The royal advisor arrived at the compartment entirely dedicated to the Emperor with fast steps.
It was the room where he did all his paperwork and planning.
Bolton looked forward to the Emperor's face once he learned of Ezra's new accomplishment.
He didn't bother to knock and directly went in.
It wasn't very spacious as it didn't need to be. Brown papers were neatly stacked on the desk made of sleek onyx wood.
"Where have you been?"
Bolton looked to see the Emperor reading through a scroll.
He didn't mind Bolton not knocking because it was mostly Bolton that came here.
As Bolton opened his mouth to answer, something happened.
A dazzling blue light suddenly shot forth from within the book shelf standing with its back to the wall.
Quickly, Bolton reached out and snatched the item. It had an appearance very similar to that of Cavarl.
"Who's is it?" the Emperor asked.
"No particular person, but it's from Evercroft"
Bolton immediately opened it up and Cavarl's voice resounding from within.
His two words rang out loud and clear.
"Mana Stone"
The eyes of both men widened.
They immediately understood that mana stones had been found at the manite mine.
The next instant-
*SPARK!*
-white lightning discharged out of the Emperor's body subconsciously, immediately scorching the stack of papers at his side into ashes.
"The Windless Peaks was it?"
He accelerated right out of the room at a speed Bolton could only follow with his eyes.
A minute later, the Emperor reappeared in a flash, but this time, he was completely covered in plain white armor, lacking only a helmet.
The Emperor turned to Bolton and gave his orders…
"Send the White Wolves to my location, but I will most likely meet them on my way back. This shouldn't take long"
"Sire-"
The Emperor didn't wait a second more to listen to Bolton's words as he dashed right out of the royal district, before taking off the ground with a BANG!
Such a loud sound, along with the massive pressure the Emperor was projecting, caught the attention of everyone in Kingsmere, who turned to see the sight of the Emperor taking to the sky before blasting off like a shooting star, one that was white in color.
A mana stone was an object that could allow the Emperor to ascend to higher ranks of power.
And he wasn't about to let it fall in someone else's hands.
With more vigor, he increased his speed.
He would not be entertaining the thought of someone else taking such an item.
—---------------------------
At the same time, the injured man finished narrating the events that lead to the death of two of Avilla's four Masters to the King, Valin.
His voice was very audible as everyone else had gone silent.
They were filled with rage at the death of their comrades.
And Valin was the same.
The Expert was far behind, so he hadn't managed to see the mana stone, therefore, Valin didn't know about it either.
Nevertheless, he was determined to end the lives of those who killed Kurt and Ulrik.
"I swear on my name that those Masters will not live to see the next light of dawn"
With that proclamation, he burst forth with enormous speed out of the checkpoint towards the site of their deaths, the mountain.
Of course, he didn't forget about the mountain of mana crystals, but that was secondary when compared to the elimination of half of his strongest fighting force.
Avilla couldn't hold a candle to Niton in terms of pure power, but he would definitely take the lives of those who killed his people as payback, as well the lives of anyone else there.
After all, no witnesses could be left alive.
So he ran like the wind towards the mountain with unbridled killing intent.
One thing was sure, he was in for a hell of a surprise.
—--------------------------
As the Emperor blazed across the sky, his figure drew the attention of the people below wherever he passed by, even if he was only visible for a few seconds.
It was because the pressure he emanated had the senses of every living creature tingling with warnings.
It could be concealed, but the Emperor didn't have the effort to spare.
And after all, he was their Emperor, they were to fear him and revere him in the first place.
But he also knew that while it would instill fear into the heads of the ones at ranks of Expert downwards, to others, it was but a beacon.
And he was right…
—--------------------------------
'Hmm?'
A man with a buff physique, brown skin, a short brown mustache and black eyes suddenly raised his head as he felt something unmistakable.
His face and deposition told of a man who couldn't be older than forty-five.
'What could have possibly made that old geezer move his stale @ss?'
It was the aura of a Grandmaster, and it was familiar.
'Andrew, what are you up to now?' the man wondered.
This figure was Bobby Getrahan, the guild master of Stormbane.
Niton's third S-rank guild.
—--------------------------------------
Elsewhere, there was a man with black hair and brown eyes, hosting a slim and fit physique with his hair coiled into a bun.
'Hmm. It seems that the peaceful times are over'
This was the guild master of Varent.
Raven Westagen.
—-----------------------------------------
A lanky man draped in black clothing all over except his wrist and whose head held black circles under his eye as he looked on with a blank expression.
This look of despair would fool most into underestimating him, but those who closely knew him would shudder instead.
Finstor Deneris was his name.
And he was the guild master of Evercroft.
'Hmm. I should get Iris to check on that'
—----------------------------------------------
These three and very few others were the only ones who understood the significance of such a thing.
For others, it meant something else.
'They must have found out' thought Fredrick.
He was in a tavern located at the edges of Traxford, sipping an exotic drink which he bought by ransacking the bodies of bandits he killed along the way.
But now he couldn't enjoy it as much because a certain pressure had passed them by, and as a Master, Fredrick immediately deduced that it was a Grandmaster.
And Grandmasters didn't move unless necessary.
For that person to have passed by here.
Fredrick was willing to bet that the person was heading towards the mountain of mana.
If so-
'I need to make haste'
-then he didn't have as much time as he had previously thought.
'I have to get to Kingsmere by nightfall' was now the objective as he mounted a newly bought horse.
A pity he couldn't savor the exotic drink, but there was always a next time as he could come back later.
—----------------------------------------------
"Boys, pack your bags. We'll be heading home by tonight"
"Yes boss"
Cabrera had also felt the gigantic pressure pass by, and like a signal, he suddenly realized that it was time for them to begin their returning journey.
Beasts, they had killed too many, and herbs, they had gathered more than enough.
Without further ado, Cabrera and the boys began to clean off for the journey home.
The boys all beamed with bright smiles.
As they say, there's no place like home.
