Getting down and unleashing an atomic Fireball now is a pale attempt as the chances of being pounced are much higher.


    It would take a lot of Stamina and barely wipe out half of the enemies so instead King Michael joined palms together, waved them in front like a butterfly and started blasting three Fireballs at once.


    Eric, just blew as many Fireballs as fast as he can. These Demons can run twice as fast as a Human, them covering a 300 meter long field is a matter of half a minute.


    Trying to hold them back, slow them down and hopefully disorientate them. King Michael took the liberty of unleashing a 15 foot tall wall of Fire!


    Awfully powerful, seems that way right? No. It can cover more bodies, more Clawed Demons but it has no chance to burn any enemy alive.


    This is what we can call, a Blank Fireball. It doesn''t burn but the sole fact that it can be expanded wider than an average fireball, makes it helpful in this situation.


    Locking his fingers, the only reason why these Fire walls will take more Stamina is because his feet aren''t connected to the ground.


    With his 4th Fire wall blown by now, he noticed a shift in the mindless running between these Demonic cunts.


    Blown agaisnt the ground, Demons victim under the Fire Wall either got stepped over and Clawed by their own or slowed down their kind down as well.


    With a few more seconds bought for battle contribution, King Michael started blowing bigger hotter Fireballs to tame the masses.


    Eric of course did not fail to progress, mimicking the King he started shooting at the biggest bundles as of course these Demons won''t stay all in one place.


    Catching a glimpse of the Kingdom, he saw the Goblin Demon Platoon stomping the snow, fearlessly willing to take on this large Demonic Army.

 Chapter 461 - New Enemy

    The two masses clashed their sharp weaponry against each other. A fine rivering line of blood burst through the air, signifying the border between the Goblin Demons and the Clawed Demons.


    Shouts echoed between the two parties, mostly coming from the Clawed Demons since they are being taken victim by the battle ready Goblins, proceeding with their anti-Clawed Demon battle tactics.


    With the opportunity given, the target in front of them is big since there are around 400 Demons in front of Gaster Kingdom, the Archers started putting in work.


    They''ve nailed a few Demons down while the Fire Blasters contributed, but couldn''t do much since they were aiming not to shoot the two Ignites down along with the Demons.


    Now, although the 100 Goblin Demons underneath them, keeping the fine border and preventing the Demons from breaching.


    The Archers can shoot from the comfort of the walls with no fear of hitting any ally, since a bundle of 400 enemies isn''t exactly hard to hit.


    The Fire Controllers took advantage of this barricade that the Goblin Demons offered, to slip behind the enemies and start blowing them into Hell... Ironic.


    With disorientation in mind, Eric clapped his hands and cracked open a couple of blazing Bear Claws.


    This has to be the most badass Fire move anyone could do, as two large claws like that of a bear expanding to the Blaster''s will, emerge from his palms.


    Waving his right arm forward, the 7 meter long and 5 meter wide Bear Claw clashed against a bundle of Demons in front of him just a few seconds later.


    With his arms close to his waist, he pulled the right one back and wiped the Demons across the snow.


    Smoke coming from their bodies as he made this Bear Claw hotter than the usual ones who are scaled as 1/10 heat-wise.


    Spinning on his spot, the blazing Bear Claw moved to the right, pushing the Demons he pinned to the ground along with any other Demon on the right side.


    Pinned massively beyond prepare and body parts burned or torn off too, he used his left claw to give them another slap as he stopped spinning.


    Some Demons dived head first in the sea while a good 50 more have been hurt or killed, this will buy a bit more time.


    Thankfully the Claws come along with 10 meter long arms, granting a good distance away from the Demons but it too can expand on will.


    As the 5th row of arrows rained upon the unsuspecting Clawed Demons, at least 200 of them have been shot down by the Archers alone.


    The few seconds bought be it by the Fire Blasters or the Goblin Demons has made it darn well possible for over 120 Archers to row up along the Kingdom''s rear walls.


    The damage they''ve inflicted upon these horrible beings from another realm barely took a minute, battles like these are either kill fast or die fast.


    Mimicking the young Electus, King Michael broke a couple of Bear Claws open to torment these enemies a tad bit.


    Except the damage he''s inflicting is double in comparison! He has 15 meter long Bear Claws clashing against his enemies, taking victim with the wall like Claws that stretch 9 meters wide.


    Slapping from both sides, he shovels up Demons into one point and takes the liberty of scaling up the heat, 7/10 to completely burn down the bundles he overtook, down to the last bone.


    The Goblin Demons slaughtered from their side as well, they didn''t just prove as a good barricade.


    Brave enough, even the ones injured from the previous battle have ignored commands and joined this one.


    Massacring the enemy head in, their contributes helped tame a quarter of the masses.


    This battle seems to be over now, as attacking the enemy from 3 sides proved effective to win in 4 minutes or so.


    Making their way towards the Goblin Demons, shooting down any enemy who shows signs of life on his way there.


    Finally reaching them, King Michael ordered. "Friends, I''m glad all of you came to battle but some of you were injured. Please go to the Castle Dungeon and get your wounds tamed."


    Willing to listen to this thoughtful request at least, some Goblin Demons lifted the most injured. Up and horizontal like a plank, leading towards the Castle.


    It''s good teamwork at best but these aftermaths show that even Goblin Demons, who are qualified on fighting off Clawed Demons do get injured.


    They aren''t immortal, can definitely get tired and die as well. Thankfully there aren''t any deaths this time but still, the least King Michael can do is ask them to get rest and provide them faster healing too.


    As the least injured Goblin Demons carried the most injured towards the Dungeon, what remained is a group of 20 Goblins with the Sub Leader included.


    The Sub Leader has to stay here, although there is blood running down his arm and lower leg. A tough nugget at least but, he doesn''t have to suffer.


    Wanting to help, actually feeling sympathy for this Demonic breed thanks to their tremendous contribution, from a good 5 meter distance Eric waved his arm and a Green light dimmed orb flew above the ground.


    A layer of dried out blood barricaded the Sub Leader''s wound and he could also sense the burning sensation on his wounds hunch down by a quarter.


    Most saw who casted this little Healing orb, the Sub Leader saw it too so he answered with a bliss on his tone. "Thanks Human, I love you."


    A different way of showing gratitude, the Humans are aware but this tad points out that Eric is only progressing with his healing powers.


    Last time, his lover Ada had to force the green orb out of him and now he did it all alone, it isn''t tremendous progress but at least he isn''t stuck in one place.


    Out of a sudden, 7 Goblin Demons dropped down along with King Michael, flat on the ground although not dead as a weird fast flying weaponry hit them.


    The Sub Leader pointed towards Eric and shouted, "Look out!"


    Running afterwards, tackling the boy who just healed him and taking a shot right in the waist himself.


    Falling to the ground, laying down flat on the ground unable to move.


    "What the hell!" Eric muttered, swiftly standing up but as he slipped over snow he fell down again.


    Getting a glimpse of a small flying enemy 200 meters afar. Thinking, "That thing shot us down?"


    Trying to stand up again, but this time more careful. He rushed towards the Sub Leader, noticed a 6 inch horn on his waist.


    Grabbing it, swiftly pulling it out with no warning. Panic overwhelming his subconscious, he threw another green orb against the man who saved him from a blow.


    Sealing the wound with blood, taming it for a little while until Ladia can have a better look at it.


    Turning the man over as he was laying face first on the snow, Eric shouted. "What is that thing? How do we stop it."


    As soon as he asked that question, he saw a couple of Demons standing firm in front of him, their axes forward trying to protect and shouted. "He''s paralyzed, he can''t talk. Run!"


    "I ain''t running." Eric answered, and at that same moment another wave of horns struck them.


    One of the Goblin Demons got struck on the leg and fell to the ground, paralysed.


    Not willing to see what will happen if another wave of these crazy horns rains against them, he squatted down and clapped his hands.


    A Fire Shield broke open and as he separated his palms from each other, the Fire Shield stood firm and strong.


    A split second later he saw 3 Horns nailing against the Fire Shield, poking their ugly head in the Shield but thankfully failing to pass through.


    Buying the seconds to ask, with the rest of the Goblin Demons taking shelter behind the wall too. Eric hollered, "What is that thing?"


    Breathing in, looking at his friend and trying to pull the horn out, the remaining Goblin Demon guarded with Eric''s shield answered. "Caalisher Tuspuk Lejak. It''s a creature too smart to fight, shoots paralyzing horns from its head and spins the big Horns too..."


    As the Goblin Demon tried to explain, a Fireball soared through the sky faster than an eye can blink and hit Gaster Kingdom''s 10 meter tall wall.


    Breaching it, it''s stone work exploded in all sides right in the middle, forcing the rest of the wall above the breach to crumble.


    The hole this being left, stretched 7 feet wide so from there it made its power certain.


    Another Fireball hit the wall, then the other and afterwards the next. Forcing a good portion of the wall to crumble down.


    While King Michael is laying close to the wall, paralyzed and sweating it all out trying to stand up and fight that bastard back.


    A small blue orb fought against the sky, heading towards the Caalisher.


    A 15 foot wide Fireball slipped by its side, carrying a 5 foot long tail. Thankfully, it didn''t stop the blue orb''s shine.


    Reaching this wretched being closer by the second, hitting it''s leg.


    The Blue Orb made its way up the head once successfully touching one body part.


    Surrounding the head, this Lejak creature started hollering from the top of its lungs... If it has lungs that is.


    Holding its head, spinning in place and hitting the ground, unable to fly anymore.


    A few seconds later, throughout the holler it''s head exploded!


    Blood showered the snow, leaving a horrible painting behind and the Tuspuk''s long curled horns flew a few feet above ground.


    Nailing against the snow after, standing narrow. A good way to remember this odd battle if one is a collector.


    Lady Toto Fasoli stood above the walls, enjoying the fact that she could see a red dot from the comfort of this distance.


    This odd battle is over, Toto''s capabilities have proven weirdly effective against the Caalisher Tuspuk Lejak.


    And as for that 200 meter long direct hit, we can just call it dumb luck.

 Chapter 462 - 4 times the trouble

    It is light to say that Lady Toto Fasoli''s contribution in yesterday''s battle saved everyone''s asses.


    That short beast, that Caalisher Tuspuk Lejak Demonic species could have messed up Michael''s Domain far beyond repair.


    The walls although destroyed in one portion, proved as the best defense to keep the other citizens from getting cooked alive. If there weren''t any walls, at least 30 Houses would have been destroyed.


    Houses were set on fire, we can''t rule out that cruel fact but it wasn''t anything that random passer by''s couldn''t help with.


    Some threw buckets of water against the Fire, some hand slapped them shut and a few threw leather over them.


    For her bravery, for joining battle when the walls were blowing up and for ultimately killing the enemy with one shot, she will receive a little reward.


    This wasn''t supposed to happen soon, but a salary raise for her has been established. She used to earn 200 Gold Coins a month, but now will earn 300.


    That''s the least the King can do for such a deadly contribute and if over 100k Gold Coins weren''t blown over death compensations, he would easily give her a good bonus too.


    The rear side of the walls is in a horrific condition, as there are 4 holes through it stretching 5-7 feet wide.


    In a few short lengthed spots, the top half of the wall is blown off and crumbled down which only makes breaching this Domain easier.


    Worst of the worst, there is basically a gate sized spot blown open. With a bit of effort anyone can walk over the destroyed stonework that lays on the ground and simply enter or exit the Kingdom through that breach.


    If Toto didn''t interfere, the rear walls would be in a further unfavourable condition. There would be several full breaches across, making fighting off these Clawed Demons harder.


    A quick fix is to slap a lot of planks over these breaches and try to bash nails against the stonework. It''s a quick fix, but not a good one.


    As these Clawed Demons can chip through stone, they will have a laugh over breaching through weak planks. That is, if those motherf.u.c.kers can laugh.


    The best idea for now is to wait for the Delivery folks coming from Pameres Kingdom, give them a letter to deliver towards King Zar and bring Stonemasons here a couple of weeks after.


    They''ve fought Demons off for so long now, for sure they can do it for a couple more weeks.


    ...


    Most of the Goblin Demon Platoon are injured while some are at a critical condition. The ones that got injured the most, pulled their foot out of the grave thanks to Ladia.


    She casted multiple healing power moves on them, fairly in a rush and panicking a little throughout which tended to mess with progress.


    Their wounds are still a bit bloody but she cut down their pain at least by a quarter and even took the liberty to pull out thick Demonic Claws out of their shoulders mostly.


    The severely injured will live to see another day, but they might need a couple of weeks to recover. None would mind waiting, it''s for the sake of health and this species is used to having wounds for months. Two weeks is a blessing.


    The injured rate arose high so Eric had to come by and make Ladia''s work easier by healing the less injured.


    He is thankful that there are no Humans who got injured, rest here in the Dungeon. There are Goblin Demons only, and they are a bit more communicative.


    Nothing racist or discriminating towards the Goblin Demons, he just hopes that everyone forgets about that day where he accidentally kissed a lady Ignite above the lips.


    "Ladia is here!" One Goblin Demon pointed out, everyone who heard him broke into a cheer after.


    "Ladia, I love you." One man hollered as she walked by, trying to reach the most injured.


    A lady shouted across the room with a request, "My kid admirers you, can she have a bit of your hair?"


    A middle aged man softly requested when Ladia stopped by her bed, "Can we have your shoe? We want to nail it on the Leader''s wall to remember you."


    Shortly, she waved her hand towards the middle aged man''s arm, throwing a green orb and answered. "First heal, I will honour traditions."


    ...


    Although dangerous, the Caalisher Tuspuk Lejak has an interesting form for a Demon.


    It of course has Horns like most Demons, but this species carries 6 foot long Horns while itself the Demon is 5 foot tall.


    His big Horns start from where the ears should be, and curl down beneath his feet. Thankfully this species can fly, or else it would be bad.


    "How do your legs feel?" Alama asked as she walked by, slapping his ass.


    With the ass in mind, his own that is. King Michael rubbed his buttock and slowly expressed. "Still a bit numb, I''m lucky that Horn didn''t hit my ass."


    Confident of course but willing to praise a kid for once, Mogranius weighed in. "Toto totally kicked that Demon''s ass, it would kill all of you since I wasn''t there."


    Walking in the throne room with the Sub Leader following him, Eric teased. "Yes yes, you would take all of the paralyzing horns to the butt and save us all."


    Sitting on the King''s throne, not fearing to do so either, Alama stated. "You should help Toto level up her powers, I''m sure there are Levels for the evolved as well."


    Not minding that she sat on his throne and moving to that little table on the right side of the Throne room, sitting on one of the two chairs.


    Taking a second to sit down properly, he cited with a tone under breath. "I wish I could help her, but I don''t know how. The best way for her to level up is to keep training, maybe there is more to this than orbs."


    Not giving a flop that children and ladies are around, Mogranius barked. "She better level up, because if she could make a long shot like that and explode the Demon''s f.u.c.k.i.n.g head, Imagine if she was Level 6 or something."


    Although poor with his wordplay, Mogranius does make a firm point and King Michael most certainly agrees.


    Although the King himself is thinking about something else. "That''s obvious but I also wish that more Zamerians come into power, or would at least show when a child of theirs gains abilities."


    Remembering that day when Toto was introduced, still sitting on a throne Alama complimented the King''s claim. "Toto''s father thought that his daughter was cursed, the rest of the Zamerians will have it hard to publicise their powers with such mentality in mind."


    Compared to these people, having the most time spent with Ladia who as well is a Zamerian. Eric weighed in, "Zamerians have a strict unspoken rule, if one''s discovered power isn''t healing then they either call it a curse or black magic."


    Before anyone can speak again, Eric swiftly shifted topics towards the Goblin Demons. "Enough about that, I need to tell all of you something."


    "What?"


    "What did you do?"


    "Did you get another girlfriend?"


    "Don''t be stupid, who wouldn''t love Ada?"


    "People shut up and let him talk."


    The group of people here in the throne room bickered with each other, a bit usual and understandable considering that Eric doesn''t usually like to take the spotlight.


    Trying to cut it short, he pointed at the Goblin Demon Sub Leader to his side and boasted. "We talked it over with Kutuk, this man will be joining me to seek the 12 Relics."


    "Really? That''s fantastic." King Michael became the first to compliment although yelling hurt his buttock somehow.


    The King feels guilty to have Mogranius stay here and send Eric who''s still a child to hunt for some ancient relics but the situation demands so.


    Stating another fact, Eric effused. "Yesterday I healed this man and now he insists to help."


    Raising his finger up to gain attention, the Sub Leader went on into this in deeper detail. "It''s partially about that, but you showed us more sympathy than our realm ever did. Here there is peace... although we are in the middle of a war."


    Understanding that his own wordplay is shifting a tad mid, the Sub Leader cut to the case. "And I want this peace to last, my people have been left behind here and I want to show my realm that the Goblin Demons they call animals, can shut their forsaken portals down."


    Although a small group of individuals in this room, they all started cheering and clapping. At the very first the Goblin Demons portrayed their selves dumb, there is nothing dumb about this.


    Tremendously loving this idea, King Michael complimented. "So you will have 3 friends aiding you to your quest, each one skilled too. I feel a bit more comfortable about this."


    Not complimenting himself for once, Mogranius stated a firm fact. "It''s a shame Toto can''t join you, yesterday I saw her persuading her father to shape yesterday''s enemies big horns to double wielded Swords."

 Chapter 463 - Theyre busy...

    When the Caalisher attacking wasn''t such a good in general. Tens of individuals paralysed, walls blown open and a few houses on Fire too.


    But like every bad thing, that disaster came with a small good thing. Since the Caalisher was shot dead, it''s body can still be used. Scraping head meat for experiments was tad tricky, but doable.


    King Michael felt the most staggered when the Sub Leader described how the Caalisher''s face looks like.


    Supposedly it has no eyes, nose, mouth or ears but only has a large X across his or her face. That''s the most bizarre feature one would have the displeasure to see.


    Clapping his hands, jogging towards the experimental meats, King Michael urged. "Okay Alama let''s get this over with quick, I need to take my shift in an hour."


    Grabbing the book of experimental logs, opening it. She jerked her eyes almost completely shut and confuted. "Not so loud, I haven''t even eaten breakfast yet."


    "Sorry." King Michael spoke softly, already having a piece of meat sliced.


    Waiting for her to grab the little feather, he breathed. "Caalisher toe meat, Rat as the consumer."


    A bit pissed now really, wearing an emotionless face she blurted. "Okay speak a little bit louder than that, I only heard your nose whistle."


    Repeating himself, Michael hollered from the top of his lungs. "Caalisher toe meat, Rat as the consumer."


    Having a large urge to smack the man''s booty, she saved that sense of revenge for later and focused on writing this experimental log down.


    Dropping the slice of meat in the Cage, the Rat squeaked a bit as the mutation started which can point that it is either panicking or in pain but thankfully alive.


    Suddenly they''ve heard the bottom of the Cage continuously crackle as if someone was tapping their fingers on it repeatedly.


    Laying on the ground to look at the Rat''s feet, getting a hunch that the mutation occurred there. He spotted that the hind legs have changed, toes have become nonexistent and replaced by longer pointy legs.


    They stretch half a foot long now, unusual size for a Rat even though this one is big itself.


    Analysing the Rat, they suddenly spotted it jump and hit the top of the Cage and land softly without breaking a sweat. The fact that the hind legs expanded, taking a horizontal sharp turn explains this ability.


    This is a different mutation indeed, although the King can''t think of a way to weaponize this one, yet again he is rushing.


    He turned his head towards Alama and cited, "Result, the Rat gets half a foot long pointy hind legs. Jumping high comes along with the power."


    This mutation is particularly troubling to comprehend because the Caalisher himself has small toes, his whole is 5 foot dare I repeat.


    This further screams at the fact that mutations can be almost impossible to pre-imagine. In almost every mutation, the fed body portion and the mutated body portion don''t have much in common.


    And so on they''ve moved to the second experiment, dropping Caalisher waist meat through another Rat''s Cage.


    This one however left them at a staggering shock as the Rat has obtained flight. Different from a past mutation however, this one can fly with the aid of wings.


    A pair of wings broke open from the Rat''s shoulder blade, spread wide by a foot and carry a pitch black colour. Analysing the wings, they look so much alike with one of any Bat.


    This is an important discovery, as it showcases that proper flight can be obtained through mutations. He discovered how to make Rats fly without wings earlier, but those abilities were limited as even the Rat didn''t know how to control it properly.


    Moving on to the third mutation, he dropped a piece of Caalisher head meat into the next Rat''s cage and expected the best here.


    It is really a long shot, but the Sub Leader mentioned something about the Caalisher being extremely smart and now the King hopes such brains can be forced upon an experiment.


    Well instead of big brains, the Rat got a damn horn right in the middle of its forehead. It stretches 4 inches long, stands out like a really long zit.


    One big straight horn in the middle of an experiment''s head, can be easily weaponized if you just briefly think it through but today isn''t the time to think, he is in a rush.


    The fourth experiment for today will be consuming Caalisher lung meat, a bag of meat like this became disgusting to fetch as the King had to cut the dead Demon open.


    This mutation however, seems too dangerous to handle. Even Arem wouldn''t reach his hands in and grab a Rat who owns an absolute set of Razor sharp spikes on its back.


    This thing absolutely looks like a hedgehog in some aspects, but there aren''t enough spikes to consider this one a Hedgehog.


    The Rat is carrying neatly set rows of spikes, some more curled than the other and a few that aren''t curled have a green tip on top. Those green tips could point towards Venomous properties, but no one is dumb enough to test it.


    Moving on to the fifth experiment, dropping a little chunk of Caalisher stomach meat in the Cage, the next fresh Rat consumed it after a minute of hesitation and was forced towards change.


    This might be the most useless mutation yet, as the Rat has gotten another pair of arms and legs. Exactly the same size, they bend in the same way too but unless Alia trains these Rats the hand to hand Martial Arts of Mantek, this mutation is useless.


    Getting on with the sixth and last mutation of the day, King Michael cited. "Okay Alama. Caalisher Heart, Rat as the consumer."


    "Right." Alama shortly spoke and tortured the Parchment.


    "Holy sh..." King Michael shouted, bouncing back even though squatting.


    Pissed off this little yell, she lured her gaze towards him and shouted. "Why are you yelling?"


    But her question got answered when she spotted Fire coming out of the Cage of today''s sixth experiment.


    Sharing the same expression, she hollered. "Holy shit."


    Pointing out the obvious, wiping sweat off his face, King Michael weighed in. "Yes this one is breathing Fire."


    Letting his collar loose a bit, he also added. "I think it just did it to show us whose boss, thankfully it can''t go out of the Cage for a while."


    Not understanding why the King isn''t taking safety procedures this time, she queried. "Meaning?"


    Clapping his hands to wipe off the extra bits of meat and wiping them over his long coat as well, King Michael approached and whispered in her ear. "Meaning I can pay you for yanking you out of the Kitchen."


    Umm yes, that caused a bit of a blush although this isn''t her first time with his majesty. "Here?"


    Pushing her against the wall close by and shutting the door, he uttered. "Well I don''t have much time, so better be quiet this time."


    And so on, they got their frustrations out on each other. Withstanding the stench and trying to ignore that there is a Clawed Demon carcass at the other end of the room.


    ...


    "We will be off to search for the 12 Relics soon, Ladia thought it would be good if you learn another Healing move." Ada pitched the idea, dragging the Electus by the hand across the Throne room to find the library.


    Sighing a tad bit, Eric freely stated. "She sounds like Michael."


    As they''ve walked into the Library, having everything memorized Ladia cut right to the case. "Spiraling grip! It is best for arm and leg wound, easy for you. Doesn''t need a brain, let''s see."


    "Have you learned it yet?" Eric queried, trying to test the move''s difficulty before trying.


    Trying her best to communicate, letting silence stretch a few seconds even. She blurted, "No, but I heal some Goblins with this move. Faster healing, they keep farting relief."


    ...


    "Are you sure you want to talk to the King just yet?" Kaleem asked, holding his lady by the hand.


    "Yes, this is obviously some kind of Level up. I wasn''t able to do this before." Lia answered, self aware and most certainly sure of her decision.


    Confused, looking around and a bit puzzling that no one is in the Throne Room. Kaleem affirmed. "I don''t know where he is supposed to be though, we should have brought Jim here as well. I doubt that the King would want to be cut because we say so."


    Pointing at a door behind and near the Throne, technically to the top right. Lia asserted, "Let''s check this door."


    Opening the door, Kaleem walked in first and the sound of a hollering m.o.a.ning lady broke through their ears, echoing across the corridor. It doesn''t sound like this lady is under any pain, so they can rule it out subconsciously that she isn''t being attacked.


    Looking at Lia, noticing how red she has gotten as she noticed what''s going on here. Kaleem placed his arm over her shoulder, walked her out and whispered. "Looks like the King is busy right now."

 Chapter 464 - Black Orb

    Shutting that door that led to embarrassment, the two waited patiently in the Throne room and used the little table for 2 on the left side to their advantage.


    Thankfully nothing can be heard from the point they sat and Kaleem just watched Lia trying to fight away the embarrassment she has built up.


    If she wasn''t shy to this extent, he would gladly use the golden opportunity to tease her but this time a lot was tossed on her plate under a span of 10 seconds.


    Finally, about 10 minutes later. The two lovers lovers walked out of their place of business and felt a bit shy when they saw the two young a.d.u.l.ts waiting.


    Breaking the ice, King Michael queried. "What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"


    With Lia struck quiet and Kaleem fighting to the last bit trying to keep his giggling under control, the boy pitched. "Lia has something to show you. Would either of you cut your arms for the sake of progress?"


    Stating the obvious, putting two and two together once fighting off embarrassment, King Michael weighed in. "I''m guessing Lia has discovered something new about her powers."


    "Yup, Lia come on." Kaleem agreed and tried to pull her out of the chair, encouraging. "Do it to him too."


    Shaking his grip off her arm, she repeated. "Alright alright don''t push me."


    Smirking a tad bit because she is still deadly shy, Kaleem stated. "I was pulling you."


    Shaking her palms a little bit and afterwards rubbing them palms together, she jerked her right arm forward and a dark coloured although dim Orb emerged from her palm and hit the King.


    No damage, much like the orbs that Ladia and Toto throw, this as well is just a ray of coloured light raging towards a target.


    "Hmmm... what''s supposed to happen now?" The King stood puzzled, his mind in a rush since he is supposed to be on the frontline now.


    "May I?" Kaleem queried permission, reaching out one hand and having a Dagger on the other.


    Reaching out his arm, resting it over Kaleem''s hand, seeing his own sleeve being pulled up. The King cited, "I suppose... where are you two getting at though?"


    As the Dagger ran across his skin, King Michael flinched a tad bit but didn''t want to appear weak so he kept it together.


    Looking down at his arm, he spotted that no blood has broken above the fine like of which the Dagger was supposed to cause.


    "There''s no blood!" King Michael shouted, his joy overwhelming. "You did cut me right?"


    Lightly tapping the tip of the Dagger on his arm over and over, with no blood whatsoever puking out. Kaleem replied, "I tried and I still am but you have become indestructible."


    A raging storm of ideas captivating his mind, the King put it into short words. "Does it last forever?"


    "We''re not sure, she casted it on me just an hour ago." Letting go of the King''s arm and running the Dagger over his own skin, Kaleem added. "But I''m still indestructible."


    "Let''s put this really to the test, this is fun." Jumping a couple of steps back with his enthusiasm arising, the King demanded. "Punch me across the face, as hard as you can."


    Hesitant, handing the Dagger to Lia. Kaleem demurred. "Are you sure... I have super strength."


    Insistent, eager to test the boy''s ability too. King Michael demanded with a big fat smile, "Hit me as hard as you can."


    Taking a step back to build momentum, Kaleem threw his right fist forward and bashed the King right under the eye.


    And so, his Majesty got swept right off his feet, inevitably forced airborne and everything appeared like a blur for a while until his back met with further pain. Indestructibility doesn''t necessarily mean resistance to pain.


    Opening his eyes, seeing Alama run towards him, obviously concerned and scolding with the same words over and over. "The hell were you thinking?"


    Shaking his head, taking half a minute to separate from the wall he imprinted his body in, 2 inch deep. He mumbled, "No Guard will die from this day onward."


    ...


    Before the King left the Castle, rubbing his cheek a little bit to hopefully fight off the pain, he oriented Alama with a list of requests to put all of this into testing.


    For a base start of experiments, 3 people of 3 different races will be casted a spell upon just to see what happens. The power move seems harmless, so the King suspects that nothing dangerous will happen upon the test dummies.


    But just in case of something horrible happening, the King is willing to put in a few hundred Gold Coins as a firm compensation.


    While the King is away, holding his shift, the total of 9 test subjects will be casted the power move upon and see how this will play out.


    After a while, the King will call for Eric to hold an hour or so of the shift Michael is supposed to hold just to come and see what the 9 individuals have to express.


    ...


    It''s nearly 2pm now, the King has been here since midday and there barely have been any Demons attacking.


    Today is a slow day thankfully, everyone here required a break from fighting these foul beings all the time.


    The human Guards have all healed and are able to fulfill their duties again, the King won''t be taking bits of their salaries away because of the unfulfilled hours.


    No that would be wildly stupid and could crush the overall morale by a quarter at least. All of these people are putting their life on the line to protect their families, it would never be a good idea to deprive them off gold because of it.


    The Goblin Demons are still healing, 30 of them have joined the Platoon already since they were the least injured while the rest need some time. If it wasn''t for this species then Gaster Kingdom would be good as gone by now, they helped tame the tides.


    The King has emerged into thoughts, there are so many battle victory opportunities arising and with Lia progressing with he powers everything is turning for the better.


    Leaning on the wall, his elbows embracing the bone chilling cold the stonework has to offer, all of a sudden a raging dark figure appeared in front of him, a sharp pain across his face raged after.


    "The King has been clawed by a Demon!" A Guard shouted from a distance of 20 meters, running to help his Highness.


    His Iron longsword leaned forward, the Guard jumped and bashed his weapon right across the Demon''s skull, blood exploded and covered his chin.


    Leaving his Sword stuck on the Demon, the Guard rushed towards the King along with tens of other men and leaned the King on his back to glance at the damage.


    The look on the Guard''s face when they saw no scar or blood, is too precious. The King wouldn''t trade it for 100k Gold Coins as that face carries happiness and confusion too.


    The Guard shouted in front of the King''s face. "I''m sorry, it must have snuck past my sight. Where did it hit you, we need to tie it up."


    Laying his back against the wall''s side support, Michael shook his head and answered. "It hit me right on my nose."


    "But your nose in tact Sire, please do not play around. We have to heal you." The Guard insisted, grabbing the King on the armpits and trying to lift him up.


    Glancing at an ill.u.s.tratio caring so much about a man from another race, well Michael''s Heart became fulfilled for 2 lifetimes.


    Standing up on his own, slapping a bit of snow off his brown leather long coat. The King left everyone at shock as he walked away on his own and confessed. "I''m fine, soon all of you might be able to take damage without hurting your selves. We have a Guardian Angel to our aid."


    ...


    Walking in his Castle, King Michael seeked Alama amongst the small crowd and asked. "How''s everything going so far."


    Laying off the stats, Alama partially described. "They all became indestructible, but it isn''t permanent. For these people it ranged from 2-3 hours race regardless."


    Unleashing his hair from the trap that is his Coat, usually putting them there to protect them from Fireballs or Demons.


    The King took a few seconds to decide what he should say to these people and finally added. "People, I thank you for your time. Your contribution to Gaster Kingdom will pay off in the long run and of course it won''t escape without a reward. Each of you will be gifted 30 Gold Coins and a nice Dinner in the Royal Dining room."


    The small crowd broke into a little cheer, showing their own gratitude towards the King''s gratitude, thanking him with a few short words.


    Having more to say, the King raised his hand for them to calm down a bit and stated. "As you might have figured it out, indestructibility can be heavily used in our war, our dilemma. You may spread the word although I will do it too, our precious Guards will no longer die in battle."


    Pointing at Lia, Michael firmly stated. "We have a Guardian Angel now."

 Chapter 465 - Frontline

    Standing on the front line along with the fine men and women protecting Gaster Kingdom, is Lia.


    Since her abilities have leveled up, she can help keep the Guard count stable in the long run so she under the order of the King is to hold 8 hour shifts every day to tame the masses.


    It has also become her responsibility to join the battle if the Clawed Demons attack while she is off duty, or asleep. Her working 24 hours a day is pretty darn impossible so might as well add that rule.


    Pay-wise she is fairly the one of the evolved who can contribute the most in these troubling times, so of course it is reasonable if she earns more.


    Starting next month her pay will be 700 Gold Coins a month! That''s the biggest anyone earns in this Domain and the only person who can beat that pay is Alama, who earns 10% of this Kingdom''s income.


    ...


    "Try it again Eric, you only have a few weeks to train!" Ada encouraged, pulling his arm a tad bit too.


    Giving a long soul trembling sigh, Eric mumbled. "Guhhh but I''ve been trying for 3 hours today!"


    Shaking his shoulder now a bit, she heavily insisted. "Try for another 3, you don''t want any of your friends dying right?"


    Having a bit more motivation to do this, Eric cooperated. "Okay! But stop shaking my arm."


    Smacking him right on the left ass cheek, she added. "Alright, do this and I won''t shake you for a day."


    Thankfully they are alone this time and being close enough towards each other, Eric has to tease. "I have a better idea. If I succeed, you will give me a kiss."


    Holding the urge to smack his thick little ass cheeks again, she agreed. "I''ll give you 2, now man up and cast that move!"


    "Okay!" The young Electus stretched one word, and started trying out the move.


    Raising his right arm forward and spinning it clockwise slowly, nothing happened for a good one minute and counting. "This isn''t working, I keep wasting time."


    Encouraging, she shook his shoulder again despite the deal and hollered. "Just keep going."


    Holding his one ear with his free hand, he whispered. "Okay not so loud!"


    "I have an idea." Ada mouthed and leaned in to Eric''s side, reaching for his cheek and leaving her mark of territory there. "You can do this."


    His eyes wide, at a bliss no doubt. A dim green light started spiraling from his palm, stretching 2 feet long and straight much like a pole.


    "You''re doing it!" Ada celebrated and landed a handful of kisses on his cheek again, as if that''s what the Library is for.


    The green spiraling grow near his palm grew richer in colour, started illuminating the dimly lit room.


    Tightening his fist, stopping the clockwise spin. He pulled his arm back, the two rays of spinning lights joined together as they grew thicker.


    The glow followed his palms, shone a quarter brighter for 5 seconds before it completely disappeared from thin air.


    "You did it! Wait, were you holding back just to get kisses?" Ada asked, her eyebrow jerked up too as she glared the Electus from the side.


    Smiling, probably a bit guilty. He simply answered, "Nothing you can prove, but I can prove that we made a deal a moment ago."


    "Hmmm right." Yes well at least Ada won''t go back on her word, she walked in front of him and pulled his head close.


    Attaching her lips to his, grating the first ever lip kiss they had and separating after a few seconds, she kissed him above the lips after, touching a bit of his nose too.


    Having it hard to stay mad now, she murmured. "You''re lucky I like your cute little moustache."


    "Eeewww you two disgust." Screeched Ladia, as she walked in the library to study after checking on the Goblin Demons.


    Separating from the kiss, but not removing her arms she tied around his shoulders, Ada stated. "He tricked me!! He could do the thing all along."


    Although frozen for a little while since that kiss felt absolutely f.u.c.k.i.n.g amazing, he shook his head to snap out of it and affirmed. "Not really, but uhh the kisses got me distracted from the inevitable fact that I will die out of stress."


    Unwinding one arm from his shoulders so she can slap his ass, Ada teased. "Oh so you are a goth now?"


    Not shy to express a burden amongst close friends, he accidentally let out a joke. "Nono, this Crown is making me think nonstop. Even when I don''t want to, what I''d give to be Mogranius right now."


    ...


    "Demons from the forest!" A Guard shouted from the left side of the walls, alarming the battle souled people.


    "Unleash the second breed!" King Michael shouted, standing 10 meters close.


    Squinting his eyes, trying to disagree and sweet coating his wordplay too, Arem recommended. "Sire, they are 50 Clawed Demons. It would be better if the Guards handle this one."


    Lia on his side, the King felt confident to add. "Oh they will, we need to test out something. But unleash the second breed, hurry."


    A few seconds later, the Chickens flew from the walls and to the ground, snow burst a meter high in 3 parallel lines as these fascinating mutations made their way to battle.


    SPLAT!


    Blood burst in between the group of Clawed Demons, it exploded in all sides as if a huge mass punctured one Demon and made it explode but no that''s not the case, it is just 3 extremely dangerous Chickens working together.


    Nudging her with his shoulder, snapping her attention away from the blood mist. Michael oriented, "Lia, you know what to do."


    "Oh right." Lia mumbled to herself and counted the closest Guards.


    As fast as she can, she started tossing Dark Orbs against them. Watching the Orbs hit their bodies and disintegrate upon contact.


    "Guards!" King Michael hollered, grabbing their attention.


    Catching the attention of 10, he demanded as he pointed at the battlefield. "Pull out your swords and get down there, you will fight the Clawed Demons through close combat."


    Although hesitant, ignoring an order for battle would be dishonourable. The Guards would be booed for a few weeks and their coward act would spread like wildfire.


    So they made their way down to the main gate, jogged towards the forest and in a split second saw the Chickens coming back, torturing the ground they walk on.


    Counting the enemies, they pile up around 15 and are without fear running towards the bundle of Humans, with an aim to rip them apart.


    "For Gaster Kingdom!" Arem shouted, standing amongst the close combat Guards.


    "For Gaster Kingdom." The 9 other Guards followed, shaking the ground with their stomps and battle chants.


    Bashing his Sword with a sideway attack against the closest Claw Demon, Arem felt his weapon slice right along the Demon''s shoulder.


    Pulling it back, he heard the Demon echo in pain and felt the other Swords going... THKUM!


    Blazing pain of a sharp Iron cut met with Demonic flesh, as the Guards created a fine barricade of defense.


    "You f.u.c.k..." A Guard hollered, cussing at the Demon.


    Looking at his own arm, checking his wound... the Guard left himself staggered to notice that there is no blood!


    "Hahahaha! You''re weak, Demonic s.l.u.t!" The same Guard shouted, his confidence strong as he bashed his Sword against the Demon once more, piercing its head.


    "Holy shit that hurts." Another Guard mourned, Ignite by skin and fierce by heart.


    Staggered, taking a few steps back to have a quick breath, he saw the same Demon flying with a pounce.


    Hitting the Ignite Guard across the chest, he feels like this is the end. So much for not wanting to appear like a coward.


    The pain on his chest sharp, but this fine Guard has a bit more willpower to fight.


    The Clawed Demon got him under, overwhelmed and throwing claw after claw against his face.


    Raising his left hand to protect his face, his right palm blood red due to the tight grip.


    The Ignite Guard himself felt shocked how the Demon clawing his hand, didn''t burst out blood.


    With his right palm, he turned the Sword sideways and with as much strength as he could collect, he bashed it against the Demon''s waist.


    Pushing the enemy aside, the Guard took a few seconds to stand up, pulled his Sword out of the Demon after and started torturing what life this enemy has left.


    With both hands, the Ignite started bashing the first few inches of his Sword against the Demon''s head.


    Over and over, and at the end with all his might he penetrated the Demon head through and through, nailing it against the ground.


    Looking at his group, with one more Demon standing and surrounded by the Guards, the Ignite threw himself in the middle and punched the Demon right across the face.


    Braking its jaw, knocking it out and continuing to stomp on its head after. Giving a loud whisper, "Demonic bitch."


    ...


    Gathering as much Guards as one portion of the wall can fit, King Michael announced. "Men and women, as you can see, 10 of our precious Guards took those enemies head on and they don''t have a scratch on them."


    Pushing Lia in front of him, to show her off in front of the Guards. The King continued, "Lia has leveled up with her powers, now she can make anyone indestructible for 2-3 hours."


    AYEEEEEEEE!


    The Guards cheered, followed along by heavier chants with their battle morale meeting a significant spike up.


    "Lia!"


    "Lia."


    "Lia!!"


    "Lia!"


    "Lia..."


    Her name was heard chanted, over and over from the group of Guards. Happy about this, although just a quarter shy. Lia started chanting with them, although yelling. "Guards, Guards." Instead.

 Chapter 466 - Economical chaos

    March, perhaps a normal month for most Kingdoms in Ignis and beyond but as for the friendly triangle of Domains including Pameres Kingdom, Gaster Kingdom and Bale Town, this month has been labelled chaotic this year.


    Nothing bad in particular, but the Castle officials and their assistants will be elbow deep in work to adjust with the new incomes, outcomes and overall change on 1/3 of the Budget.


    "Is everything in order Seer?" King Zar asked, passing by the Assistant''s office. "If you need help, call the Coin counters."


    "As if they are used to mathematics, all they know is to count." Seer gave a loud whisper, slapping the Parchment with ink and looking at a couple of parchments in front of him.


    A bit harsh coming from someone as kind hearted as Seer, but stress does have a bad effect on most.


    So King Zar hung by the door and advised, "Well take it slow, baby Lily wouldn''t want an angry father now."


    His mind clearing up once hearing about his adorable little newborn daughter, Seer cited. "Lily... yes I have a feeling she senses moods, I''m glad Maleesa is with her at all times now."


    Willing to help his friend here and urging to shy away mistakes, Zar offered. "You know, I can have Crisa sent there and take care of Lily. Obviously doing your job and Maleesa''s isn''t working out well, we are handling a 664k Income here Seer."


    "Don''t worry, don''t worry." Seer repeated, scrolling through 6 Parchments already as they were having this short conversation. "I''ll be done in 2 weeks or less, the Coin Counters are easing most of my burden really. You did a good job when you hired more of them."


    ...


    Getting to business, another reason why March has been labelled as chaotic, is because several deals have either ended or replaced by new ones. In other words, a hell load of doc.u.ment work has to be filled in by 1 person.


