Badge in Azure

Chapter 326: Talking All Night Long (Part 2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"I haven't changed much… it's just that the things I want have changed…" Saleen said as he gently caressed the Ring of Gifts that sat prettily in his hands. This item was one of the rare high-grade magical artifacts that the Myers Goddess had created back in her day. It was only after acquiring this ring that he had changed completely.

"Sikeqinyans love talking about achieving big goals in life while the Qins can't go one minute without blabbing about the things they yearn to have. Saleen, you're no longer a Sikeqinyan," Aini said as he laughed uncontrollably at the little joke that had come out of nowhere. He felt so happy to have reunited with Saleen once again. The problem that he thought was going to occur had not popped up - Saleen still regarded him as his friend.

Even though the three kings were currently residing inside of Daniel's death flames, they did not forget to continue observing Saleen and Aini's every move. It was when they started talking about everyday affairs that the three kings stopped spying on them. Who would want to hear Aini blabbing to Saleen about being a Sikeqinyan?

The skeletal warhorses, which had not been sent back to the death dimension yet, stood quietly on the snowy ground. These low-grade death creatures were unafraid of the bitter winter cold in the north. If a person took a closer look, they could see the soul flames dancing wildly in their eyes. In the dead of the night, no magic beast would dare approach Saleen's camp. There were over two hundred of these warhorses standing guard in the northern wilderness.

Over a dozen pirates that were standing guard had gathered together for a beer session in order to kill time. A bone-chilling breeze blew past, taking some snow along with it and creating a fog that seemed as though it was made up of ash, only whiter and more beautiful. The tent skeletons, which formed the basic structure of the tents that Saleen had brought along with him, were made up of metal. Not only that, but they were also fortified by magic. Even the cold, harsh winds blowing outside would not affect the temperatures inside the tent.

"Why is it so freaking cold? Why don't y'all go back to rest? No one will attack us in this goddamn weather!" one of the pirates suggested to his companions as he threw the now empty wine pot onto the ground.

"Okay, nighty-night," his companions said as they looked at their leader.

This "leader" was only in charge of eleven people and he was merely an intermediate swordsman. If he had been in the countryside, he would have been a high-ranking security officer by now. However, since he was under Saleen, an intermediate swordsman like him could only be assigned a role like this. In this Sregl Island swordsmen's camp, most swordsmasters would not be aiming for a position like this.

"Good, it's not like we'll be in danger anytime soon," the leader grumbled, trying not to shiver too much from the extreme cold. Even if he was an intermediate swordsman, the temperature was just too low for him to bear. Every single breath he took resulted in white mist coming out of his mouth. It would not be long until his scarf was peppered with icicles that had condensed from the water vapor in his breath. If Saleen had not kindly arranged for everyone to be staying in warm tents, these swordsmen would have turned into ice sculptures by now.

Trying to remain as quiet as possible, the pirates shuffled back to their tents silently. By now, only a hundred-plus skeletal warhorses stood upright in the freezing blizzard. The disposed wine pot was covered by the snow in a matter of seconds.

"Master Saleen," a low voice interrupted Saleen and Aini's conversation. The two of them had no intentions of sleeping, and had been chatting animatedly before they were cut off. As Saleen turned his head towards the entrance of the tent, he could make out the shadow of someone standing outside.

"Enter," Saleen instructed, as he started sniffing out the essence of the person outside. He concluded that the voice belonged to one of the pirates under his command.

The "door" was actually just a curtain made up of felt material. The pirate pried open the door as gently as he could. Once he entered the tent, he closed the door quickly to prevent snow from coming in.

The magic lamp inside had done a good job of illuminating the tent. Saleen yawned as he sat upright, leaned against his pillow, and lifted his head to get a good look at the pirate. He was skinny to the point that it seemed as if he had not eaten for years. He had no weapons with him and had taken off his armor. All he had on him were some clothes made of cotton. His face was a pale yellow, and he had very little hair. He looked to be roughly over twenty years old. The most attention-grabbing feature about the pirate had to be his nails, which were unusually well-groomed and cleaned. They were so smooth that people would think that he had smoothed and polished his nails with magic.

