# Why Did You Summon Me - Sixteenth Basket of Mantaos - Ongoing 401 To 580

Did YouSummonMe-SixteenthBasketofMantaos-Ongoing401To580 Why

Why Did You Summon Me - Sixteenth Basket of Mantaos - Ongoing 401 To 580

Why Did You Summon Me - Sixteenth Basket of Mantaos - Ongoing 401 To 580

Origin: http://samlib.ru/c/chernij_a_w/whydidyousummonme-sixteenthbasketofmantaos-ongoing401to580.shtml

Создан: 09/04/2020, изменен: 09/04/2020, 2830k

Стихотворение: Foreign+Translat

Series: @Other

____________________________________________________________

## Why Did You Summon Me？

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•


Description Why Did You Summon Me？

Imagine being forced to live, after death, as incorporeal bodies trapped in a vast space of nothingness for thousands of years, with nothing to do but exchanging past memories with other cohabitants (read: weirdos). Everybody wanted out, but there was no way to leave the Void...

Until one day, a young man was finally summoned, as a powerful but reluctant mentor, by a bubbly and motivated but completely...

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

401 Ten Years Later

It was a beautiful day. The sun was as bright and warm as the smile on Mia's face. She stood on a podium facing a class of wide-eyed students. "Alright, that's all for today."

Da Xue had been running for ten years now, and in that time, Mia had grown wiser, smarter, and stronger. Unfortunately, her height did not experience the growth that her mental state did; she was still as short as she was before.

She still wore her hair in pigtails. The cute face she had in the past had been lost in the rivers of time; in its place was the face of a mature young woman, who had been seasoned by years of learning. Her mature countenance was a perfect fit for her figure. Not only did it make her adorable, but she also could not help exuding an irresistible charm.

The class of students stood up simultaneously and bowed in respect. They remained standing till she left the classroom, after which they enjoyed their brief recess with their usual shenanigans.

With a few books tucked neatly under her arms, Mia walked back to her office, which was at the top floor of the teaching staff's building. She passed by a few students on her way there, and they all made sure to stop and greet her respectfully. "Good day, Professor Mia."

She made sure returned their greetings even though it cost her some time. As she had conducted her last class for the day, she did not mind. The rest of her day would be spent on tidying up her teaching materials, getting ready for the classes she would teach the next day.

When Mia reached her office, she found a mountain of envelopes piled at her door. She took a look at them and shook her head helplessly. With a smile, she groaned, "Aww… Not again! This time, there's even more than ever before!"

As all the envelopes were pink, it was pretty simple to guess that they were love letters. Mia flicked her fingers, and the envelopes soared into the air on their own. In midair, they arranged themselves into a neat pile and flew into a wastepaper basket nearby.

Mia giggled at this. She had learned this little trick specifically to dispose of letters like these. After seeing her Big Sister Dale use it once before, Mia pestered her until she was taught the trick. It was times like this that made her appreciate the humor and effectiveness of this trick.

After taking care of the letters, Mia walked into her office. Her workspace was not overly decorated. She placed her teaching materials on her desk, just beside a half-completed thesis, and turned to look at the warm sunlight streaming in through the windows.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she began to feel sleepy. Deciding to take a small nap, she sat down on her chair.

Mia wore the latest edition of a uniform designed for female teaching staff of Da Xue. It closely resembled sorcerers' robes, but there were some differences in design; for example, the waistline of her robe was form-fitting. It was made this way to accentuate the bodacious, hourglass figures of the female staff. The hemline of the robe was not a straight cut; it was slant, descending from the left knee to the right foot. There were slits on each side of the robe, offering a peek at Mia's slender feet, which was covered in silk white stockings. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

The differences were not much, but one thing was certain: Da Xue's female robes were much bolder than ordinary designs Baiyi had made. Whoever altered Baiyi's original design spent a long time trying to get Baiyi to approve the alterations, else the female staff would have had to wear baggy robes as long as wedding gowns.

As Mia was the only one in her office, she took off her leather shoes and propped her feet on her desk, baring her perfect fair thighs. She leaned back into her chair, a very comfortable position for her, and began to doze off.

She had almost fallen asleep when she felt someone wrap their arms around her from behind. That was not all, though; the mysterious assailant began to caress her bared thighs suggestively.

Mia slowly turned her head to the side and felt it rest on something soft and supple. She opened her mouth to speak, but the mysterious assailant beat her to it. "Hee hee hee! What would happen if those energetic boys, who have all hit puberty, walk in to see the lady of their dreams, Professor Mia, assuming such a suggestive pose? I'm guessing that, at the very least, they would stay up all night again, thinking... "

Recognizing the voice, Mia chuckled softly. "Oh please, most respected vice principal Lady Vidomina… Just how did you manage to squeeze out some free time for me today?"

"Oh? I am fueled by how much I miss you, darling!" Vidomina replied playfully. She lowered her face and rubbed her cheek against Mia's.

"Pfft! Get that lame excuse out of here!" Mia said, bumping her head against Vidomina's a little forcefully. They were like little girls playing with each other.

"Oh, so you're suddenly old enough for the truth, huh... Well! How about because I'm fueled by a burning concern for you," Vidomina said as playfully as before. "Our Professor Mia reached the ripe age of twenty-seven this year, right? I saw a mountain of love letters sitting idly in your wastepaper basket outside. Really, all of them? Spare the young boys a heartbreak, will you? Besides, don't tell me that none of them look good enough for you!"

"Ex-cuse you! I'm not interested in children!" Mia replied casually, sitting straight. She lowered her legs back down to the ground and covered them with her robe, putting an end to the alluring sight that had been on display.

"Huh? Not thinking of marrying anyone at all? Be careful with age… You can turn into a granny in the blink of an eye!" Vidomina replied, unwilling to cut Mia some slack.

"I have passed the Legendary level assessment, which means I will be young for a long time. Wait a minute; I'm still young!" Mia protested.

"Alright, alright. We wish our Professor Mia continued youth and beauty!" Upon realizing that she was about to cross Mia's bottom line, Vidomina decided to stop teasing her. She then revealed the reason why she was in Mia's office, even though she had a mountain of work waiting for her in her office.

"Nota and Attie have returned. As promised, we're going to Attie's place tonight."

"Already? That's early," Mia said, visibly bewildered. She glanced at the calendar on her desk, making sure that turned Vidomina was not pulling her leg. "What happens after that? It's… It's not my turn next, right?"

Vidomina only smiled in reply; her grin all but implied 'What do you think?'

"I knew it. You wouldn't have come all the way here if it wasn't my turn," Mia said with a sigh.

"I would appreciate it if you do insinuate that I am a callous person! I'll have you know that I devote much of my time to everyone's favorite academy," Vidomina grumbled, feigning anger. She grabbed Mia's soft cheeks with her fingers and pinched them.

"Twen' who wam I goin'h weef thish thyme?" Mia asked, allowing Vidomina to pinch her cheeks.

Vidomina lowered her hands, placing them on Mia's shoulder. She looked into Mia's eyes assuming a most concerned expression, and with feigned graveness, she said, "Mia, how is it that you're completely clueless? Did someone go behind our backs to claim your heart and hog all your attention, hmm?"

"N-no way!" Mia shook her head vehemently, causing her pigtails to fly around. "Mr. Hope would utterly destroy me if I ever got a boyfriend behind everyone's back! No, no… I'm just busy with my thesis; that's all. It's giving me a mighty headache, to be honest," Mia said, pointing at the half-completed thesis.

This was mandatory for all sorcerers that reach the Legendary level. A refusal to do it was akin to forfeiting the benefits and privileges provided by the Sorcerers' Association. As the year's end drew closer, Mia, who was only halfway done with her thesis, panicked even more.

"Oh! Now I remember… Mordred! I'm supposed to go out with Mordred!" Mia wailed and buried her face in her hands. "Noooo! My head! It is already begun spinning!"

"There, there, drama queen; don't be like that… If Modred heard you, her feelings would be hurt," Vidomina cooed, and then her lips curled into a sly smile.

"I prefer a partner who can take care of people. I mean... Taking care of the kids will be taxing on its own, and now I would have to take care of Mordred too…?" Mia grumbled. "I'm so jealous of the Attie-Nota team-up! Those students will definitely have a blast with them."

Their topic of conversation was none other than an important part of Baiyi's system of education: excursions. According to Baiyi, going on excursions was the best way of educating the young. This was why Da Xue had its students take theoretical classes in their first two years, while their third year will be spent on excursions and other external activities. Every month, students of different faculties went out on excursions.

The class of students was led on these excursions by their class instructor; this was especially the case for students in non-combat related classes. Professors of Mia's level were tasked with leading combat-related classes on excursions. These excursions were overseen by two professors at or above the Legendary level, in order to ensure the class's safety and take care of issues concerning their journey.

This has been the case since Da Xue was founded. Mia had been taken care on until three years ago, when she had successfully entered the Legendary Level, earning her the acknowledgment required to protect others as her sisters did.

Babysitting was a grueling job. Although Mia complained about it sometimes, she did not shy away from it; after all, it had always been a dream of hers to protect those weaker than her.

The ladies continued to chat for a while. Low beeps suddenly rang out beside Vidomina's ear. Vidomina pushed back a tuft of her disheveled and said, "What was that? Again? Those Northerners are fighting again? God dang it, these little squirts! Can't they go a day without fighting?!"

Without giving Mia a chance to say goodbye, Vidomina turned and ran. All Mia could see was Vidomina's pink hair flutter as the lady raced out of her office, hurrying to wherever she was needed.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

402 The Stumbling Block

Mia smiled weakly at Vidomina, who had bolted out the door, intent on knocking some sense into a batch of unruly students. Ever since Vidomina was promoted to Vice Principal, she was always in a hurry or very busy, attending to her daily duties or completing tasks assigned to her by the Principal.

Unfortunately, this required all her time. Her busy schedule made casually chats — like the one she just had with Mia — very rare occurrences.

"Vidomina... Aren't you, maybe, trying a little too much to prove yourself?" Mia quietly mumbled. She stood up from her seat, eyed her half-completed thesis for a second and decided to leave it be. Whenever she saw the thing, she got a headache.

Attie and Nota had returned. If there was ever a time to take a break, it was now.

She put her leather shows back on and opened her windows. Suddenly, she jumped out and flew towards the residential area for Da Xue's staff. This was where she and her friends lived.

Baiyi's concern prompted him to ensure that every female staff had their own private quarters. As the girls around him matured, Baiyi demolished Aegis mansion and built each female an elegant villa in the staff residential area. The villas were built really close to each other, allowing the ladies to visit each other without hassle, whenever they so wished to.

It took Mia only a few minutes to move from the teaching blocks to the residential area. She landed and straightened her robe right away, as it had fluttered about wildly during her flight. Jawflower, one of Baiyi's mutated potted plants, was there to welcome her. Ever since Attie left, the enormous plant had been guarding her villa. The plant quickly shuffled over to Mia and began to rub its huge petals against her shoes, squealing in excitement.

The Jawflower was one of Baiyi's oldest pets. It had grown much stronger than before, and fortunately, its taste for human buttocks had quelled over the years. Although it was now able to recognize faces, its intelligence was still no greater than the average house pet. That was nowhere near the level of intelligence of Sunny the Sunflower. Ten years was not enough to bridge the gap.

"Hee, hee! Did you look after Attie's house like a good boy?" Mia smiled and walked to Attie's door. Before she could open the door, something attracted her attention. It was Attie's mailbox. It had been burned black, and now resembled something that a garbage truck would pick up on sight. The scorched mailbox had been stuffed with a pile of pink envelops, which suggested that the Jawflower had not done a good job of guarding the place.

'It's probably for the best that the Jawflower is lenient towards students, else someone would have gotten really hurt,' Mia thought. She turned away and knocked on Attie's door.

In a few seconds, the owner of the villa — a tall, slender and beautiful lady, who was wearing a white apron — opened the door. The snow-white color of her apron was a stark contrast to her alluring, tanned skin, giving her an irresistible charm.

This lady was none other than Baiyi's 'Kitty Cat Maid', Attie.

"Long time no see, Attie!" Mia smiled and spread her arms wide, intent on giving her friend a hug.

Attie moved first, though, and pulled Mia into an embrace. Then, she caressed Mia's cheeks and replied, "Yes, Mia. Long time no see."

"Aww! I told you not to do that to me anymore!" Mia protested, her face a little red.

"Nonsense. A hug every time will add an inch on your spine," Attie replied, lowering Mia back down to the ground. After that, she beckoned Mia to come in.

Mia had never bought Attie's 'advice' on how to get taller. She had been hugged by Mr. Hope numerous time, but here she was, still as short as ever. Attie loved hugging Mia because of the latter's small figure; similar to how little girls loved hugging their beautiful, little dolls.

The discrepancy in their heights was astounding. They were of the same age, and ten years ago, they were of the same height. Now, however, Attie was taller than most women and had a lean figure. Her curvaceous body oozed sex appeal, and with her exotic skin tone, Attie was practically begging for her mailbox to be filled with love letters.

Mia was unable to veer her thoughts away from her height. She had grown a tad bit taller over the years, but the difference was almost unnoticeable. She was not conscious about this when she was alone, though. Ten years ago, Vidomina, Tisdale, and Laeticia had been taller than her, which made the current difference between their heights and her height understandable. However, ten years ago, the girls who had been as tall as she was — Attie, Nota, and Modred — had grown quite tall. Mia, however, was still as tall as a loli. [1]

Unfortunately, this was something she could do nothing about. Nota's and Mordred's physique, as special lifeforms, allowed them to alter their appearances as they willed. As for Attie, she claimed that her growth spurt, which she had coined 'Second Wave Puberty'[2], was a divine blessing from the War God, whose trust in her was at an all-time high.

This 'Second Wave Puberty' only affected her height, though, as the rest of her body remained as flat as Mia's. This was the reason why they had both suffered some pain from their embrace.

After the embrace, Attie hurried back to the kitchen, to prepare dishes for the night's gathering. Mia was left alone, but she did not mind; after all, she considered the villa her home, as well, so she made herself comfortable.

"I'm sorry for burdening you with dinner preparations, seeing as you just returned from your trip, Attie," Mia said in a low voice. Her cheeks burned bright red when she remembered that she could not cook at all. Mia had tried cooking before, but the finished dishes were promptly transported to Mr. Hope's Magus Lab, so he could conduct tests on them to determine the lethality of the 'unknown concoction', and this really stung her.

Attie's prowess in household management had hit an all-time high. In the past, the flair Attie had shown for cleaning and cooking was already impressive. This won her the hearts of many male students, and more than half of the love letters she received made mention of her cooking. Many students considered excursions with their Professor Attie the blessing of a lifetime. In a recent student-created poll —'Da Xue's Most Beloved Professor'— Attie and Nota, a stellar cook who doted on her students, occupied the top 2 spots.

"It's alright. Nota will be here soon to help out," Attie replied, with her back turned to Mia, as she chopped some vegetables.

Mia glanced at Attie and realized that Attie, who was still as bold as ever, wore nothing underneath her apron. With haste, she said, "Attie, if Mr. Hope sees you like this again, you're getting another earful!"

"It's fine. I spoke to Big Sister Dale about this. Master's not gonna be home tonight," Attie replied flatly without turning around.

"Now that you mention it, Big Sister Dale joined Mr. Hope on that conference thing, right? Is she not gonna come home tonight, too?" Mia asked.

"She's fine. She can make it, but not Master, though. He has some important matters to attend to," Attie said. With a slight change in her voice, she murmured, "He no longer has the time to hang out with us daily."

"Yea; it's been like this the last ten years..." Mia said, reminiscing.

Da Xue was founded ten years ago. To a Legendary level sorcerer like Mia, ten years was not exactly a long time, yet a lot had changed in that time. [3]

Nothing reminded her of these changes as much as Mr. Hope's absence did. In the past, he had taught her personally, done her laundry, and managed her day-to-day activities. Baiyi was now the most respected figure in the education industry. His eminence in the Walthart Empire left him a ton of mundane affairs to take care of.

Furthermore, it had been years since he joined them to attend a festival.

Mia sighed. She had gained a lot these past ten years, but she had also lost a lot. Could this be a part of growing up?

Baiyi had no idea that his youngest daughter, Mia, had gone all sentimental over him. As Attie had said earlier, he was in the middle of a conference, with Tisdale and a graduate named Vivi sitting beside him.

The conference was more of a debate. He was there to there to persuade a few very powerful and influential but stubborn geezers to permit Da Xue to begin research on Void Energy.

This conference was not the first of its kind. Baiyi had spent years pushing for this. In the beginning, when Da Xue was founded, he debated some old conservative leaders who considered Void Energy a taboo. Baiyi drafted speeches and read them in these debates, doing his best to sound as logical as possible.

Eventually, he began to sit back, relax, and let his students do all the talking.

However, these conservative leaders were stubborn, adamant on maintaining the status quo. It began to seem that Baiyi could only get his way if he employed patience, waiting till he had outlived the geezers, but time was not a luxury that he could afford. If these geezers could just give him the green light, Da Xue would begin teaching classes on Void Energy, and this would go a long way towards attaining the change in society and education that Baiyi and the Voidwalkers have strived for.

Ten years had passed since Baiyi put his plan in motion, and it had progressed steadily. All the students at Da Xue knew about Voidwalkers. They had come to realize that the group of powerful people sitting in the dark hell called the Void — people that society called evil sociopaths — were, in fact, good but unlucky people. Those that had graduated from Da Xue had either taken up roles in society, opened businesses, or made powerful social connections, and the notion that Voidwalkers were not belligerent people had begun to spread.

The Bard Walker had done a good job as an instructor in the Literature department, telling students very good stories about the Voidwalkers in order to boost their opinions of these unlucky prisoners. Some of these stories were made up, of course, and some were true. Nevertheless, they were all told in a manner that made them appealing and hard-to-forget; for example, songs, poems, novels, and even plays. This had slowly begun to change the mind of the public.

The only hiccup in Baiyi's plans was the refusal of some very influential people in the empire to adopt his belief and permit his projects. These people had the power to influence a very large demographic; these were the people who mattered the most.

This was why Baiyi was here, sitting through yet another debate session.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

403 The Tale of A Promising Studen

Baiyi never once thought that his plan would be actualized without setbacks. Shaking up the belief that had taken root in the hearts of many, was always going to be difficult. Changing the world's perspective was not only the thing he had to do.

The powerful beings running the world from behind the scenes — some of who were present at the conference — feared the rise of someone even more powerful than they are. Mavericks like Hope made them feel as though they were walking on eggshells. From what they had heard, Hope was ranked fifth amongst the Voidwalker; this meant that there were four Voidwalkers much more powerful than he was!

If these Voidwalkers, whose powers were said to exceed the imagination of most, were allowed to venture into the real world, a chaotic shake-up of power would be the least of their worries. The released Voidwalkers may very well lead a revolution against them, the ruling class.

Although, for the time being, Baiyi, an emissary for this group of overpowered Voidwalkers, did not seem power hungry, obeyed the law, and had a fondness for young, cute girls, the ruling class were not at ease. It was only natural that they rejected the idea of releasing a group of individuals that they could not control.

The public may be nonchalant about the presence of Voidwalkers, but the ruling class would always feel unsettled.

Not only did the Voidwalkers possess a wealth of knowledge, but they also possessed an unknown set of ideologies and the power to control that indestructible black flame — a terrifying power that was also being discussed in today's conference — called Void Energy. It was too powerful and too dangerous, which was why it was outlawed a long time ago. No one in their right mind would permit the use of such a destructive ability that could not be countered.

The conference had only just started, yet most could guess the outcome already. Acknowledging Void Energy was no different from permitting the presence of Voidwalkers in society. It was nigh-impossible for them, the ruling class, to entertain such a notion, and they were, in fact, easier to convince than the Church.

The Church was largely behind the refusal to entertain Baiyi's proposal. This did not surprise Baiyi, though; he knew that he could only change their stance using the most direct method: war.

That was the least desirable option, though. Resorting to violence would only destroy everything he had built up to this point; no one would buy his "Voidwalkers aren't bad people" pitch anymore. Baiyi had also learned an important lesson from the downfall of the Wise Mad King: no matter how powerful a person believed himself to be, going for an all-out war right off the bat could lead to a fall. After all, fortune had the tendency to forsake those who were arrogant, causing them to lose their lives. Baiyi had a lot of people to care for, unlike protagonists who do whatever they wished because they were alone.

Fortunately, Baiyi was not out of options yet; he could continue down the path he had already set for himself. As more students graduated from Da Xue, they would pervade various sections of the society — including the upper class of society, whose influence over the public was high — and spread his views regarding the Void and its prisoners. Although this would take a longer time to implement, it was still better than war.

There was also the chance that one of Baiyi's naysayers would snap and declare war on him; that would give him justification to finish them all off. However, none of the individuals occupying the upper stratum of society were fools; they would never give Baiyi this opportunity.

Despite a lack of blood, corpses, and destruction, everyone knew that a war was already being fought, even though it was being done via verbal and diplomatic clashes. The ruling class had imposed multiple sanctions on Da Xue already, stifling its operation greatly. According to the ruling class, this was in response to Baiyi' actions, which they believed he made because he considered Voidwalkers above the law. In retaliation, Baiyi struck the homes of these high-ranked nobles with Forbidden Spells, and then claim that the damage was caused by magic experiments of his gone awry. The sanctions were quickly reversed after that.

This back-and-forth had been going on for years, but on the surface, both sides were civil to each other. During these conferences, Baiyi remained non-confrontational. He leaned back into his seat and placed his feet on the table, and let his students say whatever they thought would help.

Some folks on the other side took the conference just as seriously as Baiyi did. They could be seen dozing off, while others could be seen gossiping amongst themselves. They let a young man do all the talking for them.

He was handsome and had an air of confidence around him. He had worn a tuxedo fit for nobles, with an expensive platinum pendant hanging from his neck. On this pendant hung a book, with pages filled with symbols. The symbols for the sword, martial arts, the formation for magic, the beaker for alchemy, etc. could be seen on the open pages.

Not only was the platinum pendant expensive, but its craftsmanship was extravagant as well. Anyone who could afford such a pendant had to be, at least, an Earl or a Lord.

This book was the emblem of Da Xue. It was gifted only to the academy's best graduating students as a reward. Every year, only three graduates received such pendants from Baiyi himself, hence its prestige. Its owners were the brightest and most promising youths in Walthart Empire.

For today's conference, the other side had chosen one of Da Xue's best graduates as its spokesperson; a thinly veiled attempt to poke fun at Baiyi. To them, having one of Da Xue's best students speak out against its Principal's cause was the worst form of mockery they could dole out.

It was a despicable act.

The young man's name was Tim Wolt. He was twenty-three years old and a receiver of the Da Xue's platinum pendant. He had bested other graduates from Da Xue's fifth graduation to win it. The moment he graduated, Tim Wolt was summoned by the royal family, who granted him the position of Special Consultant for the Education and Academic Ministry; an obvious attempt at shaping him to enter the ranks of the ruling class. That made Tim Wolt the youngest person to join the Ministry, since the founding of Walthart Empire.

Every aspect of education and culture fell under the influence of the Education and Academic Ministry. It was one of the most influential arms of the empire.

Now, the other side was having Tim Wolt — one of Da Xue's brightest students, who had successfully permeated the ruling class — represent them. This was a direct contrast to what Baiyi had expected of his students. Baiyi was pissed off about this, of course. It was a low-blow, as well as a warning from the other side: they knew what Baiyi's long term goal was.

Although Baiyi was annoyed, he was not intimidated. Hence, in retaliation, he had brought along a student of Da Xue called Vivi. She was the beloved granddaughter of the Treasury Secretary of the Walthart Empire. The Secretary was one of the loudest naysayers opposing Baiyi's Voidwalkers.

The Secretary's position was one of the most important positions in the empire, but none of his sons or grandsons could measure up to his standards. Hence, the family had placed their hopes on his precious granddaughter, who Baiyi had brought along with him. It was a blatant provocation; one in which their beloved granddaughter would oppose them on Baiyi's behalf.

With this, it was as though Baiyi was saying 'Go on; bite me. That's fine, but I'll bite back!'

Tisdale, who was energetic when the conference began, lost her morale as time passed, for she had realized that they would achieve nothing in this conference, just like the conferences before it. As the conference wore on, she became so dispirited that her head was hung low. As though she wished to doze off, Tisdale let Vivi do all the talking.

At this point in the conference, the debate had long since lost its constructive edge. Only two people, Tim Wolt and Vivi, were still talking, and they were basically hurling insults at each other. From outside the hall, Vivi could be heard screaming at Tim Wolt, calling him a backstabbing rodent.

"You backstabbing rat! You are in bed with our enemies! How shameless are you, betraying your education and your Principal? Yet, you still have the galls to see us?" Vivi lambasted Tim Wolt.

Tim Wolt's gaze shifted to Baiyi, who was sitting lazily beside Vivi, and his chest swelled with the comebacks he wished to dole out. However, all he ended up saying was that he had attended the conference because he was going through desperate times. If that was not the case, he would not have allowed himself to be roped into such a sticky situation.

A while later, the conference finally ended, and the members of the floor had begun to leave. As the conference was a classified one, only a small number of people had attended. The hall was soon empty, and Tim Wolt was finally able to catch his breath.

The exams he had written at Da Xue were grueling, but they paled in comparison to these conferences he was coerced by the higher-ups to attend.

However, Tim had more mental strength than most thought; this was something Baiyi had seen in him at Da Xue. He calmed himself quickly and stood up from his seat. It was then that he caught sight of the departing Baiyi. Tim Wolt walked up to Baiyi and bowed low — something he had done a lot at Da Xue. "I am so, so sorry, Mr. Principal."

Baiyi looked at him silently. As a member of the Ministry, this apologetic young man had the authority to restrain an educator like him, yet, right then, Tim Wolt was displaying the level of respect that he often did at Da Xue. Seeing him like this made Baiyi feel a little better. "There's no need for apologies. Just do what you're supposed to..."

"Yes, sir, I understand. I still remember the words of my Professor Scholar, His Majesty the Professor, and my Principal. I have not forgotten the oath I made. I will bring justice to you, sir, so that the world may render you the veneration you deserve," Tim quietly said.

Baiyi sighed before patting the young man's head; something he often did in the past. "Don't overextend yourself there. Taking care of yourself comes first."

It was a warning — one whose meaning did not escape someone as bright as Tim. He clearly understood Baiyi's meaning. If he was coerced into attending this grueling conference, then he had best prepare himself to undertake more grueling tasks in the future. Some of those tasks may even leave him physically harmed or near death; today was just the beginning.

However, Tim was one of the few students that had impressed Baiyi thoroughly. In a bid to show Baiyi that the belief placed in him was not misplaced, Tim Wolt's eyes, which were filled with determination, met Baiyi's, and he firmly replied, "I won't give up, Mr. Principal."

Seeing his ex-students like this was enough to shake the single-minded Baiyi. He had not forgotten that many of his students would have to go through hell for his plan to be achieved. This was enough to break any instructor's heart.

Baiyi almost wished he could tell Tim Wolt to abandon the mission, ending his suffering; this way, Da Xue would gain another bright professor, and Tim Wolt would enjoy a life of peace and happiness.

However, the Fifth Walker said nothing. His expression had changed slightly, but he soon got ahold of himself and waved his hand, changing the subject. "Go and chat with Vivi. It's been a while since you saw her, right?"

Tim glanced at Vivi, who was whispering to Tisdale at the end of the hall, and shook his head sideways slowly. With a stutter, he replied, "I think... I think she hates me now..."

The two had graduated from Da Xue at the same time, but while they were still students of the academy, they were in an intimate relationship. Their interactions were sometimes bashful and awkward. Unfortunately, they went their separate ways after graduation. This was the first time Tim Wolt had seen her since then, and things felt different, especially after what had just transpired.

"Oh, c'mon, young man. Summon the courage you had back then when you grabbed that harp and serenaded her outside the female dormitory," Baiyi said, patting his shoulder.

Tim Wolt may seem like he had been a quiet student, who abided by the rules, but he was quite courageous when he wanted to be. Back then, he grabbed a harp late at night before going to pluck some flowers from Da Xue's garden. After that, he stood outside the female dormitory and impressed a girl using a very romantic method. It had worked; Vivi had burst into tears before leaping into his arms.

The next day, Vidomina, who had just been appointed punished the two lovebirds. For ruining the garden, she had them clean the bathrooms and pay up the medical bills of a few injured students.

Luckily for them, that was all their punishment entailed. They were not blacklisted, neither were their merits deducted.

For those who are wondering why some students were injured… Well, Tim Wolt's friends had undertaken the task of luring the Jawflower away, while he snuck to the female dormitory to serenade Vivi. Had they failed to attract the Jawflower's aggro, Tim would have had to use his harp to confess his love to thin air, which would have left his heart forever longing.

Hearing Baiyi's words of encouragement, Tim Wolt smiled and replied, "Oh, I remember every second of it still. Jawflower was really terrifying, though; my friends had suffered a lot."

"You should be grateful that it was Jawflower on duty that night, kid. If it were the cactus… Let's just say you boys would have been unable to pull that stunt," Baiyi said jocularly.

Tim Wolt's bright smile lasted only for a few seconds. Coming from a humble family, the position he currently held was probably the best he would ever get. However, his sweetheart, Vivi, had been strong enough to sever ties with her family, who had been doting on her for a long time. This made Tim Wolt feel weak-willed. Even if he did get into a relationship with Vivi, it would not last.

"Go talk to her. Surely, you must remember that she was the girl who made you think that serenading that late at night was worth it, despite what it had cost you," Baiyi said, pushing Tim forward a little. Baiyi called Tisdale over, allowing the two to have a private moment.

When Tisdale came over, she and Baiyi began to walk away. Tisdale had already detected a slight change in her teacher's mood and softly said, "Sir, you do know that we chose our paths, right? There is nothing to blame yourself for."

Baiyi shook his head and looked up at the sky. "Well, at least this has been taken care of. You should hurry home. Attie and Nota return today, no?"

"Oh, yes. I did the necessary shopping and preparations beforehand," Tisdale replied. Her lips curled into a cheeky smile as she said, "I did not expect you to remember these trivial things, sir."

Baiyi's reply was placid. "It's not hard. After all, there are not many things I need to remember, nowadays."

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

404 Not Found

After bidding farewell to Tisdale, who was in a hurry to run some errands, Baiyi left as well; he also had things to do. At the top of his to-do list was to attend a wine party hosted by the Southern Duke. The only reason he wanted to attend was to keep up the friendship he had with the Duke. Next on the list was a trip to the Sorcerers' Association, which he had to make the following day. He was their High-Level Consultant, who was in charge of their annual Peer Review and Evaluation of Papers. Only after this could he return to Da Xue.

A wine party could not be attended alone; attendees needed to come with their partners. For Baiyi, coming with a partner would help fend off the advances of female suitors, ranging from ages eight to eighty. Even though these suitors would come to him whilst carrying different emotional baggage, Baiyi was sure he would find them all annoying. The surge in the number of females eyeing Baiyi was not surprising; after all, he was much more popular now than he was in the past.

Had Baiyi's reputation not turned into a pile of crap because of the stubborn conviction he had towards an unpopular cause? Why would someone like him get invited to a wine party hosted for nobles? Well, the reason was simple: whilst there were people who loathed Baiyi, there were others who supported him. Amongst those that loathed Baiyi, some wanted to defend the status quo; some dreamed of controlling him, and others were suicidal enough to think that they could utilize physical means to contain the Voidwalker.

All these had no effect on Da Xue's reputation, though. Although some saw its Principal as a mad heretic, they knew that the quality of Da Xue's courses was unrivaled. Da Xue's reputation for excellence was unquestionable. The academy's laureates, after graduation, had gone to provide stellar performances at their respective places of employment. This was no better method to promote an academy.

Baiyi began to advocate for the studying of Voidwalkers and Void Energy after Da Xue shot to fame. As Da Xue — which belonged to the 'mad heretic', Baiyi — had many students from noble families, Baiyi's enemies were unable to act openly hostile towards him; hence, they could only resort to using dirty tricks to spite him.

As for the Treasury Secretary, despite being one of the most vocal opposers of Baiyi's proposals, he had always maintained, in public, how happy he was with his choice to send his granddaughter to Da Xue, even though his relationship with her had become worse for wear. He had to admit that Da Xue had made great strides in its provision of quality education, thus contributing immensely to the empire.

There were many other nobles that liked Da Xue but opposed Baiyi's proposition. These nobles had made generous donations to the academy, just so that their kids would obtain admission into Da Xue.

Most knew better than to subscribe to the either-or dichotomy that young people often fall for. After all, if something is good, people praise it; if it is bad, people speak out against it.

Unlike the ruling class, who had deduced Baiyi's plan, the public greatly admired Da Xue, calling it the paragon of quality education. Whenever they looked at the words carved on the academy's emblem, which they could not read, they felt hope and reverence.

However, Baiyi was annoyed that he now had a mountain of tasks to deal with; unlike the past, when he was able to focus on teaching his students. Today, Baiyi had to run a school and attend to a ton of external affairs; this left him so stressed that he occasionally felt like stomping the ground. He was no longer able to get away from events, which left him unable to help his ex-students who have had to go through a lot to bring his plan to fruition. Nothing could justify the fact that he, the Principal, was not doing as much as his ex-students.

After the conference, Baiyi went to the transporter portal within the Imperial City.

His partner for the wine party was already waiting for him by the stairs at the door of the Sorcerers' Association.

She was a mysterious belle. So beautiful was she that passengers who stared at her could not help lose their footing. Her raven-black hair, which cascaded down her book, resembled the finest fabric — straight and lustrous, with edges that were leveled perfectly. Below her Hime-styled hair was a delicately face that had a somber expression on it. This beauty wore the staff uniform of Da Xue's female instructors. However, she had worn a large cloak to cover her bodacious figure from lust-filled gazes.

This steely belle, as beautiful as a fey, leaned on a panther with jet-black fur. She was engrossed in a book she was holding up, probably as a way to distract herself from the wave of attention and gazes rushing her way. She stood still, aloof and unresponsive to all and sundry, as though she was the ice statue of a noble.

The steely belle flipped pages with a finger, but suddenly, she snapped the book shut as though she had just sensed something in the air. Her eyes glowed with anticipation that, based on the aloof expression she had on only moments ago, seemed uncharacteristic of her. Her beautiful eyes were fixed on a certain location close by.

With a strange gait, a strange looking Soul Armature strode towards her. When she saw it, her divine-like lips curled into a heart-warming smile.

As though pre-planned, bystanders lost their footing and crashed into each other. If one wanted to what effect a smile from a heavenly-defying beauty had on others, that person could ask these bystanders.

As Baiyi approached, the blank panther, which had been lying down on the ground, opened its eyes and looked at him. It raised its paws in an attempt to pat his face, but Baiyi slapped it back down, causing the furry beast to whimper like an innocent kitty.

"Is this a bad habit you had as a cub? Why must you pat a person's face with your claws drawn, huh?" Baiyi rubbed the panther's head as he chided it softly.

"It has done this since it was young," the steely beauty replied.

"I knew it; the girls did not teach their pet right. Those girls! Normal felines would greet their human companion with a friendly rub or lick," Baiyi said, making sure to put emphasis on the word 'girls', lest someone blames the panther's bad habits on him. His gaze shifted to the steely beauty, and he said, "I thought you would wear a mask. Is all this not enough trouble for you?"

The beauty pursed her lips and let out a very familiar snort, "Hmph!". This steely beauty was none other than one of the Huffing Piggies, the Warrior Walker.

"Fine, whatever. How did things go?" Baiyi said, changing the subject.

"Success," the Warrior Walker replied.

"Really? I mean, I remember those ungrateful scumbags being really difficult. Wait… You didn't...?" Baiyi's eyes narrowed.

"I had my mask on when I saw them," the Warrior Walker said. The book in her hand was swiftly replaced by a mask, which she waved at Baiyi.

"That wasn't the point! I asked, indirectly, if you were violent! Were you?" Baiyi probed, looking concerned.

She looked at him coldly and did not reply. Her cold eyes seemed to convey a chilling message: 'So, is this the sort of person I am to you? A harpy that is eager to dish out b**tch slaps the instant things don't go my way, eh?'

Baiyi knew when to surrender. "Okay, okay, okay!"

He had enlisted the Warrior's help because he was too busy, which was the norm at this time of the year. She had been tasked with resolving disputes that arose between Da Xue and its suppliers because of surprise price hikes, and she seemed to have done her task very well.

"They didn't say who ordered them to introduce price hikes; they may not know," the Warrior Walker replied in a monotone.

"Oh, please. As if I need some pawns to tell me who their backers are! It's that bunch of wretched scumbags again; I'm sure," Baiyi scoffed, waving his hand dismissively. "Alright. Let's go."

The Warrior Walker's face relaxed, and she smiled. The uniform she had on began to distort, transforming its shape, and soon, it had become a baby-blue evening gown, complete with a headdress. Akin to the climax of a magic show, she had transformed from a respectable lecturer to a stunning lady.

The abrupt transformation, naturally, made the onlookers gawk in astonishment, including females. A number of them approached the Warrior Walker and asked her how she had transformed. However, she ignored every one of them and locked her arms around Baiyi's, then they walked up the stairs towards the Sorcerers' Association, with the black panther in tow.

"Ah-hem! Sorry for using you to advertise," Baiyi whispered, with a look of embarrassment on his face.

"I don't mind. I like it," the Warrior Walker calmly replied, leaning even closer to him.

The Warrior Walker had descended into the Divine Leathersuit that Baiyi had obtained years ago, which allowed one to change their appearance. Over the years, Baiyi had conducted tons of research and experimentation on it, and he had made significant breakthroughs. Now, the Divine Leathersuit was powered by Void Energy, not Holy Energy. However, it had lost its abilities to self-repair and mimic one's powers. It only allowed its users to alter their appearance.

Although the Divine Leathersuit was only a piece of clothing, it could transform into whatever form its user desired. The clothing on its user could also be transformed at will. Although the male Voidwalkers did not like it, the female Voidwalkers were elated whenever they got to use it. They took turns using the Divine Leathersuit, paying no mind to the armor sets that Baiyi had prepared for them.

Voidwalker or not, people feel happy when they look really good, don't they?

There was a reason why the Warrior Walker transformed in public. It was connected to Da Xue's plans to commercialize a magical material it had created that allowed one to instantly change their appearance at will. There were two versions of this spell on sale; one was for assassins, and the other was for the public.

This spell was first advertised when Baiyi's fame began to skyrocket. Back then, Umbra, the association of assassins, had approached Baiyi to help them create a magical tool or technique that would help their assassins seamlessly blend into any environment. Before approaching Baiyi, Umbra had visited several academies and research facilities for the same reason, but they were rejected. The facilities strongly refused to invest their time into what they called a 'lowly tool for Ninth-graders'. Hence, Umbra came to Baiyi, hoping that he, someone who was famed for being open-minded, would take on their request.

Baiyi mulled over their request for a while before he agreed, and in exchange, Umbra was to carrying five assassinations for him free of charge, whenever he wanted them. For Baiyi, this exchange had netted him a huge harvest. He had gained more from the exchange than Umbra had. Umbra had agreed because they wished to get on Baiyi's and Da Xue's good sides.

However, as it was wasteful to invent something this good and not make actual money from it, the Bard Walker persuaded Baiyi to make a watered-down version of the magical clothing he made for Umbra; this one would be unable to change one's physical appearance, but it would have a number of outfits that the wearer could change their clothing into. This inferior version was to be sold to the nobles, and the revenue would serve as Baiyi's side income. Male nobles who bought it for their wives could be lured into supporting Baiyi's cause; after all, requests a woman made in bed were easily adhered to.

Thus, the Warrior Walker's publicity became an advertisement for the product that the Voidwalkers had named 'the Instagrand Frock'.

Baiyi was thinking of making some for Mia and the others, and there was no doubt that the outfit options in this version would conform to what he considered 'proper clothing'.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

405 The Sisterhood“s Little Gathering

Under the watchful eyes of the perplexed onlookers, the steely beauty, her Soul Armature companion, and a black panther climbed the stairs in front of the Sorcerers' Association's building. When they reached the door, a young guard blocked their path and said, " Sorry, Ma'am, we do not allow pets or mounts past this point. If you intend to enter with your pet, then I dare suggest that you use our side entrance, which is for the transportation of large cargo."

The young guard was a new employee. Instinctively, he had regarded the beautiful, black-haired lady as the attendee and the ugly armor set as her Soul Armature. This was why he had addressed her and ignored the Soul Armature.

This left the Warrior Walker amused. She was about to say something when an older and more experienced guard showed up. He dragged the new guard by the arm and glared at him, then he turned to the trio and smiled respectfully. With a bow, the experienced guard greeted Baiyi, "Our most esteemed High Counsellor, Sir Hope, good day. Welcome to the Imperial City branch of the Sorcerers' Association."

"Thanks," Baiyi replied flatly and walked into the building with the Warrior Walker and the panther. The young guard was confused, and he raised a finger to scratch his head; before he could do so, however, the experienced guard smacked the back of his head.

"Are you blind, boy? I can't believe you blocked the path of a VVIP like that!" The older guard chided. "Do you know who that man is?"

The newcomer shook his head sideways.

"Okay, how about this... Do you remember what motivated you to come to the city?" The older guard asked.

"A good-paying job. I came here to get a good-paying job, in order to make enough money to enroll in Da Xue. Becoming a student of such a prestigious academy will enable me to learn a new set of skills. When I graduate, I'll be able to return to my hometown and save my people!" The young guard replied with glowing eyes.

"Um, you could have stopped at 'enroll into Da Xue'..." The senior guard sighed. 'How did I even end up with a simpleton as my partner?'

Fortunately, the VIP, who they almost offended, was the good-natured Sir Hope; had he been an aloof noble, the senior guard may have also had to pay for the blunder.

"Listen, boy, that Soul Armature you just saw… is the Principal of the academy you dream of joining. Not only did you block his path, but you also treated him as though he was an orderly!" The senior guard chuckled, exaggerating a little. "Furthermore, he's our High Counsellor, specially invited by the higher-ups. One word from his mouth is enough to have you sent back to your hometown! See? Do you understand the offense you have committed? Do you understand the extent of my rescue?"

The senior guard moved to pat the young guard's shoulder — intent on asking the young lad to buy him a drink — but the young guard had gone pale; with a cry of alarm, he dashed in the direction that Baiyi had gone.

The senior guard froze, wondering if his young partner was born with less sense than a normal human should have. The boy had gone after them, despite learning of their lofty status!

"You country bumpkins scare me," The senior guard quietly said, sighing. He decided to speak to his immediate superior to clear his name from the mess. He hoped that Mr. Hope was as good-natured as people say. However, deep down in his heart, he believed that no big shot like Hope would let such a treatment slide.

'Seriously... Why the hell did my boss recruit clueless temporary workers like him?' The senior guard thought.

Fortunately for him, the young guard was unable to catch up with the trio. By the time the young guard saw the pair and their panther, they had just stepped into one of the many transportal portals there, vanishing a second later. The young guard could only stand there helplessly, staring at the many transporter portals in front of him.

In a daze, the young guard slowly turned around and went back. He bumped into a superior on his way back, who decided not to pay him for the day because he had abandoned his post during his shift.

Baiyi knew nothing of this, though. Even if he knew, he would not wait up; after all, there were many other employees who wanted to apologize to him for similar mistakes, as they also wanted to get into Da Xue. This junior guard was just one of many.

Biayi, who was now alone with the steely but beautiful Warrior Walker, suddenly remembered that he had forgotten an important matter. "Now, as for your evening ball gown… Our objective is to promote the new clothing as much as possible. If the Southern Duke warms up to it enough, we could even sell it through him. So, I would need your help again later. Show them a few of your dazzling transformations, please."

"Oh, I see," the Warrior Walker replied steelily, and then she shook her head sideways. "I decline."

"You... What?" Baiyi did not expect such an abrupt refusal.

She flashed him a cheeky smile and blinked in a coquettish manner, which was quite unlike the waifu trope she was supposed to embody. "Kiss me and maybe I'll say yes."

"Oh for the love of..." Baiyi almost threw his hands in the air. What was the point of having your avatar kiss another avatar? As someone who knew the Warrior Walker's personality, Baiyi clearly understood that if he did not do as she asked, no amount of sweet-talking will be enough to change her mind.

Hence, he could only relent. He leaned forward and nudged her forehead with the part of his facemask where lips should be.

The Warrior rubbed the spot and smiled in satisfaction. Her smile almost lit up the world, and the happiness that exuded from her illuminated the surroundings. With a calm expression and a low voice, she said, "The Assassin was right. I need to be proactive with you."

'Oh, so this was a trick you learned from the other Huffing Piggy, aye? That troublemaker... She must be in dire need of a good poking!' Baiyi glowered in his min. 'Wait, no, that doesn't work on her anymore. Poking her consciousness used to hurt her, but now, she responds to them with a ditzy grin. She has evolved! I need to come up with a new form of punishment!

By the time the duo and the black panther walked out of the transporter portal, Baiyi had yet to come up with anything good.

The Warrior Walker climbed into a coach that was waiting for them, and Baiyi mounted the black panther. They began to advance towards the Southern Duke's large, private estate. At the same time, Tisdale had finished running the errands she sought out to do. As she walked towards a transportal portal, which she wished to use to return to Da Xue, she looked up at the darkening sky, thinking of her sisters who awaited her arrival.

When she arrived at Da Xue, she forewent a bath and change of clothes and hurried to Attie's house.

Like the others, upon arriving at Attie's door, the first thing Tisdale noticed was the charred mailbox filled with pink envelopes. She ignored them and entered the house, and upon reaching the living room, she found no one there. When she went to the kitchen, she saw Attie and Nota.

"I'm here, Attie! Oh, I saw a large number of letters outside. Do you want me to and get them?"

"Oh, nah," Attie replied. She turned around and saw Tisdale standing by the open kitchen door. "Big Sister Dale, can you move to the left a bit?"

Despite feeling puzzled, Tisdale did as she was told. Attie pointed two fingers at the door and flicked them a little. A ball of fiery, red combat chi shot of her fingers and blazed past Tisdale. The front door opened, and the ball of combat chi flashed past, striking the mailbox outside with acute precision.

In moments, the crackling of flames could be heard inside the house; the envelopes were burned to crisps. This was Attie's go-method of ridding herself of those letters. This explained why her mailbox was charred.

When Tisdale looked away from the flaming mailbox, Attie had already gone back to work. Moments later, Attie said, "Mia and the others are upstairs. You should go and get them; dinner's almost ready."

Tisdale, who was still bemused, rubbed her cheeks and asked, "Aren't you worried that your house might catch fire?"

Attie replied instantly, "Nah. The house is fireproof."

As expected from her maid-like little sister, Attie. The way she did things was abnormal. With nothing left to say, Attie shrugged — something Baiyi would do in the same situation — and walked upstairs.

In the living room upstairs, Mia and Modred were lying on a couch, with identical frowns on their faces. Zakum the fox and Potter the owl were there as well. One could mistake Mia and Modred as members of a war council, with Zakum and Potter as their war advisors. Laeticia and Nydore stood by a window sill, on which one could find Sunny the sunflower. Laeticia and Nydore both held potted plants in one hand and garden shears in the other. 'Could they be talking about pots and plants?' Tisdale thought.

She did not see Vidomina, though. Perhaps she had not yet finished her work.

It was at this point in time that Mia noticed Tisdale. She got up from the couch and hugged Tisdale. Mia stood on her toes, and Tisdale had to bend a little, just so that Mia could rub her cheek against Tisdale's.

"Big! Sister! Daleeeeeee!" Mordred's face lit up, and her laughter rang out as she hopped over to Tisdale. This time, for Mordred's hug, Tisdale had to bend even lower.

For some reason, whenever Mia was with the other ladies, she would change her appearance to how it was ten years ago; only when she was alone would she assume the form of a tall and slender beauty. This begged a serious question: keeping up with these transformations, does it not get tiring over time?

However, Tisdale knew that only when Modred assume the loli appearance did she look her age; after all, to other dragons, Modred was nothing but a kid. Furthermore, teaching a bunch of adolescents whilst one looked like a child… sounded interesting. This may be one of the reasons why Modred did what she did.

Laeticia and Nydore walked up to Tisdale and hugged her consecutively. It was as though the ladies were part of a mafia.

Technically, Tisdale was not the oldest one there. Nydrore, Nota, and even Mordred had lived longer than she had; however, within their clique, she was the boss; the only one who enjoyed the 'Big sister' title.

There were two possible reasons for this. First, Tisdale had the air of a leader about her; second, for the past ten years, Tisdale was the strongest and most capable of them all.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

406 Lemme Tell You About The Dragon Knights

After the mafia-like hugging was done, the girls returned to their seats, waiting for Attie and Nota to finish preparing dinner. Tisdale, who had just arrived, went over to sit with Mia and Modred and realized that they had been playing Monopoly.

Like Chess — the favorite game of Da Xue's instructors — Monopoly was a game that Baiyi had introduced to them. Those who enjoyed dice games, loved Monopoly. The game was also popular amongst Da Xue's students. Sometimes, the academy's instructors were seen playing it; something Mia and Modred were doing now. Even though they were ten years older, both Mia and Modred were still children at heart, easily delighted by simple pleasures.

Zakum and Potter had been in the game, but since they could not scheme like humans, they lost early on. Only Mia and Modred remained, while the other two were their advisors.

It was so strange to see such a simple game bring them so much joy.

Tisdale, however, was not in the mood to play with them. She sat down on an empty two-seat sofa and placed her legs on the adjacent armrest. Feeling comfortable, she sighed and asked, "What time is Vidomina coming?"

"I don't know. She's still busy dealing with a fight that broke out between some students," Mia replied.

"Wait. What happened?" Tisdale sat up immediately. At Da Xue, she was the Principal's Personal Assistant. Not only was she Baiyi's secretary, but she was also the second-in-command at Da Xue. Everything at Da Xue fell under her purview, so if a fight broke out amongst the students, she had to know about it.

"It's the Southern students. They got into a scuffle with the students from the Faculty of Dragon-riding," Laeticia answered. "I came across them moments after the fight broke out and was able to stop them from harming each other. It was at this point that Vidomina arrived and took both parties away."

"Those two gangs again?" Tisdale sighed exasperatedly. Her gaze inadvertently shifted to the resident troublemaker of their clique, Modred, who was right there with them.

In the second year after Da Xue was founded, dragon-lady Aya had a talk with the Dragon-knights, suggesting that they move their headquarters to Da Xue's micro-realm. She gave two reasons for this: one, the recent hike in accommodation fees at the present headquarters; second, her father — who was nearing the last few years of his life. She had already begun to shoulder the responsibility for the well-being of the Dragon-knights. Working as an instructor at Da Xue and an advisor to the Dragon-knights had begun to wear Aya out.

Baiyi considered her request a reasonable one, so he went to the Imperial City to discuss with the Emperor himself about this matter.

Back then, Baiyi was still on good terms with the nobles and people in the upper-class, for he had yet to make any requests regarding the Voidwalkers. As someone considered a savior, the top brass did not even consider denying Baiyi's request, as it would not favor them politically. Since the Dragon-knights had not made any meaningful contributions to Isythre after their migration from Gouve, the Treasury Ministry considered them a waste of money; hence, when the Treasury Minister heard that someone else wanted to take ownership of the Dragon-knights, he and his ministry were quick to agree.

A few nobles did not agree to this, though, but back then, Baiyi's reputation was far-reaching. Furthermore, the Treasury Ministry was dealing with a large fiscal deficit, due to some natural disasters that had plagued the realm earlier.

With that, It was agreed that Baiyi would take care of fifty percent of the expenses incurred in maintaining the Dragon-knights, while the remaining fifty percent other would be left with the empire. With this, the Dragon-knights was moved to the micro-realm and introduced to Da Xue's staff and students. A small mountain range within the micro-realm, which was much bigger than the lands inhabited by the Dragon-knights in Isythre and Gouve, was assigned to the Dragon-knights to build their headquarters. Even though the micro-realm was much smaller than Isythre and Gouve, the land that the Dragon-knights had here was much bigger. This provided more airspace for the dragons to explore. Aya was so elated with the development, she was ready to repay Baiyi by becoming his wife.

It was after all this that the Faculty of Dragon-riding was formed at Da Xue. Baiyi had close ties with the heirs of the Dragon-knights, Aya and Modred, which ultimately meant that he controlled the entire Dragon-knights corps. At the time, not many could deduce that Da Xue's Dragon-riding course was being taught by the real deal.

By the time Baiyi fell out with the nobles and other members of the ruling class, the Dragon-knights were firmly under his control. It was at this point that the other side realized that Baiyi had sneakily acquired a powerful military force from them; a force whose expenses they still had to cover half of, as per the agreement they made in the past.

This was a huge slap to the faces of the ruling class. If there was a pillar of shame in Isythre, this 'swindle' would be written at the top of the pillar. This Empire regarded this act as Baiyi taking advantage of it while it was in dire straights; they called it a scam. This was part of the reason why the Treasury Ministry opposed Baiyi's propositions so strongly.

Baiyi's victory was not a complete one, though. The fifty percent cost he had to cover amounted to a humongous figure, which was taxing on his academy. Nothing had occurred yet that required him to use the Dragon-knights, so the corps was not earning its keep, neither was it making him any money. Taking care of the Dragon-knights, and their dragons, was akin to tossing wads of cash into a fire, and after two years of doing this, Baiyi was in a financial pickle. Fortunately for him, the huge Blood Tearstone he had obtained from his battle against Molocchus had been processed by the Da Xue's Alchemy students — who worked so hard that people would consider it inhumane grinding — and was already netting him enough profit to mitigate the cost of taking care of the Dragon-knights, albeit only to a large extent.

If it were not for this, caring for the oversized flying salamanders would have made Da Xue file for bankruptcy years ago.

Da Xue made lucrative investments and started up some other businesses, and the revenue it earned whittled down its financial burden. Back then, because of the lack of funds, Baiyi and his family had to live on a tight budget. For two years, Mia and the other girls were unable to buy new clothes [1]. After they graduated from Da Xue, they joined its staff team, and with their first pay, they were finally able to purchase the latest mini skirts on sale at the time.

Although the financial burden on Da Xue had been somewhat alleviated, the Dragon-knights posed more problems for Baiyi. The Dragon-knights were now out of favor with the nobles, and problems that occurred within the corps made Baiyi enraged. For example, the dragons were wild and harder to control than Modred was; this caused a lot of problems for Da Xue. Over the years, the dragons had clashed with so many of the realm's inhabitants, that even Baiyi was no longer particularly fond of 'Dragons vs. Unicorns' fanfictions; he had seen the real deal countless times, and he had had to settle the dispute before it got out of hand.

Today, things had become much stable for Da Xue; however, the Dragon-knight corps was not free of trouble. Over the years, the dragons had learned to cohabitate in a more civilized manner, but their inherently wild nature seemed to have rubbed off on the students studying Dragon-riding at Da Xue. Most of the students that were caught fighting and flaunting Da Xue's rules were from the Dragon-riding faculty. This faculty was semi-independent from the academy, and it was under the control of Aya and Modred, with Baiyi chipping in a little, every now and then; hence, the faculty was riddled with delinquents.

Whenever these delinquents caused a stir, Baiyi would wish that he had not taken over the Dragon-knights. He wished he had, instead, used the Dragon-knights as a bargaining chip, without taking over it completely. He had been unable to do this thus far because whenever the thought entered his mind, dragon-lady Aya would blink rapidly with tears in her eyes, asking Baiyi if he wanted to abandon her. Baiyi did not have the heart to let Aya handle everything on her own.

Although the Dragon-knights had brought Baiyi a heap of trouble, he knew that the corps had incredible potential; thus, he could not bear to abandon them, or Aya. This was not something he was willing to admit, though.

This was the reason why Tisdale glared at Modred when she learned that the students in the Dragon-riding faculty had been fighting again. Although Modred was young, leading the Dragon-knights was a responsibility she would have to shoulder. However, at present, not only was Modred reckless, but she was also in charge of a bunch of unrepentant delinquents. This reality made even Baiyi shiver.

As though what happened had nothing to do with her, Modred was currently playing cards with Mia. It was only when she noticed Tisdale glaring at her that she realized something was wrong. With a quick wave of her arms, Modred hurriedly said, "Big Sister Dale, this time, it's really not my fault!"

"Still, why are you here, playing games with Mia, as though nothing happened?" Tisdale asked with a gloomy expression, and the aura emanating from her intensified.

"Aww, don't be too harsh on her, Big Sister Dale. I mean, if Modred actually attempted to put out the fire, there is every chance she might accidentally use oil to do so, right?" Mia, the softy, spoke up for Modred, albeit using a weird analogy.

"Mia, she's the Vice President of the Dragon-knights and the Vice Principal of the School of Dragon Knights. She is going to be their leader some day, you know. She should, at least, take up—"

Tisdale's words faltered at this point as her thoughts raced. To humans, ten years was an incredibly long period of time, during which one would grow and mature. For dragons, however, ten years was akin to the blink of an eye in their incredibly long lifespan. On second thought, letting Mia, at her age, resolve issues like this was as ill-advised as Mia implied.

Tisdale recalled something about a rumor floating around within the School of Dragon Knights. According to the rumor, before a dragon knight attempted to subdue their first dragon, it was better they subdued a unicorn. This would allow the Dragon-knights to measure their own courage and power. When Tisdale looked into the source of this rumor, some students admitted that it had originated from their Vice Principal — Modred.

'Sigh… The only concern Modred would have about this issue is if her lot won the fight or not,' Mia and Tisdale thought simultaneously.

Although Mia had spoken up for Modred, whenever she remembered that she had to go out with Modred and her delinquents on an excursion, Mia would get a splitting headache.

When Modred saw the anger on Tisdale's face dissipate, she ran back to Mia and shook her shoulders. "Mia, can you get back on tossing the dice—"

Boom!

She had been blasted out of the open window by Tisdale's magic spell.

A loud crash rang out from below, and moments later, Modred crawled up from the depression she had created on the pavement, wincing. "Gah... That hurt," she muttered. "Big Sister Dale can be so strict..."

She got to her feet and brushed the dirt off her clothes. When she finally raised her head, she found herself looking up at someone whose expression was even fiercer than Tisdale's.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

407 Gifts

At first, Modred was unable to see the face clearly, but she knew who it belonged to, thanks to the huge bosom on the figure. The buns were much bigger than those of the other girls in the house, and so, with a smile of embarrassment, Modred stuttered, "H-hey hey! Vidomina! Y-you're finally here! We have all been waiting for you—"

Before she could finish, Vidomina had picked her up by the scruff of her neck, like a puppy. When they were at eye level, Vidomina growled, "Are you smiling? After all the crap your 'wonderful' students have put me through? This is the only reason I am late! "

"Tee hee... I mean, This is just the way it has to be... I'm sure you understand!" Mordred grinned shyly. "I told you why before, didn't I? So, well, let us hug it out and pretend it never happened, okay?" Mordred, who still being carried by the heck, opened her arms for a hug, looking immensely adorable. Vidomina was enraged, but surprisingly, she assented and rubbed her cheeks against Modred's.

"Why can't there be a better way? Must you use such a method?" Vidomina placed Mordred back down, after which she massaged her temple in her exasperation.

"Only if you don't want to have the best dragon knights at your disposal! This is the best method we have available — one that our ancestors used to train Dragon knights for thousands of years. This method has been tried and tested, and used by many throughout the ages. There is no easy way to change it," Mordred explained.

If Dragon-knights wanted to control their dragons, there are a few things they had to know: one, the knight had to earn the trust and approval of their dragon.

There was a problem with this, though. Only young, low-ranked dragons could be tamed into becoming mounts. These dragons were not intelligent, civil, or high-ranked. Other than the case with Aya and Baiyi, one would be hard-pressed to find a high-class dragon who would agree to have humans ride them. Even Aya would never let anyone other than Baiyi ride her.

As for low-ranked dragon breeds, they do not lose their primal instincts, even after they have been made mounts by Dragon-knights. If riders wanted their mounts to respect them, the riders would have to possess the same wild nature that dragons were known for. People as peaceful as scholars would be unable to ride dragons for as long as they lived.

Even low-level dragons were inherently proud; they would not be bossed around or ridden by people they deemed weaklings.

The short-cuts to bypass this — for example, spirit subjugation or mind control — were not things that students could perform. If one wished to become a Dragon-knight, they would not resort to such unruly methods.

Hence, one could not become a Dragon-knight without first being a royal pain in the behind. The more unruly someone was, the higher the chance that the Dragon-riding faculty would accept them. New students that choose to study dragon riding are taught to be wild and unrestrained. This has led to a surge in the number of delinquents in that faculty. In order to burn the excess energy they always seemed to have, the students of the dragon-riding faculty did not hesitate to cause trouble.

There was another method that these delinquents used to let loose their pent-up aggression: sex. An intense romp session was enough to rid a dragon rider of their surging energy. Back when the Dragon-knights were still in Gouve, the riders used sex to great effect! However, as Da Xue was an academy, such a crude method was forbidden. This was especially so because Aya, a lady, was the leader of the faculty in question.

This method was something Aya had explained to Baiyi a long, long time ago. As there was no way that Baiyi could let his students screw around like wild bunnies, he could only allow them to fight amongst themselves in order to let off steam. This was another reason why the Dragon-knights were a handful for Baiyi. He could only wait for the prospective Dragon-knights to subjugate their dragons; after that, the riders could be taught civility once again.

However, before that happened, poor Vidomina was stuck breaking up fights.

"Well, at least, you're about to go for a field trip, far away from the academy. I'm already looking forward to the month's worth of peace and quiet," Vidomina murmured under her breath and followed Modred into the house. "I pity you, though, Mia. I really do..."

"No worries! I'm powerful and violent!" Mordred patted her flat chest, smiling brightly at Vidomina. This caused her adorable fangs to be visible. "Furthermore, I'm mature and dependable when my students are around! I'll take care of Mia and my punks perfectly!"

"Wow. You'll amaze me a lot more if you can actually hold yourself to a reasonable standard," Vidomina muttered, pitying Mia even more than before.

Nota saw Vidomina and Modred come into the house. In a short while, Attie and Nota finished dinner and called everyone downstairs. The girls were about to be treated to a banquet of mouth-watering dishes!

"Whoa! These are simply amazing!" Vidomina cried out the moment she laid eyes on the dishes awaiting their consumption. "As expected of Nota, the dream wife of so many students."

"Don't you bring that nonsense up here," Nota choked in embarrassment as she playfully wrapped her hands around Vidomina's neck. Tisdale, who had just arrived downstairs, heard their conversation, and her interest was piqued. "Oh, is there a new poll?'

These polls were created by students, during the free time they had between classes. This was something they did to humor themselves, which was not uncharacteristic of students. At first, there were only two polls: 'Best Girl' and 'Best Boy'. The nominees were students only at first.

However, as time went on, this little game, which was born out of boredom, began to include lecturers in its nominee list.

In the poll titled 'Most Lovable Teacher', the nominee with the most votes was small and adorable Professor Mia, who always acted maturely around the students. In second place was the head of the Faculty of Magic — who the students often called 'His Majesty' or 'Emperor of teachers'— the Sage-Emperor of the Magi. One could only imagine how lax the old geezer had been with his students so far, seeing as he was popular than the gentle Nota, who was also an excellent chef.

For those curious about Baiyi's ranking in the 'Most Lovable Teacher' poll, he was ranked 21st; even Mr. Sorry was ranked higher than he was. The students were not particularly pleased with his uptight attitude, as well as his strict rules.

There was another poll that had garnered a lot of attention since its creation; it was titled 'Please, Be My Wife'. The nominee with the most votes on this poll was Nota. The second spot was being occupied by Vidomina, who had just recently begun to enforce Da Xue's rules in Baiyi's stead. Many wondered what the male students saw in her. Could it be her looks, or her alluring, long, pink hair, or her high-class family? [1]

As for the male version of this poll, 'Please, Be My Husband', the cool Sir Hitman Walker occupied first place. Every move he made was done with flair. In second place was the Head of the Literature Faculty, the Bard Walker. He was quite skilled at saying what the ladies loved to hear. In third place was the 'Emperor of teachers'— the Archmage. Some people wondered if the girls that voted for the old geezer secretly wished to become empresses. [2]

The top three spots of this poll were occupied by Soul Armatures, who did not have a fleshly body. One could only wonder if the female students had a thing for beings without fleshly bodies.

Baiyi had ranked a pitiful 38th on this poll; a position even lower than that of the Engineer Walker, a geek who was only into machines. The number of votes he had received was abysmal. In fact, most of the votes had been cast out of pity for him. A few had been even cast by other lecturers; for example, Aya, who had to pretend she was a student just so that she could vote for Baiyi.

This was not something Baiyi could help, though. Baiyi stopped teaching the students years ago, so he had had no chance to interact with them. What most students knew about him was from the rumors and legends circulating in the public, so most female students did not consider him husband material.

However, these polls were just that, polls. They did not reflect the true feelings of everyone. For example, the Huffing Piggies of the Void, the Warrior Walker and the Assassin Walker, both found Baiyi charming and irresistible.

When the ladies came downstairs, they sat at the table and began to enjoy them sumptuous dishes prepared by Nota and Attie. While they ate, they chatted about various things, as well as tease one another. Soon, the topic of discussion shifted to the excursion Mia and Mordred would be going on in three days.

"I made you some clothes. You should take them with you," Attie said.

"I concocted some medicines. They'll be useful during emergencies," Nota added.

It had not been too long since these two returned, yet they already had gifts prepared for Mia and Modred. This showed how well they are at taking care of others.

"Here, take this with you," Tisdale said, tossing a storage pouch to Mia. When Mia opened it, she saw a pile of magic scrolls. Since the storage pouch's volume was similar to that of a large trunk, the number of magic scrolls it could contain was shocking.

"Some of them are mine, and some of them were made by the sir," Tisdale added. "He has not had time to come home, so he asked him to give them to you."

Laeticia gave Modred and Mia a talisman, which she had infused with her theurgy magic; Sunny the sunflower gave them a sunflower seed, which was a dormant clone of itself; Potter the owl gifted them a feather that could transform into a sturdy piece of armor, and Zakum the fox shoved a beast fang into Mia's hands. This fang would allow her to summon magical beasts that were of a lower level than Zakum itself.

Nydore gave Mia a conch. According to her, if the conch was blown, the wind would warn the user of any dangers that lied ahead of them.

Vidomina was the last to come forward; she gave Mia a bag of gold. "Sorry," she apologetically said, "I didn't have the time to prepare anything else..."

Mia was amused by the warm gestures. "Come on, girls, I'm a Legendary level sorcerer now! Why are you all still treating me like a kid sister?"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

408 An Important Business

Giving gifts to one another was a new tradition that Baiyi's family adopted recently. This started when Baiyi began spending less time with the girls. He considered them mature and powerful enough to take care of themselves, so he did not bring the girls with him on his journeys. This saved them from experiencing any more mishaps.

Baiyi's penchant to plan for his trips to a tee had rubbed off on the girls. This had to do with why they gave gifts to whoever had to go on an excursion.

The girls would usually gift confectionaries and other snacks to whoever had to go on an excursion, but in Mia's case, she was gifted multiple items for her protection. This was the reason why Mia was embarrassed by her gifts.

"Uhm… You got all that because it's your first time going out with Modred. Back in the day, either one of us would go with you, so we were sure that everything would be fine," Tisdale explained. "But, now that our youngest sisters are going on a trip together, well… We got a little worried."

There was something else Tisdale did not say. Mia was a scholarly mage, just like the Assistant Head of the Faculty of Magic — the Scholar Walker. Due to Baiyi's pampering, Mia did not have actual battle experience. A lack of experience was something Modred also shared. She acted fiercely while at Da Xue, but she had never experienced a real battle.

"Come on, Big sister Dale, this isn't the first time I'm going out, alright?" Mia grumbled. She was touched by the waves of concerns she was getting, but the way they exaggerated the situation left her disgruntled. The number of scrolls they gifted her… was enough to start a small-scale war.

Mia had gone on excursions before, but she had been in the company of dependable people, like Mr. Sorry and Mr. Owl; hence, the excursions went smoothly, through and through. However, on this excursion, she would be the one leading a group, which included Mordred.

The realm they would be visiting was recently discovered; it was called 'Ede'. According to a crew of investigators who visited the realm first, Ede was not dangerous. It could be used as a training ground for the students. This did not rule out the appearance of sudden anomalies. This was unlike other realms that had been fully explored, and the investigators could vouch for them completely. Baiyi only agreed to allow the students to go to Ede because he believed that it could provide something that other fully explored Mirco-realms could not.

"Nevertheless, there is no wrong with being well-prepared, right? That is what our mentor has taught us many times. 'Being well prepared is being well insured', right?" Nota said. She was the only one who understood Mia's feelings at that moment.

"I understand. Thanks, everyone. I'll take care of myself and the others; don't worry," Mia replied, flashing a smile.

"That's right; Don't forget about me!" Mordred said and smacked her chest in confidence.

Right as Mia and Modred were preparing for the upcoming excursion, Baiyi and the Warrior Walker were stuck in a discussion with nobles. Unfortunately, the nobles that approached him only wanted to talk about the same thing, and the discussions almost seemed to happen the same way.

"Master Hope, sorry to bother you; please, allow me to introduce to you my nephew — niece or son or granddaughter, etc. He, or she, have dreamed of joining Da Xue for a long time now. In fact, he (or she) have just applied to (insert random Da Xue course here). Would you like to take a look?"

A random kid would be seen standing beside the noble speaking to Baiyi. Baiyi would then scan the kid with his psychic power and say "Not bad" with a feigned expression of approval, 'encouraging' the kid to apply to Da Xue.

After that, the guardian would try to motivate the kid whichever way they could. "If you manage to get into Da Xue, I'll buy you a horse", or "The seats for sponsors' family members are getting scarce; you must not lose this opportunity", or "Show the world that you did not get into Da Xue just because your family donated some money, okay?" etc.

For ten years, the same scene had occurred countless times, albeit with different nobles. Baiyi had heard these lines so many times, his non-existent ears were filled with enough wax to make tons of candles.

Baiyi knew that most of the kids he had met today would not make it into Da Xue. Only the children of the nobles who decide to donate to Da Xue would get in.

For nobles that wished to enroll their kids via donation, they would need to fork over five million gold coins — fifty times the normal tuition fee. When the kid has been registered, the nobles would need to pay an additional ten million gold coins before the kid is allowed entry. Baiyi made the fee for this mode of entry exorbitant, as it was akin to bribery. If one sought to bribe their way into Da Xue, which stood tall as one of the best academies, they would have to go big... or go home.

However, no amount of 'sponsored students' could be considered enough for Da Xue, as the donations from parents helped keep the academy afloat. Baiyi had even increased the number of spots that Da Xue would allocate to students who wished to enter the academy via sponsorship. There was now thirty slots available for sponsored students, which paled in comparison to the millions of applications that sat for the entrance exams annually; thirty slots was definitely not enough. After each entrance examination, Baiyi always braced himself for a sea of nobles that hurriedly approached him, pleading that Da Xue take their kids in, no matter the cost.

The Southern Duke, Duke Link, was also guilty of this. With a promise to do business with Baiyi, the duke was able to secure three seats in Da Xue for his sons and his eldest grandson. Baiyi used Duke Link's business ties to market some products invented at Da Xue, netting himself a healthy revenue. This income helped Da Xue partially relieve the financial burden that the dragon knights corps — a black hole that only absorbed money — placed on it.

Marketing the Instagrand Frock, a new product, was what they planned to do at this event. The steely Warrior Walker went over to mingle with the female attendees, after which she began to use the transformation function of the Instagrand Frock. When the other ladies saw the Warrior Walker's gown transform multiple times, into other elegant dresses and gowns, they gasped in astonishment. The men also enjoyed watching the sequence of transformations.

"She is absolutely gorgeous," Duke Link, who had inched close to Baiyi unseen, remarked. He had been entertaining his guests all night, but now, like the others, he was admiring the Warrior Walker, who was previously stuck with entertaining his guests, but now he had some time to enjoy the sight of the Warrior, who looked scintillating in everything she wore. "If she was not a Voidwalker, I would go all out to win her over, even if it means I go against you."

"You'll never have the chance," Baiyi replied. "Our relationship is deeper than marriage."

"I know; you talked about it before, didn't you? Memory exchange — the act of exchanging memories without reservation, distortion or deception. Such is the ultimate act of a sacred union," the Duke recited, with a sigh. "This novel invention of elegance is bound to be popular, Master Hope. Have you thought of a good name?"

"Honestly? If the task of naming it falls to me, I'll just call it 'Cloth that transforms', or something like that. I presume that this name is horrible for a product aimed for you nobles," Baiyi said, without hiding his inability to come up with good names. This was a trait he could just blame on his master's terrible naming sense

"Gwahaha! Horrible, my friend; that is a horrible name, indeed. As expected from you, a name that is straightforward and direct." the Southern Duke laughed out loud. "Fine, fine. I guess I'll just have to help you with this. I'm always ready to help my friends."

"I'm certain this gesture is aimed more at to helping your business. After all, you're involved in this too, aren't you?" Baiyi said, disinterested in playing along with the farce. Although Da Xue invented Instagrand Frock, marketing the product would be done by Duke Link, and thirty percent of the profit would go directly to him. Baiyi considered this deal a fair one.

"Alright, my perceptive friend. It's true, but this business deal is small compared to something else I have in mind; this is something I am certain will pique your interest. If you're already bored of mingling with these mindless folk, would you like a change of environment?" Duke Link said.

"Oh? Could it be similar to the last one?" Baiyi asked. Without waiting for a reply, he followed the Southern Duke, and they both walked out of the hall.

They deftly avoided the other guests and went to the study within the estate. There, a young man dressed in a sharp tuxedo was already waiting for them. He held a glass of red wine, enjoying the night alone.

When he noticed Baiyi and Duke Link walking over, the man closed the windows of study and walked over to them.

The Southern Duke closed the door, and Baiyi cast a Silence barrier around them.

"Nice to meet you, Most Respected Lord Principal. I'm the sixty-second cohort advanced-class graduate of yours, Geordan King. I am very pleased to meet you here today," the young man said, politely introducing himself. He bowed gracefully while he was doing so.

"He didn't say it, but this young man is the principal secretary of a general. Indeed, he is here today on the man's behalf," Duke Link added.

Since they were meeting with a representative of the military, the matter looked to be a very important one; it could even involve arms supply to the empire.

At a glance, experience individuals would correctly guess the purpose of the meeting. Baiyi was content with receiving only a small part of the profit, as it would be more than the combined revenue Da Xue currently receives from its main and side businesses.

Baiyi was, without a doubt, incredibly interested in this business — or rather, he had been interested in it for a long time. Two years ago, Duke Link invited him to talk about this, and Baiyi agreed in a heartbeat. The Southern Duke had invited him over to talk about it two years ago, which Baiyi had said yes in a heartbeat. No matter what weapons or military arms they needed — be it swords and sabers for the army, or magical marionettes for wars, or potions — there would be a Voidwalker with the knowledge required to make them. If just one of Baiyi's inventions was chosen by the army, a sea of gold coins would surely flow into his pockets.

Even the Southern Duke would be unable to influence the terms of this deal, which was why he brought Baiyi into the deal. Unfortunately for Baiyi, as time passed, his relationship with the ruling class took a turn for the worse, so the duke could no longer offer Baiyi such deals in the open. However, it was thanks to this that Baiyi and Duke Link became closer, with more transactions occurring between them, albeit on the down-low.

None one would have expected Baiyi to get involved in such large deals, seeing as the ruling class considered him a persona non grata. Baiyi was overjoyed with this, but he was also alarmed.

If the empire was willing to rope him, someone they despised, into such a lucrative business, then what sort of request would they make off him? Judging from the importance and enormity of it all, Baiyi knew that it had to be something very, very dangerous.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

409 A Bad And Basic Bait For Baiyi

"Please, take a look at this," the young secretary said, handing Baiyi a stone slab.

As soon as Baiyi touched the slab, he realized that a video had been recorded in it. This was similar to the little trick he had done with pebbles, back when he first advertised Da Xue to the world. Baiyi laughed and said, "That's copyright infringement right there, agree?"

He activated the magic placed in the stone slab and began to watch the recorded video. A few minutes later, Baiyi put done the slab, an expression of confusion appearing on his face. 'Why do I get the feeling that this job is better suited for the Church, not me?'

There were two videos on the slab. The first one showed a mountain village that had been annihilated by an army of skeleton shoulders. The corpses of the villagers could be seen getting back on their feet; they had turned into zombies! Hovering wraiths could be seen all around, and a bit farther away from the village, a bunch of revenants, which were clad in black armor, could be seen atop their undead horses.

The second video was a lot more epic, if not harrowing. It showed a large flatland filled with a sea of undead, which stretched for miles. They were marching forward, and the sky above them was filled with skeletal dragons flying in seemingly random trajectories. The size of this army of undead rivaled even the size of the Lich Walker's army, in its prime.

It was very obvious that somewhere, somehow, a certain Lich had broken through to the Demigod level. This army was basically this Lich's way of showing off its might. The little village was just unlucky to have been chosen for this fatal display of power. This was the reason why Baiyi thought that the Church ought to handle this matter; it should not concern the Principal of an academy.

"You should look at this, too." Seeing the lack of interest on Baiyi's face, the secretary raised his hand and presented a badge to Baiyi. The emblem on the badge looked strange at first, but on closer examination, it was very familiar. A black flame, which belonged to an old adversary of his — the Godsfall cult.

The huge battle that broke out in Mars ten years ago had cost Godsfall cult its two most powerful supporters: the Fairy King and an Abyss Lord. As the late Wise Mad King had foretold, after the battle, the cult lost its power and influence. Before that, Godsfall had been strong enough to indoctrinate some members of the Church, a faith-based organization. After the huge battle in Mars, however, Godsfall deteriorated so much, even smaller organizations began to hunt them for sport. Now, the cult was thought to be inexistent, with even their old allies — the barbarians of the north and the dwarves in the twin realms, Mars and Marle — hunting them.

Hence, even Baiyi slowly forgot about Godsfall. He had so much to do nowadays, so there was no time to spend investigating the wellbeing of the has-been that was Godsfall.

It seemed he was now witnessing the return of Godsfall, which seem to have enlisted the aid of a very powerful Lich. How much threat could a mere Lich pose to him, though? Even the Void's in-house Lich, who was widely regarded as the most powerful Demigod Lich to exist, spent most of his time hiding from everyone in order to avoid a beating. What more could be said of this unknown Lich; could it possibly stand alone against humans?

Nope, that was not possible.

If the secretary knew this, why then had he shown Baiyi the videos? Why use them to start off a dealing between the empire's military and Baiyi?

Baiyi asked a question that was on his mind. "What is with those undead? They do not seem to have been created by a single Lich. Furthermore, with a threat this large looming, it is surprising that Isythre has been relatively quiet. I can assume that those vile things... they aren't from our realm, are they?"

One thing Baiyi picked up from the Lich Walker's memories was that Liches never worked alongside other Liches. They had abysmal levels of trust for things that were not under their control. The only time Liches would be seen together was when they were the butt of a joke; for example, "Three Liches went into a bar…"

If a Lich wished to build an army of undead, it could not do so by writing a number in midair while chanting rhymes. The Lich first had to orchestrate horrifying events that would leave behind lots of corpses; this was easier said than done. In the past ten years, Baiyi had received any news of a Lich wantonly slaughtering people, so where had all the undead in the videos come from?

The only thing Baiyi knew about the videos was that they had been recorded in other realms.

The secretary smiled in admiration. "Lord Principal is as clever as he is shrewd. One look at the videos and you have pieced everything together. As you said, these videos were recorded in a very large realm that we just discovered. We called this realm 'Duat'. The creatures you just saw are the masters of the realm."

The discovery of a large realm where life existed was not surprising, as both Gouve and Mars had both been discovered with life already existing in them. What attracted Baiyi's attention was the last line.

"Is it a realm really controlled by a Lich?"

"No. The undead does not seem to be controlled by anything at all; their actions are of their own free will," the secretary replied. "Every single skeleton soldier you saw in the video possess their own will, even though their level of intelligence is lower than that of animals. There are not anywhere close to the mindless undead controlled by necromancers. A hierarchy seems to exist amongst them, just like it does for the demons of the Abyss. In that realm, the strong definitely dominate the weak."

"A realm completely controlled by naturally-born undead creatures?" Baiyi cried in shock. In the Void, he turned his attention to the Lich Walker and asked, "Is this even possible?"

Necromancy was still considered taboo, and the actions of the Lich Walker, when it was alive, had not been forgiven, or forgotten; hence, Baiyi did not let the Lich Walker leave the Void, not to mention letting it teach at Da Xue. It was quite fortunate he had done this, seeing as he could now ask the Lich Walker questions.

"I would not disregard its plausibility," the Lich Walker replied, with shock evident in its voice. "There are wild undead creatures here in Isythre, as well, but their numbers are pitifully low. These undead are born from the extremely rare Dead- Transforming Formations that form naturally, or as a result of a Lich's mistake. However, neither of these reasons could possibly give rise to such a massive number of undead, with all having their own wills! This Duat place is very interesting...

"Here's a friendly reminder, though: these undead creatures are far different from the undead we are familiar with," the Lich Walker added. "The undead we know, our version of the skeleton soldiers, all have a shred of their souls left over in their bodies, which a necromancer can control to make puppets of the corpses and bones. For undead to retain their self-awareness, fragments of their consciousness would have to remain. I am sure you know how difficult and annoying that can be to pull off. This is why I am certain this army of undead, who all possessed self-awareness, could not be the handiwork of a person. Oh, yes, I'm very curious as to how they were formed..."

Baiyi nodded in his head in understanding, and then he directed a question to the secretary. "Godsfall has joined hands with these undead creatures, haven't they? Do they intend to stir up a storm alongside their dead partners?"

"To be honest, we are still unsure," the secretary replied sincerely. "We found the badge with the black flame emblem at the village that had been decimated. The badge may have been accidentally left there by one of the cultists, or it could have been all that remained of the cultists after they battled the undead. Frankly, we cannot tell what link the cult has with the undead. We also cannot rule out the possibility that a Lich was behind the attack on the village. The only thing we suspect, to a certain degree, is that Godsfall is connected to these undead."

"And, this is where I come in, right?" Baiyi said, finally understanding the gist of things.

"That is correct. Lord Principal is the expert on these type of affairs, and the archnemesis of the Godsfall cult. There is simply no one else more suited for the job. To show our sincerity, we are willing to add your name into the list of potential arms suppliers," the secretary said.

On the surface, it sounded as though the empire had complimented him, but on closer examination, one would see that the statement had been laced with ridicule. The empire did not consider Baiyi the best candidate for the job because they saw him as a world-class detective. It was because Baiyi had ties to no one but his family. Should anything happen during the expedition, the empire would not have to answer for it. In other words, Baiyi was considered a mercenary on a suicide mission.

Furthermore, the only reward offered a spot on the list of potential arms suppliers. The empire was acting as though the business of supplying arms was not already monopolized by rich nobles, whose roots ran deep. The military only pretended to accept non-noble suppliers so that the public would seem them as transparent and fair. Most knew that the military would never really task a civilian with supplying arms to it.

Baiyi felt so insulted that the empire would think of convincing him with such cheap rewards. Furious, Baiyi silently stood up and walked towards the door.

The Southern Duke, who had been quiet the entire time, rushed forward to block Baiyi's path. "My friend, you should, at least, believe me on this one. It is not what you think it is."

He carefully led Baiyi back to his seat and coerced him to sit down. This time, Duke Link took it upon himself to brief Baiyi more on the matter.

A noble family that had been supplying weaponry to the military had recently suffered a great loss. One day, the family's young heirs, out of the blue, decided to go exploring. On their way, the heirs met the Alpine Barbarians of legend, and unfortunately, they had a misunderstanding with these barbarians, who promptly sent them off to meet their makers.

Hence, a blood feud ensued. The family asked the empire to declare war on the despicable barbarians. The Emperor, who did not wish to offend the family, agreed, sent two thousand elite soldiers and twenty sorcerers to the family. One would think that such a large force would be all that was needed to curb stomp the barbarians.

Whoever had thought that would have been wrong. The army, which marched alongside a few members of the family, were decimated. This was all it took for the family to fall from grace.

Having lost its prestige, the empire considered the family unfit to remain an arms supplier for its military; hence, the empire began to search for a new supplier.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

410 Here Comes Another Major Mission

After listening to the story, Baiyi's reaction was similar to the reaction Duke Link had when he first heard it; they were both nonplussed.

Suddenly, with an "Excuse me", Baiyi stood up and headed for the open balcony. Thinking that Baiyi wished to confirm the story with his secret leads, Duke Link did not stop Baiyi.

Little did they know that Baiyi was trying to contact someone that should have been involved in the altercation. Baiyi poked his communication slab and waited for Huskar to pick up.

At that moment, Huskar was atop his incredibly hot wife, enjoying an R-rated activity. A blinking light on the communication slab hung on the wall caught his attention. Why Huskar had hung the slab, which functioned almost like a mobile phone, on the wall was anyone's guess. Huskar reached out and grabbed the communication slab with his free hand.

He cocked his head to the side, staring at the blinking communication slab rather intensely. A long time later, he looked down at his wife and said, "Woman! Do you remember what this thing is supposed to do? Why did we hang it there again?"

The wife, who was furious that the 'digging' had stopped before she could reach cloud nine, snapped, "Isn't that the bloody talisman your Brother Hope gave you?"

"Oh right! Brother Hope! He gave me this! Why is it blinking?" Huskar stoked his chin, looking puzzled.

"How would I know? It's your buddy who gave you that s**t! Why don't you go ask your buddy, huh?"

"You vile vixen! How dare you use that tone?! My buddy... is your buddy too!"Huskar hollered, incensed at the tone his wife had used. The mood did not lighten up, and the argument soon spiraled out of control; in a few minutes, it had escalated into a brawl. The noise disrupted the private time of other barbarian couples. [1]

The source of the turmoil, Baiyi, was still poking his communication slab, unaware of the brawl that had broken out. As the chilly night wind blew by, Baiyi felt dispirited. Seeing as the other two were getting impatient, Baiyi had no choice but to go back inside.

Baiyi had given Huskar the communication slab two years ago, and he was starting to suspect that the barbarian — whose brain was probably as muscular as its body — had forgotten how to use it. The barbarians probably had not used the communication slab, relying on Cuckoo the alpine hawk-eagle to send messengers to each other.

"Fine, fine. I just have to believe you on this one. After all, this is too expensive a joke for the Duke to play on his business partner," Baiyi muttered to himself, shaking his head helplessly. He returned to the room and said flatly, "Alright. Let us continue."

The Southern Duke had seen this as a golden opportunity to venture into a lucrative business. As Baiyi was his friend, Duke Link decided to bring him in on it. When the ruling class heard that Hope, who they were really not fond of, would be listed as an arms supplier, they protested. One of the Emperor's advisors spoke up, "Why don't we use this chance to get that Hope to investigate the weird undead creatures in Ede?"

The Emperor was incensed by that suggestion, and he bellowed, "What happens if he actually solves the mystery? Are you seriously suggesting we let him suck dry the taxpayers' money again? This time, he'll be doing so under the guise of manufacturing weaponry for the military."

"Your Majesty, you should consider the silver lining. We have to remember that our conflict with Hope is purely on ideological and interest basis; on other subjects, we share the same stance, right? Shouldn't that allow us to work together on other cases?" replied the advisor. "If I'm not mistaken, your nephew enrolled in Da Xue this year. Hope has proven himself to be adept at manufacturing weaponry — a fact well-known to the public. Enlisting him as one of our arms suppliers will cause the military's combat prowess to increase to a new level. Besides, we have Duke Link on our side; he will help keep Hope in check.

"To be honest, Your Highness, it will be wise for us to spend our money on improving our military, rather than on providing those nobles enough finance to expand their influence. Everyone on the list of suppliers are people you distrust to a certain degree. Why don't we lure a wolf into the group, thereby disrupting their cohesion? Only then can we sit back and watch them struggle to control each other. At that time, Your Majesty, you will have fewer problems on your plate," the advisor finished. The Emperor could not help nodding in agreement, albeit with gritted teeth.

The advisor was right. The Empire could either spend its money on Hope or the nobles, who were rapidly expanding their influence. Would the Empire not be better off letting Hope into the mix, just so that the nobles can clash with him? That way, the Emperor will have less to worry about.

After that discussion, the General's personal secretary was tasked dispatched to approach Hope with the offer. There was only one reason why Duke Link knew about this matter: that advisor was Duke Link's distant nephew. It was Duke Link who had coached the advisor to raise these points with the Emperor.

When Duke Link finished his explanation, Baiyi smiled a little. "Haha. I have to admit, you're pretty good at this."

"The best part about this is, it's good for you, me, and His Majesty. Win, win, win! The art of the deal!" The Southern Duke grinned.

"Why must you bring me into this, though?" Baiyi asked.

"Because you're my most trusted partner!" The Southern Duke replied honestly; Baiyi almost bought it.

It was better for one to never trust an old fox in matters regarding politics. There was bound to be more required of the person than just raking in a profit for the old geezer.

At this point, there was nothing much to add, and Baiyi had no more questions. He sat quietly, thinking hard. The offer was tempting but problematic, so he could not rush to agree.

Surprisingly, it was the Lich Walker who encouraged him. "I think we can try.

"You know that I am not interested in money, but those undead creatures, however, are not things I think you should pass up on. If they were created by nature, we should try controlling them; this way, you would have a new army under your control — one that isn't afraid to die and will forever be loyal to you. Now, I know you have a, eh, personal bias against undead creatures, and those who work with them, but I still think we should know exactly why and how these strange undead are created. This would allow me to understand more about souls, in general. It could also provide us with information that would be useful in setting us free," the Lich Walker explained.

It was right. At this point in time, the Voidwalkers could descend into armor sets that simulated the five senses, but that the did not change the fact that a large part of their consciousness was still stuck in the Void. The road to freedom was a long one, with many difficulties along the way.

As someone on the side of righteousness, one of the reasons why Baiyi had allowed the Lich Walker — whose crimes, while alive, were immoral and cruel — to remain at his side was because it had submitted completely to Baiyi. It had only requested a few things of Baiyi before its surrender. Furthermore, Baiyi required the services of an expert on souls and spirits; this would aid his quest to free the Voidwalkers. There was no one more knowledgeable in the aspect of souls and spirits than the Demigod Lich Walker.

From everything that had happened thus far, it was obvious that Baiyi had made the right choice. The Lich Walker had already contributed a lot towards the Pseudo-Descent spell used by the Voidwalkers, affording them the opportunity to teach at Da Xue.

Moreover, the Empire had not asked Baiyi to destroy the realm. The Emperor's directive was clear: investigate the realm. This meant that Baiyi could flee the instant something went wrong.

Hence, in the end, Baiyi nodded in agreement.

Seeing Baiyi agree made Duke Link grin broadly. "With you as our guy, the problem is as good as solved! I will gladly await your good news, my friend. First, though, let us begin making the preparations necessary!"

Duke Link had always had great faith in Baiyi's abilities. Seeing Baiyi nod was as good as getting the green light to begin preparing to invent weaponry for the army.

"Hold your horses, Duke. We do not know anything yet," Baiyi said, matter-of-factly. Although the Empire had only asked him to investigate the cause behind the strange undead in Ede, Baiyi knew that the mission would not be an easy one.

"If Lord Principal can't solve it, nobody can," the secretary said.

It may seem like flattery, but this was the truth. There was no one in the Empire more powerful than Baiyi; hence, for mysterious events with undetermined levels of threat, the Empire would naturally have to seek Baiyi's help.

"Fine. Give me more details about this mission: the location of that village, the origin of the videos, and all the information you have on Godsfall cult. Basically, give me all the information you have acquired at this point," Baiyi said.

"Not to worry. I've prepared everything for you already," the secretary said, handing Baiyi a thick folder. "I have gathered every detail that is relevant to this case; they are all in the file."

Baiyi opened the folder and gave it a quick read. On the reports and files were red little marks made by the secretary, which was supposed to draw his attention.

Baiyi closed the folder, having decided to read it thoroughly when he returned to Da Xue. Then, as a thought occurred to him, Baiyi looked at the secretary and said, "You said that you're a graduate of one of the advanced classes?"

"Yep. The sixty-second advanced class, Lord Principal. Under the tutelage of Sir Charlatan," the secretary replied respectfully.

Advanced classes were classes that Baiyi had invented to bring in more money for Da Xue. There were essentially workshops for the employed, who were not really interested in being full-time students.

These classes centered around things like 'reaching one's potential' or techniques and experiences in different fields. It also involved other miscellaneous content which are subject to change. Other than useful classes like Practical Magic, Da Xue had even set up some weird Advanced Classes; for example, the Bard Walker's 'Babes in your neighborhood would chase you… after you learn these SHOCKING Techniques' Advanced Class. [2]

These Advanced Classes did not have a fixed schedule; some lasted a month, while some lasted only a week. The topics of these classes were diverse, as seen from the strange example above. The venues for these classes were also not fixed.

These classes were only set up to make a quick buck, but surprisingly, they were warmly received by the public. People flooded these classes and learned useful skills, which helped them attain solid reputations.

For some reason, however, when Baiyi found out that this young secretary had been a student of the Charlatan Walker, he felt uneasy.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

411 Hello, Pillow. Meet, Sleep

Having made his decision, Baiyi saw no other reason to stay at the party, so he returned to the Warrior Walker, who had long since stolen the show with her transformations. The pair left immediately after.

With this mission pending, the other formal obligations Baiyi had — including his position as a panelist to review theses — were instantly set aside. The secretary proved himself to be a capable individual, drafting an official letter from the Empire's military to the Sorcerer's Association. The letter would reach its intended recipient first thing in the morning.

Baiyi could not help but grin because of this. This young secretary displayed a high level of quality that only Da Xue's students could achieve. It was, however, still a surprise that the young man had only graduated from an Advanced Class. [1]

On the journey back, Baiyi tried to start a conversation with the Warrior Walker; he asked her about the event and how she felt about being its center of attention. The Warrior Walker's indifferent expression did not change, and in a steely tone, she replied, "I was used to attention even before arriving at the Void. It's nothing worth talking about."

In a bid to prevent the conservation from suffering sudden death, Baiyi changed the topic to his new mission. "Uhm… Do you want to join me?"

Surprisingly, the Warrior Walker, who was quite clingy, shook her head sideways. "This is not what I'm good at. When it comes to gathering intel, you have that Assassin Walker by your side."

'Heh heh! Just look at my considerate and understanding bae!' Baiyi chuckled to himself.

"Interacting with an idiot like you for too long is mentally taxing," the Warrior Walker mumbled under her breath as she slowly shook her head.

Baiyi's chuckles were instantly replaced by coughs of embarrassment.

They continued to chat until they arrived at the Sorcerer' Association. It was already very late at night, so there was no activity to be seen in or around the building. This was why the presence of a young man sitting on the stairs leading to the entrance of the building was very surprising.

When Baiyi saw him, he guessed that the young man may be waiting for his beautiful maiden. To Baiyi, that guess was already considered good because the young lad had a look of infatuation on his face, which was only seen on the faces of side-guys. It would be better if the young man did not spot his maiden descending from a luxurious carriage belonging to a fat nobleman.

What Baiyi did not know, though, was that the young man had been waiting for him. This young man had a guard uniform on, and the moment he spotted Baiyi, he hurried forward and kowtowed before the Fifth Walker. The young guard wrapped his arms around Baiyi's ankles and wailed, "Please, great Master Hope... Please, save our village!"

This was the guard that had blocked his path earlier that night.

Feeling embarrassed, Baiyi pulled the young guard to his feet and used hypnosis to calm him down. A few moments later, when the young guard had calmed down, Baiyi said, "What's the matter? Tell me."

The young man did not waste any time in explaining. He was from a rural village called Dorro. It was so small, even a cartographer would fail to point it out on a map. Dorro was situated on the far east of the Empire, close to the Wasteland. Although its villagers were poor, they lived in peace.

That was until the undead attacked. It happened a few months ago, in the middle of the night. Forty people were slain by the invading undead, leaving the young guard as the sole survivor of the attack.

Had the incident ended there and then, with the death of the villagers, the young guard may not have sought Baiyi out. After escaping the village, the young guard foraged for sustenance the best he could, and a few days later, when he was sure that the undead had gone, he returned to the village.

To his horror, he realized that the slain villagers had begun to walk the land as undead creatures, commonly known as zombies. [2]

Heartbroken, the young guard decided to report the incident to the church, but before he could, he discovered something startling: these zombies had retained some of the intelligence they had when they were alive. They did not attack him, and a few of them even seemed to recognize him!

The young guard decided not to report matters to the Church, scared that it may eradicate the undead villagers, who, to him, were not lost causes. After thinking long and hard, he led the villagers into the great Wasteland, where they went into hiding. After that, he took all his savings and left for the Imperial City, determined to find his people a cure.

As the Imperial City was the capital of the Empire, the young guard believed that experts powerful enough to cure his people would reside there. However, he was also scared to tell anyone what had happened to his village, for fear that they would report it to the Church. When he arrived at the capital, he asked the locals to tell him the strongest person they knew. He wanted to know if there was such an individual, and if there was, where he, or she, lived.

When he first arrived some years ago, the locals advised him to visit the Doors of Conundrum, but recently, with Da Xue on the rise, a lot of people advised him to visit Da Xue instead. This was the reason why the young guard had been so determined to enroll in Da Xue. He hoped to learn of a cure by studying there.

As Da Xue's entrance exam was some time away, the young guard settled in a town and got a job as a security guard. It was only by luck that he had crossed paths with Master Hope — the same man the locals had been directing him to — tonight.

After talking to everyone he could at the party, he learned that Master Hope would appear here; hence, without delay, he rushed to the Sorcerers' Association building and waited. He had not bothered to change out of his guard uniform.

That was his story, and he told it under hypnosis; hence, Baiyi did not doubt him. He also felt sorry for the young guard. It was a stroke of fortune for him to meet up with Baiyi. He knew that the young guard would not have made it past Da Xue's entrance examination, neither would he have been able to afford its fees.

It was quite the coincidence that this young guard's issue seemed tied with the strange undead, which the Empire had tasked Baiyi to investigate! Only a few minutes ago, Baiyi had been pondering on where exactly to start his investigation, and now, fate had prepared the perfect starting point for him. Undertaking the mission would also enable help the pitiful guard; two birds, one stone!

"I think I get the gist, young man. Let's meet again at Arfin City, by ten in the morning. Before that, go get some rest, alright?" Baiyi said.

The young lad was still under hypnosis, so he nodded calmly and left without a word.

After the lad had left, Baiyi turned his attention to the Lich Walker in the Void. "So, what do you think, Lich?"

"Mine lord, I believeth thou hath stumbled upon something wicked!"

"What the—? Since when did you pick this up?" Baiyi asked, shocked.

"I have been feeling really good lately; thank you. There is no scholar who will not be excited to stumble upon a great unknown, where new specimen can be obtained and new ground made. You can put your trip to Duat on hold now," the Lich Walker replied. "Heehee… Turning into an undead right after being killed? This is just interesting..."

On their way back, Baiyi continued to chat with the Lich Walker, completely ignoring the stunning Warrior Walker, and soon, the pair reached Da Xue.

Baiyi was feeling pretty good himself; he already had a lead on his mission. In that elated state of mind, Baiyi placed his arms atop the Warrior Walker's shoulder, and the Warrior Walker, who was upset at his negligence, instantly shoved the hand away.

The Warrior Walker could not be reasoned with when she was upset, so Baiyi decided to go see his students. He had not seen them in a while because he had been busy.

Baiyi knew from Tisdale that Attie had returned home and the girls were having a gathering, so he went to Attie's chalet straight away. After kicking the Jawflower aside, he knocked on the door and waited. In moments, the door was opened by Attie, who had covered herself with a blanket.

Naturally, she had nothing on underneath the blanket.

"Master!" Attie exclaimed in elation. She jumped at him and began to rub herself against him, just as she often did in the past. "I knew you would come to see me when you learned that I had returned home."

'Honestly, you're just something on the way,' Baiyi thought; it was something he knew not to say out loud. He gave Attie a hug and praised her for her hard work — which he knew would make her, or any other lady, happy. Attie grinned so broadly, and in her happiness, she almost let go off the blanket around her. [3]

Baiyi hurriedly ruffled her hair, in a bid to stop her from baring it all. "Oh, you look so tired from all that work, Attie. Please, go and take a break. I'll go check on the others now..."

With that, he fled into the house. He only stopped running when he spotted Nota.

As one of his most docile and mature students, Nota was able to enjoy a short chat with Baiyi. Their discussion entailed nothing that could be considered having crossed the boundary between mentor and student, and it ended very soon with a courteous "See you later."

Baiyi walked to a room and spotted Mia, who was seated at the bedside table, with her head in her arms, groaning about the headache her thesis had given her. However, when Mia saw Baiyi, her face lit up, and she jumped into his embrace, after which she began rubbing her cheek against his chest armor. After that, she pulled him into the room.

When Baiyi's gaze landed on her unfinished thesis, he exclaimed, "I can't believe you haven't submitted your work! The review is tomorrow!"

"Oww, but it's just! So! Haaaard..." Mia groaned like a little girl. Swinging her legs from side to side, she directed her best puppy dog eyes at Baiyi and asked sweetly, "Mr. Hope, please help. Pwease?"

"No. Do your own work," Baiyi answered bluntly. When he saw Mia become downcast, he sighed and let her in on a secret. "Look, I'm not going to be reviewing tomorrow, alright?"

Upon learning that Baiyi, a man with very high standards, would not be reviewing their theses tomorrow, Mia was so overjoyed, she could not help cheering. Her ponytails swung in midair as she jumped on her bed in exhilaration. Her elation was something every other sorcerer also due to submit their thesis the next day would share, should they learn what Mia had.

"Oh, please. What if the panelist that replaces me is harsher than I am?" Baiyi said, amused at her antics.

"Nope, no way, nuh-uh!" Mia chuckled. "Mr. Hope is the strictest person ever!"

"Is that so? Very well, then. I suppose this means you can relax a little. Come on, off you go; get some rest."

Baiyi walked to the bed, and Mia obediently turned her back to him, allowing Mr. Hope to let her hair down. With a slight touch, the knot in Mia's raven-black hair came undone, causing it to cascade down her back. flowing down her back.

Ever since Da Xue's reputation began to soar, this pair of student and teacher have had very little time to interact with each other. Moments like this had not happened in a long, long time. [4]

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

412 What He Did The Night Before

After grooming Mia's hair, Baiyi carried her to bed, placing her underneath her blanket.

For those wondering, only Mia was on the bed. As Baiyi had no R-rated thoughts in his head, no one else ought to.

Baiyi had not done this in such a long time; finally doing it now made him feel warm inside. Jokingly, he asked, "Shall I tuck Sharkie in with you?"

Mia, who was now wrapped up like a burrito, shook her head sideways and smiled. She had long since outgrown going to bed with her plushie. She no longer needed the plushie to defend her in battle and help her sleep comfortably. The only reason why she had not gotten rid of Sharkie yet was because she could bear to let it go, so she left it on her bed as part of the room's decor. 1]

"This time, you should take it with you," Baiyi said before leaving her room. He was not worried about Mia's upcoming excursion; after all, she was now a Legendary-level Sorcerer. Furthermore, she would be going with Modred, who packed more physical power than she did, and other instructors. The students that they would be bringing on the trip were capable fighters as well. Baiyi did not think that they would encounter serious trouble on their trip; if they did, however, and the teachers could not take care of it, then Sharkie would be unable to do much to change that.

'One could never be too careful' had always been Baiyi's motto, and it was for this reason, that Baiyi had advised Mia to take the Hammerhead Shark plushie with her; this was not lost on Mia, who needed obediently. She knew that Baiyi was only concerned about her wellbeing. "Don't worry, Mr. Hope; I always bring Sharkie with me wherever I go."

Her tiny fingers peeked out from underneath the blanket and ticked the plushie's soft, snow-white belly.

"You had better! It's still a darn powerful magical tool, no?" Baiyi nodded in approval. "Alright; I better go talk to Vidomina for a while. Good night."

With that, Baiyi went to the open window and made to jump out of it.

A sudden question from Mia, which coincided with a thought on his mind, stopped Baiyi in his tracks. "Mr. Hope, it is something really important that will keep you away from your theses-review duty, right?"

Baiyi deliberately withheld information from the girls. The only girls who were more in the know about his past activities — Tisdale and Vidomina — had been asked not to spill too much information to the others. Nevertheless, Mia could tell that her Mr. Hope had something very important to deal with. She knew that he had been under a lot of stress, despite being famous.

Baiyi could not bring himself to tell her about his mission, so after a brief moment of silence, he told Mia that he had been tasked to 'investigate an intriguing mystery'. She was his favorite daughter, as well as his youngest one, so he could not help shielding her from the darker side of his activities. All he wanted for her was that she remained healthy and strong.

Mia seemed to know what he was thinking, so she did not ask any more questions. Instead, she acted as any daughter worried about her father would. "Please, come home as soon as possible, Mr. Hope. Take care, okay?"

Baiyi nodded and left without another word.

Mia watched him leap out of her window before sliding down into her blanket, mumbling to herself, "Ooof. Mr. Hope treats me so well… I don't know when its best to change what I call him. I mean, 'Dad' is a good name, but it'll be pretty bizarre to call Mr. Hope 'Dad'... What if I make it more explicit? Papa Hope? Urgh! That sounds weird, too. I don't think I will ever get used to that! Maybe I should just take a leaf from Vidomina's book and call him Godfather..." [2]

With these weird thoughts racing through her mind, Mia slowly fell asleep.

Mr. Hope, on the other hand, had just woken Vidomina up, intent on giving her a long list of instructions for the coming days.

The drowsy Vidomina — who was wearing a loose nightgown, which did almost nothing to hide her physics-defying bosom — stared at Bayi and mumbled, "Oh, Godfather, I knew that a day would come when you would be unable to control yourself anymore... Yes, this is definitely a breach in social norms, as well as being immoral, but if you really want to… then, well, I'm not going to ref—"

The water from a spell careened through the air and suddenly smacked Vidomina's face, causing her drowsiness to vanish. Now wide awake, Vidomina's words made an about-face. "Oh, hold on, I think I said something I totally did not mean just now! I'm so sorry, Godfather. I was on autopilot! Forget what I said... pretty please?"

"Sorry to wake you from your sweet dreams, but there's something important I'd like to discuss with you. Let's get inside," Baiyi replied.

"Something important? Oh, you mean my marriage?" Baiyi knew that Vidomina was being herself at the moment. She was fond of making jokes everywhere, and to anyone, including Baiyi. "Ha! He better be hot and handsome! Is he rich? I mean, how is his family?"

"Actually, this was on my mind earlier, for I was at a wine party for rich people. Many nobles introduced their kin to me, and every single one seemed interested in you only because of your position as the Vice Principal of Da Xue. Naturally, I rebuked them all," Baiyi answered somberly.

After that, he walked past her and entered her house. Baiyi sat down on the couch before turning to Vidomina, whose satin nightgown was as thin and light as a cicada's wing, and said, "Put on some actual clothes before we talk."

'She really is the daughter of that woman. Just look at the nightgown she chose to wear; it must have been taken straight out of her mom's catalog!

Although Vidomina dared to joke with Baiyi, she knew better than to go against his words. She sauntered off and came back wearing an oversized shirt, hiding her alluring body. She walked over and sat beside Baiyi.

Baiyi briefed her on the events that occurred earlier, placing emphasis on the military equipment he now had to prepare for the Empire. Vidomina's role was to contact the Blacksmith Walker and the others to begin making weapon samples. After these samples have been vetted, then Vidomina was to signal the factory lines under Da Xue to get ready for mass production.

"Aww, man! This business venture is a really big one. What a drag," Vidomina, who was already frowning, groaned.

"Don't worry; Tisdale, the Apprentice Walker, and several others will be helping you out," Baiyi said.

Vidomina had to take up the most tedious tasks because she was the daughter of a powerful duke. The tasks he gave her involved interaction with the government and other nobles, which her position as the daughter of the Northern Duke's Daughter would smoothen out. Although she had disowned her family, no one would dare to cross her, as that would be akin to crossing her father.

Vidomina knew this to be part of the reasons why Baiyi had entrusted her with the largest tasks, and she agreed with his reasoning; hence, she did not say anything about it.

"Alright, that's all for you. If you have any questions or problems, you can always talk to my teacher, or you await my return," Baiyi concluded.

"I'm sorry for troubling you with all these," Baiyi added, patting Vidomina's head affectionately.

Vidomina closed her eyes enjoyed the pats. "These troubles? Manageable. Your troubles, however... I don't envy you one bit. I mean, you are going to face Godsfall cultists once again, aren't you, Godfather? If you see..."

She faltered, unable to continue. However, Baiyi nodded in understanding. "I know. If I see her again, I'll bring her back."

"That's all I ask for, Godfather," Vidomina said and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

Vidomina's position as the Vice Principal of Da Xue granted her as much power and influence as her position as Duke of Wright's daughter did. Her power and skills, as well as her achievements and capabilities, had improved a lot; she had made more progress now than she would have if she remained a duchess. From the moment Vidomina met Baiyi, she had been living her best life.

Not many would completely cut ties with their family, including Vidomina. In time, the animosity she had towards her family had lessened; after all, deep down, she still cared for her parents. Even though Vidomina had not returned home in years, she still maintained contact with her father and showed concern for her mother, who was unmasked as a cultist years before.

Baiyi's focus had now shifted to Godsfall cult. He was focused on gathering as much intel as possible on the cult, yet he had found nothing on Duchess Harlotte. This did not surprise Vidomina, but in her heart, she still held onto hope.

Baiyi knew this.

"It would be great if I could get some news about her mother," Baiyi muttered under his breath, walking down the street alone. The night was incredibly chilly.

Soon, Baiyi reached the residential area for the Voidwalkers. Just like the girls, every Voidwalker had their own chalet. As soon as Baiyi entered the residential area, he cast a large Silence barrier over it. He brought out a gong and began to beat it as hard as possible.

Whaang! "Meeting!" Whaaaaang! "Time for a meeting, you guys! Meet me at my place!" Whaaang! Whaaang! Whaaang!

An uproar instantly erupted.

"F**k you; I was about to sleep! I just want to sleep!"

"Bloody f**king d*** of an admin! Even the sh***** capitalist in the world would not go as low as to call for a meeting in the middle of the night, you son of a b****!"

The Voidwalkers cursed and screamed at the top of their lungs, but they could not defy Baiyi. The most powerful beings in the world would not coin someone a 'son of a b****' if that person was so easily defied.

Baiyi knew they were just being dramatic. After all, Soul Armatures could not sleep!

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

413 A Different Kind of Meeting Between the Voidwalkers

"Yellow~!" A sweet voice rang out from behind Baiyi, and a moment later, he felt something warm and supple press against his back; the supple bosom belonged to the Assassin Walker — the first Voidwalker to heed his call. Her bestie, the Warrior Walker, had given her the Divine Leather suit, which could change its host's physical appearance.

In Baiyi's harem, Lady Assassin Walker's facial features could not be called the best, but the Voidwalker was still as cute as a button. The fey-like charm and siren-like beauty of the Fairy Walker and the Warrior Walker was the reason why Lady Assassin Walker could not be considered number one in the appearance department. Amongst the female Voidwalkers, Lady Assassin Walker was not the most powerful, neither was she the most docile. In these aspects, she also paled in comparison to the Fairy Walker and the Warrior Walker.

Unlike the other two, however, Lady Assassin Walker was young at heart, and she often came off as a teenager falling in love for the first time. She was often vivacious and filled with wonder, and she had the body frame of an adorable, little girl; emphasis on the word 'little'.

"Hee hee. It's my turn to show off now, huh, idiot?" Lady Assassin Walker rested on Baiyi's back and rubbed her cheeks on him. As though jubilating, she chortled. "Be ready for an in-depth insight into the way by which a true assassin obtains her intel. Haha!"

Cough! Baiyi did not share in her joy. "It would be nice for you came down from my back first; it's embarrassing."

"Embarrassing? Because of what? Our relationship is already known to the public!" Lady Assassin Walker grumbled, clearly unhappy. She pouted her lips and poked his face armor in puerile dismay.

"No, that's not what I meant at all. Look at the length of your skirt, and, er, your current posture..." Baiyi hesitantly explained.

He was sitting on his couch, which was facing the opposite direction. Lady Assassin Walker was behind the couch, with her arms wrapped around from behind; she had had to lean in hug him, causing her extremely short skirt to ride up, leaving her booty — which was now facing the front door — exposed.

Lady Assassin Walker instantly took the hint, flashing him a sweet smile. She climbed over the couch and snuggled up beside Baiyi, leaving no gap between them — an unspoken announcement of ownership.

Cute as a button, yes, but she was also really clingy. 'Only when her qualities are combined with those of the Warrior Walker would she be a match for the Fairy Walker,' Baiyi thought. He admitted that his 'Main wife', the Fairy Walker, made for a far better girlfriend than Lady Assassin Walker and the Warrior Walker did.

While Baiyi was nursing these thoughts, the other Voidwalkers began to arrive. The Hitman Walker, who excelled in speed, arrived right after Lady Assassin Walker. The Blacksmith Walker, Engineer Walker, and Alchemist Walker arrived soon after. An unapologetic Archmage was, naturally, the last to arrive.

When the Archmage took his spot on the prime seat, Lady Assassin Walker finally tore herself away from Baiyi. It took the Fifth Walker some time to explain fill the other Voidwalkers in on the mission he had received. He was marveled at how long it now took to convey information to the other Voidwalkers. The Pseudo-Descent spell had provided a lot of benefits for the Voidwalkers, but it had come with its own cost. In the past, it took almost no time to share information with the Voidwalkers in the Void; they could even view the real world through Baiyi's eyes. This was no longer the case, though.

"The dead that don't stay dead? An oxymoron fit to intrigue a king. Would you like me to accompany you?" The Archmage chortled after Baiyi finished his speech.

"Not to be ungracious, but I would rather my seniors rest as much as possible," Baiyi replied. Saying so, he pointed at Lady Assassin Walker and added, "You all take good care of my school while I'm away, okay? She will be my companion on this journey."

"Ho? Fine, then. A senior knows when not to interrupt his juniors," said the Archmage. With a more serious expression, he continued, "There is one thing I feel the need to remind you, though: this Assassin here is, at best, only fit to be a courtesan or a royal consort; do you hear me? She is not empress material, with her lack of decorum, terrible countenance, and pitiful political skills. You must not forget this!"

'E-excuse me? This old geezer has gone off on a tangent already?! Are you seriously still thinking about your extinct Ancient Rohlserlian Empire? As for you, Huffing Piggy No. 2, what are you giggling about? Do you lack ambition so much that you're content with being a consort?!'

The Archmage had more to say on the matter, though. "Have you even spared time to think about the heir to your throne, huh? For the glory of Rohlserl, this should be Issue Numero Uno for you! In fact, son, you really should begin to seek a female human suitable to birth our great heir. Ah, I know! That female dragon always looks very willing to receive your seed!!"

'My see… What the hell?! Are you even listening to yourself? Why are you even thinking about heirs right now? Furthermore, to you, why is a woman always to blame for the lack of heirs? I mean, just look at your own heir, who is a Soul Armature, would you? As for you, Huffing Piggy No. 2, why are you looking sad? Are you that desperate to be a mother? As for Aya, who you have brought into this… Since when did dragons become part of the human race?!

A million thoughts raced through Baiyi's mind, but he decided not to answer the Archmage, who was still wearing a serious expression. In the end, Baiyi had escorted the Archmage and the Assassin Walker out of his humble abode, after which he returned to the other Voidwalkers to continue discussing the matter at hand.

"My apologies. He's always been like this. When people get old, they start to become confused, you know," Baiyi said, apologizing for his teacher's inappropriate rant.

"It's fine, though. I have to admit that Sir Archmage seemed more than just 'confused'," the Hitman Walker said gravely. "The mission you have told us about is a trivial matter, which can be solved without his help; on the other hand, the issue that Sir Archmage brought up is one that you cannot solve at all."

Baiyi was unable to refute that logic; it was a load to crap, but he found himself unable to respond to it!

It was the Blacksmith Walker, a very level-headed person, that steered the conversation back on track. "Alright, break it up and go back to being professionals. Any ideas?"

As someone who hailed from a noble family, the Blacksmith Walker had always been professional. Even now, he knew how to prioritize issues!

Baiyi was about to resume from where he left off when the Blacksmith Walker continued, "I would love to showcase my mecha on the world stage, but there are still some key issues I have yet to solve. In the meantime, we can rely on some old but reliable weapons like tanks and battleships; however, so much is required to build them, so it will be quite the drag. Furthermore, the level of craftsmanship in this world is not insufficient to create these sleek weapons. Hence, the only thing we can present the army, and this world, for now, are assault rifles."

After saying that, the Blacksmith Walker turned to the Engineer Walker and asked, "You agree, bro?"

"Assault rifles don't have the oomph factor anymore, man," the Engineer replied solemnly. "I think we should invent something like a one-man high-tech battle suit, outfitted with immense firepower. We should simplify its functions because we will be mass-producing; hence, we cannot work outside our budget."

Listening to their exchange made Baiyi think, 'Is this a concerted effort to troll me as hard as possible, just because we haven't had a meeting like this in a long time? Or is this a subtle act of revenge because I made you all meet me at this time of the night? That aside, what is with all this talk of assault rifles and goddamned Ironman suits?!

When the Blacksmith Walker and Engineer Walker noticed the change in Baiyi's countenance, the pair hurried changed the topic. "Oh, Sir Hope, you wish for us to make pretty normal weapons, don't you?"

"What else? A gigantic, world-destroying robot?!" Baiyi replied, a gloomy expression on his face.

"Well, a bold suggestion, but I respectfully beg to reject it. A gigantic-world-destroying-robot is unsuitable for our objective," the Engineer Walker said matter-of-factly. "However, if we put all our effort into building a futuristic, hi-tech battlesuit, the military will be sure of victory in all its endeavors. The Empire will be so shocked but pleased by the battlesuits' capabilities that they would buy as many of them as possible, for the purpose of gearing up their fleet. If we create a backdoor in every one of these battlesuits, we can summon them back if our relationship with the Empire sours once more. With these battlesuits at our disposal, we would be able to train a fleet of supersoldiers, all at the expense of the Empire's taxpayers! The loyalty that said fleet would show to us will be unwavering!"

"Yes, exactly! With Sir Engineer and myself, it's not hard for us to implement a backdoor on every one of our products. I see now... This is the real reason why you'd decided to join the arms dealing project! You were not focused on the money at all, Sir Hope; impressive as always. I expected nothing less from you!" the Blacksmith Walker nodded.

'My most sincere apologies, but no. I do not mirror your thoughts. I was too short-sighted to see as far as you two have. Oh, how I've failed to meet up with your expectations.'

'Wait a minute,' Baiyi looked at the pair, 'Why did I have to apologize for not coming up with the same idea as you two crazy geeks, who have extremely unrealistic expectations of the world you are in? Forget about the gadgets; you two won't even get past the design stage when you realize how inferior technology is!'

Feeling helpless, Baiyi dismissed their idea with a wave of his hand and said, "You know what? Just discuss your plans with Vidomina. She will be managing this part of the project while I'm gone."

These Voidwalkers had exhausted him mentally. Let Vidomina handle them.

The Cleric Walker decided to help out, as a good cleric would; with a solemn expression, he said, "The way I see it, the issue with the undead poses no real threat to you, Sir Hope. With some of my divine scrolls and spells and help from the Lich Walker, who should be applauded for turning over a new leaf, the amount of undead in our path would matter not. We'll blitz through them in no time.

"As for the issues regarding our new business venture, we have our most reliable Vidomina taking the lead, which is already a victory of its own. There is just nothing more to discuss on the aforementioned topics," the Cleric Walker said.

"I see. Then what issue should we deliberate on, Sir Cleric?" Baiyi asked.

"Why, only the most important issue of all: the much-needed changes to the uniforms of our female student and staff! As you can see here, I have prepared a plethora of chic designs; they all go well with black silk socks, white silk socks, and even the bold technicolor silk socks. No matter what socks the girls put on, they would look very stunning — guaranteed!" The Cleric Walker said as he hurriedly produced rolls of blueprints, which he wished to give Baiyi.

Baiyi said nothing. He snapped his finger, and the pure ivory armor containing the Cleric Walker suddenly crashed to the floor, its parts scattering about. This caused the blueprints to fall, but before they could hit the ground, they were incinerated by a ball of mysterious black flames.

"Meeting adjoined," Baiyi announced weakly. He pointed at the armor parts of the floor and said, "I would appreciate it if someone cleaned that up for me. Furthermore, someone should send Laeticia a message; tell her that, for this week, she will be the substitute principal for her faculty."

"Um, what happened to Sir Cleric?" Someone asked.

"He's banned from the chat for a week," Baiyi answered coldly.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

414 Gathering clues

After the nonsensical meeting was done, Baiyi shooed the Voidwalkers away, leaving only himself and Lady Assassin Walker behind. Should one forget that Soul Armatures were armor sets, without reproductive organs, they would have expected something naughty to go down between the pair.

Baiyi sat at his desk, flipping through files as he began mapping out a plan. Lady Assassin Walker sat beside him, resting her head on her propped knees, which had her arms wrapped around them, as she watched Baiyi scribble on his papers.

Every time Baiyi stopped for a bit to check on her, she would chuckle. The laugh sounded so dumb, it seemed capable of lowering the IQs of whoever heard it.

A hyperactive girl like Lady Assassin Walker did not have the patience to bear such boredom, unlike her bestie — the Warrior Walker. She soon began to poke Baiyi consistently, and when the Fifth Walker could ignore it no longer, he turned to glare at her only to realize that her supple thighs, which were now visible because her long shirt had ridden up, were covered by a pair of suggestive, thigh-high, black stockings.

With a (°_°) expression on his face armor, Baiyi turned back to his work, ignoring her completely. Lady Assassin Walker pondered for a moment before poking Baiyi once more. The Fifth Walker glanced at her and realized that the black stockings had turned white, while her hair had become ponytails — which many coined 'the most adorable hairstyle'.

'Are you cosplaying as Mia now?' Baiyi slowly shook his head sideways in amusement.

This went on the whole night. Baiyi would get interrupted by the Assassin Walker, and when he looked at her, he would her cosplaying as his students, or the waifus he had back on Earth — fictional and non-fictional. When dawn arrived, Lady Assassin Walker had transformed her clothes into a white swimsuit, and her hair had become pink, with a pink rabbit-ear hairband over it.

She was about to transform her swimsuit into a nun's habit, which had a large cross imprinted behind it, when Baiyi stopped her. "Are you index now? We have to move. An important lead awaits us."

The Assassin Walker nodded and reverted back to her original appearance, after which she locked her arms around Baiyi's.

Baiyi was not bothered by her antics. However, he was not willing to tell Lady Assassin Walker that she was cute enough by herself, so there was no need to cosplay as someone else.

With Lady Assassin Walker's arms locked around Baiyi's, the pair walked to the Sorcerers' Association building, where they found the young guard waiting for them. The young guard could not help but notice steely, black-haired beauty from the night before had been replaced with a cute Genki girl. This made him wonder if Baiyi was like other nobles, who were not against having multiple partners. These kinds of nobles did this to show off their status, and knowing this, the young guard decided to keep his thoughts to himself.

"Alright, let's go. We'll talk somewhere else," Baiyi said. He did not use hypnosis on the young guard this time.

The trio walked into the building. Using his privilege as the Association's High-level Advisor, Baiyi acquired a room all to himself. When the three walked into the room, Baiyi asked the young guard to take a seat. After making a cup of coffee for the young guard, using magic, Baiyi said, "Now, let us start from your name."

The young guard nodded. "My name is Matt. I'm a twenty years old single man—"

Baiyi stopped him in midsentence. "Your name alone is good enough. Okay, now tell me again about what happened and when it happened; leave no details out. This means even the unimportant details, such as weather and the behavior of the creatures, should be made known to me. The more detailed you are, the better; so, please, try to recall everything. Are you literate? No? I see..."

Baiyi refrained from using Hypnosis this time, as it disrupted the thoughts and memories of the person under it. Now that the young man was calm, Hypnosis would hinder his ability of the young guard. [1]

Matt scratched his head and thought as hard as he could. As the events he was being asked to recall happened a long time ago, his memories of it were blurred. He could only remember bits and pieces, and this made it hard for the Assassin Walker to write down he said.

"Write everything down," Baiyi had whispered to her earlier.

It was at times like these that he appreciated the great ingenuity of the Archmage, who invented Memory Anamnesis and Memory Exchanging Technique. The former allowed a person to perfectly recall everything that has happened to them, while the latter allowed two individuals to share their memories. How Baiyi wished he could use either of them right now!

Naturally, it was not feasible to expect this young guard to know how to perform such advanced secret techniques.

'Maybe I should add these techniques into Da Xue's curriculum. It will certainly help in situations like these,' Baiyi thought to himself [2]. Soon, Matt was unable to remember any more than he already had.

Everything Matt could recollect was not much use to Baiyi. His memories of the undead, especially their appearance, were so vague, and Baiyi was unable was not yet able to rule out the possibility of a Lich being behind the attack on his village. Two sentences were all Baiyi considered noteworthy in the entire recollection: "The night was pitch-black. I couldn't see the stars."

"Was it raining that night?" Baiyi asked.

"No. It was dry."

This was odd; according to astrology and theology, the stars and the sun of this world were 'God's most gracious gifts to the realms in existence'. This being the case, only two reasons would prevent a person from seeing the stars: first, because of a cloudy sky, which could be caused by rain; second, if someone had cast a barrier over an area, which prevented the inhabitants of that area from seeing the stars.

However, barriers like that would prevent those inside it from seeing anything outside it. Matt remembered escaping the village in a panic, without a torch, relying only on weak lights from the village to make out the outermost banks of the Wasteland, outside his village. He had only managed to escape by fleeing in that direction.

Matt's ability to flee from the village proved that there were no barriers around it. However, if there were no barriers over the village, why was Matt unable to see the stars that night?

There was something else Baiyi did not understand: why the undead did had not chased Matt far; they did not follow him into the desert! This was uncharacteristic of undead creatures in general. Normally, these creatures would not give up on chasing a target that moved faster than they did.

As for the undead that attacked Matt's village, where had they gone to after the attack? According to Matt, when he finished setting up a home in the desert for the zombified members of his village, he had visited other villages in the vicinity; none of them had been attacked by undead.

Why would an army of undead attack a village of only a hundred people whilst sparing more crowded villages in the vicinity? Why had they not assimilated the undead villagers into their ranks?

Having listened to Matt, these were the questions Baiyi had. He compared Matt's story with the video that the General's secretary had given him earlier. The latter lacked the point of view of a survivor, as no one in the village seen in the video survived the undead army's attack. Matt's story had left Baiyi feeling even more confused. There was nothing in Matt's story that linked the undead that attacked his village to the undead Baiyi saw in the video. Baiyi himself could not tell if the undead in both cases were related.

The General's secretary had shown Baiyi two videos. The first video seemed to have originated from a yet to be identified village, and the identity of the person that recorded it remained a mystery. As for the second video, it had been sent to the Church, along with a letter. The letter contained a threat from the writer, stating that they would 'avenge their fallen comrades by raining down blood and fire on the scum that persecuted them!'

Attached to the letter was the black flame crest of the Godsfall cult; hence, the authority assumed that the cult was planning a terrorist attack. The Empire and the Church's countermeasure, on top of any sort of military fortifications of their own, was Baiyi.Index Librorum Prohibitorum, from A Certain Magical Index.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

415 Exploring the Ruins

That was all Baiyi could get out Matt — the only witness he currently had. If there was anything else, he would have to find it out himself, at the place where the incident took place.

Unfortunately for Baiyi, this world was unable to handle evidence properly, unlike the CSI back on Earth. In this world, not many could preserve evidence; instead, they ended up tampering with it. As the incident at Matt's village happened such a long time ago, Baiyi could only hope that a few clues were left at the scene.

A month after Matt's village was attacked, the village in the first video was attacked. To Baiyi, the timing of the attacks was suspicious. Matt's village lied to the east of Baiyi's current location, while the village in the first video lied to the west. After thinking for a short moment, Baiyi decided to visit Matt's village first.

The trio — Baiyi, Matt, and Lady Assassin Walker — headed to the town closest to Matt's village. When they entered the town, Baiyi asked the Assassin Walker to wear something more conservative than what she currently had on. When she had done that, Baiyi used magic to levitate her and Matt, after which the trio flew towards a canyon situated deep within the wasteland. This was where Matt had hidden his villagers.

After flying for a few hours, the trio reached the canyon, but they did not find any zombies. There to welcome them was a pile of white bones almost fully covered by sand. That put an end to any hope that Baiyi had of acquiring a live specimen.

When Matt saw the bones, he fell to his knees in despair. He grabbed a pile of bones and began to weep profusely. With a sidelong glance, Baiyi signaled Lady Assassin Walker to gently lead the young guard away. As the Assassin Walker led Matt away to comfort him, Baiyi erected barriers around the area, and then he crouched to examine the bones.

Matt did not stop crying; moments later, he was crying so hard that he looked close to fainting. Baiyi began to arrange the bones that littered the ground around him, and soon, he was staring at the skeletons of the slain villagers, assuming the pose they were in right before they ceased to exist.

All the undead villagers seemed to have been walking around before they perished; they had not been attacked. From how blackish the bones had become, Baiyi could deduce that the zombie villagers crashed to the ground a little while after Matt left them; it could not have been more than a month.

"Any suggestions?" Baiyi asked the Voidwalkers still in the Void.

"In a battle, the only use for these low-ranked, sluggish zombies, other than to create a scene of horror, is to serve as incubators for skeleton knights. These zombies could slowly transform into skeleton knights," the Lich Walker answered. "What we've seen here is disturbing for only one reason: there does not seem to be an objective. I cannot fathom why someone would do something like this.

"To be a successful Lich, one must be able to commandeer the dead. They must be cold and have a nose for efficiency. As for the Lich responsible for this, I feel that it should have more or less the same mentality as myself, so there must be a reason why it massacred the inhabitants of a rural dwelling so far from civilization, causing the inhabitants to turn into zombies. It waited for the zombies to turn into skeleton knights, but, for some reason, it left them here. I think it did this because, somehow, it could not bring the skeleton knights with it," the Lich Walker said.

"Could the Lich have abandoned the skeleton knights because it found them physically underwhelming after their transformation?" Baiyi asked.

"Oh no, you... You erased the memory I shared with you in the past, didn't you?" The Lich Walker sounded hurt. "Look, only those who understand the virtue of frugality can become Liches. I mean, you need to regard every bone, no matter how damaged, as something useful for your skeleton knight! There's no room for spendthrifts in our trade, especially when corpses are hard to come by."

"Fine; let's get back on topic. For what reason could a Lich choose not to bring corpses back with it? Baiyi asked. "Powerful Liches, such as yourself, possess pocket dimensions, in which they store their undead army, right? So, what stopped the perpetrator from stuffing the undead villagers into its pocket dimension?"

"Oh please! That's a big misconception right there," the Lich Walker snapped. "Not every powerful Lich own a pocket dimension; excuse you. They would have to be as powerful as I am! These losers can only lead their armies around with them, hoping not to get hunted or killed, and one day, they get fed up and abandon their armies.

"Take yourself as an example; after all, you own a realm of your own. Have you ever taken a look at it and the thought, 'Wow, this is so convenient; it's like a very large storage pouch,' crossed your mind?" asked the Lich Walker. "Realms and pocket dimensions cannot be mentioned in the same sentence as spatial tools. To transport beings and items into a realm or secret dimension, you would have to build bloody transporter portals — something that can only be done after involving the goddamned government. We both know how much of a hassle that is! Everything about it is a drag! I was only able to store my armies in my pocket dimension — and summon them whenever I wished — because I possessed the Souls of the Enslaved; it allowed me to bypass the need for transportal portals. As there is only one Soul of the Enslaved in existence, the only person who could do that... was me!"

'Yes, you — the most infamous, and worst, Lich that ever existed.' Baiyi sighed quietly before saying, "Go on."

"So, back to the question: if the Lich could not bring his new pets, the undead villagers, with it, why did it attack the village? Why did it come all the way here? I have thought about these a bit, and the only thing I can come up with was that it had been experimenting," the Lich Walker replied solemnly. "Only someone experimenting would not mind wasting a few resources, here and there. You can chalk up the abnormal behavior to this reason.".

The Lich Walker's words made Baiyi's face change. He ignored the skeletons and hurried over to meet Lady Assassin Walker and Matt. Without wasting words, he led them over to Matt's village.

The village had been attacked months ago, and all that was left in it was rubble. When they reached the village, Baiyi ignored the weeping Matt and began to carefully comb through the delipidated village with his psychic sense.

He found nothing, though. He had arrived too late and could detect no magical undulations.

Combing the village with his psychic energy took Baiyi so much time, by the time he was done, the sky had completely darkened. The stars that decorated the night sky glowed brightly. Standing in a village, whose residents had been zombified, soon began to give them the creeps; Matt had long since stopped his weeping and was now too scared to breathe out loud.

Seeing as his efforts had gone nowhere, Baiyi decided to leave.

He was just about to turn away when his peripheral vision caught a part of the desert close by. As Matt had said earlier, One could see you could see the obscure silhouettes of the rocks and other natural formations on the Wasteland, even though the night was pitch black.

"Hmm. I almost forgot about this," Baiyi mumbled, thinking. He led the other two towards the desert, scanning the surrounding with his psychic energy as he moved.

When they were almost out of the village, Baiyi suddenly stopped. He crouched and began to sift through the mud below.

"Hey, Dum-Dum! Are you looking for something? Do you need me to help?" The Assassin Walker called out. "Just so you know, I have amazing night vision!"

"Nah. I found what I was looking for," Baiyi replied as he stood back up, with a small mound of mud in his hand.

"Is it a clue that will lead to the murderer?!" Matt asked hurriedly. "Master Hope, I beseech you... Please, right the wrong that was done to our village!"

Now that he had lost the people closest to him, Matt no longer had any goals in life. All he wanted to do now was avenge his people. However, the identity of the culprit had yet to be revealed.

"If you seek to walk the path of vengeance, you can join the Church," Baiyi said, right after placing Hypnosis on Matt to calm him down. "Tell them about everything you've been through, and maybe they would allow you the opportunity to exact revenge..."

Baiyi was not being serious, though. Nevertheless, he did not get involved in the revenge-themed plot of the side character that was Matt, so he decided to give the young guard a clue. To Baiyi, doing that was already considered being nice.

With that, he led the two back to the town they had come from. When they got there, a hypnotized Matt blankly waddled towards the nearest branch of the Church. Baiyi, on the other hand, found lodging in an inn, where he would be staying with the Assassin Walker.

Sitting at a wooden desk in their room, Baiyi inspected the mound of mud and muttered, "We should go visit other places. I'm sure we'll find more clues."

Moments after the sun had risen, Baiyi left the inn, leading the Assassin Walker to the Sorcerers' Association branch in the town. As the pair crossed one bustling street after another, Baiyi, in his heart, admitted that bringing the Assassin Walker was a good decision. None of the passersby approached them because of her. Although Lady Assassin Walker was cute enough to warrant attention, no one was paying any attention to her.

After all, she exuded the aura only the best assassin from Umbra could. This was why, despite her cute features, she arrived at the Void a single woman, just like the Scholar Walker.

Fortunately, this inconspicuous appearance was exactly what Baiyi wanted at the moment. Without any hindrance, the duo managed to arrive at their next location before noon.

This village — the one in the first video — had been utterly decimated as well. This time, Baiyi did not bother searching through every pile of debris; after walking around the village once, he made a beeline for a certain part of the village and dug out another handful of mud.

"This is it," he muttered. "The reason why that army of undead could appear out of nowhere, but the undead made out of the villagers could not leave... is this."

"Oh? Did you find something?" The Lich Walker asked from the Void. "I had been thinking hard about this strange situation for a while, but I have yet to come up with an explanation."

Baiyi's answer was shocking. "That army of undead never came here. The village went to them!"

"W-what? What the hell?! The Lich Walker exclaimed. "That's the direct opposite of how spatial magic works! If the village was moved away via spatial magic, then what are we even looking at now?"

"I don't think this falls into the realm of normalcy anymore. Whatever this is, it's just as much an anomaly as we are; that's the level of abnormality we're dealing with," Baiyi replied. "Look at this mud here. There's something faint but distinctly different hidden in it..."

He stretched out his hand, pointing at a section of ashen grey mud mixed with the normal brown mud.

"Last night, I noticed that only the outermost part of Matt's village contained this greyish mud. The interior of the village contained only brown mud. This is also the case in this village. You surely don't think that some punk brought some grey mud from far away, just so that he could use it to make a nice perimeter around this village, right?"

"Besides, don't you find this ashen grey mud eerily similar to the mud from Duat?" Baiyi added.

"As for why this village returned to our realm... Well, I think that there is a time limit during which the village can be shifted to that location. Once the limit was up, the village was naturally shifted back here, bringing the bizarre grey mud with it..."

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

416 An Augury

"Okay, I'll admit that your conjecture makes a little bit of sense, but it's definitely not enough to change my mind," the Lich Walker said, a little shakily. "I can't agree to believe something that goes completely against the Spatial Laws!"

"Right. It's time for us to visit an expert on the Laws of Space, then," Baiyi declared. With that, he and the Assassin Walker began to head back to Da Xue.

At dusk, they arrived at Baiyi's micro-realm through its transporter portals. Baiyi hurried over to Attie's chalet and knocked on the door.

"Oh, is that you, Master?" Attie's voice rang out from inside. As a martial artist of a high level, Attie could identify a person by their gait. This was why, from inside the house, she had been able to tell it was Baiyi at her door, even without seeing him.

Despite this, Baiyi waited outside the door for far longer than he expected. He could hear rustling on the other side of the door, but the door remained closed. Baiyi started to get suspicious, thinking that Attie was hiding someone from her master.

He was about to use his psychic sense on the house when the door finally opened, and a neatly-dressed Attie was standing behind it. She had on a staff uniform that greatly resembled Mia's. Her long, lean legs and tall figure exuded an air of maturity.

"What took you so long?" Baiyi asked as he walked in.

"I was doing number two, alright?" She replied flatly. "I thought you went out for work, master. Why did you return so soon?"

"There are a few things I need to consult the War God on, so help me out, please."

"Sure thing~!" Attie exclaimed, delighted that Baiyi had asked for an audience with her very own Lord War God. Visibly exhilarated, she pulled out a strange-looking club from her storage pouch and narrowed her eyes, trying to contact the War God.

"Lord War God is not picking up my call," Attie said a moment later, shaking her head sideways in helplessness.

"Eh? Why? I thought we had a pretty enjoyable chat the last time!" Baiyi said, astonished.

If Baiyi was to comment on his relationship with the War God, he would say that he had never tried to contact the War God except absolutely necessary. The last time he had conversed with the War God was five years ago; back then, the War God had requested to start a sect in the Faculty of Theology to convert some students who were not religious. Then, with the help from the Bard Walker and the Shadow Walker, Baiyi started the sect, and the main focus of its members were mainstream values like study well, think positively, love nature, help the weak, etc.

A child would find this phony, but the War God, who seemed simpler than a child, was, after reading Attie's report, pleased with Baiyi's efforts. One could only wonder how a god — a being capable of manipulating Laws — would be so easily satisfied.

Baiyi did not do much for the sect after that. He had left the Shadow Walker — who used to be a pope — in charge of it. Only ten students had joined the sect so far, and no one had joined it in years. At Da Xue, this sect was nigh-invisible.

Baiyi had not contacted the War God since then. Now that he had a reason to, the War God did not pick up. Had the god =forsaken him?

"Let me try with the War God's Sword," Baiyi said. He grabbed the black hilt from Attie and shook it violently; after that, he raised it to his ears and shouted, "Yo, bro? You up?"

If it was easy to initiate a conversation with a god, no one would see that god as a diety anymore. If this was the case, the Church would not have made the Temple of Auguries a forbidden area.

"Urgh, it's not working; time for a different approach," Baiyi said, shifting his gaze to Attie. He patted the seat opposite him and said, "Come over here, Attie."

"H-huh?!" Attie suddenly turned red. However, she was elated, expecting the issuance of a more bizarre request the moment she sat beside him. Hence, she rushed over to sit next to Baiyi and looked at him with eager eyes.

A few moments later...

"Ah~! Ah, ow! M-Master, not so hard... Please be gentle..." [1]

Baiyi let go of her cheeks, with a helpless expression on his face. He proceeded to give her forehead a hard flick. 'I was just pinching your cheeks — something I often did when you were a kid! Do you really need to make these unnecessary moan-like squeals?!'

"Okay. Cut it out. Try talking to the War God again," Baiyi said.

Whatever connection that pulling her cheeks and contacting the War God had was completely lost on Attie, but she still obeyed him and narrowed her eyes concentration..

There was still no response.

'What the eff is up with that guy? I'm being mean to his goddamned messenger right now, but he chooses to do nothing? Oh, is this level of bullying too mild for you?' Baiyi mused. His eyes shifted from Attie's cheeks to her legs, which were covered by a pair of white, silk socks.

He had to admit that the contrast created by Attie's dark skin against her white socks was quite sexy. As Attie as a seasoned fighter, her legs were firm and curvy, more so than those of other girls.

Attie was quick to notice what Baiyi's eyes were fixed on. With a flirtatious chuckle, she whispered, "Master, do you want a feel of them?"

Without waiting for an answer, she kicked away her heels and placed a leg on his lap. This turn of events was something she had expected would happen between herself and her master someday, but she had imagined that she would be physically forced into it. Now, however, she was actually willing. [2]

Baiyi rapped her forehead in response.

"Aah-ow~! Master! That's not nice!" Attie groaned, feeling wronged.

'Not nice?! Is this nice for public decency! If I were really that horny, do you think the Warrior Walker, the Fairy Walker, or the Assassin Walker wouldn't be willing to spread their legs for me — allowing me to 'drill' to my heart's content? Do you really think that I would ever be so desperate and degenerate as to do anything to a little girl like you?'

None of these were said out loud, though. Instead, after giving Attie a knock on the forehead, he asked, "Where's your Kitty Cat hairband? Where's your maid uniform? Change into those, now!"

"Oh, so that was what you needed, master! Okay. Don't go anywhere; I'll be right back!" With that, her lean but firms legs moved as she hurried upstairs. A few minutes later, she came downstairs with a pile of different maid uniforms. The cloth pile also contained several stockings of different colors.

Attie dropped the pile of clothes and reached down to pull her skirt up, probably intent on undressing.

Smack! Her forehead had been rapped again.

'What is going on with her brain?!' Baiyi felt helpless.

"Aww... You don't want to see me get dressed right in front of you, master?" Attie asked in dismay, with a tinge of pity mixed in..

'No! Of-bloody-course not! I saw it countless times when you were young and against clothes! Besides, you haven't changed one bit after ten years, other than your height of course. What could possibly have changed from the last time?' Baiyi thought. [3]

He immediately ordered the girl to return to her room and change. With a gloomy expression, Attie picked the pile of clothes from the floor and stomped up the stairs. Baiyi made sure to call out, "Remember to wear the most conservative maid outfit you have, you hear me?"

Several costumes from the heap she had brought down were costumes a real maid would never dare put on! Look at that very short skirt and the collar it came with… Those are already for adult roleplaying! When did she find the time to buy these in secret?

Attie finally gave up on making advances and wore what Baiyi ordered her to wear — a conservative costume! When she came back down the stairs, every inch of her, except for her face, was covered by clothes; her costume resembled those used centuries ago. The only cute item on her person was her Kitty Cat hairband.

"Try talking to the War God again, please," Baiyi said.

With a gloomy stare at Baiyi, Attie began to focus again, and soon, she began to sway from side to side as though she was drunk. The light in her eye faded, and soon, she seemed like a lifeless doll. An emotionless, robotic voice escaped her lips as she said, "Oh, f*** this s***; I'm done with you bullying my messenger! Look at what you've done to her!"

The slew of curse words was enough to show how furious the War God was; the robotic voice made the curse words sound funny, though.

Baiyi knew he had succeeded this time. With a shrug, he replied, "Yea? Tell me the monstrous things I did to her. I told her to change her outfit, correcting her lopsided beauty standards."

"You scum! You forced a girl to wear this horrible, outdated, atrociously unfashionable rags, which hides every part of the female body. This thing was supposed to have been lost in time. This is the worst punishment one could give a girl! [4] " Attie, who had been possessed by the War God, bellowed. "Your beauty standard, good sir, is the worst I've ever seen for millions of years."

'Pfft! What do you know? Do you understand the elegance of long skirts? Can you recognize the cute factor only found in conservative outfits? You're no better than those guys in the comment section,' Baiyi thought [5]. On the outside, he simply said, "Enough distractions. I have some questions to ask you."

He hurriedly briefed the War God on what he had found out so far, and the theories he had attached to them. After that, Baiyi asked the War God about his conjecture; the Voidwalker to know if he had been right. If it were true, then how could the perpetrator manage to go against the Laws of Space? What would a God of Space like the War God think about all of this?

"Your understanding of the Laws remain superficial. They are not as simple as you'd hoped, nor are they as complicated as you might have imagined," the War God answered. "Go, seek that realm and discover your own truth. Oh, and also, be ready."

After saying that, the possessed Attie hurled the black sword hilt at Baiyi, which he caught. Upon letting go of the hilt, Attie's eyes rolled backward, and she fell backward.

Baiyi caught the girl with his mana before she hit the floor. He examined her and was relieved to realize that she was just asleep. She may have suffered fatigue from the possession. Although Baiyi had only spoken to the War God for mere moments, being possessed by a god, for even one second, caused great strain on mortals. Even some like Attie, a warrior whose skills and powers continued to soar rapidly, would not be able to stand being possessed by a god for too long.

"Sorry for putting this much strain on you," Baiyi muttered. He had seen this happen twice, so he understood why the War God refrained from talking to him through this medium. Deep down, Baiyi really cared for his Kitty Cat Maid, who was the War God's Messenger.

He wiped away the beads of sweat on the unconscious girl's forehead, and then he carried the girl back to her bedroom. He removed her socks and tucked the girl into bed. Baiyi could not forget what the War God had told him. He sat by the bed and kept patting Attie's head, waiting for her to wake up.

For some reason, the War God had chosen not to answer Baiyi's questions; instead, the god had given him a very vague answer, and a piece of even more vague advice, which one might suspect did not contain any substance. Nevertheless, he spent some time pondering the War God's words, for they could be equated to a divine augury.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

417 Two Separate Adventures Begin

Baiyi was not sure what the War God's words implied. One possibility was that his initial theory may have been wrong, so the War God humored him with a prophecy-like statement before leaving him to solve the mystery. Another possibility was that he had been right, and the War God's words could be seen as a backhanded way of affirming his theory, implying that he wastes no time in trying to solve the mystery.

After thinking about it for a while, Baiyi leaned towards the second possibility, purely because of the War God's parting words —"Be ready". That was an ominous warning that the War God would not have uttered if he was being perfunctory.

'Be ready for what? Be ready with what? Why do gods never give straight answers? Do they just delight in giving vague replies?'

Baiyi really wanted to brush the War God's warning aside; after all, he considered the deity a nag, who only said those words to put him on edge, subsequently fooling him. To Baiyi, the War God was known for his love for chatting, as well as his weird sense of fashion, but the deity had always helped him out. At the end of the day, Baiyi did not consider his divine friend the type that would fool around with such an important matter.

All that aside, one thing was clear from the War God: he had to go to Duat.

'Urgh. Do I really have to go to some dumpster littered with bones? Disgusting. I can feel the reluctance in my own bones... Because of all this, I'll ask the Empire for a raise,' Baiyi mused to himself. He got up and walked to Attie's bedside desk, where he wrote a letter to the Southern Duke, asking the noble to demand more rewards from the Empire on his behalf.

While writing, Baiyi caught sight of an open diary on the desk. He was clearly able to see the first entry:

'October 21st. Sunny. Feeling sunny too.

Finally, this trip is over. I am tired and aching for a long nap, but now is not the time. My sisters are coming to my house for a get-together, and I want to make them something scrumptious. I haven't seen them in a while! I bet they miss my cooking, heh heh.

'Everyone seems full after the meal; we are all so satisfied! Hmm... Mia is going to leave for her excursion soon, alongside Mordred — of all people). I'm... worried about them. I'm so worried that I am really considering her my War God's Sword, but I'm not sure if Master and Lord War God will agree to it.

'Master came to see me tonight. I'm so happy! I love my Master so much! It seems he's only staying for a while; he will not be staying the night. Seriously! Am I really not his type? He just dotes on Mia all the time! Then again, I did hear rumors that he liked girls that have small statures, so this could be because of my height. He does not like me anymore because of how tall I've become! Sigh… What do I do?'

Attie had written in the official Southerner language, and this made Baiyi feel moved, and a bit embarrassed. As he was not the type of person to invade someone's privacy, Baiyi did flip over to the next page to read the rest. He did not know when his Kitty Cat Maid began writing a diary.

This new hobby of her was strange to Baiyi; after all, in the past, she almost seemed to use up all her lifeforce to write just one character. Sometimes, she forewent the entire essay and, instead, turn in a drawn cat for her homework.

Now, look at her! She had grown into a docile, understanding, and good adult, who put others before herself. She also went to great lengths to take care of others. She had become incredibly adorable. .

Baiyi went back to writing his letter, and this time, he did not specify the extra rewards he wanted. This was so that the Southern Duke would demand whatever he saw fit. As soon as Baiyi finished, he used magic to transform the letter into a carrier pigeon. After watching it fly out the window, Baiyi returned to Attie's bedside, waiting for her to recover.

Attie did not open her eyes until the next morning, and as soon as she did, she spotted Baiyi sitting beside her bed. "M-master?" She blurted out in shock.

"Yes, it's me. I was worried, so I decided not to leave until you were up," Baiyi replied sympathetically. "How are you feeling? Better? Is your head still spinning?"

Attie shook her head sideways before grinning sweetly. "No problem at all. Lord War God takes great care of me, you know."

Suddenly, she raised her blanket and looked inside it. When she saw that her clothes had not been made a mess of, she looked upset.

'Really?! You were hoping I would do something immoral?!'

Baiyi consoled and teased Attie for a while before taking his leave. He already had a lot to do; spending the night with Attie had tightened his schedule even more.

Of course, it was his time that was spent, not something else.

The Duat trip was not going to be an easy one for him, so Baiyi needed to prepare. However, he had something else to do before that. Today was the day that his youngest daughter, Mia, went on her excursion. Since he was already at Da Xue, there was no reason for him to not see her off.

However, he did this from afar, for if Mia and the students she was leading saw him, their moods may change. He watched the students gathered in a large square, with Mia and Mordred standing at the forefront. They both had solemn expressions.

Mordred had transformed again. She had discarded her loli appearance, which she only used when she was alone with her sisters, for a beautiful teen, who was clad in a grey-white armor set. She was holding a helmet which had two horns at its side; this was the gift Baiyi had given her for her fortieth birthday. Baiyi, as a Soul Armature, only inhabited an armor set, and it was because of this that Modred wanted an armor set of her own.

Baiyi had not denied her request. He gathered the best materials he had at the time — with a sizeable amount of them being materials newly synthesized by the Alchemist Walker — and, with the Engineer Walker's help, joined the Blacksmith Walker to forge an armor set for Modred. It was this armor set that she had been using for the past three months.

The armor set contained some advanced technological features: autopilot, intelligent defense activation — whereby the armor automatically erects a magical barrier around its user when danger gets near — appearance transformation, etc. The armor could be shrunk and expanded, fitting Modred snugly in whatever form she chose to assume — including her full dragon form.

The armor set jointly forged by three Voidwalkers, who were undeniably the best in this business, was bound to be more technologically advanced than anything most have ever seen. With its capabilities, the armor set did not lose out to Divine regalias. It was a lavish gift that had cost so much time and effort to make. It was the perfect definition of a 'hi-tech battlesuit', which the Engineer Walker and the Blacksmith Walker had talked about the previous day.

This armor set was even better than the armor sets that Baiyi forged for the Voidwalkers. This was not a problem for the Voidwalkers, though; with the crazy amount of power they had, the perks provided by Modred's armor set would not benefit them.

Moreover, they had no plans to reside in armor sets forever, so they could not care any less for the armor sets that they inhabit; as long as the armor sets worked as they should, the Voidwalkers were fined.

As for Baiyi, he was happy to see Modred in that armor. It made him satisfied with the effort he had put into making it. He valued nothing more than her safety, and the armor was made to ensure that.

Behind the students were rows of magical marionettes, which had been provided by the Faculty of Engineering. Flying above the crowd of students were five enormous dragons, which had been provided by the Faculty of dragon-riding. Add Mia, Modred, and the other teachers accompanying them into the mix... and one would see that the group packed enough firepower to rival most armies in the world. They were so capable that they could even be sent into battle at that moment!

Sometimes, Baiyi wondered what would happen if the Empire declared war on him. All he would have to do is to summon all the staff and students of Da Xue, as well as bring out his resources. With these preparations, he believed that he would not need the help of other Voidwalkers to win the war — no matter how much manpower the Empire deployed.

That was all just within his head. Should he and the Empire clash for real, Baiyi knew that some of his students would stand against him. He would lose a lot of capable fighters.

With all the necessary preparations done, the students and teachers marched towards a transportal portal that would send them directly to their destination, where they will undergo training. When all the students and most teachers had stepped into the transporter portal, Modred and Mia walked in, and before they disappeared, they turned around, facing the distance, and waved, toothy grins manifesting on their faces.

Baiyi decided to start dealing with the tasks he had at hand. This time, he had decided to bring along a few companions, as these undead creatures had looked to possess partial control over the Laws, making them dangerous enemies.

The Lich Walker — the necromancy extraordinaire — was one of the companions; because of this, the Paladin Walker, the Cleric Walker, and the other Voidwalkers on the side of light refused to participate. Hence, Baiyi could only bring along a Voidwalker who had no care for light or dark — the Hitman Walker. As there was a high chance that he would have to conduct researches on the spot, Baiyi decided to choose an academically accomplished Voidwalke with him as well. His master, the Archmage, was not interested, so Baiyi had the old geezer guard Da Xue in his absence; in his stead, Baiyi chose to bring along the Scholar Walker. For support-related aid, Baiyi had to choose between the Engineer Walker and the Blacksmith Walker. After carefully pondering, Baiyi decided to choose the Blacksmith Walker. This was because the Blacksmith Walker's creations were more than capable of handling an infinite amount of undead.

As for his final companion, Baiyi let the Warrior Walker, the Fairy Walker, and the Assassin Walker come to an agreement on their own. This trio had their own rules by which they could descend into the real world. Since the location they were headed to was fraught with danger, they decided that Baiyi would not need the Fairy Walker, who was prone to attracting calamities. Baiyi secretly hoped that the Assassin Walker would come, as she would be able to gather intel better than the other two. He could not rely on the Hitman Walker — who claimed to be a world-class assassin — because his stealth was pitiful. To him, the Hitman Walker was better suited to be a meatshield, attracting the heavier attacks so that the team would have an easier time.

After all that, Baiyi's companions was the trip was decided: the Lich Walker, the Hitman Walker, the Scholar Walker, the Blacksmith Walker, and either the Warrior Walker or the Assassin Walker. It was a team of six people.

Should a fight break out on their trip, Baiyi knew that the group would spend an incredible amount of energy. Hence, he decided to bring out the energy core that he had taken from Molocchus's corpse. It contained an insane amount of energy, which Baiyi had been infused into it over a ten-year period. Baiyi had not used it before, so he knew that it was full of energy. Within the translucent, crystal-like energy core, Baiyi could see a huge block of black matter hovering within!

It was time for him to finally put this back-up energy into good use.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

418 An Epic Battle!

After choosing his companions, Baiyi went to gather his Voidwalkers. A few of them were currently giving lectures to students, so he had to wait for the classes to end. As Baiyi was not in a hurry, he decided to take a stroll around Da Xue, admiring the work of his hands.

"Hm-hmph! Look at how serene the surrounding is, how tranquil the atmosphere is, and how picturesque the sceneries are!" As Baiyi looked around his academy, an intense wave of pride welled up within him. He wished nothing more than to pat himself on the shoulder. "Holy s***, you've done it again, me!"

He continued strolling until he reached the corner of the Activities and Events Center. It was a five-story building, which contained a mini-theater, a chess room, and some other special rooms. These were salons for activities that encouraged positive growth and learning, not some "French salons" or Swingers' Salon.

This was where the students spent their free time. Despite how early the morning was, excited cries, cheers, and even wallows echoed into the corridors.

"Ahahaha! I got it!! I got it!!!"

"I'll tear this stupid sealion into half!!!"

Judging from their passionate shouts, it was obvious that these students were spending their class-free morning playing some sort of thrilling games.

Baiyi's footsteps halted. Even after the center had been built, he never once visited here; his focus had always been the students' studies and exam performances, with nary any attention or care to his students' non-academic activities. In fact, he was very surprised when he caught rumors that the students had a tradition of creating popularity polls every semester, but even more surprising was that he, Principal of Da Xue, had always occupied the last few positions.

Was he really that unpopular among the students, even if they respected him greatly?

Surely there was a misunderstanding somewhere! A teacher's nature was to rectify their student, so Baiyi went into the center, intending to see what his students were usually engrossed in and tried his best to mingle with them more — or, at least, correct their incredibly-untrue impression.

The entire ground floor was designated as a large clubhouse where different activities were carried out in different corners. Some students were playing chess, while a few couples were staring into each other's eyes with passion — until their peripheral vision caught Baiyi entering the premise and they instantly sat straight up, followed by a sudden fit of conspicuous coughs to alert the other couples..

On the very end of the clubhouse was a huge crowd where spirits were riding a nigh-maniacal high. They were so absorbed in their own game that they did not even notice Baiyi joining their crowd, and instead all of them seemed to be goading someone?

"You coward! Dip you damn hand into that box and try again, or don't ever let me hear you claim you love her!"

"A man is nothing more than a pile of uselessness if he dares not try to summon his waifu!"

"Shut up, all of you! I'll do it again, okay?! It doesn't matter if it costs my next month's allowance… If I could get my hands on her, I'll happily eat dirt as my meals every day!"

In the middle of the cheering crowd was a student wiping beads of sweat off his forehead. He gritted his teeth and chucked a few pieces of gold coins into a box next to him, then poked another box nearby.

The top of the box suddenly ejected ten cards out from a slit on top.

The student dashed towards them, grabbing them into a pile in his hand before slowly turning them to the front, one by one. The crowd around him huddled close together, trying to see the characters had he obtained this time.

The first nine cards had been revealed to a relatively quiet and unresponsive crowd; It seemed that none of them had matched any expectation. Quickly, with the last card in his trembling hand, the student flipped his last hope's front side forward—and was greeted by the sight of a man whose skin was black more than tanned, giving a bright, white smile at the student.

"…Gahahahahahah! I am done! I am blessed! Ahahhaahha! I got my waifu; ahahahha!" The student suddenly let out a fit of hysterical laughter, shoving everyone in front of him to the side. With the card in his hand, he shrieked and laughed and ran out of the clubhouse.

The rest of the students watched his back with looks of pity. Someone even muttered ruefully, "Another had lost it again…"

"Can someone be a dear and comfort him? I mean, if you have the skills, the Tribal Chief is still pretty, er... useful! Right?"

"Okay, I guess it's your turn now."

"Pass. I can sense some foreboding aura from the box today..."

When the summoning event ended, the crowd suddenly realized that the object of their attention was gone and that Baiyi was standing in their midst. This gave them a pretty big fright. Within seconds, however, the students managed to regain their composure. They bowed respectfully and greeted in unison, "Hello, Sir Principal!"

"It's alright; relax a little, okay? Oh, and please, put those boxes down. They are not going anywhere," Baiyi said loudly.

Two students who had attempted to sneak away with the boxes froze in their tracks, before obediently placing the boxes down and hanging their heads low, in shame.

"Be honest; who started this game?" Baiyi asked as walked towards the box. He examined the box with his psychic energy, and to his surprise, he found a familiar formation within it; it was the replica of a formation he had invented.

In Baiyi's head, the list of possible suspects suddenly reduced to just one person. He did not even need the students to answer him anymore.

However, the students answered, "It's Professor Majesty, sir."

Baiyi was correct. There was only one person who would dare ask to be called 'Professor Majesty'; only this person would so shamelessly promote such a gatcha game: Baiyi's unreliable teacher — the Archmage!

That fella had played his gatcha games since he descended into a suit of armor to become a professor at Da Xue, and he had not complained about it at all. Baiyi had wondered if the geezer had finally managed to reign in his passion for these games; if that was the case, then, all this time, the Sage-Emperor of the Magi must have had more self-discipline within him than what he had shown to others.

However, that notion no longer existed in Baiyi's mind. That old geezer had DIY-ed a bootlegged version, which he had used to con these students of their pocket money! How had the old geezer's face not yet dropped from his own shameless antics?! Furthermore, despite making a profit from scamming students, the old geezer had had the gall to ask Baiyi for a pay rise many times! Baiyi had had it!

"What happened to the money gathered?" Baiyi asked, pointing at the box.

"A part of the profit is used to, um, print out new cards. Maintaining the formation is quite costly, and, uh, colors and papes are kinda expensive too. The rest of the profit is used to aid students who have financial problems," said another student.

'Huh? This is weird. That old man did not line his pockets with his ill-gotten gains?' Baiyi was startled.

It cost a lot for students to enroll in Da Xue, so for many families with average income, it was nigh-impossible to pay the fees for only the first semester. Some of these parents were willing to do just about anything to get their kids into the best academy in the world, even if it meant living on a ridiculously stringent budget. The entrance exams were already incredibly difficult, so if kids from average families managed to pass it, their parents would not want to disappoint them.

Students from such families were usually more mature and understanding than their peers. During the academy session, they take up odd jobs around the academy to raise more money for their fees. Some Voidwalkers who were notable for their compassion, like the Alchemist Walker and the Engineer Walker, created as many jobs within the academy as they could for such students. This would also ensure that Baiyi does not outsource projects.

As an emperor, helping the destitute in society had always been one of the Archmage's responsibilities. He had created the game to satisfy the craving of some students whilst generating money from the richer students, which he gave to the poorer students.

Realizing that this was the case, Baiyi decided to give some props to his teacher.

"Surely these cards are used for some other games, right? I don't think anyone would be too excited if all it does is to try to draw out desired cards, right?" Baiyi asked as he drew a random card from the box.

On the card he had just pulled out, there is a picture of a beautiful female elf. The art style of this female elf was not that of oil paintings made to look as realistic as possible; instead, the female elf closely resembled the moe, magical girl anime art-style from Earth. In fact, it also resembled the art style of Takeuchi Sensei.

If Baiyi was not mistaken, this should be the work of Kashi, the Painter Walker, who never had a problem copying the art style and character design of others. Other than being a painter, he was also an intellectual property thief, which was why he had stolen art styles from Baiyi's memories of Earth.

Below the drawing of the female elf was a large heading: Elf Archer. There were three stars beside the text, which Baiyi guessed referred to the rarity of the card. On the bottom left and right corners of the card were two numbers, and in between these two numbers was another text: 'Deals 100% critical damage towards creatures of the Church.'

'What sort of gamemaster would look at a fairy and say, "Gosh, this must be effective against 'creatures of the Church'?" Was this taken straight out of my nonsensical mind of my whimsical teacher?' Baiyi pondered. A moment later, he said, "Can I see a round of game?"

"Sure thing. Now, let us present to you, Wallace and Chazz — the best gamers of our group — to give you, our most respected principal, an epic demo! They have the best decks here," a student announced.

This Wallace hailed from the famous Wallace family. They were respectable journalists, with skills that transcended that of false journalists, who only know how to copy the stories of others. In time, the Wallace family rose to become the top newspaper outlet in the Empire. With this much financial resources, it was not a surprise that a child from the family would have the money to play this expensive gatcha game.

Chazz's family was not the least bit inferior to Wallace's family. His family had the largest toad farm in the Empire, and they offered a wide range of toads for medicinal or alchemical purposes.

Chazz and Wallace walked to the middle of the ground. They both had on leather holsters, in which they stored their deck of cards. After greeting each other, Wallace chuckled. "I shall begin now. Behold, Alchemy Faculty Principal, in the next few rounds, my mana crystal growth will multiply by twofold!"

He whipped out a card from his holster, assuming the coolest pose he could muster, and threw it down on the floor. Almost instantly, a mini hologram of the Archmage, which glowed a brilliant blue. This signified that this character was already reaping the aforementioned buff.

Seeing his opponent going for a heavy attack from the get-go, Chazz sneered. "Hmph. This is a game that demands true skills; it is not some game you could win just by spamming whatever golden card you have! Let me teach you a lesson today! Activating trap card — 'Experiment Error'! Your experiment has failed. Your Alchemy Faculty Principal is no more!"

"Aaahhh!" Wallace, who watched the mini hologram of the Archmage disappear, let out a bloodcurdling scream. He seemed to have suffered some damage from the backlash.

"Hmph! Now it's my turn. Summoning, Engineering Faculty Principal; activating the effect, 'Magical Marionette Legion'! Let it rip!" Chazz shouted with glee, watching Wallace's HP plummet at an alarming rate. At this point, he was sure that he had won.

"Tch! I admit that I have underestimated your penchant for traps. But, don't you think that it's enough to scare me! My turn. I summon Professor Nydore! Recover my lost health and annihilate these ragtag band of machines!" Wallace cried, tossing out another card, which gave rise to a mini hologram of Nydore.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

419 You Ungracious Traitor of a Student!

When the beautiful archer appeared, the students went wild.

"It's Professor Nydore! The one and only! Do you know that Professor Majesty spent his pay for three months just so he can get this card?!"

"Haha! Don't take that rumor seriously, bro. Professor Majesty, well... You know the formation in the boxes gives him preferential treatment. Anyway, Professor Nydore is a pretty rare card, but more importantly, it's an incredibly useful card. Yes, useful for other needs, too."

"Aaaooohhh! Professor Nydore is so tasty and soft; I don't think I can hold back...".

The battle between Chazz and Wallace put impressive tactics, strategies, and rare cards on display, baffling the spectating students. This elicited cheers from the onlookers.

"F**k that; it's Miss Dale! God dang it; I have been looking for that for a f***ing long! I even spent my allowance for three months on this for f**** sake, but she never comes home!"

"Huh? You could use Miss Attie like that? I never expected Professor Attie's card to be used for anything other than for licking..."

"Oh my god; oh my god! You guys! Did you see that?! That's Professor Nota! Professor Nota, I love you! You're my number one waifu!!!"

As the intensity of the battle increased, Chazz and Wallace revealed even more amazing cards, and soon, they each had one card left. The battle was at its peak, and the next move would decided the victor.

"It looks like I have no choice. You're asking for this, so behold! My ultimate card!" Wallace yanked out the last card on his deckholder and yelled, "Come! My strongest card!"

A new hologram appeared and instantly obliterated droves of Chazz's units. When the dust cleared, the hologram was visible to all; it was that of a suit of armor with a hideous scarf covering its face.

"It's... It's Principal Hope!"

"You mean, this card — the stuff of myths and legends — actually exists? Did you see what it did?! It insta-killed every creature that one's opponent deals, and it is completely unaffected by every trap card. It also possesses enough attack power to one-shot every creature on the field! The card's only drawback is that it can only be used in one round; if you consider that a drawback, though. This card is basically a cheat card!"

"Holy s***! This is the rarest card in our current summoning pool! The most brutal way to use this card is to show it at the very last moment, as your trump card. Anyone not under the protection provided by defensive spells is doomed! Who would wait until the end of the game to use their best defensive spells? Nobody would! Hence, if you whip out this card at the very last round of the game, victory is already yours!"

Chazz, who had been relaxed throughout the battle, now had an unsightly expression on his face. His face had changed the moment he saw that nigh-unscalable SSR card. With a low voice, he said, "You... had this card with you all along? Damn it. I told myself that I should not underestimate you, but I ended up doing just that. But how… how did you obtain this legendary Super-Super-Rare card?"

"Ha! You wouldn't understand the lengths I went through. I spent a semester tuition fee for this! My parents gave me a beating for that, yes, but every time I take it out and hold it in my fingers, I realize that my sacrifices had been worth it!" Wallace exclaimed.

"Remember this card deep in your bones, Chazz! My ultimate card: 'One Final Hope — Death to My Enemies' Hope!' Give up your pointless struggle; your final card cannot possibly be a defense type, is it?!"

"You're right. My last card is not a defensive card. It is not even the most powerful card in the deck, and no other player would think of using it on a battlefield. There is only one reason why this card is placed last in my arsenal: I have never met an opponent who forced me to reveal it..." Chazz muttered in a solemn tone of voice. His head was hung low, so his face could not be seen.

"What are you waiting for then? Give up already or die!" Wallace replied coldly.

"Despite the many things being taught at this prestigious university, you learned to spend your money frivolously?! Oh, I get it.; you came all the way to Da Xue just to find a 2D waifu, didn't you? Well, let me help you take one step closer to that dream then. I'll flatten a 3D brat like you into 2D!" Baiyi growled.

Suddenly, feathers began to rain down to the ground, and a few moments later, two splinted feather dusters joined the pile. Baiyi had just broken these feather dusters during his butt-whooping, and without wasting any time, he had pulled out two brand new feather dusters. Not just Wallace and Chazz, every other student in the vicinity who had shown some level of addiction to the game were smacked with the feather dusters. No one was able to escape Baiyi's wrath, and soon, every one of them had tears in their eyes. No one dared to call Baiyi out for that.

They knew that Principal Hope using a feather duster should be considered a kindness. If he was enraged, he would use his Saint Quartz Staff anytime. Unfortunately, this was not the worst form of punishment that Baiyi had in his arsenal. If he was to use a big, black tome that he owned...

If a student survived being beaten that that, then there was every chance that they would molt afterward.

After exhausting his stash of feather dusters, Baiyi had finally calmed down. As he approached the boxes, the students watched him with tear-filled eyes, waiting for him to incinerate the boxes in a fit of rage.

However, the Principal merely placed his hand on the boxes for a while before announcing, "I've added two new rules into the formations here. From now on, the maximum gold coin allowed for a single pull in a month would be five gold coins. In addition to that, the rate of summoning high-rarity cards has improved, with every third gold coin guaranteeing an SSR card being pulled. To ensure that these two rules stay, I'm transferring the authority to oversee this game to Miss Vidomina and Miss Tisdale."

Hearing that the Principal not only not discontinued the game, and instead improved the unjust system they were playing in, the crowd's tears were now flowing once more out of joy as they cheered and cheered.

"At least I've done something I'd always wished I could do back on Earth," Baiyi mumbled in a voice only he could hear.

It was then when one of the students asked, "But, Sir Principal, if we limit the amount of gold we could spend in the summoning pool... Doesn't that drastically reduces the amount of fund we could collect? With this restriction imposed, being able to print out new cards every month would have become the maximum we could afford, let alone carrying out our charity work..."

"I'll think of something to compensate for that," Baiyi snapped severely. "None of you should worry about all of this, anyway. Your main concern should always be your studies; Remember that millions of others would trade places with you right now just to get an education in Da Xue. You should not squander the fortunes you have with nutritionless games like these!"

His voice barely left the air when a new voice rang from the outside of the clubhouse door, getting closer and closer, going, "Hee hee hee! Look at the two hundred gold coins I just conned out of that bimbo Assassin Walker! I'm going to put it to good use today... My aim? That Principal Hope card! I mean, come on, he's my best student, you know? It's an absolute travesty that his most treasured teacher can't seem to summon him. Hmm... Now that I think about it; isn't it suspicious that I still haven't owned him yet? We're so close in real life, guys..."

As he was talking, the Archmage entered the clubhouse while being surrounded by his most ardent followers before his gaze neatly fell onto his aforementioned "best student".

"G-g-golly, I think there's something back in my office that I've forgotten to attend to. Ta-ta!" With that, the Archmage turned and started into a sprint.

"Remember what I said. If I found anyone crossing my rules, they should expect something more than a feather duster." Baiyi left one final warning as he summoned his Saint Quartz Staff into his hand—and dashed right after the escaping perpetrator.

A few moments later, the students could hear a spine-chilling shriek from far which was apparently the Archmage's. "L-l-let me go! Let me go you wretched, devilish, ungracious traitor of a student! I disown you! I disown you, you hear me?! My real Best Student is there in the box still waiting for his teacher—whom I'm sure he very respects—to claim him!"

Following this small incident, Baiyi's plan to improve his popular ratings among the students seemed to have taken a small positive step: his place in the Favorite Teacher poll had gone up in one spot, while his spot in the Most Terrifying Teacher poll had gone down in one spot. However, he remained in his positions for all other polls.

Meanwhile, one of the students' top favorites, Professor "The Emperor of Teachers" Majesty, had become completely absent in many game tournaments these days, possibly because he had his three months worth of pay withdrawn while his expansive deck of cards was confiscated.

As for the operation of the game's summoning pool and related mechanisms had all been transferred under the purview of the horrifying Disciplinary Principal Vidomina, no one could predict the future of this particular pastime at the moment.

By evening, all of the Voidwalkers had finished giving their lectures. They gathered as per Baiyi requested, and quite immediately, they noticed the principal seat being empty.

"Where's Sir Archmage? He wouldn't have missed a meeting as important as this, right?"

"He's throwing a tantrum since I'd burnt some unimportant cards from him," Baiyi answered flatly. "Let's not be bothered by that and move on to the reason why we're here today..."

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

420 Arrival

"So, as I was saying, those accompanying us are the Scholar Walker, the Lich Walker, the Blacksmith Walker, and," Baiyi turned to face Lady Assassin Walker, who was grinning from ear to ear, "Her, I guess. Any questions?"

"You sure are taking a lot of people with you. Are you sure you are not out to start a war?" The Paladin Walker asked.

"How many times do I have to tell you? We're conducting an investigation! An investigation!" Baiyi exclaimed, pounding his fists on the table for emphasis.

"Are you sure that you don't wanna bring my revolutionary, second-generation, all-climate-suitable 'prototype' machine? You'll find it incredibly useful on your venture!" The Engineer Walker chimed in.

'Why would I bring a kaiju-sized magical marionette with me?! That is such a drag! Maintaining it during the trip will also be a drag! That's not even my biggest gripe with you; my biggest gripe is why you bothered to stress the word "prototype" like that. You actually think that word is a backhanded way of saying "it will totally work", don't you?

"Well, if Sir Engineer wants to do it that way, then allow me! Introducing my all-new, revolutionary bomb! Earth-shatteringly powerful — guaranteed! It's a clear and transparent liquid that resembles water. It comes with an alluring fragrance! Would you like some today?" The Alchemist Walker asked.

'What has your faculty even been up to?! How did you people even end up doing research on explosives? Why is it suddenly in liquid form? That's not even my biggest gripe with you; my biggest gripe with you is why you made a bomb that comes with an alluring fragrance. When it is not being used to blow stuff up, is it supposed to be used as cologne? Did you invent this because it would be a blast among the ladies?!'

In truth, most of the Voidwalkers did not concern themselves with Baiyi's safety; it was for the safety of his enemies that they worried. The Voidwalkers were pioneers in their respective fields, and they anticipated the prospect of using an army of undead, who are expendable, as test subjects for numerous experiments. When many of them began offering suggestions on what could be done to the undead, their expedition, which was supposed to be thrilling, began to resemble an excursion to acquire test subjects.

The Blacksmith Walker did not waste any time on meaningless chatter. When he heard Baiyi mention his name, he returned to his residence straight away. The Hitman Walker also hurriedly returned to his residence, saying that he was a not a man of words, but a man of action.

Unlike the others, who were still offering suggestions, Baiyi appreciated the direct approaches of these two Voidwalkers.

A few moments later, the Blacksmith Walker reappeared, with a weapon that resembled a heavy machine gun propped on his one shoulder. He also had a weapon that resembled a flamethrower slung on his back, two antique-looking muskets strapped to his two thighs, a 'Wild Wild West' inspired pistol on his left hip, and a guitar case in his grasp.

"Are. You. Serious?!" Baiyi cried in exasperation. "How were you able to make all these s*** with the lackluster technology available here?!"

He extended his psychic energy into these weapons and realized that they were really just cobbled from all sorts of materials as well as a convincing coat of paint. Stuffed inside these objects were the formations of all kinds to simulate their Earth counterparts; In other words, the Blacksmith was really just bringing in a bunch of props with him…

"And tell me why is none of this a fricking drag yet?" Baiyi said weakly. In a world where simple staves, swords, scrolls, and other sorts of medieval weaponry would be more than sufficed, some wacko over here decided to remake everything as a gun. And that was still not Baiyi's biggest gripe with him... No, Baiyi's biggest gripe with him was that this gun nut refused to store any of them into a storage pouch, and instead insisted in being a human rack to proudly display all sorts of firearms in public!

"Bruh, you reedy bookworms would never understand us. What you're looking at are not guns slinging around me—they are hot babes, the loveliest and most elegant types that only true men will appreciate, not like that chick over there who still hasn't stop grinning like an idiot," The Blacksmith protested, dragging poor Assassin (still grinning) into his rebuttal.

"Okay, but that guitar case can no longer be ignored," Baiyi said, snatching up the guitar case from the Blacksmith's hands and opened it.

Lo and behold, it was jampacked with firearms one could only get from Earth; Worst of all, they were all as weird and insane as the ones the Blacksmith was wearing around himself.

The Blacksmith only had this to say: "Oh, I f**king love that  for visiting.

Maybe I should have gone with the Engineer Walker in the first place. His mega size "prototypes" are just as moronic as they sound, but even they sound comparatively reasonable than some guy who kept stealing ideas from Earth!

Baiyi had not even taken a breather from the Blacksmith's ridiculousness when the Hitman Walker had finally returned to him as well. Like a professional assassin, this man at least did not wear his weapons like fashion accessories. Instead, he had a few storage pouches to show Baiyi, with a nonchalant explanation that went, "I'm your tank, right? So this should be no problem."

Baiyi inspected his pouches and found himself staring at a moving arsenal of dual-wielding axes, dual-headed meteor shower chain hammers, dual-wielding battle flails and other sorts of dual-wielding weapons in addition to heavy defenses like fortified pavises and heavy targes [1]. Squeezing in the farthest corner of one of these pouches was a lonesome night-colored suit for actual assassin purposes like sneaking and snooping. Gosh, the suit looked so lonely and out of place...

You see that? That's professionalism to you, plebs!

Thankfully, the Scholar and the Assassin did not need any of these elaborative preparations, so there were not much to say about them. The only thing left for him to do was to bring the Lich out of the Void... for the first time in soul armature form.

Baiyi had prepared the Lich's body before the meeting. It was a skeletal-like armor which almost looked like a metallic skeleton knight; To avoid scaring the kids away, Baiyi had specially prepared a long robe and a complimentary hood, so that the Lich looked less like a terrifying moving skeleton and more like a terrifying black robe man. [2]

"I'm willing to bet that I am the only one who feels most at home with the body we are forced to inhabit," the Lich remarked with his trademark hoarse croak. He looked down, eyeing his skeletal hands, and added, "This body... Is familiar and comfortable."

The Lich's old form was a skeleton, after all, so changing into another skeletal body—albeit made out of metal—would, of course, feel comfortable and welcoming.

"I don't have any special weapon for you, but you could probably make do with this," Baiyi said, handing the Lich his Saint Quartz Staff. "Remember, you're borrowing this. No scratches and other damages please; This was Vidomina's first gift for me."

"Hee hee, 'gift' is a stretch to describe something you'd obtained through trickery," the Lich replied as he scanned the staff in his hand intently. He added, "No additional magical augmentations? The Alchemist's pathetic experimental gems as aids to the Saint Quartz? This stick is just heavy, sturdy garbage, too ill-fitting to your status and power. But I guess it's alright—you don't even need a weapon anyway."

"Permission to add some extra touches?" The Lich asked.

"Suit yourself. Just don't damage it, alright?" Baiyi replied. "You can borrow the Magus Lab for your work, but be quick. We're leaving tomorrow."

"That's more than enough time," the Lich said. He pulled his hood up as to cover his face and started towards the direction of the magus lab with the staff lightly knocking on the earth as he walked.

The path to the lab from the meeting room where Baiyi passed through the students' classrooms, so it did not take too long for the students to start noticing a strange, black hooded Soul Armature with a suspicious air about it. However, for some reasons, there was a malefic aura radiating from it enough to make even the boldest students hesitate, so in the end, they went to summon Da Xue's security unit instead,

The Jawflower dashed towards the suspect with its bulldog-like growls and made a sharp U-turn right before it even gotten near the Lich. Unsettlingly, this enchanted plant's propensity for danger and renowned dauntlessness had evaporated immediately upon seeing this mysterious stranger...

The students, even more alarmed, went to their favorite, most amicable and most powerful and reliable sensei, Professor Majesty for help. The Archmage was a lot more reluctant to answer their call, however, since he was still grieving for his lost love(s). When he finally went to see who that mysterious stranger in the end and found it to be the Lich, he waved his hands in dismissal. "Nah, it's just one of your Principal's friends."

"A-are you sure, Professor Majesty? The Principal actually has such terrifying friends with him?" A girl pipped. "I can feel my hair standing on end just by staring at this... person."

"Puh-lease. Your Grand Principal had all kinds of friends; And yes, dear, this one is one of the worst and most dangerous. I know better than to worry about it, though, because the worst, the most dangerous, the absolute-worse person in this whole wide world that you should most definitely worry about is your Grand Principal himself! Oh, did I mention he's the worst scum ever?! I certainly think that warrants an emphasis and a repeat," The Archmage started to nag.

The students stared at him, nonplussed. Professor Majesty always had nothing but heaps of compliments for the Principal—until today. This was just out of his character... Did something happen between them?

Fortunately, the students knew between than to pry on the conflicts between their teachers, so they never asked. Meanwhile, the Lich was being quite a good boy too, sneaking into Baiyi's lab and closing himself in there to work on the Saint Quartz Staff. On the very next morning, he brought his newly-enhanced staff to his coworkers. Thanks to his handiwork, the staff had turned from its previous technicolor dazzling look into a luminescent green.

Baiyi had to force the sharp pang of regret back down into his chest by telling himself it was for the mission; He will definitely find a way to reverse the Lich's "customization" after all of this.

He fished out the War God's Sword—rented from the original owner—from his pocket and activated it, brandishing a tricolored blade. "Lucky for us, the War God had decided to give us some help," he announced to his teammates.

With that, he struck the ground hard with the tip of the blade. They felt their visions blurred as they were shuffling through the realms, until they finally found themselves deposited on a new place completely constructed from ashen grey materials.

It seemed that the team had instantly arrived at their destination through the War God's special ability.

"Is this the target of our investigation?" The Scholar raised her head and looked at the grey sky, not a single ray of sunlight in sight. Her tone was uncharacteristically filled with displeasure. "I observe no sunlight and no signs of life. This entire realm itself is dead; No living organism could possibly thrive in such an unsupportive environment."

Lady Assasin, who was the only one with a human appearance owing to the special suit she was wearing, took the chance to lean close to Baiyi upon hearing the Scholar. "Hey, Doofus?" She muttered coquettishly. "I don't feel so good in my stomach..."

Don't! Flirt! At! This! Time! And I'm not so much of a "doofus" as to forget that a Soul Armature doesn't even have a stomach to feel "not so good" about! I know it's the moe factor you're going for, but girl, you're not actually a meek, hapless damsel in distress at all!

"Bloody hell. I keep getting that disgusting stench in my nose no matter where I stand! This place is bloody nauseating," the Blacksmith lambasted before turning his head to sneak a glance at the Lich standing beside him.

Indeed, the Lich was very possibly the only one who was beaming with pleasure and earnest happiness. It was raising its hands to the sky as if giving nature a hug, while breathing in the air and the atmosphere of the realm like its hunger was finally satisfied. When it finally spoke, its voice was actually trembling a little, "This... This is the most beautiful place I'd ever had the fortune to visit! It's perfect for me! Perfect, just... perfect. If I may, I would like to conquer this realm someday, so that I can live here forever!" [3]

"We'll see about that. first, you need to be able to leave the Void after all," Baiyi replied.

Admittedly, Baiyi had yet found anywhere to place his more Chaotic Evil members such as the Lich and the Devil after they were freed from the Void; But now, one of them actively requested to stay here, so maybe he should just grant its wish. After all, if the Lich's retirement plan was to conquer this realm and stay here forever, it's good news to the whole of humanity, too.

"I'll scout ahead," The Hitman said without commenting on his new environment.

"Alright, return to us as soon as possible. Do not engage with our enemies, okay? They hold some sort of power over the Laws of Space, so we should be even more vigilant," Baiyi reminded.

"Relax. I know my priorities," the Hitman answered confidently before turning away and left.Desperado (1995). Famous for the guitar cases packed with firepower.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

421 First Encounter

Baiyi had only realized his mistake after allowing the Hitman to leave—why did his brain stop working at that very moment enough for him to agree to the Hitman's volunteering? Fine, so the dude had changed into a suit that could blend with their surroundings, but he was still the Hitman. That changed nothing at all!

The others said nothing after he left, because some conclusions could be made without ever saying it out loud with others. The Blacksmith, for his part, already scouted a mound tall enough for him to set up his heavy machine gun; The Lich was already fine-tuning his recently green-ified Saint Quartz Staff; the Scholar had produced heaps and heaps of scrolls from her own storage pouch as she muttered to herself on which to use and for what and when; And finally, Lady Assassin stood and… grinned like an idiot at Baiyi.

My question to you will forever be this: is there literally any other thing you could do other than grinning like an idiot and acting cute? Baiyi thought to himself.

They did not even have to wait for long before the group saw what they had been expecting: the Hitman Walker had triumphantly returned—with a stampede of undead galloping behind him.

"That one moment of weakness when I agreed to his proposition would always be a mystery to me, huh?" Baiyi said to himself and smiled mirthlessly as the big, black Book of Servitude appeared in midair.

"Get out of there and don't do anything, we'll handle this!" The Blacksmith hollered, standing next to Baiyi. "Your attacks are so loud and strong in aura, you're only going to attract more of them!"

"I wholeheartedly second that. We will handle these foul miscreants," The Scholar added eagerly. She seemed to have finally gotten over her little choice overload, since she had decided on a few scrolls that were now clutched in her one hand while her other hand gripped onto a magical staff normally used for teaching.

Wait a second. You guys are just excited to flex your powers as a warm-up after all these years of peace, Baiyi realized. Seeing that it was only but hundreds of undead chasing the Hitman, the Book of Servitude faded into thin air as he decided that it was fine for him to just let his coworkers had fun.

Honestly, only these monsters would see a six-versus-hundreds battle as a hearty warm-up.

The first of them who started—literally— firing into the undead was the Blacksmith, whose magical machine gun started bombarding them from a distance of about one thousand and one hundred miles away, exhausting its cartridge within seconds as yellow cases littered into a pile around the gun, eliciting its cheerful metallic "Tink! Tink!". From the looks of it, this fake magical gun actually simulated the actual Earth counterpart pretty well, right down to the way its bullets worked!

As the machine gun sputtered, its projectiles—the Blacksmith had even taken pains to make sure his projectiles looked exactly like gun bullets—swept across the field with no spaces in between them, pelting quite a dozen of Revenants charging at the front line to look like hornet nests before they crumbled into pieces completely.

"Uh-huh! Now this is what real men find romantic! Oh, how sexy a gun becomes when it destroys these enemies with its decisive swoop… I knew it, my true love are the weapons from Earth!" the Blacksmith declared, his face beaming with joy as he loaded new rounds into the gun's firing chamber.

Yea, as if there are machine guns on Earth that could fire at its target from what, about one thousand meters away? I mean, if you're going to pretend to be using a machine gun, why don't you go all the way with it? Baiyi snarked quietly in his head, picking up one of the rounds from the floor and compared it with one of the unfired rounds.

He quickly discovered that instead of actual gunpowder, these bullet shells were filled with Mana Crystal shards to power up the magical formation concealed within that pseudo-machine gun when they were rapidly fed into the gun. As the mana contained in these small shards was minimal, their content finished almost the instance they were fed into the gun, rapidly rendering these rounds into empty shells that were then scattered into a pile around the gun.

No wonder the Blacksmith had volunteered himself as the head of waste management regarding broken-off Mana Crystal shards created on the academy's daily operations. He had turned all of them into bullets for his magical guns, did he not? Plus, judging from the standardized size of these shells, Baiyi believed that they were probably ground into that size through human labor—which meant that the Blacksmith had probably used arm strength training as an excuse to fool all of his students into becoming his bullet-manufacturing labor workers…

The Blacksmith, in his trademark obliviousness, suddenly spoke, "Oh hey, Sir Hope? If you're bored standing there and watching us fight, can you help collect these scattered bullet shells? I mean, I had managed to complete a primitive stamping machine that can be used for mass manufacturing pretty soon, but I still felt like it was a waste to not reuse these handmade shells that we'd put so much of our time and effort on…"

Do you really not see the extent of your preposterousness? You could have avoided all of this time-wasting work if you just stick to normal weaponry! What is even the point of going extra length and pains for these unnecessarily specific things with limited applicability, huh? You're putting way too much money into your cosplay as a gunman from Earth, man! Honestly, do the weaponry in Earth really seem this sexy to you?! Baiyi's mind sprung into a long tirade as he stared at this uber-professional cosplayer before him. Next to him, Lady Assassin's appearance-shifting cosplaying from before suddenly seemed very casual…

Seeing his coworker having the first few kills finally made the Hitman Walker's killing intent snapped. Discarding Baiyi's advice for discreetness and control, the Hitman suddenly made a complete 180 turn in mid-run and raised his big, blood-hungry axes and started charging into the undead as if he was playing a for visiting.

Honestly, it would not be too difficult a task to actually counter them, but it would most definitely cost them their time to investigate on the abnormal clash with the Laws of Space; In fact, it was becoming apparent that fighting these endlessly-spawning undead was starting to become a waste of their time in general, so perhaps the team would do better avoiding to fight with them at the moment.

Hearing the command from their leader, the Voidwalkers held nothing back and completely destroyed their enemies with startling efficiency. The Lich showed itself to be the most pivotal in their quick victory, as it was able to take forceful control over a huge number of the undead and compelled them to tear themselves apart—it was the most inconspicuous and least effortful attack the team could deliver.

The most terrifying enemy to a sea of undead was not any God-fearing men from the Church. It was a lich who had achieved Demigod rank—a lich who had the power to control them completely.

As per suggested by the Lich, the Voidwalkers climbed onto the back of the skeletal mammoth before retreating to a distance. When the black cloud of airborne enemies had finally arrived at where they were, the team had already vanished without a trace through Lady Assassin's sneaking technique.

One of the skeletal dragons branched off from the its fleet and landed slowly. Then, the rider on its back—a skeleton with an abnormally unique design—suddenly dissembled itself on its own impatiently, turning itself into a burst of scattering bones. It was as if the rider had killed itself out of impatience.

Then, on the ground, the piling bones forcefully torn apart by the Voidwalkers' bombardment suddenly moved on their own accord, reassembling themselves automatically until a brand-new skeleton was formed. Then, the surplus bones piled on top of each other systematically to form a crown, an armor, and a long sword constructed entirely from unnervingly white bones. [1]

The skeleton with the crown titled its head back and forth as if flexing its neck, making popping sounds as the discs between the bones ground each other. Then, abruptly, two orbs of green flames lit up on two of its hollow sockets.

It looked down on the debris it was surrounded with and moved its jaw. It looked as if it was trying to say something, but there was no voice.

It took a while for the skeleton to extend its hand into its mouth and readjusted its hyoid bone before it finally managed to say, "Fled." [2]

A malicious voice answered it from behind, "My, my. Galthran, have you not changed you habit of taking new bodies whenever you please? It looks ill on you, O King, to change bodies like a parasite."

The skeleton turned to the source of the voice. There, a small part of the air warped and twisted before a gigantic phantom with a torn-out and torn-up appearance suddenly surfaced. Its protruding claws—longer than even its own body—waved dandily in the air as the phantom continued to mock, "But more glaringly, you lost them. Pity, pity you. The Grandruler surely will not treat this mishap lightly."

The skeleton with the crown on its head glared at its companion, the green flames in its eyes darting furiously for a while before finally replying, "At least I'm much cleaner than you, Charnal. Now tell me, O' King of Phantoms, is snooping around the only thing you can contribute?"

"Hmph! The Grandruler values me for my skill!" The phantom countered hotly. "enough with these useless ramblings. While your stupid army of bones sluggishly tried to keep up, my phantoms had already tailed the invaders in secret. Now, all that is left to do is to reap their lives."

The skeleton looked around the aftermath of the battle and sneered. "And you're going to do that despite being no different from the air around us? It's obvious that our enemies, who had survived this initial onslaught, are not the kinds you and your ilk can hope to match. Tell me where they are."

"Ha ha ha. Us phantoms may be useless against bones like yourself, but they are terrifying nightmares to the living. My subjects have surrounded them, and all they are waiting for is my presence," The massive size Phantom King rebutted with confidence and vanished completely into the air, as if it had grown annoyed with the Skeleton King.

It reappeared once more in the air where two wraiths—the Phantom King's subjects whom had been dispatched to track their enemies—were hovering. Yet, the Phantom King was greeted with a large empty wasteland and a horde of its own phantoms, with not a single trace of the enemy in sight.Games like Dynasty Warriors, Warriors Orochi, Samurai Warriors and stuffs, where you kinda launch your character into a bunch of hostile NPCs and smash your buttons (skillfully!) to just kill, kill, kill. Dude, it's fun.also known as tongue bone.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

422 A Blatant Instigation

The Phantom King glared at the two wraiths in front of it; one was shaped like an S, and the other was shaped like a B. The Phantom King took a deep breath, and a suction force pulled the wraiths into it. After assimilating the wraiths' memories, the Phantom King realized that the enemy had gained control of them the moment the wraiths had caught up with them.

"Is this the work of a living necromancer?" The Phantom King muttered. "How intriguing…"

Back at the center of Duat, an unsettling, black castle that had a gruesome design towered above the ashen-grey landscape. A colony of bats — which were actually vampires, gargoyles, wraiths, banshees, and other undead creatures that had transformed — flew around the castle. Besides the massive gate of the castle were rows of revenants, each wearing black armor. This made the black castle even more terrifying to behold.

Beyond the gate, however, was an interior that was a stark contrast to the ghastly exterior of the black castle. It was clean and tidy, and there were no bones or cobwebs to be seen. Anyone who saw this would consider the owner of the castle someone who valued cleanliness. [1]

In the middle of the hall, a throne, which was made of ivory-colored bones, sat on the highest pedestal. A humanoid being emitting green-colored undead energy was seated on this throne. This being was none other than the aforementioned Grandruler.

The Grandruler was a being made completely from energy. Its fondness for the human structure made it assume a humanoid form, but somehow, it managed to look more jarring than the hordes of undead below it.

Phantom King Charnal and Skeleton King Galthran stood below the high throne, amidst other undead, reading out a report on the latest brush with a mysterious group of invaders. The two informed their master that they had yet to locate the invaders, who seemed to have vanished into thin air.

"Maybe they fled and returned to the land whence they came," Charnal said.

"How unsurprising of you, projecting your own cowardice onto the invaders, who — I cannot stress enough — were dauntless enough to come here in the first place," Galthran said, unkindly rebuking his partner. "Unlike you, I believe that I will see them again, soon, and this time, it'll be our swords crossed!"

"Hmph! As expected of someone who, despite the large size of their skull, has no brain. You consider yourself a peerless fighter, but we all know that, in a battle, you'll end up being beaten till you're a pile of bones; and, as if that is not enough, you will revive in another body and still get reduced to a pile of bones!" Charnal coldly replied. Soon, the exchange of words escalated into a full-blown quarrel, right before the Grandruler.

The Grandruler was not interested in breaking them up. It just silently watched the vassals quarrel.

However, when the two noticed the stifling silence in the hall, they instantly shut their mouths and bowed out of the vicinity.

As the Grandruler's vassals, Charnal and Galthran each controlled sates of their own, and they were the kings of their kind. However, their relationship with the Grandruler was that of subjects and monarch; they were nothing more than nobles in their territory. This feudal system had existed in Duat for many, many centuries.

"You fools, your incompetence and impudence sicken me," said a revenant standing amongst the horde of undead below the throne. This revenant had on a raven-black armor and a grotesque helmet. It was Deathrider King Taamik — the cavalier most loyal to the Grandruler.

King Taamik pulled out a snow-white saber from the scabbard at its waist and pointed it at Charnal and Galthran. "To restore the majestic name of my lord, I seek to duel the two of you. Yes, the two of you together. I hope My Lord will approve of it."

Feeling grossly offended, the Phantom King and the Skeleton King were about to dish out a chilling retort when the Grandruler finally spoke, "Enough! I approve of the duel, but it shall only happen when I want it to, not now.

"Now, I'm more interested in the invaders." The Grandruler's gaze shifted to another one of its undead vassals — a skeleton mage, whose aura differed from those of the undead around it.

As every undead currently in the hall was a leader or a king of their species, it was only natural that they had an air of authority around them. However, this skeleton mage seemed weak, like a mouse standing beside cats. How the skeleton mage got to be here, standing amongst the top brass of Duat, was anyone's guess.

In spite of the skeleton's mage underwhelming presence, the Grandruler treated it courteously. "Sir Pyganon, you must now understand that hostility is not the reason why we sealed ourselves; the Laws on our soil cause any living being who steps foot on it to become undead. Now, tell me about these invaders; do you have any idea who they are?"

The skeleton mage, Pyganon, nodded. "Your most respectful Majesty, the invaders are not of the living; instead, they are a different category of reanimated beings. We humans call them 'Soul Armatures' — a term that we talked about in the past."

"A dead person who is reanimated into a suit of armor? Fascinating; it seems our visitors are more similar to our kind than most would expect." A small smile appeared on the Grandruler's face. "I look forward to seeing how these suits of armor move around."

"But, Your Majesty, there is one issue we cannot overlook," the skeleton mage hurriedly said. "A Soul Armature should be inseparable from its summoner. This means that they must remain in close proximity to each other. The Soul Armature may be dead, but its summoner should be a living being. The moment they set foot on our land, those summoners should have turned to undead — as I did."

"Oh? What happened to them, then?" The Grandruler asked patiently.

"One of the invaders is a very special Soul Armature, whose actions are completely unbound to his summoner's limits. He goes wherever he pleases and does whatever he pleases. Do you remember that foolish fiend I told you about before? Yes, he is the person a question — an enemy we both share. That Hope," the skeleton mage said with seething malice.

"Now that he's here in our realm, he is basically courting death. He must have been lured by the bait I laid out earlier; I'm sure of it! This is our chance," the skeleton mage said, hoping to coax the Grandruler into action. "I hope that we will be able to banish him from existence right here, on our lands. Believe me, he really is the greatest obstacle we will face in our bid to conquer Isythre!"

"Mhmm, very intriguing," the Grandruler murmured, mulling over Pyganon's words. "I do not think he was lured here by your bait. I'm more inclined to believe that he came here, a realm unfamiliar to him, for another reason altogether — a more complicated reason."

The skeleton mage was silent, brainstorming on how best it could persuade the Grandruler to move against Baiyi as soon as possible. Fortunately for it, the Grandruler's next words were in line with its desire. "Taamik, you're the strongest of my elite vassals, so you will lead the force to take this Hope down. Xander, Modor... aid him."

The three vassals straightened themselves the moment they heard this. They bowed low and left without a word. The Grandruler turned his attention to Charnal and Galthran, who failed to stop the invaders, and commanded them to desist from chasing after the invaders. The Phantom King and the Skeleton king were appalled at this, but they said nothing.

Afterward, the Grandruler dismissed its vassals, and once it was alone, it turned its head, lost in thought.

While Baiyi snuck away from the armies of undead on his tail, the group from Da Xue, who were on an excursion, had arrived at their destination. This micro realm was beautiful; it possessed lush green mountains and crystal-clear creeks. This sight made the students feel rejuvenated. This was especially so for the students of the Archery Faculty, which was comprised mostly of young, beautiful fairies —a species attuned to nature.

They basked in the gentle breeze for a while before picking a strange scent. This scent seemed out of place for such a beautiful place. It was the scent of death.

"Huh? There are undead here?" Mia stared at the student who had just informed of this, with her mouth agape.

Modred hurried over and asked, "Where exactly? How many are there?"

The fairy student shook her head sideways; she had no clue herself. Although these fairies were training to be Gale Snipers in the future, they had yet to master the basics; thus, the best they could currently do was to pick uncanny scents carried by the wind.

"Pfft. You guys are so lame. You just gave me more work!" Mordred grimaced in an unladylike manner, scratching her head. She turned to Mia and said, "I'm taking a part of my gang to go check it out, okay?"

"Please be careful," Mia said and hugged Modred, after which she whispered, "Please, the moment you spot any signs of danger, flee."

"Flee?! Nah. Dragons are not crybabies. If there really are undead here, I'll incinerate them all to a crisp, in no time flat," Mordred exclaimed. She activated her armor, and her helmet, which had been hanging behind her, moved up to cover her head on its own.

Modred walked out of their tent and whistled shrilly, and a large dragon descended from the sky, causing quite the scene at the campsite.

Modred climbed atop the dragon and waved at Mia, after which the beast flew off, without any thought for the campsite it had just destroyed. .

Mia's gaze shifted to the destroyed tents, and she realized why her sisters had been so worried about her. Simply put, Mordred was just too unreliable!

Mia hurried over and began to set up new tents, and a few moments later, some girls rushed up to her. They complained that several guys had taken advantage of the brief chaos to flip up their skirts. When they had confronted the bold perverts, the boys denied it. Instead, they blamed it on the raging winds that were created by the clumsy dragon from earlier.

Mia listened to the girls before telling them to refrain from wearing short skirts on outdoor trips. She advised them to opt for conservative and safe long track pants [2]. Mia told the girls how she had gotten an earful from their Grand Principal whenever she wore short skirts, which she used to love wearing. Back then, she was at their current age.

"But, Miss Mia, we're not half as beautiful as you are. If we have to wear those tacky tracksuit…" One of the girls grumbled.

Mia calmed the girls, telling them that a woman's beauty was not restricted to her appearance; her inner qualities and decorum had to be taken into account as well. [3]

Sometime later, the girls left, but the trouble did not end there. A while later, Mia was surrounded by students complaining about a variety of things: a problem with the campfire, some fool had accidentally ingested a toadstool, a class was given more tents than another...

Mia felt as though her head was splitting. Were excursions this bothersome? Suddenly, she felt regret for putting her sisters in so much trouble when they went on excursions in the past, as kids.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

423 Rebellion Against My Beautiful Father

This excursion — the first one that Mia was in charge of — had already turned troublesome. If all Mia had had to do was smoothen out some trivial issues and conflicts, then that would have been okay by her; however, the moment Modred returned from scouting, Mia realized that things were about to take a huge turn for the worse.

The fairies had been right. There was a small group of undead creatures in the realm, albeit far away from where the group from Da Xue had set up camp.

"Is this realm a lich's hiding spot?" Mia frowned. "But Mr. Hope checked this place out before, didn't he? He encountered no problems!"

"Maybe he was not focused on the inspection; instead, he came here to screw around with another woman who is desperate to become my second mom. I can't believe he didn't spot these undead creatures when he was here. Just how much fun was he having back then, huh? Why is he even screwing around with other women? Is my mom not enough for him? Seriously?" Mordred grumbled; Her misguided assumptions made her visibly upset.[1]

The female students believed that Baiyi had a thing with the Warrior Walker, the Fairy Walker, and Lady Assassin Walker; after all, they had seen him behaving flirtatiously and intimately with these drop-dead gorgeous women a few times. This made these girls, as 'grown-ups', feel a plethora of emotions: they were all happy for him, relieved for themselves, and a bit sad about it. [2]

Mordred, on the other hand, had always made her grievance known.

Nevertheless, to these girls, Baiyi — who was their teacher, godfather, mentor, and principal — was an invincible hero. Although he was strict about their studies, good at handling a feather duster, really creepy when he was angry, adamant that they should not wear anything short, and always surrounded by a bevy of beautiful women — Mr. Hope was still flawless in their eyes. To them, he could never fail a spot check.

Hence, to the girls, Baiyi did not spot the undead because he was distracted. When had they ever seen Mr. Hope get distracted, one might ask. Well, every time he was with either of those three insanely bewitching women — the Warrior Walker, the Fairy Walker, and the Assassin Walker.

At this point, the girls consoled themselves in the fact that the three women never showed up at the same time.

'Maybe Mordred's conjecture is not unreasonable, after all.' [3]

Mia was not in the mood to entertain Modred's absurd line of reasoning, though. Worried about the abrupt turn of events, she asked, "What should we do? Should we go home? Or, should we request backup from Da Xue?"

"No!" Mordred exclaimed before transforming into a tall woman. She looked down at Mia, gripped her shoulders, stared hard into her eyes and enunciated her reply slowly, "We. Kill. The. Lich. Ourselves. Okay?"

"H-huh?!" Mia was startled. "But it's a lich… Isn't it really dangerous?"

"Bah! Pfft!" Mordred waved her hands dismissively. "I checked. The undead here are not many, neither is any one of them as creepy as rumors make undead out to be. In fact, they seem super dumb, loitering around aimlessly, oblivious to the face that a large dragon was hovering over them. Why fear these enemies, who lack self-preservation? Besides, you have to remember that we aren't alone here; we have dragons, a fleet of magical marionettes, and an assembly of courageous students! Does that not look adequate enough to defeat a lowly lich?"

After giving it some thought, Mia found Modred's words a bit reasonable. However, she quickly dismissed the idea with a shake of her head. "The thing is, according to Da Xue's rules, should we ever run into highly dangerous beings, such as liches, we should flee immediately."

"Pft!" Mordred would not be swayed. "That's an old-fashioned rule made by our boss, an old fuddy-duddy. He always acts unnecessarily conservative, refraining from doing anything useful just because he is not, what, 100 percent sure of success. He treats us this way too, for crying out loud; even the temperature of the soup we eat has to be within the range he is okay with!"

"Isn't that a good thing? It shows that Mr. Hope really cares about our welfare," Mia said, defending Baiyi.

"Oh, no, no. This is not caring; it is smothering," Mordred replied, shaking her head. Between her, Mia, and the other girls, Modred was the youngest, yet, right now, she was acting as though she was the wisest. She looked down at Mia and ruffled her hair before saying, "We have grown up, Mia. We're no longer the young girls tailing him wherever he goes. There are some things we must do, on our own, in order to truly grow into adulthood. Only then will he finally see us as adults and not as kids."

"Um, Mr. Hope is five thousand years old; he considers everyone a kid," Mia replied weakly.

"I was not referring to age! I was referring to how he treats us," Mordred said, then to really persuade Mia, she doubled down, "Think about it; if we solve this small matter on our own, after which we continue on with the excursion and return as planned, there won't be anything for anyone to harp on! Don't you see? This is the first time we are leading an excursion. If we flee just because we encountered a teensy-weensy problem, what would Papa think of us? What do you think our sisters would say about us? What do you think the students would say about us?"

If Mia was not won over at this point, it would be a surprise. After all, the other girls still saw her as the 'youngest and most inexperienced sister', and they were not wrong. However, this hurt Mia's ego more than she would admit. She was a Legendary-level sorcerer, was she not? Even if this did not mean much at Da Xue — a place filled with geniuses and powerful experts — it was a big deal in the community at large. She was, by herself, a force to be reckoned with!

Instantly retreating because of a small situation was ill-fitting for someone of her status, was it not? Even if she did forego that thought and retreat, Da Xue would still need to expel the lich from this micro realm, which could be considered one of its training grounds. If the enemy was just a lich, why could she not just deal with it herself? This situation would help tamper the students under her care and save her sisters, and other professors, the effort of dealing with the lich themselves.

When Mordred saw Mia's expression changed, she pushed harder. "I know you're worried, but do you honestly think the two of us aren't enough to beat up a stupid little lich? Don't you want to open that storage pouch of yours and use the scrolls and other stuff in it? Even if we lose the fight, we are capable of fleeing; we would only have to endure a few taunts if that happened. If worse comes to worst, we would only have to suffer a beating from papa. So what? I'm getting better at my transformations now, and I'll be able to secretly cover my hands, back, and butt with draconic scales; by then, those feather dusters will be nothing to me!"

"To you! It'll definitely still be something to me!" Mia laughed, trying to hide her worry.

"You have even less to be afraid of! I'll give you some of my draconic scales, to shield your skin from the blows. However, you'll still have to act as though you are really, really hurt; cry harder and wail louder to make it convincing. He's bound to soften up after seeing you like that, and he'll do his best to mollify you," Mordred said. "I mean, you're his 'precious baby'! Do you really think that he's going to be as hard on you as he is on us?"

"B-but, I thought that smart and docile girls, like Big Sister Dale and Nota, are his favorites. If not, then maybe girls who are competent at whatever tasks he delegates to them, like Vidomina. As for me, well..." Mia lowered her head, losing her confidence. [4].

Mia could not see the look of envy that Mordred had directed at her. 'If only Papa could love me the way he loves you, then Mom… Mom would not have to cry so much...'

Afterward, Mia agreed, and the pair decided to obliterate the Lich and continue the excursion — something their sisters would not have expected from Mia.

In Duat, Baiyi had no idea that the troublesome brat, Mordred, had goaded his favorite daughter, Mia, into doing something she knew that he would not want her doing. If he ever found out, he would need more than his basement full of the feather dusters to deal with her!

Amongst the girls, Mordred was the most immature, and she was a dragon! Not just any dragon, though; she was a descendant of the Third Voidwalker! Baiyi did not want to call someone else's kid his own [5].

The Voidwalkers were hidden by a barren hill littered with black boulders, watching the black castle on the horizon. Suddenly, Baiyi said, "Say, do you think Mia and Mordred have encountered any trouble?"

"You have been worried about that?" The Blacksmith Walker, who was cleaning out his weapons, asked. "What is there to be worried about? They have all grown up into strong existences. Furthermore, they are adventuring in a safe environment; it's almost no different from sightseeing. Man, I really think you're smothering them. Back when my own children were as old as these girls are, they were already… already…"

The Blacksmith Walker trailed off at this point, lost in the memories he had of his wife and children, who had all died tragically. In his silence, an expression of pain appeared on his face, and after a while, he muttered, "M-maybe… If I still have my children with me, I might dote on them even more than you do these girls…"

Unwilling to let the atmosphere become all doom and gloom, Baiyi hurriedly changed the topic. "It's not that I worry for their safety; I know that the girls can protect themselves well enough. I'm just worried about the students in their care. Before today, both girls have yet to lead an excursion, but, by some miracle, they were paired together... somehow. Don't you find this dangerously similar to a recipe for chaos?"

"What chaos? You speak as though they were going to be pursued by a horde of undead creatures," The Lich Walker replied, chuckling. "Your youngest daughter, Mia, is a Legendary-ranked sorcerer, equipped with state-of-the-art gears; do you really think all that is not enough to help her to take care of a few students? We have yet to talk about that dragon, you know — the one with the blood of the Divine Dragon rushing through her veins."

"Oh, great; thanks for bringing up the source of my headache. Here's the thing about Mordred: it doesn't matter how 'obedient' she acts; she is a dragon. Her primal instincts will not let her stay put for too long. Even Aya and I have — eh, let's just say — problems bringing her up. We often try to control her, teaching her to suppress her urges, but can one really suppress their nature?

"I'm worried that it will blow up in our face one day. I dread the day Mordred reaches that stage in puberty where she rebels against everything adults say," Baiyi explained. "I can only hope that when that time comes, we can handle it well, without making any major sacrifices. Please, Mordred, don't you pull off that for visiting.

"Good. It seems they took my bait." Baiyi smirked. "Now, our target is at its weakest. Time to move out."

The reason why they could stay there without being discovered was because of the Assassin Walker, who had used her skills to perfectly mask their tracks and scents. Furthermore, Baiyi had used one of the Charlatan Walker's illusion spells on the undead that the Lich Walker had stolen earlier, making the undead take the form of the Voidwalkers themselves. The Scholar Walker finished the job by marking the decoy undead with the aura of the living, fooling the enemy into chasing after them with the strongest force. Now, the castle was at its weakest.

There were a few reasons why they had chosen not to butt heads with the undead army. First, it was troublesome. Second, they may have ended up fighting a war of attrition. Third, they were worried that something unexpected may happen should they waste too much time. Hence, they decided that infiltrating the black castle was the most efficient way to achieve their objective.

"Stay vigilant while we're in there. Our enemy possesses a certain power over the Laws of Space," Baiyi said to the Voidwalkers.

"You know," he added, "Is it me, or are the undead a lot fewer in number than expected? Is this just an illusion, or was our estimation wrong?"

Nobody could answer him, not even the Lich Walker. The possibilities were too many to count, to begin with. Moreover, undead creatures were better at hiding and covering their tracks than humans. They could be hiding under the ground or behind the door.

The undead were just really good at hiding, period.

"We need to prepare for an ambush; if that happens, I'll instantly begin using forbidden spells to clear the way. Please, know not to get caught in the crossfire," Baiyi said. "After the forbidden spell bombardment, the Scholar Walker, Blacksmith Walker, and Hitman Walker will help us push back any enemy reinforcements. The Assassin Walker, Lich Walker, and I will go straight for the boss. Any questions?"

No one had any questions as the plan was simple. They were just worried that the answers they sought may not be in the black castle.

In the black castle's great hall, a vampire stood facing the Grandruler. This vampire had on a red robe, and its fangs were visible beneath its upper lip. "Your Majesty, Galthran and Charnal have also led their respective armies away. Those that remain may be inadequate to defend the castle should the enemy suddenly attack. Your Majesty, shall we—"

"That is unnecessary," replied the Grandruler, who looked confident, cutting the Vampire off. "If they dare to come to us, I will make them rue that decision." As said before, Mordred here is really 60% copy-pasted from the character "Saber of Red" from Type-Moon's Fate series, except here she's a dragon and her mom is Aya rather than Morgan le Fay. "Rebellion Against My Beautiful Father" is her Noble Phantasm in the series, 'cause she ultimately rebelled against her own "father"…

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

424 A Terrifying Enemy

With Lady Assassin Walker's masking techniques, Baiyi's group reached the black castle undetected. They planned to go around a group of skeleton knights that were in front of the castle, playing a game that vividly resembled soccer.

Since the senses of skeletons are impaired, unlike humans, it was nigh impossible for this group to see through the Assassin Walker's techniques. Hence, the Voidwalkers crept, one after the other, past the playing skeletons. Everything went smoothly until the Hitman Walker's turn.

He had only taken a few steps forward before a skull, which was being used by the skeletons as a soccer ball, struck the Hitman Walker's body and bounced off.

Facing the others, the Hitman Walker helplessly spread his arms open, wearing an expression that said, "Guys, I think I effed up." Two polearms suddenly appeared in his hands, and he used them to slay the skeletons he had been trying to flank.

Baiyi was not sure whether to laugh or cry. There just had to exist a bastard on a plane of existence outside their reach, who insists on giving them crappy character traits. For example, the Hitman Walker's inability to sneak up on his enemies, the Fairy Walker's bad luck, Baiyi's inability to attend a festival without a crisis breaking out, and Mia being seen as cute, no matter how much she wanted to be seen as mature; and for some reason, they could not get rid of these strange attributes.

"Take a leaf from my book and discard stealth," the Hitman Walker said before charging towards the enemies with his weapons raised. The Lich Walker dashed forward whilst waving his green staff. This caused its army of undead to rush forward towards the enemies.

"Aha! Now, this is more like it!" The Blacksmith Walker laughed out loud. With his guns in hand, he leaped atop the skeletal mammoth, which he had now made a mount. Lady Assassin Walker clambered after him. Baiyi and the Scholar Walker flew up into the air, ready to bombard the enemies from above and cover their allies.

"If we're going for a direct confrontation, then we have to be quick. Their reinforcements can arrive at any time," Baiyi announced in midair. The Book of Servitude appeared in front of him, and its pages began to flip on its own.

A large fiery red formation appeared in front of Baiyi, who had already begun chanting, "With Arcana known only to me... Thus, I invoke myself... Drawn from deep within... Voidal Pyroclasm! Fire, thunder, and fire! A celestial inferno!"

In front of the castle, a fiery ball of mana had begun to condense, and soon, it had grown into an enormous fireball. Strands of fiery miasma burst out of it continuously. The gigantic fireball crashed down to the ground, causing a mighty explosion, and the enemies in its path were instantly incinerated. Upon collision with the ground, the gigantic fireball split into smaller fireballs that scattered in different directions, leaving streams of lava in their wake. Every time the fireballs collided with something, they would split into much smaller fireballs, which wreaked havoc and bred disaster.

From high above, the castle grounds had originally resembled an ashen grey canvas, but after Baiyi's spell, red scribbles appeared and spread throughout the canvas; and in minutes, the entire canvas was completely red.

"Gallaron's Abyssal Carnesphere?!" The Scholar Walker exclaimed, instantly recognizing the spell. "A forbidden spell that is infamous for the arduous amount of preparation and rare materials needed to cast it. It has been eons since anyone has cast this spell, but no one has managed to cast it in seconds. The Book of Servitude is, indeed, overwhelmingly powerful."

Gallaron's Abyssal Carnesphere was not the deadliest forbidden fire spell in existence; it dealt mostly fire damage. However, this spell's area of effect was the largest of all flame spells, and its fireballs were hard to contain or eradicate. When the spell dissipated, the streams of lava it created would remain, making the area affected inhabitable.

As a spell with destructive capabilities resembling that of a volcano, Gallaron's Abyssal Carnesphere was deemed one of the most malicious forbidden spells in existence. The damage that it caused to the environment was cataclysmic.

Nevertheless, Baiyi considered it the best spell to cast at the moment. With the sea of lava that it created, he did not have to worry about the enemies hiding underground.

