Chapter 33: The Stormy Night

The night passed in silence. Something seemed to have happened, or perhaps nothing at all. Everything remained eerily calm, though there was a palpable undercurrent beneath the surface.

In the morning and at noon, Decaphon's "attendants" came to inform Avia and Wang Yu that meals had been prepared for them, but both declined to attend.

The rain continued to fall, exactly as had been predicted by Celestial Eye. It showed no sign of stopping.

Dark clouds smothered all light from the heavens, as if holding it all captive. Even the midsummer sun couldn't penetrate the gloomy veil.

Wang Yu looked out the window at the endless rain and the slowly descending sun. He turned to Avia, who was busy packing her supplies underneath her noble attire. "Are you ready?"

The young woman, fully equipped with her essentials, wore an exquisite dress that concealed an assortment of magical devices and useful tools.

Wang Yu was similarly prepared. Beneath his seemingly lightweight leather armor was an arsenal of deadly weapons.

"I am." The young woman nodded, her gaze resolute as she looked out into the rain.

As night descended, darkness enveloped the villa outside the city. It was as if the entire estate was about to be swallowed by the endless void of the night.

The sound of raindrops masked all other noises. Nothing but blackness could be seen outside the illuminated windows.

The dim light from the heavens gradually faded away, to be replaced by a stormy night. The mansion felt like a lonely island in a boundless ocean, emanating a profound, deadly silence.

Wang Yu smirked. Who would have guessed that this was his ideal battleground? Certainly not his enemies.

They'd declined to attend the evening banquet as well; neither Avia nor Wang Yu had any desire to find out if Decaphon had wasted time poisoning their food.

A modest supply of dry rations and water was enough to keep them in peak condition.

"Let's go," Wang Yu said. He assumed the posture of a squire attending to his lady, opening the door and beckoning for Avia to step outside.

Avia smiled. Everything was about to come to a head. There could be no fear, no hesitation, and no retreat beyond this point.

Wang Yu had prepared for the worst, for failure at every junction, for death itself. He strode forward with calmness, courage, and conviction.

Taking Wang Yu's offered hand, Avia stood up and walked into the hallway. Wang Yu followed close behind her.

The sound of their steady footsteps echoed down the corridor as they proceeded toward Decaphon's study.

They glanced at their surroundings; Decaphon's "attendants" were nowhere to be seen. Wang Yu nodded, confirming that his scented candles had taken effect.

Wang Yu knocked on Decaphon's door and opened it to reveal two or three "attendants" busily cleaning the room, just as before.

However, the scene was slightly different this time. Daggers had been placed in sight and within reach of each of the "attendants."

Though they appeared to be fully focused on cleaning, Wang Yu could sense their gazes roaming across him and Avia.

"My dear niece, what a pleasure. But why refuse to attend the banquet I specially prepared for you?" Decaphon's signature insincere smile was plastered onto his chubby face.

The young woman's face was expressionless. "I thank you for your kind intentions, Uncle, but I truly had no appetite."

"Very well, very well. My dear Avia, please, treat this place just like your home!"

Decaphon's tone was sickly sweet as he raised his hands in a feigned gesture of magnanimity. His words dripped with sarcasm.

"I'm aware, Uncle. There's no need to be so polite. Let's cut to the chase. I'll hand over the estate and my noble title. In exchange, you'll provide my mother's whereabouts."

She looked straight at Decaphon, her slender frame perfectly straight, her gaze intense.

"It looks like you're in a hurry, my dear Avia. In that case, I naturally won't make you wait."

Decaphon summoned one of his "attendants" with a clap of his hands, who brought him an iron box.

He opened it to reveal a mechanical bird much like the magic messenger that had been sent to Avia, though one that was far more exquisite.

Its gears and mechanisms were hidden beneath feathers that looked almost like the real thing.

"This is a high-quality magic messenger that I purchased at exorbitant cost. Here's your mother's mana signature—verify it."

He handed Avia a small card inscribed with intricate runic script. She took out a staff from her traveling bag and infused mana into the card.

Mira Svein's familiar signature appeared before Avia as she nodded. The card was genuine.

She reached out for the magic messenger, only for Decaphon to smoothly slide it out of her grasp.

