Chapter 207: Important

The journey to the central area of the continent was a silent one. To conserve mana just in case of an ambush Lucien and Instructor Emma moved on foot and in silence. During the journey, Emma walked behind as Lucien moved ahead, never bothering to look back. It has been more than a year since they had a fallout and in just one year, Lucien had completely changed. He was taller and his build was more solid than normal. His eyes were like two bright torches and his hair was much longer than before. At this age, Lucien could be considered extremely tired attractive. No matter how much Emma wanted to speak to Lucien she couldn't say a word since she was scared he would instantly go crazy and kill her off in one stroke.

After her incident with Lucien when he was persecuted by the empire he rules now, she was recruited by the Vladimir family and in a bid to support her new backers, she ignored everything and testified against him. She didn't even have the decency to visit him after he was kept in the dungeon for so long. When she was asked to accompany Lucien on this mission, she couldn't help but wonder what is going on in Vlad's head. She felt like they were all a part of his big game of chess! Does this man derive joy from creating chaos and terror? What would he gain if she died at Lucien's hand in this mission and the entire empire is put in a state of distress?

"Something is wrong..." Lucien finally spoke up making her heart skip a beat.

"All the magic beasts... They are gone... I can't sense the presence of any here!" Lucien said coldly.

When speaking, Lucien didn't even bother turning around to see her. He just kept moving while pondering on what to do. He felt like something was wrong! With his enhanced senses, he could tell that there was nothing around like the entire area was empty!

Their scent was fresh making him believe that these magic beasts left recently but the question now is where? And why did they leave?

while Lucien moved he pondered on this and ignored everything and kept working forward. He hated the fact that he knew nothing about the situation and could do nothing to fix it. Lucien wished he could know more but whenever he tries to use his seer pathway, all he could see are magic beasts gathering together and leaving together towards one direction. The direction led to the Libet empire and even with their number Lucien didn't think they will be able to break past the Libet empire defenses even if they try. Right now he couldn't bother with the Libet empire so he just chose to keep moving towards his goal. According to the information he was given, the Creed forces have built a stronghold around what seems to be a dungeon that just recently appeared in the central region of the empire.

The fact a stronghold was placed there, the three empires guessed that what must be down there is at least a grade two sealed artifact or possibly a grade one sealed artifact. After the events of the past, the three empires are more than willing to strike at the Creed forces whenever the chance surfaces, so Lucien was sure they were sending their forces too! 

In a situation where a Creed pillar is involved, he didn't have to worry, since he won't be fighting alone. The real battle is when the creed forces are destroyed and the three empires have to compete against each other for the sealed artifact. Thinking about this, Lucien couldn't help but frown! He had such a hard battle ahead, the empire was watching, and right now he was accompanied by someone whom he hated with all his heart!

"Could this trip get any worse?" Lucien laughed bitterly

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Days passed and they kept moving without looking back. During the lonely, cold nights, Lucien stayed away from the campfire and only stayed in his tent, so he didn't speak to Instructor Emma all through. He could tell the lady was making flimsy attempts to reach out to him but he had no intentions of speaking to her. They kept traveling in silence until they finally arrived but contrary to Lucien's expectations, he was the only one here. He couldn't see the army of the Libet empire or the Drakon Empire. 

Hidden well in the thick forest and consciously suppressing his aura, Lucien observed the enemy's stronghold and he was shocked to realize that this operation won't be as simple as he thought.

This so-called stronghold was well fortified with magic towers, Defensive formations, magic walls, and a strong army within! This is no different from invading a small kingdom!

This made him wonder how much effort these people have put into this place and this made him believe even more that there must be an actual grade one sealed artifact down there.

That night, Lucien stayed in the same tent with Instructor Emma since it was far safer for them to stick together, and also, they couldn't light up a campfire since there were too close to the enemy base. She wore a loose white gown which revealed all her bumps and curves that could make any man lose concentration but Lucien wasn't moved. By the way, he had seen this so many times before!

"You are not going to speak to me? No hateful words, no questions, nothing?" Emma finally mustered the courage to speak up and Lucien who had his back turned on her slowly yanked his eyes open.

"There is nothing to talk about… You betrayed and abandoned me when I needed you the most… You should be grateful you are still alive! Now sleep!" Lucien said coldly and shut his eyes once again but then a powerful explosion made the tent tremble violently, causing him to dash out!

Quickly putting on his silver robe he shot into the air, heading to the creed stronghold! Someone has finally made a move!