With this spell, Baiyi had cleared out every enemy that was right outside the castle. The Scholar Walker followed up with a large ice spell, which formed a chilling bridge over the sea of lava, allowing the other Voidwalkers to safely arrive at the gate of the black castle.

"Wow, thanks for being a buzzkill. What is fun in a battle where one doesn't get to fight?" The Blacksmith Walker grumbled bitterly to the Assassin Walker, who was seated behind him atop the enormous skeletal mammoth.

She said nothing in reply, though. Looking up, her focus was on Baiyi, who she thought resembled a K-drama Oppa. "Look at my Dum-Dum! He's so haaawttt."

The Voidwalkers had just begun to relax — nursing the belief that victory was already theirs — when the unexpected happened. The craters that littered the castle grounds, as well as the sea of lava, disappeared like a dispersing illusion.

The Voidwalkers stopped in their tracks, and looks of shock appeared on their faces. Even they, existences who had witnessed many events in their lifetime, were flabbergasted by what had happened. Only a moment ago, the area around them had been a hellscape! How had everything vanished so suddenly?

Only Baiyi, who had come in contact with Laws, understood what had happened. "The enemy just used some sort of Law power to transport the sea of flames elsewhere!" Baiyi said in a low voice.

"What?! That's impossible!" The Lich Walker exclaimed. This was quickly followed the Scholar Walker's shout of disbelief. "Inconceivable! Our senses did not pick up the transportation; that Law power cannot possibly be this rudimentary!"

"But it is," Baiyi replied. "The War God told me that we shouldn't mystify the Laws too much, as the effect of channeling reality-warping powers like them is surprisingly simple."

"Aren't Gods the only beings who control the Laws? How is possible that someone here has Arbiter Rights to a Natural Law?" The Blacksmith Walker asked, aghast. "Unless… we're dealing with a God here. Could the Space God have teamed up with these bags of bones here?"

"No. The real Space God is the blabbermouth who gifted me the Kitty Cat Maid, as a proof of friendship, and he most definitely does not own this black castle. Yes, his taste is laughable and somewhat dirty, but he's not this dirty," Baiyi replied. "It seems he had only wanted me to come here to pick up one of his lost Arbiter Rights. Goddamn it. The dude acts like a moron, but he played me like I was a bloody foo—"

Baiyi complaint was brought to an abrupt end by the occurrence of another shocking event. The other Voidwalkers were no longer beside him.

He had been transported to a new location: a wide, grey-white hall. In front of him was a huge throne made of bones, on which a strange being, who was green from head to toe, sat.

"Welcome, my most anticipated guest!" The green being said. "Our humble abode has not had the pleasure of entertaining visitors such as yourself in a long time. Allow me to introduce myself; I'm your host — the Grandruler of the Undead. You may just call me 'Your Majesty'."

"Where are my teammates?" Baiyi directly asked, his eyes fixed on the Grandruler of Forgiveness.

"Being lavishly entertained by my subjects — a welcome fit for a hero. Heh! They are a lively bunch, so don't you worry. However, you deserve my personal greeting, Hope," the Grandruler of Forgiveness replied.

"You know me?" Baiyi asked in shock. Had his fame spread this far already? 'Not bad. Not bad at all.'

"A new servant of mine told me about you. He is, dare I say, fixated on you," the Grandruler replied, and a skeleton mage slowly walked out from behind the high throne.

Green flames flickered within the skeleton mage's sockets as it exclaimed, "Nice to meet you, Hope. I bet you did not expect to see me in a place like this, yes? I'm Pyganon — Third High Reverend Pyganon of Godsfall."

"Godsfall? Color me surprised." Baiyi shook his head sideways helplessly. "There is a question I must ask, though: how did Godsfall, a great organization for you villains, deteriorate this much? The First High Reverend was a demonic Abyss Lord; the Second Reverend was the Fairy King — ruling over a species whose might greatly benefited Godsfall — and the last High Reverend is... you, a skeleton mage that thrives on eating scraps thrown at you by that guy on the throne? Man, now I feel sorry for you guys…"

"With all due respect, you really need to work on your taunts," the skeleton mage replied, chuckling. "Have you already forgotten that it was you who threw a wrench in our plans? Our members are now labeled terrorists by the Church and the Empire. However, I should thank you; it was because of this proscription that I fled and randomly arrived here. This allowed me the honor of meeting my new master — the invincible Grandruler of the Undead! And, here you are, faced with your death. This must be the gift from the One True God! Hahahahahahahaha!"

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down, skull face. There is a woman called Harlotte who was a member of your cult. Is she still alive?"

"Oh, Grand Butler Harllotte? Yes, she's alive, in a human sense anyways. Haha, I see that you still remember her. I knew that I made the right choice sparing her life! Are you concerned about her wellbeing? Do you want to know where she is?" The skeleton mage grinned grotesquely, looking pleased with itself. "No problem; I'll kindly grant this wish of yours before I destroy your soul completely. I'll let you watch as her exquisite flesh is peeled from her bones, after which she will be made an undead. Trust me; her screams will make you wet yourself."

"Did you hear me right? I just asked if she was alive; that's all. I can take care of the rest by myself," Baiyi dismissed the skeleton mage with a wave of his hand. "Oh, and I presume that you know a lot about me."

"Of course. I'm probably the person who knows the most about you. You see, hatred is a strong motivation. It is this hatred that compelled me to find out everything there is to know about you," the skeletal mage replied through gritted teeth.

"Then, surely, you must know that I really, really hate unnecessary conversations," Baiyi said as he raised his hand and grasped at thin air.

"Heh heh! Are you threatening to kill me with that black flame of yours?" The skeleton mage sneered. "Do you actually think you'll be able to kill the Grandruler's most loyal servant right in front of him? How optimistic— W-wait. Your Majesty? You M-Majesty—?!".

The skeleton mage was incinerated to ashes by Baiyi's Void Flames. In its last moments, it had called out to its master, flabbergasted that it had died there and then.

Although Pyganon had once been a mighty human leader, who commanded both fierce loyalty from the cultists, he lost his value the moment he forewent his pride and became a lapdog for someone else. He certainly was not worth Baiyi's time. Baiyi considered Pyganon a shadow of his past self, and killing him now was no different from killing a flea.

As one would require a single slap to slay a flea, so had Baiyi required a snap of his finger to exterminate the disgraced skeleton mage.

The Grandruler silently watched everything play out; it never seemed intent on interfering. After Pyganon was burned to cinders, the Grandruler nodded in admiration and said, "An interesting power."

Baiyi was somewhat puzzled. He looked up at the throne and asked, "I'm surprised you didn't help him."

"He has already outlived his use. I have no room for a purposeless tool," the Grandruler replied nonchalantly. "Furthermore, he talked too much. But you… I'm interested in you."

It was not surprising that the ruler of the dead did not value things like loyalty, unlike humans.

"Nice. I'm just as interested in you as you are in me," Baiyi said, wiping his hands. "How about this: we take turns asking each other questions, and we each answer honestly. Quid pro quo; how does that sound?"

"Sounds fair. As the guest, you go first."

"Where are my teammates?" Baiyi asked again.

"You have wasted your chance, asking a question I have already answered. As I told you, they are being warmly welcomed by my men."

'Looks like they're in hot water. I wonder if they can weather it on their own,' Baiyi thought to himself.

"My turn. Who are you?" The Grandruler's question was surprisingly simple.

"A Voidwalker. A survivor from the world of the abandoned and forsaken."

"Ah, the Void. Anyone who can survive there is surely not of the living. It's no wonder you can freely roam this realm," the Grandruler said. "Your turn."

"Are you holding onto a Law Fragment?" Baiyi asked. This question had been on his mind since his sea of lava mysteriously vanished. "Or, have you somehow come to possess the Arbiter Right over a Law?"

"Are you referring to this?" The Grandruler said, opening its palm. There was nothing on it.

However, Baiyi's expression immediately changed, turning solemn. As someone who had touched a Law Fragment before, he could clearly sense a similar object atop the Grandruler's palm! Unlike the heavily damaged Law Fragments that the War God had led him to in the past, the Law Fragment on the Grandruler's palm was undamaged and possessed the power of the Law that it was a fragment of!

This answered all the questions he had had previously. With this Spatial Law Fragment, the Grandruler had exerted a certain amount of control over space. This explained how Matt's village had been transported to Duat and back. It also explained how Baiyi was mysteriously transported to this hall, without his teammates.

If a single Law Fragment could already grant someone this much power, why would the War God act like an idiot when he was a powerful deity who controlled space?! Other than temporarily lifting the limiter on his powers, during the fight with Molocchus, the War God had done nothing else for him! With Attie, the War God only shoved the responsibility of caring for his messenger to someone else!

'I find it funny that the God of Space had not even noticed that one of his Arbiter Rights is missing! I bet he had not realized it until I mentioned it! Even after that, he had dared to use me as his errand boy while he took it easy up there, resting on some divine couch. What are you even doing up there? Licking a gorgeous maiden who you plan to make your next messenger?'

Baiyi bellowed in his mind. He was not eager to fight a being who could control a part of the Natural Laws. How was he supposed to defeat an opponent who needed only snap his fingers to move his forbidden spells elsewhere? The opponent could just as easily transport Baiyi wherever it wished. There was simply no way of defeating someone with such a cheat-like ability!

The enemy may be as green as the color of Forgiveness, but its strength was several leagues above that of the kaiju-sized Molocchus that Baiyi had fought before!

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

425 Homecoming

The Grandruler of Forgiveness silently watched Baiyi ponder the huge problem he faced. Only when Baiyi raised his head did the Grandruler continue speaking, saying, "Am I correct to surmise, from your reaction, that you understand what the Laws are? If that is the case, then I believe you will give the best answer to my last question. Will you submit completely to me?"

Baiyi had expected this question. There was just no way the Grandruler would have agreed to the back and forth questions because it was curious. Baiyi was silent for a few moments, and then he decided to do one more thing before he answered the Grandruler.

At Da Xue, the Archmage, who was teaching a class, suddenly froze, and his suit of armor crashed down to the ground and scattered, inciting screams of horror from the students he had been teaching.

His consciousness had been forcefully pulled back to the Void. When the Archmage saw himself back in the Void, he bellowed in fury, "You wretched and ungrateful bastard! So, you want to bring an end to our cordial relationship?! Is that it?!"

Baiyi simply replied, "Someone wants me to kneel and submit to him." [1]

The object of the Archmage's ire instantly changed. "What?! Who?! Where?!"

"This person," Baiyi said, sharing a recording of what he had seen thus far to the Archmage. .

After sizing the Grandruler up for a while, the Archmage said, "Poor guy. He's green from head to toe! Did his wife forsake him because he is bad at it?"

'You consider this the perfect time to run your mouth because...?'

"Whatever this green being is, he seems incapable of much. Unless, of course, he has something in his possession that prompted you to pull me back in here so unceremoniously..." The Archmage added, indirectly asking Baiyi to get to the crux of the matter.

"Yes. He has a Law Fragment, making him extraordinarily powerful," Baiyi replied. "I may need your help to fight him."

Baiyi considered the Grandruler a being of immense threat, so he had no plans to give the green being a breather during battle. The Fifth Voidwalker's plan was simple: he would use the Pseudo-Descent Spell to bring his teacher, who would assume the form of a white bun-like monster, to the grey hall of the black castle. Baiyi would then go into his black meatball mode, joining hands with his teacher to deal the green being a terrifying strike.

This was the best plan he could come up with given the time constraint. The dilemma he faced was the Grandruler's control over a Natural Law, so he could utilize this window of opportunity and strike as soon as possible, before the Grandruler was able to use the Law power again. He had no plans to dilly-dally.

"Understood. Here we go!" The Archmage exclaimed. "The Voidwalkers will never bow to anyone; Rohlserl will never submit!"

The Grandruler chose to speak at this time. "I see that you have made up your mind. What have you decided?"

Baiyi deftly grabbed the cape behind him and sneered, "The Voidwalker would nev—"

Poof. He vanished before he could finish.

"Wrong answer; a pity," the Grandruler coldly said. "However, this is within my predictions, so the plan remains intact."

The Grandruler looked towards an opened window, and in a low voice, he said, "Dreagard, to me."

A bat flew in from the window and transformed into a kneeling silhouette below the throne. "Your most loyal Dreagard is at your service."

"Inform the others to finish off the invaders now. We need to regroup as soon as possible. The plan is to be carried out immediately," The Grandruler commanded.

"As you wish, Your Majesty," Dreagard, the king of Vampires, replied. "However, there was one concern that I, with all due respect, feel compelled to address. In my absence, the castle will be left defenseless. Our enemies have shown themselves to be incredibly cunning…"

"Your concern is unwarranted, Dreagard. I've sent the most powerful invader elsewhere," the Grandruler replied haughtily. The speed and ease at which he took care of Baiyi, who many considered invincible, was something worth gloating about.

The vampire, however, who did not know the extent of the Grandruler's powers, persisted in his request, albeit in a low voice. "But, Your Majesty! Would you not consider the possibility of him breaking free from his restraints and returning here?"

"Not to worry. I sent him far away from our troops. I am well aware of the powers he possesses, Dreagard. He is strong enough to subvert the advantage that numbers provide; the troops won't stand a chance against him," the Grandruler replied. "I sent him far, far away — to where he originated from."

To achieve this, the Grandruler had used up all the energy within the Law Fragrant; he would not be able to repeat the feat anytime soon.

Baiyi was surrounded by boundless darkness and emptiness.

He could not help but sigh in exasperation. "We failed." His voice echoed throughout the dark space. "He was smarter than we gave him credit for."

"Do you know where you are?" The Archmage asked.

"I don't know, yet. This darkness and emptiness… They feel so familiar. I must have been sent back to where I originally came from," Baiyi answered, his heart sinking. The Voidwalkers had worked so hard on their plan to return to the world, but everything had been ruined because of a small misstep.

Saying that he currently felt enraged was an understatement; after all, his plans had yet to come to fruition. Da Xue had not reached the stage he had envisioned for it; Mia had yet to start calling him "Daddy"; he had yet to properly explain himself to Aya, and he had yet to undergo a nuptial ceremony with the three Huffing Piggies [3]… There were even more things he had yet to do.

Waves of frustration and regret caused Baiyi to swing his fist.

In a quiet, dark patch of woods, an iron gauntlet suddenly burst out from the ground.

"Oh, I was buried all along. Cool, cool; that scared me a little," Baiyi mumbled, crawling out of the mud. When he had stood up, he used mana to disperse the filth on his body. After that, he looked around and murmured, "Where am I? A realm faraway?"

He expected the Grandruler to teleport him as far away from the black castle as possible; the longer it took Baiyi to return, the better. The best to send Baiyi was the Void, but the Fifth Walker knew that the Grandruler, who only possessed a Law Fragment, would be unable to achieve such a feat. The fact that he was still a Soul Armature, in the real world, proved that the Grandruler had sent him somewhere else in the world, albeit far away from the black castle.

"Hmph! As if this means anything," Baiyi sneered and pulled out the War God's Sword. Did he not have the ear of the God of Space himself?! That was akin to owning his teleportation machine.

However, the War God's Sword was uncharacteristically unresponsive. When Baiyi activated the sword, not only did the blade not turn tricolored, but it also did not emit any magical pulse. It was as though he was holding an ordinary stick.

"Okay... Did my previous use exhaust your battery or something?" Baiyi asked, puzzled. Out of ideas, Baiyi put back the sword; it could not be used until he had found a way or a place to recharge it.

After taking just two steps forward, Baiyi froze. There was a huge tree close to where he had been buried, and underneath it was a naked man and woman, who were both doing the nasty.

This made him relieved. As there were people here, he could just ask for directions. There was a large possibility that he was teleported to Isythre, Marle, or some other inhabited realm.

However, he would not be Baiyi if he did not make a snarky comment about what he was witnessing. 'Holy s***. These people are animals. Coitus in the woods. What a kinky fetish to have.

When someone was knocking his other half up, the polite direction to take was to knock first before coming in; however, Baiyi was quite desperate at the moment, and saving the world was currently more important to him than proper etiquette. Thus, without reservations, Baiyi walked towards the pair romping and called out, "Sorry to bother you two, but I'm lost. Can you please tell me where I am?"

The couple jumped, and when they turned around and noticed that it was a suit of armor that had spoken to them, their screams rang out throughout the woods. They had lost the zeal they had only moments ago, and all they could think of was running away, as fast as their legs could carry them.

Baiyi immediately used Hypnosis on them, bringing about a forced calm. "Tell me, where am I?"

However, they both stared at him blankly before shaking their head in confusion. It was as though they had understood what he said.

'What's going on? How are there still people who do not understand the widely spoken language?' Baiyi wondered. As the woods was very dark, Baiyi had yet to see the two clearly, so he cast the Lumos spell. The first thing he noticed was a pile of clothes scattered all over the ground.

A strong feeling of dread began to bubble up in his heart. Doing his best to push this feeling aside, Baiyi spoke in a language he had not used for thousands of years. "Is this… Earth?" He asked in Chinese.

The pair looked at each other. The man's eyeball twitched a little before he spoke in another language with a strange accent. "English? U can English?" [4]

'Are you crazy? You're a black-haired, black-eyed Chinese man, yet you wanna "English"?' Baiyi lampooned in his mind [5]. He looked back down at the clothes on the ground and made them fly towards him using mana. This caused the couple to scream again, and Bayi had to reapply Hypnosis, forcing them to calm down. After that, he rummaged through their belongings and found items that suggested that the man and woman were Japanese, not Chinese.

"Did we not invent a spell for translation sometime before?" Baiyi asked in the Void. An excessive amount of boredom had caused the Voidwalkers to take to invent new spells from time to time, and it seemed one of those spells would finally get its chance to shine.

After Baiyi cast the spell on himself, the pair were able to understand the words he spoke. Under the effect of Hypnosis, the pair told him that he was on Earth, in a place called Area 11.

Although Baiyi had prepared for the worst, hearing this still caused his head to spin and his heart to lurch. 'This far away?! That Grandruler of Forgiveness actually sent me this far away?!'

This was way worse than being sent back into the Void; he had actually been sent back to where he came from!

"Well, s***," Baiyi lamented.

"Hahahahah! I am sure you meant to say 'splendid! A spectacular turn of events! I'm finally in that one place I have been dreaming of going!'" The Archmage exclaimed, dismissing Baiyi's audible concern. "Boy, make me a body right this instant, and get me that smartphone you have always spoken of! Oh, Baby, I'm going to summon waifus from real mobile games this time!"

'Can we, for once, be serious?' Baiyi glowered as he put away the man's mobile phone. Afterward, he used an advanced spell to wipe the pair's memories of him, and then he ordered him to return to their homes and sleep.

After the man and woman had gone, Baiyi took out the mobile phone.

The first thing that caught his eye was the current year: 2018. Only two years had already passed since his 'tragic death'! Did time on Earth move differently than on the other world?

Baiyi hurried surfed the web, trying to locate any of the news articles he had written back when he was working. However, nothing came up!

What was going on? Even if he had died, there was no reason for his articles to be deleted from the internet! Could this Earth be different from the one Baiyi had left behind?

A ton of questions flooded Baiyi's mind, but all he could do was trudge forward. Soon, he walked out of the woods and found himself at the side of a highway in the mountains. On the far end of the road, he saw a signboard.

Welcome to Fuyuki City [6]

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

426 Guys, This Is Not The Plot You Remembered

As soon as Baiyi saw the signboard, he rummaged through the memories he had of Earth. There was no place on his Earth's Area 11 called 'Fuyuku City', so Baiyi said to the Archmage, "Hey, you know what? I really did return to Earth, just not my Earth. It's yours. How do you feel about switching from using cards with characters drawn on it to becoming a character yourself?"

"My student, what are you even talking about?" The Archmage asked, confused. "By the way, you're absolutely not welcomed to my home. I'll never let a card arsonist like you enter my sacred abode!"

'Hmph, what a petty old geezer! Is he's scared that I would burn something else in his home,' Baiyi shook his head sideways. Now was not the time to think of these trivial things.

There was nothing else to think about at the moment, though. After thousands of years of absence, being forcefully teleported back to Earth — or, at least, a place that resembled his Earth — left Baiyi bummed out. It was almost as if he had just been dumped in a completely unfamiliar place, forgotten.

Suddenly, for visiting.

If he failed to do so, the consequences would be dire. He would be booted out of the alternate Earth, back to the crack within universes. Even the Oracle Walker could not "see" what would happen to him should he end up there. However, he was sure that the Void was a more welcoming place to strangers than the crack between universes.

"Right. So, now, we have to leave as soon as possible; that is fine by me. There was a lot I have to do back home, so I can't be here forever [1]. I just have to find a way to recharge the War God's Sword," Baiyi muttered.

With a tone of appreciation, he continued, "This phony prophet has finally done something important! I think this is even the first time that this fella has spoken this much. How does he receive his premonitions and visions, though?"

With that thought in mind, Baiyi eagerly proceeded to check out the Oracle Walker's third thought, which contained a rather strong message:

"Piss off; you're the bloody phony! Your entire family is full of phonies! Just when did I become unimportant? Am I supposed to be seen as useless because I have no interest in the nonsensical topics that interest insolent fools, such as yourself, enjoy? Listen up, you oaf, I use up all my energy to see the future, not on trying to determine 'which girl this dress looks best on.' How else am I able to give you answers which your primitive brain cannot comprehend? Even you, oaf, did not know you would encounter these problems, did you?"

'Goddamned it; I hate it when he does this. It's so unfair that he can predict and prepare comebacks to rebuts that have yet to come to my mind!' Baiyi shook his head sideways, pushing the strong message to the back on his mind; he was in no mood to argue with the phony prophet today.

"The present situation is no easier to manage than that phony prophet. Just how am I supposed to charge this sword? What a drag!" Baiyi walked along the highway, his eyes fixed on the thick, black sword hilt in his hand.

"What drag? Have you already forgotten what Fuyuki city contains? With that MacGuffin, charging this thing will be a breeze!" The Archmage smirked. [2]

"Didn't you get the memo? My arrival caused this world's time and space to undergo drastic changes. What we knew has changed; we might no longer have any Holy Grail wars," Baiyi replied. "Who knows if Godzilla will suddenly turn up, or maybe, well, a Pokemon? Even if we assume that the Great Grail still existed, it might have been tainted by the tear caused by my arrival. Are you sure it would still be able to charge this sword?"

"As long as it still exists, anything is possible. What else could be more tainted that the Void in our world? It has been tainted to bad it's completely black! I mean, what else across universes can be more tainted than our very own Void? It's so tainted, it's black — pitch black! Yet, you can control the Void. What should you then fear?" The Archmage said, encouraging his heir Baiyi, who he believed would never be 'blackened' into a certain man who wears a crimson tuxedo and rocks a goatee. This man walked away from a hand-drawn formation. He turned to the priest standing beside him and said, "Hmph. I got caught out way sooner than I would have liked. It looks like this newbie isn't expendable, huh? Does anyone know this person's identity and origin? Could the person be an upshot from the Clock Tower?"

This priest, who looked capable of backstabbing the man in the crimson tuxedo, politely replied, "The Lords from the Clock Tower already arrived two days ago. One was a magus, and the other was an apprentice."

"In other words, they will not be sending anyone else; is that it? Whatever. Once I manage to summon the legendary Heroic Spirit, I will attain victory in this war!" The middle-aged man said with a nod. "Send your assassin to gather more intel, please. Your help is very much appreciated, Kirei."

"'Tis' my duty," the priest replied with a nod and then turned around. Before the could leave, however, the man in the crimson tuxedo called out, "Oh, could you also help me look after Rin, please? If that Emiya punk is able to charm my daughter, hoo boy, it's gonna be so bothersome. This stupid scum of a boy should also not even think of touching my Sakura. Goddamned it; he wants to have both sisters to himself!"

The priest nodded in understanding and left.

At the same time, Baiyi had just finished scanning his surrounding with his psychic energy, and he was speaking to the Archmage, who was in the Void, about his next move. "The energy pulses I picked up are weak and of no threat. I was unable to find any huge sources of mana around these parts; this is quite unsettling. As I remember, the Great Grail is supposed to be hidden in a mountain around here, isn't it?" Baiyi said. "Have we arrived too late into the story, after the Holy Grail Wars ended? Has a certain workaholic already destroyed the Great Grail?"

"Okay, that's bad. If that was true, you'll have to go to Romania or worse, a beautiful woman with white hair and a cute little girl. It is something anyone would instinctively caption a "happy family."

Baiyi was just in time to catch the 'Woes-Upon-Me' father asking his son about his progress on Magecraft and his training comprehensions.

The son's expression became solemn, and he looked into his father's eyes before stating his comprehension. "People die when they are killed."

"What m**********g script were you given?! This entire story is whack!" Baiyi snarled. Even the whimsical Archmage realized that something off. "I don't know about you, but I think something's off? Is this the enormous change that the Oracle Walker talked about?"

Baiyi was about to ascertain the scale of the change his arrival caused this world when the Woes-Upon-Me Father sighed. "Our lives are so peaceful now, but how long can it last? The next cruel war of the Holy Grail is about to begin very soon. Who would have known that it is going to start so abruptly…?"

The beautiful woman hurriedly replied, "Don't worry, dear. Our Shirou and Illya have grown into excellent magi; they are already on par with the Three Founding Families. As long as we work together, even if we do not win the war, we can very well live through it."

After that, the family embraced, showcasing their heartwarming family love.

Baiyi looked completely nonplussed. 'This story is on crack!'

To his increasing dismay, the change was more drastic than he had expected. This became even more obvious as he visited key locations within the city. For example, a sadistic, geezer, who kept worms as his pets, passed away a few years ago, and the Matou family was currently being lead by an unmarried man, who Baiyi remembered, from the story, to be quite a woobie. Unlike the original story, the man had retained his sanity. His current life was an enormous upgrade; the powers he now possessed were sufficient for a magus. As a result, this 'ex-woobie' no longer looked like a neglected hobo; instead, he now had three crimson Command Spells in his possession.

That was not all. Baiyi could not find a certain irritating boy with violet seaweed hair in the Matou household. Now that there was no acceptable target to kill in this family, Baiyi could only shake his head, after which he took his leave.

On the side of the Tohsaka family, the man in the crimson tuxedo lived in peace, despite the aura he emanated which made it seem as though he wanted to get backstabbed. Not only was his family life pleasurable and fulfilling, but his two beautiful daughters had also grown into gorgeous, young women.

The last major family to check up one lived in a castle.  Although they were so eager for the upcoming Holy Grail War that they summoned their current servant, the Berserker, the head of the family, in this world, was a loli with tanned skin. That was not all; the Berserker was no longer a giant; it had become a strange woman who had a horn growing out on her forehead. This woman had one a bridal outfit. The girls seemed to enjoy a cordial relationship. When Baiyi visited the castle, they were playing with each other in the garden. The girl with the horn even picked a beautiful flower for the tanned loli.

Baiyi took another stroll to some other places, such as the posh hotel for the rich located in Centerville to spy on the Lords of the Clock Tower, who seemed to have booked an entire building for themselves. When Baiyi dropped by, he found them engaged in intercourse. From the looks of it, the couple had an intimate relationship; no servants got between them.

On the other hand, at the residence area for commoners, Baiyi discovered that a graceful bishonen in the original story had turned into a typical victim of societal stress. Judging from his eyebags, he was probably constantly asked to work overtime.

Baiyi had to thoroughly search the commoners' part of the city before he found a light-haired middle-aged adult, who, despite displaying an air of artistic countenance, was gleefully tying up little kids with ropes in a place that appeared to be his home. Seeing this man made Baiyi feel delighted; he had finally found the only person whose character had deviated too much from the original.

Overjoyed, Baiyi spiritedly approached the man from behind and placed his hands over the man's eyes. He proceeded to grip the man's head so hard that it exploded. After that, he chopped the corpse's hand off.

He cleaned the corpse and cleared the ensuing bloodstains, sealed the victim's memories of him away through Hypnosis (as well as commanded them to lodge a report against the man to the police), and then sat on That One Famous Bridge in Fuyuki City with that severed hand in his lap as he contemplated on his next move.

None of this followed the plot that Baiyi was familiar with. Other than the fact that the Holy Grail war was still going to happen, the fates of the characters had all been drastically altered, and an alternate development was to take place.

"The question now is this: what kind of identity shall I assume to join the war this time?" Baiyi murmured as he transferred the three Command Spells to his gauntlet. Void Flames suddenly appeared and incinerated the chopped hand into ashes.

"Oh, will you look at that? You can still use Void Energy… which means really bad news to everyone else who's gonna take part in this war, huh? It's gonna be a breeze for you!" The Archmage pointed out. "The problem is that one must assume the role of a Master to be eligible for the Holy Grail, or we would have just skipped all of this charade and snatched it from its place immediately…"

"Oh, why am I complaining? This is great, too! Quick, make a summoning circle and summon your fated Heroic Spirit!" The Archmage changed his tone abruptly and urged excitedly. "Of course, I'll say that the best way to ensure a quality Heroic Spirit is to release me now so that I shall summon it for you."

"Nope, not with that bad luck of yours. I don't wanna end up partnering with Darius the III," Baiyi rejected his teacher's offer politely but swiftly. Yet, to be honest… What should he even use to act as the medium to summon his Servant?In this case, a character who has played dead for so long, you all have probably forgotten that they exist — the Oracle WalkerIn Fate series lore (as well as in Chinese otaku community), if someone's "blackened", it means they are tainted by an external force to turn towards the orientation of evil.Tokiomo Tohsaka. A pretty important magus from the prestigious Tohsaka family.Magi Association, based in England, situated in the most British-reference of all British references: Big Ben.Kirei Kotomine, a priest with an effed-up mind. Appeared in Fate/ Stay Night and Zero.I can not ascertain the identity of this character from Nasuverse (lack of evidence, you know), but I have a suspicion Baiyi was referring to Kiritsugu Emiya.It's Irisvile von Einzbern.Illyasviel von EinsbernThe Three Founding Families are the three families who had created this Holy Grail War system: The Einzbern, the Matou, and the Tohsaka. The aforementioned Rin and Sakura are from the Tohsaka family, by the way.It's Zouken Matou, the old head of the Matou family, whose familiars are parasitic worms.Byakuya Matou, the elder son of Zouken Matou who was unloved and regarded as a failure because (1) he was not as magically-capable as his younger brother; (2) his son, Shinji, is completely devoid of the ability to do magic, which meant that the Matou lineage of magi ended at Shinji's generation.Spells that are used to command absolute obedience from their summoned Heroic SpiritsShinji Matou, the aforementioned son who cannot do magic at allThe aforementioned Einzbern family.This is Chloe von Einzbern. She's not from Fate/Stay Night but Fate/kaleid liner. She's a "twin existence" of the aforementioned Emiya Illya.This is "Berserker of Black" (there's nothing black about her, especially not physically). True name is Frankenstein and is actually from Fate/Apocrypha instead of Stay Night or kaleid liner.The man here is Kayleth while the woman is his fiancée, Sola-Ui… who fell in love with Lancer (his servant) instead of her supposed husband-to-be. They are from Fate/Zero.The aforementioned Lancer whom the woman had fell in love with instead of her own fiance.Unfortunately, this isn't enough to help me pinpoint who this character really is; but I do have a sneaky suspicion that it's Kirei Kotomine, an assassin-turns-teacher who is very, very into his teaching job.This psycho here is Ryuunosuke Uryuu, a serial killer who is aroused by gore and whatever, with a special liking to young women and kids. Appears in Fate/Zero.Fuyuki Bridge, famous for being the final stage between Archer and Rider during the Fourth Holy Grail WarA Berserker class from Fate/Grand Order, but you might need to google him up to see why Baiyi's quite reluctant to partner up with him (hint: it's likely a very shallow reason, like his appearance).

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

427 I“ll End This War My Own Way

Summoning a Servant required a Catalyst — something that would help the summoner to summon the Heroic Spirit of their choice. The Archmage — who had long since gotten used to the mobile game version of the series — believed that one only needed enough Saint Quartz to summon any Heroic Spirit they wished for.

Baiyi, who was not in this world of his own volition, felt stressed because he did not possess a Catalyst. Unimpressed, the Archmage said, "What is so hard about getting a Catalyst? Should it not be easy to get one? You had so many Catalysts back when you were on Earth, right?"

"Huh?" Baiyi was perplexed.

"Did you not use figurines, posters, doujins, limited edition cards, etc., as your Catalysts? If I remember correctly, you spent a month's worth of hard-earned money to purchase these Catalysts, yet you failed to summon the Heroic Spirit of your choice…" The Archmage said, and with a gloomy tone of voice, the First Walker continued, "Oh, my poor Child! Of all the things you inherited from me, my indomitable luck is not one of them!"

Baiyi was speechless. 'Just what makes you think your luck at summoning is worth gloating about?!'

"You know what, I'll just let this slide. Looking for a Catalyst is a lot more important than taking this bait," Baiyi said and leaped off the bridge was on.

In another location, the prestigious family, who had taken great pains to observe those who would participate in the upcoming war, were worried about Baiyi, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

They had tried almost everything to track this mysterious outsider down, but they had failed. This new magus seemed to possess the ability to vanish whenever he wanted to; attempts to track him was akin to trying to track air. Although several masters were looking for the outsider, he had yet to be found. This made the man in the red tuxedo more stressed.

"Who is this punk?! Why is he here? What does he want? He can't be some sort of Servant, can he? A Servants of the Assassin Class are good at throwing off their pursuers, and we have already summoned one for this war!"

"What matters most is his objective. What does he want? Is he an observer sent from Clock Tower? Or, is he one the selected Masters and just happened to be late to our party?" The priest, who was beside the man in the red tuxedo, murmured to himself.

"We already know who the seven Masters are! Wait… could he be seeking to replace one of us? Replace, you know, him?" The man in red tuxedo exclaimed as he smashed a stack of papers containing information of all seven masters onto the table. Information regarding the serial killer, whose head Baiyi squished to bits, was not included in any of the papers.

Afterward, the gazes of the priest and the man in the red tuxedo shifted to the workaholic, whose expression made him seem as though he was screaming, "Why can't I ever pay off my debt?!"

"If this mysterious outsider seeks to replace one of us, his target would probably be this man. A lowly lecturer from Clock Tower who joined the war without notifying his superior… This sod's magical potential is laughable, yet he had not bothered to make preparations for the war. In fact, since he arrived, he had been sleeping in his house; waking up seems like a drag for him! Oh, yea, if I were the outsider, I also would seek to remove someone who, most of the time, is half-dead," murmured the man in the red tuxedo. He turned to the priest and said, "Have the assassin wait for the outsider around that area. I bet our uninvited friend will be there shortly!"

The man in the red tuxedo's assertion was not wrong; Baiyi did plan to steal a holy artifact from one of the Masters. The Fifth Walker also believed that the workaholic with the funny expression would be the easiest to target. This belief was something Baiyi, the priest, and the man in the red tuxedo all agreed on.

On his way to the Workhalic's house, Baiyi encountered a thick fog that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. As soon as the fog covered Baiyi, he could no longer see any pedestrians or cars. They had all vanished, leaving behind an area that was no different from a ghost town.

"Jeez, what's this?" Baiyi wondered as he casually walked forward. Suddenly, he stopped and reached out to grab something unknown.

A moment later, the fog around his hand dispersed, revealing a petite little girl with a scar on her face. Her clothes seemed way too little.

"Grr! Put me down! Put me down so that I can disembowel you!" The little girl screamed as maliciously as she could.

However, Baiyi, who had his hands around the little girl's neck, lifted even higher. This caused the girl to struggle even harder and scream louder. Suddenly, two small daggers appeared in her hands, and she swung them hard at Baiyi; however, because her arms were short, the daggers did not reach Baiyi.

"Why is this thing here?!" Baiyi exclaimed helplessly. He began to swing his arm from side to side, causing the little girl to shriek in fear. Baiyi, however, ignored her cries and kept swinging his arm, and after a few seconds, the girl's eyes rolled to the back of her head; she had fainted.

It was only then that Baiyi stopped. He cast a Binding spell on her, and continued on his journey, with the little girl swung over his shoulder.

Back in the mansion, the priest's expression turned into one of shock, and he screamed, "My Assassin! She's… She's—".

"She was killed?! But didn't we explicitly tell her to do nothing more than watch him from afar?" The man in the red tuxedo exclaimed frantically.

With a sideways shake of his head, the priest replied, "No. Not dead. She has been captured…"

Both men wore gloomy expressions, making them seem as though they had just seen a ghost in a mirror. Although assassins possess weak physical attributes, especially the Servant who they had sent out, their assassin was still a Servant! It should not have been possible for a human to defeat her single-handedly!

In this case, however, things were even more ridiculous than a human killing a Servant by themselves; a human had actually captured a Servant, and Servants were spirits! Servants were intangible beings, possessing no flesh and blood, so, by logic, it should be impossible for one to capture them. However, if there was anything even more ridiculous than a human defeating a Servant by themselves, that would be a human capturing a Servant—because all Servants were spirits! However, the mysterious outsider managed to do this by utilizing a strange spell, which forcefully bound the Servant. Right before the little assassin was captured, she had informed her master, the Priest, of what had happened; after that, the energy connection he had with the assassin was abruptly cut off.

The priest's Command Spells remained intact, though, which meant that the assassin was not yet dead. Even though he wasted two of his three Command Spells to try summoning her back to his side, it would not work. In the end, he had been forced to conclude that she had been captured violently somehow.

The discovery had sent chills down the spines of the two men. Who could this mysterious outsider be? Forget that; what is this person? How is he able to use techniques that are completely unheard of?! Now that his assassin had been captured by the mysterious outsider, the overall state of the war had changed drastically before it had even begun.

"No! I must summon my Servant right now! I can't wait for 'a better time'; our standing in this war gets shakier the longer we wait!" The man in the red tuxedo exclaimed with determination. He hurried towards a summoning circle that had been prepared earlier, with an ancient Holy Relic to be used as a Catalyst in his hands. He wasted no time and began to chant.

When he finished his incantation, blinding white rays of light burst out of the summoning circle. The rays of light soon dispersed, leaving a figure exuding an air of ancient importance behind.

"This is it, Kirei. Do you see? We will certainly win this war! Successfully summoning this Heroic Spirit is proof that, without a doubt, it is us who will prevail!" The man in the red tuxedo, whose eyes were fixed on the figure standing in the middle of the summoning circle, exclaimed joyfully.

At the far end of the city, Baiyi could feel the sudden emanation of magical pulses. He looked in the direction he had sensed them and muttered, "Okay, what's up with this? Is someone honing their Magecraft at this hour? Man, gotta respect the mages of this world for their dedication!"

That was all he had to say about the summoning of a Legendary Heroic Spirit. After making his remark, Baiyi went about his business, with the abducted assassin still in tow.

Soon, walking down an empty street at night by himself began to bore Baiyi, so he pulled the girl from his shoulders and raised her to his eye level, after which he began to look at her more carefully.

It was quite unexpected that the person who wished to disembowel him was only a cute loli. The longer he looked at her, the more he wanted to play with her. He soon raised a finger and began to poke her soft, puffed-up cheeks.

The loli woke up almost instantly and bit down hard on the finger. A sound, "Ke-rack!", rang out, and the loli hurriedly released her aching teeth. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked close to bursting into tears.

Baiyi began to swing the girl from side to side once more, as though he were a cowboy, and when he finally placed her down, she had fainted once again.

"Yo, now this is what I called 'target tranquilized'!" Baiyi said as he continued poking the little assassin puffed-up cheeks whilst walking towards his destination.

When Baiyi reached the workaholic's house, he pushed open the front door as though he owned the place. He walked directly to the room where the workaholic was sleeping. Baiyi found the person sleeping so soundly that anyone might mistake him for a corpse.

Emboldened by how deeply the workaholic was sleeping, Baiyi rummaged through his suitcases without a modicum of discretion. Suddenly, Baiyi found himself unable to move; he had been bound by a barrier spell. The workaholic had awoken and was now glaring at Baiyi, "Who are you and why are you here? Also, put down the little girl!"

Baiyi said nothing. Instead, he vanished from where he stood, and before the workaholic could react to this unsettling development, Baiyi had reappeared behind him like a ghost. Without hesitation, Baiyi used the side of his hand to strike the workaholic's neck.

The workaholic toppled over, and Baiyi returned to the pile of suitcases and continued his search for the perfect Catalyst.

A bellow of anger rang out from behind him, albeit through gritted teeth. "Grrr, that really hurt! You bastard… How are you able to get in and out of my Stone Sentinel Maze this easily?!"

'Eh? He wasn't knocked out?' Baiyi instantly reappeared behind the workaholic and struck his neck once more.

"Gwaah! You piece of unforgivable s***!" The workaholic shrieked in anguish. "Don't think you can knock me out with this crappy tactic! I say stop it!"

'The hell? This ain't right,' Baiyi thought as he stared at the workaholic, who had his arms wrapped around his neck protectively. In a bid to ascertain his suspicion, Baiyi scanned the man with his psychic energy.

"Oh, so this is why. You're not human, are you?" Baiyi concluded. "But, why are you, a Pseudo-Servant, already here, in a war that happened way before you made your debut? Oh… I get it. You are from the future and traveled back in time to stop this war, aren't you? So, what should I call you? Master Kongming?"

Expressions of shock and horror appeared on the workaholic's face. With a single glance, the intruder had actually managed to discern his real identity, objectives, the identity of the Heroic Spirit possessing him, and the timeline he had come from. Just who could this person be? He had the face of an average joe, yet it had only taken him seconds to do something seemingly impossible!

A sense of defeat overwhelmed the workaholic; he no longer possessed any desire to go against the mysterious intruder. Not only was he unable to defend himself against the intruder's hand-chop attacks, but his prized technique — Unreturning Army: Stone Sentinel Maze — too, was completely useless against the intruder. The power disparity between himself and this average joe was too terrifying.

Could this man be that scum whose aim was to destroy all of humanity?!

The workaholic did not think that his objective, to correct history, would have any connections to that scum's objective. Hence, his confusion grew, and he could not help but murmur, "Who are you? How do you know me?"

"Bruh, do you know how much money I spent trying to summon you?" Baiyi, who had just pulled out something wrapped with a piece of rag, replied. He was unsure of what this object was, but from the way it had been wrapped, he guessed it would be some sort of Holy Relic. It was possible that this Pseudo Servant wished to summon a helper Heroic Spirit? After all, without a certain Chaotic Evil's help, this workaholic, by himself, could not possibly fight so many Servants at once. Thus, he might have stolen a Catalyst from the Clock Tower to get aid in his mission.

Whatever the reason was, the item would surely help Baiyi now!

Having encountered the character that he had used the most in his game, Baiyi decided to humor the workaholic and said, "Heaven has its mutations, and change its instruments from time to time. The supreme dignity comes, at last, to the person of virtue. It is the inevitable and immutable law. Can a glowworm in the parched stubble rival the glorious moon in the sky? If you will turn down your weapons and throw aside your armors and dutifully yield, you shall not lose your rank. The state will have tranquility and the people rejoice. Is that not a desirable consummation?"

After that, Baiyi spread his arms wide in a gesture that suggested that the workaholic give up now.

The workaholic only stared at him, nonplussed. As he knew Chinese, he understood the words that had been said to him; however, he had no idea why the weirdo in front of him had suddenly told him all this!

"Fine, fine. What I'm trying to say is, you do you, okay? Return to your job as a teacher and work overtime; continue acting like a noob's clutch and reinforcement in the mobile game. You know, do you best to help other Heroic Spirits so that they can finally deal some real damage," Baiyi said, this time without mincing words.

The workaholic was speechless. He certainly did not want to give up, but he could not fight this intruder.

"Look, don't you worry about your mission, as this war will have a happy ending. Even your useless superior is not gonna die in this war, neither has his girl fled with his Servant, so there is nothing for you to worry about, is there?" Baiyi waved his hands impatiently, dismissing the workaholic the same way one would dismiss a kid. "Go on, go! You're about to become useless in the game, you know that? Methinks you had better take these last few opportunities to show off the best abilities and skills in your arsenal before a certain flower spirit joins the game's character roster! I even think she's coming soon…

"Here's a final bit of advice: please, train harder when you return home. Do you know how awesome and brilliant the historical Kong Ming was? You're not even worth one-tenth of him, which is why you will lose to that flower spirit. Alright, shoo. Remember what I have said."

The workaholic's body began to shimmer as it disintegrated into motes of light. Wearing a look of reluctance, the workaholic, who was moments away from dissipating completely, cried out, "Please, at least let me know your name!"

"I am… middle-aged couple* through Hypnosis (while also helped in fixing their broken relationship), Baiyi compelled them to take a honeymoon out of the city while leaving the house for Baiyi to stay. For good measure, Baiyi compelled them to leave a large stack of money, as well as a few credit cards, too.

Baiyi tossed the loli assassin aside and hurriedly dove into a room filled with video games — he had not played video games for thousands of years. After a few minutes of looking around, however, Baiyi smashed all the consoles in a fit of rage and cursed out loud, "Goddamned Nintendolts."

Now that Baiyi had no video games to play, only the loli assassin could entertain him. He went out of the room and returned moments later with the assassin, after which he released the Binding spell he had placed on her.

The moment the assassin woke up, she began to bawl, understanding that there was an unbridgeable gap in power between her and Baiyi. She looked really unwilling, but she knew better than to act unruly.

"I'll get us some oranges. You stay here and don't move while I'm gone," Baiyi said and left the house, which was a bungalow. He had gone off to buy himself new gaming consoles.

The little loli assassin obediently remained where Baiyi had left her, without moving a muscle, which was not due to a lack of trying. When she had tried to move earlier, she realized that the house had been fortified with a ton of unbreachable barriers.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

428 Baiyi“s Servant s

At dawn the next day, Baiyi returned to the house and was pleased to see that little assassin had not moved from her spot. He had not expected her to be quite the docile cutie.

He tossed a bag over to the girl and said, "I did not find any fresh oranges, so I opted for orange juice and orange-flavored candy. They are kinda the same, aren't they?"

The loli assassin's face turned sour. Her gaze was not on the bag Baiyi had thrown at her, however, it was on his hands. One was holding up a large grocery bag filled with gaming consoles, which he had shoplifted, while the other was holding up another little girl by the scruff of her neck — the same manner by which a human would lift a kitty.

This little girl was unconscious. She looked quite adorable and festive. The clothes she had on seemed like something Santa Claus would like. Colorful ribbons adorned her hair, and two little Christmas bells hung down both her ears; she had used them as earrings. The little assassin was upset to see that the little girl's eyes were whirling because she had fainted — evidence that the little girls had suffered the same fate the loli assassin had.

How did Baiyi abduct the little girl, though? When he left the house, he headed over to a game shop, which he plundered. Afterward, he visited a convenience store, which he also plundered, albeit only stealing the orange-flavored snacks. Satisfied with his loot, Baiyi decided not to return to the workaholic's house so soon; after all, the night was long, and it was not prudent for a man to play with a loli so late at night. Hence, Baiyi hurried to a hotel where the president of a certain Mage Association was currently booked.

Baiyi had already promised the workaholic that the upcoming Holy Grail war would have a happy ending, so he had to do his best to achieve this. The best way with which he could go about saving the workaholic's superior was to first steal his Command Spells; only then could he convince the man and his wife-to-be to go home.

Baiyi's plan did not go as smoothly as he had thought it would, though. The president, true to his prestige as the leader of a large association of England-based magi, was adamant on putting up a fight, using a weapon which automatic defense and offense capabilities. This weapon was made using mercury. Unfortunately for the president, he did not get to use his weapon for long, for Baiyi had not wasted any time incinerating it with brilliant use of his Void Flames.

At a loss for what to do, the president finally activated his Command spell, summoning his Servant to his side. The little girl dressed in a Santa Claus-like costume appeared beside the president. The president turned to the little girl and lambasted her, "Where have you been, young lady? You were supposed to be here defending your Master's!"

"I'm so sorry, Master! I was out…watching the sea," the little girl replied, sporting a pitiful expression. She then directed a glare to Baiyi before pulling out a long spear, ready for a fight!

This was the reconstructed scene in Baiyi's mind:

Wild LOLI appeared! What will BAIYI do?

[1] FIGHT [2] CAPTURE [3] BAG [4] RUN

[2] CAPTURE has been selected.

The wild LOLI had been captured!

Wild LOLI is revolting against commands! What will BAIYI do?

[1] BRIBE WITH FOOD [2] FEATHER DUSTER [3] SWING HER AROUND [4] PRPR

[3] SWING HER AROUND has been selected.

The wild LOLI is unconscious!

Embarrassed that his Servant had been captured by the mysterious intruder right in front of him — the same person who had incinerated his mercury weapon — the president and his wife-to-be were demoralized. The wife-to-be had been already harassed by another man right in front of the president earlier — something Baiyi had no hand in. The couple quickly fled, leaving the city and returning to England. They had left behind the little girl dressed in the Santa-like costume behind with the mysterious assailant.

Back at the workaholic's house, Baiyi tossed the Santa-like loli into the arms of the loli assassin.

"Mm~ She's cute…" The loli assassin blurted softly, rubbing the Santa-like loli's cheeks gently as though the girl was a delicate, porcelain doll. The loli assassin wasted no time in pulling the unconscious Santa-like loli into a warm, tight hug, out of sympathy for the fate they had both suffered at Baiyi's hands.

"Remember, play nice," Baiyi said and walked out of the room. He headed outside the workaholic's house, into the garden that surrounded the building. This was where he would perform his next task: summoning his own Servant. From the gaming experience Baiyi had garnered thus far, he knew that this was not the best hour to perform a summoning, but he went ahead anyway; he wanted to get it done as soon as possible, preferably before the sun was completely up.

He drew a summoning circle on a plot of flat land, and then he threw the Holy Relic he had gotten from the workaholic to the center of the formation. After pondering for a bit, Baiyi decided to sprinkle a handful of peppermint-flavored candy into the summoning circle before he began chanting an incantation. .

Baiyi did not take this summoning process serious, though, as it did not matter to him who his Servant was, neither did he care if the Servant was powerful enough. To him, this was just a standard protocol for the plot; with the amount of power he possessed, he did not need a Servant to help him win the war.

He already understood why the Laws governing this universe were doing their all to expel him. Although this alternate Earth allowed the use of supernatural powers, which Baiyi's Earth doesn't, Baiyi's powers were off the charts, so it considered him a threat to the balance.

In the meantime, his summoning ritual was going pretty good. Blinding rays of light surged out from the summoning circle, generating a torrent of sparks. However, there were no magical halos, scattering feathers, and lightning bolts to be seen. When the bright lights finally dimmed, a gorgeous maiden sporting violet hair walked out of the circle. She was wearing a purple one-piece robe, which had a Hellenic touch to it. The fabric used to make it was wispy, which made visible the maiden's supple skin.

The maiden looked quite young — almost similar in age to the lolis Baiyi had abducted. She seemed demure, something that was further emphasized by the high ponytail her velvet hair had been tied into. She curtsied gently to Baiyi and spoke with a sweet, slightly high-pitched voice, saying, "I am your Servant, a Caster. Pleased to meet you."

'Another loli? I initially thought that only the Assassin was like this! Even the Lancer and the Caster are young girls now… Does anyone think this particular Holy Grail War is a bit, well, effed up somewhere?'

It was at this time that the Masters, who have been an eye out on everything related to the War, sensed a change at the workaholic's home. They immediately understood this to mean that the final Master had been chosen, and as all seven Masters had appeared, the Holy Grail War would begin!

However, none of them realized the slight errors in their assumptions. Firstly, two of the seven Masters had already been booted out of the server, and the game had yet to start! Secondly, they had been too quick to conclude that they were in the know regarding everything to do with their competitors — the other Masters.

Baiyi looked at his summoned Servant with joy. Although she was weak compared to him, she was moe, though! Although she was famous for being a little b***h in sheep's clothing, she was moe, though! When the maiden first laid eyes on her master, she had unenthusiastically given him a standard greeting, which, on closer examination, made the greeting seem insincere. She also seemed repulsed at the idea of getting along with her master, but, at least, she was still moe!

"Um, should I call you Caster, Lily, Miss C, or is there some other name you would prefer?" Baiyi asked politely.

"Whatever you please, Master. I'm happy just to be of service. Is there anything I can do for you?" The girl staidly asked.

"Hmm... What can you do for me, though? I mean, I don't need you to heal me, increasing my HP; I don't need you to make me a sandwich; I don't even need you to fight as I'm pretty good at that myself… Uh-oh, I don't think there is anything that you can do," Baiyi replied, voicing his thoughts. "Oh, right! Well, I'm gonna go out soon and abduct Duvet. Once I bring her back here, you can do whatever you please!"

"Huh?" The girl in purple dress was bewildered by the ramblings of her master. If she was not needed, why was she summoned? What did he mean by not needing her to aid him in battle? Did that not mean that she was only here to provide moe reactions? Furthermore, what the hell was a 'Duvet'? What could she possibly do with the thick bedding?!

"I almost forgot to explain. Duvet is just what we call her; her scientific name is Saber," Baiyi said. "Okay, I'm off now. Ta-ta."

With that, Baiyi vanished right in front of his Servant.

A second later, Baiyi reappeared and hastily added, "This time, I really did forget to say something. There are two people in there, and I think you'll make a fine playmate for them. Take care of them while I'm gone, and don't you mess anything up. Okay, that's all. Bye!"

This time, after he vanished, he did not reappear. The violet-haired Servant knew he had gone for good this time because, despite doing her best, she was unable to sense him anywhere.

"What...What the…?" The violet-haired Servant, who was also known as The Witch of Betrayal, looked as though she had been betrayed. Her master had vanished before her eyes without chanting any incantations or giving off magical undulations! Just what kind of person had she been assigned to? Was he a legendary magus?

With these questions in mind, the violet-haired girl walked into the house and spotted the two lolis already inside. They were just as adorable as she was, and she realized that these were the girls had master had told her about.

The Santa-like loli had woken up the moment Baiyi completed his summoning ritual. Being grabbed, spun around in circles till she fainted, and subsequently abducted, had left the girl shaken. Although she had not gotten used to being a Servant, she was still a dignified Heroic Spirit and should not be treated any different from a Pokemon!

When the Santa-like loli recalled how she had been spun around, nausea threatened to overwhelm her, and she covered her mouth with her hand to stop herself from hurling. The violet-haired girl rushed to her side and hurriedly asked, "Are you okay? Are you sick? You're not pregnant, are you?"

When the Santa-like loli heard the last question, she burst into tears. The monster that kidnapped her had severed the Magical Path between herself and her original Master, making the kidnapper her new energy upkeep and provider. However, this new arrangement should have been restricted to the supply of magic through their Magical Path. Surely, while she was unconscious, he would not have attempted to give her upkeep by "direct replenishment"[1], right? In other words, she absolutely should not have been impregnated, right?

"B-but I'm just a kid! I c-c-can't be a mother at this age!" Santa Loli sobbed.

"It's alright, okay? You're not gonna be a mother alone! We'll find a way to escape from that demon and live peacefully with your baby, I promise. You, in turn, only need promise me that you won't consider aborting the baby, no matter what. If you do, I don't think I will be able to stop myself from killing you," the loli assassin said, trying to comfort the Santa-like loli, albeit in a disturbing manner.

Shocked, the Santa-like loli instantly stopped crying. "R-really? You really will help me? B-but, how can we escape from him? He's so terrifying; I barely had any time to react before he captured me!"

"There, there. You're fine now," the loli assassin cooed, pulling the Santa-like loli into a tight embrace. "Everyone has weak spots; it is there that you can jab your knife into without facing much resistance from your targets. I'm sure he, too, has one."

The entire conversation left the violet-haired perplexed. What the heck had her master been up to before she was summoned? Where these girls not her master's Servants as well? How could an individual have three of the seven Servants? Wait, did these girls just say that they had been abducted? How did a human manage to abduct spirits?!

More importantly, why had he not killed them yet? Would keeping them alive help him win the war?!

Suddenly, the violet-haired girl recalled something else her master had said. He had told her that his next target would be a Saber-class Servant.

'Okay, what twisted logic does this man run on?' Her mind had begun to race. 'He's acting like a hoarder who has a very disturbing fetish… But, he's really powerful. Surely a magus this powerful will be above perversion, right?[2]'

What she did not know, however, was that her master, Baiyi, was only doing all these for fun. He had captured her and the other two because he found them cute. That was all, so in a way, his actions were actually pretty perverted.

Nevertheless, the violet-haired girl was still loyal to her master, so with a sweet smile, she hugged the other lolis and said, "Hello, friends. Was it just me, or were you two just plotting against my Master~?"

When the other two lolis saw the expanding violet aura surging from the violet-haired loli, they embraced each other and backed into a corner, their eyes quickly becoming teary. They looked ready to burst into tears.

Baiyi, on the other hand, knew not how his Servant planned to deal with the other two lolis. He was currently taking a stroll through the city whilst trying to recall the route to a certain school. It was at this school that he had been able to capture Duvet in the past.

Back when Baiyi had observed the family in the dojo, he discovered that neither Woes-Be-Me Father or the Hero of Justice were the strongest members of the family. The strongest members of the family were the beautiful wife and the little loli sitting beside her. Logically, their family would only pick their strongest member to participate in the war.

This was Baiyi was crouched on the rooftop of a certain elementary school, waiting for the white-haired loli to step into his trap.

However, when the white-haired loli finally arrived at the school, skipping happily, Baiyi was surprised to discover that there were no Command Spells on the back of her hand. As one who did not have Command Spells could not be a Master, the white-haired loli would not be the one to summon Saber.

Baiyi hesitated for a while. The white-haired loli was adorable, but she already had a loving family waiting for her back home. Hence, he really did not have to abduct her. He was not a human trafficker, was he?

Baiyi decided to go after go after the beautiful instead, who was grocery shopping at a supermarket — something a normal housewife would do. The beautiful wife held up a list of items and ticked the items she would use to make dinner. After spending a few moments watching her smile in content and happiness, Baiyi's gaze shifted to the back of her hand. She was not a master either.

"Well, well. I was wrong two out of two times. Who would have known that this part would be in line with the original story," Baiyi said in the Void and waited for his own teacher to respond.

The response he expected never came. Puzzled, Baiyi's consciousness poked the Archmage, and he realized that the First Walker was murmuring to himself.

"How… Why?! Why were all of the characters he met golden class? Could it be… Could it be that my student's luck has eclipsed mine?! Doesn't that just mean that he has surpassed his teacher in every aspect?! Goddamned it; how do you expect him to still respect me now?!"

'This geezer really has lost it. I'll just ignore him.'

Having made two wrong guesses already, Baiyi hurried back to the family's dojo and observed the Woes-Be-Me Father, who was sitting in the sunlight in a position that made seem like a dead fish being dried. When Baiyi realized that this man was not a Master either, he finally realized that the family had decided to place the burden of war on their eldest son.

"Suits me just fine. You're the protagonist, the source of all Nuclear Wars[3], and the king of the Lore, aren't you? So, it's time that I pay the MC a visit."

At that moment, the Hero of Justice, the eldest son, was studying at school, oblivious to the fact that he was being targeted by a force of True Black Evil. A strange aura descended on his class, and all his classmate and his teacher immediately toppled forward, like stalks of wheat blown over by heavy winds.

The Hero of Justice was only one still conscious, at this point.

Suddenly, the classroom door was kicked open, and a beautiful girl with raven-black hair frantically ran in and cried, "Our school has been covered by a strange barrier! Stay alert!"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

429 Baiyi“s Great Plan

Barely moments after the girl screamed out a warning, a palm appeared out of nowhere and struck her neck, knocking out her instantly. The girl toppled forward, leaving behind an average faced man standing behind her.

The mysterious intruder glanced at the Hero of Justice and demanded, "Summon your little Servant right this instant, or I'll kill your teachers and classmates!"

As a protagonist and a hero in the pursuit of justice, the young man would, naturally, never let that to happen. He screamed "Noooo!" at the top of his lungs — a protocol many protagonists followed — and a stunningly beautiful girl in a white dress and black socks appeared in between the hero and the average-faced man. The beauty, who was as fair as an angel, gripped the hilt of her long sword and pulled it out. Its golden blade emitted a chilling glint as the beauty assumed an attack stance. "Do not be afraid, Master. I may not be used to my duties as a Servant, but I shall— Huh? What is this? W-wait, whaaaaaaaaaa—"

It was not unexpected that this Servant, who was not used to her duties, had not even mastered the act of completing her proclamations. She had been swiftly captured by Baiyi, who had used his 'Noble Phantasm', which involved him spinning his targets until they lose consciousness.

"Tsk! I came here expecting Duvet, and this is who I got? This isn't a Duvet; it's a Blanket! Does no one really plan on talking about the fact the Servants I have come across, thus far, are either loli versions of their original selves or outright lolis? Has not a single one of you reached Stage Four of your evolution?" Baiyi mumbled, examining his newest abductee. Without further ado, he hoisted her up onto his shoulder and turned to leave.

"Stop!" The Hero of Justice shrieked, "Put that girl down!"

Baiyi stopped and glanced back at the young man. However, how he did this was eerie; only his head made a shocking 180-degree turn — something only Mr. Owl had done in the past.

The Hero of Justice gasped before stuttering, "Y—y-your head! Wh-what kind of a f-f-f-freak are you?!"

"Damn it; my armor has gotten a bit loose," Baiyi mumbled and adjusted his helmet, after which he turned around. "Where was I? Oh, right; no offense, but you can't make it. Your magical energy is inferior; you can't even supply enough energy upkeep to your own Servant via normal means, so you resort to the heavy-handed method of 'direct replenishing'. Think about the aversive effects it will bring to your health! Therefore, you should just let me take care of her."

"No, you freak! Let—her—go!" The Hero of Justice bellowed. He grabbed a sheet of paper on the desk in front of him and rolled it till it had taken the shape of a baton. The hero then used his Mageraft on the paper baton, making it as hard as a steel pipe. Only then did he lunge at Baiyi in fury.

However, before the Hero of Justice could swing his weapon, Baiyi's fist had made contact with his nose, sending him flying backward.

"D-damn it… I could not even perceive… his movements!" The Hero of Justice held his broken and bleeding nose with one hand, using the other to prop himself back to his feet. The gaze he now directed contained a hint of fear.

"You're indeed very strong… Stronger than anyone I've ever met. Are you even human?"

"Nah; I'm a Servant," Baiyi indifferently replied. "A Servant brought to this world for the glorious purpose of ending this war. You may call me by my class name: Teacher."

With that, Baiyi and Blanket, who was still unconscious, vanished into thin air.

"Teacher, huh? I had no idea…that such a Servant class existed in this war," the Hero of Justice murmured to himself.

Before he could gather his thoughts, however, his fatigued knees gave way, and he slumped to the ground. When the Hero of Justice's bleary eyes fell on his unconscious classmates, the young man hurriedly got to his feet and rushed over to them. Fortunately, they all seemed to be asleep. Some of them were even drooling, and puddles of saliva had formed underneath their lips.

'Teacher — the incredibly professional Servant class, knew not to harm students on a whim!'

With the unconscious Blanket in tow, Baiyi returned to workaholic's house. He walked in to find the three girls sitting in the living room, eating confectionary in a manner that made resemble three adorable critters [1]. When the girls saw Baiyi come in, the violet-haired girl, his Servant, quickly stuffed the rest of her cake into her mouth. "S-sorry, Master," she said sheepishly through a mouth filled with cake, "I got a b-bit curious about the taste of this thing, so I, um…"

This reminded Baiyi of a time that he caught a young Mia sneakily eating cake when she thought he was not around. It is in the same manner that the Servant had acted when he caught her red-handed.

The memory caused his expression to soften considerably. Out of his old habit, he patted the violet-haired girl's hair and calmly said, "It's alright. Take your time. I bought them[2] for you all to enjoy."

He passed a new bag of snacks to his violet-haired Servant. "Here, I bought this just now. When I thought of you lassies at home, I could not help buying it."

The assassin loli and Santa-like loli exchanged confusion-filled glances. Why was this demon, who had caused them so much terror, acting so kindly? Why were the confectionaries, which they had stuffed their pockets with, so delicious? Buying them candy, cakes, and cookies... Was all this a ruse to gain their trust?

These slightly positive thoughts soon vanished from their minds, as Baiyi shoved Blanket, the new abductee, at them.

"Keep an eye on this girl, Blanket, for me; don't let her run off on her own. She's a hard head, so you might need to prepare for a little trouble."

"Is she the Saber-class Servant?" The violet-haired girl asked as she hugged Blanket. "She's so beautiful! What's her name?"

"Probably something like 'Pendragon' or whatever, but I think Lily would suit her just fine," Baiyi replied.

"Oh! She's called Lily? That's my name too!" The violet-haired girl grinned. She then pointed at the Santa-like loli and said, "Her name is also Lily."

"That is not true! My name is Santa!" The Santa-like loli refuted.

"Alright, alright. Take it easy, and converse more cordially. Make sure your words do not turn explicit; we're tiptoeing on the line of copyright infringement here," Baiyi said and turned around, ready to head out on his next mission.

"Are you leaving already, Master?" The violet-haired girl called out, prompting Baiyi to stop. "What do you plan to do now? I really want to help!"

"My plan? Simple: I want to end this war, without you little whippersnappers tainting your hands with the blood of each another."

After Baiyi had said that, he disappeared.

The girls sank into a contemplative silence. From the onset, each girl knew that the others were also Servants like themselves, summoned by their respective Masters to kill each other, till only one remained in this Holy Grain war. However, after the short time they had spent with each other, the girls had come to realize that they were not so different from each other. This made them unable to reign in their shock at the cruelty of the missions their respective masters had intended for them.

"Do you think… Do you really think this big meanie will be able to pull that off?" The Santa-like loli, who had decided to call herself 'Santa', asked in a low voice as she inched closer to the loli assassin, her new friend, who she seemed scared of losing. Once the two were huddled together, they looked up at the violet-haired girl. They knew that this girl did not share the opinion they had of Baiyi, but they still considered her friendly and endearing.

"The experience I've had with magic makes me see that goal as nothing but a pipedream, but it possible that this limitation applies to everyone but him," the violet-haired girl replied. "Master is the strongest person I've ever met, so maybe…"

"If he does pull this off, should we still consider a bad guy?" 'Santa' asked in a low voice, and her friend, the loli assassin, remained silent as she had no answers.

Baiyi, on the other hand, had no idea that the girls he had abducted were beginning to see him in a new light. Although he would have preferred to stay back and play with them, there were important matters that he had to attend to.

What he had said to his Servant before leaving the house was not an attempt at showing off; he meant it.

As his thoughts shifted to the Holy Grail — the power source he intended to charge the War God's Sword with — he began to think about the magic behind its construction. The ability to bring a 'wish machine' like the Holy Grail to reality reminded Baiyi of a certain magic called "Spiritual Manifestation". This was something that the Voidwalkers' universe lacked, and no research has been conducted on such a thing. From the looks of it, this magic might be vital to the freedom of those trapped in the Void.

After all, the true motive behind the Holy Grail wars was the opening of a portal into the Vortex of Radix. Although the manner with which Radix presided over this universe differed from the way the Laws governed the Voidwalkers' universe, Spiritual Manifestation — which had been created, tried, and tested by the magi in this universe — served as an inspiration with which one could use to tackle the conundrum the Voidwalkers faced in their universe.

Baiyi also believed that another form of magic in this world, 'Parallel World Interception', could end up perfectly countering the Grandruler of Forgiveness's Law-altering power.

It had already dawned on Baiyi that his arrival in this universe would benefit him greatly. Aside from the enjoyment that he got from kidnapping lolis — and the fact that the powers of everyone in this world combined did not hold a candle to his — the amount of knowledge that a perceptive and scholarly sorcerer could obtain from the systems in this world would be greatly rewarding.

Had the War God's sword, as the Oracle Walker had put it, sent here at random, or did it seize the opportunity to take Baiyi somewhere that would prove helpful towards his long-term goal?

When Baiyi's thoughts shifted to the decisions the War God had made in the past, he began to consider the possibility that his arrival in this world was another one of the War God's schemes. The deity had sent Baiyi off to Duat to face off against the Grandruler without warning him about the latter's powers, and this had caused Baiyi to end up here. There were many things here that could benefit Baiyi, and once he returned, they would enable him to lay a smackdown on the Grandruler. Once he was done, he could then reclaim the War God's lost Law Fragment.

Although Baiyi considered the War God a "dumb god who just won't shut up", his arrival on this world would mark the second time he had fallen for the War God's schemes — something that had taken him a while to realize. This did not make Baiyi feel bitter, though; on the contrary, he approved of being used like this, seeing as this instance had benefitted him greatly.

Was his deity friend, the War God, who he considered a dumb and biased nag, actually someone that utilized every opportunity to dote on his messenger?

This was not the best time for Baiyi to think about these things, though; all he had to was wait for the truth to reveal itself. Right now, he planned to abduct all the Servants that could be summoned in this war, thereby stopping them from killing each other — something that would sabotage his plan with dominoes effect. Only then would he head to a certain castle, which was located on a mountain, to pilfer information on the creation of the Holy Grail.

If Baiyi had some time after that, he would proceed to London and see if he could steal some information on the Parallel World Interception.

To accomplish all these in just seven days, Baiyi had to move as fast as possible. He was currently hurrying over to the family that was famous for their fascination with worms. It was at their abode that he found the Rider-class Servant — an adorable loli who had a delicate face and long, disheveled purple hair. She had on a pair of white silk socks, with a questionable collar around her neck. When Baiyi found her, she had just woken up from her sleep, kneeling on her bed groggily while rubbing her eyes. It was as though she was waiting for someone to play with her. Baiyi considered her really moe and definitely worthy of being licked [3]. Now, this was the sort of girl that would grow up to become a clever and proactive 'big sister-like woman' with a little bit of a fetish.

Without standing on ceremony, Baiyi grabbed the girl and swung her around till she fell unconscious. He hurried back to the workaholic's house and dropped the girl off with the others he had kidnapped earlier.

When Baiyi put down the unconscious Rider-class Servant, he realized that Blanket had finally woken up. She was one of the most famous characters in her universe, and Baiyi knew all too well about her attitude. Although the current her had yet to experience betrayals and her kingdom in ruins — which should make the current her less distrustful and aggressive — she still behaved aggressively. This meant that the distrustful and aggressive nature was something she also had as a kid. Hence, Baiyi greatly limited his energy upkeep to her, preventing her from gaining enough strength to change into her armor or lift her golden sword..

Powerless, Blanket could only sit on the floor alternately. Her eyes shifted from the other girls, who were dining on confectionary, to Baiyi, who she glared daggers at.

When Santa and the loli assassin saw the new girl that Baiyi brought in, they quickly licked the butter off their hands and ran towards him. "Don't throw her at us! We'll just take her from your arms!"

When the girls gently took the new abductee from Baiyi's hands, the Fifth Walker said, "Take care of her, mmkay? Also, please share some of those snacks with your friends!" Suddenly, he pointed at Blanket and said, "Don't be fooled by her scowls. She loses herself in the face of food. She could even down a few bowls of rice in one sitting."

"You asinine knave! Is this how you treat your prisoner? I am a king; is this how you treat royalty?! Truly rebarbative! An uncouth ruffian! This is a display of savagery on the highest ord—oww oww!" Before Blanket could complete her tirade of abuse, Baiyi fired an ice pellet at her forehead.

"Could you be a bit more grateful? Do you have the slightest idea what captors other than myself would have done to you? I did not even touch you anywhere inappropriate, which is really pretty 'couth' and 'civilized' of me," Baiyi said.

He then turned his attention to his violet-haired Servant and said, "I'm surprised you did not do anything nasty to her (Blanket) while I was gone! I thought you would have changed her clothes into a white evening gown and tied her up shamefully and suggestively [4]."

The violet-haired servant's expression of confusion was her only reply.

"Never mind. You shouldn't learn something like that at a young age."

After that, Baiyi vanished once more, leaving behind Blanket, who was faced with a dilemma: retain her pride, or succumb to the temptations of those sweet cookies.

Baiyi only had the Berserker-class and Archer-class Servants left to capture. These two classes were more unique than the other classes he had captured thus far. They were famous for the large collection of terrifyingly strong Heroic Spirits in their possession. They were nothing like the Saber-class and Lancer-class Servants, Blanket and Duvet, whose units were weak. Hence, Baiyi had to take these last two attempts more seriously than he did the rest.

The abnormal changes that had occurred to the Servants had not escaped Baiyi's notice, though. Thus far, every Servant he had come across was not any more threatening than a porcelain doll. Baiyi had spotted the Berserker when he was taking a tour of the city; she now wears a bridal dress and has a horn protruding out of her head.

Baiyi reckoned that she would be easier to target than the Archer-class Servant. However, Baiyi decided to first visit the castle, where he believed he could obtain information on the Holy Grail's construction.

When he got to the castle, he realized that defenses had been set around it. It became apparent that the family who lived in the castle had gotten news of the 'Servant-napping' cases from the other Masters. The moment Baiyi stepped into the castle's grounds, a storm erupted above him and warmly welcomed him with bolts of green lightning.

"Ha! You're dead meat, stranger! Ground into ashes by my Berserker's Noble Phantasm already, I bet!" A dark-skinned loli, the Master residing in the castle, exclaimed confidently.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

430 Five Days Since Arrival

The moment Baiyi stepped onto the castle's grounds, the dark-skinned loli controlled her Berserker to use its Noble Phantasm to dole out a swift, lethal attack at him. The dark-skinned loli watched with glee as the bolts of green lightning destroyed the intruder's body before converging into a gigantic pillar of blinding light. This was the final stroke of her Berserker's Noble Phantasm.

"Ha!" The dark-skinned loli exclaimed haughtily. "Who called him a 'powerful and mysterious' magician? Faced with the power of my Berserker, all he could do was die! Victory in this Holy Grail war is ours, without a doubt!"

Out of habit, the dark-skinned loli spread her arms open to hug her Servant, but when her arms were inches away from the skin of the Servant, the dark-skinned loli lept backward. She looked as though she had just received a mild electric shock even without skin contact.

"Gah, it burns!" The dark-skinned loli yelled.

"If we cool her down first, your fingers won't burn on contact with her," a voice helpfully said.

"Ho, that's smart! I'll go get us some snow!" The dark-skinned loli's ears perked up, and she began to run in another direction; however, she froze after a few steps and turned around mechanically.

Her gaze fell on a bizarre-looking suit of armor, and out of the corner of her eye, she spotted her 'mighty' Berserker standing within a large chunk of ice. The suit of armor waved at her, and a smile broke out on its face mask as it said, "Hi."

The dark-skinned loli had fallen into stunned silence.

"Tell me everything you know about the Holy Grail, including the method used to construct it, the magical system behind its operation, and how it brings the unreal to reality," Baiyi asked directly. The dark-skinned loli was levitated into the air; at a time unknown, Baiyi had bound her with a Binding Spell, and soon, her eye was level with his. The Binding spell that Baiyi had used on the dark-skinned loli was a special one; every time she struggled, a wave of pleasure would assault her body. Hence, after struggling for a bit, the dark-skinned loli was completely red.

However, she remained unyielding. In answer to Baiyi's question, she spat at him. "Ptui!"

"A tightlipped little girl you are, huh? I guess tearing down your beloved Berserker, piece by piece, would be the most effective way to convince you," Baiyi replied. He punctured the chunk of ice and grabbed the Berserker's arm, and with a hard yank, he pulled it straight out of her shoulder.

The dark-skinned loli's face darkened as despair overwhelmed her. She knew that spirits could use their magic to recover from all forms of injury, but she could not bear to watch the Berserker, her only friend, get tortured this way. The stranger placed the arm back at the hole on the Berserker's shoulder, and when the arm fused back into the shoulder, he yanked it off again. He did this over and over again, and the little girl could only watch.

Soon, the dark-skinned loli gave in and told him what he wanted to know — the directions to a secret chamber in the castle, where centuries worth of knowledge was stored.

When Baiyi reattached the Berserker's arm, he said in admiration, "Man, this is a pretty slick marionette. Look how effortless it was to detach and reattach its body parts…"

This was when the dark-skinned loli realized that the Berserker was technically an for visiting.

"Do you swear that THAT is the source of the big meanie's power?" Santa, who was standing in front of a cabinet much taller than her, asked whilst staring at a feather duster atop the cabinet. It was this feather duster that Baiyi had used to 'educate the loli assassin. After that, he saw no more use for it and placed it up there.

The assassin loli, on the other hand, was now obsessed with that object that had brought her so much pain, and she had decided that it was a very powerful weapon.

"Believe me, that weapon deals a lot of damage when it strikes the body!" The loli assassin whispered. "But if we manage to steal it from him, we'll have the power to fight him!"

"That cabinet is very tall, though, and we are very short; how are we going to get it? We barely have enough magical energy to move around, let alone use our Noble Phantasm," The purple-haired loli, acting as the current Rider-class Servant, asked quietly.

She had introduced herself to the others as Anna. Although she had joined them to feast on the confectionaries, she did not participate much in the girls' discussion. The moment the girls decided to enact their escape plan, she volunteered to help.

"If that tall person in the white dress had agreed to help us, then this would not a problem!" The loli assassin muttered, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in her head, and she said, "I know! Let's make a human tower!"

The girls moved immediately. Santa, who had more brawn than the others, was the base of the human ladder; the shy Anna formed the middle section, and the top of the ladder was the loli assassin.

Unfortunately, the cabinet was still taller than their combined height. Even with her toes strained, the loli assassin found herself barely touching the feather duster.

"J-Jack? P-please hurry, I can't hold this for much longer," Santa said quietly.

"You can do it! Hold on a little longer; I just need a little… more…" The loli assassin stood on her toes whilst raising her tiny hand as high as she could, trying to reach the feather duster.

Anna was the first to lose her strength. "I-I can't do it anymore!" Her knees gave way, and she fell backward. The loli assassin also lost her footing and fell. Both girls crashed into Santa, and the cabinet soon followed after them.

Ke-rash!

"Oww! Ahh!"

There was a flurry of steps as Baiyi shot down the stairs. Upon seeing the three girls knotted together, he asked, "What are you girls even doing?"

Anna was the first to recompose herself. She instantly grabbed onto the fallen feather duster and pointed it at Baiyi, growling, "Big Meanie! Your weapon is no longer with you—you can't control us now! Release us at once!"

Baiyi was so amused that he said nothing. Instead, he pulled out two more feather dusters from his storage pouch and wielded each on his hand before brandishing them like swords. "What was that?" He asked loudly. "What did you say? Louder please!"

He started walking towards the girls slowly. The girls, in return, burst into tears, thinking that he was really going to kill them.

Unexpectantly, though, he merely bent down towards them and poked on their puffy cheeks. "I'm doing my best to find a way to end this world without having you girls pit against each other, you understand? I'm too busy to play games with you," Baiyi said gently. "Now, can I expect you girls to be a bit more understanding so that I can do my work in peace? Or do you girls really long to kill each other in the Holy Grail War?"

The three lolis gave a quick glance at each other before hanging their heads.

"Alright, now go play," Baiyi said, ruffling their hair before starting back up to the stairs.

"Aww… Big Meanies is so… nice! B-but that's not how he acted when he caught me—he was horrible back then! I'm so confused…" Santa was the first to break the silence after he left.

"I heard from Black Chloe that even when he was capturing her, he did not kill anyone either. All he did was taking the books with him. In fact, I think he didn't kill anyone when he caught me too," Anna added sheepishly.

The loli assassin, who was the first to be captured and the only one who had ever tasted the power of feather duster, lowered her head silently.

Just like that, the lolis stopped trying to escape, which relieved quite a deal of troubles off Baiyi's shoulders enough to focus more on his research. Sometimes, he would go out and buy more snacks and even little girls' favorite plush toys home, treating these little trips as his breaks.

He wanted to play these little girls, but time was running out fast, and the knowledge concerning the Holy Grail was a larger academic endeavor than he had expected.

Fortunately, the captives seemed to be at peace with her new lifestyle by now, especially since instead of thinking of ways to kill more effectively or their fate in the Holy Grail War, they could just play, eat and sleep however they wanted as if they were a rich woman's pet piglets. Well, it was not exactly a bad way to live, was it?

Sometimes, and quite understandably, the girls wished they could go out of the house since staying at home all the time could be pretty dull.

There was also an arguably minor yet a bit upsetting issue too — Black Chloe was quite a little pervert. With the excuse that she knew everything the most just by being an Einzbern, she kept trying to give every girl a kiss on the lips. For that, Baiyi had given her quite a few painful lessons.

Baiyi finally made some headway in his research by the fifth day since he arrived. He gleefully went downstairs to announce the good news to the girls only to find Black Chloe pressing Blanket on the edge of the couch, her hands caressing the latter as her lips closed in...

"Aah oww!"

The dark-skinned loli rubbed her forehead — which had just been assaulted by an ice pellet — with her hands as she scowled at Baiyi, "You ground me here in this house and now you keep stopping me from having fun? What do you want for me?"

"I would like you to play something more holistic, like them," Baiyi said as he pointed at Santa and Anna immersing in video games. "Look at that! Now that's holistic love!" [3]

He had barely finished his sentence when he suddenly felt that something had attacked his home. Telling the lolis to stay safely within the house, he bolted out of the door — in time to see the Hero of Justice, his Woes-Be-Me pops, his stepmom, stepsister, and two of his classmates who each shared a complicated relationship with himself.

They were standing right at the gate to the workaholic's house with daggers in their eyes.A quick refresher: This Berserker's True Name is the Frankenstein Monster…'Nuff said.There is an alt form of this Berserker of Black where she dons a swimsuit. Perhaps this version of her actually have more words than grunts?The Einzbern family are very fond of artificial humans. Their maids are capable of acting as protectors and guards because they are magical androids (in a sense).A period of time on Nasuverse's Earth when "the laws are not based on Physics but based on Mystery".As one of the most ancient magi family and the inventor of the Holy Grail System, an Einzbern would of course be the most knowledgeable.Black Chloe, in her own story, once replenished someone's magical energy through a kiss.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

431 Why Don“t You Go Home With Me?

"Give me back my Saber!" The Hero of Justice bellowed furiously.

This reaction cracked Baiyi up a little. With a smile, he directly asked, "How do you expect to win without the help of a Servant? Do you really think I won't kill you?"

"Hmph! There's something you don't know about our Emiya family; we are filled with heroes!" The Hero of Justice cried.

He cast his jacket aside and activated his Bounded Field, turning the area around Baiyi into "Noble Phantasm". It seemed incredibly deadly, but if one closely examined Baiyi's ripples, they would realize that he was pelting them with woks, pails, buckets, bowls, plates, blankets, bedding, feather dusters, chalks — things that could be found at a hardware store and bookshop, not weapons like swords and spears.

These were the household items that Baiyi had kept in his storage pouch for years, using for his day-to-day activities. This spectacle was nothing more than a trick Baiyi came up with. In reality, Baiyi had hidden his storage pouch behind a golden shroud made using light and illusion magic.

In reality, Baiyi only had three weapons: the Saint Quartz Staff, the War God's sword, and the Book of Servitude. The Saint Quartz staff was nothing more than an oily green staff — thanks to the Lich Walker — and the War God's sword, which had no power, was worth no more than a stick. The only useful weapon he had was the Book of Servitude; using it for these people would be too cruel of him.

Although this "Noble Phantasm" was just a trick and waste of time, Baiyi was still okay doing it. He had finally gotten the chance to visit Earth, albeit an alternate one; what kind of father would he be if he did not bring souvenirs back for his kids at home? Now that he had emptied his storage pouch, he could fill it up with things he intended to take back home!

What should he take home, though? Baiyi wanted something simple, so he decided to buy a pack of 40cm butterfly-wing Night Safe sanitary pad. This item, which would be regarded as a luxury in the world of the Voidwalkers, should definitely delight the girls. [1]

Baiyi was just considering whether or not to rob a supermarket when the man in the red tuxedo finally made his appearance.

He was, without a doubt, Baiyi's final enemy — the Master of the Archer-class Servant!

"Hmph, Teacher-class Servant? All I see is a clown performing at a circus!" The man in the red tuxedo sneered when he saw the ground littered with household items. "Before my Archer, you're nothing!"

The man dropped down to his knees and said, "O great Archer, punish this person by ushering in his demise!"

Baiyi tensed up. 'This is it — the Servant-class with the highest number of ridiculously overpowered units!

This was not the only reason why Baiyi was alert. This alternate Earth possessed its own will called Gaia, which uses a metaphysical force called Deterrent Force to protect itself. As a being with more individual power than any other entity in this world, Baiyi was, without a doubt, considered a planetary-level threat; hence, in order to preserve its inhabitants, it was certain that Gaia would aid the man in the red tuxedo summon the mightiest Archer-class Servant, which would be a perfect opponent for Baiyi!

If Baiyi were to make the summoned Archer-class Servant, who had a great number of fans, look bad, he would be inciting the ire of something even more terrifying than the will of this Earth. [2]

Baiyi's mind was racing when a faint ripple appeared in the air, and a figure appeared out of nowhere, just where the ripple had been moments ago. This figure had a haughty smile on its face. Just as Baiyi's mind was racing, the air started to ripple very faintly before a figure gradually

The figure was not the shiny, golden-plate gay king! It was a beautiful little girl in a white dress. She was holding onto a bow!

'This is the best opponent this so-called "Deterrent Force of Gaia" could come up with? Did this supposedly canonical rule become useless because everyone forgot about its existence?'

"Ohhh! It's my Big Sister!" Little Anna, who was trying hard to hold on to the top of the wall, cried out. She moved about so passionately that Santa, who was once again carrying her friend, exclaimed, "Ouch oww oww! D-don't prance around! I'm gonna.. I'm gonna f-f-faaaaaalllll!"

Her knees gave away, and both girls she crashed onto the grass. When they hit the ground, both girls rolled down the grass, akin to two cubs playing with each other.

"Aha! Is Big Meanie finally going to fight the strongest Archer-class Servant ever? Oh yes!" The dark-skinned loli got very excited and pulled her Berserker to the wall distancing themselves from the area. The loli then climbed atop the Berserker's shoulders, ready to watch the big showdown.

When Blanket and the loli assassin heard this, they, too, rushed towards the wall and stood on their tiptoes, trying to look over it. They were discussing loudly about how epic the battle would be when Baiyi walked out the door. In his hand was the Archer-class Servant, who was already unconscious.

The dark-skinned loli turned pale. "B-but my intel states… my intel states that the Archer-class Servant is the strongest one of us! She's truly as the legends make her out to be, a true goddess! There was no way she could have been so easily..."

"Big~ Sister~!" Before the dark-skinned loli could finish, Anna lunged forward and grabbed the loli Archer-class Servant, who was close to her in age, from Baiyi's hands.

Baiyi, on the other hand, was still stunned. He had been this way since the Archer-class made her appearance. He found himself questioning the level of this Earth's intelligence, seeing as it decided to sic a loli on the overpower Baiyi, who was a planetary-level threat.

The loli Archer-class Servant had only her cuteness going for her. However, this same cuteness was something Baiyi could easily ignore, thus making it worthless.

The girls back on the Voidwalker's world knew this as well.

"Alright, girls, come over. There is something important I would like to talk about," Baiyi announced, looking at the little girls. 'This Holy Grail War is really wack,' He thought to himself. 'Not only did the timeline and events change, but the Servants also do not possess sufficient battle prowess. They are just cute.

'I didn't join a war; I joined an item-collecting game.'

"We may have spent a pretty short amount of time together, but I think it's been a delightful experience. Wouldn't you agree? After a few days of study, I am proud to announce that I completely understand everything behind the Holy Grail and its construction, which was enough for me to end the war in my way. I can assure you all that you will return to the Throne of Heroes without harm. The only regret I have is the fact that no one would be able to make a wish," Baiyi said. "So, I was thinking… maybe you should tell me your dreams, and I'll see if I can make them come true."

The girl who had the most animosity towards Baiyi, Blanket, spoke first. Her dream, which she had solemnly declared, was to become more mature. It was an easy dream to make come true. Baiyi beckoned her over with a wave of his hand, and when she was close enough, he headbutted her. The moment his forehead made contact with hers, he used Memory Exchange to share a bit of his life experience with her.

As she was a spirit, it was understandable that such an unsophisticated method like this worked.

"Urgh, my head! So many memories are in my head! Wait, what are these? The most auspicious time of a day to summon a character? How to summon the character you desire when the special summoning banners first came out? How to speedrun Chapter 7? What are — wait... There's more," Blanket exclaimed. "Yes, there's… this," Blanket muttered and placed a finger on her forehead. Blanket's eyes turned glassy for a moment.

A short while later, she murmured, "Is this my fate? Is this the fate of my country?"

"It's cruel, I'll admit. However, you'll end up much wiser after experiencing it; believe me," Baiyi replied..

Blanket was silent for a while before bowing respectfully. Her body began disintegrated into motes of golden light. Before she vanished, she suddenly blurted, "B-but what does 'Being in last place in both Four-stars units Tier Lists and Five-Stars units Tier Lists' mean? It feels terrible, but I don't see how this particularly painful experience of being seen as inferior in this 'tier list' would help me grow wiser—"

She disintegrated completely before Baiyi could answer her. Baiyi hurriedly used one of the Lich's spirit-controlling spells to bind her consciousness to a mug he had grabbed from the shelf closest to him.

"Mm-hmm, it really did work. Well, here we go — our Holy Grail!" Baiyi announced, waving the porcelain mug around.

"Um… That's my brushing mug, isn't it?" Little Anna muttered.

The other lolis did not have lofty dreams. Thier wishes were either very simple or very vague, and not even the girls themselves knew the details. When they had all gotten a chance to speak, Baiyi decided start from the simplest wish.

The Berserker's wish was the simplest to achieve, and that was probably because she could not even speak. Thus, Baiyi simply cut off her magical energy supply and sent her back to the Throne of Heroes.

The Archer-class servant, who was still unconscious, was next. Baiyi did not wake her up, though; he simply severed her magical energy upkeep and sent her back home. If one were to ask Baiyi why he treated her so poorly, He would say that it was because she was just a Three-star character.

The assassin loli's wish, which was to return to her mother's womb, was something Baiyi could not grant, so he sent her home as well. As for his own Servant, who wished to never be betrayed, Baiyi filled her head with knowledge about trusting boys, suggesting that she find a female saber to make a life partner.

The violet-haired girl nodded, even though she was somewhat confused. She sttod on her toes to give Baiyi a warm hug, commemorating the short-lived yet enjoyable Holy Grail War. After that, Baiyi sent her home as well.

At this point, only Santa and Anna were left.

"What were your dreams again?" Baiyi asked, reach out to ruffle their hairs. Santa, who was more wary than the other, avoided Baiyi's hand, but Anna, who was shy, stood still and allowed him to ruffle her hair.

"I… I don't want to grow up," Anna replied in a low voice.

"I want to watch the sea. Only after that do I want to transform into a bonafide Santa Claus," Santa replied.

"Alright, now, lemme see… Huh? Oh, lookie here; we have five Servants already. Well, that would do," Baiyi mumbled as he examined the mug in his hand, whilst counting with his free hand.

He did not need to bring forth the Great Grail in order to make a wish; all he needed was to puncture some holes between this reality and the Radix, through the paths created by the Heroic Sprits as they returned to the Throne of Heroes. These holes, in turn, allowed endless magical energy to flood into this reality, which Baiyi then directed to charge the War God Sword.

The entire operation did not require a lot of magical energy, and Baiyi was disinterested in trying to pass through these openings to reach their so-called 'Vortex of Radix'.

That also meant that he could retain two of the items in his collection.

"Well, lemme be the one to make your wish come true! How about the two of you return to my true world with me. You'll never have a need to grow up anymore, Anna; and you, Santa… Don't you think I'm qualified to be Santa Claus? You could actually become my protégé."

"W-what?" Both girls were startled.

"What, you don't believe me? Ending the war without bloodshed, a dream that even the Holy Grail could not achieve, has been achieved by me. That means I'm mightier than the Grail itself! Doesn't that also mean I'm a pretty good Santa Claus?" Baiyi tried even harder to fool the girls.

"Look, returning to the Throne of Heroes means returning to a life of idleness. Don't you agree? Why don't you go on an adventure with me, instead? There are a lot of marvelous things in the world I'm from, you know. There's a lot of fun to be had, a lot of tasty confectionaries to eat, a lot beautiful clothes to wear, and a lot of big sisters to adore you. I'm sure you will have a wonderful time!" Baiyi said.

The lolis exhanged a glance and pondered for a while before nodding, albeit hesistantly.

Only the dark-skinned loli was left now.

"W-what do you want? I'll be frank, mister; I'm not stupid, like those two. Fat chance if you think I'll say yes to joining y—aaaahh!"

Before she could finish, Baiyi forcefully hoisted her onto his shoulder and tossed her into a bedroom, after which he bound her to the bed using his mana.

"G-gods! I knew it! You bastard, you waited till everyone was gone before you gave in to your carnal desire, didn't you?" The dark-skinned burst into tears.

"Shh! I'm only going to examine the condition of your body, "Baiyi snapped.

"Don't you lie! All perverts say the same thing to fool little girls!" The girl retorted in dismay.

Baiyi, however, did not reply. He just scanned her with his pyschic energy. Since the Lesser Grail resting within her own body had not been used to collect the souls of departed Servants, the dark-skinned loli's body was in a good state. To ensure she remained healthy, Baiyi made some adjustments to her body using mana.

"Now, listen, there's no need to go back to the castle, okay? None of the people there actually see you as a human being. You'll live a better life with your adopted Daddy and Mommy," Baiyi advised before pushing open the bedroom door, knocking back the two eavesdropping lolis. With a loud crash, they both rolled all the way to the end of the room.

"Looks like we're done here, girls. Let's go," Baiyi said.

"Where to?" Santa asked.

"Didn't you say you wanted to look at the sea?" He asked before leading the two out of the house they had called home these past few days.

The dark-skinned loli sat straight and examined her skin a little, to make sure she had not been touched. For some reason, when the Big Meanie had been examining her body, his gaze was quite intense. In that moment, she felt as though her entire body was being licked! 'Gah! That is so disgusting! Was that feeling just a hallucination?'

Baiyi's schedule was tight. He led the girls to the beach for a quick stroll, and then he booked a flight to London for a meeting with an elderly scholar.

Before he was due to fly, he went around the city, shopping, and in almost no time, he had filled up his storage pouch.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

432 Wait, What The Heck Did I Miss?!

Baiyi had fun with the girls until the evening. Afterward, he used Hypnosis on a local mogul, making the latter allow him to take a flight to London via the latter's luxurious private jet. When they arrived in London, they checked into a hotel. Baiyi left the girls at the hotel to entertain themselves and hurried to the Clock Tower, where he was scheduled to meet a mysterious old man.

Both men did not fight, though, as they both knew how much of a waste of time it would be. for visiting.

"?!?!" The heck?! Fever! She must be having a fever right now!

"She looks e-e-exactly like Laeticia!" Mia cried as if she was on the very edge of bawling. "Mr. Hope, I can't… I can't believe that you would do something like this!"

'They just looked similar; it doesn't mean anything! Why did you even go there?! Even if I wanted to give in to my carnal desires, well, I would never do it to Laeticia anyway! Baiyi's mind was practically screaming in a frenzy. For f*** sake, even if I wanted to give in to my carnal desire… I can't! This thing doesn't come with my manhood intact!!!'

By then, Laeticia had made it to Baiyi's house, and much like Mia, the first thing she saw upon entering the house was also her several-age-younger (or even her herself when she was a just a child) doppelganger. With the same struck-by-lightning face of shock, she asked in a monotone, "Mr. Hope, where did you even find my lost-lost little sister?"

Why did you go that way too? Okay, so at least you have a bit more sense than Mia to think that she's your daughter by me or something… But seriously, is blood relation the only thing you people could come up with to explain the similarity in looks?! Does everyone automatically looks for an explanation from that angle? Baiyi snarked quietly to himself before explaining the origins of his two latest additions.

"Huh?!!" Mia and Laeticia exclaimed cried out in unison. They never thought that these two no older than elementary schoolchildren girls were war-fighting Servants, just like the other ones featured in Baiyi's stories.

With their interests piqued, Mia wrapped her arms around Anna while Laeticia pulled her little doppelganger into her own embrace. They remarked in concerted delight, "Nobody said that Servants are so adorable!"

Then, they both gave the two lolis a loving facial rub with their own cheeks. Baiyi had not even done anything like that yet and his two girls had already done that.

The two lolis were initially quite frightened at all of these new places and people they were thrust into, but they seemed to be quite fine with Mia and Laeticia, almost as if they thought the two girls were more trustworthy than the Big Meanie himself. Maybe this was the result of the puerile idea concept of "beauty equals goodness" many children typically believed in?

Regardless, Baiyi remained unperturbed that his two lolis had gotten snatched from his hands by his own students. "Mia, can you tell me why are you here? My absence was no more than a month, which means your practical training should not have ended yet, yes?"

Mia and Laeticia shot each other a quick look before turning back to Baiyi with confusion written all over their face. "You really don't know anything, Mr. Hope? Where... did you go?!"

The way Mia flexed her words stunned Baiyi a little. Did something big happen while he was gone? He had not been able to review his collected memories from the Voidwalkers earlier because the Warrior-shaped Huffing Piggy had interrupted him in reality, so he had no idea what had happened over these two weeks.

Meanwhile, his other students and the Pseudo-Descended Voidwalkers had arrived at his house. They all asked questions about his absence, harping on the fact that Baiyi had been missing during a critical, realm-threatening event.

"Ladies, gentlemen, please! Let's leave my side of the story aside for now and tell me what happened while I was gone, please?" Baiyi said above the din, waving his hand to calm the crowd down.

"Isythre... was invaded by Duat through an all-out war," Vidomina replied somberly. "Although the threat has been defused, we had suffered massive casualties..."

That was the biggest shock Baiyi had received thus far. While he was playing the "Loli Holy Grail War" in the other universe, his own home had just undergone an Inter-Realm War!There isn't a character in the story that I can confidently identify as this "old man" specified here; My bet is on Clock Tower's 2000 years old Director.Author-san did not specify what "uncanny magic" is being referred, but it's likely related to parallel world traveling… Maybe opening a porthole to the other world?*That spewing black mud from the Holy Grail is a corrupting force, capable of corrupting anything that came into contact with it "into the orientation of evil" (so says the wiki). When someone is corrupted, they are called "Blackened".Idiot Hair is a sort of cowlick, but distinctively anime because it's supposed to signal a shred of a character's dumb-moe personality!This is the Angra Mainyu, the "destructive spirit" of Zoroastrianism. In this lore, it's some sort of complete EVIL (TM) (C) (R) trapped inside the Grail.As mentioned a few chapters earlier, Santa is an alter ego version of Jeanne d'Arc, who was the template/basis for the character "Laeticia" here. In fact, Laeticia is originally the host body for Jeanne back in Nasuverse!

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

433 Each Battle, From Their Own Perspective

Baiyi asked everyone to be quiet and wait for him to sieve through the memories they sent him. He pieced together the memory fragments he got from the Voidwalkers and Vidomina to obtain a clear picture of what had happened while he was gone.

After sending Baiyi, the biggest obstacle to his conquest, away to another universe very far away, the Grandruler used what was left of the Law Fragment to launch a devastating blitzkrieg on Isythre without giving the Voidwalkers a chance to warn the residents of the realm.

The Grandruler proved that he had some cunning to go with the immense power in his possession; instead of sending armies of undead into Isythre, typical of an undead invasion, he superimposed Duat directly onto Isythre itself — something he had tried on the two villages from before!

It was an unprecedented phenomenon, unimaginable to the ones who had never experienced it, and nigh-indescribable to ones who had. When Duat was superimposed onto Isythre, both realms became tangible and intangible, at the same time, like mirages phasing through each other. Mountains were overlaid whilst existing independently. The ground of both realms merged with each other, but they were still separate entities; their colors were easy to tell apart. Some mountains appeared atop clouds, while rivers coursed through ruins. The cities were undamaged, but they were now situated at the center of a barren wasteland.

The entire realm of Isythre had become corporeal, and both realms shimmered and shifted between each other erratically. It was as though this perpetual-transitional state would collapse at any moment.

The uncertainty of the world around the people of Isythre unearthed a primitive existential fear from the depth of their hearts, causing the masses to fall into uncontrollable hysteria. Amidst the chaos, the undead swept through the realm with their weapons drawn, reaping through people as though they were cattle. Heads and limbs were chopped, and rivers of blood rushed down the streets.

Current estimations placed the number of casualties at about fifty million people. Those that died in Isythre rose up and joined the armies of undead, picking up weapons and blindly slaughtering the living, be it family, friends, or loved ones. More than thirty major cities had been completely decimated, their ruins painted scarlet by the blood of its previous inhabitants.

Fortunately, the inhabitants of Isythre, despite being unprepared, managed to win a war they had not even been prepared for. The road to this monumental feat was a long and complicated one, and it is best to start from the beginning.

Placing each perspective in order, according to the time it had occurred, the war could be said to have started almost immediately after Baiyi disappeared from Duat. The other Voidwalkers were promptly teleported to battlefields of their own.

Thanks to the Grandruler's strategic machinations, the Voidwalkers had all been separated from each other and had to fight a single vassal controlling an army of undead. Each Voidwalker was teleported right at the center of the undead army they were to battle. If they were ordinary Soul Armatures, in that situation, they would have been ground to metallic dust in minutes.

"Huh. How familiar this is, being surrounded by a sea of enemies…" The Hitman Walker muttered to himself as he drew out two axes from his storage pouch. With an ax in each hand, he began to spin, The blades were encompassed by combat chi, becoming golden combat chi blades, which only a Demigod-level warrior could produce.

From afar, it looked as though a gigantic golden lotus had bloomed amidst a horde of ghastly undead.

His enemies were launched into the air by his swift swings, their bodies fragmented in the air, before landing down in pieces like a storm around him. It took only a few seconds before an area of a hundred-meter was completely cleared; even the otherwise fearless undead stood on their grounds, refusing to fill up the opening as if they were terrified of his aura.

Only a being with the power of a reaper could elicit a modicum of self-preservation in what was already dead.

"You must have been a legend among warriors while alive," Galthran, the Skeleton King, murmured under its breath, waving its underlings to back away from him. "I have lived thousands of years to clash swords with a worthy opponent such as yourself… It is my pleasure to be that lucky skeleton for such an honor."

Two bone swords manifested in its hands out from thin air. They took the form of two claymores in each of its hands, hinting at the Skeleton King's own immense strength as a warrior for dual-wielding swords known for being too heavy to be held on one hand alone.

The Hitman Walker, however, shook his head upon hearing his opponent's assessment. Earnestly, he replied, "No, that's an easy mistake to make. I'm not a warrior, I'm an assassin."

His words barely left the air when he suddenly hurtled forward, the two axes in his hands completely encased in his combat chi dazzling so brightly they left two long trails of golden lights as the Hitman aimed right at the Skeleton King's head.

The Skeleton King was taken aback by its opponent's words, not understanding the impetus of making such a joke about his career at this moment; However, as a seasoned fighter, its instincts kicked in even when its mind was occupied — with two bursts of green undead energy surging into its own swords, it raised them to its head and blocked two axes just as they arrived.

The impact of two opposite forces halting each other caused an explosion followed by a deluge of shockwaves spreading out of the battlefield, dismantling whichever skeletons who had the misfortune to stand nearby into a bursting pile of bones and dust. Every time their weapons clashed, they created similar explosions of shocks.

In a span of minutes, the only thing that animated within the perimeter were the two as they fought among a sea of bony, ashen grey ruins around them.

"Tsk, tsk. How barbaric. Savages who know only to fight with their own hands will always lack the capacity to understand grace and reservation. So what if you were borne with greater strength than your peers? You still look like a stupid bull desperately trying to upend your enemy with no strategy beyond butting as hard as you can. There's no hope for simpletons like these to understand the mysteries of the souls, and the beauty of death which liberates them," The Lich Walker sneered, feeling the reduced shocks bursting from the violent clashes of weapons between the Skeleton King and the Hitman Walker in a distance.

With its metallic skeleton fingers curled around its borrowed Saint Quartz Staff, it stood on a dune surrounded by countless undead creatures who had all turned against their previous master. Then, turning its attention back to its opponent, the Lich Walker finished its remark, "I'm sure we agree on that, don't we?"

Its opponent — another lich standing at a distance — did not answer. Far from the Demigod Lich Walker's calm and composed countenance, the green flames of souls burning in this enemy lich's sockets were dancing maddeningly, as it tried to wrest control of the advantage in battle.

"Hmm, why the agitation? You would expect one who is already dead would be more sedate," The Demigod Lich mocked, amused at its opponent's distress. "Having learned nothing from death, why do you even dare go up against me?"

With a gentle wave of its green Saint Quartz, the Demigod Lich Walker commanded its subjects to attack their previous master.

Mordor was very much on edge. When it first saw the enemy its Grandruler had picked for it, the Lich King was quite excited to see its opponent bearing the same skeletal appearance with a staff in its hand like Modor itself.

Back then, the Lich King thought that its opponent was nothing but a contemptible imposter—a lich among the living could not possibly understand the art of commanding the dead as a lich who had lived with the waling dead. Hence, haughtily, the Lich King had said, "Ah, you pathetic fraud. Will you not try to entertain me? Please do enough, and I might just show you the true art of necromancy in my delight… And perhaps a miserable fraud like yourself would finally understand what it means to be a real lich."

The Demigod Lich, back then, had only one undead servant with it. When it heard what its opponent had said, the two orbs of green flames in the dents of its face mask cackled a little, as if it was laughing. "Wow, you're tough and brave huh, like a twelve-years-old gaming fortnighter in basement's mommy?"

Yes, it seems that a bag of old bones does occasionally want to learn something new, like snarking—but it still doesn't mean it's not bad at it. Case in point, this, Baiyi thought.

However, no matter how bad the Lich was in snarking, it was far from incompetent in the craft of the dead. The Lich King's soldiers had not even marched through half of the distance when the Demigod Lich lifted its green staff into the air—and the soldiers suddenly made a complete 180 in both attack direction and allegiance.

The Lich King was beyond shocked—in fact, its grey skull had paled into white when it happened. The flames in its eyes were blaring wildly as it cracked its head trying to understand what had its opponent done to so forcefully yet utterly assumed control over its very own soldiers. The worse thing about it was probably the fact that the Lich King was not even given the time to struggle for their control at all!?

Hence, the tug-o-war between the two liches began. Quite unfortunately, as time passed, more and more undead subjects and soldiers had accumulated around the Demigod Lich, effectively rendering the Lich King into a literal one-man army.

"H-how is this possible?!" The Lich King, who had marked its debut in this war with its fierce confidence, cried out in a squeaky voice, its previous kingly mien and badass boast ringing hollow. "How is a stupid imposter from the land of the living doing this to me?!"

"Hee hee, you'll never understand the sort of fate the undead had to face among the living. In fact, you won't even live long enough up there to know anyway, weakling," the Demigod Lich said. As it succumbed into a spine-chilling cackle, it waved its green staff and performed its favorite invention and most prized forbidden spell—Gehenna, updated version 1.3.

This newly-updated version of Gehenna was a lot more homely than the one the Lich had used back in the simulated battle with the Archmage; Instead of the looming, skyscraping mirage of the grim reaper, it now took the form of an adorable, smiling hammerhead shark plushie standing on its dorsal fins—yes, exactly like the one that Mia owned—but draped in ragged cloak with its head covered. On its two pectoral fins was a single scythe even taller than itself.

With a flap of its tail, the hammerhead shark reaper swung the scythe downwards onto the Lich King.

Just like that, Mordor, whose incompetence most likely laid in the fact that its life as a lich was too easy, had most of its own soul erased from that single attack. Although it did not exactly die—a lich of any kind would always know to separate their souls into parts, or place parts of their souls in a sealed soul container to protect themselves from being completely gone..

What the Lich King did not expect was the extent of Gehenna's might. Back when it was still struggling in the tug-o-war with the Demigod Lich, Mordor had gone out of its way to absorb every soul that had escaped from the soldiers in the hopes of increasing its own powers; However, as the more souls there were, the more devastating the damage Gehenna could deal, Mordor had inadvertently made itself even more susceptible to the strike, suffering such drastic damage that it could no longer fight.

"How fragile," The Lich murmured, waving its hand to summon the hammerhead shark reaper back to its side and caressing its head with its metallic skeletal hands.

Baiyi had to stop the flashback by this point. "Okay, why did you turn your forbidden spell into this? Or have we all been wrong about you, Lich, that you have always been a stand-up comic in secret?" He asked in the Void.

"The effect of the forbidden spell doesn't change regardless of its appearance, so what's wrong with that? Besides, this is something you plebs like, isn't it? Maybe with this, I'll finally be allowed to take in an apprentice," The Lich replied seriously.

Who in their right mind would want to learn how to summon a hammerhead shark reaper?! Baiyi snarked quietly before continuing to the other flashback.

Unlike the Hitman, who met his match, and the Lich, who completely destroyed its opponent—the Blacksmith's situation was a lot less swimming. He was never an offensive type who could fight in a battle, and so the only thing he had left was his weapons.

There laid his problem: his enemies are massive in numbers, while all he had with him were his cosplay props "weapons". When the battle became more and more heated, the Blacksmith very quickly understand the other, less badass side of using guns—when one ran out of ammo, a gun was even less useful than a bloody fire poker.

With his ammo completely exhausted and his magical grenades all used, the Blacksmith realized he had become utterly defenseless and without weapons, surrounded only by his " (literally) for display purposes only" props.

He shook his head as he eyed the piles of bullet shells and ammo scattering all around him, murmuring melancholically, "Let it be known that the pathos of my current battered state is integral to the beautiful romance understood only by men like me! With that, I take my leave, with my only regret being sacrificing a body my friends had poured in their effort to make…"

He dropped his magically-crafted fake assault rifle onto the floor, kicking up the empty bullet shells into a shower as the gun slowly sank into the mud as if this was its final rest.

Its master, the Blacksmith, was soon swallowed by the stampede of the undead, his body being torn and ripped apart with their bare hands—

Suddenly, the ripped parts of the armor blazed in dazzling white light before they erupted collectively, resulting in a skyrocketing mushroom cloud which gradually took out the undead with the ensuing chaos and fire.

For some reason, Baiyi did find it quite an epically sad, yet stirring and badass ending…

Of course, the Blacksmith's actual soul had always been inside the Void this whole time; he was never really there in reality, since he had only Pseudo-Descended, with his senses and experiences all simulated through magic not dissimilar than high-end VR technologies.

"So, what do you think, huh? Now, this is the sort of romance tailored to real men, huh?" The Blacksmith boasted haughtily in the Void. "A bit battered and rugged, sure, but I did destroy my enemy completely with my artistic self-detonation! I learned a lot from this fight, though… I now know that I should have made my students create even more bullets, grenades, and explosives! In fact, I missed out those sleek rocket launchers; That was why I lost! Hmm, but now it seemed that I would have to bring too many weapons with me… Maybe I should just make myself an Iron Man suit!"

Lessons my arse! All I hear is even more cosplay ideas—now with even more professionality!

The Blacksmith and the Lich had both ended their fights by this point, while the Hitman was still enjoying a fight with one whose strength was on par with himself. The only two Voidwalkers who had not been given the attention left would be the Scholar and Lady Assassin.

The Scholar's opponent, after being whisked away, was the Phantom King Charnal. Unlike their undead brethren, phantoms had a major disadvantage in physical attacks, but a proportionately higher advantage on attacking the enemies' souls on top of being adept in all kinds of necromancy and dark magic. Not only that, since phantoms were intangible souls, a lot of normal attacks became ineffective on them.

The most critical advantage to phantoms was that most normal people had no knowledge of protecting their own souls, which meant that they were very susceptible to the sorts of tactics phantoms employed…

However, as it turned out, the Scholar alone was enough to keep the entire army of phantoms and the Phantom King at bay as the two sides sank into a deadly battle of spells…

Why did the phantoms not use their most powerful attack—their attacks on a person's soul?

It would be foolish of them not to use it, but it was not because of a lack of wit—it was because they could not. The Scholar was never an actual battle mage, whose best environment was probably a library or an office cubicle, yet when the phantoms tried to attack her soul, clawing and howling as they rushed through her body, the Scholar was completely unaffected.

As a matter of fact, she stood exactly where she was, completely unmoving and unperturbed, as she continued to chant her incredibly long incantations.

Charnal was stumped. Even if one had an indomitable soul or whatever, they still cannot possibly be unscathed by hundreds of phantoms phasing through their soul, right? No matter how powerful that soul could be, someone should at least follow normal logic, right?

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

434 Don“t Look Down On The Fairer Sex

The phantoms' attacks did not land on the Scholar Walker's soul but a small part of Baiyi's consciousness. As Baiyi's consciousness was known for its immense power, the phantoms' attacks were akin to throwing eggs on a rock. Although this bit on Baiyi's consciousness was small, it was still a rock. No matter the type eggs thrown at it — be it chicken eggs, duck eggs, or even ostrich eggs — it'll end up a smashed mess regardless.

When the Scholar Walker easily tanked the phantoms' soul attacks, they were greatly embarrassed. What more could they do? They were no good in physical combat, but their opponent, who was in a suit of armor, was skilled at martial arts. In the end, the phantoms resorted to spellcasting.

They then tried to race the Scholar Walker in reading and spellcasting speed.

Although the Voidwalkers had always looked down on the Scholar Walker's prowess in combat, she was unparalleled in spellcasting. The phantoms immediately regretted their choice. The Scholar Walker was akin to a Demigod-level rapper, who could speedily recite her incarnation without getting so much a syllable or intonation wrong. Lines and lines of impeccable runes radiated from her, and thanks to her incredible proficiency in creating magical formations, her spellcasting speed was far superior to the phantoms'. It was beyond their expectations.

Furthermore, the Scholar Walker had access to the many wacky but devastating spells invented by the Voidwalkers, who had been bored for millennia in the Void. The moment the phantoms chose to fight with her spells, they had sealed their fates.

The Scholar Walker bombarded the battlefield with a variety of dazzling fireworks and blinding spells. After what could pass as high-level light pollution, the entire army, which consisted of millions of phantoms, were completely wiped out, by one person.

"W-what kind of monster are you?!" Charnal cried out hysterically. Its massive body had begun to dissipate under the effects of light magic — the magic most effective against ghosts and undead — like an ice cube's fate under a hot summer sun.

Charnal knew it had to escape if it wanted to keep on living, but the moment it tried to flee, an arrow suddenly pierced through the weakest point of its body.

The arrow exploded, and a chilling-blue inferno consumed the Phantom King completely.

"Yo, are you alright?' Lady Assassin Walker rose from the shadows, grinning at the Scholar Walker.

"Very gracious of you," the Scholar Walker replied calmly.

However, she was secretly eyeing Lady Assassin's youthful appearance with jealousy. The fact that not a wrinkle or speck of dust could be found on Lady Assassin's body was not lost on the keen observer, the Scholar Walker. The fact that Lady Assassin Walker looked so good that one would think she was not a part of the war, made the Scholar Walker's envy grow.

Truthfully, the Scholar Walker desired to use the Divine Leatthersuit just as much as the other girls did. However, it had been long since been agreed that the Leathersuit could only be worn by the women who shared some form of intimacy with Baiyi. As the Scholar harbored not a single hint of such affection, she declined an offer to share the Leathersuit with the Fairy Walker, the Warrior Walker, and the Assassin Walker.

"How are the others? Are they alright?" The Scholar Walker asked.

"I have checked around, and the Lich Walker was the first to finish its fight. The Hitman Walker is still partying with his opponent and the Blacksmith Walker… well, he's out of the game," Lady Assassin Walker replied.

"Overwhelmed already? That is rather reprehensible…" The Scholar Walker remarked quite scornfully.

"I know, right? When we get back, we'll force him to kill himself — through poison!" Lady Assassin Walker chuckled.

"And Hope?" The Scholar Walker finally asked about the strongest of the Voidwalkers, who deserved the least amount of concern.

"Well… Doofus is… not in a good place," Lady Assassin Walker mumbled, her expression darkening. "It was as if he had vanished from this world — no, universe. He didn't even respond when I poked him in the Void."

The Scholar Walker stiffened. "Wh-what do you supposed have befallen him?"

"I don't know. All I know is that the last place he's been before he went missing was likely that black castle over there. I'm going to find him."

The Scholar Walker was just about to offer her help as a backup when the Grandruler implemented its first move towards conquest. Under its power, Duat started to phase out from its original position and superimpose itself onto Isythre.

Naturally, the Scholar Walker was taken aback by the sudden change. She promptly assessed this new development, arrived at the general gist of their current situation, and said to Lady Assassin Walker hurriedly, "I'm afraid an unprecedented calamity had befallen Isythre. I must gather the others at once; You'll locate Hope in the meantime.".

Lady Assassin Walker was just as horrified at what she was seeing and knew the desperation of their situation despite having no inkling of the theories behind what had happened. She nodded her head curtly and immediately vanished from the spot, already sprinting towards the black castle where Baiyi was last seen.

On the way, she was arguing with the other two, the Fairy Walker and the Warrior Walker, in the Void. "Do you really think the three of us could really beat the lord of that castle, though? I mean, even Doofus had fallen prey into his hand!"

As the main wife and leader of the Three Huffing Piggies, the Fairy Walker replied in indignance, "Don't you dare suggest that the rest of us are as useless as you are, girl. We all know that he's a doofus; stumbling is what doofuses do. If he stumbles and finds himself in distress, we come up and save his a**. It's as simple as that!"

Lady Assassin Walker had no retort. When she first sensed Baiyi's complete absence from the Void together with the other two Huffing Piggies, the Fairy Walker instantaneously chastised her pretty harshly on how she was not only inept in taking care of their man, she was even inept enough to get herself thrust into an army of the dead.

Apparently, the primary wife always had a way of turning everything into the inferior wife's fault.

Stunned, hurt, and yet unable to retort anything, Lady Assassin Wakjer could only focus on escaping the undead soldiers around her using her true concealment technique. That was how she effortlessly evaded the sea of soldiers around her and checked on everyone else in the team — including the Scholar earlier — before departing towards the black castle.

Seeing Lady Assassin Walker being tormented again, the Warrior Walker stood up for her best friend. "Stop this. You know it wasn't her fault at all. Fie, our main goal now is to find that oaf and she's the best at it."

"Look, my darling's idiocy is quite contagious, so I'm just worried that our friend here has gotten stupider by staying with him for too long," The Fairy Walker replied with a shrug.

"No, she is only stupid when that oaf is around. He's not now," the Warrior Walker argued.

Lady Assassin Walker almost burst into tears.

Over the past ten years, these three women had been constantly embroiled in a hair-ripping, dramatic "discussion" (read: war) with each other on the topic of who should be a certain someone's rightful wife. Slowly, as the debate went on, the three realized that with Baiyi's chronic obliviousness and his irritating penchant to cast the world aside just because a pretty loli had appeared in his sigh, the three would never be able to hear an actual verdict from him even if the end of times had arrived.

Besides, they did not just have each other to worry about; they had to worry about real-life women such as that little dragon-lady who was "incompetent, useless, inept, unhelpful"… yet very young and good at acting cute, which was exactly the sort of thing a certain someone could not resist.

Even if the dragon-lady was not enough to pose as a major threat, there was also the problem with Baiyi's female students, who were even tenderer. Not only did they have to worry about the original cast, but their competitors also increased greatly since Baiyi started his school because now even younger, cute girls were in his proximity and many of them were just as damningly good at being coquettish, cute, adorable, beautiful, etc. The pressure these three female Voidwalkers felt just kept increasing!

In the end, the three of them understood that they had to compromise and band together to fight the threat of the outside world. Under the spirit of testy camaraderie, the three reached an agreement with a severe set of inviolable terms and conditions that Baiyi was not privy to. One of the most important item in the agreement was the bodysuit, which the three had agreed to share as long as there was always one of them in it and standing close to a certain someone to make sure that his eyes did not linger at any new girls to add into his collection.

This was also the true reason why a certain Grand Principle had not been able to bring even a single new cuter, more docile, and more talented female student into his collection…

Well, that was until the Grandruler accidentally helped him a little, as seen a while ago.

Anyway, there were very few things these three women could unanimously agree on, but this was one of it: they were going to make it big, and if possible, absolutely destroy the boss behind this whole scheme, rescue a certain someone, and show him the power of his wives!

After sneaking into the castle, Lady Assassin Walker scaled the entire building while concealed but she did not find her Doofus. All she saw was the Grandruler sitting on the throne in the main hall.

For some reasons, the Grandruler could feel her presence despite her techniques. He looked up and stared into the air and said, "Come out now. I know you're here."

Lady Assassin Walker was about to reveal herself when the primary wife butted in, "You're woefully useless at arguing, unlike me."

Hence, the Voidwalker unveiled before the Grandruler was the Fairy Walker, with her silver hair fashioned into a graceful, regal bun, her hands empty, her dress elaborative and pompous as the elite class' should. She looked like a noble lady coming forward to seek pardon for her husband.

A typical scene like this — a lonesome noblewoman appearing before the emperor pleading for a pardon for her husband — was easily the crucial beginning to the sort of videos a wise human would use incognito mode for.

However, that was not the case today.

"Give me back my man, you son of a b****!" The Fairy Walker yelled in righteous fury.

The Grandruler was stumped. He had seen a lot of women like the one before him — regal, gorgeous, noble-looking — and he had topped them all. However, this one before him not only looked different from the living women that he had ever seen throughout his life in terms of her physical features like her ears as well as her drop-dead ravishing appearance… She actually dared talk to him like that.

The Grandruler could not help but become a little bit aroused.

"This is the kingdom of the dead, Duat. And I, am the ruler of this land known as the Grandruler of the Dead. Who are you, o' fair lady?" The Grandruler said quietly.

"I'm just a poor damsel who had lost her beloved embarked on a quest to get him back," the Fairy Walker replied defencelessly. Emperor? Grandruler? Those titles meant nothing to her.

"Your beloved? Are you referring to the armor from before? …Interesting! Now, this is truly interesting!" The Grandruler exclaimed. "I must admit, your group is easily the most intriguing invaders I have ever met. Your beloved had made me fear for myself, you see, and I have never felt that way for a long time. On the other hand, you — a living woman — have stepped foot into Duat despite being fair and lively. You even managed to sneak around my castle without a sight despite your evening dress!"

"This is too intriguing! I am enamored with the mysteries you have brought, o' fair lady. Sincerely, I invite you to have lunch with me," The Grandruler added. "If you delight me enough, I may even divulge what had become of your beloved."

Upon hearing his proposal, the Fairy Walker burst into laughter, without the slightest bit of ladylike reservation or even care for her image. She had to take a couple of breaks to inhale as she cried, among bursts of laughter, "Oh… Oh my god, you're such a joke… And you don't even know that! Hahaha! You're even trying that s*** on me! Oh my god, this is gold… Look at yourself! You're so completely green you're like of patron saint of cuckolded men, and yet here you're trying to be a big boy doing NTR!?! Gahahaha!"

The Grandruler of Forgiveness was unsurprisingly perplexed at what exactly provoked her into such a fit, neither would he ever understand the issue of the color green as well as this "NTR". However, he was not an idiot as to not pick up the wanton obloquy and disdain in her laughter. With a furious sneer, a herd of bats started to flood into the hall before gathering together around the Fairy and transforming into hideous, bald vampires.

"It's frowned upon to be rough with a lady, nor am I foolish enough to think that you're just a normal damsel who cannot defend herself… But I warn you, you best wise up and behave," The Grandruler said fiercely before snapping his finger.

On cue, a few Revenants rose from the shadows within the hall, wearing a grotesque helmet with such a demonic and malefic design that would have terrified any normal woman.

The hall was never completely unattended; the Grandruler had summoned them when Baiyi was in the castle earlier only because he knew that these were nothing to the latter. However, his useless subjects would not be useless if their opponent was this weak-looking, dandy little noble lady.

The enemy was alone, after all. And she was just a girl.

However, the Fairy Walker was not only unperturbed by the sight of the undead guards closing around her; she was disdainful. "Oh, you shouldn't think I came here alone, punk."

"Switch," She murmured in a low voice, and suddenly the Fairy turned into a bodacious fay-like woman with bewitching black straight hair. With a soft battle cry, a burst of icy blue flames erupted from her body, incinerating the vampires closing in around her into ashes.

She turned towards the Revenants hurling towards her and extended her arms, her blue combat chi manifesting into a bow on her forward arm and three arrows on the other.

Then she leaped into the air, her body forming a graceful arch as her black hair spread out into the air like a gentle drape. Her vermillion lips opened and a soft cry escaped from it, "Switch."

The Warrior Walker transformed into the regal, queen-like Fairy Walker, who used the bow and arrows the Warrior had prepared for her by using the latter's combat chi and fired at the Revenants.

The three icy blue arrows glinted in the air before splitting into even finer, sharper, and—as displayed by how they punctured through the Revenants' heads and bringing them down instantly—deadlier.

After delivering a swift blow, the Fairy murmured in a low breath, "Switch." This time, her body vanished completely.

The Grandruler had not even gotten the time to recover from his shock when his eyes caught a faint blur before his eyes, and suddenly, a dagger was already on his throat.

"Hello there," Lady Assassin Walker's lips quivered slyly. "Gimme back my Doofus!"

"Gah, this goddamned bimbo…"

"Sigh…:

Back in the Void, the Fairy Walker and the Warrior Walker exclaimed at the same time.

Lady Assassin Walker seemed to remember something when she heard their laments and swiped her dagger hard at the Grandruler's throat, which the dagger easily and unsurprisingly slid through.

The realization finally dawned on her, causing her to stick her tongue out in embarrassment. The Grandruler was an energy being that could not be harmed by physical attacks.

She vanished from sight once more and reappeared on the back of a Revenant who had had just struggled to his feet into standing up, her arm making an arc under the latter's neck so swiftly that its head rolled down before the Revenant could even stand up properly.

"What did I do this time?! I mean, haven't you two also been through times when you miss your shot and I had to pick up the slack?" She yelled at the air as if she was quarreling with an imaginary friend.

The Grandruler — who, before now, had never left his throne — sat still with a dumbfounded look. The first question in his mind was how — how did his advanced undead spirit guards felled within the span of seconds? What did that beautiful noble lady do? In fact, how did she defeat them … in a manner not unlike a cinematic choreography?

The truth was that these three Huffing Piggies had not been spending their past ten years doing only sleeping, in-fighting, and coming together to bully Lady Assassin Walker. They knew that they should be more than just moe characters like that little dragon-lady and Little Mia if they were to remain as their man's equals, and so they devoted themselves into the other side of them that almost every other girls a certain someone had met never found: their prowess and absolute expertise in their respective trade.

Since the three of them agreed on this, they slowly developed a unique way of combat that only this instant-transforming bodysuit could do, so that three of them could utilize their best and covered each other's shortcomings.

Their technique? A unique way of fighting that combined the skills of three different persons into one!Short for netorare, a pretty controversial genre of hentai and porn that involves cuckoldry. Basically, it involved the protagonist being forced/endured watching the girl he likes being done by some other person; The goal is to provoke jealousy in audience… and such.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

435 When Things Don“t Go Their Way... Grow in Size!

The abilities of these three female Voidwalkers was incredibly revolutionary. The Assassin Walker had incredible speed and evasiveness, supported by the extreme mobility of Coup de Grace; the power of the Fairy Walker's long-ranged attacks exceeded the imagination; the Warrior Walker combat chi and martial arts were both domineering. These three women utilized their abilities to the extreme, unleashing a flurry of powerful punches. Although they were unable to deliver landscape-changing attacks like the giant hammerhead shark plushie which fought Molocchus, their combined attacks were fluid, in sync, and helped cover each other's back.

Their combined attack was breathtaking to watch. Three beautiful ladies switching in and out of the Divine Leathersuit in split seconds when the situation called for it. Their beauty perfectly complemented their exquisite techniques. This scene was good enough that any spectator would not hesitate to hit the replay button over and over again.

The only fault this string of attacks had was how practical — therefore, a little boring — its effects were. The attacks visually lacked oomph, and the Huffing Piggies had on conservative outfits, not skintight latex bodysuits or swimsuits, which would reveal large swathes of fair, supple skin. Many would call this unfortunate.

The concept was pragmatic and incredibly helpful, and the three Huffing Piggies quickly developed their art of fighting. It took them years to create tactics, techniques, and set-moves, and it took them a longer period of training to ensure that these combination moves could be executed perfectly, without openings that enemies could exploit. These moves took full advantage of the Divine Leathersuit's features and abilities.

The Huffing Piggies practiced really hard for many years. A lot of times, tensions between the three would reach boiling point, causing a huge fight to break out. [1]

After ten years of bitter training, the trio finally developed enough synergy between themselves, causing the execution of their combination moves to reach perfection. The only thing they lacked was a platform to show off the results of their training. The man that they shared was eventually sent to another universe by the Grandruler of Forgiveness, leaving them the chance of a lifetime to finally show off!

When the Grandruler saw his guards get decimated in seconds by the dazzling feat, his expression turned serious. He raised the Law Fragment, but he seemed to hesitate; and moments later, the Fragment vanished.

The war of conquest on Isythre had begun, and Duat was superimposing itself onto the realm. The Grandruler's undead legions had already invaded Isythre and were capturing cities. All of these had happened because the Grandruler had utilized the power in the Law Fragment — a lot of power. He had already expended a lot of its power to banish Baiyi to another world.

There was not enough power left in the Law Fragment to use wantonly. If he banished the strange women with his Law Fragment, it might break, leaving him without his most important trump card.

With that thought in mind, the Grandruler chose to keep the Fragment. Undead energy surged out of him, and a heavy armor appeared on his body, coupled with a large, green broadsword, which appeared in his hand.

He had decided to fight the Huffing Piggies himself.

"Hmph! Ran out of ideas already?" Lady Assassin Walker sneered before vanishing. Barely a moment later, she had reappeared beside the Grandruler. This time, she forwent attacking him with her dagger and switched places with the Warrior Walker, instead.

Icy-blue combat chi flames erupted on the black-haired beauty's hand, which she then balled into a fist and swung at the Grandruler's back. A millisecond after, she somersaulted backward gracefully and dodged the large broadsword that had been swung at her.

After creating some distance, the Warrior Walker switched places with the Fairy Walker, who proceeded to fire a thick combat chi arrow at the Grandruler's helmet.

The Grandruler swung its broadsword at the nick of time, chopping the arrow into two. Both halves of the arrow exploded into smaller, sharper arrows, which were deflected by a wave of undead energy that had suddenly surged out of the Grandruler. After deflecting the arrows, the Grandruler charged towards the Fairy Walker and swung its sword at her.

The Fairy Walker switched places with Lady Assassin Walker, who proceeded to stand still. Moments before the tip of the broadsword was to make contact with the Assassin Walker's face, she performed Coup de Grace and vanished. Almost immediately, she appeared behind the Grandruler and switched places with the Warrior Walker.

The Warrior did not attack, though. Blue combat chi burst out from her hand and condensed into a bow. The Fairy Walker, who had just retain possession of the Divine Leathersuit, placed an arrow on the bow before drawing its string, aiming at her target from point-blank range.

An icy blue arrow pierced through the Grandruler's left chest and exploded violently.

"Whooh! Critical hit!" The Fairy Walker traded places with Lady Assassin Walker, who exclaimed in delight. She believed they had won the fight, and a second later, her figure exploded into a cloud of black fog. This black fog enveloped the Grandruler. Her figure could be seen flashing multiple times within the black fog, dancing around the Grandruler. This was another one of Umbra's Ultimate moves —the Dance of the Shadow.

Baiyi was of the opinion that this move was more of a performance because its attack power was just too weak. It was a technique that required the assassin to fight their enemy head-on, and although a qualified Umbra assassin would need to use high speed for cover, in order to gain an advantage, a sufficiently seasoned enemy would be able to easily keep up with the assassin. This would reduce the advantage that assassins get in stealth, and also, it would allow the enemy to take advantage of assassins' weak physiques, as they would be unable to hide in the shadows. Seeing as this move did not favor assassination, most assassins did not bother to learn it.

Lady Assassin Walker always heeded Baiyi's words, so she knew about this problem. However, it was a long time since she had taken notes and inspiration from the fight between Baiyi and the magekiller. Furthermore, with support from the Fairy Walker and the Warrior Walker, her Dance of the Shadow was no longer the worthless distraction Baiyi once knew it as.

Every time Lady Assassin Walker appeared within the black fog, she would leave a single Chi Blade connected with a wispy strand of Chi Thread in the air. After taking a few seconds to circumambulate the opponent, the air around the Grandruler was filled with hovering arrows made from these Chi Blades.

She then switched places with the Fairy Walker for the finale. Pulling the string of the Combat Chi bow in her hand, the enchanting Fairy Walker grinned and promptly released an arrow. As though it had been linked to the other arrows on the same Chi Thread that surrounded the Grandruler, the arrows careened towards the Grandruler, who was the center of the black fog.

All this had happened in seconds, but in that time, the Assassin Walker and the Fairy Walker had switched places more than a hundred times. The synergy between these two had gone way beyond what normal teams could conceive.

The Grandruler, due to being undead, paled in comparison to the trio in terms of speed. He had barely reacted to the appearance of the Dance of the Shadow when the onslaught of arrows began..

Even energy being like himself could not possibly remain unharmed by such devastating attack—despite pulling in his undead energy back to himself the fastest he could muster, he was still too late.

The ensuing explosion had caused the towering black castle to tremble. The hall shook violently as the ceiling cracked into pieces of rubbles which then plummeted indiscriminately.

Lady Assassin maneuvered around the perilous environment dexterously with a few skillful leaps and danced away from the explosion, murmuring to herself softly, "Don't think he's out yet, Big Sister Warrior. Your turn."

The Warrior took over her body amidst a bursting radiance of icy blue flames from all over her body. She let out a soft cry and the flaming combat chi poured into her right fist swiftly.

There was no flashy move, no flashy technique. Aided by Lady Assassin's flash-steps to get closer to their target, The Warrior sensed him through the instincts of a veteran fighter and swung her right fist into a simple punch at the heavily injured, bodily incomplete Grandruler right before the explosion from their previous attack was over. It was an attack so direct and rudimentary that even a newbie fighter would be able to perform—it was so basic that it was atmospherically dissonant for the occasion. In fact, that single punch was too quiet for a last blow, too!

It was only after her fist had left whatever was remained of the Grandruler's energy being when a sudden blast of shockwaves erupted out from the point of attack, shoving every single mote of dust fog and penetrating the walls of the hall. What was supposed to be harmless waves of air had turned into a formless, shapeless blade of the sharpest kind as it cleaved through the walls.

From the outside, the black castle looked as though a giant with a large sword had just taken a swing at the entire building—the castle was instantly cleaved off its top half by the shockwaves, which the top had already turned into large debris and rubbles pelting down the earth like an amplified hailstorm burying the ruins.

Lady Assassin danced and skipped around the falling rubbles and leaped onto the top of a halved stone pillar, which was previously a watchtower before the shockwave from the Warrior's attack had cut it into half.

"Whoaaa whoa whoa! Now that's Big Sister Warrior to you. Her one concentrated punch is cray-cray! That green goblin is gone now, I bet?" Lady Assassin remarked in a low voice as she watched the aftermath from her perch at the sliced stone pillar.

The aftershocks were still roaring through the area, causing her mini skirt to billow in the wind until finally, her supple, fair thighs revealed themselves.

Baiyi had to pause the flashback at this moment and turned to Lady Assassin who was already grinning like an idiot at her. He was just about to say something when the latter cut in quickly, "Yes, yes, no more mini-skirts next time, whatev. Pssh, I worn it for your eyes only, you Doofus—no one would be able to stand there and see me! Plus, are you telling me that these thighs are not pretty enough for you? Don't you wanna lick them? Or should I wear a pair of over knee socks next time?"

Baiyi was speechless. No, he did not have any thought of slapping his tongue around them, because no matter how bodacious they were, she was just a set of armor… A sentiment he was sure the comment section would no doubt argue, though.

"What I really meant to ask was: why did you even think that this was the time for you to let your guard down and act cute?" Baiyi finally said what he truly thought.

"Well…" Lady Assassin lowered her head in mild embarrassment. "I mean, I have never met an opponent who are this difficult…"

It was true—despite being battered and broken by the time the Warrior had delivered her powerful punch, the Grandruler was far from dead (at least, dead for the second time). The undead energy being's durability had gone way over the trio's estimation.

When the trio had turned, preparing to leave the ruins of their making, a sudden growl of rage suddenly blared from the piles of rubbles burying him. It echoed throughout the entire realm, alerting the undead soldiers who were still battling the humans as well as the soldiers who were still in a rush towards their next target.

It caused every undead creature to suddenly turn direction and swarmed towards what was left of the black castle. From above, it was as if a black tsunami was heading towards the three Huffing Piggies from all sides!

To be fair, it was likely this reason that had allowed humans in Isythre to control much of their loss. If it was not for this unexpected change of event, humans—who did not anticipate this war at all—would have suffered even more casualties… including their own freedom.

Hence, although it was not exactly the wisest thing to do before making sure your enemy had really fallen, Lady Assassin's fanservice moment actually did help turning the tides of the war considerably, as it created a distraction at the most critical moment, directed the attention of all undead soldiers to the three Huffing Piggies, and gave the humans a much-needed breather. With this small opening alone, the humans in Isythre were able to regroup and adjust their defensive strategies, since the enemies who had been relentlessly attacking them suddenly left. Then, when the enemies began to launch their attacks back at the humans once more, the latter was already more than ready to take them down.

Baiyi had to hand a lot of brownie points to the three Huffing Piggies for their incredible help in the humans' victory.

However, back then, Lady Assassin had no idea that they had turned the tables. All she knew was that black deluge of undead creatures were swarming right at her, which caused her to panic a little as she cried, "Ohhhhhh nooooo! What do we do now?"

"The numbers are too much for us to take. We need help from the mages," The Warrior said calmly.

"Which means we have to retreat for now!" The Fairy chimed in, obviously bummed out. "Goddamn it, I'm so pissed! I thought I could heroically save my darling like a badass, but this jerk just doesn't wanna stay dead!"

The Grandruler, of course, knew that the three Huffing Piggies were planning to flee; He was not going to make that possible for them, either. Just when Lady Assassin was about to turn, another furious growl erupted from below the ruins—

The rubbles suddenly floated into midair, as if they had lost much of their mass and had turned into helium balloons. There, underneath the levitating rocks, was a massive horde of green glowing energy, completely unharmed.

It started to expand as if air was being pumped into it. It grew from the size of an average man to a giant about ten-odd yards tall!

More terrifyingly, although Lady Assassin had long began to conceal herself through her own sneaking techniques, that gigantic Grandruler managed to secure her through some unknown means. He slammed his fist downward into the earth, creating a crater about several yards wide.

"Gee, do all guys just grow in size when things don't go their way?" Lady Assassin snarked a little while somersaulting into the air while cancelling her concealment technique. In a flash, she had turned into another side somersault to evade the next attack.

"Damn, can't believe he turned into a giant—now this is really annoying! If only I still have the Caudillo Butterfly with me… Any ideas, girls?" The Fairy exclaimed in dismay.

It was that moment when a low, croaking voice came from a distance. "Excuse me."

Another gigantic silhouette emerged, as green as the Grandruler. It was the hammerhead shark reaper from before, donning its ragged cloak, barring its teeth, and swinging its gigantic scythe towards the Grandruler who had just performed a Dynamax.

Following closely behind that hammerhead shark reaper was the Lich, who emerged from a dune with its Saint Quartz staff raised high. It looked at the trio and urged, "Go now! This thing is only a distraction."

"Eew, I never thought that there would be a day when I get saved by a bag of stinky bones," Lady Assassin brushed past the Lich as she ran, but her tone was more sincerely grateful than her words would have implied.

The Lich tucked the staff back to itself and fled to a different direction. In a distance, the hammerhead shark reaper was already locked in a chokehold by the Grandruler, the shark jerking like a fish out of water. As it flapped its fins, it gradually disappeared. Apparently, it was no match to the Grandruler when alone.

Just as the Lich had described it—it was just a distraction.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

436 The Hitman Walker“s Dignity

Although the gigantic hammerhead shark plushie did punch as hard as it had back in Marle, it was able to buy enough time for the Voidwalkers to escape.

The Giant Grandruler let out an angry bellow. It was almost overwhelmed by the desire to crush his enemies, using all his undead creatures. However, it was rational enough to realize that such a move would end up being a grave mistake. Hence, it ordered the undead to go back to capturing the humans' cities. He remained at the destroyed black castle and summoned his vassals back.

However, only two returned to him.

Szackal, the leader of the zombies, who had been dispatched to finish off the Blacksmith Walker, was the first to return. Since its movement speed was low, it had not entered the Blacksmith Walker's range when he self-detonated, so it remained alive. The second to arrive was the Grandruler's strongest vassal, the Revenant Taamik. However, the other vassals did not heed the Grandruler's call, including the one who had been standing closest to the Grandruler — the Vampire King. He had been MIA since his battle with the Huffing Piggies.

In the vampires' defense, as creatures that are best known for healing themselves by sucking the blood of their enemies, fighting a bunch of moving suit of armors put them at a disadvantage, right from the start.

A dreadful realization had already dawned on the Grandruler. He quickly tried to sense the positions of his other vassals and found the Skeleton King locked in an endless fight with someone. The Lich King only had a strand of soul left; it would require a very, very long time to recover its peak state. The Grandruler's most useless subject, Charnal, had been slain by the enemy!.

'The fact that my subjects are this incompetent is just depressing,' The Grandruler thought in dismay. A question soon crossed its mind: who should act as its on-field general of the undead legion from now onwards?

The reason why this was important was that undead creatures were mentally handicapped. This was true of whoever leads them. It would be fine to have the undead creatures capture human villages and towns through sheer numbers, but that did not guarantee that they won't fair badly against humans, who were really crafty.

Even the advantage of number possessed by the undead had significantly weakened, and this was the fault of the Grandruler itself.

The Grandruler's strategy had been to first station different undead armies around the cities and towns of Isythre's Southern Continent. Only after that would it let Duat merged with Isythre, using the map provided by the skeletal traitor that Baiyi had killed. When the two realms began merging, it would capitalize on the element of surprise to quickly annihilate the cities in Isythre.

Even if a few bigger, more guarded cities remained stubbornly, the eradication of all of the other minor cities and towns would mean that his the number of his undead armies would have increased greatly enough to target the more difficult ones. His would have his vassals surround one city at a time and attack it relentlessly, cutting down as many humans as possible which would weaken the humans' manpower but increased the number of undead soldiers in the army. Lastly, with the Grandruler's trump card, even if the humans threw everything they got into their defense, sooner or later they would fall before him too.

After capturing the entire Southern Continent and making it a part of the undead kingdom, the Grandruler would advance upwards to the Northern Continent and capture the rest of the states. In time, the entire Isythre would be his to rule!

It was supposedly a sturdy strategy with no loophole until an anomaly occurred—that human traitor had tried to use the Grandruler himself for the former's personal vendetta as well as sending out a threat to the humans, causing them to be alerted to his realm and sending out an investigative team. If the team was composed of someone more normal, the Grandruler would not have such a headache, too… The problem was that this investigative team turned out to be so ridiculously powerful!

There were only six men in that team, and yet already two of his vassals were killed, one had been gravely decapacitated, his own base — the black castle — had been destroyed, the steps in his plan completely messed up, and much of the power in his trump card had been depleted. Meanwhile, the only cost the investigative team suffered was just one person who blew himself up—and he even took down another sizeable chunk of his army with it!

The war had just started and the Grandruler had already suffered such an embarrassing defeat. Instead of demoralizing him, however, it only served to infuriate him even more; It was only his own rational thinking that had stopped him from directing all of his armies to those annoying intruders despite his own fury.

After musing a little, the Grandruler finally said, "Szackal, you shall now preside over the frontline as my general. Since we had pulled our troops back to us just now, we had lost our best element of surprise. You should redirect our forces to smaller villages and towns where their defense is weak, so as to create more dead to replenish our army before attempting to conquer more durable cities. As for individual humans on the run… You can ignore them if you deem fit."

Szackal nodded stiffly and turned towards the direction of the Skeleton King and the Hitman slowly as it dragged its feet.

The Grandruler facepalmed, produced the Law Fragment in his hand and sent Szackal away through it. If the Grandruler let it move on its own pace, who knew how many years would it take to finally reach its destination…

Then, the Grandruler turned to the Zombie King — who was staring at him with a senile, droopy, sluggish look — and commanded, "Taamik, you are to join Galthran as quickly as possible. Finish that intruder and return to me at once, as your most important objective is to protect me. By then, have Galthran lead the skeleton dragons to scout and destroy the rest of the intruders."

Taamik drew out its snowy white saber and bowed respectfully.

The Grandruler sent him away via the power of the Fragment. Now, once again alone and aidless, the Grandruler remained in its gigantic form as a safety measure, standing tall and gazing into the horizon like a colossal watching over a skirmish from far.

It was then, not far from where the Grandruler was, a round boulder suddenly rolled over to another piece of rock. "Hey, check that out!" It suddenly cried. "You guys saw that thing in his hand?"

"Yes. A shallow observation suggests that it may be a Law Fragment, although I suggest so with a caveat of uncertainty. My confidence in my hypothesis is only bolstered by how heedful he wields and stores this particular object. Perhaps this is how our enemy managed to transport us right among of our adversaries?" A square-shaped rock replied. "Wresting it from him may be the key to return Hope to us."

"Do we always have to bring the Fifth Walker into everything? We can solve this ourselves!" A pile of little stones nearby rebutted. "As soon as the Hitman sees our distress signal and hurries to join us, our powers alone should be enough to annihilate him."

"Oh, you act like you're some destructive force not to be reckoned with back during the simulation fight with the First Walker, but now look who's hiding?" The round debris retorted indignantly. "What happened to that gigantic reaper, huh? Why did it change into some raggedy hammerhead shark plushie?"

The pile of stones replied quite exasperatedly, "Listen, missy. If your man is affected by a severe power limiter, what makes you think I don't?"

"Please, desist your juvenile in-fighting at once. Can you recall our enemy's commands? He planned to capture human cities. Exactly as I'd deduced, our enemy had employed an unknown method to directly conjoin this realm and Isythre. At this point of time, we are in both realms simultaneously," the square-shaped rock quickly butted in, eager to stop them from their quarrel.

"Then there's only one thing to do; we gotta' stop it!" The round boulder declared. "If he succeeded in conquering Isythre, all of our work would be for nothing!"

"Hee hee, maybe that's a pretty sweet dream come true?" The pile of scattered stones chuckled in an evil manner. "Of course, I was joking."

"Your sense of humor is appalling to all but yourself," The square-shaped rock retorted.

By this point, it was quite clear that these three different rocks were the gathered and in-disguise Huffing Piggy, the Scholar Walker, and the Lich Walker.

The Lich Walker had surmised that the Grandruler sensed his enemies by using undead energy in the stead of psychic energy the living used, which was why normal concealment techniques were ineffective, hence it took to itself to design a territory to disrupt undead energy, combined with the Scholar's very own disguising magic and Lady Assassin Walker's concealment techniques, the three of them successfully hid themselves as rocks, rolling and crawling back to where the Grandruler was. It was then when they overheard the Grandruler's conversation with the two of his vassals, therefore becoming privy to their enemies' plans.

Thanks to the three's combined effort, the Grandruler suspected nothing. It treated them as run-of-the-mill rocks among the rubbles.

"Look at him, defenseless… This is our chance, right?" The round boulder said a little excitedly.

"Don't! Neither of us possesses any mean to truly hurt him; The body I inhabit now and its conditions mean I can't fight him head-on," The pile of scattered stones warned. "The best bet we have is to cast a large-scale devastating Forbidden Spell-type magic on him."

The square-shaped rock could almost feel a tangible poke on the neck as the two other rocks immediately turned to stare at the former intently. "P-please, avert your gaze! I may know a few Forbidden Spells or two, but my specific ability to cast them is sorely undermined without the Book of Servitude! What are the odds that any of you had brought the necessary materials for such an exercise?"

"I did bring something that might fit your requirement, all borrowed from Hope's Magus Lab," the pile of scattered stones answered, chucking a piece of pebble to the square-shaped rock. Curiously, the pebble vanished completely when it came near the square-shaped rock as if it had sunken into the water.

"Very well, let me have a gander... Zounds! I did not expect rare materials to be available as well...!" The square-shaped rock cried out in shock. "Without fear of exaggeration — did you plunder Hope's Magus Lab? Have you no concern that your deed would compel him to expose you to the Void for a month?"

"Bah, I think he knows better than to harp on something trivial like this, especially when all that is just a small portion of his hoard," The pile of scattered stones replied. "Are you really that unaware of how silk-stocking he is now? Do you really think he chooses his sponsored students by the measure of money alone? Nah, money isn't the only payment he accepts…"

"Mm, touche. Regardless, with these necessary materials, the probability of delivering these Forbidden Spells ameliorates greatly," The square-shaped rock replied. "However, its success also hinges on the variable of time and sufficient cover on my activity."

"Well, that won't be a problem if the Hitman could just come over here already! Seriously, what is taking that fella so long?!" The round boulder exclaimed, puzzled.

The Hitman Walker was still embroiled in an incredibly frustrating fight with the Galthran the Skeleton King. It was not that the fight itself was practically hard to win, nor was the Skeleton King some worthy opponent with incredible strength or skills or techniques — the reason why it was such a pain to the Hitman Walker was that the Skeleton King just would not stay dead. The Hitman had disassembled it into a pile of broken bones numerous times, and yet it always found a way to reinstall itself…

The Hitman Walker had even tried melting the Skeleton King completely with intense combat chi, yet the crud always managed to nab some poor skeleton expendable nearby and resurrect itself through that soldier's body. In fact, it was getting more and more obvious that the Skeleton King's only real strategy was to die, rise, and repeat; The sole purpose seemed to be to trap the Hitman in this fight forever!

The Hitman Walker was, as expected, fed up. He was even more impatient since receiving his comrades' distress signal a while ago because he thought it meant they were in grave danger and desperately in need of his assistance. Under the influence of both impatience and concern, he started to fight more and more rashly, which left enough openings for the Skeleton King to wound him twice.

"Hee hee hee, you are fast and you fit hard, Intruder. Your moves are flawless and exquisite, too. In so many other duels I've ever been, I can make sense and predict every single one of my enemies' tactics and techniques by my third resurrection at most — but you! You bewilder me even now, Intruder. You're an impeccable warrior!" The Skeleton King exclaimed, being one who loved to give credits when they were due.

"Seriously, do you even understand human language anymore? I! Am! An! Assassin — and a f***ing good one at that!" The Hitman Walker snapped, and in that burst of frustration, he smashed the Skeleton King into smithereens with his dual-wielding axes.

He turned to a direction to a distance and ran, hoping that that move would finally buy him enough time. Yet, even after using his concealment technique, he did not manage to flee long enough before the Skeleton King blocked him on his way.

"What a pain in my a**!" The Hitman Walker — who was not known for being patient — growled under his breath. He was about to vaporize his opponent with pure combat chi when he felt a sudden sting of danger coming from behind.

He ducked to a side, and narrowly evaded the blade of a saber springing behind him suddenly,

"Taamik? Why are you here?!" Galthran muttered crossly when its eyes caught the sight of the Revenant King behind the Hitman.

"I'll handle him, fool. The Grandruler wants you to look for the other intruders," The Revenant King replied with a cold, sinister voice. Due to the heavy-duty helmet it was wearing, it also sounded a little muffled.

The soul flames within the Skeleton King's sockets blazed brightly for a while as if it was debating with itself. Then, it swung its sword at the Hitman Walker and got itself severed in two, instead. Its severed torso could not help but complain, "Why can't that be delegated to the others? Why appoint me, specifically?"

"Dead," the Revenant King answered curtly.

"I hark to my lord's command, Taamik, but you know not who you're dealing with. I don't even think you can—" The Skeleton King collapsed onto the ground, its finger already pointing at the Hitman.

"Hmph!" The Revenant sneered coldly and leaped forward. Abruptly, a skeleton horse suddenly charged out from Taamik's own shadow such that the latter landed right on its back.

With its horse, the Revenant's speed improved greatly. In a flash, it caught up with the Hitman Walker — who was just about to flee with his concealment technique again — and decapitated the latter.

It was such a swift blow, the Hitman Walker did not even seem to have predicted it. On cue, his head parted ways with his neck and soared into the air.

"Weakling," the Revenant King halted its horse and sheathed its saber, watching the headless armor collapsing slowly onto the ground. It turned around and rode away.

A while later, the headless body got up with a start. Its arms flailed around, trying to locate its severed head; when it did, it hurriedly placed it atop its shoulders.

The Hitman Walker made sure his head was secured in place first; only after that did he take off running.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

437 P-poison...

A self-respecting warrior would be ashamed to fake their deaths just to escape from their enemies, but to assassins and hitmen, this was just a part of the basics. There were stories of how hitmen loved to lie in coffins and roleplay as a corpse, and when their target's back was turned, they leap up and take down their target. This was why the Hitman Walker felt incredibly proud of himself at the moment, without any shame.

"Pretending to be dead is a type of undercover technique, right? See! I knew I was talented in assassination!" He murmured to himself and produced a matchbox-sized box, which he proceeded to poke. .

Back in the ruins, the three rocks instantly picked up the signal, with the square-shaped rock saying, "The Hitman Walker finally succeeded in fleeing from his enemies. At this moment, he is on his way."

This little box was a trinket the Engineer Walker had made when he was bored. It could produce hidden magical pulses to be received to another similar box, and through the variances in the frequency and strength of the magical pulses, the boxes could decode the message being transmitted. The Engineer Walker had actually created something after radio waves communication on Earth.

Personally, Baiyi found the invention pretty useless; its efficiency and quality of transferring messages were both inferior to standard communication magic, with its only boon being harder to be detected. Nevertheless, it paled in comparison to the level of secrecy and confidentiality in direct consciousness-communication via the Void, which was why Grand Principal Bai was not the slightest bit interested.

The Blacksmith Walker really liked his friend's little trinket, especially because it felt like the walkie-talkies on Earth. Hence, he had brought the little boxes with him for his trip this time and even gave every member one of it. Who knew that it would have become so useful?

"Not to demoralize ourselves but, I have a significant level of doubt in our odds of winning, even after factoring Sir Hitman Walker into our variables," The square-shaped rock warned worriedly. "Do you recall? Our previous encounter with a colossal enemy had only ended in our favor through conjoining a few of us into a single, behemoth-like hammerhead shark."

"Oh please, this green blot right here is just an undead. He's far from the Law monster that we fought ten years ago, okay?" The pile of scattered stones retorted in contempt. "Besides, Hope isn't here. We can't join together even if we wanted to."

Just as the two of them were discussing on their next best move, the round boulder suddenly jerked up in the air frantically and cried, "Oh, the Hitman Walker's almost here! We gotta' go meet him somewhere else because he might just get us all busted way too soon…"

Her sentence had barely finished when a pile of ashen grey mud inched towards their direction. Sure, the pile of mud looked no similar to the earth around it, but for some reason, anyone could take one look of it and immediately come to the conclusion that this was a person cloaking themselves under an ashen grey cloak crawling through the earth and pretending so hard to be a pile of "inconspicuous" mud.

The Voidwalkers could feel their luck straining to protect them by having the Grandruler's gaze fixed on the horizon, where the battle was still ongoing, as he discussed their next step in the war with the Revenant King, who had hurried back as soon as possible after finishing his task.

"Zounds, why is he being so lethally direct in his approach?" The square-shaped rock exclaimed, dumbfounded.

"Is everyone alright. Why are you all rocks?! Don't worry, I'm here now, I will help!" The Hitman Walker, who was disguised as a mound of ashen grey mud, whispered, crawling over even faster.

At that moment, the three Voidwalkers shared the same thought: 'Holy crap, don't come over here!'

It was right then, and perhaps out of frustration at how the war was turning out, the Revenant King Taamik paced in its spot frantically enough to kick up a single piece of pebble off the ground.

The pebble cruised through the air, and with the divine help from fate, it hit right at that pile of crawling pile of mud, which gave off an unmistakable "clank!" of an armor being hit,

"Something's not right over there!" The Revenant growled in alarm.

"Show yourself!!" The Grandruler was just as taken aback by the sudden, shrill sound of metal around him. He turned to where it most likely came from and scanned the area for about a second before crying out, "What the hell are you even trying to hide?!"

To illustrate his point, the Grandruler immediately chucked a greenish energy ball right at the spot. Kaboom! it went, and from the ruins, three rocks of different kinds suddenly leaped out: a square-shaped rock, a round boulder, and a pile of scattered stones. Needless to say, the Walkers' disguise had been exposed.

The Hitman seemed a bit too eager to cast off his disguise too—he wasted no time to stand up, yanked the cloak off his body with one hand impatiently, and then drew out a heavy shield with prongs thrusting out of its surface along with a meteor hammer on his other hand. Heroically, he shouted to his comrades, "Get behind me!"

The Grandruler silently stared at the Revenant King. He said nothing, but it was only because his sentiment did not even need to be said.

"T-that wretched knave faked his own death!" The Revenant King immediately protested. "H-he lied to me! He had smeared my honor as a knight!"

An outburst of applause and laughter suddenly broke out from the Voidwalkers.

"Whooaaa! Hitman Senpai, you finally fool one person with your techniques! Congratulations!"

"Well done. It pleases us all to see ten years worth of training to yield such an outstanding result!"

"Uh. Undead creatures… Probably the only species that will ever be thick enough to get fooled by him."

"Th-thank you. Thank you all; you're far too kind," The Hitman Walker hurriedly replied, his tone sincere and grateful.

The Grandruler could no longer contain himself from watching an impromptu congratulatory party, so he bolted up suddenly and swung a single punch to the direction of the Walkers. His fist was so large, it could neatly cover all of the four!

To that attack, the Hitman Walker only snorted. "Hmph!"

He raised his heavy shield up to his face, his body bending a little while his legs assumed a horse-riding stance. He was planning to brace this single punch — which was capable of pulverizing him into Hitman Walker Powder — head-on!

This knocked the Hitman Walker knocked off his feet and sent him careening through the air.

The other Voidwalkers shot each other a glance before looking in the direction opposite the Grandruler… and began running as fast as they could.

"G-guys? Is it just me, or are we kinda embarrassing the name of the Voidwalkers a lil' bit?" Lady Assassin Walker, who was also fleeing, blurted out. Then, turning back to see the Revenant King hot in pursuit, its speed greatly increased with the help of its skeletal horse, she suddenly morphed into the Warrior fashioning a bow out of her own combat chi. The Fairy Walker came out afterward, shooting out an arrow towards the Revenant King before switching places with Lady Assassin Walker, who ran even faster to make up for the speed reduction that the switch had caused.

Back in reality, Baiyi paused the flashback for a while and stared at the four. "Seriously, none of you thought it was embarrassing?"

"I'll say it simply cannot be helped. Among the five of us, the one capable of inflicting the heaviest damage would be you, something I assume you have already noticed. You were absent the whole time. Besides, our enemy is a ruler with direct power over the entire undead realm, allowing him a limitless supply of undead energy at his disposal all the while the four of us, unlike you, cannot draw out the power of Void Energy. If we were to fight with sheer number and strength, the Grandruler would crush us without a doubt. In other words. The only time we could ever fight him head-on would be if you were actually with us," The Lich Walker explained matter-of-factly, raising its arms like humans do.

"So, our most respectful Fifth Walker, before you start to wag your fingers at our action and calling us an embarrassment, may I ask where have you, our main firepower, been?" The Lich Walker finished.

Baiyi found himself speechless. In fact, if compared timelines, Baiyi was pretty sure that this was around the time when he had just captured his second loli and was probably poking their cheeks and fooling around…

Back in the flashback, the Lich Walker was crossing its arms before its chest and observing the Grandruler, who also started to pursue them with its mighty, colossal steps.

Amazingly, the Lich Walker managed to maintain its fleeing speed while calmly analyzing the Walkers' battle options to the others, "That monstrous green giant is an amalgamation of an enormous amount of undead energy. Aesthetically and technique-wise, I shall award it a low rating; However, I should also credit it for being remarkably foolproof as well. The only way to fight it is to fight head-on, which is far from my expertise… Hmm. I guess I don't have any more tricks in my sleeves now."

"We need an opening for Sir Scholar to level him with Forbidden Spells." The soul flames in the Lich Walker's socket danced wildly as it looked at the Grandruler drawing nearer and nearer towards them.

Up to this point, one may start to wonder how anyone could maintain their speed running to one direction while also turning their face towards the other direction. The reason the Lich managed to do that, of course, was because its top half was facing completely opposite to where its lower half was facing. Its feet were still running away from the enemies, but its torso was turning towards the enemies. It was strange and really surreal.

"Don't you find your position a little painful?" The Hitman Walker — who was fleeing with them, having recovered from the earlier hit — remarked in concern.

"Ah? Please. Back when I was alive, I ran away from you humans in this position all the time! I'm pretty used to it by now," the Lich Walker replied while tossing a few green energy balls at the enemies to obstruct them.

However, the enemies were like a tank powering through its obstacles without a shred of reservation. They completely ignored the Lich Walker's attacks and shot forward. Even when the Lich had once again summoned its hammerhead shark reaper to drag the enemies down, the Revenant King merely yanked its horse upward into a high jump before swinging its snowy white saber downward, cleaving the reaper into halves.

"Tsk tsk. And now even the Void's mascot, the mighty hammerhead shark, K.O. after a single attack," the Hitman Walker lamented.

"Since when have we agreed on a mascot, you oaf? I thought we were above taking a serious matter with unwarranted jocularity!" The Scholar Walker finally snapped. "More pressingly, can you not use your shield to buy me a few more minutes?"

"Were you asleep when I first did that against the big guy? I got smacked out of my feet, man! I can't beat the big guy! But… maybe the horse guy is easier to take down," The Hitman Walker said.

"Oh, yea? Then let's take that small guy out!" Lady Assassin Walker exclaimed, slowing down a little to save some energy in her legs. "I need to get higher!"

The Hitman Walker understood her immediately. Pulling out a single zweihander, he placed the blade horizontally before his chest and allowed Lady Assassin Walker to jump onto the blade skillfully.

"Go!" He bellowed, heaving the sword upward and flinging the girl high up into the air.

She morphed into the Fairy Walker in midair, pulling the bowstring of her icy-blue longbow, and fired five arrows at the Revenant King.

"Foolish weakling!' The Grandruler muttered under his breath and grabbed onto the arrows, crushing them and absorbing the ensuing explosion within his gigantic palm. Just as the Lich had predicted, the Grandruler possess so much undead energy that he could mitigate most small-scale attacks with pure energy alone.

However, this time, the Fairy Walker's main trick was never on the five icy-blue arrows. Hidden among them was a lone black arrow flying at a way higher speed than the others enough to escape the Grandruler's grasp and attention like a fine ray of light. It brushed past the Grandruler's body, stabbed right through the Revenant King's helmet, and pierced into the soul flame in its left eye socket.

"Gaaahhhh!' The Revenant King let out a spine-tingling shriek. It instinctively cupped its wounded left eye with one hand and flung its saber at the figure in the sky with its other hand.

Lady Assassin Walker, despite being in midair and without any aid to act as her springboard, managed to contort her tiny frame forcefully to evade the flying saber, which could have cleaved her into half, followed by landing her feet gracefully on the blade and using it to spring herself away from the Grandruler's punch.

She leaped farther away, putting in as much distance between herself and the enemies, before landing back onto the ground dandily.

"This arrow… is poisonous! It's coated with a very strange venom!" The Revenant King, still cupping on its left eye, froze in midpursuit. Its body and soul were relatively fine — certainly not enough to stop him from moving — yet the aforementioned poison was seeping into its helmet and through its armor, causing the entire armor to become as dense as a boulder. Slowly but surely, it had become so heavy that the Revenant King was trapped in its own armor!

Even Baiyi was completely stumped by this scene. Poisons worked on the living, yes, but they could not possibly work on what was already dead!

A long time ago, before Lady Assassin had completed her transformation into a dumb, whimsical, adorable genki girl, she had once suggested creating a poison that could work on soul armatures. Back then, Baiyi had thrown himself into a burst of laughter while mocking her.

Who would have known that it came the day when she did manage to invent such a thing?

"Bah, you must not have been a science-stream student back when you were alive, were you?" The Alchemist interjected. "Poisons, as we know them, are only effective to live creatures, but if you think of it from another angle, they aren't acids, which corrodes metals, essentially poisons to creatures that rely on armors?"

"You see, Miss Assassin Walker brought her idea to me, asking if alchemy could produce a specific kind of poison that only works on armor. We discussed it at length and determined that a set of armor, despite its weight and rigidity, does not restrict movement because of its loose, flexible joints. Naturally, if I disrupt the joints, the armor becomes a metallic coffin," The Alchemist Walker explained proudly, pulling out a black vial as he did.

Then, after popping the cork out, he instantly drenched it all over the Bard sitting next to him.

In a flash, the Bard's handsome, cool, skillfully-crafted armor — with a triple-whammy combo of noble, literary genius, and Byronic aura — instantly blackened with rust, turning it into an armor no different from an old, rickety hands-me-down.

"Observe! Do you think anyone could still move around in an armor like this?" The Alchemist asked loudly, rattling the vial in his hand for dramatic effect.

"Observe a m*********r, you mean! What have I ever done to you to become your f***ing experiment, you f***ing c***? This beautiful armor was a gift from an adorable little girl who had to save up on her allowance just to buy me this thing!!" The Bard shrieked in rage. "You son of b****, I'm gonna f***ing kill you!"

Baiyi casually waved at the Caveman Walker and signaled the Void's bouncer to take the Bard away before he could create a scene. Secretly, however, the Fifth Walker spat in his mind, 'STFU, Bard. I am the Grand Principal of the school and yet no adorable little girl ever thought of gifting me an armor!'

He continued the flashback.

Now, trapped under his own armor, the Revenant King found himself in an awkward situation —without help from anyone, he could not escape from his own cage!

"Oh, not bad at all," The Lich Walker praised with a twinge of twisted delight as it watched the helpless Revenant King.

Then, It raised its green staff and started to chant an incantation towards this unmovable target.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

438 Confusion Over His Profession

After an incantation that dragged on for the duration in which one could take a toilet break, a blinding white flash indicated the activation of the spell. Long, white, sharp bones burst out from the ground beneath Taamik the Revenant King's feet. The bones pierced through Taamik in a messy manner, much like how bushmen hunted leopards, causing the Revenant King to resemble a porcupine. As though that was not enough, the bone spikes morphed into something resembling an iron maiden, trapping Taamik within.

The was more than enough to kill a human, but it was not enough to take the Revenant King's life. No matter how grave an injury the Revenant King suffered, so long as its soul is intact, it would not die. It did not even make a sound, as though it does not know pain.

However, the Lich Walker had not planned to kill the Revenant King; the spell was merely used to trap it. After struggling for a bit, the Revenant King realized that it could not break its current body out of the contraption that confined it. It could only escape by inhabiting another body.

As soon as that thought crossed the Revenant King's mind, It froze. The enemy lich seemed to have cast another spell, which had caused a shroud to appear on the bony iron maiden, trapping the Revenant King's soul in its current body!

Just like that, the Revenant King had been temporarily taken out of the game by a crazy idea from a moe young lady. Her idea had inspired the Alchemist Walker's newest formula and the bony iron maiden trap, which the Lich Walker had invented right there and then.

The amount of embarrassment from this was akin to starting a round of battle fresh only to be immediately kicked out of the battle by Magnus, while the animal messenger dispatched to return to home base was killed on their way….

"Aha! The Revenant King's out of the fight and has become my first battle trophy," the Lich Walker beamed proudly. "Now, all there is left to do is the big one!"

The Hitman Walker slapped the side of his own head hard suddenly and exclaimed, "I know! I know what to do!"

He pulled out an enormous bow that had a very tall limb.

"A siege bow?" The Scholar Walker recognized the bow almost immediately. "Invented by the military to fire missiles over a large distance. Its might is its strongest point, but its range is just as commendable. However, it is not useful against colossal monsters made purely out of energy, no?"

Lady Assassin switched places with the Fairy Walker, who sneered the moment she spotted the bow. "Eew, you humans made such an ungraceful bow? Its accuracy is terrible, but the biggest problem I have with it is how taut its bowstring is. You can't even fire without using your waist and your leg to aid your hand from pulling it away; that is so gauche!"

"I get what you two have said, but I never intended to use it to attack that monster over there," the Hitman Walker replied calmly. Suddenly, he picked the Scholar Walker up by the scruff of her neck.

"Halt this instant; e-explain yourself!" The Scholar Walker shouted, struggling like a cat unwilling to be picked up.

"Relax," the Hitman Walker coldly said, as gold combat chi surged from his body. The gold combat chi condensed into golden ropes that fastened themselves tightly around the Scholar Walker. The Hitman Walker hoisted her onto his shoulder after that and turned to the Fairy Walker. "I need the Warrior Walker to help me with the bowstring."

"H-halt—stop! Surely you don't plan to discharge me in a manner no different from an arrow, right?!" The Scholar Walker exclaimed, alarmed.

"That is the best way to get you out of here — right here, right now — alright? These chi ropes will disintegrate on their own the moment you land. That is when you utilize every second you have to unleash your Forbidden Spell," the Hitman Walker explained, and in that time, the Fairy Walker switched places with the Warrior Walker. Now, two of the heaviest hitters in the Void had begun to inch backward with their arms holding on the bowstring, which had the Scholar Walker inside it.

"Oh please, allow me to help perfect the shot," the Lich Walker chuckled in a sinister manner as it hurried over.

"I am certain I have become a victim to your whims, which were masked by a 'convenient' excuse!" The Scholar Walker protested hotly.

The Hitman Walker ignored her and turned to the Lich Walker and the Warrior Walker. "Ready? One, two, three... fire!".

The Scholar Walker's voice rang out as she soared through the air and out of sight. "Waaaahhhhhhhh! Y-you'll p-pay for your odiousness when Hope returned to ussss—"

Baiyi almost laughed out loud when he watched this part. 'Looks like these buffoons have quite the quick wit, after all!'

After sending away their best hope in retaliation, the team slowed down and turned to face the Grandruler. They intended to take him on, to buy Scholar Walker some time. To do this, the three Voidwalker knew that they had to split up.

The Hitman Walker brought out his heavy shield and stood in the Grandruler's path. The Warrior Walker used her icy-blue combat chi to make a new bow before switching places with the Fairy Walker. The Lich Walker hid behind a dune, then it plunged its green staff into the grand and chanted an incantation, summoning a smaller hammerhead shark reaper.

In another area, the Scholar Walker cussed loudly, but no one was able to hear her. She had landed with her head in the ground and her feet high up in the air. She placed her palms on the ground and wigged with all her might, till her head out was out of the ground. The scene was not different from that of a farmer pulling a carrot out from the ground.

The Scholar Walker rubbed her head, looking close to tears. Her feminine sorcerer's helmet had been completely flattened by the impact, and its formerly intricate patterns had become completely twisted. She now looked very much like a toad [1].

"Rebarbative miscreants, the lot of them!" The Scholar scoffed. "Would it pain them to treat a lady of letters to the best of their abilities, however diminutive that may be?"

Unfortunately, the Voice Formation within her armor, which acted as her voicebox, had been damaged during the terrible fall from her terrible landing, and now, her voice came in croaks, making her seem like a toad even more than before.

"Ah, what specific Forbidden Spell should I use?" The Scholar Walker muttered to herself, as she pulled out the storage pouch the Lich Walker had given her. She peered into it, and a lot of ideas crossed her mind.

"Hmph! Those hermits have always ridiculed me, calling me a 'reedy scholar with no battle sense', as if one's propensity to use offensive yet propitious magic of massive proportions is a tactic deserving of mockery! Well, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, especially when she is one of the well-informed. Prepare to be enlightened, plebians!" The Scholar Walker exclaimed in her heart and pulled a few materials out from the storage pouch. Surprisingly, she had decided to cast a magic spell aimed at control, rather than attack.

It was a Forbidden Spell named 'Spatial Segregation'. It was technically also not a Forbidden Spell as it was intended for dealing damage to one's enemy. The point of Spatial Segregation was to create a large-scale private dimension that was independent of the realm it was taken from. It involved splitting a part of space and freezing it into a brick-like object. One could split areas of space from their origin realm, making them into these 'bricks', after which these 'bricks' are joined together to form a small, separate dimension of their own. The latter could be done using other Spatial Magic spells.

This was the technique behind marvels like the Babel Tower — headquarters of the Sorcerers' Association, the enormous dimension where the Book of Servitude had been stored — and Baiyi's very own Da Xue. Spatial Segregation was the reason why a building could appear so small yet disproportionately large on the inside. It had been classified as a Forbidden Spell only because of the materials and proficiency needed to cast it was much more than was required to cast ordinary spells.

When Baiyi realized what the Scholar Walker had chosen to do, his eyes lit up in approval. He paused the flashback at this point and turned to the Scholar excitedly. "Spatial Segregation? What a brilliant choice! Isolate the space where the Grandruler is and you'd be cutting off his energy supply. That way, the biggest advantage he possesses as the ruler of a realm — the unlimited replenishment of energy he enjoyed — would be cut off, leveling the playing field between our side and his! This is so profound of you. Even I might not have thought of this in such a short time! I really have underestimated you. You made the best choice despite being in a race against the clock!"

"Um… heh! Heh, precisely! See? It is always ill-advised to judge others in a shallow manner!" The Scholar Walker replied. However, she made the assertion in a somewhat shaky voice.

This was because she did not put as much thought into her decision as Baiyi thought she had. The spell had come to her mind only because she wanted a powerful Control-type spell that could freeze the big Grandruler in place. After that, she could spam a ridiculous amount of offensive Forbidden Spells at it. As normal Spatial Magic would be unable to withstand the bombardment she wished to mete, she decided to use Spatial Segregation.

The Scholar Walker did not know that by nursing this train of thought, she had inadvertently chosen the best route of attack they could take. This was why she was quite embarrassed at the moment, feeling a little underserving of Baiyi's compliment.

When she had made her decision, the Scholar Walker wasted no time in arranging the formations and runes she would need. In the distance, the Hitman Walker had just been slammed into the ground by the Grandruler, causing a huge cloud of dust to soar into the air. Even the Scholar Walker had been able to see the Hitman Walker get swung around like a ragdoll.

This put a lot of pressure on her, but she could not go any faster than she already was. Even one as talented in magic as she was would be tied down by reality without the help of something as overpowered as the Book of Servitude.

Her requirement for more time brought the other Voidwalker, who were tasked with distracting the Grandruler, a lot of grief. The Hitman Walker could be seen careening through the air time after time. The Lich Walker's Hammerhead Shark Reaper managed to pin the Grandruler twice, but it soon exposed an opening, which the Grandruler utilized to grab it. It squeezed the Shark Reaper like a dead fish, causing the Lich Walker to suffer a significant amount of internal damage. In a few moments, the Voidwalker had collapsed. The three Huffing Piggies seemed to be in their element, however, thanks to Lady Assassin Walker's efficiency in evading attacks.

The Grandruler was no fool, though; after a while, it realized that these three were buying time for their sorcerer friend, who was making a formation as fast as she could. This caused him to bellow in fury, "Dancing like a Turkey by the riverbank? Galthran, where the heck are you? Where on earth are your troops? Let the world tremble from their march!"

The command sounded like a cryptic message made to prevent the Voidwalkers from understanding what the Grandruler sought to do. However, Galthran was just as puzzled as the Voidwalkers were. It had no idea if it had been instructed to scout for the intruders or help the others capture more human cities. After a moment of thinking, it decided to instruct most of its skeleton dragons to race to go help capture the cities. It took only thirty skeletons back with it, flying as fast as it could towards the Grandruler.

Coincidentally, the path Galthran took made it run into the Scholar Walker, who was hurriedly setting up a formation.

The Scholar Walker knew that the Grandruler gibberish was just a call for reinforcement. This made her even more worried. She shouldered the fate of her teammates, who were doing their best to buy her time. That and the fate of Isythre were placed on her, a mage who had never participated in a war before.

Galthran and its skeleton dragons were approaching from behind and found her. The dragons quickly prepared to fire of full mouths of dragon flame at the Scholar Walker, who was still absorbed in her work, oblivious to the danger behind her.

By the time the Scholar realized she was in trouble, the draconic flames had reacher her. By the time she turned around, her vision was by a large sea of fiery dragon breaths.

It was at that moment that she knew she had f**ked up. She did what anyone else would do: duck and cover her head with her arms.

Baiyi paused the flashback at this point and scowled at her. "And you really considered a moe tactic like this is foolproof?"

"Heh… heh heh," The Scholar laughed uneasily. "One cannot be free from mistakes during their debut as a battlemage, right?"

'And this is why academic types like you are an embarrassment to all mages! The only thing you people are good at is trying very hard to stay relevant!' Baiyi lambasted her in his mind, forgetting that he had practically turned her into the leader of academic mages through his career.

As for the Scholar Walker, who was facing the sea of flames, she was saved by someone at the last moment. This was easy to see from the small damage her helm had suffered, although this had been patched up the Blacksmith Walker already. Who was that hero, though?

It was someone who even Baiyi was surprised to see: the Sorcerer Walker, who was armed with a training quarterstaff!

This was surprising because the Sorcerer Walker and the Scholar Walker were always at each other's throats in the Void. They argued about a range of topics, from academy-related topics to personal styles and gaming-related subjects. The two were always looking for openings to stab a knife into the other, but at this moment, the Scholar Walker had been saved by her archenemy! [2]

The Sorcerer Walker swung his training quarterstaff at lightning speed, deflecting the sea of dragon flames with the mirages it formed. He seemed to be having an easy time, seeing as he poked fun at the Scholar Walker, saying, "Well, well, well. What an embarrassing situation our Great Unmoving Sage has gotten herself into! Where's your graceful chanting? Where are your aesthetically impeccable runes? Where's your elaboratively-crafted formations, huh?"

Stunned speechless, the Scholar Walker could only lower her head in shame.

"Fine, I was just joking. I'll handle these miscreants while you work on what you do best, okay?" The Sorcerer Walker knew he had to quit being a jerk and let the girl off.

Now that she was being protected by a reliable fighter, the Scholar Walker calmed down and poured her attention into the formation, but she could not help asking, "Why are you here?"

"Someone gave a hand, of course. It's a long story; we should save it for later," the Sorcerer Walker answered casually.

After pushing away the last bit of the draconic flames, the Sorcerer Walker looked up at the dragons in the sky and laughed. "You think I brought nothing for you lot, a bunch of flying lizards?"

He kept back the training staff and whipped out a longbow [3]. Then, with terrifying speed, he nocked a bunch of arrows onto it and began to shoot.

It seemed stupid for someone to try shooting down thirty dragons all by themselves, but the Sorcerer Walker was not alone. He split himself into two, then four, then eight. He and these seven mirages began to siege these dragons from below. They resembled soldiers gunning enemy airships from below.

In a flash, bones and cartilage began to rain.

This was the perfected Ultimate of the War Druids — 'Multiplicity'. This was a technique more advanced than the one Baiyi had used to confuse and intimidate his enemies in the past. Every single mirage possessed the same strength as the Sorcerer Walker himself. Armed with magic-fortified arrows, the Sorcerer Walker quickly overwhelmed the skeleton dragons. In moments, two dragons had fallen, exerting a heavy toll on the enemies.

The Skeleton King, Galthran, upon seeing the new intruder, leaped off its dragon mount, landing heavily on the ground. Eyeing the Sorcerer Walker and his bow, Galthran praised, "So there's a powerful archer amongst you intruders? Furthermore, you are using a technique I've never seen before?! Oh yes! Yes, you're the perfect opponent for me!"

The Sorcerer Walker replied sourly, "Excuse you, numbnuts… I'm a sorcerer!"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

439 Let“s Not Bring Her To The Battlefield Next Time

With the Sorcerer Walker's heroic appearance, the pressure on the Scholar Walker was reduced. While the Sorcerer Walker and the Skeleton King engaged themselves in a brawl, which generated a loud exchange of words, the Scholar Walker poured all her attention into chanting the incantation for the Forbidden Spell.

When four of the Sorcerer Walker's clones were taken down two Skeleton Dragons, the Scholar Walker's Forbidden Spell was finally complete.

The Grandruler — who was a great distancing away, giving the three other Voidwalkers a hard time — felt a wave of dread wash over it. It was about to do something about this feeling when the Forbidden Spell hit.

Spatial Segregation did not give off any visual effects; almost no one would know that it had been cast. The Grandruler's colossal suddenly began to shrink drastically. It was as though a hole had been punctured in its body.

In the blink of an eye, it had reverted to its original size, which was no different from that of a human.

This was what Baiyi had expected. The Scholar Walker's Spatial Segregation may not truly lock the Grandruler in a specific area, but it did severe the connection it had with Duat, effecting removing the endless flow of undead energy that was flooding its body. This was why the Grandruler shrunk so rapidly.

As someone in the possession of space Law Fragment, the Grandruler was more conversant with the Laws of Space than most mortals. He instantly understood what had caused the change.

Lamenting the dirty method its enemies had employed against it, the Grandruler pulled out the Space Law Fragment as it prepared to transport itself out of the segregated space.

"Stop him!" The Lich Walker bellowed.

"Gwaaaaaahhhhh!" The Hitman Walker threw away his heavy shield and pulled out his axes before lunging forward. Frightening combat chi burst out of his axes, and the Voidwalker directed it towards the Space Law Fragment in the Grandruler's hands.

However, the axes were blocked by the little Law Fragment. Even attacks from Demigod-level fighters could not break it. This was not a surprise, though. Laws are the foundation of all existences in the universe. The manifestations of Laws, such as brute strength and combat chi, could not possibly overwhelm the fragment of a Law.

The Hitman Walker froze for a millisecond before attempting to dole out another attack. It was at this point that the translucent Space Law Fragment glowed faintly, and the Hitman Walker instantly disappeared.

He reappeared in mid-air, close to several skeleton dragons, and began to fall at a terrifying speed. When the skeleton dragons saw an enemy appear closeby, they rushed towards him.

"Goddamned it; why the hell did I fall for that s*** again?!" The Hitman Walker muttered under his breath, swinging his ax at the first skeleton dragon to reach him, crushing its head instantly. He twisted his body mid-fall and landed on the headless skeleton dragon; using it as a springboard, he jumped onto the body of another skeleton dragon closeby.

He took a quick glance at the ground below and spotted the Sorcerer Walker locked in a thrilling battle against the Skeleton King. The Sorcerer Walker whipped his training staff about incredibly fast, using gales to make a defensive barrier around him and the Scholar Walker, shielding them both from the Skeleton King's attacks and the skeleton dragons' draconic breath.

The Hitman Walker was surprised to see the Sorcerer Walker, but he could not ask the latter anything at that moment. With another swing of his ax, he lopped off the head of the skeleton dragon he was atop of, and before its headless body began plummeting, the Voidwalker had leaped off it, headed towards another skeleton dragon.

The numbers of the Skeleton King's skeleton dragons had begun to drop at an alarming rate. After going three or four rounds against the Sorcerer Walker, the Skeleton King could not help but noticed that its skeleton dragon troop had been reduced to the bones that littered the area around it and the Sorcerer Walker.

The Skeleton King looked up at the sky in frustration. "Who, in their right mind, designed these sorry excuses?! They were even less useful than my bloody skeleton soldiers!"

After dealing with the skeleton dragons, the Hitman Walker landed with a loud bang. When the dust cleared, he turned around and nodded at the Sorcerer Walker and the Scholar Walker.

"Did the colossal monster flung you all the way hither?!" The Scholar Walker asked.

"What?" The Hitman Walker wished to tell her that he had been 'teleported over', but he decided not to waste the time. He turned to the Skeleton King and said, "This one's a big pain in the a**. Even if you smashed its body into smithereens, it would still be able to reanimate itself… It's revolting."

"Been there," the Sorcerer Walker replied.

The Skeleton King was not a formidable foe; as a skeleton wielding a sword, there was only so much that it could do. However, it could keep resurrecting without limit, and the moment its enemies ran out of steam, the Skeleton King would then strike — hard.

However, even the Skeleton King, a being well-known for its resurrection ability, was feeling a lot of pressure at the moment. It was confident of holding its own against the archer and the berserker with two axes, but now that it also had to deal with this troublesome Sorcerer, it had begun to doubt its capabilities.

The Voidwalkers, however, did not plan to give the Skeleton King time to mull over the situation it found itself. The Hitman Walker swung his axes; the Sorcerer Walker made seven clones of himself, and the Scholar Walker began to chant. When the Skeleton Walker looked up, it realized, to its horror, that it was the target of three attacks, in a three versus one fight. It was no Grandruler — who enjoyed unlimited energy from Duat, the realm it controlled — so in mere moments, it was smashed apart mercilessly. Being smashed to bits mere moments after it resurrects was very painful for the Skeleton King to bear.

As the Sorcerer Walker and the Hitman Walker tangled with the Skeleton King, the Scholar Walker had time to observe the foe. She discovered that the Skeleton King was reassembling itself from the bones around it, so after thinking for a few moments, she began to chant the incantation for an advanced fire spell. In moments, she had summoned a bird made of flames and on command, it swept through the battlefield, incinerating every bone in the area.

The Skeleton King began to panic, knowing full well that it was done for the moment there were no bones for it to reconstruct itself. Its soul was fragile and defenseless. Although its enemies did not seem capable of making soul attacks, it did not feel relaxed.

However, the presence of the firebird was also unwanted by the Hitman Walker and the Sorcerer Walker.

"Aaaahhh! M-my clones!"

"Noooo! My favorite cloak! Goddamn it; all of my students chipped in to gift it to me!!!"

The firebird could not differentiate friend from foe, so when commanded to incinerate the bones littering a vast expanse of land, the Sorcerer Walker and the Hitman Walker both suffered from a case of mild friendly fire.

Baiyi paused the flashback at this point and cast a cold gaze at the Scholar Walker.

"Avert your opprobrious gaze, would you?!" The Scholar Walker snapped, stamping her feet in a manner akin to a child who was caught red-handed doing something wrong. "Have I not told you that this was my first practical assessment? Have you not realized why I was called 'The Great Unbending Sage'?"

"Please, just don't ever cast a such a large, offensive spell in such close proximity to your teammates, alright? If your objective was to clear away little things like bones, any low-grade spells would have done the trick," Baiyi said, shaking his head in exasperation. 'Maybe next time I shouldn't bring her out to the battlefield. She's supposed to be a Demigod-level master! She must be the Noobmaster of all Demigods that ever existed, the epitome of "reedy bookworms just can't fight"!

'In fact, maybe the reason why she was called the Great Unbending Sage was not just because she hated to move and never wanted to move—maybe it's also because it's best for everyone if she does not move.'

The Scholar Walker hung her head in shame, muttering something under her breath.

Baiyi resumed the flashback. The Skeleton King's plan to flee was completely ruined by that point—brawn-wise, it was never the match for either the Sorcerer or the Hitman, especially since the two of them were not a dolt like the Scholar in battles; With its body smashed into smithereens, which the Hitman proceeded to incinerate completely with his golden combat chi, the Skeleton King was completely devoid of materials to resurrect itself by that point.

It still commanded a large horde of skeleton soldiers, yet they were on in the frontline fighting the humans instead of standing next to it, which meant that the Skeleton King truly had no way of reassembling a new body for itself by now. Terrified and panicking, it could only pray that none of its enemies possessed attacks that could strike directly at souls so that its barren spirit could quickly flee from the battlefield.

As long as it could find any skeleton lying around, the Skeleton King would be able to come back.

The gods watching the show from above seemed to have heeded its prayers, because the very next second, a single set of skeleton body had fallen from the sky and plopped right before it..

The Skeleton King rejoiced at its own luck and was just about to dash towards the body when that skeleton suddenly stood up slowly and rubbed its own butt, muttering, "Uhh, my waist almost perished…"

That was when the Skeleton King realized that this was no normal skeleton soldier. It was a skeleton made up completely out of metal. In fact, it was none other than the Lich Walker, who had just got transported away from their original battlefield by the Grandruler through the same method.

As luck would have it, Team Voidwalkers was not the only team with a stupid teammate problem.

"Oh, what's this shiny thing?" The Lich was quick to catch the soul hovering before it. Then, producing its green staff, it mumbled, "Nice…" and began to capture the Skeleton King's soul into it!

The Skeleton King turned and tried to run, but as a soul, it could not possibly escape the hand of a Soul Magic Expert as the Lich Walker, especially when this particular lich was so powerful, it even dwarfed the one who had called itself 'The King of Liches'. What hope would a skeleton have against that?

The answer was none, to no one, and especially not the Skeleton King's surprise. It did not even let out a scream before it was immediately trapped into the Lich's green staff and became the Lich's latest slave.

Funnily, while all of that had happened, the Scholar Walker, the Hitman Walker, and the Sorcerer Walker were still discussing methods to find and dispose of their enemy's escaped soul…

Let's turn back to the Grandruler's side of the story.

From the moment he brought up the L:aw Fragment, the Grandruler had completely discarded any sense of thriftiness in using its remaining power; all it needed was enough juice to transport himself out of this Segregated Space, so he started using them to transport all his enemies to the last of its vassals nearby — the Skeleton King Galthran — so that the latter could use its endless resurrection ability to drag the enemies long enough for the Grandruler to escape, recover, and return.

Never had it ever crossed the Grandruler's mind that sending a lich to its subject would have become the undoing of its last aid, but to be fair, he was already too desperate about his own situation than to worry for others. Now that the Hitman Walker and the Lich Walker were gone, it was once again back to a one-on-one situation between himself and Lady Assassin Walker.

After seeing how their two teammates had been transported right before her eyes, the Huffing Piggies started thinking fast. To a bystander, transporting someone away was never as immediate and quick as the victims themselves had felt. In fact, from an outsider's point of view, the entire process actually took about two seconds, long enough to actually witness the victim's silhouette gradually fading out, too. For some reasons, the victims just never seemed to have sensed it, and their mind — their consciousness — even seemed to have frozen the moment they were being transported too, doing exactly nothing to save themselves.

However, the Grandruler knew this glaring problem very well. This was why he never transported himself in front of his enemies. It was because he did not want to leave a two-seconds-long opening for the Voidwalkers to seize. An average person may not be able to do anything within two seconds, but to these crazy intruders, they could probably turn the tables within two bloody seconds.

However, the Huffing Piggies seemed to have come up with a plan…

"Forgo any movement and wait for him to strike again," The Warrior Walker suddenly commanded, which Lady Assassin Walker quickly followed. It was then when the Grandruler's transportation technique caught up to her, causing Lady Assassin Walker's consciousness to freeze.

The Warrior Walker quickly seized control of her consciousness — indirectly controlling the body — into steering to a side, escaping the area of effect!

Lady Assassin's consciousness came back online at the very next split-second and stared at the Grandruler with a dumbfounded, what-just-happened face.

To be fair, even the Grandruler himself was as confused.

"Let me out, but the two of you control me when the time hits again," the Warrior Walker said, assuming the body as Lady Assassin Walker leaped into a graceful somersault. Once she landed, she poured all of her combat chi into her two fists and hurled towards the Grandruler.

The greenish, energy-created face of the Grandruler suddenly turned even greener in a panic. He knew how powerful her one punch could be!

He did it once more, trying to transport the girl out of his face.

The Warrior's consciousness sank into sudden inertia and froze in place.

The Fairy Walker, safe and sound in the Void, quickly assumed control of her body willed the body to advance forward, the Warrior Walker's fists coated in icy-blue flames.

They smacked right on the Grandruler's face!

The combat chi exploding from the fists instantly chock the entire Segregated Space In a closed space like this one, the impact erupted from the punch could escape to nowhere and so reverberated within the Segregated Space ceaselessly, causing a violent tempest of combat chi to wreck through the entire area and causing even more damage than the time back in the castle.

The Grandruler's body was completely stripped and decimated in the uncontrollable tempest. Its barren soul, defenseless and powerless against pure chaos of energy, slowly incinerated under the claws of the blue flames.

In the end, even the Segregated Space collapsed under this destructive power, allowing this pent-up chaos to suddenly escaped into the open in one split second as an outpour of icy blue combat chi taking the form of a gigantic blue cross-shaped light beam shooting straight into the sky.

Amid the cross-shaped light beam, the Warrior Walker's figure slowly trudged out, her body completely pristine and her outfit not the slightest bit wrinkled. It seemed that even without Divine Power channeling through the Divine Leathersuit, its defense mechanism was still unparalleled.

"Pristine not!" Lady Assassin Walker snapped from her seat next to Baiyi, her tone a little bit surly. "We've got quite some wear and tear, you know, here and there? You just can't tell from the outside. Whatever, though, we've been waiting for you to come home to fix it, but you came home so late! We were forced to become deflated sex dolls thanks to you!"

'Why did you even refer to yourselves as sex dolls?!' Baiyi instantly pulled himself out of that flashback and shot a look at her.

He decided to not address it anyhow and asked, "What about that Law Fragment? It's alright, yes…?"

Lady Assassin Walker did not answer him immediately and instead grinned at him so sweetly her eyes turned into lines. She even tilted her head sideways as if waiting for him to beg her for the Fragment...

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

440 The Eldest Daughter Has Matured

When Baiyi saw Lady Assassin Walker grinning at him like a crazy person, he shook his head helplessly, sighing. Opening his palms, he said, "Well?"

However, The stubborn Lady Assassin Walker shook her head sideways and turned her face away, intent on ignoring him.

Exasperated, Baiyi exclaimed, "Can I expect the eldest one to discipline the younger ones?"

"I hear you!" Lady Assassin Walker switched places with the Fairy Walker. She smiled and leaned on Baiyi before planting a kiss on his face mask.

There was nothing more…

"Where's the Law Fragment?" An expression of confusion appeared on Baiyi's face mask.

"How should I know? You're the only who has seen that thing before," the Fairy Walker said, shrugging. "We don't even know how to handle it."

"Why are you here, then?" Baiyi asked, his voice breaking the awkward silence that had begun to form.

"To kiss you, duh! Hee hee~" The Fairy grinned[1] before switching places with the Warrior Walker.

Unlike the last two, the Warrior Walker did not appear with a smile. She stared daggers at Baiyi for a moment before turning away; it was evident she was mad. She got up from the seat beside Baiyi and walked over to Mia, pulling the younger into a hug.

Mia had been playing with Little Anna, as she did not have anything to contribute to Baiyi's discussion. Mia treated Little Anna as though as she were a cute, little doll, rubbing her cheeks hard against the little girl's. Little Anna, who seemed to enjoy it, was doing the same to Mia. If one were watching the two, the person would almost be able to perceive the heartwarming scent of lilies. [2]

"Huh? What's the matter, Big Sister Warrior?" A confused Mia asked the Warrior Walker, who had her in a tight embrace.

"All that heartless knave cares about is power, knowledge, or whatever! Other than his 'great work', what else is there for him to love? Do you understand? Men like him cannot be depended on to understand us or remember us; hence, from now on, we'll have to fend for ourselves and each other," the Warrior Walker murmured sadly as she gently caressed Mia's hair. The scene seemed to portray both women as a mother and daughter pair who had just been abandoned.

'Everyone here is busy, yet you choose to throw a tantrum for no reason? You even dragged the kid into it,' Baiyi thought, sighing.

"Ugh! I'll ignore her for now and coax her out of it later," Baiyi decided and turned back the Scholar Walker and the others. "So, what about you guys? Did you find that Law Fragment?"

They shook their heads sideways at the same time. It was as though they had collectively forgotten to retrieve the most important item from the Grandruler, and this left Baiyi greatly dismayed.

"Well, since the Grandruler has been finished off, the story of Duat should be over for the time being, yes? What happened to other areas being affected by his invasion? Are they bad?" Baiyi asked. "There's something else I noticed, too; why are there so many Voidwalkers here present now? I don't recall seeing that many of you before I left for Duat with the other. when I left!"

When Baiyi left for Duat, with five Voidwalkers, the Voidwalkers he left behind at Da Xue were Archmage Walker, the Alchemist Walker, the Paladin Walker, and two others. Moments before Baiyi was forcefully teleported to another universe, he had forcefully summoned the Archmage Walker and took the Voidwalker with him. Hence, they should be even fewer Voidwalkers present.

Now, however, there were more Voidwalker sitting in the room. Even the Knight Walker — a Voidwalker who hardly made an appearance — was seated at the corner of the room with Attie and Mordred. He looked to be divulging some secrets of swordsmanship to them. [3]

"You may benefit from this revelation," the Scholar Walker said as she passed Baiyi a new memory.

After Baiyi had watched it, he realized that when the Grandruler was annihilated, its army of undead showed no signs of retreating. They had invaded a lot of settlements in Isythre, causing the death tool to skyrocket.

When Baiyi invaded Duat, the Grandruler realized that it had lost the element of surprise and sent its undead army to attack Isythre. The undead army invaded towns and villages that were not properly protected. The slain residents became undead and joined the invading undead army; it was a cruel strategy. Many towns and settlements quickly became graveyards filled with undead. Whenever the undead army attacked a town, their numbers would increase before they move on to the next town, as the inhabitants of the previous town would have joined their ranks as undead.

The Voidwalkers were not there to see the horror unfold. None of them wanted to be there, either.

The undead soon began to pay attention to Arfin City. After Da Xue was opened for business, the population in Arfin City skyrocketed. The portal to Da Xue's micro realm — where the mighty Voidwalkers lived — was in Arfin City, but the city council employed only regular fighters in a bid to save money. That being said, no one was crazy enough to attack the city. Even if a war was to break war, no one would risk the wrath of a Voidwalker.

That sort of caution was only borne from intelligent minds; witless zombies could not care less, though. They knew nothing of anything, including Da Xue, so when a golem scout in the undead army spotted the highly populated city, whose defense was not up to par, it quickly reported upward, to the commander of the undead army — Zombie King Szackal.

The Zombie King was elated at the news. That city was a large, juicy pie, and nothing would stop them from eating it. The people its army would slay could become undead and join its army. The Zombie King was so excited that it summoned the undead attacking other towns, ordering them to regroup before a march on Arfin City could commence.

This recall inadvertently saved many cities that were almost raided by the undead, including as Mia's hometown, Wyllspringshire.

News of the undead invasions reached Vidomina pretty quickly. As Hope was unavailable and the Archmage's suit of armor, as she was told, suddenly crashed to the floor and hadn't gotten up since then, she was automatically in charge of the institution, for the time being. When Vidomina saw, from a clip recorded magically, a sea of undead marching towards Arfin City, she began to panic so hard that she almost burst into tears.

She hurriedly took out a communication slab to contact her father — Baiyi, not her biological dad. However, she received no answer from him, as he had been forcefully teleported away. She knew nothing of that, though.

The sweet gramps, who protected the institution in Baiyi's absence, had also disappeared mysteriously, so Vidomina had no choice but to summon all the Voidwalkers and professors at Da Xue for an emergency meeting.

After Aya had watched the clip Vidomina sent her, she frowned. The number of undead marching towards the city was so much, anyone would get a cardiac arrest from seeing so many beings at once. "I can't believe it… These numbers…"

The dragon knights in Da Xue at the time were few, not enough to fight that many enemies. Miss Undine had appeared two days prior and requested for some dragons knights to guard some valuable goods that were being shipped to the Northern Continent. She had eventually hired more than half of the dragon knights at Da Xue for this task. The remaining dragons had been taken on an excursion by Mordred.

Hence, at the time, there were a few dragon knights left, but there were no dragons. The only dragon still in the micro realm was Aya, but she would not let anyone but Baiyi ride her.

When Aya informed the emergency council that the majority of their strongest fighting force, the dragon knights, had 'gone partying with a rich babe', Undine, the professors turned grim.

A professor from the Doors of Conundrum spoke up, "Should we take everyone into Da Xue before sealing the transporter portal?"

Da Xue was not situated in Arfin City; that was just where its gate was. If one was to shut down the transporter portal there, Da Xue would be isolated from Isythre. It was only then that those at Da Xue could be considered safe from the invasion. It was a wise suggestion that could guarantee the safety of many lives.

However, the Engineer Walker was quick to disagree with this suggestion. "That can't be done. We do not have the time to ferry hundreds of millions of Arfin's residents here. Furthermore, the transporter portal was not designed to take in that many people at once; any attempt to do so would cause it to collapse."

Vidomina nodded and chimed in, "The school doesn't get too many visitors, so our transporter portal was not redesigned to accommodate a great number of people. Thus, we can't take in that many refugees right now."

"Maybe we should help defend the city, then," Joseph — Da Xue's first human teacher — suggested. As the oldest primary professor, his words carried a lot of weight, even to Vice-Principal Vidomina.

"No, Teacher Joseph," Vidomina replied. "That would be too risky. Besides, with the number of people here, we won't be able to help much."

"We could enlist help from the students, right?" A professor from the Knights Association pitched in.

"No!" Vidomina and Joseph cried out in unison.

Baiyi encouraged his students to develop their skills through excursions, but he was dead-set on not allowing them to take part in actual wars; he would never gamble with these lives of his students.

People like Vidomina and Joseph, who had been by Baiyi's side for a long time, knew this. This was why both had so quickly rejected the professor's proposal.

"Why not?!" That professor asked hotly. He was very muscular, and his face was framed by a thick beard and a mustache. His muscles bulged in his anger, almost causing his uniform to rip. "I don't care what you sorcerers think. We, the Faculty of Knights, have always believed that only real wars can make a true knight out of a man! If neither of you intends to do so, then I'll personally lead my students to the front line!"

Vidomina's beautifully-arched brows furrowed. Professor Halsey — or "Bull" Halsey as many called him — was not among the professors she had a lot of contact with, but his reputation preceded his name. He was among the first batch of instructors from the Knights Association to be hired by Da Xue; thus, he had gained a lot of prestige at the academy. He was also a dedicated and responsible professor, and his teaching methods were a great deal more reliable than those of the Voidwalkers. These are the reasons why Baiyi trusts him a lot.

As the leader of the Knights Faculty, the Hitman Walker, was unavailable — whilst the Knight Walker was in the Void — Professor Halsey was in charge. If he really wanted to lead the faculty's students and professors into battle, he could, as Da Xue's protocols placed his authority in his department higher than those of Vidomina and Joseph.

"Professor Halsey, I beseech you to calm down a little. Surely you know that the Grand Principal himself is against leading students into war," Vidomina gloomily said as she gave Attie a look.

As a professor in the Knight Faculty and Baiyi's Kitty Cat Maid, the words of the bodacious Attie carried as much weight as Professor Halsey's did within the Knights Faculty.

"I get you, young lady, but I also know this: he would be even more repulsed if we leave by the idea of leaving hundreds of millions of innocent people to be maimed by those monsters just because we wanted to save our skin!" Professor Halsey thundered and got up from his seat, ready to leave.

"No, I won't allow it!" Vidomina yelled.

Professor Halsey smirked at her and shook his head. "You're quite the pampered little princess, Vice Principal Vidomina. The two of you are."

With that, he turned around.

Attie stood up as well, and instead of stopping Professor Halsey, she turned to the rest of the council and said, "Please excuse me. I need to start gathering the students."

Attie had become the docile Kitty Cat Maid, causing many people to forget her real identity. She was from the plains, and was once a King who ruled tribes of barbarians! The courage and determination of a barbarian coursed through her veins. This was something that could no be erased by time.

"Ha! Looks like we have a smart lass with us!" Professor Halsey smiled. "I'll be summoning students from the advanced grades; you must wait for us!"

'A-Attie?!" Vidomina was alarmed. She shot to her feet, causing her chest to jiggle. She had never expected her best friend, Attie, to side with Professor Halsey at such a critical moment!

"He's not wrong, you know," Attie said calmly. "If Master was around, he would definitely stand up for those innocent people. I'm not as strong as Master, so I'm not confident that I could achieve victory if I go out there on my own, whilst the lot of you sit back. Hence, I have to bring more people with me to win."

With that, she left.

Tisdale, who had not said anything since the meeting started, suddenly stood up. Her gaze shifted to the departing professors, Halsey and Attie, and in a commanding tone, she called out, "Bring only students at the Fourth Grade; make sure that they are ranked in the top one hundred."

As Baiyi's personal assistant and the second-in-command at Da Xue, her words were something even Halsey had to heed. The man stopped and turned, asking, "Only a hundred? Are you sure that's enough?"

"Bring them to the part of the defense where it's safer, so they can as back up. With students from other faculties, I'm sure it will suffice," Tisdale replied confidently.

"What about the main defense? Would it be the city guards, or them?" Halsey eyed the Engineer Walker and the other Voidwalkers.

The Engineer nodded. "It seems you hold prejudice against us, sir. The marionette army will naturally be serving as the main defense."

Halsey was stunned for a while, but he quickly recovered. He flashed the council a thumbs-up and hurried off to gather his students.

Tisdale turned to Joseph and said, "Teacher Joseph, please bring one hundred... no. Bring the fifty students ranked in the top fifty. They will be used as a back-up for the main defense."

'Professor Nobel, please equip your best students with enough restorative potions and antidotes. I will need them as support."

"Haha! Looks like Little Dale is all grown-up and fit to be a reliable commander now! Good; we'll be delighted to offer you our latest inventions!" The Alchemist Walker laughed, leaving the room in high spirit.

"Big Sister Aya? These students may need your help as well.".

"Mm, understood. We don't have dragons, but we still have the knights. I'll summon them," she replied.

With that, Tisdale had assumed command and given directives to everyone. Things were moving smoothly as they would if Baiyi was there.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

441 This Is Not An Act of Callousness

Vidomina quietly watched Tisdale confidently give everyone in the room their directives. She seemed to take everything into account, doling out commands clearly with a calm demeanor. The professors left one after the other, and soon, only those from the Faculty of Theology remained.

"Cia, please go see Bishop Weslie from the Church. See if you can recruit some people from him who will serve as a backup. I know we don't mix well with the other, but when it comes to saving innocent lives, we share a common ground. By the way, Professor Hantai…" Tisdale sternly said, "Could you please not stare at my legs so much? If Sir finds out about this, he's gonna hit you really hard."

"Cough! E-excuse me, Dale, it's, uh, out of habit…" The Paladin Walker stammered, flushing red in embarrassment. He scratched the back of his helmet before suddenly bolting from the room. It was as though he had been fleeing from a fight.

Laeticia gave Tisdale a nod and dashed after him.

Only Vidomina and Tisdale were left in the room. After seeing to all the tasks necessary, an exhausted Tisdale sank into the couch and exhaled deeply in relief.

Vidomina walked to the back of the couch and wrapped her arms around Tisdale from behind. She rested her chin lightly on Tisdale's shoulder and whispered, "Gosh... Big Sister Dale, I almost felt like we were students, not teachers, just like old times... you know? To be honest with you, when Professor Halsey snapped at me earlier, I… I didn't know what to do. I'm so glad that you… that you assumed control, Big Sister Dale."

Back when the girls were students at Da Xue, Tisdale had been unanimously considered the leader of their group. She was the first student that Baiyi awarded the platinum pendant. At that time, her peers considered her the cream of the crop, and they all respected and admired her.

In the past, the girl who Baiyi protected the most was definitely Mia. Nota was the most docile girl of the group, as well as the most independent. Attie was the strongest, no doubt, as she had regained the attention and love of her War God. Modred had the best basics, and Vidomina had the strongest background. [1]

The girl who learned the most from Baiyi was Tisdale. She took after Baiyi in many ways, so it was only natural that Baiyi expected the most from her, which was why he trusted her way more than the others. In the sisterhood, the other girls looked up to Tisdale as their big sister.

Although Tisdale enjoyed Vidomina's words of comfort, she could tell that a shadow hung over Vidomina's head. She turned around and rubbed her cheeks gently against Vidomina's, cooing, "Next time, when Sir and I are not around, everyone would look up to you."

"Do you think it's possible for someone like me to be as good as you, Big Sister Dale?" Vidomina mumbled, her tone filled with self-doubt.

"You'll make it!" Tisdale covered Vidomina's hand with hers and gave a little squeeze. "A lot of things in the academy require your insight and help. Right now, we need to take care of the incoming refugees; hat's where you're most needed."

"I'll do my best!" Vidomina mustered up her courage and replied firmly.

As the management and staff of Da Xue prepared to face the army of undead that was marching towards Arfin City — by gathering resources, stocking their inventories with weapons, and gathering students — the City Lord of Arfin City got on his coach and left his fort, rushing towards the street Vidomina got Baiyi in the past, which housed the portal leading to Da Xue's micro realm.

This street had long since been renovated, as it played host to the portal of the most prestigious academy in the world. The street was now crowded with the residents of Arfin City. They were not yet aware of the undead army heading their way, but they were scared when they discovered that another realm, Duat, was merging with Isythre, their realm. A few residents had gone to seek an explanation from the City Lord of Arfin City, but many other residents chose to come to this street, as it was known as the abode for the best and brightest people in the city..

When the people saw their City Lord's coach galloping towards the street, the dread that they had been feeling could no longer be contained. Fear is contagious; in just a few moments, their fright grew into a full-blown panic. The City Lord's coach was quickly surrounded on all sounds by people pleading for an explanation. They did not pay any mind to the guards around the coach.

"Please, tell us what's going on!"

"Why are you going to Da Xue, City Lord? Are you fleeing from something?"

The spot where the City Lord's coach was parked was surrounded by a crowd of people. The grand building in which Da Xue's transporter portal was located was also surrounded by a huge crowd of people. The building had a large gate, and the gate was surrounded by a vast number of guards, who stopped the residents from rushing into the building. They were acting on orders they had received from Da Xue.

The moment panic spread across the crowd, it became a mob.

"Why are you blocking us from entering?! Somebody explains this now!"

"My son! My son's in there! I want to see him!"

"Do you know who I am? I'm one of the biggest sponsors of your academy! I demand an audience with Grand Principal Hope!"

Riots broke out across the street. The guards present were already manning the gate, and with no one to control the guard, even the gate's guards would eventually be overwhelmed by the raging mob!

Suddenly, the transporter portal lit up, and Attie — who was clad in a white, partially-translucent satin robe, with only a few pieces of clothes covering her important body parts — walked out of it. This was the most revealing outfit Baiyi would let her wear in public. Nevertheless, her curvaceous figure and her deliciously-tanned skin were on full display, and she paid no mind to the stares of astonishment being directed her way. With a loud voice, she announced, "Everyone of you should go home, and stay there. No harm will befall you because we will protect you."

Attie took two steps forward and said, "Please leave. Da Xue will soon deploy many of its students and resources; your presence will only block the way."

This caused an uproar in the street. However, some people were able to discern Attie's identity through her skin color, and they murmured amongst themselves, saying, "Isn't that Professor Attie from the Faculty of Knights that everyone's talking about?"

"How did a beautiful and young lady like her get a job as Da Xue's professor? Could it be….?"

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't look down on her! The people that hold positions in prestigious institutions like Da Xue are powerful and deserving of acclaim; they are not sedentary academics! Where do you think this is? It's Da Xue!"

Although Attie's attire did not resemble a battle armor, despite her age, she was still able to garner the faith of the crowd with a few sentences. They believed in Da Xue, so they believed in her.

"Well, if Da Xue is personally seeing to this, then I guess it's as good as solved, right? Grand Principal Hope has saved the world multiple times already, so if he's around, there's nothing for us to fear."

"We really should leave, then. We'll just block their way if we remain here."

"What's going on, though?! If students and resources are also being deployed, that can only mean that something terrible has happened!"

When Attie heard the mumbling, she cleared her throat and announced, "There's a legion of hostile enemies on its way to attack Arfin City. We're going to destroy them."

The crowd was upset by this revelation. Were large scale wars not supposed to be behind them at this point? Who would want to attack them now? Northerners? Demons?

Slightly farther away from where Attie was standing, a loud voice pierced the air. "Everyone, settle down!"

The crowd turned around and saw that it had come from the Mayor, whose coach was still surrounded by concerned residents. As his coach could not move any furthermore, the pot-bellied man had to climb onto its roof, just so he could be heard.

He gave a speech, telling the crowd that a group of enemies wished to invade the city. However, he did not reveal to the crowd that the would-be invaders were undead, neither did he state how many they were. He did, however, assure the crowd that his administration and Da Xue were working together to defend their beloved city.

"Now, I don't think anyone here questions the strength of Grand Principal Hope, right? With him on our side, the invaders would be unable to lay even a finger on you, so please, go home; when the battle to defend you all breaks out, we don't wish for any of you to get hurt," the Mayor said.

When the crowd heard this, they reigned in their fear and let the Da Xue's guards lead them out of the street, back to their respective homes.

The Mayor watched the crowd recede and quickly jumped down from his coach. He hurried over to Attie, whose slender waist and supple breasts he ogled at for a moment. "Professor Attie, might I ask where is Grand Principal Hope? The situation we're dealing with is really dangerous, you know, so it'll really help if he could see to it himself."

It was quite obvious, from his words, that the man did not think highly of Attie's skills.

However, Attie indifferently replied, "Master has gone to another realm. He's not around."

"W-what?! What the hell?" The Mayor's face instantly turned white. "T-then… Then surely His Majesty the Sage Emperor of the Magi could offer his expertise, y-yes?"

The First Voidwalker's true identity had a subject of many rumors, but as there had been nothing concrete to go on, everyone was left to believe whatever they wanted. As the person leading Arfin City, the Mayor had had numerous dealings with Da Xue, which made him privy to information not known to the general populace. He knew about Baiyi's relationship with the First Voidwalker — and he secretly referred to the duo as 'Calamity Personified'. If Hope was unavailable, their safety would still be guaranteed if the Emperor of the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire made an appearance.

"Gramps? His armor suddenly crashed to the floor," Attie replied.

"C-r-ashed?!" The Mayor's face became unsightly. 'What are you Voidwalkers made out of? Toy bricks?! How does one even "crash" so suddenly'?

"Then, what are we going to do now?!" The Mayor exclaimed frantically. "There's only about an hour left before the first wave of undead knocks on our front gate!"

Attie frowned at this. "Do you sincerely believe that Da Xue has only Master and Gramps, right?"

She glanced behind momentarily and turned back, and with a trace of impatience, she said, "Move, would you?"

The transporter portal behind her emitted a series of bright flashes and towering metallic, magical marionettes marched out from the portal in orderly rows. When the last marionette had walked out of the portal, the oval heads of the marionettes turned around at the same time, revealing a brightly-glowing red-eye in the middle of each of their faces.

The magical marionettes had been activated. Their large legs moved as they began marching forward without breaking their formation, crushing the walls in their way without care. Soon, they had marched out of the building.

The Mayor's eyes widened when he saw the seven-foot-tall magical marionettes. His gaze shifted from their jet-black casing to the prongs sticking out of their hands, elbows, and arms. Their grotesque appearance left him shocked. His throat was dry from fright.

A marionette turned and began to size him up with its round eye, and the Mayor almost jumped in terror.

"Y-you mean to say… D-Da Xue has had such forces hidden behind the academy's wall?" The Mayor exclaimed in terror. He was so shocked by the magical marionettes that his chosen words belied his true opinion of the academy.

Attie shot him a mirthless smile and replied, "Please. These are old models; our Engineering Faculty created them three years ago for the Imperial Engineering Tournament. Your master, the Emperor, knew about it ages ago… I'm surprised he did not think you worthy to know of it! I guess your performance must not have pleased him well."

The Mayor's face turned red, and he opened his mouth but closed it back. He seemed ready to argue, but eventually, he decided to swallow his words and change the subject. "So what am I supposed to do now?"

"Go back to where you're supposed to be, and do what you're supposed to do," Attie replied and walked away, leaving the Mayor speechless.

The real reason why he had hurried all the way to Baiyi's street upon learning of the approaching undead army, instead of communicating with them via communication slab, was to seek asylum in Da Xue. Attie's words rid him of that desire, though.

He was not just the mayor of Arfin City, but he was also the Emperor's loyal lapdog. In public, the Mayor called himself as Da Xue's most reliable partner, but in truth, he was a spy, gathering intelligence on the activities of Da Xue and the Voidwalkers. This was not a secret to the upper management at Da Xue, and now Attie had called him out on the bad job he had done as an informant. This was her way of telling him that he should not have dreamed that Da Xue would grant someone like him a sanctuary.

Other than the Mayor, there were some other people who knew of the undead army approaching Arfin City. When the public had retreated to their homes, many nobles rushed towards Baiyi's street, hoping to be granted asylum at Da Xue.

However, they were swiftly blocked out of the way by the three-years-old magical marionettes—apparently, these marionettes were not dispatched to fight the undead by the gate, but to sealed off the street leading toe Da Xue's gate.

The nobles quickly introduced themselves, yelling out illustrious names to threaten the marionettes into letting them in. However, the cold machines only glared at the nobles, causing them to shut their mouths. Some of them turned away quietly, but others remained there, fuming and throwing insults at Baiyi and Da Xue.

It was a decision made by Tisdale. They would protect the city, and at the same time, they would protect Da Xue, too; The grand project Baiyi had built mattered just as much as the lives of the people of the Arfin city. If they allowed the people to rush into their academy, the mob might deal more damage to the academy than the undead would.

"Honestly, compared to any calamity, hysteric people were a catastrophe." This was what Baiyi had once told Tisdale. She remembered it well enough.

This was why Da Xue would never be open to outsides, except the situation was really dire.

It was not an act of callousness. Tisdale had promised to make people consider it unnecessary to seek asylum at Da Xue.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

442 She Is Going To Fly Straight Until Morning

The road to Da Xue had been sealed, and activities within the campus had seized. There was only the foreboding atmosphere that preluded a war. The students whose names were called quickly picked their best weapons and gadgets, while the students whose names weren't called formed a group and gossiped in low voices.

The students at Da Xue took the entire situation calmly — something one would rarely see from students their age. This was not a surprise, though, as Da Xue's students had had to pass stringent tests before they were admitted. These tests had been designed to weed those without bravery and calm.

Attie had nothing to do in this preparatory stage, so she headed to the city guards' headquarters. Her revealing outfit attracted a lot of the attention from the guards, who now found themselves gawking at her, instead of focusing on the approaching enemies.

When Attie reached the entrance of the headquarters, her path was blocked by a guard.

"It's okay. Please, let Professor Attie in." The voice of a youth rang out; it belonged to a young tactician, who hurried out of the building only moments after speaking. He bowed low to Attie and said, "Good to see you, Professor Attie!"

