After waiting for a week, Asher decided to head back to his domain since the other barons did not send any more troops; rather, they sent messengers requesting peace and their men.
While he was in Hebron City, Kelvin sent him a letter that their scouts had discovered a fort 30 kilometers away from the stronghold.
According to Kelvin, it was a human town. They were not under the protection of any lord in the wastelands.
Asher planned to visit this fort himself, as it was the first human settlement they had seen in the wastelands. It seemed like the wasteland wasn't as empty as he thought.
Currently, he was two days away from Hebron City. Under the dark sky, Asher sat on a log with Alex and Nero beside him.
The sound of his men chatting and their horses neighing fell into his ears, but his eyes were locked on the young woman clad in a black and blue gown sitting opposite him. She was in a wheelchair.
Her eyes were sharp, as her will had not been broken despite the hopeless situation.
Aquilia had discovered that the soldiers here were all gold-ranked soldiers, and the knights beside Asher were even stronger!
To make it worse, the man she loathed also had an unfathomable aura.
"You are making a mistake."
"How?" Asher chewed a chunk of the roasted beast meat in his hand and tilted his head.
"My father has offered the price for my freedom."
She ground her teeth, glaring at him.
"But I don't want you to be a free woman."
Aquilia's pupils shook.
Asher sighed and leaned forward. "You are my captive. I believe every noble wants mages, and your father just had to play the card of adoption to gain a talented mage like you. Impressive strategy."
Aquilia's brows furrowed.
"What is your aim? I am a noble, not a mere woman you can mess with."
"Right now, you are my captive."
Aquilia's eyes narrowed, and she suddenly smiled a bit.
"You want me to serve you?"
He stood up, and as he took three steps, Aquilia bit her lips but couldn't stop herself from calling out to him.
She finally understood Asher wasn't a man she could talk to with a nonchalant or disrespectful tone. He could easily ask one of his BloodBlades to end her.
Asher tilted his head. The bonfire illuminated his side profile, making his golden eyes unusually radiant.
"I'll have my father give you twice the price to set me free."
Asher continued walking.
"Tell me what you want!"
Asher paused and turned around. He crossed his arms and looked straight into her eyes.
"Can you build a teleportation channel?"
"You want to go to the high plains?"
Seeing that Asher's expression remained the same, she knew he wasn't going to reveal any clue, and if she failed to give him a satisfactory response on time, he would leave.
"I can't build it without the four foundation elemental crystals."
"But to get those crystals at once, I need to go to Tigris County."
Asher knit his eyebrows.
Aquilia chuckled. "Definitely."
"Can you blink us there?"
"My magi reserve isn't that big. I can only teleport one other than myself, and we still won't reach that city after five teleportations."
All of a sudden, Asher looked into Aquilia's eyes.
Talent: Water Manipulation (A)
[Talent description: This talent gives the individual the ability to bend and form water to whatever he/she wills through spell casting. Can range from E-A]
'Is she available for an upgrade?'
Aquilia felt a sudden Force, so powerful that it was above her understanding and knowledge falling upon her.
Lots of information began to surge into her mind while her body was being transformed by the mysterious Force from which she could sense it belonged to Asher.
His presence was almost palpable.
When it was down, a pale-skinned woman with well-carved silver brows, short silver hair, and a thick coat that had fur padding similar to Asher's coat appeared on the wheelchair.
Her looks had increased by several folds.
She was now a beauty capable of turning the heads of those with high taste. Unfortunately, she still remained in the wheelchair.
After some minutes, Aquilia opened her twinkling silver eyes and exhaled. Ash she exhaled, a white mist left her mouth, crystalizing the air!
Her pupils trembled violently.
"How do you wield so much power?"
She looked at Asher, whose arms were still crossed. This did not look like a big deal, and Aquilia could tell from the indifference in his dull golden eyes.
"You should be able to carry more than two now."
"I can carry four, and it will take two teleportations from here to Tiberias."
Aquilia was shocked at how honest she was. There was a strange feeling inside of her after witnessing what Asher had just done to her.
Not only had her rank increased, but she had so much knowledge that her former self was just pitiful.
And she thought she was a genius!
"Good. My Bloodblades, you and I shall head for the city tomorrow. Get a good night's rest."
Asher turned and left.
Later, two King Swordsmen built a tent for her to rest, but Aquilia kept tossing around and cursing Asher.
"How does he expect me to sleep after revealing such otherworldly ability? What kind of man is this?!"
The next day, Asher removed his coat, leaving only his tunic, pants, and boots, while his BloodBlades removed their armor but left their swords. This way, they would not attract much attention.
Only Aquilia didn't change.
There was nothing for her to change into. She looked like their lady because of how the system garbed her in high-quality attire.
When they gathered, Aquilia's eyes were on Asher's sword.
"That's a unique-looking sword."
Asher looked at his sword and turned toward a King Swordsman's cloak.
He swiftly wrapped it with the cloak, and Aquilia opened a rift.