1

One hour Later

 

“Oooof…phew that was one of the workouts,” Kilian muttered as he packed the final item into the bed of his truck. Fredrich is already sitting inside his truck in front of him. Both are waiting due to Roland helping Selina tie up the bed of the fourth truck.

||[LHA Bulle 800 (1) Payload: 87 stones]

[LHA Bulle 800 (2) Payload 35 stones]

[LHA Bulle 800 (3) Payload 21 stones]

[LHA Bulle 800 (4) Payload 47 stones]||

All that on my truck, Christ. Kilian gazes at his truck bed, turning to Selina wondering.“You know how to drive?” he asked.

“Yes! I might be born here, but my family origin and studies are all in the Yun Empire’s territory.” She tied the final knot of the cargo net, raising her voice at Kilian.

“Alright…Alright.” Kilian bonked her head in return prompting her to chase him, and he teleported before she grabbed him.

VROOM.

“Cut me some slack, you mad that I’m injured again,” he said carefree.

Selina shook her head, smirking seeing Kilian in his truck, pulling down his window, “That means it’s time to go. Come on, we wasted here long enough. Dropping these off before picking up Klaus’s siblings.”

She ran into her truck and raised her hand into the air holding a black colored brick. Kilian gestured to Roland and Fredrich in their trucks to drive off. Kilian pulled the gear shift and drove off with Fredrich and Roland following behind.

Selina, being the last one of the convoy, waited till all the three departed the basement before she pulled the gear shift and slammed on the gas pedal. She jerked back, almost losing control of the truck, and regained composure as she was about to reach the exit of the basement. With her left hand, holding firm of the black brick, she flung it back towards the basement and held firm of the steering wheel, speeding away. She was able to catch up with the three, and while her window was still down, she went to Kilian’s passenger side.

“Did you throw that?”

“Yes, I did. It should be…” Selina’s car window pulls up, “now,” her mouth expression depicted.

BOOM.

A loud boom from behind nearly caught Kilian off guard, and he viewed the rearview mirror, showing a massive plume of smoke visible in the night sky, illuminated by the fires below. He then glanced back at Selina giving her a nod while smiling.

He pushed the gas pedal speeding up through the ruins. The truck was sturdy and solid. No mishap in the suspension, and it was smooth along the rough terrain. Yun Empire’s quality vehicles are a point given. Kilian leans back in his seat and views the mileage on the center console’s general overview screen:

Remaining Energy Fuel Mileage: 100.5 days remaining

||OLRS Translation: 4,020 miles left||

Jesus! Kilian grows fascinated by the more information the Bulle truck comes at him. He glanced at the side view mirror of Fredrich’s truck before speeding up again till reaching the intersection and turned left, with the palace in bright lights in the distance.

Kilian honks the horn as the convoy is about to reach the gates, and he sees the assassins on guard swiftly turning, gesturing. The gates open, and Kilian turns first into the palace. He pulled the window down, waving and pointing to the other three to park wherever on the front lot. He drives through the flat lot through the wrecked east side of the main hall, eventually reaching his residence. He reversed his truck to the closest outdoor hallway reaching the residence.

Organizing the easiest way to get all the cargo in, He opens the tailgate, climbs on top of the bed, and lifts the heaviest stash first. Slowly, he fragmentally disables his suppression, allowing him to apply more capacity to lift the cargo towards the walkway. Carefully, he leaps off the tailgate while holding a stack of five massive boxes and sets it next to the front door. “Three more to go.” He muttered as he calculated the space he had remaining on the walkway before there was no space to open the door.

As he went to the last batch, he was greeted by Ottilie, who had been observing him momentarily ago. “What’s all of this? You, Fredrich, Selina, and Roland came back with some bizarre technology carrying all these boxes.”

“Gifts and other valuables we stole from the Jianke sect,” Kilian said as he set down the last batch.

“Let me help.”

Kilian sees Otillie lifting the boxes he quickly goes under her first box, acting as a brace.

“Oh, gosh. No worries. This is just right and please, this is my gratitude,” she said sincerely.

