Myrddin watched on with a sigh as he watched Black’s eyes shine with great interest. “Is this why you directly teleported us to the Greater Horn Continent?” Currently the party of two, Myddin in his mage white robes and Black dressed in her Xuan styled hanfu and carrying that obscenely large sword in hand were surrounded by a group of nearly thirty bandits. 

“It’s an adventure after all.” Black smiled as she grasped her sword’s handle. “The public safety in the Elysius Theocracy is too good, the chances of us being ambushed like this is too low. All adventures need a bandit attack.”

Myrddin eyed the enemies. “I wouldn’t say they are normal bandits.” Although the bandit’s clothes were unkempt and plain, the weapons in their hands spoke of hidden quality. If it was only one or two who had such quality weapons, then that would be nothing of note but all of them had such quality weapons. “Besides most bandits avoid mages...............and abnormal people.” Merlin said as he eyed the irregularly long sword in Black’s hand.

Black unsheathed her sword, the blade itself was released from the side of the scabbard, revealing a pure white blade with a flat tip. “I’ll pretend you never said that.” Black said as she assumed stance with the edgeless tip facing forward parallel to her body and the ground. 

With that said Black moved forward in a ghastly manner, like a scene in a movie only with every other frame missing. Three bandits had already fallen before anyone had time to react, their body perfectly bifurcated and their internal organs still writhing with pumping blood. No one had time to focus on the weapon whose blades now had a mirror shine on their sliced halves. 

Myrddin raised his newly crafted staff, a hook shaped head where a crystal orb levitated with a straight smooth body that tapered off at the end. The sun’s light gleamed off the white body of the staff as five balls of fire materialized around the hooked head. As if having eyes on the back of his head, Myrddin’s fireballs shot at the two charging bandits and the three of the bandits closest to him.

Ignoring the five screaming bandits as they were burning alive, Myrddin observed the Black God fight. It was a tyrannical fighting style that ignored every obstacle before the user. Black’s sword cleaved through the very ground itself as the land itself bore witness to Black’s sword strikes.

That and the tens of bodies that were now leaking organs from them, some of the upper torso still desperately grasping at life. The luckiest bandit was probably the one who was bisected head to crotch, not even having a chance to bleed out to death.

The bandits behind Myrddin rather brilliantly decided to scamper away, but Myrddin wasn’t willing to let such assailants leave and prepared to eliminate as many as possible. Fireballs once again were conjured but a hand on Myrddin stopped him.

Without turning back Myrddin already knew who it was, he would have roasted the hand’s owner if it was a bandit. “Don’t it’ll be more interesting if they come back with a larger group or someone skilled.”

Myrddin found himself sighing more and more since they started their journey seven days ago. “So why are we going on this adventure in the first place?” Having only realized now that he had no clue what the party was adventuring for, so caught up in Black’s pace.

“For a legendary herb that is only found in the northern tip of the continent.” 

“And why couldn’t you just teleport us directly to the northern tip?” Myrddin asked, sorely wishing he was back at the Akasha Library in the Orbital City.

“Life is all about the journey you know? If I had directly teleported to the northern tip then we would miss out on everything in between.” Black waved her hand airily.

“I would have thought you have seen everything in between in your long years of life.” Myrddin tapped his staff on the ground as he walked towards the blood soaked grounds. His hand reached to search for anything of note from a bandit’s corpse.

“The land itself yes, but the people of the land are constantly changing. Every few hundreds of fews there are slight changes.” Black gave a shallow smile as she gazed at the sky. 

Myrddin only dished out a few copper, silver, and even gold coins. “I would expect it to be more than slight changes, nations could easily collapse or spring up in a few hundred years after all. Although the Xuan Dynasty has lasted for over a few thousand from what I know.” The coins were all two centimeters in diameter with perfect round shapes. On one side there was an elaborate seven pointed star.

“Nations collapse easily but a man’s nature remains unchanged. Have you never heard of that statement?” Black asked as she bent over to observe what Myrddin was doing. 

