Chapter 99: Departure (II)

As Duke Yvonne had said, the Saxon Imperial City hastily appointed a new lord and recalled the Royal Knights stationed in Jacosenburg, while Brownhill remained uncontrolled. Naturally, the issue of the Thelanders who had seized Galic’s military pay was also put on hold for now.
All the nobles kept their eyes fixed on Saxon—they witnessed the changes of the times and wanted to reap some benefits from them.
The succession to the throne is indeed the greatest gamble in the world. Those in power wanted to maintain the status quo, while those below sought to break free from their current situation. Conflicts between people were inevitable due to their interests and positions.
Of course, at such times, the most anxious was Prince Xavier Walker Bats, the younger brother of King Eiger Bats Yawood XIII. His situation was even worse than anyone else’s. As a mirror to his brother, Prince Gran, though a prince, was actually a puppet. As a sacrificial figure for the throne, he likely wouldn’t live much longer—at least that’s what outsiders thought.
“Your Highness, news just arrived—Prince Theo has set off from Fort Lorn!”
“Hmm! I know. You may go.”
“Yes!”
Watching his trusted guard leave, the corpulent Prince Gran poured himself a glass of red wine. Holding the glass, he spoke as if to himself, “The aroma of this wine is as intoxicating as ever. I wonder if I’ll still be alive to taste such fine wines in a few days…” With a melancholic expression, he downed the wine in one gulp.
“Of course, Your Highness!” A voice echoed eerily in the empty hall. Soon after, a dark mist drifted in through the window, settled on the ground, and reshaped into a figure.
“Oh? Is it Hampa?” Prince Gran glanced at the shadow and asked, holding his breath. “What’s the situation outside?”
Hampa shook his head with a smile and whispered, “As you expected, your brother has mobilized the Royal Knights to blockade the entire Saxon Imperial City. He has also stationed 20,000 troops at key points. In addition, he ordered the royal magicians to activate the city’s rainproof cover. Under these circumstances, not even a bug could get out…”
“Cautious… truly cautious. Eiger is still the same,” Prince Gran said, pouring himself another glass of wine. “What about Jerry Belford? Has he said anything about this?”

Seeming to sense the prince’s anxiety and fear, Hampa shook his head and said softly, “You needn’t worry, Your Highness. Jerry Belford is a smart man; he’ll know how to handle these matters… This guy has great ambitions. As soon as the great mage Veston Malajigi Hastings leaves, he’s eager to take control of the entire Royal Mage Association. If you give him what he wants, that’s enough… By then, he’ll secretly shut down Thasson’s shield…”

“Phew, that’s good…” The Prince of Gran breathed a sigh of relief and pondered, holding his wine glass. “I secretly kept a private army of three thousand men in Gilpus, intending to use them to rescue me from this prison. Now well…” He paused, then said with concern, “Even if the problem with the Royal Mages is solved, what about those Royal Knights? Their commander is Eiger’s confidant, and that’s why I’ve been too afraid to approach him… About eight thousand Royal Knights are enough to crush any military force—my mere three thousand private soldiers can’t stand against them…”

“Don’t worry,” Hampa said with a strange smile, laughing mockingly. “Our master is coming back soon…”

“Argus?” As if reassured, the Prince of Gran breathed a sigh of relief, his expression also becoming much lighter.

Meanwhile, Thos and Allen were riding in a carriage back to Riox from Galk. Compared to when they set off, Ulric was now in the group, but Lelira was not…

“Sigh!” Lisa sat in the carriage, resting her chin in her hand, and let out a weak sigh. She couldn’t remember how many times this had happened already during the journey.

“Lisa!” Lavia gave Lisa a reproachful look, only to see her pouting and saying unwillingly, “Avi, did Lelira really say that?”

“Mm,” Lavia nodded and recalled, “She said she’s worried about leaving Scott alone in Galk. You know, Scott has deep feelings for his grandfather, and after such a shock, something terrible could happen… These past few days, we’ve seen that Scott’s relationship with his father is very poor. Alone in that environment… So, Lelira wants to comfort Scott as much as possible before school starts…” She let out a relaxed sigh and said, “It’s just over a month. By the time school starts in Riox, Lelira will be back, right?”

