《Master of Cards. *Reborn*》Chapter 16: The situation of Marchen.
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Kael went ahead to find an inn while Baihua was dealing with her brothers. Kael looked at Scarlet Vow as he walked through the town's busy nightlife. Hawkers selling their wares. Grilled octopus, yam cakes, fried oysters, honey coated chicken wings. It was a night for feasting, that was the bigger part of it. There were a variety of thirst quenchers being sold, herbal tea, mana infused drinks to help refill mana and even some desserts like beer ice cream or others. They were marketing their wares loudly, it was a breath of fresh air for Kael.
"Is there something wrong, my liege?"
"Nothing, Scarlet. Just taking in the atmosphere." Kael responded as he continued on his walk. This particular town, according to its common tongue is named 'Blue Garden' for its famed flowers. It was only at night that he could see the flowers bloom beautifully. Kael could not find an inn that he could use, but he did find a shopkeeper that was selling a sleeping bag and a tent. That was good enough for him.
"My liege, are you going to sleep outside? Is it not too cold?"
"It's not that bad Scarlet. Sleeping outside with a sleeping bag and a tent can be fun." Kael said as he walked by the outskirts of the town, to look for a spot to pitch a tent. He was thinking about how the situation is not as simple as he expected some trouble this time but the situation leaves Kael with little to do. If he breaks the barrier he may kill the Water Priest who may or may not be innocent in this matter. He can't simply just go break things for the sake of it.
After he pitched the tent, he hopped in. Zipped the opening and unrolled his sleeping bag.
"My liege... May I ask. If you have met anyone in this life?" Scarlet asked.
"No, Scarlet. In this life, I don't know who am I supposed to meet. This is the life I had failed a long time ago. Before I became the King." Kael said as he rolled himself into it.
"I understand. I... I hope you are not too angry with my pressence."
"I was, Scarlet. Because you deserved your peace. Same as Qiao Shu who was the master of Lotus Blade and Moon Flower Blade. Qiao Shu has passed on and I think it would be best if she did. You deserved your peace for all the times you fought on the frontline with me. Yet, it is comforting to see you once again." Kael said as he closed his eyes. Drifting his mind and heart to sleep.
In his dreams Kael could see the past once more. The past where his parents had died, his younger siblings went missing and he was dying of starvation by the streets. Kael remembered seeing Blake cry for him. Then it went to him standing in the realm of Gods. Naked, he heard their words ring to his ears.
"He's useless."
"What is there for him? His whole life was a mess?"
"A fool."
Those words had been uddered yet a hand reached out to him. The hand of Lucius, the God of Destruction. he gave Lucius his faith and so. He will follow through with it. The many lives he lived, each time. He would choose Lucius. No matter how many Gods offered him better, he still chose Lucius.
All the 52 Lives he had. He'd choose Lucius. When Lucius learned of the Malevolent Gods plan to start an armageddon, he asked Kael to be his Avatar. In the lives of the Avatar, Kael had watched the love and many things be destroyed before his very eyes. He watched how his lovers, children and comrades would die. With him being the cursed last survivor.
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That was fine, he was able to render those Gods into ruin by himself anyway. The last part of his dreams? It was seeing all the 52 Lives stand before Kael and nodding to him. Kael woke up the next morning to hear some munching sounds by his tent. Unzipping to see group of people having a barbecue. They turned to look at him, blinking their eyes repeatedly. Kael stepped out without a word, snapped his fingers as the tent put itself into his bag, then he left. Not wanting to say a word to strangers, keeping his distance as Kael was thinking of a way into the Capital of Marchen, Oranto.
There were other things that he needed to consider. If he needed to pay someone off to enter the barrier? Or if he needed to acquire a job to enter the barrier? Or if there was something else. If Marchen had Adepts, surely they would have tournaments. That may be Kael's ticket to head into the capital. Kael went to look for it. 'Battle Tournament Qualifying Rounds. People who qualify will enter the Capital's Battle Tournament.' Kael went ahead to see the Battle Tournament's Qualifying Rounds, the location was at an old stadium. For this Kael needed to change his appearance, changing his appearance to a different character. The black haired mercenary with the braided hair. Cyprian Wish, the face was to resemble the face of King Vulcan.
