[In a certain building at the centre of a remote compound on the outskirts of the city's territory near the southern border of the Wiarno Kingdom]

An elderly man with barely any hair left was pacing back and forth in a long, tall-ceilinged hall which looked to be able to accommodate more than a hundred people at once. The hall was lined with ensconces for torches or other forms of light, however, these were now mostly vacant holes on the walls, the contents long sold off. Those torches or light sources that still remained were also mostly not lit, the magical lighting left off to save running costs for the sect.

The man was dressed in ill-fitting and simple hemp robes that went down to nearly his ankles. In fact, the robes were hanging down so low that every time he took a step, it looked like he would nearly trip over the hem of his robes. Each time, however, he would kick forth with his steps, throwing the edge of the robes up so that his feet would not be entangled in them - a sign that he had long grown used to such poorly fitting robes.

And as he paced back and forth and back and forth again, he was muttering to himself, his forehead creased with many lines of worry as his head hung down low.

"Oh Kenzie, Kenzie... How can I bear to tell you...? How can I bear to tell you all this bad news... I don't even know where Everaldus is, and Bernie and the rest are in terrible condition after being pursued all the way back..."

The scrawny old man looked like he had been worn sorely thin over the past night, dark circles around his eyes and his complexion pale. Even for a man of tan skin as he, the paleness was showing, accentuating his already gaunt features.

All in all, he looked a mess!

And if one did not know better and merely judged him from his outward appearance, they would have no inkling at all that this elderly man in question was Maester Slith, uncle of Everaldus Slith and second-in-command after the Patriarch of the Ancient Slith Sect!

Maester Slith, oldest brother of Patriarch Kenzie Slith!

"Big bro... I dare not wake you from your hibernation, lest your lifespan be affected even further... Ever since that fire-poison wounded you, you've been drained of so much of your vitality... Big bro, the whole clan is relying on you... Oh Everaldus, please come back safely! You're our only hope right now...!"

The Slith brothers had been born just 2 years apart. Their father and mother were rather well-off; they had retired from the military service in their twilight years and set up a rather smallish school of martial arts, calling it the Ancient Slith Sect, pa.s.sing on the old Martial Way of the Serpent that they had discovered in the battlefield many years ago.

With the money and platinum coins they had earned over their long years of service in the military, the Slith husband and wife duo purchased the land far from Wiarno City, the land where they had unearthed the Martial Way of the Serpent many years ago!

The Ancient Slith Sect did not take off that well; probably due to being relatively unknown as well as the distance from the city. Nonetheless, there WERE quite a few young disciples enrolling over the years from the surrounding farms and homesteads near the southern border of the Wiarno Kingdom. That and the fact that the Slith family also had a reputation as fierce captains of the army in their heyday!

Since they were young, both Maester and Kenzie had followed in their parents' footsteps, whether in terms of training in the martial way of the Ancient Slith arts; or eventually enrolling themselves in the military.

The Slith brothers served, with Kenzie following his pa.s.sion and focusing on the arts of combat and warfare while Maester quickly realised he was not suited nor cut out for bloodshed and violence. After some years serving together on the battlefield, Maester applied for a transfer and took up a role involved in the administrative and civil responsibilities.

Having found his own niche, the two Slith brothers soon came to be known as the "soldier and the scholar duo" due to the divergent paths they had taken.

Things had been going well all the way until suddenly, sorrow struck. Their father and mother pa.s.sed on due to an epidemic, leaving the brothers with a handful of servants and 3 dozen or so disciples in the still-small Ancient Slith Sect.

At that time, countless business partners had emerged, partners that they knew nothing of until then due to the fact that they had not been involved in the family business or the running of the sect. All they knew was that these partners were very kind, helpful and generous - even offering to buy over the entire sect along with the sect grounds and lands!

However, the two had resolved to build the legacy left behind by their parents. Unwilling to give up their childhood home and undaunted by the challenge, the two brothers who were still in mourning resigned from the military in their early 50's and set out to grow the Ancient Slith Sect.

As always, it was Kenzie who, despite being the younger brother, took the lead and firmly rejected them outright - albeit politely and expressing his unceasing grat.i.tude at their generosity.

And while he WAS the older brother himself, Maester Slith acceded and supported Kenzie whole-heartedly in this, as he had in all things! Maester openly spoke of his younger brother as "big bro", even saying the words fondly.

Since long ago, since he was young, Maester Slith had always known that he was weaker, more timid, less talented and slower of mind. He knew - and he did not mind! For he himself was a man with a simple mind and simple heart, content just to tend to his plants in the garden, his pa.s.sion and hobby since he was a child.

And many, many years later, after realising also that those business "partners" were more like sharks circling, eager to devour their business, sect and family lands, the Ancient Slith Sect faced countless challenges, trials and threats. However, with Kenzie's talent for cultivation and impressive battle skills as a Legendary-realm warrior, none of their opponent's had ever dared to come into direct conflict with the Ancient Slith Sect!

Until last year, that is!

That was just when the whole incident had exploded about the up-and-coming Everaldus Slith's big slip-up - the issue with the brochures to recruit new disciples being printed with A$$ HATS[1] - the young master had stormed home with face flushed red, in a rage and about to explode with anger.

