Inns Taste Best in Ruins
The warm afternoon sunlight bathed the inn's courtyard. Cael circled the building once, taking in the terrain and the flow of energy.
Hmm, perfect.
Tonight, Legnum's killers would storm this place with their full force. He had no idea how many would come or how many Experts would be among them.
Cael wasn't worried about that.
Not about winning, anyway. His main concern right now wasn't the lifeline of the invading bandits. It was how to turn this spot into an efficient real-battle training ground that would quickly boost Ella and Weger's realms.
Oh, and the guy named Roben who'd basically been dragged here against his will had caught his eye too. At first, Cael had only planned to use him as a guide, but the more he watched, the sharper the kid's instincts seemed—and he had some real potential as a knight. Sure, he was just the clueless rookie of the Blue Wolf Knights right now, but with the right polishing, he could become a fine limb of Cael's own.
Might as well pull the entire Blue Wolf Knights under my command while I'm at it. Not a bad choice.
He liked the vice-captain's survival skills too—the way he'd slyly dodged the acting lady's orders to send the kid on "leave."
Putting those thoughts aside, Cael squatted in a corner of the courtyard and started crafting something. In his hands were ordinary pebbles he'd picked up from the yard. But as gray chaos qi flowed from his fingertips and seeped into the stones, the plain rocks began transforming into conduits etched with strange patterns.
Not one of the Heavenly Demon Cult's top-tier formations, but perfect for toying with a horde using just a few people. A type of illusion array that numbed the senses and twisted spatial orientation.
Cael hurled the stone fragments precisely into position—at the inn's entrance and under the windows, and at the eight trigrams points around the courtyard. As he tied off the final knot of energy, a transparent, subtle membrane enveloped the entire building, rippled once, then sank into the air and vanished.
With all preparations complete, Cael dusted off his hands, stood, and strolled casually back inside.
In the empty first-floor dining hall, Ella, Weger, and Roben sat sharpening their weapons, faces tense with nerves. Cael plopped down on a chair at the table and spoke languidly.
"Ella, I've been moving around outside, and now I'm starving."
His master talking about food even as enemies closed in from all sides. But Ella seemed somewhat accustomed to these absurd situations by now. She tied her apron tight and replied briskly.
"Yes, young master! Plenty of ingredients left in the kitchen—I'll whip up a hearty spread and bring it right out!"
With that, she scurried off to the kitchen. Cael rested his chin on his hand at the table and let out a chuckle.
A sudden sense of déjà vu flitted through his mind. Back in his murim days, nine out of ten jianghu conflicts started—and ended—in inns. A drink leads to an argument, blades come out, and before you know it, pillars snap and the whole place is smashed to bits. It was as everyday as breathing in the martial world.
Come to think of it, I personally wrecked so many inns in my past life I couldn't count them. And now here, it looks like I'll be smashing someone else's inn too. Heh, wherever people live, it's all the same.
At the same time, in the outer forests of Vollex Territory.
Under the thickening shadows of dusk, clusters of men radiating killing intent gathered thick and black.
Assassins and elite operatives dispatched from Legnum's main base. Easily over a hundred strong.
At their forefront stood three men draped in rough beast hides, faces scarred to hell.
Sword Experts who ruled the territory's back alleys.
"For real? That snot-nosed young duke and his crew didn't run—they're just crashed out at that inn?"
The dual-sword wielder at his waist asked skeptically. The broadsword man in the center stroked his goatee and nodded.
"Dead serious. Our scouts had the place triple-wrapped since noon—no sign of even an ant slipping out."
"Ha, come on. Even if the young duke's clueless about the world, isn't he being way too ballsy in the heart of our turf? Even Viscount Leshold, the territory lord, doesn't mess with us lightly."
The thugs tossed out the viscount's name without a care. Then a man appeared—Hugo, the leader of this force.
He grinned slyly and smacked the backs of his men's heads.
