Chapter 214: Insult Me

Chapter 214: Insult Me

September 4th, 625

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“I love you more.”

“No you don’t.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

I chuckled when Umara pulled away from a kiss and bit my nose.

I took that as the opportunity to separate and give a hug to Feiden.

I whispered, “Don’t tell Umara but I actually love you more.”

“...I don’t know how to respond to that.”

“It’ll be our little secret.”

I went to pinch him but he suddenly zipped away, my fingers grasping air. I laughed before hugging Tana.

“See ya, girl. Study that stuff with Umara.”

“That stuff is complicated.”

“Yeah... Good luck.”

“Pfft. Thanks.”

She chuckled, her blonde hair sliding off my arm as I walked over to Jasmine.

I had discussed things with all three of my friends, focusing primarily on their Aura techniques. I gave as much advice as I could that might help them, but it was ultimately up to them to turn it into something they could use.

After hearing about how Feiden could bend space though, I started to question what the hell Aura actually was. It seemed to be able to do anything, and anyone could acquire any kind of power with it. It was still true that it was only capable of following a singular path, but the fact that a knight like Feiden could compress and expand space itself was mind boggling. That was something only warlocks should be able to do, and even then they should have great difficulty despite knowing how to make teleporters.

I still had no idea what Aura actually was, or why it could do the things it did.

Those were questions I’d have to ask somebody at the height of power.

For now, it was time to go back. I met with Jasmine, who was standing beside Gurns and General Kisa.

I shook the General’s hand before getting a word from Gurns.

“I’ll be keeping an eye on you, John. Your friends have insisted on your killing power and from the few reports I’ve gotten on your combat records, it’s as impressive as they say. Still, I want you at Authority 7 before anything happens. Do that, and we’ll talk.”

“Yes, sir. I look forward to it.”

We shook hands, Jasmine and I stepping up to the ladder to climb into the XR-11.

I waved goodbye to everyone before slipping inside and shutting the hatch, locking it down and climbing into the pilot seat.

Not long after that we were in the air and on our way back to the Treehouse. I was already overdue to return to the Capital, but at this point I didn’t really care.

Since I worked a bit of overtime, maybe they’d bump my return out.

......

...

“Making our approach.”

My eyes opened up, my body dragging itself out of the bed after a handful of seconds.

I let out a long sigh while sitting myself back down in the pilot seat, my eyes glancing out the window and seeing the warzone in the distance.

My eyes narrowed, “Did they break past one of the FOBs?”

“Seems like it. They wouldn’t be halfway to our walls if they didn’t.”

“That’s not good. Boot us up. We’re heading down.”

Jasmine silently followed my command, turning on most of our systems while I flicked on the two standby engines and picked up speed.

We sped up toward the Treehouse, and on the way we got a glimpse of the furthermost line of the battlefield.

We could see massive fireballs exploding into towering plumes dotting the enemy lines. My brows raised, my eyes zooming to see the bomber planes overhead.

“Those are the bombs. Sawn managed to get them and the bombers fielded.”

“That’s good, right?”

“Yes, very. Let’s hurry down.”

“Aerial is up.”

I nodded and tuned the Aerial to the Tower, getting clearance for landing.

“Runway 5 is clear, Dreamboat.”

“Roger. Landing.”

We flew down, touching down and braking to a halt. I kept the engines running, giving me a little more speed to roll up to a hangar.

It was occupied so I parked just outside of it among a few other planes. Once I turned everything off, Jasmine and I hurried out.

As soon as the hatch opened we heard a series of distance explosions. Those bombs were hitting hard, which made me excited.

I got a message from Polly not long after, Jasmine and I making haste toward Headquarters.

We arrived in the war room, seeing the busy summoners moving about. Polly was in there, and we joined her side.

She gave us a side eye.

“So you two finally decided to return. Have fun at Stronghold Beta?”

“Good. I’ll draft a contract.”

“Thanks.”

I gave him a nod as he left. He probably felt bad about the leak but I wasn’t about to cry over spilt milk.

I simply needed to do damage control. Thinking that, I spent a few hours drafting up some concepts for a few new weapon lines before leaving. It was already night when I had arrived in the Capital, so it was just past midnight now.

I stepped out of the Spire, heading in the way of the Black Spider Hotel. I had an easy line to the Church there, which I intended to pull on right now.

Unfortunately the Kingdom had other plans. It wasn’t long after I stepped out that I felt a not-unfamiliar feeling.

There were some dangerous people nearby, and I was being watched.

