Chapter Seven Sorrow

  Those people just now didn't ride horses, which means they'll arrive soon? Marco, wait for me! Please wait for me!

  "Sir, the scout has returned and found the target. The target is fleeing southwest, seemingly heading towards the Imperial City of the Caesar Empire." A man in black attire knelt on one knee and spoke respectfully. In front of him, two men sat cross-legged on the ground, both emitting an aura of 8th rank.

  "Hmph! Foolish people, are we not even allowed to make a move now that we're in the Imperial Capital of Caesar?! And you bunch of good-for-nothings, can't even protect an escaping princess! What's the Empire's finest scouts if the Empire really relied on you, it would have perished long ago!" The middle-aged robust man stood up, his face dark with anger.

  "Sir, it's been a long time since the incident with the Emperor. We should act quickly and report back to His Majesty." Another man said, he was about forty years old, with a staff placed on his knee. The top of the staff was inlaid with a pale blue magic core, emitting waves of magical power.

  "It's also, if the Caesar Empire finds out about the King's treasure, we'll be in big trouble too! Thanks for reminding me, Master!" The man turned to face the seated mage and said. Although he was the leader of this operation, on the continent, mages held a higher position than warriors, and he didn't want to offend a mage of the same rank as himself. "We'll still need to trouble you again tomorrow, Master!"

  "Don't be so polite!"

  "Set out now and get ready for a sneak attack. We'll take action at noon tomorrow! This time, we can't let them escape again!"

  "Dozens of figures immediately disappeared into the night..."

  "Sir, the target is hiding in a merchant caravan and it's approaching!"

  In the distance, a merchant caravan was slowly approaching, with what appeared to be several horse-drawn carts in the middle.

  The leader raised an eyebrow and revealed a bloodthirsty smile "Hiding in the merchant group?! Listen to my command, prepare to fire arrows! Don't let a single one escape!!"

  "Yes!"

  The merchant caravan approached slowly, and the air seemed to become somewhat oppressive. Several scattered swordsmen in the caravan gripped their swords tightly, their multiple near-death experiences telling them that there was an ambush. An old swordsman crouched on top of a carriage, ready to burst out at any moment: "Miss, they're catching up, be extremely careful and don't make a sound!"

  "Alright, Uncle Kowen." In the dimly lit carriage, a small figure enveloped in a long robe was shrouded in shadows, making it impossible to discern their features.

  "Fire!" The leader shouted loudly! Instantly, "swish... swish..." the sound of arrows was heard. People in the merchant group continued to fall to the ground, and everyone panicked and scattered in all directions.

  "Aegis Maiden" several sword auras flashed by, and the several swordsmen scattered among the merchant group immediately ran to the middle carriage, blocking the arrows. Looking at the auras flashing on their bodies, not one of the swordsmen was below fifth rank.

  "Found it, stop shooting, bring it up, Master aim at the middle carriage!" The mage heard and immediately prepared magic, aiming at the middle carriage. No longer caring about the scattered fleeing merchants, the leader led a few black-clad men to rush to the front of the carriage. The warriors on this side had generally higher aura than their opponents, and there was also the leader, an eighth-level expert.

  Before long, all the people guarding the horse-drawn vehicle were killed.

  "Hmph, a mob! The leader curled his lip. Looking at the carriage "Aren't you coming out yet? Hmph! It seems I need to invite you out!!" As he spoke, a blade of air sliced towards the top of the carriage.

  Suddenly, two warriors in the carriage burst out and charged forward, their sword tips pointing directly at the leader's chest and head!

  "Ding! Ding!" The sword tips stopped an inch in front of the leader under the unbelievable gaze of the two swordsmen.

  "My 8th rank earth attribute Dou Qi's defense isn't something you two can easily break through." As soon as he finished speaking, the leader's hand flashed with a cold light, and before the two swordsmen could even react, their heads were sent flying into the air.

  The leader cut open the horse cart with one sword, and indeed, this car was just a bait, there was no target on it.

  "Damn it!" The leader angrily swung his sword and chopped down a tree by the side of the road.

