In a rush, a man raced through the forest.
"What the hell is happening?"
Cedric was sprinting with a pressing need to reach the castle.
Though he believed he had a purpose, in truth, he was fleeing.
He knew he stood no chance against Gracie and thought it better to rally and fight at the castle.
As Cedric dashed on, the mercenaries who had gathered around him scattered in all directions.
These soldiers were just a group brought together by their trust in Cedric.
But seeing Cedric unable to confront Gracie and instead fleeing, they lost their anchor, becoming disorganized.
Many of the mercenaries fell to Gracie's lightning magic.
Those who managed to withstand it saw Cedric running away and began to flee as well.
Within moments, Cedric found himself bereft of his mercenary force.
He decided his best course of action was to make his way to the castle.
'I must reach the castle... Start the rebellion.'
Cedric thought, although deep down, a part of him contemplated fleeing entirely.
He knew he couldn't handle Gracie.
Despite his title as the Mercenary King, Cedric was still just a mercenary, unable to match a prized talent of the empire.
"Damn it..."
Grimacing, Cedric swiftly left the scene, with Gracie and Locke on his tail.
Time passed as he continued his escape, and he began to feel something was wrong.
"Why isn't she using her lightning anymore?"
He recalled the continuous electric attacks she had launched as they pursued him.
He had taken several hits, but his robust physique allowed him to endure the shocks and continue his escape.
However, the magic assaults had stopped, though he was sure they hadn't lost track of him.
He could still see Locke pursuing him in the distance.
Cedric made a realization.
"Has she exhausted her mana?"
This could be his chance.
Decisively, he headed for the castle.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})There, he knew he'd have the backing of the rebels and the soldiers that might betray their posts.
Even if the wizard was formidable, he was certain that he would have the upper hand once inside the castle.
Suddenly, a loud alert resonated through the air, sounding like a warning siren.
Immediately after...
BOOM!
A massive explosion echoed, coming from the direction of the main gate – where the monsters were attacking.
The warning he had just heard was undoubtedly the one the rebels had spoken of – a signal from the magical device on the castle walls, indicating it was about to detonate.
Cedric's previously tense face lightened up a bit.
"Did... did it work?"
Hope welled up in Cedric.
All he needed to do now was get to the castle.
With renewed vigor, Cedric increased his pace.
As he ran, a light appeared before him, signifying that he was nearing the edge of the forest.
Following the guiding light, a castle came into view.
Cedric ran with all his might.
He sprinted tirelessly until he emerged from the forest, and before him stood the grand castle.
Cedric was about to rush towards it when suddenly, he froze in his tracks.
Emerging from the forest, not only was the castle in sight, but there stood a man in black armor.
The distinctive black armor. An armor unique in all the world.
It was the very same worn by his once close friend, Darren, when facing monsters.
"How... is this possible?"
Cedric stammered, staring at the figure in disbelief.
The soft clinking of the armor's joints echoed subtly in the air.
Darren slowly lifted his head, locking eyes with Cedric.
"It's been a while, Cedric."
Cedric stumbled back, caught off guard.
He hadn't expected a face-to-face confrontation.
His plan had been simple: to ambush Darren while he was distracted fighting the monsters, swiftly and without exchange.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})But standing here, face to face, he felt utterly disarmed.
"I was sure of it... the magical device had been activated."
Cedric murmured.
Darren replied in a calm, measured tone,
"You mean this? I had instructed it to be used against the monsters."
Before Cedric's arrival, almost all the monsters had been dealt with.
As the cleanup was nearing completion, Darren handed the device to a trusted lieutenant.
He had given clear instructions: detonate it amidst the monsters when the time was right.
"Given the explosion I heard, it seems it served its purpose well."
Having the device detonated when the situation was almost resolved surely sent shivers down the spines of any soldiers plotting betrayal.
The explosion wasn't from the castle walls collapsing but from dealing the finishing blow to the monsters.
"Now, only you remain."
Darren unsheathed his sword,
"Why did you resort to this? You of all people should know better..."
Cedric gritted his teeth, drawing his own blade,
"What would you know?"
He spat, voice filled with anger and resentment.
"Do you have any idea what I've endured? What I've been through?"
"I've saved subjects from their lords, freed slaves, tried to make the world a better place. But nothing ever changes. You wouldn't understand, sequestered up north. What could you possibly know?"
"I've seen the world, Darren. A world far uglier than you could ever imagine."
Listening to Cedric’s passionate outburst, Darren finally spoke,
"Is that all you have to say?"
"What?"