    The shield deal for example, a business line tied with the Zamerians, has met an end by the beginning of March and has been replaced by a deal 10k Gold Coins richer.


    Apparently Iron boots and Gauntlets have become hilariously scarce on the other side of Zameria, south of the Continent.


    And of course due to the price gap, Lav Kingdom became a bridge to selling Iron boots and Gauntlets to that edge of the Continent.


    Although it might be considered a small deal in Zameria, for Pameres Kingdom it''s huge because it brings a clean Income of 45,900 Gold Coins a month, for 4 months.


    Starting today, 400 Gauntlets and 700 boots have to be crafted each month and sent to Zameria.


    It isn''t an order too big to handle as the most experienced team of Blacksmiths have taken this one over. The Shield deal ending gave this team free pairs of hands to work on a new project.


    Income-wise, the Iron Gauntlets will bring the least income [16k] since less of them are ordered and they cost 40 Gold Coins per pair while Iron Boots cost 50 Gold Coins per pair, therefore they bring more [35k].


    Now the total overall Income from this project equals exactly 51,000 Gold Coins but since Gaster Kingdom takes 10% of this Income [5.1k] for Port usage, Pameres Kingdom ends up with a clean cut of 45,900.


    "I need a break." Seer murmured to himself, grabbed the 5 finger thick pieces of Parchments he has ready and made his way to the Royal Treasury.


    Since there are 40 Coin Counters hired now, such thick piece of work would take only a day or two to accomplish. In other words, Seer has to work as fast as 3 people in order to not let employees laze around.


    Meeting a couple of Guards on his way there, Seer asked. "I hope you men are staying true to your shifts, the Treasury is crowded now and I wouldn''t want propaganda there in the middle of a War."


    Confident of his own work and what his friends are capable of, one Guard answered. "By King Zar''s orders, 10 Guards stay in the Royal treasury at all times. Do not burden yourself with this, sir Seer."


    Strictly paranoid today, mostly because of all the stress, Seer cited. "Good, take this to them. Should keep them busy for a while. Work like you have two pairs of eyes, gold l.u.s.t is hard to resist."


    ...


    Reaching his home, Maleesa felt at shock to see his husband come home this early. Nothing to worry about really, but Seer is a labelled workaholic so seeing him here would make one think that something went wrong.


    With a warm smile, Maleesa the beautiful Ignite lady spoke. "Welcome, is everything alright?"


    Letting out a long strong sigh, Seer answered. "Don''t worry, I just need to see my precious family for a while."


    Sitting near Lily, watching her sleep peacefully with bear fur covering her to keep warm. Seer took another deep breath and kissed his beautiful ill.u.s.tratian daughter over the eyes, and thought about what other luxurious food to buy her from the travelling merchants strolling around the Domain.


    ...


    Back to work, with a doc.u.ment about the Boots and Gauntlets filled. Seer moved to a new one, regarding a big order of fur cloth sets.


    First things first it is worth noting that the previous Fur cloth deal between the two Continents has ended now in the beginning of March.


    Due to outstanding achievements quantity-wise, the Demands for Fur clothing in Zameria have been tamed.


    With that fact stated, it means Zameria can make extra Income selling the same products on other Continents such as Molaria.


    Acting as a transactional bridge between Molaria and Ignis, the Zamerians have formed a deal which will benefit all 3 factions.


    Winters in Molaria last a bit longer considering the Continent''s location, closer to the Ice caps on the other side of the globe, far from Ignis.


    So it only makes sense that Fur clothing gets ripped faster due to its stronger use. In other words, 600 sets of Fur clothing will be sent to Zameria and from there to Molaria for a span of 6 months (Until October 1).


    Even for Pameres Kingdom, an order of 600 full sets of clothing a month is too hard to handle, so the work will be split between them and Bale Town.


    Splitting work doesn''t necessarily mean that Pameres Kingdom will earn low Income for big work, considering that each Fur set costs 200 Gold Coins.


    But it gets better. To keep relations stronger, Lav Kingdom will pay 220 Gold Coins, so that''s 20 more than the Market price here across Ignis.


    The Zamerians can afford it, odds are they will be making double the income from this deal.


    With that in mind, the total monthly Income from this Project will be 132,000 Gold Coins! It''s huge, feels even sweeter considering how little a month the Tailors take.


    Now there is a small twist to this Income-wise like with any other. Gaster Kingdom will too dip in this Income, taking 10% in exchange for port usage.


    So taking out 13,200 Gold Coins from this Project''s income, Bale Town and Pameres Kingdom will be splitting 118,800 Gold Coins in half.


    To be more precise, these two Domains will earn 59,400 Gold Coins each.


    This deal will keep both Domains on their feet, as making 600 sets of Fur clothing is no easy task but at least the pay is handsome, gorgeous even.


    ...


    In less big news, due to the constant Demonic invasions, King Michael in Gaster Kingdom has decided to cut back on some luxurious expenses. Specifically, Gr.a.p.e Ale.


    It wasn''t a big deal to begin with, as only 500 Bottles were sent to Gaster Kingdom each month which equaled to an Income/outcome of 4,000 Gold Coins a month.


    There aren''t any hard feelings about this, the deal was supposed to end on March 1 anyway. And considering the Demonic situation, Pameres Kingdom is not suffering damages and Gaster Kingdom refuses help.


    King Michael understands that other threats have to sleep at bay, like King Talato and the whole Country [Meridionali Ignis] he is in control of.


    So Guards being sent to the Outpost will pay off in the long run, two birds have to be shot at once and trying with one stone is just playing dumb in this situation.


    ...


    Knock knock knock!


    The mix race family heard their door lightly ramble, Maleesa went ahead to open it and asked the King to be quiet as Seer has fallen asleep near Lily.


    Whispering, King Zar explained himself. "I''m sorry that I came at a bad time, but I have a gift for Lily."


    Giving a big smile, in love with the fact that an actual King can be so careful and caring. Maleesa whispered, "Oh that''s sweet, I should wake up Seer then."


    "Nonono, please don''t." Zar insisted, flapping his hands against the air to stop her.


    Getting into further detail, Zar cited. "Seer saw this bracelet before, it belonged to my mother. My poor excuse for a father claims she is dead, this is the most valuable thing I own and I only see it reasonable for little Lily to have it."


    Walking for the door after leaving the gift on Maleesa''s hands, Zar murmured. "Maybe it will give her good luck, sure helped me."

 Chapter 467 - Economical chaos (2)

    Gr.a.p.e Ale, a year ago it was looked at as the product who will sky rocket Pameres Kingdom''s profit, the product that was supposed to bring luxury for the population of 2,500, the saviour of saviours.


    Well now, we can''t say it didn''t fulfill its expectations at such an early stage. Tens of thousands of Gr.a.p.e Ale bottles have been sold in Ignis and beyond.


    But as months passed after Gr.a.p.e got harvested, after the official line of Ale production started, this product''s shine started to dim.


    There are just 6 months left until the next black Gr.a.p.e harvest, what''s left of the Gr.a.p.e Ale will inevitably be sold and the Gr.a.p.e Farmers can just focus on maintenance, for everything to look nice and snazzy.


    Income-wise, we can''t say that the Gr.a.p.e Ale project didn''t have a big contribution. It''s expenses aren''t the biggest but it brings a nice healthy Income, which is a double threat.


    But as we stated, now it''s shine is forcing to dim. Gaster Kingdom has ended the deal about Ale and the Zamerians have met an end with the previous deal too, it was supposed to end in the beginning of march anyway.


    The Zamerians have renewed the order, but it isn''t anything big as it can''t be sold at a large scale considering a bottle''s price.


    From today until the end of July, Gaster Kingdom will be delivering 500 bottles a month to the Zamerians.


    A good twist to it, is that the Zamerians offer to pay 2 Gold Coins more than the Ignis market value, meaning 10 Gold Coins per bottle.


    All together this will bring an Income of 5,000 Gold Coins a month, Gaster Kingdom will take 10% of the Income for port usage, a good 4,500 will remain flowing in Pameres Kingdom.


    Well at least a line of Income will remain from this Project, there are 3 lines standing actually. Apart from the Zamerians, Ale is sold locally in Pameres Kingdom and all the way to Bale Town too although at both cases low scale.


    With the Zamerians in topic, 500 more people arrived in the midst of February and in other words it means that there are 1,500 Zamerians living in Pameres Kingdom right now... or at least have citizenship here.


    Thanks to that, 100 more Houses have been occupied and 100 more are close to being built. Pameres Kingdom will have 800 Houses soon, 700 of which are already occupied.


    This brings along good news, because apart from the fact that more people can be hired, the 100 Houses pay tax as well, after a good quarter of these people are hired of course.


    With a 10,000 Gold Coin increase in taxes, Pameres Kingdom earns a nice warm forever lasting monthly Income of 70,000 Gold Coins from these 700 Houses.


    Having all those Construction Workers hired paid more than it was supposed to, having 700 Houses feels much better than having 300 in this Domain.


    ...


    "Guh this is such a pain in the..." Seer tried to express, his ass sore over the wooden chair.


    Carrying an ordinary looking chair, King Zar walked in. "I got you this from the travelling merchants."


    "A chair?" Queried Seer, not the most surprised.


    "A soft chair, I tried it myself and could feel the soft touch through my Silver Greaves." Zar specified, stopping in the middle of the room and sitting on the chair to show.


    Trying to find humour in the midst of this stress, Seer cracked. "I could really use a soft chair right now, I''m literally working my ass off."


    Getting to the point that might sound like a bit of a deal breaker, Zar weighed in. "Seer, work for you will only get bigger. We should Hire 5 people or so, who can do what you do."


    "Those are hard to find, although I want a few of them here." Seeing that the King is on board with this consideration, Seer felt it secure to add. "I will see if the Coin Counters can be filtered into tougher jobs, can''t now though."


    Believing in what Seer is capable off, Zar joked. "Can''t afford to have apprentices running around ha."


    Feeling a bit entitled, since he is a Castle official in one of the richest Domains across Occidentis Ignis, Seer butchered. "I don''t think anyone will be running around until I know they can do their job with 100% accuracy."


    ...


    What could tame expenses by the end of September this year, is the fact that Farmers have been working on cultivating 40 Hectares of land ever since the break of February, shoveling snow to put work in.


    Bad timing through and through, but Pameres Kingdom needs its own local food supply.


    Gaster Kingdom is proving useful at sending food in Zar''s Domain but it''s costing a harsh 64k each month.


    In the short term it doesn''t look too much, because the topic is food and these 3,700 people have to be well fed.


    But the overall expenses here in Pameres Kingdom have already broke to 414,435 Gold Coins while the current Income is 664,820 Gold Coins.


    The gap between these two pieces of numbers determine the profit, and right now it isn''t exactly bad but it could be better.


    However, the Farmers will be done cultivating and planting in early April, thankfully they aren''t under staffed.


    By the end of September, or by mid October if this Summer isn''t hot enough. The Farmers should yield an estimated 80 tons of Wheat Grain.


    This will cut the food expenses by half at most, although the luxury of having more food options could hunch down by a quarter.


    No one will starve and these 3,700 people will be able to eat various meat anyway. The extra profit at the end of the month could contribute in to everyone earning a bit more each month, so in the long run this Wheat farm will pay off.


    ...


    Raging demands of more employees have echoed across a handful of different crafts. Pameres Kingdom is getting more orders over their shoulders and it can become overwhelming.


    The productivity rate has increased by a calculated 5% ever since the Therapy building has been established, but it still isn''t enough to tame orders without losing a bit of hair.


    Considering that, and since this Domain has capabilities to hire more, these demands from various crafts have been granted.


    Therefore, 200 new people have been hired. Categorizing everything, number-wise the newly hired goes like this.


    10 Farmers,


    10 Miners,


    10 Wagon Constructors,


    30 Coin Counters,


    10 Tailors,


    10 Lumberjacks,


    20 Stonemasons,


    And 100 Guards. This last one however wasn''t a demand.


    King Zar wants a few hundred Guards trained well before they are sent to the harsh terrains of Orientis Ignis.


    100 more Guards have been sent to Orientis Ignis along with the deliveries of March, while 200 more are remaining here in Pameres Kingdom for a while.


    A few big Houses have to be built in order to fit 400 Outpost Guards as Frozen Toe Kingdom is rather limited since the overall Human count through History in this Domain was always low.


    Hiring these many people has forced the monthly Income to plunge down by a third, as most of these employees don''t bring much monetary value but the quality of life and safety instead.


    The Outpost Guards alone now take 72k monthly as Salaries that is, let''s hope that this investment will pay off as much as King Zar wants it too.


    ...


    And finally getting to the part that you might find the most interesting, Overall Budget, Profit, detailed average Salaries and the overall Employee count.


    As a good start, Pameres Kingdom is the richest of this square of cooperating Domains, as the Royal Treasury has piled up a total Budget of 938,000 Gold Coins.


    Bale Town held the number one spot Budget-wise before, but it was obvious that Pameres Kingdom will pass them considering the built up monthly profit.


    Although the profit has dropped by 100k due to the recent new expenses and business deals ending, Pameres Kingdom will still be able to earn a profit [Not to be confused with Income] of 250,000 Gold Coins by the end of March.


    It is still large, although last month the profit was 350,000 but monetary sacrifices are often necessarily throughout a developing Domain.


    The average Salary has met a minor shift, last month it used to be 164 amongst the employees and now it has shifted by just 2 Gold Coins, meaning 166.


    There hasn''t been any recent Salary raises, reasons obvious but those aren''t far either as by the end of April King Michael expects 500 more Zamerians to be shipped in Gaster Kingdom''s port and brought here.


    There are 2,200 people employed amongst the 3,700 people and the only way to give Salary raises is to establish bigger better Incomes. For that, more people are required here.


    ...


    "You''re supposed to go and see my mother today, it''s past noon already." Crisa walked in the King''s private training room, reminding him of his schedule.


    With that mentioned, the King remembered the main reason why he is there nowadays. "Oh right, I have to meet a few more Civilians there."


    With his thoughts business-wise adapted and used herself, Crisa complimented. "Yes, since they see you there, people are coming there alone."


    Grabbing a rag and wiping the sweat off his pits, Zar cited. "Some are as neat as a quill, they have barely any reason to be there."


    "You''ve been looking at other ladies?" Crisa asked, tad jealous.


    Putting on his Silver chest Armour, Zar answered. "You''d better be more concerned that I''m looking at men, they are making the travelling merchants rich."

 Chapter 468 - Superiors

    "Is that our place?" Mollara asked, seconds after she glared at a piece of cut stone crash to the ground.


    "That''s definitely the second section." Zelimia cited, relief on her tone although her mouth too dry to speak properly.


    "Let''s fly down, what are we waiting for?" Samantha motivated, jumping down like a needle and blowing Fire from her feet after to land softly.


    "Get me some water!" Mollara shouted at a passer by who saw a small portion of the ceiling fall down and rushed to investigate.


    "It''s Mollara!" An older lady pointed, alarming for more people to join the celebration.


    "Mollara is that really you?" A lady in her twenties asked, hesitant to take steps forward.


    "It''s me, we are finally back home." The old Mollara ensured, trying to be as kind as possible towards these concerned hearts.


    ...


    "We''ve found a Portal down there in the mines, a day after we departed from here." Mollara started explaining their journey, trying to be as specific as possible to tame the mourning masses around her.


    "Is that how Bittore died?" A small little kid asked, his curiosity piqued although sad too.


    "Shush." His mother scolded, putting her hand over his mouth and making him sit on her lap.


    "Bittore didn''t die, but I can''t say she is alive either." Mollara explained at a low tone, still having it hard to accept that her best friend is lost.


    With the masses eager to know, one middle aged man urged. "What happened, tell us."


    "We found a Portal, wanted to bring the whole Tunnel down so nothing can go through that Portal for a while." Letting silence stretch a bit, taking another mouthful of water with her throat still feeling dry regardless. "It worked a bit too well, she got caught in the Collapse."


    Interrupting, Zelimia shared her part of the story... well not hers exactly, "She jumped in the Portal, Samantha saw it with her own eyes."


    Having debates about this for weeks now, Mollara weighed in. "I have a pair of eyes too Zelimia, I didn''t see her get in that thing."


    Quiet until now, but with some things demanding another tone, Samantha hollered. "You just say that because you don''t want to believe it, we all know you love her but it''s time to accept facts. Dead or alive, she is somewhere in the Demonic realm."


    Sympathetic, sad beyond prepare. An old lady murmured to herself, "Poor Osira, she will come back from Lan Zhe once she knows of her mother''s fate."


    If only they knew...


    Another man in the bundle gathered around the Campfire, asked the question that a good quarter are itching to know. "Why did you bust down from the ceiling?"


    At least not hesitant to openly talk about this one, Mollara answered. "It was our only option, near the portal there were tens of tunnels. We were stuck at one when the collapse occurred, and followed it ever since hoping to see the sunlight again."


    Since tragedy and harsh living is becoming a topic, Zelimia added. "We''ve butchered a tribe of Rat Bugs, with their blood we quenched thirst."


    "It was disgusting and inhumane." Samantha hollered, spitting on the Fire once remembering the extremely sour taste of Rat Bug blood.


    "It was survival of the toughest." Mollara shouted, her mood wretched because of being isolated in those long tunnels for weeks now.


    Seeing that the Debate is getting heated, one of the lady elders interrupted. "I think all of you are tired, or need to see the sunlight. Sleep it off or breathe it out, we are one Tribe."


    ...


    Waking up early in the morning, urging to see the eye piercing white snow. Mollara made her way down there, after checking the 10 walls that pierce the third section.


    They look nice and sturdy, thankfully no Demon managed to break through them and inflict Havoc, the Stonemasons did a good job.


    Flying down from the Hidden Domain, landing near the big crater they''ve caused months earlier when they blew Maleemia into bits.


    Walking towards the Carved Path, missing its beauty and urging to admire it''s windy properties with a gaze.


    Walking 30 meters in, out of a sudden she spotted a bundle of bodies from the other side, quite open with their infiltration.


    "Who are those..." She thought to herself, trying to contain her rage, holding her palms together to not yet shoot and scout their intends first.


    Standing firm on her spot, gazing upon the two stone walls stretching tens of meters above her head, that give this place its name. To ensure that she doesn''t get shot down, to ensure that a sneak attack isn''t in order.


    And yet the approaching masses did not shy to get closer, until the two parties struck 60 feet away from each other.


    With what happened to Maleemia clear, and what can happen a blur but at the same time obvious. Safety precautions in mind, one of the infiltrators separated from their group and approached like a lone wolf.


    Standing 6 feet close to Mollara now because that''s the closest she allowed, the approacher appears to be an ill.u.s.tratian man and chirped a verse or two about his presence. "I''m here because of a Command from Grand King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll. Who are you may I ask."


    Hesitant to explain to these bastards about her identity, Mollara demanded information. "What is your business here? Do you realise that Maleemia is gone?"


    Still willing to cooperate, with the cold already having their battle spirit weakened. The ill.u.s.tratian man rattled, "I know, we know but we have official business here that we can''t shed light off to a stranger."


    "That''s too bad." Mollara added, not hesitating to blow a bit of Fire from her palm for the sake of asserting dominance. "That means I have to kill all of you now."


    A hot sweat dropping in the midst of this painfully cold ambience, with his own words the ill.u.s.tratian man bickers. "H... hold on Demon! We aren''t here to fight, we seek cooperation."


    "Too bad, shouldn''t have called me a Demon then." Blowing Fire from her other palm now, Mollara threatened. "You have one more chance to answer, why are you here?!"


    Taking a few steps back, putting his hands forward as a form of instinct to possibly fend off some Fire if shot. The ill.u.s.tratian man yelled, "We are here to Mine, Xakro demands a shipment of Dark Blue Ores or he will have all of our heads. We are just trying to survive this and go back home to our families."


    Hesitant, her feelings under conflict especially with the word family involved, Mollara shunned the Fire on her palms and murmured. "You''re making it really hard for me to kill you all!"


    Putting his arms down and bending the knee, the ill.u.s.tratian man cited. "We won''t cause trouble, we will just mind our business. We just are trying to not get ourselves killed."


    Analysing his wordplay in the midst of this debate, she demanded answers. "Not cause trouble to who? What do you know."


    Rising up, taking a step backwards to give her space. The ill.u.s.tratian man revealed his level of perception, "All I know is that Maleemia is gone and there is expensive Ore through this mountain. But I''m guessing you have people to protect otherwise you wouldn''t be here, in this soul crushing cold."


    Struck staggered about how an ill.u.s.tratian man can be this smart, Mollara started thinking about the smartest person she knows, thinking to herself. "What would Bittore do...?"


    While Mollara let silence stretch thinking, the negotiator pulled out a rolled up piece of Parchment and stated. "Grand King Xakro figured that someone superior has wiped out Maleemia, so he asked me to deliver this message."


    Afterwards, he tossed it near Mollara''s feet in aims to respect her safe space.


    Feeling strongly conflicted to kill these people who yet show no actual threat and beg cooperation, Mollara decided to demand. "I can''t kill all of you, but I can''t let you loosely either."


    Jumping a few steps back and blowing a Fireball against the ground, leaving a dark scorched mark.


    Mollara afterwards set boundaries. "Stay here and stay firm, I will come back after an hour and tell you if you can or can''t Mine."


    "But!" Raising her forefinger high, close to her face even which demands for this man to look her in the eyes. "If you cross this spot here, I will feed all of you to the Blue Eagles."


    Of course she can''t stop and read a long Parchment and loosen her focus on these enemies, that would be a bad idea as she is alone.


    Blowing Fire from her own feet and blasting away from the scene, the ill.u.s.tratian man turned back and connected with his group.


    As he approached, one of the Miners asked. "Why have you turned back, what did she say?"


    Brutally honest, the negotiator butchered. "She said that we can''t cross that spot there until she gives us permission too."


    Quite a hot head, perhaps similar to most here. An ill.u.s.tratian man with a Shovel over his shoulder yelled. "This is bullshit, who is she to tell us what to do. We should kill her as soon as possible."


    Used to manipulating feeble minds, the negotiator figured that fear will get these men straight. "She isn''t one to command us, but King Xakro is. This lady is probably one of the people who wiped out the Snow Ignites. The same Snow Ignites that took out half of the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance''s Army single handedly."


    Striking them silent, he continued. "King Xakro lost control of the Motherland, it took a whole Continent of Soldiers just to loose against a few hundred Snow Ignites. We don''t have what it takes to beat those who actually defeated the Snow Ignites, that lady and any of her allies are the superiors of this Continent as much as I hate to admit it."


    Last but not least, the negotiator repeated a few orders. "Grand King Xakro brought us here to negotiate a cooperation, we don''t have the balls to fight and will forfeit our heads either way if we submerged into battle."

 Chapter 469 - Superiors (2)

    Flying towards the Hidden Domain, ordering 5 Fire Blasting ladies to occupy the Carved Path and make sure for none of these enemies to pass. That is, if those ill.u.s.tratios have obeyed Mollara''s rule to not go beyond the burnmark.


    Gathering the elders to peek at this message, finding them in the Library actually. With Bittore and Osira not here, it is only sane for Mollara and the elders to have control over this situation. They need to call the big shots.


    "Read it already." An elderly man insisted, eager to hear what bullshit King Xakro brings.


    Rolling the Parchment down, it went all the way down her knees and with one glance Mollara could see several medium stretched Paragraphs.


    "Greetings to whomever stands between me and the riches I''m trying to attain, I am King Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll. I am the King of Occidentis Ignis, I am the King of the very Country you call home [Septemtrionis Ignis] and I used to be the King of Meridionali Ignis [ill.u.s.tratian motherland] too before Count Talato declared independence and made himself King. That fool... he will face my wrath.


    I''m aware that you have bested the Snow Ignites who bested my whole Armies, you should be quite aware since you are actually out there to receive this letter. I did not know if there would be any superior living around Maleemia, my Soldiers reported no sign of life months ago but I figured that no one would go through the hassle of battling the Snow Ignites without any benefit. Someone has to be up in the cold mountains in Maleemia''s County and if you are reading this then I was right.


    With titles aside, whomever you are and however big your army is to defeat those Snow Ignites, I think we can reach an agreement that will make both of us very wealthy.


    In these mountains taking place on Maleemia''s County lies dark blue Ores in between whom have extreme value. Now I can go on and on about using a County that''s under my ruling, but I''m afraid it will provoke another War. One that my Armies can not handle, especially with Meridionali Ignis beyond my control.


    Now the deal concludes of these parts, my Miners, my Transport men and anyone whom I sent will obey the rules you set in Maleemia''s piece of land, in Maleemia''s County you call home.


    My Workers will cover every bit of work, I will cover every expense. The dark blue Ore of which my Miners will obtain, will be sold out of the Continent and County Maleemia will receive 50% of the Income. Meaning you, as a respected Count or whatever you call yourself, will obtain 50% of the Income.


    I figure that an Army big enough to beat the Snow Ignites demands crazy financial influences, this deal can and will interest you since the Income you will obtain will be without any expenses and large in number.


    I''ve struck a deal with Ratan and they already demand 5,000 sets of full body Armour, each set of which costs 7,000 Gold Coins! It broke beyond my expectations I must admit, but Ratan is clinging to the fact that Armour from this Ore is nearly indestructible.


    From this order alone your County, your County of Maleemia will earn 17.5 million Gold Coins while Crutal Town will take a hold of the other 17.5 million.


    It is not certain how long it will take to fulfill this order, but I''m guessing it will take a bit over a year simply because pre indestructibility points towards an extremely high melting point. I can afford to hire more Blacksmiths if you deem it necessary.


    Nonetheless, I hope you agree to this plan to make both of our factions wealthier. You may list a set of Demands over my Workers and a set of Demands regarding this Project you deem crucial. Each of my Workers are commanded to obey or else I will cut their heads off if you don''t.


    As a first wave I''ve sent 70 Miners amongst the land of Maleemia, once Ore quantities made transparent, I will send more Miners depending on the demand.


    My Miners know what to do, where to start working, how to keep theirselves fed and how to settle in. All you need to do is grant them permission of the mining spot, everything else is on us.


    I hope you deem the Income from this project worthy of your time. My intent behind all of this is to keep another potential war away, this might sound odd coming from me but our Continent is a few thousand men away from extinction because of those wretched Snow Ignites delaying my plans."


    "Ha, they think that we have thousands of Soldiers." An old man laughed, loving the fact that the former ruler of the whole Continent himself is practically begging.


    Thinking about this, risk free-wise. Another elderly lady added. "You know this can work to our advantage. All these Miners saw were ladies flying up and down the mountain side."


    While the same old man who practically called them dumb, complimented the idea. "They can''t climb further than the Crater, the mountain is too steep so they will never figure out how many of us are up there but they do see us as superiorly powerful."


    "17.5 million..." Another elderly man reminded, seeing that these people are forgetting about the Income.


    Staggered, actually hoping for the elders to agree upon an attack. Mollara hollered, "You actually want to cooperate with Xakro? The fool who killed so many Ignites?"


    "And the same fool we can use for 17.5 million." The old man reminded, the same one who is clinging on the Income.


    Embracing the fact of this small tribe being financially free, from the looks of it, at least a couple of Centuries from one project. One of the elderly ladies listed another advantage. "If anything goes beyond the rules we set, you 13 ladies can burn everything to the ground, it''s child''s play."


    ...


    "Has everyone behaved." Mollara asked, dropping down from the sky and consulting with the 5 of her own and bringing along 4 more Fire Blasters.


    "They haven''t really moved from that spot over there." Answered one of the Fire blasting ladies.


    While the other pointed out something funny, "One keeps yelling that a lady told them to wait."


    Liking the fact of finally having authority over ill.u.s.tratios, Mollara embraced this decision. "Yes they do seem to obey rules, they are about to make us very wealthy too."


    Stepping a few steps forward from her group, Mollara shouted. "Negotiator, approach."


    Fast walking his way towards the ladies, the ill.u.s.tratian man gave a warmer introduction this time. Requesting, "Please call me Halkef."


    Pointing at the burn mark and making sure he doesn''t cross it, Mollara asked. "Okay Halkef, where exactly do you need to start Mining?"


    Sliding an inch on the burn mark and then taking a step back, Halkef specified. "King Xakro has taught us to dig right through the mountainside where Maleemia town used to stand, apparently there used to be Mines before the Domain''s official wipe out."


    Understanding that this doesn''t go against the overall anti-attack plan, Mollara shortly answered. "Okay that''s doable."


    Now with aims to set these men straight, she added. "You are well aware of the racial tension, therefore you won''t have much freedom of movement. The Carved Path, the road connected to it and the Mines will be the only few spots you can walk freely on."


    Of course Mollara can''t specify that if any ill.u.s.tratio goes up, there is a penalty. That will solely point towards the fact that the "army" is hidden above. This way however, the ill.u.s.tratios will think that the Settlements are near the Carved Path or anything closer.


    Giving a sigh of relief that the successors are willing to cooperate, Halkef added. "That''s all we need really, I think the Mines will prove good enough to bash sleeping bags in there right? Should be warmer too."


    Wanting to keep them alive, Ironic but she is mostly thinking about the 17.5 million. Mollara cited, "You can sleep out of the Mines too, but it will be colder. No matter how prepared your group is, you will freeze to death even if it snows lightly."


    Scraping for the best, Halkef added. "I hope there isn''t a blockade in front of the mines then, my men are really tired."


    Cooperative, although never wanting to help an ill.u.s.tratian. Mollara weighed in her authority, "Oh the Mines are heavily barricaded, you can never bust through it with Pickaxes but me and my ladies will blow it all open to kick start everything for your men."


    "We appreciate that." Halkef lightly added, trying hard not to piss these obviously powerful ladies off.


    Wanting to assure that these men, these ill.u.s.tratios will follow the demands end to end, Mollara slowed down her speech so Halkef can catch everything accent regardless. "You must remember, you only have access to the road, the Carved path and the mine. If your group is to challenge this group, I will personally burn all of you alive and the deal will be cut short."

 Chapter 470 - Delivering the good news

    Upon Gaster Kingdom arrived two much loved individuals along with 10 tall men and women. Taking hold of the lands they walk on, grabbing tens of Guard''s attention once they were spotted from a distance.


    Kazer and Dilli, yes those are the names of the two considered Heroes leading a handful of Guards towards the domain.


    Although a lot has happened in just a few days, Dilli has been sent to the New Lan Zhe nearly 2 weeks ago and has returned with the demand, 10 Guards belonging to the Calidum Lutum race who can help tame the Demonic attacks.


    Being his shift right now, currently 10am so we can easily figure that he didn''t sleep much. Dizzy a bit no doubt, half aware of what he is doing or saying.


    King Michael flew from the wall and went towards the group, wanting to give them a personal welcome. Even when sleep deprived and dead tired, the King sees honouring individuals as a priority, helps keep overall relations stronger.


    "Welcome welcome!" King Michael repeated once making a landing, slipping on the cold sloppy mud for an inch after he started walking but thankfully not meeting his face with mud.


    Warmth and handshakes exchanged, all King Michael could think of next is pointing out what seems to be... destiny. "I was going to send Dilli to get one of you Grand Masters here, what were the odds..."


    Fluent in the Ignite language better than an actual Ignite by now, Kazer revealed. "Oh I wanted to deliver some golden... or dare I say purple news to you personally, my people owe you a heaven and above but thankfully we can pay our debts."


    Quick to catch on what Kazer is talking about, King Michael mouthed. "You have no debt on me, on us. Whatever we gave shall not be returned."


    And the King is well insistent to that point, he even forgot what he needed a Grand Master of Lava Blasting here to begin with.


    Since the King doesn''t seem to work with debt, Kazer took this on a different view and perspective in order to convince the King. "Look, we have discovered a large Ignite Gem Cavern that can make you very wealthy, it can make Gaster Kingdom heavily wealthy."


    Grabbing the King''s attention no doubt, this can be a tide changer for other issues that doesn''t have anything to do with the Demons.


    Although on the other hand Gaster Kingdom isn''t suffering Income-wise, but just had to make sudden unplanned expenses. But it is stupidly clear that a bigger Income can make a stronger Domain so Kazer has to be heard out.


    With silence stretching for just a few seconds, Kazer continued to cite. "Debt aside, the Cavern is just sitting there where it can be obliterated by Clawed Demons at any time, we sealed a portal shut there."


    Considering politics, Kazer decided to use a golden feather which can ink a solid decision upon the respected King Michael. "The gold you can earn from the Ignite Gems can fuel military build up, I remember you talking about King Zar''s project a few weeks earlier. This can contribute to the prime goal of destroying all them borders and make Ignis one again."


    Considerate, since this whole Cavern revolves around the fact that the Calidum Lutum discovered it. King Michael asked after waving for the group to enter Gaster Kingdom. "What about the new Lan Zhe?"


    Usually able to catch on quick even though questions short and blurry, Kazer weighed in one sole fact. "Lan Zhe doesn''t need Gold, we go on just fine without it. Take the Cavern as our contribution into this Continent''s war... or aim at least."


    Remembering what the King mentioned earlier, Kazer felt an itch to query. "What do you need a Lava Blaster here for though?"


    Sleepy beyond prepare, the King''s eyes opened a quarter more when Battle talk emerged so he detailed. "Oh, see we want to build a bit of a complex wall to fend off the Demons. We need it quick so that''s where Lava comes in, I understand you can form Volcanic rock."


    Confident with his own abilities, waving his hand in front of the King, Kazer shortly spoke. "Easy, it will take a week or two to form though."


    Having face to face information on how much his Kingdom can handle, Michael stated. "I think we can hold Demons off that long, especially now with our Arsenal stronger."


    And coated it with a compliment for the sake of motivation, for the sake of pulling the man in battle when necessary. "I''m pretty sure you can fight Clawed Demons, I mean look at you!"


    ...


    Having a quick view of the wall plan, Kazer decided to restate his claim time-wise earlier. "This might take a month, I''m here alone and can''t risk bringing more Grand Masters here."


    Trying to be more descriptive as why this will take a while, Kazer cited. "As far as I saw, the wall will be 400 meters wide. It''s big!"


    Trying to excuse the large demand, King Michael explained. "We can''t have the second wall close to the first one, it won''t give us time to defeat any big attack."


    Understanding that he might have revealed his feelings about this project slightly the wrong way earlier, Kazer felt an urge to add. "I''m not saying you are wrong for wanting that, it will just take a month to build."


    Catching up with what Kazer is trying to say although inevitably for a while because of sleep deprivation. King Michael added with a loud laugh, "You are saying it like one month is a bad thing."


    And tried to compliment Kazer by adding some firm facts. "It would take us smaller Humans 5 years and 100 men putting in work through it, to make what you can in a month."


    Spotting that this conversation has taken a delicate turn, Kazer kept it short so he can get into work already. "Well looks like I can pay off my town''s debt with this."


    They are out here checking where the wall should start while the rest of the guests have already settled in.


    Never going back on his word, King Michael recited. "Lan Zhe has no debt to Gaster Kingdom, we are allies and we don''t count favours. If there was any debt to be spoken off, you cleared it when accepting my settlement recommendation. You can help Bale town if they ever face trouble, that''s all I need to know."


    Striking the large Grand Master quiet, King Michael decided to use this opportunity since debt is involved. "You have no debt, but I have a request."


    Swift and shortly, Kazer asked. "What is it? Name it."


    Slowly but surely, King Michael made his thoughts transparent. "The Ignite Gem Caverns, their riches are too big for one Kingdom to hoard it all. If you see it reasonable, I want to share it with Bale town and Pameres Kingdom. They are going beyond a mile to compress any attackers."


    Not caring to have a word over such decision, Kazer cut it short and eager to get into work. "That''s all up to you, the Cavern can still finance all three of you for well over a year, it''s huge!"


    The Cavern can be considered a Relic and well respected too but in the long run what will it do except for looking pretty?


    This Continent has issues to fix and monetary influences can help on the long run, ironically peace comes with gold politic-wise.


    Furthermore, the Cavern can still be called a relic even after all of that Ignite Gem is mined down. The Castle and its branches is also a good Relic. Most of its contents are over 6 millennia old.


    ...


    To break the work down by possibly a week, Kazer recommended... you guessed it, more work.


    Well it''s more of a logical point of view really since it can cut the work by a quarter even though technically it requires more men.


    40 or so people with pickaxes have been called over to form what we can consider a circular ditch. This wall has a handful of requirements and a bit of orientation can inevitably help avoid mistakes.


    The ditch isn''t deep, barely a foot come to think of it but a quarter of the whole thing got dug in an hour and will help Kazer in the long term.


    The ditch also helps with collecting Lava for a bit, that alone can be used as a foundation and another bigger layer of the wall can be built over it after.


    King Michael specified that it doesn''t have to be anything fancy, the more rugged the better defense-wise.


    ...


    Getting a couple hours of work put in, Kazer found it reasonable to mention a topic he forgot all about. "In the same Castle that leads to the Portal we sealed, we have discovered a Dungeon like structure close to the Ignite Castle... A bit hard to explain but we found books, ancient likely but a few are written in Ignite and the other in Calidum Lutum."


    Undoubtedly catching the King''s attention through and through just before he was about to leave and take a nap, Kazer sealed conclusions with a grand fact. "I''ve read through the Calidum Lutum books a bit, I think Ignites and Calidum Lutums had some type of cooperation in the past.

 Chapter 471 - What the hell happened 6 millennia ago?

    Books, yes. Through their journey of shutting down that Portal deep within the Castle, near the new Lan Zhe. They''ve found 4 books that are unmistakably written in the Calidum Lutum language and the 5 other books represent the Ignite language although still a blur.


    It is hard to make anything out of the Ignite books but the ones written in the Calidum Lutum language are a firm 70% understandable.


    The Calidum Lutum language hasn''t developed through time thanking the Grand fact that the entire race has been crammed in one place for 6 millennia.


    It would take too long to state point by point what all 4 of the books are going over, but it would be acceptable to quote a handful of paragraphs representing the key points.


    "The Beast, it needs feeding. It demands bodies, what will we do? We have no more wrong doers to sacrifice no longer!" This is a quote from the oldest seeming book that has a lot of its pages ripped out.


    "We have found a haven away from the Beast, the Ignites have built a cooperation with us. They are letting us live with them, but only if we build them a Dungeon to punish ill.u.s.tratian trouble makers. This is easy for us the Calidum Lutum, this deal is in all ways beneficial." This is a whole different book, seems a bit fresher from the previous one but still rather tormented.


    "The Ignites have been hiding darker secrets from us, the Calidum Lutum. We wish to not be a part of it, so we will depart soon. 200 years of cooperation went for the sea, useless race. Useless." Although this shows a bit of racism and propaganda, it cites that the two factions parted ways 200 years after the official migration.


    "We have gotten word that the Ignites were attacked by the ill.u.s.tratios, pointless war. Pointless! Calidum Lutum won''t be a part of it, we will live in the cold again if we have too! Calidum, our Leader will guide us."


    Overall, these books cite that the Calidum Lutum have lived across portions of Ignis through time. It isn''t certain where they''ve lived, apart from that Castle and the old Lan Zhe but it doesn''t seem like they had a good time until they''ve completely isolated theirselves from civilisation.


    At the beginning they''ve lived near some kind of beast who apparently has demanded bodies, having no more to sacrifice the Calidum Lutum migrated, fled.


    It isn''t specified by word but Calidum, the man this race calls a God today, was well alive while these books were written and he only had a few people of his race following him across Ignis. Stating that the Calidum Lutum were painfully small by number 6 millennia ago.


    Furthermore, the book specifying that the Calidum Lutum have settled in the old Lan Zhe, shouldn''t be in the Ignite Castle.


    Timing just doesn''t support it, because since books were left behind, this last one shouldn''t be there since it was likely written years after the Calidum Lutum departed from the Ignite Castle.


    This either means that a Calidum Lutum returned, carrying the same book or an adventurous soul somehow found the book and seeked the Castle for treasure.


    Last and likely the most disturbing, the Ignites of that time supposedly have been hiding something dark and the Calidum Lutum wanted no part of it although not specified what the dark thing was.


    These books are shedding light on Ignis'' long and disturbing History although it has caused many question marks on anyone who comprehended this situation.


    One fact that we can consider unique, is that the Calidum Lutum returned to the same spot they''ve left behind over 6 millennia ago. Luck at best but, they''re connecting to some old roots like this.


    ...


    Sitting in the royal dining room, granting Kazer a good meal. King Michael asked, "You don''t mind if I keep these books in my library do you? I love to have such relics around, I have a big library here."


    Tired, even having to shake his head time after time just to prevent his vision from getting blurry. Kazer answered, "I brought them here so you can keep them, apart from confusion these books serve no use to us."


    With dawn breaking soon, and these fine men having a bite to eat at such time, it points out that they''ve spent a while discussing what these books represent.


    King Michael tried reading the 5 Ignite language books a bit, but he can''t make sense out of them.


    Likely because he is sleepy, tiredness limiting his full potential but this also screams towards the fact that the books look mostly gibberish.


    The Ignite language has developed tremendously especially through the second era, a lot of the words in these 5 ancient books are forgotten and replaced, accent plays part too which labels these scriptures almost unreadable.


    For now the best idea is to sync into a good night rest, it has been a long day. King Michael can read and try to make sense out of these books tomorrow.


    ...


    "Ooohh, I''ve slept like a baby deer." King Michael gave a long loud sigh, stretching his arms and clinging on Alama to his left side a tad bit.


    Pinching his waist a bit, Alama complained. "Yes, you also kept snoring... and ditched me for that big man."


    Trying to excuse himself, but also sensing jealousy on the tough lady who managed to slice men''s heads off before, this situation here labelled itself as a golden  opportunity to tease. "My lady jealous? Aaaawww, let me just grab your nose."


    Kicking the bed and trying to elbow the King away, Alama repeated. "No, don''t touch it!"


    After a little while, putting together what Alama tried to say in the first place. Michael offered, "Let me help comb your hair, so we can be even for me coming to bed late."


    As they are sitting over the bed now, he dug his hands on her hair after a light rub on her temples and teased. "With Dilli around now, I have a bit more time to tame your needs."


