《A Song of Gods and Mortals》 A rain of fire The soldier and the sparrow ¡°ATTENTION! GET INTO FORMATION!¡±, the old commanding generals awe-inspiring voice thundered across the plain with the intensity of a rainstorm. His old but well-trained body seemed to radiate confidence and the military strictness of a veteran soldier. At his command the thirty thousand men gathered on the plain straightened up and began to move in orderly lines. The sound of their steps resounded like the beats of war drums; strong and unyielding. Within moments the formerly unorderly travelling formation had transformed into strict military ranks. Each of the soldiers were battle-hardened veterans with a wealth of experience and a fierce desire for battle. They were just like their commander, mighty warriors of their clan living for battle and the glory of their ancestors. ¡°FOR THE GLORY OF THE HAN-CLAN -¡±, the voice of the old general swept across his soldiers akin to an unstoppable wave. ¡°ADVANCE!¡±, the soldiers minds shook as they took their first step forward. Once again, the plain seemed to drown in the unbearable symphony of war drums as the troops went into motion and accelerated. Thirty thousand men. Thirty thousand stomps. The earth shook under the feet of the advancing army. ¡°Take the land, bury the dead, bring glory to you kin¡­¡±, his deep, sharp eyes were following his marching soldiers as the old general mumbled these words. His eyes separated from the departing troops and locked onto the horizon. Fire descended from the sky, unnaturally shaped objects descending towards the earth like shooting stars. Each of them carried the destructive power to kill even the gods. The land beneath was engulfed by a scarlet abyss of fire and even from the far away hill the general could hear the screams. Fear Anger Fury Death The old general closed his eyes and sighed ruefully. ¡°Peace to the dead, may they forgive us who are unworthy of their mercy.¡±, there was bitterness and sadness in his voice, a sadness that told of the many times he had already spoken those words. The bitterness of a man who knew that this wasn¡¯t the last time he would have to beg for forgiveness. He opened his old, wrinkled eyes and steeled himself. Turning around to his attendant he gave his orders. ¡°Shoot another barrage, we cannot risk any surviving gods!¡±, then his eyes fell back onto the dark billows of smoke that rose in the distance. A few moments later another hail of fire rained down on the devastated land. ¡­ Three men ran through a lush, ancient forest. Only a few scattered rays of light managed to find their way through the thick foliage of these giant trees of which each was at least a thousand years old. Beneath their feet the ground was covered in green and white mosses that made it seem like someone forgot his carpet in the forest. It was truly a carpet. A beautiful, living carpet. Despite the beauty around them the three men did not care about their surroundings, in fact they did not even notice it¡¯s wonderful appeal. They continued their fast advance while wearing the black armor of the Han clan and bearing the short swords that belonged to a soldier¡¯s basic equipment. Only one of them was slightly different from the rest. He too, did not bother with the beauty surrounding them, nor did he care about the ever-increasing stench of burned wood that drifted towards them as they advanced into the direction where the missiles had exploded. The difference laid in his weapon, the long but sleek, black sword on his back. He was at the center of this small formation and also the leader of the unit. ¡°Tye, we have advanced too far!¡±, one of the two other soldiers suddenly said to their leader. He nervously surveyed the surrounding. ¡°The other units are far behind us, if we engage into combat there won¡¯t be anyone who can reinforce us!¡±, despite expressing his worries the soldier did not slow down and continued to advance together with the other two. Anything else, even just a short pause in their continuous sprint, would have been a serious violation of orders and the soldier knew that his superior, Tye Reven, would harshly persecute anyone who breached against any orders given. ¡°The higher the risk, the greater the reward!¡±, was the only response he received from Tye. The soldier couldn¡¯t be sure as they all wore helmets covering their faces, but he could swear that his superior was secretly grinning under that helmet. Actually, the three members of the unit were very good friends and had a close relationship to each other, it was only in matters concerning their profession as soldier that Tye was so unyielding even to his close friends. The soldier cursed under his breath. Tye heard it either way. ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t curse at your superiors, Lei!¡±, he said with a humored voice. ¡°Ah, fuck you, you prick. Always nitpicking!¡±, Lei responded with a grumping voice. The third soldier had to laugh. ¡°You two really should go and make a couple therapy!¡± ¡°¡± Shut up Hu-Li!¡±¡±, both Tye and Lei said at the same time. During the entire conversation neither of them halted for even a single moment, running over the complex terrain of hills and large roots whilst keeping their incredible speed.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Suddenly Tye heard something. Before anything else could happen, his trained body reacted on its own, twisting in a strange angle and brought him down to the ground. In the next moment an unusually thick and heavy arrow pierced the ground behind Tye. Without any words the other two, Lei and Hu-Li, unsheathed their swords and shot towards the direction the arrow had come from. At the same time Tye rose from the ground and coldly scanned the area for any other attackers. There was no need for him to accompany the two. Only was arrow was fired and even though the marksman was obviously very skilled, there was no way he alone could stand a chance against the two trained veterans Lei and Hu-Li. It was certain that it was only one attacker because it was only one arrow that was fired. Only the most incompetent warriors would waste their element of surprise and attack one at a time instead of unleashing a far more dangerous hail of arrows. Nonetheless he could not rule out the possibility that there were other, unrelated attackers in close proximity. As such he immediately began to comb the surroundings, searching not only for individuals that might be a thread, but also for marks that indicated the presence of such individuals. While doing this he suddenly noticed a small colony of little, white sparrows sitting in the tree¡¯s and cautiously observing him. Strangely they seemed to be nervous about something and even appeared to be ready to attack him. But this was not the thing that surprised Tye the most, the mere presence of these birds in this forest was already startling. After all there had been a major airstrike only a couple of minutes ago. Any animal that survived the attack should have fled long ago! He became suspicious and a thought appeared in his mind. It was ridiculous and unlikely, you could almost call it stupid, but the longer he observed the small birds on the tree, the more he could actually believe that it was true. A little bit hesitant he took a step forward and observed the reactions of the birds. It was as he suspected. The birds reacted aggressively and clearly wanted to keep him away from the area behind the tree. Tye smiled disbelievingly. He couldn¡¯t believe his luck. Giving the birds no chance to react he suddenly accelerated and jump-dived behind the tree and the few bushes growing beneath it. The twigs and small branches tore and scratched against his armor and helmet but did not do any damage to the steel-alloy. He broke through the foliage of the shrubs and arrived at a small clearing surrounded by a few of these taller bushes. Using his arms, he feathered off his landing on the ground and utilized the momentum to make a somersault and gracefully land on his feet. After this he immediately took a look around. What he searched for was laying on the ground. A young girl, maybe 15 years old, with snow-white hair that glistered in the few rays of sunlight that reached it. She was wearing a complicated brown and red dress that fitted into the fashion of the eastern wildlands. Her beautiful face was tainted with dried up blood and at a closer look Tye could tell that there were cuts and burn-marks all over her body. His expression beneath the helmet lightened up and he barely could not suppress the excitement he felt. A last glance to the canopy of the forest confirmed his suspicions. The foliage surrounding this small clearing was slightly burned, as if something was about to destroy it, but was stopped at the last moment. Stopped by the injured goddess that was now laying on the ground. She had been hit by one of the missiles and in exchange for her heavy injuries she managed to protect her people -the white sparrows on the surrounding tree¡¯s. Tye stepped forward and suddenly the hundred plus sparrows on the surrounding trees took off from their branches and twigs and began their suicidal attack against him. Without minding any injuries, they plunged onto him and attacked with their sharp beaks and claws. Unfortunately, they could not even scratch the steel armor Tye was wearing, leaving their attacks completely ineffective. Nonetheless their relentless on slaughter was rather annoying to Tye and he was considering whether he should kill a few to ward of the rest. Suddenly the girl on the forest floor opened her eyes and looked straight into Tye¡¯s eyes. Her pretty little lips trembled and while mustering her last remaining strength she spoke. ¡°Little ones, stop harassing him. It is already too late.