abcnovels
Chapter 226: The Stage of war
Chapter 226: The Stage of war
Chapter 226: The Stage of war
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"That's a serious matter." Lady Yu turned to gaze out of the window. "You would gain strength to fight in the war. However, if you perish, so shall I."
"Something for you to think about." Adam said. "I'll be in the city for a couple of days. I'll visit you before I leave, and you can give me your answer then."
"Why..."
"Hmm?" Adam heard a sound of her whisper.
"Why do you believe I would even entertain that?" Lady Yu looked over to him with her sweet gaze. "We don't know each other. Those who usually do the ceremony have been very close for decades. Some even lovers..."
"I thought you were the right person for the job." Adam said. "A feeling of sort."
'A feeling?' Lady Yu touched her chin thoughtfully.
"Don't think too much about it." Adam headed to the door. "If you don't want to, just say so. I won't take it personally."
"Mm, I'll give my answer when you return." Lady Yu said.
Adam nodded and then left the attic.
At that moment, Lady Yu's knees buckled under her, and she plopped down on her buttocks. 'That sounded like a confession, didn't it?' Lady Yu touched her heated cheeks. 'The Holy Room ceremony has another name. Marriage Ceremony. After all, the holy maiden and warrior are bound together in the ceremony.'
...
It turned night, and the stars began to twinkle in the sky above.
While a small portion of the city went to sleep, the rest of the city stayed awake as the nighttime activities began. The taverns opened their doors, the sound of music and laughter filled the streets, and the city came alive with energy.
By his inn room's balcony, Adam watched the lively scene below with a drink in his hand.
It all seemed so peaceful, but it wasn't going to last.
He remembered the time when the war started previously. It was his first year in the New World, and it all started during a day as peaceful as this.
It frightened him greatly, as he thought he would just die in the war.
It was nothing like life back in the real world. He thought about skipping the war completely and continuing playing once the war was over.
However, the real world seemed so dull and lifeless. He was living alone at that point, disconnected from everyone, and there wasn't anything to do.
He was still working at a nearby convenience store with a shitty pay, but he found solace in the virtual world of his video games.
That's why he gave the war a go.
It was painful at first.
It was painful six months after the war started.
However, eventually, he molded into a battle-hardened warrior. He shed off his fear of battle, accepted his fate, and embraced the adrenaline rush of combat.
He stopped caring about life and death.
He jumped straight to the jaws of death, and it was at that war that he started to make a name for himself.
Since he was only Ordergiver ranked at the time of the war, he was part of the first wave of the soldiers alongside Originals. It was so bloody.
However, as he got stronger, he got stronger mercenaries on his side as well.
That's how he met Nikholas. He was in the Dying Star faction. They fought on the same side, straight on the frontlines, and survived while keeping each other's backs covered.
Nikholas had already become mercenaries. He was somewhere in the New World.
He would also most likely participate in the war. Dying Star faction.
In this war, they would be opponents, and if Adam saw him on the battlefield, he swore to kill him.
'I still hope I don't meet Sapphira on the battlefield.' Adam sighed and finished the drink. Till that talk with Zephyr, he thought he would be part of the Dying Star faction in this life as well. He had an amazing time there and was loyal to them.
He kind of wanted Orion to approach him with an offer, so it looked natural for him to join their faction. However, he never did, and it didn't surprise him.
Orion wasn't the type of person to look for alliances. He went with the flow, and that's why his guild members loved him like a father.
'Let the war begin.' Adam put the drink down.
At that moment, he heard some screams coming behind the door. It followed with some thumping noises and thudding like someone was slamming their head against a wall.
???"
Adam slowly made his way towards the door and opened the door enough to peek outside. He wasn't the only one who thought about what was happening, as his neighbors were also peeking out of their doors, looking concerned.
It seemed like the sounds were coming from downstairs.
Adam closed his door, and headed downstairs. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw the source of the noise-two men were strangling each other with their hands.
The innkeeper tried to remove them from each other, and other visitors had already gone outside, away from harm's way.
"Smileback trash!" Khamisi screamed as he squeezed on the man's throat.
"Argh!" Issa gripped Khamisi's arm in an attempt to break free. "Nightshades..."
'A fight between Smileback and Nightshade?' Adam's eyes turned cold. 'It's already at that
stage, huh?'
Issa front-kicked Khamisi in the chest, enough to force him a few steps back, and he then drew his steel sword from the scabbard.
A quick slash went between Khamisi's ribs, drawing a line of blood.
Khamisi didn't look in pain and just clad his fist with his red Kraft before throwing a series of punches that sent Issa reeling backwards.
Issa tried to use his sword to block some of the punches, but it was like trying to block sledgehammers. Khamisi's blows were too powerful and precise.
The shockwave radiating off the punches sent the innkeeper flying like a kite to the end of the room. It was extremely dangerous for Originals to stay around when players were fighting.
Issa clicked his tongue, dashed past Khamisi, and made a few cuts on his arm. His swordsmanship wasn't flashy with wide and quick swings, but instead very small movements that created small wounds but would accumulate quickly.
When he turned back to Khamisi, about to slash again, someone suddenly grabbed him by the elbow and twisted his arm behind his back.
"Argh!" Issa turned around, and to his surprise there were around eight or nine black-cloaked
figures standing by him.
"Senior Brother!" Khamisi grinned.
"You're bullying a fellow brother of mine? Tch, tch." Tauro shook his head, grabbed Issa's
sword forcibly, and cut through his throat.
Issa fell on the ground and choked on his blood.
Tauro looked at the dead Smileback, smiled, and then took Khamisi with them as they left the
inn to party somewhere else.
Adam, standing by the stairs, returned back to his room.
When he reached his room, he closed the door and locked it tightly.
"Haaah," Adam leaned his head against the door.
If something like that happened on peace day, Tauro and his friends would be executed to avoid an all-out war between two Ancient Guilds that would create a big rift in the world. However, now it didn't matter. The war would happen one way or another.