He had stormed over to his father Kenzie and Maester in the middle of their discussion with Bernie, the Chief Financial Officer, before slamming his palms and roaring in fury!

"The printing company!! Father!! Uncle!!! That printing company, how dare they!!!"

Long story short, the printing company had false amended the wordings Everaldus had prepared, apparently intentionally to humiliate the Ancient Slith Sect!

Kenzie's face quickly turned dark and the father-son duo quickly decided to confront the printing company for their dishonesty.

Alas, what should have been a simple matter turned into the beginning of the downward spiral!

It was a disaster.

Maester knew not the details of what happened that day, only that what appeared to be a humble printing shop turned out to just be a front - behind it was a sinister trap laid by two far larger sects, sects that had ceaselessly been trying to coax, threaten and coerce them to sell their family lands!

That very same day, a heavily injured Everaldus returned long after nightfall carrying his semi-conscious father!

Everaldus told that the Fire Gecko Sect and the Desert Sun Sect had allied against Kenzie, sending two of their Grand Elders to lie in wait and ambush his father... With the two Grand Elders both being Legend's in their own right, it was a foregone conclusion. It was already a miracle that both Kenzie and Everaldus could return alive, all thanks to the fact that Kenzie had used his trump card - an Ion Grenade, a military life-saving treasure inherited from their late parents.

Their only solace was that their opponents were both also critically injured from the aftermath, struck heavily by the Ion Bomb.

However, that was just the beginning of their woes. Even after weeks, Kenzie's wounds did not seem to recover.

It was found out that he had been struck by a vile fire-based poison, one that could only be purged by another similarly strong natural treasure of the opposing element - something that was exceedingly rare in the historically arid desert nations of the north...!

As his strength began to wane and the entire sect no longer had a Legendary-realm backer and protector, their already dried-up supply of disciples not only ceased, even their existing students one by one chose to leave...!

And that finally brought the Ancient Slith Sect to their situation today - with Everaldus striking off for the bi-annual Gorun City auction all in the hope of procuring a natural treasure to soothe his father, Patriarch Kenzie's ailments and restore the clan to it's glory...

Thinking up to this point, Maester felt a waze of dizziness sweep over him and felt intense pain in his forehead - a migraine.

He fell to his knees and panted heavily, only regaining his strength after several minutes. Struggling to rise from his hands and knees, he felt a trickle of warm liquid flow down his chin and reached up to touch it.

'Blood... Hah... Hahaha... Kenzie.... Oh Kenzie... I can't do this without you...'

Tears started to roll out of Maester's eyes as he hoped, desperately and hoping beyond hope that good news would come at this moment, soon, quickly...

Before not just he, but the loyal servants and devoted disciples would not be left out high and dry, soon to be devoured by the Fire Gecko Sect and the Desert Sun Sect!

But as the sun set, so did the hopes of the man who was seated in the dark, cold room; one that felt darker and colder today than it had on any day before.

As the shadows ran long, so too did his hopes run out. Maester Slith, caretaker of the household, slumped back against the spine of his hard wooden chair, dejected and weak.

It was just then that he heard a knock on the doors of the audience hall and opened his eyes.

Realising that it was completely dark by now, Maester called out, "Coming! Coming! Hold on! Let me light some of the magic torches first..."

Activating four of the torches, then thinking twice and activating four more with a sigh, Maester hurried over to open the door - a task that had once been done by the lowliest of servants, but which now he attended to himself.

He opened the door to see the face of Ol' Mulberry, one of the guards who had followed them through all these years since his father's time, through thick and thin and ups and downs. Ol' Mulberry had been a young soldier under his parent's in their army days, and had sworn to follow the Slith husband and wife pair since they had saved his life.

Seeing the old and familiar face, Maester's hardened, stressed out face softened and he cracked a warm, gentle smile as he asked his old mentor and friend, "Uncle Mulberry! What is it that brings you here at this late hour...? You should be off resting and letting the next s.h.i.+ft take over!"

Responding with a wheezing laugh that sounded like he was about to kick the bucket at any moment, Ol' Mulberry said, "Young whipper-snapper! Don't you remember? There's no other guards left! Only me! So don't go talking about resting and leaving it to the night s.h.i.+ft when there ain't one at all! Now listen up! There's someone at the front gates, saying he's here on behalf of young Everaldus. He said he brings good news and bad news, but he needs to see someone in charge urgently...! Hurry up, he's been waiting a long time since I had ta' walk here from the front gates!"

"A visitor...? This late, and now of all times...? It can't be..."

Two dire thoughts ran through Maester's mind at this moment as his heart leapt in fear.

'Could it be... Everaldus... He... He couldn't be, could he...? No...! It cannot be!!!'

Biting his lips in fear, Maester shook, trembling slightly as another thought struck him.

'...The timing is too coincidental! What if it's another trap...?!?'

Nervous, Maester nodded in reply to Ol' Mulberry, saying, "Thank you, Uncle Mulberry. I'll come with you... It's not like we have any choice or... Heh... Any defences either..."

With a heavy heart and long sigh, Maester followed the old bag o' bones soldier to meet their soon-to-be saviour...

Lars!

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[1] Recap is in chapter 134 - Auction (7)!