Chapter 221 – Retaliation

“It’s so green.”

Calron murmured, awed by the vast green plains and scenery outside. He could see the last of the forest trees from the direction they’d come from and the mountains to the distant left. The area in the middle was endless, and Calron did not doubt that the city they would build would be much larger than the one they’d escaped from

“There’s Selior city to our east and the Beast city in the Desolate Mountains to our west. There’s another kingdom to the north, but hopefully, they won’t interact much with us.”

The Patriarch joined Calron in gazing at the sight outside.

“This whole territory is simply too large for either city to leave alone; why did none of them claim it?”

Calron turned to the Patriarch in confusion. It didn’t make sense for an empty land this vast to be unoccupied.

“Bah! You think the beasts in the mountain would stand still if the humans took over this area? The same goes for the human King. The unspoken truce between the two cities made it impossible for anyone to claim this area… until you idiots decided to break that balance.”

The old woman retorted at the back of the carriage, gathering her supplies and throwing them into her spatial ring.

“That was uncalled for!”

The Patriarch glanced back at the woman with a scowl.

“You’re not idiots for building a city here?”

The woman raised her eyebrow.

“Fair point.”

The Patriarch shrugged with a grin.

“I hope we make this city a better place for anyone who wants to live here.”

Calron said with a longing smile on his face as he looked at the long trail of ex-slaves following behind them. They all appeared to be exhausted, but the hope of a new life kept them going.

“It will be.”

The Patriarch promised, placing his hand on Calron’s shoulder. He knew Calron’s statement was naïve, and the young man probably knew that himself as well, but if they didn’t have that goal set from the start, the foundation of the city would fall before it was even constructed.

The old man was about to say something when the carriage abruptly halted. It seemed as if Kail wanted to make camp here and give the ex-slaves some rest.

“Take some rest, and come out whenever you feel like it. I’m sure your friends will be here soon. The little girl, her cat, and Roran would always come to your carriage each time we stopped for a break. Anyways, I’ll go and see how things are at the front.”

The Patriarch ruffled Calron’s hair and moved to step out of the carriage.

“Grandpa, will I be able to regrow an arm?”

Calron whispered as he raised his stump, his melancholic tone stopping the old man in his tracks.

The old man glanced at Calron’s crippled arm, and a brief flash of fury passed through his eyes before a look of sadness filled them. “There are records of some medicinal pills capable of doing that, but at a grave cost. It will give you an arm at the price of your entire cultivation. The essence required wo-”

“So, I have to remain a cripple for the rest of my life?”

Calron sighed, tightly clutching his stump with his other hand.

“Mortals don’t have the power of changing the laws of nature, Calron. You’ll just have to train twice as hard as others to make up for your disadvantage.”

The Patriarch stated calmly.

“If mortals can’t change nature, what about the Immortals?”

Calron’s eyes flashed with a strange light.

The Patriarch and even the eavesdropping woman at the back both stared at Calron with astonishment.

“Brat, the day you reach immortality, let alone an arm, you’ll be able to regrow your entire body from a single drop of blood! However, I'm not sure if you can regrow a limb that you lost when you were a mortal... Anyways, forget about that, I'm sure you'll succeed.”

While laughing with amusement, the Patriarch slapped Calron on the back and left the carriage.

I need to reach Immortality.

Calron closed his eyes as a new goal formed in his mind. Even if there was a slight possibility of getting his arm back, he was willing to do anything for it.

…………………..

“Woah…”

With his mouth wide open, the middle-aged man stared at the boundless greenery in front of him. The rest of the ex-slaves all had similar expressions on their faces.

“We’re going to live here?”

A small boy walking beside him muttered in a whisper, disbelief in his voice.

I don’t know, would they keep their word? I hope they do, but in my experience, the rich don’t become rich by being generous.

The middle-aged man thought inwardly, not wanting to voice his opinion. He liked the young man, Calron, for what he’d done for the slaves, but in the end, he was still young. The leaders of the clan would dictate the new laws, and it was them that he was wary of.

They would find out soon anyway.

If they do keep their promise, then I’ll make sure this becomes one of the greatest cities of this continent!

As a young slave, the middle-aged man had worked for years under one of the most famous architects in Selior city. The Royal Architect for the King himself.

A slow smile spread across Jerar’s face as he continued to walk ahead.

…………………………..

“Father just contacted me; Calron is awake.”

