Dungeons of the Divine (Blue Phoenix Book 2) (34 page)

”Commander! Commander! I have a message for the Frozen General!” The guard ran inside the Dragon Corps’ main office, his voice hoarse and his appearance ragged. At first the Dragon Corps’ Lord was looking at him with contempt, but moments after the words the flustered guard said made their way into his brain and he realized what was said his heartbeat soared.

“The Frozen General you say?” The Lord confirmed as he leaned back in his chair. On the outside nothing betrayed how his heart was constantly speeding up, his mind unable to make up a decision.

If he were to deliver the stone to the Frozen General but the message contained within was something minor, or maybe even uninteresting to the legendary figure, then it was highly possible that he would end up becoming a new member of the Frozen Brigade; however, if he were to deliver something which genuinely excited him he would be granted as many gifts as he could wish for.

Another thing he had to take into consideration was should he chose not to share the message, then if the man got wind of the face that he withheld information the Lord would be in a very bad situation.

Eventually, the Dragon Corps’ Lord breathed in a deep breath before he accepted the memory stone and with decisive steps move towards the Staircase of Hope.

The Staircase of Hope was located within the Dragon Corps’ main office and was the greatest secret of the Dragon Corps. It was a set of stairs which went deeper into the ground leading down towards the abyss. What exactly was down there was unknown to the Dragon Corps’ Lord, only the President knew and was allowed to descend them.

What the Lord could do was enter the stairs and go up to  the Center Palace.

The staircase felt as though it went on forever and ever its size alone made the Lord feel slightly nauseous every time he looked down watch the stairs spiral endlessly into the void. This along with the fact that was still constantly wondering whether or not his decision was the right one caused him to feel sick.

The travel up the stairs took seven hours, and when he finally made it to the surface the Dragon Corps’ Lord found that he was surrounded by black cloaked men. Looking at these black cloaked men it was impossible to discern even the slightest bit about the people due to the  masks they had on.

Shivering slightly, the Lord straightened his back and announced with a loud voice, “I am here to deliver a message to the Frozen General. Please allow me to pass.”

As soon as the Frozen General was mentioned the crusaders made a path for the Lord. None of them spoke yet it was clear that they in no way allowed for unwelcome guests to enter the castle above ground, nor were they interested in having the Lord staying around for long.

Trembling slightly the man made his way out of the Center Palace and with his swiftest speed possible he travel towards the ice castle in the Frozen Land created by the Frozen General, himself.

The Frozen Land was a valley deep within the mountain range separating Taiyang Kingdom from Shenyuan. The land was taken over by the Frozen General a few decades earlier and no one dared take it back.

The Frozen General was one of the four pillars supporting their Him. He was the one who also controlled the Crusaders along with the Center Palace. Anything he wished for he could get, his authority was so great that no one dared offend him not even one of the other three pillars.

Thinking about all this, the Lord was even more uncertain about the decision he had made, however now it was truly impossible for him to return to the Centre Palace and the Stairs of Hope unless he first delivered the message.

The trip took him three days, at early noon on the third day he arrived at the valley which as white as soft clouds, white from newly fallen snow.

Shaking slightly the Lord took one step and stopped. After convincing himself to continue he took another and stopped. The speed with which he moved towards the castle was incredibly slow and his heart was filled with fear.

Around him were crusaders who were patrolling the ground, but none of them did anything to the frozen and scared Lord who was making his way towards the Ice Palace ever so slowly.

It took the Lord almost an hour to move from the entrance of the valley towards the castle, an incredibly slow pace which showed just how terrified the Lord was. As soon as he reached the door handle though he realized that there really was no hope of turning back and straightened his back.

He took a deep breath before he knocked.

Right after he knocked, the door slowly opened itself, no servants present causing the fine hairs on the young Lord’s back to stand on end. Not missing a beat he kept walking seemingly paying no heed to his surroundings presenting a demeanor fitting a Lord, even though he was inwardly terrified to his core. He stepped inside the frozen castle and followed a set of light stones towards the room where Zhong Fai was seated on his icy throne.

“Welcome to my castle, I do wonder what a Lord from the Dragon Corps is doing here.” He said, a large smile playing on his lips, a smile which was clearly genuine.

Zhong Fai was not dumb. He previously sent Crusaders into the underground world for the sake of hearing news about Hui Yue and now a Lord appeared with a message for him. How could he not guess what the message was about?

