Proofread by Thomas F

“This is one magnificent monster, my lord,” praised General Cardin as he looked at the monster.

“Also very powerful, but you were able to break it,” said Lt. Colonel Luskin.

“I had not, Lt. Colonel. I had only suppressed it. Given a chance, it won’t hesitate to kill me,” I replied, and that’s the truth, but there was a smile on my face.

“That is the first and most important step of breaking a wild monster. Now, you just need to train it patiently!” he said, and the smile on my face disappeared.

“I thought you would do that. Lt. Colonel,” I stated, but the man just shook his head.

“It’s too powerful for me,” replied the man, shaking his head.

Of course, I know he will not be able to train it as I had said, it’s powerful. The only reason I could suppress it is the aura. If not for that, I wouldn’t have even thought about taking the monster.

“It’s a wild monster, it wouldn’t be easy to train,” I said and sighed. The man smiled.

“It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. If you were able to do that,” he said. To that, I couldn’t help but nod.

It’s not only fast, but also very agile, not to mention its power. It would be very helpful to me if I could train this monster.

I looked at it before activating Presence Mark. It tried to resist, but here in my city, all its resistance is futile.

With that, I walked toward the carriage waiting for me, before stepping inside.

“What is it?” I asked as Stone and Cardin sat in front of me, along with Zela. I could tell there was something, looking at their eyes.

“Mr. Marysel is coming tomorrow,” Stone replied, and my expression turned serious.

Marysel, the official from the Silent Forest, the intelligence agency of the merchants’ state. Usually, when he comes, he informs us a few days in advance, most of the time a week before.

Now, he is coming tomorrow, and it might be nothing, but I didn’t dare to kid myself.

“Have you found out anything?” I asked. To which they shook their head. “Then we will know it tomorrow,”

It worried me, but there’s nothing I can do about it other than wait until tomorrow.

Soon, the carriage reached the city hall, and I got out with Zela. I am tired from the morning’s disappointment and all the riding I did.

The use of aura was extensive, but a lot of work is waiting for me.

So, I activated the Energizing Essence; immediately, vibrancy filled my body, and fatigue began to recede.

I refrain from using this skill. It’s so amazing that I fear I’ll get used to it, but I use it on days like this, when I’ve tired myself out.

I reached my office and saw Valentina there.

“How were things?” I asked as she got up from my chair and sat in the one opposite. “Very stressful. I don’t know how you do it every day,” she replied.

“You get used to it,” I said, and sat down.

“Anything big happen?” I asked. “Aside from people leaving, no,” she replied.

I quickly opened the file and saw the number of people left. Not just city hall, but also the city.

“The numbers are lessening,” I said, and it couldn’t help but bring a smile to my face. I don’t want people to leave, and this is such welcome news after what happened in the morning.

“Let’s hope this trend follows,” she replied, and I smiled at that.

We discussed many things before she left, while finishing the files and walking to attend the meeting.

Hours passed, and it was nearly midnight when I got out of the city hall. I wanted to return to the house, but seeing it was already midnight, I went to the legacy directly.

A few minutes later, the carriage stopped in front of it. I stepped out and walked inside.

Instantly, I felt the changes, more clearly than when I had entered the city. I could sense a new aspect and a broader emotion slate.

That is helping the legacy in its harvest of more emotion essence.

We had harvested half of the core of Taurus Theater. If we wished, we could have eaten it whole, but conventions need to be followed.

Half is enough already, since I got the things I wanted—the aspect and emotion slate.

“Master Silver,”

Nodded at the girls at the reception and stepped inside the elevator, watching every floor as it went up. Even now, it is filled with people.

More tourists are coming every day. Fearing they wouldn’t get another chance after the undead take over the city.

The elevator stopped, and I got out.

Click!

A few seconds later, I stepped into my office. To my surprise, Caena was there. I see her less and less. I didn’t think she would be here.

Though I am glad to see her out, she mostly remained in her room in the legacy.

“I am surprised you are here,” I said as I sat down. “I needed a break,” she replied.

“I heard you came riding a monster, covered in lightning.” She said, and a small smile appeared on her face. “Yes, I wanted to give the people something else to talk about other than the undead,” I replied.

It’s the truth; I took the risk to create the distraction.

There was a silence for a few seconds, not an uncomfortable one. Just a silence that appears in conversations.

“I upgraded boundary spells and a few planet spells,” she informed.

“Didn’t you already do that?” I asked. I was present when she upgraded the boundary spell, covering the second wall. “Yes, but not with the new knowledge,” she replied.

“You can work on that later. Work on the number one priority,” I said. After we dealt with the undead, she will have all the time in the world to work on the other things.

“I am working on it, but I can’t work on just one thing. It becomes dangerous,” she replied.

She had told me a few things, and some, I was able to find out on my own. That grimoire, that is what it is, is a perilous thing.

It had made many people in her family mad. I don’t want her to go mad.

She could destroy the legacy.

“I was waiting for you, because Naens Hall had entered waning.” She said, and I instantly recognised the legacy, because I had been looking for it.

It is a Grade III store legacy from Nezar.

It could give us our most desired aspect, the aspect of the store, the most visited part of the Velvet Garden.

