Wreath of Lilies, Cauldron of Poison

Chapter 174

Never Too Late to Learn

Klein entered the Blind Boar and took his seat, taking off his gloves as he did so. “What did I miss?”

“Sir Donovan just told us about Guild Master Sabrac,” Hannah said.

“Ah, is it the one with the Crystal? That’s a fun one,” Klein smirked. He took a swig of ale from the tankard in front of him.

“You’re fine with it?” Hannah asked incredulously.

“Promises are meant to be kept. That’s why we swore an oath when we become Knights. Sometimes people who are in power need to have a reminder that they’re not exempt from that rule,” he then continued. “I just talked with a Hunter outside. I’ve confirmed it. Guild Master Sabrac passed by here on his way South.”

“Food’s here!” a boy came bearing bowls filled with boar stew onto the table.

“Are you also Hunters?” the boy asked as he served them.

“No, we are – “

“We are Knights,” Donovan said proudly.

“Oh,” the boy said, looking much less enthused. “Only, I saw your weapons there. And I thought you’re Hunters,” the boy then proceeded to talk with sudden enthusiasm. “There was a party of Hunters here about a month ago, they took care of the bandits around here. It makes things a whole lot easier for us! Isn’t that right, dad?!”

“Are you still bugging the customers with that story again?” the Tavern owner sighed. “Yeah, that was a very strange group of people, there’s even a Centaur! She ate more than half of the day’s share of boar meat!” he said as he slid over a mug of ale to a toothless old man. “That’s still cheaper than losing customers due to the bandits, though. Now all that’s left is the Monsters.”

“A Hunter party with a Centaur…? Isn’t that…Lady Cornelia’s party?” Eleanora exclaimed.

“Sounds like they’re not all that bad. Don’t you think you might be a bit too sensitive, Sir Hero?”

“That’s because you don’t know her,” Akira sighed. “I fear that we will have to take a loss if we want to get their help. That is, if they even want to help.”

“Can’t we just say that this is an order from the King?” Hannah offered. “That should take care of it, right?”

“Do you really think that’d work?” Akira said with an exasperated sigh. His paramour though again about what she just said and looked down. “I guess not.”

As the table’s mood turned sullen, the door of the Tavern suddenly opened and in came a pair of men decked in thick fur clothes.

“Feck. Feggid all!” the man spoke through his thick beard.

The owner of the Blind Boar looked at the newcomer with a puzzled look. “Why’re you here again Roth? You left barely a few hours ago.”

“It’z de road. Some feckin’ luck we had. A giant boulder fell from Goddess knows wher’ an’ blocked the road! And we wuz supposed to reach Greyvault wid de goods by the day after tomorrow at the very least! How’re we gonna do dat now.”

“Greyvault?”

All eyes from Akira’s table suddenly turned towards the frustrated merchant.

“Wat’zit to ya?” the old man said gruffly when he saw them looking at him.

“Careful there, Roth. Those are Knights from the Capital,” the Tavern Owner warned him.

“Wait,” Roth’s companion went wide eyed when he saw the Akira. “Those black eyes and black hair…! You’re the Hero!”

“Wut?” Roth’s expression changed slightly.

“Forgive my friend Roth here. He’s not a very friendly fellow,” the man said. “My name’s Kay. We are heading towards Greyvault in haste due to the order from Prince Elhart. But as you heard just now, we are facing some trouble on the road.”

“Yeah, Greyvault’s runnin’ low on food so the people in charge sent for help.”

Klein quickly looked outside and saw seven large wagons filled with sacks and barrels of goods. He could see the flag of Prince Elhart flown on the frontmost wagon.

“May I ask where you’re heading? Sir Hero?” Kay asked, there was a strange glint in his eyes.

“Actually –“ Akira was about to answer when Klein interrupted him. “Let’s not beat around the bush. You want us to help you, correct?”

“Well, if you say it that way…” Kay said with an embarrassed expression when he saw Klein noticing his intention.

“Klein, wait,” Akira said, slightly confused. “I know that it’s best if we can help them. But aren’t we in a more important mission?”

“Actually,” Donovan rubbed his square chin with a knowing look. “This could work in our favor. If the request came from the one in charge of Greyvault, then it should at least be connected in some ways to Lady Steelheart. After all, Arlaine is her domain.”

“What…do you mean?” Eleanora asked.

Hannah listened to Donovan’s words and clapped her hands in realization. “I see, if we help them, it can show our sincerity and goodwill to Lady Cornelia. At the very least, we won’t be refused outright,” Hannah added. “And it won’t reflect well on her if she refused us even though we helped escort the supplies intended for her town.”

Klein nodded. “The most important thing when asking for help is sincerity, Akira. It does wonders. So, what do you say?”

“Alright, let’s do it.”

With their blessings, Akira promptly offered help to the convoy, which was received instantly.

After that, they reached the blockage. And with the help of well-placed Magic by Eleanora, they managed to remove the boulder without causing further landslide. And soon they were on their way to their next destination.

While Akira and his party endured the cold winter, The Dark Elves were sweating so profusely that some of them thought that they were shedding more water than their weight.

Faster! Run Faster if you don’t wanna die!! Arryn signaled furiously as the Dark Elves behind her were running from the Giant Wasps that were gaining on them. Normally, Giant Wasps were nothing dangerous, but these ones had evolved as a result of a Dungeon Break with stings that hurt like fire under one’s skin. Even worse, Madam Sui had confiscated all their weapons and armor and they were left with just their inner clothes. Just enough to cover their shame.

