Chapter Fifteen: The Madman

A week of intense training, four trials in the Beast Valley in all, had put Lorant squarely in a period of rapid power growth. In less than ten days, swinging two greatswords no longer felt so difficult; the once unbearably heavy steel blades now seemed to be met by his hands, which were quickly learning to adapt to them.

…

Late at night, the stars blazing overhead, lights in the cadet dorms flickered between bright and dim. Some had already gone to rest, while others kept their desk lamps on, studying combat manuals provided by the Crimson Castle. Outside the dormitory courtyard, on top of a balustrade pillar, a solitary figure sat with eyes closed, feeling the rhythm of the wind. It was Lorant.

This was already the seventh night he had come to sit there, tasting the bite of the gale. Since the first day in the Beast Valley, Lorant had sensed the presence of the wind element. Though the feeling was faint and indistinct, he truly felt a connection, an exchange, with the wind elemental spirit—so much so that only in the deep quiet of night would he come here alone.

“Rustle…”

Footsteps sounded, and a figure appeared inside the courtyard wall — Avril. She wore a long black dress that outlined her graceful curves irresistibly. A cloak hung over her shoulders, her arms folded, and she lazily tilted her head up to look at Loran, saying, “Are you still sensing the presence of the wind?”

“Yes.”

Loran lowered his head to glance at her and smiled, “This feeling is… very strange…”

Averil snorted softly, sprang up, and with a burst of star-source power under her feet—there was a light “pong” as if cleaving a thread of air—she leapt off, landing on the courtyard wall beside Loran. Her snowy legs took on an enchanting sheen in the moonlight. Sitting there, she pursed her red lips and said, “You don’t mind if I keep you company here, do you?”

“As long as you want.”

Loran still sat atop the abrupt stone pillar, letting the fierce wind blow the short hairs at his forehead, and said, “Avel, my star vein has never awakened. Do you think… someone whose star vein hasn’t awakened could possibly wield the power of the wind element?”

“I don’t know.”

Averil shook her head and told the truth: “I’ve never encountered such a situation before. Logically, someone whose star veins haven’t awakened shouldn’t have any keen sensory ability, much less be able to sense the presence of a wind element spirit. That’s strange in itself.”

“Not necessarily.”

A voice came from the darkness — so faint that if she hadn’t spoken, Loran and Averil wouldn’t have sensed it at all.

“Who!?”

Loran was suddenly on alert.

“It’s me.” From the darkness, a graceful figure stepped out, wearing a woman’s officer uniform — Assistant Instructor Mikaela. She crossed her arms, her black hair like a waterfall cascading over her scented shoulders. She glanced up at Loran and Aivell and said, “You two rascals — why are you out here instead of sleeping?”

“Instructor…”

Loran and Aivell jumped down from the air one after the other, landing with two soft thuds in front of Mikaela. Aivell said, “Instructor, Loran says he can sense the presence of a wind elemental spirit.”

“Is it true… Loran?” Mikayla asked.

“Yes.”

“This is… rather interesting.” Mikayla smiled slightly and said, “Avel, you go rest. Loran, come with me; let’s go see Instructor Haimu together.”

“Yes, Instructor!”

…

Instructor quarters. Outside the gate, rows of knight sentries stood firm. After passing through a series of villa-style residences, Mikaela led Loran into an unremarkable room and found Instructor Haimu.

“Are you sure the thing you sensed was a wind elemental spirit?” Haimu asked.

“Yes.”

Loren nodded and said, “Whenever I’m in the wind, I can feel the rhythm of that power; I’m very sure of it.”

“That’s unlikely.”

Haimu frowned and said, “If, as you told me before, you’re just a hunter from a mountain on the empire’s frontier, you couldn’t possibly have such a keen sensitivity. Besides, your physical strength has already been trained to a remarkable degree, so there’s simply no way you would have had much time to focus on honing an understanding of the elements.”

Saying that, Haimu stepped forward, his eyes fixed on Lolan, and asked, “Lolan, tell me, was there anyone before me who taught you the related combat techniques and training methods?”

“Yes.”

Loran nodded and said, “Back in my hometown, there was also a grand knight who taught me; he trained my strength.”

“A grand knight…”

Hemwood’s brows knit tightly. “Just a grand knight alone couldn’t have given you such terrifying insight. How did he normally teach you?”

“Well…”

Loran was startled for a moment, memories of what Erko had once said flashing through his mind—that his teaching methods must be kept secret—so Loran said, “It’s just ordinary strength training, nothing special.”

“I see…”

Instructor Haimu fell silent, lost in thought.

Loran, meanwhile, sank into his own contemplation. In truth, most of the time Alco spent teaching Loran was up in the attic—just sitting opposite him and telling stories, tales about power, and even some abstruse theories that Loran couldn’t grasp at all. By contrast, when it came to actual swordsmanship, Alco had taught Loran very little.

