Chương 639: Chapter 638: That Man Is Good!

Clang, Clang, Clang! Jon came at me with furious strikes. He is agile and fast, coming at me from all sides. Each of his attacks was amplified by aura. It wasn't just his attacks but also other skills. It made him faster, stronger, and a lot more agile. He is using everything he has against me, but even then, it's not enough.

"Don't push the aura so hard. You have enough control to get the same power with finesse," I advised as I kept defending against his attacks. It wasn't too long ago that he advised me when we sparred, but now I am doing that. His aura had calmed down, and his attacks weakened as he tried the controlled approach. Force is only valid when one lacks enough control. Jon is gaining control over his aura. He even practices it more than I do.

I do it three to four times daily, while he does it five to six times, which is paying off. The power of his attacks increased steadily, and soon, they became as powerful as his earlier attacks.

"I will attack now!" I said. I stopped being defensive and moved to the offense. I didn't increase my power. I only shifted from the defense. Clang, Clang, Clang! He began to defend against my attacks while trying to attack me, but I didn't give him a chance and continued with the attacks. I may only have a few combat skills that I like, but they are good. I especially like the Lord's Eyes and Fast Reflexes; these are outstanding skills for dealing with an opponent like him. Clang!

Minutes passed when I was finally able to parry his dagger and took my rapier to his neck.

"You have become stronger, my lord," praised Jon. It is not empty praise; I have gotten stronger, and it isn't just because of the recent level-up. I smiled and looked at Garzong and Zela, who were watching from the distance.

"Three of you come at me together," I told them. These three are formidable opponents, and together, they are even tougher. They are nearly the same level as me and have much more experience. Since they got better at working together, fighting them has become even more challenging. Soon, they picked up their weapons and got into formation. Jon and Garzong are at the front, while Zela is behind.

"We are coming!" said Garzon, moving the shield forward toward me. At the same time, Jon disappeared while Zela had launched a real Grade IV spell. I moved toward them with Zela as my target. When against the group, deal with the mage first. They are most dangerous once they are out. It became easier to deal with the rest.

"It is getting harder and harder to stand against you, my lord," said Garzong tiredly as we finished.

"You three are getting difficult to fight as well," I replied, shaking my head. When I first fought them, it was easy to exploit their teamwork, but as more sessions went by, they became better—turning into a well-oiled machine. It became harder to fight them than before. Thankfully, I am improving as well. I have leveled up, and most importantly, I have crossed the blockade that has kept me stuck for weeks. The harvest of Mok's core brought the core essence and helped me progress significantly in my aura.

In my aura exercises, including layers exercises, I achieved the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth layers. Now, I am very close to the sixteenth. I will accomplish it in a week or, at most, two. I stepped out of the training arena and showered before walking directly to the carriage. I do not need to return to the tower; I have finished all the work there. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Has Carla sent any updates?" I asked.

"Nothing, other than she is going to the negotiations," she replied. It is the fourth day of the negotiations in Namdar. It is tough, but we are making progress. I still can't believe it worked. I thought I would need to sell the emotion essence, but Carla advised me to use it as leverage instead of an asset. Merchants declined to give us the loan; they wanted to continue with the current system. Thankfully, Namdar is more desperate for emotions' essence, and they have money.

Namdar has always been rich, and chaos in the empire made it even richer, with whole merchant houses and nobles moving in. A single tranche is more than all three of their legacies produced in the month. However, according to the estimate, every tranche of money will be huge and will last us for around three to four months. Even then, it is massive. The carriage came to a halt, and I stepped out. As my eyes settled on the buildings before me, I couldn't help but smile.

Dozens of structures stood tall, with more rising steadily from the earth. In just under three months, they had made remarkable progress.

"If nothing unexpected gets in the way, we'll open right on schedule," Locke said, appearing at my side, his voice calm but confident. I am looking at the academy and its campus. Many buildings are popping up from the ground and getting taller and broader daily. I could see many of the buildings taking their designated shape, like the administrative building, library, dorms, and other things. Hundreds of workers are working on them day and night. The academy will still be a few months away from being ready.

