Badge in Azure

“Saleen, I just don’t want to be away from you anymore.” Sika’s voice sounded rather weak.

“What is wrong?” Saleen looked Sika, feeling puzzled.

“You don’t know? The kids missed you.” Sika sighed.

“This…” Saleen found that to be inevitable, as he simply could not have brought himself bring his children along on his adventures. Despite both children being of exceptional talent, it was still too early to have both of them by his side when he went on his adventures.

“Isn’t Nailisi’s 12 Notes of First Purgatory capable of carrying demons?”

Saleen was completely startled. He grabbed Sika and said, “Demons are not humans. I can’t let them get inside!”

“I’m not saying to let them inside the purgatory of demons. Can’t we just open another space? I want to go to the Imperial City of the Abyss with you!”

Sika’s request was very startling to Saleen. Come to think of it, Sika is still a woman. It’s indeed been rather unbecoming of me to leave her back in Metatrin City to run things for me. But it’s the kids we are talking about here. He deemed it too dangerous for his children to go on adventures with him at such young ages, and Saleen did not want to separate them from their mother.

It was not just Sika. Saleen himself did not want to just leave the children behind. However, what he needed to do required for him to be outside of Metatrin City.

“Not this time. I’m not just going to the Imperial City of the Abyss once. Sika, the children, they are still too young. 12 Notes of First Purgatory…no, just no.

Their meal turned out to taste rather bland because of all that. They left the table and lied on the bed. Sika stared at the ceiling and said lightly, “Saleen, I miss the old days. I knew nothing back then, and we were just running about in the mountains, fighting any magic beasts we were able to find. We were only able to get something to eat if we happened to kill one of those beasts. A level three or four beast was more than enough to have us running with our tails between our legs.”

“Yeah.” Saleen felt nostalgic as well. “Back then, any magic nucleus that we were able to find was a treasure to us, and I was very reluctant to use any of them.”

“Well you’re rich now, and you keep leaving us back home and wandering off somewhere else yourself. Isn’t this how the bards put it? You became a king, and a hero…”

“What are you talking about, Sika? I’m trying to figure things out here.”

“Saleen, I’m not going to get in your way, alright. I’m now better in fights than you are. I’d like to see how you fare against me.” Sika ruffled Saleen’s hair for a bit. However, the force she put in this time was little more than that of a breeze.

“Sika, I know you’ve always been the one to have my back.” Saleen said in all seriousness. He then added, “I’m really trying to figure out how to solve the problem with the kids here. With things getting messier and messier in the mainland, I don’t even feel safe leaving them behind in Metatrin City anymore. I can just chuck them in the interdimensional space, but that would have widen the distance between us and them, and that is a no go.”

Both of them mumbled for quite a bit, before their lids got too heavy for them to keep their eyes open.

Saleen hardly had a good night’s sleep as of late. He spent most nights in meditation. He had only came to feel safe and relaxeed with Sika by his side, and not having to think too much about anything. Whatever it was with things with the mainland, all that seemed to have nothing to do with him.

Saleen and Sika went to see the city’s lieutenant first thing in the morning. The lieutenant had close relations with the royal family of the Grukos, and Saleen’s arrival was actually more awkward for him, compared to Sika’s arrival.

It was fortunate that the general was recuperating from his injuries at the moment and that he was only a lieutenant. He was speaking to Saleen out of need to fulfill his duty, and therefore, avoided invoking any dissatisfaction on the side of the prince. Furthermore, with the Holy See army still outside their gates, Saleen’s arrival proved beneficial.

As they were having their meeting in a restaurant, the atmosphere was a rather amicable one. Saleen did nothing to hide anything, and went on to tell the lieutenant straight in his face, “General, I’d be taking Sika away. But, rest assured, the Holy See army that had the city surrounded would soon retreat. I left 200 thousand alchemy arrows and 200 alchemy crossbows with you, as well as 100 scrolls, as my token of apology.”

The lieutenant felt dejected at first hearing that Saleen was about to leave, but he soon felt relieved hearing that Saleen had left so many useful equipment behind. In actual fact, the city did not lack for manpower nor equipment. What they required the most was backup. As Saleen went on to leave so many equipment of great value behind, it stood to reason that he had no intentions of giving up on Guderian City.

That all sounded rather ironic, as the existence of Guderian City was to defend against Phoenix. With Holy Rock City now being unable to do anything to help them out, he had no choice but to ask for help from the king of Kingdom of Metatrin.

It was as he had expected, as Saleen went on to add, “The Kingdom of Metatrin will keep providing support to you. There are about 50 thousand elite troops on their way here. Once I returned to Metatrin City, I will have two additional magic cannons delivered to you. That should suffice to keep the city defended. Furthermore, you will have assistance from Duchess Guya. I will drop by Guya City on my way home and tell them what needs to be done. If things happen to totally go south, you will be able to retreat there with your men.”

Saleen did whatever he was able for the city, and the lieutenant had nothing but gratitude for him.

Saleen then continued, “Send my men my way later. I want to visit the camps in Guderian City. What Metatrin never lacked was equipment. I’m sure you know that I have the best alchemist with me, and the alchemist will see to your needs personally, while I will bolster the numbers of your army.”

The lieutenant stood and bowed to thank Saleen yet again. Saleen thought deep within that Guderian City was literally filled with elite regular Qin army units, and he did whatever he deemed needed to be done. If Holy Rock City were to fall, he would have been able to easily make Guderian City his.

