Chapter 183
Later that afternoon, after the horses had settled into their long, steady rhythm, Ludger decided to test what Taron had shown him.
He lifted one hand from the reins, index finger cutting slo...
2025-10-23 06:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Later that afternoon, after the horses had settled into their long, steady rhythm, Ludger decided to test what Taron had shown him.
He lifted one hand from the reins, index finger cutting slo...
2025-10-23 06:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe trip back home was quite easy, as they avoided the main roads. Ludger rode in the center, reins loose, sand gourd thumping against his hip. Every few miles he’d lag half a length and let his ...
2025-10-22 21:00:39 +0000 UTC View PostLudger did not pretend he liked it. He had never pretended to be a saint; he was practical, efficient, and very careful with his moral arithmetic. The men they’d captured were ankle-deep in other...
2025-10-22 17:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostMaurien glanced back toward the tunnel, eyes narrowing. “The rest of what used to be the Empire splintered. Those regions became the countries beyond the range—the academies, the city-states, t...
2025-10-22 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThey advanced carefully at first—three shadows moving in tense silence. The air inside the tunnel felt heavier with every step, carrying the stale weight of mana left to rot. Dust motes drifted i...
2025-10-22 06:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostMaurien’s eyes narrowed, his expression shifting from analysis to grim understanding. “That would make sense. Forgotten mines run all through this range. The Empire used them before. Plenty of ...
2025-10-21 21:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostThey had finished a transaction here recently, he thought. Not a raid, not a hurried theft—this had the careful, cleaned-up feel of the underworld. Boxes opened, goods accounted, traces deliberat...
2025-10-21 17:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostAcross the tavern, one of the armed men snorted quietly. Another leaned closer to his companion, muttering something under his breath. Heads turned, attention sharpening—not on a quiet group of s...
2025-10-21 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostAs they walked away from the trader’s house and back toward the square, Derrin caught up beside Ludger, lowering his voice.
“Hey… why’d you stop there, Captain?” he asked. “That o...
2025-10-21 06:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post“Here’s the plan,” he said, voice low and even. “Derrin, Freyra—you’re with me. We’ll handle direct questions, talk to merchants, and look for anyone nervous around the guild’s name...
2025-10-20 21:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostThey broke camp before the sun had properly climbed the ridge, the air thin and bright. Maurien rode with them now, cloak pulled up against the wind. The road narrowed as it wriggled eastward, tree...
2025-10-20 17:00:27 +0000 UTC View PostThe man stopped a few paces from the fire, the corner of his mouth lifting. “You’re punctual, Ludger. And you brought an audience.”
Freyra blinked. “Wait, this is the Lone Te...
2025-10-20 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe group was still reeling. Ludger had conjured water out of thin air, nailed the spell in one shot, and even triggered a whole new job in the process. Callen was still staring at his sleeves like...
2025-10-20 06:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostStill, Ludger wasn’t about to complain. He was gaining experience at a ridiculous pace without swinging a weapon or fighting for his life.
By the time Freyra finally dropped to a knee, pant...
2025-10-19 21:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostA few days later, the landscape began to change.
The frozen cold plains gradually gave way to gentler slopes and denser trees, the air warmer, the ground less brittle under the horses’ hoov...
2025-10-19 18:00:25 +0000 UTC View PostThe morning sun crawled higher as the group finally left the town behind, hooves crunching against the frostbitten road. He turned around and then saw a board with the name, Lionfang… when th...
2025-10-19 11:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostThat made Ludger frown deeply. “Me?”
Arslan nodded. “Yes. He was clear about it — said it had to be you. Didn’t explain much beyond that.”
Ludger crossed his arms, his brows...
2025-10-19 06:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostLudger’s smirk deepened slightly. “Oh, I can imagine. Probably half the border would end up buried under the snow again.”
Freyra clicked her tongue, muttering something under her breath...
2025-10-18 21:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostFor the next few days, Ludger stayed mostly on the edges of the camp — a quiet shadow with sharp eyes. From the wooden rails near the fields, he watched the recruits come and go from the labyrint...
2025-10-18 18:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostKharnek rubbed the back of his neck, still chuckling. “Didn’t expect me to pull this off, honestly. Guess I proved both of them wrong.”
Ludger raised an eyebrow. “So now you’re send...
2025-10-18 11:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostAn hour later, the group finally stumbled out of the labyrinth’s mouth.
The morning light hit their faces like salvation — pale gold against a landscape of ice and snow. The recruits were...
2025-10-18 07:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostTwo hours later, the group crossed the last ridge, and the northerners’ camp finally came into view — smoke curling from the forges, the sound of axes and laughter breaking through the cold mor...
2025-10-17 21:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostLudger led the group a short distance from the house, stopping in the open yard where no building had been erected. The morning wind cut through the air, carrying that clean northern chill, and the...
2025-10-17 17:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostWhen Ludger finally returned, the moon had climbed higher, its pale glow tracing the outline of the border town’s walls. The night guards straightened at the sound of his boots crunching through ...
2025-10-17 11:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostLudger stepped closer, still half in disbelief. The twins were impossibly small, bundled in soft cloth, their breathing light and steady — one with faint wisps of pale hair like Elaine’s, the o...
2025-10-17 07:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostA few months had slipped by before Ludger even realized how much time had passed.
When he finally stepped out of his quarters that morning, the sunlight caught him square in the face — pale...
2025-10-16 21:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe thought wasn’t reckless — it was calculated. The labyrinth wasn’t just a threat; it was an opportunity. A living training ground with infinite data.
He flexed his right hand absentl...
2025-10-16 18:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a short rest to catch their breath and shake the frost from their clothes, the group pressed onward into the second zone.
The stairway sloped downward, cut into the ice itself — smoot...
2025-10-16 13:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostAs they moved deeper into the frozen labyrinth, Ludger drifted toward the back of the group. Kharnek led the way, meanwhile, Ludger was busy with something far less serious.
He balanced the e...
2025-10-16 08:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostFor half an hour, nothing happened aside from a few duels between Kharnek and some frost skellies. The air grew colder the deeper they went, the walls shining with veins of faint blue froststeel th...
2025-10-15 21:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post