The Calm Before the Storm

"Huff."

Sollivan opened his tired eyes and stared at the dark ceiling, faintly illuminated by the dim light of candles. After arriving at the shop and sitting idly for a long time, he had fallen asleep without realizing it, mentally exhausted from what had happened. During the long time he spent asleep, his clothes dried on him, becoming rough and slightly dusty from the dried mud clinging to them.

He moved his head and felt a slight ache in his muscles. He glanced at the reception desk, where a few candles had been placed, casting their faint light everywhere. Near the desk, close to the door, Devlin slept on a small straw mat. Due to the cold weather and his lack of covering, he had curled up in an odd position, hugging himself. Yet, he had no trouble continuing to sleep, thanks to his moderate resistance to the cold, a result of his strength.

Sollivan observed all this with clear eyes. After a long moment of stillness, he sighed and moved his hands, only then realizing he was wrapped in a small woolen blanket that had warmed his body slightly. He lowered his head and looked at the familiar blanket Ellis usually left at the shop. He could only sigh again after taking a quick glance at Devlin.

'Appear.'

Noctis emerged from his chair and stood beside him, slightly hidden in a corner away from Devlin so he wouldn't be seen if he woke up.

'Let's share vision.' Sollivan transferred his senses to Noctis. He looked at his covered body and the dirty chair, and involuntarily felt a pang of sadness at his own state.

"Hah."

He let out a breath that sounded like a mix of a groan and a sigh, overwhelmed by the flood of emotions. Without continuing to lament, he regained his usual calm and strengthened his resolve. He looked at the locked door and listened to the faint sound of rain falling outside. He thought, 'If it weren't for the rain and the bad weather, none of this chaos would have happened.'

The poor worked hard all day, yet they barely earned enough to support their families. As a result, many families, from the oldest to the youngest, were forced to go out and work in various jobs. Because of this, the poor district was empty during the day, with only a few remaining—homeless people without work, housewives, and children under the age of ten.

But because of the heavy rain and the extremely cold weather, many people were forced to stay in their homes, as work was not feasible under such conditions. Thus, the poor district was packed to the brim when the bell rang.

Sollivan walked through the shelves filled with books and checked the familiar places until he found a small folded blanket stored at the bottom of one of the shelves. He took it out, shook off the dirt, and covered the sleeping Devlin. After taking one last look around the library, he blended into the shadows and slipped under the door.

As soon as he stepped outside, he was greeted by the heavily wet paved ground, which had turned into a large shallow puddle due to the blocked narrow waterways. He looked to the right and left, contemplating the familiar, dark alley devoid of any signs of life. The large torches had not been lit because of the rain, and the decorated lanterns and covered lamps remained untouched, as all the residents were too afraid to go outside. A deadly silence and eerie desolation filled the air—a gloomy atmosphere he had seen before, yet it still disturbed his peace.

He raised his head and saw the sky thickly covered with dense clouds. 'The rain won't stop.'

As usual, he disappeared into the darkness and wandered through the alleys in silence, though this time he didn't put much effort into hiding himself. The lights were gone, and in their absence, darkness reigned supreme. After wandering through the districts for several minutes, he realized that the main street was empty, with no soldiers in sight. If it weren't for the faint sounds of breathing and hushed conversations he could pick up from inside some of the houses, he would have thought the city had turned into a ghost town.

He furrowed his brow and stopped in his tracks, no longer wandering aimlessly. After a short moment of thought, he jumped high and began climbing the buildings until he reached the top of a tall house. He looked toward the horizon and saw hundreds of massive lights surrounding the entire city, forming a semi-circular shape. He also saw some random lights in important places like the bell tower, the mayor's house, and the soldiers' headquarters on the eastern side, as well as some lights in the street adjacent to the poor district. However, his angle of view wasn't good enough to see everything clearly.

"This isn't high enough." He turned to look at the tall tower, and without hesitation, he headed toward it quickly. Within minutes, he reached a large square surrounded by several closed shops. In the center of the square was a very high stone platform, clearly intended for official speeches. Unlike the empty alleys, the square was filled with armored soldiers who surrounded the buildings and stood firmly despite the rain. Beside the platform, at its four corners, were four massive torches, covered at the top with metal domes to protect them from the rain and prevent them from being extinguished.

The red bell tower, however, was empty at the top. The bell, which was supposed to ring, had been lowered to the ground and placed in a dry, safe spot guarded by some sentries.

