August 30, Bloodbath City, Duke Adhemar's Territory.
It was around 2.30 A.M.
At that moment, multiple warriors stood guard at the city wall and patrolled the city non-stop. Even three fifth-tier warriors stayed in Duke's mansion due to the changes happening all over the kingdom and appeared vigilant all the time.
Suddenly, the loud horn sounds echoed from all four directions, waking everyone in the city. But what was more surprising was that everyone walked out of their house carrying different weapons. As the name indicates, this city was often attacked by monster hordes from the nearby Dark jungle forest and bathed in the blood several times. Because of these frequent bloodbaths, Duke Adhemar's grandfather changed the city's old name and made it one of the strongholds of the Peral Kingdom.
This city acted as a guardian city for many surrounding towns and cities.
There was also a rumor that a dungeon was located in the deepest part of this Dark Jungle. But no one knows the answer for sure.
Well, no one wants to explore deeply and kill themselves for no reason.
Suddenly, a strong male adventurer shouted while pointing his finger at the dark sky, attracting everyone's attention.
"Look over there!"
Everyone looked up simultaneously and soon widened their eyes in shock.
At that moment, they saw two small crimson wings moving in their direction at a fast speed and got alarmed inside.
"What the hell is that? A magic beast?" Duke Adhemer also woke up by the sudden horn sounds in the Duke's mansion and watched those two strange wings with a dazed face. He stood on the balcony at that moment and appeared sweaty all over.
Meanwhile, three of his fifth-tier warriors also stood a few steps away from him and gripped their swords tighter while staring at the red wings anxiously. Duke Adhemer was a middle-aged man who looked around 50 years old and had short black hair, deep blue eyes, and an oval face. He wore a simple nightgown and appeared more like a neighborhood uncle.
"I don't think it's a magical beast, father. that's a mage." Suddenly, a pleasant female voice came from behind, startling everyone. Soon, a blonde-haired girl, around 18 years old, walked in with an elegant smile. She had a pretty oval face, deep blue eyes, and blonde hair. She wore a white linen shirt and black skirt, which covered up to her toe.
"Josse! Are you sure?" Duke Adhemer asked with a surprised tone.
"Yes, Father! Although I don't know which respected mage is visiting here at this time, I can tell this mage seems to be in a hurry." Josse stopped for a second as she saw the fifth-tier warriors glaring fiercely at the sky and continued while shaking her head.
"Dad, don't do anything reckless. First, tell them to lower their weapons, then we will go and welcome him."
This time, Adhemer got stunned by her polite tone and frowned.
"Why are you speaking respectfully? You are already a first-tier mage, so you don't-" He abruptly stopped as he thought of the possibility and soon stuttered.
"Y-You mean, that mage is a second-tier mage?!" He was deeply alarmed and gripped his strange black sword tighter.
Meanwhile, Josse nodded her head and started speaking seriously.
"I never heard of any first-tier mage using a fly spell like this. Moreover, this mage is flying from the Royal City direction, so I don't think he has any ill intentions towards us."
After a short ponder, Adhemer made up his mind and ordered the warriors and other guards to lower their weapons. Following that, he and Josse walked out of the mansion hurriedly and waited in the yard anxiously.
Meanwhile, Abium looked exhausted while flying from Dewsummit city and soon broke into a wide grin as he saw the well-fortified city from afar. Without hesitation, he flew towards the city while avoiding the metal arrows using his wing and soon reached the outer area.
At that moment, countless people walked out of their houses with weapons and seemed ready for a fight.
'As expected of the Bloodbath City!'
He had already expected this outcome and quickly flew towards the large mansion while maintaining some height from the ground.
As he arrived at the mansion's yard, he saw two figures welcoming him with a nervous look on their faces.
Abium flapped his crimson wings to balance and slowly landed on the ground. Following that, he bent his waist a bit and bowed while he started speaking.
"Baron Abium greets the Lord Duke of Bloodshed Land! And, greetings Young Miss Josse."
This time, Duke Adhemer and his daughter Josse were at a loss for words and looked at each other in confusion.
They forgot to respond to his greetings and stood there dumbly for seconds.
But after a short silence, Duke Adhemer regained his composure and greeted him.
"Greetings, Baron Abium. Welcome to Bloodbath city."
Following that, Josse also bowed her head and asked anxiously.
"Mr. Baron, is there any urgent news from the Magic Tower? Did teacher Cole summon me?"
She was shocked and worried about this mage's sudden appearance in their territory. First-tier mages would only visit the kingdom's nobles' territory if something major happened at the royal family or the magic tower. She knew her father was colluding with Light Church and got nervous.
When Abium heard her words, he shook his head and went straight to the point.
"Today, I came here to borrow something from His Grace for a few days.''
Meanwhile, Adhemer frowned a bit and asked cautiously.
"What do you want to borrow from this old man, Mr. Baron?" Although he had heard a few words about this Baron, he still didn't consider him a real noble. He was also well aware Abium got this title through entering the magic academy and always felt disgusted by that method. From his point of view, Abium didn't achieve any merit to earn the noble title.
Moreover, he also heard that this mage had a shady background and felt more suspicious.
"I came here to borrow your sword, your grace." Abium didn't mind Adhemer's suspicious look and still replied politely.
As Adhemer heard Abium's words, he frowned a bit and shifted his gaze toward his family sword, which he had used since childhood.
"What's so special about my sword? I don't think it has the ability even to withstand a zero-tier magic spell." Adhemer rubbed his chin and felt more confused at this newly titled Baron's request.
Meanwhile, Abium let out a chuckle and responded.
"No. This sword is forged by an unknown legendary Blacksmith and was given to your ancestor as a gift, Your Grace. As for why you know nothing about its full ability, it's because you are just an intermediate swordsman. Unless you reach the realm of Master Swordsman, you won't be able to use its full ability." Abium's words left everyone who stood in the yard to be stunned.
Even Adhemer heard about this for the first time and got perplexed inside.
In the past, Abium heard that Duke Adhemer discovered this sword's secret only at the end of the Chaos Era and used this sword to slay many low-rank demons, devils, and even high-level monsters.
"Baron Abium, I'm surprised. Although I don't know if the information you gave me is true or false, I always believed that this sword isn't a normal sword. I have to apologize first to that legendary Blacksmith for using this blade to cut onions and vegetables." Adhemer said while caressing the black blade like a priceless treasure.
"You can find more information about this sword in the history section." Abium shifted his attention toward the beautiful blonde-haired lady and said.
"Academy's library have information about this blade?" Jossie couldn't help but ask in surprise.
"No, My Lady. But this sword's information is recorded in the Royal Library." He responded calmly.
Meanwhile, Duke also calmed down his heart and quickly gave his sword to Abium unwillingly.
"Please don't break this sword and return it quickly," Duke added.
"No worries, Your Grace. Even if I'm not present in the magic tower, my friend will return this sword to you in a few days." Abium said while bowing his head and quickly added while giving him a black-covered book.
"Improve your strength using this book, your grace. Our kingdom needs your strength in the future."
Upon hearing his words, Adhemer glanced at the book and soon noticed that it was filled with many sword insights.
'An advanced Sword Technique! Wait! Why does it resemble a little like the Royal Sword Technique? No, it looks more like an upgraded version!'
He stood there in a daze while skimming through all the information with a shocked face and nodded.
"You've my gratitude, Mr. Baron. I'll return it to you one day."
Meanwhile, Abium quickly cast War Angel's wings on himself and soared up to the sky while carrying that long black sword.
...