¡±, her voice was bell-like, but her words and tone betrayed the resignation she felt. The small birds heard her order and hesitated, but many of them still continued their reckless and fruitless attacks. The little goddess on the ground was one of their kind, a sparrow goddess of their tribe and she had risked her life to protect her kin. How could they be heartless enough to betray her at this moment? The little sparrow goddess¡¯s lips quivered as she understood that these small sparrows were ready to leave their lives for her, knowing that in the end it wouldn¡¯t change anything. ¡°Please¡±, she pleaded in her desperation. This made the sparrows stop. They looked back at their goddess and forced themselves to let off of this intruding vile man. One after another they returned to the surrounding branches and continued to angrily observe this human soldier who was coming for their goddess¡¯s life. Tye did not interfere during the whole conflict. He had no desire to kill these small sparrows and honestly, he even felt a little sympathetic to the goddess that he was about to kill. He hesitated before drawing his sword. Breathing in deeply he stabbed it into the ground and used his hands to lift his helmet off his head. The face of an average 18 year old white men with dark brown hair and cold, grey eyes was uncovered. The small goddess looked surprised. ¡°You are from the west, the ancestral valley?¡±, her tired eyes curiously mustered him. Tye shook his head, his expression unchanging. ¡°My family was forced to leave three generations ago.¡±, his voice was slightly frigid, a result of him trying to suppress his sympathy to the young-looking goddess. She smiled wryly, her face slightly grimacing at the pain that radiated through her body. ¡°It seems like it is my fate to perish at the hand of the west. First, the damned missiles they produced wounded me, now a young soldier whose blood stems from the west will bring an end to me. Come on, young man, kill me and earn your credit. I am sure you will receive a generous compensation!¡±, her voice was jeering, yet it was obvious that she had already given up. Even a goddess like her, who lived remotely and rarely interacted with the other human and nonhuman tribes in the area, knew that whatever clan this soldier belonged to would pay a handsome reward to anyone who killed a god or goddess. Tye closed his eyes and calmed his mind. Then he picked up his long sword and stepped before the goddess. He lowered his sword above her head. She knew that this young soldier had already shown his respect by removing his helmet and showing his face to her, now he only had to kill her and receive the rewards. Most likely he would become a high ranked officer and be entrusted with a whole squad of subordinates. Her lips quivered as she felt bitter to become a mere step stone for some human she never even harmed. Yet she remained quiet. This was how the world worked, there was no such thing as fairness or justice for those who did not earn them with their own strength. She could only lament her own inability to protect herself and her clan. She closed her eyes, aware that it would be the last time she did so. The blow she awaited did not come. Instead she suddenly felt someone picking her up from the ground and lifting her small frame into the air. Surprised she opened her eyes and realized that the young soldier had placed her onto his shoulder and now carried her away to somewhere. The hordes of small sparrows flew around them in circles, their angry and agitated chirping echoed through the entire area. With a single look she told the sparrows to become quiet and follow them from the distance, then she tried to turn her powerless neck to see what was going on. ¡°W-what are you doing?¡±, she asked with true surprise in her voice. It was completely incomprehensible to her why this soldier had not just killed her on the spot. Tye had placed the helmet back on his head and stubbornly walked into a random direction. ¡°You will have to repay me later.¡±, he said with a clearly grumpy voice. The truth was that he himself did not entirely understand why he did not kill her. He was breaching his orders and acting on his own accord, things which that entirely went against the very concept of who he believed himself to be. The goddess was quiet for some time, seeming to think about something. After some time, she suddenly spoke. ¡°I will.¡± There was a strange graveness in her voice, a seriousness that exceeded the favor Tye originally spoke about. Suddenly the little goddess felt herself becoming tired. Her eyes became heavy and her consciousness began to slip. Now that she had survived this ordeal and was in relative safety, her body had relaxed and the tiredness that had built up was released. Right before she really fell asleep she managed to mutter something. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ going to sleep¡­ a bit¡­¡±, her eyes closed and her beautiful face relaxed. She was truly cute while sleeping. A Beauty in a case The death god Surrounding her was only silent, numb darkness and the frightening narrowness of a very cramped space. Her eyes were closed, and she was faintly breathing in and out as the time passed. The slim, slightly curvy body was restrained in various ways, her hands cuffed behind her back and attached to her similarly bound ankles, a collar around her neck that had a small chain fixed to the ¡®wall¡¯ at her back. The crouching female figure had two belts running across the top and bottom part of her body that fastened her inside the darkness of a suitcase. She was clearly attractive, an impression that was only intensified by her complete nudity and the unblemished skin that was exposed due to this fact. The suitcase shook a little, most likely due to the carelessness of it¡¯s current carrier. A slight sound escaped the girl¡¯s lips as she felt the curved rod, that was also attached to the inside of the case, move inside her female parts while simultaneously feeling the cool touch of cold steel on her naked skin. For once, after a long time of just ¡®existing¡¯ inside the suitcase, the girl felt a little angry and her mouth twitched. She felt an impulse to hit whoever it was that handling the suitcase with her inside it so badly, a notion that led to her body slightly contorting and the steel rod inside her vagina forcefully poking right against her womb. This case was designed to completely restrain her and punish her with pain in case she even tried to move. Unfortunately, that did not consider the seldom involuntary movements that were caused by someone mishandling the suitcase. Slightly grumbling the girl forced her body to relax and focused on ignoring the slight pain that had been caused by the rod. She would have to wait until the suitcase was opened and she was released until she could teach that impolite bastard a lesson. Still feeling angry she prepared herself for even more pain and tensed up her stomach. There was one thing the case¡¯s design allowed her to do, even though she had to pay a fairly high price in pain for it. Since she estimated it wouldn¡¯t take to long until they arrived at her destination and it would have been a waste to go back to sleep again, she decided that it was time to relax herself a little. Arching her already arched body further, she was able to slightly move her feet. Of course, this had the price of having the steel rod painfully stab against her womb, something that caused her to gasp for air. Despite that she preserved and moved her feet towards a little button. It would have been impossible to see it in the dark, especially as she was completely restrained inside the small case that wouldn¡¯t even allow to move her in the first place, but she had done this many times and knew exactly where it was located at. Trembling from exhaustion from the pain of having a steel rod push against her womb, she managed to press the button with her toe and relaxed her aching body. Her breathing had become rough at this point and the pain radiating from her stomach was hard to bear, but she had a small smile on her lips. Music began to play from a small speaker located next to her right ear. It was a violin solo, a soothing and gentle melody played by a professional that calmed her down. Settling down and slowing her breathing the girl relaxed once more and listened to the music. ¡­. Some time later the suitcase had arrived at it¡¯s destination, a large, mostly empty hall. Large windows allowed natural light to fall into the room and made it possible to observe the impressive architecture outside. Tall pagodas and palaces in the style of the eastern wildlands covered the landscape, a beautiful display of impressive skill and wealth that had led to a giant city inside the chaotic wildlands. The evening sun was just setting and dawn painted the urban landscape into a warm orange. Inside the hall a person wearing a simple, clean suit pulled along a relatively small suitcase as he walked towards a group of elderly men. These men had the slightly squinted eyes and darker skin of the eastern wildlands and wore beautifully adorned robes made of expensive silk and gold threads. Their expressions betrayed excitement as they stared at the simple black suitcase that had cost them a true fortune to acquire.