NOVPUB
Chapter 138: Towards the West
The Dukedom of Badin is located in the western part of the Forgeheart Kingdom, close to the Buddhist sect territory. It is one of the four dukedoms in the kingdom and holds the greatest influence after the Valiards. The Badin family is one of the oldest in the kingdom, with a long history.
There was a time when their power and influence surpassed that of any noble family in the kingdom, to the point that even the royal family had to be wary of them. They were also capable of creating divine-grade artifacts in the past, which solidified their family’s legacy in the kingdom’s history.
However, after a long absence of divine-grade artifacts, the ascension of King Douwin Forgeheart, and the rise of the Dukedom of Valiard with the emergence of Mardred Valiard, the golden era of the Badin family came to an end. Their position was overtaken by the Valiards, whom they once regarded as competitors.
To this day, the Badin family still views the Valiards as their rivals and blames them for their decline. While they still hold significant influence in the kingdom, it is not to the extent of their golden era, when even the royal family had to heed their opinions.
At this moment, Duke Badin sat in his study. He had returned from the royal palace just a few hours earlier and had yet to change out of his formal attire. He reached under his desk and retrieved a long communication device from a secret vault. This device was part of a special line he had established to contact a certain individual.
After activating the device, a raspy male voice crackled through.
"It’s surprising to hear from you so soon. Are you that eager to hear my voice?"
Duke Badin suppressed his disgust at the voice and its tone, replying calmly.
"There’s a problem with our plan, and it’s quite severe. If we don’t address it, we’re on the verge of failure."
"Ah, you must be referring to Duke Valiard, he can craft a mid-tier divine artifact, right? It’s truly surprising, even our ’lord’ had to make an adjustment," the raspy voice replied.
At the mention of "the lord," Duke Badin shuddered but quickly calmed his mind.
"So, what’s the next step?" Badin asked.
"With so many powerhouses converging in the Forgeheart Kingdom, we’ll need to tread carefully. But with that many in one place, they’re like fish caught in a giant net. We’ve already planned something for this, you just need to continue as usual."
"What about Mardred? What are we going to do with him? Do we still need him?"
"Of course, we still need Mardred. He’s vital to our plan since he’s the one with the blueprint, and we can’t afford to lose it."
Duke Badin frowned, lost in thought for a moment, before voicing his concern.
"What if the king becomes suspicious behind Mardred’s disappearance and links it to us? Wouldn’t that jeopardize our cooperation?"
"Why should I care about that? If our arrangement falls apart, you’ll bear the consequences, not me."
Badin clenched his teeth, feeling humiliated. The man’s words stung, but they were true. Their cooperation was purely for self-interest, and if exposed, the Badin family would suffer the most.
"Anyway, I have other matters to attend to. Until next time." With that, the connection was severed.
Duke Badin gripped the device in frustration, knowing he was powerless in this situation. He leaned back in his chair, his face showing the weight of his exhaustion.
"I wonder if accepting their help back then was the right choice after all..."
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Badin City, the capital of the Dukedom of Badin, is the third-largest city in the Forgeheart Kingdom. The region boasts a long history of master blacksmiths being born there. Due to the recent news about a mid-tier divine-grade sword, the city shares in the hectic atmosphere as people traveling from the west either heading to the capital city of the kingdom or to Valiard City often have to transit here first.
When Aldrian, Xin Haotian, and Duke Valiard stepped out of the teleportation portal, they were greeted as usual by the bustling activities of the city. Though not as chaotic as Dalahan City, it was still clear that Badin City was alive with constant movement, illustrating that big cities never lack people.
"I can feel the blueprint more clearly from here! It’s still quite far to the west, but I can pinpoint its exact direction," Aldrian sent through a voice transmission to the others. no𝚟𝚙u𝚋.c𝚘m
"Let’s move. While it’s still light, we might be able to reach the blueprint’s location or at least assess the situation," he added.
They then made their way toward a carriage rental shop since the city gate was quite far from the teleportation station. It would take them a few hours to reach the nearest gate. While scanning the area for a suitable carriage rental, Aldrian noticed a group of people he had never seen before. They had bald heads, wore simple robes that left one shoulder exposed, and carried staffs on their backs.
"The monks of the Buddhist sect?" Aldrian thought.
It wasn’t surprising to encounter a group of monks here, given that this dukedom was close to Buddhist sect territory. However, it was unusual for monks to appear outside their territory, as they typically lived like hermits. It was rare for them to venture outside unless something urgent or important was at hand.
Occasionally, a small number of monks would travel the world to spread the Buddha’s enlightenment or to gain life experience. In any case, the sight of Buddhist monks was rare, and seeing a group of them here made Aldrian guess it had something to do with the Eternal Spirit.
"Truly, the mid-tier divine-grade artifact has the power to attract people from far and wide," Aldrian mused to himself.
After securing a carriage, Aldrian, Xin Haotian, and Duke Valiard continued their journey towards the nearest gate, located on the western edge of the city. They planned to stop there and continue on foot to maintain secrecy, as the carriage would be too conspicuous in the vast savannah that lay not far from the city.
After reaching the city gate and disembarking from the carriage, they continued on foot heading further away from the city. They wanted to give the impression of being wandering cultivators, blending in with the landscape and avoiding unnecessary attention. Only after they afar that Duke Valiard talk to them.
"Not far from here, we’ll reach the savannah," Duke Valiard explained. "Beyond that is Dragon Back Mountain, part of the territories of Marquess Ringad and Baron Buwan, and eventually the Buddhist sect’s territory."
"The place I sense is still quite far," Aldrian added, "but it’s within 10,000 kilometers. Let’s move quickly—we can fly and might reach the location before dark."
Duke Valiard was puzzled. "Fly? But what about—" he began to ask, curious about how Aldrian and this other man called Hua Lingtian, who was seemingly only at the Peak Marquess stage, would manage. Before he could finish, his eyes widened in shock as he watched Aldrian lift off the ground and soar into the sky. In that moment, Xin Haotian released the seal on his cultivation, revealing his true power at the Low Emperor stage.
Duke Valiard swallowed his question, realizing how unnecessary it was, shocked that they had been traveling with an Emperor stage cultivator all along. Without hesitation, he took flight to catch up with them. As they flew, Duke Valiard remained baffled by the fact that Aldrian could fly—a feat unheard of for someone at the Earl stage.
"Oh well, with Aldrian, everything seems unprecedented. I suppose I’ll have to get used to it." He thought.
Aldrian smiled to himself, noticing that Duke Valiard refrained from questioning his ability to fly, which should have been impossible at his cultivation level. Though the technique drained his energy more quickly, unlike when he was inside his domain, where he had access to infinite energy, he had no other choice. To travel swiftly, he had to rely on his precise energy control and mastery, pushing his abilities to maintain flight.
His energy consumption was minimized by his mastery over energy control, but maintaining the same speed over a long period was still a challenging task for him.
"Maybe an hour at most, and then I’ll need to rest to replenish my energy," Aldrian thought to himself.
This was his current limitation, but it was still much faster and effective than running or keep teleporting to the blueprint’s location. For Xin Haotian and Duke Valiard, covering 7,000 kilometers with their flying speed was easy, but for now they continued flying for an hour matching Aldrian’s pace, before stopping to allow him to recover his energy.
With his increased cultivation and stronger domain, Aldrian’s energy replenished faster. However, due to the larger energy reserves that came with his advancing cultivation, it still took him around 15 minutes to fully recover, something that once again left Duke Valiard in awe.
After their brief rest, they resumed their flight, passing over the vast expanse of the savannah. In the distance, they could finally make out the towering peaks of Dragon Back Mountain.
