CHAPTER 86.

Amber closed her eyes for the most part, or at least as much as she could. The people on the wyvern had fallen into silence after it had gotten far enough from the Grand City of Torl. And she didn’t blame anyone. She was still processing the scale of what had just happened, it was her first time seeing a war or invasion of any kind after all.

The plague was also quite bad… Amber reminded herself of the signs of rot she had witnessed, it was all so foreign to her, but she also felt like she needed to experience everything she had seen, even if it upset her to some extent.

Of course, she had been mostly over the whole killing thing. In the end, the world of Vir worked vastly differently from Earth, and while she mostly took it all in stride, it was still something she was still fully accepting⁠— and it was going to be a long process.

But for now, she could do other things, such as assuage the people that she was traveling with. The first person that came was Cecile, who seemed uncertain. They had yet to leave the desert.

“So, do you know what we’ll do with everyone?” Amber asked in a quiet voice, but even then, her question gave Cecile pause.

The merchant seemed tense for the longest time before she shook her head. “I do not, obviously we’ll get them out of the Great Desert, and very obviously we cannot abandon them either. They’ve lost their home after all.”

Amber agreed with that and took in her statement. Thankfully, she was someone with influence in the world of Vir, so she had an idea of what to do⁠— or at least, what she should do.

“I’ll deal with it, or at least offer a solution,” Amber said simply.

Cecile glanced up, stunned for a moment before having a realization. “Right, with your status you might be able to do something.”

She nodded and then looked up at the present people, they all looked rather collected given no one was talking, but if one looked closer the fear everyone was feeling was quite evident. While Amber wasn’t quite sure if what she was going to say later today would help everyone, she at least hoped that it would help the people here weigh their options.

However, that was going to wait, because the invasion had just ended.

It was better to wait for people to accept reality first, as much as it would suck.

So, Amber kept things to herself for now. All the while Cecile finally decided to try to start talking to Asil.

“So, you are Amber’s friend?”

“Something like that,” he said solemnly. “You must be Cecile, she asked me to apologize to you about her disappearance when I met you…”

* * *

The wyvern wasn’t slow by any means, but it still was going to take two days and two nights to reach the edge of the Great Desert, and while the first night had been okay the second, not so much.

Amber walked through the incredibly makeshift camp made from Cecile’s resources, there were people crying and some consoling each other, while others just looked dead inside.

“My baby is…” a woman wailed.

A man gritted his teeth. “I’ve lost everything, just how am I supposed to do anything…”

“I miss my mama…” A child embraced his father.

All in all, it was bleak, and Amber realized that her announcement couldn’t exactly wait any longer, even though in her opinion it was better to sort it out in the town at the edge of the Great Desert⁠— mostly since it was a great departing point for those that wished to go to other nations inside the desert instead.

Still, Amber had to act now. So, she stepped past all the people as she headed towards the center of the camp, catching multiple looks from people. Some even muttered thank you’s her way, but she ignored them.

Instead, she reached the bonfire, and Amber took out the now repaired Cursewelder and dug it into the ground, before standing on top of its guard. Then, she took out the Flamecursed Sword and hit it against the Cursewelder to get everyone’s attention with the metallic clinks.

“What is she doing…?”

“Look Dad, she is the one that saved us!”

“Why is she…?

Eventually, she got everyone’s gazes on her, and Amber coughed. I suck at public speaking, but…

“I know that many of you lost your homes and have nowhere to turn to,” she began solemnly, getting even more attention and causing some people to despair again. “Which is why, I will offer my help to those that want to leave the Great Desert.”

“Why would we leave? We have nothing out there!” someone called.

And Amber shook her head. “With what Ofril is doing, I wouldn’t feel safe leading a normal life in any of the other nations. That said, I’m not here to judge anybody, I am here to offer a choice.”

Her words hung in the air for a moment as she continued.

“Which is why I will offer everyone to come along with me to Cytel, the capital of the Kingdom of Cytel. I am friends with the king, so I can most definitely convince him to offer you all jobs and places to stay.”

At what she said, there was silence followed by skepticism.

“There is no way you are friends with the king⁠—”

“No, I know her, she is known as the hero of the kingdom!”