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°This is her?¡±, one of the elderly man asked agitatedly. The man in the suit nodded. Finally, he arrived in front of the group of elders and politely bowed to them. ¡°This is the death god you have send for. For the next three months she will act according to your command and kill whoever, no matter whether god or mortal, you order her to.¡±, the man¡¯s expression was tranquil and professional, just as were the words he had just spoken. In short, he was a professional, a man of great experience. He could instantly tell just what this bunch of old men needed a death god for. But he did not care. This was a job that was all about death and assassination. Even if it was a member of the ancestral council that was going to be assassinated, he wouldn¡¯t care. ¡°Show her to us.¡±, the same old man as before said to him. His eyes beamed excitedly. The other nodded and crouched down to open the suitcase. Two locks had to be unlocked using an electronic key, a code had to be entered and two old steel keys had to be inserted. He did all that with practiced ease as he fumbled around the case. Finally, a final clicking sound resounded from the case and the front half swung open. It revealed the figure of a naked girl, appearing to be around sixteen or seventeen years old. She had yet black, long hair and pale white skin. Her body was arched in a way that allowed her hands to be cuffed to her ankles. A collar and a chain fixated her head to the top of the case, while two belts that were running over her sides pressed her against the other halve of the case. One could barely see the base of a steel rod that was attached at the bottom of the case and inserted itself into the girl¡¯s lower body. She appeared to be sleeping, her eyes closed and her expression being one of calmness. The old men all stared at the ¡®sleeping beauty¡¯ in the case, both wondering why a goddess such as herself would let herself be treated like that and how it was possible for such a breathtaking girl to even exist. Some of them began to develop certain thoughts and already dreamed about ordering this celestial beauty to sleep with them, but that stopped once they saw the other half of the case. Blades, swords, bow-guns, a whole collection of killing devices lined up in a strangely beautiful and eerie way. Suddenly the old men realized why this girl was restrained in such an overbearing way. She was a weapon, a weapon used to kill even gods! Only one of them remained unperturbed all this time. It was the leader of this group and also the one who had spent the most money on this girl. He stepped forward and faced the suit-wearing man. ¡°Release her.¡±, his voice was obviously one that was accustomed to ordering, loud and overbearing. The other man just nodded and began to open up the girl¡¯s restraints. The later suddenly opened her eyes and eyed the surrounding men. She looked at every single of the elders and surveyed the area. Finally, her eyes fell on the man untying her. ¡°You¡­¡±, she said with a faint voice. He ignored her and continued fumbling around with the cuffs. ¡°If you ever move me this roughly again, I will rip out you throat and burn your body!¡±, the girl threatened seriously and averted her eyes. It seemed like her words had no effect, but she had seen that the suit-wearing man had slightly trembled. He was a professional and adapt at hiding any emotions, but in front of her he was nothing but an inexperienced, weak puppy. This alone was enough to satisfy the girl. Finally, the cuffs were undone, and she was able to move her arms and legs. Despite that she did not move yet and remained in her arched body posture, waiting until the man had also unlocked the chain to her collar and opened the two belts. ¡°Hurry up already!¡±, at this point she became impatient. After having the steel rod inside her for over three months she was aching to get it out of her body. The man did not hurry, but he did grab her by the shoulders and lifted her up from the rod. It easily came out of her and in the end a 20 cm long and 10 cm thick steel rod was revealed. Some of the elderly men gulped as they imagined how it must feel having such a thing inside her genitalia. It was only at this point that the girl moved herself. She relaxed her body and placed her feet underneath herself. ¡°After three months finally standing. Even I want to get some movement after that long!¡±, she seemed to complain to the suit-wearing man, but at the same time she also appeared to be talking to herself. ¡°There had been no orders.¡±, the man simply said as an explanation. She looked at him and frowned. Finally, she simply sighed. ¡°So, tell me. Who am I going to kill?¡±, she turned around to face the group of old men. More exactly, she faced their leader, the elder standing at the front. The old man examined her, but unlike the others who were fazed by her beauty he did not think about her appearance. ¡°What a beautiful weapon.¡±, he smiled slightly. The girl lifted her eyebrow but did not respond. She knew that he wasn¡¯t talking about her outward appearance. After some time, the old man spoke again. ¡°Han Guan-Shi. I want to have him dead by the end of the month!¡±, his words and expression remained the same, calm and composed, but a faint flash in his eyes betrayed overwhelming hate. Of course, the girl saw this hate. She saw it and wondered just who this Han Guan-Shi was that she was about to kill. Then she stopped wondering. He was already dead anyway. ¡°As you wish.¡±, she said with a smile and a graceful bow. Within the valley The caf¨¦ owner He muttered curses as he stared on the large pile of documents stacked up on the table in front of him. A fortune would be needed to resolve the situation described and caused by these documents, unfortunately an impoverished caf¨¦-owner like him had no way to afford even a small fraction of this fortune. ¡°We are going to have to sell the caf¨¦ and move to the wildlands.¡±, after some deliberate thoughts he could only feel defeat. There was absolutely no way he could turn the tables. Ultimately, he was still forced to give up. ¡°Then that¡¯s what we are going to do.¡±, a soothing female voice suddenly came from behind him. ¡°Lio you know it isn¡¯t your fault. They want your property, so they sabotaged our business. How could you have competed with three of the four largest families in the city?¡±, the young woman behind him said. Lio turned his head to face her. His expression was a mixture of shame and regrets. ¡°I could have escaped the trap if I had noticed fast enough!¡±, he said with an indigent expression. ¡°You didn¡¯t have the experience. Who could expect something like that from an immature, young boy that had just turned 14 at that time?¡±, the girl retorted whilst shaking her beautiful head. Lio made an ironic smile. ¡°Well, Rei, guess your father thought I was mature enough. After all he gave you and Siina to me, making you my slaves! He decided that I was mature enough to control your entire future and god was he wrong!¡± Rei was silent for some time. Then she shook her head again.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°No matter what you say, it wasn¡¯t your fault. But that is not important anymore. What happened, happened. We need to look into the future and decide what we are going to do once you sold the caf¨¦. Without owning land in the valley, we will be forced to leave. In that case I should pick a peaceful area in the wildlands and prepare our move there.¡± Lio looked at her silently. He knew that she was right, but his mood was to foul to even think about the future right now. ¡°I really did not deserve someone as beautiful and intelligent as you.¡±, he depressively looked at the ground. ¡°But you are right. We should think about our move to the wildlands. That is¡­¡±, he stocked and lifted his head to look directly into Rei¡¯s eyes. ¡°If you really want to follow me into this abyss and give up any chance to remain in the ancestral valley.¡±, he did not say it, but his tone of voice made it clear. In his opinion she and her sister should stay here and search for a new master. Rei¡¯s expression turned bitter and her brown eyes narrowed. ¡°If you really think of us like this, you should really just go alone.¡±, she gave him a hurt look and turned around to walk out of the room. Lio sighed deeply. To him it felt like he was slowly descending into a swamp of despair. Struggling, fighting, trying to think of a solution, whilst knowing that there truly was none. He felt tired. Suddenly he heard loud footsteps and a high, girly voice. ¡°Lio, don¡¯t take my sister¡¯s words seriously!