Book 4, 67

Klandor’s Sky

“What flames are these?” Heisa asked as he slowly made his way towards Richard once more.

“Infernal flames from the abyss. How do they feel?” Richard asked weakly.

“Terrible!” With his snake destroyed and himself injured greatly, the brute had lost his temper. He hadn’t thought it would be so difficult to deal with someone who couldn’t even stand firmly, all his plans going down the drain. Forget setting a trap for Mountainsea, now he would have to run immediately even if someone of Balibali’s level appeared.

The barbarian’s large foot stomped down on Richard’s head, pressing half his face into the soil, “Quick, beg for forgiveness! If it’s good, I’ll let you die a little easier. If not, I’ll crush your brain bit by bit!”

“Your foot... stinks like hell!” a frail voice rang out from beneath.

Heisa inhaled sharply, nearly stomping down with full strength. However, he managed to restrain his bloodthirsty impulses and substituted the rage for merciless cruelty as he continued to slowly crush downwards with his foot. The cracking sounds coming from Richard’s face made his blood flow faster.

Richard had grasped the destiny crystal in his hand, but no longer had the strength to break it and call down a miracle. He could only grow bitter at how hard this last slab seemed to be as his mind gradually descended into darkness.

However, just as Heisa started to enjoy the process of torture, a sudden whistle rang through the air. A beast-tendon whip swept across the sky as fast as a black dragon, striking down towards the back of the brute’s head!

The might behind this whip was extraordinary, able to crush a rock with one strike. Heisa didn’t dare take it on, giving out an enraged howl as he dodged to the side. The whip ended up striking nothing, heading straight down towards Richard. If it struck true, Richard would immediately explode like a sack of flesh and blood. But the whip suddenly twisted, turning from ferocious with no regard for the enemy to a pliable and agile arm that slowly turned Richard around. It then gently began to wipe away the traces of blood and dirt on his face, revealing the skin underneath.

Heisa stood ten metres away, slowly pulling out the large axe on his back as he stared at the tall barbarian woman that had suddenly appeared in front of him, “Ramazoya! You actually stand on the side of that Norlander?”

The one called Ramazoya was tall and fit, looking no different from most barbarian mails. Her skin was a little darker, quite pretty in fact, but the biggest impression she gave was with the mountainous pressure from her aura. She gazed at Heisa coldly, “What I do is none of your business. Who do you think you are? If I didn’t rush here, you would have killed Her Highness’ promised person! And you wanted to push the blame onto Balibali? Don’t take everyone for fools!”

Heisa’s expression warped constantly between unease, viciousness, hesitation, and unwillingness. “Don’t spout nonsense!” he stated grimly, “I wasn’t planning on killing the promised person at all, I just wanted to teach him a lesson. You, on the other hand... It seems like your strength has grown a bit, no wonder you dare to meddle in my matters.”

“And what can you do about that, blackie?” Ramazoya spat disdainfully, her ten-metre-long whip cracking in the air, “Want a fight?”

Heisa’s eyes practically spit out fire, his four massive canines grinding against each other as he gritted out, “Now? Such great timing! Fine, I’ll take your challenge to heart. Just you wait, you’ll regret it soon enough! You better stay in your shrine obediently and never come out, or I’ll roast your fat ass!”

Ramazoya’s face clouded over with rage, whip lashing out towards the brute who raised his large axe with a low cry to block. A thunderous explosion rang out and Heisa was sent staggering backwards, while Ramazoya herself retreated two steps. It looked like she had the upper hand, but for the difference to be so small despite his serious injuries showed the obvious disparity between their strengths.

Heisa crouched down like a wild beast, giant axe held tightly as he focused on Ramazoya with a fierce glint in his eyes. She appeared imposing herself; this fellow was much more powerful than she had anticipated, certainly far beyond her calibre were he not injured. If they engaged in a battle of life and death, the outcome would not be certain.

“Heisa, Ramazoya!” a sturdy voice suddenly called out, a hint of surprise within, “What are you two doing here?”

The voice seemed to sound right by their ears, but the person that spoke the words was just a little speck on the horizon. The two barely saw a young barbarian rushing over at full speed, movements containing no elegance or rhythm but filled with boundless strength.

