Einen said nothing more. He was ready to follow his friend anywhere, even to war. Perhaps he’d soon have to do just that.
Leaving the nobles behind, the two of them left the hall.
Chapter 690
T he wounds he’d received, even though they’d been inflicted by an Imperial level blade, healed within two hours. Since Anise’s attacks hadn’t contained any mysteries or energy, it was only his physical body that had suffered. For a true cultivator, such injuries, especially if we take into consideration Techniques for Strengthening the Body and the various medicines and ointments that can supplement those, posed no threat.
It took the duo quite a lot of time to climb down from the mountains where Greven’Dor had been hidden for eons because they didn’t want to risk running into another Spirit-golem or some other nasty creature that had been awakened by the key and the map leaving their rightful resting place.
Over the course of the two days they spent in that icy desert, where the snowcapped mountain peaks acted as dunes, the friends hardly spoke. They both had a lot on their minds.
Hadjar, who’d developed feelings for Anise, realized that he had yet to experience true love. He had not yet found the person with whom he’d overcome any obstacle and whom he could love for centuries and millennia to come. They said that finding true love along the path of martial arts was as rare as cherry blossoms during winter. What he’d felt for Anise had been lust. She simply looked like his favorite type of woman. Besides, she was also a swordswoman. And she was strong. He’d always liked that in women, so it was no wonder that he’d confused attraction, sympathy, and respect for something akin to love.
However, the more time he’d spent with her, the more he’d realized that Anise couldn’t escape the fate that he’d somehow avoided. Perhaps she hadn’t had friends like Sera and Nero. She certainly hadn’t had Mentors like South Wind, the Master swordsman, the Shadow of the Immortal swordsman, and, of course, his venerable ancestor and Master, Traves, the last of the Dark Storm tribe. All of them had helped him avoid becoming like Primus in his pursuit of vengeance. But Anise, poor Anise, hadn’t been as lucky.
She might not have been completely lost yet, wandering through her uncle’s house of mirrors, but she was dancing on the edge of the abyss and Hadjar didn’t know how to help her. Or maybe he simply didn’t want to.
As they wandered through the snow toward the Wastelands, he felt empty. It was as if something important and valuable had been taken from him. Like he’d been deprived of some greater purpose.
After all, there was no point in denying that Anise had been a beacon for him, and the force that had kept driving him onward. All he felt for her now was a speck of sympathy. It wasn’t difficult to imagine what awaited her once all the nobles returned home and had to admit their failure.
“They were going to kill Dora.”
Hadjar turned around.
They were at the foot of the mountain range. Instead of snow and rocks, they were once again surrounded by dry air and earth, withered grass and sparse, low trees. Nothing had changed in the Wastelands.
“You figured it out as well?” Hadjar just barely managed to duck.
Azrea, pleased to see her two-legged friend again, had run over and jumped on him. The tigress herself weighed quite a lot, and when you combined that with the inertia of her jump, you got a trip to the nearest healer. Not wanting to risk it, Hadjar dodged his furry friend. The tigress, as she flew over his head, snorted in displeasure. Landing, she sat down, wrapped her tail around herself, and titled her head.
“All right, all right...” Hadjar smiled and came up to her. “It’s good to see you again, furball.”
He tried to put his arm around her powerful neck but she snarled and turned away.
“Don’t pout!” Hadjar laughed. “I was just stabbed! I didn’t wanna risk it.”
The tigress glared at him. To make sure that he wasn’t lying, she moved closer and sniffed his chest. She then snorted again and nuzzled Hadjar’s shoulder. He understood it to mean: ‘It’s your fault, you idiot’, but that didn’t matter. She allowed him to scratch her behind the ear.
“Clever girl, Azrea,” Hadjar said. “Were there any problems?”
Purring, the tigress nodded toward a small mound. At least that’s what he’d thought she was pointing at, at first. Upon closer inspection, he found out that it was actually a pile of corpses. In addition to various monsters with missing Cores, there were also a couple of human bodies on the pile. The horses that had been left with Azrea for safekeeping were grazing peacefully around the stakes stuck in the ground.
