Chapter 156: Late Winter

Chapter 156: Late Winter

Spring was late this year, and there was still no sign of the snow melting. Bran in Northland City already knew about his sister’s plan. He was very interested and eager to see how things would develop.

According to the plan, the first batch of creatures—the Nag—would be released beyond the Western Territory when the flowers bloomed in spring.

Bran had only recently learned the details of his sister’s feats. Although he had kept in touch with his family through letters, the frequency of their correspondence had been decreasing. The family mostly chose to hide things that might worry him, only telling him a little after everything was settled. Bran understood his family, because he did the same.

His sister’s sudden rise made the people around them start to compare. So recently, the way they looked at Bran became a bit strange. Finally, Zoya, a young girl, was urged by the seemingly honest clansmen to run to Bran seeking answers.

“Who is more powerful, you or Lily?”

“She is.”

This answer was clearly not what Zoya wanted to hear. “How is that possible?”

“You are asking who would win in a fight, right?”

“Yes.”

Bran affirmed again, “I can’t beat her.”

This made Zoya very disappointed. “She learned a lot of her knowledge from you, didn’t she?”

“Not really. Most of the time, we should have been exchanging ideas. When we had thoughts, we needed someone to talk to openly, and we needed to test things out ourselves.

Back then, who knew what the results would be? They were just ideas, and then we tested them on ourselves. We were lucky and succeeded. What if we hadn’t?

Before something was proven successful, who knew what was right or wrong?”

Zoya left somewhat disappointed, ready to tell this unfortunate news to the others…

After Zoya left, the Ancient Tree beside Bran said, “And me. With my help, she would definitely not be a match.”

Bran glanced sideways at this fellow who had started moving about on eight legs every day, acting domineering.

The Ancient Tree had finally grown a face now, a strange doll-like face. This doll face bore some resemblance to Bran’s, but it had cat’s eyes, cat’s whiskers, and a pair of oddly placed cat ears. Moreover, the Ancient Tree had even given itself some Facial Markings!

Looking at this painted face, Bran couldn’t help but let out a long sigh. “She is my own sister!”

“Are you two closer than us?”

This question completely stumped Bran, so he changed the subject. “Walk around more when you have time, practice more.”

“Okay, I’ll try walking another circle.”

The Ancient Tree readily agreed and began circling around Bran…

Bran waited patiently for the flowers to bloom in spring, for the roads to become clear, and for more Wizards and travelers to come here. And what concerned him most, the materials the Scholar promised to send.

…

Many others were also waiting for spring to bloom, but most of them were anxious.

Eileen and her brother Aiman stood on the shore of the Azure Wave Archipelago, facing the sea breeze and feeling its slightly warm breath. Spring was coming; the sea had quietly thawed. In a little while, Eileen would follow a group of Wizards to Northland City.

Their father, Hall, had caused them a lot of trouble, which also forced them to grow up quickly. To wash away the humiliation their father brought, the siblings felt a sense of urgency that other young people did not have.

Two snake-like creatures were coiled around the siblings respectively, surrounded by thick mist of Mana. Eileen got these in exchange for the two Crystal Balls Bran gave her. This exchange went very smoothly. Many people thought Eileen got the worse end of the deal, including Eileen herself.

Even so, this exchange made their other companions envious. To have such a creature all to oneself was very rare even among Dragon Riders. They were mostly taken care of and managed collectively, only assigned to young people during the inheritance ceremony.

When these creatures breathed in and out Mana, they would form a mist of Mana around them, which the young people could absorb to strengthen their bodies. So during the ceremony, the young people almost lived and ate with them. Sometimes there were side effects; when they felt unwell, they had to separate for a while.

Fortunately, she and her brother had adapted well, and these creatures were very friendly with them.

Eileen had complicated feelings toward Bran. Although Bran spared her father’s life, he made him deaf. She knew she couldn’t blame Bran for this; if it were her, she might have acted more decisively.

She didn’t know how to face Bran, and she felt uneasy about going there this time. Recently, she started dreaming about Bran Manor again. That manor, from the first time she saw it, became her biggest goal in life.

Now that Bran occupied Northland City, she didn’t know what he would build it into. Would it be more beautiful than the manor? Once this thought popped into her head, she couldn’t suppress it anymore. She only wanted to see it sooner.

She no longer considered the Northlands’ bride-kidnapping custom. Instead, she planned to settle for the next best thing: defeat anyone who dared to compete with her. Both she and Bran were still young, and they had plenty of time to plan many things. Now, she was more worried about her troublesome father.

Her father left too suddenly, without bidding farewell to anyone, including her mother. Someone like her father, even though deaf, was hard to detect in advance if he wanted to take action.

Given his father’s character, he could only go to Sandstone City or Northland City. She believed many people had already guessed. Before the incident, her father had been a very hearty person with many friends, but this event caused his friends to stay away from him.

When her father first escaped back, his friends had shown concern. But her father’s temper became strange then, and he gradually offended all these people.

So they transferred some of their concern to her and her brother, but she didn’t like it. She felt it was pity, charity. She was a Dragon Rider! She didn’t need pity or charity.

Only her mother was truly sad, but she could do nothing; her father was simply unreasonable back then. Under her mother’s care, her father gradually recovered until Bran announced the recruitment of Wizards.

According to her mother, in the few days before he left, except for waking up startled from dreams, her father had become completely normal.

Her father packed his bags, just like the countless times he led a team out. He packed everything neatly and then disappeared with his weapons, armor, and mount.

Her mother recounted this very calmly.

Because, her father would either wash away his shame with his life, or return with regained glory. Whatever the outcome, when her father made this decision, he was already free.