“There’s no need, “the King of Hell” would not be waiting for you to capture him. Just remember my words, always remain calm when facing situations. I will forgive you this time, after all, he was your leader, and there may be some unavoidable feelings. However, if the same thing happens again next time, you should all know of the consequences.”
From his words, he implied that there would be no punishments. M1 felt immense relief, and respectfully said, “Yes, Your Highness. Thank you, Your Highness, for your magnanimity.” The nine members of the M assassination group immediately kneeled down, secretly sighing in relief.
“Okay, you may leave now. From now onwards, you are not to take any steps out of the headquarters. Now that “the King of Hell” is missing from the group, you must all work hard to raise your power. Do you understand? M1, you shall temporarily take over his position, and be the leader of the M assassination group. If there are any changes in the future, I will let you know.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” The nine members of the M assassination group bowed in respect towards the darkness, and immediately took their leave.
The room became silent once more. After a long time, a brooding voice sounded, “Highness, this doesn’t seem to follow the rules. Are you just going to simply let them off?”
The illusory voice spoke, “You don’t understand, the M assassination group has made quite some contributions to the organization, and now is the time to make use of them. Do you know how hard it is to train an M level assassination group? Although the nine of them cannot be compared to a single “King of Hell”, but assassinating high level sorcerers will still be no problem. Such a pity! “The King of Hell” was my most favored, but he still has not reached the highest realm of assassination — killing without feeling. Pass along my orders, offer a high reward to the Thieves Guild for information on “the King of Hell”. I want to see his body, whether dead or alive. At the same time, send out my nine-star assassination command, and have the Y team ready. Once we have “the King of Hell’s” whereabouts, immediately move out, leave no witnesses. “The King of Hell” who has been poisoned by the Matchless Holy Water is no longer of use to me.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” A bright red light flashed across the dark room and instantly disappeared.
“Oh, “King of Hell”! Its’a hundred years too early for you to go against me!”
…
A month after Owen and Ah Dai had left the illusory forest, the alchemist Gliss returned. He was burdened with heavy feelings. The time was almost coming, but even after three months of repeated considerations, he still could not harden his heart. He was used to being alone, but ever since Ah Dai came, his life had become much more colorful. Ah Dai’s kindness and honesty had deeply moved his heart. However, the experiment must still be done, he was unwilling to give up the dream that he had pursued for decades. With conflicted feelings, he returned. In another month, it would be April, Year 989 of the holy calendar. According to Gliss’ predictions, that was the time for the opportunity of his lifetime. In this one month, he needed to discard his feelings in order to accomplish his lifelong wish.
“Ah Dai, Ah Dai, I’m back.” Gliss shouted loudly in the direction of the wooden hut. Although he was not willing to admit it, he did miss Ah Dai quite a bit.
After countless shouts and still no replies, Gliss was shocked. He quickly walked towards Ah Dai’s room, everything was in place, the same as before he left. Only, Ah Dai was nowhere to be found. Walking to the bed, he threw away the rock and picked up the two letters on the bed. He had an uneasy feeling. Hastily, he tore open one letter, but the writing on it did not appear to be Ah Dai’s.
“Greetings, brother Gliss. Although we have yet to meet, I am your friend in spirit. A few days ago, I was chased by assassins to this place. Luckily, your disciple saved me, and I am very grateful. Brother Gliss, your research has greatly impressed me. Ah Dai used your research method and helped me to temporarily restrain the Matchless Holy Water that I was poisoned with. By chance, I found out that there was an abnormally strong life force within Ah Dai’s body, and it was very suitable for learning my martial arts. As my power has greatly reduced, in order to get my revenge, I had no other choice but to force Ah Dai to leave with me. Once Ah Dai finishes learning my martial arts, I will definitely allow him to return and reunite with you. I have left this letter to inform you, so please do not worry, I will definitely treat Ah Dai well. I hope you can forgive me for doing so.” And the letter ended off, “The King Of Hell”.
[TN: special thanks to the translator(s) of the manhua, coz i used alot of references from the manhua]
Gliss’ hands started trembling, the King of Hell, the King of Hell… Although he did not care about worldly matters, he had heard of the name, “King of Hell”. “The King of Hell” became famous thirty years ago and was a top assassin in the continent. He had killed countless people, never missing his target. His Hell’s Sword was able to kill even top experts, the saying “One swing of Hell’s Sword can shake the earth, another swing will make ghosts flee” was not for naught. No one could escape from his assassination attempts. He was the trump card of the Assassins Guild, and had long become an M level assassin thirty years ago.
