Chapter 49: Chapter 125 – A New Trade Partner

“So, are you going to stay like this, Master?” Miria asked while getting rejuvenated by one of Ast’s techniques.

Asterios furrowed his brows and glanced down, only now noticing that his apparel had switched colors from the brown palette to the black-red style. He was a little baffled how he had missed that but blamed it on being too focused on the fight and its aftereffects.

“Looks like my spiritual attire reacts to either my emotions or me drawing on bigger chunks of the scorching hot mana. I guess it won’t work exactly as we hoped it would. I might as well let it stay like this while we are here.”

“To be honest… I like your new look, Master… It feels… fierce and ferocious…” Miria confessed a tad shyly.

He smiled at the timid panthergirl and pulled her in for a brief kiss, which Miria enjoyed to the fullest for as long as it lasted. She loved when Asterios took the initiative. And especially when he was in his awakened state with that domineering aura and eyes of his.

Before Umbra returned from the surface, Asterios exchanged a few gentle and soft kisses with Selene while healing her up too. She hadn’t been hurt that bad but Thesera’s attacks packed quite a punch. He knew how much delight the caresses of her tail brought the beautiful fox lady so he affectionately combed through the fluffy cloud with his fingers as they embraced each other.

After that very brief break to recover, they rushed out of the underground warehouse. They had taken care of someone called a director, but they couldn’t be sure that the changeling woman was the strongest in this facility. Considering the fact that she had called this place her home and the prisoners her guests, she most likely was the leader or overseer.

They had no time to peer deep into Thesera’s or Zariya’s memories and Umbra only managed to check for the location of the most important chambers in the women’s minds, updating their mental map he had created earlier.

First, they headed to the room that the two members of this organization had burst out of as they had been roaming through the facility. It turned out to be a small study with lots of old parchments, scrolls, and books. They didn’t feel like it was the overseer’s office so it could have belonged to the other person.

The girls quickly swooped everything they could into their dimension and the party continued further. Umbra kept an eye on the marked noctis the whole time and they noticed that the person was moving from room to room in a certain part of the underground system. They assumed that the elf was getting rid of crucial evidence or something and dashed towards their location.

Umbra swam through the shadows to move faster, making small jumps from place to place while the rest of the party ran after him, needing to slow down now and then to confront some guards or researchers. It looked like most if not all members had been somehow informed about the breach and were either trying to escape or heading somewhere.

They arrived in a corridor with plenty of open doors and headed towards a room with a clear struggle happening inside. According to Umbra, three people had been trying to burn whatever they could and the shadowy raven was currently interrupting their streak, already in the process of getting rid of one. The marked noctis proved to be a challenge, though, without Umbra risking evaporating the evidence by himself.

Just as Miria and Selene were going to run inside, Ast’s enhanced vision spotted a flash of a magical formation laid around the doorframe.

“Wait!” he shouted after his companions, both mentally and vocally.

But, it was a little too late and Miria stepped through the line, activating some kind of a trap spell. A black spider web suddenly materialized in front of her and she ran straight into it. Miria shivered as she broke through the obstacle and groaned in pain, grabbing her head with her hands while dropping her weapons. Selene did the same soon after, and even Umbra’s shadowy form dispersed a little.

Something forcefully invaded Ast’s mind and drilled through it with vicious tenacity. He hastily prepared himself to repel the invader with his overbearing scorching hot energy, but after noticing the nature of the used spell, he decided against it.

That mental attack in the form of a powerful spiritual drill going through his memories aimed straight at their base. He got curious about what would happen when it stumbled on the seal hidden deep in his mind and a bit of pain was nothing in front of an unusual but potential way of getting rid of it, even if the caster would learn about the sealed memories too. They could deal with that person later.

Asterios didn’t want to let the girls and Umbra endure the unbearable headache with him so he focused his mental abilities to their utmost limits and shielded their psyches, letting only himself suffer the attack. Judging by their reactions, it worked as intended.

He didn’t have to wait long for the spell to reach the seal and the mental spike crashed into the immovable wall of countless sigils and runes. Immediately, an unbelievable shockwave burst out from it, just like on the day Umbra had attempted to unravel it, and pushed the invader completely out in a flash.

A loud and screeching scream reached everyone’s ears and they watched as the marked noctis copied their actions of grabbing their heads, now that they had identified him as a male. The man’s eyes rolled to the back and soon popped, literally. His ears spurted blood and two streams of scarlet liquid ran from his nose. He went silent a second later and slammed lifelessly into a nearby counter.