Myrddin flipped over the gold coin to see a symbol made of six horns and six wings atop the seven pointed star. “No, I have never heard of such a saying before? What does it mean?” It was a polite question, really.

“Even if the world changes a man who is evil is still evil and a good man is still good.” Black shrugged her shoulders. “But what I mean is that the lives of the inhabitants rarely change. Sure they may be made into slaves and regress somewhat but it will eventually return what it was before in a few decades. But for new thoughts or lifestyles to change is very rare.”

Myrddin paused as he contemplated the response, before deciding to throw at the back of his head. He was just a mortal who had a limited lifespan after all. “Any notable changes?”

Black held her lower face in her hands. “Back in the early days, society was led by women since they had control over the birth of new tribesmen and were more valuable than men at the time. It was for this reason that most of the other Greatwyrms chose female forms.”

Myrddin paused in his looting as he turned to look at Black. “What about you, your holiness?”

Black’s lips pulled back to reveal her white teeth. “I originally wanted to choose a male form but I would feel left out if I had done so.”

“I didn’t expect the Lord of Magic to be so easily influenced.” Genuine surprise colored Myrddin’s voice.

Black shrugged once more. “What you call gods are just beings with far more power than you mortals...and a longer lifespan. You would care what your fellow humans think even if you never met them, but would you really care about what the ants crawling on the ground think?”

Myrddin resumed his inspection of the remaining corpses in a silent response. Sure enough the only belongings on them beside their equipment and weapons were the minted coins of the Elysius Theocracy, no hint of the shadow leaders behind them.

Of course it could all be just a contrived coincidence.

“So what should we do?’ Conjuring red hot flames, Myrddin cremated the body of the bandits. 

Black just pointed forward. “We continue forward. If the bandits are more than they seem, they will target us. But if they’re unimportant we can just forget about them.”

The mage in white once again sighed at the Dragon God’s uncaring attitude. If I was all powerful, I would probably have little concerns as well.

The duo thus continued their journey towards the North, their footsteps leaving light marks upon the flattened dirt road. Fortunately for Myrddin they soon found themselves at the entrance to the small town as the sun began to dip into the horizon.

“Halt! State your purpose!”

Black smiled at the guards’ cliche response as she neared the two. “We’re two travelers looking to spend the night at the town.” The guards were thrown into a stupor by Black’s beauty, unable to tear their eyes away having never seen such a fair skin maiden in their lifetimes.

Myrddin coughed into his fist causing the guards’ trance to be broken. He didn’t know whether their faces reddened from shame at their conduct or shyness from Black but he was happy that they were allowed in without further fuss. 

“Those two had good equipment.” Myrddin remarked. 

Black took a glance back and her gaze connected with the two guards causing them to quickly lower their head. “It’s the standard of the Xuan Standing Army, although I didn’t think they would station soldiers at small towns.”

“You seem to know quite a bit of the internal structure of the Xuan Dynasty.” Myrddin idly commented.

A brief wave of nostalgia flashed across Black’s eyes. “It is an empire with almost three thousand years of history. I would naturally remember a nation that has existed through several deep sleeps of mine. But I don’t think the Xuan Dynasty has grown strong enough to have members of their army stationed at a small town like this.”

“Usually soldiers would be stationed at military bases and fortresses, so for a soldier to be stationed at a small town...” Myrddin trailed off as he followed Black towards a busy tavern, the inside bustling with life unlike the quiet bustle of the town outside. 

The inside was warmly hit, contrasting the darkening sky of the outside. Black and Myrddin’s entrance caused no waves as they found themselves an empty table for four. Myrddin ordered some alcohol and dishes for himself, knowing full well that Black would not order any. 

Black hugged her sheathed sword like a spear to her chest as her pointed ears twitched, taking in the conversations around the tavern. 

“Have you seen the soldiers?”

“Wow even normal soldiers have armor like that.”

“The northern roads are cut off, no more access-”

“I saw an army on my way back!”

“I saw a giant man, I swear!”

“Something big seems to have happened in the north.” Black finally said as she drank a glass of orange liquid that she had brought out herself. 

