The Wizard World
Ye Song, who once lived in a technologically-advanced world, died and reincarnated into a noble teenager's body in another world.
A fantasy world filled with magic!
A series of events filled with tragedy, action, etc. began to unfold one after the other when he fatefully encountered one of the most guarded secrets of this world, obtaining the legendary power of Wizards.
Watch how he reaches unreachable heights as a powerful Wizard in this new world and shows what he is made of.
Read The Wizard World - Chapter 1: Reincarnation online free - Light Novel Full
Chapter 1: Reincarnation
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
There were no white clouds that could be seen in the endless sky, making it seem like a borderless blue gem.
Several black-colored birds flew across the sky; a large forest underneath them looked verdant and thriving. There were many twisted small paths between the trees. A carriage with golden straws was moving forwards in a slow pace, and you could even hear the rhythmic echoes of the hooves stomping on the ground.
There was a teenager lying over the golden straws on the carriage. Judging by his appearance, he was about thirteen- or fourteen-years old. The teenager had short brown hair, and he had an average-looking appearance.
The teenager's eyes were closed as though he was sleeping. The coachman at the front was driving carefully with his old horse. It seemed that the coachman was trying not to interrupt the teenager's dream as he tried to steer the carriage skillfully.
BANG!!!
With a loud noise, the wheels of the carriage toppled over a sharp stone on the road. The whole carriage stopped after the collision.
Ye Song was woken up by the commotion. He opened his eyes slowly, and his scrunched face was of a yellow hue just like wax.
"Where am I?" The teenager asked; his voice was very faint and it sounded weak.
He inhaled once; he could smell the fragrance of lush green grass. The teenager looked at his surroundings in confusion.
"I apologize for disrupting your sweet dream, Second Young Master Angele. The carriage collided on a stone." The coachman turned back and apologized after he saw Ye Song was woken up by the accident. He took out his tools and started to check if the wheels were damaged by the stone.
The coachman was past his prime, yet he still looked strong and full of vigor in his grey linen outfit.
"Second Young Master Angele?" Ye Song was confused; he looked around, thinking the coachman was talking to someone else, but he was the only one there.
"That's me?" He pointed his finger towards his nose.
"Yes, Second Young Master." The coachman nodded while checking the wheels.
"You just fell off the horse and got hurt pretty badly. You need more rest. I was the only one left in the city, and I could not find a decent carriage for you. I am sorry you have to lie on this." The middle-aged man smiled at Ye; his skin looked well-tanned by the sun.
It seemed like Ye Song realized something as his facial expression changed.
"No way…" Ye whispered to himself and looked at his body.
The hunting suit he was wearing fitted him very well, and he also had a red belt around his waist. There was a black leather whip tied to his belt.
His body was weak, and his palm white. He could also feel the pain coming from his knees and the back of his head.
Suddenly, bunch of memories flashed in Ye Song's mind after a strong pain hit his head. Ye Song fell straight down to the straws as he lost his consciousness; he could hear the coachman yelling in panic.
Ye Song finally woke up slowly after some time passed. His brain was filled with memories from someone else's. The second son of some random countryside noble family was named Angele Rio, and apparently the guy was just an average noble child from the family.
Angele was riding on his horse with his gang during his free time before falling off it. Ye Song took over his body at that moment. Ye Song also gained some of Angele's memories, and he had a basic understanding of the current situation.
The world was identical to the Medieval Europe he knew. Right now, he was in a country called the Rudin Empire. It was a huge country, and Rio Family was actually a relatively rich noble family at the countryside, but it still cannot be compared to those in the inner parts of the country.
Rio Family's territory was at the edge of a large forest in the Yala Province. According to Angele's memory, the only thing Ye Song knew was that his father Baron Rio's territory included three knights' lands and five towns. There were about five thousand people living there, and it would take some time to go from one side to the other with a horse, which is about an hour. It was a huge territory.
Angele Rio was the second son of Baron Rio, and his standing was the highest among the younger generation in the Rio Family. The eldest son left the family and joined the army; if he does not come back, it is very likely that Angele would be the one to take over the family after.
"A child from a noble family… I can't believe I reincarnated…" Ye Song scratched his head, and realized he was lying down on a small bed. His clothes had been changed to a white robe, and was covered by a thin layer of white blanket.
The bedroom was bright and spacious. There were two high chairs, one bed, and a writing desk painted white in the room. The window facing the bed was opened, and Ye Song could hear some noise coming from the streets.
The wind brought the aroma of pancakes into the room. Ye Song felt really hungry after getting a whiff of such redolence in.
"Is anyone here?" Ye Song knew this was the family's only house in the town according to Angele's memory.
The door was opened with a squeaky sound. A middle-aged man in a red noble suit with a serious face walked in quickly. He was holding a small silver bowl and there was an appetizing smell of meat coming from it.
"Angele, do you feel better?" The man walked to the bed while knitting his eyebrows. He put the small bowl on the bedside cabinet, and touched Ye Song's forehead with his large palm.
"Not hot anymore. Drink the meat soup, you are way too weak right now." The man said.
Ye Song quickly found out who the man was through Angele's memory.
Karl Rio, the current leader in the Rio Family and the baron of the territory. Though he was just a great father in the memories of Angele.
"I think I told you before," Baron Karl lowered his voice, "stay away from those punks from the city, even if you are classmates in the knight's courses. Don't even play with them." The baron said.
"It is all my fault, father." Ye Song said with a faint voice, and he lowered his head. It was not out of Ye Song's intention to do this. It was more like a reflex from the body's original owner.
"You were lucky you didn't break any bone after falling off from a horse that went berserk." The baron said, and he seemed to have relaxed a bit. He saw his son lowering his own head and could feel his son's sadness.
"Your elder brother left the family and joined the army, I am not even sure if he will come back. You are the hope of Rio family. I can't imagine what will happen if you get hurt again…" The baron sighed, and stopped talking.
Ye Song knew the baron's personality from Angele's memory. He was a strong baron when facing others; he was also cold-blooded and strict. Many people in the family had been ordered to be executed due to some small mistakes they committed. The baron also took many beautiful women into the family from his territory, and he has had many kids.
More importantly, he made a series of plans last year, and he used his army to take over a large land. His territory size now became twice the original.
Outsiders often gossiped about how cruel and strong the baron was. They gossiped about his insidiousness and his cold-blooded heart. However, the baron was treating Angele very well because he loved Angele's mother so much before she passed away. He held special feelings for her. Thus, Angele's standing was the highest among his brothers and sisters. The baron would try to give Angele whatever he wanted.
"Remember, Angele. No matter what, as the future leader of the Rio Family, you should think twice before doing anything." Baron Karl advised Ye Song with a deep voice.
"I will, father." Ye Song nodded seriously.
"Well, not Catherine though, that other girl you wanted before. I have sent her to your room. You can play with her, but you are still very young, if I find out you are addicted to this…" The baron stopped for a second, and Ye Song could see the coldness from his eyes, "you know what's going to happen."
"I understand." Ye Song nodded quickly; he felt scared for a second. Though the baron loved him so much, this time he had done something unacceptable.
"Alright, get some rest after you finish the soup. I still have some things that I have to deal with. Old Wade will send someone to bring you back to the castle. I have to leave now." The baron said as left right away.
Before the door of the bedroom was closed, Ye Song took a peek at the fully armored knight outside. He knew the knight; the best warrior the baron had, Knight Audis. Knight Audis loved to stomp on the enemy's heads and smash them into pulp like watermelons. People in the territory called him "Devil Knight".
The door of the bedroom was forcefully closed. Ye Song could hear the baron and the knight whispering while walking in the yard. The sounds of whispering disappeared after they went farther. Ye Song looked at the meat soup on his bedside cabinet. He knew the soup was special when he saw the baron bringing it in. If it was just some ordinary soup, it would've been brought by someone else.
The meat inside the soup was from a fish called Round Snapper. The legend said, "A wizard turned the children that became lost into this kind of fish", Angele had it even before when he was hurt. Ye Song took the silver bowl and looked at its inside. A finger-long silver fish was floating in the milky soup, and the head of the fish looked exactly like a human's face.
"Fish with a child's face…" Ye Song talked to himself, and he felt nauseated after looking at the pained expression of the face.
"It is not the world I used to know anymore…" Ye Song thought.
Ye Song sat on the bed, and it took him a long time to decide to drink the soup. He held his breath and drank all the soup in one go with the exception of the head of the fish. He took it apart and left it in the bowl; it was way too horrifying for him to eat.
He lied down on the bed for a while after finishing the soup. He decided to organize the memories in his brain. The teenager named Angele was loved by his father. Though he had trouble making decisions and his personality was submissive, he was good at finding ways to entertain himself. He was actually much better than others when it came to playing.
The baron would get him anything he wanted such as gears, pets, money, and even people. It made Angele fearless, and this made him have the desire to take anything he found charming. In other words, he was just a rich playboy.
As a Baron-level territory, the size of the land was about a county-level city at where Ye Song came from. Though the population was much smaller, the baron was the god in the territory and he could do anything he wanted. Angele shared a part of the baron's rights.
In this chaotic age, the Rudin Empire was not stable at all. Nobility had always been the symbol of wealth and power. However, no matter how strong Baron Karl was, his beloved son, Angele, still did something unacceptable. Angele found an attractive noble girl in his knight course class, and the girl was named Catherine Candia. She was the most beloved child of Viscount Candia, and Viscount Candia was of a status higher than Baron Karl.
Angele tried to show off his riding skills and decided to accept the challenge against another male classmate of his. Angele's saddle had been modified by his competitor before the race. As a result, Angele disappeared from this world permanently when he fell off the horse.
"It was just for a girl…" Ye Song felt speechless when he was scrounging the memories in his mind. "This world makes me speechless. A fourteen-year-old teenager would actually fight against others just for a girl…"
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Chapter 2: Reorganizing
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
After lying on the bed for about half a day, Ye Song decided to get up. He could hear noises from the people outside the wall of their yard. It seemed like someone was gathering the boisterous crowd. Ye Song knew that his father was chasing the wanted criminals with the guards.
A group of criminals that came from nowhere was robbing random people around, and they've already murdered ten whole families. People in the territory were extremely terrified because of this. Knight Audis took the order, and was searching around the city with his guards.
Outside the bedroom, Ye Song saw a small grey yard with a small pond located in the middle. The yard was definitely not well-maintained; there were weeds growing everywhere. Two conversing middle-aged guards were standing by the pond, and they saluted Ye Song right after they saw him. They were under the direct order of the baron, and they looked tall and strong.
"Young Master Angele, how was your rest?" The guard with whisker asked in a light tone. He wore a heavy golden leather armor, and a huge axe was being carried on his back. He looked extremely intimidating with those gear.
The other guard looked thinner, and he only wore a half-length leather armor. There was a crossguard sword hanging from his waist; he did not look very strong but the light gear made him seem agile, and Ye Song could feel the steadiness in his eyes.
Ye Song took a glance at the edge of the crossguard sword that still had dark-colored blood smeared on it. Ye Song decided not to look at it anymore.
"Did Uncle Audis send you here?" Ye asked.
"Yes, we will take you back to the castle, and we still have to go back to our duty after. Let's be on our way, we don't have much spare time." The thinner guard answered with a deep voice.
"It seems that you have already acquired the information about those wanted criminals?" Ye Song nodded and asked.
"Yes, we found their temporary hideout this morning, and leader has brought the army there and surrounded them." The thinner guard answered as he nodded.
"Okay, I am going to change right now." Ye Song said. He went back to the bedroom and took off his robe. He wore an appropriate suit and stepped out of the room. Ye Song looked for the two guards and left the place with them.
The house was just a place for Ye Song's family to stay when they are in the town. The place was not that good for Ye Song to rest and heal. Outside the house was the street, many people were walking around. They were all wearing dull grey linen clothes, and the whole street looked filthy.
Some merchants were selling various things by the streetside, and they were advertising their products with loud voices. There were people selling fruits, wooden toys, and even vegetables. Some women were checking the goods while holding baskets.
Ye Song quickly noticed the differences between him and the people walking by right after he left the house. His clothes had a different color than anyone else on the street. He was wearing black, and the others were wearing grey. The reason was that only nobles were allowed to wear clothes of other colors, and common people were restricted to only grey-colored clothes in this world. It was one of the special rights of nobility; if anyone tried to violate the rule, they might be sentenced to death right away. It was, after all, a serious offense. But even then, there were still color restrictions between the nobles, and the colors they could wear were determined by their status.
Ye Song talked with the two guards along the way. He noticed that people would salute to him every time they saw him, and their faces always showed an expression of fear. He felt like he was a lion walking among a flock of sheeps.
"You are still not used to that, Young Master Angele?" The thinner guard laughed.
From their conversations, Ye Song learnt the two guards' name. The thinner guard was called Carter, and he was an adventurer that lived around here. He was recruited into the army, and he was actually lucky. Adventurers were pretty much just people with no actual jobs. They were very low in terms of social standing, and being a guard in the army was like being a policeman in a police station on Earth. His standing became much higher than common people, and he gained a lot of benefits from his job.
The strong guard was called Miro, and he grew up in the Baron Rio's territory. Miro was talented, and he was immensely powerful.
"Yea… The Candia City is much larger than this little town." Carter said and laughed, he did not even wait for Ye Song to respond. Carter grabbed a tomato from a vendor they passed by and took a large bite off it; the owner did not seem to be happy about it. Ye Song knitted his eyebrows a little bit, but he did not say anything.
Ye Song thought those family guards were used to taking things from the vendors without paying. They probably had an awful reputation in the territory. But it reminded Ye Song of his old self.
Ye Song talked with the guards about random things on their way out, and it did not take an ample amount of time for them to get out of the town. They could see a black carriage waiting outside the fences of the town. The coachman got off the carriage quickly when he saw Ye Song and two guards coming. The coachman greeted them and waited at the side.
The group of three got on the carriage, and they let Carter drive it. The carriage got to the main road at full speed quickly.
It took them about twenty minutes to reach their destination, which was the main base for the Rio Family, the Karl Castle.
Ye Song got out of the carriage carefully, and raised his head to get a view of the castle in front of him. The castle was built within a green forest, and it looked like a manor from ancient times to him.
The whole Karl Castle is surrounded by the moat. It would be more precise to describe it as a city surrounded by high walls than a castle.
The grey castle did not look so former to Ye Song, and it did not fit Ye Song's imagination about castles at all. It was about the height of a five-storey building. There were two guards with iron swords on their back in front the main entrance, the bridge was lowered over the moat, and the guards were staring at the group of three confusedly.
It was right before sunset, and the castle looked red with the huge sun in the back. Ye Song did not know where it came from, but he could smell the scent of flowers.
Ye Song took a deep breath. The sun almost went down, and it was getting cold.
"Is Old Wade here?" Ye Song asked in a faint tone.
"He is here, we brought you here safely, and we need to get back to work now." Carter nodded and said.
Ye Song agreed, and he saw the two guards go back to the carriage. It did not take a long time for them disappear from Ye Song's sight.
Ye Song started walking towards the castle, and there was an old man wearing a black coat walking out of the castle. The old man's hair was completely white, and he was walking towards Ye Song with several female guards following behind him.
"Old Wade, I am back!" Ye Song yelled, and he started to walk faster.
Wade was a butler that works for Baron Karl, he was in charge of general inquires within the territory, and he has been working here for about 30 years. He knew Baron Karl since the baron was very young.
"I told the baron a long time ago, he should've let Audis take care of the Young Master, but he didn't listen. Now, the Young Master is hurt; he should've taken my advice…" The thin old man talked while walking close to Ye Song.
Ye Song had his official smile on his face, and he followed the people welcoming him into the castle.
Wade complained for a while then suddenly stopped.
"Young Master, this time you should just stay in the castle and let Audis teach you all the necessary knowledge." Wade said.
"Did Father say that?" Ye Song asked.
"Yes, the situation outside is not good right now. We don't think letting you live outside alone is a good idea. More importantly, you suffered a lot this time. We will get our revenge for sure, even if the opponent is Viscount Candia." Wade said. Ye Song could feel how serious the old butler was.
"I am fine with Father's decision." Ye Song agreed.
Ye Song followed Wade into the main hall, and there were two maids together with them too.
Two young girls wearing white farthingales were waiting there, and they bowed together when they saw Wade bringing Ye Song in.
"Brother Angele." The girls said together.
"Celia and Maggie!" Ye Song searched through his memory quickly.
Celia was Angele's young sister, and they have the same father. Maggie came from a poor relative, and she came seeking help from the Rio Family; Maggie's family declined a long time ago. They were all younger than Ye Song so they called Angele 'brother'.
Angele had a crucial position in the family, so relatives like Celia and Maggie must be careful when dealing with him. There were many other girls like them in the castle, but they didn't have high status. The baron did not really care about those girls. Celia's life in the castle was actually pretty decent; she could get a certain amount of money to spend every month, and had maids to do the housework for her. She was at the same level as the leader of the maids.
Maggie's life was easy, though. Her parents worked for the baron in the castle, and they could easily get some money to survive. They were just like regular workers in the castle, maybe they were even treated a bit better than the ones at the lowest status. There were many poor relatives trying to seek help from the Rio Family, and Maggie's family was just one of them.
"It has been a long time." Ye Song said, and he smiled. He played well with the two girls because they were relatively good-looking, and they had nice styles. He treated them well whenever he was around, and the two girls had thought they found someone that they could rely on so they were willing to stay with Angele.
"We heard you were injured, and we decided to wait here to welcome you back. Are you feeling better now?" Maggie asked. She was thirteen years old and her voice sounded young, but her body was developed quite well. Maggie had a nice style and a cute face. Her waist was slim, and her breasts were large. Ye Song was attracted to her, and he stared at her for a while.
It seemed like Maggie knew Ye Song was looking at her, and she started to blush. She did not act like she noticed Ye Song's gaze, but she tried to make her breasts become more enticingly apparent to his eyes.
Celia's body was a bit underdeveloped compared to Maggie, and she was very shy. Celia looked at Ye Song like a young deer, having a tinge of fear in her eyes. She put her hands over her stomach, seemingly showing nervousness as well. Ye Song could feel her innocence.
There were actually more people trying to welcome Ye Song back to the castle, but the two girls thought about the situation and decided to come earlier than others. People would think they were close to Ye Song if they were the first ones to welcome him. Maybe their parents asked them to do so.
"I feel much better now, don't worry." Ye Song nodded his head, and talked a bit with the girls.
Wade left quietly to do other jobs, and Ye Song followed the two girls into the inner hall. After many people in the castle sent their greetings there, Ye finally got some time to take a rest.
He went back to his own bedroom, and he took a deep breath.
There was a writing desk inside the room beside the bed. On the desk was a piece of yellow parchment lying there. A feather ink pen was placed beside the ink bottle at the side, with three lighted candles arranged into the shape of a mountain. Ye Song could smell the special fragrance wafting off the candles.
Ye Song pulled the chair out and sat down. He started to read the paper.
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Chapter 3: Opening
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
The yellow parchment paper was half-full with well-written words on it. Ye Song touched the paper, and he felt it was thin and soft.
"Umm…" Suddenly a soft voice came from the corner of the bedroom. Ye Song finally remembered the girl whom his father mentioned a while ago.
He looked at the dark corner where the sound came from, and a girl with long hair was sitting there while holding her knees. Ye Song was not so sure if he remembered correctly, but he pretty much knew who she was.
"You are Cecilia?" Ye Song stood up, and he walked towards the girl. He remembered her name.
"Yea…Yes." The girl was scared, and she tried to get closer to the corner. Ye Song could see her tumid eyes; she was definitely crying. Ye Song could see the dried tears on her face.
"Young Master Angele, is there anything I could do for you?" She asked in a faint tone.
Ye Song took a glance at her developing body, and he shook his head. He knew this world was close to the medieval age of Europe, and people there were not against having sex from a young age. But there was a twenty-year-old soul inside Ye Song and he was not going to do anything to a girl that was about fifteen years old.
There were still many things he needed to do, and he had no time for this.
"Well, I don't need anything right now." Ye Song said. "Maggie! Maggie!" Ye Song yelled, and he clapped his hands loudly.
The door of the bedroom opened, a lady in grey maid uniform came in politely.
"How may I help you?" The maid asked.
"Get this young girl out of here, and get her a room. I have not…" Ye Song stopped for a second; he was worried that his father would do something to the girl because it might look like he just kicked Cecilia out of the room. The baron was cold-blooded, and he pretty much forced Cecilia's family to send her here. If she just got kicked out by Ye Song, she would not leave the castle alive. She would be sent to the guards as a slave, and that's merely the best scenario.
Ye Song took a glance at the girl in the corner, and her face was full of fear.
"I am not in the mood today; take her out and let her rest. I will deal with her later." Ye Song said.
The maid bowed to Ye Song politely, and she took Cecilia out of the bedroom.
Ye Song could finally get some rest. He did not actually know what to do ever since he reincarnated.
Ye Song sat in front of the writing desk, and he grabbed the white feather pen. The pen had an unseamed texture, and there was a bit of red at the end of the feather. He did not know what bird's feather this was, and it was actually pretty heavy.
The feather reflected some of the candle's light; it had a dark yellow light, and it looked beautiful.
'I thought I was dead for sure, then I ended up in someone else's body in a totally different universe.' Ye Song played with the pen in his hand, and he thought about the experience.
According to Angele's memory, the people in this world still wielded cold weapons, and they were still using bow and arrows as long-range weapons. There was no gunpowder at all, and Angele never heard of it too. If an strong individual joined a battle, he could absolutely turn the tides of the battle just by his own will.
The reason why Angele's father, Baron Karl, could still have a great life while being arrogant and cold-blooded lied in his skill and power in battle. Baron Karl was a hero of the Redbud Battle, and it was one of Rudin Empire's most brutal battles against its enemies. That was a famous battle that damaged Rudin Empire's base. Baron Karl survived that using his own skills.
Baron Karl had a strong body, a special set of fighting skills and smooth crossguard sword skills. He had killed fifteen heavy armored knights consequently during the battle. With Knight Audis, they could easily make Viscount Candia tremble in fear.
Peerage did not represent the power ranking in the current state of Rudin Empire. Instead, one's skills and abilities in battle was something that determined who the superior one would be.
The power of the army! The power of a strong individual!
Those were the things that made people fearless.
In this chaotic age, there were skirmishes and wars happening all the time. Even if Baron Karl was so cruel and arrogant, people still never moved out of his territory. After all, people needed to rely on someone that was strong enough to protect them for their own survival.
Without the protection of a lord, people wouldn't be able to survive outside for a long time because there were bandits everywhere. Some bandits even resorted to cannibalism if they could not find food. Travelling from one territory to another without protection was pretty much looking to die. People would not survive with just having a stout heart.
The situation in Baron Karl's territory was different. The bandit groups around the territory were raided and cleared out by the guards led by the baron. Not only common people were afraid of him, bandits would even run away just after hearing his name. The baron's territory together with half of the Candia City were actually supported by the baron, and bandits were utterly terrified of the baron's power. This was also the reason why Old Wade wasn't so concerned regarding Viscount Candia's title.
People living in the territory did not die randomly; the only thing they had to suffer was living under the dominion of the baron. No matter how cruel the baron was, only a certain amount of people were affected by that. There were countless people in the territory, and people did not think they would be the next one. Ye Song tried guessing the thoughts of the people living in the territory.
Ye Song grabbed the parchment paper on the desk; he had never seen such language. It looked like English, but it also looked like the ancient Chinese Tibetan Language.
'It would be very hard to learn this language if I didn't have Angele's memory.' Ye Song thought, and thanks to Angele, Ye Song could speak and understand this language just fine. The language part in Angele's brain remained there, and it would generate proper words whenever Ye Song tried to express something.
'The structure of the words looks well-developed here…' Ye Song thought while reading the paper Angele had copied down the history of the family on it.
'If only I could get my biological chip to work, it would be much easier for me to learn and comprehend the knowledge here since the language structure is perfect.' Ye Song thought. He touched his left temple; it was where his biological chip used to be at. He had been implanted with the chip when he was still alive on Earth.
Di!!
The sound of biological activation echoed in Ye Song's ear. He recognized it because he had already heard it for thousands of times.
"Biological chip no.18907 at your service. I am made by Chinese Fei Teng Company, and supervised by the Artificial Intelligence Department." A sweet Chinese female voice was speaking within Ye Song's head.
Ye Song was not surprised by it because he knew it was the advertisement sound of the chip. It was just like the welcome message that would appear whenever you turned the TV screen on. The chip itself, however, did not have any intelligence.
Biological chip was the invention of the 23rd century, and it had two major functions: analysis and storage.
The analysis function was very basic. It used different information to do a logical analysis on the structures of certain things, and the result would be automatically inputted into the storage.
The chip itself had no intelligence because scientists were concerned about the effect it would have on the human brain. The biological function would make the chip become a part of the brain, which meant the chip could not be simply taken out once implanted.
The storage function was separated from the original memory system of the brain. It had a much larger capacity than the human brain, and it could store over one thousand years worth of information in it. The human brain could only store about one hundred fifty years worth of information.
'The chip reincarnated with me?' Ye Song simply could not believe it, and he was breathing heavily. He sat on the chair for a long time to think this over.
'But it could be possible, my chip was the newest version, and it was said to have been integrated into my gene. If it is broken, it will repair itself just like my organs. So… My gene got carried over to this body?' Ye Song guessed.
"Please name the chip." The sweet voice spoke again.
"Zero." Ye Song did not even think; he just used the old name.
"Name confirmed, chip Zero's auto support system will be destroyed now. Enjoy the chip, please call 40355627 if you have any complaints. Thanks for using—" The voice stopped here.
Ye Song knew that this would be the last time he would hear that sweet voice from the chip. There would only be a mechanically-generated voice afterwards, and the sound would be created by his memory function.
Ye Song was excited, and he kept on breathing heavily.
The chip would be a great asset in this era where cold weapons reigned supreme.
The candle's yellow light was reflected on Ye Song's face, and it started to glowing. There was a window over the writing desk, and a thin white paper was stuck at the wooden frame. Most of the windows on the castle were like this.
Ye Song stood up and opened the window.
The wooden frame was pushed outwards with a long "chi" sound.
Ye Song reached his head outside the window. He wanted to cool himself down for a bit.
The wind in the night blew across his own face, and he could smell the scent of grasses.
His bedroom was at the fourth floor, and he could see the large, dark forest outside. The trees were just like shades, and he could hear the sounds the insects were making along with the sound of the tree leaves being blown by the wind.
Two crescent moons hung over the night sky, and the moonlight poured onto the ground.
Suddenly, Ye Song heard the sound of hooves stomping on the ground from the only main road linked to the town outside, and the road was just in between the forest he was looking at.
Ye Song felt much better with the help of the cold breeze. In the moonlight, he saw a group of dark-armored knights heading to the castle from the end of the road.
Some of the knights were holding lit-up torches, and the horses they were riding on neighed, making noises.
Ye Song could see the one leading the group was talking with the others behind him, and he was laughing about something.
With the help of the light of the torches, Ye Song could finally saw what the leader looked like.
The leader had a serious face with some black goat beard on his chin, and his long flaxen hair draped all over his shoulder. He looked very strong in his silver armor. He looked a bit rude, but still noble.
"It is father, Baron Karl." Ye Song immediately recognized him because he just saw him not too long ago. Angele also had deeply-etched memories of him.
The baron wore black leather gloves on his hands that were holding the reins. He looked back at Ye Song, when the latter was still trying to figure out who he was.
The baron saw Ye Song looking at him by the window, and he took off one of the gloves and waved towards the latter. Ye Song also smiled in response, and he nodded at him. The baron then shook the reins lightly, urging the horse to move faster.
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Chapter 4: Life (Part 1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
The group of knights arrived at the castle quickly, and they got into the castle after passing through the already-lowered drawbridge.
Ye Song had his sights on them until they completely passed through the gateway, and then he sat on his chair again. Ye Song had already gathered enough information about his father through Angele's memory. Though people considered the baron as a cruel lord, he treated Angele really well. He was strict about the rules, but he had never beaten Angele even once.
'I should go and greet my father.' Ye Song thought. Before he stood up, someone started to knock on his door.
"Young Master Angele, the baron is summoning you." Maid Maggie said outside the door.
"Alright, I am coming." Ye Song yelled.
He stood up quickly, and he opened the door. Maid Maggie was waiting outside while holding a candle on a stand. Ye Song followed Maggie through the hallway, and they went down the spiral stairs. They reached the stairs on the second floor. At the end of the hallway, there was a room with a half-opened door. Ye Song could see the light leaking out of it.
"I will be waiting here, Young Master." Maggie said after bowing to Ye Song politely.
Ye Song nodded and walked into the room.
Baron's deep voice became louder as Ye Song walked closer.
"…In the territory, no one has the balls to ignore my order. Those criminals must be outsiders." The baron said, but Ye Song only caught the second half.
Another deep voice came from the inside of the room, and it was Knight Audis.
"I am not so sure about that. Based on the criminals' appearances, they are definitely from the east, and it must be the Saladin Empire. Their styles of clothes and weapons are all very similar to the east. They were also fighting like a trained army, not some random criminals. I suppose they are taking revenge for the event that occurred four years ago." Audis said.
"It will take the best horses to travel from Saladin Empire to my territory within half a year, and there is a huge forest in between. The possibility of that being them is miniscule. However, I think that it could've been that old punk Candia." Baron Karl said, and his voice sounded cold. "That is the last thing he could do."
"True, and the chances are high here. We were pushing him too hard recently…" Audis said.
Ye Song did not knock on the door, and he only stood outside. He knew that his father and Audis had already heard his footsteps a while ago. The only thing he needed to do was to wait outside.
"However, there is one more possibility – Lasga." Audis guessed.
"Lasga? I've been there about ten years ago, how is the place now? Is the mad woman Sally still there?" Karl asked.
"I think she is still there. Well, let's leave it here. You can come in, Angele." Knight Audis said loudly.
"Coming." Ye Song said, and he opened the door.
It was a study room; there were two shelves full of books by the wall, and Ye Song could see the fire dancing slowly in the wall fireplace.
The baron and Knight Audis were sitting by a table, and they both had white cups in front of them.
