“Seth, we have to talk,” Leana personally appeared at the workshop. She seemed upset. Upset enough that she ran down to the workshops, instead of calling him like usual. The blacksmith looked up from the ornaments he was currently preparing for Ortega's new armor.

He put down the file he was working with and turned to her, ready to listen.

“The new representative of Chrona arrived today,” she said with a serious face.

“That was today? Okay, but why did you have to come here so quickly?” the bard asked a little confused.

“Yes, it was today and it's someone I know.” Her grave voice had Seth prick his ears.

“Sounds like it's not an acquaintance you enjoy knowing?” he asked, his attention fully on the conversation now. Leana shook her head.

“Yes. Merkraut Sar, also known as the Peddler of Ruin is known to be a hardliner nationalist. He is part of the faction that advocates more...extreme measures for expansion. What's worse is that he's a subordinate of my second brother.” she summed up the issue.

“That means?” Seth prompted her to continue. Everything she said sounded quite grave, but Seth didn't really have any idea about the structure of Chrona. So far, he had only experienced the light side. he had a good impression of Leana, Hardwig, and even the Emperor. of course, there had been some issue during the banquet in Chrona, but he couldn't expect that everyone in an empire that spanned a myriad of worlds was a good person.

“The second oldest is the leader of the Nationalist faction and the one with the greatest chance to win the right for inheritance, after Hardwig. Now that the Peddler of Ruin is here, I'm sure the previous incident of the Representative working with Spatia was also his doing,” the princess explained her assumption.

“So we are up against the second prince, but why? Didn't you say they were the faction for aggressive expansion, or whatever? How is helping their enemy achieve that?”

“Because I belong to Hardwigs Faction, my success here in Urth counted to his achievements. Don't you get it? The better things went on Urth, the stronger it proved that our approach was the right one. But look at Urth now, only one of the original districts is left and it's just hanging in there, while Chrona has barely any grasp on it now. The moment it falls to Spatia, it will be seen as a sign that we had to change our approach.”

Seth gagged.

“I hate politics. This means we are up against the second prince who is trying to serve us up to Spatia, while also being up against Spatia?” Seth asked annoyed. “Do you think he also got rid of Hardwig?”

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Leana shook her head. “I doubt it. Hardwig probably dipped and hid himself before he could make a move.”

“So, what do you suggest we do about it? The Pythian Games are just around the corner. Do we have to guard against Chrona, too?” he asked seriously.

“No, I don't think they will act this quickly, but we should prepare for the worst.”

“You mean business as usual then,” Seth commented sarcastically. He smiled as he said it, but then his expression became serious again.

“I will promise you one thing, Leana. No matter what happens, I will not allow Spatia to touch anything precious to me. Even if Chrona tries to serve Urth to them on a silver platter, we will be the morsel that gets stuck in their throat and choke them to death.”

After Seth's experience in the formation of cultivators and the fight with the Scene, his stance had slightly shifted. It was not just about being more proactive in taking care of dangers. His sentence had included all of Urth, not just Minas Mar.

The bard was no hero. He never felt like stepping up to solve the problems of the world, not if it severely inconvenienced him. This didn't mean he didn't feel empathy when faced with terrible situations. It was the twang he had already felt back in Ora and the reason he wanted to return.

At the end of the day, the people of Urth were his people. He accepted that he couldn't stop all tragedies and didn't let it bother him. But there were things he could do and he decided to act on them in earnest.

Leana stared at him for a moment. She had a hard time deciding whether he was crazy, or serious. the weird part was that she was ready to believe that they could pull it off. She straightened her back and adjusted her designer suit with new determination.

“Fine, if that is how you think I will do my best to help. On that note, we got messages from almost all teams on outside missions. They will be back in time for the games,” she shared another piece of information.

“Who is missing?” Seth asked surprised.

“Jonah and Misto are yet to contact us.”

...

---Kaverna---

Thick mists billowed over the silent field. Pale sunlight barely made it through the cloudy sky only to fall on earth, drenched in blood. The battlefield was a gruesome sight, filled with the bodies of valiant warriors and pitiful draftees.

Walking through the mist was a solitary figure. The black leather armor and a long silver sword in his hand accentuated his tall, slender build. The figure wore a dreadfully beautiful but sinfully aloof-looking mask. The androgynous beauty and expression of the mask made the man look like a god, separated from the secular world, emotionlessly witnessing the cruelty of the battlefield.

Holding his side, blood was trickling through his fingers, joining the crimson puddles on the ground. There was a gash in the armor and a big wound, that was only slowly closing.

This was Jonah, the chosen of Munara, the Goddess of Gruesome Beauty in battle.

“How many does this make?” he asked, breathing in the cold, damp air.

The thick white mist billowed as if disturbed by a sudden wind. Swirling, it collected into a single place beside Jonah, slowly taking a humanoid shape. Misto Pheles, the mist demon appeared beside the chosen.

“That was the 15th assassin that tried to kill you during a mission.”

While the other teams chose to become adventurers, Jonah and Misto had become mercenaries in this world ravaged by wars. Jonah's Path to Legend was the Sword Slayer. He grew the most through slaughter and achievement in battles or fights in duels. They had judged that it was easier to make a name on the Battlefield, instead of hoping for big adventures.

However, two weeks after they started rising in fame, people had started aiming for him. They were not normal people or simple assassins. They were specialized to aim for his weaknesses and counter his strengths. Even with the Sword of Chains, he had been unable to make them talk. The moment they were at a disadvantage, they would take their own life.

“We don't have much longer, we should find a town with a church and report back home,” the demon suggested.

Their life on the battlefield had not allowed them to visit flourishing towns very often. This world didn't have many of them left either. Kaverna was also called the World of Wars because these states were constantly locked in blood wars inherited from their ancestors since time immemorial. The whole landscape was littered with ruins, left from places that existed and wars that destroyed them, nobody could remember anymore.

“You are right, we should cash in our money for this mission and leave this world,” Jonah mumbled in agreement.

“I'm afraid that won't happen.”

A massive figure stepped out of the mist, blocking their path.