An hour later, Richard leads them into a dimly lit chamber where Isolde waits behind a carved blackwood desk.
“Let get this straight,” Isolde says, her voice sharp as a blade. “You want the guard of Shadow Town to march against the Darkfire Cult base?”
Richard inclines his head. “Yes.”
Her eyes narrow. “Didn’t the guard chief already tell you this doesn’t concern us?”
Richard holds his ground. “Lin Yu is still a noble of the kingdom, and the life of Princess Elanor is in danger. He is obligated to help.”
Isolde laughs softly, then unleashes her aura. The weight of a higher-tier extraordinary slams into the room, freezing their breath, making their hearts skip. Fear flickers in every gaze.
“Do you think the novelty of a kingdom binds us?” she asks, her tone like ice.
Richard’s face pales. “I… didn’t an it like that.” His eyes dart toward Nora, signalling her.
Nora steps forward. “Can we speak with Lin Yu?”
Isolde shakes her head. “He is busy and cannot et.”
Nora steadies her voice. “Tell him… Nora Ashford wants to et him.”
Recognition flashes across Isolde’s face. Her smile curves knowingly. “If he helps, the ropes binding him to the kingdom will only tighten.”
“I’ll repay the favour,” Nora insists.
“You are his fiancée,” Isolde replies. “The town will help you.”
The word strikes the room like thunder. The team stares at Nora, disbelief written plain. Adam’s astonishnt is the sharpest.
Nora bows her head once, confirming.
“Then in a few hours,” Isolde continues, “gather at the western gate. A squad led by a Tier Five guard will join you.”
They thank her and withdraw. Richard lingers only long enough to murmur, “Thank you, Nora. I’ll ready my n. We’ll et at the western gate.”
Adam, still unsettled, nods numbly.
Back at the inn, silence hangs heavy over the team as they prepare.
A few hours later, three forces converge at Shadow Town’s western gate — Richard’s n, the town guard, and Adam’s team. Together they march into the Sakar mountains.
The assault on the Darkfire base unfolds swiftly; their numbers and strength overwhelm the cultists. Charles, the leader, is absent, leaving the base weakened.
In the inner chamber, they find Princess Elanor alive.
Victory cos without great cost, and they escort her back to Shadow Town under the shadowed canopy of the gorge.
The next day, the team plans to leave the Sakar Mountains with the princess.
But their plan fails.
Shadow Town falls under siege as hostile forces surge from the mountains, with the Darkfire Cult leading the assault.
At their head stands Charles, his aura vast and crushing, his breakthrough to Tier Six undeniable.
Two more Tier Six powerhouses join him, striking relentlessly at the shadow do that shields the gorge.
Inside the town, every surviving force gathers in the lord’s mansion, filling the grand eting hall with grim faces and tense silence.
Nora scans the room and notices Lin Yu’s absence.
Her thoughts tighten. 'What is he doing at such a ti?'
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But her gaze shifts as Isolde rises from her seat, the weight of her presence silencing even the strongest extraordinary.
She begins to speak, her voice carrying through the hall.
“The gorge is surrounded by most of the forces in the Sakar mountain range.”
At the centre of the chamber, a virtual projection flickers to life—a living image of the gorge, the dark ridges of rock, and the gathered armies hamring against the do of shadow.
The Bishop of the Church of Life and Nature, Élodie Dufresne, leans forward, her green robes rustling.
“Can the energy barrier hold?”
Isolde answers evenly.
“Even if they strike for a year, it will not break. Only a Tier Eight can shatter it.”
Relief ripples through the hall as shoulders ease and breaths escape.
But the Bishop of the Church of Fire, Alejandro de Vargas, frowns.
“We cannot let them trap us inside. Our stores are shallow. Within a month, we will falter.”
Murmurs of agreent spread.
They are extraordinaries, sustained by particles of power in the air, but advancent demands resources—rare essences, cores, stones. Without them, progress halts, and delay is a wound that never heals.
The leader of the Greymark Gang, Thomas Whitlock, speaks next, his voice carrying suspicion.
“I heard whispers. This assault ca because the guard raided Darkfire’s base—and rescued the princess.”
His gaze sharpens, fixing on Nora and Adam.
