A Dual Crest Summoner In Infinite Summoning World

A strange nervousness had spread all over Rootfast. People walking through the streets often found their eyes wandering—either toward the vast green forest behind them or the simple wooden gate at the entrance of their village.

Rumors had been flying around about this Baron and that Baron joining the hunt. The only confirmed names Auren knew that were coming to their village were Lord Cedric Cornvell, the Earl of Lowfield, their own Baron Thornmarch, and another Earl—though it wasn't confirmed which one. There were also all of their neighboring Barons coming—someone had heard the news from the town about a Baron or two accompanying the other Earl.

All the streets of the village had already been cleaned too many times. Elder Tamun's smithy, innkeepers, tavern owners, and all the people in this business or that had restocked their supplies in anticipation of the upcoming wave of customers. It was a chance to earn money like they had never earned in their lives.

The fear of the monster living in their backyard had been replaced by the excitement of the hunt. The villagers were buzzing with discussion about which knight would come and who would, in the end, deliver the killing blow to the Basilisk. Some had even started to guess what kind of stories and songs would get famous after the hunt.

In short, their village was so bored and starved for entertainment that everything new happening was an event. And this was really a big event for their village—one that would be talked about for years.

By the evening of that day, many new people had started arriving in their village: wannabe scouts, butchers, spit boys, cobblers, blacksmiths, merchants, peddlers, gamblers, dice players, street performers, and even musicians, bards, etc. The village was full of people. Some had come simply to watch it all, to be part of it all—some even booked multiple rooms at the inns and taverns so they could rent them to others later at higher prices.

The most booming business of all, however, was of the oldest profession in the world; the brothels were going all day long. The inns and taverns affiliated with them were printing money.

It had attracted all kinds of people to the village, along with some knights and soldiers from surrounding villages and towns.

It was really shaping up to be a very festive environment. But trouble was also increasing with the people. Fighting, shouting, and whatnot. The elders had to stay ready to resolve issues on the spot. But sometimes, when knights and others were involved, even they had to step back. Hanzo tried his best to deescalate the situation, but it wasn't always a success.

Kenzo and the other kids were almost always in the village, seeing all the interesting things happening. But Auren never left his house. He could not let Sable and the others be alone with all kinds of men wandering around and camping right in front of the forest gate. The gate was located right between his and Kenzo's houses.

Hanzo wasn't there either, busy in the village solving conflicts.

Auren was busy as usual with his sword practice—when suddenly he noticed the people outside, those camping near the gate, go silent. Auren stopped to see what was going on when he heard faint shouting coming from the direction of the village. Only for a while, though—then everything went silent. Moments later, the folks in the tents outside started talking again.

Auren tried to look in the direction of the village when he noticed some kid running at full speed toward him. It was one of the boys who attended classes with him and Kenzo—one of the carpenters' sons Auren had worked with.

Stopping near his house and breathing heavily, the kid tried to say something, but Auren could barely understand him. Sable gave the poor guy some water and sat him down on the wooden bench. Please read this chapter on its original platform—M|V|L1EMPYR.

"Kenzo.. he told me to get you, Auren. Something happened, and everyone got mad, they started shouting and fighting. Uncle Hanzo was injured.." the boy said.

"Just sit here and catch your breath," Auren said. Then he looked up at Sable.

"Be careful. I'm coming behind," she said.

Auren nodded and picked up the wooden sword, now fully covered in black particles. In a heartbeat, he opened the fence gate and began running at full speed toward the village. He grabbed a blanket Sable had washed and put up to dry under the sun—the black sword was not something he could show to people. He wrapped the blanket around it, fully hiding the material.

He couldn't go without any weapon either. If Hanzo, one of the best warriors in the village, was injured—his opponent couldn't be any simple guy. It had to be a knight. Those folks were too prideful and arrogant at times to care about any right or wrong.

Using Chi in between, Auren reached the fastest speed possible while staying safe. In a few minutes, he arrived at the village—and soon, the crowd of people gathered in the main market drew his attention. As he neared, he could hear people talking. Some were saying things like, 'The Elders should decide this,' or, 'She lives there, it's obvious anyone would make a mistake.'

Anyone who noticed him made way. Auren soon reached the front and immediately saw two fully-plated knights holding weapons. Their armors were dented here and there. The other villagers were also holding swords and spears. The two knights were shielding a young man with blonde hair and fancy, silky clothes. The boy's face was slightly red.

Hanzo stood to the side, a red stain of blood marking his right arm below the shoulder. Kenzo was right beside him, almost on the verge of tears. His eyes, however, burned with anger. He was glaring at the two knights and the teenage boy behind them.

Auren also noticed many women in the crowd—he realized they were from the brothel. They too were shielding someone behind them: a girl with white hair.