《Re:Direction The Peak (Cultivation Tale)》CH. 323
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Jin broke the silence: "There is no need for Captain Harold to bet his life. After all, his life is worth more than ours as an esteemed Captain of the Palace. It would be a great loss for the Nation!"
Since he was already being pushed to become that man's enemy, he would go all the way. He once killed a kid in fear that the kid would grow and retaliate later on. Now that he was faced with a similar situation but as an adult facing another and one of higher standing, he could only continue forward.
He would kill this man before he became a true new and formidable enemy.
With these words, Squad Captain Harold did not have much of a choice. Or so Jin believed. He never expected the man to be shameless enough to say: "You're right. I will bet everything I own instead, including my precious grade 3 sword. I believe that such a treasure has a worth even higher than any of our lives after all"
The soldiers thought he was being shameless, let alone Ame and Jin.
Ame wanted to refute but before she could, Jin spoke: "Very well. I agree to this bet. However, Captain Harold, I do believe that for fairness, we should have the soldiers here as our witnesses!"
Ame pondered for a moment. She did not understand why Jin was fine with that. Wouldn't it be better if they pushed him to bet his life? After all, it would not be too difficult from the situation they were in. That man could only be shameless for so long... Unless...Ame's eyes brightened. She understood Jin's intention.
From the start, he did not care about that man's life as he planned to kill him during their fight!
However, if he did, would he be able to claim the man's belongings? No!
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They would either be retrieved by the Royalty or by the man's family!
How cunning!
She had to admit that he was truly an evil snake of a man. To think he would have thought so far ahead...
Unfortunately for Ame, he had not. Jin's thoughts were far simpler. He did not care about the bet at all. He only saw his need to end this man's life and his best option was now. The bet was to agitate the man and create a parachute in case the spar was stopped mid-way. He could still go for the kill without it.
Right now, it was the best time as there would not be anyone stronger than Ame around! And she had his back! She had no choice but to!
It was the perfect situation.
Unfortunately, it did not go as expected as an old man came down from the skies. It was the man who brought Ame to the King previously. He chuckled as he landed and stated: "I shall be the referee!"
All of the three involved frowned.
The presence of this man meant a variable they did not expect. If he decided to act, they might not be able to achieve their goals. And considering that he decided to appear at this timing, he likely would interfere.
Jin sighed internally but thanked the old man politely on the outside. So did the other two. The man chuckled. He was quite aware that they did not like him meddling in their affairs. He could not care less though. As the Captain of the first squad, he would be held responsible if something happened. Both Squad Captains were precious resources and so was the grade 3 sword.
...
Moments later, Jin faced Harold on the arena. Sword in hand, he was calm. He observed the opponent. His stance, his weight and height, his center of gravity, his micro-movements... He was capturing it all within his sight.
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And then, both moved.
They rushed at each other ferociously.
As they began to engage and the sword clashed, many people rushed over. They wore golden armors. They were the royal guards under the different Squads. They received notification of the battle and hurried over to spectate. This was not the kind of drama that happened every day. Especially for those of the seventh squad that belonged to Harold.
They had to support and cheer for their Captain.
However, no one was blind.
It was obvious from a spectator's point of view. The Captain was doing his best while his opponent was relaxed. The ending was predictable. Yet, that man remained on the defensive, not making a single move even when there were plenty of openings. Openings that he made himself at that.
So why? Why was he not acting on them?
The first Squad Captain stood next to the arena. Ame was to his right. He told her: "You found quite an interesting one, Captain Ame"
Ame was smiling. Of course she did. She witnessed this man's abilities herself many times. She had been a little fidgety at first but after witnessing this sight, she regained her composure. After all, it was so obvious that Baem was stronger...
The first Squad Captain continued his praise though: "He will make a very good vice-captain. I shall approve of it"
Ame thanked him politely more out of courtesy than out of gratitude. He understood that much but did not take it to heart. Instead, he continued on a more serious tone: "However, if he truly does kill Harold as he seems intent on doing... You know that I can't let such a thing happen, right?"
Ame frowned. She turned to see the old man's smirk. It seemed like what came next would be quite a pain to deal with. Because she was sure that Jin would go for the kill. Otherwise, he would not have waited so. And it was quite obvious that this old man would only act after it happened.
She did not know why though and had no way to find out. She shamelessly asked him directly: "What's your agenda, old man?"
The old man chuckled heartily as his answer.
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Beyond?
Author's Comment: I was asked about reading my work on other sites. The answer is simple: Currently I am not active in any other networks than royalroadl.com. Only here, I correct mistakes and errors. If you read it anywhere else and have to pay for it, or have to deal with an annoying amount of advertisement, You Are Being Betrayed. You would do good if you make other people in that network aware of it. This is a free project of mine for the purpose of having fun. And if people try to make money with it you shouldn't bother visiting their website. The only one whom I actually allowed to have my work on his website is Armaell who invested the time to compile them into pdf. (http://armaell-library.net/author/andur) ——————————————————————————————— Reading Order of the Multiverse-Books ——————————————————————————————— My world faced its end, but I refused to perish with it! So I intercepted a summoning ceremony from another world. One moment!? My summoner tried to summon a demon? Fuck it, I think it's better to break the contract and do my own thing... or not? Why is Mrs. Sacrifice hugging me? And why am I suddenly a child!? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am not entirely sure how this fiction will turn out. And I am not sure on the tags either. They may change. Bear with it. As always, how chapters turn out is up to my mood.
