Chapter 38: A Glimmer of Dawn

  The winter sun, a thread of gold, pierced through the clouds, gently blanketing the moving camp carriage. It cast a peaceful glow upon the frigid journey. The visibility was clear, no blizzards raged, and no monsters were in sight. The entire world seemed to be steeped in a soft, silent tranquility.

  Emma, astride her snow wolf, followed closely behind the carriage, her silhouette stretching long across the snow. Wolf, reins in hand, drove the snow dogs with focused attention, occasionally glancing down at the map on his lap. His movements were practiced and steady. From inside the carriage, Ethan’s voice drifted out intermittently, earnest and somewhat stern in his instruction. Mary, his student, huddled in her seat, nodding diligently. Wolf cast a sympathetic glance towards the carriage, a faint smile touching his lips. The girl seemed rather pitiful.

  He looked up. The nascent sun radiated a clear light, not blinding, yet bright enough—the perfect time of day for travel.

  Just then, Shen Jiu Yi, the man from the Library, opened the carriage door and quietly sat beside Wolf. Like Jiu, he exuded a calming serenity.

  "Beautiful weather, Mr. Wolf," Shen Jiu Yi said with a smile, his voice as gentle as a breeze.

  "What, tired of sitting inside?" Wolf’s gaze remained fixed ahead, a hint of teasing in his tone. "Came out for some fresh air?"

  "After listening to a teacher lecture his student for so long, a breath of fresh air is welcome," Shen Jiu Yi squinted at the clear sky. He paused, then turned to Wolf. "Actually, I’d rather chat with you than with them."

  "Me?" Wolf turned, a touch of surprise in his voice.

  "Indeed. To be frank, before accepting this mission, the Lapsus Merchant Guild conducted some basic background checks on everyone. I have some connections with the Guild, which allowed me to review your files." Shen Jiu Yi spoke casually, as if discussing the most ordinary of matters.

  "Basic checks, you say?" Wolf chuckled. "That makes sense. Fifty gold sovereigns is no small sum. Even if you don’t demand experts, you certainly wouldn’t want..." Wolf’s words trailed off as he thought of certain team members, a wry smile playing on his lips. "...dead weight, right?"

  "Well, the investigation was quite simple," Shen Jiu Yi’s voice remained calm as he smoothly transitioned to the topic. "It was merely to see if everyone’s background was ‘clean,’ if you were notorious madmen, or... murderous bandits."

  He paused, his gaze resting gently on Wolf’s profile. "However, Mr. Wolf, your file is hardly ‘clean.’"

  Wolf’s casual smile slowly stiffened, then faded. He was silent for a moment before speaking in a flat tone, devoid of emotion. "Old news. I was indeed once wanted by the army, but that was no stain on my honor. Besides, the warrant should have been rescinded long ago."

  "Don’t be nervous," Shen Jiu Yi said, producing a leather-bound notebook and shaking it gently in front of Wolf. "I’m not trying to test you; it’s merely... an occupational hazard. I can’t help but be curious. So, I’m very curious: how did a soldier become a mercenary? And why was such a soldier once hunted by his own army? If you don’t mind..."

  "I do mind."

  Wolf’s reply was curt and decisive.

  Shen Jiu Yi gracefully dropped the subject, nodding slightly. "My apologies. I was presumptuous. Since you are a mercenary, I should deal with you in a mercenary’s fashion." His tone shifted, a glint of mercantile shrewdness in his eyes. "Then, may I buy your story?"

  Three gold sovereigns were gently placed on the wooden board beside Wolf.

  "You people from the Library," Wolf said, glancing at the coins, his voice unreadable. "Is this how you collect ‘information’?"

  "It varies," Shen Jiu Yi’s smile remained unchanged, like a perfectly fitted mask. "When time allows, we are happy to cultivate friendships and learn slowly. If someone enjoys stories, we exchange them. But I see you, Mr. Wolf, as a straightforward man who dislikes beating around the bush. Mercenaries walk a razor’s edge; if the price is right, a deal can be made. I thought a direct offer would be more appropriate."

  "Hmph!" Wolf snorted, a short, cold sound. He pushed the three gold coins back, the metal scraping lightly against the wood. "My story cannot be bought for so little."

  But his tense shoulders imperceptibly relaxed, and he leaned back, his gaze fixed on the distant snowline. His expression was softer than before.

  "However," his voice deepened, "since you want to hear it, I don’t mind telling you. You’re... not entirely unpleasant."

  Wolf gently tugged the reins, slowing the snow dogs. His gaze drifted to the distant horizon where the snowfield met the sky, as if he could pierce through time and see the past.

  "You probably already know that I was once an ordinary soldier in the Wind’s Breath Legion."

  His voice grew low, carrying the worn texture of a long-held memory. "The Wind’s Breath Legion wasn’t like the Dragon Shield, constantly clashing with demons. Nor was it like Glory City, embroiled in the trivialities of nobles. For us, life was set the moment we enlisted—a path visible to its end."

