“Do you know where gods make their homes in the Mortal World?”
Hadjar finally got it. He turned and looked over his shoulder, hoping to see that the doors were open, but they were still locked. A moment later, he felt as if someone had pressed a piece of hot metal to his left cheek. The pain was similar to what he’d experienced after drinking the potion that Steppe Fang had given him to open a path to the Spirit World, so deep and biting that it made him cry out in distress.
Touching his face with the tips of his fingers, he felt something warm trickle down his cheek and neck. He’d been cut with a sword, he was sure of it. However, he’d felt no mysteries or energy being used, and the young man hadn’t drawn his blade, too busy drinking wine. However, he wasn’t a young man at all. Perhaps he was even older than the Emperor himself, who was about six thousand years old.
“You came into this house freely, Hadjar Darkhan. The house of the God of War. I am Derger’s humble servant and the guardian of his home. The laws of the Heavens and the Earth... they mean nothing in here. I could destroy your soul and the Black General’s fragment inside you, and then continue drinking my wine in peace.”
Hadjar looked into the Immortal’s eyes.
“But you haven’t.”
The novice held his gaze.
“What you’re doing instead is continuing to intimidate me.” Hadjar got to his feet and towered over the novice. “I wonder what you would do if I slapped you right now?”
Hadjar felt the air grow heavy with tension. He felt as if he were walking on the edge of a razor-sharp sword.
“Oh, please, by all means, Hadjar Darkhan, do just that. By the Gods and demons, I’ll survive any punishment that comes after your death.”
There would be a punishment. That was all he’d wanted to know. Still, he wasn’t crazy enough to keep poking a sleeping lion, even if it was leashed and caged. Whoever the novice was working for needed him alive and relatively unharmed.
“Let’s start at the beginning.” Hadjar sat down on the floor. “What do you want from me?”
The novice sipped his wine and remained silent for a while.
“Accept the mark of the God of War,” he said at last.
Hadjar looked at him in confusion.
“Pardon?”
“Accept the mark of the God of War.” The novice took a small bundle out of the folds of his robe. Inside it was a simple iron pommel shaped like a sphere. It looked as if someone had cut it off from the hilt of a blade.
“And why should I do that?”
The astonishment on the novice’s face was quickly replaced with disdain.
“I forgot that you’re truly ignorant, Hadjar Darkhan,” he said and gently placed the pommel on the cloth it had been wrapped in. “By accepting the divine mark you become a divine neophyte. This is an honor that hundreds of thousands of Immortals can only dream about…”
Hadjar choked on air. How many Immortals? Hundreds of thousands? He would never pay attention to the nobles’ snobbery ever again! What were they compared to the Immortals? Merely dust in the wind!
“It’ll bestow upon you power that even Immortals dare not challenge. Accept the mark, Hadjar Darkhan. Right here and now! You’ll ascend to a level one step away from Immortality,” the novice continued. “Accept the mark, Hadjar Darkhan, and you will become powerful enough to stand alone against both Darnassus and the Dragon Emperor. Think it through, but know that this is a one-time offer and-”
“May I go?”
The novice stared at him in bewilderment.
“I see that I’ll need to explain everything once again… You’re clearly too stupid-”
“I refuse,” Hadjar calmly interrupted him. “I’ve been trying to remove the Sword’s seal for years, and I’m pretty sure that a divine seal is impossible to remove.”
The novice said nothing. There was nothing to say.
“Tell your masters, servant of the gods,” Hadjar stood up and went over to the door, “that I’ll reach the Seventh Heaven. The fact that you brought one of their seals here tells me everything I need to know.”
Reaching the door, he kicked it open, letting in the fresh night air. The coolness of it helped dry the blood on his face and numb the pain.
“You’re a fool, Hadjar Darkhan! You’ll die!”
“Maybe I will.” Hadjar shrugged. “But at least I’m not a coward. I don’t try to bribe my enemies to make them come over to my side. Goodbye, Immortal servant of the gods,” he said and exited the temple.