Hands as well taken care of as these were usually found on swordsmen as proof that they cherished and valued the art of swordcraft. The length of their nails would affect their ability to adeptly use their weapons, especially when they were still beginners. A fair number of swordsmen who did not inculcate the habit of keeping their nails short when they were merely apprentices ended up faring poorly in the later stages of their lives.

Most people who took up the art of swordcraft did so to support their families. Only a minority treated swordcraft as seriously as mages treated their magic skills and knowledge. The only difference here was that most mages would not need to be on the frontlines during battle. Swordsmen, on the other hand, were constantly at risk of dying. Even the prospect of death did not bother these swordsmen enough to hone their craft properly. Either that, or they had already grown so acccustomed to risking their lives that death did not scare them anymore.

"What is it?" Saleen asked gently but firmly as he continued staring at the young pirate. His voice had a tone that commanded respect. He was no longer a destitute young man. He was an archmage now, and he was going to let anyone who spoke to him know that.

The pirate lowered his head, afraid that staring into Saleen's blue eyes would make the latter think that he was challenging him. He said meekly, but clearly, "Master Saleen… those pirates… that were standing guard… have gone back to sleep without your permission."

"Oh? You came all the way here to tell me this?" Saleen asked as he continued scrutinizing the young pirate. He concluded that the pirate standing in front of him was probably older than him by a few years. Upon hearing Saleen's cryptic words, the pirate starting shivering uncontrollably with nervousness and fear. He composed himself before mustering up his courage to reply, "Master, you've said that we are now part of an official army. You've also said that we are not to go back to our bad habits and make the same mistakes. By doing this… they are breaking military rules."

"Yes, I did say that. This is a serious breach of military rules. Do you remember what is the punishment for a crime like this?" Saleen asked seriously.

The young pirate shook even more uncontrollably as he replied, "Decapitation."

"Good, now help me carry out the beheadings. If you can complete this for me, I'll assign you to assist Daniel. Oh right, excuse me for being rude but… what is your name?" Saleen said.

As the young pirate listened closely to Saleen's words, a shiver ran down his spine before it disappeared as fast as it had come. Taking its place instead was a warm feeling at the prospect of being a loyal follower to a mage, and one of Saleen's closer companions at that. However, he dreaded the thought of having to deal with dozens of his companions on his own. He was simply unable to fight all of them by himself.

"My name is Gurney," the young pirate managed to say without stuttering.

"Gurney? What a weird name. Alright, I remember now. Run along," Saleen said as he dismissed the pirate with a wave of his hand. Not daring to reply, Gurney exited as stealthily as he had come.

"Saleen, asking him to finish off his friends is a bit cruel, don't you think?" Aini asked Saleen as soon as Gurney stepped out of the tent.

"This Gurney guy might have long known the reason why we brought them here. If that's the case, we can either use him or kill him. Since I really lack any form of help right now, I'm going to use him. But I'm not going to hire trash. If he can eliminate those pirates who have failed to execute their duties, it means that we can continue developing his abilities to their full potential. To answer your question about whether it's cruel, Aini… well… as a mage, I do value and respect life. But I won't allow my followers to slack off just because I can't bear to kill them," Saleen said.

"Why so serious?" Aini chuckled, "I feel like the way you handle things now is much more straightforward and clear-cut. If you can show me that you will always handle matters this way, I can put my mind at ease when working with you. If you must know, I have invested all the money that I have saved into purchasing these death flames on you."

"Oh? Aren't you afraid that I'll let you down and you'll lose all your money?" Saleen asked.

"What's there to be afraid of? I was just like you in the past, down and out with absolutely nothing to my name. To a mage, no money in the world will make up for the loss of their magical powers," Aini replied.

"Uh huh. Listen, Aini. The reason why I thought about working with you was because firstly, you're my friend. Secondly, you're one of the most legitimate mages I've ever met," Saleen said, chuckling as he reached the end of his little speech. Saleen was unusually happy and relaxed today, to the extent that not even the incident with the pirates had put a dent in his joyous mood. Physically, Saleen was much stronger compared to ordinary commoners. Thus, he viewed himself as superior to those people. Killing them off would not make him feel guilty as they had not been on his level in the first place.

