VOLUME 4: CHAPTER 13

  VOLUME 4: CHAPTER 13

The eleven thousand-strong army camped in the forest bustled with life. Tents were unpitched and folded, torches were lit, and horses were untethered. The sleeping soldiers were woken up in the middle of the night and were ordered to march eastward, to the opposite direction of their initial route. 

Numerous speculations on why they were suddenly ordered to move out spread among the troops. 

“Hey, why are we leaving the camp in the middle of the night?” said one of the soldiers. 

“We encountered groups of monsters here yesterday, what if they suddenly attacked us now?”

“Idiots! It’s fairly obvious, isn’t it? General Alvaren and his men must be coming here as we speak! That’s why we’re being forced to march like this in this damnable, dark forest!”

Lui Marcus silently listened as his soldiers talked amongst themselves. His mind was elsewhere. His encounter with Lark an hour ago still lingered in his mind. 

The Lark he knew was nothing but a vindictive brat who knew nothing but the most basic of spells. He could not even properly cast a simple fireball spell. But now, it was revealed that he had the skills comparable to Master Tamers. This revelation cemented his previous speculations. 

There were also the facts that he defeated the Third Legion, gave out blueprints for the mana bombs and balloons, invented the method of killing the Black Famine, and even successfully conquered the City of Akash in just a single day. 

‘He’s not my brother.’

This was the only conclusion Lui Marcus could come up with. Other possibilities such as his little brother being a secret prodigy felt farfetched and out of touch with reality. Lui had tested his little brother using the measuring stone a few years ago, back when they were still living in Gryphon City. There was no way to fake those results without Lui noticing it. There was no doubt that during that time, Lark did not know any powerful spells nor had a decent mana pool. 

Even if his little brother was secretly a prodigy, there was no way to overcome this hurdle in just a few years. Moreover, the spell he used to control his familiar was not something taught to him back in Gryphon City. 

Lui Clenched his fists. He wanted to confront the imposter and ask him what he did to his brother. Why was he assuming the form of Lark Marcus? Why did he take over his little brother’s body? For what purpose? 

Lui tried shaking off these thoughts. They needed to focus on escaping from this forest for now. He could interrogate the impostor later, once they’ve arrived at Akash City. 

Hours passed and the army relentlessly continued marching towards the rocky hill opposite Serpents Road. Thankfully, the rear guards did not see any signs of General Alvaren and his men. Aside from the occasional, small-scale attacks from the monsters of the forest, the army did not experience any setbacks.

After arriving at the rocky hill, they camped for a couple of hours then started marching again, this time towards the west, passing through a seemingly endless grassland. Grasslands were among the worst places to conceal an army this large, but for some reason, they did not clash with any enemies along the way. 

The eagle – Lark Marcus – would hover down every now and then and guide the army towards a certain direction. This simple tactic worked wonders, as the army’s march proceeded at a faster pace now that uncertainty was taken out of the equation. All they needed to do what listen to the eagle and move to the direction it pointed. 

After four and a half days – half a day earlier than expected – they finally saw the walled city of Akash. Next to it was a half-burnt forest, its sea of trees charred black. Outside the city, numerous soldiers and workers moved about. Some of them dug around the walls, while some moved around logs, stones, and iron. 

The moat in front of the gate was almost finished, and the wooden drawbridge was already complete. It was amazing that such a big project, which would normally take months to finish, took less than two weeks to complete. 

The workers seemed to have been briefed beforehand that an eleven thousand-strong army was going to arrive, since none of them showed signs of panic upon seeing an army so large approaching the city. On the contrary, they started cheering. The bells on the watchtowers rang and the gates fully opened, welcoming the newly arrived reinforcements. 

Looking above, they could even see large ballistas – spear-sized arrows nocked on it, several weapons resembling catapults with attached severing discs, tubular irons, and some other weapons they were unfamiliar of.

Lui and the other commanders were speechless upon seeing this sight. They knew that the Second Army successfully conquered the City of Akash, but they did not hear about the ambitious project of turning it into an impregnable stronghold. 

Their army entered the stronghold and cheers erupted even further. Numerous soldiers from the Second Army had already been waiting for them there, some of them enthusiastically waiving the flags of the Kingdom.  

It felt like a hero’s welcome. The same thing given to Duke Drakus after he successfully quelled the strife in the Bloody Thorn Plains Incident fifteen years ago. After seeing the heated crowd, Lui could not help but be reminded of that time. He had been so proud of his father back then. 

