Badge in Azure

Chapter 359: Sika’s Return (Part 1)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Sika was still wearing the set of clothes that she was wearing when she left. There were two young Cascausus warriors behind her, they were the only two people in the group that were in a magic armor.

“Have you become a true warrior priestess?” Saleen realized shockingly that Sika’s focus had grown incredibly quickly. He could not determine how strong her focus was now, it might be comparable to a sorcerer.

“Of course, if not how could I have brought so many people along with me?”

“Where is Lex?” Saleen realized that there were only Cascausus people in this group.

“She has returned to Bitter Water Prefecture. She will only move after a few months. Saleen, I’m hungry…”

Saleen laughed as he said to the swordsmen that were taking over the group, “Go tell Daniel to prepare breakfast. You, go find Mage Kredian. Ask him to tidy the houses near the garden and find a place for all these people to stay temporarily.”

The swordsmen took their instructions, Saleen took a look at a few elderlies in the group and asked Sika, “Even the elders from your village are here?”

“Yes, let me introduce you.”

After a round of introductions, Saleen realized that Sika had brought with her all the people from three Cascausus villages. There was a total of two-thousand and seventy-two people. Half of them were warriors that could fight while the rest were women and children. The combat skills of the Cascausus women were not to be looked down upon though. These women and children were not considered warriors but if a fight were to really break out, those above the age of ten could easily be used as a beginner swordsman.

Along Sika’s way back to Cascausus, she had already gained the recognition of the bone necklace and had become a true warrior priestess. She was the first warrior priestess in her hometown in over a few hundred years. When she returned to her hometown, she had enjoyed enormous power. The two strong villages beside hers had also looked to her for guidance. Sika then talked about moving and provided much information and news about the happenings on the Mainland. The elders of the three villages discussed before agreeing to her requests.

Even if Sika had not mentioned it, they were planning to move anyway. The people from the Holy See had been harassing them and many battles had taken place around them too. The Cascausus region was about to be embroiled within the war. The elders knew they could not avoid it and decided to move north into Laiyin Duchy.

A warrior priest was a relatively high position and once Sika mentioned vast lands, the elders were naturally attracted to the idea. Even though the winters there were long, the conditions in the Cascausus region were incredibly horrendous too.

The people from Cascausus were incredibly disciplined, over two-thousand of them were virtually silent. Many of the warriors were riding on magic wolves and they had a docile expression on their faces. When the team stopped, they lowered their heads and laid obediently on the ground. Saleen could not let the group wait on the ground and so he personally led the team into the city center.

The two warriors behind Sika in magic armor did not stop sizing Saleen up. This was the man that the warrior priestess was constantly talking about? He did not seem like much, his body seemed normal and at best could fend off an adult Cascausus.

These two warriors were the strongest in the entire village, this of course did not include the elders of the village. Once Sika’s position was confirmed, they had been sent to her side to follow her instructions.

Sika had a simple content expression on her face as she and Saleen laughed and walked all the way to the garden area south of the temple. This was usually meant for Saleen’s personal soldiers to stay in. When Saleen saw that the Cascausus warriors that Sika had brought over were stronger than he had expected, he immediately decided to let the thousand over warriors, women, and children stay there.

The reputation of the Cascausus warriors was extremely good. They were good in combat, loyal, and worked together. Saleen already had the idea that in the future, besides the swordsmen from Sregl Island, he would only need the people from Cascausus by his side. This was because he saw a reflection of the Bitter Water Army in the Cascausus people.

Pairing these warriors with some mages, he would have a group of elites. If enough magic wolves could be tamed, this regiment would be equivalent to half a swordsmen camp.

Even though they were not prepared, after arranging for the Cascausus people’s accommodation, Saleen started discussing with the few elders.

Saleen laid down his thoughts directly. He hoped that the warriors of Cascausus would be his personal army. All expenses would be paid for by him and they would be based right there.

The elders were a little hesitant as Saleen said, “Elders, the Mainland is on the verge of being thrown into chaos. I know you all do not like such a life, I can promise you that this army would only be in charge of the safety of this city. I will not let them go on any expeditions. If the war spreads here, I think all of us would still need to pick up our weapons. I can only create a regiment of a thousand people. I will also assign a mage to every group.”

“A mage in every group?”

“Yes, I will create magic armors and weapons. You all wouldn’t be at a disadvantage when faced with a holy master or a mage.”

The elders in the room started discussing among themselves. At last, the oldest Cascausus said, “Mage, as you know the Cascausus people are the most loyal warriors, but this concerns the entire tribe and we hope you will sign a contract. We will only be loyal to you. Besides you and Sika the warrior priestess, we will not accept any orders from anyone else.”