  "Levitation!" The 8th-level mage cast a levitation spell on himself and floated up high! Looks like he's a wind-element mage! "Eagle Eye Technique!" The mage cast another magic, and his eyes became extremely sharp. He kept scanning the surrounding forest, and before long, something fell from the sky

  。

  "On the east side, there are signs of someone passing by, it seems they've already gone far! Now is still a good time to chase after them, in the deep forest, they can't run fast!" As he said that, he cast a lightness spell on everyone. Finally, the mage took out a magic stone to replenish his magic power, having continuously cast nearly twenty spells, his magic was almost depleted. The magic stone didn't need

  Spiritual power directly restores magical power, but this thing is relatively rare and is a one-time consumable item. High-ranking mages can't easily get their hands on it either. Normally, he wouldn't use it, but now he doesn't have time to stop and recover his magic.

  "Chase!" The leader didn't say much and directly chased out.

  The law master once again cast a floating spell on himself! While replenishing his magic power, he followed up.

  It's almost evening.

  Deep in the forest, several people quickly flashed through the woods.

  "Miss, we must hurry! The enemy will likely catch up soon! They have a magician, our trail is probably exposed!" The leading old swordsman said, originally he and the girl were hiding in the last horse carriage, they used the middle horse carriage as bait, taking advantage of the black-clad men attacking the middle horse carriage, to turn around and

  The soldier rushed into the woods on the east side.

  "Uh-huh!" The girl replied softly.

  The girl in front of her was the last survivor of the once-famous Zhaibaitian Empire on the mainland. In its heyday, the Zhaibaitian Empire dominated the central mainland, with vast territories bordering the Beastman Alliance to the east and the Dark Forest where the Elves lived to the west. The empire had countless powerful warriors, and the Beastman Alliance had repeatedly invaded but failed to conquer it.

  However, at the height of its power, the empire suddenly collapsed! As for the reason, it was like a third-rate melodrama: the emperor's son fell in love with an Elf princess in the Dark Forest, but she rejected him. Enraged and humiliated, he ordered two Saint-level warriors to abduct her, but they were killed by the Elves before they even left the forest.

  The Zhaibaitian Empire, which had dominated the mainland, refused to swallow this insult. It dispatched powerful warriors into the Dark Forest, intent on capturing high-ranking Elf officials and bringing them back for a blood sacrifice to avenge the emperor's son. The outcome was predictable: the empire's forces were defeated in the forest.

  Although no high-ranking Elves died, they were outraged and deployed their own powerful warriors. With centuries of accumulated strength, the Elves had many powerful warriors, including eight God-level experts! They directly attacked the Zhaibaitian Empire's capital, killing all its Saint-level and God-level warriors, and released a forbidden curse: "Nature's Fury." The entire mainland fell silent!

  The other empires, which had been watching from the sidelines, were shocked into silence. Eight God-level experts - what a concept! It meant that even if the Elves swept across the mainland, it wouldn't be difficult for them.

  However, after completing this shocking feat, the Elves returned to the Dark Forest and disappeared from view, as if nothing had happened. After a period of silence, the three major empires immediately sent envoys to the Elves, expressing their friendship and strongly condemning the Zhaibaitian Empire's shameless behavior. The three empires unanimously agreed that the Zhaibaitian Empire's actions had disgraced the entire human race and decided to jointly send troops to launch a righteous punitive campaign.

  The Zhaibaitian Empire was thrown into chaos, with only a few Saint-level warriors remaining. They were powerless against the other empires' Saint-level warriors, and the vast empire quickly disintegrated, fragmenting into numerous small countries. The three major empires each occupied a portion of the territory, while the rest became a chaotic mess, with various small countries constantly at war.

  To this day, the central mainland is known as the Chaotic Kingdoms. As for the east, the three major empires did not want to border the Beastman Alliance, but on that desolate land, an empire awakened - the current fourth empire of the mainland: the Osman Empire. Relying on its strongest warrior corps, it repeatedly defeated the Beastmen, although at great cost, and managed to establish a foothold on the mainland.

  The Zhāi Bái Tiān Empire may have been destroyed for two hundred years, but its imperial bloodline has not been severed! It is said that they possess the accumulated wealth of the Zhāi Bái Tiān Empire over many years, rivaling a country's treasure, countless Qi and magical secrets... As long as one obtains their treasure map, they can gain boundless riches, become the strongest among the strong, and even establish a nation. Various empires and principalities have been ceaselessly searching for information about them. They, who had always kept a low profile, were finally discovered by an Ottoman Empire spy, and the guards escorted the princess as she fled to this place.