“How big?” Myrddin asked as he picked his food with two pairs of sticks, something he quickly learned how to do in preparation for the sudden openings of the Black God’s Eatery. 

“Enough that the emperor has decided to send his army to the north.” A man whose face would be easily lost in a crowd said as he joined the table for four. Neither Black nor Myrddin reacted with great surprise. “So fancy seeing such a strange pair around these areas. So what brings you here?” The man said as he eyed the Lesser Horn Continent style dressed mage and the peerlessly beautiful swordswoman.

Myrddin remained silent, but Black wasn’t so tightlipped as her flashed with complicated emotions. “We’re heading for the north past the Everstorm Lands.” 

The man gave a raised look. “That’s pretty far, I’d say you have a better chance of sailing through the Blue Abyssal Sea than traveling north in the country right now.” 

Black directed her gaze elsewhere. “I’d have had even a lesser chance of sailing through the Blue Abyssal Sea.” 

The man gave a whistle. “Haven’t heard of any folks that would have a harder time sailing through the Blue Abyssal Seas during this time. Why even the Samusa swines are highly alert.” 

“You seem very knowledgeable.” Myrddin commented. 

“Of course.” The man said proudly. “My name is Lei Yan and knowing these little facts are my trade. Of course if you want to know what I know...” Lei Yan rubbed his fingers together. 

Black took a gold coin from her pouch and flipped it towards Lei Yan. His experienced hands easily snatched the coin midair and admired the workmanship. “Oh?” The man weighed the caught coin as he observed the rose gold center wrapped around in an outer layer of normal gold. “A orichalcum coin, worth one hundred gold coins.”

The man gave Black a deep look before a pleasant smile surfaced on his face. “I assume you want to know a route where you can traverse out of the country. Or maybe you are curious about the situation?”

“The latter.”

Lei Yan ordered a jar of baiju and directly drank from the jug. “Ahhh, nothing more satisfying than chugging baiju.” Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, Lei Yan then looked at Black and Myrddin. “So what are your names?” 

“I’m Adam and that guy is Myrddin.” Black said as she pointed to herself and Myrddin.

“Weird name.” Lei Yan raised an eyebrow before he took another chug.

“Let’s see...

About a few months ago there were sightings of large humanoids in the northern part of the country. At first no one in the capital took it seriously as the magical beasts who have been attacking the settlements. 

That was until a city was wiped out by a squad of giants. Thousands of citizens and brave soldiers slaughtered. There was an immediate response of course, but by the time the army arrived at the giants had disappeared. 

From then on the giants sporadically appeared and with each appearance a large town was destroyed. 

Since then the country has deployed their army to seal off the north and their diviners in an attempt to discover how the giants were vanishing within the country.”

Black held her lower face with her hand while Myrddin grasped his chin. “I’m not familiar with giants, what kind of beings are they?”

“Tall, a grown man like you would only reach their knees.” Lei Yan gestured at Myrddin with his jug. “And blue, extremely blue like flames with white hair. As for how strong they are...I’m not sure. They have yet to come into direct contact with the emperor’s army. Most of their attacks have been hit and run. From what the survivors gathered, they are capable of smashing through fortress walls with their bare fists and use magic a hundred times more powerful than our diviners.” 

“Those sound like storm giants. Strong body with a strong innate mana potential. But why would storm giants suddenly attack the Xuan Dynasty?” Black’s finger began to tap the table as she thought.

Tap

Tap

Tap

Tap

“Miss seems to know quite a bit about the storm giants.” Lei Yan smiled at Black. “Yes, they are the storm giants that live near the Everstorm Lands. But the chances of people meeting them are rare unless you venture deep into the Everstorm Lands. As for why the storm giants would appear? I don’t have any clue.” Lei Yan took another chug from his jug, before twirling baiju inside with a frown. “Server another jug!”

“So how long has this stalemate been going on for? And this doesn’t seem to be common knowledge.” Myrddin asked. 

“Around two weeks now that the army has been deployed. As for why nobody else knows, its because the information has been sealed to prevent the Samusa and other countries from taking advantage of this internal chaos.”

“You know quite a lot concerning this sealed information.” Myrddin said.