Ye Song took a glance at the inside of the cup, and the cup was filled up with black liquid; it had a nice mint smell.
"Father and Uncle Audis, I am here." Ye Song greeted them politely as the memories of the former Angele resurfaced within his mind.
Karl and Audis were two of the four strongest people in the Rio Territory. Baron Karl did not treat Audis as a mere knight, but more like a friend of him. They were two top swordsmen that survived the Redbud Battle.
There were no warrior rankings in this world, and there was only one way for a knight to show how strong he was, which was fighting battles.
"Take a seat." The baron said while pointing at a chair nearby.
Ye Song nodded, and he sat down quietly.
"The situation outside is not going well. The Saladin Empire is very likely to put up a fight with us, the Rudin Empire. Our territory is right between the two country's borders, and this place is going to be the frontline. I asked my guy to contact one of my old gangs at the harbour, and ordered some brand new gears from him. The armors and weapons should be on their way here…" The baron started talking to Audis again.
Ye Song sat by the side and started to examine the two people in front of him.
He was already familiar with the baron, and there was nothing more he could find about him.
But he never actually analyzed Audis before. Audis really looked like a bear, and he was huge even while just sitting there. He was about the height of two adult males. The iron armor worn by him was all black and shiny. He was bald, and his head looked like a lightbulb. He also had a silver earring worn on his left ear, and with all of that combined, it made him look barbaric because of the outfit and the accessories he wore.
'Analyze their fighting skills based on my sensory information.' Ye Song gave an order to Zero with his thoughts.
Suddenly, Ye Song could see information running down in front of his eyes like a waterfall. The words were blue, and they were very intense and complex.
Ye Song knew that an individual's fighting ability was very important in this world. He learnt from Angele's memory that unrivalled power was the only thing that would help him fulfill his desires. Also, becoming powerful would help Ye Song protect himself, so he decided to analyze the fighting skills of the two.
The baron and Audis kept talking about external affairs. But Ye Song noticed that the baron sometimes had his eyes on him, and the baron showed a disappointed expression whenever he saw that Ye Song was not completely listening.
They were trying to get Ye Song involved in the discussion in order to help Ye Song become prepared to be the next leader, but Ye Song's facial expression while analyzing the results made it seem like he was uninterested, and it made the two very disappointed.
Ye Song did not really understand the point, but at least he got the results.
'Karl Rio, results based on sensory information: Strength is higher than 2, Agility is higher than 2, and Stamina is higher than 2. Audis, results based on sensory information: Strength is higher than 3, Agility is about 1, and Stamina is higher than 3.' Zero reported in Ye Song's brain.
Ye Song was surprised…
Having 1 point in an attribute was equivalent to having the ability of a regular male adult, and this was based on the information from Earth.
According to the results, Ye Song's father and Knight Audis were pretty much the Superman he knew from the movie. Their strength points were higher than 2 and 3, which meant that they had the power of two or three ordinary adult males. Stamina referred to the ability of taking hits, poison resistance, recovery and endurance.
'I am sure I am out of Earth right now…' Ye Song was speechless.
'Zero, do the analysis on me.' Ye Song sent the order.
Blue-colored information appeared in front of Ye Song's eyes.
'Angele Rio, ability analysis results: Strength is lower than 0.3, Agility is lower than 0.4, and Stamina is lower than 0.7.' Zero reported.
'…' Ye Song became speechless once again.
Even for a fourteen-year-old body, the data was way too low. A normal teen at this age on Earth would have a strength level at 0.5, and agility level at 1.2. Angele was taking knight's training, yet his data was still below average. How was that even possible?
Maybe Ye Song was still injured, and he should first wait for a full recovery.
The baron stopped talking with Audis about their plan. They turned their sights to Ye Song.
"Starting from tomorrow, Angele, you will be learning the basic fighting skills with Audis. There will be some other boys in the castle training with you. " The baron said.
"Understood, father." Ye Song said.
"You are weak in terms of physical abilities. I want you to at least get to an average level, so I want you to learn the basic fighting skills." Ye Song could see the worry from the baron's eyes.
Ye Song knew that if Angele's body was strong, he would not simply fall off the horse and die.
"I understand." Ye Song nodded.
"How is your recovery? Are you getting better?" Audis asked kindly.
"I would be fine with the basic training." Ye Song answered.
"That's nice." Audis nodded.
"Speak to Annker if you want any specific dish to eat; she is the leader of the maids. We got a horned bull the day before, so you will recover faster if you eat some of it. Well, go and rest for now." The baron said.
Ye Song stood up and saluted before quickly walking out of the room.
Maggie was still waiting by the staircase while holding the candle stand. She stood in the dark alone until Ye Song finished his thing.
Ye Song quickly walked towards her.
"No one is around during this time? Why is there no light?" Ye Song asked.
"It is the living quarters; most of the people in the castle are at the training grounds and the bar. There are not many people here, so we are not wasting candles here." Maggie shook her head and answered.
"Okay." Ye Song nodded.
According to Angele's memory, the castle was divided to several areas.
Living quarters, activity area, and the areas for miscellaneous activities.
The activity area included the training grounds and the arena. The other areas included the bar, blacksmith shop, and the stable, etc.
The castle was about the size of an average university on Earth, but there were only about two hundred people in it. Only strong knights, swordsmen, and lancers were allowed to live in the castle, and there were only about a hundred of them.
"Let's head back." Ye Song stopped thinking.
Maggie led Ye Song back to his bedroom.
Ye Song saw Cecilia hiding in the corner as he opened the door.
"You filthy rat, how did you enter Young Master Angele's room?!" Maggie saw her, and she started yelling.
Cecilia moved closer to the corner, trying to hide.
"It is fine, and you can leave now." Ye Song stopped Maggie from rushing inside his room.
"Yes, Young Master." Maggie immediately stopped her actions, and she left the room.
The door of the bedroom was closed.
Ye Song walked towards the girl at the corner. He looked at her for a while.
She wore a white-greyish dress, and her shoulders were exposed; her skin was white and smooth; also, her hair was long and black. If she was not crying, she would actually be a beautiful young girl.
Ye Song did not really want to do anything. He took the silk sheet on his bed, and threw it over to her. Ye Song decided to just lie down on the bed because he was really tired after all that.
"Ha……" Ye Song breathed deeply.
'Based on the current situation, I am in a good position. As long as the baron is there for me, there is nothing I need to worry about, but I can't predict the future, and I need to prepare for the unexpected things. This world does not seem peaceful at all.' Ye Song thought, and he fell into slumber right after.
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Chapter 5: Life (Part 2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Ye Song was woken up by some noise after sleeping for a long time.
Ye Song got up slowly after opening his eyes. A white silky sheet slid off his body.
'I thought I gave the sheet to someone else?' Ye Song rubbed his eyes. He knew he gave the sheet to Cecilia last night.
Suddenly, Ye Song's shoulder was touched by a small hand.
Ye Song looked at his bed, and he saw Cecilia was sleeping by his side. It looked like she was having a nice dream.
Also, Ye Song noticed that his socks and coat were taken off by someone.
'Well, it looks like she did that for me.' Ye Song guessed it right.
Based on Angele's memory, he met with Cecilia for the first time while hunting outside. Cecilia was a shepherd on that mountain, and Angele became attracted to her appearance. The baron then took her back to the castle, and he sent her to Angele as a gift.
The girl came from a farmer's family, so she actually knew how to help the family out. Her parents would be able to live a much better life if Young Master Angele was attracted to her. Also, she was not the only child in the family, and she also had an elder brother and a younger sister. She was not forced to be sent to Angele, but instead made the decision herself.
Ye Song learnt those things when he was checking out Angele's memory, and he knew it was Cecilia that helped him take off his socks and his coat.
It was early in the morning, and the light went inside the bedroom through the windows. The air was a bit cold actually. The noise Ye Song heard earlier was from the guards' training. Ye Song got off the bed, and he stretched for a bit. Ye Song got a morning wood like any other normal man, making him feel slightly awkward. Also, it showed that he was recovering well, stamina-wise at least.
Ye Song also woke the girl up as he left the bed, and Cecilia's line of sight was right at his morning wood. She started to blush, and she did not know what she should do.
"Young Master Angele… Is there anything I could do for you?" She asked in a light tone.
Ye Song almost lost control when Cecilia asked with such a cute voice.
"Do you know the basics of housework? If you do, get me some water; I need to wash my face." Ye Song tried his best to stay calm.
"Yea… I do…" The girl was a bit scared, and she got off the bed in panic. Cecilia then ran outside the bedroom to get water.
Ye Song finally relaxed for a bit. Though Cecilia was sent as a gift to him, she was too young for him. Ye Song did not want to do anything to the young girl because his sense of morality did not allow it.
More importantly, he was just fourteen years old, and he needed to recover from an injury. Having sex too early could impact the development of his body and make him weaker.
Though he could do anything he wanted to Cecilia, Ye Song successfully controlled himself with his reasoning. He also calmed down a lot after Cecilia left the room.
Ye Song was too tired to wash last night as he did not feel very well. He used to wash his face before going to sleep.
'There is not much water around here, and it seems like people only wash themselves once a day. It is problematic that I cannot waste any water.' Ye Song thought.
Ye Song walked towards the opened window, and he reached out to look down. There was a huge empty ground in front of the forest, and a group of guards in black armor were jogging. They were wearing heavy black full armors, and there were large crossguard blades carried on their backs. Each blade had a palm-sized width. They were doing their morning routine, and Ye Song could see yellow dust being blown behind their jogging paths.
"Eleven!" The guard that was leading the group yelled.
"Eleven!" Everyone else yelled after the leader. They sounded loud, but not perfectly synchronized. Ye Song could also hear the chirps of birds mixed in them.
Ye Song felt refreshed just by looking at them, and he was not sleepy anymore.
'It is time to think of ways that could help build my body a strong foundation.' Ye Song thought while looking at the guards, and then he rubbed his chin.
'My chip has two main functions: one is analysis, and the other is storage. For Zero to do the analysis precisely, it is necessary to gather a huge amount of data. Yesterday's results of my father and Audis were very inaccurate. The data was based on my sensory information. The storage can store a lot of data, and it works like a hard disk. It can't replace my memory, however, so I need to find a way to transfer the data into my brain.' Ye Song thought for a while.
'If I want to strengthen my own body, the best way will be to train more, and the analysis function of my chip can help me find the best way to exercise.' Ye Song kept thinking.
Ye Song waited for a while, and Cecilia brought him water and towel. He washed himself for a while, then afterwards asked Cecilia to stay in his room. Ye Song went down the spiral staircase after leaving the room.
It was still early in the morning, and there was not much light in the castle. It was still pretty dark around the stairs, and Ye Song carefully walked down while holding the wooden handrail.
Starting after going down from the fourth floor, a small window could be found by the stairs around every corner. Ye Song saw maids opening the window to get some fresh air while walking down.
"Good morning, Young Master Angele." A maid greeted politely when she saw Ye Song.
Ye Song could still hear the noise of the guards' training through the window. He looked at the maid, and she looked just like a normal girl under the age of twenty. The maids in the castle were selected by the baron himself. Only the cute and smart ones were permitted to stay and work, so Ye Song actually felt pretty good around those girls.
"Who are those guards training outside?" Ye Song asked.
"It's Knight Anry's cavalry squad." The maid answered respectfully.
"Knight Anry?" Ye Song asked.
"Knight Anry is the adjutant of Knight Audis. It is possible that you don't know him, he was just recruited not so long ago." The maid spoke in a light tone.
"Okay, got it." Ye Song nodded, and he started to walk downstairs again.
Outside the living area was a large, empty ground. The castle was built with a series of buildings, and in the middle of it was the activity area.
The early sunlight went through the small openings between the buildings. The golden lights looked like pillars, which stood on the ground.
The activity ground was a white-greyish playground.
There were boys and girls training there already. Most of them were wearing grey and white clothes; Ye Song could even hear them yelling.
Boys were using wooden swords to train chopping and slashing motions. The girls were training using small wooden short bows, aiming for the target at a thirty-meter range.
A burly man was standing by the edge of the activity ground.
Ye Song looked at the man, and he was wearing grey top with black pants. His body looked weaker than Audis, but he still looked pretty strong. He had his hands over his chest, looking at the children quietly. He was very calm.
The man noticed Ye Song looking at him, and he waved his hands towards Ye Song.
"Hey!" The man yelled. "Stop for a second! Come here everyone!"
The children that were training looked at him, one of the boys did a strong chopping motion before coming over, and it sounded like the blowing wind. Several girls looked at the boy, and the boy smiled happily.
"I said stop! Gelug, are you disobeying my order?" The man had an angry expression on his face.
"Yea, Yea, Yea, my dear Master Alad." The boy answered uncaringly, and he put his wooden sword down. He started to walk towards the man slowly.
When everyone gathered together, Ye Song moved to the front of the group, and he stood aside quietly.
"We are welcoming a new member today." Alad clapped his hands several times; the sound was evanescent but stentorian. "This is Young Master Angele. He just came back from Candia City, and you might have seen his face yesterday on the welcoming party."
No one talked. The boys did not seem to care, but the girls were looking at Ye Song curiously. The situation was a bit awkward.
Ye Song was a bit disappointed. He was not here for the introduction; he just wanted to do the morning training.
"Master Alad…" Ye Song said.
"Just call me Alad." The middle-aged man said politely.
"Okay, Alad, let's not waste everyone's time. I am still recovering from the injury, and I want to start from the basics. Can you show me all the general exercises?" Ye Song asked.
Alad was surprised for a second because he had told Ye Song how the general exercises should be done a while ago. Angele was trained before he went to Candia City, and he wanted to see all the basics again?
"Don't tell me he doesn't even know how to do the basic exercises…" Someone murmured.
"Stop!" Others were trying to stop the kid from being disrespectful.
However, some of the kids were looking down on Ye Song. In the chaotic age, everyone admired and respected the strong ones. People usually looked down on the ones who were weak.
Bunch of kids stared at Ye Song, looking at him like they were seeing a rare animal. Ye Song was trying to control his emotions, so he focused his mind on Alad. Angele himself actually did not remember the general exercises quite well, so Ye Song had no idea how to do those now. Ye Song would not be in such an awkward position if Angele wasn't such a dumb playboy.
"Could you do that for me, Alad?" Ye Song repeated.
"Yea…Sure." Alad nodded after being confused for a second.
"But I only know the basics. If you want advanced skills, it would be better to ask the baron and Knight Audis. They are very skilled with their swords." Alad said.
It was probably true that Ye Song could learn advanced skills from his father and Audis, but Ye Song needed to practice the basics first. It was pretty much impossible to start from the advanced skills for him.
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Chapter 6: Life (Part 3)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
An experienced warrior was pretty much just a veteran, but if one wanted to become a knight, he needed much more than just experience. He needed to experience many blood for blood battles, to finish all the impossible trainings, and to develop his own fighting style. After the stimulation of his true potential, he would be able to get the Life Energy Seed, and the seed would help him reach another level. With the help of the seed, he would become a knight after contributing to important tasks.
The Life Energy Seed was the most important thing for a warrior, and one would not become a true legend without the help of the seed.
Ye Song learnt some knowledge about it from Angele's memory.
The Life Energy Seed was actually the Qi a fighter could develop from inside his body by training himself in the most extreme ways. It somewhat worked like a skill on the earth that could help you take hits without getting hurt. The baron once explained the whole process on getting the seed to Angele, so Ye Song was able to get a detailed comparison and reach a conclusion.
Also, not everyone could develop the seed. Only the talented ones could have the potential to do it, but the rate of success was still very low. Some of the strong warriors with the seed tried to help more people to develop it, and they came up with a specific method, which was by channeling their own Qi into others. People who got the Qi would be able to develop their seed slowly.
This method increased the possibilities of the development of the seed, and it also reduced the risks significantly. People could die from trying to do the extreme trainings, and this method helped some people obtain the seed from the beginning.
But still, this method could not help everyone become great warriors. The rate of success was increased, and two-thirds of them could actually benefit from this method, but the remaining one-third was still not able to take the seed in. If people's bodies could not take in the life energy, the energy would just leak out of them, no matter how much was put into them.
Unfortunately, Angele was included in the one-third. He could not take in the seed by this special method, and that was the main reason why he did not train a lot. He became lazy, and he just wanted to be a playboy. Otherwise, the baron would've just pushed his Qi into Angele and helped him become a strong warrior. At least, Angele would have had the ability to protect himself.
Alad stared at Ye Song for a while, and it seemed he remembered Angele's situation. He knew why Angele did not remember the basic training routines; Angele already gave up a long time ago.
"Well, let's start the morning training again. Young Master Angele, please follow me this way." Alad clapped his hands loudly, and Ye Song followed.
The children returned to their positions and started to do the exercises again. The boys started practicing slashing, and the girls started to practice shooting with their short bows. Ye Song followed Alad to a corner.
"Though it will be hard for you to become a knight level warrior, more exercises will still help build your body. Please try to do the routine every day." Alad said while walking.
"I understand. Thank you, Alad." Ye Song nodded, and he smiled. "The second son of Baron Karl isn't talented enough to become a great warrior; I know it is a widely told story."
"Probably." Alad stopped talking.
"Are those children on the grounds gifted?" Ye Song asked.
"Young Master, they got the seeds from the baron and Knight Audis. They are training using the special methods taught by the two." Alad answered.
Ye Song knew it was better for children to get the seeds when they were young. If they obtain the seeds at an early age, the seeds would grow stronger with the children. The stronger their seeds were, the stronger their bodies would be, and when they became adults, they would have well-developed bodies.
The baron and Knight Audis took the seeds when they were very young, too. Ye Song understood this point, but there was nothing he could do about it. Angele was not gifted, so Ye Song could not get the seed from the baron anyways.
At least Ye Song still had the biological chip in him, so he was not totally hopeless.
Alad led Ye Song to an empty ground at the corner. There was a shelf with long wooden swords on it, and most of these had been taken by the boys to practice.
Alad grabbed a sword, and he threw it to Ye Song. Ye Song caught it, but he felt the heavy weight of the sword. The wooden swords were actually heavy, and it was about three kilograms each. The length of the sword was about one meter, and the handguard made a cross with the blade. It looked like the most common crossguard sword.
Ye Song waved the sword several times, and he was able to hear the slashing sound in the air. Alad also grabbed a sword for himself, and he slashed once. A white flash appeared in front of him.
"The basics are simple, but not everyone can finish the whole set easily." Alad said, and he performed a front slash while holding the sword with both his hands.
Hue!
Ye Song felt the air blow over his face, and his hair got slightly blown to the back. The chip in Ye Song's brain started to analyze the data automatically. A line of blue-colored data was shown in front of his eyes quickly.
'Alad, Strength higher than 1, Agility higher than 2, Stamina higher than 2.' Zero reported.
"This is the front slash. Please focus your strength on the lower edge of the blade. It will help you deal more damage to the opponent, and it will make the blade last longer too." Alad explained, and he started to show different slashing skills.
Front slash, up slash, horizontal slash, point strike, and down slash were the five basic ways of wielding a sword. Alad demonstrated all of those one by one to Ye Song. Every time Alad performed a slash, there would be some air blowing all over the place.
Ye Song watched Alad's actions carefully, and his chip was also recording the data in the meantime.
The chip finished its recording process when Alad finished the demonstrations.
"What do you think? Those skills are very simple, but it is still hard to master them. If you do them incorrectly, it might even hurt your joints. Please make sure you are doing them properly." Alad said in a serious tone.
Ye Song nodded lightly.
'Recording finished.' Zero reported. 'Please name the dataset.'
'Basic sword skills.' Ye Song confirmed the name.
'Name confirmed as basic sword skills.' The mechanical sound stopped after the confirmation.
Ye Song tried to select the data with his mind, and the data was shown within his brain. Alad's demonstration was well-recorded, and he could see the images and hear the sound without any issue.
"I remember those skills, I have learnt them before." Ye Song told Alad after making sure the data was stored properly.
Alad was a bit confused; he stared at Ye Song, and he tried to make sure that Ye Song was serious.
"Since you still remember them, please practice them more. Knight Audis should be teaching you today, but he left for duty. Please try doing the basic routine and get used to it. I have to go to the training grounds, please let me know if you need something else." Alad said, and he left quickly after these words.
Ye Song smiled after Alad left. He waved the wooden sword for a bit. The chip helped him to analyze the process, and all the data was stored on it, but he still needed to do the exercises by himself. The chip was merely a tool for assistance after all.
Ye Song started to exercise following the demonstrations.
'First, front slash.' Ye Song thought.
'Your action had a 31% deviation from the original data.' The chip reported to Ye Song as he was trying to do the slash while holding the sword with both of his hands.
Ye Song was happy about the support function the chip had. It could compare his action with the data and make sure he was doing the slash properly.
Ye Song tried to modify his slash position.
'25% deviation detected.' The chip reported.
Ye Song modified his position multiple times with the help of the data, and he became close to the original data finally. He held the sword steadily, and he modified his position. He performed the slash when the difference was less than 5%, and he felt his action was very smooth.
'Checking body condition, the action you just performed is enhancing the number 5, number 3, and number 11 groups of the muscle. Repeat the action 10526 times to increase the strength by 1.' The chip reported.
'Great… Only ten thousand times.' Ye Song thought.
He started to practice intensely. The chip helped him to control his body condition well. It was much easier for him to exercise with the help of the data.
Hue! Hue! Hue!
Ye Song repeated the basic routine many times, and he could finally perform the skills smoothly and quickly. He also started to hear the blowing sound of the air, and it meant that he was getting closer to the results he wanted.
Ye Song was totally enjoying the practice, and he was trying his best to improve the basics.
Step forward, front slash, up slash, down slash, and horizontal slash. Ye Song was trying to do them in different directions.
His actions became smoother, and the sound got lighter after a while. Ye Song could feel himself improving. He totally got used to the basic routine of sword, and he could perform the actions precisely even without the help of the data.
Angele probably trained himself without telling others.
Dang Dang Dang! Ye Song heard the sound of the gong.
"Resting time! Dismiss!" Alad's voice was very loud, and Ye Song could easily hear it.
Ye Song stopped his training, and he looked over at the middle of the grounds. He saw Alad hitting a gong with his hand, and the sound was loud and sharp.
The children on the training ground became loud after. They found their friends and started to walk towards the living area, and some of them went to grab a bite. There were also some children by Alad's side, it seemed like they were asking him something.
Ye Song did not move, and the sweat was visible on his forehead. His face was red, and he was sweating everywhere. His vest was completely soaked.
Ye Song was doing the basic routine smoothly, but it was just the basics. Most of the children could do them easily. He didn't get noticed by the others, because they thought that he should be able to the basic routine smoothly.
'Show me my body condition.' Ye Song said in his mind.
'Body condition: Your right hand's muscle group was slightly hurt, and your legs need rest. It would take about 24 hours for you to recover.' The chip reported.
Ye Song was satisfied with the result, and he wiped the sweat with his hands. He was wearing the black suit from yesterday that looked like a hunting suit. There was a red belt around his waist. Ye Song looked nice and clean in the suit but the suit became completely wet after the training.
'I will become a strong warrior without the seed.' Ye Song thought calmly.
He stood alone in the corner, and no one tried to talk to him. Ye Song looked around the training grounds, and everyone was trying to avoid his sight. It was pretty clear that the children were looking down at him, but they could not do anything to him. Ye Song was the son of the baron, so they decided to just avoid him.
Ye Song was not concerned about this at all because he was not interested about the kids anyways. He put the sword back to the shelf, and he went towards the living quarters.
"Brother." Ye Song heard a sweet sound from behind.
Ye Song turned back.
Maggie was there with a smile on her face. The fourteen-year-old girl was wearing a white top and a short skirt. The skirt could barely cover her leg. She looked very sexy with the skirt.
Ye Song thought Maggie's clothes looked like the OL suit on the earth. Though Maggie was not allowed to wear colorful clothes, she still tried her best to make herself look cute.
--
[1] OL is a slang for office lady.
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Chapter 7: Approaching (Part 1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Maggie was one of Ye Song's best friends, and Ye Song decided to treat her like how he should.
"Maggie, what's going on? Need any help?" Ye Song greeted.
"Just trying to have a nice, little conversation with you." Maggie said, and she walked towards Ye Song quickly. She grabbed Ye Song's hand, and she pressed her breasts on Ye Song's arm.
"Well, actually I do need some help… Could you do me a favor?" Maggie got closer, and she asked.
Ye Song had just finished his training, and he was still pretty excited. He could feel the blood rushing in his veins, and he found Maggie pretty seductive.
"What do you want?" Ye Song asked. He knew Maggie came to the castle not so long ago according to Angele's memory. Angele treated her both as a friend and a cousin, but Maggie wanted more than that. Also, it was actually common for cousins to have a relationship in the noble world, and there was no law restricting it.
Maggie had been trying to make herself look glamorous. She loved beautiful clothes, and she was enjoying her life. She did not want to just be a common person all her life; she wanted to be in a higher position. Maggie could also help her parents get better jobs if she had a relationship with Angele. That was what she was trying to accomplish.
The other young sister Angele had, Celia, was trying to get closer with Angele, too. Though her mother was one of the baron's wives, her mother came from a worker's family. Their rank in the family was much lower than Angele.
The situation in the family was a bit complicated. The eldest son joined the army and never came back after. Though the second son was not allowed to inherit the peerage, the Rudin Empire was in chaos and had no time to enforce the rules. Nobles were trying to make their territory independent, and the baron could even give the name to Angele if he wanted to. It was very likely that Angele would become the next baron, and Celia's family would be under his control. Angele could force them to leave if he wanted to. Celia's family did not want such thing to happen, so Celia decided to become close friends with Angele. They were preparing for the future. Ye Song would probably not choose Celia to be his wife, but if Celia could at least be in a relationship with him, her family would be able to keep their current position in the castle.
Maggie walked with Ye Song towards the living quarters, holding Ye Song's hand the whole time. Some people were looking at them in envy, but some others were staring at them scornfully. Ye Song did not care anyways.
"My mother's legs were hurting recently, and I am wondering if you could give her some easier work to do…" Maggie spoke in a light tone while not looking at Ye Song directly.
Ye Song did not answer her question, but he nodded his head to show that he heard her words. He walked back to his bedroom with Maggie quickly.
Cecilia stayed in the bedroom quietly and did not leave the place at all. It looked like she did what Ye Song asked. Cecilia's face blushed when she saw Ye Song walking in with Maggie. Ye Song opened his closet, and he changed his clothes.
"Maggie, could you take her to the dining room to eat some food, and take her to the bath. Also, tell the leader of the maids to get her an individual room. Just say it was my order if she questions you." Ye Song said.
Maggie thought Ye Song was going to have some fun with her as he brought her back to the bedroom. She did not expect such easy task. She looked at Cecilia and found out she had larger breasts than Cecilia. She was happy about it at least.
Maggie followed Ye Song's order because she did not want to disappoint Ye Song. She grabbed Cecilia's hands, though Cecilia was kind of scared.
"Come find me when you are done. I will tell Wade about your mother's situation." Ye Song said calmly, and he controlled himself very well. He actually wanted to do something to Maggie, but being in this world, Ye Song needed to control his desire.
"Understood." Maggie was happy about Ye Song's words. She bowed and left the room with Cecilia. Ye Song rubbed her breast for a second when they were trying to leave. He could feel the softness of it through his palm. Maggie was scared for a second, but she giggled right after.
'Well, a little touching should be fine.' Ye Song smiled. He did not want to get sick from controlling his desire too hard.
Ye Song went to practice his basic sword skills everyday after. He utilized his chip well and made his actions much more accurate. It did not take him a long time to finish the 10 thousand times of practice. Ye Song checked his body condition, and he did get a 0.1 increase in strength.
He also collected some data from the people that had similar age as him around. However, those teenagers all had the seeds, and their average body data was over 0.8; gender did not matter. He spent all those time to get the 0.1 increase but it did not even help get to the average level.
The baron and Knight Audis were busy dealing with those random criminals, and they had no time to mentor Ye Song. They gave the duty to Alad. Ye Song was actually happy about it because he needed the basics the most at this point.
For Maggie, Ye Song did not do anything to her after the incident of groping her breasts lightly. He wanted to learn to control his desire. Ye Song told Wade about her mother though, and she got a lighter job. Maggie was thankful about it.
Four days later.
It was early in the dining room of the Rio Castle.
The main members of the family were having the breakfast quietly on a long rectangle wooden table. Ye Song sat on the second seat because he was the one with the most power if the baron was not there. There were two other middle-aged women by his side, and they were the 3rd and 4th wives of the baron.
They looked gentle and beautiful. They were still very polite even when the baron was not here. There were also some children on the table, and they were all wearing noble suits with a black-red color. Celia was also there, and also the boy named Glue Ye Song met on the training grounds.
There were about a total of ten boys and girls there, and they all looked pure and pretty. They sat on their seats and were eating quietly. The only sound Ye Song could hear was the sound of the silverwares made.
Ye Song cut his steak into small pieces, and took a glance around the table. Old Wade was standing behind him, and Wade was the one who would enforce the rights of Ye Song when the baron was not here. Wade was a very skilled fighter, and the baron gave him the order of supporting Ye Song. He was here to make sure no one could rebel against Ye Song.
People around the table were the ones with enough power to be allowed to dine with Ye Song. Maggie and her parents were definitely not in the list.
Angele ate a piece of the beef, and had a sip of the soup.
"What is in today's soup? It has a very different fragrance than before." Ye Song asked because he found the taste of the soup a bit interesting.
"The baron caught some red single-eyed snakes the day before, and the chief put them into the soup with some mushrooms." Old Wade answered politely from the back.
"It has an indescribable taste, but I like it. Red single-eyed snakes? We have those in the forest around the castle?" Ye Song nodded, and he asked.
"Yes, and there are many of them. The snake is filled up with its venom, and it would be very hard to find a cure if you get bitten by it. Hunters hate them. We barely have them on the table too." Old Wade answered.
"Understood." Angele grabbed the bowl and took a sip again. His mouth was filled with the soup, and he could taste the umami from it. The soup was creamy and thick, and there were chopped scallions floating on it.
"I want to go out for a while after the breakfast." Ye Song said.