At that moment, the youth felt a quiet astonishment in his heart, suddenly realizing that all the stories Aierke had told him over the years, all the secrets he had shared, seemed to be gradually opening his mind. And it was perhaps because of those accumulated teachings from Teacher Aierke that, in the Beast Valley, he had been able to sense the presence of the wind elemental spirit

However, bound by the promise between the two of them, Loran would never utter Aierke’s name to Instructor Haimu.

“In that case, make good use of what you have already grasped.”

Instructor Haimu took a deep breath and said, “Mikaela, starting tomorrow, take an hour each day to teach Loran how to master elemental power, and how to fuse elemental power with his swordsmanship!”

“Yes, Lord Haimu!”

“Go.”

Haimu waved his hand, watching the two leave, then gently closed the book in his hands. A trace of doubt creased his brow as he murmured to himself, “The last person to master elemental power with a purely physical body was the great Seer Lin Shan. This child… surely isn’t that kind of person, is he? If he is, maybe… I should have told Lady Catherine about this sooner…”

…

Late at night.

Starlight poured over the land of the Ailan Mountains. Nestled among the peaks, a city stood tall and proud, the stars reflecting off its white bricks and tiles in gleaming streaks of pure light.

“Clop clop clop…”

Amid the urgent sound of hooves, a grand knight galloped into the city, spurring his horse straight for the lord’s mansion without pause.

On the gate of the lord’s mansion, elegant purple-gold flower patterns were carved; four formidable knights stood guard outside, their bodies encased in armor, only their eyes visible through the slits of their helmets, coldly watching everything beyond.

The grand knight swung down from his horse, removed his helmet, revealing a head of lustrous short blond hair and a handsome face. Tucking the helmet under his arm, he stepped forward and said in a deep voice to the guard, “I am Aelco, Grand Knight of Eiran City. I request an audience with the lord of the city.”

“Is there a problem?”

The gatekeeping knight stared straight ahead without wavering.

“Yes.”

Ailke’s eyes held a faint anger as he said, “The remote mountain villages within Ailan City’s territory were attacked; nearly all the civilians were slaughtered, and a group of children were taken captive. I came to see the lord about this.”

“The affairs of border villages are naturally investigated by the city defense officers; you have no right to see the lord directly,” the Grand Knight said coldly. “Besides, it’s already late at night and the lord has retired. Go back—if it’s important, wait until daylight tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait any longer!”

Aierke stepped forward, his gaze icy. “Stand aside!”

“What, you want to force your way into the governor’s mansion?”

A gate guard knight chuckled. “Aierke, I’ve heard of you. You’re just one of the dozens of great knights of Ailan City. You really think you can barge into the governor’s mansion? Sounds like you don’t plan on staying in Ailan City much longer, huh?”

“I told you… get out of the way!”

Ailco suddenly stepped forward, the star-source force in his body bursting forth, transforming into strands of blazing light. The momentum it generated forcibly pushed the great knight and the knight before him back several paces.

“Ailco, you!” The great knight reached out to draw his sword.

At that moment, with a creak, the iron gate opened a crack and a pair of sharp eyes shot out from within. “Is that Lord Ailco? Let him in; I’ll take him to see the city lord.”

“Yes!”

…

Lord’s mansion main hall.

Aierke paced back and forth, not even in the mood to take a sip of tea.

Not long after, footsteps approached, and the slightly portly city lord emerged from the inner courtyard, clad in bright knightly armor. He frowned and said, “Ailko, how come… you’re here in the middle of the night?”

Ailko’s gaze was icy. Frowning, he said, “Lord Elrok, just a few days ago a village to the northwest of Eland City, near the Barbarian Mountains, suffered utter annihilation. Almost the entire village was massacred; eyewitnesses say it was the deeds of knights from the Order of the Radiant. The boys there were also taken. With all due boldness and apology for presuming, I must ask: were these acts carried out by knights serving the city lord’s mansion?”

“How is that possible?”

Erock gritted his teeth and said, “I… how could I have ordered the massacre of civilians under my rule?”

“Are you saying it really wasn’t the work of Ailan City?”

“No.”

Eirok said, “I swear on the honor of the Ail family!”

“Alright, sorry to bother you!”

Ailco turned and walked away.

…

“This crazy guy…”

Erock gritted his teeth: “It’s for the best that he left Eilan City, but he must not cause me any trouble! Also, have you heard any news about the young miss?”

The gray-robed attendant nodded: “I’ve learned it—through the mounted couriers. The young miss has already become an official trainee of this year’s incoming class at the Crimson Prison.”

“That’s good.”