Even the Lord knew which was why he feared that perhaps something had gone wrong. What if it was a video showing the death of the Frozen General’s favorite subject? So many thoughts were swirling through his head as he kowtowed in front of the powerful man.

“Milord, I received a memory stone for you.” The Lord said as he was on the ground, raising his hands and the memory stone at the same time.

Seeing the memory stone a flash of impatience rose within the eyes of Zhong Fai, and with a sweep of his hand the stone was sucked into his palm, the smile on his face increased greatly.

“Please stand up dear friend,” Zhong Fai said with a happy voice, and with a clap of his hands a woman appeared by his side.

“Take this man to the treasury and let him pick whatever item he likes,” The Frozen General said as though it meant absolutely nothing to him that his treasures were being taken away from him.

While Zhong Fai seemed impatient to be alone, the young Lord suddenly was impatient to leave the room and enter the treasury. Rushing to his feet, the Lord bowed once more towards Zhong Fai before he turned around and followed behind the silent, frozen woman in front of him.

Being left alone within the main hall, Zhong Fai paid no attention to the two departing figures, instead, he instantly placed the memory stone on his forehead. With an expecting grin on his face he closed his eyes as the recording of the life and death battle began.

The time slowly ticked by as Zhong Fai rewatched the match. Finally, after having watched it multiple times he removed the stone from his forehead.

His face was no longer smiling, instead, it seemed as though it he was contemplating something important. After a few moments a smirk grew on his face it grew larger and larger as the moments went by, and eventually loud laughter rang throughout the icy walls of his Frozen Castle.

….

The excuse which Hui Yue made for his merged soul was quickly accepted by Xu Piao and after some time the two of them were seated within the main office neither saying anything both enjoying the quietness.

“I guess we should have a look at the different missions available.” Hui Yue finally sighed, “If we can find an escort mission towards the capital it will be ideal, but if we cannot find one, then I guess we will be fine with something towards the next couple of caves.”

Nodding his head, Xu Piao only agreed after a while of searching then he picked up a large book that parchments were falling out of.

“This is the book with all ongoing missions,” Was the answer he gave to the quizzical expression on Hui Yue’s face, “I know it doesn’t look like much,” He continued with a slight embarrassed smile, “But it is the way we have always kept track of the missions.”

Looking through the missions was not as hard as Hui Yue expected. At first, Xu Piao cleared the table and then he took each of the missions out and read through them. If it was an escort mission then he handed it to Hui Yue, if it was not an escort mission he placed it in a pile by his side.

Looking through the escort missions, the majority of them were to escort rich young masters towards academies in other cities in the hope that they would improve and bring honor and fame to the families.

Looking at these escort missions, Hui Yue quickly decided to take on a mission like that, but no matter how hard he looked he could not find a missions that went all the way towards the final cave.

Eventually, Hui Yue picked out four escort missions. All of them were missions to escort a young master to an academy. They all employed at least ten mercenaries in total which seemed to be a standard amount needed for escort missions, and they would be leaving in a few days, giving everyone all the time they needed. Because he knew nothing about the caves they were going to enter, nor did he know which mission would bring them the closest to their final destination he let Xu Piao make the final call.

Hui Yue once more escaped through the window and left the rest of the work to Xu Piao as he rushed back to the room where his friends were still sleeping. The reason they were so tired was because they had stood vigilantly by his side until they finally could not manage any more without sleep, then they literally passed out. Their bodies were exhausted and they needed their sleep.

Back at the office the Guild Master, Xu Piao, looked at the paper in his hand and with a final nod of his head he went towards the door, opened it and looked at the sea of people in front of him.

“I need to speak with the messenger from the Zhang family.” He called out, causing a murmur to instantly break out within the room. This was the first time that the Guild Master called out anyone.

Even more exciting was that earlier today, Hui Yue had walked past them all. Was it finally time for the families to meet the elusive young genius?

The Zhong family messenger instantly stood out from the queue in which he was standing and with a slight bow towards the rest of the queue he moved forward, heading  towards the office.

Entering the office, the door was closed behind him. The messenger was shocked to see that Hui Yue was not within the room and that the only other exit was a window. The thought of the genius leaving through the window somehow caused the messenger boy to smile a little.

