NOVEL NEXT Chapter 164: events
In just a day, Vacuse's name spread once again throughout the Empire, and now people were actually more interested in him and wanted to know more about the Dragon Heir.
Meanwhile, at the same time, exactly when Vacuse used the War Artifact, something happened.
It happened in Burnis City.
The city was one that fell just inside and outside the Western Region, and back in the days it was one of the biggest mines for farming rare crystals that could be used in powering formations, making artifacts, and creating potions.
It was a major source of resources for the Vorrakyns and the Western Region in the old days, and not only them, since the other half fell outside of the Region, the Emperor also farmed resources, but it slowly dried up.
But Burnis City, which was already flourishing, only grew even bigger, turning into a diverse, near lawless border city, particularly involved in all kinds of illegal activities, especially since it had close proximity to three Regions.
The Western, the Eastern, and the Capital.
It made it easier for outcasts, gangs, and the black market to be the new order of the day.
The history of the city could not be completed though if it was not mentioned that the Emperor sold his rights to the other part of Burnis City a few years ago. They sold it to the Eastern Region.
It was said that the Emperor made such a move to put pressure on the Western Region. But some people also whispered that the Eastern Region wanted to invade the Western Region, and that was the first step.
All in all, that was the current situation of Burnis City.
When the war happened weeks ago and Vacuse used the War Artifact, it caused a ripple to spread throughout the whole of the Western Region, which eventually reached Burnis City and then went deep underneath the city where the old mine was.
And for the first time in years, something began to breathe.
Then when Vacuse used the War Artifact on the Warbines, the ripple turned into an earthquake and something beneath Burnis City awakened.
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"The war is going smoothly. It is apparent that we are positioning ourselves for a drawn-out attack. The Trolls and the Regional Army already made their third clash yesterday," Harkon read from the paper he was holding.
Vacuse sat cross-legged on a mat with Rith curled around his neck. He was in the training courtyard, and Captain Mera and Amros were going at it fully against each other, causing powerful sparks to fill the air with booming shockwaves.
All the other guards had stopped to watch the two as well, just like they did when Vacuse and Amros fought earlier.
That was what Vacuse had been doing for the past one month.
Training.
"What about the attitude of the forces?"
And not just training himself, he was mandating it for all the members of the New Dawn, pushing them as hard as he was pushing himself.
If he was going to make use of them, then they had better be useful tools.
"The Dragon Lord, through the General Commanders, has reshuffled everyone, from the Vorrakyn to the Sevrix and to all the others. Although things are tense as well as sour, there have been signs of adjustment.
"Especially in places that are not war fronts. The people do not really care much about who rules them but about how well they feed and how much they make."
Vacuse grunted and nodded. "Right. What about Soulbearers' families?"
"They are mostly quiet as well. The Dragon Lord is diplomatic as well as a cutting sword. He has already rewarded a lot of families for their efforts."
Vacuse nodded. "Now, tell the messages sent by Kagerou. Both the useful and the useless."
Kagerou had left weeks ago to expand his information connection and to train his assassin squad. Actually, it was his assassin squad since Vacuse used a bit of his power as a Dragon Heir to make a move in Kragthar and crushed most of what remained of Lyra and Duke Frexon's power.
One of them was the assassin squad that Kagerou had just gone to take over.
"Right.
"He said the ladies of the different Lords are getting more and more interested in the Dragon Heir, even from the other Region. He said you are now the ladies' man.
"He said there is now a new bounty on your head, although not by the Black Accord but by the normal criminals. It seems some people are not in love with you like the ladies."
Vacuse chuckled dryly. "Tell him to find who posted the bounty, why, and the real person behind the one that posted it."
Harkon nodded solemnly. "Kagerou said he was already looking into it and that Lady Skya is taking good care of Kragthar. She is also having an affair with someone who is pretending to be ordinary but is actually a gang leader. But there is no harm in that."
Vacuse sighed. "It seems Kagerou's hold on Kragthar's underground is now much firmer. Continue."
"He said there have been many strange occurrences lately, and it is not only limited to Kagerou but to all the other major cities. Corpses of Soulbearers have been found drained of blood entirely."
Vacuse frowned. "Vampires do not drink the blood of Soulbearers and are not native to this continent. I will set up a formal investigation team to look into it."
Harkon continued speaking. "Also, the Human Revolutionary is getting more popular in the Western Region. He said he found it troublesome as there is now a faint link between them and the people drained of blood that is happening."
The Human Revolutionary is a revolutionary organization that exists in almost all parts of the world. And what they want is simple: equal rights with Soulbearers and such.
At most they are annoying flies, but some days they are also violent.
Vacuse sighed again. It seemed he had been doing that a lot lately. "A lot of things have been happening underground in the Western Region for a long time, but now the sun is just shining on it, and it is a lot.
"Anything else?"