Badge in Azure

Ulysses headed back to Ceylon City as quickly as he could. Just as Saleen had said, Ulysses did not think of gathering soldiers to fight against the former, but that was not because Ulysses was afraid of Saleen. Instead, it was because Viscount Gugger had specifically instructed him to head back, regardless of whether it was Saleen or Jason that returned.

To Ulysses, Viscount Gugger was more important than the Emperor. After all, the Emperor would not groom him nor find better ways to train him.

Viscount Gugger had not been in a good mood lately, as he has been getting into fights with his wife, Narsha, over money. Viscount Gugger had invested thousands of gold coins in Saleen, so when the latter left without a word, the former was unable to get any of his money back. As a result of lack of wealth, he had also been unable to successfully seek employment in a good position in the capital. That had been carrying on for the past few years, and the Viscount was already close to giving up.

Narsha’s relationship with her father had been tense because she lost all the money she had raised for him. This was partly why she had been fighting with Viscount Gugger.

Gugger was trying to appease his wife and said, “Narsha, look, why don’t I sell some of the properties I have in the city, then try again in the capital?”

“Forget it. Ceylon City is a pathetic place. Other than fishermen, why would any merchants come here? How much can we sell those lousy properties for? A hundred gold coins?” Narsha raised her voice. They had spent more than 100 gold coins on those properties, but as Ceylon City became stagnant in its development, it was unlikely that anyone would want to buy those properties. Even selling them at 100 gold coins was too expensive.

Narsha’s father was merely the leader of a company, but he did not possess all of its shares. He had already lent as many gold coins as he could to Gugger. If not for the fact that Viscount Gugger had two ships that were still working, his father-in-law would have been upset with him. In Sikeqinya, even the Emperor would not be able to protect you if you were in debt.

Ulysses rushed into the Viscount’s residence and almost knocked over a servant. It was rude of Ulysses to enter just as Narsha was giving Gugger a scolding.

Narsha immediately stopped while Gugger stared at him and said, “Ulysses, what have you become?!”

“My Lord, that, that!” Ulysses was hesitant as he looked at the Viscount’s wife.

“Speak!” Narsha was enraged and shouted, “Are the two of you hiding something from me?”

“Say it.” Gugger calmed down. He suddenly realized that he has been leading an easy life lately, as he no longer trained the soldiers. He only tasked Ulysses with guarding the stone hut outside the city to see if he might encounter Grand Mage Jason. Since Ulysses was there, could it be that Jason had returned?

“My Lord, Saleen has returned.”

“Saleen?”

“Master Jason’s disciple… the king of Metatrin Kingdom.”

“Gugger, capture him!” Narsha screamed, but then she saw the cool expression on Gugger’s face. She might be a rough person, but she was not stupid. She immediately understood what was going on.

“How many people does he have with him?”

“Four. Five, if including His Highness, Saleen.” Ulysses replied.

Narsha calmed down and looked at Viscount Gugger. After some time, she finally saw a look of warmth on Gugger’s face and said, “Gugger, have you already made up your mind?”

“Yes. When I heard that the king of Metatrin Kingdom was called ‘Saleen’, I knew it was him. Narsha, what do you think?”

Narsha sank into the chair, as if every ounce of energy has been sucked out of her body. She coughed suddenly, and Ulysses quickly poured a cup of water for her.

Viscount Gugger came over to his wife and patted her back. Narsha leaned against Gugger’s body and asked, “My Lord, have you really decided to go over to the enemy?”

“Narsha…” Gugger tried to rearrange the thoughts in his mind and said, “I don’t think I will be able to repay the 200,000 gold coins that I owe your father.”

“You don’t have to. I…”

“Forget it, Narsha, you know what kind of person your father is. I’m not exactly going over to the enemy. His Highness, Saleen, grew up in Ceylon City after all. This is his hometown. According to an ancient agreement, this piece of land belongs to him. I just need to make an appearance to prove it.”

“Make an appearance to prove it?” Narsha felt stupid just by repeating what he said. If Viscount Gugger did not make the appearance, nothing that Saleen said would matter. Saleen needed a witness and the record in the town hall. If Viscount Gugger destroyed that record, then Saleen would not be able to prove that Ceylon City was his hometown.

What Viscount Gugger was about to do would definitely enrage Emperor Danny.

“My Lord, you are going to get us killed.” Narsha suddenly stood up and said to Ulysses, “Quick, gather the bodyguards and bring along the heavy crossbows in the secret storeroom…”

“Madam, that won’t do! His Highness, Saleen, is a sorcerer!” Ulysses panicked.

“What are you thinking? Aren’t the people from the capital all staying in the hostel? They are still here. The news of our Lord meeting with Saleen will definitely leak out. What if these people escape or spread the news? We must keep things under wraps for as many days as we can…”

“Kill them all!” Gugger stopped Narsha. He was glad that he did not marry the wrong person, but what was Ulysses saying? Saleen had become a sorcerer?

“Yes! My Lord, His Highness, Saleen, is still waiting for you.”