    ...


    Going through the books written in the Ignite language as soon as he got the opportunity to, it has been made once more transparent that these books make absolutely no sense.


    The accent is just too thick, but at the same time juvenile. Most words are short as if this race just started developing their language although Ignis'' History stretches far beyond 6 millennia ago.


    There are a words such as:


    Shiv,


    Kun,


    Kasit,


    Ralen,


    Tui,


    Lut.


    And so on and so on, however none of these relate to any modern day Ignite words. A few words make sense, they haven''t aged much and King Michael being 313 years old gives a bit of an advantage in terms of understanding older languages.


    But when you put all of the words together, trying to form a sentence and make sense out of this. The outcome is just gibberish, most don''t make sense.


    Out of all the 5 books, King Michael could only decipher a few short sentences so far.


    "Lun si tut lak she."


    That''s one of these ancient sentences and today it is pronounced as, "Lunisen tutak shut."


    Which translates too, "The sun is glowing."


    Although this sentence can be converted enough to make sense, what the ancient Ignites meant with this makes absolutely no sense.


    Another of the sentences he managed to decipher, speaks out. "Kuk luk tin la."


    This one struck the King confused at first but reading it a few times over, attempting to make sense out of over and over. The King sounded, "Kuluk tinila."


    Based on the current Ignite language, this translates too. "Bloody grass."


    The King managed to translate these bits of ancient sentences but when trying to link it with everything else it makes absolutely no sense.


    However, giving you the third sentence he managed to decipher. Originally it sounds out, "Lopi kan qerti sen maan wep."


    This one took over 10 minutes to make sense out of, but recognizing some words the King couldn''t quit. Today, this sentence can be expressed as. "Lopankert sen maaep."


    A shortcut through sentences at best but when translated, it means. "The ocean is crying."


    Like everything else, it doesn''t make any sense. Why would the ocean cry? The sun is always glowing and what battle made the grass red?


    For these books to make slight sense, 30% of their content have to be understood. Only by such result the King can link everything together.


    He has a bit more time now with Dilli being around, lending a hand on the first line of defense. Basing it on the current pieces of literature he managed to translate, the King hopes that some crazy Ignite had a fancy for the sun.


    ...


    "I figured you might need a bucket of black tea, the cold is still punishing." Dilli approached, offering what she brought here.


    Although a good gesture, Kazer figured that bringing a bucket is just a joke although himself he does see it reasonable. So, sarcastic of course he added. "Wow that''s so thoughtful of you."


    Noticing the high pitch on his tone, being bored already and actually missing his presence, Dilli asked. "What can I do to help?"


    With no people around, since they are working on the ditches elsewhere. Kazer whispered something tad risky, "Stand there and look cute."


    A bit of a blush forming on her cheek although with all her being trying to fight it away, she instead teased. "Wow, you finally learned how to flirt."

 Chapter 472 - Ruthless dancer

    A few days have passed by now, Kazer the much respected has advanced a tad bit into building the Volcanic rock wall.


    The advancement isn''t too strong considering that a week hasn''t yet passed since the pin point of construction, but we can''t call the progress weak either.


    Since tens of men put in work to dig the ditch surrounding the Kingdom and fairly finished their contribution, Kazer took the liberty of getting on with the easiest part of this job. Feeling the ditch with Lava.


    This doesn''t require any particular skill, anyone can do it as long as they can blast Lava from their palms or have a ridiculous amount of Lava they can control, to their disposal.


    After filling the ditches, all that this task demands is to dry the Lava into Volcanic rock. That too isn''t hard once setting an intent and slapping the ground near the Lava.


    Furthermore with the foundation set, Kazer finally started building the tall walls. This requires a bit of skill, as he has to mold boiling hot Lava to a form of a wall before slapping it dry.


    Not the most difficult task for a Grand Master, though it requires specific moves after blowing down a shit ton amongst the ground.


    To mold a wall, Kazer has to stand straight, connect his legs snugly close to each other and keep his arms horizontal so the palms face one another.


    The palms will be doing most of the work while the legs act like a tower, keeping Kazer stable.


    Forming the walls requires the palms horizontally battling to touch each other, there is resistance because although there isn''t any physical contact, it demands physical strength just to shape the hot Lava the way he wants it to.


    And since it demands physical strength, there is resistance since when trying to set up straight the raw boiling hot Lava he blew out just half a minute ago.


    To form a 10 meter tall and roughly 8 meter wide wall, Kazer has to put in a real battle since he is doing all of this alone.


    The wall becomes perfect when the palms connect although King Michael urges to rush it, perfection isn''t necessary.


    Throughout countless sweats, he finally managed to touch his palms together and therefore he lifted his left leg and slapped it against the ground.


    The Lava in front of him started ascending into stone, taking just a few seconds to enslave that huge portion of boiling hot Lava.


    Feeling his grip amongst his palms getting lighter, his muscles relaxing too and even feeling a bit more light footed, he let loose when spotting the Lava completely dry.


    What he just constructed is not big at the moment, just a 10 meter tall and 8 meter wide wall that stretches about 15 meters across.


    You can understand that he was handling a lot of Lava there, one Human doing it all but it isn''t enough to build the whole wall and he has to repeat the procedure tens of times.


    After building this wall, he has to build up the curl which is easier in a way. The Curl will stretch forward and its intent is to slow down Clawed Demons as it would be difficult to climb it.


    It will add another 5 meters of height to the wall and inevitably at least an additional 10 meter thickness, this will take the most time to build but it''s well worth it.


    On related news, Kazer has patched up all those holes of which the Caalisher caused against the first wall.


    It doesn''t look pretty but it does the job, plus Volcanic rock is a bit harder to break which is another good plus.


    The wall will inevitably pierce through a portion of the farm, but that isn''t the biggest issue considering that growing a farm has become impossible.


    Clawed Demons will just wreck it all anyway so the best idea for now is to not plant anything, have the Farmers help out the Fishermen and order 5 or so tons of Wheat a month from the Zamerians.


    It will be a bit expensive but it''s better than risking to starve 700 people.


    Considering Zamerian market prices, the wheat order will take 4,000 Gold Coins a month. Minimalistic pay when considering how much it can tame hunger.


    ...


    Nearly 6 pm now, with the sun ready to set behind the forest. Dilli standing by Kazer''s side for the sake of giving him company.


    HAAAAAAAAAIG!


    Tens of Demons echoed 70 feet outward of the second wall and over 200 meters away from Gaster Kingdom.


    Holding his ears, Kazer complained. "By Calidum, I wished to not hear these Demons yell anymore."


    Already putting in work, blowing a 4 foot wide Fireball, torching a couple of Demons, Dilli advised. "Oh stop talking and start shooting."


    And started blowing Fire from her feet, making for the sky to get a better shot.


    Running away from the wall and getting a grasp of how many enemies are approaching, looking at Dilli and noticing how she is high above ground, keeping her distance and shooting.


    Kazer felt sure to take these Demons head on, he can''t fly out of this spot and nonetheless flee.


    Standing on his toes, stretching his arms forward and spinning them counter clock-wise.


    A bit of Lava broke out of his palm and started piercing the air as it made its way towards the Demons.


    A thin line of Lava really, small but too quick for the eye to comprehend.


    It reached the Demons, pierced a few through but it''s not enough to kill all 70 of the remaining.


    With a few seconds put in, building up the power move. Raising his right foot and slamming it forward while still remaining on his toes with the left foot.


    A stronger wave of Lava roared from his palms, spiraling across the air with the counter clock-wise set route.


    The Lava spread thicker and wider by the second, giving us a view of just how much a Grand Master can produce.


    Much like a Tornado, it compressed thin near his palms and spread wider on the other end of the attack.


    What the Clawed Demons can see however, is a 30 foot wide wave of Lava captivating their grasp of sight and sending them back where they came from, hell.


    Although big, 20 of the Demons managed to survive the attack.


    Noticing it, Kazer started leaping backwards, spinning actually. Leaping and doing one spin by each leap.


    His arms crossed in the process, close to his chest.


    The Lava that he just blew out, enslaving the enemies started moving to his will.


    His leaps a meter high, the Lava shook from one end to the other each time he met the ground.


    The Demons that escaped the first attack, became victim of the second. Because using the same Lava, he spread it like a circular wave that kills everything at all sides.


    Pinning down the remaining Demons, their screams became force muffled as he dragged all that Lava back in one point, forming a big semi-sphere of burned down bodies.


    Having leaped about 30 meters away now, he started walking towards the sphere, keeping it further intact by the step.


    And finally reaching it, he stomped the ground with his right foot and started forcing the Lava into stone.


    A few bones stuck out of the sphere, giving it texture and ruining it''s smooth surface.


    Overall it looks disgustingly beautiful, the enemy bodies have been slaughtered and now can be shamed with this contraption.


    Landing on the ground, Dilli approached and couldn''t help teasing. "You are a ruthless dancer."


    Strongly pissed of all the Demonic shouts, Kazer gave a loud whisper, trying not to yell. "I wasn''t dancing!"


    "Sure you weren''t." She answered, taking a few steps towards him aiming to smack his ass.


    Grabbing her wrist, sensing what she was about to do. He lifted her off the ground and close to his chest, hugging her in a way although abnormal.


    And so, he started leaping and spinning through the leaps too, teasing. "Now you can dance with me."


    Her teeth feeling a bit wetter, her throat feeling a bit tight too. Under her breath she stated, "Stop... I ate too much earlier!"


    Huggghhhhhrrr!


    Her lunch made it all the way back up and thundered through her mouth, blowing up all over Kazer''s chest.


    Feeling the warm liquid on his coat, Kazer stopped and let her down easy, repeating. "Sorry sorry."


    Peeking at his concerned face as they both stood squatting, Dilli couldn''t help laughing and as she glanced up to face him, another hurl pierced the air and showered Kazer all across the face.


    Having nothing to do but keep a straight face since the damage has already been done, Kazer shortly expressed. "Looks like we are even."


    Feeling a bit less bloated now, she stood up and asked. "You didn''t expect a kiss now did you?"


    Stretching one word, Kazer whispered. "Well..."

 Chapter 473 - Morning surprise

    Ignis has synced into April, the warmer weather is invading the colder. As Seasons take one step after the other towards change, the year repeating what it had repeated for millenia.


    Eric and his little crew have made their way out of Gaster Kingdom and towards their first objective, the structure of which holds the Boots of Kashentis!


    If Gaster Kingdom''s fate is scrolling your mind, they''ve left the place at considerable peace. With Kazer aiding the battle arsenal from time to time, there is little to worry about regarding the Demonic attacks.


    The crew left the Domain while the second wall still stood under construction, half of the straight walls built. Perhaps the walls are almost built now, or close to being built at least since a month has passed from that point.


    That aside, taking one task at a time, the crew is on the hunt for the boots of Kashentis. The structure of which beholds them is scarcely described on that letter that the Demon lady sent, but we can count the key features.


    Moss, poorly carved stone base and a tall but slim stone landmark on the side of the base structure.


    Only thing transparent about where they are supposed to go, is marked on the map and leads almost to the middle of the Continent where the 4 Countries split, an estimated 700 Kilometers away from Gaster Kingdom.


    It is hidden in the forest which will make everything tad more confusing since scouting a 1 kilometer circuraly wide piece of land is hard enough, but here they will be dealing with just a pin point that could force them to scout a 5 Kilometer radius.


    The structure is described small in size, so obviously it won''t stand out like a big zit where trees taller than the structure can camouflage the pin point.


    One good thing about this, is that the structure is still standing. That God like Demon lady who handed the map, rules over Ghosts who show her where is what.


    If she describes a structure, it still has to be intact enough to find it.


    However the biggest disadvantage is that like everything else, the Demon lady didn''t describe how to get the boots.


    Each of the 10 relics are over 16,000 years old, surely there is some kind of barricade preventing any commoner to attain them.


    ...


    At the moment they''re about 300 Kilometers away from where the Boots of Kashentis are pinpointed, it will sure take at least a couple of weeks to get there.


    Having a hard day''s of travelling through the forest, trying their best to keep orientation since it is easy to get lost around here, the gang of 4 finally decided to stop and set up camp.


    This camping spot has a bit of an advantage, the trees are more wide spread compared to what''s commonly found in the forest.


    With spring breaking, the leaves prove cooperative in aims of dryness and shelter. The snow is long gone, Fire can prove useful to drying the sleeping grounds so everything is working out for tonight.


    "Guh it''s been a long day..." Eric pondered as he threw himself over the bed roll.


    The last to lay on his roll, Rash the former sub Leader, a Goblin Demon if you can remember. Jokingly contradicted, "We still aren''t half way there yet, this is no time to complain."


    Fact oriented, Ada corrected as she laid over the bed roll to cool down for a bit. "I''m pretty sure we are more than half way there, King Michael said that a Human can travel 20 kilometers a day."


    Basing it on past experience, Sekun the Calidum Lutum man helped filter everything down. "Yes but we are in a forest so make it 15."


    Trying to hype everyone up for the next day, Eric recounted the glory. "It will all be worth it once we get the boots, that Demon woman described them powerful."


    Although wanting to help and happy to tag along in these big quests, Ada couldn''t help complaining. "You will just be able to fly better Eric, why didn''t we leave this one for last?"


    Not liking how Ada is proving difficult with this quest here and there, Eric tried to seduce. "It''s not just about flight, it will help with Stamina as well. On the feet mostly, but at least I will use a lot less stamina when I fly."


    Protecting the Electus'' word, Sekun added. "You will fly easier too."


    Wanting to have a good night''s sleep already and cut the talk, Eric stated. "Yes well it has benefits and it''s better to get it over with, sounded like the easiest quest to do as well. The first in the list too."


    ...


    Next morning, the sunlight beams breaking through the branches and enlightening one face after the other with the dim warmth of a spring''s ray, today''s task proved transparent as soon as they opened their eyes.


    "They are awake!" A manly tone hollered, alarming the rest of his group.


    Spotting an unfamiliar tone, although half asleep Eric pounced out of his sleeping bag and stretched his palms forward, ready to blast any threat.


    Out of a blur, still not able to see well he heard another man shout. "Cease Fire, we want to help you."


    Getting a better look of his surroundings, Eric spotted Ada tied to a closeby tree upside down, thankfully alive but with a cloth bashed in her mouth to keep her quiet and an Ignite man guarding her.


    That alone enough to piss the Electus off, he blew a 4 foot wide short tailed Fireball against the closest enemy''s feet but missing by an inch, Eric shouted. "What are you bastards doing!"


    Shouting an obvious alarm, a feminine but rough tone alarmed. "Careful, he is a Fire Blaster!"


    "Just like the elder told us." A teenage boy whispered from a safer distance of 10 meters, although most didn''t hear him.


    Spotting Sekun which is better known as the 9 foot tall Calidum Lutum man, overwhelmed by rope after rope as these enemies have perhaps predicted his strength.


    On the ground, cussing in both languages he knows, Sekun began to violently wiggle his arms to get loose but isn''t tasting success.


    Counting about 15 enemies right now, in such a close combat area an extra hand in battle can prove useful a long way.


    So Eric swiftly blew a 3 foot wide Fireball towards Sekun, missing him completely which here can be labelled as a good thing, the young boy managed to set the grass near Sekun on Fire.


    Looks like Sekun has been dragged about 10 meters from his sleeping spot, his size makes it acceptable how he isn''t hanged over a tree but it explains how Eric didn''t hit Sekun.


    A high pitched tone, but coming from a man trying to discourage, echoed. "Haa! You missed."


    "I doubt you." Rash whispered, digging his Iron battle axe behind the same blabbering man''s back.


    Pulling his axe out, pushing the man with a strong kick, Rash turned towards the closest enemy and fended off a wooden club''s strike.


    A feminine tone hollered, "Fendrich you bastard, you were supposed to watch the Demon!"


    This situation demanding another hand in battle, avoiding the Ignite man with the wooden club, Rash pounced towards Ada and slipped his axe against the rope holding her up.


    Landing on his feet with her on his arms, Rash dropped her to the ground almost lightly and stood in front of her as a Guard against the handful of attacks coming their way, until Ada untangles.


    Timed well, Sekun broke out of his ropes as he used the grass set ablaze to weaken a quarter of strength the ropes had over him, rolling on Fire to buy an advantage.


    Cussing out in his mother language, Sekun punched a pouncing Ignite man right to the chest and send him flying across the air for 5 meters.


    With another man approaching with a club, swinging from the right and hitting Sekun right below the ribcage, the waist.


    Turning around, Sekun grabbed the club and kicked the attacker right under the ribcage, with his toes touching where bone and meat have borders.


    Pinning the man down which forced him to fly for 3 meters only, carrying a blurry vision Sekun took a glance around and noticed that the enemies are well as fleeing.


    On the other side of the battle field, he spotted Eric taking one of the enemies captive, shining a handful of Fire near the attacker''s face and choking him from behind too.


    Spotting Ada, she seemed to have pinned down an Ignite lady and is beating her face in, repeating. "You tied me, ha?"


    Running over to help Eric since Ada is clearly taking care of herself quite well. Sekun grabbed the attacker behind the collar, lifted him off the ground and shouted to the point of trembling the enemy''s soul. "Who are you?!"


    Sure of his words, the man held captive stated out loud. "We just wanted to help free this Ignite boy you enslaved!"

 Chapter 474 - Everything comes with a price

    "I''m not a slave!" Eric shouted, wanting to blow this man''s face off but mostly wanting to harm the lady who harmed Ada.


    Using logic dating on what the rest of Ignis offers, the captive uttered. "You are travelling with an ill.u.s.tratio, and this large man."


    "And a Demon too." Rash pointed out from the background as he walked in the scene, asking. "How does that make us evil?"


    "You are a Demon!" The captive shouted, his hand sized beard shaking with his holler.


    Pointing out what''s hypocritical, Sekun raised the man further up to look him in the eyes and slowly spoke. "Right now you are sounding like an ill.u.s.tratio, Ironic."


    Still standing hesitant about killing his own kind, Eric demanded. "Just drop him, they got what they deserved."


    "Get this beast off me!" The Ignite lady shouted, who has been enslaved by Ada''s many many punches.


    Walking towards her slowly, so the enemy on the ground takes in a few more punches, Rash the 4 foot tall Goblin Demon grabbed Ada behind the collar and lifted her from the lady who is a few punches away from being victimized.


    "That''s enough for today." Rash teased both of them, moving Ada away and walking towards the group.


    Gazing at the man of which Sekun held up earlier, dragging away the m.o.a.ning Ignite that got struck by Rash''s axe, Eric warned. "If you ambush us again, I won''t bother to let my friends fight."


    ...


    With about 10 minutes passing, the gang became all packed and ready to get out of this place and hope to not deal with anymore surprisingly hostile Ignites.


    A unique figure approached their little camp site, walking with 2 long but slender sticks and wearing a short trimmed white beard alongside with a bald head and Ignite by skin.


    The wrinkles on his forehead and his curved spine gave everyone a hunch of his age, and proved that the chances of him being hostile are dim like light in a cave.


    As the gang gave the man a dead stare, expecting an explanation of his presence, the old man did not fail to disappoint. "I am the elder, welcome Electus."


    Sensing the hypocrisy, Eric battered with his words. "I don''t think we are welcome here old man and how do you know that I''m the Electus?"


    Direct with what happened, the Elder butchered. "My Villagers reported an Ignite in need of aid, I came here to take a look and saw your black veins."


    Trying his best not to cuss out an elderly man, knowing Woldemir wouldn''t be proud if he saw such behaviour, Eric cited with his last nerve. "I''m not their slave, if you know that I''m the Electus then you can understand why no one can enslave me."


    "We had doubts about everything, that''s why we didn''t kill your... allies from the looks of it." Yes well that''s cleared out of, trying to show hospitality now the Elder turned around and encouraged. "Join me, maybe you are hungry?"


    ...


    Reaching the village, one thing became transparent. This place is small, mostly locked away from society.


    These people are over 300 Kilometers away from the main river, using creeks in this area to quench thirst.


    Chances are the ill.u.s.tratian Alliance doesn''t know that this place exists, or maybe they didn''t bother to acknowledge their existence.


    This Village just holds 10 houses built out of wooden foundations and put together with planks, it ain''t that big and fancy so no Alliance would benefit from here.


    This place holds 50 people maybe, even looking at a bundle Eric couldn''t spot too many people as they penetrated the village to see what''s there to offer.


    Synced with a meal now, fresh looking Boar meat that can tame hunger although the Gang hasn''t suffered through their travels food-wise, with a Fire Blaster taking down prey.


    The Elder explained bit by bit what Origin this town has and why the men and women ambushed the gang.


    Toying around with a bit of meat through what teeth he has left, the Elder cited. "Long before I was born, ill.u.s.tratios struck this village and arrested 40 of our men."


    Spotting how the group is standing in silence, waiting for him to speak, the Elder continued. "Rumours went about them raping the women here too, but we haven''t seen an ill.u.s.tratian skinned spawn here so I can''t say much."


    Spreading the good news at last, he recited. "But we haven''t been bothered ever since that day, there isn''t anything more to take."


    Respecting the hospitality but at the same time keeping a paranoid eye out and around, Eric cut it short. "I''m sorry for your losses, but we need to be going now."


    Spitting out a small roundish bone, the Elder queried. "Why the rush? What does the Electus have to accomplish?"


    Understanding that it would be a bad idea to share exact information with these still potential enemies, Eric lied. "We are looking for this small stone structure with a tall tower, expected to have spiritual properties."


    Jerking his eyebrow up, trying not to prove difficult with what the group aims for, the elder expressed. "I never heard that it''s a holy place but I''m guessing you believe in the Source of Fire, an Electus practicing religion is honorable to see."


    Continuing with his little lies in order to squeeze out information, Eric added. "The Source will bless us, Victory shall be ours."


    "Yes, by Source''s will." The elder complimented, slapping his left knee a couple of times and then his belly once too.


    This little tradition is used to express individual blessing towards a goal set by the name of the Source.


    Shifting the topic towards benefit, Eric firmly asked. "Looks like you know where it is, can you spare us the trouble by pointing where it is?"


    Directly to the point, the elder explained. "Of course, but for such information we demand services. You injured a few of our own and such act demands good deeds if you wish to clear your name and attain our aid."


    "Should have known." Eric mumbled to himself, not surprised how the same people who attacked, demand such acts.


    Asking after to get it over with, "What do you need?"


    Trying to excuse why he is doing this, the elder listed the first demand. "See this Winter has taken a lot of our wood, we need more for the next one but all of our saws are broken."


    This looks like an easy task but explains why these people were using wooden clubs earlier as well so Eric cut it short once more. "Okay I can do that, how much wood do you need?"


    "About 50 trees should do it, pick the bigger ones. That amount should kick start our stock." With yet another act that can excuse these sudden demands, the elder stated. "My villagers will drag the wood here, you just cut them down with your Source blessed power."


    ...


    "Does this one look good?" Eric asked, slapping the trunk of an oak tree that''s a couple of feet wide.


    A villager stood by Eric along with 20 others waiting behind him and weighed in facts. "It doesn''t look tall enough, but it has a lot of long branches so I think the elder will approve."


    While a lady villager from behind, possibly in her thirties, encouraged. "It''s good, cut it down."


    With the first step of the deal ready to put into motion, Eric warned. "Alright stand back, this tree can squash half of you."


    Taking a few steps back himself for the sake of further safety, Eric started off his work by connecting his palms horizontally [evenly] and lifting them above his left shoulder.


    Rushing his hands through the air after, reaching his right hip, a thin line of Fire broke out mid swing and made its way against the thick oak tree.


    A second didn''t even pass for the Fire to break through the tree''s bark, with an efficient and slick slice it enslaved everything in between, what the bark protected.


    And broke through the other side of the tree with ease, still denying to stop it''s rain of Fire as it made for a couple other trees that didn''t yet have no future where they would be cut.


    Taking a few seconds, the trunk of the tree squeaked an ear piercing sound before the narrow cut forced it to land it''s point on the right side and fall to the left.


    Seeing it as a bad idea to tamper with a kid who can do to any of them what he did to the tree, one of the villagers excused the extra cuts. "I guess we can use the other trees too."


    Liking how these previous attackers are being tad more submissive towards who they could be dealing with, Eric walked away from the tree he just cut to find another and pointed. "Should I cut that Birch tree?"

 Chapter 475 - Buying information

    Midday breaking, Eric synced in another task demanded by the Village''s elder. The 50 big logs and many smaller took less than an hour to slice down, the only thing between this task taking additional time was picking the right trees.


    Massacring the branches off the trunks took time too, but at least that labour picked the villagers to put work on, they used chipped and broken axes to do the job but it was nothing impossible.


    But the next task isn''t anything poor tools can do swimmingly, it requires the force of a Fire Blaster.


    You can easily guess that this is another task for the sake of winning over information.


    ...


    "This is getting too difficult, I can''t swing my arms if I lay on my chest." Eric complained, pointing out the insane working condition.


    Pointing at the havoc of a winter aftermath, the Elder shook his words as he mumbled. "We need planks, those Houses can''t be fixed with sturdy trunks."


    Refusing to handle possibly 10 more logs like this, Eric stuck to his demand. "Okay but can''t we at least place the logs over something higher so I can aim better? Making planks like this is brutal."


    "Alright." The Elder finally budged and pointed at a few other villagers, ordering. "You, grab those branches there and nail them to the ground, forming an X. This way we can keep the logs above ground."


    Respecting the sympathy coming from this sour old man, Eric just walked a few steps behind and uttered. "Thank you."


    To shed light upon this task to the furthest extent, the village needs planks but they have no tool to make them.


    A slicer power move can help, but of course it has a criteria in order for this method to help. The biggest of which is having a better aim, you can understand that from the previous debate.


    Furthermore a horizontally launched slicer took a few resultless shots to put into motion, as it is mostly launched with the palms connecting and waving them from the top of the left shoulder to the bottom of the right hip.


    But apparently the slicer can work as long as palms are connected and the hands are waving from one side to the other with the soul intent to launch a slicer.


    And since the Slicer relies on its ability to cut more than its ability to burn, the planks won''t come out damaged. Perfectly sliced is more like it.


    Putting the Xs together, Sekun helped to lift the logs as it isn''t an easy task.


    Joining his palms, striking the air with a start from the left hip and rushing them towards the right hip, fire broke out mid swing and made its way towards the lumber.


    SLEEEH!


    Bursting through lumber from one end to the other, tips of the little support branches holding the whole lumber up, sliced off along with it. Little loss really, even if the Xs dismantle they can be easily replaced.


    Liking such success, the Elder stated. "Alright you just need to slice through 5 more trees."


    ...


    "Hold the plank straight." A fair haired middle aged man scolded, encouraged.


    "It is straight." Eric yelled back, not appreciating the man''s tone.


    Insistent, the same villager let out his distress. "If it was straight I wouldn''t tell you to hold it straight."


    Pointing out the problem with no aims of joking about it, Eric yelled. "Ain''t nobody''s fault when you can''t even hit a nail."


    "Just hit the damn nail." Rash yelled out from a distance of 10 yards, uncoincidentally holding a plank straight himself.


    Right now, these two fine men are bickering about a hut, or a house. Whatever you choose to call it, the building''s intent is to hold people in and mother nature out.


    Each of the Gang are putting in work on other houses, the Elder demanded this if you haven''t yet figured that out.


    However this might not take too long, they aren''t building a hut from the ground up but just making some reinforcements on the old ones with a prime aim of making each little shack easier to live in.


    Yes it has been made clear that the Elder is requesting wave after wave of free labour, but promises information as a reward.


    ...


    "I can''t believe we have to make them lunch too." Eric gave out a sharp whisper, laid on the ground and stalking a Juvenile Wild Boar.


    "Shhh, shoot it already." Rash encouraged, laying belly first on the ground along with the young Electus.


    HRSHHH!!!


    A fireball broke out of his palms and raged across the air, forcing freshly grown weeds out of place, burning them and itself flying higher.


    Rising 2 feet above the ground a hunch before reaching the Wild Boar, the Fireball punched through the prey''s neck, almost escaping without causing damage.


    The sudden pain knocked its prey unconscious, not giving it a second to holler in pain.


    Falling to the ground with little to no fight, the 4th hunt of the day counted. This has been a tiresome day, it''s nearly 3pm already and everyone has been up since early morning.


    Standing up and bashing away what dirt he can from his clothes, Eric''s tone projected parched as he complained. "I still don''t like how we''re doing all of this, could have just made them speak with fire burning under their chin."


    Having it easy to express thoughts with a friend of value, Rash butchered as they started walking towards the Carcass. "As much as they are a pain in the ass to us now, they are too dumb to survive. They might not make it for a couple of winters further. Let that be their punishment, hunger and cold is a bitch."


    ...


    Looking at the group of 4 sitting and enjoying a smoked pork meal, the Elder queried. "We''ve made you work a long day, sir Electus. How do you feel about it?"


    Direct with his words either if talking to an enemy or a friend, Eric cited with a mouth full of pork. "I would kill all of you if you didn''t have valuable information."


    A bit nervous, although hoping for things to go for the best, the Elder added. "That''s a little harsh, I have a hunch that you will kill us as soon as you get what you want."


    Taking no advice from such sour old man for what''s wrong and right, Eric contradicted as he spat out an unfiltered little bone. "I would have killed you if I had no dignity, we can try our luck to find the structure ourselves."


    Pointing out what might keep this village away from a mass massacre, the Elder uttered. "Luck won''t help you on this task, that place is heavily guarded nowadays."


    Shocked, Eric hollered with no intent to hurt Ada and where she comes from. "By who? ill.u.s.tratios?"


    At least sharing one thing in common with the Electus, the old man recited. "ill.u.s.tratios have no fancy towards monuments, they can''t even pick a fly off their hat."


    "Why would a fly be in a hat?" Puzzled Rash, not used to Ignite sayings and metaphors.


    Hoping to start the journey this hour and roam as far away from this village as possible, Eric cut it short. "Nevermind that, who is guarding the place?"


    "People that look like him, whatever they are." The elder firmly stated, pointing at Sekun as he held as firm as one old man can on a stick.


    "You''re saying that people who look exactly like Sekun are Guarding the monument?" Asked Eric, his enthusiasm arising as cooperation has become likely with those people.


    Having a Calidum Lutum man [Sekun] on the team who can arrange a deal with the people Guarding the monument who too are prescribed to look like Sekun, is a blessing.


    Although a blur regarding what Calidum Lutum men are doing out here, information might not be too tough to find.


    But for now, Eric wants to squeeze this sort for every drop it has, directly demanding. "Do you know since when they''re Guarding the monument?"


    "Well over a decade now, I remember using that place as a landmark to find my village easier when I was in my 40s." Getting into deeper description about his life in order to prove a point, the Elder put pressure on a prime fact. "I walked past that monument a thousand times and I never saw these men before 10 years ago."


    Now this is puzzling, one idea would be that a few men from Lan Zhe heard about the quest and rushed here to lend a hand, finding the monument but the Elder claims them as decade long inhabitants, time-wise this is a far shot.


    Using the silence to his disposition, the Elder gave out a word of notice. "They have the attitude of a wild boar, highly territorial. To prove a point they slaughtered a man of our own who hiked through their land."

 Chapter 476 - Why are you eating?

    "How much longer will it take to reach that tribe?" Rash asked, looking at Sekun and hoping to get an appropriate answer.


    Tad pissed, but not enough to be dramatic about it, Sekun recited. "I told you, I don''t know. Just because I''m a Calidum Lutum, it doesn''t mean I know where the monument is."


    Not wanting to hear grown men argue anymore, Ada added her own contribution in this conversation. "Yes Rash stop bugging the man, he told you that he doesn''t know."


    Noticing the tension, but with no aim to add wood to the Fire, Eric uttered what everyone wants to hear. "I think it would be best if we set up camp for the night, travelling all day is getting the best out of us all."


    Catching up on their most recent task, for a week now after leaving that Ignite led village, they''ve continued their hunt for the ancient monument that sheds connection with the boots of Kashentis.


    Losing orientation in this forest is easy, worst yet they are looking for a small structure so you can only imagine how everyone got on edge.


    Planting the sleeping bags in the driest ground they could find, blowing a bit of Fire to eradicate any bit of water and bug on or near their area, taking a moment to share a meal too.


    Eric shot down a reindeer just a couple of days ago, and Rash was set to butcher the carcass as Ada doesn''t really have the heart to do it.


    Physically the strongest, Sekun has carried the food harvested from that Reindeer so the group may feast upon this natural resource.


    The contributes feel even, and it wouldn''t be a big deal if everyone didn''t contribute to forming this meal. They whole crew has a large quest to tackle, fighting over who did what would be stupid and petty.


    However, some attributes these individuals are bringing to this quest can be considered petty as well so waiting a tad bit for everyone to eat, Eric broke a new topic open. "I think all of you should stop fighting."


    With that laid out there, silence grew stronger but a sense that this group will start blaming each other, grew on Eric''s conscious so he had to take extra precautions. "We''re on a quest here that will determine the fate of our homes, we''re all on edge but we don''t need petty arguments flying around."


    Although not liking to go against the man she loves, Ada felt obliged to point out. "They''re not pointless arguments, Rash has been picking on Sekun all week."


    Since his name got mentioned, Rash had to defend his own view although his tone arose higher. "I''m not picking on Sekun, I just want to make sure we''re heading the right way."


    Feeling like he has the strongest point here, Sekun contradicted. "And I keep telling you that I don''t know where the right way is."


    Wanting to fall asleep already, Eric cut it short as his tone remained low. "Regardless, we should go together like a lake and its fish. The quest is far beyond our value, getting the boots is the easiest part of our journey even."


    Realising that he slid a bit off topic, Eric got to the main point. "We''re all risking our lives anyway, might as well be perfections about our quests."


    ...


    "Guys..." Ada uttered, feeling herself elevating higher above ground.


    Hearing her tone, Eric''s eyes forced open and he gazed left and right to find her, with a bit of a rush escaping the sleeping bag.


    "Up here." Ada called for help once more, her tone high and hopping to get everyone else''s attention.


    Looking up, rubbing his eyes to figure out what the hell is going on with paranoia undoubtedly rising thanks to that ambush weeks ago.


    He spotted Ada floating on mid air as her body seperated the moonlight, thankfully she is not tied up but at this rate both of them hoped for her to have such fate instead.


    Not sure how to comprehend all of this, trying to avoid panic, Eric murmured. "Why are you floating? Am I dreaming?"


    "You''re definitely not dreaming." Sekun stood up, hearing the chatter in his dreams actually and forcing himself to wake up.


    Although still a bit drowsy, he encouraged. "She has been picked up by a Ghost, everyone yell Azr.a.p.etos!"


    "Azr.a.p.etos." Eric shouted, although not understanding what''s it about.


    "Azrapotatoes..." Rash murmured, rushing up from his sleeping bag fairly still not fully conscious.


    "Azr.a.p.etos!" Ada shouted and felt her limbs become heavy as a rock, whatever elevated her seemed to have let go.


    Falling 30 feet from the sky, Eric rushed towards her with a prime aim to catch. Such a fall can surely cause damage, bone breaking possibly.


    With little time given to catch her, Eric leaped forward in the last second and managed to slip his arms right where Ada''s feet were supposed to meet the ground.


    Such disadvantage resulted to a different end, as Eric tackled Ada more instead of catching her because his arms swooped and surrounded her legs.


    Still managing to limit the overall momentum, Ada was bashed and tipped against the ground close by, together landing over a bush and almost striking a healthy trunk with their heads.


    "Are you okay?" Eric swiftly spoke, rising her up and checking everywhere with hopes of not finding any blood.


    Feeling heavy about Eric panicking to such extent, Ada joked. "I''m okay don''t worry, thank you for catching me or I could have broken my butt."


    "I wish you wouldn''t think about butts right now." Eric added, relieved of course and pulled her into a hug.


    "Azra..." Rash tried to speak, but it came out more of a whisper as his throat felt heavy, restricted actually.


    2 feet above the ground, he felt as if a heavy object kept his throat tight with no chance of escaping.


    Waving his arms, he felt them hitting a semi-solid thing across the air. Nothing to see for the n.a.k.e.d eye, but something is keeping him above ground.


    Finding the opportunity as the grip around his neck felt tighter, with all the strength a panicking drowsy man can obtain in a few seconds, with his right arm he swung forward.


    Hitting that solid thing, successful in a way as he felt it shiver, as a counter attack his throat felt tighter beyond endurance now.


    Leaping forward, Sekun swung across the air and felt his bone crack. This thing, this portrayed Ghost feels like human flesh once hitting it.


    Ignoring the pain of a cracked bone, he saw Rash dropping to the ground and whispering "Azr.a.p.etos" over and over as he curled into a ball.


    "Who are you to break my brother in half?" A tone shook beneath their feet, grasping every bit of their attention.


    Feeling targeted, Sekun became swift to answer. "Who was he to try and kill my brother?"


    In that very moment, the pitch darkness overcoming the sky, forced magenta in colour.


    Panicking, Erich rushed towards Sekun and shook his arm, shouting. "Why is the sky blue? It can''t be day already!"


    "Blue? Mine is green!" Ada hollered, refusing to look up any further for the sake of avoiding the problem.


    Realising that they have synced into a crap situation, Sekun kept it calm and focused on the sky''s beauty. "Mine is pretty much magenta."


    While Rash, he is as good as knocked out. The inability to breathe for sure got the best out of him, thankfully he is alive. Sekun could see him breathe even from a distance when the sky turned magenta.


    A few minutes passed and everything became rather boring, that tone who spoke to them before the sky started changing colour didn''t yet speak again.


    Making the group feel like there is nothing to worry about, especially since there are no further attacks in motion and of course labelling this situation as a Ghostly illusion.


    "Oh common, the sky is changing colours and all you people think about is eating?" The Ghost shouted, obviously pissed as he gazed upon the three eating reindeer meat as they sat near Rash.


    With a few facts made certain and having faced worst situations before, Eric felt little fear as he butchered. "It''s not like you can do anything about it, I don''t know what kind of extra special ghost you are to escape Azr.a.p.etos but you can''t do anything more."


    Out of a sudden the sky returned to normal, carrying a pitch black colour with the stars shining here and there and the moon glowing brighter than ever.


    Suddenly, a figure appeared near them and demanded attention. "Listen to me, why are you here?"


    Its tone, well it sounds female but has that bit of blur between every word making her hard to understand. This thing isn''t alive, so of course you can''t expect it to have perfect vocal cords.


    Her tone, it sounds like one woman speaking over the other. It feels high pitched but that''s just the whistle between every word.


    Refusing to cooperate with attackers who hence, have no power over them now, Eric weighed in a key reason. "Why would I tell you that?"


    Straight to the point, trying to dominate without a doubt. The ghost answered with a shout, "Because I will kill everyone you hold near and dear if you don''t."

 Chapter 477 - Halieq

    "Tell me what you are and I will tell you what we''re doing here." Sekun offered, bickering at best but this can work out to the crew''s advantage if the steps are taken properly.


    Not willing to give in, having a certain pride hurt if bested by mortals debate-wise, the creature that we can label as a Ghost, confuted with her feminine tone rising high. "What if I don''t tell you?"


    Grasping where Sekun is going with this, Eric added a little spice of his own. "You have time to decide, once our friend here wakes up, we will make our way out of here."


    Knowing Eric for well over a year now, Ada can sense what he''s trying to do and when he''s trying to do it, so she backed him up. "Besides, you seem harmless and can just do a few tricks to our eyes."


    GUHHRHRHRHRHRHLLL!


    Thunder broke from the sky and exploded a few feet from where the group has taken seat over the dry grass.


    Such explosion near the ears forced the gang to jump up and make a run for it a few steps back, it has been determined that they''ve underestimated this Ghost.


    GUURUURHAAAAG!


    Another thunder broke, zig zagging from the sky and almost hitting Ada this time, perhaps this Ghost is targeting the last human to refuse his word.


    Whatever the intent might be, it sure isn''t easy on the eyes, the gang can barely see what''s in front of them at the moment because of the blinding sudden light.


    Feeling like she has thrown authority against these Humans, the Ghost lady made an entrance, revealing her form.


    Her twists and edges portrayed a well toned by muscle woman, attractive if you will. Followed along by several colours stretching from one end to the other.


    These colours seem to shift and change, either by shape or by tone. One moment her thighs and feet carry a light blue colour, followed by red dots around the ankles and at the other moment those red dots expand and merge with the blue colour, bordering everything by becoming stripes.


    Of course we''re describing the lower body here, her upper body and everything else basically shared the same concept. Colour changing and shifting in different forms, no one here ever saw a Ghost do that.


    Her hair however are unique as well, yellow in colour and they stretch down to her hip. Well at least it portrays what hair looks like, although the whole lady looks like glowing air.


    Apart from these glorious colours, this Ghost stands 8 foot tall which in many ways compliments her attractive curves.


    Walking towards Eric, watching him stroll around blinded and trying to find his friends, the Ghost lady grabbed the boy by the collar underneath the chin and lifted him up.


    Whose superior has been well determined, now it''s time to practice dominance.


    She raised the boy 5 feet above the ground with one hand and cited, "If an introduction does stand necessary, you should know that I am Jaluuti. A Lava spirit and I represent and Guard great power."


    A bit on edge, not a fan how these mortals didn''t just give in right away, Jaluuti added. "That''s the last thing you will know as death shall be your teacher."


    This being a clear threat, there is one thing the young Electus can rely on. Fire!


    With his arms free to move at will, he stretched them both forward and felt his hands touching the Ghost''s shoulder blades.


    Scaling his power at maximum heat, he blew out Fire that can enslave what would give in.


    Both of his palms unleashing such a wave that began from two main points and spread 10 feet wide with his prime intent being murder and his secondary being self defense.


    "Aaaaaaah!" Jaluuti shouted, letting go of the young Electus.


    As Fire spread wide once hitting the target, shunning away once lightly Igniting the grass.


    Although the entire group can barely see at the moment because of that ear shattering thunder, they sense no sign of the spirit lady which only hollers towards the fact that Eric''s self defense attack worked.