“Welcome to Akash City,” a calm voice was heard despite the frenzied cheering of the soldiers.

Looking at the source of the voice, Lui and the other officers of the army saw a young man with short silver hair and clear blue eyes. He bore a striking semblance to Lui Marcus during his younger years. 

Lark Marcus, the Commander of the Second Army. 

Lui stared at his younger brother, carefully taking note of anything that looked amiss. The probability that he was an impostor was high, but Lui did not want to rush into conclusions and compromise their odds in this war. 

The officers of the army were invited to a banquet in the Lord’s castle. It was a sumptuous feast and the officers of the Second, Third, Marcus, and Yorkshaire Army did not hold themselves back from filling their bellies. They had been marching nonstop for several weeks, after all. The last time they’d had a decent meal was months ago. 

The officers of the army expected Lark to make a speech regarding their plans for the upcoming battle. But to their surprise – and probably relief – the young man did not bring up the topic. He merely moved around the banquet, greeting various officers of the army, sometimes even cracking jokes like introducing himself as the annoying eagle from before. 

They realized that Lark intended on allotting this day for rest and relaxation. It was a big gesture for such an exhausted army. 

Finally, it was Lui’s turn. 

Lark walked up to him, and with a bright smile, offered him his hand. 

Lui looked at the hand for a moment before shaking it. He stared at his little brother. The eyes, the face, the body. Everything was exactly as how Lui remembered them. 

But the movements. The posture. The air of confidence borne not from arrogance but from competence. They were different. 

Lui did not have the chance to talk to his little brother back when they met in the Capital several months ago, since their father was with them. And there was also his promise of not initiating contact in exchange of not exiling Lark to a faraway Kingdom. 

But now, that promise did not hold value since the wellbeing of the Kingdom was at stake in this meeting. Lui told himself that he was not breaking his promise to his father. Right now, who he was meeting was the Commander of the Second Army and not simply just his little brother. 

“It’s been a while, brother,” said Lark. 

Lui gripped his brother’s hand even tighter, before eventually letting go and flashing a smile. “You’ve changed a lot.”

“People grow up,” replied his little brother. “It’s been years since I’ve left home, after all.”

Lui noticed that Lark’s body was a lot leaner than before. The body of someone who had been training physically every day for combat. 

“And two years is enough time to become a Master Tamer,” said Lui. He looked for a reaction from Lark, but was disappointed upon seeing none. The young man remained unmoved and as calm as before. 

“It’s certainly more than enough,” nodded Lark, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

But Lui did not give up. He wanted to find out if this person in front of him was actually an impostor. “I heard you’ve slain General Urkawi. Do you know the reason why hardly no one believed it even after the rumors spread?” 

Lark did not reply. He simply waited for Lui to finish his statement. 

“It’s because that beastman is the so-called Immortal,” said Lui. “Even the Giants of Orth couldn’t kill him. But my little brother, who did not know martial arts and hardly knew magic when he left Gryphon City, managed to kill him in a one-on-one fight.”

Lark thought that it was laughable that someone capable of opening only three out of the seven gates of mana were being called an Immortal in this era. That spell was flawed in its own way that simply cutting off the supply of ambient mana would be enough to render the spell useless. 

“I must have been really lucky then, huh?” said Lark. “How’s father?”

“Don’t steer away from the topic,” glared Lui. “You. Who are you?”

Several seconds of silence befell the two. They looked at each other in the eye. Lark sighed. 

“Look, this may sound preposterous, but I lost most of my memories from a certain incident almost a year ago,” Lark said with a straight face. “And as for my magic, I learned all of it from Master.”

Lui deeply frowned. Everything sound like a blatant lie. The story felt too convenient, as though it had been prepared before this meeting even started. 

“Master,” repeated Lui. “And your memories. You’ve lost most of them, you said?”

“That’s right,” nodded Lark. “I know it’s hard to believe, but you can confirm it with Gaston. After some bastards held me captive and beat me up to a pulp several months ago, I lost most of my memories.”

Lui’s eyes widened, before becoming filled with rage. He suppressed his growl. “Beat you to a pulp? Who?!”

His fists were clenched as he waited for Lark’s response. If it was one of the Dukes, he vowed to retaliate in his own ‘little way.’ Although probably an impostor, how dare they harm his little brother? 

“Just some unknown bastards in the town,” Lark shrugged the topic off, as though it was insignificant. “They’re all dead now, though.”

