by Michael Sisa
“Wolves,” Mikael said calmly. He could clearly see the wolves hidden in the sea of trees. “Parzival, the princess.”
The wolves slowly approached the camp. Drool dripped from their mouths. The scent of grilled meat must have attracted the pack.
Parzival immediately went toward the cart where the princess was located. She must have been woken up by the clanking of metal and the growling sounds, as she opened the flap covering her cart and looked outside, only to be terrified upon seeing over a dozen wolves slowly approaching the camp.
“Princess, it’s dangerous. Please go back inside.”
Parzival stood right in front of the princess, his hand holding his sword.
The leader of the pack howled, and, on cue, the entire wolf pack attacked. The soldiers were about to engage in battle when lightning suddenly rained down from the sky and struck several wolves at once. The lightning crackled dangerously as it burned down the wolves’ bodies. The yelps and death throes of the wolves echoed in the forest.
Seeing this, the remaining wolves immediately halted in their tracks. Even the alpha wolf was apparently terrorized, frozen in place, unable to attack.
After the lightning spell ended, several scorched bodies laid on the forest ground, lifeless.
The soldiers looked at the red-haired woman who cast the spell. Unbaffled that the soldiers were looking at her, Chryselle pointed a finger at the alpha wolf. A bolt of lightning shot out and pierced the target’s body, killing it on the spot.
After the death of their leader, the rest of the wolves immediately scurried out of sight, disappearing into the dark forest.
Chryselle sighed and wiped the sweat off her forehead. She was glad that her spell had worked perfectly.
“Chantless magic,” said Lark. “Quite impressive for someone your age.”
Chryselle smiled wryly after hearing that from Lark—a magician younger and more powerful than her.
“Oh! As expected of an Elde—”
Austen almost blurted out her identity. Chryselle covered Austen’s mouth and glared at him. Lark smiled, amused upon seeing this sight. Chryselle would probably become stronger than this once she underwent Lark’s private magic lessons. She already had the fundamentals, after all.
“Who’s that?”
Parzival and his fellow knights stared at the red-haired woman. Just from that spell alone, they were sure she was a high-ranking magician of the Kingdom. The princess was wide-eyed as she looked at Chryselle. It was the first time she had encountered such a strong female magician.
“Princess?”
Parzival was surprised when the princess suddenly jumped out of the cart and approached the red-haired woman.
“That was amazing!” said Princess Esmeralda. “And you’re quite beautiful too! How perfect!”
Chryselle froze when the princess suddenly approached her and muttered embarrassing praises. She didn’t reply, not knowing what to say.
The princess’ eyes were glimmering as she stared at Chryselle.
“Ah, I haven’t introduced the two of you to each other,” said Lark. “This is Princess Esmeralda, the youngest daughter of His Majesty.”
Chryselle nodded slowly. She knew this already.
“And Chryselle,” said Lark. “My fourth disciple.”
The princess stared dumbfoundedly at Lark after that last statement. “D-Disciple? Her?”
The sheltered princess couldn’t understand why someone like her, who could kill several wolves at once, was a mere disciple of a young man who hadn’t even undergone the coming of age ceremony.
The princess was a very easy person to read, unlike Lark.
Chryselle bent her head forward slightly and made a curtsy. She held elegance only seen in High Nobles. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Princess. I heard that you’re also coming to Blackstone Town. We’ll be seeing each other often then. I hope we can get along.”
The princess was thrilled at those words. She found Chryselle as beautiful as her second oldest sister. Furthermore, unlike the royals, she was very capable in magic spells.
“Chryselle, is it?” The princess held out her hand. “You can just call me Esmeralda. There’s no need for formalities! Become my friend!”
How straightforward.
The princess had frequently avoided Lark’s gaze since they’d met, but she seemed determined to make Chryselle her friend. Lark smiled at this innocence.
Chryselle smiled. Her voice was soothing. “Is that so? This is my first time making a friend from the royal family.”
The two chattered with each other. The princess completely forgot the fact that they were almost attacked by wolves just a while ago. Parzival and the rest of the knights were conflicted about whether or not this was a good development.
“Well, at least the princess has made a friend,” sighed Parzival.
Parzival looked at Lark’s group. There were a lot of strong people in this army—even his former instructor was here, pretending to be a mere coachman. Tagging along with them was indeed a wise decision. At the very least, the princess would be safe until they’d arrived at their destination.
***
Days passed by quickly.
As they made their way toward Blackstone Town, the group was occasionally attacked by monsters, but the living suits of armor and the Blackstone Soldier easily dealt with them. It seemed that after fighting with the imperial soldiers, mere goblins and kobolds no longer felt threatening to them.
There was also a group of archers with frighteningly strong firepower. Each of their arrows was capable of shattering the skulls of the kobolds, rendering the monsters unable to even initiate an attack.
No wonder Instructor Mikael remained calm all throughout the journey. He was already aware of the strength of this army.
The group arrived at Wizzert City and started restocking their rations.
Lark asked Chryselle if she wanted to visit the tower for a moment while they restocked their supplies, but she adamantly refused the offer. She also concealed her identity with a hooded cloak and refused to come inside the city, afraid that her brother would detect her magic signature if she came closer.
