After Blaze and his unit returned to the Encampment, Blaze directly went to the Commandant's tent ...
"Cyrus, I'm back"
Cyrus spoke curtly, this time looking at Blaze with attention
"Report"
As he sat down, Blaze reported the encounter in detail, and Cyrus was writing down the highlights of the encounter ...
After Cyrus heard everything he nodded
"You did well"
Blaze said with a sigh
"I just hope I don't spend the rest of my life fighting Whirlwind"
Blaze didn't fear Whirlwind, but he simply viewed him as an immature man who never resolved himself when he first joined the war ...
Blaze truly despised such people, he regarded them with a lot of disdain
'Those who lack valor and resolve shouldn't fight in the first place'
'They are not only a disgrace to themselves but also to their fallen comrades'
Cyrus' voice interrupted Blaze's thoughts
''You know how it is. You're the most experienced against him.
Air Affinity Elites are simply too fast and troublesome, if we send an inexperienced Elite he might end up using most of the Knights as cannon fodder, or worse, dead."
A memory flashed in front of Cyrus' eyes ...
Once, he sent an inexperienced Fire Elite to fight an Air Elite who had some crazy fast Skill
'That day ... that insolent fool returned nearly limbless and with more corpses than Knights'
Cyrus pushed these memories away and continued
"I don't want to lose the Knights for nothing, especially when you are around, Blaze."
Blaze didn't have anything to refute, so he just nodded and changed the subject ...
"When can I leave?"
Cyrus laughed when he heard that; it wasn't normal for Blaze to ask about leaving so many times
'Well, Since he's been here for a lot more than usual this year, I guess it's understandable'
But he still teased Blaze
"You're really desperate huh?"
Blaze chuckled, and Cyrus waved his hand
"Fine fine. How about this, since Today's interception was quite successful, tell the Knights who participated with you that they're getting a bonus.
And as for leaving, I'll keep you around on standby for just a couple of days then I'll let you leave within a week"
Blaze grinned
'If the Knights are getting a bonus then I'm getting as well!'
'And leaving in a week is really good news'
He spoke in a cheerful tone
"Sounds quite good. Well then, Cyrus, it's farewell. See you in a couple of months or something like that"
Cyrus switched back to his serious mood
"Right. Farewell, Blaze"
Blaze exited the tent, leaving Cyrus musing over something ...
'I wonder what happened between these two'
'Now that Blaze is leaving, Whirlwind will probably disappear until he comes back'
However, Cyrus quickly pushed all these thoughts out of his mind and went back to work
'As always, I have a ton of useless paperwork to fill'
' ... Does anyone even read all that? I'm certain they don't unless it's used as a sort of punishment or something'
He shouted to the Knights outside
"Someone bring me the list of today's deaths!"
Around a week later, Blaze got the permission to leave, so he quickly packed his things and rode a horse to the City.
By the time Blaze entered the City walls, it was around midnight, so he decided to take the horse and tie him in the garden of his house ...
'I will return it to the stable tomorrow'
Within a few minutes of entering the city, Blaze arrived in front of his house ...
He got off the horse's back and tied it to the garden's fence, after that, he moved soundlessly
'I don't want to wake anyone up'
Blaze was walking towards the door, but when he focused, he sensed something strange ...
'I don't recognize this Aura'
Blaze, like all the other Elite Knights, had a Domain in which he could sense everything ...
The Domain's radius greatly differed based on the individual's Skills and powers, but the average Elite had a Domain with around a 100-meter radius.
Right now, through his Domain, Blaze was sensing someone whom he didn't recognize inside his house ...
Blaze closed his eyes and focused his senses. He ignored everything else and focused on his target.
Within just a few moments, he pinpointed the aura he was looking for
'Got you'
His mind raced
'That's strange ...'
'The aura is weak ...'
To Blaze, the whole situation didn't make any sense
'What's a person like that doing here?'
Silently, Blaze opened the door and entered the house
'He's only a Soldier ...'
' ... There's no way he's a thief. No sane person would steal from an Elite Knight's house even if the door was open'
'Then who is he?'
Blaze put his hand on his sword but didn't unsheath it
'If I do that now, then it'll make a loud noise'
Instead, he took out a hidden dagger
'I will silently find the person and see what's going on'
But suddenly, an idea came to Blaze's mind
'Could he be ... an assassin?'
'But what's an assassin doing here? And what assassin is only a Soldier?'
As he couldn't come to a rational conclusion, his thoughts got darker, and his mind started assuming the worst
'Could he be an assassin that's concealing his aura to trick me?'
'But ... no one knew when exactly I was coming'
'Even I didn't!'
An even darker thought came to Blaze's mind
'If he's not here for me ...'
' ... Could he be here to hurt my family?'
As soon as this thought came to Blaze's mind, he snapped ...
His battle instincts took over, and the plan of entering soundlessly was immediately canceled.
He added Fire Mana to his dagger, igniting it and making it shine brightly.
He couldn't control his emotions, and he directed an intense killing intent toward the unknown aura
'Daring to attack my family. Unforgivable'
Steadily, Blaze moved towards his target
'He is in an empty room in the house'
Blaze walked directly to that room and entered it.
As soon as he entered, he added more Mana to the dagger, making it burn even fiercer, illuminating the entire room.
Blaze looked in the aura's direction ...
In the corner of the room, a young boy with a terrified expression on his face was trembling on the floor.
Blaze looked into the young boy's eyes ...
A blue right eye and a red left eye, and the boy had some purple hair
'Leus?'
Blaze's mind went blank from the shock ...
Quickly, Blaze controlled his emotions and stopped his intense killing intent, then he rushed towards Leus.
"Leus, are you okay?"
Leus was too frightened to even utter a word, he only looked at Blaze in confusion ...
It took Leus a while, but eventually, he started to calm down.
'It's Dad ... I won't die'
After realizing that, Leus was so relieved, but he was so exhausted ...
His heart was beating fast, his breathing was quick, and his eyes felt heavy. He didn't even have the energy to talk.
Drowsiness overwhelmed him, so he leaned back on the wall and closed his eyes.
Blaze, on the other hand, still couldn't understand what was going on
'What the hell is that?'
'What's this strange hair color?! And more importantly ... -'
' ... How the hell did Leus evolve?'
However, he couldn't dwell much on these thoughts; he had far more important things to worry about right now ...
'The pressure I put on him must've been too much for his body to handle'
He carried Leus to the bed
'Regardless ... he should be okay if he gets some sleep'
He sat beside Leus' sleeping body ...
That night, Blaze didn't sleep. Actually, he didn't even move; he only waited for Leus to awaken.
'I have so many questions ...'
And he wouldn't budge until he got the answers ...