“Figured…” Asterios sighed after regaining his balance. “But at least we now know Grea’s dad has to be really careful.”

In the short moment that Ast’s party had been incapacitated, Svertaniel killed one of the other men present in the room and was just finishing the other one.

“You guys alright?” He turned to them afterward.

“Master! I’m so sorry!” Miria launched herself at Asterios before he could reply.

He caught her and began brushing through her hair. “Easy! It’s okay. I’m fine. I should be sorry. I didn’t notice it fast enough.”

“I tried killing them as fast as I could but I didn’t know which one placed the trap,” Svertaniel explained. “Judging by how the third one died by himself, I assume it was him.”

Asterios nodded. “Yeah. I could have repelled it quicker but I chose to let him have his way with my mind to check something,” he confirmed while grazing Selene’s cheek with his other hand.

“That something seemed to have been more than he could handle. I think his brain exploded. Literally.” Svertaniel glanced at the fallen enemy.

“I expected nothing less since even Umbra had been overwhelmed in the past but I still hoped for a different outcome.”

~It’s pointless to compare a mere mortal’s mental strength with mine but I agree it was a good idea to use him as a test subject. And well, I guess if it’s been Kaguya or her partner who set that seal up, their mental prowess must be incredible.~

After pacifying the worried Miria, they sent the corpses to the surface anyway, just in case the patriarch’s men would be able to get anything out of them. They recovered whatever documents they had managed to save and left the room to head straight towards the overseer’s office.

“You should have prioritized your own mind first, my Lord,” Selene spoke as they ran side by side, clearly noticing what he had done back there.

“You would have done the same for me if you could,” he replied.

Selene smiled warmly and left a peck on his cheek, soon to be copied by Miria from the other side. The panthergirl still felt a little guilty but understood that such magic was out of her field of expertise and Asterios would tell her that she had no way of knowing if she brought it up anyway.

They stormed into the director’s office through fancy doors of Damascus Steel, which opened to them with no issue since Asterios had grabbed a pendant from Thesera’s body that gave off a similar magical aura to the tough door they had melted their way through before. As he had guessed, it was a key or some kind of a pass.

The office was in a similar fashion to Dane’s but much more spacious. He and Svertaniel focused on a heavy Damascus desk sitting in the middle while the girls went through shelves, drawers, and cabinets. Fortunately, the pendant deactivated all the safety formations and they even found a hidden compartment in the same spot as in Dane’s desk.

Around the time they were finishing ransacking the chamber, Svertaniel reported that one of his sentry eyes spotted movement but the people he had seen looked different from the members of the organization. He quickly identified them as soldiers of the patriarch and the king.

Since the forces had started entering the underground facility, Ast’s group assumed that the situation on the surface must be under control. They had already visited the most important places here, and the soldiers were beginning to free the remaining people, so they decided to leave the rest to them.

Umbra moved everyone to the surface, starting with Svertaniel, and then transferring Asterios while the girls waited back in their realm. When he emerged on the grassy ground, Ast’s eyes widened.

It was supposed to be a grassy area around the lumber mill but most of it had been burned to cinders and barely any green spots remained in the close vicinity. The building itself was literally on fire.

The battle that had taken place here seemed to be in its end-stage with just some of the cultists and members of the organization—which weren’t that many in the first place—still trying to make a last stand against the united forces of Patriarch Grotger and King Welrond.

As for the latter, just moments after Asterios had surfaced, a man coated by fierce flames plunged into the ground like a meteor, shoving his sword of pure fire into the earth. A ring of scorching inferno shot out of the point of impact and turned a group of enemies into dust, mystically leaving the allies completely unharmed.

After pulling his sword from the burnt grass, Welrond raised it above his head and five enormous Fireballs formed at its tip in an arc. They were twice the size of Silvia’s from Ast's duel with the princess. Each deadly globe rushed towards a different place and incinerated parts of the environment while disintegrating the enemies.

It looked like the king preferred to play an active role in the subjugation instead of sitting in the back. And he could very well be the strongest person on this battlefield. A few magicians barely managed to stop his flames but were distracted enough for the soldiers to bring them to their demise in the meanwhile. Flames that burned only the enemies were an immense advantage.

He noticed Asterios and Svertaniel and suddenly appeared in front of them with an orange flash.

“I see you are back almost unscathed. How is the situation down there?” Welrond asked.

“Under control, Your Majesty,” Asterios answered. “We have dealt with the supposed director of the place and captured them alive, like a few other members. We freed most of the prisoners on our way and gathered as many documents as we could.”

