Siderius put the double satchel on Red and patted its back gently. Inside were ration, water, and a few miscellaneous items for the journey. Now that the situation in Snowfell had settled down, Siderius was finally able to travel again.

Siderius was a solitary man. He knew the importance of power and influence so he took his time to build his own standing in Eldoria. But still, his destiny was on the road, not sitting in an office dealing with lordship's issues.

"Finally, I can be on the road again." Siderius mumbled.

Ashe stood next to him. "Why can't I go with you, Master?"

Siderius smiled and patted Ashe. "You aren't ready, Ashe. Your body needs more conditioning. It needs to be prepared for its first mutation."

"How long will I be ready, Master?"

"It depends on your progression. Sometimes it would take only six months. Sometimes it would take years."

"Years?! That is a lot of times…"

"Correct. Building muscle, muscle memory, and resilience to withstand the process of grafting mutation is not easy. Work hard and you shall be rewarded in the end."

"I understand, Master."

Siderius then turned to George and Roland. "Stick to the plan I gave you. Build better roads to connect Rivertown, Santa Roberto, the Rocky Pit and the Rose Springs. After that, just stick to accumulating wealth.

No one will mess with us now that we are officially recognized by the Royal Court. But their requirement to keep this safe is deep. Ten gold coins every three months are not easy."

Roland bowed. "Don't worry, Lord Watcher. With all the resources we have, only a fool couldn't reach this target. I will make sure our territory becomes as grand and wealthy as possible."

"I know, Roland. I trust your intuition and intelligence. That is why you are the Advisor. And George, keep practicing, your craftsmanship has grown quite a lot. The next time I return, we might be able to forge the Strong Steel."

"Yes, my lord!" George bowed.

Siderius turned to Henry. "My dear warrior. You have a lot of potential, but you lack the polish needed to be great. Continue your role as Warden, train with Ashe, and train your men. I will give you a gift as well if everything goes well once I return.

Then, you will have the power to kill all the witches you want."

Henry grinned. He couldn't wait for that day. But he knew he was still lacking. The life of the bandit was different from the life of a warrior.

"I understand, Lord Watcher. I will work as hard as the Lady and receive her teachings."

Siderius nodded. "Maybe you can teach her a thing or two as well. She still lacks experience of true combat."

Then he turned to Kraus. The former bandit had also suited up and prepared for the journey. But he wouldn't be going with Siderius. His mission was to spread eyes and ears around Snowfell, making sure Santa Roberto had a strong communication and intelligence network.

He was the Spymaster, but was only known as the Secretary to the ordinary commoners.

"Ready, Kraus?"

"Of course, Lord Watcher." Kraus bowed.

With that, the two of them embarked on the road. They shared a short journey before splitting off into different directions.

Kraus went back to Rivertown to establish a spy headquarters there then he would go to other towns. Establishing an intelligence network took time. A few months were sufficient.

As for Siderius, he was going to Blacklungs, a coastal city with drunkards and thieves. It was a town with no lord ruling above it and was considered a 'free' town that everyone could come and go.

It was a city of black society and unofficial witches. In there lay one of the biggest branches of the mysterious Assassin Guild that had accepted the offer to kill River.

Siderius needed to find the assassin and kill him. The sooner he fulfilled his part of the deal, the quicker he would be free to do as he pleased.

"Shadow Blade, huh? I wonder if you are a guild of witches or does it just simply consist of ordinary humans. If it is the latter, your day of business will soon end."

The city of Blacklungs was far from Snowfell. To reach it, Siderius needed to cross two different territories belonging to two different lords.

Both of them were Barons.

As a Baron himself, Siderius could be granted safe travel and used the hospitality of the high lords. But he didn't want to announce his journey for everyone to know. So once again, Siderius would simply be a wanderer on a road.

The first three days of journeying went by without much excitement. There was only him, Red, and the road. They stopped by roadside inns to take rest and journeyed only in the day.

On day four, snow started falling and the road whitened. The usual dark color of the Rottin Woods was quickly replaced by the white color of snow.

It snowed a bit later in these areas than Snowfell. That place was filled with layers of white snow when Siderius left. Puffs of cold air released from his mouth with every breath.

He had been traveling for half a day when Siderius decided to take a rest and build a small campfire on the side of the road. The bear cloak kept him warm and the layers of armor and uniform held the temperature in.

Flame danced in the howling wind as he saw a familiar carriage appeared from afar and approached him.

"She's here…." Siderius mumbled. His face was covered by the bear-hood and the black scarf. It was hard to make out who he was from appearance.

The carriage stopped near him as the driver in the front looked at him. It was a woman in a total black attire with a thin fabric covering her face.

Siderius' eyes flashed gold and purple as he switched between the True Eyes and the False Mystic Eyes.

He saw in the chest of the woman, a beating Mana Core that was alive like a heart. Her Mana growled fiercely.

This was no simple witch. She was at least a Lesser Witch, a level that Siderius might not be able to deal with at the moment. He could survive the fight, but winning the fight was an entirely different thing.

"I should have known…" Siderius thought.

"Snow. My dear. What happened to you?" The woman said.

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