Chapter 91 The Countdown

“Hey! Haven’t you heard the word privacy in your life before?!” Aldred frowned at him.

Arthur was speechless. “You’ve been awake this whole time?”

“I can’t sleep. Wait, we’re not talking about me. Why are you trespassing on my private tent.”

Hugo went inside and shouted: “There’s hundreds of motherfuckers who want to kill you— oh wow, nice plump.”

Jake pulled his collar from the back. “You better get out now. People are trying to kill you”

“What?” Aldred walked out naked because of the urgency. As he exited the tent, he saw hundreds of people with full gear looking at him. Archers and magicians stood above the cliff with their bows and staff.

“What is going on?”

“Shit!” Scar frowned, taking two steps back.

Aldred looked around and saw battle marks all over the place. “How could I not notice a battle of this scale?”

“They seem to cast some spells before attacking you,” Arthur said.

Aldred looked at them. “Why do you want to kill me?”

Scar trembled. “We don’t want to kill you. It’s just a small misunderstanding.”

“Really?”

A clump of large mist came out from the ground. Will, the Phantom Claw stepped out. The adventurer gasped in fear. The warriors slowly stepped back. They had the numerical advantage and possibly could win against Aldred but nobody wanted to die for nothing.

Another mist appeared, and Nicky stepped out.

“Hmm… I forgot to turn that eagle into my undead. Anyway, I am giving you guys 5 seconds to run before two of my beasts hunt you down!”

“One!”

The bandits panicked and dropped their weapons. Swords, axes, spears, and hammers all thumped on the ground.

“Two!”

They took off their armor as they ran. Not caring if the chilling wind would stab their body.

“Three!”

Their body heated up and they used their power to be faster. Legs fluttered in the snow. A few men stumbled and fell. The man behind was too scared to care and stepped on their friends.

“Four!”

Aldred smiled when he saw all of them running even quicker than before.

“Fiv—” Someone grabbed his shoulder with a soft and slender hand.

“Don’t do it, Aldred.”

When Aldred turned his head, he realized it was Mira.

“They tried to kill us.”

“I know they did, but we’re alive and well. There is no need to kill them all.”

Aldred looked at the running enemies, feeling conflicted. He had a great urge to kill them all. They tried to harm his friends.

“Mira, we did nothing to them, yet they wanted to harm us. They are evil. We should kill them.”

Mira sighed. Aldred was correct, but she did not want him to do the killing. In the future, blood lust might form in his mind, and he might find killing enjoyable.

Power could blind the holiest of men, not to mention a naive one such as Aldred. “I don’t want you to kill. I am afraid you will become a monster.”

Aldred smiled. “I will not. As long as you are with me. I will be no monster. But you said it before, that it’s fine to be a monster. What I need to do is learn how to control it. I can control it, Mira. I can. Now is the time to unleash it upon our enemies, so in the future, no one shall harm us ever again.”

Mira widened her eyes. Such wise words come from this boy. She’d underestimated his philosophical thoughts. Aldred was more than capable of articulating himself with words.

She looked at the enemies running for their life. They deserved to die, but her heart said otherwise, though it would be unfair if she pushed her wishes upon the boy. She looked at the boy and nodded.

“Will, Nicky. Chase them and eat as much as you can.”

The Phantom Claw and the Giant Velobra roared, signaling that the hunt had begun. They rushed at the enemies.

Aldred looked at Arthur who was staring at Mira with widened eyes.

“Sister?” Arthur asked. He couldn’t believe his eyes. “Are you sister Mira?”

“Oh, you two know each other?” Aldred asked.

Mira nodded. “I am.”

“W—what are you doing in this place?”

“I am helping the boy in his journey.”

“Why?”

“He has great power within him.”

“But this is not the place where you should be, sister. A lot of people rely on you back home. Please, I will bring you back to the abbey.”

This was what she was afraid to happen.

“I have to refuse.”

“But, sister.” Arthur approached, but Aldred glared at him.

“I am thankful that you helped me earlier, but forcing Mira to do something she doesn’t want will make you my enemy as well.”

“You don’t understand,” Arthur said. “The servants of the church are not supposed to leave the border unless to spread the gospel. But only the Archbishop can give that order. Sister, you are breaking the rule.”

“I don’t care,” Aldred said. “You are not forcing her to do anything.”

Aldred bit his lips. This Arthur guy started reminding him of Pharder and Simond who kept forcing women to do something they didn’t want to do.

“Don’t be harsh on them, Aldred. They mean no harm.” Mira glanced at Arthur. “Please don’t tell anyone about this. I help this boy of my own accord.”

“I will help the boy,” Arthur said. “There is no need to risk your life.”

“You cannot help him.”

“I am a hero. I have the power.”

“He doesn’t need your power.”

Arthur was about to say something, but realized she was right. ‘The boy is much stronger than me. Even if I join his group, I wouldn’t be that useful. But then what does he need?’

He looked at the boy, and then glanced to the side where there were other women who were half-naked in the bath. Arthur frowned. Did this boy use sister Mira as one of his playthings? He did not care about what the boy needed. He couldn’t let this happen.

His body trembled in anger. How dare he sullied her purity. Sister Mira was a famous nun who raised many heroes under her guidance. She helped many children smile and give hope to everyone around her. To think that this boy dared to do this.

Arthur glared at the boy.

Aldred flinched. ‘What is wrong with this guy? If Mira didn’t know him, I would have killed this guy by now.’