He nodded. “Great work. We are almost done here too. Thanks to your companion’s barrier, we were able to get in position in time and struck them immediately after it went down. No one should have managed to escape.”

Without looking away from the two men, Welrond made a swing with his fiery longsword and sent a mighty arc of ferocious flames somewhere to the side. Screams of pain and death soon reached their ears, followed by cheers of the soldiers.

“Leave the rest to us. Let’s meet at Grotger’s place after we sweep this place clean if you don’t mind. We can discuss the situation then. And our deal.”

“Naturally. I’ll be waiting for the notice through the token then, Your Majesty.”

The king’s figure flashed again and he was gone, off to somewhere, most likely south, judging by the screams. Svertaniel decided to stay behind and help the others wrap things up quicker, although Asterios could tell he just wanted to finally let loose his magic he had been limiting himself underground, and they parted for now.

You are reading story Rise of the Weakest Summoner at novel35.com

Umbra moved Asterios back to the town and the girls came out to join him, linking their arms with their master. They visited a bathhouse, different from the last one, and jumped in for a quick wash, without any delaying activities. Fresh and clean, they shared a meal to fill their bellies and restore energy.

Rumors had already begun spreading through Dagger’s End that the abrupt visit wasn’t actually a meeting but a joint operation to punish some criminals in their lands. Asterios wasn’t sure if Grotger had intentionally leaked the information to avoid any potential issues and to use it as propaganda or someone had a peek at the battlefield. A small army marching out of the town must have gathered some attention.

But, it wasn’t his problem and they enjoyed the time of rest together.

Two hours later, they were called and moved to the keep. Asterios returned his clothes to the brown adventuring palette and walked to the meeting place on foot. All the guards let him through without even stopping him and he soon joined Grotger, Welrond, and Svertaniel in the same chamber as during his first visit. They were alone this time, with no advisors.

“Asterios, my new friend! Glad to see that you are all fine!” The dwarf patriarch turned to him and threw both hands into the air while laughing heartily. “You’ve been a great help to our people! There’s no doubt everything went so smoothly thanks to you and your companions!”

Asterios nodded his head and received a strong hug from the much shorter dwarf, and a few slaps on the back, quite close to his butt. Welrond smiled at him knowingly. He was slightly taller than Asterios so it was safe to assume he had experienced similar.

“Then, I assume the operation finished without any surprises?” Asterios asked after getting free.

“Yes. Everyone alive was evacuated and we secured the place. Our men are currently exploring it in detail. Most of the people you have transferred have been tended to and the criminals are tightly locked and guarded,” the king responded.

“You’ve caught quite a big fish for us down there,” the silver-skinned man grinned.

“Be sure to watch her at all times. It wouldn’t surprise me if that changeling tried to commit suicide at the first opportunity,” Asterios replied.

“Don’t worry. We will.”

“What about the rats?” Svertaniel joined the conversation.

“I told you I would take care of it and so I did. A few people are not amongst us anymore but the rest are waiting for concrete evidence.” Grotger rubbed his hands together with a smile. “And regarding that, I know it’s a bit hasty to ask even before you have been rewarded for your input, but I do have a small request if you wouldn’t mind.”

“What is it?” Asterios asked.

“We do have our experts at interrogation, but I would like to employ the help of your shadowy familiar, considering that his experience in the aspect of the mind seems to be much higher.”

“You do understand that I would gain access to anything he finds out, right?” Asterios asked.

The patriarch waved his hand. “A small price to pay. Besides, you are already involved and know much more than us. Would that change anything?”

“I guess you are right. I don’t mind then. It will be useful for our safety too.”

The dwarf clasped his hands again. “Great! I’ll reward you handsomely for that help! And everything else! Is there anything you perhaps need besides money?”

“Hmmm… I’m not in need of money either, but… what about a chance for a trade meeting with a representative of the Hestizo family from the Human Continent? I’m pretty sure there are a few areas that could be beneficial for both sides.” 

Welrond choked a little on the wine he had been sipping on and squinted at Asterios, who smiled softly in response.

“Connections run the world, per your own words, patriarch,” Asterios then added.

The dwarf exploded in a hearty laugh. “Good! Not many have the patience to wait on an investment! I like you more and more, kid. Besides, I could use it as a pretext to raise my prices with the other trade partners, hehehehe.” He shot the king a not-so-subtle grin, making Welrond roll his eyes.

“I’m glad then. I’ll let them know about it and we shall arrange a meeting that will suit both sides.”

“Got it. Moving on, then. I would love to throw a feast for you and your charming companions, but I’ve heard this whole thing grounded your ship on the path to the Demon Continent, and we still have a lot of things to take care of on our side, so let’s reschedule it for another day.”

