Zora may be blind, but he had his own foresight that told him the inspectors from the Royal Capital Guard were going to knock on the doors of the Salaqa Manor a week after he arrived. This wasn’t the first time he had to make a stealthy exit from whatever town or borough he was lurking in—he gathered his belongings, fixed his collar, and after an extremely early breakfast, he waved his farewell to the Salaqa Lord and left the manor at four in the morning.

  The Salaqa Lord was sure the inspectors would search for underground passageways leading away from the manor, but the underground passageway was several hundred metres deep, accessible only by ladder, and the walls were lined with anti-vibration plates to prevent outside detection. Even a small army wouldn’t be able to unearth it without actually demolishing the manor. Dark spaces also made no difference for the blind, so Zora had no issues climbing down, following the straight path leading away from the manor, and by eight in the morning, he popped out of an inconspicuous sewer grate in the middle of the city.

  One whiff of the fresh morning air, one good listen, and he could already tell: the city was swarming with Royal Capital Guards, and the heavy and of their ant chitin armour in the distance were enough to grate his ears.

  By the Salaqa Lord’s estimations, there were about eight or nine hundred Royal Capital Guards in the city, which meant he’d be hard-pressed to leave the city on foot without having to fight—and that was exactly why the Salaqa Lord hired an outside driver and an ant-pulled carriage explicitly for the purpose of sneaking him out. Said carriage was already waiting for him in front, the door swung open, blocking the exit of the little alleyway. The driver in the tattered cloak and hood waved at him, beckoning him to get in before anyone else could notice him.

  he thought, climbing into the relatively shoddy carriage and closing the door behind him. The driver immediately whipped the giant ant, moving them along the street without so much as a single glance back through the slit on the wall.

  Travel documents, fake identity brooches, a purse with a generous amount of coins, and a letter sealed and stamped with the blood of the Salaqa Lord—apart from his wand and his five-pointed star-shaped brooch, those were the only other things he carried with him. His identity wouldn’t be checked by the city gate, but it was better to have documents than not, and if things were to get out of hand, he’d have some bribe money to work with.

  The only thing left to do for him now was sit, wait, and maybe read his letter over again.

  It was but a written recap of his first objective.

  “... Are you aware of the current troubles that plague the northwestern lands, Zora?”

  One week ago. Dinner with the Salaqa Lord. Zora had just finished regaling Kita and Machi with a few interesting tales from his long march to the south when Baya spoke up across the table. It was the stern, steady voice that caught his attention. Idle chatter was over; now was the time to get back to business.

  “Can’t say I’m too familiar, given I came down here from the northeast,” he replied, shrugging slightly as he poked another chunk of meat with his fork. “If you’re bringing it up, though, I’m assuming there are traces of Decima to be found there. Where am I going?”

  “It is certainly true that Swarm activity has been at its highest the past few years in the northwest, even more so than in the northeast where the mountains are higher and the fungi forests are denser,” Baya said, pulling another plate in himself. “For years, the railways leading to and from the many Swarmsteel factories in the northwest have been heavily disrupted by the Swarm, and that is not to mention the brood nests that have cropped up along caravan roads, preventing trade, communication, and simple movement between small towns and boroughs. The Capital has offered no assistance. Left unchecked, the Swarm will eventually conquer all key locations within the northwest, and if the factories fall… well, the empire will not collapse immediately, but it will be a slow and steady death.”

  “What about the northwest?”

  “Head to the Nohoch Ik’Balam, the Regional Capital of the Nohoch Region and the largest trade city in the northwest,” Baya said plainly, before reaching under the table and tossing a scroll over to him. He caught it out of the air, then tossed it away again with a small smile. The old man really, hadn’t believed he was blind. “The Regional Lord of the Nohoch Region is my younger brother, Yiru. You have my word that he is trustworthy. Assist him and the locals of the Nohoch Region in stabilising the railways that have been disrupted by the Swarm. If Yiru can have total control over the railways again, every other region in the northwest will also fall in line, because nothing can move out of the northwest without having to pass through Nohoch Ik’Balam that falls under his domain.”

  “And what does stabilising your younger brother’s region in the northwest have to do with hunting down Decima in the Capital?”

  Baya raised one finger. “You are not strong enough to take on Decima. Nona was one Insect God, but Decima has the Capital its associated armies under her control. Take this time during your trip to the northwest to get stronger properly. I’m aware you gave away most of the points you obtained the past two years, so your grade must only be around D or C-Rank Mutant-Class, correct?” Then Baya raised another finger. “Nohoch Ik’Balam is also a major transit city that connects the southern regions, the northwest regions, and the northeast regions. People of all walks of life go through that place. We know Decima is in the Capital, but we do not know where or kind of human she is pretending to be. Since the Capital is on guard awaiting your arrival, you will not be able to enter it looking for information anytime soon—the second best place to obtain new information in the empire would be Nohoch Ik’Balam without question.”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Zora leaned back in his chair, scratching the back of his head in deep thought. It true that while he’d gotten stronger the past two years, he hadn’t actually fought any particularly tough battles like the one he’d fought against Nona. He’d run away from battles he couldn’t win, and he’d crushed the ones he could. He hadn’t properly challenged himself in a while. Even if he found Decima and came face to face with her, what were the chances he could just kill her as he was right now?

  Very, very slight.

  The Salaqa Lord had a point.