    "Where are you Ada? Sekun?" Eric asked, walking around with barely any field of vision. It''s not easy to see thunder explode in front of one''s eyes.


    "I''m here." Sekun''s tone echoed between the trees, flying their way to Eric''s ears.


    "I''m here too, I see a tree." Ada''s tone sounded out as well although both of them didn''t provide any useful information.


    Well they all are temporarily blinded, an hour maybe or ten? Or w day? It isn''t certain as this is the first time they''ve experienced such burden but at least everyone sounds alive. Excruciatingly alive!


    Trying his best to find everyone, Eric first took a 360¡ã slow spin with hopes of spotting anyone and after bellowed. "Where here? I can''t just know what you know!"


    "Eric, you can''t find us but maybe we can find you." Sekun pitched, trying his best to stay calm at such a unique situation and after interposed. "Light a Fire or something, maybe on your hand."


    Liking the idea, Ada intoned from a good distance. "Yes yes we can definitely see a Fire! I see one already!"


    At first confused about what Ada is seeing, immediately after he got the idea and blurted. "That''s just the grass, don''t follow it."


    Blowing a light amount of Fire from his palm and keeping it going too, with another idea in mind he projected. "Try to follow the sound of my voice too, I will say random things so you know what to follow."


    "Trees."


    "Uhhh... words, what are words?"


    "Remember that time when I hunted Boars for that Ignite tribe? I wish they starve this winter, I don''t like how I have the same skin as they do."


    Ada''s tone echoed through his ear, stating. "I think I see you, keep complaining."


    "Okay."


    "I hid chicken poop in Mogranius'' pillow for a month straight, because I remember him being a pain in the ass back at Crutal Kingdom."


    "He should never have claimed that I hide underneath my father''s ass."


    Finishing that sentence, he felt a couple of arms touching his waist and shortly after moving higher towards his chest as a warm hug from behind closed in.


    Ada''s tone whispered right after paired with a sigh of relief, "I found you."


    Jamming his foot on a tree root and starting to dash forward with little signs of control, Sekun''s knees met the ground but he used his arms to protect his head from facing a similar fate. Henceforth, complaining with a holler. "Why have you stopped talking, I''m still lost."


    Pulling Ada in a proper hug, trying to make sure that she is okay and will remain safe. Eric continued with his rants, "Uggghhh I hate fish."


    "I hate how I had to eat fish for months! I swapped boar meat with fish I stole from a cart. I couldn''t handle the fish meat anymore."


    "I hate this place and I miss home where the rest of my family is at. I never thought that I would miss seeing Mogranius."


    "I hate sleeping in the wild, bugs keep crawling down my pants and biting my ass."


    "Okay okay stop talking, respectfully of course my King." Sekun harangued and tapped the young Golden Blood by the shoulder.


    "So touching, Mortals working together. I haven''t seen such a show since... I don''t think I''ve ever seen Humans cooperating." That same feminine tone shone, this can only be Jaluuti the Lava Spirit.


    "F.u.c.k out of here or I''ll burn you again!" Eric hollered, now that a weakness has been made transparent, they have no reason to fear this crazy ghost.


    Appearing out of thin air, granting everyone the capability to see out of a sudden which forced Eric to utter. "It was all an illusion?"


    They gazed upon the Spirit, carrying a couple of Silver Daggers and fiddling with them as she stood 10 meters away.


    Her colours now carry different shades, grey amongst her legs and glowing red from the belly button to the neck. Now, her hair seem a bit longer, touching the ground and carrying a white colour.


    Revealing what burden awaits them next, Jaluuti started to shout. "Normally I have my brothers tear mortal intruders apart, but this time I would like to grasp upon such honour."


    And thus, those same Daggers thundered above the ground once she tossed them. Forcing trees to rip from the ground the moment those Daggers passed by.


    The earth itself sunk lower, submissive towards the force above them.


    Leaves followed such thunderous speed, although we can''t say that those leaves were intact. They carried fire, burning on one edge be it fast or slow.


    It felt like forever, although it all happened in a corner of a second.


    The couple of Daggers reached the group, you would expect them to tear the crew in half.


    Quite the opposite, the Daggers stopped on the spot, a foot away from the crew.


    Floating on mind air, reflecting the moonlight.


    Out of a sudden, it''s grey texture started deforming and replacing with a hotter, glowing colour.


    Red, yes and the group can feel the heat it bestows upon anyone dumb enough to still stand close to them Daggers.


    Consciousness stood no longer to the crew''s aid as the Daggers melted and their liquids imprinted a word on the ground, "Halieq".

 Chapter 478 - Halieq (2)

    "Welcome to my world, you wretched Fire Demon." That same feminine tone echoed, Eric can not mistake it.


    This is indeed Jaluuti, the same of the unliving who has been causing the crew trouble. A self acclaimed Lava Spirit.


    With language bitterly uncensored, since here he isn''t talking to a nice delicate friend, Eric barked. "What the f.u.c.k did you do?"


    Taking a grasp of view, trying to determine where he is at, his knowledge struck limited as this place looks strictly unfamiliar.


    He feels like he has fallen in the middle of a mist, clouds all around him and his field of view reaching 10 meters around.


    Looking at the ground beneath his feet, he can only see semi-wet mud along with some additional grass spread scarcely here and there.


    One thing transparent, he doesn''t have any clothes on. The only bit of cover his genitals have, is the hair growing around it.


    Standing in front of Eric out of a sudden, Jaluuti expressed from her heart... or whatever Spirits yield feelings out of. "Normally I wouldn''t care enough to tip my enemies off, but I want to be a good sport."


    Unwilling to cooperate with such a foul creature, the young Electus stood up from the ground he dug his fists into and blew a Fireball from his palm, stretching 4 feet wide! The old classic for any Fire Blaster.


    Unwilling to aid him at such a predicament, the Fire just passed through Jaluuti and unlike last time, it didn''t damage the spirit lady here.


    Snapping her fingers, Eric''s arms and legs simply disappeared in mid air and his torso along with his head fell to the muddy dirt.


    Her body colour switching to primarily red with rare white dots, Jaluuti started yelling out her sentences. "Since you decided to not be a good sport, you will take on the task ahead of you without your arms and legs."


    Panicking, not understanding how that can just happen, Eric started echoing. "You bastard! You doomed us all, without my arms and legs I can''t stop the Demons!"


    Feeding off his intense fear, a smile grew on the lady''s fat patty lips as she uttered. "Relax child, you didn''t lose your legs or arms. You are in my world, Halieq. You can use your powers, but since we are trapped in your subconscious at the moment, they won''t do you any good or bad since it''s considered that you didn''t blast anything."


    His lips sealed, no chance to speak or scream, all the Electus can do is panick. "Here is the deal, you need to beat the puzzle of Halieq if you wish to keep your sanity. Most people who fail, end up dumber than animals. Usually throwing their own shit and chewing off their own skin."


    Continuing to explain since she did agree to be a good sport although Eric did not cooperate, "The puzzles of Halieq are like a dream, but not really as I''ve invaded your subconscious and this wicked battle is taking place in your little brain at the moment."


    Sealing off this topic, Jaluuti cited. "You can find your limbs in this puzzle but I''ll leave that to you. Beat this puzzle and I as the Lava Spirit will deem you worthy of walking in my territory."


    And revealing the possibly most dangerous trait of this dilemma, the spirit lady uttered with her tone having an aim to mock. "Mind the poisonous mist from the melted Dagger you inhaled earlier, you only have an hour before it''s enchantment starts eating your internal organs. Plain water is the remedy, so you need to wake up quickly."


    ...


    "How are you fairing, Sir Rash." Jaluuti queried, sneaking behind the Goblin Demon and spooking him a bit.


    His focus broken towards a human foot that stretches 10 meters tall, Rash turned around to face the Spirit and barked. "F.u.c.k off you Lava s.l.u.t, you''re making me do this puzzle anyway so just leave me at peace."


    Having a strong urge that the poisonous mist will make it faster than this loud mouth will, Jaaluti simply disappeared to grasp a peek at how the rest are failing.


    As for what Rash is dealing with, the big foot is for some reason based with a layer of gold and is slowly enslaving the pale human skinned foot with branches of rivering gold.


    Coming into a certain realization, Rash asked himself. "Wait, why am I watching this foot again?"


    ...


    "How the hell am I supposed to move now?" Eric uttered, realising that he is once again able to speak.


    Wiggling his body around, trying his best to bend his belly and neck too with an attempt to move, his motivation sunk in the mist when realising that after breaking sweat after sweat, he has only moved a few inches.


    His nerves piling up all in one place, he let out a big long sigh and screamed too. Pissed, he hollered. "This is absolute shit! How am I supposed to do anything without my arms and legs!"


    But in the midst of his little self loathing here, the young Electus thought. "Wait a minute... I can just spin!"


    Trying his best to lay on his side, Eric started leaning in to the left with all his force and so his back faced the ground this time.


    Repeating the procedure, his chest met the dirt once more.


    Repeating it on and on, the man with the idea spun 10 feet in this seemingly flat land but although better than nothing, it can''t be considered ascension towards the task.


    Doing one more flip, he felt something warm soaking his skin, taking a whiff it became unmistakable. Blood!


    Panicking but sticking to the fact that this is just some kind of crazy dream puzzle, Eric whispered. "Where did this blood come from? Guh it smells terrible."


    A moment after, he started feeling the blood digging in his skin, sizzling body hair too as if the young boy here fell in a pot of boiling water.


    "By the name of God!" Eric hollered, wanting to cuss out but at this point only God''s help would come in handy.


    Below where the hip is supposed to be, he felt an extra sharp pain as if someone started bashing Daggers in there.


    Such soul devouring pain continued for about half a minute, but with the hustling and bustling to escape the boiling blood pool, spinning over and over but with no grasp of progress, finally he found an opportunity for progress.


    While spinning, he felt that although limited, the young boy here can kick the blood which solely points out that he has a body part to kick with, a leg.


    Having a leg necessarily means that he has a longer body now, so he started doing the work a few times with aims to stand up.


    Attempts ambitious but failure seems inevitable, although one of his legs appeared thanks to this pool blood somehow, it feels too numb and practically 75% immobile.


    With a bit of his hip and inevitably, ass regenerating as well, he now can at least sit almost properly.


    Can be the best time to do so as he feels the blood pool around him cool down and slowly disappear.


    Looking at his one and only limb, Eric can feel that it''s somehow posing incredibly stiff and in a way it feels like it isn''t even his own leg.


    That pool has left a horrifying aftermath as well, he can see his skin boiled red and in some rare spots blood is breaking out. Rather detailed for a battle taking place in his consciousness.


    As the blood lost its last drip, the semi-wet mud underneath his body started growing green dry grass out of a sudden, forming a place to sit that''s easier on the buttocks.


    After the grass grew, providing a bit of cooling for his buttock too, his just regenerated leg started feeling like it''s being bitten by thousands of tiny insects.


    But there isn''t anything there! Cramps followed right after, so the young Electus thought it best to start with a rough attempt to hit the leg with his head and maybe fight off the cramps.


    This pain struck strong in the beginning but it began to gradually degrade, taking about 5 minutes until the entire pain went away.


    But listening it out what that crazy Spirit warned time-wise, once the pain became bearable, Eric started spinning across the mud and now since he is technically longer, it is a quarter easier.


    This mist doesn''t seem to be leading anywhere and is portraying a strongly limitless field.


    With nothing happening at the moment, Eric can think a bit more about what this puzzle is. Maybe it has some kind of mental tricks, it can''t be impossible since this puzzle and Jaluuti''s powers itself originate around illusion.


    Coming up with a theory that this puzzle can obey the young Electus since it''s his conscious after all, Eric started shouting out random commands. "Mist be gone!"


    "Quest be gone!"


    "Jaluuti, you are powerless!"


    "I will beat this puzzle and end you permanently!"

 Chapter 479 - Halieq (3)

    "Hahahahahahhahahaa!" Ada''s tone hollered across a nice wide visible patch of green fields. "More Horses!"


    "Join me my friends." Her tone shone in joy, as this blissful day imprinted what she favours.


    "Where are these Horses coming from? I never saw so many before." She asked herself, gazing upon a harass of 70 Horses coming from the west.


    Some even being too small to even be considered a newborn, yet they are running with no lack of stability. So the young lady asked herself, "What kind of Horses are those?"


    Out of a sudden, the Horses around her disappeared including the one she was riding. Considering the momentum, as her knees met the ground, she started tumbling forward for a few meters.


    Raising her head up, sitting on place as she spotted her field of view reducing along with the grass diminishing.


    Moving her shoulders backwards to fight away a sore feeling, she notices a figure generating out of nothingness.


    That figure started shaping more of a Human body form. Seconds passed and Ada started recognizing characteristics she knows well.


    Short but pointy black hair generated on top of the figure''s head, its height started reducing and stood 5 foot tall.


    Unmistakable black leather clothing shone in it''s own way, naming fashion choices.


    A black fur coat started covering the figure, by now it is clear that this figure is a young boy.


    And at the end, Eric''s face started generating. This smiling face is unmistakable, the small jawline limiting the smile gave it all out.


    "Eric? How did you get here?" Ada asked, standing up from the mud and rushing in for a hug.


    Reaching him, getting a good grip around his shoulders, she mumbled. "When did you learn to teleport?! There is something weird going on."


    Noticing that he isn''t yet speaking, Ada gazed up to face him and spotted a sour look on his face. And so the young boy revealed his sorrow. "Ada, we are all going to die."


    A second later, the same boy she got a good grip off, shunned away and degenerated in a quarter of a second. His hair disappearing last and his face first.


    "Hahahahahahahaha! You should have seen your face." A feminine tone echoed behind the young lady Ada, by now she can recognize who it belongs to.


    Turning around in a split of a second, she spotted Jaluuti carrying a pitch green colour from head to toe, light in shade and floating a food above the ground, 15 feet away.


    With full audacity, this bastard of a spirit mocked. "Oh Eric, when did you learn to teleport! Oh Eric my short King."


    "You know I''ve just had about enough of you." Ada cited, her left knee meeting the ground after.


    Pushing her right foot forward with an intent to spring power, her left arm pulled back in complete syncing of the left foot and her right arm pushed forward, so that the elbow can be stretched out up front the furthest.


    Choosing to be a good sport, an aim to give Jaluuti a heads up, Ada''s tone thundered. "You and me, fist to fist. No powers, no weapons, no spirit magic."


    Advised to not befriend enemies, Jaluuti feels a bit privileged to state what she can read in the young ill.u.s.tratio. "Your courage matches equal to a raging wild boar and your inner balance matches a god to channel your courage, but let me assure you child. You are in all ways, overwhelmed."


    "Yaba yaba yaba, I don''t care." Ada mocked, her intent standing firm and her motivation vigilant, intolerable as a fuel of her fire. At the end demanding, "Hand to hand, fight me."


    "Alright." The grin wiped off Jaluuti''s face as her feet met with the dirty ground. The mist like white surroundings vanished a moment later, Jaluuti''s skin shifted once more and actually showed Human flesh.


    "You''re a Human?" Ada asked out loud, her focus varying away from battle a tad bit as she grasped a view of Jaluuti''s light skin.


    "When I want to, well at least in front of everyone else''s eyes." She described, as this sudden transformation changed her form completely.


    Her hair rolled up, shortened with a fade and forced dark in colour as they formed much like a bush and are probably fluffy.


    Ada can see much more than the lady''s neck or arm skin, she can see everything a front facing human can portray head to toe.


    She is n.a.k.e.d basically! Her previously curvy h.i.p.s reducing in size and instead portraying well toned muscles.


    Her chest reducing in size as well, fairly big and eye catching in the beginning but reducing to a handful each at the end, portraying a well toned feminine chest.


    Her arms generating muscle mass a tad bit, pushing a quarter of fat away.


    Her belly shifting from fairly normal, to a set of 8 pack abs. In every way, this transformation is showing a battle ready woman.


    And finally, clothes generated over her skin. A robe surrounded her, red in colour and easy to move with.


    "Are you ready, mortal?" Jaluuti''s tone shook, shivering the muddy ground beneath Ada''s feet as her tone took a second to shift towards a human one.


    Confident of her abilities, confident of her body form as well due to countless days of training, Ada cited. "Yes, I will beat you down to hell."


    And so, Jaluuti announced with a tone thundering human origin. "Let us fight!"


    The right leg Ada has been piling up power until now, sprinting with strength the young lady lunged herself towards Jaluuti.


    Her elbow facing forward, her body flying horizontally like a tripping drunkard, the surface of her attack met with Jaluuti''s face who fact based, did not expect this from a child.


    Tumbling the Lava Spirit down, blood broke from Jaluuti''s nose before they even met the semi-hard ground.


    Agile to stand up, since Commander Alia taught her to not give the enemy a second to fight back, the young lady spoke out while taking a few steps back. "No one can resist the needle lunge!"


    "Your fighting style is different." Jaluuti complimented as she took a moment to stand up, asking after. "Who taught you? This isn''t an ill.u.s.tratian style."


    Taking into consideration how such a powerful being can use such information for victory, Ada grinned. "Doesn''t matter what it is, as long as I can kick your ass."


    ...


    "F.u.c.k off, f.u.c.k off and you f.u.c.k off too!" Rash yelled out, kicking away small tiny feet.


    "Where are all these feet coming from!" He shouted, noticing that his holler startled the hundreds of hoping feet surrounding him.


    "Stop following me you bastards!" He shouted once more, running away towards where he saw less feet approaching.


    Looking back, and realising that he is escaping the little bastards, he became swift to celebrate. "Hahahaha! Can''t be that fast now can you?"


    Facing forward, in a break of a second his nose met with a hard surface and sow he became obliged to shout. "F.u.c.k!"


    Thankfully not forced to fall, shaking off his tad blurry vision, he whispered. "You again?"


    What he bumped into, is that same large foot he met with at the very beginning. Encrusted in gold like branches and appearing human in origin.


    Aloud, some kind of tone arose from the foot, forming a sentence and manly by tone! "Why have you disturbed my children?"


    Trying not to enrage what can be a powerful enemy, Rash cited. "Your children are nuts and all in my personal space, I doubt that I disturbed them just by walking on these fields."


    Actually cooperative, the large foot answered. "You have a point there. But what are you doing in my paradise?"


    Scratching the back of his head, Rash recalled. "I don''t know. One moment I was battling something invisible and now I woke up here."


    "Oh right." The foot stood its own self corrected and shed more light to this nonsense. "Jaluuti probably got you, I told her to stop sending enslaved minds in my realm. She didn''t do it for 400 years though."


    "Enslaved minds?" Rash asked, his tone sinking with concern tagging along.


    Well conversant, the large lava encrusted foot explained. "Well, your mind is about to be enslaved. She sends enemies she can''t beat here and now you gotta beat me."


    Confused in many aspects, Rash decided to express the biggest one. "Brother how can I defeat you? You''re a foot."


    Giving out its final word, the foot sounded. "I can''t tell you how to do that, I the Fadil haven''t lost a battle ever since I created this realm."


    And such, without warning, the ground beneath Rash''s feet started rumbling!


    The dirt itself beginning to raise up by a meter in various places and falling down after.


    Tossing around like a wave, with no direction transparent but this is still odd even for an Earthquake.


    Two long dirt shaped arms, stretching 15 meters in length emerged out of the mud similar to a slithering Titanoboa.


    Making their way left and right towards the 10 meter tall foot, shifting to a light toned human skin before reaching the big foot.


    Maneuvering to connect with its lord, the 15 meter long arms patched with the big foot right where the ankle is, one on the left and the other on the right.


    Once connecting, the arms started transforming to a colour relevant to their lord. The fists fully encrusted in gold and the same colour enslaving the veins, branching up.


    Battle ready, Fadil the foot declared. "Sir... whatever you are, I will kill you now. Sorry."

 Chapter 480 - Halieq (4)

    "Ouch!" Eric whispered once feeling his head hit something hard, aimlessly spinning across the mud aided such minor predicament.


    Taking only a second to recover, he tried to gaze up and see what he hit. Fortunately it doesn''t look like anything hostile, he has bumped into a tree.


    Fairly random come to think of it, as he hasn''t really seen any trees ever since he got here. Just mud mostly and grass spread around here and there.


    Confusing most likely and Eric didn''t fail to express it as the back of his head took comfort over mud. "The hell am I supposed to do with this tree?"


    "If you weren''t being an ass about this I would tell you." A tone echoed, coming from the tree neither man or woman by pitch.


    "Oh finally, some help." Eric barked out, a bliss of relief taking land on his soul.


    Understanding that his wordsmithery can determine progression here, Eric decided to rub the ego of whom spoke. "I bet you are smart, tell a fellow Human how to get out of here? I just want to get back to my family."


    "Oh, I guess you met with Jaluuti." That same tone answered, kinder by tone and eager to listen.


    Shedding truth amongst truth, Eric explained as he tried to find where the voice is coming from, this tree doesn''t have a mouth. "Yes, out of nowhere her companions attacked us, we beat them and she attacked us after. It was all self defence is our side really, she just tried to kill us."


    Cooperative beyond expectation, that voice from the tree answered. "Yes she does that, she has been using this realm for a long time now to aid her sporting needs."


    Holding a full on conversation when time is ticking is a bad idea, but it''s better to attain knowledge here instead of wandering endlessly. "I bet all of you are sick of that, can''t you do anything about it. Like why didn''t this realm banish her yet."


    Crawling out of the tree, that tone talking Eric up revealed itself as some kind of animal, a bit like a Rat but it''s dark blue in colour and has 5 feet, 2 heads. "I can tell you about that but she would have my head, the realm master would banish me instead."


    Interested at the being but in no way grossed out since he has seen worse, Eric tries to bicker. "Well can you at least tell me how I can get out of here? I can''t afford to die, the whole world is doomed if I die."


    A bit rebellious fair to say, the Rat revealed what he thinks. "Hmmm... the realm master didn''t say anything about helping Jaluuti''s play things."


    Letting silence stretch a few seconds, the odd looking Rat explains. "Look I don''t know how Jaluuti rigs her puzzles, but you can find someone who knows more."


    Clinging on the tree, pointing to its left, the Rat explained. "Spin this way, seek Bushy Kuliert and explain to her your predicament."


    "Oh right you need this too." The Rat chirped and afterwards dashed towards the tree, a leg fell down after and the Rat followed with a crawl. "It''s your leg, you found one already so I''m sure you know the procedure."


    Worming his way towards the leg swiftly, joy overwhelming the boy, he has to express gratitude. "Oh thank you, at least now I can walk. I''m sick of tasting mud."


    ...


    Running his way across the muddy fields encrusted by the mist, who seem to generate a bit more grass now ever since Eric obtained the second leg.


    How this works? Still a blur to everyone come to think of it, as Ada for example was ridding through a wide clear to see grassy field in one moment, then it became mostly mud in the next.


    The puzzle of Halieq, as Taluuti likes to call it. Has been nothing less than confusing ever since they all got here. It jumps from one end to the other and the only one towards strong progress is, Rash the Goblin Demon.


    "Are you Bushy Kuliert?" Eric puzzled, demanding an answer as he gazed upon a table.


    Not even kidding about that one, the young Electus has reached the point of talking to a table.


    Not a fancy table either, it just has 4 slightly narrow (15¡ã) standing legs, holding a flat surface stretching just 3 feet wide and 5 feet long.


    Breaking the normal once more, something near the table started speaking aloud. "I don''t remember, help me remember."


    Sensing based on the tone, that whatever is speaking has a firm memory, Eric mouthed. "Are you asking for gold?"


    Confused by tone at what Eric just said, the table jumped a foot high so one of its edges faces Eric. "No, what''s gold? I''m asking you to help me remember."


    Pointing out what Eric should have figured out himself by now, the table uttered. "I''m a table, tables don''t have good memories."


    Trying to excuse himself, Eric explains. "I''m sorry, you are the first living table I''ve seen."


    "It''s alright, it''s alright." The table comforted and let silence stretch a little while before adding. "I can only remember how to get my memory back, the rest is a blur."


    Finding this golden opportunity to make a deal, Eric offers as he taps the ground with his feet, feeling nervousness. "Well then do tell, I''ll help you and after you help me. Do we have a deal?"


    Swift to answer, the table cites. "Yes we have a deal."


    Eager to get this started and over with as soon as possible, Eric asks. "Okay, what do I have to do?"


    Casually, the table answers. "Slap my ass."


    Confused the young boy asks. "Uh okay... which one is the as."


    Able to somehow see where Eric is although it has no mouth or eyes or anything basically, the table guides. "The one to your left."


    Able to figure it out, Eric pointed. "Aha, I''ll slap it with my foot."


    Raising his foot as high as he can to reach the table''s rear, trying not to stub his toe which would make this experience a full pain in the ass.


    With the bottom of his foot, he struck the table trying his best to make it sound like a slap.


    A second after, some kind of whistling sounded over their heads however it''s undertone strikes heavier from a common whistle.


    It feels heavier, lower pitched although that would break the dynamics of a whistle.


    Still, it overtook their ears since that feeling of a whistle still remains regardless of its differences and it even lasted for a few seconds.


    At last from above, an object landed over the table''s back. It ain''t heavy enough to break the table but we can''t call it light as a feather.


    Shocked, Eric gazed upon the object for a few seconds and the only sentence he can form is. "The hell, that''s my arm. What does it have to do with your ass?"


    Unwilling to hold a conversation before regaining its memory, the table demands. "Put it on and slap my ass with your hand now."


    Knowing the procedure, Eric leans in towards the arm''s socket and expresses. "Oh this will hurt after a minute!"


    Repetitive, the table cites. "Just slap me."


    His arm still feeling numb, Eric tries to use his upper body to move or swing best called, his arm as close to the table''s rear as he can.


    "Oh yeah!" The table shouted, starting to jump around after and spinning in place, one of its edges almost hitting Eric''s waist.


    "I remember now." The table added right after, while Eric stood in place taking it into consideration that this is the weirdest thing he ever faced.


    Vigilant to explain what''s going on, thankfully choosing to save Eric''s time from this point, the table cites. "I''m Bushy Kuliert the table. I thank you, whatever you are for restoring my memory."


    And afterwards continues without waiting for the human to speak. "You need to head to the left, straight to the left if you wish to escape Jaluuti''s clutches."


    Spinning and facing what could be its sound source, to the left. The table continues to explain. "You are a few steps away from escaping this puzzle, the uncertainty probably makes it look big but it''s simple like the palm of your hand."


    Thankful, Eric has no chance to avoid gratitude based expressions. "You are the biggest help of this entire puzzle, table."


    Tad mad that it''s word is interrupted, the table shouted. "Ok ok shut up and listen! Run this way and keep shouting the key word, Azr.a.p.etos!"


    Glad that the way out of here transparent, one more worry strolls around the young Electus'' head. "But what about my arm?"


    With its memory newly arrived, it is understandable for the table to skip such valuable information but there is no time like now to state them. "Oh right you need to get all of your limbs, or you will wake up missing the ones you failed to find. In this case, your arm."

 Chapter 481 - Halieq (5)

    "You''ve got skill you young bastard, I can admit that." Jaluuti uttered, as her face portrays dark bruises enchanted with blood.


    Confident, Jaluuti feels privileged to add. "But this battle is far from over."


    Ada standing 10 feet away, bruises and cuts on her arms since this self proclaimed Lava Spirit has a thing about clinging her claws into flesh.


    Her arms burning but her face only carrying sweat as Jaluuti didn''t manage to bash the young lady''s face yet, Ada''s tone thunders as she states wholeheartedly. "I evade murder, but If I must, I will tear you bit by bit!"


    Rushing, her right foot forward and firm against the ground. Her left foot building up momentum to become airborne, the young girl''s heels forced forward as her whole body started flying against Jaluuti.


    Fairly flying horizontally, her attack became successful once Ada''s attack struck Jaluuti right underneath the b.r.e.a.s.ts.


    Falling down along with the enemy, Ada became quick to stand up and rush away from a possible clinging from Jaluuti''s human claws.


    Now, she can see the crazy lady cough up some blood, painting the dirt underneath her body. As it soaked down, grass became quick to emerge a few inches long accompanied by a couple of Dandelions.


    Feeling bad that she f.u.c.k.i.e.d up this lady to the point of coughing blood, Ada offers. "Back down while you can, your attacks are weak."


    Suddenly, Jaluuti''s tone breaks into laughter as she rises from the ground and raises her fists forward, challenging. "Give me your best shot."


    A bit tired of kicking, Ada charges forward and again digs her right foot to the ground, keeping the left one loose.


    Well oriented, she twists her body to the right and strikes with both her fists.


    The left fist hitting the middle of Jaluuti''s chest and the right fist torturing the stomach with a sour punch.


    Forcing Jaluuti to flinch and slip behind by a foot, the young Ada is quick to fix her orientation and give Jaluuti a right hook right across the face.


    Suddenly, Ada feels several sharp pains on her stomach the second after she noticed Jaluuti''s shoulders struggle.


    Looking down, she spots the enemy''s hands clinging on to her stomach. Yet again Jaluuti has dug her nails in Ada, and this pain will remain sharp for a while.


    Raising the young ill.u.s.tratio a few inches above the ground, Jaluuti looks to her left and gives an attempt to toss Ada across the mud.


    Successful, Ada is quick to taste mud as her self dependence shrunk by a quarter because of being bested by such a shallow move.


    Unwilling to give the enemy another opportunity to strike, confidence aside Ada manages to stand up in a break of a second as she faces Jaluuti to deliver yet another blow.


    Yet again building up momentum, her right foot as a mass stabilizer and her left foot great to build up momentum, once being 4 feet close to Jaluuti, she yet again becomes airborne.


    This time however, although set to flight in the first few seconds, her back met the dirt as she slid across, aiming for the enemy''s ankles.


    Impact certain, she saw Jaluuti pin down and almost fall over her.


    C.o.c.ky, escaping a mass of possibly 70 kilos, Ada rushes to stand up and chirps with her tone slim and mocking. "Looks like this battle is over."


    Trying to stand up, Jaluuti feels the sharpness of pain around her ankles growing stronger and they''re only becoming worse when trying to move them.


    Looking at Ada, rage hiding behind admiration in her eyes, Jaluuti cites. "Your skill is... unpredictable but you have won this battle and not this war."


    With no more will to try and stand up, Jaluuti''s form starts shifting. Her fairly human characteristics disappearing and abnormal colours returning.


    Almost completely dark blue in colour just after a few seconds with several white small stars scarcely spread around, Jaluuti''s form shifted a quarter bigger and fatter as she began to float above ground.


    This necessarily decrees that the hand to hand battle has met an end and the winner is clear, Ada the young ill.u.s.trian girl has won.


    Her spirit not beaten down like her human body, Jaluuti''s confidence prospers as she explains. "Death is near for you but may I ask, what are you doing in my woods to begin with?"


    Completely shitting over the Lava Spirit''s claims, Ada mutters. "I don''t know how death is near, I''ve won."


    But now moving on to shedding light upon the puzzle, the young lady also weighs in. "My friends and I are seeking the Boots of Kashentis. At least we were until your friends attacked for no reason, we didn''t do anything to ghosts before."


    Oddly informative, but likely because she is sure that Ada will die, Jaluuti recites. "You were attacked by my men, they belong to the Magma clan. They are dead and alive, that''s why two of your friends managed to hit them."


    Moving on the most important topic but trying to keep her tone firm and normal, Jaluuti asks. "Why do you need the boots of Kashentis? You''re an ill.u.s.tratio."


    Ignoring her racist slur, Ada immediately explains. "I don''t need them but Eric does, he will use their power to fight off the Demonic portals."


    Her soul at ease because of finally knowing the intents of these Humans, Jaluuti''s tone accelerates with a shout. "Shame really, you all sound like Heroes yet will die in my clutches. Me, Jaluuti! The all powerful Lava Spirit!"


    That last word striking her with an idea, Ada repeats to herself. "Spirit... Spirit."


    "Aha!" The young lady shouts after and puts her idea in motion, yelling. "Azr.a.p.etos!"


    A breek of a second later, the mist around her spreads wider, she can see a bit further but also spot the sour look on Jaluuti''s face.


    "Azr.a.p.etos!" Ada shouts once more and spots the ground beneath her regenerate lush grass tied along with various other vegetation such as dandelions, roses, stinging nettle, tulips, mint plants and so much more.


    Noticing that the young lady has figured out a counter attack, Jaluuti demands. "Stop that!"


    Trusting this idea furthermore, Ada repeats with her tone rising higher after each word. "Azr.a.p.etos, Azr.a.p.etos, Azr.a.p.etos!"


    ...


    "Huh... Ghost! Aaaaaaah!" Ada murmured as she rushed to stand up straight once opening her eyes.


    Getting a glimpse of her surroundings, she spots the group knocked out near her and as for Jaluuti, she is any where to be seen.


    Rushing towards Eric, she squats down, shakes him to the core with a firm grip to the shoulders and shouts. "Eric! Azr.a.p.etos! The key is Azr.a.p.etos!"


    "They can''t hear you." A familiar tone shone, looking up she spotted Sekun.


    Leaving Eric, she dashes towards Sekun and syncs into a hug. "You beated Jaluuti too!"


    "Jaluti?" Sekun asks, pulling Ada from the collar and separating from the hug, relocating her a few feet away.


    Excited, Ada swiftly waves her hands like a bird and explains. "Yes, I fist fought Jaluuti, that Ghost and I repeated Azr.a.p.etos to escape."


    Happy that the young lady took care of herself quite well but still having it hard to believe what she''s saying, Sekun adds. "Oh you''re smart but I don''t remember beating Jaluuti, I just remember a Dagger knocking us out."


    Trying to figure it out, Ada grabs and strokes her chin, mumbling these facts over. "Then you must be somehow immune, because Jaluuti said that all my friends will die or something. Eric is probably battling her right now!"


    ...


    "Hulululululululululu!" Eric shouts, tipped off by his new friend the table, Bushy Kuliert!


    Spotting where the kid is failing, the table advises with a shout. "Louder! Sink your tone deeper too!"


    Waving his arm left to right harder now as if it will aid the procedure, Eric continues his shouts with his lungs working over time."Hululululululululululululululululululu!!"


    PFFFBRRRRDHHH!


    A fart echoes, but it didn''t come out of his ass but at this rate he was never happier to be embarrassed about a fart.


    Because as he glanced down, he spots his missing arm reappearing right in the socket. This one doesn''t even bring pain, his arm appeared and just started working perfectly 5 seconds later.


    Confused but thankful that this task is falling together, Eric looks at Bushy Kuliert and states. "I didn''t know arms can fart!"


    Trying not to make him waste what time he has left, the table swiftly runs through a sentence. "This is a different realm, now go run and yell what I taught you!"


    Thank you, I will always remember your help Bushy." Eric mumbled, his tone showing gratitude as he dashed out of his spot.


    No second to waste, Eric begins to shout. "Azr.a.p.etos, Azr.a.p.etos, Azr.a.p.etos!"


    ...


    "Eric! You''re awake!" Ada hollers in joy and tossed herself towards Eric, pinning him down as soon as he sat straight.


    Rubbing his head and having her tied to a hug with his other arm, he expresses. "Looks like you two are awake as well, I had the weirdest dream."


    Pointing at the Goblin Demon, Sekun cites. "All of us but one, looks like Rash is fighting Jaluuti."

 Chapter 482 - Halieq (6)

    BLAM!


    Fadil the Giant foot slammed his body down against the mud, causing a well categorized Earthquake.


    Coming with an extra punch, although Rash didn''t get anywhere touched by Fadil, he became forced to fly thanks to some kind of strong punch of a wind captivating his lower body.


    Tossed 7 feet away, Rash stands up under a blink of an eye since survival urges to not get crushed by this Gold enchanted foot.


    Noticing that Fadil is too big to beat, Rash runs a few feet back and yells out. "Foot guy, we can find another way of understanding."


    Proceeding with the same attack, using his 15 meter long arms to leap his whole body forward and almost crushing Rash this time.


    That same punching wind knocked the Goblin Demon off his feet, and so Fadil cites. "I''m afraid not, you must die. This realm is mine and I do not plan to die in what I created."


    Trying to reason, Rash jumps back again after standing up and shouts. "But I can''t kill you."


    C.o.c.ky this time, Fadil utters. "Obviously!"


    "I think he means to double cross me, Fadil." A feminine tone echoed behind the two.


    Unwilling to turn around, Fadil simply and swiftly replies. "Get out of here, I''m busy with the nonsense you brought here."


    Having an urge to rip this demon minded lady in two, Rash glares at the woman floating 5 meters above the ground, behind Fadil and shouts. "Jaluuti, you are a coward!"


    Not waiting for the two to have a debate here, the Giant foot swings his 15 meter long arm and strikes Rash right across the waist.


    Tossing him 50 meters across the air, Rash feels like this is the end for him because although still in mid air he feels immobile after this strike.


    GLUK!


    TLUM.


    SHKLK!


    And so on the ground drummed as Rash''s body leaps from one point to the other.


    That hit from Fadil has forced the little man to drift against the mud for 15 more meters.


    Once slowing down, he wiggles his toes and understands movement, pointing that he has gained the ability to move thanks to those hard hits to the ground.


    "This Realm is weird." Rash whispers as he gives in effort to stand up.


    Thinking about the foot''s long arm, an idea scrolled through Rash''s mind.


    BUFF!


    He sees Fadil land 10 meters away, swinging his arm after to crush Rash, plant him like wheat.


    Dodging the swing by half a foot, Rash is swift to climb on the attacker''s hand and starts running up his arm like an ant.


    Feeling it weird that a mortal actually manages to live long enough to crawl up his arm, Fadil twitches his arm and swings upwards trying to shake Rash off.


    It worked... Rash made like a bird and flew once more, however this time higher than he ever did as Fadil has launched the man upwards.


    Flying 20 meters up, taking just a few seconds to meet a harsh surface again, a burn as if someone''s pouring hot water on him, started blooming from his leg.


    Of course quick with reflexes in order to escape pain, Rash rolls over, sits up and spots a Golden foot long spike to his left, although it isn''t one with his leg anymore.


    "The hell is this? Your crown?" Rash whispers as stood on top of Fadil''s body, that''s where he was forced to land.


    The spike looks thin in size, it''s not exactly spiked since it''s slim and dull, having 4 short branches that slightly bend to the side.


    It''s a miracle how Rash got his leg off this thing.


    "Don''t touch that!" Jaluuti shouts from a distance as she started flying towards the two.


    "Aha... So this thing is important." Rash whispers, grabbing the golden spike and trying to rip it off.


    Strong by nature, Rash''s success proved transparent when the crown started bending to the right thanks to his pull.


    Becoming too hot to touch, the crown takes a few seconds before it starts cracking, although still connected to Fadil''s body.


    KRIYYYEEEEK!


    The crown gave out a long ear piercing sound, forcing Jaluuti to fall down against the mud.


    Covering his ears and at the same time laughing when that Spirit lady fell down, Rash felt a gentle tug on his collar.


    Lifted off the top of Fadil''s body, Rash notices the gold like veins on the Giant foot here, slowly fade.


    And as the Gold fades and makes its way down to the bottom of the foot where the thickest layer of gold is at, luscious black hair grows at a mass pace from the top of Fadil''s body.


    His toes facing Rash, Fadil expresses. "You''ve helped me gain control of my realm, I couldn''t break this curse ever since she got here but now it is the time for vengeance to take its root."


    Hair captivating Fadil''s entire body now and the gold like veins forced out, Fadil takes a swing against Jaluuti with his 15 meter long arm.


    The lady is knocked out for some reason but this will enhance that fact, as Fadil''s hit dug the lady a couple of feet underground.


    Spotting the enemy''s body from here starting to disappear, Fadil once more captures Rash''s full attention. "I thank you for your help, take this as a token of my appreciation."


    Slapping the ground with both of his arms with Rash standing untouched in the middle. "Dead punch. With this blessing you can punch anyone you find as an enemy, from a safe distance of 10 meters."


    Taking no more of his time, Fadil cites. "Thank you for freeing my realm, whomever you are."


    ...


    "Get her!" Eric shouted, spotting Sekun taking a big leap towards Jaluuti.


    Completely missing the enemy''s figure and landing on the ground chest first, her foot captures Sekun''s sight and so with thundering reflexes he swings his arm, sweeping Jaluuti against a close by tree before she managed to once again become Airborne.


    Standing up and tip toeing towards her, Sekun bashes his arm against her throat, forcing the lady to stand still and to become in better relations with the tree she''s resting her back on.


    Running towards her and getting a grip of the enemy''s shoulder, Eric lightens Fire on his left palm and threatens. "I will burn your face off, but you have the chance to live if you make one job easy for us. Where is the Calidum Lutum tribe?"


    Although in no shape to counter attack, Jaluuti tongue still remains sharp as a blade. "I''m already dead you dumb f.u.c.k."


    "Then you will be dead dead. I so hoped that Fadil slapped your ass out of existence, but here you are." Rash''s tone echoed behind them, as he approached the group.


    Unwilling to argue with these men, Jaluuti quickly cuts to the deal. "I am the protector of the Calidum Lutum, might as well die die instead of leading you to them!"


    Feeling it certain that it won''t backlash if he reveals more information to the enemy, Eric starts yelling in the urge to know more! "What do you mean you are the protector? I''m the King of a whole Calidum Lutum town! I''m the Golden Blood!"


    Shocked, a tear forced open out of Jaluuti''s left eye as she uttered a question swift but heavy by tone. "Really? There are more?"


    "800 of them." Eric answers without a thread of fear, although noticing the sudden shock on Sekun''s face. Obviously this man doesn''t want his race endangered by this pain in the ass of a Spirit.


    Letting go of Jaluuti''s shoulder, pulling out his Dagger and running the tip across his forearm, blood started dripping out of the young Electus'' arm as he once again states. "I''m the Golden Blood, if you really protect the Calidum Lutum then you must obey my word."


    Blood reached down the young boy''s fingers, and what''s in between from cutting point is giving out such an eye catching shine, yellow by colour here and there representing Gold.