He frowned and thought, "Is the mayor going to give an official speech tomorrow in preparation for war?" The bell is only lowered from its position in one situation—when preparing for war. The mayor would give an official speech and grant the prominent soldiers and commanders the honor of smearing the bell with their blood as a symbol of glory.

The city's forces were divided into three factions. The weakest were the joint guard forces, who were mostly either above the fourth level of body strengthening or had just entered the early realm of path opening. Their numbers were large, and they were responsible for guarding the walls and the city, as well as maintaining public security, such as investigating crimes and arresting criminals, among other tasks.

The second faction was the mayor's private guard, an independent force that answered only to the mayor and was funded from his personal wealth. The feudal nobles, like the mayor and the state governor, had the authority to develop their personal forces, provided their numbers did not exceed a certain limit. Therefore, all the Arcane masters under the mayor's wing were the elite of the elite, all experts at the peak of the early path-opening realm.

The last faction was known as the honorable noble families. They were significantly different from the feudal noble families, as they did not have the right to develop their own private forces and had to meet several conditions to earn the title of honorable noble family. First, each family had to have at least one person in the intermediate path-opening realm. Second, at least one member of the family had to hold a position in the government or the military, with a minimum service period of ten years to the empire. Despite the variety of conditions, the number of honorable noble families in the empire was estimated to be in the thousands.

In times of war, every honorable noble family was required to send their members to fight and also contribute a symbolic amount to the war treasury.

After observing the square for a short while, he began searching for a safe path to take. Within minutes, he mapped out a safe route and guided Noctis through it. He slipped from shadow to shadow, not caring if those shadows belonged to the guards, as every dark spot was a good place to hide. While he was sliding from place to place, some soldiers in his path glanced around or turned to the side in confusion, suspecting they had seen something moving quickly. But all they found was water and silence.

And so, he entered the tower and quickly climbed its spiral staircase, reaching the empty top.

He stood quietly in place, letting the rain pushed by the wind slide over Noctis's body, which remained dry due to its high resistance to water.

He contemplated the city around him, which had become clearer, and looked at the angles he had previously been unable to see.

The city was surrounded by a massive semi-circular wall, filled with tall towers and bright torches that illuminated everything around them. Although he was far from the wall, he could see the silver armor of the guards glinting slightly as they moved from place to place. However, their numbers were somewhat small. In the distant horizon, beside a dark cluster of a vast forest, he saw several scattered lights that seemed out of place and immediately deduced they were enemy forces.

He felt puzzled and thought, 'Why aren't they attacking? It seems they intend to besiege the city for a long time, but that's impractical. If reinforcements arrive, they'll be easily wiped out.'

'Their target is the treasury?! That's expected and obvious, but their positioning is wrong. The treasury is on the other side of the forest. Something's off, and the mayor seems a bit lax.'

Despite the many questions swirling in his mind, he didn't dwell on the matter too much. He lacked information and didn't know much about the current situation, so he decided to wait and see what would happen tomorrow. He didn't want war to break out, nor did he want his city to be attacked—not out of pity for it, but because he would perish if things truly went south.

After observing the soldiers' and guards' positions in the city and contemplating the enemy camp's formation for a long time, he exhaled with slight disappointment. He estimated their forces at around fifteen hundred fighters against approximately five thousand enemy soldiers. Considering the city's fortifications, he thought the difference wasn't a big issue if the mayor sent all his forces and mobilized all the Arcane masters and strong trainees in the city.

After growing tired of observing the soldiers, he turned his attention to a street filled with lights near the poor district. With his sharp eyes, he saw the blurry human figures filling the wet area where rain poured heavily. After being displaced from their homes, the poor had headed to that district and set up simple camps, but these didn't protect them from the winter rain and bitter cold, worsening their suffering. Given their low numbers, it was clear that many had given up and returned home after feeling a slight sense of security due to the calm situation.

"Tsk." Sollivan didn't continue observing and quietly slipped back to the library.

He opened his eyes and looked at the familiar bookshelves and the shadow that had stood beside him before he ordered it to disappear. He slowly guided his chair to one of the shelves and took out a history book he had previously considered. He picked up a candle, sat at one of the tables, and began reading intently. And so, the first night of the war declaration passed peacefully as he immersed himself in reading.

...

Devlin, who had been sleeping deeply, woke up. He opened his sleepy eyes and yawned tiredly. He stretched his body, and as some parts of him slipped out from under the blanket and touched the floor, he felt the cold and shrank back. He grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around himself, only then realizing there was a blanket over him. He looked at it with curiosity and surprise for a moment before glancing toward Sollivan, but he wasn't in his previous spot. Without searching for long, he saw him sitting at one of the tables.