“That’s true…” Lisa nodded reluctantly and muttered, “We all set off to Galic happily, never expecting so many things to happen…”
“Yes, no one wanted that to happen…” As she spoke, Lavia turned to look out the window. It was clear she wasn’t keen to bring those matters up—after all, the old count’s death was related to Argus, and according to the dean and Father Andrew, Connel was now clearly one of Argus’s members. This put Lavia in a difficult position, as she was the one who had released Connel from the dungeon.
Whenever she thought of Connel, Lavia felt deceived. Of course, another matter made her even angrier than that…
“Hey, Ivy,” Lisa said softly to Lavia, glancing secretly at Dia, who was sitting across from them, smiling as she gazed out the window. “Have you reconciled with Thos?”
“Hmph!” Lavia snorted coldly, refusing to speak with a stern expression. “Are you asking me to apologize to that guy? Hmph!”
“No, not at all!” Lisa glanced at Dia again, seeing that she seemed unaware, and spoke softly, “I just think it’s not right. It’s been a whole day, and I haven’t seen you two talk at all…”
Biting her lip, Lavia said in a low voice, “There’s nothing to say to that kind of guy!”
“Ivy… Sigh! Okay then…”
The atmosphere in the carriage was gloomy. Not only the girls but even Allen, who was usually optimistic and cheerful, seemed listless, let alone Thos. Only Ulric was in a good mood, humming a strange tune as he drove the carriage.
Glancing at the cheerful Ulric, Allen, who was also sitting in the driver’s seat, said irritably, “Hey, Ulk…”
“Sorry, my name is Ulric!” Ulric interrupted Allen with a smile.
“Okay, okay,” Allen shrugged indifferently. Bored, he asked curiously, “So, Ulric, are you planning to go to Riox with us?”
“Of course,” Ulric nodded, his face filled with longing. He murmured, “From my era to the present, I’ve really wanted to see this Helioriox you mentioned… the cradle of dark magic. It sounds absolutely wonderful…”
“Huh,” Allen smiled awkwardly, then touched his chin and asked curiously, “By the way, didn’t you say you wanted to travel around the world? Why are you following us?”

“Well…” Ulrich’s handsome face showed a hint of embarrassment as he scratched his head and said shyly, “I’ve always stayed in the castle and never realized that eating and staying somewhere outside requires money… I really want to travel around, but I haven’t thought about how to make money yet. So, for now… I’m very sorry if I’m causing you trouble!”
Staring at Ulrich in astonishment, Allen said oddly, “You’re really honest…”
Sos, who was also sitting in the stable boy’s seat, gave Ulrich a brief glance and didn’t even bother to speak.
This vampire, from the same era as Connel, though gentle in nature, was far inferior to Connel—nothing but a spoiled noble boy who couldn’t do anything except play a few musical instruments. If he were to travel alone now, he would become the first vampire to starve to death on the road within three days…
To be honest, it was utterly ridiculous. As a vampire, Ulrich didn’t attack humans like other vampires did. Had you ever seen a vampire repent before drinking blood from animals?
He was a freak—no, an odd vampire!
Of course, it was precisely because of this that the kind-hearted Dia was willing to persuade Sos to take in this homeless vampire temporarily.
“Wow, you’re surprisingly cheerful in a scary way…” Allen said softly, looking at Ulrich oddly. “Sos said you seem to have quite powerful strength!”
“Hmm, I guess so,” Ulrich smiled slightly and shook his head. “But I hate fighting. It’s too crude. How can that be considered communication between people?”
“Hey, you’re a vampire, right?”
“No, Allen,” Ulrich said seriously, waving his finger. “Vampire is just my identity, just like being my father’s child. It’s just an identity… The merciful gods must have heard my prayers, that’s why they gave me a second life…”
“Hey, it was those alchemists who gave you a second life, right?”
“That alchemists were just a catalyst. It was the gods who truly gave me life…”
Looking at Ulrich helplessly, seeing him devoutly praising those so-called gods, Allen shook his head weakly and whispered to Sos, “Hey, buddy, I finally understand a little bit now…”
“Hmph!” Sos snorted, resting his head on his hands in his seat, as if deep in thought.