He slowly breathes before opening the door, summoning the lights back on, “Just put them right there, and that would be perfect.” Kilian pointed at the empty of what used to be a dining room. He let her carry one more stash as he took care of the remaining boxes and cargo in continuous motion with each required to be in specific locations within the palace that were not only just for his office. While Ottilie helped with unpacking the stack she brought in the first rotation to the dining room.

“Phew…Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.” He thanked Ottile, and the two walked out. Kilian closes the tailgate, offering Ottilie the passenger seat. She didn’t mind and hopped into a vehicle for the first time in her life.

VROOM.

The loud roaring of the engine starting sends her to a stand-still. Kilian smiles before pulling the gear-shift, and driving away from his residence.

“This feels weird and strange but peaceful all at once.”

“Well, it’s your first car riding experience…Must be different from a carriage or horse right?”

Ottile nodded as she observed the truck’s interior. She touched the center console, causing it to switch to the map. “A light map?!”

“Correct. It's a map in a technological format. Move as we travel.”

She is remotely confused, “I don’t know what you entirely said, but it’s bizarrely interesting.”

He nodded and drove back to the front lot, driving up near the three trucks before parking beside and leaving the truck.

Ottilie was greeted by the red-haired siblings who seemed to be smiling when interacting with Ottilie but suddenly stopped, hiding their faces when they saw Kilian glancing over.

Selina walked towards his left, whispering into his ear. He nodded and followed her to the clinic. They entered the private room with the woman who fought Huo, lay on the bed, and rubbed her eyes.

“You are awake,” Kilian said, pulling a chair for himself and Selina sitting on the bedside. The woman was about to freak out and Selina stopped her from panicking by casting a form of relaxation spell. Kilian leaned up near her from his seat, “Originally, I was not gonna take you to be taken care of, but Huo is gone. Maybe with your cooperation, we can eventually approximate where to find her.”

She didn’t respond clearly and reluctantly shook her head, meaning no. Kilian breathes heavily.

“I’m gonna ask you again…” The lights grew dim as he demanded her proper response, casting a shadow over him. “The truth is straightforward. You dueled against Huo specifically throughout this fight based on the witnesses’ accounts, so you have no other options to doubt.” Kilian progressively switches his tone.

She still refuses. He responds by gripping her hands till she gives the tap.

“Fine…Fine.” She bluntly said while Kilian was still gripping her hand. Crack. “OW!” She yelled.

||Regulate…Regulate stamina levels unstable||

“I’m waiting for your approval. Then we will talk.” He said in a low manner.

“Yes…please.” The woman nodded.

“Thank you, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Kilian reverted and leaned back on his chair.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“Because your history with Huo could be useful.” Kilian shrugged, “There’s always the other option in case.”

“What about Huo?! She bluntly said she envies me. Is that why she broke our friendship oath and joined Hong An years ago? I never thought she would be the type of person to wield the blade.”

“People can change their desire that was left lingering in their soul. That’s what Huo is. She is a fascinating character who changed drastically only this past couple of weeks.”

“Fascinating?! Nah, I find that hard to believe.” The woman lifts herself from the bed, leaning her upper towards the wall. “What’s she like to you?”

Kilian and Selina both stared briefly while coming up with an answer, “Frankly, a lot of things. Our relations were fair at first, but only after a close one died we insisted on being close, opening the trust. In a way that grew both of us and also the whole sect. Huo was quieter than some here but much more aggressive and committed if something interested her. Now she is gone, being captured to unknown whereabouts, the vibe in the palace is technically disrupted.”

The woman sighs as she still can’t fathom how she is envied by Huo and especially hearing what Kilian just said, she is stunned and in denial for hearing someone like her being nice to other people, “If that is true, then why not me? How come I get left out of the nice friendly conversations with her?”

“Maybe you have something she didn’t have in her previous life that she got here. Moving forward, opening our thoughts, built the whole sustainability that kept Hong An together…She doesn’t get that with you Jiankes,” Kilian said, pulling out a letter he read earlier. Selina handed him the pen, and he wrote down a blank, “Let me ask, are you free?

The woman seemed confused. Kilian repeats the question, “Are you free?”

Her mouth opened, and tongues clicked. She looked away momentarily and stared back at Kilian and Selina.