“Umur!” Heisa’s expression changed instantly, and he glared at Ramazoya, “Count yourself lucky!” As soon as the words left his mouth, he turned and darted away.

Ramazoya didn’t stop him, instead taking a step backwards as she put up full guard against the approaching youth. However, the tip of her whip trembled slightly, revealing her nervousness.

Umur finally arrived a short while later, nonchalantly running over as he used his sleeve to wipe the sweat on his face. He didn’t seem to move quickly, certainly much slower than Heisa and even Ramazoya or Balibali, but looking at the fleeing figure he shook his head with regret, “I never thought I’d bump into him here. What a pity, if this were some other time I definitely wouldn’t let him escape!”

Sweat started to bead down Ramazoya’s face as she failed to contain her fear. She knew very well that Umur wasn’t fast, but his stamina was basically limitless. If he truly wanted to hunt someone down, he could run for several days and nights without tiring. It wouldn’t be strange if he ran over 10,000 kilometres in one stretch. If the opponent he was pursuing didn’t just turn back and fight to the death, they would die from exhaustion anyway.

Seeing Richard on the ground, Umur seemed to grow sad, “This is the promised person? He’s already hurt this bad, huh... Tch, looks like I can’t challenge him now.”

Ramazoya heaved a sigh of relief. Truth be told, this was the expected reaction of most of the youths who appeared here. However, it was hard to stay relaxed in front of an enemy who could kill you without issue.

“Are you also here to challenge him?” She couldn’t resist the urge to confirm it once more.

“Of course. I wanted to see how amazing Her Highness’ promised person was as well,” Umur said casually. However, he suddenly looked towards her with suspicion, “Wait, why are you here? I thought you were a girl.”

“What the hell? Of course I am!” she said in anger, whip bouncing off the ground but not lashing forward. She suppressed the annoyance and exclaimed, “All of you are rushing to challenge him to teach him his place and have him back off. However, a few years later he might still come back. What’s the use then? I believe the person Her Highness chose couldn’t be too terrible, and I’m already of age, so I can just grab him for myself and see what kind of child I give birth to.”

“That...” Umur frowned, wringing his hands as he paced around in thought. A short while later, he suddenly struck his head with his palm, “RIGHT! If you get him first and sleep with him, Her Highness won’t ever want him again. If you even have a child, that’s as good as destroying all of her ideas! So tricky, and you’re even putting everything into it... This isn’t your idea, is it?”

Ramazoya’s expression changed immediately, but she did her best to maintain a smile, “Umur, you might be amazing but you can’t provoke just anyone. You’d best take care of yourself. I have my own troubles too.”

“Her Highness won’t let you off,” Umur said earnestly.

“She won’t destroy our shrine. As long as I successfully give birth to the child, things will be fine.”

Umur took a look at the remnants of the battlefield, turning back to the unconscious Richard and sighing, “I feel like you’re not losing out at all.”

Ramazoya froze for a moment, anger surging once more, “UMUR! DARE TO INSULT ME AGAIN, AND I’LL FIGHT YOU TO THE DEATH!”

The youth didn’t mind her threat at all, “I’m serious Ramazoya, you’re thinking too much of yourself. This Norlander doesn’t even seem twenty yet... It seems like the rumours were true, Her Highness really did set her sights on a very young mage. Someone who could injure Heisa after defeating Balibali is more than worthy of you. Think about it... He’s seven or eight years younger than you, and already has this much power. What happens if you’re the same age? He could send you to the ground without any problem.”

Ramazoya calmed down once more, her gaze at Richard growing complicated. She drew closer to him and bent down, wanting to take another look at this frail young man.

Umur suddenly felt his entire body shake. He immediately looked northeast, eyes filling up with shock. Ramazoya’s reaction was much slower. It took her a moment to feel the difference, hair standing on end as her expression warped into one of sheer terror.

The wind silently changed directions from the northwest, now blowing in from the northeast. It gradually grew stronger, pressing the long yellow grasses into the ground. From a bird’s eye view, one could see a wave of flattening grass rushing in their direction.

The wave of force passed by and sent Ramazoya’s whip and Umur’s clothes dancing wildly. Both gazes were fixed on the northeast, at the mountain and the sky.