"York, what are you doing?" Fei quickly reach out, and a huge invisible power pulled York off the ground. He asked with a smile, "York, you know…. Eh, how did you know?"
"Your majesty, I..." With a ashamed face, the man told Fei what happened.
The young man who appeared in the pub was one of the famous hooligans at Hot Spring Gate. His father Tolemy was the Legion Commander of [Rapid Wind Legion], and his older brother Dilles was the youngest Centurion in the legion as well as the strongest younger generation warrior there. With two men who looked after and protected him, this Lulun was spoiled. He could do anything he wanted there, and no one could do anything about him. Numerous people died in his hands, and everyone in the Hot Spring Gate would stay away from him.
Today, everyone at the pub saw this devil wanted to get to that goddess like girl. Although they sighed and didn't want to see it happen, no one dared to stop him because of the fear. Even York and Philip who were respected by Angela didn't stay behind and help...
After they left, they felt really anxious and returned to the pub to make sure that Fei and the girls were safe. But when they got back, they heard the shocking news. The arrogant young master Lulun was beaten up. He got beat up, and two of his henchmen were nailed into floor like carrots until they were dug out. The other party was the young man who smiled and talked to him. What they didn't anticipate as well was that the young man was the mysterious master King Alexander who had just defeated one of the ten Execution Knights of the Imperial Knight Palace.
After knowing that the three of them were safe, York and Philip felt more comfortable. They returned to the ghetto with shame and regret of missing the mysterious master Alexander, and they continued to teach the kids martial arts like they always did.
"Your majesty, please forgive us. We..."
York's face became as red as a monkey's ass when he was talking. He didn't know what to say at this point; he left like a coward and didn't even say anything to help the three of them out. He felt like he had stained the dignity and honor of a true warrior and a true mercenary.
"Hehe, York, don't worry about it. I didn't have the intention to blame you from the beginning..." Fei explained as he helped Angela and Emma off of the magic carriage. He turned around and smiled, "I knew from the beginning that you guys left wasn't because you were afraid of death."
"AH? Your majesty...How...How did you know?" York was surprised as his eyes opened big and wide.
The dark young man Philip had brought the kids to them. His was still very shy like a girl, and he had an apologetic smile on his face. Although he stood behind York quietly and didn't talk, the three of them were able to feel that he was sorry for what he did.
"Because I have a pair of eyes that can see through people's heart..." Fei joked a little. After seeing both York and Philip opening their mouth out of surprise, Fei explained, "When I first met you, I knew that both of you aren't the type of people who are timid. And when you left, there were still hesitation and struggle in your eyes; it wasn't the fear that everyone else had. And you..." Fei turned to Philip as he continued, "You dared to come back to drink that mug of beer that Angela toasted you with, how can you be a coward? Sometimes, it takes more courage to leave than stay. Also, it won't help even if you guys stayed behind."
York and Philip were so moved that they were about to cry.
They were most afraid of being misunderstood by Fei as people who were cowards. However, Fei was able to see through their feelings, and they felt a lot better about the situation. They bowed and thanked Fei and Angela repetitively. Mercenaries like them who were living at the bottom of society didn't have great power and didn't have great status as they struggled for their lives. They were already touched when they were able to be respected by Angela back at the pub. If they didn't have things that they were still worried about, they would definitely had provoked and fought Lulun for Angela without hesitation. Although their status might be low, but the blood in their bodies was still hot.
"Hehe. I was wondering about what was worrying you guys. Wives? Kids? Parents? Relatives? Now I know. You guys are probably worried about these kids." Fei said as he looked around at the kids who were only in thin clothes in this cold weather and patted the head of a girl who was only about 6 years old. These kids surrounded York and Philip as they looked up at them with crystal like eyes. Fei knew what was going on as soon as he saw them.
"Your majesty, you are really god-like." York opened his mouth. He was already shocked by Fei. After a while, he explained: "You are right. These kids are all orphans, and they were only able to survive with the support of me and Philip. I couldn't even imagine what will happen to them if Philip and I couldn't make it back today. The winter is coming..."
Fei parked the carriage beside the empty space and walked into where York, Philip, and these kids lived. Fei and the two girls sat down when York and Philip thought they were about leave.
"Hey, did Uncle York go drink again and owe you money? Can you please not send those bad guys after Uncle York and beat him? Tina won't ask for new clothes anymore, Tina won't ask for cheese anymore, please, I beg you!" The little girl Fei just patted dragged Fei's sleeve timidly as she said after gathering her courage.
"So cute….." Angela's motherly love overflowed as she picked up the little girl and asked Emma to get some fruits and snacks to share with the kids. Laughter and cheers instantly filled the little space.
"Sometimes, Uncle York would get thirsty and couldn't help but to get some drinks. He owed money to the pub several times, so the boss of the Pub send some people after him to get the money back..." Philip explained with the shy smile on his face: "Therefore, little Tina thought you are someone who is here for the money."
This explanation embarrassed York a lot.
"Uh? York, you were injured? You are not completely healed yet?" After some chatting, Fei suddenly realized that despite the fact the York was strong and tough like a mountain, there was hidden injury in his knee. As a mercenary who risked his life, this injury would immobilize him sometimes. That would be a huge reduction in his strength, and it might pose a lot of risk in the future.
"Ah, yeah. The backstory of this injury goes way back..."
After seeing Fei who defeated the Golden Sun Knight was very friendly, that he didn't have the haughty attitude of nobles and royals, and didn't look down and mock poor people, York relaxed himself. He slowly told Fei how the injury in his left knee occurred.
