City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

“I knew it was amazing seeing from afar, but only seeing it close could I really understand,” I said as I looked at the storm tower.
 
“It is beyond words; no matter how many times I see it, I can’t help but get impressed by it,” said Selina in wonder.
 
It is huge, bigger than even the tallest building on the earth. I could feel its might and sheer power coming from it.
 
I did not forget how the tower had called the lightning from the surroundings, bathing in it before sending a giant bolt of lightning toward Vris’alud. 
 
It was the first time I had seen such mighty magic.
 
The magic tower not only shows the might of the mage but also projects their power. It is a magical tool from which mages can cast spells they could not cast with their power.
 
Not to mention the force of powerful mages, as it also acts as an academy. 
 
Thousands of mages work and study here. It is a place where any mage desire to practice, as it provides all the tools and resources they need for their advancements.
 
I looked at the tower for more than a minute before we went toward the gates of the tower, the biggest gates I had ever seen, even bigger than those of the castles.
 
“Welcome to Storm Tower, Mister Silver, Madam Silver, Master Silver,” greeted Artur Salazar at the door of the hall.
 
He was not alone; beside him was a woman about the same age and with similar facial features. She is Sonya Salazar, the oldest of Helena Salazar, and like her brother, she is also a High Mage.
 
“Thank you for the invitation, High Mage Artur, High Mage Sonya,” we greeted and stepped inside the huge hall, which was the biggest I had ever seen.
 
It is not just big, but well decorated, with pieces of art, that I could not afford even a single with all my wealth. 
 
Still, the biggest attraction of all is a huge chandelier, which is crafted from the element of air, water, and lightning.
 
It looked amazing as it was dangerous, and many people seemed to have avoided going below it, considering it was floating in the air; nothing was tethering it, and that crackling purple lightning looked quite dangerous.
 
It is a sign of Helena Salazar’s power and a very dangerous object; if it fell down, it would kill 90% of people, as barely a few had the power to resist it.
 
“Such a dense mana. This is really heaven for the Mages,” said Selina as she stepped inside.
 
I did not feel much other than a faint current, which seemed to be in very air and made all the hair on my body stand up.
 
I could not sense mana, but Selina could, as she is a Mage. It might be hard to believe, but she had adventured for a few years before marrying Gerald.
 
According to my father, she is above level 10 and below Level 20.
 
House provide her special grand to presume her mage studies as they want to foster a mage talent. 
 
There were barely any mages in the family; the silvers did not have much magical talent and always tried to foster those who had it, no matter how small it was.
 
We have a lot of mages on our service, but it is always great to have some in the family; for this same reason, old Remus had been provided the best teachers when he showed a talent for a warrior.
 
The family does foster just mages but anything that provides them with an offensive edge.
 
Father didn’t like it, but he still provided every resource needed, as he knew how important to have powerhouses in the family.
 
 
The hall is, without a doubt, huge, but the crowd is also great, and it did not look crowded at all, given its sheer size.
 
Every type of person can be seen here; I have already spotted a few, like High Mage Blackstone, Count Morris, Thomas Bale, and many others.
 
“Gerald, it had been quite a while,” said a man in his mid-thirties as he came toward us pretty-looking women, who seemed quite angry for some, but as she turned to us, a smile appeared on her face.
 
“Since Hanson’s hunt,” Gerald replied as he shook the man’s hand before he turned to me.
 
“You must be Remus; I heard you have killed the lich,” he said, looking me seriously, to which I shook my hand. “I only aided a little; the ones who killed were High Mage Blackstone, Knight Anders, and others,” I replied with a smile.
 
“You silvers, always humble,” he said, and I felt anger from him, despite him smiling.
 
He talked for a few minutes before leaving with his wife, “That man is a bastard, ready to stab you in the back if he sees enough profit in doing that,” said Gerald under a cloud of privacy skill.
 
We met a couple more people, from nobles to merchants to powerhouses; Gerald seemed to know many people.
 
It is not surprising, considering he handles all the business of the house of silver in Namdar and is one of the people who might take over the house of silver one day.
 
“Knight Marshal Tant, Commander Adson, Knight Commander Yara,” greeted Gerald as we appeared in front of a trio of knights, wearing their shiny armor with the emblem of the black sun in the center.
 
Of the three, one is an older man who looks to be in his sixties with grey hair and grey eyes, and the other is a blue woman in her forties; she is petite and looks quite delicate, but I have no doubt she could split me into without me knowing how.
 
She is Knight Commander, the same as Adson beside her.
 
“Silver,” the old man said in a heavy voice before turning to Adson, “Is he the one?” asked the old man, glancing toward me.
 
“Yes, Marshal,” he said, and the old man turned to look at me carefully.
 
His gaze felt heavy; I felt like there was a huge weight on my body. He might be using skills or not; I could not tell, given the difference in level between us.
 
He is a Knight Marshal, second to the Grand Marshal. A level 40+ powerhouse, much stronger than warriors of the same level.
 