“Then I guess not,” he muttered disappointedly.

The assassin came to the door with a folder in hand. He bowed in greetings and walked up to the two. Kilian pointed to Selina, and he gave the folder to her. “Anything else you want to tell me?”

“No other than approximately one hour left till Klaus’s siblings arrive at the border.”

“Keep me posted,” Kilian said, dismissing him.

Selina speedily reviewed the documents and information provided before seeing them in the stack and handing them to Kilian. Kilian observed the document before looking back at the woman, “So, Alarcia. Jianke Sect doesn’t exist anymore so why doubt your freedom?”

Alarcia demanded the document. Kilian is unwilling to give the document, only to eventually give it.

Scrap.

Kilian sees her tearing apart the document. As expected, he pulled out a second copy of the same document, winning over her, and forcing her to admit defeat. “This ain’t gonna go nowhere if you keep revolting against us. The whole issue isn’t mainly about us. The issue is focused on the Yun Empire and ones that supported people like you who might have been responsible for taking Huo, your former friend.”

“Can you stop mentioning Huo?!”

SHATTER.

Alarcia jolts from the loud bang, partially buried by pieces of wood. She lifted her head through the ruins and saw Kilian and Selina about to depart.

“Where are you going?” Alarcia muttered.

Kilian glanced back at her with his hollowed eyes surrounded by blue flames around the outer socket, “You are useless. Jianke’s gone, Huo revealed her honest opinion, and now here, you are refusing to cooperate. On second thought, I’m giving you a day to decide your fate. I’m done talking to you.” He made it clear before departing the room with Selina following behind. She also looked before departing and closing the door.

“What’s all that about?” Selina questions Kilian as the two walk out of the clinic, heading to Kilian’s residence.

“I don’t know, but she is chaotic. Ain't surprising Huo broke the friendship. She had enough of her.”

“Documents revealed that when she left the Jianke to be the former leader’s concubine from a deal, she wasn't hesitant.”

Kilian peeked open the folder with Selina’s finger placed in between the stash of papers, letting him pull out the document containing her departure from Jianke. He reads sections out loud, “Ah, here it is…year 129. With the signatures below of the two leaders from the two sects, Hong An and Jianke. Concubines in exchange for five thousand gold coins.” He placed it back in the folder. “So he risks these three as much as going nearly bankrupt. One way Xiong, Qian, and Huo’s lives have changed, however, such poor financial decisions on the deal. No wonder there were debt hunters in the first place, demanding a higher percentage than by default.”

The two were about to reach the entrance, and Selina added her final remarks, “At least we got our monetary financials back. The gifts under the Jinake basement are worth more than five thousand golds. Now, we are the only survivors of this area, it’s all in our hands now. The Hong An Sect has to rebuild first.” she concluded.

“Which we will all discuss after getting Klaus’s siblings to safety,” Kilian concludes before opening the entrance to his residence. He took off his gi and dirty shirt, grabbed a new pair from the new closet next to his desk, and chose a maroon-colored shirt. He then tied his sheath over and viewed his black blade.

“Compared to the katana you have before, how’s this one?”

“Heavier, less restrictive, and useful as I further progress. I haven’t experienced the catch yet, but I feel it’s something with this forbidden material. Everything feels different once it's wielded. In the matter of this sword, yeah, significantly more sturdy.” Kilian sheathed his sword. “Turns out I can keep up with the Qi much more with this blade despite the OLRS warning of stamina issues.”

Selina places the folder on his desk and brings him to the couch for another health check.

||[Stamina Recovery +10%] Active 30:05 remaining

[Health: Fair]||

“Little better on your stamina management but still have problems. Disrupted healthwise, but the stamina recovery has given you some benefit,” Selina said, summoning a tiny bottle and sitting on top of Kilian. “But still take this.”

She closely observes Kilian as he shakes the bottle and gulps the potion down to his throat. “Why is that so bitter and powdery?!”

||?? Dry drink

Contains: Forbidden Material(White)

All status ailments removed

Full recovery

Various other effects vary by person

Only to be taken once in a lifetime.||

“Turns out this was made with the same material from your sword but a different color,” Selina said, causing questions from Kilian.

