The sudden appearance of the lizardmen pushed the town into uproar. Men took up arms as they vigilantly watched their surroundings. Women and children took shelter in their homes away from possible danger. Rumors escalated quickly. Some said that the lizardmen ate several locals before they escaped, while others spread rumors of Gaston’s death.

Lark was in his room, expanding his mana pool, when loud knocks were heard. The voice of a frantic servant echoed. “Young Master! Young Master! Sir Gaston! The lizardmen!”

The servant wasn’t making sense. Lark stood and opened the door, only to be greeted by an agitated, pale servant.

Lark frowned. He placed a hand on the huffing woman. “Calm down. Tell me what happened.”

The servant recounted the story as quickly as she could. For a moment, Lark was in shock. Gaston was dying? That old man was like family to him. When Lark had first gained consciousness in this world, he could feel the suppressed hatred of those around him, but the old man was different. Lark, with his several decades of experience from his past life, could tell that the old man truly loved him. A love beyond mere servitude.

Unable to shake his uneasiness, Lark ran to his mansion. In the hall, several servants were surrounding an old man with wrinkled, pallid skin. The old man was close to death.

“Young Master.” Anandra’s voice trembled. “The antidote the lizardman provided isn’t working. I’ve tried everything, but Sir Gaston… He’s…” Anandra choked the next words out. “I can’t think of any other way to save him. But if the young master is here then maybe… please!”

Anandra felt responsible for the old man’s fate. Since he knew Lark had treated his wounds, the warrior gambled on the chance that Lark may know how to treat the dying old man.

Lark crouched and touched Gaston’s neck. His pulse was weak and the flow of mana in his body was turbulent.

“Give me the antidote,” said Lark.

Anandra handed him two half-empty vials. Lark opened them and sniffed their contents. He creased his brow. They were not antidotes.

“These two are paralyzing potions.” Lark tossed the vials to the ground, shattering them in several pieces. “That lizardman didn’t have the slightest intention of saving his life.”

Lark was furious. If possible, he wanted to capture the lizardman that moment and tear him to pieces. Although it had not been long since he arrived in this time, he truly enjoyed his new life. At the very least, he wanted to protect what he had gained. This town. The people.

“Everyone, move back,” said Lark.

After the servants and Anandra moved away, Lark chanted his magic. The incantations were long, and as he chanted magic circles and runes formed underneath his feet. Although it would hurt Lark physically, he decided to forcefully tear open Gaston’s mana pool and interfere with the mana moving through his body.

“Please work.” Lark was desperate. If this attempt didn’t work, the old man would die.

Lark touched the old man’s chest and his hand sunk into it, as though sucked by an unseen portal. The old man’s body twitched and he coughed out blood. His body was rejecting Lark’s interference.

Lark channeled his mana unsparingly. Even if he lost consciousness once he wrung his mana pool dry, he would still try.

Gaston’s life was far more important.

He grabbed hold of the erratically moving mana within the old man, condensed it to a single point, and temporarily sealed it. With the mana sealed and out of the way, Lark would now be able to force the body to heal without interference. This was a dangerous move, there was a very high risk of death with just a tiny mistake. Lark would not normally force the body to heal using this method, but they had no antidote. Time was of the essence.

“Work! Damn it,” he snarled as he pushed the old man’s body to the limit. The organs corroded by the poison started healing using Lark’s mana as a fuel source. Lark was becoming more lightheaded as the seconds ticked by. It was a competition. A race. Will he run out of mana first, or will the poison be destroyed first? Once the organs regenerated, it would only be a matter of time before the poison dissipated.

Lark felt his consciousness fading away. Still, he refused to let go of Gaston’s hand as his mana was continuously drained to heal the old man.

“Just a little bit more,” he mumbled. Rivulets of sweat were flowing down his face. “You can’t die.”

After several more seconds that seemed like eternity, the old man finally stabilized. The forcefully condensed mana within Gaston’s body was released, the organs had regenerated, and the poison had dissipated.

Lark watched the old man’s slow, silent breaths. Although he was still pale, color started coming back to his face.

Lark sighed in relief. His vision blurred and he lost consciousness.

***

Lark woke to the sound of birds chirping. He sat up slowly and looked at the window. Rays of the sun were seeping through. He was in his room in the mansion.

His stomach grumbled. He felt famished, as though he had not eaten anything for several weeks.