Lark’s group stayed in the city for only a few hours, before continuing their journey toward Blackstone Town.
Finally, the group arrived at the Lake of Full Moon. The lake was vast, probably as large as the capital itself. The water was crystal clear, as though it had never been soiled by human hands.
“Leader,” one of the knights said to Parzival. “Those ruins…”
Parzival frowned as he looked at the direction where the knight pointed at. A ruined fortress was seen near the lake. The walls had crumbled and the watchtowers had fallen down the ground.
Before coming, the knights did their research. They knew that they would need to pass this dangerous lake in order to arrive at Blackstone Town. They knew that during a full moon, thousands of monsters would come out of this lake and attack everyone nearby.
“It’ll be a week before another full moon comes,” said Parzival. “There’ll be no need for us to fight the monsters of the lake.”
The knights were relieved upon hearing this.
“Chryselle, look!” The princess gawked at the lake. “Isn’t it beautiful!”
Currently, Chryselle and the princess were inside the same cart. They both stared at the crystal-clear water of the lake, admiring its beauty. This was the first time the princess had seen a lake of this scale. It was so large that she couldn’t see its end.
“Yes, it’s beautiful, Princess.” Chryselle smiled as she watched the glimmering eyes of Princess Esmeralda.
Chryselle knew that this lake was monster-infested, that it would turn into the most horrendous place on this continent once the twin moons appeared in the sky. But she decided not to tell that to the princess. They would simply be passing through this place, after all. She did not want to shatter such a pure soul.
After passing the lake, the group eventually arrive
d at Lion City. The towers Lark built for the city were still intact. And judging by the scorch marks they saw outside, it seemed that the monsters from the lake could no longer even come close—they were immediately shot down by the towers before they could even climb the walls.
Lark decided they would stay here for the night. He rented an entire inn for his men then went to visit the merchants guild.
After revealing his identity, the clerk’s eyes widened.
“W-Wait a moment, please!” she said, almost squeaking. “I’ll inform the head merchant right away!”
She ran up the stairs and moments after, returned, and said to him, “The head merchant agreed to meet you. This way, please!”
Lark was led to the same room on the second floor. But this time, he could no longer feel any guards hiding next to the walls.
Big Mona entered the room. He grinned broadly upon seeing Lark. “My dearest partner! I’m so glad you’ve come back alive!”
The middle-grade potion had been selling for a fortune these days, and even the low-grade healing potions were selling like rye bread. Their quality was far superior to those made by the alchemists in the capital. Soldiers, mercenaries, and even nobles started coveting them.
Furthermore, the kalrane stones were starting to become popular among the High Nobles. Big Mona had made several hundred gold coins from them since his deal with Lark started.
To Big Mona, Lark was like God Gaia—the God of Earth, Harvest, and Benevolence. He was really pleased when Lark came to give him a visit.
Big Mona poured wine into a goblet and handed it to Lark. “Please drink. It’s been months since we’ve last seen each other. How’s the capital? I heard you’re the one who slew the Ghost of the Empire.”
Lark sipped his wine. “Just a lucky strike.”
“Is that so?” Big Mona understood that Lark didn’t want to recount the story.
“How are the towers?” said Lark.
“Perfect. After the towers were completed, the monsters from the lake couldn’t even come close to the city. The soldiers are also becoming more proficient in using them. During the last wave, we suffered zero casualties.”
Lark was impressed. The soldiers were probably capable now of freely shifting the tower blocks located at its base, switching from long-range, single magic attacks to shorter-range, wide-area spells.
Now that Lion City was capable of suppressing the monsters, Lark would no longer have to worry about them reaching his territory.
“The monster corpses?” said Lark.
Big Mona started filling his mouth with snacks. He spoke, his mouth half-full. “We’ve sent them to Blackstone Town. I’ve always kept my part of the deal, partner.”
There were probably hundreds of monster corpses stored in the underground chamber of his mansion by now, rotting. Lark was satisfied that he could immediately proceed with creating more Blackstone Knights once he arrived at the town.
“How long are you going to stay here?” said Big Mona.
“We’ll go back to Blackstone Town tomorrow morning.”
Big Mona rubbed his chin. “Tomorrow, huh? Listen—” Big Mona’s voice turned serious all of a sudden. “Valcres plans on subjugating the monsters of the lake.”
Shrewd. Cowardly. These were Lark’s first impression of the Lord of Lion City when he’d met him back then. Lark had not expected that stubby man to organize a subjugation force to clear the lake of monsters.
“That’s impossible,” said Lark. “It’ll be a suicide mission.”
Based on reports, the monsters attacking Lion City were only a portion of the monsters from the lake. Although a major city, Lion City had only a few thousand soldiers to protect its territory. Even if the City Lord sent all of them to subjugate the monsters of the lake, it would be impossible to kill all of those monsters.
“That’s right,” Big Mona agreed.
“How does he plan to subjugate them?” said Lark.
“About that,” Big Mona said slowly, “Valcres hopes that you’ll be able to build some towers near the lake. You’ll have a few weeks to finish it with the help of the soldiers after the next full moon passes.”
