Following Henrik and the knights, Ariel and Brendon left The Academy and started walking through the already very familiar streets of Lenara city. Some people, did look at them with some interest, but most ignored them and didn’t even bat an eye at their march. They have already long since gotten accustomed to seeing powerful knights, mages and noblemen that would pass through the streets, daily.
Although there were still those who managed to recognize that these were the famous Kingdom’s knights and some could also recognize the Galath’s Kingdom’s crown price Brendon walking behind them, which even in this city was something noteworthy. That’s why they continued keeping their eyes on them, wondering what will happen today.
However the people in question proceeded moving without paying heed to the spectators, since to them the only thing that was important was to complete their given assignment. Ariel and Brendon had also gotten used to being in the spotlight of the crowds a long time ago, so they managed to stay calm even under such suffocating looks, and were able to talk calmly amongst themselves on different matters.
“So Brendon, what is the plan you will be going with? I don’t think that a frontal assault on their base would be very successful with only this amount of men.” Brendon understood Ariel’s point and nodded while responding. “Don’t worry we will be going with the time approved, ambush plan. We have already acquired information that they will be doing one of their usual transactions this evening in a place that's known for having a lot of shady business takes place.” Listening to the information Ariel looked up at the sky with a frown. The sun was still high up in the heaven, it should be only just after noon, meaning there is still a lot of waiting to do.
Seeing his friend’s worries, Brendon laughed out loud as he spoke. “There is nothing we can do about that. Creating a good ambush takes some preparations and time, but don’t worry, there is a good restaurant nearby where we can relax for a while.” Ariel cast him a dubious gaze before inquiring. “How will you know when the event happens? Getting a message through, could be difficult for the knights at that time, since the slavers will probably have people already watching from all angles.”
Brendon at Ariel’s words let out a triumphant smile as he took out a small crystal ball. After staring at it for a while, Ariel’s eyes suddenly grew a bit wider as he spoke. “Is that a communication orb? You were actually given something so precious.”
What was in Brendon’s hands was a communication orb, an extremely rare magical item, even rarer than storage rings. It had an ability to create a link between the minds of the holder of the orb and anyone he personally knows.
This technology was fully monopolized by the elves, so although it might not be expensive to make one, the elves very rarely would sell these to the outside, so besides the western continent, all other continents have a shortage of these. Because of this they were unbelievably expensive and only the large powers of the world would have some of them.
Of course the holder still had to use some Mana to make it work, and unless the other person also had one of these, they wouldn't be able to initiate a conversation back, so there were some difficulties in using it for operations like these, since Brendon will have to keep the link with Henrik at all times, due to Henrik himself being unable to start a conversation. However it is undoubtedly a precious and useful tool worth probably as much as the whole territory of a duke.
As they walked and talked, they soon had arrived pretty close to the destination at hand. When Ariel finally noticed the general area around them, the knights behind Brendon started walking towards a different direction with Henrik in the lead.
Looking at this, Ariel had quickly understood the reason for this, but Brendon still took time and explained. “They can’t just go through the main way, now can they? Henrik will have to go around the back and prepare everything while we will go wait at the restaurant.” Nodding at this, Ariel tactically approved his foresight before following Brendon.
The place Brendon picked to eat was actually much to Ariel’s liking, it had a serene atmosphere with a low amount of people which made him quite relaxed being here and was a perfect environment to have a calm talk. With Brendon leading, they were escorted directly towards the VIP section, where they will be spending most of their time until evening.
When they opened the door to the room, Ariel felt very satisfied after seeing the inside of it, although it had an expensive interior it wasn’t that overbearing and had an exquisite taste to it, coupled with the many windows around it, the entire room looked bright and beautiful while leaving nothing more to be desired.
As they sat down, Ariel decided to get down straight to the point before getting something to eat. “So what can you tell me about the place of the ambush? I would like to know everything about the place I will be fighting at, before jumping in.”
Brendon gave an approving look while smiling and started to explain. “As you know, we are currently in the furthest reaches of the city, and the place that the transaction will be happening at is basically right next to the wall, also with a direct escape over it. That is the reason why this place is so popular among criminals. It is extremely easy to get away from if there are people that unexpectedly come after them.”