"Scarlet. We'll be entering the tournament. Do not break away from blade form at any time until it is over." Kael said.
"Of course... Ah, I see you're wearing the face I first met you. Is it nostalgia my lord?"
"No, Scarlet. Just want you to be encouraged." Kael said as he stepped forth into the arena. There were many figures, some of them were heavily armored. Some of them are not even armored at all. As Cyprian, his armor was clad in black with a helmet that had a beast like motif. With the horns portruding upwards A fur collar by the chest, skull shaped pauldrons, knee guards with skulls. White cloth that was situated by the waist where the faulds were. In Kael's hand was Scarlet Vow, the falchion that was to be wielded two handed yet kael or rather Cyprian will be wielding it with one hand. Seeing the accessories that was by the pommel. A piece of white cloth with black rose embroidery. The name of the armor was ''Midnight Haunter'
"The embroidery you gave to me on the eve of my birthday when I asked to spend a day with you." Cyprian nodded Scarlet Vow's words as he headed to the Battle Tournament's Qualifying Rounds. Registering his name as Cyprian Wish, an outsider that hails from Allensphere. Where some of the people asked him of his opinion to the revolution there. Cyprian merely answered that was not his place. He was coming for the tournament and he could not be deterred by the goal.
"Cyprian. Step up. You will face fighter Luo Meng." Cyprian stood with the blade in his hands, looking at his opponent Luo Meng that was not even coverred in armor. Wielding a liuyedao, not a bad choice for his stature. Luo Meng bowed to Cyprian with blade in hand. Cyprian responded the same way, it was important. Showing respect to a fellow warrior is good.
"Begin." Luo Meng went with a piercing thrust to Cyprian's chest. Cyprian stepped to the side but was nearly taken off guard by Luo Meng's upward swing. Luo Meng was fast but was he nimble? Cyprian swung the blade downwards, Luo Meng tried to block it. Cyprian could see the sword bending a bit, there was a lot of stress from Cyprian's swing. Luo Meng threw a jab at Cyprian's helmet, Cyprian's other hand blocked it. Headbutting Luo Meng back, causing Luo Meng to lose his footing. Followed by a narrow swing that merely grazed Luo Meng's chest.
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Luo Meng got back his footing quickly, he was definitely not going to try the same tactic again.
"Flame Spear!" The flame spear went straight to Cyprian who took it head on, the smoke blocked their vision. Luo Meng was still cautious but he was not suspecting a hand to grab him from the smoke. Cyprian had Luo Meng in a headlock, a tight grip to put Luo Meng down. His opponent had fainted, Cyprian was announced the winner.
Another fight, but this was not even worth for Cyprian to even take seriously. Cocky bastard with some fancy armor. It was clean, unlike the one Cyprian wears. Cyprian's Midnight Haunter had marks of battle, blade scratches. It was one that had taken the brunt of it. The fight? The fight was over far too quickly, a fast strike to the shoulder, followed by pulling the blade to the neck.
He still had to continue for another 10 fights. Cyprian braced himself for it. He was expecting for some decent fights like Luo Meng but all he got? Was just a waste of time. Most of the other 10 fighters were poorly trained. Either in their foundation, mana manipulation or combat stance. At the very least, Cyprian would be able to head into the capital.
"Here's the spending money for you. Since you beat all the fighters in a row. You get a big bonus. Most people bet a lot so you might have enough to save you for a few days. Take this Jade Pendant. Show it to the guards at the gate. They'll let you through. That Jade Pendant means you're a contestant in the Battle Tournament. Go on ahead." The man that handled the qualifying round said.
"Thank you." Cyprian said with a bow, then he turned to Luo Meng who was going to try again.
