Nobilis of War

Darren was relieved, but fear still lingered in his mind.

"Please don't make things difficult for me, sir. I will remember what you have done and pay you back as long as you do me this one favor," Darren pleaded, his voice bitter and hoarse.

"Young man, remember what you said just now."

In the blink of an eye, a person came close to Darren.

The person was wearing a big, grey robe. His hair was pulled up in a bun on top of his head, and his appearance was plain. He exuded a natural aura, as if he had been integrated with everything in this world. "It's nice to meet you, sir." Darren saluted. "What I said is true."

"Ha! I believe you. But, I can't return that child to you."

Noting the anxiety on Darren's face, the man continued speaking. "You know it's dangerous for him to stay with you. I keep him because I want to take him as my disciple, so he will be safer. Don't you think that's a good thing?"

"Take him as your disciple?" Darren was a little surprised. "My sworn brother is not that talented. Why do you take a fancy to him, sir?"

"I know something that you don't know, but I won't tell you. What you need to do is to just hand him over to me. If one day you become stronger and you are still alive, you can come back and reunite with him." Upon hearing this, Darren kept silent. He was hesitant with what the man was asking for.

"Don't tarry. Do you think that I will hurt him? If I hadn't taken action, the evil spirit in his body would have devoured him. You don't want your brother to die, do you?" The man looked at him seriously. "Well... You may be right. But with all due respect, I know nothing about you. I'd be a fool to let Aaron stay with you," Darren said straightforwardly. He was still worried.

"Fine, just forget it. You are such an indecisive man. How about this? I'll let you stay here with him for half a month. Then you can decide whether you want to take him away or let him stay," the man suggested impatiently.

Darren was overjoyed. He hurriedly cupped his hands and bowed in front of the man. "Thank you very much, sir. May I have your name?"

"You don't know my name? Haven't you heard of the name Lord Akbar?"

"Uh, no. I'm afraid I have not," Darren replied.

"What an ignorant man! Come with me!" Lord Akbar rolled his eyes and walked forwards.

Darren and the others followed him.

"Oh my God! It's him!" Lindsay looked giddy with excitement.

"You know him?" Darren asked.

"Of course!" Lindsay said proudly. "He has an extraordinary backstory, and his power is tremendous. My father would not have dared provoke him when he was alive." "Really? Did your father meet him?"

"No, but a friend of my father's, a low-level superior god, had met him."

"Did he fight with him? Who won?" Darren asked curiously.

"He did not dare fight against him. Lord Akbar cultivated a natural technique. It is very strange and powerful. My father's friend said that he had no confidence to go up against him, so he quietly retreated." "Oh, I see. He is indeed powerful. He even intimidates warriors who are at the low-level of the Superior God Realm," Darren nodded.

The path they were on confused Darren. If he had to go back and retrace his steps, he wouldn't be able to do it at all. The others felt the same way.

They kept walking. However, after passing through a narrow crack, everything around them suddenly changed. They found themselves in a place that was bright and sunny. Peach blossoms were all over the ground, and it was vastly different from the cloudy world they had just come from.

"T-this is... This is an amazing place, sir!" Darren gasped.

"Of course. You and your believers must behave yourselves. If you destroy my peach blossom forest, I will not spare you," Lord Akbar warned.

"Of course. We would never destroy such a beautiful peach blossom forest," Darren said, smiling.

After they passed through the peach blossom forest, a huge, majestic grassland appeared in front of them. A bright, clear stream flowed slowly down the middle of it. Everything felt fresh, calm, and serene, delighting the entire group.

"All right. Your subordinates can have a rest here. You, that young lad, and the ugly woman, come with me. I'll treat you to a drink,"

Lord Akbar said, pointing at Darren, Finley and Lindsay.

'I... I want to kill you, you bastard!' Lindsay cursed in her heart when she heard Lord Akbar call her an ugly woman.

"How dare you curse me? Well, you don't have to come with us. I was going to offer you an antidote to expel the poison on your face so you can recover your appearance. However, you clearly want nothing to do with me," Lord Akbar said, his tone impatient.

Lindsay's heart skipped a beat. She was surprised that Lord Akbar could read her mind. 'Does he really have any antidote to remove the poison in my body?' she thought.

"Ha! Sir, I don't dare to curse you. You've got me all wrong," Lindsay said, her voice sticky-sweet.

Both Finley and Darren trembled slightly when they heard Lindsay's voice. Her soft, sweet voice made goosebumps appear on their skin.

Even Lord Akbar got goosebumps. He hurriedly shook his head.

"All right. For your father's sake, I will help you," Lord Akbar said generously.

"Sir, did you know my father?" Lindsay's expression became serious.

"Ha! Is there anyone in this world I do not know? Ha-ha!" With that, Lord Akbar sped up and walked towards a cottage in the distance.

Darren and the others followed him, trying to keep up with his pace.

When they got to the cottage, the group looked around. It was furnished simply. An old table was placed in the middle of it. At the front of the room was a square groove with several smoking strips placed down the middle. On both sides of the groove, there were some words that Darren couldn't understand.

Lord Akbar smoothed his robe and sat down. Then, he waved his hand. A jar filled with fine wine materialized and floated over to the table.

"I have wine and some food."

Lord Akbar flicked his sleeve, and an array of purple dishes appeared on the table. The dishes were laden with food.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Sit down and have a drink. Do you want me to stand up and ask you to sit down?" Lord Akbar cast a glance at Darren and his companions.

Darren smirked as he and the others sat down.

"Pour me the wine." Darren took the jar in his hands and began pouring out the wine into cups for everyone at the table.

"Wow, it smells so good. I think I will get drunk just by smelling it." Lindsay's eyes lit up.

"Yes, it smells good." Darren felt that this wine was much more delicious than the one made by the Immortal Assimilating Bugs. "Darren, let's drink!" Lord Akbar said gleefully, raising his cup into the air.

"All right. Thank you for your hospitality, sir." Darren, Lindsay and Finley lifted their cups and downed the contents.

"Well, we have drunk the wine. It seems that we are sworn brothers now," Lord Akbar said slowly.

"What?!"

Darren spat out the wine all over Finley's face.

'Sworn brothers? What is he talking about?' Darren could hardly believe his ears.

"Well, don't you want to be my brother?" Lord Akbar's face darkened.

"I do not dare call myself your brother, sir." Darren was clearly at a loss.

Lord Akbar stood up and looked down at Darren. "Young man, it is not up to you to decide whether you will be my brother or not. You have drunk my wine. You are my elder brother from now on!" Darren was totally dumbfounded.☐☐☐☐☐☐