Chapter 220: Pride

Chapter 220: Pride

Panic was just a result, but its causes were many. The Dragon Rider’s lair was in turmoil because of someone who was coming, while in the Northlands, thousands of miles away—Bran’s childhood home—a similar situation arose because some people had left.

Aki ran away! He vanished without a trace. This child, who had never received much attention growing up, finally attracted some notice.

In this family, Adam was the eldest brother, Lily was the eldest daughter, Bran was the sickly one, and Xirui was the youngest—each had their own reasons for being noticed. Only Aki had none. He foolishly trailed behind his big brother, just getting by, and was constantly bossed around by his younger sister who surpassed him. In the end, these people all went their separate ways, leaving him alone and uncared for.

During the events in the Western Territory, even Bran had gone uninvited. Only this obedient, well-behaved child was left at home. Everyone was busy, only he had nothing to do.

Everyone in the castle with any potential was dragged off to the Western Territory, leaving behind a group of youths with little hope. He and these youths watched longingly as others left joyfully, exchanging silent glances.

The pride of Northlanders was always in their bones; it wasn’t about what others thought they could or couldn’t do. Even a naked child dared to shout, “Why can’t I be the boss?”

Although after shouting such words, they would immediately be beaten into submission. But at least they were the boss for a moment; the beating wasn’t unfair, and most even thought it was worth it, very much so!

Aki was always timid, so of course he wouldn’t shout about rebelling, but secretly rebelling he still dared. When he was little, this kind of rebellion often ended with Adam taking the blame for him. Now, Adam just wanted to find this younger brother and put him in a pot.

Someone always needed to stay at home, whether to inherit the family business or to care for the parents. Aki ran away, so what should he do?

New towns and families were within reach; with just a little effort, the future looked promising. A whole world was waiting for him, how could he be held back at home? Aki could sneak away, but he couldn’t.

He needed to lead people out of here openly and honorably, to establish his own family. If he had the chance, he even planned to recruit one or two Little Wizards from his younger sister. That way, the new family would be more stable.

He had many advantages that his sisters and brothers couldn’t match. He wasn’t as overbearing as Lily, nor as aloof as Bran, so he had more friends. Moreover, that sister and brother were more focused on their own strength and didn’t care much about external development, so Adam believed he would definitely do better in this area.

He thought a lot and prepared a lot. Just as happiness was waving to him, his always obedient and well-behaved younger brother, Aki, who had always stood behind him, dealt him the heaviest blow.

The house had become much quieter lately. Xirui’s behavior was becoming more and more like Bran’s, sitting motionless under a tree all day. Her Fairy companion was recently giving her a hard time because the Fairy partners of her older sister and brother all had names, but hers did not.

Seeing Bran in the Western Territory and learning some things made her realize her own innate shortcomings. Wizards had talent, they could easily control Mana, but she couldn’t. Wizards could fall into trouble when their Mana ran out, but she had strength with nowhere to use it. Pushing Mana was too difficult for her, even though her Mana was growing day by day, even though it had become a part of her.

Bran said this kind of thing couldn’t be rushed; she should learn from the Ancient Trees. When Mana accumulated to a certain level, it would naturally break through some limit. In other words, growth took time; in short, everything depended on time. According to Bran’s words, she doubted she could live to see that day.

She perceived, then tried to slowly mobilize it, bit by bit, maintaining contact with it in the Mana Circulation. Her sister drew the Mana Circulation inside her own body. Her brother drew his own Mana structure. The Fairy tried to rebuild all this in her based on that, but she was missing a cornerstone.

Lily or Bran, the foundation they built all this on was their own ability, so she needed to find a cornerstone. Saying it seemed easy—just solidify a point.

In the Western Territory, she was pulled into Bran’s Spiritual World. There, she saw endless stars condensing into one cluster after another. Bran told her that initially, there was nothing in his Mana either, but once there was the first one, it would become very easy later.

When that time came, it meant the body had begun to change and could bear more. If she could reach this step, she could go to Northland City. Bran said he had a good friend, an Ancient Tree that needed regular pruning, who would help her quickly condense Mana.

She was really anxious, eager to gain power. Although she hadn’t yet figured out what she would do after gaining power.

…

Now the children had endless things to do, but the adults in the castle seemed very lazy. After hesitating for a while, Adam once again sought out his parents.

After some small talk and flattery, the conversation got to the main point.

“I made a promise with Lily. I think she must be getting impatient these past few days.” Adam knew his own stance wasn’t strong, so he pulled out Lily as his banner.

“Hmm, I heard many people followed her out of the Western Territory. You shouldn’t go and cause more trouble for her.”

Adam glanced at his father, feeling some hidden resentment.

“Aki has never been very brave since childhood. He’ll come back on his own in a few days. You don’t need to worry too much.”

“We’re not worried. It’s good for him to go out and make his way. Since you were kids, you brothers had the best relationship. Since you say he’ll be back in a few days, it must be true. This time you’re leaving, who knows when you’ll return. Wait for him to come back before you go, let him see you off then.”

Mom always handled things most fairly and always spoke and acted reasonably.

Adam sucked his teeth. “Since you’ve always doted on our younger sister, and she won’t be leaving for a while, she can stay here to keep you company. I’ll get settled over there and come back soon.”

“Since she was little, your mother doted most on your younger brother—Bran. And then he ran off without a trace! This time he went to the Western Territory, was that on the way? And what happened? He didn’t even leave a word. If he hadn’t caused so much trouble over there, we wouldn’t even have known he passed by our doorstep.

Your younger sister is learning from him now, sitting under a tree every day ignoring everyone.”

Adam let out a long sigh. “Lily gave me a town. I need to go and take charge. And I’ve already gathered the people; we’re just waiting to depart now.”

“What’s so good about a town?”

The tone was a bit too dismissive. Adam felt blood rushing to his head. “Not good? Then give me one, and I won’t leave.”

“Since you want it, I’ll hand the castle over to you right now.”

Adam blinked, then blinked hard again. “That works?”

“Why wouldn’t it work?”

“What about you two?”

“We’ll go help you take charge of the town. I heard that good-for-nothing uncle of yours is over in the Western Territory, using your sister’s things to curry favor. For someone of your generation, it’s not easy to say anything about such matters. But it’s different if we go over.”

Adam felt the world spinning. He watched his father heave a long sigh of relief and heard his father’s voice continuing nonstop.

“Rare to see such filial piety from you. From now on, the castle is yours. Take good care of your younger sister at home. I know you’ve always liked Bran Manor. I decide, it’s yours now.”

…

Northlanders all had restless hearts. Now that the situation had suddenly opened up and the future looked so bright, how many were willing to be content with their current lot? If there were no opportunities, fine, but when an opportunity was right in front of them, how could they not fight for it?

Young people were always impatient. Only at the last moment did they realize they had prepared everything for someone else’s benefit.

Adam finally understood why Aki ran away. Perhaps he, staying at home, had sensed something was wrong long ago. The problem is, you could have sent me a message!