First Move, Checkmate: How Will You Respond?

To everyone’s delight, the volcano did not erupt.

A villager stood still, quietly watching the big raindrops falling down on Sanchel Town.

“The volcano…..did not erupt….”

“Great! It didn’t erupt!”

From the crowd, a cry of joy suddenly burst out, instantly igniting the villagers’ excitement.

“Great! There won’t be a disaster!”

“Oh my god! Oh my god! Thank the gods!”

“No no no! It’s the mages from the capital that saved us!”

This rain was like a miracle, wiping out all the crises.

The mages and knights who gradually returned to Sanchel Town relaxed their frowning brows, but their moods did not relax at the same time, on the contrary they felt extremely heavy.

Everyone was silent, like lifeless puppets.

The townspeople who didn’t know the truth came out of the safe area and returned to their town, thanking these ‘heroes’ who ‘saved’ them.

However, not a single mage could proudly say “You’re welcome” when facing them.

They didn’t save these innocent residents, they even almost got wiped out on the volcano themselves.

Yes, just barely.

The grand magic array was not activated in the end.

If the volcano had fully erupted at that time.

All the mages sent from the capital would have perished under that world-destroying lava.

In this heavy rain, the residents gradually returned to their homes.

The army began to send the mages back to the capital one by one. Duke Rivierre stood in the heavy rain, letting the storm blast his face.

Until the last group of mages left, Earl Beck looked at Duke Rivierre from afar and shook his head.

“Farewell, Duke.”

He could barely force himself to say this last sentence, and his tone was still clearly dissatisfied, and his hand holding the cane was also a little unsteady.

“Duke Rivierre, I understand your eagerness to find your daughter.”

“But before you act recklessly, please consider your position.”

“After you return to the capital this time, you may be impeached by many ministers, please take care of yourself.”

After saying that, this noble mage got into the carriage, escorted by the army and left.

From beginning to end, Duke Rivierre did not lift his head to respond.

The knights around were worried that Duke Rivierre would get sick in this heavy rain, after all, the mages’ bodies were not as tough as theirs.

So they urged him:

“Your Grace, please get on the carriage first and wait, Knight Commander Gwen is looking for your daughter.”

Duke Rivierre did not respond, standing in the wind and rain, unresponsive for a long time.

His eyes were dazed and empty.

Suddenly a silver figure appeared in the rainy night sky, like a sudden dawn in the darkness of the night.

She was holding the blonde girl in her arms.

Duke Rivierre saw it, and in an instant, the light called hope reappeared in his eyes.

Gwen brought Erica to Duke Rivierre and handed her to him.

“Mission accomplished, Your Grace.”

Duke Rivierre’s trembling hands took Erica and held her in his arms, his eyes full of shock and distress.

“Erica, Erica….”

It seemed that the faint call woke up Erica, she slowly opened her eyes, and barely squeezed out a smile when she saw her most familiar father.

“Dad, I’m back.”

At this moment, this man, who was prominent and powerful in the Carenthian Empire, shed tears.

He had stood tall and strong, but failed to protect his own daughter.

He was utterly ashamed.

Duke Rivierre hugged his daughter tightly, but got his daughter’s painful whimper in return.

Only then did he notice that Erica had many burns on her body. In a panic, he wanted to use magic to heal his daughter, but to little effect.

Not all mages could be as freakish as Victor, having learned hundreds of magics and still be able to use them extremely proficiently.

Duke Rivierre’s healing magic could only heal some minor injuries. Facing his daughter’s severe burns, he was completely powerless.

He looked around anxiously, trying to find a mage skilled in healing, but around him, apart from the knights standing by, where else could he find any mages?

Seeing Duke Rivierre’s anxious look, Gwen hesitated for a moment, took out a bottle of crimson potion.

The potion looked like blood, dark red, exuding a faint luster.

This was the healing potion Victor had given her, but she had never used it before.

She didn’t know how effective it was either.

But if Erica was not treated promptly, her injuries could leave permanent aftereffects.

She could only take a gamble.

Gritting her teeth, at this moment, Gwen believed that Victor would not deceive her.

“Your Grace, why not try this.”

“If there are any problems, I will take full responsibility.”

Gwen handed the potion over. Duke Rivierre anxiously took it and looked at the color of the potion, suddenly stunned.

Could this blood-like potion really be drunk?

But there was no other way now, Erica’s injuries could not be delayed.