“I have called you in because of the mission your family has requested.” Xu Piao started and the man nodded his head. Even he knew about the escort mission to guide the young heir towards his academy.

A large ruckus appeared in the capital as soon as it got out that Hui Yue decided to take a mission where he would be escorting a young master from within the city. The biggest commotion was that there was still space for four mercenaries in the mission. These four slots were highly sought after by both mercenaries and family guards alike.

The family guards were not participating because they were tired of their jobs as guards, no they were applying because their families were willing to pay a huge sum of money if they managed to get on mission near Hui Yue.

What was a simple escort mission turned into an elevated and highly sought after mission where everyone applied.

The people who applied had various reasons for why they wanted to join the team. Some wanted to get close to Hui Yue, while others just wanted to see and meet this unrivaled genius. There were some people who wished to challenge the young genius to test their own abilities, and even a few applicants who wished for nothing more than to assassinate the young white-haired man.

This was a mission which soon dominated all conversation in the city and the Yang family greatly benefited from the fame. Families from the entire city went to visit them; everyone brought gifts and some even tried to purchase the final four spots of the mission in question.

The few days while the Yang family enjoyed the fame they had suddenly gained, Hui Yue and his friends spend all their time within the Mercenary Guild preparing for yet another travel.

“Do you think we will meet more assassins?” Deng Wu raised the question which most of them were thinking. Although he asked the question, his face was dark as he already guessed the answer.

Hui Yue nodded his head before he replied, “I think we need to expect assassins to appear anywhere within these dungeons.”

Everyone nodded their heads, a solemn expression evident on their faces as they thought back to the days wasted within the illusion of the endless forest and how Hui Yue had pushed himself to his limits, forcing his way through the illusion.

Everyone within the room all swore that they would increase their strength so that they would never drag down their friends.

….

Looking at the men in front of him, Hui Yue furrowed his brows slightly, as it was obvious that the Yang family eventually gave in after all the offers to buy the spots on this mission. The four final members of the group were clearly not mercenaries used to living the dirty life within the tunnels, instead, they were neatly dressed and standing at attention.

After looking over them once, Hui Yue no longer paid them any attention before he looked at the one person who was the most important in their group. The young master who was to enroll at the renown academy.

His name was Yang Bai and he was a young man around twelve years of age. On one hand he seemed like your average teen looking at Hui Yue with great respect and amazement, but on the other was a slightly haughty when dealing with the others of the group. The only one whom he seemed to show respect and admiration toward was the white-haired genius.

The mercenaries on this mission were not the only ones around, it seemed as though the entire city had shown up at the Mercenary Guild headquarters to see the entourage off on their journey throughout the next many caves.

The pay for partaking in this endeavor was three hundred demon coins each while the mercenaries had to deal with their own food. Originally not many would take such a long ongoing mission for such a small sum of money but now it was different, and Hui Yue was celebrating the fact that they were being paid to travel the way they planned to go anyway.

As soon as everyone gathered up, the mercenaries were paid half their fee and without any ceremonies the entourage started their trip towards the west tunnels of Demon Dwelling Cave.

Unlike before, this caravan was far more elaborate than anything they had previously seen. Three carriages created from black iron were used to transport everyone that was assisting the young master. The young master and his personal servants along with a butler from the Yang family rode in the first carriage.

The second was filled with guards from the Yang family, and the final carriage was for the mercenaries to use on a shift schedule.

It was the job of the mercenaries to ensure that the caravan got through both the caves and the tunnels unscathed, something which was a lot harder than one would think.

It was early morning as the group departed. On one side was Hui Yue and his friends walking in together while the other side was being looked after by the guards. Whereas the guards were walking with straight backs and looking right in front of them, Hui Yue’s group was a lot more vigilant and their eyes constantly flickered from one side to the other, observing even the slightest movement made around them.

This was one of the most obvious differences between the mercenaries and the guards. Another was that while the mercenaries all wore robes the guards were wearing armor made from shiny reflective materials; their armor, although it looked very good, was not incredibly beneficial when it came to battle.

Their choice of weapons were also different. The mercenary group each had their own weapons and their own specialty, but every guard was using a halberd. A weapon which although it had a good aim was something which required a lot of practice. Practice which the guards did not have.

