Chapter 162: The Realistic Cain
Airael was not just hanging around out of boredom; she had her own considerations too.
This Cain was highly valued by Arthur, and he was quite capable as well.
If Arthur truly rose to power in the future, Cain would undoubtedly contribute a lot to it.
Naturally, his status would rise alongside it.
As someone who would be by Arthur’s side for the long haul, getting to know the people around him better was beneficial for Airael.
At the same time, she had to establish her image as a “worthy partner.”
She wanted everyone to know that she wasn’t just a pretty face; she had real strength as well.
When Airael and Arthur arrived at Cain’s location, they found him practicing in the courtyard.
Arthur didn’t deliberately target his weak points yesterday, so Cain’s injuries were mostly light wounds and scrapes. With some medicine and his strong recovery ability, he was almost fully healed in just one day.
Although he couldn’t engage in intense battles for a short time, some routine training was perfectly fine; both men benefited from the physical activity.
Guided by the inn staff, Airael and Arthur appeared before Cain.
Seeing the duo, Cain stopped his practice and walked over to them.
Arthur looked at him and said, “Looks like you’re pretty much healed up! I’m glad to hear that. I apologize for what happened yesterday!”
“Axi, you don’t need to apologize. It’s my lack of skill. I’ll keep training hard, and one day, I will surpass you.”
Cain said this with such seriousness it was inspiring.
“I look forward to that day; however, before that, I hope you can fulfill our previous bet and become my subordinate.”
At the mention of the bet, Cain’s expression changed slightly.
Back then, he hadn’t thought much about it—just focused on charging forward and climbing higher.
Looking back, though, he truly dug himself a deep hole.
Although he had developed some fondness for Arthur after the match, and seeing Arthur’s strength—especially his superiority—made the idea of a weaker person following a stronger one seem normal, that was still not enough to convince him that Arthur was someone truly worth following and loyal to.
He worried that Arthur wouldn’t provide him the stage to showcase his abilities.
After all, Arthur’s situation wasn’t much better than his own right now.
At most, he would gain an army soon.
But controlling an army wasn’t so easy.
To Cain, this army would largely just be for show, led by Arthur; in reality, it would be hard for Arthur to gain complete control.
Even though this country was based on an electoral system, the election power was essentially controlled by noble families, meaning that most aspects of governance were in the hands of those families.
Especially the big families, whose connections could be found all over the nation.
When the time came, would people listen to him or to those wealthy families behind the scenes?
Cain momentarily held back from responding, and Arthur didn’t say anything more either. He just stared at Cain with an almost bare gaze, pressuring him to concede.
Knowing he couldn’t escape, Cain steeled himself and replied, “Of course, I won’t go back on my word, but if you want me to follow you and work for you, you have to give me a place to prove myself.”
Arthur smiled at Cain, “Don’t worry; it won’t be long before we have our moment to shine. I’ve already planned everything.”
He knew that Cain was negotiating his demands.
What seemed like a request for work was really telling Arthur, “I can follow you, but you need to let me shine, give me work, and allow me to wield power.”
For them to rise, they naturally needed to accomplish something monumental.
That was easy for Arthur because he was about to undertake a grand feat that would indeed be spectacular, so Cain didn’t need to worry about lacking opportunities.
Although this request was overly realistic, it was understandable.
Seeing Arthur’s clear and straightforward response, Cain nodded, “Then I’ll wait and see.”
After leaving Cain, Arthur and Airael began to stroll around the streets.
But their wandering wasn’t aimless; they had goals.
Arthur needed to find a well-reputed blacksmith to craft him a new set of armor to replace his old, unusable gear.
While they were out, high-ranking officials in the Machia Republic held an impromptu meeting, mainly regarding Arthur.
The main topic wasn’t anything other than the selection of the new legion commander.
Like, would appointing the victorious Axi to this position upset the majority?
In the meeting, there were no objections to Arthur’s appointment.
Everyone agreed that Arthur was an outstanding individual.
Next, they needed to assign him the appropriate positions and responsibilities to see how capable he truly was—whether he could shoulder such a heavy burden.
Thanks to Arthur’s earlier visit, along with his natural charisma and some covert assistance from others, he breezed through this challenge.
Meanwhile, as the Machia Republic was sharpening its swords to support the northern war, a contingent of the Elven Army began to land on the northwestern coast of the continent.
However, this elven force was somewhat different from traditional elven troops, as they were Dark Elves.
Having been exiled, they gathered together to form a powerful unit.
Dressed in pitch-black armor, they moved in sync, exuding an extraordinary presence.
What truly drew attention was the leader of this elven army, a uniquely garbed male elf clad in purple armor.
Though his helmet obscured most of his features, one could still sense his striking good looks at a glance.
He was a handsome man!
Of course, he was still a man—just exceptionally good-looking.
This was common among the Elven Race, as the entire species tended toward beauty.
It could be said to be a racial talent.
But don’t let his looks fool you; his strength was formidable, a true Twelve-tier Warrior, rare in this world.
Besides being a Twelve-tier Warrior himself, he also had an elder brother who was a Twelve-tier Warrior too.
His brother was none other than Krul, and he was the exiled Dark Elf—Mork.
