By the time Invictus got back to their room, it was almost lunchtime. The breakfast the innkeeper gave him was cold already, and Aeriel was nowhere to be found.
Invictus did not pay that much attention to it and just dug in the cold servings. Despite its cold state after being left for a while, the food was still incredibly delicious.
As a common courtesy for receiving food from the innkeepers, Invictus picked up the tray and used kitchenware and brought it down to wash. He wanted to at least do the dishes for having a free meal from the innkeeper because it was a huge help, considering their financial status at the moment.
"Hello," Invictus called, but no one answered. "Uh, lady innkeeper? I've come to bring the dishes."
No answer was given to him. He then noticed the silence of his surroundings. It was inexplicably quiet to the point that Invictus could hear his own heart beating.
Strange as it may seem, instances like this often occur from time
The scene gives joy to Rahel. She felt like being their mother, taking care of her grown-up children and cooking food for them. Rahel and her husband always dreamed of having a happy family, but unfortunately, it was never given to her. Instead, fate itself took her only source of happiness. Still, Rahel has the strength to smile and be happy even if itwas not that great like before.---Invictus went out for a walk–resting after he finished eating a whole bunch of food–and coincidentally came across the liquor store's owner in a carriage.He thought that the old man was just going away to buy more alcohol and products he would use outside of the town. But he noticed how well-groomed Zeb was, wearing all black clothes.The thumping hooves stopped, and Zeb slightly looked down on Invictus. And the latter raised his gaze, meeting Zeb's eyes."Introducing yourself as Meliora, going around in circles, and buying a bottle of rice win
"Are they letting crazy people in the town now? He might be dangerous."When Invictus was done wallowing, he decided to talk to Aeriel after he got back about Rahel. The tiniest drop of conscience wanted Invictus to let the old lady go and live her life where she could be happy."Spending some time with people really has the heart interfering with your mind. It hinders your decisions and gives you the exact amount ofconduct to think twice about your wicked decisions."Aeriel does not seem to understand what Invictus said."Um, can't Lord Invictus just cut to the chase?""Innkeeper Rahel is a kind soul. I don't want her to perish along with the poor souls residing in this town, but I can't think of an excuse to pull her out of the misery she'll be put in."His words brought a smile to Aeriel's face because deep down, humanity in Invictus' heart still hasn't faded completely. It's just there, imprisoned in a blockade of corrupting ill
What matters most for Invictus is his strong desire for vengeance. No one in this world will be able to stop him from slowly destroying the kingdom all by himself. He does not need anyone's help.And Rahel realized that passively convincing Invictus of his utmost desire for revenge would not be possible. Rahel saw the determination in his eyes, filled with dark emotions."I'm done packing my things."Everything valuable for Rahel fitted inside one luggage. The innkeeper does not keep her money with her.Across the kingdom and even from the neighboring nations, Rahel was investing her money, saving it up in banks and real estate. If it was not for her husband Rahel would not be brimming with money. She has enough for a lifetime and can even support Aeriel's expenses in achieving her goals.When her husband died, Rahel continued their strategic plan to expand her wealth and gain more real estate. Although some of her lands had been sold in the past y
"What a set of ambiance. The annoying sound of crickets, the audible flow of water falling from above, and the howling of wolves from afar. This really is the perfect spot to see the mountain going off in a blazing fire."About five meters away from the falls lies a carriage with a man sitting on his seat, his hat covering his face, and his snore could be faintly heard."I have everything ready. The table and our seats, even our ride for our departure are ready."Invictus' money was close to zero. His pouch was at its limit, but he is sure that Rahel would give him some money when they part ways. He will refuse to take the money she'll gives, but Rahel will definitely insist onInvictus takes what she will give him. So, he just brushed off the thought of rejecting the money and will give in."All we have to do is patiently wait for the rain to come, and the plan shall unfold."They all sat down, sitting under the faint light coming from the
"Eugeo! Three clerics and one priest are here!"Luckily, help for the injured people had arrived. They were a bit drunk earlier, but the commotion and heat emitting from the mountain sobered them up."Hurry up and heal the injured!"The three clerics and the lone priest prioritized treating the people that had it worst.Chantings came out of their mouths with their eyes closed, directing their mana into their wands and staff to produce the healing abilities they needed to treat the injured."It hurts! H-Heal me first, please! It really is painful!"Every injured person lying on the ground with their skin soaking wet in the rain pleaded with the clerics and the lonesome priest to heal them. Demands from them became a commotion. The healers were so confused as to who they should relieve first of their pain."Me! Treat me first!""Ugh! N-No, can you heal me first! I'm dying!""M-Mom, I--I don't feel good..."From pri
A fight broke out between Darius's group and the goblins. The five of them easily overpowered and thrashed on the tiny chumps with their sheer strength and magic abilities."Should we help Darius and the others?"Eugeo could see that Darius's group was winning but the uneasiness in his heart did not go away. Something was still bothering him about the sudden appearance of the monsters when most of them should have been driven away.He was in a dilemma when Eugeo heard Darius's words."We don't need help!"They witnessed goblins flying away, getting beheaded, split in half, thrown down in the gulf, eaten alive by the carnivorous monsters residing from within, and mutilated.No mercy was shown to the low-level monsters but the goblins did not back away. They kept trying to push through the defense, hoping theywould slip past Darius and the others."Another barrage of arrows incoming!"Struggling with impaired vision, Neur
In an instant, every goblin that was fighting them before disappeared into the darkness. However, they could still sense them moving around behind bushes. The rustling of the leaves was masked by the rain. Therefore, pinpointing their actual location was kind of hard for the knights.The 8 knights fought near the bridge, so they could still prevent a monster from entering the gate."Come! None of you monsters are getting past us!"Trees around the wooden logs posing as the fence had been cut down to avoid being used to jump over and enter the barrier.None of them needed words to coordinate their actions with each other. Fighting alongside their comrades for years built trust and coordination in them.Eugeo powered himself up with his magic, increasing his strength, but his speed did not decrease. With this, he was able to withstand the incoming force when he blocked off a direct attack from the hobgoblin's club.An eight-foot-tall monster w
The king and queen initiate the first attack. It was not something fancy or remarkable. Unlike the three hobgoblins, the king and queen have their own different weapons. For the king, he was wielding a scimitar in his dominant right hand whilst holding a bark shield in the other.A scimitar is a short sword with a curved blade that broadens towards the point whereas the bark shield or gweagal shield is usually cut off from the bloodwood of mulga trees or from a bark of a red mangrove tree.Based on the condition of the king's scimitar and bark shield, he musthave got it from somewhere or someone they killed."Monsters these days would use whatever means or form of the weapon just to survive. A bark shield suits his figure."On the other hand, the queen has a bow in her hand. Around her shoulder was a custom-made quiver appropriate to her size. Also, the recurve bow was slightly larger than the normal ones. Each bow has a sharp stone arrowhead in i