“They’re still there…” He mumbled to himself.
Perhaps this was for the best. For the nobles, and for Azrea, him, and Einen. Who knew how the tigress would’ve reacted if they’d come back down without him. For a moment, he wondered what sort of artifacts the trio might’ve left with their horses...
By the time Hadjar had finished arguing with Azrea, Einen had managed to untie his horse and bring it over.
“Lascanians?” he asked calmly.
The smile instantly faded from Hadjar’s face. Azrea, feeling his sudden tension, stiffened and braced herself. Looking around, she struck the ground with her tail and growled.
“I don’t think so,” Hadjar said, shaking his head.
When Einen had mentioned that ‘they’ had been planning to kill Dora, he hadn’t been referring to the Dinos siblings.
As soon as the real reason for their trip to the Wastelands had been revealed, something had begun to seem out of place. But he wasn’t sure what yet.
To begin with, the sudden appearance of an Ice Spirit that could singlehandedly destroy a small army had been a surprise to both the Dinos siblings and Dora. It was very possible that the Head of the Predatory Blades clan had sent the unwanted heirs of the former ruling family on a suicidal goose chase. But why would the Elven King do something like that? No matter how hard he thought about it, Hadjar couldn’t find a single good reason for Dora to be sacrificed like this. The old elf loved her. If a single hair on her head ended up lightly disturbed, the entire Empire would fall victim to his wrath. The first people he’d point his finger at would be the Predatory Blades clan. And all this right before an upcoming war? It didn’t make any sense.
Einen tightened his saddle’s straps and checked the blanket that served as both his bed and cloak. “It seems that whoever orchestrated this will remain unknown to us.”
“Seems like it, my friend.” Azrea crouched down and allowed him to climb up onto her back. “However, they must’ve spent a lot of time and coin on this...”
“And they must’ve had a lot of connections in the ruling circles and, therefore, a lot of fools who are indebted to them.”
Hadjar gave Einen an amused look. Unlike him, the islander felt right at home in the world of politics and scheming.
“If Dora had died,” he continued, “one of two things would’ve happened.”
“A fight between the elves and the Predatory Blades clan. A major boon for the Lascanians,” Hadjar said. “Or, a fight between the elves and the Imperial family. Another event the Lascanians would’ve applauded and cheered for.”
Einen nodded.
“Whoever is behind this took great care to ensure that all the clues point to Lascan,” he said.
“They must be quite close to the seven great clans if they managed to pull something like this off,” Hadjar drawled.
“Why were their artifacts so weak, though? I doubt that there’s a treasure in the Empire powerful enough to destroy Ana’Bree, but still...”
The two of them cast one last glance at the icy mountains and then took off. They’d been riding in silence for a while when a thought struck them.
“The Tarez,” they said in unison.
Chapter 691
S itting by the fire, Hadjar stared into the flames. Next to him, Einen sat in deep meditation. They’d agreed to take turns while training. Fortunately, true cu
ltivators didn’t need physical exercise (most forms, that is) as part of their cultivation.
The old bit of folk wisdom that a healthy body nurtured a healthy spirit had been turned upside down for them. The stronger their spirit’s energy got, the stronger and healthier their mortal coil would become, but only up to a certain extent, of course. To go beyond that limit, an adept needed to use Techniques for Strengthening the Body. But even without them, a true adept whose spirit was strong enough never got sick and was always clean. Hadjar couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken a bath for anything besides the sheer pleasure of it, like pure necessity.
With a sigh, he threw a branch into the fire.
“Damned Tarez!”
“Hell yeah!”
Hadjar shuddered.
In the art of creeping up on someone without being noticed, Helmer had left Einen far behind. He came as suddenly and unnoticeably as his nightmares. But he always made sure to make an entrance that’d remain with you for quite some time. Like a true nightmare.