8 194When Your World Ends: Cassidy's Trial
Is the world changing or a new one coming? Cassidy is not exactly sure. For some reason life keeps putting her on the losing end and no one can answer her questions. Life as she knows it has new rules and it all surrounds this voice... How's she to stay safe when she has choices to make that never used to exist and the whole world's gone sideways? What common sense is there when reality itself has changed? "True courage is not the absence of fear but the willingness to proceed in spite of it." --To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee Image is not mine. Just ask and I'll take it down.
8 116The Book of Rune
If you like moderately well-researched semi-medieval military logistics with some fantasy twists, and also conspiracy, and exploration, and violence, and maybe a dash of road movie, hey, Ruen just might be your thing. Plot-wise, basically there's a guy who got fired by Death, a kid with pyrotechnic tendencies, and a slave general who wouldn't mind retiring but ended up on a mass suicide mission. If you were looking for a less TL;DR version, a guy who got fired by Death meets a kid with pyrotechnic tendencies, and they try to get the guy un-fired while also trying to come to terms with death together (ooohhhh, look, I'm deep). Meanwhile a slave general does something stupid and ends up being sent on a suicide mission, and he tries to wreak havoc and save lives at the same time. The threads come together, I swear. This is a rough draft of a fantasy semi-book that I've had in the back of my head for some time. I've written a variety of short stories set in the world over the past three years, and I finally kicked myself into writing the actual story. Very much a slow work in progress. Occasional violence (okay, well, maybe more than occasional), occasional foul language.
8 193A Wheel Inside a Wheel
Two brilliant young me, Reinhard von Musel and Yang Wen-li, are forced to flee the countries of their birth and become refugees on opposite sides of a century long galactic war. While they both struggle to adapt to their new lives, their obvious talent propels them to the forefront of the war. Their choices will shape their adoptive homelands forever, and their clash will decide the future of the galaxy. This story is broken up into volumes, each following one half of the conflict. You can read them in chronological order, or you can follow just Yang or Reinhard. See individual descriptions below. Part One - Speaking in Tongues When Yang Wen-li’s father dies, the only thing that he inherits is a mountain of debt, which can only be paid off with fifteen years of his life. Wanting to escape that indentured servitude, Yang flees his homeland and takes up a false identity in the Galactic Empire, a hyper-stratified society where stepping out of line is punishable with imprisonment or death. Yang enrolls in the Imperial Officers’ Academy to study history, but despite his unusual and unmistakeable talent as both a tactician and a scholar, his classmates resent him for being a visible outsider. When tensions at the school boil over and several of Yang’s classmates attempt to murder him, Yang finds an unlikely ally in the top student in the class: the aloof Oskar von Reuenthal. But Reuenthal and Yang both have secrets, secrets which could destroy both their lives and their newfound friendship. [70k words, complete] Part One (Alternate) - Talking Without Speaking When Oskar von Reuenthal enrolls at the Imperial Officers' Academy, he doesn’t expect to make real friends. The IOA is a competitive place, and Reuenthal has never been well liked. But when a foreign student shows up to challenge him for the top spot in the class, Reuenthal can’t look away. [77k words, complete] Part Two - Life out of Balance When Reinhard von Musel's mother learns that her husband is about to sell her daughter to become the concubine of the Kaiser, she takes her two children, Reinhard and Annerose, and flees to the Free Planets Alliance, where the three of them must start a new life. [129k words, complete] Part Three - Servants of the Pharaoh Now an officer in His Majesty's fleet, Yang Wen-li struggles to maintain his principles in the face of everything that is expected of him. When he's unwillingly drawn into the politics of the court, he has to use all of his talents to keep himself and his new friends out of danger. [173k words, complete] Short - Whatever It Takes to Keep the Body Warm After their falling out, Reuenthal and Mittermeyer are both posted to the brutal wasteland of Capche-Lanka. It's difficult to hold a grudge when you're just trying to survive. [23k words, complete] Short - Keep the Home Fires (Burning) Three soldiers. Two bodies to be buried. One haunted house. [33k words, complete] Part Four - Lighting Out for the Territories While his sister has joined the fierce Rosen Ritter regiment, Reinhard's fame has earned him a post stuck on Phezzan. Instead of getting to fight, he's caught up in a web of secrets, including the shelter and care of a mysterious refugee from the Empire. Separated from everyone he cares about, Reinhard is forced to make some unexpected allies, and make connections with old friends. [147k words, complete] Part Five - Serpent's Mouth, Serpent's Teeth After having sacrificed his freedom to save his best friend's life, Yang must figure out how to win, and not just survive, the largest civil war in human history. [In progress] Part Six - Lightless Labyrinth [forthcoming, TBD] Part Seven - Silent Spiral [forthcoming, TBD] This story is crossposted on ao3 at bit.ly/wheelinsideawheel
8 276Poetic Thoughts
A compilation of some poems which people can relate to.My first attempt. Be kind in criticizing.Updates.. Whenever i feel like it....All rights reserved.Best rank : #2 in Poetry#2 in Poems
8 89My Mother Runs With Wolves
A genetically unique but emotionally lost teenager must figure out who she is within her mixed-up, warring world of Shifters and Wolfstalkers. *****It wasn't Maddie's choice to be born a half-breed, half Shifter, half Wolfstalker -- a hunter of Shifters -- and it wasn't her choice to keep her identity a secret. But after trying to attend high school like any normal sixteen-year-old, things quickly spiral south when her Stalker uncle finds out about her and catapults her out of anonymity and into the awareness--or possibly the crosshairs--of The Order of the Wolfstalker. Maddie must think fast and figure out a way to keep herself and her family safe, or risk losing everything. Including her life.[[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]]
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