"It is not safe outside right now, it will be better if you can just stay in the castle…" Old Wade said; he did not like Ye Song's decision.
"It's fine, I won't go too far away. I just want to check out the cavalries' training ground." Angele said.
"You can send some people to go with me if you are worried." Ye Song insisted his decision.
"Okay, please just don't stay too long out there." Old Wade nodded his head.
Ye Song nodded his head to show that he understood.
No one talked after their conversation, and the table stayed silent for the rest of the breakfast time.
After having breakfast, Ye Song went straight to the door with two guards following him. Ye Song was considering his plan. He had a crossguard sword on his belt, and a bow with arrows on his back. There were about 50 white-feathered arrows there.
"Are you going to hunt?" A guard asked in a light tone.
"No, just trying to find some small animals to practice my skills." Ye Song shook his head, and he answered. He was actually staring at the blue-colored data in front of his eyes.
'Special food resource detected. Type: Meat, snake, named as red single-eyed snake. If you eat 109 of its eyes, your agility will increase by 1.' Zero reported. This was the reason why Ye Song went out. One agility increase was huge to him. Ye Song would choose this over strength for now. He also wanted to check out his training results after these days, and he wanted to know how much he could do.
It was early in the morning, and there was still fog in the forest. There was an empty ground by the forest, and the cavalry team was already jogging around the ground.
Ye Song went around the ground with the two guards, and they went into the forest. There was only one main road outside the castle, and there were forests on both sides. Ye Song could see mountains far away from here. The cavalry squad did not notice Ye Song and his guards because they were used to it. They had seen Ye Song go out numerous times. However, some of them still saw Ye Song trying to get into the forest.
They were looking at Ye Song curiously. In the castle, many people were unsatisfied with the rules. They did not like Angele because they knew he was very weak. They did not want their castle to be ruined by a playboy like Angele. The cavalrymen that saw Ye Song did not come to greet him, and they would even become happy if Angele died in the forest.
Ye Song did not notice them as he was completely focused on his hunting plans. He did not have great strength, but with the help of the chip, he could perform many actions accurately. Especially his archery skills, he had almost 100% accuracy with the help of the chip. He practiced aiming on the training grounds at night when no one else was around. He could shoot an arrow with absolute precision at a range of 50 metres, and he thought hunting would be no problem to him.
It was about twenty meters in, and one of the guards stopped Ye Song from advancing.
"We should stop here Young Master Angele; we may not be able to protect you if we go in deeper." The guard said.
"Okay, let's stop here." Angele said and smiled. He took his bow out, and grabbed a white-feathered arrow. He then nocked the arrow at the bowstring.
"Stand aside, you two. I am trying to find some targets." Ye Song ordered.
The two guards looked at each other, and they decided to sit down. They did not want to block Angele's vision. It was not a deep forest anyway, and it was not dangerous. They were not too worried about it.
"The only creatures here are the red single-eyed snakes and rabbit-umbrella squirrels. Let's just make sure that no single-eyed snakes will get close." One of the guards whispered to the other.
The other guard nodded his head.
Ye Song stood on the grass, and he surveyed the surroundings.
"I think my father once hunted a mountain black bear in the forest. Though he got injured severely, the skin of the bear is now a symbol of his power in the castle." Ye Song said calmly.
"A mountain black bear is one of the strongest animals in the forest, and it is the king of the outer forest. But there is nothing to be worried here, we are two hours away from its activity space. We need to climb over that small hill over there." One of the guards said but they did not know what Ye Song was trying to say.
One day in this world was 25 hours. Other than that, it was pretty much similar to the "time" on Earth.
"That's good to know." Ye Song nodded, and he continued checking his surroundings carefully.
"Though I was not able to take the seed, I am still pretty confident about my archery skills. I think I will get something nice this time." Ye Song said.
He turned back quickly and shot an arrow right after speaking.
The arrow turned into a white flash in the air, and it hit the tree about ten meters away.
A grey small snake was pinned on the tree, which died within seconds.
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Chapter 8: Approaching (Part 2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Angele ran towards the tree immediately. The two guards did not expect Angele to hit anything, and they were confused for a second before walking towards the tree.
"It's a single-eyed snake, a red one!" Angele checked the information about the snake before.
The small snake on the tree was about the width of a finger, and it had a bloody red eye on its forehead; that was where its name originated. The color of its skin was very similar to the color of the tree. If it was not pinned by the arrow, the guards probably could not find it.
Angele took out his sword and hit the snake's head precisely with the hand guard. The snake fainted right after, and it stopped moving.
"I heard its eye is good for me, I am going to eat it." Angele said in a light tone.
The two guards did not know if they should stop their Young Master or not.
Angele took out a hunting knife from his belt, and he spent some time trying to gouge the snake's eye out. Finally, he had the red bloody eye in his hand, and he threw it into his mouth right away. Angele did not chew it, but only swallowed it.
Though the snake had strong venom in its teeth, its eye had no venom at all. The two guards decided not to stop Angele because they did not want to disappoint the Young Master.
They watched Angele swallow the eye, and they saw a weird expression from his face.
"Let's keep moving." Angele said, and threw the dead snake to one of the guards. The guard took out a linen bag and placed the snake in it.
The guards had no idea what was going on, and they soon heard the sound of an arrow hitting the tree again. Angele smiled, and he quickly ran to the tree that wasn't too far away. The guards saw another single-eyed snake pinned to the body of the tree.
"Young Master, splendid shot!" One of the guards said, "We couldn't even see the snake on the tree from such a distance." He was surprised actually.
Angele heard the praise, but he did not say anything; he just smiled.
He walked to the tree, and retrieved the arrow back into his quiver. This time he hit the snake's eye, and it was a mistake. If the eye was hit, it would not be edible anymore.
Though the chip could help him modify his action after finding the target, he still needed a lot of practice to master it. When he was on Earth, people were competing with their archery skills one kilometer away from their targets. They used mechanical bows, and they could hit targets from a long distance. People all had chips assisting them, so the ones who practiced more had a better chance in winning the competitions.
"Let's move on." Angele said.
The group of three started to look for targets in the forest, and Angele had a hit rate of 60%. The two guards were kind of used to his performance. 60% hit rate was more like an average performance in a forest with so many trees. Angele did not have the seed, and he needed more strength to unleash the full potential of his high quality longbow. He would be no threat to a strong warrior; he was more like a common archer.
Half an hour later, the two guards had their linen bags full. The bags were full of animals Angele hunted, such as squirrels, grey rabbits, and single-eyed snakes. The guards could barely carry anything else.
"Go back and put those down, I will wait for you here." Angele said. "I am just going to take a rest here." He threw the snake he had just gotten to the guards while speaking. Angele stabbed the snake's mouth, and he took the white venom sac out of it before the guards put it away.
The guards grabbed the dead snake, and they looked at each other for a second.
"Hank will take those back; I will stay here with you." One of them said.
"That's fine too." Angele nodded. He was kind of tired, so he sat down by a tree. He had eaten about forty snake's eyes. He could feel there was something warm in his body, and he felt he could perform actions faster now.
One of the guards took the animals back to the castle, and the other one sat on the grass by him.
"Actually, we've already heard about the benefits of the snake's eye. Someone once tried it before, but nothing happened." The guard smiled, and he said.
"Nothing happened?" Angele asked.
"Yes, they had a bad time in the toilet, but nothing else happened." The guard answered.
Angele nodded; he knew that this method would probably not work for everybody. The report from Zero stated that this method was only compatible to certain people. The raw eye balls of the snake had a special element in it, and it could help Angele increase his agility. People had their differences for sure, and the method might only work at a certain age range.
Angele was happy with what he obtained today. He missed several shots on purpose because he did not want to astonish the guards too much. He could easily hit every shot with the help of the chip.
"I am done for today, let's head back." Angele said after resting for awhile.
"Understood." The guard said.
They went back through the route they came.
The next fifteen days, Angele went hunting every day in the forest, and the people in the castle began hearing of his superb archery skills. People weren't surprised anymore about the huge amount of animals he could hunt every time.
It was high noon in the forest, and the shades that was created by the sunlight underneath the trees were sliced into pieces by the leaves.
A white-feathered arrow was shot by a man.
Another single-eyed snake was pinned on a branch.
Following some tense footsteps, a teenager in a green hunting suit appeared, and he held a black short bow in his hand. He came out of the high grass, and two young warriors wearing grey armors were behind him.
"Another one." One of the young warriors said, and he smiled.
The teenager nodded and walked towards the branch. He took the arrow out, and grabbed the snake. He took the snake's eye out quickly with his hunting knife, and he swallowed it right after.
He could feel the warmth coming from his body, and he felt comfortable in his mind.
"Are we done today, Young Master Angele?" One of the guards asked.
Angele closed his eyes, and he smiled.
"I am going to find some more today; you two can go back and put things down first. I can probably find a black deer." He said.
The two guards knew that Angele's ability was enough for the outer forest, and there was barely any animal that could hurt him. They grabbed their bags, and they returned at a slow pace.
'Check my body condition.' Angele said in his mind after the two guards left.
'Angele Rio. Strength 0.8, Agility 2.4, Stamina 1.6.' Zero reported.
Angele was satisfied with the result.
He had already eaten hundreds of bloody red eyes by now. It seemed like he had reached the maximum amount he needed, and eating more wasn't going to be helpful anymore. However, he had improved his agility to a very high level, and he was satisfied. The training also helped him improve his stamina.
Even without the help of the seed, Angele had achieved a lot. However, his explosiveness was still horrendous; he could've done better if he had the seed. The seed probably could've doubled or tripled his fighting power, but there was nothing he could do about it.
'But…' Angele thought.
He smiled, and he drew his sword. He performed a front slash so quick that it was nearly inaudible in the air. The branch in front of him broke into pieces and fell down. His speed was faster than Alad's demonstration at the training grounds.
'And…' He thought.
Angele looked at the broken branch, and there was a fly on it. He was actually aiming at the fly's wings, and its wings were cut off precisely. The fly was still moving on the branch.
"I am not a weak ass playboy anymore." Angele sheathed his sword, and he ecstatically laughed.
A guy in grey was drawing closer to Angele from about one hundred meters away. He tried not to make any noise as he stepped on the grass quietly. There were birds and insects making noises in the forest, so Angele probably did not hear anything at all.
"Right here?" The guy stopped, and he tried to hide himself behind a tree.
The guy was named Dice, and he was a member of the assassin guild called Dark Emblem. He was an extremely careful man, and he would make sure he collected enough information about his target before starting his mission. Though he had the skill of a knight, he was still very careful, and that was the reason why he barely failed any mission.
'Assassination target, Baron Rio. Decapitate his head off as proof. According to the information, Karl Rio has the level of a knight. He took down ten heavy-armored cavalrymen on his own before, and he escaped successfully after.' He went through his mission in his mind one more time, and he was not too concerned about the baron's power.
'Ten heavy-armored cavalry? That means nothing… That's why I hate the countryside. They are like the frogs trapped in a deep well and know nothing about the world. Ha.' Dice thought; he had just killed twenty heavy-armored cavalrymen and a knight consecutively not so long ago.
He was trying to follow the order; otherwise, he would've probably just rushed straight into the castle and left after killing everyone.
'Such an easy mission… Killing a random lord at the countryside, and just a regular knight…' Dice had killed numerous knights in his life, and he really did not think this one would be any different.
Inside the castle, the conference hall.
The baron was sitting on the chair with a disappointed face, but he did not say anything.
Audis and Wade were sitting by his side, and they both had solemn expressions on their faces.
"An assassin from the Dark Emblem, who might be the one behind this? He probably paid them really good." Wade said. "Dark Emblem is a huge organization, and they are all over the country. Their members are all very strong. Big trouble this time." He was really worried.
"They sent me a letter saying they are coming for me." The baron said in a deep tone, "They are telling me when I am going to die. There is one thing I don't understand, though. It takes thousands of gold coins for one to buy a kill from them, yet my whole territory only makes several hundreds of gold coins per year… Am I really worth that much?" The baron wondered.
"There is nothing to fear. We have three knights sitting here waiting for them." Audis said.
The baron was still angry about it. He was playing with the letter he received. The letter was all black, which only had a bloody red spider symbol shining occasionally on it. It made the letter look strange and beautiful at the same time.
[TL Note: Author replaced Ye Song to Angele starting from this chapter for some reason; I am following the original text for now.]
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Chapter 9: Danger
Translator_Leo_
Editor:DarkGem, VirtualFrappe
Angele walked towards the deep forest while holding his bow. He was already quite familiar with the area after hunting for half a month. He once met a white-scaled boar in the deeper area, but he dealt with it easily, so he wasn't too worried about going deeper.
'Strange target detected. Proceed with caution.' Blue-colored information appeared in front of Angele's eyes.
'Something new appeared?' Angele was excited, and he grabbed a white-feathered arrow. He nocked the arrow on his bow, and aimed it slowly towards the blue point marked by Zero.
He firmly applied force by pulling the bowstring along with the arrow backwards, with the black arrowhead reflecting the sunlight. Angele completely drew the bow and released the bowstring.
BAM!
The arrow flew into the air like a white flash.
DANG!
Angele suddenly had an extremely bizarre feeling in his mind. He sensed danger creeping up on him, and he felt fear. He felt as if the arrow was going to fly back and strike him right in the face.
Suddenly, some data was sent to his brain by Zero, but he had no time to check. Angele rolled towards the left side with his full strength, and he hid behind a tree.
BOOM!
It sounded like something exploded inside the woods. The tree was still shaking after the collision, and Angele could see tree leaves falling down like it was raining.
"What?" A deep voice came from the other side, and it sounded like the man was surprised that Angele didn't get struck.
Angele was still in shock, and his face turned pale. He was still behind the tree, and he was breathing heavily. His forehead was soaked in cold sweat.
If he didn't roll towards the back of the tree, his head would've probably been smashed right now if he was even just one second late. The chip saved his life at this instance where Angele was so close to death.
'Shit, what should I do?' Angele could not think of anything.
'I don't want to die again… I can't just die again like this!' Angele thought.
Angele was still panicking, and his face turned paler.
Angele was just a normal young man before reincarnating into this world, and he was living in a peaceful place on Earth. He would even consider hunting as a dangerous activity back then, and now he was in a much worse situation.
'Run! Yea! Run back! I will be safe after reaching the castle!' Angele suddenly realized the situation. He did not hear any noise after the explosion, and he felt a bit worried.
The desire to return back to the castle pushed him to start moving again. He lowered his body and slowly moved towards the direction he came from. Suddenly, the chip alerted him again.
'Right side! Leg!' Angele knew where the attack would be coming from, and he rolled towards the front quickly. His head hit something on the ground during the process, but there was no time for him to think. He stood up and swiftly ran towards the route he came from.
BANG!
Angele heard the sound of something hitting the ground he was at.
"Damn!" The man was cursing at the other side. "Second fucking time!"
Angele ran like crazy, and the trees on both sides seemed like were flying. He knew the place pretty well through all the hunting he had done. Even though the forest's route was pretty complex, Angele was not slowing down at all.
However, he had this chilly feeling from his behind. He quickly rolled towards the front again, and he could still feel the chill from his back. Angele decided to hide behind a tree again but the chill just would not go away.
He was getting panicked again. He bit his teeth hard, and he kept rolling around. Angele's body was getting hurt by the rocks and branches on the ground, but he did not care. He just could not escape the chilly feeling on his back.
'Turn back and block.' Zero reported.
However, Angele was too scared to turn back. He ran around like crazy. He was still about 100 meters away from the cavalry's training grounds because he had gone too deep into the forest. The 100-meter distance felt like a thousand to him.
'Turn back and block.' Zero kept reporting.
HUE!
Angele rolled again.
He could hear the sounds of a metal chain from behind. The chain had the thickness of a human arm. It went around the tree in front of Angele and wrapped around it. The chain blocked Angele's escape route.
"Keep running, you little rat!" The man's voice came from back. "Fuck, what is going on today?!" He seemed enraged.
Angele wanted to start running again, but he decided to roll towards the right. The chain flew right beside him again, and was pinned on the tree in the front.
'I... I can't run anymore…' Angele felt hopeless. He was unable move due to the chill that kept him from thinking clearly.
'I am going to die again?' He slowly stood up and turned around.
A man in the black showed up from the bushes. The middle-aged man was covered in black, and he wore a black mask. His eyebrows were blonde, and he was holding the two chains in his hands.
"Your end is coming." The man released one of his chains, and a black flash flew out of his hand. Its speed was way faster than the previous attacks. Angele could hear the sound it made.
Angele stood at his current position, and he could imagine how painful it was going to be.
"I don't want to die…" He was talking to himself.
Angele kept repeating those words, and the voice of his own self echoed continuously within his mind. The chain was getting closer and closer. It became a black point from Angele's view.
'Lower your body and draw your sword, block it beside your head.' Zero reported again.
Angele's desire to stay alive made him act. He drew the sword quickly, and he tried to block the oncoming chain.
DANG!
The force of the chain was way too strong, and Angele could feel it from his sword. His face turned red, and he spat some blood out of his mouth.
The shock from the hit woke him up. If he had no way to run anymore, he would have to fight to survive! Angele focused on the enemy, and his heart kept on beating rapidly.
"You are lucky, young man!" The man in black said, and he waved his hand. Two chains were somehow released from the tree, and it started to return to his hands.
The man stared at Angele for a second, and he disappeared in the bush. Angele did not move until he could not see the man anymore. He knew that if the man did not leave, he would've been a corpse by now. Even with the help of the chip, he could not keep up with the chain's speed. Angele had never fought a true battle before, and his current opponent seemed to be a veteran fighter. If he did not follow the chip's report, he would've already died even before the chase began.
After resting for a while, he found a black card on the ground and picked it up. The card had a black background color and a bloody red spider symbol in the middle; it was kind of shiny.
Dice's arm was hurt before the fight ensued.
He was trying to get the young man; unfortunately, he was injured by the arrow. He did not expect an arrow to be coming. Though he blocked it in time, but his right arm still got affected. For some reason, he was losing strength, and he felt awful after being struck.
"Damn!" Dice touched his forehead and noticed that he had a fever. "The arrow actually had poison on it! That little fucking bitch! He dipped the arrow with venom! How sinister he is!" He kept cursing, and then he took out a yellow tiny paper bag. He opened it and ate the white powder inside it.
"Almost lost my life here… Thank god, it was just the venom of a red single-eyed snake, and I prepared for it." Dice said, but he still felt sick. The arduous actions he did after being struck made the venom travel faster through his body. It might take hours for the medicine to work.
"Next time I will get you first!" Dice yelled. "A black card is not enough, you almost made my mission fail!"
He stepped on a branch, and he fell to the ground. A sharp stone injured his head, and he started to bleed.
"What the…!" Dice was so mad. "Fucking piece of shit!"
He was completely enraged.
In the washroom.
Angele closed the door and sank himself into the bathtub. The warm water surrounded him, and he felt rested. He did not realize how dangerous this world was until today.
He had basic sword skills and the assistance of the chip. He even increased his stamina, and he had believed he was very close to a post-knight. However, having the skills was very different from knowing how to fight against them.
He poured water over his face, and he thought of the black card the man left.
"The card means he will come back for me?" He talked to himself; he knew something similar from Earth. He became nervous from just thinking about it. The unknown had always brought fear and mystery. He wanted to know what the card actually meant.
He got out of the bathtub and used a towel to wipe himself dry. He changed his clothes right after.
"Young Master, do you still need hot water?" Maggie's voice came from outside the door.
"I am fine." Angele wiped his hair, and he opened the door.
He went out of the living quarters right after finishing the shower.
It was night.
There were still children on the training grounds practicing. The wind blew across Angele's body, and he felt very comfortable. He went across the training grounds and then to the main building. The baron's book collection was there inside a special library.
Besides the baron, Audis, and Wade, only Angele had the key to the special library, therefore showing how important he was. In this world, books represented knowledge, and books were objects of extravagance and wealth. Only nobles were allowed to read books. A single book costs about forty gold coins. Though people were willing to buy books, people rarely sell them.
There were two guards guarding the main building. They saluted to Angele after seeing him coming.
"Young Master Angele." They greeted.
"Is father here?" Angele nodded, and he asked.
"The baron is not back yet, but Knight Audis just left with Kerry." They answered. Kerry was the son of Knight Audis. There was also an arena in the main building, and the two trained in the arena regularly.
"Alright." Angele walked into the main hall.
Besides the elders, there were only two types of people in the castle: those who wanted something from Angele and those who did not. Kerry was the second type. He had the talent of a knight, and he was just acting respectful to Angele. Kerry was actually looking down on him, and he kind of represented the opinion of other post-knights in the castle.
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Chapter 10: Furious (Part 1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
It did not take too long for Angele to reach the special library on the third floor. He took out the key and unlocked the door. The room had no light at all, and it was very dark. Angele closed the door carefully, and he locked it. He lit the candle on the table, then finally seeing the room clearly.
There were three bookshelves in the room, but they were not completely filled up with books. The books were made out of leather; they looked heavy, and were very thick. Angele walked to the back of the third bookshelf. According to his memory, there was a strange book at the back of the bookshelf that was full of bizarre information, and he sometimes read it to kill time.
He also took out someone's biography, and he walked to a reading desk. He started to read carefully. After a while, the candle was nearly out. He finally found a page with an image of the black card he had obtained. He took out his card and compared them carefully, and they were completely similar.
"That's it!" Angele said, and he started checking the words at the side of the image.
Dark Emblem, an assassin organization across several countries. Their targets would receive black cards before the assassins would actually kill them. There was only one sentence by its side, but it was enough for Angele to understand what was going on.
"That guy will be coming for me." Angele said, and he started to worry again.
'Fear won't help me anyway. I need to find a way to deal with him.' He calmed down quickly this time and thought clearly. He thought over his day when he was in the bathroom, and he could calm down much faster now.
'I've died once. It's fine if I die again.' He laughed.
'Zero, did you get the data of the man that attacked me?' He asked Zero in his mind.
'Data collected and marked as Dataset 1. Name Unknown: Strength 4, Agility 1.5, Stamina 5. Weapon category: chain hook, longsword, knife.' Zero reported.
'Holy, how did I survive that…' Angele thought.
'He was poisoned before engaging.' Zero reported.
'Poisoned?' Angele was trying to remember what happened before the chase. He shot an arrow, and it probably hit the man. He started dipping his arrowheads with the venom sacs he had found from red single-eyed snakes, and he could easily track down the preys if they were hit. He would burn the wounds to remove the poison if he wanted to eat them.
Angele started to scan through the biography quickly and used the chip to store all the information. He could search the data easily after, and it was like he only needed one second to scan all the words on the pages.
Besides the information about the black card, Angele also had something else he wanted to know. There was a record of a certain small flower. The author stated that there was a flower could make people become very strong within a duration. However, the aftermath was brutal as the people who ate the flower to fight their enemies all died afterwards. It looked like they died due to sudden heart attacks.
Angele stored the picture of the flower into his chip, and the flower had a fire-like red color. He went through the two books again before putting them back. He heard the footsteps of someone before he tried putting out the candle.
The door opened with a 'Ka Cha' sound, and the baron walked in with a serious face. He did not expect someone to be in the library, and he looked at Angele.
"Angele, still reading?" The baron asked.
"Yes, father." Angele saluted, and he spoke with a light voice. "I am heading back." He said.
"Alright." The baron was not in the mood to talk. His hair was all over his shoulders, and he looked very tired.
Angele did not know what to say, and he decided to just leave instead.
"Wait." The baron asked before Angele could go down the stairs. "I will send you to the Noman city, your aunt's place. I am pretty busy recently, and I probably won't have time for you. You can have a good rest there. What do you think?" He asked.
Angele turned back; it was actually a charming offer. He might escape the assassin if that man came for him.
"What's this smell? Some fragrance from women? Angele, you need to control yourself, don't spend too much time on it." Before Angele could answer, the baron stopped him and said that.
"I…" Angele was trying to explain.
"Well, never mind. Go have some rest." The baron stopped him.
Angele did not say anything; he left the room after seeing the baron waving his hands. Angele could hear his own footsteps in the darkness.
Angele walked down the stairs; he could see light coming out of the special library. He was a bit confused.
'Check my body condition.' Angele said.
'Angele Rio. Body condition: Strength 0.8, Agility 2.4, Stamina 1.6. Status: Healthy, but with a special fragrance.' Zero reported.
'Special fragrance?' Angele was surprised. 'When did I get it, and where did it come from?' He asked.
'You got it before leaving the forest, and the smell comes from your right feet.' Zero reported, and it showed Angele the graph of his body. Angele could see some blue circles around his right feet.
Angele confirmed his guess; the man in black left it on him. It was probably used for tracking. He ran into the bathroom again and asked the maid to bring him a bucket of water. He put his right feet into the bucket and started to wash thoroughly.
'Is it still on my feet?' Angele asked after washing for a while.
'The concentration was not lowered.' Chip replied.
'I knew it would not be gone that easy.' He thought; the fragrance was probably made for tracking.
'He really wants me dead…' He thought.
"Let's see who is going to survive next time…" Angele whispered, and his face became solemn.
It was the next morning, and Angele woke up before it got bright outside. He changed his clothes to a white hunting suit and walked down to the training grounds. Some people were already training there.
Dang!
A half-naked strong old man was hitting the forge with a large black iron hammer. There was a teenager standing by his side listening to the words of the old man, and they noticed Angele's appearance right away. The old man put down his hammer, and he walked towards Angele.
"How may I help you, Young Master Angele?" The old man's voice was deep.
Angele looked around the shop.
"I want a good complete set of body armor." He said.
"Good complete set of body armor?" The old man was a bit speechless. "I have that, but it probably won't fit you very well…"
"It won't fit my size?" Angele was confused.
"The lightest set has a weight of over forty pounds." The old man said.
Angele understood the reason. Based on his current strength level, forty pounds was probably too much for him, and his agility would then be greatly impacted. It was not a great idea for him to wear such a heavy armor.
"Well, can I just get some iron balls then? The ones that can pull the carriages?" Angele asked.
"We have a whole bunch of that here." The old man pointed towards the corner of the shop.
"You can take as many as you want since they are made out of leftover iron. They're perfect for parking the carriages." The old man said.
Angele nodded, and he looked at the corner. There were a lot of round black iron balls there, about twenty or thirty of those. They were about the size of a hand, and it seemed burdensome to carry. They were forged to help store the iron in an easier way, and they could be used in many situations.
Angele thought of telling the baron about the fragrance on him, but he wanted to decide his own destiny. Also, he saw the baron had the same black card as he did, and he thought it was totally his fault.
'If I can't take care of myself in this world, I won't live long. I can't just rely on others all the time; I have to do this myself.' Angele thought calmly. Since the baron had the card too, he was probably one of Dark Emblem's targets too. Also, the baron was not stronger than the man in black he met; the baron's data was even a bit lower. The baron looked apprehensive last night, and Angele did not want to make things more complex. Angele had advantages on agility, and he could probably try to retaliate with it. Last time, he wasn't prepared, and he was trying to figure out a plan this time.
Angele asked several workers to carry the iron balls for him, and he took about ten of those balls. He also asked the maids to bind the balls with linen ropes and hang them over the beam inside his room.
He spent a long time to do everything, and it was already dinner time when he realized it. The red sunlight came through the window and poured onto the ground. There were about ten iron balls over Angele's head right now. They looked like a bunch of cannonballs, and they were hung in a certain arrangement.
Angele stood in the middle of his room, and he examined those iron balls calmly. He took a deep breath, and he locked the door.
"Let's get started." He said, and he walked toward the first iron ball at the other end. He pushed the ball, and the ball started to swing. The iron ball matrix. This was exactly what he wanted. It was a game he played when he was on Earth, and he was pretty good at it. He could stay in the matrix for over an hour.
However, he played it with the AI on Earth, and now he was trying to use it physically. It was not easy, but the chip's report said it would help him with his body's development.
PONG!
An iron ball hit Angele's chest when it swung back, and Angele lost his balance right away. The other balls started to hit him following the first one. He was simply knocked away from his original position.
'How long do I need to recover?' Angele checked with Zero after the fifth time he was struck by a bunch of iron balls.
'20 minutes.' Zero answered.
Angele nodded, and he walked out of the door. He ran to the training grounds quickly; it was already a bit dark outside. Kerry and his father Audis were sparring against each other on the grounds. Both of them were using crossguard swords. Kerry seemed to be trying his best, and there was sweat all over him. Audis was very calm, blocking Kerry's attacks easily.
There were many people watching the sparring, and people were all cheering for them. The place was boisterous.
Angele stood at a place slightly far away from the audience. He watched them spar carefully. Audis sometimes picked people to train with him in order to give them battle experience. Angele watched all of them, and he collected the opponents' datasets. After half a month, he got the data of every strong fighter in the castle.
'Are we done, Zero?' Angele asked.
'Data completed: 70%. Audis, Karl Rio, and Kerry's sword skill data are complete.' Zero reported.
Angele stopped watching, and he walked towards the dining area. He already gathered what he needed. Most of the workers in the dining area were out at the training grounds, cheering. There were only several maids cleaning there. One of them saw Angele coming, and she walked towards him.
"Young Master Angele, the things you've ordered are here. But I am not sure if I got them all, I did not have enough time." The maid said, and she looked a bit nervous.
"Where is it?" Angele asked the others to leave.
"In the kitchen." The maid answered.
They walked into the kitchen quickly. Many fruits, vegetables, and meat were placed on a large table in the middle of the kitchen.
"This was all I could find." The maid said.
"Alright, you can leave now." Angele said, and he walked towards the large table quickly. He wanted to sample all the food in this world, because he was trying to find something else that could boost his attributes. He then asked a maid to try collecting all the food she could find in the castle.
He gave two silver coins to the maid, and she seemed ecstatic about it. She bowed and left the kitchen after closing the door. There was a candlestand in the kitchen, and the place was a bit dark even with the light from the candle.
Angele grabbed a purple fruit on the table. It looked like a purple orange, and he took a bite on it. The taste of its juice was a bit spicy and sweet.
'Analyze the fruits. Let me know if you can find anything that will boost my stamina.' He ordered.
'Analyzing contents…' Zero started to work.
