CHAPTER 43: HUNT OF THE WHITE 1

(Third Person POV)

Year 2032, July 5th, according to the global calendar.

In the eastern part of the Tirshtain Empire, within the territory of Marquis Reinhardt.

The city of Reinhardt was a fortified city, surrounded by massive walls.

It wasn’t large compared to the other marquisates, with a population of around five hundred thousand.

However, it was the strongest among all the marquisates, even rivaling some duchies in military strength.

In a dark underground space, there was a dimly lit room. In its center stood a desk, and behind it sat a man with golden hair.

As the man was busy browsing his phone, the door to the room opened, and a person dressed entirely in black entered.

The figure wore a mask with slits that revealed glowing red eyes behind it.

Although a hood concealed most of their head, glimpses of black hair could still be seen.

"Oh, what a surprise. The witch herself pays me a visit. What good deed have I done today to deserve this?"

spoke the blond-haired man with a fake smile as he cautiously watched the visitor.

"I don’t want to hear any flattery. Tell me everything you know about the White."

"Straight to the point. You’re not one to waste time, I see."

The blond man opened the drawers in his desk and pulled out a tablet.

"Well, while we don’t know everything about him, we did find some interesting information. However..."

Before the witch could reach for the tablet, the man pulled it back and gave her a knowing look.

"It’s quite expensive. How do you plan to pay for it?"

The witch took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.

"I don’t have money. But I do have valuable information that will be very useful to you."

The witch began speaking, revealing something that caused the man’s eyes to widen in shock.

"If what you’re saying is true, then this could change many things in the world."

"Yes. Now, give me the information I want."

"Of course. The information you’ve given me is worth far more than what I had on the White. If you ever need another favor, we’ll do it free of charge."

"Don’t go back on your word later."

The witch took the tablet, closed the door behind her, and the room returned to silence.

Sigh

"I hope my brother and sister are safe in the capital. The Colors faction is planning something big this time."

The man stood up, touched the wall in front of him, and it opened sideways, revealing a passage. He entered, and the wall closed behind him.

Outside, after leaving the place, the witch stood in front of a house on the outskirts of the city and went inside.

She entered the living room and found a blond-haired man smoking on the couch with his eyes closed.

"Did you find the information you needed, witch?"

"Yes."

The witch sat on a couch across from him as he held a cigarette in his right hand.

"I’ve fulfilled my part of the deal. Now it’s your turn."

She spoke calmly. The man opened his eyes, revealing their green hue.

"Of course. I’ll help you in your fight against the White."

The witch relaxed on the couch, flipping through the tablet and reading the data she had obtained.

"I have a question, Marquis. Why do you allow your son to work in information dealing and pretend not to know about it?"

"Well, what my children do outside the house has nothing to do with me. But inside the house, everything they do follows my word."

The witch stayed silent, continuing to examine the data for half an hour before standing up.

"The place he’s in is highly unconventional. That’s why it was hard for me to locate it. But now, I know why I couldn’t find it."

She looked at a map pinned to a board in front of her, several locations marked with red lines.

"So, where is the White located?"

She turned her head and looked at the Marquis, who was still calmly smoking, and raised a finger upward.

"In the sky."

"The sky? Do you mean that they..."

"Yes. Their headquarters is a flying castle, hovering so high in the sky that it’s impossible to see, and it’s constantly moving."

"How can such a massive castle float in the air? Even the Magic Tower doesn’t possess a spell that can achieve something like that."

"That’s what puzzles me. How was he able to do something like this?"

They both fell into thought, trying to understand how the castle worked, but eventually gave up.

"In any case, the last known location of the castle was on the eastern border of the empire—about an hour ago. We need to move now before we lose its trail."

"Alright. I’ll prepare a helicopter to take us there. Wait for me near my house for ten minutes."

The Marquis stood up and ran quickly toward his home, while the witch stayed behind.

Today, I will finally take my revenge on you, White. Just wait—I’m coming for you.

Several hours later, a helicopter soared through the night sky at high speed.

Inside, the witch and the marquis stared at a device scanning the surrounding area.

"We’ve been in this area for hours, witch. I think they’ve already moved, and we can’t find them anymore."

"Just a little longer. Let’s keep going for now."

The marquis sighed at the witch’s desperate expression as she stared intently at the scanner, determined not to miss anything.

Drring!

A few minutes later, a beep sounded from the scanner, and a red dot appeared.

The marquis and the witch looked at each other, then turned to the pilot.

"Follow that signal. Do not lose it."

After a few more minutes of flying, a breathtaking sight appeared in front of the helicopter.

In the sky hovered a massive castle, over a thousand square meters in size, floating as if defying gravity.

The witch stared at the castle and calmed her excitement, turning to the marquis.

"This is definitely their headquarters. Do we infiltrate now?"

"There’s no other choice. They’ve already discovered us."

The witch looked at the castle and saw cannons aimed directly at their helicopter.

She opened the door, took a deep breath, and jumped out.

The distance between the helicopter and the castle was vast, and it seemed like she would fall and never reach it.

But suddenly, a black shadow extended beneath her feet, connecting to the castle, and she stood upon it.

The marquis jumped as well, landing on the shadow. They both began running toward the castle.

Even though the shadow was suspended in the air, it remained firm and unwavering.

They reached the castle moments later, jumped over its walls, and landed inside.

Once they landed, they cautiously looked around, but saw no one.

"I can sense several people hiding around us. Be careful."

The witch warned the marquis as she slowly moved forward, waiting for any sign of movement.

Swish!

She heard multiple sounds coming her way and leapt back quickly.

In the spot where she had just stood, several daggers struck the ground. Had she moved a moment later, she would’ve been hit.

A figure appeared, wearing a white mask and holding white daggers in both hands, emerging to her right and raising a blade toward her neck.

But before it could touch her, he sank into a dark circle that formed beneath the witch and disappeared forever.

"That ability of yours is terrifying, no matter how many times I see it."

The marquis shuddered at the black circle that had formed on the ground.

He quickly raised his sword to block a dagger aimed directly at his heart.

"They’re highly skilled. The weakest of them is at graduate level."

He swung his sword rapidly, striking his opponent dozens of times in a single second, leaving only a shredded corpse behind.

When the remaining enemies saw how easily their comrades were defeated, fear gripped them, and they tried to flee.

Suddenly, they felt the chill of death and found themselves unable to move, their feet stuck to the ground.

The witch formed a sword in her hand, swung it toward the frozen enemies, and sliced them all in half.

"Come on, let’s find that bastard. He must know we’re here by now."

"Yes. Let’s go."

The two of them moved quickly through the castle, eliminating anyone who crossed their path, heading straight toward their ultimate target.

After moving around the castle for a while and eliminating numerous people, they still hadn’t found any trace of the White.

"Could it be that he’s not here at this time?"

"That’s possible."

The witch began to feel anxious due to the complete lack of any sign of the White, and out of sheer frustration, she kicked the corpse of one of the fallen enemies.

Suddenly, an alarm echoed through the castle, and the ground shook beneath their feet, signaling the start of something dangerous.