Chapter 694: Invitation

Proofread by Thomas F

Lord of Deerpond

“Is it solved?” I asked as I stepped into my office. “No, my lord. General Silva is still dealing with it,” replied Ronda with a sigh.

“What are the casualties?” I asked. “Seventy-nine dead, two hundred and thirty-four injured,” he replied.

“Fuck!”

“A problem after fucking problems. The undead weren’t enough, now comes this!” I said. “They will be dealt with like the ones before,” replied Ronda calmly.

We have found a large nest of mine beasts. They are not rare in the mines—especially one with high-grade energy crystals.

We have a standing force in the mine to deal with them, but this time. The monsters are tough, and their strength is high, to the extent that I needed to send my top general to deal with them.

I thought the problem would be solved by morning, but it was not.

“The scale of it shouldn’t be leaked outside,” I said to Ronda. We cannot hide the news, but we must conceal its severity, or things will become even worse than they are right now.

There have already been two riots. People want to leave the city, including the miners.

I cannot have that.

I need people, especially miners. The city’s economy relies heavily on it. It is what finances the army; if the miners left, it would significantly affect the city’s finances.

I cannot afford that, with the undead waiting at doorsteps, and this time, I didn’t have my old territory to fall back on.

“It will not, my lord,” replied Ronda.

…

Greltheaven

I woke up, feeling wet as usual.

I am sleeping in the well, so of course. I will be wet. This is the fourth night I have slept in the well, and the effects are fantastic when combined with Caena’s spells.

Every day, they are becoming increasingly powerful. So that I feel I have fully recovered today.

I could not feel even the hint of weakness.

“Did I recover?” I asked as I looked at Caena. I don’t know when she arrived, but she was standing beside the fountain when I woke up.

I felt her skills and removed all the resistance. Letting it scan me thoroughly.

“You will after two more nights,” she replied. I sighed and turned to the woman beside me.

“She?” I asked, looking at General Azalia. “A few more days and we will wake her up,” she replied, before placing another witchcraft charm on her and activating it.

General Azalia’s condition had improved massively.

Now, no bandages are covering her body. Her body’s injuries are nearly healed. All the Saber’s energy had been whittled away or returned to the artifact.

What remained to be healed was her spirit. That will take some time.

We could wake her if we want, but we are not going to do that yet. We had intentionally placed her to sleep to make her spirit recover faster.

“Good,” I said and got out of the well.

I need her recovered as soon as possible. In the battle against the undead, she had proved herself, and now that she had awakened the aura, the dominion needed her even more.

I spoke with Caena for a few minutes before walking out of the bathhouse, looking at the people.

The bathhouse is filled, with more than 70% of people coming from the merchant state. They are laughing, talking, while some are simply soaking, with their eyes closed.

There is heavy demand for it. People are willing to pay massive amounts of money for the entry.

I used this opportunity to increase the number of women entrants to 45%.

It usually stayed around 30%.

I had also reduced the power of the artifact to a third, but even that had impressed these people.

None of them were injured, but the effects are still soothing their spirit and taking away their fatigue. Making them feel refreshed, like never before.

This effect didn’t just disappear after they left the bathhouse; it remains with them.

I examined the essence, which I am harvesting from the bathhouse and other places where I utilize the artifact’s power, and the results are excellent.

I am still collecting the data. In a week, I will get an idea on how to deal with it.

I went to my room, freshened up, and showered before walking to my office, where I saw Jenna, Tara, and Carla waiting for me.

“Are you both ready?” I asked Tara and Jenna; there is a big job in front of them. “Yes, we had made all the preparations and were ready to leave,” replied Jenna.

They will be leaving the city in the evening, accompanied by the girls, some staff from the legacy, and a few people from the city hall.

They will be visiting three legacies, two of which are Grade III and one is Grade IV.

It is a training programme that lets them experience how these legacies work, but in disguise, it is a mission to gain insight into the aspect.

All three legacies have an aspect that Velvet Garden didn’t.

The aspects of stores, craft, functions, and a few other elements. We plan to collect the hints of it and form a seed through witchcraft.

So, when the legacy advances, there might be a chance. Those seeds will develop into a full aspect.

It’s tough, but given the Caena’s Witchcraft and my vision, we have a small hope.

I might have delayed it a little, but it’s one of the legacies. A Grade IV throne is at the end of its nearly three-century-old life.

It could die at any moment.

So, I don’t want to lose the chance, seeing there are already a few store-type legacies on the continent, and not all agree to let my staff train in their establishment, even for a week.

I have to pay the two legacies for the training, while the third one is going to send their own people here.

“We had already delayed your trip. The sooner you leave, the better it will be,” I said to them.

