Chapter 135 - Three Different Smiles

The next morning, General Lexus' Dual Sword Army left Border City. The soldiers were wearing a solemn expression as they proceeded with their march. They were, after all, going inside one of Shura's forbidden regions, the Cave of Endless Grievance. Their journey would surely be fraught with dangers, but they had to march forward. The success of their expedition will bring a huge impact on the fate of their empire.

General Lexus' facial expression was grim, but his eyes glowed with firm resolution. He equipped his dual long swords which were Saint level weapons. The two swords' blades gleamed with coldness. He then sheathed them back on the scabbard that formed an X-shape behind his back. 

Meanwhile, inside Fragrance Inn, Cale, Michelle, and Zero were staring solemnly at a man who was tied tightly by thick elemental chains. Michelle could not identify the man at close scrutiny, but she was sure that it was her second brother, the second prince who sent the man to follow her. 

She felt a cold sweat dripping down her forehead. Someone was actually tailing her without her knowledge!

'That second brother of mine is the only one who will do something like this!' Michelle angrily thought to herself as she stared at the man who was about to wake up. Hopefully, he did not stalk her inside her room, or she would surely kill him with her own hands! A faint trace of killing intent surged out of her peerless body.

Cale remained expressionless as he waited for the man to wake up. Zero had dealt quite the damage towards the man, making him go unconscious for one whole night. 

"Ugghh!" The man groaned in pain as he slowly opened his eyes with difficulty. The sheer amount of pain made him grit his teeth in alarm. 

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the familiar face of the princess who was glaring at him sharply. Beside her were two men, one with long silver hair with a wolf mask covering half his face. The other one was someone he knew, it was the guy that he had fought last night. 

He glared sharply at Zero and howled in anger. The latter smirked and immediately delivered a strong and decisive punch on the man's face. The man's face distorted in pain and his nose bled intensely, but he still glared solemnly at Zero. If looks could kill, Zero would have died many times over already.

Zero chuckled eerily causing the man's hair to stand on end. He then saw a fist coming straight towards his defenseless face. A loud sound of a face being punched resounded inside the room. 

"Ugghh!" The man groaned once more. The feeling of pain was more intense this time since Zero focused on punching his nose. He felt a searing pain coming from his face and he felt his cheeks tighten.

Zero nodded in satisfaction after seeing the bulging reddish cheeks of the man. His nose also crooked on a different angle, blood poured out unceasingly.

"Who sent you here to follow me?" Princess Michelle spoke calmly, but the fury in her eyes was noticeable.

The man merely laughed at her question, but because of his current circumstances, the mere act of laughing caused him intense pain. But he ignored the pain and glanced mockingly at Princess Michelle. The scorn in his yellowish eyes was clear to see.

Zero took out a knife from his sleeves and swiped it calmly. A line of blood splashed in front of him, but his robes remained untainted. 

The man glanced at his right hand in alarm. Two of his fingers were no longer attached to it, and only a cleanly cut part remained, blood gushed out of it. The pain signals were late to arrive, but it still caused the man to grimace like a pig. 

"When you are asked, you answer. I can gouge out your heart and still keep you alive at the same time. If you don't want to see that happen then speak properly." Zero voice was indifferent, but the man felt extreme fear. The way he looked at Zero also changed, it was as if he was looking at the god of death.

He then searched for the suicide pill inside his mouth using his tongue, but he was unable to find it. 

"Forget about finding it. I have already taken it out from you." Zero swiped his knife once again and another fountain of blood splashed out. 

The man gritted his teeth with a distorted expression, and he kept on emitting muffled groans. He then glared fiercely at Zero, his body shaking uncontrollably from the pain. 

Michelle who was not accustomed to seeing that kind of scene had a face as pale as snow. But she still forced herself to look calm on the surface. 

Zero suddenly conjured a dark elemental insect that wriggled maliciously in his hands. The chained man palpitated in fear after seeing it, and he peed his pants in terror as Zero slowly approached him with the insect in hand.

"I'll speak! I'll speak! I'll speak!" The man was breathing heavily as buckets of sweat slid down his bruised face, creating a sorry sight. 