“That’s right!”

Discussions broke out as Amber just stared, however, it seemed to her that even though a lot of people were skeptical they quickly accepted their positions and nodded, evidently it had gone well.

“That said, those that wish to depart to the other nations will be assisted by being given a worm-horse upon reaching the town at the edge of the Great Desert.”

And she received a small number of nods. Now, a good portion of people were looking at her with admiration, and while some wanted to leave, they still looked at her with respect.

It went great.

Amber smiled and hopped down, taking her swords along with her. All while people discussed amongst themselves about her.

* * *

Only about a dozen people chose to remain in the Great Desert deciding to stay behind, all while close to seventy remained on the wyvern. Amber had paid for some food and supplies as well as the purchasing of worm-horses. All in all, it had cost her twenty gold or so, which she did not mind paying for.

After that, they set off to Cytel, and while at first the journey was quiet and Cecile and Asil occasionally talked, eventually, she was approached by Cecile who wanted answers.

“So, I’ll cut to the chase: where did you disappear to?”

“That is complicated,” Amber pondered. “For starters, I went to kill the source of the plague, and I did.”

Her eyes went wide. “Wait you did what⁠—”

“But then I almost died to some mages, then I was saved and my rescuer planned to use me for some ransom to get some of my friends to give him something, and when my friends refused, he wanted to kill me. So, I befriended him and I got thrown into the Grand Dungeon instead,” Amber explained.

She was quite proud of how straightforward her explanation had been actually.

“Oh, and there I met Asil, who was chained up for a few hundred years.”

Cecile meanwhile looked completely spaced out. Then after a few moments, she blinked.

“I wish you were joking, but I know you aren’t.” She massaged her forehead. “Just… I just do not understand what you are…”

Amber tilted her head. “Human of course. I’m Amber too I guess.”

“That’s not human,” Cecile weakly protested. “But I guess if I could evolve to become an Amber-type Human, I would take it.”

Amber raised her brow and chuckled at that, Cecile in the meantime just scoffed.

“Just don’t forget about me when you become god or whatever.”

“I won’t, I won’t,” she reassured.

Though, Asil still laughed at the interaction, mostly listening in the background, which caused Cecile to lash out at him.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“What’s so funny, I bet you can’t even match up to her!”

“That I cannot.”

Amber shook her head at their interactions. At least the atmosphere had become mostly normal all things considered.

* * *

By the time they arrived at the edges of Cytel, the wyvern bid his farewell with a bow and disappeared, disintegrating into nothing more than light. A sight that made Cecile oddly sad.

“Do you want to look for him?” Amber asked.

“Unfortunately, it was dead already, its soul was bound to the scroll,” she said.

Amber pondered for a moment. “I see, I’ll see if I can tame a wyvern for you in the future.”

Cecile laughed at that. “It’s fine, let’s just deal with the situation for now.”

With those words, she went off to talk to the refugees. And Amber stood there for a few more seconds. The journey back had been fast thanks to the wyvern, but even then, it had still taken two whole weeks to get back.

I wonder what became of Torl, and what Sid’fril is doing… Amber looked at the sky. Hopefully, the civilians that survived have readjusted…

She shook her head and after a few moments, she followed after Cecile. Everyone was asked to stick in a group and follow after Amber, Cecile, and Asil followed close behind while Riya and Kaz stayed at the back just in case anything happened.

So with that formation, they marched to the capital, and while people wanted to stare at its magnificent walls, Amber paid it no mind and even skipped the line with confused merchants to arrive before the guard.

The guard immediately blinked.

“Y-You are the Duchess, Hero of Cytel, Amber, correct?”

She nodded and gestured behind her. “Yep, and I need all these people to be let into the city.”

The guard momentarily paused, and after a lot of deliberation, he nodded.

“King Octavius did tell us to go along with anything you request. But may I inquire about their origin?”

“Oh, the Grand City of Torl just got besieged and these people are refugees,” Amber explained.

“Wait what?”

But she ignored his reaction and walked past him, gesturing at the refugees who followed after her. All while people pointed in her direction and protested.