There was a pendant on his neck; it had the emblem of Da Xue engraved on it. The emblem was not made from platinum, but bronze. The pendants were keepsakes for people that had graduated from Da Xue, but a bronze pendant held a lot less prestige than a platinum pendant.

Nevertheless, a bronze pendant was enough to get the graduate a position as the tactician of the guardsmen of the largest city.

"You've graduated from the academy, alright? There's no need to be so formal," Attie casually replied, ruffling the young tactician's hair as though he was a kid.

The youth's face turned red, and he hurriedly turned his face away in an attempt not to stare at the bewitching curves revealed by Attie skimpy, satin outfit. The nervous youth could not help stuttering, "Is there… Is there something we can help you w-with, Professor Attie?"

"There is." She tossed a communication slab over to him. "In a while, Tisdale, your senior will send Da Xue's battle strategies to the headquarters, just so that you may look for ways to cooperate."

After that, Attie turned around and walked away. When she was about to leave the barracks, she stopped and turned to the youth, who had been watching her walk away. "There are no professors to protect all of you, now, so take care of yourself, and don't die!"

"Understood!" The young man stood straight and shouted. "I'll show Professor Attie just how much I grew after I graduated!"

Mimicking Baiyi's style, Attie turned around and waved while she walked away.

When Attie reached the city's outer walls, she realized that she could not remember the young tactician's name. She could, however, recall that he had been extremely ballsy in his time at Da Xue, as he was among the brats who had sent her a love letter. Now, that little punk had grown into someone responsible for protecting the lives of hundreds of millions.

A small smile appeared on Attie's face. She believed that she now understood why her master loved teaching so much. It was probably because of the joy brought about by watching the brats grow.

Attie's smile did not last long, though. The thin, black line in the horizon had begun to thicken.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and the sunlight was supposed to be at its zenith; however, as Duat was being superimposed onto Isythre, the sky had darkened. It was as though dusk had arrived. A night of terror was about to begin. The long, thickening black line in the distance was like the dark of night, inching towards them.

"They're here already?" Attie murmured. She walked forward and picked up a dagger lying just outside the city wall, then she pulled the blade out of its scabbard. She raised her left hand and smashed it down on the dagger's blade, chopping it in half. .

The Divine Mark hidden in her chest moved to her forehead and began to glow brightly. The scintillating glow soon divided into three colors: red, blue, and yellow. Three beams of light burst out of the Divine Mark. The red light, which at the center, shone the brightest, as though it was the leader of the beams. The beams shot upwards and glowed even brighter, and it looked as though Attie was wearing a crown with three colors.

The severed blade in her hand began to glow in three different colors, and a tricolored light beam burst out of the dagger's handle, making it resembled a sword with a tricolored blade. Attie had turned an average dagger into a War God's Sword!

She soared into the air and pointed her tri-colored sword at the incoming sea of undead. Without a loud bang, she sped towards them. Her tricolored sword left three light beams in its wake, and these beams began to spiral around the speeding Attie. She was like a technicolored, diamond drill coursing through the sky.

A spy marionette as small as a grain of sand, which Tisdale used, had been making rounds around the city walls captured the scene. Vidomina could not help exclaiming in shock, "Is that the War God's Sword? I thought Godfather had borrowed it! Why is it in her hands now? Has Godfather returned?"

"I don't think so," Tisdale replied, shaking her head sideways. "Sir once said that the War God's Sword was just the manifestation of one of the Arbiter Rights that the War God possesses. Now that the original manifestation is missing, the War God probably gave Attie a new Arbiter Right that was similar… Gods could gift any part of its Rights to whoever they chose to.

"If that's the case, then I feel much more relieved, as we have the War God on our side!" Vidomina replied, her expression relaxing.

"That would be the case for Arfin City, at least. I wouldn't be so relaxed when it comes to, well, others," Tisdale murmured.

The table before them had ten communication slabs on it. Vidomina leaned forward to study them and realized that every one of them was displaying distress signals from other cities!

She frowned. 'How many undead are we actually dealing with?'

"An endless horde" may not be the right term to describe the number of invaders. This was supported by the fact that although the sea of undead approaching Arfin City seemed endless, these undead had been gathered from a few armies of undead nearby. They were only a third of the undead terrorizing Isythre.

The other two-thirds of the undead had, acting on the Grandruler's command, gone to attack the cities with weak defenses — 'weak cities'. The more humans died in one city, the more undead storm the next city. Their numbers were skyrocketing at a crazy pace, but the number of humans who could fight them did not increase despite being low. Only a few young men and women were strong enough to put up a fight. Most of the people that inhabited Arfin City were not fighters; should they die, they would only serve to increase the number of undead wreaking havoc on Isythre.

The disparity between the numbers of undead and humans was growing at an alarming rate!

The inhabitants of weak cities that were close to other cities with strong defenses, 'strong cities', were luckier; in the face of an invasion, they could flee to the strong cities that were close by, taking shelter there. This could not be said for small to midsized weak cities that were situated in rural areas. These cities were the main targets of the undead.

"Their priority is to attack cities with little to no defense!?" Vidomina's expression turned solemn. "This isn't a war; it's a massacre!"

"Why expect human morales and standards from a bunch of walking corpses?" Tisdale said, looking a little confused.

"Whatever. What are we gonna do now?" Vidomina asked. She looked visibly distressed.

Tisdale had no answer. Her brows were knotted tightly as she thought hard.

It was no surprise that the Empire did not possess enough manpower or resources to save all the cities from the onslaught. The Church, the Sorcerers' Association, and Da Xue were the only organizations with enough manpower to offer any meaningful assistance to the struggling cities.

Having arrived at the realization, Tisdale hurried over to one of the communications slabs on the table, intent on contacting someone, but before she could reach it, the slab began to blink, indicating an incoming message.

It had been sent from someone she knew back in the day.

"Good evening, Miss Dale. I'm afraid that's the greeting I can offer under our terrible time constraint. I'm the Vice President of the Sorcerers' Association, Grant. I would like to inquire about Da Xue's plans regarding our current crisis."

Vice President Grant, who was famous mostly for his duel with Baiyi, was once suspected of having ties with the Godsfall cult. Baiyi had reported him to the Church's Judiciary Court. However, ten years had passed since them, but Grant retained his position, as no incriminating evidence to support Baiyi's claim had come to light, despite how much effort the Church put into finding one. Most of the people who observed the trial came up with two possibilities: one, Grant was truly innocent of what he had been accused of, or two, he really had been a part of Godsfall but cut ties with the cult at exactly the right time.

At that moment, however, Vice President Grant was still a famous but neutral party who could be negotiated with.

When Tisdale realized who she was talking to, she paused briefly before replying, "Respected Vice President, quite coincidentally, we would also like to know the Association's stance on this matter."

Grant was silent for a time, and when he finally spoke, his answer was no direct. "Is Grand Principal Hope unavailable? Is His Royal Majesty also unavailable?"

"Yes; both are not here with us. Da Xue is now under the command of Vidomina and me," Tisdale replied.

Grant was silent for even longer, this time. A long while later, he said, "To be honest with you, the Association has also received multiple distress signals, and we have tried our best to provide relief to those that sought us. However, there's a limit to what we can do; this is something I am sure that you, a fellow sorcerer, would understand. As per the Association's rules, we cannot provide too many hands."

There were many sorcerers in this universe, and a majority of them had registered at the Sorcerer's Association. However, the control that the Sorcerer's Association had over its members was limited. Some were lecturers at Da Xue or loyal to other organizations. Hence, in the face of such a large-scale crisis, the number of personnel that the Sorcerer's Association could provide was actually lesser than most people would think.

At the moment, the Sorcerers' Association could only assemble between three to five armies of sorcerers, which each army containing between two to five hundred sorcerers each. Although this paled in comparison to the number of undead marching in unison, if the sorcerers teamed up with local defense forces, they could still buy enough time for the inhabitants of Arfin City to escape.

In the end, the biggest problem at hand was the number of undead wreaking havoc in Isythre. There were too many cities that needed help, and the number of personnel that the Sorcerer's Association and Da Xue could provide was minuscule; their hands were tied.

"How many can you provide?" Tisdale asked.

"Three complete sorcerer troops, which adds up to one thousand and five hundred men; I'll personally lead them," Vice President Grant replied. He did not sound optimistic, though. "I know it's not a lot, but it can't be helped. About half of our forces were taken other places, for example, the Imperial City, the Holy City, and the Templar Fort. We simply could not reject their requests. Now, this many people is all we can assemble."

"What about the Knights Association? I'll wager that you contacted them already," Tisdale said.

"They had a bit more to offer, but it's just about five thousand men."

Vidomina, who had been listening in on their conversation, grimaced. Five thousand knights will sound like a lot, until one realizes that the number of knights in this world was a lot more than the number of sorcerers. With the number of knights that answered to the Knights Association, the five thousand knights currently on offer was a small unit. The Knights' Association seemed even more miserly than the Sorcerers' Association.

"They have their problems, too," Tisdale whispered in Vidomina's ears. "Unlike Da Xue and the headquarters of the Sorcerers' Association, the HQ of the Knights' Association was not completely secured. They needed a lot of their own men to protect it."

Tisdale turned her attention back to the communication slab and began to negotiate with Grant. She offered to rally up a few troops, but their numbers were not so great, either.

Grant was not displeased, though. It was rather rare for an academy to offer help in situations like the current one. Da Xue was not even as large as the Doors of Conundrum. The latter had offered to send over many of its executives, but these people were just bookworms, whose knowledge of battle were insufficient. No one could tell if these executives would be a huge help or just get in the way of the others.

Da Xue was a lot more reliable than that.

Vice President Grant's plan was to rally as many forces as he could into a massive relief army, whose focus would be on saving the cities that could still be saved. Before placing a call through to Tisdale, Grant had contacted other notable organizations, and other than the Church, who believed they could take down the enemies just fine on their own, everyone else he approached agreed to join.

With that, the largest force, created for rescue and relief, formed from members of notable organizations was established. Grant was to lead the force, and Tisdale, who had declined to take a leadership role, gathered up about three hundred students and some lectures from both the Knights Faculty and Sorcerers Faculty of Da Xue.

She made sure to remind Grant in a threatening manner to take proper care of the students. "I'm sure the Vice President remembers how we do things at Da Xue, yes? Gosh, my teacher and His Royal Highness Grampa both have quite the temper! It's fine to accept the help of our students, but their safety must be your priority."

When Grant heard the words "Grand Principal Hope" and "Sage-Emperor of the Magi", he felt a chill crawl up his spine. These two had a habit of abandoning reason whenever they choose to; they would not hesitate to seek retribution against anyone who had stoked the fires of their wrath.

Grant still remembered something that happened two years prior. The thesis of a student at Da Xue was plagiarized by a sorcerer with a well-connected background. Grant quickly rushed over to rectify the situation, but what awaited him was the sight of Hope and the Sage-Emperor already inside Babel Tower.

They did not talk to anyone whatsoever. They both stretched out their hands, and a large black tome appeared over their hands and began to flip through its own pages. Without wasting any time, they had begun to mutter some incantations.

A while later, they left feeling satisfied. The thesis-thief had knelt in front of the student who was stolen from, begging for her forgiveness. The student who was stolen from was paid a large sum of money. However, the thesis-thief was still kicked from the Sorcerer's Association.

Grant suddenly began to feel that he may not hae made the right decision. Was he just inviting trouble by inviting them in?

After the communication went dead, Vidomina grinned slyly at Tisdale. "Lemme guess; the people we dispatched do not constitute a part of our true power, right?"

"Of course. Sir does not trust that man, so neither do we," Tisdale replied matter-of-factly.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

443 A Different Transformation

While Tisdale negotiated with other forces on Da Xue's behalf, Attie flew over the undead army with her tricolored sword in tow, and sharp wind blades generated by her flight speed shredded a large group of golems below into pieces.

Her eyes were fixed on the spot where the largest concentration of undead was, and she dove straight at them.

A few seconds later, farther away from the undead, the soldiers guarding the city wall noticed a bright explosion erupt in the distance, where the undead were. A ring-like shock wave began to spread out from the point of impact, and soon reached the sturdy city wall, which was far away, causing it to shake.

The soldiers knew how devasting the impact must have been, as the effects of its tremor were felt so far away.

Attie stood at the center of a crater, alone, examining the marred landscape around her. In a low voice, she said, "Not good. It's not enough… Their number is simply too much."

To the east of the city was where the undead had its lowest numbers. This was because most of the undead were focused on the south, where the cities closest to Arfin City were situated. The reason why the enemy directed most of the undead there, was so that they could seal off the main route, preventing the humans from receiving reinforcements. As for the north, east, and west sides, the undead marching there did so just to contain the battle.

Attie's attack had obliterated an entire troop of undead that had been standing guard to the east if the city. This opened a path for reinforcements to arrive, as well as clearing away a problem for the counterforce, allowing them to direct more effort to the South of the attack. However, this display of power did not come without a cost; when Attie called Tisdale to report her success, she did so with a shaky voice.

"Thank you so much, Attie. Are you alright?" Tisdale asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little sad that this strike contained many years worth of power," Attie lamented, eying the broken dagger in her hand. It had returned to its original, mundane self.

"It's dangerous out there! You have to hurry back here, as soon as possible!" Tisdale urged.

"I know, I will… But promise me that none of you will tease me!" Attie replied.

At first, Tisdale was perplexed by Attie's odd display of concern. She did not understand this, however, until much later, when she spotted Attie flying towards her with the last of her power. Tisdale burst into laughter as she pulled Attie into a hug. "Hahaha. How did you become this size?!"

"Oh-my-god! Attie's form has reverted to what it was ten years ago! It's so adowable! C'mere, lemme huggie too, Big Sister Dale!" Mordred, who stood nearby, exclaimed in delight.

Baiyi paused the flashback at this point just so he could say, "C'mere, Attie, I wanna give you a huggie, too."

It turned out that Attie's strike from earlier had consumed so much of her power, she had reverted to her old Kitty Cat Maid appearance, in which she was around the same height as Mia, with a chest as flat as Mia's.

"What's the matter with all of you?" Attie pursed her lips in dismay, her cheeks puffing slightly. "I just spent all the power Lord War God gave me for us all, yet neither of you has attempted to comfort me… You guys just wanna tease me!"

"Oh no! None of that! I just think that Attie is way cuter when she looks like this!" Baiyi quickly explained himself, pulling Attie — who was, in the present, preparing desserts for everyone in the room — into a tight embrace. He ruffled the little cat-ear hairband atop her head and added, "Ha! I knew it; your younger self is much cuter."

"Hmph, Master really does care only for young girls," Attie, who was powerless to escape Baiyi's arms, helplessly said. "I'm almost twenty years old, Master. I'm not a child anymore. I just look like one right now."

"No, no, that's fine. The point is 'kawaii', not 'kiddie'… I mean, look at that forty-six-year-old white-haired loli war goddess-cum-Principal! Isn't she also the cutest thing in the world?" A Voidwalker chimed in. Fortunately, the hubbub in the room masked the identity of the person who just spoke.

Baiyi considered it an ingenious example, though; as long as one's appearance fit the bill, he would care not for their actual age! [1]

He finally understood why Attie's appearance had, in ten years, changed into that of a stoic, distant, and tough big sister. It turned out that the War God, who was scared that Attie would get bullied, had given her powers, which she used to alter her appearance. Attie had also used her powers to show off to Mia and Mordred. Who would have known that she would so willingly throw her power away for the safety of Arfin City? Attie's contribution was great, but it had cost her the mature appearance she once had, causing her to revert to how she was supposed to look.

It was becoming apparent that Attie had the same weird morphology Mia did. Their bodies did not seem to want to grow out of their loli appearance.

After poking fun with his Kitty Cat Maid for a short while, Baiyi let go of her and resumed the flashback.

With her sacrifice, Attie had eliminated the threat from the east, which allowed the counterforce to notice that the enemies had focused most of their power on the south. A few capable people in the city volunteered to face the enemies approaching from the north. Although the undead coming from this direction were not as much those coming from the south, they were much faster than the latter.

This battle was fought by some professors from Da Xue, who had brought along their students and a magnificent white dragon, which attacked from up high. They had been accompanied by some private mercenaries hired by the more vigilant nobles in the city, making a total force of about two thousand people. Their skillsets, proficiency, and battle prowess varied, but it was more than enough to level a crowd of unintelligent undead soldiers.

Led by renowned professors from the Knights Faculty, such as Professor Halsey and Mr. Sorry, the group from Arfin City easily tore through the undead's ranks. While the mercenaries provided cover, the students and professors from Da Xue's faculty of Magic, who were led by Professor Joseph and Mr. Owl, bombard the undead with spells from afar. These fifty young magic experts — who were better than their peers — followed a highly-idealized battle plan and cleared away droves of enemies with large-scale spells. With support from the dragon lady in the sky, the group from Arfin City managed to annihilate the five thousand undead coming in from the north, despite the disparity they had in quantity.

The mercenaries suffered some casualties, though. Some had been unlucky to be shot dead by undead skeleton archers, and some, who panicked when they saw the undead, ran hysterically into the army of undead and were killed. A few suffered wounds from accidents, like getting caught in a stampede.

One could not ask any more from mercenaries hired by nobles, though.

Many found it puzzling why some undead approached in small groups, instead of joining larger groups. They also were perplexed at the fact that the approaching undead did not know retreat; they seemed only to know how to march forward, which made it easier from the group from Arfin City to kill them. The undead also did not, at any point, change their strategy.

Nevertheless, one could not ask too much from working corpses.

After the armies of undead approaching from the east and the north were eliminated, the morales of the people defending Arfin City skyrocketed. The team from Da Xue dispatched to combat the undead approaching from the west, were super excited.

This group contained 'weirdos' — Fairy archers, some students from the Northern Continent, two unicorns, a bear, a fox, an owl, a cat, a wolf, and a leopard, who were all representatives of the animal-students. Also in this group was a sunflower, the Jawflower, a cactus, and some other mutated plants; this group represented the flora.

To Da Xue, "absolutely everyone deserves an education", so they even accepted these sorts of students; however, some other students treated them as outcasts. Students of other ethnicities, especially the Northerners, and species, especially the flora and fauna, faced this discrimination.

Sometimes, the fairies were harassed by horny male students. The animal and plant students were far less welcomed than the fairies, by and even now, they were left alone, being deemed as outcasts. They had almost zero interaction with human students.

To prevent all forms of in-fighting, Tisdale had decided to group the ostracized students, dispatching them to the Western Wall. She appointed Nydore the leader and asked the Great Fox and Mr. Bear to assist her.

When Mr. Bear saw the incoming undead, its expression turned solemn, and it murmured, "What… what foul, vile filth! What sort of profane defilement are these things?!"

As a druid, beings that worshipped nature and its gnosis, Mr. Bear would not tolerate anything that went against nature, such as walking corpses. The sight of the marching undead agitated the bear so much, a nature it consciously suppressed for thousands of years began to resurface.

A Northern student noticed the change in the bear's demeanor and hurriedly tried to calm it down. "Please, Professor. Calm doon."

Just like druids, Northerners also believed in the laws of nature and detested things that went against it, like soul armatures and undead. These existences functioned outside the natural cycle of life and death. This much could be seen from the way they cultivate and train their elemental fighting styles, as well as the way they control their combat chi.

When Da Xue became steady, Baiyi had tried to recruit students from the Northern Continent with a little help from Undine. However, his identity as a Soul Armature caused him a lot of setbacks. A few years later, Da Xue cemented its position as the best academy in the world, and a few open-minded forces in the Northern Continent finally decided to exchange a few of their students with Da Xue.

However, the exchange students from the North were unable to mingle with the Southern students, despite being in the academy for over two years. The problem was not only because quite a lot of people in charge of the faculties and administration were Soul Armatures, but also because of cultural differences. It was common for the Northern students to get into fights with others.

In the end, the Northerners felt more at home with the fairies and the non-human students. Some of them went on the learn the language of the fairies, as well as sign language, which they used to communicate with the non-human students.

The Northern students were not a cooperative bunch, though. When asked to fight for the city, their leader — a bald, muscular student, who loves to move around with a shirt on — said, "We aren't daein' this fur those Southern scunners... We're fightin' fur ourselves 'n' oor school!"

They did not need to be persuaded further. The northern students quickly took up arms and joined the battle. Baiyi was quite touched when he saw this!

Even the non-humans were very willing. They had been subjected to bullying at Da Xue, and only the Jawflower could fight back against the oppressors; however, when they were called upon, the non-human students joined the Jawflower on the battlefield.

Could this be Da Xue's charm at work?

One could not underestimate the powers of these oddballs. Although they lacked social skills, they were not the slightest bit inferior to normal Southern humans. This was also true for the Northern exchange students. Every one of them outshone their peers back at the Northern continent. They were chosen for the exchange because the Northern continent wanted to present boast-worthy students. Every one of them was slightly stronger than their Southern peers, which made them the perfect cover and defense for the fragile fairy archers.

The mutated plants were hard to control or communicate with, but they were incredibly crafty and versatile. They were also unable to become undead creatures, and this allowed them to defend their allies without much risk.

The animal students were simple and effective. They boasted strength far superior to that of humans, and they were sentient. In the battle, they were like tanks!

This group of oddballs could be considered one of Tisdale's trump cards. They were stronger than the troops deployed to the north. It was as though they were born to battle.

However, one of their commanders had become emotionally unstable. Facing undead had caused Mr. Bear to lose itself. Despite being comforted by the students, Mr. Bear grew more livid, and soon, it snapped, shoving the students close to it aside.

The bear climbed to the top of the city wall. Nydore, who was looking at it, tried one more time to calm it down. "Please, Mr. Bear! Please calm down! If you do this, thousands of years worth of your cultivation will go to waste"

"No!" The bear shook its head sideways, and with a hoarse voice, it bellowed, "If I remain unperturbed by the defilement of the laws of nature, then all of my cultivation will have been for naught!"

The students standing close by lowered their heads in sadness.

An earth-shattering bellow tore through the sky, from the western side of Arfin City. It did not sound like the cry of a beast, but more like the bellow of an ancient behemoth that was finally freed from its shackles. The roar contained its bloodlust and fury.

Arfin City trembled under the cry. Even little children, who knew little, could sense the primal violence in the roar, and it caused their hearts to lurch in terror.

On the west side of the wall, a large black bear stood as tall as the fortress itself. Its eyes were blood-red, and its paws were as large as the city gate. It looked nothing like Mr.Bear's teddy-bear like appearance.

This was the druid's true form. [2]

"Keep… up…" Mr. Bear mustered the last of its rationality and growled. With that, it charged into the army of undead. The ground below trembled underneath its heavy feet. .

The students, who had long since gone pale, exchanged glances and spotted similar looks of terror on the faces of their peers. They had no choice but to leap down from the wall and follow Mr. Bear into battle. The group was being led by Nydore.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

444 Don“t Take His Story Seriously Enough To Emulate I

When Baiyi saw the terrifying black bear-like behemoth charge into its enemies, he paused the flashback and scanned the crowd before him, asking, "Where's Mr. Bear? How is he?"

"Here, my friend." Mr. Bear's voice echoed from behind him. Baiyi turned and saw the bear. Its appearance had returned to normal. It resembled a teddy bear, and this attracted Santa's attention. The young girl did not waste any time in poking the bear.

Mr. Bear did not mind her. It took out an almond from nowhere and handed it to her. When Santa stretched her little hands to receive the almond, it suddenly turned into a bouquet of fresh flowers. Surprised, Santa took the glowers, and when she brought it close to sniff, the bouquet became an almond again.

Santa could not help chuckling in delight. The wariness she had for Baiyi, who had kidnapped her, was forgotten at this point. To her, other than the Big Meaning — Baiyi — everyone else there was normal. The older girls were as beautiful as they were kind; they kept offering her different tasty candy. Two of the older girls did, in fact, not look any older than she did. To her, these two girls, Mia and Attie, could very well be her best playmates.

There was also this teddy bear that could perform neat little magical tricks! Big Meanie had not lied to her, after all: his world was much more fun than the Throne of Heroes she came from.

As Baiyi watched Santa chuckle, he wondered if he ought to tell the kid the truth about Mr. Bear. He decided not to, in the end. When the time came that she had to know, then he would just tell her then.

He turned to Mr. Bear and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Perfectly fine. My cultivation was not set back, either. In fact, I gained a new level of understanding. I never knew that the Gnosis contained something other than the Heart of Nature. It's something I never realized until then. It is the Wrath of Nature," Mr. Bear murmured to itself.

'Hmph! It looks like this fella is suffering from some 'hindsight 20/20', huh? Perhaps he should have asked me about the state of nature where I come from… If he lived a little less pleasantly, this fella would have discovered the Wrath of Nature a lot sooner,' Baiyi thought to himself. 'Humans on Earth have understood Wrath for a long time now; from the sandstorms brought by uncontrolled felling of trees to the horrifying scenes depicted in apocalyptic movies. People on Earth know quite well the destruction that nature can bring.'

It was not a surprise that it took Mr. Bear this long to discover Wrath, though. Its former home was not industrialized, neither did it face trouble for the longest time. Mr. Bear had lived in a peaceful part of the woods. Back then, it had lived with fairies — a peaceful race that loved nature just as much as the bear did. When one lived in such a peaceful environment, it would be a surprise if they nursed feelings of wrath.

Baiyi wondered how powerful Mr. Bear had become, now that it had received enlightenment about wrath. The bear still looked as mysterious and gentle as it had been the moment they met. Right then and there, it played gracefully with Santa.

"Arrghhh! Argh! Argh! Argh!!! New kid, please do not poke my eyes! These are real eyes! They aren't plastic beads!" Mr. Bear suddenly shrieked.

Santa seemed to have been a little carried away with her poking.

Her expression suddenly changed to one of concern, and she hurriedly apologized. "I'm sorry; I'm sorry! I didn't want to hurt you! Don't worry. I can do healing magic!"

"Laeticia!" Baiyi called out, sighing. "Could you please teach your little sister a thing or two?"

"Sorry, Mr. Hope. Will do." Laeticia hurried over to Santa, grabbed the little girl's hand, and made her apologize properly to Mr. Bear. Afterward, Laeticia led Santa over the side. She sat back down, placed the little girl on her laps, and wrapped her arms around Santa from behind. It looked as though Laeticia was holding a cute doll.

She brought her lips close to Santa's ears and began to whisper to her. No one could be sure if Laeticia was telling the little girl about everyone in the room. Nonetheless, watching the pair interact like real sisters was quite heartwarming to watch.

Unfortunately for Baiyi, he did have the time to admire the scene. Instead, he resumed the flashback.

Back in the battle, Mr. Bear, who had assumed its true form, barrelled into the incoming undead with the fury of an avalanche. In its true form, the bear was a large as a hill, and it was so fast that most of the students, who were trying their hardest, could not keep up with it.

Nydore was only able to keep up because she was riding Zakum the Fox. The young Zephyr, who was trying to steady herself atop the large fox, nocked an arrow on her bow, aimed it at some Revenants in the distance, and let it loose.

Nydore's skill in archery could not be compared to her aunt's, though. She fired three arrows in rapid succession, but only one managed to hit home. This arrow struck a Revenant's helmet, but the force behind it was not enough for the arrow to pierce through the ghastly headpiece..

"Oof! This is embarrassing," Nydore murmured and quickly glanced behind. She heaved a sigh of relief when she realized that her students were too far away to witness her mishap.

"I can't do this atop this fox; the swaying makes everything all blurry! I have to dismount," Nydore said, leaping off the fox. As she somersaulted off the fox, her miniskirt — a violation of Baiyi's dress code — succumbed to gravity and her seductive thighs for all to see.

'This one is the youngest in terms of seniority, yet she's the one who cares the least for the house rules?' Baiyi pondered, making a mental note to teach Nydore the famous Bai Family's Lecture afterward.

Despite the seriousness of the battle, Nydore had opted to use a wooden bow, which the Gale Snipers from Eom Village used, instead of the divine weapon that she inherited. Whenever Nydore remembered the fate that befell her Grandaunt the Fairy Walker, which claimed her life, she could not bring herself to use Caudillo Butterfly bow.

When she remembered how insane and pervy the Voidwalkers were, except for Granduncle Hope, she was even more uninterested. The thought of being sent to the Void by the Caudillo Butterfly bow only to be trapped with a lich, a demon, a dwarf, and the others was very unappealing. The Void also contained a group of horny old men — who were thousands of years old — whose interest laid in ogling the bodies of young girls! She could also not forget the two wily women in the Void, who both demanded two-thirds of her Grandunle's time despite knowing that he belonged to her Grandaunt Sylvia.

These were the reasons why Nydore refrained from using the Caudillo Butterfly bow, even though she was quickly running out of options at the moment.

Even the Fairy Walker, who was a peerless Gale Sniper, was only able to damage the undead in Duat by using a combat chi bow. Normal bows could not kill them.

However, if Nydore's aim was true, she would hit the undeads' joints, dealing critical damage. Even if they do not die, they would be drastically weakened. With that thought in mind, Nydore planted her feet firmly to the ground and adjusted her breathing. Only after this did he nock an arrow onto her bow.

This time, however, she aimed properly before firing.

A silver streak tore through the air and slammed into the space between a Revenant's helmet and brigandine. The undead's skin was penetrated effortlessly, and his head was severed. The momentum in the arrow was not yet exhausted, so it and the severed head went careening into the distance. The Revenant now resembled a Dullahan.

The headless Revenant was not yet dead, but it was blind. Its skeleton steed came to a stop, and the headless Revenant jumped down and began to wave its arms about, frantically searching for its head. Unfortunately for it, though, the head had long since been kicked away.

This was one of the most powerful attacks used by fairy archers. It was accurate, lightning-fast, and long-ranged. The only con this attack had was that it required the archer to spend a long time aiming and building up energy. When doing this, the Gale Sniper, who was solely focused on the target, would be oblivious to the things happening around. Hence, this was not an attack anyone would advise the young Zephyr to use.

Sylvia the Fairy Walker had completely dismissed this technique from the moment she was banished from Eom Village, even when facing heavy-armored foes. With the Caudillo Butterfly bow in possession, she did not need any special techniques; after all, every shot from the bow packed a huge punch. She would not use that technique in the middle of a fight, where anything could happen.

Baiyi paused the memory and had a quiet talk with the Fairy Walker. She nodded, then stood up and walked towards Nydore, who had joined Nota to play with Little Anna.

Baiyi's biggest concern with Nydore was the technique she chose to use, especially as she did so in a situation that did not warrant the technique. She may have won, but that was just against one enemy! In the grand scheme of things, that was as good as doing nothing!

Bad choices like that simply would not do. "Don't forget to educate her on our dress code," Baiyi had told the Fairy Walker before she left.

The Fairy Walker pulled Nydore away to a side and — mimicking one of Baiyi's most famous parenting tactics — began to pull and pinch the young fairy's cheeks as she chided her in the fairies' native language.

"Oof... Stop it please, Granny! This hurts! I know! I know the problem with my…technique, argh!" Nydore cried, tears welling up in her eyes.

"G-granny?!" Anna pondered, watching the Fairy Walker and Nydore even more closely. They were both young and beautiful, and they both had the same glossy, full silver hair! Should they not be sisters, instead?

"It's a little complicated. You'll understand after I tell you their backstories," Nota said, smiling as she gently patted Anna's head. She liked this little kid a lot, because the kid was just as quiet as she was. Nota liked Anna so much that she had pulled Anna away from her friends and began to tell her stories about everyone else in the room.

Anna liked her as well. Although she had only just met the quiet, aqua blue-haired Nota, Anna still felt that she could trust her. This small-sized big sister was a gentle soul who could take care of just about anyone. Anna was so mesmerized by that countenance that she rested her head on Nota.

Baiyi resumed the flashback. After Zakum's rider hopped off, the fox was able to run at its true speed. Nydore was not heavy, but Zakum had been worried that she would fall off if it ran at full speed.

The Fox quickly caught up to the transformed Mr. Bear. Using transformation magic, Zakum also became as huge as Mr. Bear's true form.

Sunny the sunflower and Potter the owl peeked out from within Zakum's big, bushy tail. They looked around for a moment before communicating with each other in a way only plants and animals knew how. When the pair finalized their plans, Sunny extended its tendril and patted Zakum's tail with a systematic rhythm.

This seamless communication method was the product of Aya's spectacular lessons, which was inspired by the way dragon knights communicate with each other during battles.

Sunny the sunflower: "Shall we perform that trick?"

Potter the owl: "That's wicked! I agree!"

Zakum the fox: "What? We're doing that again?"

Sunny the sunflower: "You bet we are. This is our chance; we should not waste it!"

The Owl flapped its wings and took to the sky before disintegrating into black smog. The smog floated towards Zakum, who let out an animalistic cry and leaped up high and into the smog.

When Zakun landed, the black smog had become a viscous liquid, spreading all around the fox's body on its own. Zakum continued to run towards the undead as the viscious liquid transformed into something resembling a large black cape.

The cape wrapped itself around Zakum and transformed into a thick black armor. For some reason, the armor looked like nothing ever seen in this universe. It looked more like a metallic mecha-type armor back on Earth instead. When light shone down on it, it gave off a cold glint.

Zakum was no longer a large white fox; it now resembled a futuristic, techno-metallic monster [1]. Several thick and swift tentacles burst around from behind it and began to flail around, adding a touch of the Cthulhu mythos into the fox's sci-fi-like appearance.

This was a combination created by Zakum, Potter, and Sunny! They had created it to deal with Mordred, before they became friends with her. Nonetheless, they did not forget their creation, and after practicing for a long time, they could use all their moves and techniques while in this form.

All they needed was a stage for the combination's debut, and today, that stage had presented itself.

Once Zakum arrived within attacking distance, the flailing tentacles behind it fired off massive rays of technicolored lights at the undead, sweeping through them. This resembled the technique favored by a certain Gundam pilot who had pretended to be a good friend to the MC before snatching the latter's love interest.

The tentacles were of Sunny's making, and the magical beams were the combined powers of the fox, the sunflower, and the owl. As students of a renowned sorcerer like Baiyi, this group also knew how to cast some magic spells.

The undead could not withstand the beams, and those who got hit exploded in a shower of multicolored sparks. However, as they were undead, their dismembered body parts were still able to wriggle about on the ground.

That attack had merely slowed them down!

A tentacle tapped Zakum's back, and their strange language saw the light again.

Sunny the sunflower: "I told you that this flashy technique is useless against these things! You and your need to look cool; goddamned it!"

Zakum the fox: "Hey, don't be harsh. I'm just a victim of our mentor's story, you know. He said it's really cool and effective to clear away a large area of enemies using this method!"

Potter the owl: "But, that's just a story!"

Sunny the sunflower: "This time, let's use something more direct…"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

445 This Is My Last Resor

The 'direct approach' in question was a simple but brutal strategy: Zakum the fox lunged at the undead and swung its claws and its tail, knocking over those rushing towards the trio. When hit, the undead fell as easily as the pieces of a torn paper. The tentacles behind the fox lashed out at the undead like angry vipers, blowing away the undead that Zakum missed.

Mr. Bear joined the trio and barrelled through the undead; its attacks were a force to be reckoned with. Unlike the flashy attacks doled out by the trio — Zakum the fox, Potter the owl, and Sunny the sunflower — Mr. Bear's attacks seemed basic. It only performed sweeping motions with its claws and howled — techniques that could performed if one rolled their face over the keyboard, pressing every button on it. However, due to the bear's immense strength, the seemingly mundane attacks wrath terrifying levels of devastation. The undead were like stalks of wheat being cut down by a sharp sickle.

After Mr. Bear's transformation and massive growth spurt, its skin hardened a great deal; the attacks it received from the undead felt like soft pats. Be it Revenant, Skeleton soldier, or swarms of Phantoms, nothing could bring harm to a hair on Mr. Bear's skin.

The undead were at a massive disadvantage. It was as though a state-of-the-art tank had been deployed to fight pre-historic cavemen. The undead continued to rush at Mr. Bear, and the bear continued to rack up more kills.

If one was to watch the onslaught from up high, they would see a lot of undead surround two behemoths and get slaughtered after charging towards the latter. This scene was reminiscent of goons dealing zero damage to two endgame bosses.

Some distance away from the area were the students, who were rushing forward with their fastest speed, eager to reach Mr. Bear. However, the gap in the speed between them and Mr. Bear was so vast, whenever they manage to catch up with the bear, all that would remain of their enemies were bones.

The Northern students ran the fastest, so they were able to see the two huge beasts in the distance slaughter the army of undead. At first, the students were alarmed when they saw the undead swarm towards Mr. Bear, but their expressions soon changed to that of shock.

"Dae ye reckon oor best fighter cuid dae something lik' this?" A Northern student murmured.

The leader of the Northern students, who was running in front of the group, did not immediately respond. After thinking for a while, he said, "Oor best fighter might be as tough, but thay wull be hopelessly outmatched in endurance. 'Tis has always bin th' bane o' oor particular fightin' style, nae? But look at those beasties. How lang hae thay bin fightin'?"

"I guess the Southern Continent has been hiding its true power from us, aye?" Another student chimed in. "We really should have come here sooner. It's a shame that so many of us still refuse to acknowledge their power; this bunch has resigned to the belief that Southerners are prissy mudlins."

"Mm. 'Tis nae at all wise tae look doon on anybody who managed tae survive a world o' strife, aye? Ne'er underestimate anybody, for thay may be a hero in disguise." The leader of the Northern students smiled and moved even faster. "C'moan, we git tae hurry. We should also show thaim how we Northern lads protect oor mukkers."

The undead marching from the west of the city was still the second-largest in number and power. When the Zombie King got word from its scout that the undead on the west side were being taken out at an alarming rate, it sank into contemplation. A few moments later, the Zombie King let out a few bloodcurdling shrieks while moving its hands about.

That was an expression of fury and a change of battle commands. The black wave of undead moving in from the north came to a sudden halt. Instead of heading towards Arfin City, they turned around and rushed east, seemingly intent on overwhelming Mr. Bear by sheer numbers!

The fleet of skeleton dragons that the Skeleton King sent earlier as reinforcements had arrived. The Zombie King, who was neither delighted nor displeased, commanded the skeleton dragons — by shrieking at them — to fly directly to Arfin City and attack from the sky!

Although skeleton dragons were rare, they were not reliable. Their strength was mediocre, but they were impervious to bows and javelins — equipment suitable for taking down flying units.

The only way to harm a flying skeleton dragon was to strike them with something as powerful, expensive, and slow — like a ballista, but this was not needed if one could perform magic. Unlike regular dragons, which were naturally resistant to magic, skeleton dragons were weak to light-based magic. It was very effective against them, dealing critical damage whenever it struck.

A skeleton dragon's draconic breath contained a lethal toxin that could corrode flesh. This could speed up the process by which corpses become mere skeletons. With this breath, the skeleton dragons could increase the speed at which new undead join the already existing undead.

According to the Lich Walker — the leading expert in necromancy and undead — skeleton dragons were hard to utilize. They were mainly used to incite fear, show off a Lich's power, and speed up the creating of skeleton soldiers. If a skeleton dragon was commanded to leave the protection of the ground troops, skeleton mage, or the Lich itself and start an air raid, any troop from the Church would be able to make that skeleton dragon understand the meaning of the word 'regret'.

This was why the Lich Walker would never send a skeleton dragon to the frontline unless that skeleton dragon successfully activated its Territory. This was the case for the skeleton dragon it had commanded back when it battled the Sage-Emperor of the Magi. The only time that the Lich Walker broke this rule, the skeleton dragon it commanded was shot down by the Fairy Walker. This angered the Lich Walker so much, it began to fight the Fairy Walker, and eventually, her Caudillo Butterfly bow sent the Lich Walker to the Void. The Lich Walker had regretted that ever since.

Back then, the Lich Walker had little experience, as it spent most of its life in hiding. It had acquired a dozen skeleton dragons only after much trouble. The undead army from Duat, on the other hand, would not care about this; after all, they had an abundant number of skeleton dragons.

With enough dragons, a collective exhale of draconic breath would incinerate an entire city, instantly killing all who lived in it!

Tisdale was let to deal with this challenging situation, alone. She had only just learned that Mr. Bear had charged out of the defense perimeter in a fit of rage, and the students under its care had gone after the bear, intent on guarding it.

However, the enemy had suddenly changed tactics, sending a horrifying number undead to overwhelm Mr. Bear and the students. As if that was not enough, a vast number of skeleton dragons had been sent towards Arfin City. No one knew if the Engineer Walker's marionettes would be enough to hold off the aerial assault or aid Mr. Bear and the students.

Arfin City was already at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, and now, this was even more obvious. If the city took a more aggressive and proactive approach by mobilizing all its troops to fight off the skeleton dragons, they might succeed, but the marching undead would invade the city. If that happened, Arfin City would meet its end!

When Vidomina received the latest battle report, she panicked even more than Tisdale. As she watched the skeleton dragons and the marching undead approach the city, she could feel Arfin city being backed into a corner.

Tisdale suddenly bolted up from her seat and asked, "How much longer do we have before the skeleton dragons reach us?"

"Fifteen minutes at most," Vidomina replied. "What are we going to do?"

"Please ask Professor Engineer and Professor Aya to slow them down as much as they can while I activate our last resort," Tisdale replied, turning around.

"Last resort? You mean we have backups?" Vidomina exclaimed in shock. She thought that Da Xue had deployed all of its forces. All they should have left were students with average capabilities.

"Of course we do," Tisdale said, grinning. "Don't you understand Sir by now? He's always crazy-prepared, with an eye for details. You don't think he left for a new realm without leaving behind some trump cards for us, do you?".

"I thought that his trump card was Grandpa, who, we all know, no longer inhabits his suit of armor," Vidomina said, wearing a smile of confusion.

"Don't worry. Sir has a lot more friends that can solve this crisis as easily as Grandpa can," Tisdale replied and flew out the window, rushing towards Baiyi's Magus Lab.

Baiyi's lab was no longer the small basement from ten years ago. Followed his master's example, Baiyi had created a small pocket dimension using Spatial Segregation. Its entrance was in the basement of his chalet.

As Tisdale bolted towards Baiyi's chalet, she sped past a huge garden containing plants in animal-themed pots and knocked a few of them down accidentally. She did not spare time to pick them up, though; instead, she kept running till she was at Baiyi's window. The glass was smashed as Tisdale leaped in through the window. The moment she landed she yanked her pendant off. It was made from a very pure blood tearstone.

Tisdale pressed the pendant on the wall leading to the basement, and a bright light flashed throughout the house. When she recovered her sight, she found herself in Baiyi's new Magus Lab.

The interior was so lush, once would think it was a treasure vault. Its walls and pillars were golden, and rows of academic treatises, books, scrolls, and rare materials adored the lab. One look was all that was needed to tell that Grand Principal Bai's items were very precious. He had acquired many of them from nobles eager to get their kids into Da Xue.

Only a few people could enter Baiyi's Magus Lab without his permission: his master the First Voidwalker walker, the Huffing Piggies, and Tisdale.

Even Little Mia, who he dotted on greatly, could enter his lab, and this was her fault. There was a time, during a festival, that Mia wanted Baiyi to accompany her to go shopping, so she quietly snuck into his Magus Lab with her key-pendant.

What greeted her was the scene of Baiyi staring intently at a nude Fairy Walker, caressing certain parts of her body repeatedly as he stared at her.

Baiyi had tried his best to explain to Mia that he was only finetuning the Divine Leathersuit, but Mia did not buy it. She returned her pendant to Baiyi, declaring that she would never enter his lab again.

Fortunately for Baiyi, Tisdale had not seen that, or else she would also have refused to enter his lad ever again. If that happened, she would have been unable to activate the final trump card Baiyi left for the academy.

Tisdale remembered what Baiyi had once told her, and she opened a safe hidden behind some rare materials and brought out several black, murky orbs. Within these orbs, black, crystalline fluid could be seen splashing around. The fluid was pitch black.

Baiyi had warned her not to break the orbs, so she carefully carried them to a room where several coffins laid. She made her way to the coffin with a number "2" carved on its lid, and she placed five black orbs on it, arranged into a pre-drawn formation carved underneath the number.

The formation activated by itself. The black fluid within the orbs poured into the lines of the formation, and the empty orbs shattered into pieces.

The lid on the coffin began to tremble violently, and a hand slipped out from the edge and pushed the lid aside.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

446 Why Did You Summon Me?

The being was not a vampire, a mummy, or a zombie. What crawled out from the coffin was a sky-blue suit of armor. It flexed its limbs and twisted its wrists while staring at Tisdale. "Dale, why did you summon me?"

"Is that, um, you, Grandpa Sword Saint?" Tisdale asked.

The numbers carved on the coffins in the room referred to the seniority rank of the Voidwalkers, and the number two belonged to the Second Voidwalker — the Knight.

The black orbs and the coffins were trump cards that Baiyi left behind. Each coffin had a Pseudo-Descent Formation inscribed in it. One needed only to place the black obs into the slots on the coffin, and the Pseudo-Descent Formation would automatically activate. It would use one of the many chunks of Baiyi's consciousness as a container for the Voidwalker being summoned to the real world.

Baiyi had left this trump card behind for extreme cases that occurred in his absence, whether that be his sudden banishment into the Void, loss of consciousness, or worse, his death. This way, the girls would still be protected by other Voidwalkers in his absence.

Baiyi felt proud of himself for preparing for the worst. The situation that Arfin City had faced was dire enough to require the activation of his trump card.

The black orbs were made by several Voidwalkers with insight and knowledge they possessed in magical craftmanship. Using the Divine Energy Crystal they had obtained earlier as a blueprint, the Voidwalker had managed to create an inferior imitation of the Divine Energy Crystal, which they used to store surplus Void Energy. Baiyi had named them 'Void Crystals'.

Compared to the original Divine Energy Crystal, the imitation was unremarkable and cheap. It was fragile, and its storage volume was small. Its composition was so unstable, anyone who carried it had to do so with the gentle touch of a lady; otherwise, it would shatter, and the Void Energy within it would disperse. Nevertheless, the inferior Divine Energy Crystal was the best tool Baiyi had at his disposal to store energy, using it as a power source for the Pseudo-Descent Formation inscribed on the coffin. It was also used to power the summoned Voidwalker, granting them full power the moment they needed it.

The Knight Walker's suit of armor was not made from rare and precious materials, but Baiyi had spared some effort to finetune, leaving the armor in pristine condition. The armor was sure to meet the Knight Walker's need on the battlefield.

"How are you feeling, Grandpa Sword Saint?" Tisdale hurriedly asked. She had learned of the Knight Walker's real name and backstory from her Baiyi, but she refrained from addressing the Second Walker with anything other than his formal title.

"Not too shabby," the Knight Walker nodded and replied. He drew a weapon from the scabbard tied to his waist; it had been prepared by Baiyi beforehand.

It looked like a normal longsword, but it had been crafted by the Blacksmith Walker, who had utilized smithing techniques from Earth and this world. He had also received pointers from Baiyi when calibrating the sword to match the fighting style of a Southern knight. The sword was a weapon only the Knight Walker could use — a personal weapon. Although it was not a divine weapon, the longsword was the best weapon for the Knight Walker right now.

"Dale, what is so serious that you summoned me, instead of that wayward Archmage?" The Knight Walker asked. He knew that an inter-realm war had broken out, as the Fairy Walker had announced it in the Void. However, he did not know the situation at Arfin City.

Tisdale quickly explained their predicament to him, and with a worry-filled voice, she pleaded, "Um, Grandpa Sword Saint, the students sent to guard the western part of the city are in great danger. If you could, please…"

"Understood. I'm on it," the Knight Walker calmly replied. To him, the sea of undead monsters was nothing more than a petting zoo containing woodland creatures.

"Pfft. Behold the First Walker, the Sage-Emperor of the Magi! Behold, the Strongest Emissary of all Voidwalkers — the Hope of the Void! Bah! Where are they now that they are most needed?" The Knight muttered under his breath. His expression was sour as he turned to Tisdale and said, "Dale, I need to remind you that the energy stored in my armor can only be used for a single strike. It will be best that you prepare a backup for any trouble we might face. You can start that right now."

"What? Only one strike?!" Tisdale exclaimed, visibly disappointed.

The Knight Walker did not say anything more and left.

At a loss for what to do, Tisdale took out her communication slab and contacted the Engineer Walker.

The Engineer Walker was silent for a while before saying, "Well, if Hope left more Void Crystals there, use them to summon more of us. That would surely help."

"Got it," Tisdale replied and hurried back towards the hidden safe in Baiyi's lab. There were several safes in that area, and Tisdale hurriedly opened them all. When she had, however, she froze in her tracks, flabbergasted.

There were so many Void Crystals! If five Void Crystals was all it took to summon a Voidwalker, then the number of Void Crystals in the safes was enough to summon all thirty-three Voidwalkers — twice!

"Umm... Our invincible Grandpa isn't here, and our second invincible Grandpa, Sword Saint, has just been summoned… Welp, it's your turn now, Lord Divine Dragon," Tisdale muttered, carefully placing some Void Crystals on the Coffin with a "3" carved on it. Unlike the Knight Walker's coffin, the Dragon Walker's coffin was several times larger, and it required a few more Void Crystals.

Tisdale placed seven Void Crystals into the coffins formation. She looked as though she was using a vending machine. The formation lit up, and several seconds later, a metallic claw emerged from the side of the coffin and pushed the lid aside. Within the coffin was a dragon with a metallic body!

"Bloody hell, Hope! Why is this body so small?!" The metallic dragon bellowed. Its current body was only two meters tall and three meters wide — larger than a human, but much smaller than its real size.

"What the hell are these? Human's machinery? Why must I wear the work of that horny Engineer!?" The metallic dragon continued to bellow.

Unlike the Knight Walker, who quietly accepted the body he was made, this Voidwalker was dissatisfied, and it was verbal about it. The metal on its body was not armor; it was a magical marionette specially designed by the Engineer Walker.

When the metal dragon had had its say, it sharply turned to face the frightened Tisdale. When the Dragon Walker saw her expression, it adjusted the cogs that made up its jaw in an attempt to smile, but it ended up resembling a hungry tiger baring its fangs. "You're Dale, yes? Do not be afraid; you're not my enemy. But, why did you summon me?"

"Lord Divine Dragon, the dire situation we are in calls for it," Tisdale said and began to fill the Divine Dragon in on Arfin City's current dilemma.

"Ah, I see. I shall go out and take a look," the Divine Dragon replied. The huge Voidwalker flapped its wings and shot out of the Magus Lab, smashing a hole through the wall of Baiyi's basement, as it headed towards the transporter portal linked to Arfin City.

"Now we have two new Voidwalkers with us," Tisdale murmured to herself. "Hmm… Perhaps, for good measure, I should summon one more."

She glanced at the remaining coffins in the room and began to read the inscription on every one of them. The seniority of the Voidwalkers and a Pseudo-Descent Formation was not the only thing carved on the lid of each coffin. Baiyi had also written a simple summary of each Voidwalker.

The summary on the Fourth Walker's coffin read: "Battle prowess unclear, but his weird behavior is very clear. He works in mysterious ways. Summoning not recommended."

The summary on the Fourth Walker's coffin read: "This coffin is empty. I only added it so that the number of coffins reaches thirty-two. Honestly, I don't know what circumstance would require anyone to summon a tree."

There was also a coffin for the Cleric Walker coffin; he had taught at Da Xue for a while, but he was often banished to the Void for his misdemeanors. This coffin also had a summary inscribed on it: "Should you consider summoning him, please first ensure that you're wearing the most conservative outfit you can think of. Do not wear a short skirt, and absolutely do not wear a silk sock.

After reading the summaries on all the coffins, Tisdale realized that only two Voidwalkers still in the Void possessed the amount of power she required: the Sorcerer Walker — who was in the Void waiting for his suit of armor to be fixed — and the Caveman Walker, who had always been eager to leave the Void, but never found the chance to do so.

Tisdale got to work, summoning the two Voidwalkers. Afterward, she wasted no time in briefing them on the unfavorable situation at hand.

"That desperate, huh?" The Sorcerer Walker muttered to himself. He walked around Baiyi's Magus Lab and stole a training quarterstaff from the Fifth Walker's collection. This staff was of high quality, and it had been gifted to Baiyi by a noble that specialized in the trade.

"Hahahaha! It's been a long, long time since I get to move my muscles around! My muscles, Papa has missed you!" The Caveman laughed out loud, flexing his olive-green armor. He was two meters tall, and his fierce disposition made him look intimidating and wild. "Before I rub my knuckles all over the faces of my enemies, I gotta' go talk to the Ancestors first!"

The Caveman froze for a few moments before bursting into gleeful laughter. "Haha! The Ancestors commend my mettle! Now, I'm going to punch things!"

"Hmm. This is sufficient, I think?" Tisdale muttered, looking around hesitantly. However, she still walked out of Baiyi's lab, arriving at the basement of his chalet. The charging Voidwalkers left the place looking like the scene of a battle.

"Note to self: clean this up before Sir returns, or else I'm getting an earful." Tisdale facepalmed helplessly. She was more worried about something else, though. Had she had made the right call summoning four Voidwalkers in one go? Would she get in trouble for that, too?

Baiyi paused the flashback at this point and said, "So, why did you summon four Voidwalkers in one go, then?"

"There was little reason to hold back, as the situation was dire enough to demand the use of our trump card," Tisdale replied..

"Hmm... Wise rationale." Baiyi agreed and resumed the flashback.

It took Tisdale thirty minutes to summon the Voidwalkers, and in that time, the battle had taken a turn for the worse. The fleet of skeleton dragons had reached Arfin City, and they had already begun a massacre. They formed a circle and targeted the city walls, first.

Should the walls fall, Arfin City would lose its most basic but important protection. When that happened, the city would meet its demise.

The city's walls were slowly accumulating damage. Thick black smog seeped out from the walls as the acidic draconic breaths rapidly corroded them. If one were to look at the city from high up, they would realize that the city had been surrounded by toxic smog, and no one count come in or go out of the city. The draconic breaths were so toxic, even the city's sturdy granite within the city's walls were being reduced to rubble.

The city guards had long since fled their stations, knowing all too well that they would not survive the attack of the skeleton dragons. This reduced the number of casualties suffered from the attack.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

447 Use Quick Attack, Now!

The city's walls had fallen, and the skeleton dragons had surrounded Arfin City with a ring of poisonous smog, yet they did not stop there. They split into groups, hovering in different angles with reference to the city, and started to circumambulate it while exhaling even more draconic breath not unlike drawing a circle around an object. Worse, the circle kept getting smaller and tighter the longer these skeleton dragons flew, and if anyone were to look at the city from the sky above right now, it would not be hard for them to realize that the lethal ring of poisonous smog was inching closer and closer to the center of the city.

The citizens were squeezing towards the center of the city where it was still safe and smog-free, but even that safe area was getting smaller in seconds. Should the rapidly shrinking circle of poisonous smog finally reach the center, no life in the city could possibly be spared.

The reason why the undead had chosen this meticulous. slow-burning method was because they did not want to lose even a single Arfin city citizen from turning into their own kind. With the undead army at the north and the east side vanquished, there were now two possible escape routes for the citizen to flee without much hindrance; So if the skeleton dragons were to attack aimlessly like they usually do, people may be able to escape amidst the chaos, which then reduced the number of new undead recruits into their army.

The entire city was embroiled in a chaotic hysteria. People started losing their sense while watching the wall of poisonous smog slowly but surely creeping closer. Spurred by great fear, many ditched their houses and charged towards the street hoping to escape.

A lot of them, however, were either caught up by the smog or had accidentally rushed into it, rendering themselves into a set of skeletons in mere seconds… before suddenly standing up, picking a nearby weapon, and slaying their old human friends and neighbors whenever they saw one.

None of the residents had a shred of rationality left at this moment. There was no one that was calm and rational enough to try to maintain order. The city guards had fled the city walls before the skeleton dragons arrived, and the previous guards were even more scared that the residents they were to protect. The Mayor's residence had been surrounded by a frightened crowd of people, while an even larger number of people hurried towards Da Xue. However, they were stopped by the black magical marionettes standing guard before the academy's teleportation portal.

The Engineer Walker was able to keep his wits about him, though. He quickly issued an order to his students: "Mobilize all the marionettes we have! Bring them all out from our storage facilities; leave none behind, no matter how old they are! Our city guards have failed us; it's up to us to hold the line!"

"Those who were tasked with guarding the academy's entrance, be vigilant, and if need be, be aggressive! If the crowd destroys the transporter portal to Da Xue, our reinforcements will be stuck on the other side!"

He could not help cursing under his breath, though, "F**k! Where the hell is the goddamned Church?! What are they doing? Pretending to be dead?"

Little did the Engineer Walker know that the Church's hands were tied, too, and that they had it worse than Da Xue did. A crowd had already rushed into their building in a wild stampede, filling the interior to the brim with frightened residents. Even if a Church member wanted to help, they could not.

At this point, Tisdale's foresight was worth admiring. If she had not issued an order that guards be placed in front of Da Xue's teleportation portal before the war, the Voidwalkers she just summoned would not have been able to get through.

Compared to mindless undead, humans with enough sense to strive for self-preservation — but not enough sense for anything else — were terrifying…

Four figures emerged from the transporter portal. The Knight Walker walked out of the formation first, and when he saw the hysterical crowd pushing themselves into the magical marionettes guarding the teleportation portal, he murmured, "What a hideous sight."

"As expected from your kind," came a cold voice behind him. The towering figure of the Third Walker emerged, and with a loud flap of its huge wings, the huge being soared into the air and let a piercing cry.

It was like a strange enchantment. Suddenly, the people that had just been running around, screaming for help, stopped dead in their tracks and collectively fell to their knees, their heads lowered in Da Xue's direction. Every one of them could be seen trembling.

Such was the aura of a Divine Dragon! Even if the term "Divine Dragon" was just a title and the beasts actually had no relationship with gods — who could control laws — the leader of all dragons would still be so mighty that everyone would kneel before it in veneration. It had taken a domineering draconic roar to quiet down the hysterical crowd. It was as though a bleak fate awaited whoever offended the mysterious, divine beast.

"Wow, just like in a quarrel, the one who makes the loudest and most annoying sound will get everyone to listen to them!" The Caveman Walker snarled, watching from below. It was fortunate that the metallic Divine Dragon was too high in the sky to hear him, or else both Voidwalkers would have abandoned their tasks and fight each other.

However, the Divine Dragon's roar did not affect the undead in any way. The skeleton dragons were unperturbed and continued to spurt their venomous smog.

"They belonged to my kind when they were alive, but now, they are dead and cannot hear my voice. It seems that I have to resort to other means to finish them," the Divine Dragon coldly said.

"Need backup?" The Sorcerer Walker, who was also eyeing the skeleton dragons, offered. "There's quite a lot of them, you know."

The Metallic Divine Dragon only sneered in reply and streaked towards the skeleton dragons.

The Third Walker's current body was very inferior to its real body. Its current strength and body size were far below its real strength and body sized.

Blinding arcs of lightning wrapped around the Third Walker. In seconds, a large ball of lightning sped towards a skeleton dragon.

The Divine Dragon cared not for the skeleton dragons. It sped past a skeleton dragon.

Lightning surged from the Divine Dragon and enveloped the skeleton, scorching its bones black. Green smoke seeped out of the skeleton dragon enduring the lightning bath, and soon, its enormous body had been completely incinerated.

The Third Walker tore through the sky above the city at lightning speed, brushing past every single skeleton dragon the same way. Just like the skeleton dragon to meet its demise at the hands of the Divine Dragon, these other skeleton dragons were enveloped by lightning the instant the Third Walker brushed past them. It was as though the dark, stormy sky had on a pearl necklace.

When the last bit of lightning dissipated, the people on the ground were shocked but overjoyed that the skeleton dragons had been vanquished! These dragons had looked so imposing and nigh-unbeatable, yet hundreds of them had fallen just after a series of Quick Attack!

"Urgh, so weak!" The Divine Dragon murmured, visibly unsatisfied. It had not flexed its power a thousand years, and with the urgency that it was summoned, the Divine Dragon had expected a challenge. Who could have known that the skeleton dragons terrorizing the residents were so worthless? The Divine Dragon could not even consider them a warmup!

However, no one excelled more at dragon-slaying than the Divine Dragon Voidwalker; not even the Alpine Barbarians, who had been dragonslayers for generations. The title of Divine Dragon was not acquired through family inheritance or democratic elections. The Divine Dragon had had to slay countless dragons to ascend its throne. Therefore, the Third Walker itself was the true master of dragons-slaying!

"I guess that is all there is to your 'demise', humans. Don't tell me you wimps still require my help to fight the other trivial playthings, right? Pfft! Having the most venerable Divine Dragon personally fight useless goons once for the sake of inferior humans is enough, right, Hope?" The Third Walker muttered. "Well, what should I do with the rest of my time? Oh, right! I should visit Aya!"

The Divine Dragon turned around and streaked off, and a short while later, it arrived at a plot of empty space. There, the Third Walker found dragon lady Aya, who had turned back into a white dragon, prostrating!

The Third Walker landed in front of her and commanded her to raise her head.

"L-l-lord D-Divine D-D-D-Dragon!" Aya was at a loss for words. She opened her mouth to speak, but her excitement kept the words from escaping her throat.

"Calm down," said the Divine Dragon. The Voidwalker complemented Aya, citing how adorable she was and how good she was at parenting Mordred. Furthermore, it also stated, in a roundabout way, that it was no longer against a dragon's choice to live among humans in harmony.

As a dragon ostracized for living with humans, Aya burst into tears when she heard that.

"Alright, alright. You should not slack just because I praised you. Work harder for your future," said the Third Walker, patting her head with its shiny, metallic fingers.

That was no normal pat on the head, though; the Third Walker was blessing Aya once more. Unlike the last time — when Baiyi acted as a proxy to channel the blessing — the Divine Dragon blessed her directly, and because of this, other dragons would have to kneel before Aya in respect whenever they saw her..

"Well, that's all I can do with this meager amount of energy. I'm going back to Void now," the Dragon Voidwalker said. "Remember my words. Furthermore, if you wish for that Hope to return your affection, you'll have to be a lot more proact—"

The Divine Dragon's energy ran out before it could even finish. With a loud clank, the metallic dragon crashed to the ground and shattered into pieces. The Void Energy Tisdale had infused into the Divine Dragon's body was not enough. After eradicating the skeleton dragons in that visually pleasing fashion, the Void Energy left was too little for the Third Walker to do anything with.

"T-thank you, Lord Divine Dragon. I heed your teachings with all my heart," Aya respectfully said to the shards of shattered metal. She dropped to her knees, scooped up the pieces and hugged them tightly as though they were treasures.

Now that the enemy from the sky had been eliminated by the Divine Dragon's power of lightning, the only thing left would be the undead on the ground and the enemies swarming towards the students dispatched to the west.

Their situation had taken a nosedive. The only one who was still battling fiercely was Mr. Bear, because Zakum the fox had already fallen to its legs on the earth, completely motionless, with the tentacles on its back plopping down on the ground languidly and its armor trembling.

The trio were obviously frozen in fear. They were wild beasts in their core, with their fear for dragons carved into their genes, let alone dragons of the highest order. The Divine Dragon's roar to force order into the city was so loud, it had spread all the way to their side, affecting the trio unexpectedly.

The other students had caught up to where the two colossal-sized beasts were by now, but the situation had now turned grim. They found themselves surrounded by more and more undead armies with no way out.

Mr. Bear was still fighting under the effect of its own feral fury, yet no matter how large and ferocious it was, it was only a bear. It could clear some undead with its claws and fangs for a while, but newer ones would still be able to swarm towards it, burying it into a struggle.

"What are we going to do now, Professor Nydore?" A student from the Archery Faculty cried out in alarm. They had used up all of their arrows while following Mr. Bear's furious charge, and so they were quite essentially without any weapon.

"No need to fear. I will protect all of you," Nydore said in a low voice, handing her quiver to the student. She slung the longbow behind her back and plucked the air with her right hand as though she was pulling an invisible string. Then, sparkling butterflies made out of light suddenly emerged out of thin air and flooded to her fingers.

She hated using the weapon, as it could inflict self-harm, but if it came down to this, she would not hesitate!

Before the Caudillo Butterfly Bow could complete its formation, however, a voice rang out from a distance, "Run towards the north! Now!"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

448 This One Strike Might Be Your End

The voice was not loud, but it pierced through the ding so clearly, and every one of the students heard it. It automatically stirred a something strange in their heart — a surge of confidence and trust.

The mysterious call had even roused Mr. Bear and Zakum the fox, jolting them both from their rage. Suddenly imbued with a new sense of purpose, the two colossal beasts charged north, barrelling through as many undead as they could in order to clear a path to safety for the students.

The city was still surrounded by a wall of toxic smog, so the students could not run back there. Hence, an open space that was close to the defensive line they had earlier would have to become their temporary abode.

The undead quickly realized what the students intended to do, so they rushed north as well. Soon, the area was filled with the bloodthirsty undead. The number of students was by no means comparable to that of the undead army; they resembled a mosquito hovering next to an elephant!

It was a truly frightening scene. The students had not gone far before they realized that no one could save them; their hearts sunk as they spotted a sea of undead waiting for them. The undead blocking their way were so many that they resembled a thick black wall from afar. This dreadful barricade barred the students only route to the city.

The students' hopes had been dashed. Their pace slowed, and some female students burst into tears.

The fatigued Northern exchange students gathered around their bald leader. As they gasped for breath, their curious eyes turned to their leader.

The bald leader smiled and said, "Even if it's oor fate tae die 'ere, we die as proud Northern men deserving thae Southern boys' respect! A'right. lads, git ready... 'N' charge wi' me!"

The students with acute hearing suddenly picked up the faint of something tearing through the air. They raised their heads — prompting others to do the same — and saw spinny golden longsword rip through the toxic smog surrounding the city.

It crashed right at the center of the undead army, embedding itself deep into the ground.

A ring of gold light burst out from the sword and spread outward like a shockwave. The undead caught by the light were instantly incinerated into ashes!

When the gold light dispersed, every undead north of the city had died. The students were shocked to see the empty patch of land in front of them. The hopeless situation had been reversed in just a second!

"Good. The students are finally free from harm, for now," said the Engineer Walker with relief, watching the students through a large magical screen. It showed live footage from one of his surveillance marionettes; this type of marionette was used to view the situation at the frontline.

When the Voidwalkers that Tisdale summoned arrived from Da Xue, the Engineer Walker had hurried to meet them. The magical screen showed Mr. Bear and Zakum the fox guarded the students, who were fleeing north. The worst had passed, and the Voidwalkers heaved huge sighs of relief.

"It is not for nothing that they refer to you as the 'Sword Saint'," said the Sorcerer Walker with admiration.

The voice the students had heard and the terrifying longsword strike they had witnessed had both come from the Second Voidwalker. This Voidwalker was from the late Rohlserlian Age, but information on him in historical records was scarce. The tale about this fabled Sword Saint that people were most familiar with was one where he was said to have killed two million enemies, with one sword strike.

Who would have expected this legend to demonstrate his skills after thousands of years of silence? The move was quite basic to him, as well. All he had done was infuse his longsword with his golden combat chi and threw the longsword at the undead as hard as he could. It was a technique so rudimentary that even a squire could do it with ease!

That strike had displayed power as destructive as that of a large-scale Forbidden Spell, annihilating millions of undead in seconds, opening a path for the students to escape!

"Well, I guess that legend which states that you slew two million men with one strike was no exaggeration," the Engineer Walker said.

"Humans aren't as stupid as undead; they won't stand still and make it easy," the Knight Walker said.

The Second Walker had once again denied the accuracy of the legend; however, a keen observer would realize that he did not deny the ability to perform such a feat. If the humans he fought had a penchant to move in groups, then he really would be able to level two million of them with a single strike.

"That was a really powerful blow, but the trouble has only just begun," the Engineer Walker said, with worry evident on his face. The reckless students might be safe, for now, but the undead had changed their goal. They realized that they had lost too much manpower on this small group of students, the undead abandoned the pursuit and turned their attention back to Arfin City.

The Knight Walker's attack was so frightening, it almost sundered the sky. However, the number of undead was still too high, and Arfin city was still surrounded by toxic smog. The city's defense barrier was gone, and its guards had long since fled their posts.

At the moment, Arfin City's only line of defense was the Engineer Walker's marionette army, but they were only five hundred in number. This could not be compared to the sea of undead still alive. Five hundred marionettes were not even enough to encircle Arfin city!

Not only was the lives of Arfin City's residents in danger, but the students outside the city, who had just been saved, needed someone to lead them back into the city!

The Knight Walker pondered for a while and said "The Engineer Walker and I will remain to protect the city. Sir Caveman Walker and Sir Sorcerer Walker, the two of you shall escort the students to safety. As for that dragon… I'm afraid it has expended all its energy in that unnecessarily flashy performance."

"Hold on a second! Didn't you say you only have power for one strike?" The Engineer Walker asked, visibly worried.

"That attack used only half of my power," the Knight Walker replied calmly and picked up a longsword from the ground. Then, he walked towards the undead army.

The rest of the Walkers shot each other a puzzled look. They shrugged in unison shortly after, and the Engineer bolted after the Knight.

"I guess it's on us now, buddy. Do you think our armor can hold against that corrosive smog for long enough?" The Sorcerer Walker asked the Caveman, whilst making a show of checking his armor to ascertain its durability. "That fog probably covers at least a thousand meters, so for the sake of our armor, I hope you're a runner."

"Runner? Why do we have to run?" The Caveman Walker asked in confusion. "Am I a joke to you?"

A golden mirage of the Caveman Walker suddenly appeared and grabbed the Sorcerer Walker from behind.

"H-hey, what do you think you're doing?" The Sorcerer Walker exclaimed in alarm.

"Remember: the key to a safe flight is balance," said the Caveman Walker. He raised his arm and hurled the Sorcerer Walker across the sky like a discus.

"If I had learned to cast a Levitation Spell when I was alive, I wouldn't have to blast off like this..." The Sorcerer Walker's voice echoed from the horizon.

"Ooh, now it's my turn!" The Caveman Walker muttered to himself and scanned his surrounding for a building tall enough for his own "flight". His eyes lit up when he saw the Arfin City Church's brand-new cathedral.

Ever since Da Xue's founding, Arfin City had developed rapidly with its population soaring every year. As the number of residents—and therefore, worshippers—grew, the Church enjoyed a boost in monetary contributions enough to build a new cathedral next to their original, decrepit one. Not only that, but they also built a soaring tower named "The Staircase to Ascension", which quickly became a city landmark.

Unfortunately, at the moment, the new cathedral had lost all of its holy, elegant glory as droves and droves of asylum seekers squeezed into the building with all their might.

The Caveman Walker hopped from one rooftop to the other, making his way to the cathedral. He looked at the tower and grinned gleefully, bending his knees forward before leaping into a high jump all the way to the wall of the tower.

He climbed to the top and looked at the horizon from his vantage point. He could not see where the Sorcerer Walker had gone to, but he could see a small troop of Revenants galloping towards the students.

He hollered in the barbarian's language, "Fear not! I am here!"

He pushed his feet against the tip of the tower and leaped to the direction of the Revenants!

He was so forceful that the entire tower shook mildly as jagged lines cracked from the spot he had taken of, spreading all the way to the tower's body. A few debris even cracked off and fell onto the head of two hapless fellows below.

It was fortunate that the tower was at least sturdy enough to remain upright after the Caveman had used it as a springboard…

The Caveman Walker, who was coursing through the sky, adjusted himself and landed exactly in the middle of the Revenants like a bomb dropped by a fighter plane. With a boom, a large crater erupted out from the earth and the Revenants sank into the crater.

What came after was pretty predictable—just another one of the Caveman's R-rated, gory fight scenes. The Caveman Walker was without a weapon, and with his bare hand, he tore through the enemies and ripped them apart.

As the Caveman Walker had fun, the Sorcerer Walker realized he had been thrown over his target destination. Still coursing through the sky, he suddenly felt powerful bursts of energy pulses. A few of them were eerily familiar, like the icy-flame combat chi which only the Warrior Walker could have performed..

"What's going on? I thought they're in Duat!" The Sorcerer Walker mumbled to himself.

The bursts never ceased. Instead, they seemed to have intensified as seconds passed, which worried the Sorcerer Walker more and more. Finally, he took out an expensive scroll with an advanced guided-transportation spell written on it from his storage pouch and used it to travel to the direction of the energy pulses.

That was how he met the Scholar Walker.

"What happened to Arfin City in the end? Safe, I hope?" Baiyi asked, stopping the flashback since he already had a grasp of what had happened by this point. All he needed right now would be a conclusion.

"Yes, yes. Safe, of course! The Knight Walker still had one strike left to make, didn't he?" The Engineer Walker replied weakly with a hint of regret. "But to make the most use out of his one strike, that fella had forced me to send out all of my marionettes into the field as a lure for the undead to gather around, to maximize his area of attack. Yea, sure, the day is saved, with most of the residents and Da Xue unharmed… I just sure wish I could say the same for my precious creations! It did not matter what model they were, he just cut them all through! Sniff, that's ten-years-worth of hard work from everyone in the Engineering Faculty!"

"Cough, I'm glad that's the loss," Baiyi replied flatly before adding, "But what happened next? Who managed to pull the two realms apart again?"

"I suggest you direct your question to your two most treasured children," The Scholar replied.

Baiyi instinctively turned to stare at Tisdale and Mia, forgetting that other girl who openly called him "Papa".

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

449 What Is The Point Of Getting This Reward?

Seeing as Baiyi had ignored her again, Mordred, who has assumed the form of a kid again, lunged towards him in a fit of anger and sank her teeth into his shoulder.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong now?" Baiyi jerked his shoulder, but she didn't let go. She had on an expression of sadness; it was as though her father figure had bullied her.

"Um, Mr. Hope? She's the one who contributed the most towards the separation of Duat and Isythre, you know," Mia quickly explained. She wrapped her arms around Baiyi from behind and moved her cheeks beside his facemask, cooing in a soft voice, "Now, if you want to know what happened, Mr. Hope, you must first promise us that you won't punish us for what we did…"

Mia had not been made such intimate gestures since she was a kid; she probably found it childish now, or she realized that gestures like these were not innocent. However, she sometimes behaved like a clingy daughter whenever she needed Baiyi to lighten a punishment awaiting her. Baiyi also enjoyed the warm and intimacy of such actions.

"Huh. Are you telling me that the micro-realm you two visited for your field trip… was actually the key to pulling the two realms apart?" A surprised Baiyi mumbled as he tugged on Mordred's cheek.

In pain, Mordred, the little troublemaker, finally let go of his shoulder, and Baiyi raised her by the scruff of her neck and placed her down before him.

"Hmph, Papa will never believe that I could do something good!" Mordred pouted and turned her face away.

"Why won't I?" Baiyi replied, amused. He ruffled Mordred's hair and said, "If I don't believe in you, I wouldn't have allowed you to lead an excursion, would I? Neither would I entrust you with such a valuable and powerful set of armor! I trust you, Mordred; I've always trusted you."

Baiyi knew that in Type-Moon history, parental distrust and a lack of acknowledgment had led this girl's namesake down a dark path, which ultimately led to a tragedy; with that story as a warning, he became very careful with his version of Mordred. Even though this girl and Mordred were different people and different experiences and backstories, Baiyi was still wary as both girls had the same name. One thing was certain: he was never going to make the same mistakes that Comforter had made.

Thus, this Mordred had grown up with no shortage of love, affection, and encouragement from Baiyi himself and Aya. This was why Mordred had a far better attitude and less extreme ideas. A dragon's innate nature to create chaos was the only reason she was a troublemaker. Baiyi also knew that she caused trouble many times because she was not happy that "Papa" had yet to tie the knot with her mother, Aya.

Mordred was easily satisfied with Baiyi's reassurance, though. However, he had only said it quickly to appease her. Afterward, Mordred joined Mia to explain their side of the story.

Their story was quite simple: when Mordred and Mia discovered the Lich and some undead on their excursion, Mordred turned into a dragon and Mia climbed rode her towards the enemies. The dragon barrelled through the ranks of the undead, spewing flames everywhere it could, and Mia, who was riding it, cast spammed spells at the undead, as well.

After a short while of doing this, the duo had slain every undead in sight. This prompted the Lich, whose name was Xander, to come forward. "I am the most powerful necromancer in Duat, the Grandruler's most trusted subject."

After a lengthy self-introduction typical of villains, Xander issued a threat: "The consequences of defying my will and that of the Grandruler is a transformation into a skeleton dragon!"

Sensing that the situation could quickly take a turn to the worse, Mia immediately pulled out her trump card from her storage pouch and yelled out a command, "Sharkie, bite him!!!".

On cue, Sharkie the hammerhead plushie split into four copies, and all form assumed different positions. In a second, the four plushies spammed an endless amount of magical attacks at the Lich; it was scenery flashy enough to trigger a migraine. The messy scene would not be out of place in a famous Japanese bullet hell shooter game.

When the bombardment — which was no different from national day pyrotechnics — ended, the hammerhead shark had run out of power, and it transformed back into a harmless plushie. Xander the Lich had been vaporized, and the magical formation it had so laboriously set up was destroyed

"That was how the two realms separated?!" Baiyi exclaimed in amusement. Had the world just been saved by Mia, who only needed to raise her plushie adorably?

The answer was yes. Apparently, if one was sufficiently cute, they could save the world — by being cute. [1]

Mia's actions had been instrumental in saving the entire human race. Arfin City had held the upper hand against the undead that tried to invade it, but many other cities were less fortunate. Had Duat and Isythre been separated any later, humans would have suffered even more casualties.

"Attie and I had conducted a thorough investigation, and the conclusion we reached is quite enlightening," the Scholar Walker began. "While it is within the power of the Grandruler's Law Fragment to superimpose two realms, this unstable state cannot persist without supplementary measures. This is due to regular Spatial Laws, which allow the two different realms to remain distinct and apart from each other, acting antagonistically to the Law Fragment's power. Hence, to overcome the repulsion force between Isythre and Duat — such that the time both realms can stay superimposed could be extended — one must establish a few "anchors" to hold the two realms into place. An apt analogy to this would be placing buttons on a shirt.

"Anchors like these are required in great numbers, all over Isythre. When Duat was superimposed onto Isythre, the anchors activated in unison, acting like buttons binding two sides of a shirt together. However, the repulsion force between both realms was immense, and so if one anchor was lost, it creates a domino effect towards other anchors, causing them to malfunction, one by one."

"In other words, the day was saved by two little girls, who fooling around with their powers and somehow luckily destroyed one of these anchors?" Baiyi said. Had Isythre and its residents really been saved by two little girls and a Powerpuff plushie?

"It is as stated in Lord War God's wise augury," Attie explained. "That reminds me of something: Lord War God had left a few comments for you, too."

She cleared her throat and began to read out her god's comments as monotonously mechanical as possible. "I still think your little penchant of bringing your students to different little realms is stupid, but at least a miracle happened this time, eh?

"Nonetheless, you are very useless, so very useless. I cannot believe you fell for some green blob's scheme. What an embarrassment.

"However, I guess I should still thank you for solving at least one of my problems, so here comes your price. Congratulations, yay.

"But before you receive the price, there is something you must bear in mind. Now that my, uh, messenger has returned to the size and appearance you prefer, you must treat her better! Do not bully her! You must love her!"

Baiyi, who had been silently listening, said, "You added the last one yourself, didn't you?"

"N-no, no way." Attie shook her head vehemently in denial. "I could never change the words in Lord War God's messages!"

'Yes, theoretically, you wouldn't dare. But judging from how much that dotard doted on you, I think he wouldn't do anything, even if you made up your own 'divine auguries' and attached his name to it,' Baiyi thought. He stretched his hand and said, "Now, where's my prize?"

Attie ran towards him and, in front of everyone, she exclaimed, "Over… here!" She planted a full kiss on his mask.

The first person was Mia, who jerked as though she had been struck by lightning. "W-w-what do you think you're doing, Attie?!" She screamed.

"I kissed my Master! Is there a problem with that?" Attie retorted. "He doesn't see me as his daughter anyway!"

That was when Mia realized that she had lost the argument before it even started.

Baiyi was frozen; Attie's kiss had shocked him. However, he was always surrounded by females — half of whom showered him with affection, so he could not possibly react to receiving an unsolicited kiss with the dexterity and grace of a virgin, right?

"See? I gave him his prize~" Attie hummed proudly, licking her lower lip.

In reality, Baiyi was shocked because the Grandruler's Law Fragment had been shoved into his hand. Before the Grandruler's soul completely disintegrated, its Law Fragment was magically repossessed by the War God, who then gave it to Attie so that she could give to Baiyi.

"Master is going to savor my prize till night, I'm sure. Hence, our meeting ends here!" Attie announced haughtily; it was as though she had promoted herself to 'Mrs. Hope'.

Suddenly, Attie felt her feet leave the floor. She quickly looked back to see that the Warrior Walker had picked her by the neck.

"Big Sister Warrior? W-what do you think you're doing?" Attie asked quickly.

"Yes," the Warrior Walker said and left with Attie in tow.

A few moments later, the other Voidwalkers began to make their way out of Baiyi's house, and they heard shrill screams ringing out from the Warrior Walker's residence. When the Kitty Cat Maid returned to Baiyi, he noticed a few dark-red bruises around her wrists.

Baiyi cleared his throat and yelled, "Uh, guys, I actually received the prize, a real one! Come back so that we can discuss it, yea?"

"Over my dead body, bruh! You do your analysis on your own!" Someone exclaimed.

Baiyi walked back into his residence and stared at the empty hallway, feeling a little lonely. It had been filled with activity only a few moments ago; that made the current emptiness quite hard to bear. Even the two lolis, who Baiyi used all his wits to trick into coming with him, had left with someone else.

"Ugh. So, after this painstakingly long ordeal, I got nothing?" Baiyi murmured to himself, feeling annoyed at how disproportionate his 'reward' had been.

The War God had given him a Law Fragment, but to him, it was only as noteworthy as the corrupted, broken piece he got from Gouve a long time ago. There was no information regarding the Law, neither was there any signs of power within the Law Fragment. After studying it for hours, Baiyi was only able to learn that it was a lot more ancient than the fragment he had found in Gouve. This Spatial Law Fragment did not seem to be a work of nature; it was artificial — the result of deliberate calibration.

This was not surprising, though, as the Grandruler of Forgiveness had played around with the Fragment, which was his trump card, for a long time; hence, it was no surprise that the Fragment underwent some unnatural changes.

Why had the War God left this to him, though? Was the War God trying to tell him the differences between the two Fragments he had found so far? Baiyi thought hard about this. There was something that disturbed him: even if he could discern the difference between the two Fragments, what was the point of doing so, in the grand scheme of things?

"Ugh, you really are an unreliable fella," Baiyi muttered sourly.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

450 Please Do Not Throw Everything You See

Baiyi locked himself in his Magus Lab all through the evening and night, his head buried in his research.

At this point in his life, the only reward Baiyi fancied was knowledge — how much had he learned, especially on subjects he had not understood enough. On the other hand, things like power, powerful weapons, money, influence, and authority meant nothing to him.

His latest adventure — crossing paths with the Grandruler, being transported to the seemingly familiar but different for visiting.

Surprisingly, the ore disappeared into it!

"Oh s**t! it actually worked!" Baiyi's exclaimed in joy.

In truth, this scribble of his was a product of his current understanding of the Laws. Baiyi intended for the scribble to a Transporter Formation. He was still surprised that it worked, as orthodox knowledge dictated that Transporter Formations could only work if they were drawn precisely and unambiguously, using a variety of SRRR-level materials. How could a random scribble in the air possibly achieve results?

The scribble was not Baiyi's crude attempt at drawing; It was something he had written in a moment of enlightenment. When Baiyi had been musing on what he had just gleaned from the Spatial Law, a sudden inspiration struck him, not unlike the way the Eighth Walker's Gnosis of Nature worked. The little scribble was a result of Baiyi's subconscious, innate idea of a Transporter Formation. This was the reason why the scribble resembled magical glyphs formed naturally more than it did man-made magical texts.

"Okay, but where did that rock go now?" Baiyi thought out loud. The scribble emanated very faint pulses of energy, not enough to leave a mark on whatever object passed through it. Baiyi had not left a tracker on the ore before he chucked it into the scribble, so he had no idea where the object had ended up.

"Let's try again," he muttered and grabbed an ink bottle from his desk. He placed a wisp of his psychic energy on it and tossed it into the blue scribble in the air.

The moment the ink bottle entered the scribble, Baiyi felt the wisp of psychic energy vanish, and a few moments later, it reappeared somewhere outside his lab.

Baiyi assumed that the location was where the ink bottle had been transported to.

"Well, it seems like the ink bottle wasn't transported too far away. I guess your range is no better than standard spatial magic spells, huh?" Baiyi mumbled.

His words were no complaints, though. Improving the efficacy of current spatial magic spells was not his current objective. What mattered to him the most was that he had done something that, before now, could only be done using standard magic.

His heart swelled with pride. If all the scribble could do was transport objects to a location close by, all the better. This made it easier for him to observe the objects!

Baiyi searched his lab for expendable items to use for his experiment. After leaving a wisp of psychic energy on each of the items — quills, paper, decors in his lab, beakers, flasks, etc. — Baiyi hurled them into the scribble, one after the other.

When Baiyi ran out of objects to throw into the scribble, he began to search his drawers. He found a small, wooden statue and tossed it into the scribble.

"Alright. Now, all I have to do is to locate my stuff and document their locations. After that, I should be able to discern the underlying pattern and mechanism of this transportation method!" Baiyi mumbled to himself as he searched for a quill to record his observation.

Baiyi froze when he remembered that he had chucked them all into the scribble. He pulled out a gel pen, which he had bought at a mall in the World of Moon, from his storage pouch and began to write the locations of his objects on the surface of his desk. As he did that, he tried to decode the scribble's transportation pattern.

Baiyi had gone very far on this when the sound of his basement door being slammed jolted him from his work. Before he could react, the door of his Magus Lab was kicked wide open.

'Who is the brave little jerk itching for a fight, huh?!' Baiyi looked up, visibly irritated.

It was the Warrior Walker, who looked even more livid than he did. Her eyes were wet with tears; it was as though she would burst into tears at any moment.

Baiyi had never seen her so close to tears; after all, the woman was renowned for being reticent and fiercely independent. The Warrior Walker was the least clingy of the three Huffing Piggies. She was not as bold as Lady Assassin Walker, neither was she as risqué as the Fairy Walker.

The Lady Assassin Walker was like a young girl that had tasted the sweetness of love for the first time; the Fairy Walker was like a newly-wed wife, who could not wait to make every day her honeymoon; the Warrior Walker was like a life partner that had stayed by her man's side through thick and thin, and she did not need to engage in displays of intimacy to prove her love.

The Warrior Walker had never been the emotional type, neither was she ready to give Baiyi any fanservice — the sort an average otaku would dream of — unlike the other two. To her, these things were unnecessary.

At this moment, however, the steely beauty was uncharacteristically close to tears! Stunned, Baiyi was about to ask her what was wrong when the Warrior Walker hurled something at him and stormed off.

"What the….?" Baiyi picked the object up and saw that it was the wooden statuette he had used for his experiment. It was already broken in two.

It was then that some memories came back to him. The ugly, crudely-made statue had been crafted by the Warrior Walker; she made it after descending into this world for the first time. The wooden statue was an effigy of Baiyi.

She had gifted him this about ten years ago. It was the first gift he had received from the frosty lady. It was not given for any remarkably memorable occasion, which was why Baiyi had forgotten all about it.

He now understood the gravity of his action, though. With the broken wooden statue in his hand, Baiyi ran out of the lab and tracked the Warrior Walker. He finally found her crouched under a tree, crying quietly with her arms around her knees.

Baiyi acted on instincts. He rushed forward and pulled the Warrior into a hug, after which he wiped her tears and apologized profusely, explaining himself as much as he could.

The Warrior Walker listened to his explanation before shoving him away. She glared at him coldly and said, "And you somehow find it apt to use this as one of the subjects for your experiment."

"I was, well, desperate, so I got quite ahead of myself and tossed everything I could find into it," Baiyi scratched his head and flashed her an embarrassed smile. He quickly pulled out the statue and added, "But look! I've fixed it!"

The statue did seem to have been fixed, but it was shorter now. The Warrior Walker was just about to point that out when Baiyi showed her another wooden statue. He had modeled it after the Warrior Walker from the broken half of the original statue. This one was also unrefined. It was ugly as the statue she had made for him. One could tell that this statue was modeled after the Warrior Walker because of the frosty expression it had!

"Check this out! I made some adjustments," Baiyi said, tucking the statue of the Warrior Walker back into his pocket. He then handed her the statue of himself.

The implication was as clear as day. The Warrior Walker rubbed her eyes clean and snorted coldly, "Hmph!"

Seeing that she had calmed down, Baiyi breathed a sigh of relief. "So, about this statue… How did it get to you? Is it because the new transporting portal isn't as stable as it should be? Or do you reckon there are some errors somewh—"

The Warrior Warrior shot him a mean stare before he could finish. She said nothing and walked away, vanishing into the late night.

"Aww, what did I do this time?" Baiyi murmured to himself helplessly. Having figured out that his little trick was not enough to appease her, Baiyi returned to his lab a little dejectedly.

He placed the Warrior Walker's statue on his desk and once again buried himself in his research.

The next morning, someone knocked on Baiyi's door. It was Nota, whose hand was being held by Attie. They had come looking for Baiyi.

"Hmm? You two are up early. Is something troubling you?" Baiyi, who was scribbling furiously at his desk, did not look up at them.

"I'm fine, Mentor. It's, um, Anna," Nota replied.

Baiyi looked up, and his eyes spotted a bump on Little Anna's adorable head. She held a thick, black ore in her hands as she fixed Baiyi with a grimace. Alluding to Type-Moon Universe

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

451 It“s A Key Invention!

"What happened? Who did this to you?" Baiyi hurried to Anna and reached out to pat her head, but she ducked and hid behind Nota. Anna peeked out from behind Nota, looking at Baiyi in fury.

"Hey, hey, what's the matter? Someone bullied you, didn't they? Well, tell me who its and lemme at' em!" Baiyi gallantly said.

Nota sighed. She took the jet-black rock from Anna, raised it to Baiyi's face and pulled out a tag that was stuck to it. "Mentor, do you remember that it was I who brought you this ore? I brought it back from my last excursion to be appraised. Shouldn't it be staying put in your lab?"

"…Oh. Ohh." Baiyi froze. He had just remembered that the black rock was the first thing he threw into the scribble.

"I knew it! You… B-big Meanie!" Anna whispered from her spot behind Nota's back, her eyes narrowing with distrust.

"Alright, alright. Tell me what exactly happened to the two of you, and I'll tell you what happened here," Baiyi said with a shrug, trying to do away with the embarrassment.

The two lolis, who were the latest addition to Baiyi's "Young Girls Club", had not been given their own quarters yet, so they were taken in by two of Baiyi's students. Santa had followed Laeticia — who she liked because Laeticia looked just like her, albeit older — while Anna chose to stay with the ever-gentle Nota.

After the meeting last night, Anna followed Nota to her quarters, and the two bathed together. They dried each other's hair with towels and lied down on the same bed to relax. Nota began to narrate her latest adventures to Anna.

Soon, the topic of conversation shifted to Anna's abduction. She narrated to Nota how she had been groggy from sleep when "Big Meanie Hope" barged into her room like a robber, bound her with an invisible lasso, and spun her around until she fainted.

Nota chuckled at that and explained to Anna that the invisible lasso really was just a special binding spell that her mentor, Hope, had invented. Hoping to repair the bad impression that Anna had for her mentor, Nota talked about Baiyi's virtues and good deeds — from his power, wisdom, knowledge, penchant to take care of the others to how gentle he was to women. Anna had just begun to change her opinion of Baiyi when the black rock fell from thin air, right onto Anna's head.

The little girl burst into tears of pain instantly, and Nota had to quickly comfort her while examining the rock. She found a tag attached to the rock and realized that it was the ore she had brought back for Baiyi!

Baiyi cleared his throat. "Uh hem. Well, the truth is…"

He explained his experiment to them, placing great emphasis on the fact that he was not idle enough to delight in dropping rocks on lolis in the middle of the night.

When the duo looked around the lab and at his research, they believed him. Anna's distrust diminished somewhat, but what the expression that took its place was just as unsettling.

After the girls left, Baiyi received another visitor. This time, it was a bemused Tisdale, who was standing by his door with her a quill in her hand. She gifted Baiyi this quill several years ago. According to her, it landed on her head while she was taking a bath.

"Please answer me sincerely, sir. Were you spying on me while I was taking a bath?" Tisdale asked frostily. Then, she murmured, "As if you didn't see enough when I was a toddler! I'm a grown-up by now, for goodness sake…"

'N-n-no, you stop right there! The only thing you said that was even less true than me watching you bathed was me watching you take a bath while you were a toddler! I'm merely your father figure, not your actual father, for crying out loud!!'

Once again, Baiyi had to explain himself, placing emphasis on the fact that he was not a pervert. Half-believing him, Tisdale was just about to leave his lab when anther new visitor joined them.

It was Little Mia, whose forehead had a large bump. She was holding a woodland critter-themed pot with a few vanilla plants in it.

"Er, Dale? Could you please tell your little sister what I just told you?" Baiyi said powerlessly, finally realizing the extent of his mess.

Baiyi's basement was not only the entrance to his Magus Lab, but it was also one of his three operation bases. Baiyi hardly used the Grand Principal's Office, which was within Da Xue's staff's building. He preferred working in his basement, instead, as it was secluded from the eyes of pesky nobles. .

Those who knew Baiyi personally knew that it was more likely to find him in his basement than in the Grand Principal's Office. This was why his basement contained a lot of gifts.

At Da Xue, it was a tradition to gift someone a pen as a sign of recognition and reverence for the person's academic achievement. This was why Baiyi had many pens and quills; he had received them from his colleagues and pupils. He had stored these gifts in his basement, and last night, they had been used in his experimentation on the blue scribble.

For half a day, Baiyi was visited by various people, who were nursing various degrees of injury. They had visited with the objects that injured them — objects that they had gifted Baiyi in the past. Baiyi, who was struggling to cope with the complaints, delegated the job of explaining to his two daughters. "Help me out, okay?"

Sometime later, a communication slab in his pocket rang. He took it out and answered it, and realized that it was Professor Joseph who had contacted him. At that time, Professor Joseph was not within Da Xue's micro-realm!

He was at a conference being held in the Imperial City, concerning the recent invasion. Joseph had been sleeping when a quill suddenly appeared out of nowhere and landed on his face. When he picked it up, he realized that he had gifted Baiyi this pen a few years ago, so Joseph decided to call him.

Once again, Baiyi had to explain himself; this time, to the bemused professor. While he did this, Tisdale and Mia stood by his door, explaining the same thing to other visitors.

At this point, the way Baiyi's blue teleportation scribble worked was clear: it transported objects thrown into it to those who owned it. However, some of the items thrown into the scribble were owned by Baiyi — the goatskin parchment and ink — and he had no idea where they were at the moment.

When Vidomina turned up in his basement with these items, Baiyi remembered that most of the items he used for his daily activities had been purchased by Vidomina, a former princess.

"Godfather, is it too much to ask you to please choose a better location to conduct dangerous experiments?!" Vidomina furiously said. "Would you like to know how it feels to have a heap of miscellaneous objects rain down on your head while you are asleep, hmmmmm?"

Tisdale and Mia voiced their agreement.

"Okay, okay! I get it; I get it." Baiyi replied, looking exhausted. He really had dug a pit for himself this time!

"Since I'm right here, my beloved Godfather, do you have any idea how many things in your office are awaiting your response and decision? Do you know how many documents and invitations are piled up there? Although I managed most of the documents for you, do you honestly plan to have me attend conferences and quorums in your stead?" Vidomina lambasted him.

"Oh, er, right. Forgot about that," Baiyi said and cast a Secret Technique in the Void.

In the Void, the honorary Vice Principal of Da Xue, who was also the Principal of the Faculty of Magic, His Royal Highness the Sage-Emperor of Magi, bragged to the Voidwalkers about being the only Voidwalker that had the chance to visit what he enthusiastically called "the future". This was about his recent trip to the World of Moon, where he was fortunate to experience modern civilization.

The First Walker's cockiness had almost reached the peak when his consciousness was suddenly yanked from the Void, back into his suit of armor.

"You ungracious bastard! This has to stop… It has! To! Stop! Is this how you treat your mentor, teacher, and master?!" Bellows of fury could be heard from Baiyi's basement. "You burned all of my cards and banned me from playing, and now, you're banning me from bragging about the experience I ever had?!"

"Now we can send Dale and Royal Gramps to represent Da Xue on those unimportant conferences. If there were any other events that demand my personal attendance — bah, how about you pinpoint those out for me and we'll see about it some other time?" Baiyi said nonchalantly and dived back into his research.

"Sigh. Really, Godfather? Keep being a workaholic, and you won't be getting a wife anytime soon," Vidomina sneered, and with a shake of his head, she left. As she walked away, she thought, 'Though I'm sure a lot of women will be beside themselves if they knew he isn't married.'

For the rest of the day, Baiyi continued his research. He remained locked in his basement till the next morning.

It was early morning. Santa, the other newest recruit into Baiyi's Young Girls Club, happened to arrive before Baiyi's basement while frolicking around the residential area with the hammerhead shark plushie Mia had lent her.

Knowing that this was where Big Meanie had locked himself in, Santa hesitated. She thought that it would be polite to say hi, yet she had no idea what to follow after that greeting. Lost, she rubbed her cheeks with the plushie's white underbelly and whispered, "Sharkie, what sort of stuff, do you think, would interest Big Meanie enough to talk?"

Loud, maniacal laughter rang out from the basement door answered her instead of Sharkie, creating terrifying echoes of "Hahahahah! Ahahahahahahahaahah!" around the area…

With her face instantly paled, Santa hugged Sharkie tightly in her arms and scrammed.

Baiyi had no idea that he had just scared a loli away because he was basking in the euphoria of achievement—he finally gotten most of the scribble's nature nailed, which led him to put it into practical purposes!

By now, he could use this scribble to transport any random object to a receiver by attaching the object with something that originally belonged to the receiver. For example, if he were to send a letter to Mia, he could stick the letter onto the pot of vanilla plant Mia had gifted him and chucked the pot into the scribble. That way, the letter would drop on Mia's head—along with the entire flowerpot!

Of course, this was merely an example. If finding a novel way to drop stuff on little girls' heads was the extent of his latest development, he would not possibly be this jubilant. The real exciting progress was the fact that Baiyi's Essential Body — his real body in the Void — could actually utilize this scribble as well!

In other words, apart from Mia and Laeticia, Baiyi had now discovered a third way to channel his true, monstrous power in the Void to the body he now possessed in the real world ceaselessly! Yes, this channel may still be quite small and narrow — even narrower than Mia's — but its superiority laid in the fact that now, Baiyi alone controlled the amount of power this channel could provide!

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

452 What Tremendous Naming Skills!

The scribble's success was the Voidwalker's first real step forward in the last thousands of years.

In the grand scheme of things, it was a "baby" step forward, as the power coursing through the scribble was too minuscule. However, this took nothing away from the scribble's significance, as, for the first time ever, the Voidwalkers had managed to break a path into the Void from outside it.

It was also the first fruit of Baiyi's ongoing research in Laws.

The scribble was far from perfect, though. First, another scribble could not be made, as only one scribble could exist at a time; second, the scribble could not transport living beings — something Mia's goldfish had proven. When Baiyi put the goldfish into the scribble, it appeared in midair and fell on Mia's head — dead.

Hence, the Voidwalkers had no choice but to wait for it to be developed before attempting to use it to free themselves.

"Let's give it a name, shall we?" Baiyi said to the Voidwalkers that were in the Void.

"I thought it already had a name, which was the First Walker came up with before he left? Isn't it supposed to be called for visiting.

He noticed that the scribbles he drew were always slightly different from the last. His last scribble was shaped like the alphabet "P", and this one was shaped like an "R", and so forth. They shared superficial form, but each scribble bore different details. In other words, there was just never any fixed form for each scribble!

This discovery was a direct clash to all academic theories humans had heretofore gathered, and Baiyi had no idea how to bridge the gap. He could only guess that it was once again the working of those ineffable, mysterious Laws.

Baiyi pulled out a communication slab from his pocket and murmured to himself, "Hmm. I guess I should ask Mia for her opinion on this…"

He hesitated. At this time, Mia was still pissed with him. There was no way she would not have wanted to talk to him now.

How did Baiyi enrage Mia? Well, once again, it all traced back to Baiyi's experiment, this time—it was the aforementioned goldfish.

See, Baiyi needed a living being for his experiment, but he had none with him while almost none of his girls kept a pet. Mia was the only odd one out; she kept a school of little goldfish, and she loved them dearly and took care of them very carefully. Whenever she went out, she would always ask Nota — the most reliable of the sisters — to take care of them for her.

It was late evening when Baiyi decided to scout for a test subject, so he went to Mia's place, but she was not there. As he wondered where the girl had gone, he grabbed a fish from the bowl and just tossed it through the scribble.

Unbeknownst to Baiyi, Mia was away because she was attending an upper-class dinner hosted personally by Emperor Walhart to honor Mia and Mordred's contribution in saving the entire Isythre. It was a grand event attended by all of the most prominent nobles in the land.

Now, although the two only managed to save the world accidentally, their contribution still stood true. Besides, being two of the "Princesses of Da Xue", they were apparently looked up high enough in society that the Emperor himself saw it fit to personally throw a dinner in their honor.

Unlike the clueless and thoughtless Mordred, who wore only her armor to the dinner, Mia, the daughter of a baron, harbored values different from Baiyi's for events like this one. For that occasion, she had abandoned her default "cute girl-next-door" look and chose to dress up more maturely and elegantly, donning a beautiful sky-blue nightgown that was transparent from her waist down. Her fair legs were fairly visible through the fabric. In order to accentuate her lean legs, she had donned a pair of black heels. Then, complementing her attire, she bound her hair into an elegant noble lady's bun and adorned herself with all kinds of gorgeous accessories. She had bought these herself.

After all, everyone knew that his fashion sense was far from satisfactory. Baiyi would only gift the girls "practical accessories"…

Anyway, just as the meticulously dressed up Mia turned into the center of the party's attention and was trying to parry requests from a throng of noble suitors, a dead goldfish suddenly smacked out from nowhere and landed on her head…Name robbed from Fate Grand OrderIt's a thing in Fate Grand Order as well. Its function is literally described by its name.Touhou ProjectFrom Fullmetal AlchemistThe antagonist in the aforementioned Fullmetal Alchemist

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

453 A Family Argumen

Would anyone blame Mia for being mad at Baiyi, though? He had humiliated her in public! As the crowd around her burst into a bout of unkind laughter, Mia could feel her cheeks burn; at that moment, she wished for nothing more than a cave to hide in.

She respected Baiyi with all her heart and considered him her second father. From time to time, she considered changing the way she addressed him. Sometimes, she even harbored a certain unbelievable sentiment towards him — someone she considered a father figure. She had placed him on a pedestal, but now, not even the great amount of respect she held for Baiyi could excuse Baiyi's insensitivity!

That night, Mia returned home furious. At the door of her chalet, she kicked her high heel away and stormed inside barefooted. She bolted upstairs with loud steps and found Baiyi in her room, acting as though it was his. One look at him writing away at her desk was enough for Mia to know that he must be conducting another one of his researches, again!

When Baiyi spotted Mia out of the side of his eye, he turned around and saw her wearing a stormy expression and a gorgeous dress. Puzzled, he asked, "Wow! What's up with this look? Were you just attending some sort of dinner? Why do you look so sullen, though? Were you bullied by someone there? Who in their right mind would dare slight you? Do they not know who I am? I guess it's time to remind them; tell me who is it, and I shall silence them!"

As Baiyi spoke, he stood up and walked towards Mia, in an attempt to pat her head. This was a habit that had grown on him.

When Mia took a step back, dodging his hand, and stared daggers at him, Baiyi's heart lurched.

This was the third girl, in a row, who had rejected his innocent attempt at bonding — something Baiyi could not help noticing.

"Uh… W-what happened?" Baiyi scratched his head his confusion. He slowly turned to gaze at the papers at Mia's desk, and his eyes went wide. "I used one of your goldfishes for my experiment, and I'm pretty sure it appeared over there, right? What happened to the goldfish? Is the fish still alive, or was it already dead when it appeared? Or—"

A loud sniff stopped Baiyi in his tracks, and he watched Mia lose her composure and burst into tears. As she tried to wipe her tears, she grumbled in fury, "Favorite student?! Most loved daughter?! Your precious gem?! Lies! They are all lies!"

Baiyi panicked at that. As he frantically tried to think of a way he could comfort Mia, she shoved him away and shouted, "Why don't you go and bother yourself with your stupid research?! That's the only thing you really care about!"

She chased Baiyi out of her home unceremoniously. As the pitiful Baiyi, who was now banned from Mia's home, strolled down the road with a gloomy expression, he still could not understand why Mia had acted against him with such unprecedented hostility. Why had she been so difficult? Did she learn that from Mordred the Troublemaker?

Unable to rid himself of the worry, Baiyi headed in the direction of Aya's residence, hoping to get some closure from Mordred.

Meanwhile, Mia stood next to her bed, wiping her tears away as she watched Baiyi's silhouette disappear into the horizon. Her lips parted as though she had more to say, but her fury stopped the words from coming up.

She turned around in a fit of anger and suddenly realized that her room was sparkling clean. The floor shone so brightly, one would think it had just been waxed.

After the Grandruler's failed invasion attempt, Mia had been really busy. Not only was she saddled with her lectures, but she also had to attend different meetings and press conferences, discussing the failed invasion attempt. She had also had to submit numerous reports on this issue. Mia had been so busy that she never got the chance to unpack and clean her room. Her bed had been littered with clothes — so was her floor. Amongst those clothes were her lingerie and underwear.

But now, her clothes had been washed and neatly hung at her balcony. Her room had been cleaned. Everything was in its original place. Even her desk, which was cluttered earlier, had been tidied up.

It was obvious who had done it.

Since Baiyi became the Grand Principal of Da Xue, he had not any housekeeping for Mia. After Da Xue's founding, she and Baiyi began living in separate quarters. This was the first time in many years that he had cleaned her room and did her laundry. He had done it because she was not home when he came over to visit.

Mia could even imagine how Mr. Hope cleaned the room. He must have used magic to bundle her all her clothes together, after which he must have used a big ball of water, which he made using a water spell, to encase hovering bundle of clothing. He would have the ball of water hover behind him as he used his mana to control her broom, mop, and rag cloth to clean every part of her room. He might have even nagged to himself for a bit. "Is that a new miniskirt?! She bought another one of those super-short skirts behind my back again!" He might have also said, "Come on, I really expected a grown-up to be able to take care of herself! I wonder if she finally understood that thesis topic she asked me about last time... I sure hope so!"

As Mia imagined Baiyi work on her room in her absence, her chest swole with regret. She had screamed at Mr. Hope over a goldfish, a creature with a short lifespan, in front of the crowd from before, who she had no ties with or cared about. She had shouted at him for something so little!

While she had been cursing at Mr. Hope, the man had been happily tidying her room up, eagerly awaiting her return.

Tears streamed down Mia's cheeks once again. At that moment, she wished for nothing then to curl up with her hammerhead shark plushie and cry. She turned to look at the corner of her bed, and it was empty; she had lent the plushie to Santa and Anna earlier.

In the end, Mia could only sob next to her window bitterly, with her head on her arms.

Baiyi learned from Mordred what had happened. Thanks to him, Mia had been greatly humiliated in front of the Emperor and a crowd of nobles. She became the butt of their jokes, and hurtful names like "Beauty and the Dead Beast" were made in her honor. This made Baiyi furious. He was not angry at the childish nobles, who made fun of Mia. His anger was directed at himself.

He now felt he should not have immersed himself in his research, during which he neglected everyone else. In that time, he had lost his understanding of human emotion..

Baiyi wallowed in regret for the next two days. He was ashamed of himself, and he did not know how to get back on good terms with his Little Mia. The Shadow Walker's idea, which was proposed later, brightened his mood. All he had to do was come up with a way to reconcile with Mia — something he found difficult.

Baiyi continued to think until he arrived at Mia's chalet, but she was not at home. He did, however, met Anna standing outside, with the hammerhead shark plushie in her arms. It seemed she had also come to see Mia.

Anna was still very frightened of him. The moment she saw Baiyi, she hugged the plushie tighter and lowered her head, too scared to speak. It was not all that bad, though; at least, she had not run away.

"Uh hem. So..." Baiyi started. "You're here to see Mia, too?"

"… M-mm hmm." Anna nodded. "T-to return Sharkie to B-big Sister Mia."

She gazed at the plushie with a longing expression as though she did not wish to part with it. As though seeking to salvage her last moments with it, Anna rubbed her cheeks on Sharkie's snow-white underbelly.

"Oh, that thing, huh?" As Baiyi watched the loli caress the plushie, he wondered how the toy managed to garner the affection of every girl that came across it. For crying out loud, he had added so many enchantments to the plushie that it was just as dangerous than a nuclear weapon! However, the plushie's appeal and popularity never changed. Although Mia neglected it when she grew up, the new lolis absolutely adored it. When Baiyi was still on Moon World Earth, he had bought many plushies for Anna and Santa, but they were not as fond of them as they were of Sharkie!

'What sort of loli hypnotic spell do you possess?' Baiyi thought as he looked at the plushie.

"Say, I'm pretty sure Big Sister Mia doesn't need this anymore. She'll probably just ask you to keep it for yourself."

Anna shook her head sideways. "No way. Big Sister Mia loves Sharkie. Sometime before, she asked me to return it to her, and now, I'm here, returning it."

"Is that so?" Baiyi muttered and thought for a while. Then, he said, "Unfortunately, she's not at home now, right? I think she's giving lectures now. Maybe you should give me the plushie, and I'll return it to her in your stead. How about that?"

Baiyi had thought of using the plushie to repair his strained relationship with Mia.

However, Anna shook her head sideways again. She directed a serious stare his way and said, "It's not a plushie! It's Sharkie."

'Is that what's more important to you right now?' Baiyi smiled weakly. "Fine, fine. Sharkie. Now, may I return it to her for you?"

Anna shook her head sideways once more, displaying her obstinance. She glared at him and said, "It was I who took Sharkie from Big Sister Mia, so it is I who will return it to her!"

'This little brat! Why is she being so difficult, too?' Baiyi could not help but lament. It was he who saved Anna and Santa from a world where they existed idly in the Throne of Heroes, waiting to be summoned. Despite his kind act, neither loli had any affection for him. The little girls loved the other girls more than him!

However, Baiyi had no idea that Santa did try to talk to him sometime earlier. He also did not know that he had accidentally scared the child away with his maniacal laughter.

"Alright, alright. Look, this is what happened…" Baiyi told the little girl about everything that had happened to strain his relationship with Mia. "So you see, I really need this chance."

"Is that so?" Anna asked while wearing an expression of doubt. "As expected from Big Meanie. He managed to cross someone as nice as Big Sister Mia…"

'Excuse me? I heard that! Do you really consider me that horrible? Although I captured you a bit roughly, that was the bad thing I did to you! I have been nothing but a nice guy, afterward! Why isn't that enough for you to change your impression of me? Gods... I thought I was popular among little girls; where has that trait of mine gone?!'

After saying her piece, Anna shoved the plushie into Baiyi's hands, albeit reluctantly.

"Huh? I thought…" Baiyi asked.

"Because Big Sister Mia is someone important to you," Anna said. "These days, she looks so forlorn, and I want her to be happy again. If Big Meanie could make her happy again, then I have to give you a chance!"

She stuck out her little pink tongue at Baiyi and ran away.

"Okay. Suddenly, she's adorable again," Baiyi muttered to himself, watching Anna run into the distance.

Baiyi raised the plushie to his face and squeezed its underbelly while mumbling to himself, "Why the hell are you more popular than I am, huh? Really, will rubbing my cheeks on you really help so much?"

As a scholarly man, whose aim was to uncover all mysteries, Baiyi brought his face close to plushie and rubbed it against the plushie's underbelly, just as Mia always did.

"Ah! I feel… I feel… nothing," Baiyi muttered. "Maybe I should try again…"

He rubbed his face against the plushie again, but he felt nothing. After this, Baiyi gave up and decided to go look for Mia in her lecture hall.

He turned around and saw Mia standing there.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

454 The Real Precious Gif

When Baiyi noticed Mia staring at him intensely, he had to make do with an old trick in the book for those caught in embarrassing situations: faked coughing fit. "Uh… Uh-hem!"

He hurriedly pulled his hands away from his face and shoved the plushie into her arms, all the while hastily explaining, "Um, well, Anna came here some time ago, to return this to you, but you weren't around. So now, well, I'm returning this to you on her behalf."

Mia's expression was unreadable, but she accepted the plushie and lowered her head. It seemed as though she had something to say, but no words left her lips. Instead, she walked up to her door, opened it silently, and beckoned him over with a gesture.

Baiyi entered the house quietly and sat on a chair.

"Please, let me change into something else," Mia said. Before he could answer, she bolted upstairs.

A few moments later, Mia returned, and Baiyi could not help gawking at her.

She had changed into her old Celestial Fortress uniform! A white blouse covered her torps, and a dandy white short skirt shone below it. Further down her thighs was a pair of white silk socks, and there was a little Absolute Territory[1] visible above it. With child-like ponytails behind her head and the hammerhead shark plushie in her arms, she looked exactly like the little Mia that Baiyi first met ten years ago.

"You… You're… Uh…" Baiyi stammered.

Mia chuckled softly and sat beside him. She stuffed the end of her ponytails into his hand and whispered, "If I let you braid my hair, will you stop being mad at me?"

When Mia was younger, this was the very same moe tactic she used whenever she realized she had crossed Mr. Hope, and back then, it had worked all the time. When Mia grew up, she considered herself too much of an adult to pull such a stunt, so the moe tactic made no more appearances, until now.

Baiyi felt like he had gone back in time. He caressed the end of her ponytails with his fingers, and his heart was filled with emotions as memories flashed through his mind.

Mia did not disturb Baiyi. She sat beside him quietly and swung her legs like a pendulum, waiting patiently for him.

It took Baiyi some time to collect his emotions. He patted her head and said, "You'll always be my Little Mia."

"Mm-hmm," Mia nodded and inched closer, resting her head on his shoulder, after which she whispered, "And you'll always be my Mr. Hope."

They stayed that way for a while, and both were smart enough not to talk about the misunderstanding. After some time, Baiyi broke the silence with a question, "How long has it been? I can't believe you kept this uniform."

Mia flashed him a cheeky grin. "Well, I couldn't bear to throw it away. Anyway, I didn't expect it'd still fit me after all these years."

'Wait, doesn't that just mean that your body has not grown much in the past ten years? But, I thought you looked… taller? Your legs seemed longer and leaner! Was that just a trick of my eyes?

Mia turned beet red; it was as though she had red Baiyi's thoughts. She looked down with regret at her flat chest and said, "Um, it's really…just the way I dress now. You know, heels and stuff? They give one the impression that I have grown…"

"Hmm. Well, you know what? This is for the best," Baiyi murmured, failing to mention why growing up could not be considered a good thing.

"Hey, Mr. Hope? Could you tell me more about the research you're working on now?" Mia moved away and asked.

This request took Baiyi by surprise. Mia was never interested in any reedy topics, especially not theory-heavy magical researches; Usually, not even her most admired Mr. Hope could rope her into an academic discussion.

"Well, if you insist. It's like this…" Baiyi began, carefully explaining, in simple terms, the concepts and theories pertaining to the Scribble to Mia. He wanted her to understand it as much as possible. Mia listened quietly but intently, just like she did years ago, during her night classes with Baiyi.

Unfortunately, the scribble and its concepts were still too difficult for a Legendary-level sorcerer to understand. Baiyi tried his best to explain the complex concepts, but a handful of them were beyond the scope of Isythre's current magical paradigm, making them seem metaphysical. In the end, all Mia could understand was that her lucky mishap in the past played a small part in the development of the research.

This realization made her face lit up. She smiled gently and said, "Honestly, I don't really get it, but it doesn't mean that I don't know how amazing it is! I'm just glad that I helped somewhere."

"Is that so?" Baiyi chuckled and nodded. "It's fine to not 'get it' by now. I'm gonna write a lot about this topic in the future, and you can study them by then."

He did not blame Mia, neither had he expected her to understand everything he had just explained to her. It was only natural that she did not understand all these for now. He was just compelled to share something he cherished felt immense pride for — a bit of knowledge that the rest of the world was oblivious to. Only he knew...and now, Mia did too.

"Me? Study them and understand them? Don't hold your breath…" Mia mumbled a bit weakly.

She knew that she was mediocre in every way, and not gifted like Tisdale, neither was she physically-attuned to magic or combat the way non-humans like Nota and Mordred were. She was not made a messenger by a god as Attie had, neither was she born into a rich family like Vidomina was. With Baiyi out of the equation, there would be absolutely nothing worthy of attention in Mia's life.

In the end, however, fate favored her. It was her, an average little girl, who had brought Baiyi into this world. In return, this average little girl had gained more care, protection, and affection than the other girls could hope for.

"Anyway, let's get back to the point at hand. Since you're the one who inspired the invention of this scribble, I figured it would be most apt that you name it," Baiyi said.

"Huh? M-me? Are you… sure? Shouldn't Mr. Hope be asking Grandpa about this?" Mia asked incredulously.

"Him?! How about… no. Do not let Grandpa know about this," Baiyi replied hastily with a stern tone. "Anyway, just help me out on this one, okay? Please?"

"Um, if you insist! Lemme see…" Mia tightened her embrace around the hammerhead shark plushie and frowned — the same gesture and expression she had always worn back then whenever she tried to answer another one of Baiyi's tricky homework questions.

It took her quite a long time before she finally spoke again, a bit sheepishly, "How about, um, The Ember of Hope?"

Her suggestion stunned Baiyi a little. Frankly, it sounded typical and unoriginal, and at the same time, it described the purpose and hope entailed in the Scribble's existence perfectly: a little scribble that could connect the Void to the world of the living. It was exactly like an ember of hope amidst the bitter darkness. The name also managed to incorporate Baiyi's name in this world, too.

Who knew that besides acting cute and adorable, Mia also had quite the budding talent in naming techniques?

"A most fitting name!" Baiyi nodded in approval and ruffled Mia's hair. "Really, this name's so amazingly apt that I have to use it!"

"Wait, are you sure? I was just winging this… you sure it's fine?" Mia asked doubtfully.

"Nope, no problem at all!" Baiyi stood from his seat and produced a storage pouch from his inner pocket. "As a reward, here are some things you don't get to have from this world!"

Indeed, this storage pouch stored everything he had pillaged from the Earth-resembling Moon World earlier. After opening the pouch and taking its contents out, the two found themselves facing a small hill consisting of all sorts of knickknacks as if it was Boxing Day.

"Oh my gosh! Are these—?" Mia was quite startled at the things before her eyes. She picked up a box of chocolate from the heap and looked at it carefully before asking, "Is this a desert from another world?" Then, she put the chocolate down and picked up a phone, pressing every button she could find and gave up, after which she gave Baiyi a questioning look.

Back then while raiding the entire shopping district, due to the deadline of leaving Moon World drawing near, Baiyi had resorted to the "Take All Without Discrimination" approach, grabbing everything remotely interesting without classifying whatever he had taken.

"Oh, that's a communication tool from Earth. It's not very useful here, though," Baiyi explained, gently taking the phone away from her hand and gave her an impromptu demonstration on how to use it before giving it back to her.

"Whoa! The picture on it is so… Refined! It's so clear and precise! Is it made out of magic?" Mia exclaimed as she scrutinized the phone, extending her fine fingers to poke on it experimentally.

"You can ask Santa and Anna about it. They probably remember how these were used," Baiyi suggested. When Servants were being summoned to the real world by their human masters, they instantly gained knowledge of how to live in the current age and world they were being summoned to—or at least, that was how the lore of the Moon World was. Hopefully, that little detail did not change due to Baiyi's "intrusion" back then!

"You know… You should ask everyone to come over and distribute all of my loots to them for me. Take whatever fancies you," Baiyi said, watching Mia playing around with the gadgets he brought home with abject interest..

He fished out more storage pouches — each stored with even more goods from Earth, ranging from other gadgets, food, cosmetic products and more — and handed them to Mia. They were all meant to be souvenirs for his girls, yet he had not found the time to give them. At least now he could rely on Mia to be Santa Clause in his stead.

There were still a few storage pouches with him, though those were not meant for the girls. In fact, these would be the ones where the most important loots were stored in, and the only way to really utilize their good use was to pass them to the Voidwalkers.

After happily watching Mia pouring all of her attention to the otherworldly gifts he had brought home for a while, he gave her a few instructions and left her chalet hurriedly. Then, back at his office, he summoned the intelligentsia among the Voidwalkers — the Archmage, the Scholar Walker, the Engineer Walker, the Blacksmith Walker, etc.

"Here are some of the things I'd managed to raid from Earth, guys. Sorry that I didn't give them to you earlier… I was a bit too engrossed in my work," Baiyi explained simply and dumped the content of the storage pouch at once, causing an outpour of books.

Of all the places in the shopping district that Baiyi had raided, the bookstore and library were two places he raided the hardest.

"Can this be…?" Intrigued, the Blacksmith Walker grabbed one from the pile and studied the cover. "Are these the books that record the arcane knowledge of Earth?!"

"Er, sure, if you want to be dramatic about it. Really though, many of them are merely basic stuff, so not all of them are equally useful. I'll leave the selection process to all of you," Baiyi explained, grabbing one of the books from the pile with the title, "Dummy's Guide to Basic Programming". After flipping through some of its pages, he tossed them aside, decided that it was not useful.

Any rational person would not hope to fully replicate the technological system from Earth in a completely different world like Isythre since the Laws governing the two worlds were sufficiently different. Neither would that replication be necessary as well, since this world was governed by a system centered on magic, thus ensuring that its progress would deviate from the way Earth — governed by the laws of physics — had advanced.

The purpose of giving the Voidwalkers these books, therefore, was to inspire them enough to simulate Earth's technologies with the methods and magical system the Walkers used. Far from complete replication, Baiyi's intention was to galvanize the Walkers' minds to see potentials in their own world's development by using Earth as a reference.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

455 The Correct Way To Start A Council

Although Earth was more developed than Mia's world, the latter was not completely inferior to the former. It was even superior in some aspects. In the field of medicine, Mia's world, which has alchemy and restorative theurgy magic, was more advanced. On Earth, advancements in medicine solely depended on scientific breakthroughs.

With the differences in the natural laws and world systems of both worlds in mind, Baiyi decided to salvage the little time he had left before his forced emission e to select the kind of books he should rob. Hence, he discarded books on Earth's geography, history, and biology, and prioritized books on modern telecommunication and engineering. Mathematics books were also chosen, as the subject was the foundation of almost all of Earth's knowledge. Such an important subject would serve as the foothold that Mia's world needed to be revolutionalized.

In the hope that the Astrologist Walker and the Bard Walker could see the error of their "gentlemanly" ways one day, Baiyi also plundered Astronomy and literature books. This may not guarantee a change in the two Voidwalkers, but one could always hope.

Baiyi brought a large number of books home, but he did have a little regret: due to time constraint, he had managed only the only to visit common bookstores and the local library. This meant that he could not bring home anything more advanced than a rudimentary knowledge of these fields.

"Remember, the key to Earth's technology is math. Once you own math, you own everything else," Baiyi helpfully said. [1]

"Must you point out the obvious?" The Engineer Walker muttered without raising his head. His attention was completely focused on the mathematics books, which he had already claimed for himself.

"Fellas, fellas! Check out muh latest prized babe!" The Blacksmith Walker's voice rang out from somewhere close by. The Voidwalker was holding a detailed manual on machinery. "You know what, fellas, what I envy the most about Earth is that they've got all these stuff!"

"Oh, look at you, getting high over something boring like that. As for me, the cream of the crop is this," the Archmage said, pointing at a pile of books about software development.

Baiyi could not help but feel that his master's secretly nursed plans to develop a gatcha-type mobile game, which would function no differently from his favorite game.

"A friendly reminder from one scholar to the next, Sir Archmage: the subject that holds your fascination will continue to elude you unless you familiarize yourself with its preliminary materials. Behold!" The Scholar Walker said. As an expert in runic magic, she was unsurprisingly hooked on books on programming languages. Baiyi, however, considered them useless in this world.

The Alchemist Walker was not as satisfied, unlike the others. "Where are the Chemistry books, huh? You got a bone to pick with me?" He complained.

"Please, I didn't think those books would be useful in this world, so I didn't go out of my way to look for them. But, hey, look inside these. Maybe there's more in there," Baiyi replied, pulling out even more storage pouches, each of them filled with just as many books.

"Alright, everyone. Please lend me your ears as you choose," Baiyi announced after clearing his throat. "Look, it would take who-knows-how-many years to thoroughly understand and appropriate all this knowledge by ourselves, so I suggest that you all form special research teams to work together on chosen topics."

"Then, maybe you should open up a new class for this Software Development thing for the coming semester? At least, something that resembles it," the Archmage immediately replied.

"No problem to be expected from us Engineering Faculty. I've already appropriated concepts and theories from Earth into my curriculum since the very beginning, so adding even more Earthling content should be easy," The Engineer Walker said before finally lifting his head up and staring at Baiyi. "Why didn't you spend more of your mortal time studying these things, huh? If you did, I would have never fallen to the dark side!".

'Oh ho. Now it's my fault that you've fallen to the dark side, huh? It's my fault that you turn into a good-for-nothing whose obscene dream is to lick some woman's thighs, huh? How do you explain the fact that not everyone who shared memories with me descended into that abyss along with you?' Baiyi retorted quietly in his head. 'Ever wondered if the reason could be yourself?'

On the outside, however, Baiyi replied, "Do however you see fit. Just remember to get yourself familiarize with math before everything else; it's the foundation for everything. As for Earth's Laws of Physics… well, there are many differences in the Laws between this world and Earth. Hence, I expected that more time would be needed to bridge that schism."

The technological advances from Earth took thousands of years of progress, accumulated from the fruits of millions of humans standing on the shoulders of their predecessors, just to reach its modern, present form. Even with the existence of magic speeding up this world's development, it would still take quite an amount of manpower, money, and other forms of resources to bring out the essence of Earth's marvels. Thus, it would be unreasonable to expect all of that from the Voidwalkers alone. They would need to enlist some help.

Luckily for them, Da Xue was now famous and a haven for the best talents this world had to offer, and it could still attract young rising stars, no less. One would not be exaggerating if they described Da Xue as a treasure trove of talents.

Arrangements were quickly made. With the Voidwalkers taking lead, teams specialized in researching different fields on Earth were assembled from the ranks of capable academic staffs and genius students. The teams' topics of interest may differ, but all of them shared the same general goal — to incorporate Earth's advances into Isythre and slowly, the rest of this universe.

This revolutionary project, naturally, meant that regular programs and lectures in Da Xue would be stalled along with the academy's regular research. Baiyi, however, had taken responsibility to handle these new problems.

By the next day, every Walker had assembled their respective team and was showing them to Baiyi. All had enlisted a somewhat dependable team, except the Archmage, who roped in the very two students who left Baiyi a burning impression — Chazz and Wallace, the "Card Duelists".

Baiyi had to wonder if the Archmage was really doing this for academic research purposes, or if he was just finding an excuse to reunite with his gaming brothers…

"Listen up, Son. You have your reasons to doubt your old Master in many things, but you should never doubt my professional eye for talents! These two lads here are brilliant beyond comparison, I promise you. Remember, they actually got into Da Xue through their own effort," The Archmage said matter-of-factly. "Oh, by the way? Please refine our Memory Anamnesis and Memory Exchange techniques. I believe that you understand their significance in passing down knowledge from one to another, yes?"

'Oh, good point,' Baiyi thought.

"Now, now. Your assistance is currently not needed. Ergo, you should turn your attention to your other duties," The Scholar Walker reminded him without lifting her head once from her book on Higher Mathematics; she was studying calculus.

"Speaking of that, you've got quite a ton of meetings you should be attending, don't you? Vidomina had complained so much about them to me already," the Archmage chimed in. "Now that you've made a definitive step forward in your research of that 'Ember of Hope' or whatever on top of bringing in so much knowledge from Earth to our world… I foresee a great change to dawn upon this world, bring forth by us. Yes, it is time for us to raise our voice."

"Got it. Good luck, all of you," Baiyi replied. Admittedly, since throwing himself into the research on the Ember of Hope, he had accumulated quite a heap of troubles for himself, too. Now that he was finally relieved of his research at the moment, he should really get back at his role as the Grand Principal of Da Xue.

He left his office and pulled out his communication slab. "Dale, tell me. Which meeting requires my attendance most urgently?"

"Are you free now, Sir? If yes, please come over here to the Imperial City! It's urgent… The Church's holding a council and it's not going well for us at all," Tisdale answered in a low voice.

"Hmph. Tell them to wait," Baiyi replied flatly and rose into the air.

A few moments later, he arrived at his destination through a transporting portal.

The main point of this council, frankly, was to rile the nobles and upper-class society up against Da Xue — a rising hostility led by the extremist faction within the God's Grace faith. Over these ten years, many changes had been brought to the internal power structure of the Church. The old Pope and the Chief Judge, who had been tolerant and accepting of Baiyi and the Voidwalkers, were slowly losing supports within the Church. The hardliners, unsurprisingly, took the opening to galvanize Church members into joining them.

As the Pope inched closer to mortality with each passing year, these new factions began to wrench more and more control of the Church's overall stance.

The bulk of these factions' beliefs and convictions were similar to the Church's older stance, yet they differed sharply on the subject of the Voidwalkers. As Baiyi made his contrarian stance clearer and clearer, the relationship between himself and the Church became more and more bitter to the point that heated arguments had broken out publicly, with both sides' reluctance to use actual force as the only silver lining.

While being ushered into the council by a servant, Baiyi wondered why the Church had become emboldened enough to challenge Da Xue and himself directly. Had the Church gone mad, or had Baiyi lost his leverages? Had they already found a way to handle the very real possibility of the mass losing their faith in their religion, should they wage a war against the Voidwalkers? Or had they found a way to fight against the powers of the Book of Servitude? Or was it because they received some sort of divine instruction from their god above? Had they secured the support of a powerful entity who could trample over Baiyi himself?

He had only just entered the hall when he heard a passionate, angry voice crying, "Da Xue, and those bastards from the Void behind it who claimed innocence, are always so delighted to blow their trumpet and hoot about their 'powers' and 'peerless expertise'. However, when a catastrophe hit, what did any of you do? Nothing! You've done nothing, other than locking down the entrance to Da Xue to protect your little elitist sanctuary!"

'My, my. This guy is not very good at roasting, is he? He would lose to even a kid back on Earth,' Baiyi thought, snickering.

He stepped into the hall and answered in a loud voice, "Yes, and what did the oh-so-compassionate Church do?"

With that, he attracted every pair of eyes on the crowd to himself, including the man who had been loudly leveling accusations against Da Xue earlier.

It was a man who looked like a pastor. As he turned his attention to Baiyi, his eyes were filled with unmasked malice and adversity. He snickered and retorted, "Why, why. If it isn't Grand Principal Hope himself! Can you believe how difficult it was to get you to show yourself? Wherever have you been during the massacre earlier, when the people and the land cried out for the help of someone who titled himself as a powerful savior, hmm? Fooling around with little girls at home, no doubt!"

Baiyi's response was to extend his right hand and made a grappling gesture. A sudden surge of black Void Flames suddenly appeared around the man's body and engulfed him, incinerating him into a pile of black ashes before the man could even let out another scream.

The crowd's faces turned white. A few men, who looked like paladins, bolted up from their seats and pulled out their swords instantly, leveling the tip at Baiyi. One of them shouted, "You fiend! You dare commit manslaughter in public?!"

Despite their bluster, none of them dared take a step forward. In fact, as Baiyi came closer to them, they steadily backed away a little.

"Nah, I wouldn't call that a 'manslaughter'. It's merely a punishment for those who don't understand the importance of filtering their words before they open their mouth. Now, return to your Chief Judge and tell him to send someone smart to talk to us next time. We can grow so impatient from listening to a fool's tirades," Baiyi replied coldly.

He turned to the middle of the council where Tisdale — who was already grinning ear to ear — sat and nodded, "C'mon, Dale. Let's get out of here."

With that, both Tisdale and Baiyi turned to the exit and left the dumbfounded crowd in the hall. No one dared to stop him neither.

Just like that, a council held specially to slander Da Xue was thus cut short by Baiyi using the most direct and uncouth way.

"You know, you didn't have to attend stupid events like these," Baiyi said.

"With that attitude, Sir, I'm sure there won't be stupid events like these for me to attend anymore," Tisdale replied. "But I gotta' ask… Don't you think we may be a little overboard this time?"

Baiyi shook his head. "Nope," he replied, remembering what the Archmage spoke earlier. "I think it's high time we raise our voice."

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

456 The Current Situation

For the next few conferences, Baiyi remained insufferably unyielding towards compromise. It was as though he did it to see if anyone would still dare cross him. Fortunately, no one was hurt — neither did anyone die — unlike that poor sod, as not many were stupid enough to try their luck.

Ever since Da Xue was founded, Baiyi acted as meek as a scholar to most people. Many thought his interests laid solely in the pursuit of knowledge. Combined with the fallibility of the human memory, ten years were enough to make the more forgetful — and the less vigilant — members of the public to forget who Baiyi really was. They had also forgotten how he attained the position and status he currently held..

The hardliner attitude Baiyi had just displayed robbed the reawakened the masses to how vicious he could be. Although Baiyi appeared amiable — a nice guy who just so happened to be powerful — his temper was not even. The barbarians of the plains, a few Abyss Lords, the Godsfall cult, the Molocchus-controlled Divine Marionette, and even the denizens of Duat all had something in common: they crossed Baiyi, and those who crossed him eventually kissed their lives goodbye, regardless of how much power they had.

He was, after all, not just the Grand Principal of an elite institution; he was also the emissary of the Void — an unimaginably horrific place, where some of the most powerful savants the universe had ever witnessed were imprisoned. These people were so powerful when they were alive, the laws of mortals and the Natural Laws had banished them from existence. The Voidwalkers had put their skill on display by nurturing students that could deal with near-apocalyptic situations while the rest of the world panicked. All these made the attitude that Baiyi just displayed befitting of his station and power.

Baiyi had heeded the Archmage's advice and finally "raised his voice". It was a deafening warning to every opportunistic fool in attendance, urging them to reevaluate the impressions they had of him and his institution. Because of that, conferences as pointless as these were canceled, one by one.

Regardless of society's opinion of the man, no one dared try to cross Baiyi openly like this anymore.

Why the sharp change in attitude? It was certainly not because Baiyi's head was struck, causing a dramatic change of personality, neither was it fully because of the Ember of Hope — his latest project in which he imparts this world with knowledge from Earth, which would gain him more power and control once it was completed.

It was the current political situation that had motivated Baiyi's change.

Northern nations were not targeted during Duat's invasion, but the Southern Continent suffered a major blow, with secular regimes bearing the brunt. Millions of common folk, who were supposed to have been protected, had died. Cities and towns, where economies thrived, had been decimated.

Even lands used for mass production of food had been severely tainted by the undead, and purification processes were still underway. If the situation had not been reversed before winter arrived, there would have been an insufficient harvest for the populace, which would have caused widespread famine. There was no state harder to govern that one riddled with hungry masses; in a place like this, the masses were sure to riot against the ruling class all the time. Should the Walthart Empire deteriorate to this state, the safety of the imperial family would be threatened.

In the meantime, large, independent organizations had fared much better. Their losses, be it manpower or wealth, were not severe. Da Xue, for example, was completely unharmed. It had only lost a large number of magical marionettes in the war.

The Duat invasion may have seemed like bad news for everyone, but history had shown that there would always be entities who profit off dire situations, regardless of its magnitude. Other from Baiyi, whose greatest boon from the crisis was the Ember of Hope's invention, the only other entity that expected to turn in a profit in the long term… was the Church.

The undead flinched at the prospect of attacking their archnemesis, the Church, so the Holy City of Canningham and the Templar Fort — the heart and center of the Church and the God's Grace faith — suffered zero attacks. Some chapels and churches in some towns were destroyed, but that was akin to a drop of water in a sea of Church-owned properties across the continent.

Right now, Isythre was like a newborn baby gasping for air. Her survivors now wandered dilapidated patches of land that had once been their homes. All they had left was the hope they nursed for salvation — the right sort of mentality to bring about the rise of a religion.

After the first civil war in the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire, the wars that followed caused hope to dwindle, after which there was a dramatic spike in the Church's power and influence.

To put it plainly, mankind's pain and suffering were what sustained the Church.

This dip-and-spike pattern was about to be repeated — something Baiyi found most undesirable. Unfortunately, religious forces were riding on the secular regime's vulnerability to extend their influence directly into politics.

Baiyi had to admit that the Church's neutrality on secular conflicts, as well as its stalwart commitment to protecting humans from the demons of the Abyss, was nothing short of commendable. However, when the existence of the Voidwalkers was revealed to the world, the Church changed targets. The Voidwalkers were quickly deemed a powerful threat that was antagonistic to the laws of the Church's One True God. The Abyss demons had yet to resolve the internal strife that broke out after the defeat of yet another Abyss Lord in Marle, so the Church had slowly shifted the tip of its sword towards Baiyi and the Voidwalkers.

Not only the Church find the Void and its energy obscene and offensive, but they also regarded Baiyi's active effort to extend his influence a dangerous threat. As they had observed, Baiyi had worked hard on exerting his influence, training students who were brilliant and talented but also loyal to himself in Da Xue, and then supplied them to various significant organizations.

This was the pivotal moment for the expansion of influence. Fresh from a crisis, the empire and her people were now looking for support; whichever side the secular regime decided to ally automatically itself with would earn the support of the people, and the side that is ignored would automatically be doomed to a loss of societal significance and influence.

This was why it was assumed that Baiyi was doing all he could to expand his influence, as this would put a dent in the Church's expansion, making him its biggest enemy. Although such an assumption could be applied to most people, those nursing this thought had gotten Baiyi very, very wrong.

In reality, Baiyi was just not as power-hungry as they thought. First, he did not have a grand ambition to rule the world or create a new nation for himself; his motives had remained the same from day one: he wanted to free the Voidwalkers from the Void. He wanted them to return to the world and lead normal lives, just live everyone else. That was much better than using the Pseudo-Descent Spell to return to the world. Baiyi also did not want the Voidwalker, who many had deemed heretics, to return to a world where pitchforks and torches would be raised against those different from others.

What would he do after achieving his goal? He could pass off his days as an idle billionaire, the kind that had an incredibly hot wife. However, to Baiyi, retirement plans did not matter for now. Although he had not made plans for his future, he was sure that he would not rule the world.

This had been Baiyi's thought from the very beginning. He had made this known, but no one, including the Church and the elites of the Empire, believed him. Why would anyone believe that someone as powerful as Baiyi could be contented with something this simple? [1]

Unfortunately, as Baiyi had no desire to fight for political power, there was little reason from preventing him from utilizing his favorite asset: his good o' fist, and a slew of overpowered abilities.

Now that a more moderate faction of the Church was dying out, seeing as the old pope's influence was waning, extremists jumped at the chance to publicly proclaim their dislike for the Voidwalers. This made plain the Church's refusal to compromise. Baiyi personally loved this development, because the feeling of dislike was mutual.

What else could come next? A full-blown war? Sure thing! Baiyi never once harbored the illusion that the Church would be able to maintain a peaceful coexistence with him, someone they had branded a heretic long, long ago. Hence, he had been preparing for the inevitable — the day he and the Church would go to war with each other — for a long time. For all he knew, that time was nigh!

Baiyi was only worried, albeit mildly, about those ineffable gods. However, when the War God gave him the Grandruler's Law Fragment, Baiyi's worries were lessened. The God of Space, who knew what Baiyi was capable of, had consented to Baiyi's research on something that supposed to be exclusive to the gods! Seeing that his research triggered no divine repercussion, Baiyi assumed that the gods had tacitly permitted him to learn about the Laws, step-by-step. After vaguely showing Baiyi the ropes and aiding him in his research, the Ember of Hope was born. If the gods were against Baiyi and the others, why would one of them help so openly, without problem?

Hence, the ambiguously permissive stance from the gods was the deciding factor as to why Baiyi had so unreservedly used Void Energy in public, such as to "punish" that foul-mouthed pastor earlier. It was both a roar of warning and an act of provocation. If the Church took the bait and stirred up conflict, Baiyi would gleefully meet them in the battlefield and punch them hard, in the glorious name of self-defense.

Who cared about what the secular ruling class may think? Once the Church fall, they would not even have any choices left. Now that they were all forced into an undefined period of vulnerability, there was even less reason to care.

Yet, it seemed that the secular ruling class themselves did not realize that. The Emperor of the Walhart Empire, for example, had been waiting for Baiyi to personally see him. He thought that Baiyi must be yearning for the empire's support to rival the eventual expansion of the Church's powers.

Truthfully, the Emperor himself detested the possibility of either the Church or the Voidwalkers becoming too influential, since that would, first and foremost, threaten his own sovereignty to rule. Hence, in order to maximize benefits for himself, the Emperor had decided to make deals with both sides, envisioning all sorts of plausible developments under this current situation to formulate elaborative schemes and contingencies plans.

So far, the Church had acted exactly as he had expected. They were quick to send an envoy to him, promising that they were cleansing the corrupted farming lands as quickly as possible so that crop production would hit the minimum standard by next year. More importantly, the Church had agreed to let the Emperor take control of Da Xue, the continent's top academy, once the Church cleared away the Voidwalkers.

Naturally, the Emperor was very pleased with the deal. All he needed right now would be Baiyi to come rushing to him for a parley.

However, it was soon apparent that Baiyi never treated the Emperor as worthy of any attention, especially not important enough to make him leave his lab and his research. Even the conferences the Emperor had hosted — which were just excuses he used to ask Baiyi over — were attended only by the Fifth Walker's right-hand woman, Vidomina.

She could pay as much lip service to the Emperor as she could, yet nothing she said could be served as a confirmation from Hope himself. Helpless, the Emperor then hinted at the young lady to have Baiyi see him as soon as possible.

Vidomina discerned the Emperor's underlying wish easily, and so she passed the message to the man himself as urgently as possible. However, Baiyi was so completely engrossed in his research back then that he rather spent his time chucking all sorts of things at some scribble than to pay the Emperor's request any attention.

In the end, the Emperor's only option left was to wait patiently for the man to finally be done with whatever he was occupied with.

Finally, the day came, and now the man's attitude had turned a complete one-eighty!

It utterly baffled him. How big of nerd is this guy? There's a storm coming right to his door and his reaction is "Hold on, I got some research to handle"? Do you know that the Church is gearing up to fight you and that they are already actively trying to secure my support?

The Emperor tried his best to come up for excuses to Baiyi's chronic cluelessness, yet nothing seemed to square up. The only conclusion he managed to make was that this fella must be as mad as a hatter to think that he could fight a gargantuan organization like the Church without first securing the support of the Empire, a mad and grandiose idea, indeed! Even if Da Xue was a highly respected institution, "respect" would not save you from the sword on a battlefield!

Just as the Emperor was still musing about Baiyi's inexplicable behavior, he heard a series of frantic rapping on his door.

It was one of his personal attendants, who was already bathing in sweat as he blabbered, "Y-Your Majesty, G-G-Grand Principal H-Hope, he--!"

Then, a flurry of slow, thumping footsteps echoed behind the attendant before he could finish, prompting him to turn around and shield the door with himself as he mumbled, "P-please, Master Hope, you cannot pass unless you've been given specific permission to—"

Baiyi grabbed the poor attendant by his sleeves, chucked him to a side, and trotted into the Emperor's study without waiting for the latter's approval. The Fifth Walker even closed the door himself before sizing the room up, muttering, "Huh. Not too shabby at all."

No bowing, no kneeling or an exchange of formalities. It was as though Baiyi was not talking to an emperor.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

457 Sit Back, and Enjoy The Show

Baiyi addressed the Emperor as he would a commoner, not a ruler.

Unsurprisingly, this insensitivity infuriated the Emperor, and he could not help but complain in his heart about his guards' inability to stop the rude intruder. On the outside, however, the Emperor looked unperturbed, turning his eyes to a picture that Baiyi was looking at and, in his most agreeable tone of voice, said, "It seems that you and I share similar taste in aesthetics, Master Hope. I'll love to indulge in a discussion with you about art."

The Emperor clapped his hand, signaling the maid standing by outside his study to go prepare tea.

"That wouldn't be necessary," Baiyi said flatly, waving the maid away. He dragged a chair across the floor and sat down, paying no attention to decorum.

Baiyi looked at the Emperor and said, "I heard that you've been looking for me for quite some time now, is that true? Sorry, I've been a little busy lately; you'll excuse me for that, right?"

'Excuse you? For what? For being absent, or for forgoing basic formalities?! Shouldn't you address me properly as "Your Majesty", you uncouth little wretch?!' The Emperor roared in his mind. At this point in time, he was so angry that, despite possessing impeccable acting skills, he could stop veins from bulging on his forehead.

However, the Emperor knew better than to express his fury at the Voidwalker in front of him, so he took a couple of breaths and calmly said, "So many years have passed, yet you're still using the Sanctus I gave you as a gift back then."

Baiyi truly had used the Augustril armor in question for ten years. It had accumulated so much wear and tear over time, and it no longer glowed silver. Some parts of the armor were dented — scars from Baiyo's many battles.

Seeing Baiyi still using his old gift made the Emperor hopeful. As the Fifth Walker still wore his gift after all these years, it might mean that the man still considered him an ally, so there was still some hope for a deal to be reached.

'There's every chance that he's just being difficult with me because he's displeased with my contact with the Church. Maybe he thinks that by being aggressive, he would hold a higher negotiating power than mine. Yes, that must be it,' The Emperor thought to himself.

Baiyi's reply, however, smashed the Emperor's rose-tinted glasses. "Oh, we already developed armors much more superior than this. I still wear this because I feel people may not recognize me if I switch into someone else. Having them get used to a new look would be quite the hassle, would you not agree?"

The Emperor's next words were stuck in his throat. 'Just why the hell are you here, then? You're not here to do any negotiating, are you?'

Seeing the Emperor fall silent, Baiyi explained the reason for his presence. "I've completed the quest you assigned me, to investigate Duat. The reward is why I'm here. You know what you promised, right? The arms-providing contract with the Empire? I want in."

The Emperor froze. It was true that he had issued the quest to investigate Duat, but he had tried to masquerade the order as the Imperial General's personal request. However, he knew that Baiyi would know who the Imperial General received the directives from, so he was not surprised that Baiyi came to him directly for the reward. Hence, the Emperor replied, "This isn't the most important matter at hand now, is it? This discussion can be had another time."

"I beg to differ. To me, there is nothing no more important than this," Baiyi replied.

A wave of confusion assaulted the Emperor, and the man was no longer able to contain himself. He got up with a start and bellowed, "Are you even serious?!"

Baiyi was stupefied by his outburst. "I came here to see you about it. Doesn't that show how serious I am?" He saw the Emperor's eye twitch uncontrollably, so he said, "Unless, you think there's something even more important that I should be worrying about."

The Emperor, who no longer saw a need to hold himself back, sneered, "Heh! It seems that you, sir, have been hidden in your cave for too long. You really have no idea how perilous your situation is, haven't you?"

It was clear that the man in front of him was clueless about his own situation. The Emperor had decided to weaponize Baiyi's ignorance and amplify the threat from the Church, making it as terrifyingly as possible so that he could force Hope, the idiot, into making a deal with him.

He was just about to say something when Baiyi cut in, "Oh, you mean the thing with the Church? Right, I guess that counts as a big deal, too. But, then again, that's a conflict between me and them; it's got nothing to do with you, so fret not! Just wait for the good news. I'll make sure that no innocent parties get dragged into our bar fight. Sounds good?"

The Emperor was stumped. 'Nothing to do with…. Nothing to do with me? Your mind absolutely confounds me! The two of you plan to duke it out in my territory, for God's sake, yet you suggest I watch and "fret not"? Seriously, who do you think I am? What's the Empire to you?'

Baiyi, who watched the Emperor's face darken, shrugged. Suddenly, a familiar black book appeared in his hand, and he began flipping through its pages casually, staring at them as though he was reading the book. "History has shown us that those only given the privilege to watch something unfold, without getting involved, are the luckiest. What do you think about that?".

The Emperor knew what that book was and, by extension, what it was capable of. The swirling rage in his heart instantly disappeared, deflated like a balloon.

With a look of reluctance, the Emperor lowered his voice and hissed, "So, you really think that you can win this war without the Empire's support, do you? Have you ever thought about what would happen after that? Do you really think that your little Da Xue will not have to rely on the Empire at all?"

Baiyi continued pretending to read the Book of Servitude. He flipped a page over and said, "Oh, look at this: it is stated in this book that a person who doesn't provoke others gets to outlive the fools who do. It is also stated that many, many people are vying for the chance to be emperor. This competition is so great that the competitors don't mind getting their hands dirty for it."

That was an unveiled threat, delivered to the Emperor himself! The Emperor's face contorted in rage, and he pointed a trembling finger at Baiyi. "You!"

"Please take care of yourself. As I've said, you just need to sit back and enjoy the show," Baiyi said and clasped the book shut. finally and clasp the big, black tome tight. He stood up, turned, and strode out of the room without even waiting for the Emperor's answer.

The Emperor was so livid that his body was practically shuddering. Many times, the order for this knave's head roared in his mind, threatening to be let loose from his mouth, yet at the last second, the remnant of his sensibility would halt the thought from escaping his mind.

In the end, all the Emperor could do was to slump back into his chair weakly and breathed heavily. It took him a while to finally calm down enough to summon his vassal.

"I need you to pass my message to the Church. Tell them I…" He hesitated, his face belying an expression of a man struggling to pull himself out of a quagmire. It was an expression completely alien to the vassal, who had served the Emperor for more than a decade.

The vassal waited patiently, his hands crossed behind his back.

The silence went on for a long time before the Emperor, with his fists clenched and his teeth gritted, squeezed out his message as if it pained him. "Inform the Church that our deal… Our deal from before shall be suspended. Please be careful with your word choice. I do not want any misunderstanding and ambiguity with my message, lest we attract the worst kind of troubles."

The Emperor loathed Baiyi, yet in the end, he still sided with him. The reason was simple and obvious, despite Baiyi's threat and blatant imprudence, the Emperor was still wise enough to recognize the bargain the Fifth Walker was offering backhandedly: by telling the Emperor that he should just "wait and fret not", he was really saying that the Voidwalkers could guarantee the Emperor to be a bystander and watch the conflict resolved unscathed.

That was the only deal the Voidwalkers offered to the Emperor. It was nowhere as lucrative or profitable as the ones the Church had offered, but it was a lot more practical, and more importantly, it appealed to any mortal's inherent desire to preserve their life. After an intense reflection, the Emperor had come to realize that to be given the privilege of assuming the position of neutral bystander was probably the luckiest deal he would ever get,

The vassal, upon hearing his liege's words, displayed a morose expression. He lowered his voice and whispered, "Your Majesty, we still have three Demigod-level savants loyal to your command. Don't you want to—"

"Haha. Demigods? This wretch is waging a war against the Church. He doesn't even give a single hoot to the One True God anymore, let alone some demigods!" The Emperor replied weakly.

"I… I see. I understand," The vassal said and bowed deeply before the Emperor, bowing even lower than the vassal had ever done in his life.

It was as if he was giving respect to the tremendous sacrifice his liege had made.

Meanwhile, Baiyi decided to return to Da Xue after his happy visit to the Emperor, positive that he had raised his voice quite loudly enough. The first person he thought of visiting was the Archmage.

The old man was studying a famous treatise from Earth when Baiyi found him. Without any digression, Baiyi reported his doings and waited for his master's approval.

After listening to his report, however, the Archmage raised his head from the book and complained, "I thought I told you to raise our voice!"

"Excuse you, you think it's not raised high enough?!" Baiyi retorted, puzzled.

"Please. If it were me? I would have killed that stupid both-side-pleasing emperor right there and then, and then I'll kill every last one of his kin. The Empire will face a power vacuum, and there will be a civil war as the dukes try to rob the empty throne for themselves… Oh, the Church will be involved too, out of their own will. Our enemy would be effectively distracted, and how dangerous could they be by then?" The Archmage explained. "You can even support Vidomina's father in that civil war too, and then after he won, you murder him and his sons so that our sweet little Nina could become the Empress. Boom! The Empire is now completely loyal to you!"

Baiyi could only gasp quietly to himself. Now that was the way of the Sage-Emperor of Magi, the conqueror of nations and kingdoms! Baiyi could probably never be able to learn this at all…

"You really learned nothing from me, son. Ah well, that as may be. Go and do whatever it is that you're supposed to do now. I, for one, would like to return to my study, finish it as soon as possible, and then go back to playing my favorite gatcha game," The Archmage said dismissively before turning back to his book again.

The Archmage was so addicted to gaming because he needed something to prevent him from meddling in his protégé's affairs. Otherwise, he would have often clashed with Baiyi frequently about his decisions.

After leaving the Archmage alone with his book, Baiyi was about to head to Little Mia's place to see if the girl had been alright while he was away. It was this point that he realized that the sky had become dark, so he decided not to go; he did not want to disturb her rest.

Baiyi thought about the upcoming war with the Church and suddenly felt the need to chat with someone about it. After some musings, he found himself walking towards the Cleric Walker's quarters.

He was just about to knock when he heard three different voices discussing loudly behind the door…

"Oh. My. One-True-God! This babe is just hawt! As hot as a nymph! No wonder she became the dark horse who smashed through the latest Hottest Female Student poll. I mean, look at that body! If only this stinking uniform isn't so conservative… To have her assets hide and wither away like that is a crime!!!"

"Okay, but have you looked at this chick over here yet? Pretty, isn't she? A beautiful maiden who is into literary works... Ah. So serene, so wise, and so goodie-good…"

"Gentlemen, allow me to show you this one! She may not boast the most exquisite face, but those long, lean legs are bodacious! Arr-arr-awwooo! Imagine them shrouded with either black or white silk socks; I'll lick them so hard her legs could snap! Goddamn it, if it wasn't that bloody Grand Principal Hope getting into our way… He's the vilest! The archnemesis of our kind!!!"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

458 It“s Not Urgent Ye

Baiyi stood quietly in front of the door, listening in on the conversation for a few minutes. Then, he raised his leg, arched in a dramatic fashion and kicked the door off its hinges.

Suddenly, the tranquil night — a time when all and sundry were supposed to be relaxing — was filled with shrill screams similar to those made by bigs about to be slaughtered.

"Help! Anyone, help! That son of a b**** admin is committing manslaughter!"

"—D-d-don't you dare come any f***ing closer! Or… Or I'll murder you!"

"And the Lord says unto his follower: 'Fear not, for I have granted courage to those who dare to fight back against tyrannical admins...'"

The shrieks went on, and suddenly, a loud explosion rattled the surroundings.

An alarmed Vidomina, who had just finished her job and was heading back to her private quarters to rest, changed paths and hurried over. When she reached her destination, the Cleric Walker's chalet, it had already been reduced to rubble, with clouds of smoke rising from it. From within the thick smoke, Vidomina could make out a towering silhouette approaching her.

"G-Godfather? I-is that you?" She asked out loud, her voice shaky.

"Mm-hmm." A voice reverberated. When the smoke finally cleared, Vidomina saw Baiyi holding the Bard Walker's pauldron in one hand and the Cleric Walker's helmet in the other, while standing on the Paladin Walker's cuisse with one leg.

He threw them aside as though they were junk and said, "Please, inform both the Faculty of Theology and the Faculty of Literature that their respective principals will be absent for, say, a while. For the Theology faculty, please direct all affairs to Laeticia, and for the Literature faculty, I assume the professors working under than good-for-nothing are the real people in charge of it, right?"

"Um… Godfather? Do you really think this is okay? It's almost time for the intake of new students, right?" Vidomina hesitantly replied, feeling pity for the three idiots whose armors had been ripped apart.

"Well, I see no problem, or should I say, I see even fewer problems. By this point, anyone would be more reliable than those three horny buffoons," Baiyi said nonchalantly. "Oh, now that you mention it, please call in every member of our staff for a meeting tomorrow; there are some important things I need to announce. Furthermore..." Baiyi walked up to Vidomina and ruffled her hair. "Why have you come back so late?"

Vidomina did not shake his hand off, but she angrily muttered under her breath, "I'm surprised you even asked, as though it is not because of the mountain of work you did not do!"

"I'm sorry," Baiyi murmured apologetically. It was true that many tasks, events, and affairs needed his attention, yet all he had done so far is research, leaving his workload to Vidomina.

Now that he was sober and therefore subjected to his conscience, he felt quite ashamed of himself.

As Baiyi listened to Vidomina, he could not help noticing something different about her. Her dresses were still within his conservative guideline, but on closer examination, he spotted a faint shade of purple eyeshadow above her eyes. It had been drawn skillfully, making the beauty seem even more feminine.

Frankly, cosmetic products existed in this world, but when compared to Earth, they were lacking in many departments — variety, effects, colors, etc. Baiyi's Angels were all naturally gorgeous, and they possessed impressive amounts of mana and combat chi; they did not need makeup to look beautiful. Even the most beautiful ladies could be more beautiful with the right cosmetic touches.

Vidomina noticed Baiyi's stare and lowered her head sheepishly. She fidgeted a little and said, "How do I, um, look? I, er, used one of the gifts you brought from that other world."

"It's very becoming of you. In fact, it's amazing," he replied. "Do you like it?"

"Yes, I do. Thank you so much for the gifts," she replied, nodding.

"I'm glad to hear it. Alright; take a good break now," Baiyi said and turned back to the rubble that was once the Cleric Walker's quarters. "If you've got some time to spare, please help me find someone to fix this place. There's no need to rush; I can assure you that the owner won't be returning any time soon."

With that, Baiyi returned to his comfortable home. He walked over to his couch and jumped on it, spreading his legs wide. Although his body was relaxed, Baiyi was far from idle; he had already begun a meeting with the Voidwalkers in the Void.

He had wished to discuss his current issue with the Cleric Walker and the Paladin Walker, as they were both former members of the Church. However, after the had heard their deplorable conversation, he realized that some of the Voidwalkers needed a little discipline. To remedy that, he had sent the three guilty Voidwalkers for a little swim out in the bitter and cold, corrosive part of the Void outside his protection.

Fortunately for Baiyi, he remembered that there was another Voidwalker that had once been a member of the Church, and this Voidwalker was more useful and reliable than the banished gentlemen. The Voidwalker Baiyi had remembered was the Shadow Walker. She was once a candidate for the papacy and knew far more than a mere ascetic and a nimrod.

The Shadow Walker's relationship with Baiyi, the Fifth Voidwalker, had always been incredibly shallow. They treated each other like mere colleagues. Hence, whenever Baiyi had issues with the Church, he would automatically consult the Cleric Walker and the Paladin Walker, not her. In the end, he had placed his faith in perverts! Despite being regarded by the next generation as inspirations, those two were lusting after their own students!

"You finally come to your senses and did what someone of your status and power should do," said the Shadow Walker. "Hmph. I thought you had forgotten who are, growing accustomed to the life of a 'lovable' billionaire, instead."

"It sounds to me like you've been eagerly awaiting a war with the Church," Baiyi said.

"Eagerly," replied the Shadow Walker.

"Okay, then. What are our chances of winning? If everything we've learned of the Church so far is all they have, then there's nothing to fear," Baiyi said. "However, they must have a secret weapon of mass destruction — something powerful enough for even the Void to worry about, right?"

The hands that the Church had to play were not secrets. They could deploy crusaders, paladins, priests, or even the inquisitors; handling these did not require any preparation. The Church also had elite knights that they called Templars. These knights possessed incredible power and skills. However, despite the formidability of the Templars, their abilities were limited to physical combat.

Finally, the Church could also deploy their own Demigod-level fighters, but against Voidwalkers, they were about as useless as Templars. Demigod-level fighters dared not use their full power for fear of being snuffed out by the Laws; it was a glaring weakness.

This was why Baiyi believed that the Church had a trump card hidden up their sleeves. It must be something so confidential, even an apostle or a legendary paladin would know nothing about it. It might be something powerful enough to turn the tides in the Church's favor if they went to war against the Void Walkers.

"There is an ultimate weapon that the Church holds tight. It is a power that is far greater than anything else they have," the Shadow Walker answered. "It's the Angels."

Baiyi felt let down; the Angels were within his expectations, as well. "Are those things what we should be worried about? Have you ever seen one in action?"

"I've seen only one; it appeared in the body of a human. Her abilities were far inferior to yours. This is not a surprise as mortal flesh cannot possibly shoulder the true, immortal power of Angels," said the Shadow Walker, who had turned solemn. "As for Angels who descended into our world in their true bodies, I never had the fortune to see one."

The Shadow Walker began to describe the type of Angels that had been recorded in history. First, there were Angels who lent some of their power to mortals, using secret techniques that were similar to the one the Cleric Walker invented, and passed on to Laeticia. There were also Angels who have inhabited the body of humans for a very long time, robbing the humans of their lives. These Angels were far more powerful than the first. Lastly, there were Angels that arrived in their true bodies, not needing any mediums. These powers of these Angels knew no equal.

"Answer me these: what will stop them from descending to our world? Under what circumstances would they choose to descend in their true bodies? What is the extent of their powers?"

An Angel that descended in their true body will be, without doubt, the most powerful being the Church can summon. Baiyi was already worried about the elusive nature of Angels. No one knew how strong Angels were. Baiyi was certain that Angels were not moe creatures that would scream when some nasty humans plucked their feathers.

Hence, Baiyi's was more inclined towards caution than he was towards boldness.

"I cannot answer any of these questions because I never saw one descend in their true bodies. That being the case, I will also not know what methods are used to summon these Angels here. However, if there was one thing I know for sure, it is that war is not enough reason to summon one. In millennia, the Church has only been visited by a few Angels. These Angels all appeared during periods of peace. It was as though they had only come to observe our affairs and report them back to the gods," The Shadow Walker explained. "As no Angel has ever been involved in any wars, no one knows how powerful they are."

"Are you implying that we won't be going up against any Angels?" Baiyi asked.

"No; that is not what I meant. I will not discard the possibility of going up against one just yet," she replied. "However, it also does not mean we should worry about them. Even if their powers exceeded mortal limits, how does that make them more powerful than you, as you are also not bound by mortal limits? If the Angels are as powerful as we imagine, then the Church should be much more powerful than it currently is. Need I remind you that the Church grew to its current state thanks to the efforts of humans? These Angels never contributed to its growth."

"Huh, is that so? That's a relief," Baiyi said. Another question popped into his mind, and he voiced it out loud, saying, "What about… What about the 'One True God' himself? What do you know about that fella?"

"'Know about that fella'?" The Shadow Walker repeated his question with a tone of incredulity. "Of those who had graced this world, how many know about the One True God? Maybe you should just ask your Kitty Cat Maid's master about his counterpart, instead."

"Er, well, I remember you entering the Temple of Auguries once to receive a divine revelation," Baiyi said.

This was one of Shadow Walker's most intimate memories. As it was clearly very instrumental to her character, Baiyi never forgot about it. The memory was a little fuzzy and ambiguous; it was as though the Shadow Walker had withheld some parts from him.

"I did not attempt to hide anything from you, Sir Hope," the Shadow Walker said, her voice riddled with regret. "That was everything I remember about it; nothing hidden and nothing withheld. If I am not mistaken, that memory must have been influenced or even altered by an external force. Do you remember that I was immediately captured by the Inquisitors the moment I left the Temple?"

"Sorry to have brought up a painful memory," Baiyi said.

"No matter," the Shadow Walker replied. "Enough detours. There is still some time left for you to prepare for this war. I don't think any preparations are needed. I know for a certain that the Church will not be fighting you anytime soon.".

"Huh! You're right!" Baiyi said when he realized what she meant. It was now mid-November, and Grace Day was coming soon. As their most important holy day, the Church could not possibly choose this time to wage war against Baiyi.

Once Grace Day passes, Da Xue would be making preparations to receive new students. Baiyi did not want to war at that time. He would do anything to avoid conflict at that time. There was also the possibility that the war would not happen at all.

"Heh heh. You could always just bring your little girlfriend with you to celebrate Grace Day, right in Canningham," the Shadow Walker suggested. "I have no doubts that your trouble will get rid of itself."

Baiyi replied, "Er, which girlfriend are you talking about?"

The Shadow Walker was silent for some moments before grumbling unhappily, "The elf, you idiot."

"… Holy crap, that's just…that is the most wicked idea I've ever heard in my life! So malicious and evil! What if that act destroys even us?" Baiyi hurriedly said. Even he would not wish a cataclysm like that on his enemies!

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

459 Bad Timing Could Really Cause Misunderstandings

After talking with the Shadow Walker, Baiyi retrieved the three Voidwalkers being punished back into the area of the Void under his protection. He believed they had been punished enough.

When Baiyi tossed them into the real Void, the three Voidwalkers coined themselves martyrs, and they swore to fight tooth and nail to enjoy what they considered 'their God-given right to enjoy the beauty of the female body. Although they had only been in the real Void for an hour, when Baiyi went to retrieve them, they were hyperventilating like fishes on land.

Baiyi poked them lightly with his consciousness, and a weak groan, which sounded as though it had come from a moribund old man, could be heard. "O' gracious and merciful Lord Admin, I beg of you… No more… Shall never do that again…" [1]

For those trying to picture the area of the Void outside Baiyi's protection: imagine been yanked out from underneath a warm comforter, by an angry landlord, and tossed into a bone-chilling cold lake. Even strong-willed warriors could not withstand such a torment, let alone the three pathetic gentlemen Voidwalkers, who had long since grown used to Baiyi's protection in the Void!

"Utterly pathetic, the three of you. It was only a while!" Baiyi tut-tutted. "Do I need to remind you that I have to face the real Void, unshielded, all the time, while the rest of you enjoy my protection?"

"Ah, the mystery has finally been solved. This must be the reason you've been so difficult! I guess any nice guy would change into a callous jerk after tolerating thousands of years of that torment, aye?" A voice reverberated around. The Devil Walker had eavesdropped on Baiyi and the Shadow Walker, and he had been itching to speak ever since.

"Why don't you go the extra mile to enslave some demons and use them to increase the number of soldiers you command? Don't get me wrong; they die easily, but their stellar simplemindedness makes them the perfect cannon fodder. Wouldn't you agree?" The Devil Walker said.

"Wow. How about…No?" Baiyi refused. "I do not mind fighting the Church, but I have no intention of destroying them completely, neither do I want to slaughter every one of their followers, especially those who have nothing to do with our conflict. Whether you like it or not, there's still a need for the Church to exist. I just happen to prefer that it be docile, not a dogmatic interventionist." [2]

"Besides," Baiyi said, "If I was in dire need of manpower, I would never resort to forming an alliance with disgusting demons."

At least half of the world's population considered themselves devotees of God's Grace faith. If Baiyi were to purge the world of this religion completely, it would offend many of the normal followers, and they would become obstructions to the Voidwalkers' goal. To eliminate that possibility, he would have to resort to killing every one of them, even the most vulnerable and innocent.

Suffice to say that course of action would be directly at odds with Baiyi's principles. Therefore, Baiyi's only purpose to battle the Church was strictly limited to forcing the religious authorities to behave in line and not get into the Voidwalkers' way, instead of completely annihilating them.

Disgruntled with Baiyi's response, the Devil Walker retreated silently into whatever corner of the Void he called his own.

The Void returned to silence and Baiyi turned his attention to the real world.

It was almost time. He picked up his communication slab and sent a few simple messages to a few of his contacts.

It was yet another night of indulgence to the richest nobles of Isythre, fit for conventional pleasantries like a wine party as well as more libertine activities. However, whatever festivities the night had to offer were suddenly interrupted when important news broke among them.

Suddenly, the nobles found themselves bidding their evening guests hasty farewells. Then, after their doors closed, they summoned their closest advisors, vassals, and their family for an emergency meeting to discuss Baiyi's announcement:

"This year, Da Xue decided to increase the number of sponsored students accepted into the institution. There are now fifteen seats."

It was a simple message, one that sounded like great news to every noble parent who dreamed of sending their useless descendants to Da Xue for a complete re-education. Yet, at that moment, none of them bore an expression of delight or relief.

In fact, they were white as a ghost.

"Isn't this just the best news, Father?" A young noble with the countenance of an arrogant player [2] exclaimed excitedly to his aging father. "I finally have the chance to enter the academy of my dreams!"

His father, however, shown no sign of joy. In fact, the father shook his head and shot his son an unimpressed scowl. He knew his own child well enough to see through his motives—this son was not the least interested in knowledge, skills, or actual self-improvement; He just wanted something to brag among his equally shallow peers.

Da Xue's name and reputation had soared so high that even Jimbo the farmer knew that only the best talents ended up there. Alumnae of Da Xue was automatically the cream of the crop; And if they graduated as Da Xue's laureates, bearing those glorious pendants gifted personally by the Grand Principal… Why, they were basically the paragon of their generation!

Even if one managed to enter this prestigious academy as a sponsored student, it was still a proof of their family's wealth and prestige, as it meant that their family's material contribution satisfied the Grand Principal enough to take in their children. Alas, that was simply another thing these rich nobles — had never experienced life's difficulties — loved to brag about; bored with their splendors, bragging became one of the very few things these nobles could do to feel any sense of thrill and superiority.

However, the father was not against sending his son to Da Xue neither, even if it meant a hefty sum of his fortune. According to his friends, it was an investment completely worthy of every dime they spent, no matter how dimwitted, lackluster, unmotivated, or all-around hopeless their child was before, they would always leave the academy a completely changed person with actual skills and intellect. That was why many of these nobles were so willing to continue sponsoring Da Xue lavishly; they saw the academy as a sort of reformatory facility for their unimpressive descendants.

None of these accolades were made to please the powerful Grand Principal; Indeed, the nobles praised the academy genuinely.

Frankly, it was hardly difficult to deduce why a bunch of rich ne'er-do-wells turned up a new leaf after entering the academy, when one's superiors were a group of powerful, peerless savants, led by the unscalable Grand Principal Hope, they were quick to realize that their origin, family background, money, and station meant nothing at all. The only way to survive in a strictly meritocratic environment like Da Xue was to work their hardest; And should one found themselves having a hard time learning basic sensibilities, there were plenty of people in Da Xue who could hammer those into them, such as the butt-chomping Jawflower. [3]

In conclusion, there were many compelling reasons to send his son to Da Xue. Indeed, he tried to do so last year, attempting to send his kid in as a sponsored student. Unfortunately, the young man had lost that seat by a very slim margin.

Now, a new chance had presented itself: there were now more seats for sponsored students this time. Yet, the father felt even less hopeful of their chance…

This particular noble family was the largest tea supplier for the entire Walthart Empire. They monopolized the entire trade, amassing a fortune equal to a normal nation's total wealth. However, due to the Duat invasion, at least half of their tea plantation had been destroyed and corrupted, while many of their workers had died. This pitted the family into an unexpected crisis — one that the father was unsure if they could ever recover from.

At this moment, the family appeared to be well enough, but who could tell if this was the start of a downfall? The father even worried that some opportunists may use this as an opening to wrench control over the tea-supplying business.

Honestly, the father was wary about this seemingly good news. Prior to this announcement, the number of sponsored students for every semester was a meager sum of ten, which deterred many from actually competing for them. Now that the seats had increased, it would no doubt galvanize more families to try their luck, hence increasing the number of competitors.

That was not all; The Duat invasion had provided some merchants and nobles a timely springboard to join the ranks of the richest, such as families trading on restorative potions and those who dabbled in medicines and apothecary. With these uppity newcomers climbing up the social ladder, old billionaires such as himself had to quickly find a way to remain at the top.

This was the reason why many of these nobles were unhappy to receive the news. It had always been hard to please Grand Principal with materialistic contributions; he never seemed to think there were enough. Hence, many nobles had made a sort of unspoken agreement between themselves about how best divide the sponsorship seats, but now, this new announcement was sure to disrupt that agreement!

"Well, well, well. Looks like our money and contributions no longer sate your appetite, Master Hope," The father murmured under his breath.

He knew that Hope had killed a representative of the Church in public earlier. Now, combined with the timing of his latest announcement, the father feared that everything may be part of a larger scheme, especially since the Grand Principal managed to pressure even the Walthart Emperor himself to refute the Church's offer to work together — a decision that had spurred much imagination and theories among the nobles.

"Order the servants to examine the state of that box in our basement before summoning the best craftsman we could hire. I need it to be repaired and polished before gifting it away to the Grand Principal," The father finally said.

"Huh? You mean the box with all of our most valuable collection of art?" The son gawked at him and asked. "I don't think Grand Principal Hope likes paintings though."

The father placed his palm on his forehead weakly before explaining, "I meant the basement in our ancestral home, you idiot."

"T-that one? We're going to give Grand Principal Hope that one? But I thought that regalia is the most invaluable treasure of our house, handed down from generations to generations, and must never be given to any outsiders!"

"Regalia or not, it's just an old piece of junk to us. If this junk could sate that Grand Principal Hope enough to take my child into his institution, then it's a price well worth paying," The father explained exasperatedly. Studying his son's dumbfounded expression, he sighed and added, "Look. If you manage to get into Da Xue, please go for either political science or finance courses, okay?"

Conversations like these were happening in many other noble houses, too. Apparently, many thought that Baiyi was using this to force them into choosing sides. Suffice to say, it quickly became a migraine-inducing dilemma. Nobles ought to together and reprimand Hope's imprudence, hence showcasing their steadfast allegiance to the Church and the Empire; Yet, none of dared to do so now. All of the money and power these nobles had would be no match to the actual destructive power the Voidwalkers possessed after all, and worse still was that Master Hope had shown himself to be reluctant to compromise. Who would dare think that he was not vindictive, among many things?

The nobles understood that must it come down to it, they rather crossed the Church than the Voidwalkers. In fact, the Emperor's decision had made clear that the leader of the secular regime had chosen to side with the Walkers, too.

In the end, these nobles came to what they thought was the best solution: they kept absolute silence on which side to stand on, yet at the same time, they should gather the most precious object of their family and use it to butter up Master Hope, just so he may spare them from demise when the war began..

However, unbeknownst to these nobles, Baiyi never thought of asking these nobles to choose a side at all. Quite plainly, if he did not even need the Emperor's support to win the war, then how could he possibly need these nobles?

The reason behind his announcement was simple; he just wanted more moolah. He wanted someone to indirectly fund his projects of integrating Earth technology with Isythre's. Little did he expect that these nobles would be so fond of terrifying themselves with thoughts of worst-case scenarios!

Granted, Baiyi did not know that the deal between himself and the Emperor had already broken among these nobles, too. Regardless, the truth was that these skittish nobles had completely misunderstood his shallow intention.

Anyway, while Baiyi had accidentally caused unrest among the richest with his untimely announcement, Vidomina carried on with her agenda of the night. Instead of returning to her quarters to rest, she ran towards Mia's chalet excitedly and shoved the door open in her zest.

The living room was already filled with the other girls, all brimming with festive excitement as they gathered around a large, round table where Baiyi's earthling souvenirs piled.

It was the third day of the Sisterhood's "Otherworld Souvenirs Bonanza", and it had quickly become a chance to gather and bond with each other just like they used to.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

460 The Gaps Between Them

Vidomina took her heels off in a hurry, leaving only her black silk socks, and rushed to join the girls. Most of them had already grabbed some of the cosmetic products from Earth. They had applied a smidge of the product on the back of their hands and were talking about the best way to combine them.

The girls were beautiful without makeup, but after been presented with an opportunity to play with makeup, they could not pass it up, as most ladies would.

Not all of them were interested in cosmetic products, though — a trait applicable to females on Earth. Unlike the others, Mordred was holding a handheld game console. Her eyes were glued to its screen as she focused on controlling a voluptuous female character, whose bosom swayed in a lifelike manner. The female character kept jumping and dishing out attacks, in a sexy manner, at her opponent, who was being controlled by a disinterested Mia.

Mia was not interested in fighting games; she was only playing because Mordred had forced her to. She was more interested in applying and discussing makeup with Tisdale and the other girls.

Mordred, the troublemaker, had been obsessed with the handheld game console ever since Nota taught her how to play games on it. Only when she had to teach classes did she leave it be. Despite playing the handheld game console for days, it had not yet run out of battery.

Back when Baiyi plundered an entire shopping district in Moon World's Earth, he had grabbed a few chargers together with the game consoles. However, that did not mean the game consoles could be charged, as the realm of Isythre did not have a single power socket! [1]

As the battle raged on, Mia's character, who was losing, began to lose pieces of her clothing from the beating, and just before the character became completely naked, Mia's console blacked out.

"Oops. Unlucky me!" Mia grinned as put down the console before racing off to join Tisdale and the others.

"Oh, come on! I was just about to win!" Mordred groaned. Feeling discontented, she picked up Mia's console and plugged the USB connector of a charger into it. Then, she grabbed the plug of the game charger, and surprisingly, the screen of Mia's console lit up; and, the word "Charging" appeared on it!

Nota had told Vidomina that the strange game objects required something called 'Electricity' to be used continuously. As this just did not exist in their world, she could not see any way for the game objects to be used for a long time; however, to everyone's surprise, Mordred seemed to have found a way to charge the strange objects without electricity!

As a descendant of the former Divine Dragon, who was a Silver Naga dragon that could command thunder, Mordred could generate electricity with her body, which she used to charge the handheld gaming consoles. At first, the voltage she could generate was completely off, and she had accidentally fried almost all the gaming consoles that Baiyi had brought, leaving behind only two. It was only after that she was able to get the hang of generating approximately 220v at will. Fortunately, the other girls were not interested in the game consoles, so they did not mind her earlier accident. [2]

"Hmm, I guess you are smarter than I gave you credit for!" Vidomina teased as she sat beside Mordred.

Mordred had turned into a little girl again — something she only did when she was with the girls. Seeing as the message "No Battery; Please Charge" had interrupted her game time — giving her opponent, Mia, a chance to slip away — Mordred grumpily rested her head on the table whilst holding the plug of the charger. Vidomina, who found Mordred's pose quite adorable, could not resist pinching her cheeks.

"Ow! Hey, Nina, why don't you play with me?" Mordred suggested. "There's this character in this game that looks a lot like you; she's packing some seriously huge boobs, which jiggles when she walks and fights. You should also see her when her clothes are getting ripped. It's... Gaaah! Ow, ow, ow!" [3]

"Just what sort of stuff do you store in your brain, anyway?" Vidomina narrowed her eyes as she pinched Mordred's cheek hard before letting her go.

Mordred whimpered and sat back down in defeat. slumped back into her seat. She wanted to play the game's single-player mode, but pne of her hands was already occupied. Now that she had turned into a little girl, her hands were too small to play the handheld game console with one hand.

As Mordred pondered on a solution to this conundrum, an idea popped up in her head. She put the plug into her mouth, and her eyes darted to the screen of the handheld game console. Mordred was delighted to see that it was still charging, and she instantly felt the need to show off this feat to the other girls.

However, she quickly realized that she could not speak, as the charger plug was in her mouth. All that came out of her mouth were some NSFW groans. "Mm… Hnn… Mmmhhh~"

Feeling displeased, Mordred went back to the drawing board. She wanted to find a way to play the game, charge the console, and talk loudly, at the same time. Another idea popped up in her mind. There was another hole she could stick the charger's plug into. Theoretically, it should work, too.

Mordred stood up and climbed her chair. She lifted her skirt, revealing her underwear, which had the picture of a bear on it.

"Oh my god! Just what the hell are you even doing?!" Tisdale, who was sitting with the other girls, screamed. She dropped the cosmetic product she was holding and lunged at Mordred, pulling the charger plug, which was wet and sticky, away from her.

The sticky fluid was saliva. Mordred was only moments away from testing out her newest idea when Tisdale spotted her. [4]

After a stern lecture and a ton of cheek pinches, Mordred was left feeling dejected; she was no longer motivated to think about her conundrum. With a long face, she sat back down on the couch, with the charger plug in her hand, waiting for the handheld game console's battery to fill up.

Little Anna, who Nota had treated like a doll, finally broke out of Nota's embrace. She had been watching Mordred for a while. Anna whispered something in Nota's ears, rubbed her cheek against the fairy's and hopped off to join Mordred.

Anna took off her leather shoes and climbed up the couch, where she sat cross-legged. She rubbed her cheeks against Mordred's in greeting — a custom observed by the girls in Baiyi's household.

"I can grab the other end of the console so that you can play with one hand," Anna said, extending a helpful offer. She held the side of the console that had the D-pad, and gestured to Mordred to hold the other side. [5]

Her interest pique, Mordred, whose interest had been piqued, began to play the game this way. She instructed Anna on where to move the character, and Anna did this perfectly. They began to have a lot of fun!

On the far side of the table, Attie, who had also transformed into the young version of herself, stood on her chair and passed some plates of potato chips to Laeticia and Santa. "Try them. I'm sure they taste similar to the otherworld's treat."

Santa grabbed a chip and nibbled on it, and her face lit up instantly. "I can't believe this! It tastes just like it! Big Sister Attie, you're amazing!" She exclaimed.

Brimming with excitement, Santa passed Laeticia a chip and said, "Go try it, Big Sister!"

Laeticia narrowed her eyes and took a bite. "Mmm! This is even better than the original! Oh, Attie, you've outdone yourself once again!"

"Ha! Was there any doubt? This way, none of you will feel bad about eating the chips that Master brought." Attie beamed and puffed her chest proudly.

Her bosom did not jiggle — something that a loli was quick to spot. Santa watched Attie puff her chest before looking down at her own. A moment later, her lips curled into a sinister grin.

Attie's spotted the grin and began jumping in frustration. "Laeticia! How dare your little sister do that?! That was just too mean!"

"D'aww... Alright," Laeticia replied, smiling gently. She embraced Santa before cupping the little girl's hands with her own, after which she nestled her chin atop Santa's head. Pushing Santa's head downward with her chin, Laeticia said, "Come now, apologize to Big Sister Attie and promise that you'll never stare at her chest again. Otherwise, in anger, she won't let you have tasty desserts!"

"Hee hee hee. Sorry, Big Sister Attie. Will you please forgive me?" Santa said, grinning cheekily, and without waiting for an answer, she continued, "Okay, can I have tasty desserts now"

Attie was so amused that she let the issue go and headed for the kitchen. When she got there, she floated off the ground with combat chi and grabbed a tray of freshly baked cookies, which had been placed somewhere high up. She returned to the room with this tray and placed it on the table.

Mia was testing a lip tint when she perceived the aroma of freshly baked cookies. "It's done? Yay! I wanna have the one that looks like Sharkie!"

Vidomina shook her head in exasperation as she watched Mia — who she thought never seemed to grow up. Then, she stood up and asked, "Do you still have my uniform, Mia? Sweat has got me all sticky, so I think I'll go take a bath now. I'll be crashing at your place tonight."

"I think so! I'll go grab it now," Mia replied with a muffled voice, as she nibbled on the hammerhead shark plushie. Mia raced up the stairs and came back down moments later with Vidomina's clothes.

With a grin, Mia said, "It looks like I'll sleeping with Nina tonight, again. I love cuddling with Nina; she's softer than Sharkie!"

The girls lived separately, but they enjoyed sleeping over at each other's places every now and then. Because of this, they often forgot to take their clothes with them when they left. They did not mind this, though, as it gave them a reason to sleep over again at a later date. Vidomina and Mia — who had shared an intimate bond since the day they met at the battle arena — frequently slept over each other's homes. Nota and Attie did this, too.

Vidomina's uniform resembled Mia's, but her silky socks did not: they were a pair of sexy black stocks. Mia's socks were white, cute, and girl-next-door looking. However, certain parts of Vidomina's uniform bulged after it had been worn — something that Mia could not pull off — and this made Mia sweat in terror and envy, as it was proof that the gap between their bust sizes could never be bridged.

"Whoa. It's so clean and tidy. That's hardly like you," Vidomina said, looking closely at Mia's uniform.

"Well, you got that right. It's because of Mr. Hope. He came over last time and helped out with cleaning," Mia replied sheepishly, sticking her tongue out in embarrassment. She knew that she was quite the lazy girl.

"Wait, he still helps you do your laundry and tidy your room at your age?" Vidomina exclaimed, looking a bit envious. .

Mr. Hope always coddled Mia; this was a gap in affection that Vidomina knew could never be bridged.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

461 You Enjoy More Luxury Than I Do!

"Nina, the bathwater's ready. What about you?" Mia's question jolted Vidomina out of her reverie.

She stood up, grabbed her clean uniform and walked towards the bathroom. However, Mia stopped Vidomina and took the uniform away, after which she handed her a bathrobe.

"Wearing this after a bath should be a lot more comfortable, right?" Mia said.

"Hmm, I guess so. Wearing something simple after a good bath is more comfortable," Vidomina replied. She sized Mia up and flashed a sly smile. "But, I'm a bit worried that it might be too tight for me..."

"H-hey! I gave you my largest bathrobe!" Mia exclaimed, feigning indignation.

"Hehe. Just kidding!" Vidomina chuckled playfully and embraced Mia. She could perceive a faint pleasant scent emanate from Mia's neck. "I've worked all day today, Professor Mia~! My body is tense and aching right now, especially my shoulders. Would you be so kind as to help me massage them?" Vidomina cooed.

"Is this an indirect invitation to take a bath with you?" Mia asked a little hesitantly. "I've taken a bath already."

"It won't hurt to keep a girl company every now and then, no? Besides, the chance to have a bath with 'O' Fairest Professor Mia?' is something that would make those kids at Da Xue jealous," Vidomina flashed a flirtatious grin.

"Oh, alright; you've got me."

Vidomina took her uniform and silk socks off. She left them there, right outside the bathroom, for Mia to place into a laundry basket.

Mia tied her hair in a bun with a handkerchief, unveiling her pretty, swan-like neck in the process, then she wrapped a teddy bear-themed towel around herself. Mia then walked into the bathroom, which was filled with clouds of steam. The bathroom was large enough for two people to use.

Mia walked to the edge of the tub and stuck a finger into the water, testing its temperature. She turned to Vidomina — who was lying at the edge of the bath, with her eyes closed — and asked, "Is the temperature right?"

Vidomina let out a few sighs on contentment, in reply.

"Okay; here I come, then!" Mia announced and dropped her towel. Her a little, fair foot touched the surface of the bathwater again to re-check its temperature. After that, she climbed into the bath slowly and lowered herself gently into the warm water.

"Aahh... This is heaven. I took a bath earlier, but this... Immersing oneself in warm water is more comfortable than being wrapped by a warm blanket. I don't mind this: having a bath again!" Mia sighed. "Alright, Nina. Come over here. I'll massage your shoulders."

Vidomina kept her eyes shut as she turned her back to Mia. She pulled a bath ducky over to the edge of the bath and rested her chin on it. Vidomina's curvy back was now facing Mia, who was at a loss of words with which to describe it. Mia could not but wonder how the boys at Da Xue would control themselves in the face of such temptation, should their places are switched with hers.

Vidomina's seductive curves made Mia forlorn, as it reminded her how her own body had stopped growing!

Mia rubbed her shoulders softly, causing Vidomina to sigh in pleasure. "Oh, Mia, you're so gentle and caring! I really envy whoever gets lucky enough to call you his wife one day."

"Luck alone won't help that person, though," Mia replied, chuckling. "He has to be very powerful, too, or else he'll never get past Mr. Hope."

"Oh? My godfather as the last item on that valiant knight's quest for your hand? What a pity," Vidomina sighed before changing the subject. "Say, I do envy you on one thing."

"Really? What could that possibly be?"

A coy smile appeared on Vidomina's face. "Your shoulders will never tire of lifting these humps!"

"Oh, that's it: big boobie! Now you're just asking for it!" Mia exclaimed before squeezing Vidomina's ample bosoms, causing the latter to moan involuntarily.

Vidomina rubbed the violated spot and muttered, "Oh, it seems the little miss has learned a brand-new technique, hadn't she? Well, challenge accepted! Lemme return the favor by physically forcing your body's growth!"

Vidomina reached out and grabbed Mia's boobs, which she squeezed and then pulled.

The girls continued to fool around, causing the warm bath water to splash around.

They eventually stopped when they got tired. They leaned against each other and the enjoyed the rapidly cooling water.

"We should get up now. The water's turning cold," Mia whispered.

"Mm-hmm," hummed Vidomina in agreement. As she got up, her earring vibrated. Vidomina squeezed the vibrating earring, and a magical screen appeared in midair; on the screen was a suit of armor that had a handkerchief hanging from its helmet. This suit of armor looked to be scribbling something and was not looking up. .

"Hey, Nina, I have notified the nobles that we increased the number of sponsored students for the upcoming semester. I plan to decide those that qualified earlier of our usual schedule, so please make the necessary preparations there," Baiyi said without looking.

"Very well, Godfather," Vidomina replied docilely.

Mia heard Baiyi's voice and peeped at the screen from behind Vidomina. She did not seem concerned that Vidomina had decided to answer the call despite being naked. With no traces of embarrassment, Mia quietly asked, "Is that Mr. Hope? Why is he still working so late?" [1]

Upon hearing another voice, Baiyi looked up to see who he was. He looked at the screen in front of him and realized that the other end was filled with vapor. However, he could still make out a clear and smooth bit of skin.

That bit of skin was on the knees of a girl.

"Are you at Mia's place right now?" He asked as he quickly lowered his head.

"Mm-hmm. We met here to enjoy the souvenirs you brought from the otherworld. It's so much fun!"

"Well, don't forget to rest. That's all," Baiyi said before terminating the call.

After thinking for a short while, Baiyi decided to contact Tisdale, as well. He tapped the communication slab, calling Tisdale. The slab's setting was still set to live video communication.

When the call was answered, Baiyi found himself staring at an unfamiliar, pale, nightmarish face. There were black rings under the eyes, and the lips were black. This was the sort of face that only emos would find appealing. Baiyi was so mortified at the sight, he almost pulled his cape off to transform into his Serious Meatball Mode.

"Who the hell are you? How did you come to answer this call, you fiend?" He demanded.

The nightmarish face on the other end only gave him an incredulous look. A voice filled with anxiety burst out of its lips. "I-it's me! Your eldest daughter!"

"Don't you dare make such a cruel joke! My eldest daughter is the gorgeous, adorable, intelligent, resourceful, docile, mature, and all-around perfect Tisdale, whose features are nothing like yours!" Baiyi bellowed.

"Oh, so you also think this looks pretty bad?" Tisdale said, looking quite dejected. She raised up a fashion magazine, and Baiyi could see a sulking emo on its cover.

"I thought you liked this style. If you did not bring these home for us to try it, why then did you bring it?"

Baiyi had spent a lot of his last bit of time on Moon World in the science and non-fiction section of the bookstore, without paying mind to the books he got for the girls. He just grabbed tons of books, at random, about cosmetics, beauty care, dessert recipes, and toys. Afterward, he had swiped some fashion magazines from the safe house he had been staying in, thinking that the girls may be interested to know what was vogue on Earth at that time [2].

He had not expected Tisdale to misunderstand his intentions!

"Cia, remove these stuff from my face, please!" Tisdale turned to the side and said. As though on cue, Baiyi heard Laeticia's voice in the background as she replied, "Watch and learn, Nota! This is a cleansing spell: words that can cleanse just about everything vile in this world."

Then, mimicking the Cleric Walker, Laeticia chanted, "And the Lord says: 'deliver my followers away from impurity…' "

'What the hell? Talk about being dramatic! Did you use a theurgical secret technique just to remove makeup? Laeticia, you're making the Cleric Walker sad, as you're being so wasteful with your power. Hey, wait a minute; I bet that pervert could only be happy with your use of the power!

A bright, white light glowed above Tisdale's head, covering the screen for a few seconds. When it finally dimmed, a clean, gorgeous Tisdale was revealed. She really was beautiful without any cosmetics applied.

However, not everything seemed to have solved by Tisdale's spell; her incredibly bad emo hairdo was still in place. Tisdale turned to Nota and exclaimed, "Please help me fix my hair."

"Sure thing, Big Sister Dale. Hold on," Nota's voice reverberated throughout the room. An unintelligible chant could be heard, and a luminous green light covered Tisdale's hair. In mere moments, it had reverted to its old ponytail look.

Baiyi was pretty sure that Nota had just used a secret technique that was known only to druids. It was not a surprise that she had been able to use the spell, as she had enjoyed the privilege of being tutored by Mr. Bear. However, Baiyi could not help wondering if Nota had to use such a grand spell just to restore Tisdale's hair to its normal appearance.

'Is it me or are you just bullying your sisters now, Tisdale? Was your meal cooked using Attie's combat chi? Do you sit on ordinary couches, or do you ask Mordred to turn into a dragon sofa? Do you ask Vidomina to massage you using her breasts? And what about Mia? Do you use her — Er, I think her body is only good enough as a bolster…'

Baiyi had not enjoyed such privileges before, yet his daughter, Tisdale, received them from her sisters without refusal; it was as though she had enjoyed them a lot of times! It seemed the other girls were just as willing to serve her!

'Hmph! Who knew that being the leader of the sisterhood was a way sweeter deal than being a teacher?' Baiyi thought to himself for a while, after which he told Tisdale why he had called.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

462 Studying In The Company of Radiant Beauty

After losing the rogue makeup, Tisdale now looked as she did before. She nodded and took notes as Baiyi spoke to her. It seemed that her makeup rebellion was just a misunderstanding, after all.

'Yep. I prefer this version of Tisdale over any other alts, any day,' Baiyi remarked in his head. "Well, that's all for my end of the business. Anyway, please don't play too hard, girls; It's a school night."

"Understood, Sir. By the way, there's something else I would like to discuss with you. Alone," Tisdale said hurriedly, bolting up from her seat and started towards the gazebo outside of Mia's chalet.

A few pots and plants hung or sat around the gazebo quietly. They belonged to Mia, though she did not start taking care of plants purely to follow Mr. Hope's example. If anything, these plants served as her emergency consolations to the Fifth Walker should he accidentally killed one of his own plants again.

Alone in the gazebo, Tisdale appeared to be lost in her thoughts as her delicate fingers fidgeted with one of the plants' leaves nervously.

"Is this about Laeticia?" Baiyi asked in a low voice.

She jolted and accidentally plucked a leaf out. "Sigh, yes. I know you'd given the job to me, Sir, and I have been spending time with her these few days but…" Tisdale hesitated as a look of concern rose to her beautiful face. "I haven't found an opening to tell her about it at all."

"You know, I started to think that maybe the best person for the job would be… Well, you, Sir. I know she's Uncle Joel's student, but she looked up to you the most," Tisdale added hopefully.

As the conflict between the Voidwalkers and the Church escalated, Baiyi and Tisdale started to worry about the only devout follower within their tight-knitted group. Laeticia accepted the Voidwalkers and became a protégé of one of the most notorious and foulest Voidwalker, which showed that her outlook towards her faith could be a little less black-and-white; however, she was still more or less an ambassador of the Church in Da Xue. If Da Xue and the Church went into war, where would her allegiance stand? More importantly, would it cause her to snap?

She was never just a Vice Principal of the Theological Faculty; She was also a canonized Saintess, tasked as an ambassador of goodwill serving all kinds of diplomatic missions between the Church and the academy. It was a role delegated to her back when the organization was still headed by the moderate faction—one of their efforts to remain friendly with the Voidwalkers despite their schism in beliefs.

Now that Da Xue was about to take up arms against her Church, would this Saintess' faith be shattered along the way, so much so that she became disillusioned and turned into a Fell Saintess just as the Shadow Walker did?

By "Fell Saintess", Baiyi meant a Saintess who had crossed over to the dark side after she snapped—he was absolutely, positively sure that he was not referring to any sort of kink about naughty nuns...

Granted, Baiyi and the Church's escalating animosity had yet been made public to the common folks; The news and the speculations it spurred mostly circulated within those with the incentives to gather intel for their motives, such as elite nobles. Not only that, it was Laeticia's nature to be simple-minded; she rarely thought too hard, thought too much, or overthink at all. In other words, she was still blissfully oblivious to the growing conflict.

This was why Baiyi had tasked the job of breaking the news to her to the big sister of the group. He even reminded Tisdale to act as a counselor if the girl broke down.

Baiyi was not at all concerned with whatever the Church may do to Laeticia once the radical, war-like faction took over. After all, there was no way those people could storm into Da Xue, grab the girl, tie her up on a stake and burn her like a witch without being knocked out by Da Xue's members. If that happened, Baiyi was sure that the first person to charge at the Church with godlike wrath would be the Church's very own, most revered Apostle for over two thousand years, Saint Joel himself!

Thus, Baiyi's main concern was Laeticia's mental welfare. How well would she be able to take the news? Would she snap when forcefully thrust into the dark underbelly of the Church, who had always been the representative of the god she steadfastly believed in? How well could she hold up against a bleak reality whereby her religion's authority decided to mete out wrath to a canonized Saintess like herself?

Every time Baiyi thought of the Walkers whose faith had been shattered, he could not help but become terrified for what may befall Laeticia. If that innocent, kind-hearted girl did snap and turned into a Fell Saintess, there was no telling how far her fall to the dark side could go—the best-case scenario would be her heart Blackening or something like that.

I mean, well, not that a Blackened Laeticia would be bad, of course.

In conclusion, Baiyi was very repulsed at the idea of "Laeticia, the Fell Saintess", and would rather nip that possibility in the bud by appeasing whatever troubled feelings that arose before everything was too late. He even wondered if Santa, who had now assumed the role of Laeticia's little sister, could replace Laeticia's faith in her church as a mental anchor. That way, it would not agonize the girl when her faith eventually crumbled.

Unfortunately, Baiyi knew that he was a qualified counselor, neither was he capable of handling matters related to a girl's heart. The methods he knew to make a girl happy could be counted on one hand. One: "no homework today!" Two: "Let's go shopping!" Three: "I'm going to buy desserts and confectionaries!" Four: doing something as trivial as rubbing his cheeks against theirs or braiding their hairs. That was all he knew to do to comfort a troubled girl.

In other words, Mr. Hope had nigh inexistent instincts in counseling. Not helping his case was that the source of this trouble was related to the Church and matters of faith in general, which were something he was personally and principally against. Realizing his powerlessness, the Fifth Walker had thus delegated his job to Tisdale.

However, it seemed that even Tisdale herself was at a loss. Knowing how hard the task was, Baiyi could understand why Tisdale would rather push the job back to himself, which of course solves nothing.

What were their other options?

Must he really ask for help from the Voidwalkers? There were only two possible candidates for that job. First, there was Laeticia's actual master, the Cleric Walker, who was so unreliable and perverted that Baiyi was sure he would leave the situation worse than he had started; Then, there was Shadow Walker, who had gone through a very similar experience and so could probably comfort the girl, not unlike an older survivor giving talks to other survivors. However, Baiyi had seen this ex-Saintess fell into frequent fits of malevolence and apathy too, which meant she might blacken Laeticia's heart more quickly than the Cleric Walker's lecherous ideas could…

In the end, there seemed to be one last choice left. He hesitated and thought about it for one last time before finally breaking the silence, "You know, maybe… Maybe we can ask Santa's help in this."

Tisdale was quite appalled. "Santa?! But… She's only a kid, isn't she? Are you sure we should place this huge responsibility on a child?"

"Hey, don't look down on her like that. For a pipsqueak, she's incredibly opinionated and mature," Baiyi said. "Besides, sometimes it takes a child to do what an adult cannot do. I mean, it's always the kids who pilot giant mechas to save the entire human race, right?"

Tisdale, amused by his reasoning, made a face. "Fine, I'll try to discuss with Santa."

"Good, because at this moment, she's probably the best option we got. But then again… I don't think we need to fret about Laeticia's problem just yet, Dale. The news could not have spread among the mass and the Church is not likely to declare war soon. We still have some time to spare," Baiyi said reassuringly. "Alright now, off to rest with you."

"Mm-hmm. Goodnight, sir," Tisdale replied sweetly. Then, before the call was terminated, she asked very quietly yet pointedly, "Sir, I was thinking… When will I finally be able to call you Dad?"

Baiyi froze at a question that seemingly came from nowhere before a sad smile surfaced on his emoji-displaying mask. "Hey now. It's just a form of address, isn't it? No need to misplace significance on it. But still, if you desire it… You can call me that on the day I finally exist in flesh; the day I could finally hug you with human warmth."

"Oh, so it's settled then. I'll have to wait for the day you break free from the Void! I know it in my heart that it'll come," Tisdale smiled contently and ended the call.

The screen disappeared, leaving Baiyi alone in his room. He shook his head weakly as he mused about his eldest daughter's words. He turned to his desk, grabbed a book on higher mathematics and started reading it, settling a personal debt he owed to his professor back when he was still in university.

Higher mathematics had always been a mainstay in a list of "Top Ten Subjects That Could Murder Your Grade and Your Soul", which admittedly, Baiyi was no exception.

He had barely started reading when he suddenly heard a series of hasty knocks on his door upstairs. Hurriedly opening it, he saw that it was Lady Assassin wearing her trademark airhead grin.

"Oh, it's your turn to wear this suit already?" Baiyi asked incredulously.

Lady Assassin Walker stuck her tongue out playfully. "Oh, if only! I would love to annoy you for the night, Doofus. But for now, I'm only here to curry favor for a good friend," She explained with a twinge of regret. "As you know, that's just what you get for having a friend with really thin skin; she gets embarrassed and bashful and somehow you have to do the heavy-lifting for her."

She waved goodbye to Baiyi before switching places with the steely Warrior Walker.

"Urgh. Too much unnecessary information," She murmured sourly upon appearance as if she was complaining about her best friend.

"What's the matter?" Baiyi asked hurriedly.

She turned her ethereally-beautiful face away from him before mumbling in a voice so soft it was akin to the sound of a mosquito's flight, "It's… nothing. I… I just couldn't sleep."

Frankly, Baiyi almost exposed her right there and then: Soul Armatures could never go to sleep anyway, no matter how humanlike their host armor-body was. Just because she did not look like a set of armor like the rest of the Pseudo-descended Voidwalkers did not mean she really was in flesh! Was she already that quick to see herself like that?

Of course, he held his tongue before his playful jab slipped, and instead beckoned her to come in. He knew that if he did let out what he had just thought, he would be sealing an early and terrible demise…

"I'm reading at the moment. Would you like to join me?" Baiyi asked. It seemed like a waste to invite a beautiful and willing maiden into your room only to study Higher Mathematics, but in his defense, he could not do something "less wasteful" because of the body he currently possessed!

Besides, one had to admit that studying with a beautiful girl keeping one's company was quite a highbrow and refined pleasure, right?

Since the Warrior Walker did not seem to have any plans of her own. She really was just looking for an excuse to see him. The Warrior Walker nodded and followed Baiyi to his basement. Once they had arrived, Baiyi lifted the book he had been reading earlier and began, "In the world I came from, math is the foundation for all sciences. It's essential and fundamental to almost all other knowledge…"

The Warrior Walker was hardly interested in his reedy topic, but she was never one to interrupt his gab. Instead, she stared at him with her perceptive, onyx-black eyes, now filled with tender admiration while Baiyi continued to give his nerdy speech about the beauty and significance of math. As time passed, she even started leaning towards his body, placing her chin on his chest and nudging it gently.

"Uh hem," Awkward, Baiyi halted his lecture.

"It's nothing. Proceed," She whispered, showing no sign of moving away.

"Um, right," Baiyi relented and fashioned a bed wide enough for both using his mana so that they could both find a place to lie down. He continued reading his textbook while the Warrior quietly laid next to him, her fingers dandily caressing his chest as if she was trying to seduce him….

Well, even if she did manage to get a rise out of Baiyi, what use could that libido serve? In the end, nothing happened exactly because nothing could happen. The night was spent with the boy reading his math textbook while the girl just laid herself close by quietly.

It only took a call from the Engineer Walker to finally break the two free the next morning.

"Moshi moshi, you there?" The Engineer Walker began. "Us over here had started applying some of the theories and knowledge we'd read these days to create a prototype. If you're free, come join us!"

"Already? That's so soon!" Baiyi exclaimed.

"Please, don't you know who I am?" The Engineer Walker replied with a tone reek of shonen anime protagonists.

"Okay, I'll be over there really soon," Baiyi replied and ended the call. Turning to the Warrior Walker, he said, "Join me?"

She shook her head sideways, though. "I've got lecture plans with the students from the Northern Continent today."

Hence, they went their separate ways. Following the coordinates that the Engineer Walker had sent him, Baiyi flew towards a wasteland that was far from the academy.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

463 Your Latest Invention Seems Promising

'You picked such a remote location for testing? Don't tell me… Did you make a weapon of mass destruction?' Baiyi wondered as he flew towards his destination. In the past, the Engineering Faculty's demonstrations were carried out on their own experimental ground, not in wastelands reserved for destructive weapons and magic.

Baiyi's mind drifted to a claim he once saw on the internet: nuclear bombs could be easily created in the facilities of a standard university. According to the claim, though, the only problem with this was finding enough concentrated uranium.

Some parts of the claim were exaggerated, but there was some degree of truth to it. However, in this world where magic existed, claims like these, which are considered ridiculous on Earth, are not farfetched, as it had the Engineer Walker's ingenuity.

With that in mind, Baiyi landed at the test area, mentally steeling himself for an epic demonstration. The wasteland was already packed with students from the Engineering Faculty, and every one of them was busy carrying out their respective objectives. When the students saw Baiyi, they stopped what they were doing and bowed.

Baiyi waved at them, implying that they relax. Afterward, his eyes shifted to an enormous object resting at the center of the area. It was covered by a black canvas.

A few moments later, the project leader, the Engineer Walker, walked towards Baiyi whilst rubbing his hands together in excitement. "You're here! Okay, be patient. A few calibrations left, and we'll be all set!"

"It's that thing over there, isn't it?" Baiyi said, pointing at whatever it was shrouded by the canvas. Then, he asked in a low voice, "Did you make a weapon of mass destruction?"

"A WMD, you say? Hmm… I guess you could put it that way, especially considering how it's definitely no less mighty than your typical Forbidden Spells," The Engineer Walker boasted.

"Look, it's not gonna cause any disaster, right?" Baiyi pressed on anxiously. This micro-realm may be large enough for an academy, but its total size was only about as large as a metropolis, too small for a safe nuclear bomb test. If a nuclear bomb were to be detonated here, its shockwaves and radiation would have instantly annihilated his precious Da Xue in minutes, killing countless of his precious students, including his most precious angels.

The Engineer Walker beat his chest confidently. "You may doubt my character, but you can't doubt my professionalism, can you? Besides, we've got our final trump card with us here — you! With the Fifth Walker around, any problem is no problem!"

"I guess so…" Baiyi relented and nodded as he thought about the plausibility of protecting oneself from the force of a nuclear bomb using defensive magic, which was theoretically possible. Besides, the Engineer Walker was right; he may be a member of the Gentlemen Club, but unlike his peers, he was still largely reliable and professional; He must have already known the damage a nuclear bomb could deal over a large area, and therefore knew better than to take any related experiment lightly.

Just as Baiyi was still musing about the boons and banes of such an experiment, a student rushed towards them, bowing curtly before informing, "Everything's set, Professors! It's ready!"

"Well done! Now, let us begin!" The Engineer Walker declared gleefully and produced a small rectangular object from his pocket.

He slid his finger across its surface and drew a pattern across some dots. Then, he raised the slab's surface to his face level, shook a bit, and waited, as if the slab was reading his face. After that, he punched a few characters in the slab as if he was typing his passwords. Next, he placed his thumb in the lower middle area of his slab.

Those unlocking procedures took a while, but the slab was still initiated, shown through a faint glow from its body. At the same time, the object hidden under the black canvas stirred as well, emitting a series of sounds not unlike started engines.

The students around it started to back away. A few students clutched the corner of the canvas and pulled.

Underneath the canvas a magical marionette. It was completely white and resembled a spider, though it only bore four legs. Its body was a sphere with a yellow halo-like object hovering above it. In general, Baiyi thought it looked like a spider-shaped four-legged marionette.

"And that's not all there is about it, too. Somehow this thing seems familiar," Baiyi murmured out loud.

He had just finished his remark when a strong, jovially male voice rang out from that spider-marionette, exclaiming, " for visiting.

Baiyi may not understand the imperative to design his remote control after a PlayStation, but he had to admit that what the Engineer Walker had achieved was incredibly impressive. In fact, it really reassured Baiyi that despite the man's character flaws, the Engineer was a man to be trusted with his ingenuity, after all.

"This is only the beginning, my friend! Behold, the strongest marionette humans had ever created: The Phoenix!" The Engineer Walker exclaimed.

'But it's a spider thingy! It's nowhere close to a bird or anything! Baiyi deadpanned. I'm sure this must be a reference of some kind… A reference that is so obscure not a soul would get it!'

The Engineer Walker was, naturally, completely oblivious to the glaring problem regarding his naming skill and continued to press a few buttons on his remote control. It seemed that he was commanding the spider-marionette to move.

On cue, the monstrous machine said, "The adherent of the Lord of Sunlight has returned!" and began to move forward at a steady pace, like a valiant warrior gallantly marching towards a sea of enemies.

The students cheered and hugged each other. Some were even crying tears of joy!

Baiyi, however, was only fixated on one thing. 'What is with these cheesy lines? Why even make the marionette say something like that?!'

"Now, let us see its firepower!" The Engineer Walker exclaimed and pressed a button that had a square on it.

The Phoenix whispered, "En taro Adun." The yellow halo behind it suddenly shot out a beam of yellow light at a nearby dune.

The dune melted instantly as though it had been hit by a laser. The only thing left was a puddle of dark crimson red composed of soot, ashes and shiny silica!

Baiyi was startled. A power like that was enough to rival an advanced stage fire magic.

"That's not all, my friend. I can even shoot successively!" The Engineer Walker said and pressed two buttons at the same time.

This time, the spider-marionette said nothing; instead, its body glowed iridescent in deep yellow before firing out beams after beams relentlessly, unleashing a salvo everywhere until the entire wasteland was charred. In other words, its power boasted exactly the same damage as a forbidden fire technique!

'What do you know? The Engineer Walker wasn't exaggerating the power of his creation, after all!'

"Haha! What a beast to behold, huh?" The Engineer Walker beamed proudly, commanding the spider-marionette to return to him. Obediently, it turned and once again marched with its gallant stride.

However, two steps later, its body suddenly toppled to a side, stirring up a smog of sand and dust with its fall.

The Engineer Walker was alarmed. "Oh no, no, no! What happened?!"

"Ah, it's over. My sun is setting. It's so dark… So dark…" The Phoenix replied as jovially and passionately as it had always been, even as it was going dark.Here's a Dark Souls reference.Adding eyes on the dragon, basically, meant refining what is already spectacular!Reduced Instructions Set Computer. The easiest explanation about this is the literal meaning of its name.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

464 A Pioneer Will Always Suffer Some Setbacks

The Engineer Walker and his students raised an uproar as they scrambled towards the toppled marionette in a frenzy. As the marionette was the brainchild of their collective ingenuity, an integration of Earth's technology into Isythre's, and the representation of a certain video game they were currently transfixed at, it was understandable that the Engineer Walker and his students panicked at the sudden turn of events.

"I need an explanation! How in the world did something that walks on four damn legs even fall over?!" The furious Engineer Walker, who was running the fastest, yelled.

"Huff… Huff… Well, seriously, if… it's certainly not because you fumbled around with its control…" A panting student offered as he struggled to catch up with the professor. "Maybe something happened to its vertical stabilizer or the hydraulic drive system."

"Aren't those the two places I'd specifically asked be triple-checked before testing?" The Engineer Walker asked, looking a little annoyed.

"Hey, we did, okay? We checked them as many times as we could afford under this tight schedule! But then again… Well, you know the materials we had to make do with," The student from earlier answered in a softer voice.

"Chin up, guys. It might be nothing serious. Our babe here is just a 'cloudcuckoolander' channeling its clumsy-cute charm!" cried one of the students, who had begun to gather, and everyone burst into laughter.

"Well, I told you all not to use a white paint coating, didn't I? But, oh no! 'Four lean, long legs must only be paired with white silk socks,' said a certain someone. We all know that wearing long, white socks is one of the hallmarks of a clumsy-cute 'cloudcuckoolander'. It's only natural that the marionette would fall over at some point!" Someone else chimed in.

"While we're talking about design fails, let's not forget about another glaring oversight: the size. We should have made it smaller; that would have improved its mobility! Seriously, whose idea was it to make it this big?"

"You're close to exposing our dear Principal there, mate. Better not let him hear you—"

"Too late, brats! I heard everything!" The Engineer Walker bellowed. "If you have issues with the Phoenix's enormous size, then come at me! Didn't I make it very clear that real men find beauty in very large mechas?"

Baiyi quietly watched a decrepit suit of armor that was the Engineer Walker banter with his students, who laughed as they raced towards the large spider-like machine. As they ran, they veered towards more "gentlemanly" topics of discussion. One would find it hard to believe that this rogue group was responsible for the invention of such impressive technology.

This thought moved Baiyi a little. Unlike other faculties, the Engineering Faculty was not big on respect to seniors, and its professors and students saw each other as equals — members of a focused research team. Because of this, they shared a close relationship with each other, and they were more relaxed when they were together. Baiyi noticed this ages ago, and he was not surprised by it.

The Engineer Walker was a friendly guy, who was down-to-earth and cared little for decorum. He also enjoyed passionate discussions with his students on the sidewalk, about which female student had the leanest legs, the most curvaceous waist, or a face most deserving of a good, slow lick. The male students also considered him a patron, as he helped them distract the Jawflower while they snuck into the female dormitory to sing love songs to their crushes. There was a time Baiyi found out that a few students were working on a device to spy on girls, and at the time, the Engineer Walker helped them escape Baiyi's wrath.

Setting aside his depravity, the Engineer Walker was, generally, a calm professor that mingled incredibly well with his students. Although the Engineer Walker's students did not revere him as much as they did Grand Principal Hope, they were closer to him than the students of other faculty were to their principals.

Baiyi did not know if interacting with students this way was good or bad, but he did not put a stop to it. [1]. From an educator's standpoint, the Engineer Walker was a good teacher, whose students possessed impressive skills and a professional mindset.

However, the Engineer Walker had also inadvertently introduced his students to corrupt hobbies and interests. Baiyi felt that the students of the Engineering faculty had begun to descend down a dark path, which led to unbridled "gentlemenhood".

As Baiyi wondered how best to bring Isythre's next generation of genius engineers back on the path of righteousness, he heard the Engineer Walker call out to him from afar. "Yo, Boss, can you come over here and help us out a little?"

'Why do I feel like this is the real reason he invited me here? He just needed me as his insurance, right?' Baiyi thought as he flew to the Engineer Walker. In moments, he landed beside the spider marionette.

"So, did you find the source of the problem?" He asked.

"Solaire of Astora's sun has set. It is dark," replied the spider marionette.

"I wasn't asking you!" Baiyi leered at the robot and turned to the Engineer Walker.

"This is why we need you. Please, help us flip the Phoenix so that we could inspect its internals."

"Oh…" Baiyi's mana surged and covered the marionette, attempting to flip it over.

However, the marionette did not budge. It was much heavier than Baiyi had expected. It definitely weighed more than a hundred ton, heavier than battle tanks on Earth!

Furthermore, the spider marionette had been enchanted with an absurdly strong anti-magic, and none of the load-lightening spells that Baiyi cast worked.

As both mana and magic spells were ineffective on the gargantuan deadweight, brute force was the only feasible way to lift it. A tremendous amount of brute force.

With this in mind, Baiyi removed his cloak and transformed into his Black Meatball Mode, right in front of the students.

A collective gasp of bewilderment rang out from the crowd of students.

"G-guys? That's Grand Principal Hope's Void Form, isn't it?! Our Principal has mentioned it once or twice before, but I have never thought it would look this awesome!"

"This power… is terrifying! It's leaps and bounds more than the Principal's power! No wonder our Principal had no choice but to be his underling!"

"Such boundless energy, harvested from timeless darkness. So, this is the legendary Void Energy, huh? It was rightfully classified as a supermundane power. Its energy pulses suffocate me…"

"Dude, are you seeing what I'm seeing? It's a sphere! A most perfect, all-around shape! Get it? All-around…?"

"I understand basic shapes; thank you. What I don't understand is that blue… flowy ribbon thing around the top. What's that supposed to be? It completely ruined the sphere's aesthetics!"

Baiyi held back laughter as he listened to the students. Since he fought that huge battle at Mars, Baiyi had not had to use his Black Meatball Mode. Never did he predict that the next time he would use it would be in front of a crowd, for something as trivial as flipping over a marionette.

The spider marionette's immense weight and anti-magic property made flipping it over difficult, and Baiyi could not direct Void Energy at it lest he reduces it to ashes. Hence, transforming into his Black Meatball Mode was Baiyi's only choice. Only in this form could he use Void Energy without causing unwanted damage to the spider marionette.

Baiyi realized that the students, who had just seen him transform into his Black Meatball Mode, had reacted differently than the public would have if they saw him. The students were not struck by panic and fear; instead, they were amazed and taken in.

He could tell that the students had accepted the Voidwalkers and Void Energy — the energy that these legends draw strength from — another indicator that the Engineer Walker's teaching methods had been successful.

Baiyi turned to the curious crowd of students and said, "Listen: if you have any brilliant suggestions regarding the aesthetics of this transformation, you should just take it up with its designer, His Majesty the Principal, okay? Now, please move aside…"

His spherical body grew to twice its previous side, making Baiyi look even more domineering. He stretched his arm, which was made entirely of Void Energy, and grabbed the marionette's front legs. Then, he flipped it over, causing its soft underbelly to face upward.

The spider marionette was creepier than a hammerhead shark, but they both had similar underbellies!

"That should be all, right?" Baiyi asked.

"Solaire of Astora's sun has set. It is dark," replied the marionette replied.

"Again, I wasn't talking to you! Besides, why is that the only reply you give, anyway?"