¡±, a sixteen years old girl came running through the door. She was about 1.7 meters high and had the same, slender but curvy build as her older sister. And just like her older sibling she too was only wearing a cloth around her hips and a red collar around her neck. Moderately large, uncovered breasts bounced a little as she stormed into the room, her face flushed and her eyes slightly tearing up. She ran straight towards Lio and almost threw herself into him, only to slow down and wrap her arms around his head, pushing it against her chest. The poor guy almost suffocated between her lumps of flesh as she tightly embraced him. ¡°Don¡¯t leave us! Please, take us with you to the wildlands!¡±, Siina pleaded desperately, tears further building up in the corners of her eyes. Lio managed to get an arm between himself and the breasts, pushing her slightly away from him to get the direly needed fresh air. ¡°C-calm down.¡±, he said after breathing in a few times. ¡°No one is going to leave you behind.¡±, feeling livelier after this sudden attack on his life, he rustled through Siina¡¯s hair and calmed her down. ¡°We are going to manage somehow.¡±, he knew that it would be harder than it sounded. But he was going to try it either way. A sparrows unorthodox conclusion The sparrow and the soldier Suzu opened her eyes with great difficulty. Her entire body felt like it was on flames, just as if it really had been hit by that missile. At the same time, she felt a little chilly. ¡°I-I¡¯m¡­n-naked?¡±, she muttered to herself in confusion. Disregarding the waves of pain radiating across her body, she lifted herself up and looked down on her body. She was laying on a large, brown cloth that someone had spread on the ground. From the quality of the cloth it was obvious that it didn¡¯t belong to someone wealthy. Her body was covered in bandages and the more important wounds had been treated with some sort of herbal concoction. Thanks to that and the amazing healing abilities of a goddess she had already begun to heal up despite only a relatively small amount of time passing since she had been injured and taken away by that strange solider. But this wasn¡¯t what perturbed the young goddess. What made her blush and grit her teeth was the fact that both her breasts and her lower body were entirely uncovered. And since she had been treated that person, in other words the soldier must have seen her entire body. For a moment she felt defiled and ashamed. Some unknown man had seen her shameful places. Then she remembered that she had no idea where she was or what was even going on. Her eyes darted around, and she surveyed the area to get a grasp on where she was. The blanket she was laying on, was located on the edge of a grand forest with tall, ancient tree¡¯s. The sun was slowly setting on the scenery of a small village located in a clearing. Smoke was rising from destroyed cottages and the smell of burned flesh and death was in the air. She could faintly hear the sounds of a last, desperate fight, followed by death cries. Turning her head, she instantly knew where the fighting was going on. Despite being a few hundred meters away she could clearly see what was going on. The soldier had unsheathed his sword and fought with a small group of lightly armed villagers. The poor farmers only had simple clothes and farming equipment on their bodies, yet they faced a professional killer, armed in steel-alloy armor and wielding a beautifully crafted sword. The outcome of that fight was already decided, yet it was impressive how the simple villagers vigorously fought against the superior foe. On the other hand, the soldier displayed amazing swordsmanship on the level of a true warrior. Each and every strike was not only beautiful but also effective. To him, killing those villagers was no challenge and he did it as effective and quick as possible. This in itself was also a kind of mercy. He would rather give them a quick and honorable death than play around and disgrace them. Suzu¡¯s sharp eyes could tell that the soldier¡¯s technique was almost on the level of becoming a master capable of using the world¡¯s laws in his sword style. This sort of masters could even fight weaker god¡¯s and were valuable to any clan in the wildlands. ¡°What an interesting young man.¡±, she quietly muttered to herself. All the anger and shame she had felt from him having seen her body was already forgotten. In fact, she now remembered her last words before she had fallen unconscious. ¡°I¡­ will repay him¡­ I guess this should do right?¡±, thinking this her face turned scarlet, but at the same time she felt a little excited. After all she was completely unexperienced in those matters and had never had any sexual contact. Even thought this sort of things seemed a little much, she did find it to be very exhilarating.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Unbeknownst to herself, the young and unexperienced goddess had come to a very uncommon conclusion. While she was occupied with her shameful thoughts, the fight in the village had already ended and the soldier- Tye, was the only remaining survivor, surrounded by four rapidly cooling corpses. He swung his sword to swipe the remaining blood off the blade and sheathed it. Then his gaze wandered to the location where he had left behind the sparrow goddess. As he saw that she had woken up and was curiously observing him, a slight, relieved smile appeared on his lips. He swiped off the blood that had splattered on his face and walked towards the edge of the forest. ¡°Your awake.¡±, he stated as he came closer. A stupid and obvious statement, but he didn¡¯t know what else to say. Suzu tilted her head and lifted her right eyebrow. ¡°Yes I¡¯m awake, did you hope I would die on my own after you treated my wounds?¡±, her tone was joking, but there was also a hidden message contained in those words. ¡®Why did you safe me?¡¯ It was completely incomprehensible to her. This soldier would have received tremendous rewards if he just killed her on the spot. There was no reason to leave her alive! Furthermore, it didn¡¯t seem like he wanted to hand her over to his superiors alive. First of all, it was far to dangerous to leave a goddess alive. After all he never knew when she might regain her powers and just kill him. Secondly, there was no sense in doing so. The rewards stayed the same either way. In short it made no sense for him to keep her alive unless¡­ He wanted to let her go. Of course, Tye understood the hidden message in her words and he also knew to what conclusion this young goddess must have come, but the truth was that he himself did not know why he hadn¡¯t killed her. She was right though. Having come to this point he was planning to just let her go. He sighed and shook his head, confused about this whole situation he had gotten himself into. ¡°I honestly have no idea why I didn¡¯t just kill you.¡±, he said with a slightly dark tone. ¡°That said I won¡¯t harm you know it¡¯s gotten to this point.¡±, realizing that he should mention this too, Tye also reassured her on that point. Suzu mustered him curiously. Once again, she wondered just what kind of strange person he was. ¡°You did kill those villagers.¡±, she pointed out and pointed towards the destroyed village. Tye¡¯s expression turned serious and his eyes became cold. ¡°I have my orders. If I did not do it another soldier would have done it. This land has already become the Han-clan¡¯s eitherway.¡±, it seemed like he was reciting phrases and in a sense, this was truly the case. These were the words he told himself every time he questioned his orders. Suzu continued to observe his face. ¡°You didn¡¯t kill me though.¡±, her expression was strange. Tye didn¡¯t know what to answer. The calmness of his expression disappeared, and she could clearly see how he slightly panicked. From this she could tell that he was truly just a soldier that followed orders. He had gone against his orders for the first time and now he didn¡¯t know how to cope with it. Realizing this she felt a little sorry for him. ¡°So, what¡¯s your name?¡±, she suddenly asked with a smile. Tye looked at her, surprised over the sudden change of topic and made a tired laugh. ¡°I¡¯m Tye. Leader of the thirty-sixth elite unit of the Han-clan.¡±, he jokingly saluted towards the still laying girl. Suzu giggled a little and nodded. ¡°I¡¯m Suzu, goddess of the White Sparrow tribe. I guess it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± Both were silent for some time. Neither had any idea what to say and the longer they stayed silent, the more awkward it got. At some point Tye¡¯s eyes began to wander and fell on Suzu¡¯s youthful, naked body. He suddenly felt ashamed. ¡°Ah! Em¡­ sorry for taking off your clothes. I had to treat your wounds.¡±, it wasn¡¯t that he wasn¡¯t used to see naked skin nor that Suzu¡¯s body looked rather young, he felt ashamed for doing it without her consent. Suzu could see his troubled expression and for some reason she found it sweet. Once again, she felt a little embarrassed about her naked state, but she did not show it. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±, her expression became weird as she thought about what she was going to say next. Her lips quivered as her cheeks turned red in embarrassment. ¡°I-i¡­ already told you that I would repay you¡­¡±, despite trying to remain cool, Suzu couldn¡¯t remain calm and her voice began to tremble. ¡°Y-you can¡­ look at me as much as you want. S-since my forest was taken by your tribe I don¡¯t have anywhere to g-go and my clan also needs a home¡­ S-so¡­ I¡¯m going to f-follow you from now on. In exchange¡­¡±, despite having thought it through she still couldn¡¯t bear to say it. ¡°You¡­ c-can look at m-me when e-ever you want to. J-just tell me and I-i will take off my clothes.