“Where?” The young mage asked with hands clasped tightly around the man’s shoulders.

The heavens have not forsaken me! The scion thought to himself. This was a very long thread that he could pull on!

While he knew that their targets were going to seek refuge with the elves, the bandits did not. Outside major powers of the continent very few knew of the existence of the elves. They were too elusive and never appeared outside the Great Forest. Even if one were to venture into the Great Forest, they would be hard pressed to encounter one. The forest was too dangerous, even for great mages, for any kind of deep exploration.

And it was this that the scion had caught onto! The cloaked man said ‘experts!’ This implied, by default, that they were human!

The scion was giddy with excitement.

Meanwhile, the man squirmed uncomfortably in the mage’s grasp. He anxiously looked back and forth from the powerhouse who was acting strangely in front of him to his leader.

Noticing that he had lost himself a bit, the mage coughed awkwardly as he released the man. He cleared his throat a few times as he straightened his back. An aloof expression surfaced on his face as he tried to regain the bearing of an expert.

He looked at the three men in front of him before turning his attention to the bushy bearded leader. Voice cool and aloof, he asked, “What is your name?”

Eyes glittering, the man immediately joined his subordinate in taking a knee. “Reigar, vice leader of the Black Wind Gang, milord!”

“Hmm,” the scion nodded slightly. “You have made considerable contributions today. If there is an ore vein as you say, then the Ronoan Empire of Magic will adequately compensate you.”

Reigar’s head snapped up with enough force to break his neck when he heard of the mage's background. Eyes wide in disbelief, his mouth opened and closed numerous times but he couldn’t find the words. He was startled. He was bewildered! He was ECSTATIC!

He didn’t understand why. But he knew he latched onto a humongous thigh!

He had heard of the illustrious holy land of magic. Its might was so over bearing that no one dared antagonize them. In fact, some empires even took the initiative to pledge themselves as vassals of the Magic Empire. If a nation was foolish enough to go to war with them, the Magic Empire needn’t even make a move personally. That nation would simply find themselves besieged by their neighbors!

Without needing to think twice, Reigar enthusiastically expressed his thanks profusely.

The scion was quite pleased with this reaction. Being a member of the royal family of one of the strongest, if not the strongest nation on the continent always filled him with pride. At home he couldn’t properly enjoy the benefits of his background. There were too many schemes. His every action would be subject to scrutiny were always trying to make use him in some political power play. In the outside world however, there was no such thing. Here, he may as well be a god!

“Mhm,” the scion nodded calmly with the same aloof expression on his face. “Lead the way.”

With that, the scion wrapped the three bandits in a wind spell flying off in the direction they pointed.

Hehehe… The heavens have truly not forsaken me. If I can play my cards right, not only can I get merits for capturing the Aurum king’s son, I can also get merits for reporting the discovery of another mana crystal vein to the Empire. Even if it is too small, I can still offer it to mother’s clan.

Tsk tsk… looks the time has come for I, Lokhart Ronoa to rise! The scion’s eyes gleamed with ambition as he pictured the endless benefits this one encounter could bring.

***

Outside a cottage deep in the forest.

Sam’s chest heaved uncontrollably as he struggled to breathe. Eyes wide and mouth agape, the young boy was dumbstruck as his head shifted erratically from the image in the board before him to the scene playing out in the night sky.

On the board, he saw premier powerhouses as strong as what was described in the books he read going at each other’s throats. Their every blow sent shockwaves through the air, levelling any tree tall enough to not know its place. The sheer might on display reminded the young boy of the words he often saw in the Book of Paragons; ‘Strength to suppress the earth.’

When he tried to watch the battle with his naked eyes however, he was even more shocked. The scene he saw was less a battle than it was a natural phenomenon.

Colors flashed in the dome of heaven accompanied by claps of thunder and lightning. There was no sign to indicate that a person could survive in such a situation. It was terrifying!

There was no fear in Sam’s eyes however, only deep respect and veneration for a supreme expert. He raised his hand to the sky in an attempt to grasp some of that heaven rending might for himself only to be disappointed by the futility of his actions.

Earlier in the day, he had gotten bored of watching the back and forth talk of these strangers that were projected in his parents’ square game board – if it could still he called that – to the point of falling asleep. Later, however, a battle cry had resounded through the forest and shaken Sam out of his sleep.

Upon awakening from his rest on his mother’s lap, he was greeted by a scene of blood and gore that had made his stomach churn.

Limbs flying every which way and men tearing at each other’s throats had made the saliva at the back of his mouth suddenly turn sour.

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His parents however, looked on calmly. Even as his complexion turned green with disgust, they offered no words of comfort. To this, Aziel was quite surprised. He was quite used to Neva spoiling her only child. But to his shock, today she did nothing. She simply left him to experience the cruel reality of how cheap and fragile the lives of men were.

This is what war looks like, my child. Neva thought to herself as she took in the sour expression on her son’s face. Battle is not a game and the path to strength is not tread halfheartedly.

Neva had kept her son away from the outside world for eight years, much to the dissatisfaction of her spouse, Aziel. But she believed that her judgment was right.

She had raised her child on stories of heroes fighting evil and protecting the weak. This was because she knew that such people were as rare as phoenix feathers and dragon tears. Reality was never so simple, and despite the stories, she knew for a fact that the people who make it big enough to survive in the history books are never the heroes they are made out to be.