"Oh, my dear, this magic messenger is reusable. Of course, since my dear niece is willing to transfer the estate and your title to me, I certainly have to be generous in kind, don't I? Keep it after you're done. There's no need to waste such a fine instrument."

Decaphon smiled slyly.

"But—" his tone suddenly shifted.

"—shouldn't my dear niece offer some good faith in kind?"

He narrowed his eyes, revealing a sharp gaze flashing with cunning and undisguised threats.

He rubbed his large hands together in glee. Decaphon had no intention of giving up this mechanical bird so easily.

Avia frowned. She appeared displeased, but Decaphon's mocking smile was fixed to his face. He had no intention of giving in.

Seemingly deflated, Avia's shoulders slumped. She nodded reluctantly, an apparent concession to Decaphon's terms.

"Very well, Uncle. As I mentioned yesterday, the deed to the estate and my credentials as nobility are with my horse. Once I give the signal, the horse will return. I'll have my knight head to the stables right away. We can carry out the transaction thereafter."

"My dear, my dear—you can't make a habit of saying such things at the last minute! If I had given this to you, wouldn't you just have ridden off? That said, I'm generous enough to allow you such a concession. My attendants will accompany your knight to ensure his safety, of course."

Decaphon continued to smile even as he shamelessly used Avia's mother as leverage against Avia herself.

The young woman bit down on her lip reluctantly, but had no choice save to agree to Decaphon's terms.

Decaphon continued to smile. Was this sort of scheme meaningful? She had a little backbone, he'd give her that—but ultimately, she could hardly hope to win against him.

Did she and her squire think they would really be able to make it out of the villa after the trade?

Even so, it was better to give her a little hope lest she try anything extreme. Decaphon gestured to a nearby "attendant."

"Follow him and bring the deeds here," he instructed, pointing at Wang Yu, who was still standing behind Avia.

The "attendant" nodded, walked over, and gave Wang Yu a shove, prompting him to hurry up.

Wang Yu submissively and dutifully led the unservile "attendant" out the door.

Just then, two other "attendants" who had been cleaning walked up to Decaphon and whispered something into his ear.

Decaphon frowned but waved his hand impatiently, signaling for the two of them to leave. They grinned cheekily and followed Wang Yu and the other "attendant" out, leaving only Decaphon and Avia behind. Avia was frowning, her head bowed; Decaphon was smirking as he enjoyed a glass of red wine.

Outside the villa was endless darkness and relentless rain, everything immersed in the shadowy backdrop of the stormy night.

"Finally, some fresh air. Summer nights can be so stifling..."

"Right? It's unbearable. I don't know how Decaphon spends the entire day cooped up in that room. Is there even a bathroom in there?"

The two "attendants" who followed Wang Yu and the other "attendant" out began to joke around the moment they emerged from the room, gossiping openly and laughing aloud without any intention of maintaining their facade.

To them, it was clear that Wang Yu was no threat. Even if he overhead them, he was hardly in a position to do anything about it. Indeed, the squire continued walking forward slowly without showing any reaction to their conversation.

He was seemingly resigned to his fate, which made them even bolder.

Even the "attendant" that Decaphon had specifically designated was starting to smirk, amused by Wang Yu's subservience.

As they approached the entrance to the estate, they noticed a large group of at least thirty smoking and chatting outside—the same "attendants" that Wang Yu had spotted within the manor. On this stormy night, it seemed that they had finally abandoned their pretenses and were openly revealing their identities as mercenaries.

"Getting some fresh air too?" someone in the crowd asked the three mercenaries behind Wang Yu.

The two at the back nodded. "Who wouldn't? It's stifling inside."

"Exactly. We can't stand it at all."

The mercenary that Decaphon had designated, however, didn't respond. He merely nodded coldly.

"As expected of Boss Blackfang! He's a serious one, ain't he?" someone joked, inciting a wave of laughter.

The designated mercenary twitched, but didn't respond. He gave Wang Yu a quick kick, signaling for him to hurry up and stop wasting time.

Wang Yu compliantly continued to trudge forward through the downpour. He didn't even dare open an umbrella, and was quickly soaked to the bone.

The two mercenaries following after them grinned cheekily as they accepted an umbrella someone handed over. "Now, let's see what our 'Boss' and that cowardly squire are up to!"