¡± Her face burned as she said this, and she wished to just turn into a little sparrow and fly away, but in the end, she forced herself to remain. Despite also being a little bit of an excuse, her words were also the truth. Her homeland, the ancient forest had been taken and both she and her tribe where now homeless. The competition for land was harsh no matter where she went and the chances for a small tribe like hers to survive in these brutal fights were miniscule. Truthfully it was truly the best option to seek shelter from Tye who was protected by the behemoth that was the Han-clan. At the same time, she also thought she would also be able to repay her debt this way. Tye stared at her, dumbfounded. Weak-ass Hu-Li The soldier and the sparrow Han Lei and Han Hu-Li cursed loudly as they stared at the brightly lit forest in front of them. First their leader had suddenly gone missing while they were hunting down some assassin, then they couldn¡¯t find him for some reason and now that they had found a track their way was blocked by a forest fire. ¡°One of the missiles fucked up again. I thought the guys from the valley said that they don¡¯t miss their targets?¡±, Lei said with a very annoyed expression. Hu-Li shook his head. ¡°This one did, and it caused a FUCKING forest fire. Seriously we should complain to the customer service!¡± Lei gave him a crushing look for joking in such a serious situation, but that only led to Hu-Li¡¯s grin becoming even wider. He sighed. ¡°Seems like we have to hope that this idiot Tye come back soon. If we don¡¯t hurry up, we will lose the head start we have to the other teams. At that point it will be him who will be angry at us!¡±, Lei already saw it coming. Their stupid leader would lecture them again even though it was fundamentally his fault. A little bit disgruntled he began to stare at his feet as he scraped over the dry earth. Who had given them such an idiot as their leader? Why was it him who had so much bad luck? Without even noticing Lei had fallen into his own depressing thoughts. As such he didn¡¯t notice the running figure coming out from the forest. A black armor flashed in the orange light of the fire as he stormed out of the forest and towards them. Hu-Li saw this figure and his slightly worried expression eased up. He turned around to Lei and when he saw that the other had dazed off into his own world he gave him a light kick against the shin. ¡°Wake up idiot, Tye is back!¡±, he said with a wide smile on his face. Lei woke up from his thoughts and first stared at Hu-Li, a little angry about being kicked for ¡°no reason¡±. Then he finally realized what his comrade had said and turned his head towards the burning forest. Seeing the figure coming towards them his face also eased up, but at the same time he couldn¡¯t help but complain. ¡°Where THE FUCK has you been???¡±, he shouted towards Tye who at that point was only about 20 meters away from them. ¡°Had a little bit of trouble clearing a village.¡±, came the overly short reply from Tye. Of course, that was a lie, but Tye had no intention of telling his subordinates and friends that he had just found an injured goddess but instead of killing her he had kind of took her along and treated her injuries. Aside from this minor discomfort he was very relieved to finally have found those two. After all he couldn¡¯t return to the headquarters without his subordinates, especially when he couldn¡¯t provide a proper explanation why he had disappeared in the first place! ¡°Stop dillydallying, we have to get moving!¡±, he said without even halting to greet the two. No other words said he just continued to run. It was a truly amusing scene seeing him run past the colleagues who had searched and waited for him. Lei and Hu-Li felt like exploding right at that place.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. It was just like they had thought. This selfish guy had no shame! ¡°FUCK YOU TYE!¡±, one of them cried out before breaking into a sprint and trying to catch up. The other one shook his head before putting his helmet back on the head. ¡°What did I do to deserve this?¡±, he bitterly asked the smoke-filled sky above him. For a moment he seemed like a battle-hardened hero lamenting his fate and blaming the heavens for his misfortune. In the end he had to interrupt his special moment and also get moving so as to not lose his two comrades. Once he caught up he noticed something unusual about Tye. A white spot had appeared on the completely black armor. Lei blinked a few times and looked closer. It was a small, white sparrow that was calmly sitting on Tye¡¯s shoulder and enjoying the cool wind. The most amazing thing was that this sparrow didn¡¯t seem to be affected by the up and down or strong wind of their advance. It was completely relaxed as it stared off into the area. As if it had noticed that it was watched, it suddenly turned its head and looked straight into Lei¡¯s eyes. Inside his helmet Lei¡¯s eyes widened and he almost stumbled over a root. To his shook he realized that this small bird had extremely intelligent eyes! ¡°What is this bird?¡±, he asked with astonishment in his voice. Hu-Li hadn¡¯t noticed the little white sparrow yet but hearing Lei¡¯s exclamation he became curious and looked over. ¡°What bird?¡±, he attempted to peek over Lei¡¯s head and look at where Lei was staring at but doing this while running at full speed proved to be an extraordinarily stupid idea. He got caught up in a stone and fell right on his face. Luckily his helmet and armor protected him from any injuries, but the raw impact was still quite unpleasant. Worse were only the biting remarks by Lei and Tye. ¡°Look at that idiot. Stumbling over a small pebble. I cannot wait to tell his sister once we are back in Han Zhou.¡±, Lei said with an amused tone. Due to the helmet they couldn¡¯t see his expression, but Hu-Li was absolutely sure that he was grinning evilly. ¡°Nah, you should tell his dad. That weak-ass pussy will be beaten up by his 60 years old, frail father.¡±, Tye corrected him also laughing. Both had stopped and turned around to face Hu-Li who was still squatting on the ground. Using this chance Hu-Li threw a look at Tye¡¯s shoulder and sure enough a small snow-white sparrow was sitting there, it¡¯s curious eyes glancing at him. To his surprise and horror, he was sure that it was laughing at his sorry figure. ¡°W-what kind of bullshit bird is this? It is making fun of me! Tye, tell your fucking pet to stop making fun of me!¡±, feeling hurt by being made fun of by a stupid bird Hu-Li cried these words out and got up from the ground. Both Tye and Lei couldn¡¯t help but laugh loudly. ¡°But yeah Lei, where did you get that cute bird from? I never saw a sparrow this white!¡±, after having laughed for a while Lei came back to the small sparrow. As if it had understood his words the sparrow turned to face Lei and slightly tilted its tiny head. A pair of eyes clear like water gazed at Lei. The young man was at a loss of words. Tye sighed. ¡°I found her on the way. Her home was destroyed by a missile, so I took her with me.¡±, to his shock he found himself to be quite good at telling half-truths and weaving lies into the real story. ¡°Hey Tye, they called me your pet. Since I¡¯m your pet you have to give me food and something to play once we get to your home, ok?¡±, suddenly a small voice resounded in Tye¡¯s ears. For a moment he was confused until he realized where the voice came from. Suzu, the small white sparrow on his shoulder, had spoken to him. A little bit panicked he looked over to Lei and Hu-Li. He was able to explain a small white sparrow, but he wasn¡¯t able to explain a talking, small, white sparrow. After all, talking in human languages was a skill only gods of other races could acquire. In other words, it would be obvious that Tye was carrying a goddess around with him. And if those two realized that¡­ To his surprise neither Lei nor Hu-Li seemed to have heard anything. In fact, they were staring at him, wondering why he had suddenly changed expressions even though nothing had happened. ¡°Stupid, they can¡¯t hear me!¡±, Suzu¡¯s voice once again appeared in his ears. Tye realized that he was still dealing with a goddess. Even though it was impossible for a mortal like him, for a goddess like her it was easy to talk with someone without anyone hearing or even noticing it. ¡°g-Guys, we should move on.¡±, Tye had enough. He would talk to this strange goddess with her weird antics after finishing the mission. Right now, he couldn¡¯t quite handle talking with someone who only he could hear. ¡°Let¡¯s get this mission over and head home.