“Him, how could it be him? Ah Dai was taken away by “the King of Hell”.” Worry filled Gliss’ heart, “the King of Hell” was much more evil than him. Countless questions flooded Gliss’ mind. Why was “the King of Hell” here? The fact that he was chased was not strange, after all, he had killed so many people, and he had countless enemies. However, who could have the ability to poison him with the Matchless Holy Water? As an assassin, his wariness must be great. Furthermore, why did he have to take Ah Dai away? Looking at his letter, he did not seem to have any ill intentions towards Ah Dai, but instead, he wanted to impart his skills to Ah Dai. At this moment, Gliss was only full of concern for Ah Dai’s safety. The fact that he could no longer continue his experiment without Ah Dai did not even cross his mind.
Amidst his confusion, Gliss proceeded to open the other letter. He could tell with a glance, the shaky handwriting belonged to Ah Dai. After carefully analysing it, the content of the letter was finally clear, the meaning was approximately, “Teacher, this is Ah Dai! Yesterday I saved a man, but he insisted that I leave with him, saying that he wanted to teach me some martial arts. I really don’t want to go! Teacher, I really don’t want to go! Ah Dai wants to be with you, you treat me the best in this whole world. However, the person I saved told me that if I do not go with him, he will kill you! Ah Dai doesn’t want to leave Teacher, but more than that, Ah Dai also doesn’t want to see Teacher die. Teacher, Ah Dai really really likes you. For your safety, Ah Dai can only leave with him. Teacher, your method of restraining the poison of the Matchless Holy Water worked, the person I saved is not facing any life-threatening issues for now. Teacher, there was a day when I sneaked into your research room, and when you were not paying attention, I used a bit of silver-tin to preserve one of the steamed buns that you brought back for me. Every time I think of you, I will always look at it. Teacher, if you miss Ah Dai, just shout it out loudly, Ah Dai will surely hear you! Teacher, that person said, after I finish learning his martial arts, I can come back. You must take good care of yourself, after Ah Dai returns, Ah Dai will take good care of you. Teacher, I have washed your clothes, they are in the cabinet. I used some of your materials when I was saving that person, please forgive me. Do not forget to eat some fruits when you are doing your experiments. You need to take care of your health, so you must eat well. Teacher, I need to go now, wait for me, you must wait for Ah Dai to come back. After I come back, you must teach me magic again! Teacher, goodbye, Ah Dai is leaving, take care of yourself!” The letter ended off with, “Ah Dai who will miss you forever and ever.” There were some creases on the letter, those were the tear marks left behind. Gliss knew for sure, that Ah Dai had cried just as he was about to leave. Although the language of the letter was not very fluent, Gliss knew that Ah Dai was constantly thinking about him, from the “Teacher” being mentioned in every sentence, to the concern that Ah Dai showed.
The letter in his hand gently fell to the ground as tears streamed down his cheeks. He never would have thought that, the silly kid Ah Dai, who was only with him for about a year, would actually have such deep feelings for him. The tears that flowed down Gliss’ cheeks, were tears of regret. At this moment, his lifelong wish no longer seemed to matter. Dashing outside of the house, he suddenly cried out, “Ah Dai, come back! Quickly come back! Teacher will teach you magic, teach you alchemy! Faster come back, Teacher will not use you for the experiment anymore!” He regretted, his heart was filled with immense regret. Why did he chose to leave that day, why was he so selfish, Ah Dai was such a good child! In Gliss’ whole life, there was no one else who had treated him so whole-heartedly.
Gliss fell onto the floor, his tears still streaming down his face. The place where he sat, was precisely where Ah Dai had spent each day waiting for him. After a whole day, Gliss still did not move from that spot, and his surroundings remain shrouded in mist. In this one day, Gliss had thought about many things. Just as night fell, he slowly stood up with the support of the wall behind him. His stiff body made him seem older and frailer, “Ah Dai, you must come back quickly! Teacher has decided, after you come back, you will be my student for real!” Gliss was filled with incomparable pain, he had never felt such deep emotions, not even for his own brother. “Teacher has given you too little… As long as you come back, teacher is willing to do anything for you.”