Amber, of course, did not care. She hardly ever used her status as a noble, but this time it was time to abuse it. So, she waltzed through the city and ignored every guard by telling her that she was the hero of Cytel and whatever. Which eventually turned into the refugees all having a group of guards escorting them.

Pretty much the entire city watched as she headed to the castle, and once she reached it and explained the situation to the guards who were unaware of what happened in the Great Desert, she was let through along with all the refugees.

And finally, there she departed from them to seek the king along with Cecile and Asil, the rest of the people stayed behind. And as they passed through the palace halls, they got weird and strange looks, some guards waved at Amber but most were focused on Asil’s ears.

But eventually, she reached the king’s chamber which had a whole entourage of guards at the front for whatever reason.

“Halt,” one of them said.

Amber and the others stopped in front of him.

“I want to see the king.”

“I’m afraid that is not possible.” The knight shook his head. “Unfortunately, your audience will have to wait, even if you are the hero of Cytel we cannot make an exception about this.”

Amber blinked. “Is something very important happening?”

“That is correct, you see, multiple nobles from all across the kingdom have returned in light of the events following the demon summonings. All to ensure the capital is reinforced and safe for the citizens.”

“Right…”

Amber didn’t really expect the events that happened right after she left the tower to cause this, but she supposed it made sense. However, I can’t really let the people wait around for that long.

“And for how long will his meeting go on?” she inquired.

The knight frowned and thought to himself. “That, I’m not⁠—”

“What are these nobodies doing here?” a voice asked from the distance.

Pretty much everyone turned in unison only to see a man with a staff walking towards them, he was dressed in frilly clothes and his hair was well groomed. He looked to be slightly older than Amber, but not by much.

And his level.

[Mage. Lvl. 155]

He was surprisingly above level 150. Amber raised her brow at him, as the knight hurried to explain.

“Ah, Lord William, Duchess Amber was just inquiring about the meeting.”

Lord William? Amber raised her brow as the man stood in front of her and examined her.

“Duchess? She looks like a knight⁠—” And he blinked. “Oh, I remember, now. You must be that Demonkiller. A noble of humble origins, correct?”

“I suppose?” Amber said. He had a haughty atmosphere to him all things considered.

“Anyway, what brings you here?”

“There are some refugees from the Great Desert that need shelter⁠—”

“Oh, from the war?” William raised his brow; it seemed like he knew what she was talking about. “Why did you bring them here? Is something wrong with you?”

Amber frowned. “Something wrong with me?”

William scoffed. “It must be because you were once a commoner, but here, piece of advice: do not involve the politics of other countries with Cytel.”

“I was in the Grand City when it happened—”

“Did I stutter?” He glared.

This asshole. Amber frowned and turned to the knight. “So, when will the meeting be done?”

“In about two hours I believe,” he said with a bead of sweat trailing down his head.

“And now you ignore me, do you lack the brain to comprehend?” he asked annoyingly. “No surprises there, you are a warrior above 150.”

Amber looked back at him, and the man was shaking his head, annoyed.

“I’ve heard stories about you, but I’ve always been doubtful. Whether it was your feats or your duels, you were much lower level than then. But I’m skeptical and I want to see for myself, I want to see if the ‘Great Hero of Cytel’ is what she is made out to be.”

“What?”

“Did I word it too poorly for you to understand?” He raised his brow. “I want to duel you, I want to see if your current level is real or if it’s a sham, and I want to defeat you because I clearly am better than you.”

Amber blinked. “Are you stupid?”

“Oh, no you are the stupid one. I, on the other hand, I am a genius.” He laughed before producing a trinket with the picture of a man with combed hair and a black beard, he had a sharp gaze. “Do you know him?”

“No?”

William grinned. “He is my father, Zizel Bankal, and he is one of the most influential Dukes in all of Cytel, one word from him and the refugees will be vetoed from the capital. And if that happens, then all your efforts will be in vain. You said you were there during the war? That means your journey of two weeks will go to waste.”

He continued.

“If I were to speak with my father, it would be a shame.”

Cecile blinked and Asil looked annoyed, meanwhile Amber was glaring at him. She didn’t know where this William had come from nor what the Bankal family even was, but she understood that he needed to be put in his place. And she was being offered the opportunity?

