"So? You don't expect me to spare her, just because I fought her brother before, right?" Ed shot an inquisitive look at the old man. The last war was a tragedy that affected many people's lives. The fact that it couldn't be avoided made it even harder on the hearts of those that mourned. Ed and all those present understood that no one could be blamed. Yet, it wasn't easy to look past what happened during the war, which was why Jillian attacked Ed.
"If you mean to tell me, that I should let myself be killed because I caused the death of Letif. Then I should kill her because of the deaths he caused." Ed wouldn't budge from his position. Jillian wasn't the only victim of the tragedies of the war, and he wouldn't back down just because she felt that way.
"That's not what I meant!" The old man raised his voice but retreated back after noticing the killing intent protruding out of the eyes of Ed's companions. "That's not what I meant…" The old man repeated his words, softly this time, as he clenched his hands.
"Her father, and her older brother; Letif. The only reason this continent managed to escape the wrath of Blood sect was thanks to them…" the eyes of the old man could be seen, and regret filled them. "Thanks to Letif joining Blood sect as a commander, and thanks to Adalrik's family giving away all of their precious treasures, Blood sect turned a blind eye on us. All I ask of you is to allow the Adalrik family to live without losing any more. I've already caused them much sorrow just by making them into a backer…"
The old man's eyes became cloudy with tears. Jillian noticed this and struggled to try and say something, but only a muffled voice escaped.
"Mehen…" Ed called out to his companion while sticking his right hand out. In an instant, Mehen let go of Jillian's body, letting her out of his clutches, and wrapped himself around Ed.
"Cough! Cough!" Jillian dropped down to her knees and started coughing. Although someone at her level could go without air for as much as hours, the fact that Mehen's muscles tightened around her lungs caused her to gasp for air. She could only hold on while he was constricting her body, but when he let go, she could feel the damage he caused.
"Thank you for your benevolence!" The old man bowed his head while thanking Ed. He believed that Jillian was now safe.
"You seem to misunderstand something, old man." Ed's words dropped, like a bomb, on the old man's ears. He stood up and looked bewildered at Ed.
"The fact that they sacrificed so much, the fact that Letif was forced into joining Blood sect. None of them matter to me. What matters is the fact that at that moment, the moment when I stood in front of him, I was attacked. Much similar to how this lady just attacked me." Ed, before anyone knew it, had Shusui pointing at Jillian's neck. "If you want to save her, you need to offer something that weighs as much as her life."
Ed was, in fact, already willing to let Jillian go. From her previous attack, he could tell that she didn't plan to kill him. It was, simply, the anger of seeing her brother's murderer in front of her eyes. However! That didn't change the fact that she attacked him. He wasn't as soft-hearted as to let a potential enemy live for no reason.
"Since you seem to be in a whirlpool of self-doubt, let me help you," said Ed as he gazed upon the sweaty face of the old man. "I need you to become a subordinate of Avalon kingdom."
The old man's face turned grave as he heard Ed. He could clearly tell that Ed wasn't referring to him when he said "you". Instead, he meant the whole continent. Ed only found out about the old man's position after he called the Adalrick family 'Backers'. As such, he decided to use it as a bargaining chip and win himself a continent.
"I cannot decide such a thing on my own…I may be the highest figure of the Central Government, there are still other prominent families that need convincing. I-I…" The old man seemed to be stuck right now. He held the key to saving Jillian, but it weighed too much. He thought about lying and deceiving Ed, but he could tell that it wouldn't work.
"Didn't you just mention how her family saved and helped you, and your continent? And yet, you can't offer your assistance to save just one member of that family? I only said that you would become a subordinate, not a slave. If you need to convince someone, then now is the time. You don't need to worry about Blood sect intervening since they suffered such a huge blow lately by losing our continent. I can understand how the Adalrick family is in a weak position due to the sacrifices, but there's no need for you to worry either."
The old man listened to Ed's words, as he waited for a way to weasel out of this situation. Still, the sight of Jillian being held by a sword didn't allow him to focus.
"You don't need to worry, you have the Avalon family as your back-up. You should be rejoicing. With our help, you'll pay back your debt to the Adalrick family, and take back the continent to yourself. So, what will it be?" With no way out, the old man couldn't help but consider taking up Ed's offer.
With Ed's serious demeanor and his Haggling skill, he didn't budge a single inch from his offer. This was a business trade to him, and nothing more. He had nothing to lose from it, unlike his opponents, so he held the higher ground.
"If you will spare her life…If you will help this ailing continent, then I yield." The old man got on one knee while bowing his head towards Ed.
"I see. Then, the partnership is official." Ed said as he withdrew his Shusui. Jillian stood up while looking at the old man and muttered, "Uncle…".
"It's a bit earlier than planned, but we'll head back to Avalon for a sec. Mister guard, you are not to say a single word of what happened today to anyone. Otherwise, something bad will happen to you! Remember, I have ways to know!" Ed spoke to the guard, who felt so out of place that he started imagining birds flying around his head, as he teleported everyone out of that place.
No one remained there except the daydreaming guard.
Hello everyone! As you may have guessed, my pc broke down again yesterday. I wrote this chapter using my sister's laptop, while I left my own to be fixed. I'll be going back to the dorm tomorrow(I left only so I could get my lappy fixed). If the laptop is not fixed by then, I won't have any way to post chapters. I hope that's not the case.
Enjoy the chapter!
