Chapter 143 - Return To Lyanna

While Yuki was enjoying his time with his family, Jing and Scar had just returned to their kingdom. The kingdom of Lyanna had just been saved by the one who had killed the people they loved a few hours ago and now the person who led all those people to their deaths had just returned. Scar walked proudly into the kingdom as if he had won the battle. Behind him was Jing who followed as the ice chain still kept him restrained. Jing looked like just a dog who was following its master. As for the civilians of the kingdom, they wanted to beat Scar to death, however, most people knew that if they did, there was a high likelihood that they would face the same fate as their previous leader. Even if Scar's previous guards had died in the battle, there was no way of knowing if he had more. 

Jing felt the penetrating gaze of the people as their hatred and blood lust for the both of them oozed through the kingdom. Although Scar had also noticed it, he didn't care. He wasn't tolerant of insubordination. The people could think or do what they wanted and Scar would allow them to get away scot free. A problem would only arise if they declined an order from him. 

As Scar and Jing continued to walk towards the castle-like building in the middle of the kingdom, they couldn't help but admire the night sky. Through all the negativity surrounding them, all they could do was focus on the one positive thing. 

"What are you going to do now? All the people hate you for leading everyone they cared about to their deaths and not a single person from this place will ever trust you. You really dug a whole for yourself," Jing said as he tried to spark up a conversation while also getting on Scar's nerves. 

"Worry about yourself. I'll figure something out soon enough anyway," replied Scar before turning his attention towards a woman who was walking past them. 

"Hey you. What happened here?" Scar asked.

Jing was confused as to what he meant as everyone should've known what had happened, especially Scar. He was the one who forcibly drafted all the men from the kingdom. It was plain cruel to ask someone about that event, even for Scar, that was a harsh thing to do. Although Jing thought that Scar was inquiring about the battle, he had not. Scar had noticed little marks and blood on the houses of the kingdom. Not to mention some bruises on people as well. To add on to that, the people seemed to be more cautious than angry. Scar had noticed that an invasion of some kind had occurred. 

"The entire kingdom was invaded by a gang and they kidnapped all the women and children of the kingdom. Which happens to be everyone in the kingdom because you made the selfish decision to force all the men of the kingdom to go to a war which was meant to fail from the beginning. You lead them to their deaths knowing you couldn't win," the woman spoke up. 

Although her words caught the attention of many, Scar didn't seem to care. His expression hadn't changed nor did he look like he regretted what he had done. All that remained was a dictator which only cared to satisfy himself. 

"If all of you were kidnapped, how are you back here?" Scar asked. 

"Oh, did I forget to mention? The same kid you gathered all  those people for came and saved us. Even you, our leader, was made a fool by your enemy. How can you let the one you tried to kill save your kingdom for you? You're pathetic," the woman replied, this time however, she had struck a nerve. 

"Activate ability: Ice Control"

Scar said those words under his breath as he didn't want people to hear. The ground around Scar began to freeze up as it became more slippery. Although there was no direct water to turn into ice, Scar's ability allowed him to do so as it didn't have any direct limitations due to how vast the ability can be expanded. The simpler the ability, the less the limitation and vice versa. 

"Thank you for complying with the questionnaire," said Scar before leaving to head towards the castle-like structure which was in the middle-back of the kingdom. 

"That must've been embarrassing," said Jing as he tried to hold in his laughter.

"You realize that as my temporary subordinate, part of the blame will also fall on you right?" said Scar as he looked back with a face of boredom but also a face which looked like it wanted to get back at Jing. 

"I never really thought of it that way. I'm just here because I'm forced to do so. None of this is my fault," said Jing as he tried to rebuttal Scar's claims. 

"Whatever you say I guess. It won't change the perspective of the people either way," said Scar. 

"We'll see about that. More importantly, do you actually have a plan to recover the state of the kingdom? Due to the way you decided to conduct the selection of the war participants, it looks like our population will only continue to decrease from here on out," Jing asked. 

"To be honest. I do, but it's risky... what do you say to ruling over the kingdom while I'm gone for a bit?" Scar asked. 

"What's in it for me? Plus, I can just escape from here the second you leave," replied Jing. 

"I know you won't leave this place. What other kingdom will allow you to rule over it freely. Most likely, I'll just come here once after a while then never come back again, so you're basically going to have this kingdom all to yourself," said Scar as he tried to convince Jing to take a bait. 

"This guy thinks I'm an idiot. While he's probably not lying, he's only doing this because he had something better planned for himself. Once he has enough power to attain it, he'll go chase after it while I'm stuck in this kingdom. This isn't about him succeeding because he could just leave right now. This is more about me staying put where I am," Jing said to himself. 

Knowing that Scar just planned to leave the kingdom behind and chase after his own dreams, Jing decided to play along to allow himself an opportunity in which he could escape from the kingdom as well.

"Where are you even going?" Jing asked out of curiosity. He had suspected where Scar would go but he just wanted to make sure he was right. 

"I'm thinking of going to the dungeons. I'm tired of relying on my intelligence alone. I was shown that no matter how smart I may be. No matter how many back up plans I have. If I open for any attacks for even a mere moment, those who seek my defeat will take advantage of that. As such, I have decided to train with a raid party that actively clears dungeons for a while," scar replied.

"That's understandable. I can't understand how that feels. Will you be leaving soon?" Jing asked. 

He was purposefully avoiding asking Scar when he would come back since if he had asked that, Scar would get suspicious. Asking when he would come back would've implied that Jing was planning to do something within the timeline from when Scar was gone and when he returned. Jing needed to make sure that something like that wouldn't happen which was why he was careful when he picked the words he chose. 

"I'll be leaving within 3 days to a week. I would've preferred to leave today but the necessary arrangements will take some time. I don't know when I'll come back though. Most likely within a year or two. I'll be working every single day so I grow stronger," said Scar. He had been so caught up in thought and imagination that he let out the one piece of information which Jing was looking for. 

"This is perfect, I couldn't have asked for anything better. I've won. I'll leave the second you leave this kingdom. By the time you come back, it'll be too late for you to find me. As for this dreadful kingdom, it'll rot in hell! Without anyone being able to support the economy due to your mistakes, it'll crumble to dust," Jing said to himself as he tried to stay as calm as possible. 

"A whole 1-2 years? That's far too long. I won't be able to handle the responsibility of managing a whole kingdom," Jing said to Scar as he tried to stay humble. 

"Cut it out. I know you're excited to run things around here. This was what you wanted from the start right?" Scar asked. 

"You got me. I can't wait for you to leave this place. Do everyone a favour and never return. We don't need someone here who'll cut down our population in half," said Jing as he continued to sell the idea that he was fine with the fact that he was going to actually stay in the kingdom and help build it up. 

"I don't care how you feel. All that matters is that you help this kingdom get back on its feet," said Scar as he opened the large double doors of the castle-like structure to allow both of them to enter the empty castle.