Amon sighed in his mind. This was not sothing he could assist with. The only one who could help tatro was himself. It was much easier to cut off the enemys head than to cut off the pain in your own mind.
The next day, they arrived in a new town. Amon told tatro to halt and said, This town seems quite big. Lets spend so ti here and buy so necessities for the coming days. There are quite a few taverns and shops. You should go look around. Do with so distraction. Just rember one thing: dont look for a fight!
Amon went to an inn. He sent tatro to go for a walk at night. tatro went to a tavern and drank a lot, but failed to get drunk. Then he went to the brothel and asked for the most beautiful prostitutes to be sent to his room. He didnt co back until the next day at noon.
tatro was usually a thrifty person but he spent a great deal of money last night, which he had just earned from the last Damasc iron trade. Entering the inn, he t Amon who was sitting at a table, smiling, waiting for him. Do you feel better today?
tatro felt a bit embarrassed. He replied, When I walked out onto the street and saw the sun in the sky, I suddenly realised that I dont need to be like this I promised to be your servant, but it is you who has been looking after all this ti. Im sorry!
Amon nodded, It doesnt matter, as long as you find inner peace again. Youve suffered a lot these past few days. Im happy that you have finally thought things through and walked out of the past.
The old energetic and fun tatro ca back. He squinted at Amon and said, My lord, you are so young and powerful and rich, if you went to that place last night, those girls would have all been mad for you. Do you want to give it a try? I can introduce you to them tonight.
Amon had never been to a brothel in his life. He had never even thought about it. During his stay in the cavemans tribe, Lynk had already asked him if he needed the most beautiful girl in the tribe to serve him in bed. Amon hadnt shown the least amount of interest. Perhaps it was just a problem of taste.
Amon knew his own physical desire. He wasnt trying to abstain. He could feel it when facing Inanna but he was keen on doing anything with her. There was already soone in his heart that took a unique place. She was sacred, untouchable, and had a na that only belonged to him. It was a special link that made desire with others unimportant and epheral.
Thus, he didnt have any interest to visit the brothel. He felt that it would be a humiliation to his desire. He asked him back, You still want to go there tonight?
tatro laughed dryly, Not really, I dont feel the need now.
Amon raised his hand, Then lets continue on our journey. We can cross the Euphrate River soon, then we can enter the mountains. There wont be a town as big as this one for a long while.
tatro was a bit reluctant. Why are we in such a hurry? We are going to separate once we cross the Euphrate River! Oh, I heard so strange news in town today. Princess Sissila has been trapped by mountain giants! She is in dire danger. This news will surely shake the nation.
Amon stood up in no ti, Princess Sissila! What happened? Tell more!
tatro was astonished, My lord, why are you so excited? Is it
I know Princess Sissila. Shes a friend of mine, added Amon. What happened to her?
tatro was shocked, mouth agape, Your your friend? Oh, I see! You must have t Princess Sissila while she was travelling in disguise. No wonder you dont want to have a look at the girls in town! Theyre nothing compared to her! But I have to remind you about a certain sothing with her. Havent you heard the rumours in the capital?
Amon cast a stern glance at him. Im starting to miss the silent man yesterday. I t Princess Sissila on my way to the capital and weve beco friends. She has helped a lot. So how can I be indifferent when I hear this kind of news? What happened to her? Tell everything you know!
The towns na was Arcade. tatro had caught sight of a group of people gathering in front of the shrine on his way back to the inn. It was the mayor of Arcade, Tich, recruiting warriors to rescue Princess Sissila.
About a week ago, a group of travelling rchants ca to Arcade for a short stay. One of them was a charming young lady whose charisma had greatly impressed to the locals. Several days ago, they set out towards the Syah Plateau to trade with the giants. Mayor Tich warned them that it might be too dangerous if they didnt have enough hired guards. He also tried to persuade the young lady not to take the risk and stay in town. The lady thanked him with a smile that had nearly lted his heart.
The group of rchants left that night. The next ti they saw one of the group was yesterday. A man had returned to town holding his weapon, covered in blood. He went to Mayor Tich and introduced himself as a bodyguard of Princess Sissila, who was the charming young lady that ca together with the rchants. They had been ambushed by the giants in the mountain and beca trapped in a valley. He broke through the encirclent at the risk of his life and managed to carry the ssage back to the town.