“Until next time, Darkhan,” Hadjar heard coming from behind him. A yellow light flew past the crumbling walls of the temple. “I’ll rip your heart out and bring it to your beloved sister.”
Hadjar turned abruptly, but there was no one in the street. His azure eyes flashed with a bright light and his pupils momentarily resembled that of dragon.
“We’ll see who gets their heart ripped out, you divine dog.”
***
Derek, the son of a Baron and a disciple of the ‘Red Mule’ school, sat in his room, deep in meditation.
“Derek…”
Startled, he opened his eyes and saw a small yellow light hovering in front of him.
“Do you want power?”
Chapter 714
“H e’s trying to trick us again!” Proximo leaned on his spear and stared at Hadjar’s back.
“Calm down,” Galkhad grunted. “And you, Hadjar, you better convince me that this isn’t just another trick.”
“We’re allies now,” Hadjar reminded him. “So, I would advise you to do the same thing I am.”
“And what’s that?” Theia asked hatefully.
“I’m waiting,” he replied calmly.
Their whole squad was standing in the center of the abandoned city. Hadjar could’ve sworn that Derger’s temple had been right here, not far from the stele they were standing next to. It had been a simple stone structure that had stood out only because of its quaint roof. However, it had vanished, and only dust and sparse vegetation remained.
“You said that we’d see a sign that would tell us where to go next at noon,” Argakhad said. “What-”
“Yes, at noon,” Hadjar interrupted him. “Be patient. You’re behaving-”
But he didn’t get to finish his sentence. The sun finally rose high in the sky. Its bright rays destroyed the last remnants of the shadows and struck the arrow-shaped top of the stele.
“By the demons and gods!”
“By the Great Turtle!”
The whole squad let out various shouts of surprise when a golden bird suddenly flew out of the stele. Spreading its wings, it soared into the air, leaving a trail of golden sand behind that fell to the ground, and flew off somewhere in the direction of the Wastelands.
“Don’t just gawk at it!” Theia exclaimed and ran after the bird.
Looking at the map created by the neural network, Hadjar was very grateful to Galkhad and his squad. He and Einen had managed to avoid a lot of danger thanks to them. They might not have been able to overcome all those challenges on their own.
While pursuing the bird, the cultivators kept encountering Spirits and various other monsters. This time, Hadjar and Einen helped the rest of the squad deal with the enemies. Their power surprised some, and made others grit their teeth in envy.
They escaped from the city with minimal losses — an archer had been wounded and a few talismans and artifacts broken and used up. The bird, however, didn’t stop, but continued deeper into the Wastelands.
“Where is it leading us, Hadjar?” Proximo asked as he ran.
“I have no idea,” he replied honestly. Wearing only his Call’s black cloak and armor for protection, he ran so quickly that he kicked up dust in his wake. Few cultivators would be able to maintain this kind of pace for long. The Eternal Mountain clan members were already getting tired.
“Damn it,” one of the giants groaned. “Why haven’t they invented a mechanical horse yet?”
Hadjar remembered
Earth and smiled to himself.
“Look!” One of the ice-wielding archers exclaimed.
The bird folded its wings and landed atop a mound of cracked earth surrounded by a few nondescript, withered bushes and nothing else. It perched on one of them, let out a sharp cry, and then disappeared in a flash of bright light.
The squad stopped. Their clothes were tattered, their armor banged up, and they were covered in dust and blood. They didn’t look like elite warriors, but vagabonds and beggars instead.
“Is that it?” Proximo went over to the mound, leapt onto it, and plunged his spear into the bush where the bird had landed. “There’s nothing here, damn it!”
“Calm down,” Galkhad said, wiping the sweat off his forehead, and fell to the ground. “Are you sure we’re at the right place, Hadjar?”
Hadjar brought up the map in his mind. A three-dimensional image, woven together from a myriad of shimmering green threads, instantly unfolded before his eyes. He leaned toward Einen.
“I remember what I need to do,” the islander whispered in his native language.
“That’s great,” Hadjar whispered back, equally quiet. “It’s about time.”