"Solare of Astore's sun has set. It is dark.".

"You!" Baiyi was about to rant when a thought crossed his mind. It was possible that the marionette kept saying the same thing because it was busted.

"Oh, give the babe a break, would ya? Its voice lines were — I'll admit — last-minute additions, so of course, they are a little sloppy and prone to technical issues," the Engineer Walker said, trying to save the face of his creation.

He began to issue commands to his students, instructing them to remove the marionette's outer shells. The Engineer Walker then hopped onto the marionette's belly and yanked a metallic plate out. He stuck his hand into the marionette's metallic entrails and pulled out a few eerily familiar-looking trinkets on its circuit board.

Baiyi looked at them and asked, "How did you get your hands on those?"

In the Engineer Walker's hand were five Void Crystals — the very same tools Tisdale had used to summon Voidwalkers when Duat invaded. The crystals were special containers for Void Energy; hence, the Archmage called them "Summoning Runes".

The Engineer Walker and the Blacksmith Walker had built the metallic body used by the Third Voidwalker, but the Engineer Walker had no part in the invention of the Void Crystals, which were inferior copies of Divine Energy Crystals. The Void Crystals and other items invented to store Void Energy were made by Baiyi and the Alchemist Walker. Hence, it was quite strange to see the Engineer Walker holding Void Crystals — items he should have no business with.

"Hold on… This marionette was powered by Void Crystals?" Baiyi asked in surprise as realization dawned on him. This had to be the reason why the Engineer Walker insisted that he be present for the testing.

Currently, the technology behind Void Crystals was unsatisfyingly immature, which meant that Void Energy leakage or even explosions of the crystals were possible. Thus, Baiyi locked them inside his lab all the time, banning anyone saved Tisdale from gaining access to them; Even then, Tisdale was ordered to always treat them delicately.

What would happen should a single crystal explode? Well, to make an easy comparison, one would just have to recall the power of the Knight's one strike as well as the Third Walker's spectacular showboating back during the Duat Invasion. Indeed, those feats were possible only because of the immense energy stored within these Void Crystals.

Thus, using such a spectacularly unstable and risky energy source on an equally unstable prototype created through a slew of unfamiliar tech was akin to courting with death. No wonder the Engineer had brought his creation to the wasteland for testing. If a timebomb like this were to appear within Da Xue, Baiyi would no doubt annihilate every silver of the Engineer Walker's consciousness!

"Hey, hey, chill! Everything is still under control," the Engineer Walker said, dismissing Baiyi's concern with a wave of his hand. "This isn't even the first-generation generator you used for your contingency plan anymore, man. It's an improved version — one the Alchemist Walker had created after studying the books on chemistry and material science you'd brought to him. It's quite stable, and even if something were to happen to it, it would definitely not explode or turn into whatever worst-case scenarios you could think of."

Then, to prove his faith in the Alchemist Walker's expertise, the Engineer Walker began to juggle the crystals like a circus clown.

Baiyi began to panic. He would not mind if something bad happened to both of them, because their bodies were not even real, to begin with; But what about the kids?!

Baiyi really wondered about how these two clumsy, gentlemanly goofs even gotten their hands on Void Energy itself!

The Engineer Walker tossed one of the crystals to Baiyi, prompting the Fifth Walker to snap out his reverie and catch it. Once Baiyi inspected the crystal with his psychic energy, he relaxed. The Engineer Walker was right.

"See? Far from being a battery of its own, this newly-improved version of Energy Crystal is really just an extension of the actual energy repository, like a wire connected out from a battery. Which is why if anything were to happen to this little thing, you bet those leaked Void Energy would be retracted back into the central energy repository instead," The Engineer explained.

Baiyi scrutinized the crystal following the Engineer Walker's words and realized that it was exactly as he had described. In fact, this would have explained why they managed to obtain Void Energy without Baiyi supplying them.

"Hmm, so this is why the Alchemist Walker asked me to lend him that Divine Energy Crystal the other day," Baiyi murmured. "It's for this, huh? Not bad. Not bad at all."

"You bet! I mean, if we can't make Energy Crystals as stable as the original Divine Energy Crystal, then we should solve our problem from a different angle… Which is to find ways to extend the reach of the original Divine Energy Crystal, right? Besides, you haven't been using the energy stored in that little thing for years, man. All that power's going to waste!" The Engineer Walker beamed. "I was inspired by the books you'd brought home, honestly, and when combined with the Alchemist Walker 's own breakthrough in his field, we created this improved version together!"

"The two of you are amazingly efficient. Do keep up the good work," Baiyi nodded, giving them his seal of approval.

"Well, we had been trying to work on a solution for a while; It was just the lack of information and knowledge that held us back. The science you'd brought from Earth, though, had bridged the gaps of ignorance. How else did you think we managed to come up with so many new things within the short amount of time you go out there and threaten everyone with your power like a gangster?" The Engineer said.

"So, what else should I know? Did my teacher help with the application of Void Energy?"

"Yep. Check this out," the Engineer Walker said and pulled a formation from the marionette's circuit board. It was an unmistakably Rohlserlian formation with a few spaces among them, where the crystals were to be fitted.

"Only with this transformation formation, combined with the energy-transferring network that I'd designed along with other technical improvements and techniques, had I been able to make this babe move! Oh, but now I don't understand why it's suddenly down. This stinks…" The Engineer Walker grumbled.

Then, suddenly, a student who was removing the metallic shell away from one of the spider-marionette's legs shouted, "Look!"

The crowd did as told. There, under the plate, was a chaotic mess of intertwining pipelines with a cracked propeller shaft buried among them. It was quite obvious that this was where the problem was; an error on the marionette's leg had caused the entire thing to topple.

"Ah, so it really was a problem on the joint and load-bearing after all, huh? That sucks. I mean, it's already the best we could come up with using the best current material and craftmanship!" The Engineer wailed loudly. "Ugh, can the Alchemist Walker and the Blacksmith Walker just work faster on their own bloody fields…"A reference to the item to summon heroes in Fate Grand Order, because of course, it's always FGO when the Archmage is involved.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

465 The Trick Is To Grind For More Points

The reason behind the marionette's sudden "sunsetting" was clear: it was simply because the marionette's excruciating weight had tortured its frail joint to the point of breakage.

Such an occurrence was inevitable. There was simply no material in this world that was strong enough to handle a hundred-odd ton in motion, yet. Thus, even with the mystery solved, the Engineer's progress was still forcefully halted since he could not find a better alternative to the materials he had used to create the propeller shaft.

Once again, it was proven that progress could never occur independently in a field because every field in science and tech was really a part of the bigger whole. Hence, though the Walkers were told to be inspired by Earth technology rather than to imitate it completely, even physics-defying knowledge such as magic and alchemy could only create that many shortcuts to an actual emulation.

It was not surprising at all. Ultimately, the knowledge Baiyi had brought back from Earth was a culmination of the entire human species' ingenuity and intellect over thousands of years! [1]

The Engineer turned to Baiyi pointedly and asked, "Well, what if… you give us a bit more funding?"

"More funding?" Baiyi mumbled as he started to think. Admitted, it was hardly a problem to allocate a lot more funding, but honestly, Baiyi was reluctant to just "hand that money over" to this pervert. For one thing, he was quite adamant that the Engineer's little tech nerds change from their erratic ways of being budding perverts to actual professionals who devote their energy to more beneficial researches rather than otaku-style "Best Waifu" polls, or developing spying equipment for "bird-watching" purposes…

Baiyi was just about to make that clear when a new thought popped into his head. He asked instead, "Tell me. How long would it take for this thing to get back online? Could it be done by next week?"

"H-hold on for a second! You're a researcher and inventor yourself, mate. Shouldn't you know how long it takes to come to a breakthrough in any tech?" The Engineer cried out in incredulity.

"I didn't mean that its problem would be solved entirely. I meant to restore it to its current best state."

"Well, if that's all you wanted, yea. We could do that in a short amount of time. But might I ask… what's the point in that?"

"Good. Just make sure it's back to the state you've shown me. Then, do not let it do any extreme sport nor say those ridiculous lines anymore. Just make it as normal as a typical marionette as possible," Baiyi said, ignoring the Engineer's question altogether. "If the problem lies in poor load-bearing limits on its joints, then find ways to reduce its total weight. Regardless of whatever amendments you make, however, it must look as impressive, state-of-the-art, and powerful as ever."

"You're not already thinking of selling it, right?" The Engineer asked nervously. "This is revolutionary tech we're talking about here!"

"Oh please, do you really think I would be that short-sighted? I just thought of showing it off to our rich donors," Baiyi said before explaining to the Engineer the upcoming week where the names of our new sponsored students were to be determined.

"Oh, so you're trying to attract investment, aren't you? Splendid idea!" An enlightened Engineer cried excitedly. "In fact, why limit to money? They can even provide rare materials, too!"

"Exactly. Which is why I need you to make the Phoenix look as impressive and cool as possible. That way we can fool those cash cows more convincingly."

"Fool?! I'm just hindered by tech progress!"

Just like that, the two formulated a plan on attracting lucrative investments right there and then. What was left was to wait for the week when their target cash cows visit them.

Those nobles may have been searching through their vaults and treasure to find something that could satisfy Grand Principal Hope's insatiable materialistic desire, yet they had no idea that the latter had already concocted a plan to milk them even more.

It was a peaceful, uneventful week. There were no longer any major breakthroughs in any of the Earth Tech Integration Projects. Daily lives in Da Xue continued smoothly without anything noteworthy to mention. The scars left by the Duat Invasion were slowly healing, and finally, the Church had deduced correctly that Baiyi was avoiding any war with them while he was going through new student intake for Da Xue. As a result, they started reducing their public harangue and turned their attention to gathering forces for a possible war.

Owing to the peace, Baiyi managed to enjoy a couple of relatively tranquil days. Every day, when he was not obsessing over his research, he would be hanging out with Little Mia or Attie, who had transformed back into a little girl. If not, he could be found hanging out with the little dragon lady and her daughter; if not for that, he could be found trying to repair his relationship with Nota and Anna using confectionaries and other kinds of bribery for the sweet-toothed.

It was peaceful, lazy living, and it was something Baiyi secretly desired the most.

Meanwhile, the topic du jour within Da Xue had shifted from the Duat Invasion to the upcoming season of new intakes as well as their senior's graduation. Unlike most other academies, new students in Da Xue enrolled in the semester before their seniors graduated.

It was arranged that way for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it was so that the most spectacular would-be graduates would be able to attend the newcomers' orientation week and give speeches to them. Then, the newcomers would, in turn, get to witness their seniors' graduation and be informed about their next grand step in life, including how well these graduates were going to do in society or where they would be going after graduating. As for those whose merit points were below standard. They would be dropped out of the academy before the newcomers even entered.

It was simply a motivational tactic that Baiyi had devised to inspire his students, carried on since the founding of the institution.

The reasons the current students were so excited about these upcoming events were myriad, too. Some wondered about how cute their new juniors would be. Some wondered which yet-unknown genius among the newbies would be able to obtain for visiting.

In other words, one would only be awarded points enough to graduate if one truly excelled in a particular field or aspect. [2]

However, if one had their points redacted due to disciplinary actions, or by a stroke of misfortune their theses remained unspotted in spite of quality, or even one's pure sloth had caused a slip in grades, then the only other option to bridge the gap would be to take another course in another faculty together with the current one. For example, a sorcerer from the Magic Faculty could enroll in alchemy. A squire could enroll in either Smithy or Engineering. And finally, those from the Literary Faculty or the Theology Faculty could devote their time to the Business Faculty. If one managed to pass their additional course, then they would have been able to gather the last one hundred points to graduate.

In other words, to excel in this institution, one had to either be very, very expert in one field or be good enough in several fields. There was no such thing as graduating with "passable performance".

Hence, this was why those who managed to graduate from Da Xue were guaranteed to be the best among their non-Da Xue graduates. The institution's harsh adherence to meritocracy ensured that every single student that graduated from it would be an actual elite.

Of course, those students who enrolled in the institution through their parents' generous donation enjoyed more leeway, as they could graduate with a meager sum of two hundred points. That was apparently Baiyi's small gesture of goodwill to these students' generous parents. But ultimately, it was because these sponsored students were likely to be so inferior in their performance that they would not have entered this prestigious institution were it not for their family's wealth. In other words, it would have been challenging for them just to pass their exams.

Granted, not all sponsored students were as good-for-nothing as most would imagine since if they really were that hopeless of a case, their calculative noble parents wouldn't have wasted their money to invest in them either. Throughout ten years since Da Xue's founding, only two of these sponsored students were too inferior to graduate, though even after that, these two managed to use whatever they had learned in the institution and good habits developed while studying there to somewhat stand out in society.

In other words, even a dropout from Da Xue could succeed. It was this reason that had compelled these wealthy sponsors to continue supporting the institution materially.

One day, as Baiyi was patrolling around the academy grounds, he overheard a conversation between two female students sitting on a bench. They were so engrossed in their topic that they did not even notice Baiyi creeping past them.

"I bet this year's platinum pendant holders would be Jazz, Lee, and Daniel, huh?"

Baiyi's feet shuffled into a stop quietly. The three individuals these girls had mentioned were exactly the three students he had in mind, especially Kingston Lee — one of the most eye-catching martial art genius from the Knights' Faculty. His swordsmanship was excellent enough to put the Hitman on guard for a few seconds!

He was most likely the strongest knight his generation would ever witness, which was why had been crowned "The Young Sword Saint". Although "Sword Saint" as a moniker had been used by many people enough to be a cliché by now, it was still impressive in this case because he was called so despite being in an institution brimming with geniuses.

Unfortunately, Baiyi did not start to take notice of him because of his peerless feats. No, Baiyi paid him a lot of attention because he was the Little Devil of this cohort, especially with his penchant to perform lovey-dovey serenades to girls in their dorm while skillfully battling the Jawflower. That was not even the worst. This brat even dared present Mia his love letter right in front of Baiyi.

Anyone who knew Baiyi enough could have guessed what happened afterward.

However, this ballsy boy was still alive after Baiyi was done with him, and now, he was going to graduate soon, too — solid proof of Baiyi's principle of humanistic education.Recall that to be accepted into Da Xue, you need to pass the unholily harsh entrance exams. Even scoring a point was hard enough… Imagine scoring five!

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

466 We“re Just Friends...

The student's conversation made Baiyi realize that he no longer paid attention to student rankings, from the moment Vidomina became the VP. This was because he had delegated ranking duties to Tisdale and Vidomina. He only had to view the finalized lists and prepare special pendants for the top three students and normal pendants for the rest of the top ten. .

"I really do find this quite intriguing. Which students will occupy the top three? Hmm... There's still the final exam to go before left graduation, though. Nevertheless, the Arfin City defense mission must have been a great opportunity for the students to farm extra-curricular points, which is sure to have affected the ranking," Baiyi murmured under his breath as he snuck away silently.

The students were now planning how they would make the perfect love confessions during graduation. This was a topic Baiyi considered too private to eavesdrop on.

Although Baiyi considered the student rankings something slightly exciting, he still regarded it as unimportant. To him, it paled in comparison to an upcoming event, where he would be able to milk those noble cash cows dry!

Baiyi would first select fifteen students whose family's tribute would satisfy him, and after that, Da Xue's exam session would arrive. The students would then write their final exam, while the candidates that are not sponsored would write the entrance exam. Following that is the grand welcoming ceremony for freshmen. A long break — the only one in the study year — would come after that.

After that, Baiyi would be ready for a war with the Church.

'When you put it that way, the schedule looks pretty tight,' Baiyi thought.

Baiyi's "Cash Cow Milking Bonanza" was still a day away, but Arfin City had grown even more festive than usual. It was still early in the morning when Walhart Empire's most prominent nobles began to gather in the city, filling the streets with sounds of trotting as horses pulling their exquisite coaches exited transportal portals in Arfin City's Sorcerers' Association branch. As commoners watched the fancy coaches ride through the streets, in the company of servants, they tried to guess the nobles the coaches belonged to.

When night fell, there was still so much hustle and bustle around the city. It was as though the city had not suffered an invasion attempt. Extravagant balls and evening parties began, hosted by tycoons and attended by nobles they were affiliated with. The wealthy at these parties took delight in discussing worldly affairs, spurred by intel, news, and rumors they had gathered by themselves. They also guessed what could happen in the future.

The most extravagant wine party being held that night was being hosted by the Dole family, and it boasted the largest number of moguls in attendance. This wine party was an event ordinary nobles and nouveau riches could never be invited to.

Undine Dole — who the people from the Northern Continent called 'Southern Pearl', because of her ravishing beauty — was the heart of the party. She could have passed for an eighteen-year-old girl, but she also exuded an air of maturity that younger girls could never emulate.

Undine Dole had let down her hair for the party, and it rested gracefully on her purple nightgown. She was like a rose that had blossomed in the calm of a quiet night, attracting the attention of everyone at the party.

Undine was still single, and there were no rumors that she was dating someone. It was surprising that a single, rich, and beautiful maiden like Undine was not being bombarded by request from noble suitors. However, there was a reason for this — a reason why the casanovas did nothing more than admire her from afar.

It was an open secret that she had a secret and complicated relationship with the powerful Fifth Voidwalker.

The Dole family's wealth and power had increased greatly because they were acquainted with Hope before he became famous. It was only because of his help that the Doles started a lucrative commercial route, transporting goods between the Southern and Northern Continent. That was not all, though. The Dole Family was also personally protected by Da Xue and its dragon knights.

Neither Baiyi nor Undine had confirmed or denied the rumors flying around. These rumors, which were started by some people on the inside, had it that Baiyi and Undine had made marriage plans about ten years ago. Although it seemed odd for a human to wish to wed a suit of armor, no one disagreed with the fact that power and status were enough for just about anyone to have their way.

Hope rarely attended parties with Undine in tow; instead, he would arrive with a Da Xue student, Tisdale, Aya, the graceful leader of the dragon knights, or a mysterious woman that could transform into two other women at will. The identity of these three women was just as much a mystery as Hope's real face. Hence, a vast number of people pitied Undine.

Whoever Hope chose to attend events with did nothing to prevent the Dole family from being an elite amongst the upper-class — a position they had attained only because they had latched onto the Fifth Voidwalker before everyone else did.

Link, the Southern Duke, arrived at the wine party late. His arrival did not surprise anyone. The man's relatives were long since past the age of academy students, but Link was instrumental in the sponsorship business. He was, after all, the middleman between Da Xue and the nobles. When Da Xue's sponsored student system was implemented, it was Link that helped Baiyi attract over the most affluent nobles.

When Undine saw Link, she walked over with her glass of wine, and they clinked their wine glasses. After taking a sip of her wine, Undine beckoned Link to join her outside, under a gazebo.

"What was that stinky jerk thinking, increasing the number of sponsors so suddenly?" Undine grumbled the instant she was out of sight. "Thanks to him, stampeding vulgarians nearly tore down my door!"

Calling Baiyi a "stinky jerk" showed that Undine already knew who Sven the Rogue Knight really was. Back then, this mysterious man had slighted her first before saving her from her inhumane captors, the Steppe Barbarians. This was something that was revealed to her by Attie, not Baiyi.

As Attie's tribe's settlement was the most important stop on the trading route between the Northern and the Southern Continent, her people had benefitted greatly, becoming the wealthiest and the most powerful tribe in the Steppe. Its current chieftain would have crowned himself king, but the rightful king, Attie — who was chosen by the War God — was still alive. She was being pampered by her wayward master, who possessed enough power to turn the Steppe into an ocean of flames if he saw fit.

As a merchant with a nose for maximizing profit, Undine knew that the trading route's success solely rested on an important stop, which was Attie's tribe. Hence, she went out of her way to befriend Attie, the same person that ordered her capture and allowed the Steppe's barbarians to treat her inhumanely.

The two had been able to put their testy past behind them and become friends. The strong relationship Undine shared with Tisdale allowed her to become a part of the sisterhood. A tight schedule was the only thing that stopped her from having fun with the sisterhood every day.

It was then Attie let slip that the War God's sword could only be wielded by those acknowledged by the War God. Thus, only Attie and her master, Hope, could use it. This revelation had exposed Baiyi's little lie. Back then, he had told everyone that he had snatched the War God's sword from Sven.

When Undine learned of this, she was not annoyed that Baiyi had fooled her for years. Instead, she was smitten. Undine had always nursed feelings for the mysterious Rogue Knight that saved her, and now that she knew that the Knight was Hope, who had brought her family immense wealth and power, she considered him the only man for her — the only man that who could maximize her happiness in the business called love.

Things became more… interesting from there. Like a teenage girl in love for the first time, Undine had visited Baiyi every two days. His continued rejections had not deterred her at all. After every rejection, she would change her manner of approach. Acting cute in public, standing outside Baiyi's office patiently like a good girlfriend waiting for her man, and hiding in Baiyi's room whilst dressed in seductive underwear, waiting to surprise him, were some of the things she had tried so far. [1]

When Undine pulled the stunt with the sexy underwear, Baiyi promptly rejected her again, causing the furious and disappointed lady to cry out, "You've done worse things to me before! You saw everything, even the parts underneath the underwear… You had even touched me everywhere! You lied to me and said that it had been done by some guy called Sven! Don't you think you should take responsibility for all you've done to me?"

"H-hey, wait for a second! Did I see any of your private areas? Did I touch you? Have I lied to you before?" A flabbergasted Baiyi had answered. "Honestly, back then, I was only doing the Merchant Walker a favor. On the hierarchy, you're pretty much his junior! You shouldn't be saying things like that about your seniors, okay?"

"Y-you…You stinky jerk! If you wish to be this way, then I… I'm going tell my ancestor about it!" She shouted in bluster.

This "ancestor" was, of course, the Merchant Walker, who was now the Principal of Da Xue's Business Faculty. This Voidwalker was also the main reason why the Dole family always supported the Voidwalkers and Da Xue.

"Sure, I don't think his words mean much. Go and cry to him if you want to," Baiyi replied nonchalantly.

A hurt Undine had burst into tears, calling Baiyi a 'heartbreaker', 'bastard', and 'the meanest baddie ever.' With tears streaming down her cheeks, Undine had fled the room.

A short while later, the Merchant Walker had visited Baiyi, seeking help to repair his battered suit of armor, which had parts missing. When the three Huffinf Piggies caught wind of what had happened, they had visited Undine and the Merchant Walker with a vengeance. [2]

Undine had not bothered Baiyi after that, but she had completely given up on him, either. She had rejected all proposals she had received after, for years. She was also responsible for starting the rumors that Baiyi had a secret relationship with her.

The Dole family remained one of the Voidwalkers' staunchest allies, despite Undine's complicated relationship with Baiyi. Undine did everything Baiyi asked of her excellently. Events regarding the selection of Da Xue's sponsors were always taken care of by the Dole family.

"The reasoning behind his decision eluded me, as well. Perhaps, it's related to the growing animosity between the Voidwalkers and the Church. He may now feel the need to garner support from the nobles," the Southern Duke replied.

"Ha! That stinky jerk, afraid of the Church?" A bemused Undine snickered. "Nah, I think he just ran out of money again."

"The Church is the largest and most influential organization in Isythre. You're aware of that, aren't you?" Duke Link replied.

"I think you misunderstood him, Lord Link. He lived in a desolate abyss for thousands of years, and he had had to crawl out from that frigid darkness alone. He had stared anyone's worst nightmare in the eye. Do you really think a man like that could be afraid of anyone in this world?" Undine said, sporting a tone of confidence. "He's the man I want, and I don't want just anyone."

As Undine spoke, she stared at the stars, lost in thought. It was a pose only a young lady in love could make.

"Is that so? I suppose you're right," Duke Link replied, smiling.

He knew that Lady Undine's wish would never come to fruition. Duke Link had seen the women that surrounded Baiyi, and he knew that Undine's beauty could match some of them. Undine was an independent woman, who was as bold in her approach as she was in her business. As the Dole family's ray of hope, Undine shouldered a heavy burden, which she hid behind her carefree personality.

From what Link had gathered, burdens like these were just what Hope feared the most.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

467 Let The Performance Commence!

The wine party had been hosted to allow the attending tycoons to discuss their stances on the coming war between the Church and the Voidwalkers. Baiyi did not care what these nobles thought, but the nobles and their overactive imaginations did not understand that.

These tycoons only wished to maximize their interests, so it was not a surprise to see them butter up to both Baiyi and the Church; this way, they could be on good terms with both sides.

On the evening of the next day, the tycoons headed towards Da Xue's portal in their luxurious coaches. Although the coaches moved as a group, not all the tycoons in them knew each other. Some tycoons were friends with each other, and some tycoons had not been acquainted with the others. Every one of the coaches was inscribed with huge emblems that belonged to the families that owned them. As the coaches ride past, people tried to guess who they belonged to.

When the tycoons arrived at Da Xue's portal, they followed the academy's instructions and parked their coaches on the street, in neat rows leading up to the academy's entrance, adding an air of grandeur to the otherwise nondescript street.

The sky had darkened when two figures appeared at the gate of Da Xue's portal. Vidomina and Undine were dressed in lavish gowns that exuded enough grandeur to rival that of the visiting nobles. The two ladies gracefully greeted the nobles and reminded them of some academy rules that they had to comply with: no noisemaking, no quarreling, and no duels to the death.

A middle-aged man with a solemn expression was the first noble to exit his carriage. His family was at the forefront of Isythre's mining business, and they monopolized at least thirty percent of the all discovered quarries within the Empire. Last year, it was just a bit off from joining Da Xue, but this year, he stood a much better chance. Duat's invasion had left many cities in ruin and desperately in need of a renovation. Hence, the demand for raw materials was at an all-time high, and his family was raking in more profit now than ever before.

When the middle-aged man alighted from his coach, he turned around and helped his partner descend the coach. Then, the middle-aged man clapped once, and ten servants rushed out from the coach and began to offload several large boxes atop the coach.

The middle-aged man, his partner, and the servants approached Undine and Vidomina, and the man bowed slightly to the ladies in greeting. After a small but courteous exchange, the middle-aged man and his envoy walked into the portal. The coach that was left behind moved to the side, making way for the coach behind to come forward.

The families at the back of the line were not anxious; they knew that their position in the queue had nothing to do with their chances of obtaining a seat at Da Xue. They spent the waiting time observing the families at the front of the queue, trying to learn what they might have in store this time.

Only forty-six noble families had come to compete. A while later, they had all entered the portal to join the others for the evening ball — an event that could pass off as a 'sponsored seat auction.' Not many nobles had dared to attend this event and compete, as they knew how difficult it was to satisfy Grand Principal Hope's large appetite.

The location of the event was set in a courtyard close to the residential area, where the guests were received by the Doles' butler and a retinue of servants. Baiyi would only make his appearance after everyone had arrived.

Grand Principal Hope was sitting in the room of a different building, watching the noble families trod in. "Around forty families this time, huh? That exceeded my expectations," he murmured.

"Well, how many did you expect, Mr. Hope?" Mia, who was sitting on his lap, asked out loud. She had on an off-shoulder nightgown — which left her back open — a pair of black silk socks and white heels. She sat with her back facing Baiyi, and her swinging made the Fifth Walker, who was watching her, feel a bit dizzy.

"Look, are you really okay wearing, you know, such little clothing?" Baiyi said, gazing at Mia back that was on full display. "Won't you catch a cold?"

Mia's shrunk away from the cold touch of his gauntlet. "Mr. Hope!" She warned. "You promise me that I'll get to pick my own dress this time! If you had to pick, I'll probably be dressed like a nun right now!"

"Hey, I'm… I'm not saying anything about your dress choice now," Baiyi said, hurriedly backing off.

Whenever Baiyi attended events like this, he would be accompanied by either the steely Warrior Walker or dragon lady Aya. However, Baiyi had humiliated Mia at the last event she attended, causing other attendees to laugh at her, so Baiyi decided to compensate Mia by accompanying her for this event.

As they chatted, Vidomina walked into the room. When Mia heard the door open, she leaped off Baiyi's lap and stood beside him like a proper young later.

"All set?" Baiyi asked.

"Yes. Everyone's waiting for you, Godfather," Vidomina replied as she walked over to his other side. She then shot Mia a knowing glance, and both girls smiled at each other.

"You look absolutely gorgeous today, Nina!" Mia whispered..

"You too, Mia. You're so adorable, I want to hug you so bad!" Vidomina whispered.

Baiyi began to draw a formation in midair whilst chanting a spell. When the formation activated, the room became blurry, and the three found themselves standing close to a stage, in the room where the hall was being held.

"Welcome, my friends," Baiyi said to the nobles below the stage, and the area instantly became quiet.

"As you all must know, I'm not one to throw parties; this is the only one I have organized this year, yes?" Baiyi took a step forward, and the girls followed. He grasped Mia's hand and rested his other hand on Vidomina's shoulder. "So, my guests, please enjoy yourself as much as possible tonight, as I only organize events like this once a year."

"I would also like to introduce you all to my student, Mia. It was she who summoned me," Baiyi said as he patted Mia's head gently. Mia smiled in response and nodded in greeting to the crowd. "P-pleased to meet everyone! I, um, I think this is the first time I'm attending one of Mr. Hope's party…"

"And, over here is my goddaughter, Vidomina. I'm sure you all have been acquainted with her already," Baiyi said as Vidomina bowed slightly.

"What lovely young ladies! It's as though I'm looking at a happy family," came a voice from the crowd.

"Oh, yes! Mr. Hope is like a father to me," Mia said, smiling.

It took her a while before she suddenly stopped and reconsidered what she said. Someone had called her, Hope and Vidomina a family, and Mia agreed with it. She considered herself Mr. Hope's daughter. However, that statement would also mean Vidomina was Mr. Hope's daughter, too! It was as though she just had entered what was supposedly a special club that only Tisdale and Mia could join.

Fortunately, being one who was not too patient for small talks and flattery, Baiyi continued with his agenda before Vidomina could even react, "There are five more seats this year, but it doesn't seem to make things easier for individual competitors since the numbers had increased, does it? Either way, our rules stayed the same."

Just like that, Baiyi considered his opening speech completed, which baffled the audience. They thought he would mention anything about himself at the Church, but it seemed that the man had ignored it altogether.

"However, there's a small change in our agenda today, too. Before my guests could quoting, I'd arranged a neat little performance aiming to entertain my guests," Baiyi said and snapped his finger.

It was then when he heard a deep, jovial voice ringing from around them, "Solare of Astora has returned!"

What the hell? I thought I'd told you to remove those stupid voice lines, you idiot! Or are you just high again?! Baiyi may look calm on the outside, but on the inside, he was jumping into snarking action again.

Very fortunately, the machine shut up and said nothing even more embarrassing after that—maybe the Engineer had noticed that he had forgotten to remove the voice lines and muted the gigantic mecha through his PlayStation-inspired remote control. Thus, all the nobles saw was just a large, quiet, white spider-marionette marched out behind the curtains.

"This, ladies and gentlemen," Baiyi announced proudly, "is the Phoenix!"

The audience stared at the marionette dumbfounded. Without answering them directly, Baiyi cast an Amplified Lumos Spell towards the sky to illuminate a huge patch of verdant woods. Then, the spider-marionette extended its heavy steps and marched to a spot where no one was around.

The halo-like structure above it lit and fired off a straight, dangerous ray. Under Lumos, the crowd could see the entire patch of woods erupting in flames as if it was an ocean of inferno.

The spider-marionette did not stop there; It slipped into a rapid-fire mode and shot out continuous beams of light sweeping across another unharmed patch of woods. In a flash, the entire area was decimated.

The crowd was sitting far and safe from the burning sea, yet they could recognize a potent power whenever they saw one. Their eyes were bright with interest as they mentally compared every marionette they had ever seen with the one before them. There were certainly even larger mechas than this one, yet none could compare to the firepower this spidery one packed. After all, they had never seen an entire patch of woods completely destroyed in seconds, and from the looks of it, this was only just the tip of its power.

Naturally, they wanted the weapon for themselves. Someone boldly asked, "Master Hope, is this a new weapon developed by your esteemed institution? Is this for sale?"

"Ah, it's only a prototype. Besides, this isn't the main theme of the day," Baiyi answered. "We'll talk about this some other time. Now, we have some other business to attend to."

He clapped and saw a funny-looking stuffed bear striding out from a side of the stage, its round fluffy body bopping above its round, fluffy body while its round, fluffy limbs flailed around comically. It looked like a baby girl's teddy bear coming alive!

"Would you kindly restore this to normal?" Baiyi asked Mr. Bear in fairy language.

"Honestly, why didn't you pick a better location to fire your power at?" The bear replied helplessly before rubbing its paws before its chest.

To everyone's surprise, the flames consuming the woods suddenly trembled wildly before vanishing into thin air, as if they were never there. Then, broken, charred trunks on the woods started sprouting and growing in size before slowly returning to their original, sylvan state.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

468 Sorry, But This Time, None of You Will Join In On The Fun.

When the flashy activity ended, mouths were seen hanging open. The nobles had wondered how much military power Da Xue had, but they had never seen Baiyi — who had a habit of showing off — flex his academy's military capabilities this much before.

The marionette had been outshone by that the fluffy teddy bear that restored the burning forest to its previous state, using a mysterious superpower.

The same thought popped up in the minds of the nervous nobles: 'Showing off the powers you possess like this… Isn't this just a calculating, roundabout way to force us to pick a side?'

The tycoons had come to the ball with their donations on them. They intended to get on Baiyi's good side but not pledge allegiance to him. This way, they would not be enemies of the Church as well as Baiyi.

However, as Hope had seen right through their scheme, that thought had now gone out the window. He had placed the tycoons in between a rock and a hard place; they had to make a decision: ride... or die!

'How atrocious of these Prisoners of Void! You people talk about peace, tolerance, and virtue, but when the chips are down, you bare your fangs and threaten us! Isn't this just coercion?!' Several tycoons thought as they struggled to keep their calm.

"Alright. Our entertaining little detour ends there. If any friend of mine is interested in the Phoenix's development, I invite you to join me for a discussion after our main event is over," Baiyi said as the teddy bear and the large creepy-crawly waddled out of sight.

"Shall we move on to the real reason we're all here?" Baiyi announced, beckoning Vidomina and Mia to sit. Then, the Fifth Walker took out fifteen metal placard from his pocket. Holding up the placard with a "1" inscribed on it, Baiyi said, "Let's us begin! Does anyone want to buy this seat?"

It was time for the bids to begin, but to Baiyi's greatest shock, everyone was silent. The cold atmosphere left Baiyi speechless.

'Okay. What the heck is going on?' Baiyi examined the crowd and realized that the tycoons all had expressions of doubt. It was as though they were debating with themselves in their hearts.

He could guess what the nobles were thinking, so he said, "Did you all hear rumors lately and decided to make up some weird theories about them?"

Baiyi knew that the powerful and rich elites were paranoid and had overactive imaginations. They were always eager to piece together conspiracy theories just from a few rumors floating around.

A noble grew bold and answered, "Mr. Hope, before we start this auction, we... We deserve to know about the issue between you and the Church."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Baiyi said, "Since when has become your business? Do you think I want to gain your support so that I can win the little argument between myself and the Church? Sigh. I can assure you, my friends, that you are all overthinking this. I don't need your support."

The crowd was stupefied. 'None of this is to vie for our support?! You weren't trying to coerce us into taking your side? How do you expect us to believe that nonsense?! You suddenly increased the number of seats for sponsored students, started this auction ahead of its usual time, and then showed off two of your more powerful military assets on stage, in front of us all! You've deliberately created, watered, and enriched a bed for seeds of doubts to sprout, and now, you mock us for sowing them?!'

A noble could not restrain himself any longer and shot to his feet. "Master Hope, you're telling us that you plan to fight the Church of God's Grace with just you and Da Xue? Do you realize that your words imply that you have no need for our power and support?"

"Yes," Baiyi answered, nodding. "Don't take this personal: I don't need anyone's help, including the nobles, the royal family, and the Northerners. I may get some help from my barbarian friends, but that's the extent of it. See? You all have no reason to be concerned!"

The nobles glanced at each other in disbelief. Those words... could only come out from the mouth of a madman!

No one denied that Da Xue was the best academy, leading in academic achievement and standard of education, but these feats would not hold water in matters outside education! The Church definitely would not go easy on Da Xue just because it was an elite institution!

The Church had been in existence for thousands of years, and it had followers in every part of the world. Its followers were obedient and obeyed its teachings without question. Furthermore, the Church's military capabilities were terrifying to behold. The number of soldiers they had rivaled that of the Empires, and after the Duat invasion, that number and the Church's influence had multiplied greatly. It would not be wrong to say that the Church had reached the height of its power and influence, a few hundred years after their last heydays!

No one was crazy enough to do battle with the Church, let alone fight on their own!

The Fifth Walker was clearly insane!

Hope was overwhelmingly powerful, yes, but wars were not fought or won by one person. The Church was not short on powerful warriors, either; those it considered cannon fodder were incredibly challenging to defeat. Just how many of them would the mighty Fifth Walker be able to take down on his own?

As for the other Voidwalkers, how many of the Church's warriors could they take on before their rickety suit of armor bodies broke down?

Other than the Voidwalkers, who else could Da Xue deploy to fight the Church's massive army? The little gorgeous ladies around Hope? If not for the tragedy that was sure to occur, that would have been a great joke. How would the little girls hope to fare against the Church's armies of priests, crusaders, and others? How would they fare against the Church's most elite and fearless warriors — the Templars?

Baiyi's words were so ridiculous, even the Southern Duke, who always tried to convince others to join Baiyi's side, jumped to his feet. "Are you mad, Mister Grand Principal?"

When the Southern Duke learned of the Empire's stand on the matter, he decided to stand by Baiyi. He had attended Da Xue's ball in hopes of persuading nobles to side with Baiyi.

The Southern Duke did not find it difficult with Baiyi; after all, he had already expected a war between the Voidwalkers and the Church to break out at some point. What he had not expected was how soon the war would begin.

If Hope showed some sort of urgency for the war, which was going to happen soon, everyone would understand, but not only did he not do this, he also announced quite boldly that he had no need for the nobles!

The nobles at the ball were in agony when they realized that Hope did not give a s**t about them. They would rather be forced to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea than to be unceremoniously dismissed like this.

Watching his business partner, the Southern Duke, question his reasoning made Baiyi realize how important nobles perceived themselves to be. He shrugged and replied, "No offense, but I really think you all, including the Emperor, are reading too much into this. You all seem to think that I would need your help to win this little skirmish. I don't, but maybe the Church does — I don't know. What I do know is that I do not need external help to win!" .

Baiyi seemed so confident that the nobles present almost believed him.

"Look: I called this feud a skirmish because that's what it'll be. It will not escalate into an all-out war, where one lives and the other dies. It'll be nothing more than a brief clash of swords. The Church might really be nursing the intention to remove a "heretic" like me from this world, but I do not harbor that sentiment towards them. Everyone knows that I am a big softie; I do not like my hands stained with blood," Baiyi said. "My intentions are not malicious. I just want to force them to accept the existence of the Voidwalkers and keep quiet about our development and research. This way, we, the Voidwalkers, can return to this world and live normally like everyone else. That's all we ever wanted; it's not too much to ask, is it?"

Complicated expressions surfaced on the faces of the nobles present. If Hope's words — and by extension, the Voidwalkers' promise — were true, then his refusal to acquire external help was not as insane as they had initially thought. Hope really could use a small and controlled clash to force the Church to back off. It was very plausible, especially he had already had a scheme devised.

As Hope did not require them to join him, the nobles could choose not to pick a side, giving them the freedom to watch from afar as events unfolded. This way, they would be unable to influence the outcome of the battle, but that was not such a bad thing, as both side wars were huge entities. Staying neutral was perhaps the wisest choice they could make.

The nobles, however, had attended the ball with so much tribute on their person for a reason. However, they could now rest easy. Hope's words meant that their dreams of staying neutral had come true, even before they had offered their presents!

"Master Hope, if this really is your intention, why have you increased the number of sponsored students?" The Southern Duke, who looked as though he was undergoing an internal struggle, asked. He was just a duke, but he possessed a large amount of authority within the Empire. Being told to sit out a clash for dominance between two huge forces made the Southern Duke uneasy.

"Because we have some new projects in the works, and we need more funding for them," Baiyi answered. "That marionette you just saw is one of the many projects we are working on. You've seen its power and its size, right? We plan to improve those, but we can't do that without monetary support."

"Are you…Are you telling me that you only intended to conduct a few non-war related business transactions with us?" Another noble asked, completely taken aback.

"That is correct," Baiyi said in affirmation. "The conflict I have with the Church concerns only me. You do not need to bother yourselves with it."

The crowd fell silent. A few moments later, the Southern Duke said, "If it's possible, we may need some time alone to deliberate on this matter."

"Just do it here," Baiyi said and nodded to the two girls sitting beside him. The trio stood up at the same time, and after the girls grabbed his arms in a docile manner, the trio exited the hall.

The moment Baiyi and the girls left, a heated debate between the nobles was ignited.

Some nobles still believed that Baiyi had used a roundabout way to ask for support. Some other nobles were trying to predict the winner of the upcoming skirmish; they believed that the battle would be short and swift, as Da Xue intended only to teach the Church a lesson for its attempted silencing of the Voidwalkers. If this was truly the case, then Hope was right: Da Xue would prevail. A war that breaks out because of a difference in ideology could be settled through a brief display of military might, followed by the continuous application of soft power.

There were some nobles that thought it best to stand with Da Xue; they were reluctant not to join a side in such a pivotal event. Other nobles were worried that their kids studying at Da Xue would be perceived to have taken the institution's side. This group of nobles could not help but wonder if the Church already considered them to be on the side of Da Xue. They also could not help worrying that the Church would punish those trying to befriend both it and Da Xue. They were unsure if the Church would seek to secure their support on other matters in the future.

Every noble in the hall had something on their mind. Only the Southern Duke and two other nobles were shrewd enough to focus on the new projects Baiyi had mentioned, rather than waste time on what had already been debunked.

One of these two nobles represented a family that owned a blacksmith-franchising business, while the other noble was in the business of reselling marionettes. These two nobles were supposed to compete with Baiyi for the Empire's arms deal, but this did not dissuade them from sending their kids to Da Xue — an institution established by their rival. They also did not see anything wrong with getting in on their rival's business projects, which was sure to grow more lucrative as time passed.

This was the nature of most nobles. Neither their friends nor their enemies were permanent. Only their interests took precedence.

While the nobles debated, Baiyi had returned to his room to rest, accompanied by Mia and Vidomina.

He looked relaxed and unworried, but the girls looked unsettled. Mia walked over and held his gauntlet with both hands. "Mr. Hope, do we really have to… fight the Church?"

As she had never really cared about these sorts of things in the past, Mia knew close to nothing about the feud. At the ball tonight was the first time she had heard of it. She had done her best to look unworried in the hall, but now that she was in a private area, she could not help but express her worry.

Baiyi pinched Mia's cheeks. "You had to have expected something of this nature to happen at some point, right?"

Mia nodded a little reluctantly. When Baiyi's true identity was revealed, Mia did expect him to clash with the Church, but she had not expected it to happen this soon.

Had the Church and Da Xue not been on friendly terms this whole time? She had seen any open display of hostility between both sides. Her close friend and sister, Laeticia, was even appointed a Saintess despite being affiliated with Da Xue.

Mia had thought that both sides would remain friends forever.

Vidomina, who knew more than Mia, did was less perturbed. She raised a glass of red wine to her lips and savored the taste. "Mia, you really do not need to fret. There's no one in this world that can beat my Godfather."

"I know, I know. I know Mr. Hope is the most powerful person the world has ever seen," Mia replied. The faith both girls had in Baiyi was unshakeable. To them, there was no battle that Baiyi could not win.

"But I'm not worried about victory; I'm worried about Laeticia," Mia said with worry.

"Me too," Baiyi said. "This is one aspect I have no guarantee of winning, so I'll need your help on this one, girls."

Vidomina and Mia nodded obediently. Feeling pleased, Baiyi raised his hands and ruffled their heads. It felt good that he did not have to explain himself to them; they would support him regardless.

"Those nobles really do over-imagine things, don't they?" Vidomina smiled. "Did they really think that we'll need their help?"

"I agree. I had Mr. Bear perform his little magic trick to show these nobles that there is very little we cannot restore after our victory. But, I guess that implication eluded them," Baiyi said in a low voice. As he spoke, his hand unconsciously slid down to Mia's exposed back. He began to stroke the girl's silky smooth back. So absorbed was Baiyi in the feeling that he failed to notice that his actions were inappropriate.

Mia did not seem to see anything wrong with it. She closed her eyes in satisfaction as she enjoyed the back rub. She did not seem to consider it inappropriate.

"That's all the time they'll get. We should return and begin our agenda," Baiyi said, pulling his hand away. "If we let them continue unchecked, who knows what kinda crazy story they would come up with, this time!"

The trio disappeared from the room and appeared in the hall a moment later.

The nobles had not had much time to discuss. The length of time that Baiyi had given them to deliberate was incredibly short; it was only enough time for Mia to receive a little backrub. Biayi, however, considered it more than enough time for the nobles to understand the situation.

The nobles soon regained their cool and decided to focus — something they do at the auctions before this. Although it was not clear what had motivated them, the auction for sponsored seats begun, regardless.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

469 Simplistic, Yet Hardly Simple

The first noble to come forward was an upstart that specialized in the plantation business.

Calling his plantation business a "high-end farm" was not incorrect, as this noble not only produced half of the total sugar cane consumed within the Empire, but also raw materials needed to produce a variety of medicines. The combined income made him one of the richest men in the Empire. However, until Duat attempted to invade Isythre, this noble was not at the highest level of the socio-economical status.

Like others, this noble lost some properties during the invasion; however, the demand for medicine rose after the invasion, prompting the demand for his raw materials to increase, netting him a fortune large enough to cover his losses many times over. Seizing the opportunity that had presented itself, the noble quickly bought land and property for dirt cheap from people that had gone bankrupt, lost their relatives, or were no longer able to feed themselves and their family. His assets grew, and he soon joined the ranks of the most wealthy in the Empire. This provided him the opportunity to enter Baiyi's auction. This goes to show that winners emerge even from even the most disastrous events.

Duat's Invasion had dealt a devastating blow to Isythre, causing huge changes in the status hierarchy. Older nobles began to move; in an attempt to keep up with the new billionaires, they pulled out all the stops.

Unlike most nobles present at the ball, this rich upstart did not have a large box filled with gold and other precious materials. All he had come with was a contract, and when he stood up, he read out its contents for all to hear. If Da Xue gave his kin one of its seats this semester, then from this year onwards, Da Xue would receive five percent of the upstart's annual profit.

If an agreement was reached, then every year, Da Xue would receive five percent of the upstart's annual, till the contracts expired. Even if the upstart's kin graduates before the contract expires, the academy would continue to receive the profit!

The offer was so generous that it took the other nobles — who believed that had seen it all — by surprise. Baiyi was shocked, too. Who would have expected the auction to begin with such an explosive deal?!

Grand Principal Hope was known for being avaricious, favoring rare raw materials over money, but he found it difficult to turn the upstart's monetary offer down. What the upstart had offered was a share in a nascent business, in which profits were expected to rise in a couple of years. If the business profit continued to rise at its currents pace, in a few years, five percent of it would be worth ten million gold coins or more!

All Baiyi had to do was give the upstart's ward a seat.

The barter was quite unbalanced and seemed almost too good to be true. Baiyi quietly pondered for a while, and he decided to reject the upstart's offer, for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, Baiyi was not eager to be a noble's fool. If he accepted the offer, he would begin to rely on the profit as income for Da Xue. He would then have to focus more attention on the upstart's business, to ensure that he received the five percent profit each year. The Voidwalkers would become the upstart's assistants, who would do everything to guard him and his business.

Associating Da Xue, which had long since maintained a neutral stance, with a capitalist was sure to bring trouble! Baiyi even believed that the upstart's real intention was to secure a powerful patron for himself.

As the status of nobles increased, they looked for powerful entities to support and protect them. Such nobles would target royal families, like the Imperial family, or mega organizations, like the Church. As older nobles had already latched onto the Imperial family and the Church, it would be difficult for upstart nobles to secure their patronage. Hence, it only made sense that the upstart nobles chose to target entities whose power was rapidly growing, like Da Xue.

This was a huge reason why Baiyi declined the upstart's offer. The Voidwalkers would never allow themselves to be swayed by a bag of gold coins dangled before their faces! As Baiyi recalled, this was not the first time he had tempted this way. After he created Da Xue, he had been extended offers of the same nature multiple times. Some nobles had even dared to offer the hands of their young daughters as a part of the trade! However, Baiyi had rejected them all.

This was the reason why only the Dole family enjoyed Baiyi's patronage at this point. They did not have enough money to sate Baiyi's appetite, but they were descendants of a Voidwalker. Undines ties with Baiyi's Angels, her cute, and sometimes very sexy, disposition helped bolster the tie between Baiyi and the Dole family.

Huge monetary offers did not make Baiyi lose his mind in the past, and it would not do so now.

Baiyi's stoic silence was enough for the upstart to realize that the Grand Principal was not interested in his offer. This did not surprise him, though. At first, he thought that such an offer would appeal to Da Xue as it looked to be on the brink of a war with the powerful Church. However, to the shock of the nobles present, Baiyi had announced that he would not need their help when Da Xue and the Church collide. This drastically reduced the possibility of his offer being accepted.

With this in mind, the upstart still proceeded to pitch his offer, hoping that Master Hope would bite. Alas, his offer was rejected.

The upstart did not leave after that, though; he remained in the hall. There was something else that had caught his interest: the spider marionette that had been on display earlier. If the spider marionette was used to defend the empire at some point in time, as someone that invested in the project, he would earn himself a spot of the pages of history books!

As for the other nobles, they had watched Baiyi's expression carefully as deliberated on the upstart's offer. When they saw Baiyi's disinterest in money, the nobles were relieved. Most of them were not prepared to place bids with cash. .

The next noble to come forward represented a tea-making family. Although the family had not fully recuperated from the invasion, the family head was set on sending his kid to Da Xue. He walked towards Baiyi with a coffin-like box in tow. Everyone watched as the tea merchant removed the box's lid.

Inside the coffin-like box was a pale-grey suit armor set that resembled those worn by common mages. However, this pale-grey armor looked more decrepit and out of fashion. Its design was not aesthetically pleasing, neither did it have any decorative patterns. Even the restoration job the armor seemed to have undergone did nothing to hide the scars it had gained over its long period of existence. The armor looked so archaic that it made Baiyi's Augustril armor, which had been through hell and back, look pristine!

A wave of unkind laughter rang out from the crowd. It was not a surprise that someone would try to trade armor for a spot at Da Xue, but such attempts had failed, as no one had been able to present armor good enough to entice the Voidwalkers.

For starters, Baiyi's armor, the Sanctus, was crafted from Augustril, an incredibly rare magic-enhancing metal. It was given to him by the Emperor of the Walthart Empire, and this increased the value of the armor. The armor used by other Voidwalkers had been carefully crafted by the prodigious Blacksmith Walker and the genius Engineer Walker, using materials that were developed by the Alchemist Walker, an accomplished alchemist. The inventions produced by this trio were ahead of those made by other artisans in Isythre. This was not a surprise; the trio's inventions incorporated otherworldly concepts — such as ergonomics and human anatomical science — acquired from Earth. Each armor had also been designed to accommodate each Voidwalker's preference.

How could anything else in the world match such a standard? Showing off armors made by artisans in Isythre was nothing but a joke to the Voidwalkers. It was akin to presenting microwaved sausages to Gordon Ramsey! [1]

"This armor set is my family's ancestral treasure, handed down to us from generations past," said the tea merchant. "Legend has it that it was gifted to one of my ancestors for helping a mysterious and powerful existence. No record of the armor's name has been found. We have had many experts appraise it, and they all tell agree that it's not ordinary. Such an armor befits a man as mysterious as you, no?"

The crowd's laughter grew in intensity. They could not help it; to them, that pitch sounded like something a snake oil salesman would come up with.

"You have not grown weary of that old wives' tale, have you, Old Hanks? You believe it so much that you brought that junk here, trying to pass it off as treasure!" A cackle rang out from a noble that could be seen bending over in laughter. "I can't believe it! You've actually done it this time!"

"Haha! You can only fool drunks with this story, old man. To have the gall to repeat it in front of everyone here, do you think Master Hope is an idiot?! Or, have you finally gone senile?"

"Oh, Old Hanks, you just made yourself a joke. I can't believe that you and your family actually treated this rusting junk as an 'ancestral treasure'!"

It was obvious that the tea merchant had told the story many times in the past. Back then, his family was renowned amongst the nobles, so no one dared to make fun of him. His peers had even pretended to be blown away by the armor's backstory.

However, now that the tea merchant's fortune had almost run out, the other nobles expected him to, at least, exit the group with a favorable impression! But, here he was, recounting a stupid story, making a fool out of himself!

The tea merchant was not perturbed by the taunts. He strongly believed that his father — and those that came before him — would not make up such a story, with the intent to fool their descendants. The plebeians around him may not be able to recognize the worth of the ancient armor, but surely an accomplished sage such as Master Hope would!

The tea merchant's son was much more thin-skinned than his father. As laughter rang out from the crowd of nobles around, his face turned beet-red, and he could not help lambasting his father in his mind. If the senile man had to offer the family's ancestral treasure, he could concoct a better lie to sell his pitch. The old man's honesty had only humiliated the family!

Even if the junk armor was worth something, its value will not be enough to catch the eye of the greedy Grand Principal.

The tea merchant and his son, who were both nursing different thoughts, gazed at Baiyi with different expressions. The tea merchant looked hopeful, but his son looked embarrassed.

Baiyi did not laugh. Instead, he studied the armor quietly for a few minutes. When he was done, he tossed the placard to the tea merchant's son. "You're fortunate to have such a good father, young man. Please, do not disappoint him when you enter the academy."

The laughter instantly died down, replaced by looks of shock. Except for the tea merchant, every noble in the hall was at a loss for words, including the Southern Duke and Undine. As power nobles, everyone present had seen numerous treasures, so they possessed a knack for recognizing valuable items; however, neither of them could see any value in the tea merchant's junk of an armor.

Why would the greedy Hope accept an armor like that? Could it be because...

Baiyi did not bother to explain anything to anyone. He walked towards the coffin-like box and stared at the armor. A few moments later, he turned his gaze to the tea merchant's son.

"Da Xue is a very demanding academy, young man. If you are not diligent enough, you may get overwhelmed," said Baiyi. "So, before I take this armor, I'll ask you one last time: do you really wish to join Da Xue?"

As the tea merchant's son would be the one to attend the academy, Baiyi's question was directed at him, not his dad. It was his consent that mattered.

The youth did not seem to have heard Baiyi's question, as his face still held a blank expression. He kept staring blankly at the cold, metal placard in Baiyi's hand. He still could not understand how that old armor, which had a cheesy backstory, had been able to sate Master Hope's appetite. Could it be that the armor was just as special as his father had claimed? Was the backstory many laughed at actually true?

The embarrassed tea merchant had to pinch his son before the latter was jolted from his thoughts. Realizing his impudence, the tea merchant's son quickly bowed and said, "S-sorry, Master Hope. I, uh, was lost in my thoughts."

Baiyi dismissed his lapse in attention with a wave of his hand and said, "Will you be willing to follow Da Xue's rules, and aspire to work your hardest?"

"Y-yes!" The tea merchant's son hurried exclaimed. "Without a doubt, yes! T-thank you so much for the opportunity, Master Hope!"

"Good. Before the new semester begins, you may decide which faculty and course you would like to enroll in. When you do, just bring this placard to our student affairs counter," Baiyi said. As he carefully took the old armor out of the box, Baiyi added, "Do call me Principal Hope from now on."

The son was beyond himself for this sudden stroke of luck, but his father was less euphoric. With a somber expression, the tea merchant asked pointedly, "Principal Hope, if I may… Can you please divulge the truth of this armor to us? It has always been an unsolved mystery, passed down from generations to generations, even before our family had reached our current prestige. I've exhausted quite some resources into finding out its background, yet nothing ever turned up. But you… You seem to know something about it, Master Hope. Please, enlighten me."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want you to regret your decision," Baiyi said, his tone belying a sharp hint of warning.

The tea merchant froze. Then, with a heavy heart, he flashed the Fifth Walker a powerless smile and said, "It doesn't matter if it's some long-lost legendary relic or regalia—it'll always be nothing but junk if no one in our family knew how to use it. I weighed the value of my descendants' future with the possible value of this treasure, and I chose the former. I'm merely curious of its origin."

"Is that so?" Baiyi murmured. Swiftly, he dismantled the armor by pieces and stuffed them into his storage pouch as if he was worried that the tea merchant would regret his choice after hearing his explanation.

He only started answering the tea merchant's inquiry after he tucked every last component into the pouch. "If I'm not mistaken, this armor's name should be 'Mystique'."

The crowd inhaled sharply. Mystique? As in, the 'Mystique' mentioned in legends? The armor rumored to be the most powerful Divine Regalia to ever exist?

Mystique was so mysterious that even the legends surrounding it were inconsistent and at odds with each other; the only detail these legends agreed on was that Mystique had disappeared from the face of the world two thousand years ago. Its appearance, its owner, and even what it was used for before its disappearance was never agreed upon. Some said that it was the legendary divine armor worn by a powerful paladin to smack all heretical gods and demons with his mighty, divine hammer; Some said that it was worn by a powerful druid, who used the armor to summon great spirits of wolves and trees to kill every single paladin who came to his land to proselytize. Still, some claimed that it was once worn by a powerful necromancer or a mysterious assassin whose name had lost in time, or even…

Nobody could give a canonical account of the legend, but everyone was sure that it must have been something really incredible to become such a legend in the first place. This was the reason why nobody could have expected the fabled Mystique to look like a nondescript sorcerer's armor at best, and a pile of scrap metal at worst. No wonder the family who owned it had locked it in their basement for thousands of years!

"To be fair, Even I do not know about the legends that much, because not even we Voidwalkers knew anything about it. I've only managed to glean its name from a detail carved in its body," Baiyi explained and pulled out the chest plate from his storage pouch. Suspending the plate in midair, he overlaid a layer of mana on top of it, causing the plate to react by projecting Ancient Rohlserlian formations into the air.

"Some of you may know that it's common to find hidden texts within Ancient Rohlserlian formations, similar to the text hidden in the Sorcerers Association's emblem. This one right here," Baiyi pointed. "This one declares its name: Mystique."

The nobles gawked. Not many alive were well-versed in the almost-lost language of Ancient Rohlserlian, let alone decode formations crafted from it. It was just too impossible to believe, but it seemed that their most knowledgeable Grand Principal Hope believed this to be the genuine article!

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

470 Have You Even Seen The Genuine Article Before?

The atmosphere in the room changed after Baiyi's explanation. The tea merchant's expression had darkened, as pangs of shock struck him like tidal waves.

His son looked even worse. Far from his previous jolliness, the son turned to his father, his face paled with regret that seemed to say: What have we done?!

However, by this point, no amount of regret or second thoughts could change anything. The deal was sealed, and the deed was done. The tea merchant let out a heavy sigh, gave a respectful bow to Baiyi as a sign of ratification and left the party with his son.

As the young man trailed behind his weary-looking father, he began in a quiet voice, "F-father? That set of armor… Is it really the Divine Regalia Mystique?"

The tea merchant shook his head. "I don't know. How should I? Not even Principal Hope knows for sure."

"But—!" The young man's expression fell. It was clear that he was agonizing over his father's decision.

The tea merchant understood his son's sentiments without needing him to say it out loud. Gently, he patted the young man's shoulders and said reassuringly, "The point is it just doesn't matter. Legendary relic or not, it has always been nothing more than an extravagant but useless keepsake for this family. It was no different from a pile of scrap metal junk. It's our luck to be able to trade that old rusty thing for a brighter future for you and the family, Son… That's what truly matters. Turn your face forward and don't look back anymore."

The young man lowered his head as he mused about his father's words. Then, with an even quieter voice, he said, "Understood, Father. I won't let you down… Nor will I let your sacrifice be in vain."

Hearing the sincerity in his voice, the tea merchant's lips curved into a happy, relief smile. Seeing his unambitious son finally decided to take charge of his and the family's newly-bartered future, he felt as though even if he had handed a priceless, one-in-a-million legendary armor away to the Voidwalkers, he was still the one who had ultimately earned the most.

The pair had left the hall for some time, yet the hubbub surrounding the reappearance of the mysterious and — if the legends were true — powerful armor persisted so passionately that Baiyi felt the need to clarify, "Ladies, gentlemen! Please bear in mind that even I'm uncertain of how genuine this set of armor is. We clearly don't have concrete evidence that it does possess the superfluous powers the legends had claimed it does! All will only come to light after I conduct some studies on it, alright?"

He was merely trying to display some intellectual honesty. Mystique, unlike relics with known descriptions of powers such as the Book of Servitude or the Great Sage's Staff, had always been a legendary object that zigzagged between myths and truth. True to its name, it had stubbornly remained as a mystery in history, made even more so by the fact that not even all thirty-three Voidwalkers had ever seen it in their lives — not even the First Walker himself. The armor may bore Ancient Rohlserlian formations that described its name, yet it did not seem to have originated from the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire itself. Even if it did, Emperor Rohlserl XIX clearly had no memory of it.

Even if one took that old man's wayward and unreliable attitude into account, Baiyi would still not believe that his master could have possibly forgotten about ever encountering such important regalia. It would be even less possible that the Archmage had concealed that information from Baiyi during Memory Exchanging, too. After all, the old man had passed down virtually everything to his protégé, be it knowledge, his prized possession, or even the throne. Baiyi had even wondered if that old geezer had been this generous to his own flesh and blood while he was alive.

What did Baiyi do to repay that kindness? He banned a retired old man from playing his favorite game and incinerated his treasured collection of pulled cards. Now that he thought about it, Baiyi had to admit that he was quite a monster…

Anyway, back to the subject of Mystique. Baiyi admitted that there was a reason other than the armor's name that had hooked him into accepting it. He could sense a faint but sure aura of familiarity pulsing from the armor.

To be more precise, he could sense a faint trace of the Laws.

The experts the tea merchant had hired to appraise this object did not detect this hidden anomaly because they had never met the Laws before, so naturally, its faint trace had eluded them.

Baiyi was different, though. He had gotten his hands on quite a few Law-related relics enough to have his senses honed acutely for it. Up to now, he had encountered (and used) the Book of Servitude, the kinky bodysuit — also known as "The Divine Burial" — that had now turned into his three women's (perpetual) Outfit of The Day, as well as his five hundred years old grandniece's Caudillo Butterfly. All of these objects were connected to the Laws, yet they were not exactly the tools to channel the Laws such as the Grandruler's oft-abused Law Fragment.

'Just who made these things? How and why were they made?'

It was true that technically, all things and phenomena in this universe were manifestations of the Laws; This also entailed that everything, ultimately, was a component of the Laws…

The entire concept was always too darned metaphysical for Baiyi's taste. In contrast, the auction he was currently hosting would be far easier to mind…

Since the first two guests' pompous offers had managed to set the auction to a bombastic start, the rest of the guests were starting to doubt their own chances. When the first competitor offered the Grand Principal with a long-term five-percent share (lost the bid anyway) while the second offered a mysterious, lost-to-legends-until-recently armor (which was accepted), how could anyone believe they could top those off with their relatively more mundane offerings?

Dispirited as they might be, the rest of the crowd still had to bid for the remaining fourteen seats against the other forty-odd families, or their reason to be present here today would be moot. Besides, maybe those two were the highest bidders anyone would see today. Maybe the rest of them was all going to offer something less bombastic!

With that thought in mind, one of the nobles mustered enough courage and put his hand up to attract Baiyi's attention. He turned to his partner — a girl who seemed to be twelve-years-old — and took a long, rod-shaped object shrouded by a piece of gorgeous silk from her lap.

Baiyi turned his eyes towards them. Truthfully, he sensed nothing special from this rod-shaped object, which may be why his attention almost immediately shifted to the twelve-years-old loli herself.

To him, the girl was seriously cute. She had a cute and gorgeous air about her look — which rivaled Little Mia's when she was that age — and was dressed up so perfectly that she had become an exemplar of the unique charm little girls at her age should possess. With that golden twin horsetails, that slightly gothic dress, and a pair of snowy-white thigh-high socks, this girl could make any otaku's tongue slither out of their mouth uncontrollably… [1]

Of course, being the paragon of morality and self-control, Grand Principal Bai could not possibly deign to the thought of licking a little girl like his "religion-representing" gentlemen colleagues. Regardless, he had to hand these nobles credit when it as due. Being able to work out Baiyi's exact likes and interests, then utilized it by selecting the perfect partner for the night, really showed how much effort these nobles went through just to ingratiate themselves on him. Still, Baiyi felt the need to lament, what a shame that this little girl was too young to join Da Xue!

The noble lifted a side of the shroud a little and peeked into it, making sure that everything was as he had planned, then wrapped it back nicely before returning it to the little girl.

He beckoned her to hand the rod-shaped object to Baiyi herself. The little loli nodded obediently, wrapped her hands around the shrouded object, and gingerly approached Baiyi. After that, she stood on her toes, lifted the gift in her both hands, and said with that standard whispery, sickly loli voice, "Our family had prepared this gift with utmost care and dedication. We hope you would accept it, Grandpa Hope!"

Baiyi nodded his head wordlessly and took the object from her hands, yet the expression on his mask indicated that he was less delighted and more…forlorn?

Apparently, this noble house managed to get everything — from the girl's age, the procedure of passing that gift, and even the girl's lines — right, except the part where she addressed him as "Grandpa"—

'Grandpa?! How did it occur to you people that calling me Grandpa is kawaii and endearing?! I mean, fine, I might be a few thousand years old, but I'm young at heart. Hell, I feel young as f***! I'm open-minded and filled with sunshine, bold and free-spirited, passionate and hot-blooded, and I seek the warmth of youth and the embrace of love! Baiyi fired away in his head. My heart would always be hip and young, so nobody should even try calling me Grandpa!'

Of course, none of his tirades spilled out from his mind, and outwardly he maintained a façade of calmness as he slowly unwrapped the object in his hand.

It was a strange-looking sorcerer's staff with a gigantic diamond-shaped blue crystal stuck on its head. It made the staff looked more like a long spear with an extremely large tip than something a sorcerer would use to perform spells with.

One of the more knowledgeable nobles exclaimed from the crowd, "No way! Could this be the Aldhelm?!"

"No. This is merely a forgery," Baiyi replied with certainty and spun the tip with his fingers. Swiftly, the tip dislodged from its place and revealed a chain locking it with the body of the staff, instantly rendering what was supposedly a mage's staff into a warrior's for visiting.

"Yes, very good." Baiyi nodded satisfactorily. Seeing a young man who used to be self-entitled and unambitious turning up a new leaf never failed to warm a teacher's heart.

"Grand Principal Hope, do you… do you like this gift?" The noble asked in a low voice. Bracing for the possible rejection, the man had already formulated his back-up plan: if Hope were to refuse this gift, he would tell him that the cute little loli was also part of the gift…

Before he could say that out loud, however, Baiyi nodded once more and gave another metallic placard to the little girl who had been eyeing him with anticipation. "It's excellent enough, but more importantly… It's a present from one of my graduates. I'm indeed satisfied."

The little loli held onto the placard as her face blossomed into a sunny grin. Imitating the demeanor of grown women, she gingerly lifted the edge of her skirt and gave a curtsy. "Thank you so much, Grandpa Hope!"

'…While we're at it, may I suggest a change of address? Call me Principal, Sensei, or even Onii-chan; Just don't—call—me—Grandpa again!'

The little girl returned to the noble's side and left the hall happily.

As soon as they were gone, one of the nouveau riches — unable to contain his emotion — bolted up from his seat and cried, "Master Hope, you said so yourself, that Aldhelm is nothing but a counterfeit! It's not the real deal! It even features that laughable gimmick… I don't understand why someone of your prestige and taste would accept such a substandard offering!"

Baiyi looked at him with an amused expression and asked, "Well then, good sir. Would you like to tell me what kind of weapon was the real Aldhelm supposed to be?"

"W-well! I mean…" The noble stammered, realizing that all he knew about the Aldhelm was that it was rumored to be some sort of magical staff…A weapon with a striking head that connects to its rod-like body with chains or ropes or whatever.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

471 The End of The Auction

Aldhelm sounded like a powerful, heavenly relic used by a god, but in reality, it was not a Divine Regalia, neither was it the lost possession of a hero. It was actually a weapon that was mass-produced, like the 'Switch Blades' or the 'Lances of Claw', despite sounding more mouthful and dramatic than "swords" and "lances".

This was why no weapon or history experts worth a dime would ever make such a ridiculous distinction as "the real Aldhelm" and "counterfeit Aldhelms". If a staff bore a pointy tip fashioned from a large Cobalt Crystal, a body made from the alloy, Agarthium Steel, which is known for its high endurance, and possessed a sort of functionality-swapping gimmick that allowed the staff to change into something akin to a nunchaku or a flail, then it would automatically be classified as an Aldhelm.

An Aldhelm was notably ill-suited for those who wanted to focus on maximizing their magical output simply because Cobalt Crystal was an unremarkable crystal for mana utilization, with its only merit being its durability. The main magical effect Cobalt Crystal could provide would magical buffs that changed depending on the runes carved onto the body of the Aldhelm, which were further personalized by the wielder. Some Aldhelms allowed its users to Silence their enemies' magic and protect themselves from the latter's passively-activated spells; Some may receive the ability to perform restorative blessings faster; Some may be able to fire out concentrated, deadly rays from the tip of their Aldhelms which could then boomerang back to themselves. There was no limit to the range of possible powers an Aldhelm may possess.

That was what made an Aldhelm special among other classes of weapons. It was a highly-individualized weapon in both designs and functionalities. Still, that was not the most important reason why it had such a particular charm among nobles despite having no business of using one in their lives. It became one of the most sought-after collections since the cost of its raw materials and the demand for the artisan's skills were high, this strange weapon was made in scarce quantities despite the popularity of sorcery in Isythre. In fact, by this point, the knowledge of making one had basically become lost to all but the Voidwalkers and the current heir to the Harriott family.

The knowledge of forging an Aldhelm had become lost in the sands of time because its optimum users, the War Druids, had become extinct. To a normative sorcerer, the magical potency of an Aldhelm was actually subpar compared to its cheaper and lighter normative alternatives, so when the War Druids faded out of history, they took the demand for Aldhelms — and the art of creating one — with them. This, in turn, made all surviving Aldhelms incredibly rare and worthy collections.

Technically, the Aldhelm in Baiyi's hand was the first, new one to be made since the last time they were ever found in the market. It was only made possible because the Sorcerer Walker — founded and leader of the Molocchian War Druids — had shared his knowledge of this strange weapon to the Blacksmith that one time, whom then passed it to Jason Harriott. Then, through dedication typically unfound in most sponsored students, this young man devoted his skills, efforts and time to forge an Aldhelm after the historical ones.

This was what pleased Baiyi the most. Even if the noble's gift did not include that little loli as a bonus. This Aldhelm was still the first revival of long-lost weaponry that also happened to match Baiyi's combat style. On top of that, it was the fruit of his alumnus' labor!

The classic elites knew about the Aldhelms and their true history enough to not entertain the false ideas that there could only be "one" historical Aldhelm while the rest were cheap imitations and forgeries. The nouveau riches, however, had only managed to become as rich as these classic elites since capitalizing on the very recent Duat Invasion, which meant that they had never come across these expensive artifacts before, let alone knew about their true history..

After listening to Baiyi's primer on what an Aldhelm was, those who had so loudly mocked and teased the House of Staffs became visibly flustered, their faces turning scarlet while their heads hung. The noble who presented it, however, was puffing his chest up and beaming in pride.

"If it was possible, I would like to purchase another one," Baiyi announced. He had decided to gift this one to the Sorcerer while he himself got another one for himself. He had decided that his Saint Quartz Staff might as well as be considered taken by the Lich (who had even turned the whole thing green), while the other two weapons he owned — the Book of Servitude and the War God's Sword — were too over-the-top for daily expeditions or requirements.

"How much would one be?" He asked.

"Our esteemed Grand Principal Hope, surely you must know that we do not plan to sell Aldhelms. Its cost is disproportionately high and the duration of forging one is too extensive to be available commercially. What we planned to do, however, was to use it as a proof of our friendship and fealty," The noble answered loudly. "If an Aldhelm could fortify our relationship so, I'll personally present to you the other Aldhelm we have previously made, by tomorrow!"

Did this fella just admit to siding with me even after knowing who we're up against? Baiyi thought. He had little doubts that their swift decision to swear allegiance with Baiyi was largely motivated by how impressed they were with Da Xue's reformative education to their child. It must have convinced them that an institution that could inspire a person's true potential and cultivate would be a most superior asset, and so they rather secured a human resource-pumping factory such as Da Xue for themselves than allied with an organization whose direct benefits were more nebulous.

Admittedly, Baiyi would not mind fostering a relationship with a noble as smart as one who followed that line of reasoning, so he replied rather invitingly, "Let us talk about this after this was over."

The noble nodded, beckoning one of his servants to approach him before whispering something into her ears. She nodded hurriedly and strode away, leaving the noble and the little loli to take a seat in the back while waiting for the auction to end.

The auction continued with the offering for the third till the fifth spot being relatively mundane—no share or long-term profit, no legendary regalia, nor any work of long-lost weaponry. Most of them came to barter with raw materials as they were wont to do every year, with the only change being how much more expensive and recherche these offerings had become even by rare materials' standards. A few of them even offered such rarities such as Pagan God's Heart and Angelic Feathers!

Not only were these considered incredibly exotic because they existed in minimal quantities, but also because they could only come from a single source. One could only obtain a Pagan God's Heart from the Templar Fort at the south where the Church's armies regularly clashed swords with the demonic forces spawned from the Abyss; On the other hand, only the Church could ever produce Angelic Feathers, which was then used exclusively to earn support with nobles whom they found valuable enough to connect with. To see that what were essentially proofs of support between the Church and the nobles now be used to foot the academy fees for said nobles' children, without any sense of dissonance—

'How low can these nobles sink? Their view of the importance of allegiance can't possibly this unimportant, can it?' Baiyi remarked quietly.

There was not much to talk about throughout the auction all the way to the tenth seat; All of them had been exchanged for all sorts of rare materials which Baiyi gleefully stuffed into his national-GDP-rivaling personal hoard. Soon, there were only five seats left to compete, which galvanized the competition as the rest of the nobles started pulling out their trump cards.

Take the eleventh seat for example. One of the latest boorish addition to the richest families in the Empire was a noble who managed a gigantic human-trafficking empire. For his bid, he had offered a pair of nose-bleedingly bodacious twin sisters!

The girls spotted such devilishly voluptuous bodies that they were like succubae donning human skins, easily riling up any heteronormative man's innate desire to procreate; That was despite the fact that in addition to their lust-inviting bodies, they also bore heartbreakingly beautiful faces which embodied so much blissful naïveté that one suspected they were heavenly maidens who had been locked out of mortal soils and defilement for their whole lives.

This was the sort of combo that would trap any normal man since it played both their lust for the unrestrained and desire to initiate the innocent. If this pair of twins were to be presented in any other auctions, there was little doubt that their final bidding price would be astronomical.

However, Baiyi was not exactly a "normal man" after all, since he rejected the twin without much thought. In fact, immediately afterward, he leered disapprovingly at the Southern Duke whom he was sure was an enabler.

The Duke shrugged in feigned innocence and made some signs with his hands which seemed to say, You're still a bachelor, aren't you? What's wrong with gifting you a pair of hot bodies to keep you warm in bed, huh? I mean, are you seeing what I'm seeing?!

Of course, the Duke would not tell Baiyi that the real reason why this human trafficker even made it here was that the latter had also bribed him with a pair of sisters who were similarly alluring.

Baiyi found himself at loss of words. Seriously, when had he ever lament the need for the company of beautiful women? He had the rotating company of the three Huffing Piggies, the little dragon lady was still waiting for him, and here it was, his so-called fiancée, Little Miss Undine Dole, shooting daggers with her eyes at the twin. this one would move any conversation between themselves to their "marriage" no matter how unrelated the former was with their topics! Not only that, Baiyi had even received quite a number of love letters too; Even though most of them came from male students while his female admirers were a lot less than the most popular male teachers', one still had to admit that in summary, Principal Bai never runs out of female companions!

Baiyi's refusal had put the Southern Duke into an awkward position, causing the latter to begrudgingly return his twin too, even though he had not gotten the time to play with them enough.

Not that the Duke ever got a hand in controlling Baiyi's decision.

Surprisingly, that human trafficker did not retreat after Baiyi's blatant refusal. In fact, he flashed the Fifth Walker a dissonantly confident smile before giving two claps of his hand.

Two of his servants marched out from the crowd flanking a veiled woman dressed in elegance noble gown. She was dressing as if she was the human trafficker's partner for the night, and even with a relatively conservative black dress, it was plain that her body was even more superior than the already-inhumanely-seductive twin succubus'.

The woman slowly took off her veil and revealed a face of breathtaking beauty. However, her beauty was hardly the reason why Baiyi and Vidomina's mouths were hanging agape.

It was Harllotte, Vidomina's hot mother!

"I met Lady Harllotte on a chance one day and decided to pledge my assistance and support to prevent her capture from the Church," The human trafficker explained with an edge of pride in his voice. "I heard that Grand Principal Hope and Vice-Principal Vidomina were looking for her, so I'd intended to return her to you. However, spies from the Church were operating everywhere, and so the only chance I had was today, in this private party."

It was a sly ploy, plain and simple. The human trafficker knew — from the expression Baiyi and Vidomina wore — that they could not possibly refuse his gift. His plan was succeeding.

The ex-Duchess of the North was just as ethereally beautiful and young as she was ten years ago, almost as if time itself could not bear to inflict its scars on her. Since unveiling herself, she had been staring at Vidomina, who was standing across the hall, with a look of morose longingness.

Just as the two women's eyes were welling with tears, their hearts were welling with a tide of emotions…

Baiyi let out a sigh of relief and raised the placard. He fixed the human trafficker a good look and asked, "You didn't do anything to her, did you?"

"Heavens, no! Of course not! Lady Harllotte is a powerful Legendary-level fighter in her own right! How could an average Joe such as me even be able to touch her? I swear, I've been treating her with no less respect than the most esteemed of my guests," he clarified hurriedly.

Hearing that, Harllotte nodded in affirmation and bowed slightly to the man. "I'm grateful for the help you've given me during my most trying times."

"Oh, it's my pleasure to be able to of service for such a beauty," He replied with the most chivalrous tone he could summon.

In the end, Baiyi had to hand the placard to that human trafficker for this unexpected gift, although he did wonder about the man's intention for sending his kin into Da Xue. It was not like there was any course on "the art of trafficking human" or "training women for a special line of works", anyway!

As the human trafficker left the party with a bright, delighted smile, Baiyi turned to Vidomina and said curtly, "Go."

She nodded and rubbed her eyes. Nervously and unsure what to do, she approached Harllotte and stood a few feet away from her. The poor girl could still feel her old agony of being abandoned by her own mother all those years ago, yet since she understood her mother's position and experience, she was also just as unable to bring herself to admonish her mother…

Harllotte understood what was going on in her daughter's mind. She moved closer to Vidomina and extended her hand uneasily as if trying to gauge her daughter's reaction. Seeing that Vidomina did not reject her gesture, she moved forward in a bold stride and grabbed her daughter by her hand.

Then, the two turned their backs to the hall and walked away.

Baiyi was silent. This entire affair was ultimately an internal one between them, but he was still relieved that at least one of his wishes had ticked. To be honest, it would be tragic for Vidomina to have only a set of cold, fleshless armor like himself as her sole parental support, so it was great that she now also had her mother with her.

Unfortunately, this meant that the human trafficker had it easy…

After that small yet unexpected incident, the rest of the auction continued without much event. As usual, Baiyi earned a lot for himself, while Little Mia herself got a diamond-studded necklace as a gift from a renowned jewelry-maker. Since then, Mia had not torn her eyes away from that exquisite necklace.

In general, most of the seats were taken up by the classic elites, while only seven nouveau riches took the rest. Everything had gone exactly as Baiyi had expected, other than the human trafficker's success, of course.

The only agenda left for the night would be a talk on the investment for the Engineer's project, which did not require Little Mia's presence at all. Hence, Baiyi told the girl to return to her quarter for an early rest.

She nodded absent-mindedly, her eyes completely glued to the necklace she was fidgeting with.

"I think it's beautiful too," Baiyi remarked, ruffling her hair. "You'll certainly steal the spotlight if you wear it… Ah! Maybe you should save this up until you're about to get married!"

"What, I'm only allowed to wear this only then!?" Mia raised her head and grumbled unhappily before staring at him with a pair of puppy-dog eyes. If she could only wear it for her wedding, then it was as if she could never wear it in her entire life!

"Uh-hem, why the pessimism? I mean, you can wear it anytime you like! … Okay, that depen—er, I mean, it depends on you!" Baiyi stammered awkwardly. "You know what? You should go home and take some rest. I still have some important business to deal with."

"Okay, Mister Hope! Goodnight," She replied jovially. Standing on her feet (despite already wearing heels), she extended her arms towards him as if asking for a hug. Obediently, Baiyi bent down and per their family tradition, he hugged her while rubbing his cheeks on hers.

Satisfied, the girl returned to her own quarter, wisely leaving Vidomina alone with her mother.

Baiyi stood straight up and strode to the lounge nearby. There, a few nobles were already waiting for him.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

472 Are You Sure This Isn“t Too Much?

Baiyi delegated the project's pitching to the Engineer Walker, while he quietly retreated to the back, watching in amusement. It was befitting for the project leader to pitch, as it was he who knew how his creations functioned.

Baiyi used the opportunity to sort through his loot.

A mysterious armor set that could be a legendary Divine Regalia; a highly-valuable, masterfully-crafted, high-end sorcerer staff; a combination of super rare raw materials; and, Vidomina's incredibly hot sexy mother... Alright, maybe that last one was not exactly his reward, but he had managed to gather way more items than he had previous years. This was a result of the additional five sponsored seats he had added.

The Engineer Walker himself was having quite a blast. Imitating the persuasion and rally-hyping techniques from charismatic speakers back on Earth, he easily jacked up whatever level of interests these nobles had for marionettes, even though many of them were already dabbling in the business. The Engineer Walker sold his dream so hard that one could almost see the nobles' eyes widened and sparkled at the prospect of being "the pioneers who had looked ahead and into the future when everyone else's still looking at their feet; The revolutionaries who usher the dawn of intelligent machines in service of their equally brilliant men!"

Being completely unfamiliar with charismatic, tech-selling sweet-talkers from Earth, these nobles' minds were that easily blown away. The Engineer Walker was just one t-shirt and a pair of jeans away from jumping onto the stage, his arms flailing enthusiastically and comically, shouting, "Are you reeeeeeeaaaaaady?!" to a hyped crowd.

Naturally, both the speaker and the would-be investors' hope ballooned until they were mutually infecting each other with a sort of sparkling optimism which skipped over the very, very real technical difficulties of the project.

Instead, the crowd was quick to harp endlessly on the eventual marketing channels, sales, and profit margins. They were absorbed in the rosy-colored future the Engineer Walker had painted, with their investment returning to them by tenfold or even ten-odd folds…

Still, the Engineer Walker decided to give even more. In a riling, excitement-brimming voice he promised to gift every single noble in the room his latest marionette once the project had reached its completion!

The promise swept the nobles away. They recalled the magnificent stride of the spider-marionette in the demonstration and how it had easily decimated an area with powerful attacks not unlike a strike of a forbidden spell… With a machine like this serving their families, who do they even need to fear anymore? How could they lose should they face a conflict?

If they managed to obtain even more of these amazing marionettes, even that Grand Principal Hope would be no problem!

Unsurprisingly, the nobles were beyond themselves and so readily accepted to be an investor. Little did they knew a secret that their unsavvy minds would likely never catch. Every single marionette that the Engineer Walker had created bore a hidden overriding command. With a single activation from their creator, and the marionettes would instantly turn on their masters and joined Da Xue's side, not unlike sleep agents…

Imagine being in the middle of a conflict only to have your best weapons turning a complete one-eighty and joined the enemies. What a terrifying user experience that would be!

This had been the Engineer's plan all along, fooling fat cows into giving him money to build his own personal army. When the plan was first being introduced, Baiyi had rejected it on the grounds that it was too disingenuous and malicious, but of course, the Engineer Walker was not the slightest bit deterred. Now, he took this opportunity and repackaged his original idea into this current one…

None of that eluded Baiyi, and of course, he was certainly not going to point it out to the nobles. However, the Engineer's plan did make the Fifth Walker think to himself, Those who dabble in big tech are almost always this evil no matter how nerdy and beta they look, huh?

With their eyes shining with hope and their minds still half-immersed in their futuristic dreams, the nobles left the hall, feeling fulfilled. The hall quickly emptied until there were just the Engineer Walker and Baiyi.

It was then when Baiyi finally spoke, "You really think this is a good idea?"

"What, you don't think so?" The Engineer Walker replied nonchalantly. "Put it this way: if they remain our allies, they'll never even come to this situation. But should they started harboring funny ideas, I would not want to find myself being aimed by one of my precious babes. It's all just a small defensive mechanism after all, right? One that's pretty necessary, too; You know how useless their pledge of loyalty can be. It's not even hard to guess which one they would choose when it comes down to it: loyalty or personal interest."

Baiyi nodded without a sign of demur. However, he warned, "You better not leave any clue behind. If anyone knew about this, well…"

"Don't worry! I mean, don't you trust my peerless professionality? With the technical knowledge you brought home, my understanding of marionette tech had gone way beyond this world's very best by at least a century! I can give an average mechanic my blueprint right now, and it will be like watching a caveman studying a blueprint of a modern-day car! They won't be able to understand anything in it, let alone realize the little trick I had implanted," the Engineer Walker replied confidently. "This, right here, is the gap of technology!"

Baiyi nodded again, more surely this time. The two engaged in a few more small talks before they left the hall themselves.

In the moonlit night, Baiyi paced on the path leading to his own chalet, his mind drifting to the thought of the ancient armor.

It was then when his peripheral vision caught a tenebrous silhouette, seemingly cloaked in black, weaving in and out of the dark night like a specter. Baiyi halted his step instantly and bellowed, "Oy, you! Why are you out here at this hour?!"

That silhouette stopped and turned. Moonlight sprayed from above and traced out the face unprotected by the silhouette's hood. It was a face of a metallic skull, illuminated even more by two pair of unnerving green orbs of flames on the two spots where the eyes should be.

With its trademark low, creaking voice, the Lich croaked, "I just came back from outside."

"Outside campus at the dead of night?" Baiyi folded his arms. "You weren't going out harming innocents again, were you?"

"Must you always regard me so distastefully? Have you never thought of trusting me anymore? I certainly think I deserve it," The Lich murmured, pushing its skeletal finger into its cloak and pulled out the once-lent-never-returned Saint Quartz.

It used to be a beautiful staff proudly bearing a colorful and crystalline Saint Quartz on the top, but now it had turned completely green. In fact, the head of the staff was even surrounded by half-transparent ectoplasms, giving out a ghastly aura that made one wonder just how much hell this staff must have gone through to look like the equivalent of a man being possessed by demons….

No one would call this a Saint Quartz Staff anymore, because the more accurate name would be "Souls of the Enslaved v2.0 — which has now been updated with 100% more green".

"Gone out to kill again?" Baiyi said sharply as he pondered on the idea of sending this dangerous ex-serial killer back to the Void. He had only not done that since the end of the Duat Invasion as a sign of appreciation for the fella's enormous contribution and effort in containing the conflict. The idea of sending the Lich home instantly after it had outlived its purpose gave Baiyi a bad taste in his conscience, so he had withheld sending this bag of bone up until this point.

At the same time, however, no sane person who knew about this guy and its R-rated history dare guarantee that having the Lich roam outside would be hunky-dory, especially if unsupervised…

Instead of answering Baiyi directly, the Lich produced three more bags and chucked it to the former. Curious, the Fifth Walker opened it and found that all of them were stuffed full of gold coins.

The last one even had a sheet of papers on top, which prompted Baiyi to flip through them, squinting at the words illuminated by the moonlight. It was a sheet of arrest orders!

Some of these orders were under the state authority of the Empire, some were issued by various big-name associations, and even the Church had issued a few orders of their own. Most of the targeted criminals were, appropriately, degenerates such as power-hungry sorcerers who performed cruel human experiments, sociopathic alchemists who poisoned hundreds of people in the name of experiments, bandits who committed genocides, and even cold-hearted nobles whom, in their attempt to protect themselves, used the people they had sworn to protect to act as meat shields during the Duat Invasion.

It was clear that the undead were hardly the only antagonists in the Invasion. As always, whenever there were chaos and strife, there would always be the worst breed of humans who gleefully seize the chance to indulge in their personal sadism. Hence, after the cataclysm had passed, many organizations promptly identified those who had trampled the weak, burned their names on the papers, and sent those out for bounty hunters.

Many of the orders were crossed out by a large stamp of "COMPLETED", signaling that many of them had already been maimed. Even more surprisingly, the name of the bounty hunter who took a lot of them down was named "Dexiphire", which was really the Lich's given name!

The Lich, renowned "sociopathic misanthrope", actually removing the scums and plagues of society for the good of all?!

Sure, the Lich's ultimate goal was to recreate his new version of the Souls of the Enslaves, but it was still so uncharacteristically noble of him that Baiyi could not say anything bad about it at all. [1]

There was something more in these arrest orders that made Baiyi raised his eyebrow. Among the well-deserving psychopaths and scums, there were also requests directed at surprising targets. Examples included the greatest emperor of the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire; The inventor of the art of Soul Armature, who also doubled as the pioneer in realm-explorations; The most gifted alchemical maverick in history. It appeared that every single Voidwalkers, collectively known as the Void Villains in these orders, each had a hefty bounty for their heads.

Even those who had any ties with the "Void Villains" were included in the arrest order, which meant that a normal, law-abiding citizen like Little Miss Undine was wanted. People with a tremendous amount of power such as the Southern Duke, however, evaded the call for his head.

Even among the "Void Villains", there was only one who managed to score ten full scores in danger — which was represented by the skull icon — way more than the Archmage, who had 8 skulls, or the Demigod Lich Walker, who had 7 skulls. This man was described as the worst miscreant; The devil who spits on all things holy, good, and pure; The one who tramples and dances on others' faith; The fraud who fools men with his silver tongue; The leader spawned from the darkest abyss, and the founder of Da Xue — Hope.

Not only was Baiyi's arrest order filled with exaggerated monikers, but it was also filled with more details and warnings. Paragraphs after paragraphs were written to hammer in the idea that this particular demon was gifted in all kinds of combat arts and all manners of strategies, who also commanded high-end gears and weapons at his disposal; His methods were supposedly motivated purely by sadism, and that everyone — regardless of their skills — was advised to never try to face him alone. The more insured way to take him down, the paper said, was to first build an army so massive that could overwhelm a nation. [2]

Surprising exactly no one, these last few arrest orders on the Voidwalkers were issued by the Church.

"I can't believe they would stoop to such an odious level!" Baiyi was bewildered. Was being this direct even a good thing for themselves? Was the Church just goading Baiyi to follow the Shadow Walker's suggestion by bringing the Fairy with him to the Holy City during Grace Day?

"Heh! These orders are made in secrets. In fact, only the upper echelon in their little saintly club knows about this; Most of their lower-ranking members are blissfully unaware," The Lich replied, its voice laden with dry and morbid amusement.

"But then… How did you get your hands on the Church's arrest orders?" Baiyi asked, mildly mystified. He shook the other two bags of gold coins in his hand and added, "How did you even get your bounty, anyway?"

"Umbra," The Lich replied curtly. It leaned closer to Baiyi and picked a few papers out from the pile, all of them bearing the same design and format Umbra used for their assassination missions.

Once again, among these missions was one specifically targeting Baiyi's head. Succumbing to the Church's pressure and their own professionality, Umbra had issued an assassination order directed to Baiyi; Notably, they set the difficulty level as "???", and while the bounty was a hundred million gold coins, the recommended hunters were neither Scar-level nor Phantom-level assassins but simply, "nutjobs"…

Judging from the date, it seemed that this mission had been put out for at least two months by now, and yet no one had ever taken the job, as there was just no nutjob in Umbra.

More importantly, however, the date also showed that the Church had started asking for Baiyi's death way, way earlier than the man himself had expected.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

473 Wow, She“s Good At Overthinking, Too

The Voidwalkers and Umbra had been on friendly terms with each other for years, and this resulted in frequent partnerships. This was all thanks to the efforts of the Assassin Walker.

They mostly partnered in technical support and intel exchange; Umbra had never asked the Voidwalkers to lend them a hand in assassinations.

When Lady Assassin Walker's identity as one of the Voidwalkers was discovered, Umbra sent her, their legend, invites to return to the organization. They even went as far as offering her the position second direct-in-command, but she rejected them, stating that she wanted to be a housewife of the man she loved. According to the codes of Umbra, this constituted as a perfectly legitimate reason for an assassin of her caliber to retire, so in the end, the only position Lady Assassin Walker accepted was being Umbra's spokeswoman.

The girl definitely did more than just promoting the Umbra brand, though. In her spare time when she was not busy pining for Baiyi's attention, she had occasionally helped Umbra trained a handful of newbie assassins, who in turn, crowned her the moniker "Phantom Master".

Of course, this meant that when the girl was pining for Baiyi's attention, she had loved to gloat with a "Hey, Doofus! Do you know? Those kids call me the Phantom Master! Pretty cool, huh? Way cooler and mature and more awesome than you've ever expected of me, huh?" After that, she would put on that wistful expression that screamed "Cool, right?!" and "Praise me now, Doofus!"

'Pretty sure those newbie assassins lost their eyes during one of their past mission or something to see you as a master of any kind,' Baiyi had thought to himself back then. However, the result soon spoke for themselves. Those who went through the Phantom Master's short seminar improved so dramatically that they soared in ranks, turning into the organization's most promising assassins.

The Phantom Master's short-term seminar started becoming a legend of sorts within Umbra. By then, those who were sent to her class were no longer unskilled newbies but genius assassins who show exemplary talents, or even A-rank assassins who were struggling with a bottleneck in their mastery.

Soon enough, joining the Phantom Master's secret seminar quickly turned into the best reward anyone within the organization could ever get on top of it being the highest honor one could be bestowed. It quickly became something exclusively awarded only to an assassin who had made an exemplary contribution to Umbra or was deemed to possess an unequivocally bright future. Any mission that featured the Phantom Master's Secret Seminar as a bounty become a surefire mean to turn the mission into a hot cake among these assassins.

Thus, over time, Da Xue had slowly and inadvertently become an unofficial training camp for Umbra; Then, after a while, the seminar turned into a yearly event in the name of "Advanced Drills".

Is Lady Assassin really that good? Baiyi had found himself wondering about this every time he thought about the seminar. To be honest, Baiyi had always thought that this cute-but-dumb chick was pretty much on the same level as Mia. Their best talent was only in acting kawaii…

Nonetheless, the existence of the girl's seminar had pushed Umbra into working together with Da Xue even more closely than ever before, to the point that Da Xue could be considered as an extension of Umbra's intelligence-gathering department. Because of that, the Voidwalkers constantly seek Umbra's help for various tasks as well..

This drew one back to the case with the Lich. Obviously, it was Umbra who had given the Lich all of the arrest orders, assassination requests, and bounty. Even the targets' location — as well as their related whereabouts — were provided by Umbra while the Lich served as their contract killer. Clearly, it was quite a team-up. Umbra needed the Lich Walker's help in completing many of their missions, while the Lich used the opportunity to obtain powerful souls to enrich its Green Souls of the Enslaved v2.0.

"Quite a mutually beneficial relationship the two of you share there, huh?" Baiyi remarked, amused. "Aren't you worried that I might just snatch my Saint Quartz back?"

"But I'm buying it from you. That's the money right there," the Lich Walker replied with unexpected swagger.

"What the?! You think this little bit of money is enough to buy my bloody Saint Quartz Staff?!"

"Ergo, I'm requesting to pay by installment," the Lich Walker replied so smoothly and confidently that one had to wonder if it had scripted its replies long before this conversation had taken place. "I trust that a righteous man who proudly represents the Lawful alignment like yourself will not reject my perfectly reasonable and humble request, yes?"

Baiyi was choked into silence. In the end, he returned home with a heavy heart—not because he thought the money was terribly inadequate, but because that Saint Quartz Staff was the very first gift his goddaughter, Vidomina, had ever given him. To have that very special thing be stolen by that crafty bag of bones just… Just pissed him off!

Would the girl be dismayed if she knew about this?

The answer was, quite honestly, no. In fact, at the moment, the youngest Vice Principal of Da Xue was completely occupied by something else.

Her arms closed around her mother tightly. Their beautiful faces were still bearing faint but sure trails of tears while their eyes were red and puffy. The two of them had only just bawled their hearts out, their memories mingling with an outburst of emotions they had repressed for years. Now, they sat quietly as if they were licking the wounds made from peeling off the scabs that had previously covered them.

"Hush now, my dear. Dry your tears. You're an important, powerful woman now, aren't you?" Lady Harllotte cooed as she gingerly stroke Vidomina's back. It was such a familiar sensation that it took Vidomina back to her childhood when her mother would do the very same thing as she did now to coax her out of her weep.

Overwhelmed by that memory, she buried her head into her mother's bosom and sobbed, "I'm… Not important… in any way…."

"That's not true! Why, even when I was out of the loop, I heard just as much about you, my dear. They call you 'The Rising Star of Da Xue'! The 'Iron-blooded Big Boss'!" Lady Harllotte said, her hands gently wiping the tears away from Vidomina's face. "From that alone, I can tell that your godfather thinks very highly of you."

"C-come on! It's obvious that those students are just teasing me!" She protested. She might have nothing to say about being "the rising star", but to be called "The Iron-blooded Big Boss"? That was just the students' obviously unkind jab at her!

She was beautiful, but her line of work did not exactly make her popular. She was the head of the disciplinary department, and since she followed her godfather's less liberal and uptight manner — right down to the way she carried herself, rarely smiling or softening up her expression. Naturally, the students did not find her endearing, causing her general standing in popularity polls to be as low as her godfather himself, while her sisters such as Mia, Nota, and Attie enjoyed endless love and adoration typically reserved for k-pop groups on Earth.

To make matters worse, she occupied a position way above all of these students' favorites, which thrust her "uptight, oppressive" persona even more frequently to the public, which in turn caused more students to hate her…

She was just the Vice Principal, so why called her "Big Boss"? There was no way it was out of any form of respect; Vidomina was sure that the word "big" was just a snide remark on something else!

Much like anyone of Baiyi's Angels, Vidomina had, too, received quite a handful of pink letters. When she did open them in anticipation, she found out that all of them were filled with graphic requests such as "please flog me hard", "please spank me", "please stomp over my body while wearing only black thigh-high socks"… Suffice to say, Vidomina never opened those letters since then.

She did not try to identify whoever sent them neither, because there was nowhere in Da Xue's codes stipulating that sending love letters warrant a boot out of the academy. Besides, seeing all of the other girls receiving a flurry of fluffy love letters on a day-to-day basis made Vidomina itch to receive some for herself as well, even if hers were a little more explicit…

She candidly ranted about these with her mother while she was bathing, causing the woman to guffaw in glee. Then, after making some pretty explicit assessment of her daughter's supple skin and her sexy body, Harllotte teased, "Can you blame little boys to not understand what true beauty looks like?"

After that, she suddenly buried her face in Vidomina's bosoms.

"M-mom! Mom?! What are you do— Don't! Don't lick there…" Vidomina exclaimed. [1]

A few moments later, the two exited from the bathroom, their face red with blushes. After putting on a nightgown covering every inch of their skin, Vidomina sat before her mirror while her mother stood behind her, conjuring continuous gust of warm wind to blow her pink, silky hair dry.

Since Harllotte had always retained her youthful look without as much as a faint scar of age on her skin, the mother-and-daughter pair looked more like two sisters radiating sublime beauty.

"I'm a little curious, Nina. Have you found anyone you fancy?" Harllotte asked as she brushed her daughter's hair.

She shook her head. "Well, no such luck. Besides, Godfather is very strict about all of this. I've seen how he punished any brat who dared get near Mia or Big Sister Dale, so…"

"I'm not surprised. Very few men deserve a woman like you, especially considering your current position," Harllotte murmured in a low voice as if she was reminiscing her unhappy past. It was likely her bad experience that made her come to support Baiyi's overprotectiveness. "I'm jealous, dear child. To have someone so strong and wise to look out for you… To make sure that you never be harmed…"

"Yes. Godfather is the greatest man I've ever met. He's the most compassionate man I've ever met," Vidomina replied earnestly. "Which is why… The man I will marry one day will have to be someone who's just like Godfather — strong, wise, intelligent, and very gentle."

"Few men out there could match that description, my dear. But I'll support you all the way," Harllotte said. With her painful past as a reminder, the woman knew better than to hurriedly marry her daughter off.

"While we're talking about the future, what's your plan for it, Mom?"

"Me? Nothing really. After everything I've been through, I just want to stay by your side in peace now," Harllotte replied earnestly. "I just hope that Master Hope isn't going to hold my past against me."

Vidomina shook her head, "He wouldn't, I'm sure. You know why?... Mom, do you know what exactly happened just now, during the auction?"

"No, I can't say I do," She replied. Truthfully, she joined the auction without actual knowledge of what was transpiring, so to her, everyone was just offering extremely hefty things in exchange for some unimpressive placards. It seemed that the human trafficker did not find it important to explain what was happening to her.

After hearing Vidomina's explanation of the academy's sponsorship system, Harllotte finally understood why everyone in the hall — all rich noble families of the Empire — were paying so much for a placard. They were trying to get into a prestigious school, yet the human trafficker had gotten in not by offering anything substantive, important, or even rare.

He got it just because he presented Harllotte.

'He… He gave away one of these precious seats to a human trafficker… In exchange for a dirty sinner like myself? A thought sprang into Harllotte's mind. Then, as her old habit as a noble kicked in, she started overthinking, Why would Hope do something like this? Is it really just for Vidomina's sake? …Or is he just lusting after my body?'

She had remembered looking straight into Baiyi's eyes ten years ago. Twice they had encountered each other, and twice she instinctively felt the same lust of a man in him. His lust may be lukewarm, it may be controlled and reserved, but as a woman with an acute instinct, she could feel it. Hope was just like any other man, Soul Armature or not.

What happens if he started acting on that lust? What could she do? Can she reject him? Will that sour his relationship with Nina? Will her precious child's future be jeopardized? Or should she say yes, and by doing so, thrust herself back into the same painful situation she once was?

As Harllotte mused, she found herself drowning in a self-made quandary…For those who don't get it… It's referring to her boobs.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

474 I“m Not The Sort of Person You Imagined!

Fortunately, Baiyi had little to no interest in Harllotte even if she was still as bodacious and sexy as she once was. Just the fact that she was Vidomina's biological mother, as well as the reminder that she was not as young as she had chosen to look, was enough to dampen any tiny rise he might have gotten from her.

More importantly, the assets that Lady Harllotte thought were her strongholds actually were not as exclusive as she would have liked; worse, they may not even be enough to fight Baiyi's established harem of beautiful girls. They were all completely devoted to him, too.

First, there was Undine. She possessed the beauty, countenance, fashion sense, and attitude that were no less alluring as Lady Harllotte's. Next, there was Aya, the little dragon lady who carried herself as a demure, soft-spoken, and reticent noblewoman. Then, there was the Fairy Walker, Sylvia Sidhe, whose beauty was like that of belladonna — beautiful, deadly, and a whole lot of troubles. After that, there was the starkly frigid and staid Warrior Walker, who sometimes lets out little moments of vulnerability and turned into a quiet, shy girl asking for cuddles and affection. Lastly, there was the simple-minded, adorably dimwitted, yet pure-hearted and sweet little Lady Assassin Walker.

Every single one of them was so cute! With so many choices who would jump at the chance to be with him, would Baiyi ever even need Harllotte at all? As for the thrill of an explicit threesome between a father, mother, and daughter. It was an insult to suggest that he would be into that sort of perversion.

In summary, Baiyi simply could not care less about what everyone else thought. To him, the only thing that mattered was Vidomina's happiness, and it was the sole reason why he accepted the human trafficker's 'gift'.

The very next day, the loli that Baiyi had met the night before paid him a visit, with a brand-new Aldhelm in hand. After some tinkering on the staff's minor issues throughout the night, Baiyi's morning began with an extra dose of good feelings. He was feeling so pleased with himself, he even brought the little loli for an impromptu tour around Da Xue.

"This is so fun, Grandpa Hope, thank you! I've always dreamed of becoming a student here, and now, after exploring… I wish I can be a student now!" The little loli cried out in childlike jubilance. She pranced around joyfully before running towards Baiyi, grabbing him by his hand.

She smiled sweetly and added, "But when I did become a student here, you must promise me, Grandpa Hope… Please don't be angry if I do something silly!"

'Yes, very cute. Super-duper cute. If I had any bone to pick, it'll be this: what should I do to make her stop calling me a grandpa? Have I really reached the age where "grandpa" is the one true address to use?' Baiyi mused a little dismally to himself as he held the little girl by her hand and began their tour.

For some reason, her parents had named the little girl Elise, as though that name would not make anyone raise their eyebrow. Not only that, they even had her golden hair bunched into twin horsetails. The resemblance just compelled Baiyi to testily ask her about her family, specifically to make sure that for visiting.

In conclusion, even the self-titled Savior of All Young Girls like himself would have to skip out on this one.

Anyway, Elise seemed to have heard Baiyi's words. A series of undetermined expressions flitted across her face as she asked pointedly, "What did you say, Grandpa Hope?"

"Elise, do you know that Da Xue forbids any existing student to get married while they are still studying?"

Baiyi had given her a non-sequitur answer, yet the shrewd little girl caught on easily. Her trademark sweet smile resurfaced as she replied happily, "Then I guess I'll have to work even harder so that I could get into this beautiful academy one day!"

'I'm sure my advice had helped secure a talented individual for Isythre,' Baiyi reassured himself repetitively to assuage his own guilt for inciting a rebellion in a tween going to go through her phase.

"Speaking of which, who is the one in the family joining the academy?" Baiyi said, changing the subject. Typically, the names of the new students were not known during the auction itself unless the noble explicitly mentioned it to him. It was usually unimportant for him to know, however, since he was sure that no noble would be daft enough to abuse their hard-earned chance by sending the most hopeless stooge of the family to the academy.

"It's my fifth brother," The little loli answered lithely as she nibbled at a piece of cake that Baiyi had just magically produced from thin air (he actually stored it in his inner pocket). The way she ate was quite similar to a little woodland critter.

The cake might have loosened up some of Elise's guardedness because she started talking about her brother candidly. "He's currently learning as an apprentice in our family's smithy. He was supposed to be the rising star of our generation! But then my third brother returned home from Da Xue and suddenly, he became the prodigious staff-maker and the center of the attention. It really dismayed my third brother, so he tried his best to pass the entrance exam with his own skills last year. He didn't make it, so he had to resort to being a sponsored student this year."

It was then, quite suddenly, Elise placed the unfinished cake down and cupped her hands before her chest like a kitty begging for food. She widened her big, watery eyes and stared at Baiyi intensely and pleadingly.

"Grandpa Hope? Can you make a tee wee promise to me? Just promise me that you'll take care of my poor brother in my stead," She said in a low voice. "We have always been very close to each other. It pains me greatly to see him neglected and forlorn. If you could just promise me that you will help him, Grandpa Hope, then I… I will..."

The typical ending for such a "plot" would have Baiyi suddenly curling his lips into a sinister smile as he lowered his voice and asked, "What will you do, hmm? What are you willing to offer?"

Then, the little loli would be lowering her head bashfully, her face red wit blushes. She would then cup her hands around Baiyi's and placed them over her yet-developed chest before suddenly quivering her lips into a seductive smile, "I'll give you absolutely everything…"

Now that was a line that could escalate any situation from zero to over a hundred!

Fortunately, Baiyi was never one who played by cliché scripts. Seeing Elise suddenly acting a tad bit too adorable, he remained unfazed and replied matter-of-factly, "First, your brother would need to pick a faculty of interest and learn from a teacher there. If he managed to attract attention, he could stand a chance to learn from the Principal of that faculty himself, just like your third brother did. That kid was very dedicated and hardworking. It was his own hard work that had earned him the chance to learn about the long-lost art of forging Aldhelms. Really, you don't have to worry at all. Da Xue treats all of her students as equals."

"Oh, is that so?" Elise mumbled, lowering her head in disappointment as her hands gripped the sides of her skirt tightly. Baiyi had a feeling that she was now trying to draw his attention to the pair of white silky sock she was wearing as she tried her best to look as pitiful as possible to rouse his affection and fatherly instincts.

Not that it could work on Baiyi, though. The girls back at his place were always wearing all sorts of silky socks before showing them off to him. Being exposed to the same fanservice to the point over these years had hardened Baiyi's heart; Now, he was inoculated from whatever charm silky socks originally had.

Nonetheless, Baiyi had to admit that Elise was really… something else. Maybe that was just how noble children acted. They had to be a lot more calculative and scheming than a commonfolk's kid; It was par the course of growing up as a noble. Still, Elise had shown herself to be quite sly; From the way she brought up her arranged marriage — as if to grind for sympathy — to her coyly asking Baiyi to take "extra care" of her brother so that she could offer herself as thanks, every move Elise made had been deliberate, almost as if they were all parts of a grander ploy.

Baiyi suspected that this was the Harriotte family's plan all along. They wanted to use their loli as a bait to get to certain famous and powerful lolicon. Unfortunately, those nobles got their intel wrong!

Baiyi was not a lolicon! Nope, not at all! The Harriott family's move was not very effective!

Just like that, Little Elise had failed to complete her secret objective. After frolicking around the academy with Baiyi for a bit more, the Fifth Walker finally took her back to the main entrance to see her off.

Before she left, she made a sharp turn and flashed Baiyi an enigmatic smile as she curtsied.

"Why, why. Grandpa Hope, you're not the kind of person I'd imagined you would be at all," she said melodiously before turning back and vanishing into the transporter portal.

Watching her back vanishing into the portal, Baiyi sighed. "Heh. All noble kids are like that, huh? Nice to see, nice to hold… probably out to get your soul."

He headed back to Da Xue without feeling any regret and started walking back to the residential area. He took only two steps before stopping himself and turning to a large tree on a side, calling out, "Alright, come out from there."

There was a loud crash echoing out from that tree before he heard girly-soft grunts:

"Owww…"

"Uwaaah! Anna… You're crushing my chest, and it hurts!"

"I'm s-sorry, I didn't mean to…"

Baiyi went behind the tree and picked the two girls up from the ground before placing them on each side of his shoulders. "So, why were the two of you following me everywhere?"

As if to scare the girls, he trembled his arms and caused the girls to let out panicked cries. Instinctively, they wrapped their arms around his, which seemed like they were hugging Baiyi on their own volition.

Santa was the one who answered Baiyi first, pursing her lips and speaking in a defiant tone, "Well, Big Meanie, why didn't you catch that little girl as you did us, since she was so cute and pretty, huh?"

'Hold up. Just what kinda person do all of you think I am? I'm not the kind to see a cute loli on the street and immediately thought of lassoing her and swinging her around like a rodeo just to bring her home while she's unconscious!' Baiyi retorted sourly in his head.I couldn't narrow down the reference to this particular "Elise"..The Chinese version of Niconico or YouTube to an extent. Their comments popped up onto the screen, however, just like Niconico.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

475 Putting Up An Ac

Although Baiyi was doling out savage comebacks at Santa's comment in his mind, on the outside, he replied in jest, "Well, it's because she's not cuter than any of you."

"Wha?!" Shocked, Santa blushed a little before steeling herself and cried, "No, Big Meanie, don't you think you can fool us around with some sweet talk!"

She shot the weak-willed Anna a death glare, forcing the latter to nod quickly in support.

Honestly, Anna did not share any of Santa's bluster. This girl's best friend and big sister figure, Nota, was one of the Baiyi's very first rabid fangirls after all. Nota was so enamored with Baiyi's feats that she loved inserting commentaries about how powerful and perfect Baiyi whenever the chance presented itself. Hence, after a while of such exposure, even Anna was steadily persuaded.

Santa was spared from the conversion, however. The main reason was that Laeticia herself had been acting quite strange lately as if a dark cloud was hanging above her head and refusing to go away. She was always so occupied by whatever thoughts in her head that she hardly talked to Santa that much, let alone sang praises of Baiyi's achievements to her new baby sister. Generally, Laeticia was still treating Anna as gently and warmly as a real big sister would, which was especially helpful in easing Santa's hidden insecurity. Lately, however, it was Santa that was always worried about her big sister.

She had tried every 'how to be cute' trick in the book to lift Laeticia's mood, and at one point she even considered gifting Laeticia her most precious jingle bell earrings. Nothing worked, though.

At her wits' end, Santa decided to discuss her quandary with the next person she trusted the most, Anna. Her best friend raked her brain hard for any sort of solution, and yet the only thing she could think of was the grand words Nota had said to her that one time.

"My Mentor is omniscient and omnipotent. I will be working my hardest throughout my life, but all I can ever manage is watching his back as I struggle to keep up. How can I ever be as good as my Mentor?"

It was Nota's answer to Anna when the girl had asked her who was stronger between the two of them. It was a ridiculously innocent question borne out of Anna's confusion—she understood that Big Sister Nota was mighty powerful, but she had a hard time gauging Big Meanie's strength.

One could hardly blame Anna for being confused. When the disparity of strength between one person and another was too large, it would always be harder for the inferior one to estimate how wide that gap may be.

Nonetheless, Anna did remember Nota's glowing remark about Baiyi's "omniscience and omnipotence", so naturally, she suggested Santa look for Baiyi. instead.

They had gathered before Baiyi's chalet since the early morning and after some encouragement from Anna, Santa gathered enough nerves to ball her hands into tiny fists before knocking on his door.

The knocks echoed hollowly. The two little girls stood outside of his house, worried and jumpy about the prospect of that Big Meanie suddenly charging out of his house with an invisible lasso to rope them and swing them around again. Still, they kept their feet to the ground and tried to talk to each other out of fear while waiting, until it became clear that no one was going to come out of the chalet after all.

That was when Mordred, in her teenager appearance, passed them by. After pinching their cheeks and messing around the kids, she told them that her Papa was likely in the office today.

That was where the strangers and students were — a total nightmare to two timid little girls. They had always tried to avoid going there, but this time, it seemed that there was no other choice.

The two mustered even more courage made their way to the teaching block, taking cover under the lush greenery embellishing the academy ground and finally snuck towards Baiyi's office. Fortunately, this particular morning was a busy one to most of the residents in Da Xue, and so many students had missed the sight of two tiny silhouettes darting in and out of the shadows.

That was when the two saw Baiyi talking to Elise in his office, just offering the girl a tour around the campus at that moment. Once he exited from his office, he caught sight of the two girls immediately, but since his hands were a bit tied with Elise at that moment, Baiyi had opted to ignore Santa and Anna altogether.

Left with no choice, Santa and Anna tailed Baiyi and hid behind trees to watch their interactions. When they saw Baiyi handing a piece of cake to the new girl, Santa immediately puffed her cheeks sourly and grumbled, "Hmph! Big Meanie stinks! How come he never treated us like this before, huh?"

"Um, didn't he? I mean… before we came here?" Anna had whispered quietly by her side, but it seemed that Santa did not hear her…

After sending the little loli home, Baiyi finally turned his attention to the two, and that was how it came to now.

"So, you were looking for me because you're worried about Laeticia, huh?" Taking the girls in his arms, Baiyi found a quiet spot in the park and sat on a bench before setting the girls down on his lap. Then, as if pulled from thin air, Baiyi produced two pieces of cakes for each of them.

"So — munch — you've got any idea to — chomp — help Big Sister Cia? Slurp," Santa asked between munching and licking the butter off the cake.

"It warms my heart that the two of you care so much about her. Allow me to thank you," Baiyi said, wiping the butter off from Santa's cheek. "I'm well aware of her matter, actually. The problem is that I don't know how to solve it…at least, not yet. In fact, I did not even expect her to catch wind of our recent complication so soon."

Laeticia was expected to remain clueless about the upcoming war until someone broke the news to her, but who would have expected a Saintess to remain in the dark about the happenings in the Church, especially when normal nobles themselves had heard the rumors?

Thus, when she realized that a bitter war was inevitable between her most respected Mr. Hope's Da Xue — an institution that she had worked hard for — and the place where she grew up in, belonged to, and literally the sanctuary of her faith, it was no wonder that she sank into abject melancholy.

The first thought that had come to her was to seek advice from her similarly torn-between-sides mentor, Saint Joel. Unfortunately, due to the Cleric's last antic, Baiyi had booted him out of reality and back to the Void for some penance, effectively leaving everything in the Faculty of Theology to Laeticia alone, again.

She was reluctant to open up about her pains to her sisters and even her new baby sister, too, simply because she could not bring herself to burden everyone else with her problem. Denied any sort of outlet or closure, poor Laeticia could only keep her anguish to herself...

As Baiyi was nearing the end of his explanation, the two lolis finally finished their cakes as Baiyi concluded, "This whole thing is quite a drag, don't you think?"

"Y-yes, very… Very cumbersome," Anna replied softly. She turned to her friend and saw that Santa was also shaking her head helplessly.

"You're telling me that not even you could solve this, Big Meanie?" Santa remarked unhappily. "But you're already the most powerful person I've ever known!"

Baiyi patted her head and flashed her a powerless smile. "Believe it or not, I'm not omnipotent at all. In fact, no one is… A Santa Claus such as yourself should know that, don't you?"

"D-do we really have to, um, fight them?" Anna asked quietly.

Baiyi nodded and ruffled her hair before beckoning to the surrounding of the academy. "You can't turn away from a fight for survival, Anna. The enemy wants me destroyed. They want Laeticia gone. They want Nota out. They want everything that we love and care about to perish… We cannot let them prevail."

"So, someone manages to outmatch you in being a meanie, huh?" Santa grumbled, pursing her lips. "Whatever. I'm not letting them hurt my Big Sister Cia, so for that reason, I will work with you this time!"

"M-me too!" Anna chimed in hurriedly. "I'll help too!"

"Ha. Not bad… I like that determination," Baiyi sighed before suddenly adding, "Well, if you really want to help, how about… Showing me your cutest behavior right now, huh?"

"Excuse me? What does that have to do with anything?!" Santa cried out in shock.

However, Anna was already on the move, because she had heard a thing or two about Baiyi's quirks from Nota and knew exactly what he meant. She leaned closer to Baiyi and rubbed herself on him like a cat.

Then, she spread her arms wide and put on a soft, baby animal-like sympathetic expression before purring, "C-cuddle. I… I want a cuddle~~ …Um, is this right?"

Baiyi was instantly grinning from ear to ear, his eyes squinting in glee as he gave the little girl a bear hug. "Oh, I always knew that Anna is the cuter one!"

That remark did not please Santa too much, and so she instantly leaned forward and rubbed in, spreading her arms at him and muttered quite hesitantly, "I… I think I want a cheek rub?"

Baiyi lowered his mask towards her. Santa, mimicking what she saw from other girls in Baiyi's Angels, pushed her soft, puffy cheeks on his mask and nudged a little. Blushing, she said under her breath, "Uh… It's so cold…"

"Did these, um, help?" After rubbing her cheeks on Baiyi's mask, Anna asked eagerly.

"Oh, you bet it helped. It helped a lot!" Baiyi announced, throwing his arms into the air for a satisfying stretch before producing a few candies from his inner pocket. He stuffed them into the girls' hands and cried out loudly, "Now I'm motivated! Laeticia? You and I are gonna have a chat!"

Seeing little lolis being cute may not do anything to the actual problem, but it did lift Baiyi's spirit by tenfold. Now that his motivation had maxed out, he finally had the mettle to solve the problem he had shamelessly delegated to Tisdale once and for all!.

A few moments later, he reached the Faculty of Theology and stepped into the teacher's office. Standing outside of the door, he knocked.

Laeticia stumbled inside her office like a ghost and called out in a tired voice, "Ah, Mr. Hope? Welcome."

Baiyi pushed the door open and stood still, startled. The village girl who had always looked so healthy, happy, and blissfully optimistic was now overcome by painstaking, brazen lethargy. Even though she was still donning her Saintess armor — the same one that had always looked more like a kinky uniform than an actual armor — she managed to lose her old impression as a beautiful warrior princess who dauntlessly defended the goodness of the world. Worst of all, her lips were as white as paper while her eyes were red with mild bloodshot.

One look was enough to know that she had not been having any good sleep. Besides, judging from her depressive state, it seemed that Laeticia had known about the news way sooner than Baiyi had expected.

The girl forced a weak smile on her fatigued face as if she was trying to assuage Baiyi's concern.

"Mr. Hope, is Mentor Joel still stuck in there? There's quite a handful of business in the faculty lately and it's quite overwhelming for me to tackle them alone," She began. "Can you kindly release him? I promise that he never means what he says, no matter how obscene it sounds and how serious he pretends to be. It's all just words, Mr. Hope. I know he wouldn't really stoop that low."

Despite being a tired wreck, this kind-hearted village girl is still trying to help the Cleric out! Baiyi stared at her morosely, his heart sinking. Sympathetically, he walked closer to her and patted her head.

"No, this time, it's not really because of his perverted habit. I just couldn't trust him to help you in any way… especially on this recent matter," he said softly.

"I'm fine, really. You don't have to worry about me," Laeticia retained her forceful smile as she muttered under her breath.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

476 The Source of Her Struggles

Watching Laeticia pretend to be fine made Baiyi pause. "You looked fatigued, Laeticia. I think you need good sleep first before we discuss anything."

"Well…" Laeticia lowered her head in acceptance. The respite she could gain from a good rest was enticing, but she remembered her position as Vice-Principal of the faculty. It would be unfitting for someone of her position to sleep in the middle of the day, a time when the day's operations were still underway.

"Here, lemme help you," Baiyi said, using his mana to make a hammock. He pointed at it, indicating that she lay down on it. "I'll cast a sleep spell on you so you can sleep quickly. It will be a power nap that'll last for two hours at most."

"I-is that so?" She breathed, her eyes gliding over the hammock longingly. The temptation grew stronger until she relented and nodded.

Her dandy fingers worked quickly, unbinding her Saintess headdress that had doubled as her forehead-protector. Then, right in front of Baiyi, she lifted the armor off her body and exposed her homely, white blouse underneath hugging the curves of a well-nurtured body.

Curiously, the girl was hardly repulsive to the idea that she was, indeed, changing in front of him. Maybe it was because she trusted him as a gentlemanly, upright adult who would definitely not overstep any ethical boundary?

It did not take too long before all there was left on her was her white blouse, a pair of hot pants, and a pair of black over-knee pantyhose. It was then when she finally took the braids on her head down, letting her golden locks flutter behind her head like a glimmering waterfall.

She laid down on the hammock, adjusting herself to make it comfortable.

"Don't you feel cold wearing so few clothes like that?' Baiyi asked dryly while sticking a hand into his storage pouch. From it, he fished out a comforter with prints of cartoony hammerhead shark and spread it across her body — putting deliberate effort so that it covered her legs — and wrapped her like a burrito.

"A saintess fears no cold," Laeticia whispered under her breath, her eyes squinting into two fine lines before she suddenly changed the subject, "Do you always bring these things with you wherever you go, Mr. Hope? It's quite handy… Still, I don't think you've ever tuck me with a blanket like this before, have you?"

"That's because you put me at so much ease, it just never seemed that you'll ever need it. Really… You're an easy girl to mind, Laeticia," He replied while the part of his consciousness that was still trapped in the Void gave a good roundhouse kick to a wailing Cleric Walker

That poor excuse of a clergyman had been hysterical since the moment Laeticia took off her armor in front of Baiyi. He had been charging at Baiyi's consciousness like a mad dog, chanting "You son of a b****! I'll cut you down!" in rage as if Baiyi was going to do something despicable to the girl and the Cleric Walker was the only one who could stop him.

Judging from how hysterical he was, whatever the man was imagining must be pretty sick. Still, he was quickly defeated with only one well-timed kick, in which the Cleric Walker's voice steeped into a shrill, pleading croak, "S-she's my only true student, Sir! My protégé! She's only a child…. P-please do not do anything to her!"

'Yep. He obviously got some screws loose,' Baiyi thought to himself. The irony that a renowned pervert like the Cleric Walker — whose hobbies included yammering about making girls put on suggestive outfits — suddenly showing decency and the desire to protect Laeticia was not lost on Baiyi. In fact, now that he mused more about it, the Fifth Walker recalled that this pervert's admiration for Laeticia had always been restricted to atypically bashful and indirect behavior, such as watching her from far. Even when he did have a chance to do something, he never once crossed any line. It was just too noteworthy for the Fifth Walker to ignore because, given Laeticia's meek and submissive personality, she should have been an easy picking…

It seemed that his love and care for Laeticia was genuine, after all, albeit his useless attempt to protect his protégé was completely unneeded. Unlike the Cleric Waker, Baiyi was never scum, to begin with.

"Are you ready? I'm about to cast the spell now!" Baiyi announced while rousing the Incubus in the Void with a poke. If there was any time for this infrequently online Walker to make any contribution, it would be now.

"I got it! You can count on me. After ten years of perfecting my skills, I'm pleased to tell you my dreams are now of supreme quality!" The Incubus beamed proudly.

"Uh, if you think that's gonna boost my confidence in you, I've got bad news…" Baiyi said hesitantly. "But maybe if you describe the dream you're planning to create for her first…"

"Ah, well, here's the spoiler: She will be in Romania to participate in an epic war. There, she will meet a goodie-good young man made out of 100% idiot fiber, and then build pretty solid chemistry with him. Then, there will be another beautiful man thrown into the mix, too, just to give some competition for this high-stakes, heart-racing love stor—hey, w-wait up. Don't… Don't banish me out there! I'll die! I will seriously die—help!!!"

Soon, all the Incubus let out was a series of faint wails and whimpers.

How many brain cells does this guy even own? Baiyi remarked tiredly in his head before bringing the poor Walker back from the raging Void outside. Regardless of how powerful its dream-weaving skills may be, the Incubus was quite possibly one of the weakest Walkers among them, such that exposing it to the chaotic storm outside of Baiyi's protective territory for more than a few seconds could probably kill it for real.

'My mistake for thinking I should enlist this fella's help in this, Baiyi told himself. Maybe the best kind of sleep for Laeticia is a dreamless one.'

He started chanting while the girl eagerly closed her eyes, her beautiful, long eyelashes fluttering downwards with a graceful flick as her face beamed with the anticipation for a good, long-awaited sleep.

He finished his incantation and looked down, his eyes locked on the girl's slumbering face. It was so tranquil that Baiyi could not help but sighed, "Who knew you'd look so unexpectedly cute when you're asleep?"

He extended his finger and inched it closer to her cheek for a light poke—

Laeticia's eyes suddenly bolted open, her blue irises linking with Baiyi's glance intently before asking pointedly, "You don't think I'm cute when I'm awake, Mr. Hope?"

Baiyi almost jumped. "Y-you're not asleep yet?"

She shook her head in dejection.

'Did I make a slip in my incantation, or did I expend too little mana or— No, that can't be true at all.' Baiyi combed through his last few actions, frowning in mild annoyance. A magical savant like himself could not possibly make a mistake on something as rudimentary as a Sleep spell!

Skeptical, he tried to cast the same spell again even more carefully. Yet, at the end of his spell, he found Laeticia still gawking at him, her eyes as wide as ever, without any sign of drowsiness.

"Uh-hem. It seems that your resistance to magic is a bit higher than I have expected," Baiyi finally said, embarrassed.

'The Lord favors the most faithful; He makes His love known through His blessings. The favored ones are protected from evil, maladies, and calamities…'

It was one of the oft-cited proverbs in the Scripture that was, quite amazingly, not actually a lie to make their god sounded perfect. Indeed, the most devoted followers were divinely granted with a wide range of helpful boosts and boons as the proverb had claimed. This, in turn, became a solid proof for the One True God's claim that he had always watched over his followers.

The reason why the Cleric Walker was able to travel alone in the ever-precarious Abyss precisely because he was divinely endowed with various boosts. Even the Paladin Walker, Hantai, boasted superhuman strength and endurance because of their god's divine blessing when he was alive..

Appropriately, the more devoted a person was, the more blessings they received. Normal devotees may just be protected from catching the flu every now and then, but those who were obvious favorites like the Cleric Walker could be given access to advanced theurgical powers that he used them as the backbone to formulate his personal, powerful techniques.

Following this line of logic, one should not be surprised to see a Saintess like Laeticia to be given their god's personal blessing then, right?

However, Baiyi thought there was more to it. First, the girl's tutor in religion was the Cleric Walker, who had become so disillusioned from the teachings in the Scripture that he had degenerated into a scum way worse than other irreligious Walkers were. Baiyi may not know what was really being passed down during their one-on-one classes, but he was sure that it was definitely not the original teachings the Church had advocated.

Secondly, Laeticia's faith in her religion was less than one would normally qualify as "undoubtful devotion. If she were as ardent as a Saintess ought to be, then she would not even need to struggle in choosing a side at all. Her allegiance would not even be a question.

Thus, the conundrum formed: why was she still eligible for their god's blessings, given the god's reputation for being unaccommodating to what was at odds with his teachings?

In fact, the powerful nature of the blessings she received—an above-average resistance to magic, for example—raised even more questions. Coupled with the fact that she was able to feel nary a discomfort from wearing so few on a frigid day, Baiyi suspected that her god gave more than just one blessing, too.

This whole situation became ridiculous and unfathomable. Why would their god still bestow a sign of his personal love on a Saintess who learned not from his approved authority, the Church, but from a Saint who had long forsaken his faith? Was this god fella blind, stupid, or both?

Regardless of the Big Guy's reasons, his blessing effectively complicated Laeticia's problem. The girl knew very well that she was not a doubtless believer, and knowing how much of a surveillance-freak these gods were, there was little doubt that her god knew that too. He still blessed her and watched over her.

Without these blessings, it would have been much easier for Laeticia to choose sides. She was one of Baiyi's staunchest supporter and a member of his family, and she had opted to stay with the "filthy" Voidwalkers even after knowing the real identity behind the not-at-all-upright Cleric Walker. Moreover, she had ten years of fortified relationships with her family, the Voidwalkers, and Baiyi himself to give her the emotional reason to choose Baiyi's side.

The more one thought about it, the more these divine blessings seemed to look like a backhanded punishment than an affirmation of affection. Their existence had brought only heartaches to the young, kind-hearted girl who received them.

What a cruel way of toying with his followers! Was the God's Grace's god really as malicious as the Voidwalkers had suspected?

As Baiyi conjured more and more conspiracies about the god's true intention, Laeticia studied him quietly, seemingly reading his mind. She wriggled and moved herself so that her face could met Baiyi's and pipped very quietly, "Mr. Hope?"

He snapped back from his thoughts. "So, this is why you're in such a dilemma, huh?"

She nodded wordlessly.

"Damn it. This is just cruel…" Baiyi murmured regrettably to himself while extending his hand over the girl's forehead. If there were only the Voidwalkers on one side of the scale and the Church on the other, she should have been able to make a decision by now. But when the god she had always believed in and devoted to was also added into her scale, how could the Saintess even choose?

Even Baiyi had to admit that he would be just as confused and helpless if he were in her shoes.

How was he supposed to console this poor girl? What should he say so that the girl would ultimately pick the action that could benefit him the most?

Baiyi thought hard, turning every option he could come up within his head. Should he just tell the girl that the One True God's blessing was really just a petty, passive-aggressive punishment to drive a wedge between the Fifth Walker and his Second Elect? –No, that would sound too despicable; Too assumptive.

Maybe Baiyi could try to persuade her by reminding her of their bonds, not just the one between himself and her but also the one she had made with all the others? –Well, that would sound a little hollow, and it might not even work. After all, even after all they had been through, Baiyi could still espy the silver Scripture necklace hanging around Laeticia's neck…

Honestly, he was reluctant to put the bond between himself and Laeticia to the test because he knew that he had never been exactly close to her, especially not the way he was with the First Elect, Mia. Maybe it was her association with the Church or the Cleric Walker, or maybe it was the fact that she was tall and normal in size. This was just how an average, healthy woman of her age should be, while not prone to act out little cutesy, coquettish actions.

He was just never that close to her. Then, the distance between them was further exacerbated by fewer and fewer interactions between themselves as their work intercepted very seldomly.

While musing over the state of their relationship, Baiyi's hand started rubbing her forehead absent-mindedly, the same way he usually did to Little Mia and Little Attie. It was only when he heard a very faint series of snores when he yanked himself out of his thoughts.

Laeticia was already fast asleep. Judging from how peaceful her expression was, it seemed that it was a peaceful one, too.

In the end, no spells can beat a simple head massage, huh? Amused, Baiyi stared at the gauntlet doubling as his hand. If there was another thing he could never find answers to through academic research, it would be how he always managed to coax someone to sleep with such a silly act…

He was in no rush to leave, so he sat by her side while she slept, his head buried in the topic of faith and loyalty. It may be an honest oversight, or him being a bit deadset in his perspective, or maybe it was a deliberate act of avoidance, but Baiyi never gave thoughts for a very critical question:

When did Laeticia start receiving her god's divine blessings?

The timing of that blessing was important because it might distinguish the One True God's stance towards the Voidwalkers at different times. What if he was much more relaxed about them at some point in time, which was when he decided that it was fine to bless a Saintess with doubts?

Either way, Baiyi just instinctively thought that it must have happened only very recently.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

477 It“s Nice To Have Someone Waiting For You Back Home

By the time Laeticia awoke, the sun had set. In a panic, she leaped out from the hammock. Despite landing weirdly, she dashed towards her desk, whilst ignoring even her crinkled undershirt.

"Now, now. There's no need to rush; fix your clothes first." Baiyi's voice rang out from behind.

She turned and caught him in the middle of tidying up her documents on a shelf.

"M-Mr. Hope! Oh… Oh my!" She exclaimed. It dawned on her that her work of the day had already been cleared away while she was peacefully slumbering. Warm gratitude ballooned in her chest and she gave a slight bow to convey her appreciation.

Less frantic, she continued towards her table and started putting her unorthodox armor back on.

Baiyi gave a sigh of relief. It was painstakingly obvious that Laeticia had zero fashion sense or even a basic instinct to put different clothes together to make a workable match. For crying out loud, despite wearing a fairly conservative white blouse of austere design as top, she paired it with a pair of hot pants and sexy, lacey black pantyhose, as if the thought of being discovered in such an inviting combo had never crossed her mind.

Then again, given that she was almost never seen without her Saintess armor in public, perhaps Baiyi was the only one who would ever have the pleasure of seeing her in this.

Originally, Baiyi had planned to debrief the girl the first thing she woke up from her sleep, yet by the time Laeticia was awake, he had decided against that initial idea. Apparently, Baiyi had been engaging in an atypically serious discussion with the Cleric Walker; it was he who was adamant that the best course of action to solve this matter was to let the girl "figure things out on her own".

'Figure things out on her own?!' Baiyi had fumed. 'This was precisely why the Cleric Walker is always the least dependable adult in the Void!'

Was the Cleric Walker really that blind to how helpless his protégé felt as she was crushed by this imbroglio? Would he not worry about her going to the deep end out of confusion and disillusionment? Or was her descent into the same abandon he had allowed himself into upon being betrayed by his god's promise, exactly what that sly fox was going for all along?

However, Baiyi's criticism was met with uncharacteristic, and frankly, strange — seriousness. The Cleric Walker was relentless and stubborn in their discussion, surprising Baiyi a little because he was quite used to that pervert instantly cowering into a meek protest whenever Baiyi slammed him down with his snarks.

Adding to his strange sobriety was that the Cleric Walker had also forgone using any of his favorite words like "F***ing son of a b****" or "you bastard of an admin" in his arguments.

"You atheists will never understand that indescribable understanding we the faithful harbor towards our beliefs," the Cleric Walker explained as matter-of-factly as possible. "It's only natural, then, that you will find people like me completely unfathomable because my faith is beyond what is presented in the pages of the Scripture. You see, when your faith had reached my level, you enter a certain, transcended state of mind. This is why despite my occupation with the pleasures of beautiful girls around me, in my core, I'm still pure and uncorrupted!"

"What I'd betrayed was not my faith but the Church's deluding dogma. As my protégé, Laeticia must be able to realize this to liberate herself from that bondage. It's simply a journey that she has to walk alone. Any forceful help from us might actually obstruct her progress instead."

It sounded right until Baiyi really combed through the Cleric Walker's arguments, which by that point, it just sounded like someone espousing a whole lot of bulls*** with a completely straight face. The first thing Baiyi could pick apart was that religions had always been born from those made-up teachings in the first place. Without these teachings, there would not be anything resembling a religion! In other words, if one denied the teachings of a religion, then could that person still call themselves an adherent at all?

Baiyi had not even gotten to the apex of the Cleric Walker's bunkum. The idea that "a state of mind" itself was enough to be called "faith". If that were true, then maybe one could argue that the state of being a pervert was a faith of its own!

It went without saying that Baiyi was utterly unimpressed by the Cleric Walker's argument. He even wondered if this was ultimately the Cleric Walker's very roundabout way of justifying his disgusting, horny behaviors...

"Well then, Sir Knows-a-lot, how do you explain my continuous ability to perform Words of God? You surely understand the rigorous demands of one's faith to use this theurgical secret technique, don't you?" The Cleric Walker retorted with gusto. "Face it, this is the definitive proof that the One True God acknowledged and accepted my form of adherence!"

"Meh. The only thing this proves is that your 'one true god' is either blind, stupid, or both. Besides, if he really cares about you enough to continuously bless you with those powers, then how come he ended up casting you into the Void instead of welcoming you to his paradise or whatever when you died?" Baiyi rebutted pointedly. "Honestly, he's even less reasonable than the renowned scatterbrain himself, the War God. I guess this is what ineffability ultimately means, then — doing things without logic?"

The Cleric Walker had remained speechless, struggling futilely to refute Baiyi's rebuttal with any objective arguments.

The Faculty of Theology, under his leadership, had always been devoted to this particular interpretation — the very same one that the Cleric Walker had tried to use to persuade Baiyi. Yet, other than personal anecdotes and subjective conclusions and speculations, there was never much of objective veracity of the Cleric Walker's interpretation. Maybe it was enough to persuade students who were already believers of that religion, but it would be nigh impossible to use something unrooted in objective facts to convince atheistic, hard-liner academics like Baiyi.

Of course, when one really dug into it, that was all faith ever was, was it not? It was always about how the devotee personally feel and inclined to believe; It was never about proofs and evidence. Perhaps it was just as much a fallacy to ask for objectivity out of something like that.

Now, Baiyi may have appeared as the winner of their debate, but to be honest, he offered no wiser suggestion neither. This was why he ended up following the Cleric Walker's advice and kept the questions he had wanted to ask to himself instead of laying them out with Laeticia.

Without an actually good solution to solve this sticky situation, Baiyi could only set Laeticia on auto-play for the moment and hope that something checked out in the end.

Noticing that Baiyi had only nagged her on taking good care of herself and getting enough rest without a single mention of the upcoming war, the girl let out a huge sigh of relief, as though a big load had lifted from her heart.

'Wait. Could it be that the one she dreads the most was never the Church, the Cleric Walker, and even the supreme "one true god"? Is it… me?' Hearing the girl's audible sigh, an uncomfortable thought popped into his mind.

"I'm a bit worried that I might not be able to sleep at night, Mr. Hope, now that I'd slept a bit too much during the day," Laeticia murmured, her eyebrows furrowing yet her lips quivered into a small smile — two expressions of very different emotions, yet when they appeared simultaneously, it made one steal a few more glances at her face.

She continued to wonder out loud, "Oh, maybe I should get some of those sleeping potions from the Alchemist's faculty? I heard that they had invented a new and improved formula that can quickly get a sorcerer into a deep state of meditation—"

"Bad idea!" Baiyi quickly interjected, waving his hands for emphasis. "Do you even trust the sort of stuffs they make? I mean, I doubt that they themselves would dare take their own medicines. Really, I'm sure those stuffs are made just to con some money out of those nobles for the good of our academy…"

By this point, Baiyi was just being slanderous. Every single concoction the Alchemy Faculty manufactured was a commercial blast not only in the Southern Continent but also — with the help of Undine Dole — up there in the North. Their products netted in so much profit that they were the real golden-egg laying goose in Da Xue, generating far more money for the academy than the Smithing Faculty or the Engineering Faculty could ever offer, let alone any monetary contribution pure academic types like Baiyi could provide.

In fact, the Dole's pockets were so constantly fattened by these sales that it was no wonder that Undine was so keen and willing to marry the boss who led them all!

However, Baiyi's anxiety was not exactly unfounded. Every member in the Alchemy Faculty had a manic streak that Baiyi had long theorized to be inherited from their mad Principal Nobel. His students were so reckless that their faculty had always ranked first in accidents — the biohazard kind, no less. Explosions, food-poisoning, biohazardous gas leakage. So many exciting events just kept cropping up on their record of achievements that one sometimes wondered if the students were just deliberately keeping up a reputation through it.

The only consolation from this was that there were no actual casualties thus far, which was likely only because their neighbor was the restorative magic-heavy Theology Faculty…

All and all, Baiyi thought it was justified to doubt the reliability of the Alchemy Faculty.

While on this subject, the second and third highest number of accidents sorted by faculties would be the Literary Faculty and the Theology Faculty respectively. But this time it had nothing to do with the subjects of their study. It was all because of their "extra-curricular exploits".

By now, everyone knew that a heinous beasts spat out from hell roamed the picturesque landscape of Da Xue. It was called the Jawflower, and it was a manifestation of the sadistic pleasure in blocking every man from their woman. Legends even had it that if one's love could triumph the Trial of The Jawflower, then only could it ever come to fruition…

Of course, the legends themselves were composed by author wannabes from the Literary Faculty whose main hobbies, other than skirt-chasing, was ghostwriting confessions and making up stories for the public. Out of their personal vendetta towards the Jawflower, many untrue and purely libelous essays had been published about it; Some even composed popular fantasy novels with the Jawflower as its center antagonist which must then be stopped by all who still believed in justice and goodness—

Anyway, enough detours. Back in reality, Baiyi ended up suggesting tried-and-true classic methods in solving insomnia to Laeticia, such as counting sheep [1], cuddling with something soft and comfortable, massaging some parts of your body that could make you relax into a sleep, or drink a cup of black tea that could make you drowsy [2] .

"I guess I have nothing against most of your methods, Mr. Hope, but is there a black tea that could make anyone sleep?" Laeticia interjected inquiringly.

"Uh-hem, I think I got that one wrong. Please forget that one."

It was only when the two were on the verge of parting when Baiyi remembered something too important to have forgotten. He crossed over the room to Laeticia's side, patted her head, and said solemnly, "Please promise me one thing. Do not visit the Holy City for this upcoming Grace Day, okay?"

Every Saintess on outstation was required to return every year during Grace Day to meet the Church cardinals and received blessings from the One True God in the Temple of Auguries. Laeticia was no exception to the rule, too, and in the past when the Church was governed by moderates, she had always fulfilled that duty without being in any actual peril. The most she had to endure back then were the self-righteous' harangue and mockery.

However, the situation had changed drastically this year. With the extremist taking helm, they might actually extend their malice towards Laeticia, which was why Baiyi wanted the girl to skip out on this tradition this time for her own safety.

The girl herself knew that, too. She nodded with a regrettable expression shadowing her face and replied, "Understood. I won't go this year. Still, this reminds me… Are you still not going to join our family merriment during Grace Day?"

"Uh hem!" Baiyi gave his second conspicuously loud cough of the day. "I am one who enjoys quiet solitude. I don't like 'merriment'.".

With that, he excused himself awkwardly.

He really hoped that Laeticia would listen to him and ditched her return trip to the Holy City. He hoped that she was more of an obedient, sensible daughter than a blindly loyal devotee…

As Baiyi mused, he trudged absent-mindedly on the path home oblivious to the surrounding until he found himself gawking at his gate. There, sitting on the stone staircase to his door were Santa and Anna, each with an animal-themed tin can in their hands. Around them were other similar tin cans, the flowers erstwhile planted in them completely scattered while their pots overturned—

Those two brats thought my flowers were toys?! Baiyi was just about to blow up until his eyes caught the girls' anticipating expressions and his heart softened. It was as if a pair of daughters were waiting for their father to come home…

In fact, when the two caught him in their sights, they threw the flowers down and started enthusiastically running towards him with their short, stout legs.

After a long, hard day, watching the kids running towards him in excitement just null any lingering rage he had for the demise of his flowers. [3]

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

478 Presents Made With One“s Heart and Soul

The two little girls scurried towards him excitedly. Then, as if they had reached a tacit agreement before this, they stood by each of his sides and grabbed onto Baiyi's gauntlet, chirping, "So, how was it, Big Meanie?"

"Well…" Baiyi began, his voice laced with hesitance before he squeezed the two children's hands and led them back to his garden. "Let's talk about it while we rub our elbows with grease, shall we?"

With that, he let go of their hands and bent down, picking up one of the maltreated flowers from the ground, wincing a little at the devastated state it was. After brushing the dirt and bits of grass off from the stalk, he straightened it and meticulously planted it back into the flower's corresponding tin can.

A keen observer might notice that tending to his plants was likely the only time Baiyi would use his own hands instead of using his mana.

The two little girls shifted their eyes from the big guy and back to the garden, the memory of how this garden was before their rough playtime sprang into their minds. Feeling increasingly bad, they hurried over and joined him.

Santa mimicked Baiyi's action and cupped her hands around another animal-themed tin can, her eyebrows furrowing as she tried to remember its exact placement. Meanwhile, Anna crawled on all fours on the lawn to pick up bits and pieces of junk food scrapes they had left.

Baiyi turned and enjoyed the sight of the two childishly trying to help, but his watching pleasure was cut short as soon as his eyes caught Anna's backside; apparently, the girl's skirt was too short to properly cover her as she crouched on all four.

Unhappily, he forced his head away before his eyes could make out the pattern of the little girl's underwear. He was sure that somewhere out there, some perverts were probably screaming about wanting to trade places with him right now... [1]

While they were working, Baiyi casually recounted the exchange between himself and Laeticia as the two girls listened, bobbed their heads at occasions, and continued their chores. It was a scene straight out of an idealistic picture of family bonding.

"Sounds to me everything is okey-doke for my big sister now, right?" Santa wondered out loud as she ran towards a tall flower stand, an elephant-shaped tin-can in her hand.

She swung the tin-can above her head, stood on her toes, but even with her hands stretched long and her face practically reddening, her elephant tin-can did not come any closer to the targeted tier; All she did manage was to let out low whimpers from the exertion.

After watching her in amusement for a while, Baiyi crouched near her to grab onto her black silky socks-clothed legs from below then lifted her up. With the new aid in height, Santa finally set the tin-can on the stand with a satisfying thud.

How did the brat even manage to take these tin-cans down in the first place? Out of the corner of his eyes, Baiyi spied the stand more closely and found a series of dusty black shoe prints crawling all over it; once again proving that when kids were determined to make a mess out of anything, they would always find the way to do it against all odds.

Instead of putting Santa down, he decided to let the girl perched on his shoulders as if he was her mobile, human-shaped ladder. Meanwhile, seeing their arrangement, Anna stood up from the lawn — brushing bits of plants and mud off her long white socks — and grabbed the next animal-themed tin-can. Then, she passed it to him, who then passed it to Santa. Finally, with Baiyi's instruction, she set it back on its original spot on the flower stand.

It was like a scene from a bizarre advertisement about domestic life: a masked father, who was somehow donning a full set of armor, patiently and tenderly instructing his two young daughters to help him out with his garden.

As Little Santa wriggled in his arms, her tender skin pressed against his coarse armor body, Baiyi watched Little Anna ran to-and-fro in her stout legs as she hurriedly carried more pots in her hands. It was like paradise to him; he was sure that he had reached his loli enjoyment quota of the day. If he were to die right now, he would have no regret…

Baiyi resumed their previous topic. "Unfortunately, Big Sister Cia's problem isn't something that could be solved with good sleep, which, by the way, was . The core of her problem remains unsolved."

"But… But what else can we do?" Santa turned her head sharply, her golden eyes widening in an inquiring look.

"I'm afraid we'll have to leave her to it on her own. The best we could do is to provide her the morale to go through this crisis."

"You mean, we just have to make sure she's happy?" Anna asked innocently as she hurried over to them with a cat-shaped tin can in her arms.

Santa caught the can from Baiyi's hands and raised it above her head, waiting for Baiyi to lift her high enough to set it back to the topmost tier. Baiyi did as she expected, and the girl gingerly set the last piece down. Alas, the flower stand was finally fully restored.

Despite that, she remained in Baiyi's arms; she would not like to admit it out loud, but it did not feel too bad to be carried around like that…

She remarked regrettably, "Too bad Christmas doesn't exist in this world, or I'll definitely give Big Sister Cia the best present she had ever received, and she will be so, so happy!"

Seeing how comfortable Santa was made Anna positively green. Not wanting to be left out, she looked up at Baiyi pleadingly and spread her arms wide wordlessly, which of course made Baiyi's heart blossomed in jubilance.

"You don't need Christmas to give anyone a present. Any suitable occasion would do," He managed as he heaved the other girl up with another arm.

"You think so? …Oh no! I just remember! I haven't brought my Santa Clause stash with me when I came here. It's where all of my presents are!" Santa cried, her lips pursing in dismay. "What can I even give her now?"

"You know what? A gift made by your own hands will always triumph anything someone else made. You may not have your Santa Clause stash, but you could make something with your own hands and heart," Baiyi suggested.

With the two still resting in his arms, he sauntered to his chalet and headed to his Magus Lab, not to do anything ranging from the inappropriate to the most degenerate towards two innocent little girls, mind you. He was simply planning to use his lab as a makeshift workshop where he could guide them into making the best presents the girls could imagine.

Not only would the gifts bring a smile back to the tired Saintess' face, but they would also serve as a reminder for the confused girl that she was never alone.

For the next few days, the two little girls would be present in Baiyi's house as early as the first ray of sunlight so that they could throw themselves completely into their gift-making project. They were so ardent in their work that sometimes, Baiyi himself had to bring them meals and remind them to eat. Then, whenever the Fifth Walker happened to be outside tending to his affairs, the girls would be sitting by his front door and wait for him to come home.

Meanwhile, Santa had taken up the role of an informant reporting Laeticia's changes to Anna and Baiyi every day. According to her, Big Sister was still prone to pensiveness or even gloominess at times, but at least she was starting to sleep better and easier.

Baiyi had then rubbed the girls' head said encouragingly, "She will definitely get better once she received the gifts the two of you had made!"

A week passed.

Laeticia found herself a surprised recipient to two presents lovingly made by two youngest members of her family. Although the idea of the gifts was of the girls' alone, Baiyi had managed to guide them with suggestions to make it better.

"This… Is this…?" Laeticia breathed, her eyes widening as her pupils glided through an incredibly lifelike sculpture of a natural wonder: on one end, a field of golden sands stretched, while directly opposite it the wide, turquoise blue sea. In the middle where the two natural marvels met was a single white door that was slightly ajar, allowing the observer to take in the full dauntlessness of the ocean and the blue sky above it when they peeked through the door.

According to Baiyi, the meaning this sculpture wanted to convey was that sometimes, all it takes to make one feel better was to just look at the boundless sea and be reminded that there would always be enough space for one to spill their heart and anguish out, rather than to cocoon it within one's heart.

"I name this… The 'Door to the Ocean'! I've always believed that if you could just push open the door that separates yourself from the world, you'll find the sea gently waiting for you, happy to take in your happiness and sorrow," Santa explained. "Do you believe in that, Big Sister?"

"Who else's dream should I believe in, if not my own sister's?" Laeticia pulled Santa into her embrace and rubbed her cheeks on the girl's face in glee, her face glowing with a fulfilled smile.

They parted only after a good few minutes and turned their attention to Anna's gift: a full-body dress made from wispy white satin. Attached to its collar was a long, white habit reaching all the way to the wearer's ankles. Then, to complete the look of an ethereal goddess, the dress even came with accompanying headdress made from a black hairband and a few black flowers.

What was the deeper meaning behind this dress? Truthfully, there was none; Baiyi just thought that any girl would love to receive a beautiful dress as a gift any time of the year, a sentiment that Anna obviously agreed to. She had immediately launched into sewing the best dress she could imagine, and with the help from expert seamstresses like Nota and Attie, she finally completed the dress exactly as envisioned.

"Um, I made it after the dress my sisters wear. They were real, powerful goddesses, though I'm kinda just, well… Anyway, you remind me of a goddess too, Big Sister Cia. Kind, beautiful, and graceful. So I really thought you are perfect to wear my sisters' dress and I hope… I hope you'll be my sister here," Anna reasoned with a sheepish smile.

Laeticia's eyes were watering when she pulled Anna into her, the three locking arms together into a heartwarming huddle..

Hiding his presence using the invisibility technique he had learned from Lady Assassin Walker, Baiyi watched their interaction quietly, pleased. 'Hopefully, you'll feel much better now, Laeticia, he thought. And hopefully, this will strengthen your resolve to remain with us.'

On the very next day, Santa was practically sprinting towards Baiyi to report that Big Sister Cia had changed. A new set of determination now dawned on her face, replacing the shadows that had plagued her for weeks as if she had finally made a decision. In fact, she had seemingly returned to her previous happy, carefree self!

"That's wonderful news!" Baiyi chimed, feeling a large load lifting from his chest. He may not know how Laeticia managed to solve this crisis of faith. He even wondered if she ultimately adopted the Cleric's ridiculous mental gymnastics and separated her faith from the doctrines, but it was a welcome and positive change nonetheless. At least for now, he no longer had to worry that she might snap and descended to the deep end… As long as her petty god leaves her alone and does not try to mess her up again, that is.

"I must thank you, Big Meanie. It's all thanks to you that she's alright now!" Santa said happily.

"Well, if you're really grateful, you could repay me by not calling me Big Meanie from now on. Please refer to me as… Er, Mr. Hope," Baiyi said hesitantly before offering a passable address.

"Mm-hmm," Santa nodded docilely. "But there is one thing more I could do to show you my gratitude. Allow me to pamper your ears with my voice!"

She closed her eyes, stood on her toes, and started humming softly, "'Twas a peaceful night, filled with wondrous, festive moments worthy of our celebration! Let us adorn this Christmas with a heartfelt ode! On the count of one, two, three… Jingle bells, jingle bells! Jingle all the way~~"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

479 Principal Bai Is Bad At Understanding Others

Laeticia was finally pacified. If things remained that way without any more "uncalled excitement", she was expected to remain relatively calm and stable all the way to the war with the Church.

At least, that was what Baiyi was banking on. He really hoped that was the last of this issue. It had not been easy for him, at all.

With that being said, it was just as… tempting to imagine a straight-laced gal like Laeticia turning dark and letting all hell break loose. In fact, one would bet that there will be some thrills to seeing a holy Saintess acting without boundaries. Unfortunately, with Laeticia's issue solved, Baiyi had basically clamped down on the chance to see it play out in real life. He was starting to regret it.

Baiyi shook his head hard, swinging that momentary weakness of thought out of his head. That fantasy was a tad bit too 'gentlemanly' for his liking.

Besides, following the resolution of Laeticia's problem, the two little girls he had kidnapped from Moonworld were no longer rejecting his affection. If anything, that was something he should definitely feel like a victory.

"Okay, girls. I would like the two of you to learn and master the powers available in this universe. Since the two of you are latecomers, you'll have much to brush up on your basics. Luckily, this small window of time between now and next year is the perfect opportunity for a crash course," Baiyi reasoned as he fished out heaps after heaps of textbooks and learning materials from his storage pouch. They belonged to Mia and the rest of his Angels, but now he piled them on top of Santa and Anna's arms until one no longer saw their faces from the front.

"By the time you're done with these materials, you'll be good enough to go. Feel free to ask your big sisters whenever you encounter any difficulty in your learning. Here's a handy guide: if it's related to magic, seek Nota or even Tisdale if she was available. If it's related to martial arts, look no further than Attie. Meanwhile, Aya — yes, Mordred's mother — is a great source of help when it comes to the history, cultures, ethics and what-have-you of this universe…"

Baiyi nagged on and on, his eyes completely obscured from the two girls' expressions thanks to the hill of books before them. He did manage to see their legs literally shaking, however, and he immediately reasoned that they must be really excited to start learning so many new things.

"No matter who you seek for help, never bother with Mia, understood?" His voice suddenly shifted to a sharp sternness. "She is good at absolutely nothing but the art of acting cute, using her wiles and adorableness to get around actual work."

To illustrate his point about how dangerous and unhelpful Mia would be, Baiyi started recounting the girl's past when she was still his student. She was always on the verge of being punished either because she did a bad job for her homework — if she had done anything, at all — or because she had flunked her exams for the nth time, but in the end… Most of the punishments never came.

Why? Because sly little Mia always had something in her sleeves to defuse Baiyi's wrath. Sometimes, she rolled around on the floor like a kitty cat purring for affection. Sometimes, she widened her eyes and blinked, tears on the brink of falling, like a sad puppy; other times, she changed into a pair of black or white silk socks and put on her prettiest getups before flirting girlishly, acting out practically every item on the art of kawaii just so she could moe her way out of Baiyi's punishment.

"The point is, she is an example of what the two of you ought not to be. You see, if you don't learn well, you'll be stuck as a kid forever and never be able to marry a handsome man!" Baiyi ended his lecture with a terrifying warning.

The two little girls shot a meaningful glance at each other safely behind their books, instantly getting what was in their friend's head as they sighed. Thanks to Baiyi, they now knew exactly who was the best at each class.

"Always remember that knowledge is the most powerful armor in our arsenal. No stinking metal, however powerful and improved and hi-tech, could top knowledge itself!" Baiyi punctuated as if he was giving a rousing speech, completely forgetting that he was literally cobbled out of stinking metal.

From then on, the two lolis had continued to be friendly with him whenever their paths met, which Baiyi rationalized as the expected response from two sensible girls who understood that everything he asked for was for their own good. It was also clear that the days where the three of them worked together in his garden, or the days when the two would rest on each of his thighs as they hummed cute little songs while he poked and played with them, were over now. To be honest, Baiyi felt a pang of loneliness…

Santa and Anna were still amicable, but they never seemed to have wanted to be even closer with Baiyi than they already were — a sign of their independence, perhaps, despite their age.

It was certainly not the case with Mia back then, though. She was very clingy, but worst of all, she used her adorableness for her advantage. She frequently did sudden acts of cuteness just to melt Baiyi's heart, then as he was in his weak, doting fatherly state, she would pester him about buying new, beautiful clothes and/or delicious, mouthwatering confectionaries, etc.

Nonetheless, Baiyi wondered if the two newest lolis only opted to give Baiyi a wide berth because they had heard rumors concerning Baiyi and his… age preference for women. If that were true, well, never had he ever been so dismayed for being a victim to his own reputation.

However, although he sometimes lamented about the absence of pure loli therapy in his life, he had to admit that he welcomed the recent tranquility. It was just the thing he needed to work out the messy knots of mysteries surrounding the legendary armor, Mystique.

Baiyi had once performed a thorough inspection of the armor some time ago. The result was lackluster, to say the least. Aside from the continuous pulses reminiscing the Law, There was almost nothing noteworthy about the armor at all. Worse, the shoddiness of the armor's materials, as well as its craftsmanship, became clear upon his inspection. Now, coupled with how old it was, Mystique was centuries behind even the most average armor available in the market, let alone be good enough to replace high-end ones like the Sanctus that Baiyi was currently donning.

Truthfully, the only thing worth giving any care would be the formations inscribed on its surface. Next to the most obvious one — the same one that had informed Baiyi its name — the Fifth Walker had found three hidden formations on the interior of the armor. They seemed to be merely descriptive, providing nothing substantive other than three words that did not even make sense: "Joe", "Iss", "Bael".

That was all. It was as if the writer was just carving some fragmented sentences by using Formation Script. In fact, if it was not because of Baiyi's own expertise in Ancient Rohlserlian formations, he would have likely treated these three descriptive formations as some sort of awkward aesthetical pattern.

There was another small detail that did seem, at least superficially, quite worthy of attention: the orthography of the Formation Script used in these formations shallowly resembled the runic system that modern-day magic practitioners used. More specifically, the graphemes presented were clearly chunked together to form a compound — uncharacteristic of Formation Script, a definitive trait of the runic system. Despite that, these compounds utterly failed at adhering to the coding formulae of modern runes, resulting in their inability to be used. They were so experimental and crude it was as if they were some kind of proto-runes.

Could this be the leftovers of experimentation conducted by sorcerers in the days of yore when they first started to simplify Formation Script? Perhaps the Lawful pulses Baiyi had felt from this armor came from these purely accidental combinations within these descriptive formations — much like Mia's faulty, erratic summoning circle that had brought Baiyi here, as well as his own Ember of Hope, which was notable for its never-permanent form.

There was something else that puzzled him, too. Although Formation Script remained in use even after the fall of the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire, owning to how unnecessarily complicated the system was — which then further complicated daily communication — the number of its users dwindled rapidly as time passed. In the end, all Formation Scripts were good for was to give a few elite Rohlserlian sorcerers something to brag about; it was no wonder that the system was then completely superseded by runes.

Hence, one's first hunch was that Mystique must have been created sometime after the fall of the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire, which would place its creation date at about five thousand years ago. But, according to the Scholar, humans had only attempted to codify Formation Script into runes about three thousand years ago. Corroborating that fact was the material used to make Mystique; judging from the extent of its decay, the armor could not possibly be five thousand years old.

Questions swirled in Baiyi's head. When exactly was the armor built? Why did it produce pulses resembling the Laws? Why, despite its apparent mediocrity, did people spread legends of its supposed spectacular feats? People would not have so eagerly spread something that did not hold at least a modicum of truth through centuries, would they? Maybe this armor just happened to have the same name as the Mystique of the legends…

Or… could it be that the Law involved this time… Is Time itself? A new thought sprang into Baiyi's mind.

He shook his head to no one in particular. Time was probably the most guarded and unbreakable Law of the universe. No one could possibly get even a whiff of control over it, not even the "one true god" himself. After all, it was not like the One True God wore glasses, had a long beard, and called himself Father Time.

He had wanted to discuss the mysteries of the Mystique with other Voidwalkers, but it seemed that most of them were currently uncontrollably absorbed in their research of Earth technology. Being the only one who had actually come in contact with the Law, there were even fewer people who would be able to contribute anything he himself had not known to the discussion.

It was close to the end of November, which meant that the exam season was upon them.

In Da Xue, there was only one exam throughout an academic year which began since the end of November and lasting ten days. A long semester break would follow directly afterward, encompassing both Grace Day and the New Year. After that, since the start of January, Da Xue would be hosting the entrance exam as enrolment season for new students arrived. When that ended, so would the existing students' holiday, and finally, all new and existing students would gather together to witness the graduation ceremony..

Since Da Xue demanded that only those reaching the required merits could graduate, the students all took their exams seriously. By this point in time, all bustle and recreational activities had completely ceased in academy grounds as every student retired to studying and revising for their upcoming exam. It was so quiet and devoid of the students' usual shenanigans that even the Jawflower felt a little lonely and bored as it rested languidly nearby the female students' dorm.

Compared to theory-heavy courses like Alchemy, Magic, Engineering, and others, the Knight Faculty was having it much easier in terms of bookish knowledge. Their most theory-laden exams would be basic ethics, culture, and general history, which were all something they had long studied before entering Da Xue.

In other words, students of the Knight Faculty did not need to spend that much time on their books. Maybe that was the biggest reason why the Knights Faculty always had the highest number of graduates every year?

The only thing these students really had to put effort into passing would be their hands-on battle exam. As an assessment of the student's overall fighting ability, ranging from f techniques, weapon proficiencies, combat strategies, and more, it was much more difficult than other faculties' practical exams.

By now, the Knight Faculty's battle exam had begun. With Vice-Principal Hitman taking the lead, three hundred and six students marched through the transporter formation and arrived at one of Da Xue's privately-owned micro-realms.

Unlike many others, there was no picturesque landscape for one to enjoy here. Instead, the entire realm was an endless karstic landform. Diamond-hard boulders soared out of the valleys, where sharp, rocky prongs waited eagerly to pierce through the flesh of whoever unfortunate enough to fall. Then, on the top of the tallest rocky pillar, was a wide plateau where the students gathered.

If anyone were to observe the micro-realm from the sky, they would think that they were looking at a tear in a continent with only a pocket of small, flat surfaces dotted across the landscape for a human to stop by. There was nothing — not even a naturally-formed bridge — to connect each of these small islands; they were separated by edgy, rocky spikes as closely-packed as tall grasses in an abandoned field. To put it simply, the entire area looked like it was a trap set for a leviathan.

This was it, the special battlefield used for the Knight Faculty's practical exam: Mount Parazonium.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

480 The Preparation Before The Trial

Mount Parazonium was harsh. As a natural wonder it was severe on its appearance, displaying no sylvan pleasantries nor soothing creeks; As a land, it was austere on what it could give, as there was a total absence of lodes for the mining of precious ores.

However, standing as a testament to the might and untamed side of nature, it radiated a charm that was both dangerous and provocatively welcoming, with its crests and valleys goading the valor, abandon, and the hidden thirst for conquest from men who found themselves deposited in the middle of it.

That was precisely the reason why it was the perfect location for a year-end battle exam for fledgling fighters.

The effects Mount Parazonium exerted had not dulled even to seniors who had been here three times before. Their chests were puffed as they swelled with a renewed passion to conquer the challenges ahead. Of course, if veterans like them were this charmed by the landscape, one could only imagine how much ardor was boiling within the freshmen.

Students from all four academic years would be staying here for ten days, tasked with a few individually-assigned missions, with their difficulties varying according to the student's current seniority. When they completed their mission at the end of the period, they would then be evaluated by their performance. It was known as The Trial of Parazonium.

Their specific missions may differ, but one task remained the same: they must survive.

The only tools they were allowed to bring were their preferred weapons as well as utility items such as tents and blankets; Essential needs, however, were strictly prohibited— which meant no water, no ration, no medicines, etc. This was because these students were expected to gather these resources from nature through their mettle and resourcefulness. Hence, surviving the wild was effectively the first, and the most rudimentary, mission.

Those who had failed to survive would automatically be removed from the test along with any hope to gather more merits for the year. Still, survival alone was proven to be a challenge of its own, because the students were not only expected to compete with their fellow classmates, they would also often find themselves prying resources from the jaws of the beasts and other beings native to Mount Parazonium. Forced to strive under the harsh environment, these creatures developed brutal tenacity and savagery; Trying to get the necessary resources from them was no different from trying to grab a piece of meat from the mouth of a hungry tiger.

Commendably, despite the atrocious conditions, there had not been a single casualty throughout these ten years— mild to slightly graver wounds notwithstanding. On one hand, it was all thanks to the faculty's watertight emergency procedures, yet some credits had to go to the students themselves for being accustomed to such tests enough to come up with various survival strategies.

Once the admiration for Mount Parazonium passed, the students turned to the task at hand. Gradually but surely, the plateau was starting to be filled with shouts like these:

"We're a team of second-graders with actual skills! We need an experienced tank over here— first-grade noobs get out of the line!"

"Self-sufficient first-graders… assemble! We welcome you so long you have something to bring to the table! Wanna show some girl power? Wanna prove that might makes right? Come aboard!"

"This is a team of three fourth-graders who just wanna get this over with. All we need is a cute girl who knows how to make moralizing food! Don't worry, you'll just make us some sandwiches while a group of high-scoring veterans hardcarry you throughout the Trial… Oy, I said 'cute girls only'! Don't play deaf!"

"Calling all with desirable skills! We don't care about your seniority, we just need your skills! Right now, we're looking for someone who's an apothecary adept, good in alchemy, and an archer. Sorry, we have more than enough close combatants already…"

Only the most prodigious may stand a slim chance to survive Mount Parazonium on their own, so the number one survival strategy for any sensible student was always to team up. While most would look for kindred spirits or others with complementary skills, a few of them would target only the A-listers. Apparently, if one managed to leech onto a sufficiently good teammate, they could kick back and relax knowing that they had essentially passed the test.

Take the Kitty Cat Maid, Attie, as an example. Far from being the token moe character whose main contribution was squealing her teammates' names to boost their resolve and motivation, she was the ace herself. A powerful, strong, and (incredibly) thicc fighter whose War God's Sword was just the cherry on top!

She had been hardcarrying anyone who was lucky enough to be a part of her team on all four of her Trials. One might wonder if this was one of the factors why Attie was a mainstay in the top spots of popularity polls every year— it was not just because she was beautiful and had a bodacious body, but also because of her lingering reputation as the "Grade Savior" even after her graduation.

At first, Baiyi was staunchly against this team-up system because it provided a massive loophole for one to abuse. The Hitman, however, managed to convince him that it took an assortment of skills to work together effectively, ranging from covering their teammates' to complementing the others' skillset with one's own. Besides, as most of the students who joined Da Xue were crowned as geniuses and prodigies by their respective communities, the pride and ego bred by that sort of lavish reverence would stop them from incessantly relying on others.

As for those who managed to join Da Xue only because their parents contributed enough money to the academy… well, this loophole was probably the only mean they had to pass the Trial. It might even be the perfect chance for these privileged brats to experience what it was like to be at the mercy of other people's kindness (and lack thereof) too, since their privileged life most likely sheltered them from the darker underbelly of society.

In the end, the team-up system remained as a staple of the Trial of Parazonium, which was why the same scene of students looking to form teams in a frenzy repeated every year. As time passed, the remainders became more and more frantic as they hurriedly persuade other teams to let them join in. The ones with finalized teams, meanwhile, sat and watched them with apathy.

The exchanged students from the Northern Continent made no attempt to hide their contempt as they sat far away from the Southerners. Although they were technically second-graders, this was their first Trial— during their first year in the academy, the faculty had decided that they were still too unfamiliar with their new environment to join in.

Now, finally permitted to join the renowned Trial of Parazonium, these Northerners were practically beaming with excitement, pride, and confidence. They were likely just happy to flex their skills since wilderness survival was a popular form of training back in the Northern Continent.

With ten of them divided into teams of two, the Northerners sat in a circle around their bald leader.

"Look at they Southern scunners! Scampering fur thair teammates at th' last-minute lik' that. Hou pathetic," One of them sneered in amusement.

Looking up from a book titled "The Complete Guide to Surviving in Mount Parazonium", the bald leader scowled. "'Twould nae matter. According tae this book, everybody is merely banding th'gither tae survive. In truth, thair heids are set on different missions."

These Northern students rarely interacted with their Southern peers, so they had heard very little specifics about the battle exam in Mount Parazonium. Hence, when they managed to find a guidebook on the Trial in the students' market a day before the exam, they were beyond ecstatic.

It was not forbidden for students to conduct business within Da Xue. A few of them regularly partook in trading and selling all kinds of merchandise around their dorms, sometimes even setting up stalls. Most of their business revolved around equipment and popular pastimes, the bestsellers being the Archmage's (in)famous gatcha trading cards. However, when the exam season hit, these leisure items were quickly replaced by exam aids— past year exam questions, revision materials, equipment and paraphernalia that could be useful for practical tests, and more. Most of these were made or prepared by the students themselves, especially those from the Engineering, Smithy, and the Alchemy Faculties.

The bald leader had purchased his manual on the market yesterday, costing him twenty gold coins in the process. After reading through the manual thoroughly, he finally understood what and how the Trial was going to be. Realizing that the Northerners were severely underequipped, he ordered all of his friends to quickly sweep up every camping and survival equipment they could salvage. Fast forward today and it seemed like they were the most prepared today.

Just thinking about how fortunate they were made the bald leader beamed proudly. By the gods, he had stumbled upon a true treasure!

Little did the bald leader knew that the seller — a student from the Business Faculty, no less — considered him a true treasure, too. That manual would have been sold no more than a few silver coins if he even managed to con anyone to buy it at all, but this Northern sucker just readily handed over twenty gold coins without questions. Now, successfully selling a massively overpriced item was definitely the achievement to grant that him a tide of merits in his practical assessment!

Even more incredibly, that student was far from the only one benefitting from these Northerner's "generosity". As the Northerners had failed to prepare everything before their leader read his enlightening manual, they were practically sweeping everything off the rack, prices be damned. Unsurprisingly, the Engineering and Smithy students' eyes were sparkling as these unexpected Northern cash-cows lined their pockets.

"The condition tae pass is simple: we must fulfill every individual mission asked o' us. Natheless, thare wull be side quests to accrue more points," The bald leader said rousingly as he waved his favorite book. "Hark, lads, that is oor goal. We shall complete every single mission 'n' side quest there is, tae prove tae these Southern scunners th' honor 'n valor of us Northern men!".

"Aye, Chief is right. We're fully prepared fae oor minds tae th' body. Victory is awready within oor grasp!" Another Northerner chimed in. "Oan that note, might ah share a delightful ware ah hae gotten yesterday? 'Tis a mighty metallic wok that warms food!"

Giddily, he fished out an object resembling a rice cooker from Earth out of his storage pouch.

"Huh! Is this one forged by they engineers?" The bald leader's eyes twinkled as he turned his head sharply to it, his voice laced with interest.

"Aye. Wi' this, we shall ne'er be short oan steaming hot grubs," The Northerner grinned, obviously pleased. "It cuid even git us warm water if we ever need it… Truly a fine luxury tae possess in th' wilderness."

"Mm. 'Tis surprising that this…'engineering arts' o' th' South is capable o' such ingenuity," The bald leader praised earnestly.

"Fie, if only it teuk less… toll. Th' seller charged me thirty gold coins, Chief— my entire year o' allowance," The student admitted in a softer voice, wincing a bit as if the money had sore him.

"Ha! Ur a dunce fur paying that much over that wee thing. Wi' only fifteen gold coins, ah hae bought a special tent that cuid lower or raise its interior temperature. We shall ne'er be at th' mercy o' biting cold!" Another student interjected proudly. "Thay say that these Southerners are cunning schemies, but nae all are good in business as rumored efter all!"

"Hmph. This is a test of brawn, mettle, 'n' spirit! Yet, these Southerners cannae stand tae leave themselves unpampered fur ten days." Suddenly, a new voice — unimpressed and outstandingly righteous-sounding — snorted. "We best not follow thair examples 'n' weaken ourselves."

Apparently, this righteous-sounding one had only bought a military shovel forged by the Smithy Faculty at the price of one gold coin.

The Northerners were still happily lambasting the Southerners for their apparent indulgence when the Hitman, sensing it was almost time, bellowed above the hubbub, "Silence! It is time to receive your mission."

The students immediately quieted themselves upon hearing him, their feet shuffling quietly as they gathered around him.

"Good, now take a random draw. May the odds be with you," He continued.

The faculty's instructors gathered around him, carrying a few wooden boxes and waiting for the students to come forward. Per their grades, each of them would receive their missions with corresponding difficulties by drawing a pouch from the assigned boxes. Then, their missions would be inscribed on the metallic sheets stored in the pouch.

Soon, every student had received a pouch and was eager to find out about their mission. Before they could even pull out any metallic sheet, however, the Hitman suddenly declared loudly, "The exam begins right now!"

Just as sudden as his announcement was the Principal Soul Armature Practitioner's presence. He stepped out from behind the Hitman, his hand holding a cage containing none other than Women's Best Defender and Men's Best Friend— the Jawflower.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

481 What Is With These Cheesy Names?

When the students spotted the Jawflower, they froze, befuddled to find their arch-nemesis out here during their exam. Did the female dormitory no longer need its famous security guard? Did the skirt-chasers from the Magic Faculty and the Dragon Knights' Faculty, who were just as perverted as they were, pinky-swear that they would no longer try to sneak into the female dormitory, causing the Jawflower to become obsolete?

As the students slowly recovered from their initial shock, comments ensued.

"Why is the Jawflower here? I thought it patrolled only the ladies' dorm!"

"Hey… Wait a minute! We're not here to protect it while it's in Mount Parazonium, right? Seriously, though, it likes to act like a badass, but I tell ya': if it wasn't for Grand Principal Hope, I would have crushed that little thing underneath my boots!"

"Speaking of which, where is my beloved Professor Attie? She attends every Trial, but she isn't here this time. Why? Not seeing my dear Professor Attie for an extended period time makes me lose my will to live…"

When the Hitman Walker heard the students' unnecessary questions, he gave a loud, cold grunt, prompting the students to shut their mouths immediately.

Satisfied with the silence, the Hitman Walker said, "Grand Principal Hope has already said that it is high time we introduce a change to the Trial of Parazonium. It's pretty sensible, so we decided to do just that."

That was all the Voidwalker's explanation entailed. He faced the Soul Armature Practitioner and gave a meaningful nod.

The Soul Armature Practitioner looked hesitant, though. He lowered his voice and asked tentatively, "Are you sure about this? If Hope finds out that you poached his floral doggy for something like this… It's not going to be pretty."

"Bah, he's too damn busy to worry about this, for now. He's got that mysterious armor to work out; those otherworldly technologies, which our nerdy friends are fretting over, need his input; and he has to invigilate the Sorcerers' Faculty's exam. Trust me; he will have the time to check on his dog," the Hitman Walker said reassuringly.

"If you say so…" The Soul Armature Practitioner shrugged and placed the cage on the ground, after which he undid the latch. As soon as the Jawflower was out, the Soul Armature Practitioner quickly poured an unknown potion over the creature.

The flower, which considered itself a tough mutt, almost immediately began to wobble before toppling to the ground. It stayed still, as though it had died!

The students were aghast. No matter how much prowess their principals had, neither of them should be stupid enough to experiment on the Grand Principal's precious 'dog'! Before the students could say anything, however, the Soul Armature Practitioner activated his Demigod Territory — Wildlife Growth Spurt.

The Jawflower suddenly sprang up, as though paying a weird homage to Sleeping Beauty. It began to grow in size rapidly, without any sign of stopping. The students watched it grow to the size of a small hill.

Now taking up half of the plateau, the students' faces were shrouded under the Jawflower's looming shadow. With their eyes glued to the Jawflower, the students gave a collective gulp as a single streak of cold sweat streamed down from their temple.

"This is the new change to our exam this year. You are required to complete your mission while evading the Jawflower," the Hitman Walker said, without pity. Then, with a good swing, he kicked the Jawflower on its bum hard.

An enraged Jawflower charged forward, its jaw stretching wide, barring its fangs, and then clamped down towards the little bastards who all had a personal vendetta against it.

"H-help —!" The students erupted into a frenzied stampede to all directions. The air was immediately filled with screams like these:

"No wonder I'm hearing boss music!!!"

"God above, I swear off the life of sneaking into the girls' dorm from now on—!"

"Jawflower? What Jawflower?! All I'm seeing is just Mega-Maniacal Malignant Jawflower-X!"

The students were stomping through the plateau so much that it was a wonder the entire platform did not just give up and toppled. It was an expansive plateau, but it was not nearly large enough for the students to run in circles with the Jawflower at their heels. Soon, the students found themselves pressing towards the edge, with just one step away from falling into the valley of stony pikes below.

Despite their seeming helplessness, these students had already prepared just the right trick in their sleeves — they were too panicky to remember them. After all, they were never supposed to stay on the same plateau throughout these ten days!

Hence, with motivation as powerful as desperation, the students displayed their best escaping skills: some performed exemplary feats of aerial jumps, allowing them to land swiftly at the next plateau closest to the one they came from. Some brandished the tools they had prepared for this exact occasion, using hooks, paragliders, floating scrolls, and many more to get themselves across. Meanwhile, some took a brave leap over the cliff and plummeted down to the valley below; before their bodies smashed onto the rocky spikes, they timed their landing and used the rocks as a foothold, catapulting themselves to other spikes until they reached another plateau.

Thus, despite the Jawflower's menacing snarls and sometimes, a close chomp just a hair away from the students' skin, none of them were actually injured. Indeed, all of them managed to escape the gigantic flower-mutt without much difficulty.

To be able to escape — to preserve one's own life — was one of the most important philosophies espounded by Da Xue's Knight Faculty. Unlike most other knightly organizations which heavily emphasized honor, glory, and one's sacrifice, the Knight Faculty believed that staying alive was the most important skill above all else. Indeed, the Hitman Walker had described their ideal as thus: "It doesn't matter if one's a glorious, admirable hitman, or a weak and cowardly knight. All of them share the same need to protect themselves before doing anything else."

Soon, the fastest of the students had reached the other islands. The Jawflower, meanwhile, was stuck on its original plateau as it eyed the sea of rocky spikes in the surrounding and glued itself to the spot in fear.

The students were quick to celebrate this small victory. Looking back at it, they taunted, "Hahhaha! What's the matter, Big Ugly Mutt? Afraid of these little needles down there?"

"Can't believe the Principal looked down on us by assuming that this thing is all it takes to stop us!"

"And I thought this updated Hard Mode is gonna be something challenging. What a letdown!"

They were enjoying their chucking out barbs at the Jawflower that they did not notice a new shadow looming behind their backs —

In a flash, a chorus of shrieks tore through the air once again.

"Holy cow, why is a cactus here?! And why is it so goddamn big?!"

"Cactus?! No, this isn't a mere cactus! It's… It's ColossalxCruelty Cactus Z!"

The students immediately scrambled to the nearest edge of the plateau as they tried to search for the next safe haven to leap to. Before they could leap away, they caught another cacophony of panicked cries blaring from their intended destination, "Aaarghhh! Why the hell is that weird watermelon thingy here?! Isn't it supposed to be guarding the goddamned garden?!"

"What kind of watermelon is this... No! It's not just any watermelon! It's… Bloodborne Mutant Watermelon-Omega!"

It was then when the students realized that the Jawflower was hardly the only one of Hope's pets to be thrown into this examin the name of "higher difficulty".

There were only three highlands that were the closest to the starting plateau. Now that two of them were shown to be occupied by two monsters even more ferocious than the Jawflower, the students quickly turned their sight towards the last sanctuary they could reach.

Once again, before they could make their escape to it, they watched, in horror, their coursemates jumping off from the island like a grotesque waterfall. As they fell they howled, "Don't come over here if you value your lives, brothers! The… this monster… he's even more terrifying…"

"It's our f***ing Vice-Principal himself! Get out!"

The last monster was none other than the Hitman Walkerhimself! Amidst the chaos incited by the Jawflower, he had somehow snuck to that particular island,unnoticed. Then, when the first batch of students arrived, thinking they were finally saved from those enlarged monsters, they came face to face with the Hitman Walker dual-wielding a pair of battle axes as he swung like a hurricane towards them...

Suffice to say, the entire Trial of Parazonium had just upgraded into Hard+ Mode. Not only must the students complete their assigned missions, but they also had to do so without being defeated by any of these four monsters. Failing either automatically meant failing the exam!

Even more critically, these ambushes had caused something unprecedented: the teams the students had formed prior to the exam had been broken up completely. Amid the snafu, the students had lost sight of their original teammates; so now the most they could find were a few of their other coursemates whom they could form a temporary team with. Regardless, they could no longer play out whatever role they had scripted themselves to do while in their planned teams.

Some of the students were quick to try circumventing this sudden split by calling their friends through their communication slabs. Unfortunately, to their dismay, the Soul Armature Practitioner had already jammed the signal of the entire micro-realm through a well-cast barrier.

In the end, these students were bound to two choices: try to form a workable team with regardless of who the others were, or survive these ten days in Mount Parazonium alone..

This was precisely the change Baiyi wanted. The team-up system could stay and he would cut those free-riding students some slack — but only if the students were forced to work together with strangers instead of their planned teams. After all, a knight may not always be able to remain with their original team during missions. Sometimes they might even have to form an alliance with unfamiliar classmates they'd just met unexpectedly to reach their goals.

Most importantly, was finding a niche while working with unfamiliar acquiantances not the most challenging form of teamwork?

The bald guy, who had acted as the Chief of the Northern lads, was one of those who had completely split off from his brothers. In his attempt to escape the "Bloodborne Mutant Watermelon-Omega", he had been lunging from one island to another as he dodged and ducked barrages of watermelon canonballs.

When the coast was finally cleared, he found himself staring face-to-face with two of his despised "Southern scunners".

The three of them sat down, fatigued from their individual escape. Between catching their breaths, they eyed each other suspiciously, not recognizing any of them in their class. It was safe to assume that the three of them were not even of the same grade.

"Welp. Looks like we're a team now, huh?" The more muscular Southern student broke the silence with a helpless smile. He stuck his hand into his pouch and fished out the metallic sheets.As his eyes gleaned over the missions inscribed on it, he asked, "Have you look at yours yet?"

The two of them shook their heads. Who could possibly have the time to read their missions when they were being chased by "Mega-Maniacal Malignant Jawflower-X"?

"Hey… You're from the Northern Continent, aren't you?" The shorter Southern student asked the bald gu.

The bald guy nodded wordlessly and started skimming through his missions, placing the Complete Guide for Surviving in Mount Parazonium side-by-side to look for the best solutions for each quest.

The hunky student's eyes lingered on the book's cover for a while and suddenly cried out, "Holy s***! Who gave you that?"

"Ah bought it," The bald guy replied flatly. He pondered on the possibility of the two Southern scunners pleading him for knowledge and secrets in his book — what should he do if that happened? Should he relent and help them? Or should he pretend not to hear them and ignore them altogether?

The shorter lad replied in bemusement, "Wait, someone actually managed to sell this thing?!"

Sensing his disbelief, the bald guy was briefly stunned before quickly asking, "How dae you mean?"

"This book is one of the many overpriced garbage those bloody bastards from the Business Faculty use to con freshmen!" The hunky one answered, slightly amused. "Of course, even the newbies knew better than to be suckered in by those dipshits, but you… You didn't get the memo, did you?"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

482 So Ambitious!

The bald guy's haughty expression softened as soon as his mind registered their words. Staring at the guidebook in his hand, he asked tentatively, "Sae everything in this book… they're all untruths?"

"Oh no, they're accurate, alright. In fact, I bet everything in that book is true. Still doesn't warrant spending a dime for it," the hunky student replied.

"True that. You can get practically the same kind of information from the book just by asking any senior in the faculty. Hell, treat them with a drink or something, and they will tell you everything, free of charge. Pay attention to what they say and you, too, can author a book like that!" The shorter Southerner chimed in. "Oh, I'd wager that was exactly how that Business Faculty bastard compiled this overpriced guidebook in the first place."

The bald guy's eyebrows started pushing towards the center. Being charged a piece of gold coin for what could be free was already stupid enough, but he managed to gift that merchant thirty pieces of gold coins altogether! At least these Southern scunners were kind enough not to ask him on how much he had paid, or he was sure they would crown him the best clown of the year.

Not to say that they needed to ask in the first place — just watching the storm settling on their bald Northern friend's features was enough of a clue. 'That's the Business Faculty for ya'', they remarked in their head. 'Every last one of them was a heartless, soulless, scheming piece of s***. It was just like them to exploit everyone for their own profits!'

"Fie! Is there nothing th' academy cuid dae aboot these dastards!?" One could hear the rising tide of anger in his voice.

"Ah, how shall I put it? Uh, hem. The book was compiled by that merchant, so technically, he was selling you something he had 'personally created'. Neither did the element of force came into play during the sale, so the deal was legal. The academy can't weigh in since it didn't breach any rules," The shorter student said gingerly.

The hunky one looked like he was trying to stifle his laughter. Nonetheless, as a display of sensitivity, he attempted to be as solemn as possible when he added, "Don't they teach kids about arming against s****y conmen back in the North? You know, how to watch for the telltale signs of a scam? 'Cause you'll be seeing red flags everywhere on the Business Faculty, man. From their teach' to their apprentices, every last one of them is a scum without a conscience. Hell, they gather together, learn how to swindle every nickel out from the rest of the world, and called it 'business tactics'!"

His commentary sounded harsh, but it was not really an exaggeration. With the Merchant Walker taking the helm as the Principal, the Charlatan Walker as his Vice-Principal, and the legal-loophole abuser-extraordinaire, Kashi the Painter, as their Leading Lecturer, the Business Faculty's integrity practically rot from the top. Combined with students whom these S-class conmen handpicked based on their kindred potentials, the entire faculty was basically a conmen production factory.

If Baiyi was to relax even a little while overseeing them, they would have turned into a bona fide crime syndicate.

The bald guy gritted his teeth. It was not the loss of money that infuriated him — as the son of a prominent Northern nobility, thirty gold coins were just a sub-amount of his monthly allowance. No, he was furious because his pride was hurt.

He fumed, "Cravens! This shall not rest 'til justice is mete! I'd defended th' academy wi' mah blood! I will nae stand tae be mocked! I'm off tae give thair Principal a piece o' mah mind!"

"Halt, buddy. That ain't gonna work," The hunky one interjected like a slick advising his predictable friend. "Debating with a bunch of con artists? They will obfuscate you till you see stars spinning around you. Trust me, ten of you can't beat even one of them."

"Besides, the skill of gathering intel is also a part of the test, man. What should you equip yourself with? How do you go about gathering and filter your intel of interest? We've been taught this over classes all the time. Every proper knight knows how to properly prepare themselves before a mission," The shorter one joined his compatriot. "You can be mad about this, but you're not going to win the argument."

"Yer taught how tae collect information?" The bald guy asked, bemused. Due to their unique status, the Northerners never joined any of the classes taught in the Knight Faculty. Instead, their lessons were solely on elemental combat chi control, which was taught by "Huffing Piggy #1" the Warrior Walker.

"Of course. It's only gonna be more important once we leave the academy and venture into the wild, messy world out there, right? What if you wanted to explore somewhere or embark on an adventure in an unfamiliar place? What should be your gears and equipment? How to gather accurate and useful intel from information brokers?" The hunky student explained patiently. "All of these take skills. Though every respectable fighter would learn them after some experience, the faculty teaches it right now."

"And this is why Da Xue stands out among all educational institutions! Not only do they teach us fighting techniques and tactics, but we also learn about the trades and skills to strive in the society out there. Unlike us, students from other schools have to spend their time learning these the hard way while we Da Xue graduates immediately make a name for ourselves [1]," The shorter one added, patting the bald guy reassuringly. "So don't fret about it, alright? Just think about it this way: that Business Faculty is a den of snakes, right? Once you learn how to counter them, there's no one else in the world who would ever get the better of you again!"

The bald guy gave an amused chortle. "In all honesty, I'm o' nae need fur th' art o' combating conmen… But I ken yer advice. Mayhap th' others 'n' I ought tae partake in these classes in th' future."

Despite his youth and his shiny, glowing head, this Northern lad was the eldest son of a high-ranking general and heir to the position. Indeed, it was his high-born station that automatically made him the Northern students' leader. Rightfully, the most important knowledge for him was how to lead and fight, instead of evading street-level scam artists and snake-oil salesmen.

Nonetheless, it did not stop him from understanding the importance of these lessons. On the surface, they were about avoiding scammers, but the larger intention was always to mold the students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

This sort of practicality in their curriculum was one of the many reasons Da Xue stood out and eclipsed all other institutions. [2]

"Alright, let bygones be bygones. Let's focus on the present, shall we? We should check our missions now. If we're lucky, we could help each other on our quests," The hunky one began before reading out his missions to the other two: obtain ten Titantail Salamanders' tails, capture a Furria's cub, and poach five lindworm eggs.

"What the hell, you're a senior! Aww man, just look at the difficulty of your missions…" The shorter one exclaimed in shock before flashing them his missions: draw a map of on a targeted area; pick a stalk of a herb by the name of Dracohepatia, and finally, obtain ten of a Steel Scarab's scales.

As the Titantail Salamanders and the lindworms were apex predators of Mount Parazonium's ecosystem, it entailed two deadly battles in the hunky student's quests. The Furrias were relatively harmless, but to compensate for their lack of self-defense mechanisms, these creatures had long established a commensal relationship with other aggressive beasts, relying on the latter to protect them indirectly. Hence, one could only find a Furria's nest close to the dens of other deadlier creatures.

In comparison, the shorter students' missions were several leagues easier. At least two of them — drawing a map and picking herbs — could be done without actually getting into a fight. The only mission that may involve some form of weapon-brandishing would be one involving the Steel Scarab, and even that was still relatively easy. Since it was a solitary animal with hundreds of scales around it, one could take a Steel Scarab down with a team and divide the creature's parts and still be able to meet the requirement of their mission.

Needless to say, placing the two students' quests side-by-side easily highlight the gap of difficulty between them, once again hinting at the two students' differing academic grade.

However, it turned out that the bald Northerner's missions managed to out-easy them both. Two of his missions were essentially mandated explorations, while the last one involved hunting three Shield Gars. These fish were famous for their swift, nasty bite when provoked and their severe lack of intelligence. A humanoid effigy made from a reliably sturdy material would suffice to bait these Shield Gars into attacking, so fishing them could not even count as a test of patience. They were so dumb that their intelligence may even be more inferior than players of free-to-play mobile games.

"Whoa! Now those take me back to my first grade," the shorter student muttered enviously. "Back then, the greatest challenge of the Trial was plain survival, 'cause the missions themselves were pretty damn basic."

The hunky Southerner, meanwhile, affixed the bald guy with a look of disbelief. He tipped his head higher, his eyes skimming through the other's head as if to find any fiber that could resemble hair before murmuring, "Um, I… I didn't expect you to be a freshman."

The bald Northerner was embarrassed and indignant. A Northern warrior constantly trained their body and mind under the tutelage of the eve unforgiving mother nature, so he clearly should have been tasked with something more challenging than these small fries!.

"Unacceptable... I wull nae be satisfied wi' these pathetic missions! I'll complete three more side quests as well — I'll complete six missions throo' out these ten days!" The bald guy declared boldly as he furiously drew out three more metallic sheets from his pouch, each of them color-coded: bronze being easy, silver as intermediate, and gold as hard.

He flipped the bronze sheet and read the quest: 'Submit a Lavasioth's beating heart'.

The two Southern students immediately made a face at each other as if saying 'Nope, I don't think we should know the rest'. Then, in unison, they marched towards him and simultaneously gripped onto the latter's shoulder with one hand, shaking their heads.

"I admire your passion, my friend, but I think we should just put that back into the pouch and focus on our dinner," the hunky one advised.

"How dae ye mean? Are these impossible?"

The Northerners shook their heads simultaneously again and explained, "Well, it's not impossible per se, but it's so tedious that it's wiser to just give up. Sure, maybe a Lavasioth isn't the most powerful enemy you can find here, but your mission is to submit its beating heart. Emphasis on 'beating'. So, to make sure that the heart remains alive despite being taken out of its chest, you can only hunt it close to the last or second last day of the Trial..."

"A Lavasioth is known for its shrewdness and hypervigilance, man. It takes cover deep within the earth, and if you don't know how to force it out by drilling or blasting a crater out from the earth, the only other option is to wait for it to come out on its own volition at night when it hunts for food. Due to the time constraint, this means you only have one night to fight it and defeat it. Lose that, and your chance is gone forever!"

"If you wanna make sure that you will succeed, you'll have to spend several nights not sleeping and locate its possible hideout as well as observe its pattern and habits…"

The bald guy was choked into a silent stare. Although Northern warriors were no strangers to survival training in the wilderness, those training never involved hunting. This mission, however, was not just a test of hunting skills, but also superhuman endurance and patience. The amount of effort needed just to increase the odds of success alone was enough to obstruct one's progress on their main missions!

Just thinking about the absurd difficulty of completing a bronze-level side quest made the bald Northerner questioned the viability of completing silver- and gold-level ones. Still too headstrong to admit inadequacy, he shook his head to abandon the thought of giving up. "Why, haes na one ever finish all six quests afore?"

"Well, someone did," The shorter one admitted.

"Then how come did ye think it wid be impossible fur me?" The bald guy replied hotly.

"My young and foolish friend, do you even have nary an idea who that person was?" The hunky student rebutted a little mockingly.

The bald guy shook his head, confirming the former of his suspicion.

The hunky one lifted his finger and said solemnly, "Throughout these ten years, there was only one legend who had managed to complete all six missions. Do you know who that was?"

"None other than our beautiful, adorable, sexy, gentle Professor Attie!" The shorter one replied with beaming adoration and awe. "Dude, do you know how powerful that sword of hers is?"

"There you have it. You better just stick to thinking about what to eat tonight, if you ask me."

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

483 The Word of the Chapter is... Stick!

Suffice to say that after the revelation, the bald Northerner became deeply disheartened. As the Steppe Barbarians were unfriendly neighbors with the Northern nations, skirmishes regularly broke out on their borders. Hence, as the son of a renowned military authority, he was no stranger to the legends and feats of the barbarians' trump card, the War God's Sword.

Above all else, however, he knew better than to compare his skills with a famous nonpareil as Professor Attie.

The poor bald guy was so dejected, he abstained from joining his two teammates' spirited discussion about their upcoming dinner plan.

His two new teammates were not blind to his brooding mood, and to their credits, they tried to cheer him up..

"C'mon, Shiny Egghead. Pouting like that actively hurts your handsomeness, you know?" The hunky Southerner began. "Look, these side quests are designed specifically to be ridiculously close to impossible — unless you're as broken as Professor Attie, that is. Honestly, they're little more than merits boosters, and to complete even one of them depends on how lucky we are. Hey, even those platinum-necklace bearing geniuses can't promise that they could do even one of them!"

"Exactly! If you're really goddamned lucky, you could even accidentally complete a gold-level side quest! True story, bro; a sponsored kid did that just last year," the shorter student added chippily. "Man, his merits were originally way below the minimum requirement for graduation. Then, with a stroke of luck, that dude found a bloody Marked Beast's Corestone… It totally turned the tables, because it turned out that was the objective of last year's gold-level side quest. Boom! Just like that, he graduated with just the exact amount of merits as required!"

The bald guy listened quietly to his teammates' attempts to cheer him up and finally nodded. Flashing them a forceful and objectively ugly grin, he finally said with a tinge of cordiality, "Dinnae fash yerself, I ken what yer telling me. Ah, 'n' please, I'm nae 'Shiny Egghead'. Th' name o' this one is Wu'ke, a Northern warrior."

His temperament had long been honed by both his training as heir to a general and experience as the leader of the Northern exchange students, so it did not take him a long time to steel himself and moved on from his dejection.

"Heh, you Northerners always have the more interesting names! I'm Joe, third-grader. Shield knight," The hunky one took up his cordial exchange and immediately extended his right hand. [1]

"And I'm Morad. Second-grader. Pretty good with dual-wielding swords!" The shorter one offered.

After that, the three shook hands as a sign of alliance and the beginning of a momentary group.

Wu'ke quietly tucked his ex-treasure back into his storage pouch. He decided that instead of looking everything up from a book, he was better off learning from two seniors with actual experiences. It would be a far more effective lesson, and best of all, it was free.

As stated, the first challenge of the Trial of Parazonium was to survive. Hence, the first step was always to set up a base where one could return to rest and/or recuperate in a precarious environment.

As the most experienced of the trio, Hunky Joe displayed skills of a veteran hunter. He began scouting for footprints and trails left by wild beasts, carefully scrutinizing the surroundings and even sniffed the air once or twice as he tried to pinpoint the best location to set up camp.

"From my experience, it's always safer to stay below," he told them. "You can get some pretty tasty games down there, too!"

From a bird's eye view, the rocky spikes forming below the plateaus looked like an ocean of flesh-tearing prongs, but the truth was far from it. If one went through the spikes and reached the bottom, they could easily see that it was similar to an average canyon. The only biggest difference between Mount Parazonium's canyon and a typical one was that the former was fragmented by many random spurts of soaring plateaus and rocky spikes.

There were pros and cons for staying active on the highlands and plateaus , which is also known as the 'Upper Level,' or lying low at the bottom of the canyons, which is appropriately called the 'Lower Level.' The Upper Level featured wide, unobstructed plains allowing one to see for miles under brilliant sunlight and to move freely without obstruction. Thus, it was most optimum for fighting, but because it boasted more resources and spaces, the Upper Level was also home to many of the fiercest and most aggressive wild beasts. Worse, the roster of dangerous beings active in the Upper Level now also included the Jawflower X and its ilk.

The Lower Level, in contrast, was geographically complex. Due to the random outgrowths of rocky spikes — often in dense, concentrated fashion — the bottom of the canyons was generally dim and not easy on the eyes. Ironically, this geographical quirk became a reliable natural cover from the predators, therefore allowing many of the weaker beasts to thrive down here. To the students, this meant they could hunt for games easily in the Lower Level.

Unsurprisingly, students from lower grades tended to stick to the Lower Level while senior students, emboldened by their experience, favored flexing their skills in the Upper Level. Strategically, however, a team of three members who knew little of their teammates' skillsets would do better to lay low in the Lower Level at the moment. After all, it would be detrimental to have the newly-created team forced to split amid the chaos caused by a wild Jawflower X suddenly appearing.

The trio started descending to the Lower Level by making short, controlled leaps down the spikes as if they were going down a flight of disjointed, disorganized stairs. Once they reached the bottom safely, Bald Wu'ke looked up and saw that the sky overhead was now replaced by concentrated thickets of rocky spikes allowing very little rays of sunlight through. It made him felt like he had just exited from a jungle.

As if to affirm that sticking in the Lower Level was the wiser choice, the team instantly came across a nest of Molebbits.

Molebbits were said to have evolved from regular rabbits, with their fur a deep shade of dirt-brown to blend with its preferred environment and their claws evolved to drill through hard rocks and earth like an armadillo. Molebbits were also larger and more muscular than their ancestors, which meant that they made tender, chewy games.

The three crept close to the nest and crouched motionlessly. As Molebbits were hypervigilant and would burrow themselves away the moment they detected any unusual movement, none of them dared stuck their hands into the opening of the nest.

Hunky Joe took one glance at the fist-sized hole and made a few signs with his hands which said, 'Has anyone of you brought some matches?'

It seemed that he was planning to force the Molebbits out using smokes.

Bald Wu'ke shook his head before signaling the two of them to back away as he crept even closer to the hole. Balling his right hand into a fist, he activated his elemental combat chi.

In a flash, his right fist started bursting into visible flames. Before the Molebbits could even detect what happened, Wu'ke stuck his fist into the hole with lightning speed and released his chi in a burst.

A muffled racket escaped.

"Gee, are you trying to make us some charred rabbit grills?" Hunky Joe quipped tartly. He remembered from one of the lectures that these Northerners' combat chi was famous for their explosive power.

As a response, Bald Wu'ke flashed him a coy smile. Then, he slowly pulled out a family of two large and three smaller Molebbits from the hole, all of them alive. The only visible damage these Molebbits bore from his attack was that their fur appeared to be slightly singed, otherwise they were unconscious yet alive.

Apparently, Wu'ke did not unleash his combat chi into a point-blank explosion. Instead, he diffused his chi into the earth around the nest, so when he released it in a jolt, it caused the Molebbits' nest to quake so suddenly that the creatures were knocked out by the trauma.

Eyeing the Molebbits' occasionally jerking legs, the Southerners managed to deduce Wu'ke's technique as a look of genuine awe settled into their visages. They raised their thumbs in admiration, crying, "Holy s***, that is some amazing combat chi control!"

"Okay. You'd show us what you got so we better keep up," Hunky Joe said spiritedly. "If something as timid as Molebbits made their nest here, it means that this place is probably free from large monster attacks. I bet there's a water source nearby, too. This is the perfect spot to set a camp!"

He looked around carefully until his sight rested on an area of stony spikes growing out in bunches like unkept tree branches. "Just the right length…" he murmured under his breath, pointing at them.

He pulled out a long, single-handed sword from his storage pouch. With a loud cry, he leaped high onto a rocky pillar close to his target and infused his combat chi into his weapon before slicing a few of the finer rocky spikes like a gardener trimming young, outgrown branches. The spikes fell down below with a heavy thud as Hunky Joe worked.

"Ooh, guess I'll have to make myself useful through manual labor," Short Morad announced and started moving to one of the fallen spikes.

Hunky Joe may have picked the smaller spikes out of the bunch, but they were still as wide as several meters long in circumference. An average man would have to throw their arms around it like an embrace to really lift it up. Shockingly, though, the pint-sized lad had grabbed one of the spikes — which was apparently larger than he was — just by his one arm without even a slight sign of exertion.

Of course, due to the contrast in sizes, it also made him looked quite comical.

"So, Senior, where to?" Short Morad's voice rang from underneath the spike.

Hunky Joe perched from his spot and took down a tomahawk strapped to his waist. Aiming at his desired location, he hurled it, plunging the blade into a plot of land enclosed by tall, wall-like rocky spikes.

The area looked like a natural fortress saved for one large opening, but if one could build a fence from the severed spikes, they would be able to create a makeshift patio protected by walls of sturdy granite prongs.

No sane person would honestly believe that mere tents would be enough to guard one against the dangers of Mount Parazonium. Not even a cave was safe — even with the entrance blocked, there were many creatures capable of drilling through the walls of the cave. Worse, one might even find the hellish face of the Hitman burrowing out from the wall.

Marking out a safe territory by using natural defenses like these rock spikes was the most fundamental of survival knowledge in the Lower Level. The spikes were so resilient enough that very few monsters could actually slam through them.

Even those that could would, undoubtedly, cause such a racket as they struggled against the prongs that the students would have been alerted in time to react and escape.

Short Morad understood Hunky Joe's reasoning almost immediately. Panting quietly, he started moving the spikes to the destination much like an ant moving breadcrumbs. Once there, he promptly plunged the spike and stuck them deep into the earth. Then, without a moment to rest, he ran back to where Hunky Joe was and began again.

Bald Wu'ke quickly offered his help. To his surprise, despite Short Morad's apparent effortlessness, Wu'ke could only move the spike after summoning his combat chi to aid his normal strength. Sensing no sign of similar combat chi usage from Morad, Wu'ke gawked at him in shock, not expecting the little man to be so much stronger than himself.

Soon, Hunky Joe's job was complete. He jumped down from the pillar and joined the other two as they slowly built a fence of spikes guarding their patio, leaving only a very slim opening for a human to squeeze in and out.

Then, close to that entrance, Joe stuck a fine, long iron rod into the earth and bound a small bell at the top. It was to be used as a simple but effective alarm to signify the activities of large monsters capable of burrowing underground.

After setting up their tents and other necessary tools behind the fence, the team's camp was finally set!

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

484 A Lucky Finding!

Much like Bald Wu'ke and co., the other students threw themselves into setting up camps at their chosen locations. Amusingly, that became a chance to show off one's creativity in problem-solving and/or the size of their pockets.

A few had the same idea as Bald Wu'ke's team. They severed a few rocky spikes from the surroundings with their own techniques and built a makeshift fortress around their tents.

Some had managed to procure magical drilling equipment from the Alchemy Faculty prior to the Trial so that they could excavate a large cave out of a sufficiently large rock pillar — the idea was to make set their base one hundred-odd meter above ground much like a bird's nest. This allowed them to be safe from the reach of terrestrial wild beasts, but it also made going in and out of their base quite bothersome.

Even then, some went even further and really let the size of their wallet shone—discarding the usual procedures of making camps, they just purchased a handy, three-minute-set fortress-in-a-pocket from the Engineering Faculty. When activated, the tent expanded into an impressive bastion built for attacks, defense, and instant packing when fleeing was needed. As if that was not enough to make anyone jealous, the interior designs, functions, and facilities were luxurious enough to belong in a bona fide hotel.

Finally, there was the simplest, most brutal, and symbolically human method that only the strongest and laziest students could do: colonizing a wild beast's nest by force! That was precisely what Lee — the star student of the fourth-graders and one of the contenders for platinum-necklace of the upcoming graduation — did with the grace of a savage. Shortly after he found a den belonging to a family of bears, he had charged right in with only his battle cry as an announcement before lashing out severe beatings to Bear Pa and Bear Ma. In the end, the two had to abandon their home in fear while they held their recently-born cub, eyes still closed and mewling out protests.

It was probably one of the most unscrupulous tricks to resort to, yet it was logically sound. Any wild beast knew that one must first make the safest den they could for their offsprings to be safe from the harsh dog-eat-dog world outside. Not only that, every animal would only build their nest close to a place where food and water supplies were readily available.

The downside, however, was that these dens were always thick with the animal's stench as well as its lackluster sense of hygiene — to a human. This meant that someone from the team would have to do some housekeeping before the den was truly habitable, and unsurprisingly, Lee was exempted from that kind of dirty work.

After being forced to split from his original teammates by Cactus Z, Lee had encountered a few of his juniors on the run and formed his new momentary team. As his reputation him, the juniors counted themselves lucky and gladly take up whatever errands he ordered them to do to be allowed in the team, including cleaning the den.

The events unfolded themselves simultaneously on an abundance of holographic screens spreading before Baiyi. He was sitting comfortably in the Kitty Cat Maid's office at the moment, observing the students secretly, not unlike a security officer watching surveillance tapes in the operation room back on Earth.

It was one of the most basic security measures Da Xue employed to ensure that no one would have their lives thrown away for frolicking in the wrong neighborhood in Mount Parazonium.

Another measure the academy had taken was to have the Voidwalkers dispatched to annihilate every single monster that might beway over the students' skills and proficiency levels prior to the Trial. Not only that, the metallic sheets where the students' missions were inscribed had been equipped with a form of emergency eject button; if things ever went south, a transporting spell would be activated automatically and whisked them away from the micro-realm altogether. Of course, that also meant that whatever merits they had accumulated would be nulled, but at least they got to keep their lives.

The final line of security Baiyi had installed was the widespread surveillance magic cast all over the entire micro-realm: The All-seeing Eye. An Ancient Rohlerlian forbidden spell, it allowed its user to acutely observe the movement of every living creature in a given territory. It was by no means unavoidable; there were plenty of masking or counter-spells to deflect its effect, thus making it nigh useless modern times.

However, it proved its worth for the internal purpose of overseeing a practical exam. It was the biggest reason why Da Xue never missed a single move the students made, and why the faculty's instructors always managed to appear at the right time and administer help to students who had found themselves in a pickle. This time, however, it also became a cheat for the likes of the Hitman Walker to know where exactly to appear to catch his students off-guard..

In conclusion, any danger presented in the Trial of Parazonium was cosmetic. At its core, the Trial was nothing more than a fancy, more "serious" romp in a very large sandbox.

"Now, where-oh-where are the Soul Armature Practitioner and the Hitman Walker, hmm?" Baiyi asked pointedly at Attie as he spied her from the edge of the screens. "I can't find them."

Normally, the Kitty Cat Maid would stop whatever she was doing and skipped over to her master asking for a hug-hug or a head-pat, but today she was immersed in her job as the star instructor of the Knights Faculty. Her slender hand was gripping on a long name list as she rated and scribbled comments on each student according to their performance.

Since the debut of the Mutated Monsters — featuring exciting members such as the Jawflower X and Watermelon Omega — she had been closely watching the students, evaluating them before awarding each their corresponding merits. These points would soon combine with the marks they obtained by completing their missions to produce their final performance score.

"Hmh. You shouldn't be surprised that these two professors had the means to avoid your surveillance magic, Master," Attie replied without raising her head. "Why are you looking for them?"

"What do you think?" Baiyi zeroed in sharply. "I thought I've made this clear: even though the Jawflower has the face that only a mother would love, I am its mother. So, what other reasons are there for me to ask for those two, Attie? How much, pray tell, are you involved in this scheme, hmm?"

The Kitty Cat Maid found her neck shrinking towards her collar. She shook her head and clarified frantically, "Uh, I know nothing. Not involved at all. Totally their idea!"

"Hmph. If they can't reverse whatever they'd done with the Jawflower, the bitter coldness of the Void awaits them both," Baiyi asserted frigidly.

"You should, um, look at the bright side, Master. With the Jawflower's new size and strength, it will be able to protect the girls more effectively, right?" Attie suggested very softly.

"I'll not allow my school to be turned into a dungeon crawling with magical beasts. This is a line that I'll not cross," Baiyi protested stubbornly. "Especially not at this time when the Church would find any stupid excuse to attack me or the academy."

Attie pursed her lips in helplessness. 'As if the Jawflower isn't a magical beast in the first place!' She thought to herself. 'And what, are we pretending that the Fox, the Sunflower, and the Owl aren't magical beasts as well? If this is the excuse the Church needs, I don't know why they haven't seized it yet. You think they'll say "oh, that's cool" with the Jawflower and suddenly change their mind with Jawflower X?'

Attie was only brave enough to snark her master in her own head than to say it out loud.

Thankfully, Baiyi changed the subject. "Say, Attie. Aren't you going to make an appearance this time?"

"In this little-girl-state?" Attie stuck her tongue out at Baiyi, making a face. With her powers still not restored to its original level, she was still a loli. "I'm embarrassed just by imagining myself like this in front of the students! Lately, all of my classes were taught by someone else."

'You say this as if Mia isn't basically an adult in a loli shell as well. Despite her disability, she's still giving lectures! I think you're just looking for an excuse to get out of work,' Baiyi thought quietly.

He raised his head and returned his attention to the screens, watching closely as if he was looking for something.

"I wonder… Can the Magic Faculty copy this exam format too? Ya know, an epic trial or something similar. Our current practical exam format is a bit too conservative my taste," he murmured under his breath.

Unlike the Knights Faculty, the curriculum of the Magic Faculty emphasized theories more than its practical performance, which was reflected in its exam formats. Their practical exam was as simple as taking the students out to a random field, who was then instructed to fire some spells at whatever target appeared that day.

After mulling over the possibility, however, Baiyi decided to drop the idea as he murmured, "Meh. Sorcery is a noble and graceful profession. My lads and lassies shouldn't be playing in the mud like these uncouth brats here."

While the academy's most feared and respected Grand Principal Bai was spying on the students, they had already moved on to the next task of their survival: obtaining food and water. Since Bald Wu'ke and co. had already gotten their dinner for the night, their search included less-obvious resources such as salt and spices.

Short Morad was tasked to guard their new camp, while Hunky Joe and Bald Wu'ke ventured to the Lower Level. As they were departing, Joe asked his junior, "Ya' know where to get salt?"

Wu'ke stiffed a little before his hand inched towards his storage pouch for the overpriced guidebook. Before he could open his pouch, however, Hunky Joe stopped him with a wave of his hand. "You know what? Never mind. I'll get the salt, and you'll get water."

The Northerner's shiny, hairless head bopped in affirmation. Getting water was one of the most fundamental skills for survival in the wild, even for Northern-style survival training.

The two split up. Just as Bald Wu'ke found a stream of clear spring-water from a fault in a rocky wall, Hunky Joe managed to espy a spike that stood out from the others. Unlike the other rocky spikes, which were dirt-yellow, this one had a few white spots on its surface.

"Lucky me!" He cried in glee before leaping onto the spike with his sword in his hand. With a swift, light cut, he shaved the surface of that spike, revealing white crystalline substance underneath its muddy outer layer.

It was a spike constructed from purely crystallized salt. One needed only to get a small chunk of it to dissolve into water and purify it several times to get basic, coarse table salt.

Hunky Joe gladly carried that large block of crystallized salt back to camp, but his luck did not stop there. On his way back, he stumbled upon something even more valuable than common salt — growing out of the shades of a particular rocky spike were a few blades of edible plants he found familiar.

He uprooted them and sniffed one of them tentatively. Then, when a rejuvenating scent of spiciness rocked his olfactory sense, he cried to no one in particular, "Whoa, this is great!" His mouth started to water at the alluring aroma.

The herb was a special type of cumin found only in Mount Parazonium. Centuries of trying to avoid being eaten by wild animals had forced this particular species of cumin to evolve into producing a sharper, almost-pungent scent than its distant relatives; but, it appeared to work well against all animals saved humans. To make use of its seasoning potential, one needed only to dehydrate it and grind it into a fine powder. After that, simply cast them over the chose food, roast or grill the mixture for a while, and one would be rewarded with a kick in their tastebuds!

In a place where most food could only be prepared by roasting, this small herb was more or less a gift from heaven. Many were addicted to its taste right from their very first experience with it, which was why some students put their missions aside for the first few days just to harvest as many cumin their luck would allow them.

Indeed, these spectacular cumin plants were not easy to be found at all. This was why it was crowned with the title "the Lucky Cumin"; it was even believed that if one could find even a single blade during the Trial, it meant that the student's luck was high enough to carry them through the rest of the exam.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

485 Mm, So Tasty~

When Hunky Joe finally returned, he found Bald Wu'ke already back at camp, several large bags filled with water propped against each other on the ground close to him.

Nearby, Short Morad had used Wu'ke's water to clean and prepare the Molebbits Wu'ke had caught earlier. Deftly, he skinned two of the Molebbits before washing them thoroughly. He then delicately buried the games' entrails carefully into the earth to prevent its smell from alerting any carnivorous wild beast.

"Huh, you're pretty good at this," Joe observed, dropping the salt crystal block he had been carrying onto the ground with a thud. From his pocket, he fished out five blades of herbs, a small smile playing on his lips as the air started filling with a distinct, tangy aroma.

Morad recognized it almost the millisecond his nose picked up the scent. Abruptly, he paused in mid-action and raised his head in wonder. "God, is this what I think it is!?"

"Pretty sure it is. We're in luck, fellas!" Joe erupted into good-natured laughter. "I've missed this taste since forever!"

Bald Wu'ke sniffed hard, his mind trying to infer the identity of the blades in his senior's hand. "Is this a sort o' cumin?" He asked tentatively as walls of text describing local seasonings, gleaned from his overpriced guidebook, floated in his mind. He remembered mentions of common wild pepper and perhaps other similar plants, but there had been no mention of cumin — he wondered if it was because the original author of the book was not lucky enough.

"Guess so. Or maybe it's just something similar to it—I mean, they kinda look the same to a botanical noob like me. What I do know is that applying these babes are different from the way we use normal cumin," Hunky Joe replied. "The point is, you'll absolutely be smitten over it once you taste it!"

"Hold on, Senior! You're… you're not implying that you're gonna share them with us, are you?" Short Morad interjected in pleasant surprised. "I mean, I heard that you could use Lucky Cumin as a reward to get someone to complete your missions."

