Neighbours

Lawrence was in the middle of a nap when he was suddenly awakened by a chilly aura. He shivered and cried out in surprise, falling off his chair with his head bumping hard into the corner of a cabinet.

“Who’s there?!” he exclaimed as he got up, surveying his surroundings with attention. Richard’s presence startled him, but then his apprehension immediately turned into rage, “The Daxdians are here?”

“Hmm? No, wh—”

“Then what the hell is with that bloodlust, you brat? Why are you scaring me?!”

Richard smiled apologetically, “I just finished crafting a Lifesbane, it takes time to return to normal.”

“Lifesbane? Where is it?” a voice suddenly rang out from the inner room, “Bring it to me.”

Richard was stunned for a moment, after which a smile rose upon his face, “How come you’re here?”

“Come in, let’s talk,” Beye answered from the room.

Richard started following Lawrence in, but then he suddenly remembered something that caused his heart to thump. He pulled the old man back, speaking in a hushed voice, “Did you buy the ursa penis?”

“What ursa penis?” Lawrence looked confused. However, that only caused Richard to grow more apprehensive. The former legendary mage had a special relationship with Beye, but if the old man used the ursa penis he’d brought in to actually bed Beye, then his own life would be in great danger. She wouldn’t care that he had sold it to the city market instead of giving it to Lawrence.

Seeing Richard’s expression of fear, Lawrence flashed a mysterious smile, “I didn’t see any ursa penis, kid. Think about it.”

‘Think? Think about what?’ Richard was completely baffled, but he eventually just resigned himself to his fate and followed Lawrence to the room.

Beye was seated on a ragged chair, her legs propped high on a table while she drank from a glass of blood-red wine. Her shorts barely even covered her buttocks, while her upper body was bare except for a number of bandages. A large, bone-deep wound on her calf was left to air, still emitting a trace of black fumes.

Beye’s blank pupils locked onto Richard as she started swirling the goblet in her hands. The scarlet liquid was extremely viscous, snaking around in all sorts of patterns that made one suspect it was actually blood. Richard felt as though every part of his body was being pricked by needles and couldn’t help but respond, instinctively unleashing the bloodlust he had accumulated over the many Lifesbanes he had crafted.

This was a sort of intangible battle, only comparing one’s thirst for blood. The temperature in the room seemed to drop as Richard swayed a little, his eyes glowing brightly for a moment, while the traces of blood on Beye’s bandages started to expand.

However, the battle was cut short by a dull thud as Saint Lawrence fell onto his back. The old man had little strength remaining, and just the auras unleashed by the two had caused him to faint.

Richard quickly helped him up, putting him on a chair before massaging his chest a little to ease up the breathing. Seeing that he was done with their clash, Beye nodded slightly, “Not bad, looks like you’ve killed quite a bit lately.”

Richard felt a smile creeping up on his face at Beye’s praises, his hand shifting to Lawrence’s back as he asked, “Weren’t you in the Fort of Dawn? Why are you back all of a sudden?”

“Two top powerhouses from Daxdus and two other legends are currently tying up His Majesty and his two guards. For now, at least, nobody has the upper hand. Their battle affects a great area, so there’s no way for me to interfere. Many people are thinking of ways to return to the other forts, I was just too lazy to teleport.”

“You’re a lunatic.” Richard had no other words. Beye seemed far too casual about this, but he understood just how many Daxdians were currently encircling the Fort of Dawn. For her to return to the City of the Unsetting Sun without teleportation meant she had to have cut her way through a horde of enemies.

“And you are? You could be enjoying your life as a future saint runemaster, but you’ve come rushing headfirst towards death. What, are you stronger than me or something?”

Richard had no real response to this retort. Lunor was currently still in Faust, working out of his laboratory to support the City of the Unsetting Sun as much as he could. Richard himself only needed to craft runes, which could be done just as effectively outside the battlefield. He eventually just huffed, “I have my reasons.”

“So do I,” Beye smiled before downing the red wine in one go, “So, give it to me!”

“Give what?”

“The Lifesbane.”

“WHAT?” Lawrence suddenly hacked a few times.

Richard frowned, casting a spell to ease the man before looking Beye up and down, “You don’t have the carrying capacity, it’ll hurt you.”

“That’s a stupid reason.”

Richard noticed Lawrence rubbing his thumb and index from the corner of his eye, “Ten million each, payment needs to be upfront.”

This caused Beye to pause, “... I’ll pay you once the Daxdians are taken care of.”

Richard shrugged, “I’ll give you the Lifesbane once the Daxdians are taken care of.”

Beye’s white eyebrows nearly locked together, “Wait, how can you use four?”

“Hmm, my body’s sturdy!” Richard stood up, pulling his shirt off and flexing his near-perfect muscles. His physique wasn’t anywhere comparable to a saint warrior, but he looked far from a traditional mage as well. Having constantly been fed high-energy foods in the Deepblue, followed by various royal feasts and the hydra egg, his entire body was extremely sturdy at this point. Four Lifesbanes weren’t a problem at all.

However, this flexing suddenly caused blood to rush to his penis as well. His pants immediately started straining, the bulge glaringly evident to even the most casual viewer. Beye froze, while Richard turned pale and glared at a giggling Lawrence.

“Ursa warlord!” Beye realised immediately. She only spared half a glance at Richard before turning to Lawrence, “You’re the one that did this, aren’t you?”

“What? No! I’ve never seen an ursa penis, why would I let you go?” Lawrence shrieked.

Beye just grumbled a bit before relaxing once more. Richard had gotten his erection in control as well, so they started discussing the current situation.

In the last few days, Marshal Rundstedt and two other legends had recalled every single powerhouse in the vicinity of the city. The portal to the Land of Dusk from Norland had its endpoint changed from the outskirts of the city to right in the Church of the Eternal Dragon. The priestesses of the Church were currently busy finishing up the Eternal Glory formation, after which every expert in the city would retreat to the core fort and join the resistance. That was when the true battle would begin.

“I’m planning to move near the city gate,” Beye said as she played around with her empty goblet.

“Have you gone mad?” Lawrence immediately jumped up, so agitated his face had gone completely red, “Won’t those bastards be able to see us once they enter the city? How are we supposed to sleep?!”

“I’ll go alone, you can stay here,” Beye stated calmly.

Lawrence’s little shop was near the top of the City of the Unsetting Sun, close to the Church of the Eternal Dragon. If the Daxdians reached this point, then they would be hours away from taking control of the entire fort. However, the lower parts of the city would be much different. They would turn into the main battlefield over the next few days, joining the frontlines of the battle.

“Do you know how important sleep is to an old man like me, you heartless woman? Whatever! I’m already used to you brats crying, I’ll come. Just remember that you’re paying for any damage to the shop!”

“What?” Even Beye was rather surprised, “You might die, old man. I won’t have the energy to take care of you if the fight gets serious.”

“I’ve lived here for years, girl. Aren’t I doing fine? Don’t worry, I’m not dying before someone gets your body!” The old man immediately turned a rosy red.

Watching Beye shrug, Richard spoke up as well, “So you’re moving? Great, let’s be neighbours.”

“You too?” Beye raised her brows, “Isn’t runecrafting more important for you than fighting right now?”

“Not really, but... I’ll try not to let it affect my runecrafting too much,” Richard said. Fighting was just like breathing to Beye, a basic instinct for survival. He wasn’t there yet, but he planned to make some progress in this war.

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

“Alright, I’ll leave my back to you.”

“I’ll guard it well.”

Beye reached out and the two bumped fists. It wasn’t an indication that they were equal, but it showed that she believed Richard now qualified to fight by her side.