"Is your rant over?"
Cedric's eyes blazed with fury.
"After hearing all that, you feel nothing?!"
Darren looked at Cedric with a mix of pity and disappointment.
"So, are you implying that my territory and I have done something wrong?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"Ah…"
The North was blameless.
Despite facing a constant onslaught of monsters and barren conditions, its inhabitants supported each other, striving to make their territory as prosperous as possible.
They were innocent.
"However... for a greater cause... for freedom... this land must..."
"Don't spout such nonsense."
Darren stepped forward.
"I might not understand what you seek, but don't impose it on those who are living good lives. Every territory has its problems. If something is lacking now, start with the small changes. There's no need to endure significant sacrifices without reason."
There was no guarantee that such sacrifices would bring about a better outcome.
Cedric shouted back,
"What do you know...!"
Darren replied,
"The world is already changing, shifting from our old generation to the budding new one."
Darren smiled.
"I'll trust and wait for those young ones. I believe they will grow like great trees and change the world."
He then took a stand in front of Cedric.
"To let a good tree grow, you should at least weed out its surroundings."
Assuming a ready stance with his sword, Darren fixed his gaze on Cedric.
In response, Cedric too unsheathed his blade.
From their blades, an intense aura surged.
Darren slightly lifted his head.
At the edge of his sight stood Locke, who had followed Cedric.
Locke, waiting at the forest's entrance.
Darren called out to him,
"Locke, watch closely. This is the swordsmanship of the North."
Locke intently observed.
The way his own father wielded his sword...
"The Sword of the North..."
The Sword of the North – cold, resolute.
A blue aura circled around the sword.
Blue Flame.
The hue of the aura depends on the nature of one's mana and their swordsmanship training.
The distinctive feature of the sword aura from Northern families was this blue color.
However, this blue aura was intense.
The Northern swordsmanship, known for its disciplined and precise movements, was often likened to ice.
Yet, the energy it exuded was fiery.
It was an icy technique with a contrasting fiery aura.
Darren swung his sword horizontally.
His unwavering blade seemed to mirror his disposition, moving straight and true.
"Blue Blossom."
His blade drew a simple line in the air.
However, the energy slicing the surroundings was different.
A vast blue aura, sharp and incisive, lunged at Cedric, almost like a wave.
Cedric, releasing his own energy, attempted to parry the incoming wave.
His energy wasn't weak.
But it paled in comparison to Darren's.
"What...?"
Cedric stared intently at Darren's sword.
He had seen Darren wield his sword many times, but he had never witnessed such a powerful sword aura.
In all their battles, Darren had never unleashed an aura of this magnitude.
KWAAAAAAAA!!!
Darren's sword aura swept across the surroundings, hurtling towards Cedric.
Blue flames scorched the ground as they raced by.
The ground was stained with the blue hue from the flames.
It looked almost like a meadow adorned with blue flowers.
"Ha..."
Seeing this, Cedric lowered his sword.
He realized that this wasn't a sword aura he could parry.
Darren's blue inferno engulfed Cedric, and all he could see was a world dyed in blue.
“Is it over?”
After waking from her dream, Astina used her telekinetic magic to soar into the sky.
The academy's main entrance lay below, littered with the corpses of numerous magical beasts.
The back entrance was blanketed with blue flames.
And there was Rudy, slowly walking in from outside the academy grounds.
Everything seemed to have been handled well.
“What a relief…”
Her only regret was that they had failed to capture Jefrin.
When Astina took to the sky, she spotted the silhouette of a distant dragon vanishing.
But pursuing it was out of the question.
Heading in that direction would mean storming the enemy's headquarters.
She couldn't infiltrate the heart of the rebels alone.
“Ugh... What is this?”
There was someone trembling with fear in Astina's embrace.
It was Luna.
Luna clung to Astina like a damsel, holding onto her neck tightly and burying her face in Astina's bosom.
“Ah, Astina... aren’t you scared?”
Luna asked with a quivering voice.
“At first, I was a bit scared too, but as things went on, I got used to it.”
Astina said with a playful smile, looking at the petrified Luna.
“Shall we go to Rudy then?”
“Wha- What? Can’t we just... land?"
Luna, despite her fondness for Rudy, resisted the idea of flying towards him.
But Astina, paying no heed to Luna's protests, flew straight to Rudy.
At an astonishingly rapid speed.
"KYAAAAAAAAA!!!"
Luna screamed at the top of her lungs.
Her scream echoed throughout the fortress.
With that scream marking its end, the battle of the North came to a close.
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