“You have my word!” Saleen promised, it was more than he could wish for.

“We have some children too, we hope you can choose a few of them to teach some swordsmanship or magic and they can join your army. At least one-hundred of them must follow Sika.”

“No problem.”

“Our rations…”

“As my personal army, anything you need will be provided for. We will expand and build a larger enclosed camp. I will only choose those that I trust to stay in there. I have chosen some good land for you all outside the city, it can be used to grow crops. There are mages here to build a grain warehouse too, no one here will go hungry in the longest winter.”

“Mage, we have quite a few magic wolves as well.”

Saleen took a look at Sika as she explained, “To make sure the wolves keep their wild characteristics, we constantly bring them out to hunt. There are over four-hundred of these magic wolves among the three villages.”

“Okay, let me think.” Saleen considered before saying, “A hunting ground can be set up south of the city. It isn’t suitable for crop growing there because there are many mountains in the south. The north is more suitable to grow crops, which side do you all prefer?”

“Mage, does this mean that you will let us establish our village?” The eldest Cascausus asked Saleen.

“Of course,” Saleen said. He thought if the Cascausus were to stay in the city all year round, they would start deteriorating.

The elders and leaders were overjoyed, they decided to build their village in the south in the end. The Cascausus still preferred the mountains and even though the vast plains in the north were good, it was not land that they were used to.

The matters with the Cascausus people were quickly discussed and Saleen estimated that with over two-thousand people, the rations would soon become a problem. The rations that his three combat vessels had brought over were quite a lot but there were less than one-thousand people in the city base at the start. Lex had brought with her over two-hundred people too. It was enough to last all of them for one to two years. Now with almost three-thousand Cascausus people and one-thousand barbarians, these rations could probably last them only until spring of next year.

Lex had left behind some rations when she left, but he could not count on them. If Lex returned two to three months late, everyone would starve.

The barbarians and Cascausus could still hunt but there was limited prey, hunting could not provide for the few thousand of them. Saleen had no choice but to get Francis to bring a few people to Lianyun City to buy some rations. As long as they could last until May, Lex should be back by then.

After making these arrangements, Saleen told Sika about his plans to go to the Oceanic Ice Block.

“Sika, could you stay behind to take care of them?” Saleen asked.

“No, I want to go with you.” Sika rejected his offer. Saleen had no idea why but he was a little glad. It seemed like only Daniel would be staying behind, however, he was only a grade-4 mage while Kredian was a grade-5 mage. He could not let Kredian listen to Daniel.

To ensure their safety during this expedition out at sea, they would need to bring the death kings. Saleen thought long and hard, he could only leave Diyabannersa behind. He did not feel safe leaving Banchajanna and Judikaka behind. Even though they were bound by the contract, Saleen was still worried that an accident would occur.

Four magic beast swordsmen were left behind by Saleen to support Kredian. Jola had to follow Saleen and he knew he was not the same as before, he was responsible for more people’s future and he could not take the risk. With Jola around, even if something happened to the death king, he would be able to deal with a professional that was grade-7 and above. So long as he did not encounter a grade-9 sorcerer, they could all still escape.

With so many things going on, it was already night by the time everything was arranged.

Irene was not happy, she and Aini had been called back to eat on the second floor of the city hall. Seeing Sika, she was even more sure that Nailisi was telling the truth. This lady from Cascausus was too beautiful. Irene had thought that Nailisi was an absolute beauty but after seeing Sika, even Irene felt inferior.

Sika’s eyes were too pure, almost like… constellations.

Was it this woman that had caused Saleen to lose control? Why were all her opponents so hard to deal with? She heard Viscountess Lex was a lover that captivated many men’s hearts. Saleen did not keep the intimacy he shared with Sika a secret, it seemed the two of them already had a special relationship.

Irene did not taste what she was eating, everything tasted sour. Sika on the other hand swept up everything in sight, still the same as before. This made Irene feel a little better. Even though Sika was pretty, she did not have any proper upbringing, she was from Cascausus after all.

After eating the last lamb leg, Sika patted her stomach and said, “I’m tired, I’ll go to bed now. Saleen, should I send two warriors to sentry for you?”

Saleen shook his head and asked, “Are you not staying over?”

Irene’s eyes widened before she heard Sika’s reply, “Not tonight, I need to return to make sure everything is in order. These fellows do not trust you yet.”

“Okay, come over tomorrow morning then.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow.” Sika stood up and patted Saleen on the shoulder before making her way out. Irene looked at Sika’s back as she encouraged herself in her heart, “This woman is a priestess, she cannot marry. If Saleen wants to control the Cascausus people, he cannot spend his life with Sika.”