  "It was nothing but daily drills, occasional sea patrols to clear out pirates, or dealing with monsters crawling from the deep. The unlucky ones died by a pirate’s blade or a sea monster’s teeth. The fortunate ones survived to retirement, bought a small house in some city, and then... faded into obscurity."

  He narrated it dispassionately, as if describing someone else’s life. The winter sun poured down, illuminating his rugged profile and the half-exposed sapphire pendant around his neck, which shimmered with a faint, resilient glow.

  "Until an ordinary personnel transfer changed everything." A different warmth finally seeped into Wolf’s voice, like a subtle current beneath a layer of ice. "I met the love of my life."

  "Her name was Lia Sheffield. She was the new captain of our squad."

  Wolf paused there. The snow dogs’ breath condensed into white mist in the cold air. Silence enveloped them, broken only by the wind and the echoes of his memory.

  "She was the most beautiful and bravest person I had ever met." His words were soft, yet each was distinct, as if he feared disturbing the image in his mind. "Like an unexpected light, splitting the storm clouds, she brought color to my dull, unchanging world."

  "The moment I saw her, I knew... I loved her." A gentle curve touched his lips. "But I didn’t have the courage to say it. I thought I was just an ordinary soldier, likely to die in some unremarkable skirmish. She, clearly, had a much brighter future, and shouldn’t be burdened by someone like me."

  "So I thought, let it be. To protect her from afar was enough. As long as I could see her a few more times each day... that would be enough."

  "The river of fate was frozen until a star fell, painting the entire riverbed with a dream of shattered silver," Shen Jiu Yi murmured thoughtfully, as if savoring a distant poem.

  Wolf grunted softly, his fingers unconsciously stroking the rough reins, and continued his story.

  "A monster extermination mission intertwined the fates of this timid soldier and that radiant captain."

  "It was a complete disaster—wrong intelligence, wrong location. Our entire squad was pushed into the depths of a monster’s lair as if by an unseen hand. It wasn’t a battle; it was a slaughter. Desperate screams, the clang of metal, the tearing of flesh... it almost dragged us into the abyss."

  "And in that bloody inferno, Lia... she was like a goddess descended."

  Wolf’s breathing grew heavier, as if reliving that day.

  "Sword in hand, agile and swift, she fought through the surging tide of beasts. Blood stained her battle robes, painting a magnificent picture. Again and again, she carved a path through certain death, even returning repeatedly to pull me and other desperate teammates from the brink."

  "And I..." His voice dropped, a bitter tremor in its depths. "I could only barely follow behind her, fending off stray attacks. Awe, admiration—I felt it all. But more than that... shame. My imagined ‘silent protection’ was laughable. When true danger struck, I was the burden, the one who needed protection, who needed saving. I hated my powerlessness. I wanted to become strong, strong enough to stand before her. Indeed, rather than being protected by her, I yearned to protect her!"

  "The mission still failed. Against the seemingly endless tide of beasts, even Lia had her limits. In the end, only she and I, battered and bruised, crawled out of that hell, struggling back to the barracks."

  He paused, his eyes suddenly hardening, as if covered by a layer of ice.

  "But what awaited us was not the solace of survival, but another, dirtier trap. Our commanding officer, a beast in human skin, a complete scoundrel, had long harbored sordid intentions towards Lia. He used this failure to twist the truth, pinning the blame on us, and imprisoning Lia and me separately. I even suspect that the faulty intelligence was his doing."

  "He wanted to crush Lia’s will slowly, through imprisonment and torture, to force her submission. To break her faster, he decided to start with me—to execute me, and use it to threaten Lia."

  "But Lia... she never surrendered." A mix of pain and pride surged in Wolf’s voice. "Even in despair, she found a way to resist."

  "The moon that night was beautiful. She stood before me, a little disheveled, yet with a certain carefree grace, and said, ‘Soldier, will you spend the rest of your life in this cell, or will you give it to me?’"

  "Later, I learned that with the secret help of a few old soldiers who still had a conscience, she miraculously picked the locks and found me."

  "Under the pale moonlight and the cover of night, we dispatched the guards, stole two horses, and galloped out of the barracks gate without looking back, leaving that rotten place behind forever."

  "That’s the truth of why I was wanted." Wolf let out a long breath, which turned into a white mist in the cold air and quickly dissipated. "Later, I heard that scoundrel’s plot was exposed, and our warrants were rescinded. But we could never go back. From the moment we escaped, we became each other’s only comrades, embarking on this mercenary path."

  "In our mercenary life that followed, we became each other’s shield, facing countless life-and-death situations together." Wolf’s voice grew deep and lingering, as if touching a cherished memory. "Lia, to me, was more than a captain or a comrade. She was the whetstone that sharpened me, and the light that guided me. As long as she was by my side, I felt invincible, capable of finding a way out of any desperate situation."