The man spoke everything he knew with a stuttering voice. He kept on glancing at Zero with his peripheral vision.

Princess Michelle's conjectures were indeed right. Zero also did not feel any hint of falsehood from the man's words. It was indeed the second prince who sent him towards the Fragrant Inn. He had coincidentally seen Michelle go towards the inn, hence he followed after her. He also said that the second prince told him to invite Cale in their faction, and if he declines, then the man had to kill him.

After hearing the man's words, Zero's face darkened by several degrees. 

'Someone actually dares kill his lordship?! Even if you are the empire's prince, you will have to die!'

Zero then felt a slight pat on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Cale's calm expression. 

"Zero, kill him swiftly and dispose his body. We shall not waste our time on some cannon fodder." 

"Yes, my lord." Zero bowed his head calmly before slicing the man's neck with his knife. The man had a strange smile on his face as if he had gained freedom. 

Princess Michelle swallowed her disgust as she left the room with Cale. They then discussed the princess' plan for their expedition.

* * * 

The next day, inside a big mansion. A man with long blonde hair laughed maliciously, but his eyes contained furious killing intent. 

"A little commoner dares to kill one of my people. Even if you are a four-elemental Saint, you still have to die for provoking me! I will let you live for now, but once I get the throne, you will either be my slave or be a pile of rotting flesh!" 

He then swept his gaze on a young woman who was shivering in fear. He grabbed the woman fiercely while tearing off her clothes like a starved lion. 

The sound of a woman crying and loud pounding sounds resounded moments after.

* * * 

On the same day, Cale met with the party that Princess Michelle hired for the mission. There were more than two dozen of them, and all of these fighters were Saints. There were even two people wearing a black and gold armband signifying that they were Adamantine-Rank mercenaries. They looked haughtily at the other fighters of the party. 

Although all of them were Saints, the difference between their strength was huge. All of the Adamantine-Rank mercenaries were powerful people that only a few dared to confront. 

Cale arrived at their meeting spot with Princess Michelle. All of Cale's subordinates remained to gather intelligence about the empire during his absence.  He also tasked them to protect the princess secretly. 

The two dozen Saints focused their gazes on Cale who was standing beside Princess Michelle. They stood too close to each other that it irked the fighters terribly. How could they allow any other man to stand close to their goddess?!

It was the same case for one of the Adamantine-Rank mercenary, Ciprus. He was a late stage Saint-Class level fighter and was also ranked sixteenth in the Adamantine leaderboard, just two steps below the spearman Falkor, so he was definitely strong. 

Ciprus glared at Cale with open hostility. The latter reciprocated with an indifferent expression. Cale's calmness annoyed Ciprus greatly, and if not for the presence of Princess Michelle, he would have already smashed that calm look out of his face. Although it was covered by a mask, Ciprus still saw his indifference. 

"Hello everyone, this man here is Wolf King. He will join you guys on the expedition to search for the Holy Nourishing Crystal. He is also a Saint and a Platinum-Rank mercenary, so his help would be immense on your party." Cale smiled at the fighters after Princess Michelle's introduction. 

They already know that their mission was at max level difficulty, so an additional help was very much appreciated. Their earlier hostility towards Cale lessened by a notch.

Ciprus saw the princess smiling at Cale after she introduced him towards the party. Princess Michelle was usually aloof and cold, but she actually smiled at someone, and towards a man at that! Unforgivable!

"Your highness, when do we set off?" Ciprus was already impatient about his thoughts on killing Cale. And the only place he can do that was outside Border City, during their expedition. His lips curved into a grin at his own thoughts. No one should stay near his goddess!

Princess Michelle was caught off guard at the sudden question, but she instantly regained her calmness.

"We will set off today." She looked calmly at Ciprus. She already knew what kind of thoughts this man harbored, but she was disinclined to care about such a man. She believed that Cale had a way to defeat him, so she was not worried at all. Her lips lift upwards slightly.

Cale was oblivious about their thoughts, his focus was solely on the reward of the mission. Five Elemental Essence Bundle was enough for him to reach the late stage of the Saint-Class level! There was also that promise from Princess Michelle. He could not help but smile widely.

Three people smiled, but their smiles held different meanings.