Before Jillian and the old man could understand what Ed meant, they were teleported away by him. The next instance, they found themselves in the courtyard of what seemed to be the royal castle. It was then that they understood how dangerous Ed truly was. They didn't know the extent of his teleportation ability, but it was enough to make them shiver.
"It's safe to assume that we are in Avalon, right…?" The old man couldn't help but ask. He already knew the answer, yet wanted to hear it from Ed's mouth.
"Correct. Are you afraid that you are now inside the enemy's house, or are you excited, trying to find something to use against me?" Ed looked at the old man with eyes that could pierce through stones.
"I could never do something like that. Once it is established that the alliance between us, can help our continent, I would dedicate my life to this cause!" The old man's blood pumped hard as he answered Ed. His old, pale face turned redder every second he thought about how he could benefit from this situation.
"It is not an alliance. You will become our subordinates, not our partners." Ed reminded the old man of the real situation as he indicated that they should move. The old man hung his head but didn't lose spirit. Jillian, helpless, could only follow after them in silence.
.
.
.
"Oya? Master Ed, you have returned much quicker than we thought. Is everything done…I guess not." Griffin, now a sect Elder, happened to be inside the castle when Ed and the others were walking inside. He noticed the existence of the tense old man and the disturbed Jillian. "Enemies, or allies?" Griffin wanted to assert their position by asking Ed, all so he could decide on the way to treat them with.
"That is up to what they decide to do from now on. Also, it's just 'Ed'. Your position is enough for you not to care about positions anymore, isn't that right?"
"Force of habit…Anyway, Sir Arthur isn't around. He left towards the sect to prepare for war." Griffin guessed that Ed wanted to speak with Arthur, so he told him his current whereabouts.
'I need to upgrade the Map sometimes soon…Maybe I'll be able to check names then.' Ed thought to himself.
His Map was very useful, but it wasn't omnipotent. Although he could tell the position of allies and enemies, he couldn't tell the person. Now that he has so many allies, the green dots can't be distinguished that easily.
"So, what war is going to happen now?" Ed asked as he started to walk towards the sect grounds with everyone.
"It's against the Beastmen. Ellie wants to save the kingdom from the clutches of the royal family. The promise is that she'll enter into a partnership with Avalon in case she becomes the new queen. Knowing her, it's highly unlikely, so she'll force whoever becomes king or queen to enter the partnership. Just now, I came back to the castle to inform her highness of the plan." Griffin explained, not bothering to hide anything from the ears of the two frenemies.
"Brother, can I go say hi to mother?" Bella asked while tugging on Ed's clothes.
"Of course. Emilia, you probably want to check on Ellie, right? Where is she, Griffin?"
"She should be in the same room as always. I haven't seen her at all this morning. I guess she wanted to prepare mentally for what is going to happen.
Emilia and Bella quietly moved away from the group. Ed's companions each went to do something on their own. Only Mehen remained around Ed's neck, while Raikou went into his shadow. The old man and Jillian could breathe a little easier now that most of the monsters surrounding them left. Still, the feeling exuded by Ed and Griffin didn't allow them to drop their guard at all.
After walking for a couple of minutes, they reached the sect grounds. The guards didn't dare to try and stop anyone, as the sect Elder was with them. Of course, they wouldn't dare to stop Ed, the hero of the Bloody war. The old man couldn't help but look around, looking for any possible information that he could exploit in his future exchange with the king of Avalon.
"What are you doing here already? Don't tell me?! Did you miss us only after leaving for a little over a month? Man, I'm touched, dear brother!" On the way to meet Arthur, they met Eric who immediately tried to tease Ed.
"Some stuff came up. And of course, I would miss you, dear brother!" Ed moved on while opening his arms wide, trying to catch Eric in a hug.
"No, please. I was just joking." Eric, who wanted nothing to do with hugging a man, backed away immediately. "I'm guessing this is the friend you told me about?" Eric changed the subject to Mehen, who was hanging around Ed's neck.
"Yeah. He's strong, you know?" Ed knew that Eric liked to spar with his companions, so he let him know beforehand.
"Of course I would know that. Aren't you, and your companions, all monsters?" Eric showed a sly smile as he teased Ed.
"Oh, isn't it you? It's you isn't it?" Mehen suddenly spoke with a hissing voice. He caught everyone by surprise, as they started to look for who he was talking to.
"Eric? You know Mehen?" Once Ed noticed Mehen's target, which was Eric, he couldn't help but ask.
"No. I don't think I've ever met a talking snake before in my life." Eric explained as he shook his head.
"Never mind, it's not you." Mehen put his head back on Ed's shoulder, resting there.
'What was that about…?' Everyone couldn't help but ask themselves this question. Still, they continued to walk ahead, heading towards Arthur's location.
The old man couldn't help but admire the relationship dynamic between Ed and everyone around him. He had planned to try and use his position as firstborn, and Eric's position as next heir, to try and mess things up between them. But, just seeing their interactions, he could understand that he would only be digging a grave with his name on it.
A sigh escaped from his mouth just as they entered a room. There, the other Elders of the sect were present. Along with Arthur.
Hello everyone! Unfortunately, the old pc's motherboard was fried, so I couldn't post any chapters lately. However, thanks to my father, I was able to buy a new one. I felt that it was a waste to fix the old one, as it was too beat up.
I should be able to get back to doing daily updates again!
I will look through the comments and anounce the winner of the most popular character on the next chapter. Enjoy!
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