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Chapter 11: Furious (Part 2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Purple fruits, red veggies, blue-colored meat, and several nuts of different types; Angele had eaten a whole bunch of those. He stood in the kitchen waiting for Zero's analysis.
'No enhancement effect detected.' Zero kept repeating those words.
After half an hour, Angele finally found some usable veggies.
'Good for strength enhancement. Possible negative effect: Diarrhea. Please name the data.' Zero reported. Angele was not sure if he should be happy about the result. He finally found a helpful veggie, but it would give him diarrhea.
'Name it as Blue Bamboo Shoot.' Angele said while looking at the veggie.
It looked really like the normal bamboo shoots on earth, but it was blue. It had a soft, but crunchy taste, and Angele could smell some flower-like aroma from it.
'Naming finished, Blue Bamboo Shoots. Consume three times a day; a total of 30 times will increase your strength by about 2 points.' Zero reported. Angele looked at the blue-colored data, and a graph of the bamboo shoots was shown. It also indicated the head part of the bamboo shoot contained most of the essence, which could increase his strength.
"Bamboo shoots' heads…?' Angele grabbed one of the bamboo shoots and took a bite on its head. It tasted slightly bitter at first, but turned slightly sweet after. This vegetable was used as a digestive support by the locals, but no one knew that it could increase people's strength. However, Angele had to eat it more than 30 times and no less than 150 grams every time.
'Alright, analyze the data of the sword skills gathered recently. Combine them all and find the most suitable set for me.' Angele ordered. The chip worked best when Angele gave proper orders.
'I hope the chip could multitask… It could save me a whole lot of time.' Angele thought while eating the bamboo shoots. After finishing 150 grams of the bamboo shoots, Angele still wanted to try some other food. However, he found nothing useful after that.
He left the dining area, and he returned to his bedroom; Angele started to train with the iron balls again. Maggie and Celia were trying to converse with him recently, but he tried his best to avoid them. He absolutely had no time for them. He followed his plan for the next several days.
PONG!
Angele blocked an iron ball with his right palm. It was early in the morning, and the light outside the window were all over him. He was alone in the bedroom with the door locked.
'Is the sword skill set finished?' Angele asked while breathing heavily.
'It was finished three hours ago, please name the set.' Zero reported.
'Basic sword skill set.' Angele randomly named it.
'Name saved. Would you like a visual demonstration?' Zero asked.
'Yea.' Angele said.
Zero inputted the images into Angele's brain. Angele started to see simulations within his mind, and there was a guy standing there. He looked similar to Angele, and he used the sword to make a front slash. He then attacked the front side and followed up with a left slash, right pointing slash, and a low slash. He was attacking the same point, and the whole process only took two seconds to finish.
The speed was very fast, and Angele felt like he was seeing an illusion attacking the same point with four slashes. Right after that, the man demonstrated blocking techniques, advancing techniques, full power strikes, parrying skills, and evasive maneuvers along with many other basic sword skills. Everything was fast and simple, and it looked very smooth.
After the simulation was finished, Angele was able to see his bedroom again, and he started to contemplate about the whole skill set.
'This would probably be the best set I could use at the moment, and the chip made sure I could perform all those.' Angele thought, and he grabbed the crossguard sword by the desk. There was an insignia of the Rio Family on the handguard of the sword. It looked like an eagle trying to fly out of the thorns, and the body of the sword had a silver color. It looked very shiny.
Angele drew the sword carefully, and he started practicing. Suddenly, Angele heard the sound of horses stomping the ground outside. He opened the window immediately. At the main way out, the baron was riding on a white horse. He wore a complete silver-colored armor set, and there was a huge black sword being carried on his back. The blade had a width of a human's head. There were ten cavalrymen behind the baron.
They left the castle as a squad quickly. Angele looked at them until he couldn't see them anymore.
"Maggie!" Angele yelled after closing the window.
The maid knocked on the door quickly, and Angele opened the door.
"What happened, Young Master?" The maid was still wiping her hands; it seemed like she was washing something.
"Where is my father headed to?" Angele asked.
"There was some trouble over the silver mine, and the baron was going to check it out." The maid answered.
"Okay." Angele nodded. "You may continue with your own thing now. Oh wait, how is Cecilia doing?" He asked.
"I asked her to keep your bedroom clean." The maid replied politely.
"Okay." Angele said.
"Young Master, Knight Audis has returned to his territory this morning, and Wade has been recruiting new maids recently. Several thieves were sentenced to death not so long ago; it could get noisy in the castle after, so he asked me to inform you about it." Maggie said.
"Understood." Angele nodded, and he closed the door. It was November, and it was usually the time to recruit and calculate taxes. November was the busiest month of the year.
Angele checked his body condition after closing the door. His strength had gone from 0.8 to 1.4, and it seemed the Blue Bamboo Shoots were working distinctly well.
'It's about time. I need three or four more days to finish my preparation.' Angele thought. "There is only one last thing to do." He looked at the iron balls and said.
In the forest outside the castle, Dice was standing on a branch and gazing at the castle.
"Ha, Angele Rio, I am going get you first before the mission. You played me like a fiddle last time, where can you hide now?" He said. Dice found out who the young man was when he got back. He could not believe that he did not get the playboy, and his pride could not allow that.
He was well-prepared before heading to the castle again and thought his plan was perfect. Dice saw the baron left the castle, so he decided to kill Angele first and get the baron on his way back. He crouched on the branch, and he waited patiently for the entrance to be opened.
Suddenly, the door was lowered. A young man came out of the castle with two guards, and they were walking towards the forest. Dice got angry after he saw the young man's pale face.
"That's him! This little punk! Great…" Dice laughed, and he left the branch. He disappeared into the forest.
Angele had his sword on his belt and his longbow on his back. There was also a black ring that he was using to protect his finger.
Angele walked towards the forest alone, and the guards were sent back by him after a long conversation. They were already used Angele's habits, so they did not think it would be dangerous to leave him alone in the forest.
But this time, Angele had something important to do, and he could not let them know. He walked across the training grounds and entered the forest.
'Unknown suspect in front, prepare to defend.' Zero reported right away.
Angele felt a chill similar to last time again, and he rolled towards the front without thinking. A silver knife flew towards his original position right after; he would've died already if he did not roll forward.
'That's him!' The situation reminded Angele about what happened last time. He felt infuriated because he had no way to fight back that time.
'Let me know where he is.' Angele asked. He stood up quickly and hid behind a tree. He took out an arrow from the quiver as planned. He also dipped poison on the arrowhead and shot it right towards the enemy.
'It isn't snake venom this time…' Angele was completely focused, trying to hear any movement.
"Die!" He said. He fired an arrow again, and he once again hid behind the tree afterwards.
The arrow looked like a white flash, and it was fired into a cluster of high grass. Angele could hear the sound of blocking. He was getting excited as he knew his life was in danger.
Angele heard the sound of the metal chain. He did not hesitate and fired another arrow, and he then ran out of the brush. He was running in an "S" like route to avoid potential attacks.
Angele could hear swift footsteps from behind; the opponent was chasing him. He kept firing arrows and rolling around. He found a downhill slope, and he rolled down to the ground. Angele drew his sword right after; he had no time to take care of the mud on his face.
'I am still not good enough, but at least I can try retaliating now.' Angele thought while holding his sword with both hands. The blade was also dipped with poison.
He could hear the footsteps from above getting closer. Angele took a deep breath, and he gathered all his strength. He glared towards uphill like a snake.
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Chapter 12: The Fight (Part 1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
The footsteps were getting closer. Angele was gripping the sword tighter and tighter, and he was trying to hide his body out of the opponent's sight. Angele jumped up after the footsteps stopped, and he raised his sword above his head to block. A black shadow appeared on top of him, and the sound of metals clashing with each other resounded in the air.
DANG!
Angele blocked the chain with his blade, and then he jumped back right away. His face turned red, and he looked at the man in front of him calmly. The man stopped his attack and pulled his metal chain back.
"Angele Rio, I heard you were a dumb playboy with absolutely zero talent. I did not expect you to be able to handle my attacks. It seems that rumors are not always accurate…" The man in black took his mask off. He looked like an average middle-aged man, and there was a big scar on his face. It looked like his face had been bitten off by some beasts.
"Who are you? Are you from the Dark Emblem?" Angele did not lower his guard.
"You know about the Dark Emblem? Ha." The man laughed, "My name is Dice." He held his chains on his left hand.
"Well, it is just my codename. I can't tell you my real name for sure. I thought it was just a coincidence that your arrow got me last time. Based on your performance, it was probably not just a simple coincidence." Dice said.
"Yea?" Angele started to survey the surroundings while listening to Dice. They were at a natural groove, and the mud there was wet and soft. The smell was not good at all.
"Are you trying to run?" Dice laughed. "Sadly, you can't run away from me this time."
He leapt towards Angele after finishing the conversation.
DANG!
Angele slashed Dice's hands, but the black metal gloves on Dice's hands protected him.
'Support function enabled. Jump towards the back and slash right after.' Zero said in Angele's mind.
Angele jumped back a little bit, and he slashed at the front right away.
"Damn!" Dice was surprised; he had to dodge the attack. He was almost struck in the chest, and he started to sweat. Dice unsheathed his sword after dodging the attack.
"Little punk, you are making me an…" Dice didn't have the chance to finish his words.
Angele tried to do a downward slash and followed it with an upward slash. However, his attacks were all blocked by Dice, but still, he was able to prevent Dice from attacking him.
Top-right, and then switch position; top-left, and then switch again. Angele was moving flawlessly. Once his attack was blocked, he just switched positions. He was trying to strike Dice's weak point. With the chip's assistance, Angele could perform his skills rapidly and precisely. His combos were flawless, and he looked like a dancer in the woods.
He was using his advantages well. Even though his strength was still lower than Dice, he could force Dice to defend for awhile. Dice could only try and keep up with Angele's pace. Angele's combos were improving faster and faster that he did not need the chip's assistance anymore. Even if he got blocked, he would find a way to attack Dice's other weak points.
DANGDANGDANGDANG!
The sound of swords clashing with each other became louder and louder. Angele was attacking from different angles, and he was borrowing the force exerted by Dice to counterattack. Dice's face finally turned red as well, as he did not expect Angele to have the advantage. He was way too slow to strike back; though he was an experienced killer, he could not react to Angele's speed.
A melee fight was not in Dice's favor. He had no time to talk at all because he saw that Angele's blade had a weird blue tint to it. He did not want to touch it at all.
"Damn it!" Dice was becoming completely enraged. He suddenly jumped far back away and took out five silver-colored knives from his pouch at the back. He threw all of them towards Angele; two were aimed towards the chest, and the rest were aimed towards the head.
Angele became surprised by the knives' appearance, and he had no time to dodge. He had to roll to the left and block the front with his sword. Two of those knives were blocked by the sword, but two other ones grazed his shoulders. His shoulders started to bleed, and the last one hit his left arm.
The last knife embedded into Angele's left arm, and he was bleeding badly. It was very painful. Angele's face got pale, and he took the knife out of his arm. Then, he rolled towards the left to dodge the chain, and he started to run towards the forest.
"Where are you going?!" Dice yelled, and he started chasing.
Dice could not keep with Angele's speed, and Angele dodged several chain hits with the help of the chip. Dice slowed himself down while trying to attack.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Dice screamed in anger, and he ceased chasing.
He could not see Angele in his sight anymore, and he was breathing heavily. He did not have enough stamina to pursue him.
"I should've poisoned my knives." Dice felt regret. He was not a fan of applying poison to his weapons. He had no idea why Angele could predict his attacks, and why Angele was much faster than him. He felt infuriated about it. However, he had found Angele's weakness.
"Well, if you could read my attacks, I will not give you time to do it…" Dice smiled, and he wiped the sweat off his face. He started to walk back.
Suddenly, the sound of the wind came from Dice's back. He stopped right away and threw his chain towards the back. However, it was a bit too late. The shiny blue blade struck his right shoulder. He turned back and saw Angele who had a pale face. Angele somehow made it back within such a short duration. Dice totally thought he had run away already, and the stench of blood covered the fragrance of the tracking chemical.
Dice wore leather armor, but his shoulder got injured as the blade cut through his skin. Dice became anxious as he knew that he got poisoned.
"You are done…" Angele smiled, and he said.
BAM!
Dice punched Angele right in the chest. Angele was not able to dodge it, and he flew towards the bush on the side. There was blood everywhere. Some was on the tree, the grass, the black mud, and on Dice himself.
Dice took out a small paper bag quickly, and he swallowed all the powder in it, but he could still feel something going on in his body. The poison Angele used took effect quickly.
"I have to go." Dice said as he felt danger.
Angele stood up, and he was severely hurt after taking the punch. He could barely see things clearly.
'Check my body condition.' Angele ordered.
'Several broken ribs and gastrorrhagia. You are losing about 5% of your total blood.' Zero reported.
'Not a very big deal.' Angele was relieved. He stood up using his sword and looked at Dice. The assassin from the Dark Emblem was not having a good time, and his face looked completely blue. Angele mixed the snake venom with an assortment of other random poison to make his special blade enchantment, and there was definitely no cure for it.
He tried the poison on a chicken, and it died with three minutes. He was not sure about how it would affect humans though, but it looked quite effective on Dice at least. Dice felt like he was getting paralyzed, and he decided to retreat after glaring Angele for a while. He wanted to get healed first since he wasn't sure what was going on in his body.
His shadow steps and ranged attacks were not effective at all. His powerful melee attacks were useless due to Angele's high speed and precise sword skills. Dice also ended up being poisoned, and his best medicine could not really help him. He was very upset about the result because he really had no way to deal with Angele.
"Are you trying to run away?" Angele noticed Dice's plan, and he spoke.
"I have one question before I leave, how did you find out where I was?" Dice asked with a deep voice.
"I just knew it. Ha." Angele laughed, and he leapt towards Dice.
DANG!
The two swords clashed against each other once again. Dice couldn't handle Angele's force, and he stepped back for the first time.
"AH!" Dice screamed and tried slashing Angele with all his remaining power. He did not even try to block the sword coming towards his face; he was just trying to trade his life with Angele's.
The two swords struck each other at the same time, and blood started to come out of them. Angele and Dice held each others' shoulders to keep themselves standing. The blood was dripping down their clothes quickly.
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Chapter 13: The Fight (Part 2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Dice found it unbelievable that a young teenager had the nerve to trade hits with him. Angele's sword stabbed into Dice's right eye, and the blade came out of the back of his head. Angele exerted everything in this strike. Angele's left shoulder was severely injured; though he tried to avoid the sword that was going for his head, his shoulder was still grazed. Some parts of his flesh had been sliced off, and his bones became visible on the wound.
Angele noticed that Dice was trying to retreat, and he saw Dice holding his chains in his hand. Dice was trying to use the chain as bait, and he'd just run away afterwards. When Dice was focusing on his chains, Angele decided to advance towards him instead of avoiding the chain. That was probably his only chance, and if he let Dice go, Dice would come back for revenge later. With the help of the chip, he won the gamble and Dice was killed.
"I won! HAHAHAH!" Angele laughed. He stepped back, and took his sword back. The blood made the eagle insignia look crimson. Dice staggered backwards and fell down to the ground.
'Leave the place within 5 minutes, the stench of blood will attract beasts.' The chip reported. It would warn Angele about dangerous situations automatically. Angele was so happy about his victory that he almost ignored the warning. He held his wound on his shoulder with a piece of cloth, and he slowly walked towards the body of Dice.
"I just won the fight… I need some trophy." Angele said. He was not so comfortable with looting the body, but he had to do it. There was one knife left in his pouch and an antique-looking emerald ring. The emerald had cracks on it, and there was also a small pouch of coins on Dice.
Angele took everything and also grabbed the two metal chains. He also took Dice's sword, and he started to leave.
"Wooooooo!" A beast started howling in the forest. Angele heard it after walking only several steps. He became terrified, and he started to run back to the castle. The sound came from the place Angele just left, and he could die if he stayed any longer. The beast sounded much stronger than the boar he encountered earlier, and it might even be a mountain bear.
The beast kept howling in the forest, and many birds flew out of the trees. Angele did not stop for even a single second and ran out of the forest at full speed. He thought Dice's body should be taken care of by the beast, and it probably saved him some time later.
Angele saw the two guards when he had just left the forest. The two were worried about him and came back to check the situation. They probably heard the howl of the beast, becoming too nervous.
"Young Master Angele! God! What happened?" The two stared at the severely injured Angele running out of the forest.
"Take me back to the castle!" Angele said while breathing heavily. He could barely stand still, and the two guards held his arms to support him. The cavalrymen on the training grounds saw the situation and quickly came to help. They helped Angele get back to the castle, and their training was stopped due to the loud disturbance created by the beast.
Rumors quickly spread in the castle. Some said that Angele was hurt while hunting, and some others said that Angele was robbed by the criminals. Some even thought Angele met the legendary mountain black bear.
The maids, workers, and future knights were all gossiping about the rumor in their free time. Angele was placed down on his bed in the bedroom in the afternoon, and the doctors came to check his wounds. They carefully patched him up and told Angele the things he ought to do before leaving. Angele looked like a mummy lying down on the bed, and the light of sunset made the room look bright.
Cecilia was sitting by Angele's bed. She decided to take care of Angele, and she was preparing some fruits for him. Angele slept for a long time after he got back, and he felt much better after resting and the wounds weren't that painful anymore. The iron balls in his room were taken by Cecilia and placed into a corner. The items Angele looted from the body were also cleaned up and placed on his bedstand.
"Did anyone come by when I was sleeping?" Angele asked.
"Master Wade was here awhile ago, and he saw you sleeping. He told me to take good care of you before leaving. Ms. Maggie and Ms. Celia also came to check on you." Cecilia answered.
Angele nodded, but he did not say anything. The baron probably did not know about his injury. It would take about five days for him to get back from the silver mine. Even if someone was passing the information to the baron, it would still take several days. The silver mine was at the edge of Rio Family's territory and the castle was located at the middle of their territory.
"Also, Master Wade said that the beast you encountered may have been an adult mountain bear. It is much stronger than the mountain black bear, and it is the king in the forest." Cecilia said.
"Adult mountain bear?" Angele licked his lips and said. He knew it from the book in the special library. It looked identical to a mountain black bear, but it had much greater strength. Though it was slower than mountain black bear, it had an indurated skin and a strong resistance to poison. It was one of the top ranked beasts in the whole Rudin Empire. The mountain bear could probably fight two to four knights on its own, and it would get even stronger if it became enraged..
The baron hunted a regular mountain black bear before, yet it was already a great achievement. If Angele met the mountain bear, he would be dead for sure.
"Well, I was lucky." Angele said. He was pretty scared when recalling the whole situation. He lied to the doctors when he was getting treated. He said he met someone that was fighting with the mountain bear and a sword flew over to his shoulder. A knife then hit him after the sword, nearly killing him there. He ended up grabbing some items on the side and went back with severe injuries. This was also the source of the rumors.
The head of the doctors said Angele was extremely lucky that he did not lose his life there. He had no idea on how to explain what exactly happened to him recently. He got stronger within a short amount of time, and people would probably not believe eating random food could boost their attributes. Also, it was generally impossible for ordinary people to learn sword skill sets with such absurd speed. If he said he killed an assassin from Dark Emblem, it would become a really big news, and he would get into more trouble instead.
Karl, Wade, and Audis would regularly check on Angele's progress before the time he fell off the horse, therefore they knew his capability. He practiced the sword skills with his father the day before he fell off the horse, so it would be difficult to explain why he was able to learn a whole set of skill recently. He needed to do something to make things seem more reasonable.
Angele grabbed the items he looted and put them on the bed. A silver-colored crossguard sword, two metal chains, and a knife. There was also a ring and a leather money pouch. He opened the pouch first, and there were several coins in it. Some were gold and some were silver, however, it meant nothing to Angele because his monthly allowance was more than ten gold coins. Ten silver coins was equal to one gold coin, so Angele was not concerned about them.
He put the money pouch aside and grabbed the metal chain. The chain was completely black, and had a claw on its end. It had some special paint on it, which made it shine during the night. It was also very sharp, and it slashed the bedsheet open when Angele put it down.
The long sword had no insignia on it, and the blade was very sharp, too. It was made out of high quality materials. The body had no cracks at all even after the fight.
"Great material." Angele said, and he decided to use it as his weapon.
The last was the ring. He grabbed the ring, and it must be something special because Dice carried it with him the whole time.
The ring had a copper-like color, but Angele was not exactly sure what the metal was. There was also no insignia on it, and it looked very simple. The ring itself had a rough surface, and it looked like someone rubbed it several times. In the middle was a round emerald, and it had cracks all over it.
"It seems broken?" Angele wondered, and he looked at it carefully. Cecilia was looking at him curiously before, but now, she was more curious about the ring.
"You may leave the room for now." Angele said.
"Oh… Okay." Cecilia was a bit surprised, and she put the fruits on the plate. She bowed to Angele and left the room.
Angele started to examine the ring again after the door was closed. He had this special feeling that he could ascertain that the ring must be something notable.
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Chapter 14: The Kill (Part 1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Angele put the copper-colored ring on his palm. The emerald on the ring had the size of a nail. If it was not cracked, it would probably be clear and beautiful. It looked as if it was about to fall out of the ring. Aside from the cracks, Angele also saw some white patterns engraved on its surface.
"There must be something special about it." Angele thought as he found it interesting. It was Dice's ring; he would not carry it with him all the time if it was not important. He looked at the surface carefully, and realized there was a word engraved on it.
"Ma…ss." The word was written in the universal language, so Angele could still read it.
"Mass?" Angele wasn't too sure if he was correct. "There might be another way to read it, like… Manss?" The emerald started to shine right after Angele said the word.
"Unknown energy detected! Unknown radiation detected! Affected area or entity unknown!" Zero started sending warning messages.
Angele was surprised; he stared at the shiny green ring without doing anything else. The green color made his upper body look green as well. The whole room looked very weird as the green light filled it up. Angele could feel some chill wind blowing within his palm, and the wind was twisting. It felt like he was holding a mini tornado in his hand.
"What is this…" Angele was shocked, and the green light started flowing like a river. He could even smell the fragrance of the sea.
"Unknown energy is disappearing. Absorb it or not?" the chip asked.
"Wait? I can absorb it?" Angele had no idea that the chip had this function besides passive support.
"Will there be any impact on me?" he asked.
"Not enough data. It will have a positive radiation effect on your body. I can store the energy source," Zero said.
"Absorb it!" Angele had no time to hesitate because the green light was becoming fainter.
The green light disappeared after some faint noise.
KA!
The emerald on the ring was now completely cracked, and it lost its luster. It looked like a normal green stone now. Angele held the ring in his hand, still thinking about the things that had just occurred.
"This power…" Angele remembered something from the biography he read. It mentioned that there was once a group of people that were stronger than the knights. They could control lightning and wind. They could bring disasters, but they could also bring hope. They knew everything, and they had the same level of power as the legendary monsters.
They called themselves Wizards, and they once existed in this world.
"That was the power of the Wizards…?" Angele took a deep breath; he was getting excited.
"Absorption complete. The energy can enhance your body slowly. I can start the enhance process if you want to, it will be very slow," the chip reported.
"Enhancement? How does it work?" Angele asked.
"Parts related to your agility," the chip reported.
"Wait, don't do it yet." Angele thought of the Blue Bamboo Shoots. The enhancement process of the Blue Bamboo Shoots wasn't completed yet, and he could still use the bamboo shoots first. Though it gave him diarrhea, he could have as many bamboo shoots as he wanted. The mysterious energy was not unlimited, and it would be better for him to keep it first.
"Oh, how long does the enhancement process take exactly?" Angele asked.
"About 76 hours." Zero answered.
Angele slightly nodded his head and grabbed the ring again. He wanted to check if the power was really gone.
"Manss… It means light like the wind. That was probably the function of the ring?" He was not sure, but he felt his body becoming lighter when he said the word. Maybe the enhancing effect was too small, and it could not help him in a real fight.
"Manss! Manss!" He said the word twice, but the ring did not shine at all. Though he knew the energy was gone already, he was still a bit disappointed. He decided to store the ring in his pouch.
"Zero, tell me what food will help me recover faster," he ordered.
"Starting analysis…" Zero reported. The chip could easily find out what was best for Angele right now, and proper food selection would help him recover better than others.
Angele stayed on the bed for about three days, and he was recovering fast. With the food selection that the chip provided, he asked the maid to bring him the right dishes, and it helped to recover faster. On the fourth day, the chip finally confirmed that he could now do some basic exercises.
He could only barely walk recently, and all of his activities were in his bedroom. He could not go to the dining area to eat the bamboo shoots. He did not want to get diarrhea during the recovery period. Angele stood up and looked outside the window.
"It has been a long time…" Angele said, and he shook his head. He grabbed the silver crossguard sword on the side; it was Dice's sword. His sword got broken after the fight, so he sent it to the blacksmith have it repaired. He left the room after changing to a white swordsman suit.
Cecilia took Angele's dirty clothes to the washroom, and the maids at the stairs greeted Angele constantly. It was very quiet in the living area because the knights and the future knights went back to their own homes for the New Year's celebration. There were only few students left in the castle because they had no family.
Those students needed to work in order to stay in the castle. They needed to guard the castle and patrol around the territory. After they became knights, they would need to work for the baron for five years before leaving. Most of them had the seeds, and they would probably become strong warriors in the future. It was like trading their services towards the chances to study in the castle.
Angele learned from his memory that this was a common thing in the world. Some lords abused this tradition by forcing the future knights to do the most difficult tasks for them, and the students revolted after they became real knights. Those things actually helped the tradition to be fairer after because now, the lords knew how they should treat the students properly.
Angele walked down to the training grounds, and he was the only one there. It was early in the morning and there were many clouds over in the sky. He felt a bit depressed.
"It's going to rain." Angele said after glancing at the sky.
He did not care if there were many students in the castle because he had no interest in them, and the students were not interested in him, too. The baron was young and strong; he could probably live for another fifty years, and those future knights were of no threat to him. He also did not care about others' thoughts towards him.
The workers were in the bar drinking and chatting, and the girls were playing chess together. For noble children such as Celia, they were probably playing with some musical instruments. People barely had any entertainment at this age, so they spent most of their time working and studying.
"Maggie is probably playing chess right now." Angele guessed. In his memory, many people had dogs as pets in the Candia City. Nobles like Viscount Candia loved a dog called Haball; it came from some other country and its fur was white. Angele thought it looked like the German shepherd on Earth.
However, the baron did not like pets, and no one was allowed to have one in the castle. Angele also heard that nobles from Rudin City loved to train eagles as pets, but he had never actually seen any.
Angele walked towards the door of the castle, and there were two guards by it. They saluted to Angele when they saw him.
"Are you heading out, Young Master?" One of the guards asked.
"Yea, I need some exercise. Is Master Wade back yet?" He nodded, and he asked.
"Yes, Master Wade is on his way back, and it seems like he is bringing back many people. It will take him a while." One of the guards said in a light tone.
"Master Wade told us to make sure you don't go too far away from the castle… Like the deep forest." He said.
Angele smiled. Wade knew Angele would not listen to anybody other than the baron, so he only gave him a simple warning. Wade was just following the baron's order, and he was actually not too concerned about Angele because he did not have high expectations in Angele anyway. Also, Wade was not too worried due to Angele's archery skills.
Angele left the castle alone, and he held his sword tightly. He practiced his sword skill set at the empty ground, and then walked into the forest. He started to run after entering the forest, and headed straight to the location where he fought Dice.
About half an hour later, he saw the familiar downhill slope. There were still traces of dried blood on branches around. Two knives were still in the bush. Angele walked down towards the ditch and looked at the place that Dice was killed. There was nothing left besides some blood, and he could see the trail of the blood that went deep into the forest.
Angele walked towards the blood trail and dipped it with his finger.
"He was dragged into the forest." He whispered.
Angele stood up and checked around. He took his quiver and longbow back, and took a glance at the blood trail again. After what happened with the green ring, Angele found this world much more mysterious than he thought. There was much for him to learn and explore.
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Chapter 15: The Kill (Part 2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Angele decided to head back to the castle, but suddenly heard people talking from his right side.
'Unknown targets detected, number of targets is two,' the chip warned. Angele quietened his footsteps and crouched. He then moved towards the right side slowly. He was able to hear them clearly from a closer distance, but Angele only caught some of the words being spoken.
"…It has been 4 days…We won't make it from here…" A man said with a deep voice.
"It's fine… We will make it before he comes back from the silver mine… We can just wait a bit longer…but the time…" Another one was a lady with a sharp voice.
Angele hid behind a large terrain and crouched behind the bush. He listened to the conversation quietly, but the two were moving, and the voices disappeared in the forest shortly. The two reminded Angele of the criminals the baron mentioned before. Knight Audis said the criminals were like trained military members since they were not acting like typical criminals. They had strong fighting skills.
The baron was trying to capture those criminals when Angele first returned to the castle after being inflicted with severe injuries. He did not hear anything about the results. If they could succeed, there would be a celebration party, but if they failed, the baron would give out pensions to the families of the dead soldiers. It seemed that they just did not find any criminal when they arrived at the location.
Angele did not fear fights any longer after the battle with Dice, and he was actually a bit excited at the thought of it. He had the help of the chip, and he acquired a strong set of sword skills. He had also increased his stamina and strength and was now very close to the level of a knight. With the help of his archery skills, he had become a decent fighter, and all he needed now was another chance to gain more experience.
Though he had slain Dice, it was the poisoned blade that contributed the most. Angele decided to follow the two after thinking for a while. He followed the direction that the sound came from with the assistance provided by the chip. After about ten minutes, he found some footprints on the ground. The forest was soaked after the rain, so the footprints were easily visible to him.
Angele walked faster after he found the footprints. He could smell the aroma of roasted meat in the air after a while, and he stopped there. He surveyed his surroundings. The trees here were tall, and the leaves pretty much blocked the sky. Only a few streaks of sunlight passed through the small gaps of the branches. Even if it was morning, Angele could feel the chill of a dark night.
Angele took out his longbow and nocked a white-feathered arrow upon it. He dipped the arrowhead with poison as usual because he wanted to make sure that every shot would kill. Though he had a weapon on hand, he was focusing on the situation carefully.