"Kekeke, cut the dumb talk. You think the viscount's our only backer? Even if he's got balls of steel, why do you think he's sitting pretty while a duke's heir is about to get offed in his own territory?"
A quick-on-the-uptake thug's jaw dropped.
"N-no way... direct orders from the ducal house?"
"Kek, you got it."
"Th-the ducal house...! We hitting the jackpot, boss?"
"Damn right. Kraahaha!"
Greed flared in the thugs' eyes.
"Big score. The payout for this job's enough to live easy forever. Whoever takes the young duke's head can kiss this shithole alley life goodbye and live in the sun."
"Th-that huge!?"
"Yeah. So don't get cocky just 'cause they've got a few small fry. Push hard. That dumbass Cardor only lost 'cause he relied on his bulk."
He spat on the ground, downplaying Cardor's defeat. The dual-sword Expert chimed in.
"Psh, with three aura-handling Experts like us? Gotta be careful?"
"Don't get arrogant. If Cardor's mana core got smashed, means there's a real sword arm hidden in that noble crew. Spot 'em, swarm immediately. No mercy, got it?"
"Kuhuhu, don't worry, boss! Time to turn our luck around for real!"
The hundred-plus criminals raised their weapons, stifling greedy roars. Under cover of darkness, their footsteps closed in on the inn.
Silence blanketed the inn's front courtyard.
Legnum's vanguard of thirty-odd men slipped over the fence soundlessly into the yard. The inn's interior was pitch-black, not a lantern lit—eerie as a grave.
"Perfect. They're all asleep. Rush in, heads off, out quick."
At the vanguard leader's signal, two burly thugs kicked the heavy wooden door like they meant to shatter it.
Bam—!
The door flew open roughly, and the men poured inside like beasts.
But.
The thugs' steps froze the moment they crossed into the lobby.
"Wh-what the hell..."
It had looked like a normal inn dining hall from outside. But stepping through, a bone-chilling air hit them. And impossibly thick fog filled the space—not a foot of visibility. Pitch black where you couldn't even see your own fingers outstretched. Even moonlight that should seep through the windows was devoured by the unnatural mist.
"Fuck, can't see shit. Hey, Thomas—you go first."
Terror-stricken, the vanguard leader hissed nervously at the lackey glued to his back.
No reply.
"Hey, Thomas? You deaf?"
Only silence swirled in the fog.
They'd been shoulder-to-shoulder moments ago, but now not even breathing.
"This fucker lost it! I said go first!!"
Fury boiling, the leader whipped around, cursing.
And felt his heart drop.
"...!!!"
The thirty men who'd followed him—gone without a trace. And the inn door they'd kicked open? Sealed shut tight.
No presence, no body heat anywhere. Just endless fog squeezing him.
Cold sweat poured down his spine at the freakish phenomenon.
"Wh-what the fuck is this...!"
Panic numbing his reason, he bolted blindly for the door. Grabbed the handle with shaking hands and yanked it open like a madman.
Just get out of this haunted hellhole first.
Creeeak!
The door opened, outside air rushed in. But as he stepped over the threshold, his foot locked stiff in midair.
"H-heuk...!!"
His pupils dilated.
No familiar courtyard or night street. Before him stretched an endless abyss—a sheer cliff dropping into lightless void.
Dizziness hit like he'd lose balance and plummet any second.
This... this ain't fake!!
Behind: ghost house you can't retreat from. Ahead: cliff. He collapsed there, tossed his weapon, and screamed.
"Uwaaaaaah!! Help!! Anyone!! Somebody save me!!!"
And watching that grotesque, pathetic scene from the second-floor terrace with utter leisure?
Cael.
The inn's first-floor lobby, where the Ten Thousand Souls Shackling Spirit Array hummed perfectly.
Dozens of bandits, each isolated utterly, swung swords at empty air or bashed heads against walls, howling madly.
"Heh, quite the show. Would've been perfect with a snack."
Cael smiled down at the flailing assassins like blind worms.
Alright, about time for the next batch to come in...