Nightmare’s Call

The wind blew as the endless sand dune glittered beautifully under the sunlight.

Amid the wind, there was a faint clanking as the billowing dust cloud crashed against Valgariah’s dark red leg guard.

Every step he took, his leg sank centimeters into the ground.

The scorching sun above him was like a steam cooker, or an oven, as his entire armor was heated to the point of boiling, seemingly possible to grill sweet potato on it.

Ever since he had rescued Khadula, he had been wandering around under Lin Sheng’s command, to look for a place where he could establish a branch and spread the word of the sacred power.

Sadly, perhaps due to his overly stringent requirements, or his bad luck, the Steel Lord Valgariah had been hopping from ship to ship without any luck of finding a suitable spot.

So he decided to simply bypass the island and directly headed to this vast desert continent and hoped to find a good place to spread the word in this backward, war-torn land.

“I would not have come to this godforsaken place if not for the price that you are willing to pay. No one in their right mind would come to the Gyrshuri Desert at this season. This is literally self-flagellation with this wind and sand!” The guide, called Ishak kept on yapping about his suffering.

Perhaps he wanted more money, but just as the words formed up in his tongue, he saw the Steel Lord’s gaze and the words went back down his throat.

“A few more miles ahead is a tourist village closest to this area. I had brought quite a number of people here last month. You can forget about being comfortable here.

“In this season, especially when you come to this unholy place in November, it is hot as hell during the day, and cold as hell at night. It is already a luxury to be able to have somewhere to stay warm,” he explained in Xilin’s tongue.

“Understood.” The Steel Lord was not adept in dealing with this sort of character. He hated those who were calculative the most.

However, his outstanding upbringing stayed him from admonishing the person. He was after all no longer the Steel Lord of yore, a member of the Blackfeather Council.

The two continued on in tow as they stepped onto the sands as they heading towards the predetermined direction.

“It is right ahead.” The tour guide, Ishak wore a round hat and a long gray yarn shirt, and if not for his black skin, he looked no different than a scrawny dark-skinned female from afar.

The two soon made their way to the top of a dune and looked into the distance.

Amid the clouds of dust, smoke bellowed from a village about a mile away from them. From afar, the smoke looked like thin likes as they were blown about by the wind. Most of the buildings in the village were already in ruins, with only broken walls left.

Isaac opened his mouth and just meant to say that after resting for tonight, they would make their way to another village. But right then, his words failed him.

“It has just been raided.” The Steel Lord looked from afar and rumbled after observing the smoke and ruins within the village.

“It’s always like that here in Lybba. Every month there’s a new country forming, and every month there’s another country being destroyed, with all sorts of weapons and mercs around…” Ishak sighed.

“Let’s go. We need to find a new place to rest. Don’t mind me, but your getup is quite a burden isn’t it, can you still walk?”

The Steel Lord nodded.

His armor may have looked thick, but in fact, it was bonded to him, so to him, the armor weighed almost nothing, but the tour guide’s words reminded him of something.

“It’s fake, I’ll take it off later.”

“Alright, let’s go. We’ll head to the next point. Only because you’ve paid so much or else I’ll be making a goddamn loss here…” he mumbled to himself.

The windstorm was getting stronger as he grabbed onto his fluttering yarn shawl and tied them dead onto his neck as he took out a white disc-like item and turned towards the direction it was pointing.

…

Inside the forest.

*Bam!*

A massive tree was being sawed down and crashed with a thunderous roar, breaking the nearby branches. Amid the grass and leaves, a few tiny animals peeking about quickly scattered as they were shocked by the large crash.

Soon, the whirring saw stopped. Following that were expert workers who quickly chopped off the branches from the fell tree before sawing it into a round timber, rolling them onto the transport vehicle.

Not too far away, was Lin Sheng’s summoned tower.

The tower had almost been fully dismantled, with only the empty top frame left. A large number of workers were busy with their work, carrying cement, piling, and laying bricks as they went.

Everything was done in proper order.

At the side of the construction site, beyond the simple barricade, a few people were observing the busy construction team at work. And the few people there stood between two others, as they listened to the instructions for the layout of the place.

“I need a field that could accommodate at least five hundred, can we make one in this hill here? It cannot be small.”

Of the two persons, one of them was the muscular newly appointed Holy Sanctum branch master, Lin Sheng. He was not in his armor this time around, rather he was in his daily get up.

He wore a black leather windbreaker over a black singlet and jeans. His powerful build alongside his messy black hair made him look no different than someone in his mid-twenties.

Standing beside him was the recovered Adolf. He was in a simple casual western suit, and his presence was way weaker than Lin Sheng.

“Everything will be done according to your wishes. You don’t have to worry about the quality!” The construction manager patted his chest as he yelled.

The din of the machines in the construction yard was too loud, and one needed to shout to get his message across.

“When can this be done at the quickest?” Lin Sheng asked again.

“About a month’s time.” The manager was a middle-aged man with golden hair. His face was full of confidence.

“That’s fast.” Lin Sheng nodded.

“Master, Hamme’s team is the fastest we have. We have even hired two supporting teams, and the construction speed is at its fastest now,” Adolf got close and whispered.

“Come, let’s go somewhere else to speak.” Lin Sheng turned and walked toward a purpose-build resting tent.

As the two walked into the green tent, someone quickly served them two warm cups of water before excusing himself.

“Have you memorized the meditation method I thought you last time?” Lin Sheng said as he sat on a stool.

“Yes. I have memorized the Ashen Seal you’ve given me as well,” Adolf swiftly responded.

Lin Sheng nodded in satisfaction.

Adolf’s innate ability was probably one of the best he had seen so far. Compared with Sarroux in Xilin, Adolf’s rate and speed were much, much faster.

Just within four days, Adolf’s body had recovered to the point he could meditate. As he withdrew himself from his vices and kept a tab on his food, drinks, as well as recovery, within four days, his body and soul had reached the bare minimum required to meditate.

Lin Sheng was stunned when he inspected him. It was almost if this person was born for meditation because his focus was extraordinary.

After confirming that Adolf did not suffer from any mental issues, he quickly thought the Ashen Seal and the meditation methods to him. And Adolf did not disappoint him.

Upon making the first contact with the Ashen Seal and the meditation methods, he had shown his terrifying innate attributes.

He had completely memorized the Ashel Seal – Sanctuary on his very first attempt. By the afternoon of the same day, the faint protective markings appeared on his body. This was faster than Lin Sheng by almost seven to eight folds… One needed to remember that he had spent almost a week meditating to even get the basic protective shell of Sanctuary.