“Different colors?! Wait, you mean this could be used for something else?!”

“I stole a stash from the basement. The Jianke sect has been storing a lot of high-quality healing substances,” Selina said while observing the tiny fragment of powder left in the bottle. “ Haven't been able to recreate them efficiently.”

“What? Since when do you even get the time to do this?”

“When we were in the basement packing the gifts,” Selina said, lifting herself off from Kilian. “OLRS is a lifesaver in managing data. I think I’m about to reach the limit.”

“How much are you at?”

||[856,201/1,000,000]

143,799 words remaining till LV. 0 limit||

“Around one more decent book and I’m done,” Selina said. “What about you?”

||[280,346/1,000,000}

719,654 words remaining till Lv. 0 limit||

“Jesus, I’m not even close. Currently at 280k,” Kilian said. “It is convenient. Very bizarre that it's in our heads.”

Selina places the folder on his desk while grabbing Huo’s hat off from his table. “I wonder what we will gain from leveling up.”

“I need two hundred more points to unlock the reveal of Lv 1 upgrades.”

“You are barely ahead of me,” Selina replied, switching topics. “What are your long-term plans after this is all over? Like once this war is over.”

“Undecided. That will only be clearer as time goes on,” Kilian said. “Which reminds me.”

Kilian walks up to Selina grabbing the hat from her grasp. Her eyes went up as she saw him putting Huo’s hat on her. He nodded, and she adjusted the hat, wearing it. “I don’t understand, this is her hat.”

“That’s why I’m offering it to you. You are the next in line. Since we both are very close to her the best I can do is to offer you as Second-in-command,” Kilian said. “Much higher than just a doctor and secretary.”

Selina’s faceless expression and took a step back, grasping the moment. “I don’t deserve this.”

“You do. We have been at each other’s backs this past many weeks. You are one of the few that keeps me in check and keeps me sane. This is also a payback from when we first met.” Kilian noticed her holding back little tears, offered her Jianke whiskey from one of the boxes, and poured it into a glass. “Come, let’s take our minds off for a bit before the heavy workload.” He handed her a napkin. She gratefully accepted the drink, and both went to have a seat on the couch.

The two clink their glasses. The whiskey tastes very sweet but simultaneously smokey. Kilian can feel the heat as it travels down through his esophagus. “Never had this high-spirited whiskey before. The contrasting spiciness makes this better than the locals around here.”

||[Dry Water in effect: Counteracts alcoholic contents obtained from Whiskey]||

Oh darn. Hmmm, so that’s what the unknown effect applies. Kilian processes the info and asks Selina if she got anything. She shook her head as she didn’t get any pop up from it despite drinking one as she drove her truck.

“Oh, well that’s not gonna change how I drink,” Kilian said, chugging the last bit of his glass. Selina pours her other glass. Kilian leaves his glass on his desk and lifts the box, where he got the whiskey, away from the stack. [Weapons] printed on the edge of the box, he kneels and cuts the lid open.

“You even got the guns.” Selina appeared from behind.

“Feels naturally nostalgic,” Kilian said as his eyes scrambled for any vibrant arsenal he could use. “Ah, this one is a treasure.” He pulled one out of a neat stash of rifles. “The shorter barrel and firmer grip reminds me of the KR416.”

“What now?”

||KR416

Location: Stiocor

Strength: +

Weight: 0.56 stones

Ammo: 5.56||

“Sorry, KR416 from Stiocor,” Kilian said.

“Ah, Stiocor. Unfortunately, they are part of the Yun Empire, but they are still considered their own proud country if they are ever mentioned.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Kilian gave a feel of the KR416 and it was comfortable. To his luck, the rifle was included with the strap attached, and he wore it over his shoulders, tightening the strap. Using his foot, he pushed the box towards his desk. “You want one?”

“I already have casting so no thanks,” Selina said, denying the offer for a rifle.

“Alright, you never know you might need one as a backup.” Kilian closes the box. “How much time do we have left?”

“About forty-five minutes.”

“Then we should probably meet up with the rest back at the main hall.”

The two depart the office and walk for the remaining distance quietly, embracing the cold night air.