Lei Yan laughed in response as he took another swig from his jug. Soon after Black and Myrddin left the tavern to look for an inn to spend the night. Although there really was only one choice in such a small town.

“That guy is suspicious. I felt mana being agitated around him.” Myrddin said as the two entered their rooms. He has casted some spells around the room for safety before resting his staff against the wall.

“Of course. Also he was using an illusion spell.” Black said as she pulled a futon from rippling space and placed it on the ground near the wall. “With the Sphere of Magic Clairvoyance on your staff, you should have been able to tell.”

“Ah,” Myrddin forced a smile. “It’s too complex, everytime I pry into it I feel like my brain has been smashed upon by a giant hammer.”

Black shrugged. “That Artifact has the foundation of all magic spells loaded into it. Even if you don’t use it to predict your opponent's next spell you should still be able to increase your skill and knowledge in magic just by peering into it.”

Myrddin scratched his cheeks in response. “I know, you said it was my compensation for following you on this journal. It just feels that there's a giant gap with what you gave me.”

“So you want me to baby you? Even the sages would kill for a magic Artifact forged by me.” Black said, pride evident in her voice.

“No! No...I just find myself at a loss at what to do with it. Using it hurts me and I’m unable to do anything but hold my head in pain for the next few hours.” Myrddin said.

“So use it before going to sleep, just hard enough that it knocks you out.”

The next morning Myrddin walked holding his pulsating head in his hand and using his staff as a walking stick. All the while Black was laughing behind him. “Maybe you shouldn’t have drunk so much last night.”

“You know that wasn’t from the alcohol!” Myrddin said through gritted teeth. His mood worsened as he saw a smiling Lei Yan waving at them.

“Are you okay, did you drink too much last night?” Lei Yan asked with genuine concern.

“I’m not a lightweight, this wasn’t because of the alcohol.” Myrddin practically glared at the mysterious man before him at this point. 

“I’m actually going to smuggle myself towards the north, want to join?” Lei Yan asked. At Myrddin’s suspicious gaze Lei Yan smiled as he pointed his thumb at himself. “I’m a dealer that morals you know. The payment you guys gave me last night was worth far more than that. In fact you can call this included service.”

“Then we’ll take you up on that offer.” Black agreed easily causing Myrddin to rub his aching head even more. 

“Great! Follow me.” With a smile of sunshine Lei Yan led the two towards a carriage without any distinguishable features. “I promise the inside is better than the outside.” Myrddin who was extremely sensitive to mana at the moment immediately noticed the traces of magical bloodline within the two fine bred steeds linked to the carriage.

Black and a reluctant Myrddin stepped into the carriage after Lei Yan did. The inside of the carriage was a cool blue shade, the seats made of leather with cooling mats made of pieces of jade placed over them. 

Myrddin tensed as he made eye contact with a swordsman wearing blue and white clothes and holding his sheathed weapon against his chest. The sharp gaze of the man was sharp just like a sword. But seeing Black beside him, he relaxed his tensed body as he sat across from the swordsman. 

“Let me introduce you. This is Kang Yang, a friend I made from my journeys.” Lei Yang introduced the two sides but Kang Yang, aside from giving Black’s sword a glance, ignored Black and Myrddin. Lei Yan appropriately didn’t say anything and leaned back against the wall, pulling out a book to read on the journey as the coachman started to whip the horses.

Black hugged her own sword and leaned back against the carriage as if disconnected from the world itself, with only her breathing indicating any signs of life. Myrddin himself held his head in his hands once more, trying to cope with the pulsating headache of his. Like this the five man party started their journey north.

---

Myrddin stepped out of the carriage and stretched his creaky limbs. The party had stopped on the side of the road with the night descending upon them. Joy evident in his bearing as his head no longer ached from his late night disaster with the Sphere of Magic Clairvoyance.

Myrddin walked a few paces away from the carriage and waved his staff. The ground trembled as a stone house erupted from the ground, no likeness to the small huts he used to build back when he first started traveling. He even made a few extra rooms for other passengers, no matter his suspicion or dislike of them.