The stores take up four floors in the Velvet Garden, counting Eva’s store, which is the most visited floor. Over 75% of people visit these floors because there are no reservations or restrictions here.

The only thing they have to do is line up at the gate, and soon they will be allowed to enter.

Things became even smoother since I acquired the Crowd Flow Control skill from the Tranquill Bathhouse, further increasing the number of visitors in the legacy.

That skill had been a game-changer.

Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to get the store aspect right away. More important than the bathhouse and spa had been, and I have been trying.

Contacting masters of various legacies across the world.

“I will contact her tomorrow,” I replied. It is not a good time, since her legacy is just entering a waning phase, but if I wait, others might swoop in.

“There was a response from The Winking Lantern.” She said a moment later;

It isn’t just Grade III and below; I am contacting thrones as well.

We do not always want the whole core of it; we do not believe we could harvest even 1% of it, but we might be able to get something after the first bite is taken from it.

Hence, The Winking Lantern; it is another throne. It is not waning; it is a vibrant legacy, but it is a legacy that is going to take the first bite out of Hayward’s Emporium’s core.

I heard it had spent quite a lot on it. The inn has some store elements and plans to reinforce them.

We just want a scrap after it has finished. Usually, after the first bite taken, the core divides into hundreds of parts. It happens with the cores of the thrones, too, but here there is more freedom.

If the master is good enough, they could send the bigger parts to a specific legacy.

It gives them a very short time to harness it before they fly away, but it is possible, and we are trying for it. However, we aren’t the only ones going for that.

“Positive?” I asked. “Encouraging,” she corrected.

“Well, we will have to keep trying,” I said. To that, she smiled, before getting up and leaving, while I closed my eyes, feeling the legacy deeply.

…

Lady Ashenwood, Manris

A woman walked into the beautiful garden behind the palace, where she watched a man practicing with great concentration.

He was so focused, he didn’t notice her at all.

The man standing on the ground, moving his hands and legs slowly, while the amber rock flowed on his body, taking different shapes.

Armor, swords, shields, a hammer, and many others.

It was late when he returned, and she thought he would be sleeping, but when she opened her eyes. She saw that the side of the bed was empty.

It’s not like he didn’t practice. He did it every day, but not with intensity like this.

It reminded her of the young man she had fallen in love with all those decades ago.

She watched without making a sound until he finally stopped and looked at her with surprise in his eyes.

“When did you arrive?” he asked, wiping the sweat from his brow. “A while ago,” she replied with a smile.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked. “I didn’t want to disturb you,” she replied, before her expression turned serious.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you practice like this. It seemed like the battle with the monster rekindled your battle spirit again,” she said, but the man shook his head.

“It’s not the monster,” he replied. It surprised her, and she arched her brow in question.

“It’s Silver,” he stated, with his eyes, turning distant for a moment. “He made the monster run away.” He added.

She had read the report, but it wasn’t detailed. It is implied in the report that the three of them had made the monster retreat. She was going to ask him about it after he woke up.

“How?” she asked, and he shook his head. “I don’t know, we weren’t able to see it,” he replied.

“Do you really think he made it retreat?” she asked with a frown appearing on her face, having a hard time believing it.

He might not be sure of how he did it, but he seemed to be sure he did it.

When she read the report yesterday, she was surprised, as it predicted Silver’s level to be late, Lv. 30. It’s hard to reach that level; most lords never achieve it in their lives.

Not to mention the aura.

“The battle had made me realise how insufficient my strength is. I cannot protect you, our daughter, the city, if powerful danger comes for us,” he said.

She wanted to say. We are safe, but she knows very well. No matter how strong the merchant state is, some dangers could shake it.

Besides, she could see it in her husband’s eyes that he had made the decision.

Once he does, there is no stopping him. So, she asked the only question she could.

“When?” she asked. “Not, immediately, but in a month or two,” he replied, and I felt relieved. She didn’t want him to leave immediately.

“Do we still have those near-expired alchfire orbs?” he asked suddenly.

The city purchases Alchfire orbs every few years as part of the mandatory defense package, then sends them to be destroyed when their expiration date arrives.

Those things are powerful, but quite wasted. One rarely uses them, seeing how they could harm oneself as well as the enemy, but they are part of the package.

“Yes. Including the ones we had confiscated from Red Nail Brotherhood,” I replied

“Sell them to Silver,” he replied, surprising me.

We had discussed it before when Silver had asked for it. It is a resource for which I needed to take permission from the state.

“Do you think he has a chance?” I asked, surprised, that I am even asking the question.

Being a councilwoman gives me access to confidential information. I had read the assessment of Silver’s chances against the undead, and it is 99% defeat.

Even if he blasts his whole legacy as he did last time, the result will be the same.

The numbers that will come at him will leave him with nothing but absolute defeat. After what will happen tomorrow, it will be 100%.

“Earlier, I didn’t, but now, I think he might. Even if it is small,” he said.

The answer surprised me. He might not know all things, but he is aware of many things, and should know that it will be impossible for Silver.

Still, he has a sense for these kinds of things. If he feels Silver has a chance, small as it may be, then there is, but it’s not going to be enough.

His fate is sealed. Nothing could change it.

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