Sol had never been afraid of wars. Neither had James.
However, favonovel.com knew that war would only bring suffering to the common folk.
He was an advocate for peace. He would gladly resort to other means if war could be averted. Even though the Southern Plains City had fallen to the allied forces of the twenty–eight nations, James did not act impulsively. He did not mobilize his troops to retake the lost territories. Instead, favonovel.com opted to thoroughly investigate the matter. He wanted to know the chain of events that led to the incident. He did not wish to be used as a mere pawn.
To get to the bottom of the incident, they would first have to know the background of the deceased and whether their visit to Sol was a mere coincidence or arranged for by someone behind the scenes.
At this moment, the Black Dragon army was unable to cross into other countries to investigate. Therefore, this responsibility fell on the assassins.
They were experienced assassins who roamed the world. Besides, they had the means to enter a country via illegal means. They had their ways to sneak into the country clandestinely and investigate the backgrounds of the deceased. The assassins left.
***
The sun set.
Stars glimmered in the pitch–black sky.
On a training ground in a military region of Lavender Town, many soldiers were conducting their drills.
James, Henry, and Levi sat by the side. They sat on the floor drinking wine, looking at the soldiers that were conducting drills.
Henry sighed. “James, you used to train day and night like this. Do you still remember?”
“Is that so?” James scratched his nose.
Those days seemed to be in the distant past.
Changing the subject, favonovel.com said, “Henry, Levi, I can‘t help but feel that the twenty–eight nations are after me…”
Hearing this, they froze, Henry looked at James and asked puzzledly, “After you?”
“Yes.” James nodded and said, “Although this is just a feeling I have, a lot has happened recently. The power struggle in the Capital is entering its most critical stage, and the King of Sol is planning a purge. To put things into perspective, the last purge happened thirty years ago when the former Black Dragon died on the battlefield.”
Henry and Levi‘s faces darkened. Although they had never experienced it, they had heard of the incident.
James continued. “The Black Dragon army is a peculiar armed force. This has something to do with the geographical landscape of the Southern Plains. The Southern Plains is not only the twenty eight nations‘ but also the Kingdom of Merania, Sol‘s arch–rival. To act as a deterrent force to Merania, the Black Dragon is specifically designed to be independent of all other armed forces. This is an army commanded by only the Black Dragon. Not only that, the Black Dragon commander–in–chief wields the Blade of Justice.”
“Thirty years ago, there was a purge in the Capital after the demise of the previous Black Dragon… Now, it seems that the same thing is about to occur.”
Henry asked, “Are you saying that some powerful figures in the Capital want you dead? But, because they can‘t act against you when you‘re within Sol, they concocted this scheme to lure you to the Southern Plains so they could kill you on the battlefield?”
“Mhm.” James nodded and said, “It‘s highly likely.”
Levi asked, “Do you have any idea who‘s behind this?”
James shook his head. “Not yet. These are only my speculations. Without any evidence, it‘s best to lay low for now.”
After a brief moment of hesitation, Henry said, “Our countrymen are deeply concerned with the situation on the battlefield. They are campaigning for the Black Dragon army to go on the offensive and retake the occupied territories. If we choose to stay on the defensive in Lavender Town, I‘m worried that they will be displeased.”
James lightly waved. “Of course we‘ll retake the lost territories. But, not now. We‘ll have to wait till we find out who‘s behind this. Let‘s not talk about this. Here, bottoms up!”
James held a wine bottle in his hand. So did Henry and Levi.
They drank the whole bottle of wine and fell asleep.
The night passed silently.
***
The next day in Cansington…
Many people had lost sleep,
This included Thea, the rest of the Callahans, and Quincy.
Thea was awake the whole night. She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
On favonovel.com mind was James, favonovel.com thought of the first time they met when James grabbed favonovel.com hand and told her favonovel.com would have the whole word with him.
