CHAPTER 264: THE WARMTH OF THE SUN

Vacuse saw the sun again.

Although it was night when they came out of the mountains, it was afternoon on the other side. Vacuse did nothing but stare at the sun for a while and felt its warmth on his skin, and for the moment, he didn’t know if he should be glad or angry.

So he simply decided to feel both.

He was angry because his purpose for running into the mountains seemed to be defeated in the end, and he was glad because he met his teammates in the mountains.

It was a two-way thing, and so he felt both.

"Eh... Vacuse? I think it’s time to go," Kagerou told him.

Vacuse turned around and grinned, the wind playing with his hair. "How long have I been standing here?"

"Close to an hour. We’ve already eaten and rested. We should begin climbing down the mountains into town, and according to Yukata, Umbracrypt shouldn’t take more than a day to reach. The academy itself, I mean."

Vacuse smiled and then gestured for the others to join him. Already, Harkon was behind him like a shadow, but with a gesture, both Amros and Magus Arch joined as well.

Vacuse rubbed his hands. The sun seemed to have warmed his blood, and his wings were slowly stretching once more. "Listen, guys. This is how we are going to do things now. First, we need firsthand and reliable information about what’s happening on the ground, so Kagerou, you’re going to handle that.

"Captain Amros, I want you to keep a tight leash on the hunters, and you must start recruitment at a faster rate. More third circle and second.

"Magus Arch, I want you to join with Devour Bandit and train, as well as search for anywhere in the surroundings where we can actively hunt. Yes, even if it’s the Dark Wilderness."

The new orders that Vacuse gave made the very air heavy.

"Vacuse, are you preparing for war?"

Vacuse snorted. "No. Just think of this as the instincts of a dragon. I think we’re going to bite more than we can chew soon."

Ever since he heard the news about Eboncrypt and Umbracrypt, Vacuse had begun to feel uneasy. He was on edge, as if there was danger crouching behind him that he didn’t know of.

And his best reaction to things like this was to increase his own power. It was what his instincts were telling him.

"Alright. I want all of you to give me timely updates on your different areas, and before you make any important decisions, let me know."

"And what about me?" Harkon asked.

Vacuse snorted. "You are going to keep protecting Lady Sla... Margaret. Don’t worry, she’s going to be with me all the time, so it’ll be the same thing."

"Alright, people. Let’s get to it!"

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Climbing down the mountains took time. But by the time the moon was shining its silver arcs down on everything, they had already done it, though they stayed at the base of the mountain instead of going into town.

It wouldn’t be funny if a hundred and eighty armed Magus suddenly strode into town at night.

Although it was called a town, some even called it a city, but the truth was that the towns of both Eboncrypt and Umbracrypt, now combined through sheer population, were much more than that. It should be called a country of its own.

That night, as they made camp, Vacuse learned of the politics of the territory beyond the walls of the two academies. The towns were controlled by Overseers, dozens of whom belonged to either of the academies.

Those Overseers listened only to their respective academies and reported to them. They were the ones who managed the day-to-day operations of their respective districts.

Oftentimes, as long as they kept giving the academies their taxes and didn’t cause any major trouble, the academies ignored whatever happened in town.

"What about their forces?"

"Each Overseer is given the power to recruit and train standing Magus, but the Overseer is capped according to the size of their district as well as the location. Those closer to the Dark Wilderness have to have more Magus," Yukata explained.

Vacuse ate and listened.

"This is why nothing really changed in the city even with the war between the two academies. The academies did not care about them and won’t use them to fight their war, not when they are powerful enough to do their own fighting," Lady Slave added now and then.

She became more cheerful when she saw the sun, as if something she had long missed had been returned to her.

After Vacuse heard all of this and digested it, he drew his own conclusion. "I see. So, it’s the Overseers we’ll have to deal with to have our way here."

Suddenly, Vacuse looked up from his place on the pillow beside the burning fire. "Kagerou, you’re back. Any news?"

There was a long silence, as if he was speaking to empty air, but then a sigh followed. "After my breakthrough to stage two, even Amros always has difficulty knowing I’m around. How do you always know, Vacuse?"

Vacuse snorted. "How won’t I? Tell me what you’ve heard."

"Nothing much. The rumors still remain the same. Nobody knows what’s happening. The only thing we can say is that Eboncrypt and Umbracrypt did clash at Umbracrypt Academy, and since then, things have turned fuzzy."

Vacuse did not like the tone of that at all. "We’ll do more digging in the days ahead. How about Magus Sylrissa?"

After they left the mountains, the Magus suddenly said she wanted to do something and would catch up with them later. If not for the way she looked at Vacuse, he would have thought she had already run away.

"I don’t know where she is. We’ve searched, but she seems to have mysteriously vanished. What do you want to do now, Vacuse?"

Vacuse wanted to hear the news of Umbracrypt to form new plans, but it seemed things were even more stormy than before.