Though he had never killed a fellow person before, he had no lack of experience hunting, as it was how he generally subsisted.
He knew the cruel sounds and sensations involved when flesh was rended and bone shattered and when the life of a victim left them in crimson streams. In other times, those sensations were gratifying as they cemented his place at the very top of the food chain.
This time, though, the expected sensations didn't make their appearance, and the sound that followed surprised all involved parties.
It wasn't the butcher-like sounds of sharp objects tearing through flesh but the sound of crystal breaking like glass.
Elijah, who had closed his eyes in the last moment in regret of what he had to do now, had them open in shock.
What he was met with wasn't the stone skin or soft flesh of his opponent but a grand wall of ice.
The sounds of footfalls reached him from a little beyond, and he saw a pair standing there.
They hadn't been there earlier.
The first was familiar.
About his age and with cleanly cut short hair, the leader of the Jan Zaki servant group that had accosted him days ago was on one knee, panting. It seemed it was he who had summoned this ice wall.
A layer of frost entered the young Lycan's own expression at this; he hadn't expected that someone like him would be able to use such power. In Reigina, those who could manifest elements in a crystalline structure were considered premier talents. It was an incredibly advanced exercise to stack the particles in such a lattice, and this level of ability meant that their potential in the numerous fields of sorcery had little to no bounds. For example, they could better utilise the limited memory of a single array by arranging the elements in this lattice.
Despite the full analysis, Elijah's eyes didn't linger long.
He turned to the servant's companion, a youth decked in a black and obviously expensive kaftan with the symbol of the red lion that he had grown to hate since his return to the province.
"Forgive the interruption," the youth said with a small bow. "I am of the Dari clan, third."
Elijah regarded the intruder whom Chaina had once called a lackey inquiringly before suddenly bowing respectfully.
"Nothing of the sort, young master."
This one's far more dangerous.
He was looking directly at him—and still couldn't trust that he was truly there.
The man in front of him felt more like a shadow than a person, much less a noble. His limited experience of nobles and their servants showed him that it was their tendency to impose themselves onto their surroundings. Whether it was the forcefulness of Jan Zaki or the obstructive eccentricity of Chaina, it was difficult to meet them and not be moved by their presence. This one, on the other hand…
Come to think of it, he hadn't sensed the pair until after one had used that ice ability. This lack of presence was something he found harder to deal with than any ability he had ever faced. As expected, the depth of a great clan could not be sounded out by his insignificant self.
The wall of ice was now dissolving, and his opponent was now recovering from what she thought would be her final charge. She fell to the floor like a load of luggage.
Elijah did not stop the servant from reaching for his teammate and checking on her, but his questioning gaze did not relent.
"My apologies, once more," Busa said. "My servant issued a challenge without my knowledge or consent… Although it has cost you severely, I can only sincerely plead that you forgive her impetuousness and my own carelessness in this matter."
The Lycan's head tilted up in thought for a moment, but then he shrugged indifferently.
It was rather impossible for him to disagree with them anyway; they had already broken one rule by interfering in an honour duel, so there was nothing stopping them from going further. It was clearly better that he accepted their apology seemingly on his own terms rather than push them to the wall and face their retaliation.
If it did indeed come to that, he had some recourse to Chaina, but he much preferred to give her as few headaches as possible.
Besides, he thought, smiling a little at the injured Troll, this isn't the worst possible ending.
"Excellent," he said with a smile, before signalling to his servant. "I hope this small token will make up for the inconvenience we've caused you so far."
Julnan left the now-stabilised Yachit and walked towards the young Lycan, scowlingly presenting a small chest.
Covered in exquisite felted material and with the aroma of ebony, Elijah's guess was that its contents matched the quality of the box.
That's several hundred littas at least, he said to himself. More, if the box was made by some well-known carver.
Although he felt it was a little vulgar to be paid off in the aftermath of an exchange that two warriors had risked their lives in, he was secretly thankful that someone had stood in the way of his grim task, and he never looked down on money.
Your life's more valuable than you thought, he said to her in his mind, before opening it and inspecting the contents.
If this were a gift rather than compensation, this act would be considered rude, but as the receivers liked to confirm the value of what they were given and the nobles delighted in seeing the reactions they could elicit, this was more than agreeable to all parties involved.
"Young master," he said haltingly, trying to regulate his breath, "I think you have the wrong box."
He had expected something of no small value just from the box, but what he saw made his breath catch in his throat. He wanted to shake Yachit by her shoulders and tell her that her life was actually much, much more valuable than she thought.
In the box were at least half a dozen glowing red capsules about the length of half a finger and as wide as two fingers pressed together. These were blood pills.
While sorcerers used mana stones to replenish their mana rapidly, cultivators had a slightly different means. By refining the blood of various beasts, they condensed their Qi into capsules and consumed them for rapid recovery. It must be understood that all things contained some Qi, and it was this shared breath of all things in union with the Heaven and Earth that allowed things to grow and subsist. Cultivation was merely a means of forcefully accumulating this Qi and maintaining balance so as to not destroy the organism or mutate it beyond acceptable bounds. This was where the inspiration from the Lycans came – unnatural accumulation and the abilities that followed.
These blood pills were famously difficult to make, and Elijah could sense that these were of very high quality. Each pill had to be worth a thousand littas at least!
He involuntarily drew in a cold breath as he made the mental calculations. Years of fighting and saving hadn't earned him even half that. Curses aimed at those so-called nobles he had fought for comparative scraps just barely stopped themselves from flying out.
As expected, he thought with real passion, shaken to his core, nobles are truly great.
Just as he made to put it away, the servant held him back by placing his hand on the chest.
Elijah looked at him inquiringly for a second but did nothing.
"Behave," the young master said with a smile, instructing the servant to relinquish it to the Lycan. "I want you two to get along."
Elijah remained mostly silent as he was uncertain on how to proceed, but he did make sure to show the proper etiquette and thank him sincerely.
A groan from the girl drew the attention of the three away from their awkward standing around.
Julnan's worry was evident on his brow, while the young master only showed his displeasure by a slight narrowing of his eyes.
"Pardon me," Elijah said respectfully, walking toward her.
He saw his slight nod of approval before stretching his palm out before a gaping wound in her shoulder.
He waited close to a minute before there was movement and something flew from her shoulder into his palm, rocking him in the process.
"Your Blood Weapon?" the third young master asked, clearly curious.
Elijah nodded.
"I had injected some into her during the fight to slow down her movements… She should feel better now."
His control over it had deepened but was still a far cry from the complete synchronisation he and the weapon were meant to have.
"I saw the burn scar and thought that might be the case. I was sure you were just in your first growth phase."
"You seem to know a lot about Lycans," he noted, not confirming or denying his statement.
"Of course I do," he said easily. "After all, I have a steady correspondence with someone from the Twin River Province."
That was the province that the Lycans inhabited. It was a land as steeped in mystery as its major races. Elijah had heard rumours of Vampires and Faekin making the place their home too, but he had never been there himself.
He had nothing to say to that and merely walked away after making sure there were no remnants in his opponent's body.
"Come work for me."