Silent Crown

Decades ago, the Asgard people hatched a plan called “Wild Warrior” to strengthen their enforcement. This plan was to train inhumanly powerful soldiers. Because of the high cost of training and keeping musicians, they were rare on the battlefield. Most times, a small battalion might not even have one musician. Even using one musician on the field as reinforcement was too much of a luxury. The general would feel immense pain if even one was lost. That was why hope was usually on regular soldiers.
And so, someone thought of a compromise: choose soldiers that had a musician’s talent and train them. They did not need to well-rounded like a proper musician. They only had to be experts in chosen “war hymns.” The main goal was not to kill the enemy, but to strengthen themselves and their comrades.
Under this circumstance, achieving student level and learning some basic runes was usually enough. If they were able to reach rhythm level, the entire squad’s fighting power would be greatly transformed. Mass produced soldiers like these were not as expensive as musicians, but still had the ability to reverse the tide of the battle.
The end result was that “Wild Warriors” were born. Not qualified as a proper musicians, these soldiers were seen as “defects” and “cannon fodder.” But on the battlefield, they were surprisingly useful, and even invented the technique “War Howl.”
The Wild Warriors, clad in bearskin armor and wielding battle axes decorated with runes, had become a class of soldiers comparable to high class knights. Their War Howl could activate runes and music scores, strengthen themselves and comrades, and create miracles on the battlefield. Naturally, this had been imitated by others, including Anglo.
Dominic had once been a trainer as a military Accompaniment Musician. As he knew, there was also a secret unit formed by these soldiers at the time called “Dragon Riders.” Even most military insiders did not know of its existence because they lived in the Dark World, separate from the human world.
The military at that time was continuously creating cheap “cannon fodder” to explore the Dark World. But the Wild Warriors contained secret techniques of Asgardian musicians. When other nations tried to copy it, they were destined for failure. After a while, the practice was stopped because of unknown reasons.
Decades had passed and people no longer remembered that Anglo had once experimented with Accompaniment Musicians. What Dominic had not expected was a reunion in the eerie underground palace. Even if it was a simple chanting technique and rune, there was only one person in the entire academy who could teach that skill.
“War Musician Quick Training Manual,” Dominic sighed softly. “Abraham, why do you still remember these outdated things?” In the darkness, Dominic found his pipe and lit it. Breathing in wordlessly, he felt the smoke fill his lungs and his pain stopped. He squinted. “Have you not given up yet?”
—
At 2:20 that afternoon, Sydney waited impatiently outside the school under the blazing sun. He wiped his sweat away and looked into the distance. Pacing back and forth, he seemed to be waiting for a guest.
Amongst the passerby, a girl wearing a wide-brimmed hat arrived wordlessly. A black veil hung before her, covering her eyes and beautiful face. Her white hair had been hidden under the hat. She had not arrived in a carriage, nor did she have thousands of servants clustering around her. She looked like an average elite lady. Only a middle-aged servant followed her, holding an umbrella to shield her from the sun.
Seeing her, Sydney swallowed nervously and went up to welcome her. In rough Eastern tongue, he said politely, “Welcome, Your Highness.”
The princess from Yunlou had stayed in Avalon for half a month now. Her ambassador mission had been completed yesterday, and now was preparing to leave. But for some reason, she requested to tour the city before she left and see what Avalon was like. She refused the path and guards provided for Royalty, and took one inconspicuous servant to begin her secret trip.
The Royalty could not interfere with her plans. They could only secretly notify security of everywhere she planned to go so that they could prepare and make sure there would not be another assassination attempt.
After touring the opera house and clock tower, Her Highness also went to Westminster Church. Apparently, she conversed happily with Archbishop Medan about theology. Even the archbishop commented privately that her knowledge on the Bible was comparable to his. Closely thereafter, the alchemists of the Royal Academy of Engineering were also enchanted by the princess, praising her intelligence and opinions. If not for her low-key actions, coming and leaving secretly, only observing and avoiding all secret topics, people may have misinterpreted this as Yunlou showing off her power.
Thankfully, she had arrived at the last stop. Everyone let out a sigh of relief secretly. But Sydney faced immense stress. If the crazy principal was still here, dealing with that difficult girl would be no problem. But the principal did not care about anything, so Sydney was in control, but he did not have the confidence. He could only pray that the princess acted how she had before and not cause any trouble.