Yes, they delayed the trip. They were supposed to leave the day after we swallowed the Tranquill Bathhouse’s core, but Caena’s stopped them for a few days.

She had upgraded the spell in that time. Even now, the spell isn’t at its best, but it is far better than what they were initially leaving with.

If we had more time, the spell would have been even better, but we do not have time.

“Best of luck,” I wished them. “Thank you, Master Silver,” they replied. They left soon after, and I didn’t stay for much longer either.

I am going to the city hall and will stay there till late. I want to finish most of the work.

Soon, I plan to spend a lot of time training. Not only my training, but also the training of the others.

I reached the city hall and walked into my office, where a person was already waiting for me.

“Anything new?” I asked Shaun, my intelligence chief.

It had been a short few months, and he was still in the process of building the organisation, training the people, but now and then, he would get some good intelligence from the network he had started building.

“Yes, actually,” he replied, and my eyes lit up.

“They have found a big nest of monsters in the Grade VI crystal mine in Deerpond two nights ago. The problem is big enough that Lord of Deerpond had sent General Silva to deal with it,” he informed.

It surprised me.

Monsters are a common problem in the mine, but it must be something that he had sent his strongest general to deal with them.

They are keeping the news tight about its scale, because I heard it’s a small nest that they are dealing with.

“Good job,” I praised.

“Thank you, Lord Silver,” he replied, with a smile, before his expression turned serious.

“Have you thought about my proposal?” he asked, and my expression became serious as well. It’s not an easy request; I’m having quite a conflict with it.

“I will give you an answer in a few more days,” I replied finally, and he nodded.

A few minutes later, he left, while I continued to focus on my work.

Time passed, and soon it was an afternoon, when Lola activated a charm and began to practice the aura. She had recovered two days ago and started practicing the aura.

The charm is to contain it so that nobody can sense it. I am keeping the awakening of the four secrets.

Aura is an asset; a hidden strength. I will need it to be kept secret and used at the right time.

“A little faster, your aura is slower than your breath,” I said after the observation. She nodded and tried to match her aura with her breath, failing repeatedly.

It’s not easy, especially on the second day, but she is doing far better. I had on my second day of practice.

She lasted for seven minutes before she stopped, more than triple the initial days.

I went to the meeting and returned an hour and a half later.

“They have arrived,” informed Lola, and walked out of the office. She had gone to receive them at the door.

I am surprised they have come personally. Not many would dare to come to the city during these times, but I am glad they did.

Their visit would help the city.

Click!

A few minutes later, the door opened and the couple walked in with Lola. The man appeared to be in his late fifties, while the woman looked about a decade younger, despite being of a similar age.

Seeing them stepping in, I got up. It is the least I could do after the help they have provided me.

“Lord Blackwell, Lady Blackwell,” I greeted the Lord and Lady of Amberhold.

“Lord Silver, I hope you have been well,” asked Lady Blackwell as they sat down. “I am fantastic, thank you for asking, Lady Blackwell,” I replied.

“We are glad to see you in good spirits, Lord Silver. Not many would be as calm as you are if they were in your situation,” said the man.

“There is no other choice, Lord Blackwell. Panicking would only make things difficult,” I replied.

“That’s absolutely true, my lord,” he agreed.

There was a silence for a brief moment before Lady Blackwell took out the envelope and placed it in front of me.

“We are celebrating the founding of the Fort Renin, and we hope that you will attend it,” she invited. It is the first time they are doing it.

It is likely to attract businesses to the new trade route.

It is helping them a lot. Before the route opened, the condition of Amberhold was not good. It is a city located away from the main trade routes and doesn’t offer anything special that couldn’t be found elsewhere.

The trade route had changed things for them.

“Thank you for the honour, Lady Blackwell, Lord Blackwell,” I replied as I took the envelope.

“I cannot promise my attendance, with everything going on, but I will send Carla and the senior official from the city,” I added.

It is in the first week of next month. It won’t be possible for me to attend.

“We understand, Lord Silver,” said Lord Blackwell, with understanding.

I smiled, and a moment later, Lola handed me the box, and I pushed it toward them.

“I value the help you provided me a few days ago. Please accept this as a token of my appreciation,” I said and forwarded the box toward them, but they shook their heads.

“We didn’t do it to get anything in return, Lord Silver. We did it because we consider you a friend,” replied Lady Blackwell.

I wanted to press, but seeing their expressions. I took the box back.

They likely guessed what was in the box, but still declined it. Not many people in their condition would do that.

“Then please, accept my thanks,” I said. “That we will do,” replied the man, with a smile.

They stayed for a few minutes before they left. They will be staying in the city for the night and will be treating themselves in the establishment.

I had already asked Caena to provide them with the best service. It’s the least I could do.

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