It was not uncommon for one to "hire" a fellow student — much like hiring a mercenary — to complete their missions through rare materials and games found in Mount Parazonium. Indeed, it was an open secret that many capable students often completed other students' missions for them in exchange for desired food and materials.

It was, unsurprisingly, another aspect of the exam that Baiyi was utterly against; he saw it as a mockery to the Trial's fundamental purpose. It was preposterous that any student lucky enough to come across something delicious could somehow pass the Trial while scoring mission completion points by that merit alone!

The Hitman, however, had his own take. He had passed Grand Principal Bai's message to the faculty and the students, but he himself had never completely forbidden students from doing it. The only few objects he had explicitly banned from these exchanges were money and weapons and/or related paraphernalia; everything else — from natural resources found in the environment to games and raw materials from monsters — were fair game. Thus, it was common for students to exchange materials with one another or even undertake someone else's mission in exchange for rare foodstuffs.

Perhaps the Hitman simply believed that obtaining the food of one's desire in a precarious environment was a test of its own. He might even think that it would help produce hitman with a variety of skills, too.

Much to the delight of his teammates, Hunky Joe flashed them a beaming smile before confirming Short Morad's words. "Well, good things get better if you share them with others. Besides, I don't need to exchange Lucky Cumin to complete my mission; I just need some extra hands… Like yours."

"Y-yes! Yes, of course! Okay, I'll help prepare the salt!" Short Morad exclaimed in high spirits and rushed towards the block of salt crystal lying on the ground. He broke a chunk from it and pulled out a sifter from his storage pouch. Placing the chunk on it, he smashed it with his bare palm as specks of salt floated down to the sifter like snow.

Seeing his seniors hard at work compelled Wu'ke to make himself useful in any way he could. Deciding to copy what Morad was doing, he took a small chunk of crystallized salt in his hand as well before attempting to crush them with his bare hand.

He managed to grind it into powder in the end, but he let out more winces and grunts that he had ever expected. Crystallized salt might have been formed from different compositions than a rock, but the difference mattered little to a human's fleshy hand — especially if said hand belonged to the son of a noble family who had not been one to do manual labors.

Short Morad easily noticed his winces, so he said, "Hey now, you really don't have to force yourself. I can manage."

As if trying to prove his point, he sped up, pulverizing chunks after chunks of salt crystals with his meaty palms as if he was working with clay.

Wu'ke was embarrassed. He had always warned his Northern brethren — and himself, in a roundabout way — to never underestimate these "Southern scunners". However, every time he was around his Southern peers, he innately felt a sense of haughtiness bordering on contempt. He felt he was indefinitely better than the Southerners because, in his eyes, the strict Northern culture and upbringing produced hardy and powerful people not weakened by "indulgence" and excess of "luxurious living". It was this same nationalistic pride that had fueled him into proclaiming his laughably unrealistic ambitions loudly to his two Southern teammates earlier.

The more time he spent with his two Southern partners, the more he has humbled time and time again. Wu'ke now realized that he was never even near the best in his faculty, their origins be damned. Maybe he might display a slight edge over his two teammates in fighting, but he was as clueless and confused as a common first-grader in everything else.

"Look, if you're free, can you help me finish preparing those Molebbits?" Short Morad suggested. "Boil some water while you're at it, too. We'll need it to purify this pile of salt before we could really use them for anything."

Wu'ke nodded wordlessly and hurriedly attend what was asked.

Meanwhile, Hunky Joe had found a plot of space somewhere away from the two. He sat, and with the meticulousness of an engineer repairing their equipment, he started cleaning and tidying those blades of cumin. Then, from his inner pocket, he took out a nondescript iron box and stuffed the herbs into it before cupping his hands around.

He mustered his combat chi to his palms and projected it onto the box in his hands, cooking the herbs through the heat from his combat chi. Leaving the cumin to dry on its own speed could take days, so Joe decided to speed up its dehydration with a trick he had learned from his own seniors.

It would be interesting to trace the origin of such an ingenious invention, but its inventor and story had all but lost in time. However, it did make one thing certain: humans were creatures of boundless creativity and resourcefulness, especially when they were driven by the pressure to survive.

The rest of the day was spent completely on their dinner preparation. After filtering grains of salt using his sifter several times to remove impurities, Morad poured them into a pot of boiling water and waited for it to evaporate. When that happened, all that was left would be edible table salt, although it would probably be inferior in taste than salt bought from a market.

Waiting for the pot to boil took a little too much time than Wu'ke could wait. As he watched forks of timid flames caressing the base of the pot dandily, he felt more and more impatient until finally, he decided to fuel the fire with his elemental combat chi.

His effort proved to be helpful. The water boiled very soon and left as surges of steams pouring out of the pot until all that was left were tiny specks of white salt clinging to the bottom. Gingerly, Morad scraped the salt off and transferred them into a steel wok he had recently warmed. As he started grilling the salt, he explained to a wide-eyed Wu'ke, "It'll taste better this way.".

While his two teammates worked, Hunky Joe's attention had been solely directed to cooking those blades of Lucky Cumin, not moving a single muscle since he started. Controlling one's combat chi to make sure that the heat within the iron box was constantly at an optimum was a demanding and bothersome process, so it was quite surprising that someone who looked like a restless gym bro had the patience for it at all.

Even more surprising was the fact that all of their monkish dedication was only for cooking dinner!

As the sky began to darken and all three were starting to feel the gnawing of hunger in their bellies, Joe finally put the iron box down and nodded at Morad. Morad, meanwhile, had just finished preparing the Molebbits on sticks before roasting.

Joe removed the dehydrated cumin from the box. Now, they had lost their verdant vibrancy as well as its zesty aroma and had instead shriveled into dried grass as every molecule of water stored inside had been vaporized by combat chi.

Again from his inner pocket, Joe took out a few pieces of papers resembling modern-day aluminum foils and wrapped the dried herbs tightly before placing them right into the flames. Quickly, Morad propped the Molebbits sticks against a pole suspending on top of the fire and allowed the meat to cook.

As the flames blazed around the aluminum foils, the aroma of Lucky Cumin slowly returned in stronger and stronger tides. The scent, propelled by heated air, rose upward and enveloped the Molebbits completely and seeped into their juicy meat.

As a son of a noble, Wu'ke was no stranger to all kinds of delicacies before, but his mouth watered uncontrollably the moment he perceived the aroma. He was not alone; his teammates were swallowing their own saliva just as audibly.

They managed to control themselves for a good few minutes for the meat to cook before Hunky Joe, losing to his own hunger, jerked forward. With lightning speed he grabbed his share and started tearing off a piece from the smoked Molebbit's hind leg.

A surge of tangy spiciness attacked his tongue. Juice burst out from the meat the moment he sank his teeth into it. To his delight, there was no taste of excess, nauseating fat even when he was actively sucking out every liquid out of the meat. It was cooked just right, the texture perfect — such a simple meal, but it tasted so heavenly that the burly, manly lad's eyes started to tear up.

Wu'ke, meanwhile, had completely lost his ability to think the moment the smoked Molebbit met his mouth. He had lost every sense of composure and was operating on his base instincts, chomping down the entire Molebbit down like a hungry wolf until all there was left was a pile of bones.

Lamenting the briefness of his experience, Wu'ke licked his fingers several times, hoping that the lingering taste could prolong it longer. When it was clear that he had finished his food, his awareness gradually returned and he scanned his surroundings with a new sense of satisfaction. He could not fathom how a simple meal — cooked and prepared in a rough-hewn method in a harsh environment, using only simple seasonings — managed to beat every posh delicacy he had ever tasted throughout his life.

"By th' gods… I hae ne'er expected heaven in a place loch this," Wu'ke sighed.

"Nature is heaven, my friend," Hunky Joe slurred. He was already intoxicated with his experience as he looked at the bone in his hand. "This, right here… This is pure, unadulterated taste offered by nature that you can never find in other places."

He folded the used aluminum foil carefully and stuffed it back into the iron box. He could reuse the aroma of the Lucky Cumin the next time they wanted to make smoked meat again.

"Ho, there are many more to enjoy here, man. If we're always this lucky, we will be able to taste them all," Morad chirped in happily. "Like that Shield Gar in your mission! Do you have any idea how delicious their roes are?!"

"Oh ho ho! I see you're a man of fine taste, Morad! Shield Gar roes are one the finest things your tongue will ever have the pleasure to meet… and you can still make them better by matching them with Popoberries! Pair that with the egg white of a lindworm's egg… Gods, I'll sacrifice my life just to eat that again!" Joe cried.

Excited, the two seniors started recounting the best food they had ever tasted in Mount Parazonium with more and more extolling details. Listening to them made Wu'ke's mouth watered once more while his face was mired with yearning and wistfulness. How he wished he could just taste every single thing his seniors had mentioned right now!

He failed to notice that he had completely forgotten about his inability to complete side-quests — in fact, he hardly remembered his actual purpose of being in Mount Parazonium. All of a sudden, it was as if he was here just for an unforgettable dining spree.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

486 The Fright of the Nigh

Wu'ke and co. were not the only team to taste a Parazonian offering for their first night. Fortune appeared to be generous that day, as a first-grader that had zero experience in Mount Parazonium soon found out.

When Jawflower X attacked, causing his separation from his teammates, he thought he would fail his test. Amid the chaos, however, he was met with a stroke of luck, accidentally catching a Parazonian Gazelle's lamb.

The poor lamb, too, had been separated from its parents during Jawflower X's sudden attack. It had hurt its legs in its attempt to escape the chaos; this was why the lucky student had been able to capture it.

The first-grader did not know that Parazonian Gazelle lamb stew tasted was a heavenly dish. He also did not know that no one — including the toughest students in his faculty — dared risk their lives to hunt a single lamb within the herd.

Good zoologists classified Parazonian Gazelles as one of the apex species of the goat family. In terms of power, Parazonian Gazelles was only slightly inferior to Hadean Goats and Dragon-blooded War Goats — the goat reared by the Alpine Barbarians.

Parazonian Gazelles were renowned for being muscular, strong, and nimble, with an infamously cantankerous temperament to boot. They bore long, sharp horns that were so lethal, nothing in Mount Parazonium could possibly tank its full impact. This was probably why these gazelles' preferred method of solving problems was to ram their head into whatever was agitating them.

As a magical beast, Prazonian Gazelles also possessed an uncanny ability to scale rocky spikes and even hanging cliffs, therefore allowing them to transverse like a phantom. Worse, despite clearly being powerful enough on their own, these gazelles only traveled in herds and shared unbreakable solidarity between members, so raising the ire of one was really raising the ire of all.

Once an entire herd had set a student as their shared enemy, it was basically the cue for Da Xue's life-protecting transporting spell to activate on its own.

Truthfully, Parazonian gazelles were equally aggressive to humans and other beasts they encountered, so even subdragons, such as lindworms and Parazonium Wyrms, knew better than to attract their wrath. They were so deadly that when Mount Parazonium was to be prepared as one of Da Xue's training grounds, Baiyi had floated the idea of removing these monstrous goats out of the ecosystem completely. He only dismissed the idea because the goats were, ultimately, not the type to offend the students if the latter wisely stayed out of their territories.

Baiyi had also wondered if a human belonging to a certain cult from Earth, with their penchant to form "morally-questionable relationships" with goats and camels, might end up being the beta if they ever met up with a Parazonian gazelle. [1]

Regardless, no matter how powerful these gazelles might be, they were still outmatched by monsters with unbalanced stats such as Jawflower X.

For a dish delicious enough to make one accidentally eat their own tongue, a Parazonian Gazelle lamb stew was surprisingly easy to prepare. All one needed to do was to skin the lamb, season it with common Parazonian prickly ash and a few pinches of salt, and cook it similarly to other kinds of broil.

The student was too bogged down by his anxiety over his missions to recognize his fortune, however. In fact, to him, this bothersome lamb was slowly becoming another problem to worry about, too. It was then when his good fortune struck again — he met a fourth-grader who was out hunting for food, and as the senior recognized the treasure in his hand, the lucky rookie was immediately invited back to his camp.

One of the members of this senior's team was a famous warrior by the name of Eisenrose.

Due to certain biological differences between sexes, female students were scarce in the Knights Faculty such that the ratio of male to female knights was about ten to one. Indeed, it was exactly because of this scarcity that had compelled many of the knight faculty students to sneak into the female dorm for company. Then, due to an underlying appearance bias on Grand Principal Bai's part, every female Da Xue student was young and ravishing. It was said that the beauty of a random girl from Da Xue could easily dwarf a majority of female students from any other academic institution.

With these two factors combined, it was not surprising that every female knight was an Amazonian beauty boasting both prowess and grace. [2]

Naturally, Eisenrose fitted the description to a tee, and was even awarded the moniker "Attie Lite". Face-wise, she might not be as gorgeous as the Kitty Cat Maid, but for her slight lack of beauty, she made it up with her lean and sexy physique. Her skin was even a similar shade of healthy bronze, while her bust and butt were way more 3D than Attie's could ever be.

Honestly, if one were to rate them by their bodies, she should be "Attie Plus" instead. The students' insistence that she was a lite version of Professor Attie, however, belied the fact that they simply thought a woman's facial appearance was slightly more important than her figure — much to Baiyi's consternation. [3].

Eisenrose herself was a big fan of Attie and did her best to emulate her idol. For that reason, she had deliberately trained herself in dual swords, assumed an "ice princess" persona, and even took up cooking classes as a minor course.

The affection was apparently mutual. Attie cared about her little clone enough that she gave the girl a few personal tutelage and advice, thus improving her already-outstanding talent even further. Eisenrose was such an exemplary fighter that she was consistently one of the top scorers in every practical exam, including the Trials in which she had participated three times before the current one. The only reason why Eisenrose was ineligible to contend for the platinum necklace was only that she had selected too few subjects for her study, which severely limited the total amount of merits she could accrue.

Nevertheless, there were rumors that Attie had passed her secret fighting techniques to Eisenrose, as that seemed to be the most plausible explanation to the latter's skyrocketing prowess. Those who knew Attie a bit more personally, meanwhile, even wondered if this Attie Lite had a secret cat-ear hairband — just like her idol's — hidden at home too.

The rumors were obviously false; Eisenrose could not possibly inherit any of Attie's true powers. For one, unlike the latter, Eisenrose was not a certain scatterbrained god's favorite mortal. Secondly, she did not have the tutelage of a certain, nigh-invulnerable Soul Armature.

Regardless, she was still one of the best fighters in class and was thus capable of giving a free ride for the more incompetent ones in class to pass a practical exam. Of course, quite a few of her classmates wished they could just ride her.

With the rookie's tribute, Attie Lite finally had a chance to show off her cooking skill by making a pot of lamb stew seasoned with a few pinches of wild onions and pepper. When she presented the pot to her teammates, they could practically hear their stomach rumbling as their eyes were transfixed at specks of green herb bobbing welcomingly in milky white broil.

The muttons themselves had been sliced into fine, dandy collops through Eisenrose's dexterous swordplay. It was perfectly cut such that each collop was light on fat without compromising the mutton's original texture. The meat seemed to blend with its broil the moment one dug their teeth into it; several seconds later, the full glory of its taste would bloom dandily in one's mouth before eclipsing their mind with a deluge of indescribable flavors.

Just as an experienced chef would recommend: fresh fish and mutton are best-served in the most simplistic way possible. The original flavor would simply be lost if one overdid their cooking.

The lamb stew was such a godly experience that Eisenrose had decided to repay the rookie's tribute by completing all of his main missions for him — the stew was just that valuable to her. Without an S-class weapon like her idol's War God's Sword nor an assembly of powerful techniques to safely capture a Parazonian gazelle's lamb, she would have never been able to taste something so heavenly had it not been the rookie's offering.

There were more instances of impromptu fine dining across Mount Parazonium. For example, another lucky team managed to obtain a few lindworm's eggs as their dinner. These eggs were as huge as an ostrich's egg and could be cooked directly with fire. Once it was cooked enough, one needed only to crack a small aperture at the top of the shell and drink its fine, silky yolk with a straw. One would soon realize that there was probably no wine or moonshine that could bring this particular brand of wild tanginess.

There were even ample delicacies for vegans in Mount Parazonium, the most notable being an inconspicuous plant called the Earthfang Shoot. Superficially, with its dirt-yellow skin, it looked no different than a small rocky spike, but under its unpleasant skin was flesh so pearly white that it resembled the tooth of a large beast. Eating this delicacy required no cooking; one needed only to sink their teeth into its sweet, chewy flesh while its cool, smooth juice dribbled down the edge of one's lips. It was the sort of food that was so scrumptious and pleasant that one sometimes remembered its taste again in their dreams.

Suffice to say that the first night of the Trial of Parazonium had become a night of fine dining in the wild. Many knew that every rare delicacy they came across could be used to enlist help for their missions, but this night, all of them have opted to salvage the food rather than bartering them away. It was hard to say if that was the result of their pride or the realization that while there were many ways to complete a mission — be it via luck, skill, or external help — one could only obtain these delicacies through sheer luck alone.

After setting up their camps and having their first dinner in Mount Parazonium, it was finally time for the teammates to banter, bond, and rest. Barring those unlucky folks who had found themselves stranded in danger zones where large, nocturnal wild beasts were on a prowl, most students were enjoying the picturesque night sky spreading across the micro-realm. Without sunlight shedding light onto every edge and prong of the plateaus and spikes, Mount Parazonium was suddenly shrouded in mysteries like a veiled woman, with only her mystifying silhouette visible.

Watching these tenebrous, looming silhouettes against the dusk, Bald Wu'ke was reminded of a beast hiding in the shadows, ready to pound and kill with one fell swoop. The imagery ignited the embers of dread in his chest, and he chided himself internally for the hubris he had displayed during the day when he had so arrogantly proclaimed his ambitions.

"Alas, th' moontains become sae grotesque when night has fallen… How can men nae be stifled when they found shadows o' goliaths starin' at them?" He murmured in a low voice.

Short Morad and Hunky Joe did not share his sentiment though, and so they threw a laugh instead. "Scared, are you? I was terrified when I first came here, too. Man, I didn't even dare sleep a wink for nights! But really, I can guarantee you that ten days later, you'll find this whole place really boring," Joe said reassuringly.

"Meh, I'm already bored… which is why I brought something that could really get my blood racing fast and hard," Morad interjected, flashing Wu'ke a meaningfully coy smile.

Wu'ke understood his implication, but he did not understand his timing. "Um, surely there is a better time an' place for… ribaldry than th' present, nae?" he blabbered.

"Come on, ribaldry?! You're a shy one… Hold on, you're old enough to know about these stuff, right?"

The two seniors were just about to move their conversation to more risqué topics when all three caught wind of faint sounds in the air.

A succession of whooshes broke the silence of the night. Soon, sounds of something cracking followed by a series of heavy thuds — as if something heavy had plummeted — pounded across the earth towards them. It sounded as if something incredibly large had smashed through the rocky spikes in its path, causing the spikes to snap and fall with a terrible racket.

Just the thought that there was a beast capable of such a feat alone could send one to panic, let alone the realization that it was drawing closer to them.

The three's expressions immediately twisted into one of abject horror. Joe froze for a second before snapping back to his senses, crouching low on the earth and assuming a fetal position. Using a strange technique Wu'ke had never seen before, he managed to quiet his breathing so much that it was as if he had turned into a rock.

Morad, who had doused their campfire off with a bucket of water, immediately dropped down onto the earth as well and did the same.

Wu'ke was the only one who had the least idea of what was going on, but at the very least, he knew that he should copy what his seniors were doing and played dead. Unfortunately, he was having trouble controlling his pounding heart, and against the quiet of the night, it felt like it was the only sound left. His heartbeat was getting louder and louder to himself, roaring like thunder.

He prayed he was the only one who thought so.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

487 The Things Boys Talk About At Nigh

Wu'ke tried his hardest to mimic what his seniors were doing, as his life on it.

However, what he pulled up was not at all close to what his teammates had achieved. He even wondered if his teammates had really died for real; this caused shock to replace his fear. 'Why did these knights even learn to play dead?! At what point will it be useful? What does this all mean?!'

Unbeknownst to him, the Knight Walker was just a figurehead and was only the Principal on paper. The person really in charge of faculty, its curriculum, and the direction in which knighthood training went was actually the Hitman Walker. As a man passionate about his profession, the Hitman Walker had decided to start creat a course, to teach students about the art of espionage and stealth, which were both required if one wanted to infiltrate an enemy base without being seen. However, the concept of stealth in the Hitman Walker's mind was quite different from the concept employed by for visiting.

A factor that contributed to this was Da Xue's harsh merit system. As one could only graduate if they managed to acquire a high amount of merit points, many that could not be categorized under 'the absolute best' needed to join as many elective classes as they could, to grind for merit points. It was relatively easy for students of the Knights' faculty to obtain a high score in the Hitman Walker's Stealth class; this made the class useful and highly sort after.

Another factor — a crucial one — was related to the imbalanced male-to-female ratio of students in the faculty, an issue that has already been mentioned.

Although the Hitman Walker was terrible at missions that required stealth, he still knew a lot about the concept of stealth. The Voidwalker could not put into practice what he taught, but from his classes, the students learned enough to fool dimwits like the Jawflower — the gatekeeper guarding the female dorms.

The above factors explained why the Stealth elective class had become popular amongst the students of the Knight faculty. There were times when Lady Assassin Walker dropped by, to participate as a guest teacher, heightening the class's credibility. As time passed, students from other faculties — such as the Sorcerer, Alchemy, Literature, and even Theology faculties — were allowed to take the class.

Other than Da Xue's genius talents — who did not lack merit points — serious male students took the Hitman's Stealth class at some point in time; if they had not, their peers would begin to talk, and rumors questioning their sexuality would start to spread.

The Northerners, again, were not up to date on the happenings, as they were still in their self-imposed isolation. None of them knew about Stealth class, so they did not join it. If Wu'ke knew about it, he would curse at himself for not joining earlier; if he had, he'd had learned how to play dead, listening only to the racket made by the monster storming past them.

His heart was beating like a drum, and his growing fear did nothing to quell it. Finally, after some time had passed, the commotion died down, and silence enveloped the surroundings. Nursing the feeling of relief, Wu'ke made to exhale gently.

Suddenly, Hunky Joe's hand shot out and covered Wu'ke's mouth tightly. Seconds later, the monster stirred again, and it shuffled over to where the three were before going silent. A few seconds later, the monster's pounding footsteps rang out just beside Wu'ke and his friends. It was as though the monster was looking around, trying to perceive any sign of movement.

This went on for some minutes, and the footsteps eventually seemed to fade into the distance. Even after a few seconds had passed, there was nothing more to be heard; the monster had finally gone.

"Oh… my… god! Damn it, you… How should I put it?" Short Morad began to grumble after letting out a sigh of relief. "You almost got us all killed!"

"W-what was t-that?" Wu'ke said, peering at the darkness beyond, through the spaces between the rock fence. "I-I can't believe something thes terrifyin' exists in a place loch thes!" He whispered in terror.

"That was the Jawflower, man! Only that bastard thing walks that way. It's cunning and nocturnal. Why can't it just go to sleep like normal monsters do, huh? Its pals, the watermelon and the cactus have already retired for the day. Goddamn it; this is the reason why this piece of s*** plant is the final boss guarding the girls' dorm!" Hunky Joe answered unhappily. "Are you even from this academy? You don't seem to know anything at all!"

That remark made Wu'ke feel embarrassed. He lowered his head and explained, "Um, we… We dinnae join th' faculty as much. We devote only tae Master Warrior Walker's teachings."

"Master Warrior Walker?" The two teammates stared at Wu'ke with twinkling eyes. "Do you mean… that drop-dead gorgeous, black-haired babe, who is as beautiful as a fey from heaven? She's actually a lecturer of the Knights Faculty?"

"Dinnae be foolish an' shallow as tae only view 'er as an object! She's a saintess in Northern martial arts; sae show some respect," The Northerner rebuked. "We dare nae gaze upon 'er beauty in th' eye, let alone comment on it sae flippantly!"

Morad grimaced. "Pfft, you Northerners are really pretentious, you know that? Come on, tell us more, yea? Can't believe that, for once, we're the clueless party… We know nothing about this gal!"

"I am willin', but even I ken only puckle things about 'er. She's th' legend o' legends, she who had created a unique elemental combat chi technique that was lost in time. It was only since she had returned as a Soul Armature that this solitaire o' martial arts resurfaces," Wu'ke answered honestly. "Indeed, we're only here because we wanted tae learn Frozen Fire from 'er."

"Hey, do you know what this? This is a 'yawn.' Who even wants to listen to boring s***, man? At least give something more useful, like a name! Hobbies! Favorite spot to hang out! Is she single? Does she have a lot of suitors?" Morad said, firing question after question. "Don't you see that these are the real meat of knowledge?!"

"N-name? I believe she's known as Lan'you… Or at least, that was what I heard. As for the rest, I ken naught," he answered with a helpless expression.

Of the three Huffing Piggies, only Lady Assassin Walker showed her face, every now and then, in public to give classes and host talks. The Warrior Walker and Fairy Walker rarely appeared. Even after the Northern exchange students joined Da Xue, the Warrior Walker rarely showed up. Although she was the faculty's head — and only — lecturer, she only gave lectures once in a month; most of the time, the students trained on their own.

"Motherf*****. This is the only thing you know? You Northerners should be ashamed of yourselves!" Morad exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Halt. There is something significant that I feel I must divulge," Wu'ke, whose head an imaginary lightbulb had just appeared over, blurted. The two seniors quickly turned to him, their lips curling upwards into sinister smiles.

"She seems tae be th' Grand Principal's consort…" He said softly.

Hunky Joe and Short Morad felt their bodies tremble. This new piece of news made them feel as though bolts of lightening were coursing through their bodies, obliterating any interest they harbored towards the Warrior Walker. They knew what the Grand Principal had done to those foolish enough to confess love to Profession Mia, who was, more or less, his ward. That man was worse than the Jawflower; the most terrifying monsters could not hold a candle to his ferocity.

After the explosive piece of news was heard, awkward silence enveloped the three. After a few moments, Morad quickly changed the subject.

"Fine then, just our s**** luck. I just didn't know she's from our faculty," he said. "I previously thought that our prettiest lecturer was Professor Attie, which, in turn, made me think that we're losing to other faculties, you know?"

"Excuuuuuuse you," Joe suddenly butted in. "Are you implying that Professor Attie isn't pretty enough?!"

"No, Senior, that's not what I meant! Come on. The Sorcerer Faculty's got both Professor Mia and Professor Nota; the Dragon Knights have the mother and daughter pair, who are both beautiful; and the Theology Faculty may have only Vice-Principal Laeticia, but I always considered her the prettiest one of them all," Morad explained matter-of-factly. "So, what I'm saying is, as the number one faculty in Da Xue, shouldn't we also be number one in this department?"

The boys were starting to understand that the first night in Mount Parazonium was most likely the safest, so it was the best time for them to engage in their favorite topics of conversation.

"Oof. Can't argue with that mad truth." Joe was surprisingly easy to be persuaded!

"Pardon me, isn't th' number one faculty in Da Xue th' Sorcerer Walker's faculty?" Wu'ke said, not knowing he was being unnecessarily honest.

"Bah! Those nerds? All they have is the most number of students! I don't see why that makes them better than us!" Morad retorted scornfully.

"We might not have the numbers, but we have way more battle skills than they ever do. They wouldn't dare do anything similar to the Trial of Parazonium in their curriculum, because Grand Principal Hope is too damn conservative. He's always forcing students to follow his antiquated method!" Joe added hotly.

"Speaking of which, I'll be frank: Principal Archmage is that one lecturer from those nerds' place that I genuinely like," Morad said. He stuck his hand into his storage pouch and fished out a few cards with beautiful anime-styled girls drawn on it.

They were the same cipher cards from the Archmage's infamous gatcha game. Apparently, Morad was a fan of 2D waifus.

"Oh ho, you're a man of culture!" Hunky Joe's lips spread into an appreciative grin before fishing out his own collection. "Come, show me what you got!"

At this point, Wu'ke realized he was once again completely at a loss of what was being said at all.

"Yo! You actually have loli Mia?! I heard it's the rarest SSR ever!"

"Well, rarest before Grand Principal Hope intervenes. Thanks to him, the rate of pulling an SSR has improved a lot, so this loli version of Professor Mia isn't that rare anymore."

"I know, but I'm still kinda jealous…"

"What's there to be jealous about? It's not really that useful of a card. The only thing it can do is stop that broken Principal Hope. Other times, I just treat it as a part of my hoard, because she's really gorgeous here. Okay, now lemme see yours — the f***?! You have that many SSR with you?! By the gods, you're a rich kid, aren't you?"

"No, no. You're exaggerating. I only got this many of 'em because the rate of each pull had increased. All these took was just ten gold coins."

"Only ten bloody gold coins for eighteen SSR?! Your luck is f***ing broke! That's it, you're just rubbing it on my face! You wanted to rub it on my face, don't ya?"

"Wha? 'Course not. You're the one who asked for it, didn't ya~"

"Why you... Are you a human or are you just a big, pompous showboat?!"

"Neither; I'm just lucky. Oh, with that being said, it doesn't matter how lucky you are if there haven't been any new cards to pull. Ever since the Principal had taken over the entire operation, there just aren't as many new cards anymore… It's kinda lame now."

"Shut your piehole, showboat! Only people like you have the luxury to complain."

The Northerner sat quietly on a side and watched the seniors' back-and-forth banter. Once again, he was completely out of the loop.This is a reference to The Hitman game franchise. Supposedly you're to infiltrate the enemies using stealthy techniques and whatnot, but noobs (like me) often failed at some point and turned what was supposedly a stealth game into Call of Duty. [1]

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

488 The Contras

The night passed, and dawn soon arrived, signaling another day in the Trial of Parazonium arrived.

Baiyi's Kitty Cat Maid had woken up extra early. She let out a jaw-breaking yawn as she entered her office, setting the student's performance record book wide on her desk. Squeezing her eyes a little, she mustered her attention to the screens and observed the students' state in the morning to award them points for last night's performance.

One may raise an eyebrow at the idea of assessing past performance based on their present state in the morning, but it was logical. How refreshed and spirited these students were in the morning allowed Attie to infer the experience they had last night. Was it a pleasant rest? Were they forced to tussle with the Jawflower? Or perhaps they suffered an attack from some other nocturnal natives?

A look at how invigorated Team Egghead and Team Eisenrose, for example, was a big sign that the night had gone as well as it could. They were visibly high in spirits as they began to pursue their mission targets. The same, however, could not be said to the team led by supposed cream of the crop, Lee. They actually seemed even wearier than the day it began.

Curiosity took over Attie. As one of the contenders for the platinum necklace, Lee had always been a target of her attention. This was why if he ever wavered, she picked it up instantly. That was not all; Attie noticed that the boy had emerged not from the bear's den that he had so forcefully taken over yesterday, but from the top of a suspending rocky spike. He had been spending the night up here.

It came out as a shock. This was Lee's fourth time joining the Trial, which meant he was one of the most seasoned veterans among the students. Surely he was above committing an egregious error that could cause a deduction of points like this. What could have happened to make him abandon a secure camp close to a secured food source? How did he even end up in this state?

Attie tapped on Lee's screen and flicked her wrist. Quickly, the scene started playing backward until it was last night.

The downfall began with an honest-but-deadly mistake from two first-graders whom Lee had so good-naturedly taken in as his teammates. Being newbies, they were not familiar with the characters and unwritten rules of Da Xue, including who the Jawflower was or its reputation as the fearsome beast that guarded the female dorm. When they heard the strange, rhythmic poundings outside the den, in false chivalrous bravery they ventured outside.

Of course, with the aid of the torches in their hands, they were easily discovered by Jawflower X. They made their next grave mistake by sprinting straight back to the only place they knew was safe, effectively leading Jawflower X to their base.

No students could contain an upgraded and enlarged Jawflower — not even honor student Lee. Thanks to his useless teammates, he was forced to go on a run, and in an effort to thwart Jawflower X off his heels, he neglected the welfare of his teammates and escaped alone. His team was in shambles, but after some thoughts, he decided to abandon them altogether and spent the night on a tall rocky spike, high above Jawflower X's reach.

Da Xue famously extolled the virtues of collectivism and discouraged individualistic heroics [1] — a principle palpable in the points-awarding system for the Trial of Parazonium. Although it was not explicitly stated that students must form teams during the Trial, they were nonetheless incentivized to do so, simply because there was a lot of extra points for teamwork. If one performed exceptionally and managed to carry their entire team throughout the Trial, they would be even more lavishly awarded.

In summary, anyone who worked in a team would always earn more points than a lone wolf.

This was really the greatest reason why Lee decided to take in these first-graders in the first place. If he ever hoped to earn that platinum necklace, he would stand a better chance by grinding more merits. Taking up juniors into his team was merely one of his tried-and-true means to earn points, and was one he had used over his past three Trials.

Whether his intentions were selfish or not mattered little since, in the end, it did encourage someone as strong as himself to help the weak — the very thing Da Xue had hoped to achieve with the incentives. However, what ruined Lee's plan was the unannounced addition of mutated monsters this year, as well as the sudden twist that his teammates were not those he had selected and planned prior to the Trial but anyone he came across.

That was how he ended up in this fiasco: he was unable to help his teammates and ended up miserable and alone at the top of a rocky spike with hardly enough sleep.

While putting together a team to victory would net in a huge amount of points, the inverse — abandoning your teammates at the face of danger — would cause a landslide loss of points enough to drastically hamper one from achieving distinction. In other words, this turn of events had dealt a fatal blow to Lee's overall performance; the only way he could ever cover that loss was if he managed to complete every single mission plus the additional side quests.

In other words, he was going to lose his eligibility for the platinum necklace.

There was a small loophole that could save him, however: Attie's decision. If she ignored this slip and allowed him to maintain his current score, even if he opted to survive the Trial without a team, his personal prowess should still be able to push him back into the bar of distinction.

Should she let this mistake go, because Lee was the Knight's Faculty only hope for bringing in the glory of the platinum necklace, or should she be impartial and deduct his points accordingly?

A smile played on Attie's lips. With a light little flick of her quill, she slashed off a large number of Lee's points as if the pen was a sword. It might as well be, as she had basically murdered the Knight Faculty's chance at obtaining prestige and bragging rights through Lee's platinum necklace.

She was not the slightest bit upset at the thought of it. "Running away from the unexpected? Ha! To think that a wimp like you once thought that you deserve my Mia!" She ribbed as if Lee was there in her office. "Unlike you, if there's any danger, Mia would definitely throw herself in front of others!".

She had not expected someone to listen in her conversation, but a familiar voice ringing from the other side of her door said otherwise. "Huh? Who's in trouble?"

The owner of the voice opened the door and made herself known.

"Mia! I didn't expect you to be here today. Aren't you supposed to invigilate for the upcoming sorcery exam?" Attie greeted before scanning Mia questioningly. "Why… are you wearing something like that?"

Mia's go-to Professor uniform would always be the newly designed one with its long, floor-draping skirt and its high-cut slit at the side which sometimes served as a window to her lean legs. Today, however, she was donning the original Da Xue classic — a thick, long robe, with every inch of her skin covered completely. It was as though she had worn a bucket.

Unsurprisingly, this was Baiyi's favorite design, but it was one of the worst outfits Mia, the avid fashionista who would do anything to show off, had ever had the displeasure of wearing. Right now, though, here she was, wearing something only Baiyi would approve.

"It's because of the exam that I'm wearing something like this!" She grumbled helplessly and stumbled into Attie's office like an animated bucket with short stout legs. "I mean, the students are always distracted whenever I'm wearing our usual uniform. It's fine during lectures, but it's pretty bad during exams."

Last year, when she wore her favorite uniform to invigilate for an exam, the asymmetrical cut had made its high-cut slit far more risqué than she had expected. It was marginally better during lectures because Mia spent most of the time standing up or walking around; but as during invigilations the most action she did was to sit on the desk, her lean, long legs wrapped by sexy white pantyhose became completely exposed for all to see. Naturally, that tore the boys' eyes away from their papers too frequently.

The effect was, to Mia's dismay, substantive. The scores in every exam Mia invigilated suffered considerably, and after knowing her part in it, she volunteered to wear the most conservative uniform she had for all of her invigilations since then.

"Huh, that's pretty considerate of you," Attie commented with an amused smile after listening to Mia's explanation.

"I still have some time left before the exam started, so I thought of visiting you for a nice chat," Mia continued. "How's the exam on your side?"

Attie pursed her lips and replied simply, "See for yourself."

She beckoned Mia to come closer to where the screens suspended in the air. "Following Principal Hitman's request, we added some changes to the exam, and now everything's a little… different from last year."

Baiyi had discussed the difficulty of the Trials of Parazonium at length with the Hitman in the past. On a superficial level, the Trial was just the right amount of challenge, but once students had gotten used to its offerings then formed a workable team, the difficulty level plummeted disproportionately. As the Trial had been done since the founding of Da Xue itself, the students had a wealth of knowledge about Mount Parazonium itself; from its danger zones, safe zones, finest delicacies, to its ecosystem and where the most dangerous beasts reside. If nothing new was going to happen, Baiyi had argued, the Trial of Parazonium was going to turn into Teatime at Mount Parazonium very soon. However, with that being said, Mount Parazonium was objectively too difficult for newbies without guidance from veterans.

The chasm in difficulty between the experienced and the rookies was just that stark.

If it was not for the fact that getting a good micro-realm for their exercise was a load of trouble while establishing the All-Seeing Eye was annoying and tricky to pull off, Baiyi would have asked the Hitman to change a new micro-realm for their exam every few times or stop the trial altogether.

The Hitman had held his ground that the Trial was still very much relevant. He did, however, agree that the faculty would need to spice things up for the veterans. For that end, the faculty had introduced different difficulty levels of missions according to the student's current grade, as well as banning them from bringing medic packs, water, and ration from outside. The faculty even adjusted the scoring scheme multiple times, but the effects were still negligible.

It was only this year when the Hitman decided to up the ante by throwing Jawflower X, Cactus Z, and Watermelon Omega — three magical beasts the students could not possibly defeat — into the fray to shake things up. Because of that, the students' experiences, while still relevant, were no longer a guarantee for success. Lee's failure was only an example of it; using the same methods he had been employing since he first joined the Trials had caused him to fail on the very first night itself.

When changes were introduced, only those who could adapt accordingly stood a chance to prevail and score high. Eisenrose's team, though consisting of first-graders much as Lee's was, demonstrated that spectacularly. By a stroke of bad luck, her camp was in the middle of Jawflower X's nightly patrol path, causing them to be quickly discovered by the mutated monster.

Despite being a girl and therefore never once targeted by the Jawflower before, she was surprisingly knowledgeable about the Jawflower's pattern and behaviors. With her quick-thinking, she managed to lead her team away from the Jawflower systematically, then quickly secured a new location to set up their base in the darkness of the night, just so her teammates would not lose a night's sleep.

Then, the next morning, their misfortune struck again, this time in the form of Cactus Z. It was a precarious situation, but Eisenrose thought fast. She knew that the Cactus was a much less aggressive monster than the Jawflower, and so armed with her knowledge of Mount Parazonium's geography, she managed to calmly lead her team to retreat while baiting Cactus Z to a den of lindworms. When Cactus Z was stuck in a fight with them, she used the opening to escort her team to safety.

A few minutes later, she led her team back to the now-wrecked den to salvage materials, such as lindworms' eggs, from the aftermath. This, in turn, allowed her teammate to complete his mission.

Naturally, her display of resourcefulness, level-headedness, and leadership had earned Attie's rave review, especially when compared to that no-good Lee.

Mia was impressed after listening to Attie's commentary, too. "That girl is like a copy of you, Attie! She's so good at taking care of others perfectly… Are all of you dark-skinned girls always so gentle and good at taking care of others?" [2]

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

489 We“re In An Agreemen

Instead of a pretense of modesty, Attie let out a self-satisfied snicker as her eyes returned to the screen. "What else do you expect from someone who has always looked up to me? Not bad, huh?" She beamed smugly.

Attie made no attempt to hide how pleased she was with herself. She had personally groomed this little copy of her, after all, so now that the girl was one of the most outstanding of all students and being lavishly praised, the master herself could not but attribute some of it to her own guidance and teaching.

As Mia and Attie continued heaping compliments on the girl, the latter's attention slowly fell to Eisenrose's voluminous butt and breast. Suddenly struck with a pang of self-consciousness, she looked down at her own assets.

The cliff-like straightness that defined her chest stared back at her — a reminder that she was still stuck in the figure of a girl before her puberty simply because her Divine Energy had not recovered since the Inter-Realm War. Frowning, she grumbled under her breath, "Why isn't she following my example in this department, though?"

Mia could not quite catch Attie's words but she let it pass. Pressed for time, the two were only able to wrench in a few more chitchats before she had to depart for her invigilation, though the two managed to squeeze in a pinky-swear to hang out after the end of their respective exams.

She was just about to start towards the door when Attie asked, "So, what are your plans for the holiday, Mia? Going somewhere fun? Any plans at all?"

Since the only semester break would begin after the exam, it was fitting to start planning for it right now.

"Ohh… That," Mia's voice drooped apologetically. "I don't know if everyone's free for any plans, you know? As for myself, well… Mr. Hope has a lot of work planned out already."

Back in the days — fresh off from graduation but before they were saddled with duties as lecturers and Vice Principals — the girls were spoilt with free time. The students' semester break was also their break, and as it was long, it became an opportunity for the sisterhood to enjoy themselves over an extensive period. Since a certain Soul Armature was too married to his position as the Grand Principal to supervise them, the girls had been free to let themselves loose, indulging in as much fun as they could without being nagged about their miniskirts and whatnots.

Those carefree times were over about two years ago, though. The girls had their jobs and their responsibilities to carry out, and so even when Da Xue students were having holidays, the girls still had to continue with their respective duties. They were so busy they no longer had the luxury of a long vacation.

Among them, Attie was possibly the luckiest. With someone as responsible as the Hitman and Mr. Sorry as her superiors, she had a lot less on her shoulders. Still, with her sisters were all busy, she had no one to hang out with neither.

"Aww! Come on. You're already a Legendary-level sorcerer, aren't you? How powerful does Master want you to be, Mia?" Attie moaned in dismay.

"Maybe as strong as he is now." Mia gave a helpless smile. "Anyway, I gotta' go now. Catch you some other time!"

Her footsteps faded from the door and left Attie alone in her office, staring at the surveillance screens in boredom as she resumed awarding points for each of the students.

As the professors were busy making sure the exams were going smoothly, Grand Principal Bai himself was significantly less busy than he usually was. In fact, instead of sifting through paperwork in his office, he was watering and tending the garden with his two new lolis, Santa and Anna.

It seemed that if operations in Da Xue run normally, he would actually be less occupied.

Troubles caught up to a man of his position eventually. Before he could savor his free time, he received Tisdale's message on his communication slab that he had a visitor from the Church waiting for him in his office.

"Oh? An envoy from the Church at this time? Why, finally issuing a formal challenge? I thought you people will stay down for your little Grace Day festivities," Baiyi murmured under his breath, his interest piqued. He left the two little girls to tend to his garden on his stead and performed a short-distance teleportation spell, appearing right in his office and made the envoy jumped.

"Whooooaa-oh. I mean, long time no see," The envoy commented weakly. "Apologies, you're still really good at surprises as you were before."

It was clear from his greetings that it was someone who had known Baiyi for a while.

"Ha, so they did send you. Probably the wisest move the Church had ever made lately, but then again… I doubt anyone else dared accept the job you're asked to do," Baiyi replied.

The envoy turned out to be the chaplain, Weslie, who had gone through an adventure with Baiyi many years ago.

When Da Xue was just founded, while Baiyi's mission was ulterior, the two had worked together multiple times and forged an amicable relationship. Back then, the Church was still led by religious moderates who viewed the ties between Weslie and the Voidwalkers as an important asset; in time, such high regard extended to the humble chaplain himself. His ranks surged within the organization and he almost became the archbishop of Arfin City — had he succeeded, all churches within the city and towns around it would be directly under his control. It was a position that signified one as part of the Church's upper echelons.

Unfortunately, the weasel-looking chaplain's well of luck ran dried. He was just one step away from being an archbishop when the hardliners succeeded in wrestling control over the Church's highest positions. His ties with Baiyi quickly turned him into a sore sight, and so he was demoted from a bishop back to a lowly chaplain. He was even almost demoted into an ascetic — the lowest hierarchy within the Church.

Finding himself face to face with Baiyi, he could sense a whirlpool of sentiments thrashing in his mind. Had it not been the Fifth Walker, he would have never gotten the chance to be promoted beyond the ranks of a chaplain; however, it was also because of this connection that he was almost turned into an ascetic. And now, here he was, a disposable messenger for an organization who could not care less if Baiyi might harm him at all.

Only fools would think life is predictable.

"Shall I take the sight of you as a sign of temporary truce?" Baiyi was clearly disinterested with whatever sentimental thoughts in Father Weslie's head.

"The Church dare not fight you with brute force," Father Weslie confirmed Baiyi's suspicion with a noncommittal smile. "They are a lot more extreme and hawkish than they were in the past, I'll give you that, but they are not dimwitted."

"And?" Baiyi probed.

"They express willingness to have things remain as they are," Father Weslie said tentatively. He used to be more relaxed when conversing with Baiyi, but now he was just as afraid to be reduced into a pile of ashes as the other unluckier messengers had been.

"They're joking, right?" Baiyi snickered. "Or is this just a ploy to bid their time while they try to summon a little angel to help them? Should I give them space and time for that, hmm?"

"Uh, I can't confirm the real reason behind the Church's decision, since someone from my position has no right to high-level information. The only thing I'm allowed to know as a messenger is that they will not wage a physical war with you at the moment. The Church is merely against your stance, teachings, and… Um, your existence. Hence, if you refrain from fighting them, they'll also return the favor."

"Oh, is that so?" Baiyi thought about it for a while and understood the Church's intention: they were telling him to stay down for the moment so that both sides could get ready for the showdown. In other words, the Church was saying, "Be a gentleman, and don't throw me a punch before I'm ready!"

The intention of sending a convoy then became clear: the Church was unable to pour their resources into war preparations because Grace Day was around the corner. Moreover, if Baiyi suddenly delivers a strike of forbidden spell at the Holy City during the festival, an event of merriment would turn into a massacre.

It seemed naïve — even foolishly wistful — to make one's enemy promise not to attack before they were ready, but this was the culture of this world. Be it a skirmish over a plot of land, a duel between feuding nobles, to an all-out war between conquest-thirsty thanes, the society in Isythre expected a fight like this to be open and fair.

Both sides may apply their cunningness in terms of battle strategies, but generally — and especially when it was a fight of differing ideologies — everyone would always try to seize the moral high ground. This was especially true for the Church, whose reputation and image compelled that they outwardly remained as noble and honorable as possible. The same was true for Da Xue as well, who needed its reputation to remain favorable to the public..

Truthfully, regardless of Father Weslie's message, Baiyi had never wanted to commit genocide during Grace Day. He was just as busy with Da Xue's upcoming graduation and the new student intake season.

Although their reasons differed, he agreed with the Church that they should hold off their fight for the moment.

"Sure, go ahead and tell your boss that I won't fight them during Grace Day. However, I ask of the same during my student enrolment period. Oh, and also, tell the Church to shut up and stop spreading disgusting words about us," Baiyi said finally. It was his way of expressing agreement to the Church's terms.

"They also want you to leave normal devotees out of the fight, Master Hope. In return, they will not harm Da Xue's uninvolving students, teachers and whoever else affiliated with Da Xue."

"Ha. I have no problem leaving normal people out of our feud, but can the Church really deliver such a lofty promise, hmm?" Baiyi teased.

Father Weslie grimaced. As a relic from the Church's moderate faction, he was not sure if he should rebut Baiyi or just agree to it.

"Alright, alright. I don't enjoy causing grievance to an old friend, so I'll stop here," Baiyi said, confidence brimming in his voice. He was sure he would not lose in this war, even if the Church managed to summon some Angels as backups. Honestly, he was skeptical that those beings could actually harm him and the Voidwalkers.

As for the Church had their god, well, the Voidwalkers had their own patron god, too — the blabbermouth War God. Honestly, he may not seem very godly or majestic, but he was still an actual deity who stood on the side of Baiyi and the Voidwalkers. That was more than enough.

On top of that, Baiyi had just recently discovered one of the ways to fundamentally manipulate the Laws of this universe — the Ember of Hope. Just as the Archmage had said, there was nothing the Void feared!

"Tell me. What is my reward for being a gentleman who gives his enemy time to relax, enjoy their holiday, and then prep for the war, huh?" Baiyi asked. Although he was not planning to take advantage of Grace Day, he thought he would pretend otherwise just to get more out of the deal.

"Ah. They promise they will no longer attack you via means other than the upcoming fight," Father Weslie answered readily; it was as if the Church had preempted Baiyi's question and so fitted this answer into the chaplain's script.

Baiyi mulled over the prospect and decided that it was not a bad exchange. As an influential organization with tremendous soft power over society and even the state government, they could have abused their position to cause endless petty troubles for him. A word that they would not deign to such tactics, therefore, showed a degree of sincerity.

Now that he passed the Church's message, Father Weslie was finally able to speak on his own behalf. He hesitated for a while before finally asking, "Master Hope, are the Voidwalkers truly as benevolent as you have claimed?"

"I'm working on that," Baiyi replied, his answer deliberately vague.

"I see. Then I sincerely pray that there is a better way to resolve everything."

A helpless smile resurfaced on his weasel-looking face. Despite his allegiance, Father Weslie's frequent contacts with the Voidwalkers had long shaken his faith in the Church's doctrine. He only showed no danger of snapping under his value dissonance because he was never too committed to his religion, unlike Laeticia.

To Baiyi, it was devotees like Weslie who made him reluctant to drag the general mas into his feud with the Church.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

490 This Is a Tad Bit Illogical

The return trip to the Holy City was a good one for Father Weslie — no doubt fanned by how he had succeeded in securing a temporary truce from the Voidwalkers.

The chaplain's optimism was contagious. Even Baiyi felt as if the rising tension between himself and the Church had been seemingly assuaged, though a part of him wondered if it was just an illusion.

Back in the Holy City, the newly appointed Pope and the Chief Judge sat motionlessly in a majestic office. Unlike the architecture of the room, the furnishings were almost too simplistic for the two highest authorities of the Church.

Granted, the most breathtaking feature of the office was not the furniture but the walls and the ceiling over their heads. Murals of religious themes, drawn in Earth's Renaissance style, graced these oversized canvases.

At the very center of the ceiling was a god whose face was intentionally drawn a blur. He spread his arms wide, granting his blessings to the mortals below him. Then, flanking his side were thirteen Angels, all of them bearing the most exquisite features and beauty that no common mortals could ever hope to match nor emulate. They surrounded the god much like the stars loyally surrounding a lone moon.

On the other hand, the murals on the walls once again centered on the God's Grace faith's most famous holy figure. The scenes were the same kind found in an average church, with the only exception being how much more aesthetically-superb the ones in the office were.

The murals on the ceiling and the wall together formed the core promise of the faith: 'God spreads His truth and love to the world, and as long as the followers live through His words as the Apostle had, they may Ascend to join God's abode.'

Without a word, The Pope and the Chief Judge were drawn to the mural of the Apostle. Their sight was glued to the figure, but their eyes were unfocused and glazed, belying the fact that something else was on their minds.

Compared to their predecessors, these two newly-appointed were extremely young. They looked about in their thirties while their actual age was only somewhere around seventy — unfittingly young to be leading such a massive organization. The perks of youth were ample, though. They showed no sign of senility; even when they were only sitting quietly on their chairs, their posture exuded alertness while their eyes were piercing and unclouded by the stupor of age. It was clear from the way they carried themselves that they were not one to cower and compromise.

Unsurprisingly, these were the exact kind of leaders who would not bat an eyelash when declaring war against powerful people such as the Voidwalkers.

A few minutes passed. The heavy atmosphere finally broke by a series of rapping on the door. A pastor came in and, without offering any greeting, nodded quietly at the Pope that said, 'The Church's message had reached him.'

Then, just as wordlessly, the pastor left the room, shutting the door behind him with a click.

"Seems like everything worked out," the Chief Judge grunted.

"So it did. Blinded by his own pride, The Devil is unaware of the pains of hubris," the Pope added icily.

Apparently, the two most important members of the Church had been squandering their time doing nothing but waiting for news from a low-ranking, insignificant chaplain whom they despised. For someone who appeared so shrewd, it was surprising that the irony went over their heads.

"Can we truly prevail against all odds?" The Chief Judge asked sharply.

"By God's will," the Pope answered, confidence burning in his voice as he raised his head to gaze at the mural of God looking down over him. "These messengers of God… They wield a fragment of God's power. They will punish the sinners with fire and brimstone. They will vanquish darkness with divine flames — whether they came from Hell or the Void, all sinners shall be reduced to ashes!"

"What about him ?" The Chief Judge snidely eyed the mural depicting Saint Joel traveling alone in the Abyss.

"Myths of yore no longer take roots in the hearts of our followers," the Pope replied. "Of course, the time to purge him from our history has not come. But when we finally silence the Devil once and for all, it is us who will compose new myths for our followers to revere."

The Chief Judge's lips quivered into a steely, mirthless smile. "Your fealty to our dogma is not as resolute as you so desperately made it out to be," he sneered.

"Do not mistake me. There is no one more loyal to our faith than I!" The young Pope protested in indignance, his fingers curling tightly around the Scripture necklace suspending around his neck. "Judgment must be mete to anyone who disobeys, betrays, or mocks the Holy Scripture, be it the Devil or the Apostle himself. That is my brand of devotion!"

"I supposed so," the Chief Judge grouched and stood up from his seat, ready to leave.

The Pope stopped him. "Please hasten progress on your side. It's delicate and complicated work to welcome the arrival of an actual Angel, and it can only succeed if we work together," he reminded. .

"We've already found our Elect. The rest is up to you," the Chief Judge answered without turning his head and left the office.

The Pope watched him go. Then, he rose from his own seat and strolled to the window, peering outside to watch the bustling progress of unknown construction. He could see the construction beams and other similar structures being erected as the devotees — workers and farmers by profession — were hard at work, weaving in and out of the site like worker ants. As a testament of their faith, these honest folks offered their energy and sweat to build a place worthy of receiving an Angel.

The summoning of any Angel demanded a laborious preparation, let alone the strongest ones the Church would need to stand against those wicked Voidwalkers. The undertaking was so arduous that even a massive organization boasting no shortage of resources and manpower would require three months or more to complete it, and it had already begun disrupting the serenity that had long defined Canningham.

These sacrifices weighed on the young Pope. He knew that he could not afford to fail, but he doubted that there were rooms for failures to begin with. There was nothing in this universe that could possibly overcome God's Angels, and when they deliver divine retribution to those demons, everything would be worth it.

In contrast, Baiyi showed not a sliver of concern.

Even as time crouched closer to the date of the war, he never did anything resembling war preparations at all. He just never seemed to see the Church as a threat.

The students' exams went on without any major obstruction. The Trial of Parazonium continued, and as the days passed and the students had gotten accustomed to the presence of the Mutated Monsters, they started performing better and better. Even the team with the clueless Northern Egghead had begun finding their stride; they even started using dumb Jawflower X as bait for the most difficult beasts, so that they could get what they want without expending too much effort.

At this moment, the three of them were repelling an earthbound winged-dragon.

This species boasted the appearance and features of a skyborne dragon, complete with wings and the ability to fly, yet they were so used to staying on the ground that they had never taken off into the air to seize aerial advantages. In fact, they had never even exhaled flame breaths as any self-respecting dragon ought to do.

It was as if their existence was to be hunting fodders for the students.

This particular earth dragon, too, displayed the same fine qualities its species was infamous for. It had the same look as a Grim Dragon, with sleek black scales armored all over its body and a disproportionately large pair of horns grown out of its head as if it was wearing a mega-sized bow. Yet again, despite its ability to fly, this earth dragon was contented to futilely attack Team Egghead with only its claws and tail.

It might be considered a challenge for hunters that could only perform fixed attacks via video game controllers; 1 but to three fighting adepts who had the flexibility and freedom to pull off whatever moves they wanted, this large, dumb earth dragon was a piece of cake.

The earth dragon growled and howled in a fury fueled by agony, but no matter what it did, it simply could not swat the three students away. The trios nimbly sidestepped or leaped out of its clumsy attacks before returning their own fierce ripostes.

The earth dragon's anguished wails and increasingly sluggish movements implied that it had suffered a great many injuries, but there was not a single bruise visible on the dragon's body at all. Its scales were still as glossy and fabulous as ever, and no amount of hacking from the students' swords or dual-wielding axes could carve out a single dent.

"It's going down soon! Step aside, guys. Let it taste my coup de grâce!" Hunky Joe shrieked and fished out three pink bottles from his storage pouch and hung them around his neck. Then, crossing his arms before his chest, he stacked his sword onto his shield so that the blade and the shield now merged into a dual-bladed ax.

With this weird weapon in his hand, he swung and slammed the dragon with the force of a mountain. There was a bright flash, and the earth dragon finally let out a groan before its enormous body plopped down on the ground dramatically.

Despite being clearly dead from injuries, there was still not a scar on its body… for some reason.

"Whoaaa! Did that gigantic salamander just die that easily?" Short Morad hollered, still riding high on adrenaline. "I was barely getting started! And it had looked so aggressive…"

"Ha! Pretty good at giving a nasty leer, but that's about it. Honestly, it's one of the weakest monsters in this whole place," Joe said calmly as he approached the corpse. Then, from his waist, he unsheathed a small dagger and started to cut off its body to find something useful from something so useless.

"This is a rare dragon, isn't it? Th' book says because its den is hidden close tae other ferocioos monsters' nests, it's hard tae encoonter it. I certainly dinnae expect our luck," Bald Wu'ke remarked. It was his first actual battle since the Trial had begun, and yet, the fight was, frankly, too underwhelming. "Mayhap it is more o' a challenge tae the untrained, but it was jist a very large, mobile targit practice for me."

The students' disappointment was not surprising. They were, after all, fighters with an arsenal of combat chi powers, not some random hunters whose only way of avoiding a monster's attacks was to roll around 1 .

"Good to hear that you know about its rarity, but could you guys come over and help me carve out some meat instead? Let's get this over with before that stinking Jawflower X comes around, you know," Joe reminded. "Anyway, I have never tasted this thing before, so I'm kinda excited."

"Too bad it's not related to our missions," Morad remarked regrettably as he hurried over to where Joe was and started carving.

"Bah, who would make a mission out of this weak, oversized lizard? I think its eggs might be the objective of one of our missions though…"

"Its eggs?" Wu'ke echoed as he stuck his dagger into the earth dragon's flesh.

"Yea. Sell them to the nobles. They probably hatch it to become their personal ride or just use them for those rich people's shows."

"There's so… much… meat! We can't possibly eat it all," Morad moaned. "What should we do with the rest of this corpse, man?"

"Leave it here. What else can we do?"

It was illogical that a monster that had been hacked, smacked, and pierced multiple times for over half an hour still bore no outward scars and bruises, but at least this earth dragon still had its body remained after the students carved out some of its meat. The illogical ridiculousness could have been worse; its corpse could have gradually vanished into thin air as if the entire thing had just evaporated. 1

Oh yea, it's a Monster Hunter reference! Yep, that's totally the dodge command in Monster Hunter. I spam this button so hard. It's a jab at how slain monsters always "evaporates" in Monster Hunter (and many other games) after a few seconds.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

491 A Mystery

Things were going so swimmingly that there was no reason to expect any major split from expectations: the exams would end without any complications, the students would return home for their semester break and their festival, Baiyi would "celebrate" the merriment alone, his new student intake would be carried out as usual, and then finally — the finale to the spat between Voidwalkers and the Church would end once and for all.

At least, that was what the script in Baiyi's head said until the same day when he had just managed to secure a verbal agreement with the Church morphed into an eventful night.

He was planning to resume his research on that antique armor, Mystique, when Attie had practically burst into his room, her body slamming the door open without a courtesy knock.

"What is this? The start of a violent porno?" Baiyi drawled casually, his eyes scanning Attie's flushed face.

"No time for jokes, Master! Some students have gone missing!" She shouted frantically.

Another one of Baiyi's convictions as an educator was that his students' safety always comes first, way ahead of their academic performance and personal excellence. Because of that, he would never allow any student to wade, unsupervised, into a potentially perilous situation — a decision reflected in all of Da Xue's operations. Anything that seemed dangerous was only superficial; everything — from the Alchemy Faculty and their penchant for explosive shenanigans to the Trials of Parazonium — had a prevention plan as well as related safety measures to safeguard the students' wellbeing.

This conviction to prioritize the students' safety was then drilled into the minds of every instructor and lecturer in the institution, which was why her students' disappearance mortified Attie. However, this time, the originator of that protective ideal himself did not share her anxiety.

"That's all?" Baiyi almost sounded moanful. "Come on, did you really have to break my door in the middle of the night just because some brats had gone outta' sight? It's nothing to worry about. The Hitman Walker will take care of it."

Students were prone to go "missing" during regular, supervised activities such as micro-realms excursions, so it was only natural that the same thing would also happen in events when they appeared to be left on their devices such as the Trial of Parazonium. The reason why Baiyi's first instinct was to handwave it away was that these students were all outfitted with security precautions; their metallic mission sheets, for example, were all enchanted with an emergency transporting spell that could activate automatically at the first sense of danger. They were also enchanted with a tracking spell that could locate every student anywhere in Mount Parazonium, even if their disappearance was deliberate.

On top of that, Mount Parazonium itself was a close, small environment. All of the actual apex predators in its ecosystem had all long been removed by the Hitman Walker even before the Trial existed. Finally, there was the fact that the senior students were so familiar with the place, they often treated the Trial as a sometimes-violent frolic in their own back garden.

Baiyi was confident that that was only one real reason why two students or more may be missing under these circumstances.

"They aren't really gone, Attie. They're just playing hide-and-seek. You can't find them in any of the surveillance screens, I presume?" Baiyi explained indifferently. "The All-Seeing Eye is a powerful surveillance Forbidden Spell, but even a spell-dumb knight like yourself knows that there are many ways to slip past an antique spell like this by now, right? The Faculty of Sorcery, Alchemy, Engineering… all of them had developed a way to counter that spell already. Pretty sure those 'missing' students must have purchased something from them to evade us so that they could do some pata-pata."

Under Baiyi's enforcement, Da Xue held a conservative view on relationships. Even though there was technically no explicit rule banning romance between their students, the academy made no illusion of it ever being encouraged; one might even take one look at the Jawflower being stationed outside the female's dorm as a silent repudiation. Any form of a sexual relationship between male and female students, meanwhile, was completely off-limits as explicitly stipulated in the academy's student ethics codes. The rationale was that if Grand Principal Bai himself had never once displayed any intimate action with his consorts within academy grounds, then the students could not possibly be allowed to do any of that, neither.

However, when there's a will, there's a way, and these brats' will was so reinforced by the power of hormones that they found ways to taste that forbidden fruit anyway. Obviously, the Trial and other kinds of excursions were events when they could leave their instructors and Grand Principal Bai's sight, so some horny kids quickly seized the opportunity to indulge in their heat.

Besides, all surveillance spells had loopholes or blind spots. There was even an elective class from the Sorcerers' Faculty centered on surveillance evasion and even anti-surveillance magic. On top of that, the stealth techniques taught from the Hitman Walker's class, when in the hands of a true pro, could also be used to slip past the All-Seeing Eye.

Of course, Baiyi knew about his students' tricks; he just did not think he should close in on it too hard. Brats would be brats, and if one repressed them and forced them into a rigid mold for too long, their personality might become twisted. Baiyi supposed that sometimes, he should turn his eyes elsewhere and pretend not to know. He would feel even worse if his conservative attitude towards sex had inadvertently caused some of the boys to become rapists, or if their rut compelled them to dress up one of their friends as a trap just so they could release their urges through him.

Back in the real world, Baiyi extended his hand to ruffle Attie's hair. "See? It's not a real disappearance, isn't it?"

Much to his surprise, instead of allowing him to coddle her while she closed her eyes like a satisfied cat, Attie swatted Baiyi's hand away. Then, wrapping her arms tightly around his, she pled, "I get what you're saying, Master, but this is different! Just come with me right now, you'll see!"

As if to counter his reticence, she shook his arms and added, "Once everything is over. I'll do all sorts of cute things for you to see!"

'Since when did she learn the very same tactic that Little Mia used all the time?' Baiyi's mind reeled. This was the precise technique Little Mia had used to force Baiyi into buying her a new dress! 'When did this Kitty Cat Maid learn that? Besides, you're no longer a child, Attie! How are you supposed to "act cute"?'

Regardless, the trick was obviously very effective against Baiyi, because he immediately followed her to Mount Parazonium.

By the time they had reached there, Mount Parazonium was already enshrouded in the darkness of the night, broken only by the light emitted from the transporter portal where Baiyi and Attie emerged. Instead of casting a Lumos upon arrival, Baiyi turned to a shadowy blackness beside him and said, "Alright, I'm here. Tell me, is it really as serious as she made it out to be?"

A dejected Hitman Walker, who was still in disbelief that he had been spotted again, materialized out from the dark. He was just about to say something when the Soul Armature Practitioner emerged from behind him and made Baiyi jump.

"The hell?! I didn't even know you were here! Gah, you gave me a fright!" Baiyi cried.

The Hitman Walker shot a gaze of morose and envy at the Soul Armature Practitioner. Luckily, he was quick to recover from his dejection enough to report, "Two boys had gone missing: a third-grader named Jeralt and a Northerner named A'Wei. After splitting from their original team, these two had been working together, but we haven't seen them since dusk had fallen."

"It can't be normal for two boys to be missing, can it? We were all really worried about it, which was why we sent Attie to look for you immediately," the Soul Armature Practitioner added.

By "normal", he was referring to the number one reason for students'"disappearance".

"I don't know about you guys, but two boys trying to avoid adult supervision sounded just as normal to me, too. Maybe they just ran off to a random cave to jerk off to some smuts?" Baiyi grumbled under his breath before raising his voice and asked, "Now what? Did you even try to locate them by using our tracking spell?"

Then, after scanning the Walker for a brief few seconds, he added, "Also, why are you here, exactly? Have Soul Armature exams gotten so damn easy that they no longer needed that many invigilators? Is that why you're free enough to run errands for the Knights Faculty?"

"First off, I did try locating the students immediately after they were gone. I wouldn't have been worried if not for the fact that the receiving side of that spell was unresponsive! As for why am I here? Well, it's because… I'm kinda worried that the Jawflower might have accidentally eaten them," the Soul Armature Practitioner mumbled ruefully.

"Seriously? Shouldn't someone who wanted to be an animal trainer — the very best — know that the Jawflower doesn't eat humans?!" Baiyi snapped, half-amused and half-exasperated.

Unlike other magical creatures born from nature itself (i.e. Sunny the Sunflower), the Jawflower had been reared by Baiyi since it was just a small seedling. It may be aggressive, cantankerous, and easily-triggered into a fight — qualities that might have been a little amplified by the Alchemist's potion and the Soul Armature's Territory — but it was still the Jawflower at its core. Hence, it was still a vegan.

Of course, the Soul Armature Practitioner knew that fact. It was the only reason why he had agreed to the Hitman Walker's insane idea in the name of improved difficulty. Had he agreed without checking the magical plants' dietary habits, and the Mutated Monsters ended up eating these students, these two Walkers were going to be forcefully reminded about how it felt to be literally "chillin' in the Void".

"See, look at the mess the three of you had created! Y'all abducted my Jawflower, used it to lazily bump up the exam's difficulty, and now this happened. How are the three of you going to explain yourselves?" Baiyi scolded like a teacher reprimanding his students while the three could only hang their heads in shame.

As he admonished them, however, his fingers quickly went to work by drawing a runic symbol in the air. In a second, the sensitivity of the All-Seeing Eye increased sharply enough to render all surveillance evasion tricks null.

This strengthened version of the spell could only last for a few minutes and was only doable by the original castor himself, which was why Attie had been dispatched to get Baiyi into the loop. It was an upgrade so much more potent and not often used that the students could not possibly be able to counter it.

The runic symbol lingered in the still, black canvas of the night for a few minutes before it slowly dispersed. Alarmingly, Baiyi said nothing even by the end of the spell.

When he finally broke the silence, his tone was one of graveness. "How many participants are there this time?"

"Three hundred and six," the Hitman Walker answered honestly.

"There are only three hundred and four students right now."

Attie blurted in fear, "D-did the Jawflower really eat them?! It had always love biting someone's butt, so maybe… Maybe some time in its butt-biting career, it had learned to savor the taste of human flesh!"

"No, these students aren't dead, they are missing," He shook his head. "The way I cranked up the All-Seeing Eye is by reinforcing it with the Gnosis of Nature so that every single being with a lifeforce could be detected. Through it, I was even able to sense the lingering soul-remains of slain beasts. In other words, if the students are dead, I could sense them."

"Huh. But there's no one better to ask questions to than that beast now, is there?" Baiyi said and raised his head. A mini formation materialized on his mask.

He whistled, and the mini formation amplified it so much that the entire Mount Parazonium could hear its earsplitting racket. Students, supposedly asleep, sat up in shivers, wondering if a new terrifying beast had joined the fray.

Unfortunately, Baiyi had no time to worry about the students' feelings. A series of thunders boomed from a distance towards his direction, making the earth quaked with each pound. A few seconds later, the mutated Jawflower X was hurrying towards them with a happy wag.

Being reminded of what his Jawflower had become enraged Baiyi, so he barked, "Turn this thing back to normal right this bloody instance!"

The Soul Armature Practitioner jumped into action as if he had been anticipating the Fifth Walker's request. Producing a vial of alchemical potion from his pocket, he smacked it onto the Jawflower's body and activated his Territory.

The Jawflower started to shrink gradually back to its original size, but for some reason, it continued to shrink until it was about the size of a human's palm.

Now holding Mini Jawflower in his hand, Baiyi was practically shrieking at the Soul Armature Practitioner, "Are you bloody kidding me?!"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

492 A Special Way To Summon God

The grim atmosphere caused by the students' abnormal disappearance suddenly snapped, its direness giving way to the unexpected levity. Even Attie, who had been beyond herself in anxiety, felt her panic temporarily forgotten as she squinted her eyes at Mini Jawflower huffing and puffing in Baiyi's palm, her eyes glinting with building interest.

The Soul Armature Practitioner could only excuse the accident with an awkward "Um, maybe the Alchemist's potion has gone nuts? I mean, you know him. He's not exactly the most dependable guy…?"

Devolving from its menacing "Jawflower X" level, the Jawflower was now about the size of a keychain and looked like a chick that had just been hatched. The little magical beast seemed to be too dumb to understand its current state and was instead happily running around in circles on Baiyi's gauntlet.

Admittedly, although the Jawflower had retained its snappish trait, its new, little-chick size seemed to have flipped what was previously an annoyance to an oddly adorable charm. It was cute enough to nab Attie's attention.

Baiyi cautiously poked Mini Jawflower in his hand. The creature, however, reacted by lovingly cupping its baby leaf-paws on his finger as if it could not stand to part with him.

Attie stared at it for a good long while before finally blurting, "C-can I cuddle it?"

"What if it bites you?"

"I'm sure it won't. We've known each other since I was a kid, haven't we?" Attie replied and spread her arms wide, beckoning Mini Jawflower into her embrace. After the creature accepted her invitation, she tightened her arm around it, her face glowing with affection.

It was so wholesome that Baiyi considered having the Jawflower remained in its puppy form. The only problem was to find a worthy replacement to guard the girls' dorm.

"Alright, enough distractions," Baiyi said to remind the party of the looming issue. He would return to the Jawflower's trivial problem some other time, he decided.

"You said it yourself, Boss; the kids aren't dead. We can at least throw that worst-case scenario out of the window," the Hitman Walker began, noticeably calmer by now. "What we could do now is to find out what exactly happened."

"Maybe we can get some clues by searching where they were last seen," The Soul Armature Practitioner suggested helpfully.

They briskly but carefully combed through the footage showing the boys' last appearance and identified their last location: an unassuming cave that had most likely belonged to a magical beast before it was being kicked out of its home by two unwelcomed human settlers.

It only took a few minutes for the four to locate the cave.

The campfire was still sizzling aloofly when the team arrived, its sparks hopping off the charred logs feeding its flames. Judging from the state of the fire, the two kids had only gone missing for about an hour or more.

Baiyi quickly extended his psychic power to envelope the entire cave into his senses, leaving no stone and earth unchecked. Alarmingly, he found nothing suspicious. There was no sliver of abnormal magical pulse that suggested foul play. The boys were truly not using any kind of spell-masking techniques to evade their instructors' surveillance.

Not assuaging the teachers' slow-burning dread was the fact that their sleeping bags, water canisters, and other camping equipment were still lying around, undisturbed, right next to the boys' weapons. It could only mean that they had vanished without putting up any semblance of a fight nor struggle.

It meant that the boys met their fate without any foreknowledge.

"This is just weird," Baiyi balked. "The more I think about it, the scarier it becomes. How the hell do you erase two live persons off their existence without leaving even a magical trace? If this story gets aired, panic is gonna break out!"

"Whatever is going on, one thing's for sure. We gotta' stop the Trial right now," the Hitman Walker replied.

Baiyi was a little surprised to hear the tremble in the Voidwalker's voice. This was the first time the Hitman Walker had ever shown any visible hint of fear.

"Summon the other Voidwalkers. We need to look into this," Baiyi declared gravely.

Attie pulled her attention away from Mini Jawflower and turned to the two sleeping bags sprawled on the earth. Then, as if she had found a clue, she suddenly cried, "Master, something's not right over there."

"Oh?" Baiyi followed her gaze and approached the sleeping bags. The Hitman Walker had searched them previously as Baiyi was scanning the surrounding with his psychic sense; there was only two erotica hidden inside. Really, the only inference one could make from this unexciting discovery was that these two boys had been doing some heavy reading (among other things) before they fell asleep. Since it was unlikely for the Northerners to have brought something so dishonorable with them, it could only mean that these novels belonged to Jeralt, who then lent one to his new friend.

"No, I wasn't talking about those," Attie clarified and crouched low, tossing the sleeping bags to a side altogether with her free arm and patted the earth below it. "I was referring to this."

"What exactly is 'this'?" Baiyi stared blankly. He had scanned the earth earlier and had found nothing strange or anything remotely related to the Law.

"This space has been… moved. Like, it moved… It's like, um… Urgh, I'm terrible at explaining," Attie moaned dismally after a struggle for words.

An idea struck her and Attie produced the War God's Sword from her storage pouch. She activated it, its tri-colored lights smoothly extending out of the hilt at her command, and sliced a chunk out of the soil where the sleeping bags were. She then put the chunk right back at the space it came from.

The jagged edges merged with the surrounding soil, and suddenly, it was as if the earth had never been tampered with at all. There was no visible change, no visual differences or clues, and not even a smidge of magical pulses from her operation. It was as if Attie had not done anything to it at all.

"Something similar to that happened here," The Kitty Cat Maid said finally.

Baiyi sank into ruminations. The War God's Sword appeared to be a weapon so sharp that it could cut through anything in the universe, but that observation was untrue. No matter how imposing and lethal the sword's tri-colored blade was, it was purely cosmetic, without mass and temperature.

The sword only worked because it was a medium to channel the War God's very own Arbiter Right over Space. When one used it to cut anything in this reality, what they were really doing was severing the fabric of space the object was on. As a divine instrument of Spatial Law manipulation, there were far more uses to the War God's Sword then to teleport its user or to severe spaces — a fact Baiyi had realized ever since he crossed blades with Attie back when she was still the King of the Steppe. Even so, neither Attie nor himself had been able to unlock more of its dormant functions, and so most of the time, the two could only use it as the sharpest weapon they had and maybe as an emergency flashlight. And how could he forget that it was also sometimes used to contact his scatterbrained, godly pal?

Other than that, however, the War God's Sword functioned like an actual sword so much that Baiyi almost forgot it was a Divine Regalia with a plethora of unused and undiscovered features. Attie's previous demonstration — cutting a plot of space and then merge it back — was clearly one of the latter; Baiyi just never came across this particular feature before. 'Not surprising that the Kitty Cat Maid would discover that function first though,' Baiyi had decided, 'Since she is the War God's personally-appointed Messenger.'

"Hmm. Are you telling me that your War God had taken a liking of those two lads, and so conspired a divine abduction to make them his newest Messengers?" Baiyi teased as he sized the ever-adorable Kitty Cat Maid up.

'How did the War God even change his taste from cute girls to rough, burly men?' He wondered, amused.

"Impossible. The War God loves me so much, there is no way he would need any other messengers," Attie countered firmly. "This was just how they'd disappeared. It's definitely not something Lord War God nor I did. Someone else caused this."

Indeed, quite a few functions of the War God's Sword could also be accurately mimicked by normal spatial spells by an experienced sorcerer. What these spells could not achieve, however, was its swift convenience nor the untraceable seamlessness, because of course, a Divine Regalia had to be superior to anything a mortal could come up with.

It was not exactly implausible to suspect someone else being the perpetrator of the boys' disappearance using conventional spatial spells, but how did they manage to erase all traces of their magic?

"Can you contact your boss up there?" This was the time for a divine consultant.

"I tried, Master, but Lord War God seemed to be busy. Didn't give me any response," She replied in chagrin.

"Really? Hmm, maybe he didn't think this place's suitable."

Regardless, the Trial of Parazonium was halted and declared aborted by the Hitman Walker, who also delayed the rest of the Knight faculty's exam as he worked on finding a replacement for the Trial. Baiyi, meanwhile, brought the Kitty Cat Maid back to her chalet before asking the girl to try contacting the War God again.

After placing Mini Jawflower on an animal-themed tin flowerpot found around her courtyard, Attie fished out the War God's Sword and tried to connect with the War God once more.

"Still no answer, Master. What's going on? In the past, even if Lord War God were busy, he would at least leave me a message that says, 'Am busy. Please leave a message after the beep. Beep.' But there's nothing today!" Attie muttered anxiously.

"Oh no, oh no! Has he really found himself some replacement Messengers?" She wailed.

"Maybe? Or! He just didn't notice your call. Hmm... I guess I'll have to pull out my old tricks again," Baiyi replied before his fingers nipped on Attie's cheeks, pulling tautly.

"Owwww, owwww! Stop, Master! This h-h-hurts!" Attie whimpered.

"How about now? You feel him stirred yet?"

"Ow… N-no," She replied helplessly.

"Oh, playing hard to get, are you? So, you want me to go further, huh?" Baiyi said to no one in particular and raised his hands, deciding that groping the girl's breasts would probably do the trick.

He was about to do just that when he noticed how utterly straight her chest was. There was not even a little bump for him to grab onto at all. In a flash, he found himself lost at where exactly to place his hand to meet the definition of "groping", causing his hand to remain awkwardly suspended in midair.

It was at this moment when Attie froze, her anguished sobs and whimpers suddenly ceased. Then, she raised her hand high in the air before walloping Baiyi's mask so hard it fell off from his hollow helmet-head and flew all the way to the other side of the room with a loud clang.

That was definitely not Attie.

"You despicable piece of s***. Trying to accost my Messenger, Mortal? I thought I had warned you to never bully my Messenger, haven't I?" The War God-possessed Attie glowered with the god's signature genderless, monotone voice.

"I was just desperate to talk to you!" Baiyi's voice blared from the other end of the room where his mask was — apparently, his voice-producing enchantment was located on the mask itself.

"What part of being busy do you not understand?! I am a god, not a babysitter!" War God-Attie snarled and waved. Baiyi's mask rose in the air and quickly flew into her hand.

"What part of 'it's an emergency' do you not understand?!" Baiyi roared, with (╬￣皿￣) on his mask. The Fifth Walker was just as exasperated!

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

493 The Truth About the Voidwalkers

From his premium seat in Attie's — or more accurately, the War God's — hand, Baiyi summarized the case of the students' sudden disappearance. The deity listened quietly, knitting Attie's brows together closer and closer as Baiyi narrated.

"So, even the God of Space himself was troubled by the incidence, huh?" Baiyi wondered out loud as he watched the War God's reaction closely.

"Nah, I was just thinking about how best to explain these things to someone like you," The War God corrected.

'What's that supposed to mean? A roundabout way to say I'm stupid?' Baiyi grumbled in his head, but he kept the words in.

"Let's put it this way," The War God began, waving Attie's hand over. Several dinner plates suddenly manifested in the air, which Baiyi suspected were purloined from the pantry.

Hanging in midair, they arranged themselves in varying, random heights and positions. Between the distances, some of the plates hosted a few coins while some were empty. Baiyi's mask, too, had joined this impromptu magic show with two silver coins erected on top of his flat surface.

"Imagine theses plates as realms and these coins as living beings on these realms." The War God pointed at the two largest silver plates. "Here we have Isythre. And the other one over here is the Divine Realm."

Careful not to topple the two silver coins on his mask, Baiyi asked, "By that, you're referring to the abode of the gods, right?"

"Abode? Yes, more or less. Now, what happened is that someone is trying to bridge your world and the Divine Realm through a gargantuan ritual, which causes this…" The smaller plates and Baiyi's mask started to move under the War God's control, zipping through the air somewhat brutishly towards the spaces between the Isythre-plate and the Divine Realm-plate until they formed a single line connecting the two.

"What you have witnessed is an enormous shift between realms, and it had made a critical impact over living beings residing on these shifting smaller realms," The War God explained, gesturing towards the toppling gold coins. Some of them, like the silver coins on Baiyi's mask, even fell off from his mask during the movement, making a ringing racket echoing unsettlingly in the room.

"Of course, the actual number of realms involved in this shift was a lot more than this demonstration; as of now, the scope of its consequence has not been made certain. Perhaps some micro-realms managed to remain unscathed, perhaps some had suffered such catastrophic destruction that they had ceased to exist," The War God finished with that happy note.

"You're telling me… that my two students had been swung off from my micro-realm?" Baiyi raised his voice in concern. If that was indeed their fate, then the students were as good as dead.

"That depends on their luck. If they landed safely on some other realms or micro-realms, they may still be alive," The War God answered before his monotone voice became a little more accusatory. "Which begs the question: which madman among you is behind this ruckus? You're making me work even more than usual, stupid mortals. What exactly are you people up to, fervently trying to connect with the Divine Realm?"

Baiyi's gauntlet reached out to the suspending assembly of plates and took his mask before fixing it back to its original position. "Maybe someone's trying to summon an Angel?"

The War God sank into silence so conspicuous that it was as if he held his tongue at the last second before saying what was on his mind. It made Baiyi wondered if there had always been a few things that a god simply could not divulge. For now, the War God appeared to be on the Voidwalkers' side, but maybe the Angels were somehow associated with him as well.

Curious, Baiyi seized the chance. "You mention that it's a mega-sized ritual, right? Large enough to actually force the realms to align, anyway. Doesn't that mean it's even more dangerous than the one back in Mars?"

"That was trite compared to this. The point of establishing that one was to allow a fraction of a god's mind and power to manifest into this world," The War God replied. "However, the channel we are looking at is established to summon the Angels in flesh — yes, 'Angels', plural. The one on Mars simply cannot compare to the magnitude and nature of this current channel."

That set off a siren in the Fifth Walker's mind. 'Holy s***, just what kind of angels is the goddamn Church trying to summon this time?! The kind with a full face of beard, thick black hair all over their legs, and eight-packs washboard abs? The kind that can level an entire city of dragons by himself? A single bear with angelic wings is difficult enough, now I have to face a group? With enough numbers on their side and some water-styled mirage magic…. There will be nothing to stop them at all!'

Baiyi was mortified at the gargantuan threat coming his way; for once, he might have lethally underestimated an enemy. The last time the Godsfall cult managed to quasi-summon some god into a medium, the Voidwalkers had to fight tooth-and-nail just to prevail. This time, a legitimate, powerful organization was actively summoning divine beings with powers second only to gods, in flesh!

Could this finally be the fight that the Voidwalkers were hopefully outmatched against?

The apprehension became so overbearing that he felt compelled to summon the Book of Servitude this instance and halt the Church's summoning ritual with a tactical nuke. It would automatically turn him into a dishonorable jerk who walked back on his promise, but there was just no contest between bearing an abominable reputation and the very real possibility of being curb-stomped by a group of Bear-angels.

The War God read his mind and warned steeply, "No, that is not an option. Do not attempt to halt the ritual forcibly with such a tactic. You will cause a large-scale chaotic flux in the entire fabric of space in ways you cannot even comprehend, let alone fix."

"What, am I supposed to just kick back and watch them succeed in calling upon some big, burly, hairy angels to come downstairs and gang up on me?" Baiyi protested hotly.

"Sorry, but weren't you the ballsy mortal who's brave enough to bully an actual god's messenger on a daily basis? You never worry about my divine retribution, so why are you suddenly so concerned about a flock of Angels?" The War God retorted.

Baiyi found himself unable to rebut him. He gulped, trying to come up with an excuse before settling with a farce of naivete. "Well, I was just worried that those Angels might be your friends, you know? I wouldn't want this to ruin our good relationship —"

"Do not try to be flippant with an actual god," The War God's voice was extra stoic and commanding. "I do not live in the Divine Realm, nor do I have Angels to do my bidding."

"Then where are you?"

"I am everywhere."

Attie's body limped as if she had lost all of her strength; the god had finally left her body.

A few moments later, his Kitty Cat Maid fluttered her beautiful eyes open and blinked several times. Then, turning to Baiyi, she comforted, "Don't worry, Master. I'll protect you!"

"I appreciate the offer, but I think you should rest for now," Baiyi said. He scooped her up in his cradle and took her upstairs before laying her down on her bed and wrapped her up like a little burrito. He patted her head a few more times and then left in a hurry.

Soon, he organized a war council consisting of both Voidwalkers still in the Void and those who had Pseudo-descended.

"… And that's the gist of our current situation. The only option we have for now is to be as prepared for war as possible. The floor is now open for any helpful suggestions and advice. Has anyone here ever fought an Angel?" Baiyi asked loudly before turning his head to the Lich and the Devil.

"Oy, why are you looking at us?" The Lich, who was in the real world, and the Devil, who remained in the Void, sang out in a chorus.

"Because the two of you are evil reincarnates or something like that? Look, have any of you ever been pursued by an Angel before?'

"I'll have you know, good sir, that I've never left the Abyss all of my goddamned life. Every war I waged was against my own kin, every conquest was restricted to the Abyss, and I've never once extended my reach to you humans' realm. Honestly, how did I even get this horrible reputation?" The Devil objected indignantly.

For the second time in the day, Baiyi found himself at a loss of any rebuttal.

The Lich was much more placid in its response. "Don't you know how terribly complicated and troublesome it is to summon an Angel by now? Do you really think that I was ever deemed worthy of using the Church's most powerful card? Oh, but you're different. If anything, you're more of an evil reincarnate than I ever was to them… Heh heh heh! They hate you so much, they'll go to these lengths just to be rid of you!"

"Alright, alright. That's enough bad talk. Let's contribute something constructive and substantive to the council, shall we?" The Archmage interjected.

The crowd immediately quieted down at his words.

"What I want all of you to remember is that the Void will never be afraid of any damned soul! As our emissary, Hope, you must always remember this!" The Archmage proclaimed.

The crowd hummed appreciatively and waited for him to continue.

The Archmage fell silent as well.

It went on for a few seconds before Baiyi cracked, "So… Your very substantive contribution is a rallying call?!"

"Yea, duh! I mean, what else am I supposed to say? I have never seen an Angel! In fact, while I was alive and being a totally awesome ruler, this whole religion was not even a thing yet!"

'That's it?! You shouted a slogan and called it a day?!' Baiyi grouched in his head.

"Pfft, what's so scary about a group of winged babies? You have a Divine Dragon with you, my foolish friend. Divine Dragons have 1000HP while Angels only have 250HP! They can't overcome a beefy Divine Dragon," Somewhere from the Void, someone stepped in to break the silence with a concept that was obviously plagiarized from Earth's pop culture.

"Maybe you should try reasoning with the Church again?" The Thane suggested. "In fact, you should chide them as hard as you can, telling them to stop the ritual at once."

"Chide?! How am I suppose to chide them?!"

"Like this: 'Do you not know that history will judge you harshly if you carry on with your unethical act? You will be seen as worse than both Brutus and Cassius combined! The truth will out! I despise what you've been doing lately, what will your friends think?'" The Thane rattled off a series of weakly-jointed sentences before adding, "See? Can't you do that?"

Baiyi was close to going mad. "How are those supposed to help?!"

"Hey, do that for more than five times, and you'll earn the right to fight them for a just cause," The Thane replied matter-of-factly.

'Is this guy for real?!'

The word "fight" seemed to be the trigger to finally rouse the rest of the Walkers from their torpor. Unfortunately, this also meant that they were starting to bombard the meeting with even wackier ideas.

"We shall recruit the most elite of soldiers, fill our barracks with rations, equip our knights with the sharpest blade we can forge and the sturdiest armor we can smith, and gather schools of painters and bards to immortalize our gallant deeds as we rise and claim victory!" The Second Walker began.

"That's so last season, mate. Don't look at the past for solutions — look at the future! This is the era where it's the weapons that make the victor. We need every weapon with every possible function and utility to overwhelm our enemies! We need tanks, navy fleets, assault rifles, and talon knives!" The Blacksmith chimed in.

"That will only improve on raw damage output, but not the skills of the army. No, on top of your suggestion, we also need high-end fighters, such as mega-size, for-apocalyptic-fights-only prototype mobile suits!" The Engineer added to his friend's idea. "I think my latest masterpiece, the RX-78GP-03S, is out and ready for action!"

"Fools! All of you are mad fools! None of these will be all of any use… Because only magic shall prevail. Magic is assurance! Child, it is time for us to remind the world the glory of the Sorcerers Corp!" The Archmage dove into the furor with passion.

Baiyi was speechless. He had completely forgotten the most important thing about the Voidwalkers — at the end of the day, they were all really just a group of zany weirdos!Bear here is a borrowed gay slang. It means big, burly, and VERY hairy dudes. They are the opposite of twinks!Refers to either Decimus or Marcus Junius Brutus, who both plotted the assassination of Julius Caeser.Gaius Cassius Longinus, usually known as Cassius. A major instigator to the assassination of Julius Caeser.From Shakespeare.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

494 The Strategy Against Our Enemies

As what was previously a war council blew up into a circus of derailing topics, Baiyi left the hall quietly. By this point, the Voidwalkers had broken off into multiple factions centered on different topics.

There was the WarCraft 3 section where a debate on whether the Druid of the Claw or Tauren was the superior terranean fighter. There were the StarCraft II geeks, who were discussing whether the Terrans' mechanical hybrid unit, Viking, was better than the Protass' warship, Tempest. Then, there was the classic Voidwalker obsession, DoTA2, among the mix; its fans passionately arguing if the Troll Warlord, when outfitted with the best equipment it could come across, could ever overcome the Chaos Knight.

There was even a Pokemon group at the fringe of the hall where someone started throwing in the possibility of a Caterpie evolving into a Rayquaza. Finally, before Baiyi left, he even caught a debate beaking out from Gundam geeks about whether the Hi-V Gundam even had wings.

However pointless and off-the-rails these crazy discussions were, they managed to go on until the crack of dawn. At no point had anyone even thought of returning to formulating a battle strategy against the Angels. Even Lady Assassin — the consort on shift today — had been completely occupied with how cute the Angels would likely be with her two best friends instead.

Truthfully, every single Walker thought that war affairs had always been completely under the Fifth Walker's jurisdiction. Their job, meanwhile, was only to serve as advisors, offering opinions or ideas — a job they could not even carry out at the moment simply because none of them had ever seen an Angel before. To form a plan despite knowing nothing about these Angels was essentially an exercise on imagination, which was something only a Type-Moon fanboy would revel in.

The Voidwalkes were simply too dignified to do something this childish and ridiculous!... Even though what they did end up doing was, objectively, equally childish and ridiculous.

Forced to remember that he could not lean on these weirdos for help, Baiyi became his own war council and finally came up with only three basic battle strategies:

Option A: he would do whatever it takes to crank up his own power. It would be the best if he managed to shrug off any caps on his original power — an ideal that harkened back to the fight against the Lawful Marionette so many years ago. However, he was cognizant that the limiter on his powers was only temporarily removed because of the War God's divine help; on his own, there was no actual way to raise his own power level.

Now that he was up against the Angels, he was sure that the War God — being a friend of the Angels due to his identity, regardless of his allegiance — was unlikely to lift the power limiter from Baiyi; logically, why would the War God do something that automatically meant hurting a fellow colleague's lapdogs?

Thus, the only way Baiyi could do would be to forcefully jack up Little Mia's own power level, since her progress automatically and proportionately improved Baiyi. Obviously, the stronger he was, the better chance he had at overcoming the Angels, even if it was by a smaller margin than having the War God helped him.

His option B would be to weaponize the Voidwalkers appropriately so that instead of fighting alone, Baiyi could fight in a team. This strategy, however, was completely antithetical to the first because for now, Baiyi's consciousness was the Walkers' only tether to this reality. The more Walkers Baiyi deployed, the more he had to divide his consciousness to house each of them, and the more resources he would have to share among them. Essentially, he would be spreading himself thin.

Would it better for Baiyi to fight with his powers theoretically at peak performance though it meant disadvantage on numbers, or would it be better to fight with a group of savants from different fields and knowledge, although at a cost of his own powers?

Baiyi could not answer that question. There was simply too little information regarding these Angels to even choose his main strategy.

There was still an Option C: he could join forces with those who were friendly to the Voidwalkers. This would include the Alpine Barbarians, Aya the dragon lady, who was still dreaming about the day she could be Baiyi's wife, and her Dragon Knights, his students and other lecturers in Da Xue, the nobles who shared such important business connections with him that the Voidwalkers' demise would automatically would spell a major loss to them, such as Undine and the Northern Duke; and finally, Baiyi would not mind roping Vidomina's biological pops, the Southern Duke, into his fight if he must.

Frankly, out of the faces Baiyi had conjured in his mind, he knew that the only ally he could truly rely on was the Alpine Barbarians. The nobles were, without a doubt, useless in a fight; much like one's deadweight teammates in a video game, they might even end up becoming his undoing. On the other hand, bringing Aya and Da Xue students into the war introduced another tension to the problem — Baiyi worried that they might get hurt or even die in the battle.

After much musings, Baiyi became less and less confident that he should mobilize these people at all. Any of their help would be dwarfed by the troubles they bring.

To be honest, not knowing his enemies became a hindrance to coming up with any effective strategy. If he really wanted to form a plan, he would need to first gather intel.

The name of a specific organization materialized in his mind almost immediately after that thought. He departed to his office; after locating the drawer he had in mind, he pulled it open and fished out a nondescript sheet of paper. He folded it into a plane and then cast it out of the window, his eyes following its course as the paper plane sailed lazily to reach outside.

No sooner when the plane made a few inches outside his window, it combusted on its own until all that remained were specks of ash drifting into the wind.

A few minutes later, an inconspicuous slit in Baiyi's office door slid open quietly before sliding shut with a soft snap. A second or two later, a disembodied voice boomed from within his office, "Our most esteemed Honorary Elder, Umbra is here to heed your orders."

"Take a seat," Baiyi replied, pointing at the couch in his office.

In a blink, a middle-aged man was there on the couch, the cushion sagging under his weight in such a way that one would have thought he had been there all along.

There was nothing remotely memorable to his facial features. Leaving him out of one's sight for just a few seconds would already cause one to forget much of his face, let alone try to spot him from a sea of people.

The man casually lifted his hand, letting his sleeve drooped a little to display a gauntlet wth three marks carved on its leathery surface. He was a Scar-level Assassin.

"You're quicker than usual this time," Baiyi prefaced his request with a completely unrelated observation out of his curiosity. "Besides, do I really need someone of your level to do my bidding?"

"Honestly, I've been around these few days to help set up our upcoming Advanced Class. When I saw your message, I came over," The assassin replied rather humbly.

Per the agreement between Baiyi and Umbra, Lady Assassin was to host an Advanced Class every once in a while. Hence, it was not abnormal to have an assassin or two present in the academy, even if no one would normally notice them.

With that out of the way, Baiyi went straight to the point. "I need intel on 'Angels'. The more the merrier, the more details the better, regardless of sources. I don't mind them coming from folklore, legends, or even top secrets guarded by Church authorities."

The assassin tilted his head slightly to a side and thought for a while. Finally, he answered in a raspy voice, "Might take a week."

Baiyi nodded. "Be swift."

As sudden as his appearance, the man vanished in a blink of an eye.

Curiously, there was no mention of payment nor the difficulty of the mission, because Umbra offered intel to Baiyi for free as per the aforementioned agreement. Even though Baiyi's request entailed having veteran Umbra assassins to potentially sacrifice their lives by breaking into the Church's underlying malicious shadows, Umbra would still carry out Baiyi's bidding for free.

Now that he had Umbra to take care of his intel, Baiyi left his office and went straight to Little Mia's chalet. As the girl was not given invigilation duty today, he was sure that she was still on her bed, especially since it was still morning.

To his surprise, Mia woke up earlier than he had expected and was already enjoying her breakfast. It was a fragrant, scrumptious cake packed with butter fillings; after finishing them in small nibbling chunks, Mia licked her fingers as if she was reluctant to let the taste fade so soon.

Then, suddenly, she bolted towards her room as if she remembered something important. She stopped sharply before her full-length mirror and spun around, flexing the side of her waist multiple times from different angles. After concluding that her waist was still delicately slim, she let out a sigh of relief.

As she was still checking her body size, Baiyi had arrived. Since he had expected the girl to be asleep, he had forgone knocking on her door and instead snuck into the house quietly as to not wake her up. Since Mia had not expected a visitor at this hour, she had rolled up her nightgown when Baiyi came into her room, allowing him to witness his youngest daughter looking into the mirror with an exposed belly before finally letting out a sigh.

It was a scene ripe for misunderstandings. In fact, Baiyi found himself frozen like a statue before finally stuttering, "Wha... What are you even doing? You're not pregnant, are yo —"

"Good morning, Mr. Hope. I didn't know you'll visit me today," Mia cut in quickly after recovering from her own shock. Then, pretending to be unperturbed, she straightened her sleeping gown so that it fell back over her body.

"I… Uh hem, I have something I want to talk to you about. Or more accurately, I have something to ask of you," Baiyi said with his best serious tone.

"There's something I can help Mr. Hope with? This is wonderful! Please, tell me what can I do — I promise I'll help you with the best of my abilities!" She replied giddily, her previous embarrassment completely forgotten.

Not even an hour had passed before Mia began to regret saying those words already. Without answering her, Baiyi had dragged the girl into his Magus Lab and had her changed into a for-serious-occasions-only sorcerer's training robe. It was the beginning of Baiyi's latest devilish training to fast-track the girl's mastery of sorcery.

Of course, Baiyi had given the girl a secluded and safe area to change into her robe. It would have been incredibly unethical otherwise, he was sure.

The devilish training he had planned for her consisted of almost every practice under the sun aimed to improve a sorcerer, including meditation, spellcasting, theory learning, and more — all without breaks. Even Mia's sleep was to be replaced by meditation.

In other words, Mia could say goodbye to her favorite confectionaries, her soft, inviting bed, and even the upcoming semester break in general. At Baiyi's order, she was to completely devote her time and effort into her training to improve her power level as soon as possible.

Of course, Mia was characteristically reluctant to do all of that. She was just about to use her standard cop-out card by coquettishly weasel out of the deal — she even had the shaft of her hair ready to be stuffed into Baiyi's hands for a braiding session — when the Fifth Walker told her about the Church, the Angel Corps they were trying to summon, and the imminent doom the Voidwalkers were facing. To make it sound a lot worse and more desperate than it really was, he even added a lot more exaggerations and drama into it.

That did the trick — suddenly, Mia ceased complaining, her erstwhile resistance completely replaced by a burst of determination, as if she had finally found the purpose of her life. Motivated, she conjured a formation and began to practice her magic.

To her, Mr. Hope was more important than her games, the pleasures in life, and any of her indulgences. Mr. Hope might even be more important than everything in her life.

'I'll be the one to protect you this time, Mr. Hope!' Mia pledged, clenching her tiny hands into fists.

Baiyi had originally planned to keep the girl's company as well as stopping her from shortcuts and errors, but his plan changed upon receiving an emergency message from the Sorcerer Association: he was invited to attend an emergency meeting hosted in their Babel Tower, with the issue of their discussion linked to the missing students' case.

From the way the message was framed, it seemed that Mount Parazonium was not the only micro-realm affected by the Church's summoning ritual. In fact, panic was brewing among even the common folks, who were supposed to be exempted from these high-level politics.

Perhaps this was the perfect time to drive a wedge between the Church and the other organizations. With that goal in mind, Baiyi quickly departed to the Babel Tower.It was a meme. Someone had photoshopped Caterpie into a Rayquaza, and so it began. Of course, the truth is that Caterpie CANNOT evolve into Rayquaza.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

495 Fanning the Flames

When Baiyi arrived, Vice President Grant hurried forward, ready to greet, and shook the Soul Armature's hand. "Everyone's almost here; please take a seat," he said before nodding courteously at Tisdale, who stood beside Baiyi.

Afterward, without further ado, he turned and led the pair into the hall.

'Huh. To go straight to the point like that, he really is worried,' Baiyi observed. VP Grant loved to prattle incessantly — in an attempt to appear amiable and easygoing. To Baiyi, making "small talk" with the man in no way indicated that the conversation would be short.

Today, however, VP Grant had skipped all of that, leading them into the hall instead. It was a subtle change, but it was enough to highlight the urgency.

Baiyi took note of the number of important organizations that had been invited by the Sorcerers' Association. He could make out the Master Sages from the Doors of Conundrum alongside representatives of the Blacksmith Association and the Alchemists' Association. Baiyi even spotted a prince that he thought represented the Imperial Household, as well as two representatives from the Knights' Association. Baiyi could not help but wonder if the Knights' representatives were cut out for meetings that were intellectual and magic theory-laden in nature.

The absence of a Church representative stuck out like a sore thumb. The Church had to have been informed of the emergency, and Baiyi could bet that they must have been the first party invited to the meeting. The Church's conspicuous absence was a big, red flag of their role in the disappearance.

The Sorcerers Association had arranged seats for each representative, and as there were slightly more people than the hall was made to contain, the surrounding was quite crowded. Despite that, the chairs beside Baiyi's were empty, giving the impression that he was being singled out. Even the sages from the Doors of Conundrum did not sit too close to him.

Ever since Baiyi flexed his dangerous, taboo power in public — forsaking any pretense of civil disagreements with the Church — even other academic institutions chose to limit their interactions with him, as much as possible.

"We've gathered every information related to our latest anomaly, and we compiled it into this," VP Grant began, beckoning one of his assistants to distribute reports to everyone there.

Baiyi leafed through the pages, skimming through the alarming records of strange happenings mentioned in the report.

Most of the cases were disappearances of either people or objects. For example, an excavation team had gone missing in a micro-realm filled with rare raw materials. Then, in another micro-realm, a large number of goods stored in a secured warehouse had vanished without a trace.

Some cases were even stranger. An explorer was investigating a realm that had just been discovered when he suddenly realized that half his arm, from his elbow to his hand, had vanished into thin air. An even more gruesome case befell a nobleman, who owned a micro-realm that he used as his private estate. During a party he had thrown for several guests and maids, the nobleman's partner was bucking her hips against him. Suddenly, his vision was clouded by a veil of hot, sticky liquid. When the steam cleared, a fountain of blood could be seen gushing out of the nobleman's partner's waist, as her torso, which was nowhere to be found, seemed to have been cut clean off. [1].

After the nobleman recovered from the shock and wiped the blood away from his eyes, he realized that his partner was not the only person to be missing a torso. His mansion was missing its top half. It was as though someone had sliced it cleanly in half.

Baiyi did a quick calculation and realized that a total of thirty-three abnormal cases had occurred overnight, and the victims, who were from diverse social classes, seemed to have been chosen at random. The cases happened too quickly and followed no conceivable pattern. Even before the meeting began, the number of casualties was still unavailable.

There was some good news, though. For example, a fair amount of money in one of the Sorcerers Association's many vaults mysteriously vanished, only to reappear in a construction site in another realm as a shower of gold coins. The elated workers at the construction site had considered the bizarre event a divine miracle, and they had rushed to catch as much as they could. A maid that had been working in a noble's estate vanished and reappeared in an uninhabited realm. She was at death's door when a group of explorers found her and saved her.

The report contained a record of two robbers that had a strange villain team-name. Students from Da Xue had suddenly emerged from one of the nobles' private plantations, and one of them was a Northerner! The fiasco began with a heated dispute, and it soon escalated into a messy fight, which ended with several people injured. However, the two robbers were subdued. Their real identities were still under investigation.

Ten of the thirty-three cases had, more or less, ended with a slightly more hopeful note. The other cases had bizarre endings, and the accumulated loss — both people and possessions — was immense.

Da Xue used micro-realms as their faculties, labs, training grounds, and quarries. As the school's reputation soared, it inadvertently encouraged the public to also invest in micro-realms. Nowadays, no noble would dare call attention to themselves if they did not yet own a micro-realm to use as their private estate. Furthermore, organizations and major businesses could easily fall behind in their respective industries if they lacked the ownership of several micro-realms that contained precious raw materials.

As micro-realms helped fuel the nation's economy, the state leader publicly encouraged the fervor. Tabloid news had even reported that the Emperor owned a dozen micro-realms, which were abodes for his great harem.

The only conglomerate that was not caught up on the craze was the Church. It had yet to excavate any realms willingly. All it had done was build chapels on realms that had begun to accumulate human communities. This was no different from the missionary work that it carried out in the main realms.

To Baiyi, the Church's reluctance to excavate micro-realms was suspicious. This reason must have stemmed from its knowledge of the summoning of Angels and its consequences. Previously, when the utilization of micro realms had yet to gain widespread traction, the effects of the Church's summonings were kept under wraps, and the public knew nothing about it. However, even under the current zeitgeist of micro-realms usage, which then allowed every single anomaly to be observed and reported, the Church still decided to forge ahead and summon its Angels.

Its brazenness and complete disregard for the prospect of public condemnation were, at the very least, entertaining to Baiyi; he was sure that this would help his cause, too. He rose from his seat, ready to rile the public up.

The hubbub in the meeting room died down almost instantaneously, and everyone paid attention to the Fifth Voidwalker.

"No need for wild guesses, ladies and gentlemen. I know the perpetrator behind everything recorded in this report. Now, let me show you what happened," Baiyi said.

He then recounted the War God's explanation, and he even copied the god's demonstration to illustrate the phenomenon better. However, Baiyi purposely left out the War God's warning to not forcefully terminate the ritual.

The reason for that omission was simple: he wanted these people, who had all suffered tremendous losses, to band together and focus their outrage at the Church. There was a chance that the joint condemnation would force the Church to stop the ritual on its owns accord. The War God had warned Baiyi not to forcibly stop the ritual, but if the Church discontinued of their volition, would that not be fine?

The scrutiny might make it think twice about so brazenly summoning an entire army of Angels. If the Church continued its ritual, it would have to reduce the number of Angels being summoned into order to remain discreet. This meant that Baiyi would have to fight fewer angels.

This was a great strategy with which to weaken his opponent. To make sure that the plan worked, Baiyi did not plan to let the lily-livered nimrods in the room go soft on the Church and reveal the fact that the ritual could not actually be stopped.

Baiyi was also not naive to believe that these people would rally behind him, as they also had important and profitable ties with the Church. All he expected them to do was stand beside him and give the Church a few stern words.

He was not really sure the weaklings could provide any help to him if he were to actually fight Angels.

Baiyi's attempt to drive a wench between this group and the Church did not work immediately. As the Church had built a reputation, which the public respected it for, those in the room did not seem to believe Baiyi, despite the fact that he had told them the truth.

"Preposterous! It's hard to believe that the Church would do something this malicious and harmful," said the prince, who was first to voice out his disbelief.

Baiyi skimmed through the report in his grasp for a few seconds and retorted, "Please, your precious son was teleported to someone's plantation. Do you know that he's scrubbing that noble's floor right now?"

"Meh, I've got eighteen sons!" The prince rebutted smugly. "Who is that kid again?"

A Sorcerers Association representative stood up and said, "Look, this isn't the first time the Church performed an Angel-summoning ritual, yet there are no records of events like these in history."

"Back then, we had yet to own so many micro realms. It is only natural that most of the signs went on unnoticed and unrecorded!" Baiyi replied.

"Master Hope, with all due respect for your knowledge and judgment, I can't help but wonder how you managed to obtain such detailed explanation. Could you please divulge the source of your intel and corroborate the intel with hard evidence?" A Master Sage from the Doors of Conundrum asked politely, in deference to Baiyi's honorary title.

"Look around: did the Church send anyone here?"

"I… I'm afraid that that is merely circumstantial evidence, Master Hope. Perhaps they are absent because…"

The sage hesitated and shot Baiyi a meaningful look, and everyone else in the crowd did the same. The sage had not completed his sentence, yet many understood what had been left unsaid: the Church may not attended the meeting because it knew that its enemy, Hope, would be there. The very same Hope that might vaporize them suddenly, because he could, and no one would be able to stop him.

"Well, if substantive evidence is what you want, how about this? To start a summoning ritual of that magnitude, the Church would have needed a lot of materials. As these spatial-magic materials are heavily regulated by the Sorcerers' Association, I'm sure there's a record of their purchases. Shall we look at that?" Baiyi said, looking at VP Grant.

"Hold on for a moment, please." Grant nodded solemnly and muttered to an assistant.

A few moments later, the helper returned with a few documents and began to thumb through them. A short later, he handed a book to the VP, who quickly opened it. VP Grant's expression visibly darkened as he flipped through the pages; it was just as Baiyi had said.

One simply could start a fire without fuel. To build such a gargantuan spatial channel, faith alone would not cut it; the Church required real materials that could only be obtained from the Sorcerers Association. Although Baiyi did not know the spell that an Angel-summoning ritual may need or the materials required to cast it, there were still only so many spatial magic materials under the sun.

" Since last year. the Church had been mass-purchasing all kinds of spatial magic materials from us!" When VP Grant finally broke his silence with a voice laced with trepidation. His gaze remained glued to the astronomical numbers in his record. "Their excuse was that they wanted to set up a series of personal teleportation portals to ease their missionary outings. However, the amount they have ordered is way beyond that…"

"And so all of these really happened?" A Knights' Association representative asked as he waved the report in his hand. He was clearly not magically-educated.

"Yes. Set up too many teleportation portals without professional consultation, and you're basically welcoming all manner of deadly accidents. This is one of the reasons why the Association regulated those materials in the first place," Grant explained.

He frowned, though. "If it had been any other organization or individual, we would have immediately terminated their purchase," Grant said. "But it was the Church, so…"

The air felt heavy as silence fell. Everyone, excluding Baiyi, wore expressions of shock. The evidence they needed right now had been staring them in the face for a few months.

No one questioned Baiyi now, so he went ahead and upped the ante. "Well, now that we nailed our perp, I'm sure all of you know what to do next, yes?"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

496 I Changed Into A New Outfi

The representatives of the imperial household, the major organizations in attendance, and the nobles were at a loss for words. The Sorcerers' Association's representatives, who did not consider the Church a hostile entity, looked even more astonished than the other attendees. I

To use a crass analogy, they suddenly felt poor native folks that had just watched the village pariah forcibly kidnap their wives. What was supposed to be an agreement between gentlemen had been tossed aside. Furthermore, the Church showed no signs of stopping.

Their first reaction was a clamor for retaliation, but that thought was quickly scrapped, as they remembered, with sinking hearts, that they would be pointing their swords at the Church. It was only natural that those who had never questioned the Church would fear it. Baiyi figured this to be the reason behind their blank and confused stares, and he did not blame them for that.

Wise people would have called for an adjournment of the meeting at this point so that they could hurriedly return and relay Baiyi's revelation to the factions that they represented, after which they could begin to deliberate on their next move. However, a prince that had eighteen children felt that he had not received as much attention as he was used to, so he decided to remedy that.

The prince stood up. "Sir Hope, pardon my candor: isn't the Church summoning these Angels just because of the feud between you two? I cannot help but think that some form of mediation could stop this war from happening, as well as put an end to the tragic events that have been occurring," said the prince matter-of-factly.

Baiyi said nothing. He raised his hand to his shoulder and undid a button that was holding his cape in place. Tisdale hurried forward and undid the button on the other shoulder before taking the cape, which she tucked neatly and retreated a few feet away.

A bright flash of light illuminated the hall as a big, black ball of energy encompassed Baiyi, right in front of the crowd. Meatball-mode Baiyi raised his hand, and the prince's feet left the ground as he began to float towards the former. When the prince's face was right before the meatball, he was forced to raise his head with the intention of looking Baiyi in the eye.

However, he could not see through the big ball of black energy, though, but because of his posture, the idea was there.

"Mediation, you say? Are you telling me to go over and parley with the Church, subjecting myself to their whims?" Baiyi growled in a low, raspy baritone.

"N-no! That's not… Not what I meant at all!" Beads of sweat dripped down the prince's forehead as he stared the fiery sparks emanating from the huge, black energy ball.

"No? What did you mean, then? That you have decided to go and persuade them to let me — someone they consider a demon — to continue living?" Baiyi asked, a trace of amusement evident in his voice.

"Wait! I…!" The prince's heart raced as he tried to come up with an answer, finally realizing that he had oversimplified the issue. For the Church to continue with its Angel summoning, despite the huge threat it could pose to the public, showed that it had long since parted ways with those it once considered its allies. All that just because the Church considered the destruction of the Voidwalkers a most righteous deed. The prince, who was frequently involved in secular politics, had let his habit of trying to mediate any troublesome situation kick in; however, Baiyi's fierce response had swiftly reminded him that the Royal Family, who depended on the graces of the Church and the Voidwalkers, could not afford to offend either entity.

Satisfied with the prince's reaction, Baiyi let him go. He canceled the Meatball mode and left the hall without another word, with Tisdale in tow.

Only when Baiyi was out of sight did the crowd wipe away the cold sweat on their foreheads. This all began because of the feud between the Church and the Voidwalkers. Since the Church was too huge an entity to battle, it made sense to, instead, pressure the Voidwalkers, whose social and political influence was less than the Church's. If they could force the Voidwalkers to submit to the Church, the war could be averted, and they will no longer have to suffer this tragedy.

The prince's words mirrored the thoughts in everyone's minds, but the others were smart enough to keep their mouths shut, unlike the prince. Baiyi seemed to have read their minds, though, which was why he made a scapegoat off the prince, indirectly warning the others not to incur his ire.

Not everyone was so easily convinced, however. The gazes of a few people in the hall quickly shifted to the strongest person present, and with a trace of incredulity in their voices, they asked, "Mr. Vice President, what is your honest opinion of this Hope? Do you think he had reached Demigod-level?"

Grant frowned and gritted his teeth; he seemed to be questioning the intelligence of the speakers, who had asked something very stupid. However, as he did not wish for these people to risk their lives by entertaining dangerously stupid thoughts, Grant replied, "Master Hope's power is way beyond the top of the power levels, gentlemen. I'll warn you: what you have just seen isn't his true power; it's just the tip of the iceberg."

"That's impossible! Is that monster really undefeatable!?" The prince scowled.

"Oh? Why do you think the Church was forced to such desperate acts, hmm? His power is overwhelming and over the top; mortals like us can no longer hope to contend with it!" Grant snapped. "My wise, esteemed guests, let me offer you a piece of advice: the war between Hope and the Church is something out of the boundary that us mortals exist in. We might not even be capable of watching them battle from afar, let alone interfere in the battle. So, if you know what is good for you, be smart and don't get involved."

"But the Church's actions are harming us! Are you really suggesting that we sit idly by and watch everything crumble around us? Is there really nothing we can do?!" asked a worried-looking Alchemist Association representative. The Alchemist Association was the first organization to invest in micro-realms. Most of its success was achieved thanks to rare raw materials unearthed from its realms. Of the organizations present, the Alchemist Association owned the most micro-realms.

Its entire operation rested on the existence and stability of its micro realms, and if the Church was allowed to continue its actions, the Alchemists' Association would crumble; it might even go bankrupt. This was why they were more scared than others.

Grant could only flash the man a helpless smile, which seemed to mean 'What do you want me to do? I'm just as desperate as you are!'

Without another word, he turned and left.

As the crowd in the hall nursed the resentment, the students that had gone to participate in the Trial of Parazonium slowly returned to Da Xue's realm, after the news of an 'unforeseen accident' broke. Some of them were smiling in glee, happy about their luck, and others looked confused and dissatisfied that their adventure had been stopped so suddenly.

For the rest of the week, Baiyi did nothing substantive. He chose to wait for those whose profits would be hurt by the Church's activities to rise up. At that time, the first batch of intel from Umbra reached him, so he spent some time pouring over the information.

The intel contained legends and folklore. These were not the high-level secrets that Baiyi had hoped for; they were of little strategic value. Every page he read seemed to describe how immaculate, beautiful, and indomitable Angels were. All Baiyi could learn from that was that Angels were not some ripped gym-bros with washboard abs and too much body hair.

Obviously, useful intel could only come from the Church's insiders.

Little Mia had been hard at work in a bid to become stronger. She was being spurred on by the understanding that Baiyi needed her. However, a lack of sleep and tasty snacks had turned her face gaunt. That face pained Baiyi so much, he asked her to take a break.

"Huh? I thought the situation was quite dire," Mia said.

"Er, it's not exactly as dire as you expected," Baiyi replied, ruffling her hair as he did so. "Just…take a break for the time being, okay? Go outside and have fun."

"Really? Okay! I wanna go out with you, Mr. Hope!" The eager Mia wrapped her arms around Baiyi.

Baiyi wanted to reject Mia, but before he could talk, he remembered that he had not spent time with her for a while. Deciding to take the chance to bond, Baiyi nodded at Mia.

Mia was over the moon as she dashed home. She could not help fantasizing about the fun they would have, and her thoughts turned to the unattractive sorcerer's robe. When Mia got to her room, Mia yanked open her closet in a hurry — revealing rows of clothes packed so together, anyone would be unable to tell where one dress ended and another began — and began taking her favorite clothes.

After struggling internally for a while, Mia decided to go with a small pink jacket, which she would pair with a tartan short skirt and black silk socks. After that, she wore her brown knee-high boots.

Afterward, she admired herself in the mirror, marveling at how quickly she had become young again. However, Mia felt that something was amiss. After pondering silently for a while, she replaced her black silk socks with a pair of white silk socks.

She then fastened a pair of rabbit-head hairclips to the end of her ponytails and changed her shoes to the classic, round-headed, leather mary janes. Mia grabbed the hammerhead shark and placed it under her arm.

Now she looked ten years younger than she really was and could be mistaken for a kid. This was deliberate; she knew Baiyi liked her much better this way.

As Baiyi waited for Mia to get ready, he tried to shrug off the sense of boredom enveloping him. Girls spent a long time dressing up and making up; this was something Baiyi, who now had many 'daughters', was used to, but he always found the wait tedious. As he waited, a thought crossed his mind. 'What if I, too, changed into a new suit?'

Baiyi took Mystique out of his storage pouch.

He had been spent a lot of time researching the armor but failed to learn anything important, so he had ended up temporarily suspending the research. Now, however, he decided to don it for the shopping trip with his favorite daughter.

Baiyi carved the Ember of Hope onto the armor and began to transfer his consciousness to it. When the process was almost completed, the door opened, and Mia, who was clutching her hammerhead shark plushie, entered the hall.

A strange shockwave burst out from Baiyi and spread outward. His unfathomable instinct kicked his excellent reflexes into overdrive, and the Soul Armature quickly cast a magical formation of vision on his new body.

When Baiyi finally came to, he found himself in a different place. This was somewhere he had not been to before!

Little Mia, meanwhile, laid at his feet like a corpse.

Baiyi picked her up and checked her pulse. She was only unconscious.

'What happened? Where are we?!' Baiyi thought as he tried to suppress the fear in his heart. He looked around, trying to spot something that would give him an idea of where he was. All he could see were unfamiliar people walking by him as he stood in the middle of an unfamiliar street.

Buildings with antique architecture were all around him, and the surrounding did not seem to possess the slightest semblance to the modern world that he was used to. Many of these buildings had on flags of different colors and long ribbons hung on them, while large banners adorned the streets. To his surprise, he spotted magical Rohlserlian formations on these banners.

Baiyi looked closely at the banners and realized that they really were Formation Script. It read: 'We welcome His Majesty the Nineteenth on his return after another victory!"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

497 The Start Of A Bizzare Adventure

Nothing from Baiyi's pool of encyclopedic knowledge could provide an explanation for what had just happened. Baiyi racked his brain, but he did not come up with anything. He could only stand stiffly in the middle of the busy street, like a fish out of water. After some time had passed, Baiyi's arms began to feel the weight of the unconscious Mia, so he tightened his arms even more.

Baiyi looked around again, trying to make sense of his strange surroundings. His gaze shifted from the archaic stone buildings to the passers-by wearing long robes, and then back to the banners. He reread the text that had been written in the overly-complicated Formation Script, and the thought that he had somehow traveled six thousand years into the past, to the Ancient Rohserlian Empire, surfaced in his mind. [1]

No. A more reasonable explanation would be he somehow has become trapped in a mysterious illusory world — one he might escape if he pinched his thighs really hard[2]. He could not do this, however, because he was carrying Mia, so he made do by pinching her thighs, which were covered by silk socks, instead.

'Alright. That's the unmistakable texture of her tender, supple skin,' Baiyi concluded. 'Illusions should not have that level of tactile accuracy, can they?'

With the unfathomably powerful psychic energy and consciousness that Baiyi had, the number of illusionists that could trick him was zero.

Unfortunately, that left him with a mindblowing conclusion: he had somehow gone back in time!

Baiyi shook his head in disbelief. As a scholar that was conversant with every proven magical theory and principle, he knew that a trip back to the past would cause a time paradox, a phenomenon that defied logic. This was the reason why no learned individuals would entertain such an outlandish idea. Time travel was, at best, an entertaining fantasy for an idle mind. How else could Baiyi explain his current predicament, though?

His mind was filled with a lot of knots, and he had no idea how to unbind them; thus, he decided to contact the other Voidwalkers. Right when Baiyi was about to delve deep into his mind, a passer-by took notice of him and walked over. "Greetings, stranger! Why are you wearing armor during a festival?"

Baiyi turned around and saw the speaker — a young man in his twenties, who wore a one-piece robe that looked vaguely similar to the robes worn by modern-day sorcerers. The young man had spoken in a language that Biayi understood but had not used in a long time: Ancient Rohlserlese.

Baiyi quickly cast a voicebox spell over his current armor and replied in Ancient Rohlserlese, "I'm a traveler. It appears that I'm lost, though. Do you know this place?"

"You're at Aegir, good sir, and we're— Hold on; what's with the girl in your arms!?" The young man's voice suddenly rose. "Why is she wearing something like that? Is she… Is she a serf?"

The young man gawked, and his face turned red as he prepared to shout.

Before he could, however, Baiyi knocked him out with a well-timed Hypnosis. The young man fell into it, and his mind could not put up a fight. His pupils dilated before turning glassy, and his arms fell to his sides as though he were a doll.

"Take me somewhere private," Baiyi commanded the young man in Ancient Rohlserlese. He then glanced at the unconscious Mia and muttered, 'You and your sense of fashion! You almost got us into a mess!'

The young man nodded and replied flatly, "My house is right around the corner."

With Mia in his arms, Baiyi followed him. The young man lived in a cottage fit for commoners. The furniture in the house possessed strong Ancient Rohlserlian aesthetics. The furniture greatly resembled those that Baiyi had seen in the Archmage's memories; this corroborated his time-travel theory.

Baiyi wrapped Little Mia with a blanket he found on the young man's bed, after which he turned to the young man, whose eyes were still glassy. "Tell me today's date."

"Year thirty-one after the New Reign," replied the young man.

Ancient Rohlserlians — whose civilization was formed at the early age of human history, therefore displaying a lack of awareness in preserving historical accounts accurately — followed a calendar system that was cumbersome enough to make a historian break down. Every time a new emperor ascended the throne, the calendar would be reset back to 'Year 1'. Hence, according to the young man, the current emperor had been ruling the empire for thirty-one years. However, in the grand scheme of anthropological history, there was no way of telling what year they were in, or how far in the past the current year was from the one Baiyi had left.

"Who's the current emperor?" Baiyi continued.

"The wisest, most righteous, and greatest emperor of all: His Majesty, Emperor Rohlserl the Nineteenth!" The young man answered with veneration. Although he was under the influence of Baiyi's spell, his blank eyes brightened with reverence as he spoke. At that moment, the young man did not sound like someone that had been hypnotized; he sounded proud.

It was obvious that his reverence for the current Emperor could not be understated.

"The Nineteenth?!" Baiyi asked with a trace of amusement. This was the only Rohlserlian emperor that he was acquainted with! He was the legendary Sage-Emperor of the Magi, the First Voidwalker, Type-Moon's oldest fanboy, the students' favorite lecturer, the girls' Royal Gramps, and Baiyi's master.

From this, Baiyi realized that he had not just traveled back in time; he had returned to an age when his master was at his prime!

Recent events were so hilarious and ridiculous, Baiyi had the urge to select a Voidwalker at random and share his cheesiest hot-take with them. He was about to do this when he discovered something strange; although the Voidwalkers were still in the Void, they appeared to be unmoving.

He could barely feel their presence, and they were not moving at all; it was as though they had become statues. In truth, however, their movement had become so slow, it appeared as though they were not moving at all.

To test his theory, Baiyi poked the Warrior Walker with his consciousness. He expected her to instantly react with a flirtatious "Hmph!", but her real reaction was so slow, he did not notice it immediately. It was as though the other Voidwalkers were in super slow motion. Baiyi suspected that it might even take a few hours to get the Warrior Walker's reaction.

This was a very unsettling conclusion. He figured that the flow of time must be different on his side. Time had to be going much faster for him.

"Crap. This is really bad," muttered a frantic Baiyi. His gaze shifted to the armor that he had on. Was it the cause of all this?

Things were finally coming together. This explained why Mystique left behind so many strange but distinct legends at various times and places. No wonder it had a Formation Script on its surface, despite looking new for something that was six thousand years old. This should also be the reason why Baiyi could sense a faint tint of Laws within it. He had tried and tried to locate the source of this tint, but he had been unable to find it in the armor.

This was because Mystique's Law Effect could make time go haywire.

As an exemplary scholar that did not believe in time being multidirectional, Baiyi was oblivious to the possibility of time manipulation. At that moment, however, the armor's mysteries seemed to converge at that possibility.

"Okay, you know what? I'll probably be better off considering this whole thing as a case of time travel. Illusion and parallel dimension be damned," Baiyi said.

He did not think that he would ever get to experience the life of an ancient Rohlserlian. As he entertained myriad thoughts, Baiyi realized that his knowledge of the future, his current power, and his connection with the current Emperor would allow him to live like a god among men in this civilization. He would be one of those at the top of the hierarchy in this ancient society, and that would allow him to own a harem of bodacious women and flirt every little girl with a pulse, during which time his lapdogs would surround and lick his booths whenever he pleased. That would be a life worth living, right?

'Hell no. You think I wanna do all that when the things I still have to do in my time are piling up? Oh, and beautiful women? You mean I don't have a plethora of them already? Aren't they all worried sick, waiting for me to come home? The Church is busy crying to its Angels right that instant, begging them to destroy me and my hood. Who the hell will have the time to fulfill their fantasies in this medieval time, huh? Ain't nobody got time for that!'

'But how the hell am I supposed to go home?!' Baiyi wondered, feeling lonely and helpless. He was a scholar that had dismissed the notion of time travel, so he had no way of retracing his steps. Despite trying to come up with a solution, he could only grasp as straws as his panic increased.

"Okay, maybe the only thing I can do right now is to seek help from my master of this time. The current emperor had only just ascended the throne, so he had to be pretty young and powerful, right? He should not resemble, in any way, that weird and unreliable geezer that I know, right?" Baiyi murmured.

He wondered what he could do to prove to the current Emperor, the Nineteenth, that they knew each other, albeit in the future. Only then could he convince the Emperor to get him out of this dump.

Baiyi knew that the Sage-Emperor of this time was nothing like the kindly old man that had taught him without reservation. The Sage-Emperor of this time should be an imposing, powerful, and no-nonsense ruler, who had very little compassion and patience.

To him, Baiyi would be a stranger from god-knows-where. Baiyi would be unable to explain how he was able to function with a body that was just an armor set; after all, in this time, Soul Armature arts had not yet been invented.

Something else deeply disturbed Baiyi: the butterfly effect. He imagined telling the current emperor that he would end up a funny old man living in the Void. If the emperor believed him and did everything he could to never go to the Void, future Baiyi would not meet him when he is suddenly transported from Earth to this universe. Future Baiyi would never have become a Voidwalker.

This would cause even more to happen. There would be no Mia, no Tisdale, and no Attie. The Voidwalkers would not exist because their souls would perish in the Void without Baiyi's protection. Everything he had lived for would be gone!

The butterfly effect was scarily precisely, and no one could explain how so much of the future could be changed because of one wrong mood. Baiyi felt cold when he thought of his, and suddenly, that idea of visiting the current emperor began to seem like a terrible one.

Should he just bring Little Mia to a quiet village and stay there while he worked on a plan to return to his time? That would be a good time for the two to bond — something Baiyi could never get enough of.

How long would it take him to come up with a solution alone, though? A hundred years? A thousand years? What would happen in his reality if he was gone for that long? He had left behind a world that was facing the looming threat of the Church and its Angels. Even though time flowed much slower there, every second that passed was still a second lost. What if he returns home to find Da Xue in ruins — destroyed by the angels? What if he realized that the Voidwalkers had been banished to the Void and that his beautiful girls had all been imprisoned? What a nightmare that would be!

The invincible Fifth Walker was now being overrun by fear. The worst part was that he did not know how to get out of this mess!

As anxiety plagued Baiyi, a loud knock on the cottage's door caused him to jerk. Before he could do more than that, the door was struck hard enough to generate a loud bang. It was thought it was being kicked open.

A voice that was pleasant as that if an angel called out, "Big Brother Nick, I have just made more pies! I've saved some for ya, too. Are you in your room? 'Cause I'm coming in!"

Without waiting for an answer, the speaker waltzed right through the living room and into the bedroom, where she found herself staring at a creepy suit of armor, an unconscious girl on the bed, and the young man she had been speaking to, who was as stiff as mannequin as he stood beside the stranger.

Baiyi was about to cast a Hypnosis spell right at her, but his hands stopped. The moment he saw the speaker's face, he had quickly held back his manner.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

498 Have Mercy, Maapos;am!

She was a stunner — a beauty of unparalleled proportions. Only the girls around Baiyi could rival her beauty. Her face was soft, with features similar to that of a porcelain doll. Her lustrous, raven-black hair rivaled Mia's. Her lean shoulders and arms were covered by a white, form-fitting, silk robe; it accentuated the tenderness of her slim physique. The robe gracefully covered her ravishing long legs, but when she opened the door, the wispy robe fluttered mildly, allowing Baiyi a glimpse of her feminine curves.

Her countenance stood out more than her beauty did, though. There was an uncanny similarity between this girl and Mia. She emanated the gentleness of a woman and the sweet disposition of a girl. This made Baiyi feel an urge to hug her and sniff the sweet scent of her skin.

Other than the color of her hair, this girl did not resemble Mia; however, Baiyi, in his mind, could not stop viewing the two as long-lost sisters or, surprisingly, the same person.

It was not the girl's beauty or countenance that made Baiyi stay his hand; he stopped because something about her had hit him with an intense sense of déjà vu. Baiyi could not shake the feeling that he had seen this woman before, but he could not ascertain the source of this feeling.

"Who are you…?"

Traces of fear and interest flashed in the girl's eyes when she spotted the abnormal armor set that was Baiyi. She did take a few steps back, though. Although she did it gently, Baiyi suddenly felt the need to protect her from the cruelty of this world.

"He's a friend of mine. He was injured badly in an accident and got a lot of terrible scars, and since then, he has worn a set of armor to avoid scaring off people," said the young man in a dull tone. It was obvious that Baiyi had made the man come up with an excuse in his stead.

"Um, Big Brother Nick? You sound a little funny." The girl glanced at the young man, with worry in her eyes.

"Cough! I, uh, had a bad night. My throat is — cough! — a little dry," the young man replied, feigning a coughing fit.

Fortunately, the beautiful girl seemed to buy the excuse, unable to tell that a magic spell as deceitful as Hypnosis even existed.

She had believed him almost too easily and eased up. The girl turned her attention back to Baiyi and flashed him a warm smile. "Hello, new friend! My name's Lulu."

This name was one of the most uncreative and unimpressive names any parent could come up with; to Baiyi, only a woman who often got lost on her way home would bear a name like that. However, when she said her name, Baiyi jolted as something coursed through his body. The name had resonated with something deep within his memories.

Lulu was, more or less, the wife of his good old teacher, the Archmage.

When the First Walker shared his memories with Baiyi, he had held nothing back. However, at certain points in his memories, the Archmage had been uncharacteristically furtive. This was especially so with his memories of women.

According to historians and the geezer, whose claims were most likely exaggerated, Emperor Rohlserl the Nineteenth had a large harem that contained beautiful empresses and royal consorts. However, when Baiyi sifted through the Archmage's memories, these women were nothing more than blurry smudges with no backstory. Back then, Baiyi had even considered them decor for the background.

Only one woman was different: an imperial consort named Lulu. Her appearance was vivid in the Archmage's memories, kept alive by the intense attraction he harbored for her alone. However, this romance was short-lived, fleeting, and disjointed. Eventually, she vanished from his life altogether.

Baiyi had no idea what had transpired, as the Archmage did not share that part of his memory with his protégé. Baiyi knew one thing, though: when Lulu disappeared, the women in the Archmage's life faded into the background, and none of them could leave an impression on him.

Lulu had meant a lot to the Archmage. Whether or not there was anything going on between them did not matter — the geezer had already reserved a special place in his heart for her.

Baiyi wondered if this was why his master had taken a liking to Mia the moment he first laid eyes on her. 'He saw Lulu in Mia.'

As Lulu was the only love the Archmage had ever had, which Baiyi had seen in the old man's memories, the Fifth Walker decided not to knock her out with Hypnosis. Furthermore, Baiyi had decided to avoid this woman at all costs.

This was not just out of respect for his master, but also because he feared the butterfly effect. Even his decision not to hypnotize Lulu was due to this fear. The Hypnosis spell could cause significant cognitive impairment and personality changes to those it was cast on. If he had used it on Lulu, it may have caused her personality to change, which, in turn, would cause significant changes to events that were to occur, altering the future greatly.

However, Lulu was just about to show Baiyi how difficult it would be for him to follow his new plan. She did not leave the house immediately; instead, she remained in the room and sized him up with interest. In a feat of boldness, she held out the basket in her arms.

"Come, my new friend, and take a bite out of my pies! Everyone in this neighborhood has only good things to say about them… A lot of good things!" She proclaimed.

'Great. She just had to be the overly friendly type. What a drag…' Baiyi grumbled internally. Still, he took a pie from the basket, shifted is face mask a bit to the side, and tossed the pie right into the void that lay behind the mask.

"Mm. Yes. Tasty. Thank you," Baiyi mumbled.

Lulu did not reply because her attention had shifted to the unconscious Mia, who was on the bed behind Baiyi.

"Oh, my! What a beautiful maiden! But, what happened to her…?" She cooed.

"Tired from our journey. Requires a quiet rest," Baiyi replied, emphasizing the 'quiet' part.

"Ah, I see! In that case, I should excuse myself before I accidentally wake her up," Lulu replied. Baiyi was happy that he would be left alone soon.

Just as he was about to exhale in relief, the retreating Lulu stopped, turned around, and clapped so loudly, Baiyi began to sweat. "Oh, I think I have some homemade incense that makes a person sleep better than usual! I'll bring it over while you wait here!" She announced.

After that, Lulu skipped out of the house, looking as happy as a lark that had just been let out of its cage.

"What. The. Hell?" Baiyi almost howled. How did such a beauty end up being so talkative? To him, Lulu was way too friendly for someone that beautiful. "How did my good old mentor fall in love with her in the first place?" Baiyi groaned.

Just as she had promised, Lulu returned a few minutes later with a black can, which filled with a potpourri of dried herbs. It was a popular type of incense used by ancient Rohlerslians, and its contents were quite different from the incenses manufactured in the present.

Baiyi was worried that Lulu might notice the unsettling changes in her friend, the young man — who was still being uncharacteristically dull — so he had ordered the young man to go the backyard before Lulu returned. Thus, only Lulu, Mia, and Baiyi were in the room.

"Hey, where did Big Brother Nick go?" Lulu drawled as she waved something in her hand. "I brought him some throat relief for his bad cough."

"Gone off to chop some wood in the backyard," Baiyi lied.

"Hmm, how hardworking of him! Well, you'll just have to give him this to him later, on my behalf, okay? Anyway, this is it." Lulu beamed as she raised the can in her hand. "All you need do is light it up, and you'll find yourself immersed in one of the sweetest dreams you will ever have!"

Watching Lulu's face light up like that of a jubilant child made Baiyi's stoic resolve melt at an alarming pace. This left him unable to refuse her offer. Lulu, who faced no objection, dropped the can on the bed frame and dipped her hands into her pockets.

"Oopsie, guess I forgot to bring any matches," she said, apologizing in a sing-song manner, with her tongue stuck out. "Please wait here while I grab it from home—"

"That won't be necessary." Baiyi waved a finger, and a small ball of flame soared into the can. He had seen these specially-made incense in the Archmage's memories, so he could discern the right amount of heat required for the release of its heart-throbbing aroma.

That instinctive use of magic was Baiyi's first grave mistake. Lulu's eyes widened, and her star-like pupils twinkled in awe and admiration. She could not help but gasp. "You…! Sir, you're… You're a sorcerer?!"

As one of the earliest human civilizations, the Ancient Rohlserlian society was one of proto-feudalism, and each of its citizens classified into four castes. Towering above all, as the indisputable ruling class, was the sorcerers. Harnessing the power of the arcane, it was the sorcerers that founded the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire and subjugated its neighbors and city-states. Thus, sorcerers enjoyed a level of veneration and prestige that no noble in modern Isythre could ever hope to enjoy. On the other hand, as Ancient Rohlserlian magic was notoriously complicated and difficult to master, this ruling caste had the least number of people.

One level under the sorcerers were the warriors. They were fighters that had contributed greatly to the empire's conquest. They were said to be the origin of modern-day gentry. However, in the Ancient Rohlserlian society, a warrior could not pass their status to their kins, neither were they given lands to govern. As they did not enjoy any special privileges, warriors were seen more as first-class citizens rather than nobles.

The third caste had the highest number of citizens in the empire: the common folk.

Nothing much stood out about this tier, except for how much they worshipped all sorcerers. They dreamed about becoming sorcerers themselves.

The fourth and lowest caste was occupied by the outlanders, who suffered contempt from the three castes that came before it. Outlanders were usually war prisoners-turned-slaves, but sometimes, some refugees from neighboring countries and tribes, who came into the empire looking for a better way to live, became outlanders. The natives commonly called them "Serfs".

There was no distinction between serfs. Even if they were princes or common folks in their own tribes, serfs were considered by those in the empire to be lowly and disgusting.

It was not hard to see how bloated the ego of the Rohlserlians was, as its people were so convinced of their superiority and did not see a need to be humble. According to a historical account, there was a time that the chief of a foreign tribe ventured into the empire, hoping to negotiate a truce between his people and theirs. As he headed to the capital, he was overcome by thirst, so he and his entourage stopped at a village nearby and asked for water.

The farmers in the village refused the chief a drink and accused his group of "dirtying their crops". This was because their bodies had brushed past some crops on their way to the village. In a fit of fury, the chief's guards killed the farmers and their families.

Three days later, the chief's tribe — which had evaded the empire's attention thus far — was wiped out with a Forbidden Spell.

The empire's might in sorcery and the bountiful resources in its land, were the sources of the Rohlserlians' malformed ego. The sorcerers, who owned both, were continuously revered by their people.

This was the reason why Lulu became starry-eyed when Baiyi accidentally let slip that he was a sorcerer. As a common folk, she had not met a sorcerer before, until today!

It was at that moment that Baiyi knew he had f***ed up.

As he watched Lily stare at him with excitement and reverence, Baiyi had to remind himself that this was the woman that would one day become his master's beloved. Hence, he could only whimper weakly in his heart, 'Please have mercy, Mrs. Mentor!'

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

499 I Finally Get To Say That Out Loud

Right in front of Baiyi was an innocent and gorgeous beauty, whose awe-filled eyes were fixed on him. He, however, did not feel as good as she did; he dreaded the negative effects that the butterfly effect would have on the future. No matter how Baiyi looked at it, his back was up against a wall.

After mentally assessing the pros and cons of every possible action he could take, the Fifth Voidwalker decided to feign embarrassment. "I'm afraid you're gravely mistaken, little miss. I'm no sorcerer; I'm just an apprentice with a few tricks up his sleeves."

Becoming a sorcerer in the ancient Rohlserlian empire was no easy feat. The bar of qualification was high — one could not simply become a sorcerer because they knew a few parlor tricks. One would have to master two fifth-grade magic spells and ten fourth-grade magic spells before they could be considered a full-fledged sorcerer. Anyone that achieved less was seen as an apprentice. Sorcerers' apprentices did not enjoy the admiration or privileges that their masters did.

In modern Isythre, only the magic practitioners at the Master level could be considered sorcerers in the ancient Rohlserlian Empire. With how difficult Rohlserlian magic was, it was only natural that the ancient Rohlserlian Empire did not have a lot of sorcerers, despite the empire being so enamored with magic. Those that managed to become sorcerers, despite the harsh requirements, were the crème de la crème.

A shadow of disappointment crossed Lulu's face, but she instantly regained her jolly attitude. "Hmm, I guess that makes sense. A real sorcerer will not take kindly to residing in such an old, lame cottage…" she murmured thoughtfully.

'Oi, take those words back at once, Mrs. Mentor! I'm not just a real sorcerer, I'm also a very powerful and totally legitimate Rohlserlian sorcerer! I can probably beat your emperor in a fight right now! Er... Even though he's my mentor…' Baiyi screamed internally, but he said nothing on the outside.

Then, either out of her empathetic nature or her tendency to see the glass half-full rather than half-empty [1], Lulu flashed Baiyi a warm smile and said, "Don't you worry, though! One day, you'll become a sorcerer revered by all, as long as you work hard! I believe in you!"

"Um, well, as you have heard from your good friend Nick, I was badly injured in an accident, so I don't think I'll ever be able to practice magic anymore," Baiyi hastily replied.

"Aww? That's…" Lulu's expression turned to one of regret, making her look even sadder than Baiyi, who was supposed to be injured. She reached out and held Baiyi's hand gently. "Don't let that bring you down, okay? In time, even the most stubborn injury will heal. You will become better!"

Baiyi was speechless.

As though simple words of encouragement were not enough, Lulu went on to tell Baiyi really long motivational stories. She kept this up until she felt that Baiyi's morale had improved. Afterward, she went home.

Upon getting some respite, Baiyi looked at Mia — who was still out cold — and got lost in thought.

The next day, Nick was back to his regular self. With a grin on his face, he left for a farewell tour around Aegir. Before he left, however, he bade his friends farewell, saying that he was "returning to his hometown for, like, a really long time." He told them that his cottage now belonged to an old friend of his, who was a sorcerer's apprentice with a cantankerous temper. "Do not interact with him," he had warned. "He prefers solitude."

These words were not Nick's, though. Baiyi had directed him through Hypnosis to say that. He had also directed Nick to return to his hometown and marry a nice girl there.

With the cottage's real owner out of the way, Baiyi was finally able to lay claim to the building. He decided to remain in the house and keep his interactions with others to a minimum.

He could not help but wonder, 'What about Little Mia?'

She had woken up in the morning, and Baiyi had taken the opportunity to bring her up to date on everything that had happened so far. Mia could not help rolling on the bed in worry. When Baiyi went on to warn her to never leave the cottage, an expression of horror appeared on Mia's face. The girl seemed close to tears.

Mia had never been an indoor person, but that was not the only reason why she was upset. As a mage trained in Rohlserlian sorcery, it was exciting to learn that she had gone back in time to the legendary ancient Rohlserlian empire, where the formalized study of magic began. This was the perfect chance for her to immerse herself in Rohlserlian culture, but Mr. Hope had thrown a wrench in her plan to pilgrimage. [2]

"B-But Mr. Hope~!" Mia drawled sweetly. "I really wanna go out and play! I wanna see Royal Gramps when he's young! Can't I, pwease?"

"You better not take the butterfly effect for granted, Mia. Who knows what unpredictable chain of events that a simple action you take here can cause our future?" Baiyi explained patiently while rubbing her hair. "Haven't I explained how dangerous it is to you already?"

"Oh, but we don't know if that tornado really was caused by that butterfly's flight, do we? Maybe it was something else entirely. Maybe nothing we do here will affect anything, anyway!" Mia said in protest.

"Well…" Baiyi mulled her words over as he tried to come up with a better way to explain the theory.

There was a hard knock on the door.

"Hiya, Mr. Apprentice! I'm coming in!" Lulu's melodious voice rang out from outside. Before Baiyi or Mia could react, light animated footsteps could be heard at the front door. The footsteps grew louder, and in seconds, the girl had entered the bedroom.

Lulu's gaze landed on Mia, who was sitting at the edge of the bed, swinging her legs. Lulu's eyes widened as she exclaimed, "Whoa. She's a cutie!"

Mia, too, looked up at Lulu and mumbled under her breath, "Wow. She's so gorgeous…"

Afterward, Mia turned around and glowered at Baiyi. 'In the short time that I was unconscious for, you went ahead to capture another beautiful, young girl?!'

Baiyi shook his head sideways vehemently and gave Mia a knowing glance, hinting that she follow his lead. With a smile, Baiyi ruffled Mia's hair and said, "This is my daughter, Mia."

For Baiyi, trying to explain the relationship he had with Mia was tough. Technically, they were Summoner and Soul Armature, but in the time of the ancient Rohserlians, the Soul Armature art did not exist. There was their master-student relationship, but Baiyi could not expose this, as any Rohserlian would consider a sorcerer's apprentice not suited to teach someone else magic. Hence, the best disguise they could go with was the father-daughter fib.

An observant individual would have noticed how Baiyi's voice trembled when he introduced Mia. He was ecstatic at the chance to finally call her his daughter in public.

Mia could not read Baiyi's face as he did not have one, but she could tell that it was only a temporary cover. So, very obediently, she murmured, "Daddy…"

"Hey there! My name is Lulu. I live right next door," Lulu said, walking over to examine Mia more closely. Mia, in turn, looked up and observed Lulu as well.

The two beauties studied each, leaving Baiyi to blend in with the background. The Fifth Walker could only sit aside and watch awkwardly.

Lulu's gaze soon left Mia's face and descended to her incongruous outfit. A mini skirt and a pair of white silk socks were considered lacking in the conservative Rohlserlian society, so Lulu frowned. "Mia, the dress you're wearing —"

"My outfit, er… right! I, um, got this from a tribal village that Dad and I visited whilst exploring. A kind villager gave it to me as a gift," Mia said. She got up from the bed and twirled. "What do you think?"

"It's a very strange fashion, but I must admit that it really is quite charming." Lulu nodded in approval; she did not seem suspicious. Lulu may have been accepting out of respect for Baiyi, who she believed was a sorcerer's apprentice, or because Mia's fluent ancient Rohlserlese made her consider Mia a compatriot.

It was fortunate that Baiyi had made ancient Rohlserlese mandatory for Mia and Tisdale all those years ago. Back then, Baiyi believed it would help them to understand Rohlserlian magic better; little did he know it would be so helpful in the future.

There was also the possibility that Lulu found Mia very pleasing to behold — a thought many others shared. Mia was so beautiful that others liked her and believed what she said. To Baiyi, the more beautiful a girl was, the better she would be at fooling others.

The girls began to chat. Mia had always been open to making new friends, and Lulu was a very friendly person; hence, the two hit it off quickly. Only a few minutes had passed, yet Lulu had already invited Mia to attend a celebratory gala outside with her.

"The empire's army is returning home victorious, and they might pass by our area; thus, we will throw a party in their honor! It will be so exciting, with lots of tasty food, desserts, and confectionery. You won't believe me until you see for yourself!" Lulu cheered. "If your luck is good today, you might even see His Majesty in his full glory! What a dream come true that would be!"

As the Rohlserlians revered the might of their empire's military, it was only natural that they venerated the servicemen, as well. Lulu was right: the townsfolk threw parties for the army when they were headed to war, and they also threw parties for the army to celebrate their return.

The parties were thrown even if the townsfolk were not sure that the army would pass by their abode. In most cases, they never did. Aegir's gala began two days ago and would hold today as well, even though the army had not been seen. It almost seemed as though the townfolk were just looking for an excuse to party.

Aegir was enjoying its festivities despite the presence of Baiyi, who had the knack for attracting misfortune during parties. However, nothing untoward had befallen the town, yet. Baiyi found this strange; he wondered if his curse was lifted because of the time-travel. There was also the possibility that misfortune had yet to strike because it was building up momentum, after which it would unleash hell onto the poor, little town.

Baiyi considered leaving Aegir right away before something happened. He did not wish to indirectly cause the death of his master's future lover.

Baiyi took the time to re-examine the Archmage's memories, and he was reminded that Lulu had actually died in the original timeline. Her death had been caused by a random and weird disaster that suddenly befell Aegir.

While Baiyi sifted through memories, Mia returned to the room and changed into a robe similar to Lulu's. She now resembled a native Rohlserlian.

Mia had been dying to go outside, and Lulu's invitation was just the excuse she needed.

When Baiyi's saw Mia's ancient Rohlserlian, he was surprised. 'Since when did you own an outfit like that?'

Baiyi — someone with no fashion sense whatsoever — did not know that ancient Rohlserlian robes never did phase out of existence. Like Victorian dresses or Chinese qipaos back on Earth, ancient Rohlserlian robes were still being sold as classical dresses in the present Isythre. It was no surprise that a fashionista like Mia would have a few of these outfits in her collection. If she had complied with Baiyi's questionable dress code, she would not have been able to pull out such a dress on a whim.

Seeing Mia dressed in the robes worn by her people, Lulu was no longer skeptical; she was no determined to take Mia out to play, as soon as possible.

As they walked to the door, Mia looked back at Baiyi and said with a sweet voice, "Daddy, may I go out and play with Lulu?"

The correct response would be a stomp, a loud "No", and sending Mia to her room. However, when Baiyi heard Mia coo "Daddy," he found himself unable to reject her request.This is from the Chaos Theory. An excerpt states: the butterfly effect is the idea that small things can have non-linear impacts on a complex system. The concept is imagined with a butterfly flapping its wings and causing a typhoon.

Of course, a single act like the butterfly flapping its wings cannot cause a typhoon. Small events can, however, serve as catalysts that act on starting conditions.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

500 A Plea

Mia and Lulu raced down the pavement, their laughter ringing out loud in the street.

Baiyi stood stiffly by the door. He held the doorknob for a few seconds, looking hesitant, but his hand eventually dropped to his side. Although everything was peaceful at the moment, Baiyi could not afford to push his luck by attending any festivities.

Mia returned home at dusk, with her ponytails in a disheveled state. She was exhausted and happy at the same time. The grin on her face could divert attention from her disheveled state; this was a clear sign that she had enjoyed herself. Before Mia entered the cottage, she could be heard promising her new friend Lulu — in a voice as loud as Lulu's — that their adventure would continue the next day.

"This town is the best!" Mia announced as soon as she came in. "Everyone is so, so, so friendly! And kind! You wouldn't believe how many treats they gave me! Everyone is just so warm and cozy with each other, and the neighborhood is bustling with activity. I almost thought I was back in my old place!"

"Honestly, why don't you ever act your age? You're not a kid anymore," Baiyi muttered as he handed her a warm towel with which to wipe the sweat and grime off her face.

Mia playfully pulled away from him and placed her arms at her back as she beamed like a child about to ask their dad for a birthday present. "No, you help me do it, Daddy!"

Baiyi shook his head helplessly, but he obliged. As he used the towel to wipe her face gently, he asked with worry, "They didn't know you're a sorcerer, right?"

"Hee hee! That tickles. Nope; they have no idea," Mia replied sweetly, squinting her eyes as she enjoyed Baiyi's cleaning. "I didn't show them that I could use magic, Dad; just as you asked of me."

Baiyi felt a surge of warmth course through his body. 'Is it just me or is Mia a lot cuter now?' He wondered.

However, his thoughts quickly drifted in another direction, which was the norm for Baiyi. 'Shouldn't Mia's age be dialed back thousands of years because, well, we traveled back in time? Wait… That would mean she's negative six thousand years old! That makes her a minor, right? Like the most extreme of minors, right?'

Baiyi shook his head sideways, discarding the silly train of thought.

That was how the reclusive father and his angel-like daughter — who, in reality, was actually his student — began their temporary stay in Aegir, a border town of the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire.

The gala went on for three more days. Baiyi waited anxiously for the disaster that was sure to ensue whenever he was in close proximity to a festival, but the days that passed were uneventful. It was as though the time travel had cured him of his curse, wherein near-apocalyptic events accompanied him to every festival he attended.

'Could time-travel somehow make a person better? Is that why Mia is now ten times cuter and less wayward? Is it also why my unwanted passive skill, "Doomed to Doom", has been deactivated?' Baiyi wondered. 'This has to be a silver lining, right?'

Despite the comforting thought in his mind, Baiyi was in no mood to go outside. Just because he had tried on a new armor piece, he and Mia were now stranded in the past, and he had no idea how to remedy the situation; this made him depressed. His inability to come up with any solution left him too dejected to consider experiencing Rohlserlian culture alongside Mia.

Mia did not mind Baiyi's absence, though. She felt great that she got to adventure with Lulu every day. At first light each day, both ladies would leave their homes at the same time, only to return at dusk with mud-stained clothes and disheveled hair. Baiyi wondered if Mia's child-like behavior was because she was now negative six thousand years old, or because she had contracted whatever made Lulu so hyperactive.

Meanwhile, the folks of Aegir were becoming more curious about the new girl's father, who never left his house. From Nick's farewell message, they knew that the stranger was a sorcerer's apprentice. Although they had interacted with his angel of a daughter, they had never seen or spoken to the stranger. This caused the town's folk to drop by often, hoping to interact with the mysterious man.

However, Baiyi strictly stuck to the persona he had invented and did not receive any visitors. He even went as far as to rudely keep his door shut at all times.

This kept everyone but Lulu out, as she never waited by his door. Whenever she came to visit, she would kick the door open and waltz in.

It had been a week since Mia and Baiyi were sent back in time.

No cataclysmic events had occurred at Aegir even though Baiyi had been near a festival. Everything was tranquil and peaceful. The Imperial Army did not pass by the town, as they had changed their route early on.

Mia, whose eyes now resembled that of a sad puppy, stood in front of Baiyi with her hands clasped together as she pleaded. In her laps were a pitifully small number of copper coins, which was not enough to buy a meal with. It seemed all their money had been spent.

In truth, they were only out of ancient Rohlserlians coins. In the past week, Mia spent all the coins that Nick, the former owner of the house, had stashed in his cottage. It was apparent that the stonemason's modest earnings were not enough for a spendthrift.

Mia looked grim. "Now what are we going to do?"

"Oh, please. Have I ever made you worry about money?" Baiyi replied nonchalantly as he fished out a small bag of gold coins used in modern-day Isythre.

With a flame spell, Baiyi melted the coins into liquid gold, and then he remolded them into the coins used in ancient Rohlserlia. Minutes later, a pile of new gold coins was in Mia's possession. The coins were still very warm.

"Oh my gosh! Mr. Ho — I mean, Dad, you're just awesome!" Mia grinned so hard that her eyes became fine lines. Suddenly, the smile disappeared from her face as a thought sprung up in her mind, prompting her to ask worriedly, "Isn't this a crime? If anyone found out…"

Forging money was a crime that attracted capital punishment, even in the ancient Rohlserlian Empire.

"Excuse me; are you doubting my expertise?" Baiyi pinched Mia's cheeks in feigned indignation, after which he produced a gold coin from his storage pouch. This gold coin was rusty and ancient. The coin was a much older version of the coins Baiyi had just made.

Baiyi had found this antique coin on his expedition to find the Archmage's Book of Servitude. After careful scrubbing and cleaning, he had added the coin to his collection. It was a real Ancient Rohlserlian coin that had survived the test of time.

"Come. You compare them," Baiyi said, handing the antique coin over to her.

"Wow! It's an exact replica!" Mia exclaimed as she examined the new coins, which were in one hand, and the antique coin, which was in her other hand. "Has your skill with magic reached such a level already, Dad? You can even make replicas of coins without the use of a model!"

"What else did you expect?" Baiyi snorted as he stuffed the antique coin back into his pouch. "So really, go ahead and use them; I honestly doubt anyone will be able to tell the difference. Even if they did, I still don't think we've done anything wrong; after all, the coins are made from real gold. I can remake them into gold blocks, but that would be so inconvenient. This is why I opted to turn the gold into coins, instead."

"Hee hee! You're the world's best dad ever!" Mia chuckled sweetly.

She stood on her tiptoes and planted a light kiss on Baiyi's mask, after which she stuffed the coins into her pouch. Afterward, Mia bolted out of the house, and Baiyi could hear her holler, "Lulu! Let's go! Today, I'm gonna buy you the best food in town!"

Baiyi shook his head helplessly. If that was what his daughter wanted to do with her money, there was little he could do to stop her.

With her new best friend's hand in hers, Mia raced towards the town center, and soon, they reached a confectionary stall up north. Mia wasted no time buying an expensive cake that Lulu had longed for, for a long time.

After the purchase, the girls found a wide, lush-green field outside of town. With their backs to each other, they divided the cake in half and ate, savoring the flavor of the most delicious cake in Aegir.

"Thank you, Mia," Lulu said, breaking the serene silence. "I can't believe you bought me something as expensive as this."

"Hmm? It's nothing at all. Besides, if you ask me, I don't think it was expensive," Mia giggled as she licked her cream-coated fingers.

"Nothing at all?!" Lulu exclaimed. "It costs a silver coin! That's something — a lot of something! Unless… Is your father secretly wealthy?"

"I dunno. Maybe he counts, I guess?" Mia mumbled. In her head, however, she added, 'You ain't seen nothing yet. Just wait till you see how rich my Royal Gramps is…'

After washing down the cake with a glass of fresh orange juice, the girls plopped down onto the field beside each other, wearing identical expressions of content. With their shoulders touching, both girls watched the clouds traverse the tranquil blue sky.

After a while, Lulu shifted her attention to the girl beside her. She studied Mia's perfectly chiseled face and sheepishly said, "Mia, I don't know why, but I just feel…close to you. Whenever I see you, I feel like I'm looking at my long-lost twin sister."

Mia was startled, and she turned her head to gaze into Lulu's eyes. Her expression softened, and she softly replied, "I could say the same, Lulu…"

Lulu reached out and gently took Mia's hand. "I'm so blessed to have met you."

"Me too, Lulu. Me too."

Mia had completely forgotten about Baiyi's warning of a butterfly effect. At that moment, all she could think of was how her feelings mirrored that of the kind and innocent girl beside her.

Baiyi had no idea that Mia was currently disobeying him. Even if he did, he would still be preoccupied with the troublesome situation that had occurred back home.

Kneeling in front of him was an elderly couple, who were crying their eyes out as they pleaded for his help. Their youngest son had not returned home from his hunting trip, and this made the elderly couple miserable. Their other sons had all died in service to the empire, and the youngest son was all they had left. The elderly couple had asked everyone else for help. A search-and-rescue team was even formed to find the youngest son, to no avail.

When the desperate couple spotted an excited Mia dragging Lulu across town, they remembered that a sorcerer's apprentice had just moved to their town. Although Baiyi was supposed to be a lowly apprentice, he still wielded magic, which made him more powerful than commoners like themselves.

The elderly couple were not the only visitors that had come seeking Baiyi's help. In fact, the cottage was surrounded by some people from town, and they all had expressions of desperation. They were so desperate that they were not scared of the strange-looking stranger, who was only a suit of armor — unsettling armor, to be precise.

A war had broken out in Baiyi's mind. He knew that the best course of action was to ignore them all. Although rejecting them was cruel, he would not be dragged into troublesome situations and risk triggering the dreaded butterfly effect. If he did look for the missing son today, then tomorrow he may be asked to look for a daughter that eloped with a man. The day after tomorrow, he may be asked to look for someone's lost kitten that was stuck in a tree!

However, Baiyi could not bring himself to reject the elderly couple, as they were sobbing and heaving in front of him. They were just so devastated.

Hence, through gritted teeth, he finally grunted, "Tell me where he was last seen, and describe his appearance."

A few minutes later, Baiyi found himself alone in the woods north of Aegir.

The war in his mind had not ceased despite making his decision. Why had he accepted their request? He had been so close to rejecting them! He had wanted to reject them.

'So why did I say yes?'

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

501 The Divine Regalia Is Not Responding

Baiyi stood there in trepidation, but he chose to calm himself before the feeling could gain traction. He had already taken up the elderly couple's request, and nothing could be done about that.

His psychic energy surged and began to spread until it covered the entire forest.

In this era, although human civilization was growing at a great pace, industrialization had not yet begun. Thus, natural entities were still in pristine condition, and wildlife — ranging from the mundane to the strange — thrived. A cursory sweep with his psychic energy allowed Baiyi to detect a plethora of animals and bizarre flora.

More importantly, he had detected a group of humans on the other side of the forest. There was a settlement there, which Baiyi suspected to be the village or encampment of outsiders.

Even during the golden age of the Empire, the Sage-Emperor of magi, who was the ruler at the time, could not achieve his dream of unifying Isythre. Despite the Empire's impressive conquests, the area it occupied was not half as big as the Southern Continent of modern-day Isythre, not to mention the Northern Continent. The Walthart Empire was many times larger than the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire, even during the latter's prime.

The problem was not that the Archmage wars were unsuccessful. On the contrary, the problem lied with the empire — the people and the economy; both could not keep up with his speed of conquest.

Hence, smaller nations, independent city-states, and tribal settlements were left scattered beyond the borders of the Empire. The Sage-Emperor had once dreamed of annexing other nations and destroying those that would not submit, but he could not accomplish it, up till the day he was accidentally kicked into the Void. In the time that Baiyi had been thrust into, it was no surprise that there were many outsider nations, as the Archmage's rule had just begun.

Hence, it was also not a surprise that many outlander settlements lay close to Aegir, a town at the border of the ancient Rohserlian empire.

'I really hope you were not abducted by some cruel outlanders, young man. I hope even more that you were not abducted by a group of really hungry cannibals,' Baiyi thought. He soared into the air and shot in the direction of the settlement he had detected.

Baiyi landed near the settlement and masked his presence with modern stealth methods. Afterward, he easily snuck into the settlement.

He had expected the settlement to be an indigenous tribal village, but a few seconds of covert exploration robbed him of that notion. There were two hundred people in this settlement, and none of them were clad in leaves, had paints smeared all over, or held wooden spears. The residents were all fully dressed, albeit in clothes different in style from those worn by the Rohlserlians.

The residents had their own language, as well. It was not Ancient Rohlserlese, but Baiyi certainly did not hear any intelligible grunts or growls mixed with their speech. From their fearsome aura and thug-like appearance, Baiyi suspected this place to be a mountain settlement of outlaws, who were once soldiers and had escaped from their captors during a past war.

Robbery was common in the time of the ancient Rohlserlian Empire. This was not surprising for a place where wars of varying magnitude broke out frequently. Many of these outlaws were soldiers that had fled when their armies or countries were annihilated. Outlaws like these often lived in groups for survival and set up camps deep in the forests or the mountains, where it was easier to evade the empire's surveillance. To survive, these bandits raided nearby towns, especially those at the border. They were a major headache for the ancient Rohlserlian Empire.

Although these outlaws were no match for the Empire's border patrols, the military training they had undergone made it easy for them to bully normal villagers, who had zero combat experience. There had been some extreme cases recorded where entire towns had been torched and residents massacred by outlaws.

The worst thing about these outlaws was that they could not be wiped out completely, akin to weeds in a field of crops. These looters had survived despite the ancient Rohlserlian's best efforts to wipe them out, and when the empire fell, they were the first to rush in and plunder what was left, to enrich themselves.

"My, my. Since I am Emperor Rohlserl the Twentieth, I guess it is my responsibility to send you people to the afterlife," Baiyi murmured. He raised a finger to cast a spell when he saw a few outlaws dragging a young man to a clearing at the center of the settlement.

They pushed the young man to the ground roughly, and his face fell at the feet of a man whose face was scarred. This man seemed to be their leader.

The young man looked haggard. His body was riddled with bruises, and his face had many black and blue spots. It was evident that a few fists had made contact with his face, at some point in time. The young man had been beaten so badly, it took Baiyi some time to mentally reconstruct his face. Only then did Baiyi realize that the poor man was the elderly couple's missing son.

He had been abducted by the outlaws when he was out hunting and had been dragged across the forest, back to their settlement. That explained why no one in Aegir could find him.

"You! Tell me now: where is your town?!" The scar-faced chief barked in broken Ancient Rohlserlese. "Tell me, and I no kill you!"

These outlaws did not own a map, neither were they familiar with the terrain in which they built their settlement, so they needed outsiders to lead them to other villages, where they could plunder to their hearts' content. Hence, scenes like this happened often.

Although the young man had been bruised and battered, he was more headstrong than the outlaws had hoped for. Despite the intense pain coursing through his body, the young man only gave a playful smile in reply. Parting his bloodied lips, he whispered, "F*** you."

"Hmph! You think I have not seen stubborn idiot mules like you before? I have, but not one of them is you Rohlserlians! Rohlserlians are wimps; all weak-a**! Today, I teach you a very good lesson." The scar-faced chief's lips curled into a sadistic smile. He unsheathed a dagger hung at his waist and pointed it at one of the young man's eyes. Both eyes had been swollen shut, but that had not deterred the chief.

In this situation, many would beg for their lives before succumbing to their oppressors, but the young man was more valiant and proud than he looked. He knew that his eyes were going to be gouged out, but he was hellbent on not giving the chief any satisfaction.

The young man smiled in disdain and opened his mouth, but no words came out; he was too exhausted to speak.

His head drooped, and he leaned forward, unconscious.

The chief was startled, and then his face flushed with embarrassment, as his prisoner had slept during his interrogation. He was just about to wake the prisoner when a voice resounded just beside him. "Not bad. Your courage makes your two brothers proud. But now, I think it's time for a good rest. You'll be home by the time you wake up."

Suddenly, the two outlaws holding up the young man's arms crashed to the ground loudly. Their heads had been twisted in an unnatural angle and their necks snapped.

When the young man's arms were let go of, he fell forward, but before he crashed to the ground, an invisible force hoisted him up.

"Who the hell?!" The chief exclaimed in his native language, slashing his dagger wildly. A loud clang rang out as the dagger struck an armor that had materialized in its trajectory.

The chief's face turned pale. He tried to pull his dagger back, but it was stuck between the fingers of the mysterious assailant. The blade would not budge an inch.

"Who you?!" The chief feigned anger, but the fear in his voice was still discernible.

"A stubborn mule. A stubborn Rohlserlian mule that you never dreamed you would meet," Baiyi replied dismissively, twisting his fingers, which caused the blade to snap into two. He flicked his fingers casually, and one half of the blade flew and embedded itself in the space between the chief's eyebrows.

The other outlaws were stunned. They screamed and scattered, fleeing as though they had just encountered a terrible monster.

"Uh. What a bunch of small fries," Baiyi sneered. He carried the young man — who he had knocked out cold with his magic — and soared into the air with his mana. From above, he watched the fleeing outlaws. He raised his hand, calling for the Book of Servitude. He intended to end them all with a well-placed Forbidden Spell.

However, the Book of Servitude did not respond.

Startled, Baiyi searched for the Book within his consciousness. He could tell that his link with the book was not broken, but for reason, it did not respond to his call.

"Oh, s**t." A thought surfaced in Baiyi's mind, closely followed by a wave of anxiety. "Oh, s**t! Goddamnit! What have I done?!" Baiyi cursed as he watched the outlaws scamper like ants whose nest had been destroyed. A Forbidden Spell was out of the question, it seemed. He would have to kill them one by one.

For the next few minutes, bloodcurdling screams rang out in the forest, and the lush-green forest had become a mass grave irrigated by a stream of blood.

Silence soon returned to the forest.

"That was the last of them, right? Dammit! With a Forbidden Spell, I could have finished them all at once. Now, look at this place! It's like I just committed genocide!" Baiyi complained.

"But, I'm more worried about the other thing. Oh, no, please don't notice what I've done."

Baiyi — who was now worried about the Book of Servitude — did not search for survivors. He flew off in Aegir's direction, with the young man in tow.

After he had gone, a lone survivor crawled out from underneath the corpses of his partners. After taking in the surrounding with his eyes, the man's heart could bear no more. He looked down for respite, only to find his feet drenched in the blood of his friends.

No longer able to contain himself, the surviving outlaw wailed.

Baiyi did not care if anyone had survived his assault. His psychic energy covered the area in front of him, and he flew as fast as possible. His psychic energy did not detect anyone chasing him.

Baiyi then probed the Book of Servitude with his consciousness and realized it was still not active

"Okay, he probably didn't notice it. I mean, he has always been careless, right? It was only for a second. It was too brief for an airhead like him to notice! Too subtle for him, right?" Baiyi muttered, trying to comfort himself.

Several miles away from his location, a grand procession was underway. At the center of the convoy was a majestic, open-roof coach. A man in his thirties, who had a face as chiseled as a mahjong piece, sat regally on a lavish cushion. Despite the merriment that was taking place around him, the man was focused on the golden scepter in his hand, which he was rubbing whilst wearing a sour expression.

One look at the coach and the man's extravagant robe was enough to indicate that he was of high status.

The coach was surrounded by soldiers. They looked weary, but they had their chests out in pride as they marched forward. The army were on their way back after emerging victorious in a battle.

There were two sorcerers riding white horses just beside the coach. One of them noticed the noble man's grim expression and leaned in closer, saying with a low voice, "Your Majesty, is our last victory not satisfactory? How much more should we achieve to finally earn your approv—"

"Silence! Not one more word from you," the man in the coach snapped, rising from his seat.

He glared at the sorcerer and issued a command: "Bring your men and follow me."

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

502 The Emperorapos;s Anxiety

When Baiyi finally returned to Aegir with the unconscious young man — who had shown amazing bravery — on his shoulders, he was met with thunderous applause and cheers.

Little did the rejoicing townfolk know that several miles away from their location, several figures had appeared in the sky, surveying the ghastly ruins below.

The man with the chiseled face frowned. He raised his head, and his subjects, as though on cue, swooped down to the scorched earth below.

They began to search, intent on leaving no stone unturned for clues. As Baiyi had been in a hurry to leave, he did not destroy clues that could lead back to him.

The men had on metal armors that were similar to Baiyi's, but their armors were more refined in craftsmanship. Furthermore, the armors were gilded from head to toe, and each helmet had antler-like protrusions sticking out from their sides. As the men searched, their sharp eyes were visible through the fine slits of the helmets they had worn, which covered every inch of their face.

Each man held onto a weapon that looked like a cross between a magic staff and a lance. It was an ancient Rohlserlian hybrid weapon called Gambanteinn. It was known for its versatility in spell-casting and close combat. Gambanteinns were fortified to withstand physical attacks, while their tops were spearheads that resembled a polearm.

The men were members of the Royal Praetorian Sorcerers and were called the "Empire's Most Elite" and "His Majesty's Unbreakable Shield". The Praetorian Sorcerers were trained in the art of quarterstaff combat, so they were physically fit, unlike other mages. Their melee training allowed them to keep fighting if their mana runs out, or if they are hit with a Silence hex. Contemporary historians compared them with the Molocchian War Druids.

The difference between the Royal Praetorian Sorcerers and the Molocchian War Druids was that the sorcerers mainly attacked using magic; physical combat was treated as a last resort. War Druids, on the other hand, seemed to have forgotten that they were spell-casters; they seemed to prioritize physical attacks.

The presence of the Royal Praetorian Sorcerers heralded the arrival of the Rohlserlian Emperor. The chiseled-faced man with the majestic disposition was Emperor Rohlserl the Nineteenth. This was before he gained the renowned Sage-Emperor of the Magi title. This man was Baiyi's master, in his youth, and the last person Biayi wanted to see right now.

Most of the Praetorian Sorcerers that accompanied the Emperor had landed to investigate the site of the recent massacre; only the Emperor and two sorcerers remained in the air. One sorcerer had a magnificent sorcerers' robe on, and the other sorcerer had donned a standard Praetorian Sorcerer armor. Their exemption from the Emperor's directive implied that they were of higher authority than the others.

The sorcerers said nothing to the Emperor, but they could not hide the curiosity in the gazes that they directed at him.

The Emperor, who had noticed this, cast a soundproof barrier around them and answered their unasked question with a low voice.

"The fool vying for the Book of Servitude was here."

His remark had sounded casual as though the "fool" was a nuisance, but the sorcerers beside him, who understood the gravity of the statement, was shocked.

Those words were by no means simple. The nicest interpretation of that statement was that someone had tried to steal the divine weapon that served as the foundation of the Rohlserlian Empire, in its entirety. The Book of Servitude — which was the scepter currently in the Emperor's possession — was a symbol of the Emperor's indisputable right to rule; to vie for it was to vie for the throne and the crown. This was the sort of news that could make a man burst into tears and a woman to silently bite her lips.

The two sorcerers reacted differently.

"How is that possible? The Book of Servitude only answers the calls of the ruler of the great Rohlserlian Empire. It is a symbol of the emperor's indisputable right to rule! Who could possibly have eyed it?"

"Who was it?"

The contrasting outbursts made the Emperor amused. The sorcerer that had the magnificent robe on was Ben Taurus. His exquisite robe was befitting for his position as the Empire's principal sorcerer. Not only was he the leader of the renowned Sorcerers Corp, but he was also the nation's Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The armored sorcerer, whose face was hidden behind a mask, was Captain Aegis — the newly-appointed leader of the Royal Praetorian Sorcerers. Aegis had been orphaned by war at a very young age, and his displays of valiance and fealty were what helped him come this far. His magical prowess was not remarkable for someone that occupied such a high position. He was much weaker than Ben Taurus, the Master Sorcerer.

Their backgrounds and life experience had greatly affected their reactions to the Emperor's words.

The Emperor did not say anymore, though. His gaze shifted to the forest below as he waited for a report. When Captain Aegis realized that the Emperor would not reply, he, too, looked down as he pondered in silence.

Ben Taurus's psychic energy surged and encompassed the area below. "It seemed we have a powerful but sadistic magician on our hands, Your Majesty. He clearly possesses enough power to wipe out his enemy in one swoop, yet he took pleasure to kill them one by one. Such needless cruelty is beyond normal! I imagine the deviant enjoyed the rush of trampling the weak as they cried for mercy, which they never received. He might have even laughed out loud as he massacred these people!"

Fortunately for Emperor Rohlserl the Twentieth — Baiyi — he was not there to listen to Ben Taurus' exaggerated retelling of the event. He would have been stunned speechless. It seemed that nobles — of the past and of the present — had always favored drama and exaggerated stories.

The Emperor remained silent, waiting for an official report of the findings.

Finally, after some time had passed, a Praetorian Sorcerers flew back up and humbly hovered before the Emperor. "Your Majesty, we inspected the scene thoroughly, but we did not find any clues that could lead to the murderer. We were able to identify the slain, however: they were outlaws, from different tribes. They seemed to have gathered here after fleeing our borders."

"Are there any survivors?" The Emperor calmly asked.

"There is only one, Your Majesty, but…"

"Bring him to me."

After he had said that, the Emperor slowly descended to the forest. A few minutes later, the lone survivor, who had escape Baiyi's wrath by hiding underneath the corpses of his friends, was dragged before the Emperor.

The event the survivor had witnessed had dealt a great blow to his sanity. His face was swollen, and he had tears running down his cheeks and snot running down his nose. His speech was incoherent. The sorcerers had interrogated him, but they could not get a meaningful answer from him. The survivor could only say, "It was the devil… It was the devil…"

The surviving outlaw was spooked greatly by the presence of the Praetorian Sorcerers. After more incoherent mumbles, he distanced himself from the sorcerers and began to whimper. He remained frightened and continued to speak of the devil. No one knew what had gotten him so scared.

"I'm afraid there's no meaning in interrogating a hopeless nutcase, Your Majesty; I sincerely doubt that his memory will be of any use. Be that as it may, his memory may help uncover leads that could help our case, yes?" Ben Taurus the Master Sorcerer said, seeking the Emperor's permission.

The Emperor nodded.

A large magical formation appeared on Ben Taurus's hand. It shot out and struck the outlaw's face almost immediately, causing him to have a seizure. After a few seconds of severe twitching, the outlaw's knees gave out, and the man fell to the ground.

The rise and fall of the outlaw's chest were still visible, but he remained motionless. After a cruel extraction of his memories, the outlaw was left braindead.

Ben Taurus the Master Sorcerer pulled back his hand and began to chant an incantation in a low voice. The formation on the motionless outlaw's face soared into the air and expanded in size, forming a large pane of light. The outlaw's most recent encounter began to unfold on the hovering pane of light.

A black silhouette could be seen hovering in the sky. A black mist obscured the man's appearance. Terrifying arcs of lightning tore through the thick clouds floating above the man, and below him was a burning forest that resembled a sea of fire. The obscured man cast spell after spell with wild abandon, killing every fleeing outlaw below in a single strike.

The scene was a harrowing one. It could be confused for a scene of the apocalypse or the coming of the Devil.

"This offers nothing," said the Emperor, who looked unbothered.

"His sanity has suffered greatly, Your Majesty. The distortion of some parts of his memory was not unexpected," said Ben Taurus the Master Sorcerer, who had flushed a little in embarrassment. "We did manage to catch a glimpse of the suspect; did we not? I could make out a figure in a pitch-black armor. His magic power is impressive."

"That's basically everyone on our most-wanted list," Captain Aegis suddenly cut in.

The Ancient Rohlserlian Empire was not a utopia. Crime thrived, and sometimes, the perpetrators were outlanders, whose homes had been destroyed or annexed by the empire. There were too many people on the Empire's most-wanted list, and as Aegis pointed out, the features of the murderer in the outlaw's memory were obscured. They had not gotten enough to begin narrowing the scope of their search.

"The perpetrator may not have worked alone," said a Praetorian Sorcerer that had also watched the memory replay. "We found a corpse that had been struck by a physical attack, not a magical one. The skull was pierced by this sharp blade."

The sorcerer brought out a small bundle of white linen, which he proceeded to unwrap, revealing a broken dagger blade. This blade was covered with a red and white liquid that made it glisten.

The Emperor only glanced at it momentarily before dismissing it. His gaze shifted to his subjects as he said, "Seal this area and bring in more men. I want every inch of this place thoroughly examined, and I want every settlement in close proximity inspected. Do not leave any stone unturned."

A magical formation appeared below the Emperor, and below anyone could blink, he had disappeared. He reappeared instantly in his Magus Lab in the Imperial Capital. The Emperor was no longer in a celebratory mood.

Baiyi had always wondered the Archmage preferred using slow coaches to transport himself. The man had clearly set up teleportation formations, which would instantly take him home, beforehand, so why would waste time moving slowly alongside the army?

When Baiyi had asked the Archmage — who, in Baiyi's mind, had been demoted from a bona fide badass to a genuine bad a*s — about this, his master laughed and said, "Meh, you'll get it once you become the emperor."

In the Magus Lab, this Emperor was no longer in the mood to enjoy a slow ride, though. He picked up the Royal Scepter and stared at it. The longer he stared at it, the graver his expression became. Soon, his expression had turned even more serious than his sorcerers had been.

A few seconds later, the Emperor — whose next words could kickstart a panic, if heard by anyone other than himself — whispered, "Why? Why have you decided to sleep? Am I not the emperor? Am I not here by your side? Why do you ignore my commands now?"

"Is there someone else out there who you have deemed more worthy of you?" The Emperor stared hard at the scepter, unable to contain his anxiety. "Have you found someone that deserves you even more?"

The Book of Servitude, which had taken the form of a scepter, was there in his grasp, yet it felt out of reach to the Emperor. It did not hearken to his call or commands.

Such a thing had never happened before. It all started when he sensed a stranger calling out to the book.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

503 How Did Your Descendant End Up So Beautiful?

If Baiyi had known of the young and inexperienced Archmage's dilemma, he would have told the ruler that a Divine Regalia could not answer to two masters. The Book of Servitude — a regalia that signified its owner's right to rule the Rohlserlian Empire — would not permit the empire to have two rulers.

As the Emperor was the current master of the book, Baiyi could understand why he was also not allowed the draw its powers.

There could never be two Books of Servitude in existence; not even time-travel could replate the regalia. If this was not the case, Baiyi and the Emperor would have their own books, which they would have complete control over. However, this was not the case, as Baiyi realized during his altercation with the outlaws that kidnapped the young man. His own book had gone unresponsive.

The Book of Servitude made up a fair bit of Baiyi's fighting abilities, but he had so many other skills and techniques to fall back on.

Unfortunately, that could not be said of the Emperor, whose control over the Book of Servitude had been severed because of Baiyi's blunder. If the Fifth Voidwalker knew that his master had just lost control over his strongest weapon — and the source of his bragging rights — he would have gone over to bully the old man straight away. With an expression of glee, Baiyi would take great joy in saying, "I may not have magic, too, but I still have my martial arts and stealth skills. Also, check out my black, Meatball, Void Power mode! As for you, without that magic, what are you? Hahahahahahahahaah!"

"Now that I think about it, what a lost opportunity!" Baiyi lamented out loud. "Why is there just one Book of Servitude at all times?! I wouldn't mind ignoring that damn butterfly effect just so I could send Mia over to the young geezer's place. Once I let Mia act all 'kawaii', the young geezer will be sure to personally relinquish his Book of Servitude! And then, I will become the master of two Books of Servitude!"

As a fresh Mia sauntered out of the bathroom, she overheard Baiyi's monologue. She walked into the room and asked, "Do I need to be kawaii again?"

"What? No! Not now, anyway. I was just being silly," Baiyi quickly replied. "Also, wear some damn clothes first before you come to see me."

Mia had walked straight from the bathroom to Baiyi's room, wearing a simple bathrobe. Water dripped down her black hair as she stood by Baiyi's door, like a kelpie fresh out of a pond.

"Yes, yes. Gee, you're getting the hang of being my father." Mia stuck her tongue out and returned to her room.

She did not mean that as a compliment. Those words had not been said to insinuate a closer bond between her and Baiyi, neither did it mean that his kindness reminded her of her own father. Mia just meant that Baiyi was annoying.

"Honestly, though, everyone is so grateful for your help today. Do you know that they praised you so much, I also got praised as well? It was kinda embarrassing," Mia's said, her loud voice audible in Baiyi's room.

"It was nothing. All I did was pick him up from the mess he got into."

Baiyi had expected the townfolk to ask many questions, so on his way back to Aegir, he made up a story with which to cover his identity and actions. According to Baiyi, the young man had accidentally fallen off a cliff while hunting — injuring himself pretty badly, and this had caused him to lose consciousness. The lie was simple and did not contain any non-PG-13 details, but it was pretty far from the truth. In reality, Baiyi had appeared in the sky like a demon lord and fired off bolts of instant death at the screaming outlaws, reducing their settlement to ruins and their bodies to bloody stains.

Baiyi still needed the young man to corroborate his story, so he sent some subliminal suggestions to the unconscious man, tweaking his mind to think his injuries really had been caused by falling off a cliff.

The use of subliminal messages to alter a person's recollection was a bit risky. It did not forcefully erase a piece of memory and replace it with a false one. Instead, the technique masked the real memories of its target. If the target is later guided to recollect his past or is faced with a situation similar to that in the masked memory, then the subliminal message spell would break.

However, out of the many mentalist magic spells that Baiyi could use, the subliminal message did the least damage to a person's cognitive capabilities. Questions would have been asked if a very healthy young man was brought back with a cognitively-impairment.

"Besides, Aegir is a peaceful little town, with peaceful people living out peaceful days, amirite? Will this poor lad ever experience a situation as traumatic as last?" Baiyi mumbled. "I doubt any important figures would set their sights on this place. Even if they did, I don't think they will give a s**t about this nondescript young man."

As for the issue with the Book of Servitude, Baiyi had decided not to worry about it too much. However, it did not take long for him to realize that he had severely underestimated the Emperor's sensitivity. But, as he could not sense the Emperor, Baiyi knew nothing about the ruler's dilemma.

Back then, he had reached out to the Book of Servitude for only a moment, so he did not think that the sloppy Archmage would have sensed it, or cared if he actually had. Furthermore, Baiyi could sense the book's calm aura; this had to be a sign that everything was fine.

Little did he know that the Book of Servitude was a bit different at this point in time. The Archmage was currently young and perceptive, and the book was a lot more active. Not only had the Emperor instantly sensed Baiyi's attempt to summon the book, allowing him to narrow down the location of the stranger, but he had also visited the forest where Baiyi had slain the outlaws.

Baiyi's decision to worry less came back to haunt him the next day. Captain Aegis personally visited Aegir.

"I want every house in this town searched and every resident inspected; no exceptions!" Captain Aegis commanded. A large number of border patrol guards stormed the town and began their search, while Captain Aegis went to visit the town mayor.

"A suspicious and secretive man in black armor?" The mayor asked. He watched captain, trying to discern the man's mood so that he could act appropriately. However, all the mayor could see when he looked at the captain's face was an indifferent expression.

The mayor quickly shifted his gaze to a list on his desk. It was a list of the most-wanted criminals. "I've never seen any of these people before," said the mayor. "And no one fishy has moved into our neighborhood in months. Ah, except that sorcerer's apprentice, who moved here a few days ago. He always has his armor on, and we have never seen him without it! But, I'm afraid he's not the guy you're looking for, Sir. His armor is ashen grey, not black. He also is not a criminal; he is a genuinely good guy!"

Captain Aegis's reply was steely and almost accusatory. "You don't think a man that hides his face all the time is suspicious?"

"Well, just yesterday, he rescued one of our best lads from a nearby forest. It was a huge help!" The Mayor said, briefly recounting all that happened the day before. Taking another look at the list, the mayor said, "Besides, the man has a beautiful, innocent little girl. I don't think any of the criminals on this list are fathers, are they?"

Captain Aegis mulled the information over. It was true that none of the empire's most wanted criminals had fathered a child, let alone a daughter.

"Even though that's the case," Captain Aegis said, "I need to see him, please."

A few minutes later, Captain Aegis and a few of his men were led to Baiyi's ill-gotten cottage by the town mayor. Someone kicked the door down roughly, and Baiyi could be seen wearing an apron as he fried eggs for Mia. Mia and Lulu, who had come over for breakfast, could be seen holding each other in shock. They had been waiting for their meal when the door was kicked down. Without a word, the guards walked into the cottage, uninvited.

"Problem?" Baiyi asked calmly.

"A criminal on the loose," Captain Aegis, who walked into the cottage after his guards, replied just as calmly. He eyed the furniture in the house before sizing up Baiyi, his apron, and the frying pan in his hand.

'It's just a stay-at-home father,' Captain Aegis thought as he sighed. 'This cannot be the scoundrel that tried to steal His Majesty's belongings, could he?'

The mayor quickly walked over to Baiyi. After explaining the situation, he handed Baiyi the list of most-wanted criminals.

Baiyi skimmed through the names on the list, and he could not help but notice some names that would, in the future, go down in history as one of the worst criminals ever. "I don't know any of these people. I have never seen any of them."

Captain Aegis was not convinced. "Could you please remove your mask?"

Out of courtesy, Aegis removed his own, revealing a simple face. He looked much less intimidating without the mask.

Baiyi nodded and removed his mask, as well. A badly burned face stared back at Captain Aegis, causing Lulu and the mayor to take a step backward.

"I… my apologies," Captain Aegis said, genuinely sympathetic. He now realized that he had been rude to force a man to reveal his scars in public.

"I heard that you were once an apprentice of magic. Have you given up on that path?" Captain Aegis asked.

"Sadly, yes. How could I continue after what happened to me? This is the punishment for my hubris and greed," Baiyi replied, feigning pain.

Captain Aegis was silent for a while, trying to come up with what he considered the best thing to say in this situation. "I'm deeply sorry for what happened to you. I do not intend my next words to be presumptuous, but I do not believe that your journey should end. I was once a nobody, orphaned by war. When I joined the army, I had very little talent in magic. It was by His Majesty's grace that I was given attention and good training, which has allowed me to grow into the person I am today. Were it not for His Majesty, I would have never embarked on the path of magic."

One of the border patrol guards quickly took the chance to lay down some flattery. "Sir Aegis, you're far too humble! For someone that begun practicing magic at the age of thirty, your achievement is nothing short of spectacular!"

'Aegis?' Baiyi thought as he recalled the captain's backstory, causing him to size the man up more carefully. 'Okay. Just how many beautiful women did you marry? How many years did it take for your bloodline to curate and pass down the best genes, causing it to produce a heavenly daughter in the far future...? A daughter named Tisdale!'

The captain in Baiyi's cottage was none other than Tisdale's progenitor — the person that had drafted some codes of honor for his descendants to follow. Now that Baiyi had seen Tisdale's ancestor in person, he realized that the man was righteous, upright, and easily fooled with simple illusion spells. It was this man that passed down a promise he had made in his lifetime, and made his future generation to pass it down over six thousand years.

Baiyi was so relieved that he had decided not to kill the captain when he and his men barged into the cottage. He had been close to reshaping the future — one which would no longer contain his precious daughter Tisdale! If Baiyi had done that, guilt and grief would overwhelm him.

After complimenting Mia on her beauty — a gesture that was done out of courtesy — Captain Aegis and his men left Baiyi's cottage. Captain Aegis quickly moved on to interview the young man Baiyi had rescued. After listening to the young man rain praises on Baiyi and his good deed, Captain Aegis no longer found Baiyi suspicious.

Thus, the investigation in Aegir ended without hubbub. Captain Aegis had already headed to another town to begin a new round of investigations.

Pressured by the Emperor, a lack of manpower, and the great number of settlements along the empire's border, Captain Aegis moved quickly. This had caused him to let off the criminal that the entire empire was trying to locate.

When the uninvited guests left the cottage, Mia led Lulu out to play, and Baiyi returned to his room. His mind was still processing the most events.

He had underestimated the consequences that his little mistake would cause. The on-going investigation was proof that the young Archmage had, indeed, sensed something, and it did not look like he was going to give up anytime soon.

Baiyi knew that he definitely ought not to try establishing contact with Book of Servitude, at all. It was better he did not even think about it.

"Why is the younger you so vigilant? Can't you just chill? It was just a slip-up! You're making things really hard for me, old man…" Baiyi sighed. At that moment, he could not help missing the old Archmage, who could be easily bought over by the creation of a gatcha-card game simulator.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

504 Weapos;re Going Ou

When they left the house, Mia took Lulu to her favorite spot: a plateau atop a small, lush hill. They laid on their bellies and gazed in the direction that the border patrol troops had gone.

Lulu's gaze was fixed on the spot that Captain Aegis had stood for a while before heading to the next village. "Now, that's what a real sorcerer looks like, right?! Did you see how commanding he was? I held my breath the entire time he was in the room with us, and..."

Unlike her Lulu, who was visibly excited by the previous encounter, Mia remained silent, and her eyes had been reduced to arcs. Her gaze was vacant as though she was lost in her thoughts.

When Lulu sensed the unrest behind Mia's calm expression, she gently nudged Mia's cheeks with her own. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"It's nothing," Mia replied, setting aside her thoughts. "I was… I just get a little upset whenever I remember my Dad's face."

That was a lie. Mia knew about illusion spells—especially the ones that have been well cast—much more than the Rohlserlians did; thus, she could tell when a simple one was being used. She had lied because her troubles were not something she could share with Lulu, her close friend, right now.

"Is that so?" Lulu recalled the disfigured face she had seen when Mr. Apprentice took off his mask. She could also remember how much it had startled her. However, her fear had long since been replaced with sympathy.

Lulu opened her arms and embraced Mia warmly, in an attempt to comfort her. Looking uncharacteristically solemn, Lulu said, "Hey, everything's alright now. It's all in the past, right? Your father is a kind and gentle soul. He hides in his armor all the time because he doesn't wanna scare anyone away. It doesn't matter how ugly that incident left him; a kind person like him will never lose love and respect!"

"Besides," Lulu continued, "From how beautiful you are, we can all imagine how handsome your father must have been!"

Lulu's clumsy attempt to cheer Mia up embarrassed the latter. When Mia remembered Baiyi's old appearance, she blushed. She liked Baiyi's current appearance more than the previous one, as the mask he used before—which had three lines on it that could be used to simulate complex human expressions—was really funny, making it hard to take him seriously.

Lulu's countenance reverted back to her regular, playful one. "Oh, I just remembered! There are some medicines for burns sitting at the counter. Let's go check them, out and find the best one for your father! It might be useful!"

Lulu pulled Mia's hand and led her down the hill, after which Lulu purposefully raced to her house with Mia in tow. Lulu's family were apothecaries, who concocted potions using herbs. Their alchemy profession was at its infancy.

Mia returned home earlier than usual with a stack of cans containing burn-relief medicines in her arms.

"You're home early. Already running out of places to make a mess of?" Baiyi—who was seated at the table, doing some calculations on a piece of parchment—asked. When he noticed the cans that Mia was carrying, he asked, "What local specialty did you bring home this time?"

Mia was amused and embarrassed at the same time. "She was very sure that they are effective for burns."

"Er, right. Hmm, now I remember. That was how your Royal Gramps met her, apparently," Baiyi said as he used his mana to make a can soar into the air, after which it shook a little. "She was administering these medicines to the wounded soldiers in the army. That caught your Royal Gramps' attention. Of course, this is going to happen a long time from now."

Baiyi examined the hovering medicine for a while longer and said, "The formula for this burn-relief potion was lost to history, so I think we should keep all these for ourselves. We might be able to replicate its formula when we return to the future."

Mia did not seem interested in her Royal Gramp's backstory. A few moments later, she whimpered, "Aww…"

Baiyi quickly sat upright. "What's the matter?"

Whenever Mia began a sentence with "Aww" — or something to that effect — she would then play her 'daughter card' to acquire something she wanted. Baiyi could not see any reason why she would do that right now; this made him tense.

Mia went quiet for a few seconds, after which she said, "Mr. Ho — no, Daddy, do you still think we shouldn't visit Royal Gramps? I'm sure he has found out about you already."

Baiyi let out the breath he had been holding in. He had yet to discuss the fiasco surrounding the Book of Servitude with her, so he was quite shocked that Mia had figured it all out on her own.

"You got into a fight yesterday when you went to rescue the old couple's son, didn't you? You even tried to use a Forbidden Spell, too; I could feel it. And that captain guy that came earlier, he was looking for you, wasn't he?" Mia asked, visibly concern.

"You didn't accidentally get yourself involved in some really serious trouble, did you?"

This was what Mia was concerned about. She was worried that Mr. Hope was being hunted by the Ancient Rohlserlian government. As Baiyi was currently the strongest being in the universe, the only person in this time that could contend with him was the empire's strongest sorcerer, her Royal Gramps. The thought of the two people she cherished the most doing battle frightened her.

"Oh, is that what you're worried about? Really, it's all just a small misunderstanding. Besides, I'm sure it's all solved now," Baiyi replied dismissively, unaware of the restlessness that plagued the Emperor because of his loss of control over the Book of Servitude.

"Oh, really?" Mia sighed in relief. "Still, are we really going to pass up the chance to see Royal Gramps at his prime? I know you mentioned that butterfly thingy, but how are we so sure that whatever we do will, you know, cause a big storm? In the end, it's just a metaphor and a theory. It's not an objective truth, is it?"

Mia asked as she sat at the table and stared at Baiyi in anticipation.

"I guess you're right. There's no proof to support or dispute the possible occurrence of the Butterfly Effect. Besides, we will not know how many changes our actions would bring unless we really try," Baiyi murmured.

He, too, wanted to see his the younger version of his Master. Trying to work out a theory on time-travel alone proved to be a grueling undertaking. Furthermore, he would not go anywhere if he continued to coop up himself in the cottage. He would be much better off getting his master's input and help, and if he had his master's permission to assemble a team that contained the best Rohlserlian sorcerers.

There was also the fact that Time itself was unexplored territory — a fertile patch of earth for all manner of researches. Once Baiyi learned how to return to his own timeline, he would do some things here in the past, after which he would return to the future to study whatever changes his actions in the past had caused. This was an experiment that would help him understand the Law of Time better than he already did.

However, this method carried a lot of risks, which Baiyi would have to worry about. The odds of messing up the future, if he used this method, was much higher, so Baiyi could not make up his mind about it.

"Honestly, Mia, I think I need to remind you that your Royal Gramps, at this time, is far from the kindly old man you remember," Baiyi warned. "He isn't going to be easy to talk to."

"But he's always going to be Royal Gramps. They are the same person. I'm sure someone like him has a consistent personality," Mia replied.

"Er, I think you're understating how inconsistent his personality really is," Baiyi replied, sighing helplessly. The differences between both men in question could not be greater than it was now: one was an imposing emperor, who ruled his people with a firm hand, and the other was an amiable old man.

"You know what, just let me think this through," Baiyi said and lapsed into silence.

Unfortunately, even after a week had passed, he had not made up his mind. Should he talk to the Archmage now? If yes, then how would he talk to the Archmage? What did he have to do to reduce the chance of a Butterfly Effect happening? These were questions that he could not come up with answers to.

Fortunately for him, however, after the altercation he had with Captain Aegis earlier, Baiyi was no longer a suspect. Furthermore, it was rumored that several people on the list of most-wanted criminals had been caught during the manhunt.

Hence, Baiyi was out of the spotlight for now.

However, the townsfolk of Aegir frequently visited him, bearing gifts of farm produce and, sometimes, baked treats. It was apparent that they were doing their best to build a cordial relationship with the mysterious and powerful Mr. Apprentice.

Many of the visitors had asked Baiyi if he believed that their children had a future in sorcery. To this, Baiyi had tireless replied — often to the point of repeating himself in verbatim — that "Magic does not discriminate. Anyone can walk the path of magic; you just need the patience and perseverance."

This speech was not a made-up one. The Ancient Rohlserlian Empire did not forbid its citizens from learning magic. Seasoned sorcerers taught at a lot of schools in the empire. Learning magic was not a perk exclusive to the elite; even people of the lower classes could participate if they wished to.

This was the reason why Baiyi considered the ancient Rohlserlian empire a lot more knowledge-friendly than modern-day Isythre. It was just the difficult requirements to become a sorcerer that made the number of sorcerers so low.

A worried couple and their son paid Baiyi a visit. After they were offered seats, the couple directly explained the reason for their visit.

"To be honest, our son is not very bright. He's not brighter than the Smiths' boy. Do you think he can become a sorcerer?"

"As long as he is willing."

"That's it? The Smiths' boy, who is smarter than our dumb son over here, is in the Magic Academy, but he has not done his Pa and Ma proud. Also, these school fees are really… unaffordable."

The fees were not really exorbitant — it was just the couple that could not afford it. Low productivity was, again, to blame. The limited amount of trades conducted in border towns like Aegir was also the problem. This was a harmful consequence of the Rohlserlians' malignant pride. The Rohlserlians believed in their superiority of the empire so much that they refused to conduct international trades with other states. This inhibited many border towns' economic potential as trading hubs.

The worried couple continued to talk about their financial difficulties, and after some time had passed, they left without reaching a conclusion. Baiyi gazed at the big sack of corn on his table, which he understood to be his consultation fee.

Days passed by uneventfully. Mia had explored every inch of Aegir and was beginning to get bored with the town. Her desire to travel to other locations was increasing.

"Lulu's family will visit a city in a few days. Can we tag along?" Mia said with an extra dose of cuteness in her voice.

To her shock, Baiyi agreed almost immediately. "I agree. We do need a change of scenery, after all," he said. As they talked, Baiyi torched the piles of papers on the table, till they were ashes. It was obvious that he had reached another bottleneck in his research, so he sought to gain inspiration elsewhere.

Mia and Baiyi accepted Lulu's invitation to travel to the city closest to Aegir. Because they would be traveling in a horse-drawn carriage, the journey was going to be a long one. Furthermore, they would be crossing many uphill paths on their way to the highlands.

As the two families were neighbors and the girls were close friends, Baiyi was comfortable enough to speak freely. He talked about the culture of some other parts of the empire, and this caused Lulu's eyes to twinkle in anticipation.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

505 Hey Old Geezer, Can You Please Chill?

Baiyi had used his master's memories to score admiration points with Lulu. What he did not expect, however, was that Mia, too, would be won over by stories she ought to know were not his!

As Baiyi watched his daughter, Mia, brim with anticipation, he could not help noticing how her smile and twinkling eyes greatly resembled Lulu's. This creeped him out a little. Did whatever Mia contracted from Lulu, which made both so hyperactive, grow stronger the more time they spend together?

If that was the case, then it was unfortunate for Baiyi that he could not renege on his agreement to visit the city with them; if he did that, he would hurt their feelings.

Calling their mean of transportation a "horse carriage" was farfetched. In reality, they were riding in a crude, wooden trailer that was being pulled by an old horse. Both goods and the passengers were crammed in the trailer, and there was not even room left to spread one's legs, even a little.

From the time that Baiyi and Mia met, they had never ridden on something as ignoble as this. They were used to flying or teleporting to their destination — as was the norm for most sorcerers. Even if they had to travel on wheels, Baiyi made sure to hire the most comfortable coaches available.

However, Baiyi was currently pretending to be a mere sorcerer's apprentice — a profession that left him unentitled to the level of comfort that he was already used to. Thus, he could only be squeezed in with Mia, Lulu, and Lulu's family and their many goods. The claustrophobic environment was rather uncomfortable.

Unlike him, Mia did not look uncomfortable. She had even managed to find a way to lie down comfortably — a skill she had acquired as a child raised in a rural hometown, where carriages like these were the primary means of transportation. Habits and skills acquired at an early age were not easily lost, even if one lived the lavish lifestyle of pampered princess for years after that.

Mia, who was comfortable in her position, began to chat with Lulu, who was lying beside her. Their discussion was held in whispers, as it was a topic for their ears only, not the adults.

Lulu's mother, who Baiyi considered quite fine for her age, was quick to detect Baiyi's discomfort. "You aren't very used to this, are you, Mr. Apprentice? Sorry; this is the best that we poor folks can offer. Please, bear with us," she apologized.

Had Baiyi not saved the young son of the old couple a few days ago, Lulu's mother would not have dared to talk to him right now. That heroic rescue changed his image from a bad-tempered recluse to a local celebrity; everyone in Aegir now wanted to get acquainted with him. The close relationship that his daughter and Lulu shared made them even closer.

"It's not a problem. This is not the worst ride I've ever been in," Baiyi answered humbly.

To him, nothing could be worse than the worst ride he had ever been on: one particular torrent link back on Earth. It had taken him from one encrypted link to another, and another, and then another. It managed to consume even more time later on due to the size of the download. When all was finally done and Baiyi thought he had gotten himself a stash of quality porn, the file had turned out to contain an entire season of Boku no Pico, instead. Bait at its finest.

"I heard from Lulu that you've been to a lot of places. I can only imagine that you are of noble birth or someone in the upper class, yes?" Lulu's mother asked.

Although the people living in Aegir had warmed up to Baiyi, they still knew very little about him. Hence, as they did with mysterious people, they tried to steer conversations they had with him towards his identity and past.

To their chagrin, Baiyi had always been tight-lipped; whenever he noticed conversations going down that path, he would withdraw from the conversation with a vague answer. When Baiyi heard Lulu's mother's question, he replied, "No, I am a nobody that was lucky to visit some places in the past."

Conversations of this manner did not last long. This was why Lulu's father — who was driving the 'carriage' — was not worried that his wife might have the hots for her mysterious neighbor in armor. One was a simple-minded housewife, who brought up conversations that revolved around her mundane life, and the other was a Voidwalker acutely tuned to current affairs and arcane knowledge; the two had nothing in common.

Both families were close because their daughters were good friends. The girls continued to chat even after their parents were now awkwardly quiet.

Fortunately, the journey was not as long as they had feared. In half a day, the group reached the border city closest to Aegir, Highland City. It was a populated city situated atop a meandering slope. Fortified by towering walls, Highland City could pass off as a natural extension of the mountains. The city was also one of the most important forts along the empire's border, so it used as an army base for a large number of border troops.

The number of soldiers that the carriage encountered on the road increased the closer it got to Highland City. The soldiers could not help staring at Baiyi, as he looked completely out of place in the dilapidated horse-drawn carriage. Lulu's mother instructed the girls to pull their hoods over their heads to shield their beauty from the eyes of men.

As the carriage neared the city gate, its speed slowed to a crawl. There was a long line of carriages, trailers, and coaches at the gate. They had arrived from different routes. After every harvest, merchants and farmers made their way to big cities like Highland City to conduct business.

Since Highland city also served as an important military base, the custom checks carried out at the gate were rigorous. The city had only two gates: one for those entering, and the other for those exiting. This explained why there was also serious traffic congestion in front of the city.

"Uh. It's always the same o' jam up here, but I swear this year's worse than last year's," Lulu's father said, sighing from the driving seat. He fished out a pipe and tobacco from his inner pocket and began to smoke to ward off his boredom.

"Aww! This is gonna take a really long time, isn't it?" Little Mia whined when she spotted the long line in front of their carriage.

Satisfied with the time she had had to snuggle with Lulu, Mia finally remembered that Baiyi was there, too. This, she moved a bit to rest her head on his thigh, using it as a pillow.

It had been a long time since Baiyi enjoyed such displays of intimacy. He had been uncomfortable throughout the journey, but the gesture made him feel at ease.

"The two of you sure enjoy a very strong bond," Lulu's mother complimented.

"Well, we're the last of our family," Baiyi replied, after which he told Lulu's family a backstory that he had made up for such occasions. In this story, Mia's mother had died shortly after Mia's birth, so Baiyi had had to raise Mia alone.

When Baiyi had run this fake backstory by Mia earlier, she was against it, but at Baiyi's insistence, she had to relent.

It took a long time for their carriage to reach the gate, and by the time it did, Mia was already asleep. Biayi spotted teams of armed soldiers searching every carriage thoroughly before it was allowed to pass. Goods were searched, and the faces of passengers were checked to see if they matched those on the list of the most-wanted criminals. Some soldiers even went as far as to pull the cheeks of passengers and animals on board carriages, to check if they had masks on. Baiyi watched as some soldiers solemnly pinched the flabby cheeks of some pigs aboard the carriage before them, causing the pigs to squeal in alarm. Several carriages failed the checks and were led aside by another group of soldiers.

High up on a rampart beside the gate were several sorcerers armed with magic staffs, watching the process like hawks. Master-level power pulsated from these sorcerers, making them even more imposing.

Dispatching Master-level sorcerers to oversee custom checks was very unusual. Baiyi was sure this change was a result of his accident with the Book of Servitude. The sever chain of events that followed his mistake kept catching him off-guard. After Captain Aegis's visit, Baiyi thought that the dust had settled, but he was wrong. The manhunt was still ongoing.

He could not understand why that young Archmage refused to let it go. All he had done — albeit accidentally — was call out to the Book of Servitude for what seemed like a millisecond! Even for a ruler of an empire, it was unlike the young Archmage to be this paranoid.

'Unless…' An unpleasant thought emerged in Baiyi's mind, 'My not-presently-old master has lost his control over the Book of Servitude! That's the only explanation for this excessive reaction!'

That was a very big problem. Not only was the Servitude the Emperor's primary weapon, but it was also the lifeline of the Rohlserlian empire. The only reason the Archmage could afford to be bold was because of the book. Without it, the Rohlserlian Empire's defense would crumble.

That was not Baiyi's biggest worry. If this matter was not resolved, the Archmage's growth would be stunted, and his cultivation would be damaged; this way, he would never enter the Void and meet Baiyi in the future, becoming his master.

Baiyi could tell that the situation was not pretty. It had long since passed the Butterfly Effect, worsening into the Butterfree Effect!

He had to meet with the young Archmage to reverse this. If he did not, things would get really bad, really soon.

While Baiyi was lost in thought, a soldier walked over to the side of their carriage. When he spotted Baiyi, the soldier pointed the top of his lance at the Soul Armature and yelled, "Remove your mask, and state your name!"

"Alright, but I hope you're ready," Baiyi replied coldly. He removed his mask to reveal a horribly disfigured face, which he created using illusion magic. He had even amplified its grotesque appearance to resemble Freddy Kruger's.

Unsurprisingly, a lump formed in the soldier's throat, and he took a few steps backward, his face as white as a sheet. A few moments later, he gulped and stammered, with a faint hint of sympathy, "A-alright. I'm deeply sorry for… that. You're a strong and brave man."

No longer willing to search the carriage, the soldier waved at his colleagues in front to signal an all-clear. Just like that, Baiyi's carriage passed without any more impediment.

The soldier had been that scared because the sly Baiyi had cast a subliminal suggestion spell on him to make the face look worse than it already was.

The ease at which Baiyi's carriage passed through the customs checkpoint at the gate did not escape the eyes of the sorcerers atop the battlement. A sorcerer quickly called a soldier over and pointed at Baiyi's carriage. "Why did that one get a pass so quickly?"

"Give me a few moments while I check, Sir," the soldier answered respectfully and hurried down to the gate. A few minutes later, the soldier, who was panting, raced back to the sorcerer and said, "There was a passenger in that carriage that has a very horrifying burn. His appearance was so frightening that the soldier who inspected his carriage was scared silly, and in a daze, he gave them a pass. Furthermore, none of the criminals on our list have such horrible burn injuries, so it's safe to say that everything is alright."

"And what about the others in the carriage?" The sorcerer asked.

"Frequent visitors of Highland City, Sir. It's a family of apothecaries, who are one of our top suppliers. The army has worked with them for years — it's almost a tradition to have them deliver medicines around this time of the year."

The sorcerer was quiet as he combed through the information the soldier had given him. Suddenly, he frowned.

"Wait a minute. Something's not right here… Wasn't Rodrigue the soldier that investigated them? He's a war veteran — someone that should be desensitized to most horrific injuries! How is it possible that someone like him could not handle looking at a mere burn victim?! No, something must have been done to him. I want that carriage stopped right now!"

It was too late, though. The carriage in question had already vanished into Highland City's complicated alleys.

Baiyi could not help muttering, "Gosh, was it that obvious?"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

506 A Famous Figure in History

Since Baiyi figured out what was bothering the young Emperor, he had been trying to come up with a way by which he could see his master without trouble breaking out. However, it was difficult to come up with anything that would not cause the future to change drastically.

The Fifth Walker knew he could not just go to the Imperial Capital except he wished to entertain the public with a battle. He also could not tell the Emperor the truths, as knowledge of the future could very well change the future itself.

After thinking about this for a long time, Baiyi decided to enact a plan he came up with: show his hand at the gate of Highland City. His actions had to be subtle, but not subtle enough that it escapes the notice of the city's authorities.

The other passengers in the carriage were blissfully unaware that Mr. Apprentice had done this right under their noses. Lulu's father drove the carriage to a guesthouse that his family had patronized for many years. According to one reviewer — who, in reality, was Lulu's father — the guesthouse was "clean, tidy, beautiful, and affordable."

Once everyone was settled in their rooms, Lulu's parents hurried off to deliver their goods. Half of those goods were provisions to be delivered to the army base in the city. If they could deliver it on time, then they would have time the next day to run other errands.

They were just about to depart when Baiyi stopped them. "It's getting late. You should deliver those tomorrow, instead. Believe me; it's better done tomorrow."

The couple exchanged confused glances. Baiyi's warning sounded like an ill-omen. Lulu's father shook his head sideways and said, "Why tomorrow when we can just do it today? The base will always have someone there to receive our goods, no matter when we deliver it."

As they did not share Baiyi's concern, the couple left.

"I suppose a close relationship with the army means one's life won't be in danger," Baiyi murmured as he watched the rickety carriage vanish into the distance.

He walked back to his room and waited patiently for those that pursued him. After some time alone, Baiyi decided to pass the time fooling around with Mia, who he would get to teach Lulu how to act cute. Having made up his mind, Baiyi left his room and walked to theirs. He pushed open their door slowly, ready to catch them doing whatever cute activities that cute girls indulged in.

However, the room was silent and empty. There was no one there!

"What the? I take my eyes off you two for a few minutes and you're gone already?!"

Lulu sprinted down the street in excitement, weaving in and out of Highland City's complicated alleys with Mia in town. As she panted, she turned back and yelled, "Come on! Come on!"

"A-a-are you sure this is okay?" Mia, who was struggling to keep up, sounded hesitant.

"It's fine! Besides, it will be worth it! The night bazaar in Highland City is the best! There are all kinds of street performances, delicious food, and crazy games! There's a lot of activity. It's like a festive celebration!" Lulu exclaimed. "I've been waiting for today since forever!"

"B-but!" Mia still sounded unconvinced.

"Oh, quit worrying, okay? If we get scolded, well, I'll take all of the blame! I promise. Besides, your father pampers you so much, so I doubt he will give you a stern talking! As for my parents, well, it'll take some time for them to deliver all the goods, so we will definitely make it back before they return. We'll be fine!"

Before Lulu could finish talking, the girls reached the end of the alley they were in, beyond which was the center of the city square. Lulu had not lied: the bazaar was filled with so much activity, anyone could mistake it for a street fair. The city square was filled with people in high spirits, mainly Rohserlians and some outlanders. The stalls and hawkers at the scene — which made scrumptious delicacies — had long queues in front of them. Street performers could be seen performing their best tricks, with a crowd of people watching them. The air was filled with different aromas emanating from street food and snacks.

This sort of place was open to people attracted people from all walks of life — including those with negative intentions — so it was not a surprise that the parents of a beautiful, naïve little girl would be against her coming here. Parents could offer to join their daughters, but how could that be as fun for the daughters as attending with friends their age?

This was the reason why Lulu brought Mia along; she intended to have a blast before her parents came back, and she wanted to do that with her best friend.

Mia was stunned. This was a night bazaar that had as much activity as a festival in modern-day Isythre! The fact that such an event was being held in ancient Rohlserlian times, when human civilization was still young, impressed Mia even more. Who would have guessed that nightlife of ancient Rohlserlians was this marvelous?

Baiyi's house rules had always been really strict, and naturally, it was nigh impossible to join a festivity like this at night. Mia's past experiences at night bazaars had been tainted by Baiyi, who had stalked her like the overprotective guardian he was. Now that she had a chance to attend such a lively bazaar, she dismissed Baiyi's warning from her mind. Now grinning even wider than Lulu, Mia stuffed her hand into her storage pouched and pulled a fistful of gold coins, after which she dove right into the festivities.

The girls immersed themselves in the fun, leaving Baiyi alone at the guesthouse. Baiyi had just begun to wonder if he should look for the girls when he sensed the presence of people outside his room.

"Come in! Take a seat!" Baiyi said, smiling.

Suddenly, the wooden door was kicked open, and a squadron of soldiers rushed into the room — with their swords and lances raised. Baiyi had been surrounded, and the tips of snow-white blades were inches away from his face; their owners were ready to skewer him at a moment's notice.

Three sorcerers slowly walked into the room, and one of them was the sorcerer that suspected Baiyi at the city gate. This sorcerer gazed at Baiyi's armor and turned to the other sorcerers. "Is this armor not the army's latest version?"

As he spoke, the sorcerer took off his mask, unveiling a face creepy enough for a villain. His nose was crooked, and his eyes were as sharp as that of a hungry wolf's. He looked more villainous than William Dafoe.

Baiyi stared at the man long and hard, trying to remember who he was, and after some time, a name cropped up in his mind. "Oh! Aren't you Dante the Hound? No wonder you were able to sniff me out so quickly."

The blade tips around Biayi jerked and inched forward simultaneously. However, Dante the Hound raised his hand, and the blades stopped moving.

"Yes, my name is Dante. But, I have not heard anyone referring to me as 'The Hound'," replied the sorcerer.

Baiyi froze. When he thought back to his previous words, he realized that he had included a bit of future information. At this point in time, Dante was still just a centurion — the position given to all sorcerers the first time they join the army. Right now, he was just Dante — Dante the insignificant character.

But, in the future, this man would become a legend known only by his name and weird epithet. History remembered Dante the Hound as a commoner that had a decent talent in magic and eventually became a sorcerer. He joined the Sorcerer's Corp, and over time, his rank rose. He eventually became the Vice President of the Royal Sorcerers Corps, as well as the Field Marshal — one of the highest positions in the Rohlserlian military. He was one of Emperor Rohlserl the Nineteenth's right-hand men.

That was not all history would remember him for, though; in fact, he became even more famous after Emperor Rohlserl the Nineteenth mysteriously vanished. When the Emperor Rohlserl the Nineteenth vanished, Dante the Hound voiced his belief that the Emperor would return one day, so he refused to recognize the next emperor to ascend the throne. When Emperor Rohlserl the Twentieth took over, Dante the Hound rebelled and attempted a coup, which escalated into a civil war!

The coup failed disastrously. The Sorcerers Corps was annihilated before the war ended. Another Sorcerers Corp — a pale imitation —was created in its place. Dante the Hound and his family members were beheaded, and their headless bodies were hung on the walls of the Imperial Capital as a warning against treason.

Only then did Emperor Rohlserl the Twentieth fully ascend the throne to govern a war-ruined empire.

After this civil war, the ancient Rohlserlian Empire's strength plummeted. Without the original Sorcerer Corps and the Book of Servitude — which had been missing since the Sage-Emperor disappeared — the empire lost the edge it possessed over other nations. Subsequent rulers of the Rohlserlian Empire faced threats from unruly neighboring countries. The Rohlserlian Empire was eventually forced to construct the Defensive Empire Complex in a last-ditch effort to protect itself. The nation's treasury had almost been emptied to fund the project, yet the empire's lost glory never returned.

