Titan 202

“Mistvale?” Zachary was taken aback momentarily, but soon his fiery beard bristled with rage. “Miervale is just some tale that shameless bards spin to scam a few coins. You expect me to believe you? Hmph”

“It’s up to you whether to believe it or not, Lorrayne replied nonchalantly.

“I don’t believe it!” Zachary snapped back adamantly. “If a place like that really existed, our people from Westvale would have discovered it long ago. We’ve sent hundreds of explorers to search for it without any luck. Why should I believe you?”

Lorrayne shot Zachary a glance. “Mistvale isn’t a place any riffraff can stroll into. Whether you believe me or not makes no difference to me.

“Besides, with that attitude of yours, I doubt we’ve got any deal to talk about. Pfft! What a waste of my time.” She gave a dismissive shake of her head before turning away. “Patrick, let’s go.”

“Wait a minute!” Zachary blurted out when he realized that Lorrayne was genuinely leaving. “What kind of deal are you talking about?”

Lorrayne stopped in her tracks. “I thought you didn’t believe me, Mr. Bunyan? My, you have changed your mind so quickly?”

Zachary sprang up so fast his head almost bumped the ceiling. With wide–eyed fury, he retorted with spittle splattering all over his beard, “I only want to see what kind of trick you’ve got up your sleeve next, you shameless brat!”

Lorrayne turned to face him with an unfathomable expression. “Then you’re going to be disappointed. Because what I’m going to tell you next concerns you.”

Zachary was running out of patience. “Stop beating around the bush. Just spit it out!”

“Alright, I’ll go straight to the point. Mr. Bunyan, I want your soldiers,” Lorrayne stated with a sly grin.

Zachary’s eyes narrowed. “Soldiers? I’m a slave trader. I don’t own a fiefdom. Where would I get soldiers from?”

“Oh? No soldiers? Then what are you doing as a slave trader?” Lorrayne asked.

“To make money, obviously!” Zachary retorted.

“You are an arcanesmith who can easily earn a thousand gold coins for forging a single sword, yet you still stoop to trading slaves for profit?” Lorrayne burst out laughing. “Mr. Bunyan, you are the first fellow I’ve ever seen to self–denigrate himself like this.”

Zachary snorted. “What I do is none of your business!”

Lorrayne approached the dungeon cell and locked eyes with him. “Mr. Bunyan, let me guess. You are still acting so confident, even though you are a prisoner, because you think someone’s coming to bail you out?”

Zachary’s eyes wavered, but he only glared at her in silence.

“But it’s already been two months since you were captured. So what are your rescuers waiting for?

“Oh no! Don’t tell me they’ve already abandoned you?” Lorrayne covered her mouth in mock surprise.

“Or maybe… they have gotten themselves a new leader now, and you’re just some sidekick not worth their trouble?” she mused in a sympathetic tone.

Zachary sneered with a flick of his beard, “What a wild imagination you have. Go put on your show elsewhere, brat. You’re playing to the wrong crowd.”

Lorrayne released her grip on the cell bars as a knowing smile crept across her face. “Don’t be so eager to drive me away, Mr. Bunyan. I still haven’t told you my third guess.

“You’ve built up a pretty impressive faction, and in their eyes, you’re the undisputed boss. But even so, they still haven’t come to rescue you. Why?

“Could it be they dare not reveal themselves? Now, that’s odd. They are neither rebel troops nor followers of the Dread God. Why would they be fearful of revealing themselves?”

Zachary’s face clouded over at this point. He growled in a menacing voice, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Ms. Lorrayne. You sure know how to spin fantastic tales.”

Lorrayne chuckled. “Ah, perhaps. Well, that’s the end of my tale, and also the end of our chat for today.”

“Farewell, Mr. Bunyan. I’ll pay you a visit again after you have thought things through,” she called out brightly as she strode out without another glance.

Lorrayne left the dungeon with Patrick, and as the stone gate closed with a rumble behind them, the cave was once again enveloped by silence.