In response to Sydney’s welcome, the girl nodded. “Queen Mary told me that the Royal Academy of Music is an interesting place. This trip would have been a waste if I couldn’t visit it before leaving Avalon.”
“Your Highness has spoken too highly. The Academy is nothing but a place for education,” Sydney replied calmly. But he let out a sigh of relief inside and he could not hide the pride from his face.
What was this place? It was had been the center of Anglo’s academia for centuries. It was filled with geniuses, and at least three saints came from this school. There was not any other place comparable, other than the sacred city. Countless country leaders had visited before. A little girl was nothing!
“If you would like to know more about the academy, you must visit the auditorium. We’ve already prepared it for your arrival.” He walked in the front, leading the way. “Princess Chaoyue, please follow me.”
“Blasphemy!” The furious servant stepped forward and glared at him. “You lowly servant dare to call the Princess by her first name?”
Sydney froze, his heart trembling as his mind went blank. He had offended her with his first sentence. But he had really forgotten that strangers could not call Eastern elite women by their first names. His lips twitched and hurriedly put on a smile. “My apologies, please forgive me.”
“Mr. Sydney is not an Easterner and he doesn’t understand our customs. We shouldn’t blame him and just do as they do in Anglo.” The girl referred to as Chaoyue raised a hand, telling the servant to retreat. Neutrally, she said, “This isn’t a formal occasion. There is no need to use my title. You can call me by my surname. I’m sure there won’t cause any confusion here.”
Sydney finally let out his breath and nodded. “Miss Yunlou, please follow me.”
The servant huffed and followed closely.
Sydney walked in the front. Wiping cold sweat from his brow, he felt that his task was extremely difficult.
—
“The Royal Academy of Music was established four-hundred years ago. A century ago, famous artist Hermes remodeled it. It is now a well-known site in Avalon, especially the auditorium, which is representative of the Gothic style.” Sydney guided them down the wide street covered by verdure, endlessly introducing facts about the ancient architecture. It was clear that he had done his homework last night and memorized a lot.
Yunlou Chaoyue listened quietly. She nodded occasionally, as if she was not paying attention, adding more stress on Sydney. Suddenly, she halted, stopping in place.
Sydney’s heart skipped a beat. He ran over to her quickly and put on an enthusiastic smile. “Miss Yunlou, what’s the matter? It’s truly too hot today. Shall we take a rest?”
Chaoyue remained silent, ignoring him. She looked to the side, as if she sensed something. After a long time, she pointed to her right. “What’s there?”
Sydney blanched. Following her gaze, he panicked inwardly, his expression turning troubled. “This…”
The fat middle-aged servant rolled her eyes. “When Her Highness asks a question, you answer it. What are you doing stuttering like this?”
Sydney’s expression froze and he could only reply truthfully, “It’s the Jianlan Underground Palace.”
“Underground Palace? Is it like a prison?”
“It is just a place to store old items.” He wiped at his sweat. “It’s not suitable for visiting today. There’s a practice lesson going on now, and the students are fighting. I can’t have anything happen to you.” He racked his brain for a way to drag the girl back on the right path. There could not be any straying! But Yunlou Chaoyue’s words made his blood freeze.
“Sounds interesting.”
Sydney blanched. He had forgotten that although she was only seventeen years old, she was already a resonance musician! Her blood carried envious power since birth. What he said could scare weak elite ladies, but not a strong musician. He wiped his sweat, sending a pleading look to the servant.
She was trying to persuade the Princess too. “You don’t have to watch fighting to get rid of your boredom here. Yunlou City has more than enough fierce fighters. And anyway, Western fighting is so bloody. Broken limbs are an everyday thing. It’s pitiful and ugly. Your Highness, your golden body is so precious. Please don’t take unnecessary risks.”
Gazing in that direction, the white-haired girl seemed to be spacing out and was not listening the servant.
The old servant stopped awkwardly. The girl finally looked away after a long time, as if snapping out of a daydream. “There are so many ugly things in the world,” she replied quietly as she started walking away. “There’s no harm in looking.”
Without waiting for Sydney’s guidance, she started in the direction of the underground palace.
“Your Highness, Your Highness!” Panicking, the old servant rushed forward.
Sydney stood in place, dumbfounded. He wanted to cry. Why did this have to happen? Why did troubling things always have to happen at the same time?!