NOVEL WEB Chapter 68: Wren's Plan
Having a complete Aether Bones, Richard also felt a sort of transformation within his body.
It was clear that his strength had increased in a particular way.
Crack!
Richard stretched his body, and his bones creaked loudly.
'Remarkable,' he thought.
He stood up and stepped forward, feeling as though he could leap fifty meters high.
"Mm..." He hurriedly stepped out of his room, spotting Sister Lisa—whom he had been waiting for a long time—finally return. But she appeared so rushed, entering Lilith's house while constantly glancing behind her, as if worried someone was following.
When she saw Richard, she froze for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief.
"Richard, let's go home," she said, leaving Richard stunned.
"Sister Lisa, why must we go home now? I'm still waiting for one more gift from Lilith, and I need to use Mind Attack on her," Richard replied.
In truth, he was quite happy staying in this big city. That was why he felt reluctant to leave so soon—he wanted to spend more time here.
Of course, he was aware that Sister Lisa probably had a serious problem, but couldn't they solve it here?
"You've already mastered Mind Attack?" Sister Lisa was slightly surprised, then shook her head.
"Lilith can come to the Dark Black Rose Village later," she said.
"Sister, what have you done?" Richard asked.
"Don't ask now, let's just go," Sister Lisa answered.
This time, she pulled Richard's hand, leaving him with no choice but to follow.
She dragged him out of Lilith's house, even forgetting to close the door, then pulled him into the carriage before quickly rushing to the driver's seat.
Whoosh!
She tugged on Athena's reins, and the horse instantly shot forward.
Richard could only roll his eyes, thinking that if they had stayed inside Lilith's house, they would have been far safer.
Surely Sister Lisa knew this, but perhaps she didn't want Lilith's help in dealing with her personal problems.
Since Lisa was in such a rush, Athena galloped quickly through the city streets, forcing the crowd to scatter aside as the reddish-black horse bolted past.
Although many were angered, none could catch up.
The horse stormed through the gates, still at full speed, drawing shouts from the guards. But once they were far away, there was nothing the guards could do.
"Sister Lisa, what's happening?" Richard couldn't help but ask again.
"This is your problem," Sister Lisa answered.
"What?" Richard was stunned once more.
Why had this suddenly become his problem?
"You're the one who seized the Tier 3 Aether from Wren, aren't you?" Sister Lisa asked, and Richard unconsciously nodded.
"Even though no one else knows, right now Wren is under heavy pressure since Gray wants to take his position."
"What does that have to do with me?" Richard asked, confused.
"Wren will resort to more extreme methods to advance. A Magus skilled in alchemy—apparently the governor's mentor—has promised to help him. But this requires the sacrifice of a young genius with high affinity for multiple elements. At first, I thought this wouldn't involve you, since Wren shouldn't even know you. But I was wrong. Wren chose you as his target.
"Now that Lilith isn't at her house, and who knows when she'll return, Wren and the governor clearly no longer care about your relationship with her. They'll try to capture you now. Lilith's house won't be able to protect you. We can only run. I've already told my aunt about this, and she asked me to take you away first. She should be seeking help for us by now."
"Where did you get this information, Sister Lisa?" Richard asked.
"From a friend working at the governor's residence, though I'm still puzzled how Wren found out about you."
"Because of this..." Richard explained how it had started, that he was the one who killed Damon, who intended to massacre the Dark Black Rose Village.
"No wonder..." Lisa sighed helplessly.
She couldn't blame Richard for this, since he had protected the village from annihilation.
At this moment, Richard began to ponder.
He was being hunted. If it were just Wren, he was ready to fight to the death. But what worried him was that Wren might bring someone even stronger.
Returning to the village was indeed the better choice.
At least there, his ancestor would surely have grown stronger by now.
"Athena, run faster, show your true self..." Richard spoke to Athena.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Athena underwent a transformation. Her body grew larger, crimson light radiated from her, forming wings and crimson armor—denser, yet still made of light.
When those light wings flapped, Athena's speed multiplied many times over, nearly throwing Richard out of the carriage.
Athena was no longer merely running—she soared into the air, only to descend again.
By the time she landed, she had already crossed more than two hundred meters.
'Tier 5 or 6...' Richard was in awe, not expecting Athena to have advanced this far after consuming the eggshell.
With this speed, they could reach the Dark Black Rose Village in less than half a day.
"Richard, your horse?" Sister Lisa asked in disbelief.
But Richard stayed silent, giving no explanation.
In a short time, they were already far from Night Valley City.
Even so, Richard felt increasingly uneasy, sensing that someone was watching.
Or perhaps, they had been watched ever since leaving Lilith's house.
Unfortunately, the one targeting them was the provincial governor. Of course, escaping him completely was impossible.
Still, if it was only surveillance to track their movements, Richard wasn't too concerned.
What mattered was ensuring they couldn't be caught before reaching the Dark Black Rose Village.
The journey continued, with Athena running as though she had limitless energy.
As a horse, her strength seemed undivided, focused solely on her ability to run.
Though Richard kept feeling watched along the way, no signs of an attack appeared.
He grew more at ease, and finally drew the golden sword given to him by Lilith.
One side of the blade bore the carving of an eagle, the other a wolf.
Endless golden light radiated from it, a clear testament to its power.