¡±, actually he also thought about making her strip once he got home. Death of the old and rise of the new The genius Night had fallen in the city of Han Zhou. It had been a few hours since the sun had sunk beneath the awe-inspiring skyline of the tall pagodas and magnificent palaces of the Han-clan. Despite that the city itself remained brightly lit, a colorful and strange mix of colorful neon lights and flickering fires illuminated streets and buildings alike. The streets were bustling with life as thousands of people went along with their usual lives. Business flourished, and wealth was building in this bright fire of hope within the otherwise chaotic wildlands. All of this peace and prosperity was based on the deep and unmeasurable resources of the great Han-clan who controlled this area of the eastern wildlands. It¡¯s mighty armies and great hidden wealth was the foundation for the peace and tranquility that otherwise could only be found in the ancestral valley. It was the result of hundreds of generations working to their goal of earning a place on their own, a homeland that could replace the valley. This was the Han-clans aspiration. And this was Han Zhou, their capital and the realized effort of their grandest wish. Within the humongous city and its mind-blowing skyscrapers one borough appeared to be different from the other parts of the bustling city. No noise could be heard there and only few lights remained lit during this late hour of the day. The little amount of people that could be found outside the tall and ancient buildings were soldiers clad in the most expensive armor, elites that were acting as mere guards for their lords. At the center of this borough was a rather inconspicuous palace. Unlike the other tall and impressive architecture around it, this building seemed rather plain and lowkey. There were only few decorations on it¡¯s facades, little to no gold on its tiles. Compared to the extravagant and wasteful appearance of it¡¯s surrounding neighbors this palace could only be called mediocre and the fraction living in it also appeared to be fit for this unflattering label. Yet the guards stationed around and inside it were the most ferocious, most experienced and powerful warriors in the entire Han-clan. The building was plain and hidden, but just as it¡¯s position was at the very center of the city, the people living inside this palace were the very core of the unbeatable giant that was called the Han-clan. Most lights within the palace were already extinguished. Only a few halls and corridors remained lit during the night as most inhabitants of this palace preferred silence and darkness over the constant excitement found in the rest of the city. The only exception was a room located in remote side building. Just as the building itself the owner of this room also preferred to remain unnoticed and lowkey. Just as the building, he too chose to hide himself behind a fa?ade of mediocracy. His name was Han Guan-Shi, eldest son of the patriarch of the Han-clan and prot¨¦g¨¦ of the main branch that silently ruled over a complex structure of subordinate side branches. Sitting in front of a simple wooden table he quietly read through a row of important documents. Recently there had been internal unrest within the Han-clan and some of the more powerful side branches were vying for power with the main branch. Of course, there had been no real battles yet, after all the main branch had given birth to most of the gods that the Han-clan had spawned during their thousand years of existence. It was these gods that ensured the Han-clan¡¯s power and decided the main branch¡¯s position within the countless related branches. Furthermore, the main branch had a promising new generation, led by Han Guan-Shi, the genius that was most likely to ascend to godhood. All these factors gave the main branch an overwhelming advantage and prevented an outburst of violence within their own lines. Despite that Han Guan-Shi had an unsightly expression as he sighted these documents. He knew that even though they had an overwhelming force that those subordinate branches could not challenge at the moment, this could change once he was dead. Once he died the blooming and promising young generation of their branch would falter and the chaos that would follow could allow those noisy factions that had been too afraid to act up till now to raise up and rebel. This on the other hand meant that he was in immense danger. Literally all families wanted him dead, while his own family was desperately trying to protect him. Even now Guan-Shi could feel the divine senses of two gods resting on his person. Two almighty beings were constantly guarding and defending him, making sure that no one could even come close to this valuable spawn of their branch. Nevertheless, he felt afraid. Even two gods might not be enough to prevent his death. Suddenly the candle in front of him flickered. The flame fought against the invisible might of the wind, flattered and went out. Darkness filled the room. Guan-Shi felt the danger even before he noticed the faint divine sense that had enveloped him and cut off the senses of the other two gods. For this to have happened this new attacker must have been even more powerful than the gods of his family! At this moment he already knew that he was dead. If those two gods standing guard on him could not stop the intruder, then he,as a mere swords master had no chance against his foe. Faced with this bitter reality his lips trembled slightly and he let out a mournful sigh. His aspirations, his dreams and ambitions had found their end before he could really mature to pursue them. It was unfair and harsh, but he knew that this was the way the world had worked since his ancestors left the ancestral valley and founded the clan. He would die, but the world would go on, the clan would go on. Even his branch, his closest family would just continue the way the always had. It would be a serious and painful hit, but nothing an ancient branch like them could not handle.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. It was his own pride and overestimation of his own worth that had made him believe that he was the most important member in his branch. It was his own assessment of himself that had now led to his soon coming death. But now that he was about to die, now that his worth crumbled away he realized that he had been wrong. And this meant that his enemies had been wrong too. At that thought a tiny smile appeared on his pale lips. ¡°Why are you smiling? You are going to die.¡±, a female voice suddenly came from behind him. Surprised Guan-Shi turned around and faced a young beauty. It was dark, but a bright moon shone through the window and allowed him to clearly see her features. She had yet black hair and pale white skin. A pair of pale grey eyes curiously observed him. The girl was about sixteen years old and wore a simple white robe and a black dog collar around her neck. ¡°You are the assassin?¡±, still surprised and also confused that he was still alive Guan-Shi looked straight into the beautiful grey eyes of the girl. Her right eyebrow rose up. ¡°Sure I am. Is that a problem?¡±, her voice was playful, and she seemed very laidback, but for some reason the look in her eyes made Guan-Shi realize that she was looking at a corpse. That is right. To this beautiful girl he was already a dead man. Realizing that this beautiful girl was the goddess that had come to kill him a strange look appeared on Guan-Shi¡¯s face. For a moment he thought what to say, then he realized that it was pointless. ¡°Kill me already. Those old geezers won¡¯t win either way.¡±, as he said these word¡¯s a wry smile spread on his lips and his originally apprehensive eyes became clear and free from emotions. He knew that his words were right. Because he had realized how insignificant he was. The girl looked at him and for a moment her eyes changed as she observed him. She felt admiration for this young man. It was only for a moment though. Blood scattered on the ground and a heavy body collapsed on the ground. ¡°I will remember you.¡±, her voice faded away as two gods came charging towards the dark room. ¡­ ¡°Han Guan-Shi is dead!¡±, the news spread like a wildfire as more and more people found out about the events of the last night. It hadn¡¯t been long since the sun rose above the tall buildings of the city and yet literally every person in Han Zhou had already heard about it. The public was outraged about the dead of a prominent young master who was supposed to lead the clan in the future. Of course, the many smaller clans and fractions who existed in the shadow of the great Han-clan felt the storm that was about to hit the city. In fact, many of them began to evacuate their most valuable assets and some of their man power outside of the city. A battle within the existence called Han-clan was not something they could bear to endure. The city was in uproar and everybody, no matter if poor or rich knew that this was a time of change. The main branch which had ruled for hundreds of years was about to be toppled by the other branches and no one knew who would come out as the winner. In fact, no one know if there would even be a winner to this fiasco. Naturally the side branches were also moving their assets and preparing for the upcoming battle. Everybody was expecting a bloodbath, and no one was willing to skip out on the chance to acquire absolute power within the clan. The moment seemed perfect. Han Gu-Ka, the great general of the main branch was on campaign to the north and was expected to return in winter. The gods of the main branch were tangled up on the borders of their territories and the few that remained could be overpowered by the combined might of the other branches. If they did not move now, there would not be a tomorrow. Every member of the Han-clan knew this, and everyone was expectant to see the result of what was about to come. Only one Han seemed as if he did not care about all of this. Han Lou strolled around the streets of a cheap market in the outskirts of the city as looked around the small shops and booths. One could buy anything here, no matter if it was food, art or technology. Markets like this sold merchandise from all over the wildlands and even the valley. People who knew where to search could find anything they needed and everything they did not know they needed at this place. And Han Lou was such a person. In fact, he was a person that could be considered a part of this market. ¡°Han Lou you little twat, what are you doing here, shouldn¡¯t you be helping at your mansion?