In pure combat class, nobody is more powerful than the Knights.
 
“Young man, you are good. It is quite a regret that you have chosen to be a merchant,” said the old man.
 
“Thank you for the praise, Knight Marshal,” I said politely; he just nodded and remained quiet for the rest of the conversation.
 
A few minutes later, we moved to different people that Gerald knew; I saw a few familiar people like Locke and Eva, who had brought her son and daughter with her.
 
We were just talking with one of a friend of Gerald's when I felt a small shock running through me, and all the hair on my body stood up.
 
The hall quieted in an instant; at the same time, the elements in the chandelier began to merge and formed a storm which came to the ground spinning wildly, terrifying yellow lightning crackling in it.
 
It scared me and scared a lot of people; some even took a step back.
 
While it is dangerous enough to kill people, it would not. If she couldn’t control this small storm, then she wouldn’t be a Grand Mage of her name.
 
The storm spun on the ground, faster and faster; the clothes on our bodies began to flap, and soon we began to feel the pull till some people took a step toward it.
 
Boom!
 
Suddenly the storm exploded, sending wind, water, and lightning around, which pushed nearly all the people back but did not hurt anyone.
 
“Thank you all for gracing me with your presence,” said the voice before the person revealed itself.
 
I saw a woman in her mid-fifties with medium height and plain face standing wearing a plane grey gown standing in the center of the hall. 
 
There is nothing remarkable about her; she looked like a common person that one would forget after a single look till they looked into her eyes. Those eyes held the power of a storm, and just one look at them would make their knees go weak.
 
“The undead had attacked, tainted our island with their filthy presence.” “They thought we would quail in, and they will harvest our bodies for their foul purpose without any resistance,” she said, in a voice faint as drizzle, but everyone heard it.
 
“But we did not; we fought like raging storm we are and killed them till not a single one of them had remained,” she raged, and a wave came out from her voice that spread, forcing quite a lot of people to take a step back.
 
“We have shown them and will show them again if they dare to cast their filthy eyes toward our islands and the empire,” she said, and people to clap.
 
She is even better than her son; things are far worse than she is saying. 
 
Even now, they have not released a complete detail, but what Gerald found out that more than fifteen islands had been attacked, and only three were able to fight back.
 
We and the other two islands were able to defend against it, but only we were the only ones who defeated the lich, while the other two had simply made it retreat.
 
“Today, we will mourn those who have lost and commend those, who had shown exceptional bravery against the enemy,” she said, and the list appeared of hundred names in the air.
 
As I read it, a frown couldn’t help but appear on my face; the list was not complete. It shows prominent names like Santos and not of the guards and other staff.
 
I couldn’t help but get a little angry at what I saw; even on Maedas island, over a hundred died, and in the whole attack, probably thousands have died, but she is only showing only hundred.
 
The same is happening with the newspaper; she is controlling the news, not for the general masses, but for prominent people too, and no one can do anything; she is too powerful.
 
“High Mage Blackstone, Knight Commander Adson,” called Artur, and both of them stepped forward and appeared in front of her.
 
“For your commendable bravery against the undead, I award you with the medal of Lightning.” She said two medals floated in front of her, which she pinned them their chest as they kneeled in front of her.
 
“Fanya Sand, Julian Pierce, Remus Silver, Winston Black…” he begins to call out the names.
 
I am quite surprised; my name is being called. Like Dan and others, I have already received the letter of commendation two days ago.
 
Eleven names called out, and eleven of us walked toward the Helena Salazar.
 
All ten of them were pure warriors or mages; only I alone was a merchant, and I got quiet looks about, but I had remained calm and stood as I was required to.
 
“For your courage against our enemies, I award you with the medal of Rain,” she said, and eleven medals materialled in the air, and she began to pin them on our chest, and soon, it was my turn.
 
She really looked normal, but one look at her eyes, and people will see the terrifying monster she is.
 
She finished and turned to the person next to me; they were from the other two islands. From what I had heard, they had lost a lot more people than us; on one island, only those who fought had survived, while the rest had been killed by the undead.
 
“Rise,” she said, and all of us stood up and walked back to our place.
 
There were no more commendations, which couldn’t help but make me a little guilty, considering Eva and others had done a lot more than me, but all they got was a letter of commendation, which had been sent to them, not given publicly like this.
 
 
“It looked nice on you,” said Eva as we danced, “I do not deserve it; you all did much more than me but did not get any recognition,” I replied.
 
“Stop it,” she said with a glare, “You deserve it more than most; without you, the lich would have escaped,” she said.
 
I wanted to open my mouth to refute, but seeing her expressions, I decided not to say anything about it and change the subject to a lighter topic.
 
The party had lasted past midnight before the guests started leaving; I left with Gerald and Selina, and with their insistence, I spent my last night in their home.
 
Tomorrow, I will leave for Greltheaven.

An.

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Chapter 59: Return