Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 2175: Leaving Cinderloch

Mayor Aldric hosted Grey and Reynolds at a large feast later that night to celebrate the decisive victory over the Gnomes in the region. With the complete destruction of the enemy camp, the experts of Cinderloch City would finally be able to send aid to the surrounding areas, significantly reducing the pressure those places had endured for months.

The atmosphere in the main hall of the manor was lively and filled with the scent of roasted meat, rich wine, and various dishes prepared for the occasion. Laughter and conversation mixed with the occasional clink of cups. Grey remained present throughout the entire feast, accepting one toast after another from the city’s experts. Even Torren Archibald approached at one point and offered him a short, simple toast. The gesture was stiff and lacked warmth, yet the fact that the man made it at all showed how much the city’s experts valued Grey’s contribution to the battle.

Some of the weaker Sovereigns still found it difficult to believe how quickly the fight had been decided. When they heard how Mayor Aldric and Elder Harrington had each finished a Peak Sovereign Gnome in essentially a single decisive move, many were left speechless. A few almost wanted to doubt the accounts, but the corpses of the Peak Sovereign Gnomes, along with the numerous Ninth-stage bodies, had been brought back as undeniable proof. The reality of the victory could not be questioned.

Although the human side had suffered casualties, the losses remained relatively light. Around thirty experts had fallen in the battle. In exchange, an entire Gnome camp that had claimed thousands of human lives over the preceding months had been wiped out. Most of those present considered the trade more than acceptable.

Grey quietly used his elemental energy to neutralize the effects of the alcohol, ensuring he stayed clear-headed. When the feast finally began to wind down, he and Reynolds took their leave and returned to the inn they had rented upon first arriving in the city.

The next day arrived quickly.

Grey and Reynolds visited the Mayor’s manor once more, this time to formally take their leave.

”Shouldn’t you rest a while longer and recover to peak condition?” Mayor Aldric asked when Grey informed him that they planned to depart.

”I’m good enough to fight if needed,” Grey replied. He then added, ”Besides, don’t forget I still have an army with me. Even if I cannot fight at full strength, I am in prime condition to escape.”

Hearing those words, Mayor Aldric could not help but recall how long the Gnomes had wanted this young man dead, and how consistently they had failed. He had even heard accounts of Grey surviving assassination attempts by experts of higher cultivation. It was clear the young man possessed absolute confidence in his ability to withdraw from dangerous situations. Given the number of near-death encounters he had already escaped, that confidence was understandable.

Mayor Aldric knew there was little he could say to keep Grey in the city, and he saw no real need to hold him there. After a moment he nodded.

”Very well. But please wait a moment. Voss said she would like to speak with you before you leave.”

”She can keep it,” Grey answered, already guessing the reason. ”The bunny leader will replace it later.”

He knew Elder Voss’s request almost certainly concerned the golden-furred Ninth-stage bunny she had taken a liking to. From the moment she first saw it, the bunny had remained with her except during the actual battle. Grey had expected she might ask to keep it, though given the bunny’s cultivation level she had probably been uncertain how to make the request.

”Really?” Elder Voss’s slightly excited voice came from the side of the garden as she walked over.

Grey nodded to her. ”Yes. I don’t mind.”

”Thank you.” Elder Voss offered a sincere word of gratitude. She fiddled with her storage ring for a moment, then brought out an item and tossed it toward Grey.

Caught slightly by surprise, Grey still reacted in time to catch it. When he inspected the object, he found it to be a torn piece of parchment covered in intricate array lines. The moment his eyes locked onto the patterns, his attention was completely captured.

”I noticed you seem adept with arrays,” Elder Voss explained. ”I found this years ago and have never had any real use for it. Since I lack knowledge of array formations, I was never able to decipher it. It came from an ancient ruin inside a small world.”

She had felt somewhat uneasy about accepting a Ninth-stage Sovereign bunny from Grey without offering anything in return. The parchment had simply been the most suitable item she could think of.

As she spoke, she was surprised to see Grey become completely absorbed in the torn piece of paper. The array patterns covering it were more complex than anything he had previously encountered. The longer he studied them, the deeper his focus became.

Reynolds, watching Grey fall into that familiar state, could only shake his head with a wry smile. He cleared his throat and discreetly kicked Grey’s ankle.

The contact brought Grey back to his senses. Realizing how absorbed he had become, he offered an embarrassed smile, carefully stored the parchment, and gave Elder Voss a small, respectful bow.

”Thank you for the gift.”

He had originally intended to refuse whatever she offered in exchange, since he had not given her the bunny with any expectation of receiving something in return. Yet the moment he saw those array patterns, he had been unable to look away. He had always held a deep interest in anything related to arrays. The last time a formation had captivated him to this degree was in the small world where he had first encountered both the Gnomes and the Barbarian races.

There was no possibility of him rejecting something so intriguing. He kept the parchment without further hesitation.

Elder Voss had not expected Grey to display such genuine gratitude over what she considered a minor gift. She could tell the patterns were mysterious, but because she herself could do nothing with them, she had not placed particularly high value on the item. Seeing Grey’s reaction improved her impression of him even further. In her eyes, he appeared both capable and humble.

A short time later Grey and Reynolds left the Mayor’s manor. They rose into the sky and headed toward a city located hundreds of kilometers away from Cinderloch. The morning light spread across the land beneath them as they left the region that had occupied them for the past several days.

Behind them, Cinderloch City stood quieter than it had in months. The immediate threat of the local Gnome army had been removed, and the experts of the city could finally turn their attention to supporting the surrounding areas. For Grey and Reynolds, however, the road ahead continued. The array parchment rested safely in Grey’s storage ring, its complex patterns already occupying a quiet corner of his thoughts as they flew onward.