¡±, one of the shop owners, a bald old man with grey whiskers shouted as he saw the familiar figure of the young man. Han Lou faced him with an easy-going smile. ¡°Old Kan, mind our own business. After all it hasn¡¯t been going well recently hasn¡¯t it? Since when do poor bastards like you meddle in my clan¡¯s issues?¡±, his words appeared to be biting and excessive, but the old man did not seem to mind. In fact, this kind of talk happened almost every single day. None of both took anything they said serious. ¡°Since you are already here¡±, taking no notice of Han Lou¡¯s words Old Kan winked him closer. Lou lifted his left eyebrow and came closer. ¡°There is a beauty at that twat¡¯s Ta¡¯s shop. You should definitely check her out!¡±, the old man continued with a dirty laugh. Lou laughed and shook his head. ¡°You are too old to make these kinds of jokes.¡± Old Kan laughed even louder. ¡°Jokes on you, I¡¯m only 246 years old!¡±, he suddenly began to cough and had to stop laughing. Lou threw him a worried look but that stopped after seeing old Kan giving him another wink. In the corner of his eyes he noticed a young, pretty lady giving old Kan worried glances. He grimaced at this old pervert¡¯s antics and rolled his eyes. Walking away so that the old bastard could continue his embarrassing act he decided that it was a good idea to really check out the girl at Te¡¯s shop. He was curious what kind of woman would hang around an ugly, blind guy who sold self-made umbrellas for a living. ¡°The Ma-branch and Tie-branch made their move and are currently occupying the outer perimeters of the ancestral district!¡±, suddenly someone cried out this piece of news. Within moments the formerly lively market turned into a mess of shouts and mumbling as the people there began to pack up their wares. It seemed like the war between brothers had finally truly begun and now was not the time to sell beast-hides or magical items. At the center of the very commotion Han Lou remained calm and relaxed. It was strange his branch, the main branch, was under attack and his cousin had been killed. Yet he remained calm and composed. Not a bit of worry was visible on his face. Looking around the crowd of startled chickens he couldn¡¯t help but grin. He cleared his voice. ¡°Calm down.¡±, his voice thundered across the market just like his grandfathers did on the battlefield. A strange dignity and might vibrated within his immature and slightly high too voice. Surprisingly a major part of the shop owners around the market stopped their actions once they heard his voice. Heads turned, and eyes widened as more and more people became aware of the young man standing in midst of the crowd. Han Lou was by far not the most prominent member of the main branch. In fact it was not only his cousin Han Guan-Shi who had overshadowed him with his achievements, literally every other young master of his branch had more reputation than him. Despite that many people still recognized him as a member of the Han-clan and even more importantly as a member of the main branch. A great deal of the clamor died down once the majority in the crowd realized the identity of Han Lou. ¡°Just go on and don¡¯t mind my families bad behavior.¡±, now that it was somewhat silent Han Lou could speak in a normal voice. Nevertheless, his words shocked many people around the market. How could this young master remain so calm in face of the calamity that was coming for his clan? No one could understand it. In fact, most of the onlookers did not listen to his words at all and immediately continued to take the fastest rout back to their homes. To their surprise however the shop owners and many of the old-timers in the market remained after hearing Han Lou¡¯s words. Normal people might not know this, but these old men and woman who had sold their goods here for years all knew that the young man of the Han-clan was not as simple as many believed him to be. They had seen to many times were this youth had been correct on matters that seemed impossible and many of them owed him a favor of some sorts. If he told them not to worry they would not worry. Han Lou smiled as he saw that his old acquaintances believed him despite the seemingly hopeless situation. Then he turned around and walked away. He knew that this situation would not continue for much longer. Hiding in mediocrecy The genius and the death god Han Lou walked through a number of small alleys and stepped through the back yards of a few shops until he arrived in front of an old looking, rundown shop. An old, rusty metal sign was attached above the door and read: ¡°Ta¡¯s Umbrellas¡± Just as the shop, the entire street seemed to be desolate and impoverished. Only a few people walked around the small and slanting booths and even fewer bought the wares sold on the ramshackle, old bars. At first glance this area seemed to be the worst and dirtiest part of the market and yet all the customers walking around the shops and booths wore expensive and rare clothes. The contrast was so stark that those few who somehow got lost and stumbled into these remote alleys could not help but wonder whether they were seeing things. One glance at the price tags on those goods sold around these shops explained both the wealth of the buyers and the scarcity of something being bought. The prices for even the smallest, meager fruit were astronomical and yet there were still people willing to buy the common looking items and clothes sold there. Even more confusing was the appearance of the sellers. Their prizes were grand enough to even shock the major clans and yet they dressed in rugs and had dirt smeared across their faces. Their miserable figures could invoke pity in even the lowliest beggars, but to the rich scions of the wealthy clans they were esteemed elders that had to be treated with uttermost respect. Those odd and eccentric elders who were feared by the few who knew of their existence greeted Han Lou as he came strolling towards them. ¡°Long time no see brat!¡±, an elderly man with crocked teeth and few, slivery hairs spoke. He stood behind a rotting, tilted booth with layers of simple, dried grass spread across the counter. A glance as the price tag would make even the clan-chief of the Han clan frown. Those dried blades of common grass were sold for the price of a mansion! Han Lou faced the elder with a friendly smile. ¡°Elder Li, it has truly been a long time. That said I hope you have stayed out of trouble.¡±, his expression seemed kind and at ease, but the words he spoke made the elder change his expression. An apprehensive look appeared in his eyes as he chuckled wryly. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry brat. We old men have no interest in the trouble of those hotblooded twats.¡±, he scratched his head and gave Han Lou a strange glance. ¡°Are you sure we shouldn¡¯t get involved though? We could easily trash those immature children.¡± Han Lou smiled at the elder¡¯s words. Then he slowly shook his head. ¡°There is no need for that. The trouble will have ended by the time I have bought my new umbrella.¡±, saying these words he politely bowed to the elder and turned around to walk towards the umbrella shop. Elder Li remained behind his counter, the old wrinkled face bearing an expression of thoughtfulness. He had lived for many hundred years, longer than most other beings in this part of the market, but in all that time he had never seen a young man quite comparable to this young master of the Han clan. ¡°How the heck did he manage to hide himself this well?¡±, he wondered aloud. Then his eyes fell on one of the wealthy customers walking around the alley. ¡°Hey, you, come over and buy a blade!¡±, he chuckled as he saw the man¡¯s despairing expression. It did not matter whether he wanted to buy one of his grass blades, in the end he would have no other choice unless he wanted to risk offending the old man. Han Lou heard the old man¡¯s voice and chuckled as he felt sympathy for the unlucky man who was now forced to use his fortune. Continuing his path, he walked through the old, black door of the umbrella shop. Paint was peeling off and it was partially rotten. That said Han Lou knew that it had been that way for many hundred years. ¡°Oh, if it isn¡¯t Han Lou, long time not seen you little bastard!¡±, a hoarse voice came rumbling the moment Han Lou entered the shop. A large, burly man with extraordinarily ugly facial features sat on a small chair and was handling an old, black umbrella. Two pale white eyes stared at Han Lou as the blind man smiled towards him. Han Lou sighed. ¡°Long time not seen old Ta. I did not come for you though, I¡¯ve heard there is a beautiful girl around here?