On hearing the news, Mayor Tich almost fainted. He couldnt imagine his fate if anything went wrong with Princess Sissila.
Normally, whenever there was an ergency, Princess Sissila could always escape by revealing her identity. No reasonable man would offend the only sister of the king and the fiance of Gilgash. But this ti, she t with the barbarians in the mountains. It was said that they attacked the caravan even more ferociously when they learnt that Princess Sissila was in it. The only idea inside their simple minds was to kidnap her for a big ransom.
Capricious as she was, Princess Sissila was not a spoiled, inexperienced girl. The caravan of rchants was actually a squad of bodyguards in disguise, which was sufficient to protect her in most circumstances. The unlikely happened that the tribes of giants that used to act independently and fight each other joined together and routed Princess Sissilas escort. The defeated troops were cornered in a valley and their defence could crack at any ti.
Before Tich could have ti to organize a rescue, there ca an envoy from the giants. It was a giant covered in raw leather with a ring in his nose. The envoy left a ssage that almost scared Tich to death.
The ssage proclaid that they had a princess in their hands. The Arcadians were to purchase her safety with a large number of materials. If they were not satisfied, they would kill the princess then hide deep in the mountains where the Bablonian army could never reach them.
Mayor Tich couldnt verify the credibility of this ssage. Maybe Princess Sissila had already been captured right after the bodyguard had left, or maybe it was just hollow intimidation? But, to gamble on such a possibility? It was frightening to even consider. The only choice he had was to prepare what the giants wanted and deliver them in exchange for the princess.
However, the list of demands from the giant confused him greatly. Classically, the ransom was always a large sum of money. If he wasnt confused before, he would now certainly have no idea what runs through those barbarians ugly heads. They wanted wheat flour baked into naan, at processed into jerky, barrels of salt, clothes, farm tools, seeds, tents and cals in large numbers. Money was only ntioned at the end of the list, and the amount was not specified.
The mayor had ordered the townees to prepare these things. When tatro was busy with the girls in the brothel, the local families were all busy baking flatbread and at. A lot of clothes, farm tools, seeds and cals had been confiscated in the na of the shrine overnight. The only problem was the tents since hardly any civilian would have made big tents for daily use.
Mayor Tich was a capable official. Under his orders, the townees collaborated well and managed to gather most of the materials on the list in one night and half a day. Most of the supplies were from local shops. The shrine gave them receipts as a guarantee. The cals and farm tools taken from the farrs were registered as well. They could get compensations later from the clerk.
Tich was also preparing an alternative. He published an announcent to recruit brave warriors with high pay. These people were ostensibly called an escort for the materials to the giants. In fact, they were to rescue Princess Sissila in case the giants broke the deal. The mayor even planned to lead the escort himself.
The envoy only gave him three days, including the one day they needed to carry the materials from Arcade to where the giants were. There was no ti to call for help from the capital or the state. After all, distant water couldnt put out a nearby fire. As the biggest town in the region, Tich could only depend on himself and the five thousand townees.
He had sent a warrior to inform the state as soon as the envoy left. What he had in town were twenty-five warriors and two mages. Tich was himself a fifth-level warrior, but he thought the power he held was still far from enough, so he put out the notice to recruit braves, hoping that the reward would attract so powerful passing foreigners.
tatro caught sight of the notice on his way to the inn. From townsfolks chatter, it seed that Princess Sissila was already in the giants possession. People sighed that the bad things had finally happened to this capricious princess and felt sorry for her. Even Gilgashs wrath couldnt change anything facing those simple-minded giants.
tatro didnt stay long. He went on to the inn after asking around about the whole thing. Amon was shocked by the news. He grabbed his staff and asked, Do you know when they are going to set out?
They were recruiting braves for the escort. They are setting off at nightfall then going nonstop all night and all day to reach their destination. Its going to be a tight trip.
My friend is in danger. I have to save her! tatro, are you going coming with ?
tatros face brightened up. He pounded on his chest and proudly exclaid, Im looking forward to! As a warrior, I am more than happy to wash away all the sha by taking on such a heroic feat! But I have promised to be your servant. Ill follow you wherever you go.
