Chapter 109: I Have a Dream

Chapter 109: I Have a Dream

Layton sat in his tent, listening as the camp went from noisy to quiet. He only wished for everything to end quickly. The wait before death was too tormenting, and with the waiting, panic kept building up in his heart, gradually becoming unbearable. Just as he couldn’t bear it anymore and wanted to rush out to seek a quick end, the tent flap was cut down by a blade, and Bran walked in.

“Are we the only ones left?” Layton asked.

“I let one go. Someone needs to spread what happened today.”

“You will offend everyone this way. Aren’t you afraid of revenge?”

Bran smiled, his face covered in blood making him look fierce. “So what? Before you came, I had already offended the Dragon Riders. So at that time, I thought, I must not offend everyone. But what can I do if I don’t offend?

You didn’t even hide your goals. Your group and the Dragon Riders both brought many Wizards. The Dragon Riders wanted to obtain the secrets of the Northern Wizards, so clearly you did too. You were even bolder than the Dragon Riders, taking action when the last Delegation came.

These past days, you’ve been getting closer and closer with the Dragon Riders, together requesting to visit my City Manor, together telling me that the Anya People were coming. You know what? When you said the Anya People were coming, Hall and Grew actually revealed killing intent, aimed at us.

I don’t know what deal you made with the Dragon Riders, what blame you wanted the Anya People to shoulder. Or what collusion you had with the Anya People. But clearly, in your plans, we few unsuspecting Northlanders were all destined to be sacrifices.

With you, as firsthand witnesses, coming forward to testify what happened, it would make things more convincing, right?”

Layton looked at Bran. “It’s a pity it wasn’t successful.”

Bran laughed happily. “Something that was impossible to succeed, what’s there to pity? I’ve always found it strange. Why did you think I was the weaker side? Or does hiding in dark corners give people a power ful illusion?

The Dragon Riders stood guard in the distance, preventing our escape. The Anya People rushed over impatiently, blocking the city gate.

At that time I said, ‘I will kill all these people, so that my name spreads throughout this kingdom.’

Danny sang a war song for me, telling me, ‘Go.'”

Layton looked at Bran and said seriously, “You are just a madman.”

“I warned you. This is the Northlands. Once the battle starts, the Northlanders will kill everyone who dares to pick up a weapon, will kill everyone who dares to stand in front of them.”

After saying this, Bran swung his blade at the men.

…

When Danny found Bran, he and Huahua were sitting at the fork of a V-shaped wide road. One man and one cat faced the Twofold Mountain, not knowing what they were looking at or thinking about.

Danny walked over and sat down beside Bran. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

Sensing Danny’s gaze, Bran explained, “I did lie, but I’m really fine. When I first met the Dragon Riders, that Wizard’s ability wasn’t destroyed, it was absorbed. After that, I’ve been trying to absorb more. But I’m really fine. You saw, I’m calmly sitting here, calmly talking to you, calmly thinking. I’m still me.

Before the battle started, I was afraid of losing control, so I told Earl and the others to retreat. When facing my own people, I’ve always been clear-headed and had enough self-control. But when facing people with hostility, it’s not so easy to control.

It’s not just me. In the future, other Wizards in the Northlands will also encounter various problems. After a Wizard’s ability undergoes Evolution, things become very complicated. Any ability is composite. A seemingly single ability is made of multiple attributes. So after Evolution, some attributes become prominent, even extremely powerful. Then there will be new needs, just like being hungry requires eating. Once full, it’s naturally fine. The Wizard’s ever-increasing power also comes with various risks.”

“I’m just worried. What if one day, you can’t find anything to absorb?”

“Don’t worry. This phenomenon should only be temporary. And in this World, all species have a chance to gain abilities. Food is easy to obtain.” Bran patted Danny’s leg reassuringly.

“What are your plans after this?”

“To build this place into a barrier, ensuring the Northlands have a few years of stable transition.”

“Won’t they dare to come again?”

“They’ll come soon, and more frequently, more secretly. They need to find out how many goods like me are still hidden in the Northlands. Before they figure it out, no one will dare to provoke openly again.

They will send Scholars, or come for exchange, or trade. They will try to get close to us through various ways. They might even give us many benefits, just to obtain our secrets. And this place will become prosperous and rich.

And we must also take this chance to go out, to let this World get used to our existence, not hide here in obscurity. After a year or two, more and more Little Wizards from the Northlands will come here to show their power. Then this city will gradually attract the attention of all Wizards, will become a holy land in the eyes of all Wizards. This place might become a City of Wizards — the Northland’s City of Wizards.

Let’s go. Time to go back and sleep.”

…

The incident had already spread through the city. After the battle ended, Bran left all the cleanup work to Earl, letting her lead the city’s people to complete these tasks.

Earl and the others worked with mixed feelings. They cleaned the battlefield, cleared the Dragon Rider and Royal Capital Camps, and counted the leftover supplies. They were now very glad about their choice, and also somewhat excited. They were now people of the Northlands faction. The strength shown by the Northlands made them feel secure.

Bran sat under a tree in the City Manor, watching people come and go, constantly moving supplies to the underground storage room. Earl placed several fine weapons in front of Bran: “This is the equipment of the Anya Kingdom’s Hell Knights.”

Two White Wolves lying nearby took the hint. They trotted over to Bran, coughed a couple of times, and spat out some jewelry and a small piece of finger bone. Bran looked down at the items on the ground, hesitated for a moment, then sighed and rewardingly patted the White Wolves’ big heads.

Seeing this piece of finger bone, Earl’s face changed.

Noticing Earl’s change, Bran explained without looking up, “White Wolves don’t eat people casually.”

This reassurance didn’t make Earl feel better. Instead, her face turned even paler.

…

Bran was fair. He left one survivor from each of the three sides. When he gathered the Northland City, these three finally brought the news back. Just as he guessed, when faced with a force they couldn’t fight, people showed unimaginable generosity and goodwill.

The story that spread was that they had some misunderstandings with the Northlanders. Luckily, in this incident, their friends, the Northlanders, weren’t harmed at all. They would strengthen mutual trust between both sides through friendly exchanges.