Chapter 115 - Bullying & Meeting
"Who dares to barge into my workshop!?"
The Duke roared furiously upon his arrival. His roar was not earthshaking to say the least, but to the crowd, it was thunder to their ears.
Who else would call such a titanic fortress as his workshop?
"Oh shit, the Duke is here! Run!" A young noble cried.
The crowd panicked and began to run once they heard the word 'Duke' being uttered. However, the direction they all ran made the young noble want to faint in anger.
"Are you all idiots!? Why are you all running this way?! Quickly scatter! Scatter I say!"
The crowd followed closely behind the young noble like he was the alpha of the pack, but the situation did not last very long. The others ran faster than him and soon overtook him one by one. He regretted not having enough legs to run with.
He immediately noticed a problem. Big problem. He wasn't getting anywhere at all, despite running with all his might.
"You got big guts to be causing trouble at my workshop, kid. What makes you think you'll be able to get away with my airship?" The Duke's voice loomed over him.
His face instantly paled. It turns out he had been grabbed by the Duke like one would with a chicken.
"Y-Y-Your grace... have mercy... It was a misunderstanding…" The young noble pleaded, while desperately struggling.
But how could he hope to break free from the Duke's vice-like grip?
He wanted to cry. Of all the people, why was he the one singled out? Was it because he was the loudest, so the Duke took him as the ringleader? So he had unknowingly made himself the scapegoat for the others?
He couldn't see their expression, but they are surely saying, "Thank you, brother. We will never forget you."
'F*ck you!'
He mentally cursed. He wasn't dead yet.
"Hmph! A misunderstanding? Do you think I would believe that? Do you think I am a fool?"
Duke Ignis lashed out at the poor kid. Each consecutive question held a heavier tone than the last. The young noble trembled with fear.
"I... I wouldn't dare think that way, your grace. P-Please spare me on behalf of my father."
"Your father?" Duke Ignis gave the kid a good look but didn't recognize him. Just a nonentity. However, the family crest on his attire was easily recognized.
"The Sharon family? Do you think I need to give face to a baron? Only they need to give face to me." Duke Ignis narrowed his eyes.
He was planning to beat the kid to scare the rest. The young noble of the Sharon family finally couldn't hold it anymore and wet himself.
"Ugh... forget it. It will just sully my hands and people would think I am bullying the young. Scram!" Ignis kicked the young noble away.
"Thank you for your mercy, your grace!"
The young noble said gratefully and fled like his ass was on fire. He was truly scared.
"Master, it is good that you are here. We've all missed you." A senior blacksmith said.
Duke Ignis was immediately greet upon entering the building.
"Mm. Anything important in the last couple of days to report?" The duke asked casually.
"Yes, the research team had made some progress in replicating the levitation stone."
Duke Ignis's eyes lit up when he heard this.
"Good! Tell them to double the efforts. If we can really succeed, their names will go down in the annals of history. I will not be stingy with my rewards."
"Yes, master." The senior blacksmith bowed in compliance.
They soon moved onto some casual talk, but it was interrupted by the guard's sudden bark outside.
"Stop! We are closed for business today."
Duke Ignis's expression darkened immediately when he heard this. He had just scared off a bunch of brats, but it wasn't enough to deter the rest from coming by the looks of it. Perhaps he needs to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys.
"Who's tired of living!?"
He stormed out with a dominating aura, but it deflated the moment he saw who came.
Cough*
"Err... ahem. Your excellency, what brings you here?" Duke Ignis said respectfully.
His people were immediately dumbfounded by his respectful behavior. Was this still the grand and noble duke they knew?
It was natural for the Duke to act like this in the face of someone stronger. The person in front of him was powerful beyond his understanding and was suspected to be a Transcendent. He was already at the peak 9th step, but couldn't gauge the other party's strength.
"Her majesty has sent us over for an important mission. Your airship is of vital importance in completing it." Kasif said.
He had arrived with a hundred shadow guards, all dressed in black. They emanated the aura of an elite force.
The Duke made a quick comparison between them and his own core forces, before shaking his head. His core force was stronger than his house servants in cultivation, but they were mainly profession workers, not fighters.
"Sure, sure. Let me guide your excellency to the airship." Duke Ignis said cordially.
In a short moment, the airship took off with the Shadow Guards.
Duke Ignis did not ask about the details of their mission before they left. Kasif could have chosen to disclose it, but he was too lazy to speak so much.
"I guess it's time to contribute to the defensive efforts." Ignis muttered to himself as he watched his prized airship leave. He doubted anyone would still make trouble at his workshop, now that the airship gone.
"Arm yourselves. We will go over to support the north side defenses."
The duke summoned his people and ordered. His home was next to the north entrance. He did not want it to be overrun with crawlers.
…
At the Capital's central region, roughly 50,000 commoners concentrated without being overly crowded.