She had ordered the Dark Elves to seek the larva of Giant Wasps to eat, as she found them quite delicious when she managed to procure some when she ventured alone a few days ago. However, most of the Dark Elves thought that it was simply an excuse to torture them further.

The Giant Wasps were the size of man’s head; agile and utterly ferocious. They moved with purpose, and that purpose was to kill the two-legged creatures that dared to disturb their nest.

She had also ordered them to only use the Raksha Blood Palm Art’s movement Techniques to do the task. With big bags of Giant Wasp Larva on their backs, The Dark Elves ran. But unlike when they were doing this out of fear to serve the Demons, there was resolution in their eyes.

Far from the hubbub of Dark Elves running for their lives, Akula was sitting with all four legs tucked underneath her body. Her hands were placed on both forelegs. She breathed slowly with eyes half-closed. Her brows scrunched up fiercely as she endured the position.

In front of her, Lihua was pouring herself a cup of wine while sitting on a wooden chair.

“AAAH! I can’t do this anymore!!” Akula exploded. “You’ve been making me do this for hours!! What is this gonna accomplish?! Just train me like you did the Dark Elves!!”

Lihua let out a sigh as she put down her wine. “This one is training you. To be patient.”

“Can’t you teach me something else?” Akula asked. “If I want to be a hero, I need to get stronger.”

“As long as you haven’t awakened as a Cultivator, this one is limited in what this one can teach you.”

“Then, can you make me a Cultivator?”

“Yes,” the woman replied. “But it’s not this one’s place to make that choice. That belongs to the Mistress. However, this one wonders. You…possessed of exceptional external prowess, talent, and strong willpower. You are perfect for a Cultivator. If this was this one’s old world, Sects would have fall all over themselves to make you a part of their fold,” she paused. “Which begs the question. You’ve been with the Mistress for quite some time now, has she ever offered the possibility to you?”

“I did. It was just a passing remark while we were out drinking. I asked her if she could teach me how to do what Illumca and Martell did,” she said with a shake of her head. “But when I asked her that, I saw this…look on her face. After that, I’ve never asked her again.”

“I see…” she thought back to how Connie described Akula and fell into deep contemplation, her finger caressing the edge of her cup thoughtfully. Suddenly her finger stopped. “Perhaps – no – is it possible…?”

“Madam?”

“…hmm? Ah!” Lihua awoke from her momentary thoughts and apologized. “Forgive this old woman, I was reminded of an old friend. Her worldview is similar to you. But whereas you prioritize action over thoughts, she was someone who contemplated matters before she made her move. Perhaps too much so.”

“Who was she?”

“She was…” Lihua stopped herself from speaking any further. “It’s not this one’s right to tell this story.”

Lihua placed her cup on the table and stood up. “That’s enough rest for now. Continue your meditation.”

“Ugh!”

Now then, this one shall have a look at the other problem child.

Lihua walked – or rather, glided – across the marshes. Not a drop of the mud under her feet could touch her dress.

Suddenly, she lightly turned her head, and kicked on a piece of tree branch jutting out of the muddy puddle under her. She used it to launch herself backwards as a silver shadow came at her. She deflected an incoming dagger and then swung the right sleeve of her robe to obscure her movement.

“Close, but not good enough,” Lihua said as she lightly ran up to the top of a thin tree. She stood at the very top, her weight did not even disturb the weak-looking tree. “This is the seventy-third time since this one had told you to try and assassinate this one. You’ve gotten closer.”

“You’re joking. I still can’t catch you off guard, Madam.”

“If a young whippersnapper like you can do that so easily, this one won’t have a face to show the Mistress,” Lihua spoke with a prideful smile. “This one can see that you’ve got the basics of assassination down pat. But to ascend to the next level, you still lack two fundamental things to be a great assassin. One is the awareness of your surroundings, and the second one is…to control your killing intent. This one could feel your eyes staring down at my neck from up on that tree.”

“How do I do that? I’ve erased my presence with my Passive Skill! Normally, people can’t detect me!”

“Yes, normal men would not be able to detect you, but this one is not one of them.” She jumped down the tree, landing gracefully in front of Illumca. “The eye is just one of your senses. You must also feel the surface beneath you, the direction of the blowing wind. Once you can sense all those things, you will be able to defend from most attacks, or indeed, to make a chance for a perfect assassination!” she advised. “And for the second thing, you must hide your killing intent.”

“Connie…never taught me how to do that.”

“Of course! She’s not an Assassin, you are!” Madam Sui shook her head and patted Illumca’s shoulder. “You must think of the action of taking the life of the other as mundane as picking a flower or pouring a drink.”

“I see,” Illumca received the admonishment and advise into her heart. Thus far she had been relying on the Skills of the person that was used to create her body to work. Now that she had a chance to become better at her job, she intended to grab it.

“Still, this one half-expected you to be distracted by the fact that you can’t do anything to stop Mistress. But you seem to be handling it better than this one thought.”

“Angry?” Illumca’s brows furrowed. “I am still angry. But Akula had made me understand that getting angry at something I can’t control won’t do anyone any good. Connie has decided to do what she did. So I, as someone who love her as both a disciple and a woman, will show her that I’ve got what it takes to stand beside her.”

Illumca raised her hand that was still gripping a dagger and squeezed it so tight that her knuckles turned a shade paler.

“Then, I’ll make her regret making me feel this way.”

Lihua smiled bitterly at the show of aggression. Ah, Wang Tian Gu. Why do all the women who fall for you, both in the past and present, so…hard to handle? This must be karma.