Stone Will
Page 46
“You see, the senior officer is against it. I can’t argue with my commanding officer.”
The tent was quiet as Serra continued to look expectantly at the two friends. She knew they were hiding something. Nero and Hadjar were keeping quiet about it. They were two roguish, but reliable, companions. However, one of them was more than a friend to her—he was at least a lover. Nero wasn't supposed to know about her other thoughts.
The less a man knew about a woman's true feelings, the better for both of them. Love was a far too unpredictable and ethereal feeling to share it with someone who was just brightening up the cold night hours for you.
Maybe Nero felt the same way about her.
Hadjar only rolled his eyes. These two were so alike…
“Okay, well…” Nero blurted it out. “They tried to kill Hadjar.”
“When?” Serra was surprised.
“Last night,” Hadjar replied.
“And the day before,” Nero added.
“And four nights ago.”
“And last week, too.”
“Twice.”
Serra stared, dumbfounded, at the two fools who hadn’t thought to share such important information with her.
“General Larvie,” she finally guessed.
Serra knew that nearly six months ago, Hadjar had taken Colin’s, the son of Spring Town’s General, head. Nero had told her that the animosity between him and Hadjar had arisen at first sight. Their relationship had been so complicated that only the death of one of them could’ve resolved it. But Colin's father, the General of Spring Town, and the whole Prefecture along with him, disagreed.
“First, they sent killers at the Bodily Nodes level.”
“The whole range, too. Stages one through nine,” Hadjar nodded.
“Then they sent killers at the level of the Bodily Rivers.”
“Yesterday, they sent an assassin at the Formation Stage. It was difficult, but I handled him.”
Serra snorted and whispered a soft, “Here kitty, kitty...” The skins which served as a bed for Hadjar stirred and a white kitten crawled out from under them. She crossed the space that separated her from the warm, gentle hands in several jumps.
Serra straightened up, petting Azrea, and the white kitten was purring in her arms.
Traitor, Hadjar thought amusedly.
“When were you going to tell me about this? And why does no one in the camp know about it?” She asked angrily.
“The hired killers belonged to the Ax clan,” Nero explained, “They’ve probably got a lot of tricks for euthanizing unwanted witnesses.”
Serra grumbled something unintelligible. Holding the kitten in one hand, she got a yellow talisman out with her second hand. Something whispered, she swung it upward, and it melted, literally having soaked into the air.
“What will that do, Serra?” Hadjar was indignant. “I didn't ask you to do magic in my tent.”
“I don't need your permission nor your request, Hadjar. You may be a senior officer to everyone else, but you're a friend to me. That's why I want to know when you're attacked next time”
Hadjar and Nero looked at each other and spread their hands almost simultaneously. When something occurred to Serra, it was impossible to stop her.
“The Bodily Nodes. The Bodily Rivers. The Formation Stage…” She whispered softly, going through the various levels. “So, today they’ll be sending a practitioner at the Transformation Stage after you!”
“Today,” Hadjar shrugged. “Or tomorrow. Maybe the day after tomorrow. Who knows?”
“And you’re talking about it so calmly? It's a fucking Transformation level assassin!”
“Honey,” Nero tried to hug the caster around the waist. “Don't worry about the bully. He'll be all right. These raids will stop soon enough.”
Serra looked at the annoying jerks. They were being slightly evasive.
“May all the demons of hell get into my bed!”
“Darling, there's not always enough room in there even for me.”
Serra only hissed in response and Nero immediately went quiet.
“Are you going to the General's castle? You’re not fooling me! I see right through you! Do you realize that’s suicide?”
“Suicide would be to just sit around here and wait for when the Ax clan sends a true cultivator,” Hadjar clenched his fists.
Serra sighed and put Azrea down. She snorted indignantly, upset at the imminent parting. The white kitten, waving her tail to convey her annoyance, dived back into the skins and was soon peacefully asleep.
“I'm coming with you.”
“Serra…”
“Honey…”
“It's settled!” The enchantress shouted.
Nero and Hadjar only sighed. Arguing with the woman was useless.
“When are we leaving?” She asked.
“As soon as the artifactor brings us our new blades.”
The girl swore in a language unknown to Hadjar.
“So, you kept quiet all this time. You knew and still said nothing,” she stated angrily and turned around, going to the door.
“Honey,” Nero followed her, but his hand was slapped aside.
“Don't even think about it,” Serra hissed. “You’d better find another bed tonight.”
After saying her piece, she walked out.
Nero sighed dreamily and smiled, following after her...
“She’s amazing!” He whispered, almost licking his lips.
Hadjar didn’t know what Serra was like as a beloved, but he knew that she was a reliable friend. He had never suspected until now that he had not one, but two true friends in this world.
It was a wonderful feeling.
Azrea meowed with slight indignation.
Hadjar smiled, pulled out a piece of jerky from his pocket and handed it to the voracious kitten. She immediately began to devour it.
Okay, three friends.
To be continued…
Afterword
"Dragon Heart" is one of the top-rated Wuxia LitRPG novels in Russia.
The author has been writing the story for only one and a half years, however, it already has 1200 chapters spanning 13 books. The whole story is planned out and will have over 2000 chapters and 20 books.
The version in Russian has been read over 10,000,000 times.
This story has made Mr. Klevanski the #1 author on the 4 biggest self-publishing sites in Russia.
From December of 2018 till now, "Dragon Heart" was being translated into English and published chapter by chapter on several American sites.
Within a month, the story became popular with the foreign readers and caused quite a stir.
On Royal Road, it was holding the top spot in trending fictions and gathered more than 2000 followers.
On Creative Novels, it's being followed by over 1500 readers.
Webnovel received the book warmly and the readers are eagerly waiting for new chapters.
I hope you'll like the story, too.
GIVE FEEDBACK!
Consider leaving a review, please. Let it be short, never mind, every your feedback is the best reward for my team and me. I read all of reviews with great pleasure.
Thank you, friends!
SECOND BOOK
You can read the second book of the series IN THE PROCESS OF IT’S TRANSLATING a chapter by chapter on RoyalRoad.com.
Publishing of the first chapters will start in April.
Here is the link for the SECOND BOOK:
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/22034/dragon-heart-stone-will-litrpg-wuxia-series
If there is no opportunity to review on Amazon, here are my publish pages:
Review on Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43980256-dragon-heart
You can threat on my Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/kir.droi
Always glad to discuss Hadjar’s adventures!
I would like to recommend you several new books of the Russian authors.
Sergey Zaytzev: "Univ
erse ICS": Soulcatcher
Find yourself in a reality of untold possibilities, in a place where technology and magic are indistinguishable
Paul Kite: The Realm of Noria (2 books)
The most dangerous and powerful assassin welcomes you in the magic fantasy realm of majestic Noria.
Valery Starsky Transformation (2 books)
A post apocalyptic fantasy World, with dragons and dark elves. Overpowers MC and his crazy journey in transformed world.
There are several Facebook groups with LitRPG themes:
Join LitRPG Forum
Join LitRPG Reads
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Join Litrpg. Fantasy. Sci-fi
Join GameLit Society
Join Harem Lit