Thus, many historians penned Dante the Hound as the mastermind behind the ancient Rohlserlian Empire's downfall. In many history books, he was described as a cruel and insatiable coward, who was filled with bloodlust and a thirst for power, masterminding a coup to satiate his selfish interests and protect his position. Some historians even alleged that Dante the Hound had taken delight in raping women during the war, that he had dragged children into prostitution rings, and that he had an appetite for the flesh of babies.

For his atrocities, he was dubbed 'The Mad Hound' and 'The Reaper of the Empire'.

Baiyi had learned of all this from the newer Voidwalkers. Appalled at the turn of events, Baiyi had questioned the Archmage's ability to judge character, calling out the old man for his oversight, which had allowed such a chain of tragic events to unfold.

To this, the Archmage had replied, "You have seen my memories of him, so you know what I think of him. He was just being loyal."

The Archmage's memories of Dante did not corroborate the historians' descriptions of Dante. In the old man's memories, although Dante did look like a villain, he was competent at his job. He was not above bribery and corruption, but he did not steal from the empire's treasury; thus, the Archmage tolerated his failings. He was libertine and licentious, but then so was almost every other noble. He was definitely not as depraved and twisted as historians had painted him. This was why the Archmage's opinion of the man was much better than that of historians.

As for the coup attempt, the Archmage had refused to comment on it. Baiyi had even suspected that the geezer secretly approved of it.

"Maybe he had a change of personality after you left," Baiyi had theorized.

"No. He doesn't change. He never does," the Archmage replied, after which he would refrain from speaking on the topic.

By ancient Rohlserlian law, one had to inherit the Book of Servitude to rule Rohlserl. Since Emperor Rohlserl the Twentieth ascended the throne without fulfilling that requirement, he was, as stated in the laws, a usurper. With that in mind, Dante's actions could be seen as a fierce defense of the traditional laws, as well as the legitimacy of an emperor.

In the end, however, all the glory the Archmage had brought the empire had been torn to shreds by his loyal hound, Dante, so the First Walker could not comment much on it. His appearance in the Void had been so sudden, depriving him of the chance to appoint a successor and pass on the Book of Servitude.

There were pros and cons to Dante's actions, but as history is often written by the victor, he was not given a fair judgment.

Now, Baiyi — who was Emperor Rohlserl the Twentieth by law — had mixed feelings as he stared at Dante, the man that would, one day, wage war on the other Emperor Rohlserl the Twentieth.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

507 This Alias Might Not Be As Helpful As I Though

Facing the man who would one day be subjected to immense criticism, Baiyi maintained a poker face. He looked around the room and said, "I'm afraid I do not like talking to an audience. Please, just one of you will do."

The soldiers' expressions darkened, and the tips of their weapons moved, intent on carving up this idiot, who believed he had a say in his current situation.

Even Dante found Baiyi's request laughable. "It seems someone is unaware of their position."

"On the contrary, it is you that is unaware of your position," Baiyi replied, raising his right hand.

A rune appeared in midair, and the soldiers — who had not seen anything like it before, as runes had not been invented at the time — froze in shock. Before they could recover, their weapons broke in two and fell to the ground.

Expressions of shock and disbelief colored the soldiers' faces. Alarmed by what he had seen, Dante quickly pulled out his staff and began to chant. Before he could finish, though, a ring of runes appeared above Baiyi's finger, forcefully stopping his incantation.

'Silence — I've been hit by Silence!' Dante cried out, but no sound escaped his lips. In a second, the schism between his power level and the enemy's was clear for him to see. The enemy had hit him with a spell without uttering a word or using a formation. Furthermore, Dante could not detect a whiff of mana emanate from the enemy.

There were no signs, but in the blink of an eye, Dante had been hit by a Silence spell!

The palpable gap in power caused his blood to go cold; he knew that he was underequipped to fight this mysterious enemy. It was obvious that the enemy would have killed them all easily if he wished to do so.

The two sorcerers behind Dante were just as strong as he was. Before they could complete their incantations, their lips were sealed shut; Biayi had struck them with two Silence spells.

Now that the tables had turned, Dante decided to stop his subjects from doing anything else that would annoy their powerful opponent. As he could not speak, his gaze darted around his subjects, silently implying that they leave the room.

The soldiers reluctantly trudged out of the room, leaving Dante and Baiyi behind. When the other sorcerers left the room, one of them tugged a soldier's sleeve and hissed, "Report this to the leader; this is a First Grade Emergency!"

"W-what?!" The soldier's face turned pale. First Grade Emergencies were national-level threats like hostile army invasions. How could this mysterious man pose a threat at the same level? Was the man really that terrifying?!

"Just… what kind of monster did we just face?" The soldier's voice trembled a little.

"I've never seen anyone cast a spell so quickly and without an incantation. Hell, I've never even seen his method of spellcasting before!" The sorcerer said with a dark expression. "All I know is this: the enemy's powers completely eclipse ours, so do not try anything foolish that could blow up in our face. Do you understand me?"

Rune magic had an advantage over the normal formation magic; it was fast and emitted a very low amount of mana. In the hands of someone as skilled as Baiyi, it was possible to make others think that one was silently spellcasting. Since rune magic had not been invented at this time, the Rohlserlian sorcerers, who had never seen it before, considered very dangerous and powerful.

One of Baiyi's favorite activities was scaring people with that they had not seen before. In modern-day Isythre, when rune magic was the norm, Baiyi used ancient Rohlserlian formations to cast his spells; now that he was back in the past, a time before runes existed, he had switched to rune magic, gaining a psychological edge.

"I hope Sir Dante can buy us enough time," the soldier replied and bolted in another direction.

Dante the Hound had now lost all the composure he had before. His body was drenched in sweat, and the cold surface of his armor caused him to feel even more chilly. He was no longer sure what exactly was freezing his blood.

The sorcerer was so easily petrified because he had not been in the military for long, and he was only thirty years old. He was not to become the hardened villain that history described him as until many years in the future. Thus, Baiyi's small tricks had overwhelmed him psychologically.

"Take a seat. I do wish to harm you — something I'm sure you've noticed. If I wanted to kill, all it would require is a snap of my fingers."

There was something in Baiyi's voice that Dante could not resist; the voice was solemn and mysterious, which made it seem as though it ought to belong to a god, and he could not afford to disobey its instructions. Quiet and weak, Dante grabbed a chair and sat down, his head hung low so as not to meet Baiyi's gaze.

Baiyi had managed to create that god-like effect using the Charlatan Walker's mind tricks to recreate the ambiance around the War God. To Baiyi, it was important that he make up a good identity, which he would assume in front of the young Emperor. The made-up identity needed to be foolproof enough to discourage further probes. The identity he had assumed back at Aegir was only good enough to fool the simple townsfolk. Fooling the empire, which had enough resources and manpower to thoroughly investigate anyone, required a better identity and backstory — one that would not fall apart under scrutiny.

Baiyi decided to make up an identity that was more believable and respectable, preventing others from trying to undermine it. An identity that was rich in the forbidden mystery was his best bet, as humans always feared what they did not understand; thus, Baiyi decided to brand himself what he loathed the most: a psychic [1].

With the Charlatan Walker's memories, Baiyi's knowledge of the psychological trumped that of most mediums and psychics, including those back on Earth. This and his observations on the Psychic of the Void, the Fourth Walker, ensured that he would be able to play his role to perfection.

Brimming with confidence in his acting prowess, Baiyi solemnly said, "I am called… the Prophet."

In his mind, however, he had cringed. He disliked this alias for many reasons, and one of them was that it reminded him of the Shaman class in World of Warcraft. It was a lackluster character class, which along with the Hunter class were known as "The Twin Stooges in Mail". Furthermore, it sounded like the name of an alien spaceship, which was used to kill unsuspecting farmers and spy on humans. He also knew that "the Prophet" was the moniker of a famous gaming commenter.

Unfortunately, this was the best hand to play at the moment. It would compel the archmage to listen to him and minimize the possibility of him doing anything that deviated from the course of history that Baiyi had come to know. This way, when Baiyi returns to his own time, he would not be greeted by the Fairy Walker, the Warrior Walker, Lady Assassin Walker, and a bunch of kids — kids that they had birthed for other men.

Baiyi had intended the 'Prophet' title to incite expressions of shock, but Dante looked less impressed than before. Baiyi began to worry that his earlier spell was broken, causing his threatening aura to thin out.

'Hold up. Are the Charlatan Walker's techniques failing me? Did it have to be now?!,' Baiyi thought, but he shook his head moments later. Spells that targeted the mind were non-existent in this time, so Dante could not have found a way to throw them off. Baiyi was sure that, at this time, no one in this realm should be able to throw off such spells.

There had to be another reason for Dante's sudden disinterest. Baiyi quickly skimmed through everything he knew, including the memories he had given, and moments later, he finally unearthed a small detail that could explain his little setback.

At this point in time, a few organized religions were already operating in several nations. The Ancient Rohlserlian Empire, however, did not have any, as its people were largely unconcerned with gods and their teachings. The adulation that should have been reserved for the divine was directed to the empire's sorcerers and their command of magic. This was another reason why sorcerers were arrogant. Although the sorcerers had never explicitly rejected the existence of gods, they were happy to express their disrespect for them. One argument they often made against religion was, "If your gods really gave a hoot about you, then where were they when we were absolutely obliterating your nation?"

However, the ancient Rohlserlian's anti-theism did little to deter zealous missionaries and theocratic nations from trying to spread their influence to the Empire. Mediums, priests, and psychics commonly targeted the Empire's rural villages and towns, making unwanted appearances and calling themselves 'prophets' and 'messengers of gods'. In most cases, they were often exposed and summarily lynched by angry medieval mobs. The luckier ones were slain by Rohlserlian sorcerers that rush over whenever they receive reports of the arrivals of these prophets.

Hence, in the ancient Rohlserlian Empire, no one wished to call themselves prophets. They would not look cool if they did; they were called despicable, instead. Without the Church of God's Grace — which, at this time, had not yet been created — to police matters of faith, there were too many cases of conmen, who called themselves prophets, scamming the people.

'I knew I shouldn't have taken up this cringe-worthy role,' Baiyi sighed. Unfortunately, he could not take his words back.

Still doing his best to sound mysterious, Baiyi said, "I can see the skepticism in your eyes, but soon, you shall find your suspicions to be unneeded."

Dante did not say anything, so Baiyi continued, "The empire is fortunate that its army is well-prepared for the upcoming trial. Your real enemy shall rise from the north very soon. When that time comes, rise, brave warrior, and apply yourself in the battle, with pride! You may see me again after it is over."

Baiyi then waved his hand and struck Dante with two spells that moved too fast to notice. In a flash of light, Dante disappeared from the room and found himself outside the guesthouse. The Silence spell had been broken as well.

Dante blinked several times to make sure that he really was outside. He realized that the mysterious man had used his inhuman speed at spellcasting again to cast a teleportation spell.

After a small taste of Baiyi's magical mastery, Dante began to rever him. However, the title 'Prophet' made the rising respect reduce. Why would a powerful sorcerer forfeit his prestige and the veneration of the public to take on an alias commonly used by fraudsters?

"Is he an eccentric man?" Dante wondered. "For someone unusual enough to consider that title fine, he seemed surprisingly amicable. He was not upset that some ignorant fools, including me, disrespected him earlier. Someone this merciful cannot be a sadistic murderer that destroys mountain villages, can he?"

Dante returned to the army base whilst musing over the strange exchange he had had with Baiyi. He made a mental report of the conversion for his superiors. As a proud Rohlserlian sorcerer, Dante had ignored Baiyi's ominous warning.

He was so loyal to Rohlserlian culture and ideals that he would one day blindly defend a royal tradition at the expense of his beloved country. Someone like him would never pay heed to silly oracles.

When Dante entered the barracks, he saw soldiers rushing about in a frenzy. He wondered if the army had already been mobilized to fight the strange sorcerer. He rushed past the others, searching for his superior — a centurion named Finn — so that he could submit his report.

When Dante came to report, Finn noticed an unnatural expression on his face. He nodded at Dante and said, "Wash your face and return to me immediately. We're preparing for battle!"

After that, he returned his gaze to an unfurled map on the table.

Dante recalled Baiyi's unsettling spellcasting method, and a thought emerged in his mind. "Sir, I'm certain we've miscalculated our strategy against the suspect. He did not demonstrate any evil or cruel intentions. He was just a bit unusual. I firmly believe we should hold off any confrontations for the time being and observe him more — "

Finn looked up in astonishment. "What are you talking about? We aren't preparing to war with that suspect. An army of demons is invading from the north right now! That suspect can wait."

Those words struck Dante's mind like a thunderbolt. He stood still, replaying Baiyi's words in his mind. His real enemies were to come from the north, and the army, including Dante, would have to rise and fight them.

Could this prophet be the real deal?Shamans and hunters both wear mails, and due to various reasons including their sad performances in PvP battles, in China, these two classes are sometimes referred to as The Twin Stooges in Mail (锁甲双废). How true of that is up to players to decide, however.In China.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

508 It Will Be Fine, So Donapos;t Worry!

Flowery songs sung by bards and the idealization of historians made modern-day people harbor pleasant fantasies about the ancient Rohlserlian Empire. In their minds, Rohlserl was an ancient superpower whose inhabitants did not lack intrigue and wisdom. This belief led to the creation of retro lifestyle choices and Rohlserlian cultural revivals. Furthermore, nobles and literary writers, who were bored and a bit too enchanted by romanticized history, often partook in these activities.

If someone that ruled at the time of the ancient Rohlserlian empire was asked about the legitimacy of the claims that ancient civilizations were superior, the ruler would have called those that believed this "idiots with wild imaginations." In many aspects — technological, economical, population, productivity, the area of a country, international relations, domestic stability, etc. — the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire significantly paled in comparison to the Walthart Empire. Modern civilization was supposed to be better than empires that had existed over six thousand years ago; it was called 'progress'. If humans had not been able to become better than they were in the past, then they would have long since gone extinct.

Even the Archmage would agree with this. After all, stability in international affairs and the unification of the Southern continent — feats even he had not been able to accomplish as Emperor, despite how much he yearned for them — had been achieved by the Walhart Empire; this were areas that the ancient Rohlserlian Empire had failed. History dubbed the Archmage an unrivaled existence, and it was not just because of natural fighting ability. In its time, the Rohlserlian Empire had many enemies — foreign states, hostile outsiders, demons, etc. — outside its borders, and they had given the Archmage a lot of opportunities to flex his skills.

Even then, the Rohlserlian Empire, a force as powerful as the Church of God's Grace, had been needed to police and combat demons. At that time, religion had just surfaced, so a variety of beliefs were spread across the Southern continent. Furthermore, with the huge threat that Rohlserlian Empire still in play, many small city-states and tribes turned to demons for more power. The demons, true to their nature, capitalized on their human followers, sometimes controlling their leaders and even their nations.

One of the most harrowing cases ever recorded described a tribal leader, who was influenced by the whispers of demons, sacrificing every one of his tribesmen in a bid for power that rivaled the Archmage's. Unfortunately, the power he got could not hold a candle to the Archmage's — someone who had defeated foes as strong as Abyss Lords.

Those that worshipped demons were a threat to Isythre because they served as passages for the demons to enter the Empire. The demon invasion that Highland City was currently experiencing was another example of this threat, which had occurred often in the past, as well. A congregation of demon-worshippers had snuck past the city's defenses and set up a summoning circle right outside the city wall, with which a tear in the realm was formed for demons to rush through.

Wide-scale attacks carried by people that colluded with evil forces occurred often before the founding of God's Grace religion. These acts of terror riddled the realm with scars that have yet to heal in the present. The Church was forced to build its Templar Fort close to the largest crack in Isythre so that it could dispatch any demons that ventured into the realm.

When Baiyi was still outside the city gate, he had detected pulses from strange entities at a tear in the realm. His perception of Spatial Laws had increased thanks to his contact with the Grandruler's Lawful Fragment, his discovery, and subsequent development, of the Ember of Hope, and the knowledge he had gained about realm tear caused by a growing number of demon worshippers. Baiyi had detected the pulses emanating from the invaders long before the army did.

That was not all. Baiyi had deduced that the spatial tear was large because he had sensed a large number of pulses. Instead of doing something about it, Baiyi decided to use it to corroborate his claim of being a prophet.

He was sure that the Highland City army could contain the invading demons. If things got really bad, then the city still had a trump card that even it did not know about — the Fifth Voidwalker.

Baiyi was confident in his ability to massacre the demons easily. He had taken out two Abyss Lords already; this was nothing in comparison.

Despite Baiyi's faith in them, the army was distressed. Every soldier was mobilized, and the troops marched out of the base in droves. They headed to the city wall and took up their respective positions. Ammunitions — arrows, boulders, and sachets of kerosene — were quickly deposited on the floor of the battlement.

A few soldiers were sent into the city to find physicians, apothecaries, and anyone else that possessed even a modicum of medical knowledge

Lulu's parents were also summoned. After delivering the supplies, the couple was detained by soldiers because they had come with Baiyi. Before the couple could be interrogated, however, they were transferred to the base of the city wall and instructed to ready themselves to administer medical help.

Lulu's father was flummoxed. He was stunned when he and his wife were detained by angry soldiers, only to realize that they were needed to become medics for the duration of the battle.

The realization did nothing to reduce his confusion. He was even more confused, as he was more than happy to help any injured soldiers, but that did not explain why he and his wife were manhandled so roughly and detained.

The city army escalated the situation into a full-scale war. Rohlserlians knew that demons, which were sly but cowardly, would not launch an assault if they were certain that they would have the upper-hand throughout. Seeing as the demons had decided to attack a heavily fortified city, the army's response was appropriate. After all, demons would never do something akin to indigenous tribesmen attacking technologically-advanced European colonists with low-tech weapons and techniques.

After the spatial tear was formed, hordes of demons began spilling out. In an hour, their number had increased to 1.5 million — more demons than Baiyi had faced back in Mia's hometown several years ago. The demon horde was like a black, raging tempest hellbent on demolishing the city ahead.

Commander Lorenz, the highest-ranking officer in the army, was on full alert atop the city wall. He gazed at the black wave of demons on the horizon and noticed that the majority of them were low-ranked demons, such as the Calydonians and the minotaurs.

He did not relax, though. From his experience in fighting demons, Commander Lorenz knew that demon leading this army would very likely be an Abyss Lord.

The number of soldiers in the city paled in comparison to the number of demons marching from afar. Lorenz had fifteen thousand men to defend the city; they were facing a horde of demons three times their size. Only a third of the soldiers possessed good battle prowess. That was already impressive considering the low number of people that lived in the ancient civilization. However, this number paled in comparison to the approaching demons. s.

"It's not the cannon-fodder I'm worried about; it's the Abyss Lord hidden among them," Commander Lorenz said in a worry-filled voice. Without any intel on the enemy, he did not know who was leading the demons, neither did he know the powers they had.

As the distance between the demons and the city shortened, so did the distance between Lorenz's eyebrows. His expression darkened as they got closer.

As though the situation was not already bad, some soldiers arrived with worse news. The evacuation of the city's residents was not complete; there was just not enough time. Even now, a large number of people were blissfully unaware of the approaching enemy.

"Then, why are you still here? Go out there and get it done, right now!" Lorenz snarled in frustration.

He turned to the chiliarch, Finn, who commanded Highland City's Sorcerers Corps. "Sir Finn, I'm afraid we might need your sorcerers to handle the Abyss Lord when it rears its ugly head."

Finn, whose expression was grave, nodded heavily. He was a chiliarch, but the number of sorcerers under his command — including novice sorcerers and sorcerers' apprentices — was only two hundred. Worse, not all sorcerers were overly strong or could fight, so there was nothing to guarantee a victory over the Abyss Lord. Some of the sorcerers under his command only knew a few tricks, and these tricks were more suited for birthday parties than combat.

As Highland City's trump card, the pressure on chiliarch and his sorcerers, some of whom were unfit for combat, made them feel like they had a mountain on their backs.

When Baiyi used his psychic sense to ascertain the number of demons approaching, he was shocked. "This is way more than I expected. And, this army does not move fast! Is this what you get when you don't have that fuddy-duddy Church to put a clamp to it?" Baiyi wondered. "Damn, just look at how brazen these demons are! There has to be an Abyss Lord commanding them. Please, don't let that Abyss Lord be the Devil Walker…"

In the present, with the Church around, no Abyss Lord would dream of bringing over its army in a short time. The number of Church-sanctioned chapels and buildings across the continent was great, and these Holy Grounds prevented the expansion and stabilization of all tears in the realm. This hampered the transportation speed of invaders. During the attack on Mia's hometown, the demons had only been able to gather and move quickly because of their additional techniques in hastening the process. Without those aids, those demons would not have easily invaded Isythre, neither would they have moved as quickly as this horde of demons marching toward Highland City.

Baiyi had to admit that the Church was a powerful force that was benevolent to mankind, despite its hatred for the Voidwalkers.

The stakes were now higher than Baiyi originally thought, but he was optimistic about Highland City's chances. He was more worried about something more personal. "Where are those girls? A demon army will be invading soon! Shouldn't the two of you be beside me at this time whilst as I carry out my duty as the 'Protector of Beautiful Maidens'?"

However, Baiyi knew that the girls were safe. Although Mia began to act more childlike after their journey to the past, she was still more than just a cute girl that only know how to do cute things.

She was a proud and powerful Legendary-level sorcerer. She alone could defeat the entire demon army, and Baiyi would not have to do anything!

If her power was not enough, Mia could still rely on the many tools stashed in her many storage pouches. Baiyi had inspected her storage pouch a few days before — with the excuse that what was hers was also his — and was very surprised.

He had been shocked to realize that Mia owned ten storage pouches, and most of them were filled with outfits that suited her fashion taste. However, the magical tools and equipment in her possession were what had left him speechless.

She had many scrolls already inscribed with spells; enough to give one to every soldier present and still have many left over. Mia's staff was aesthetically impressive and ridiculously powerful; it rivaled a real Divine Regalia. The special weapon had been designed by the Scholar Walker, forged by the Blacksmith Walker, calibrated by the Archmage, and funded by Baiyi.

Mia also had some rare items in her possession. They had obtained through Da Xue's auction programs, and some of them were gifts that Baiyi had received from nobles.

Baiyi finally understood just how much love and returns the 'Princess of the Void' enjoyed. The items in her arsenal were already enough to transform any bimbo into a bona fide goddess of war!A chiliarch is the commander of a thousand men.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

509 The Siege

Despite her cute appearance and penchant to resolve her problems by acting cute, Mia was outfitted with enough equipment to turn the tides of battle. She was a veteran with experience in large-scale battles; this was all the assurance that Baiyi needed.

The girl in question, Mia, was unaware of the events unfolding outside the city, as the officers tasked to evacuate civilians had yet to reach the bazaar, which was being held in one of the more secluded areas of the city. Oblivious to the horde of demons marching towards Highland City, Mia and Lulu were having the time of their lives as they watched foreign tribal warriors perform a local dance routine.

The enormous, black wave of demons outside Highland City had slowly begun to arrange themselves into battle formations, albeit disorderly. Afterward, they resumed their march, heading towards the city. Ancient Golems — which were gigantic demons — were at the forefront of the horde. They moved slowly, but with every step that they took, the ground trembled. Some smaller demons could be seen standing atop the Ancient Golems, squealing in anticipation.

This was a siege technique favored by demons. Ancient Golems were so huge, people atop the city wall had to raise their heads to look at it. The smaller demons could use the golems as ladders to scale the city's rampart and attack the soldiers positioned on the battlement. The golems would then their strength to take care of city walls, smashing open a path for other demons to rush through. Ancient Golems were a force to be reckoned with. Their rock-hard skin was resilient to weapon and magic attacks!

Behind the golems were gigantic Cyclops. The arms of these Cyclops were so long that without being raised, they carved paths on the ground behind the demons. The arms possessed immense strength, and the Cyclops used them as catapults. Their aim was much better than the average ballista. Thus, Cyclops were specialists in sieges.

Some Cyclops had their arms behind them, with huge boulders in their hands, like ballistae ready to fire; others had nets, which were woven from Abyss Ivy, in their hands. Inside these nets were demons eagerly waiting to be thrown over the city wall. If the demons manage to get into the city, they would make food out of every citizen they come across, and this would cause more casualties than a pile of boulders could.

Despite the alarming number of demons headed towards the city, the soldiers did not seem troubled, but their commanders had grave expressions on their faces. The army was only anxious about a demon that had yet to show itself.

Finn asked, "Do you need our help handling those?"

"No, we're fine," Commander Lorenz replied, shaking his head. "We can handle these canon fodder. I want your men to focus on the unknown Abyss Lord, who's still lingering in the shadows."

Lorenz then turned to his soldiers and announced, "Let's get rid of the larger eyesores!"

The military attendant beside him raised two huge battle flags and began to wave them. Having received their signal, the archers attached satchels of kerosene to the heads of their arrows and pulled their bows but did not fire. They were waiting for the golems to enter their range.

On a clearing just a few feet away from the city wall, a dozen soldiers began to load the city's large catapults. After attaching ropes from the rollers to the crocks of the catapults, they placed boulders — which were even larger than those held by the Cyclops — into the nets of the catapults. Taking command from highly-trained observers, the soldiers adjusted the catapults to face the sea of demons. The sun soon set, and dusk arrived.

When the soldiers below were ready, the Commander, who had been silent for a while, suddenly bellowed, "Fire!"

The battle flags were immediately waved more ferociously than before. The archers' arrowheads had already been lit, and the boulders placed on the catapults had been doused with kerosene and subsequently torched.

The moment the battle flags were waved, flaming arrows were fired into the sky, closely followed by enormous burning rocks. The flaming arrows poured down like rain on the advancing golems, and the fiery rocks crashed into the Cyclops behind. The scene was reminiscent of a meteor shower, albeit a deadly one.

The plains were filled with mourning cries from the Cyclops. When they were attacked, they dropped their payload and began to run amok — the exact opposite of what they had been ordered to do.

However, the flaming arrows did nothing to the golems, and the soldiers seemed to have expected this. As the arrows bounced off the rock-hard bodies of the enormous golems, the sachets of kerosene attached to them ruptured, soaking the golems. The next wave of flaming arrows instantly set the golems alight. The golems began bright, burning torches, but unlike the Cyclops, they did not seem to find and continued their march. As Ancient Golems had no receptors, they felt no pain.

The real targets, however, bore the full force of the flames. The demons that had atop the rock giants shrieked as the flames burned them to a crisp. Those that did not die instantly fell to the ground and writhed in pain. With that, the demons atop the golems had been cleared out.

The flames had almost fizzled out by the time the Ancient Golems neared the city wall. Their red-hot rocky body was a chilling sight, though. The army needed more than a fiery shower to take down these juggernauts, so the soldiers began to fire large sacks of freezing water at them. When the sacks of cold water struck the overheated golems, they burst and gave rise to hissing clouds of steam.

As the golems rapidly cool down, the catapults were used to fire boulders at their shins. Although it was a smaller area to target, the golem's enormous size made them easy to hit.

What ensued afterward was incredible. The Ancient Golems, which were naturally resistant to fire and water attacks, began to stumble as their shins were struck with multiple boulders. The crisp sound of cracks permeated the air as the knees of the rock giants softened before snapping. The marching giants trembled before crashing to the ground, stirring up clouds of dist, and the soldiers cheered.

How did that small trick manage to do what other attacks had failed to do?

It all came down to human ingenuity. The Ancient Golems and the cyclops were not new enemies. When they first appeared in the clashes between men and monsters, they were, indeed, lethal foes. Yet, the longer humans fought them, the better they understood them. With a relatively rudimentary understanding of physics, humans had discovered quite a myriad of ways to enfeeble their enemies easily. The army's tactic was only one of the many examples — much like a human, the knees were a standing golem's weakest points. Once one took that out, the weight of the golem's body would automatically respond to the call of gravity and crash onto the ground. In other words, they were instantly crippled.

The only factor that could botch this particular method was if the number of the enemy's golems exceeded the maximum number the Highland City Army could handle, but fortunately, that was not the case for today's attack. As a matter of fact, Ancient Golems were rare even in the Abyss, so they almost never appeared in large numbers.

Notably, as men progressed, their methods in dispatching the demons improved and diversified. Some may employ Earth-style magic to create large craters below the golems' feet and immobilize them; some may prefer casting a cocoon of ice around the golems' knees, therefore weakening their joints before a debilitating follow-up stroke. There were even fighters who preferred smashing the golems' shins into rubbles through sheer brute force, with its most famous example being the Paladin Walker's epic performance in one of the Church's wars against the demons. Then, the Holy Paladin, Hantai, charged right into the ranks of the enemy, nimbly evading their attacks as he busted every single golems' legs with his hammer imbued with immense Divine Energy. His valiant feat had critically crippled the enemy's best defense and sealed the Church's victory; thus, it was forever immortalized in history as the first of Hantai's many achievements.

The golems were down, but that was not enough cause for a celebration. The cyclops had recovered from their frenzy and had begun to retaliate. The enraged golems picked up boulders and nets, which were still filled with smaller demons, and hurled them towards the city. Some even managed to send the nets over the wall and landing right on the outer city where the civilians lived.

That was not all — the demons' spellcasters had also joined the battle after emerging from the realm crack. These were conglomerations of inhumane creatures endowed with a natural affinity for magic, and now they quickly took over the fallen golems' roles as the demons' frontline troopers.

The sight of these demonic spellcasters managed to cause Commander Lorenz's eyebrows to bunch together even more. Unlike the golems, which only seemed impressive but were actually just dumb muscles, taking down these demonic spellcasters without mobilizing the equally magically-adept human sorcerers was the commander's real challenge.

Clever schemes and tactics could only carry an army that much in a real battle, because most of the times, victory boiled down to the numbers of men each warring factions possessed. Right now, Highland City Army was the one in clear disadvantage; not only was the size of their army smaller, but they also lacked ace fighters and game-breakers who could swiftly and effortless dispatch the enemies. The strongest option they had would be the Sorcerers Corp, but what if the Abyss Lord suddenly appeared after the sorcerers had long been deployed to the battle?

Since this was the time before knowledge of alchemy was properly developed, humans had to fight without the aid of supplements such as mana-recovering potions and help from recovery-boosting equipment. In other words, a sorcerer's mana supply was directly tied to the speed of their natural recovery. Thus, it was crucial for a commander to consider the sorcerers' combined mana limitation — if the mages' mana was wasted on less critical foes, then the army would have nothing against the enemy's leader, and thus sealed the fate of their defeat.

The demons knew this weakness very well. In fact, they attempted to capitalize on it by deploying the Ancient Golems to the frontlines so soon. Since magic was the most effective attack against golems, the demons were trying to bait Highland City Army to use their sorcerers as early as possible. Now that their ploy had failed, they quickly moved on to their next plan by sending out their own spellcasters into the fray.

Their first wave of magical assault had begun, reaping the lives of the human soldiers despite the latter's best effort at evasions. Even a simple attack, such as a green orb of Sinister Mana which would then explode among the soldiers, could kill a dozen and injure several more. The number of casualties was climbing so steeply that the commander's eye twitched.

It was regrettable that Commander Lorenz was unaware that the next lawful emperor of the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire was in proximity, watching over the army and willing to back them up should the occasion called for it. Neither did he know that even if he fought these spellcasters back with every ounce of power he had, including ordering the sorcerers to throw themselves into the battle without reservation, he was still far from dooming the city.

As yelps and wails of agony and despair steadily filled the darkened sky, as more and more soldiers were wounded and felled, jolts of anxiety began to chip away Chiliarch Finn's stoic façade. "Commander? Sir, I…"

"No!" The Commander snarled, his tone and expression so cold it was as if he did not care about his subordinates at all. "Not now. Not now."

He swung his head to the direction of his attendant and commanded, "I want our backups deployed into the city. I want those demon scums terminated with extreme prejudice!"

Unfortunately, the backup was civilians and low-quality militia, who had been haphazardly armed and given very superficial military training. Against those sadistic demons and their thirst for carnage, these people were no more than cannon-fodders

One could already imagine the cruel fate that awaited them.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

510 Whatapos;s Going On At Miaapos;s Side?

Without magic, humans were vulnerable to supernatural creatures, and this resulted in a high death toll. As the soldiers defending the city struggled to stay alive, the low-level demons seized the opening created by the demon casters to reach the city wall. The demons flung their Abyss Ivy ropes over the wall and climbed the wall, quickly reaching the parapet.

The demons were much faster than the soldiers, and soon, the soldiers found themselves overwhelmed with magic and melee attacks. Amidst the chaos, more soldiers were slain.

Only a few minutes had passed, but two hundred soldiers were already dead. The demons had suffered casualties, too, as the despairing soldiers were fighting with all they had. However, the demons had the numbers advantage, and it seemed highly likely that the soldiers would lose.

Larger demons that could not climb the wall had gathered at the city gate. The sounds of their fists slamming the gates were akin to the bell tolls of a requiem.

Dane the Hound helplessly watched the bloodbath from the safety of the tower, anxiously waiting for Chiliarch Finn's orders. It was not that he did not understand the commander's strategy, but the bloodcurdling shrieks from the soldiers that were being slaughtered were unbearable.

Unable to hold himself back any longer, Dante charged into the commander's office. He was no longer concerned about the possibility of being disciplined for disobeying the orders of his superiors.

The commander and the Chiliarch retreated to the safety of a tower when the fighting started.

Dante barged into their office without knocking. He knew that if he was not a sorcerer, this very action would have led to his demise via execution. "Commander Lorenz! Chiliarch Finn!"

The commander frowned at this intrusion, and Finn did not attempt to hide his disapproval.

"What is the meaning of this, Centurion Dante?" He bellowed. "Did I not order you to wait for further orders?"

"Yes, sir, but there might be something I can do to help us," Dante replied. "A powerful sorcerer is living in our city. I'm going to ask for his help!"

"Is that so?" Finn furrowed his brows. "Is this the same sorcerer you were tasked to capture? The one who called himself a prophet, right?"

When Dante had returned from his mission earlier, the Chiliarch had not paid any mind to his report; but now, Dante's words had gotten his attention. The soldiers were losing the battle, so Dante's decision to get help was cause for attention.

Commander Lorenz shook his head in disbelief. "A prophet? Does that not sound like something primitive frauds would come up with?"

"Please have faith in my judgment, sir. The man was…strange, but I don't think either of us has ever seen the kind of power he possesses," Dante said, after which he narrated the encounter he had had with Baiyi.

As Dante spoke, the two veterans widened their eyes in shock. "It took him less than a second to cast a Silence spell?! If he could do that, then…" The Chiliarch tapped his chin with a finger.

"Was he vexed by the misunderstanding that occurred earlier?" The commander asked, visibly concerned.

"That is why I must be the one to do it. I, uh, am certain that I'll persuade him," Dante replied, visibly uncertain. The prophet seemed to have a good temperament — or, at least, Dante hoped he was a man that would not want innocent people to die on his watch — but the man's eccentricity rattled Dante's confidence.

"Fine; you have my permission. Return as soon as possible, Centurion. I fear we won't be able to hold out much longer," Finn replied, nodding. "Tell him the army will visit him after this to offer an apology and good rewards for his help."

Commander Lorenz nodded, but in his heart, he cursed the Empire's malformed social hierarchy. 'The privileges that sorcerers enjoy are unbearably disproportionate!'

No one in the military could place a leash on sorcerers. Even Lorenz could not punish Dante for his rude entrance and brazen disobedience of his orders. Furthermore, a mere Chiliarch was Lorenz's superior even though Lorenz had a higher military rank than him.

Commander Lorenz was annoyed that the army would beg one man for his help to defend the city. The fact that the man was a sorcerer annoyed him even more. Should the people of Rohlserl not choose to fight because of the love they had for their country and its people? Do they have to be begged for help, seeing as the situation was dire? Worse, the man was to be rewarding for fighting on their side, something that should have been done out of a sense of duty!

Dante did not bother to conserve his mana. He took to the sky with a levitation spell and sped off towards the guesthouse he had met Baiyi. When Dante got there, he burst in and raced up the stairs towards Baiyi's room. A few seconds later, he was outside Baiyi's room with his knuckles raised, ready to knock on the door.

Before he could, however, a voice rang out from inside the room. "Your wish is understood. Now, return from whence you came, and fight with all your might. Highland City will not fall tonight!"

Dante's vision suddenly darkened. A few seconds later, his sight returned, and he found himself at the city wall. He could hear the loud clanks of metal clashing against metal, as well as the screams of humans and the howls of frightening demons. A fight had broken out atop the city wall.

What did that prophet mean? To Dante, the man's words were mysterious and almost insensible! What would he tell his superiors?

A flame of anxiety erupted in Dante's heart, but the centurion forced himself to calm down. He recalled the prophet's words and repeated them several times in his head. Suddenly, his face lit up.

Dante rushed to a door on the enormous wall and dashed up the stairs behind it. When he exited, he was atop the city wall. He spotted a small group of demons right in front of him, and he wasted no time in smashing them with an explosive spell.

The struggling soldiers atop the city wall turned around in shock. When they spotted Dante, they began to cheer. 'Our darkest hours had passed!' They could not help but think. 'The Sorcerers Corps is with us now!'

Their morales soared, and they no longer looked tired. With their spirits reignited, the soldiers began to fight with renewed vigor.

Dante continued to fire off spells at every demon that he laid eyes on. Soon, he had only half his mana left, but his efforts had turned the tides of battle. The soldiers had now gained the advantage.

With things under control, Dante raced to the commander's office. "Commander! Chiliarch! The Prophet has divined our future! We, the sorcerers, are to join the battle now!"

Lorenz and Finn exchange doubt-filled glances. However, with the number of casualties rising, the two could only set aside their skepticism. The number of soldiers still fighting had reduced so much, it was almost foolish not to deploy the sorcerers. Hence, with gritted teeth, Finn gave the Sorcerers Corp the go-ahead.

The arrival of the sorcerers was a sight to behold. Formations appeared in front of their chests as they dove off the city tower, illuminating the night sky on their descent. This was the prelude to a turn-around. With the arrival of the novice sorcerers and sorcerer apprentices, the army recovered and took the fight to the demons. The demon spellcasters were alarmed. They quickly switched targets to the flying sorcerers, and a magic battle broke out in the sky.

The sorcerers — the Empire's trump card — shined gracefully. Despite there being a few of them, they had managed to tip the scales to the army's favor. The command over magic was spectacular. As time passed, the army gained more ground.

Baiyi, who was monitoring the battle with his psychic sense, exhaled in relief. "Gosh. You lot should have done this earlier. There was no need to hide your trump card!"

Earlier, when the Highland City army was being backed into a corner, Baiyi found himself doubting his understanding of the Rohlserlian Empire's military might. Did he somehow fabricate memories of the empire's strength? When Baiyi skimmed through the memories again, he noticed the absence of sorcerers in the memories.

That was when the realization struck him. The knowledge he had of the Rohlserlian Empire's battles originated from the Archmage, who had never needed to worry about his strength or mana. With the powerful Book of Servitude in his possession, the Archmage had won his battles by obliterating his enemies with a rain of devastating spells.

Hence, Baiyi's memories and knowledge of the Empire's might was skewed. In reality, the Rohlserlian Empire had few sorcerers, who were spread across different army bases. To commanders, sorcerers were a mighty but scarce resource. When strategies were being drawn, the amount of mana the sorcerers' had available had to be taken into consideration, to prevent wastage.

When the death toll reached one thousand, Baiyi became more uneasy. Being addressed as the last emperor of a lost emperor had never made him happy. At this time, he could be considered a ruler and protector to these people. Hence, he was unhappy to watch his people die.

'So, according to my old man, the commander of this army is a guy named Lorenz, right? It is said that he does not like taking risks. He would never show his trump card until he was out of options,' Baiyi thought. 'Now that I'm watching you, I have to admit that you're quite dedicated to your tactical principles...'

Baiyi understood why Lorenz, who he now considered a coward, would use such cruel tactics. The man wished to reserve his strongest fighters for the Abyss Lord, who had yet to make an appearance. He did not know that this was unnecessary, though. Baiyi had wished he could appear at the city gate and tell Lorenz that it was fine to fight without reservation, but he would be unable to explain his presence should he attempt to do that.

It was at this time that Dante flew to the guest house to seek his audience. Baiyi had used that chance to pass on his message, albeit in a feigned mystical way that was typical of prophets. 'Throw yourselves into the battle and leave the Abyss Lord to your future emperor!'

"Wow. For someone so unloved by history, the Hound's better than I thought," Baiyi said, chuckling.

Baiyi began to plan his next move. If he was to go up against an Abyss Lord, then he would have to drop the façade. He cast a communication spell with which he used to ring Mia. "Calling Mia. You there?"

"Gah! Mr. Ho — I mean, Dad?"

Mia sounded nervous. She had been shocked by Baiyi's usage of magic, as the two had promised not to do so in public.

"I'm — well! I'm, uh, outside? With, you know, Lulu. Tee hee!" Mia stuttered. She tried to sound as cute as possible, to avoid getting in trouble. Baiyi knew that she spoke that way only way she wished to warm her way out of trouble. Baiyi had heard Mia speak that way whenever she did not finish her homework, or whenever she wore a skirt that was shorter than what he allowed.

However, this was not the time for him to have a stern word with her, so he went straight to the point. "There are demons on the prowl, Mia. Don't be afraid; just go out there and kill every last one of them!"

"Say what?! Something like that is happening now?" Mia exclaimed in disbelief. Baiyi did not miss the soft sigh of relief that came after. "Okay. Roger that!"

Before Mia could hang up the call, Baiyi heard her cute voice utter a most terrifying two-word incantation:

"Sharkie? Bite."

'Wait, what?! That spell right off the bat?! Just where the hell are you, Kid? That's not a spell you can use anywhere!' Baiyi shook his head helplessly.

Mia had not known that a battle had broken out outside the city because she had not spread out her psychic sense. Mr. Hope had asked her to do just that to avoid being made by the city's sorcerers. This was why she had failed to realize that war was ongoing.

While the army fought its hardest to repel the Ancient Golems, Mia and Lulu were having fun at the bazaar, watching a warrior crush rocks into pieces with his chest. They were so entertained that they kept cheering and clapping.

If Baiyi knew this, he would have been puzzled, as most students at Da Xue could pull off that very same feat. Attie and Mordred, for example, could crush those rocks with their chests, and Baiyi was sure that Mia could do the same. The only student Baiyi imagined would struggle with this was Vidomina, whose huge bosom was more of a cushion than a hard surface. It was just weird that Mia would find such a performance interesting.

However, when Mia looked up and projectiles streaking across the night sky, she reaffirmed that something big and dreadful had begun.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

511 Please Use This Responsibly

The bazaar was located at the city square north of the city gate — several miles away from where the battle was taking place. This was the reason why the soldiers overseeing the evacuation of the city had yet to reach there, and no one at the bazaar knew what had happened. When small groups of demons made it into the city, there were many people still out in the open, unaware of the invasion.

As creatures with an acute sense of smell, the demons quickly picked up the scent of their prey. They turned their heads north, where they perceived the scent of multiple vulnerable and defenseless people. The Cyclops were also able to perceive this irresistible aroma from afar, so, from outside the city, they hurled their payloads in that direction.

Woosh! The sound of the air being torn came before explosions as large boulders pelted the city and claimed lives. Pools of blood, which contained human entrails, stained the pavement. This elicited squeals of delight from the demons coming out of the nets thrown into the city. Some demons had been killed in the onslaught, but the other demons did not spare their corpses a glance; instead, they swiped their claws at the heavily injured that managed to survive the rain of boulders.

The festive atmosphere instantly disappeared as the carnival became a gathering of corpses covered in blood and flames. The paradise had become hell on earth!

Someone could be seen standing amid the carnage, with a pale face — Lulu.

Not even Lulu's worst nightmare had prepared her, a mundane little village girl, for such a tragedy. She stood as still as a statue, unable to scream or flee. However, tears could be seen streaming down her widened eyes.

A Gog spotted a lady frozen on the spot at the center of the square. The flames around illuminated her legs, which were soft, pink, and as juicy-looking as the most perfect of roasted dinners.

'Dinner!' The hungry Gog was unable to contain itself and hurled a fireball at the lady.

Lulu's eyes flickered as she spotted a fireball streaking towards her. Her legs refused to budge an inch, and she was about to become a demon's next meal. The instinct to flee had long since deserted her.

Suddenly, a violet streak moving faster than the fireball stopped right in front of Lulu. The violet figure's small hand, which was covered in fine satin, reached out and caught the fireball.

When the fireball collided with the violet figure's palm, it fizzled for a bit before dissipating. The Gog, who was standing a few feet away, suddenly fell backward. A glistening icicle had pierced its skull.

It was this time that Lulu finally regained control of her body. She turned towards the violet figure that had just saved her. The violet figure turned around and asked the speechless Lulu, "Are you alright?"

Lulu did not reply. All she could think about was how beautiful this person was.

The lady was wearing a most unusual dress — one that Lulu had never seen before. It was an evening dress, whose design was award-worthy. It was made from smooth satin that had dyed purple, causing it to radiate an air of mystery. Lulu had never seen any dress with as high a slit as this one. It not only left bare the beauty's supple, round shoulders, but its neckline was so low, an aquamarine gemstone was required to restore a bit of modesty around the beauty's chest area. Lulu gazed at the glowing gemstone and realized that it was a pendant. It was being strung by a bejeweled sash that was connected to the back of the evening dress.

The best part of the dress was its asymmetrical skirt. The back hemline was so long, it draped over a large swathe of pavement. The front hemline was short; it was above the beauty's knees. This left her lean legs — which were covered by black silk socks — and the pearly white heels below it visible for all to see.

A butterfly-shaped masquerade mask concealed the beauty's face and identity. Her smooth black hair had been packed intricately into a perfect bun. Lulu, who had never seen such a style before, had had her breath taken away by the regal aura that radiated from the beauty. The beauty's head intricate headpiece, which resembled a cross between a lotus and a tiara, made Lulu wonder if she was a foreign princess.

Poor Lulu had just been mentally tormented by all the gore around her, and her imagination took flight the instant this ravishing beauty saved her from the jaws of death.

Lulu's "foreign princess" did not exude a shred of arrogance; instead, she appeared quite worried about Lulu, who had still not said a thing. The beauty cupped Lulu's cheek gently with her satin gloved-covered hand and asked, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Lulu stiffened the moment she was touched, but a second later, she jumped at the beauty and wrapped her arms around her. Suddenly, Lulu jerked back in surprise and cried, "Mia?!"

"Wait, what?!" The violet beauty seemed more surprised than Lulu was. "How did you —"

"There's certain warmth that's unique to your embrace, Mia; even if you change your appearance, I'd still recognize it," Lulu replied. "Mia, please tell me what's going on! What is happening? Just now, I — Incoming!"

Mia turned and found herself face-to-face with a boulder that had been hurtling towards her with unbridled speed. As there was no time to do anything about it, Mia decided to brace for impact; she moved in front of Lulu and puffed her chest out.

In the following second, something unbelievable happened: when the boulder collided with Mia's chest, it was pulverized, not the other way around! The shower of white sand that followed even dirtied a bystander's face.

This bystander was the man that had been crushing rocks with his bare chest earlier. His gaze shifted to the small rocks he had used his chest to crush, after which he glanced at another gigantic boulder nearby. He turned around and gawked at Mia's flat chest.

Unable to contain himself, the man shrieked and fled. It was as though he had lost his sanity.

Mia's flat chest was not the reason the large boulder crumbled when it struck it. The credit went to her violet evening dress, which was known as the 'Goddess' Blessing'. This exquisite sorcerer robe was made by a renowned fashion designer, after which it was enchanted by several professionals from the Sorcerers' Association. In one of Baiyi's many auctions, a noble had offered the dress in exchange for a place at Da Xue for his useless son. Baiyi accepted the offer and gave Mia the dress.

Mia fell in love with the dress the moment she laid eyes on it, but she found its enchantments too lackluster. Thus, she asked for Baiyi and the other Voidwalkers for help to improve it. When they were done with it, powerful gemstones had replaced the decorative jewels previously on the dress. These gemstones were created by the Alchemist Walker, using his unique formulae. The other Voidwalkers also added their enchantments to the gemstones.

The spell that had pulverized the boulder when it hit Mia's chest was an Eight-Grade magic spell called 'Rupture'. It had been designed to activate the moment anything got close to Mia's chest — such as a pair of touchy hands. Anything that made contact with the flat chest would have been reduced to a fine powder.

It was easy to guess who made the spell. The part of the body that Rupture protected was a dead giveaway. The inventor did not know that Rupture had just done what it was invented to do. However, it had obliterated a boulder and not the hands of a suicidal person.

The robe was not the only useful tool that Mia had in her arsenal. Her magical staff, which resembled a large lollipop, was also a deadly weapon. Its inventors were the Archmage Walker, the Blacksmith Walker, and several other Voidwalkers. It was named the 'Inheritance Staff', an allusion to Mia inheriting the Rohlserlian legacy of magic. It contained a top-of-the-line magic gemstone that contained a dozen Pseudo-Forbidden spells. Although these spells were weaker than their originals, which they had been created to imitate, a skilled wielder could still use the Inheritance Staff to decimate an army of a thousand men.

The headdress Mia had on was called the 'Padma Tiara'. It was a support tool used to provide various magic buffs and cast high-level theurgical techniques, such as Magic Reflect, Spell Target Negation, and many more. Mia was gifted his headdress by the Cleric Walker and Paladin Walker when she became a Legendary Level sorcerer.

Not even Mia's sash was an innocent piece of fabric. It could be used to summon, at most, thirty of the Engineer Walker's state-of-the-art marionettes. The Soul Armature Practitioner and the Engineer Walker had gifted it to Mia on her eighteenth birthday.

Those were not the only enhanced paraphernalia in Mia's possession, though. Every one of Mia's fingers had rings around them that contained the Warrior Walker's Frozen Fire combat chi. Once activated, the store Frozen Fire combat chi would burst forth and form two huge hands, both of which could perform the Warrior Walker's trademark martial arts moves on their own. With them, Mia could still fight if she was struck by a Silence spell. The combat chi hands possessed fighting skills on par with a master swordsman from Britain and a Krav Maga specialist from Israel.

Finally, Mia's butterfly-shaped masquerade mask did more than just protect her identity. It had been enchanted with a few of the Charlatan Walker's best illusion spells.

There were still many more overpowered accessories in Mia's storage pouches. The only reason she had them stowed away was because they did not match her dress. Amongst these accessories was a strange arrow that could make copies of itself after it had been fired from a crossbow; a sinister-looking veil that could render its wearer invisible; and a whistle that, when blown, would compel every wide animal in the area to rush out to aid the user. There was a lot more that Mia had stored.

Baiyi was right: Mia had fully decked with powerful equipment and accessories that only slightly paled in comparison with real Divine Regalias. These equipment and accessories were so powerful, Mia could afford to let her guard down and do all the cute things she wanted, and she would still outmatch an Abyss Lord. With her own experience as a Legendary-level sorcerer, Mia could basically destroy everyone, except for the most dangerous and powerful of enemies.

If all else failed, there was a weapon in Mia's storage pouch that she could use. This weapon is nigh-unbeatable in the current timeline; only the Archmage stood a chance against it.

At this point, if someone yelled, "You can't forcefully upgrade a D-tier to God-tier only by giving them powerful equipment, can you?"

To which Baiyi would reply, "Yes. Yes, you can."

After preventing herself and Lulu from becoming meat patties, Mia proceeded to take out the demons that had reached the city square, where the bazaar had been held, after which she turned her attention to the injured, who she began to take care of. It was at this point that Mia received a call from Baiyi, who ordered her to decimate every demon that had entered Highland City.

Mia hesitated for a brief moment before deciding to pull out her trump card.

After reciting a two-word activation chant, Highland City was covered by an enormous shadow. It belonged to the phantom of a giant hammerhead shark, whose body was translucent. Everyone in Highland City suddenly looked up in a mixture of awe and fright, watching the behemoth's ever-expanding, snow-white underbelly cover the sky above.

Suddenly, the invading demons turned tail and fled in all directions. The emergence of this strange giant had probably made them look several thousand years into the future and realize that it was a reaper that specialized in taking lives.

This hammerhead shark plushie did not take kindly to the presence of demons. A faint glow radiated from its jaw, after which its snot-white underbelly began to fire off a variety of spells, which were all so frightening that one could call them 'divine retributions'. From afar, it was as though someone had punctured the plushie's previously-expanding belly, causing it to rapidly discharge the air stored within it!

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

512 The Defense Crumbled In An Instan

On this night, everyone in Highland City bore witness to the occurrence of a miracle — one that was as much a legend as any Forbidden Spell. On this night, the demons had expected to eat their fill of human flesh, only to realize that their last meals were to be served by a weapon as powerful as a Divine Regalia.

Spells of various elements burst forth from the hammerhead shark plushie's underbelly, including fireballs, deadly icicles, and ice arrows. Among the deluge of spells were javelins of light and shadow arrows — uncommon elemental spells. Rare spells like corrosive fluids and venoms could also be identified, so could bizarre spells like a rain of white, viscous fluids.

The spells bombarded every single demon in the city with unparalleled accuracy. Just minutes after the giant plushie appeared in the city, all the demons that got through the city wall were slain.

This was how far the hammerhead shark plushie had come! It started as a run-of-the-mill toy that served as a little girl's cuddle buddy, and eventually evolved to an instrument for self-defense. Afterward, it played host to several Voidwalkers that descended to the real world. Today, the hammerhead shark plushie was a weapon of mass destruction. As a side achievement, it even became a collective nickname for the audience of this story. It really had undergone much!

If anyone wondered what next would happen to the hammerhead shark plushie, the answer they would get would not surprise them: whatever the Fifth Walker, in a moment of boredom, decided. As a Soul Armature, Baiyi was unable to sleep or engage in carnal activities, so he often had a lot of free time on his hands. Sometimes, he chose to fool around with his beautiful daughters, but when they go to bed, he would only have the hammerhead shark plushie for company.

When Baiyi's thoughts shifted to Mia, he knew that, as she grew stronger, she was bound to encounter stronger enemies in the future. Thus, it was only natural that her go-to weapon of self-defense, the hammerhead shark plushie, was made much more powerful.

Even Baiyi had forgotten how many rare resources and powerful spells he had pumped into Sharkie, but he knew that the precise accuracy of the plushie's auto-target feature was just the tip of the iceberg. Baiyi also knew that chaos would ensue wherever this plushie was let loose; using this deadly trump card was akin to unleashing one's inner nine-tailed demon fox.

After the giant plushie made sure that every demon in the city was dead, it turned its cold gaze to the demons wreaking havoc outside the city wall. Having decided that these demons were outside of its active zone, instead of attacking, the plushie chose to shrink back to its original size. Moments later, it fell directly on Mia's outstretched hands.

"Way to go, Sharkie~!" Mia exclaimed as she hugged the killer plushie happily. She could not resist rubbing her cheeks against it.

Lulu, who had witnessed the entire spectacle, was shocked speechless. Although the worst had passed, Lulu was overcome by fear; she fell backward and landed on her butt, after which she began to sob.

"Wha?!" Mia put the plushie away and rushed to Lulu's side. She gripped Lulu's shoulders and, in a panic, said, "H-hey! It's okay now. The bad guys are gone, they can't hurt you anymore. Don't cry, okay? I'll always protect you!"

Mia took Sharkie out and placed it in Lulu's arms. Leaning closer to the terrified Lulu, Mia reached out and pinched her cheeks softly, cooing, "But, there are still many people out there who need my help, so I can't stay here for now. Please, wait here; I'll be back, okay? Sharkie will protect you in my stead, so you have nothing to be scared of. Please, Lulu, be strong for me. Be brave for me."

Lulu only sobbed softly in reply, after which she buried her face in Sharkie's belly. Mia could only silently watch the traumatized girl, who was hugging the plushie tightly.

This was reminiscent of a scene that had occurred in the past.

After making sure that Lulu had calmed down, Mia set off for work. The boulders hurled over the city wall by multiple Cyclops demons had caused a lot of destruction. Many people could be seen crying for help, and Mia knew she needed to help them however she could.

As Mia began to provide relief to the injured, in the commanders' office, Commander Lorenz and Chiliarch Finn focused their attention on an area south of the city. Their pale faces were all it took for one to realize that the two had watched enough horror unfold. When the battle began, both commanders had maintained their composures. Now, however, their grim expressions made them seem as though they had just escaped certain death.

"What… What was that?" Commander Lorenz asked in a low voice.

"I have not the slightest idea," Chiliarch Finn replied. "As a matter of fact, I never thought I would, one day, see something this frightening. How does something like that even exist?"

The scene of a giant hammerhead shark plushie running riot in his city had been burned into Finn's mind.

An attendant in the room seemed to have taken the bizarre scene better than her superiors did. "I think that was a hammerhead shark, sir," she carefully said.

"What's a 'hammerhead shark'? Is it a sort of fish?" Commander Lorenz asked, visibly discombobulated. "Or, is that the nickname of a terrifying monster that I have yet to hear of?"

"I have no idea, sir, but it seemed to be on our side," replied the attendant. "Reports indicate that the demons in the city were killed by that thing, sir. This means we don't have to worry about the city, for now."

"Damn. I almost forgot that the battle has not ended," Lorenz murmured and smacked his cheeks to collect his thoughts. His gaze shifted to the fighting taking place atop the city wall. "I need a status report about our wall!"

"It's improving, sir! The demons were frightened so much by that strange creature, they are now retreating en masse!" A soldier reported. "Sir, shall we advance?"

Lorenz did not reply immediately. Before he could come to a decision, he felt a strong magical pulse radiate from the distance.

The crowd froze in trepidation.

'The enemy commander has arrived.'

A humanoid demon with wings, a blank face, and two large sickles wiggled out of the crack in the realm. A sinister aura that had a tinge of lust emanated from this demon, making it resemble a metrosexual man.

The fleeing demons came to a stop and dropped to their knees, and the faceless Abyss Lord glanced in the direction of Highland City, where the giant hammerhead shark had vanished. After a brief moment of silence, the Abyss Lord threw its sickles into the air and began to chant an incantation in the demon language. "For I the seven bells toll." [1]

Its purple aura disappeared, and the Abyss Lord's muscles began to grow at an alarming rate. A thick, black wave of miasma oozed from its body. It was as though the darkness in its soul had take form. Its unfurled wings grew bigger, and in moments, they had covered the sky.

"What… What the hell is that?!" A soldier, who was renowned for his sharp eyesight, trembled when he spotted something growing in the distance. Silhouettes could be seen marching towards the city from afar. These beings were dressed in the same uniforms as the city's soldiers. When they got closer to the city, the soldiers realized that these beings were exact replicas of themselves — chilling shadows, if you will.

When the shadows got close, they attacked. Their techniques were exact copies of the soldiers that their appearances took after.

A thousand soldiers had survived the first bout, and now a thousand shadows were sprinting towards the city wall. Soon, chaos ensued once again as the enemy regained the advantage. Although the shadows were weaker than the originals, their shadow-like properties made them impervious to physical attacks.

The longer the soldiers fought the shadows, the more alarmed they got. Soon, they could no longer maintain their composures, and waves of anxiety overtook them. This adversely affected their fighting abilities.

One of the sorcerers in the sky bellowed in an attempt to calm the soldiers. "Calm yourselves! They are only shadows!"

Before the words could leave his mouth completely, the sorcerer spotted a large ball of death energy hurtling towards him. The sorcerer quickly conjured a barrier around himself and attempted to flee, but it was too late. The death energy ball struck him squarely.

The sorcerer's corpse began to fall fast, and when it hit the ground, it blew up, splattering blood and guts all over the place.

Satisfied with itself, the Abyss Lord flexed its claw before making three clones of itself. Each clone emitted the same sinister energy as the original Abyss Lord. They began to fire death energy ball after death energy ball at every sorcerer hovering in the sky. The kneeling demons quickly got into formation and charged towards the city wall once more.

The soldiers, who already had their hands full with the shadows, felt despair, and some quickly fled the scene. The Sorcerers Corps fell into disarray as they tried to dodge the super-fast energy balls coming to claim their lives. More sorcerers could be seen dropping from the sky.

The demons rejoiced. They let out long, bloodcurdling war cries and rushed toward the city wall in a stampede.

"Who… No, what is this demon?! It's tearing through every defense tactic we came up with!"

"Where in the world is Dante?! Where — is — he?! Where is the help he promised will come?!"

The commanders despaired, their groans no different from those of suffering dogs. They had lost all hope. Only the reappearance of that giant hammerhead shark could bring hope and ensure their survival.

The hammerhead shark did not reappear, though. However, the savior rushing over to the army was even stronger. It was a lone individual clad in a futuristic sorcerer armor, who could be seen standing alone in front of the city wall. It seemed as though he intended to stop the approaching demons all by himself.

Dante the hound had been waiting for this very moment since the Abyss Lord appeared. When he noticed the lone figure standing between the soldiers and the demons, Dante yelled, "Look, all of you! It's the Prophet!"

Then, as though entranced, Dante began to chant at the top of his lungs, "Long live the Empire of Rohlserl! All glory to our Emperor! Victory belongs to us!"

The sorcerers that survived noticed the seemingly suicidal stranger. When they heard Dante's words, they could not hold back their ridicule. Who was this prophet? Was he another obnoxious fraud that loved conning villagers? What had gotten into Centurion Dante? Had he finally lost it?

The longer the sorcerers listened to Dante's words, the more bemused they became. How was one man supposed to overwhelm an army of demons? One could not expect a cricket to stop a cart in its tracks!

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

513 Itapos;s A One-of-a-kind Gift!

The lone stranger — who had a sorcerer's armor on — standing before the horde of demons was akin to a leaf bracing for a thunderstorm.

None of the distraught soldiers cheered, as they regarded the stranger's actions as an attempted suicide. Only Dante the hound looked spirited; after shouting at the top of his voice for a while, he urged the other soldiers to gather together and ready their weapons.

No one paid him any mind, though. The other sorcerers had lost all hope, so they secretly plotted to flee the moment the city gets overwhelmed.

The armored stranger stirred. He glared coldly at the demon horde stampeding towards him and raised his right hand. "Sleep in the dirt, where you belong."

The stranger then balled his right hand into a fist.

Suddenly, blazing black flames appeared out of nowhere, and before anyone could react, the roaring flames had coalesced into a wall, blocking off the demons. The Abyss Lord, who was at the rear of the demon army, felt terrified when it spotted the black flames.

The Abyss Lord had never seen anything like those black flames before, so it figured that the flames had not been created by a demon or a human. However, the Abyss Lord was instinctively terrified of the flames, so it decided to make a wise choice — retreat.

Demons were not known for heeding orders, especially orders to retreat. They already struggled to maintain their battle formations during the attack. The small demons came to a stop when they saw the black flames, but the large demons foolishly lumbered forward and tried to force their bodies through the wall of black flames. It was as though they wished to test its might with their flesh.

The Devil Walker once said to Baiyi, "The most insolent of my kind are very stupid; they don't even know how to protect themselves from danger."

A jaw-dropping scene followed. When the large demons, which the soldiers considered imposing and terrifying, reached the other side of the flame wall, they had become ash. Rushing winds quickly blew by and dispersed the ash!

The other demons sensed something awry and immediately stopped, reluctant to approach the ghastly wall of black flames. The demons' march was not synchronized, and while the demons at the forefront of the horde had suddenly stopped — after watching the demons in front get burned to a crisp by the wall of flames — the demons at the rear continued marching forward. The bumped into the demons in front of them, causing the demons at the front to be pushed forward — into the wall of flames.

Chaos ensued. By the time the demons at the rear understood what was going on, half of the horde had become food for the wall of black flames. Some demons began to scream unintelligibly, conversing with others demons in their language. It seemed as though the demons were saying "Such an evil power! Those flames are really profane! That thing defies common sense!" — words that would, in the future, be repeated by the members of the Church.

The stranger seemed to really hate demons. He raised a finger and swiped the air with it.

The wall of black flames began to burn more fiercely, and suddenly, it surged towards its demons like a rogue wave. Rings of flames separated from the fiery wall and formed a ring around the army of demons. In moments, the demons had been encircled by black flames, and with expressions of horror, they watched the circle of black flames begin to shrink towards the center.

The ring of flames soon filled out its center, and the demons that had been trapped were burned to a crisp; not even their ashes were left behind. The wall of flames then dissipated, leaving silence behind. It was as though an army of demons had not been there at all!

The scene was bone-chilling. The soldiers could not stop trembling after what they had witnessed.

"Is… Is that bloody it?! Are the enemies gone, just like that?!" A sorcerer exclaimed. "What sort of monster is that armored stranger? How did that…thing defeat an army this massive by itself?!"

"There is only one person I know who is just as powerful. That person is His Majesty. So, who the hell is this guy? Where did he come from? Is he really just a conman?"

"Can anyone explain what the hell happened? Does anyone know what kind of magic that was? Why did the demons just…vanish like that? Was it some sort of spatial magic?"

Although the sorcerers had just been saved from the jaws of death, they did not celebrate; instead, they began to debate loudly amongst themselves. The level of power displayed by the strange had been so unnerving, everyone seemed to forget about the victory.

"No. They did not simply vanish," Dante shouted. As the only person that was composed during Baiyi's performance, Dante had observed the incident more closely than others. "They were utterly annihilated. Even their ashes were not left behind! It happened so fast; the moment the flames torched the demons, they were gone!"

"So, what in tarnation were those black flames?! Even though I was far away, I could not help but tremble..." squeaked a novice sorcerer.

"Who is this prophet? I've never heard of a spell that can conjure black flames!"

"Honestly, I have no idea," Dante replied, shaking his head. "All I can think of is how lucky I am to not have gotten on his bad side."

"Am I the only one that noticed an aura of darkness and evil in those black flames?" A sorcerer standing nearby wondered out loud. "Are you sure he's not an enemy?"

Another sorcerer, who was crouching, tried to hold back his sobs. "If he was so p-powerful, then w-why… why did it take him so long to come to our aid?!" Tears streaked down this sorcerer's face as he looked down at the motionless body of a young sorcerer in his arms.

"Are you questioning a fellow sorcerer's motives? Is this not someone whose skills at sorcery eclipse yours?" Dante snapped. "Are you foolish enough to believe the mumbo jumbo that mystic peddlers say about the darkness of power?"

The sobbing sorcerer shook his head sideways and no longer spoke. The other sorcerers could be seen backing away from the sobbing sorcerers. Those that had interacted with him earlier had already begun to wash their hands of him. [1].

As there were no thought-policing organizations, such as the Church, in this era, ancient Rohlserls enjoyed the freedom to express their opinions. In this era, morality had yet to be forced on the masses, so not many people understood what was good and what wasn't. Thus, they were not prejudiced against the concept of power, and they were not as judgmental as the people of the modern era. The people of this era did not think that the source of a man's power could be used to measure his morality.

However, this open-mindedness was what allowed dark magic to flourish in this era. This open-mindedness also contributed the most to modern-day Rohlserlian romanticism.

Baiyi knew about the open-mindedness of the ancient Rohlserlian society. This was why he did not attempt to hide his Void Powers. The Book of Servitude's recent inertia had reduced Baiyi's power, so he had no choice but to rely on his Void Powers, instead.

Baiyi had no reason to hide his power. The conservative Church had not been founded yet, and no one knew what Void Energy was. He did not even have to worry about an Angel descending just to punish him.

From the moment Baiyi informed Dante the hound of his intention to help, he had been waiting for the Abyss Lord to show itself. When the seemingly-metrosexual Abyss Lord finally made its appearance, Baiyi sifted through his memories to dig up whatever he could about the demon.

When Baiyi finally discovered who this demon was, he could not contain his excitement and made a mad dash for the city wall.

Unfortunately, it had taken Baiyi some time to sift through his memories, so the Abyss Lord had been able to kill some sorcerers before he could arrive.

According to the Devil Walker, this Abyss Lord was a Terrorblade — a rare species of Blade Demons. It was humanoid in appearance and possessed great intelligence and power. Each Terrorblade had unique abilities, such as shadow creation and size expansion. Since Terrorblades were born with these unique abilities, no one else could replicate them.

No one knew how Blade Demons could mutate into Terroblades, and because the number of Terrorblades was little, it was classified as a rare species of the Endless Abyss. The superior traits possessed by Terrorblades greatly shortened the time they needed to mature, and it allowed them to subjugate other demons. Hence, most Terrorblades were Abyss Lords in the dog-eat-dog environment of the Endless Abyss.

The most interesting part of Terrorblades was that after some time, a certain organ would begin to grow in their bodies. The organ is called the 'Fractal Horn of Inner Abysm'. It was the core of a Terrorblade's powers. It was also a very powerful material used by humans to forge powerful weapons, such as the Advanced Abyss Horn. This horn could be used to command an army of demons.

The Fractal Horn of Inner Abysm could also be used to forge magic staffs. The horn would be used in place of magic gemstones, and its 'Sinister Energy' would greatly increase the potency of dark spells cast with the staff. The horns could even be used directly. If its wielder was powerful, they would be capable of displaying the unbridled power of Terrorblades!

In a nutshell, a Fractal Horn of Inner Abysm was just as valuable as a Divine Regalia. This was why Baiyi got excited when he identified the Abyss Lord. In history, Fractal Horns of Inner Abysm had appeared only three times. Reports of its sightings were always followed by bloodbaths. The horns would change hands so many times until they were lost.

Thus, Fractal Horns of Inner Abysm were extremely rare. Baiyi considered them more uncommon than the loli Mia cipher card in the Archmage's gatcha game. In their time, the Devil Walker and the Lich Walker had tried their best to acquire Fractal Horns of Inner Abysm, but they were never able to get their hands on even one. Now, however, this extremely rare treasure was right in front of Baiyi's eyes, so how could he not be excited? He felt as though Christmas had come early!

One question remained unanswered, though: Had this Terrorblade Abyss Lord grown its Fractal Horn of Inner Abysm?

Baiyi was sure it had. It could not call itself a true Terrorblade otherwise!

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

514 Now Thatapos;s A Hell of An Experience!

Just before the demons were wiped out, the Terrorblade Abyss Lord — the only demon Baiyi had eyes for — silently slipped back into the realm crack and fled.

As a high-level demon that had spent its life in the hostile environment that is the Abyss, the Terroblade was very intelligent, unlike the lesser demons it commanded. One look at the terrifying wall of black flames was all it took for the Abyss Lord to understand that it could not face Baiyi head-on, so it turned tail and fled.

However, the Abyss Lord's attempt at escape was futile. Its attempt to flee from Baiyi — who was not only learned in the Laws of Space, but had also succeeded in writing his own Spatial Law — through a realm crack was akin to an animal fleeing into a hunter's camp to escape the hunter. Unbeknownst to the Abyss Lord, Baiyi had long since sealed the channel that led to the Abyss. The realm crack now led to a small subdimension that Baiyi had created just to trap the Terrorblade. It was a witty bait-and-switch scheme.

The Abyss Lord had not taken the resourcefulness of its enemy into consideration. Thus, it had failed to notice that the crack it came out of earlier now led somewhere else entirely, so it had unwittingly dived right into Baiyi's trap.

Sound could not travel between realms, so one in a subdimension could not hear what was going on outside it. This time, however, the soldiers in Highland City could hear screams ringing out from the realm crack, as Baiyi played the Terrorblade to death. When the Terrorblade entered the subdimension, Baiyi sealed it and forcefully compressed the subdimension. The Terrorblade used every ability at its disposal to fight back, but it failed to stop the shrinking; a short while later, it was compressed into a meat patty.

If the Abyss Lord had chosen to fight Baiyi outside Highland City, it would have lived a few minutes longer and not died by forced compression!

When the Terrorblade died, Baiyi leisurely walked over to the realm crack and stuffed his hand into it. Moments later, he pulled out a pair of blood-stained horns.

"So, this is the legendary Fractal Horn of Inner Abysm, huh? This is my first time seeing it," Baiyi murmured, after which he wiped blood and guts off the horn.

Baiyi probed the horns with his psychic energy and discovered a large pool of Sinister Energy within them. The horns could already be used to battle, and in its raw state, it could grant an average person Immortal-level powers.

There was something mixed in with the energy — a very faint consciousness. That was a part of the Terrorblades spirit that was split off and hidden in the Fractal Horns. As long as this spirit remained, anyone that attempted to use the horn would be attacked at some point by the spirit, in an attempt to control them.

It was a clever ruse. Since it was difficult to detect the Terrorblade's spirit within the ocean of Sinister Energy in its horns, someone that knows little about demons could easily fall victim to it. This was the reason why only a few Fractal Horns of Inner Abysm were recorded in history. Whenever the horns appeared, slaughter would follow, partly because the wielders, who had failed to detect something wrong with the horns, got possessed by the Terrorblade's well-hidden spirit. The possessed wielders were often led to carry out massacres, and when the pile of bodies at their feet grew to much, the Church swooped in and destroy the wielders, the Sinister Energy, and the horns.

Hence, only the most cautious used Fractal Horns of Inner Abysm. If the horns fell into the wrong hands, only disasters would ensue, which even the wielder would not benefit from. Terrorblades combined their lingering spirit with the Sinister Energy in their hands, making any attempt at separation an arduous undertaking.

Those that lacked the skill to do that were better off forgoing the Fractal Horn of Inner Abysm altogether. However, not many could resist the allure of the horns' immense powers.

This time, however, the person in possession of the Fractal Horns of Inner Abysm knew demons like the back of his hand. With the knowledge in the Devil Walker's memories, Baiyi knew how cunning Terrorblades were and had a plan to counter it.

Baiyi's consciousness slowly entered the Fractal Horns, something anyone that recently acquired Fractal Horns of Inner Abysm would do.

"A fool and his lust for power." The spirit snickered before making its move. It made its way to Baiyi's consciousness and crept up his mind. At this point, if Baiyi's consciousness left any openings, the Terrorblade's spirit would quickly devour him. If his will was strong, the spirit would then opt to hide in the recesses of his mind, patiently bidding its time. Every time one uses a Fractal Horn of Inner Abysm, a small part of their soul would become corrupted, and if this goes on unnoticed, there would be nothing left of the user's spirit after a while; that would be the day the Terrorblade gets reborn!

Little did the Terrorblade know that its foe was leagues ahead of it. After much effort, the demon managed to enter the man's soul, after which it began to expand, without any opposition. Sometime later, before the Terrorblade could celebrate, it realized that it had only managed to occupy a tiny portion of the man's soul.

The demon was not discouraged. This space was enough to hide in for the time being; if the man got careless at any point in time, it would strike instantly and corrupt him.

The spirit had just finished hatching its plan when it noticed something unusual. it was being pulled away from the Fractal Horns by an unseen force. The spirit was quickly losing its connection with the Sinister Energy in the horns!

"Unbelievable. You fell for the same sort of trap twice. How did you even become an Abyss Lord with such a low IQ?" A deep voice suddenly resounded around the demon's spirit.

"What — Where am I?" The Terrorblade's spirit cried out in terror.

Baiyi was not interested in providing the midget an answer. He then used his entire consciousness to crush the Terrorblade's spirit. For a second, the Terrorblade felt like a cricket under a plummeting mountain.

A long, ear-splitting shriek rang out in Baiyi's spirit. A few seconds later, all became quiet; the Terrorblade was no more.

In its place was an empty, undamaged soul container, which previously the Terrorblade's spirit. When the Terrroblade's spirit crept into Baiyi's mind, the soul container came with it, and now that the spirit was no more, the soul container was left empty. It was akin to a hard disk drive that had just been reformatted.

What Baiyi had done was a new technique invented by the Lich Walker during one of the Voidwalker's brainstorming session, which occurred when Baiyi obtained the Northern martial savant's soul many years ago. While a soul was in a physical body, attempts to forcefully expel it would completely damage the soul container. That was no different from smashing a glass jar with a sledgehammer — only a floor littered with glass shards would remain. Restoring the jar to its previous state would be impossible, as well.

However, if one first cocooned the glass jar with clay before applying force to it, the glass would shatter, but the jar would retain its shape.

The Lich Walker came up with this method a short while after Pseudo-descending through a fragment of Baiyi's consciousness. Moments after the pseudo-descending, the Lich Walker had noticed the abnormal strength of Baiyi's soul. If an average individual attempted to share their soul, they would leave themselves open to spiritual corruption or mental instability. However, Baiyi, who had shared his soul numerous times, had never faced this problem before. Thus, he used his soul, like the aforementioned clay, to encase the Terrorblade's soul container, after which he forcefully crushed the spirit within.

The overwhelming strength that Baiyi's soul possessed would not come as a surprise to anyone. After all, it was this soul that bent a part of the Void, in which it created a haven for other banished souls. Only Baiyi could attempt such a feat without suffering any backlashes.

"Gotta' hand it to you, Lich; you're pretty creative. Initially, I dismissed this technique, calling it something crazy. How was I to believe that there existed any idiot that would want to merge their souls with mine? Welp! Who would have thought that it would actually happen?" Baiyi muttered as he examined the empty soul container in his consciousness.

A few minutes ago, Baiyi had thought that the Fractal Horns of Inner Abysm would be his only reward for slaying the Terrorblade. Who would have expected the Abyss Lord to be this generous? Not only did it gift him a large pool of Sinister Energy, but it had also given him a decent soul container, as well. Although the strength and volume of the Terrorblade's soul container paled in comparison to the Northern Warrior's soul container, it was still a good harvest. Baiyi decided to use it immediately he returned to the future. The soul container could be used to by other Voidwalkers to Pseudo-descend, or it could be used to strengthen the powers of the Voidwalkers that had already Pseudo-descended.

"Hey, since you're this generous, could you have left more behind for me?" Baiyi chuckled as he stuck his hand into the realm crack once more. The realm crack led to the subdimension that Baiyi had compressed greatly, and there was only enough space inside it for an adult's hand to briefly moved around.

Baiyi used his hand to sift through the mass of demon flesh and blood. It almost seemed as though he enjoyed it even though it was really disgusting.

The soldiers and sorcerers, who were still atop the city wall, watched Baiyi confusion. They had yet to come to terms with the fact that a sorcerer had wiped out a horde of demons with just one spell. They began to wonder if the sorcerer was actually their Emperor, His Majesty. To them, it was a shame that the Abyss Lord was able to slip back into the realm crack before the sorcerer could take action against it. If they had managed to slay the Abyss Lord, their victory would have been more historic!

Watching the sorcerer stick his hand into the realm crack, time after time, the spectating army thought he was upset that the Abyss Lord had managed to escape. It was as though he was trying to feel the Abyss Lord out, after which he would pull it back out. A few sorcerers began to wonder if they should just ask the lone sorcerer to stop; after all, sticking one's hand into a crack that a horde of demons had just come out of was dangerous.

After thinking about this for a while, the sorcerers decided to be quiet. Having witnessed the power that the stranger wielded, none of them were bold enough to advise him.

Some moments later, they watched the stranger pull his hand back out. What they did not see, however, was the small, slimy eyeball in his grip.

"That's it? Just the Eye of Skadi? After all that, you only left a little icy eyeball?! Some high-level boss you were! Piss off," Baiyi grumbled under his breath.

The eyeball in question could only be obtained from an ice demon called 'Skadi' — another rare species of demons, mutated from average Eye Demons. The eye was filled with ice power, and it could be used to add ice element to one's attacks. It was a very useful tool for magic.

Although the eye was useless to Baiyi, it could still help Mia a lot; after all, her favorite elements were ice and water.

"I guess the verdict is out: I reaped some really good rewards this time, huh?" Baiyi nodded in satisfaction. "After staying in the past for so long, I finally get something good out of it. Now, this is the kind of experience a time-traveler should be entitled to!"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

515 A Simple And Direct Reques

On that night, two legends were born in Highland City.

The first legend centered around a lone sorcerer that called himself a prophet. When Highland City was under intense attack by demons, the prophet rose to the occasion and annihilated the demons without breaking a sweat. His effort ended up saving the city from what should have been certain doom.

The second legend was about a mysterious beauty, who the people of Highland called "Purple Fae". She was seen waltzing down the blood-soaked streets with an ethereal gait, saving many lives and tending to the injured.

Mia, who was unaware of the new name, returned to the guesthouse at dusk. She and Lulu were so exhausted, they almost had to drag themselves inside the house. After making sure that Lulu was comfortably tucked in, Mia staggered to her room.

When she opened the door, she found Baiyi inside waiting for her.

Mia forced a smile before falling into Baiyi's open arms. "D-daddy? Little Mia is… tired…"

Before Baiyi could reply, he heard Mia's gentle snores. She had fallen asleep.

Baiyi ruffled Mia's hair gently before carrying her to bed. He took her heels and black socks off first, followed by the tiara and other accessories. Baiyi got a warm towel to wipe Mia's face with, and when he was done, he tucked her in.

"Good night, Mia," Bia whispered.

Afterward, he left the guesthouse for a stroll. As Baiyi walked down the street, he listened in on the rumors that passersby were spreading amongst themselves. Through them, he learned what Mia had been doing all day. After slaying the demons in the city with her gigantic plushie, Mia stayed behind to take care of the injured and upset, and she also had time to put out many fires that had broken out in the city during the invasion.

Purple Fae — the name people of Highland City called Mia — had devoted her time towards helping the victims of the attack. She stopped only when exhaustion overcame her, and by then, dusk had arrived.

This did not surprise Baiyi. Mia, true to her nature, always devoted herself to the service of others. Baiyi was surprised by Lulu, though. He had expected her, an average village girl, to suffer a nervous breakdown after the attack. Even if Lulu took the situation well, she would have spent the night in tears, too weak to be of any help. Contrary to his expectations, however, the brave Lulu had helped Mia with the relief effort.

Baiyi silently commended the Archmage's eye for ladies. Lulu, the First Walker's future spouse, did not behave like most beautiful ladies.

Baiyi wanted nothing to disturb Mia while she slept, so he had refused Dante's request to visit.

Dante the hound had been busy. After dealing with the aftermath of the battle, he was tasked with restoring order to the city. Dante wanted to pay Baiyi a visit to express his gratitude, but Baiyi did not want to see anyone at that time.

The next afternoon, Commander Lorenz, Chiliarch Finn, Dante the hound, and the rest of the Sorcerers' Corp paid the guesthouse a visit. Although Baiyi was embarrassed and a little unwilling, he agreed to meet them in the conference room on the first floor.

The meeting was an awkward one. None of the representatives of Highland City could forget the scene of Baiyi wiping millions of demons by himself. Despite the training they had received on conversing with high-level individuals, the representatives of Highland City were uncharacteristically prudent before Baiyi. They could not wipe the expressions of fear and reverence on their faces. This was the reaction Baiyi had been aiming for.

Baiyi chose not to speak freely with the representatives; after all, to them, he was still the mysterious 'prophet', so he had to maintain an air of mystery about him. This, in turn, made the representatives more queasy, and the conversation could not get past compliments and platitudes.

When the atmosphere grew solemn enough for Baiyi, he said, "Bring me to His Majesty. I can answer the question closest to his heart."

Baiyi calmly raised a finger and drew a square in the air.

The representatives did not seem to understand what Baiyi meant, but Lorenz's expression instantly changed.

After Baiyi had said that, he stood up and left the room. The representatives — who were preparing a celebratory dinner and planned to invite Baiyi for private discussions later on — were embarrassed. Baiyi did not care about this, though. He was more interested in spending the time staring at his daughter's cute sleeping face.

The representatives were elites in Highland City, but they dared not utter a word after Baiyi gave them the cold shoulder. They were scared of crossing him. Hence, they had no choice but to leave the guesthouse earlier than they had planned, feeling defeated. They chose to go somewhere far away from there to continue their discussion.

"The prophet really is a mysterious man, and he is very powerful. The aura he radiated literally left me choking..."

"I felt the pressure too, but for some reason, I did not find the man to be a bad person; if it makes any sense, I found him to be agreeable."

"Yeah, you're onto something. He has to be really nice to so quickly assent to Centurion Dante's plea for help. I expect people as powerful as the prophet to be extremely arrogant, but the man is nothing like that, at all."

"Speaking of which, why did you think he calls himself a prophet'? His power is the real deal, so why would he demean himself so by resorting to a title used mostly by those that con villagers?"

The sorcerers discussed amongst themselves calmly, whilst Lorenz and Finn had solemn expressions on their faces.

The prophet's request had left them stunned. Although Commander Lorenz had the authority to bring the prophet to see the Emperor, now was not the right time. After all, they knew nothing about this prophet, especially his identity and intention.

As the high-ranked commander of Highland City's army base, Lorenz was privy to some of the Empire's most important secrets. He knew that the Emperor currently had a problem with the Book of Servitude. This left even Lorenz, a veteran commander, rattled. If the public got wind of this information, they would descend into panic. Thus, the matter was marked top-secret, and no news of it was leaked.

However, the prophet knew about it. That must have been what he meant when he drew a square — to signify a book — in the air earlier! Thus, the prophet was actually a genuine seer, or the matter with the Book of Servitude was somehow related to him!

Had the prophet not been more powerful than every military personnel on Highland City's payroll, Lorenz would have ordered his arrest there and then.

"Is his request unreasonable?" Finn asked in a low voice. He was not privy to as many secrets as Lorenz was, so while he knew that the Emperor had a problem, he did not know what that problem was.

"You may already know that His Majesty has been concerned about a certain matter as of late. You should also know that hostile forces seek to use this opportunity to harm His Majesty. The number of strangers with unidentifiable backgrounds in the Imperial Capital has increased greatly," Lorenz explained. "Hence, I'm not comfortable bringing such a dangerous man to see our Emperor, but at the same time, I do not dare reject his offer and risk crossing him."

One of Lorenz's attendants hurried over and announced, "Sir, the captain of the Praetorian Sorcerers has arrived."

Lorenz's expression brightened. He could finally pass the burden onto someone else!

Captain Aegis had met Baiyi before, during his inspection of Aegir. Lorenz quickly returned to the barracks and met Captain Aegis, after which he narrated everything that had happened.

In the evening, Captain Aegis paid Baiyi a visit. Mia was awake and was chatting with Lulu in her room. As Baiyi was not interested in eavesdropping on their conversation, he decided to see the captain, inviting the man up to his room.

Aegis was the progenitor of Baiyi's 'eldest daughter', so Baiyi's impression of him was good. The warm welcome that Baiyi gave Aegis made it obvious.

Before Aegis came over, Lorenz had warned him of the power that Baiyi possessed. He had shared his suspicions with Aegis and even offered to accompany him, but Aegis had declined.

"I did not expect us to meet again so soon." Aegis smiled, albeit in an accusatory manner. "I also did not expect you to possess powers so great, even the Empire's army is spooked. I really do wonder how this managed to elude me the first time I met you."

"I have no intention to meddle in worldly affairs, Captain, but a terrible future has been revealed to me. It must be averted," Baiyi replied, feigning an air of mystery. Without offering any explanation, he said, "Please, bring me to His Majesty."

"I will inform His Majesty of everything that has happened, but the meeting is something His Majesty must decide," Aegis replied with a grave expression. He gave Baiyi a once-over and said, "I will be frank; I intend to persuade His Majesty to decline your request. A powerful threat like you should not be allowed into the Imperial Capital."

"Believe me," Baiyi said, feigning solemnity, "I'm the only person in this universe that will not harm him."

Captain Aegis did not reply; he left without a word. He did not bother to ask Baiyi about his background. Captain Aegis was not wrong; at the end of the day, only the Emperor could decide whether or not the meeting would hold.

Captain Aegis hurried back to the capital and met the Emperor. The Emperor, who was seated in his study, did not say a word as Captain Aegis read out his report.

"Bring him in," the Emperor said instantly.

"Your Majesty, please reconsider. This man may be responsible for the massacre in the woods," Captain Aegis quickly replied, visibly concerned. "According to the report I received from Highland City's army, this man's power is seemingly limitless. He is dangerous."

"I'm well aware of that," the Emperor replied calmly. "Only someone like that can be interested in the Book of Servitude, so I wish to see him personally. This is an enemy I must face alone."

Aegis sighed. He knew that he could not change the Emperor's mind. He could only hope that the prophet was genuine.

He really wished that the prophet was not responsible for the Emperor's problem or the massacre that had occurred in the woods. ED/N: Because that's not creepy at all.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

516 Farewell

While Baiyi and Captain Aegis conversed, Mia and Lulu were having a less awkward discussion in Lulu's room. Lulu's parents were still at the barracks treating the injured, so the girls were able to enjoy some privacy.

Lulu gave Mia a complicated look. Her eyes contained traces of shock, wonder, jealousy, and a sliver of resentment. Mia understood the sentiment behind that gaze, so she knew that she had to pin the blame on someone else.

"Okay; that was totally my Dad's idea. He forbade from telling anyone that I am a sorcerer," Mia said.

"So... a little village girl was able to befriend Little Miss Sorcerer, huh?" Lulu mumbled, looking a bit self-conscious.

Mia quickly hugged Lulu. "You'll always be my friend; no matter what," She whispered in Lulu's ears. "I'm afraid I can't stay here any longer. But, if you still cherish me as a friend, then, please…accept this."

Mia pulled out a kitty plush doll and placed it on her friend's hand. Lulu raised the doll up and noticed how worn out it looked. Its material and craftmanship were average, unlike the hammerhead shark plushie. The plush doll did not have fluffy back or snow-white underbelly. It was a textbook example of a hand-me-down toy.

"I, um, made this myself," Mia murmured.

The kitty plush doll was once Mia's famous kitty cat purse. When her finances improved, in that she had more coins than the purse could handle, the kitty cat purse became obsolete. Mia did not have the heart to throw it away, so she asked Attie and her other sisters to make it a stuffed toy, which she could carry around with her wherever she went.

The hammerhead shark plushie was a weapon of mass destruction being used as a toy by a little girl, but the kitty plush doll was just an average toy. It had not been enchanted, neither did it contain any hidden spells. It was just an oddly cute, hand-me-down toy. However, Mia had cherished it all the same, as it reminded her of her childhood.

Lulu was moved by the gesture, though. Mia's words showed how much the plush doll meant to her. With her cheeks stained red, Lulu asked, "Will we see each other again?"

"If we keep our hopes up, I'm sure we will," Mia answered vaguely. She leaned in and gently nudged Lulu's cheeks with hers.

The moment was cut short when Baiyi called out to Mia from the other room. Mia flashed Lulu a smile before leaving the room.

Mia was reluctant to part ways with Lulu, but when Baiyi informed her of his plans earlier — in which he stated that they would go to the Imperial Capital to meet the Emperor — Mia had a nagging feeling that she would not see Lulu again.

There was also the fact that Mia was a sorcerer — the noblest social class in the Rohlserlian Empire — whilst Lulu was just a village girl, albeit one that would become the imperial consort in the future. The gap in their social standings was just too wide. Furthermore, Baiyi did not approve of the close relationship that Mia shared with the Emperor's future bride; allowing the girls to be close friends was already bordering on his limit.

When Baiyi saw the sad expression on Mia's face, he tried to console her. "We are just guests in this era, Mia."

"I know, I know." Mia sighed. Unwilling to give up completely, Mia said, "But, you said that Lulu would one day become Royal Gramps' wife, which is why—"

"Which is why I don't want the two of you getting too cozy often," Baiyi replied, shaking his head helplessly. A moment later, he said, "She will not become his wife now. A very long time from now, her parents will rise to prominence, becoming the Empire's best apothecaries; only then will she meet your Royal Gramps for the first time."

"Oh." Mia was emotional. By then, she would have long since returned to the future, so she would not get to witness what was sure to be a comical and awkward moment. This was a bleak confirmation that she would not see Lulu again.

"Alright. Get your head straight and start packing. You may want to dress up a little," Baiyi said. "After all, we'll be meeting your Royal Gramps very soon."

Earlier, Baiyi indirectly implied that he had information about the Book Servitude. He did this because he knew that it was a surefire way to make the Emperor meet him as soon as possible. If Baiyi had continued to pretend to be a prophet, even if he kept making genuine prophecies, he would not meet the Emperor for a long time. After all, as the ruler of a large empire, the Emperor was always busy; he just did not have the time to meet with random people.

After his purposeful reveal, Baiyi expected a prompt response from the Emperor. He knew that the Archmage was naturally overconfident, so, despite knowing the danger it posed, the Emperor would still choose to meet with the prophet immediately.

Once Baiyi meets the Emperor, he would have to use techniques stolen from the Charlatan Walker, the Void's best conman, to gain the ruler's trust. Afterward, his plan should go smoothly, he hoped.

Baiyi was wary of lying to the shrewd Archmage. The old man always seemed baffled by the pranks that the girls — Mia, Attie, and the others — pulled on him, but that was just a farce to humor them. The old man was shrewd, and now Baiyi wished to fool the First Walker at the prime of his life. The chances of failure could not be any higher.

'This is the first real challenge that the Charlatan Walker's tricks will face,' Baiyi thought.

In the evening, Captain Aegis arrived at the guest house. He came alone, and this time, he did not have his armor on. Instead, he was dressed in a good looking suit. It was almost as though he had just become the Emperor's emissary.

'How many balls does this guy have? Is he that confident that I'm not a sadistic killer that wants to rip him apart?' Baiyi was bewildered to see Aegis's calm demeanor. For the Emperor to summon Baiyi on the same day that Aegis that came by to visit, that meant he considered Baiyi a subject in need of urgent investigation. If that was the case, why then did he urder Captain Aegis to lower his guard? Or did Aegis, who did not seem to fear death, choose to do this himself?

As though he had read Baiyi's mind, Aegis said, "His Majesty believes that a powerhouse like yourself, who is bold enough to request an audience with the Emperor, would not sully their hands with an insignificant underling like myself."

'Wow, Old Geezer. You're quite bold to bet on that assumption.' Baiyi snorted before calling Mia over.

Mia arrived wearing a long Rohlserlian robe adorned with an ensemble of dazzling jewelry and accessories. She could pass for a noble lady. Aegis was stunned, and a moment later, he joked, "Your daughter looks like a princess."

'That's because she is,' Baiyi thought. He waved Mia over, and she came to stand beside him and lock her arm around his, after which they both strode out of the guesthouse.

Parked right outside the guesthouse was a carriage without a horse. A squad of Praetorian Sorcerers stood stiffly beside the carriage like honor guards. These sorcerers were out of place, and their presence caught the attention of the people on the street. A crowd quickly formed, whispering amongst each other in excitement.

The Archmage had always been devoted to the highfalutin, and today was no exception. He managed to make the transportation of a suspected criminal a grandiose occassion.

To much surprise, Dante the hound was present, as well, having been summoned by the Emperor. The inexperienced centurion looked very nervous. He did not dare breathe out loud and did his best to calm his nerves.

"His performance last night was outstanding; it was him that got your help to end the demon invasion. Hence, His Majesty wishes to meet him too," Aegis explained.

'Or, he just thinks he's one of my partners,' Baiyi thought.

Baiyi maintained an air of mystery as he entered the carriage. Dante quickly got into the carriage and sat in front of Baiyi, his head hung low. Although no one knew what the poor centurion was thinking, his anxiety was almost contagious. He did not even raise his head to look at the dazzling Mia, who was sitting beside Baiyi.

The carriage did not move even after its intended passengers had boarded. The Praetorian Sorcerers all walked a few feet away from the carriage and began to cast a wide-area teleportation spell.

This was the origin of the ever-ubiquitous transporter portals, which the Sorcerers' Association built in modern-day Isythre. While sorcerers in the future use many resources and strategic arrangements to remove the need for people to cast a teleportation spell, the sorcerers in Ancient Rohlserl did not have access to such materials and resources. Such a means of transportation was not as convenient as aeroplanes or highspeed trains. Furthermore, setting up the wide-area teleportation spell was bordersome. Only the Emperor, who had his own stock of scarce resources, could set up primitive teleportation portals for himself. Everyone else had to take the bordersome route of gathering sorcerers to form a human magic circle.

Using a group of sorcerers to cast a wide-area teleportation spell was how Captain Aegis had gotten to Highland City the instant he head about the invasion. Although the sorcerers around the carriage were having to go through much trouble, their movement made for a spectacle for the bystanders, who were watching in excitement.

Lulu was also watching whilst holding tightly onto the kitty plush doll. She stood beside her bedroom window, watching her best friend leave via a method that was beyond the comprehension of a village girl like herself. She was very sad.

Mia, on the other hand, was excited to meet the younger version of her Royal Gramps. She secretly nursed the thought of telling the Emperor who they really were, directly disobeying Baiyi's order. To her, it was better than pretense and lies.

Mia had never been a good liar. The very act unnerved her, and she was terrible at it. Mia was sure that her ineptitude at lying would only cause trouble.

She would not dare disobey Baiyi, though. Thus, throughout the journey, Mia was torn between the choice floating around in her head.

After the teleportation, two sorcerers on horseback arrived. They harnessed their horses to the carriage, and the horses trotted towards the palace. The Imperial Palace of this time paled in comparison to the modern palace in Baiyi's time.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

517 Meeting Someone A Thousand Years In The Pas

After a few ceremonial greetings, Baiyi, Mia, and Dante the hound entered the palace.

The interior of the palace was magnificent. The walls and beams were lined with many shades of gold. However, if one was to pay close attention, they would notice that the interior's resplendence was superficial. There were no beautiful paintings, antiques, or flowers to be seen. Instead, what Baiyi saw was a badly-arranged line of aged suits of armor, stone lances, axes, animal hides, and other unimpressive accessories. This gold-painted hall made these furnishings look very out of place; it was a funny sight.

Whilst there was no doubt that the owner of the place had a poor taste in design, the out-of-place furnishing were war trophies taken by the Emperor from his many conquests. The unsightly stone ax, for example, had belonged to a famous warrior from a powerful tribe, which was once a neighbor of the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire. Rumors had it that the warrior had used the stone ax to cut down everyone and everything in his way, including Dragons.

The reason for having these weapons hung on the walls close to the entrance was clear: when envoys of other nations visit the palace — for diplomatic missions or to issue challenges — they would surely see the weapons, which should remind them why they should fear and respect the Rohlserlian Empire.

Mia turned around as she took in the interior of the palace. A frown slowly formed on her face, after which she glanced at Baiyi, as she began to understand where Baiyi got his awful taste in aesthetics from. Would she, one day, inherit the awful taste from her master? This made Mia worried.

At the end of the hall, the trio was stopped by a group of sorcerers and handmaidens, who were standing in their way. It was a standard procedure for visitors to hand over their weapons and personal belongings before meeting the Emperor.

Dante trembled a little when he was stopped. The pitiful centurion shakily dipped his hands into his pockets and fished a few gold coins and three low-ranked service badges.

Dante was about to hand over the badges when Baiyi muttered under his breath, "They are supposed to be on your uniform."

Dante's eyes widened, and he quickly took the badges back from the tray. Then, he smiled at Baiyi in gratitude.

When it was time for Mia and Baiyi to hand over their possessions, they began to pull out numerous storage pouches from within their garments and placed them on the handmaidens' trays. The others could only watch on in astonishment.

Storage pouches had already been invented in this era, but they were a luxury that commoners would not possess in their lifetimes. Not even the sorcerers of this era owned them. Only the wealthiest owned them. No one used these pouches as storage tools, though; those that owned it considered it a collector's item to show off their status.

Extremely rare items like storage pouches did not need to taken away before their owners could meet the Emperor, but, like people that became billionaires overnight, Baiyi and Mia continued to take out storage pouch after storage pouch. By the time they were done, both trays had small mounds of storage pouches on them.

The no-nonsense expressions on the faces of the sorcerers and handmaidens had long since been replaced by shock. Dante's jaw had dropped in surprise. He knew that only very important people like the Chiliarch and the Commander owned these fancy pouches. A humble centurion like himself could never afford an item that luxurious. However, these mysterious individuals had brought out multiple pouches, which they carried too casually!

As though ignorant of the reactions that his actions had caused, Baiyi turned to Mia and said, "Can you separate yours and mine later?"

"Piece of cake," Mia replied with a smile. "Mine smell good, and yours, Daddy, just stinks."

'Why, you little brat —' Baiyi was just to dole out some discipline when Mia stuck out her pink, little tongue at him. "Our pouches aren't that different from each other. They all contain almost the same things anyway."

Baiyi thought for a while before nodding. 'Hmm. Your daughter has a point.'

Mia's words roused the crowd's curiosity, though. One of the handmaidens was unable to contain herself any longer and asked, "Can you show us what's inside?"

"Sure, why not?" Baiyi said.

He took a pouch out from the pile and pulled open its strings. The eyes of the spectators widened as they stared at the pouch with bated breaths. Just how wealthy was this mysterious man and his beautiful daughter, both of whom had actually stored items in invaluable items like storage pouches? They were eager to find out!

Baiyi opened the pouch and pulled out an array of items — blankets, comforters, a frying pan, cooking woks, ladles, etc. At that point, it had become clear that storage pouches were common objects to these two. The only item that was out of place was a pair of white underwear with a teddy bear print.

When the underwear was pulled out, the hall became silent. Mia glared at Baiyi, a trace of suspicion visible in her fiery eyes.

"Uh hem! It appears this has been misplaced," Baiyi coughed. He quickly pulled out another storage pouch from the pile and stuffed the underwear into it. Baiyi turned to the curious handmaiden and said, "That is all we have. Any more questions?"

"N-none, whatsoever," the handmaiden quickly replied in a stiff manner. What kind of idiots would store common objects into storage pouches — items owned only by those at the very top? What was a pair of underwear doing inside the pouch? Could it belong to the armored man before her? How come such an item was stored inside a luxurious storage pouch?!

The handmaiden was not the only one nursing many thoughts.

After that little incident, the three were let into the main hall, where they had to undergo more security checks. Afterward, a valet led them into the throne room.

The throne was the first thing anyone that entered the room would see, and on it sat a man in his forties, whose The first thing that came into view was the throne, and on it, a man in his forties, who exuded an aura of pride. Despite his many troubles, the man was quiet, and his expression was one of solemnity. His face was perfectly chiseled; one may wonder if it had been sculpted with a knife. The man was holding a scepter — the royal scepter.

This was Mia's first time seeing Royal Gramps, who was now middle-aged, in the flesh, and she could not hold by a wave of surprise. From what she had read in history books and learned from Royal Gramps himself, when the First Walker was still an Emperor, his face was the perfect blend of brooding gentleness and imposing arrogance. However, the man in front of her was middle-aged, with a face similar to a four-sided polygon. Mia definitely did not find him hot.

'This is the moment your dreams crumble,' Baiyi snickered in his mind when he saw Mia's reaction.

Baiyi took a step forward, intent on standing before the Emperor. However, before he could take another step, he stopped. Baiyi could feel strong pulses of energy emanating from the magical complex within the throne room.

In the Archmage's memories, Baiyi had learned that the throne room's hidden complex contained an assortment of magic. When activated, the target would be struck with Silence, Enfeeble, Bound, and other locking magic spells, after which they would be bombarded with some built-in offensive spells. Furthermore, the magic complex could be used for emergency teleportation and other contingency functions. It could also be used to erect a soundproof barrier, which will prevent the words of those within it from being heard by those outside it.

If Baiyi did not use Void Energy, he could not hope to overpower the Emperor in this complex, even though the ruler could no longer use the Book of Servitude.

This was the reason for the Emperor's confidence, and why he did not mind summoning them to the throne room. Here, he had the protection of the Fort of Rohlserl, whose construction he had personally overseen.

As the Archmage's protégé, who had inherited all his knowledge, Baiyi knew the structure of this magical complex like the back of his hand. In fact, the defensive barriers at Da Xue were based on the Fort of Rohlserl, albeit with minor simplifications. Even the Massive Empire Complex that the Empire built before its downfall was just an enlarged version of the magic complex in the throne room.

Thus, Baiyi knew its weakness. Without saying a word, Baiyi walked towards a specific spot and looked up at the Emperor.

The Emperor's expression changed. Only he knew that the spot Baiyi had walked into was the complex's only weakness. If one was to attack the complex with magic while standing at that spot, it would begin to fail. If the attack was strong enough, the assailant could completely destroy the complex with a single strike!

That weakness was a secret that the Emperor guarded closely; he had never told anyone about it. Anyone that entered the throne room would not have expected the complex to have such a weakness. Even the sorcerers that helped him build the complex believed it to be flawless, yet this mysterious man saw through it in seconds!

Was it a coincidence, or had the Emperor truly underestimated him? Was the man so powerful that he needed only a glance to spot the weak spot?

Or was it providence? A feat only a true prophet could achieve by looking into the future to take a glimpse at the complex secrets.

The Emperor became confused. Although he looked unperturbed on the outside, his mind was in turmoil. Knowing that his trump card had been defeated, the Emperor resorted to exerting his dominance. With a bellow that shook the throne room, he ordered, "Kneel!"

Dante crashed to the ground, and Mia collapsed right after him. The guards and attendants hurriedly fell to their knees in terror. Baiyi raised an eyebrow, after which he reluctantly dropped to one knee.

The Fifth Walker did not need to hesitate. After all, the geezer had passed every legacy he owned to Baiyi. He was now the crown prince, so he was right to give a half-kneel. The Emperor before him felt so unfamiliar. Baiyi could not make out any similarities, other than looks, between the Emperor and the kind old man, who was both his master and surrogate father.

"Off with your helmet!" The Emperor bellowed.

Baiyi obeyed and removed his helmet, revealing his fake face.

Despite not being adept in illusion magic, the Emperor instantly saw through Baiyi's disguise. "You dare show me a mask of illusion?! What do you hide?!"

"I am beginning to think that this is beside the point," Baiyi replied calmly as he put his helmet back on. Without the Emperor's permission, he rose to his feet and said, "Your Majesty, the thing you truly care about simply isn't here."

"Is this a challenge?" The Emperor was so angry that he smiled and gripped his royal scepter even harder.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

518 Sent To The Dungeon

Baiyi completely understood that simple tricks would not fool the Emperor.

If he wanted to get the Emperor's full attention, he would need to do more — a flourish of audacity; a veiled threat; or perhaps a little manufactured conflict. When the Emperor's grip on the royal scepter tightened, Baiyi's heart lurched.

Baiyi was sure that, at the moment, the Book of Servitude was not responding to either of them. Nevertheless, he could not help flinch at the Emperor's sudden reaction.

The Emperor knew that he could not use the book right now. He had only tightened the grip on his scepter out of habit, yet he did nothing to correct himself. Although the Emperor could not cast Forbidden Spells at will right now, his posture was still a frightening bluff.

However, moments after the Emperor gripped his scepter harder, something untoward happened.

The ruler suddenly froze mid-movement. His stop was forceful, it was as though he had struck by a Bind spell. The color drained from his face, which became as white as a sheet. His eyes turned bloodshot, and the hand holding the scepter began to tremble violently.

The Emperor's expression turned unsightly, like that of a man possessed by a demon. He trembled so violently, it was as though he would burst at any second!

Baiyi was alarmed. He was frightened by the prospect of the Emperor blowing up. If the man really did blow up, what would happen after that? Would he blow up too?

The guards in the throne room took action immediately. They drew their weapons and surrounded the three. The atmosphere was tense, and the guards were moments away from attacking.

Just as it seemed a fight would break out, the convulsing man on the throne, whose eyes had rolled to the back of his head, began wrestling for control. A few moments later, he managed to raise his hand, and this made the guards stay their hands.

"N-n-no. D-don't." The Emperor managed to let a few words, albeit with a strained voice.

As the guards skidded to a halt, Baiyi's dispersed the Void Energy boiling within him. The atmosphere remained tense, and everyone was on edge; however, their attention soon turned back to the Emperor, whose wellbeing was now in question. The Emperor's trembling hand remained in the air, so no one said a word.

They had no choice but to watch the Emperor writhe uncontrollably. It was though everyone in the room was there to watch a man undergo excruciating torment. The Emperor continued to tremble for a few more minutes, after which the convulsion slowed to a stop.

When the trembling stop, the Emperor began to pant. His forehead was covered in beads as he hurried took in mouthfuls of air. After panting for a while, the Emperor slowly reached into his storage pouch and took out a small bottle, which he quickly uncorked.

After downing the strange potion in the bottle, color returned to the Emperor's face, and the air of a ruler began to emanate from him once more. Nevertheless, the Emperor to put to rest a nagging feeling in his heart that something was off about the man standing close to his throne, who had dared to slight him.

The Emperor waved his hand at the guards in the room. "Leave. I wish to talk to them in private."

The guards hesitated, unwilling to leave their emperor with these strange people, especially after they had watched his disturbing fit. Before either of them could protest, the Emperor frowned, so they quickly left.

The door was shut with a loud bang, and only three people remained standing before the throne.

The Emperor wiped the sweat off his forehead before activating the Sound Barrier function in the throne room's magical complex. Afterward, his gaze shifted to Baiyi.

A trace of disapproval flashed through the Emperor's fierce eyes. Without a word to Baiyi, the Emperor looked at Mia, who was dressed nicely for the occasion, and grinned. "Mia?! Come here!"

"Say what?!" Baiyi and Mia were both flabbergasted. They had only been here minutes — a very tense few minutes — and Mia had not had the chance to introduce herself. How then did the Emperor know her name? Moreover, what was the reason behind the weirdly gentle smile on his face? The way he looked at her was no different from the way an old man would look at his granddaughter. It was almost as though she was right in front of the Archmage that she knew!

Although Mia was a little unsure, she still walked towards the throne, despite Baiyi's obvious disapproval. "Um… Royal Gramps?"

"Mm-hmm!" The Emperor nodded with a smile. His mana enveloped Mia and caused her to float to the throne. The Emperor dropped her just beside the throne, after which he reached out and pinched her cheeks lovingly.

"You really are adorable," he said, chuckling. "Much more adorable than that traitorous and lousy excuse of a student over there."

"Okay, stop. What the hell just bloody happened?" Baiyi asked, forgoing propriety in his shock.

The Emperor glared at him and snorted. "Can't figure it out with that head of yours? Alas, did I really choose the wrong person to be my heir?"

'Holy s**t; did this guy's brain get fried during the fit he had earlier?' Baiyi wondered. Suddenly, a light bulb turned on in his mind, and he checked on the Book of Servitude and found it responsive once more.

Could he now use it? Baiyi summoned the book, and to his surprise, a big, black tome appeared in midair in front of him!

That was all the book seemed to do, though. No energy pulses emanated from it. If it were not floating in the air, it could pass off as an ordinary book. Although Baiyi had summoned it, he could no access its functions.

"Ha! That is because I'm still the Emperor right now. It's not your turn yet!" The Emperor said haughtily, and his royal scepter emitted a blinding gold aura. His Book of Service had also returned to normal.

Baiyi was quiet for a while, after which he said, "So… I take that, somehow, you knew everything that was going on."

"It told me everything." The Emperor raised his scepter. "I also learned about your accident and everything that happened after. I know that you call me 'old geezer' when my back is turned, and I know that you have been secretly plotting to reduce my allowance!"

"H-hey now! That's totally not what you think it is! Every time I give you money, you spend it on useless things, like that unhealthy card game you play with the students," Baiyi explained helplessly.

"Oh! You dare mention that incident with my cards?! You burned my precious cards into a crisp; I am still angry about that! Let's see if you enjoy burning my things now!" The Emperor waved his scepter, getting rid of the sound barrier. "Guards! Arrest this man, and throw him in the dungeon! Do not even give him any food!"

The guards, who had been itching for some action, barged into the throne room and seized Baiyi. As the Fifth Walker was dragged out of the room, he screamed, "Put me down! Put me down right now! You cannot treat your hero like this! I've contributed greatly to the Empire! I wanna see the Emperor! I wanna see —"

The door was slammed shut moments later. The Emperor looked at Mia and saw an expression of confusion on her face. "You don't get it, do you?"

Mia nodded.

The Emperor did not treat Mia as he had Baiyi. The man smiled kindly and transformed the royal scepter into a big, black book, after which he elucidated, "In every point in time, there will always be one Book of Servitude — just one. It is impossible for two to exist simultaneously, so when that traitorous student of mine brought his copy from the future, he created a paradox that rendered both our books inert. It was remedied today only because he and I finally met, which caused both copies of the Book of Servitude to merge into one.

"As a symbol of one's status as the emperor of the Rohlserlian Empire, the book records the life and passing of each and every emperor. When it became active once more, everything it has recorded so far was passed on to me, including the memories that my future self left behind. This is why I now hold knowledge of the future and know who you are.

"However, my knowledge of the distant future starts the moment Hope claimed the book. Beyond that, there is nothing else but the book's own content," said the Emperor, finishing his lengthy explanation. His explanation did shed light on how Baiyi had managed to know of all his trump cards.

Mia nodded slowly. Despite the lengthy explanation, Mia did not fully understand what was going on, as Baiyi had never discussed the Book of Servitude with her. Even when Baiyi had gone seeking for the book, he did take Mia with him.

However, she was not the only person in the dark about the Book of Servitude's functions. Even the future owner of the book, Baiyi, did not know that it could record memories.

"So, Royal Gramps. Um, who exactly are you now?" Mia asked.

"I am me. Be it from the past or the future, I will always be me, your Royal Gramps. The only difference is that I have been given the knowledge of the future," the Emperor replied. "If I may borrow words of those novels your Master loves to read, this is a case of 'memory convergence'. You could even consider this my rebirth. The future me has been given a chance to redo his past."

The entire situation still baffled Mia, but at the very least, she understood that her Royal Gramps had returned. That was all that she needed to know.

Mia looked up at the Emperor and softly said, "Please, Royal Gramps. If you now know about us and everything else, can you… be a little nicer to Mr. Hope? You must know how much he respects you—"

"You're pleading for his sake already? Hmph! So, I guess my doting on you was all for naught, then. Boo-hoo!" The Emperor snorted, feigning anger, and pinched Mia's cheeks. "Really, all I have done is giving him a quiet place to think things through. You know your Mr. Hope, don't you? If he uses his power, even I'll be in trouble! Really, there's nothing to worry about."

"But, you asked them not to give him food... Oh!" Having just realized that Soul Armatures did not need to eat or drink, Mia stopped. She stuck out her tongue in a cute manner to dispel her embarrassment.

The Emperor laughed out loud and held Mia's little hand. "Alright, come on. Grandpa wants to show you around his awesome palace."

With that, he took Mia on a tour of the palace.

Meanwhile, poor Baiyi sat gloomily on the floor of his dungeon cell, literally, and figuratively, in the dark. After replaying everything that had happened multiple times, he raised his head. "What the hell just happened?!"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

519 Why Do You Treat Me So Differently?

The next morning, Mia woke up holding Sharkie, alone in a huge bedroom that was overly-furnished. She sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes with her little hands before looking around the unfamiliar room.

It was a deluxe room fit for a princess; it had been personally arranged by the Emperor for his precious little granddaughter. The walls had been painted gold, closely matching the glow of the morning sun that shone through the open windows. Mia's bed was so soft, she felt as though she would sink into it. This bedroom was probably the best in the Rohlserlian Empire; not even the Emperor's bedroom could compare to it.

"Mm… So soft! Uh-oh. I don't wanna get up…" Mia murmured lazily, rolling around in the bed as she basked in its comfort. Although her bed at Da Xue was good, it was nothing compared to this one.

A maid quietly stepped out of a corner of the room. She had hidden for a while, only showing herself when she was sure that Mia had woken up.

"Are you awake, Your Highness?" The maid asked softly. "How would you like your dress today? I shall lay it out for you at once."

Mia jumped at the sudden emergence of the maid, after which she waved her hands frantically. "N-no! That won't be necessary! I mean, I'm fine."

Mia was too embarrassed to remain in bed any longer, so she hurried out of bed and began to look for the clothes she wore the night before.

The maid became nervous. "But, His Majesty insists," she pleaded. "If I don't do anything, he'll kick me out of the palace…"

When Mia heard this, she had no choice but to relent, watching nine more maids quickly entered the bedroom. Mia stood still, at the center of the room, as the maids fussed over her and the dress. As they worked on adjusting the dress, Mia smiled awkwardly. She remembered how jealous she had been of Vidomina, who had grown up a princess. Now that Mia was living that life, she found it a little less comfortable than she had fantasized.

When the maids finished, they parted to reveal a stunning Mia, who had transformed into a real imperial princess. The head maid informed Mia that the Emperor was already waiting for her, so Mia allowed herself to be led to the breakfast room.

When the door was pushed open, Mia saw the Emperor sitting at the table, reading a document. Standing beside him was Baiyi, who, apparently, had been released earlier.

When Mia was led into the breakfast room, the servants were dismissed, leaving only the three behind.

Baiyi was acting unusual today. Gone was his usual haughty demeanor. This time, his head was hung low, like a student in the principal's office awaiting his punishment.

Mia was shocked to see her Mr. Hope so submissive. It had always been her assuming that position and guilty expression. Mia had never expected to one day see Baiyi act like that!

What astonished her more was the exchange that began to take place when she arrived.

"So, do you get it now?" The Emperor asked without looking up from the document he was reading.

"Yes. I spent the entire night sifting through the Book of Servitude," Baiyi replied. "It appears that the memories from that old geez... from my Master in the future have merged with yours."

After Baiyi was locked in the dungeon, he summoned the Book of Servitude and went through it with a fine-tooth comb. When he discovered the memories hidden in the book, realization finally dawned on him. The Emperor of this time had become a combination of the geezer in the future and the young ruler of the past. Unfortunately for Baiyi, after the memory merge, the Emperor decided to retain his current intimidating personality, rather than the Archmage's kindly attitude.

The discovery was strange and revealing. Baiyi had used the Book of Servitude for more than ten years, and in that time, he had studied the book thoroughly, finding even its record function. However, he did not see the secret recording that the Archmage made about everything Baiyi had done and experienced thus far. Had the Emperor not received the pool of knowledge, Baiyi was sure that he would never have known about the Archmage's recording.

The First Walker had owned the Book of Servitude for several hundred years before it came into Baiyi's possession. It was only natural that one who had owned the book for several hundred years knew more about it than one that had owned it for only a little over ten years.

Everything Baiyi had done to avoid the butterfly effect — including his scheme to fool the Emperor with a false identity — had gone out the window. Baiyi had no idea what would happen from now onwards. He had no idea if the course of history had already been rewritten. With the colossal wave of uncertainty weighing down on him, it was only natural that he was dispirited.

The Emperor was upset to see Baiyi so downcast. When Mia entered the room, he waved her over, and as she walked towards him, he chided Baiyi, saying, "What is with that pathetic look on your face? Are you really that upset to see me?"

"What face? I don't even have a face," Baiyi replied. "Besides, I'm not upset because of you."

"Oh, please! I heard about this 'butterfly effect' from Mia yesterday. So, you're scared of a little storm now, huh? Even if the storm turns out to be a big one, so what? The Void fears nothing!"

The night before, the Emperor and Mia had dinner together after the tour. When the Emperor asked Mia why she and Baiyi had not come to see him since the accident, Mia told him about the butterfly effect.

Had this been the Archmage, who was older and wiser, that was told about the butterfly effect, he would have solemnly pondered about it, after which he would carefully plan their next move. However, the Emperor was much younger and had not been humbled by age. Thus, when informed about the butterfly effect, he had brushed off its implications.

"You should remember that this 'butterfly effect' is only an effect, not an actual principle of the universe. Heck, there's no concrete evidence to support its existence. Instead of treating it as a law, I think it's more accurate to call it a phenomenon observed only by your people on Earth. That's all there is to the silly concept. I can't believe you turned chicken because of this!" The Emperor ruthlessly chastised Baiyi whilst cutting lamb chops into bite-sized chunks for Mia. From the memories he had just gained, he knew that Mia loved lamb chops.

"Can you please not pamper her too much?" Baiyi, who could not eat, grumbled.

"Oh, so you also have a problem with me showing affection to my precious granddaughter, huh?" The Emperor snapped. Then, he turned to Mia and patted her head with a smile. Some moments later, the Emperor looked at Baiyi and scowled. "Do you now know why you were wrong?"

"I shouldn't have burned your cards. I shouldn't have planned to reduce your allowance. I should have come to meet you the moment we got here," Baiyi replied, visibly listless.

"You forgot the last thing you did wrong. It is perhaps the most important of them all," the Emperor said with a frown. "As the crown prince of Rohlserl, the future emperor, and the Emissary of the Void — how did you come to the conclusion that it was appropriate for someone of your status to stay in a miserable little town at the empire's border? Did you really think you would be able to crack the Law of Time by staying in a place like that? Or, did you think you could protect your people if you holed up in a small town? I swear: I'm glad that you didn't reveal your identity then, else I'd have had to hide in embarrassment!"

Although this was the Archmage's usual drivel, which Baiyi should be used to, the Fifth Walker still found himself at a loss of words.

The Emperor was not finished with Baiyi, though. "So, have you learned anything yet?"

"Yes! Yes. I have learned so much. I won't do it again," Baiyi hurriedly replied.

"Good. I would like you to remember your stay in the dungeon last night. You are a badass in the Void, aren't you? Muting or banishing anyone that crosses you, even if just a little bit. This comeuppance is long overdue!"

Baiyi did not reply.

"Fortunately, you did not forget your pride. You did what was expected of you by showing up in Highland City and saving your people. Naturally, you were greatly outperformed in every way by Little Mia," the Emperor said. Then, he stretched his hand to Baiyi. "Your harvest?"

Baiyi reluctantly took the Fractal Horn of Inner Abysm and the Eye of Skadi — both of which he had gotten from the Terrorblade Abyss Lord — out from his storage pouch.

The Emperor took the horn first and examined it with his psychic sense. He frowned and tossed it back to Baiyi, clearly disinterest in one of the rarest items in human history.

He took the slimy Eye of Skadi next, and his eyes instantly flashed with interest. This was something one should not bring to a dining table, but the Emperor had taken it out and was examining it carefully. A while later, he turned to Mia, who was sitting beside him.

"This, Little Mia, is an incredible and powerful material for ice magic. It's probably the most potent ice magic crystal to ever exist," the Emperor said. "Give me your Inheritance Staff. I'll find a way to incorporate this into it."

'You're kidding me. Do you think this girl needs another equipment upgrade? Have you seen how close to a real god her current equipment has made her? Anything more will no longer make a difference! Besides, she's clearly not a fighter; she just uses 'Kawaii no Jutsu' to solve everything, anyway! No matter how much you invest in her, she will never become the Empress of Rohlserl you want her to be!' Baiyi was alarmed. 'Do you honestly believe that the Crystal Maiden can defeat the faceless Void just because she got a Butterfly?'

The Emperor was not the easily-distracted Archmage that Baiyi was accustomed to, so he showed no interest in Baiyi's reference-filled rants.

No one could call the Emperor out for idolizing Mia. He was a hundred years old now; at that age, most people would already be enjoying peaceful lives with their families. However, the Emperor was alone in the palace, and in his bed. He would not meet the love of his life, a woman he would share a bed with, for another five years.

At the Emperor's age, most rulers would have already begun pondering who their successors would be. Thus after gaining the memories of his future self and meeting Mia, who was adorable and always docile, the Emperor could not help but dote on his precious granddaughter. Baiyi had a feeling that if Mia were to wish to become the Empress of Rohserl right now, the Emperor would agree in a heartbeat.

However, the Emperor treated his protégé, Baiyi, ruthlessly. However, Baiyi considered this treatment another example of grandfathers loving their grandkids more than their sons.

Baiyi remained silent all through breakfast. When the plates were cleared, the Emperor announced that he would take Mia out for shopping in the Imperial Capital.

Baiyi was just about to air his grievance when the Emperor made another announcement. "For all of the wrongdoing you have committed so far, I sentence you to hard labor in my office!"

"What the?!"

"That's right! Thanks to you besmirching my Book of Servitude, I have spent a long time in anxiety, unable to do any paperwork. Hence, there's a mountain of work in my office! So, to atone for your crimes, you will finish them for me," the Emperor ordered flatly. "You should be familiar with my work, right? I have already prepared everything; all you need do is get to my office right now."

Baiyi was stunned. "I'm actually allowed to help with this?"

"Thus far, all I've given you is a title and a position," the Emperor calmly replied. "But, now — although temporary — I am finally able to give you a country."Another reference to two of Dota 2's characters and a weapon (Butterfly). Apparently this is a real discussion topic among (Chinese?) gamers, but Baiyi was also equating Mia as the Crystal Maiden and himself as the Faceless Void.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

520 Tired Already?

The Emperor's words caused a surge of warmth to flow through Baiyi. Finally, his master had shown how much he cared about him. His master was even willing to let him become emperor for a while!

When Baiyi entered the Emperor's office, he trembled; there was a mountain of documents atop the Emperor's desk. A million thoughts raced through Baiyi's mind. 'The Emperor is not trying to use me, right? He cannot possibly be that black-hearted, can he? He cannot be that nasty, right? He cannot—'

"Sire, this is Lord Rugel, the royal clerk; he will lend you a hand with these documents," said the attendant that ushered Baiyi into the Emperor's office.

An old man with snow-white hair and a white beard stood beside the Emperor's table. He was so old and fragile that Baiyi wondered if he would pass on at any second.

Despite looking like he would kick the bucket at any second, the royal clerk smiled brightly when he saw Baiyi. His eyes swerved up and then down, examining Baiyi as though he was an item in a warehouse. The old man took two big gulps of air and said, "Not bad, not bad at all! Such unbridled power, glowing brilliantly like the sun! Why do you still wear your helmet indoors, young man?"

The old man's voice was so strained, anyone would fear that a long speech would be the end of him. Nevertheless, he managed to finish his long compliment.

Baiyi was surprised to see an old man in the Emperor's office. After sifting through the Archmage's memory in his head, Baiyi exclaimed, "Oh, so you are Rugel?"

"Your Highness knows of me? I'm quite honored." The old sage smiled.

To most, clerical work is a cheap and common job that anyone could do, but Rugel was no ordinary clerk; he had the honor of serving the Emperor. From the Archmage's memories and other accounts of history, Baiyi knew that the old man had been serving the throne since the Archmage was a kid. He was the Archmage's first tutor; the old man taught him how to read and write. Despite the large difference in their ages, the old man had outlived the Archmage.

Although there was no definitive account on his actual age, it was generally agreed by scholars that Rugel enjoyed an inhumanely long life surpassing the maximum years a Demigod-level human could possibly live. His eerie trait had thus subjected him to various historical conspiracies, with many attributing his longevity to the secret practice of dark magic, a Faustian contract, or even a ritual sacrifice of young boys and girls.

Only now when Baiyi observed the old sage in person that he finally glimpsed the truth — Rugel's long, pointy ears belied the fact that he was a fairy. It was normal for a fairy to outlive a human by centuries; how he managed to come to Isythre all the way from Mars should be the real mystery.

The reason behind the libelous claims against an old, benevolent fairy was once again tied to the infamous civil war spawned by Rohlserl the Twentieth's controversial emperorship. During the war, Rugel had decided to stand with Dante the Hound by contributing powerful connections and resources he had gathered throughout the reigns of two Rohlserlian emperors. Had it not been Rugel's backing, Dante's mutiny would not have been able to set the Empire on the course of downfall. On that note, it was inevitable that Rugel would suffer certain degrees of defamation in the history written by the victors.

"His Majesty had previously informed me of Your Highness and his arrangement, so I am in the know. Please, allow this humble old man to be useful," Rugel said. The Emperor had already made mention of Baiyi to old man Rugel.

Baiyi did not think that the Emperor told Rugel that he had come from the future. The Emperor probably only told Rugel that he had made Baiyi his successor.

Meritocracy was mentioned by many as the reason why the modern era venerated the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire. Back then, the heir to a throne did not have to share the same bloodline as the ruler, neither did they have to be from a noble house. When selecting heirs to the Rohlserlian throne, candidates' raw power, skills, and the willingness of the Book of Servitude to submit to them were factors that were considered. For example, the Emperor's great-grandfather was a man that had married into the imperial household. Meanwhile, Rohlserl the Twentieth, whose reign begun after the bloody civil war, was only Rohslerl the Nineteeth's very distant cousin.

Hence, it was not a surprise that the Emperor chose his student, who was not related to him by blood, to be his successor. This would have been impossible in modern-day feudal Isythre, but it certainly was permissible under Ancient Rohlserlian law. Rugel approved of Baiyi — the heir selected by the Emperor — as he could feel the immense power radiating from him. Although the Emperor was only a hundred years old, selecting an heir was a task best done early.

The Emperor had made his choice known to the few closest to him as a way to fix the very grave mistake he made in the past. The civil war that followed his disappearance had only occurred because he, Rohlserl the Nineteenth, did not choose an heir before he vanished, neither did he leave behind the Book of Servitude.

Baiyi did not see a point in this, though. His ability to rule the ancient civilization did not matter; after all, he was a man from the future. He had responsibilities there that made him unable to remain in the past for too long. Sooner or later, Baiyi would have to return to his own time, and this gesture made by the Emperor to fix the mistake of his future self would be for nothing.

The old man, who was devoted to his job as the tutor of the empire's emperors, was oblivious to the thoughts racing through Baiyi's head. In a fine display of professionalism, Rugle patiently explained every facet and concept of governance to Baiyi. As he explained, he pulled out documents from the pile on the Emperor's desk, with which he used to explain to Baiyi the challenges and solutions of governance.

Baiyi listened carefully but followed the instructions stiffly. He gave directives suggested by Rugel and, later on, summoned the Book of Servitude, which he used as an imperial seal to stamp whichever documents he was ready to send out.

It was a slow and ineffective grind. Morning made way to afternoon, yet the number of documents on the Emperor's desk did not look to have decreased.

However, Rugel was pleased. He nodded often and praised Baiyi, calling him a natural, who would, no doubt, become a whiz in governance one day. Rugel persistently asked Baiyi why he wore his helmet indoors.

'You'll suffer a cardiac arrest if I take it off, old man,' Baiyi grumbled in his head.

Late in the afternoon, Rugel asked Baiyi to take a lunch break. Baiyi declined the offer, saying that he had much more to learn. Hence, Rugel asked the servants to bring Baiyi's meal to the Emperor's office.

Rugel picked out the less-cluttered documents from the pile and carefully placed them onto the table. When he left, Baiyi skimmed through these documents and almost laughed.

In truth, Baiyi had no need to train. Although he had never ruled a country before, he had inherited memories and a wealth of knowledge in governance from the Archmage, the Thane Walker, and even the Devil Walker. Baiyi already possessed the knowledge and skills of an effective leader, so he considered Rugel's training unnecessary.

Baiyi seized Rugel's absence to quickly pour through all documents on the desk, after which he issued numerous commands. Strangely, the longer he worked, the more confused he was at the insignificance of the documents before him. None contained military plans that could affect people on a large scale. It was all so trifling.

After thinking about this for a while, Baiyi slapped his thigh hard. "Holy s***! I've been fooled by that geezer! He's just using me as a secretary while he goes shopping!"

In retrospect, this was not surprising. The Emperor had his reservation about leaving a successor in charge of everything; after all, although an emperor's commands were absolute, there were, and would always be, factions in his court wrestling for power. Politics was one of the trickiest challenges in government, and the Emperor wished to spare Baiyi these issues.

Nevertheless, work of that nature was not a common occurrence, so the Emperor used any time he had off work to relax.

"You damn well know that you're doing all this to get back at me for the past!" Baiyi growled. He remembered how he often delegated the bulk of the work to his daughters and other Voidwalkers, while he only concerned himself with the most crucial decisions. This had gotten in the way of the geezer and his card game, and now, the Emperor — the old geezer as a young adult — was out for revenge!

"Why is the younger you so vindictive?!" Baiyi mourned.

A different life had already begun for him.

Every morning, after Mia woke up, she would enjoy the service of her maids, have a scrumptious breakfast, and head out for an adventure.

Baiyi would be in the Emperor's office, pouring over a mountain of documents.

The Emperor would take Mia to balls and banquets hosted by aristocrats, where she would meet his subjects.

Baiyi would be in the Emperor's office, pouring over a mountain of documents.

Mia made some new friends, and these friends often took her out on many excursions and to tea parties. They were constantly impressed by her un-Rohlserlian fashion sense.

Baiyi would be in the Emperor's office, pouring over a mountain of documents.

Mia joined an academic symposium as a Legendary-level sorcerer. Using what Baiyi had taught her, she mesmerized the crowd and earned a thunderous standing ovation.

Baiyi would be in the Emperor's office, pouring over a mountain of documents.

Half a month passed. Mia was at a young noble woman's tea party. A while later, her expression suddenly turned sad. She gazed at the horizon, lost in her thoughts.

An acquaintance saw Mia's expression change and hurried over in concern. "Your Highness, what's the matter?" She asked.

This lady was a beauty from a family of powerful sorcerers. She was a prodigy in magic, but in front of Mia, she acted humbly.

The Emperor had not assigned a title to Mia. Whenever he introduced her to other nobles, he would pat her hair gently and simply say, "This is Mia."

That was all other nobles needed to know. They instantly guessed who Mia was to the Emperor and used an appropriate honorific to address her.

"It's nothing. I guess I'm just a little tired," Mia replied with a tired smile. She politely bade her friends farewell and returned to her room.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

521 Did You Target The Wrong Enemy?

When Mia returned to her room, her maids flocked around her. They had noticed how dejected Mia looked the moment she came in. "Your Highness, is everything alright? Shall we prepare anything?" The concerned maids asked.

"Uh, no. I just need some time alone, please," Mia replied, visibly exhausted as she waved the maids away.

Mia fell face first onto her bed and closed her eyes, enjoying its softness. Mia pulled Sharkie over and rested her head on its fluffy back. She remained in that position for a time, and sometimes, she would nudge the shark gently.

A while later, Mia turned over and kicked her heels off, leaving only her white silk socks on. She swung her legs, which at the edge of the bed, giving an ample view of that which she short skirt, at this moment, did not cover. Fortunately, no one was around to do anything about it.

For some time now, Mia had been living the dream — as a princess. She was given the best that money could buy. She was the center of attention at every ball, party, and gathering she attended. The people that flocked around Mia were brilliant and remarkable, yet they held great respect for her. In the past fortnight, Mia had been showered with more compliments than she had gotten in twenty years. She was provided with the best of materialistic and luxurious experience money could offer.

Contrary to Mia's expectation, however, she was less happy now. When the short period of happiness gained from her reunion with the Emperor faded away, Mia found herself her yearning for her real home. She missed her snug little chalet at Da Xue and her kind, close friends. Mia even missed Lulu, who she was really close to despite the short time that they had known each other for.

Her new friends were pleasant, but how many of them were nice to her not because they wanted to please the Emperor? Mia knew that these things were not as simple as they seemed. She truly had enjoyed her time with her new friends, but she could not shake the feeling that something was amiss.

Mia rolled and raised the plushie upward. She looked into its lifeless eyes and asked, "Sharkie, do you wonder if those we left behind are missing us? We've been gone for such a long time." [1]

Mia was rather emotional at that moment. It was so deep that she forgot Baiyi had told her that time in their own timeline had stopped.

"Maybe, I'm just not cut out to be a princess," Mia said, after which she sat up and put Sharkie aside.

Mia got up and began to undress. She took off her shoulder-baring blouse first, followed by her short skirt and her white silk socks. Then, she reached into her storage pouch and pulled out the water bucket-like robe, which Baiyi highly favored. Mia hated this robe, but today, she chose to wear it.

The heavy fabric of the robe completely covered her body, hiding her beautiful figure from view. The robe made her look plain and modest.

Mia walked up to the enormous mirror in the room and stared at her reflection. Some seconds later, she realized what was missing. She removed the accessories atop her hair, letting her black, waterfall-like hair cascade downward. Mia used the accessories to re-tie her hair into ponytails. Then, she attached to two blue ribbons atop her hair, making it seem as though she had a set of perked-up rabbit ears.

After taking off the luxurious robe that made her resembled a princess, she was plain old Mia again. Plain Mia was not exceptionally talented in anything, but she was loved, nonetheless, for her kindness, friendliness, and gentleness.

Some girls acted like princesses despite being commoners, but Mia did not do this, despite how much the Emperor cared for her. [2]

Mia was done dressing up, so she walked out of her room and met the Emperor in the hallway. They had not spent much time together lately, so Mia did not know what he had been up to.

When the Emperor noticed Mia's simple robe, he smiled. "Yep, definitely cuter this way."

"Hello, Royal Gramps," Mia greeted the Emperor the same way she greeted the Archmage when she was at Da Xue.

The Emperor smiled and ruffled her hair. "If you chose to wear something this simple, then you must be on your way to meet your master, right?"

Mia nodded.

"Great; I am going to see him, too," the Emperor said, chuckling. He locked arms with Mia, and they both went to his office.

When the pair walked into the office, they saw Baiyi hunched over the office desk, which was filled with documents — hard at work. The food an attendant brought earlier was untouched and already cold.

The Emperor took a piece of toast from the plate and took a large bite out of it. "How did you fool the servants into thinking that you had eaten these?"

Baiyi did not look up. "Like this," he said, snapping his fingers, and the food vanished. After re-reading the document before him, Baiyi placed the imperial seal on it.

He looked up at the Emperor and said, "Did you just wage a war on the Morserian Empire?" Without waiting for an answer, Baiyi continued, "No; I suppose 'war' is the wrong word. You launched a sneak attack on them, didn't you?"

Mia cried out in surprise. This was why she had not seen much of her Royal Gramps in the past few days! Whilst she had been living the life of a princess, the Emperor had spent half a month embroiled in a war.

"Excuse my pedantry, but that's was just against Mornseria. It's barely an empire," the Emperor calmly replied, correcting what he considered minor misinformation.

"Fine. Mornseria isn't an empire. But, you launched a sneak attack, just like that, without giving away anything. If I had not been paying attention and noticed the abnormal changes in the rations of our reserve soldiers, I would not have known that you launched an attack!"

"It's a surprise attack. Stealth is of importance," the Emperor replied dismissively, unconcerned about his infringement of another country's sovereignty. In fact, he seemed pleased with himself. "The lesser people know about this, the better."

The Emperor used his mana to pull a chair over and sat facing Baiyi, after which he tossed over a scroll.

When Baiyi unfurled the scroll, he realized it was a status report. Due to the sensitive nature of this attack, the preparations had been rushed. A two hundred-man squadron — the Emperor, several Praetorian Sorcerers, and the Sorcerers Corps — had carried out this attack. No soldiers had accompanied on this venture, so the squadron had lost half of its units in the attack.

A hundred-man loss was usually manageable, but in this case, it was a terrible loss. The lost units had been Rohlserlian sorcerers — the Empire's trump card. The loss of a hundred of them dealt a devastating blow to the Empire's military might.

Baiyi — who had already become the shadow ruler of the Empire — saw the loss from the Emperor's perspective and could not help wincing.

He was perplexed. What was the point of the surprise attack? Was it done to celebrate the return of the Book of Servitude, as the Emperor needed target practice? If that was the case, why did the Emperor pick a difficult enemy such as Mornseria? Was this glaring oversight a result of Archmage's memories merging with the Emperor's?

The country that Rohlserl was wary of was Mornseria, which was not far off becoming an empire. Mornseria was as old as Rohlserl's, and the country — just like Rohlserl — had been founded on magic, so its citizens also venerated sorcerers. Although Mornseria's military was not as good as that of the ancient Rohlserlian Empire — and it's ruler did possess anything as strong as the Book of Servitude — its people were tenacious fighters, ready to die for their country. Making Mornseria an enemy was no different from inviting a throbbing headache.

The Rohlserlian empire and Mornseria had fought hundreds of wars over the years. Rohlserlian empire did not lose in any of these wars, but its victories had also been pyrrhic; the heavy losses incurred always dented the empire's military might.

Mornseria had complicated terrains and strange environments, so the Rohlserlian empire had not yet been able to conquer it. This lasted until Rohlserl the Nineteenth reached Demigod level and no longer needed to be mindful of his mana. Only then did he single-handedly sweep through Mornseria, leaving destruction in his wake.

Despite its destruction, however, Rohlserl the Nineteenth could not annex Mornseria, as the Mornserians — a bunch as unyielding as the environment they thrived in — would not give in. After their country was destroyed, Mornserian refugees fled and hid in various areas around the Rohlserlian empire's borders — as bandits. These bandits did not forget the wrong that was done to them; they remained a thorn in the Rohserlian empire's side till its downfall.

Baiyi placed the parchment down and looked at the Emperor. "Why?"

The Emperor's expression changed to one of disappointment. "You really are that dimwitted. Why are you unable to deduce the simple reason for this? You're worse than Little Mia. I bet you think I did all of this just to show off my power, don't you?"

'And? Is that wrong? Besides, no matter how dimwitted you think I am, there's no way I'm worse than Mia,' Baiyi grumbled in his heart.

"Can you, please, look at where the surprise attack was carried out?" The Emperor said, rolling his eyes.

"Coninopolis? Isn't that the center of Morserian magic? That's where most Mornserian sorcerers gather…" Baiyi muttered, lost in thought. Suddenly, he shot to his feet. "See?! You really did it to show off your power!"

Before the Emperor could protest, Mia said, "The name 'Coninopolis' sounds familiar. I think... Oh! I remember now! Mr. Hope, Laeticia told me that the Holy City of Canningham had another name in the past; it's called Coninopolis!"

When Baiyi heard that, he froze. Hundreds of thoughts flashed through his mind, and in seconds, understanding had dawned on him.

The Church of God's Grace was founded right after the Rohlserlian Empire fell. At this point, it had yet to come into existence. In the future, many scholars theorized that an older version of the Church began even before the fall of the Rohlserlian Empire. This was corroborated in the future by the Church and its scripture.

Mornseria did not see religion as elaborate schemes to fool the uneducated; instead, it welcomes everyone into the fold, regardless of their religion. Thus, many religions and cults flourished in Mornseria, and the country's ruling class used them to fight the Rohserlian Empire.

It was no surprise that a behemoth like the Church would be founded in such a country, neither was it a surprise that the Church would one day build its city on the ruins of ancient Coninopolis.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

522 The Path to Heaven

Many would think that cities like Coninopolis, whose inhabitants practice magic, would not allow religion fester within it.

The proud Rohlserlian sorcerers had long since made known the disgust they felt for religion, which they regarded as a conman's scheme, created to fool the uneducated. Mornserian sorcerers — whose actions took after their Rohlserlian counterparts — also shared this belief. Nevertheless, religion, which both Rohlserlian and Mornserian sorcerers considered a conman's scheme, would go on to thrive greatly in an atheistic city. In the future, the most powerful and influential organization in Isythre ended up being a religious group.

How did that come to be? Mornserian state government's lax policies were not the only reason for the exponential growth of religion in the atheistic city. Unfortunately, Mornseria was destroyed, and its survivors became outlaws, wreaking havoc on the empire whenever they could. There were no Mornserian records or historical accounts for Baiyi to study in the future.

Coninopolis was destroyed by the Rohserlian army during its destructive sweep of Mornseria, only to become a foundation for Cunningham city. This was a huge shock, and a testament to the tenacity and devotion of the followers of God's Grace.

All this did not answer a huge question, though: how exactly was God's Grace founded? There were no historical records or accounts detailing the religion's birth. The best one could find was a couple of sentences, narrating how the first group of God Grace's followers suddenly appeared in the destroyed Coninopolis one day.

This further added to the conundrum. The Fall of the Rohlserlian empire was also the fall of biggest opposer of religion in Isythre. After Rohlserl — a huge, stabilizing force — fell, a mad scramble for power and land broke out and continued for a long time, resulting in long wars between different factions.

Many religions and cultists took advantage of the chaos and began to spread their fate. Although religions and cults flourished in this period, only God's Grace, which many coined the "religion of peace and benevolence", rose to such a height that it easily dominated the continent, after which it eliminated other religions. How did it manage to do this, though?

That answer was a mystery. The wars fought between religious groups were crueler than those fought between nations. [1]

"Tell me; what's so special about Coninopolis?" Baiyi stared at the Emperor, in need of answers.

"Have you ever heard of Mornseria's 'Path to Heaven'?"

"No way! Are you telling me that it actually exists?"

Baiyi was confused. All he knew of Isythre's history had come from the memories of the Scholar Walker, the Explorer Walker, and other scholarly Voidwalkers. However, the Explorer Walker's knowledge was the best. As an excellent graverobber, his knowledge of archeology and history surpassed that of real historians.

Even the Explorer Walker was of the opinion that the Path to Heaven was a myth, however.

According to a few apocryphal accounts, a long ago, the Mornserian king used most of his nation's wealth to build a tower so tall that it pierced the clouds. He named this tower 'Path of Heaven'. The tower did not get that name because anybody that jumped off its top floor would be on a one-way trip to heaven; it was given the name because ten million alabaster stairs were built in it. Legends had it that if someone possessed the strength and forbearance needed to reach the top of the tower, that person would find themselves in the realm of the gods, with whom the person could have tea and talk about the weather with. [2]

The Explorer Walker was skeptical about this myth because of its many logical and historical fallacies. First, Mornseria was being pressured all the time by the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire, so its king could not have found the time, manpower, and wealth to invest in such a building — which many could coin an ancient 'Wonder of the World' — as such valuable resources were better spent on the country's military. Even if the king really wished to commission such a project, how would the lackluster technology and knowledge available at the time be sufficient? Furthermore, Alabaster, which the stairs in the tower were said to be made of, was an advanced building material that became common a thousand years after Mornseria was destroyed. Hence, alabaster could not have been available at the time myths claimed the tower was built!

The Explorer Walker had even visited several locations rumored to be the site of the legendary Path to Heaven, but he found nothing. Hence, he summarily dismissed the myth, calling it a tall tale made up solely for entertainment. Seeing as his efforts turned up nothing, no one could fault him for coming to that conclusion.

"I don't recall any mention of the Path to Heaven in your memory," Baiyi said.

"Well, when I shared my memory with you, I withheld a few things I considered unimportant. Now, you're not surprised that you don't know them, right?" The Emperor replied.

"How the heck is a tower higher than the clouds unimportant?" Baiyi exclaimed, visibly amused.

"Because the Path to Heaven is not a tower; it was formation complex that acts as a channel between realms," the Emperor replied, clarifying one of the biggest archaeological mysteries with an expression of calm. "From within the memories of my future self, I found out that the army found a strange formation complex after destroying Coninopolis; they knew not what it did. Due to the serious nature of their mission, the army had no time to investigate the formation complex, neither did they spare some time to completely destroy it; instead, they destroyed a few key parts of the complex and buried the rest under a mountain of earth."

Baiyi was frozen in shock, and a thought instantly crossed his mind. "A massive formation acting as a channel between realms. Could it be…?" He wondered out loud.

"Yes. If I'm not mistaken, that complex is that Angel Summoning Formation that caused you to develop a migraine," the Emperor replied, confirming Baiyi's suspicion. He reached into this inner pocket and pulled out another document, which he then tossed to Baiyi.

The parchment contained the blueprint of a formation. Baiyi studied it carefully and realized he had never seen anything like it before. Although this blueprint bore some resemblance to transporter portals of the future, there were also a ton of differences. A part of this blueprint reminded Baiyi of the Ember of Hope.

If this was the formation capable of summoning Angels to Isythre, then many questions that have long since plagued Baiyi could be considered answered. Why was the Church's Holy City created on the ruins of an ancient city formerly inhabited by sorcerers? How did the Church of God's Grace manage to emerge supreme despite the stiff competition it had faced? This formation was the key.

"Don't waste it, Son. For this blueprint that could save our future, we lost many good men," the Emperor said with a heavy voice. "I should have brought more people with me; we could have destroyed the entire damn thing, right there and then."

Coninopolis was one of Mornseria's most fortified strongholds; raiding it with his current power had been quite risky for the Emperor. Not only did the Emperor raid the stronghold, but he and his team also had to hold back the Mornserians long enough for him to draw the layout of the formation. Baiyi could only imagine the danger that the Emperor had faced.

"Why are you always so impatient?" Baiyi muttered under his breath. "You should have brought me along…"

"I wanted to get you a welcome gift. You can take it as a token of my appreciation for doing my boring and tedious administrative work," the Emperor replied. He could not possibly have asked Baiyi for help in preparing his own gift, could he?

"Some gift this is." Baiyi exhaled. A gift thickened with the blood of hundreds of sacrificed Rohlserlian elite fighters.

"You're welcome. By the way, have I told you how dim you are? Although I left you with great power and authority, all you've done for a few weeks is to lock yourself in my office pushing papers! Did the thought of using the executive power to do something meaningful cross your mind?" The Emperor flashed Baiyi a glance of disappointment. Before Baiyi could reply, the Emperor sighed. "Fine. Forget it. Issue a command for me. I want the best artists in the Empire to gather here, in the Imperial Capital."

A trace of suspicion appeared in Baiyi's eyes. "Don't tell me you're—"

"Oh, you bet! Let see how you burn them now!" The Emperor gloated.

He reached out and ruffled Mia's hair — a gesture that told her it was time for them to take their leave.

To the Emperor's surprise, the girl shook her head sideways. Flashing a pair of puppy-dog eyes, Mia cooed with a sweet voice. "I wanna accompany Mr. Hope today, Royal Gramps…"

The Emperor pouted, and without another word, he left the office, visibly unhappy.

When the office door was closed, Baiyi grinned. He beckoned Mia over and pinched her cheeks affectionately. "Ahaha! I knew that all my doting was not in vain!"

Mia wriggled away and, using the same sweet voice, she whined, "I wanna go home!"

Baiyi suddenly realized how his master had felt some moments ago.

"Fine, fine. I guess it's time for us to do something meaningful," Baiyi said. He cleared the office table of documents, save for two new parchments on which he wrote down two commands.

When the Emperor gave Baiyi this position, he had expected his protégé to use the power and resources available to an emperor to seek solutions to his issue. Unfortunately, Baiyi had been too focused on his master's documents to do anything else, including harassing beautiful women on the street alongside a few noble rascals.

It was proof that one could inherit the best theories and knowledge of government, yet still make poor rulers if their leadership qualities were lacking.

After issuing his commands, he spread the blueprint of the Path to Heaven on the desk and urged Mia to take a look together.

She dismissed the blueprint altogether. Instead, she looked at Baiyi pointedly before asking a question the Fifth Walker had never expected to hear from her, "Mr. Hope, are you planning to destroy it?'

Coninopolis was one of the most challenging Mornserian strongholds to capture — indeed, the Emperor had suffered quite a bit for attacking it — but it was still no match for Baiyi. The only preparation he would need was to suit Mia up with equipment aimed to extend her power limit, and the Fifth Walker would be able to infiltrate Coninopolis via the Hitman's stealth tactics before transforming into The Black Meatball of Death. He could destroy the Angel Summoning Tower in minutes.

It was not a difficult scenario for Mia to imagine, so she did, and asked her question.

Baiyi mused about it before finally shaking his head.

It was not the Butterfly Effect that stopped him this time; it was his acknowledgment of the Church as a worthy opponent and their immense contribution to the good of humanity in general. Without them, Isythre's dark chapter of religious wars and demonic invasions would last longer and claim far more lives. Progress on medical knowledge would also suffer.

Even with the enmity between the Voidwalkers and the Church reaching its boiling point, Baiyi never wanted to destroy them completely. Theirs was a clash of ideologies, not morality.

As for the Angels, Baiyi no longer worried about them now that he got the formation blueprint in his hand.

Seeing Baiyi's answer, Mia let out a sigh of relief. "History would be able to follow its actual course, then," She said, smiling. "Everything will be fine when we finally return home."

Baiyi studied the girl in silence. The head that bobbled on top of that conservative sorcerer robe still looked so young, her frame still so tiny, it was as if she had stopped growing since her childhood. Yet there was a glimpse of maturity in the way she considered this issue.

For once, Baiyi finally realized that his youngest daughter had grown up.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

523 Seemingly Harmonic

The sorcerers that Baiyi called over arrived at the capital. They were the accomplished magical scholars and academic savants in the Empire. Baiyi had called them over to analyze both the Laws of Time and Path to Heaven's magical formation.

Renowned artists across the Rohlserlian Empire heeded the Emperor's call and gathered in the capital city. Their mission was to replace what the Emperor had lost to Baiyi's fire.

Academic discussions in this era were very different from those conducted in the future. Unlike in the future, when old nerds locked themselves in meeting rooms and argued all day, ancient Rohlserlian scholars discussed in locations that were serene and comfortable, thus encouraging conviviality, such as lush gardens, verdant woods, and even beside the water fountain at the public square. These accomplished scholars would then converse with each other as though they were close friends. [1]

Bystanders were allowed to join in without a formal invitation; interjections and questions from the public were welcomed. The academic culture of the ancient Rohlserlian empire was open-minded; unlike formal forums, these discussions were more like symposia. Conducting forums in the same way in modern-day Isythre was impossible due to the restrictions imposed by intellectual property laws.

To Baiyi, this type of symposia was the sort of discussion used by the Voidwalkers.

A relaxed atmosphere could curtail efficiency, as topics of discussion would often veer off course, so it was up to the moderator to steer it right back on. The Rohlserlian sorcerers' discussion never got heated, neither did they argue about which waifu had the best design, or which Ultraman was the 'ultra-est'.

To ensure professionality, Baiyi had fixed the location of their symposium at the Imperial Garden, where the Emperor usually conducted similar events. It was the ideal spot to prevent interruptions from idle outsiders.

Soon, the sorcerers reached the garden. Surprisingly, they were acquainted with Mia; they met at a previous symposium. Nonetheless, they all acknowledged Mia's academic achievements. They praised her strong foundation in magical theories and her open-mindedness to ideas, as well as holding high regard for her opinions and thoughts. Indeed, it would not be wrong to admit that they had only accepted Baiyi's invitation for Mia's sake.

In comparison, their attitude towards Baiyi was less warming as they were polite to Baiyi only because of his status as the mysterious heir apparent. It was as expected from Rohlserlian sorcerers — they were so complacent that they saw no wrong that the person they were dismissing was the Emperor's personally-tutored student.

'I guess it's time for me to show these cavemen who I am!' Baiyi thought and quietly signaled the maids to tuck away every prepared tea set.

The sorcerers quickly settled themselves into a circle and realized that they were not served with refreshment. Just as chagrin was slowly setting into their faces, Baiyi coolly strode to the middle of the circle and said loudly, "My esteemed guests, I'm honored that all of you have come despite the long journey. To show my appreciation, please allow me to serve you His Majesty's favorite blend of tea!"

His right hand made a graceful swish in the air like a conductor beginning the first note of a symphony.

In a flash, mana orbs of different colors appeared on the sorcerers' unsuspecting palms. There were blobs of dark sepia, the color of Earth; there were bright flashes of crimson, the color of Fire; there were even breaths of pale blue, the color of Ice, and many more. Regardless of their elements, these mana orbs were all small and translucent, akin to little balls of mist.

The sorcerers were startled and started to wonder how these orbs managed to suspend above their palms while remaining in shape. Although they were not consciously discharging mana, their bodies were still leaking some of it as their reserve remained in its full capacity. In other words, unless the sorcerers were consciously withholding their mana, it would be impossible for the wispy, frail elemental orbs to remain in their palms instead of being blown away like a fog succumbing to a breeze.

Of course, that was not all that Baiyi had prepared for his little performance. With his control, the orbs began to stir and swirl before materializing into a delicate teacup decorated with bands of intricate patterns.

Brown tea materialized above the teacups from thin air. Then, as if tipped by an invisible hand, it flowed gently into the porcelain below like a silent waterfall. A palatable aroma of tea began to fill the garden soon after.

The sorcerers were motionless on their seats, entranced. They have never seen such acute control of mana before. They had never imagined that there existed a master who could control multiple elemental mana — a feat of its own — to such degree of precision. Even the sudden appearance of the tea stupefied them; only when the warmth of the liquid began to prick their fingers were they finally convinced that it was not an illusion.

The more they marveled at it, the stronger the feeling of dread became. What happens if this man decided to repeat what he had done, but this time swapping these gentle orbs with destructive, intrusive mana? Would it be possible that this man could disrupt their casting of spells without a sign? Is it possible that he could cast devastating magic without even an utterance of an incantation in a battle?

Baiyi was pleased with their reaction. Outwardly, he urged pointedly, "Well? Please enjoy it while it's hot."

The sorcerers forced themselves out of their trance and carefully lifted the elemental teacups to their lips. Once again, the perfect warmth of the tea wetting their lips and its delectable taste caressing their tongues hammered the fact that none of these had been illusionary magic.

It was, indeed, the work of the mysterious crowned prince.

They sank into their thoughts, trying to mentally work out the intricate steps and spells to complete this seemingly simple performance. The longer they mused, however, the more they were convinced that the trick might lie beyond their scope of knowledge and power simply because they could not fathom how it was done at all.

The only person who remained sober was Mia, who had long accustomed to seeing Baiyi performed. Though she marveled at yet another one of Mr. Hope's shows, she at least had the benefit of being mentally prepared.

She sidled up behind Baiyi's back and whispered, "Gotta' hand it to you, Mr. Hope. You picked an even cooler trick to show off than I did!"

In a social gathering of well-known and accomplished people, newcomers like Mia needed a way to seize attention and gain recognition quickly regardless of how comely, pleasant, or even highborn they were. The girl had managed it by showing off a trick similarly designed to wow the crowd — though hers paled when compared to Baiyi's.

As he allowed the sorcerers time to muse, he asked quietly, "So, what did you do?"

The shadow of a sly smile appeared on her face. "I snuffed out fireballs with my bare hands like you did that time."

Baiyi stifled a chortle.

Snuffing out a fireball with one's bare hand was more of a test of good eyesight and courage than magical dexterity. The performer only needed to acutely observe the fireball and seized the moment right before it exploded to crush its magical structure with one's mana and psychic power. With its internal structure collapsed, the fireball would dissipate, and so a spectator saw it "snuffed out" by the performer's hands.

It was a parlor trick aimed only to entertain and zero pragmatic purposes, but Baiyi taught it to his students for fun. He had not expected Mia to adore its apparent coolness enough to invest time and effort practicing it until she surpassed all of her friends. There had not been any chance for her to perform, however, until she was sent back to simpler times when sorcerers were too naïve to use magic as a cheap way to earn applause.

Needless to say, Baiyi's performance was more sophisticated than Mia's child's play.

The sorcerers finally recovered from their trance, and one of the most senior and experienced stood up.

He was quite possibly the most accomplished and famous among them, as well as the one who had treated Baiyi with the least geniality during the initial reception.

Now, however, all of his previous complacency was supplanted by a humbled expression. He placed his right hand over his chest and sank into a deep bow. Clear adulation laced his voice as he said, "Your Highness has proven yourself more superior and artful than I had first understood. I am ashamed of my previous attitude; please pardon my ignorance."

Other sorcerers quickly followed suit, standing up and apologizing to him in the same humble manner. It harkened to the scene in Da Xue when everyone had gifted him a pen out of respect and admiration.

Then, someone decided to make some noise.

When one was too good at their craft, the underlying complexity of their skill would be lost to the dimmest one in the group. This time, the honor of being the dunce fell onto an apprentice sorcerer who had attended the symposium with his teacher.

He had been staring at the elemental teacup in his hand with an incredulous face, and when he saw his teacher's humble attitude to Baiyi, he cried, "I don't get it. Isn't this just some highbrow parlor trick? Pretty sure I would be able to do the same if I practice over some time, or if someone were to cooperate and complete the illusion with me. Honestly, compared to what Princess Mia had done, this is noth —"

He had not finished his sentence when his teacher ground out, "Silence! You are to apologize to His Highness for your impudence!"

"But!" The young apprentice, hot with indignation, began.

Before he could say anything more, however, Baiyi stepped in and said calmly, "Please, young apprentice. There is no need to be impatient. Calm down and watch the world reveals itself to you in a teacup." [2]

"What world is there in a teacup?" The apprentice snapped sourly. He brought the cup closer to his eyes and peered into his unfinished tea.

He could not avert his gaze; it was as if his mind had sunk into a mesmerizing whirlpool. Whatever was inside the teacup had seized his soul, drawing him in deeper and deeper. His body froze, and no matter how loudly the rest of the world was blaring around him, he was deaf to them all.

A few moments later, the apprentice jerked backward and seemed to have returned to his present. He flushed, ecstasy radiating from his expression, and took a few gulps of breaths to temper himself.

The look he cast at Baiyi had changed. Just as his teacher, he suddenly bowed lowly before Baiyi.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

524 Terrible News

The apprentice's wild side appeared to have been replaced by newfound humility and respect. The sorcerers were shocked by the turn of events — even more so than they were at Baiyi's tea trick — as Baiyi had not used any magic, this time. All the powerful host did was ask the apprentice to look into his teacup; that was all it took for the apprentice to do a one-eighty. When did it become this easy to change a person's temperament?

Hoping to find answers, the sorcerers looked into their teacups. There was nothing in them but their beverage, so they turned back their attention to the apprentice, seeking an explanation.

"I saw the universe," the apprentice said with a shaky voice, visibly giddy with excitement. He ecstatically recollected the experience: moments after he glanced into the cup, the apprentice found himself looking down at the world much like a deity. His field of view expanded past the Imperial Garden as he seemed to gain altitude. Soon, he could see the entire Empire from above, and a short while after that, he could see the entirety of Isythre. Finally, the apprentice could see the universe, which was made out of pockets of realms.

It was no different from viewing the solar system from a point even higher up, before looking at the Milkyway cluster, then even bigger clusters, and finally the entire observable universe. This experience could stir a human's sense of insignificance. It was similar to observing Earth before gradually zooming out to see the solar system, the Milkyway, other galaxies, and finally the whole universe. This experience was enough to make a human understand how small humans were in comparison to the vast expanse of the university; such a view was common in sci-fi films and popular science documentaries. To an average human on Earth, expanding field-of-view was common in movies, but to ancient Rohlserlians, whose grasp of the world was limited, watching the universe unravel before their eyes was a soul-rousing experience. [1]

"I saw..." The Apprentice, who looked out of breath said, "What I saw made me understand that I am nothing but a speck of dust in the boundless world I live in. It put my hubris to shame."

Afterward, the apprentice bowed low to Baiyi and returned to his seat. He closed his eyes, blocking the world out, and immersed himself back in the amazing experience in his memories.

"Illusionary magic?" The apprentice's teacher, most respected Master Areadl, asked Baiyi quietly.

"A parlor trick," Baiyi replied truthfully.

Illusion magic already existed in this era, but its application was crude, unlike the illusion magic used in the future. Many sorcerers considered illusion magic petty magic, as, to them, it could only be used for cheap tricks, which should be beneath any magic-user with some self-respect. There was a widespread stigma of illusion magic in the empire, even amongst academics.

Rohlserlian sorcerers frowned at the use of illusion magic, especially in a high-class symposium like this one. The moment Baiyi admitted to using it, a chorus of whispers broke out.

Master Areadl did not seem to share the sentiment, though. "Power has no right or wrong, my fellow sorcerers!" He said, defending Baiyi. "That distinction exists only in the way you harness the power. His Highness used a simple illusion spell to correct the temperament of my unruly student, forcing him to acknowledge his arrogance. You will agree that such an approach is better than correcting students with mere words, yes?"

"Furthermore, I did not sense any damage to my student, resulting from his Highness's technique. Besides, I sense no adverse damage from His Highness's technique. My student's cognitive functions and psyche were not compromised in any way," Master Areadl said.

In this era, illusion magic was weak and undeveloped. For sorcerers to use it, they had to supplement it with mental-disrupting techniques. A person needed to damage their target's cognitive stability first before an illusion magic spell could work. This method made illusion magic easy to detect, though. However, the Charlatan Walker's illusion spells were nigh-imperceptible.

The illusion spell Baiyi had used on the apprentice was the Charlatan Walker's latest innovation — which he created after Psuedo-Descended. The illusion spell contained technical contributions from the Incubus Walker and the Merchant Walker. The illusion spell, which was called "Dreameality", did not need to be cast after a mental-disrupting spell; in it was a combination of the Incubus Walker's power of dream-weaving and the Merchant Walker's knowledge of psychology and marketing, both of which made the spell capable of immersing its target in a hyper-realistic illusion. Dreameality was a revolutionary spell that could be considered the new frontier of illusion magic.

Regrettably, the spell had been created solely for the students of the Business Faculty at Da Xue, with the intention of allowing them to better sell their products.

Students in the Business Faculty got their stock — experimental prototypes and homework — from the Engineering Faculty for cheap, which would then be sold to students of other faculties, whose pockets the Business Faculty's students believe needed to be drained. The Business Faculty students would first convince other students to try out the prototype armor or weapon that was up for sale, and when the unsuspecting students agreed, Dreameality would then be cast of them, allowing them to falsely view themselves slaying a thousand-strong army by themselves. Such an illusion was enough to convince these students into offering dozens of gold coins for the junk merchandise.

Such unconscientious practice was often used in the Business Faculty of Da Xue. The students in that department were encouraged to employ such methods by their faculty advisor, a famous fraud — the Painter Walker — whose hobby was exploiting legal loopholes. Da Xue did not have any law that forbade such unethical practices. Many students, including those from high-income families, feel more pressured by Da Xue's incredibly high fees as they complete more semesters. Students in the Business Faculty, on the contrary, become richer as they complete more semesters. They were unaffected by the rising tuition fees; they even had enough money to splurge on a famous card game.

After putting down the apprentice using Dreameality, a brilliant illusion spell, there were no more open disagreements. The sorcerers now respected Baiyi, which was just as he had planned.

The symposium proceeded to its most boring segment: the academic jargon and theories part. Since this was their first meeting, Baiyi did not expect anything of substance from the current discussion.

The discussion was no different from meetings to discuss university assignments. Baiyi introduced and explained the topics of interest to the sorcerers with a few tips. He informed the sorcerers that the research would be into time and the Path to Heaven.

The novelty of the topics instantly intrigued these magical scholars. On the one hand, they were to discover the truths of Time, the mysterious and ineffable Law that drives the universe; on the other, they were given the blueprint of a massive magical formation that they had never seen before. The sorcerers were so riveted to the topics that they failed to notice that Baiyi had secretly retired from the discussion to fool around with Little Mia at a side instead.

Complex conundrums like these required a long time to make significant headways, so Baiyi seized the time for dinner to adjourn the symposium, but not before informing each participant to make their chosen research topic clear so that they could continue back home and returned with their results.

The sorcerers agreed and began to announce their chosen topics. Baiyi made a silent count and discovered that most of them had decided to study Time rather than decode the Path of Heaven formation. Once again, novelty triumphed; a scholar would willingly invest their time into an exciting topic despite its challenges and conjectural nature, even though the other topic was palpably more manageable. Baiyi could only wonder why people, apparently, love making their own lives harder.

Baiyi patted Mia's head. "Alright. We gotta go home and work as hard as they do, too."

To his surprise, the girl shook her head and swung his hand off her head. "Aww. Mr. Hope, can I see Lulu please?" She pled with her trademark sweet, coquettish voice.

"Well…" Baiyi trailed off helplessly. Lulu may one day be someone of high status — as high as the two of them were right now, in fact — but she was still just a normal, unspectacular village girl now. It was her lowborn background that complicated things — Baiyi was no classicist, but the society they were living in currently clearly cared about class differences.

Honestly, Mia may see Lulu as her best friend, but would Lulu dare think the same?

"No way, Mr. Hope! She's definitely not that type of person!"Mia drawled as she tugged Baiyi's elbow hard.

'Hold up. This little brat is not actually trying to shirk her responsibilities in this academic research, right?' A warning popped up into Baiyi's head. Just as he was about to comment on it, one of the castle runners sprinted towards him. After a brief address to his title, he pushed a letter into Baiyi's hand.

"Your Highness, there's an emergency at the border!"

Baiyi stiffened in surprise before turning his eyes to the letter. He was just about to break the seal when a thought sprang into his mind, causing him to stop. "Why isn't this being delivered to the Emperor himself?"

'Lemme guess. Our fierce supreme leader who had charged into Coninopolis with such courage and determination suddenly wanted me to handle his country once his artists had come to make new cipher cards for him, huh?' Baiyi grouched inwardly.

"His Majesty is informed of the situation, Sire. It was his order to have the letter delivered to you," The runner said quietly. "Your Highness, His Majesty would like you to decide on the next course of action pertaining to this issue and meet him as soon as possible."

Then, as if worried that Baiyi would rip him into pieces like any irritated royalty, he bolted.

Baiyi undid the seal of the letter tiredly and read the content of the message. He frowned despite his absence of face and turned to a curious Little Mia. "There have been surprise attacks on several border towns," He whispered.

Mia's face began to twist in worry. "Doesn't that mean…"

Baiyi nodded slowly.

"Aegir, the town we had briefly stayed before, was one of those under attack. The casualties are yet finalized, but border troops had been mobilized to repel lingering enemies."

It was as if every air had been forcefully sucked out of Mia's body, causing a spell as she staggered and fell backward onto the ground. Alarmed, Baiyi gripped her shoulders and helped her up to her feet.

"Calm down! I'm sure she's alright. She has an important place in history, remember? That is despite being a normal girl from a border town historically rife with similar demonic invasions. She had survived them all before, and I have little doubt she will survive it again this time!"

With her feet struggling to hold her weight, she stammered with a voice heavy with tears, "But aren't you also the one… who said that our presence in the past… is altering the course of history? What if this is part of the change?"

'So what did I say back then, hmm? I told you to not get so intimate with her! But did you listen? No! The two of you were inseparable!' Baiyi snapped in his mind.

Before the words in his head were voiced, however, he saw the tears in Mia's eyes and heard her sniffled as she looked at him with an expression that said, 'Imma bawl right now if you scold poor little me!'

Baiyi's heart softened.

He sighed instead. "Look, just calm down, okay?" He said, casting a spirit-soothing spell on Mia to help her control the tides of emotions roaring in her chest. "Why don't we think positively? Her parents are tasked to take care of the injured in Highland City, right? That sort of work tends to take one or even two months, as they needed to be on call until all injured soldiers have recovered to stable health. Since we've only been separated for two weeks, I'm sure the family hasn't left the city yet."

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

525 Unexpected Defiance

Mia exhaled in relief. Baiyi's explanation convinced her that it was better to talk to the Emperor first, rather than rushing to Aegir alone.

The pair took a walk around the palace, and after some time, they found the Emperor's private study. Since the artists arrived at the Imperial Palace, the ruler of the Rohlserlian Empire had not been seen outside his private study. What had kept him in there?

Baiyi was in no mood to be polite. He barged into the private study and saw the Emperor seated at a table, grinning at some cards in his hands.

Baiyi's unexpected arrival sent the Emperor into a panic. He scrambled to put away the cards as quickly as he could, but a moment later, he remembered that he was not at Da Xue; thus, Baiyi could do nothing to him. The expression of panic vanished after a sigh of relief. The Emperor placed the cards in an exquisite box, which he then kept away, after which he looked up at Baiyi. "I suppose you also forgot how to knock as well, right?"

"Pardon me; I thought it was an emergency. Who would have thought you would be this relaxed..." Baiyi replied, his eyes focused on the spot the Emperor had hidden the box. When the Emperor noticed this, he quickly shielded the spot with his hands.

"Did I not teach you to be calm and graceful at all times?" The Emperor asked in protest.

Baiyi raised his hand, revealing a letter in his grasp. "What do you think we should do about this?"

"What should we do?" The Emperor asked, redirecting the question back at him.

Baiyi hesitated. He initially sought to rush over to site the attacks had taken place to conduct an investigation and, if possible, slay any intruders that remain. Now, however, that he was being questioned by the Emperor, Baiyi realized that he and the Emperor could not act personally because of their positions of authority.

Furthermore, these attacks were not meted out on just one or two border towns; several towns had been invaded simultaneously. The best course of action Baiyi could take was to deploy the troops stationed at forts and barracks close to the affected towns. A competent fort captain would have deployed his troops the instant he got wind of the attacks, without waiting for orders from the Emperor.

Although this situation needed urgent attention, no one in the study could act on their own. They could only wait for those below them to report back.

The Emperor wanted Baiyi's opinion on the matter. Who could have carried out these attacks? Who did the Empire have to attack in revenge? What could they do to allay their people's fears? What could the empire do to maximize its profits in a retaliatory war?

These were the type of questions that bothered the rulers of countries.

"Are those attacks another act of terror carried out by those demon-worshipping savages? Maybe it was revenge for their failed invasion of Highland City," Baiyi said, voicing his thoughts. an act of vengeance from those who had failed to capture Highland City," Baiyi wondered out loud. "These attacks are weaker than the attempt on Highland City, as the perpetrators targeted smaller border townes, avoiding important and well-guarded towns. I don't think the Mornserians are the culprits. You may have just invaded their country and humiliated them in Coninopolis, but because of the Path to Heaven's function, I highly doubt that the Mornserians would venerate the loathsome demons."

Baiyi's reasoning was sound, but the Emperor disagreed with it. "How are you so sure that the formation complex was built to summon an angel, not demons?"

Baiyi was about to reply when Mia, who had realized that Mr. Hope and her Royal Gramps did not plan to visit the affected towns, lost her patience. "But… Lulu! What about Lulu?"

"Lulu's a friend she recently made," Baiyi explained. "Mia cares for her a lot, and she has been asking to see her friend for some time now."

"How can you expect me to allow that?" The Emperor's refusal was swift and apathetic. "Mia, just have your master get someone to look for your little friend. Isn't that better?"

Little Mia did not look happy. "Oh…"

However, she raised her head moments later and said, "I guess you're right. Mr. Hope, Royal Gramps, I'm tired. Can I return to my room and rest?"

Baiyi and the Emperor exchanged a glance. They both wanted Mia to stay and offer her opinions, but if she said she was exhausted, then it was better they let her off.

Baiyi and the Emperor nodded, so Mia left the room, closing the door on the two men, who continued to discuss as though nothing had happened. What country has Rohlserl long sought to invade? Who could they frame for Rohlserl's attempt at conquest? If Rohlserl cited retaliation as a front for its attempt at conquest, then what part of the continent contained the most resources, making it ripe for invasion? They could be better off looking to capture some tribes to replace the manpower that the empire had just lost.

The longer the two discussed, the more inhumane their plans became. It was good that Mia had left when she did; she did not have to see the two people she respected the most descend to such lows.

After a lengthy discussion, Baiyi and the Emperor finally settled on a plan. The Empire retired for the night, and Baiyi, who did not need to sleep, decided to return to his office and flesh out the plan.

As he walked towards his office, his thoughts shifted to Mia, and he decided to pay her a visit. Mia looked pretty troubled earlier, and Baiyi was worried that she may be too upset to sleep.

With light steps, Baiyi crept into Mia's room and spotted a lump under the large comforter.

"It's much colder now. You should cover yourself better, you know?" Baiyi sighed and tiptoed over to the bed, intent on covering Mia up properly.

A thought entered Baiyi's mind, and he stopped. Then, instead of being gentle, Baiyi yanked the comforter away, revealing a trembling maid underneath.

"H-Her Highness… H-her Highness m-made me d-d-do this…" The maid trembled.

"Where is she?"

"I-I don't know, Sir. Her Highness only said she would r-r-return soon…"

Baiyi took a deep breath and forced down the anger bubbling within him. He had not foreseen the arrival of a day when his docile daughter would so brazenly go against his wishes. With one move, she had defied both the Emperor and Baiyi's rule. How unforgivable!

Baiyi activated a tracking spell he had placed on Mia's equipment, but the feedback was cut off a second later. The time had been too short for Baiyi to pinpoint her exact location. Mia had disabled the spell.

"I'm going to look for her. Inform His Majesty of this when he wakes up," Baiyi ordered. "I also want you to prepare as many sturdy feather dusters as you can find."

After that, Baiyi jumped out of the window and flew off, headed in the direction the tracking spell had indicated before it was disabled.

At a location far from the palace, Mia was flying in the cold night's sky. Suddenly, an unexplained feeling sent shivers down her spine. Her hands instinctively moved to protect her butt as though they were aware of the fate that would soon befall her.

"Owww…. I know Mr. Hope must be preparing a lot of feather dusters right now." Mia sighed in dismay.

She was still second-guessing her decision. Mia had felt nothing but determination when she pulled this stunt, but some time had passed since then, and the adrenaline had receded. Now, she was aware that this was the first time she had disobeyed Mr. Hope's orders.

Till she did this, Mia had been perfectly obedient. It was her hope that this fact, and her cuteness, would help lighten whatever punishment would be meted on her for this small act of defiance. Even if Baiyi decided to be difficult, Mia had Royal Gramps; she was sure that her beloved grandpa would help her!

When Mia's thoughts shifted to her best friend, Lulu, her fear was tossed to the back on her mind.

"Please be okay, Lulu," Mia whispered.

As Mia could not find other sorcerers to form a human transporter portal, she had to fly to Aegir. Mia flew all night, and when the sun reached its zenith in the sky, Mia spotted the outline of the familiar town on the horizon. From afar, Aegir looked just as it had when she left. This made Mia sigh in relief.

Mia was exhausted from flying all night, but the sight of the town kept her motivated. She gritted her teeth and flew a few miles forward.

When Mia was several miles away from the town, she came to an abrupt stop, gawking at the town in disbelief.

From afar, Aegir had looked fine, but when Mia flew closer, she realized that the town was in ruin. Half of the town had been charred. It was as though a sea of black ink had soiled the buildings in that area.

Only the buildings close to the town's entrance were still standing. Everything else was fone. The little cottage Baiyi and Mia had briefly stayed in, Lulu's house, and the pastry house that baked Mia's favorite confectionaries had all been reduced to rubble. The small haystack at the entrance of the town had been reduced to ash.

The destroyed town was not the only reason Mia was stunned silent; there was not a single corpse to be seen. The people that had survived the horrific attack were at the town center. They were all on their knees, kowtowing.

Hovering above the town square was a humanoid being. It was glowing so brightly that Mia could not make out its features. However, what Mia could see clearly was a pair of gigantic wings made of light behind the being.

"An angel." Mia sucked in a breath of cold air. She cast a vision-enhancing spell in order to get a better look at the angel through its aura.

The angel was a beautiful girl, who wore an ancient Rohlserlian robe. Holy light covered the angle's immaculate body; a white piece of cloth was tied around her head, covering her eyes; and her feet were bare. The town's people were kowtowing below her.

The expression on the angel's face was nothing like Mia had ever seen. The angel was relaxed and serene, but that seemed to be borne out of apathy rather than gentleness. As she looked down at the people, one could not be sure if her expression was one of sympathy or contempt. The angel's countenance could not be deciphered, but if there was one thing that was clear, it was her bearing — the bearing of a god.

What attracted Mia's attention was the kitty plush toy tied to the angel's waist.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

526 The Mystery of the Angel

When Mia spotted the kitty plush toy, her heart lurched. Had that angel killed Lulu and taken the plush toy — a parting gift she had given Lulu — for itself?

Mia instantly considered taking revenge, but she held back. On second thought, it did not make sense for an angel to be that interested in a mortal's unremarkable plush toy. After Mia had calmed down, she looked at the angel again and realized that she looked a lot like Lulu.

However, the difference in their countenance was like night and day. The angel was nothing like Lulu, who was quiet [1], easygoing, and girlish; instead, the angel was imposing and exuded a holy aura, which could make any mortal that gazed at her feel ashamed. Mia stared at the glowing angel, whose eyes were blindfolded, for some time; only then did she realize the angel was actually Lulu, a dear friend she thought the world of.

"Lulu!" Mia cried, unable to contain herself. "What happened to you?!"

Without waiting for a reply, Mia made to fly towards Lulu, but her braid was pulled back hard, causing her to scream. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Owww!"

With tears glistening in her eyes, Mia quickly turned around and saw an ashen-grey suit of armor hovering behind her. It seemed to have been there for a while, and it did not look happy. Although the suit of armor had no face, Mia could sense the fury bubbling beneath its metal plates.

Mia immediately hung her head, unable to make eye contact. "M-Mr. Hope…"

"Hmph!" Baiyi's snorted coldly. "I'm fine with handling this bizarre incident first, as all the feather dusters I would need have already been prepared."

When Mia heard the word 'Feather Dusters' — not 'Feather Duster' — she almost burst into tears. Baiyi flicked her forehead with his finger before she could cry out. "Are you at all concerned about the ruckus your actions will cause?"

Mia blinked back her tears and looked around her. She could feel faint ripples in the air all around her; it was camouflage magic. Mia realized that this magic had prevented others from noticing her, despite her earlier outburst. Mr. Hope had long since covered for her.

"Tsk. This is really troublesome. Do you have any idea how Lulu managed to become an angel? Or, why an angel would choose to take after her in appearance?" Baiyi quietly asked.

Mia shook her head sideways.

"Has she ever acted strange when you two were together?" Baiyi asked. "Did she possess any faith-based belief?"

Mia shook her head again.

"When you two said goodbye to each other, did you notice anything different about her?"

Mia shook her head sideways again.

"Is there anything about Lulu that makes her stand out from everyone else?"

"She's cuter than almost everyone. That's outstanding, right?" Mia replied, turning red in the face.

"Are you pulling my legs?! Damn it; what did the two of you do back then? Do you expect me to believe that a normal village girl just up and transformed into one of the most powerful beings in this universe out of nowhere? If just anyone can turn into an angel easily, I would have screwed over multiple times already!" Baiyi growled. "Also, what did you mean by 'she's cuter than almost everyone'? What scale did you use to measure? Is she supposed to be cuter than Attie or your Big Sister Dale?"

"I didn't mean it that way…" Mia mumbled awkwardly.

Baiyi snorted and turned his gaze to the plush tie strapped to the angel's waist. "Could that thing on her waist be the problem? Is it enchanted?"

"N-no. It's just a run-of-the-mill plushie that I made. The materials I used were all ordinary."

"This doesn't make any sense. Why would the angel hang on to an ordinary plush toy as though it was important to her? C'mon; think harder! There must be something special about it. What is it?" Baiyi urged, pinching Mia's cheeks hard as he did so.

"O-ow! I am thinking, Mr. Hope! S-stop pinching!" Mia whimpered as she tried to concentrate. Suddenly, Mia jumped away from Baiyi's fingers and exclaimed, "I remember now! Laeticia cast some theurgical spells on the toy a long time ago…"

"Why would she do that? Was she completely bored?" Baiyi asked. "Look, if she were that adept at magic, why did she not contribute her spells into that hammerhead shark plushie?"

"Well, she was adept, per se; back then, she just wanted a target on which to practice the spells that Uncle Joel had taught her. Sometimes, she used us for training, too, and other times, she used our belongings. As Sharkie was already filled with Uncle Joel's powerful theurgical spells, Cia could not use her novice spells on the hammerhead shark plushie, so she opted for the kitty plush toy, instead. That was, like, a very long time ago."

Realization dawned on Baiyi. The effects of theurgical spells — especially highly advanced ones, such as 'Word of God' — on humans was short-lived, but on inanimate objects, the effects lasted for an indefinite amount of time. This was the reason why the Church made blessed talismans for its devotees.

In other words, this angel must have been attracted by traces of advanced theurgical magic on that kitty cat plush toy.

'How ironic. Had Mia not gifted Lulu that toy, her best friend would not have suffered this fate!' Baiyi thought, shaking his head slowly.

He immediately shoved those thoughts aside and beckoned Mia over. "We'll go a little closer and see."

Baiyi wrapped his arms around Mia and began to descend rapidly, intent on inspecting the scene more carefully. Mia nestled her head against Baiyi and looked down at the kowtowing crowd, after which she said something inaudible.

"What are they doing?"Mia asked a moment later.

"Performing a mass."

"But, I've seen Cia do it before, and it did not take this long."

"Masses in the future are a simplified and shortened version of its ancient counterpart. A complete pass begins at dawn and ends when the sun is about to set."

"That's a really long process!"

"Because the Church believed that nothing showed sincerity more than the beginning of a devotee's day. It is, however, plain stupid to waste the most meaningful time of a day on a meaningless activity. Your Uncle Joel used to be such a sucker."

Mia nodded quietly and secretly felt glad that it was not her that transformed into an angel. Mia turned her attention back to the winged being and said, "Mr. Hope, do you really think Lulu had transformed into an Angel?"

"If those Church folks in the Void did not fool me, then it sure seems that way," Baiyi replied. "According to the Church's Scripture, angels radiate light. As the messengers of the One True God, they spread his message like the sun. They are immaculate; they hover so that their feet are not soiled by the sins of the world. They are compassionate, so they blindfold themselves so that they don't despair over the suffering of mortals. Our friend here fits every description."

There was one last detail that Baiyi did not mention. This was something he had learned from the Shadow Walker. Angels usually took over the body of mortals if they wished to appear in the world. They did not descend with their real bodies. This also seemed to have happened to Lulu.

"At least, the angel is a maiden, who is easy on the eyes, not some over-muscular bear of a man with washboard abs and thick body hair," Baiyi murmured.

There were still many questions that remained unanswered. It was still unclear why the angel had chosen Lulu — Baiyi suspected the kitty plush toy to be the reason for this — and why it had chosen this time to appear. After all, in this era, God's Grace faith had not been founded yet! Furthermore, the only place an angel could be summoned from, Coninopolis, was destroyed by the Emperor a few days ago. No one should be able to bounce back from such destruction in just a few days!

Isythre was currently being invaded by demons, and Baiyi was sure that the proud angels would not want to descend into such a corrupted realm.

It was a pity that Baiyi was tossed into the past unwillingly before he could ask Umbra for some intel. Now, he did not know exactly when the first angel descended to the world. According to Rohlserlian history books, angels should have appeared only after the Empire fell.

Unfortunately, this unforeseen appearance could throw a wrench in the plans that Baiyi and the Emperor made. They had planned to annex Coninopolis, taking control of a location that would one day become the base of their future enemy, the Church. By doing this, they could start shaping the Church right from its infancy. The Church would remain a force for good, but behind the scenes, it'll be controlled by the Voidwalkers.

This angel's unannounced arrival put their plan out of action before it could even be enacted.

A thought crossed Baiyi's mind, causing him to come to a sudden stop. "Don't tell me… She knew what I did, so she came?!" He groaned.

Mia did not hear all of that, so she asked, "What's that? She came because of you, Mr. Hope?"

If Baiyi was one to interpret every innocent comment into innuendos, he would have replied, "Of course, she calls me daddy." However, he was not that type, so he lied. "Oh no. I just thought that this mass was missing something..."

A youth wearing a white robe walked towards the center of the square. He looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years of age, but his countenance was one of solemnity as though he was much older than he looked.

The townsfolks did not stand up, but they did turn their heads to look at the youth. They watched him walk to the center of the square and stop beside the hovering angel.

"Well, well, well. How can we have a mass without a bishop?" Baiyi murmured. When he saw where the youth stopped, he sneered, "Boy, if you dare raise your head and look there, I swear I'll dig those eyes out!"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

527 How Did You Become An Apostle?!

The youth seemed to be a cleric, and he recited many litanies as he led the mass. The prayers he recited were just as bad as his ancient Rohlserlese, which he spoke with a heavy accent. The composition of these prayers was haphazard, unlike the poetic prayers that the Church of the future made to strengthen the faith of its followers.

Anyone could tell that the youth was a foreigner, who had a low education level and was new to this religion business. Baiyi could tell that the hovering angel was the reason why the youth had the townfolks' attention. The angel's presence was enough to make them believe whatever the youth said.

There was a bit more to the youth, though. Baiyi could sense Holy Power swirling within the boy. The Holy Power was untainted, and its source was divine in nature, unlike the Holy Power that emanated from regular mystics and paladins. This Holy Power was similar to that of the Law Marionette that Baiyi fought years ago. However, the boy's Holy Power was gentler in comparison.

Baiyi could tell that the young cleric's Holy Power was not his own. It came from an external source that the young cleric had no control over. This was akin to a caveman using an iPhone.

"I will have to use my psychic sense if I want to get a better look, so you'll have to take over the camouflage magic," Baiyi whispered to Mia.

"Okay. But, are you sure doing that won't reveal yourself?" Mia asked with worry.

"Nah; I doubt it, but I will be careful. That pipsqueak is young and looks inexperienced, while his angel is dumb. I'm pretty sure they won't notice me snooping around," Baiyi replied confidently.

"Um, okay." Mia nodded. She wondered if she could correct Baiyi, as she did not think Lulu was dumb. In fact, Mia considered Lulu to be very clever.

Baiyi reduced the area of effect of the camouflage magic until it covered only Mia. He let Mia hover and began to descend. As Baiyi flew down, he employed the stealth tactics of the Hitman Walker and the Assassin Walker. As his psychic sense flowed towards the angel and the young cleric, Baiyi puffed his chest out with pride. Minimizing the area of the masking magic to cover Mia only, Baiyi left her in the air and descended a few altitudes lower while employing his stealthy coworkers' tactics. As he extended his psychic senses towards the two targets, his chest puffed in pride and self-satisfaction. These two hermits must not have ever seen a sorcerer whose stealth capabilities rivaled that of a professional hitman, and Baiyi was about to show them how stealth was used in the future!

The instant Baiyi's psychic sense reached the angel, who had been motionless all this while, it raised its head, looking, through its blindfold, straight at the camouflaged Baiyi.

Even the young cleric stopped talking and looked up. Fortunately for him, he had moved from his previous spot, so he did not see up a certain someone's skirt; if he had, Baiyi would have crippled him, leaving him capable of participating only in the Paralympics.

The angel and the young cleric could see nothing but the clear blue sky, no matter how thoroughly they scanned the area. Baiyi was nowhere in sight. The angel cocked her head to the side in confusion, but after a while, she looked down and became motionless again. The young cleric, who had also seen nothing, lowered his head and continued to recite his cringeworthy litanies.

Although Baiyi was only a Soul Armature, he could feel beads of cold sweat trickling down his spine. He had not expected the perception of those two to be that high. If he had not retracted his psychic sense instantly, he would have been made.

"Alright, so you guys have some freakishly good senses. Allow me to show you my other cards," Baiyi murmured, landing atop an undamaged rooftop nearby.

He drew a rune of one of the roof's tiles, but he did not infuse mana into it. Whilst still under the influence of the cloaking spell, Baiyi leaped to another rooftop, and then another, drawing runes on them just as he had done on the first rooftop.

Moments later, Baiyi had drawn runes on all rooftops around the square. Then, his mana slowly trickled into every rune in the area, as he wanted to activate them without drawing any attention to himself.

When all the runes were activated, a territory that greatly boosted Baiyi's perception would encompass the square, allowing him to sense everything within it without using his psychic sense. This technique was one of Da Xue's latest inventions for espionage. The territory was so difficult to detect, even Lady Assassin Walker had great difficulty telling when it was in use. In the future, this was possibly the best technique for snooping around. No one had any use for it within Da Xue, though.

However, it was the perfect solution to Baiyi's current problem.

Just as Baiyi had expected, the mana trickling into the runes were so minute, neither the angel nor the young cleric noticed. Baiyi was pleased as he waited for the territory to fully form, and when it did, he would learn everything there was to know about this angel's powers!

His hopes were soon dashed. The first four runes activated without incident, but when the fifth rune began to activate, the angel became alert. She quickly looked up at a rooftop, visibly wary.

The young cleric seemed to understand. "Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" He hollered at the townfolks, but he quickly corrected himself. "I mean, something bad has occurred. Today's mass will end here; you must all return to your homes and hide there!"

The crowd looked confused. They turned to the angel for clarification, but instead of replying, she spread her wings of light, and a sea of sparks tore through the air like a sandstorm.

Baiyi did not react quickly, so a few sparks landed on him. Although the sparks were almost unnoticeable by the naked eye, the blindfolded angel was able to instantly pinpoint Baiyi's location.

"Something is hiding over there! Everyone must go now!" The young cleric called out, pointing at an empty rooftop.

The townsfolk got up and left the square in groups, and a minute later, only the angel and young cleric remained in the town square. The angel floated closer to the ground, and chains made of light materialized around her. The chains wrapped around each other and formed a golden claymore.

The angel's expression hardened, but she did not look away from Baiyi, even once.

"Show yourself! Are you a Rohlserlian sorcerer?" The young sorcerer shouted coldly, doing his best to spot Baiyi.

"Urgh. This is just embarrassing." Baiyi sighed before revealing himself.

The young cleric took one look at armor, and his gaze turned into one of hatred. It was as though he was looking at the man that killed his father. That expression disappeared a second later. The young cleric's still looked angry, but it was nothing compared to his previous disposition. "You are a sorcerer respected by many people; why did you hide as you snuck around us, making a strange formation? Are you going to be my enemy?"

'My, my. We just met, and you already consider me an enemy?' Baiyi thought as he held back a chuckle. It seemed the youth harbored a grudge against Rohlserlian sorcerers. If not, he would not have so quickly considered the sorcerer before him an enemy.

If Baiyi wished it, the boy would be nothing but a pile of ash right now. When his attention turned to the angel, who was still staring fixedly at him, he decided to be civil. "Maybe, you should start by explaining why you are on my land without my permission, harassing my people as you wish," Baiyi said.

"You are complacent and a fool, Rohlserlian. Use those eyes of yours to marvel at the immaculate hovering behind me! Wherever there is light, there the One True God will preside. Everyone under that light is loved by my Lord. They were never your property, Rohlserlian. No, they are the Lord's most faithful followers!" The young cleric exclaimed spiritedly. "Without us, this poor town would have been defiled by wicked fiends. Our cleansing presence brought light and hope to these people!"

The speech was a grand one, but Baiyi was not impressed. He was even trying to hold back his laughter. "Hold up, wannabe priest. When did you become so good with words? Who taught you to say that, huh?" Baiyi taunted.

The young cleric's face became unsightly. "Your words do not matter. Go away, and holy Lady Angel will not punish you for this harassment. Go!" He growled.

"Oh, yeah? How about this: I'll give you guys a chance to surrender, tell me who you are and what you plan to do, and after my investigation, I will allow the two of you to leave. That sounds better, right?" Baiyi smiled.

"You are filled with impudence!" The young cleric snapped. He dipped his hand into his robe and produced a slingshot. The young cleric notched a pebble onto it and fired at Baiyi.

This was no different from a petulant child trying to break a neighbor's tempered glass window with a pebble. Baiyi almost burst into laughter, but he was able to hold himself back. A thought had crossed his mind earlier.

Baiyi leisurely caught the pebble with two fingers and asked, "Your name is Yula. Isn't it, little Mornserian?"

The young cleric froze. "How do you know my name?"

When Baiyi did not reply, the young boy became angry again, yelling, "But, I am not from Mornseria!"

Baiyi smirked. "K."

Throughout history, only one person was said to have used a slingshot as his main weapon. This person was the first Apostle of God's Grace, Yula. According to the Church, Yula was the first person to walk the earth to spread the message of the One True God. In the end, he was rewarded with a seat by his god's side and ascended to heaven.

During his missionary work, Yula did not carry any lethal weapons with him. All he had was a slingshot, which he used for self-defense. He never wanted to kill people; all he wanted was to teach them the 'truth' so that they would willingly follow him. It was said whenever the slingshot was fired, the target would not get hurt; instead, their negative emotions and killing intent would be nullified.

In the future, the Church had Apostle Yula on many murals. He was drawn holding a slingshot. However, in all those murals, Yula was a kindly old sage, not a snot-nosed pipsqueak!

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

528 A Half-serious Battle

Although Baiyi always questioned the authenticity of the Church's accounts — as the immense difference in their description of Apostle Joel and the behavior of the real Joel did not inspire his confidence — it could not make an error this grave. The only similarities that Apostle Yula in the historical records and this young Yula shared were their names and their preference for slingshots, which they seemed to consider a solution to problems!

Furthermore, the Church claimed that Apostle Yula began to spread the word of their god after the fall of the ancient Rohlserlian Empire, yet the Yula before Baiyi had already begun to do so — a thousand years before the fall of the ancient Rohlserlian Empire. In fact, the Emperor, Rohserl the Nineteenth, was still in the early stage of his reign. How then did this young lad and his slingshot manage to survive for as long as the Church claimed he did?

Yula did not possess the qualities expected of men-of-cloth, let alone saints. Could holy men be this ill-tempered? Yula's claim of not being Mornserian was also suspicious.

Although Yula had only fired a pebble at Baiyi, the Soul Armature was not calm; he was angry. He wanted nothing more than to curl his fingers around the pipsqueak's throat and watch him cry for mercy.

Although the Church's canonical accounts were romanticized, it could not make such a severe mistake in its record. Hence, Baiyi decided that the Yula before him was not Apostle Yula.

Having come to this conclusion, Baiyi no longer felt the need to hold back.

A loud bang rang out as Baiyi flicked the pebble between his fingers back at the young cleric. The pebble streaked towards the forehead of its target as though it had just been fired from a rifle. With its momentum, if it struck the kid, his head would surely explode.

Fortunately for the young cleric, he had the backing of a powerful being, which was hovering behind him. Dong! A loud sound reverberated through the air as the pebble struck the golden blade of the angel's claymore.

"Well, well, well. I get to experience fighting an angel in this era. This unplanned venture was not a waste, after all." Baiyi's flashed a sinister smile. "Come on, then; show me what you've got. Since you are using a sword, let's start with physical combat."

Without waiting for a reply, Baiyi pounced, and the fight began.

Baiyi wanted to get a feel for his opponent's strength and skills, so he held back his power and refrained from his more advanced skills and strategies. He opted for the Caveman Walker's crass fighting style, which consisted of a flurry of punches and kicks, with which he hoped to gauge the angel's reflexes.

The Angel parried Baiyi's attacks with her gold claymore. Her fighting style was just as intuitive as Baiyi's; none of her moves had methods, tact, or flair.

The fight was a stalemate; no one had the upper hand. The town square was quiet. The occasional flash of the angel's beautiful wings was the only indication that a fight was taking place there. It was akin to fights in mobile games.

Mia watched from high above in horror. She was too far to hear what Baiyi and the young cleric had said to each other. She could only watch them talk for a few moments before a fight broke out. Unable to contain herself any longer, Mia dove and landed nearby, after which she dispelled the camouflage magic and screamed, "Mr. Hope, please control your strength! Please don't hurt Lulu!"

Mia wanted to stop the fight, but she was hesitant. First, she knew it would be hard to stop the two behemoths and was afraid to try. Second, she could see that Baiyi was pulling his punches, so she let the fight carry on. However, she had made sure that she reminded him to be kinder to her friend.

"Don't worry! You are looking at a master of control!" Baiyi called out in between attacks. "This fight is a piece of cake. I can even continue with my eyes clo—"

Bang!

An ashen grey blur careened through the air towards Mia and skid to a stop beside her. It was Baiyi, who seemed to have been blown backward.

"Um, Mr. Hope? Are you alright?"

"Well, 'even nods sometimes Homer'[1]," Baiyi, who felt embarrassed, hurriedly explained. His head was facing backward, his neck seemingly snapped. "You see, it's been a while since I fought with my bare hands, so I have gotten a little rusty."

"Um, Mr. Hope? Your helmet…" Mia whispered.

"Oh, right." Baiyi held his helmet and turned it back around. "That fella is quite skilled in physical combat; I'll give her that. I should not have engaged her in fisticuffs."

Baiyi reached into his storage pouch and took out the Aldhelm. With a flourish, the chains that held the staff together was revealed. Baiyi was holding it the same way one would hold a pair of nunchakus.

"Hwaaaaaaahhhhhhh-chaaahhh!" Baiyi's battle cry rang out, as he charged towards the angel once more.

This time, fighting with a weapon this time, Baiyi quickly gained the advantage, even though he did not use any martial art techniques. Despite the might of the angel's strikes, Baiyi knew that she was pulling her punches, only fighting reflexively.

"Tsk tsk. What's holding you back?" Baiyi gloated. He returned the Aldhelm to its original state and began to spin it at high speed. The staff was spun faster as Baiyi began to use a technique that the Sorcerer Walker was renowned for — Moloch Tanoura.

Mia instantly recognized the technique, and in a panic, she screamed, "Lulu, watch out!"

The angel froze for an instant.

Boom!

A gold ray of light spiraled in the air and crashed at Mia's feet.

"Um, Lulu? Are you alright?"

The angel did not reply, neither did it attack. However, a trace of annoyance tainted its indifferent expression. The angel got to her feet and glanced at Mia.

An invisible force gently lifted Mia and moved her further away. Mia wondered if this was the angel unwilling to see her so close to the scene.

A strange pattern kept recurring.

"Go, Mr. Hope—"

Bang!

Baiyi, who had crashed beside Mia, got to his feet and glared at her, after which he dashed forward.

"Look out, Lulu —"

Boom!

The angel crashed to the ground beside Mia. She quickly got up and frowned at Mia, after which that invisible force gently pushed Mia further away.

"Can the two of you just stop fighting—"

'Ke-rrassh!'

An ashen grey streak flew backward, in the opposite direction of a golden ball of light, which was also careening through the air. Both lights crashed into cottages on opposite sides of the town square.

"Maybe, I should just shut up." Mia sighed, at a loss for what to do.

The battle was temporarily stopped as both sides slowly crawled out from the rubble they had caused. Neither Baiyi nor the angel was hurt, but Baiyi's scarf was completely torn, and there was a grumpy cat atop his head. He had just crashed into the cat's home.

The angel was more graceful. There was no speck of dirt to be seen on her, but a curious chick could be seen on her palm, flapping its wings. The angel had careened right into a chicken's nest.

Invisible forces lifted the cat and the chick, sending them both to Mia, who froze at the sight of them.

Why would two of the most people she has ever met fight each other?

The fight continued, though.

A few rounds later, Baiyi had fully gauged the angel's might. "In terms of brute strength, this angel is stronger than the Alpine Barbarians," he muttered to himself. "Her defense is even more formidable; regular attacks cannot make a dent on her. I've thrown so many punches, yet there is no scratch to be seen on her. Furthermore, she can fly while holding that powerful sword of light…"

Baiyi ran his fingers over his Aldhelm staff, feeling the many scratches on it. The scratches were shallow, but the staff was made from Aldhelm steel, which is famous for its resilience to physical attacks. The scratches on the staff were all it would take for one to understand how powerful the angel was.

The angel had not used her Holy Power and theurgical spells yet, despite getting hit by Baiyi a few times. Hence, Baiyi could not tell how strong she was when she went all out.

"What are you hiding?" Baiyi asked quietly. "Or, are you afraid?"

The angel remained silent, and Baiyi, who was no longer in the mood to play, muttered, "Specialized Encasement Shaping…"

With a resounding bang, waves of terrifying black energy surged out of Baiyi and encased him in a black ball.

Baiyi knew that the Angel's Holy Power was not as potent as that of the Abyss Lord's Marionette that he fought years ago. Furthermore, his powers had grown in the past decade, due to Mia's improvement and his discovery of the Ember of Hope. Using his Void Energy would force the angel to go all out, as well.

"If you do not take this fight seriously, you will not leave here alive." Baiyi's voice reverberated from within the black ball. Fiery black flames gushed out from the black ball, rushing towards the angel.

The angel spread her wings and instantly took to the sky, putting as much distance as she could between herself and Baiyi. This was the first time she had seen Void Energy, yet she knew not to come in contact with the tar-black flames.

From high up in the sky, the angel emotionlessly looked down at the black ball. Her lip's parted, and Lulu's voice escaped her lips in a hiss. "Power unpermitted by the Laws! A heretic!"

The angel's wings glowed brighter than ever before. The light glowed so brightly, it seemed to take form and wrapped itself around her body. The light then hardened and a golden armor set, moments later. White-hot flames began to burn atop the claymore in her hand.

"Finally taking off the kid gloves, are you?" Baiyi calmly watched the angel transform in the sky. Void Energy swirled atop his palm and condensed into a long, jet-black lance.

With a Void Spear in hand, Baiyi looked up and frowned at the angel, who was staring daggers at him.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

529 A Battle That Subverts Stereotypes

On the ground was a ball of black energy, and the person within it, who was standing at alert, had something blue tied around his forehead. A golden angel wearing majestic armor hovered high up in the blue sky. All that remained of the town square, in which they were doing battle, was rubble.

This was the first time humans had seen an angel's battle appearance. This information was not available even in the Church's records, as no one had been stupid enough to challenge an angel.

The calm before the storm came to an abrupt end when Baiyi hurled his Void Spear. In what seemed like a Planck instant, the tip of the spear, which left a black tear in the space behind it, had reached the angel's chest, and it was too late to dodge. The angel did not try to dodge; she met the spear with her flaming claymore. At the same time, a golden aura surged out from the golden blade and covered the angel.

The veil-like, golden defense barrier around the angel looked unstable — it was as though a slight breeze would blow it away — but when the tip of the spear struck it, it failed to pierce through.

The collision generated a frightening shockwave that swept through the area like a gale. Mia had already deployed a protective barrier despite standing so far away, yet the shockwave made her stumble. The stinging wind made her cheeks hurt.

The tremendous shockwave blew away the mounds of rubble in the area. The town now looked as though someone had just cleaned it up.

Baiyi was not surprised by the sturdiness of the angel's defense barrier and calmly said, "That untamed wave of Divine Energy is quite something! I guess I underestimated you a little too much. Nevertheless, your techniques don't seem polished, do they?"

Baiyi looked down at the area he was in. "Also, you went a little overboard with your defense. Do you really hate what I am that much?"

As Baiyi spoke, he gracefully dodged a torrent of light blades pouring down from the sky.

From afar, these blades resembled Demigod-level combat chi blades, but they were not. The angel's blades were made of raw Holy Power — something no human could ever hope to match. The blades struck the ground, creating very deep pits upon impact.

"Not only are you rusty, but your aim is also abysmal, as well. You really should get a pair of glasses," Baiyi said with a sneer. The second wave of light blade attacks came right after the first wave, but Baiyi gracefully dodged them, as well. As he danced around the blades, Baiyi found an opportunity to hurl another Void Spear at the angel, but it was knocked off course by a light blade.

The collision did cause another explosion, though. Baiyi's Void Spear exploded into several smaller spears and streaked towards the angel.

"Take this: the furious thrusts of angry tribesmen!" Baiyi bellowed as he controlled the spears to charge from different directions. The angel was like a sealion being hunted by a group of hunters with spears. All her escape routes had been sealed off.

Another gold barrier encased the angel, but the spears did not strike it. When the spears reached the angel, they stopped, and bolts of black electricity exploded out of them.

The lightning formed a circle around the angel's golden barrier, trapping her within. The black lightning converged to form stronger bolts, which pelted the angel's golden barrier constantly, causing it to lose some of its luster.

As Baiyi controlled the small spears, he said, "Ley see if that defense of yours is flawless!"

The words had only just left his mouth when cracks appeared on the huge ball of lightning. Golden light shone from out of those cracks, and a few moments later, the black lightning ball was rilled with cracks emitting gold light. A fiery red gust shot of from within the battered black lightning ball, creating an explosion so great, it could be confused for a supernova. The small spears were destroyed in the explosion, and the black lightning dissipated.

The golden angel reemerged, its wings spread wide open, illuminating the sky with their brilliant golden glow.

Baiyi frowned as another attack was destroyed.

He now had a complete understanding of how the angel fought. The angel was like a bull, disregarding all tactics. This was the same regardless of who she fought. Her techniques were primitive, and it was clear that she had no battle experience.

The contrast between the angel's beauty and her brutish manner of fighting was alarming. Meanwhile, Baiyi, a Voidwalker, who was encased in the black ball of energy, fought gracefully and skillfully. They were both individuals that subverted their stereotype. One relied on skill and planning, while the other relied on brute force and intuition. The soon began a struggle between skill and raw power.

The angel soared higher up and clouds of light blades, which fell at a more ferocious intensity than before. Every light blade that struck the ground did as much damage as a missile. As the ground trembled, Mia's anxiety grew, yet all she could do was watch helplessly from a safe distance.

Mia knew that this battle had passed the point of intervention; she could not even get close, lest she gets hurt. Mia did not want to know who would come out victorious; as she cared for both Baiyi and Lulu, she would be devastated if either of them lost. Mia was frightened by how the battle could end, and she did her best not to think about it.

Baiyi, on the other hand, was not the least bit worried. Despite being encased in a huge ball of black energy, he easily dodged the rain of blames with his brilliant dexterity, without breaking a sweat. He was so at ease, he kept taunting the angel. "Missed me! Missed me again! Ooh, missed again!"

As Baiyi wondered how he would retaliate, he could not help but glance around the surrounding. "Damn, you've turned this whole place into a hellhole! Are you actually a barbarian on the inside? You seem to know only two techniques. You may resemble the beautiful girl-next-door, but you're nothing more than the Hulk filled with steroids!"

The constant barrage of light blades stared up a cloud of dust so thick, the angel could no longer see Baiyi. As she looked down warily, her entire being was focused on trying to spot a black silhouette in the dense sea of dust below.

Mia suddenly felt a wave of energy flow forcefully through her veins, and she almost lost her foot. She was dizzy and nauseous. Similar episodes had occurred in the past, only when her Soul Armature was siphoning a great deal of power in preparation for a devastating attack.

"Telos," Baiyi muttered.

A gust of air blew away the sea of dust, revealing the Voidwalker at the bottom of a really deep crater. A massive black formation was erected behind Baiyi, who had bent forward slightly. His right arm was raised slightly, and a jet-black spear was hovering below his open palm.

The last time Baiyi had used this technique, was in a bitter battle against a Divine but kinky leather suit. Every ounce of Void Energy within him had been compressed into this black spear, which he then used to pierce the divine leather suit at point-blank range. The divine leather suit suffered damage so great, its self-repair ability could not undo it.

If the same attack were to strike an angel inhabiting a mortal's body, what would happen?

The angel quickly conjured another holy barrier around herself. She did not look scared; instead, she looked confused. The angel believed her barrier would protect her. The only thing on her mind was how her opponent had managed to gather all that power and escape her notice.

The price she paid for her complacency was a heavy one. The angel watched Baiyi turn into a blur, and before she could process what she had seen, a black spear struck her divine barrier.

There was no violent explosion or shockwaves. Mia watched as the entire world turned black for a second — a period in which she could see nothing.

When her vision returned, the fight was over.

Feathers swayed downwards in the gentle breeze, as the angel, whose wings had been chopped in half, fell with frightening speed.

The spear had easily pierced into the angel's near-impenetrable divine barrier and tore both wings in half. The angel's armor and weapon had dissipated into harmless motes of light, and her battered figure streaked towards the scorched earth below — akin to an angel falling into an abyss.

'An abyss of her own making. How ironic,' Baiyi thought.

"Well, that settles it. Skill vs power is not important. In the end, it's the one who skillfully uses their power that will come out victorious," Baiyi muttered and sped towards the fallen angel. He caught her before she could hit the ground. Baiyi landed gently inside a crater with the angel in his arms. When he flew out of the hole, Baiyi was holding a huge ball of light in his other hand.

The ball of light was a defense barrier, which contained a frightened Yula, who was staring at Baiyi in horror. The frightened boy struggled desperately to free himself.

"You're still alive, right?" The Fifth Walker said, looking down at the angel. He dropped the ball of light and brought a finger under the angel's nose, and he felt her weakened breaths. With the angel in one arm and the ball of light containing the young cleric in the other, Baiyi flew towards Mia.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

530 After The Battle

The next morning, in the Imperial Palace, a maid served the Emperor his breakfast, and when no one was looking, she yawned widely.

Sleep had eluded her last night, as the banshee-like wails echoing through the hallways terrified her. Rumor had it that those cries had come from the bedroom that belonged to the Emperor's beloved princess. One of the maids, who cleaned the room that morning, claimed she had had to pick up several broken feather dusters, which littered the room. No one knew what had caused the disturbance.

"Tell me again; why will you be out all day today?" The Emperor asked Baiyi as he ate his breakfast.

"I told you already; I need to find shelter for the survivors. I also need to make sure that it's safe to bring her back to the palace," Baiyi replied. "What would happen if she went berserk and hurt someone?"

"Very thoughtful of you, but honestly, these are menial tasks you could leave to your subjects," the Emperor replied, after which his gaze shifted to Mia, who had quiet all morning. "Don't you think you were too harsh on her?"

Mia's cheeks were a little red, and her lips were contorted into a scowl. She fed a little cat, whose home Baiyi destroyed the night before, milk from a bottle. A chubby chick waddled across the table, trying to take in its unfamiliar surroundings.

Everything seemed okay at first glance, but a careful eye would spot Mia seated atop a stack of soft cushions — a chilling indicator of what she had suffered the night before.

When they returned to the palace last night, Mia acted as cute as she possibly could, doing all she could to get her Soul Armature to forgive her. When she saw Baiyi ignore her and pick two feather dusters, Mia resorted to plan B: scream for help from her Royal Gramps.

Unfortunately, the Emperor was fast asleep in his quarters.

"She's all grown-up, yet she still acts like a petulant child! If I had not reached her in time, who knows what would have happened?" Baiyi growled. His fury masked the dread he felt in his heart. If he had arrived later, the soft-hearted Mia would have rushed toward the angel! With how unresponsive the angel had initially been and how much the young cleric hated Rohlserlians, Mia would not have survived the encounter, even though she had godly equipment. Baiyi could not see how Mia could have defeated the angel on her own, if he had arrived too late.

Mia disagreed with Baiyi's assessment, and this made the Voidwalker wonder if her first act of defiance had triggered her rebellious phase. When Baiyi pulled the blindfold off the unconscious angel, he positively identified the host as Lulu. Mia strongly believed that Lulu, her best friend, would not hurt her, whether she was an angel or not. Mia believed that the power of their friendship would have been more than enough to snap Lulu out of it; to her, that was a better option than her violent Soul Armature beating the angel to a coma.

Mia believed this because when the angel fought Baiyi, not only did the angel not harm her, but she would also gently push Mia away from the chaos, protecting her from danger.

Baiyi scoffed at that Mia after she had said her piece. "The power of friendship? Really?! What, you think friendship is magic? Are you 'My Little Pony'?"

A heated quarrel broke out between the two, and Baiyi made sure to put the prepared feather dusters to good use. The argument worsened when the issue of treating the angel came up. Mia wanted to nurse the unconscious Lulu back to full health, but Baiyi was adamant in his belief that the angel needed a harsher treatment. With fury clouding Mia's judgment, she fired a waterball at Baiyi.

"She regretted it right after and apologized tearfully. Morning arrived, and she was not talking to me again." Baiyi shrugged.

"Nngh! It… still… hurts! And he banned me from drinking medicine," Mia muttered under her breath. She tried to adjust her sitting position, but a jolt of pain traveled up from her butt and rattled her brain, forcing her to give up.

"Come now. He only did this for your own good, Mia. I stand by his decision; before this, we had never seen an angel before. Your approach was careless and foolhardy. This should serve as a good lesson for you," the Emperor said, comforting Mia. "But, really, can we please let her have some medicine to relieve her pain? It hurts me to see her this way."

Baiyi took out a small bottle with purple liquid within it and popped its lid off.

This potion was one of the latest in a line of potions jointly invented by Da Xue's Alchemy Faculty and the Dole family. It was recognized for its potent healing properties; it could cure the worst kinds of wounds in minutes. Despite being a high-end medicine that cost a fortune, the potion was in high demand, and whenever a new stock is released, they are quickly sold out. As it was one of the privileges given to the Grand Principal of Da Xue, Baiyi had some for his own use.

The Emperor recognized the potion, as he had the memories of his future self, the Archmage. "Ah, the revolutionary medicine initially called 'Number Six Six Six', and later renamed 'Purple Miracle' by the consumers. Called by some as the best medicine ever sold in Isythre, most people use it only in life-or-death situations; yet, here were are, using one just for you," the Emperor said, chuckling. "It looks to me like your master really cares about you."

Moved but embarrassed, Mia buried her head in her hands and whispered, "Thank you, Mr. Hope." Without further ado, she downed half the potion in one gulp. Afterward, she re-sealed the small bottle and carefully stowed it in her robe. She wanted to give the other half to Lulu, later.

Less than a minute later, color returned to Mia's face, and she felt much better, despite taking only half the potion.

"Alright, enough about that. How are the captives?" The Emperor asked.

"The angel's locked up in the palace's fortified underground basement, where you cage your exotic wild beasts. I added some extra enchantments too, so the cell should be escape-proof," Baiyi replied.

This was the real reason why Mia was furious about Baiyi's decision; the Soul Armature was treating her best friend no differently than one would treat a wild beast!

"As for the annoying pipsqueak, I handed him over to Captain Aegis. The captain assured me that he would dispatch the most cold-blooded interrogators to make the pipsqueak talk, and this morning, a full report of his confession arrived," Baiyi said, handing a piece of parchment to the Emperor.

Mia's eyes widened, and she tried to shuffle over to get a look at the report. She really wanted to know what the young cleric had done to her best friend.

"Hmm, how disappointing. The interrogators had not gotten to the best part, yet the pipsqueak was already singing like a bird. Weakling. I expected a cleric to have more guts than this," the Emperor said as he read the report. He made sure to read out the vital parts of the report for Mia.

The boy's real name was not Yula, after all; his name was foreign and hard to pronounce. He was from a small tribe located between the borders of Rohlserlia and Mornseria. In a conflict that broke out between both nations, the tribe was destroyed. This made the boy hate everyone from both nations.

He crossed the Mornserian border, seeking refuge in the nation, but he was quickly captured, along with others, and enslaved by the government. These slaves were forced to construct the Path of Heaven in Coninopolis. The boy did not know what he had been forced to build, but that did not matter to him, as he no longer had a purpose for living.

Sometime later, the Emperor of Rohlserlia and his sorcerers launched a surprise attack on Mornseria. They did not stay long, but in the time they were there, they massacred all the coworkers the boy had befriended, including a girl that had promised to spend the rest of her life with him. The boy's lower body was blown off in the chaos, but he did not die.

As despair overtook the boy, he recalled some words he had heard from some mystics that visited the city a while ago. He recited them continuously, unknowingly praying to a god that he did not know. His prayer was answered, and a strange spirit permeated his body, regrowing his lower half and healing his wounds.

That strange spirit later introduced itself to him.

"I am Noirciel, the fourth commander of the Angels under Tylemus, the God of Time. I am also his personal vassal." Noirciel had also said that she had descended into Isythre to investigate an anomaly that had happened in the realm. She was not granted Tylemus's Arbiter Right, though. However, the God of Power, Dalos, had blessed her with his powers so that she could restore order and light to the world," the Emperor said, reading out what was written on the parchment. All of this did not sound like something that could be made up by an uneducated person.

"What the hell is all this?" The Emperor sighed. "What a dose of information overload. Is it just me, or is this God of Power fella someone we know?"