    The young boy''s blood stream has advanced furthermore towards a golden colour ever since he discovered it.


    Back then it was barely noticeable but now at least 5% of the rivering blood painting his arm, is yellow.


    Jaluuti can spot them easily, the colour is n.a.k.e.d to the eye. This can''t be an illusion, can''t be a trick either since no technology or magic can fake blood colour.


    Anger indeed making confusion worse, Jaluuti starts yelling her emotions out. "How could there be more Calidum Lutum and how can a child like you be the Golden Blood? How can you be the King!?"


    Almost soft enough to consider the enemy''s emotions, but not quite there. Eric waves for Sekun to let go, confident enough the young boy demands after. "I as the Golden Blood, as your King! Demand that you lead me to the tribe, I must speak with my people there!"

 Chapter 483 - Dungeon of Kushraz

    "It sure took a while to get here." Alia gave out a faint thought as side by side her and Isabel glimpsed upon Dragon''s Flame Kingdom, standing 100 meters away.


    Looking at her surroundings to make sure that enemies won''t get the opportunity to snitch and cause trouble, Isabel grabs Alia around the shoulder and cites. "Well at least we got here, although your lover man was wrong about time. It took us a month just to get here, you run slow."


    Her tone rising at a high pitch, Alia gives out a loud whisper while trying to escape the side hug. "Of course I run slow, you were supposed to carry me!"


    Hugging her head now with one arm, allowing the smaller lady to smell the taller''s pits. Isabel shortly expresses, "I''m not your mother."


    ...


    "Now where''s that Dungeon supposed to be? Mogranius said that it''s easy to find it." Commander Alia puzzles, not sure where to look first as dawn has not yet broken but confusion still remains bright.


    Taking this situation logically, Isabel butchers. "Well it can''t be near the Kingdom, that wouldn''t make sense because no one would build anything over a 2,000 year old Dungeon."


    It''s truly fulfilling hearing Isabel be this talkative, she and Alia didn''t speak much at the old Lan Zhe. Isabel was always a person to say the minimum, a word or two maybe.


    But now, she is holding a full conversation in the Ignite language even. She wasn''t fluent in Ignite but learned it because of the constant contact with Ignites and ill.u.s.tratios whose language is only different by accent.


    Commander Alia helped to crack Isabel out of her isolated social shell, it makes sense how these two took this quest but it also sheds a glowing friendship.


    Practically trying to find an excuse to slumber, Alia went on. "I think the Dungeon will be easier to find once the sun rises, this place is on clear lands. There aren''t many hills either so it will work out perfectly."


    It''s easy to spot a ruin, it''s old, out of stone and has a lot of moss so it will stand out like a zit when the sun grants its prime illumination, but the chances of finding it with a torch at night are slimmer.


    Shortly, Isabel teases. "You are sleepy aren''t you? Small Human, don''t worry we will rest for now."


    ...


    "Morning already?" Alia asks, sitting up and looking at her surroundings.


    Sitting on her sleeping bag, Isabel answers. "Yes, it''s time to move."


    Noticing that Isabel is carrying a tired face, Alia asks once rubbing her eyes and stretching out. "You didn''t sleep, did you?"


    Admitting it indirectly, she points at the flaw of slumbering here. "We''re in enemy territory, we can''t be off Guard."


    Taking a few seconds which stretched the silence, rolling her own sleeping bag in the process. Alia weighs in, "Oh well we didn''t face any danger, let''s move so we can find that Dungeon before anyone finds us."


    ...


    Now taking a better look at Dragon''s Flame Kingdom itself, the view truly proves captivating.


    The Domain doesn''t look too large, probably doesn''t even have more Houses than Gaster Kingdom, it has 180 Houses maybe?


    Regardless of those considerations, it has other characteristics adding values.


    The stonework for example, the walls are different from most of the Kingdoms in this Continent although some would say it has been built cheap.


    The walls are constructed in a square manner, while on most Domains, the first walls would be round in order to yield more space behind the protection.


    It is different but we can''t underestimate its value, especially considering how smooth it is on the eyes.


    The Stonemasons here perhaps have a fancy for making their work spiffy because the walls here don''t look blank, it doesn''t have one colour.


    Stone is used on the walls from one end to the other without a doubt but these people somehow found different coloured rocks.


    One type can be identified as basalt, that''s easy to spot considering its darker shade. But it also points out the difficulty to get them, as they are mostly found deeper underground.


    There are rocks light brown in colour, some reddish and mostly grey but those can be found easier.


    The forest isn''t too far away, and forests commonly carry creeks. In most cases, creeks have rocks giving this piece of nature characteristics.


    The colours arrange in such a way, that one would think random but actually they sync in perfectly.


    Red stones start from one top edge of the wall and slowly descend to the bottom all the way to the other side.


    The rocks light brown in colour follow a similar procedure, but are placed to form a stretched out X across one side of the wall.


    Of course there is more work here instead of just a fancy X.


    There are rectangles, possibly 3 meters long each and a meter wide, set up straight.


    One Rectangle starts out grey in colour, then the other follows pitch black. In this matter, the rectangles stand apart from each other, imprinted on the wall from one side to the other.


    However beauty aside, it is still a blurr why Dragon''s Flame Kingdom is named the way it is.


    Mogranius didn''t explain much about it, Alia had no interest in this place although she heard of its existence and Isabel doesn''t know anything either considering the isolation from the outside world and not walking on the Clear Lands before she was accepted in the old Lan Zhe.


    History books might not prove useful, especially if it has an Ignite origin but considering the territory, this Kingdom most definitely belonged to Ignites before the third Era began.


    Walking around the Kingdom, the break of dawn granting no sound from any Human since most people are under a blanket right now.


    The two ladies spot what they could be looking for, an old looking formation of rock, square in a way but covered with vegetation.


    There are Dandelions growing on top of it considering spring, but most oddly there is a tree over it, giving it shade.


    In the Clear Lands, trees grow sometimes but not close to each other enough to form a forest. More clearly, they are often far from each other.


    The tree''s roots spread down to like a complicated river, over what seems to be the entrance of what they think as the Dungeon.


    Hesitant to walk in considering its instability, not willing to squat and squeeze down either just to go through the 1 meter tall entrance, Isabel asks. "Do you think this is the Dungeon? I thought the entrance would be bigger."


    Looking at the entrance''s rivering cracks, chipped out pieces too, a 5 foot long slab imprinted on the ground even, Alia tries to find reasons to go in here. "Well it looks wide at least, plus I don''t see any other old smelly place around here so it can''t harm us to try."


    Putting her backpack down, pulling out a torch along with a flint. Alia smashes the flint against her Short Sword, illuminating the torch she set on the ground.


    Trying to lift the overall mood here, Alia points out. "Good thing we brought torches, I wouldn''t want to explore in the dark."


    Soon after, they hear a tone male by origin behind them, shouting. "You aren''t supposed to be here!"


    Staggered how they didn''t notice this person come, Isabel turns around and pulls out her Long Sword in a break of a second.


    Turning around, she sees a middle aged ill.u.s.tratio 15 feet away, holding a wood cutting axe beneath his palms, the tail of it meeting the ground. Obviously, he isn''t threatening to attack with it.


    Her Sword forward, almost reaching the man, without moving her eyes Isabel asks. "Should I kill him?"


    Walking in front of Isabel and pushing her sword down with the tip of her Gauntlet, and actually sheathing her own Short Sword.


    Connecting strong eye contact with the man, Alia asks. "Depends, is he going to become an obstacle?"


    Regardless of the fact that Isabel looks extremely different from normal Humans considering her race, and even holding a Sword up with aims of murder, the middle aged man did not yet flinch a muscle.


    Yet still not speaking once more, the man''s silence forced Alia to look at the man''s black hat, perhaps carrying a bald head.


    This man is wearing torn clothes, wolf leather perhaps? And there is fur on his shoulders as well which makes one question if he is a Hunter or a Lumberjack.


    Silence still remaining strong, the ill.u.s.tratian man turns around and walks towards Dragon''s Flame Kingdom.


    You would think he got scared, but his face showed no fear whatsoever yet he is exposing his back to Swords as well.


    Watching the man walk away about 50 meters now, Alia looks at Isabel and expresses. "That was weird right?"


    Still not breaking her glare against the man, Isabel cites. "It was, but he can be dangerous so we need to keep our ears up like a fox."

 Chapter 484 - Dungeon of Kushraz (2)

    Crawling through the structure''s entrance for a few feet, forced snug because of how this place is built. The two ladies made it to a wider opening, easy to stand on and light to progress.


    Standing up, slapping her knees with one hand and holding the torch away from her core with the other, Alia utters. "Looks like this Dungeon is less interesting than I thought."


    What she''s referring to, is the lack of texture although she didn''t put it into the word in the best way.


    This opening is perhaps 9 feet across and 7 feet high, still snug especially for Isabel whose neck is meeting tension, she can''t stand exactly straight.


    Apart from being snugish here, there is no texture as mentioned. Just a cave carrying a lot of dirt, with it''s shade originating where sun strikes, small rocks incrusting the surface, scattered at a low scale.


    This is especially odd considering the carved stone entrance just behind them. If the entrance is stone, shouldn''t everything here be the same?


    Pointing at a small hole at the end of the small cave here, trying to avoid conversations until they reach a more comfortable place, Isabel utters. "Let''s see where that hole leads too."


    Palms touching the ground, Alia reaches her torch forward, keeping it away from where hair can arise in fire and using the other arm to crawl.


    This hole here is smaller than the entrance, it''s just enough for a Human to slip through with awkward effort.


    Crawling out, she turns around and spots Isabel struggling tad extra.


    This lady is 8 foot tall, such height of course comes with a heavier body mass. Not to mention, Isabel is a Master in Swordsmanship and brings an over the top fit body with her.


    Ironically, that contributed to get this fine lady stuck.


    Grabbing Isabel under the pits and trying to pull her out, Alia advises. "Clench your ass cheeks Isabel!"


    Not sure what she means here, between the attempt to pass through Isabel feels her h.i.p.s touching every side of the hole and gets an idea what Alia meant.


    "Oh." Isabel mutters and tries to close her h.i.p.s in and set her legs straight too.


    What has been holding the 8 foot tall lady back, ceased its friction and so Isabel started flying for half a second.


    Alia for sure has given a lot of effort to pull the lady out, luckily they walked this off with a couple of small bruises.


    Alia lost balance when Isabel suddenly started sliding through the hole. Face first in the mud, it became like a checkpoint as they''ve conquered the beginning of what they think as the Dungeon.


    Standing up and pushing Alia a bit away, gentle but a point is made. Isabel expresses, "Thank you for almost breaking my face."


    "Ain''t my fault that you''re carrying Cargo behind you." Alia slightly shouts and swings her arm with an aim to hit Isabel''s ass.


    Isabel became quick to tap away with a step, Alia''s arm meeting her own shoulder after. Basically, she hit herself.


    A bit irritated about failure, Alia utters. "If only you weren''t a Master for once."


    ...


    Sinking deeper by the step, the cave started slimming down and forming more like a tunnel. Easier on their knees really, treating their anxiety with care as well by each step over dirt.


    They followed the tunnel for a couple of minutes now, admiring a little bit how it stands stable even though it is 10 feet tall and wide.


    It would make one think it''s a man dug tunnel, but there are no wooden supports here to keep everything steady, heck even rocks seem rare.


    Covering possibly 50 meters of dirt by foot, the two ladies met with a ditch at what seems to be the end of the tunnel.


    Well less of a ditch, more of a hole. Looking down they can''t see much apart from darkness, the torch on Alia''s hand is failing to illuminate however deep the bottom of this hole could be.


    "Any bright ideas?" Alia asks, hoping that Isabel won''t ask to just jump in.


    Not yet speaking, Isabel grabs a fist sized rock and gently tosses it in the hole.


    As silence remained firm, they can hear the rock''s whistle as it fights the air, continuing so for 4 seconds.


    Klack!


    Kgbug.


    Kup.


    Sounds like the rock has met the bottom, but to Isabel this is a base of valid information although by number small.


    Looking at Alia, the smart Master lady here cites. "It has to be at least 50 meters deep, all we can do is climb."


    Trying to buy herself a few seconds to prepare, not so comfortable to climb down there. Alia starts yapping, "I didn''t know we would need a rope or else I would bring one. I mean it''s supposed to be a Dungeon, just old rock stairs and a lot of empty rooms."


    Unintentionally sarcastic, Isabel adds. "You didn''t know that a 2,100 year old Dungeon would be buried underground?"


    Waving the torch, Alia immediately stutters after. "Oh please I don''t see you carrying a rope."


    "I don''t need one." Isabel answers and jumps right in the hole, straight forward.


    Although it isn''t exactly certain how deep this ditch is, they can see that it''s only 9 feet wide.


    So it makes sense how Isabel just jumped in, she needs to put little to no effort when it comes to reaching the hole''s walls where she can dig her hands to.


    Unwilling to follow the same procedure, Alia pulls out her Shortsword, stabs the ground close to her feet and slowly starts climbing down.


    In terms of physical strength, she doesn''t have a problem handling this, so success is practically guaranteed.


    Hanging on her Sword, she pulls out a little Iron Dagger that was hidden around her hip and stabs the dirt close to her head for the sake of better balance.


    Pulling out her Shortsword, out of a sudden she feels her vision become dark and bursting pain on her face too.


    Staggered off balance, she starts falling down the ditch, carrying both her weapons.


    Noticing the commotion up there, Isabel jerks her vision up and spots Alia''s body rag dolling down.


    Reaching out an arm to catch her, catching the lady by the heavy bag she''s carrying, Isabel felt the sudden heaviness of carrying an entire human in such a situation.


    The grip she had against the dirt grew weak like a single thread of hair, she too became forced off balance, tipped over with an inevitable fate to fall down.


    With Alia over her shoulder now, placed there mid fall and laying there firm, conscious although her vision blurry.


    Isabel uses her well toned legs to kick the walls of the hole behind her, launching forward much like a well sprung animal and digging her hands in the dirt again.


    This isn''t luck, this is survival of the fittest. They saw her torch fall down, and just a little while after they could see the bottom of this ditch.


    It has to be at least 15 meters more below which only means that these two ladies have been falling down for 30 or so meters in those few agile seconds.


    Slowly climbing down, with no intent to scold at such a situation. Their feet touching the bottom of the hole, Isabel jokingly asks. "You lost your grip ha?"


    "No, someone kicked me in the face!" Alia answers, her tone hollering across what feels like a Cavern considering the echo.


    Immediately getting a hint of who did it, Isabel whispers. "That ill.u.s.tratian bastard... Why when I get my hands on him."


    Immediately after she digs her claws on the dirt wall and tries to climb back up, setting her feet firm before launching.


    Shouting, Alia encourages. "Don''t, he will follow us anyway. I''m sure that jackass can hear us right now."


    "Fine." Isabel muttered and turning around, she could see the torch''s illumination cascade their vision half a minute after.


    Taking a few seconds to observe their surroundings, Isabel can see the ceiling of this place here about 20 feet above the ground.


    As for walls on the side, they can''t see any. The torch''s light can''t reach that far which only states that this place is less of a cave and more of a cavern.


    Uncertain where to go next, Isabel is just waiting for any bright ideas coming from Alia.


    This lady here has a century of experience when it comes to leadership, so of course after assessing their surroundings, Alia points straight forward and states. "We should go this way first, stuff are usually in the middle."


    Although Isabel can''t really put together what "stuff" this lady is talking about, it won''t kill her to follow so she tip toes behind immediately.


    Ten steps in, they notice a figure on the border of the torch''s illumination.


    It looks... human. The torch is shining on its back, for some reason it''s rocking left and right, mumbling something in gibberish.


    Getting closer, their Swords poked forward for the sake of security, now they can make sense out of one word, that now is being repeated over and over with a hint of slow singing.


    "Margaret... Margaret... Margaret."

 Chapter 485 - Dungeon of Kushraz (3)

    Unwilling to approach whatever the creature in front of them is, but understanding that they can''t avoid it either, with fleeing absolutely not an option. The two ladies take a few steps forward with their Weaponry perked forward.


    "What are you?" Alia asks, waiting for the man to turn around and strike.


    One thing especially disturbing, is that this creature looks Human and sounds Human too... Yet to both of these ladies it feels like illusion, as if they''ve synced into some kind of crazy shack.


    The man repeating "Margaret" unleashes such an Aura, that it''s making Alia for example feel like she is in a dream.


    Her vision continues to be more blurry the more steps she takes, through and through this is unusual.


    Gazing at Isabel, with an aim to ask her for a pinch just to check if this is a dream, what lady Alia gazed upon made her heart sink down to her foot. "Isabel! Why do you have two heads?"


    "Huh? What?!" Isabel gives out a loud mumble, not knowing if Alia or herself synced into craze.


    Letting her sword loose with one hand, Isabel starts tapping her own face on several places just to test the theory.


    Confused, she gives out a loud whisper. "What the hell are you talking about? I can only feel one head!"


    Stunned, feeling sure that this is some kind of dream now or perhaps that fall earlier wasn''t the best on her conscious, all Alia can say is. "Oh."


    "Hahahahahahhahahahahahahaa!" A tone echoed from where the man is blessing the ground at with his buttocks, loud no doubt and it forced the ladies to hold their Swords tighter as they fix their focus against the clear enemy.


    Without waiting for the two ladies to attack, the man stands up and reveals his arms although not facing the ladies.


    Yes, he does look human by physique but one thing standing out like a zit is his skin colour, it is as blue as a corpse... Dark blue almost.


    Hoping that it won''t attack, the two ladies stand firm on their spot, fairly stunned and trying to shun away fear.


    Slowly, stretching each word a few seconds, the man blue by colour cites. "Margaret will meet you soon."


    Not waiting for a question or an answer, the creature jumps head first in the mud.


    From what illumination the torch could provide, they could see the man disappear in the dirt effortlessly. Smooth, without a bruise or a dot on his clothes.


    One thing they both have doubts for, is spotting a pair of horns on the man''s forehead before it submerged in the dirt.


    The creature wasn''t facing them yes, but it dived in the mud almost vertically so it wasn''t hard to look at his face.


    They don''t want to mention it and hope it was some kind of illusion, ghosts are bad enough but a Demon Ghost? Hell no. It ain''t something they want to deal with.


    "The hell''s happening here!" Alia yells and with little hesitation glares at Isabel, noticing and pointing. "You have one head again!"


    Not willing to take chances with these creatures, Isabel demands. "This is weird, we should say the Ghost banishing word just in case. Repeat after me, Azr.a.p.etos!"


    To be on the safe side, Alia repeats it and feels a bliss once remembering that this word exists. "Azr.a.p.etos, Azr.a.p.etos, Azr.a.p.etos!"


    "Looks like you are aware of what can prevent a Ghost from hurting you, but trust me dear friend it plays no value here." A manly tone shone behind them, projected by a low tone and deeper in pitch.


    Agile to turn around, the ladies spot a familiar face. Pissed, Alia asks, "You again?"


    This man... well he is the same ill.u.s.tratio who greeted them with silence in the cave''s entrance at the very beginning.


    Unwilling to wait for an explanation or debate with him come to think of it, Isabel takes a leap forward and swings her Longsword to the left.


    Metal piercing through the air, accompanied by a stronger whistling sound a large swinging lady can contribute to thinned metal.


    SKTHLLL!


    Metal finally met with skin, hesitation remained thin as a thread and satisfaction grew stronger by the passing quarter of a second.


    Slandered in two pieces, the ill.u.s.tratios upper body and legs flew for a few feet before meeting the ground, death is inevitable at this point since no Healer can connect this puzzle of a strike.


    Surprisingly still alive but at least Human, the ill.u.s.tratio lifts himself up with his arms, enough to raise his head and whisper. "Thank you for ending my Curse..."


    Shocked by such instant biting behaviour coming from one of her greatest friends, Alia asks with a shout. "Why did you kill him?!"


    Not expecting this from Alia, not understanding her sudden thoughts of sparing an enemy today, Isabel''s tone strikes mild as she slowly explains. "He kicked you in the face didn''t he? Why should we give him the chance to live now? He is an enemy and wanted you dead!"


    Her conscious challenged, forced to adjust in this situation too, Alia takes those facts into consideration and tones it down. "You''re right... I just hoped we would get a bit of information out of him."


    Spotting something with the corner of her eye, Isabel points near the foot of the victim and cites. "You mean information like that book?"


    Shocked of this stretch of luck, coming after a small storm of such mentally challenging misfortunes, Alia mumbles. "Oh he actually carries a book!"


    Grabbing it, trying to look away from the man''s internal organs although technically this isn''t the first corpse she sees, opening it, a vibe of a Journal struck her once spotting dates and small to large paragraphs.


    Analysing the first paragraphs but struggling to make sense out of them, Alia can at least point out. "Looks like this is written in the ill.u.s.tratian language, I had to deal with them for a while, enough to pick up their language."


    Softly grabbing the book and trying to yank it off her hands, Isabel explains. "I think I had to deal with ill.u.s.tratios a tad longer than you, so if I may?"


    "Oh right, you hide a lot of stuff from us but at least it''s proving useful this time." When we think about this deeply, Alia isn''t mad that Isabel knows more than her.


    No that''s not it, it isn''t about pride either. By pride, I mean racial pride. Like, why does a Calidum Lutum lady know enough to fluently read the ill.u.s.tratian language?


    We can even rule that out as a reason behind Alia''s discomfort now. She is mad because of Isabel''s strong and stubborn hesitation to not reveal her past.


    Today is a good example, why does she know how to read in the ill.u.s.tratian language? How did she learn to read in the ill.u.s.tratian language? Did she hunt them down? Did she live amongst them? Was she used as a war weapon? What in the bloody hell happened?


    It is easy to get mad at someone who is secretive but Isabel isn''t giving her anytime to do it as she has started reciting what the Journal offers.


    "Month 6, Day 14, Year 4,073, First Era.


    I''ve been given a task by Count Shuker to find and end the self acclaimed Ignite King, he has caused a lot of trouble lately and several eye witnesses prove that he has done black magic. I couldn''t care less about that, Count Shuker promises 100 Gold Coins for King Kushraz''s head. With such Gold, I can finally buy a big big House."


    Tad shocked how Isabel can read almost out dated languages fluently, but focusing towards another key fact, Alia starts yapping. "Damn this was actually written over 2,100 years ago! What is this man? He didn''t look like a Ghost, he was alive."


    Trying to analyse this situation, listening to Alia''s words while trying not to forget what she just read, the tall lady finally answers. "He did say something about a Curse, so maybe there is something we don''t know."


    "Oh right... well keep reading!" Alia encourages with a firm look on her face, waving her hands forwards, tapping her fingertips against the book. "Maybe it will tell us how to find the Ring."


    Without any hesitation, Isabel lures her gaze towards the Journal once more and even squats a tad bit so the torche''s illumination hits the book better.


    "Month 7, Day 5, Year 4,073, First Era.


    It was difficult, a puzzle actually but through Caverns and Tunnels I finally made it to Kushraz''s Dungeon. I have seen his minions a couple of times until now, they are disgusting, something I won''t forget soon. They look like Humans, but have Horns and are blue in colour. By the one and only God, I hope to not find any more of these."


    "Month 7, Day 6, Year 4,073, First Era.


    I may have not much time to live, Kushraz''s minions have captured me and tossed me in a room. The crazy King spoke something about immortality as a Curse... I couldn''t really understand as half of his sentences were gibberish. I''ve spoken to Ignites before and know their language well, what he spoke wasn''t Ignite."


    "Month 9, Day 4, Year 4,073, First Era.


    It has been a couple of months since that foul Ignite laid that Curse on me... I''m having it hard to accept the fact, I feel that I have died, I feel like a spirit with boundaries. I leave the Caverns but I can''t get far, I end up back here. I''ve killed 17 Adventurers through these couple of months who entered the Cavern, it''s like I don''t have control of my own two limbs."


    "Month 10, day 22, Year 4,073, First Era.


    I''ve seen something that made me wish to become blind and made me hurl my lunch all across the ground, at the mouth of the Dungeon today I figured out why these minions are the way they are..."


    Patient and quiet, Alia waits for the rest of the story but Isabel adds. "That''s it, there is nothing else written! They are all blank!"


    Yanking the Journal off her hand to take a peek, Alia''s doubts proved useless as there isn''t anything more to see. "The words... they are erasing!!"


    "What?" Isabel answers, a loud whisper indeed as she leaned left to gaze upon the Journal.


    "Holy hell they are disappearing! Drop that thing, maybe it''s cursed." Isabel urges and slaps the Journal right off Alia''s hands.


    "I hate this place and all it stands for." Alia shouted but her holler is slowly but surely forced to be muffled.


    Not by any attack of some sort, but they are hearing voices that does not befit a Cavern.


    DUM DUM DUM DUM DUM!


    HALA HOLA HULA HAL. HALA HOLA HULA HAL!


    FIJUNIJUNIJUNIJUNIJU.


    HURLULULULULULU.


    "Do you hear that? I can hear drums over there." Isabel points straight forward, where a ray of sunlight coming from a hole in the Cavern''s ceiling scarcely illuminates the entrance of a tunnel.


    Not knowing how to comprehend this, Alia takes a few steps back with a prime aim of avoiding any upcoming attack and explains. "I hear flutes."


    Understanding that they won''t find the ring of Kushraz if they shy away in cowardice, Isabel the Master with the ways of a Sword encourages. "Common, we got this."

 Chapter 486 - Dungeon of Kushraz (4)

    Following that tunnel, hesitant no doubt, taking one careful step after the other for the sake of not getting jumped. The strange party like voices became louder by the meter.


    Finally reaching the end of a tunnel and finding another cavern, almost equal  in size to the one they left behind, the illumination here became much stronger.


    Torches captured their sight, spread all around the cavern, truly revealing how big this place is.


    And in the very middle, there is a group of human looking people, dancing hand by hand, forming a big circle around a fire.


    There are drums on one edge and men with flutes near them, they most likely made all of that noise. Well at least now, finding out who did it makes all of this a bit less terrifying.


    Taking a few more careful steps forward, trying not to capture attention, the two ladies obtain a better glance of what these things are.


    Short said, in no way human. Different colours are bothering alone, for example the corpse like blue tone they saw in the previous cave, there are countless beings like that here.


    They are truly hard to look at and the horns on their heads doesn''t really make it easier to the eye.


    The music suddenly stops, the crowd stops along with it and something points at the two ladies, whispering. "Guests."


    Upon vision, a quarter of the beings here disappeared in thin air, as if scared of humans. Which is considerably good progress as this cavern has to hold at least 40 of these paranormal or short said, unusual creatures.


    And so countless whispers echoed through the group, one thing they all have in common here is confusion.


    "How did these humans get here?"


    "Why is that black one so large?"


    "They look kinda cute."


    "How did they make it down here?"


    "The axed madman probably wants to f.u.c.k them."


    Pissed beyond prepare, Isabel steps forward, perks her sword towards the illumination and yells. "The axed madman died on my sword you diseased demon!"


    And so, the crowd gasps and one of those blue skinned Demons who have a thing for ''Margret'', stepped forward and utters. "Put that sword down my lady."


    Finally having a closer look at this species'' face, the two ladies can''t help feeling disgusted.


    His mouth... well it''s vertical instead of horizontal like what humans have.


    When he speaks, red teeth reveal their selves that portray blood more than bone, as if this creature ate something alive.


    And it''s face, well it has no eyes, no nose and there are a couple of short horns curling out of his forehead.


    Unwilling to ever cooperate with a demon, Isabel charges forward and takes a good willed swing against the demon, Iron piercing what we can call skin.


    The demon''s body hurled away split in two, the physical power that a Calidum Lutum possesses is something we can never underestimate.


    Blood puked and landed all over her torso once hitting the Demon and such comotion couldn''t stop the lady from thinking. "I hope this wasn''t an illusion."


    That as a topic, she hears Alia''s sweet but yet frightened tone, questioning. "Isabel, why are there two of you?"


    Having paranoia about who to swing a sword against, Isabel demands. "Stay where you are, I don''t trust illusionists and might kill you!"


    "Are you sure?" Alia shouts back, not quite comfortable with just sitting behind.


    Bursting through the next enemy of the same species, her sword whistling before Iron met flesh, the demon''s arm fell off before Isabel answered. "Yes I''m sure, stay there."


    As for what Isabel is seeing right now, it ain''t nice. Somehow, these beings have copied almost completely how she [Isabel] looks like.


    Mimicked her form so now every time she swings a sword against these enemies, it will look like the brave lady is swinging a sword against herself.


    That regardless, these Demons aren''t just waiting to be killed although not attacking either, they are mostly trying to avoid getting killed.


    But they can''t get too far from a lady who''s over 4 times faster than the average human, all Calidum Lutum are blessed with such extraordinary speed.


    Now, she''s seeing a few of these demons leap and dive in head first through the ground, exactly like the crazy one they saw at the first cavern.


    This is becoming beyond bizarre! Because these creatures have flesh, can be killed. So how exactly do they just dive in the dirt effortlessly, not even swinging a palm to dig through dirt.


    But what shows even more familiarity, is every Demon who dived in the ground, sharing one sentence before disappearing. "Margret will see you soon..."


    It''s odd, hard to comprehend and indeed arising anxiety by the passing second although the lady isn''t failing to shred through any demon that wasn''t quick enough to escape.


    As the last of these species dived in the dirt, the illusions disappeared along with them as if switching a lever.


    Isabel can see these demons now, the original form they have instead of seeing herself everywhere, which points out that those cowards can make other creatures appear like something else.


    Truly powerful but it didn''t stop the massacre, with about 20 demons remaining now, Isabel sliced her way towards taller ones, specifically Demons who go by the title of ''guardians''.


    They are taller than most Demons here, the same size as Isabel, around 7 feet.


    But unlike the guardians that Isabel met down in that Ignite gem cavern, these ones are far more animalistic, screaming like animals even as they ran around n.a.k.e.d, have quite a nice booty too.


    After circling around in the cavern a tad bit, they make for another tunnel on the left side of the cavern, and now the only beings remaining here are what we know as Goblin Demons.


    Their characteristics are easy to determine, they are short, have one eye and dark purple skin.


    However Alia never met these creatures although Isabel saw them down at that Ignite castle.


    Yet, neither of them know about a grand fact, these creatures tend to negotiate. One of them while running away, yells. "Don''t kill me! I have gold!"


    Noticing that illusions have gone away, Alia takes a few steps forward and yells out. "Don''t kill them!"


    "What? Do you want to spare these bastards?" Isabel hollers back, not breaking her glance from the 7 goblin demons she has quartered.


    "I don''t love them, but they can tell us where the Dungeon of Kushraz is." Alia spoke out a bit more calmly and the demons just nodded in agreement.


    One of the Goblin Demons yells out, "We know where it is!"


    "Oh do you? Sing for me then." Isabel demands, perking her sword a hunch more forward, the tip meeting a goblin demon''s forehead.


    A grand way to intimidate and so the goblins started speaking all at once.


    "Left."


    "You have to swim."


    "There''s a big rock!"


    "Run down and it''s after a hole!"


    Thankfully they understand the Ignite language which only means that they had long human interaction.


    Yet they aren''t making any sense so Isabel yells out. "Silence!"


    Assertive no doubt, after everyone was forced quiet, she demands. "One of you, tell me where it is."

 Chapter 487 - The tribe

    Meeting Jaluuti has through and through been a strong pain in thLe ass, she has caused a lot of trouble to strangers and Eric''s group for sure has gotten sick of it.


    But at least she finally decided to cooperate, Eric proved himself as a worthy King of the Calidum Lutum and considering the title that Jaluuti placed on herself [Protector of the Calidum Lutum], she has no choice but to obey him.


    So after the debate died down, they make their way deeper in the forest that captivates more than half of the continent.


    The goal as mentioned before, is to reach almost the very middle of this continent, where the 4 countries of Ignis split, somewhere there are the boots of Kashentis.


    They''ve travelled for about a week now and are getting step by step closer to reaching the Calidum Lutum tribe that before they didn''t know existed.


    Throughout this travel however, the two parties didn''t have good communication between each other. Although now under Eric''s command, Jaluuti kept her distance from the group.


    Fairly, both of the parties glared at each other, and only communicated when heavy questions had to be asked. Jaluuti even stood far from them when the gang stopped travelling for the day to sleep.


    Well spirits don''t really need to sleep so it sure was painful for her to wait 8-10 hours a day for these mortals to catch up energy-wise.


    ...


    After just 3 more days they finally reach what they''ve been busting their toes in the past couple of months for.


    They have reached the Calidum Lutum tribe of which until a certain point, all of Eric''s group didn''t know existed.


    Jaluuti stuck closer with the group for the sake of keeping them safe, good gesture but with Sekun amongst them, getting attacked by these Calidum Lutum is a dim chance.


    Yet still, it doesn''t prevent all the weird looks the group got from this tribe, some even started raising weapons up.


    Reaching what looks like the tribe center, surprisingly just a few houses standing around here, Jaluuti speaks out in a modified Ignite language. "Everyone, call all the brothers and sisters here, I have important news for you."


    And so a few men sprung into action, dashing left and right  to obey the command. The way Jaluuti''s speaking the Ignite language points out an accent, most definitely isolated.


    But what''s more interesting is all of these Calidum Lutum surprisingly understanding the language, Eric expected for Jaluuti to translate everything.


    It took just a few minutes for everyone to gather up, and the murder intending stares still remained strong. What''s more troublesome is that they aren''t uttering a single word, not even a whisper, no they are all unbreakable stares.


    Breaking the uncomfortable silence, Jaluuti yells out while pointing at Eric. "My people, I brought you the Golden Blood!"


    Eric expected a lot more doubts but right at this second people started facing the ground, bending all the way down and admiring the King with the cat pose.


    An older man stands up, hustles to walk towards the group and touches Sekun by the shoulder, greeting. "Welcome here my King."


    Understanding where the misunderstanding is, considering Eric being an Ignite, Sekun points out. "Oh no no no, I''m not the golden blood."


    "Then who is it?" The old man asks, his eyes jerking wide open, shocked and even expecting another Calidum Lutum to come soon.


    Holding Eric by the shoulder, Sekun happily states. "This boy, he''s the Golden Blood."


    "Impossible! He''s an Ignite!" The old man yells, not caring if there actually is a King present and thinking this is some kind of joke. "Do not offend our traditions with this joke!"


    "Joke ha?" Eric breaks the silence, pushing anxiety away and letting rage occupy a good portion of his mind.


    "Get me a dagger." The young boy requests, and to such a demand the tribe here stood up and perked their weapons sideways, ready for battle.


    Fair to say they misunderstood the intent, but after Sekun hands the boy a 20 cm dagger, Eric runs the very tip of it on his forearm, allowing blood to break out, his arm hair creating rivers, spreading branches.


    It took a little while for the people to understand what he''s doing, but a couple of younger eyes joined the scene, careful by the step.


    Giving Eric''s arm great attention, one of them, which is a lady almost twice the young man''s size, yells out. "By Calidum, he really is the Golden Blood!"


    Loving the thought, another one of these species yells out from the background. "The son of god is finally here!"


    And so, a cheer broke out amongst the masses, their celebration is truly heartfelt and the group can hear it by the thunder that captivates the heart and forces goosebumps.


    And now after the cheers stopped, the tribe started bowing down again, almost texting the ground with the cat pose.


    They keep repeating, "The son of god is here."


    Until Eric gets pissed off, hating the thought and yelling out. "No! Don''t call me that!"


    Silence struck strong now, the crowd waiting for an explanation and even having doubts regarding this possible imposter. "I''m not a god, I''m literally so killable, a mortal really."


    Understanding the uncomfortable aura basing it from the strong silence, the young boy decides to go towards another direction. "The traditions here are different I see, my other tribe of Calidum Lutum never called me the son of god."


    "There are more Calidum Lutum?" One of them shouts, standing up straight.


    "Please rise on your feet everyone." Thankfully obeying the command, the crowd stood up for a second, most likely because they don''t want to kiss the ground anymore.


    So many eyes glancing at him now, that''s... sweet breaking. So pushing anxiety aside once more, feeling his heartbeat growing stronger and faster, Eric continues. "I don''t know what your traditions are, never even knew that more Calidum Lutum exist but I as a King am finally here for you!"


    And to such a declaration, the crowd instantly broke into another cheer but thankfully they are easily commanable. With one hand raise, the crowd synced into complete silence.


    Using the silence, Eric gives out another offer with an actual tear breaking out. "I''m so happy to find more of my people and I''m sure my other tribe will be happy as well."


    Grasping the silence again, the young Golden Blood continues. "Therefore, I want to establish a connection between the two tribes, we have to connect!"


    And at this very second a louder cheer broke out, fairly heavier than everything they''ve heard today. It truly is heart warming and all these tough tall people are actually appreciating the tear on the young King''s eye.


    Raising his hand, obtaining silence from the crowd after the cheer stretched for nearly a minute, Eric pitches. "I will draw you a map, 10 of you people will go to my other tribe and inform them that I am here and tell them of your existence as well."


    Trying to put this plan together from scratch, the respected crown holder continues. "Seek out Kazer, he understands the Ignite language, even the ones with accents."


    To that, a good portion of them got confused so that old man approaches with another question, his slim long white beard bouncing by each word. "They speak a different language?"


    Feeling quite proud of the town/tribe he''s at King at, Eric deciphers. "Yes, all of them speak the authentic Calidum Lutum language, it''s older than all the 3 Eras. I don''t know how all of you ended up over here but you''re about to learn some authentic history."


    Pointing at Sekun, Eric requests. "You, please say a few words in the Calidum Lutum language."


    "Oh... sure." Sekun answers and steps on Eric''s side.


    Loving every second of this, the companion speaks out. "Ho ke er Welzer Artej."


    Feeling a strike in his heart, but thankfully it''s for good, the old man asks with a lot of joy in his tone, with a sigh even. "And what does that mean?"


    "This is the Golden Blood. That''s what it means." Sekun answers, clearly he used the recent topics when asked to speak in the authentic language all of a sudden.


    "Amazing, I love this." The old man expressed and the rest of this tribe started repeating heartfelt sentences.


    "As you can see, my words are true, the crown in my head proves it." Poking Sekun again, Eric requests. "Try to yank it off my head."


    Trying to be gentle, the tall man grabs the young boy by the crown and with a bit of effort, lifts the boy a foot off the ground. "See, it won''t come off. it mended with my head once I claimed the throne."


    And indeed the crowd expressed their best thoughts and after a good few congratulations and welcomes, Eric cuts to the point. "My people, I didn''t expect any of you to be here but I am in a quest."


    And so the crowd struck silent, waiting for his word. "Demons want to destroy our continent and the only way to stop them is to generate black fire, it will destroy their portals!"


    Laying off the grand side of this request, Eric weighs in. "But I''m not strong enough, I need the boots of Kashentis to become a level 7 Fire Blaster!"

 Chapter 488 - The tribe (2)

    Upon Eric''s last thundered sentence, the crowd struck dead quiet and even started giving harsh looks, it''s fair to say that they are portraying an upset c.u.mulative image.


    For a second, Eric thought that they''ll finally turn on him! These people are isolated from society but they aren''t necessarily dumb. They can link it all together, first a random stranger appears out of nowhere and right after he mentions the boots of Kashentis... It''s down right suspicious.


    But thankfully, that old man who seems to speak for all of the tribe, breaks the mentally consuming silence. "Accursed Demons!"


    At that exact second, Eric thought that such hate is directed towards the golden blood himself, but thankfully the old man extended his curses. "They''ve been attacking us for years, took our little kids even!"


    Giving out a strong sigh, feeling a sensation of relief equal in size to a source bear, glad that the plan is finally going smooth, he expresses. "See, you already share a bond with your king!"


    And to such a thundered sentence, a cheer followed but it wasn''t so heavy compared to what they heard today.


    A bit calmer, wanting to further advance the hunt for the relic, Eric weighs in. "We will hunt our enemies and take revenge too, they will die by my hand."


    That''s no bluff either, this young man is no stranger to killing. Be it animal, human or beast, his merged kill count stretches to thousands.


    Hard to believe it once giving it a bit of reflection, but at this reality it''s kill or be killed, even for teenagers.


    Liking the thought of revenge but still not understanding that black fire business, the old man first points out. "I''m glad to have you here my King, my name is Qutalis."


    And then moves to the puzzling question. "How will you summon this black fire? Maybe we can help, our tribe has summoners."


    Now becoming more confused than the old man, Eric asks with an aim to correct as well. "You mean lava blasters?"


    Revealing what''s not so surprising when it comes to the Calidum Lutum, Qutalis deciphers. "We have lava blasters yes, but I mean we also have summoners... they have connections with spirits, maybe they can help summon black fire."


    Realizing that they have been talking here a bit too long, the old man points towards the left and states. "Follow me, I''ll meet you with our summoners."


    Still staggered about this whole summoner topic, Eric tries to turn attention back to the main topic. "That''s nice but I don''t think summoners will help with this, I just have to become the greatest fire blaster ever to generate black fire."


    Having the young man grabbed around the arm right now, Qutalis weighs in a thought. "Wouldn''t hurt to listen, they''re all over 1,700 years old and can summon some of the toughest ghosts, maybe they can summon Kashentis too."


    Proving quite insistent at this point, the geezer also adds. "Wouldn''t it be nice if the fire lady herself guides you?"


    "I guess we have some time." Eric expresses, looks back at his group and waves for them to come along.


    Although this tribe looks nice, trust can''t get a foundation laid in just one day, Calidum Lutum are powerful so it''s better to have 3 loyal hot heads backing up the young Electus.


    One thing in particular Eric is amazed off, is the lifespan these species have. Qutalis claims that the summoners are over 1,700 years old... how many stories can geezers like that tell?


    It''s especially interesting considering that the second Era in Ignis was 1,832 years long! Which means that the oldest of the old here, lived throughout most of the second Era and through the entire third one.


    The third Era is only 202 years old but the thought of living that long is still astounding. Either an individual learned a lot or is sick of all the bullshit.


    ...