“Will you ever leave me alone?” Hadjar sighed wearily, rubbing his face with his hand.
Helmer didn’t show up with wine this time but with a... loaf of bread. Sitting by the fire, he propped his cheek up on his clawed hand and held a slice of bread over the flames. The fucking bastard was making toast!
“Peace is a fool’s dream,” he said with a sneer, “but the Tarez have outdone themselves this time.”
Hadjar narrowed his eyes at the demon. He felt a pang of fear in his very soul.
“You didn’t know?”
“Contrary to your beliefs,” crimson eyes flashed, “I’m not all-knowing.” He removed the piece of bread from the fire. With a smile of anticipation, he tore off a chunk, put it in his mouth, and then promptly spat it back out, cursing profusely.
“What? Not good?”
“Oh, no, no, I love it so much... Are you really that dumb?” Helmer threw the bread into the fire, where it was devoured by the flames. “I’m especially thrilled by the fact that not only did you manage to get the Core, you also kept the splinter.”
Now it was Hadjar’s turn to swear angrily. As soon as the fae had died, the Core had landed on the splinter.
“You want to keep it?” The demon asked, peering intently at Hadjar.
Of course, he didn’t actually want to part with an artifact that had been able to kill someone like Ana’Bree, but he had no other choice.
Sighing, he stretched out his hand. In a flash of silver light, the splinter appeared in his open palm.
“Here.” He didn’t even flinch when the artifact disappeared. There wasn’t even a trace of energy left behind to suggest that it had been stored in a spatial artifact. Hadjar had never seen anything like it. In all honesty, had it happened a couple of weeks ago, before he’d reached the level of a peak Heaven Soldier, he would’ve probably missed it entirely.
“Do you remember our agreement, Hadji?”
As if he were cold, Helmer moved closer to the fire and held his hands out over the flames. Where the blood sphere that the demon always carried with him had disappeared to, Hadjar had no clue.
“I do. I owe you for helping me.”
“That goes without saying.” Helmer smiled his nightmarish grin. “But I’m talking about our other deal. About the Tarez. The ones that almost got me killed.”
“I-” Hadjar started, but then closed his mouth with a click. He suddenly realized why the Dinos siblings and Dora had made an alliance with him and Einen.
It was because he’d managed to annoy the Tarez family the moment he’d stepped foot in ‘The Holy Sky’ School. But that had been a year ago, and it wasn’t like he’d made an enemy of anyone truly important. Back then, he’d had a lot of fun in the capital and its surrounding area. A powerful family like the Tarez probably couldn’t help but find out who’d brought the map that led to Decater’s tomb back to Dahanatan. And they’d surely found out who was to blame for the fact that the orcs were roaming near their territory once again.
“I can practically see the cogs turning!” Helmer chuckled. “Good things are coming, Hadji. The more dots you connect, the less ol’ Helmer will have to worry about his favorite employee.”
“Oh, I’m sure you would’ve just died of worry.”
“You wound me, Hadj!” Helmer raised his hat, revealing his thinning, white hair. “I worry about you constantly! How are you? Have you accomplished anything? I’ve invested so much in you, but I’ve yet to see any results.”
“I haven’t figured everything out yet,” Hadjar hissed. “Besides, you said that they’ll show themselves at the Tournament. And there’s still a lot of time before then.”
Helmer looked him up and down and then stared up at the sky. Since the moon was bright, no stars could be seen.
“Why am I being punished like this?” Helmer whispered in a feigned tragic voice. “Use your brain, Hadj! If there’s even any of it left in that thick skull of yours.”
“The Tarez included me in their plans and are planning on killing me. I know that much.”
“Oh, is that so? Well then, good things really do come to those who wait! All is not yet lost for you, Hadj! Maybe you’ll even grow up to be a politician one day. Wrinkly and feeble, you’ll be sitting on your boney ass and drinking wine, surrounded by pretty boys. I don’t know why, but all great politicians and schemers seem to like pretty young boys... Do you have any idea why?”
