Wreath of Lilies, Cauldron of Poison

Chapter 166

There's More Than One Way to Get Stronger

In one corner of a discreet alleyway, two men garbed in drab clothes were running for their lives.

Behind them, a silver shadow danced across the rooftop. If the men were not distracted by panic, they would know that they were being herded to a dead end.

“Dammit! We’re blocked!” the first man said to his partner. He took out a short sword from his waist and turned around, only to see his partner gurgling for breath, as a line was drawn across his neck which quickly spewed out red.

“You worms are making attempts at Connie with this level of skill?” Illumca dashed forward and parried the man’s desperate attack. Disarming him before promptly pushing her dagger deep into his chest. “I won’t be having any of that.”

She took out her knife and let the man’s body slid slowly down the wall. His body had gone cold before hi hit the floor.

“Just because Connie has returned and showed some weakness, these worms are coming out of the woodwork,” she sighed as she wiped the blood off her dagger on the man’s robe. “Do they think we are soft slimes?”

Illumca rummaged through the dead men’s belongings and found a Quest missive. Its content made her grit her teeth.

Someone is offering a Million Gold for her life? This is an A-Rank Quest at least.

Unlike official Hunter Guild’s official letters, on an Assassin Guild’s Quest missive, there was no name of the requester upon it. As far as I know, there’s no Assassin’s Guild in Greyvault. Likely due to there being no worthy target in this town.

She took the bodies of the men into her Item Ring to dispose of later.

So, these must be outsiders. I need to warn everyone that there’s trouble coming.

And Illumca was almost right. The only thing that she missed was the magnitude of the trouble coming for them.

Three days later, on a morning with biting cold, Nick walked through the door of the current Mayor’s office. Inside, Mayor Harrison and the Captain Davis had been waiting, along with the rest of his party members.

“Why are we here?” Nick asked as he sat down on the sofa beside Harrison.

“Madam Lihua told us that Lady Steelheart ordered us to gather here. As for why, I have no idea,” Harrison said. “I mean, I have so many things to do. I just hope that she can at least warn me if she wanted me for something.”

“You’ve been working with us for almost a month, and you just knew that now?” Nick said with a guffaw. “Trust me, this isn’t the half of it.”

“I like it better when she does this instead of playing mind games. I’m not made for thinking. Just give me something to shoot at and I’m a happy Centaur,” Akula commented. She was lying on her stomach on a backless sofa a servant had brought in. The ceiling was too low for her liking.

They all had a light chat aside from Illumca, who had kept to herself; and strangely enough, the sociable Martell. He did not comment on Nick’s dirty jokes either.

Not long after, the door opened and Lihua came in. She held the door for Connie, who looked haggard. There were bags under her eyes and she looked worse for wear. It was so apparent that Illumca voiced her concern.

“Connie. Are you okay?”

“Nope, my body is creaking everywhere as I walked and I can feel my insides churning with every breath I take. But I’ve never felt better!” she said as she plopped herself down on the chair behind the desk and let out a small groan. From where she was standing. Akula saw that though Connie looked tired, her eyes were bright. She would even say that the girl was excited.

“We’re all here? Good!” Connie paused for a moment. Her eyes scanning the room with a slight displeasure. “Before we begin. Harrison.”

“Y-yes, Lady Steelheart?”

“I cannot endure any longer the assault to the eyes that is this gaudy mansion’s interior. I want you to strip off all the gold and the statues, and what have you. And sell them. Use the money to bolster the town’s budget,” she said. “Might as well make use of these useless things to our advantage.”

“The…town’s budget? Are you sure?”

“Yes. Or do you not need it?”

“No! No! That’s very kind of you. We really do need the money. After all the destruction we experienced during the Demons’ invasion and the cost of treatments for the Daydreamers. And with the frost of winter coming soon, we are really going in the red,” Harrison answered. “On behalf of the people, I thank you.”

“I think the weather is quite warm, actually,” Akula said. “I don’t see what all the fuzz is about.”

Akula did not mind the cold. In the Grasslands of Azut-Baydar, it’s normal for winter nights to be so cold that you could freeze milk by leaving it outside overnight. Calendian winter was a good warm weather in comparison. It was heat that she could not stand.

“Not everyone’s good with cold like you, Akula,” Connie said.

“It doesn’t sound convincing coming from someone wearing thin garments in Fall like you, Mistress,” Lihua commented.

“It’s all about your mindset,” she said jokingly before turning towards Davis, who froze up when she looked at him. “As for you, Captain. Keep on doing what you do, but keep in mind two things. Don’t let anyone put a hand on the Demon’s skull. And keep the town safe.”

“Yes, Ma’am. I mean, Lady Steelheart!”

“Alright. That’s all for the two of you. You can continue with the day’s business as usual.”

“Uh…is that all you want us for?”

“Yes. These next few items are directions for my party members only.”

“I…I see,” Harrison said quickly. “Please excuse us.”

Harrison and Davis quickly left and closed the door behind them quietly.

“Lihua?” Connie gestured. Her ears twitched a few times and she answered. “No one’s around.”

“Good, then we can start,” Connie began. “Everyone. What I’m about to talk next is something I’ve been thinking for a few days. It’s about is our next plan of action.”

Seeing the serious expression on her face and the gravity in her tone, they all shifted their positions and directed their attention towards Connie.

“We have won a great battle a few days ago, but it was a hard victory. The enemy managed to plant their roots deep into the town without anyone knowing. And judging by the words of Bet-Zebek, this conspiracy is deeper than we know. Perhaps they had planted their seeds not just in Calendia, but also others in the Alliance. And we don’t even need to talk about Vorzenny. So the first thing we all need to do is to get stronger.”