“Thinking about Scott?” Allen asked curiously.
Shaking his head, Thors replied calmly, “Scott isn’t as fragile as we think—he’s the one I’m thinking about, Argus!”
“Argus?” Allen was stunned. After a moment, he said in surprise, “When I first met that guy, I never imagined he had such immense power. If what the Dean and Father Andrew said is true, then the rebellion in the northeast was started by Argus… What does he want?”
“To destroy this country!” Thors said simply.
“What!” Before Allen could speak, Ulric exclaimed in shock, “Such a beautiful country—why would that guy named Argus want to destroy it? War is ugly; it only brings sorrow and destruction…”
“Hey, you should say that to your father. In the history we know, your father has started countless wars!” Allen said with a smirk.
Ulric’s expression darkened, filled with silent sorrow. He murmured, “Indeed, in our time, war is something we can never escape. Even when staying in the castle, I often hear about wars breaking out in various places and how many people have died. My father told me that to bring order to this chaotic situation, deaths are inevitable. But now, according to you, the country has been unified—so why continue fighting?”
Staring deeply at Ulric, Allen joked, “I’m curious—are you really a vampire?” He shrugged, adding sarcastically, “As long as people have ambition and desires, conflict will never end. The drive for profit can make people do crazy things… That’s what my old man said!”
Listening to Allen’s words and recalling Argus’s actions, Thors shook his head and said softly, “But at least that guy isn’t like that… At least he isn’t driven by profit. I feel he simply wants to destroy this country!”
“Is that so?” With a strange expression, Allen shrugged. “Indeed, those nobles are hard to like. But the empire is a country that has lasted for hundreds of years. Just a few people like Argus—can they really destroy this country? I don’t believe it!”
“What if he really succeeds?”

“Hey, that can’t be right?” Allen glanced at his companion in shock, frowned for a moment, then said indifferently, “Even if it succeeds, it has nothing to do with us, right?”
Glancing at Allen’s relaxed expression, Thos looked up at the sky and murmured, “Yes! It doesn’t matter anyway…”
After several hours of travel, the sky gradually darkened. The problem was that there seemed to be no people living nearby.
With no other choice, the children found a relatively secluded mountain hollow, cut down a few trees to serve as wind barriers, and lit a campfire, planning to spend the night there. For them, living in the wilds of the mountains was quite normal—even Lisa wasn’t afraid of it.
The food had been prepared before leaving Galic; it just needed to be roasted. The issue of drinking water was even simpler. The problem was that it was extremely cold at night, and it was hard to fall asleep even with a campfire.
The final solution was for the girls to rest inside the carriage, while Allen, Thos, and the vampire Ulric rested by the campfire.
The temperature inside the carriage was indeed much warmer than outside, but Ravia still couldn’t fall asleep. With a soft sigh, she turned to look out the window and saw Thos lying on the ground against a tree stump. After hesitating for a moment, she pulled back the blanket covering her.
The queen puppet Queenin beside her seemed to notice and opened her eyes, looking at her master in confusion.
“Shh!”
Seemingly understanding her master’s intention, Queenin glanced at Dia. Suddenly, the soldier puppet Soges beside Dia opened his eyes abruptly, staring at Queenin in surprise. Clearly, he didn’t understand why Queenin, being of the same kind, would stare at him with such a fierce look.
“Creak!” The door of the carriage opened, allowing a blast of cold air in, causing the sleeping Lisa to instinctively wrap herself tighter in her blanket and mutter in her sleep.
“Creak, creak!” Stepping on the snow, Ravia stepped out of the carriage and headed straight for Thos.
It had to be said that the boy’s strength was greater than before. Due to the fire elements surrounding his body, there was little snow covering the ground beside him.
Seemingly noticing the footsteps, Thos suddenly opened his eyes. When he saw Ravia, his expression froze—perhaps he hadn’t expected her to come, considering their relationship had been very strained recently.