Before either can respond, Isolde cuts through the tension.
“We stand in the Griffin Kingdom’s territory. And our lord is bound by nobility to safeguard the princess.”
Thomas’s voice cuts sharply.
“But now the war concerns all our safety. We are extraordinaries—shall we give up our lives for so princess?”
The bishops of the churches remain silent, stone-faced, but murmurs rise among the gathered leaders.
David Hill, head of another faction, adds fuel.
“Yes, hand her over.”
Richard bristles.
“What nonsense! How can we hand over the princess?”
Thomas sneers.
“Then should we all die for her?”
Richard snaps back.
“Dying for the royal family is a glorious thing!”
David spits.
“Then you go and die!”
Others echo his words, their voices swelling until the chamber trembles with discord.
Isolde rises, her aura unfurling like a crushing tide, silencing the uproar. Eyes snap toward her, fear and awe mingling.
“Do you think they attack us for a princess?”
Thomas swallows. Deep down, he knows the truth—it is larger than a single royal—but hatred toward nobility lingers in his blood, carved there when he lived as a powerless commoner. He mutters, half-defiant, half-bitter,
“What other reason can it be?”
Isolde’s gaze is cold as iron.
“The Sakar mountains are rich in resources. Our town already monopolises half. In the coming years, Shadow Town will dominate the range. Do you think the other forces would let that happen?”
Nods ripple through the room, even the bishops murmuring in agreent.
The Bishop of the Church of Light, Archbishop William Blackthorne, clears his throat.
“Where is the Lord?”
Isolde answers without hesitation.
“He is in retreat. He cannot erge right now.”
The eting dissolves after Isolde lays out the plan, and Nora, Adam, and Richard return to the Griffin Kingdom’s base. They gather around a table, the air heavy with unspoken thoughts.
Nora breaks the silence.
“The town is besieged, but no one at that eting even ntioned surrender.”
Richard leans back, voice edged with certainty.
“They cannot. If they surrender, all the benefits they reap from this town vanish. Except for the churches, every force here wants to shape the Sakar mountains into another gorge.”
Adam’s eyes widen.
“A holy place for shadow cultivation. Then conflict with the other mountain forces is inevitable.”
Richard nods grimly.
“Yes. Which is why surrender is not an option.”
Nora frowns, her thoughts circling.
“I’m surprised to see so many leaders—and so many townsfolk—already cultivating the shadow way. The town’s founding was only a year ago. How did news spread so quickly?”
Richard answers calmly.
“Many extraordinary people here cultivate two paths simultaneously. They begin practising the shadow way after only a few days in town.”
Adam’s brow furrows in confusion. The difficulty of rging extraordinary paths of the sa way is already imnse, and mixing different ways multiplies the challenge tenfold.
Richard continues.
“It’s because of the town’s exclusive inheritance—the Shadow Warrior path. It can be practised up to Tier Five. For most of these people, obtaining a path higher than Tier Three is impossible. When they encounter one reaching Tier Five, they take it without hesitation.”
Nora’s eyes glimr with interest. She had already sent an extraordinary path of the knight’s way up to Tier Two back ho, but this… this could be a Tier Five path.
Richard adds,
“Practice to Tier One is free. But advancing beyond that—each step costs money.”
Nora and Adam exchange a nod, filing the information away. After a few more minutes of discussion, they leave the house.
As they walk toward their inn, they notice people rushing in one direction, faces tense, steps quick.
They glance at each other and follow, thinking it must be new information about the war.
They reach the town centre, where a long line stretches across the square.
On a raised platform, three town officials hand out books one by one.
Adam and Nora step into line.
Adam leans forward and asks the man ahead of him,
“What’s happening?”
The man tilts his chin toward the north.
“Look there.”
Adam and Nora turn their heads.
On a huge board, bold words declare that the Town Lord has created a new, extraordinary path for the citizens.
Blah, blah, ceremonial praise fills the lines.
At the bottom, the rules are clear.
Practice up to Tier One is free. Advancent to higher tiers requires war rit.
Thirty Tier One kills earn Tier Two inheritance.
Or three Tier Two.
And so on.
The path reaches Tier Five.
Its na: Shadow Mage.
Below, the details of the Shadow Mage path are written in stark black ink.
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