"You fight well. Your caution is good but do not head too close when you unleash that attack. Those of us that are opportunists like myself will use it as a means of a counter attack." Cyprian said to Luo Meng.
"Thanks for the compliment. I'm going to try for the next round." Cyprian looked at the bag of money he had received. It was roughly 5,000 Macel.
"Here." Cyprian gave Luo Meng half of what he had earned.
"What's this for?" Luo Meng asked with surprise.
"When I find a worthy opponent, I was taught to give my respects properly. Think of this as my way of showing respect." Luo Meng got on his feet, giving a bow to Cyprian.
"Thank you, I will take heed of your words." Cyprian then headed off to the direction of capital. The town and the capital were quite a distance away.
"You three, go ahead and go to Baihua. Make sure she stays out of trouble." The three blades left Cyprian as he continued to make his way to Oranto's borders. The fierce fortress before him, the walls were combined minerals that were mainly of stone yet mixed with something else. They had guards that were heavily armed with high powered guns and even a few Adepts that were using magic scanners. Though, it would not work much on Cyprian since Cyprian could literally just bypass through them with putting his stuff in the chest storage.
Showing the Jade Pendant, the guards did not bother stopping Cyprian, they just let him through. The capital of Oranto's appearance was hidden and it was clear to why. The place was beautiful, the people who were here seemed to have lived lavish lifestyles. Everyone carried a weapon of sorts, be it concealed or not and magic was used here freely. Some people pay to be teleported to certain locations and to go on an experience with float or fly magic.
Yet, there was a lot of things that bothered Cyprian. Normally rulers of a country would have their own building. Either a Castle or a Special Building with the proper designation for it. However, Oranto does not work that way. There are numbers of skyscrapers but none of them stick out from the rest. It was literally just looking at a bunch of french fries on a plate. They may not have the same height or size but they are identical. This was not a needle in a haystack problem, this brought on a few other problems that Cyprian has to think about.
But first, he needed to find the lodging.It felt like he was brought to another world. It was bizarre as people used magic within the walls to move themselves or avoid bumping into each other at a crowd. Cyprian kept on moving to look for an inn. Showing his pendant, the people were telling him of a few inns that will not charge people that are for the competition. It was a piece of good news but the other reason why Cyprian needed the place to take a break and to think about his next step. Mana was abundant, he could hear mana flowing from the limbs of many individuals without much hassle.
Found the inn, they offered him a room at no charge. Cyprian headed up to the room, fresh seats. Everything smelled fresh with all the floral and citrus fragrances to help relax the body. Cyprian was inside the capital, the use of mana just made things a tad bit more difficult. There is too much of it flowing everywhere which leaves Cyprian in a bind if he wanted to use mana to locate anything here. Mana location can only work well if there is no fluctuation or any similar mana types. Then the other issue, Cyprian's mana is too rigid and too raw which means if he is not careful. Everything can be traced back to him.
Seeing a note on the table with a pen, Cyprian jot down the plans he had in mind. A plan to sneak around would work well, problem is he does not know what is he looking for. A building that would tell where the Donnis family were would have been a blessing but he does not have that information.
Second problem? Cyprian needs to confirm the identity of the Water Priest. Because if the Water Priest dies, the barrier shatters and it could lead to more damage to Earth which may include the seal of paranormal to break or even worse, the rampage of the contracted beasts. If it was the Priestess of Water it may be worse because of that past trauma may kick in. If it was a Water Priest that Cyprian does not have to care about then it will be fine.
The third problem? How to deal with the Donnis family. Cyprian may just want to kill them all then bring Blake's mother home.Then another issue arises, there are two beasts. Raizel and Iriskil. If they are forced into a contract or pact by the Donnis family, then Cyprian has to kill them to break it. Though breaking it means that the two beasts will go on a rampage. The other method is to form the pact that overrides what the Donnis family is doing.
The fourth problem? How much of his power must he limit during the Tournament Fights? Quite a bit and he will have to keep his anger in check before he does anything.
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