“Hi!” Seeming to notice the confusion in the boy’s eyes, Ravia greeted him in a highly unnatural manner. To be honest, she didn’t know why she had come here, nor what she was going to say next.
“Hi,” Sos nodded, then saw Ravia staring at him intently. Frowning, feeling uncomfortable, he hesitantly asked, “Do you want to sit?”
“What do you think?” Ravia replied without any inflection.
Glancing at Ravia, Sos shifted slightly, changing his posture to lie back and look at the stars.
“What are you thinking?” Ravia asked curiously as she sat down next to him.
“Nothing…”
“Oh,” Ravia seemed somewhat disappointed. She adjusted her hair, which had become messy from lying down, and whispered, “You and Senior Dia…”
“Mm…”
“Is that so…” With a self-mocking smile, Ravia propped her chin on her arm, her gaze fixed on the flames dancing in the campfire, as she said softly, “You’re such an idiot, Sos!”
“Hm?” Not seeming to hear clearly, the boy looked at Ravia in surprise.
“Idiot,” Ravia said softly, her tone filled with complex emotions. Then, taking a deep breath, she changed the subject and asked, “By the way, how’s that dark power inside you?”
Looking at Ravia’s eyes and the hidden worry on her face, the boy instinctively raised his left hand, revealing the thorny-shaped holy light mark that extended from his back to his wrist. He whispered, “It seems to be suppressed!”
“Is that so!” Ravia secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as if a heavy stone had been lifted from her heart. She picked up a stick to stir the campfire and said in a surprisingly downcast tone, “You must think I’m annoying, right? But… that power is too strong. A powerful force can make people lose their way… If it were someone else…” As she spoke, Ravia looked up at the boy but didn’t continue.
After sitting in silence for over ten minutes, Ravia let out a soft sigh and said, “Go to bed early. We still have a long journey tomorrow!” With that, she stood up and returned to the carriage.
Watching her leave, Sos felt mixed emotions. Suddenly, he heard a voice beside him.
“She likes you!”
Sos instinctively turned his head and saw Ulric smiling at him.

Seeming to read Thors’s thoughts, Ulric shrugged and explained with a smile, “I’ve been like this since I was a child. Any sound wakes me up…” As he spoke, he leaned closer to Thors and asked curiously, “Isn’t your lover that kind lady? Why this…” But before he could finish, Thors interrupted him.

“Stop meddling!” Thors said expressionlessly after turning over. “Go back to sleep!”

“Is that so?” Ulric, indeed in a good mood, paid no attention to Thors’s words. Resting his head on his hands, he gazed at the stars and said in a serious tone, “She’s right, Thors. That power within you is extremely strong—far stronger than mine. That dark power is like this endless night: cold, lonely, silent…” Then he turned his head and asked curiously, “Do you hate her?”

After a brief silence, Thors asked softly, “Who?”

“Of course not that kind lady. I’m talking about the one just now!” Ulric wore a strange expression as he added in a low voice, “Honestly, that lady has quite an aura. She must be a noble, right?”

“She’s the granddaughter of the Duke of Altak…”

“Wow,” Ulric exclaimed in surprise, glancing at the carriage. “That’s amazing… Oh, by the way, I’m a baron…”

“I don’t care!” Thors glared at Ulric irritably and waved his hand. “Go to sleep! Stop bothering me!”

“Alright, alright. I’ll leave then,” Ulric said with a helpless smile as he moved aside. He then looked at Thors and said seriously, “I used to have someone I liked too… Do you want to hear about it?”

“I don’t want to hear it!”

“…Okay!”

The nagging vampire finally went to rest, clearing Thors’s ears considerably.

Rather than Ravia and Dia’s matter, he was more concerned about another issue: the source of that dark power, that monster calling itself Sloth…

Sloth was definitely not an ordinary demon. Thors himself had long realized that. It was only a small portion of power—perhaps 10%, or even less—but even such a tiny amount was enough to allow him to instantly kill a supposedly terrifying lich. It was simply unbelievable…

Aivi was right. That power was too strong—so strong that even Thors felt a hint of concern.

Could he control such formidable power?

It was deep at night; not to mention Allen, even that annoying vampire was fast asleep. Yet Thors, who usually felt sleepy the most, now had not the slightest hint of drowsiness. This abnormal phenomenon had persisted for several days. Ever since that dark force had carved a dark mark on him, Thors had never heard that familiar snoring sound again—the snoring coming from a magical beast that called itself Sloth… Whenever he closed his eyes, Thors seemed to see a pair of pale red eyes, eyes filled with terrifying magic. When he gazed into those eyes, things that used to seem crucial to him gradually became unimportant; no matter what happened, it seemed irrelevant… When looking into those eyes, he felt out of place in the entire world, and his sense of being an outsider grew stronger. Just like now… [Can you finally hear my voice, my apostle…] That guy seems to have fully awakened!