    At the moment they''ve walked about 2 kilometers from the houses they left behind, it was kind of odd to see houses so little in quantity, especially considering the number of individuals there.


    But now it makes a bit more sense, the group are approaching something they''ve become quite used to, an underground town.


    Well that at least how the talkative geezer described it after Eric asked what the hell they''re looking for.


    They only see trees, dim vegetation and dirt, well all the usual stuff a forest in the break of spring would have.


    "Okay... where is the town?" Eric questions, expecting a tunnel or cave of some sort but no the area is pretty much flat.


    Wanting to be kind, Sekun offers. "Maybe he needs to cool down for a bit, I can carry you, you seem pretty old."


    "I''m 1,561 years old, I think." Qutalis murmurs, counting with his hairy fingers a bit too but thankfully remembers the main point once more and expresses. "The town is right underneath us."


    "I don''t see volcanic rock." Eric points out, seeing only dirt that has barely any grass on it.


    "That''s not a good idea if you want to hide. People will think there''s precious ore here and dig through it." Genius in a way but how the hell will they get to the town if there''s only dirt here?


    Not wanting to start any other topics or answer them either, the old man demands. "Now, close your mouths unless you want to poop gold."


    "There''s gold here?" Eric questions, his eyes widening up.


    He isn''t drawn by riches, but sending bars of gold to the triangle of domains on the other side of the continent, can help resist any ill.u.s.tratian attack.


    "No, no gold but please close your mouths and don''t open them until I say so." Handing his 7 foot wooden stick to Sekun, the old man straightens his back and suddenly seems taller, 9 foot tall to be more exact.


    Stretching his arms as well, he murmurs. "Let''s see if I can still do this."


    Just 3 feet away from the group, he reaches hands towards the ground while trying to keep his legs straight.


    At the moment it looks like he''s doing yoga but this move''s value is much heavier than that.


    By every split second his head reaches closer towards the ground, legs started bending forwards even.


    Bended forward and started elevating towards the sky, his arms aiding to keep balance.


    After a bunch of sweats broken, the old man synced into a complete and almost straight handstand, interesting to see and Sekun started worrying about the old man''s safety.


    It gave quite a full moon because the old man''s fur dress unleashed, so Rash puts in an effort to cover Ada''s eyes... she''s too young to see an 1,561 year old ass.


    Eric''s quite paralized too, mostly because of the white hair on it.


    Before any of the group could say anything, the geezer releases his grip from the ground, but he''s not standing straight no.


    Qutalis lets go off the ground and perkes both elbows forward, with a prime intent of hitting the ground with them.


    Through that exact second, they suddenly feel the dirt loosen up beyond escape, sinking in it in just a split second as if spirits came out of the ground and dragged them in.


    Now, their vision becomes all white which immediately forced eyes to close, it didn''t exactly leave them blind but it''s not painless either.


    Eric now understands why this old man asked for them to close mouths, this probably tastes like it burns.


    Just when they almost started running out of breath, light captivated their sight and it took a few eye rubs to push the pain away.


    Now, they seem to be in a small cavern, perhaps 40 meters wide? It''s not so big if it''s meant to contain a town.


    As for illumination, there''s a pool of lava almost in the middle, perhaps just 7 meters across. Small but it''s unleashing a lot of light.


    Spotting that the team is tad irritated, scared even, the old man cites. "I hope you didn''t eat any of that. Don''t worry, you won''t poop gold but it can cause you explosive shits if you ate any."


    "Well that''s relieving." Eric answers, accidentally cracking a joke about poop.


    "You can shit in the lava if you want to, I''ll allow it if you really have to go." Here, the geezer is practically teasing them, understanding that they got a bit scared.


    But Eric the inevitably most curious, questions. "How did you do that? Are you a lava blaster!? I''ve never seen anything like this."


    Indirectly admitting that he''s a lava blaster, Qutalis explains. "Lava is crazy, it''s more than hot rock, [god] Calidus made it out of many things and when we find those things, we can control lava better."


    Well this explanation isn''t so clear, someone who lived here for 200 years can easily understand it but not newcomers.


    Observing the confused looks on their faces, the old man also adds. "This soft thing can be found in lava or volcanic rock, but we can also spread it, make it replace all the rock and the hot stuff."


    "So it spreads like a disease." Eric adds, finally understanding the base.


    "It spreads like a disease." The old man assures, wipes off a bit of the white stuff from his skin and adds. "Let''s meet the summoners."

 Chapter 489 - The tribe (3)

    Piercing through a nearby tunnel on the other side of the pit, the group meets with a structure they did not expect.


    In this underground town, they expected a large volcano in the middle like what the old underground town of Lan Zhe represented.


    But this only proves that the Calidum Lutum are survivors worthy of the title of being ancient people.


    Describing the structure, there''s a wide opening that interjects the form of a big staircase. It of course goes straight down, each step stretching half a meter wide.


    Truly befitting the average size of a Calidum Lutum, last thing anyone would need is short staircases, Kazer is a big example if we look a few months back.


    The structure of this staircase isn''t exactly carved to perfection, they can see a lot of basalt and a bit of volcanic rock, forming a 20 foot wide rectangle that''s bent downwards and is out of proper shape.


    One thing that shows some attributes from the old Lan Zhe however, are tunnels/doorways being close to each other. These tunnels can lead to any direction, up and down even which grants the vibe of an expansive underground town.


    Names in mind, the young Ada steps closer towards Qutalis and utters a single question while walking down carefully on the steps. "What''s this town named?"


    "Lan Shutak." The old man answers and thus leaves everyone at a grave shock.


    "Do you understand how much that relates to the other tribe!" Ada yells out, her eyes sparkling with joy and even began to jump a little bit?


    "Really, what''s the tribe''s name?" Qutalis questions, keeping his excitement caged behind a tired face.


    "Lan Zhe! See the first name relates." Eric budges in, feeling glad as a King to talk about his town.


    Carrying a wider smile this time, the geezer cites. "Looks like we''re closer to our roots than we thought, I''m not fit for travel otherwise I would."


    Agile to guarantee, Eric explains. "I''ll set up a team for that tomorrow, it''s not that hard to find the tribe especially since all of you speak the Ignite language for some reason."


    Taking a turn to the left after passing by 3 tunnels on their side, the old man''s tone rises in enthusiasm, chanting. "The two tribes will be merged forever, by the will of Calidus."


    Walking a few more steps forward, they take  another left turn and walk in a small cave, it perhaps stretches 20 feet wide, looks more like a hole really.


    There are 3 people in this hole, their heads are clear to see thanks to the illumination of which a fire provides, that takes base right in the middle of them.


    "My sisters, I bring you the King of Lan Shutak!" Qutalis thunders, his tone starting dim and hollering at the end so the ladies don''t get spooked.


    "Impossible!" One of the ladies turns around and that''s the first thing she spoke.


    "We don''t need to cut the young boy again, I saw it, that should be enough for you." Qutalis mumbles through the sentence, feeling himself getting more and more tired. "Forgive me, I haven''t slept in a week."


    Scared that the old man will die in front of them, Sekun questions. "Why haven''t you slept? You need sleep now more than ever."


    "I had an immense feeling for a week, I sensed that someone will come but never expected you all." The geezer utters, well at least he isn''t dying, a lot of Calidum Lutum lived for 2,000 years before.


    In the same second, they see the ladies twitching their bodies towards the entrance or in other words, the group, bending down and almost kissing the ground with that cat pose.


    "Welcome our King." They uttered at the same time and hear an unfamiliar tone demanding. "Please rise, don''t treat me like a god."


    Facing the group once more, one of these three blonde haired ladies as if hissing, questions. "Who are you little slave? Why do you speak for the King?"


    At this point Eric feels beyond dumb founded and can''t quite figure out who this 1,700 year old lady is talking to, because his group literally has 4 different races or species.


    Thankfully the old man breaks the awkward silence, "That''s no slave my sisters, that little Ignite boy is the golden blood."


    The three ladies have it hard to believe it, most definitely find it impossible but Qutalis is known as a man who always tells the truth in 100% of any given circ.u.mstances.


    So one of them speaks for the rest, "We apologise my King, this is just unusual. Tell us, what brings you in our den."


    Breaking a possibly long repetitive conversation, the old man cuts it short. "The boy is seeking the boots of Kashentis, has to kill a lot of demons with black fire apparently. I don''t have the energy to tell you everything so summon black fire or lady Kashentis or whomever you need."


    The summoner lady in the very middle stands up and utters, "As much as we would love to help you, black fire is impossible for us and summoning lady Kashentis could kill us all."


    "Kill us all?" Eric repeats, his ego tad hurt.


    Becoming bolder than needed, he presents. "I''m not just the golden blood, I''m also the new Electus! As an Ignite she has no choice but to help me!"


    "The Electus doesn''t belong to one continent my King. You have control over her the same as you have control over any other continent, zero to none." Might be harshly projected but the lady in the middle is uttering the truth.


    That and she doesn''t quite like that an Ignite has been blessed with such tremendous power. She still doesn''t believe that this boy is what he claims, the combinations sound like the bizarre above the bizarre.


    Trying not to burst on these ladies who consider him a King, Eric instead weighs in the situation. "Well we just have to take the risks then or else these continents I have no control over, will be crumbled into nothingness. The demons have figured out how to destroy entire continents and I''m not talking about war!"


    "Then what are we waiting for?" The lady on the right thunders, possibly the oldest here. "Let''s summon Kashentis ladies, it''s either die now or die later."


    "Yes, we have no choice." The other added and the last nodded.


    After that, one of the golden haired ladies demands. "Now I need all of you, apart from our King to get out. Kashentis can kill you all."


    Grabbing Eric by the hand, Ada utters with a soft tone. "I can stay with you."


    "Don''t worry, I think she will reason with me. The whole world is at danger after all, plus I''m the Electus so..." Right at that second, he feels a soft touch on his lips, fairly the first time he feels anything like it.


    Thankfully no one else here would be comfortable enough to do that, not even Rash the goblin demon.


    It''s indeed Ada, the kiss lasted just for a few seconds and diminished the young King''s self praise. Separating from the kiss, she whispers. "In case we all die here."


    Right now, the young boy''s ability to speak has been taken away from that kiss, the raging shyness Eric has carried through most of his life, emerged again.


    But yet he still manages to utter a sentence, that doesn''t quite add up. "Boots kill."


    "Sit." The oldest lady here demands, her tone thundering more than ever.


    And so one of the old ladies, pulls one of her golden hairs off and tosses it in the fire, stretching one sentence. "The summoning has begun."


    Right after, the one on the right dips her hand right above the flame, it''s surrounding the ladies palm a bit but surprisingly she isn''t pulling it back as if not having pain sensors.


    Calm enough, she even adds. "I ensure that."


    Right after, the two remaining ladies rip off one thread of hair from their heads and toss it in the fire, adding. "We ensure it as well."


    Pulling their hands out of the fire, one of them looks at Eric and demands. "Pull out one of your hairs and toss it in the fire, or else Kashentis will see you as a threatening stranger."


    And such a sentence forced the feelings of shyness right out of the young Electus, of course he obeyed the command right after.


    "Place your hand on the fire and assure us." One of them continued with a demand, rather hard to follow.


    But yet again he isn''t a stranger to burns, so after a bit of hesitation he places his hand directly in the fire and becomes overwhelmed once trying to comprehend one fact. "It isn''t hurting..."


    "Then you assured us." One of them speaks, whatever the hell that means.


    Reaching both hands on the fire, one would think this old lady is crazy but the next step is what Eric thought impossible.


    She somehow separates a bit of the campfire, as if grabbing a chunk of the fire and now holding it on her hand.


    Even a fire blaster can''t do this so what in the name of hell, peaceful or non peaceful is going on?!


    The two other ladies repeated the procedure successfully and ask Eric, "You do that as well."


    Since the fire doesn''t burn his skin, the young man had no problem mimicking them but the next required step got him confused.


    "Talk to the fire." One of them guided. "Tell it what you demand."


    Not sure how this works, being the first time he gets exposed to such sorcery, Eric builds up a poor sentence. "I want to see boots of Kashentis... wait no, I want to see Kashentis herself."


    "We assure his demand." The three ladies uttered all at the same time.


    "Breathe the fire in with your nose." The oldest lady guides once again.


    Well this is certainly becoming more bizarre but he got this far so why not, taking one deep breath he sees the fire diminish in a split second and wonders if he did it wrong.


    Seeing the three ladies do the same, he knows it was done right.


    "Now breathe it out with your mouth." The lady carrying the longest hair, guides.


    Now, that flaming orange fire he... consumed from the looks of it, came out green. Absolutely bizarre but sure cleared out any buggers he had through that route, now he can breathe a bit more clearly and admire the smoke this room has.


    The three ladies blew out fire as well, except each of theirs has a different colour. Specifically: red, blue and purple.


    Finally reaching what seems like the end of the procedure, the oldest lady utters. "Now all of us together have to spit in the fire. On 3."


    "1, 2, 3!"


    And so at the same time they spit at the fire, watch it shun down in just a split second as if someone came by and poured 10 buckets over it.


    Immense darkness captivated their field of view right after, and the young Electus can''t help feeling more nervous than his first kiss a bit earlier.


    The room''s silence remained for just a quarter of a minute, Eric started thinking that this summoning didn''t work.


    But just then, someone else joins the room, almost blinding them with the sudden entrance.


    Standing a foot above where the campfire used to be, a fire by skin colour figure stands in front of Eric.


    Portraying a feminine form that''s covered with multiple layers of fur, but fire and fur usually doesn''t go well together which makes this all the more unique.


    The lady''s tone echoes heavy in projection, thick enough to sound like a man but still has a dash of feminine.


    Her words, poorly structured but this lady is a few millennia old. "Diminish youngling! Why have thou provoked my soul? Why have ye summoned Kashentis?"

 Chapter 490 - The tribe (4)

    Trying not to get burned alive at this point, Eric mumbles. "Sorry for the disturbance lady Kashentis but I need your help."


    "And who shall ye be for me to help? You''re just a youngling, a newborn." Harshly projected, her tone is forcing flakes of dirt from the ceiling to fall down even.


    But ego has to be pushed away now, because even as a dead soul she can kill everyone here. Therefore Eric elaborates, "A powerful woman has told me that you were the only one in history who could generate black fire."


    Using the stretch of silence, Eric adds right after. "I as the new Electus and as the new Golden blood, have to generate black fire... or else."


    "Or else? Is thou threatening me? The mother of fire?" Kashentis interrupts, not quite understanding what Eric meant.


    Having it hard not to yell right now, under a muffled tone he adds. "You''re the mother of fire, we all know that but you''ve slept for millenia and don''t understand what''s threatening the whole world right now."


    It''s hard understanding how the afterlife works, because this lady claims she has been awoken, while at the same time there are many dead souls roaming the earth, not to mention ghosts and spirits who have a whole different category.


    It can be tricky but at least the young boy knows Mogranius enough to understand how spirits work.


    "And black fire, my black fire shall help yee?" Lady Kashentis questions, genuinely confused for once.


    One would think that the mother of fire herself would understand how powerful her fire blasting is.


    Finally given the opportunity to cut to the case, the young golden blood cites. "Yes, black fire can destroy the portals. We''re under attack by demons!"


    Although 16 millennia old she does know what demons are, but yet she questions. "Demons exist?"


    At this point she''s portraying an atheistic image but who knows what religions existed in her time.


    Fearing that this can go for the worst, Eric carries a forced smile, concerned eyes and rushes through sentences. "They exist, I killed thousands of them up until now but it''s not enough... these ladies can confirm their existence if you don''t trust me."


    "We assure his words." The summoners echoed at the same time, although they don''t know his kill count.


    "Demons hmmm... Thou shall use sea water against them, yee will seek progress youngling." Well at least now she''s cooperating in a way.


    But more determined to get the boots, Eric states a fact. "It doesn''t work, thousands of them got out of the sea, they don''t even drown!"


    Twitching her face, the overpowered lady adds. "The scholars in Kashentis'' time were wrong if ye claim is true, these demons strike vigilant."


    Immediately after, she sighs in dissatisfaction and adds. "You can get my boots but comprehend this, it''s not for a child to play with Kashentis'' boots, yee can be killed, yee can be striked by thunder."


    "How can I get them without killing myself?" This is an important question to ask, the world can be swallowed if he dies getting these boots.


    Her tone arising for the worst just because of that question, the lady recites. "Yee are not worthy, yee are weak child, weak! My boots carry 100 souls in them, can yee fight each soul? Can you enslave them like I did?"


    Seeing those numbers as extremely small, he starts yelling out this time. "I have killed thousands of souls that stood against me and I can do it again, 100 souls are target practice for me!"


    Understanding that this boy will die today, Kashentis just encourages it. "Good... go to my boots and present an offering and ye shall see who will die today."


    Confused, cooling down a bit, he questions. "What offering should I make?"


    "Fire." Kashentis utters under a mild tone.


    Right then, the mother of fire herself disappears in thin air, faster than the eye can blink, gone!


    After she left, the diminished campfire around them rises in just a few seconds, carrying a green colour just for a few seconds before it shifts towards the original.


    Now, one of the summoning ladies interjects. "You are impatient, why did you upset lady Kashentis? She could have taught you more."


    One thought ahead of these ladies thanks to the crown on his head, Eric cites. "The only thing she would try to convince me on is how weak I am, her not appearing and killing us all when I claim the boots, is good enough for me."


    ...


    Getting out of the town, after hearing a bit of the mother of fire herself said, Qutalis utters. "Maybe it isn''t the best idea to take you to the boots now my King."


    Understanding where the geezer is getting with this, Eric instantly questions with an eyebrow jerked up. "So you think I''m weak?"


    "I think you will die, we just discovered our King and don''t want him dead." Greatest point today, the most reasonably projected as well.


    Kinder for once, the old man also adds. "It''s different to hear out my opinion and it''s different to hear out the mother of fire herself. If she says that the boots aren''t for you then what hope do you cling on?"


    Using a grand point, the hard headed King cites. "Remember what the summors said, it''s either die now or die later, I can''t leave the continent in the hands of demons."


    "You aren''t touching the boots Eric, that''s suicidal." Ada interrupts, tying her arm around his as they walk through the forest.


    "Yes, it would be dishonorable for me to let you die, I took an oath." Rash adds, making a further point although tradition led.


    "My King that''s a horrible idea." Sekun adds as well, feeling obliged to respect royalty a bit more now since his whole race is respecting it.


    Wanting to make something else clear, the young Electus weighs in. "If any of you can give me a better idea then I''d be happy to follow it, it''s not like I want to die."


    "You''re not touching the boots until we find another way." Ada insists, clinging on the boy''s arm a bit harder now. "I''m not giving you another option, you will do as I say."


    The look she''s carrying on her face forces Eric to giggle a bit, it''s like that of an angry puppy''s. But the young man can understand reason too in a continent where ignorance rages on the four countries.


    So he finally gives in, "Okay little lady, I''ll wait."


    While in the background Sekun whispers to Rash. "Only the Queen can command a King."


    Stretching a handful of words, Eric''s tone elevates by a hunch. "I heard that."


    "Shush." Ada utters, slapping the boy by the hand.


    ...


    Finally reaching the monument, the first impression it has on the group is the fact that that demon lady described it well enough on parchment.


    The monument looks older than time itself, but that doesn''t necessarily shun down it''s beauty.


    The most characteristic part about it is the tower it carries, it stretches around 5 meters till but it''s too slim for anyone to climb over it, perhaps just a couple of feet wide.


    Entirely made out of stone like the base on it''s left, the base attached to it is somewhat shaped like a square and separates the ground only by a foot.


    What that points out is that this monument doesn''t have a dungeon underneath it where they can seek the boots of Kashentis at.


    So where exactly are the boots? This is just a monument, a poorly shaped structure of stone, the base itself is just 4 meters wide and is covered with moss.


    It''s not pretty and we can excuse that because this monument is over 16,000 years old but we still can''t disclude the fact that the boots are not here!


    "I don''t see the boots." The young Electus points out the obvious, giving Qutalis a suspicious look.


    "You will soon, don''t act like I killed your mother." The old man answered, not realizing how many layers of emotions he touched.


    Ada however is facing the effect of touching the Electus on his veins, Eric''s just taking his rage out by unwillingly tightening his arm inhumanely around Ada''s.


    2 years ago this would have left a terrible wound but she has been taught the Mantek martial arts from Alia herself, this art is Kastarian by origin but at this point it''s proving like a barricade, respectively what''s keeping Eric stable.


    In his ear, Ada whispers. "Calm down, we need them."


    The monument itself is about 300 meters away from the town, it''s fair to say that these people kept a distance from what they can''t understand, the monument is easily older than this town.


    Just now, the group notices something foul and Sekun decides to point it out. "What''s that smell?"


    "That corpse." The old man states, pointing at a bush.


    They don''t see a body, only a foot sticking out of the vegetation but a point is well proven as the body portrays a completely scorched view.


    It''s skin is broken off, torched black in colour as if throwing a human in a fire.


    Thankfully proving as saints for once, the geezer adds. "We started guarding the monument 10 years ago because people kept touching it and kept dying."


    Turning around to face all of them, he questions. "Summoning the boots won''t kill us but are all of you sure about seeing them?"

 Chapter 491 - The tribe (5)

    "Uhhh... well since it can''t kill us." Eric uttered, half a mind to continue with this, his confidence diminished the more he thought about this.


    "It can''t, we summoned them a few times and it went well. But if you touch the monument you will die, there is no discrimination." The old man deciphered, yawning right after.


    The sound of it is becoming more confusing by the passing second, but Eric wants to try his chances. Besides lady Kashentis said something that broke the usual, far different from what these people said.


    Although she too discouraged the young boy regarding touching the boots, there is one particular sentence that stuck with Eric.


    "Offer it fire." That''s what Kashentis'' soul said, although he didn''t tell the rest of the group just yet.


    Perhaps Qutalis knows about it? It''s hard to figure out what''s going through this old man''s head, especially since he is dead tired. But for the sake of not being advised against, Eric kept that sentence from Kashentis, buried in his head.


    Pessimistic thoughts won''t save this continent, Eric came to realize that a bit more these days. These people were playing too careful and that can just slow down everything.


    And so, not allowing chit chat to range wild, 10 of the Calidum Lutum tribe including men and women, made their way towards the monument.


    Their appearance first striked paranormal but they just have been following the group everywhere, especially since the topic about the boots of Kashentis raged.


    Qutalis focused their attention on them and uttered. "We have to summon the boots, you know what to do."


    And afterwards he walks away from the monument and takes a seat on the ground, urged the rest of the newcomers to sit down with him or at least get away from the monument.


    Seeing that demand as tad bizarre, Eric wanted to ask more about it but that would just slow down the summoning procedure, so he kept quiet and just gave out a sigh.


    At first, the tribe just started circling around the monument, walking slowly and just glaring at it, kept a good distance of a meter away from it.


    After taking about 15 slow spins around the small monument, they started uttering something in gibberish, projected at a low tone. "Sutu tu ka ti."


    That word, just repeated over and over, it''s undertone weighed heavier by each uttering, with a clean tone as if they practiced this for thousands of times.


    The group can''t understand this, not even Sekun who shared the same race with these people.


    The situation became a hunch more bizarre by the passing moment, Ada even started getting scared so she clung on Eric''s arm a bit tighter, knowing that if danger calls, he could provide liable protection.


    It started becoming scary to witness because the group of 10 Calidum Lutum started yelling louder, their tone almost shook the ground beneath the group''s feet.


    Slowing down a bit more, the 10 people connected their hands with each other and then continued the past pace, although this part of the procedure forced the circle to tighten.


    Now, the group of 10 were a foot closer to the monument which massively increases the risks of getting torched on the spot there if one took a misstep.


    What we could call a super charged risk factor, is the fact that these Calidum Lutum started running faster around it, faster than jogging.


    If one of these people suddenly tripped, the aftermath can count up a few bodies.


    Now, Eric''s group could tell that these people yelled out a different sentence just after they started running faster. "Gushat ki loom!"


    That sentence yelled over and over, the first word especially stretched and the second word yelled louder.


    Rash especially started becoming confused by this ritual, if he didn''t know better, assuming that this is some kind of religious ritual would be the sheer inevitable.


    As for Eric, he hasn''t been this nervous in his life, and that says a lot because he is no stranger to facing whole armies.


    His stomach feels weird and that uncontrollable urge to take a shit invaded his conscious but thankfully he kept it all in.


    Can''t be shitting his pants while his girlfriend was right there aye?


    Suddenly, the group felt the pure satisfaction of peace, their ears faced most of the effect. necessarily, this meant that the group of 10 have stopped yelling.


    And instead have taken a step back and while still holding hands, they bowed down around the monument.


    Kissing the ground and thankfully uttered something out in the Ignite language. "Kashentis bless us."


    That sentence was repeated over and over for about 5 minutes now, to this point Eric began to think that all of this was just a bluff from this tribe, a waste of time.


    He can''t be blamed for thinking so, those 5 minutes felt like days when a topic about 16,000 year old, all powerful boots raged as a topic.


    Convinced to interrupt now, Eric stepped forward and was about to ask these people to quit this bull shit.


    But before the first word could break out of his mouth, his ears felt shattered all of a sudden by a sound he doesn''t know how to comprehend.


    BOOOOM!!


    An explosion echoed, making the newcomers jump high from their spot, Sekun jumped a meter high considering his physical advantages.


    Assessing the situation a bit better and considering the blinding sensation that exploded in front of them, Eric came into conclusion that it was thunder!


    Finding his field of vision became difficult for a whole minute but each second granted one piece of the puzzle.


    Eric caught a glimpse of what happened before the explosion and he saw something light blue touching the tower of the monument.


    Considering that, he only figured that thunder is somehow associated with this. Which in another way proved Kashentis as a powerful sorceress, unfavoured for Eric but that''s a topic for another day.


    Rubbing his eyes after a gaggle of struggle to see, countless grunts from most of the group, Eric finally breaks the awkward silence with a gentle question. "What the f.u.c.k happened there?"


    Well it might have not been so gentle but who can blame him? This situation would get the softest of the soft to snap.


    "I thought the crown made you smart." Qutalis uttered with a followed laugh, with a finger in his ear to fight away the deafening sound of that thunder.


    "Doesn''t mean It fights off blindness!" Eric hollered back, not yet revealing the theory he had about what struck the monument.


    "It was thunder." Sekun spoke out, wandering around aimlessly but thankfully not close to the monument.


    "Yup that''s it." The old man assured, his tone struck casual.


    Getting a better sense of orientation and his vision improved by now as well, Eric gives another look at the monument and spotted what represented a boot like figure.


    But it still seemed odd, carried a dark colour even, it''s texture portrayed a harsh interface. Which made the boy think one thing, "These can''t be the boots."


    The 10 Calidum Lutum men and women who summoned the thunder slowly rose up and walked away from it, one by one walking behind Qutalis.


    The old man had something else to add even, accompanied it by a giggle too. "See, summoning the boots didn''t kill us."


    "It''s not like this is any better." Ada spoke out, still clung to the young Electus.


    "You don''t want to be bear food, believe me." Rash weighed in, somehow the most adjusted here, as if the thunder didn''t blind him like the rest.


    Walking his way near the monument, Eric asked Ada to let go of him for a while and get back. The young lady of course insisted on staying, Eric is surely dumb enough to do something drastic.


    But the young boy insisted with his point, convinced the lady with a phrase. "Don''t worry, I''m not suicidal."


    And once more, that one phrase roamed around the young man''s head while lending the little vision he built up, towards the boots of Kashentis.


    Able to analyse it a bit better now, he screams out the obvious due to not being able to hear himself enough. "These are the boots? They are made out of rock!"


    Still casual, the tired old man even started throwing sarcasm around. "Is that a surprise? People weren''t so fashionable 16,000 years ago. I don''t think the Calidum Lutum are that old."


    They are made out of stone, well this forced everything a lot more confusing because there were other items they should be hunting which pointed out characteristics of fur and leather.


    Hell, when lady Kashentis herself appeared, she was wearing layer over layer of fur clothing, so this made everything more confusing.


    One thing pierced the young man''s mind, this is just a trick, a time waste to keep the true boots safe. So he murmured, "This better not be a waste of my time."


    Taking a few steps back, he thought. "Kashentis said something about fire... let''s see if this can kill me."

 Chapter 492 - The tribe (6)

    A few steps back taken for the sake of not being too close to this monument, with that idea growing in his mind, Eric requested the crowd behind him. "Get back, I''m going to try something that Kashetnis told me."


    The first to reply, Ada questioned. "Are you sure? Please be safe."


    While actually she had no idea what Eric wanted to do, understandable considering he didn''t tell them anything for the sake of not getting opposed.


    "Kashentis didn''t say that this could kill me... so I think it''s safe." Eric hollered back, wanting to assure his friends although it''s quite certain that most were worried.


    Well that was one side of the coin, Eric didn''t want to mention a grand fact, the boots supposedly have 100 souls in them.


    Eric didn''t nearly understand how that works but it''s fine long as Kashentis understood what it is. The lady also said that Eric can die through the attempt of obtaining these boots, well let''s just hope it goes the way he wants it to.


    Trying to keep a clear mind as Mogranius had recommended long ago throughout a meditation session, the young man took a deep breath and synced into a sumo squat.


    Both arms pushed forward, keeping his left hand a foot behind from the right, this is the base preparation of unleashing the demanded move.


    Kashentis didn''t decipher any specifics about the move, but using basic logic, Eric figured out that a small fireball won''t cut it here.


    While continuously blasted fire... well that sounded like something that can offer more to the boots, since the offering should be fire according to what Kashentis said.


    Finally, he unleashed fire from his very palms, his left hand reaching forward now and parallel with the other.


    The fire in front of him began as just half a foot long, under a quarter of a second it stretched forward, almost reached the monument even.


    By now, the head of the fire ranged 7 feet wide, while it''s whole form looks like a cone now considering that the whole formation isn''t short tailed.


    Once the fire breached through the air and reached the monument, Eric saw the fire''s head break out in all directions, as if hitting a strong dead end.


    Especially complexing since the monument itself wasn''t big enough to cause such an effect.


    It staggered the young boy, but he didn''t die on the spot so that''s the good side out of it at least.


    3 seconds in, the fire that broke out in all directions started  thinning.


    The head of this power move started thinning, shifting the cone like fire to one that looks like a pole.


    "At least I''m doing it right." Eric murmured as he felt an overall weakness all over his body.


    As 10 seconds passed by, the fire blasted through his palms thinned down to the point that it barely was half a foot wide!


    Absolutely insane considering that it reached it''s pique once the head became 7 feet wide.


    "Eric are you sure about this?" Ada questioned, trying to change the young man''s mind although hoping he will succeed.


    As Ada ended that question, out of a sudden they saw the young boy fly 10 more feet away from the monument  and right to the ground.


    He wasn''t blown off into thousands of pieces so that was the optimistic side of this sour situation.


    Close to getting knocked out, Eric murmured. "I really am weak."


    "Eric!" Ada hollered and rushed towards the boy, with the rest following him, even the old man stood from his comfortable spot to see if the boy was in one piece.


    "Eric, Eric, Eric!" Ada repeated over and over, her tone thundered stronger by each call.


    "Eric boy, Eric!" Sekun repeated, grabbing the boy by the shoulders and carried a pale look on his face, Ironic considering he was dark skinned.


    "Is he alive?" Rash questioned, sad beyond prepare.


    He might have the strongest connection with Eric, apart from Ada of course. Back in Gaster Kingdom, the young Electus saved his ass and for that Rash is beyond grateful and offered services.


    "He''s alive, weaker than I expected but alive." Qutalis explained, looking over the boy''s shoulder. "He just lost all stamina."


    ...


    "Where am I?" Eric questioned, with much effort stood up from his spot.


    "In Lan Shutak obviously, where else would you be? Zameria?" The geezer uttered, even in such a situation enhancing sarcasm.


    "I failed, didn''t I?" Eric spoke out, feeling a massive headache.


    Not so sparing with the King''s emotions, Qutalis added. "Most definitely, the boots kicked your booty boy."


    "Eric!" Ada thundered from the other side of the room as he rushed towards the young Electus.


    With a leap, she crashed over Eric and synced into a hug. "I''m so glad you''re okay!"


    "I''m good don''t worry, I can''t die that easily." Eric comforted, patting his lover on the head.


    After silence stretched for a few seconds in between hugs, he questioned. "How long was I asleep?"


    "2 days." A familiar tone echoed from the other side of the 15 foot wide cave dwelling. "You slept like a rock."


    Gazing to his left, Eric saw a small figure carrying a one handed battle axe. Well it''s Rash, there aren''t many 4 foot tall creatures in Ignis.


    Understanding how this little man is like, Eric added. "I hope you didn''t attack the monument."


    With a shot given to lift up the mood, Rash reasoned. "That wouldn''t get us the boots, so not yet."


    That in mind, a bad mood instantly returned on Eric''s conscious. "The boots... I failed miserably."


    "Well at least you''re alive." Sekun encouraged as he walked in the room.


    Pushing Ada on his side while keeping an arm around the lady''s neck, Eric weighed in. "What am I going to do now? This continent could be destroyed any day and I''m too weak..."


    "You''re not weak Eric." Ada disagreed, holding the boy by the arm tighter.


    "Actually he kinda is... I expected him to blow the whole monument up but no..." Qutalis interrupted, stating what the friends are too kind to say.


    His ego tad hurt but understanding the truth, Eric tried to drag optimism into this. "Do any of you have ideas?"


    "Truth to be told, your stamina is weak and your fire blasting even weaker." Truly deafening words but Qutalis is the only one here uttering the truth.


    After that, he weighed in. "You have to become more powerful, what level is your fire blasting at?"


    "I''m just level 1, I trained but something bad cut my training in half." Of course he quoted the ghost tree here but didn''t want to start such a topic just yet.


    Pitching an idea that isn''t easy to comprehend, the old man replied. "Reaching a higher level in fire blasting can help you become powerful enough to take the boots. This might sound crazy but you need to put time in your lava blasting."

 Chapter 493 - The tribe (7)

    "No, I don''t have time for that." Eric answered, avoiding the idea with his whole being.


    One because they don''t have time and have to find the 10 other relics, which alone can take at least a year, that weighs in how in further danger the situation can sync.


    Two, the last time he trained to be a lava controller, the training was rough although the grand masters reduced everything for the young boy. It''s tremendously hard to progress with that power.


    He trained for a while and didn''t even advance in level, the young man is still stuck on level 1 [Hatchling].


    "You have to, the boots blew you away under 10 counts." Qutalis reminded, not wanting to make the boy feel weak but tried to weigh in the complexity of this situation.


    "Isn''t there another way? Tell us what else you know about the boots, maybe we can figure something out." Sekun recited in the background, wanting to find a solution.


    "There are plenty of ways but most can crush a little Ignite." The geezer revealed and pushed everyone into a slight shock.


    Sekun the most, because he lived in a Calidum Lutum town for centuries and yet didn''t know anything about cheating levels.


    Speaking for all of them, Sekun asked. "What ways? Tell us!"


    Surprisingly there truly are a ton of options, and Qutalis started stating them. "Sacrificing your leg to Calidus, sacrificing one of your subjects to Calidus, drinking lava, marrying one of your subjects, dropping an enemy in lava to offer a soul to Calidus, connecting with the unliving and..."


    At that second, the old man''s rant was interrupted by someone who just got in the room. "And a lava spirit offering you her energy."


    "We don''t need you causing us trouble right now illusion lady." Eric uttered, pointing at the exit for her to get back where she came from.


    And to such a sentence, Jaluuti''s body colour shifted from glowing red to a dark depressing blue, captivating most of her form with a light green ray on the end of her long hair.


    "You don''t have a choice and neither do I. The boots almost killed you and I can''t leave everything on the hands of a child." Roughly expressed but her tone remained delicate as if reciting a poem.


    Encouraging the thought, Qutalis added. "Yes... this can work. A lava spirit sacrificing herself, can make you a magician."


    And there Eric understood why this lady became grumpy, it wasn''t because of being called out, but because of that sacrifice thing. Eric heard it right and so did the rest, the lady giving her energy to Eric will push the boy to level 3 with his lava blasting/controlling.


    "I''ve never heard of these, the other tribe doesn''t practice it." Eric added, thinking that this is all a bunch of bullshit.


    Pulling his face back, staggered no doubt, Qutalis deciphered. "Strange... our tribe had work with spirits for as long as I can remember."


    "So did ours but not the way you''re doing it." Sekun pointed out, further synced into a side topic.


    Interrupting, Jaluuti slightly yelled. "That doesn''t matter. I was sent by Calidus and I will go back to him. That''s my destiny."


    Her gaze fixed towards Eric, she sighed and deciphered. "Your destiny is crystal clear, although I hate that a weakling like you was sent by Calidus for this."


    Having the crowd pushed into silence, she used the opportunity to continue explaining yourself. "I will give you my energy, I will give you my soul. It''s better to help you level up today than leave everything on your hands, I can''t trust you with that."


    "You can''t trust me with that although I have beaten your little realm game? I think you''re underestimating me." Eric finally interrupted, not appreciating a single one of her words.


    A key fact weighed in, Jaluuti''s tone stretched softer upon every word. "You''re weak, the boots didn''t even accept you as a competitor, nonetheless a winner."


    Weighing in another fact, the old man interrupted. "And having Jaluuti''s energy won''t only make you a magician but give you stamina as well... you need both of them if you want the boots."


    "So you don''t mind if Jaluuti permanently leaves this world?" Eric questioned, not understanding how lightly they are talking about sacrifices.


    Finally carrying a smile, the old man cited. "If you lived as long as I did, you''ll understand that going back to Calidus is the biggest blessing."


    "So you''re saying I can get the boots if Jaluuti sacrifices herself?" Eric questioned once more, not quite caring about the lady''s soul.


    With half a mind, the geezer answered with a nod. "Most likely... what level is your fire blasting at?"


    "I''m level 4 but started barely 2 years ago so that''s why I''m not a grand master yet." Eric answered, trying to excuse his weakness.


    He ascended to level 4 after that outburst in the very beginning, from that point he hasn''t advanced in level regardless of all the effort put in, which truly was a big pain in the ass.


    "Oh then you have big chances, because you would have a total of 7 levels aiding you." Qutalis assured, less half minded this time.


    "I''m not sure..." Eric murmured, not quite sure about letting Jaluuti''s soul to enter his body.


    Insistent on her point, Jaluuti recited. "I don''t care if you are sure or not, my King."


    Truly tempting, she had it hard to say it considering the young Electus is still seen as an enemy by her point of view.


    Continuing, the spirit lady''s body colour shifted towards a dark glowing red and she added. "I won''t leave the fate of Ignis on your hand, take my soul and fight for the boots after."


    Afterwards, Eric felt himself rising from the fur he was sleeping over, Ada clinged on the boy''s arm so she arose with him.


    Jaluuti floated a few feet back and weighed in, "Now, let''s go start the ritual."

 Chapter 494 - The tribe (8)

    "I don''t want your diseased soul in my body!" Eric hollered, not appreciating how he was floating above the ground against his will.


    Keeping a casual look on her face, Jaluuti softly reassured. "I''m not giving you a choice, you will accept my help, demons can''t kill my people."


    Understanding the complexion of Eric''s refuse, the spirit lady proceeded to add. "As for my soul entering your body, don''t worry. You''ll only become more powerful, there is no bad effect."


    "Has this been done before?" Sekun asked, trying really hard not to punch the unliving shit out of the lady.


    The Calidum Lutum can''t be harmed from spirits at an equal pace from what the rest of the group had to go through, so Sekun definitely has an upper advantage for a full scaled attack.


    Breaking in the conversation, Qutalis deciphered. "Yes, about 1,100 years ago... a lava spirit sacrificed himself when all of our grand masters died."


    "Why did all the grand masters die?" Rash asked, fearing that this tribe is hiding a lot of topics.


    "That''s a long story, but it''s safe... I think. The grand master still lives to this day, you can meet her soon." The old man was agile to reply, wanting everyone to agree with this idea.


    ...


    The group made their way down to the big staircase that stands right in the middle of the massive town, behaving like a passage for every section.


    Reaching the end of the staircase took a while, but at the end they reached what looked like a bigger doorway, not to forget a massive opening behind it.


    The other side of the 20 foot wide doorway featured a massive lava pool, definitely not bigger than the one in the old Lan Zhe but we can''t undervalue its size either.


    The pool stretched 100 meters wide, fairly circular although it had some sharp edges as well. The lava here felt hot obviously, but not hotter than the one in the old Lan Zhe.


    No no, the lava there could burn masters themselves if they reached down too close.


    While here the rules shift differently for some reason, the whole gang is down here close to the lava and the heat isn''t forcing them to pass out.


    Eric could feel the lack of extraordinary heat here, the moment his feet met with the ground again.


    "The rules here are really different." Sekun pointed it out, knowing that Eric is too mad to talk right now.


    "Different?" Jaluuti asked, legitimately confused.


    Quick to answer when the topic is about his town, Sekun cited. "Yes, in Lan Zhe the lava was so hot that only the grand masters could endure it."


    Trying to keep the attitude kind, Qutalis casually added. "Oh that''s weird, this is just lava. It can''t kill anyone unless they fall in... I can see Lan Zhe had stronger connections with spirits."


    "I don''t think spirits can heat up lava but sure." Eric added, looking at one of the three humans seated in front of the lava.


    Another thing particularly interesting about this pool, were the rows of Ignite gems granting another ray of illumination.


    The Ignite gems are planted all around the pool, circling and glowing in a purple matter that was quite easy on the eyes, half shunned away by the lava''s illumination even.


    "My brothers and sisters, I have brought you the golden blood." Qutalis expressed, in another way requested for them to stand up.


    "Oh he''s awake?" The one in the middle pointed out the obvious as she stood up to face the young man.


    "Yes and your friends gave me a migraine right away." Eric replied, carrying a tired face, it''s not quite easy to notice surroundings through and through after sleeping for 2 days.


    "What does he mean?" Another one of the grand masters asked once facing them, he has a short trimmed white beard and carried a bit of hair on his head.


