บท 45: 45. Formation
Noah was sitting inside one of the carriages of the caravan.
Kevin had invited him inside finding his participation in the selection for the escort group unnecessary.
"You know, me and your master were considered the best warriors of our generation. We would usually meet during our training days doing missions since the relationship between my Lansay family and your Balvan family has always been friendly."
Kevin was speaking while being seated in front of Noah.
"But, well, he became the vice-captain of Balvan's outer ring while I became the head of the guards of my family, so we didn't have a chance to meet in a long time."
He was pouring what seemed to be wine in two cups from a clay jug in his hand, then he offered one of the cups to Noah.
"When I heard that his disciple was going to assist for this mission I was instantly curious. I must say that you live up to your master's reputation."
He raised his cup in a toasting gesture and Noah welcomed it by doing the same with his cup, yet he was using his mental energy to scan the liquid inside it.
'There seems to be no problem with the wine, I think he is telling the truth, his relationship with Master must be really good.'
Noah didn't hesitate anymore and took a sip from the cup.
A familiar burning sensation ran through his throat but was soon suppressed by the healing ability of his body.
'Oh right, with a rank 2 body in the higher tier I bet it will be pretty hard to get drunk.'
He had entered the sixth cycle so the effects of the Forging of the Seven Hells were becoming more prominent as he neared the completion of the process.
His healing abilities had improved, the same went for his "Breath" perception and his martial art execution.
'Well, I could not feel the increase in perception since it was outclassed by my advancement to rank 1 mage but my martial art has reached a whole new level, it should have fully broken through the level of a rank 3 magical beast.'
His most powerful attacks were already on that level after he obtained a rank 2 body but with the sixth cycle already nearing the rank 3 limit, his whole martial art had reached that level.
'My limit should be around thirty attacks at full power and if I factor the absorption of the acupoints I should be able to double that number. I should be fine unless I find myself in a really long fight.'
The disadvantage of not having a dantian was greatly reduced but still existed which made Noah still concerned about a fight with a real cultivator.
"Do you like the wine?"
Kevin's voice made him realize that he had lost himself in thoughts and he hurriedly made an explanation.
"I'm sorry, I had something on my mind."
Kevin looked confused and said:
"You are too polite, no one has ever apologized for a few seconds of silence."
Noah was surprised.
'Uh? Few seconds? Has my thinking speed become that high?'
He hastily raised his cup again to hide his confused expression and took another sip.
Then he put down the cup and stared at Kevin with a stern expression, a bit of coldness was released by his eyes.
"Shall we start with the real talk?"
Kevin seemed to approve as he emptied his cup and answered with a calm voice.
"What do you want to know?"
Noah's question arrived instantly.
"Why the escort?"
The question hit some crucial point as Kevin sighed and a sad expression appeared on his face.
"As you know, the young master in the caravan is the main descendant of the Lansay family. Logically speaking he should succeed his father as the patriarch of the family but..."
He filled another cup of wine before resuming his speech.
"But he is too young. His father is gravely ill and will not live for long so his uncle might use this trip as a chance to kill the heir and take control of the family."
Noah understood something but there were still some doubts in his mind.
"How is it possible that a patriarch of a medium-size noble family could have let the situation escalate to this?"
Kevin drank again and answered.
"It was the patriarch's fault if the Lansay family got punished so his brother, Tobias Lansay, used these events to gather consensus with the other soldiers in the inner circle. The only corp that remained loyal to Benedict Lansay, the patriarch, is the one with me in this mission."
The situation was far worse than what Noah imagined.
"And what can bringing back the heir even do? They can just kill him once he is in the mansion."
Kevin put down the cup and got near to Noah.
His voice became extremely low.
"This is a secret of the inner circle so if I ever find out that you disclosed it to anyone I will make killing you my lifelong mission, do you understand me?"
A dense killing intent was released by Kevin.
The soldiers and wanderers that were going through the selection outside the carriage trembled as the atmosphere became incredibly stiff.
Noah simply kept looking at the big man in front of him but a trace of admiration was formed his mind.
'He is a veteran of the battlefield, I can't even imagine the number of lives he has taken.'
The stalemate lasted for a whole minute before Noah made up his mind and nodded.
Kevin stared at him for a few more seconds before he revealed the information.
"Lansay treasury is protected by a special formation. I don't know much about formations but I know the rules behind this one. Only the current patriarch or his descendants can control it and can determine the fate of every item inside the treasury. Benedict Lansay already gave the control of the formation to his son but he must first get there to accept it. If he was to die before that, the control of the formation would directly go to the next in line of succession, which is to say Tobias Lansay."
'There is such a thing in this world, the branches of cultivation are really varied.'
He remembered how when he was still a child, the mansion's wall wounded a dragon.
'That should be a formation too, they seem some really powerful things. I should ask Master about the various applications that cultivation has once I go back.'
"Are you saying that the formation will know if the heir dies?"
Noah's question was answered by a slight nod from Kevin.
He fell deep in thought before asking with an expressionless face:
"What do I gain from helping you?"
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