Gliss turned around and staggered into the house, his lonely back seemed so frail. This old man who had been obsessed with alchemy research for so long, finally understood the true meaning of feelings…
After a month long travelling from the west-most part of the continent, Owen and Ah Dai finally reached Sweetrock Township — a little coastal town situated in the eastern part of the United Regions Commonwealth. This region was under the control of the Sipho (西波) Tribe, the weakest tribe of the six great tribes in the United Regions Commonwealth. On the journey, Owen purchased a horse, they were constantly on the move, travelling through remote paths, and they would only rest at night. Every time they came across a city, Owen would also change his horse. Even so, it still took them over thirty days to arrive at that their destination.
The nomadic tribe, Yalian (亚琏) Tribe, was the strongest of the six great tribes in the United Regions Commonwealth, and it was mostly made up of dark-skinned people. Although the dark-skinned people were often ostracised by others, it was an undeniable fact that they possessed strong bodies and perseverance. As a nomadic tribe, Yalian Tribe had the largest cavalry on the continent and was in control of more than one third of the flatlands in the United Regions Commonwealth. At the same time, it was also the leader of the commonwealth. The Yalian Tribe was situated in the westernmost part of the United Regions Commonwealth, sharing its northern border with Heaven’s Gold Empire, its southern border with Prosperous Empire and its western border with the Holy Church. To the South of the Yalian Tribe, was the Heaven Origin Tribe (天元) that only shared a border with the Yalian Tribe.
Actually, the Heaven Origin Tribe was mostly made up of many uncommon races. Because of that, they named themselves after the Heavens’ Origin Continent, to signify the declining population of the continent. The place where the Heaven Origin Tribe was located, was deemed as the most complex area. Instead of flatlands, every where was surrounded by large tracts of hills and forests. The dwarven race, the elven race, the werebeast race and the winged race, were normally unconcerned about worldly affairs and chose to live peaceful lives. But this did not mean that they were willing to let others invade their territory; the dwarves were skilled in forging, the elves were talented in archery, the winged people were able to fly at fast speeds, and the werebeasts were extremely strong. They were definitely the elites of the United Regions Commonwealth. As a whole, they were all part of the Heaven Origin Tribe, any important matters would be discussed amongst all the four races.
To the northeast of the Yalian Tribe, was the Yajin (亚金) Tribe, made up of mostly white-skinned people. Most of the people there originated from the migrants of the Heaven’s Gold empire and the smaller tribes of the United Regions Commonwealth. After many generations, it had now become the Yajin Tribe. The landscape of the Yajin Tribe, was mostly similar to that of the Heaven’s Gold Empire, cluttered with buildings and cities. It was also the most developed tribe in the United Regions Commonwealth.
Straight towards the east of the Yalian Tribe was the second greatest tribe, the Puyan (普岩) Tribe. It was a mysterious tribe, their people very rarely came into contact with the other tribes. Unless there was a major incident in the United Regions Commonwealth, they would just live their lives inside the tribe. The main source of income for the Puyan Tribe was the weaponry that they produced.
To the north of the Puyan Tribe, was the Red Hurricane (红飓) Tribe. Having red hair was a trademark of their tribe and the Mercenary Guild also originated from the Red Hurricane Tribe. Most of the mercenary groups in the continent were actually made up of people from the Red Hurricane Tribe.
The easternmost part of the Commonwealth, which is also the easternmost part of the continent, was where Owen and Ah Dai had gone, the Sipho Tribe.
The Sipho Tribe was a small and honest tribe, the people in the tribe generally fished for a living. Their greatest asset was their fleets of ships that were on par with any of the nations on the continent. Of the six great tribes in the United Regions Commonwealth, only the Sipho Tribe relied on communications with other tribes in order to make a living. If not, with the size of their tribe, they were unable to maintain a large fleet of ships. Therefore, within the border of the Sipho Tribe, people from other smaller tribes in the United Regions Commonwealth would often be seen.
[TN: omg this huge chunk was torture, i’ll draw up a simple map later for those who are horrible at processing information like me]
[EN: Praise our lord and savior Kuroneko]