The map, like most other treasure maps, didn’t show the exact location of their goal, but numerous landmarks leading to the tomb instead.
“Yes,” Hadjar said aloud, turning back to the giant. “I’m sure we’ve come to the right tomb.”
“Have we really?” Proximo spat at his feet and leapt down to the foot of the mound. “It looks like a slave’s tomb.”
Everyone looked at him with disapproval.
“What?” He asked. “You know I’m right! See for yourselves! Does this look like the entrance to an Emperor’s tomb to you? If I were an Emperor, my crypt would be visible for hundreds of miles around and-”
“Shut up!” Galkhad shouted. “By the gods, Proximo, this is the last time I go anywhere with you!”
The spearman fell silent and turned pale. Everything he had was thanks to the giant’s generosity.
“But-”
“The map, you idiot,” Argakhad said wearily. “We can’t do anything without the map. We only have the key!”
“But-”
If what followed hadn’t been part of Hadjar’s plan, he would’ve been very surprised. Three people shot out of the ground, ripping apart the earth with some very strange artifact, and threw a metallic, shimmering net at Galkhad’s squad. The powerful artifact pinned the cultivators to the ground. It was impossible for them to move so much as a finger or summon any energy.
“Like your leader said, you’re an idiot,” Tom sneered. “Without the map and the key both, you could blow up this whole mound, but you still wouldn’t find the entrance.”
“Who are you?” Galkhad growled.
“Disciples of ‘The Holy Sky’ School.” Tom bowed theatrically. “Now, if you value your lives, please give me the key.”
“‘The Holy Sky’ School?” Galkhad growled even louder, thrashing around like a captive animal trying to break free. “Damn it all! You’ve betrayed us, Hadjar Darkhan!”
“Hadjar Darkhan?” Tom staggered back and drew his blade. “The gods favor us, sister! We’ll get to take both the key and the Core!”
“Wait, Tom,” Anise said. “Something’s wrong-!”
The end of her sentence was drowned out by a powerful explosion.
Chapter 715
“Y ou know,” Einen shook the sand and dirt off his clothes, “I didn’t think your plan would succeed.”
“My bald friend,” Hadjar also dusted his clothes off and stretched, “you offend me sometimes.”
When the dust and flames from the explosion settled, Hadjar and Einen were no longer trapped by the artifact of the three nobles. Instead, they were standing on the mound next to the spot where the bird had landed.
The Dinos siblings and Dora were up to their necks in rather expensive binding artifacts, each of which had cost the two friends seven hundred Imperial coins.
“What’s going on here?” Galkhad roared. “I demand an explanation!”
“Fucking Darkhan,” Tom shouted. “The Dead Moon clan has already sent one of its best assassins after you! Give me the Core or you and your friend’s days are numbered.”
Hadjar and Einen looked at each other in confusion. The islander shrugged.
“The fact that aristocrats think that they’re in a position to threaten you even when they’re your prisoners continues to baffle me.”
“Must be in their genes.” Einen sighed. “Maybe they absorb it along with their mother’s milk?”
“That’s why we drink the milk of cows, my friend,” Hadjar said, patting his friend on the shoulder, “straight from the tit!”
“Idiots!” Anise swore. “Now you don’t have the key or the map! Or do you think you can keep us trapped here forever? Merida’s Net will melt away in an hour, and these Gray Stone Sarcophagi will disappear even sooner!”
“Merida’s Net,” Hadjar repeated. “What a poetic name!”
“Did the Dead Moon clan hit you on the head, Darkhan?” Anise hissed out angrily. “You don’t-”
“Sorry, do you mean to say I don’t have this…?” Hadjar took out the ancient medallion that would open the way to Decater’s tomb. “Or this…?”
Einen took out a scroll. Old and yellowed, it bore the scars of centuries spent in this world on its parchment.
The other cultivators stared at them in shock.
“You’re… bluffing,” Galkhad breathed out.
“We have some time,” Hadjar said, looking at his shadow. “Do you want me to explain it to them?”
“It was your plan.” Einen shrugged and put the map back into his shirt, then sat down on the mound.