She then said. “To face the threats that’s coming, I decided that I…am going to enter an isolated training.”

“Isolated…training?” Nick repeated the words curiously. “Why?”

“After the fight last time, I’ve realized that this body is inadequate. It needs to be…’reborn’,” Connie said meaningfully. “And for that to happen, I need to go back to the Untouchable Marshes.”

“That place again?” Akula said as she was reminded of the extreme humidity that made her thick clothes stick to her skin uncomfortably.

“Yes. This process might take weeks, or months…depending on how it goes. Therefore, I want to assign you all some tasks. Akula, Illumca, and Lihua. The three of you will be coming with me to the Dungeon. I will explain what I want you all to do there. Nick and Martell will be staying here.”

“Are you leaving me here, Mistress? Why?!” Martell exclaimed suddenly. There was a tinge of desperation in his voice.

“That’s a bit harsh, Milady. I know I’m not as strong as everyone else, but I’ve got my uses.”

“That’s exactly why, Nick. I’m leaving the two of you here not to idle, but because I have some things that I want you to do," she rubbed her chin meaningfully.

“Nick, I need you to recruit about a hundred trustworthy men and train them. These men will serve me directly and not the town.”

“You…want me to form a small army?” he repeated her order with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes. The Guardsmen are fine for protecting the town, but they cannot exactly be called…highly competent. Moderately acceptable is already high praise for them,” she said. “It’s not nice but…there you have it. You’re experienced in leading troops and you’re a dirty, nasty man who knows how people work. I believe you’re the best fit for it.”

“I…don’t know if that could be called a compliment. However, I’ll take it. How much do you want to offer them?”

“It’s up to you. We have the money, why not spend it? Arm them with good weapons and armors. And don’t skimp on yourself also. I want only the best of the best. Whether it’s manpower or equipment.”

“…then I’ll do my best.”

Finally, Connie turned to Martell and said. “As for you, I want you to do two things. First, learn governance from Harrison and his people. They are doing a bang-up job for being thrust into the position without preparation. And the second is, to help Rhoddes with his job.”

“Mistress, but I…I can’t work with him.”

“And why is that?”

The boy who usually had answers for everything was lost for words. His mouth opened a few times but nothing came out.

“Let me be honest with you. You are lacking. Not physically, but emotionally. It caused you to be unable to progress in your cultivation. And the Golden Lotus of Prajnaparamita is not just something that you can just memorize and do. There is a reason why it was one of the greatest Technique in my past life!” she scolded him sternly. “I want you to stay by Rhoddes side. Watch him and learn.”

“I…understand. I will do as you ordered,” the boy answered, sulkily.

Connie looked at him with a serious face. “This is not me angry with you. This is me trusting you with a task that I’m confident that you can do.”

Martell said nothing and just bowed as to hide his expression. Seeing this, Connie let out a deep sigh as she leaned back on her chair. Being a teacher is hard work. Especially with gifted disciples that are too big for their britches.

She thought back of the curious meeting she had with the Anukaran Nankhudi last night.

It was during her meditation that the man asked to meet her. If it was someone else, she would have ignored him. But she had heard of his work and decided to make time.

To her surprise, his request was none other than to ask her if she could help him gain Martell’s trust, so that he could delve into his soul and cleanse the boy’s soul of the curse that plagued him.

She knew very well the danger of delving into someone’s soul. And the stronger the target is, the more dangerous it became.

“Why are you doing this? The journey inside a person’s soul is a dangerous thing. A single mistake; a single…misstep will mean your death. Especially when you are trespassing into the soul of someone like Martell. The curse that was cast upon him is very strong.”

“It will be hard. I know that. But I did not become an Anukaran Nankhudi because it’s easy.”

“And all this because of some prophecy or divine words shoved down upon your head?”

The man did not get angry at the disrespectful tone Connie used to describe his Goddess, and simply answered truthfully. “It’s not just because of the words of the Dark Mother. I need to do this…because it’s decent. No child should suffer such curse, such suffering,” he said. “And if in the process of cleansing him I die, then it’s a death I would proudly offer to Her.”

Connie looked at the hunched figure before her and nodded. “I’ve seen your heart, Rhoddes. And I see that you are a good man. A rare thing nowadays. But I can only help give you time. Martell is a distrustful boy, for he had lived his life being used by others. It would take a lot to gain his trust.”

“I would ask for nothing more.”

“However, in return, I will need your help.”

“Anything, Lady Steelheart.”

Connie looked at him straight. “I want you to teach him…how to be kind.”

Well, I gave you time as you wanted, Rhoddes. Good luck.

“In any case, I want us to leave at dawn tomorrow to avoid any hindrances. Prepare well. This will be a hard winter for us all.”

Late that evening, after everyone turned in early, Illumca closed the door to her room and locked it.

The room was illuminated only by a single candle next to the bed.

She then placed a palm-sized copper jar on the table next to the window. After that, she took out a leather pouch from within her Item Ring and poured its content into the jar, before unceremoniously closing its mouth tight with a cork.

Illumca placed a finger on top of the jar and nudged it with mild amusement. The candle’s flickering light cast a shadow on the vicious smile appearing on her lips.

“You must be feeling lonely in Sud-Ghazid, Merida. Just you wait, I will send your daughter to join you.”

As she was completely focused on the object in front of her, she did not notice that the jug of water next to her had started to boil from the heat she was radiating.