If the criminals were really the military members of the Saladin Empire, he could easily get spotted by them. Saladin Empire was a country located within a large forest, and most of the people there were impressive archers. They were familiar with forests, and they were the best fighters in such landscape. The king of the Saladin Empire was said to have been a descendant of elves.
Angele was moving forward carefully, and the aroma of the meat was getting stronger. He was very close to their camp.
KA!
He accidentally stepped on something.
"Someone is here! Look out!" Someone yelled. Angele could understand their language since Saladin Empire used a similar language to Rudin Empire anyways. Angele knew he had been detected.
'11 enemies ahead,' the chip reported.
Angele scanned the people and could see blue-colored lines marked on them. They were hiding in the bush and moving towards him quickly. They were like snakes, silent but swift.
Some of them were trying to shoot their arrows at Angele, and their arrows had a green color that made them hard to spot. Angele had no way to run, so he decided to retaliate. He fired an arrow and it hit one of their archers. He could hear the screams of the archer. Angele then hid behind a tree, and nocked another arrow on his bow. However, he first decided to lure some enemies out, so he kicked a stone to the air.
Three green arrows hit the stone at the same time, and all the arrows flew to the ground after the collision. Angele was surprised by the force applied on the arrow. They were no ordinary soldiers for sure, and they were probably close to the knight level. People could only fire such strong and accurate arrows after having body enhancements.
Angele fired his arrow right after they hit the stone and another man was hit. The man started to scream too.
"Surround him!" A man with a deep voice started to yell orders.
Angele could hear them drawing their swords, and it seemed like they have given up on ranged attacks. They were trying to use the advantage of numbers. Angele was getting excited, and he put down his bow and quiver on the ground quietly. He then drew his sword. Though there were no footsteps that could be heard, Angele knew they were getting closer.
Ding!
He blocked an attack that came from his right. The swords they were using were very thin and slim, only about the width of a finger. After blocking, Angele applied force on the sword to make the man lose his balance, then he sliced the man's neck off.
Angele's strength became powerful after eating a bunch of bamboo shoots. Dice's sword made him even stronger. After he finished the first one, he moved to the left and dodged another attack from his back. He then pointed his sword towards the back without looking, and the man from behind was stabbed right in the chest.
"Harry!" A lady yelled.
Angele licked his lips and ran towards the front. He jumped towards the left side and slashed his sword towards the source of the voice. The lady blocked Angele's first two attacks, but Angele easily sliced her head off. She died right away.
The chip's analysis helped Angele catch every movement in the battlefield. There were eight people left, and they finally trapped him in the middle. They all wore green suits with tree leaves on them. The men all had handsome faces, and the females were all superbly attractive. Angele would probably hire them if they were not his enemies because he liked good-looking people for some reason.
Though he was trapped, he was not nervous at all. He realized that he was much faster than them during the fight. With the help of the chip, he could dodge every single attack easily.
"Angele! It's Angele Rio! The son of Karl Rio!" A girl yelled in rage. She looked like she was about 17 years old, yet she was already participating in such operation.
"How is that even possible!" They were getting nervous.
Angele smiled as he started to enjoy the feeling of playing with fire. He rushed towards the girl in but a second and slashed her neck open. Blood splashed into the air, and her head dropped to the ground. She died with a surprised expression on her face with her green eyes wide open.
"Kill him! God! He just killed Elena!" Several men ran towards him in frenzy.
Angele slightly moved his body towards the side, and he dodged two oncoming slim swords. He also blocked an attack from the front and borrowed the force from the attacker to counter slash. He turned back and slashed through a man's waist. The man got separated into two pieces and fell down to the ground. The blood coming out of him flooded the place.
The rest of them were surprised by his reaction speed. Before Angele moved to the next target, he suddenly raised his sword above his head.
DANG!
Angele blocked a black arrow and was pushed back from his position.
"I will make you pay!" A man screamed, rushing towards him from a bush. He was holding a black slim sword and started attacking Angele from multiple angles.
'A knight!' Angele thought as he became a bit surprised. However, since they escaped the baron, it was quite likely that they have knights with them, and Angele calmed down quickly.
He blocked the attacks with his crossguard sword quickly, and he found that the man had faster attacks than him. However, the man's sword skills were lacking effectiveness. Sometimes it seemed like the man could be faster, but his unnecessary movements slowed him down. Angele blocked another arrow coming from the side and quickly checked the data.
'Unknown target: Strength is greater than 2, Agility is greater than 3, Stamina is lower than 2, but is greater than 1. He is using his full potential.' Zero reported.
Angele stepped back and crouched right away. He pointed his sword upwards without even sparing a look.
"It's over." Angele said while jumping back.
The man stood in his original position like a fiddle. Angele's sword went through his head from his chin, and blood came out like a line of water.
"No! Master Rica!" Some people were screaming in agony.
'That's the power of my sword skill set,' Angele thought. His skill set was created by the chip, and it was pretty much like cheating because other regular skill sets always had certain flaws in them. The knight-level man fell down to the ground and died.
'This is the first knight level warrior I killed all by myself!' Angele was very excited, but he did not know why. He held his sword and rushed towards the other ones remaining. After the noises of metal clashing against each other, those people screamed as they died.
The forest restored its tranquility once again.
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Chapter 16: Peace (Part 1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
After a while, Angele wiped his sword on a corpse's clothes, trying to clean its blade. He looked around; there were decapitated body parts everywhere. His face looked a bit pale; though he had already killed someone, the current scene was too much of a shock to him.
A breeze blew across the tree, and the leaves started to make noises. The sunlight mixed with shadows on the ground looked like the river flowing. Angele's silver sword shone under the sunlight as he walked towards the knight level warrior. He checked the man's belongings and found nothing aside from a coin pouch.
"They were trying to hide their identities during the mission maybe?" Angele guessed. He stood up, and he could smell the blood in the air. When Angele was about to leave, he saw a shadow coming from his right side. He did not expect it coming, and had no time to react, so he slashed towards it heavily.
The "shadow" had a very bad smell, and it made Angele sick. He ran into the thing, and he was pushed far away from it. He rolled about ten meters away, but he did not get hurt. Angele finally got the chance to look at the thing.
It was a huge black bear. The bear was about 3 meters tall and was standing straight. It was going to attack Angele again. From Angele's perspective, he felt like he was looking at a small hill.
"Crazy Mountain Bear…" Angele was scared after he realized what the "thing" actually was. An average Mountain Black Bear was about half of its size, and the baron had one of the Mountain Black Bear's skin in his hall as a trophy, so Angele was familiar with the beast.
He did not have time to think, so he jumped backwards swiftly. He then pointed his sword at the bear's left eye. Though the bear was huge, it was still very fast and it simply slapped Angele's sword to make him lose his balance.
"Crazy Mountain Bear: Strength greater than 6, Agility greater than 2, Stamina greater than 10," Zero reported. Angele could not hear the report until the bear stopped roaring.
When the opponent was much stronger than Angele, the chip's data was unable to help him win the fight. The chip was able to report the enemy's location to Angele because the opponents were at least close to him in terms of attributes.
The chip's analysis was based on Angele's sensory information, and it would get stronger if Angele himself was stronger. The Crazy Mountain Bear had extremely high strength and stamina. Angele tried to fight the bear with his high agility. However, he could only barely damage the bear and his slashes did pretty much nothing to it. The bear's skin felt like thick metal, and his sword could not slash through it.
Angele decided to run away quickly as there was nothing he could do. The bear did not chase him because it knew the target was much faster than it. The bear walked towards the bodies, and it started to have a nice meal.
Angele examined the bear for a while, and it shook his head.
"Its skin is way too thick. I need some legendary weapon for it, or maybe higher strength would do as well? I can't damage it at all for now," Angele thought. The bear was eating, but it did not lower its defences. Angele saw that the bear was about to chase him, so he just left the place.
Angele was satisfied with today's result. At least he gained some fighting experience, and he had gotten a better understanding of his own ability.
"Maybe I can go for the bear next time. I need to eat some more bamboo shoots." He thought as he left the forest.
He killed some Saladin's troops and slew a knight level warrior. Angele thought his fighting ability had already reached the knight level, which meant he had similar power with the baron. He felt a bit relaxed as he knew he could protect himself now. Power was the only thing that matters in this world.
The knight he killed was at a similar level as Wade and Audis. If Angele and the baron were at the top level among the knights, Wade and Audis would be at the middle level. The gap between the top and middle was huge. Dice would've probably been at the top level, so he had the confidence in taking the mission of assassinating the baron. He was killed by Angele because his assassination skills weren't too effective on melee fights. Angele used poison and also had the chip's assistance. If they engaged in a regular fight, Angele would be the one dying.
Average future knights with seeds would improve a lot during the first several months, and most of them would stay at the low and middle level after they became knights. They rarely gained top level power. Angele focused his training more on the skill side, unlike other great warriors who instead focused more on pure power. People in this world thought that if one was faster and stronger than the others, one would not even need skills to defeat them.
Angele spent about ten days to conclude his recent fights after he got back to the castle. He was trying to figure out his mistakes during the recent battles, and he started to eat the Blue Bamboo Shoots after he recovered. The baron also returned to the castle, and he heard that Angele was nearly killed by the Crazy Mountain Bear in the forest.
Fifteen days later.
Angele was reading some random history book in the special library. He was using the chip to store everything in his brain. There were several hundred books in the room, and they were like a priceless treasure in this world. The Rio Family spent a long time to collect them.
The book was all copied by hand, and the paper looked old, but still had a nice feeling to it.
"I wonder what material was used for those papers. Some books are still completely readable even after a hundred years," Angele thought. It was noon, and the sunlight went into the room through the window. Angele could see the dust in the air with the light.
"Angele." The baron opened the door, and he said. He had his long hair draped over his shoulders, looking shiny in the sunlight. Karl had a handsome face, but currently had a serious expression. There was a golden short sword on his waist, and he looked strong but gentle.
"Father." Angele quickly stood up and greeted the baron politely. He knew the baron treated him very well, so he wanted to at least show his gratefulness. Sometimes, Angele could see the worry in the baron's eyes, and he knew that the baron was just worried about his future.
"I heard you met the Crazy Mountain Bear in the forest?" The baron said with a deep voice.
"You heard about it? I was just trying to…" Angele spoke in a light tone.
"Tell me the location!" The baron stopped Angele from talking.
"Father…" Angele said.
"Don't make me repeat!" The baron was a bit disappointed, and he had a cold look on his face.
"About 200 meters away from the north of the castle. I don't know the exact location…" Angele felt a chill from his back and told the baron the location. It was Angele's natural reaction since he just couldn't handle the pressure from his father.
The baron glanced at Angele for a second and left the room.
BAM!
The door was slammed shut.
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Chapter 17: Peace (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Angele ran down the stairs right away after taking a while to understand what was going on. By the time he had arrived, the baron had already gathered and was overseeing a squad of heavy armored swordsmen on the training grounds.
"Who went to the forest with Angele that day?" the baron spoke with a very deep voice.
Some of the swordsmen looked at each other in panic, but no one responded.
"If you hand yourselves in now, I will not go too hard on you. You know you did not protect your Young Master well," the baron took a deep breath, and he said slowly, "As per the rules, 20 lashes for now. However, if I have to find out who it was myself, I will make you suffer."
It seemed like the swordsmen became relieved after hearing the baron's words and two of them walked out of the group.
"Baron Karl, it was me and Hank. Please punish us!" One of them spoke loudly.
"Someone bring me my whip!" The baron nodded as he said.
One of the workers started to run to get the baron his whip. Suddenly, the baron drew his sword and stabbed it right through the heads of the two swordsmen. Everything happened in but a mere moment. The two swordsmen fell down to the ground, and blood started to trickle out of their heads.
The training grounds became deathly silent.
"Angele is my son! If he dies, who is going to lead the Rio Family in the future?!" The baron yelled with a cold smile on his face.
"You should've never let my son go into the deep forest alone. Are you trying to kill my son?! I could've killed your whole families, but I've already known you two for a long time. That's it for this time," the baron said.
"I hope I don't have to do this again." The baron looked at the other swordsmen as he spoke.
"Someone burn their bodies!" he yelled. Everyone watching the scene could not make a sound. People could not even breathe in such a situation, and they were trying their best not to make the baron angrier. Two of the swordsmen went to retrieve and carry the bodies away.
"Get me my weapon and my armor; I need to go to the forest," the baron said.
"Yes!" One of the workers said with a pale face, and he ran to the armory.
Angele was at the side of the training grounds the whole time, and he witnessed the two guards that helped him recently die in front of him. He felt slightly forlorn, and at the same time scared. He also had a better understanding of the baron's temper.
Angele saw the baron put on his golden leather armor and grab his greatsword. The baron left the castle and headed towards the forest. Angele knew the baron was going to hunt the Crazy Mountain Bear.
"Father…" Angele said with a faint voice, and he tightly gripped his sword with his right hand. He could feel the weight of his father's love in his mind, and it was very heavy. Angele knew his father was trying to convey a message to him that people needed to think about the consequences of their behavior by slaying the two guards.
Half an hour later, Angele heard the roars of the bear from the forest, and then he heard the sounds of battle. After a while, the baron walked out of the forest. There was blood coming out of his mouth and his left arm looked broken. However, he was smiling.
The soldiers and workers were waiting for the baron outside the castle. Old Wade, the baron's sons and daughters, and Angele all stood there quietly and looked at the baron walking towards them. The baron was holding a thick black hide, which belonged to the Crazy Mountain Bear Angele encountered before.
Angele was the only one who fought against the bear before, and he knew how hard it would be for someone to skin the bear. The baron must have had a good fight.
"Find the doctor now!" Wade yelled, and the people around started to create a commotion. Some of them ran back to the castle, and some others tried to help the baron. Angele became teary-eyed after seeing his father fight the bear for him.
Angele walked towards his father and assisted him with his hands. He looked at the baron, and he felt like he was looking at his father back on Earth.
"Angele." The baron smiled as he looked at him.
"I will protect you till the day I die." He said, and Angele felt extremely emotional. Angele had always felt the baron was his stepfather, but now it felt like the baron was the sole person who gave him his life.
Ten days had passed since the baron killed the Crazy Mountain Bear.
Angele kept eating the bamboo shoots to increase his attributes during these days. He was trying to serve the bamboo shoots to his father too, but the chip reported that the enhancement effect was solely effective to Angele himself. It seemed like his body was distinctly different from other people around him. The bamboo shoots might help him a lot, but they would only make the baron's stomach ache. Angele felt slightly disappointed about the result.
Angele thought that others just didn't know about the effects of the food, but it seemed that his body was special. He also felt worried that someone would know his secret of the food he had been eating, but no one seemed to care.
It was lunchtime.
Angele sat at the opposite side of the baron. The baron's wives, sons and daughters were sitting by the two sides. Not all of the baron's wives got to sit on the table, the only ones around were favored by him. There were about ten dishes on the table. There were meat stew, pan fried vegetables, steamed fish, and a huge piece of roasted beef that was sitting in the middle.
The baron was cutting the beef on his plate and eating quietly. Each person had a maid standing behind them, and their duty was to serve them the food they wanted. Wade stood behind the baron, wearing a black noble suit. His white hair looked very flat.
The baron was the only one with the highest authority on the dining table, and if he did not talk, then no one else could, except for Angele. But Angele had pretty much nothing to say.
The people on the table only ate their food in silence; the current atmosphere being emanated was a tad bit heavy. Angele heard about a new rumor about the baron from some guards. He was able to hear them from a long distance away, most likely due to the increase in his abilities. He heard people talking about how the baron killed the Crazy Mountain Bear, and how the baron fought the king of the forest as a human being. People were also talking about how cruel the baron was and how they started calling him as "The Devil Baron".
Being titled as "The Devil Baron" meant that the baron was all-powerful, yet mysterious, like a devil. People began fearing him, and they even started to think that Wade and Audis were evil as well.
Angele took a bite on the mushroom. Although he yearned for Chinese food back on Earth, the dishes here were ingenious and tasty. The only thing that made him sad was that people here did not eat rice, and there was only bread available in the castle. The nobles ate white bread while the maids ate black bread. Drinking soup while eating bread was typical here, but it took Angele a while to get used to it.
Their lunchtime lasted for more than twenty minutes. When the baron almost finished his meal, a guard in leather armor suddenly rushed into the dining hall. The guard was blocked by a maid, and Wade went to investigate the situation. Angele saw the change of expression on Wade's face, and Wade whispered something to the baron.
No one heard the information, but Angele was able to capture the words said with the help of his chip.
"Audis discovered plenty of iron ore veins in his territory, and it would be nice if you could check it out yourself," Wade whispered.
"Iron ores?" the baron became excited. If he could build a mine there, he would earn a lot of coins. After all, iron was also an essential commodity especially during wartime.
"No time was wasted after the discovery. It would be better if we could head there now." Wade said.
The baron thought for a while as he held his left arm. He hadn't yet recovered from the injury, but the discovery of an iron mine was an extremely crucial matter to him.
"You stay in the castle. I will go there now." The baron said
"Got it." Wade became slightly surprised with the order, but he still followed it.
"I think I should go with you as you haven't fully recovered yet," he said.
"It's fine." The baron waved his hands and said.
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Chapter 18: Intent to Kill (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
"Though my left arm is not fully recovered yet, I think I will be fine on the road," the baron said. He completely drank the soup and stood up.
"I am leaving," he said, "Angele, stay in the castle. Just don't go out until I am back. Understood?" The baron looked at Angele.
"Yes, father." Angele answered as he nodded in affirmation.
"Um… I think this trip will take me about half a month. The situation is terrible outside the territory. Wade, take good care of the castle." The baron turned back and said to Wade.
"Don't worry, I will protect the castle and Young Master Angele when you are out there," Wade said.
The baron nodded his head and left the dining hall. His wives and children stood up and bowed to him until they could not hear his footsteps anymore. They sat down and started talking, the atmosphere becoming much more relaxed.
Angele sat on his seat, and it looked like he was thinking of something. He was actually looking at the baron's body data Zero provided. The blue-colored information were presented in front of his eyes clearly.
"Karl Rio, analyzed 19 times. Body condition: Strength is around 2-4, Agility is around 3.4, and Stamina is around 3.9. Healthy. Attributes naturally increasing." Zero reported. Angele smiled after seeing the report. 'Healthy' meant the baron had already fully recovered, but for some reason he was trying to hide it.
"Father's arm was already fine, yet he pretended to still be injured. Maybe he realized something." Angele thought. He felt relaxed now after knowing the truth. The baron was stronger than ordinary top level knights and was probably also stronger than some of the assassins from the Dark Emblem. However, assassins like Dice were experts of stealth combat; they might be able to win a fight against the baron in certain situations.
Angele started to eat again; he put a piece of fish into his mouth.
"I have finished my meal. Brother Angele, take your time." One of the girl on the left side said and bowed to Angele. She had silk-like red hair.
"I am done, too." A girl in black named Chia said, and she bowed to Angele. They left the table together.
Angele nodded and let them leave. The two girls were about 11 years old, and their mothers were the baron's maids. They looked pretty cute, and the baron liked them. Their mothers were not maids anymore, so they were allowed to sit on the table. Though they were still not real nobles, but their position in the castle was higher than Maggie's family.
People started to leave the dining hall after they finished their meals. Only Angele and some other teenagers remained after ten minutes, and he saw Celia was there too. She was sipping the thick, white fish soup, and she took a glance at Angele. Angele left the table after finishing his food, but someone stopped him before he left the dining hall.
"Brother Angele." Celia said, her voice was cute and crispy.
"Yea?" Angele turned back and looked at her.
"I heard Maggie went to your room several times recently…" Celia walked towards Angele quickly and said; she was blushing.
"Well, is there anything wrong with that?" Angele asked. He did not touch Maggie at all, and even if he did, there was nothing wrong with it. It was a convenient way for smaller noble families to build relationships with noble families that were in higher positions.
"I was trying to wash myself in the bathroom, but the hot water there is not constant, and I am wondering if I could…" Celia said with a very faint voice. Angele smiled; he knew what was going on. In the castle, there was a special bathroom built for people like Angele, while the low rank peasants could only go to a large bathroom. In the large bathroom, there were some individual rooms built for people like Celia.
The castle made sure the high-ranked nobles could have nice showers. For Celia, she could only use the individual rooms in the large bathroom. For the baron, Audis, and Angele, they had totally separated individual bathrooms, and there were maids making sure they could get constantly hot water. It would take the maids some effort to keep the water warm, so only a small amount of high-ranked people could enjoy their showers.
However, Celia wanted more than just a shower. She wanted to shower with Angele. Angele looked at Celia; he could see her long black hair. The red one piece she was wearing made her look gentle but beautiful. She did not have a sexy body like Maggie, but she was still very cute. Angele stared at her white skin, and he could smell the fragrance she used.
"Sure, I think I am going to get rid of the dust on me, too." Angele was enthralled by Celia and spoke with a smile on his face. Celia gave Angele a hug; Angele could see her face blushing heavily. Some of the girls in the room were jealous of Celia, while some of the boys were looking down on her. However, everyone was trying to maintain eye contact with Angele because no one wanted any trouble.
"Let's go." Angele put his arms on Celia's shoulder and said.
"O…Okay." Celia answered.
Angele knew Celia wanted something from him, so he decided to take advantage of her. He was not actually trying to have s*x with her, but he still wanted to have some fun. He avoided s*x because he wanted to make sure his body could develop properly.
They left the dining hall together and went towards the living area after crossing the training grounds. Angele's individual bathroom was in the living area, and he asked all the maids to leave them alone. He also told Cecilia to stay in her room.
Angele led Celia to his bathroom. Angele thought the bathroom looked like a standard washroom on Earth, just without the toilet part. The floor was built with shaped stones, and the whole room looked grey. There were white towels on a stone-made stand.
Angele ended up taking the shower by himself because he was afraid that he'd lose control if he took a shower with Celia, so he asked Celia to wait outside the room. Also, Celia already told Angele what she wanted.
An hour later.
Angele felt refreshed as he walked out of the bathroom. Celia was still waiting outside quietly.
"I will ask Wade to help you with the things you asked," Angele said, "have some rest."
"Um… Okay…" Celia did not look at Angele directly and answered.
"Maggie!" Angele yelled. Afterwards, he heard the footsteps of the maid.
"Yes, Young Master." Maggie said.
"Take Miss Celia back to her room. Go across the training grounds." Angele asked.
"Yes." The maid said, and she left the place with Celia.
Angele wanted people to know that he had 'slept' with Celia by asking the maid to take Celia back through the training grounds. There were many people there usually, and someone would often spread rumors. He was trying to help Celia get into a higher rank in the castle.
"Well, since I promised her, I'd better move." Angele smiled as he said. He walked down the stairs after shaking his head. He went down from the fourth floor to the third floor, expecting Wade to be there. He wanted to tell Wade about the thing that Celia asked.
Angele went to Wade's room and knocked on the door, but no one answered. Suddenly, he heard someone talking outside the window before he was about to leave. He then slowed his footsteps and walked to the window. The sound was coming from below.
"… Is that true?" Wade asked. Angele, however, did not catch the first half.
"Yes, Master." The guard said.
Angele saw Wade talking to a guard at a corner through the gap of the window. He was a bit too late, and their conversation was already over. Angele could see Wade worrying about something, and the guard by his side remained standing quietly.
"Well, you can leave now." Wade sighed as he spoke.
"Yes, Master." The guard answered and left afterwards.
Wade stood at the corner for a while and left the place after sighing again. Angele could see him walking towards the living area.
"Wade would tell me if there is something I need to know about. This must be something I cannot help with." Angele thought, and he decided to go down the stairs.
Angele met up with Wade right after he went down to the first floor.
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Chapter 19: Intent to Kill (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
"Young Master Angele." Wade greeted.
"Old Wade, what happened? You look worried." Angele asked.
"Nothing special. I am just too busy recently, and I am already old you know." Wade said.
"Alright, could you do me a favor?" Angele asked before telling Wade about the thing Celia asked. Her mother, Miss Katyusha, wanted Angele to remove her fruit import tax.
"Sure, I can do that. I will remove the tax, but the amount of fruits she needs to import will not change." Wade said and smiled.
"Yea, sure, thanks." Angele smiled as well.
"Now I have something I have to take a look at…" Wade said.
"Sure, you can go." Angele had nothing else to say anyways. Wade went up stairs quickly, and Angele decided not to ask what actually was going on.
"Well, I will just keep increasing my attributes. I want power. Zero, check my body condition.'" Angele thought.
"Angele Rio: Strength 2.1 to 2.6, Agility 2.5, Stamina 2.2." Zero reported.
The Blue Bamboo Shoots were working well for him. His strength increased from 0.8 to 2.6. That was the maximum number the bamboo shoots could help him reach. Angele could feel that his body was resisting its efficacy, and he did not find any other helpful food after.
"Maybe it's about time to use that power…" Angele made the decision in his mind.
Ten days later in Audis's territory.
It was early in the morning, and the sky was clear. There was a clean river running through the verdant forest, and the cobble in the river looked nice and colorful. A group of soldiers were letting their horses drink water by the riverside; the baron stood underneath a tree and looking at the route. A middle-aged man was standing beside the baron; his hair was already white. There was a silver long sword on his waist, and he looked relaxed.
"I did not expect to see you here, Chris," the baron said in a light tone, "I still remember the moments where you fought by my side during the wars."
"Yea, and you are always on the frontline. You also taught me several fighting techniques. I'd be dead a long time ago if you did not help me," Chris said.
"Wait, why are you here again? I thought you went to the north," the baron asked.
"Karl, did you get the letter from the Dark Emblem?" Chris asked, "That's why I am here. There is something I have to let you know about. Come with me," he said.
"Sure, I haven't seen you for a long time. We could chat for a bit, too." The baron said as he started to walk towards the forest. Chris also started to walk, and they disappeared in everyone else's sight quickly.
"I think no one else is here, tell me why you are here." The baron stopped after walking a while and asked with a deep voice.
"Karl… I!" Chris remained quiet for a second and said.
KA!
Suddenly, Chris drew his sword and stabbed it right into the baron's waist, but somehow his attack got deflected by something.
"Chris! You!" The baron did not expect him to attack, and he yelled, but Chris did not talk as he continued attacking the baron again.
"Traitor...!" The baron grabbed the greatsword from his back with his eyes filled to the brim in anger.
In the forest outside the castle.
Angele was disappointed as he walked out of the deep forest with his longbow in hand. It was already his fourth attempt in searching for the Crazy Mountain Bear. He wanted to slay it after he increased his attributes. He wanted to make it pay for what it did to his father. However, the thing never showed up even once. Angele had even tried to lure it out using blood.
There was nothing Angele could actually do if it just didn't show up, so he decided to walk back to the castle. He changed his clothes and headed to the special library after he returned. That was the place he loved the most in the castle because it was quiet and peaceful, and he could enjoy his own time there.
In the forest, the baron laughed as he raised his greatsword.
"Farewell, Chris!" The baron said as he tried to attack.
"Ahhh!" Suddenly the baron's right eye was struck by an arrow from the bush. Blood started to ooze out of his eye, continuously dripping to the ground. A green arrow hit the baron's eye, making him drop his greatsword while in pain.
Chris took this chance to roll away and stood up quickly. Though the baron was badly injured, he still tried to remain cautious.
"Lisa! It's you! AHHH!" The baron was yelling like crazy. He grabbed the arrow in his eye and pulled it out. Blood rushed out of the wound and spilled all over the grass. Two people walked out of the bush. One of them was a middle-aged woman who had a small bow in her hands. There was a black ring worn around one of her fingers.
"Long time no see, Rio." The woman was very calm.
The other man made the baron become even more flabbergasted.
"Audis… You too?!" The baron could not believe what happened, but Audis stood beside Lisa quietly and did not say anything.
"Rio, you had such a high expectations for your future. You wanted too much! And the things you did for your son made too many people unhappy!" Chris laughed and yelled.
"Knight Audis's son's girl was abused to death in your castle, and the reason why it happened was because your son said he wanted that girl. You need to pay for what you have done!" Chris kept saying.
"Wait… You guys waited until I was on my way to the mine. Wade is in this too?!" The baron said. He stood up with his eye still bleeding.
"Yes, otherwise someone will at least notice you are missing. My sister was killed by you, and my father! Today is the day you pay for all this!" Lisa said.
The baron stopped talking. He was going through his memories with the people in front of him. The woman he loved, the man he saved, and the young warrior who admired him were all trying to kill him now.
"Kirin…" He also remembered the one he loved the most.
It was a chance for the three, and they looked at each other before attacking.
"Go!" Lisa yelled.
The three grabbed their weapons and started attacking.
"Father…" For some reason Angele just felt that something was going on with his father. He had just met his new father after the reincarnation, but he could really feel the love from him. He held his silver family insignia in his hand. There was an eagle surrounded by some thorns on the insignia.
"Something is wrong here… Wade was really worried there, and it seemed like my father knew nothing about it. Father had the most power in the castle so he should at least know if anything was wrong…" Angele felt so confused as if he felt like he missed something important.
"What am I missing…?" Angele said as he looked around the family insignia.
PONG!
The door of the study was pushed open. Angele turned back and saw Wade standing there, smiling. There were four heavy armored swordsmen standing behind him.
"Young Master Angele." Wade said. The four swordsmen drew their swords from their backs, and the atmosphere became heavy in the room right after. Angele stayed in his seat and put down the insignia.
"What are you doing, Wade?" He was surprised.
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Chapter 20: Near (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
"The baron is not doing his job well. He does whatever he wants in the territory, and the taxes are way too heavy. I decided to do something about it to make the Rio territory peaceful again." Wade smiled as he spoke.
Angele stared at them in surprise. He finally realized that they had betrayed the baron.
"Wade, you decided to betray my father, too?" Angele felt a bit sad because he actually liked Wade.
"Too? Ha, Young Master Angele knew about this already?" Wade was a bit surprised. Angele looked way too calm, so he felt a bit worried.
"Well, since Young Master already knows about this, we could make things easier for you." Wade said.
"Easier? Ha?" Angele laughed. He then drew his sword slowly and disappeared from their sight.