I stopped in my tracks. Nobody was out and about. Only the black markets were busy at night. Every other normal person was sleeping, so the streets were empty.

I took a deep breath, feeling some people getting closer. Nobody I couldn’t handle.

After some seconds though I suddenly felt an Authority 9. That’s when I suddenly bolted, activating my boots, my stealth, and flying across the ground.

I barreled down a street when another Authority 9 appeared in front of me completely unprompted.

I realized they had to be masking their Aura somehow when I got within a certain range and felt their power. It only seemed to work until a certain distance but it was enough to get in range of someone.

I frowned and tightened up my coat while dodging and shooting up a building. Once up top I started hopping across them, the Authority 9 close behind. I realized they were seeing through my own Aura.

Then another appeared in the direction I was going, making me curse.

“Really pulling out all the stops, huh!”

“You have no idea.”

I spun around at the voice. Another Authority 9. That was four.

I went silent again and shot off, plummeting down into the street once more, heading in the general direction of the warlock of the group. I had a better chance against a warlock than a knight.

That’s when a wall shot up in front of me. I jumped toward it without hesitation, lifting my legs and slamming my boots against it, activating one of their special functions.

A shockwave shot out of my soles, shattering the wall. I went through it, tumbling a bit on the ground before flying off once more.

Then another Authority 9 appeared. It was a speedster type, and the knight zipped in front of me along with a dozen Authority 7s and 8s.

I was incredulous. There was no way this was someone trying to assassinate me. These people were unmarked but they were too good and there were too many to be bounty hunters.

At that point though, it clicked for me.

These weren’t assassins. These were agents of the Kingdom.

That which nobody knew about. Those who operated in the dark, engaging in espionage and subterfuge.

The Kingdom’s own intelligence agency, not to be used against the Scourge, but against other groups of humanity that might threaten their power.

I stopped where I was and let go of my Aura, standing in the middle of the street, surrounded by those I couldn’t hope to kill.

They closed the circle, and I faced the speedster in front of me leading other troops.

“So, what should I call you? I didn’t realize the Kingdom had counterespionage.”

“There are many things you don’t realize. Perhaps if you had accepted the offer to become a noble, you’d be more privy to certain things, more protected.”

His masked face spoke, his words making me narrow my eyes. He was implying that to be a noble was to be protected.

Probably from them.

I was a loose end, but I knew my value. They wouldn’t do anything to me. I may have pissed off some nobles but I hadn’t shown myself to be a threat to the Crown.

They just wanted to make sure it would remain that way.

I glanced around as a few people approached me, “So, here for a friendly greeting?”

“Something like that.”

“I don’t know what I did to deserve such a warm welcome.”

“Yes, you do,” He rebutted, “I don’t believe in your stupidity, John Cooper. You’re smart, and that’s exactly why I’m here.”

I was silent as three people got close. Once within reach, two drew their swords and placed them next to my neck while the third grabbed my arms. He was a knight, so my life was now out of my own hands.

There was no point in resisting here, though. I looked forward again, and I watched as one of the masked soldiers walked forward instead of the speedster knight.

I narrowed my eyes when he got close. He was a summoner, and he was actually Authority 9 as well. I realized the speedster wasn’t the one speaking. This summoner was able to evade my scrutiny.

He was extremely dangerous.

He approached and tilted his head at me before sending out a fist, metal knuckles digging into my stomach. I coughed as the air was knocked out of me, baffled by his strength.

I caught my breath and smiled, “Tempered by Vigor. Seems the Kingdom knows how to raise summoners.”

“Intelligence is the greatest blade,” He leaned down and spoke into my ear, “And you, John Cooper, happen to be one of the sharpest. Unfortunately, the perfect ally is also the worst enemy.”

“It is insulting to insinuate that I am your enemy.”

“And you insult me by pretending to be my ally.”

He sent another punch into my face, blood being drawn. That would leave a mark.

Then he grabbed my neck and raised my head.

“You’re smart Cooper, and smart people have to be educated. Otherwise they get ideas.”

He turned, the knights hoisting my body up and cuffing my limbs.

“I’m here to educate you, Cooper. Not about why you shouldn’t betray the Kingdom, but why you should thoroughly fear doing so. The silver lining in this situation is that I’m the best teacher there is. If you act as smart as I know you are, then this won’t take long.”

With those words my head was bagged. The bag was magical, blocking out all my senses as well as most of my Aura. It was like the bag formed a labyrinth my Aura had to pierce through to see beyond.

I was dragged off blind, my face neutral, my mind running through all the different endings to this situation.

In the end, I concluded that eventually, I’d need to kill this summoner.