He noticed the servant silently wiping the antique vase next to his desk. As though feeling his gaze, the servant slowly turned around and locked eyes with him. The servant froze. She opened and closed her mouth as she tried to choke some words out.

“The young master!” she finally said. “He’s awake! Thank God he’s finally awake!”

She almost broke the vase when she dashed toward the door. From the bed, Lark could hear her shout.

“The young master’s awake! The young master’s awake!”

In an instant, footsteps echoed down the hall. Lark could feel several people coming his way, their steps hurried.

The door was pushed open violently and Gaston, Anandra, and several servants entered his room. They had to squeeze through the door as they hurriedly entered the room at once. Lark could see their anxious faces, the dark circles around their eyes. The moment they saw Lark, they all smiled broadly.

Lark had not felt this loved since he came to this world. Doing his best to protect these people was the right choice, after all.

“Young Master!” Gaston cried as he walked briskly to Lark. After staring at the young master for a moment, he broke into sobs. “You’re finally awake! You’re finally awake! Thank God!”

The old man looked thinner, as though he hadn’t eaten for days. Even his usually perfectly combed hair was ruffled, tips pointing in different directions.

“You were poisoned.” Lark smiled. “How are you feeling, Gaston?”

Hearing this, Gaston hiccupped as he willed the tears back. He shook his head. “This servant’s fine. I am perfectly fine, so please do not worry about me any longer, Young Master!”

Lark sighed. “I am glad.”

He was sincere. He did not want this old man or any of his men to die at the hands of those beastmen. His people were like family to him. Lark silently vowed to crush anyone who would dare harm them.

Anandra stood silently next to the door, a short sword dangling on his waist. Unlike the old man, there were no dark circles around his eyes. He looked calm, a stark contrast to Gaston and the servants. He had been tasked to protect him while he was unconscious.

“How long have I been sleeping?” said Lark. He could vividly remember his consciousness fading as his mana pool was sucked dry by his hastily performed magic.

There was a small pause. Gaston replied, “Three days, Young Master.”

Lark was relieved. Had this happened before, when he first came to this world, he could have fallen unconscious for a week. Being unconscious for only three days showed the fruits of his relentless training.

“Three days, huh?” repeated Lark.

The beastmen would be long gone by now. There was no way he would be able to catch them.

As though reading his mind, Anandra spoke, “The lizardmen that dared harm the young master…” There was spite in his voice. “I killed six of them and captured the remaining five. But they are crazy bastards. The lizardmen we captured killed themselves in an instant before we could stop them. Luckily, we managed to knock down and shackle two of them before they could kill themselves. They’re in the underground chamber right now.”

Lark could not help but applaud Anandra for this. There was no longer any need to pursue the ones that escaped. Lark could interrogate the captured lizardmen.

“Good work.” Lark climbed out of bed, donned his coat, and took his sword. “Lead me there.”

Gaston and the servants looked at each other. “But, Young Master. You need to rest. At the very least, eat! Please!” pleaded Gaston.

Lark understood the old man’s feelings. “This will be quick.” He looked out the window. It was already noon. “I will come to the dining hall in an hour. Tell the servants to prepare a hefty meal.”

Gaston was against this, but he bowed his head regardless. “Understood.”

Lark instructed Gaston and the servants to disperse. He planned on only bringing Anandra with him.

As they were going down to the underground chamber, Lark said, “I’m going to interrogate those lizardmen. You might not like what you’re going to see—”

“It’s fine. It doesn’t matter.” Anandra’s expression was filled with bloodlust. “Young Master, you can cut them to pieces. Burn them alive. Rip off their limbs. I will gladly help you with all that.” Anandra locked eyes with the young master. “Those bastards tried to kill us. They do not deserve our mercy.”

Lark was relieved that Anandra was resolved.

Upon reaching the underground chamber, Lark said to the two guards at the door, “Good work, you two. Leave us for now.”

The two were stunned for a moment at seeing the young master. They looked at each other, then made their salutes.

“Understood, Young Master.”

After the guards left, Lark shut the door. The chamber was dimly lit with torches, and at the center of the room was a small metal cage with shackled lizardmen. They glared at the humans who entered the room.

“Hello,” said Lark. The memory of how Gaston was almost killed by these bastards once again resurfaced in his mind. “I’ve kept you waiting, haven’t I?”

The lizardmen made screeching sounds. They moved their shackled bodies violently, their manacles rattling loudly.

“I promised Gaston I’ll be at the dining hall an hour from now,” said Lark. “So, I’ll make this quick.”

