“What the hell is that?” Arth asked with his eyes wide open as he stared at the tiny tube, glowing in purple light. Inside the glowing tube was a black fluid.“This …” General Edric said, “is the last drop of Zerelas’ tears … the legendary King of Corruption.”Arth’s lips parted as he remembered his discussion with Elicantris back in the First Encampment. The main objective of the alliance was to weaken or destroy the power source of the Ka’erns. That is the Tree of Exodia. And to do that, they had to obtain the Tears of Zerelas.“One drop of this and it will corrupt everything it touches, and it spreads unstoppably,” Edric explained. “Even demons couldn’t survive the corruption.”Arth leaned closer, observing the tube. “Why is it glowing purple?”“It’s the only magic that can contain the deadly liquid.”“So you will drop this on the Tree of Exodia …” Arth muttered, which made the general storm his eyebrows.“How did you know that?” Edric groaned. “Never mind … I’m afraid, now that the
“Thanks, Greg,” Tristan said as he received his pay.The old man waved his hand as he stared at the dead boar on the wide table. “You’ve given me a little one today.”Tristan scratched his head. “Yeah. I’ve been off my mind while hunting lately.”“Distracted?”“Just thinking about a lot of stuff,” Tristan said, jiggling the three silver coins in his hand.“Well, you give me little and I’ll pay you little … that’s business, lad.”“Right. I gotta go. It’s Seraphine’s naming day today.”Greg waved his hand again.Tristan stepped out of the butchery and looked up towards the orange skies. The sun was setting, and he had to buy dinner … plenty of ingredients. They’re having a little feast. But he must also not forget Sera’s favorite fruit cake.The streets had grown darker along with the skies as he strolled towards the market. His eyes kept on looking back every minute, as something was off today. They had not shown up to ask him again about their offer, which they had kept on doing these
“I see,” Magus Jade said, playing with his fingers on the low table. “Those black vines are capturing only the mages … while the rest are left to be corrupted, am I correct?”“Yes,” Gared replied. “And my plan was to use this ring, where I have compressed all of my alars to track my staff that’s been taken by those vines. We believe it’s in the same place where the mages had been contained.”Kael caught eyes with the old mage as the four of them had been seated on the carpet inside Jade’s tent. “And why have you come in this forest, Sir Kael, when you still have a job of finding the King?”“It’s hard to say this, Magus Jade …” Kael replied, looking at the old man with worried eyes. “But I had to follow the King’s orders. He wanted me to search for his friend who had been kidnapped by a demon. His name is Janshai. And at that moment I had no leads of where I could find him … and so I asked Lucas’ help since he’s the only person in this world who could track the kid.”“That …” Magus Jad
Arth felt bad that Elicantris had to use the rest of her alar to recover his numb arms and legs, but at the same time, he was glad that he could already move for his training today. He and General Edric had stood facing each other at the top of Mornt’s Tower. The dark skies above flashed and thundered. Arth bent his knees as he leveled Frostcalibur beside his head with both hands, pointing it towards the general.Edric cocked his head. “That’s the fighting stance of the Blue Dragon Style Swordsmanship. How many forms have you already mastered?”“Just two,” Arth replied. “I’ve learned the first long before when I was training with Chief Gregor … and Lucas taught me the second.”“That’s a shame,” Edric said, crossing his arms over his chest. “There are five forms of this ancient swordsmanship style. I’ve witnessed your father using each one as we fought together against our enemies … but for the ultimate form, he was the one who taught me. And that’s what I’m going to teach you now.”Art
The clunking sound of spoon and fork filled the silence in the dining hall. It had an immensely wide space, mostly empty. Only the lamps and candles on the long table and the cracked walls had shone on the guests inside. Tristan never touched his food, instead, he filled his stomach with the flagon of wine he kept on pouring into his cup. This was probably the worst meal he had had in his entire life. He would prefer eating those stinky seafood back on the ship to sharing a meal with these … people he had not liked at all.“Aren’t you gonna eat your stew?” Lewis whispered, who had been seated beside him.Tristan shook his head, sighing as he slid the bowl towards the young noble. His eyes went to the people eating in front of him as he sipped on his wine. His father, Silvester, was at the head of the table. His wife had been seated at his left, and Bow on his right. It irritated Tristan to share the same table with these people.“I hate carrots,” Jaerson shouted as he was being fed by
The night was the coldest Kael had ever felt in a while, with the freezing wind blowing stronger than ever. A storm was coming. Being in the forest might have protected them from the powerful gust, but it also made their area much darker since nightfall. The fire that they had built was the only thing that kept him warm, as he crouched closer to it, hugging his knees. Magus Jade and the others had stayed inside the tent. But Kael decided to stay outside alone and run his thoughts.Kael stared at the flames. Wondering how the others were doing had never escaped his mind. He couldn’t stop thinking about it. At the top of his mind was his fear and anxiety that returned as he again imagined where Lucas and Robert could’ve been now. Had they gone out of the forest to look somewhere else? He took a deep breath. He remembered what Luna had told him about trusting Lucas’ bond with Janshai. The man must’ve no other intentions but take Janshai back no matter what. Was it right to think like thi
Arth stared at the vast red plains as he leaned on the ledge of the tower. Then he sighed. He had never thought it would still trouble him that much, even until now. A series of memories …dark memories had prevented him from unlocking the Path of Glacian Origin. When would he ever accept all of those mistakes that he had made in the past? No … he couldn’t. He’d never believe in change … as he had never been a born leader. He didn’t have the skills … the talent of becoming one. Even a small mistake could cause huge damage to his team.“How was it?” Elicantris’ voice came from behind.Arth shook his head. “It didn’t end up well. The general returned to his chamber so I can recover myself.”“I see,” Eli said. “Do you want my—”“No … please don’t do that,” Arth cut off, “You need to replenish your alar, Eli. But I appreciate it.”Elicantris waved a hand. “If that’s what you want … by the way, have you seen Ruby?”A strong gust of wind interrupted their conversation, blowing against their c
Tristan stood at the head of the ship, his eyes locked forward on the blue horizon, as he couldn’t wait to see the islands in his view. The sound of wood creaking, wind blowing, and the ocean singing, along with the salty smell of the air, all gave his stomach a turn. But Tristan had learned how to endure and control his body after weeks of being in the sea. And he had to endure. He’d been dying to see dragons in reality.Looking back, the crews had been keeping themselves busy on the deck, preparing their weapons and traps. Two enormous metal machines that looked like a giant crossbow stood in the middle, with huge long bolts gathered between them. Seeing the bolt throwers had put worry in Tristan’s chest. Those hunters would definitely go for the kill. And he had to do something about it to protect the dragons.Tristan lowered his eyes. The word had echoed in his mind once again … protect. Knowing how powerless and incapable he had been of protecting people, gave him doubts that he c