The journey to the capital was rather peaceful. Well, apart from the four times bandits attacked their small squad. They were former soldiers, deserters that had gotten fed up with not being paid. Considering that no one except the Moon Army had fought any wars in the past ten years, they had most likely been ‘downsized’.The friends had also had to save their horses from a monster at the King of Beasts Stage, which had used up almost all of their meat.A bit after that, Serra was captured by slave traders. It was a mystery how the witch had managed to fall into a trap set by simple practitioners, inhaling the fumes of a poisonous flower that blocked the flow of energy in her body. In the end, Serra was rescued. Nero, in his rage, reduced the slave trader population of the Kingdom by a whole cartel. Fortunately, they found a small box full of gold in their lair, so their sortie didn’t end up just being ‘charity’ work.They’d also had to save a village from raiders. Then, together with
After handing the money over to the guards who wore armor the color of a dull emerald, the group entered the trade district. For a moment, Hadjar thought that they had somehow ended up in a different city. They saw clean streets, wide enough for four carts or carriages to go down side by side.The neat houses had been built in straight rows and the people walking along the street were clean, wearing expensive clothes, and smiling. It looked as if they didn’t have a care in the world and were quite confident that their future was bright.Even the signboards swaying in the wind weren’t squeaking at all. Moreover, some cafes, taking advantage of the pleasant spring weather, had erected wooden tables on the street. Various customers were occupying them. They were drinking wine, or something stronger, and eating delicious food that a simple soldier could only dream of.The friends’ stomachs started growling at the sight of a baked duck.“I know a good local tavern,” Nero said suddenly. “We
Azrea hissed with displeasure at her master, which made the waitress fight to muffle her laughter. The pretty red-haired girl was a little surprised at the strange order. Nodding and writing something down in her notebook (it was surprising that a simple waitress knew how to write), she went downstairs quickly and got lost in the crowd.Hadjar was left with only his fluffy girlfriend for company. While he listened to the bards’ song, Azrea licked her fur indifferently. She wasn’t one to abide idle chatter.Down on the small stage, the bards were singing the most popular song in Lidus — the song of the Mad General’s fight against ‘The Black Gates’ sect. It was a bit strange for Hadjar to sit there and listen to a song about his ‘exploits’. As they always did, the bards embellished reality, just slightly, but still enough for people to listen to the song with bated breath.Some of the guests couldn’t even keep eating, seemingly frozen as they became completely enthralled by the scenes o
The nobleman grabbed the hilt of his sword and tried to pull the blade out of its huge scabbard. He succeeded, but didn’t hit Hadjar, as he had already moved to the other side of the table somehow. He was still blowing on his cup as he stood aside, keeping his foot on the tip of Ribon’s scabbard. It was because of this extra weight that the nobleman lost his balance and slammed his nose into the floor.A wave of giggles rippled across the second floor, and even the table where the nobleman’s ‘friends’ were sitting was no exception.“Motherfucker!” Ribon growled, rising to his feet and moving his disheveled hair away from his face. “I’ll crush you, bastard! I’ll tear you apart!”He swung his blade and a cutting wave smashed the nearest tables to bits and turned the chairs into splinters. It swept toward the hobo like a deadly gust of wind. Most of the guests were certain that the beggar would soon die, but, to their surprise, the wave didn’t even reach the edges of his clothes.The man
The people began glancing around, looking for the famous Mad General, but couldn’t find him. They’d imagined him to be a kind of a mythical hero in glittering armor and astride a mighty horse, not the young hobo who had been quietly drinking his tea.The beggar answered, “I’m afraid I’ve forgotten your name.”The people finally realized that he was, in fact, the most powerful and famous General of Lidus. The man whose praises were sung in every city of every nearby kingdom. The man who had become a legend during his lifetime, immortalized in song. He was who boys aspired to be, and the ideal man young girls dreamed of.The Mad General had really come to the capital. He was really standing in front of them, on that stage. He really did look like a wild beast wearing a human’s skin.It wasn’t just the warriors of the Generals who were afraid of him now, but the nobleman as well. He immediately regretted all the words he’d said and hoped that the General wouldn’t notice him.“Please shea
On the eve of the celebration, Hadjar decided to take a walk around the city. Just to unwind a bit and pull himself together. He couldn’t allow for any missteps to happen and spoil his plan.In the late evening, as the atmosphere of an endless and incessant celebration of life filled the busy streets of the capital, Hadjar set off. Leaving some food out for Azrea, he took off his favorite old clothes and put on a tunic.This instrument of torture that people called clothing by mistake had been delivered by Ralpie. The Generals had wanted to dress the General up for the celebration. In response to this, Hadjar had just waved his hand dismissively and the young man had left the outfit on the bed.Having buttoned up, put on some boots, and a red cloak, Hadjar hid Moon Beam behind his back. After examining himself in the mirror, he skillfully applied face powder, mascara and other makeup. During the time he’d spent in the brothel, he had learned to change his appearance with the help of ‘
The savior abruptly turned on the heel of her high boots and kicked the next guard in the chest with her right foot, also sending him flying. The kick was so powerful that the wall he crashed into cracked. The guard bent over. Dark blood gushed through the slits of his helmet and the man fell without breathing. The girl froze. She turned to the dead body and didn’t move for a long time.Hadjar couldn’t believe his eyes. The girl’s Techniques were so strong and she had so much power that it was impossible for her to be anything less than a practitioner on the verge of becoming a true cultivator. However, her behavior showed that she... had never been in a real fight.Her shock had given the third guard enough time to recover. He snatched his blade from its scabbard and swung it in a wide arc through the air. A lilac-colored line of sword energy rushed toward the girl. She didn’t have enough time to unsheathe her own blade. Actually, she didn’t need to.She snapped out of it and, pickin
For the first time in the past month and a half after his fight against the Patriarch, Hadjar felt just how significant the loss of his neural network was. Alas, it would be unavailable for at least another five years.Message to host: ...Error… Error... Error...The girl swung her blade. It conjured an oval shape in the air, which, after filling with power, acquired a three-dimensional form. A ring of fire flew in Hadjar’s direction. It burnt the grass in its wake, and was easily hot enough to kill practitioners below the Transformation level.An ordinary warrior would’ve tried to dodge it and died without noticing that the ring wasn’t moving in a straight line, but following every movement of its target. An experienced warrior would stop it cold, break the Technique, and then counterattack.Hadjar didn’t choose either of those options. He thrust his palm forward. A ghostly whirlwind of sword energy coalesced around his forearms and a transparent blade, which was barely perceptible,