    Breaking the confusion, Jaluuti calmly replied. "Your prediction was right grand master, danger is near and we have to act quick."


    "I didn''t want to believe him but... demons being in Ignis should have been alarming to us in the beginning." Another one of the grand masters recited after he stood up and faced the golden blood.


    He carries long white hair, they reach all the way down to the waist, truly beautiful to see a grand master with such fashion choice.


    Afterwards before anyone could say anything, the three grand masters bowed down in that cat position, almost kissed the ground as well.


    "We are happy to meet your presence, golden blood." The three grand masters uttered all at the same time.


    "Please rise, I don''t like these formalities." Eric demanded, his vision still blurry because of the long slumber.


    "These traditions are over 9,000 years old my king, please respect them." The lady grand master requested, and afterwards revealed. "My name is Huna."


    Pointing at the grand master with the short beard, she deciphered. "That''s Justak."


    Granting attention to the one with long hair after, Huna cited. "And that man is Rashlam."


    Fixing their focus on the young man''s eyes, the grand masters spoke at the same time. "We are at your service."


    "I respect your welcome grand masters but these people are telling me something about Jaluuti sacrificing herself. Is that a good idea? Can it kill me or make me go insane?" A heavy question to ask indeed, but that''s why they came down here after all.


    Wearing a wider smile on her face, Huna pushed her golden hair back and cited. "I''m living proof that it can be done, the past lava spirit sacrificed himself after the first attack! It can''t kill you my king."


    "First attack?" Eric questioned, being remembered once more about this alarming topic.


    "That''s a story for another day." Qutalis interrupted, nervous and dashing by tone with that prime intent to switch the topic.


    Looking at the grand masters, the old man continued. "We have to start the ritual now, Jaluuti will go back to Calidus and our king will be one step closer towards saving our home... our continent."

 Chapter 495 - Dungeon

    The few goblin demons Isabel ensnared in a corner, had their head cut off once it was made certain that neither of them gave useful information.


    She was about to slay the last of them but at that second the demon started singing like a bird, went into deep detail on how to find the dungeon of Kushraz.


    It was still a massive blur regarding how these demons speak the Ignite language so well, but that''s something to worry about for later as fetching the ring was the main priority.


    Although the goblin demon described where to find the dungeon without a stutter, it still was confusing.


    So Isabel grabbed the little bastard behind the neck, yanked his one handed battleaxe away and lifted him up, demanding. "Show us the way."


    Pushing the demon forward, they saw him point to the left side of this cavern, towards a tunnel that the two ladies fairly missed thanks to all of that commotion.


    "If this is the wrong way, I will cut off your d.i.c.k and let you bleed to death." Isabel threatened, asserting dominance for the sake of showing who the boss is.


    Using it as a point of reference, Alia added. "Trust me, it''s a horrible way to go... your mouth would get parched from all the screaming."


    Perhaps they have gotten a bit dark here... but there is no sparing when it comes to the enemy and finding the ring is necessary if this continent is to survive.


    "I''m telling the truth, the dungeon is this way." The goblin demon insisted, his tone muffled by the air restricting grip around the neck.


    ...


    With that little man from another dimension as a navigation, the two ladies made many twists and turns, had to climb down a couple of holes even.


    As that ill.u.s.tratio''s journal pointed out, the caverns are complex and puzzling. Finding the dungeon would be a task made only for the most patient, or in this case for people who can find a short cut, navigation-wise.


    Down here, the temperature feels lower, Alia started to shiver a bit as being 200 years around a volcano got the lady used to heat.


    This can only point out that they are sinking too deep underground, has to be over 150 meters deep now.


    What can make this shivering situation tad harder to handle, was the fact that this goblin demon pointed at yet another hole in the end of the cavern and said. "The dungeon is down there. It''s a big stone door, you can''t miss it."


    She gazed at Alia and questioned her, "Informative enough for you?" And carried a smirk on her face as well although the torch''s illumination couldn''t capture it.


    "Yup." The shorter lady answered, had a hunch why Isabel asked this question.


    WIthout saying another word, she put in a bit more effort to lift the goblin demon and tossed him 10 feet high.


    Faster than the eye can blink, the goblin demon felt a sharp pain on his waist from what reflected light before it met him.


    It was a sword of course, slid through the enemy''s waist and didn''t nearly fail to cut him in half. The slice was so clean that one would think it never met skin at all, well that''s a Calidum Lutum''s strength!


    The goblin demon fell on the ground, but now his body''s bleeding from more than one side as he has been cut in two, it''s graphic to describe the scene, let''s just say it isn''t pretty. But at least a quick death was provided, the enemy couldn''t even project a shout.


    Poor man, expected that the trauma will end here and he could leave. Well technically it did end that way, except not how he wanted it to.


    "See, isn''t it better waiting before killing them? That little man saved us hours of work." Alia broke the cold silence after, admiring how Isabel doesn''t flinch a muscle after killing someone.


    "I''m with you there, let''s get that ring and escape these mad caves." Isabel answered with a smile, brushing the thoughts of mass slaughter she committed today.


    ...


    The two ladies made their way down that hole of which is supposed to lead to the dungeon right after.


    Climbing down was a bit of a hassle especially since the 10 feet wide hole, stretched about 50 meters long.


    It seemed like an unusual place for a hole to be at which gave a hint that someone has dug it, felt man made. Well they can''t predict what happened when an old dungeon was in topic but this is unusual.


    Climbing down went flawlessly, the only problem was breaking a few nails as it isn''t the easiest to climb down for a long while.


    Thankfully no one kicked them on the face either which felt like a great bonus, reasons obvious.


    "Would you look at that, the small bastard was telling the truth." Alia added as they gazed upon a wide stone door.


    "I''m telling you, this was a bad day for my period to start." Isabel replied, quoting all the hard work they had to go through to get here, climbing was the biggest hassle.


    Wanting to lift up the mood, Alia''s tone cracked as she expressed. "Well you didn''t let me do anything, my sister by blood."


    "Because I didn''t want you to die... illusionists can''t be trusted." The bigger lady recalled, still gazing at the stone door.


    Trying to comprehend what this stone door offered, Isabel walked closer towards it, asked for Alia to come closer with that torch and let silence stretch a little while.


    She kept uttering one or two words out, trying to make sense of the carvings attached on this door.


    Alia couldn''t really understand what the bigger lady wants to make out of it so she started observing just how big this stone door is.


    There simply is nothing here, no cavern or alternative tunnel, just a 15 foot wide stone door, 10 foot tall.


    One would easily miss this considering it''s small size in comparison with these puzzling tunnels and caverns.


    Finally, Isabel uttered a full sentence. "Beware of beware... for the beware can summon beware."


    Well we can''t consider it a full sentence, to that Isabel had to add one more thing. "This is the strangest ancient Ignite carving I''ve ever seen."


    "So it''s written in Ignite... well that makes sense since Kushraz was an Ignite." Alia mumbled with herself, realizing she didn''t say anything useful.


    "Obviously we have to beware from something." Isabel added as she finally stood up, wanting to figure out how to open these heavy looking doors.

 Chapter 496 - Dungeon (2)

    They''ve spent quite a few minutes thinking about how to get in here, pushing it became an effort but it didn''t quite prove effective.


    These things must weigh at least a few hundred kilos, it''s solid rock and it felt like the ground underneath it forces the structure into a wedge, as if barred by nature.


    Tired of all the pushing, Alia took a break and questioned. "How are we going to get in? Oh to have Mogranius here, he would blow this thing into bits."


    "We can''t blow a relic into bits, although I don''t love these bastards either, this place is precious." Weighed in Isabel, being one of knowledge she can respect relics more than life forms.


    It''s painful to point out that these ladies have forgot one key fact, fire blasters can''t enter the dungeon for some reason so Mogranius being here would be useless.


    Staggered by how Isabel suddenly took a sharp turn regarding preserving, Alia pointed it out while rubbing her temple. "We haven''t even seen what''s inside yet, how do you know it''s precious?"


    Suddenly starting to geek about it, Isabel cited. "It''s old, old stuff are worth a lot of coins... it''s obvious that not just anyone can get down here so we must keep the dungeon well preserved as it already is... at least I think it is."


    Well this was a quite different view, one that Alia isn''t really used of, she didn''t really see much relics apart from that demon lady''s layer.


    One thing she is sure of, is the love towards Isabel''s conversation skills. One would think that a lady who talked only when she had to, would have trouble forming proper sentences.


    But no, she''s dictating like a Queen and the only thing stopping her rant is the Queen herself.


    To Alia, this still feels like a gift, because Isabel still doesn''t express herself with just anyone. This proves who has bought the large lady''s trust and this is a gift she will always learn to appreciate.


    Through the conversation, Isabel could hear a whistle taking root and it got just a hunch louder after they stopped talking.


    It was hard to determine it''s source, Isabel stopped herself mid rant and began to look around, gazed up the most thinking that someone will attack them from above.


    "I hope illusions don''t come through whistling." Alia expressed after realising where the problem is.


    Completely staggering the two ladies, a female tone echoed lightly, with its source appearing to be from the door. "No ma''am, there is no illusion in the dungeon. You passed that test already."


    "Who said that?" Yelled out Isabel as she pulled out her long sword.


    "It''s me, I''m the door... well I''m the ghost possessing the door." A bit too kind for a self acclaimed ghost.


    Alia felt like she was back in her continent where order was on top of everything and there were friendly faces on government institutions.


    Point is, the start of the dungeon looks a bit too orderly and it got the two ladies shocked, the ghost''s tone even striked comforting.


    Wanting to elbow her way into this obstacle as well, Isabel demanded. "You better open this door, or I''ll get in there and kill you."


    Pushing the ghost lady into conclusions, they could hear her rant. "I''m no body expert but that''s not how human bodies work... or do they? No they don''t, at least I hope they don''t. I''m n.a.k.e.d in here, please don''t come in."


    "Just let us in!" Alia slightly yelled, not knowing if she should laugh or be angry.


    "Oh right, about that... you must offer a sacrifice." Towards that thought, the two ladies figured it right away that this sacrifice had something to do with murder or slaughter.


    But the door girl broke the silence with a laugh, "I''m kidding hahaha! We don''t do that here, it''s gross!"


    "I''m coming in there..." Isabel warned as she slapped the stone door.


    "Okay I''ll tell you!" The ghost lady yelled out, and recited. "Only lovers can get down here, so unless you two can kiss each other, then there is no way in."


    "We''re not kissing each other!" Isabel yelled out and Alia shared the same thought, expressed it too. "Is that normal here? Women kissing?"


    "Oh totally... everyone loves everyone here." The door answered, yet again helpful but most definitely a pain in the ass.


    "Open this thing before I break it down." Isabel threatened once more, wanting to assert dominance although her tone, light in weight.


    It felt stupid to yell at this point, because what would they be yelling at? A door? No, it just felt weird so Isabel wanted to shift towards a calmer attitude.


    Over informative once more, the door ghost added. "The door is pretty much enchanted so you can''t really break it down... just about nothing can."


    And afterwards used the few seconds of silence to add. "Margaret demands s.e.x.u.a.l desire, you''re lucky I''m not asking you two to get n.a.k.e.d."


    "Either way we won''t listen to you." Alia became the one to refuse this time, because she knew what Isavel would say.


    The topic directed towards Alia, the ghost lady insisted. "You sound like the reasonable one here, convince your friend to just lend you a kiss and I''ll open the door for you. Just give me something I can present to Margaret so she doesn''t take away my privileges."


    "If only I didn''t kill that goblin." Isabel spoke out in the background, forcing the shorter lady into quite a shock.


    Pinching her facial expressions into one spot, curling her whole face, Alia turned around and asked. "You''d rather kiss a goblin?"


    Giving the ghost lady quite a show, the dark skinned human recited. "It would feel less embarrassing at least. I could have killed him after but can''t kill you."


    Her mouth hanging open and uttering a few words in Kastarian so no one understands her, Alia finally smiled and added. "Your way of thinking really surprises me Isabel. But just come here, give me a kiss so we can get the ring!"


    "No!" Isabel thundered as she jumped a step back and even tried to climb out of the hole.


    "Common this is for Eric!" Alia gave out a muffled demand as she grabbed the big lady by the leg and pulled her down.


    Chanting from the background, the door ghost hollered. "Yes! Fight for that kiss, Margaret will love this!"

 Chapter 497 - Dungeon (3)

    Finally, Alia pinned the big lady down, laid her near the tunnel and took a leap. The Kastarian lady''s lips touched Isabel''s... and that''s where awkwardness can stretch as that wasn''t the aim.


    The goal was to kiss the lady''s cheek for that prime aim of opening this damned stone gate, but it obviously didn''t work out as planned.


    Pushing Alia away, the Calidum Lutum lady thundered. "Don''t ever kiss me again!"


    Having it hard not to burst into laughter, feeling jollier the more Isabel shouted, the shorter lady teased. "I know you wanted Woldemir to be your first kiss, but the gate doesn''t say so."


    "This is not my first kiss!" Isabel yelled out once more, her arms jerked behind and her face stretched forward once she stood up.


    Her eyes wide open, Isabel''s tone shunned lower as she expressed.  "Wow okay... Woldemir was sneakier than I thought, what else did he do?"


    "He didn''t do anything yet." Isabel pointed out which made this all the more confusing, thankfully she whispered it.


    Interrupting, the gate ghost shouted. "Bravo bravo! This is the most entertainment I got for like, 3 days. And I tell ya, I''ve seen demons do some nasty stuff."


    "Okay open the gate now." Isabel interrupted what could have been a long rant.


    "Right right, Margaret will love killing you." The gate lady answered, her tone striking casual while interjecting the unusual.


    Understanding that this ghost lady can prove useful for once, Alia casually asked. "Who is this Margaret everyone keeps mentioning? Is she Kushraz''s ghost wife or something?"


    "Margaret would banish me if I told you that." The ghost lady answered, and as the two humans blinked, they found their selves in a different place.


    Turning around, Isabel noticed a key fact. "The carvings are different here."


    "You''re looking at the carvings? There''s a tunnel full of Ignite gems in front of us!" Alia weighed in, pulling the big lady''s shoulder to drag attention forward.


    "The King loved these gems, legend says at least." That familiar tone echoed from behind, most definitely the door lady. "Good luck."


    As they took a few seconds to comprehend the scenery, they barely noticed that the illumination of which these gems provide, far out competed anything the torch on Alia''s hand was providing.


    There isn''t an excessive amount of gems here, point it doesn''t cover each side of the 14 foot wide tunnel and it most definitely wouldn''t make this tunnel impossible to walk on.


    The gems are just spread scarcely around the dirt walls, most are a meter away from each other, as if bashed randomly in the wall, some forming almost accurate geometrical shapes, like triangles or squares.


    While some stand like outcasts, 3 or so meters away from each other but those ones are more rare and in a way contribute to this tunnel''s beauty.


    They are a bit out of line from what''s normal here, but like its brothers and sisters in colour, they are still gems.


    The grand illumination captivating the tunnel is solely due to Eric''s existence, his claim to the throne back at the old Lan Zhe, somehow super boosted the illumination these gems can provide.


    It''s still a blur regarding how the whole thing works but we can''t underestimate its uniqueness.


    As the gentle but yet strongly glowing Ignite gems captured their vision, Alia decided to ask. "Are you ready? It could be dangerous from this point."


    "We came all the way here and the ghost door thing said there are no more illusions, I hope she didn''t lie. But anyway, I''m ready!" Isabel answered, again more talkative than usual but the little Kastarian lady was loving these full expressions.


    "Okay then, sword up, we can''t risk getting caught off guard. These l.u.s.ty bastards would **** us if they got the chance." Perhaps a heavy accusation coming from Alia''s side, but basing it from the experience here it might not be so crazy.


    And so the two ladies took careful steps forward towards the tunnel, the eye catching illumination continued its unique randomly patterned ways, stretched for about 50 meters.


    Until, they met with a sharp turn downwards, there is no fancy or at least ancient staircase to support this part of the journey either.


    No no, it''s just a lot of dirt hinted with a bit of rock here and there, the illumination here is a bit dim as well, although there are Ignite gems providing enough of their purple illumination.


    "Careful, this looks too narrow." Alia alarmed for the pure sake of safety, stretched that one sentence longer than it''s supposed to be.


    But for Isabel however, walking down this narrow tunnel was much easier considering her bigger feet and strength, her speed was barely tampered with. It would be a real problem if there were short stepped staircases here, big feet don''t really get along with those.


    This narrow piece of the tunnel stretched about 30 meters long, and at the very end of it there was another sharp turn left.


    The two ladies took a few seconds to shake the dirt off their feet once getting down but as they made the turn, their eyes felt like they were burning due to the foul sight in front of them.


    Isabel spotted it first considering she was quicker to move on but even she has it hard to comprehend what they are glaring at.


    It''s not slaughter thankfully but at this point Alia thought that would be easier to see, towards of which she whispered. "Disgusting."


    In front of them, there''s a human and a demon. But thankfully it isn''t one of those crazed clawed demons, but instead one of those tall ones with small horns curling on their foreheads and dark by skin.


    Judging from the form, this demon is a lady. It was far easier to determine her gender considering the fact that she''s totally n.a.k.e.d!


    As for the human, he''s a fair haired middle aged Ignite whom as well laid n.a.k.e.d. The soft m.o.a.ns from the demon lady didn''t make this situation easier to comprehend.


    The two are heavily getting at it, mating or breeding, either term would be acceptable. We can''t even consider this a **** case, neither of them are crying for help and in this case the demon lady is on top of the human, so no this isn''t forced.


    Finally able to build up a sentence, Isabel questioned without the slightest intent of joking around. "Should I kill myself?"

 Chapter 498 - Dungeon (4)

    And so the demon lady gave a peek at the visitors, hence panicked. "Margaret is waiting for you, new subjects."


    Without giving another flying f.u.c.k, the demon lady continued with the procedure she had in motion earlier, m.o.a.ning because of it.


    "This is disgusting, how could you be mating with a demon!" Alia shouted, took a step forward towards the couple, most definitely scolding the Ignite man.


    While Isabel just tried to look away from the n.a.k.e.d people as a bit of embarrassment flushed on her face, red enough to compare with a fever.


    Insistent on another point, the large Calidum Lutum lady uttered. "Just kill them, they''re an embarrassment."


    "Don''t kill me, I''ve been trapped here for 17 years." The Ignite man answered and decided to shed a bit more light to this matter. "I''m here for the ring."


    "Doesn''t look like you''re hating this place." Alia weighed in, having the prime example of nonstop mating in front of her.


    Although not hating this life, the Ignite man understands the lack of freedom. "This is the only way Margaret lets me live... I''m just a tool to her plans."


    Cutting the conversation short while still looking away, Isabel cited casually. "Can you say anything useful before I kill you?"


    Finally shedding a bit of light to this enigma of a puzzle, the big bearded Ignite man cited. "Margaret rules this place with an Iron fist after her husband''s passing. She has a thing for hard nonstop s.e.x and makes her subjects engage with it as well."


    Weighing in another key warning before the two visitors could interrupt him, the middle aged man spoke. "Don''t become her subjects, or you will be stuck here forever."


    "How can we avoid that? We have no idea how." Alia pointed out, wanting to yield as much information from this man as possible.


    "Desire... desire... desire..." The Ignite man repeated but couldn''t go on, as for the demon lady over him, she showed no sign of stopping with what she craved.


    "Speak man!" Alia encouraged, tad disgusted that the demon lady was going faster after that question was asked.


    But yet again the only thing he could say was. "Desire... desire... desire..."


    Noticing that the shorter lady got tad mad, Isabel grabbed her on the shoulder and pointed out. "Let him be, he''s lost it."


    Reasoning and unwilling to accept this mix dimensional mating, Alia broke the borders. "Okay you can kill them now."


    "Yes, please kill me." The Ignite man finally spoke out something a tad bit more normal, although massively struggling to build a sentence, having it hard to breathe out.


    Pushing the Kastarian behind, Isabel pulled out her sword and first went for the demon.


    With one swing she sliced through the demon lady''s neck, punctured through the air at such an elegant matter that it barely felt like the sword met flesh and bone.


    Her natural strength and level (5) in the fine arts of the sword, contributing to such a slice.


    Giving a blink, the Ignite man could see the demon lady''s head slowly falling down.


    However, thankfully he wasn''t granted the opportunity to feel that head land his chest.


    As it took only one blink for Isabel to continue with step 2 of this pre meditated slaughter swings.


    She raised her sword up right after killing the demon lady, the tip facing down as strength built up for projection.


    The Calidum Lutum lady finally bashed her sword through the Ignite''s head and granted the pleasure of a quick and easy death.


    Such an act contributed in to fighting off that raging blush of embarrassment that took residence under her eyes.


    One sentence lingered in her head and putting it into word almost felt like the inevitable. "Disgraceful, this is disgusting."


    Wanting to raise the mood, Alia walked a few steps closer and sighed. "Thanks for waiting, I know you wanted to kill them since we first saw them."


    Pulling her sword off the man''s head, she cited. "I understand why you''re patient, now we know to be more careful."


    "Aaawww, there I was thinking you''re not so bright." Alia teased although tad harsh with her wordplay.


    Wanting to correct her and most definitely not understanding what she meant, Isabel contradicted. "I''m dark."


    ...


    As they ventured deeper towards that tunnel, the Ignite gems granting them proper purple illumination that remained soft on the n.a.k.e.d eye.


    Paranoia striking stronger especially since what that Ignite man described, the two ladies kept looking around for the sake of not becoming s.e.x slaves to some crazy ghost or whatever Margaret was.


    "Margaret has to be a ghost." Alia thought and reasonable experience based theories aided her point. "Or else why would she still be here? Only ghosts can live that long... wait they don''t live, but still."


    Eh well this is a situation Alia never expected to walk into, but looking back, she wouldn''t want it any other way.


    Nearly 2 years ago she was isolated, moody and tad depressed. The repetitive life locked amongst the old Lan Zhe aided that feeling, losing her entire continent was the base root of her bad mood.


    But now, they''re looking for an ancient ring to stop demons from another dimension. Most definitely bizarre for her, but it sure wasn''t boring.


    This was a cycle of thought she put herself through whenever tasks became too bizarre or tiring, today was a good example of using that ray of gratitude.


    After about 100 meters, they''ve met with another sharp turn, however this one twisted to the right and carried a bit more Ignite gems compared to what they faced so far.


    It wasn''t necessarily anything that would block their path but the amount almost hurt their eyes for once, the Ignite gems here have tripled.


    As they took a step closer towards this part of the tunnel, the unusual once more caught their eye.


    It seemed to be one of those bizarre creatures these two ladies met once they entered the first cavern.


    It''s that being that looks human by physique, dark blue in skin colour which made this being almost look like a corpse.


    Now, they have the chance to gaze at the horns on this being''s head a bit better.


    The horns are tad curled, bigger than what they''ve seen on demons so far, perhaps a foot long or a bit more.


    And without warning, the demon ghost thing thundered. "Margaret will see you soon!"


    It got the two ladies startled as the being screamed from the top of its lungs, if it had lungs that is.


    As if an alarm, 2 more beings of the same form and characteristics appeared behind the being and they as well screamed. "Margaret will see you soon!"


    8 more of these beings appeared behind the prime 3 and walked closer towards their group, before they all shouted in perfect order. "Margaret will see you soon."


    Happy that no illusion has struck them because of these appearing bastards, Alia reached towards Isabel and tried to forge a plan. "How do we kill these?"


    Remembering that the ghost banishing word "Azr.a.p.etos" was mended on her gauntlets, Isabel uttered before these beings could scream once more. "Leave that to me."

 Chapter 499 - The donation

    Ignis, like any other continent has its own affairs, deals and other complexions. The hero is in the middle of the continent right now, handling the grand task, but we can''t ignore what the triangle of domains are doing.


    The business points of view deserve further explanations, as gold itself doesn''t fall from the sky and the hundreds of people have to work if they wish to fall asleep with a full stomach.


    Living in the triangle of domains has never been easier, people are happier and even have savings now but the Kingdoms are far from reaching their full potential.


    To break down the business talk, we shall decipher what the wealthiest Kingdom in this triangle was undergoing, Pameres.


    As a start, a business deal has met an end in the beginning of may. Generally, it''s alarming when deals end because it can cause a gap in profit.


    But this time once more, the deal was renewed, made easier and more profitable.


    The continent of Kutulat, which historically held a mix of both Zamerians and Molarians, has made a new order.


    Both sides are well aware when the deals end so them being on time to renew the deal isn''t really a surprise.


    As King Zar expected, Kutulat ordered a new ray of weaponry, swords to be more exact.


    Normal in size and Iron by nature, the letter directly stated how Ignis is gaining a name for selling cheap yet decent weaponry.


    It''s perfect that Kutulat has found a cheap source of weaponry as what they are going through demands to be grand economists with their budget.


    Kutulat was trying to conquer and purify a portion of islands near them, which are known to be swarmed with demons.


    The c.u.mulative size of which the islands carry is a bit of a blur to understand but it''s still worth putting up a battle for since it requires no conflict between humans.


    It was different to fight beings that can think and it''s different to fight off mindless demons, the species on these islands had claws which labelled them mindless.


    However, getting into the specifics, the continent of Kutulat had ordered a nice and in other ways more profitable deal.


    1,000 swords a month, that''s the order Pameres Kingdom had to fill in order to meet the ray of demands the demon battling continent was going through.


    In war it''s easy to run out of weaponry, battle demands sacrifices apart from flesh and bone.


    This order would bring a total of 70,000 gold coins a month considering that each sword was sold for 70 gold coins.


    Pameres Kingdom will earn 63,000 out of it while Gaster Kingdom will take 7,000 as a payment for usage of report, that''s what the first ever deal demands.


    Gaster Kingdom has to earn 10% of the Income out of any deal, if the port is used throughout the transaction.


    This deal will last until January 1, in the year 203 so we can''t ignore how a good profit this deal can bring.


    Might not be the biggest earning deal but it''s better than having 1 of the 3 teams of blacksmiths not work on anything.


    ...


    Gold, it''s the light in many people''s eyes. But it somehow tastes sweeter when it''s obtained from a  friendly route, right now when profit is the main key to peace.


    A donation of 300,000 gold coins has been sent to the triangle of domains, and the sender is who these people never expected.


    It comes from the hidden domain, same tribe of Ignites who sent the entire continent into a military shortage and set Maleemia into a blaze, destroying it.


    The 300,000 gold coins will be evenly split and sent out to Gaster Kingdom and Bale town, Zar doesn''t want to eat up anyone''s gold so he made sure everyone gets their fair share.


    Opening the letter attached to this huge donation, kept safe by the same group who brought the gold all the way through the continent, a series of paragraphs captivated Zar''s view.


    "Eric, or whomever recieved this letter. I''m Mollara from the hidden domain, where Maleemia used to stand.


    We had quite a few adventures in the past so I hope you didn''t forget us. We have made a deal with Xakro ill.u.s.tratio lll, he begged us for this expensive ore and is paying us a lot of gold, the whole deal will make us 17.5 million gold coins.


    Rest assured that we didn''t betray you, Xakro''s forces don''t dare to take a step without me knowing about it, but this type of deal couldn''t have been ignored.


    In past letters I remember Osira telling us how there is a move that can compress the ill.u.s.tratian domains, this is the main reason we sent you the gold, use it wisely please.


    With Osira in mind, I want you to know Eric, her mother is missing. We were exploring the mines here and walked into a portal, Bittore was forced to go into a portal.


    We haven''t heard a word from her since but Osira deserves to know the truth, her mother is good as gone, dead somewhere in the demonic realm.


    We wish to have Osira here since she was a leader before, I''m not cut out for this so we hope to have the heir to the throne here.


    As for this gold, your friends don''t have to return any of it, we have more than enough to go around.


    Throughout the entire 17.5 million gold coin deal, we will send 300,000 to you each month, let the ill.u.s.tratios choke on their own gold."


    As he read through the message, the only thing King Zar could utter was. "Interesting."


    Afterwards Seer complimented the idea, "This is just perfect timing, I''m almost believing it''s a godly gift at this point."


    Rubbing his beardless chin, Zar shook his head away from confusion and expressed. "Maybe it is? I''m not sure, but this tribe knows how to rule with an Iron fist, it''s something else to control my father."


    "Let them rule whomever they want, we need this gold, now it at least sounds logical to hire 500 soldiers." Seer expressed, his thoughts not exceeding anything else but Pameres Kingdom. "When will we send them to the outpost?"


    His mind raging through the prime idea once soldiers were mentioned, Zar cited. "The outpost can''t fit them, right now we need them here for... well let''s just say we will need them soon enough."


    Sensing uncertainty between the King''s words, Seer pointed it out with a question. "You aren''t sidekick right? You can''t predict it if someone attacks us in the future? You being sidekick would be the only thing that makes sense, because where else would you take 500 extra soldiers?"


    "You think it''s a bad idea to give this Kingdom extra protection?" Zar teased, slightly shifting away from the prime topic.


    Used to statistics, Seer got into details. "We already had extra protection when you hired those 100 archers, I have to say that was a good idea, they are perfect for the job when it comes to carefulness. But we also have 200 other patrol guards and 110 other ranged attackers as well, the city was already safe."


    Wanting to end the topic, the King expressed. "Well good point, but it will be even safer soon enough."


    As for where did the King find 500 people to hire, there were already a few hundred unemployed people and Zar requested yet another batch of 500 Zamerians from Lav Kingdom.


    At this point he might be over doing the requests but the Zamerians aren''t complaining about it as it''s solving an overpopulation issue there and fixing the underpopulation issue here.


    Pameres Kingdom holds 4,200 people now, and 2,700 of them are employed, so Zar is fairly using the population to its utmost advantage.


    300 able bodied people are still unemployed but we can''t say that they are living a bad life, since a lot of families have more than one source of income in their house.


    Removing the gender restrictions was the best move so far, such profit allows the 1,200 elderly and children this domain carries, to live a happier stable life.


    There were 100 available houses to fit all the people in but in another way it means that those empty houses can now be taxed.


    Which increased the Income gotten from the monthly house taxes, reaching a c.u.mulative earning of 80,000 gold coins.


    Another piece of work that requires recognition are the newly developing farms here in Pameres Kingdom, the talk isn''t about gr.a.p.es but wheat.


    The wheat farms began being built soon as snow began to melt, perhaps over done work-wise but the King wanted the 40 hectares of land to be ready for planting before the planting season here began.


    The fields are good and ready, have been planted even and it''s yield will be made transparent by the end of september.


    Seer predicted a total of 80 tons, that''s how much wheat these 40 hectares can carry.


    Such a yield can''t feed these 4,200 people year around but it will most definitely help cut on expenses, meat isn''t a cheap food yet too common in Pameres Kingdom already.

 Chapter 500 - School

    As he gazed at the lady in front, the King put in an effort to break in the conversation. "Crisa, I''ve had my eye on you for a while now..."


    Dropping the wet cloth she just used to clean the table, Crisa turned around and indeed spotted King Zar, with a few roses on his hands. "Uhhh... what do you mean?"


    Her beauty, truly dazzling. Hair shining greener than ever, the black coloured maid outfit she was wearing somehow only made her more beautiful, the white details on the outfit carving out detail.


    Walking a couple of steps closer to hand her the flowers, Zar cited as a blush grew on the lady''s face. "I mean, will you go out on a date with me?"


    And suddenly, the kind ill.u.s.tratian lady''s knees felt a bit weak, losing balance she leaned towards the King and fell on his arms. "Sorry."


    Smiling and enjoying the half hug from his lady longer than he expected, Zar expressed. "Don''t be, I appreciate the enthusiasm."


    "So, you really want to go on a date with me?" The young lady asked, wanting to reassure she wasn''t being delusional.


    Fixing his gaze on her eyes, Zar spoke softly as he deciphered. "Yes, sorry I didn''t ask you out earlier, it just really isn''t something easy to say."


    "I understand..." Crisa answered, feeling the King''s arm around her waist.


    Well this was really happening, now the lady feels sure at least. And therefore, her mind opened up for other questions. "Where will we go?"


    "There really aren''t many fancy places to go here, so we can rely on the castle." Pulling her in closer for a more relying hug, Zar questioned. "So if you''re comfortable with going to the second floor with me, we can have our date there."


    Still hesitant, the young lady answered. "Ummm... I don''t know, my mom should know about this first."


    Speaking her language, Zar deciphered. "Oh but she does, I asked permission from her first."


    Knowing that the King isn''t nearly known for lying, Crisa grabbed the flowers and sighed with satisfaction. "Okay then, I accept to go on a date with you."


    Enjoying the smile on Zar''s face, the young ill.u.s.tratain lady had to weigh in another demand. "But no ale! And I want to walk out before midnight."


    Expecting this most definitely, Zar pulled her in for a closer hug and afterwards bent down to slip his hand under the kind lady''s knee.


    Lifting her up after, he started walking towards the edge of the throne room and guaranteed. "I promise you''ll get to your room safe."


    ...


    "So how was the date?" Seer asked as he walked into the throne room, this time however he didn''t carry any doc.u.ments.


    "It was nice, she''s a very interesting lady." Zar answered, his tone becoming softer by the mentioning of Crisa. "We loved talking about mental well being before, she''s been there for me no doubt but she sure has a lot of other stuff to talk about. After she stopped being shy that is."


    Carrying a wider smile, the personal assistant explained after a sigh. "Well that''s good, for a moment I thought that your only relation to her was mental health, didn''t know how to break that to you."


    Flinching his eyes, Seer tried keeping calm with a little topic shifting. "No no, plenty of other connections, she''s a smart lady. I meant to ask though, how''s your daughter?"


    "She''s bursting with love and that love keeps exploding in her diaper, but apart from the smells, she''s a bundle of giggling joy." Their little daughter has been the highlight of their lives but it was nice that his wife can get back to work, now Seer at least had time to breathe.


    Missing the cute little girl already although seeing her a few times, the King recommended. "You should bring her to the castle sometimes, this place needs more life instead of guards in shining armour."


    Remembering the reason he came here for, Seer broke in. "Speaking of life, the Zamerians are happy to be here but we can''t understand a thing they''re saying."


    Having this problem reported a few times so far, Zar raised an eyebrow and asked in a perplexed tone. "But the ones that were here for a longer time understand us by now, right?"


    "Yes, we can understand them easily but they''ve been here for a few months. The 500 new ones have no idea what we''re saying and guard commanders often have to tag along translators." This has indeed become a growing problem, it needs an easier fix considering the over population in Zameria is far from fixing.


    Taking a few seconds to analyse his wordplay, the King sensed a pattern here and therefore questioned. "We have to do something about that, I''m assuming you have an idea."


    Cutting right to the case, the personal assistant pitched. "I do actually, what if we open a school?"


    "A school... to teach people our languages?" Zar asked, trying to understand this idea to the furthest extent.


    "Not just for the newcomers, but for everyone. We have 4,200 citizens and most of them don''t know how to read and write, wouldn''t it be nice to have well educated people here?" A grand way to pitch the idea and to enhance the thought of it, Seer added. "It''s not like we can''t afford it, the monthly profit still remains 289,000 gold coins."


    "We have coins to spare... you have a good point." The King complimented, trying to find the flaws which will inevitably lead to finding the solutions. "But we don''t have teachers."


    Instantly coming up with a solution, Seer pitched. "We can ask Tedradia for help, she has smart friends and is smart enough herself, she can find us teacher material people."


    "At this point we only need people who can read and write, Ignites and ill.u.s.tratios, both accents have to be understood." Well now the King became tad more enthusiastic about it.


    Not forgetting detail, the personal assistant cited. "And Zamerians who understand our language, we need those to translate."

 Chapter 501 - Life or death situation

    Enhancing the idea, Zar expressed. "Yes, but we will need about 20 teachers because this domain holds 4,200 people who might rush in to learn. I expect you to handle everything Seer, we have enough coins to throw at this project."


    Comprehending the idea and trying to find any possible flaw, the ill.u.s.tratian assistant questioned. "I think finding 20 people is doable, but how much will you pay them?"


    "They are educators and would eventually be overworked as our city will grow, so we need to respect their time. Each of them shall be paid 200 gold coins, regardless of experience." Extremely fair, considering the average pay being 165 gold coins in this domain.


    "I will spread the word about it and ask Tedradia for help, we have enough time, because the construction team will have to build the school first." Well that might slow things down, these two planned about this as if they had a school ready.


    "There is no rush, the Zamerians can teach the language to each other for a while." With the construction team mentioned, Zar was reminded of an idea he had earlier. "Zamerians have become our main way of growth, I want to bring more here but we don''t have available houses anymore."


    "I see where you''re going with this." Seer cited, understanding the pattern he faced a few times until now and asked. "How many houses?"


    Thinking it through for a few seconds more, Zar finally expressed. "We have 800 already, so that''s good. How about we make it an even 1,000?"


    Just wanting to make sure, Zar questioned. "So 200 more houses? Sounds good, we can''t let the whole team laze around. This can take until september though so don''t bring Zamerians here for a while."


    Finally settling the deal through and through, Zar closed it with. "It''s a good plan, by that time more of these newcomers will understand our languages so everything will be easier, we would have a ton of translators."


    And at that second, a guard walked in and interrupted the two officials. "Sire, a group of Zamerians demand to meet you."


    A bad thought storming his mind right away, the King asked. "Is there something wrong? Did someone get hurt?"


    "No, nothing that I''m acknowledged with at least but they insist that meeting you makes the difference between life and death." The guard recited, forcing a bit of fear through the two officials.


    And so Zar had no other option but to instantly demand, "Bring them in."


    A moment after, 3 old looking men alongside with 2 women of the seemingly same age, walked in the throne room.


    Following them were about 14 more people, 5 of which appear to be children, under the age of 18 and some looking young as 11.


    The lady in the middle, obviously a Zamerian like everyone else in this little group, brown hair encrusted with white threads on her head, broke the conversation with a greeting. "I''m Liz and these are my friends and family. We''re sorry to bother you King Zar but we came here with an offering."


    "This better not be marriage." The King thought once noticing a few fine looking ladies behind the elderlies.


    "You may rise." Zar acknowledged and was itching to understand this situation further. "What brings you here?"


    "We have heard that your royalty values healers." The old lady in the middle spoke, fairly straight to the point.


    "I do, healers would save so many lives!" Zar''s tone broke out louder in joy, loving how this topic shifted for the better. "So all of you are healers?"


    Fairly strong by dialect, the old Zamerian lady cited. "We elders aren''t, but all that stand behind us are our family, all 14 of them are healers."


    Pointing at the oldest healer behind them, she cited. "That one is my son, he''s a level 4 healer or as you call them here, an expert."


    "And the others? Are their levels high?" This question alone can determine just how many people can survive any blood battle.


    "No, my son is the only level 4 healer." Liz pointed out and then clapped her hands, asking the group to separate in 3 more lines.


    Pointing at the shortest line of people, she cited. "Those 2 ladies are level 3, differently called as magicians here."


    "Perfect, they are powerful as well, I''m glad they''re here." King Zar expressed, to ease the nervousness on the fine visitors here.


    Weighing in values, Liz explained. "Indeed they are, may I say that both of them are over achievers."


    Smiling, the King questioned. "I''m happy about that, but I''m assuming the rest have lower levels."


    "They are." Liz assured and then pointed at the second line. "Those young men and women are level 2, here called young cubs apparently."


    Showing admiration, the King recited. "Plenty of them are young cubs, I''m counting 6 of them."


    Flinching her face, the old lady described slowly for the sake of better understanding. "Yes and there are 6 hatchlings as well, they aren''t so strong but I ask you to consider hiring them."


    Nodding and remembering the talk about the monthly profit from a bit earlier, Zar recited. "Oh don''t worry about that, all of you are hired."


    Celebrating, she turned to her kind and explained it in their language, but to the locals it only sounded like. "Fas kalamaj shuk tum!"


    Fairly gibberish from a few points of view but they broke out in cheers and smiles, the King admired it quite a bit.


    After the cheer, Zar explained to them. "I think most of you are aware of what Pameres Kingdom pays, your salaries will be higher than most."


    "A good salary would be appreciated sire, we all came here for our families to have better lives." Liz expressed, wanting to sweet talk her way into a better life.


    Reaching the topic he liked the most, the King explained. "Oh then all of you are at the right place, your son for example, his level is far too large not to appreciate. His salary will be 800 gold coins, that might sound normal in Zamerian standards but here, even my personal assistant here earns 600."


    As she turned around to explain this to her son, his eyes widened up with joy and with barely enough Ignite language he cited. "Thank you, thank you!"


    "You''re welcome, feel sure that we want you here." The King assured as he synced into thought about the other salaries. "You will earn more if your level increases, all the salaries will be based on levels."


    While Liz explained this to everyone, the King gazed at the level 3 ladies and cited. "You two will earn 600 gold coins, that''s a large salary and your families will live like rich people."


    Upon explanation, Zar painted at the level 2 young a.d.u.l.ts and cited. "The young cubs will earn 500 gold coins a month, a big start for people your age, I hope this salary pleases you."


    And at the end he gazed at the hatchlings and pitched. "Your salaries will be the lowest, you will only earn 400 gold coins a month but trust me, people work twice as more for half the salary."


    Finishing it off as a little speech, the King encouraged. "Hard work will get you better lives here, so please try your best so you can out live your harsher past. Our salaries aren''t compared to Zameria but with all of your help, we will reach that one day."


    Making sure that the healers understand their own importance, the King also added. "You being here will help achieve that goal, slowing down any possible big death count would help reach it. I''m glad all of you decided to make your powers known."


    These healers came in like a gift come to think of it, hiring them would just dip in 11.4k gold coins from the monthly budget, yet the benefits these people bring make the difference between coming out of a battle with 500 soldiers or with 50.


    Their value is truly outstanding, and them coming as a group of 14 just added little gifts around the bigger gifts.


    But yet they have to be battle ready so Seer pitching for a school to be built was a grand idea.


    Those facts aside, after all these new expenses the monthly profit would be 277k.


    See that''s a massive profit, because it would be a clean cut of gold that can be piled up in the budget.