“Go and kill them first. I will just bring Chris along.” Gugger’s mind was a mess. Although he had been thinking of going over to Saleen’s side for a long time, since it was finally happening, he could barely believe that it was all real.

“My Lord, please be careful.” Narsha tugged at the Viscount’s hand and could not bear to let go. It was a risky decision that Gugger was making. They might have to flee for their lives at the end of the day. For Saleen to come over personally, he must either want to give assurance to Gugger or take the Viscount and the town hall record away with him.

“Should I pack my belongings and bring along all the money that I have been keeping secretly? What about my father?” Narsha was confused and was not even aware of Gugger letting go of her hand and leaving the room.

Gugger did not ask anyone to drive him over in a wagon. Instead, he headed straight to the stable and mounted his favorite warhorse. It was a grade-1 magic beast and was one of the few luxuries that Gugger owned. Ever since he heard of someone by the name of ‘Saleen Metatrin’ who had built a kingdom, he had been preparing for that day. He had spent a fortune to buy that warhorse.

The person following the Viscount was Chris. Chris was Ulysses’ student in swordsmanship and was also a loyal subordinate. The two of them left the city on their horses and reached Saleen’s stone hut very quickly.

On the swing outside the stone hut, Nailisi was half-sitting and half-laying down. She had removed her skirt, which was flowing along with the breeze of the wind. She leaned against the rope with a wild fruit in her hands. The fruit was poisonous and would cause diarrhea if any ordinary human ate it. It might even cause bleeding in the organs and eventually lead to death. Nailisi took bite after bite and found the fruit to be very sweet and fragrant.

Cuisi sat at the entrance of the door quietly. The steps might be cold, but they were a thousand times more comfortable than the demon dimension. At the very least, there would not be thick smoke choking him, and no powerful demons would suddenly pounce out from the bushes. Since Nailisi was outside, Cuisi had no choice but stay outside with her so as not to anger her.

It seemed that Saleen really wanted to rest for a while. The moment he returned to his childhood bedroom, he laid down on his bed immediately.

When Gugger rushed over on his warhorse, a purple glow flashed across Cuisi’s eyes as he released a bit of supreme demon aura. The warhorse was so terrified that its legs buckled, and it almost threw Gugger onto the ground.

Nailisi could not help but laugh. The Viscount was quite good-looking and possessed decent fighting skills. If he underwent some training, he might become a black metal grand swordmaster in this lifetime. Nailisi thought about it for a moment and decided that perhaps the noble might not be totally useless after all.

Chris was slightly enraged. Saleen’s servants were behaving very rudely. His warhorse also crashed onto the ground and was even foaming at the mouth. Cuisi’s technique was of such high-level that neither the Viscount nor Chris sensed his threat.

The difference between both parties was too huge so naturally, a supreme demon could control the entire situation easily.

“Come here.” Nailisi pointed at Gugger.

Gugger thought about it and walked over to her. Nailisi’s hair was black and after her advancement, the streaks of green hair had almost vanished completely.

“Your name is Gugger, am I right?” Nailisi had seen the magic image that Lex had given her, and she recognized Gugger.

“And you are?” Although Gugger might be upset, he could still control himself. Even amongst the Cloudflow people, he was considered to have a good temperament.

“I am Nailisi. That is my servant, Cuisi. Master is still asleep. If you wish to talk to him, you will have to wait for at least six hours.”

“I see!” Gugger took of his gloves and handed his sword to Chris before asking, “Can I sit here?”

“Of course. You can also go to the living room if you want. There is an old fellow there, but I think you would rather talk to me.” Nailisi smiled with a naïve look on her face.

“That goes without saying. Can I… address you by your name?” Gugger was very polite, which was something new to Nailisi. In Metatrin City, everyone feared her, including some of the Sregl Island mages.

“You can call me by my name. What about that fellow?” Nailisi pointed at Chris. The young swordmaster’s potential far surpassed that of Gugger.

“Chris is my bodyguard.” Gugger sat down on the grass patch. Chris stood behind the Viscount with a pair of swords and looked as if he was expecting an enemy to appear any minute.

Nailisi smiled at Chris but it was actually more of a snigger. She could not believe that that fellow was trying to put on a front before her. If not for the fact that Master had forbade her from doing anything rash, she would have fed him to the demons. After all, there were 100,000 demons in her Twelve Notes of Purgatory. They had been feeding on magic bugs daily, so they would not mind having some variety once in a while.

“Gugger, I heard from my Master that he owes you quite a lot of money.” Nailisi began to get off from the swing. Chris was in a daze. He had never seen a lady as beautiful as her.

Gugger laughed bitterly. That was an investment that he had made in the beginning. If Saleen really returned the money to him, that meant that his investment did not reap any profits.

“How can I possibly ask His Highness to repay the debt?” Gugger suppressed the anxiety in his heart. He had no idea how things were progressing in the city. Ulysses was definitely trustworthy, but he could not be sure if there were any enemies amongst those people from the capital.