“Do you ever shut up?”
“Only when someone else has more interesting things to say than I do.” The demon shrugged.
Hadjar poked one of the logs with a stick. It had almost burned up entirely. He might have to wake Einen up soon to replace it.
“You have what you came here for. What’s keeping you from leaving?” He asked the demon.
“I want to offer you another deal and-”
“Save it,” Hadjar interrupted him. “I’ve already made enough of those with you. I’m starting to feel like an abused wife who keeps going back to her drunkard of a husband.”
“For your honesty, Hadj,” Helmer got up and moved deeper into the darkness of the night, “I’ll make sure that no one dares attack Lidus.” Scarlet eyes flashed once again. “But... Only if you give me the Core.”
Heavy silence fell over the camp. Only the crackling of the burning logs and the song of the cicadas could be heard.
“No.”
“Just think about it.”
“No,” Hadjar repeated. “I won’t give you the Core.”
“No one else will help your homeland, Hadj.”
“Lidus doesn’t need the help of a demon. Besides, the thought of making another deal with you makes me sick.”
Helmer laughed.
“You idiot! Do you honestly think that Anise will take your secret to her grave? One word from her and hundreds of her clan’s warriors will descend upon Lidus and burn it to the ground. Then you’ll regret not giving me the Core. Mark my words.”
“She won’t do that.”
“Oh? And what makes you say that, you naïve fool?”
Hadjar’s eyes flashed with a blue light so eerie that it could’ve frozen the very blood of those who might’ve dared to look at him right then.
“Because she knows that if she does that, I’ll kill anyone who has so much as a drop of her clan’s blood in their veins. And if that’s not enough, then I’ll burn the entire Empire to the ground.”
Silence.
Followed by laughter.
“I really know how to pick my employees, don’t I?”
With that, Helmer was gone, leaving Hadjar alone with the crackling fire. For some reason, he didn’t see the flames in the orange light, but his sister’s silhouette instead.
“What the hell is going on?”
He shuddered. This time in surprise. Einen jumped to his feet. Summoning his Spirit, he looked around. His frantic actions were followed by Azrea’s growling and the horse’s frightened neighs.
“He
lmer visited you too?”
“Helmer?” Einen asked. “That fucking demon! I had the worst dream! Cursed was the day he was born and the womb that carried him! His mother was a lying snake and his father a booze-loving landlubber! By the Seas, there’s never been a bigger whore or a bigger drunkard-”
Hadjar sighed and shook his head. Once Einen started cursing, there was no stopping him until he ran out of profanities.
Chapter 692
H adjar and Einen spent the next week traveling through the Wastelands. Since they had no information about the location of the key or the map, they decided to move in the same direction as before. The Falcon’s Head was still a long way off, despite the fact that they were travelling at a decent speed.
The Wastelands constantly justified their reputation as a vast territory full of surprises. During their week of traversing them, they encountered other disciples, wandering monsters, and even a couple of Spirit-golems. They fought some of them and passed by others, but in most cases, they changed direction to avoid unnecessary complications.
They’d had to fight against a huge, eight-legged reptile that breathed acid out of its two mouths. With Azrea’s help, they’d managed to defeat it and even got an Ancient Beast’s Core out of the deal. It was an unprecedented achievement. Just a year and a half ago, that same Ancient Beast would’ve been the last thing they would’ve seen in their lives.
They avoided other disciples because they didn’t see the point in fighting against weaker opponents. And since the duo didn’t bother hiding their auras, the disciples preferred to avoid them as well.
A couple of days after their escape from Greven’Dor, an avalanche of disciples from other schools flooded the Wastelands. With ‘The Holy Sky’ School’s two weeks head start over, the best cultivators of the current generation swarmed the area. Of course, the less talented disciples arrived along with them, as well as those who cared more about adventure than power and fame, but such people were rare.
“Do you sense it too?” Einen asked.
Dragon Heart: Land of The Enemy. LitRPG Wuxia Series: Book 8 Page 23