Chapter 12 The Two Noble Clans

A burst of fire shot out, my body was light and floating in the air. I dodged a few inches from the burst of fire. The heels of my feet bent, my feet planted firmly on the ground. Attack, attack and attack, only I can do that. However, what I feel now is that my mental strength is increasing, backed by unlimited magical power.

Swinging a leg in the air, I found the perfect spot to attack the Crimson Flame Wolf. When I landed a kick on its tailbone, the creature became even more enraged.

A red aura enveloped its entire body, it spun around, and its clawed feet shot up. In a wave of attacks, my body was thrown into the air. The blow to my chest still hurt, it's the second time now.

"Morgan, take this." Lyra threw an arrow at me. I don't know where the girl got it. I don't want to waste the opportunity. An arrow was in my grasp.

My two hands grabbed a branch and used the trunk as momentum to push me back into the ongoing battle. The thrust was quite strong, kicking the creature's tailbone back. Hard enough that the creature was thrown through the air.

An arrow shot through the air and landed right in the creature's head, the loud explosion sending me flying. My body hit a tree and fell to the ground. From behind the thick smoke, the two girls ran towards me. They carried me to safety.

"Morgan." Lyra's voice was very soft, the girl with the braided hair looked at me with sad eyes.

"I'm fine," I assured the girl. It's all done. The Crimson Flame Wolf lay on the ground with a wound on its head. The creature wasn't really dead, just injured and unconscious.

The girl with the braided hair looked away and returned to the Lyra I knew. It's not merciful to advise me, although I don't really like the girl's advice. To give advice to someone who was a few months older than her was really an insult.

Strange sounds filled the forest, such as the sound of several footsteps walking very fast. Dozens of Magus soldiers surrounded us, wearing armor made of steel, the shine covering the armor was made of stones with magical powers, and headgear that covered their heads and faces, leaving only small gaps for their eyes.

It has become common for the Kingdom of Andalus to produce special armor for magus soldiers, made from materials that have a fairly high level of natural magical power. This increases the quality and durability of the armor. The districts that produce such special magical mineral rocks and battle suits are the Star District and the Santa Island District.

Ten Magus soldiers surrounded us, their swords pointed at us. I stood in the middle, protecting Lyra and Helen. Even though Helen looked scared and had a worried face, not Lyra, who had taken a stance and clenched her hands tightly, was staring at the Magus army surrounding us.

This may be a misunderstanding. Magus or not, it's not forbidden to hunt wild animals in the Ankila Forest, according to the mayor, who gives his citizens the freedom to do so, on the condition that the people of the Kingdom of Andalus don't find out. But not in the Zone Zero forest, which is strictly forbidden, restricting us from hunting mythical creatures if we don't want to get into trouble. The kingdom forbids magus from hunting mythical creatures in Zone Zero Forest, and if they are caught breaking the rules, they will face direct sanctions from the district mayor, and they could even face severe sanctions. No strangers to cunning and good at hiding from the pursuing magus army, the residents of Hill Valley often break the rules, especially when magus hunt mythical creatures to buy and sell on the black market. Only low level mythical creatures are the catch, not Father. Father was a great and powerful magus, and several low- and mid-level mythical creatures had become his plaything and were sold in the Hob.

What misunderstanding caused us to be surrounded by Magus' soldiers this time?

"That's not true at all. Two mythical creatures in the Ankila Forest?"

A tall man walked through the crowd, his face looking familiar. I recognized a man with close-cropped hair and a black mark on his temple. Vincent, captain of the Magus army.

Vincent was the captain of the Magus army in the Hill Valley district. Of the many Magus soldiers I hate the most, Vincent is not one of them. He is a man of infinite kindness, along with the Mayor. The Mayor and Vincent are directly appointed by Queen Catherine to oversee each district. No matter how good the Queen is to her people, protecting the people and the kingdom, it cannot hide the Queen's cold and dictatorial nature. The Mayor and Vincent are only fulfilling their duties, behind that they let us, the residents of Hill Valley District, try to make ends meet in a life that is always lacking. Above all, they let us break the rules all the time.