The lieutenant interjected while he was deep in thought, “Your highness, I will need one more thing from you.”

“Speak.”

“The garrison forces with Guderian City amounted to more than 300 thousand strong. But since the war made it to the north, the families of almost every single troop fled to the city. I was hoping if you could let them into Phoenix…”

Saleen thought and said, “That wouldn’t be appropriate.”

“Your highness, I’m a military man, and it is an honor for me to die in battle. But I will need the families of my men protected, or it will be immensely difficult for me to defend the place. If their worries were to be alleviated, I would feel that I’ve done right by them even if I were to order these troops to go on suicide missions.”

Saleen looked at the ones who were eating inside the restaurant, and he found every single one of them to be seasoned veterans. He recalled the lieutenant’s awkward expression earlier, and Saleen felt like he knew what was going on. He was thinking how to go about it when the lieutenant went to ask of what he asked. Guderian City was indeed the northernmost city in the entire Qin, and the Holy See army had taken more than half of the north, isolating Guderian City completely from Holy Rock City.

Despite the lieutenant’s claims of wanting to provide refuge for the families of his men, what he had in mind was the future of Guderian City.

If the war were to be fought conventionally, it was near impossible to take Guderian City without help from level ten professionals. Saleen went to look around the city for a bit, and found it to be a standard large Qin city. It had tall metal battlements and magic towers distributed in logical ways, as well as ample arms and food supplies. The city was more than equipped to keep an army up to a million strong.

As to concerns about whether Guderian City was plotting to take Phoenix, Saleen was hardly worried at all. No wars in the future could have been won without having powerful ones at their side after all.

If it had not been for Arbola, Guderian City would have fallen.

“I’ll need to discuss with Duchess Guya about that, as Phoenix was her territory. It’s not quite appropriate for me to forcefully stuff that many people in her turf.”

“You have a point, your highness. With all that said and done, please take your time with the tour at the camps of the city.”

The lieutenant knew that Saleen’s intention of that visit was to buy hearts. He had no choice but to bear with it for the sake of the families of his men. He would have actually considered joining the Kingdom of Metatrin if things were dire enough to warrant such measures after all. Saleen was still Lex’s husband, and might have ended up being one of Qin’s aristocrats in the future.

As for Guderian City itself, there was no need for Saleen to bag the city at this very moment. Even if the Holy See happened to take Guderian City, what Saleen would have ended up doing was little more than taking surviving army of the city in. So long as Holy Rock City stood, Saleen would not have made a move to take any part of Qin for himself.

The upcoming visits were little more than a show for Saleen. He went about visiting all the camps in Guderian City dressed in his Devil Armament, before heading back to the house of the lord. The compound right behind the house was taken by a huge fellow—the gravely injured Metal Titan. The being laid flat on the ground and looked lazy. The being had stored ores of untold amount inside its belly. The amount of ‘food’ that the Metal Titan had eaten inside the mines north of Metatrin was more than enough to be digested for decades.

As such, it was able to repair itself simply by resting, without any need for external intervention. Furthermore, humans had no means of healing it, at the very least, not even the Holy See was able to comprehend the biological principles of the Metal Titan.

Sika stood by Saleen’s side as he pointed at the Metal Titan and said, “I wonder if Lex would be having a heartache over what that thing had been through.”

“It’s alright. That thing is tough, so tough that not even the divine spells of the Holy See were able to do much to hurt it. Large scale equipment needed to be used repeatedly to get it battered, and it even took out more than a dozen grand swordmasters.”

“Is this the Metal Titan? It’s so beautiful!” Jalin seemed to have forgotten what happened the night before. She went up and touched the huge being. The body of the Metal Titan was ice-cold, and the magic patterns on it were naturally grown. It was indeed a beautiful being, in the eyes of a mage.

Sika felt rather befuddled. If she were to be in Jalin’s shoes, she would have came with her stick in her hand and vented out any indignation suffered the day before instead.

“You like what you see here, Jalin?” Saleen asked with a smile.

“I love it.” Jalin answered in a very soft tone, one that carried immense yearning within.

“That thing belonged to Lex. Jalin, do me a favor and send this to Lex. Come look for me in Metatrin City when you are done,” Saleen said in a very natural manner.

“With pleasure!” Jalin did not mind at all. She genuinely took a liking to the Metal Titan. It was such a huge living being yet it had nothing to do with the six major elements. A being like that was seen as some very valuable research material by mages in general.

She could have only went on to study that being, on her way to deliver it to Lex.

“I will wait for you in Metatrin City then. Let’s go.” Saleen beckoned Sika, who kept herself from doing anything.

Jalin went to store the Metal Titan inside her space equipment. Saleen’s keen observation told him that the piece of equipment used was the earring on one of her ears. The earring was jade-colored, with a face carved on it, just like her own paper mask.

While Jalin was indeed intelligent, she failed to see through Saleen’s intentions. Without the personal guards holding them back, they departed from Guderian City and crossed Phoenix before going their separate ways.

As soon Jalin left, Sika began complaining. “Saleen, the mines up north needed that Metal Titan.”

Saleen smirked, “How am I suppose to go to the Imperial City of the Abyss with her around?”

The Winged Skull laughed in crackled voices and that looked unusually eerie. Saleen had been more subtle with his tricks and means of getting things done. He deemed it imperative to send Jalin away. But what about her returning? Well, she can fly at blazing speeds, but she will never be as fast as using teleportation portals. Saleen wrote a letter to Lex, and it became unbelievably easy to keep Jalin occupied for two or three months.