"The boy should have been easy meat." The eldest prince fidgeted around in his chair visibly annoyed while he massaged his temples. "What happened out there? I sent a Saint and a half-saint. This is incompetence of the highest degree.

The shadows of the late evening were starting to invade the office darkening the surroundings like the prince's mood. The meeting in the elder prince's office was over and all had left but for one robustly built man dressed in black.

After a long sigh the robust man dressed in black answered, "I don't know, he might have a Saint backing him from the shadows. It's something I overlooked.

There's no way he could have defeated Sun Yao single handedly."

The prince's severe expression transitioned to a puzzled scowl.

"Is it Kang? Do you think he gave the boy those weapons?"

The man in black replied with a blank stare and a genuine look of ignorance whilst shrugging his shoulders. "I need to investigate the circumstances."

"Ahh! Never mind. We can afford to take no more losses, not from the merchants, not from the boy. Call back all our people, lets see how things proceed from here. Let's bide our time and see if my little brother will stand by idly and watch a third power develop in the capital. If I know my brother there will be friction."

After saying his piece the prince waved the man away and sat in solitude.****

Over the next thirty days Hartley hardly made an appearance outside of his manor. He made sure Qin Li took care of the families of his deceased soldiers.

They were put into new accommodation and provided with a modest pension.

Fu Qian was sent to the remnants of the nobles houses from the flat lands who had attacked, of course the leaders of these noble houses were long dead or had fled the west in haste. Hartley was now imposing a steep monthly tax on the nobles left behind to face the brunt of his wrath like a local tyrant.

He also got the commoners willing to join the western hills to leave the flat lands if they so wished. This had horrendous effects on the lesser nobles left behind, making them almost like paupers in one fell swoop.

Hartley would never be lenient on those who had offended him, he would have put them all to death if he didn't think it would cause a massive uproar.*****

Shadows danced across the land as the lemon-coloured sun met the horizon above the green mountains. Hartley stood on his balcony, thinking to himself as he watched the workers break down boulders with pick axes. The sounds of their labour drifted into the distance, echoing through the mountains.

They toiled in the hot sun, lifting large stones into into open wagons, these very stones would be used to erect housing and pave the roads of the western hills.

The long process of clearing the debris and repairing the damage was underway.

The good thing was that they had all the materials they needed to develop the entrance to the western hills.

Seeing the kids playfully running around and the women bringing water to the hard-working men awashed with sweat, Hartley felt the burden of responsibility weighing on his shoulders. Hartley was always the proverbial loner. He'd always believed in the rule of strength. The weak would always be thrown to the wolves and he'd never thought twice about it.

At first he had protected these people because he needed manpower to develop his fief. Even though he had treated them fairly, he hadn't really put them in his eyes. To him they were stepping stones towards his ambitions of grandeur.

Now he wasn't so sure, after witnessing them rummaging through debris in mass numbers trying to save his life, a feeling of kinship for these these people started to flourish within his mind. They needed him, and their drive to survive reminded him of himself as a weak boy skirting around the mountains.

Commander Genk was still in the western hills, when he finally arrived, the battle was already won. He had his men secured the western hills while Viscount Sanzu's men retreated back to Windsor peak castle.

Fearing some brave noble would launch an attack while Hartley was recuperating, they stationed themselves in the western hills. Nothing unusual happened in the weeks after so the Commander sent his men back under the supervision of Anguo Chen.

Commander Genk came to the door from the lounge leading to the balcony and stood in silence.

Hartley felt his presence and took his mind off trivial matters.

"You know you can't abandon your prince because he didn't rush here to save me, right? You of all people should know that one can only depend on their own power, nothing else is reliable."

Hartley spoke while still looking out at the workers down below.

For a while there was an awkward silence.

The commander's hands tensed, he stared at Hartley's back back-litted in the sunshine.

The boy seemed so mature. The decision that was gnawing at his soul now seemed quite easy.

He was sick of the endless meetings with politicians jaw-wagging and blabbering on and on, coming up ever more with intricate ways of buttering their own bread while smiling and stabbing each other in the back.

He was a soldier through and through, he had always followed his orders with blind dedication. Having no wife or children to worry about, his only love was the thrill of the battlefield. Now he found even that thrill had somewhat diminished along with his faith in politicians and cut throat politics.

But for what purpose had he been fighting all these years? Had he ever had something to believe in? As absurd ad the thought was, he actually believed in the boy.

The commander opened his mouth to speak but closed it again before any sound could escape his lips, his big frame standing awkwardly within the opening.****

Over in the east forest a two story building stood walled of from the general public of the western hills, within was a lab painted pristinely in white.

Inside in the still-silence, the pattering of busy footsteps could be heard. Alrick was muttering to himself as he moved busily with practiced motions around the lab. The hunched man still dressed in his wornout robes adjusted his instruments and started his proceses again as he was prone to over and over on any given day.

He had only had one explosion this week, something he was inwardly proud about. The stock of materials he was given were dwindling fast and he wasn't sure if he would receive another batch. He moved skilfully around the instruments, his fingers lithe and nimble defying their decrepit state.

Beacons boiled sending steam wiggling upwards, Alrick constantly took samples from one tube and transferred to another. Liquids of all colours flowed through the complex network of tubes connected to the large centrifuge-like machine being spun by a contraption of pulleys and gears connected to a couple fierce beast yoked and chained going in circles outside.

Alrick watched the whole process with wide anxious eyes as he scribbled notes on a dingy piece of parchment from time to time.

Torchlight flickered through the room as darkness invaded and

night took over the day.

After watching over the machines and equipment for the better part of a day constantly making adjustments, finally a single golden drop of liquid squeezed from one of the tubes and dropped into a jade bottle.

Though the bead of yellow substance was liquid, it hit the bottom of the jade container like a piece of lead with a pinging sound echoing out through the quiet environment.

Alrick took the vessel and inspected it with excited eyes under the torchlight while muttering his usual gibberish. Without reservations he quickly gulped down the liquid and passed out.*****

Rays of sunlight poked over the horizon and through the trees casting the first shadows of the morning. The birds cawed overhead as they passed by in bomber formations.

The citizens of the western hills went about their normal routines as usual.

There was a disturbance at the main manor, two people accompanied by Qin Li rushed urgently to Hartley's bedroom, forcefully knocking on the double doors made of oak.

Hartley left Zhi Ruo half asleep and came to the door bleary eyed and a bit confused. He looked at Qin Li then at the anxious faces of the servant girls beside him.

"There's a problem at the lab.I think you need to see this." Qin Li said.

Just looking at their facial expressions Hartley didn't inquire about the problem, he just followed them to the east forest.

Entering the white lab with a messy assortment of equipment strewn all over, Hartley saw a mature looking man with long black hair being surrounded by members of the security team. Weapons were drawn as the team of former bandits warily sized up their opponent.

The man's bright eyes gleamed as Hartley entered. The mature man was giving off an aura of strong vitality and elemental fluctuations, unknown to the others he was a 1st layer xiantian expert.

"Did they already find out about the mad scientist, did they kidnap him." These thoughts immediately swirled through Hartley's mind.

"Where's Alrick?" Hartley asked as he surveyed the room without seeing the withered hunched back old man.

"He claims he's Alrick said Qin Li, pointing at the mature man who stood tall and regal, measuring about 1.7 meters.

Hartley looked at the smiling mature man for far longer this time, if he squinted his eyes long enough he could see a semblance of resemblance to Alrick in the man's facial features, but the man definitely wasn't Alrick and Hartley was sure of it..

....