"AH!" Suddenly, two guards outside the door yelled. Angele slashed their neck open, and they died without knowing what happened. Their blood splattered all over the ground.
"I have no need for traitors." Angele said.
Wade never expected this kind of scene to unfold, so he forgot to react. He started to sweat profusely. Angele could see the sweat all over his forehead. Wade could not figure out what Angele just did. He was a mid-level knight, yet Angele was much faster than him.
"Top level knight?!" Wade said, his voice shaking.
Angele lowered his sword with a facial expression that screamed indifference, seemingly uncaring at all. He had slain two guards in but a second, and he really did not think Wade could do anything to him. There was a wide disparity between each level.
"You are a top level knight?!" Wade stepped back with a pale face. The young man just killed two guards easily, and at this moment, he was nonchalantly trying to wipe off the blood on his sword. It was as if the act of killing was something of a normal occurrence to him.
"I really… did not expect you to be a top level knight…" Wade knew he could not escape Angele's sword, so he just stood there.
"How could Angele Rio…" He finally made up his mind and took out a black iron claw.
"You took care of me for so many years. I will do it swiftly." Angele looked at Wade and said.
"Heh…" Wade knew his plan failed because no one would've expected a playboy to be a top level knight.
"You can kill me, but you can't save Karl." Wade calmed down, and he laughed.
"Yea?" Angele asked coldly.
Wade yelled and started to run down the stairs like a ghost. He also threw something towards Angele's waist.
Dang!
Angele blocked the black knife easily, and the knife flew towards the stone wall. He then rushed towards Wade like a white flash, which was much faster than Wade. The two ran out of the living quarters and reached the training grounds. It was early in the morning and there were about thirty people training there.
The two ran outside the castle quickly, and they were so fast that they looked like two shadows. One of them was white, while the other was black. The white shadow occasionally struck the black shadow, and people around could hear the noise of metal clashing against each other. No one actually knew who the two were, but they knew the two were at knight-level.
The training grounds became lively, and the students were completely interested in the identities of the two. Only several teachers saw the clothes that the two were wearing, but they never thought that the two were actually Angele and Wade.
Angele was right behind Wade. He had trouble reaching him. He could kill a mid-level knight, but if Wade was just trying to run away, Angele would not be able to kill him like how he killed the two guards. They kept running, and they were already several kilometers away from the castle. Angele was going so fast that the trees on the side became blurry.
"Wade, you think you can run away from me? I am young and you are old. You won't last too long. How about you stop and tell me your whole plan. I can probably let you go. You served the family well all those years, after all." Angele said while chasing.
"Let me go?" Wade laughed and stopped talking. Wade thought Angele was just like his father, so he really did not think that Angele could keep promises. The baron had just killed two guards after making promises at the training grounds. There was no way for Wade to trust Angele.
If Wade kept running, he could probably escape Angele. Angele was a bit nervous. Though Wade was old, he still had his seed. The seed could help him increase his power within certain duration, and it could also boost his speed. Angele also wanted to make Wade spill the beans about the situation of his father.
Angele grabbed something from his pouch and threw it right towards Wade. Wade heard something was coming and tried to avoid by leaning to the right, but his left arm was still grazed by it.
"It's poisoned!" Wade screamed and jumped away. He stopped at a large stone by the roadside. Angele stopped there, too, and looked at the old man that served Rio Family for so many years. He was having complex feelings about Wade.
"Any last words?" Angele asked calmly. Wade tried to make his wound stop bleeding, but it seemed like nothing was working. He knew the poison was going to kill him.
"I guess I am done here. I did not expect a result like this, I just…" Wade laughed.
"I will leave you here, but I will take care of your family. Also, I did not kill you." Angele sighed, and he took out a black card. There was a bloody red spider shining on the card.
"You are an assassin from the Dark Emblem? You are just fourteen years old and you already have ability like this… How talented you are." Though Wade was not sure if Angele was the assassin, or if Angele killed the assassin and grabbed the card, he knew he could not win this fight.
Wade took a deep breath; the poison had already paralyzed half of his body.
"I will tell you where the baron is, and the actual situation. Just make sure my family is taken care of." Wade said, and then he started to tell Angele of all the things he knew.
BOOM!
Audis was blown away and flew towards the bush on the side. His blood that splattered on the ground left a trail. In the forest, the baron was holding his greatsword while still standing. Blood was still trickling out of right eye slowly, and there were wounds all over his body. He had a crazed expression on his face while glancing around.
"We were the best group in the army, but now…" The baron suddenly started laughing. Chris and Lisa were standing by the trees, and the three formed a triangle. Chris had a wound on his left arm, but it was not deep.
Lisa was severely injured and her waist was almost cut open.
"Karl, everything has to end today!" Lisa yelled in pain, her shaking voice apparent. Audis finally stood up in the bush and spat out some blood. He tried to support his weight using his sword. It looked like he was hurt, too.
"I thought we were on the same level…" Audis laughed.
The baron's long hair was covered in blood, which made it look like it was glued together. However, he still looked wild and gentle.
"I treated you like my own blood, Audis! You've really disappointed me…" The baron said.
"Disappointed?" Audis laughed.
"You had all the power in your hand, and you had Kirin, too! I gave you my silver mine and my son's girl! Why?! Why did I do all those things?! You are going to die!" Audis yelled.
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Chapter 21: Near (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
It looked like the baron was trying to say something, but he decided not to talk. The wound on his eye made him lose a lot of blood, and he knew there was not much time left for him. If he did not take the arrow before the fight started, he could probably handle three knights easily, but now, he was trying his best to stay alive.
'I can't give up my life here, Angele still needs me.' Karl thought. The most important person to him was his son, and the beautiful woman he could sometimes meet in his dream.
"Why? Karl, are you afraid of death?" Lisa asked coldly, and she saw the baron was trying to escape. "Today is our best chance. You are not going anywhere!" She yelled.
The three surrounded the baron, but no one wanted to be the first one to attack again. They were hurt during the first several attacks, and the baron's power was out of their expectation. The baron was dying, and they could probably just hold their positions. The baron might try to at least get some of them if they started to attack again. At this point, no one wanted to make a dangerous move.
Angele was running towards his father as fast as possible. He was so fast that he could barely see the trees by his sides, and he was only looking at the front. Angele learnt the location of the baron from the dying old Wade. Angele was actually familiar with the location, and he still remembered the days he spent there when he was young.
Knight Audis took him to hunt there many times, and Angele knew the location when Wade said the name. He knew he had no time to waste, and his father's life was on the line. Angele almost reached the limit of his speed. He had an agility of 2.5, and it was about twice of an ordinary human being. However, it would take him a lot of stamina to maintain his speed, and he had to take some rest along the way.
Angele knew he needed stamina to help his father, and if he used up all his stamina, he might just die with his father. He also took the poisoned dagger back, and he wanted to use it as a secret weapon.
The baron slashed forward.
DANG!
There were sparks flying off in all directions.
Audis blocked the attack right away, but his whole body was shaking, and there was blood coming out of his mouth. Audis's face was soaked with blood and sweat, and it looked horrifying. On the side, Lisa kept firing arrows towards the baron, but the baron dodged them easily by leaning to the sides.
Chris quietly moved his position, and stabbed the baron in the back. His slim sword went into the baron's strong muscle, but got stuck there. The baron used his elbow to fight back, and his attack landed on Chris's chest. Chris screamed and fell down to the ground; he spitted out a good amount of blood. It was looked like a bear pushing a human away.
The baron then pushed Audis back, and turned around. He ran into the forest behind him.
"He is trying to escape!" Lisa yelled. The three got excited, because they knew it meant the baron could not handle the attacks anymore.
Without hesitation, they followed the baron into the forest.
Angele ran to a high ground in the front, and he wanted to view the whole forest. The location he got was part of the forest and he needed some other intel. Luckily, his chip could do the job, and he decided to scan the area for living beings.
The high ground looked like an empty ground, and there were only some stones on it. No grass or plant could be seen. Angele had a great view of the area on it.
"Zero, scan for human beings, and try to recognize Karl Rio if you find any." He said.
"Scanning..." Zero reported.
Suddenly Angele's sight was covered with blue colored information and data. Human beings were being marked as red dot in the forest.
A group of merchants, two men walking around the forest, some robbers, and several red dots were shown by the edge of Angele's sight.
'Scan completed, Karl Rio was located, about 13.4 kilometers from here.' Zero reported.
'How's his situation?' Angele got excited.
'Losing blood, chasing by three knight level people.' Zero reported.
Angele left the high ground right away, and started to running towards the location at full speed.
In the forest.
The baron was running around some small paths. He started to feel the weight of his greatsword, and it was not a good sign. He could easily carry it for days if he was not hurt. The leather armor on him was broken into pieces.
There were three people following him in the back, and they were his best friends. But now the three were just trying to take his life away. The baron's face was getting paler and paler, and he was sweating heavily. Some of the sweats got into his wound, and he felt extremely painful.
His right eye was not bleeding anymore due to his excellent recovering speed, but the wound looked infected. The three in the back were not trying to get close, and it looked like they just wanted to waste the baron's stamina. However, the baron could not stop even though he knew their plan.
Suddenly an arrow was fired towards him, and the baron dodged it easily. The arrow hit the tree by the side, and dropped to the ground.
"You are not going anywhere, Karl!" Lisa's voice came from the back, and she sounded very tired.
"You guys are going to die too!" The baron yelled, and he knew it was a competition of their stamina levels.
Chris started to accelerate, and got very close to the baron quickly. He again tried to stab the baron's back, and Audis tried to attack with his greatsword from another angle. His greatsword was very heavy, and the baron could hear the sound it makes.
The baron rolled back and dodged the attacks. He then hit Chris and Audis with greatsword, and they flew to the side. The baron did not control his strength well, and the blade went into a tree on the side.
At this moment, Lisa jumped to front and tried to stab the baron with her black dagger. She was light and fast, and the baron was still trying to take his greatsword out of the tree. He looked at the coming dagger, and somehow he was very calm. He saw the angry face of Lisa, and he was not scared at all, he was actually thinking of someone else.
"Angele... How are you going to survive this world alone...?" The baron said while staring at Lisa.
DANG!
Lisa's dagger was hit by a silver flash, and the two weapon sparked a little in the air. The silver dagger was thrown with extreme power, and Lisa's balance was broken in the air, she fell down to a bush on the right.
A familiar face appeared from the shadow, and everyone there was surprised.
Angele was breathing heavily, and there was sweat all over him. He was holding his sword tight.
"Father..." Angele said. The baron stared at his son, and he thought he was dreaming.
"I am getting you out of here, father!" Angele finally smiled after seeing his father was still alive.
"And I will kill everyone who is trying to hurt you! I am going to hang their heads over the entrance of the castle!" Angele yelled.
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Chapter 22: Leaving (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Angele's words silenced the three people behind. Audis looked at Angele and tried to figure out how strong he was.
"Good, I didn't know a playboy like you actually had such strong power. However, it is too late!" Audis said.
"What do you even mean by that?" Angele walked forward and stood by his father's side. He lowered his silver sword.
"It's simple." Chris coughed and said.
"You really think Karl is our only target? I think your castle is in chaos right now. We brought an army there." Chris said as he laughed coldly.
"Wade... And?" The baron asked.
"Karl, aside from your son, almost everyone in the castle is on our side. Just give up already." Lisa said. Her abdomen was greatly injured but she still maintained a calm demeanor.
"Also, Saladin's soldiers will arrive here tonight and their first target is your castle!" Lisa said.
"You are with the Saladin Empire?!" The baron got angry, and said. Angele had mixed feelings about this because he knew the Saladin soldiers he had killed were up to something.
Angele drew his sword and jumped towards Chris, trying to mount a surprise attack on him.
DANG!
Chris was able to block Angele's slash, but he still took a hit. Angele then quickly attacked Chris with a low kick, smashing against his abdomen. Chris lost his balance and stepped back to stabilize his body. His face turned pale and stared at Angele with a surprised expression. Angele immediately seized this chance to finish him off, but his path was blocked by a greatsword.
Without hesitation, Audis tried to chop Angele's head off with a quick but precise attack. The baron saw the situation and tried to help, but Lisa jumped on him. Angele dodged the slash with ease and aimed his sword toward Audis's right chest, but his sword was blocked by Chris's slim sword.
Angele had just travelled a long distance at full speed on foot so he was out of stamina. After his attack was blocked, he had to step back and keep his distance with the two. Angele could deal with Audis by himself because the latter was already severely hurt. Audis had high strength while Chris had high agility; their abilities complemented each other.
The two became surprised at Angele's speed, and then they stopped attacking. Angele was gazing at them intently and trying to formulate a plan to win the battle.
"Master Audis, I never thought we would be in a fight like this. I actually find it funny..." Angele said as he was trying to recover his stamina.
"Me too. I didn't know you were so strong. Karl has a good son." Audis said in a light tone, and it seemed that he was trying to recover some stamina. He decided to have a little chat with Angele.
Angele smiled. Though he was stronger than Audis and Chris, he was still having trouble fighting the two at the same time. However, he had stored a great amount of data about Audis in his chip.
'Analyze the situation and devise a plan to execute Knight Audis.' Angele ordered.
'Beginning analysis... Gathering data... Finished. Plan completed.' Zero reported.
'Show me the plan.' Angele thought.
'Visible data placed in front of you.' Zero reported.
Angele started to see the blue colored information points in front of him and his vision was covered with helpful hints. Audis's weak points were marked with red dots and the plan devised by Zero was sent to Angele's brain. Zero suggested possible ways of attacking and the possible counterattacks Angele might face.
Zero could easily do that if it had enough data. Angele raised his sword and rushed towards Audis, and he struck Audis's greatsword three times in a row. He then turned around and dodged the attack from Chris. After dodging the attack, he rolled to the right and hit Audis on the ribs with his left elbow.
"Shit..." Audis failed to dodge it due to the weight of his greatsword, but he managed to punch Angele right in the chest in retaliation. Angele and Audis jumped back again with the latter's face turning pale. The strike inflicted on his rib was right at the wound the baron inflicted on him. Audis felt really sick and really wanted to vomit.
"Damn..." Angele stepped back right after he got punched. Chris chased him down and started attacking him again.
They both had high agility and they kept blocking each other's blades. Suddenly, they backed off after trading hits. Chris had his hands covered over his neck as he sat down by a tree. His face was drenched in sweat, and Angele could see blood leaking out of Chris's neck. Angele almost cut Chris's neck open, but Chris somehow dodged the deadly attack.
Angele's left side of his waist was stabbed and the wound looked like a bloody hole. He successfully stopped Audis, but he still had trouble dealing with Chris after. Audis and Chris were very close to the top level, and if they were not hurt before the fight, Angele would have a hard time.
However, the tides of the battle had been turned. Audis probably lost the ability to fight and was in great pain. He held his stomach with his hands, his organs were injured. Angele had twice the strength of a normal human being, and his low kick had been aimed right at Audis's weak point. Even if Audis could survive this, he would probably sit on a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Angele looked at Audis and stopped his wound from bleeding by putting pressure around it. He grabbed his sword with his right hand and turned toward Chris. They both took a hit, but Chris was still bleeding badly and his face turned paler and paler.
On the other side, the baron kicked Lisa on the waist and the woman flew toward a tree on the side. Leaves fell down after the impact and were soaked with the blood coming out of Lisa.
"It's over." Angele said. Though he was hurt, he still looked better than the other three. He won the fights with his sword skills and the help of the chip. Angele's body was not as strong as the baron so the baron could take more hits than him. He had to dodge as many attacks as he could because his body just could not ignore any wounds.
"Yeah, it's over." The baron walked over and looked at the three with mixed feelings.
"Heh... Karl... Your victory means nothing." Lisa laughed and said. She raised her head and stared at the baron in the eyes.
"The Saladin Empire is coming. They will take everything from you. All these years you spent will be burned into ashes... All..." She did not finish her words and spat out a lot of blood out of her mouth.
"So what?!" The baron laughed coldly and kicked Lisa right in the waist again. It was not a light kick, making Lisa roll several meters away. The blood was all over her body.
"Lisa, I will take 'good' care of your son and two daughters." The baron stared at her and said.
The woman on the ground wanted to say more, but her mouth was filled with blood. Every time she tried to talk, the only thing that came out was her blood. She was dying.
"Father, just finish them off. The Saladin soldiers are coming. We have to head back and deal with them." Angele said.
The baron was satisfied with how his son handled things.
"You head back first. I will be right back when I am done here." The baron said.
Angele looked at Chris and Audis. Chris was losing a lot of blood and Audis probably could not fight back anymore. He thought his father was not in danger anymore and now he needed to formulate a plan to deal with the Saladin Empire. Angele thought they needed to go back to the castle as soon as possible and get all the traitors. If this did not happen, they could probably fight the Saladin soldiers back. Now that the baron and Angele were injured and the castle was filled with traitors, the best plan would be leaving the castle with whatever was left.
Angele again looked at the three on the ground and nodded his head. He left the place quickly while keeping the pressure on his wound. The other traitors in the castle would not be able to fight him even if he was hurt. A normal warrior could probably never win a fight against a normal knight. Also, since their leaders were all dead, they would probably just surround him.
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Chapter 23: Leaving (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
If Saladin Empire really sent an army here, Angele would try to grab whatever he could before escaping. Anyways, he needed to check the situation in the castle. Angele chose the route he came from and found a horse on the way. The horse was probably from the criminals he saw earlier and it helped him save some stamina.
It still took him a while to get back to the castle, and it was already afternoon. Angele went across the training grounds outside the castle and he saw the door of the entrance was already lowered. There were bodies and blood everywhere and he could still hear people fighting inside.
"The situation isn't so bad." Angele got off the horse and said. He was still applying pressure on his wound to prevent it from bleeding. His face was pale, but he had no problem walking. Angele drew his sword and walked inside the castle quickly. Some of the bodies were the guards and some were the post knights. Dark blood stains were everywhere and Angele even saw two post knights trading their lives by stabbing each other in the neck.
It looked like not everyone was trying to betray the baron. Angele walked towards the training ground beside the living area, and there were people fighting. Over the main tower, one blonde man and some of his followers were carrying out tons of coins and jewelry. They were yelling and laughing. In the living quarters, several students were trying to guard the entrance while the guards were trying to break in.
Angele looked around and rushed to the training grounds with his sword on hand. One of the student heard his footsteps and tried to attack him. Angele dodged the attack easily and slashed the student's neck open. The student fell down to the ground and died. Those post knights were just too weak and very slow. Angele felt like they were moving in slow motion, and he just killed everyone who tried to point their swords at him.
People around finally realized who he was.
"It's Angele!" They yelled. Many people watched him dancing around the traitors and cutting their necks open. The guards and students that were trying to protect the castle started cheering for him. The people in the living quarters were watching the situation through the windows and they saw how strong Angele had become.
"Wo...Woah..." Celia and Maggie were surprised. The others around were speechless, too. The ones who were looking down on Angele felt ashamed.
The battle did not last too long and many traitors started to run for their lives after knowing that Angele was at a knight's level. They threw away the valuables and just tried to escape. They needed some heavy weapon to actually deal with Angele. The blonde man ran away first and without him, the rest all escaped quickly.
Some guards went out to chase and were able to kill about ten of them. They returned to the castle while cheering. Angele asked the doctors who were still alive to help the injured ones. The baron had just returned to the castle as well and asked the workers to start packing up all the valuables. He also awarded the ones who defended the castle a huge amount of coins. After dismissing some of them, the baron gathered the main members of the family and about twenty loyal guards.
Angele sat down on a chair and took a break. He watched the baron organizing the things in the castle. Maggie and Celia stood with their parents, deciding to leave the castle with the baron. Several other children of the baron decided to leave, too. Everyone else were either killed or have already escaped the castle.
Cecilia survived as well. She hid in a large water tank this whole time. Her clothes were soaked with water and she was standing beside Angele. The baron glanced on the group he just gathered and looked at his son for several seconds.
"Tonight, the army from Saladin Empire will be invading my territory. We have to leave this place forever. We might not be able to come back in the future. If anyone of you wants to leave with me, then you only have this one chance. If not, you may leave the castle now." The baron solemnly spoke with a deep voice.
The survivors started chattering and some of them decided to leave right away. The twenty guards decided to leave with the baron and only about 12 people from the family decided to depart with him. The castle once had hundreds of people living in it, but now, only 32 people decided to stay with the baron. Angele and his father had mixed feelings about it.
Maggie's father pushed her on the shoulder and she understood what her father was trying to tell her what to do right away. She saw Angele sitting on a chair with a cold expression on his face. His sword was lying beside the chair and he could grab it quickly if he wanted to. Maggie felt her heart beating very fast as the current Angele did not seem like a playboy at all. He looked like a totally different person.
Celia ran towards Angele and gave him a hug. The girl looked like a bird that just got scared and started crying.
"Angele, are you alright?" Maggie walked towards them quickly and asked. Her face was blushing. Angele looked at the two girls and the people around him. They all lowered their heads and looked at him with a tinge of fear on their faces.
"Maggie and Celia, are you leaving the place with me and my father?" Angele asked calmly.
"Yes!" Maggie replied without hesitation. She knew that this would be what her parents wished. Angele had already shown his power and he had huge potential. Maggie's parents saw his performance and were very happy that they asked Maggie to become close with him.
"Me too." Celia said in a light tone.
The baron was conversing with the guards on the other side, planning their escape route and resources. He recovered fast thanks to his high stamina. Though he lost an eye, it was not a very big deal. The baron felt much better after taking some special medicine. The doctors cleaned his wound on the eye and covered it with cloth.
He was yelling at the workers for the preparations and sent some of the guards out as scouts. He wanted to make sure that the Saladin army haven't arrived yet. Angele was just talking to some of his brothers and sisters on the side. Angele also understood his father's plan after listening to his orders.
The baron decided to leave the Rudin Empire together with whoever wanted to follow him and go east to the Andes Alliance's dock called Marua. His young sister, Maria Rio, lived there. She got married with a noble there a long time ago, and they had a close relationship with the Rio Territory. They communicated with letters from time to time. The baron wanted to take some good rest there and also wanted to plan for the future. He lost almost everything today and it was impossible for him to stay in the Rudin Empire. Andes Alliance was a better choice for him at present.
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Chapter 24: On the Way (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
The baron's plan was based on the fact that the Saladin Empire would invade the castle tonight. The sun had not set yet, but it was getting dark. The sky looked beautiful while the sun going down. Outside the castle, the baron was standing by a large stone in the training ground. He was looking towards the west, and it was where he sent the sentries to. The others already packed up their belongings and there were three large carriages on the road. About twenty people were just standing there and waited.
Angele asked the leader of the guards, Mark, about the route to the Andes Alliance. Cecilia was standing beside them, and looking at Angele. She was sold to the family, and there was nowhere for her to go back.
"I heard the Andes Alliance is a very different country than the Rudin Empire?" Angele asked.
Mark was in his mid-forties, and had some thick beard on his chin. His face looked like yellow wax, and one of his ears was broken. He lost half of that ear to a Saladin Soldier during the early war.
"Yes, I have been there once, and I was escorting Miss Maria to her new home. It was a great trip." Mark said.
"Empires such as Rudin and Saladin put all the power in the king's hand. The Andes Alliance has a king too, but they also have the house of commons. The king could not do whatever he wants. Also, the Marua Harbour is a very nice place to stay. It's much better than our territory, and it might even be better than the Candia City!" Mark said, and he looked excited.
"The streets there were so f*cking clean. Many races lived together, and you could buy whatever you wanted. There were many stores, and crap ton of ships. The place was… probably the most beautiful city I had ever been too." Mark said.
"Really?" Angele got curious, and people around were also attracted by Mark's description.
"If we get on the road right away, it will take us about half a year to get there. It is pretty close actually. We need to travel across the Anser Plain, and we will see the border there. We have the baron and Young Master Angele in our team, and we could easily deal with the robbers on the way." Mark got very excited and said.
"There are robbers on the way?" Angele scrunched his eyebrows and asked.
"Yea, not many. The situation is much better now." One of the guard on the side said.
"I am from the Andes Alliance. When I arrived here a long time ago, I encountered several robbers on the way, and they killed half of my team." He kept saying.
"Well, it sounds dangerous." Angele said with a light tone.
"It doesn't matter!" Someone said, and people looked over to the direction the sound came from. The baron was walking here with a serious face, and a guard was following behind him. The guard looked very tired.
"Get ready everyone! Those Saladin skunks already crossed the border, and they will be here in 15 minutes!" The baron yelled.
Angele grabbed his long bow and quiver, and checked his sword on his waist. He was ready.
The three large carriages started to move on the road. Angele and the baron sat on the first carriage, and they were the only people in that one.
"Father, it would take us half a year to get to the Marua Harbour? How far is it from here exactly…?" Angele wondered. Angele could travel through the whole Asia on the earth for half a year. He was really curious about the size of this world.
"Yea, it took me about six or seven months last time." The baron scrunched his eye brows, and answered.
"Don't worry, we have enough money. We will take two stops on the way, and we could get some supplies there. The worst case we can still hunt in the forest." He said.
"How was your eye?" Angele nodded and asked.
"It's fine, I can still live with one eye." The baron said. Angele stopped talking and asked Zero to examine the baron's body condition.
'Karl Rio: Strength about 2.2, agility about 2.4, stamina about 2.1. Condition: Injured, strength and stamina will increase after the burst. The agility lowers.' Zero reported, and it surprised Angele. The numbers were much lower than the last time. He just could not believe that.
'Get me the previous data.' He thought.
'Karl Rio before the injury: Strength 2 to 4, agility 3.4, stamina 3.9.' Zero reported.
'Why did the numbers decrease?' Angele asked.
'Permanent organ damages.' Zero reported.
'Any chance of recovery?' He asked.
'Had a recovery chance of 11%. Many highly processed medicines are necessary.' Zero reported, and listed a whole bunch of medicine names. There was no way for Angele to find those, and he probably could not help the baron right now. He took a deep breath, and sighed.
5 days had past since they started to trip. There were only trees around the team, and they were still on the way. Angele and the baron had the first carriage, and the other two were full of supplies besides carrying people. Mainly food and water. Some of the girls had to walk for a while to let the horses rest.
Angele just sat on the carriage and he was recovering. He was badly hurt during the fight, and he needed good rest. The chip made him a recovering plan, and that helped him a lot. He could do some general activities on the fifth day.
Angele woke up from the dream, and sat in the carriage. His body was shaking as the road was a bit bumpy. He could hear the hooves stomping on the ground. The sunlight made the carriage very warm inside, and Angele grabbed some water to drink. The drink got warm too, and he opened the door to get some fresh air. He decided to sit by the coachman.
The sun light was really burning, and Angele just kept drinking water. The coachman was very slim and thin. His name was Ant, and he was one of the baron's relatives. He looked weak in the grey suit. Ant smiled when he saw Angele sat by his side.
"Young Master Angele, you woke up." Ant greeted.
"Where are we now?" Angele yarned and asked.
"Two more days and we will be out of the forest. The baron said there is a river ahead, and we could get some water there." Ant answered politely.
Angele nodded his head, and started to look at the trees on the side. The carriage sometimes bumped due to the stones on the road. The wind was hot, and it was blowing all over his brown short hair. Angele still felt very hot, and he knew the baron was probably having some 'fun' with one of his wives in the back there. He was a bit speechless when he thought about it.
'Zero, how was my body condition.' He asked.
'20 secs of activity will blow up your wound. Estimated recovering time: 15 days." Zero reported honestly.
"That's going to take a while…" Angele said, and suddenly he smelled something.
"The smell of blood!" Angele sensed the smell from the warm wind, and yelled.
"Ant, stop the carriages!" He ordered.
Ant nodded right after he heard Angele's words, and grabbed the long stick on the side. The stick had a whiter cloth on top of it, and Ant waved the stick several times. It was the signal to stop the carriages. The three carriages slowly stopped, and the people got a bit nervous about the situation.
"Rock, Berries, you two go take a look on the side, and the rest get ready!" Mark smelled the blood too, and ordered. Angele grabbed his gear and jumped off the carriage. Angele was checking his gear, and he saw the baron got off one of the carriages in the back. He was still putting on his clothes.
"What happened?" The baron asked with a light tone.
"Something happened in the front, I smelled the blood." Angele said.
The way was forked in the front, and there were some blood stains on the left side. The blood was on the grass, and it made a trail to the side bush. It was the route they were going to choose.
People got noisy, and were trying to figure out what was going wrong. Angele and the baron got serious when they saw a broken wooden shield beside the blood stain. There was an owl and axe sigil on the shield, and it was enhanced with black iron. Apparently the shield did not help its master, it was broken, and it was covered by blood.
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Chapter 25: On the Way (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
"That is a thick wooden shield forged with black iron. I can't even break through it even if I am uninjured…" the baron said in a serious tone.
"What should we do?" Angele got nervous. Though he was a top level knight, he could not break a shield like that; at this moment, he could even imagine a sinister scene coming into fruition.
"Owl and axe; it is the insignia of Viscount Candia," the baron said.
"No one here could break a shield like that, so it is probably someone from the Saladin Empire. Angele, come with me," the baron said with a deep voice.
Angele nodded his head. Only he and the baron were the knights in their caravan. Even though Angele was merely 14 years old, in such situations, age became a meaningless constituent. They commanded the guards to maintain a circumspect behavior and walked towards the wooden shield carefully.
They saw a corpse equipped with black armor lying there; the engraved insignia on the armor was visible to them.
"It's Ruhr…" the baron said. Ruhr was the strongest knight under Viscount Candia. The man's corpse was then turned over by the baron using his feet. Countless flies plagued around him, and a rotten stench leaked out of his corpse; the corpse had already become pallid from its post mortem state. His head had been split open with a wound the size of a finger's width.
Angele felt a bit nauseated as he looked at the corpse. The man had a huge physique; he was slightly fatter but shorter than Knight Audis. His head injury was so deep that Angele could even see small chunks of brain matter coming out of it. The grass around the corpse was dyed red, and several roving insects were all around it.
"He was not assassinated," The baron said as he inspected the corpse; he seemed to be unaffected by the repugnant stench.
"It took the opponent about two hits to finish Ruhr off. Only a grand knight could do something like that," the baron said after checking for a while.