¡± The ugly man laughed, and his meaty face contorted. ¡°Sure, there is!¡±, he continued to chuckle as he turned around. ¡°Little lady, a brat is looking for you.¡±, he shouted towards the back of the shop. Rows upon rows of umbrellas were stacked up there, forming long and narrow corridors and creating a rather unique sight. The sound of someone turning around and walking out of these small corridors was followed by the appearance of a young woman. Han Lou¡¯s eyes flashed as he laid eyes on this about sixteen years old girl. It was not because of her unusual beauty and the yet black hair that could tempt even monks. It was also not because of the incredible craftsmanship of the crimson red umbrella in her hands. It was because it was this girl who had killed his cousin last night. She was the person he had been searching for the entire day.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°What do you need?¡±, the girl asked him with curious eyes. She could not remember seeing this young man before and it was unlikely that anybody knew her in this city, so why would someone come to see her? She was truly curious. Han Lou did not answer immediately. Instead he slightly tilted his head and began to carefully observe the girl. It was an odd and weird action and most girls would just turn around and leave seeing him behave like this. This girl however felt even more intrigued. Finally, Han Lou had finished observing her. He lifted his eyes and looked straight into her eyes. His face was calm and relaxed, but a dangerous light glimmered in his eyes. ¡°So, you were the death god who killed my cousin.¡± His words were followed by silence. Old Ta¡¯s face suddenly fell as he heard these words and he immediately went to grab the black umbrella on his lap. The girl on the other hand looked surprised, her eyebrows risen and her mouth slightly agape. She curiously mustered the young man in front of her and began to nod. ¡°So, you are the person who wrote the message on the wall.¡± Her words were similar to Han Lou¡¯s, but the intent behind them was different. ¡°I did not think you would notice it.¡±, the young man¡¯s eyes narrowed as he appeared to be pondering about something. She smiled. ¡°¡¯Grandfather is coming home.¡¯ I did not know what this was supposed to mean until you appeared here. How nice of you to reassure your cousin that his death was not the end to your branch.¡±, she pretended to be calm but inwardly she was quietly musing. The Grandfather she was speaking of was naturally Han Lou¡¯s grandfather, Han Gu-Ka. In other words, the mighty general of the Han-clan was returning with his entire army. This young man was clearly incredible. Last night when she had snuck into Han Guan-Shi¡¯s room and killed him a single sentence written on the wall behind her was enough to allow Han Guan-Shi to die a peaceful death. The truly scary thing about it was the fact that these words had been written there before she had even decided to kill the scion of the Han-clan in his own room. In other word, the young man in front of her had anticipated her arrival and the death of his own cousin. And now he was standing in front of her. Han Lou continued to silently look at her. ¡°What is your name?¡±, he suddenly asked with an innocent expression. Once again, his actions surprised and confused the girl. She stared at him before beginning to chuckle. Soon after that chuckle turned into a roaring laughter. ¡°I really didn¡¯t think you would ask me about my name.¡±, she said still laughing. Han Lou did not respond and patiently waited for her response. ¡°Mai.¡±, the girl stopped laughing and spoke. ¡°My name is Mai. It¡¯s been a long time since anybody called me that though. I curious though, you came here and found me, yet instead of trying to avenge your cousin you are calmly asking for the name of his killer? In the first place, why do you think I wouldn¡¯t kill you? After all as far as I am concerned you are a far greater genius than that boy from last night.¡±, as she spoke a faint killing intent radiated from the girls eyes followed by a burst of power. Suddenly the formerly normal girl became a true, almighty goddess. ¡°Kid¡­ don¡¯t force it.¡±, the moment Mai released her killing intent the fat umbrella-maker grabbed his shabby old umbrella. A second godly aura exploded out from his burly build and restrained Mai¡¯s raging power. Old Te¡¯s face had turned serious as he rose up from his chair and opened his umbrella. Even more energy was released, forming a sea of power and raging towards Mai. The girl¡¯s eyes narrowed, and a cold smile appeared on her lips. ¡°You think a god like you can hold a candle against me?¡±, she too opened her beautiful red umbrella and as she did her aura began to rise, battling against the might of the old god and gradually overpowering him. Old Te¡¯s expression turned even more serious as he continued to channel even more of his power. Suddenly a second voice boomed out from outside the building. The ground shook as a third aura rapidly increased in power. ¡°He can¡¯t but I can.¡±, it was elder Li¡¯s voice that shook the ground and rocked the heaven. This third aura exploded into the room as his old, thin body appeared in the door. Around him swirled a whole sea of grass blades, glistering in the light. It turned out that the old man did not sell simple dried grass. Each and every of those blades were weapons capable of slicing steel and breaking stone. Mai¡¯s face turned serious as she saw a second god emerge in this originally lowkey market. ¡°Are you kidding me?¡±, she said with a frosty voice as her face fell. But that was not the end of it. After Elder Li and Old Te had stepped forward more and more godly auras appeared outside the shop as the shop keepers of those small, old stalls suddenly turned into invincible gods and goddesses. Most of the customers hurried away as they did not want to get caught up in a conflict between gods, but those gods who had hidden themselves deep in the market send out their might, threatening and suppressing Mai¡¯s aura. The girl¡¯s face fell even more as fear appeared in her beautiful eyes. Originally, she had only wanted to threaten that young man and amuse herself, so how could the situation escalate to this point?! ¡°Calm down everyone.¡±, at the center of all this incredible power Han Lou suddenly spoke. Somehow, he had remained calm and fine even after having to face the on slaughter of multiple gods¡¯ auras. Now that he spoke his face was still as relaxed and laid back as it had been before. Surprisingly as soon as his words left his mouth old Te and Elder Li retracted their auras. Even the gods outside the building restrained their powers. Within a single moment the situation had completely reversed and even Mai forced herself to retrieve her aura. Then she stared at Han Lou, even more surprise and confusion in her eyes. But most importantly she now had admiration and respect for this youth. Part of that was the fact that over a dozen gods had jumped to his help the moment he was in danger. The other was the fact that she could feel the power of a peak swords master on this young man who was no older than 18 years old. Even Han Guan-Shi, the publicly renown peak of the younger generation and genius of the Han-clan had only been a beginner stage swords master, remaining at the very bottom of that tier despite being three years older than Han Lou. She couldn¡¯t understand how someone this outstanding could remain unknown and why he would even choose to remain outside the public eye. Then she remembered Han Guan-Shi¡¯s fate and a wry smile appeared on her enchanting red lips. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the trouble.¡±, to everyone¡¯s surprise Mai suddenly closed the umbrella, bowed deeply and apologized. ¡°I was only joking, please don¡¯t take offense.¡±, her voice was sincere, but most of the elders couldn¡¯t quite believe her words. Han Lou on the other hand nodded. ¡°You are free to go.¡±, he pointed towards the door. Then a smile appeared on his face. ¡°I will pay for that umbrella. Next time it¡¯s your treat though!¡±, for some reason it seemed like he was now flirting with the girl. Old Te and Elder Li exchanged awkward glances as they couldn¡¯t quite follow the absurdity of this sudden change. Once again Mai gave him a deep look, finding herself unable to truly understand the young man in front of her. She nodded, and a beautiful smile curled on her lips. Then it was replaced by a slight frown. ¡°There is just one thing I don¡¯t understand. Why didn¡¯t you use the gods here to suppress the other branches? A dozen gods are more than enough to suppress even the mightiest clan not to speak of some weak side branches!¡±, before she walked away she couldn¡¯t help but satisfy her curiosity. He shook his head. ¡°The Han-clans matters shall be resolved by the Han-clan.¡± She thought about his words and finally nodded. Stepping towards the entrance to the shop she opened the crimson umbrella and placed it over her head. ¡°It seems like my current masters have already lost.¡±, as her words left her lips her figure disappeared through the door. Moments later a loud voice echoed through the entire market. ¡°HAN GU-KA HAS RETURNED!¡± The capital was once again plunged into chaos.