Lark took out a gemstone the size of half a fist. “Here.”

He threw the gem to Lui. 

“What’s this?” Lui caught the gemstone in the air and quickly inspected it. 

“A communication crystal. You must have heard from the Baron about the necklace I’ve given him back then. It’s the same one,” said Lark. “But that one’s a bit special. It’s made from a more expensive stone, you see, so the range’s far higher than the one the Baron has. And it’s directly connected to the one Master wears back in Blackstone Town.”

Lui stared at the gemstone for a moment. “You’re telling me… that I can contact this so-called Master of yours using this item?”

The story of Lark losing his memory was already absurd on its own. Coupled with the story of having a Master capable of molding an incompetent brat to a powerful magician, the story becomes unbelievable. 

But if the gemstone could actually contact this so-called Master of Lark, a part of Lui’s doubts would be lifted off somehow. He would still not fully believe the story, but he it would no longer be as preposterous as it initially seemed. 

“How do I contact him?” said Lui. 

“Just apply a little bit of mana into it,” said Lark. “And it should connect directly to Master.”

Lui channeled mana into the gemstone and it glowed. After several seconds, a loud and coarse voice echoed in the Hall. 

“Damn, brat! Why did you contact me only now?! I repeatedly told you to message me after you arrived at the Capital! Is this how you repay everything me for everything I’ve done for you, huh? Is this how you treat your Master?!”

The voice was so loud that Lui almost dropped the stone and had the urge to cover both his ears. He bewilderedly looked at the gemstone, at Lark, then back. Little did he know that Lark was the one manipulating the voice through a matching, but smaller gemstone in his pocket. 

The other people inside the Grand Hall stopped and stared at their direction. 

“Where are you now?! You’re not dead, are you? Hey, answer me right now! Damn it!”

The so-called Master kept spouting words one after another that Lui could not even muster up a reply. 

Lark wryly smiled at his brother. “Master can be quite grumpy at times, but he’s a gentle person. Go on, ask him your questions.”

The gemstone glowed and a voice far louder than before echoed. “Why don’t you answer me? I swear, if you’re not dead, I’ll kill you myself once you come back here, you shitty kid!”

In less than a minute, Lui and Lark became the center of attention in the Grand Hall. Numerous people approached them and watched the situation unfold. Some were laughing as the so-called master spouted curses one after another. Lui could not even respond as the threats came out in droves. 

When Lui finally got ahold of himself and was about to utter a reply to the so-called Master, the gemstone lost its glow. The communication was cut off. 

Lui frowned. “What happened?”

Lark sighed and scratched his head. “The old man probably failed to control his temper and broke his communication crystal. We must have called at the wrong time. He’s probably drunk, you see. But he’s a nice person when sober, so please understand.”

Everything transpired so smoothly that Lui did not doubt the story in the slightest. He really did believe that someone was speaking with him all the way from Blackstone Town and that person accidentally broke his communication crystal. 

“So you have a Master back in Blackstone Town,” Sword Said Alexander chimed in. “Is he the one who taught you magic and gave you advises on how to govern the town?”

Lark politely bowed to the Sword Saint. He saw the question as a perfect opportunity to solidify the existence of a fabricated master in Blackstone Town. “Yes, that’s right, Master Alexander.”

The Sword Saint stroked his beard. “And may I know the name of such esteemed Senior?”

Lark paused for a moment, looking conflicted whether or not to reveal the name. Eventually, he replied, “I’m afraid not. Master’s not a citizen of the Kingdom and wishes to remain anonymous as of this time. Just revealing his existence here is already crossing the line. I’m sorry, but I cannot tell you anything about him more than that.”

The Sword Saint easily accepted this reasoning. “How regrettable. I would love to meet him sometime in the future.”

The Sword Saint did not question Lark any further. Seeing the Sword Saint’s response, Lui also did not pursue the matter of the so-called Master’s identity any further. He looked at Lark, engraving into his mind the image of his brother who he did not see for a long time. 

“You’ve really grown,” Lui said, eventually. “Father, he… Maybe if he talked to you back in the Capital…”

Lui sighed and shook his head. “No, it doesn’t matter.”

Lui sighed again. He grabbed two nearby goblets filled with wine then handed one to Lark. “You’ll be seventeen soon, two months from now. A full-pledged adult. But before that, please, let’s survive this war.”

Lui raised his goblet. Lark did the same. The two made a toast towards their victory against the Empire.