The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 322: Gathering of groups (2)

Chapter 322: Gathering of groups (2)

"Hurry up."

Jade hissed at Cyantha, who was far below her, as she climbed up the old vine, dangling from one of the main branches above.

"I. am. trying," Cyantha hissed back. Every child learned not to shout in the dark. They learned the risk of attracting unwanted attention at a young age.

Although it would bring them too close to the village, it was the safest route they knew of. They discovered this route by chance, in search of herbs and food. For many, foraging was a basic skill rather than a specialty in the city of changing colors.

Close to the city, more than a hundred main branches and even more side branches sneaked around. But as the distance increased, the branches started to veer off and go in various directions, with increased space between two subsequent branches.

The citizens, even those with a shady past, steered clear of these parts of the tree. The rumors and stories about the Witch and the darkness she left behind, terrorized the lives and sleeps of everyone living around here.

Only people like Jade and Cyantha, desperate and without guardians keeping track of their whereabouts, visited these places.

Jade reached the top at first. She hoisted herself up but a sense of dread filled her. Suppressing the shiver down her spine, she lifted her head. There. The all-devouring darkness stood before her.

All traces of life, light, and sound disappeared. The darkness seemed to enlarge and envelop her.

"Jade?"

"Jade."

"Jade!

With a start, Jade looked up. The voice and a hand jerked her away from whatever was imprisoning her senses.

Cyantha stood before. Her worry and fear threatened to leave through her eyes.

"What happened?"

"I...I don’t know," Cyantha stammered. "When I arrived, I saw you, standing like a statue. You weren’t blinking or breathing. I was...worried."

Jade pulled the trembling in her arms and soothed her. And herself. Thankfully, Cyantha was so shaken that she didn’t notice her trembling and sweat forming on her back.

It was hard to put into words but she genuinely felt like the darkness would engulf and own her.

She wished nothing more than to leave but a glance at Cyantha’s face, who seemed happy as she spotted a herb outside of the darkness, forced her to swallow her worries.

Cyantha suffered enough. She and her mother lost everything due to illnesses. Jade lost everything too. To the same plague. And when no one, not she herself, was able to stand for herself, Cyantha had sheltered her, without even knowing her. Her mother fed her out of the little they had. Her second life was a gift she wouldn’t be able to repay. Not now, not ever.

They gathered the few and far herbs they could see, getting closer to the darkness with each herb. They both knew it. They tried not to look at the darkness.

But soon they had gathered the stalks they could find. The darkness loomed beside their shadows as the girls stared at each other.

"We should leave, Jade."

"This isn’t enough. Far from it. We can’t leave with only these."

"B-But entering the village? Let me go first." Cyantha, timid as she was, always seemed to find strength within herself when it came to others.

Jade knew her like she knew herself. Although she would rather leave Cyantha, she knew the frail-looking girl would fight her, maybe even punch her, but wouldn’t allow her to enter alone.

"Well, well...aren’t these girls brave."

Jade turned in shock, shielding Cyantha behind her. From behind the leaves, a group of men appeared. A glance at their patched-up robes and missing teeth revealed their identity. They were Colorless Tramps, a group of outlaws who claimed to be the rulers of the city. But why were they here?

...

Hex noticed the group of people spreading and encircling them at once. He didn’t take any action because none were a threat. The majority of the people gave off energy fluctuations comparable to Squires with only a few at the Knight Stage.

He didn’t say anything to Elize either. An Enlightened Knight like her would have sensed them perhaps even before he had.

"Gangs. They are not a threat."

Hex heard Elize whisper and remained still. He concluded as much. He knew the strongest group, aside from his and Elize team, was that of the Guardians.

’There were four entries but only three left the hotel. Or, I sensed only three.’

As a Refined Knight, Hex knew that he could sense energy fluctuations up to the Transformation Stage. Beyond that, he couldn’t.

There was a possibility that the fourth person didn’t leave the hotel or wasn’t even at the hotel. But that was up to chance. And he didn’t like to leave things to chance.

But there was one more group. A group that wasn’t strong yet gave him a feeling of unease. He couldn’t sense how many people there were nor the levels of those people. It was as if they were inside some veil that blurred his senses. That worried him the most.

He glanced at Elize. The woman stood there in her headscarf without making any move. They, or at the very least he, was here because she said she had things to tell about Medina, his mother.

He wished to see the place his mother, no, his mothers, had grown up too. After all, something had gone mis. Aside from the very bad upbringing

Swish.

Before he could check with her what their next step would be, the leaves around them parted, from out of which a group of shabbily-dressed people appeared. At the head of the group stood a lanky man with a stubble beard and receding gray hair. He held a staff, giving off energy fluctuations comparable to Refined Knight.

"Who sent you guys here?"

"No one," Hex replied. "Please, leave. We are here on our business. I don’t wish to cause any problems."

While speaking, he released his energy fluctuations, revealing his true stage. The group shuddered while the man at the front stood frozen in place. It took him a few seconds to regain his bearing. But soon he fell to his knees.

"Forgive us. We are just a small group of bandits."

"Okay. Just leave."

Hex waved. He was more interested in the village.

"No. Please sir...and lady," the man scrambled to stand up. "We can tell you guys wish to harvest the darkness. But the Colorless Tramps have kicked everyone out, leaving us to scavenge on the periphery. If you guys take us with you, we can harvest for you and give the majority of the share to you."

The man pleaded with a deep bow. Seeing his demeanor, the group behind followed his example. Their expressions revealed they wished no part of being with them but they still bowed. Hex, with his enhanced hearing, heard their stomach rumble.

"What harvest?" Hex just asked, seeing Elize remain silent.

"Y-You don’t know?" The man at the front asked. He first looked confused and then smiled. He tried to hide it but he seemed happy. Hex understood his feelings. Apparently, the man believed that if Hex didn’t know about the harvest and was still here, he had other goals in coming here.

The Colorless Tramps wouldn’t allow anyone without a fight, leaving them to fight between them. No matter who won, they would have a chance to leave with a bigger piece of the pie.

"You see sir, the darkness here is the purest form of dark elements that can be mined in Wrixia. There is a huge demand for it. But it’s hard to mine. There is a chance for people to disappear inside the dark. But if we survive, we can fill these dark element gems that are sold for a huge sum on the outside."

He showed a small gem in his hand.

"If it’s so much in demand, why is the city abandoned? Why is this place so unmanned?" Hex asked, puzzled by the lack of industry around such a lucrative business.

The man looked a bit hesitant but in the end still explained.

"The reputation of this place being cursed helps keep the competition away. And...we don’t let others know where we get the element from. At least, not to people from outside. Most people won’t buy items with such history, no matter how rare the resource. And if people knew we distributed items coming from the Witch’s lair – that’s what Wrixians coined this place – they would never buy it."

Hex nodded.

"What are we going to do?"

Hex turned toward Elize and asked.

"Deal with him first," Elize replied.

Hex turned. A petite man was already coming at them, followed by three others.