She was going to take it.

“Very well. I’ll kick your ass.”

William grinned. “I, the heir of the Barkal family, recognize your valiance.”

But she paused as she realized the man had taken out his staff. Even the knights seemed surprised.

“Get the barrier mages before it’s too late,” the nobleman commanded.

The knights stiffened, and one of them bolted, all while William met Amber’s gaze.

“I heard you took a Divine Artifact from our kingdom, I’d like it back. My father told me a lot about you and even though he seemed sincere in his praise, I don’t buy it one bit.”

Amber smiled, ignoring part of his comment. “I’d rather give it back to the Primordial Spirit that made it, if she wants it, I’ll gladly give it back to her.”

He scoffed. “As if someone as lowly as you would get to meet a Primordial Spirit. Someone as lowly as you does not have such rights.”

So only a select few people know about me meeting Val’leri it seems. Amber didn’t mind that.

“The mages are coming, any last words before I strip you of your title, Grand Hero of Cytel?”

Amber blinked. “Yeah, why the fuck are you so annoying?”

William frowned at that. “You wench…”

Shortly after, four mages arrived and a barrier was erected around the hall. Ensuring they didn’t destroy anything, though all Amber could think about was.

“Are you seriously so desperate to lose that you want to fight me here?”

“I am desperate to show you your place, yes,” he said simply. “Once I’m done with you not even this near-level 200 barrier will be able to contain me.”

Uh huh. Oddly familiar words for her. She watched as William gathered magic at his staff, and it seemed to be some sort of light magic.

“Die now!”

He slashed his staff as if it were a sword and a blast of light came for her, but Amber just stepped to the side as William screamed.

“You!”

He conjured more magic, but it was easily evaded.

“Phony who only knows how to dodge, how about you fight me like a real warrior!?”

Amber sneered and appeared in front of him and head-butted, a barrier flashed but it shattered and he was made to stagger as he barely evaded the hit.

“Bullshit!”

A blast of light hit her, which made her back off. But she was practically unscathed, meanwhile, William was letting out a breath.

“It seems that I’ve underestimated you, but worry not. Because not only will I win this duel and ensure my father takes care of those pesky refugees, I’ll also ensure that you pay the price for offending me here.”

“Go on.” Amber’s annoyance was quickly reaching a new peak.

He grinned. “I know a fair bit about you, you know? Commoner who rose to nobility, undeserving of your status. And while your story is well hidden, I believe I know the reason⁠— you received help from Liz and Velda Starkell, both of whom are Duchesses now.”

He laughed.

“Which is why once I take my father’s title I will raze the Starkell family to the ground, they made deals with demons and tried to take our kingdom. Their pet monster will be fed to the servants, and the refugees…” He pondered, almost innocently before smiling. “Oh, I know, I’ll kill them and send their heads back as an apology— we cannot get involved with the nation of Ofril after all.”

It was clearly taunting based on his expression and yet it grated Amber. Then, William met her gaze.

“In fact, as soon as we are done here, I’ll inform the king that you are trying to get Cytel in trouble and get those refugees vetoed. Unless you can win, but I wonder what my father will say if that happens?”

And Amber used the 3rd Rank of Quick Dash appearing behind the mage. He craned his head in shock and she smiled.

“Why don’t we find out then?”

Her flaming hand reached and broke through his personal barrier before he could teleport out, and she grabbed into his arm and with her other hand⁠— she punched. She broke through his ribs, and headbutted him without Essence⁠— but even then his nose broke as he let out a pathetic sound.

Then, Amber increased all her attributes to the max and threw the mage across the room to the double doors⁠—

He hit the barrier and shattered it, hitting the doors with a thud as the knights stared in horror at the pooling blood.

And Amber, didn’t stop there, she strode up to him as the knights parted ways, and she⁠— kicked. The double doors blew open, and she grabbed the mage by the neck as she walked into the large chamber, where there was a large table that took most of the available space.

The nobles present immediately craned their heads only to react with horror, meanwhile Amber scanned the room and quickly found William’s father, and she tossed his son over to him. The mage flew across the room and landed on the desk of his father, and Amber spoke flatly.

“You should teach your kid some manners.”