And yet, she still wanted her son to believe that the world had good. No matter how small.

She would protect him from the rot and contamination at least until he was strong enough to protect himself from it.

Thus, Sam watched the bloody battle with none of the enthusiasm or excitement he had when he read about the exploits of the paragons and emperors of yore. Unable to bear it any longer, he threw up when he saw a person’s intestines fall out of his stomach after he was unable to dodge his opponent’s blade in time.

When the flame spear fell from the sky, so many, both friend and foe, had died from the shockwaves. At that point, as if trying to distract himself from the nausea and disgust, an irrational anger filled his heart. What was the point of all that killing? Why were they fighting? Was this the peace the Dawn Emperor fought for?

His anger finally found release when the leader of what he had termed ‘the good guys’, took to the skies and suppressed the enemy supernaturals. The experts roar seemed to spark a fire within him. And as the enemy was pushed back time and time again, his nausea had all but disappeared. All that remained was the awe and veneration a child had towards an expert. It was an abrupt switch but that was the mind of a child. Too malleable.

Sam was still watching the supernatural fight when a loud voice cut through the air.

“Crown prince of the Iron Nation of Aurum seeks asylum with clan Evergreen!” The voice was sharp and piercing but humble and modest at the same time.

Sam was surprised then confused. He looked at his two parents with a bewildered expression on his face. Who was clan Evergreen?

Neva and Aziel faces betrayed no expression as they calmly looked in the direction of the voice.

Outside the family’s protective formation, one woman and two children stood. Lena and Will were still mounted on horseback while Rose stood ahead with head bowed in respect.

The sky still thundered with the sounds of battle but they were too far away for the shockwaves to affect the forest here. The small group had already made quick time by travelling tens of kilometers in a few hours. Rose knew what Supernaturals and Great mages were capable of, however. Despite their distance, if one of those existences were to look onto them, it would only take minutes before they were caught.

Rose had been feeling very uneasy ever since the fight in the sky begun. And while she had faith in General Faust’s capabilities, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

The feeling was slight at first, but as time went on, the sinking sensation in her gut was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. It was like the candle of her life was slowly but steadily burning out.

It was then that Lena mentioned something that caught her attention.

“The Great Forest is really quite dangerous, to think that there’s a place with no mana whatsoever.” She said.

At first Rose hadn’t believed it. After all, that was impossible.

Finding places with rich and dense mana was very common. When it came to the vice-versa, however, it was another story entirely. To find a place within the world’s confines with no mana whatsoever is like finding a place where no air, life, or anything existed. A complete vacuum.

Rose had initially disregarded the ridiculous notion as childish drivel, but then she also sensed it. And as the pit in her stomach grew larger and larger, she decided to grit her teeth and gamble.

The results were what Rose was standing in front of. Formation magic, the likes of which she had never seen!

To absorb all mana around it into itself to create a mana dead zone! It’s no wonder there are no trees or vegetation around it. I’m guessing no beasts dare approach either. So this is the extent of Elven magic… how profound! Rose had thought to herself.

Despite having no concrete proof, she was sure that this was an Elven outpost. After all, majority of The Great Forest was the territory of the Woodland Elves. And while the Elves themselves were elusive beings that were rarely seen, it was common knowledge that the Elves were the Guardians of the forest. Even Beast Kings fell under their purview. The next commonly known fact about Elves was their superior magic in comparison to other races.

Rose, being an eighth rank mage and from a major power, was more knowledgeable compared to the two black cloaked bandits. And unlike them, she was a mage and thus more sensitive to world energy and could appreciate the profundity of magic engineering that was the barrier formation in front of her.

In her mind, there was no doubt. This was Elven magic!

The top tier herbs that could been seen inside the formation only affirmed her speculations. Despite not seeing anyone inside, she believed that the moment her group got close, their presence had already been discovered. Therefore, when she got no response to her announcement, she decided to use the seal that Faust had given her as their proof of identity.

However, just as she was about to make her second announcement, her heart started pounding violently in her chest as a feeling of impending disaster enveloped her.

The color drained from her face as she spun on her heels and rushed to the children’s side. Before she could reach them however, the air seemed to turn solid as her body turned sluggish.

Gritting her teeth, she circulated every scrap of mana in her core to her body and forced her way to Will and Lena. Her instincts were screaming at her to run away but she knew it was too late. She knew that an existence at the level of a great mage had locked onto them!

At this point, Rose couldn’t think too much. She could only draw confidence from the booms of fighting in the sky that resounded over her thumping heartbeat.

At least the General is still alive. She consoled herself.

With that she could focus on surviving the current deadly crisis.

First, Rose muttered a spell under her breath that enveloped the two children in a protective barrier. Next, she took out the seal she had been given. Stretching her hands out in front of, she gritted her teeth and said in the loudest but calmest voice she could muster, “William Ironborn, Crown Prince of Aurum, heir of the Iron Forge King, Aurelius Ironborn, seeks asylum with clan Evergreen!”

No response.

Sweat matted the young woman’s forehead as she maintained her respectful bow. But as the seconds passed, her body started to tremble as the candle of hope in her heart flickered dangerously in the wind. She could feel death slowly creeping up to swallow and the two children she was charge to protect.

It was at this moment that an amused voiced drifted into her ears.

“Tsk tsk tsk. It seems either the people in there aren’t Elves or your king overestimates his relationship with them.”