Zachary stood hunched in the cramped stone cell, his tall frame forced to bend awkwardly. His eyes were still staring in the direction that Lorrayne had just left.

‘Mistvale… Is she really some royal offspring from Mistvale? If indeed so, then what brings her here? Is she here to seize our land?‘ Zachary wondered with a worried look.

Even though Zachary kept telling himself he didn’t believe a word Lorrayne said, inwardly, he knew her explanation made the most sense out of all the possibilities.

It also explained why he had never heard of this character before, and how Hellspawn Island had suddenly gotten itself an owner.

So it was all a sinister plot hatched by the powers of another kingdom.

Even though she didn’t manage to win Zachary over, Lorrayne wasn’t discouraged.

Today’s little test had already achieved what she wanted. At least now she knew for sure that Zachary really did have troops under his command.

Getting Zachary to simply hand over his troops like that was next to impossible. Thankfully, that was not her main goal. What she really wanted was for him to help her recruit a fresh batch of troops.

He was a slave trader from the north, so he was the best person to smuggle people in without drawing

attention.

Hellspawn Island was still a work–in–progress. The God of the Departed had already fled with Stacia. That island’s defenses were quite weak all along. If Lorrayne wanted to stockpile troops, she would have to do it discreetly.

Lorrayne was confident it wouldn’t be long before Zachary approached her on his own for negotiations. After all, his resolve had already begun to waver today. It was only a matter of time before he caved in

Her intention was to convince Zachary to propose building an army for her on his own initiative. Furthermore, she also wanted him to voluntarily offer his resources and effort.

By the time Lorrayne stepped out of the teleportation array and returned to Starrowe Cottage, the sky was already dark.

She had planned to meet up with Hazel tonight, so she had to make it back to the academy early.

About two weeks ago, she had given Hazel two pieces of parchment. One had a sketch of a helicopter’s rotor, and the other had some basic physics formulas on which she had added some annotations.

Hazel had been so engrossed in her research that she went without food and sleep for days. Yesterday, she informed Lorrayne that she had finished a miniature helicopter prototype and wanted Lorrayne to join her to review the first test flight.

As night fell, the two girls climbed up to the rooftop of Rose Castle.

Hazel placed the helicopter on the floor. Thereafter, she activated the Wind Runes, and the rotors above the helicopter started spinning rapidly. Gradually, the aircraft lifted off.

“What do you think? The inside is empty, so you can load stuff in there. The windows can be opened, and I even put a rudder up front to control the direction,” Hazel gushed excitedly.

“That’s great! I honestly didn’t expect you to whip up a prototype this fast.” Lorrayne wasn’t stingy with her praise. “But is all the power operating this prototype supplied by the magic runes?”

“Yep. The magic runes don’t add any weight. If we had used fuel, it would have been much heavier,” Hazel explained.

“The idea works, but…” Lorrayne paused for a while before continuing. “If this aircraft relies entirely on magical spark, there’s no way it can cross the ocean to reach Mistvale.”

“Why not?” Hazel was mystified.

“You know about the Mist Belt out at sea, don’t you?” Lorrayne gave a sigh. “That’s an anti–magic zone. All magical energy gets neutralized there instantly. Furthermore, the fog’s crawling with magic bugs. If there’s even the tiniest opening in the aircraft, they’ll crawl in and devour the people inside until only bare bones are left.”

Hazel’s jaw dropped. “An anti–magic zone? And magic bugs, too?”

That explained why so many intrepid explorers and sellswords vanished in the Mist Belt.

“The ocean is so dangerous!” Hazel exclaimed.

“Otherwise, I wouldn’t be stuck here now,” Lorrayne replied with a bitter laugh.

Hazel gave her a sympathetic look. “Don’t worry. Once I become a master arcanesmith, the first thing I do will be to send you home.”

“Sure. I’ll be counting on you.” Lorrayne beamed happily.

AD