When he walked out of the stone house he was met with Lei Yan’s admiring gaze. “Wow, building a house without even drawing a magic circle, you’re even more skilled than I thought.” Lei Yan walked in and inspected all the rooms. “And elegantly constructed too, nothing like the tents I’ve been living in the wild.”

Myrddin shrugged. Compared to Black he was far from good, practically a toddler in his arts. But that was to be expected if one was to ask Black. 

“So Adam is in charge of cooking and you’re responsible for shelter?” Lei Yan asked as his eyes turned towards Black who was deftly preparing the ingredients with a chef knife in hand, and a heating up two pots over the campfire that she had started. His eyes lingered over the spatial pouch from where she magically pulled her tools and ingredients from. 

“Her ho- Adam, won’t eat anything I cook, not even a tiny bite. She would rather go hungry than eat anything she deems inferior.” Myrddin said, although there was no blame in his voice his own tongue having been pampered by Black’s decadent meals. 

“I can’t wait to taste it. I’ll have you know I’m quite the gourmet myself.” Myrddin ignored him, once one's tongue experienced Black’s finished dishes there was no turning back. The sleepless nights spent upon dreaming of that dish will haunt one to no end.

Black ignored the gazes upon her as she diced the thigh meat of young chickens into bite sized chunks and sprinkled salt and pepper on top. Next she peeled the carrots, potatoes, and apples and before slicing them into small pieces. Having done that, next was to mince the garlic, shallots, and peeled onion. 

Black oiled the pan with a generous piece of butter, the milk product melted with a satisfying sizzle. When the butter had fully melted Black dropped the chicken pieces into the pan. The cracklings of the meat against the hot metal pleasant to the ears and the aroma even more pleasant to the nose.

Once the thigh pieces have been given a nice crust on all sides from the sear, Black scooped them out and placed them on a separate bowl. Then placed the shallots, onions, and garlic into the pan. Sauteeing them until the vegetables turned limpid, Black placed the pot atop to steam them. 

While occasionally opening the lid off to stir the contents constantly until it turned into a brown paste. At this point Back poured in a generous amount of her personal spice blend made from grounded cumin, coriander, cardamon, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. The toasted spices immediately created a wave of aroma that caused those who smelled it to salivate.

Having incorporated the spices into the “paste’, Black poured the carrots, potatoes and apples into the pot and sautee them until they each had a rich sear on them. Black popped open the lid on the flask she carried and poured enough water to fill her container several times over. 

Bringing the pot to a simmer Black closed the lid once again to let the vegetables cook while occasionally lifting the lid to stir. After a while the water incorporated the paste and turned into a thick sauce like soup and the vegetables began to crumble. They continued to diminish in size until they disappeared completely, it was at this point that Black poured the chicken back into the pot and gave it a good stir.

Tasting the soup, Black nodded in satisfaction. She added salt and lots and lots of cayenne along with smoked paprika causing the soup to gain a red menacing shade. Once again tasting the soup Black smiled in satisfaction. For the finishing touch Black dropped the remaining stick of butter inside the pot and incorporated it all inside and let the chicken finish cooking. 

With practiced ease, Black brought out five porcelain bows and filled them with the rice she had prepared alongside the curry and poured curry into the bowl, creating a nice contrast between the red brown curry with the white rice.

“Spicy Chicken Curry, ready to be served.” 

The party, even the stoic swordsman, lined up at the table with expectant eyes on the dish. Ignoring Black who had already started to eat, Myrddin was the first to dig in. 

His eyes widened near tears as the flaming hot spice assaulted his tongue. The flavors were filled with umami from the chicken juices and the dissolved vegetable coupled with the tinge of sweetness from the apples and the smooth flavor of butter. But it was all drowned by the aftertaste of spice. 

Downing the water in his flask, Myrddin eyed the dish with wariness. He observed Black who was pairing the curry with rice and copied her actions. The next mouthful was perfect, the mellow richness alleviating the burning spice of the curry. Still it wasn’t enough. Another mouthful was needed to keep the inevitable spice at bay creating a vicious cycle of spoonful after spoonful. The table became strangely silent as the only sound was the movement jaws and the metal spoon clacking against the porcelain bowl.

