Chapter 215: Magic / 6.2 : Saving sovereignty
Atlas walked to the entry and peeked through the hole. He recognized soldiers from the Liao empire fighting a beast. He could also hear the sounds of people being torn apart. Atlas sighed and after unsealing the cave he moved the stone.
As soon as he walked out he saw torn-apart bodies on the ground and two soldiers running away in fear. Atlas looked at the man who stood tall ready to fight the beast no matter its power.
Even if it was brave Atlas felt that it was more stupid than anything else. He was facing a longma. A longma is a winged horse that has the scales of a dragon. Their nucleus is impossible to reach and in this case, he was ranked SSS.
Atlas leaned against a tree and watched the man fighting it. If he needs help he will since he’d like to get that beast nucleus.
Yujin took a step backward when the longma tried to fling him away with his tail. He cursed inwardly, those fuckin soldiers are useless. As soon as he gets back he’ll torture them until they die.
He sprinted toward it and managed to jump on his back. He used his sword and aimed it toward his nucleus but the sword wouldn’t go through because of the scales. The longma used his giant wings and flung him violently against a tree.
As he was thrown away his eyes landed on a young man leaning against a tree who was frowning. His back hit the tree hard and he coughed up blood. Yujin touched his chest and saw that the longma had scratched him.
He is bound to die anyway but at least his brother is safe. He was about to close his eyes to rest but they snapped open when he recognized his voice. He looked in the distance and saw him running toward the longma who had spotted him.
Despite the pain, Yujin got up with difficulty and pulled out a blade. He took a step forward but stopped when he saw the longma trying to fly toward his brother but couldn’t.
It was as though it was sealed in a bubble. The longma was flapping his wings crazily trying to get out of the confinement of the invisible bubble but couldn’t. Yujin looked at the young man who was still leaning against the tree.
His hands were moving in a way where it seemed like he was holding a ball. He looked at the longma when it started to neigh because the bubble started to fill with water.
It seemed like it was scared of the water and it looked desperate to get out but all its trashing was useless. Once the bubble was filled the longma died a few seconds later.
Atlas put down his hand and the bubble burst and the longma fell on the grounds. He grabbed the sword the man had dropped when he was tossed against the tree and put both his hands on the hilt.
Yujin and his brother both watched as the sword turned red. Atlas walked to the longma and stabbed it in the stomach and the sword pierced through the scales.
It’s the only way you can fatally wound a longma so the man had no chance whatsoever and ended up getting poisoned. In the longma’s talon is a dark poison and once your cut even a little it’s too late.
Only archmages can get rid of it because they can cultivate the darkness ability but they are extremely rare. The other way to get rid of it is if someone else sucks the poison but once they do they’ll be the one infected with it.
Those who get infected only have 4 more years to live and over time their temperament becomes darker and darker. They’re prone to anger and violent outburst.
Atlas reached out and grabbed the beast’s nucleus. He held it in his hands and closed his eyes for a few seconds to absorb the power. He opened his eyes when he was done and looked toward the two men.
"Are you okay?"
Yujin said:
"I’m okay."
Yujin caressed his brother’s head with a smile and he smiled back. Atlas looked at the dark sky and walked to them. Yitian immediately stood in front of Yujin.
"What do you want?"
Atlas ignored him and looked at Yujin.
"We should get inside the cave before it gets darker. Beast valley isn’t safe at night."
Yitian sneered:
"Do you believe we’ll follow you when we don’t know who you are?"
"If I wanted you to die I wouldn’t have stopped that longma from killing you both."
Atlas looked at Yujin and asked:
"Did you lose all your squadron?"
"We did except those two cowards who ran away."
Atlas smiled and said:
"You should rest until morning then I’ll give you a safe way to leave the beast valley without encountering any beast."
Yujin smiled.
"Thank you."
When Atlas looked at Yitian mockingly he narrowed his eyes at him.
Atlas led them to his cave and after pushing the stone they entered. Atlas sealed back the cave and led them in. The two men looked around surprised. Even though Atlas lived in a cave it seemed like he still had the same habit as a prince.
He had a large bed covered with silk covers and a desk with papers and ink on the side. There was a table with pillows around it where he would seemingly have dinner.
The most impressive was the natural pool with turquoise water and in the middle of the space was a huge lit-up pit. The fire illuminated the entire place but there were also candles.
Atlas sat Yujin on the bed and looked at the poisonous wound on his chest. Yujin looked at Atlas, he was close to him so he could see every feature on his face.
The young man in front of him had long phoenix eyes and narrow and thin eyebrows. His hair was dark and he carried an aquiline nose that complemented his prominent cheekbones.
His skin was tan like he had spent a lot of hours under the sun and it was impossible not to notice his beautiful blue eyes. Atlas ordered:
"Lay down."
Yujin was about to lie down but he stopped when Yitian pushed Atlas and said:
"Get away from him. Once we go back a physician will check on him, not some random weirdo who lives in a cave."
Atlas narrowed his eyes at Yitian. He’s starting to lose patience with that jerk. Yitian who was standing in front of Yujin felt a force push him and he was trapped in a bubble like the longma before.
Atlas sat next to Yujin and pushed him down. Yitian frantically hit the bubble but he stopped when he saw that Atlas was sucking the poison out. He looked at him stunned and so did Yujin.
No one would just suck in the poison because it would mean that they would be the ones to die. That’s what Yitian was going to do since you can only suck the poison out a few minutes after the person has been poisoned.
He would rather die than lose his brother so it’s not like it was a hard decision or a decision for that matter. He just lost his mother he knows that he wouldn’t be able to handle it if he lost Yujin.
When Atlas had sucked in all the poison he scanned Yujin’s body to make sure nothing was left. He felt relieved when he saw that it had left his body completely. Atlas stood up and went to another room.
When Yitian saw that he had freed him he sat next to Yujin who had sat up. He asked:
"Is it all gone?"
Yujin nodded while he looked toward where Atlas had left. Yitian asked:
"Why would he do that if he doesn’t know us?"
"I don’t know."
Yitian frowned and asked:
"Do you think he’ll be alright?"
Yujin met his eyes and raised an eyebrow.
"Why do you care? You’ve been nothing but mean since we met him when he saved our lives."
Yitian said:
"What if he was someone trying to kill you because of your name and reputation? I’m always going to be prudent when you’re involved."
"My life isn’t as important as yours and you know that."
Yitian’s eyes darkened and he warned:
"Don’t say that ever again."
Yujin nodded and he caressed his brother’s head. He’s just the great general of the army while Yitian is the crown prince. Once their father passes he’ll be crowned emperor so, of course, his life is more important.
Even if it wasn’t he would have no reason to live if Yitian wasn’t alive anymore. They’re not just brothers they’re twins and they have a bond that no one can understand.
Atlas entered the room again and looked at Yitian. He was holding medicine in his hands, Yitian stood up and Atlas took a seat. Atlas sewed the wound after cleaning it.
He gave a bottle to Yujin and said:
"Drink this and your back will be better soon."
Yujin drank it without hesitation.
When Atlas felt Yitian’s eyes on him he looked back at him. Yitian looked at him silently. When Atlas smiled at him gently he felt his heartbeat quicken and he looked away. Yujin looked at his brother with an amused smile.