“No,” said Lark. “Tell him that I won’t be building any more towers for his city. If he truly wishes to subjugate the monsters of the lake, ask for help from the royal family.”
This should be enough to deter the foolish lord from sending his soldiers to their deaths.
Based on the available data on the lake, Lark surmised that it was not simply a monster-infested region. There was no way tens of thousands of monsters could remain hidden underneath that lake for almost a month, only to come out once the full moon was high above the sky.
Even if they cleared all the monsters during the full moon, there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t respawn afterward. Lark felt that it was too foolish to form a subjugation team with just the current information they had in their hands.
Big Mona shared Lark’s sentiments. He seemed pleased at Lark’s reply. He chuckled. “Of course, I’ll be sure to tell the lord that.”
“Why does the lord suddenly want to subjugate the monsters of the lake?” said Lark. “I heard that the lake had remained untouched for several decades. Even the previous lord of this city didn’t dare touch those monsters.”
“Money,” said Big Mona. “We’ve recently learned that there’s an adamantine vein deep within the lake.”
Lark’s interest was piqued. An adamantine vein was hard to find, even back in the Magic Empire. It was the ideal material when making a maginus and other magic weapons.
“Normally, it would take several days, or weeks to mine a single ore. It’s harder than mithril, after all,” said Big Mona. “But with the vein’s current location, we’d be lucky enough to mine even one in a month or two. And there’s also the monsters of the lake to consider.”
“I see.”
Everything finally made sense. Why Lord Valcres suddenly started organizing a subjugation force to annihilate the monsters of the lake. If he gained unrestricted access to the adamantine vein, he’d become one of the richest lords not just in this country, but in the entire continent.
“I’ve already told Valcres to forget about the adamantine,” said Big Mona. “I’m pretty sure we’re not the first ones to discover it. The previous lord might even be aware of it but decided to conceal this fact to the general public. There’s a reason why no one managed to mine those ores all these years.”
Lark was reminded of the mithril given to him by Viscount Zacharia.
“I heard there’s a blacksmith called Garma in this city,” said Lark. “Do you know where I can find him?”
“Ah. That old man’s quite famous.” Big Mona walked toward the map of the city plastered on the wall and pointed at the place where the smithy was located. “Here. Just ask around. He’s pretty famous around the area, so it should be pretty easy to find him. But that old man’s grumpy. He’s quite picky and won’t take just any request.”
Lark was told that the blacksmith would immediately agree to work on his weapon as long as he mentioned Zacharia’s name. He was confident that the blacksmith would agree to make him a weapon made out of mithril.
CHAPTER 3
After meeting with Big Mona, Lark immediately went toward the smithy. It was easy to find since it was the only smithy in that area. Although it was already dusk, the sound of hammer striking iron resounded in the street. Lark followed it and arrived at a rundown bungalow. From the windows, Lark could see a muscular old man next to the furnace.
Lark knocked on the door. After several seconds, there was no reply. It seemed that the old man was too absorbed in his work to bother checking who’s knocking at this hour.
Lark knocked again. “Hello? I’m here to meet the blacksmith, Garma.”
The old man glanced at Lark, frowned, then continued striking the iron with the hammer.
Lark pondered whether or not he should wait for the old man to finish, but eventually decid
ed against it. There was no guarantee that the blacksmith would be done anytime soon, and he’d decided to go back to Blackstone Town tomorrow morning with his men.
“I came here under the recommendation of Viscount Zacharia.”
At those words, the old man halted. He stared at Lark for several seconds, before placing down the hammer. With loud, brisk steps, he yanked the door open and glared at the unwanted visitor.
“What is it, kid?” he said, spit flying out of his mouth.
“I came here under the recommendation of Viscount Zacharia,” repeated Lark, unfazed by the glaring muscular old man. “Are you the blacksmith called Garma?”
The old man studied Lark from head to foot. The kid reeked of the word noble and he didn’t like it.
“That’s right.” Garma nodded. “What do you want?”
Lark dropped the bag he was holding, creating loud clanking sound. He opened it and revealed several silver-black ingots inside.
The hostile glare of the blacksmith vanished in an instant. His eyes widened. “Mithril?” he breathed. He stared at Lark for a moment. “This Viscount you spoke of—”
“—A former Baron,” said Lark.
Finally, Garma understood. Slowly, a grin formed on the grumpy old man’s lips. He clenched his fists. “That bastard. Zacharia… He became a Viscount, huh?”
Garma looked outside. It was already dark.
“Name?” said Garma.
“Lark Marcus. Lord of Blackstone Town.”
Garma seemed unfazed by the fact that Lark was a noble. He did not even care that he seemed to be part of House Marcus—one of the three Ducal Houses of the Kingdom.
“I heard the news of the Empire’s defeat,” said the blacksmith. “How’d you meet that fighting maniac? That Zacharia?”
Fighting maniac? The former Baron did not give such an impression during the brief time the two of them had spent during the war.
“Viscount Zacharia was appointed as the Commander of the First Army,” said Lark. “And I was assigned as the Commander of the Third Army.”