  “Your exact tasks and missions in the northwest will be decided by my brother, but I imagine he will ask you to use your skills and abilities to help him reclaim the railways from the Swarm,” Baya continued, snapping his fingers and calling the servants to start cleaning the table. “I do not know how long it will take you to stabilise the northwest—especially when that Warlord of the Northwest... that 'Worm Mage' is also wreaking havoc across the many strongholds and Forward Armies stationed there—but it may well be half a year before I see your face again.”

  Zora raised a brow. Baya had predicted Decima would have the entire empire ripped apart by the end of the year, so the half a year deadline wasn’t so much a suggestion as it was a countdown. He to get strong enough to rival Decima and stabilise the northwest by the end of summer.

  “Then give me a bit of spare change,” he said. “I’ll have the railways re-established in three months.”

  … The letter would also be his introduction to Yiru, the Nohoch Lord, but he had no doubt the man already knew who he was. Maybe it’d be more efficient to just go off hunting bugs on his own if he wanted to get stronger purely, but he saw no harm in helping out the people of the northwest. Besides, he’d heard the technologically advanced northwest was almost a completely different land compared to the more traditional, agriculture-based northeast he’d travelled through—if nothing else, he was keen to see what sort of information he’d be able to glean from the transit city.

  “Make no mistake, though. This isn’t a vacation. Blood will be spilled, and not of our fellows,” he muttered, putting his foot on the door as he heard footsteps racing towards his carriage. He wasn’t fast enough, and his attempt was half-hearted. Kita barged in alongside Machi, unremarkable mantles and hoods covering their most recognisable features, and they slammed the door close as they sat on the opposite seats.

  “You didn’t tell me you were going to leave so early this morning,” Kita said plainly, handing Machi her dual sawtooth blades as she pulled down the blinders, threw off her hood. “I’m going with you.”

  “Not a chance.”

  “Machi, give him the box.”

  The head servant reached behind her and placed a small box of curated bug meat on the table between them. Zora had had his fair share of ‘high-class’ bug meat the past week, and while the Salaqa Manor hadn’t been able to give him much—just twenty or so, since points were scarce across the empire unless you were on the warring fronts—just by the smell of the box in front of him, he estimated it was probably forty, five points. Not a whole lot, but it something.

  “A gift,” Kita offered, smiling triumphantly as she crossed her arms. “Let me come with you, and you can keep the box.”

  “Don’t you have school?”

  “The Royal Ayapucha Military Academy is on spring break until three months later. Before the semester starts again, I can accompany you to Uncle Yiru’s territory and fight with you.”

  "What grade are you?"

  "F-Rank Mutant-Class."

  “Did your father approve of this?”

  Kita nodded, but Machi shook her head. Zora smiled at both of them before taking out his wand, considering blasting the door open so he could kick them out.

  “I don’t need a noble’s help with this,” he said, pressing the tip of his wand to his lips, “much less a child who couldn’t even get permission from her father to leave the city.”

  Kita’s ears twitched, and for a second, he thought he’d done it—provoking her and getting her to leave the carriage of her own accord would be the least noisiest, though he could still kick them out anyways. The box of fifty or so points was inconsequential. He’d be getting a lot more once he figured out where and what he’d be fighting in the northwest.

  But once again, the young lady was more in control of her own emotions than he expected, and instead of lambasting him with a dozen half-hearted insults like the many children of lords and ladies he’d accompanied in the past two years, she gave him a terse smile and tilted her head.

  “I was the one who recruited you,” she said curtly. “I won’t let father send you out to fight without me.”

  He clicked his tongue.

  He pondered for a few more moments—and he swore Machi was shaking her head ever so slightly, as though telling him to tell her lady off for good—but having a direct member of the Salaqa Household with him in unfamiliar territory may prove useful. She was next in line to inherit the title of Salaqa Lord, the most powerful lord of the outer regions; he doubted he could find a companion with more influence than her.

  He’d just keep her out of any actual danger. Baya wouldn’t complain then… he hoped.

  “... How long until we reach Nohoch Ik’Balam, then?” he said, sighing as he leaned back against the less-than-soft cushion. It wasn’t nearly as comfortable as the Salaqa Household’s carriage. “And the two of you are returning to the Salaqa Region in three months regardless of whether or not I can settle things in the northwest. Don’t skip school. Education is important.”

  Machi pulled out a scroll from her back again—he had no idea where she was storing everything—but when she handed it to him, he took it with a smile and tossed it to the side. Machi feigned a surprised gasp as she put a hand to her mouth; she remembered very well he was blind, but if she could get a snicker out of Kita, poking fun at him was all fine and well.

  he thought, shaking his head. “That’s a map, isn’t it? Just tell me how long.”

  “One week,” Kita said, still laughing softly as she rapped the slit in the wall behind her. The driver immediately whipped the reins again and the whole carriage lurched forward. “The carriage itself may be shoddy and reconstructed to look less than desirable, but it’s a C-Rank Giant-Class silver ant that’s pulling us along. For your reference, they’re the fastest ants in the empire, and they hardly ever need to stop and rest. One week on the road and we’ll be in Nohoch Ik’Balam before we even know it.”

  Slight update to the progression system: instead of picking from two branch mutation options during the branch mutation selection, people can now pick from three branch mutation options. It's not really relevant yet, but it will be soon!

  The link to the Discord server is with over five hundred members, where you can get notifications for chapter updates, check out my writing progress, and read daily facts about this insect-based world.

  See you guys next Wednesday!