Those pirates were his prisoners. According to the laws of all countries, Saleen had every right to slaughter all of them when he first captured them. Pirates had absolutely no human rights. They were only glorified in fables and myths. In fact, even a third-class baron had the right to sentence these pirates to death if they wished to do so.

"Do you really wish to give Gurney the opportunity to assist you in important things?" Aini asked.

"Of course not!" Saleen scoffed, "But I will get a swordmaster to teach him advanced swordcraft. Once he successfully becomes a swordmaster, his status will naturally be elevated as well. I focus on capabilities here, if you did not know by now."

As Saleen finished his last sentence, he turned off the magic lamp and stored it into his demonic ring. After that, he began meditating. He was not about to bother with helping Gurney eliminate his companions. He had learned too many things from Lex, to the extent that he did not even know whether to call it a blessing or a curse. However, he knew now that a person would only cherish something that they had worked hard for.

Once Gurney put his life on the line, his loyalty to Saleen would be much more genuine. If he were to place this pirate in an important position solely because of this incident alone, Saleen was certain that Gurney would one day betray him like how he had betrayed his friends.

For people to get followers to remain loyal to them, not only would they have to work hard, but they would also have to keep asking and expecting a lot from their followers. That would make the other party feel important. It was just like how a farmer maintained his or her tenure. A plot of land that had been maintained for decades would be like a farmer's second, if not first, home. It would be everything to that farmer, be it in terms of livelihood or assets. However, if a farmer were to be given a barren plot of land, no matter how intensely he fertilized the land, he would not feel secure calling that place home.

Aini did not really understand Saleen's train of thought. Even though he had been dragged into many complicated affairs back when he had been with his clan, he had not learned these lessons as directly as Saleen had from Lex. Right now, he was thinking the exact same thing as Saleen, which was how fortunate they were to have met each other in their most desolate moments. Aini did not dare to think of what would have happened to him if they had not. Sunrise always came late during the northern winter. Thus, Saleen and Aini had already finished their second round of mediation before dawn even came. If other mages, who did not have the opportunity to be blessed with mentors that could pass down magic to them, saw how fast they were mediating, Saleen could imagine just how green with envy they would be.

"Master Saleen," Saleen heard Gurney faintly call out from outside the tent. His voice sounded weak and frail, as if he had been badly hurt. "Done?" Saleen asked, slightly impressed by how he had managed to complete his task without waking anyone else up in the camp.

"Yes, master," Gurney replied.

"How severe are your injuries?" Saleen asked.

"Not serious enough to slow us down, sir!" Gurney said.

"Take this. You can either drink it now, or save it for later when you sustain even more severe injuries," Saleen said as he took out a crystal vial. Inside the vial was a fluid that was ten percent magic liquid and ninety percent water. Without wasting any time, Saleen unleashed some of his binding magic to send the crystal vial out of the tent.

Gurney, who was outside the tent the entire time, saw a corner of the tent flip outwards before a crystal vial flew towards him and landed in the snow. Saleen continued, "This is magic liquid. It can only be created using level-7 magic. This contains two doses."

As Gurney kneeled in the snow to pick up the crystal vial, a tear rolled out of his eye, which rapidly froze into a raindrop-shaped icicle in a matter of seconds. He was more than satisfied with Saleen's compensation for his services. A swordsman like him would never have been able to get his hands on an item as precious as magic liquid. That was, until he had met Saleen.

"You don't have to say anything. Go find Daniel, and tell him I sent you. Tend to his every need because you are excused from the war, at least for now. Once you return, I will get someone to teach you swordcraft," Saleen instructed.

As Saleen slowly explained what was going to happen to him, Gurney continued kneeling on the snowy ground, giving the grade-5 mage kowtows every now and then, even if he knew that Saleen was not able to see him do so. He knew that now that Saleen had uttered these words, his life would change forever.