Ezra tossed a couple of Frost Grenades to conjure an icy wall between him and his opponent. It bought him just enough time to sneak through the maze and find cover behind an L-shaped stone wall protected with sandbags.The crowd which had gone silent a second ago, now started cheering and shouting again. Many of them had shifted their loyalties over the course of the match and decided to support the two highborn Gunners instead of the masked devil.“Looks like the Red Devil was really an amateur!”“Yeah, Lord Rasher and Lord Lamier truly cut him to size.”“Loris should have chosen a better partner for the duel.”“It’s going to be over soon. What a bust!”Seated among the crowd, Kaelan was starting to get worried for his favorite customer. He had never thought things would turn out like this all of a sudden after such a good start.“Come on, Master Loris. You can’t let those snobs win. We have a reputation to maintain,” the elf muttered, praying for some miracle. But from the way things
Everyone gathered at the Arcadium was stunned by Ezra’s surprise victory. At one point, it looked like his opponents had him completely cornered. But despite being outnumbered and outgunned, he had managed to come out on top and prove all his critics wrong.“Loris Lagerlof and his teammate Sam Wilrug have qualified for the third round, where they will be taking part in a dungeon raid,” the announcer informed. “For winning this match, Loris and Sam will be rewarded five hundred Sovereigns each. Once again, congratulations to the Red Devil and his partner in crime!”Marquis Desmond looked furious as he stared at the masked Gunner who had just defeated his son. He wanted to order his guards to have Ezra arrested that very moment, but somehow controlled his temper.“You will never qualify for the final round, Loris Lagerlof,” he mumbled to himself. “And I will find out who you really are behind that mask.”Once the match officially ended, the Chief Court Mage, Servius, cast a spell to thaw
The rowdy supporters tried to push the guards aside and break through the barricades as they spotted Ezra coming out of the Arcadium. Ezra almost felt like royalty as the people shouted his name and begged for his attention.“All hail, the Red Devil! He is here to crush the nobles and make the Gunners stoop before him!”“We want to see you. Take off your mask, champion!”“Is it true that you are a highborn from an exiled family?”“Are you a necromancer in disguise?”“Please let us shake your hand. I beg for a strand of your hair!”“Who are you really? Are you even a human?”Never in his life had Ezra faced something like this. It was as if the people thought he was some kind of fallen warrior who had returned to exact his revenge.Ezra wanted to avoid the crowd, but one of the men elbowed a guard and broke through. He ran straight toward Ezra and reached for his mask. But before he could pull it off, Ezra pushed him back with a magic blast.“Keep your hands to yourself.”The leader of
“Master Lagerlof, is someone there with you?” a voice asked from outside before another round of loud knocks rapped the wooden door. “You know, participants are not allowed to bring their friends here. This establishment has been booked exclusively for the Gunners who are taking part in the tournament.”Ezra picked up the white paper and flipped it over. Scribbled on its smooth side were the following words:Meet me under the Blue Apricot tree in the Royal Garden tomorrow at sundown if you decide to reconsider.You are free to refuse, but the consequences will be severe.Ezra crumbled the paper into his fist and shoved it inside his pocket before picking up the scroll.[Lesser Teleportation Scroll added to inventory!]“Master Loris, please try to abide by the rules. The organizers will be fur—”Ezra hurriedly opened the door and glared at the caretaker standing outside. “Can I have two moments of privacy, please? Or is it too much to ask?”The caretaker looked into Ezra’s room and was
The following evening, Marquis Desmond’s motor wagon arrived at Verdant Gardens right as the sun was about to dip below the horizon. Marquis Desmond and his wife, Eliza Desmond alighted from the car accompanied by their son, Rasher Desmond.“Remember, what you were taught,” the chief knight advised his subordinates before sending them to receive the nobles.Two guards dressed in black robes and armed with silver-hilted katanas walked up to the Marquis and his family and bowed. “Welcome to the Maximus residence. Lord Nazarus and Lady Nixia are waiting for you inside,” the older guard greeted.Lady Eliza was left spellbound by the magnificent display of exotic lilies and carefully pruned bonsai bushes. It looked like she had been whisked away by a genie and teleported to another country.Verdant Gardens no longer looked like an abandoned garden overgrown with weeds and tall grass. It had been transformed into an Eastern paradise with brightly colored butterflies fluttering over sweet-sc
As Ezra locked eyes with the Marquis, his heartbeat quickened. Despite taking every precaution, Marquis Desmond’s keen gaze had discerned that one little slip. “What happened to your hand?” Marquis Desmond enquired, feigning concern. “That looks painful.”Before Tanya could see the blisters, Ezra pulled his left hand back. “It’s nothing. I just had an accident while experimenting with magic potions.”“I think you should always keep a healing tincture at hand while performing such dangerous experiments,” Marquis Desmond replied in a taut voice, never taking his eyes off Ezra’s hand. “If you wish, I can send my physician to treat you.”Tanya became concerned by the discussion and turned to Ezra. “What happened? Did you hurt yourself? Why didn’t you tell me?”Ezra realized he could not get out of this situation so easily, so he decided to surprise the Marquis with a bold move.Instead of hiding his hand, he put his left arm on the table and pulled his sleeve back. “I was trying to brew a
Later that evening, Count Gressil returned, and Ezra and Tanya joined him in the guest room upstairs. All the guards and attendants were instructed to wait outside, and Glenn was the only other person allowed to join them.Marquis Desmond’s plan had taken Ezra and Tanya by surprise. They knew it was nothing short of madness to ally with the Orcs even though they had offered to help against the undead.“You look perturbed,” Count Gressil began. “How did things go with Lord Desmond? Did you learn anything useful?”“He has gone utterly mad. Marquis Desmond and the Duke plan to enlist the help of the orcish tribes to fight the undead. In exchange, their war chiefs have demanded a steady supply of arms and rations, and when the war is over, Valaria will need to cede a part of its territory to them.”Count Gressil’s eyes widened in disbelief as he heard that preposterous idea. “Has that high-nosed prick finally lost his marbles?” he thundered, slamming the table. “How could anyone accept the
Everyone in the room realized the people of Avondale were in grave danger. And if things were not handled properly, Magaravia would be the next target.“What else did the scouts report? What kind of demon is it?” Count Gressil asked.The knight handed him a crumpled piece of paper with burn marks around its edges. In it, the scouts had hastily scribbled whatever they had seen.“The demon towers over the tallest windmills, and its fiery breath warms the air like a volcano. Scalding magma flows inside the cracks and crevasses on its hard, rocky body, and its eyes blaze like infernal pits. As it stomps across the road, the trees and bushes burst into flames, and the muddy puddles vaporize in seconds, leaving behind baked craters devoid of all life,” the Count's face darkened as he read those lines.“It is a Flame Demon,” Zala concluded from the description. “That is bad news for us all,” Glenn added. “Flame Demons are infernal beings whose core temperature is as high as the temperature i