Chapter 73: Silent Pain
Sir Rivaldo summoned his Sky Eagle and said, "Go on, it will take you down."
Kale hesitantly climbed atop the creature while Neo remained on his shoulders; the creature dove downward, unmindful of Kale’s safety.
He tightly grabbed onto the eagle’s feathers and cursed, "Fuck, fuck, fuck...."
Kale really, really didn’t like diving down at such speed from such a horrendous height.
But what could he do but silently endure? But the same couldn’t be said for his little Hydra.
The damn thing was enjoying the dive like it was high or something, roaring nonstop as if feeling the taste of freedom.
At the same time, in the ground Base, all the combatants were resting and recovering from their various injuries as the brutal battle against the Beast Hordes was over... for now.
Suddenly, a violent gust of wind swept through the area, sending shock and fear through the hearts of the resting powerhouses, who were overwhelmed by uncertainty about whether another mighty Beast had just attacked them.
One of the Grandmaster-rank Tamers of the Guild shouted aloud, "Don’t worry, everyone; it is the Guild Master’s Beast."
This eased everyone’s worries as they relaxed once more. But everyone’s gazes remained locked onto the majestic Eagle.
And from the back of that, slowly but surely, Kale climbed down, but he almost stumbled, feeling dizzy and a bit rattled by fear of height.
The three-headed Hydra on his shoulders could not be happier. It was acting almost like a child experiencing his first ride at an amusement park. So, Kale quickly put the creature away into his shadow.
The massive eagle flapped its wings and flew back up as soon as Kale got off its back.
Before Kale could even collect his thoughts, he found himself surrounded by people he knew.
The first person Kale noticed was the female Grandmaster-rank Tamer, Echidna, followed by David, then Rando, who was Renard’s subordinate.
The members of the Wolfberg mercenary team also gathered around him not long after.
Echidna asked, her voice containing a slight worry, "Are you ok, kid?"
Kale took a few deep breaths and nodded, "Don’t worry, I’m fine."
David said in a bewildered countenance, "What? What the hell happened to you, kid? You’re practically unrecognisable, and how did you even....?"
But Echidna shot David a brief but cold look before he could finish the sentence; thus, the man chose to close his mouth tactfully.
Then Rando asked, his tone somewhat filled with anticipation, "Kale, did you.....?"
The Prince’s subordinate did not need to elaborate; it was obvious what the Master-rank Awakened was asking about, and Kale smiled, as that was enough of an answer to Rando’s query.
The Mercenary leader, Fabio, said with a heavy sigh, "I’m just glad that you’re back safely, Kale."
Kale chuckled, "Of course, I wouldn’t die from something like this."
Rando spoke up once more, his tone a bit low and cautious, "By the way, is everything ok? I mean, why did the Guildmaster take you away so suddenly? This is strange; he never truly pays attention to anyone, ever."
Kale patted Rando’s shoulder and whispered, "Don’t worry, nothing much happened; the Guildmaster just wanted to talk with me, that’s all. We can talk about the details later on."
Suddenly, one of the Master-rank personnel of the Greenroot Guild interjected amid their conversation, "Hello, Tamer Kale, I am Master rank Tamer Igor; the higher-ups of the Guild tasked me to show you to your chambers and help you with the... other matters."
The Cursed Tamer nodded towards the man, as he addressed the female Grandmaster, "Miss Echidna, I think I will be staying here for the time being. If you and Rando have the hurry to go back to the capital, you can go, and I thank you for your great help."
He turned to Grandmaster David, "Sir, thank you for your help as well."
He then said to Fabio, "You guys follow me."
As he and the mercenary team followed behind Igor, Kale said to the man, "Master Igor, if you don’t mind, can you give accommodations to these individuals as well? They are my friends."
The group entered the massive tree; on the bottom floor, Igor made some arrangements as another member of the guild escorted the mercenary group away. Igor brought Kale to the 5th floor of the tree.
Showed him to room number 555, while giving him a leaf-shaped wooden token, and said, "This will be your chamber, and it also has a separate Artificing Lab with almost all the equipment that you might need, and you can contact me through the token if you need anything else."
Kale entered inside; he was truly dead tired. He was somewhat injured.
Still, the wounds weren’t anything serious- just his natural regeneration he gained from becoming a Hexarion Human should be more than strong enough to heal it all and relieve his fatigue after a good and long rest.
Removing his dirty clothes, he dove into the wooden bathtub, which seemed already filled with cold, nourishing water.
His body instantly relaxed, and perhaps it was the first time in a long time that he could relax, though there were still countless worrying matters ahead; at least he did not have the doom clock ticking over his shoulders.
Besides, he had achieved more than he had initially expected: a Beast with the most monstrous potential.
He also managed to get back inside the Greenroot Base, using his ingenious plan to lure the two Beast Hordes into clashing.
Suddenly, he heard a growling noise echoing in his mind, and he smiled. With a mental command, he let out the Nemesis Hydra.
But as Neo appeared out of nowhere in a small body of water, it was extremely badly disturbed, and with a flap of its wings, it burst out of the tub, splashing water all over the shower room.
All three heads hissed at him in protest, expressing utter displeasure; it seemed Neo really disliked getting wet.
But Kale grinned mischievously; to the Hydra’s misfortune, he abruptly grabbed the creature and dunked it in water once more. Neo struggled madly on his hands, but could not get out of his grip.
The Cursed Tamer began washing the little Beast’s body with a brush, smiling as he said, "You’re actually quite lucky you know that, Neo."
"If Iria were here, she would have played you like a little kitten."
But the moment he said that, his expression froze; his mouth hung open, as if wanting to say something, but in the end, no words came out; his gaze turned sad, remembering his cute little sister.
He still missed her,
He missed his family, the kind villagers
That familiar yet rural landscape of Dagan, the muddy yet fresh scent of the air.
He missed it all; he missed it all so... so much.
Kale’s face became bitter in the pain of nostalgia. After all, that place was his home.
As if sensing Kale’s heavy mood through the bond, Neo patted his head with its little paws. Kale sighed, "Thanks, buddy, but I’m fine... I think I am."
"After all, the first and biggest hurdle of my journey is over; I have you with me now, and one day..."
"As you are destined to.... you will become the slaughterer of all Dragons."
***
Approximately 10 days ago, and three days after Kale had left the capital...
Kale’s master, Lazek, from the region of Tideholm, was rushing back towards the capital, flying through the air; alongside him was his senior brother, Oram, the Pillcraft Grandmaster.
The two of them had been sent to the borders due to the sudden invasion of Beast Tides all around the Empire.
Due to it happening in an unearthly time without any warning whatsoever, the forces stationed in the borders had been caught off guard; the casualties suffered this time were extremely grave, and countless powerhouses had died.
For that reason, numerous extra troops were sent from the capital and inner sections of each region to hold off the Beast invasions.
Lazek was initially very unwilling to go to the Tideholm region’s borders as reinforcement.
After all, his disciple Kale was going through a tough time, and he needed to be there if the boy needed him for anything else, but given the severity of the situation, he had no choice but to go.
Unfortunately, he had spent more than three days at the borders and was only now rushing back towards the capital. If not for his severe urgency, he would have had to stay much mich longer on the borders.
In fact, he was only allowed to leave because Lazek had made a special request to his master, the Association Leader.
As an expert fleshcrafter of his calibre was desperately needed at a time like this, when Beast Tides had hit across the border, because fleshcrafters’ main job was to perform surgeries on powerful Awakened and Beasts alike to help them recover from grave injuries.
After all, not all types of physical damage could be healed through just potions and pills.
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