Hadjar stepped forward and cleared his throat, “We didn’t go through the gorge because it was the shortest route, Galkhad.”
“But you-”
“I didn’t swear to that,” Hadjar interrupted him. “It was, of course, shorter and simpler than fighting a group of forty cultivators, which, by the way, is probably not that far away by now. At least those of them who are still alive should be close by.”
“The bird!” Theia guessed. “We weren’t the only ones who saw it.”
Hadjar nodded.
“That’s right,” he said. “It was seen by everyone who was looking up at the sky. Although, given that the map had already been found by then, I doubt that there were many people doing so.”
“The map… What?” Galkhad swore. “That damned crevice! You planned to take us here from the very beginning!”
“Yeah.” Hadjar nodded. “Although, the sewers were also the backup plan in case you heard that the map had been found.”
The others were silent for a long while, trying to digest this new information. The nobles, who considered themselves masters of intrigue and manipulation, suddenly realized that they’d been dancing to someone else’s tune for the past few days.
Hadjar hated scheming with all his heart, but he was still rather good at it.
“But how... how did you know that we’d find the map?” Dora, unlike the Dinos siblings, stood still rather than bother trying to get out of the trap.
“That was the riskiest part of my plan,” Hadjar admitted. “All I could do was believe in you. The alliance between your families is the most powerful one in the Wastelands at the moment.”
“Damn you, you fucking idiots!” Galkhad tried to throw off the net even more angrily, but failed. Even if he’d been a Lord, he wouldn’t have been able to do it.
“Shut up! The Eternal Mountain clan is-”
“You shut up, you bastard!” Galkhad shouted. “You’re a disgrace to your father’s memory!”
“Galkhad!” Tom roared. “I’ll rip your fucking tongue out!”
“Only after you manage to escape from under your sister’s skirt!”
Hadjar and Einen looked at each other again.
“I could watch this forever.” Hadjar
smiled and then turned to the nobles. “Stop it!”
Galkhad and Tom fell silent.
“Don’t believe their lies,” Theia said suddenly. “What they’re holding in their hands are fakes! Both the key and the map are fakes. They’re trying to trick us again!”
There was utter silence for a moment.
“Your spatial artifact,” Galkhad said, struggling to overcome his hatred of the Predatory Blades clan, “Has it been tampered with?”
It took Tom only a few moments to check the seal. Seeing that it was intact, he calmed down a little.
“Same as yours, Galkhad.”
“Enough of this, Darkhan,” the giant snarled like a bear. “If you release us immediately, we’ll-”
“And now you’re insulting Einen and his ingenuity,” Hadjar interrupted with a mock sigh. “Have you ever heard of sea glue?”
“Sea glue?”
“I hadn’t heard about it either, until recently, that is, but Einen knows all about it. The magic of an artifact doesn’t affect its properties in any way. Sea glue is used to patch up holes in a ship, connecting similar materials and-”
“But-”
“The net,” Hadjar explained. “You took the net out of the artifact to bind us. At that moment, Einen switched the copy and the real deal.”
“But-”
“Galkhad has been walking around with a fake for a while now. When Proximo gave Einen’s spear to him, my friend managed to attach a forgery to it. When Galkhad gave his spear back to Einen, all that remained was to substitute it.”
Tom and Galkhad looked inside their spatial artifacts in near-perfect unison. After checking every nook and cranny, they cursed up a storm.
“The Eternal Mountain clan won’t forget this, Darkhan.”
“Get in line and wait your turn.” Hadjar chuckled. “Thanks for the company, by the way. If there hadn’t been so many of you, the Dinos would’ve never parted with their artifact. Now, if you’ll excuse us, my friend and I have a tomb to visit.”
Chapter 716
“Y ou know, my bald friend.” Hadjar and Einen crossed to the other side of the mound. Shouts could be heard coming from somewhere behind them, but they didn’t pay any attention to that. “For a moment, I was afraid that your trick wouldn’t work.”
Dragon Heart: Land of The Enemy. LitRPG Wuxia Series: Book 8 Page 32