Vincent deliberately brought his men with him, creating a drama that we were breaking the rules and would receive light or perhaps heavy sanctions. Lyra was quite familiar with this tactic, but Helen wasn't. The pale girl was so worried, I wanted to tell her. But now I can't. No one can know the drama that is being played, or you will all be caught. Fewer and fewer people know, even though we are safe from their prying eyes.

My hunt today would be very unfortunate if Vincent didn't tell me the truth quickly. Two great Nobel Clan leaders from the royal capital were visiting the Hill Valley district, along with one of the royal magus. Of course, the presence of those from the royal capital brought Magus soldiers. Vincent quickly closed and guarded the Ankila Forest and the Zero Zone Forest, forbidding anyone to hunt.

More precisely, they were looking for a face and resumed their duties as Magus soldiers. I want to laugh. A life full of difficulties, having to hide one's hands just to find food and survive in a world that has no security at all.

No one can guarantee that if we are happy, we will be prosperous. Queen Catherine could only see from the other side of her vision, she could not see the other side. How stressful it is for us to have to follow these ridiculous rules, restrictions that limit our lives, there is no freedom for us to do anything. I remember that my neighborhood, where I live, where I was born, is full of poor and helpless people. If there is no father to help them, if there is no mayor who tries to provide goodness to his citizens, if there is no Vincent and the Magus Army who do not forbid us to break the rules. Just to survive and feed our family.

My feet stepped on the stairs and looked up at a tall and no less boring building than the Magical Academy. The courthouse was finally serving its true purpose, dispensing justice to people who broke the rules like us. This time I was scared, even my heart was beating very fast. Lyra glanced back and forth and saw Magus soldiers standing in a row on each step of the stairs. I'm sure the Magus army was brought directly from the royal capital. The armor they wore was shinier and covered in gold.

"These two have nothing to do with this incident, let me explain to them inside."

The atmosphere inside the courthouse was very hot, this time it was functional, with the hustle and bustle of people passing by inside the building. Unlike usual, this old building was always quiet, and this time, it was deliberately busy just to gain face in front of the two great noble clans who were visiting the Hill Valley District.

In a room with very little light, two people wearing beautiful silk robes opened the curtains that covered the window, letting the sun into the minimally lit room. I was flanked by the two Magus soldiers, with Vincent on the side, quite far away from me. I tried to be as calm as possible and started a drama, smearing my face in front of the two nobles.

The Silva Noble Clan and the Crimson Noble Clan have always placed themselves at the seat of the royal court, controlling all sorts of aspects of the kingdom, even trivial things like me right now. The man with the short silver hair did not hesitate to ask questions that made me shake my head as I realized that I was in a different situation. Why would I steal these two mythical creatures, especially one of the level 30 mythical creatures that I find very difficult to deal with? With Lyra and Helen's help, this problem will become even more complicated, and they will not believe what I say now.

"You should strengthen the security of the two forests, we leave everything to you. But... this is the first time I have seen illegal poaching with my own eyes. Mythical creatures are very rare animals. I don't want to come here, it turns out that you are incompetent in carrying out your duties," the man with long red hair tied in a ponytail said after giving me an ultimatum.

My words were not easily believed by the two, two very arrogant nobles. It is impossible for these two mythical creatures to suddenly appear in the Ankila Forest without any provocation. To maintain justice and order in the kingdom, those words kept repeating in my head, now they were saying it again. It never stopped until the door behind me opened wide, revealing the figure of a man with a large body and bushy hair.

"Mr. Jim, son of the noble Titanos Clan, the strongest clan the Kingdom of Andalus has ever had. I didn't expect to see you here. How was the Titanos Noble Clan? Oh, I forgot, they banished you and eventually hid from the outside world." The silver-haired man's laughter echoed around the room. Insulting someone I know, of course, and who never wanted to open up to me, preferring to hide everything from me.

I wanted to get angry, to hit him and shoot an arrow straight at the head of the man who looked so calm. There is no guilt towards his wife and children to hide something as important as this, and now I know about it from other people.

Father probably joined in the drama with Vincent because he didn't want to look like someone who didn't like his past being brought up again.