Lei Yan having finished first, brought his bowl towards Black wordlessly asking for a refill. “You have a nice pair of hands, refill it yourself.” Black jabbed her thumb at the point where Myrddin was already opening the lid for seconds. Lei Yan stood up not wanting to miss having seconds because he was too slow, followed by Kang Yang and the driver. By the end, the pot was fully clean and not from washing either.

“Adam, if I could I would hire you as my personal chef.” Lei Yan said as he sat on the table in satisfaction, the campfire light flickering against his face. Kang Yang and even the low presence driver all nodded in agreement.

“You don’t have the necessary funds to.” Black said.

And the necessary status. Myrddin thought to himself. 

Having filled their bellies they turned in for the night. Black and Myrddin having their own spatial pouches where they kept their futons, while the other three had their blankets brought from the packs on the carriage. 

The next morning the party was greeted with an herb porridge with chopped pieces of century eggs. “Oh I wouldn’t recommend eating the yolk without the porridge by the way.”

The black “whites” and gooey yolk that was pungent yet flavorful took some slight adjustment for the other party members, but the pungeon flavors complemented the light porridge extremely well. 

With a full belly the party continued on their way north, with the group of five having developed an invisible intimacy. Despite traveling in a carriage that only had a visible driver and no guards, no bandits came out to rob them creating a peaceful journey. And so the journey continued their way to the north until two weeks in.

There was no sign or warning, just the sound of billowing wind.

A large spear over ten meters long had pierced the carriage, the explosion of force completely demolishing the carriage revealing the sheets of metal inside the carriage hidden by the wood.

A giant blue humanoid landed near the carriage and pulled the spear out of the pierced sheet of metal, his thundering eyes narrowed at the four unharmed passengers, oen driver, and twenty men in black who had jumped out of nowhere.

Myrddin glanced at the crouching driver who was exuding an aura extremely to the twenty men clad in black. He gave a questioning look at Black who shrugged. “Probably shadow guards,” Black seeing Myrddin’s confused eyes, elaborated. “Guards who had been trained since young to obey their masters no matter what.”

Myrddin’s eyes narrowed slightly before focusing his attention at the giant before them. Judging from the blue skin that was not hidden by the leather armor and fur cape, the being before them was a storm giant. 

There was no chance of dialogue as the storm giant grasped the spear in both hands and directed the point at them, bloodlust evident in his stance. Myrddin gripped his staff in hand in preparation of a spell, but to his surprise Kang Yang began to walk forward with his sword unsheathed, revealing it to be a jian. 

“Sorry, could you sit this one out?” Lei Yan gave an apologetic smile. “Kang is obsessed with the sword, his goal is to surpass the Sage Emperor of the Xuan Dynasty, the Sword Saint, of three thousand years ago. So he has been traveling the Dynasty challenging every sword school that exists to hone his skills.”

Myrddin gasted a glance at Black who was watching with folded arms, he lowered his arm and watched as Kang Yang inched closer with each passing moment. 

Disdain filled the storm giant’s eyes as the spearhead pierced towards Kang Yang, in response the aspiring swordsman duked under the blow and rushed towards the giant’s leg. The giant stepped back in response before making a low sweep with his spear.

Kang Yang endured the slight tremor caused by the storm giant’s step and jumped upwards to avoid the low sweep, however this left him vulnerable in the air as the giant pulled the spear and jabbed forwards once more with the spear piercing towards Kang Yang.

Should the spear connect with Kang Yang’s flesh, a fatal injury will no doubt be inflicted. But as if blessed the wind, his body twirled midair, dodging the spear strike by a hair's breadth.

And so the duel between giant and human continued. The giant’s expert spearmanship and superior strength and size keeping the nimble swordsman at bay. In exchange Kang Yang although unable to close to the distance between them was completely unharmed with his fleet feet and control of his body in midair. 