Lark felt the flow of mana within his body. After several months of training, it should be possible for him to perform middle-tier magic at least once. It would consume a large portion of his mana, but it would be the best magic to use against these enemies.

“Move to the back,” he said to Anandra.

After Anandra moved out of the way, Lark started his spell. The lizardmen widened their eyes in astonishment. It was beautiful, as though the gods had descended to this small room. As Lark spoke, an azure magic circle manifested underneath the cage, runes spinning around. Small particles of light, reminiscent of insects glowing at night, moved around the room, casting an ethereal glow. The violent screeches of the lizardmen stopped as they stared at Lark in awe.

“I dislike meaningless slaughter.” Lark’s eyes were filled with hatred. “But your kind dared lay your hands on my people.”

The magic circle broke into numerous particles of light, and the sound of glass shattering echoed through the chamber. The particles of light slowly turned into blue flames, engulfing the cage and the lizardmen within. The shackled beastmen screeched as the flames touched their scales.

As the only onlooker, Anandra was the only witness to notice the peculiarity of this spell. Although a gargantuan sphere of fire was burning at the center of the room, it emitted no heat. He also noticed that the cage and shackles weren’t melting, as though the flames were only an illusion.

But looking at the lizardmen, it was apparent that they were under excruciating pain as the flames covered their bodies.

“Flames of Methuzelda,” said Lark. “Flames that burn the life force of the target. It’s several times more painful than being burned alive by ordinary fire.” There was no hint of pity within his voice. The lizardmen continued screeching through their gags.

Lark walked toward the blue sphere of fire and entered it. He willed the Flames of Methuzelda to stop consuming the life force of the beastmen briefly.

“Listen. I will spare only one of you.” Lark raised a finger. “A competition. The first to submit to me will be given a painless death.”

Lark pointed at the gags of the lizardmen and the flames quickly melted them away. The lizardmen quickly took this chance to bite their tongues off, but to their astonishment, their bodies refused to comply.

“Who are you?!” spat one of them.

“That doesn’t matter. There’s no need for you to know,” said Lark. “I’m only going to say this once. Tell me everything about your kind. The beastmen. The reason you attacked this town. The reason you tried killing my people. Do so and I shall grant you a painless death.”

The other lizardman sneered. “Arrogant human! Our loyalty will not shatter even if you burn us with this fire. All lizardmen will choose death over betrayal!”

Lark sighed. He flicked his fingers and the flames started licking the bodies of the lizardmen again. They squirmed in agony and gnashed their teeth. Moans and wails escaped their lips.

Despite the excruciating pain, the two refused to speak.

This went on for several more minutes, almost half an hour. Eventually, one of the lizardmen pleaded, “I’ll speak! I’ll tell you everything! Please! Just kill me!”

Lark was surprised they had lasted so long inside the Fire of Methuzelda. These flames consumed the life force of their prey, making the pain several times more excruciating than usual. Lark was sure that had he used normal fire, these two wouldn’t have uttered a single word till they died.

Lark willed the blue flames to stop licking the body of the lizardman, while the other one kept squirming in pain on the ground.

“Speak,” said Lark.

The lizardman had almost lost the ability to speak. A little more and he would have been thoroughly broken by that spell.

“The United Grakas Alliance!” said the lizardman. He looked at his comrade and swallowed nervously. “The United Grakas Alliance plans on capturing this town!”

United Grakas Alliance? Lark was sure he had heard that name before, probably from a book in the library at Lion City. Still, he could not remember the details.

“A country of beastmen,” said Anandra. “One of the three neighboring countries of this kingdom. In terms of military strength, it’s on par with the empire.”

Why is this country trying to attack this small town? Lark could not understand.

Lark continued interrogating the lizardman. Whenever he felt that he was lying, he would will the Flames of Methuzelda to burn him. Eventually, he received the full story.

Unable to get past the army of Alexander in a valley west of here, the beastmen decided to circumvent it and target this small town instead. They planned to convert his domain into a stronghold and use it as the rallying point for their invasion.

Lark was grim after learning how many beastmen were coming to invade the Eastern Region of the kingdom. With the current number of soldiers in Blackstone Town, it would be impossible to defend against enemies numbering in the thousands. Moreover, each beastman was a warrior trained for the battlefield.

His men were not ready for this yet. Lark was sure of it. War was coming.

He sighed. This would be a long night. He needed a strategy to win this war.