"We do know him a little. Back on Mars, remember? His Arbiter Right was stolen by Godsfall cult, who then used it to start a big hoo-ha," Baiyi said. "This time, the god decided to interfere, blessing someone else's angel for no apparent reason! No wonder all my physical attacks failed to deal any damage to her. Only Void Energy, a power outside Laws, could hurt her. Goddammit. This God of Power guy is reaching places that don't even want him. No wonder some mortals were able to steal his powers in the future!"

"But this other guy, Tylemus, I have not heard of him before. The Bard Walker has no memories of him, too. Could it be that the guy never started a religion and amassed followers in Isythre?" Baiyi wondered out loud.

"Ha! You think a red-blooded buffoon, who consults the lower-half of his body more than his brain, would be an expert at religion?" The Emperor sneered. "He could just be a god that keeps a low profile. Why would this reserved God of Time send his vassal here? It is pretty obvious."

Baiyi and Mia looked at each other. That angel had come for them.

If that was the case, Mia's continued interaction with the angel could put her in grave danger.

Baiyi and Mia had met Noirciel back in Aegir, and one of them even fought with her. At the time, why did it not occur to her that they were the anomalies that she had been sent to investigate? Had she been incompetent, or were Baiyi and Mia just very good at blending in? Could her motive be more sinister than what the young cleric guessed?

This was something the young cleric could not answer; he had already told them all he knew. If they wanted to know more, they had to wait for the angel to wake up, and they can question her themselves.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

531 Visiting The Prisoner

"What happened after that, Royal Gramps? How did she meet Lulu?" When Mia saw the adults getting sidetracked, she steered them back on course. After all, she was more concerned about the encounter that changed her best friend, Lulu.

"Uh hem!" The Emperor cleared his throat and returned his attention to the report.

Although the angel chose not to inhabit the young cleric's body, she did issue him three orders: first, he had to change his name to Yula. Second, he had to find a host suitable for the angel to inhabit. Third, he had to use only a slingshot for self-defense.

That was all. The angel did not impose any time limit, neither had she commanded him to preach. The young cleric decided to preach on his own. As Cononipolis was where many religions were founded, the young cleric knew many speeches that had been made by missionaries to motivate followers. That and the Holy Power surging out from him in abundance had allowed him to fool many. The money spent on his transportation and food had been donated from the people he had converted.

The angel had said nothing when the young cleric did all these, but the cautious youth decided not to go as low as many degenerate founders had. This was the reason why he did not harm anyone, at all.

"Soon, the boy reached Aegir. He lodged at a local guesthouse, and sometime later, the town was invaded by demons. The angel wanted to destroy the demons, but she first needed to inhabit the body of a beautiful maiden of a pure heart. Thus, the boy went around town, searching for a suitable host, and eventually found Lulu," said the Emperor, who was reading from the report.

When the Emperor mentioned Lulu's name, his expression changed for only a moment, but Baiyi saw it.

"Watching the demons massacre her people and destroy her beloved town compelled Lulu to agree. The angel then descended into Lulu's body, and everything that happened next was what you both have witnessed," the Emperor said. He turned to Baiyi, waiting for his student to corroborate these accounts.

"I checked with the officials in Highland City. Lulu's parents are still there taking care of the injured, and they had sent their daughter home earlier, to tend to the house in their absence. That was why she, uh, was around when the demons invaded," Baiyi sheepishly said. He was embarrassed, for he had said earlier that he was sure that Lulu was in Highland City, and safe, which turned out to be wrong.

"What… what bad things will happen to Lulu now?" Mia's voice was filled with concern, as she tightened her hold on the cat.

Baiyi hesitated for a bit and said, "Her vitals are good, but she is still in a coma. Could this be a side effect of having one's body taken over by an angel?"

What Baiyi did not tell Mia, however, was that her best friend's life span seemed to have reduced by ten years. If he was not mistaken, that was another price Lulu had had to pay for being possessed by a being of such immense power.

"But, why did the Angel need a body? Didn't she have that young cleric at first?" Mia asked.

"Well," the Emperor — who had just tossed aside the report, as there was nothing more to glean from it — said, "I've been decoding the Path of Heaven, and from what I have unearthed so far, that formation alone is not powerful enough to be used to summon an angel to our realm."

"He's right. We haven't gotten finished our investigation, but, at this stage, there are details one can already draw, such as the limit to the formation's effect," Baiyi said. "The Path of Heaven's design might look sophisticated, but it is nothing compared to the trans-realm transporter portals of our time, neither is it powerful enough to connect us to the gods. The Path of Heaven even lacks the materials essential for space magic."

"But then… How did it manage to—"

"Probably the coincidental human sacrifice," the Emperor said. "As you know, live sacrifices provide astronomically potent power to any kind of formation, especially when the sacrificial process involves excruciating torture. When we attacked Concinopolis, many slave workers are caught in the crossfire and died painfully atop the Path to Heaven. This met the live sacrifice requirement and granted the formation enough power for an angel to descend."

"Then, the final step was the wish the young cleric made, when he prayed, atop the super-charged Path of Heaven formation. The angel could not possess his body, as doing so would mean that the purpose of the sacrifice had been fulfilled, and she would be compelled to return from whence she came," Baiyi said. "This is why the Church had done its best to improve the formation it used to summon angels, as the Path of Heaven formation was too simple and inferior. The Church wanted to forgo human sacrifices completely. After all, the descent of an angel should not be preceded by something as savage as human sacrifices, right?

"Nevertheless, there is still a lot we don't know. What is the angel's motive?" Baiyi said. Using his mana, Baiyi drew a simple map of the Empire, after which he marked the spots that he and Mia had been. He linked all marked spots with an arrow, which then pointed directly to the Imperial Capital.

"The God of Time's came to our mortal real to investigate an anomaly, but she did not take action against Mia and Mia. This could only mean that…" Baiyi gazed at the Emperor.

"She's here for me." The Emperor nodded. "The two of you may be from the future, but you will return to your original timeline, sooner or later. But, I am originally from this time, yet I possess memories and knowledge of future events. If she has come here to reset the changes made to the past, then I am, without question, a bigger offender than you two.

"The angel must be working by some sort of principle; otherwise, she would not have asked the young cleric to change his name to Yula, after which she allowed him to mimic the work of the historical Apostle Yula," the Emperor said. "That Apostle's life is an example of an event that is intrinsically integrated into Isythre's history. Compared to him, your actions are negligible."

"Well, I guess I was worried over nothing, then. I should have known I'm just a little butterfly that cannot create any storms," Baiyi said, chuckling.

"Please, I'm pretty sure you do not know of Mr. Lorenz's theory. I bet everything you know of the Butterfly effect came from that movie!" The Emperor sneered. "I always said you needed to read more books, but noooo; you just want to watch anime and play video games all day!"

'Uh! What the hell are you yammering on about this time, old man?' Baiyi groaned [2], after which he said, "Well, we'll need to interroga— I mean, interview Lulu if we want to know more. This makes me wonder…"

Baiyi turned to Emperor and said, "What do you think about Lulu?"

The Emperor instantly understood what his student was getting at. Lulu was the woman who held a firm spot in his hundreds-of-years long life, after all. However, the Emperor shook his head dismissively and said, "An emperor has no time for the luxury of love."

His response brought about silence in the room. After a short while, Mia, unable to hold back any longer, shot to her feet and said, "Well, how about we visit Lulu now? I bet she must be frightened, waking up to see herself trapped in Mr. Hope's horrid cell!"

The three made their way to the underground dungeon. As a place created to cage wild mystical beasts, which would then be experimented on, the dungeon's security was tight. The place was only dimly lit, and the shadows on the wall made the dungeon appear haunted.

This was the reason why Mia was furious that Baiyi had locked her best friend up in this place.

"Fun fact: It is in this same dungeon that past Rohlserlian emperors locked up their siblings, cousins, and other members of the imperial household," the Emperor said to Mia. "You see; to keep your friend here is actually an indirect way of acknowledging her importance, no?"

Mia was a bit amused, but she did not reply. Instead, she cast several Lumos spells to lit up the place.

The light illuminated Lulu's tiny, feeble frame. She was curled up at a corner of her cell. Lulu was surrounded by a ring of black flames, which she could, of course, not touch. It was as though she had been abducted by a demon lord. This was all Baiyi's doing.

Mia stared at Lulu, and she realized that her friend was already awake. Lulu was shivering and had her arms wrapped around her knees. Mia passed the cat to the Emperor and rushed towards Lulu.

"Careful now!" Baiyi issued a loud warning and dispelled some less important defense spells, which allowed Mia to see better. However, Baiyi did not dispell the ring of black flames and the repelling force around it. The repelling force stopped Mia in her tracks, causing her to stumble backward.

The Emperor did not spare Lulu a glance. He was playfully tugging at the cat's whiskers, after which he rubbed its soft paws. "Aww, you're more 'adowrawble' than I expected!"

He did not seem to care about his future wife, whatsoever!

From outside the repelling force, Mia shouted, "Lulu! Lulu! Are you awake? Can you hear me?"

Lulu raised her head and looked at Mia. There were no signs of life in Lulu's eyes; the eyes were glassy and looked like they belonged on a corpse.

Lulu looked away and slipped back into the shadows. She was like a person that had just an international esports championship and was publicly humiliated.

"M-Mr. Hope." Mia's slowly turned to Baiyi, close to tears. "Y-y-you don't think you've b-beaten her up so hard, she has become a vegetable, right?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I ain't taking this blame!" He quickly waved his hands in denial. He walked towards Lulu and began to examine her with his psychic sense. "Her mental state is in chaos. It is as though two personalities are fighting for control. Lulu is fighting the angel for control of her body. This, Mia, is something you will discover if you used your psychic sense on her."

Mia did as Baiyi suggested and that realized he was right. An expression of panic appeared on her face. "Isn't that dangerous? How could a normal girl possibly win against an angel?"

"I wouldn't be so quick to conclude. Look carefully," Baiyi replied, pointing at Lulu's hand.

The girl was gripping a kitty plush toy tightly.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

532 Entering the Plushie

Baiyi's attention shifted to the kitty plush toy. He wondered if it was this item that had attracted the angel to Lulu. Aegir had a lot of girls, and although they were not as pretty as Lulu, the angel had ordered the young cleric to look for Lulu. Could this have anything to do with the blessing Laeticia clumsily left on that plush toy? Mia had given Lulu the plush toy that sealed her fate; did this not make Mia the real culprit?

"What enchantment did Laeticia make?" Baiyi thought out loud.

"I don't remember. I think it's something to do with making sure someone awake and aware? Or, it could just be an anti-hex," Mia replied.

"The main reason why Lulu can still hold that angel at bay could be because of whatever enchantment Laeticia placed on that plush toy. Another reason is Lulu's deep attachment to you," Baiyi said. "How else can the spirit of an average girl fight an immortal spirit? Now that I think of it: is it not weird than an angel is being repulsed by a theurgical spell?"

"Mr. Hope!" Mia frantically called out, visibly close to tears. "Please, can you think about all that some other time? Lulu needs our help right now! She's so pitiful, and in so much pain…"

'Yes, she is pitiful, but all I see is a girl curled up in a corner! She's not having a convulsion, neither is she screaming in agony. How did you conclude that she's in pain?' Baiyi wondered.

Even if Baiyi wished to help, there was nothing he could do. How was he, or anyone else, supposed to get involved in a fight happening in someone else's mind?

"Any bright ideas?" Baiyi asked the Emperor, who was still messing around with the cat. This time, the man was rubbing it against his cheeks.

The Emperor coughed loudly and dropped the cat. He walked towards Lulu, covered her with his psychic sense, and frowned, "That plush toy is unusual. There is some sort of channel that keeps it connected to the girl's mind. could feel a sort of channel connecting to that girl's mind within it… What did you guys do?"

Mia quickly explained to the Emperor what she had seen Laeticia do to the plush toy. When she finished, the Emperor was silent for a while, after which he said, "I do not know what effect that theurgical spell has; I do know that this plush toy is a gateway to the girl's mind. You know what that means, don't you?"

The Emperor looked at Baiyi, who had gone wide-eyed. The Fifth Walker soon regained his composure and said, "You can't seriously be thinking of sending me into that plush toy."

"How else are we supposed to save her? This is the only method we have come up with," the Emperor said. "Isn't possessing the plushies of little girls one of your specialties?"

"Are you serious? When I did become the one that often possessed toys? You guys were experts are possessing that hammerhead shark plushie!" Baiyi replied hotly. "Besides, how much of my spirit can that bloody little thing hold? Definitely not enough for me to fight that angel, that's for sure!"

Mia's hope was re-ignited at the mention of the possibility of saving her friend. She hugged Baiyi's arms and looked up at him with hope-filled eyes. "There's no need to be scared, Mr. Hope! I will go with you!"

This was akin to a scene straight out of a war movie; a soldier pleading with a jaded physician to save his comrade from death. Unfortunately, this gesture had no effect on Baiyi. 'If you were with me, what could you possibly do? No, how would you get into that plush toy? Can you possess a toy? I think not!'

He shook his head slowly, refusing Mia.

"We won't know if it works if we don't try, right? Plus, I don't think the angel is as strong as you let on; after all, her opponent is only a little girl. The fact that the plush toy is too small to hold much of your spirit is a good thing — not a bad thing — because the angel would only be able to damage the bit of your soul in the plush toy," said the Emperor, after which he crouched and began to draw a formation on the floor. This formation was for the Pseudo-Descend Spell!

"Is just this enough?" Baiyi asked in surprise.

"It won't work as good as drawing the formation on the plush toy, but it will have to do," the Emperor replied confidently. "Once you're there, don't introduce yourself as the enemy. Your mission is to guide Lulu's spirit, helping it gradually seize control of her body."

When the Emperor finished drawing the formation, he moved to draw the other half of it on Baiyi's back. He looked quite eager to fire it up.

Baiyi had not yet consented to the plan!

Mia, who could sense her Soul Armature's reluctance, gritted her teeth and exclaimed, "If you bring Lulu back to us, Mr. Hope, I… I'll call you Daddy, forever!" [1]

Baiyi shivered as though a bolt of lightning had just struck him. The urge to exclaim, "Yesssss!" in a singsong voice almost overwhelmed him, but Baiyi fought down the urge. Instead, he patted Mia's head and chucked. "I understand your feelings, Mia, but that isn't necessary," he said, looking more pleased than he let on. "You know our relationship has long since passed the need for such silly addresses."

"Well... what if I let you cuddle me to sleep at night, like your very own human-sized pillow?" Mia said, making a more appealing offer.

The offer left Baiyi speechless. When did this girl become so sly? She had to know that as a Soul Armature, Baiyi did not need to sleep; he had never needed to sleep his descent to the world!

"Fine, fine! I'll go, so you can stop coming up with these ridiculous offers," Baiyi helplessly replied. "Just promise me that you'll listen to what I say from now on, and not act on a whim anymore, okay?"

Without waiting for a reply, Baiyi gave the Emperor a nod. He was ready.

The Emperor activated the formation, and a fragment of Baiyi's spirit was transferred into the plush toy.

Baiyi felt a strange sensation, but this was not something he was not already used to. He was in two bodies at once; a bit of his spirit was in his regular suit of armor, and another bit was in the plush toy. Baiyi could see through the plush toy's beady eyes, and he could control its limbs.

This was no different from what Baiyi had done in the past. He used to teach students in class at Da Xue, all the while exploring distant micro-realms with other fragments of his spirit.

Past experiences allowed Baiyi to adapt quickly to his new state. The kitty plush toy waved its short arms at the Emperor and Mia, indicating that the spell had succeeded. Then, Baiyi's suit of armor said, "It's kinda fuzzy in here, but what you detected earlier is true; this plush toy is linked to Lulu's psyche. I can actually cross into her mind from here. It's just like going through a door…"

Baiyi walked down the channel within the kitty plush toy. As he ventured deeper, the world around him brightened, and soon, it got so bright that he could no longer see. When Baiyi came to, he was in a different location: Lulu's mindscape.

It was an eerie sight. The world was split into two. On the left was a vast expanse of blue and white clouds slowly soaring by. It made one feel as though they were standing in the sky. On the right was a rustic town that looked really familiar.

Both sides had merged, but they still appeared crude and were split down the middle. It was like a very bad collage. Standing right in front of the line that split both areas were two girls, who stood facing each other.

They were identical in every way, except for their countenance. The girl on the left glowed faintly, and she had a blindfold over her eyes. She exuded a cold, holy aura, which made everything around her seem small and unimportant.

The girl on the right was timid, making her seem small. A golden circle, which emanated from the kitty plush toy she was hugging tightly, protected her by the cold aura surging from the girl on the left. This made her look meek and feeble, but she stood her ground and did not give in to her adversary.

Baiyi could already tell who they were. What surprised him, though, was the fact that the girls were at a stalemate. He had expected the timid girl to be at a disadvantage, struggling intensely not to submit. However, despite the difference in power, both sides were evenly matched.

Lulu was not that strong. It was the angel who had not made any attempt to wrest control off Lulu. The angel's spirit was hundreds of times stronger than Lulu's, but for some reason, she was holding back, allowing Lulu to resist. Something struck Baiyi as odd: why did the angel choose to look exactly like Lulu?

Everything he had seen saw was narrated by Baiyi's suit of armor to the Emperor and Mia. As Baiyi spoke to them, his spirit kept moving till it got into the plush toy Lulu was hugging tightly.

The plush toy in Lulu's arms stirred and began to struggle.

Lulu gasped. She looked down at the plush toy and said, "Did you just move, Kitty? Are you Mia, here to save me?"

"Sorry, kid. It's just me," replied the plush toy. As this was Lulu's mind, Baiyi and Lulu could converse telepathically.

"That voice… Is that you, Mia's father?" Lulu gasped even louder. "How did you get here?"

"It's a little complicated. It's better to take care of the current situation first. Raise me, kid — yes, a little higher — so that I'll talk to that one."

Lulu placed the plush toy on her head. It got to its feet and waved its short limb to the girl on the other side. "Yo!"

The blindfolded Lulu raised her head in surprise at the plush toy's emergence. "An intruder?"

"We have met before, but not under these circumstances?"

Noirciel stiffened. As the memories of previous events resurfaced in her mind, her expression became more unsightly, and her voice turned cold. "You! The heretic who tainted the Law with forbidden power! You… You…!"

The angel heaved, trying her best to suppress her rage, after which she groaned weakly. "You… bear the crest of Lord Nehemiah. You're his chosen one! Why have you treated me as an adversary?"

'What. The. Hell did you just say? Who the hell is Lord Nehemiah? Since when did I become someone's messenger?' Baiyi thought in shock.

Without allowing the plush toy to reply, the angel continued, saying, "You are Lord Nehemiah's messenger, and she is the one beloved by Our Highest Lord. Why then did you obstruct me? Why have you treated me as an adversary?"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

533 Disagreemen

"You are Lord Nehemiah's messenger, and she is the one beloved by Our Highest Lord. So why did you obstruct me? Why do you treat me as an adversary?"

Noirciel's manner of speaking had always been indifferent, but this time, it was easy to tell that she was very upset. Her voice rose into a wail. "Aren't we on the same side?! Why then did you beat me up?!" [1]

'For someone who's supposed to be apathetic, you're quite emotional, aren't you?' Baiyi could not help feeling amused.

The current situation was nothing to laugh about, though. Baiyi could not stop the angel from wresting control of Lulu's body, even if this fragment of his spirit cooperated with Lulu's. The golden barrier around Lulu was frail; Noirciel could easily crush it, along with Lulu's spirit, if she wished to. For some reason, however, Noirciel considered the brittle barrier a line she absolutely could not cross.

There was no chance that the shield would scare her off. After all, it was the product of someone that was clearly a novice at using theurgical spells. Noirciel believed that the brittle barrier was a mark of the One True God. Thus, she was worried that she would cross this mortal, who she thought her master loved.

Baiyi had wondered why the angel held back when they fought. He understood now, though; the angel did not wish to harm Lulu's body.

This was quite the discovery. It was Laeticia that cast the barrier spell on the plush toy, not the One True God [2]. How could an angel mistake a spell cast by a mortal, during a practice session, for one that was cast by a diety?

Furthermore, Noirciel mistook Baiyi for the messenger of a god. Baiyi had no idea who Nehemiah was; the only thought that came to mind was that talkative War God, but he was not sure they were the same person. The angel was mistaken, though. Attie was the War God's true messenger. Just when did he agree to take up that position?

After poring over this matter for some time, Baiyi reached a conclusion: this angel was just a klutz! She got confused easily and lacked the self-awareness to know she had messed up!

This was something Baiyi could take advantage of. He was uninterested in clearing things up for the angel.

The plushie looked down at Lulu and whispered, "Are you alright? Did she hurt you?"

"No," Lulu whispered back. She took the plushie off her head and hugged it tightly. "She has been rather friendly, but she will not leave me alone or let me back out. She wants me to relinquish control to her."

"Pfft! Don't listen to her. She's only going to wreak havoc out there."

"I know," Lulu said, smiling faintly. "I saw everything, including the fight you both had. I told her to stop, but she wouldn't listen. If you didn't overpower her, I might have…" Lulu went quiet, unable to finish.

It was obvious that Lulu had been cheering Baiyi on. Noirciel was an angel, an immortal being, sent here by a god. She repelled the demons that attempted to invade Lulu's beloved town, Aegir, but Lulu knew little about divine beings. However, she considered sorcerers worthy of unwavering respect.

"It's okay. Let us focus on this standoff. I'll try to persuade her," Baiyi replied, after which the plush toy turned to face Noirciel.

"Look, if we're on the same side, then tell me what you came here to do. We might be able to work together."

"I came to investigate anomalies," Noirciel replied.

'"To investigate anomalies!" She said that like a dollar store Reimu Hakurei. Is everything an anomaly to rectify? Why don't you give me an FGO summoning talisman, little shrine maiden?' Baiyi sneered in his mind. On the outside, however, he asked, "What kind of anomalies?'

The angel's reply was, once again, straightforward. "Time."

"Time? Well, tell me. What do you think 'time' is?"

Noirciel did not immediately answer. She seemed to think about it for a while issuing a ditzy reply, "Time is the chronicle of the past and the progress to future."

'That doesn't make much sense,' Baiyi thought. He was about to rephrase his question when the angel continued, saying, "My task is to ensure that time is going in the direction it was destined to, so that those in the future do not suffer disorder and chaos. As Lord Nehemiah's follower, surely you understand the importance of this."

'Understand what now? I don't even 'understand' if Nehemiah is a man or a woman! Besides, isn't that fella supposed to be the God of Space? How can you expect a God of Space to be connected to Time?' Baiyi had many questions to ask. Every word that escaped the angel's lips were just as confusing as the last, and Baiyi did not know what the entire picture was. If he still did understanding anything after talking for a while, he decided not to keep up his act.

As Baiyi tried to organize his thoughts, the angel said, "Now that you know what my task is, please step aside so that I may continue my work."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. There has to be some other way, right? Would you entertain the thought of switching hosts? How about asking that little cleric friend of yours to get you another Elect that's suitable?" Baiyi suggested.

"Cleric? Elect?" Noirciel cocked her head in confusion. This made her resemble the 'cool but klutzy cute girl' archetype. It was obvious that she had never heard these terms, which humans invented, before.

"Yea! You see, this girl is really important to me, so can you just leave her alone and find someone else to possess? After that, I won't get in your way, and you won't get in mine; we all live happily ever after. Sweet deal, right?"

However, Noirciel shook her head firmly. "That is impossible. Once a host has been selected, it is impossible to switch to another." Visibly irritated, she raised her voice, saying, "Please, Nehemiah's messenger — the one favored by My Highest Lord — I need you to step aside. Do not impede my work!"

"No, no. I insist we negotiate," Baiyi frantically replied, trying his best to come up with a scheme to get out of this situation. His suit of armor, who had been up-to-date with its narration, asked Mia and the Emperor for help.

"Oh, this is tough. You know I'm not an accomplished charlatan; lying is not my forte." The situation also left the Emperor helpless.

"I'm bad at it, too," Mia said.

"Maybe you need bait to lure her out of that body. Like, say, if she leaves that body now, I'll let her take up any position in my government. I'll even allow her to choose anything from my treasury that she fancies!" The Emperor suggested.

"Oh? Is this an offer that someone who, supposedly, doesn't care about his future spouse would make? You're basically offering up your treasures to her, treasures that were difficult for you to get a hold of!" Baiyi exclaimed. "That being said, there is a problem. Do you think an angel would give a s**t about the lowly items in this world?"

"Okay; power and money are nothing to an angel, huh? Then, how about the crowned jewels of my heart?" The Emperor replied, producing a very fine box, which he opened. Within this box were several card-sized paintings. They were so beautiful, anyone would consider them masterpieces.

"Tell her that she can pick three — wait, two — no, one of these, my most treasured possession!"

'What the hell?! This is low! The life of your future lover is at stake, goddamn it, and cards are all you can come up with?'

"Oh, is this not good enough?" The Emperor groaned. He looked at the small cat atop his hands with a sad expression and slowly said, "I… I guess she can also… have Mr. Whiskersfluffer…"

'Why is that bloody cat part of the deal? How did you manage to make the worst turn worse?! Holy s***, you have completely inherited the persona of that geezer in the future!' Baiyi screamed in his mind. What the hell made him think that he could rely on this silly old man?

Unlike the Emperor, Mia was serious. "Mr. Hope, you could suggest that she inhabits a suit of armor, just like a Soul Armature."

Baiyi marveled at the idea. 'Not bad! We can make an angel version of Soul Armatures — one that'll be on our side, as well. Sadly, we won't be able to appreciate her beauty anymore, but that's beside the point,' Baiyi thought.

Short on time to negotiate, and already at his wit's end, Baiyi did not spend too much time thinking Mia's idea through. It did seem like a viable solution to the current conundrum — as it could appease the angel for the time being. "How about we give you a suit of armor to possess?"

Noirciel's expression turned hostile, and with a cold voice, she replied, "You're suggesting that I place my soul into a suit of armor? How… Even if you're Lord Nehemiah's messenger, how could you make such a blasphemous suggestion?!"

'Oh no. What did I say?' Baiyi panicked. He had not expected to enrage the angel with his suggestion.

Noirciel looked like she had had it. With a chilly tone, she said, "I apologize for what I am about to do. I am afraid an examen is in order."

The angel soared into the air and pulled out chains made of dazzling pearls. Without hesitation, she threw the chains at the kitty plush toy.

"You want a fight here? Don't you know who I am? Do you really wish to cross Lord Nehemiah, thereby incurring his wrath?!" Baiyi bellowed, but the angel did not listen. She controlled the pearly chain of light to bind the noisy plush toy.

When the plush toy was bound tightly, a wave of emotion crossed Noirciel's face: terror, dread, confusion, wariness, and even despair. Her face had become a window to her wind, through which one could see the storm raging in her mind.

This was the kind of storm a small anomaly like Baiyi could create.

In a crazed manner, Noirciel began to mutter, "Witness… Chaos… A counteracting flow… Law… I see… No, this cannot be!"

After what seemed like a long time, Noirciel looked up and wailed, "O' Lord Nehemiah, how could you allow your messenger to do such things?"

It took some time for Noirciel to calm down, and when she did, she glared at the kitty plush toy — who was tightly bound — and said, "I must fulfill my task to correct time, even if it means suffering my Lord's punishment!"From Touhou Project. A shrine maiden whose approach to youkai extermination is "shoot first, ask questions later".

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

534 An Unexpected Homecoming

The grim undertone of the angel's declaration made Baiyi feel dread. He tried to get his spirit out of the plush toy, but to his horror, it was too late; Noirciel's pearly chains had also bound the soul firmly to the plush toy.

Feeling desperate, Baiyi decided to abandon the fragment of his soul in Lulu's mind, after which he tried to return his consciousness to his suit of armor. However, that attempt failed, as well; Baiyi had lost the connection he had to his suit of armor.

Unfortunately, that was not the worst turn of events.

The world around Baiyi had come to a complete stop. The Lulu in the real world was hovering, and her wings of light were spread wide open. Mia and the Emperor stared at her in shock, with their mouths wide open, unable to let out the words in their throat. Everything had stopped: no one moved; nothing moved. It was as though time had stopped.

Suddenly, time accelerated at breakneck speed, like a movie set to play at 16x normal speed. The sun rose and set in what seemed like seconds. Cities were created and abandoned in seconds, as well, and blurry silhouettes roamed the land. Baiyi watched mortals get born, live out their lives, and die, whilst countries were founded, expanded, and eventually destroyed or left to become a ruin. History and time were slipping past him really fast.

Finally, Lulu and the Noirciel, the angel, vanished. When Baiyi came to, he was facing a white ceiling that looked familiar.

"What the hell?"

Baiyi tried to turn his head, but it did not budge. He was lying on his back. He wondered if he had been forcefully ejected from Lulu's mind. If so, then where did he land? Baiyi attempted to sit up, but he could not feel his limbs. It felt as though there was nothing where his limbs should be.

This was a sensation that Baiyi had almost forgotten about. He had not felt like this since before he was summoned to the world.

"W-what has happened? Mia? Mia! Are you here?" Baiyi was sure he had just spoken, but no words escaped his mouth.

Baiyi was utterly confused. Suddenly, a shadow loomed over his head, blocking the light. The shadow belonged to a human — a woman — wearing a maid outfit that stopped above her knees. The outfit was paired with a white frock and black silk socks. The woman held a rag cloth in one hand and a mop in the other, and her footsteps grew louder as she walked closer to where Baiyi was.

Suddenly, Baiyi felt himself get lifted by the giant woman, who then brought him up to her face. Baiyi squinted his eyes and found himself staring at someone that looked just like Aya. This giant Aya smiled at him, and her lips opened and closed as though she was talking; however, Baiyi could not hear a single word she said.

The giant Aya wanted to take Baiyi somewhere, but her hands were filled with cleaning tools. She looked at her maid outfit, seemingly searching for a pocket, and when it became apparent that she had not chosen to wear the maid outfit because of its function, the giant Aya stuffed Baiyi in the parting between her bosom.

Soft but firm mounds held Baiyi firmly in place. He tried to get out, and during his struggle, he was able to lift his arm, which he had been unable to do earlier.

When Baiyi looked down at his hand, he did not see a cold, metal gauntlet; instead, it saw a small cat's paw. Baiyi had been in the kitty plush toy all along! Aya had not turned into a giant; it was he that shrunk in size!

What had happened? Why did Aya wear a kinky maid uniform to clean someone else's house? Why was he trapped in this plush toy?

Baiyi had planned not to remain in the plush toy for long, so the Emperor only cast a vision spell on the plush toy before sending Baiyi into it. Thus, whilst in the plush toy, Baiyi could not speak, neither could he hear.

Unfortunately for Baiyi, there was not enough mana in the kitty plush toy for him to move its limbs as he liked. Lifting the paw was already a momentous task, so escaping the soft prison had become impossible. What dragon lady Aya lacked in height, she made up for amply in her chest. The maid outfit squeezed her breasts so tightly together, Baiyi, who was in between them, felt as though he had been caught in a snare.

'Alright; calm down. This is not that bad a pickle to be in. I just need to figure out what happened.' Baiyi calmed down and paid no mind to the softness around him.

If Aya was here, and all suited up, then Baiyi must have returned to the future. The future in his field of view seemed to be his. Aya had a habit of sneaking into his chalet in a provocative maid outfit to clean up, hoping to catch Baiyi off guard when he returned home from work.

This did not explain why Baiyi had returned to his own time, in the kitty plush toy. Where was Mia? She, too, should have returned!

Baiyi searched his mind to see if he was still connected to the main portion of his soul, which was still stuck in the Void, and to his immense relief, he could. He could also hear other Voidwalkers in the Void engaged in a discussion.

"Big sis, where do you think my Doofus went? You don't think he really eloped with Mia, do you? He only treats her as his daughter! How then could he do something so savage?"

The voice that rang out sounded sweet but ditzy. Did it belong to Lady Assassin Walker?

"Oh my gosh. Why do you insist on asking the same dumbass question every day?" Another sweet voice reverberated around the room. "My darling will never do such disgusting things. He must have gotten into an accident; I can tell."

'Is that the Fairy Walker?' Baiyi wondered, noticing a hint of anxiety in the reply.

"Oh, I know! I know. I just… He's been gone for such a long time, and he did not leave any messages. Big Sister Warrior has looked for him everywhere, but she did not find even his shadow! I… I miss him so much, you know." Lady Assassin said, audibly close to tears. This made Baiyi's heart ache.

Baiyi's consciousness returned to the Void, and he poked her quietly; however, she yelped, "Oww! Who was that?"

"Sorry. I'm, uh, back," Baiyi sheepishly replied.

A shriek rang out in the Void, closely followed by a wail and loud sobs. This got the attention of the other Voiwalkers, who began to whisper in excitement.

"Okay, okay! Please stop making a scene! We have a lot to discuss," Baiyi said, using his consciousness to forcibly cover Lady Assassin Walker's mouth. [1].

Baiyi turned to the other Voidwalkers and said, "Later, I'll tell you all what happened to me later, but now, I need someone to tell me what happened while I was away."

Lady Assassin Walker, whose mouth had been sealed shut, grunted in discontent for a while before settling down.

"Nothing of note has happened, to us. Dale has not summoned any of us; I take that to mean that things are calm on the outside," the solemn Second Voidwalker replied. "We were all really worried about you, though."

"'Because you're our only hope, you know," the Devil Walker quickly added.

"Where have you been? Why were you silent even within the Void?" Shadow asked.

"It's a long story. How long was I out?"

"About three months, I think. Luckily for us, your harem's access to the real world is not dependent on your existence, so they were the only channel we have had to the world outside. We would not have been able to tell the time, otherwise," the Third Walker said. "Their efforts to find you did not cease, so we don't know what has happened out there."

"So, time didn't stop, huh?" Baiyi noted in dismay. When Baiyi and Mia were thrust into the past, he discovered that time in his era had frozen. Now, though, it seemed he had been mistaken; time in the past and future had been moving at the same pace. The Void may have been peaceful in the last three months, but Baiyi was not optimistic that this was the case in the real world.

"Please, call the Warrior Walker back to the academy. I'm going to need a lot of help," Baiyi said to Lady Assassin Walker, whose mouth was still covered.

"Mm mmf!" Lady Assassin Walker expressed her discontent.

"Come on; have the decency to first explained what happened to you. She spent the last few months being worried sick about you! Are you going to kick her away like that, without any explanations? Do you not understand women at all?" The shadow Walker chided Baiyi.

"Alright! Here's the gist," Baiyi said and narrated everything that had happened as clearly as possible. When Baiyi was done, he shared his vision with the other Voidwalkers, allowing them to see what was happening in the real world.

"As you can see, I'm now stuck in a plush toy that cannot handle my mana, neither can it move more than a few inches," Baiyi said, The plush toy was just a frail toy; if Baiyi tried to siphon his real power into it, it would explode in an instant.

"I see. Darling, permit to ask: where exactly are you right now? Those things besides you are fair and smooth.… How intriguing," the perceptive Fairy Walker said.

"Eh hem! You really shouldn't worry about such trivial things," Baiyi quickly replied as he released Lady Assassin Walker. "We have a lot of things to do, so please be quick!"

"Sure thing, Doofus. When I recover your body, I'll demand more kisses as my reward!" She replied triumphantly. Although she wanted to remain by Baiyi's side for a while longer, even a lovesick girl had priorities. She took control over the Divine Leathersuit, and the Warrior Walker, who was using it before, returned to the Void.

Before Baiyi could speak to her, he was pulled into an embrace. The Warrior Walker did not say anything, but her consciousness trembled like that of a weeping woman, who was gasping for air. [2]

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

535 Everything Is Fine

It took Baiyi some time to recount his ordeal to the Warrior Walker, after which explained why he needed the help of the ladies.

To make surreal one's experience of reality, the Pseudo-Descent technique made the spirit of its user — the Voidwalkers, in this case, whose spirits were in the Void — to hibernate. However, Baiyi could not summon those that had pseudo-descended through the Void, as the technique is ended the instant its user wakes up from their hibernation. This was the reason why before Voidwalker meetings, Baiyi would need to summon those that had pseudo-descended to his chalet, rather than holding the meeting in the Void.

The only exception to these were Baiyi's women: the Fairy Walker, the Warrior Walker, and the Assassin Walker. Since all three took turns using the Divine Leathersuit to enter the real world, neither of them were inactive in the Void. Thus, Baiyi assigned his tasks to Lady Assassin Walker.

"I'm not concerned. The only thing I care about is you getting home," the Warrior Walker said softly. "Where's our Mia?"

As the first Voidwalker to be mentally prepared to be a mother, the Warrior Walker had sharp parental instincts. This was the reason why she was the first Voidwalker to ask after Mia.

"I don't know. I am unable to tell if she returned to the future with me or was left behind in the past. I do, however, think the second guess is more likely. If Mia had returned with me, she would have come running to me, already," Baiyi replied. From what Baiyi could see from between Aya's breasts, he could tell that the dragon lady was almost done with the housekeeping. If Mia was back in the future, too, it would have taken her almost no time to find him.

"Oh. I see," the Warrior Walker replied slowly, after which she asked, "The body you are in, where is it now?"

"Eh-hem! Well, its current location is not important; yours is. Where are you now?" Baiyi asked, quickly changing the topic of conversation.

"Don't know."

"What do you mean by you don't know?!" The other Voidwalkers, who were listening in on the conversation, gasped audibly.

"I have paid very little mid to where I've been and what I've been doing the past few days. I've spent more time here, not caring where my feet led me," the Warrior Walker replied, with a sullen expression on her face. "I can't put into words how happy I am that you have returned. I thought you had abandoned me."

'Hold up. Why do you talk like a sad mistress that was almost abandoned?' Baiyi sighed helplessly.

Suddenly, Baiyi's plush toy body in the real world was rocked by a wave of new sensations, so his consciousness left the Void. He quickly obscured what the other Voidwalkers could see through his eyes; this way, they would not know where the plush toy really was.

The plush toy blinked, and Baiyi realized that his plush toy body was no longer between Aya's breasts; it was now atop her palm. Baiyi did his best to turn his head slightly, and he saw Aya crying. She was saying something, but Baiyi could not hear what it was. The sight, however, made his heart lurch.

Before Baiyi could dwell on his sadness, the world around him began to spin really fast, as though he was in a whirlpool. When the spinning stopped and Baiyi regained his sight, the plush toy was no longer with Aya; it was now in Lady Assassin Walker's hands.

The Assassin Walker grinned at the plush toy and kissed it all over. Then, she rubbed the plush toy against her cheeks for some time whilst saying something to Aya, who was watching with wide eyes.

Baiyi could read her lips, though. "You man-stealing dragon! You thought you could get your hands on my man when I wasn't looking, didn't ya?"

Aya raised an eyebrow at that, wondering if she was in the presence of a lunatic.

Things proceeded as Baiyi had hoped. With the kitty plush toy in her arms, Lady Assassin Walker rushed to the other Voidwalkers at Da Xue and informed them of a meeting, which would be held in Baiyi's house. At her request, the Archmage slit the plush toy open and cast speech and hearing spells into it.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" The Archmage hollered, swinging the plush toy around wildly.

"Yes! I hear you, Old Geezer! Put me down, or I'm going to be sick!"

"Heh. That's him, alright. Is it just me, or do you only regress? Look at you! You're a little girl's toy!" The Archmage teased, cackling in schadenfreude as he tossed the plushie onto a table.

'You have no right to laugh about this, old man! This was your suggestion! Well, the version of you in the past,' Baiyi grumbled in his mind.

"Sir, is that really you?" Tisdale hurried over with an expression of worry. "Have you been in serious trouble? Where is Mia?"

Zakum the fox stood on its hind legs to see over the table, after which it licked the kitty plush toy.

Not everyone expressed worry, though. Many seemed to be laughing. "It turns out that karma's a tougher b**ch than our admin! You got what you deserved! Now, let's see you how you'll act all high and mighty, little cat. I'm going to get you back for everything you've done to —"

Before the Astrologer Walker could complete his taunt, his suit of armor collapsed. In the Void, the Astrologer Walker cried out, "N-no! Please forgive me! I now remember how mighty your power is; I swear! I—"

The Astrologer Walker's frantic plea was abruptly cut off. Baiyi had cast him out of the protected area of the Void, into the hellish expanse of the real Void.

"Hmph! Just because I am forced to inhabit this weak, but cute, plushie does not mean that I cannot discipline you lot! Let this be a reminder that I'm still —"

The talking plush toy was unceremoniously picked up by Attie and hugged really tightly. As Attie rubbed the plush toy against her cheeks, she cooed, "Oh, Master... I mean, Meowster! You're so adorable! Please, stay like this forever?" Mini Jawflower, who was atop Attie's head, could tell that its master was within the plush toy, and it jumped down to Attie's arms to get in on the cuddle action.

Although Baiyi still ruled the Voidwalkers, he could not stop those in the real world from doing whatever they wanted! This was something he knew, as well.

The commotion went on for several minutes, after which everyone simmered down. Everyone sat down and waited for Baiyi to begin speaking. Since plush toys could not sit down on their own, Tisdale had to keep this one on her lap. Baiyi could see Santa and Anna staring at him with stary eyes. They looked ready to, at the first opportunity, grab the plush toy to cuddle.

Baiyi began to think that this plush toy was not a bad body, after all.

He knew better than to give in to the childish temptation, though. He looked around the room to ensure that everyone was ready to listen, and it looked like they were. Baiyi began to recount his ordeal to them in great detail.

His story stunned everyone in the room, including the more conversant Voidwalkers. No one thought that it was possible to travel back to the past.

Everyone in the room was talking about Baiyi's time travel. Baiyi, the time-traveler, did not join in on the conversation; instead, he looked back at Tisdale, who was wearing a sullen expression, to get an update of things at Da Xue.

Baiyi was pleased to learn that everything at Da Xue had gone smoothly in his absence. The graduation ceremony and the student enrolment He was pleased to know that everything had gone on smoothly despite his absence. The Archmage had taken over the Grand Principal role in Baiyi's absence. It was also an honor for the graduating students to receive platinum necklaces from the legendary Sage-Emperor of the Magi.

The Church did not go back on their word and left Da Xue alone. Baiyi suspected that they did not know that he, the leader of the Voidwalkers, had been away. Their attempt to summon an angel was met with major obstruction, albeit indirectly. The Sorcerers' Association banned the sale of spatial-magic materials, and this slowed down the Church's activities.

Baiyi had never been so glad that he had riled up the Associations and the nobles over this issue instead of dismissing their usefulness altogether. If he had opted for the latter, the Church might have already summoned their heavenly host!

In Baiyi's time away, chaos did not ensue. Even the Voidwalkers had been on their best behaviors. There were no reports of Da Xue's students getting harassed by their teachers. Thus, no student ended up dismembered or worse, got pregnant.

Sometime later, Baiyi said, "You all have no idea how happy I am to see you all. Wait... Nota, what's up with that hair?!"

Earlier, when Nota joined the others to welcome Baiyi, she had looked the same as she always did, save for a large hat on her head. Later on, she removed her hat.

When Baiyi looked over, he spotted a change. Whilst most of her hair was still a lustrous aqua-blue, a few locks of hair on her forehead and behind her ears were now deep red.

Had Baiyi's worst nightmare come to pass? Did Nota do it when he was away?

Baiyi was about to rephrase his question, when Nota, whose cheeks had turned fiery red, replied, "This? This is just, um, a h-h-hairstyle that Vidomina suggested. I-I know you don't l-like it, Mentor, but I really, um, w-wanted to try it out…"

She was just interested in Earth's hair-dying styles, after all!

Overcome with relief, Baiyi sighed and replied a little too loudly, "You're already beautiful enough. Don't ever try to look like a punk again! Gosh, you almost gave me the mother of all heart attacks!"

As Baiyi talked, he quickly inspected Nota's body to ensure that the worst did not really happen.

"Sir, what about Mia?" Tisdale suddenly asked, with an expression of worry. Her little sister did not come back with him. Baiyi checked his psychic link with Mia, but he could not tell where she was. Their connection was not yet broken; this was a sign that Mia, his summoner, was still alright.

Baiyi could not help but wonder if Mia, Emperor, and time in the past were still frozen in place. Or, perhaps, time in the past had resumed its normal flow, and Mia was playing with her doting grandfather.

"Attie, please contact the War God now. There are important things I must discuss with him," Baiyi ordered. "Dale, take me to my lab. I need my original body."

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

536 Are You Sure This Info Is Useful?

After some time — and with help from Tisdale and the Soul Armature Practitioner — Baiyi was back in his old Santus suit of armor. In the time he was away, Aya had taken care of the suit of armor. She cleaned and polished it every day, and sometimes, she would even curl up beside it and sleep. This was why Baiyi could perceive a faint aroma of a woman's body from his suit of armor.

When Baiyi returned to the living room, the others were engaged in a debate about time-travel paradoxes. For example, the 'if I killed your mother before you were born' thought experiment. However, instead of having of well-informed debate, everyone seemed to be yelling, "Yo mama died! I killed yo mama!"

Baiyi wanted to know if his meddling in the past had changed something in the present, so he asked Tisdale to bring some of the historical records in Da Xue's library. Baiyi planned to cross-reference his experience in the past against key historical events. He was also interested to examine the Archmage's memory of his past.

"Do you remember calling over the best artists in the Rohlserlian Empire so that they could draw some cipher cards for you?" Baiyi asked.

"No! Never; not even once! Why, how scandalous!" The Archmage said, vehemently denying what he considered an unfair accusation.

Baiyi proceeded to ask the Cleric Walker about Apostle Yula.

"Oh. That was an embarrassing chapter of my life. Back then, Yula was my idol. He is the reason I walked the path of asceticism," said the Cleric Walker, with an emotional voice. "Didn't you already tell us what happened to him? That was not the real Yula, though. The real Yula had not been born at that time. I guess the person you met is an imitator of Yula. Wait, that sounds weird…"

As the Voidwalkers talked amongst themselves, Attie sat crosslegged, with her eyes closed, trying to establish contact with the War God. The Jawflower, which was atop her head, mimicked her posture. It was being quite docile, a far cry from its reputation for being cantankerous. The Jawflower did not want to interrupt Attie.

Tisdale soon returned with the history books that she had been asked to bring. Baiyi pored over them and realized that history, as he remembered it, had not been altered.

"You mean my actions didn't matter?" Baiyi joked.

"Logic dictates that they did matter. Let me remind you that it is possible that the angel has removed every change you made to history, via a method that we know nothing off," said the Scholar Walker.

"Oh, please! That angel was afraid of Laeticia's little spell. Do you really think that she's powerful enough to reset history?" Baiyi asked in disbelief. The impression he had of the angel had not changed; to him, she was a klutz, unworthy of the tremendous power she possessed.

"Your conclusion does not necessarily follow your premise. It is plausible that her competence is domain-specific, not an extension of her general faculty," The Scholar persisted.

"Fine. If she did, in fact, reset history, where is Mia now? Why did she not return Mia, who is also not from that era, to the future?" Baiyi asked. "Rather than concern ourselves with what the angel has done, can we, instead, deliberate on how we can save Mia?"

"An expert's opinion should provide enlightenment," replied the Scholar Walker as she glanced at Attie.

Baiyi also looked at Attie and saw her rolling on the floor, in an attempt to act cute. The Jawflower, who was still mimicking her, was doing the same thing.

Before Baiyi could give Attie a stern talking to, the Scholar Walker tugged on Baiyi's sleeves. "Let us just assume that this is a unique way she converses with her divine superior. It is highly unlikely that she considers now to be the best time to fool around."

"Fine. I guess we can continue talking about the angel. I remember asking Umbra for help. I've been away for such a long time, so I bet there is a ton of information now!" Baiyi said, thinking out loud, as he looked at Lady Assassin Walker.

The Assassin Walker did not join the discussion. She, Santa, and Anna had been fooling around with the kitty plush toy. When the Assassin Walker saw Baiyi look at her, she flashed a silly grin.

"What are you smiling about? I need something from you!"

The Assassin Walker tossed a storage pouch over. Baiyi caught it, stuffed his hand into it, and, to his shock, pulled out a fistful of underwear.

'What happened to Umbra while I was away? Or have they always used such methods to pass messages?'

Before Baiyi could ask about the important message behind the undies, the Assassin Walker snatched the undies and the storage pouch from Baiyi like a phantom. Her face was as red as a tomato. "Oops, wrong bag! That's mine. This here is what I meant to give you…"

She quickly tossed another storage pouch over.

'Why do you have your private bag and my intel bag with you? Do you think I'm interested in your underwear?' Baiyi sighed. He dipped his hand into the new storage bag and pulled out some documents. This was the intel on angels that he had requested from Umbra!

This batch of intel was slightly more informative than the intel he received before his disappearance. It did not contain information on the steps taken to summon an angel, neither did it touch on the strengths and weaknesses of these divine beings. The intel seemed more like a poetic description of the unparalleled beauty and holiness of angels.

The intel did contain information of every angel that has descended to Isythre. The year that the angels descended as well the name of their hosts were included in the intel. It stated that the first angel in Isythre descended sixty years after the fall of the Rohlserlian Empire. That was around the same time that God's Grace began to rise, and the time that Yula began to preach the Church's gospel.

This as true. God's Grace had been able to dominate other religions because it was backed by angels. Their scripture itself was more subtle about the Angels' role in helping the faith; their admission was an unforthcoming "The Lord sent forth his sacred light to mankind".

The first angel to descend to Isythre did not disclose its name, and the name of its host was nowhere to be found on the Church's records. Was this bit of information lost to time?

The next angel to descend did so two hundred years after the first angel. This angel was not a commander or a vassal; it was a regular angel, who descended to spread the message of its god. It did not partake in any wars or conflicts, and not long after it descended, it departed.

The angels that descended afterward were recorded in the history books and used in folktales. Many believers claimed to have personally seen angels descend to the world. These angels had similar objectives: to spread the message. They only stayed in Isythre for three days before departing. None of the angels was as vocal about their objectives as the angel that Baiyi and Mia had encountered. This angel stayed longer in Isythre than other angels had.

Noirciel's name was not in any historical record.

No angels descended to Isythre for several thousands of years after God's Grace became the dominant religion in the realm.

The intel contained another interesting fact: the angels never left their hosts in a near-death or comatose state. When the angels departed the realm, their hosts were in perfect health and had long lifespans. Furthermore, these hosts were given great positions in the Church just because their bodies were inhabited by angels. Their lives only improved because of the angels.

According to the intel, the angels were pleasant and amiable guests. Angels were also reported to be amicable and pleasant guests, and to be selected as their host was considered a lucky and blessed thing. Baiyi thought it was only because none of these Angels had ever needed to fight — he had little doubt that his battle with Noirciel had truncated Lulu's lifespan. If that was the case, then the Church's plan to weaponize the Angels would no doubt force many of their followers to die young.

Another bit of information that stood out was the intel on the magic complex that Church was building in Canningham. Umbra did not leave any stones unturned; the report included everything regarding the location, materials, work progress, and workers involved in the magic complex. Even the money used by a mysterious construction company to bribe one of the bishops overseeing the construction was recorded.

It seemed that the formation being built by the Church was several leagues better than the formation used by the ancient Mornserians. The Church's formation was so big, it covered the entire city. Although the formation was not yet complete, Umbra's blueprint outlined the differences between it and the Path to Heaven. It still incorporated certain designs used by its predecessor, but it was much better and did not need live sacrifices.

its construction progress had been stalled by the protesting nobles and the ban placed by the Sorcerers' Association. Nevertheless, in the last three months, the Chuch had finished a great part of it.

Baiyi instantly sent the blueprint to other Voidwalkers, but they only gave it a glance. They were still engrossed in their discussion about time.

Baiyi had no one but the War God to turn to.

Baiyi looked at Attie and found her asleep, tired from all the rolling around she had been doing. Baiyi could even hear her snores. This time, there was no one to hold him back. He lifted Attie by her cheeks and pinned her against the wall.

The manhandling jolted Attie awake, after which she yawned. "Oh, Master, I was totally — yawn — not taking a catnap." When Attie saw the position that Baiyi had her in, her cheeks reddened. "Is my master finally acting on his impulses?"

Without waiting for a reply, she puckered her lips and drew closer.

"Do you know that the fate of your little sister, Mia, rests on you?!" Baiyi bellowed as he poked Attie's cheek as though it was a mobile phone's keypad, paying no mind to her yelps and whimpers.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

537 She Arrives

"Ow! Ouch!" Baiyi did not stop pinching Attie despite hearing her cries of pain, but suddenly, he felt the weight on the right side of his suit-of-armor body lessen. Baiyi turned just in time to see his right arm fall to the floor. Clang! It was as though it had been lopped off by an invisible blade.

Attie no longer looked pitiful. She had a chilling scowl on her face, and her cold eyes watched Baiyi in contempt. Baiyi looked around the house and found it devoid of people, except for Attie and him. The silence was not awkward; it was chilling.

"Er, hi. Long time no see," Baiyi said, picking up the severed arm of his suit-of-armor body. He did not attempt to reattach the arm, though. "My homies are fine, right?"

Attie continued to stare at Baiyi coldly. A few chilling seconds of silence passed, and she coldly asked, "So, you met an Angel."

"Yes. She said her name was Noirciel, and that she is the fourth commander of the Heavenly Host and a vassal to the God of Time. Friend of yours?"

"What happened?" The War God asked, ignoring Baiyi's question.

Baiyi recounted his ordeal once again, after which he asked, "Can you please explain what happened to me?"

Attie shook her head. "I don't know."

"What?!"

"I do not rule over Time; Tylemus does. I do not have the authority to cross into his domain," replied the War God. "The armor that sent you back in time, where is it now?"

"Beats me." Baiyi shrugged. "After I was returned to the future, I awoke inside a kitty plush toy. So, what now? What do I have to do to get Mia back?"

"Wait," the War God replied.

"Wait? You're asking me to wait!?" Baiyi was horrified. The War God did not just heartlessly ask him to wait six thousand years for Mia to return to the present, did he? Even if Mia managed to live that long, what sort of person would she be when he finally meets her again? Would Mia still be the kind-hearted daughter that has a strong place in his heart? Would she still be beautiful and a loli?

'A 495-year-old loli is already too much for me to hand. Handing me a six-thousand-year old loli is just cruel. Plain cruel.'

The War God could not read Baiyi's thoughts, though. "Wait, and remember."

Attie's scowl softened before being replaced by a look of helplessness. The look seemed to imply: 'Sorry; this is all that I'm allowed to say.'

Baiyi shivered at Attie's helpless expression. 'Why does she suddenly look so shifty…'

"What about Mia? Is she in any danger?" He asked.

Attie shook her head sideways again. Baiyi could not tell if this meant that Mia was alright, or if it meant "I don't know." The War God was about to elaborate, but something outside the window seemed to catch his attention. Baiyi watched Attie stare out the window, without moving, as though she was in a trance.

'That's not the kind of face you would see on such a powerful being.' Baiyi raised his brows. 'Something's not right!'

That assessment was not wrong. Attie's eyes swiftly shifted back over, and the War God, with a sense of urgency, quickly said, "You must hurry!"

"Wait!" Baiyi's gut told him that the War God was about to bolt. "Who's Nehemiah?"

The War God trembled at the mention of that name. With gritted teeth, the War God growled, "Don't know."

Attie's legs wobbled, and she fell forward — a sign that the War God had left her body. Baiyi looked down at his metal right arm and realized that it had been re-attached to his suit-of-armor body.

"Okay. Someone acted really weird today," Baiyi said and raised Attie up. The War God was really different today. In the past, he had been chatty, annoying, and fond of leaving multiple messages. Furthermore, whenever the War God possessed his messenger, Attie, he would lecture Baiyi because of the way he treated Attie. It was the War God that taught Baiyi the mechanics of angel-summoning, an event that had included a live demonstration, no less! So, why was the chatterbox of a god so tense today?

'Is it because I met an Angel?' Baiyi wondered. There was no way to confirm this. The War God had left as abruptly as he had arrived, and from the panic that he displayed earlier, it was evident that something terrible had happened.

The other Voidwalkers continued their discussion at Da Xue's garden. When the War God arrived, he teleported them away to this garden, causing the gossiping ladies to jump in fright.

It would take a lot more than that to scare the Voidwalkers, though, so as soon as they were teleported there, their topic of discussion switched from Time to the War God.

The Archmage said, "The power of a god is almost unfathomable. If they are, indeed, our enemies, then we're in for a really bumpy ride."

"How about we focus on getting past the angels first, hmm?" The Cleric Walker replied. At that moment, he was not as carefree as he usually was; instead, the Voidwalker was tense, even more than when he was being perverted.

Suddenly, the Cleric Walker was jolted out of his reverie, and his eyes turned to gaze in a certain direction. This was the same direction the War God had stared at earlier: the Holy City of Canningham.

The city did not look any different than it usually did. God's Grace's believers were praying in chapels, and workers labored to build the Church's magic complex. However, a group of young boys and girls wearing religious robes were hidden in a secret cathedral, which was re-opened only a few months ago. Before that, it had been sealed off for millennia. These mysterious individuals were quietly chanting an incantation.

Their robes were more eyecatching than the mozetta worn by the Pope. The robes were studded with jewelry and gemstones, yet the looked oddly simple. They made the individuals look elegant and important.

The youths were from different places. Some of them were sons and daughters of regular followers; some of them were members of the Church's choir, and some of them used to be Saintess candidates. When they were told that they had a chance to become hosts for a holy spirit, these youths, in their excitement, abandoned their families and friends and willingly entered seclusion in the reception hall of the Heavenly Host. Since then, all they did was recite strange prayers whilst standing on an odd-looking formation.

This had been their routine for two months, yet neither of them looked frustrated or doubtful. They remained steadfast, anticipating the blessed fate that awaited them.

Behind the hall was a chamber, whose entrance was covered by a thick cloth. It was no larger than a conventional confession booth. The Pope, Chief Judge, and High Priest — the three highest-ranked individuals in the Church — had squeezed themselves in this tiny space, watching the youths with rapt attention.

"Are you sure this is ever going to work?" The young Pope asked the Hight Priest — a man so old, it seemed as though he would die any time from now.

High Priests had no real authority within the Church, but when the attempts to summon angels began, the old High Priest's status increased greatly. Now, even the Pope had to seek his opinion.

"Yes; I do not doubt that it will," the old man replied with a shaky voice. Unlike the Pope and Chief Judge, who looked indifferent, the High Priest was moved by the summoning ritual.

"We are too forward with our plan," the Chief Judge said in protest. "Angels can only stay on this mortal realm for three days, at most, and our construction can't be completed in such a short time. Furthermore, one angel cannot deal a huge blow to that wicked den."

"Those cowardly sorcerers and nobles have already picked a side, and it is not us. Their cowardice is a sin worthy of banishment to the dungeon, after which they would face divine judgment." The Pope hissed coldly. "I'm sure that when an angel finally heeds our calls and arrive to aid us, those spineless snakes will rethink their position…"

The conversation was about to turn sacrilegious when they were startled by a commotion.

A beautiful maiden with silver hair was glowing brightly. She had stopped praying and was looking up at the angels hovering above her. With excitement, she cried, "Yes! I surrender myself to you, Noirciel!"

The maiden was enveloped by a dazzling white light, which blocked out the expressions of jealousy on the faces of the other youths. When the others opened their eyes, they saw the maiden hovering in mid-air. Her feet were bare, and a holy and majestic aura emanated from every inch of her body.

It was obvious who she was. Everyone in the hall fell to their knees and cried, "An angel has arrived!" The High Priest, who was still in the secret chamber, crashed to his knees and kowtowed, his head lowered in the angel's direction.

The silver-haired maiden scanned the crowd with quietly, and then she ripped off a strip of her white robe, which she used to cover her eyes. With a sweet-sounding voice, the maiden announced, "I am Noirciel the sinful angel, servant of Lord Tylemus."

White feathers spread out behind her, but she seemed to have only one wing.

That was not all that the Pope noticed. Around the maiden's swan-like neck was a metal collar that had a chain, which was hanging down her flat chest, attached to it. The Pope instantly understood the implication of the angel's words. The first angel to heed the Church's pleas was an angel that the gods considered a sinner?

The strange collar was hard to miss, and everyone in the hall had glanced at it with curiosity; however, no one dared to make mention of it.

The angel seemed to understand their thoughts and said, "I have sinned; I used my Lord's power without permission. But now, I am here to redeem myself."

She seemed to think the explanation was enough for these mortals, and with a flap of her wing, the angel soared upwards, about to take her leave. Suddenly, she stopped, and her hands began to wander around her waist frantically.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

538 One-winged Angel

It was a rather strange sight to behold. The angel had spread open her only wing, ready to fly away when she stopped to pat her waist clumsily. The youths watched the agitated angel with expressions of discomfort, but none of them dared to get up.

The Pope, Chief Judge, and High Priest, whose tears of joy had dried up, stared at the angel in confusion. For some time, no one said anything.

The awkward silence persisted as the angel clumsily rummaged around her waist, and eventually, a brave youth decided to speak up. "Um... Your Grace, are you… looking for something?"

With a bizarrely calm voice, the angel replied, "Kitty. Kitty is gone."

Everyone in the hall was confused. Another youth elbowed the youth that had just spoken. "Can you, um, repeat what you just said, Your Grace?" The brave youth stuttered in fear.

The angel's expression of indifference changed, and she suddenly looked very lonely. "My kitty plush toy is gone."

At that moment, the angel did not seem high and mighty; she was no different from a blindfolded girl that had just lost her toy and was very upset about it. Everyone in the hall could not help thinking, 'What in tarnation?!'

After many months of prayers, during which time they used up all their manpower, money, resources, and other valuables for the summoning ritual, this angel is what they get? They could forgo the fact that the angel had only one wing and wore a collar — like someone engaged in BDSM — but how could they ignore the fact that she was a little crazy, as well?

How could an angel — beings who are supposed to look down on humans — wear such a human-like expression? The longer everyone in the hall looked at the angel, the more they thought the angel resembled a little girl; this was the reason for their concern. How would a little girl defeat that devil? How did an angelic being, who was supposed to look over mortals with indifference and detachment, bore such a human expression? At this point in time, everyone and their mothers knew that charming little girls into his harem was that devil's specialty!

The Pope's face twitched. The urge to choke the High Priest nearly overwhelmed him. The ritual's failure made the Pope wish to scream at the High Priest, but he was able to calm himself. Two youths helped him get back on his feet.

The High Priest was not sure what to make of this strange angel. As High Priest, he had just one role: to receive divine beings on their arrival — a ceremonial role. High priests were chosen through nepotism. If the role had been instrumental to the angel-summoning ritual, it would have retired into Church history a long, long time ago.

No angel had visited Isythre in the last millennia, and so many generations of High Priests, including the current one, had never interacted with an angel. This was the reason why many rites and elements of the present ritual were incomplete, so the Church had ended summoning a crazy angel.

When the High Priest sensed the intense killing intent emanating from the Pope, he hurried to begin damage control. "Your Grace, is there anything we can help you with?"

"Find my kitty plush toy." Noirciel's ordered and raised her index finger. "It's about this size."

With that, she dismissed everyone in the hall and looked out a window.

"Listen up, all of you! You are to find a, uh, kitty plush toy — about this size — for Lady Noirciel!" The High Priest announced. "Everyone is to help with this momentous task!"

"Even the choir boys?" Someone asked.

The High Priest shot a glance at the crazy angel and hesitantly replied, "Yes. Now, everyone, go!"

Normally, whenever an angel descended to the realm, it is accompanied by a grand procession. A large choir would sing various hymns, and a sea of followers, led by priests and bishops, would gather around the angel to pray. Many crusaders would be stationed on the streets to maintain order, as such events were very rare and considered unfathomably holy.

The High Priest had prepared for everything, except for the arrival of a mentally unstable angel. Now, his plans had to take a backseat to a useless errand.

Screams soon began to ring out all across Canningham, as little girls were forced to part with something precious to them. "Nooo! Gimme back my Kitty! That's my plushie!" The High Priest watched the chaos unfold with an indifferent expression. His attention was on the angel, whose reaction he was trying to gauge.

She was oblivious to the chaos she had started.

The High Priest snuck back to the small chamber and was instantly grabbed by the throat. The fuming Pope in front of him bellowed, "What the hell is going on?! Explain now, or so help me God…"

"I-I don't know!" The High Priest groaned. "I swear to you; I followed the procedures written in the scriptures, down to the letter! B-but, we haven't performed this ritual in such a long time; who could have predicted this?"

The anxious Pope loosened his grip on the High Priest's throat. That angel's first request was for a child's toy. What next would she ask for? A cup of black tea strong enough to knock her out? Paintings of the Pope's facial expressions for her entertainment?

"Is she really an angel?" The Chief Judge, the only person that had kept his cool so far, asked. "She can fight, can't she?"

"No question about that. Although she has only one wing and that kinky choker — I mean, the mark of punishment, the great amount of Divine Energy pulsating within her is clear to see. She is, without a doubt, the strongest being I've ever seen in my life."

The Pope and Chief Judge glanced at each other. Although they were far away from the angel, they could feel the unnatural energy surging out from her. There was no doubt that the angel was filled with power, but was power enough to defeat that devil? Noirciel was much stronger than a Demigod-level fighter at full power. As Divine Energy was superior to mortal energy like combat chi and mana, the angel had to be stronger than any human, living or dead.

But, was this enough to subdue that devil with?

According to some intel that the Church possessed, ten years ago, the devil defeated a monster the size of a mountain by himself on Mars. The monster prevailed against an enemy the size of a mountain, solo. That monstrosity — which Godsfall cultists called the 'Law Marionette' — was the Godsfall cult's doomsday weapon, which had a far greater amount of Divine Energy than this angel had.

"There's still no reason to be so pessimistic. An angel's battle prowess is not limited to raw power, after all! They are personally blessed by gods, and these blessings are more potent than Divine Energy alone," the High Priest quickly said. This was what he had seen in the Scripture.

The Pope glared daggers at him, after which he turned his attention to Noirciel's metal collar. Although he said nothing about it, he could not help but think, 'Are you telling me the gods would bless someone they look down on?!'

"Be that as it may, she is currently the most powerful asset at our disposal. Unfortunately, she is also retarded, so I can't tell if she will lend her strength to our cause," said the Chief Judge.

"Look, she can only stay here for three days. All I want is for that angel not to get killed by the devil while no one's looking, okay? In the meantime, we will try to summon another angel — this time, a normal one." The Pope sighed helplessly.

The thought of how much resources had gone down the drain to summon this wacky angel made the Pope look much older. Although the Church was wealthy, this failure still stung.

Although Noirciel fell short of the Church's expectations, it still had to observe the customs created for the welcoming of angels. After leaving the secret chamber, the Pope and Chief Judge had their personal attendants dress as guards of honor. The guards of honor doubled around the chapel and re-entered through the main entrance, pretending that they had just received word of the angel's arrival.

The Pope knelt before the angel and began to recite litanies, but Noirciel ignored him. It was as though she could tell that his reverence was feigned. Noirciel continued to stare out the window closest to her.

It took the Pope all he had to avoid flying into a rage. Fortunately, the youths soon returned from their plushie hunt.

Their arms were filled with different cat plush toys. Some of the youths had even arrived with real cats, which were hissing and scratching furiously.

"There are more people on the way here, and others are still searching. We thought it best that some of us come back here first," explained a boy.

As the capital city of Isythre's largest religion, Canningham was an expansive metropolis inhabited by three million people. A significant number of these residents were not religious, so there was an abundant number of cat plushies around.

The angel was jolted out of her reverie by the arrival of the toys. She quickly descended, stopping a few inches away from the ground and looked at the crowd. She floated towards the plushies and began to scan them.

After some time, a look of disappointment crossed her face.

The Pope eyed the toys with disdain. The youths had said that these toys were only the first batch, and every single toy in this batch was pretty well made. Most even resembled real cats[1]. These toys were made by master toymakers, but the angel was not interested in any of them.

The angel floated towards the last boy in the group and began to scan the toys he brought. A few moments later, Noirciel's eyes lit up, and she snatched a plush toy from the pile and rubbed her cheeks against it. When she was satisfied, she hung the toy at her waist.

The attention of the crowd was directed to that toy, and everyone was shocked at the toy's hideousness. It was as though it had been made by someone that could not even stick a thread through the eye of a needle. It would not surprise anyone if a little girl had made that plush toy.

Nevertheless, Noirciel was delighted with it. She nodded in gratitude at the boy that brought the toy.

Without paying any mind to the others, Noirciel spread her wing and flew out the window and soared into the brilliant blue sky. She was an eagle ascending rapidly, free and liberated!

The free-flight did not last long, though. A soft cry permeated the air, and the angel fell like a pigeon that had been struck by something fired from a slingshot. Within moments, she crashed into the ground with a loud bang, creating a human-shaped crater in the ground.

"Ow! That really hurt." The one-winged angel slowly climbed out of the hole her fall had created. By some miracle, there was no scratch on her; even her clothes remained spotless.

However, the confidence the onlookers had in her was damaged. Many people were stupefied by what they had just witnessed. The expressions on the faces of the Chief Judge and Pope were so unsightly, those close to them thought they could hear the rumbling of thunder from somewhere.

The Pope and Chief Judge could not help but scream in their minds. 'Did this chick answer our call just to show off how clumsy she is?'

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

539 How Intriguing...

Only an angel could fall from such a height, make such a huge hole in the ground, and still emerge unscathed. Although the angel was not hurt, she climbed out of the hole in the ground with tears in her eyes.

The angel quickly traced her fingers along the kitty plush toy and was relieved to find it undamaged. Noirciel looked up with a sad expression, though, disturbed that she could only fly that high.

Everyone in the hall had watched the angel's jaw-dropping fall with wide eyes, but only the Pope remained indifferent. He had long since forbidden everyone there from disclosing all they had witnessed, after which he issued an order that all planned events be scrapped. Afterward, the Pope ordered everyone but a select few to never approach the angel.

He planned to cut Noirciel off from the outside world, and no one could blame him for making this decision. This angel was incompetent and unfriendly, acting proud at one moment and falling to the ground, face first, at the next. This glaring contrast was enough to make any believer doubt their faith!

"You!" The Pope gritted his teeth and grabbed the pitiful High Priest by the neck. "I leave her in your care. Don't let anyone else see her face, if you know what is good for you!"

With that, he and the Chief Judge hurried out of the chapel. They had already begun to deliberate on how best to proceed.

The High Priest and the youths that had summoned Noirciel looked at each other in confusion. What were they supposed to do with her? The angel seemed holy and ethereal, staring at the horizon, but on closer examination, the angel was staring only because she seemed to not know what to do.

"Um, Your Grace, what should we do now?" A youth asked the High Priest.

"How should I know? Go and ask Lady Noirciel herself! See if she needs anything!" The High Priest replied, a little too snippily. Truthfully, he was just as lost as all of them!

The sullen youth carefully approached the angel and asked in a low voice, "Your Grace, do you, by any chance, need some—"

The angel turned abruptly, causing the youth to stop. With her jade-like finger, she pointed at a building in the distance and replied, "I would like to go there."

The boy turned around and looked at the building in question. He recognized its great, round dome; it was the basilica of Canningham — a place where the believers of God's Grace in this Holy City gathered. It was the most spectacular religious architecture in the realm, and it was rumored to be the only place in this mortal plane that was the closest to the gods. Every day, countless believers flooded the basilica of Canningham for pilgrimage.

The High Priest was startled. The Pope had just warned him not to let Noirciel out in public, but now she wanted to go to the most public location in the Holy City! It was as though she was asking the Pope to strangle him to death!

Was it possible for him to refuse her, though? The Scripture and other religious texts have, in many places, emphasized that angels bore the wills of gods. A true believer would never deny the messenger of a god, even if the messenger was crazy.

The High Priest suddenly had an idea. The angel called herself a sinner, did she not? She also said she had descended to redeem herself. 'Maybe it won't be bad to be a little less humble with her,' the High Priest thought. 'Besides, are we not already indulging in blasphemy by treating a sinner the same way we would treat normal angels?'

With that in mind, the High Priest looked up at the angel and said, "Your Grace, since what interests you lies in the Holy City, may I suggest somewhere even better for you? It's higher, more beautiful, and you can see every part of the city from there…"

The angel was taken aback, but she nodded.

The High Priest let out a sigh of relief. The angel was a lot easier to persuade than the had thought.

The High Priest's attention shifted to the youths, and he ordered them to send away everyone they found at a certain observation deck. Afterward, he and the angel slowly advanced to the destination.

Noirciel was led to a tall tower in the city. Just as the High Priest had promised, this was the tallest building in Canningham. It was used as a watchtower in the past, but now, it was a clocktower, which attracted a lot of tourists to the city.

Noirciel soared towards the observation deck. The deck's size was increased when the tower was renovated. The youths had vacated the premises earlier and made some last-minute decorations. When Noirciel reached the deck, it was lined with white lilies — which the faithful considered purity — which fluttered gently in the breeze.

The angel was so pleased that she forgot all about Canningham's basilica. She quietly floated to the edge of the observation deck and looked at the beautiful expanse of land below.

An old bronze bell next to her began to toll solemnly. This caused the lilies to shed their petals, and the gentle breeze blew them towards the one-winged angel.

The youths held their breath at the scene. At that moment, the angel was quite pleasant to behold.

Emboldened by his success, the High Priest walked a little closer to Noirciel. This time, he decided to ask her something more personal — a question about her past.

"Your Grace, are you here to show us directions?"

"No. I'm looking for someone," Noirciel replied honestly. "I'm looking for Mia. If I can see her again, my heart will finally be at peace. She will move on, and I will revert to my original self."

Her words were simple, but the High Priest looked confused. "Who is this… Lady Mia? Is she your friend, Your Grace? Another Angel?"

"No. She is just a mortal."

"Huh?!"

"I do not know her personally, and I do not know where she is now; however, I do know that Lulu adores her. I must find her so that Lulu can move on," replied the angel.

The High Priest was even more confused now. 'Who is this Mia person? And who, in the name of the saints, the Angels, and the gods, is Lulu? Do you speak our language?'

Feeling gloomy, the High Priest retreated back to the youths and said, "Can anyone tell me who this Mia person is?"

"Mia? Why would Your Grace ask about her?" A girl said. "If I recall correctly, she's the daughter of a minor noble, who is a professor at Da Xue. People call her the 'Princess of Da Xue'. I have met her once, at an evening ball. She was small but very beautiful."

"That Mia? Preposterous. Lady Noirciel surely means someone else with the same name, right?' The High Priest shook his head. As a core member of the Church, he knew that this Mia was really close to that devil.

According to the Church's intel, Mia was the first unfortunate soul to meet Hope the Deceiver. She was heavily seduced and became his property. Although their relationship was that of a teacher and his student on paper, there were rumors that they acted like father and daughter behind closed doors. Some people even swore that their relationship was that of a husband and his underage wife.

There was no way any angel would be interested in someone like that; it was just impossible!

The High Priest shook his head vigorously, dismissing the thought, after which he relayed Noirciel's words to the youths. "Inform the Pope about this, and tell them to find every one of our believers called Mia. If everything is as she says it is, Lady Noirciel might return to normal after seeing her."

The message was quickly passed. Noirciel's words had once again triggered a great hunt.

Back at Da Xue, the Voidwalkers had assembled for another meeting.

In Baiyi's hand was the latest report from Umbra. It seemed the Church had been acting suspiciously; it had sealed off a small area of the city. It was as though something nasty was hidden there.

"I bet it's the angel," Baiyi said. The Cleric Walker had sensed her before Umbra's report arrived, so the news did not surprise Baiyi. He was curious, though; why would the Church hide the angel from everyone?

"I don't understand, either. According to the Church's scripture, the descent of an angel is a cause for celebration. There should be a huge procession and a lot of ceremonies taking place in the Holy City. The streets should be lined with flowers, and choirs should be heard singing hymns for an entire day. The followers ought to have already crowded the streets, praying to their divine messenger," said the Cleric Walker. "However, they had chosen to hide the angel. Is it because they fear that the cost of such a celebration would burn a hole in their coffers?"

"If they cared about resources, they would not want a war with us," Baiyi replied, shaking his head. "The only reason I can think of is that they want to maintain the element of surprise."

"Now that's just daft. How overconfident could they be to think they could hide such a being?" The Cleric Walker asked, disagreeing with Baiyi's assessment. "I think this is what the angel ordered them to do. It might be an introvert that really hates attention."

Baiyi recalled his encounter with Noirciel back in the ancient Rohlserlian empire. She had been indifferent and complacent. Someone like that would not care about such celebrations. Only mortals would fret over such superficial festivities.

"No. You've never met an angel before, so you don't know how little they care about optics. They are just that lofty," Baiyi replied. "Anyways, although the Church's move is a bizarre one, we must prepare for an attack. In the meantime, we can have Umbra gather more information."

After that, Baiyi shared the memory of his run-in with Noirciel with the other Voidwalkers.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

540 The Dark Side of Humanity

While the Voidwalkers prepared for a surprise attack by the Church, the Church was at a loss for what to do. Tensions were rising on both sides, and the person responsible for this was unaware of unfolding events.

Noirciel had not left the clocktower since she arrived. It was as though she had forgotten that she could only stay in Isythre for three days. The next morning, the High Priest and the youths returned to the observation deck of the clocktower and found the angel in the same spot as the day before.

This time, however, she was not hovering; she was seated at the edge of the deck, swinging her legs idly as the gentle breeze made her hair flutter. At that moment, the angel did not exude the pride that otherworld beings did; she was reserved and quiet.

"Lady Noirciel sat in the same spot the entire night?" One youth gasped. "Is that person really that hard to find? I thought the scripture states that angels can see all mortals, and not a mote of dust can escape their sight."

"Just because she can see everything does not mean she can find everything," another youth said.

"How can that be? How can there be a person in existence that an angel cannot find?"

Someone suddenly spoke up, "Guys, am I the only one that thinks Lady Noirciel is just daydreaming?"

Everyone looked at the youth with expressions of disapproval on their faces. "Hush! Angels don't daydream!"

"It is not impossible. Her Grace possessed Greta, right? Do you remember what Greta loved doing? That's right; she loves daydreaming and sitting in high places. She also loves wearing really short skirts, so every day, everyone at the cathedral would know the color and patterns of her panties..."

"Okay, stop. That does not prove its possibility. Lady Noirciel has taken complete control over Greta's body; there is no way a mortal's feeble soul can affect a divine being's like that! Greta's conviction may be strong, but she can't influence an angel's mind!"

Even though the youths were standing close to the angel, the debate got more heated. The High Priest's loud cough was what prompted them to shut their mouths. When the deck was silent once again, the High Priest approached the angel.

"Blessed morning, Your Grace," he greeted, bowing low. "May the gods look..."

It was at this point that the faint sound of snores reached his ears.

'Were… Were those brats actually right?! Has Her Grace been daydreaming for so long that she eventually fell asleep?!' Beads of sweat rolled down the High Priest's forehead. 'Even if she is off her rocker, she should still be an angel, right? Was there any mention in the scripture of angels going to bed?! No, because they don't sleep, ever! Damn! According to the scripture, angels can stay in the sky for days, and they never get tired, as they are to accept the prayers of the believers!'

In obvious discomfort, the High Priest inched closer to Noirciel and said loudly, "G-good morning, Your Grace!"

The angel jerked and yelped in surprise. As she hurried to regain her composure, she stuttered, "I-I-I wasn't sleeping!"

In her panic, Noirciel did not sound as cold she should have; her voice sounded like that of a little girl.

It took all the High Priest had in him to wipe the expression of disbelief off his face. He began to fill Noirciel in on the tale that the Pope had prepared, about the great challenges that the Church had faced in dealing with a great evil, which sought to destroy all that was good and pure.

Some details in the made-up story were grossly exaggerated, and the High Priest made sure to refer to Hope as the 'devil'. The little disagreements that the Church had had with the Voidwalkers in the past were made to seem like a huge fight between good and evil. The High Pope made Baiyi out to be the prince of hell — the incarnation of darkness.

If any spirited youth that sought justice heard the High Priest's tall tale, their eyes would lit up with anger, after which they would go and engage Baiyi in a duel to the death. Although angels were too composed to fly into a rage, they would still get angry enough to raise their holy blades and declare war!

If Noirciel chose to do this, the Church's goal could be considered achieved.

Ever since the heads of the Church — the Pope, Chief Judge, and other members of the Church's upper echelon — discovered that the angel they summoned was an incompetent child, they had been debating on how best to proceed. Many of the ideas raised were sacrilegious. In the end, they all agreed that every angel — no matter how useless they were — would be driven by their innate desire to vanquish evil. If things went according to plan, Noirciel would draw her sword and charge at the devil, even if she would rather do nothing but sit in the clocktower.

Furthermore, news of the angel's attack had to be hidden from the public. The Church would only need to send a small group of military elites to support her. If they deployed more units to accompany the angel and she still embarrasses herself, what would happen to the Church's image?

The Church was also willing to accept an outcome where Noirciel returns injured, or a corpse. After that many resources were used for the summoning, the least the stupid girl could do was to become cannon fodder to gauge the devil's powers! If she died at the devil's hands, other angels would be infuriated, which would be a great turn of events.

The plan was a cruel and blasphemous one. After the meeting, the men all hurried away for confessions, at which time they also pleaded for divine forgiveness.

To the High Priest's dismay, he was chosen to carry out the most crucial and sinful part of the plan: make Noirciel angry enough to charge into battle. He was reluctant to do so, though, but he could not afford to test the Pope's patience. In the end, the High Priest had no choice but to succumb.

However, despite the High Priest's best efforts, Noirciel was not enraged. She only cocked her head to the side in confusion. "I do not see this devil you speak of anywhere in this realm. Why?"

"Your Grace, I believe he got wind of your arrival and rushed to his hidey-hole, a place called Da Xue," the High Priest replied. "It's an academy located in a micro-realm, so it's not exactly here."

"Is that so? Then, I'm afraid there is little I can do. You see, I'm forbidden from leaving this realm," Noirciel replied, after which she continued staring into space, searching for Mia.

The High Priest froze when he heard that. His expectations had been shattered!

As the Church's upper echelon hurriedly gathered for an emergency meeting, Umbra delivered its latest report to Baiyi and the Voidwalkers. This time, the famous guild of assassins had acquired pictures of an angel, which was taken via magical holograms.

"That's it? That's our nemesis?!?!" The Archmage exclaimed in disbelief. "Why does she look so… weird? Why is there a collar on her neck? Is this why you're the way you are, Sir Cleric? Is every other high-ranking member of the Church a closet pervert?!"

"No! This angel is the only exception!" The Cleric Walker exclaimed. "Her appearance matches the scripture's description of angels. However, there was no mention of collars. That being said, I can't be the only one who considers the collar a welcome addition, right? A cold otherworldly saint, humiliated with the mark of a sinner. Doesn't it just make you feel, huh? [1] Oh, oh yes! Excuse me; my tongue is — slrrrpp! [2]"

"Holy s**t! Can you be any more disgusting?! You're perving after a f***ing Angel — the gods' weapon of destruction! This isn't a loli-pop, you insatiable moron!" Baiyi bellowed, aghast at his colleague's depravity.

He returned his attention to the pictures and muttered, "Why does she seem so familiar? She can't possibly be Noirciel, can she? She looks different now, but she has that kitty plush toy hanging from her waist again. What other angels would do this?"

"Dude, who are you to judge? Have you ever seen other angels before? You don't have enough evidence to such a conclusion, man. This kitty plush toy thing might be a fashion trend up there, for all we know!" The Alchemist Walker said, making known his disapproval. "Even the War God's messenger is a Kitty Cat Maid!"

"Attie wasn't like that when she started!" Baiyi retorted. "She was a king! King of the bloody Steppe!"

"You rang, Master?" Attie's voice rang out from a corner of the room. Baiyi turned around and saw her playing with the Jawflower, Santa, and Anna.

"None of your business," Baiyi replied, after which his attention was returned to the matter at hand. "Regardless of who the angel is, she spent her first day in that clocktower, daydreaming. Do you know what we call people like that? A ditz. She's a ditz. However, she's an adorable ditz, and she is a pretty lovely sight..."

Nota, who had long since removed her hair dye, suddenly butted in, exclaiming, "No, Mentor! Please reconsider; she is an angel!"

"Sir Hope, she is an angel!" The Soul Armature Practitioner voiced his agreement.

"Yea, Doofus. She's an angel!" Lady Assassin Walker said.

The room seemed to have become a YouTube comment section, where everyone copies the comments of others. This annoyed Baiyi greatly, and he soon bellowed, "The hell? Of course, I know she's an angel!"

"We're just concerned, you know? We are worried that you might run off to, I don't know, capture her — out of that Pokemon collector impulse — just because she looks nice," the Archmage explained. He slapped his student's shoulder solemnly and continued, "Son, you must consider this. She's an angel!"

"Can just one of you show some faith in my integrity? I know my priorities. Besides, why would I go out and get another girl when I'm already surrounded by a ton of beauties? I'm not that lonely!" [3]

"I wouldn't be so confident about that. You still lack a kuudere, ice-princess type in your collection," The Archmage thoughtfully said.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

541 Come; Take the Bai

Contrary to what the parrots around Baiyi thought, he had no plans to capture this angel. Although the girl that Noirciel had possessed was more delicious than Lulu — especially those bare feet over the edge of the clocktower's observation deck and her silk ribbon-like silver hair, which was fluttering gently in the wind — Baiyi knew she was still an angel! [1]

"You think she's still the darling you met in the past, don't you?" The Archmage asked.

"So?"

"So, if she was responsible for your sudden travel back to the present, then she's the best lead you have in the case of Mia's disappearance, no? If you think this angel is that Noirc-whachamacallit, then you should find a chance to talk to her," the Archmage said.

'It's rare to see you being helpful,' Baiyi glanced at his teacher, who was also being usually supportive, albeit indirectly, of his girl-collecting hobby.

"That makes sense; the thought had already crossed my mind. The problem is how difficult she is to defeat; you did see the fight I had with her, did you not?" Baiyi replied. "Mia's not with me right now, and without her… Laeticia and the Ember of Hope alone might not provide enough power for me."

"I noticed that she was not hostile toward you. Is it because she thought you are the messenger of that Nehemiah guy? I think you can use that to your advantage; you may not even need to fight her," said the Soul Armature Practitioner, offering a better suggestion.

"How optimistic can you be to think such a ruse would last? Does anyone here even know who the Nehemiah person is?"

Even the Voidwalkers that knew a thing or two about gods shook their heads sideways. If they did not know, then it was safe to say no one else did.

"Wait." The Cleric Walker gasped. "It's not the War God?"

"He did not react as though Nehemiah is his name," Baiyi replied, recalling how the War God had reacted to the name. The god claimed to not know who Nehemiah was. Was the War God being sincere or just pretending?

Without looking away from the other Voidwalkers, Baiyi reached out and grabbed Attie.

Attie — who was not interested in the discussion taking place — Santa, and Anna had been riding Zakum the fox. Like bad news, the girls had been making a racket, forcing the poor fox to leap over the furniture multiple times.

"Don't you think you're too old for this?" Baiyi poked Attie's cheek. "Anyway, do you know your god's name?"

Attie shook her head sideways. "No. The War God has never mentioned his name."

"Fine. Go, but please stop torturing that animal. You should ride Mordred, instead," Baiyi said and released the girl. That was a veiled attempt to get Attie and the other two to leave the room; their racket was starting to get annoying.

"My good sir! Why bother with all this when, in order to tell a convincing lie, you don't really need to know who Nehemiah is? Most times, all you need is a name. Besides, she's scatterbrained, isn't she? There's no need to plan so carefully when you want to deal with a bimbo. I'll gladly craft an excellent pair of wings of you; things like this are my specialty, after all!" The Charlatan Walker said. "Throughout my illustrious career, I charmed a great many people, but never did I attempt to trick an angel. People say that otherworld beings see through everything, but does that include my schemes, though? How exciting!"

'Yea, except that you've failed before, causing her to one-shot you instantly. Exciting,' Baiyi sneered in his mind. However, he did not reject the Charlatan Walker's offer, as it could end up being useful.

Taking a leaf from the Charlatan Walker's book, other Voidwalkers offered suggestions containing plans centered on their area of expertise.

One Voidwalker suggested that Baiyi distract the angel, allowing the Hitman to sneak up behind her and knock her out with a kung-fu chop!

Another Voidwalker suggested that Baiyi introduce the angel to web novels, anime, and video games, and watch her deteriorate into an otaku.

Some Voiwalkers asked Baiyi to grab the angel by the collar, thus asserting his position as her master. Afterward, she would have to obey his every wish, thus becoming his plaything. [1]

Other Voidwalkers decided to up the ante with their suggestion: Baiyi should elongate his arms and turn them black; the closer they resembled tentacles, the better.

Someone asked Baiyi to summon a demon by spending real money on microtransactions in a mobile game...

'None of these suggestions are worth s**t!' Baiyi groaned.

Was the real challenge not getting close to the angel unseen? The Church treated her like a secret, and from the look of things, his best bet would be to raid the Holy City and abduct her. Even though that would not be difficult for Baiyi to do, how would then deal with the stain such an act would leave on his reputation? Baiyi could only imagine the headlines that newspapers would print if he did that: 'You will NOT believe this…' 'Ten Truths About Voidwalkers They DON'T Want You To Know! Number one will SHOCK YOU!'

At that moment, Tisdale called, bearing some good news. Some nobles had invited Baiyi to an evening event.

Normally, such invitations were considered bothersome, and Tisdale would reject them all, except for the invitations she thought would interest Baiyi. Because Baiyi rejected almost every invitation sent to him, many nobles caught on and stopped trying to gain his attention this way. Afterward, when more than one invitation was sent, they would be stuffed into one envelope, making it easier for Baiyi to dispose of.

This time, however, these nobles had employed a new method. There was a sudden wave of ceremonies being held: coming-of-age ceremonies for a noble's first son; a ceremony for the choosing of a noble family's next family head; auctions by noble families, where many items of luxury are sold. Strangely, all these events were being held in the same city, on the same day, and at the same period: different times between noon and late evening. These events, which contained a variety of activities, were being held in the Holy City.

As a show of sincerity, every noble hosting an event sent someone over to deliver their invitation. Butlers, servants, heirs, and even family heads came to deliver these invitations. Tisdale spent all afternoon attending to every one of them.

The reason for their invitation could not be any clearer. As these events were being held so close to Holy City, it was evident that these nobles were offering themselves as bait for an ambush.

"What do we do, sir?" Tisdale, who was on the other end of the communication-magic call, asked.

"Before that, did anyone ask for your hand in marriage?"

"What?! Of course not! Well, no…" Tisdale sounded flustered and a little sad.

"Great! Then, tell them I'll consider it," Baiyi replied, smiling.

Before Baiyi hung up, the Archmage was chuckling. He had gone through all the invitations. "Ha! Their intentions are so clear, it's ipso facto!"

'Can you not make a fool of yourself by using phrases from Earth when you don't know what they mean?' [3]

"Well, if they're offering us an opening, why don't we just take it?" The Hitman Walker asked.

'See? Now that's how you use your brain!'

News that Baiyi might attend any one of these events soon reached the Church, sparing the Pope and his supporters a headache. They did not think they could handle another migraine after losing so much sleep over Noirciel.

The attention of many shifted to the High Priest, and someone bellowed, "Do you know how much money we had to spend to get these group of hedonistic nobles to help?!"

The High Priest could only stare at them gloomily. What did any of that have to do with him?

"How about you understand that we were forced to resort to this because the angel you summoned is annoyingly useless!" The Chief Juge growled.

"I'm more worried that this might be the edge of a slippery slope," the archbishop of Canningham muttered. He was one of the candidates to become the next pope, but he was no younger than the High Priest.

His pessimism had re-opened a hole that the Pope had tried so hard to cover. For the sake of their cause — to banish all heretics — the Church used up a lot of its resources to summon an angel, but the angel they got was useless and crazy. To make something of their last investment, the Church was forced to spend more money, to bribe some nobles over to their side.

What if this angel, who could not even fly, was not strong enough to land a blow on their nemesis? How much more would the Church have to spend to lessen the impact of this fiasco?

If everyone in the room was allowed to voice their thoughts, they would roar deafeningly about how much of a fraud this angel was. What had she done since she arrived in Isythre? Nothing! The angel had spent every second daydreaming!

The Pope wished they had summoned a muscular angel with steel-like abs. He would be happy to take a bear-like bodybuilding angel over the useless angel, any day!

Only the High Priest stood up for Noirciel. "Listen, none of you spoken to Lady Noirciel. You don't know how calm and easygoing she is. Even if you only consider her strange, you cannot deny that she is powerful. Can you pretend that you don't sense her Divine Energy from here?"

"Cease your useless babblings. I want you to get your a*s ready for the next summoning!" The Pope snarled.

The High Priest eyed him steelily. "You have blasphemed against the gods."

"This I confess to. However, to achieve our righteous cause to destroy evil and rid the world of corruption, I have had to forego the arbitrary boundaries," the Pope solemnly replied. "When this is over, I'll pray for the gods for punishment; they can do so however they see fit."

The High Priest shook his head and turned around, ready to leave, but before he left, he said, "Before this, none of you gentlemen have ever seen an angel before. Think about this: what will we record about Lady Noirciel's descent for future generations?"

Everyone else in the room was stunned silent. The meaning behind the High Priest's words was clear: what if all angels are like this? What if the next angel they summon, or the one after that, is no different from Noirciel?

It was a troubling question that no one wanted to answer.

Noirciel had answered this question, though. After being indirectly asked the same question over and over again by the High Priest, she sincerely replied, "Do not worry; no one in the realm of gods shares my brand of deformity. Verily, the purpose for my descent is to get restored to normal; normal as you all know my kind to be."

For some reason, those words made the High Priest's heart lurch.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

542 He Who The Angel Looks Up To

The next morning, the High Priest found Noirciel snoring again on the observation deck, and realized that he had to wake her up, again.

This time, the High Priest was calm and happy, for some reason. When Noirciel descended, she was haughty, detached, and difficult to handle, but after two days in the clock tower, she had become a bit more easygoing, like a little girl. The change was not a big one, but it pleased the High Priest all the same.

The Pope and others did not share this sentiment, neither did they think they could stand seeing Noirciel do anything else that was unbecoming for angels described in the scriptures.

"I pray that you find salvation one day, Your Grace," the High Priest murmured before walking towards the angel.

He woke her up gently, and she turned her groggy eyes to his and asked, "Huh? It's… time?"

The High Priest dropped to one knee — the proper position in which to address an Angel, whether they conformed to one's expectations or not — and replied, "Yes, Your Grace. We've prepared a carriage for you. It'll be our honor if you accepted it."

"Oh-kay." Noirciel's expression lit up with excitement at the news. She looked as curious as any little girl would on their first carriage ride.

The carriage was quite grand, quite fitting for an angel. It was also riddled with many formations, created to suppress an angel's immense Divine Energy. The Pope had deliberately modeled the carriage after a birdcage, hoping that Noirciel would feel trapped within it and fly into a rage. He would then lead the enraged angel to Baiyi. [1]

The High Priest, who Noirciel found the easiest to talk to, was in the carriage, as well. The ride was a silent and bumpy one, which did not stop for bathroom breaks. Nevertheless, Noirciel said nothing; she just silently stared at the window.

The carriage windows were completely tinted and could not be seen through, a modification made on the Pope's orders. Although Noirciel could not see through the window, she continued to stare at it.

Throughout the journey, the High Priest racked his brains for an excuse with which to explain why the angel was been treated so badly. In the end, he could not come up with anything; there was just no way for the Church to justify its actions. Thus, with a heavy voice, the High Priest said, "Your Grace, please pardon the Pope. He… He is very devoted to his cause and standards of right and wrong, and he diligently follows the teachings in the scripture…"

The High Priest's words startled Noirciel for a moment, but she calmly replied, "I'm a sinner. A sinner has no right to condemn nor pardon anyone."

'So… does that mean we are forgiven or not?' The High Priest wondered.

Suddenly, a crusader knocked on the door of the carriage and said in a low voice, "Your Grace, we're detecting a high-level energy signature ahead. The devil will be here soon."

"Praise the gods. He really is coming!" The High Priest exclaimed. "Don't just stand there; inform the apostle. The time for battle is nigh!"

The Church's leaders did not hold Noirciel in high regard, and they also did not believe that she could complete such a task by herself. Therefore, they dispatched fifty templars and a saint, who could also use Word of God, to accompany the angel.

These reinforcements were the sharp knives and pointy forks brandished when a foofaraw breaks out at a banquet; there was little doubt that they would cause significant damage. All Noirciel had to do was to play the part of the teacup that started it all.

Although Hope the devil was renowned for his powers, the Church believed that angel working with a saint could take him on. Hope should be dealt a terrible blow, which he would need a long time to recover from — enough time for the Church to summon another Angel. The new angel would be smart and powerful enough to finish what this angel could not, after which he would rid the world of darkness, once and for all.

The Church's strategy looked foolproof on the drawing board, but the High Priest still had his misgivings about it. stratagem seemed solid back on the drawing board, but the High Priest was skeptical. Out of all the baits that the Church left dangling, Hope had chosen a marquis's event, which was to be held at a remote, private hunting ground. The choice made it obvious that Hope had concocted a plan of his own.

The High Priest was right; Baiyi had not come alone. Three Voidwalkers had come with him, including the Charlatan Walker, who had insisted on helping, as this was within his area of expertise.

The High Priest could not bear to see Noirciel — an angel he had spent many months to summon — get killed out in the field. "Your Grace," he said, "Please do take care. If the situation turns dire, please flee instantly, okay"

Noirciel did not reply, though. She looked in a certain direction even though she could not see through the carriage. Her wing was immediately unfurled, and she flew out of the carriage, destroying half of it in the process.

"Hurry! Follow Lady Noirciel!" The High Priest ordered the reinforcements.

However, neither the templars nor the saint moved. They stood still, staring at the one-winged angel, who was struggling to stay airborne.

The Church's upper echelon had been really secretive; none of the reinforcements knew that they had been guarding an angel the whole time. When the shock wore off, surprise took its place. Everyone could only stare at the angel get closer to the ground, despite doing her best to soar.

Fortunately for Noirciel, she had learned her lesson the last time she had tried to fly. This time, she from her last, painful fall. This time, she did not try to ascend too high, flying just a little above the ground. Noirciel was a bit shaky at first, but she did not fall this time.

When Baiyi flew over the angel, who was hovering close to the ground, had to look up to see him.

According to the Church's scripture, the only beings angels looked up at were gods.

Baiyi and three Voidwalkers behind him slowly floated down to the ground, and soon, he was standing right in front of Noirciel. "Well, we meet again," He said in greeting.

"Indeed, Nehemiah's vassal. The sands of time have brought us back together," Noirciel replied. She had become cold and detached once more, unlike how careless she had been back at the clocktower.

Just as he had rehearsed with the Charlatan Walker, Baiyi replied, "Please allow me, as Nehemiah's representative, to formally greet you and Lord Tylemus, o' respected Vassal of Time."

The ruse was not without risk, though. Baiyi had no information on Nehemiah, neither had he met any of his followers before. No one would know if Nehemiah had instructed his vassals to address others in this manner.

The Charlatan Walker had asked him not to fret over this, as every lie had a chance of being seen though, no matter how carefully-crafted and believable it seemed. A true master of trickery would not waste time creating foolproof lies; they would, instead, focus on dealing with whatever issue comes up after the lie has been told.

Fortunately for Baiyi, Noirciel was gullible. "My apologies, but I cannot return Lord Nehemiah's greetings on Lord Tylemus' behalf. I am now a sinner and no longer Time's vassal."

This made things much easier. Momentarily, forgetting his script, Baiyi asked, "What happened?"

Noirciel was startled by the question, making Baiyi wonder if he had just made a mistake. However, to his surprise, the angel honestly replied, "It seems Lord Nehemiah has yet to inform you of my fate. You see, shortly after using my Lord's power without his permission, I was ousted for my disobedience. My inability to protect my purity against earthly attachments has made me unable to redeem myself…"

Noirciel briefly glanced at the collar around her neck, after which she looked up at Baiyi.

Although Noirciel was wearing a blindfold, Baiyi could sense the sorrow emanating from her. "Was it because you sent me back home?" He asked quietly.

The angel nodded sadly.

'I knew it. This idiot never had the right to directly influence time!' Baiyi thought. Noirciel's situation was something some prisoners on earth would understand: being framed for a crime by the police and declared guilty. In the past, when Noirciel realized that Baiyi was the anomaly she had been sent to investigate, she used the power of her god without consent, so she was forced to wear the angels' version of the 'Cone of shame'.

One would expect the angel to fly into a rage when she met the person that made her suffer, but Noirciel just looked on sadly, instead.

'Is this all because of the fearsome reputation of this Nehemiah guy? Is he so frightening that even an angel would be scared to cross his vassal despite all the vassal had done to her?' Baiyi wondered.

Whatever the case was, Baiyi was at an advantage. "I apologize, but this is all according to Lord Nehemiah's unfathomable will. He has not made his divine plan clear to me, I cannot tell you the reason for your ordeal," Baiyi said. "Nevertheless, I can offer you the apology of mortals, and if you agree to join me, I can make it all up to you."

All the angel had to do was accept his offer. If she did, Baiyi would take her back to Da Xue, bribe her with the best snacks, confectionaries and other material luxuries, and slowly squeeze her!

Squeezing all the useful information she had out of her. He definitely would not do anything else.

To his shock, the clumsy Angel shook her head sideways. "My time in this realm is limited, and there is still something I must do," she replied firmly. Suddenly, her face lit up as though she had just remembered something important. "Wait a second. I remember now… No, Lulu remembers now. You're Mia's father! Do you know where she is? I really want to see her. No. I mean, Lulu really wants to see her!"

'Is… Is this Angel suffering from a dissociative personality disorder? And, why is everything going back to Mia again?' Baiyi wondered.

As though Noirciel had read his mind, she explained, "My time I had to possess Lulu's body exceeded the limit, causing her spirit to fuse with mine. This is the source of my corruption and the reason I'm denied salvation."

"Oh, so if I do this…" Baiyi brought out the kitty plush toy from his pocket.

The Angel squealed in delight, and excitement overwhelmed her. Without warning, she jumped at the plush toy, intent on snatching it away, but Baiyi was faster. He raised his arm high, and Noirciel, reacting late, ran right into his chest.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

543 Let“s See If You Dodge This!

The pleasant sensation generated from the contact with a young girl's soft skin made Baiyi blush.

Alas, nothing good lasted forever, and perverted deeds never went unpunished. Before Baiyi could bask in the pleasure, an incredibly powerful and invisible barrier formed between him and the angel. The force that it emerged with sent Baiyi flying; he did land gracefully, though, using several backflips.

Baiyi was rather grateful that he had not eaten a mouthful of soil.

The kitty plush toy was no longer in his possession. Noirciel held it up happily and rubbed her cheeks against it.

The three Voidwalkers that came with Baiyi fought the urge to laugh. They were sure that they were not the only people there that believed Baiyi got what he deserved.

Baiyi casually walked back over to Noirciel. In a bid to brush off the embarrassing event, he solemnly said, "I'm afraid the effect of Lulu's influence is really serious. I understand your urgent need to see Mia, but this is not the right place. Please, follow me."

"Okay!" The angel nodded immediately, with the plushie still pressed firmly against her cheek.

Baiyi was surprised that he had convinced her so easily, but before he could take his leave, the Church's cavalry arrived. Fifty templars, who were clad in silver-white armors and had wings of light behind them, quickly surrounded Baiyi.

Noirciel's attention shifted to the various wings around her. Although she knew they could not be compared with her, she was still jealous.

A voice reverberated from behind the templars, "Your Grace! We're here to protect you! Are you hurt?"

An old man wearing a scruffy priests' robe walked forward. The beautiful wings at his back looked out of place on him.

A Voidwalker wearing a black robe that covered his face held his hand to his mouth, ready to puke at the sight of the old man.

The priest was Saint Jola. He was the son of a family so religious, his given name was a combination of Apostle Joel's and Apostle Yula's. Saint Jola practically worshipped these two legends, so, like them, he chose to live a life of abnegation. His goal was to achieve Ascension the same way they did.

Jola had watched the angel burst out of the carriage and fly towards Baiyi. In anger, he had grabbed the collar of the High Priest's robe and demanded, "Why did nobody tell us that an angel has graced us with its presence?! Why weren't any grand ceremonies and rituals held? Why were only so few of us dispatched to help Her Grace battle that devil?!"

The High Priest pulled away in a huff and replied, "It's all the Pope's idea. Maybe you should ask him yourself if you're so keen to know, Brother Jola."

Emphasis was made on the word 'brother'; it was a reminder to Saint Jola that his rank was not above that of the High Priest's. Apostles did not have any responsibilities, and as Jola wanted to emulate the life of his idols, Apostles Joel and Yula, he rejected offers to switch to high positions, choosing to remain an ordinary cleric. Hence, he could not disrespect the High Priest.

"Her Grace is in grave danger. You should hurry; take our soldiers and go help her!" The High Priest exclaimed.

Apostle Jola had to swallow his retort when he heard that. He skillfully cast a spell that one of his idols was renowned for, causing every templar to sprout wings of light. Hereafter, they all flew towards the angel at full speed.

The Word of God, the spell he had just cast, reminded Jola of the lovely saintess who taught it to him. The time he spent learning from Saintess Laeticia was amazing. Jola admired her greatly, especially for her grace and devotion. Unfortunately, he had recently learned that the Saintess was teetering on the brink of the Fall. She had refused to leave the devil's side, despite multiple summons from the Church ordering her return. The devil had closed her eyes to their God; he had tempted her!

Apostle Jola no longer saw Saintess Laeticia as a beautiful maiden; in his mind, she had become an old hag in pitch-black armor, cackling madly in delight as she watches holy flags burn. This made the hate he had for the devil skyrocket.

Jola's thoughts were conflicted as he flew towards the angel. On one hand, he felt shameful that he had not protected the angel beforehand; on the other hand, he was happy that he would be helping the angel vanquish that devil!

However, by the time Jola and the templars arrived, the battle had yet to begin. It seemed the angel and devil were at a stalemate.

It took some time for Noirciel, who was rather clumsy, to understand what was going on. She quickly turned around and explained to the knights, "This is Hope; Mia's father, and Lulu's idol. I will go with him to seek my salvation. I do not need any of you, so please, leave us be."

Noirciel's words struck the ears of the templars like huge bolts of lightning. They stood so still, it was as though they had looked into Medusa's eyes and turned to stone.

The templars knew who Hope was. They also knew that Mia was one of his students; what they did not know was when the man became her father? Who the hell was Lulu? Why did the angel just imply that her salvation was in the hand of the bloody devil?

Was the angel still on their side? Or, had she fallen already? How was it possible for an angel, beings that bore the wills of gods, to fall? A corrupted angel cannot be anything more than the figment of one's imagination! It was not stated in the scripture that angels could be corrupted!

Although her words were enough to shake the belief of faithful believers, Noirciel turned back around and grabbed her Baiyi's gauntlet. Looking up at him with childish excitement, she giggled. "Well, shall we?"

When Baiyi felt the angel hold his hand, he expected another invisible barrier to pop up and repel him, but nothing happened. All he felt was the warmth of a little girl's hand.

'Well, well, well! Who would have thought that the plan would go so darn smoothly? No one expected the angel to cooperate to this extent! Is this Lulu's influence at work?' Baiyi thought. He wondered if Mia's adoration of him had rubbed off on Lulu. Nevertheless, Lulu considered Baiyi a reliable parental figure; this must have rubbed off on the angel. It had affected her enough that she would trust him.

Baiyi turned around and looked at two Voidwalkers, whose faces were also hidden by the hood of their black robes, and said, "Alright. I'll leave those Church boys to you."

Hereafter, Baiyi informed the Charlatan Walker that it was time to leave. They were planning to depart right in front of the Church!

Two templars could no longer sit still. They unsheathed their blades and blocked the path. They gazed at Baiyi with pity in their eyes, as though he was already dead.

One of the Voidwalkers let out an audible sigh. "And the Lord says: No weapon forged against the innocent will prevail."

Suddenly, the wings of light behind the two templars shattered, and they crashed to the ground like anchors.

"Impossible!" Jola bellowed as he watched Baiyi slip away, with the angel in tow. He glared daggers at the Voidwalker and snarled. "You are the devil's accomplice! How were you able to dispell a spell of God?!"

"Look, can we just let this pass?" The Voidwalker said. "That son of a b... I mean, Principal Hope doesn't think ill of any of you, which is why he left us behind. It's his way of letting all of you go."

"Enough!" Jola shouted furiously. "The Lord says: Fear my wrath!"

Divine Energy exploded out from Jola's body, and two horrifyingly thick arcs of lightning tore through the clouds and struck the two Voidwalkers.

This was the strongest variation of the Word of God, called "Judgement". It was fatal to demons, non-believers, and liches. Judgment was only second to Void banishment, the Church's most powerful technique. Its incantation was simple and remarkably short. The spell could be cast in a second, which was not enough time for the opponent to react.

This technique had two disadvantages. One, it could only be used within a Holy Ground — an area that contained a church or cathedral. Two, it consumed an enormous amount of the user's Divine Energy. However, it was more effective than most Forbidden Spells...

Or so the Church thought.

The large amount of Divine Energy expended could be replenished only after a full year of intense prayers, yet Apostle Jula had used it without batting an eye. When it came to ridding the world of demons, there was no such thing as overkill. Jola's only regret was that he did not use it on the devil.

As lightning consumed the two Voidwalkers, Apostle Jola muttered, "All that remains of you are dust now, isn't it?"

A sudden bizarre occurrence was his reply. The raging arcs of lightning began to shrink, and soon, they dispersed, leaving behind two golden rays of light, which illuminated the two Voidwalkers like spotlights.

One Voidwalker turned to the other and said, "Now I know why you never use this technique. It's bloody useless!"

"Oh, shut your ignorant mouth. It wasn't that I didn't want to use it; I couldn't! I was in the Abyss, not some Holy Ground!" The other Voidwalker, who had just neutralized Jola's spell, snapped.

Jola watched the scene with his mouth wide open. A horrifying thought crossed his mind: Judgment had not harmed his opponents because the spell could not harm those who are faithful.

'Doesn't this mean that these two — who are happily allied with the devil — are of the faithful?!'

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

544 Oof, It“s All Just A Misunderstanding!

The terrifying arcs of lightning had been reduced to harmless pillars of golden light. The Voidwalkers' black robes began to lose their colors, and soon, they were pure white. What this change implied was not lost on Jola, a devout man. For some bizarre reason, it seemed as though the Lord favored the two enemies more than his party.

The pillars of gold light shattered into fragments, and these fragments of light flew around the two Voidwalkers like butterflies. Some light fragments even fluttered close to the unkempt priest. Jola grabbed one of the light fragments and looked down at it carefully.

"What…" He stuttered. "What the hell is this nonsense?!"

The light fragments fluttering about looked rather similar to photographs from Earth. The photograph Jola had caught was of a young girl's fair things; far above the knees was the hem of a skirt, and just above the knees were a pair of black over-knee socks that extended downward. In Earth terms, the girl in the picture was "thicc". The photograph was capable of making any red-blooded man feel moved.

"H-hey, how the hell did my precious get out like that?" The Voidwalker, who had just nullified Jola's Word of God, screamed in horror. He flailed his arms frantically, catching the falling photographs as quickly as he could.

"Just who are you?!" Jola stared daggers at the Voidwalker flailing his arms like a kid. How could he remain calm when his enemies clearly considered him unworthy of attention?

Enraged that his question was not replied, Jola balled his hand into a fist, crumpling the photo within. He looked at the templars and bellowed, "Now!"

The frantic Voidwalker had seen Jola crush one of his special photographs, causing him to scream in pain. "You… You bastard! You'll pay for this! You destroyed my precious! You will be punished!"

Then, Apostle Jola and the frantic Voidwalker both bellowed at the same time, "And God says, 'Fear not, for I am with you!'"

A shower of golden light poured down and enveloped the Voidwalkers and the templars. The intensity of the golden rain increased, and soon, the golden rays coalesced into multiple frightening arcs of lightning; it was as though a crowd of Pikachus was letting loose. It was a stunning sight!

This was another spell derived from Word of God; it was called "For He Strengthens Me." This was one of the most advanced theurgical blessing spells in existence. It vastly improved the ability of the target. Although such a spell was not overly useful on normal people, it worked to great effect when used on powerful beings like it templars, as it greatly improved their skill and prowess.

As the Voidwalker and Apostle Jola had insta-casted such a powerful spell, a spectator would find it difficult to predict the victor of this clash.

"You sloth! You just want to kick back and relax while I do all the heavy lifting, don't you" The Paladin Walker growled.

Despite making a complaint, the Paladin Walker wasted no time in readying his weapon — a hammer that looked no different from those used by smithies: big, bulky, and made the ears of anyone who looked at it ring. The hammer's handle had some fine words inscribed on it; that was all it took for one to know that it was not as ordinary as its appearance suggested.

Anyone would expect a hammer wielded by a legendary Walker to have words of chivalry inscribed on it. However, on close examination, the line on the Paladin Walker's armor read: 'Protect all public properties; say no to vandalism! Made in the Faculty of Smithy, Da Xue.'

It seemed the hammer had been stolen from some poor student in the Blacksmith Faculty of Da Xue.

The templars glanced at the hammer in contempt. 'Who still uses a hammer these days? Who does this guy think he is, the legendary Holy Knight?'

In weapon science and physics, a hammer was an inferior weapon, as too much effort was required to handle its weight and momentum. There was a reason why many experts used lances, swords, chain-hammers, and nunchakus, but only a few used hammers. To the Templars — who wore sturdy but light armors, and were fast and agile — hammers had an adverse effect on speed, leaving many loopholes for an enemy to exploit. Hammers were only useful against slow infantries wearing heavy armor. Versatile experts would never choose to use hammers. Many centuries had passed, yet only a few used hammers.

The Paladin Walker swung his hammer around a few times, after which he gestured at the Templars to come at him. It was as though he considered this battle a cakewalk.

The Templars were proked. One Templar bolted out of the formation, fusing his broadsword with Divine Energy as he ran. White-hot arcs of lightning covered the sword, which was summarily swung down at the Paladin Walker.

The Paladin Walker raised his hammer to block the broadsword, then he let the broadsword slid off its head. This caused the Templar to stumble, and the Paladin Walker utilized the opportunity to strike the Templar's head.

Boonnnkkk! The Templar crumpled to the ground.

The other Templars were shocked. Before they could tell what was happening, the impatient Templar had been knocked out.

This incited their anger. Forgoing their belief of maintaining honor by fighting one-on-one, the Templars all charged towards the Paladin Walker.

The Paladin Walker, whose robe was too long for him, displayed some nimble footwork, cleverly dodging the attacks directed at him. Every time he dodged, a Templar was struck in the head with the hammer. It was as though the Voidwalker was playing Whack-a-mole. In seconds, more Templars had crashed to the ground. The Paladin Walker's movements did not look special; he looked like a blacksmith at work. However, this simple-looking style overwhelmed the Templars, the Church's most elite soldiers.

After some time had passed, only one Templar was still standing; forty-nine had been knocked unconscious. From his golden helmet, which had wing-like adornments, on either side, this Templar was the captain of this troop.

He tried to steady his trembling hands as he stared wide-eyed at the Paladin Walker. "W-who are you?! There's o-o-only one person in history that can use a hammer this skillfully, and that's —"

"Uh! For the Lord's sake, can you not stop fighting just so you can chat with your enemy?" The Paladin Walker groaned, after which he brought down his hammer Templar Captain's golden helmet.

As the captain of an elite team, this Templar was much more experienced in battle. He raised his broadsword to meet the descending hammer.

Unfortunately, the heavy hammer, which was also strengthened by Divine Energy, was unstoppable. The Templar Captain's sword broke, and his head was struck.

"Ugh! Kids nowadays. What a disappointing group of knights! If they can't beat me, how are they supposed to beat our tyrannical admin? They wouldn't even know what hit 'em," the Paladin Walker grumbled. He looked at the Cleric Walker, who was still frantically grabbing his photographs. "Are you done, mate? I want to go now."

"Just. A. Little. Longer!" shouted the Cleric Walker, as he grabbed the last of his photographs. He examined them carefully to ensure that no harm had befallen them.

The Cleric Walker quickly put away the photographs and hurried after the Paladin Walker. From afar, one could faintly hear their banter.

"Solve this riddle: why did my photos magically appear into the air?"

"How is that a riddle? You were airborne, and these things were with you. The wind blew, lightning raged about, and they got forced out of your robe — it's bloody elementary! Why don't you just take a leaf from my book and keep them in a secure safe?"

"Locked in a safe?! How then am I supposed to lick them when I feel the need to?!"

"Look, here's a piece of advice. If you carry them around with you all the time, like today, that son of a b**ch is going to find out, and when he does, he'll burn them all. Haven't you heard? He. Burned. His. Own. Master's. Collection. Without batting an eye! Do you know how low that sociopath can go?"

Jola stood still in shock. He had been utterly ignored by his enemies, whose banter he could still hear faintly. By the time he stopped shivering, horrible thoughts crossed his mind. 'How did those two emerge from a battle of theurgical magic completely unscathed? They were outnumbered! Why was their attention completely focused on something so… damn carnal?!'

"Just who the hell did we just face?!" Jola exclaimed. "What am I to them?!"

He recalled the words that the carnal-minded enemy had said to him: the devil had only dispatched two of them because he wished to spare the lives of the Templars.

Jola landed and began to examine the Templars. To his surprise, none of the templars were dead, neither were they severely injured. They had only suffered a few bruises and minor concussions.

The Templar Captain woke up first. When he stood up, he let loose a barrage of questions. "Father Jola, can you please explain what happened? What was our mission? Who the hell were those guys? Are they even… heretics?"

Apostle Jola was silent for some time. With a heavy voice, he replied, "Do you know who you were up against?"

"No." The Templar Captain shook his head. "By the gods, the way he swung his hammer… Such peerless skills reminded me of my idol, the Holy Knight Hantai!"

"I'm going to see the Pope. I have a hunch that he has all the answers," Jola muttered and walked away. He ignored the High Priest, who he passed by after walking for a while.

Several miles away from them, Noirciel suddenly stopped and looked back. "Oh no. Something slipped my mind. They told me that I'm needed to fend off a great evil."

"Eh-hem. That unspeakable evil they mentioned, is me," Baiyi replied.

Noirciel was baffled. "Impossible! You're the Vassal of Nehemiah! Father of Mia! The idol of Lulu! You're no devil!"

"They have their villains mixed up, again. You know humans and their limited faculties, don't you? There's always a misunderstanding," the Charlatan Walker chimed in, changing topics.

"Understood. That must be it." An expression of relief appeared on Noirciel's face. "Let us hurry, then."

She knew better than to involve herself in the petty quarrels of mortals. There was something more significant than that, something worth her finite time.

She had to redeem herself, fast.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

545 Fly Higher! Fly Faster!

Once the 'misunderstanding' was cleared, the angel and Voidwalkers continued on their journey, without taking any breaks.

Baiyi made no mention of the Arbiter's Rights, the Laws, or the collar on Noirciel's neck. Instead, he talked about topics that one would recount to visitors from abroad — food, culture, tourist destinations, and the cutest plushies on the market.

"That patisserie over there is well-known amongst girls like you. Every snack made there is delicious and looks great. You wouldn't believe how generous young women become just to get a taste of those amazing snacks!"

"The most popular plushie right now is a mega-plushie. It's as big as you are, and made from the softest fur available. If you hug it, you won't want to let it go."

"That? That's the hottest party on the continent! There, young boys and girls, who are dressed to impress, would dance and sing their night away. It's so electrifying, even someone like me is a little bit drawn to it…"

Noirciel did not speak much; all she uttered were Oohs and Ahs. However, the longer Baiyi spoke for, the more visible the angel's yearning was on her face. Did she really long for these things despite her best efforts to feign indifference?

As a master schemer, the Charlatan Walker could read Noirciel's face like a book. He began to talk to her in Baiyi's stead, grossly exaggerating the points he thought Baiyi had been bland about. The Charlatan Walker made the most mundane events sound like grand events and epic adventures.

An internal conflict had begun within Noirciel. Her wayward attitude was rebelling against her mind's effort to remain indifferent; it was like an itch that she was trying not to scratch. Poor Noirciel soon covered her face with her hands and whispered, "I must not yearn for all that. It will corrupt me further. I don't want to be abnormal…"

'That can't be good,' Baiyi thought and glanced at the Charlatan Walker, silently asking him to restrain himself. Baiyi could not risk the angel being corrupted right now; after all, he still needed her help to save Mia.

While the Charlatan Walker wooed Noirciel, Baiyi quietly examined her with his psychic energy. In the past, the angel was alerted even before Baiyi's physic energy touched her, but now, she was oblivious to his probing. No one could tell if this was because she trusted Baiyi more now, or because she was being distracted by the Charlatan Walker's words, which had caused her internal struggle. Baiyi was able to examine her fully and obtained secrets that had eluded him in his trip to the past.

Although her body appeared to be that of a little girl's, Noirciel was actually an energy being. The collar on her neck, the white blindfold over her eyes, the plain white robe she wore, and the wing behind her were all Divine Energy constructs. The host's body was used as a shell; this was why Noirciel had retained her host's physical appearance.

This was similar to the mechanism behind Baiyi's black meatball mode. Unlike his bizarre appearance in that mode, Noirciel looked human, with her Divine Energy acting in the same manner her outer garment was.

Noirciel was a beautiful young lady, who was as pretty as the beauties in Baiyi's harem. Her bodacious body complimented her name, and although she was not very tall, she possessed slender curves that seamlessly outlined her long, lean legs. Noirciel's hourglass figure was visible through her conservative robe, and anyone that looked at her would not help but imagine wrapping their arms around her delicate waist.

One thing Baiyi found unfortunate was that not every part of Noirciel's body was well-developed. She lacked in the same area that Mia and Attie did!

One look at Noirciel's appearance — her seductive body, the shameful collar around her neck, and the subservient blindfold around her eyes — was all it took for Baiyi to develope a different impression of a being who everyone was supposed to consider immaculate.

Baiyi quickly retracted his psychic energy, looked up, and said, "We're still a good distance away from Arfin City. Let's hurry."

Flying was the only way Noirciel could travel. The unique composition of her body made the usage of transporter portals useless; the enormous amount of pure energy in her body would disrupt the portal's function, and this could cause it to explode.

When Baiyi indirectly suggested that they fly, Noirciel lowered her head in embarrassment, letting out a pitiful whimper.

"Okay, so how about I carry you and fly?" Baiyi suggested.

The Fifth Walker fondly remembered the days he taught Mia and the other girls to fly. To have the girls acclimated to dogfights between seasoned sorcerers, Baiyi had implemented a strict and demanding training regimen so that they learned high-speed, high-altitude flight right from the get-go. After a while of training, however, the girls would begin to complain about the chilly high winds and how out of breath they were, and then rushed into Baiyi's embrace and rubbing their little cheeks on him. Then, as Baiyi carried them home, they would cuddle snugly in his arms.

Just thinking about those good old times brought a smile from the bottom of his heart. When was the last time he enjoyed such a pleasant experience since the girls learned to fly on their own without him?

If Noirciel said yes, he would be able to revisit that old, fuzzy warmth of his past once more!

Noirciel shook her head.

Baiyi found his chest sinking in disappointment. He had not expected the Angel to be so surprisingly demure.

"Er, what if I give you… a piggyback ride?" Undaunted, he rephrased his question slightly and tried again.

Noriciel shook her head, and Baiyi wondered if this showed how much the little angel wanted to get close to him.

"But we don't have any other choice, do we? Your body makes it impossible to speed up by any other means. Not only that, I can't even cast any kind of spell on you, too," Baiyi pointed out in exasperation. He could not cast a Levitation Spell, nor any kind of magic, on the Angel because her energy would disrupt them all. "If we remain on our current speed, we'll only arrive at Arfin City after sundown!"

'Why must Angels also be completely resistant to magic? Doesn't that just make them ridiculously overpowered? Honestly, did the designers of this universe even know what "power balance" means?' Baiyi complained quietly in his head.

Determination suddenly glinted in Noirciel's eyes, and before Baiyi could say anything, she suddenly raised her head to meet his gaze and spread open her arms. Realization struck Baiyi like lightning; it was as though she really wished to cuddle! Her eyes were even filled with such a strong sense of sheepish eagerness that Baiyi could see it through her blindfold.

Baiyi took some time to recover from his shock. How... no — when did Noirciel learn Little Mia's critical move? Was it because Lulu had seen her best friend performing it to ingratiate on Baiyi once or twice, and now Noirciel pulled it out of Lulu's memories? Why was it that despite Mia and Lulu's many strengths, this clumsy little Angel learned this instead? Worse, despite this being her first trial, she copied it perfectly. Was it a sign of her latent talent in 'The Art of Kawaii'?

Hundreds of snarky remarks were charging through Baiyi's mind, yet he found himself automatically reacting to the gesture, his arms wrapping around Noirciel on their own accord before bringing her close to his chest. As his hands closed around her delicate waist, Baiyi announced, "Alright, hold tight. This little rocket is standing tall and ready — I mean, I'm about to fly." [1]

Just like that, he ditched the Charlatan Walker and zoomed towards Arfin City like a bullet. In a blink of an eye, the Charlatan Walker found himself alone.

"Goddamnit! I can't do that!" The Charlatan Walker groaned. Left with no choice, he looked for the nearest transporter portal for himself.

Honestly, Baiyi was living a young man's fantasy. He was practically tearing through the sky in heart-thumping high-speed with a young girl's warm, soft body pressing on his chest as she held onto him throughout the ride. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the Pope, whose only thumping was the migraine pounding in his skull.

He had just returned to his chamber with a long face and his fingers rubbing furtively on his temples. He had never felt so defeated and frustrated before.

The past hour had been annoyingly grueling. It was almost impossible to send Jola away, especially when he had pelted the Pope with a barrage of poignant and nigh-unanswerable questions. The only way the Pope had managed to deflect them was through myriads of excuses and repeated appeal to his authority as the head of the Church, but he knew that it was only temporary.

To make matters worse, the apostle had returned with a battle report stinking with failure. The Pope was so enraged by it that he had unsaintly cursed Baiyi in his mind.

He had been correct in presuming the Angel to be useless in a fight, yet he did not expect her to be so incompetent that not even a fight had started. Nothing the Pope planned — from the hopes of seeing Noirciel wounding the Devil critically, to his men gathering valuable information about the latter's abilities — had come to fruition. After all of that had cost him, the only thing the Pope had managed to give the Devil was another addition to his harem!

How fortunate it was that an Angel must return to the Divine Realm after three days! The Pope could suffer from a brain aneurysm just by imagining a very plausible future where the Devil held hands with the Angel and forced her to call him daddy before nonplussed believers. Even eternal torment in hell looked absolutely tame when compared to this!

The only silver lining from this fiasco was that the apostle and the templars had returned relatively unharmed. Yet, when the Pope remembered how incessant Jola's questions were, even that silver lining dulled.

Frankly, if these were the entirety of his troubles, the Pope would have just been livid rather than suffering from acute migraines. The biggest problem this debacle revealed, and the real reason why the Pope was stressed, was the Devil's accomplices — the legendary Apostle who had walked the Abyss alone and the greatest Holy Knight in Church history.

That scheming snake! He must have deliberately brought those two into the battle precisely because their existence as Voidwalkers continued to stump the Church. The Devil was obviously using them as his anti-Church cards!

Conservative hardliners in the Church had convoked meetings after meetings to counter those two turncoats for a long time, but the only reliable method they managed to come up with was to bowdlerize the Church's legends gradually so that their importance diminished. Some had suggested slanders by accusing them of having fallen from the Lord's grace, while some had suggested denouncing them as fakes who misappropriated and smeared the names of the legendary figures. As long as those two were unable to demonstrate any theurgical powers nor used spells like Word of God, there was no reason why the public would doubt the Church's statements!

Some were even naïve enough to believe that the two Church icons were sleeper agents pretending to ally with the Devil. They had wholeheartedly believed that these two would strike that darkness reincarnate when he least expected it!

Now, however, it became clear that those were all the Church's pipe dreams.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

546 An Incorrect Method

The Church's attention had always been on Hope, not other Voidwalkers. After this incident, however, the organization understood the gravity of its mistake. Saint Joel's skill and power outmatched Saint Jola's, even though the latter was amongst the best in a group of individuals in the Church that could use the Word of God. Despite this, Hantai of the Holy Knight fame had effortlessly knocked out a group of templars using a hammer!

This left the Pope completely baffled. How could two heretics, who had turned their backs on God, still possess the powers the Lord, which was supposed to be reserved only for the most faithful?

Forced to fit the other Voidalkers into his consideration, the Pope soon realized in dismay that those two were far from his only headaches. It suddenly became frighteningly palpable that the Voidalkers were never just a ragtag band where the skilled mixed with the skillless; the most famous of them, second only to Hope, was the first human to achieve Demigod-level and an enduring idol to sorcerers even today — the Sage-Emperor of the Magi. Then, there was the pioneer in conquering new realms, as well as the founder of the art of Soul Armature, Syphrose. After that, there was that bloodthirsty knave known only as The Thane, who made history by setting the Holy City ablaze for three days and nights and had thus cemented an irrevocable blood feud with the Church ever since.

None of them was an easy target. Not only that, placing those together made the Pope wonder if, unsurprisingly, the other Voidwalkers the Church had not yet known about included an actual dragon, a despicable lich, and even an ex-papal candidate. The more he wallowed in it, the more he began to wonder if the Church was actually going against every facet of humanity.

"Power! We need more power!" The Pope mumbled to no one in particular. As his train of thought tore through his mind, he relayed it to his personal assistant, "Pass my order to all relevant personnel; I want them to speed up the progress to summon Angels! We need more Angels, and we will get them at all costs! If it means we have to bow our heads before those fools in the Sorcerers' Associaton, then so be it. Furthermore, relay my message to the Paladin Grand Cross: recruit more crusaders and relax some of the qualifications for one to join the templars…"

He delivered commands after commands, some of them unprecedented, to the rest of the Church. They were the proofs of his devotion to the most righteous cause in the service of the Lord!

The question was: did all of the lay followers share his conviction?

The captain who had previously joined the ill-fated mission to escort Noirciel was sitting in a quiet bar. Set on the table before he was a pint of ale so bland one would think it was plain water and a plate of grilled meat slices.

While he disliked the insipidity of his food, there was little he could do; every establishment in Canningham served it the same way. The One True God may not have forbidden alcohol consumption, but it did seem to command his believers never to be intoxicated.

A beautiful young brunette with chestnut-brown hair sat next to the captain. She was his lover and a practicing cleric. At the moment, however, it seemed that the two were having a one-sided spat about his last mission.

"Brutes and savages, the lot of you! What have you done to Mr. Hope?" She hissed, anxiety hiding behind her displeased tone. She had been asking her boyfriend the same question repetitively, yet the man was stubbornly tight-lipped.

"Hush, can't you be a bit mindful of how you address him? He's the greatest enemy of the Church now," the captain said, reminding her.

"He saved my life. He saved yours! Blast, he saved countless others just on that fateful day! If it wasn't for him, neither you nor I would live to see daylight outside that Ancient Rohlserlian emperor's secret dimension. Do you remember all those years ago?" The brunette retorted indignantly. "The Scripture commands us to be grateful for those who had lent us their hand, and yet, you repay the hand that feeds with your sword!"

'Me, pointing my sword at him? Poppycock! As if I wasn't the only one who didn't unfairly beleaguer him precisely because I remembered his deeds! Then, without even a brush against him, I blacked out after some brute bonked me on my head with a hammer!' The captain fumed silently in his mind. Due to the confidentiality nature of his last mission, however, he could not voice it out.

Apparently, the couple was two of the people the Church had sent to join the wild goose chase for the Archmage's Book of Servitude all those years ago. Unbeknownst to them, Baiyi had deliberately scripted the perils they and countless others had faced in the Archmage's old, personal micro-dimension, which culminated with Baiyi's staged rescue to safety. As a result, the brunette was one of the Fifth Walker's very first fangirl; the captain, meanwhile, was only an unspectacular crusader back then.

The couple admired Baiyi greatly and were among the first group of God's Grace believers to hold him in high regard. Unfortunately, when the Church and the VoidWalkers had turned against each other, people on the ground, like them, were caught in between religious fidelity and gratitude and admiration to the man who saved them.

As his girlfriend became increasingly accusatory and grating, the captain felt more and more glum and frustrated. Then, suddenly, Jola the apostle, appeared and joined their company unexpectedly.

After a brief greeting, the old man took his seat around their table. He ignored the outsider to their mission and began immediately, "I'd gone to see the Pope, and suffice to say, his answers were vacuous and unsatisfactory. From the way he had reacted to my questions, though, I wager that our suspicions are right."

The captain froze in stunned silence. A moment later, he replied in a hushed voice, "You're telling me… Those two were really Saint Joel and Sir Hantai? Did we really… Did we really just cross blades with those two?"

"Congratulations, you have met your hero," Jola replied slyly. "I'm afraid I'm no better. I had a brief duel of magic with my lifelong idol, and yet, he never once looked at me as though I was worthy of his attention…"

The cleric could no longer stop herself and began to ask, "Wait, what is going on? Why bring up two of the most legendary figures— "

She was promptly cut off when the captain pushed his girlfriend's head into a plate of macaroni.

The brunette was red with anger and embarrassment when her head reemerged from the plate. "You bastard!" She cried before dashing into the bathroom.

Taking her leave as an opening, the captain quickly asked, "What should we do now?"

"For one, you really shouldn't have excluded her from our conversation. She, and many others, deserve the truth!" Jola replied in a low but determined voice.

Thus, another woe was added into the Pope's pile. This was precisely what Baiyi had hoped for when he brought two degenerate gentlemen out of their confinement to travel with him.

At the moment, however, he was disinterested in marveling at the success of his scheme. After all, he was pretty occupied by the latest addition to his collection.

As planned, Baiyi had brought Noirciel to the old Aegis mansion in Arfin City, where Laeticia and other students from Da Xue's Theological Faculty had waited. The students had assembled to act as a knockoff version of the Church's choir as per the welcoming custom for an Angel. Finally, the ceremony ended with Laeticia — who was still considered a Saintess — kneeling before Noirciel humbly.

Noirciel had watched silently, though her brightly-lit face and her genuine smile were hints to how she felt. It made one wonder if her apparent equanimity was indeed just a pretense; in truth, she was just as particular her welcoming party like any other mortals.

The Kitty Cat Maid — who had spent half the day cleaning the mansion, just for their seraphic guest — stood by the door, spying curious glances at the Angel. When Noirciel caught her in the eyes, she was visibly startled before exclaiming, "Isn't this… The messenger of Bella? How are you here? And why are you wearing something like that?"

She trailed off and looked at Baiyi questioningly.

'What the? Who's this now? That goddamned War God?' Baiyi inwardly groaned as he escorted the Angel into the house. After settling her down in the living room, Attie approached Noirciel in curiosity and began to examine her gawkishly. Her eyes darted to the silver strands framing the Angel's face, and suddenly, she reached her hand out and began to disturb a few tuffs of her hair.

Noirciel tensed up and stammered, "P-please c-c-cease…"

"Aw, c'mon. You're too old to be this shy over this!" Attie replied slyly, leaning close to her and showing no sign of backing away. "Maybe it's just that no one has ever shown you how good it feels…"

Baiyi yanked the misbehaving kitty away before she could continue. "Behave yourself, man. At least follow Laeticia's example."

Laeticia's had not once sat nor stood too close to Noirciel since she tailed the Angel into the room. Right now, donning her full Saintess armor and holding a holy flag tall, she stood erect at the corner of the room like a Queen's Life Guard on duty. She even bore an expression graver than Baiyi had ever seen from her.

Laeticia really saw Noirciel as an Angel worthy of her respect and protection.

"She looks like she could be one of us! She's short, and look at that bust size," Attie, who was still being held up high, said in protest. She also could not help staring at Noiciel's chest. "That means she's someone I can befriend!"

'That's your friendship requirement? Is this why you were never that close with Vidomina? Seriously, who even taught you to filter potential friends by their bust size? Is this a testament to my failure in parenting?!'

Baiyi broke his attention from Attie and considered Laeticia. "Where are the rest? Why aren't they here with us?"

"Sir, yes, sir! They are required to attend their classes, Sir. They shall be present when their classes are over," Laeticia replied with a straight face and a very soldier-like flair.

Noirciel watched Baiyi fooling around with Attie from her spot. Her curiosity — along with questions that arose from it — grew until she blurted, "I don't understand. Why is Bella's Messenger with you? Lady Bella has been absent from the Divine Realm for such a long time. She ceased all contacts with us much as Lord Nehemiah did. However, here, their two messengers exist…"

She began to up her hands on her head as if she was trying hard to solve the mystery, but failed almost immediately and got herself a headache instead.

'My dear, if you're not terribly good at using your head for things like these, then just don't,' Baiyi quietly sneered while placing Attie down, signaling the Kitty Cat Maid to prepare some snacks. "Listen, you can have something light before the evening feast, okay?"

Noirciel emerged from her reverie and shook her head hard. "I cannot eat a mortal's food by myself. 'Tis is the start of an Angel's fall."

"Not by yourself? Well, what happens if we feed you instead?" Baiyi upped the ante.

"I… I shan't…" Noirciel trailed off as an alluring taste seized her nose and pulled her to its source. There, on Attie's hand, was a batch of freshly-baked cookies shaped in different animals. Golden, crunchy, and visually heart-melting, a young girl of Noirciel's age would not be able to hold up a defense against them!

"Since Lady Noirciel can't eat these by herself, you should feed her instead, Attie," Baiyi stated. Turning to the Angel, he argued, "She's Bella's messenger, right? You know that means she represents Bella's will. So, you wouldn't reject Bella's goodwill, would you?"

Baiyi's command was just the thing Attie wanted to do, so she wasted no time picking up a bear-shaped cookie and held it between her teeth instead of handing it to Noirciel directly.

With a mild crimson flush on her cheeks, she leaned close to Noirciel's face and puckered her lips, inching the cookie towards the Angel.

Noirciel could only let out a squeal in panic, "W-wh-what is going on? P-P-Please n-not like t-t-this!!!"

She was saved by Baiyi when the unimpressed Soul Armature yanked Attie backward by her collar. "I did not mean feeding her like a bird!"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

547 Oh, This is Bad.

Having received Baiyi's order, the depressed Attie had to feed Noirciel as normal people did, by directly raising the bear-shaped cookie to the angel's lips.

At first, Noirciel was visibly uncomfortable, but when the mouthwatering aroma of the cookie reached her nostrils, pleasant memories of good food, which was residing deep in her host's mind, floated into Noirciel's head. The human part of Noirciel's psyche was suddenly triggered, and, with a strength reinforced by intense cravings, it began to fight off the angel's insistence on observing proper decorum.

It was easy to guess which side won, as Noirciel lips promptly parted, making way for the cookie. By the time her common sense kicked in, it was already too late; the cookie had already been chewed and swallowed, leaving behind a pleasant aftertaste on her tongue.

To Noirciel's surprise, she realized that she craved cookies even more, and she could not help staring wide-eyed at the next cookie. The memories of food from Noirciel's host was already terrifying enough, but now, the angel had realized that savoring the pleasant taste of delicious snacks was a divine feeling. Not even an angel like her could maintain their composure after another taste.

Attie did not see the longing in Noirciel's eyes, as the angel was wearing a blindfold.

Baiyi saw this as an opportunity to begin his 'interrogation'. "Can you tell me what happened after we parted ways?"

To prevent an awkward atmosphere from brewing, Baiyi made sure that Laeticia the Bouncer, and her holy flag, was out of earshot. He had sent the Saintess out of the room, saying that she was to oversee the choir's accommodation and the aftermath of their welcome ceremony. Leaving the mess as it was was bound to attract unwanted attention.

Baiyi decided not to ask about Mia or the Time God at the start; he felt it was wiser to play the waiting game. He planned to slowly coax the information he needed by bribing the angel with food and asking direct questions.

"By removing you from the past, a time period that you do not belong to, I overstepped my role as the vassal and used the Time God's power. This foolish action was the reason why I am now being punished," Noirciel explained, looking at the oblivious Attie with disappointment. "I have spent thousands of years trying to atone for my sins, but my heart has become wayward. It is stopping me from becoming who I really am, stopping me from receiving my salvation."

'Whoops, looks like I ended this woman's career. However, she treats me just fine even though I ruined her life. Is this because she is too stupid to realize that I am the problem, or is this Nehemiah fellow so terrifying that even she is scared of crossing his messenger?' Baiyi wondered.

He knew better than to ask this outright, though, so he said, "Is Lulu the cause?"

"Indeed." Noirciel nodded. "There is a reason why an angel cannot borrow a mortal's body for any longer than three days. If an angel does engage in this taboo, their soul and the host's soul would begin to fuse, corrupting the angel's soul. This is what has happened to me."

As though intending to prove this, Noirciel once again looked longingly at Attie.

Baiyi also looked at Attie, but in his mind, he was lampooning the gods, who seemed to have a preference for young female angels. 'So, angels do have to bear certain risks if the host's soul isn't destroyed instantly during possessions... That means given enough time, even an automaton would start to act more human-like; is that really a crime?' He wondered. 'Isn't it better to have a cute, spirited angel than a cold and indifferent one? You gods!'

Attie picked up another bear-shaped cookie and made a show of raising it to Noirciel's lips, prompting the angel to excitedly open her mouth in excitement.

The cookie stopped right in front of the Angel's lips. Anxious to get her fix, Noirciel let out a low whimper.

"You can't have it unless you give me a rub-rub!" Attie snickered.

"What? What is a rub-rub?"

Attie rose quickly and affectionately rubbed her cheek against the angel's, after which she pulled away. "That was what I meant!" Attie chuckled and pushed the cookie into the angel's mouth.

Baiyi waited patiently for the angel to chow down the cookie, and when she was done, he continued, "Now that you mention it, what point in time did you leave to travel back to the past to meet me?"

Noirciel eagerly waited for Attie to feed her another cookie, but when the latter did nothing, the angel reluctantly replied, "The present, of course."

"But, you did not meet me, a man from the present, before our encounter in the ancient Rohlserlian era! Besides, didn't you then spend thousands of years to redeem yourself after that incident?"

"There are no absolute concepts of time to Lord Tylemus."

"Well then, why did you send me back to the present in the first place? It was by Lord Nehemiah's design that I returned to the past, you know," Baiyi lied. It was quite risky to blame everything on a divine bigshot that he did not personally know, but such a move could coax more information from the angel.

Noirciel was startled at first, but she patiently replied, "I suppose we should first clarify what 'history' really means. To mortals, history is a record of what has transpired, immortalized by written accounts and memories. But, we know what history truly is — it is a cluster of unfathomable chaos."

"Chaos?" Baiyi asked in surprise. He had not expected to hear such a comparison.

"Yes. Since history is always something that has passed, no one in the current present can truly observe it themselves. Even if one's memories or other forms of records survived, these things are mere localized fragments of the ever-expansive history. The world today will always be distinct from what it was yesterday; the differences are fundamental. For example, can you describe what the entire Isythre was like back in the time period you've visited?"

"Um, no," Baiyi admitted as he began to understand Noirciel a little.

"Were it not for historical accounts that have survived till now, the past is and will always be a complete mystery. To a modern man, it will remain as an expanse of indecipherable chaos. Yet, you, a being of matter, had traveled back in time and meddled in the past, thus forcing changes to the disorder. Your action has caused time and history to deviate and endangered Lord Tylemus' control, and so I must send you back to when you belong, even if it meant going against Lord Nehemiah's wishes."

Noirciel's words carried so much weight, Baiyi wondered if she had returned to her old, no-nonsense vassal self.

"That's the reason, huh? And here I thought you were just upset that I'd used a taboo power," Baiyi said in an attempt to work out the angel's attitude towards Void Energy. "Seriously, aren't you a little worried about allying yourself with me?"

Noirciel shook her head. "Powers, including the forbidden one, is under the purview of the God of Power, Dalos. Ergo, only Fredericka, his vassal, has the authority to mete out punishment in his name. Even as a vassal of Time, I am not allowed to punish anyone for using forbidden power in his stead; now that I'm considered a sinner, I have no right to judge. Be that as it may, I believe even Fredericka has no right to judge the actions of Lord Nehemiah's chosen one."

'So, these divine folks observe some kinda strict boundaries for each of their domains, huh? Seems pretty outdated to me — do the gods really prefer it this way?' Baiyi thought. 'Now that I think about it — they run this deity business like the mafia. In fact, Noirciel did what would benefit her don the most, and then she was sacrificed like a pawn. Damn, these gods are a little too obstinate in their thinking…'

Satisfied with Noirciel's cooperation, Baiyi nodded at Attie to signal the Kitty Cat Maid to award her with another cookie.

The Angel showed that she had learned from her previous experience by asking gingerly instead of opening her mouth widely, "Am I required to do a rub-rub first?"

"No, silly! We did that already. Now, I want a lick-lick!" Attie lurched abruptly and brushed the Angel's cheek with her tongue for a second.

"W-what?! Why… How… Why?!" Noirciel stammered. The unexpected action seemed to have forced her to return to her moe self; the girl was pressing her hands on her cheeks as she squirmed bashfully.

Attie giggled contently and stuffed the cookie into Noirciel's mouth to mollify her embarrassment.

That was when Baiyi finally got to his real question. "If stopping us from changing history is the goal, then why did you send only me while leaving Mia in the past?"

Noirciel had not even fully explored the great chocolatey goodness in her mouth when she froze in mid-chew. "Are you telling me… Are you saying she isn't here with you?!"

She sank into a quiet but panicked contemplation before thinking out loud, "Oh no, both her body and soul had gone back in time altogether! She isn't just an observer like you; she had joined the past wholly! This is why even though I'd erased every change your travel had made to history through my Lord's power, she… she had remained in the past!"

"There's a difference between 'joining' the past and 'observing' the past?" Baiyi hurried asked.

"Yes! Only a small chunk of your soul had returned to the past, but Mia's entire being has been transported there! She has become one with history!" Noirciel exclaimed, her voice quaking in fear and tears. "What shall I do now? I… I can't see her at all… Tsk.."

Baiyi dismissed the tearful Angel and reflected on her outburst. Her words implicated that if one had traveled back in time with their entire being, they would not change the course of history; it was Baiyi — who went back in the past via a small chunk of his spirit while his true body laid in the Void — who was the anomaly.

'What sort of stupid universe rule is this? It's fine and dandy for Mia to change history as she pleased as long as her "entire body and soul" is in there, even though she might be changing the world so much that she could end up in an alternate universe?' Baiyi grouched in his head. 'Worse, doesn't this just mean I'm never seeing her again?!'

Judging from how visibly Noirciel showed her panic, Baiyi was not the only one who came to this grave conclusion. Suddenly, what was previously a lively atmosphere was weighed down by a deluge of dread.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

548 A Very Risky Decision

The grim end by which the conversation ended stirred up a fog of unease in Baiyi's mind. Sometime later, he sighed, "Is there… any way to bring her back at all?"

Noirciel's reply contained a trace of helplessness. "Even if there is, it eludes me." With an expression of regret on her face, she continued, "Only the one who holds Lord Tylemus' Arbiter Right can send someone back to the present from any point in time."

Noirciel was even more disappointed than Baiyi about this. She had undergone countless trials in the realm of mortals, hoping to see Mia and be separated from Lulu's unappeased soul; it was the only way she knew to redeem herself and return to her normal, respected self. Unfortunately for her, the thousands of years of trials had been for naught.

Attie, on the other hand, did not seem interested in the conversation, making her look out of place. No one could tell if she did not see to care because she was confident that Baiyi could rescue her best friend, or because she had always been this indifferent to sensitive issues. Without so much as a word, Attie leisurely walked into the kitchen to take a cup of chocolate pudding.

Attie returned with the chocolate pudding and a small spoon. She scooped out a spoonful of pudding and raised it to the angel's lips. Noirciel, who was always easily distracted, wasted no time in eating what she had been offered, and while she did, she asked, "So, um, am I supposed to do a rub-rub again?"

"Tee hee! It's your turn to rub my cheeks," Attie replied coyly.

"I'll leave her to you, Attie. I need to meet the other Voidwalkers, pronto," Baiyi said, giving up the chance to see a red-faced Noirciel rub her cheek against Attie's. Baiyi left the Aegis mansion, headed for the academy.

The Voidwalkers assembled shortly after, and even the Cleric Walker, the Paladin Walker, and the Charlatan Walker, who Baiyi had split up with, made their way to Baiyi's underground basement on time. The first question that they asked was why the Fifth Walker did not introduce everyone to the newest member of his harem.

"Because there isn't time for such trivialities. The situation is worse than I expected," Baiyi replied, wearing a grim expression. "We need to find a way to save Mia right now!"

"Did your meeting with the angel not bear fruit?" The Scholar Walker asked.

"It sure did not! That angel is all style and no substance! Hell, acting cute is her only talent," Baiyi replied bitterly. "Dammit! I shouldn't have placed my hopes on her!"

"There's no need to panic, Son. At least, we know that Mia isn't in life-threatening danger," the Archmage said, comforting his student. "There must be a way to get her back. You had to have obtained new information from the angel, did you not?"

Baiyi nodded and elucidated the concept of history as an expanse of indecipherable chaos; how and why Baiyi became an "observer of the past", while Mia became a direct agent; and finally, why Noirciel had risked everything to send Baiyi back to the present.

The Archmage was quiet for some time before voicing his thoughts. "It seems the key lies in that weird armor. It was that thing that sent you back to the past to be an observer, right? I'll bet it is the key to saving Mia."

"Did the time you spent in the armor edify you in any way, subtly or otherwise?" The Scholar Walker asked.

"No." Baiyi shook his head. "After the armor sent me and Mia to the past, it did not do anything else. It was no longer anything special to write home about."

This knocked the wind out of their discussion. Anxious to fill the void, the other Voidwalkers fell back on their habits of coming up with preposterous ideas. One of them suggested placing a phone on a microwave that was heating a banana, to see if it'll send messages to the past. Someone else suggested searching for an assistant that was a beautiful auburn-haired genius scientist, who pairs her white lab coat with a pair of black shorts atop of silk black tights.

There was no need to explain how useless these suggestions were.

As Baiyi was being offered useless suggestions after useless suggestions, he suddenly received three revelations from the Fourth Walker, who seemed to spend all its time sleeping. As such revelations were quite rare, they could not be overlooked. Baiyi probed the first message, which read: "Remember, search. Remember where you left the lost fragment of your soul."

Although Baiyi appreciated the weirdo's suggestion, that did not stop him from lampooning. "Okay, don't get me wrong; I'm grateful for your help, but dude, can you at least learn to elaborate a little... Make things clearer?"

Baiyi sighed and proceeded to the second message. As expected, it was a witty reply to Baiyi's silent lampoon. "Quit asking me to spoonfeed you! Learn to understand these things yourself!"

"Oh, I'm soooo sorry for being too inept to understand your oh-so-cryptic omens. Will you forgive an uncouth plebian, hmm?" Baiyi sneered in his heart as he proceeded to the final message.

This message was unusually short. "It's alright."

'I wasn't really apologizing!!' Baiyi bellowed in his mind. 'And, why do I feel like I've just got played by a narcoleptic?'

Despite his displeasure, Baiyi quickly informed the other Voidwalkers about his bizarre exchange with the Fourth Walker. The other Voidwalkers found the messages just as bizarre as Baiyi did. Some of them took their reactions a step further and shivered intensely.

Nevertheless, one could not become a Voidwaker if they did not possess outstanding intuition. In almost no time, the Voidwalkers understood the meaning behind the Fourth Walker's words and began to discuss this.

"Your incapacity for any action while trapped in the body of a kitty plush toy was a consequence of insufficient energy. Indeed, that weakness was due to how small your soul was when you inhabited the plush toy," The Scholar pointed out solemnly. "Thus, the most critical question comes to mind: where is the rest of your soul? The one voluminous enough to power a normal, man-sized armor?"

Baiyi shrugged. "Don't know. And if I'm honest, I almost forgot about it."

"You… don't know?" The Scholar Walker asked in disbelief. "Your loss should be bad enough to put even the calmest mind at an edge. It is graver than having one's arm amputated!"

The Hitman Wakjer, who was quiet when theoretical discussions like these are being held, could not help but chime in, "Even the most scatterbrained person in the world wouldn't forget losing that much of their soul, right?"

Baiyi sighed. "Here's the thing…"

In reality, he always severed his connection to every single fragment of his soul that he did not use. This was a habit he had been using for a long time, as other Voidwalkers borrowed part of his soul to Pseudo-descend. It was a move conceived to both preserve his sanity and the Walkers' freewill; had he not done so, he would have long been addled and debilitated by their different personalities and activities.

More importantly, the rest of Baiyi's real soul, which was still lying in the Void, was astronomical. If he utilized his entire being just to talk, feel, or even think, he would not be able to see the Voidwalkers at all, much like how an elephant could not register the presence of an ant. The Walkers' souls were just too minute in comparison, and Baiyi would not be able to talk to them if all he could hear were akin to the whispers of an annoying mosquito.

"Long story shortened, I automatically shut off my connection to any part of my soul that isn't under my control, alright? Then there's the fact that my original soul is just so goddamned expansive! How could you expect me to notice when a teeny mote of my soul got lost somewhere or whatever?"

The Voidwalkers were silent. As the nonpareils of their respective domains, the strength of these Voidwalkers' souls eclipsed that of normal men. However, here was their tyrannical admin, who was so much stronger than the other Voidwalkers that, in front of him, they could not help feeling grains in a desert. If they lost that much of their soul, they would have been groaning and wailing in agony by now. But this bastard? He did not just shrug it off; no, he just forgot about it ever happening!

Maybe this was why he was the only one who could force a haven out of an utterly uninhabitable Void against all known logic.

"Ooh-kay. I get ya' now." The Archmage broke the silence and patted his protégé good-naturedly on the shoulder, though no one could tell if it was out of pride or sympathy. "But it looks like your lost fragment is the key to solve this crisis, so there's no way around it — you'll have to look for it. After all, if the Void can't harm your soul, I doubt there's anything that can. If it isn't still misplaced in the past, then it's probably back in the Void already."

"Urgh, do you know how hard this is gonna be?" Baiyi growled. "I'll have to slowly awaken every square inch of my soul just to find which exact mote was lost! What's the difference between doing this and finding a needle in a barn full of haystacks?"

"Er, is that how large it is?" Even the Archmage was palpably shocked, though it passed very soon. "Look, it sounds tedious, but it's the only way we have. Unless, of course, you don't wanna save Mia anymore…"

"Uh, of course, I'm gonna rescue her. It's just that I can't control my body in real life once I do that, you know? It's kinda like how if you force someone to focus on every fiber of muscle in their body, they lose their bearing to their whole body," Baiyi finally revealed the source of his reluctance. "Worse, I don't even know how long this whole process is gonna take. There are so many things in reality that still needs me to solve…"

"Aww, why worry? This old man here can pull it off for you," the Archmage replied. "Didn't everything work out smoothly while you were away for three months?"

"But maybe things aren't steady enough to be left alone like that —"

"I can look after your beloved academy," The Archmage offered.

'That's not what worries me the most…' Baiyi thought to himself.

"I am delighted to offer my assistance in coordinating Da Xue's academic affairs as well, if that could placate your anxiety," The Scholar added helpfully.

'That's not what worries me the most!'

"I know you're worried that the Church might attack us while you're gone, but let me assure you, we'll be able to defend ourselves with no sweat!" The Hitman piped confidently. "Besides, I'm your secret weapon! Just send me in and I'll assassinate the Pope like you wouldn't believe it!"

'I don't! I don't believe it! Wherever did your confidence even come from — don't tell me you think you can raid the entire Holy City on your own, too!'

"Ah, I know what worries you. Fear not, good sir, for our latest esteemed guest — the beautiful, holy Angel — is in the warmest of hands. Specifically, your two official Church insiders' hands!" The Cleric Walker and the Paladin Walker offered, to ease Baiyi's burden. "Rest easy; we'll treat her with only the best Void hospitality. She will feel nothing but the love, comfort, and pleasure of home!'

'… Now, this is what terrifies me the most!!!'Steins;Gate reference. The name (subject to change, apparently) is "PhoneWave."Also Steins;Gate. refers to Kurisu Makise.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

549 Sinking Into A Deep Sleep

Baiyi had no choice but to pass on his responsibilities to the capable Voidwalkers, as only he could save Mia. This meant he had to leave the angel, who he had just lured over, behind, but she had not provided much help anyways. Furthermore, the angel came with a disclaimer: she could only stay in Isythre for three days, and it should soon be time for her to leave.

Till the three days was up, Baiyi just needed someone to keep an eye on the Cleric Walker and Paladin Walker, to make sure that the two perverts did not harass the angel while he was away.

Baiyi spent the little time he had left in Isythre giving instructions to those he had selected to carry on his duties. This included Tisdale and Vidomina, both of whom he had personally given instructions.

"A few suppliers of ours made some noise last semester about raising the price of their goods. I am certain that neither of you should deal with them; leave the dirty work to the Warrior Walker.

"Dale, I haven't had time to evaluate our newest group in order to pick the best talents, so you'll have to do it for me. Make a list of the most outstanding students, and give a copy of it to the principals of every faculty. This way, they'll know who to pay attention to.

"Please, make sure that you two assign some — well, special privileges to this year's sponsored students, alright? Anything, as long as they feel that we're worth the price…

"I left some cash in my secret vault, for emergencies. By that, I mean you have to keep an eye on it so that your Royal Gramps doesn't steal it. In fact, don't give him too much allowance, or he'll just burn it, again…

"Please do me a favor and yell at that no-good Alchemist Walker! Damn it; he needs to speed up the process of restoring my Jawflower to its original size! Without that thing, the security of the female dorm will not inspire confidence!

"Don't let anyone change the academy's uniform while I'm absent, especially that of the girls! And, while we're at it, I want maximum attention placed on the female students' dress code. I know it's getting warmer, but that doesn't mean their skirts are allowed to be too short!

"Please pay proper respect to the angel, alright? She doesn't have much time left in this realm, and she's a bit scatterbrained; however, she is still an angel, who deserves proper respect. Don't be sloppy in how well you treat our guest, okay? Furthermore, keep an eye on those two in the Faculty of Theology. They can show respect by not standing too close to her!

"You two must also protect yourselves, okay? Don't say yes to any marriage proposal, and be wary of those punks and their hormone-driven advances. If you encounter any trouble, just ring your Royal Gramps…"

Baiyi nagged them hard as though he was an old man on his death bed. Throughout the tirade, Tisdale and Vidomina exchanged looks of discomfort. Finally, Tisdale, who could hold herself no longer, asked, "Um, Sir, are you…? Are you going to die —"

"Sleep! I'm going to sleep for a very long time, to find a way to save Mia. It's going to be a long time, but don't be afraid. Please, help me by taking care of the academy and everyone!"

"Ohh!" Vidomina sighed in relief whilst patting her voluptuous chest. "Here I was, thinking that something bad had happened, Godfather. Alright then. Goodbye; have a safe trip, and see you some other time. Please, hurry up; I miss Mia a lot."

'W-what is with that tone, young lady? Have you also entered your rebellious phase? Why does it feel like none of you are actually worried about me encountering a very dangerous situation in my bid to rescue Mia?!' Baiyi grumbled in his head.

Tisdale seemed to read her mentor's mind and reassuringly said, "None of us are worried because it's you. We have faith in you, Sir. If you can't save Mia, then no one else in the universe can."

"And, you don't have to worry about the academy; you have us here, and we'll keep it running smoothly!" Vidomina added.

Baiyi went silent, seemingly done with his unending list of instructions. At that moment, the girls glanced at each other, turned around at the same time, and fled.

"Where are you two going?" A puzzled Baiyi called out.

"To see the angel, duh! The new girl you brought is so much fun! She's gorgeous, charming, and adorably scatterbrained!" Tisdale's giggles rang out from afar. She did not seem interested in seeing Baiyi off!

Tisdale was not alone in this. Other than the Warrior Walker, everyone else had rushed over to meet the angel.

The Warrior Walker stayed back and watched Baiyi slowly lose consciousness, and when he had, she carried his armor and placed it inside a large, open casket. The lid, which had a "5" engraved on it, was slowly closed. The Warrior Walker whispered softly, "Come back soon."

With a 'click', the casket was closed. Only a hesitant Warrior Walker remained in the room.

Baiyi began his hard-disk scan — or more accurately, his soul scan. He had no idea how long this process would take, but he was certain that it won't go by as fast as the scan of super-fast PCs that gamers, who owned one, often debated over.

When the Warrior Walker emerged from the basement, she found the Void's Gentlemen Club waiting for her. Only the Alchemist Walker was absent from the group, as he was still grounded in the Void because of the "heinous" comments he made to Baiyi earlier. It was unfortunate that he was not around to enjoy the moment that his tyrannical boss stopped breathing down the Voidwalkers' necks.

The Cleric Walker solemnly approached the Warrior Walker; it was as though he was mourning the loss of a friend. "Is he really gone?" He asked in a low voice. "Has he really fallen into a slumber so deep that he can't control his body, let alone watch us?"

The Warrior Walker was instantly wary. "What's on your mind?"

"Her reaction says it all, my friends. It's true!" The Engineer Walker cried out loud with joy. "My fellow gentlemen, our dark days are over! We're liberated from that tyrant's iron grip! Freedom!"

"Bwahahahaha! I have never felt more alive! Many things on our bucket list to do, but which one should be first? Should we sneak into the female dorm? Should we exchange collectibles amongst ourselves? Or, should we give our new angel a warm welcome?"

"Why choose one when you can do all? That hound's off our back; we can do whatever we like now!"

The Warrior Walker was ignored by the gentlemen, who reiterated their plans in loud voices. Because of their jailed comrade, the poor Alchemist Walker, the gentlemen decided to kickstart their campaign with a loud bang!

Suddenly, a strange chilly wind blew by, causing cold sweat to run down the backs of the gentlemen. It was as though a behemoth was glaring down at them from the sky above. Although this group of Voidwalkers was brave and had experienced death, they found themselves fearing for their lives.

"W-why do I hear boss music?" The Cleric Walker asked with a shaky voice. "Isn't… Isn't he supposed to be asleep?"

"His shell sleeps, but he has never been more awake. Every particle of his soul is awake; don't you know? This is how it feels when Hope is awake. We are here in this physical realm only because we borrowed a large portion of his soul," the Warrior Walker explained helpfully. "He may not be able to stop you all physically, but he can still see you — every last one of you — and everything you do."

The Engineer Walker coughed loudly. "You just reminded me of something! I still have this super-important project to do. Ciao!"

"What a coincidence! I, too, just remembered an epic piece that I need to compose, so imma head out," said the Bard Walker as he quickly departed.

"As for me, I am tasked with the sacred duty of helping Laeticia oversee tomorrow's ceremony. Thus, I bid you all a blessed farewell," The Cleric Walker announced. It was obvious that he had just made that excuse up.

"Wait! Allow me the honor of helping you in your holy cause!" The Paladin Walker hurriedly scampered after his fleeing best friend.

The Warrior Walker smiled and shook her head as she watched the gentlemen scurry away in a hurry. Then, she silently returned to Baiyi's chalet and closed the door.

In the end, only Voidwalkers did not join the others at Aegis mansion to meet the angel, and the old house, which was almost always quiet, was now filled with cheers and laughter. Everyone there, individuals who harbored no ill intent, formed a line and waited patiently to introduce themselves to Noirciel and then chat with her.

The Lich Walker was there, as well, but unlike the others, he eyed the angel warily. He did not dare get close to her.

Baiyi's angels — his 'daughters' — using the excuse that they were of the same gender as the angel, cut in line and surrounded the angel. As the waiting Voidwalkers could no longer meet with the surrounded angel, they decided to leave the mansion. A short while later, only the girls remained.

They filled Noirciel's evening with exciting tales, about the beauty and elements of adventures of Da Xue and how it always seemed to be full of fun surprises. Then, the topic of their conversation changed to Isythre, and almost no time at all, they began to play magical videos of classical operas and thrilling scenes of Isythre festivities.

Noirciel had never seen anything as fascinating as these before. For every new thing introduced to her, her curiosity increased. She watched all the videos presented to her and enjoyed being fed by the girls, who taught her that rubbing her cheeks against theirs was a way to express one's appreciation.

Noirciel soon began to second-guess her purpose. The only reason why she had descended to the mortals' realm was to see Mia one last time — to release herself from Lulu's influence. She wanted, more than anything, to become the proud, powerful Vassal of Time once more. It was this single-minded conviction that had numbed her from the blatant disrespect and negligence of the Church.

Then, when it was discovered that Mia, her only hope for salvation, had been left in the past all along, and she was powerless to remedy it — all she felt were anxiety and guilt. It was the first time the Angel had ever tasted desperation and that encompassing sense of hopelessness; everything she had done, including enduring the trials in this realm, had been for nothing.

However, these beautiful, pure-hearted girls dispelled her moroseness with surprising assurance. They had been so confident when they told her that Nehemiah's Chosen One — Hope — could make even the most unexpected miracles. Then, just to make her feel better, they had treated her with generous helpings of delectable confectionaries, amazing stories, and exciting games.

She had never felt such complex sentiments before. One thought did stand above them all, however:

'The mortal realm is so different. It's… exhilarating.'

The way she was being treated may deviate from the proper, formal customs a mortal should have observed when in the presence of Angels, yet Noirciel found herself minding less and less. Human food was a kick in her tongue; human toys made her heart throbbed; human activities and events and lives — they made emotions like joy and passion understandable.

She, a sinner to the gods and her brethren, were even given personal treatments by Nehemiah and Bella's messengers.

'Isn't this the best? Could anything even be better than this?' A taboo-like thought began to take shape in her head.

However, not every one of Baiyi's girls had taken a liking to the angel. Santa and Anna, for example, had hidden behind Nota the whole time, too scared to get close.

The dragons in the Bai household were reserved, content to stand in the background and study the angel.

"Mommy, can I pat her head?" Mordred whispered into Aya's ears.

"No! That is most disrespectful!" The woman said, more cautious than one would expect. he had not allowed herself to be seized by curiosity and had instead maintained only respect and fear towards the seraphic being.

"…Can I lick her, then?"

"Cease that at once! That is just dangerous!" Aya snapped anxiously. Wherever did this child get her ideas from?

Mordred pouted and grumbled, "But she looks so tasty…"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

550 Banishmen

On her last day in Isythre, Noirciel paid little mind to religious conventions and proper decorum, but she was happy; happier than she had ever been. The angel found it strange that she enjoyed every second she spent at the Aegis Mansion.

Back when she was the Vassal of Time, she possessed more power than these mortals could comprehend, giving her a position even higher than other angels, but was she as happy back then as she is now? After Lulu's spirit fused with Noirciel's, the angel was exposed to emotions, something she did not have before. Afterward, Noirciel understood why the girl she possessed felt what she felt, and before the angel knew it, she relied on Lulu's memories to process events happening around her.

"I failed in my bid to see Mia, yet, for some reason, I feel fulfilled. Why?" Noirciel muttered to herself, looking around the room that was prepared for her. "I suppose I can only delay my redemption until my next time here. By then, I pray that Lord Nehemiah's Vassal will have already rescued Mia from the chaos that is time…"

"But, will reverting to my former self cause me to lose all I've gained?" The angel lamented. A few seconds later, she shook her head, dismissing the thought. "Desist at once! You cannot lust after worldly desires…"

There was a soft knock on the door. "Your Grace, the ceremony is ready."

Noirciel opened the door quickly and saw Laeticia, who had worn formal clothing and was down on one knee by the door. The corridor had already been painted different colors often used by the Church, and soothing hymns could be heard outside; the knockoff choir that was Da Xue's Theology Faculty students had returned.

"Please pardon the inelegance of our ceremony," Laeticia said apologetically. Despite sacrificing sleep to prepare for the ceremony, it was below the standards stipulated in the Scripture and other religious canons. Da Xue's attempt was pathetic, nothing like the grand event that the Church would have been able to put together. The academy just could not amass enough manpower.

Noirciel did not mind, though. She helped Laeticia to her feet and humbly said, "No, thank you. Our Most High Lord adores you, yet you are considered a sinner, just like me, someone undeserving of care. The honor is all mine." It was with such humility that Noirciel viewed Baiyi and Attie; it was as though she considered them of equal standing with herself.

Laeticia was startled. Yesterday, Baiyi ordered her to prepare for the ceremony, and since then, she had been really busy; she did not even have the time to join the other ladies, who spent the evening with Noirciel. Hence, Laeticial was not aware of the angel's humble attitude and gentle personality. Laeticia was stunned by how easygoing the angel was.

Noirciel took a few steps out of the room and stopped. "Oh, I almost forgot!" Before Laeticia could make say anything, Noirciel floated over and rubbed her cheek against Laeticia's.

After this display of affection, Noirciel fixed Laeticia with a stare of expectation.

Laeticia was shocked. 'What in the heavens just happened?! Did Her Grace just…rub-rub me??! Is this a form of greeting in the divine realm, which we coincidentally practice here too?!'

Seeing the Saintess in a daze, the clueless angel began to panic. In a bid to clarify the reason for her action in a manner that she was taught the day before, Noirciel rushed forward and licked Laeticia's cheek with her soft, pink tongue.

Every part of Laeticia's body seemed to harden, except the blood that rushed throughout her chiseled features. She did not attend the gathering that held the night before, so she was unable to fathom Noirciel's strange behavior, which was quite unbecoming for an angel.

Seeing her attempt fail again, Noirciel became more nervous and displeased. "Urgh, you're a difficult one to please…"

Fortunately, Attie, the Kitty Cat Maid, came over at that moment, in time to save the situation. She was dressed quite nicely for the occasion, and in her hands were two small sacks of cookies, which were fresh from the oven.

"Chomp, chomp, chomp!" Attie called out jovially and stuffed a cookie into the angel's mouth, causing the latter's face to lit up with joy.

The angel's reaction made Laeticia feel as though she had been struck by a bolt of lightning. Her expectations had crumbled like the cookie that Noirciel was eating, so she pulled Attie over by her collar.

"What — have — you — done — to Her Grace?!" Laeticia snarled.

"The usual. You know how we ladies welcome others, don't you?" Attie replied nonchalantly, tossing another cookie into the air, which Noirciel caught with her teeth like a circus animal.

Laeticia was close to tears at that point. She pinched Attie's cheeks hard and snarled, "I'll make you pay for this! I will!"

"Ooh, ow, ouch! Owwww! Unhand me; this hurts!" Attie cried, wriggling away successfully, after which she stood straight. "And what exactly did we do wrong? Can you not see how happy she is right now? Is that a bad thing just because it doesn't follow the ceremonial conventions you were taught?"

Laeticia looked at Noirciel and saw her smiling, and she had no words with which to refute Attie's statement.

The ceremony continued, and Laeticia and Attie — both of whom Noirciel considered her equal — walked beside the angel as she strolled down the corridor, whose floor was littered with fresh flower petals. There were flowers everywhere, and the choir — students who did not have classes at the time — which was led by the Cleric Walker, made graceful serenades.

The Paladin Walker stood close to the pews filled with the marionettes, all of which had been dyed in silver-white at the last minute. They were just there because only a few people came to the ceremony.

It was as underwhelming as Laeticia had said, but this made the planners' sincerity and meticulousness shone out more.

Noirciel smiled. Everywhere she looked, respectful Voidwalkers and her new friends beamed and waved at her.

The angel felt a surge of warmth and composed herself to deliver a parting speech. "You all are virtuous and pure-hearted. I'm sure you have touched the gods above; I know they will bless you all bountifully."

"I... I thank you," She said, smiling. "I thank you all for being here with me in my final moment, as my journey of redemption ends, and for bestowing me such beautiful emotions."

The old Noirciel would have been too proud to care if her departure ceremony was huge or small, and she would not have given a speech this mushy. When the angel had said her piece, she gracefully floated down from the podium towards Attie and Laeticia, both of whom she proceeded to give one last cheek-rub.

She no longer did this to receive more cookies. With a smile, Noirciel said to them, "I will always remember you all. I pray we meet again."

Attie, whose heart was sinking, sighed and gave Noirciel a small pack of cookies to Noirciel. "Something for the journey.".

The angel grinned and nodded.

She spread her wing and, with a mighty beat that took considerable effort, began to ascend. "Farewell, dear friends!" She called out, smiling broadly. This smile could only be made by beautiful creatures like angels, but it was reminiscent of the smile a little girl would make when she was happy.

Noirciel's body emitted a golden glow, and the clouds above parted, releasing a beam of light that encased the angel. The watching crowd knew that the angel's spirit and power were returning to the divine realm.

Laeticia, who was also looking up, unconsciously rubbed the cheek that the angel had affectionately nudged. She was suddenly angry with Baiyi. 'Why did he not bring Her Grace to her sooner? She was lovely, pure, and kind; furthermore, not many people would get to see an angel in their lifetimes.' And, out of everyone present, she spent the least time with Noirciel.

'God, please hear my prayer. Please, let me see her again in my life. Next time, I'll fulfill my role and stay by her side faithfully and protect her till my dying breath,' Laeticia quietly prayed as she watched the angel vanish.

She had no idea how quickly her prayer would be granted.

High in the air, Noirciel's wing shattered.

It broke into pieces like delicate porcelain being brutally smashed. Shards of different sizes and shapes burst behind her back, and the beam of light leading her home dimmed and faded.

The mood had changed. The world suddenly darkened as heavy clouds swarmed into the sky, blocking the rays of the morning sun from reaching the realm below. It was as though the world had been placed under a large, looming shadow.

Like an injured bird, Noirciel fell from the air, as gravity pulled her right back down to the bed of flowers below.

No one had expected this. Laeticia leaped into action immediately. The Cleric Walker was just a millisecond later, panting as he got up from his chair and bellowed, "She has been denied by the gods! She had been banished!"

Noirciel crashed into a pile of broken twigs and torn petals like an abandoned rag doll. Stripped of the barrier that had protected her from any contact with the ground, her body was subjected to wounds and cuts, like the body of a mortal. Blood dripped down her forehead, and her feeble arms and legs had been brutally bruised. Her white dress was covered with dead flowers, as though she had just been given a flower burial.

"Your Grace!" A cry of pain escaped from Laeticia's lips. She could see Noirciel cry out, but only a whisper escaped the weakened angel's lips. "Why? Why do I feel pain? Why is this happening to me? Why can't I see anything?"

Laeticia's heart sank. At that moment, the propriety that a mortal should observe was forgotten; she rushed over and carried the wounded girl up.

A wave of Divine Energy surged out of Noirciel, blowing Laeticia away.

"It's her body; it can't contain that much Divine Energy!" The Cleric Walker, who was rushing over, shouted, but like Laeticia, who was also blown away by a hurricane that had just formed.

Noirciel was like an erupting volcano. Even though Divine Energy was not lethal upon contact like lava, the force of its continuous explosion was destructive enough to blow everything around her away. Flowers and twigs shattered under the pressure. The old Aegis mansion trembled as though it was going to fall.

Fortunately, only a few people had come for the ceremony, and the Sage-Emperor of the Magi was one of them. The instant Noirciel began to fall, he began to prepare a spell to counter any chaos that would ensue. The Archmage raised a regular training staff and erected a powerful barrier around the mansion and everyone just outside it.

With a remarkably calm voice, he said, "We better come up with something quick. If this goes on any longer, Arfin City will be destroyed."

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

551 I“m Not Leaving Your Side

More Divine Energy gushed out of Noirciel, fueling the fast-expanding hurricane. At the start, only the area around Noirciel was getting destroyed, but the scope widened fast.

It was too late to the Aegis Mansion, and if the destruction was allowed to continue, the city and its inhabitants would face the same fate that Baiyi's mansion had.

"Think of something, please! Is there anything useful in your arsenal of theurgical spells?" The Archmage looked at the Cleric Walker, who was rushing over. "I can still keep this barrier going for a while longer, so you still have time.

"If this is not curbed, Arfin City won't be the only place destroyed," said the grim-looking Scholar Walker. She had quietly observed everything that had happened thus far. "Once all her energy is out, there will be nothing left to sustain her; then, she will have expired.

"There are no theurgical spells for this! You can't expect faith to be used on one of our objects of worship!" The Cleric Walker exclaimed in distress. Although he, a man of cloth who once laid down his life for his religion, had long since distanced himself from the Church's teachings, he could not bear to watch an angel gradually die. Furthermore, the angel was young and gorgeous!

"If that son of a b**tch was here, would he be able to do something about this?" The Bard Walker asked worriedly, squeezing the quill and parchment in his hands. He had intended to compose a piece about an angel's triumphant return to heaven, but unforeseen circumstances occurred.

"That's enough! There are so many of us here, and you're telling me no one can come up with anything decent at all? Use your heads while we still have the time to do so!" The Archmage barked. "Those who know they can't help should please see to it that the brats are safe."

"Don't worry, they're already in good hands," the Hitman Walker calmly replied. Aware that he had nothing to contribute, he had taken it upon himself to evacuate the horrified choir.

After the Archmage's command, the Voidwalkers calmed down and began to plan. They were quite serious now, unlike before. Unfortunately, not all the Voidwalkers, like the Alchemist Walker and the Engineer Walker, had ideas to contribute.

It was the Attie the Kitty Cat Maid — who many considered more brawn and looks than brains — that provided an ingenious idea. "Let's redirect her Divine Energy to another dimension so that it does not destroy the world." Without waiting for a reply, Attie unsheathed the War God's sword

This helped the Archmage come up with an idea. "A normal subdimension might not be able to withstand waves of unfiltered Divine Energy, but if we improve its durability via manual reinforcements… That's it! Scholar Walker, you're with me."

Looking at the Sorcerer Walker, who was still racking his brains even though he knew he was not any good in these kinds of situations, the Archmage asked, He considered the Sorcerer Walker, who was still raking his brain despite long realizing he was no good in these situations, and asked, "Can I trust you to maintain this barrier while I work with Sir Scholar and Attie?"

The Sorcerer took out the Aldhelm that Baiyi gave him a few months before. "Ha, save your doubts. I may not be as talented as you are in spell-flicking, but I have my ways," said the Sorcerer Walker with a chuckle. Then, he began to chant.

Three Sorcerer Walkers slowly materialized out of nowhere. The main Sorcerer Walker continued to chant as four smaller but similar-looking barriers appeared. This Voidwalker then commanded his clones to merge their barriers into one similar to the Archmage's.

"Oh ho, you came up with this? And here I was, thinking all you knew how to do was punch things," the Archmage said, nodding in approval. He was genuinely surprised to see the Sorcerer Walker, someone renowned for his unremarkable skills in magic, find such a clever workaround.

However, performing magic was taxing for the Sorcerer Walker. He was famous because despite being a sorcerer, he preferred punching his way out of sticky situations, instead of using magic as a proper mage would. The Archmage had held the barrier rather easily, but the Sorcerer Walker was struggling to keep it up. With a groan, he said, "Cut the flattery and hurry! I can't hold this for much longer…"

"Hang on; we're onto it!" The Archmage nodded and shifted his gaze to Attie.

"Listen very carefully, Attie. You are to stand by while we stabilize our spells. After that, you will rip open the space around Noirciel, to pull her Divine Energy into a separate dimension. After that, the three of us will have to enhance that subdimension so it can last longer against the energy storm," the Archmage explained. "Make the cut as wide as you can, okay? We need as much room as possible to buffer the storm's impact before it collides with the subdimension's borders. Furthermore, you need to be very careful; you don't want to accidentally send Noirciel to that subdimension. Only her power should be sent into it, okay? Can you do all of that?"

"Uh, um… I'll try." Attie replied, suddenly sweating quite profusely. Although she now had enough understanding of the War God's sword to carry out such a complicated maneuver, she rarely used the sword for anything other than what one would use a regular knife for.

The Archmage was a little worried, but there was nothing he could do. Only Attie could use the War God's sword, for now, so he had to make do with a shaky "I'll try" from Attie.

The Archmage and the Scholar Walker began to chant the incantation for different spells. A complex magic formation appeared in front of the Archmage, and a ring of runes appeared around the Scholar Walker. No one would expect, at this time, to see two distinct schools of magic that are considered bitter rivals work together.

White light surged from the formation, and the runes around the Scholar Walker lit up one after the other. The white light was caused by Spatial Magic, which had no elemental affinity. When the spells were ready, the Archmage shouted, "Now, Attie!"

Attie quietly raised the War God's sword, which exuded three-different-colored light rays. With a skillful swing of the sword, Attie ripped into space a few feet from the center of the hurricane.

Suddenly, everything went still. Only silence filled the destroyed land left behind by the violent hurricane.

A jet-black cube hovered quietly above Noirciel's body, sealed off by four Rohlserlian formations, and bound tightly by chains made of runes.

"W-we made it?" The Sorcerer Walker stammered as he warily let go of the barrier.

"Yes! It was a spectacular success!" The Archmage smiled, looking at the bright sky above the quiet area. The world around them had brightened, as everything outside the barrier had been destroyed and blown away.

The Archmage grinned at Attie. "That was incredible! Your manipulation of space was so good, the Scholar Walker and I were able to fortify the dimension without straining ourselves. Something even more impressive is you not harming the angel in the process. I had no idea that your control over the Laws of Space had reached the peak of mastery!" The Archmage praised.

He made to ruffle her hair in pride, and as a show of affection.

However, Attie dodged the Archmage's hand and glared at him. "You can thank me by making sure she studies the knowledge I gave her, instead of fooling around with her time," Attie replied frostily.

Her attention quickly shifted to the black cube. "This won't last long. You need to find a real solution quickly, or her days are numbered. Damn it…" She suddenly cursed under her breath. "Why do I even care about someone else's angel?"

Attie's knees buckled as her body went limp. The War God's sword fell out of her hands, and back into its big, black sheath.

The crowd finally heaved a collective sigh of relief. The praise for this feat ought to be directed to her mysterious backer. When everyone was out of ideas and began panicking, the War God had chosen to answer Attie's unspoken prayer.

"Never did I dream that a god would one day extend her hand of aid to those abandoned in the Void. The theological students are very fortunate to receive a rare lesson on the complexity of gods, Sir Cleric," The Archmage said.

He clapped his hands together loudly to shake the rest of the crowd from the stupor spurred by witnessing a real god in action. "Alright, everyone. There's a lot to do from here onwards so we better get going. We promise Hope that we will keep things under control while he's away, and goddamned it, we're gonna keep that promise lest he comes back and looks down on all of us!"

He began to coordinate efforts to relieve every issue resulted from this ordeal before convening the Walkers for a post-mortem meeting. It quickly became a demonstration of the ex-emperor's superb leadership skills; he never lost sight of the big picture nor the little details and had directed everyone available to handle different problems per their skillsets. The Voidwalkers, meanwhile, displayed their professionalism by executing the Archmage's orders flawlessly.

By evening, almost every loose end had been tied up. Vidomina was dispatched to answer a flood of inquiries from concerned third parties; the demolished Aegis mansion and the decimated street it was located in had been cleared away; the transporter portal to Da Xue, which was also destroyed, had been rebuilt and in operation so that the students who could not offer much help returned to the academy first.

Unfortunately, cleaning up the aftermath was only the beginning of the Voidwalkers' troubles.

With her arms filled with jars containing many herbs, Nota pushed herself into a small, provisional tent, ignoring the ominous black cube hovering atop it. "These are the herbs us fairies had traditionally used to kill pain and calm agitated minds. Nydore collected them for her," she said warmly as soon as she entered. "How is she doing?"

She slowly approached a wooden bed where a comatose Noirciel laid. Although the wounds on her body were restored by the most expensive medicines Da Xue could offer, there was still a perpetual expression of pain on the girl's pale face. At times, Nota could catch the muscles of Noircie'sl cheek jerking as she silently writhed in pain. It was a crestfallen sight.

She was closely watched by Attie and Laeticia, who was half-kneeling by the side of Noirciel's bed as she muttered silent prayers with her hands folded in front of her breasts. Noticing Nota, she paused and croaked, pleading, "Please tell me our teachers had come up with something…"

Attie sniffed before tearfully saying, "It's all my stupid fault! I made this happened!"

She blamed her crude way of interacting with Noirciel for the gods' banishment. Nota disagreed with this, though. "It's not you, Attie." Nota cooed. "Lady War God personally came to the rescue through you; you were never a mortal. Nobody would think that you sullied her."

Nota gently sat on the side of the bed and rubbed Noirciel's temples with Nydore's medicines. "Maybe the two of you should take a break," She suggested kindly.

It was more than mere sympathy for her friends' growing fatigue; standing directly under the black cube, where Noirciel's deluge of power was building up pressure, was just too risky. It could blow up without a moment's notice.

"I'm not leaving her! I don't think I can ever forgive myself if we lose her…" Attie cried, too sad to think rationally.

"And I'm staying! I made an oath to protect her until my dying breath. She… She acknowledged me. And she did that in such an intimate way…" Laeticia said between tears.

Although her beliefs were conflicted, Laeticia was still a devout believer, through and through.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

552 With All Of Our Efforts

While Laeticia and Attie stayed at Noirciel's bedside, the Voidwalkers worked. They were all seated at a large roundtable that had a whiteboard in front of it. The board was riddled with messy scribbles, as the Voidwalkers did their best to come up with a solution.

"Ten days at most, huh?" The Cleric Walker muttered darkly.

"That is substantiated only by our calculations, but it should be enough. Mind you: the time frame is only accurate because of the War God's help. Without that timely divine intervention, the sub-dimension will collapse much earlier than that," the Scholar Walker solemnly replied, glancing at the Cleric Walker. "If the War God intervenes, the sub-dimension will be able to reduce the immensity of the Divine Energy storm on its own. Only the weakened energy would reach our fortifications, increasing the amount of time that the sub-dimension can hold out for."

"The War God handled like it easily! If only gods choose to solve problems completely," the Soul Armature Practitioner said with a sigh.

"The War God did what a god is allowed to do. Meddling in the affairs of another divine being's angel is not something that will be taken lightly," said the Archmage, whose gaze was still fixed on a stack of papers in front of him. Papers were crumpled and tossed away one after the other, and soon, only one paper remained.

The Archmage studied the scribbles, which seemed as though they had been scratched onto the paper by a chicken, and said, "Now, here's an idea."

The funny scribbles depicted a plan to store Noirciel's unstable Divine Energy in an energy storage vessel. Afterward, the vessel would be connected back to her body, providing the angel with a continuous supply of her own Divine Energy to support her spirit and psyche.

To much surprise, this idea was presented by the Caveman Walker, whose area of expertise had almost nothing to do with magic, unlike the others. This Voidwalker had been able to come up with the idea because the Pseudo Descent spell used by all the Voidwalkers functioned in the same manner.

The issue was where to acquire a vessel large enough to contain Noirciel's immense Divine Energy. The raging storm of Divine Energy wreaking havoc in the sub-dimension could not be contained even by a jar of Baiyi's energy crystals. The Voidwalkers knew that the only energy crystal that could contain Noirciel's Divine Energy was the special crystal that Baiyi took out from the Law Marionette he fought years ago. However, that crystal was already being used by Baiyi, for a long time now.

How could the Voidwalkers possibly drain this crystal, which had been accumulating Void Energy for ten years, of its stored energy in just ten days? Even if they managed to pull that off, it would not be wise to put Divine Energy into the crystal; after all, Divine Energy was the 'opposite' of Void Energy. No knew what would happen if they were forcibly mixed.

The next best option was to use the divine leather suit as a vessel. Unfortunately, such action was irreversible, and as the leather suit belonged to Baiyi, such a plan could not be carried out, even if the Huffing Piggies — the Fairy Walker, the Warrior Walker, and the Assassin Walker — agreed to it.

"Didn't that protégé of yours acquire a Fractal Horn of Inner Abysm? I remember reading somewhere that it can serve as excellent storage for power. I have never seen one, though," said the Alchemist Walker.

When Baiyi recounted his experience in the Ancient Rohlserlian empire, most of the Voidwalkers focused more on the areas that Baiyi visited. Some of them were interested in the Ancient Rohlserlian culture and society, and some others showed interest in the Emperor, comparing his temperament as a young man to that of his older self, the Archmage. A few Voidwalkers were only interested in the girls of the past, especially the clothes they wore. It seemed that only the Alchemist Walker was the only one that paid attention to the Fractal Horn.

"What was that? Using a demon's organ to save an angel's life? Hahahahahaha!" The Lich Walker cackled maniacally. "What a great suggestion! What a lovely turn of events! Is my expertise in souls and spirits needed for 'technical support'? Imagine that; an angel that gets her life saved by sacrilegious creatures like a demon and a lich! Tell me: what kind of angel will that be?

"A fallen angel!" The Lich Walker gleefully answered its own question. "I heard that fallen angel, but perhaps we can change that…"

If the Fractal Horn was used to save Noirciel's life, the Lich Walker's words would become reality. Not only would the angel's life become the perfect example of the word 'irony, but' she would also become an object of unprecedented blasphemy.

The faces of the Cleric Walker and the Paladin Walker turned gloomy. Although they had little regard for the Church's current interpretation of their belief, it made them sick to think of an angel being subjected so such an extreme procedure.

"Okay, cut it out!" The Archmage, upon sensing the tension in the air, quickly cut in. In a bid to calm the Cleric and Paladin Walkers, he said, "Hey now! If we must resort to that, we'll just have my student do it for us, okay? After all, he knows soul-harnessing spells as well as the Lich Walker does. I know that is not much different, but it should be much more acceptable than the former, no?"

The Cleric Walker and Paladin Walker calmed down, but the air of gloom around them remained.

"Why are we arguing over something we that is not even in our possession?" The Sorcerer Walker rebuked. "Hope got the Fractal Horn, alright, but he didn't bring it back to the present, remember? The only thing he brought back was the kitty plush toy!"

Those words through a gaping hole through the plans, leaving behind awkward silence.

The Alchemist Walker raised his head and said, "There's no need to discard that idea just yet. There could be another Fractal Horn lying around somewhere in this realm, in someone else's possession. If we look hard enough, we may even find something more potent than the horn!"

The Archmage was not as optimistic, though. With a shake of his head, he said, "You can't expect to find something as rare as that horn just because you need it. Even if we did find it, how do we get our hands on it? Money alone won't be enough to convince its owner to give it up."

The Alchemist Walker, who seemed to have expected this, replied, "We could just sift through Hope's personal collection, can't we? He's abused his position and took so many bribes. I bet that the parents of those 'trust fund' kids got him a lot of rare and incredible stuff, wishing that their kids get enrolled in order to receive a world-class education. We might find something useful in that collection, and even if we don't, we can still use anything from Hope's collection to bargain; or, we could just sell something from there to increase the funds we have to bargain with." The excitement on the Alchemist Walker's face made it apparent that he had waited a long time for an opportunity to raid Baiyi's collection.

"Are you proposing that resort to a robbery? If you do go ahead with that, the chances of Hope forgiving you, Sir Alchemist, is very, very slim," said the Scholar Walker, pouring cold water over her counterpart's excitement.

"I can't believe this thought crossed your mind. Do you really think he won't make you pay when he returns?" The Sorcerer Walker groaned and glanced at the Archmage.

The other Voidwalkers turned their attention to the old man, as well. If the Archmage took the lead in such a venture, then everyone might just be safe when Baiyi the tyrant returned. No matter how much Hope raged, he would not kill the Archmage, his benefactor and father figure, right?

The Archmage waved his arms wildly, wasting no time in dismissing the silent offer. "Are you bloody kidding me? You guys really expect me to lead a raid on my apprentice's possessions? Have you forgotten how the heartless piece of s**t reduced my allowance and burned my precious collection without batting an eye? Do you really think there are limits to his cruelty?"

"But, we aren't embezzling his stuff; we're doing it to save the life of the newest member of his harem! No matter how blackhearted he is, he surely understands that desperate times call for desperate measures, right?!" The Cleric Walker said.

"Oh, alright. I agree. We're too desperate to be picky, and he's not as unreasonable as we always make him out to be," The Archmage said, suddenly relenting.

When Tisdale, who Baiyi had given the keys to his basement, returned, the Archmage, Scholar Walker, and Alchemist Walker accompanied her to Baiyi's chalet and knocked on the door.

Lady Assassin Walker, who for some reason was dressed in a wedding gown, answered the door.

"Hey! it's rude to stare at a girl like that! I took this chance, now that he is not around, to rehearse for a future event, okay? It was just a rehearsal! Don't overthink!" Lady Assassin tried her best to explain.

No one was in the mood to tease her about it, though. Tisdale walked into the house, leading everyone to the basement, where Baiyi kept his prized possessions.

Several moments later, a shout rang out from the basement. "Holy s**t! Look at all this wealth! There are amongst the rarest and most valuable; you can't even find any on the market! How the hell did that bastard get his grimy hands on them?

"Yo, look at all these angel feathers and Seraphic Hearts! If they are combined with the Cleric Walker's theurgical spells, they can be used to purge the Fractal Horn of its demonian impurities, transforming it to a 'Fractal Horn of the Inner Abysm: Holy edition'! With that, Noirciel wouldn't become a Fallen Angel, right?" The excited Alchemist Walker asked.

"Can't we just use these things to make a new vessel?" The Archmage asked.

"Well, Your Majesty, how do you expect us to create a vessel that large in just ten days? How much money will that cost? I think it'll cost even more than all Hope has to pull it off," the Alchemist Walker replied. "Whoa, look over there! There's a locked closet there. You don't think there's something delicious in there, do you?"

Without waiting for an answer, the Alchemist Walker bolted to the closet.

"No! You can't! I mean, there's nothing important there!" Tisdale cried out, quickly turning red.

The Alchemist did stop, though, but he could not help but direct a glance of suspicion her way. "That closet does not happen to contain your dirty clothes or whatever, right? Is Hope that disgusting?"

"No; nothing like that!" Tisdale, whose hand was already over her mouth, exclaimed. She was visibly embarrassed, and for some reason, she kept pulling her skirt down. [1]

The Alchemist dropped the subject when he realized how uncomfortable Tisdale was. He walked back to Baiyi's collection and began to sift through it. After some time, he got an idea. "Many things here are good enough to create an untainted vessel with. Unfortunately, the Fractal Horn's must be used, as well, so we still have a problem."

After thinking about this for some time, the Archmage issued an order: "Select whatever is useful and begin work on the part that the Fractal Horn is not needed for. Dale, announce to the public that we're looking to buy a Fractal Horn of Inner Abysm. Tell them that we're willing to pay anything; money, rare materials, knowledge, Da Xue's latest inventions, or even a favor from the Voidwalkers is up for grabs. Everything is negotiable."

"Right!" Tisdale nodded, her face regaining its color. Before she left, she asked, "Fractal Horns are really rare, aren't they? The price we will pay will be very high…"

"It's worth it," the Archmage replied. As a former emperor, he knew how to consider the big picture in order to plan ahead. "Think of the message this will send to the public when we save the angel and have her join us. Even if she loses her powers, our work will be well worth the effort."

Tisdale was amazed. She really had not thought that far ahead.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

553 This One“s Not Afraid To Die

The moment the Voidwalkers focused their attention on the task at hand, they easily reminded everyone that a group of professionals could very well perform miracles. In just three days, the strategy to save Noirciel had been revised, optimized, and finalized. The Alchemist Walker had completed the first part of the plan, using materials taken from Baiyi's collection.

The first component was a pale-blue cuboidal crystal named "Mindstone". It sounded like something a big purple guy would put into a metallic gauntlet, but this Mindstone was only a vessel to store a soul.

In this universe, the soul contained the mind, while the mind controlled one's power and sustained the soul. With this in mind, the Voidwalkers quickly realized that one of Noirciel's problems was the fragility of her host's body. It was impossible for such a body to store her angel spirit or Divine Energy. The body could not even preserve all of Noirciel's personality.

The weight of an average person's mind was one, and the weight of a powerful fighter's mind was one. According to the Lich Walker, the weight of an angel's mind would be at least twenty. The Voidwalkers had decided to create a vessel large enough to store Noirciel's soul—which contained her mind. Afterward, they would use the Fractal Horn of Inner Abysm, which was a more powerful vessel, to store the angel's abundant Divine Power. Both vessels would then be fused into the body that Noirciel currently occupied.

This should leave Noirciel in a state identical to Baiyi's Soul Armature state. Her essence would be stored in two vessels, and she would continue to inhabit the curvaceous human body of her host.

The plan was not perfect, though. To create the Mindstone, the Alchemist Walker used raw materials of the highest quality, his best alchemical techniques — including some borrowed from Earth's Chemistry — and support from the Engineer Walker, the Cleric Walker, and some other Voidwalkers; nevertheless, the Mindstone was still unable to store the entirety of Noirciel's soul. Because of this, the loss of some of her personality was inevitable.

How much damage would Noirciel suffer? Would she appear sedated, as though she had gone undergone lobotomy? Would she become catatonic? No one could be sure because the scale of this operation was simply unprecedented.

The Lich Walker — the chief expert in soul magic — was optimistic; after all, the Mindstone was designed by him.

"Please, you should have faith in me! I assure you that this vessel is adequate for her. If the soul transfer succeeds, she will definitely retain most of her personality. She will be able to think, feel, and act on her own will — the same as any average person. The difficulty we face is self-imposed: we want her to be more than just an average human. We want her to be as close to her original self — a proud and mighty Angel — as possible."

It was as the Archmage had told Tisdale: the reason why the Voidwalkers did not place so much importance on this project because they wanted to rescue a banished angel or befriend a cute little girl. They wanted an angel of their own. An angel that commanded fear, majesty, and awe in mortals. Such an angel would strafe the sky with immense might, speaking on behalf of the Voidwalkers. Such an angel that stands with those trapped in the Void, rather than her peers.

This was why retaining Noirciel's powers was of utmost importance. The Voidwalkers needed to retain enough of the angel's powers to strike fear and awe in the hearts of mortals; for this, they needed a large enough vessel to ensure success. Finding such a vessel was the challenge that the Voidwalkers faced.

In the past few days, Tisdale — who had put the word out that the Voidwalkers needed a Fractal Horn — had received a flood of responses from all across Isythre. Most of these responses came with unverified tips of possible Fractal Horn locations. Ten respondents claimed to own a Fractal Horn of their own, stating that they would sell to Da Xue after negotiations were done and payment made. The overwhelming number of responses made it seem as though the Fractal Horn of Inner Abysm, one of the rarest items ever, could be found and obtained from just about anyone.

This outcome did not faze the Archmage. He ordered the Charlatan Walker, Hitman Walker — who had a bad temper — and the Sorcerer Walker to visit the respondents. In the end, not a single Fractal Horn was found, but a few syndicates of scammers were identified and brought to justice.

"This isn't going well," the Archmage said, sighing. "We might have to consider Plan B."

Plan B was to save Noirciel, but her Divine Energy would be given up and replaced with something else to support the Mindstone. The result of executing this plan was worse than that of plan A; the Voidwalkers would only end up with another cute girl, who, unlike the others, was airheaded and inexperienced.

This was not the Noirciel that the Voidwalkers wanted; she would have no influence in Isythre. This kind of Noirciel would have been easy for the Church to hide, for she would be completely unremarkable. This would render most of the Voidwalkers' hard work useless, as all they would end up was a new friend for the girls and a new loli for Baiyi, the tyrannical bastard. After all their investment, this possibility just stung.

The Voidwalkers were not sure that they would be able to find any energy that would serve as a suitable replacement for Divine Energy. Plan B had not been completely fleshed out, so it was only a last resort — one they desperately hoped not to have to fall back on after all their hard work.

The Scholar Walker sighed. "The Church's success in compressing her voluminous soul and power into the body of a normal girl vexes me greatly. No wonder they had done so secretly. Although whatever they did only lasts for three days, it is by no means unremarkable."

The Archmage replied, " Do you remember what my student told us? A normal person had managed to summon Noirciel by unwittingly triggering a blood sacrifice ritual. That was how they met each other for the first time. Nevertheless, the problem lies in that Path of Heaven, and my useless fool of a student came home before he could finish decoding the damn formation! If he had just done his job before he returned, we would not be in such a sticky situation now."

"I concur. If only we could acquire information concerning the Angel-summoning formation. That will be most helpful…" The Scholar Walker sighed.

"Well, if that's what you all need, then please allow me to sneak into the Church," the Hitman Walker said.

His suggestion was not well received. Groans collectively rang out within the room. "How about you don't do that? Sir Hitman, you will really benefit from becoming a bit more self-aware…"

Just when the topic of discussion was about to change, the Engineer Walker's shoulders shook, and the Voidwalker looked at the space beside him. "What did you say? A spy?"

He gave the Archmage a knowing look.

"Bring them to us," the Archmage said, chuckling. "Let us take a look at this suicidal individual."

A few minutes later, a round-bodied marionette that greatly resembled a cyclops strode into the hall, dragging an old man behind it. The old man was bellowing at the machine for its lack of respect.

The marionette did not have any intelligence, so it completely ignored the man's noisy complaints. When the marionette lumbered into the room, it threw the old man over like a sack of garbage.

"Ow! My back! By the gods, you are all brutes!" The old man cried out.

The Archmage casually studied the man, who could pass for an old noble with too much money. However, there was something about him that put the Archmage of — the stink of a pious high horse.

"Let me check his record," said the Engineer Walker. He walked over to the one-eyed marionette and rapped his knuckle on its head. After a few raps, the marionette's round eye glowed red, projecting a screen, on which a playback of the old man's past activities was already being displayed.

It seemed that this spy had lingered around Da Xue for three days, keeping tabs on the Aegis mansion during Noirciel's near loss of control. He had staked out the tent in which the angel was resting. His attempts to sneak in was recorded by this surveillance marionette. It stopped the old man's infiltration attempt twice and chased him out of the property, as it had been programmed to do by the Engineer Walker. When the old man tried to sneak into the tent a third time, the marionette deemed him a spy and promptly captured him.

"Kneel before you speak," the Archmage order, and a fearsome aura crashed down on the old man, who had been doing his best to get back up.

"You! No — I mean, Your Majesty the Sage-Emperor, the first of the vile... I mean — the first Voidwalker?" The old man stuttered. He looked to be undoing an internal struggle. After a few moments had passed, the man began to stand up.

The Archmage's next words echoed like thunder within the mansion. "I told you to kneel!"

The old man got so frightened of the powerhouse before him that his knees crashed down to the floor, as he trembled like a leaf. As though unable to speak properly, he groaned. "Patience… I do this for Her Grace's sake…"

"Who are you?" The Archmage bellowed.

The old man fought back against the pressure suppressing him and exclaimed, "I… I am the High Priest of the Church of God's Grace! It is against the customs to have me kneel before any mortal!"

"The only being of mortal origin here is your customs, priest. They do not apply to those of the Void! You should have kneeled the instant you came into my presence," the Archmage coldly replied. "Tell me the reason why the 'honorable' High Priest of the Church would pay us a visit."

The High Priest licked his chapped lips and swallowed hard. He suddenly recalled the stories he had heard about the first Voidwalker. How he had happily annexed many lands, and how he was proud of his achievements, especially the ocean of blood spilled to attain his glory.

'He's a vainglorious despot, who forced his people to worship him! A mad emperor that worked his men to death just to sate his appetite for wars!' The High Priest thought, a chill running through his spine.

The High Priest was prepared to die for his cause, though. He looked up at the Archmage and frowned. "I came here to see Lady Noirciel off, but something terrible happened, right?"

He was telling the truth, but the Voidwalker believed his words to be a childish lie. 'How can one of the Church's top individuals wish to visit us?' They thought. 'And to do so with a flimsy excuse — are you suffering from dementia? Or, are you just not afraid to die?'

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

554 What Is Faith?

The High Priest's words made the Voidwalker laugh out loud in contempt. The Lich Walker, who was hidden in the shadows, cackled maniacally.

When the laughter died down, the Lich Walker raised his vibrant green staff and hissed menacingly. "Today, it looks like I'll be acquiring one of the rarest souls on the market. What does your soul look like, O' Reverend High Priest? Hee hee hee!"

The green aura of the undead suddenly surged out of the Lich Walker's body.

The other Voidwalkers did nothing to stop him; they only sniggered in approval. Letting this High Priest go was something that never crossed their minds, even though they believed they had yet to figure out his motives. Why would they waste more time questioning a living man, when they could interrogate his soul after his death?

The Cleric Walker, an apostle that had long since abandoned the Church, walked forward. "Sir First Walker, a word please."

The Archmage raised a hand, and the Lich Walker stopped in mid-cast and glared at the Cleric Walker.

"You don't plan to defend this man, do you? Is there a reason to defend a mad man that thought it was a good idea to challenge us?" The Archmage asked, putting pressure on the Cleric Walker.

"I don't think he is lying," said the Cleric Walker. "The demons in the Abyss have once doubted me in a similar manner."

He glanced at the High Priest, who was staring back with a look of surprise, and said, "Sometimes, devotion alone can compel a man to do mad but miraculous things."

"This man says that he is the High Priest. Isn't that a top position in the Church? How can someone that has occupied that position for such a long time remain devoted to their faith and not to power?" The Archmage asked.

The High Priest, who had been ready to speak up, slowly closed his mouth and lowered his head in shame.

"He may have been a devoted man once, but life can dull even the fiercest of passions. The angel's descent may have reignited the embers in his heart," replied the Cleric Walker.

"Why is that reason enough to let him live?" The Lich Walker interjected, visibly eager to finish what he had started.

"If the Church has yet to change the roles of its upper echelon, then the duty of a High Priest should still be as I remember it. They serve the immortals above — the gods and the Angels," the Cleric Walker replied. "Although a High Priest's role is merely ceremonial, the believers held them in really high regard. High Priests are known to us as "the ones closest to the gods," as they lead the angel-summoning ritual."

"I'm listening," said the Archmage. He was starting to see the value in leaving the High Priest alive.

"Furthermore, the construction of the angel-summoning formation is completed, and the Church has already managed to summon an angel. Killing this man will not cause them to suffer a setback. If we keep him alive, though, we will be able to obtain information that only he knows. We could learn from him how to save Noirciel or defeat any angels that are summoned in the future. For these reasons, he is valuable."

"Only if he's willing to cooperate, though," the Archmage said, still skeptical.

"Leave it to me, Sir First Walker," the Cleric Walker replied.

A few minutes later, the High Priest was unceremoniously tossed through the open door of the Cleric Walker's home. When the old man finally realized that he had been saved, he scrambled to his feet and said in shock, "You... you're Saint Joel?"

The Cleric Walker did not reply, however; he still had not come up with something cool to say. As the old man did not get a reply, he decided to look around the simply-furnished house. His attention was instantly caught by pictures untidily pinned to the walls.

Moments after the High Priest squinted his eyes to examine the pictures, he froze. These were pictures of beautiful girls dressed in provocative clothes, proudly showing off their youth! Some of these pictures were full-body photographs, but the others were shots of specific areas of the young girls' bodies. The skirts the girls wore were way shorter than what the Scripture depicted, revealing tons of snow-white tighs, partially covered lady parts, and silk socks of different colors and patterns.

The High Priest felt his world crumbling around him. Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm the old man, who whispered, "Are you… really Saint Joel?"

The Saint Joel that he knew had ventured in the Abyss alone to slay demons! He was in no way similar to the pervert that owned these pictures! Unfortunately, the reality before him was overwhelmingly scary — as scary as a little girl walking over and suddenly pulling up her skirt, flashing her underaged lady part!

Now, the High Priest, a member of the Church's upper echelon, was privy to the shameful secret of a legendary saint, who now walked with the Voidwalkers. As someone that had attended many top meetings, he knew that the Church had opted to censor Saint Joel's legend and smear the Apostle's reputation.

What the old man did not expect was that the smearing had been done by the Apostle himself. Any follower of the Church that had the misfortune to see the Apostle's collection would instantly reject him, else they would lose their sanity. Why would there be a need to smear someone that already had a terrible reputation?

The Cleric Walker was not bothered about this. His darkest secret had just been discovered by someone that worshipped him, yet he stood tall; it was as though he had done nothing wrong. As though he was an experienced pervert trying to lure over a novice, the Cleric Walker said, "You must learn to enjoy beauty without lust. Use your heart, not your eyes."

'Nope. I can't do that; I just can't. Even if a group of good-looking female priests surrounds me, I can't. I'm long since past that.' the High Priest refused instantly in his mind.

Seeing that the old man remained terrorized, the Cleric Walker kindly said, "You're still traumatized by the incident in the hall, aren't you? Don't worry. The Lord says, 'Peace I leave unto you, the faithful.'"

A ray of golden light briefly covered the High Priest, and the old man's feeling of dread instantly vanished.

"That was 'Deliverance', wasn't it?" The High Priest asked in surprise. This was the first time anyone had cast the spell on him. Deliverance was used to placate the Church's traumatized war veterans.

The spell seemed simple, but in reality, it was one of the 'Words of God'. Only the most devoted believers were blessed with the gift to speak these words. Hence...

"Saint Joel," the High Priest shakily whispered. "Could it be that my Lord still sees you as one of His children?"

"Beats me. I don't know what he's thinking," the Cleric Walker replied.

When the High Priest heard that, he almost fell backward. It was as though he had just been struck by lightning — a feeling he had had the misfortune of experiencing multiple times today. Such remarks were already reason to call the Church's Inquisitors on this Apostle! How could someone that defied the One True God still retain the ability to cast the most sacred of theurgical spells?

"You seem surprised. Unbelievable, isn't it? It's true, though. As shocking as it may be, I'm telling the truth, just as you were back in that room," said the Cleric Walker.

The High Priest was silent for a few seconds, after which he said, "You're loved by God, yet you ally yourself with those demons, committing many acts that violate our doctrine. Are you not worried that the Lord will punish you once he finds out about this?"

"The Lord is busy. He has to cast light up every corner of this universe. He has to oversee every realm and look after the lives of billions. He really doesn't have the time to peek into one man's thoughts and condemn him," the Cleric Walker replied, chuckling.

The Voidwalker walked over a window and opened it, letting the light from the morning sun. The room was illuminated, and the pictures became easier to see.

"The demons you mentioned — who you and the Church detest — are doing whatever they can to save an abandoned Angel from death," said the Cleric Walker with a smile. "Tell me: what did your lot do for her?"

The High Priest was silent. Various thoughts crossed his mind, and a few seconds later, the old man was still silent, his conscience heavy.

Only after a few minutes had passed did the High Priest look up and say, "Your faith has ascended to another level, hasn't it? Is this what Ascension truly means?"

"Dunno." The Cleric shrugged and leaned against the window sill. The light permeating the room made him seem as though he was covered in a golden aura.

The High Priest silently stared for a while, quietly getting enlightened. After some time, he finally said, "It feels as though I have lost my faith, but at the same time, it feels as though it has been restored strengthed."

His oxymoron made the Cleric Walker chuckle. "You're easier to guide than Laeticia! I guess it was right to call High Priests like you 'People closest to the gods'."

The High Priest bowed in gratitude and solemnly said, "I'll tell you everything I know."

The other Voidwalkers soon learned of the Cleric's success in getting through to the High Priest. The Archmage could not help his surprise. "What the hell? That's it? He gave in?"

The Paladin Walker chuckled. "Well, that's faith for you; it works in mysterious ways. Sometimes, it's more trouble than it's worth, and other times, it moves men to create miracles." As the Cleric's Walker partner-in-crime, the Paladin Walker knew more than most of his antics.

"This is something I will never understand. You two have fallen so out of line, becoming perverted degenerates, yet you can use abilities given to the most faithful. Just how did that happen?" The Archmage asked.

"I guess the Church would see us as degenerates; after all, we did discard their teaching. Then again, those lessons are man-made. Should we base our faith on God or a man-made book?" The Paladin asked, replying with a question of his own.

"Fascinating. So, you reconcile the oxymoron of an 'unfaithful faith' by appealing not to a book written by mortals, but to your god alone. Has it always been this simple?" The Scholar Walker asked. "This harkens to a folklore from planet Earth, where a filthy mad monk that sleeps in the dirt is, in actuality, an awakened being."

"Yep. It really is just that," the Paladin Walker replied. "For someone that has been taught the Church's principles since childhood, it's difficult not to see these principles as absolutes. It can be tough to swallow. It's similar to being told that your 'waifus' aren't real and don't love you…"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

555 Divine Wrath

The High Priest's arrogance seemed to have vanished after talking to the Cleric Walker. The old man, who now called himself an apprentice, happily presented to the Archmage all the information he had on angels and angel-summoning. This included the design of the angel-summoning formation.

As the Scholar Walker poured through this information, she gasped. "The sheer magnitude! It is almost impossible to replicate this. I figured that the Church had sacrificed a lot even before the ritual began."

The formation complex was so large that it could cover a large city, so it had to be supported by a huddle of churches. This was only the first of many difficult demands, though. Only someone that completely blinded by their faith could embark on such a project.

Only the Ancient Rohlserlian Empire's magic complex was bigger than this angel-summoning magic complex, but the same amount of technical expertise and skill was required to construct both magic complexes.

Such a large magic complex was the application of thousands of years of knowledge. It was impossible for a person, institution, or even nation to shoulder the cost required to build the angel-summoning magic complex. Only the Church, an organization that has existed for millennia, could bear such a cost.

"The 'Path to Ascension' from my time is nothing compared to this! I find it hard to believe that such a cute little complex could actually end up being used to summon an angel. Maybe I should just call it what it is, a bloody miracle!" The Archmage exclaimed. "I meant the "bloody" part, as well. Is the power generated from live sacrifices this potent? No wonder the annoying cults back in my day were so obsessed with it. Damn it; I'm now pretty tempted to harness that sweet, sweet power…"

The Lich Walker sighed. "Today, even scholars do not know why the painful annihilation of a human soul can generate a large amount of power. This is the reason why the act of human sacrifice is being carried. Sigh. My luck is rotten to have been born at the wrong time. Despite a lifetime of research, I did not come close to harnessing that darkness for myself."

The other Voidwalkers frowned. "Can we please not talk about human sacrifice in this manner?" It had been a few thousand years since anyone in Isythre made human sacrifices, so the correct way to do so was lost to history.

If the Demigod Lich Waker, who was considered the worst of the worst, did not know how to make human sacrifices, then the Voidwalkers were sure that no one else would know. Except an even more deranged individual rises up and travels to hell to learn from the devil, as it may have been the brains behind the dastardly invention. From what Hope had once said, even the arrival of a holy angel was tainted by the deaths of the hundreds of thousands used to fuel her summoning.

"Come on, edgelords. There are a good many reasons why human sacrifice is frowned up and why the process of carrying it out is lost to history," said the Sorcerer Walker, steering the discussion back on course. A moment later, he exclaimed, "Yo, this magic complex is huge and very complicated. I'm amazed that the old fella managed to remember all of it!"

As a mage that was better at fistfights than magic fights, formations as complicated at this one was the nightmare of the Sorcerer Walker.

"Nepotism or a solemn declaration of religious fealty is not enough for one to become a High Priest. A prospective High Priest first had to have a complete understanding of the angel-summoning formation," the Paladin Walker explained. "I will not be surprised if the High Priest had been studying this thing since he was a child. He must have devoted his life to this ritual."

The Soul Armature Practitioner sighed and said, "And, here I am, hoping that we could summon an angel of our own in Da Xue's name, using Hope's resources. How naïve. It feels bad, man." He slowly rubbed a finger on a ball parted down the middle by a black band. A large white "M" could be seen on the purple top, with two smaller pink circles on either side.

The dejected Voidwalker let out an even quieter sigh. "The dreams of a man, in the end... amounts to nothing…" [1]

The other Voidwalkers stared at the Soul Armature Practitioner. 'What do you mean by that? And, what the hell are you planning to do with that suspiciously-familiar ball?'

"So, how will this magic complex help us? Can we use it to save Her Grace?" The Paladin Walker asked, picking a paper out of the stack.

"Although we can't use this to summon an angel, the knowledge we have gained is enough. At its core, the angel-summoning formation is a city-sized magic complex with many incredible functions. I think it will be useful in our bid to escape the Void," the Archmage replied, his attention still focused on the paper in his hand. "We just need a lot of time to study them all…

"But, that's the problem!" He stood up abruptly and made a show of pulling his non-existent hair in frustration. "I don't have enough time! [2] We have Noirciel to save; we have Earth's technology to research; and now, we have this! I just don't have enough time, even though I don't need to sleep!"

"Hear, hear. After researching Earth's Internet technology, I was poised to produce a prototype, but alas, I have not, due to a seemingly-indefinite delay. Hence, the research had to be stopped and set aside," the Scholar Walker sighed. "In the Void, I believed that time was infinite; I now realize that such a thought is stupid. I did not expect to one day be so short of breath — metaphorically speaking, of course."

The Archmage raised his head and said, "Well, we have no other choice but to give it our all, right? "First things first, let us carefully study this information so that we can understand how the Church was able to compress Noirciel's soul and power into the body of that little girl. Understanding this is now our priority!"

While Baiyi ventured into the depths of his being to save Mia, the Voidwalkers were in a race against time to save Noirciel. While all this was happening, something else occurred in the Church, prompting it to take action. Someone there had received a revelation.

As a cathedral's enormous bell tolled at the stroke of midnight, the Pope crazily summoned the Church's higher up for an impromptu meeting. His dedication to the cause was once again put on display.

When the sleepy cardinals gathered in the dim room, they heard something that instantly dispelled their lethargy.

"The gods have spoken to me!"

The Pope sounded ecstatic. After maltreating Noirciel greatly, the man was weighed down by his conscience. He decided to reside in the Temple of Auguries and pray to his lord as often as he could.

"A few minutes ago, the clock struck midnight, and I heard it. I heard voices from above!" The Pope exclaimed, pointing at the ceiling. "My brothers, they told me that more angels will grace us with their presence! We must make the necessary preparations now!"

"Is that revelations are received? With our High Priest missing, the gods decided to speak to you instead?" The Chief Judge asked in surprise. He had never received a revelation before. This was not a surprise because only a few people have ever received revelations. The Chief Judge could not imagine what it would be like to hear a god speaking.

"They speak not with sounds, but directly to my mind! Their voice reached my soul, greatly enlightening me!" The Pope reverently said. "It's an overwhelming experience; I can't even describe it to you. Their voices… It sounded clearer than words spoken in languages under the sun!"

