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Path to Prosperity - B3 Chapter 28
🕑 Added 2024-11-19 11:00:03 +0000 UTCNobody intercepted Percy as he revealed everything he knew about the Devil, Devil’s Touch, and his nightmares. He was ready to reveal as many details as possible to defend himself, fearing that the Beast King would have a point of view similar to the Old King's. But the Beast King didn’t respond as Percy expected.
“We do not believe in bad omens or prophesies. We are the source of our fates. We reach out to our fate, grasp it tightly, and change our fate as we please!” The Beast King rumbled in pride.
“That’s nice,” Percy mused, “I like that sentiment.”
Many humans thought their fate was predetermined. They were certain it was impossible to escape their ‘fate,’ but the truth was that they were too scared to escape their comfort zone. Of course, not everyone could easily escape their fate. If one was born into a butcher’s family and wouldn’t gain access to mana, it would be impossible to become an Imperial.
However, at the same time, it was possible to pick a slightly lower goal and do everything possible to become a guard, a soldier, or maybe even an Iron-rank Adventurer. There were countless possibilities to escape your ‘predetermined’ fate, but nobody said it was going to be easy.
“Nonetheless,” The Beast King’s expression hardened, “I don’t think it’s possible for us to become allies.”
Percy didn’t like that, his soured expression revealing how he was feeling, but he nodded in understanding.
“That is…okay. But is it possible to maintain peace and search for the slavers together? I want you and all Beastmen to know the Kainesh Kingdom doesn’t tolerate slavery. We want to help you get rid of the slavers once and for all!” Percy declared determined.
“I thought you would try harder to convince me,” The Beast King noted, but Percy shook his head.
“This is not something I can force onto you. Of course, I could try convincing you to join our forces for the better of the mortal realm, but I won’t give you any empty promises in an attempt to convince you. That is not because I am too weak or stupid to convince you to join our war with the Demons and one of the Devils, but because that’s not how I work.”
The Beast King shrugged nonchalantly, but his eyes lingered on Percy for a while.
“It’s late already. The search continues tomorrow.”
***
Sleeping in the Beastlands shouldn’t have been overly comfortable. There were no structures to seek protection and they didn’t install the tents either. Instead, Percy found a comfortable spot in the trees where he spent the night like he’d done in the royal forest before he reunited with his family.
How is my family doing? Have there been more Demon hordes wreaking havoc in the kingdom? Probably. But the kingdom’s military forces should be strong enough to deal with them. The Pillars and the crown should have deployed their Knight Orders at this point. Yes. Everything will be alright. Once the misunderstanding with the Beastlands has been taken care of, we can reduce the border patrol again as well. We can move more forces to join the fight against the Demon hordes…
Percy’s mind was overflowing with doubts and worries, but resting his back against the thick tree ten meters above the ground was oddly calming. He always had an easier time calming down, emptying his mind in the Wilderness. As long as he was surrounded by nature, Percy could calm down. Fortunately, that phenomenon didn’t stop even after he became the crown prince. The burden he had to carry was much heavier than ever, yet Percy hadn’t changed. Not much, at least.
The next morning, Percy was one of the first to wake up. He got up, stretched his body a little on the wide tree branch, and jumped down to check out if the others were already awake. That was unlikely. The sun had yet to rise above the horizon, and the last few days, maybe even weeks, had been too much for the envoy members. Percy understood them. He truly did. Traveling all day, fighting nearly a dozen demon hordes, and being in enemy territory wasn’t easy on the psyche and body.
Percy felt similar at times, but he couldn’t sleep any longer.
It is how it is.
He shrugged and retrieved Dragonscale. Yet, instead of putting it on normally, Percy shrouded his body in mana while focusing on Dragonscale as he retrieved it from his spatial ring. The Dragonscale armor didn’t manifest in his hands but conjured around his body. It didn’t sit perfectly the first time Percy summoned it, but fixing the armor took only a few minor adjustments.
[Self-Repair] isn’t too bad. The dent is not visible anymore, and Dragonscale’s durability has increased to the material’s peak…well, not exactly the peak, but almost. Damaging it will be much harder from now onward.
He smiled in satisfaction and started training. His feet dug deep into the earth underfoot as mana coursed through his lower body, and he propelled forward when he kicked the ground.
Percy disappeared in the forest with [Hawk Eyes] active, transforming the surrounding environment into a parkour.
It was difficult to see in the darkness, but that was precisely why Percy used this time of the day to run through unknown terrain. He spread his mana as wide and thin as he could possibly handle before relying on his senses to perceive everything around him. The increased difficulty made it several times easier to improve his mana perception and to see what would usually escape his eye for detail during the day.
[A Hunter’s Smell] was also activated, but Percy didn’t pay too much attention to it. He didn’t ignore his smelling sense, however, the crown prince focused on the vibrations sent through the ground as much as he paid attention to the surrounding smells. Every sense was important and had to be trained with great precision, but he didn’t have enough time for perfection. Percy had to improve, the faster the better.
He returned to the ‘camp’ and watched the first Beastmen and envoy members wake up. The Beast King had also returned – he left when Percy and the rest went to sleep –, his expression speaking volumes.
“Was there another attack?” Percy asked while wiping his sweat-drenched forehead.
The Beast King growled as a response. That was as clear as a ‘Yes, you annoying brick.’.
“Do you want me to check it out? I have an Augmentation that lets me see very well. I can see mana streams as well. There is also an Augmentation called [A Hunter’s Smell]. It isn’t as strong as the rest, but it should be possible to perceive something.”
“I ordered our beast Trackers to follow the trails they’ve left behind, but something irritates them. We think they use some concealment Augmentation, a potion covering their scent, or carrying something disturbing the Trackers. We always lose them when we get too close to the border,” He growled again, this time in frustration.
“You took samples of the mana they’ve used, right? Can I see them?”
The Beast King looked over, “There wasn’t much mana to store. What do you want to do with it?”
Percy raised an eyebrow, which was enough for the Beast King to remember.
“Right, there was the Augmentation that lets you see mana. If you imprint the properties of the slavers’ mana in your mind, you might be able to find them easier. Or you can discover them before they attack…the next time.”
The last words were the hardest for the Beast King to utter. He felt inadequate as the Beastlands’ ruler. No matter how powerful he’d grown in the last 20 years, the Beast King couldn’t help but feel incompetent in this situation. It didn’t make any sense.
He retrieved a small crystal containing mere traces of mana. Percy reached for the crystal and activated [Hawk Eyes]. He circulated additional mana through his eyes until they ached from mana overflow, but the result was acceptable.
Why does this look so familiar? Did I see mana with the same properties in the past? No, I doubt it…
“Is something wrong?” The Beast King noticed Percy’s reaction, but he shook his head.
“It feels like I’m missing a piece of information to put the big picture into place,” Percy grumbled and turned to the Beast King, “I need more information.”
Comments
musashi
First sentence should start : Nobody interrupted Percy...
