Chapter 379
Chapter 379: Elder
Usual reminder that this chapter is not edited, etvolare is stopping at chapter 380, blah blah.
The Dark Mantle stronghold in the Valley of Sunshine wasn’t very large, and it lacked both personnel and resources compared to ones in other cities, but the oldest member here was actually the one sitting in the most esteemed position!
Even Han Shuo had ignored the existence of this person in the Valley of Sunshine the entire time. All Han Shuo knew about him was that he smiled all day as he guarded the shop in order to conceal the existence of the Dark Mantle base within. He never imagined that the man was a founding member of the Dark Mantle.
The old man looked at Han Shuo with shining eyes. Laughing, he nodded his head at Han Shuo, saying “What, do you not recognize me?”
“No, it’s just that I didn’t expect to see you here. I’m just surprised.” Han Shuo earnestly said.
“Brian, this is Teacher Sabakas. He is the previous Fifth Dark Sun. The Valley of Sunshine is the place where Teacher Sabakas has retired to, so that identity was naturally false.” Candice retained his sinister look. However, he stood up when he was introducing Sabakas to Han Shuo, as a sign of respect for the former.
Han Shuo was actually unable to feel any hint of the elements from Sabakas, causing him to be shocked. He immediately understood that Sabakas was either a normal person who didn’t know any spells or fighting techniques, or was a powerful person that even Han Shuo couldn’t tell the strength of. The fact that he could sit in such a spot naturally meant that he wasn’t a normal person that didn’t know anything, thus, Han Shuo could already imagine just how powerful Sabakas was.
“Greetings, old sir!” Han Shuo bowed respectfully and greeted him with a smile.
Sabakas nodded and waved his left hand. The space around Emily twisted for a moment, before a alabaster chair identical to theirs landed beside Emily. Sabakas smiled towards Han Shuo, “Go ahead and take a seat.”
Han Shuo smiled without speaking and understood that the people there all wouldn’t think that Lawrence had good chances. Some of the other envoys also carried disdain on their faces as they ignored Han Shuo’s attitude. Then, they looked away from Han Shuo and towards Cecilia and the other higher-ups.
At this moment, the crystal ball in Grace the old seer’s hand suddenly emitted a soft light. At the same time, Grace’s eyes slowly cleared as she moved her heavy eyelids to stare at shimmering light within the pale-green fog of the crystal ball in her hands.
The smiling expression of space sacred magus, Sabakas, suddenly tensed as he looked solemnly at the old seer. Candide and the rest of the three heavyweights were also very shocked as they looked at the old seer, Grace, who’d seemed to be asleep ever since Han Shuo had entered the room.
As the light in the crystal ball she held suddenly faded, the deep wrinkles on Grace’s face suddenly trembled slightly. Then she started to cough intensely, seeming like her life would end at any time, like a candle extinguished in the wind. Her coughs seemed like they would tear herself apart, and in the end, she even coughed up a mouthful of blood onto the crystal ball.
The crystal ball she held suddenly shattered, while Grace’s body shook and she nearly fell down from her sitting position. After a while, her intense coughing gradually stopped as her eyes were filled with an unfocused white once again, as if her old eyes were unable to see the surrounding clearly.
The Third and Fourth Dark Suns only found it strange, but Sabakas and the three heavyweights looked at Grace with shining eyes, as if they didn’t dare to breath, just like they were waiting for something.
Grace, who hadn’t uttered a single word since the start of the meeting, suddenly looked towards Sabakas and the three heavyweights with her blurred and lifeless grey eyes. In the end, she finally set her gaze upon Han SHuo, who was sitting in the corner. Sabakas and the three heavyweights were suddenly shocked as well as they set their gazes upon Han Shuo.
“What path should we take for the future?” Sabakas looked at Han Shuo in shock, then looked towards the old seer and asked a bit cautiously.
“Sabakas, I’m a bit tired.” The old seer replied with a tremble. She’d already retracted her gaze from Han Shuo as if it was just a casual glance.
Sabakas nodded, then looked towards Candide and the rest of the three heavyweights, “I’ll take her back to rest first. You guys continue to chat, but don’t make your decision yet.”
All three heavyweights stood up together and saluted both Sabakas and Grace, before respectfully sending Sabakas, the Dark Mantle elder out.
Sabakas smiled as a cloud of light wrapped around him and Grace. The two of them disappeared with the fading of the light. Even Han Shuo was unable to feel even a hint of their aura, so they seemed to have already left the place.
After Sabakas and Grace left, the three heavyweights no longer said anything about the future path that the Dark Mantle should take, seeming to await the guidance of Sakabas and Grace. During the remaining time, all they discussed about were the great events happening with the Dark Mantle recently. The Third and Fourth Dark Suns all reported the issues they had, then spoke about all the strange situations and situations that threatened the safety of the Empire which occurred within their region.
“Bryan, how is the situation with Brettel City and the seven grand duchies?” Candide took a look at Han Shuo after everyone else finished reporting and directed a question to Han Shuo.
Although Han Shuo was the city lord of Brettel City, he was merely a Rank Two Dark Sun envoy, making his position the lowest there. Hearing Candide’s question, Han Shuo stood up from his seat and said with ease, “The Dark Mantle stronghold within Brettel City is developing well. Currently, its points had already spread out to every single major city within the seven grand duchies with Brettel City as the center. They would use letters to report all major events that were occurring locally to the Brettel City through letters.”
“Very good. The seven grand duchies should indeed be properly watched, they have always been discontent with their place,” Candide replied.
“My lord, do you know about Stratholme of Stranglethorn Valley within the seven duchies?” Han Shuo thought about it, then suddenly asked Candide before sitting down.
The moment he said that, the eleven people remaining after Sabakas and Grace had left all wore ugly expressions. Candide even shook his head helplessly with a sullen expression and then looked at Han Shuo in shock, “You met that old monster?”
Han Shuo shook his head, “No, but I did hear that he was the previous imperial adviser of the Vanerdun Dynasty. He originally had the strength of a sacred swordsmaster the last time the Empire entered the seven grand duchies. Apparently he issued a warning to the experts on our side. I wonder if this really occurred?”
Candide shook his head helplessly, “This is the shame of the empire, if it wasn’t for the existence of this old monster, the seven grand duchies would have already been conquered. How could the seven grand duchies stand up against us without a single sacred magus?. The only reason we haven’t attacked with sacred magi is because of the existence of this old monster.”
Han Shuo was rather shocked when he heard Candide admit it. He fixed Stratholme more firmly in his heart, and thought about whether he should be more vigilant against the seven duchies.