Landlord World - Start with SSS talent

The sound of the wind howled as the arrow left the bow, speeding toward Aldric.

But Aldric was no ordinary person. Even though he was seriously wounded, he was still a 'Fate Holder'.

He gritted his teeth and swung his spear.

BAM!

The spear and the spatial arrow collided, producing an ear-splitting explosion.

The shockwave erupted, transforming into a wild gust that swept outward, accompanied by a thick billow of smoke.

Whoosh!

From within the dense smoke, a black figure charged out, wielding the spear in hand, thrusting it straight at Noan.

Noan instantly vanished, but when he reappeared, the spear was already once again thrusting toward him.

He wasn't surprised, because from their last battle, he'd realized that Aldric somehow could sense exactly where he would teleport.

Clang!

The bow swiftly transformed into a shield, blocking the tip of the spear as it lunged at him.

The screech of metal rang out harshly, Aldric's force was terrifying, sending Noan flying backward.

Noan struggled to regain his balance, but before he could recover, the tip of the spear appeared before him once again.

At that moment, Noan vanished again, using his teleportation skill repeatedly, which rapidly depleted his energy.

He reappeared once more, now panting, sweat pouring down his face as he stared at Aldric.

Aldric stared back at him.

Although Aldric's body was covered in wounds and burns, his fighting strength didn't seem diminished at all. On the contrary, he seemed even stronger, more frenzied.

Aldric looked at Noan, frowning as he spoke, "Too weak! Even now, when I am already exhausted, you are still no match for me."

"I really don't understand. Why would someone as weak as you oppose the Empire? If you would offer your strength and serve the Empire, you would have a bright future."

"But now it's different. You're like a rat—do you really think you can keep running forever?"

Noan frowned, slowly stood up, shrugged, and said, "You people experimented on my woman, and now you tell me I should happily be your dog? That's hilarious."

"Experiment?" Aldric frowned, his gaze growing confused. "Are you misunderstanding something? Are you talking about that day?"

Noan didn't want to explain anything to Aldric. After all, Aldric was a 'Fate Holder.' Even if he claimed to represent justice, so what?

In the end, he was just a pawn of the Empire, just a dog. Maybe, in the future, he'd no longer be the Empire's pawn—but when would that be?

Besides, Noan had to find Maya. Whether she was dead or if the experiment had succeeded, whether she was still alive—he had to find her.

And Aldric was the biggest obstacle.

That's right. Not the government, not the royal knights, but Aldric.

Because Aldric and he stood on opposite sides of fate. It seemed Maya herself was the trigger for this opposition.

"Speak!" Aldric shouted at this moment. "What do you mean? Those girls were criminals, weren't they?"

Noan glanced at Aldric as if he were an idiot, then sighed and said, "Do you have any family?"

Aldric frowned, thought for a moment, then said, "I have an older sister."

"Ah, so you have no parents?" Noan asked with a mocking smile.

"No. My master took me in and raised me when I was a child. That's why I swore to my master I would be forever loyal to the Empire," Aldric replied, his voice filled with determination.

"Then you'd better protect your sister well," Noan mocked.

"What do you mean? Are you planning to go after my sister?" Aldric laughed with contempt. "I suggest you give up that idea. My sister is many times stronger than I am. You can't even defeat me—how could you possibly stand against her?"

Noan snorted disdainfully. "I'm not so bored as to waste my time on something that pointless."

"You just sit back and enjoy whatever the Empire does next. I'm too lazy to persuade you or tell you the truth, because I know—you'd never believe a word I say."

"Huh!" Aldric scoffed. "What are you trying to say?"

Noan turned away, not wanting to fight, nor did he care about Aldric anymore.

After all, he had no interest in engaging in a meaningless battle with a fool like Aldric. It would just waste his time.

Even if he went all out, Noan couldn't win against him.

That's why, at this point, Noan simply wanted to ignore Aldric.

Seeing that Noan no longer wanted to fight, Aldric's expression became calmer, though there was still a hint of confusion and suspicion in his eyes.

In truth, if Noan tried to explain everything, it wouldn't make Aldric trust him. On the contrary, it would only make Aldric think he was lying.

However, if Aldric was left to think and seek the truth on his own, things would become much easier.

In that case, even if Noan didn't persuade him, Aldric would eventually believe what he found out for himself.

"What are you planning to do?" Aldric suddenly shouted, "You shouldn't be here—get out!"

Noan turned and looked at him as if he were a fool. He didn't want to explain, and instead looked for a way to leave this place.

This place was like an oasis in the middle of an ocean, surrounded by water and dark clouds, with nowhere to step.

In truth, Lathel could fly, but for how long? To where?

Noan's energy wasn't infinite, and he needed a safe place to rest and recover.

At that moment, Aldric gripped his spear, pointing it around as if he was using it like a compass.

Whoong!

Suddenly, a sound like a ringing bell echoed, drawing Noan's attention.

The spear in Aldric's hand radiated a gentle light, and with it, a single beam pointed into the distance.

Aldric glanced at Noan, and Noan looked back at him.

But, whatever Aldric was thinking, he suddenly spoke: "Do you want to come with me?"

Noan raised an eyebrow, mocking him: "You and I are enemies. Aren't you afraid I'll ambush you?"

"Huh! With your abilities, even if you tried to ambush me, it would be pointless." Aldric replied with disdain.

Noan frowned, but Aldric was right—he couldn't refute it.

Aldric didn't wait for Noan's answer. He immediately started walking toward the light pointed out by his spear.

When Aldric reached the edge of this area, the surface of the water suddenly trembled violently.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Then, a road abruptly rose up, leading off into the distance, disappearing behind the dark clouds.

Aldric frowned, looking in that direction, but he didn't hurry forward. Instead, he took out a vial like the one from before and started drinking.

As soon as the potion entered his mouth, it dissolved instantly, soaking into his body.

His wounds and burns began to heal at an incredible rate.

However, Noan could clearly see that even more silver hairs had appeared on Aldric's head, now accounting for nearly a fifth of all his hair.

Noan wanted to say something, but in the end, he chose to remain silent.

After all, Aldric was a 'Fate Holder'—even without Noan's warning, he would eventually find a way to deal with the problem himself.

It was just that… Noan didn't quite understand why, earlier, he had wanted to remind Aldric about this matter.

However, he noticed that Aldric's symptoms were almost identical to Elgar's.

Elgar had also used a healing potion, which caused his hair to turn silver.

Aldric, too, used a healing potion, and what he was experiencing was exactly the same as Elgar.

Noan decided to keep silent, continuing to watch what would happen, but he didn't think this was just some ordinary coincidence.

Aldric stepped onto the stone path rising above the water. After confirming its stability, he continued forward.

Noan followed behind, trying to recover his energy as he walked.

Fortunately, he still had some Void energy left—otherwise, he would have run out of strength long ago.

However, Noan didn't want to reveal his Void energy so soon.

One walked in front, the other behind. As they went on, the space around them became brighter, no longer as dark as before.

Yet, the surrounding landscape was a bit strange.

A lonely stone path, surrounded by water and black clouds. From time to time, lightning flashed, as if heralding the approach of a terrifying storm.

Suddenly, Aldric stopped, frowned, and looked upward. Above, there was also a waterway—but it seemed like an inverted world.

Noan, too, found it puzzling, but said nothing. After all, he didn't know where this place was; he simply wanted to follow Aldric to find Maya.

Aldric gripped his spear, pointing it upward: "Do you feel it too… as if someone is watching us from up there?"