BXBX NOVEL Chapter 126: The Arrival
Then, a charming city unfolded below the cliff, radiating a warm and welcoming aura. Streets bustling with life and architecture that spoke of beauty formed the cityscape.
The vast port was a vital naval hub for the Silvaran kingdom. Most battleships and trade came from the northern Wolfsheim or Southern Wyverns cape. The clear, deep blue sea added to the scene's charm, creating a captivating environment.
As Asura observed this breathtaking view, a distant memory surfaced, leaving him momentarily oblivious to the rest of the world.
In truth, he had forgotten that there was a time he visited this place...
****
⁜ Previous Life Flashback (Asura)
"Oh my, don't be so silly, Asura..."
A beautiful woman wearing a lovely white one-piece dress stood in the middle of the pier, twirling around with a lovely smile.
'This... Is it a memory?'
He noticed a large scar down her back hidden by the frills from the neckline that emphasised her large, plump breasts. Her waist was thin and seemed to allow one to wrap their arms around it without effort, while her hips were wide and curvy, accentuated by her gorgeous red hair that hung to her waist.
'I don't want to see her... Why, even now, does my mind beautify her, make my twin hearts race?'
She gently smiled at a young man who seemed nervous and insecure, caressing his cheeks while he sat on a bench, looking exhausted.
"It's just..."
"Why should anyone care if you cannot use magic when you devise these plans to revolutionise how our kingdom handles sewage waste and farming!?"
Her deep voice didn't allow him to continue being negative as she laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Verana, it's embarrassing to hear you praise me in public..."
"But I love you so much, Asura!"
Verana smiled as she kissed his lips, causing everyone nearby to look scornful. They seemed to comment that Asura was lucky.
She even looked at him, saying it was just her wanted title. Verana turned bright red, her face seemingly genuine, as if she had forgotten they were in the busy streets of Wolfsheim, the most prosperous and beautiful port city under the Silvaran kingdom.
Little did the jealous males know she was already about to be crowned duchess.
Thanks to her and Asura's efforts over the past two years, at first, her mother was against it, almost ordering her into a marriage of alliance with the eastern Shang house. However, Verana adamantly opposed it, claiming their family plots against Silvara.
Unfortunately, her mother failed to listen until finally witnessing the truth, and her other daughter betrayed them.
After that, Verana's mother requested her to marry Asura, who was a nobody and a cripple. Still, the Duchess genuinely seemed like the boy and allowed his daughter to pursue Asura.
"Asura?"
"Asura~ are you happy?"
"Asure... I..."
A hand grasped his shoulder, rocking his body, calling his name as he felt a burning anger in his stomach.
Unable to decide whether he was angry at himself for remembering this scene or the woman who looked so beautiful on the wooden pier in the mid-evening sunset.
***
"ASURA!" Lucretia's hand became more violent as he finally snapped out of his daydream, noticing that a large group of people started gathering, nothing like his memory...
They praised him as Lord or the future Earl. The group was mostly nobles or wealthy merchants.
'How strange...'
He frowned as he felt Lucretia's gaze and Mu Xue's soft hand grasp his other palm as she seemed worried. Mu Xue leaned on his arm, her face a little pale, as if upset about something, as she could see through him and knew something that even he didn't.
"Lord Asura, would you like to visit the fort? The enemy is still quite far away and seems attempting to land on the northern shore to our east."
The male who spoke with a respectful tone was a steward who served his father and now seemed to serve Asura.
Asura nodded as he moved to walk away, with Mu Xue and Lucretia following.
"Delta, you remain here and organise the Valkyrie into their units. I shall investigate the situation myself."
Delta respectfully saluted Asura, who finally regained his focus, no longer letting that mirage distract him.
"Lady Mu Xue, Princess Vela, Lord Asura, please follow me."
Asura felt the eyes of the group on him, not seeming to leave him alone as they followed the steward. Yet it was different now; he felt a sense of pride in himself, both as the Mage and No-Mag. He no longer felt the past him was embarrassing, so with head held high, he followed the steward, who seemed to be named Aldred.
Soon, they reached the top of the fort, connected by a path of stone stairs. The steep slope created an extremely difficult battle to overcome if attacked.
The fort was simple yet well maintained, with a single massive tower reaching fifty metres; it seemed difficult to defend or fight there. However, the view was out of this world.
Asura's eyes widened as he saw the massive ships floating across the sea. Even Mu Xue and Vela looked in amazement as they never witnessed such enormous vessels. Some were just trading or fishing ships, but two warships with large cannons constantly kept the Dragon warships in check.
'How could something that big float on the water...?'
"What are those ships to the east and south? How can they float with such vast structures?"
Mu Xue asked the steward, Aldred, who seemed proud as he explained.
"The massive ship to our south is a trading vessel named the Silver Princess. Lady Xue. It has a magical engine constantly casts a mixture of wind and earth magic, allowing it to float."
"Wow! Amazing! How does it work?" Mu Xue's eyes sparkled as she leaned over the wall, watching the magnificent ship nearing the port.
"Unfortunately, I do not know..."
'I know this... With her, we spent half a year researching how to make it more effective and how to protect it from enemy ships!'
Asura was the one who suddenly spoke, causing her to feel a sudden sense of awe. It was a different Asura to the one she knew; the usual Asura rarely seemed to read in libraries now and enjoyed fighting after all!
"Think of it as if it were a giant group of mages, with half of them casting gale bursts and uplift. While the earth mages cast a light load and a modified quake spell that causes those turbines at the back to move, can you see the vibrations? The movement of magic should be visible to you; focus your eyes, Xu'er."
Mu Xue's eyes narrowed as she focused on the ship, then gasped as she noticed the pulses of magic; the winds gathered as if underneath the ocean, then circulated by the turbines as earth magic assisted to create a magnetic field and cause the ship to move forward.
The speed increased as the ship moved like a fish's tail because of the quake effect.
"Incredible! How come I never learnt about this?" Mu Xue asked Asura, who felt awkward as even Aldred seemed confused.
"Well...because such technology is considered too expensive to manufacture and maintain... When I couldn't use magic, I wanted to learn how to make people's lives easier... Be it farming, hygiene or at sea."
'I lied... this was the project we worked on... The project before she proposed to me... The night before, everything suddenly changed.'
Asura's hand trembled as he remembered that night once more, only to feel a soft squeeze of Mu Xue's hand.
She knew he was hiding something, but it was like when he fought Lucretia or did anything. She gently kissed his cheek, ignoring the steward as they walked slowly and whispered into his ear. "Are you alright, dear husband?"
No, it changed.
She replaced the word master with a lovely but cheeky dear husband in her country's dialect. It made Asura laugh as he calmed down, feeling like Mu Xue might become the cure for his emptiness.
"Yeah...thank you, my dear wife."
The steward coughed. He knew of their relationship, but it was too intense for him to comment.
So he then pointed out the enemy ships to the east and west of Wolfsheim Port, showing them in a fan-shaped formation.
"It looks like they mean business."
"Mmm, will we fight on land or sea?"
"Asura, I..."
Princess Vela grasped his hand, her body trembling as she looked at the ships with a fearful gaze.
He realised that despite being the princess, she might not have fought a battle of this level before, and even he felt nervous; only his desire to fight stronger enemies and the strange memories from his life with Sigurd made him feel.
'I've faced far worse.'
"Don't worry, we will not lose."
Asura had long decided to become a pillar that could support those around him who were unstable or scared.