A few more days passed...
Vicente had just arrived in the city where Joshua was supposed to be working, a place in the interior of Snow Province where Joshua's family had told him to go.
Upon arriving in Oakenfort, Vicente went to the local army headquarters, which he quickly reached after a short walk.
Oakenfort was a medium-sized city, smaller than Saltstar City but more powerful than the cities of the same size in Scott Province. The Snow Province was richer than Vicente's home, so it wasn't strange to see a large number of experts, even in a rural place.
However, there weren't any Sovereigns in this place.
When a human stopped in front of the army building next to a Sovereign Beast, the soldiers from that post went on alert to see what it was all about.
But Vicente spoke up before he was questioned. "I'm looking for a soldier named Joshua Lambton."
Joshua was one of the men who had turned to Vicente with concern, and he couldn't help but make a strange expression when he noticed that this stranger was interested in him.
"Me?" He muttered as some of his fellow Mid-level Mages and the High-level Mages behind this post looked at him sideways.
"What do you want with Commander Lambton?" Asked the strongest man in the area, an old man with black hair and an untrimmed beard.
Vicente didn't make the situation difficult and said. "This is a personal matter that I'd like to keep as private as possible. It's not bad for either of you or your city. It's a good thing for Joshua and could bring good results for him and you from this post. But I want to talk to him alone..."
The post-leader looked at Joshua and asked. "You don't seem to know this man. Why is he after you, Joshua? Is there something I should know?"
"No, Commander. I don't owe anything to anyone. If he wants to talk to me about an opportunity, it has to be the truth." Joshua said quietly.
He had had his disagreements during his journey as a magician. But most of his enemies were dead, and his college rivals were scattered across the state in the army.
Hardly any of them would hire an assassin, or worse, hardly any of them would have the ability to hire someone capable of bringing a Sovereign Beast with them.
Joshua couldn't imagine what this was about. Still, he was confident enough that he hadn't contacted anyone capable of sending an assassin with this man's skills.
"All right, go with him and see what it's about. At the slightest sign of trouble, use your emergency crystal." Said the leader of this post as he gestured for his men to lower their guard and retreat.
Joshua nodded to his boss and quickly walked over to Vicente's side.
Vicente smiled at the man and shook his hand before getting to the point. "You don't need to know who I am. Just know that I'm here on behalf of Cesar Mazzanti."
"Oh?" Joshua's eyes fluttered, and memories of years ago in Ironcrest immediately flooded his mind, bringing back vividly the day he had secured a significant deal in that place.
Joshua knew Cesar wasn't dead, as the rumors had it. But he hadn't told the royal army because he had an excellent agreement with the man to wish for his imprisonment or death.
He hoped that one day he would have the pentagram Cesar had promised or even have the man under his command. He was just waiting for the period of their agreement to end.
But with the black-haired young man and a Sovereign Beast in front of him, Joshua couldn't help but imagine that his reward for this deal would come sooner.
Cesar couldn't kill him, let alone send assassins. If this person was there because of Don Mazzanti, it was a good thing for Joshua!
"How is he? I heard he died." Joshua smiled more confidently.
"I think it's best that everyone keeps thinking that." Vicente smiled at the blond man in front of him. "As you can imagine, I'm here to fulfill his promise. But before I leave, you'll have to sign an agreement with me guaranteeing that you'll never talk to anyone about his vital status."
"That's no problem for me." Joshua didn't mind.
"Good, then I'll give you two options. I will do something for you now, or I will give you something to come to me with when you're ready to hunt your fourth pentagram. Either way, the old agreement between you and Cesar ends according to your choice."
Joshua didn't answer Vicente right away but walked down the sidewalk where they stood in front of his group's headquarters.
He looked at the army post and sighed, thinking about what would be best for him.
'I am confident that I can get a green pentagram with the help of the army when I become a Sovereign.' He considered his options.
Soldiers of the kingdom had their advantages and disadvantages. Among the many advantages of being a soldier was that one was a member of a large organization with many members.
Most of the kingdom's soldiers had good pentagram configurations because the kingdom helped its soldiers in their hunts.
Newly promoted Sovereigns were usually taken on group hunts under the supervision of Sky Sovereigns, and usually, more than 90% of the soldiers who were new to the 4th stage achieved their new pentagram of the green rank.
That was Cesar's promise to Joshua, so he couldn't help but think that waiting for Don Mazzanti's help would be a waste when he became a Sovereign.
'I had better get something now. It will give me an advantage in my position in the army.' Joshua thought to himself.
"I prefer the first option."
Vicente said. "You can't absorb a pentagram now, and I think it will be difficult to find something that can store a pentagram for the time you have left to reach the 4th stage. So what do you want me to do?"
He made a difficult expression and explained. "I don't know if you're aware of the problem we are facing, but the continent is currently experiencing a monster-related crisis. What I'm about to tell you is a secret that few people outside the army know, so please avoid talking about it with others so as not to cause panic."
Vicente's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing as he waited to hear what Joshua had to say.
"The Seven Day Tsunami is a little over four years away. However, there are rumors that The Purification is being prepared to be executed during The Seven Day Tsunami. We don't know if Demonix's plans will actually come to pass or if this is just a silly worry. But the fact is that more and more monsters are leaving the north of the continent and spreading to our lands.
This problem has even reached Oakenfort. There is a place near our city that is teeming with monsters. If this problem isn't solved, the city will be in danger in no time!"