All in all, Hui Yue did not put much, if any, faith in the guards, and since he was already certain that they were going to be attacked by bandits, along with assassins along the way, not to mention the extra strong hordes of demon beasts, he doubted that these guards would be able to make it through.

While the group of mercenaries felt slight disdain towards the guards who were walking beside the carriage they felt even stronger disdain for the guards within the second carriage. To be a cultivator was the same as to be a warrior, and while it was sometimes nice to relax within a carriage, it would become a death trap should they be attacked. How did they expect to be able to exit the carriage and save their master when they were all inside, much less know what was going on around them.?

Sighing, Hui Yue stopped wondering about the guards and instead focused his entire attention towards the road ahead.

Leaving the city was a lot more nerve-wrecking than he expected. He was perfectly well aware that they were the target of various assassins and bandits, and he was quite certain that they would not hold back even within a city. Because of this the trip which only took around an hour felt like an eternity for Hui Yue and his friends as they were constantly on high alert. They were trying to observe everything which happened around them.

Now that they no longer were within the confinement of the city, the six friends were still vigilant, however, it was in a completely different way. Now they were capable of viewing anyone who approached them, even if it was done swiftly. The open plains allowing for a full visual of what was happening around them causing a strange feeling of safety to float inside their hearts.

Two days of rest in two larger cities were scheduled before the group would have to enter the tunnels. While the group was walking towards the first of those cities, Xu Piao spent the time explaining the two cities.

“The city we are on our way towards is led by an old family. The city was the first to be created within this Demon Dwelling Cave. In every aspect it is similar to that of the capital, except it is not under the control of the Dragon Corps, instead, the family who leads it are like kings and queens of the city. Not people to be trifled with so try to keep your tempers under control.”

Hearing that Hui Yue was about to comment saying that he never was the cause of drama, but drama came to find him; however, he quickly decided to hold his tongue as he saw the expression on Xu Piao’s face, and instead he laughed awkwardly.

The day slowly went from morning to noon then noon to afternoon without the caravan taking the slightest break. The guards who had been so lucky to get the final four slots in the mission were all raggedly breathing and their faces were flushed red, sweat trickling from their foreheads in steady streams.

While they were thoroughly exhausted, Hui Yue and his friends were all walking comfortably their robes fluttering in the slight wind and their faces healthy, not even the least amount of sweat visible on their skin.

As dusk crept up on them, the servant of the young master, Yang Bai, finally opened the door to the carriage and ordered them to hold for the night and make camp.

As soon as the order was given, the guards all instantly sat down and withdrew water from their memory stones to clench their thirst.

Hui Yue and his group had long since become specialists at setting up camp and within half an hour their campsite was finished. Tents having been erected, bonfire roaring splitting the dark sky, stew being cooked on top of the warm bonfire. They all sat still, chatting with one another about their expectations for the trip they were undertaking.

While Hui Yue and his friends were sitting still looking at the delicious food which Wang Ju Long was cooking, the rest of the group was not so lucky.

Although the young lord brought a lot of guards with him, no one knew how to cook proper food, nor were they aware of how to set up tents. All of them had lived within the capital their entire lives. Although the guards who belonged to the Yang family got food as a part of their salary, it was dried meat without vegetables very much unlike someone’s delicious smelling soup.

“Mister, mister!” A youthful voice sounded throughout the campsite where guards from various families were setting up tents. Their eyes instantly focusing on the young master, curious as to whom he was referring to.

The young master left the carriages behind and rushed towards the campsite where Hui Yue and his friends were sitting, enjoying their stew and discussion about how silly it had been to fear an ambush in the city as nothing happened.

“Mister! Can I sit with you?” The young master asked, his eyes almost sparkling with excitement as he looked at Hui Yue as though he was looking at a god.

Hui Yue was slightly taken aback unsure what to say, but after thinking for a bit the young man nodded his head and allowed for the child to sit down and join them.

“One day, I’ll be as strong as you.” Yang Bai said with longing in his voice, “I’m going to study at the Thousand Rivers Academy and I have to be better than my peers, or so says my father.” He continued, the mention of his father made Hui Yue smile wryly as he remembered his two fathers. First to enter his mind was the father he had in his old life who had been willing to do anything so the young man’s wishes could be fulfilled. He also remembered his other father, the father who was glowing with pride when he was told that Hui Yue was good enough to attend the Thousand Rivers Academy.