    Profit shouldn''t be confused with Income, as the Income has a striking number of 784k.


    When all the expenses are covered, 277k remained as a clean profit that can be used in various places.


    In this case, this large profit can be milked to enlarge the monthly expenses by hiring more people, be it individuals who increase the Income or soldiers or guards who offer different values.


    Pameres city is higher than it''s ever been, be it with population or the total piled up gold coins of 1,457,000 of which can be used in various ways.


    In other ways, it explains that Pameres Kingdom isn''t a small revolution any longer, now the big cards can be drawn and the heavier steps can be taken.

 Chapter 502 - Tradition

    As Zar stood firm gazing upon the group of healers, one thing implanted in his mind. "I''ve never seen a healer do their thing before..."


    After that point he let silence stretch for a little, lured his gaze on a few guards after and came up with a decent idea. "How many of you guards would take a cut on the arm so we can see how powerful the healers are. It can''t kill ya, just a cut on the forearm to break out a bit of blood."


    Fairly confident, the same guard who brought these healers in, walked forward and stated. "I would, for the King."


    "Admirable, but any of you have options." Zar reminded and pulled out a little dagger of his own, rolled the sleeve up and ran the tip of the iron on his forearm.


    And so 4 more guards joined like brothers and sisters in cuts, blood broke from their forearms as they lined up close to each other.


    Looking at the oldest healer, Zar pointed at him and said. "You, what''s your name?"


    Of course understanding that question considering he''s been here for a few weeks, the man answered. "I''m Fazik."


    "Hello Fazik, heal our arms the best way you can." Zar requested while first pointing at his own wounds and then on the others.


    And for that of course his mother had to translate a bit, but misunderstandings didn''t bloom from the language barriers this time.


    Stepping away from the crowd, Fazik took a few steps forward and raised his palm towards the guards.


    In the midst of it, Zar turned to Seer and asked. "What? You aren''t cutting your arm?"


    Firm with his decision, the personal assistant didn''t face the King and had his eyes closed while answering. "No thank you, I still don''t like magic although I accept everyone."


    And as Seer finished with his firm footed stand, the 5 guards who cut their arms, saw a ray of green light shine towards them.


    The light like cloud bursted out of Fazik''s palm, that fat portion that surrounded his hand, let out 6 branches which started off travelling in different directions.


    These branches of green light were small, half a foot perhaps but they stretched long enough to reach the people that need healing although Fazik himself was over 10 feet away.


    5 of the branches slithered for a few feet before the connected once more and made their way towards the guards.


    While 1 of the branches separated, taking a sharper right turn and made its way towards King Zar.


    The branches of light started spiraling around the 6 arms, regardless where the people stood.


    It gave a bit of a tingle as it made the way up to the little wound but that somehow just enhanced the special feeling process.


    Once reaching the wound, that ray of light started slithering around it, surrounding the wound until that thin green light started becoming thicker, acting like a big rag around the arm.


    Throughout those few seconds, the 6 test subjects could see and feel the pain reduce, it felt amazing to witness although most of them understand the concept of healers.


    And as the blood encrusted wounds sealed shut with spotless skin, Fazik took the liberty of finishing off the move.


    Forging that palm into a fist, the healer pulled his fist backwards with an elbowed rush which made the rays of light around the people''s arms, break loose while swiftly sliding down.


    As the light diminished, Zar lifted his arm and looked around it for a bit before answering. "You''re definitely worth paying 800 gold coins."


    Afterwards he lured attention to Seer and requested. "These are honoured guests, have the maids prepare a dinner for them and these guards too, we should celebrate this great find."


    ...


    As dusk broke, King Zar was about to make his way up to the royal private room.


    Everyone enjoyed the feast from earlier, especially the Zamerians who weren''t used to such luxury.


    The kitchenware alone was enough to dazzle these healers and their parents, not to mention the food that was gently dropped on their plate.


    With a profit of 100k to 200k common in Pameres Kingdom, it''s never a bad idea to order fancy imported food from Zameria as a reward for scrambling nerves building this domain.


    Meaning, Zar treated his guests with varieties of fancy fruits and vegetables, even brought them hawk meat so it''s certain that the visitors enjoyed their stay as honoured guests.


    However, before he started walking up the staircase, a familiar tone shone to his right, coming from the throne room''s entrance. "Your highness, a word."


    Fixing his gaze towards that tone, he spotted Tedradia the psychologist, differently known as Crisa''s mother.


    "Is everything alright?" Zar questioned as he stepped away from the staircase to sit back on his throne.


    "Yes but you escaped me yesterday, we have to follow a tradition, considering that you asked my daughter on a date." Rather direct but she is the parent after all and is known to be a great conversationalist.


    "I''m not sure which one you mean..." Zar pointed out, carrying a firm point. Ignis was rich with tradition regardless which race held it.


    "The promise ring." She reminded and lifted the ring she was carrying, a bit higher.


    Understanding where this is going, Zar let out a little complaint. "Oh... isn''t that one a bit too fast now?"


    Carrying a smirk on her face because of expecting this reaction, Tedradia''s tone shook soft as she interjected. "Depends how you want to look like. A King who goes after maids or a King who wants a wife, I''m sure you don''t want to waste my daughter''s time?"


    His face drawn with disagreement, Zar''s tone arose in the first few words but then diminished towards reason. "Of course not, I''m not trying to build a harem or anything, I can barely understand a woman, not to mention more!"


    "Perfect then." Tedradia answered as she took a step closer towards Zar, lifting the ruby encrusted golden ring and put it on his finger.


    Wanting to assure this lady the seriousness towards this approach, Zar gazed at her and said. "I don''t play games, your daughter will be my wife soon."

 Chapter 503 - Swimming

    The 3 grand masters seated their selves near the lava, Ignite gems glowing under their knees and the lava illuminating harder.


    Huna, the only grand master in this town, softly spoke. "Start."


    Although her tone projected at a low volume, everyone heard her considering the silence stretching across this cavern.


    Eric''s group along with Qutalis are waiting behind them, about 10 meters away and are ready if anything goes wrong.


    Although typically a King wouldn''t be harmed by his subjects, they don''t even know these people for a week so granting too much trust doesn''t rule out the chances of a catastrophe.


    And so, Justak the long haired grand master that stood on the lady''s right, grabbed a hold of an Ignite gem below him with his left hand and remained in that position.


    "Ready." Justak informed as his focus remained alured towards the blazing hot lava.


    Upon acknowledgement, Rashlam the nearly bald man who also carried a short trimmed white beard, repeated what his friend did but just used the right hand instead, finally uttered with his tone calm. "Ready."


    "Jaluuti." Huna called out, her tone slightly stronger this time which signified that the procedure was advancing.


    And so without saying a word, Jaluuti began to float forward, holding Eric on her arms as if holding a baby and flying towards the lava.


    It was fair to say that the young King rejected the idea of being cared like a child but the lava spirit didn''t ask for permission, her dedication towards helping Ignis almost sugar coats the fact that this was suicidal for her.


    As for Eric, it was nice being carried and this portrayed the highest motherly comfort he experienced although they both hate each other and he could barely feel Jaluuti''s form.


    The lava spirit swam about 30 meters towards the lava pool, floating slower for the sake of observing the last seconds of her unliving life.


    Most who saw her could understand why she did it and none would want to go against it, only few would be willing to sacrifice their selves.


    Finally, Jaluuti stopped moving forward and turned around to face the little crowd.


    At that moment, Huna grabbed a hold of two Ignite gems beneath her and thundered. "Now!"


    The gems they grabbed a hold of started losing their purple colour, captivated by a raging yellow colour.


    Lava didn''t burst out of their palm but we can''t say that the manipulation these grand masters managed to manifest was comparable to what they were doing to the gems.


    The lava in front of them raged to the left and right, a fine line pierced through the middle of the pool and pushed lava aside, making a canal of dry space.


    That canal continued to grow bigger, now wide enough for someone to just drop down 10 meters below there and walk like a little bear without getting killed.


    That 10 foot wide canal reached all the way to where Jaluuti along with Eric was floating on and revealed what was underneath the lava.


    Ignite gems, a whole lot of them that glew strong enough to out match the lava''s illumination, granting what this group had never seen before, 2 walls of purple lava.


    The Ignites gems however, shortly became out shined with what equals even in illumination but stands out like a zit thanks to its form and where it was located.


    Right under Jaluuti stands a throne, big enough to fit a Calidum Lutum and encrusted with Ignite gems.


    It''s a blur how the lava didn''t burn a new colour on the Ignite gems, they illuminate equal to the rest of its brothers that captivate the bottom of the pool, equal if not more.


    Jaluuti slowly descended towards the throne, slipping her palms under Eric''s shoulders to set him down on the throne.


    Although not nervous towards lava, Eric still mumbled through a question. "Do I uhhh... is this another crowning ceremony."


    Unwilling to start and banter while lava walls stand on their field of vision, Jaluuti shortly answered. "It is."


    Afterwards Jaluuti floated in front of the throne, her organless feet met the ground and the lady synced into a bow, that same bow that would make one look like a cat stretching.


    What Eric witnessed next was something that he expected from an extra ordinarily skilled illusionist but not this way.


    Jaluuti''s form started decreasing, descending towards the lesser as her form floated a few feet above the ground and made its way towards Eric, who''s feet can''t touch the ground because the throne was too big.


    Her head deformed first and shifted to a thin wave like shape that took a couple of loops before it brushed Eric''s head.


    The lady''s chest started deforming after and that took a few more seconds because she wasn''t a thin lady but carried curves that any sane man would crave.


    From that point Eric''s vision became blurry, the boy couldn''t see what stood around him and that might be a good thing as seeing the big tough lady deform wasn''t so easy on the conscious.


    But yet, as his vision became dim, the only thing he could think of was. "This throne poked holes in my butt."


    Before he knew it, vision became clear once more but such luxury wasn''t used more than a split second as the lava walls collapsed around him.


    Luckily the pool was only a few meters deep and the lava''s heat can''t scorch the life out of Ignis. That rule remained the same be it here or in the old Lan Zhe.


    For a few seconds, the little crowd in this cavern couldn''t see the young King, being submerged 10 meters deep in lava wasn''t so light.


    As his head poked out of the surface, lava around him forced in all directions, arose 5 feet high and formed a few waves.


    A simple boy''s body can''t have such an impact on the lava alone. No no, further power had encrusted his soul, Jaluuti''s sacrifice wasn''t without a reason.


    As Eric put an attempt to swim, he could notice that the lava around him flopped around in such a pace that one would think a giant rock was piercing through the surface of the pool at earth shattering speeds.


    This proved it, screams volumes even, the young Electus can finally manipulate lava!


    Eric has finally become a level 3 lava controller, a magician!


    Jaluuti''s sacrifice was well worth it, let''s just hope it won''t escape under appreciated.


    As he arose out of the lava without causing any casualties, Ada rushed for a hug and afterwards pointed out. "Eric, why is your crown bigger now?"

 Chapter 504 - Lifespan

    "Uhhh... how''s this possible? Why is my crown bigger?" Eric questioned after enjoying the comfort of Ada''s hug.


    A theory rose in his mind but it would be a dumb idea to live with uncertainty here where questions can be answered. "I don''t understand."


    Huna took a step forward and deciphered as her arm gently grabbed Eric''s left shoulder for attention. "You had to be crowned as well, so we decided to kill 2 birds with one stone."


    The long haired Rashlam followed up with a firmer point. "Yes, lava spirit sacrifices aren''t done this way but we improvised."


    And what got the visitors up on their feet was grand master Justak with an insane piece of information. "And well, you will live a lot longer now because an immortal spirit gave her life essence to you."


    Absolutely shocked, Eric pulled his head back and asked. "What?! You made me immortal?!"


    Unable to understand the young King''s reaction, grand master Justak asked with an eyebrow jerked up. "You don''t like that? I think everyone would love to be immortal."


    "Who would want to live in this shitty world forever?!" Eric hollered and continued that claim with another badge of interjected emotions. "Why didn''t you tell me about this earlier?"


    The long white haired Rashlam interrupted after and partially scolded. "Stop traumatizing the King, we have bigger fish to bite."


    Capturing the golden blood''s attention completely at this point, Rashlam continued. "You aren''t immortal, it''s just that your lifespan has been tripled or something as your soul is stronger now."


    Letting out a sigh of relief but yet seeing it as a problem again, Eric expressed. "So I have to fix the world for 300 years now?"


    At this point genuinely confused, Rashlam mumbled through a question. "Uhhh... maybe, I don''t know. How long do Ignites usually live? Because you know we Calidum Lutum can live up to 2,000 years."


    "60-70 years, depends how rich people are really." Ada answered for the young man, having been around Ignites long enough to know such a fact although herself an ill.u.s.tratian.


    Wanting to cut the conversation short, Huna broke into the conversation. "Then you might live for 200 years, 300 if you eat potatoes or stuff like that."


    Proving the point further and getting to the topic she wanted to reach all at the same time, Huna pointed at the lava and cited. "Jaluuti has tripled your lava controlling and your soul, try your powers out over these so we can be sure you''re a magician."


    "Okay... so do I just wave my hand." Eric murmured with himself, lightly moving his hands around before trying anything solid.


    And afterwards he decided to go with the most loved move of a fire blaster, squatting.


    Squatting is great to give a fireball an extra push, fire blasters use it for stability and at the same time to buy their selves the privilege of being able to blast something bigger without failing.


    Lava controllers however, use squatting for the same reason, be it stability or for an extra push so that''s the base way of the two powers and in this case, races, relating to each other.


    Squatting down just a little bit, the right foot just a few inches in front compared to the other although he''s facing the lava straight forward and feet set wide too.


    First pulling his elbow back to gain momentum, with built up strength thanks to the muscles forcing curled into once place.


    And so the young man finally pushed his right arm forward and gave out a bit of a warrior shout mid motion!


    At that second the young man felt his feet losing the proper grip against the ground he had earlier.


    From that point, the new lava controller felt his body shifting behind just by an inch, although still remaining in his squatting position.


    His field of view managed to capture the lava shifting by that command of a move.


    On his right side, at that same line where the arm was forced forward, pierced through the air, the lava followed that line and moved aside.


    More accurately described, this power move created a fine line across the lava that sunk about a foot deep.


    And since friction with liquid equaled to a wave like motion, the piercing line split the lava in two and created a couple of waves that stretched 15 feet wide.


    The waves didn''t reach far, but one thing was certain, the young golden blood caused this disturbance in the lava pool.


    But yet the squatting position he formed wasn''t nearly strong enough to handle what the power move originally delivered.


    Once losing that firm grip from the ground, he flew 5 feet behind and landed on his back, although the lava was in the process of being split.


    Walking over to lift the young man up, Huna declared. "Yes, he''s a magician."


    "Wow, I can really move lava." Eric murmured to himself after being helped up.


    "You can, congratulations my King." Huna expressed and wiped a bit of dirt off his ass with a few slaps.


    Grand master Rashlam broke in the conversation and explained, "You''re still pretty weak though, normally the lava isn''t supposed to throw you like a rag doll."


    "I''m aware." Eric answered as he recalled all the painful exercises and lectures back in the old Lan Zhe. "I just need to exercise and stuff."


    Continuing the topic any grand master would love to talk about, Justak weighed in. "Yes, because when controlling or blasting lava, you''re holding the bit of its weight yourself and that can crush you if one isn''t careful."


    Looking at Qutalis, the young Electus asked. "Uh... so can I get the boots of Kashentis now?"


    Firmly uncertain, the old man cited. "The boots... maybe, because being a better lava controller compliments any other power and it would go the same way around even if you weren''t an Ignite."


    And Huna continued the point. "Yes, you''re an Electus so any power you have compliments the other."


    Eager to figure out how this works, Sekun asked. "So in a way, Eric''s like a level 7 fire controller now?"


    Having this hard to explain, Justak took a few seconds before answering. "When we do simple math, yes but he surely can''t blast anything a grand master could."


    "This new fangled power talk is giving me a headache." Rash interrupted and encouraged the prime intent of their being here. "Let''s go get the boots."


    "So I will really live for 300 years." Eric murmured to himself, still having it hard to comprehend such a grand prediction.


    Understanding the pace and agenda, Rashlam queried. "About the boots, can you first help us with a problem that lasted for 1,100 years?"

 Chapter 505 - Ignite gems?

    "What problem?" Eric questioned as his mind went absolutely blank at this point, because what could bother an all powerful Calidum Lutum tribe for so long?


    Huna walked forward and recited. "My King, I think it''s time we lay a bit of history on you, you have to know how Lan Shutak lost all of its grand masters 1,100 years ago."


    "Oh so you weren''t joking about that?" Eric asked, still not exactly certain where these people were getting at with such a topic that screamed volumes.


    At this point triggered to become highly talkative, lady Huna started out her rant with a bang and gradually reduced her tone as her arms jerked up. "Who would joke about losing the prides of our town? No we weren''t joking and the worst part is that the problem is still here and could kill all of us if we get unlucky. All of Lan Shutak, not just our grand masters."


    Not favouring how he''s getting practically scolded, the young man raised his tone by a quarter as confusion became a prime way of personal interjection. "You keep talking about the problem but don''t tell me what it is, can you be more specific?"


    Spotting that Huna might not be the best to explain this situation, Rashlam the long haired man swooped in and cited. "There''s a... we can call it a monster I think, yes. There''s a monster in this town and it can emerge if things go wrong, it can kill us all."


    Using basic logic at this point, Rash asked from the background. "So, it''s a demon?"


    "No, at least I think it''s not." Rashlam answered and tossed his white voluminous hair behind the shoulders.


    Finally deciding to not walk around like a bodyguard and actually engage in the problem, Rash stepped forward and requested. "Can we look at the monster? I don''t know if you noticed but I''m a goblin demon."


    "We know, you aren''t the first goblin demon we see." Huna added from the background, standing behind Rashlam.


    Glad that he wasn''t getting an awkward eye from these people due to all the hate everyone here has built towards demons, Rash gave out a bit of a sigh and pitched. "Good then, I didn''t live in the demonic realm but my father talked a lot about the big monsters there so I can tell them apart."


    Becoming a bit emotional, Huna once more barged in and stated. "That would be a bad idea, you taking a peek at the beast equal to letting it free. Lan Shutak made that mistake 1,100 years ago but now we have a plan."


    Yet still curious if demons had a hand in this, grand master Justak assured. "Yes, after we set the beast free, you can decide if it''s a demon or not."


    Confused no doubt but at the same time confident, Eric offered. "Whatever the beast is, I will kill it."


    "No no no, you can''t possibly kill it alone." Rashlam pointed out, his face carrying a worried look as he captured the golden blood''s attention. "We will help you but this job needs more than brute force."


    ...


    "Are you sure this will help?" Eric asked after running the tip of a dagger across hid arm, letting blood break out.


    Nodding although her tone doesn''t show assurance, Huna described. "It might, our forefathers told us that golden blood can kill the monster."


    Due to constant exposure to new people and public spaces, Eric has built a bit of social skills and therefore stuttered less.


    Which inevitably allowed him to be more expansive by expression. "I''m very sceptical about that, more than ever. If it''s a large monster then it will want to taste my blood rather than get killed by it. But at least you''re half sure about this."


    "Half is a strong word... let''s call it a quarter." Rashlam decided to point out, putting realism in front of everything.


    Not finding the motive to appreciate his arm hurting although this whole movement is led by uncertainty, Eric decided to dumb down the perplexity of this faulty step. "And how will my blood touch the monster?"


    Pulling an Ignite gem out of his pocket and sitting down to get closer to the wooden bowl in front of them, Justak answered. "With explosives."


    And after taking a seat, he placed the Ignite gem over a flat rock and absolutely slapped the shit out of it.


    The purple glowing gem''s illumination dimmed by half after such an attack and everyone around realized that it was smashed in half.


    Grand master Justak reached for the smaller shards and placed them in the same bowl as where Eric''s blood was collected.


    And thus, the dark orange blood that captivated the bowl, shifted towards what''s more purple.


    Rather curious of what they were doing, Sekun questioned. "Ignite gems explode when mixed with blood?"


    As he was grinding through the rest of the gem with a sharper rock nearby, the old Justak answered. "Ignite gems explode without it as well, the shards do at least. You didn''t know that?"


    Mildly sarcastic, Huna weighed her own thoughts in as well. "Why do you think they''re called Ignite gems?"


    "So that''s how those Chan had explosive bolts!" Eric exclaimed, his realisation caught quite a bit of attention.


    The very discovery of being a golden blood was all based from that explosive bolt that almost dismantled the young Electus.


    It forcing Eric into lava was the reason of the great connection with Lan Zhe and the growing connection here in Lan Shutak.


    And to think that the same gems that strive in illumination thanks to Eric''s existence, were used to lead towards the discovery itself.


    The enigma behind it was deafening but at least now Eric felt sure that destiny was a real thing and called for him louder than a panicking bear hunting dog.


    "Zar kept his secrets... tricky but I''m surprised how he didn''t use the gems to compress the snow Ignite revolution, this was a dumb move from his side." It wasn''t usual for Ada to sync into war talk but being around people who don''t take it off their mouth, rubbed off on her, the odds favoured it.


    Unwilling to sync into any affair that doesn''t represent the problem, Justak shifted the topic. "Anyway, Ignite shards explode if they meet with any surface that causes sparks, or if we tie it with a flaming cloth."


    Finishing off the base plan, Rashlam added while gazing at the production. "That''s how we will spread your blood over the beast."

 Chapter 506 - Illumination

    Having it difficult to accept this whole plan, Eric challenged all of their thoughts. "What if this blood plan fails? All of you seem scared of the monster, I guess we will be dealing with something large?"


    Fairly breaking a sweat and not due to smashing that Ignite gem, Justak answered with certainty. "Let''s just hope we don''t have to think of a plan B, or else even the boots won''t be enough to stop that monster!"


    ...


    After sprinkling enough Ignite gem shards in the blood, be it small enough to look like dust or big enough to look like a fourth of the finger, the next step towards its weaponisation was taken.


    Another grand master brought a clay bottle, there they stored the alchemical piece of work and stuffed a cloth in it.


    Which fairly compressed the liquid in between considering the size of the cloth was bigger than the foot long clay bottle itself.


    Signifying that the product is ready, the entire group made it out of the big cavern and headed for the staircase.


    However they didn''t put their knees through the torture of climbing up the stairs but instead took a sharp left turn right nearby.


    Following the tunnel they went into, next thing that captivated their field of view was a 4 foot wide hole with its depth unknown.


    "So is the beast down here?" Eric asked before doing a mistake of taking another step forward.


    "No, but it''s close." Huna answered and tossed a rope towards it while holding the other end.


    And then offered it to Sekun, stating. "You''re the strongest here that doesn''t have powers, hold this rope so we can climb down."


    Fairly insulted of being labelled powerless which here was another word for useless, Sekun contradicted. "Might not have powers but I can fight that monster, so someone else has to hold this rope."


    Ending a possible debate before it started, Eric first gazed at Ada''s eyes that showed an urge to tag along since her look seemed like that of a puppy''s.


    Taking safety under consideration and firmly trying to form a plan B, the golden blood demanded. "It''s not that you people are weak but I don''t want all of you to die."


    Seeing that no objection bloomed just yet, Eric continued. "This beast killed grand masters if I''m guessing right, at this point it would only be dumb to tag you along. I don''t want to dig your grave, common, don''t give me a burden like that."


    Understanding what Eric''s trying to say and appreciating the thought of it as well, Ada walked forward and granted a soft kiss right on the boy''s cheek.


    And afterwards whispered, "Stay safe, I can''t lose you just now. You''re going to live for 300 years right? Hehe."


    Trying to keep a positive attitude, Eric ?ssured. "If all goes wrong I''ll use the two most powerful moves I know. Those moves took down a Kushenisura, no beast would be bigger than that thing."


    Before any other debate could find a foundation, Eric fixed his gaze towards Sekun and requested. "You keep everyone safe, if we fail then you will fight off anything that would come out of here, keep my town safe okay?"


    Climbing down the hole wasn''t necessarily a task that was hard doing, the grand masters are massively physically fit considering what sizes of lava they can manipulate.


    And Eric had trained and travelled long enough to climb down 15 meters of rope without running out of breath.


    It felt odd to climb down considering that he can fly but the grand masters insisted for the approach to be so.


    They''ve slid down to a cavern, there wasn''t proper illumination down here so he can only ?ssume that this place''s size.


    Keeping silent, the grand masters led directly towards the left side of the cavern, tip toed towards what to Eric seemed like the unknown.


    And finally met with a scene that wasn''t so usual for the golden blood as a newcomer and for these grand masters who lived in this town for hundreds of years.


    They seemingly approached too close so something lit up and provided proper illumination, light blue in colour.


    After fighting off the displeasure of being blinded by the unknown, Eric''s field of view was captivated by something that was harder for the eye to comprehend.


    There was a creature, as if merged with the cavern wall and slithering from one side of this roomy place to the other.


    The creature twists in all directions just to fit in the walls although not moving, which only signified a large size.


    Apart from being long, excruciatingly long, this creature seemed thick as well, perhaps 10 meters or so wide from one point of view.


    The monster glows light blue in colour, enough to illuminate the whole cavern although most of his body seemed trapped in rock.


    Only one part of the beast''s skin was visible to the visitors here and that granted all of the illumination, they haven''t even found it''s head yet.


    Another key feature, where light didn''t shine from the creature, it was because of a dark line that ran over it.


    These lines usually stretch 5 meters long, some longer and some thicker while the common girth being a foot.


    The lines also tend to have random shapes, wavy or straight, up or down and even some curl like a snake.


    Its complexity was fairly random but we can''t ignore that it made the creature slightly prettier.


    Approaching Eric, Huna explained. "Okay the past grand masters have trapped the monster in rock but it''s dumb enough to understand that."


    Hearing a rumble and fearing the worse, the lady''s throat felt heavy under the paranoia of actually waking up the beast.


    But thankfully the dirt cloud causing rumble stopped so the grand master could continue explaining. "We need to kill it before it understands that it''s trapped in rock."


    Bringing the clay bottle of blood closer to Eric, Justak whispered. "Will you do the honours of setting the cloth on fire?"

 Chapter 507 - Brothers and cousins.

    "Uh... are you sure this will work?" Eric questioned as his vision was captivated by the large being. "Do we even know what this thing is?"


    "It''s a large glowing worm with legs, so a demon obviously." The long haired Rashlam cited, his face becoming rounder than usual, expecting the worst.


    Becoming sceptical right when it''s not appreciated but definitely needed, Eric pointed out the stupidity. "If it''s a demon then how will my blood kill it? This thing has no connection whatsoever with our realm."


    And hence Huna interrupted, whispering what happened 1,100 years ago. "A Calidum Lutum''s blood burned the monster''s skin so long ago so the theory is that your blood will destroy it."


    Still remaining sceptical, the young man decided to go along with this nonsense but with a safer step. "Okay, but get close to me."


    Afterwards shedding more light to his decision, he cited. "If all goes wrong, I can protect you."


    "But you''re weaker than..." The long haired man tried to express but got his mouth shut by Justak close by.


    As they got closer to the young Electus, he greeted the clay bottle on his hand with a spark of fire.


    Bursting enough out of his hand just to set the cloth ablaze, nothing heavy enough to break the bottle or torch it out of existence for that matter.


    Meaning that he had to scale it down to one of the lowest options just to set the cloth on fire, didn''t take much effort really.


    Waiting for the cloth to be coated enough with this hot substance, he tossed it against the wall in front of him before the fire could inflict harm.


    Eric''s golden blood spilled in a good radius of a meter, they could see it sprinkle around and eventually shun most of the fire, giving the monster hunters a deprivation of illumination.


    GHIIIIIK!


    They heard an ear piercing screech right after and it wasn''t thanks to any earthquake due to messing with what they couldn''t comprehend.


    No, it looks like the creature gave out a shout and once given the opportunity to take another look at where the blood landed, they understood why.


    As the lit cloth fell on the ground, over a portion of the clay shards, a chunk of meat followed that same route, landing over the already weak flame.


    Another chunk followed after, almost double in size, a couple of kilos heavy to be more exact.


    Several chunks fell down after, it felt as if the creature had been immortalized in stone already due to being here so long. The chunks falling down like that of a boulder that was constantly pressured enhanced such thought.


    The creature had no blood, or at least not on this body part if that was somehow possible? This creature is expected to be from the demonic realm so one would never know.


    There wasn''t anything else that signified blood either, nothing. Just dry chunks falling down one after the other and forming a meter tall pile that carried an estimated 150 kilos.


    "Well, my blood worked." Eric celebrated, the damage they inflicted on this beast wasn''t to be taken lightly.


    The chunks continued to fall and reached further than what the blood exploded on, as if a disease that showed no stopping.


    Well that was a bit exaggerated, as this attack was limited like everything else.


    Eric''s bottle of golden blood wasn''t enough to devour this entire wormy creature but it was enough to take a 10 meter wide, round chunk off the being.


    In other words, it was enough to melt all the way to the other side of the creature, girth-wise.


    It split the monster in half but not in a way that would appear like badass and blood letting, but in a chunk by chunk way that gave a tad more disturbing scene.


    Afterwards they felt the ground tremble beneath their feet more than one would favour it.


    Taking a peek at their right, spotting a big portion of the wall fall off was the inevitable. It would be playing blind if one missed it, or playing dumb.


    But the cavern didn''t fall down, no it remained still stable. Instead, a piece of this beast fell off!


    Around 20 meters long, it''s size can''t be under estimated as it stretched wider and almost longer than a full grown Kushenisura!


    It''s tail! And once it met the ground, the weight that it packed forced the group of 4 to leap off their spots for a meter high!


    The rest of the creature was still curled in the 40 meter long and tall cavern wall, signifying that its size was far bigger than Eric expected it.


    GHAAAAAAAAAT!


    They heard the creature thunder again, as a tenth of the ceiling above their heads, fell down thanks to that earthquake from a few breaths earlier.


    But this time, the sound it unleashed was heavier by tone and less piercing through the ears although loud enough to be considered as deafening.


    The rumble that tagged along with such a shout signified greater threat, it finally managed to knock the group off their feet.


    Gazing at the ceiling after getting knocked down, Eric saw a head sized rock falling off it with several younger brothers and thousands of baby cousins.


    Meaning, a portion of the ceiling was falling over him and the ground beneath them was still shaking beyond control.


    Which ruled out the ability to stand up and run away from danger, well at least Eric was ruled optionless.


    A breath after, he could see Huna''s face far too close than any child would prefer.


    She was standing over Eric, as if doing a push up and acted like a barricade between Eric and the bits of rocks that could have broken his limp ribs.


    He could see the lady flinch in pain as the head shaped rock landed on the left side of her waist, but what would she suffer apart from a bruise?


    After all, a Calidum Lutum had a far stronger endurance in comparison to any other known race.


    The earthquake lasted just a few more seconds but it didn''t fail to feel like forever.


    Standing up, understanding the severity of the situation, Huna gazed at the other grand masters and shouted. "Seal the wall! The golden blood wasn''t enough to kill the monster!"


    That light blue illumination that this worm provided earlier, began to glow a bit harder, leaving any pair of eyes here no option but to shut.

 Chapter 508 - Desperation (1)

    Stripped out of vision thanks to that harsh sudden illumination but yet having a glimpse of his surroundings caught earlier, at a decent rate.


    Justak first tried to stand up straight for the sake of avoiding killing his own group, and then aimed his arm a few degrees to his left.


    And so, he blew a decent size of lava that stretched 4 feet wide soon as it emerged near his palm.


    The hot substance broke the already hazardous atmosphere and sprinkled the feeling of disaster in it.


    Piercing through the air in a quarter of a second, the lava stretched about 15 feet long now before it officially met with its target.


    The idea was to seal the beast back in place and Justak didn''t fail to do so, or at least didn''t fail to follow that order.


    The lava landed right where the beast''s tail used to be before the golden blood spread over it, forced the back end of the beast to fall on the ground even.


    The carving left behind was strong enough to remain firm in place, and carried its original circled position regardless of the earthquakes that shook their souls earlier.


    Considering that said lava was blown from a grand master, it didn''t fail to spread wide in all directions.


    But obviously it didn''t follow the line that this beast had imprinted on the... from the looks of it, volcanic wall.


    Blowing lava on a target doesn''t really work like that, especially now when the grand master''s vision was captivated by the eye torturing light blue illumination.


    If he had a field of vision, the lava would swim its way towards the line and provide a proper sealing just by the wave of a hand.


    In this situation however, the intent was just to seal whatever they could. So it didn''t really matter how the lava blew against the target.


    The molten substance struck the wall at speeds that made the man generated heat splash in all directions, almost torching his group as its radius spread 30 feet in just a few seconds.


    Huna felt and heard what one of the grand masters was doing, so she opened her eyes just for a second, to figure out where the shortest person was.


    And afterwards grabbed the boy by the shoulder and dragged him away, screaming. "We''re losing, go up there and alarm the town!"


    Never willing to flee from a battle, Eric tried to stand his ground and crawl back in battle, but strength didn''t favour his odds considering that a woman twice his size was dragging him through the cavern.


    Yet he still could holler by word, "No, I want to stay and fight! I''m the Electus, that beast can''t kill me!"


    Without asking another question, Huna dashed a few more steps forward and threw Eric as far as she could, repeating. "Go warn everyone."


    Turning around to face the battle once more, she noticed a grand and at this point, tide turning fact. Her vision was returning back to normal, although the enemy''s illumination grew more radiant.


    Reason behind it, the half minute through enduring this eye scolding light, aided towards adapting against it.


    She could see at least half of her surroundings now and noticed grand master Rashlam laying on the ground, about 30 feet away from the enemy.


    And grand master Justak just getting at it, willing with his entire being to fight the monster, still blowing lava from his palms.


    At this moment, gazing at the 50 feet of lava spread either on the walls or against the ground, made her remember one thing.


    This beast, well, lava doesn''t harm it.


    If it did, the beast''s holler would be thanks to the impact of lava, not because of that urge of trying to break free.


    That fact considered, the lady was rushed through these haunting thoughts. "The monster knows that it''s trapped now, we''re doomed."


    Observant that Justak might not have been so agile towards understanding the situation, lady Huna dashed forward with her prime intent striking against the monster.


    She passed by Rashlam and after a few steps took a big leap, leaning her upper body, forcing it forwards with one goal.


    As her palms met the ground first, the base foundation of such action went into motion.


    Lava started forcing towards a shift of attitude and gratitude, and not in a way that would fling one wave of heat to the left or any other particular direction.


    But instead, in a way that would make this ?umulative desperate attack against the beast, progress a step further.


    Lava started transforming into stone, volcanic rock to be more exact and it was all because of this fine 10 foot tall lady, slapping the ground with her palms.


    In the first split second, the lava hardened under just a radius of 1 meter.


    A breath after, it rushed at triple the speed, captivating a quarter of the massive lava blasted up until this point.


    Understanding what will happen if Justak continued, she hollered from the top of her lungs while nudging on the man''s fur breeches. "Stop attacking!"


    Spooked a bit since he can''t see much at the moment, but yet adaptive enough, once recognizing that familiar tone, he immediately stopped.


    Thanks to doing so, he was able to catch just a glimpse of the satisfaction arousing transformation of lava.


    One thing particularly interesting was the spike of stone that reached almost to his ?h?st, with its foundation being the cavern''s wall.


    The spike represented the lava he continued to blast regardless of how Huna shifted it into rock at those same seconds.


    If he hadn''t stopped blasting, the stone would eventually force lava to splash in all directions and burn him, badly.


    Gazing at the monster, Huna shook her head to hopefully regain more vision and cited. "I think that did it."


    "It did." Justak answered, liking the prime fact.


    The beast has been once more sealed shut although not how it was before this attack reaped losses and benefits.


    Now, Justak pitched. "Since golden blood managed to damage this crazy thing, we have to ask the King for more."

 Chapter 509 - Desperation (2)

    But as he gazed down, noticing that Huna wasn''t by his side became the inevitable and forced a thought. "Was it an illusion?"


    But after he gazed around a bit, finding Huna became easier. She had tip toed towards Rashlam who was laying on the ground.


    Lending attention to that specific grand master, they heard him complain. "My hair got burned!"


    But as they took a better look at his hair, they couldn''t help giggling and stating. "Your hair is fine, it didn''t get burned too much."


    "And most importantly, now we know how to kill the monster." Justak reminded, trying to remain optimistic towards what could have ended them all today.


    GAAAAAAAAAAAOOO!


    They''ve heard a familiar tone shout once more, but this time it felt heavier than ever.


    Especially since with that shout, came a head through the 40 meter long cavern wall, breaking its prison.


    The worm''s head... well it doesn''t nearly look like a worm now, the grand masters even managed to get a great view since it stopped and observed its surroundings once it broke out.


    The beast carries interesting characteristics, the most noticeable one being its countless horns that circle from above its foot foot wide eyes and all the way down to underneath its neck.


    The horns stood from 3 feet long to 12 feet, which was a huge eye catcher, especially since there wasn''t a single curls in this collar of horns.


    With these horns alone, the creature could kill the grand masters, not to mention all of the other features that captivated their vision.


    Unlike the rest of its body colour, the horns along with the rest of the monster''s head carried a dark grey colour, almost like the lines on the rest of its body that limited illumination.


    Furthermore, the beast''s eyes illuminate in a dark green colour, Huna could see her body painted green thanks to it although the light submitted dim, enough to fail out shining all of the other facial features.


    Apart from the head stretching a massive 15 meters round, there was one more feature that the grand masters noticed.


    The monster had 2 more horns stretching out of its mouth that until now remained closed.


    The horns stretch 5 or so meters long, noticeably long but were curled instead of straight like everything else.


    Only the tips were curled, acting like a bashing stick, that''s what it portrayed at least, like a gate basher.


    Although the description stretched long, this team was only able to observe everything for a few seconds before this beast shouted once more.


    AAAAAGGG!


    And without warning, it started shaking its head round and round, nailing its massive horns against the wall behind it.


    Bashing through the cavern with its head earlier or in this case, possibly with those horns. Granted more movement options in that limited place.


    The creature couldn''t reach the grand masters but raged in every side of the compass, bashing its head against the cavern wall.


    "It''s trying to break loose!" Huna pointed out the obvious and snapped the other grand masters out of their fear.


    Increasing her intent, she smacked them behind the head and shouted. "We don''t need another great disaster, let''s seal this bitch!"


    Unlikely for her to cuss but who wouldn''t in this case, with a raging giant worm in front of them?


    And so, they proceeded with a movement that in the town of Lan Shutak signified both tradition and power, the call for death against an enemy echoing as a prime intent and a motive towards success.


    They met their left knee on the ground, bending their bodies down along with what such pose demanded.


    But the rest of their bodies were kept straight as a needle, the left arms pushed and stretched straight to their left side.


    If they were just a few more inches closer to each other, tickling waists would suddenly become an option.


    As for their right arms, the next step was raising it above their heads. Doing so was a quick step as they did not want to wait and see what would happen if that beast broke free.


    In union, they started reciting what carried thousands of years of value, all cited in the language that had been long shadowed, forgotten ever since they began to learn the Ignite ways of life. The Calidum Lutum language!


    "Calidus! Asta el varam she fes shamik''h! Tamun she fes tetekat!"


    "Calidus! Asta el varam she fes shamik''h! Tamun she fes tetekat!"


    "Calidus! Asta el varam she fes shamik''h! Tamun she fes tetekat!"


    "Calidus! Asta el varam she fes shamik''h! Tamun she fes tetekat!"


    And finally repeated it once more, translated into the Ignite language. "Calidus! Bring down to us your powers! Gift us your aid!"


    Thanks to that heart felt and yet desperate request from their god of lava himself, what aroused next surely broke the usual.


    This move was traditional, in special occasions a dance was finished off with such a move.


    But not today, at these seconds they demand power that meets standards far beyond comprehension, even for a grand master.


    Feeling their hands tingle was a part of the process, they didn''t dare to stare up since it would break this move.


    But Huna felt peace breaching her heart as the orange illumination growing on their palms far out matched anything this beast unleashed.


    And no, it wasn''t because they were bursting any type of lava from their hand. No no, the holy has descended towards the situation, or blessed them with an advantage at least.


    After a few breaths, they noticed that the orange light had become strong enough to proceed with the next step, therefore Huna commanded with a soul trembling holler that suddenly pushed peace away. "Now!"


    Upon demand, the grand masters knew what to do and in perfect union, their right hands were slid downwards to meet ?h?st level.


    And then were jerkly pushed forward, their arms hanging out like a straight plank that had no splinters, smooth enough to give a boner if rubbed.


    Without even a bit of lava bursting from their palm, they began to shout out something else through the original Calidum Lutum language.


    "Calidus! Xamesh she tak cakilua gamet!"


    "Calidus! Xamesh she tak cakilua gamet!"


    And finally, uttered it once more in the Ignite language. "Calidus! Join us in battle today!"


    The orange light that was shinning on their palms, grew bigger in size! The emotionless and lifeless beam of light started surrounding their entire palms and reached enough to swallow the whole arm, forming a big sphere although not at all heavy.


    Closing their left arm in closer to the ?h?st and afterwards poking it forward like the right, but just a foot behind compared to the other.


    The next sight didn''t fail to meet their expectations and caused more than a few tears of joy on their eyes.


    The figure only took a few seconds to form and started where the mother''s w?mb would be.


    From that point expanding in all directions and standing 20 feet tall!


    The figure portrayed a human form, although obviously larger than any normal human.


    In just a few more seconds, the colour began to grow darker by shade and left behind just a few lava like rivers throughout the entire body, portraying veins.


    What the figure shouted next, even seduced the monster to cease berserking, as his manly tone shook the ground and forced dirt itself to elevate a foot high in all directions. "Guzlla rahakimal me samuelan!?"


    The imperious voice repeated once again, the very ground beneath their feet suffering rivering cracks submissive to the dictator. "Guzlla rahakimal me samuelan!?"


    Once more, spoke it out in the Ignite language, declaring knowledge. "Whom opposes my people!?"