"Boss" was clearly being used as a mocking nickname among this group of mercenaries.

Wang Yu continued walking through the rain, stumbling as if hindered by the darkness. Even so, he gradually made his way toward the estate's stables.

The man beside him looked on with some surprise. He had a small oil lamp in his hand, but it gave off minimal night in this dark and stormy night. Even he wouldn't have found the stables easily, but this seemingly cowardly black-haired squire had been able to do so without any trouble. Luck, perhaps—but luck wasn't worth much when he was about to die. The mercenary smirked as his hand brushed against a blade hidden in his sleeve.

At the stables, Wang Yu looked up at the pitch-black sky, then let out a loud whistle that pierced through the night air.

A whinny sounded in response, followed by thundering hoofbeats.

Before long, Torrent's figure appeared out of the rain. He galloped into the estate, hooves churning through the muddy ground, water streaming from his mane.

He stopped short in front of the stables, revealing a rather large bundle tied to its side.

The mercenary behind Wang Yu, seeing this bundle, figured that these were the documents he had been tasked to retrieve.

He drew his blade and slowly crept toward the seemingly unguarded Wang Yu, who was fumbling with the bundle tied to Torrent's side. He was having a hard time untying it in the rain.

Grinning, the mercenary stepped in for the kill—only for Wang Yu to finally untie the bundle and reveal a sharp, metallic glint within.

Before the mercenary could react, Wang Yu swiftly pulled a short, gleaming axe out of the bundle. There were no deeds or documents within at all—just three glinting steel axes.

With a powerful swing, the axe sliced through the air and into the man's jaw, slicing through muscle, teeth, bone, and brain matter with ease.

Like a knife through butter, Wang Yu split the man's head wide open.

Blood and brain matter splattered across the ground as the mercenary's lifeless body slowly collapsed.

The sword that he never got to use clattered to the ground.

His oil lamp fell, illuminating the pool of blood in the rain.

The two mercenaries who had been following behind them stumbled on this grisly scene. Wang Yu stood up and brought the axe down on the oil lamp as they watched on in shock.

The rain doused the lamp instantly, extinguishing its glow.

Darkness enveloped Wang Yu and the stables, cloaking everything in darkness.

The two mercenaries stumbled back in terror. One of them frantically blew a whistle, so loud it could be heard even across the rain by Avia, Decaphon, and the rest of the mercenaries. It was the signal of an enemy attack and a call for reinforcements.

Even so, it was already too late for the two stunned mercenaries.

Three axes flew through the rainy night, cleaving into their skulls and oil lamps.

With the oil lamps extinguished, the mercenaries outside couldn't see anything but darkness in the stormy night.

Wang Yu easily moved through the shadows to the two fallen bodies.

He picked up the axes and had the rain wash the gunk off the blades. The metallic scent of blood carried through the air.

Wang Yu shoved the three axes into a pocket in his leather armor as he trudged through the night. He was a butcher in the darkness; one by one, he would send these mercenaries to the underworld.

Meanwhile, as the shrill whistle resounded, Decaphon glanced at Avia, who sat across from him. He didn't know what had happened, but it was clear that things had taken a dire turn.

No matter what was happening outside, if he could take down Avia now, he would have leverage.

Though he had a merchant's bearing and size, Decaphon was surprisingly resolute.

He cast a quick glance at the staff that the young woman had left lying on the table. A magician without a staff was hardly threatening at all.

As long as he could restrain her, whatever trickery that squire was attempting would be meaningless.

Without any hesitation, Decaphon lunged forward.

He drew a shortsword from underneath the table and slashed at Avia as he reached out for the evil god's statue.

Though the thrust was a bit awkward due to his posture, his squire's physique meant that it came at Avia at uncommon speed. Surely he would be able to subdue a staffless magician with this blow... wouldn't he?

"Clang!" The sound wasn't of steel meeting flesh, but rather iron striking iron. The young woman's right hand shone with a mud-yellow glow around her Twinned Star glove. She had easily deflected the attack with her Rock's Will spell active.

"Wang Yu's advice really was helpful..." Avia murmured. She focused on Decaphon, whose feigned smile had finally been stripped off his face. Magic surged around her.