CHAPTER 321: SANOSA (1/)

WINTERSEED VILLAGE

It was a new morning. The sun hung in the sky, blasting its warmth upon the village. Villagers strolled from their homes with smiles, greeting each other in harmony. The promise of a new life, a life they had always imagined, remained fresh in their minds, and each new day was a countdown to their lord’s return.

But on the other hand, Dragun was worried. He was the only one in the village who knew that his "son" had gone to a calamity-grade demon lair, and it was natural for him to be the only one consumed with worry.

He believed in Rowan’s strength, but he would never underestimate a demon lair.

In his years helping the cult as a wanderer and low-ranking member, he had acquired knowledge about the demon lairs’ secrets. He had even witnessed a few powerful cultists step into even the weakest demon lairs, never to come out again.

Lost in his own thoughts, Dragun sat in his room until a knock came at the door. It was Riela. Dragun stood and opened the door, washing away his worried expression and replacing it with a gentle smile.

"Riela, how are you? What brings you by so early this morning?" he asked gently.

Riela returned his smile, her face glowing with beauty and kindness. After responding to his greeting, her expression became serious and worried.

Seeing the change, Dragun immediately thought that Rowan might have told her the truth about where he was going. How am I going to console her? he began to imagine.

Nevertheless, Riela was here for a different reason.

"I’m about to have a breakthrough," she said in a serious tone.

Dragun’s face turned plain as he observed her with confusion. "A breakthrough?" he repeated, and she nodded.

"How are you really feeling?"

"I can’t explain it, but I know it’s a breakthrough, and I need your help," she lied. Of course, she couldn’t tell him that Laverena was the one who had informed her. Till now, only Rowan is aware of Laverena presence.

After listening to her words, Dragun invited her inside and shut the door behind them. He then applied mana to his eyes to evaluate her mana core. His eyes widened in surprise afterward.

"You are indeed on the verge of a major breakthrough!" he exclaimed.

"Yes," Riela replied plainly. "Would it be possible to help me today?"

For a few seconds, Dragun didn’t respond, still flabbergasted by the details. Only when she repeated her question did he snap out of his wonder. "Of course I can help! I just need to cook up a potion to help soothe your body and spirit while you attempt the breakthrough."

Riela nodded with an excited smile. She couldn’t wait to have her major breakthrough and begin mastering the two rare affinities she hadn’t been able to learn at the beginner stage.

"But still," Dragun spoke, his voice still laced with surprise, "I can’t believe you actually reached a major breakthrough in such a short time. It hasn’t even been two months since you awakened as a mage. A feat like this would take an unparalleled genius in the outside world at least six months!"

Riela smiled. "Well, if I had taken magic cultivation seriously from the beginning, I might have had a major breakthrough a few weeks sooner."

"That’s even more frightening. What in the world happened to you and my son after I left? You two have gradually become an unstoppable force, one that could tear up empires with your feats."

"Rowan is still miles ahead of me," she said. "He’s at a peak I can’t even dream of reaching."

Dragun sighed. "If I had the potential of you two from the beginning, I would have become an archmage by now. Maybe even at the peak, awaiting some divine blessing to push me up to the Tier-2 archmage rank!"

"You can leave now. I’ll send for you when I’m done preparing the potion," he said, turning to Riela.

"Thank you very much. I really appreciate your effort," Riela gave a small bow and left the room.

Dragun simply stood and stared at the shut door for a long while, imagining all the scenarios he could have achieved if he had had such a talent for magic cultivation. After some time, he sighed and began gathering the ingredients to prepare the soothing potion.

He turned on the fireplace where a black pot hanged atop and began the process.

===

SONASA VILLAGE

Sonasa Village was a large and joyful place. Its fertile farmlands covered over thirty percent of its territory, and its people happily tilled the ground.

The houses were mostly made of wood and were in fine condition. There were seven large storage houses in the middle of the village, guarded by muscular men.

At the village square, hundreds of muscular men, towering over six feet in height, could be seen practicing the art of war.

A large number of them wielded heavy weapons like battle-axes and warhammers, which they swung with as much ease as someone could wield a light sword.

Others who wielded swords, daggers, and other light-bladed weapons moved with a speed that defied human limits.

As for the archers, the sounds of their arrows cutting through the air and landing on their targets could be heard clearly.

Among the soldiers, there were even men adorning wizard robes. Although they weren’t practicing like the others, one could tell they were magic users.

At the moment, a skinny young man in his mid-twenties, with sharp, radiant blonde hair, strolled among the men with his hands behind his back. His emerald eyes observed the attributes of his soldiers.

"You," he said, pointing at one of the soldiers swinging a warhammer. "Come over."

The soldier, in his late thirties, dropped the hammer and rushed toward him. He bowed his head and greeted, "Greetings, Lord Banza!"

Banza smiled. "Your special skill is about to evolve. I want you to start practicing the third move I taught you over and over again. If you do so for three hours, your skill will evolve."

"Really?" the man’s eyes sparked with interest.

"Yes. You’ll naturally feel your skill evolve. Once you’re done, come see me. I have a reward for you."

"Thank you, Lord Banza!" The man fell to the ground and hugged Banza’s leg, even kissing his feet to show his respect.

Banza simply smiled and sent him to rejoin the others. He continued his stroll, and in the process, several other soldiers were called out.

He informed them about their pending growth in strength and gave them instructions to make them faster. His words weren’t detailed and poetic, but they were filled with knowledge, akin to a divine war general who had led armies for centuries.

Once he was done giving pointers, Banza strolled to the village exit, where two men who had blonde hair like him were waiting. Like him, they also had skinny physiques.

"They are ready," Banza said.

"That’s good news, brother!" one of them responded.

"I knew they would be ready by now," the other said. "Now that they’re ready, when does our march to Winterseed begin?"

Banza turned to observe his army one more time and grinned. "Tomorrow."