Laura was calmly sitting in the carriage, while Nier was sitting beside her. This carriage wasn't like the ordinary one they had used to get to Montenegro Fortress, where they had to remain low key. This carriage was an ornate one pulled by four snow stallions.
Snow stallions were fourth level water spirit beasts. They looked like ordinary horses, but they had a white body with some water magic elements. These horses were docile, so they were easy to tame. The only problem was that they were very expensive. There were even some nobles in the Continent that couldn't afford them. Snow stallions were like status symbols.
As for the carriage that Laura was sitting in, it was an ornate one built with two layers. The outer layer was made of iron driftwood. Not only was it as hard as steel, but it could also block most magic attacks. The inner layer was made of bread cotton. This material came from a very particular plant, soft as cotton but also highly elastic. It was excellent for making a variety of furniture. Unfortunately, bread cotton had a very low yield. In the Continent, an average person wouldn't be able to afford it.
In other words, you would need thousands of gold coins to buy this carriage. And the total value of the four snow stallions were worth fifty thousand gold coins.
While riding in this expensive carriage, Laura had a calm face. Her transaction had been completed. However, her losses were not small. She had lost a total of three hundred guards, and if it weren't for Zhao, she might not even be alive herself.
And Laura noticed another thing. Someone from her clan must have found out about her trip to Montenegro Fortress and arranged for people to mess with her business. This wasn't a surprise since she knew that the road wouldn't be peaceful. However, Laura didn't want to retaliate yet. She didn't know if the ones who were against her was from the upper echelons of her clan or just one of the other heirs.
If it was the upper members of the clan, then that would be troublesome. Those people represented the entire clan, so no one would help her if she decided to fight back. But if it was one of the heirs, then that wasn't a big deal. She was ready to fight them to see who was more powerful.
With this thought, Laura couldn't help but frown. She wasn't afraid if it was a battle of wits, but she also knew that she was missing something: a master.
Her father, Kevin, wasn't a good choice because although he was a seventh level mage and could be considered an expert, he had very little actual combat experience. Even though his level of magic was high, he wouldn't know what to do in a battle. It was like her father had chosen the wrong career. Instead of a mage, he should have just been a alchemist.
Thinking of choosing a master, Laura couldn't help but think of Zhao. He was a mysterious black mage that was really amazing. Not only did he save her life, he was also able to defeat all obstacles and settle down next to Casa city.
Laura had done a background check on Zhao, but she came up with nothing. It was as if he came out of nowhere. Still, she was able to find out what happened to Zhao around Casa city. It was precisely because of this that she had kept up with recent events. Now she knew of two fights that he had been in, but to be honest, she didn't expect such an outcome on the last battle.
She had seen Zhao's strength so she knew he was very strong, but she still didn't expect that he would be able to deal with someone like Garan. Everyone knew that light mages had an advantage over black mages, but in this case, the light mage was defeated and had vanished without a trace, leaving many people scared.
To tell the truth, Laura didn't feel entirely at ease with Zhao. His timing was too coincidental, and he seemed to be living outside Casa city as if he was waiting for her. This made her skeptical of what his motives were.
Although Zhao did rescue her, do not forget that it was the undead black mages of the Immortal Mercenary Group that attacked her, and Zhao himself was a black mage. Who knew if there was someone kind of collusion between them.
As Nier sat beside Laura, she saw her frown, so she couldn't help but ask, "Miss, what unhappy thing are you thinking of?"
Laura turned around, saw the look on Nier's face and gave a slight chuckle. "Nothing, Nier. After we get home, get some rest. Tomorrow we'll be going to visit Mister Zhao."
"Miss, aren't you worried of what he might do to you? Why do you have to go see him?" Nier felt surprised.
Laura smiled slightly. "First, we have to thank him for saving us, and second, to deepen our connection with him."
Nier nodded. She didn't know many things, and left these sort of machinations up to Laura. She was as simple as a piece of paper. This was what made Laura feel a desire to protect her.
Just then, the carriage stopped. Searle, the driver, said, "Miss, we're home."
Nier immediately opened the carriage door while Sergio put down the foot board, allowing Laura to walk off the carriage.
Laura's home was in the Xicheng District of Casa city, a wealthy aristocratic neighborhood where rich people lived. Although Laura was only part of a branch family of the Markey clan, in the Continent, no one would dare underestimate anyone in that clan, especially in such a small territory like the Purcell Duchy. After all, Laura's father, Kevin Markey, was the second heir to the clan, which was an even higher position than the Grand Duke of the Purcell Duchy.
The power of the Markey Company spans across half the Continent, making it a lot more prestigious than a mere duke from the Aksu Empire. Because of that, Laura's home was placed in the best position in the Xicheng District, a gorgeous area that covered acres.
Just as Laura got out of the carriage, an old man went up to meet her. This old man was the housekeeper of their home, but to Laura, she respected him like he was her grandfather. Laura's mother died when she was small, and this old man had raised her as if she was his own grandchild. He taught her a lot of things, and if it weren't for him, she wouldn't have accomplished any of today's achievements.
When Laura saw the old man, she immediately greeted him. "Grandpa Kun, you didn't need to personally come to the door. You could have just let others to do it."
Kun gave a chuckle. "It's okay. I heard that someone tried to deal with you. Of course I wanted to take a look to see if my little Laura was hurt. Well, the Immortal Mercenary Group? Those bastards, just thinking of them makes me mad. Sooner or later, I'm going to go destroy them. Since they dared to fight against you, I think that they don't want to live."
Kun's words weren't light. He was strong with the strength of an eighth level warrior. In fact, Laura's martial arts skills were learned from him.
Laura smiled. "Grandpa Kun, you don't need to worry about the Immortal Mercenary Group. Anyway, where's my father?"
From the mention of Kevin, Kun couldn't help but give a wry smile. "He's in his laboratory. He wanted to pick you up, but you know how it is. Once he starts with his experiments, he will forget the time."
"Never mind." Laura knew what kind of person her father was, so she didn't care. "Grandpa Kun, did you prepare something delicious for me?"
Kun laughed. "I know what you want when you come back. Rest assured, I have prepared something delicious. I deliberately sent someone to purchase two small fire fish. Do you think those are good enough for a meal?"
Having heard of her favorite thing to eat, Laura couldn't help but cheer loudly. "Great! There's fire fish!" She pulled Nier with her as they ran inside. At this moment, she displayed herself as a true teenage girl, nothing like the high and decisive front she showed to outsiders.