Asterios nodded and Grotger continued.

“My men will have to recheck the ships before lifting the lockdown but your crew is allowed to leave at any moment. I have already ordered a full restock for your vessel, at our cost. I also know about your quest at the guild so I’ll pitch in with the rewards, both for you and the hired adventurers.”

“You are very well-informed about everything, Patriarch,” Asterios commented with respect.

“Shit might have gone down but I never stopped taking a peek at all the important reports. I tell you, once I just glance away, everything falls apart. Those idiots are good only for mining and smelting without me!”

Everyone chuckled at Grotger’s casual insult of his own subrace and Welrond shook his head.

“Alright. About our matters now,” he then began. “I talked with Silvia and somehow managed to convince her to wait until you reach the Demon Continent. It wasn’t easy, but she finally relented when I said that I will personally prepare her for the journey.”

Grotger whistled. “Damn. Good thing I agreed on those trade talks first. If you are giving away your precious lass as a reward, I’m afraid I would have to make him the next patriarch to match that.”

Welrond glared at the dwarf until the short man exploded into another fit of laughter. Sighing heavily, he turned his attention back to Asterios.

“I assume you haven’t changed your mind?” he asked.

“No, Your Majesty. As we have all agreed, it will be beneficial to everyone. I’ll visit the castle shortly after we reach our destination.”

“Please, do so. We will be waiting.” He then turned his gaze to the patriarch and grinned. “I would like to join that trade meeting with the Hestizo family. I think it’s a good time to negotiate the next period of our previous agreement.”

The dwarf’s eyes widened and he slammed his fist into the round metal table, without sending it flying this time.

“You rascal! You plan on bribing them and using them against me!” Grotger then turned to Asterios. “I want to meet them immediately! I can’t let this swindler get in touch with them first!”

Welrond laughed. “Too bad. I’m already quite close with them. They even received the Royal Favor. You’ve already lost, old man.”

“Grrrrrrr! I’m going to fucking get you! You will not be cutting into every single deal I make every single time, you royal scammer!”

The patriarch started running after the king, who used his ability to teleport around the room, missing the dwarf’s hands by a hair’s breadth and nonchalantly sipping wine from his Damascus goblet.

Asterios and Svertaniel glanced at each other and decided that it was time for them to leave. The demon man had already discussed his rewards with the patriarch before Asterios had arrived. He went to bring the good news to Moreso, who was getting more and more depressed by the delay, and Asterios decided to check on the things with the guild.

He confirmed the patriarch’s words in Dagger’s End branch and transferred himself back to Rosewind, informing Suanori about the new incentives. She raised a brow at him, wondering how he had managed to get the patriarch’s support, but decided not to pry into Ast’s business and he appreciated it. He would explain things to her at a later date. She was a friend, nevertheless.

They agreed on a date when Umbra would come and transport the volunteers and parted ways. Asterios jumped home to inform his family about anything that involved them and received quite a lot of praise for his choices.

Kindra even insisted that he should play the role of the representative, but he quickly shot her down by saying that he knew about a lot of things but trade wasn’t one of them. After a short discussion, his mother was chosen for that task and she accepted without any complaints.

Next, since it was slowly starting to get late, he paid Tina a short visit to her family mansion to spend some time together since he was already around. She was extremely happy but didn’t know what to do when they were alone.

Somehow, they ended up with a brief study session together. Asterios helped Tina with her current material as she sat on his lap and snuggled her back to him. The graduation wasn’t that far now and she had a lot of tests and activities to go through. Ast’s caring guidance recovered her motivation and reaffirmed her desire to win their bet.

Afterward, they parted with a gentle and loving kiss, and Tina asking Miria and Selene to take good care of Asterios while she focused on her studies. She would love for Asterios to keep visiting her, but she also knew she wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about him and thus unable to fully focus on her goal. So, she willingly told them not to worry about her and to enjoy their time at the sea and on the Demon Continent.

It was hard for Asterios not to mention the surprise they had managed to secure for her but he couldn’t ruin it just like that. He jumped back to Dagger’s End after finishing everything in Rosewind and Tyrienheim, and departed with Moreso’s crew soon after.

 

You can find story with these keywords: Rise of the Weakest Summoner, Read Rise of the Weakest Summoner, Rise of the Weakest Summoner novel, Rise of the Weakest Summoner book, Rise of the Weakest Summoner story, Rise of the Weakest Summoner full, Rise of the Weakest Summoner Latest Chapter