Amon nodded, So you want to go too. Thats great! Lets go!
tatros eyes twinkled, My lord, you cant join the team as a sorcerer, but I have an idea for you to participate in the rescue, which you may temporarily find deaning.
Youve really co back to life now. Tell your plan.
tatro ran his fingers through his hair on the back of his head and replied with a little embarrassnt, As an advanced warrior, I will certainly be valued if I show up and express my willingness to join. Since we have two horses, I can pretend to be an errant knight and your highness can pretend to be my attendant. In this way, you can keep your staff and your bag on you without suspicion.
Amon glanced at him, You want to save Princess Sissila as an errant knight as the heroes did in the legends? Thats good and it fits your character well. Let make you look more like a knight. Your appearance will change with these! He put his hand into his bag, took out a golden spear and handed it to tatro.
The bag was at most three feet long, and the spear was at least nine feet. tatros astonishnt was beyond expression. Before he could react, Amon took out a cyan shield that was three feet wide and five feet long. He put it on the table and waved his hand and a silver sword ejected out from the bag. It was much more delicate than the one at tatros waist. Made with Damasc iron, dark silver decorations were ticulously coated onto its fuller by magic. They were small formations. A parangon was inlaid at each side of the ricasso, just above the crossguard.
Oh my god! This is watching this equipnt co out, tatro began to feel that it was getting hard to support himself, let alone say anything.
But that wasnt the end of it. The final thing Amon pulled out from his bag was elegant light armour. Full of formations carved over its surface, it was evidently a top-class artefact. He put all of them in front of tatro and said, These are what an elegant knight should have, isnt it? Ive been keeping them for you. Now its ti you got yourself ard.
The spear looked extrely sharp and the shield felt very solid. The sword and the light armour were definitely not of an ordinary warrior, with all the formations on them. Holding his breath, tatro carefully picked up the sword and ran his fingers along the plate of the armour. It had been a good while before he could look up to say, Even my entire family couldnt have afforded a set of equipnt like this. How can I accept this treasure without due contribution? Please allow to rely borrow them for a while.
Amon smiled and shook his head, They are yours now. I gifted Lynk a staff. Since you cant use magic in the city, I got you a warriors set.
tatro had been envied Lynks staff in the mountains. He had no idea that Amon had prepared such a nice set of equipnt for him nor could he have had any idea of their actual quality. The equipnt used to belong to great warriors who pursued Bair. They were all selected custom pieces that withstood even Bairs final magic.
tatro couldnt wait to put them on. With the light armour and the sword at his waist, he got on the horse and took the spear and the shield in his hands. The shining outfit almost turned this good-looking young man into a stunning god of war!
anwhile, in the backyard of another inn in Arcade, two people were engrossed in a discussion. A middle-aged man bowed to a young nobleman, With due respect, I dont think its wise for your highness to get yourself involved in this affair. You can send us to join the rescue team if you want to save the princess. If by any chance they fail to save her highness and you also fell into danger, we would be in big trouble.
The young nobleman who was addressed as a highness then replied, You think Im not already in big trouble that Princess Sissila was attacked and in distress when and where I passed by? She is the princess. What situation do you think I would be putting myself in if people knew that I did nothing while she was in danger under my nose? I will lose all my reputation in the kingdom!
The middle-aged man insisted, Even her highness bodyguards couldnt resist the giants assault. I dont think we can do anything helpful. What we can do is to show our attitude, which wont be different even if you stay here.
The young nobleman shook his head, Though I am a year older than her, shes my aunt. Its my duty to save her with my own hands. Her troops were defeated because they were ambushed. Now its us who can ambush them! Besides, if we act with prudence, we might not even need to fight.
After a long silence, the middle-aged man sighed and nodded, Alright, if your highness insists. It will certainly be proof of your highness integrity and courage. Had there not been a dire danger, I would certainly have suggested you proceed. However, I have to assert that in case of an ergency, your safety will always be our first priority.
The young man waved his arm. I know. Lets move.
The middle-aged man took a look at his staff in hand and looked up. I have one last piece of advice. Would your highness please not reveal his identity before we save Princess Sissila and et her in person? Now that the giants have kidnapped a princess, they may as well add you to their list of targets once they learn of your identity Moreover, if by so chance the rescue fails, anonymity will do well for your reputation.
Alright then, the young man nodded. Ill be a warrior at your order.
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