Chapter Twenty-Six

[Behemoth City – Capital of the Kingdom]

The servant tasked with taking care of the King froze. She stared at his Majesty. After confirming what she saw, she choked the words out. "His… His Majesty! His Majesty's awake!"

Afraid that the guards outside did not hear her, she yanked the door open and shouted at the corridor. 

"The King's awake! He's finally awake!"

The guards stiffened and they immediately ran to fetch the Chief Healer of the Royal Capital. In just a couple of minutes, a middle-aged man came into the room, huffing, behind him were several assistants. 

By the time he arrived, the King was already sitting on his bead. His face was pallid, and numerous patches of black had formed on his neck. 

"Your Majesty!" The Chief Healer immediately went towards the King's bed. "How're you feeling?"

There was deafening silence after that. The Chief Healer's heart pounded as each second passed by. Was the King okay? If the King died, his head would come rolling at the plaza. That much, the Chief Healer was sure. 

Eventually, the King looked at him and replied, "I'm fine. How long was I asleep?"

The Chief Healer knew that it was a lie. Still, he did not refute the words that came out of the King's mouth. 

"Nine days, Your Majesty."

This was not the first time the King suddenly lost consciousness inside the Palace. But for some reason, the length of each episode was increasing as years went by. The Chief Healer was afraid that at this rate, there would come a time when the King would never wake up. 

This disease was probably the reason why the King suddenly announced the competition for the throne – the Chief Healer knew. 

"Nine days," repeated the King. He silently sat there for a full minute then said, "I'm hungry."

The Chief Healer nodded. "The rest of my assistants are on their way now. We've prepared a particularly nutritious food for the moment his Majesty woke up. It should arrive soon. But before that, please let me examine your body, Your Majesty."

The King gave his consent and the Chief Healer started examining his condition. By the time he was finished, the frown he wore when he arrived here had gone deeper. 

"Y-Your Majesty." The Chief Healer found it hard to say the words out. "At this rate…" 

The King stared straight into his eyes. Those eyes were devoid of strength, but the wisdom accumulated through the years were still evident. 

"Speak," said the King. 

The Chief Healer sighed. He said to his assistants. "Leave us alone for now."

The moment everyone was gone, the Chief Healer revealed what he found out. "At this rate… Forget four years. Your Majesty will be lucky to last another two years."

He was implying that the King may not live long enough to see the result of the competition for the throne. If he died without leaving behind a successor, the Kingdom would be in chaos. The major families would surely grab this opportunity to climb the ladders of hierarchy. 

The King fell into deep thought. He dismissed the Chief Healer and silently sat inside his room. 

Should he shorten the time for the competition to two years instead of four? 

He shook his head. That would not be enough time to assess each candidate. 

The Empire was slowly building their forces and King Alvis was sure that they would strike the Kingdom once given the chance.

Furthermore, the Mullgray Pirates started creeping into their lands. Those barbarians pillaged every place they stepped foot into.

If he left behind an incompetent successor, the Kingdom would be swallowed in just a few years' time by these giants. 

As he was contemplating on these things, the food he requested finally arrived. He ordered the servants to place it on his table. After they left, he immediately started eating nonstop. Even now, he could still hear his stomach growling after sleeping for nine days. 

"Ah, the artifact."

He noticed the large gem embedded inside a stone pillar. Since he had been asleep for nine days straight, there should be a lot of messages from the knights by now.

Upon activating the stone, he realized he was right. 

There were almost twenty messages. King Alvis started reading them one by one. 

Midway, he stopped. His entire body froze on the spot. 

The one he was reading was a message from Mikael, the Knight tasked to monitor the second son of Duke Drakus. 

The contents of the message were surreal. King Alvis shuddered upon remembering that it had already been more than a week since the message was sent. 

"The United Grakas Alliance invaded Blackstone Town?!"

He almost shouted upon reading that. According to the report, the enemy numbered over ten thousand. A Legion. An army massive enough to topple a major city of the Kingdom. 

King Alvis felt his chest tighten. He was about to summon the ministers to discuss a contingent plan when he read the messages succeeding that. They were also from Mikael. 

The contents of the letter were short and concise, but it was enough to momentarily stop the old King's beating heart. 

The United Grakas Alliance failed to capture Blackstone Town.

Using only a thousand soldiers, Lark Marcus defeated the Third Legion, eventually killing their General. The beastmen have retreated.

The King stood there, dumbfounded. 

**

Almost three weeks had passed since the war ended. Dozens of soldiers went back to Lion City to return the dead bodies of their comrades. The casualties on their side numbered almost two hundred during that short exchange, despite the fact that they were protected by walls and trenches. 

