Chapter 225: [225] Trouble At The Gates

The first day of training was rather eventful. Of course, Olivia was not even close to learning the skill, talk more of mastering it, but Ark could already see improvements.

They had trained for twenty-four hours without any significant break, and now, the cold night had once again returned.

The only period they had to rest was when they were flying at high speed to join back up with the carriage. That was why Ark was not surprised when Olivia collapsed on the second day...

She had dropped right from the sky like a sack of potatoes, and he had to catch her before she cracked her skull on a rock.

Ark was not so heartless as to wake her up to resume their training. There was a point where more training would be counterproductive.

So he carried her into the carriage, to where Thalia was, and sat down next to them as Thalia gently placed her head on her body.

She placed a hand on Olivia, and her skin shimmered with a soft green hue, healing magic pouring into her.

Olivia murmured something in her sleep, then turned around, adjusting her position before murmuring again. "Ark... devil..."

"Aww, she’s dreaming about me. Isn’t that nice?"

Thalia gave him a deadpan stare. "Don’t you think you are pushing her a little too much?"

She sighed as she stared at Olivia’s bruised body, before applying more healing magic.

"What sort of training are you even doing?"

"Nothing too serious. She can handle it." Ark shrugged. He would not have made her do so much work if he felt she was not up to the task.

"Oh, and by the way." Ark stared blankly at Thalia and said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Don’t think you are going to escape this training as well."

He had ignored her training because she was already pretty strong, and her methods seemed to be working quite well.

But if she could be stronger, then Ark would do everything in his power to make it happen.

Thalia furrowed her brows skeptically. There were times she had watched their training sessions in the past, and each time they were always so intense, as though they were trying to kill each other...

Was she supposed to participate in that type of training?

"Err... I’m actually doing pretty well~"

"You can’t avoid it, Thalia."

Her shoulders slumped down as she nodded. "Yes, guildmaster."

The rest of the journey continued without much disturbance, and then, by afternoon the next day, they finally arrived at Alask.

Harold’s village was surrounded by thick, black stone walls that made it look more like a fortress than a simple village.

The walls were not very tall. Ark could see a number of thatched roofs peeking from above them.

There were guards mounted on top of the walls, while a few guards stood outside the gate, holding very long spears.

If there was any trouble, the spears would allow them to attack before the person or monster even dreamt of coming close.

Rodolph turned, black circles surrounding his eyes as he gave them a thumbs up.

"We have arrived..."

He had ridden the sled without much sleep. It was no wonder he was completely exhausted.

Ark felt bad for him, but he was the only one able to navigate the bears efficiently.

"You can sleep all day once we get in, Rodolph. Good job!"

He nodded lifelessly before taking his seat and moving the sled forward, toward the gates.

"HALT! IDENTIFY YOURSELVES OR FACE THE WRATH OF THE ALASK GUARD FORCE!"

One of the guards screamed at the top of his voice, causing Rodolph to stop a few feet away from them.

Ark could see signs that the guard had lost weight. He was likely starving, and yet he kept his composure as he marched forward, stopping at a respectable distance from the carriage.

’I guess he is not dumb enough to come close to Tai and Kenny...’ Even the frost bears were enough to give them more than a fright.

"STEP OUT OF THE SLED! NOW—!"

’What the hell is wrong with that guy?’ Ark placed his hands over Olivia’s ears so that he would not wake her up with his excessive screaming.

"It’s one of the more zealous guards." Harold sighed. "Don’t worry, I’ll talk some sense into him."

"It is me!" Harold got out of the sled alongside Ark and Ragnar.

The guard’s eyes narrowed, a vein pulsing on his jaw the very moment he laid eyes on the old man.

Harold was walking up to him as he spoke. "These folks saved me out in the blizzard, fed me even. They want to see the chief."

"You know the rules, Harold." The guard’s voice rumbled with rage. "No outsiders are allowed in Alask, and yet you brought them here?!"

Harold shook his head. "Are you really going to bicker over that, even with the state of things? Can’t you see that our tired old rules need to be broken if we must survive?"

"These people may be able to solve our food problems. Think about that for a moment. Don’t be so dense."

"Is that your excuse?" The guard’s fingers tightened on the shaft of his weapon.

"You Sunborns, you think you can do as you wish just because you are gifted..." He muttered under his breath.

Harold’s brows creased with confusion. "What?"

"I said, did you betray your people because of food? Harold?!" The guard barked.

"What are you talking abou—"

Thwack!

The soldier suddenly slapped Harold across the face with his gauntlet arm, causing blood to spew out of the old man’s mouth.

Harold staggered back in disbelief. He lifted his gaze to meet the guard, only for his eyes to grow wide as the man suddenly launched his spear forward, the thick blade slicing right towards Harold’s throat.

’Is he... is he really trying to kill me?’

But just as the weapon came, there was a blur of blue.

Clang!

Ark slammed his sword into the shaft of the spear, whipping it into the sky, just before he pushed the tip of his blade against the man’s throat.

"Do your people reward a man who risked his life for them with death?"

"He disobeyed the chief’s command. The punishment for such a crime is death." The guard gritted his teeth. "Do well to stay out of this, pillager scum. This doesn’t concern you."

"Hmm? You just attacked someone under my protection. I’m very sure this is now my business."

Ark was not sure if it was the starvation that was affecting his mind, or if he was just mad that Harold had come back as plump as a pig, but he had gone too far.

"I don’t have time for your nonsense." Ark shook his head. "You have two choices. You can either open the gates for us, or I’ll take your arm for attempted murder."

The man stared at him in disbelief. "I follow the rules laid down by my ancestors. By whose rules do you operate?"

"My rules," Ark replied simply.

The guard stared at Ark for a few seconds, just before a wicked smirk curled up on his lips.

"I see. An uncouth barbarian, just like the rest of the pillagers."

"Fire!"

There was a sharp whistle in the air as the guards on the wall unleashed their frozen arrows. The projectiles streaked into the air, before coming down like a hailstorm.

"Not bad. Your commitment is admirable," Ark noted. The guard was ready to sacrifice himself just so that he could get them as well.

But their attack was nothing compared to that of the tribesmen. Just as they came closer, Inquisitor stared up, and then an invisible force slammed into them, turning the arrows to snowflakes.

"Jenna."

Just as Ark mentioned her name, black dots began to appear in the air, transforming into hundreds of black ice projectiles.

The moment they saw the brewing storm, the guards on the wall began to panic. There were no grooves to hide behind, and they had no shields to deflect with.

If Jenna launched that attack, then they would all be dead.

"An eye for an eye..."

Ark’s flaming orbs bored into the guard’s eyes.

"A tooth for a tooth."

The guard swallowed, his entire body soaked with sweat. "Wait, wait! Don’t be rash—"

"Jenna. Fir—"

"Stop!" A commanding voice immediately reached them, causing Ark to stall his attack as they all turned in the direction of the voice, the city gates.

Standing at the gates of the city, was a fierce looking woman with dark red hair held in place by braids and twin battle axes strapped to her back.

Her eyes were intense, golden like the sun, but filled with a certain level of darkness one could only have by staring straight into hell.

Ark sent a mental command to Jenna, telling her to pause her attack, and then he watched as the woman walked towards them, her expression unreadable...

’This should be interesting...’ Ark mused.

Because at first glance, he could tell.

She was Sunborn.

..

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Two or three Chapters will be posted in a few hours :)

Exams are going great by the way!