"Grand knight?" Angele never heard of that before.
"What kind of knight is a grand knight, father?" he asked.
"A grand knight can kill me without incurring injuries," the baron said.
"The last time I saw one was during the Orchid War. Saladin Empire is being serious this time. They even sent out a Grand Knight to lead the attack…" the baron said in a worried tone.
"What should we—" Angele's words were cut off by the baron. The baron examined the trail of blood and traced it into a corner. After about 5 minutes, he asked Angele to slow down while he hid into a bush on the side. Angele, too, realized that something was amiss at their front.
It sounded as if people were in a battle within the close proximity of the two. Angele left the bush together with the baron as they trod uphill. They lowered their bodies and peered down, gazing at an empty ground beneath the hill.
There was a fight taking place in that area. A long-haired man in a brown leather suit was surrounded by a small army in the middle of the ground. About 10 swordsmen were also with him, but all of them were wounded. They all had green-striped cloth tied around their arms. On the other hand, the soldiers surrounding them all wore black iron armors and they numbered about several hundreds. Two knights in white armor stood at the forefront, looking at the long-haired man. Many had been killed already, such that their lifeless bodies were strewn all over the ground. It seemed that the battle was already way past its crescendo.
"It's the black army of Rudin while the ones in the middle are from Saladin." the baron explained in a low voice.
"Just surrender already, Martin Francis. You don't want to lose your life here as a Grand Knight. That would be a pity." One of the knights in white armor said calmly as though he was very confident.
"You think that's possible?" the long-haired man laughed. He had a strange accent and a voice that sounded like he was singing.
"I am just the leader of the Third Vanguards from the Saladin Empire. There are more to come. You guys are done, Jones. How about joining us? Master Andre will treat you well." the long-haired man laughed and said.
For some reason, the knight named Jones did not order his men to attack and only kept trading words with the man named Martin. Angele and the baron listened to their conversation for a while, and then decided to first go back.
"They have many archers there, and the grand knight won't be able to deal with them." the baron said.
"Archers? You mean the ones outside the circle?" Angele asked.
"Yea, I was a leader in the sentry squad during the war. I once saw a grand knight being slain by a group of archers; it only took several seconds for him to go down. A whole group of archers is a powerful force. Well, let's go back and choose a different route since we don't have much time to spare. Though the black army is from our country, they might still attack us." the baron said.
Angele nodded, but did not say anything.
"The Saladin Empire is serious this time. The Rudin Empire and Saladin Empire have thousands of miles gap between their border lines. They need more than three grand knights to be the vanguards and countless knights to follow up. If the Forest Knights are here, the Rudin Empire won't be able to do much…" the baron kept saying; he looked despondent and at the same time, uneasy.
Angele could understand why the baron was worried. Knights were rare in small noble territories, but there were countless knights in the whole country. Knights were mere elites of an army and there could be thousands of them. The Rudin Empire never recovered from the previous wars, so it would not be able to handle the Saladin invasion this time.
Suddenly, they heard the sound of archers firing arrows in the back and the battle cry of the grand knight. Angele asked the chip to analyze the grand knight's ability right away.
[Rough analysis of the grand knight: Strength is around 7 to 9, Agility is 6 to 7, Stamina is 5 to 8. Attributes might increase greatly during the potential burst.] Zero reported. The data was based on the ongoing fight.
[How is that even possible…] Though Angele knew the numbers were going to be high, he did not expect such higher numbers. He bit on his lips as he became worried. The man was probably much stronger than the Crazy Mountain Bear because he was a trained warrior, and he had battle skills the bear did not have.
[Zero, show me my numbers.] he asked.
[Angele Rio, injured. Strength is around 2.1 to 2.6, Agility is 2.7, and Stamina is 1.8, it should be 2 normally.] Zero reported.
Angele was again in shock. He was proud that he could kill a knight and also of the fact that he didn't have the feeling of helplessness from before. However, based on the differences of the attributes between him and the grand knight, he would be killed easily just by their pure strength and speed. He would not have a better ending than Ruhr if he were to engage him in a battle.
"I am still so weak… The grand knight was a leader of a whole troop and he was not the only one." Angele said. He felt that the situation was really bad.
"It's fine, Angele. Your body has certain limits due to various reasons, but if you focus on improving sword skills and archery skills, you can still be very strong. However, the grand knights are definitely out of our concern, especially when they all have very strong backgrounds supporting them." The baron saw Angele's expression, and said. He did not know how Angele increased his attributes in such a short period. Though he tried to give Angele the Life Energy Seed, his son did not have the potential to accept it. The baron was still trying to cheer Angele up anyways.
Without the seed, people could never become a grand knight. Human beings had limits to their body developments and their attributes would eventually reach the limitations. They needed the seed to break past the limitation and condense battle aura around them. Angele read about it in the special library.
"All hail the Saladin!" the voice was extremely loud.
Angele and the baron were shocked by the voice and so turned back to the battlefield. They knew it was the last words of the grand knight. Saladin Empire just lost one of their greatest warriors.
"If I was not injured this time, I can probably become a grand knight in ten years. But…" the baron said. He sounded a bit forlorn. However, his injury was severe to the point that he could never recover to his original state.
"My hopes are on you now, son…" The baron stared at his son. Angele knew his father was looking at him, but he did not stop his footsteps. He walked towards the front quickly.
[Zero, how much agility will I gain from the emerald's energy?] Angele asked.
[About 2.1, and 0.3 stamina. It will take 11 days. The remaining energy is about 1/12.] Zero answered.
[Remaining energy? What do you mean?] Angele was surprised.
[Body development is reaching the limit. The limit is set by your gene. Only the special energy will remain.] Zero reported.
[You mean I can never become a grand knight?] Angele asked.
[94.53% probability that you will not become a grand knight.] Zero reported.
Angele suddenly gripped his sword tightly and stopped walking. He started to stare at the sky, but his sight was blocked by the tree leaves and sunlight. The sunlight was hot and dense, which Angele could feel with his hands. However, he felt a bit bleak from hopelessness.
"What happened? Angele?" the baron asked from behind.
"Nothing. It's nothing. Let's get back and start move again, father." Angele answered.
"Yea." the baron said.
Angele suddenly thought of the ring, the mysterious ring that had special engravings on it.
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Chapter 26: Coincidence (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
It had been four days since the baron's caravan avoided the battleground and had chosen another route. Trees were becoming sparse as they continued to advance, which meant that they were nearing the outskirts of the forest.
Night slowly descended. The baron was driving one of their own carriages with Angele seated beside him. He steered the horse with its reins, occasionally glancing at his leather-made map as he navigated through their preordained route. Twilight was falling, and blanket of darkness and shadows gradually covered the forest bit by bit. Angele raised his head and looked at the sky. The clouds could still be seen with the naked eye. It hid the sun behind, which caused these clouds to be dyed red by the color of dusk.
The wind was blowing across Angele's face, carrying with it was the fragrance of flowers that wafted into his nostrils. The heat from the day could no longer be felt much, but it was still there. Some random insects began to produce noises, signaling the overture of their concert at night — a scene that reminded him of Earth. Angele laid on his back at the edge of the carriage, lethargy slowly creeping toward him.
"Father, are we out of the forest now?" he asked.
"Almost, we will enter the Anser Plain by tomorrow at noontime. We are around Vlasov Woodland now," the baron answered Angele's question. While he did so, he kept track of their current location on the map.
"Vlasov Woodland? What is this place?" Angele became curious.
"After we turn left here and advance for about five kilometers, we'll start seeing a bunch of maple trees. There is an abandoned manor there, formerly owned by a noble from Vlasov. It had been burnt down during the war. There are rumors saying that only ghosts lived there now. I've never entered it when I passed by several times during my travels before," the baron said in a fearful tone.
"There is something amiss with the manor. I don't know, but I just think it's dangerous to enter," he said. Angele felt that he had read about it on a book once somewhere, but he just couldn't recall which book it was.
"Wait, how could've those Saladin armies traveled so fast? We didn't even see them overtake us," Angele asked.
"They are after the major territories. Some of them had gone too deep and gotten themselves killed instead just like the grand knight we just met." the baron explained as he kept the map back into his pouch. A well-drawn map was like a precious treasure in this era.
"Vlasov Empire was once a tyrannical power. Now, it has been turned into ashes. Nothing can contend with the passage of time, not even such a powerful empire…" The baron emotionally sighed.
Angele stopped talking. They continue to sit side by side. The only ones making noises were the horses. It was becoming dark, and the air was becoming chilly. Many miniscule shiny objects flew around the carriages, each of it about the size of a nail. This painted a scene as though they were traveling with a blue halo around them.
Angele's eyes became wide open as he looked at this mesmerizing scene.
"What is this?" He couldn't help but grab one of these objects. The blue object was the size of a piece of nail that fell down on his palm. As he looked closely, it seemed like a seed of a dandelion. It was tiny, and had a shiny blue color on it. The seed would've looked just like any other plants' seed if it wasn't shiny. Angele could only barely feel it even when this blue seed laid on his palm. Its blue light reflected on his face, which made him look slightly blue as well.
"It's a Green Ear Masa. In the Volasov language, it means 'the umbrella of the sea'. The Volasov people consider themselves as the sons of the sea that they even think that this plant is sent by the mother sea to protect them on land. It has been a while since I last saw the 'Rain of the Masa'." It seemed as though the Masa reminded the baron of something.
"The road is now barely visible from the darkness. Let's set up camp here." Baron Karl shook his head as he spoke.
"Alright." Angele said. The carriages slowed down as it afterward stopped, and were then parked beside the camp area. They found a suitable empty ground to camp, and some guards decided to survey the area. Several people picked up branches to be used for the campfire while some dragged the carriages to form a triangle formation around the campsite. It was a good formation for defence in case something happened.
It took about ten minutes for them to set up everything. One campfire was lit up in the middle while three were lit up around the outer perimeter. The guards were assigned to take turns for the nightwatch. Meanwhile, the women and the workers settled in the middle area. They began to take out the cooking equipments and food to be prepared for dinner. The camp became lively quickly.
The baron went inside on of the carriages and had his wound on the eye checked by a doctor. The latter also reapplied some medicine on the wound for the baron. For the time being, Angele grabbed a blanket, placed it over a stone and sat on it. His longbow and quiver were carried on his back, his unsheathed sword by his waist, and the silver daggers in his pouch. Also, he tied the chain claws on the back of his waist. Angele wore his leather hunting suit since it was more suitable in such an environment. The suit was lightweight and it had moderate defensive power. Wearing a heavy armor in a forest would only make him an easy, slow moving target.
Angele sat on the stone and looked over the sky.
"How beautiful…" he said while feeling relaxed. He looked over the gap of the carriages and saw Maggie organizing their things together with Celia and some other girls. Mark was checking the situation of the area with the guards. Several guards were adding branches into the fire, and they lit several torches after. They did so to increase and ensure the safety of the people in their caravan.
No one checked on Angele because people knew that he loved to sit by the side alone. He had asked the people not to disturb him, so they followed his request. Angele took out a necklace that had chained the emerald ring. He held the ring in his hand, and started walking around the camp. He kept glancing over the bushes at the side.
After walking for awhile, he suddenly lowered his body by a small bush. There were several small, round red fruits borne on it. This plant had long, hard leaves, and he could even see small insects moving on it. There were also several shiny Masa seeds that dropped on the bush. Angele took one of these red fruits and threw it into his mouth. It tasted quite sour and at the same time, bitter.
'Angele, this wild fruit contains moderate poison. Data obtained from the Wild Plant Record. No enhancement effect detected,' Zero reported. Angele became disgruntled as he heard this and spat out the remaining. 'It's a no-go. I really want to find something useful,' Angele thought as he stood up. He walked around for awhile, yet he found nothing special. The chip did not find anything useful to him. Angele still desired to reach the apex as fast as he could even after knowing that his body had a certain limit. He wanted to become stronger, and the easiest way to gain strength was, still, eating food. He didn't need to actually eat them, though. He only had to put the item he wanted to analyze into his mouth to get the result. Otherwise, he would've already consumed many poisonous plants.
Angele was still curious about this world, so he was quite interested in everything. He had always felt refreshed whenever he encountered something new to him.
Nothing much occurred that night, and in the next morning, their caravan vacated the place. Angele felt as though they were about to leave the forest because the trees around them weren't as many as before. The baron was sitting in the first carriage, and he opened the window to check.
"We are almost out of the forest. The Anser Plain is just ahead," he said.
"It means there might be some bandits around the intersection, right?" Angele asked while he wiped his sword with an oiled cloth.
"Yea, that's why we must stay alert," the baron said.
Angele nodded and put his sword back into the sheath. His agility had reached the limit with the help of the mysterious energy.
'What's my body condition.' Angele asked.
'Angele Rio: Strength is around 2.1 to 2.6. Agility is 4.1. Stamina is 2.2.' Zero reported. Angele felt slightly despondent, but at least his agility now could be considered eminently high by him. He should be stronger than the him of the past ten days, nearly reaching the level of an uninjured Baron Karl. He had far better sword skills, so he might even be stronger than the baron himself in certain situations.
However, he knew that he was still considered pretty weak in this world. The grand knight from before was much stronger than him, but even then, he couldn't survive a barrage of arrows from a whole troop of archers. He thought of the emerald ring again and the mysterious power that might've come from the wizards of the ancient times. Angele still had qualms about the source of this power, but he knew the ring was enchanted.
He suddenly heard sounds of people fighting up ahead, and he stopped thinking right away.
"Something is going on there!" The baron asked the coachman to slow down. The carriages slowed down, trying to lessen the noise.
"Father, I am going to take a look." Angele jumped out of the carriage and said. The baron nodded his head as he knew that Angele was good enough for such a task. Angele quickly rushed forward, leaving the forest right away. He hid himself in a bushed and surveyed up ahead.
A caravan of five carriages was surrounded by bandits who each wore grey scarves on their heads. The guards of the caravan were fighting against them. Three knights mounted on horses were fighting against five bandits who seemed to be the leaders in the encirclement of carriages. Angele sharply sensed from the battle in that area that the people there were far stronger than the others outside of the encirclement.
'Get me their data.' Angele ordered.
Zero put up the blue data in front of his eyes right away, and Angele looked over to one of the knights.
'Target unknown: Strength greater than 4. Agility greater than 2. Stamina greater than 3.' The data read.
'A knight with such strength is actually in trouble? … Just how strong are those bandits?' Angele was surprised. The baron once told him that people with knight-level strength existed amongst bandits, so lords would definitely hire any knight-level warrior. The knights would live much better lives than being bandits.
On their way to Marua Harbor, bandits were usually in groups of ten, and the strongest ones were probably close to post knights. But the ones ahead of Angele looked quite different. Angele looked at one of the bandit leaders. He saw the blue data popping out on the side.
'Target unknown: Strength greater than 4. Agility greater than 4. Stamina greater than 3. Burst potential is close to Karl Rio's, about 72% similarity detected.' Zero reported.
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Chapter 27: Coincidence (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Angele had difficulty in ascertaining the current situation, so he checked the other leaders' statuses. The weakest of the five bandit leaders was a mid-level knight while the rest were all top-level knights. There were also another ten knight level bandits who fought with the caravan guards. Meanwhile, the caravan only had two top-level knights and a single normal knight, which undoubtedly showed the dire straits they were in.
Angele had also noticed that those bandits didn't seem like the typical bandits he knew of. They carried out orders in a precise manner and fought differently compared to typical bandits — much like how armies fought in skirmishes. It seemed as though they were authentic soldiers who were disguised as bandits. Thus, Angele was able to deduce their identities as well as their motives for doing so. It might be that they lacked supplies, which was why they were raiding supplies from travelers and caravans. With that, Angele gained a highly probable idea of the situation from his deductions. He then withdrew and returned back to their caravan. It didn't take him a long time to inform the baron of the situation. The baron became surprised after hearing the current situation. Subsequently, he made a decision to change routes again so as to avoid getting in conflict with those "bandits".
"It must be the Ukusas Empire Border Army!" the baron said.
"They must've heard of the invasion plans of Saladin Empire, thus they decided to raid several fleeing Rudin nobles. That caravan must've originally been from a major city since they even have three top-level knights. Yet, they are still having trouble escaping." he continued. Angele was concurrently feeling nervous, even having his senses keener as he tried to catch every sound he could hear. He wanted to guarantee that those bandits did not notice their existence.
Angele also did not forget to get intel on some of the weaker bandits while he was scouting from within the bush. It seemed as though that not only were they raiding, but they were also training at the same time. An average knight could handle around five post knights. If those bandits found out the location of Angele's caravan, they could easily wipe the caravan with the bandit leaders' assistance.
Angele finally realized that in a countryside territory like Rio Territory, knight-level warriors could already be considered rare. However, larger families in major cities could easily train hundreds of post knights and half of them could even become real knights. This showed the stark contrast between them.
The bandit leaders were overseeing the fight while conversing with one another.
"Master Ceylon, a young guy in the bush observed us for a while. He could be a scout of the enemy!" One of the bandits with a grey scarf on their heads came in and reported.
"A young guy? Those Rudin bastards really don't learn. Ha, Caster, you want to take a look? Otherwise, I am going." The man named Ceylon turned to another man and said.
"You go. Just make it quick since we don't have much time left. We still need to meet up with the leader, and we definitely can't those royal members from Rudin escape. We're going to be in deep trouble if we fail our actual mission," the man called Caster, who had a gentle disposition, calmly said.
"Sure! I will finish him in 20 minutes. It's just the countryside, so how strong can a young man from the countryside be? Hahaha." Ceylon wiped his bald head with a piece of blanket and grabbed his greatsword.
"I need five men. Anker, Hasis, come with me!" he yelled.
"Affirmative! Master Ceylon!" Two knights wearing black-greenish leather suit stepped out. Both of them held a broadsword in their hands.
"I'll accompany you. Things are finished here." Another leader stepped out.
"Orisis, why do you always seem to get in my way?" Ceylon said as he looked at the man named Orisis. The latter smiled without responding. Orisis carried a metal longbow on his back and his quiver hung on his horse's saddle.
"How can that be, Master Ceylon? You do know that I admire your strength and skills." Orisis said while still smiling.
"Whatever! Let's go!" Ceylon cut off the conversation then waved his hand. The two knights followed him from behind, at the same time bringing about ten horse riders. Ceylon's company started traveling toward the eastern direction relative to them swiftly.
"Master Ceylon, we have two top-level knights here. Why are you so nervous? No one can escape my arrow, you know?" Orisis said, his tone light and his voice slightly feminine. It was a voice that could make people uncomfortable.
Ceylon didn't respond. Instead, he continued to increase his speed.
In the forest.
Three carriages were moving slowly between the trees. The gaps between the trees were wide enough for them to get through. The atmosphere in the caravan was quite tense since not even a single person was talking — only the sounds made by horses resounded throughout. This signified just how nervous they were with the current circumstance. The guards around the carriages carefully scrutinized the surroundings constantly, apparently showing their increased vigilance.
A fully-equipped teenager with short brown hair was sitting on the coachman's seat. A wooden longbow was being held in his hand. A silver crossguard sword hung by his waist as well as a quiver of arrows that was being carried upon his back. He wore a leather suit as his armor and also had a pouch with him. There was something inside the pouch, but no one knew of its contents. This teenager was also keeping track of the surroundings in a careful manner.
Their traveling pace wasn't too slow nor was it too fast. Yet, the highest possible speed had already been reached to its limits. A man jumped into the carriage and sat beside the teenager. The man who had a long brown hair had his hair draped all over his shoulders. This man was the baron, Karl Rio, who still had his right eye covered with a bandage.
"Angele, ten more minutes then we'll make a turn and enter the Anser Plain. Our current location is nearly at the border of the drawn map. Beyond that, we have no way to navigate the path, so we cannot afford to lose the right direction," the baron said with a deep voice.
"Sure, Father," Angele said as he nodded in affirmation. He looked the inside of the carriage and saw the girls who seemed quite nervous. The guards around the caravan already had themselves prepared for battle.
At the intersection between the plain and the forest.
With the sound of hooves stomping on the ground, a company of mounted bandits arrived at the location that Angele's caravan had recently passed through.
"Someone was just here. There are traces of passing carriages on the ground. You guys, go search for them!" Ceylon yelled after he took a glance at the ground.
"No need. I can track their general direction," Orisis yelled. He got off his horse and started to carefully observe the leftover traces.
"They've most probably already found us and tried to change routes. Let's go after them!" He said as he pointed at the direction the baron had chosen.
"Huh! Nice tracking skills, let's go!" Ceylon had to admit that Orisis was a skilled tracker, even though he was still quite unhappy with him.
Suddenly, they heard the intense noises of fleeing carriages moving at high speed.
"A big group! About ten carriages! We could obtain a lot from them!" Orisis, Ceylon, and everyone else accompanying the two looked excited.
"Hasis, Anker, you two go take out the small fry! The rest, just follow me!" He raised his greatsword and advanced onward.
"I am in this, too!" Orisis said as he followed suit. Hasis, Anker, and the other four bandits became speechless after being left behind by the two.
"Well, let's go for the small fry. I hope we don't bump into someone strong." Hasis said after shaking his head.
"What are you afraid of? We have the best weapons in our arsenal you know." Anker laughed and subsequently took out a brown crossbow.
The rest of the mounted bandits retrieved their own crossbows from the bag of their own horse's saddles.
"No one will know it's us if we clean up the scene properly," Anker said.
"Sounds like a plan. Let's go." Hasis nodded his head and said.
They started their pursuit toward the origin of the sounds.
'Enemy detected. Six mounted bandits are getting close.' Zero reported. Angele had already noticed them actually.
'In the end, we were still tracked.' Angele thought as he jumped off the carriage.
"Keep going! Don't stop!" he yelled. The guards were becoming more and more high strung, and yet, no one made any sound. They were, after all, well-trained and would faithfully carry out orders.
"What happened, Angele?" The baron saw Angele jumping off the carriage, so he asked.
"Father, some people are pursuing us, so I am going to stall them to gain ourselves more time. You guys, just keep advancing." Angele calmly said.
"No, you go with them. Let me be the one to stall them!" The baron jumped off the carriage and walked toward Angele.
"It's fine. I'm just going to shoot arrows at them. I'll catch up shortly after," Angele said while smiling.
"Father, just keep an eye on the caravan. It will be easier for me to escape if I am alone. Besides, I won't directly engage with them," Angele said. The baron looked at Angele. He knew the latter had great skills in archery and thought the latter would be fine if he found a good vantage position to shoot from.
"I'll stay with you," the baron said in a deep tone.
"Our whole family is in the carriages, Father. It will be better if you stay with them. I will catch up shortly, so don't worry," Angele said.
The baron looked at his son for a while. At a short distance, the sound of their fleeing carriages was gradually becoming further.
"I'll give you 15 minutes. If I don't see you back after that time, I'll come and find you," the baron said.
"Sure!" Angele nodded.
The baron knew that his son was competent enough to handle himself. However, the location of the enemies was unknown at present, so he still felt worried.
Angele made sure that his father left with the carriages before turning back. At this time, he could already see the mounted bandits emerging from the forest. He nocked an arrow on his longbow and pulled the bowstring as he drew it until the phantom of a full moon came forth from the fully drawn bow. Sunlight shone upon the arrowhead, which caused an azure hue to be reflected on its surface.
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Chapter 28: Mystery (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
CHI!
Angele shot the arrow drawn by him with his longbow. The target who was one of the mounted bandits cursed in surprise as he fell off the horse after being struck by Angele's arrow, which the latter heard through the chip. He stayed calm as he grabbed another arrow from his quiver, nocking it once again on his longbow. He was about 200 to 300 meters away from the mounted bandits, but with his chip's assistance, his accuracy and precision had reached 100%. That was an advantage he had over his opponents.
Angele focused on his targets while he pulled the bowstring to a full moon. He kept switching positions accordingly using the information provided by the chip. Suddenly, Angele felt a pain coming from his left arm, and he lost his balance along with his bow. The white-feathered arrow he had nocked on his longbow was dropped on the ground. A black crossbow bolt pierced his left arm, such that it nearly went through it.
'It's a crossbow!' Angele became surprised at this realization, and without hesitation, he rolled away.
CHI!CHI!CHI!
Three crossbow bolts sank onto the land Angele had formerly been, leaving only half of the shafts visible.
'How… Crossbows are actually impressive in this world!' Angele thought. He ran and hid behind a tree while applying pressure to his wound.
'The person who shot from such a distance must be strong and might even be a knight.' Angele tried to withstand the pain and grabbed the chain claw from his back. He cut the bolt head and the fletchings along with a part of the shaft, leaving the remaining part of the bolt in his arm.
'Zero, any good plan?' Angele thought as he cut the bolt to prevent his wound from continuously bleeding.
'Thank god they didn't poison their arrows. I'd already be dead if they had done so.' Angele felt lucky. It would seem that people in this world frowned at the notion of using poison, or he just hadn't encountered one. The chip analyzed his wound right away and sent the data to his mind.
'The head of the bolt has the shape of a rhombus, thus making you bleed constantly. You are losing blood at a rate of 1% per minute. Please finish the fight within 10 minutes.' Zero provided the most optimal plan.
'Damn! They have rhombus bolts!' Angele thought as he checked the battle record from the chip. He saw the warning of the incoming crossbow bolt, but because it was way too fast, it got overwritten by the data regarding the inflicted wound.
'The chip won't be helpful if it's an attack that has absurd speed.' Angele grabbed another arrow from his quiver after he thought of this matter. He was in great pain. Nevertheless, he still fully drew the longbow. His face was covered in beads of sweat from feeling the pain coming from his left arm at a constant rate. With a difficulty like this, he needed to double his focus in maintaining his accuracy.
The sound of hooves stomping on the ground became louder as the mounted bandits pursued him closely. He suddenly jumped out of the cover toward his left and shot the arrow when he was still in the air. It struck only empty space, then pinned itself onto the tree beside a mounted bandit. The wound on his arm and this situation he had never encountered before lowered his accuracy. He had also never practiced such maneuver, thus it only made the horse scared. Two horses at the forefront stopped and raised their hooves, neighing as they tried to flee, yet their riders held the reins tightly to stop them.
"He can't run from us! Anker, let's go!" One of the mounted bandits yelled.
"Got it!" Two other mounted bandits increased their speed, rushing toward Angele. Each drew their respective broadsword on the way. As Angele heard the sound of swords being unsheathed, he threw his longbow right away and grabbed the chain claw.
Angele listened intently to the sound of the hooves drawing closer to his position. He momentarily shut his eyes and pinned one side of the chain to the tree he was hiding in. When the sound reached Angele's position, he threw the chain towards that direction quickly. The black chain claw flew to the thick branches and twined around it, thus making a simple trap to trip the horses.
The two horses, being unable to slow down in the slightest, rushed toward the trap.
BANG!
The branches broke into pieces and the horses crashed down with the chain on their feet. The horses neighed in pain resulting from their front legs being broken from the impact.
"Crap!" One of the mounted bandits fell off the horse and smashed his head against a stone on the ground. Angele became ecstatic in the effectiveness of the trap. He dropped the chain and unsheathed his sword, slashing the mounted bandit who rolled toward him after he stepped forward.
DANG!
The mounted bandit blocked Angele's sword and attempted to kick the latter in retaliation. Angele stepped back but felt a chill from behind before he could attack again. He leaned to the side, successfully dodging a slash.
"Little f*cking bitch!" The mounted bandit behind cursed loudly, his accent resembling to that of a resident of Saladin. Angele could easily understand him because the language of Saladin resembled that of Rudin's. The dialects might be different, but it wasn't hard to understand. The mounted bandit who nearly got pummeled by Angele took this chance to stand up and waved his sword toward Angele right away, perfectly complementing the other mounted bandit's attack. Angele couldn't retaliate and even had to retreat.
These two mounted bandits flawlessly kept on attacking Angele in perfect coordination, such that they began to increase their pace. Although Angele blocked nearly every attack, he started having trouble in handling the strength of his opponents.
'These two have impressive coordination with each other, and they are definitely close to a top-level knight. Even Audis will have trouble facing them.' Angele seemed calm on the outside, but he was actually getting overwrought.
PONG!
Angele was blown away by the impact of a kick that he had failed to dodge. Since he himself knew he couldn't stop moving, he rolled toward the side. His high agility helped him dodge four crossbow bolts when he rolled, but his wound had gotten worse in return, which left a trail of blood on the ground. Angele hid in a bush and ran behind another tree to take a breather. He started to breathe heavily and beads of sweat even dripped down his chin.
'What should I do in such situation…?!' Angele was really nervous. He even thought it was already the end of the line for him.
Two knights that were close to top-level and superb coordination skills. About four crossbows aimed from the side. With these factors, he couldn't take chances in fleeing with his speed. Also, he wouldn't be able to win against the two knights head-on. Angele racked his brain for ideas, but he couldn't come up with a plan. He was starting to become frustrated at his helpless situation, especially when his current circumstance was much worse than his encounter with Dice. Dice's knives were much slower than the crossbows that greatly hindered him from reading the information gathered by the chip. The first bolt had already taught him of the lesson.
'Zero, give me a plan.' Angele ordered.
'Stamina dropping quickly. Please take out the ranged enemies and escape right away.' Zero reported.
'I wouldn't ask this question if I could deal with these goddamn crossbows!' Angele got angry.
'The left part of your head will be hit after one second,' the chip warned. Angele lowered his head and counterattacked with his sword. He blocked the attack successfully, but the opponent blocked his slash easily. The two mounted bandits performed pincer movements with perfect coordination. Angele was forced to remain encircled by their attacks and the sword skills he was proud of couldn't do anything. Those two mounted bandits also had some well-practiced sword skills, leaving little or no unnecessary actions in their movements. Angele couldn't find the chance to retaliate since after one of the two mounted bandits missed an attack, the other would fill the gap right away.
The two continued striking Angele, such that the three had already exchanged no small number of blows within a short span of time. Actually, Angele was being forced out of his cover due to the pressure they were exerting on him.
'The crossbows will easily get me from any angle once I'm out of the bush. They don't even need to get close.' Angele grasped the situation correctly, but the two weren't letting him move freely. Angele was being forced backward due to the impacts of the blows that the two mounted bandits showed especially since it was because they had a similar strength level as him.