Lark made use of the remaining soldiers to finally finish the stone walls. This time, it was built with proper supervision from the Mason. It towered seven meters, with enough space to walk on top. It was only half as large as the walls seen in major cities, but it should be enough to confer a certain degree of protection in times of war. It would have been a waste not to make use of the contracted soldiers, otherwise. 

Today was the final day of the contract. The soldiers were idling about, since the walls had already been finished. 

"How's it?" Big Mona held his head high as he looked at the stonewalls before them. "I've personally made sure that the soldiers did it properly."

These past few weeks, Big Mona stayed in Blackstone Town under the pretext of helping a friend. But Lark knew the ulterior motives of this fat merchant. 

Since today was the day of their departure back to Lion City, he decided to give him that item, finally. 

"It seems that Sir Merchant has helped me a lot this time." Lark proceeded with pleasantries. 

Big Mona grinned. "We're business partners! This much is natural, of course!" 

He emphasized the word "partners." 

Lark chuckled. "Of course. And I guess it's time for me to fulfill my side of the deal."

He called a servant over. "Tell Gaston to deliver the vials to me."

"Yes!"

After a few minutes, Gaston arrived, carrying a small chest with him. He bowed his head and handed it to Lark. 

"I-Is… Is that the Blood Stone?" breathed Big Mona. This was the reason why he chose to stay in this backwater town despite the lurking dangers of the beastman race. 

"Blood Stone?" Lark tilted his head. "Is that what you call it here?"

He opened the chest and showed it contents. Inside were six small vials. "I'm capable of making only three middle-grade potions per week. But as thanks for helping me out this time, I'll give you the three vials I've made the month before for free."

It was a lie. Lark could actually make over a dozen of them if he wanted to, but it would surely make the potion lose its value. By emphasizing that it was a limited item, the price would definitely skyrocket.

Big Mona almost squeaked in glee. His trembling hands accepted the chest filled with vials, and as though it was a treasure, he hugged it tight.

With this, it should be possible to climb the ladder of hierarchy even further.

Big Mona tried suppressing all of his desires from showing on his face, but his body could not help but shudder in glee. He licked his lips.

A merchant like him would not have a hard time procuring any kinds of normal goods within the Kingdom. And the same could be said for the big shots in the capital. The only thing demarcating them was their ability to procure the rarest of commodities. If the middle-grade potion was so rare it was called the Blood Stone, then his name would surely roar throughout the Kingdom as the only merchant selling one. 

Blood Stone, huh? 

Lark remembered the legendary stone. He had seen it before back in his previous life, but only a fragment of it. Any water submerged in it automatically becomes a potion of the highest quality. Legend says that if one were to consume a fragment, bringing someone dead back to life was a feasibility. 

Lark tried consuming the fragment he obtained back then, but it did nothing but halt the progress of his curse for a couple of years. 

Lark smiled after the reminisce. He remembered his disciples once again. Each of them paved their own path. Each of them lived their own lives. Each of them left a mark in history. Somehow, he felt a squeezing sensation in his chest as he thought of it. 

"Ah, Big Mona," said Lark. 

Big Mona broke out of his trance. "Yes?"

"I've looked around the market in Lion City before, but the largest mana stone I've managed to find is around this size." Lark gestured with his fingers. It was around thrice the size of a pebble. 

Big Mona immediately understood what the Young Master was trying to say. "You want me to find a larger mana stone for you?" 

Lark nodded his head. "Yes. Of course, you'll be compensated."

Big Mona frowned for a moment. "Young Sir, it's a bit hard finding a mana stone larger than that one these days. But as your partner, I'll order my men to look for it."

"Is that so?" said Lark. "Then, I'll be troubling Sir Merchant from now on."

Lark bowed his head in gratitude.

Ever since he learned about the competition for the throne, he hastened the pace of his training. Right now, his body had been honed enough to withstand the consumption of larger mana stones. Even if he consumed a stone two or three times larger than the first one, there would be no rebound. His daily physical training finally paid off. 

Lark remembered the monsters lurking within the Gahelpa Forest. A monster as strong as those would surely have a mana stone inside its body. It might even be of the middle grade quality. 

After exchanging several more pleasantries with the merchant, he summoned Anandra and the other elite hunters of Gahelpa. 

Using the vision crystal, Lark have ascertained that the beastmen army had retreated. Even if he left the town for several days, nothing too catastrophic should happen. 

"You called for us, Young Master?" Anandra and the hunters bowed their heads. 

Lark went straight to the point. "I'm going to hunt the Basilisks. And I'm going to give all of you the choice to come with me." 

Anandra and the hunters stiffened. They could still vividly remember the traumatic events that day. Although they had become relatively stronger than before thanks to the magic bows, fear was still engraved deeply within their bodies. They trembled with just the thought of facing that colossal serpent head-on. 

"I'll leave tomorrow morning," said Lark. "Whether you'll come with me or not, you'll have until tonight to decide."