It was a really interesting story.
A year ago, old York was still an anxious and careless homeless mercenary. He wasn't a nice person; he was one of the gang leaders at the ghetto here in Hot Spring Gate. But after he provoked someone who was much more powerful, his limbs were all broken by the person's guards and he was thrown into a garbage pile to die. This kind of situation occurred at the ghetto where even sunlight didn't even want to shine. During the time where his limbs were broken, he couldn't move. If it wasn't for these kids who were looking through the garbage piles for food and clothes, he would be dead. However, these kids found him alive and fed him some food and water.
In that period of time, York experienced desperation, self-destruction, his all-time-low, deep thinking, awakening, and motivation. Those were the feelings that one couldn't experience in a short amount of time. But after this tragic, York turned his life around. He decided to live with these kids who saved him, and he got a space in this ghetto for him and the kids using his one star warrior strength. He then cleaned it up and fenced it off. After all of that, York registered as an official mercenary and could take some missions. Although he was only able to get paid very little for these hard and dangerous missions, he was able to provide a living for these kids in the ghetto….. However, since he wasn't able to get proper treatment, there were hidden injures in his joints after he recovered on the surface. Especially his left knees; it never really healed.
"Hehe, I have a good way to heal it for you, but it might hurt." Fei laughed.
"Really? That would be great!" York was excited, "I don't care about the pain. If I can get this old problem fixed, I can advance in my mercenary levels. Haha, after I finish some higher level missions, I would be able to make more money and feed these kids whose appetites are getting bigger and bigger..."
"Ok, you are a great person."
After Fei said that, he suddenly patted on York's left knee. Crack! York's knee bone broke into little pieces. But before he can cry in pain, Fei instantly switched to [Paladin Mode] and injected a beam of gold light into the knee.
York felt a numb yet sore sensation. He felt like the broken bones and his muscles were all moving as if they were reorganizing and growing. It was simply indescribable. After about 50 seconds, York found out surprisingly that the pain disappeared, and his left knee that was hard to move become agile like new.
"This is magical..." Both York and Philips were shocked.
They had never seen anything like this. It was comparable to Healings Spells that high priests at the Holy Church could cast. However, the priests who were even haughtier than the nobles couldn't cast the spell that easily. "No wonder he could defeat the Golden Sun Knight." They thought.
"York, after your story, I still haven't heard much about Philip. Is he one of the orphans?" After some more chatting, the king moved the topic onto Philip.
"Yeah, your majesty. Philip was one of the orphans." York said with a very joyful expression as he moved his left leg that he wasn't use to moving this freely. He looked at the dark skinned young man as he said earnestly, "However, he isn't a resident of Hot Spring Gate. No one knows when he came here or where he is from. Normally, a kid like him who didn't know any fighting techniques or warrior power would have a hard time surviving out here, but he lived well and was even able to protect these kids. Before I came here, Philip was the one who took care of these kids... He is a kind and valiant kid. I had never asked him about his past. Oh, I heard he said that his full name is Philip Inzagi."
"Philip Inzagi….. Oh, you said he doesn't know any fighting techniques?" Fei asked curiously.
How could a kid who didn't know any fighting techniques have that familiar dark and gloomy sensation, like a knife that was covered by the blood of numerous people and was waiting in the air quietly to strike down. Fei was familiar with this sensation since he would also have this sensation on him when he was in his [Assassin Mode]. In another word, Fei believed that this kid had the potential to become a top-notch assassin. This was one of the reasons why Fei was willing to spend so much time here. Fei didn't lack warriors who were willing to fight on the battlefield, but he did lack a top assassin who could complete missions for him in the dark.
"Yes, your majesty. Philip doesn't know any fighting techniques, but he has a very strange ability; he is able to escape even if he is targeted by a Six Star Warrior..."
"Born ability?" Fei was surprised.
York giggled as he called for Philips. After he murmured to the Philip's ear, the dark-skinned young man bit his lips as he hesitated. However, he seemed to make a decision. He walked up to Fei and lightly shook his body. Suddenly, he started to become lighter and more transparent. Soon, he merged into the space and was not visible anymore. Fei was even surprised by this at the end. "Not wonder York said that he could escape from a Six Star Warrior; there is no exaggeration in that!" Fei couldn't even sense where Philip was or any of his trace when he tried his best.
Fei couldn't believe it, so he tried several times. However, he wasn't able to get anywhere.
After he switched to [Assassin Mode], he slowly emitted his Zen energy into the air like waves in a lake. After the re-bounces of the Zen energy, he was finally able to spot where Philip Inzagi was. He suddenly dashed as his body also disappeared into the air. He was nowhere to be seen as well.
York was so shocked that he couldn't even close his mouth.
"Haha, got you!" A laughter sounded as semi-transparent waves floated in the air. Fei appeared with his hands on Philip's shoulders. The young man was shocked as well; it was the first time in his life that his stealth technique was countered.
After putting Philips down, Fei laughed as he demonstrated a few skills of his assassin character, especially flashy skills such as [Tiger Strike], [Dragon Talon], [Dragon Claw], and [Fists of Fire]. Philip who was seeing this was excited; his eyes literally shone. It was a strange yet subtle feeling, as if something in his mind told him "These are the techniques that you should learn!"
"Philip, I'm interesting in taking you in, are you willing to become my disciple?" Fei suddenly stopped. After seeing the young man was intrigued by what he had showed, he asked with a smile on his face.
Both York and Philip were shocked! They stood still and didn't know how to react.
The situation where they couldn't even dream about actually happened.