Angele would've already been long dead if he didn't have the special sword skill set constructed by the chip. There was barely any unnecessary movement in the set, which made him gain the ability to block the attacks perfectly. However, Angele's wounds were inevitably opening because of his actions. The kick also injured his left arm and he was losing blood and stamina at a fast rate. His blocking capability was becoming weak and his eyesight was getting blurry. Sweat even dripped down into his eyes.
"You are very strong as a teenager. Are you some child of big noble family?" One of the bandits laughed and said.
"Only those kids have the chance to learn grand knight level sword skills and your attributes are quite high for your age. It must be nice to be a kid in a big family." He continued.
"If Master Ceylon was here, this kid would've died already." The other bandit said, not even slowing one bit. Their swords seemed like two silver flashes in their hands as they continued attacking Angele from both sides. Every attack was accompanied by another, showing no flaws at all. Angele tried to find an opportunity, and yet he failed to do so. He wanted to take out his knives, but he had absolutely no time to spare.
CHI!
One of them slash Angele's chest, resulting to an injury about 10 centimeters long.
"It's over!" One of the bandits yelled as he slashed toward Angele with his full strength.
Angele did his utmost to block the attack with his crossguard sword, but he was still blown away to the ground. He couldn't stand up after the impact. His plan had failed and the power of the crossbows was something he hadn't expected. Angele had already experienced death before, and at this instance where death had once again chanced upon him, he actually calmed down completely. However, he was out of strength and severely injured, even losing no small amounts of blood and stamina.
There was no way for him to stand against two bandits with strength of a top-level knight and four crossbows. His eyesight was already too hazy, but he could still see the bandits slowly walking toward him while shaking the blood off their broadswords.
'Zero, any plan left for me?' Angele thought.
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Chapter 29: Mystery (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
'Chances of survival: 5.15%. No plan available other than the reserved one.' Zero's reply made Angele lose all hope.
Angele wasn't surprised at the result, but it seemed as if he would have to use the reserved plan as his last resort. He had plans on increasing his growth speed using the special energy, also deciding to save the energy for future research. However, he probably had to use it now, otherwise, he would just have himself killed here. Angele wanted to at least slow them down.
'Commence the plan,' Angele said. He was lying on the ground and staring at the sky. Several clouds moved slowly and a black bird flew over while chirping.
'The sky looks like a pure gem…' Angele thought.
'Wait, gem?' Angele stopped thinking for a second as he remembered the magical word.
"Manss!" Angele didn't think too much and yelled out the word.
Suddenly, intense green light covered him and made him look like a shining sun — a scene strange enough for one to witness.
"Enchanted item! Back off!" The two bandits looked surprised that they even backed off right away. It was as though they had seen something horrifying.
KA!
Time ceased its incessant passing as everything turned black and white. The bandit was frozen in his motion with one of his feet still in the air. The leaves that were falling off the tree hadn't reached the ground. One mounted bandit was still aiming his crossbow at Angele. The golden sunlight turned into a black and white flash. No sounds could be heard, and even then, the wind that should've been blowing came to a halt.
Angele laid on the ground quietly. Green light perpetually emanated out of his body. Everything around him had come to a stop, such that the only thing in motion was nothing. Angele could somewhat smell something fishy, reminding him of the smell of the sea. He felt his body being covered by gentle wind.
'Warning! Warning! Radiation is infecting your body. Stored energy is being consumed quickly… 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%...' Zero kept reporting. Angele finally realized that he was still alive, and then he stood up quickly. Successive ripples flowing like the waves of the sea was the current state of the green light on his body. Then, he walked toward the two bandits.
CHI! CHI!
Suddenly, the monochromatic state of black and white returned to its former hue, and even the movements of all things returned. The footsteps of the bandits, the noise of wind blowing through the trees, and the chirping of birds — all came back like nothing happened. The green light dissipated from Angele's body, and the world was once again dyed in its original color.
The two bandits were still retreating, but their heads suddenly dropped to the ground and rolled backward. Blood spurted out of their necks, and the remains of their existence dropped to the ground.
"That was the power of… wizards?" Angele was completely dumbstruck and he couldn't believe what he just did. He looked at the two decapitated heads that had their eyes still open.
'Energy level reduced to zero.' Zero reported. Angele thought for a moment that he'd only been dreaming however fleeting of a moment it was. Still, he lowered his body quickly, evading three crossbow bolts that flew over his head. He retrieved his daggers and threw it toward the remaining mounted bandits. One of the mounted bandits screamed in response to being struck while the other three fled on their horses with fear in tow.
Angele looted the money pouch on the two dead bandits and headed back to the caravan. He felt his body paralyzed, unable to feel pain from all the wounds he had. However, he felt pain coming constantly from his brain. His vision was already too blurry, yet he ran onward to the direction of the caravan to return.
Angele thought that the power he wielded was different to the one he had before, but he was more confounded at the fact that time had been frozen still. The power was too great and mysterious that it made him feel more fearful. He kept on running, uncertain of how much time had passed. Finally, from Angele's hazy vision, he saw someone he was familiar with.
"Angele! God!" The baron's voice was shaky.
Angele saw the surprised expression of the baron after he slumped on the latter's arms. The baron looked very nervous, and even people around them were screaming. Angele felt the pain in his brain getting worse. He saw his own reflection in the baron's eyes.
Blood was coming out of Angele's orifices. His face was pale, eyes unfocused. The chip was sending information to him, but he could only hear nothing. The pain coming from his brain hindered him from thinking.
Fifteen days later.
In the endless plain, three black carriages were slowly advancing through the grass like ants. The wind was blowing across like the billowing waves of the sea. In the carriage at the forefront, a teenager with brown hair was looking outside the window. His body was covered with gray bandages and his face looked pale.
"Angele, are you feeling any better?" A man asked with a deep voice.
"Much better, Father. I think I will fully recover shortly." Angele nodded and said.
"That's good. Next time, I am not letting you fight alone." The baron looked relieved as he said this.
Angele smiled with mixed feelings. It had been 15 days since they left the forest. He was in a coma for two days, but he slowly awakened. According to the chip, his muscle was badly injured, and he lost a lot of blood. The bone in his both arms were fractured, and also had moderate concussion and stroke.
People in this world had general better physiques than the ones on Earth. It only took Angele 15 days to recover from such injury, instead of taking at least two months in the hospital on Earth. He was recovering very fast with the fruits of his daily training giving him assistance. Angele put his hand on the edge of the window and looked at the beautiful scenery. Although in reality, he was checking some information on the chip. He spent a long time trying to find out what actually happened that day.
He had a general idea about the situation. The ring was found on Dice's body, but he never used it before he died. If he had used the energy, Angele would've been dead for sure. He spent several days on analyzing the energy consumption and compared it to the moderate use he did before. Angele finally understood why Dice did not activate the ring.
'The radiation energy can only be used if the owner already has a certain amount of similar energy in the body, and it could only be activated using the command. The first time, the ring only brought some green light and agility enhancement, but it was nothing like that after. I guess the ring must have some sort of system to limit its power output.' Angele thought.
Angele used the radiation power to increase his attribute, and his chip helped him store a certain amount of the power in his body, which fitted the condition for using the ring. The chip extracted all the power and broke the limitation set on the ring. That day, he successfully activated the power by yelling the proper command. The radiation power was released from the chip in full and consumed it all. The result was strong but horrifying.
'Dice probably had only obtained it recently, or else he could've used the power before he died. Obviously, he could not activate it himself, so he kept it with him to store some radiation power into his body to fulfill the requirement of utilizing the ring.' Angele guessed.
'I finally understand why Dice didn't use the ring. The horrifying power damaged my muscle that day, probably due to the freezing of time. My speed was boosted to an impossible level, making me faster than time itself. Why did everything become black and white though? Maybe it was the radiation that changed the color around.' The carriage was moving slowly with Angele still making conjectures.
'Zero, show me the light spectrum that day.' Angele ordered.
'The color of the sunlight was removed by the radiation energy, leaving nothing but white. The shadows remained black, so you could only see black and white.' Zero reported and showed a graph of light spectrum to him. The columns on the graph kept changing to demonstrate the changes during that time.
'Why were there green lights on my body?' Angele asked.
'You were the source of those lights.' Zero reported. It could analyze Angele's questions quickly, so it instantly sent the conclusions to him.
Angele nodded his head slowly, finally having a general idea of the power. However, he used up the stored radiation energy.
'If the chip did not extract the energy, I wouldn't be able to use the ring myself. It requires the owner to have the similar energy as the ring, which means the owner must be a source of such energy already. People with such energy must be the Wizards.' Angele thought as he grabbed the ring on his necklace.
'It's most likely the case that the ring can only be activated by wizards. The two bandits spoke of it being an enchanted item. It might be the name for treasures such as this.' Angele looked at the ring carefully while using his finger to rub the emerald gently.
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Chapter 30: Sequela (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Angele played with the emerald ring for a while and tied it back to his necklace. He tried to hide the whole thing inside his clothes. The carriages were moving forward ever so slowly, constantly bumping by the small stones on the road.
The baron sat opposite to Angele in the leading carriage while holding a black canteen full of wine.
"It's nice that we found a river to wash ourselves and our clothes. Otherwise, the whole caravan would not smell good." The baron drank some wine from the canteen and laughed after.
"Our water supply is still limited. It would be lucky for us if we could find another river in ten days. I can now smell the sweat from everyone the caravan." Angele laughed too.
"Well, according to the map, we are already on a shortcut to another river." The baron tried his best to find the best route. Angele looked at his father's tired face. The baron was still strong, but the wounds and the sequela were affecting his mental state. He had lost everything and all his friends had betrayed him not so long ago.
Angele sighed. He knew Knight Audis's betrayal was a big shock to the baron, but there wasn't much he could do. Only time could heal the baron's broken heart.
"Father, I am going to check the other carriages." Angele said with a light tone.
"Sure, just don't do any intense activities." The baron nodded before saying. Angele nodded in response and looked at the baron's face for a second. He opened the door and jumped off the carriage.
The sunlight poured into the carriage after Angele opened the door, making the baron's hair look darker than before. He was looking at somewhere far outside the window as though he was reminiscing about the past. Angele somehow felt a bit sad after looking at his father, so he just walked towards the second carriage quickly.
"Hi, Young Master Angele." One of the guards greeted.
"Want some fresh air, eh?" Another one greeted him. Angele liked those guards more than the post knights and he trusted them more. Angele nodded and smiled before jumping onto the second carriage. Maggie's mother, Mrs. Jacklyn, was driving the carriage. This middle-aged woman was not attractive anymore, and Angele could see the wrinkles over her face. She looked like any other women in their mid-forties.
"Young Master Angele, you are here." Mrs. Jacklyn smiled and greeted.
"Yea, are they ready?" Angele opened the door and asked.
"I heard they're prepared." Mrs. Jacklyn answered.
"Good." Angele nodded and got inside the carriage.
The carriage was big, about the size of a large RV on Earth. It was like a large bedroom. Maggie, Celia and seven other people — 10 in total including Mrs. Jacklyn — could easily stay in the carriage together.
Angele had been surprised when he first saw one of those carriages, but he understood the reason when he realized that the size of a horse here was twice that of the ones on Earth. In the carriage, Maggie and Celia were organizing plucked flowers in the corner. They also caught insects and picked up fruits on the way. Those insects and fruits were piled up at the corner, emphasizing their colorful features. As Angele glanced around, he also saw other people sitting in other corners.
Besides Maggie and Celia, there were Maggie's father, Celia's mother, and three other children of the baron: two boys and one girl. The children were playing with some ants. A pharmacist named Henry was also on the carriage sleeping with a tired face. Cecilia, who was covered with a blanket, was sleeping as well in the corner.
The three children were Angele's brothers and sister, but they lowered their heads to greet when they saw Angele going in. It was their show of respect to him, especially when they were made aware of how strong Angele was after the recent events.
"Angele!" Celia and Maggie put down the purple roots in their hands and came over to greet him.
"How's the collection going?" Angele had a glance on the random things in the corner.
"As you ordered, we collected hundreds of different plants and insects these days. Everything is here besides the toxic ones." Maggie proudly answered before Celia could even talk.
"You two did a great job." Angele kneaded Maggie's butt and also kissed Celia on her lips after praising the two of them. He didn't care what the spectators would think anyway.
"You two can take a good rest now." Angele put those plants and insects into a larger bag. He then jumped off the carriage and got into the last one. The last carriage's coachman was Captain Mark, but no one else was in it. It was carrying all the supplies, such as food and water.
"Did my father come by recently? With Miss Katyusha?" Angele asked.
"The baron looked depressed recently, and Young Master, you should talk to him about it if you got time." Mark shook his head and said. Angele nodded. Miss Katyusha was the mother of Celia; she was wise and sexy. There were many beautiful ladies in the castle, but only she chose to stay with the baron when the baron asked this time. The baron began to like her more after that, and they even had some good time in the third carriage on the way. After Angele became injured last time, the baron barely came to the third carriage with her.
"Father is a bit stressed recently. Don't worry, he will get himself together." Angele said.
"Yea…" Mark sighed and stopped talking after. Angele opened the door and got into the carriage. Besides the supplies, there was an empty space in the middle. Angele sat down by a wooden box and put down the bag in his hand. He took some purple leaves out of the bag and put them into his mouth. Angele's face scrunched after chewing those leaves since it didn't taste quite well. He looked disappointed after a while as he spat everything out on a piece of cloth he prepared earlier. Angele then grabbed a large green caterpillar that looked exactly like the ones on the earth, but it had two heads. It looked like a forked branch, but with its heads moving around in Angele's heads and it having a lot of wrinkles on its skin, it looked very unappetizing.
Angele felt a bit sick. He applied a bit of strength on the caterpillar. The caterpillar died in a second and some of its green juice oozed out of its body. Angele dipped his finger in the juice and put it into his mouth.
"Crap!" Angele's eyebrows scrunched, still looking disappointed. He kept trying different plants and insects, and it took him a while to empty the bag.
"Found two useful ones." Angele said with a light tone. He put some black tree berries back into the bag and some triangle leaves as well.
He discovered about twenty different things that could increase his attributes, and he tried about thousands of different plants and insects. 4 out of 20 had no side-effects while the others all had something that would make Angele sick, so he only took the 4 with him. However, all the information was still stored in the chip including the useless ones. He merely wanted to keep adding things to his database that might be useful to him later on.
He spat out the remaining of the things he tried on a piece of cloth beside him, and dumped all of them onto the ground outside after.
'How much information was recorded, Zero?' Angele asked.
'About 2341 types of plants, 49 types of insects, 21 types of animal tissues.' Zero reported precisely.
"That's a lot…" Angele took a deep breath and started thinking.
"Angele? Are you there?" Maggie's voice came from outside.
"Come in." Angele stopped thinking and said. A girl got inside the carriage quickly. Maggie's body looked very attractive for her age, and yet only she was about 13 years old. Angele thought she looked like an 18-year-old girl on the earth. Additionally, she had decent sized breasts, attractive butt, and a slim waist. She was only wearing a gray one-piece and a pair of boots, but she still managed to show off what she was proud of. Her legs were fair and they looked shiny under the sunlight.
"Angele, I am here to change my clothes." Maggie's voice was very faint as she stood in front of Angele.
"Changing your clothes?" He whispered beside Maggie's ear. Angele felt a bit aroused, but he still asked Maggie to sit in front of him.
"Yea… Changing my… underwear… if you are asking." Maggie was blushing. Obviously, she wanted something else. Angele touched her long hair around her shoulder and smelled the fragrance on her.
"I will leave you here then." Angele smiled and said in a light tone.
"Could you… do it for me?" Maggie shook her head, her expression very bashful.
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Chapter 31: Sequela (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Two months later. Somewhere in the endless Anser Plain.
Three black carriages with an insignia of an "eagle around thorns" engraved on both sides were moving slowly against the wind. The sun was in its highest as it was midday. Billowing clouds were obscuring the sky and even deterring the sunlight from pouring down the earth. Blustery was the wind that was blowing all over the grass throughout.
Angele was sitting in the leading carriage looking outside the window. It was as though he was thinking of something. He used the plants and insects he had collected to slowly boost his attributes, but the sequela from his last injury brought him inconvenience. Though his body was strengthening according to the data, his limbs sprained several times during recent practices. The doctor informed him that he had osteoporosis after check-up and would take about a month for him to recover.
Angele, who was wearing a black hunting suit, sat by the window of the carriage. He was learning to distinguish different sounds from the outside and catch the crucial information from the noises through the chip's assistance. He foresaw many possible bandit attacks, which helped their caravan to tread upon a safer path.
They encountered several bandit groups, both big and small, but most of them were cleared by the baron. Larger bandit groups were all avoided because of the warnings given by Angele.
About five or six encounters with the bandits went terribly bad. In one of these encounters, one of Angele's brothers took an arrow to his neck and died right away. That was the worst experience they had. During that fight, the bandits were robbing a noble convoy. They had mounted archers, and they were quite agile and proficient in executing the orders of their leader. Angele also took an arrow to himself as he witnessed the knights of the noble convoy being slain in an onslaught of countless arrows.
The knights had attempted to charge forward, but many of them died from the shower of arrows. Several guards in the noble convoy burst out their potential in the final exchange, successfully driving away the bandits. Angele's caravan could've been wiped off the face of the earth if they were the ones targeted by those bandits.
On the way, Angele's caravan passed by many remnants of battlefields that were full of corpses. He could imagine just how intense the fights were. The baron also saw the corpse of someone he once knew, a grand knight from the capital city. The people in their caravan had become very scared after seeing those gruesome scenes, but after about ten days, they finally calmed down,
Angele finally grasped the gist on how strong he actually was in this world. In the best fight he had, Angele slew 28 bandits with his bow and arrows and his sword all by himself. It was an impressive feat, but he still couldn't deal with mounted archers. He killed about 15 bandits in the fight that also had mounted archers in their ranks. He kept doing damage to them until he took an arrow to his right arm. The mounted bandits were very fast and agile as they kept on dodging the arrows upon the horses, making Angele use all of his arrows. Angele wouldn't have secured so many kills without the help of the chip.
They had also been attacked by soldiers masquerading as bandits. The leader of those soldiers was a knight, and he shot multiple arrows that took out eight guards in the baron's caravan. He, however, was still slain with the coordinated attacks of the baron and Angele.
'Knights in this world are like the generals in ancient China. Just one of them can deal with hundreds of regular soldiers, though they still need good equipments. Without it, they are weak and they cannot deal with great numbers of ranged weapons.' Angele thought as he had now a better idea of knight-level warriors.
'Well, basically, knights are strong people with better fighting skills. However, I am still not the best.' Angele concluded, thinking that he wouldn't be able to contribute to anything in a real war.
'Check my body condition,' Angele ordered.
'Checking… completed. Angele Rio: Strength 2.7. Agility 3.0. Stamina 1.2.' Zero reported.
'Damn sequela... My attributes are almost halved by it. I am not recovering so well,' Angele thought.
"Some people are fighting up ahead, stop the carriages!" After about half an hour, Angele suddenly stood up and yelled. He detected another situation up ahead just by his hearing.
"Mounted bandits?" Baron looked over and asked.
"Probably, but it's just a small group." Angele nodded.
"I'll go take a look." The baron scrunched his eyebrows and said. He put on the silver chain armors on the side and grabbed his black greatsword. The baron opened the door and jumped off the carriage after it slowed down.
"Angele, some Rudin nobles are being surrounded by the bandits. Let's take another route." The baron yelled outside after a while. Angele was about to reply, but he heard something again and the expression on his face changed.
"No, too late. Some of them are coming for us. Our carriages are much slower than their horses, prepare for battle!" Angele yelled and put on his leather armor quickly. He also put his bow on his back and grabbed his silver crossguard sword before jumping off the carriage.
Up ahead their caravan, sounds of battle resounded as two groups were fighting on the grassland, which were the noises Angele heard.
"HA~!" A team of mounted bandits were screaming and traveling towards them. They had their bright blades raised up in the air.
"Get ready to fight!" Captain Mark yelled as he drew his sword. After some noises that were made by the unsheathing of swords from the scabbards, all the guards had drawn their swords and prepared for the incoming fight. Angele held his longbow in his hand, completely focused on the situation. He had used up his white-feather arrows, so he was now using some random wooden arrows picked up from various battlefields. Though the wooden arrows dealt less damage, he had still collected plenty of them. In such a situation they were currently in, quantity was far better than quality in regards to its practicality. Angele had the best archery skills in the caravan, so the guards handed all their quivers to him.
Angele grabbed a wooden arrow and nocked it onto his bow. The baron who wore his own chain armor stood in front of Angele. He had all bases covered just to block any ranged attacks that would threaten his son.
BAM!
A mounted bandit took the arrow with his body and fell right off his horse. As Angele kept releasing arrows one by one, about ten bandits who were on their way to the carriages died. Only two survived and they began to retreat.
The baron looked at the noble convoy that had just been attacked. He saw the silver rose insignia on their carriages.
"That's a silver insignia, so they must be some high class noble in Rudin Empire. At least at the rank of a duke. The rose insignia… They are of royal blood, so we can probably receive help when we arrive to Marua if we can save them," the baron said.
"Help? What help? There are so many nobles of royal blood in this empire. I heard the royal court of Rudin Empire are split into four main factions and there are about ten sub-factions governed by each main faction. Who knows which one they belong to…?" Angele said, wholly showing that he wasn't impressed.
"But we should take chances. After all, they at least have a silver insignia," the baron said with a deep voice.
"The members of Rudin's royal court have good relationship with the Andes Alliance. Those ones are most likely intending to join some relatives there since many high-class Rudin nobles had connections with the Andes nobles through bonds of matrimony.
"Also, there aren't too many mounted bandits and it looked like they were just some vanguards of a larger group," the baron continued.
"If you say so, let's finish them off. We could use some of their equipments and we are also running out of weapon oils anyway." Angele scrunched his eyebrows and said.
The carriages drew closer, making Angele get a clearer view on the nobles that were being attacked. Beside a small black carriage were two heavy armored knights who wielded heavy swords trying to protect a handsome young man behind them. The two were clad in silver plate armor, all at knight level. Their sword skills were dazzling, but it wasn't too effective in actual combat. The two were sweating heavily, seemingly unable to hold on any longer. The man being protected had fear etched all over his face. He was wearing luxurious clothes, looking as though he was a child from a high class noble family.
About twenty mounted bandits were attacking the convoy in groups. There were 7 or 8 dead bandits lying on the ground, probably killed by the two knights. Angele once again scrunched his eyebrows again and grabbed the wooden arrows. Three bandits up ahead were pinned down by down. Three bandits were pinned down by him alone. Captain Mark rushed in with the baron while screaming, easily killing five of them.
Chaos ensued. The bandits didn't expect this situation. One of the knight-level leaders from the bandit group attacked the baron once, but got blocked by him instead. Angele took this opportunity to shoot an arrow to the bandit leader in his right chest. It resulted in the man turning around and trying to run after being scared completely.
The baron yelled and attacked him with his greatsword. The bandit leader's head was decapitated and it dropped to the grassland after. The rest of the bandits saw this scene and they started to retreat.
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Chapter 32: Philip (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
The three walked toward them after all the bandits fled.
"You're looking at Count Philip, son of Marquis Syrias, of the Rudin Empire!" One of the knights yelled while walking. The young man behind was busy fixing his own clothes, seemingly too concerned about his appearance.
"Count Philip, I'm Baron Rio from the south. You grace us with your presence." The baron stepped forward and bowed to Philip. Angele smiled and followed suit. The rest of the guards in the baron's caravan became restless after hearing that the young man was a count. They, too, also bowed after seeing the baron and Angele. Some lowered their heads, some knelt, and some just drew their swords to show respect. The baron and Angele became speechless after seeing their guards' behaviors.
"Karl Rio, I thank you for saving me from danger. I shall repay you back sometime in the future." The young man in luxurious clothes seemed not concerned with the guards' actions, only stepping forward and speaking loudly. His voice was loud but clear, sounding like those singers on Earth.
"Count Philip, if you don't mind me asking, I wonder where you're heading to?" Baron Karl straightened his posture and asked.
Count Philip looked at the two knights for a second, unsure of whether he should answer or not.
"We are heading to Marua Harbor wherein my father's best friend is the governor there. The situation is bad right now, so we're planning on joining him there," Philip smilingly said. He maintained a bit of a distance from the baron because he knew his status was higher and thought the baron was seeking something from him.
"Oh, Count Philip, we're also traveling to Marua Harbor. If you don't mind, you can join my caravan. After all, more men will make the trip much safer." The baron was happy, but he didn't let it show on his face. Philip felt elated. He was actually thinking of the same thing after he saw the baron's strength.
"Fine, I was about to return to my father's convoy. But since you asked, I'll accompany you for now," he said while nodding after a young knight whispered something to his ear.
'Dumb*ss! If you could return to your father's convoy, why would you join a random, low-class noble's caravan? You need better excuses. Obviously, you lost contact with your father. Those mounted bandits brought you enough trouble I suppose,' Angele thought. He looked at the two knights for a while. Their equipment was good-looking, but he doubted the effectiveness of those.
'Two male peacocks…' Angele concluded.
The baron went back to their caravan alongside the three. People got off the carriages to greet them. However, Philip didn't talk much, only nodding several times in response to their greetings. Angele scrunched his eyebrows as he watched the baron conversing with them about recent events and whatnot in Rudin Empire. Somehow, they found themselves sharing experiences, which further increased the familiarity with each other. It was also because they had friends that were similarly friends with both of them. And so, Philip's carriage joined the caravan.
Angele stood by Captain Mark on the sidelines. With his status, he couldn't join the conversation, so he just stood there and listened.
"Mr. Karl, I'm a bit sleepy so I'm going to take some rest now," Philip yawned after talking for a while.
"Sure, we'll make sure no one disturbs your dream," the baron said while smiling. Philip nodded in response and followed one of the knights back to his carriage. The other knight told the baron something.
"I know, please wait a second," the baron nodded while the knight went back to the carriage with a satisfied expression. Angele clearly heard the knight's words, checking whether the caravan had enough food and water.
"Father, although we just got enough water for the next month, we still need to cut everyone's daily ration. Also, we're short on food…" Angele said after the three left.
"We saved Count Philip, so we'll get something in return when we get to Marua Harbor. We'll live a much better life later if we can save some food and water for them now," the baron said after stopping Angele from talking.
"We don't even know if they're actually high-class nobles…" Angele said and scrunched his eyebrows.
"I've heard of his name. He's one of the most beloved sons of Marquis Syrias. He has two knights guarding him, so I was certain he's someone important at least," the baron explained.
"Those two… They didn't look like they were at knight level," Angele was still wondering.
"They're wielding the royal sword skills, which are mostly for show. These skills are used for performing in front of high-class nobles, but the skills aren't effective in actual combat. They probably had some rare resources to help them reach knight level. They could've even had decent backgrounds as well," the baron laughed as he said.
"Really?" Angele said. It looked like he realized something.
"Well, let's just try to treat them well. Thanks to the mounted bandits, we got enough horses for the rotation on the way. We can travel much faster now, though it will take us about two months to reach the border of Andes. It's only two months, then we'll be fine after," the baron said after tapping on Angele's shoulder lightly.
Angele nodded and he stopped talking.
Two guards brought food and water to the count. Meanwhile, others collected the horses from the dead bandits to use those horses as spares. Angele walked toward the bandits he had killed using arrows and checked the wooden arrows. Most of them were broken into pieces and couldn't be reused. The bandits didn't carry arrows with them, so Angele was a bit disappointed. He grabbed a cracked dark brown wooden arrow, and it snapped after Angele lightly applied force on it.
"Damn. I need more wooden arrows now," Angele looked a bit nervous.
Three days later, somewhere in the Anser Plain.
The sky was bleak as it rained. A caravan was moving forward slowly along the endless plains. Of all the carriages of that caravan, the second carriage had better decorations compared to the other three. Meanwhile, a brown-haired teenager who was in the leading carriage was chewing on something. Purple wildberries were in his hand. The teenager wasn't handsome, but his countenance showed a calm and reliable personality. He was Angele, who was wearing a black hunting suit, and he had been trying his utmost to recover completely.
He grabbed a berry and threw it into his mouth. It had a very sour taste but was still manageable by Angele. There was a black water canteen on the table beside him and around it lied a bunch of berries. Angele kept eating the berries while looking outside the window. In about ten minutes, he finished eating all the berries and drank water right after.
The door was opened by someone outside. With scrunched eyebrows, there came in a bearded middle-aged man with long blonde hair wearing a black-red noble suit. The man was Baron Karl.
"Angele, we're in trouble. Our food and water supply are nearly in the gutters. This will last us only for about half a month," the baron said.
"Well, three people joined our caravan not too long ago. Father, what's your plan?" Angele said with a serious expression.
"We can kill some horses if we have to. We got four horses from the bandits anyway," the baron said.
"That's the last thing we want to do. Horse meat tastes sour and it smells bad. People won't even bother with it unless they're completely starving," Angele said in a light voice. The baron stopped talking and began thinking of plausible alternatives.
"Yesterday, I saw the count pouring off a whole bucket of water from his carriage. I think he used it to shower. Also, they never finished the white bread and meat soup we gave them. They just threw out whatever they didn't want. If we let them waste our supplies like that, we won't last for long," Angele said.
"If we don't fulfill their requirements, they'll most likely become dissatisfied. They're used to the extravagant lifestyle they had in the city. They just asked me for oil and to do the maintenance for their equipment. We don't even have enough oil for cooking, and yet, they want to use it for their equipment!" The baron wryly laughed, disappointment apparent in his expression.
"Well, I'll try to bear with them. However, it'd be nice if you could try talking to them about the situation, Father. Otherwise, with the amount of food that we have, it won't even last us for five days," Angele said.
"Okay, I'll talk to them about it," the baron nodded and left the carriage.
Angele sighed. After grabbing his water canteen that was half-full, he jumped off the carriage. He walked toward the back and got on the last carriage. Captain Mark, who was the coachman for the last carriage, was in low spirits. He forced a smile on his face when he saw Angele coming.
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