The size of the Upper District was not any less than the Lower District, despite having only one fifth as many residents. In the Upper Districts, the buildiings were spread out and not dense like the Lower Districts. There were plenty of open land for the commoners to temporarily reside.
The crowd sat serenely and without nervousness nor tension. Aria made her way around as she calmed the people with her voice that was like the heavenly hymns.
Lina and her parents were making their own waves among the crowd. Their healing abilities did not leave behind scars and were popular among the younger ladies that suffered wounds.
At the same time, a lot of the viscount-level nobles and above had already been emptied of their homes to go assist the defenses of their respective sides. Only their offspring and some servants were left to look after their homes. However, these noble scions weren't happy to stay at home either.
Inside the home of the marquis-level Solaris family,
"F*ck, this is too boring. Half my days are already wasted on military training. How can my parents expect me to be cooped up at home at a time like this? I need to go out and look for some excitement." Sean grumbled.
"The master's arrangement was made in consideration of your own safety, young master. Please understand the master's difficulties." A servant opined.
"For my safety? I am already a 3rd step awakener. I can take care of myself. No one would know I snuck out if you don't say anything." Sean said unreasonably and left.
The servant sighed. The young master only knows how to make things difficult for him. He had to stay and watch the house. He couldn't leave. He could only prepare himself to be reprimanded when the master returns.
"Sean, you snuck out too?" Another young noble called out.
"Oh, Carson. Your family wanted to keep you home too?" Sean asked his classmate from Crawford University.
Carson was a 3rd step awakener young noble and heir of the Laguna family. His father, Earl Julian was the head of the family and a powerful 7th step water-user.
"Yeah… what are you going to do?" The Carson asked.
"Me? Of course, I'm going to find a good spot to watch the battle." Sean said stately as a matter of fact. Such a big thing happening, how can he miss it?
"Tch. You're too boring. I'm going to the central district to check out the Saintess. I heard she has a heavenly voice that can enrapture all the boys that listen to it. Supposedly her beauty is equally unmatched."
'You're the boring person!'
Sean flashed him a disdainful look.
"Well, I suppose it won't hurt to have a quick look." Sean said nonchalantly like he didn't care, but his interest was also piqued. He was a hypocrite.
He has seen his fair share of beauties. Rachel, Lynne and Teacher Lina from his campus. They were all fine beauties. Unfortunately, none of them could be touched. Teacher Lina seemed to have the weakest background, but she was the most untouchable.
He did not dare to get on the bad side of the mysterious dean.
But the point being… how good can the beauty of a commoner be? He had his doubts, but if it's true, he wouldn't let his classmate have her. He would take the Saintess for himself.
They were nobles. It would be too easy to convince any girls from the commoner class to date them as long as they are vain people, chasing the better life.
The two headed off to the central district.
"F*ck, there are so many commoners here." Carson cursed. Where can he find the Saintess among these piles of filth.
A ball rolled towards them and stained his shoe, before a child followed suit to fetch it.
"Big brother, can you return my ball?" The child asked politely.
"Little runt, how dare you stain my shoes with your commoner filth!" Carson said contemptuously and kicked ball at the child.
"Ahhh..."
The child was sent flying by the force of the ball and knocked unconscious.
"Nooo! My child!" A mother cried. She ran over and hugged her poor child.
"Bastard, how could you raise your hand against a child!?" The father grabbed the young noble's clothes cursed furiously.
The crowd was equally furious at the overbearing nature and unreasonableness of the young noble. They just went through life and death together, making them feel closer to one another and more united. The injustice the father felt, they felt it too. Their blood boiled.
"Hmph! I didn't raise my hand! I raised my foot! And don't touch me, commoner! You are all trash to me!" Carson kicked the father flying away too.
The father coughed up blood after landing some distance away.
"Hubby!" The mother cried out for her husband too. Why was this happening? Why!?
After reaching the Upper District, she thought her family could enjoy the safety and protection of the nobles… but no! She was dead wrong! Her family had just suffered unexpected and intolerable bullying by the nobles!
The mother flashed the young nobles a look filled with hatred.
Sean watched by side indifferently. He didn't take any stance, but it was clear that he agreed with what his classmate just said. As nobles, they naturally looked down on commoners.
"If you are not here to help, then please go away. Don't cause any more trouble." A cold, but heavenly voice interrupted.
Carson and Sean gave each other a look of surprise.
This voice… so delightful… so captivating… so transcendental…
"I thought they were exaggerating, but this voice is definitely otherworldly." Carson was enraptured. He did not noticed the cold undertone. Even if the person turns out to be a pig, he had to take her home.
"Hmm… I'm interested in seeing what this Saintess looks like. Why does she hides her face?" Sean rubbed his chin thoughtfully, before pushing his classmate aside and stepped in front.
Carson was immediately gloomy, but watched on silently. If his classmate resort to forceful methods, he could intervene like a hero saving the beauty.