However, the Pope, who was overwhelmed by the experience, had no idea that Voidwalker had been using the same method to communicate for thousands of years. The Fourth Voidwalker did not talk; he just passed his messages directly to Baiyi's mind.

"The message was clear. The gods will send more angels to us. This time, not a single one of them will be sinners. We won't get another broken angel that spends all her time in the clocktower, daydreaming her time away," said the Pope. "These angels will be just as the Scripture depicts — mighty, proud, and without sin! I could even sense their presence in mind. Oh, how that made me tremble in fear! The Lord most gracious; the Lord most wrathful!"

"Why, though? Why now?" The Archbishop of Canningham asked, even though Noirciel had done a number on his faith.

"The One True God commanded them to aid His children. These angels serve Krachlon — the God of Nature — and Tylemus, the God of Time. They have been blessed by Deilos — the God of Power — and Cardinia, the God of Life. They are here to punish the sinners who have incurred the wrath of the gods!" The Pope replied. "Those demons have indeed done it, this time. They have enraged the gods of nature, time, power, and life! Only the God of Space and the God of Prophecies remain silent[3]. What grave blasphemy did they commit, O' Devil, to incite the Lord's fury?"

The Chief Judge jumped from his seat and gripped the Scripture necklace at his neck. "After all the trials and tribulations we have suffered, our work has been recognized!" He looked up cried out, "Praise be my Lord!"

The other joined the Chief Judge in praising loudly. They felt like devout believers again.

When the crowd finally calmed down, Paladin Grand Cross Aaron, who commanded crusaders and templars, asked, "What do we have to prepare? How much time do we have left?"

"What do we prepare? We prepare for war!" The Pope bellowed. "There's no time like the present. Summon all the crusaders and the templars, and prepare their swords. Train them for the glorious battle ahead. Prepare resources and rations. My brothers, a holy war is nigh! With the gods on our side, we are destined to win. When the gods unleash their anger, those demons will perish!"

The Pope's speech was a very passionate one, but he made no mention of when the war would actually take place. The gods did not mention any dates to him, so he could only make preparations and wait.

"While our preparations are underway, we need to make sure that our summoning formation remains functional. Spare no resources, no matter how expensive it is. Even if we have to bow our heads to those foolish sorcerers, so be it," said the Pope. "In fact, I have a hunch that those arrogant sorcerers will hang their heads in shame when the angels descend."

"No mortal would dare raise their head to look into the eyes of an enraged god," said the Chief Judge. "I'm afraid that the infidels would turn to dust before they even get a chance to get down on their knees and plead for mercy."

"But where is the High Priest?" The Archbishop of Canningham suddenly asked. "This meeting is too important for him to miss. We need him to maintain the summoning formation."

"I bet that old fool is hiding in a confession booth somewhere," the Pope coldly replied. "He is pathetically obsessed with that failed angel. No matter — I want him found, now!"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

556 A Bit of A Panic

Two days later, the Church issued two documents, which had been signed by the Pope, to other parties.

The first document was a cease-and-desist addressed to the Sorcerers' Association. With rather harsh wording, the Church demanded that the Sorcerers' Association lift the ban that it placed on the sale of spatial-magic materials. This document contained some threats, as well, ordering the Sorcerers' Association to help the Church in its angel-summoning ritual. Failure to comply will incite the wrath of the gods, the Church warned.

The second document was addressed to the public. It was a missing person notice, on which was stated that the High Priest of the Church had been missing for five days. Not so much as a word had been heard of him.

The Pope was frightened but infuriated that the High Priest went missing right when more angels were preparing to arrive. This made him suspect the Voidwalkers. In a bid to rescue the High Priest, the Church announced a monetary reward for anyone that could return the old man.

Since the Church needed time to prepare, it did not publicly declare war on the Voidwalkers. However, the threat it issued the Sorcerers' Association alarmed many, including the Sorcerers' Association, an organization that had never been threatened since its founding. After Vice President Grant read the Church's letter, he hurried over to Da Xue.

After replicating the manner of greeting that ancient Rohlserlians used, Grant dropped to a knee in front of the Sage-Emperor, who he had always looked up to. Without wasting any time, Grant respectfully handed the Church's letter over to the Archmage.

"What do you think of it, Your Majesty?" Grant asked.

The Archmage asked the man to get back to his feet and said, "There's no need to bow to me; I'm not an emperor anymore. I'm just an old man," he said, chuckling.

When the Archmage finished reading the letter, flames erupted from his palm and burned the paper to a crisp. This accurately mirrored the Sage-Emperor's feeling; he was furious.

"So, we managed to anger a cabal of four gods. Ha!" He sneered. "So what? The Voidwalkser fear nothing, even gods that meddle!"

A terrible aura burst out of the Archmage, and it was as though the legendary emperor of old, who stood above his enemies, had returned. As VP Grant was standing close to the Archmage, he got the full brunt of the pressure, causing his knees to go weak. Grant fell down to his knees and had an intense urge to kowtow.

In the next second, however, the aura vanished, and the Archmage once again exuded the air of a kindly old man[1]. "Oh, but I'm more interested in what you sorcerers think. Am I to expect your submission, or do you plan to stand and fight? Come, show me what modern-day sorcerers are made of!"

Grant's expression was a solemn one; after all, this was the reason for his visit.

After thinking for a while, the vice president replied, "I consider the Church's warning an insult to u — an affront to the Sorcerers' Association's pride and legacy. However, I do fear that only a few share my thoughts on this matter. A lot of sorcerers may appear to be atheists, but some are not just over-religious, whilst others have family members that are devout followers.

"Then, there are some that enjoy beneficial ties with some people of the Church. Even the ban we placed on spatial-magic materials elicited a negative response." "

Grant's explanation was a lengthy one, but the message being passed across was clear: the Sorcerers' Association had submitted to the Church, as its members did not wish to face divine judgment!

The Archmage was silent for a short while, after which he said, "I heard that the Association is going to elect a new president."

When Grant heard that, he stood up straight and replied with renewed vigor, "There are several vice presidents contesting for the position. I probably do not even stand a chance!"

The meaning behind this reply was very clear; the Archmage instantly realized what he was getting at. The old man chuckled and pulled out a stack of research papers from his storage pouch. He handed the papers to Grant and said, "Just the tip of the iceberg."

Grant read the title headings on the pages out loud, "On the Plausibility of a Communication Network Powered by Magic? Um, Application of Cloud Technology Across Domains? The Market Value of Next Generation Magic In the Closest Fiscal Years?"

He did not understand what any of these meant.

"When you finally know what these mean, you'll realize that you now hold an insurmountable advantage over the other contenders. We call this the 'Technological Revolution'," the Archmage solemnly said. "It is driven by so many new and unique ideas and concepts. I don't think that even you can wrap your head around it for now. One thing's for sure, though; it'll bring a positive impact that will change the world as we know it. Whoever is smart enough to pave the way will be forever immortalized in history!"

Although the Archmage made no mention of the power or influence one could earn through the project, the idea of one's name being forever remembered was appealing enough. Some people believed that a good name was the best reward, seeing as no amount of money, power, or authority could buy it. A lot of people were already rich and powerful, but how many of them would be remembered forever?

Grant, too, shared this belief. He wanted more than anything to be remembered long after his death, so the Archmage's words appealed to him greatly [2].

"What I've shown you is just a small taste of the revolution. Whether you're worthy of joining us is up to you to prove," the Archmage said. "Naturally, this technology can only be utilized if we emerge victorious in the war. I can't imagine why those of the Void would lose."

Like a child that had just been praised by a teacher, Grant nodded vigorously and hugged the stack of papers he had been given tighter. After a few more words were exchanged, he left.

The Scholar Walker had quietly watched everything unfold, and when Grant left, she said, "He's brimming with confidence now, but at the same time, he seemed unsure of where to channel his energy."

With the knowledge Baiyi had passed on to them, the Voidwalkers were no longer satisfied with their dream to build mobile games. They wanted to do more now, like becoming pioneers, who would usher in Isythre's own industrial age, by melding their magic and the technology from Earth.

If the Voidwalkers' dream was realized, they would be able to push the realm to a new height of unprecedented progress. With this achievement, the Voidwalkers will be more than just legends.

They will be revered just as much as gods were!

Naturally, the road to such achievements was long and grueling, even for the geniuses that resided in the Void. To pull this off, they needed much more than perseverance; they needed a lot of funds and manpower. If the Voidwalkers were visionaries to lead the realm into a new age, then someone else had to be a fat, rich cat and invest in this venture.

VP Grant was to be the fat cat.

However, the Archmage was right: none of that would matter if they lost the war that was to come. Nevertheless, acquiring the support of an influential vice president from the Sorcerers' Association was the right call. The vice president did not seem to understand the magnitude of what he had just been invited to join.

"Anyway, let's set that aside for now. Call the rest in for a meeting. After all, the Church has decided to wage war against us," The Archmage said calmly.

Soon, all the Voidwalkers in the real world had gathered in a hall, awaiting the Archmage's big announcement.

"Has anyone of you done anything to provoke the Church lately?" The Archmage asked, looking at the confused Voidwalkers in the hall. "I need to know why they suddenly declared war on us."

The Archmage's gaze shifted to the Cleric Walker. "You! Don't tell me you harassed some girls from the Church!"

The gentleman in question waved his arms wildly in protest. "I did not! Did! Not! Don't you pin this on me! All I've done is lie within the tall grass to peek up their skirts! I swear, I only do this in Da Xue!"

"What about you, hmm?" The Archmage looked at the Paladin Walker. "Did you lick the thighs of any female clerics or female believers?!"

"For gods' sake; I don't even have a bloody tongue!" The Paladin exclaimed.

"So, what did you all do, then?!" The Archmage bellowed, audibly frustrated. "Why would the Church suddenly declare war against us right freaking now? Why the hell would four gods suddenly get so angry that they decide to send more angels after us?!"

The Archmage was anxious. Now that VP Grant had gone, the old man did not have to reign in his emotions.

"Wait a moment. Weren't you calmer when the news broke? Wherever did your confidence go to?" The Scholar Walker asked.

"Why do you expect otherwise?" The Archmage snapped. "Hope isn't with us! Isn't he the one that has all our memories and supposed to be our ray of hope? He's not here! This is just like the time you equipped your sorceress the best sword ever, only for her to end up getting captured by the enemy the instant you deployed her. Does that not worry you?"

"Er, why give a sword to a mana user?" A Voidwalker asked.

"That's not the point! This is something I just made up; it's absolutely not based on a true story," the Archmage replied as he returned to his seat. "We need to figure out the Church's motives and be prepared to make sacrifices. Right now, we are trapped between saving Noirciel and waiting for Hope's return. This isn't the best time to fight a war!"

The old man's gaze shifted to the Cleric Walker and the Paladin Walker. It was as though he had decided that they needed to be sacrificed.

"I told you; it does not have anything to do with us!" The Cleric Walker hurried replied, visibly panicking. "Honestly, I think it may have been your arrogant technology revolution thingy that pissed the gods off!"

"What a load of crap. We're just trying to make the world a better place for all! They should thank us for doing their job, not punishing us. What are they, morons?" The Archmage sneered.

"If our dream is realized, the gods' usefulness will be severely diminished. I think it's within reason that they react angrily!" The Paladin Walker said, likely out of fear of being "sacrificed".

"The hole in that theory is that we're still stuck in the preliminary stage. We're still very far from our goal. Hell, none of us has a complete understanding of the technological knowledge we were given! How could we have attracted their attention when we haven't started anything yet?"

"What if — what if it's because we'd decided to save Noirciel?" The Soul Armature Practitioner suddenly asked. "The timing is suspicious, isn't it? That's the only unusual thing we've done recently. And now, this has happened…"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

557 We Fight For What We Believe In!

The Church's sudden display of aggression made the Voidwalkers second-guess their decision. As Baiyi, who they considered a tyrannical bastard, was not around to boss them around, the Archmage had to fill in as leader. "Look, saving Noirciel is a must. We may be able to consider our position on other things, but not on saving Noirciel."

The First Voidwalker then glared at the Cleric Walker and Paladin Walker, both of whom felt cold sweat dripping down their backs.

"You do realize that without our tyrannical admin, fighting a group of Angels will be very troublesome, right?" The Charlatan Walker said.

"Be that as it may, angels aren't entirely invincible," the Archmage solemnly replied. "Back when my protégé had zero experience in fighting angels, he was still able to defeat Noirciel when she was still the mighty representative of the God of Time."

The first walker waved the documents in his hand. "These creatures might be powerful, but they do have weak spots. We just need to find those spots and capitalize on them."

"But, is it really worth it? Look, aren't we doing all this just to get ourselves a cheerleader?" The Merchant Walker asked nervously. As one of the few Voidwalkers that did not specialize in combat, the thought of engaging in violence did not sit well with this Voidwalker.

"Noirciel was initially intended to be cheerleader, but now that the gods have bared their fangs, she is something more. She knows everything that we need to know about the gods and other occupants of the Divine Realm. Do I have to remind you all that no matter what happens in the future, rebelling against the beings in the Divine Realm is our calling?" The Archmage replied. "I think I speak for everyone here when I say that no one wants to leave in fear of the gods' attack. If you agree, then find your strength and courage within yourself!"

The workload born by the Voidwalkers had greatly increased, but they had to continue their search for a vessel good enough to store Noirciel's powers. They also had to quickly find and understand the secrets hidden with the complex angel summoning ritual; they had to find its weaknesses and come up with ways to exploit them. Furthermore, they had to make their preparations for the impending war.

Two days later, the Church, with feigned righteousness, officially declared war on the Voidwalkers. The Archibishop of Cannigham stood on a podium in front of the Canningham Basilica, giving a lengthy speech.

He read out every "sin" that the Voidwalkers had committed against the Church. The accusations included "meddling into state government affairs" and "inciting immorality among impressionable youths". Hundreds of alleged criminal activity was read aloud. One would think that the Voidwalkers had broken every commandment listed in the Scriptures.

The Archbishop's accusations did not stop there. He implied that the world was nearing an apocalypse, which he blamed the Voidwalkers for bringing about. To him, these demons had to slain now, and this purge was a righteous cause that good people must support.

If one was to pay attention to the accusations being read out, they would realize that many of them were just preposterous. This included the accusations that Da Xue was created to groom underage girls, who would then be sold to pedophiles — and that its female students were regularly harassed sexually. Only the first three proclamations were worthy of any rational person's attention, as those were essentially the gods' declaration by proxy.

"Tylemus the God of Time condemned the Voidwalkers' desire for His powers and their arrogance for interfering with His matters. Krachlon the God of Nature has condemned the Voidwalkers' disregard for the boundary between divine beings and mortals, which caused them to blaspheme against the gods and their laws…"

These seemed to be the real reasons why the gods were angry.

After listing out the allegations, the Archbishop called for the Voidwalkers to confess and submissively face their due punishment from the Church. The Archbishop did not mention anyone else but the Voidwalkers. It was as though they were giving other organizations some room to distance themselves from the Voidwalkers and the trouble they were in.

The Voidwalkers gathered again when they learned of the reasons for the gods' anger.

"Apparently, we 'blasphemed' against some gods. How? By trying to save Noirciel's life? It makes even less sense for them to accuse of us trying to steal their powers. Have we interacted with this Tyle-who before?"

"Well, Noirciel was his vassal, right? She was demoted and punished for using that fella's power without his permission, so this, in some way, makes us guilty? Okay, I don't know how to stretch that Nature God's case."

"Oh! Do you remember the Abyss Lord that we fought a few years ago? Could that be... Even if this is the reason for his anger, it's been a decade already! Are gods this petty?"

"Well, whatever the case may be, we need to explain our situation to our students," the Archmage said.

All the students and staff of Da Xue were quickly briefed. "None of the Church's allegations are true, and I'm sure that those of you that have been with Da Xue all these years can testify to that. Nevertheless, we didn't host this meeting to proclaim our innocence. We will not plead guilty, neither will we submit to them," the Archmage said. "We have decided to raise our weapons in retaliation!

"This is our war, not yours. We are the targets, not you — for now. Thus, we do not need any of you to fight with us. I am confident that we will prevail in the end, but at this moment, there is nothing to prove that," the Archmage called out. "Furthermore, we expect this to be a difficult battle, in which we will suffer more casualties than we ever have. For your safety, you all should leave; we will not hold this against you. Just remember to come back to school once the war is over."

The Archmage could have chosen to detain a few noble kids as hostages to threaten the Church with, but the Voidwalkers did not need to resort to such underhanded methods to win. The war was waged against them, so no third party would be dragged into the fray!

The hall was silent for a second, after which a cacophony of panicked voices broke out in the usually orderly Da Xue. In the three days that followed, students and staff hurriedly packed and left Da Xue.

As promised, the Voidwalkers did not give them grief as they did this. Some of these students worshipped at the Church and could not stand at odds with it. Many other students were the heirs of their family, so in order to avoid an untimely death, they chose not to participate in the dangerous war that was to come. A few students wished to fight alongside the Voidwalkers, but their families would not let them; this annoyed them.

The students and staff of Da Xue were not the targets of the Church, so they could stay out, and many did. However, a third of the students refused to leave, so the Archmage called them over to ask why.

"What else do we have if we lose Da Xue?"

"Fight the Church and the legendary angels? Hell yea! If I leave now, I'll never get the chance to participate in such an epic battle!"

"I don't really have a reason, sir; I just really love this place. I really love Da Xue.."

"I've been a teacher here for ten years. This is my home! I can't possibly stand and watch get destroyed by invaders!"

Some of Da Xue's alumni— led by Tim Wolt, who owned a platinum necklace personally awarded by Baiyi — reapplied to Da Xue just so they could participate.

The Archmage called over this group, too, and when they were done making their case, he frowned at one of the smartest ex-students in the group. "Are you brats out of your mind?! Get outta here! We don't need you, you, or you! We don't need any of you! You brats have a promising future ahead of you, so ignore this petty squabble between adults!"

The first Voidwalker could not bear to imagine the best and brightest of the young generation needlessly sacrificing themselves in such a senseless war.

"Please, sir, give me a chance to repay my academy!" Tim exclaimed in protest. "I just can't watch the place that had brought me so much happiness, the place where I was nurtured for a better future, get threatened and torched down!"

"Torched down? Kid, are you high on something?" The Archmage asked, waving off his concern. "To us, this is just a stupid little squabble. We can end without the help of little punks."

"Ah, so this is just a 'stupid little squabble'? I guess there's even less reason to not let us fight, right?" Tim said, grinning. "After all, a stupid little squabble can't be too dangerous, can it? It's settled; we're joining the fight, lads!"

The Archmage was speechless. He had not expected the punk to use his own words against him.

"Sir, Da Xue is a sacred ground for us," Tim said. "We will fight for what we believe in, and we believe in Da Xue. If we die, we die as men and women of conviction!"

The Archmage could only listen in stunned silence.

Another ex-student that was bestowed a platinum necklace, Eisenrose, was towering above her older lookalike in the latter's office. The former Knights' faculty student had managed to perform magnificently in her final exam, so she was awarded the necklace by the end of the semester.

"Why are you here?!" Attie shouted as she looked at her then-favorite student, who was now much taller than her, as she was still a loli. An expression of worry emerged on Attie's face.

"This war, you'll get involved in, right?" Eisenrose, whose gaze was fixed on Attie, replied in a low voice. "I was worried about you, so I came back."

"But, this is beyond any academy test you have taken, and it's definitely not some epic battle in a young adult's novel! Do you know how powerful angels are?" Attie frowned. "Just one was enough to send Principal Hope flying! That means they are way, way above my league!"

Eisenrose did not flinch at that. "You once told us that we'll never lose as long as the enemies' attacks don't hit us. Besides, if Da Xue loses, I don't think they'll let us off the hook, either, professor."

"Excuse you! Those of the Void never loses!" Attie walked forward and began to give her favorite ex-student a stern talking-to.

Similar conversations were taking place across Da Xue. Most of the alumni were the favorite students of some Voidwalkers, so they came over the instant they heard that their favorite teachers were about to fight the Church. These bright kids knew nothing of the danger than angels posed, but they understood that the war would bring about great degrees of danger.

This did not deter them, though. They were not even scared of death. Profit, power, and a promising future were very important to some people, but these kids had other things that they valued more.

"Urgh, these kids are all so young, weak, and foolish! However, inside their chests are hearts that beat with mettle," the Archmage said with a sigh, looking at the students that had chosen to remain behind.

"Is there anything that can make an instructor prouder?"

In the end, one thousand and thirty-three individuals had decided to stay back in their beloved academy and fight.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

558 A Comparison of Power

The Church enjoyed the overwhelming support of the public, and despite knowing this, a thousand people still decided to side with the Voidwalkers and Da Xue. This act should have been seen as the peak of courage, but many laughed at this, instead.

After ten years of initiating kids under the guise of word-class education, only a thousand students decided to fight for the academy with their lives. It seemed the Voidwalkers had failed in their pitiful attempt to brainwash their students; it was pathetic and laughable! This news made the Church, who had amassed an army of five million in only one few days, already confident that it would win the war!

The Church's military mostly consisted of noble families' private militia, hired mercenaries, and others dispatched by factions that had recently sided with the Church. These factions had their own agendas, though. They were opportunists eyeing Da Xue's intellectual properties and profitable inventions. Some even had their eyes on Da Xue's beautiful females, especially the fairies, who they had only heard in folktales.

These were 'trophies' that tempted nobles enough to spend all their wealth hiring mercenaries for the Church. To these nobles, the Church had already won, and they could already imagine lying on top Principal Hope's most beautiful female students, watching them groan.

Real veterans, however, knew better than to succumb to this unfounded optimism. The cardinals all wore solemn expressions during the next meeting. Even the Pope was not as confident of victory as he pretended to be on the outside. The intoxication he felt from receiving a divine revelation had subsided, and reality had begun to set in.

The Church's only real advantage was the angels, and the Pope knew that Voidwalker possessed dangerous powers, more than enough to make up for their disadvantage in numbers. Furthermore, angels could only stay in mortal realms for three days, and because a war on such a magnitude will definitely go on for more than three days, the Church would have to attack before the angels arrive. Making the first move would give them the advantage, and if they could maintain this, when the angels descend, they would quickly wipe out the Voidwalkers.

This meant that the Church also stood a large chance of losing, as it could be defeated before the descent of the angels. This possibility left the cardinals of the Church in low spirits.

"So, Duke Wright and Duke Link have defied us, haven't they?" The Chief Judge snarled and balled his hand into a fist, crumpling the paper within it. "Am I to take this as the Imperial Household's official stance?"

When the Church declared war, the dukes of the south and north were silent. However, they quickly began to expand their military — an act that spoke volumes, especially to the Church. Although the dukes' army did not increase as quickly as the Church's, the growth was still an alarming one.

The Church sent envoys to both dukes. The Southern Duke was affable to the envoy, but he refused to disclose his thoughts. After being pressed repeatedly on the matter, the Southern Duke claimed that he was only arming up for self-defense, worried that the war would reach his territory.

The Northern Duke reacted quite differently. The Church's envoy was denied entry at the duke's gate.

Such a treatment was all anyone needed to understand where the Northern Duke's allegiance lay. Furthermore, he had directed the Empire's troops at the northern border to aid Da Xue. This showed his allegiance to Da Xue and the extent of his desperation.

"Fine. I admit I understand the Northern Duke's reasoning. His daughter is the youngest Vice Principal of Da Xue; it's almost impossible to force a father to turn his back on his own. But, what is that Link planning? That opportunist knows better than to be vague with his intentions. He has always cozies up to every faction, including those are war. He only chooses the side that is about to win so that he'll get the most benefits!" A cardinal said in a low voice. "Even if he had some sort of business ties with those demons, I still didn't expect him to lick their butt because of a few pennies!"

The Paladin Grand Cross looked at the cardinal and chuckled. "It's because he doesn't think we stand a chance at all."

The Pope was silent. After listening to the others converse for some time, he turned to the Chief Judge and asked, "Has the Imperial Household chosen any sides?"

The Chief Judge seemed to be the leader of the Church's spies. "Not official. They are understandably displeased that their territory would become a battlefield for two huge factions beyond their control. So far, the Emperor has not acted on his resentment. His official statement could impact the public's support. Fortunately, there is news from his retainers that the Emperor secretly permits our crusade against the Voidwalkers."

"What about the evacuation process in Arfin?"

"It's taking place smoothly. Local organizations — who know better than to fight a battle they cannot win — the cadet branches of the Imperial Household, and others are evacuating the city without any impediment. By now, Arfin should be a ghost town."

"Hmph. At least these demons know to leave the innocent alone, rather than using them as hostages," the Pope said, praising the Voidwalkers for what seemed to be the first time. "What about other organizations in the continent? Have they all chosen to abandon the light?"

"Once again, they are frustratingly tight-lipped about their allegiance, and not one of them has shown support for our cause. We'll need more time to see if they have been secretly supporting those demons. But, as of late, only Grant — one of the contenders for the Sorcerers' Association presidency — had paid those snakes a visit. I have reasons to believe that he may have forged some sort of agreement with them."

"Pfft. There are more sorcerers loyal to us than those demons. Grant wouldn't dare make any stupid decisions unless he has given up on his ambition to be the leader of the Sorcerers' Association, one of the most prestigious factions on the continent," the Archbishop of Canningham said with a sneer. He seemed confident in the Sorcerers' Association, as its members had met with the Church secretly a few times.

"It seems everything is still in our favor, except for that annoying hound, Wright. The men he put together for the Voidwalkersare stronger than the average soldiers delegated to us by the nobles. Hence, it's safe to say that they might give us some trouble when we clash. Should we defang the dog by making concessions? Like a promise to not harm his daughter?" The Church's new High Priest asked.

Sometime after the previous High Priest disappeared, a younger man was selected to replace him. The new High Priest has fanatical and aggressive. The previous High Priest would not have spoken in meetings like these.

"I heard that those Northern infidels want to throw a wrench into our fight." The Pope said, ignoring the new High Priest.

The Northern Continent greatly resisted the Church's missions, so their reach in the North was too little, leaving them unable to obtain intel effectively. Thus, the Church had almost no information on the northern nations' intentions. All they knew so far was that some southern merchants had visited the north for business.

"Why worry about those apes that have more brawns than brains? All we need to do is to maintain our hold over the sorcerers, to make sure that no transporter portals in the northern continent are in operation. Without those portals, the only way they could come into the South is through an impenetrable fortress that is fiercely guarded by the Northern Duke..."

The High Priest stopping, having just realized that he had misspoken. The Northern Duke already showed how determined he was to protect his daughter; who was to say that this won't encourage him to work with the Northerners?

"Well, surely he's above treason..." the High Priest awkwardly said.

"Never underestimate the lengths a father can go for his own flesh and blood," said Sir Aaron. "I'll keep an eye on them, but without these transporter portals, the Northerners will have to cross the Wasteland. This should take them over three months, and that does not include the time it'll take for their reinforcements to cross. By the time they reach the South, the war should already be over, so I think the Northerners will probably only send a few of their experts. It does not matter, though; I'll personally teach them that the power of one means nothing against the collective skill of many experts."

"That's reassuring, but two more questions remain. First, don't you think we have too many unskilled mercenaries? Their numbers even exceeded our own people… I worry that they might be detrimental to our soldiers' mettle," an archbishop said.

"Even a ragtag band has its value. Where else can we get our cannon fodders, after all? Surely the nobles know that if they wanted eggs, they would need to break them first," Sir Aaron snickered. "As for your second concern… you need not speak. You're not the only one who would like to know."

As if on cue, the table of cardinals stared at the Pope and the new High Priest for their last question: When would the angels finally arrive?

"Be patient with thy Lord just as He is patient with thee," the Pope answered. "We'll receive another revelation during the war. I'm sure it's soon."

The Church was not the only one preparing for war. Since the Church's declaration of war a week ago, the Voidwalkers had been busy with their preparation.

On the Archmage's hand was a summary of the army's strength from both sides of the war. It was filled with even more details than the intel the Church could obtain because it was provided by Umbra. The renowned assassin guild had promised to act as their spies but declined to accept assassination requests to protect their future as a commercial-based guild.

Owing to Umbra's professionalism and efficiency, the information in the Archmage's hand was impressively laden with particularities where the First Voidalker could discuss at length with the Thane, who was a master tactician well versed in war strategies. After a thorough dissection of their enemies' powers, the Archmage and the Thane Walker both came to the same conclusion: The Church's non-Angel manpower was mostly unskilled and utterly undeserving of any attention.

"If the Angels aren't with them, we can easily squash them even with Hope's absence. Especially after taking the Blacksmith Walker's and the Engineer Walker's creations into account," the Thane Walker said.

The Archmage, however, was relatively cautious. "Best not to underestimate them, especially not with those numbers. Even a stampede of expendables could blunt the edge of your sword and bury you. Besides, it's not like the toys those two made are consistently reliable and not known to malfunction."

"Well, if this is a war of numbers, we're not doing too bad ourselves," the Thane Walker pointed out. "Vidomina's father is really going all out this time, huh?"

"Of course. A father always goes out for his daughter. Besides him, we have some elite fighters Link had sent to us in secret, too. By the standards of mercenaries, they are pretty good. As for other hired sellswords… I already have Undine in-charged of screening them," The Archmage replied.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

559 We Can“t Be Defeated

As some parties were siding with the Church, others allied with the Voidwalkers. The side backing the Church was completely confident of victory, while those backing the Voidwalkers hoped for a huge upset that would benefit them. In a bid to emerge the victor, both sides went all in.

The nobles that sided with the Voidwalkers sent over their militia and mercenaries, but Da Xue turned them back. To the Voidwalkers, harboring soldiers that did not meet their standard would lower their chance of winning the war. The Voidwalkers also made it clear that the provisions the nobles offered, along with their mercenaries, were not part of that return.

"Our rations are more than enough to cater to the army, no? If I add what we have now with what the Merchant Walker and his contractor friends brought over, even after our recruitment drive ends, we will have enough to feed the army for three years," the Thane Walker said, his brows furrowed in concentration.

The Voidwalkers did not need a lot of soldiers, so the resources they had to part with were not much.

"Our friends from the North, aren't they one of our primary offensive forces?" The Thane Walker asked.

"Their arrival will depend on how fast Grant's men can set up that transporter portal. Since they're doing this in secret, we can't expect them to finish it soon," the Archmage replied.

"He's putting himself out there, huh?" The Thane Walker chuckled. "I can't believe he's willing to stick his neck out like this."

"He's brighter than he looks. He saw a glimpse of Isythre's future in the few papers I showed him and realized what the best choice knew," the Archmage replied. "I'll admit that I didn't predict him to go all out like this, though. I imagined him sending some of his most trusted underlings to smooth things up for us, but who would expect the Vice President to personally set up a transporter portal linked to the Northern Continent for our sake, his welfare be damned? One could only wonder the methods he used to send those restricted spatial materials to the North…"

Should his activities be discovered, the least Grant could expect would be expulsion from the Association, thus automatically losing his chance at the Presidency.

"Well, it's all thanks to his valiant effort that we manage to cover the biggest weak spot of our plan. And so in conclusion, we now have a slight edge over our enemy," the Thane Walker said as he wrapped up the last few pages of the report detailing the groups that had taken a side in the war, their respective military support, as well as the total gap of power between the two warring blocs.

The ones who had made clear that they were on the Voidwalker's side were the Duke of Wright, VP Grant, the Dole family — the Merchant Walker's very own descendants — along with their coalition of business partners, and the Chandra Clan, which was Attie's tribe of origin.

Since the moment the Church made their belligerence clear, Attie drew from her authority as the tribe's former chief, the current Messenger of their most revered War God, and the holder of the mighty War God's Sword to write an emergency letter home.

The Chandra clan, meanwhile, had long grown beyond their beginning as a tribe of barbarians whose understanding of the world was limited to the Steppe. They enjoyed the fruit of participating in the Dole family's Northern-Southern Commercial Route, particularly the economic prosperity that had allowed the clan to flourish and re-establish themselves as a city-state.

Then, the perks of a stable society became apparent. The Chandra people enjoyed better education, higher yield and quality of food, and access to better, mightier weapons. Soon, they dominated the entire Steppe through soft power alone. Even though they had long refrained from the Steppe Barbarians' fight for kingship, the Chandra clan had become a force respected by all in the Steppe.

As an esteemed member of the most respected clan along with her other lofty titles, Attie's letter meant even more than the commands of the current King. Every tribe in the Steppe instantly gather their best warriors befitting her standards before organizing them into the strongest and most resilience nomadic cavalry the Steppe had ever produced.

Some strategists may point out the limited use of cavalry in what was effectively a defense against a siege. The only way one could imagine putting the cavalry into use was to have them directly clash with the Church's infantry; but, how would that be different from using them as garden-variety cannon fodders?

The chief tacticians of the other side, the Archmage and the Thane Walker, had different thoughts, though. They were never intended to be used to guard themselves but to round up the enemies and annihilate them as follow up attacks!

The Voidwalkers never intended to play pure defense, even though the Church had done everything they could to back them into a corner and to a disadvantage. Instead, the Voidwalkers wanted their enemies to regret ever picking them on their home turf, and the expansive, open field right outside Arfin was the perfect battlefield for the nomadic cavalry to charge through their foes!

No one could provoke the Voidwalker so recklessly and not pay dearly for it; even the Church.

Aside from Attie's calvary, the Voidwalkers were aided by the Northern nations' elite troops of martial powerhouses. Far from trying to take advantage of the Southern continent's infighting, the North only sent in their help because their sons managed to out-stubborn their Southern peers in school.

Headstrong and always clean-shaven, Wu'ke, the leader of the Northern gang, had named Da Xue as "mair than juist thae Northern lads' schuil; it belongs tae us tae!" and had wanted more of his brethren to obtain world-class education from it as he and his boys did. Hence, he would defend the academy from the hands of the religious zealots with a call to arms that sounded like this, "Come, brothers! Time tae shaw thae Southern scunners us Northerners' spirits!"

Since many of these brave-hearted young lads were scions of Northern nobilities, the nations had no choice but to join the fray to protect them. They could not possibly leave their heirs and young masters on their own devices and hoped that they did not die ina foreign war, could they?

This was the kind of incident that prompted the Thane Walker to wonder how differently Da Xue's coalition would be had the Archmage not rejected most of the students' offer to help or demotivated them from joining the war. If the Archmage had stirred the students instead of turning them out, Da Xue would have been able to secure a tidal wave of support. The nobles would automatically side with the academy their children were defending instead of supporting the Church.

Not that it was a lost opportunity. Just as the Archmage had made abundantly clear; the Voidwalkers were far from desperate.

Curiously, in Umbra's roundup, Link was not listed as part of Walkers' bloc despite contributing a good deal of logistics and soldiers. Duke Link was trying to have his cake and eat it. His minimal aid was to protect himself from accusations of going against the Church while still wanting to appear supportive to his business partner and profit provider, Da Xue.

A two-faced opportunist like him would never be regarded as the Walkers' friend. They had decided that the people he sent in were only going to be used as expendables at best.

At the very end of the page was a section termed "Unknown affiliation" where an unexpected name was found among the groups — the Dragon Knights.

Since the President and the Vice President of these elite sky-conquerors were Baiyi's family, one would have expected them to stand for their liege as his private militia. There should not even be an instance when their loyalty was a question; and yet, this awkward situation happened anyway, and it was the result of a long-term issue.

The dragons were not the problem. They were simple creatures who all heed Aya directly, after all. The problem was the knights. Upon receiving the Dragon Knights into his hands, Baiyi had no immediate plans to brainwash them into supporting the Voidwalkers unconditionally. Instead, he had decided to change their minds and allowed them to foster their loyalty to him through time and quiet ingratiation.

Unfortunately, this meant that many of the knights remained uncorrected when they assumed that their liege was the Emperor instead of Baiyi. It was common among the Dragon Knights to believe that they were only renting a space in Da Xue instead of belonging to the Voidwalkers.

The Archmage was unsurprisingly apoplectic at the reveal and had pressured Aya to expel every single knight who failed to pledge loyalty out of Da Xue. The young dragon lady, however, did not have it in her hearts to kick those under her wings to the streets, and so her only response to the Archmage's fury was endless bawling, even when the First Walker was screaming at her.

"How do you expect yourself to be accepted into my prestigious Rohlserlian royal bloodline with a pathetic character like yours, hmm?" The Archmage shrieked. He was so furious that he was rattling off imaginary scenarios again.

Even when under that much pressure, Aya offer no rebuttals other than crying harder as her eyes became redder and puffer. Mordred, too, joined her mother in wailing and sobbing loudly as she pled for the knights.

In the end, the Archmage managed to force the sobbing woman to fire everyone whose loyalty lied elsewhere other than Da Xue, which caused a dramatic shrinking of the dragon knights' size into just a handful of seasoned riders and some Da Xue students who did not opt to flee. As a result, the dragons vastly outnumbered their masters, and what was supposed to be a force that dominated the air became nigh non-existent. The crux of the fiasco was that these dragon knights were the Walkers' specialized counter to the angels, who were similarly powerful aerial fighters.

Needless to say, this debacle had dragged the Voidwalkers' offensive powers down. It was only moderately mitigated by the Engineer, who offered to solve the Voidwalkers' lack of airforce through his way.

It did little to mollify the Archmage's anger, though. "That female reptile and that brat, Mordred! They depend on Hope on everything so much that they can't do a single thing right on their own! They have the knights under their wings for ten years!" He snarled. "Just look at every other girl. They were all taking things under their hand and manage them splendidly, like real, respectable adults. I guess it's the schism of maturity between humans and dragons compared with age, is that it?"

"Um, I think we should keep our hot take to ourselves," the Thane Walker said helpfully. "When the Third Walker descended, let's not mention any of this to him."

"Pfft. Like I need you to remind me," the Archmage sniped.

There were still several Voidwalkers who were still inactive in the Void even after Baiyi had gone to his deep sleep, but preparations had already been made so that when needed, Tisdale could summon them to the real world much as she did previously. It would have been a colossal waste of power not to use the Second or Third Walker.

"That's all for our ordinary, mortal power. Honestly, our challenge lies in the angels," the Archmage said.

"Well, they could only stay in our realm for three days and they can't go past a transporter portal. If things ever go south, we could always just retreat to Da Xue's micro-realm."

This was the reason why the Voidwalkers could never truly be defeated. If the angels turned out to be invincible, the Voidalkers could still just retreat to the academy and wait until three days were up. Then, when the Church's supermundane force glumly return to heaven, the Voidalkers would emerge again and crush the Church.

There were two problems to doing that: one, it was, quite frankly, a humiliating chicken-out method; two, the Voidwalkers would be forced to lose Noirciel because the girl was similarly unable to pass the transporter portal and reach Da Xue. Unless the Void was keen to live under the threat of the gods'"divine punishment" forever, they would do better to succeed in protecting their angel.

That was not the only reason why the Voidwalkers were obliged to protect Noirciel from her former brethren. A few days ago, Baiyi, despite being in deep slumber, had commanded every Walker to protect the angel because she was the key to their future.

The message was sent directly to the Voidwalkers' mind like a divine decree from a god. It was short and devoid of elaboration, but if Baiyi had squeezed out what little time he had to give a direct order to the Voidwalkers, Noirciel's importance was beyond a doubt.

"So, how's Noirciel?" The Thane Walker saved the most crucial question for the last.

"She's not doing too badly at all. We'd managed to learn to compress her power and will into a mortal's body from the Church's ritual, and so we're transferring her mind into the Mindstone as we speak. It's gonna take time, though. As her power, we came up with this recently," the Archmage replied as he produced a bracelet akin to rosary bead filled with fist-sized empty crystals.

"It won't be as good as using a large vessel from the get-go, but with the Church's trick in energy compression, we will be able to store more power into these little beads. Thus, this is now our back-up," the Archmage explained as he fidgeted with the bracelet. "It looks tacky and a bit unfashionable, though. Like some monk from the Journey to the West, even…"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

560 Behold, One of Earth“s Finest Tactics!

Noirciel, the reason for the conflict, was now in better shape. Although she was still in a hypnopompic state, the excruciating pain she felt a few days ago, which caused her face to pale, was gone. The tent used to house her had long since been upgraded to a fortress, which was reinforced by many formations.

The angel was hovering in midair, within a complex formation with patterns that greatly resembled those on the angel-summoning ritual complex. It facilitated the critical process of Noirciel's soul and Divine Energy compression.

Within Noirciel's body was a vessel that the Alchemist had created just for her. It was a bead bracelet the size of a fist, inside which was a black box. This black box was a sub-dimension, where the angel's Divine Energy was getting sucked into.

If a regular person were to see the black box, they would think it is a weapon of destruction. Only the Scholar Walker was allowed to entered Noirciel's fortress, as it was he that created and supervised the entire process. Even Attie and Laeticia were not allowed to enter, so they could watch from outside.

According to the Archmage's calculations, the first phase of Noirciel's mind-transfer could take ten days, and if the Church and their gods did not attack in this period, the first phase would be completed smoothly, with Noirciel safe from harm. Right after the phase's completion, Noirciel would be transported to Da Xue via a transporter portal. After that, only thin air would greet the angels when they arrive.

Three days later, the Pope received another revelation: the angels would arrive in three days. The Voidwalkers' luck had run out.

It was on that day that the Church expected to wrap up its war preparations. Militia from many nobles across the continent would arrive and join the Church, increasing the number of its force to twelve million. Food, water, and other resources would be ready by then.

When that day arrived, the Church would be unstoppable.

The day after the Pope received this revelation, the Church's army marched out of Canningham and into a transporter portal, arriving at a small town close to Arfin city. From the town to their target city was only a day's journey, so this town was the best place to set up a base.

"Ooh. That's quite a lot of cannon fodder," the Archmage said when he received Umbra's latest intelligence report. Although he did not seem concerned, Tisdale was panicking.

She could not help it. The Voidwalker had only been able to gather an army of one million; this number included those that were still on their way. Most of the militia on hand were mercenaries that Vidomina's father hired and troops previously stationed at the border. Not only did the Church have twelve times the manpower that the Voidwalkers had, but the angels had yet to descend. This reality shook Tisdale's confidence tremendously. Although she had faith in the powers of the Voidwalkers, she was afraid of the enemy, especially because Baiyi was not around to lead them, this time.

"Calm your nerves, Dale. This war will serve as a lesson on how the number of an army isn't an assurance of victory," the Archmage said gently. "Though, I must say, by gathering and organizing so many people in just two days, the Church has exceeded my expectations."

"Well, it's an organization too big to fail at this sort of thing. However, they're getting help from the Sorcerers' Association, and how a mystery to me," Tisdale said. "They were reluctant to help at first, weren't they? All of sudden, they did a one-eighty and offered the Church their full support, even providing them transporter portals. Isn't VP Grant in charge of those portals? I thought he was on our side. Did… Did something happen to him?"

"I believe this is the 'concession' that he mentioned," the Archmage murmured.

Grant had been keeping the Archmage up to date on news regarding the secret transporter portal. He had mentioned before that he had to keep the project a secret from others in the Sorcerers' Association, making them think that he had lost the drive to become president. Many thought that he was dropping out of the competition.

For whatever was worth, this apparent concession from Grant's part had given both the Church the influence and pressure to complete its war preparation in a shorter amount of time and the Voidwalkers the secret transporter portal they needed to bring Attie's steppe calvary to Arfin instantly.

Speaking of the nomadic horsemen, the Archmage had decided that the time to utilize them should be much later after the enemy's first assault. They were going to be the Voidwalkers' surprise attack, after all.

"Follow me," the Archmage said, leading Tisdale up Arfin's city wall to the battlement. The Northern Duke's soldiers stood in their stations on the rampart dutifully, marking their attention to the two newcomers with respectful bows.

The Duke had to sit out of the battle due to his health issues, and so he transferred the right to command to his daughter, who then relished it to the Archmage. As a result, these soldiers knew, by knowledge and instincts, that this particular Soul Armature who bore all of the marks and air of a leader was their commander-in-chief.

Nevertheless, most of them secretly held no hopes to win the war against the Church; words, albeit in incomplete pieces, were that their enemy severely outnumbered them. The idea of fighting against a hugely unfair number easily shook their resolve, and soon, anxiety and doubts over their chances quietly but rapidly spread through the army. Many were covertly discussing their fleeing options among themselves, a good deal of them had penned their will to their loved ones, and some even wrote letters to their family instructing them to gather a sum of money to be exchanged with the enemy when they were "inevitably" held hostages.

Fortunately, the army's accompanying staff officers were as meticulous as they were severe, effectively preventing a mass exodus of soldiers before the war had even started.

As the army's highest commander, the Archmage knew about these underlying sentiments. He just did not think it warranted any overreaction.

"What are you trying to do, Royal Gramps?" Tisdale asked.

"I'm going to boost our army's morale personally. I got inspired by a historical figure on Earth. To calm his doubtful men, a famous commander played his musical instrument in the tallest tower to show how at peace he was because he had just the right artifice for the incoming peril. It worked! Not only did it placated the army, but it also terrified his enemies!" [1]

"It was a masterful scheme invented by a genius tactician," the Archmage added. "What a man, what a man! He was smart, as cunning as a fox, and is such a natural in ripping people for their stuff. Then, when he died and turned into an einherjar, he's so powerful that he could do whatever he wants, but nobody ever talks about it. Five stars, I tell you. Five-star character. Unprecedented."

"Wait just a minute. I don't remember the last few parts." Tisdale pointed out. Of course, she knew who that master tactician was from the books Baiyi had brought back from Earth, but she was positive that that was no mention of him being really good at ripping people for their blunders or even becoming an einherjar. "And um, Grandpa? I don't think he was playing the violin…"

"Hush, child. No need to get worked up on trivialities. What we're after are the spirit and the underlying principle behind his tactic," the Archmage said, dismissing her suspicion with confidence. "I'm many things, including a formidable general and fighter with extraordinary feats of conquest bar none, but I don't actually know how to motivate my soldiers. I never got the chance to practice that skill, you know? Back then, my soldiers automatically get super pumped and motivated just by seeing me in the battle…"

As he bragged, the Archmage set his violin on his shoulder and readied his bow before pulling out a fiddle as though it was his pro-gamer move.

The relatively quiet air around a vacated city was suddenly shredded by a banshee-like screech, which then spread across the empty buildings and streets through someone's amplification magic.

The soldiers were visibly quaking in fright as the thought of a terrifying monster spawning from somewhere deep in Arfin brewed in their already unrest mind. But thankfully, the cries of that unknown monster ceased several minutes later as the other Walkers broke into the tower where the shrieks came and put a stop to that auditory torture.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

561 Fine, I“ll Make Do

The next morning, a paladin led a battalion consisted of noble-hired mercenaries and individual sorcerers siding with the Church departed from the city of Shamshire where they had made their base. They stopped at a plain about ten kilometers away from Arfin and set up a camp in preparation for the upcoming siege attack.

Through expert commands of magic, a massive temporary fortress rose above the earth within a day. The distance between their new fort and Arfin was so short, yet no one from their enemies had come to disrupt them during the process; the fort was built with practically zero opposition, which shocked even the Church.

The Paladin Grand Cross, who had taken up the mantle as the general of the Church's army, thumbed through the latest report, a scornful smile shadowing his lip. He looked up from the pages and considered the Chief Judge who had come along with the Church's vanguards. "It seems that our enemies are too chicken to try to stop us."

"'The Void is afraid of nothing,' they proclaim. What a puff of hot air," the Chief Judge smirked. "Ignorance and arrogance are indeed poisons to a man's wits."

"May we not fall for the same vices and take them lightly." The more cautious one of the three upper-echelons, Archbishop Austin, quickly stepped into the conversation. The leader of the Church's clergymen, Austin was present during every meeting with the Pope; this time, his sturdy grip in theurgy landed him the role as chief of the army's magical resistance.

These three were the representatives of the Church's top dogs who were to join the war on the ground, as the Pope and the newly-elected High Priest remained in Canningham to receive the Angels or good news about the war — whichever came first.

Frankly, the three heads were not exactly shining examples of powerhouses. Among them, only Archbishop Austin had devoted himself to his theurgical training for years enough to attain Demigod level; the youthful-looking Chief Judge and the Paladin Grand Cross had both only reached Holy level. It seemed that putting too much mind in pursuing positions of power could remove one's devotion to pursuing a different kind of power.

Their less bragworthy power levels were not seen as a shortcoming to the Church's army, however, because ten saints had joined the fight, including Saint Jola. Two of the saints were Demigods, three of them were at the edge of a breakthrough, and one was just an Awakening away from rightfully claiming the title of a Demigod. Then there was Saint Zachary, the leader of the Church's templars and a demigod for years. Even without the Angels, the Church was no short on powerhouses of their own.

Mercenaries hired by Church-siding nobles were less impressive. The best among them was a mere Holy-level fighter, while some, despite the fortune the nobles had spent, managed to buy only a few Legendary-level sellswords. It seemed that most of the best warriors in the continent were averse to working for the rich and the aristocrats.

Whatever gap the nobles' lackluster contributions could not close, though, the Sorcerers Association filled as much as they could. The battery sent to the Church was led by one of the Association's presidential candidates, Haydyn, who was one of the six Holy-level sorcerers in the army.

The Association seemed to be sincere in their aid — in fact, the Church's magical fort was built by these sorcerers and would not have been able to go up so soon without them. Regrettably, there was no Demigod-level sorcerer among the Association's team, and even more unsettlingly, VP Grant was one of the Holy-level sorcerers who had come to join the Church's army.

Grant's excuse was that he was here as a neutral witness to the war and to oversee uses of transportal portals to prevent abuses — according to the Association's internal guideline, a tool for public services, such as these portals, should never be used in a war of power struggles.

The excuse was enough for Grant to impose bumps after bumps to any of the Church's requests, earning himself a spot in the organization's blacklist as a result. After a while, as if finally realizing that no one could possibly prevail against the Church and the Angels who would come after to aid them, he gave up his futile retaliation and joined them as a supervisor of the portals to prevent them from being destroyed or used for malicious purposes.

"There's a buffoon who can't take a clue. Look at him! All of the power and uppitiness had earned him nothing but a pathetic position as a supervisor. I guess it's for his benefits to have him join the war and witness the fall of his faction. Then maybe he'll understand the influence and power of the Church over this continent, and more thoroughly understand the fundamental gaps between him and myself," VP Haydyn said haughtily. He was confident that when everything was said and done, he would be able to gain massive support for his presidency just by sucking up to the Church right now.

There were also a few smaller guilds and organizations making up a small percentage in the Church's army, but they were too lacking in funds and power to contribute anything more than average mooks. One could wonder if they were only here to watch the show from the front-row seats since they had almost nothing to write home about.

"Our troops are moving into Fort Praxidike as we speak, so make sure that our defenses — especially the barriers — are up to speed and well-maintained. We need to keep our eyes open for the enemy's magical attacks because we're only about seven to eight miles apart from them. Remember: we can strike them easily from here, but the same could also be said to them," Sir Aaron said, issuing an order, a map spread widely on the table. In spite of his overconfidence, the Paladin Grand Cross did not forgo the professional rigor of a general.

Fort Praxidike — a lofty name for a fort, used during a lofty war fought to punish those who went against the One True God. The Church had even named the conflict between themselves and the demons of the Void as "The Just War".

"There's no need for concerns. Master Haydyn and I have set up adequate defenses and magically resistant barriers around the fort," Archbishop Austin answered.

"I won't allow those demons to pull a fast one on us, not even by a sliver of chance! For our war, I've brought my family's most precious ancestral treasure: the Eye of Providence. With it, even the most silent of magical pulses will be revealed as long as they are within three miles — the absolute limit of all known ranged magic. If they are foolish enough to make even one attempt, those Walkers can kiss themselves goodbye as they face our retaliation," VP Haydyn said, boasting while carefully explaining how far he had gone for the Church.

"But then again — pardon my frankness — I don't think it's even necessary to put up so many defensive spells. Those snakes are so terrified of the light that they didn't come out of their hiding hole to stop us from building Fort Praxidike even though that was, strategically-speaking, the most optimal time to strike! It really put their cowardice on full display, doesn't it? They rather hide and bid their time until we take them out," Haydyn said, growing more animated. Then, with a slight dip of dramatic regret, he continued, "It's too bad. I spent so much time on the contraptions and traps around our fort, hoping that they would be brave enough to charge at us. We could have taken some of them out right here and now… What a waste of effort."

Apparently, the sorcerers had set traps around the fort in hopes to catch the Walkers when the latter was lured into attacking Fort Praxidike. After all, it was common knowledge that while sorcerers were better at aerial battles than terrestrial ones, they were at their most effective if they combined magic with terrains. If a sorcerer could bait their enemy into a battlefield pre-outfitted with offensive and debilitating runes and formations, then the battle was already tipped to the sorcerer's favor, no matter how powerful their foe may be.

"Perhaps they saw through this part of our plan. I hardly count this as somber news, though — we've already achieved our first victory by successfully building Fort Praxidike," Sir Aaron replied reassuringly. He pointedly made no mention of the material costs of the unused traps.

Archbishop Austin appeared to be better at flattery. "Well, with Master Haydyn's aid, this battle is already set up to be an easy win!"

Just like that, the first "duel" between the Church and the Void had ended with the latter's self-awarded victory. To the Voidwalkers, however, the Just War had not even left its overture yet.

"They created all these childish defensive gimmicks just to build a puny little thing like that?" The Archmage scoffed from his spot on top of the city wall as he overlooked the small black dot in the horizon known as Fort Praxidike.

"Maybe they thought we were gonna ambush them?" The Thane Walker asked in amusement.

"What's the rush in ambushing a sandcastle? I would wait till more of their people squeeze into that little place before squashing it, wouldn't I?" The Archmage sneered. "Just as I thought. Only people who are severely lacking in brain cells will end up joining a religion."

"They're delusional, alright, but watching them succeed in building a fort right under our nose can still be a demoralizing sight for the troops," the Thane Walker pointed out.

"Oh, did you just say we need a morale boost again?" The Archmage seized the only word he was interested in as his hand began to move.

"Not that s*** again! Stop, do not play, we're begging you!" The Thane Walker immediately caught the Archmage's hand and pulled it away from his violin to prevent another musical apocalypse. "Look, I spent a lot of time to persuade our soldiers that there wasn't a monster among us, okay?"

"Tsk. Looks like Vidomina's troops are woefully ignorant of our powers, huh?" The Archmage grumbled, his eagerness to play the violin like a carpenter sawing a log instantly forgotten. "Very well, then. We shall station them on the city wall tomorrow and let them witness our prowess."

On the next day, a small train of paladins and cavaliers trotted slowly towards Fort Praxidike with horse-drawn wagons filled with food, ammunition, and others. They were the first group to deliver the Church's logistics.

Towing behind the wagons were siege weapons: siege towers, catapults, battering rams, and others, all of them so imposing in size and power that Arfin's city wall looked about as sturdy as eggshells against them.

The supply-and-siege train moved too slowly for the incoming war, but the soldiers appeared undisturbed, taking up the slow gait as a chance to admire their surroundings as though they were having a walk in a park. Their enemy lacked calvaries or other troops with similar mobility and the train's route was under watchful eyes of scouts and surveillance magic; on top of that, they were coming from the rear instead of the front where the best of the enemies' attacks may land. They were as safe as traveling in their own backyard, so there was no need to rush. [1]

A dragonfly was resting lazily on top of an erected lance. Out of his sunny mood, the owner had opted not to disturb the little creature, and so its polygonal eyes took in the surrounding from one of the highest points among the train, including the wagons and siege machines trailing behind it— and sent whatever it had captured back to the Walkers in Arfin.

"So? Clear as eff, right? This is the combination of Earth's best tech and ours into making the best surveillance marionette Isythre has ever seen, taking the shape of a nondescript dragonfly. I've named it… Tinkerbell!"The Engineer introduced proudly.

The Archmage glanced at the holographic images and grumbled in displeased, "Just how low quality is this? I can see goddamned pixels!"

"Low quality?! Why, it's probably your inferior eyesight caught up in that old age! These images are in fricking 40k, 0801pixel clarity, sir!" The Engineer scoffed before mentioning a graphic quality metric which its origin was a mystery.

"Fine! I'll make do. What else can I do, huh?" The Archmage said, shaking his head before grabbing a staff studded compactly with mana-buffing gemstones. He had not even given a name to this staff yet.

Then, quietly, he grumbled, "It's all because I pass my Book of Servitude to that ungrateful excuse of a son that I have only this now. Fine, fine. I'll make do. What else can I do …"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

562 Humans Have Limits

Mana surged toward the Archmage, forming a vortex. The rushing wind caused his Met Gala-like robe to flutter wildly. The mana powered the formations on his robe and the accessories he had on him, causing them to light up.

The Archmage had not given any of his gears colorful names because they were unfinished products. Baiyi began making them ten years ago, but he did not manage to finish a single one of them, as event after event kept cropping up. There was also the possibility that the Archmage's demands were so confusing, the accessories just could not be finished.

The gears allowed their user to cast forbidden spells without limit and negative effects. Baiyi created the gears because he thought the old man deserved it, as they would serve as a replacement for the Book of Servitude that he passed on to Baiyi. However, Baiyi did not build these gears alone; other Voidwalkers, Mia, and the other girls all helped with the project. Even the Warrior Walker and the Assassin Walker, both of whom knew almost nothing about magic, made contributions. Only these two knew why they decided to help.

This unprecedented level of cooperation was the reason why the gears, which contained more rare materials than the Voidwalkers could name, could be considered the peak of craftsmanship. The gear set was an incomplete product, but it was still the world's best incomplete gear ever.

The Archmage was not pleased with a weapon of this magnitude, though. This was something he had voiced to his student time and time again.

"Just make the most out of it, will you? Everyone put their everything into this, for you," Baiyi had said, sometime before falling into the deep sleep.

"Urgh, fine! I'll use it… reluctantly," the Archmage had replied with a groan, placing the gear set into his storage pouch. This particular storage pouch contained everything Tisdale and Mia had given him as gifts since they were kids. However, atop these gifts was a mountain of his cipher cards — everyone he had collected to date.

Although the gear set was still incomplete, it allowed the user to cast a handful of the Archmage's favorite Forbidden Spells. With its numerous buffs, it already met every functional requirement initially planned for the robe — something the Archmage incorporated into his performance today.

As the Archmage chanted, three large formations glistening in pale blue light manifested before his chest, behind his back, and below his legs before shifting into the color of fiery scarlet. Even soldiers who had little grasp of magical knowledge could feel deluges of mana coursing through the spell, radiating heatwaves to his surroundings like a day under a cloudless summer sun.

On the last syllable of his spell, the Archmage thumped the ground with the tip of his staff hard, sending the three air-boiling scarlet formations to spread out before they faded.

Nothing happened afterward. The soldiers did not even hear whisper of the spell landing — if it ever landed. More importantly, the soldiers were unconsciously expecting a jaw-slacking visual spectacle following the Archmage's buildup, yet all they got was the spell dissipating into thin air as though it never happened.

The unexpected silence invited the first wave of murmurs. "Did it flop?" Someone whispered quietly.

"I guess so? Maybe someone intercepted it before it could even land? I mean, even I can tell that the temperature around us had dropped."

"Dang. I was really hoping to see something mindblowing…"

"Shh, guys! Look over there! Is anyone else also seeing a ball of brilliant red at that distance?"

"Er, I think I see it. Looks like the sun rising from the horizon or something like that."

The Archmage ignored the soldiers' chatter and focused on recent holographic images the Engineer's dragonfly had just delivered. "I got them already?" He muttered in disbelief. "Did I… just overestimated them? I can't believe I even applied the barrier-boring version of that spell!"

The logistics train that was erstwhile trotting slowly towards Fort Praxidike was now rendered to crisps, scattering ashes, and fumes of dust. Those poor cavalrymen did not even see any sign of their impending doom; the only thing that had managed to catch their attention one second before they were vaporized was the nagging feeling that their surroundings had become inexplicably hot.

Now, all that was left of them and the plain was a massive, soot-black crater. No human or animal bones remained — indeed, not even the path they treaded remained.

What the Archmage had cast was unrecorded in any historical books or magical tomes because it was one of the results of the Walkers' latest attempt to bring magic to new heights. The concept was simple: one needed only to summon a fireball with concentrated heat before suspending it over a target area. The fireball would maintain its form while remaining stationary on the target location as the infernal temperature it caused vaporize everything within its proximity.

It was simple in its representation as it was in its execution. It was so unbombastic that Baiyi characterized it as "Dynamaxed Lumos", though its simplicity did not take away its edge. Besides, it seemed that quieter, under-the-radar magic was more well-suited for ambushes like these.

As always, the Archmage had a mouthful, grand name he most certainly lifted from a work made on Earth: "Mountain Range-Shaking Firewood of Venus". Perhaps he was trying to compensate the unflashy nature of this spell with a word-salad styled name.

*It's always from Fate Grand Order. Archer Ishtar's Noble Phantasm.

Due to the elusive and speedy nature of the spell's effect, VP Haydyn's surveillance magic only picked up the resultant magical pulses after the Archmage's attack landed. It was too late for any prevention by then; as he looked at the pitch-black aftermath, horrified, he blurted, "What the hell just happened to our logistics team? Why didn't one person from that oversized group survive at all? How did it even happen?!"

"Are you telling me that that violent burst of magical pulses was from our enemies?" The Archbishop sprung on the sorcerer's outburst, his voice just as wrung with shock. "is our first supply train really just gone?!"

"This is impossible! Impossible!" Haydyn cried indignantly. "Not only did the Eye of Provision detect nothing, but there was also no way the enemy could sneak past our web of watertight anti-magic barriers and cast wide-range magic beyond Fort Praxidike! That's not all; what about the extensive net protection and safety precautions we have installed on the logistics team's trail? Did none of those pick up a single sign of the enemy's attack?!'

"Were there any explosives among the ammunition? Maybe the team had an accident…" One of Haydyn's subordinates suggested quietly.

"I'm no expert of alchemy, but do you really expect me to believe that there exists a kind of explosive capable of creating such a violent reaction which ends with a wide-area bang without producing any warning sign at all?" The Archbishop snapped coldly. He remained outwardly unperturbed, but his true sentiments were subtlely expressed by the involuntary twitches at a corner of his eye.

The doomed supply train was transporting not only hundreds of wagons worth of subsistence but also consecrated items such as holy water and sacred anointments — all vital objects that were not easy to come by. And the less one mentioned the loss of siege-essential equipment, the better; unlike provisions, which could at least be purveyed and restocked, the loss of weapons like ballistae and siege towers translated to a permanent loss in the army's overall arsenal.

"Your Excellency, with all due respect, it's even less plausible that there exists any magic capable of bypassing extensive webs of surveillance and resistant barriers. As such, I can't believe that it was an enemy's attack," the man said.

"Well, what if it was fired from inside the fort?" The Archbishop asked instead.

"Your doubts on my understanding of magic is unnecessary, Your Excellency. Those demons' den is about slightly over six miles from here, yet no human can cast magic that flies over half a mile," Haydyn replied confidently.

"Yes, that is a limit for humans. The question is, do they qualify as humans?" The Archbishop hummed.

"Regardless of what they are, this is an objective law. An undefinable, irrefutable axiom if you will. And magic… always runs on Laws," Haydyn's right-hand man said.

As high-profile members of the Association, these sorcerers regarded themselves as the vanguards of progress and the front-runners of contemporary achievements; their prestige in modern-day magic was a source of immense pride. Even if their opponent was the Sage-Emperor, idol of almost all aspiring sorcerers, he was still just a relic of Isythre's thousands-years-old past. His brand of magic was antiquated and irrelevant. Besides that, he was out of practice for millennia. The old man had squandered every moment he had in that uninhabitable Void trying to survive the threat of ever-present darkness and disintegration.

If one wanted proof of how démodé the Archmage's magic had become, one needed only to look at the number of papers he had ever submitted for the Association to review: zero. He was even too cowardly to register himself as a legitimate practitioner of magic as though he had something to hide! It would be a stretch to think that whatever the old man knew, modern-day sorcerers like Haydyn and others did not, though the opposite may be true.

It was enough evidence for Haydyn and his ilks. Baiyi may have submitted theses that were astute enough to merit some attention while his students were academically satisfactory, but the sorcerers were hard-pressed to believe that any of their ideas were conceived while the Walkers were still trapped in the Void. Instead, they rationalized that their most novel ideas were cobbled from bits and pieces of modern-day findings, no doubt is seen as revolutionary and mindblowing by these ancient relics when they finally stumbled upon the fortune to return as Soul Armatures. The best of their academic achievements were flukes that were utterly unrelated to their actual grasp of magic; only a sheeple as tremendously impressionable as Grant could possibly gush over people like them.

"The only logical explanation is that our enemies had somehow covertly planted magical mines along the trail without alerting our surveillance systems," Haydyn, who considered himself an intelligent and logical man, said. "Those snakes are adept in playing dirty little tricks, I'll give you that. I admit I might have underestimated them."

"Those 'little dirty tricks' had cost us one-fifth of our entire logistics," the Archbishop replied coldly. He was beginning to feel quite irritated by the man's bloated confidence.

"It won't happen again, rest assured; I'll grab them where it hurts. I'm already ordering my men to scan through the trail as we speak; their stupid shenanigans are going to be a minor inconvenience at best," Haydyn said.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

563 What The Hell Just Happened?

Haydyn's sorcerers began to search the route taken by the logistics train. While that was underway, the Pope, who was still in the Holy City, received his first bad news.

The corners of his eyes twitched uncontrollably, and he turned to the archbishop, who came with the report, and said with forced calmness, "This is an insignificant loss! Its effect on the outcome of the war is negligible. There's no need to report something this trivial to me; I trust that Sir Aaron will be able to handle it."

"B-but Your Holiness! Sir Aaron's response was to order all sorcerers to search the route for any booby traps. This will take a long time and require a lot of manpower, including Master Haydyn's men. I'm worried that this will lay over all other plans," the archbishop quickly replied.

The upper echelon of the Church had long since decided that the sorcerers would play a critical role in the siege of Arfin, and in the defense of Fort Praxidike. If every one of them had to partake in this long and arduous search, who would be left to carry out the real mission? The plan to attack the city was going to be postponed. In fact, other operations would likely be postponed as well until the troops in Fort Praxidike could clear the logistics route.

"Don't we also have some independent sorcerers, who were hired by the nobles?" The Pope asked, voicing the only solution he could think of.

"They were all deployed to help in the search. Our logistics route is ten miles long," the archbishop replied. "All of this could have been prevented if we had a short-distance transporter portal to deliver our supplies. But the supervisor of that department was determined to give us a hard time."

The Pope sneered. "Is there anything else to expect from someone that sold their soul to that devil? That Grant still harbors delusions that those demons can win this war! Tsk. No matter. We'll ask the sorcerers to be quick with their current operation. Our plans are flexible; there is a long window of time for unexpected delays like this. We'll allow them enough time to establish the safest route possible for our logistics teams. After all, not only does this affect the morale of our army, but it also affects how the angel will join the battlefield when they grace our defiled realm with their presence," the Pope said.

In Arfin city, the Voidwalkers' soldiers were still baffled at the apparent lack of result from the Archmage's attack, completely incognizant that it had successfully derailed the enemies' plans and tricked them into wasting their time and resources searching for booby traps that were never there. If the army knew, they would have gotten a lot more fired up.

Alas, no one could be the fly on the wall to watch the Church's army fly into a panic. Instead, as the anticlimactic silence went on, the soldiers only became more and more daunted.

"Psst, what the hell are you doing, Engineer Walker? Why are there suddenly technical issues, dang it?" The Archmage frantically whispered as he felt hundreds of eyes burning his back.

According to the Voidwalkers' plan, the Archmage's demonstration of the Void's "magic of the next-generation" was to be the starting act followed by the EngineerWalker's and the Blacksmith Walker's demo to show off the Void's technological revolution, but it was becoming clear that the show was lacking the expected pizzazz. First, the Archmage's choice of a spell, though fitting in terms of functionality and range, resulted in an unobservable and anticlimactic end; now, right when it was the Engineer Walker's and the Blacksmith Walker's turn to keep the ball rolling, they were suddenly stopped by "technical issues", causing the dumbfounded soldiers to stay back awkwardly for whatever they were supposed to see.

As a matter of fact, it was this lag between the Archmage's attack and the Void Geeks' demo that had allowed the Church the breathing space to learn about the first attack before coming up with a response. Otherwise, the Pope could be disappointed over two bad news in one shot.

The overcast of embarrassment was thickening. The army's motivation was already pretty low before the performance had started, but now it had reached such a nadir that the soldiers could turn water into ice with their impassion.

"Hey now, no rushing us technicians and our delicate job! We'll be done soon, and it's totally the Blacksmith Walker's fault. He was the one with the bright idea of changing some of the parts with different models right before we are up, and now we can't get this babe started on time. Still, there's nothing to worry about; our troubleshooting is almost complete... Oh."

The Engineer Walker's half-apologetic rambling was cut short by his partner, who gave him a quick sign that says everything was ready.

"Finally! Allow us to demonstrate the future of Engineering — the hybrid born from a group of pioneers who dare cross the technological frontiers of Isythre with the out-there, futuristic concepts from Earth. Behold and herald the coming of a new dawn!" The Engineer Walker announced dramatically, waving his hand to a few of his students who had opted to contribute to the war.

On cue, the students took up their positions around the strange contraption.

It was a towering weapon, spotting a long, rod-like mouth supported by two large brackets on each side. The upward angle of the rod-like mouth reminded casual observers of a very strange-looking frog staring at the sky; those who were familiar with Earth's weaponry, however, would instantly see its semblance to a high-power howitzer. There were six of them lined up on a row, mirroring the typical number of an artillery battery in Earth warfare.

With his eyes on the real-time images captured by Tinkerbell the dragonfly drone, the Engineer Walker spat a series of numbers to a very attentive Blacksmith Walker and the students. In return, they responded by turning the knobs on the control panel, adjusting the position of the 203-mm firing mouth to the right angle.

The mouth of most land-based artilleries on Earth would probably spot 122 mm or 155 mm mouth, so one could only wonder about the Blacksmith Walker's consideration that pushed him to adopt a size as wide as 203 mm. [1]

One by one, the students' voices rang. "Elevation angle calibrated!"

"Shells loaded!"

"Adjustment to account for wind velocity and ballistic trajectory completed!"

"Time to give these church boys a taste of the Lord of War! Fireeeee!" The Blacksmith Walker roared as he slapped on the trigger.

Instead of the expected barrage of deafening booms, the six magically-powered howitzers let out muffled "Pop! Pop!" as if they were just six massive champaign bottles being opened simultaneously. The sound of the shells cruising at high speed became their saving grace, however, since they managed to emit a dreadful, foreboding whoosh mirroring their Earth counterparts.

The sound of the shells attracted the attention of both the Void's and the Church's soldiers.

"Are you hearing what I'm hearing?"

"Sounds like arrows or something…"

"Look! Over there!"

The Void's soldiers swarmed towards the battlement on top of Arfin's city wall and craned their necks at the sky, their eyes tracking whatever those things were along their arc before they rained on Fort Praxidike. They could even see a few clouds escaping from the wall of the fort under the pelting force.

"Er, I think we just hit them with a sort of catapult. Not that I can tell accurately; it's too dang far from here," an archer said, looking into the distance through his magically-enhanced eagle eye.

"Catapults? From our side? Where are they located at? Because I don't recall any catapult capable of flinging any projectile over this large of a distance."

"You nuts? You can see the rocks if they were being sent by catapults even from this distance with your naked eye!"

"Besides, that goddamned fort is still standing even after that attack. I didn't even know catapults this lousy and impotent exist!'

Another chorus of the same shrill whooshes drowned out their voices as the battery fired off another round at the same target.

There were no sparks nor explosions when the shells hit; one might even mistake them for large, novelty rocks raining down from the sky. The assaults were so nondescript that even the Church, despite being the target, only discovered they were under attack after the sixth round.

"What in the name of God is this?" A crusader wondered as he studied a shell lodged deeply into a crack on the wall. One end of its body was exposed and blinking rhythmically.

"Are we, um, under attack?" Another crusader asked out loud when he noticed another shell stuck on the wall. "Is this a supersized arrow or a new weapon entirely?"

One of them even mustered enough courage to touch the projectile. He described it as being neither cold nor hot and would have been no different from pebbles if not for its rhythmic pulses.

It was so unthreatening that timid Church soldiers let out a few chuckles of relief while the more foolhardy ones jeered. "Other than that blinking light, this thing doesn't do anything! Seriously, a magical fort like Fort Praxidike isn't going to deflate just because of some toys like these!"

As the Church derided their enemy's ineffective strikes, one of the dragonfly-shaped scouts was resting on the highest vantage point of the fort, its head methodically turning around to capture every data point before sending them back to the Engineer Walker.

"Yep, that looks about enough. If not, we'll just fire a few more rounds later," the Engineer Walker said after squaring the numbers.

He gave his final command to that particular dragonfly.

It shot into the air above Fort Praxidike and flapped its wings faster and faster until they were practically vibrating into a blur. Every single shell embedded on the wall, scattered on the floor, or buried in the earth around the fort began to blink faster and faster as if they were trying to synchronize with the frequency of the dragonfly's wings. A low hum began to fill the air.

Then the unexpected slammed down onto the Church's army like a truck: suddenly, loud, deafening booms erupted one after another as Fort Praxidike, previously standing tall, sturdy, and imposing, crumbled in a cascading fashion before collapsing into the ground without so much a warning.

It happened so quickly. A few blinks of an eye and a landmark was utterly wiped off from existence like a sandcastle drowned under a well-timed wave, leaving only a flatland when the water receded. Soldiers, caught without a sliver of second to react, were instantly down under the ensuing chute of mud, rocks, and bricks.

The Void's army watched the scene unfolded in horrified awe. Before they could recover from their shock, the Archmage's rousing voice penetrated their daze, "Open your eyes and behold! This is the result of blending advanced techniques and raw power!"

The soldiers turned to him, too bewildered to celebrate their first victory. "That was us? But we didn't do jacks***!" Someone cried.

Instead of wasting his time giving a Physics 101 class on resonance, the Archmage continued loudly, "Our numbers may be lower than our enemies, but we that possess an advantage our pitiful opponents can never surpass, even with grossly inflated manpower: powerful, unpredictable techniques! Strategies that not only tip but flip the entire scale to our favor! The eyes do not deceive; what you're witnessing today is but the first of our many crushing victories. From the fall of the Church's fort onwards, you're now a witness to a battle that rises above all others that were ever recorded in history!"

The men could not really wrap their heads around the Archmage's words, but the commander-in-chief's tone was at least rousing enough as his words sounded impressive. So, a few of them offered some polite applause and scattered cheers that drifted through the majority's silence.

It became apparent that even after seeing an irrefutable proof of their side crushing their foes, the soldiers' motivation was still below the Archmage's liking. It rubbed the First Walker off enough that he silently grouched about the Duke's troops being secret defeatists. Regardless, he went on in spite of the lack of roaring celebration, "Fine. Everyone, return to your post now, though I guarantee all of you that our enemies will definitely not attack us for the rest of today. As for tomorrow, well! If they have the balls to come close to us instead of walking away, I still have a lot of thrilling demonstrations of true power for all of you to see."

Though no one could say definitely that the Church would forgo their onslaught tomorrow, it was still easy to see that they had taken an incredible toll today. All it took was one morning to lose one-fifth of their logistics and a fort they had built just yesterday. Not only that, but two million soldiers inside Fort Praxidike also became unavailable — even before they raised their weapons — due to death or grave injuries.

The worst part of the fiasco was that no one knew why anything happened. The enemies had done nothing but hid behind the wall of their little city, too terrified to even ride out of their gate, Yet it was the Church who had suffered a massive loss!

General Aaron, the Paladin Grand Cross, was rubbing his temples furtively before turning to VP Haydyn beside him. "Master Haydyn. Would you like to offer some insights as to what in tarnation has just happened?"

"M-m-maybe they managed to, uh, come up with some ways to disturb the magical fortification systems of the fort?" The sorcerer stammered. Every ounce of his previous confidence had leaked out of him and replaced by doubts and confusion.

He had heard rumors about mysterious projectiles falling off from the sky minutes before the collapse circulating among the survivors, but his mind could not connect the dot between that and the sudden fall of a one-day-old fort.

"Could it be..." the Paladin Grand Cross exhaled. "The magic you and your people used to build the fort malfunctioned?"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

564 I Renounce My Humanity

Fort Praxidike was no ordinary fortress. It was built by Haydyn's sorcerers using advanced earth-styled magic: the blocks were made from mud, after which they were placed on top of each other and reinforced with strengthening magic. Hence, the fort was not as sturdy as other forts built with bricks, and it could easily collapse at any time.

This was the reason why the Church and the sorcerers went to great lengths to erect layers over layers of protective barriers around Fort Praxidike, to protect it from magical bombardments. It had another special layer of fortification spells to address its lack of stability; without this, a single large-scale spell would send the fort tumbling like a set of dominoes.

No physical attacks could topple a magically-built fort. Restoration magic was on hand to repair any damage the building suffered, making it quite different from other forts. Fort Praxidike was impervious to attacks from siege weapons. Even before an enemy battering ram or siege weapon got within firing range, it was only natural that the Church would quickly destroy them.

Set around Fort Praxidike were rings of wide-area detection spells, tuned to pick up even the slightest pulse of energy.

The abundance of protective measures levied on the fort made it seem like an impenetrable fortress, which could withstand even deadly sneak attacks. If the Archmage relied on mana alone to attack this fort, he would have trouble damaging it significantly.

Unfortunately for the Church, the Voidwalkers had more than conventional means. The shells fired off from the howitzers belonging to the nerdy Voidwalkers were physical projectiles, which easily penetrated the layers of barriers set to deflect magical attacks. Thus, the detection spells cast on the fort did not trigger. After battering Fort Praxidike with shells, Tinkerbell's wings vibrated at a frequency that resonated with the bombs, detonating them.

The fort, whose foundation was shaky, could not withstand the impact and collapsed. This was how well the Voidwalkers combined Earth's technology and ideas with Isythre's magic.

The Engineer Walker proudly named the howitzer 'Magical Blaster of the New Gen".

The Blacksmith Walker was not too pleased with the outcome, saying, "I really don't like how our shells turned out. I wish we could fully replicate the ones on Earth, you know, and destroy our enemies with epic explosions; blast them to smithereens — stuff like that. It's just that no matter how hard I try, I'm unable to replicate Earth's badass bombs…"

"Dude, I hate to break it to you, but the Laws of our universe are just fundamentally different from Earth's. Remember the Alchemist Walker tearing his Chemistry textbook in a fit of Hulk rage? He went ballistic after failing way too many times at equating Earth's chemical properties and behaviors to ours," the Engineer Walker refuted, amused. "This is why we should wise up and see Earth's knowledge as it is: inspirations and ideas instead of objects for imitations. Face it, most of our results had to be achieved through magic!"

After a pause, he continued, saying, "Oh! Fun fact — and I bet you won't believe me — this frequency that we used to resonate with our bombs, is something I got from a rumor originating from the female dorm…"

While the Engineer Walker spoke about something no one cared for, the Archmage returned to Arfin City's Mayor Residence, which the Voidwalkers used as mission control. He listened in to the geeks' conversation silently before finally remarking, "Wouldn't it be nice to throw in more pizzazz to your demonstration, boys? Our soldiers out there couldn't believe that it was us who demolished the Church's sandcastle!"

"Please. Weapons are made to be effective first and foremost, man. Besides, who are you to talk when your magic was as modest as a girl next door?" the Blacksmith Walker asked.

"No worries, Your Majesty. We have plenty of tech demos more to show them. Plus, our howitzers don't just fire one kind of shells, too," the Engineer Walker said, amused. "I bet the Church wouldn't dare to build another fort anymore after this, ha! That leaves our future conflicts to clashes on an open field — a new playground for other toys!"

Meanwhile, as the Church recoiled from two debilitating attacks in one single morning, they pinned the blame on VP Haydyn for reasons of subpar management and inferior strategy-planning.

Being accused of inanity had done a number to the aspiring president's mood — killing the high he got from being widely supported — and he stormed into VP Grant's quarter in the military camp set in Shamshire.

"What the hell were those?!" He demanded., his voice guttural as though his throat was inflamed by rage. Despite his conversance in magic, Haydyn had no idea what happened. Frustrated, he marched to the one man who openly cozied up to the Voidwalkers for answers.

"How about… Powers that defy known axioms and limitations?" Grant gibed, showing no intention to hide his mirth from the recent news. While it chagrined the Chruch and their allies, it was delightful proof to Grant that everything in the Archmage's papers, no matter how outlandish they sounded, was actually real.

"Nothing in this goddamned world operates outside the Laws, you gullible schmuck! They must have used some sort of lowbrow, underhanded sleight to f*** with us!" Haydyn snarled. "And you! I bet my a** you know exactly what they are. Here's an ultimatum, snake: you either open that trap of yours, or that head it's attached to will be rolling down from the guillotine!"

"'Nothing operates outside the Laws'? My dearest confrere, haven't you understood it by now? These stifling limitations apply only to mortals," Grant drawled, slowly and calmly rising from his seat before patting down the wrinkles on his robe. "When will backwater churls like you finally realize how pathetic it is to be a mortal, to be a human? We are doomed to be slaves to all kinds of limitations!"

"What the hell are you yammering about now?" Haydyn cried as the nagging feeling of unease drove him to notice the battle robe Grant wore, as the man raised his staff high.

There was a crazed look in his eyes, after which Grant shouted, "I renounce my humanity!"

Torrents of mana erupted from every inch of his body, breaking through the limits of Holy level and rushing up the rank of a Demigod, thrashing and roaring around Grant into a storm. Far away from ground zero, the Archmage's head turned in the direction of Shamshire. He could sense unbridled mana violently bursting out of a single source with a hint of a death wish.

"You've gotta be pulling my leg… Are you that serious, Grant?" He murmured.

The VP had once confessed to the Archmage that he was frustrated by the dilemma between becoming politically powerful and possessing elite knowledge that could reshape the world. He admitted to his deep-seated reluctance to abandon the presidency, as it was an ambition he had devoted much of his life to; yet, at the same time, he found himself yearning to carve his name as one of the revolutionaries of Isythre through the knowledge the Voidwalkers had shown him.

In the final letter, which he informed the Archmage of the completion of their secret portal, Grant had kept his choice blank. It was as though he was waiting for one small thing to tip him to one side over the other.

Perhaps this was why he joined the Church's army with the excuse of supervising them over transporter portal matters, despite it being a counterintuitive, self-dooming decision. If the Church loses a few battles enough during the war, someone who was known to align with the Voidwalkers so much he purposely frustrated many of the Church's requests would most definitely be used as a scapegoat to be executed publicly. Even if the Church won the war, Grant's political career would still be over; he would never be seen as more than a snake who had tried to suck up to both sides, and the fate of his future would now be up to the mercy of the Church's hardliners.

Grant had other concerns that made him arrive at his decision. He was sure that the Voidwalkers would never share all of their world-changing, elite knowledge to an outsider like him. Even if they somehow divulged more out of either generosity or camaraderie, his life as a mortal man with political ambitions would still stop him from a life devoted to grasping their secrets; he would forever lag behind the Voidwalkers.

Hence, the man who was known to be calculating made a decision that appeared to run counter to his reputation, but it was by no means irrational. After hearing about the Voidwalkers' feat in the war — how they managed to defy common sense and expectations with their Law-breaking knowledge, gravely wounding the Church in the process — his mind was made.

He let out all of the powers he had suppressed for the purpose of thwarting other presidential contenders, and he was determined to take a few ones down, starting from Haydyn himself!

Haydyn, a sorcerer aspiring to be the president of one of the most influential and powerful organizations in the continent, died that day: on the spot, right on his face, at the hands of a pathetic person, who had fallen out of favor and was kicked to the curb.

After leveling Hadyn with one brutal, Demigod-level strike, Grant crashed out of the window and soared into the sky before releasing deluges of his powers without reservation, drowning Shamshire below his feet with infernal flames. Grant continued his mad crusade above the town until he saw the captain of the Templars, Saint Zachary, hurling towards him with the Wings of Light on his back, in which he immediately turned on his heels and charged toward the opposite direction.

Grant would take out the one man whom no sane man in the entire continent would dare to cross blades with. He was going to throw out his most lethal, most destructive attack on that man before damning his soul to the Void!

"You frothing mad hound!" The Chief Judge growled through his teeth at the sight of Grant's crazed kamikaze charge at him. Quietly, a scroll containing the spell that that made the world cowered slipped into his hand.

"Be judged and die for your sins! May your soul be damned, burnt, skewered and mangled and never find peace!" The Chief Judge bellowed and unleashed Soul Banishment.

Blinding chains of light marred the sky. They bound around Grant in imperceptible speed, forcefully rousing the man from his power-mad trance through excruciating pain flaring up his every vein. His soul was being ripped apart, and all of its gashes heaved out of his lungs into a bloodcurdling scream.

"Howl! Howl like the rabid cur that you really are! Suffer for your sins and despair!" The Chief Judge roared, putting in all of his wraths the sight of Shamshire in flames had incited in him. Even if the Church was wealthy enough to rebound from the Voidwalkers' two ambushes, Grant's violent rampage proved to be damaging even to them.

A death-seeking Demigod on a suicidal rampage dealt graver harm to the Church than anyone could have expected; in fact, it was almost as if Fort Praxidike had been destroyed for the second time. The only silver lining was that the Church's own men were mostly safe. Since Grant knew better than to bombard magical spells on the crusaders' camp where most of the clergymen and apostles, who could instantly nullify his spells, were. The mercenaries hired by the nobles and the armories had become food for the flames.

If it was not for Saint Zachary's timely response, Grant would have continued to expand the list of his victims to include several more upper-echelon members of the Church before going for the Chief Judge's life.

As his soul was being shredded into pieces, Grant's screams became quieter and quieter until it was inaudible. He could tell that his soul and mind were fading, that they were leaving this mortal world.

Suddenly, a moribund Grant curled his lips into an eerily content — to the point of being sinister — smile. Catching it from his spot below, the Chief Judge felt a shot of chills running through his spine.

'I've proven myself enough… to join your ranks… right?' He thought for the last time before the ability to think was lost to him.

At that same moment, the warehouse where spatial materials were stored in the Sorcerers' Association exploded, taking all of the precious materials in it with a bang.

"I can't believe he actually gave up on his dream to become the president, considering how he spent his life just to get this close. It's even more unexpected that he would choose to join us this way," the Archmage said, as Grant's magical pulse slowly came to a stop.

"Should we accept him?" The Engineer Walker asked quietly.

"He was once a man whose thirst for power, fame, and name knows no bound, but in the end, he finally remembered what it means to be a sorcerer: to chase after knowledge, to understand the unknown," the Archmage murmured. "He reminded me of a phrase from Earth: 'Even an untimely death is scarcely a regret if one manages to gain an epiphany before they die'."

"He's not really dead though, is he?" The Engineer Walker pointed out.

"Regrettably, whether he could live after death depends on Hope — if he manages to find Grant's soul in the vast, harsh Void," the Archmage gave an unsettling answer. "Unfortunately, the Hope of the Void is currently asleep…"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

565 Gaining Allies Against Expectations

No one knew if Grant's soul could be saved in the Void by the Voidwalker that was currently asleep. However, it was a fact that the Church had felt the impact of the Voidwalkers' 'sucker punches'. One of the three was not precisely anticipated — not even by the most calculating Voidwalkers.

More bad news came to the Pope's attention, almost causing the man to suffer a cardiac arrest. If he had not received many years of religious training, the man would have already lost his cool and flown into a rage.

Even if he did lose it, could he be blamed for that? The Church had just lost a fifth of its supplies; its fort, which was not even a day old, had been destroyed; its armories and a good number of its soldiers had been decimated in a lone wolf terrorist's suicide attack. The Church had suffered massive losses. Most of its mercenaries, which its noble allies had hired, were dead, and to add insult to injury, the Church had yet to meet its enemies in a frontal clash!

The Church was now caught between a rock and a hard place. Should its forces retreat, advance, or just wait?

If its forces chose to advance, how would they avoid loses more soldiers? Waiting seemed to be the best option, as they could just hold out till the angels arrived. When the mighty beings arrive, the Voidwalkers' tactics would become nothing more than parlor tricks.

In two days, the angels would grace the realm and commence a cleansing. The Church would have no trouble being on standby for two days.

However, angels could only stay in a mortal realm for three days at most. It would already take half a day to fly from Canningham to Arfin, so the angels would only have two-and-a-half days to battle. Could these powerful angels slay the 'demons' in such a short time? What if the 'demons' come up with a ploy to waste the angel's time, all the while making good use of theirs?

The Church had obtained intelligence that the Voidwalkers were adamant in saving the exiled angel, Noirciel, who the Pope believed was the target of their allies in the divine realm. What would happen if the Voidwalkers decide to leave Noirciel in Arfin City, thus throwing the angels off their scent, only to slither back to their hidey-hole that is Da Xue? If that happened, the angels would complete their mission and happily return to heaven, leaving the Church to defend itself against a then-vengeful Voidwalkers!

The Church's fate, from this point on, now depended on what the Voidwalkers did to the exiled angel. This was an irony that did not escape the Pope.

"We should just disband the nobles' mercenaries. They've been weakened so much that they are of no use anymore," said the High Priest.

"Do you think Sir Aaron, a war veteran, has not already reached such a conclusion?" The Pope growled. "Do me a favor: do not make any more trivial reminders like that."

"There's something else to consider," the High Priest said, handing over a parchment containing names written in scarlet, unbothered by the reaction as he handed a parchment filled with names written in blood-red. "The Archbishop of Canningham and I have signed in support, but it's ultimately you that decides how this goes."

As the Pope read, his brows furrowed. He seemed hesitant, but after a minute of pondering, he signed the parchment. "You lot will do well to carry this out with utmost secrecy," said the Pope in warning. "And, I want them to be handled with maximum care and propriety! If this blows up, we'll be turned into public enemies instantly…

"For the members of the Church at the frontlines, recall them and investigate their intentions, but do not interrogate them. As for the citizens in the Holy City, gather them all so we may observe them closely," the Pope said. "Frankly, this shouldn't be happening right now, not at this time. It could sow doubt amongst the soldiers, weakening our camaraderie… However, circumstances force our hands, and this is the least harmful way to carry this out."

The document contained the names of people that had favorable views of the Voidwalkers: students of theurgy at Da Xue, nobles with ties to the academy, and a few members of the Church, including the cleric that became Baiyi's very first fangirl.

Grant's rampage made the nobles that allied with the Church suspect one another of being double agents. This made the Church eager to do so internal cleansing. However, the problem with an operation like that was the discord it could cause, in a time when unity and a good public image was crucial. The Pope knew the risk involved in this, so he chose the least controversial approach: investigate and monitor; nothing more. This would prevent tensions from rising.

There should not be another Grant among them by now, but who could confidently rule out the possibilities of even more insidious double agents?

The Church would have liked to squeeze as much information as possible from these Voidwalker sympathizers, to get to the bottom of what happened to the logistics team and fort, but an aggressive approach was out of the question. No matter how influential the Church was, it could not afford to spite students, teachers, and nobles of high statuses, people that could easily sway the public opinion against the organization.

The Pope did not really hope to earn any useful clues from this approach. It was all, more or less, a show, done to appease upset nobles and fulfill all righteousness.

Still, as he watched the High's Priest silhouette move down the horizon, he silently said, "I pray to the gods that this isn't a prelude to public outrage against us…"

However, the day took an unexpected turn for the Church. The Pope gained some powerful allies despite suffering numerous setbacks.

When the Pope was visited by Master Haydyn Sr., former VP that was now the PR advisor of the Sorcerers' Association, the current head of the Haydyn family, and grandfather to the late Haydyn Jr. who died by Grant's hands.

He was red and seething with fury. "Haydyn Jr. was our pride, our shining star destined for greatness and to alleviate our family to new heights! Yet, his life — which was the family's hope — was snatched away by that Grant, that rabid dog! Death to anyone that thinks we'll let this go! The only way they can appease us is with their blood, and we'll make them pay — no matter how much it will cost us, or who we're dealing with!" The old man bellowed. "Even a legendary emperor of yore has to pay for the murder he committed through the hands of his lapdog!"

A family of sorcerers for generations, the Haydyn family was so entrenched and rooted in the Association that someone like the late Haydyn Jr. was allowed to ascend into a position far beyond his qualification. Grant had been one of the few forces who reined on their indirect puppeteering, but now that he was gone, the Haydyns had quickly seized upon both their rival's and their own member's death and declared their intention to join the war.

They were not without support from the Association. Grant's last act of terror — blowing up the warehouse where precious spatial materials were stored — had caused an outrage that catalyzed the Association's covert but unbound support to the Haydyns' call for arms. Soon, a battalion of the sorcerers was formed from three hundred-odd members before being deployed to Shamshire at full speed.

There was also a silver lining in losing the noble-hired mercenaries as one of the Church's manpower. Most of the Church's own elite militia were unharmed, and now, it could fight without these subpar mercenaries holding them back. Not only was the army's efficiency and reliability improved, but it also became easier to command, monitor, and take care of an army that was much smaller in size.

Haydyn's death had not terminated the Association's support but made them an even more willing ally, and in the Church's eyes, their contribution vastly eclipsed any sorry aid those battle-unsavvy nobles could ever give. Now, the Church's army was better than when it started, despite being mildly reduced, and the Pope secretly applauded Haydyn Jr.'s heroic sacrifice for the team. His death served more than his life!

With that said, the family's support was not without conditions: fueled by their grief and fury, the Haydyns wanted to exact vengeance as soon as possible. This meant that the Church must mobilize their troops and press forward instead of standing by until the Angels arrived — a forced decision that was nonetheless appreciated by the dithering Pope. Though he wanted to minimize casualties on his side, he was also equally unwilling to give the Angels the impression that their mortal bedfellows were inept free riders.

At the end of the day, the Church's frontal army, battered and bruised by two sneak attacks and one terrorist attack, were commanded to advance despite any anxiety or worry that may have blossomed in some of their hearts. Thankfully, it was at moments of adversity when the merits of a robust faith shine; the soldiers were mostly undaunted by their earlier setbacks and had remained stalwart and committed to their war as ever.

Two more days and the Angels would arrive.

When soldiers were having breakfast, the Archmage received news that their enemies were continuing their advance toward Arfin City. Mildly shocked, he exhaled. "Didn't they endure triple threats from us just yesterday? Who in their right mind would think that marching onward right to the enemies' home ground is the next logical step? Geez. Is this the power of blind faith?"

Unexpectedly, the Church had eschewed dividing their frontal army into battalions and sending them, one after another, to lay siege on Arfin systematically — a decision that was likely motivated by anxiety over the Walkers' tricks. Instead, the army had opted to march towards the city all at once, in the form of a massive black wave inching closer and closer to Arfin's city gate.

The paladins rode at the frontlines and were followed by crusaders on foot, whose other notable role was to protect the army's supply depots stationed in the middle. The templars, reliable and versatile, were the Church's mobile infantries crossing from the frontline to the rear however they saw fit. The sorcerers and the clerics, meanwhile, were tasked with upholding all kinds of protective barriers and theurgical enhancements over the army.

Watching them from the battlement, the Thane Walker jeered. "After millennia of warfare, the Church's still using this antiquated formation? Talk about an exemplar of inefficient tactics! How scared are they of us potentially ambushing them from behind?"

A military buff from Earth would know that almost all improvement on war since medieval times — be it equipment, fighting skills, or tactics — could ultimately be boiled down to one end only: improving efficacy. Spies, satellite surveillance, and drones were used to enhance the efficacy of intelligence and information gathering; army bases were set up all around the globe to the effectiveness of army deployments; weapons were upgraded continuously to make leveling enemies more effective.

The reason why the Voidwalkers were so far ahead of the Church was because of their efficacy in virtually every aspect of war. Naturally, their upper hand was really an inevitable ramification of the Voidwalkers' grasp of superior, futuristic knowledge and technology. Nothing — not even a change of battle tactics — from a backwater organization such as the Church could possibly ameliorate their disadvantage.

"Hold your weapons. We shall wait for our enemies to advance more closely before countering," the Archmage commanded after taking a casual glance around the increasingly terrified looks on the defense soldiers' faces. Then, a bit more quietly, he grumbled, "Goddamned it! Why are they so slow?!"

The Church began marching from Shamshire at midnight, yet by sunrise, the army was barely in Arfin city defenders' line of vision — even though only twelve miles was the distance between Shamshire and Arfin.

To untrained eyes, a densely-packed wave of enemies coming from the horizon would incite stress and terror. However, the Voidwalkers, whose advanced powers granted them sight far enough to see the army from way back, the enemies could not be any slower. They were restless for holding back their retaliation since hours ago, but they understood that in order to have the troops witnessed their side's superiority, the Voidwalkers had to wait until the enemies were close enough for the devastating effects of their attacks to be seen. Otherwise, the Church's army would have been long obliterated before they could make it into the defenders' line of sight!

"Oh? I see they've recruited more sorcerers this time," the Archmage said. "Guess that's the blowback from Grant's reckless amok, huh?"

It was already noontime when the Church was finally close enough to its target. Under watertight protection from the mages, the logistics teams quickly set up depots for the siege weapons and temporary barracks.

After a quick break, the Church soldiers regrouped into battalions. They were not yet ready to lay siege on Arfin, but apparently, marching in a unified formation before a battle could be used as a morale-boosting exercise.

The sorcerers, on the other hand, realized they were already within the range of far-flinging magical attacks, so naturally, they began preparing to weaken their enemies before the rest of the army could follow up. Before they began, the sorcerers were cautious and savvy enough to erect layers of extensive barriers to account for any possible retaliation.

The first magical strike was to be unleashed by one Matthew Haydyn. He was Haydyn Jr.'s uncle and a Holy-level sorcerer with a bloody score to settle.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

566 The Void“s Counterattacks

A status report on the enemies outside Arfin would probably go like this:

After a massive reshuffle of the Church's army, not one of the six million frontline soldiers was a mercenary paid by nobles allied with the Church. After Grant's suicide attack made them suffer heavy losses, most of the soldiers were discharged. A small number of them were dispatched to guard the camp in Shamshire and the army's new logistics route. Not even one of them remained on the battlefield.

A sixth of the army was tasked with the provision of ammunition and other supplies during the battle, while the rest were at the frontlines. These soldiers — who had been grouped into battalions, standing about 1000 meters away from the gate of Arfin city — were the Church's own militia. Mentally boosted by their faith and their belief in the righteousness of their actions, these soldiers stood straight, ready to fight. Despite suffering many losses, their spirit was not broken.

The Haydyns, who led the Church's magic users, stood far away from the front line. However, they were just at the right distance to cast long-range spells. They were all waiting for Matthew Haydyn to attack first, which was the signal they had agreed on.

On the other hand, the people defending Arfin city did not feel confident. The smart ones could tell that the Church's army, despite suffering numerous losses, outnumbered theirs six to one. Not only had the enemy had placed their sorcerers behind their infantry, making them harder to get to, but they had also erected anti-magical barriers overhead for added protection.

Taking a defensive approach in a siege battle placed one in a disadvantageous position, but the Church had taken it a step forward. Those defending Arfin city could not retaliate with magic, as their enemies were encased in the anti-magic barriers of the Church's clerics.

Hence, some on the side of good already felt hopeless. So long as the Church's infantry did not attempt to siege the city, those defending Arfin city would not have to fight back; however, they knew that the Church planned to bombard them with magic spells, and when their defenses had crumbled, the heavy-hitters would then charge in. This was a siege tactic that had been used many times before, yet those defending Arfin city could not come up with a solution.

There was no doubt that this was Sir Aaron's plan. The tactic was effective in battle and in alarming the enemy.

The Paladin Grand Cross, who was on his horse, commanded, "Signal Master Haydyn. Let us begin."

Haydyn was already eager to start. He raised his staff and began to chant loudly.

The air distorted as a devastating spell took form, yet the Voidwalkers remained motionless. As though he were watching a show, the Archmage made no move to calm the soldiers that were scrambling for cover.

Before the First Walker could lift a finger, a fine, grey arrow tore through the air towards Hadyn like a bolt of lightning.

Haydyn spotted the arrow instantly, but he continued chanting, inwardly sneering at the Voidwalker's attempt to disrupt him with simple arrows.

There was a quote that was famous within the Sorcerers' Association, which says: 'A sorcerer killed by a sneak arrow is no sorcerer.' Mages ought to know how to protect themselves against sneak attacks like this one, let alone seasoned veterans like Matthew. He already had on three different gears designed to protect him from arrows. Before making his move, Haydyn had already cast two defense spells on himself. The first one was to throw off any range attacks headed his way, and the second one was to mess with the enemy's aim so that ranged attacks would lose their target as soon as they were shot. Haydyn was also surrounded by clerics that continuously strengthened his magical attacks.

Haydyn was confident that the arrow — even if shot at point-blank range — would not break his skin. It was not a secret that the best human archer would fail to hit their target from so far away. If that was the case, then whoever shot this arrow stood no chance.

Unfortunately, Haydyn did not know who the shooter was, neither did he know the bow she used to carry out his execution. Although the arrow looked fairly normal, the moment it left its bow, it made a shrieking sound as it tore through the air, crossing a thousand meters in one second. All six defense spells around Haydyn were instantly triggered, encasing him a partially transparent cocoon.

The arrow eerily tore through the barriers — causing every one of them to shatter like glass — and Haydyn suddenly felt a sharp pain at his throat. Before he could process another thought, the sky and ground switched places, and then everything turned dark — forever.

The arrow did not just pierce Haydyn's neck, it decapitated him, too.

The arrow faded into thin air, afterward. Blood sprayed out of Haydyn's neck like a fountain. It was only then the people around him realized what had happened.

Before the plan could be enacted, it had already begun to fail. The sorcerers that were ready to attack right after Haydyn did suddenly scattered in different directions, fleeing for their lives. Many had only joined the battle because Haydyn's family coerced them to. They did not mind attacking powerless soldiers, but they were not ready to risk their lives fighting people much stronger than they were.

Sir Aaron — who was stationed in the central battalion, which was far away from the frontline — could not see what was causing the holdup, so he asked, "Why is Master Haydyn taking so long? Where's his spell?"

When news of Haydyn's death reached him, along with Haydyn's head, Aaron was in a daze. With a shaky voice, he said, "Master Haydyn… had just been assassinated… by an arrow fired by the enemies?"

"Impossible! This isn't real! It can't be real!!" Haydyn Sr. bellowed, his old heart almost giving out due to shock. "Matthew, my son, has always been a vigilant man! It's impossible for him to go to battle without a watertight defense. With strong protective measures like that, how was he… killed by one arrow?! No! You and I know that he was killed by a mole among us! That must be it!"

As they cried foul, a loud cheer erupted from the top of the Arfin city wall.

Sharp eyes on the side of the Arfin city already noticed that an arrow had decapitated the head of the scary-looking enemy sorcerer, causing his companions to flee for their lives. Relieved at the sudden turn of events, these people could not help celebrating.

Roars of passions rang out when the mysterious sniper decided to emerge. It was a female. She was not just any woman; she was Baiyi's beautiful, elven grandniece, who had come from his accidental entanglement with the Fairy had brought him.

The fairy's armor did almost nothing to hide her sensual curves. The short skirt did even lesser to hide her lean, long legs that were clad in silk socks. This view was enough to get any man's blood boiling. Nydore had emerged with a huge butterfly-shaped bow.

No one knew how this beautiful maiden had managed to behead that scary sorcerer, but this did not bother men with simple pleasures; having a bodacious sniper on their side worked wonders on the soldiers' morale. The Archmage and the Engineer Walker's demonstrations and speeches could not make as much a difference as the hot lady making an impossible shot!

Nydore was only able to make that shot because of the Law-defying Caudillo Butterfly bow. In front of this bow, a target's defense did not matter. Once a person is targetted with an arrow nocked to this bow, they were better of preparing for their demise. Even the Demigod Lich Walker was killed with it. He was only able to tell the tale because he was made a Voidwalker after his death.

"What the hell? Why is this lass welcomed more warmly than I, huh? And, this happened right when I was about to show my hand. What a show-off," the Archmage muttered. He had not arranged for Nydore to attack. The fairy only did so because she found Matthew "pretty scary and dangerous".

"Well, whatever; allow me to make the next move!" The Engineer Walker said in a sing-song voice as he gave the Caveman Walker, who was standing in the distance, a thumbs up.

The Caveman Walker raised a massive silver-white globe with his herculean strength and hurled it as hard as it could. The globe careened through the air and crashed onto a plain a few yards away with a resounding explosion.

The Church's army watched the huge globe wobble a little before rolling towards them. It stopped a hundred meters away from them and did nothing else. The soldiers watched the still globe with raised brows.

"Huehuehue! Time to direct Nydore's applause to me!" The Engineer Walker cackled and pulled out what resembled the controller of a video game console. Without further ado, he pressed L1 and R1 simultaneously.

A series of clicks rang out through the plain. It sounded like the turning of a large number of mechanical cogs. The globe suddenly split apart and formed a massive spider marionette. The moment this marionette took form, it cried out, "It appears that I have been summoned to engage in a fun co-operation!"

"Hey, I thought I already changed this guy's lines," the Engineer Walker muttered in confusion, fumbling with the controller. The spider marionette began to speak gibberish, and after a few moments, it ended its unintelligible speech with, "The naivety of humans become apparent when they struggle in vain against their fate."

An incandescent disc sprung up from behind the marionette and arcs of energy at the Church's army. The enemy soldiers took a step back and braced for impact. However, the arcs of energy failed to break the defense barrier around them. Pew! Pew! Pew! After the barrage of energy attacks ended, the Church's soldiers were unscathed.

"Oops! I should have known that pure magical attacks will do nothing to anti-magic barriers," the Engineer Walker muttered to himself. "Well, no matter! After all, this marionette is not the same as my prototype, 'The Pheonix'. It is a revolutionary, nuclear-powered, hyper-transforming robot — Tarantula!"

The Voidwalker pressed Triangle and Square at the same time, after which he flicked the analog stick. It was as though he was clearing an in-game quick-time scene.

The spider marionette shattered and quickly reassembled into a three-meter tall humanoid robot. "Never learning from their mistakes. Such is the foolishness of humans!!!" The robot bellowed as it charged at the enemy soldiers, who had quickly raised their swords. The robot charge through the enemy's formation, causing bodies to fly around, including those of the paladins that had tried to stop its charge.

A few foolish crusaders blocked its path. They quickly drew their swords and struck the robot, but they could not make even a dent on it. "Curses! This devil's plaything is insanely strong and hard!"

"Do you honestly think that having good intentions is enough to protect anything?" The robot made more nonsensical comments as it tore through the battalion toward the clerics at the back.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

567 A Terror to Behold

Although the Engineer Walker's new toy was only a robot imbued with weird lines, it was the marionette he had shown off to the wealthy some time ago, to earn their investment. Back then, Baiyi considered the Phoenix marionette more of a crowd-pleaser than an actual weapon. The huge sum of money that the Engineer Walker raised, allowed him to make massive upgrades to the Phoenix marionette. He increased the machine's power consumption, giving it a greater appetite for Baiyi's Void Energy.

It had cost a lot to upgrade the Phoenix marionette. The same amount of money could be used to arm an army of millions. Fortunately, the Phoenix proved worthy of the funds invested into it. Despite being struck multiple times by hundreds of soldiers, Phoenix remained in pristine condition. Having been made with the Alchemist Walker's new metallic alloy, 'Gundamium', Phoenix was resilient, withstanding a barrage of combat chi attacks, magical attacks, and theurgical attacks without suffering so much as a scratch.

The marionette's attacks were crude, though. All it did was punch the soldiers and the ground, but the Church's soldiers soon realized that things were not that simple. The marionette could read movement and counter perfectly, making its attacks more difficult to evade than martial art techniques.

Everyone that met Phoenix head-on, including crusaders and paladins, was knocked out cold. The formation was breaking fast!

"Watch out! That monstrous thing is after our clerics and sorcerers! Protect them!" A group of crusaders shouted. As there was some distance between these crusaders and Phoenix, they could see where it was headed.

A cleric, who feared for her life, screamed, "Don't despair, brothers and sisters! Light… Light will always subdue darkness!"

Phoenix smirked when it heard that. "Who the hell would understand that?" Before the cleric could answer, she was squashed into meat paste.

Sir Aaron, who stood in the middle of the central battalion, watched in horror as his men and their horses were blown away. Seeing as the left battalion was on the verge of collapse, he ordered some of the soldiers in the right battalion to go and provide support.

Paladin Grand Cross prepared to lead the templars to attack the marionette, but he was stopped by the Chief Judge. If he had gone, the two most important figures the Church had on that battlefield would have been open to ambush.

Despite the army's best effort, the left battalion was been battered by Phoenix. The number of casualties continued to rise. Many of the deceased were magic users, and as their numbers reduced, the army's defensive barrier thinned. Sir Aaron could no longer watch idly; he ordered more troops in the right battalion to advance, and soon, the Church's army began to converge.

The Blacksmith Walker watched from atop the city wall. He knew that the time had come for him to act.

"Attention, Second Perfect!" He shouted for one of his favorite pupils. "Where's my Artillery of Italy*?"

'Wait, is he referring to me? When did I become 'Second Perfect'? And since when do we have more artillery than those six over there?' The student wondered as he asked his friends to ready their howitzers.

"Since when were these called 'Artillery of Italy'?" One of his friends asked, but, no one answered.

"Load them with our FAE! Forego precise aiming; point the artillery at the most crowded area and just keep firing!" The Blacksmith barked.

With that, the six howitzers began to fire. Flaming shells whistled through the air, bombarding the areas where the soldiers were converging.

Large defense barriers were cast over a group of people, not a single person. If the group under protection remained organized, the large barrier would continue to work effectively.

For those that would like to know what happens to large defense barriers if the group underneath it were disorganized — or what would happen if such a barrier was weakened — they would only need to watch this battle unfold. After the Blacksmith Walker's FAEs bored holes through the anti-magical walls, they exploded. Deafening explosions rocked the ground one after the other, and when the dust cleared, only corpses could be seen.

For people in this world — common folk of medieval times, where advanced defensive gears were difficult to secure — the damage caused by these explosive rounds were no different than the damage caused by bombs today.

"W-w-we're being struck by enemy's magic attacks despite the protection of our anti-magic barriers?! Is this some kind of cruel joke?" Haydyn Sr. screamed, his heart almost giving out from shock.

Paladin Grand Cross and the Chief Judge watch the chaos unfold with wide eyes. Although the formation was broken, the soldiers were still close together. There was no reason why the anti-magic defense barriers should easily break down. If that was the case, just how did those magic attacks penetrate the barriers?

Paladin Grand Cross knew the best decision to make; reputation be damned. "Retreat! Retreat right now!"

Paladin Grand Cross had yet to understand why all this was happening, but when he saw Haydyn Sr. faint like an old lady, he had had enough, ordering a quick retreat. He did not intend to let any more soldiers get slaughtered.

Unfortunately, the wise decision was made at the wrong time. Eager to heed their commander's order, the soldiers turned tail and fled in different directions, causing the unstable anti-magic barrier to begin shrinking.

The Archmage seized this opportunity and bombarded the soldiers outside the shrinking anti-magic barrier with powerful spells. Together with the Blacksmith Walker's explosive rounds and the attacks of the Engineer Walker's Phoenix, the enemy soldiers' formation crumbled. Everyone had abandoned their positions, fleeing madly for their lives.

"No… No! How did it come to this?!" The Chief Judge asked over and over again as he tried to maintain his balance atop his mount. He was still safe because he was surrounded by very powerful templars.

However, all he could do was watch his men desperately flee from the onslaught of attacks. Everywhere the Chief Judge looked, he saw men careening through the air, whilst some were just burned into crisps. As screams rang around the battlefield, all the young man could see were severed limbs, and this caused him psychological damage.

The Chief Judge could not help but wonder if this was what hell was like.

"Tsk, what a waste," the Blacksmith Walker said, clicking his tongue in dissatisfaction, as he watched the soldiers flee for their lives. He had just gotten word from the second perfect that the howitzers were overheating and needed some time to cool down, after which they would receive quick maintenance. The Blacksmith Walker had only ordered his people to stand down when the enemy soldiers were no longer threats.

The Engineer Walker had recalled Phoenix. He did not want his expensive marionette to suffer any more scratches while chasing the fleeing soldiers. As Phoenix strutted back to the city, it shouted proudly, "Hail, Solomon; I am home!" The city defenders welcomed it with cheers.

The Archmage stopped his attacks. Bullying soldiers that had lost their will to fight was beneath him, the noblest Emperor of the Rohlserlian Empire. He would leave the chasing to his underlings.

"Release Attie's tribesmen," the Archmage ordered Tisdale, Nota, and the other girls, who were standing behind him.

The steppe cavalry, which consisted of five thousand barbarians, had been standing by in Attie's hometown since the war started. They were discreetly within Arfin City through Granjt's secret teleportation portal when Phoenix began its rampage. Upon receiving the First Walker's order, the sorcerers allied with the Voidwalkers used short-distance teleportation spells to bring the steppe cavalry right outside the city gate.

Barbarians were not known for being reliable, neither were they renowned for their prowess, but they moved quickly and a stomach for blood. Sending them after the fleeing enemies was an effective but merciless method of cleaning up.

This made Nota frown. "Grandpa, the enemies are retreating. Must we still do this to them?"

"Child, in order to understand what mercy is — as well as the conditions that lead up to it — you must first witness cruelty," the Archmage replied quietly.

Nota nodded in understanding, and without wasting any more time, she quietly worked with the Archmage to transport the barbarians directly to the battlefield. The barbarians trembled with excitement, having been given the opportunity to do what they love the most: putting the defenseless out of their misery.

"King Attie offers ten gold for every enemy beheaded, and whoever acquires the most heads will be gifted a housing estate in Chandra City! Not only that, but their son will also be offered a place at Da Xue! Brothers, let us go forth and kill every last one of these zealots!" The lead barbarian hollered. He was a Chandra tribesman that happened to be one of Attie's biggest fans. He loved Attie so much, he pretended that she was still the King of Steppe.

These barbarians did not really care if they received rewards personally from Attie. Chandra City was considered a paradise in the Steppe, and every wealthy family — regardless of their tribe — would do whatever it took to secure a home in the city. Even if a hundred cows was the asking price, they would still fork it over. A chance for their kid to study at the legendary Da Xue was the icing on top of an already perfect cake, as the academy's doors had not been open to barbarians before.

Money could even entice the devil work; it was certainly enough to make the barbarians — who Baiyi considered a ragtag band of gentle ruffians — to forget that they were working for the Demon Lord that once set the Steppe aflame. Forming a stampeded, the barbarians charged after the fleeing Church soldiers.

Some barbarians were slain by fleeing soldiers, but the majority of them chased the soldiers all the way back to their camp in Shamshire. Only after reinforcements rushed out from this camp were the barbarians forced to give up chase and retreat. However, they had managed to reap four thousand lives in their rampage, increasing the Church's loss to over two million soldiers. It had now lost a third of its manpower!

At a time when losing more than a tenth of one's militia could seal one's faith, the Church's losses were nothing short of horrifying.This sudden "Second Perfect, where's my Artillery of Italy?" reference was from a 2000s tv show in China called "Liangjian" (literally "Flashing Blade").Fuel-air explosive, a thermobaric weapon

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

566 The Voidwalkers Counterattack

A status report on the enemies outside Arfin would probably go like this:

After a massive reshuffle of the Church's army, not of the six million frontline soldiers was mercenary paid by nobles allied with the Church. After Grant's suicide attack made them suffer heavy losses, most of the soldiers were discharged. A small number of them were dispatched to guard the camp in Shamshire and the army's new logistics route. Not even one of them remained on the battlefield.

A sixth of the army was tasked with the provision of ammunition and other supplies during the battle, while the rest were at the frontlines. These soldiers — who had been group into battalions, standing about 1000 meters away from the gate of Arfin city — were the Church's own militia. Mentally boosted by their faith and their belief in the righteousness of their actions, these soldiers stood straight, ready to fight. Despite suffering many losses, their spirit was not broken.

The Haydyns, who led the Church's magic users, stood far away from the front line. However, they were just at the right distance for casting long-range spells. They were all waiting for Matthew Haydyn to attack first, which was the signal they had agreed on.

On the other hand, the people defending Arfin city did not feel that confident. The smart ones could tell that the Church's army, despite suffering numerous losses, outnumbered theirs six to one. Not only had the enemy had placed their sorcerers behind their infantry, making them harder to get to, but they had also erected anti-magical barriers overhead for added protection.

Taking a defensive approach in a siege battle placed one in a disadvantageous position, but the Church had taken it a step forward. Those defending Arfin city could not retaliate with magic, as their enemies were encased in the anti-magic barriers of the Church's clerics.

Hence, some on the side of good already felt hopeless. So long as the Church's infantry did not attempt to siege the city, those defending Arfin city would not have to fight back; however, they knew that the Church planned to bombard them with magic spells, and when their defenses had crumbled, the heavy-hitters would then charge in. This was a siege tactic that had been used many times before, yet those defending Arfin city could not come up with a solution.

There was no doubt that this was Sir Aaron's plan. The tactic was effective in battle and in alarming the enemy.

The Paladin Grand Cross, who was on his horse, commanded, "Signal Master Haydyn. Let us begin."

Haydyn was already eager to start. He raised his staff and began to chant loudly.

The air distorted as a devastating spell took form, yet the Voidwalkers remained motionless. As though he were watching a show, the Archmage made no move to calm the soldiers that were scrambling for cover.

Before the First Walker could lift a finger, a fine, grey arrow tore through the air towards Hadyn like a bolt of lightning.

Haydyn spotted the arrow instantly, but he continued chanting, inwardly sneering at the Voidwalker's attempt to disrupt him with simple arrows.

There was a quote that was famous within the Sorcerers' Association, which says: 'A sorcerer killed by a sneak arrow is no sorcerer.' Mages ought to know how to protect themselves against sneak attacks like this one, let alone seasoned veterans like Matthew. He already had on three different gears designed to protect him from arrows. Before making his move, Haydyn had already cast two defense spells on himself. The first one was to throw off any range attacks headed his way, and the second one was to mess with the enemy's aim so that ranged attacks would lose their target as soon as they were shot. Haydyn was also surrounded by clerics that continuously strengthened his magical attacks.

Haydyn was confident that the arrow — even if shot at point-blank range — would not break his skin. It was not a secret that the best human archer would fail to hit their target from so far away. If that was the case, then whoever shot this arrow stood no chance.

Unfortunately, Haydyn did not know who the shooter was, neither did he know the bow she used to carry out his execution. Although the arrow looked fairly normal, the moment it left its bow, it made a shrieking sound as it tore through the air, crossing a thousand meters in one second. All six defense spells around Haydyn were instantly triggered, encasing him a partially transparent cocoon.

The arrow eerily tore through the barriers — causing every one of them to shatter like glass — and Haydyn suddenly felt a sharp pain at his throat. Before he could process another thought, the sky and ground switched places, and then everything turned dark — forever.

The arrow did not just pierce Haydyn's neck, it decapitated him, too.

The arrow faded into thin air, afterward. Blood sprayed out of Haydyn's neck like a fountain. It was only then the people around him realized what had happened.

Before the plan could be enacted, it had already begun to fail. The sorcerers that were ready to attack right after Haydyn did suddenly scattered in different directions, fleeing for their lives. Many had only joined the battle because Haydyn's family coerced them to. They did not mind attacking powerless soldiers, but they were not ready to risk their lives fighting people much stronger than they were.

Sir Aaron — who was stationed in the central battalion, which was far away from the frontline — could not see what was causing the holdup, so he asked, "Why is Master Haydyn taking so long? Where's his spell?"

When news of Haydyn's death reached him, along with Haydyn's head, Aaron was in a daze. With a shaky voice, he said, "Master Haydyn… had just been assassinated… by an arrow fired by the enemies?"

"Impossible! This isn't real! It can't be real!!" Haydyn Sr. bellowed, his old heart almost giving out due to shock. "Matthew, my son, has always been a vigilant man! It's impossible for him to go to battle without a watertight defense. With strong protective measures like that, how was he… killed by one arrow?! No! You and I know that he was killed by a mole among us! That must be it!"

As they cried foul, a loud cheer erupted from the top of the Arfin city wall.

Sharp eyes on the side of the Arfin city already noticed that an arrow had decapitated the head of the scary-looking enemy sorcerer, causing his companions to flee for their lives. Relieved at the sudden turn of events, these people could not help celebrating.

Roars of passions rang out when the mysterious sniper decided to emerge. It was a female. She was not just any woman; she was Baiyi's beautiful, elven grandniece, who had come from his accidental entanglement with the Fairy had brought him.

The fairy's armor did almost nothing to hide her sensual curves. The short skirt did even lesser to hide her lean, long legs that were clad in silk socks. This view was enough to get any man's blood boiling. Nydore had emerged with a huge butterfly-shaped bow.

No one knew how this beautiful maiden had managed to behead that scary sorcerer, but this did not bother men with simple pleasures; having a bodacious sniper on their side worked wonders on the soldiers' morale. The Archmage and the Engineer Walker's demonstrations and speeches could not make as much a difference as the hot lady making an impossible shot!

Nydore was only able to make that shot because of the Law-defying Caudillo Butterfly bow. In front of this bow, a target's defense did not matter. Once a person is targetted with an arrow nocked to this bow, they were better of preparing for their demise. Even the Demigod Lich Walker was killed with it. He was only able to tell the tale because he was made a Voidwalker after his death.

"What the hell? Why is this lass welcomed more warmly than I, huh? And, this happened right when I was about to show my hand. What a show-off," the Archmage muttered. He had not arranged for Nydore to attack. The fairy only did so because she found Matthew "pretty scary and dangerous".

"Well, whatever; allow me to make the next move!" The Engineer Walker said in a sing-song voice as he gave the Caveman Walker, who was standing in the distance, a thumbs up.

The Caveman Walker raised a massive silver-white globe with his herculean strength and hurled it as hard as it could. The globe careened through the air and crashed onto a plain a few yards away with a resounding explosion.

The Church's army watched the huge globe wobble a little before rolling towards them. It stopped a hundred meters away from them and did nothing else. The soldiers watched the still globe with raised brows.

"Huehuehue! Time to direct Nydore's applause to me!" The Engineer Walker cackled and pulled out what resembled the controller of a video game console. Without further ado, he pressed L1 and R1 simultaneously.

A series of clicks rang out through the plain. It sounded like the turning of a large number of mechanical cogs. The globe suddenly split apart and formed a massive spider marionette. The moment this marionette took form, it cried out, "It appears that I have been summoned to engage in a fun co-operation!"

"Hey, I thought I already changed this guy's lines," the Engineer Walker muttered in confusion, fumbling with the controller. The spider marionette began to speak gibberish, and after a few moments, it ended its unintelligible speech with, "The naivety of humans become apparent when they struggle in vain against their fate."

An incandescent disc sprung up from behind the marionette and arcs of energy at the Church's army. The enemy soldiers took a step back and braced for impact. However, the arcs of energy failed to break the defense barrier around them. Pew! Pew! Pew! After the barrage of energy attacks ended, the Church's soldiers were unscathed.

"Oops! I should have known that pure magical attacks will do nothing to anti-magic barriers," the Engineer Walker muttered to himself. "Well, no matter! After all, this marionette is not the same as my prototype, 'The Pheonix'. It is a revolutionary, nuclear-powered, hyper-transforming robot — Tarantula!"

The Voidwalker pressed Triangle and Square at the same time, after which he flicked the analog stick. It was as though he was clearing an in-game quick-time scene.

The spider marionette shattered and quickly reassembled into a three-meter tall humanoid robot. "Never learning from their mistakes. Such is the foolishness of humans!!!" The robot bellowed as it charged at the enemy soldiers, who had quickly raised their swords. The robot charge through the enemy's formation, causing bodies to fly around, including those of the paladins that had tried to stop its charge.

A few foolish crusaders blocked its path. They quickly drew their swords and struck the robot, but they could not make even a dent on it. "Curses! This devil's plaything is insanely strong and hard!"

"Do you honestly think that having good intentions is enough to protect anything?" The robot made more nonsensical comments as it tore through the battalion toward the clerics at the back.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates(dot)Net

.

567 Terrifying to Behold

Although the Engineer Walker's new toy was only a robot imbued with weird lines, it was the marionette he had shown off to the wealthy some time ago, to earn their investment. Back then, Baiyi considered the Phoenix marionette more of a crowd-pleaser than an actual weapon. The huge sum of money that the Engineer Walker raised, allowed him to make massive upgrades to the Phoenix marionette. He increased the machine's power consumption, giving it a greater appetite for Baiyi's Void Energy.

It had cost a lot to upgrade the Phoenix marionette. The same amount of money could be used to arm an army of millions. Fortunately, the Phoenix proved worthy of the funds invested into it. Despite being struck multiple times by hundreds of soldiers, Phoenix remained in pristine condition. Having been made with the Alchemist Walker's new metallic alloy, 'Gundamium', Phoenix was resilient, withstanding a barrage of combat chi attacks, magical attacks, and theurgical attacks without suffering so much as a scratch.

The marionette's attacks were crude, though. All it did was punch the soldiers and the ground, but the Church's soldiers soon realized that things were not that simple. The marionette could read movement and counter perfectly, making its attacks more difficult to evade than martial art techniques.

Everyone that met Phoenix head-on, including crusaders and paladins, was knocked out cold. The formation was breaking fast!

"Watch out! That monstrous thing is after our clerics and sorcerers! Protect them!" A group of crusaders shouted. As there was some distance between these crusaders and Phoenix, they could see where it was headed.

A cleric, who feared for her life, screamed, "Don't despair, brothers and sisters! Light… Light will always subdue darkness!"

Phoenix smirked when it heard that. "Who the hell would understand that?" Before the cleric could answer, she was squashed into meat paste.

Sir Aaron, who stood in the middle of the central battalion, watched in horror as his men and their horses were blown away. Seeing as the left battalion was on the verge of collapse, he ordered some of the soldiers in the right battalion to go and provide support.

Paladin Grand Cross prepared to lead the templars to attack the marionette, but he was stopped by the Chief Judge. If he had gone, the two most important figures the Church had on that battlefield would have been open to ambush.

Despite the army's best effort, the left battalion was been battered by Phoenix. The number of casualties continued to rise. Many of the deceased were magic users, and as their numbers reduced, the army's defensive barrier thinned. Sir Aaron could no longer watch idly; he ordered more troops in the right battalion to advance, and soon, the Church's army began to converge.

The Blacksmith Walker watched from atop the city wall. He knew that the time had come for him to act.

"Attention, Second Perfect!" He shouted for one of his favorite pupils. "Where's my Artillery of Italy*?"

'Wait, is he referring to me? When did I become 'Second Perfect'? And since when do we have more artillery than those six over there?' The student wondered as he asked his friends to ready their howitzers.

"Since when were these called 'Artillery of Italy'?" One of his friends asked, but, no one answered.

"Load them with our FAE! Forego precise aiming; point the artillery at the most crowded area and just keep firing!" The Blacksmith barked.

With that, the six howitzers began to fire. Flaming shells whistled through the air, bombarding the areas where the soldiers were converging.

Large defense barriers were cast over a group of people, not a single person. If the group under protection remained organized, the large barrier would continue to work effectively.

For those that would like to know what happens to large defense barriers if the group underneath it were disorganized — or what would happen if such a barrier was weakened — they would only need to watch this battle unfold. After the Blacksmith Walker's FAEs bored holes through the anti-magical walls, they exploded. Deafening explosions rocked the ground one after the other, and when the dust cleared, only corpses could be seen.

For people in this world — common folk of medieval times, where advanced defensive gears were difficult to secure — the damage caused by these explosive rounds were no different than the damage caused by bombs today.

"W-w-we're being struck by enemy's magic attacks despite the protection of our anti-magic barriers?! Is this some kind of cruel joke?" Haydyn Sr. screamed, his heart almost giving out from shock.

Paladin Grand Cross and the Chief Judge watch the chaos unfold with wide eyes. Although the formation was broken, the soldiers were still close together. There was no reason why the anti-magic defense barriers should easily break down. If that was the case, just how did those magic attacks penetrate the barriers?

Paladin Grand Cross knew the best decision to make; reputation be damned. "Retreat! Retreat right now!"

Paladin Grand Cross had yet to understand why all this was happening, but when he saw Haydyn Sr. faint like an old lady, he had had enough, ordering a quick retreat. He did not intend to let any more soldiers get slaughtered.

Unfortunately, the wise decision was made at the wrong time. Eager to heed their commander's order, the soldiers turned tail and fled in different directions, causing the unstable anti-magic barrier to begin shrinking.

The Archmage seized this opportunity and bombarded the soldiers outside the shrinking anti-magic barrier with powerful spells. Together with the Blacksmith Walker's explosive rounds and the attacks of the Engineer Walker's Phoenix, the enemy soldiers' formation crumbled. Everyone had abandoned their positions, fleeing madly for their lives.

"No… No! How did it come to this?!" The Chief Judge asked over and over again as he tried to maintain his balance atop his mount. He was still safe because he was surrounded by very powerful templars.

However, all he could do was watch his men desperately flee from the onslaught of attacks. Everywhere the Chief Judge looked, he saw men careening through the air, whilst some were just burned into crisps. As screams rang around the battlefield, all the young man could see were severed limbs, and this caused him psychological damage.

The Chief Judge could not help but wonder if this was what hell was like.

"Tsk, what a waste," the Blacksmith Walker said, clicking his tongue in dissatisfaction, as he watched the soldiers flee for their lives. He had just gotten word from the second perfect that the howitzers were overheating and needed some time to cool down, after which they would receive quick maintenance. The Blacksmith Walker had only ordered his people to stand down when the enemy soldiers were no longer threats.

The Engineer Walker had recalled Phoenix. He did not want his expensive marionette to suffer any more scratches while chasing the fleeing soldiers. As Phoenix strutted back to the city, it shouted proudly, "Hail, Solomon; I am home!" The city defenders welcomed it with cheers.

The Archmage stopped his attacks. Bullying soldiers that had lost their will to fight was beneath him, the noblest Emperor of the Rohlserlian Empire. He would leave the chasing to his underlings.

"Release Attie's tribesmen," the Archmage ordered Tisdale, Nota, and the other girls, who were standing behind him.

The steppe cavalry, which consisted of five thousand barbarians, had been standing by in Attie's hometown since the war started. They were discreetly within Arfin City through Granjt's secret teleportation portal when Phoenix began its rampage. Upon receiving the First Walker's order, the sorcerers allied with the Voidwalkers used short-distance teleportation spells to bring the steppe cavalry right outside the city gate.

Barbarians were not known for being reliable, neither were they renowned for their prowess, but they moved quickly and a stomach for blood. Sending them after the fleeing enemies was an effective but merciless method of cleaning up.

This made Nota frown. "Grandpa, the enemies are retreating. Must we still do this to them?"

"Child, in order to understand what mercy is — as well as the conditions that lead up to it — you must first witness cruelty," the Archmage replied quietly.

Nota nodded in understanding, and without wasting any more time, she quietly worked with the Archmage to transport the barbarians directly to the battlefield. The barbarians trembled with excitement, having been given the opportunity to do what they love the most: putting the defenseless out of their misery.

"King Attie offers ten gold for every enemy beheaded, and whoever acquires the most heads will be gifted a housing estate in Chandra City! Not only that, but their son will also be offered a place at Da Xue! Brothers, let us go forth and kill every last one of these zealots!" The lead barbarian hollered. He was a Chandra tribesman that happened to be one of Attie's biggest fans. He loved Attie so much, he pretended that she was still the King of Steppe.

These barbarians did not really care if they received rewards personally from Attie. Chandra City was considered a paradise in the Steppe, and every wealthy family — regardless of their tribe — would do whatever it took to secure a home in the city. Even if a hundred cows was the asking price, they would still fork it over. A chance for their kid to study at the legendary Da Xue was the icing on top of an already perfect cake, as the academy's doors had not been open to barbarians before.

Money could even entice the devil work; it was certainly enough to make the barbarians — who Baiyi considered a ragtag band of gentle ruffians — to forget that they were working for the Demon Lord that once set the Steppe aflame. Forming a stampeded, the barbarians charged after the fleeing Church soldiers.

Some barbarians were slain by fleeing soldiers, but the majority of them chased the soldiers all the way back to their camp in Shamshire. Only after reinforcements rushed out from this camp were the barbarians forced to give up chase and retreat. However, they had managed to reap four thousand lives in their rampage, increasing the Church's loss to over two million soldiers. It had now lost a third of its manpower!

At a time when losing more than a tenth of one's militia could seal one's faith, the Church's losses were nothing short of horrifying.This sudden "Second Perfect, where's my Artillery of Italy?" reference was from a 2000s tv show in China called "Liangjian" (literally "Flashing Blade").Fuel-air explosive, a thermobaric weapon

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

568 The Next Battle Is Upon Us

The next morning, the Pope awoke to devastating news. The Church's army, which started out twelve million strong, had now been reduced to one million men just two days after the war started.

In reality, the reported number of casualties was overstated. After the failed siege on Arfin City, a million soldiers were able to flee back to the camp in Shamshire. Not every one that failed to make it back had perished on the battlefield; some soldiers had vanished amidst the chaos.

In this world, the media was fond of sensational headlines, as well. In a war where the Voidwalkers clearly have the upper hand, "The Voidwalkers' commits genocide in retaliation" was the headline that conservative-like media went with. As a result of this, rumors that the Voidwalkers were invincible began to spread.

The Archmage did not care for the newfound positive public opinion; instead, he was displeased by the outcome of the previous day's battle. He put down a report and growled. "These barbarians suck! With how excited they were, one would think that they would easily hunt down their targets, but no; they end up letting too many enemies slip through their grasp! Back in the good old days, the Empire did not have cavalry troops, yet my men would not have let anyone survive!"

"To be fair, they are a large group of ordinary humans on horseback; they don't possess any superhuman powers to fight the Church's most exceptional experts, so all they could do was to retreat," said the Thane Walker. "Remember, I told you to have Attie lead those barbarians! You didn't listen."

"You say that as though I would let a darling student of mine go out there and put herself in harm's way," the Archmage replied, shaking his head. "I'm more disappointed in the Hitman Walker and the Caveman Walker: despite all the stunts they pulled off yesterday, they are hopeless on horseback. Yet, they dare to call themselves masters of all physical activities!"

"Excuuuuuse me, Princess! No self-respecting hitman should need to ride a horse!" The Hitman Walker countered. "To suggest that I waste my time to learn that is the same as spitting on my art!"

"Look, pal; it's not that I can't ride a horse. I can if I really want to. The problem is the horses; they're scrawny and feeble, man. They can't handle me. Not the other way around," the Caveman Walker said.

"Enough! You two are embarrassing me," the Archmage spoke loudly. "We mustn't get cocky because of our current victory. After all, this is only a warm-up for what lies ahead. How's everyone's preparation coming along?"

"If the Angels are only as strong as Sir Hope said they are, then there's a high chance that we will survive the three days without any problems, and that's only if we don't get more angels than we can handle," said the Engineer Walker. "I'm pleased to inform you that all my marionettes have been upgraded for aerial combat. Sir Blacksmith Walker is quickly installing proximity fuzes on our machines."

"Oh? We were able to make those?" The Thane Walker asked in surprise. As an expert in warfare, the Thane Walker was a big fan of Earth's weapon science and warfare. He had devoted a lot of time to studying both. Although he did not know as much as the Blacksmith Walker in this field, he certainly knew what proximity fuzes were, and why the Voidwalkers should have been unable to create them.

"Oh, you do know that we're using magic to emulate the real thing, right? Adding a miniature detection formation by placing an enchanted scroll into our ammunitions and all that. This is the same thing we did for our howitzers' ammunition," the Engineer Walker explained. "We could just have a group of sorcerers stand by to enchant our bullets before we fire, but that would be dreadfully inefficient. Besides, if we use scrolls, we will not need as much manpower, and the accuracy and range of our attacks would improve."

"Now, that's how a pro-gamer thinks! Please continue your good work," the Archmage replied, chuckling. Then, he took out his communication slab and contacted the Scholar Walker, and the moment she accepted the connection, he asked, "How're things on your end?"

"Would a bit of patience every now and then hurt? Even if that is beyond you, shouldn't a casual observation of my assiduity to be enough to answer your question." The exasperation in the Scholar Walker's tone was evident even through the communication spell. "Must I remind you that while you have so graciously encumbered me alone with the construction of our defense system, I still bear the responsibility of supervising Noirciel's welfare and her arduous road to recovery? Mayhap you could swap your incessant demands with supplying more manpower — at least that would hasten the process and relieve my poor, fatigued students! On that note, what oh-so-grave subject is currently drawing your effort away from assisting us, do tell? Should I be a believer just this once, so that I may pray you're not squandering your time gazing at your oh-so-precious cards?"

"H-how scandalous! Are you suggesting that I don't know my priorities? I'll have you know that I'm currently hosting a momentous war council pertaining to our next action — including strategies and deployments of our specialized units. Anon from that, I have an important audience with the nobles!" The Archmage said in defense, as though he had not engaged in his trivial hobbies. "Oh, come on. I believe in you, Scholar Walker. I'll definitely come around and help a bit if I'm free."

The Thane Walker said quietly after the communication was ended, "I thought Vidomina was taking care of the nobles."

The Archmage coughed. "Well, I'm worried that they might overwhelm her a bit. I'm her back up if it gets tough," he replied matter-of-factly. "Anyway, how about that bear? Has it made its decision yet?"

"It declined to join our battle, that's for sure. Says it can't overcome its inborn respect and fear toward Angels," the Thane Walker replied. "We still earn Mr. Bear's help, though. It says it's happy to help Aya retrain and persuade those dragons, so I expect our new dragon knights to be functional enough on supply guard duties during the incoming battles."

Ever since Aya had expelled every dragon knight who refused to reaffirm their allegiance to Baiyi, a lot of the dragons had lost their riders, causing a severe drop in the Voidwalkers' overall fighting powers. Not one to let any resources go to waste, the Walkers had devised a workaround solution: the Engineer had installed several reliable equipment on the dragons, such as safety harnesses, to ease those without years of training to be able to somewhat ride them. Then, the Thane scouted the more exceptional individuals from the noble-hired mercenaries to be trained as temporary dragon knights under Aya and Mordred.

It was a daunting task. A dragon knight's standard training regimen would take about five to eight years of training before riding their dragons into battles since they not only had to be trained in various skills and techniques but also needed time to foster a bond with their mount. Theoretically, it was impossible to speed up a dragon knights' training.

Fortunately, making the impossible possible was one of the Walkers' many specialties. The Engineer Walker's little tools had provided enough scaffolding for a newbie to get a grip with the maneuver quickly enough, while Mr. Bear's unique druid abilities were brought in to aid Aya in retraining the dragons.

It was the most Mr. Bear could do. Since the beginning, it had explicitly expressed its reluctance to participate in the war — a staunch pacifist at heart, Mr. Bear would not help anyone in taking away others' lives. The Archmage only managed to convince it through the persuasion technique of poking the bear in its beady eyes.

Not only that, he enlisted help from Anna and Santa, two serial teddy-bear-eyes-pokers, to "persuade" Mr. Bear as well. Strangely, the almighty druid was reduced to an animated teddy bear when these two little girls were involved.

With the druid's help, the new riders were beginning to develop decent chemistry between themselves as their draconic mounts. By the looks of it, these riders should be able to join the war soon.

On the other hand, two hundred Northern warriors supplied by the Northern kingdoms had arrived and were now united with Baldy and his friends. Presently, these Northern warriors were under the Warrior's intensive tutelage; they even decided to give their specialized training a chuunibyo name, "God-slaying Art". For what it was worth, these Northern warriors were lapping it up fervently, crying about "showing these gods the might of us Northern lads" as though they were in a trance. They might as well be, as they had been training for two days straight without sleep.

"Uh, please make sure they don't kill themselves over it? They're the crème of the Northern crops, right? If anything were to happen to them… let's just say Hope's gonna have a huge pain on his neck," The Thane had told the Warrior.

Frankly, the Thane Walker reasoned that it would be best not to deploy the Northerners. Unlike the more expandable nomadic cavalries, the Northern kingdom's aid was more of a symbolic gesture. It would be better to have them remained in the academy throughout the war until they received news of the Voidalkers' victory, and he was sure that the heads who sent these fighters to Da Xue thought the same.

"They made their choice," the Warrior Walker replied flatly. "The only way one could advance themselves in martial arts is through challenging themselves — breaking out of your limits. They understand that overcoming powerful opponents, such as the angels, will benefit their cultivation immensely. Hence, I respect their decision to not sit this one out."

Finding no words to counter her, the Thane Walker relented and added the Northerners' names into the Voidwalkers' list of combat assets.

While the Voidwalkers worked tirelessly to prepare for the main part of the war, the Church was also busy. The cardinals had just resuscitated the Pope, who had fainted earlier.

When he woke up, the man's first words were: "By the gods, I wish you people had let me stay unconscious for a while longer."

News of the Church's defeat had hit him hard. How they had suffered such a loss was something he still could not explain. When he got the report, his mental faculties broke down temporarily, like a broken computer program. "How did this happen?" He repeated that question over and over till he collapsed.

After the Pope was resuscitated, he remembered that devil's words. It reminded the Pope how many times that man had said he was not afraid of the Church. He had also said that he had refrained from wiping out the Church because he did not want bloodshed.

The Pope had considered it a bluff, but now, after suffering a series of defeats, his confidence had disappeared. Fighting the Voidwalkers was akin to snow trying to fight the sun; only a ray of sunlight was enough to melt them.

He felt dread and confusion at the reality that the Church, an organization that had been in existence for millennia, had crumbled so quickly in front of the Voidwalkers.

Sensing the Pope's depression, the High Priest stepped in. "Your Holiness, please! All is not lost yet! Our true power has not yet been unleashed!"

"True power? The Angels. They will be here tomorrow," the Pope mumbled. "I wonder what they will think of us when they see our sorry state."

Before the High Priest could say anything, the Pope continued, "I suppose we'll have nothing worthy to show our immaculate allies…"

He let his remorse linger for a while. Then, as though he had regained his sanity, he commanded, "Inform Sir Aaron that I want a thorough restructuring of the Church's army. Discharge every unremarkable crusader and cleric, or file them in as guards of honor for the Angels. Their role in this war is finished. After all, to those demons, numbers mean nothing. How's the ritual in Shamshire?"

"It is ready, just as we planned. The Holy City, Shamshire, and even towns and cities along the route to Arfin are ready. The Angels shall descend upon our world in the most glorious forms, casting light into the darkness of this war over the adulation and awe from God's most faithful believers!" The High Priest answered.

As he stared at the young priest's face, a thought slowly formed in the Pope's head: what if they had drawn all of their efforts in building these rituals into the previous battles instead?

'Would the outcome of the war change?'

He shook his head and let the thought faded back to whence it came.Nifty fuzes that detonate bombs or similar explosives automatically when the distance between said explosives and the target is closer than a predetermined value.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

569 The Day Before The Final Battle

The angels were to descend tomorrow, 'when the light was at its brightest', according to the revelation received by the Pope. In Isthyre, that was nine in the morning, and this left the Church and the Voidwalkers little time to make last-minute preparations.

The Church had decided not to attack anymore; instead, it focused on the angel-summoning rituals. What remained of its army was two-thousand crusaders; one thousand paladins; two thousand men, who were tasted with supplying ammunition and guarding outposts; and one thousand templars, some of whom were newly-ordained templars. The Pope had ordered his underlings to lessen the requirements for becoming a templar, making a lot more people eligible to be ordained. There was also a group of five hundred clerics on standby to support the army.

Although this army had been greatly downsized, they were not to be looked down on, as those still alive were the experts. These experts were powerful and experienced, and they were greatly admired by the Church for their valiance and unwavering faith. If the Voidwalkers had not planned to create chaos by attacking the less experienced soldiers, these experts would have dealt them a significant amount of damage.

The angels would arrive soon, though, giving these experts the opportunity they need to shine.

The Voidwalkers had switched tactics, as well. They were split into smaller teams. The team led by the Thane Walker contained the Hitman Walker, the Explorer Walker, five thousand infantrymen, and a three thousand strong cavalry of nomads. This team was headed to the Holy City for an unknown reason.

Another team consisted of the Incubus Walker, the Charlatan Walker, the Merchant Walker, and the Painter Walker. Without a soldier in its ranks, this team left Arfin City and disappeared.

There was another team that contained only the Lich Walker and the Devil Walker, who Tisdale had just summoned. This team discreetly left for somewhere close to the Templar Fort. Its plan was obvious, but that did not make it less terrifying.

Some Voidwalkers had still not been summoned, though: the third Voidwalker, the Dragon; the fourth Voidwalker, the Oracle; the eight Voidwalker, the Tree; the twenty-eight Voidwalker, the Monster; and the thirty-first Voidwalker, who did not have an alias yet. The other Voidwalkers had been summoned and had had roles to play in the defense of Arfin City. Even the Astrologer Walker — who was not proficient in battle — and the Shadow Walker, who had not pseudo-descended before had been summoned.

These two were the only Voidwalkers that stayed behind with the Archmage.

"The importance of this war does not need any explanations. To people as esteemed as you, I know that my words will not do much," the Archmage had said before the teams had set off. "Although the outcome of this war cannot yet be determined — even though I believe that we will win — we cannot afford to be complacent!

"I know we have had disagreements in the past, but I implore you all to put that behind you for the sake of our freedom and the future. We must put aside our differences and work hand-in-hand with our allies; that's how we will win!" The Archmage looked around with fiery eyes. However, his words were met with silence. These Voidwalkers had experienced a lot, so a motivational speech like this was not enough to move them.

Although they were no cheers in the room, these Voidwalkers were no fools. They did not need a motivational speech to know what needed to be done.

"Remember: after taking care of the Church, we'll have one less obstacle in our way!" The Archmage said.

"Yea, yea. I get the feeling that the old man has forgotten about an obstacle we will never be rid of: that tyrannical bastard of a moderator, Hope," the Cleric Walker muttered to the Astrologer Walker.

The Cleric Walker was holding an anime figurine that greatly resembled. It had a jet-black armor on and was grinning maniacally. The Cleric Walker had yet to find the person that made the figurine.

"Oi, better hide that resentment. The tyrant will be able to hear you whenever he wants to. Furthermore, keep that thing hidden from them. The goody-two-shoes Voidwalkers will definitely tell on me if they saw it." the Astrologer Walker hissed, pointing at the figurine.

The Cleric Walker nodded and replied, "I understand your concerns, friend. I can assure you that I will handle this with the utmost care."

Suddenly, the Cleric Walker squeezed his hand hard, crushing the figurine to powder.

"F***!!! What the f***?! " The Astrologer Walker bellowed. "You'll pay for this!"

"N-no, stop! I don't know what came over me; I swear! It wasn't me! It was something beyond my —"

The Cleric Walker's fist came flying all of a sudden, punching a hole through the Astrologer Walker's chest plate. The Voidwalker did not stop there; he kept twisting his arm, widening the hole. The Astrologer Walker shouted in pain.

"What the hell are you two doing?!" The Archmage bellowed.

The First Walker was about to step in, but a voice suddenly rang out in the mind of the three Voidwalkers. "That was me.

"That being said, you all must fight with everything you have. Leave your worries to me; I'll help however I can. Good luck, and never forget: the Voidwalkers will never fear!" With that, the voice faded, and the stunned Cleric Walker regained control of his arm.

With an apologetic smile, the Cleric Walker pulled his arm out of the Astrologer Walker's chest plate and muttered, "Since when can that bastard control our bodies?"

"He always could; he just didn't," the Archmage said, after which he kicked at the Astrologer Walker, who was howling and rolling on the ground. "Shut up. Stop acting like that is enough to kill you!"

"B-b-but it was just so scary!" The Astrologer Walker whimpered, shakily covering the hole in his chest plate.

"Aww, you poor thing. I'll patch you up," the Blacksmith said, walking over.

"Does anybody here not sense an eerie change in that man? I felt as though a god was speaking to me," the Shadow said, visibly alarmed. As a former papal candidate of the Church — which made her the Voidwalker more experienced than the others in affairs pertaining to gods — she was more sensitive to the suggestion of the divine. "I'm sure I'm not the only that had the sensation of being seen through, right? It felt like he could see everything; my private thoughts, every inch of my skin—"

"Grrrrr..." A growl and a glare cut the Shadow Walker off.

"Sorry; I didn't mean it that way. I was just speaking figuratively, okay?" The Shadow Walker explained. After sneaking a glance at the Assassin Walker, who was behind her, she muttered, "Sheesh. Why am I apologizing?"

The Soul Armature Practitioner silently pondered. "I think he stops short of doing it because he respects our autonomy. A lot of us remember him only as 'the Fifth Walker' and our 'Void Emissary' because we're allowed to mingle with him on equal terms. The truth is far from that, though, isn't it? When you really think about the things he could do, don't you think he's no different from a god to us?"

"Nip that thought in the bud, pal, and quit defying that fella. He's never an actual tyrant with the lust to control everything anyway; that alone disqualifies him from being a god," the Archmage said in a serious tone. "I bet he just did what he did because that was the only way he has to communicate with us at this moment! To me, that fella would always be nothing more than my protégé whose only bad habit is expanding his harem with every young and beautiful woman he could pick up."

'And one hell of a bad habit that is,' The other Voidwalkers silently sneered.

The day before the angels' arrival came to an end.

As the sun rose in the Holy City of Canningham, airy melodies serenaded the spaces in between. They drifted through the air and away into the sky, as though they were part of a universal song — one that was sung in every land where a God's Grace church could be found.

The people of the faith had eschewed every other clothes other than the purest white robe, its long, soft fabric cascading downward on hands clasp around fresh bouquets of flowers. On other days, they were farmers, nobles, warriors, or more; but today, they unite in their devotion and anticipation of gods' loving light in the flesh.

Even Laeticia had donned a set of gleaming white armor as stark as snow and a pair of white stockings instead of her usual black. Clutched a little too tightly in her hand was a battle-flag billowing in the cold, morning breeze.

She stared in the direction of Canningham, her heart greatly troubled.

Behind her was Noirciel, whose recovery process was approaching its crux. She was the Angel who had acknowledged her as an equal; rubbed her cheeks, licked her face, prayed for Laeticia's happiness. She considered Saintess a friend, not a mere mortal, and Laeticia had sworn to protect the angel to the best of her abilities. Noirciel was more human than she was an angel.

Beyond her eyes, however, was the city symbolic of what she had always believed, the one place that had forged her ideals. Now, it was the land she may have to raise her sword against.

The conflict playing out in poor Laeticia's head was far more turbulent than any conflicts between Baiyi and the Church. The Saintess had always dodged the brunt of her spiritual struggle by convincing herself she was following an alternative interpretation different from the Church's canon, but now that the Messengers themselves were coming, the implication of her God's true allegiance cast a light on every gaping hole her excuse always had.

Above all else, Laeticia just wanted to protect Noirciel. She would never want to point her sword towards heaven.

The Cleric and the Archmage understood the girl's inner struggle, which was why no one had required her presence in any of the Voidwalkers' battle preparation meetings. No one assigned any offensive role to her. It was agreed without words that Laeticia's only duty was to stand by Noirciel's side.

"Mr.Hope… Father Joel… My Merciful Lord… What should I do? How do I fulfil my oath without clashing with those that had raised and shaped me?" Laeticia whispered to no one in particular, her hands clenching tightly around the Scripture necklace suspended around her neck.

She heard a soft greeting. "Cia?"

It was the Cleric Walker and the Paladin Walker. Instead of their usual sinister black robe, the two ex-Church members had donned the same white robes as other believers across the continent. However, judging by how ill-fitting the robes were as they stretched tautly against the two Soul Armatures' bulky armor body, one wondered if the two only haphazardly put these own just for the occasion of seeing Norciel. From a distance, those two looked like two metallic barrels wrapped tightly by white sheets.

"Good morning, Father Joel. Professor Hantai."

"We're, uh, worried about you. So here we are, paying you a visit," the Paladin Walker said, opting for honesty. He patted the girl's head softly and added, "I know how painful it must be to you right now. I've been through it."

"Then, please, professor, tell me what to do. I don't know what to choose — what if my choice isn't right?" Laeticia asked, flashing him a mirthless smile.

"The answer is simple: follow your heart and trust it," the Cleric Walker replied somberly, tapping on his metallic chest plate.

"It's easy to understand what faith truly means, but you'll need to get there yourself. Even the two of us had spent much time just to reach our conclusion," the Paladin Walker said.

Laeticia watched her two teachers left without pausing for a minute to admire the sleeping angel's tranquil beauty. She noticed that at this moment, the two did not look like the horny gentlemen that they usually were; they looked like enlightened beings.

The Saintess' dilemma was not solved, but she did realize one thing: for all of the angst in her mind over the clash with the Angels, the pain in the hearts of her teachers — two of the staunchest believer she knew — must be even greater than the one she was experiencing.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

570 The Enemy“s First Move

When the clock struck nine that morning, the tired choir, who had been singing since dawn, became reinvigorated.

Landmarks in the Holy City had been decorated with white petals, and the cool morning breeze carried these petals throughout the city, bathing it in white. When the rays of sunlight landed on the petals, they emitted a golden glow, making the city resemble a tranquil sea with gilded waves.

Moved by the beautiful landscape, the believers hurried to meet the Pope at the main entrance to the Canningham Basilica. Only moments later, they began to sing loudly and passionately.

As they sang, the sky started to change color, turning hazy as the heat covered the realm as though it were silk linen. At that moment, it was as though Isythre had been set alight.

"This… This is a miracle! The Holy Light is upon us!" The Pope exclaimed, his gazed fixed on the white glow that illuminated his fingertips. The crowd also felt a miraculous power rush through their veins, curing them of years-old ailments, which had stumped even the best doctors in the realm.

This really was the work of a god! According to the Church's scripture, the gods were generous with their blessings. Their holy light illuminated every corner of the realm, revealing not only the believers but also the Devil Walker and the Lich Walker, both of whom were hidden at the bottom of a really deep, dark trench.

Both Voidwalkers stared at each other in shock, utterly astonished to see each other illuminated by the golden holy light.

"It doesn't hurt at all. Why do you think this is?" The Lich Walker asked as it looked down at its bony fingers, which glowed a beautiful god under the holy light.

"I don't know; maybe, you should look behind you!" The Devil Walker replied.

After the war in Duat, the number of undead soldiers under the Lich Walker's control had greatly increased. However, the moment the holy light located the Lich Walker, it's undead soldiers burst into flames. The weaker undead soldiers, like the Spartois, were instantly burned to crisps!

"M-my precious!!!" The Lich Walker wailed. It was as though it was an otaku whose hentai collection had gone up in flames. Without wasting any more time, the Lich Walker quickly placed its surviving undead soldiers into its Dead Space.

The Lich Walker had brought its undead soldiers out only because it was hidden in a trench, far away from the sunlight. Furthermore, this trench could be dug all the way to the Templar Fort, which the Lich Walker and Devil Walker planned to invade at some point in time to distract the Church.

This decision to bring out the undead troops for a sunbath had cost both Voidwalkers. For this band of misfits, sunlight was more of a disinfectant.

The Lich Walker was not the only Voidwalker being troubled by the holy light. In Arfin City, other Voidwalkers here just as unhappy to see the sunlight.

The Archmage stared down at his glowing fingertips, his gaze fixed on the light weaving in and out of the spaces between his fingers. When he clicked his fingers, the light burst into sparks and faded away.

The Astrologist Walker was also absentminded. He eyed the light around his body, which then drifted to his reflection in a nearby pool. "Look closely. The light as it reflects from the water —"

"What is this? A David Attenborough impression?" The Archmage sneered.

"No! If you'd just let me finish... I was about to point out that there's something seriously wrong about this light!" The Astrologist rebutted. "Look, can you cast any spell now?"

"What? Why shouldn't I be able to?" The Archmage replied, raising his hand for a cantrip.

Then, the impossible happened: a formation appeared atop his fingertips, but it soon began to flicker as though the Archmage had made a mistake in his conjuring. The old-timer knew better, though. His mana was flowing and reacting as usual, and he was not under any kind of psychic disturbances. Moreover, the formation was drawn absolutely correctly. This meant that it did not fail because of a slip-up.

The Archmage pulled out every enchanted scroll and magical tool in his storage pouch and tested all of them, but they failed, as well. Although they were all fine the last time he saw them, none worked now; even his old but reliable communication slab.

This was a bone-chilling revelation way, scarier than Silence spells or anti-magic territories. Under this sinister light, magic itself had utterly ceased to exist in this realm!

There was no doubt about it — this was the enemy's doing, and it came out of left field. Not a single Walker had expected the angels to pull the rug under their feet by casting a realm-wide magic-canceling field before arriving.

It was a terrifying and effective ploy. Many of the Voidwalkers' techniques and tools run on magic, so if their power source was cut, what else was there for them to go up against the Church? At this point, even a ragtag band of under-trained mooks from the Church could tear them apart into scrap metals.

The direness of their current predicament weighed down on the Archmage. He now realized that they were in a situation even more hopeless than when a hunter forgot to bring a trap with him after being sent off to a monster-capturing mission. Before he knew it, his hands had bound around the Astrologist's neck as he cried in horror, "What the hell is going on?!"

"To explain, I need a pair of shades."

The Archmage punched his hand through the Astrologist Walker's newly-patched chest plate. "You're still thinking about looking cool at this moment?"

"What? Hell no! I just need it to see the changes in the sky. My guess is that the stars up there are emitting this light, but I won't be able to see it without a pair of shades, don't you think?" The Astrologist protested.

"Oh…. Uh hem, well, you can probably try this?" The Archmage fished out a pair of sunglasses from his pouch and tossed them to him.

"Are you telling me that you have a pair of shades with you all the time?" The Astrologist Walker sneered after freeing himself from the First Walker's hold.

"Now is not the time for such interestingly trifling topics, pal!" The Archmage snapped.

Suddenly, the Scholar Walker's voice rang out of nowhere around his ear. "Urgent help… needed! Please, without assistance, I will tire from exertion anon!"

"Scholar! What's wrong?"

"This baleful aureole… it's tormenting Noirciel… She's suffering from overwhelming agony! I'm holding up an opaque barrier around her… But if my calculation is unmistaken, I'm reaching the limits of my reserve…"

"But how are you still capable of contacting me?" The Archmage blurted in disbelief.

There was a strained sneer before the reply. "B-because runic magic… is the true paragon of magic!"

The communication magic ended.

For the first time ever, the Archmage extended his finger and began to draw magic through a method he had never stooped to before, and discovered that the Scholar Walker was partially right. A spell would somewhat function if one expended three times the amount of mana said spell usually required if one performed it through runic magic. The caveat, however, was that if one stopped charging the runes with their mana, the spell vanished instantly.

In other words, the Rohlserlian formation nonpareil known as the Sage-Emperor of the Magi had no choice but to use ignoble, unsophisticated runic magic like a troglodyte! Not only that, he could only cast spells one at a time!

Meanwhile, back in Noirciel's ward, the angel's life was once again on the line since her painful exile. The enemy's unexpected and cruel magic-nullifying technique had rendered every life-supporting formations to fail immediately, hence forcefully terminating Noiricel's recovery process. It was by a very fine stroke of luck that Tisdale, Nota, and Vidomina had come to pay a visit right before it happened, and so was able to throw themselves into supporting the Scholar in her desperate rescue.

"I beseech you, do not let go!" The Scholar Walker exclaimed, visibly panicking. The four planted their palms firmly on the barrier around Noirciel as they desperately pumped three times the usual mana into it.

Although the Scholar Walker, as a Voidwalker, had a lot more mana within her, which would allow her to go on for a while, the three young girls were nearing their limits. The barrier and the complicated formations supporting Noirciel were hungrily drinking their mana like a steady, unstopping blackhole, and it did not take a long time before the girls' straining muscles and pale faces were drenched in sweat.

"Attie!" The Scholar Walker shouted to the only girl in the room who was unable to help. "Feed them with mana recovery items posthaste! Locate those in their storage pouches!"

"Oh! Um, right!" Attie answered and snaked her hand into Vidomina's bra before pulling out her storage pouch. After rummaging through the content, she yanked out several bottles of colorful potions and asked the pouch's owner, "Flavor?"

"U-uh… Um… C-C-Citrus?" Vidomina gritted through her effort.

"Oh no, I don't think there's a citrus-flavored one here. How about milk?" Attie replied, wagging a bottle of viscous, milky-white solution in front of her face.

"Does this crisis concerning an endangered life project so little gravity that the taste of a potion is now a more paramount issue?!" The Scholar screeched.

Stunned from the Voidwalker's shriek, Attie went quiet before slapdashedly grabbing a banana-flavored recovery potion from the pile and popping the lid open. Then, she tipped it toward her mouth.

"You ignoramus!" The Scholar Walker howled. She would have strangled the girl right there and then if her hands were not tied. "Do you really need to be reminded every foul time to not feed with your mouth?"

Fortunately, Attie recovered from the Scholar Walker's rare outburst enough to remember what to do. Anxiously and tactlessly — although one may wonder it was actually her backhanded way to get back on Vidomina for outclassing her in the asset department — Attie dumped the entire potion into Vidomina's mouth, causing the latter to gurgle and cough in distress. Some yellow fluid even dribbled out of the corner of the poor girl's lip, flowing down her sharp chin before dripping on her bosoms.

Fortunately, it was at this moment that the Alchemist Walker arrived, sprinting towards the girls with his arms full of black Void Crystals.

"This light can't affect Void Energy, so let's use them to power these formations right now!" He explained while rapidly inserting the crystals into all of the vital points supporting the formation system under the Scholar's instruction.

"How astute of you, Sir Alchemist," the Scholar Walker sighed in relief.

"Oh, it wasn't me. We noticed that the Engineer Walker's weird spider-thing is still moving despite this light's interference and quickly worked out why," he replied modestly, still swapping out the mana sources in the system with the Void Crystals with the speed of a Japanese senpai playing rhythm games.

With the crisis temporarily averted, the three young girls heaved out a sigh and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Noirciel was safe again, for now.

Around this time, the Astrologer Walker also had minor good news for all: through his expertise, he had quickly identified a slew of newly appeared stars in the sky. Although their numbers were many, the Astrologer Walker had deduced that if they could somehow remove the three closest stars hovering above Arfin, they should be able to stop this lethal magic-nullifying light.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

571 Shattering the Stars

"If we can find a way to move those three stars away, or block them off, this light that weakens us will be gone for good!" The Astrologer Walker said, as he brought out a star chat and pointed at three stars.

Although it seemed an impossible task, it was much better to have an option than none at all. Was it possible for a person to move the stars? Nature was guarded by Laws, which were invincible, so how could it be tampered with? Furthermore, the Voidwalkers were already being weakened by the light.

"Is that all?" Someone suddenly asked from behind. "Why don't we just shatter some stars, then?"

It was the Fairy Walker that had spoken. Ignoring the gazes that turned her way, she looked down at the chart, studying it with interest.

"Do you hear yourself, woman? You're suggesting that we 'shatter some stars'. Those are celestial bodies!" The Astrologer Walker rolled his eyes, despite knowing that the Fairy Walker was, in a sense, the wife of his boss, Baiyi.

"You said that the stars are fake," the Fairy Walker calmly replied.

"That is precisely the reason why they are untouchable!" The Astrologer Walker said in rebuke. It was as though he were a professor teaching a bumpkin quantum physics. He looked at the First Walker and said, "Look, Sir Archmage, I suggest we attempt to create something like a fog to block the star, preventing their light from shining down on us. That's reasonable, isn't it?"

"I'm already trying to do that!" The Archmage replied, struggling to form the necessary runes above his hand. The Archmage had some spells in mind that could accomplish the task, and he also knew how to cast them even through unfamiliar mediums; however, he had tried twice already, and both attempts ended in failure. Try as he might, the clouds he conjured, using three times the required mana, dissipated the instant they came in contact with the light. The Archmage was beginning to wonder if the phrase "the clouds would not hide the sun" [1] was more factual than imaginary.

The Fairy Walker was unperturbed by the Astrologer Walker's words. As though thrilled by the danger they faced, her lips curled up as she said, "You're wrong. They can be touched, and they can be destroyed! The Wind has revealed it to me!"

"What the... How the hell?" The Astrologer Walker's eyes widened in disbelief. During the daytime, even he, an expert on astrology, needed a pair of shades and a unique stargazing technique to locate the three targets. However, the Fairy Walker had managed to do so with her eyes closed.

"Even if they can be touched, it doesn't mean they can be reached," the Archmage said with a tinge of regret. "Such a feat is beyond our capabilities and that of magic."

"No; it's just beyond your capability," the Fairy Walker replied. Without waiting for a reply, she turned around and shouted in fairy language, "Give me the bow, Nydore!"

A gigantic grey bow appeared in her hand. It was as though it had crossed dimensions to reach there. That bow was none other than the Divine Weapon of the fairies: the Caudillo Butterfly bow.

"I need to go up, as high as possible!" the Fairy Walker said.

The request was not an easy one. Under normal circumstances, a levitation spell would have solved this; however, the current circumstances were not normal.

"Hah! That's something I can help," the Caveman Walker beamed, after which he skillfully climbed the tallest tower in the city. It only took a few seconds for him to reach the top of the tower, and then he waved at the Fairy Walker.

"I'll reduce your weight as much as I can," said the Soul Armature Practitioner. He gathered his mana into a simple levitation spell, which he then cast on the Fairy Walker, making her as light as a feather. Due to the present circumstances, he would have to continue feeding the spell with mana until the Fairy Walker had done what she needed to do.

"I'll help as well," the Archmage said. He pointed his staff at the Fairy Walker, teleporting her right onto the Caveman Walker's shoulders.

Golden light burst out of the Caveman Walker, and he let out a loud warcry as he threw the Fairy Walker up with every bit of power he could muster. The immense recoil caused the tower to collapse instantly.

The Fairy Walker pierced through the clouds like an arrow. In a few seconds, she had reached the stratosphere, an area where the humans of Isyhtre could not dream of reaching. Frost had covered the tips of her hair, yet the stars she targeted remained far out of reach.

"No, no! We need to do something!" The Fairy Walker cried.

"Help is coming. Allow me," the Warrior Walker said within the Void.

The Fairy Walker quickly switched places with the Warrior Walker. Upon her arrival, the Voidwalker twirled gracefully only to see a massive fireball heading her way. She grunted softly, and ice-blue flames burst out of her, instantly forming an azure dragon. The flame dragon collided with the fireball, making the Archmage lose hair to create and deliver to the woman's current altitude.

From above the clouds in the sky, an explosion that sounded a lot like thunder suddenly rattled the world. This was as a result of the collision between a magic spell and a combat chi dragon, and the shockwave was strong enough to propel the Warrior Walker even higher.

"Go get' em, girls!" The Archmage cheered. However, he sighed a moment later. "That boy… Why is he so much better at choosing women than I am?"

The shockwave had propelled the Warrior Walker into orbit; on Earth, this was the destination of most satellites. In this universe, space was a bright blue. It looked like part of the sky, making one feel as though there was no limit to the sea of blue above.

However, the air here was so thin, it may as well not exist. The temperature was so low, the bowstring of the Caudillo Butterfly bow had begun to freeze. If the Voidwalker ascending had been wearing normal armor and not the Divine Leathersuit, they would have long since frozen solid.

"More… Just a little more!" The Fairy Walker muttered anxiously.

"Me! Let me!" The Assassin Walker said in the Void, switching places with the Warrior Walker. Using her unique technique, her body flashed three times, propelling her further toward the stars.

"This is as far as I can go!" The Warrior Walker apologized and relished control of the Divine Leathersuit back to the Fairy Walker, who gratefully replied, "Thank you, everyone. I won't let all that be in vain!"

She flipped backward gracefully and pulled the bowstring as far back as it could go, by pushing the notch away with her foot. It was as though she was the magnificent bow's arrow.

As the Fairy Walker poured her power into the Caudillo Butterfly bow, it transformed into an enormous butterfly. In the vast emptiness of space, the Fairy Walker looked as though she was waltzing with a gigantic black butterfly. There was no arrow on the bow still. It was uncertain if she planned to act as a bow.

The Fairy Walker caressed the bow and whispered, "Go; shatter the stars!" Then, she let go.

A dazzling glare, which was brighter than the golden light covering Isythre, shot out from the bowstring, separating into three radiant arrows in midair. All three arrows powered through space, speeding towards the fake stars.

As the arrows streaked through space, the Fairy Walker could hear muffled sounds beside her ears. It was as though something enormous and ancient had woken up to watch her.

However, the Fairy Walker was now weak, having put all her strength into that shot. Without checking if she had hit her targets, she began to fall. As gravity took over, her falling speed drastically increased, causing her to slowly lose consciousness. She could not help but mumble, "I demand… a prettier, better body next time, my dear…"

Although the durability of the Divine Leathersuit was great, it would be unable to withstand the crash that was to come. The Soul Armature Practitioner's Levitation Spell had stopped working when the Fairy Walker reached space, and she was still outside its maximum range of effect.

Suddenly, the Fairy Walker felt her falling speed greatly reduce, and a few minutes later, she hit something as hard as the ground. However, she did not hear the explosion she expected such a fall to create.

"What's going on? There's no pain," the Fairy Walker whispered in confusion.

Something below her suddenly spoke, "Ow. What a weight…"

Although the Fairy Walker had landed on something hard, whatever it was had a soft voice. She slowly got to her feet and realized that she was atop a magnificent white dragon!

"Y-you?!" The Fairy Walker in disbelief. "You saved me?"

Aya sneered. It was obvious that she had done it reluctantly and had no plans to do it again.

"Oh, ho ho! You, little man-stealer! You must have some galls to face me! Should I wrestle a dragon today?" The Fairy Walker exclaimed, reinvigorated by the unexpected turn of events. She made her way over to Aya's neck with the Caudillo Butterfly bow in hand. It was as though she intended to strangle the dragon with the bow.

"Y-you vile vixen! I shouldn't have saved you!" Aya growled.

"I'm better than a thirsty homewrecker!"

"How dare you! I was here first; we even have a child together!"

"Um, do you think something's wrong with Aya? Her flying was a little weird," the Soul Armature Practitioner said out loud, watching the white dragon fly in S-shaped and B-shaped manners. "Do you think she got hurt catching the Fairy Walker? But, I'm sure my Levitation spell made it in time…"

"Let's not meddle in the affairs of women, shall we? We better use this time now to fix our damaged formations and gears. There's a war taking place, after all," the Archmage hurriedly replied. It was evident that he was in the know.

By the time Aya landed, both women had tired themselves out. Aya instantly transformed back into her human form and glared at the Fairy Walker, who was lying on the grass, too tired to sit up.

"It seems we prevailed," the Fairy Walker said, admiring the blue sky above. The golden light was receding gradually, making way for the sunlight to once again light up the realm.

The Fairy Walker closed her eyes, enjoying the sunlight.

Aya was just as tired as the Fairy Walker was. She sat down next to Fairy Walker and closed her eyes. They were just two friends enjoying each other's company.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

572 Allow Me To Go Firs

The day the angels arrived in Isythre was one nobody would ever forget. Some people would remember that the descent happened as a result of the bad blood between the Voidwalkers and the Church. More will remember the splendor with which the angels descended, and others would recall the Holy Light that encased the realm, healing the people of ailments they had suffered for years. There were all miracles worthy of being recorded, but they only mattered to Isythre.

There was, however, an event so marvelous, even the inhabitant of other realms could not help but notice: the brilliance of a supernova.

On that day, everyone in every realm, be it nighttime or daytime, looked up the witness the stars shattering. These people knew that they would not see something as grand as this ever again.

In the diary of one Ignaz the Bard — a renowned litterateur, relationship guru, and researcher of Cute Anime Girls — this grand event was recorded.

'Bright stars! Can anything compare to the brilliance with which you died? Your death was too sudden, and the sky was destroyed and our minds seared; it is everlasting! The glow from the feathers in the Archangels' wings... Oh, how they hid in shame under these reverent beams. But, no striking tempest is without its thunder, and this too came with a wrathful rumble: the blare of the herald trumpet, the overture of our march! Let those gilded, divine thrones quake as they hear the defiance in our war cry!'

The Pope, who was still at his seat in the Holy City, could also see the mighty explosion take place, and he thought it was another miracle performed by the angels. No one would have thought that the explosion was the result of some stars being destroyed. The believers of the Church shared the Pope's thought, so when the sky became incomparably radiant, they began to pray even harder.

Despite their fervency, nothing happened. Then, even more embarrassingly, it was revealed after an hour to all ten million followers in the city that the angels had long since arrived. They just happened to descend directly in Shamshire instead. Needless to say, it put the baffled Holy City in an awkward spot. After all of the city's wealth and time in creating a beatific, spiritual atmosphere, these angels were not even going to bequeath a look at their display of devotion?

Apparently, as the believers accompanied their anticipation with litanies and hymns, the sky above the partially-ruined Shamshire — due to the late VP Grant's doing — suddenly broke apart for a pearly gate of light.

No one could tell why these angels had chosen to arrive directly at the frontlines. Was it because they had begun to feel uneased by where the battle seemed to be heading? Regardless of the truth, the Pope himself thought it was a most welcoming change. He very much rather these warriors showed how serious they were of this battle by throwing themselves into the fight as soon as possible than to see them squander their time for ritualistic frivolities.

The technical problem of the angels' unannounced change of plan, however, was that none of the chosen hosts was in Shamshire at the time of their arrival. So who had the angels picked as their mediums?

The answer was the Church's troops who were still stationed in the ruined city, such as Archbishop Austin and St. Zachary, the captain of the Templars. While they were on their knees in prayers, they suddenly found themselves shining in a soft, golden glow before rising into the air. When they looked down on their white ceremonial robes, they discovered that their clothes had turned into golden armors as wings of light spread widely behind their backs.

One of Baiyu's least desired situations had come true. The legion of angels who had come down to fight the Voidwalkers were not kawaii girls in short skirts, but burly men with hairy legs and eight-packed washboard abs. Behold, a group of Billy Herrington [2] with wings and angelic halo!

Baiyi's nightmare was not the only thing that had come true. With two of the Church's most prominent and powerful figures selected as the angels' hosts along with a slew of the most devoted and advanced in power level clerics, crusaders, and templars, the Walkers' worst-case scenario had also become a reality. Now, high up in the sky above Shamshire, people were rising into the air, their golden wings gleaming brightly against the background blue.

As soon as they had recovered from the enemy's first sneak attack, the Voidwalkers had climbed to the battlements of the city wall, taking in the uncanny scene of the distant horizon filling with large, golden wings.

The Archmage was the one that spoke everyone's mind. "Whoa. Here's an entire troop of pro-gamers right at our first match, guys. From here they all look like a flock of pigeons, though."

Although calling the angels "pro-gamers" before the match even started seemed like a self-defeating exaggeration, what the Walkers' really meant was that they were on their most guarded. With a wide-range magic nullification technique as the angels' first move, it was no wonder that the Walkers, who had just narrowly circumvented the attack, were not keen on underestimating their enemies.

"I sure hope our other teams manage to serve their purpose as distractions later," the Archmage murmured before counting the number of wings in the sky.

Thirty-five angels had come for The Just War. All of them bore the standard look of a descended angel: eyes blindfolded by a piece of white fabric and bodies hovering in the air with the help of wings of light. They looked as immaculate and imposing as they had always presented themselves to be, exuding a sort of radiant aura that could compel men to grovel at their feet.

The angels soared higher and higher into the sky and encircled Shamshire. They illuminated the city with their intensifying holy brilliance, transforming its ruinous appearance into that of a sacred place akin to the Divine Realm itself.

The first two angels who had taken over Archbishop Austin and St. Zachary's bodies rose above the circumambulating angels raised their heads high. In their majestic voices, they spoke one after another like a duet.

"Thou art in the presence of Archangel Paimon, Vassal of Tylemus, Lord of Time."

"Thou art in the presence of Archangel Baal, Vassal of Krachlon, Lord of Nature."

"We appeareth before thee to mete out wroth judgment to the fiend and enemies of gods who lust after thy Lords' power. We shalt anon returneth what hath lost to whence it cometh."

"May ye who accepteth our Lords' lighteth into your heart taketh us with most wondrous humility. Be blessed with bountiful valor and raiseth thy swords by our side."

"Whenever there is light, thy highest Lord shalt be with thee!"

The angels' manifesto was thus delivered in a one-after-another fashion between the two Archangels. Strangely, without raising voices, their words were heard by every believer regardless of where they were in the realm.

Immediately after their proclamation, a curtain of golden light swept through the land to screen for those with the most robust faith. Then, those deemed worthy were designated as the champions of mortals and the angels' allies, cradled by a golden aura that slowly materialized into a full plate of sturdy armor.

These armor-clad believers suddenly stood up from their submissive position and began to swarm towards the nearest teleportation portal as though they were in a trance. Their ultimate destination? Shamshire, where they would fight side by side with the angels!

Terrifyingly, the Voidwalkers' latest challengers were indeed an actual army, led by the angels in their armor of light, made of soldiers who were so bewitched by their faith that they forgot to fear death. Just as gods had promised in the Pope's revelation, the angels were mighty as they were steadfast!

Still high up in the air, Archangel Paimon fished out what looked like a scepter broken by its half.

"This is the all that was left of Bella's Arbiter's Right in the Divine Realm. I implore you to be more mindful of how to use it," Archangel Baal advised.

"Time will be squandered as our troops gather," Paimon murmured, spying a glance at the streams of humans pooling below their feet like ants. He tucked the scepter back into himself and said quietly, "Humans… Their footwork leaves so much to be desired."

"But our time is not scarce," Baal replied reassuringly before pulling out a sword forged out of pure light energy from his sheath. Pointing its tip to Arfin, he raised his voice and ordered, "Andromalius, Dantalion. Go forth and lay waste to the den of the sinners, who are enfeebled by our holy light."

The two named angels flew out of the circle below Baal's feet and sped towards Arfin without a word. Below them, a few believers broke off from the congregation and began to follow the two angels on foot.

"Yo, would you look at that? Two of them are heading towards us," the Archmage said, his eyes never taken off from the two winged figures coursing towards them closer and closer. "Strange, innit? They're supposedly superior to all mortals, including ourselves, but they still wanted to test us first. They're more careful than I expected."

"Ooh, ooh, me me me! I'll steal their lives in no time!" The Fairy Walker chirped excitedly, still riding the high of beating her romantic competitor earlier.

"Hold your horses, young lady. Your power shouldn't be wasted on something like this," The Archmage replied, waving his hand to halt the Fairy Walker from jumping into action. "At times like this, let the elderly pave the way."

He raised his magician staff. His large flapping robe began to billow noisily under the rising energy as three magical formations materialized above his head, before his chest, and under his feet. From the looks of it, it seemed to be building up for a complicated, slightly time-consuming spell, yet its preparation was over already. At the end of the Archmage's quick incantation, the old dolt even managed to say, "See? Formations are the true, best way to do magic!"

The three formations moved to align themselves at his chest, and a purple light beam shot out from its middle to the angels. Against the Archmage's usual style, the attack was unflashy and nondescript, but it was quick enough to reach the first angel's vicinity in milliseconds.

Eyeing the incoming attack, the angel raised his sword in front of his chest to brace for it while muttering flatly under his breath, "Weak."

The purple beam pierced through his light-forged blade and bore through his throat.

A mortal would have died on the spot with their vital point so cleanly stabbed, but an angel was no mortal. He remained in the air and rubbed the wound on his throat, nonplussed. To him, the injury was akin to a papercut that would not even require much Divine Energy to recover from.

He was about to bring his power when a new sensation rocked him off his assurance: pain. He had never felt it before.

Bafflement and dull surprise were written all over the angel's face as waves of agony flared up in his throat. Then, in that moment of confusion, he discovered that the body he was using was rebelling against his control. He moved his hands to the neck and clenched around it, his body writhing uncontrollably. Losing control, the angel fell from the sky.

The body made a heavy thud as it crashed onto the ground. On its spot was no longer the magnificent figure of an angel but a mere nameless crusader, whose that was spilling dark red blood. There was no sign of life on the man's face.

The sudden turn of event baffled the other angel. How did such a basic attack from their weakened foes manage to take down his comrade? Did something go wrong during their possession ritual?

This slight pause of hesitation cost this angel's life; another purple beam shot out from the enemy's city, and this time it punctured through his skull.

The angel quickly learned what had befallen his friend at those exact moments before he crashed onto the earth in an even less dignified manner. By the time the two's human companions had reached them on the ground, they were terrified to see not the angels but two unknown corpses.

"Bwahaha! It seems that my latest technique, 'Space Ripper Stingy Eyes', is a success! This power is truly unmatched!" The Archmage laughed in pride at the direction of the Soul Armature Practitioner.

"Great, now you're using a JoJo reference as your technique name," the Soul Armature Practitioner said with a sigh. "With that said, being able to take down two angels like that really shows that our effort in studying Noirciel has borne incredible fruits…"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

573 You Actually Ambushed Us?

Angels were considered invincible. They had unfathomable strength, reflexes, and destructive capabilities. It took one angel to force meatball mode Baiyi into a corner. The only weakness angels had was their lack of battle experience.

The Voidwalkers did not agree with this assessment, though. Angels, the Voidwalkers argue, only seem invincible because humans did not know much about them. Not only were angels cloaked in mystery, but they also commanded Divine Energy — an unfathomable energy that trumps the energies that humans could wield.

Saving Noirciel had provided the Voidwalkers a glimpse into these mysterious beings. The information they received from the former High Priest deepened their understanding of angels.

For starters, angels descended to mortal realms almost in the same manner that Voidwalkers did. Both beings required a medium to exist in a mortal world; the Voidwalkers favor suit of armors, while angels inhabited living humans. If a hole was punched through a Voidwalker's chest, they could shrug it off, but the same could not be said for angels; their hosts would have to bear this almost-fatal injury. If aggravated to serious levels, hosts could forcefully boot the spirits of angels from their bodies.

Angels do not get rid of their host's spirit after possession. They only sever their hosts' reception to stimuli during battles. Thus, angels could not feel pain. Only angels that have been deemed sinners, like Noirciel, have this ability taken away, as the pain was considered a part of their penance.

This wealth of knowledge, including Baiyi experience fighting Noirciel, helped the Voidwalkers devise tactics that could work against angels, who almost everyone considered invincible. The Archmage's purple beam was one such tactic.

The Voidwalkers had noticed that angels are incredibly sensitive to energy pulses. When they noticed the surge in the strength of their enemies, the Voidwalkers added a little more of their power to their default output, as evident by Noirciel's change in battle forms. Back when she fought Baiyi, she did not use her battle form until the Voidwalker utilized his meatball mode.

The reason why angels choose this economic battle strategy was still unknown. Could it be out of a feeling of superiority, or consideration for the limits of their host's body, or a constraint set by the Laws? Nevertheless, angels never unleashed their full power from the get-go; this was something the Voidwalkers were keen to exploit. The Archmage compressed a large amount of mana into a small ray of purple light, in order to greatly minimize the intensity and frequency of its energy pulses. This way, the angel would not have their guard up against the attack, as it did not seem lethal.

This was why the seemingly impossible happened: the angels' throats were quickly pierced through by the purple death ray. That was not the end, though. According to the former High Priest, in order to kill an angel, one had to get past their ability to self-heal using their Divine Energy.

As angels could only exist in a mortal realm by inhabiting the body of humans, serious injuries or loss of vital organs would only affect the human hosts, not the angels. To angels, losing body parts was no different from losing strands of hair. They could easily use their Divine Energy to heal the most serious of wounds; this made killing them quite difficult. Fortunately, after watching the playback of Baiyi fighting Noirciel, the Archmage found inspiration to his solution: another way to stop an angel from self-healing.

The Voidwalkers began to look into the mechanism behind the angels' method of possession. Although they were still far from grasping every detail, they managed to uncover another weakness: the state of the host's body would directly impact the angel's stability.

It was the reason why the angels needed to mask their hosts' sensory perceptions. If the host felt any intense sensory stimuli or emotions, their spirit would stir and reject against the angel's subjugation, inadvertently purging the angel out of their body. Noirciel was a great example of it; Lulu's rebellion against her angel guest's control over her body had caused the Angel to be so severely compromised that she was later branded as a tainted sinner.

To capitalize on this characteristic, the Archmage had throw in a few illusionary magic typically found in the Charlatan and Incubus's techniques into his "Space Ripper Stingy Eyes". Once the attack hit its target, the psychic effects were unleashed to forcefully rouse the host's dormant spirit. Indeed, in terms of impact, this purple deathray was more of a psychic attack than a magical one!

Incredibly, the Archmage had never put this spell to the test. The success in sniping not one, but two Angels just from its first use was nothing short of inspiring.

"You see? Once the enemies lose the protection of our ignorance, they're nothing to be feared!" The Archmage beamed proudly to the Soul Armature Practitioner.

"Well, that's probably true only to you. The execution is so complicated that I doubt I can pull it off even once," The other Walker remarked regrettably before shooting a quick, green-eyed glance at the Archmage's pompous equipment. Only the First Walker with his prodigious grasp in magic and his overpowered equipment could make a sophisticated psychic-magical hybrid spell exist beyond theories!

"See? This is why formation magic reigns supreme over that low-level runic magic! Runes wouldn't have the ability to bring this to reality!" The Archmage boasted.

"Which also means there's literally no one else in this world who could make use of Space Ripper Stingy Eyes," The Soul Armature Practitioner said pointedly.

"Oh, er… Well! Let's not get hung up over a small complication like that," The Archmage relented awkwardly. "This technique is meant to be used for sneak attacks only after all, so it's not like it can be used indiscriminately during direct clashes. Our enemies could easily find ways to circumvent it. The more important lesson here is that it proved us right about these angels' weaknesses, and now we can all devise and derive our own methods to counter them."

"Hmm, guess I should put this to the test," the Soul Armature Practitioner said after producing a purple ball with the word "M" engraved on it. "I can probably manage myself if I'm up against normal Angels, I hope?"

Meanwhile, word of the death of two angels reached the ears of the two Archangels.

A nonplussed expression appeared on Paimon's face, and he indifferently asked, "What exactly have befallen Andromalius and Dantalion?"

"A moment please," Baal said, raising his sword skyward while cupping his free hand over his ear. A brief pause later, he relayed, "They were ambushed by something… unnatural."

"Something unnatural?"

"…Pain. They said they'd felt pain."

Paimon's entire body froze at the revelation saved for his wings, which were visibly quaking. When he finally spoke, his voice was shaking with fury, "They… They made them feel pain? How dare they — how dare they blaspheme like this!!"

Pain was a torment reserved only for the angels who had sinned, and only the gods had the right to mete out such a cruel punishment. The Archmage's action, whose spell had caused agony to their fallen comrades, was equivalent to playing god!

Paimon was apoplectic. He was just about to order the entire heavenly legion to annihilate those blasphemous fiends when Baal, who was visibly calmer, stopped him. "Halt, Paimon. If the enemies could inflict pain upon us, then they are more than capable of harming our brothers as well. Let our human companions prove their alliance instead," He advised. "With our blessings and protection, their status as mortals shall not debilitate them the slightest. Their resolve, tempered by faith, shall pulverize those blasphemers until there was nothing left of their wretched bones."

"You may be right," Paimon muttered and pulled out the split scepter from before. This time, instead of advising against it, Baal began to order the hovering Angels below their feet to take up positions.

The Angels obeyed and rose into the air, each of them assuming a position and altitude. Then, once everyone was settled, their aura flared even more brightly than usual until each Angel's light was linked to their comrades' to form a mysterious rune no mortals in Isythre recognize.

Perhaps if Noirciel had woken up from her coma and noticed this, she would have warned the Walkers. The Angels were preforming a preliminary ritual to signal the use of a god's Arbiter's Right, and regrettably, had Noirciel herself did the same before she borrowed her master's power, she would not have ended up with her current fate.

"O Bella above us, pray grant humble Paimon the right to use Thy power in Thy nameth, so he may serve justice and mete out judgment to the sinned," Paimon proclaimed loudly and cast the broken scepter into the air. It vanished.

Suddenly, strange turbulence in space erupted around Arfin. The air around it began to twist and warp until suddenly, ten million armed believers clad in golden armors of light surrounded the city out of nowhere!

"Yikes!" The Archmage exclaimed, jumping reflexively at the abrupt turn of the event. Despite his experiences, he had never seen anything like this. No one had ever been able to teleport so many people without letting out a sign! [1]

Of course, when one had access to an Arbiter's Right, such a feat was within their capabilities. Achieving the unbelievable with a god's power should be expected.

Archangel Paimon brandished his heavenly sword and declared his words straight into the believers' mind. Entranced, they began to charge toward the city walls. As they came without proper siege weapons, the believers hacked and slashed at everything in their way with whatever weapons they armed.

The Archmage responded by downing barrages and barrages of devastating magic on them, yet all those did was leaving large craters in their wake. The believers survived with no more than a few scratches under the protection of their golden armor and the Holy Light. Indeed, as they leapt back to their feet and returned to charging madly into the fray, their wounds were closing and healing at a visible pace.

"Damn, did we just get thrown into World War Z or Resident Evil?" The Archmage snarked before shouting, "Brace yourselves, we've been ambushed!"

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

574 Everything Is Easily Under Control

The Voidwalkers now believed that they had overestimated the integrity of angels. These beings of the Void never expected angels to go so low as to ambush them, putting the Voidwalkers in a troublesome situation.

So far, the angels had played much dirtier than expected. First, they had set up an anti-magic territory that encompassed all of Isythre. across entire Isythre, then they dispatched two of their kinds to test the waters. When the angels discovered that the Voidwalkers possessed abilities that could harm them, they switched to a defensive tactic, ordering thousands of believers to siege the city.

It was certain that the angels had more tricks up their sleeves than they led the Voidwalkers to believe.

"And, who is the arse that told us angels had no experience in battle?" The Archmage frowned and lobbed a massive spell at the crowd of believers climbing the city wall.

'That would be your dear student, my respected sir,' the Soul Armature Practitioner sneered inwardly, after which he calmly replied, "Well, it has been six thousand years since Sir Hope crossed blades with Noirciel. I would imagine the angels have had enough time to understand the devious nature of humans."

After speaking, the Soul Armature Practitioner pulled a small red ball out of his waist pocket, and then, he tossed it into the crowd of believers. "Agumon[1], I choose you!"

A bright light encased the area, temporarily blinding everyone close by. The red ball disappeared and in its place was a huge lindworm. Without taking in its surroundings, the Lindworm charged into the crowd of believers, sending many bodies flying in the process. The Lindworm was just as strong as the Engineer Walker's marionette. The holy blessings, golden armors, and other enhancements that were granted to in the believers did not make them invincible; the Lindworm used his immense strength to create a mound of corpses outside the city wall in very little time.

The Soul Armature Practitioner was remembered as the founder of Soul Armature arts. However, many had forgotten that he was, first and forecast, an accomplished summoner. His unrivaled talent and skill at summoning had allowed him to invent the Soul Armature arts.

"Look! Once they venture out of the golden light, their defense and self-healing capabilities wane," said the Soul Armature Practitioner, as he and the Archmage watched the Lindworm flay the enemies. "You should only attack them when they're closer to you!"

After the three stars were heroically shattered by the Huffing Piggies — the Warrior Walker, the Assassin Walker, and the Fairy Walker — the protection provided by the light ended the instant the believers entered the city. The Archmage did as the Soul Armature Practitioner suggested, and he realized with glee that his magic was now doing its normal damage. Delighted at this discovery, the Archmage began to bombard the intruders with a seemingly endless barrage of powerful spells, and soon, the city was free from its would-be intruders.

"Agumon, use tail slap!" The Soul Armature Practitioner commanded.

The Lindworm's enormous tail swept the immediate surrounding, sending the believers that had attempted to climb it flying.

The Archmage seemed dissatisfied, though. "Things are picking up, but I have the nagging feeling that you got something wrong."

"Oh, is that what bothers you? This is something I invented a while ago; a unique summoning technique!" The Soul Armature Practitioner said and pointed at the lindworm, which had begun to emit orange light. "My boy here isn't an average lindworm. Soon, it will evolve into a Charizard, and then a Mega Charizard —"

"I thought it is an Agumon!" The Archmage raised a brow.

"Well, I just happened to name it 'Agumon', but let us not obsess over these trivial details," the Soul Armature said, after which he issued new commands to his Lindworm.

The southern gate was slowly being cleared of enemies, and the western entrance was fairing just as well; this was not surprising because the Blacksmith Walker, Engineer Walker, and a group of marionettes were guarding that area. As marionettes did not feel fear or lower their guard, unlike humans, they showed no hesitation when walking into battle.

The marionettes that resembled cyclops watched the city wall carefully. Believers that were able to make it to the top of the city wall were knocked back down hard. Those able to evade the cyclops marionettes were swiftly captured by the enormous spider marionette, who used its Void Energy to crush the divine protection covering the sieging believers. Black flames burst out from the spider marionette, and anyone unlucky enough to be caught by it was charred to a crisp.

When the believers atop the city wall had been dealt with, the spider marionette transformed back to its original form. It then used its heat beams to clear the wall of the believers climbing them. Another mountain of corpses was formed; this was much bigger than the mountain of corpses formed at the western gate, which was caused by the Archmage.

The Engineer Walker's only regret was the malfunction of the spider marionette's speech function. It had not said a word for a long time; the silence was unsettling.

The northern gate — which was protected by the Warrior Walker, the barbarians, and the Gale Snipers, who were led by Nydore — was cleared of enemies right after the southern gate. Some soldiers that had been dispatched by the nobles supporting the Voidwalkers were also at the northern gate, helping the others. Only a few casualties were suffered at this gate.

To the Voidwalkers' surprise, the guards at the eastern gate were the last to clear off their attackers. This gate could certainly be called Arfin City's wildest gate, guarded by a lot of soldiers led by the legendary Second Walker, the Caveman Walker, the Cleric Walker, and the Paladin Walker. This gate had a lot of powerful guards behind, even more than other gates, yet when the other gates were free of intruders, the guards at this gate were still engaged in battle.

"What is taking you so long?" The Archmage growled the instant he got through to them via communication magic.

"Our foes are many," someone replied. The Archmage almost could not hear the Cleric Walker over the Caveman Walker's loud warcry. They were still fighting hard.

"But, you have the largest number of guards!"

"We also have the most extensive area to defend, and having the shortest wall of the four gates certainly does not help us," the Cleric Walker replied loudly, hoping to be heard over the incredibly loud background noise. Dong! Dong! Dong!! The Archmage could hear loud thumps from there, as the Paladin Walker knocked his enemies around with a hammer.

"Well, your crew has the most experts!"

"The Second Walker has refused to help us, okay? He's just sitting there, watching the three of us fend them off. My techniques are working at full capacity right now..." replied the Cleric Walker.

The Archmage shook his head and sighed, and then he cast a surveillance spell, which he used to check on the eastern gate.

The angels' holy light made the believer emanate a golden glow, while the Cleric Walker's divine blessings made the gate's guards emit the same golden light, putting both sides at equal strength. Neither side had an edge over the other.

The eastern gate was smaller than the other gates, so more enemies made it a target. The enemies that had failed their assault on the other gates quickly rushed over to the eastern gate. Although the Caveman Walker and the Paladin Walker were fighting hard, the number of enemies at that gate was too much to get rid of quickly.

The Blacksmith Walker had good news, though: "My Artillery of Italy is on its way to rescue you!"

After some minutes passed, the enemies at the eastern gate were finally defeated. The holy light could not save the enemies from that many attacks.

By five in the evening, the siege was almost at an end. As the sun slowly set, the holy light gradually retreated from Arfin City's walls. The holy light receded to Shamshire, and the believers were weakened; the farther they were from the light, the weaker they were.

No one knew if the angels chose to retract the holy light at sunset because they were reluctant to go against the Laws of Nature.

The Archmage had other plans, though. The man decided to enact revenge on the intruders, who were now without the protection of the holy light. He quickly began to chant the incantation of a powerful spell, and space around the city began to distort. Before the Archmage could finish, the intruding believers vanished.

"What. The. Actual f**k?!" The Archmage growled. "Coming and going whenever they please! What do they think this is? A tinder date?"

He was not the only person in a bad mood. The angels were frustrated by the failed attempt to siege the city, despite the believers' successful escape. Paimon stared at the kneeling believers coldly. "Humans… really are weak creatures."

Ten million believers boosted with holy light went to siege the city, but only eight million returned. It took only half a day for the angels to lose two million minions, who were enhanced by holy blessings, despite attacking first. The Voidwalkers, on the other hand, lost only five hundred soldiers. The seriously injured were quickly treated, and in almost no time, they were fit for battle.

"It is because they lack both adequate equipment and a capable strategist,' Baal explained, offering up an excuse for the humans. "Their performance made me realize that they are like a crowd without a goal, only acting on basic instincts. This is what they are without a commander.

"Furthermore, the enemies were somehow able to limit the holy light's reach. Right now, that city really is a land of darkness."

The Archangel was right. Although the believers were many, most of them had not held swords before. The only reason this inexperienced lot had survived that long was because of the holy light. However, their lack of battle experience showed; without skills in their arsenal, all they did was charge forward brutishly, hoping to hit their enemies. Unfortunately, the most inexperienced of the lot had strayed outside the area protected by the holy light, and they were mercilessly slaughtered.

Some crusaders and paladins were dispatched with the believers, and they fared much better than their counterparts. If the angels had not placated the believers with soothing thoughts, they would have given in to fright, causing the death toll to spike tremendously.

An army of inexperienced fighters could scare amateurs, but the Voidwalkers, who were as battle-hardened as one could get, were not amateurs. If the believers had not been protected by holy light, not even one of them would have made it back alive.

"I see your point. We shall dispatch two of our brothers to guide them," Paimon said, sighing.

"I guess Lady Bella's Arbiter's Right still has its uses," Baal said. "But for that, we will have to wait until tomorrow morning."

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates . Net

.

575 The Next Day

At sunrise the next day, the Holy Light returned. The dazzling glow compelled the believers to kneel and pray. For some reason, though, the residents of Holy City did not emulate this act; they were forced to clean up, burying the corpses of those massacred the night before. The residents did this with tears in their eyes.

At 10 pm the previous night, some people successfully snuck into Holy City. A lot of believers had already lost their lives during the battle that had occurred earlier, and most of the survivors had garrisoned in Shamshire, as angels had ordered. Thus, Holy City did not have many guards and was at its weakest. The group of people that snuck in then proceeded to carry out mass murder.

Before the massacre, a figure clad in a pitch-black attire scaled the city wall and opened the city gate from inside the city. This disturbance quickly alerted the gatekeepers to the intruder's presence. This enraged the intruder, and in a fit of madness, he killed everyone in the vicinity, after which he continued to open the gate.

A group of intruders rushed in through the city gate and laid waste to anything that entered their sights. Some soldiers entered the city right after the intruders did, and without further ado, they also began to wreak havoc.

This group seemed bent on causing chaos; every church they came across was burned to the ground. The ruckus forced the Pope awake, and when the man saw what was going on, he hurriedly began to use his exceptional skill at theurgy in an attempt to save his city.

However, a mysterious sorcerer appeared, raised a magic staff, and screamed, "Wrrrryyyyyyy!!!!" The sorcerer quickly engaged the Pope and his men in close combat, buying enough time for the intruders to escape. The Pope fought hard, but he was unable to prevent the intruders from leaving as leisurely as they came. Only corpses, rubble, and a burning landscape was left after the destruction.

The Pope was still trying to come to terms with the horror when he received more bad news: the Papal Mausoleum was raided during the attack. Many holy artifacts and relics were stolen, and the graves of previous popes were desecrated with obscene drawings.

This made the Pope feel as though he had just been stabbed. The shock was too much for his frail heart, and he fainted moments after. At sunrise the next day, the Pope had yet to wake up.

The Templar Fort, which was located north of the city, bore the brunt of the previous night's raid. At first, the exceptional soldiers and equipment stationed there were enough to mitigate most of the damage. However, before the people in the fort could celebrate, spatial cracks formed outside the fort, connecting to the Abyss. A horde of demons rushed out of the cracks, charging towards the fort.

The swift destruction of these two important locations — the Templar Forte and Papal Mausoleum — made the Church depressed. The upper echelon of the Church knew that the angels would reject a request to dispatch more believers to Holy City. Even if they wanted to ask, who would agree to go? They could not even request reinforcements for the Templar Fort, not when it was just attacked by the undead.

To the Church's surprise, the Walthart Empire suddenly offered to help. Some nobles had offered to station their militia in the Holy City to defend it. The nobles did not ask for compensation, but they did request the right to command their militia.

With the Pope still in a coma, the Chief Judge possessed by an angel, and the Paladin Grand Cross still at the frontlines, only the High Priest and the other cardinals were left to make the decision. They quickly convened and decided to accept the nobles' offer. The Church's only role was to provide for the new militia, so it would be quite stupid of them to refuse the offer. Some nobles had requested for some God's Grace's ceremonial titles. Even though these militias would still be commanded by the nobles, the cardinals still considered the offer a good one.

If the Church missed out on this offer, it might not get another one as good; thus, the Pope's official seal was quickly placed on the written contract. After seeing to the necessary arrangements, the upper echelon of the Church stayed by the Pope's side. When the Pope woke up, the cardinals quickly told him about the deal and their decision, hoping that they would earn merits and fame for their swift action.

Contrary to their expectations, however, the Pope's eyes widened and became bloodshot, and the man coughed up some blood. As suddenly as he woke up, he fainted again.

The idiots around the Pope did not understand the implication of inviting a foreign army into the city, but he knew the meat of the matter; this made him infuriated. He knew that this deal was in no way similar to the pre-war deal that the Church had made with some nobles.

For one to agree to provide wealth, resources, and land to a foreign army that they do not command was incredibly stupid — something the Japanese and Koreans clearly understood. [1]

"They agreed to it? Just like that?" The Archmage asked in disbelief, speaking to the Charlatan Walker, who only returned to Arfin City the night before.

"No joke; even I am surprised at its success. Although the Merchant Walker bribed some of those cardinals, things should not have gone so smoothly. The Pope ought to be smarter than that!" The Charlatan Walker replied, oblivious to the fury the Pope felt when he was told what had happened. "The Thane Walker's group may have gone a little overboard, and now, they're a little too incentivized to our offer…"

Nevertheless, the openly-unfair deal was now legally binding. The Emperor and other nobles quickly mobilized their troops of five million soldiers and dispatched them to the outskirts of the Holy City. The troops set up defensive formations outside the city and began to guard it. It was as though they were guarding a city filled with treasure. This made the residents of Canningham breathe a sigh of relief, believing they were now safe from attacks.

"The emperor was a piece of cake, though. He said yes just after two sentences," the Charlatan Walker said, chuckling.

"It's what any ambitious emperor would do. He can't be happy seeing such a large prey roam free. The Empire was unable to subdue it before, but our assaults had paved the way. A wise king would know to cooperate," the Archmage replied, not surprised by Emperor Walthart's quick assent. Rulers thought alike, after all, which was why the Archmage knew that the Emperor would quickly the instant the Church is brought to its knees by the Voidwalkers.

The Church's promise not to interfere in state affairs was not enough for the Emperor. As long as the Church was powerful, it would remain a threat. The Church already breached its promise to the Empire when it declared war on the Voidwalkers on Empire soil, without first informing the Emperor. If the Empire failed to rid itself of this threat, Isythre would be ruled by popes, not emperors, in the future.

Emperor Walthart was only sailing his ship in the direction the wind blew. To him, it did not matter who won the war; both sides considered him an ally.

The Thane Walker was responsible for the events that occurred the night before. He had insisted on placing other Voidwalkers into small teams because he wished to strike the Church's military in secret to weaken them and, if possible — eradicate them.

There were many methods to achieve this: First, the Voidwalkers could carry out mass murders; this was already the option they favored. The Thane Walker, however, believed that believers did not need to die for the sins of their leaders — a sentiment that Baiyi shared. He also did not want to completely wipe out the Church. It was preferable that the Church continues to operate as a charity organization. To accomplish this, the Thane Walker decided to send his soldiers into every city that had lots of religious folks and large cathedrals. He planned to continue with this even after the war was over. The Thane Walker was determined to have the Church kneel before the Empire.

Whether the Empire itself would one day backstab the Void was a nugatory issue. The Voidwalkers were a peacekeeping force whose aim had always been to bring progress to humankind. They were always on the side of good and had a reputation for being incredibly open and fair for negotiations. No one else other than the Church would be so heartless to suspect the Void's benevolence, right?

The imperial household had absolutely nothing as a weapon against the Voidalkers — no angels on their side, and certainly no Holy Light. All of the Empire's best officers were trained by the Voidwalkers, and all of their best weapons were manufactured by Da Xue. Who would think that the Empire had anything to win over the Void?

The angels did not care about politics; they only had eyes for their goals.

This morning, however, they postponed their onslaught for some pomp and circumstances. It was a lavish funeral for those who had laid their lives for the divine cause.

With the two Archangels helming the procession, the Angels arranged themselves into a beautiful formation in the sky as they broke into a melodious hymn for the dead. Then, as though brought out by their voices, shadows of specters filled the sky above Arfin city, heading towards the center of the Angels' formation in droves under the latter's guidance. Some of them joined into the blinding light while some of them quietly melted into the earth.

The angels had used magic to ensure that the whole of Isythre was a witness to the ceremony. Everywhere, the believers were galvanized by the miracle, their previously deflated morales boosted. Suddenly, the frustration and hopelessness from the previous day's failure were transmuted into rapture and an earnest zeal to sacrifice their lives in this Holy War and be reborn as warriors of light. To most of them, the entrance to heaven and the promise of eternal bliss were the goals of their material life. Some of them were even secretly envious of those who had died in the war.

"But what's the point in all of this? At the end of the day, these people are still dead. They're forever separated from their loved ones," Laeticia murmured as she gazed the sky, her hand tightening around the Scripture necklace on her neck as words that could brand her a heretic fell out of her lips.

Unbeknownst to herself, her faith had begun to mutate.

The angels launched their attack to Arfin once the ritual was over, employing the same tactic and transporting their human army right next to the city through the same teleportation technique they'd used. Just like that, a newly-replenished legion of ten million humans appeared right outside the city wall, donned in the same golden armors, weapons, and divine blessings.

Contrary to their experience, the ground immediately exploded the moment they landed on it, triggering even more explosions until men were flying in the air. Those who were too close to the bombs also exploded into minced meat despite their powerful blessing covering them.

"You can only use the same technique against us once, pal. Bet you didn't expect us to plant landmines on the ground, did ya?" The Blacksmith Walker roared boisterously. After devoting so much of the students' and his own time on developing these landmines a long while ago, he was giddy to finally be able to put them in action!

Naturally, his excitement did not delude him into thinking that they would be enough as deterrents. The number of their enemies was too many, and the angels' blessings were too powerful for the explosions to take out a significant amount of their foes. However, these landmines should work perfectly in sowing chaos among the believers.

The Voidwalkers soon realized that the invaders, unlike before, did not seem concerned by the sight and sounds of these unexpected explosions.

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

576 A Holy Woman“s Last Prayer

\"Are we dealing with a different breed of zombies today? For some reason, they are more organized and disciplined this time. I thought that the persistent explosions would have caused them to panic!\" The Archmage said, watching the believers organize their ranks, preparing for another attack.

\"Hey, now. You don't really think that they are zombies, do you?\" The Soul Armature Practitioner replied. Watching the believers advance with renewed vigor, he took a few red balls out of his pocket and thought, 'Which little beastie wants some fresh air today?'

The Soul Armature Practitioner wondered if he ought to choose an oversized tortoise with a Super Mario pipe attached to its shell[1], a shuriken-wielding frog that cosplayed as a ninja, [2]or the godly white horse [3]to complement the religious theme of the war.

Before a choice could be made, he realized that the believers were avoiding the area of the city wall under his protection. In fact, they stayed within the boundary of the Holy Light and attacked the city with ranged weapons like bows and catapults. This made them greatly resembled protesters. Far from looking like a war, they were more like protestors on the street.

\"The Second Walker's area is being targeted the most,\" He said.

The memory of the previous day's battle was still fresh in the mind of the Voidwalkers; even now, no one knew why the Second Walker had refused to cooperate. If the powerful Voidwalker continued to do nothing, Arfin City's eastern gate would be in hot water!

\"The Warrior Walkers's situation is also dire. For some reason, the Engineer Walker's side and our side have it less troublesome,\" the Archmage replied. A believer was accidentally pushed out of the Holy Light's boundary, and before anyone could do anything about it, the Archmage pointed at the believer, causing him to instantly explode, spraying the ground with guts and blood.

\"I don't think that would work,\" the Soul Armature Practitioner said.

He knew what the Archmage intended to achieve with this tactic; the old man wished to pressure the invaders psychologically by slaying them in horrifying manners. If the invaders gave in to fear, their situation would take a turn for the worse. If that happened, the Archmage could send the Soul Armature Practitioner to back up other gates while he handled the enemies alone.

For some reason, though, the believers knew no fear today, leaving nothing for the Voidwalkers to capitalize on.

The Voidwalkers realized that it was best for those facing lesser pressure to save their power, to help the more troubled Voidwalkers. The Archmage and Engineer Walker intended to do this, but although they were not being attacked by a lot of invaders, there was a large group of invaders standing far away, waiting for the smallest of slipups from the Archmage's team. One did not need to be a genius to know that this group of believers was waiting for the Engineer Walker and Archmage to split up, and if that happened, they would charge over instantly!

The Voidwalkers knew the meat of the enemies' plan, but they were helpless, as they simply did not have enough people on their side to do anything about it. This showed that even the weak could use numbers to overwhelm the strong; this tactic may seem flashy, but it worked.

\"Sir Engineer Walker,\" the Archmage said, \"Does he have any power to spare?\"

\"He sent the Tarantula to help them and used his other toys to help his team. The Blacksmith Walker's bombardiers are doing their best to relieve the pressure, but there are just too few of them to keep up. The reinforcements just aren't enough!\" The Soul Armature Practitioner replied.

\"Send every one we can spare to the northern gate,\" the Archmage ordered. \"That team has terrains and a sturdy wall to alleviate the pressure they are facing, but only Warrior Walker is there to take the burden. Her team consists of fairies and barbarians — races that aren't known to be resilient. If the enemies keep throwing bodies at that gate, it will surely fall!\"

As for the eastern gate, whose wall was the shortest — although it was being was targeted by a lot of invaders, the Cleric Walker and his superb theurgical skills were there to support that team; hence, the team suffered only a few casualties. Furthermore, the Caveman Walker and Paladin Walker — two very powerful brawlers — could not die and could keep fighting forever.

This was why the enemies focused their attention on the northern gate, whose team included fairies and humans. Since this team did not have the Cleric Walker in their ranks to heal them without end, they were steadily getting injured. If that continued, the team would end up losing a lot of teammates, and the northern gate would collapse.

\"It looks like we don't have any option but to reveal our trump cards now,\" the Archmage said, a tinge of regret evident in his voice. \"They were supposed to be used on the angels...\"

So far, despite facing ten million enemies with a team many times fewer than that, the Voidwalkers, who were at a disadvantage, had yet to reveal their trump cards. They did not wish to use them so soon, as their enemies had yet to reveal their hands. If the Voidwalkers continued to utilize schemes, the angels would then reveal their true powers and — as no one knew when Baiyi would return — the Voidwalkers would end up losing.

The soldiers dispatched by the Northern Duke were doing their best to support the barbarians in fending off countless assaults. The difficulty of the current battle could not be compared to that of the previous day's battle. In the previous day's battle, the believers did not use siege weapons, so they were greatly deterred by the great height of the northern wall. Unfortunately, they had come with siege weapons today, to the dismay of those guarding the northern gate.

\"Do not overexert yourselves; take turns fighting! Assist and cover your partner when it's your turn as their support!\" The Warrior Walker shouted. Her fists were blazing in bright azure flames as she decimated every foe foolish enough to come close.

The Warrior Walker knew the limitations of the Northern fighting style. Due to their different utilization of combat chi control, barbarians could be easily beset by their poor endurance during a drawn-out battle. Combined that with the barbarians' cultural propensity to recklessly charge into the fray, it was no wonder that the steely beauty had to continually remind her flock about their agreed strategy.

Fortunately, under her supervision and guidance, the barbarians were able to maintain their focus. Recalling their master's lessons during the intensive training camp a few days ago, the warriors applied themselves in moderation and held the defense line. They reigned in their impulse to throw themselves into the fight and took turns to rest and support their partners in combat.

The Warrior Walker turned to the silver-haired fairy and ordered, \"Nydore. Do not use that bow.\"

The Caudillo Butterfly bow's power comes at a dangerous price, and it was for the young fairy's good to not use it frivolously. Unfortunately, this meant that the girl had to work with the more inferior longbow, which inflicted less damage to the believers blessed by the Holy Light. That was despite her using the fairies' ancestral technique, Astra, of shooting a stream of arrows continuously at an inhuman speed.

As a tiny stream of blood ribboned down one of the Gale Snipers' hand, he drew his bow and bemoaned loudly, \"Is Mr. Bear really not going to help us?\"

\"Mr. Bear's power shouldn't be wasted on this,\" Nydore answered sharply, wiping away her blood from her blistered fingers discreetly. Shooting arrows quickly without rest through a taut bowstring had caused Nydore more injuries than her brethren's.

While everyone's attention was drowned in the chaos of the invasion, nobody noticed Laeticia's quiet appearance near the northern gate. Silently, she took in the devastating sight of piles of corpses, her distressed friends and allies, and their struggle to push back their foes from breaching the city.

She hesitated, as though vacillating between choices.

\"Haven't made up your mind?\"

\"Professor Sonia?\" Laeticia let out a soft yelp in disbelief as she turned. The Shadow Walker had snuck behind her while the girl was lost in her thoughts. It was also the first time the girl had ever seen this infamously disgraced papal candidate.

\"Regardless of your reluctance, I've made my decision,\" the Shadow Walker said. \"I have no illusion about the weakness of my power. I can't even cast the simplest, useful theurgical spell, but there must be something I can help.\"

\"You can't?\" Laeticia was startled. How could the disciplined, levelheaded holy woman be denied of theurgical abilities when people who had fallen to shameless indulgences, such as Professor Hantai and Father Joel, could still use the most God's most powerful spells?

\"Unlike those two, I've turned my back from my faith. Or perhaps more accurately, I've pledged my devotion to a different subject. Unfortunately, it appears that my piety is still too impotent,\" the Shadow Walker explained, holding out her palm to display a frail lick of black flame. It looked similar to Baiyi's trademark Void Flames, but hers was so weak that it could not even light up a stalk of dry hay.

\"Look at it,\" she said, bringing the flame closer to Laeticia's face. \"Isn't it disgusting? Does it compel you to retch at its wickedness?\"

The fire's warmth quickly reached her, its glow illuminating the confusion on her face. She shook her head. \"I.. I'm sorry. I don't know what to say. I respect that you chose this, but I… I…\"

\"Then I pray that you may come across the choice your heart desires.\"

The elusive woman joined the bloodbath ahead. Alone, Laeticia extended her hand and stared at her gleaming reflection from her silver-white gauntlet as her other hand instinctively reached her Scripture necklace. \"My… choice?\" She breathed.

She raised the holy flag and whispered her prayer softly. It would be the last time she ever prayed.

\"Alone I tread the lightless path, to the defiled land where evil thrived under His absence. I pray for the darkness to dispel, and the earth to be saved by an act of sacrifice. God, I pray to You; use me as your instrument of light, so that I may punish evil and save the innocent in your stead — \"

She stopped right before the name of the spell. When she spoke again, her voice was trembling with tearful determination. \"God, forgive me.\"

A pair of enormous wings woven from the softest light illuminated the sky above Arfin. Far from being imposing or flashy, the mirage emanated a warm, white glow beatifically cradling every being in the city as an encompassing sense of equanimity bloomed in their hearts.

The mirage was not the slightest bit as dominating as the Angels' Holy Light. It gently roused the believers from their mindless trance to seize and conquer. In reverence, they knelt in obeisance while their golden armors melted away in its immaculate glow.

The longer one studied it, the more the wings resembled a pair of loving hands caressing the mortals' tormented, tired souls. Sometimes, they looked like the hands of a holy woman, whose sincere prayer to God for forgiveness had been answered.

\"That is the sign of our Highest Lord's mercy. His purest believer had made her last prayer!\" Archangel Paimon said, stunned at the miracle in Arfin. \"How incredible that we found His beloved in a land enveloped by darkness, among heretics such as the two blasphemous apostates, who continue to deconsecrate His powers after turning their back…\"

\"Incredible as it may, Paimon, we're witnessing a holy woman's last prayer,\" Archangel Baal said with a tinge of regret. It was as though he was sad about the fate that awaited her. There could only be two possible reasons why a pious believer made their last prayer. Their time on earth had come to an end, or their devotion to God had ceased!

\"Kimaris! Find His beloved mortal whom our Highest Lord had mercifully forgiven,\" Paimon said to another angel. \"Carry out His wish by granting her Salvation.\"

Every believer dreamed of entering the kingdom in heaven after they died. So, it was only fitting that God's most merciful act was to guarantee their entry.

[1] Blastoise

[2] Greninja

[3] Arceus

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

EbookUpdates.Net

.

577 Rejecting Salvation

In preparation, Keguan Please wait a moment, after the updates, you need to refresh the page to get the latest updates!

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates(dot)Net

.

578 Cruelty Is Approaching

In preparation, Keguan Please wait a moment, after the updates, you need to refresh the page to get the latest updates!

You are reading

Why Did You Summon Me？

ebook which is a free download at

wWw.EbookUpdates.Net

.

Download more ebooks for free at

Ebook Updates.Net

.

____________________________________________________________

© Why Did You Summon Me - Sixteenth Basket of Mantaos - Ongoing 401 To 580. Why Did You Summon Me - Sixteenth Basket of Mantaos - Ongoing 401 To 580

Origin: http://samlib.ru/c/chernij_a_w/whydidyousummonme-sixteenthbasketofmantaos-ongoing401to580.shtml

Создан: 09/04/2020, изменен: 09/04/2020, 2830k

Стихотворение: Foreign+Translat

Series: @Other