He opened the cork, gently brought it to Erica’s mouth, and casually asked:

“This potion….where did you get it from?”

“It’s from…..my fiancé.”

The potion flowed down Erica’s mouth, and Duke Rivierre’s hand shook slightly.

Gwen Delin’s fiancé?

“Victor Clayvinna?”

“Yes.”

Gwen lowered her head a little embarrassedly. She knew there was some friction between the Duke and Victor, but now was not the time to care about so much.

Just then, a miracle happened.

After drinking the potion, Erica was as if blessed by the goddess of healing.

The burns on her body recovered at a visible speed.

It was as if new skin and flesh grew back, and her skin became as smooth as before.

The Duke was completely stunned.

First the blue magic potion, and now the crimson recovery potion…..

What was with these horrifying effects?

Gwen also stared wide-eyed, surprised at what was happening.

She had never used that potion before, never expecting it to have such an astonishing effect.

With such a terrifying recovery effect, even if one was at death’s door, they could be brought back to life!

However, Erica, who had recovered from her injuries, did not open her eyes.

She was extremely weak mentally, being able to wake up once in the Duke’s arms was already a miracle.

The moment the pain disappeared, she could finally fall into a deep sleep.

Duke Rivierre personally placed Erica in the carriage to rest. When he came out, he bowed deeply to Gwen.

“My deepest gratitude, Knight Commander Gwen.”

“Please allow me to properly thank you again after I return to the capital, naturally your fiancé is included as well.”

Upon hearing the Duke’s words, Gwen was somewhat flattered.

She saw the Duke, who had regained his composure, onto the carriage. The carriage slowly drove off, leaving with the surrounding army.

Gwen took a deep breath, turned her head, and glanced at the white horse in the stable that had no owner to claim it.

It was still quietly eating grass in the station, completely unaware that its rider Victor had disappeared.

‘Victor, where on earth have you gone?’

The downpour showed no signs of stopping. She put on her helmet to shield from the wind and rain, and got up on her horse.

Before leaving, she took one last look at the lonely white horse.

‘If you still have a conscience, still remember me, then come back and find me riding that horse.’

‘It won’t die, at least not until it sees me again.’

She turned her horse around, leading the knights behind her, and moved forward to leave.

After a sound of clanking armors and horses stomping through the mud puddles, Sanchel Town returned to calm.

…

After being cleansed by a downpour, rays of light pierced through the gloom, and the sky was clear.

In a few days, the residents of Sanchel Town resumed their ordinary lives as before.

It seemed that everyone had forgotten about those terrible days.

However, it was not so tranquil at the station entrance.

“Hey, that white horse looks so nice, give it to me, what do you say?”

A fat and burly man stood in front of the station, glaring at the manager.

They had eyed that white horse for days. Now that no one had come to claim it after so long, they reckoned the horse was ownerless.

But the manager was stubborn and did not agree to their rude demands at all:

“A knight paid a lot for us to take good care of this horse.”

The brute laughed loudly: “Those folks from the capital left four or five days ago, this horse has been abandoned.”

“That’s right! Our boss definitely didn’t see wrong!”

A few lackeys around him chimed in.

“If you offer more than her, I’ll agree.”

The manager made a suggestion, looking contemptuously at the reckless troublemakers.

The men glanced at each other and asked: “How much did she pay?”

“This number.”

The manager held out a palm and shook it in front of them.

“Fifty? Hahaha! I’ll pay a hundred!”

The manager shook his head. The brute hesitated and continued asking:

“Five hundred?”

The manager did not speak, continuing to stare at them.

“It’s five thousand.”

When he said this number, the brutes got furious.

“You f*cker! Five thousand ducats for a f*cking horse?”

“Are you trying to extort us?”

After saying that, they rolled up their sleeves, ready to hit. The manager put his hands over his eyes and shrank back.

The punch did not land on him. Instead, he heard a scream.

He lowered his hands, staring wide-eyed in disbelief.

He saw a giant lava-encased hand holding up the ringleader.

The brute suddenly floated up, dumbfounded.

He didn’t even know what was happening.

The lackeys were scared to death. They followed the giant hand and saw, in the distance, a man in a cloak.

There was also a strange one-eyed crow cawing on his shoulder.

Behind him stretched out an arm that looked to be made of lava.

On the black cloak were some red patterns, within which lava seemed to flow continuously.

“That’s my horse. Do you have any objections?”