He looked at the familiar back mostly hidden behind the moving chair and felt a bit of happiness and affection. Despite his usual composure, he was still a child at heart, so his emotions showed clearly from time to time, especially when it came to Sollivan.

Creak!

The library door opened, and Ellis hurriedly entered. He looked around with suspicion, anxiety, and fear. As soon as he saw Devlin sleeping in front of the reception desk, he instinctively took a step back but steadied himself calmly when he recognized him. However, he didn't lower his guard, and his eyes continued to scan everything with a strange panic.

Similarly, as soon as Devlin heard the door open, he turned to look at the person who had entered but didn't react further, as he had expected the shop owner's arrival. He stood up calmly and said, "Greetings, Mr. Ellis."

"Ah, yes, greetings, boy." Although Ellis responded, it was clear he didn't pay much attention, as he turned his head and carefully examined his surroundings before his eyes finally landed on Sollivan, who sat and watched them quietly from his corner. Then he said with a slightly relieved expression, "You're here. That's surprising. Wait a minute?" He paused and raised his hand to check his body temperature before asking suspiciously, "Did the seasons change, or did the emperor visit the city? How come you're here so early?" Although he noticed their disheveled state and realized they had spent the night in the library, he didn't mention it and treated them somewhat normally.

"Hmm." Sollivan smiled as usual and replied in a similar tone, "And you're late, as always. Did the cold weather loosen your old joints and make you reluctant to leave your beloved bed? Man, gray hair has gotten to you, and the only wife you've had in your life is your pillow."

Devlin didn't understand what was happening and stepped back to give the two space to argue freely. Ellis and Devlin weren't acquaintances, and frankly, neither had given the other much opportunity to get to know one another. Their only connection was Sollivan, so their meetings were very few, far between, and extremely brief.

"Tsk, you've got a sharp tongue, boy. Anyone hearing your arrogant tone would think you're diligent and noble, but you're the king of laziness. Hmm, speaking of wives, you've come of age long ago. Won't you add some gentleness to your life?" Ellis paused for a moment before raising his hand slyly, hiding his mischievous smile, and teasing, "Or is your third leg not working either? Ah, I forgot, you only have a lust for books." His smile grew more wicked as he glanced at Sollivan with a look that said, 'You're out of your depth.'

Sollivan's expression twitched, and his smile faded. However, he didn't continue the argument, not because he had nothing to say, but because he didn't want to hurt his blunt friend with unintended words. In fact, Sollivan was slightly different from most people paralyzed in the lower body, as he had a minimal sense of his lower internal organs and reproductive organ. This preserved a bit of his dignity, as he didn't soil himself unknowingly.

'Hah, war is terrible.' A complicated look appeared on his face as he remembered the reason for Ellis's unusual bluntness—his fear of war, or more accurately, his trauma. He had suffered some horrifying incidents in the past and lost loved ones to war, so he was terrified and panicked. Although he tried to remain still and maintained his usual expression, Sollivan noticed his trembling body and his eyes narrowing unnaturally.

He silently pitied his friend and sighed in defeat. "Alright, I give up. I get it. Even if your bones wither, your tongue won't lose its moisture."

Ellis removed his mischievous smile and shook his head. "I'm serious. Don't you plan to marry? Isn't there any girl who catches your interest? Even though you're not handsome, you're still acceptable to many of them."

Sollivan silently lamented and scolded, "I said enough teasing."

Ellis put on a serious expression and looked at him, making him puzzled and ask, "What's wrong?"

"I'm not teasing. It's the truth. You're not handsome." Although Ellis tried to maintain his seriousness, his lips twitched strangely.

Devlin took a step forward and said hastily, "Don't worry, sir. A man's value lies in his strength and wealth. We're not women to care about looks. I mean, even a man's mindset is important."

Ellis burst out laughing, while Devlin felt embarrassed, realizing how poorly his words had come out. Sollivan wasn't strong or wealthy—he could barely make ends meet.

"Hah." Sollivan silently lamented and grumbled internally, 'Did you team up to hurt my feelings?'

"Cheap old man." Sollivan cursed in anger and began arguing with Ellis again, while Devlin stepped back and watched silently.

Boom!

Boom!

While the three were deep in conversation, they heard the loud sound of a drum coming from the alley outside. They fell silent and looked at the door simultaneously.

They listened carefully to the announcement being broadcasted.