  Francis stopped as he looked out at the carnage before him, the corpses scattered everywhere.

  "Marco, Marco, where are you? Marco..." Francis shouted loudly while lifting up several corpses. Finally, Francis found Marco behind a large tree, with two arrows in his body. One arrow in his leg restricted his movement. The other arrow on his back wasn't fatal, but it had been too long and Marco had lost too much blood...

  Holding Marco's cold body: "Marco, it's okay now! I'm here, I'll take you home! Going home will be fine!" As Francis spoke, tears poured out like a fountain and couldn't be stopped. "Right, healing magic! I'm a light system mage!" Francis said to himself deceitfully. "Marco, I'll heal you soon! Healing magic! Healing magic! Healing magic!......" He cast over a dozen healing spells on Marco, but saw no reaction from him. Marco had lost too much blood, and the healing magic couldn't make up for it.

  "Cough...cough...Young Master! Is that you?" A weak voice echoed from Francis's arms, Marco.

  "Yes. Marco, it's me!" Francis wiped away tears from his face and replied hastily. "Marco, don't talk, you're too weak! Let's go home!" He adjusted the position of Marco in his arms to a more comfortable one.

  "Cough, cough... can still see... it's really great! I thought we wouldn't meet again! I have so many things to say to you!" Marko's words became more and more fluent, even his face turned a bit rosy. But Francis' tears flowed faster, he knew that Marko wasn't getting better, but was just having a brief recovery before the end!

  "Marco! Don't say anything else! Let's go home first and talk about it when we get home, okay? Let's go home..."

  "No, young master! I feel that I won't be able to make it... Listen, young master! From now on, I'm afraid I won't be able to take care of you anymore! Since the old master passed away, you've been staying indoors and don't know about the outside world! Young master, from now on, you must be careful and avoid trouble. This key..." Marko pulled out a key from his pocket and handed it to Francis, his steady movements showing no signs of his impending death. "Inside are some money and items left behind by the old master, as well as what I've earned over the years! Young master, you must study magic properly and become an excellent mage! Even if the family can't be revived... you must live a peaceful life... go on living..." After using up all his energy to say the last word, Marko's eyes became dull and lost their luster.

  "Marco?! Marco!!!! Ahhh!!!!!......" Francis shouted, hugging Marco tightly. "Why?! You promised me you'd be the steward of my son! What is this now?! Get up! Get up!...... Ah...!!!"

  In the distance, Dis rushed to Francis' side and looked at Francis in pain. Dis closed his eyes, knowing Francis' feelings for Old Marko! Dis didn't know how to comfort him, so he closed his eyes and observed the surroundings with his small universe, trying to find any signs of the mountain bandits. In his opinion, his life was given by Francis, and those who made Francis suffer must die! Absolutely!

  Carefully put away that key. Francis closed Marco's eyes, pulled out the arrow inserted in his body, smoothed out Marco's wrinkled clothes, and clasped his hands to his chest! Looking at Marco who seemed to be asleep in front of him, "Dis, can you find where those mountain bandits are?" Francis asked Dis, his voice inexplicably cold.

  "Master, this is probably not just a simple mountain bandit! The destruction power of the mountain bandits is not so great, these are the marks left by a master's fight. I'm afraid they came to hunt down those nobles! And the merchant group, was just an innocent disaster!" Dais said with his eyes open.

  He bowed his head to the ground and knocked three times in front of Marco's body, found a large cloth to cover old Marco, "Is it! Whoever you are! Can you find him?" Francis' words were calm and emotionless, as if the person who cried painfully just now was not him.

  "East, the traces are very obvious!" Dis said hesitantly after a moment, he was worried about Francis' current state! But if he didn't let him vent it out, it would probably be worse!

  "Go east! This way! Follow me..." With that, Francis vanished into the distance in an instant!

  So fast! Even faster than before! Dais is shocked and immediately goes all out with his Little Universe, this isn't the time to hold back! But even at full strength, Dais can barely keep up! Dais feels that Francis in front of him is slowly getting even faster! Dais grits his teeth and desperately burns his own Little Universe, he's a bit afraid of falling behind.