This lasted until the storm giant roared in fury and pierced his spear deep into the ground where Kang Yang had stood moments before. Acting on reflexe Kang Yang stepped upon the spear shaft with the intent to rush upward to deal slash towards the storm giant’s head. 

However the storm giant tightened his grasp on his spear and with bulging veins upon his chiseled arms, he swiped the spear upwards causing the hardened dirt and rocks to fly out. Kang Yang unprepared for such a brutish move found himself launched upwards with certain death below.

The storm giant revealed glinting teeth as his spear prepared to skewer Kang Yang’s defenseless back. Kang Yang however twisted his body one hundred and eight degrees and met the strike head on.

His body toughened with a mana circulation technique and his sword burning bright red, Kang Yang roared as red hot steel clashed against cold grey iron. The clash sent Kang Yang spiraling towards the ground with a loud crash upon impact.  However the storm giant wasn’t any happier as his precious spearhead had a portion of its head sliced off.

Kang Yang wiped the blood that dripped from his lips and ignored the aching left side of his body. His body began to be covered in a red aura with even spontaneous wisps of flames sprouting around him. No longer calm and collected, Kang Yang’s gaze revealed a fiery passion as he ignored his injured body and charged forward with a roar. 

“A Blessed of Red, huh?”

The storm giant no longer had any disdain in his eyes as his spear was slowly being shredded scrap by scrap by Kang Yang’s fire red jian, the wooden shaft beginning to smoke with a blackened color.

Myrddin frowned as he felt something prick into his consciousness, he turned his gaze away from the battle and towards an empty space twenty meters away from where the storm giant and Kang Yang dueled. Black moved at that point seeing as Myrddin was still gazing suspiciously at the empty space with no signs of actions. Kang Yang and the storm giant naturally sensed Black’s movement, however like a slippery snake they were unable to precisely grasp her fleeting steps.

Dashing past the dueling duo Black jumped into the air and unsheathed her sword in a clean diagonal upwards strike that seemed to slice the very space in two. But it was not space that had cleaved in half as the two halves began shattering like glass revealing another storm giant hidden behind the illusion barrier . 

A red diagonal line began to appear on the storm giant’s body and like a used goza target the giant’s upper half slid cleanly off his lower half and the spell in its half fizzled away as shock began to settle in. But the bisected giant’s agony lasted only for a second as he died soon after, his heart destroyed from the previous strike. 

Black ignored the furious roar of the remaining giant as it rushed towards her. Spear strikes after strike came like an endless fury towards Black, but Black was like the shapeless wind, untouchable. Each blow was easily evaded by the beauty with fluttering black hair.

Shifting around the storm giant’s legs Black dashed back towards Myrddin and the others. Along the way she passed shoulder to shoulder with Kang Yang and their gaze linked for but a brief moment. Kang Yang’s eyes hardened and his grip strengthened as he rushed towards the storm giant that was still targeting Black. 

Back with Myrddin, Black’s gaze moved from Myrddin to the Sphere of Magic Clairvoyance as it dawned why he suddenly felt the strange sensation from where the second storm giant had hidden himself. 

Soon the first giant joined the second giant with a lacerated head, his body causing the ground to tremor as it crashed powerlessly back to the ground. The red aura around Kang Yang dissipated as he sheathed his weapon and returned to the group, his eyes staring profoundly at Black. Lei Yan had already commanded his shadow guards to hide once more, leaving the road with five people. The driver returned to his low-presence state and stood slightly behind Lei Yan as a bodyguard. 

“So what's your real identity?” Black asked as she gave a slight smile to Lei Yan.

Lei Yan smiled apologetically as the magic disguise faded revealing his dignified features and graceful aura. The most eye catching were the pointed ears he had, in other words an elf ancestry in his blood.

“Forgive me for deceiving you. Allow me to reintroduce myself, I am Lei Yan Shen, the fourteenth prince of the Xuan Dynasty. Born of the Fourth Ranked Concubine Yan.”

---

Author’s Note

Tried actually having a scene of Black cooking. Wondered how it went. Anyone want to eat curry today?

Also this feels kinda short now that I’ve written a 7,000 word prologue, lol.