Primordial Expanse: I have the Strongest Talent!

Chapter 113  Evermoor city

"What the hell happened back there?" A brown haired, curvy woman in her twenties asked.

"Our plans have been found out, Hera. That Alex kid is much more terrifying than he had originally thought. You'll be out of the loop because you were in covert ops, busy setting up the entrapment formation, but the Count sent a Mutant class E+ rank assassin after the kid, and Alex came back to town the next day dragging his lifeless, headless corpse through the streets." Kilian gave a short recount of events to the woman as he lay still on her back. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Because of how injured he was, missing a leg, an arm and all of his fingers on his last remaining arm, he couldn't even look after himself, let alone move.

What Alex had done to him had been truly messed up, but well deserved considering the stakes.

So, the woman, Hera, had to carry him on her back the whole trip back to Evermoor.

Hearing Kilian's terrifying account of the events that went on inside the manor, away from prying eyes, the woman's eyes bulged and she felt her throat dry from the stories Kilian told.

"What do we do now then? With Bertram dead you're in command now. We need a plan of action." Hera spoke up, her voice tinged with urgency when she realised they weren't out of the danger yet.

Alex would surely also make pursuit.

Kilian glanced at the rapidly declining scenery behind them, his expression grave. "We press on to Evermoor city," he replied, his voice steady despite the turmoil within. "The Count is the only one who can help us salvage our plans now. After all, his upgrade to Variant class also relies on this plan."

Hera nodded, her brows furrowed in thought. "But what about Alex? He knows the truth now and he won't stop until all of us are dead."

Kilian's jaw clenched at the mention of Alex's name, his eyes flashing with a cold light. "The Count will deal with him when the time comes. The boy may be terrifyingly strong, but he's still only E+ rank at best. There's no way he will be able to hold up against the Count with his Mutant class D+ rank strength."

Hera finally relaxed a little when she heard that Alex was no match for the Count. As long as they reached Evermoor city then they could finally let loose their tension for good.

And Kilian can find a specialist doctor to heal him.

***

'Don't think you're going to get away from me so easily, Kilian.'

Alex thought to himself as he ran at full sprint towards Evermoor city.

He was a blur as he crossed through treacherous cliffs, around murky lakes and through the unforgiving environment of the jungles. Alex pursued Kilian and his unknown number of accomplices relentlessly. But even after 3 hours of continuous searching, he still hadn't spotted anything signifying a human had been there recently, so either they hadn't come through this region, or they were experts at hiding their tracks.

'Where are you, Kilian?'

Alex was starting to get a little frustrated at this point. He began to suspect that they hadn't made their way over to Evermoor city after all, and he was just sent on a wild goose chase.

All of his efforts over the last few hours had been for nought.

But even considering this, he would still make haste towards Evermoor. If he couldn't meet them on the way, then he would just have to face them head on at the doorstep of the enemies.

However he also grew a little concerned about the strength of the Count. Considering he had Mutant class E+ rank assassins loyal to him, he must be even more powerful himself to be able to command people like that.

And that was exactly what Alex was worried about. He had only barely been able to take out the assassin, so he had no idea how to deal with someone like the Count.

His only idea was to strengthen himself.

If he reached D- rank, then he might stand a chance against the count.

At least, that was the only option he had thought of so far.

***

A few days later, the gates of Evermoor city.

"It's your turn to take over john." A guard suited up in pristine silver armour spoke to another guard dressed the exact same.

'Damn this job sucks.' John, the guard who had just started his shift at the gates, moaned inwardly to himself.

As an E rank, he should be out adventuring, killing beasts and increasing his rank.

But no, because of his stupid parents, he became a guard because it was much safer than the other option.

'One of these days I'll quit this shitty job and become an adventurer. One of these days…'

"Hey!"

No response.

"Hey! Hello?"

John was awoken from his daydreams of the future by the shouts of the merchant in front of him.

This was what he hated the most about this job.

As an inspection officer, it was his duty to make sure that people weren't smuggling any illegal or dangerous goods into the city.

But the worst part was the merchants themselves. Those stuck up men and women always acted high and mighty just because they had a little bit more change in their bank accounts than he did.

They treated the guards like crap every day they came in and out of these city gates, and it had become the norm to do so now.

John grumbled, and started his duties.

He made sure to make each inspection at least twice as long to piss off the merchants even more.

This was the only bit of happiness in this mundane job — seeing the merchants become so annoyed but unable to do anything about it always put a smile on his face.

"Hey, can't you see there's a line here?"

"Huh, where do you think you're going?"

"Piss off back to the end of the line."

Suddenly, a commotion started in lines up to the gates as merchants and travellers alike started cursing in the direction of one man.

"Think you're a tough guy flashing that shabby sword on your hip?" Suddenly, a big burly mercenary stepped out from his caravan and confronted the newcomer who rudely pushed towards the front of the queue.

'Who does this kid think he is, so brazenly pushing his way to the front of the line… I like him!'

John watched on from the side, and couldn't help but admire this newcomer.

"Move." Alex spoke to the mercenary who stepped in front of him. He was in no mood to deal with stuff like this again.