Daren, Asra’s father, and Kail’s younger brother said while the pair walked towards a tent. The clansmen were setting up camp here to start planning their construction of the city and organize the ex-slaves in groups of their work.

“Thank the heavens…”

Kail let out a relieved breath and closed his eyes. His veins pulsed with anger as Kail opened his eyes and gritted through his teeth. “If Father hadn’t stopped me, I would have burned the palace to the ground along with the King and the Tower Lords!”

“You’re being too impulsive, Kail. Dumb as their actions might be, the King and the palace is guarded by countless experts. Now that the Ancestors have woken up as well, you’d be going to your death if you had charged in there.”

Daren shook his head while parting the tent’s entrance and going inside.

“I don’t like this… not one bit at all. We should show them what happens when they attack one of our own.”

Kail followed his brother inside and sat down on a chair.

“Do you really think Father would not retaliate after someone maimed his favorite and precious pupil?”

Daren smile at his brother, traces of mirth hidden in his eyes.

“Huh? But, Father himself stopped me from doing anything.”

Kail looked at his brother in confusion.

“Hahaha, when have you known Father to behave smartly and with logic?” Daren poured himself some wine and handed another goblet to Kail.

“It is out of character for him… I thought he’d be throwing a tantrum and yelling for the clan’s warriors to take revenge for Calron. The old geezer adores that boy even more than me.”

Kail took the goblet and sipped. As if struck by a sudden thought, Kail’s head snapped towards Daren.

“Looks like you figured it out. Father only stopped you because he had another plan in motion. The King and the Tower Lords seem to have forgotten just how ruthless we used to be back in the day… it’s time they finally remembered.”

Daren chugged the entirety of the wine and put the empty goblet on the table.

…………………………

“Useless sacks of shit!”

Resir roared at the servant kneeling in front of him and smashed a vase on his table. The servant quickly scurried away, lest the Lord decided to take his rage out on him.

Previously, they’d failed a simple mission and got several of their Heavenly experts killed, and now, Resir got reports that the Raizel clan had reached their destination with the ex-slaves.

This put the King in an awkward position because if he decided to launch a full-scale war against the Raizel clan, they could now join sides with the Beast city and crush his forces. The Darkling army was still en route towards Selior city, so it was best not to make more enemies at this point.

“Why do I pay these incompetent fools!?”

Resir slumped down on his chair and massaged his forehead. He was currently alone in his study room and was thinking of a way to solve his problems.

“Looks like you’re busy.”

A voice suddenly broke Resir’s train of thought, causing him to raise his guard.

No one is supposed to be able to enter this room without my permission.

Resir saw a tall man in black and golden robes leaning against the side of the wall. The stranger was playing with a small coin-sized object in his hand, repeatedly flicking it in the air with his thumb and catching it.

The man then turned his head to face Resir.

“Y-you-“

Resir began to yell once he realized who this stranger was, but he was abruptly silenced with a wave of the man’s hand. Resir tried to scream, and yet not a single whisper escaped.

“I remember telling you not to touch that a hair on that young man’s body, and not long after, I find out that the Tower Lords and the King had cut his arm off. Now, what should I do?”

The stranger walked towards Resir, still playing with the circular object in his hand. Upon closer look, the coin-shaped object appeared to be a locket with the symbol of a bird on it. The interesting part about the symbol was the lightning bolt behind the bird.

Resir tried to plead with the stranger as tears streamed down his cheeks, and even then, the stranger didn’t let any words out. The Tower Lord knew what was going to happen in the next few seconds.

“It’s time you remembered who the Raizel clan is.”

Morain said icily and flicked the locket at Resir. Under a burst of lightning, the locket instantly pierced into Resir’s heart and flew back to Morain’s hand. Faint crackles of lightning still lingered on the locket along with residues of burnt blood.

Resir’s body lifelessly collapsed to the floor, a small puddle of blood pooling around him.

Morain stared at the Tower Lord’s corpse for a few seconds and turned around to depart. However, before he left, Morain threw the locket with the Raizel clan’s insignia near Resir’s body and muttered under his breath.

“Let them come.”

A/N: Lots of people are talking about whether Calron will get his arm back or not, and I'll just say this: I don't make characters to go through hardships just for them to magically recover :) His recovery process won't be simple and it's debatable whether he'll get his arm back in future or not. It just won't be what you guys expect ;)

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