Listening to the details, Ariel understood that it was quite a difficult predicament they were at right now, but Brendon soon dispersed his immediate concerns. “We have already made the preparations to achieve success at capturing them. However the one you will have to deal with is the leader of the slavers.” After ending his sentence, Brendon looked towards Ariel to see if he understood what this entailed.
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Ariel looked at Brendon’s eyes and simply gave his affirmation while motioning him to continue. “The leader in question is called by the nickname of “Blood drinker” and it seems this name was given to him for actually drinking the blood of his enemies that he cruelly murdered, so you can guess how vicious he is. He is a very notorious criminal wanted for countless crime’s, but also a warrior at the late stage of the Elite Rank and has a high capability to escape while we are going after his subordinates. That’s where you come in, the task given to you is to either tie him down or kill him, depending on what you can manage to do.” Brendon didn’t say anything more, and let Ariel think everything through.
He quickly finished reviewing the information he had gotten and Ariel quickly understood what he has to accomplish and what would be the dangers he will face. After evaluating everything, he found that he had quite a decent chance to win, although he will have to first see his enemy to be sure. That’s why he gave his affirmation while nodding. “Fine, I will try to do the task given to me, but if something goes wrong and my life is in danger, I will immediately retreat.”
Brendon let out a bright smile after hearing Ariel’s agreeing to the task at hand and responded. “Naturally if it becomes too dangerous you are free to get away. I myself couldn’t live with myself if you died because of such a small matter for me.”
After finally taking care of business, the two of them became more relaxed and ordered some food and drinks to fill themselves up before the whole action starts. Most of the time they spent either eating or talking and laughing about all kind of stuff happening in the vicinity, Although there was still a limit to the new things that have happened, so after some time they ran out of topics to discuss and soon Ariel decided to start training until the appointed time.
However after some more time passed Brendon suddenly remembered something and spoke to Ariel with a bright light in his eyes. “Now that I think about it, I wanted to ask something of you.” When Ariel woke up from his meditation looked at his friends face and saw his expression, he immediately felt that this will be troublesome, and his worries came true when Brendon continued speaking.
“When will you take the next step with Erna and my sister? I’m sure they are going insane while waiting for you to respond to them in some way, and I know you aren’t that insensitive towards their emotions. It is just that you seemed to be avoiding the topic, even though you are getting closer and closer with them.” Brendon’s sudden attack, caught Ariel completely off guard and it took him some time before he could compose himself again and speak.
“You already know quite well the difficulty I have with emotions. It is true that I feel like I am getting closer with the girls, but I don’t know if it is love, and at the same time I am afraid to break their hearts in the future if I find out that it is not so. Also, why are you talking about me marrying both of them so calmly, taking out the fact that Sarah is a princess, just marrying two women is already a problem for me?”
Hearing Ariel’s response, Brendon burst out in laughter as he spoke. “Many powerful people have more than one wife and I believe that Erna and Sarah won’t have any problems with it either. You are severely underestimating their feelings for you.” To Brendon’s words Ariel let out a frown as he responded. “Why are you even bringing this up right now? You should save it for a later time.”
Brendon only smiled at his words as he continued speaking. “Okay, I won’t bring it up right now, but I will tell you this. You shouldn’t run from this, being afraid is natural and if in the future you find that your choice was wrong, you can find a way to fix it then, which is better than regretting something you didn’t do. Only by walking forward can you understand and find your own path, and just maybe, Erna and my sister can help you understand the thing you most desire.
Like that the conversation ended, but Ariel continued thinking about the words Brendon spoke to him for a long time to come. In the mean time, Brendon was unusually silent and let Ariel ponder all the way until he suddenly heard a voice in his head.
“Young master, the slavers have just begun to gather. What are your orders?” Hearing the report Brendon took a look at Ariel before replying. “Stand your ground and wait until me and Ariel get there.” It didn’t take long for him to hear Henrik’s response. “Understood”
Finishing his conversation with Henrik, Brendon spoke while facing Ariel “I just got a report that the transaction is about to commence, we have to move quickly.” Ariel was still a bit absentminded, but he still gave a nod and managed to regain his wits in a matter of seconds.
This will be a dangerous confrontation and he didn’t have room for doubt or weakness right now. Together with Brendon he got up in a quick fashion and walked out the door.
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