Chapter 40: Prologue End
Moonrock Town
"This town isn’t in ruins?" William arrived at the town and was startled to see the town somewhat bustling.
Next to him was Sylvie, who had her expression cold from the start.
The aching in her heart hadn’t stopped and only intensified as she got closer to the town.
"It seems like the empire’s soldiers have arrived and begun restoring the process," Sylvie explained.
As a mercenary, she knew how the empire operated. The Moonrock Town must have been an important transit point and required immediate restoration.
Despite the work in progress, the stench of blood and piles of corpses scattered on the ground couldn’t be covered.
"Halt, who goes there!" Just at this moment, an empire soldier spotted the two and quickly shouted for their identification.
Sylvie remained silent as she was busy trying to search for the person she wanted to see.
"We’re not enemies!" William took the lead and raised both his hands up. "I’m from Pallet Village, William. My village has been overrun by a monster tide, and we came here to search for a relative."
The soldier inspected William’s appearance and indeed noticed some distinctive detail of the Pallet Village. They wouldn’t be an empire soldier if they couldn’t even recognize the origin of certain clothes or appearances.
"If you have relatives here, then you came here for nothing. All the corpses were laid there, and the remaining survivors had fled Moonrock Town by the time we arrived." The soldier pointed at the piles of corpses that were covered slightly.
William followed the pointer and feared for the worst.
’It can’t be that coincidence...’ The person whom Sylvie was searching for couldn’t be amongst those, right?
Maybe the person she was searching for was among the survivors who had fled instead.
He shouldn’t always think of the worst.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t rule out all of the possibilities. He was forced to face reality when his parents met their demise.
They told him to survive, and that was the least thing he could do as a filial son.
Just when he was about to approach the pile of corpses, Sylvie suddenly exploded in power and charged toward a group of soldiers carrying a body.
"What the hell?"
"Are you trying to rebel?"
The soldiers were immediately alarmed and got to their fighting stance.
"No, please, she’s just searching for someone!" William sensed the danger and immediately rushed forward to plead with them.
Initially, the soldiers were going to disregard him until they noticed their movement had been restrained by some magic.
’It’s a powerful Mage...’ Upon realizing their enemy’s strength, the soldiers no longer acted rashly. If their goal was annihilation, they could have long killed them in the beginning.
There was no need to merely restrain their movement.
While the soldiers got a clearer understanding, Sylvie approached the group carrying a specific corpse.
Once the cover was unveiled, Sylvie felt as if someone had stabbed her heart a hundred thousand times—or possibly more.
"Who did this and why?" She clenched her fist secretly, and blood started seeping out from the palm. Her nails were piercing through her palm due to her extreme strength in trying to compose herself.
"She’s the culprit responsible for the monster tides. Had it not been for Young Master Jake of the Carrion Household, we wouldn’t know how many more people would suffer." The leader of the soldiers answered, afraid of the latter going berserk.
Sure enough, the crisis was averted when Sylvie learned of the killer’s name.
"Give me the body." She coldly demanded.
"But this is—"
Before a soldier could argue that it wasn’t allowed, the leader of the soldiers quickly gave them a fierce kick.
"Take it," the leader said straightforwardly. In a situation like this, even if they were to fight with their might, the chance of winning was low.
He would never risk his men’s lives over a dead corpse.
William’s expression was solemn as he quietly followed Sylvie behind.
Sylvie carried the corpse with her arms, her face filled with melancholy.
An unknown amount of time went by until she halted her steps.
"We should separate here, William." She calmly said.
"I don’t know what I will do next, so you shouldn’t follow me."
"Huh, but where should I go?" William was startled. Even though he knew the gap between them was too large, he didn’t expect to be separated here.
He was still lost and unsure of what to do.
If the culprit was really someone Sylvie cared for, then what should he do?
His Pallet Village’s destruction... Where should he get vengeance?
"Attend the Crestellan Academy, William. Only when you have enough influence can you be eligible to learn more. If I tell you something now, it would only harm you." Sylvie said and tossed a letter toward him.
"This is a letter of recommendation. With it, you can attend it as a freshman. Don’t reveal your background or story to anyone. The letter is the only proof you need to enter."
William held the letter of recommendation with a dazed expression.
Sylvie’s silhouette and the corpse also vanished the moment he grabbed the letter midair.
"Crestellan Academy..." He muttered the name.
How could he not know about this renowned academy that produced the best of the best in the world?
"Sylvie said the answer I sought lies in there; then it means my enemy isn’t someone she was close with." Determination filled his eyes as he figured out his goal.
...
Carrion Household, Ray’s bedroom
[Prologue End Reached!]
"Oh, looks like the protagonist is finally beginning his story." Ray wasn’t surprised by the notification.
His eyes remained focused on the shadow knight in front of him.
<Legion Knight, Lancelot>
"This Lancelot cost me almost all the Villain Points I’ve earned so far in this prologue. It better be good." He uttered and watched as the Legion Knight, Lancelot, knelt on one knee to pledge his allegiance.
The aura Lancelot exuded was powerful, which gave him the confidence to begin the actual story: Lord of Magic Chapter 1, Crestellan Empire.
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