"You must be the Saintess. This young master has taken a liking to you. Hehehe, let me see what kind of beauty you are."
Sean reached out his hand towards Aria's hair cover domineeringly. He did not put up any guard whatsoever. How strong can a commoner be anyway?
The nearby Golden Lion Gang members and commoners immediately wanted to help.
'How dare this person lay his hand our boss's woman!'
"How dare you disrespect the Saintess!'
However, Aria raised a hand to stopped them. She looked at the young noble coldly as his hand drifted closer and closer.
When it got within two inches of her face, it was stopped by her grip.
"Ahh… such silky smooth and tender hands… but aren't you a cold beauty? Hehehe… however I like playing with cold ones… Your strength is not enough to stop me, miss Saintess." Sean said smugly. He exerted more strength, but his expression soon froze in disbelief.
W-W-Why can't I move my hand? Is she more powerful than me? Impossible!
He exerted all his strength, but his hand wouldn't budge. The Saintess's grip was like a pair of iron pliers holding it in place.
"You… You…" Sean started to sweat. He thought he was picking on a soft flower, but it seems he had kicked an iron plate.
Suddenly, his hand felt extremely cold… bone-chillingly cold. It followed by a painful itch running through his entire body like being pricked by a thousand needles. It was electrifying!
"AHH! Unhand me at once!" Sean screamed painfully as his hair stood on end.
Aria only released he grip after lashing out a kick to send him flying.
'Hmph! Only my man can touch me! No one else!'
Her kick was very vicious. She had broken several of his bones and the pain banished his consciousness into the realm of darkness.
Aria flashed a similar cold look at Carson.
"Erm… We'll be on our way… sorry for the trouble." Carson fearfully apologized before picking up his buddy and attempted to leave.
But he was similarly kicked flying before he could. The sound of bone cracking could be heard.
Carson endured the pained and quickly left with the unconscious Sean. Today was a painful lesson for him.
Don't look down on commoners!
She was no longer a soft persimmon that could be squished by others.
Her strength had grown explosively along with her confidence and reached the 7th step. Furthermore, she was an ice-lightning user! If Leon knew, he would be left gaping in shock. How was that possible!?
In fact, Aria didn't know why herself, but it was really fast during the storming period. By now, it had already slowed back down to normal rate.
"Thank you, Saintess, for addressing my family's grievance." The mother kowtowed wholeheartedly with gratitude. She was tearfully grateful to the Saintess for righting the injustice.
Aria shook her head. "There's no need for this. Please get up. I just did what had to be done."
"We should take a look are your husband and child. It doesn't seem good."
"Right… right… my hubby and child."
The mother was reminded and scrambled back to them.
"This… this doesn't look good. That young noble was too heavy-handed." A middle-aged doctor shook his head and said after he inspected the father. "I'm afraid only the Divine Doctor can cure this kind of injury quickly, otherwise his life will be forfeited."
The father suffered broken bones and damaged organs. Aria knew this and returned the favor in kind to the young nobles, but their situation were worlds apart.
The young nobles had stronger vitality and natural recovery speed as awakeners, but the father didn't.
The mother wailed wretchedly when she heard the doctor's diagnosis. What can a weak woman like her do once her husband is gone?
"Make way, make way! I can help him."
Teacher Lina arrived. She had been helping nearby when the commotion drew her attention.
"Young lady, it's no use. He needs a miraculous pill from the Divine Doctor." The middle-aged doctor advised her to save her from wasting her efforts.
However, the mother didn't care about the doctor's statement and clung to whatever little hope there was.
"Please save my husband! I beg you!" The mother grasped on to Lina and pleaded desperately.
"Don't worry, aunty. I promise I will be able to save your husband." Lina smiled warmly and kindly.
The middle-aged doctor sighed. Young people are always overly confident until they wake up to the harsh reality.
Lina hovered her hand over the husband's chest and a halo of pale green light softly illuminated on his body like the gentle coming of spring. The husband's painful expression slowly relaxed as a pleasantly feeling washed over him.
In a few short moments, he was back on his feet and good as new. The child regained consciousness after a similar repeat of process.
The doctor's eyes widened with great surprise along with the crowd. Such miraculous healing without the use of medicinal pills. He didn't care about the redness of his face
Was this the legendary wood ability of the Greene family? When could they heal others?
This… This was a real saint!
Crowd looked back and forth between Lina and Aria with utmost worship.
Two Saintess! Healing both mind and body!
"Hi, I'm Aria. Thank you for what you did for the people. You are a real saint!"
Aria said gratefully. She would have been in a bind if not for Lina's timely arrival. She never thought she was deserving of her title as she couldn't heal people.
"Hi, I'm Lina. Thank you. I just did what I can with this ability of mine." Lina smiled as she accepted the handshake.
The two had admired each other for being able to help the common people in these difficult times.
As this small episode ended, the defensive battle at the upper wall rages on.