"How is the recruitment going?" I asked. Opening an academy involves more than constructing buildings. We will also need a staff. He and Mage Aldridge are responsible for it. They focused on the empire; the war affected many academics. Especially those that focus on non-war-related courses like arts. Making a lot of experienced people available. Many are desperate enough that they will come to Greltheaven without any enticement. I walked inside and looked at the construction.

It is even bigger when looked at closely.

"We are receiving a better-than-expected response from the empire. We are also headhunting the talent," he replied, looking excited. This is his baby; he worked hard to achieve it. I did well in giving him the responsibility. I turned my gaze to the sparser section of the grounds—only a handful of buildings were under construction there, and the most important one remained in the planning stage. It would be a while yet before work could begin on it.

I took a brief walk around the campus, surveying the progress with quiet satisfaction, before returning to the carriage and settling back into my seat. A few minutes later, I reached the city hall and stepped inside. Soon, I reached my office and saw a familiar person sitting in the waiting room.

"Send him in," I told Jill before entering my office. A few seconds later, the man walked into my office.

"Lord Silver," he greeted.

"Lord Rutto, take a seat," I replied to the man, who had become slightly thinner. Travel can do that for you. It had been a few months since he had started working for me and doing an excellent job. That is why I gave him the task, and if the expressions on his face are any indication, he completed it.

"I have found what you had asked me to, my lord," he said as he sat down.

"So, is it more to it than each of them trying to bring him to their side?" I asked. I had asked him to find out the imperial plans for Marquess Gats. This man has many connections in both camps.

"It is, but with a lot higher stakes," he replied, his expression turning serious.

"Each of them is offering him a title of duke and territory at the size of the imperial dukedom," he added, and I couldn't help but be shocked. Getting a title of Duke isn't a joke. Before the war, there were only seven non-imperial dukes. It is a powerful title that hasn't been offered to anyone in the past three hundred years, but right now, they are offering him not just a title but massive territory.

"They are planning to give him a new territory, right?" I asked; he nodded, which was even more shocking. Seeing his current territory is one of the worst. Expanding it would have made sense, but they are giving him the new one, which would obviously be better than his old one. Anything other than Renwell region is better than what he currently has.

"Were you able to find out who he is leaning toward?" I asked. Of course, he will want those things. Yes, he is honorable, but the man isn't without ambition.

"That's the thing, he isn't leaning toward anyone. He had clearly stated that he would accept the offer only when it came from both of the princes together," he replied, and for a second, I froze.

"My god, that man is good!" I said, slapping on the desk hard.

"Why?" asked Lola.

"It is an excellent opportunity. He should choose the side quickly before the offer disappears. It will likely disappear, given how things are moving in imperial favor recently," she added, but I shook my head.

"I can't tell what he is thinking or what his plan is, but I know it is the best thing he did,""As for the lull in war, don't think too much into it. The empire is a delicious pie; enemies would never return it to the table. They will try to take a bite out of it as long as possible," I replied. I don't know many things, but I know for sure the enemies won't stop. No matter what is happening on the frontlines or what intelligence is saying.

"I hope this will stretch out as much as possible. Marquess Gats leaving the region would be the worse news for us," said Rutto. I nodded at that. The bastard didn't help us as much as he helped others, but he helped. His presence alone is a massive help to Greltheaven and the whole region. He is keeping the region safe from Tabes. Though they might not be interested now because they are busy with the mainland, they will come back after they have finished with it. There is also the undead.

He is the reason why they have not crossed the river. Once he leaves, the region would be in even greater trouble. We already have more than we can handle, and we don't want to deal with anything new, but it will happen.

"Were you able to find out what will happen to Dustorn Fortress? Will he be keeping his son here? Or leaving with everything?" I asked. It is the most crucial question. Whoever takes over the fortress will have a duty to defend the region from Tabes.

"I don't know about Marques's plan, but his imperial excellency had planned to divide it and auction it to the largest size," he replied. I smiled hearing that, but also got angry. It is an intelligent plan. Many nobles have lost territories and are not contributing to the war. He could divide the cities Marquess Gats controls here and sell them to the highest bidder.

The Renwell region is the size of a standard kingdom, and many desperate nobles who lost their territories in the war would pay any price to acquire a new one. It won't matter to them, even if it is in the middle of the wasteland.