A few moments earlier, Maxwell and the mercenary woman were locked in combat. Maxwell’s longsword gave him the advantage, and his precise strikes forced the woman to retreat. However, she had a gift: the ability to appear and disappear within the shadows. Using this skill, she managed to land quick thrusts at Maxwell’s sides. Though he regenerated instantly, he instinctively protected his heart.

  —So, you’re the one I have to kill —said the woman with a mocking smile—. How lucky! Now the 500,000 thalers will be mine and my father’s. Though it’s a shame to kill a man as handsome as you.

  —Thanks for the compliments —replied Maxwell, pointing his sword at her face—, but I’m not going to die so easily.

  The woman wasn’t particularly strong, but she was extremely skilled. She had noticed that Maxwell was holding back, not yet unleashing his full potential in the fight. His stamina remained intact, and she was starting to grow desperate. Her target was within reach, but she couldn’t do anything. Every time she tried to attack, Maxwell blocked her movements with precision. Though she appeared and disappeared within the shadows, Maxwell was already anticipating her attacks.

  —Hey, sweetheart —said Maxwell in a teasing tone—, be a good girl and surrender. Haven’t you noticed it’s nighttime, and it’s easy to see where the shadows are? Besides, to attack me, you need to be close, right? It’s easy to predict your moves. But enough of this. Let’s end this fight once and for all.

  Maxwell began breaking every light in the train car, leaving only one intact. The woman had no choice but to flee, but her gift worked against her. She appeared in the only spot where there was still light.

  —From what I could see —continued Maxwell—, you move along the boundaries between light and darkness. You appear and disappear in places with light and shadow, but you’d never use your gift in total darkness, would you? You’d be trapped in limbo until light returns. You’re not the only one who’s had this kind of power. One of your ancestors also possessed it, and it’s recorded in history books. That’s how I figured it out.

  After saying this, Maxwell attacked swiftly, disarming the woman and knocking her to the ground. He grabbed her arms, tossed her dagaside, and pulled out a common tool among Hirica’s warriors: a magical device resembling a stamping machine. This artifact placed a seal that temporarily disabled the powers of the Gifted. Maxwell applied it to the woman’s neck, where her skin was exposed.

  —Now you can’t escape —said Maxwell—. It was either this or kill you, and I don’t want to kill someone as beautiful as you.

  He tied her up and took her with him to prevent her from escaping. When he met up with Axel, who had already finished his fight, he noticed the woman screaming in desperation, pleading for the life of the dwarf warrior.

  A few minutes later, the dwarf and the woman were tied up near a window on the moving train.

  —Alright, now talk, dwarf —said Maxwell, placing his sword at the woman’s throat—. If you don’t want me to slit your daughter’s throat, tell us: who hired you?

  —Dwarf warrior, what happened to your honor? —asked Axel, still holding the emergency axe—. I thought your kind only served your country and your king.

  —My name is Durok —replied the dwarf in a grave voice—. You can’t live on honor alone; you have to eat somehow. In the past, I was falsely accused of something I didn’t do and was exiled from my country. I wandered aimlessly, surviving as best I could, until I found them: two orphaned girls from the Blue Dragon Empire, Peach and Cherry. I raised them and taught them how to fight and defend themselves. I’ve already lost Cherry; now all I have left is Peach, the younger of the two. Fine, warrior of Hirica, you’ve won.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Durok revealed that the mastermind behind everything was Dmitriy Popovich, the Empire’s Minister of Public Security. His plan was simple: provoke an armed conflict with Hirica to seize their advanced technology. However, the dwarf wasn’t sure of the details. All he knew was that a hooded man, resembling the minister’s secretary, had appeared at their base of operations with a large sum of money and tasked them with killing one of Hirica’s military personnel.

  —To be honest —continued Durok—, we didn’t know which of you we were supposed to kill. The contractor told us, “You can kill them all, but only one is worth 500,000 thalers. The one with regeneration powers is the target.”

  —I have one more question —said Axel—. How did you suddenly appear on the train?

  —We were brought here by a flying machine, similar to a dirigible —answered Peach, the mercenary woman—. We jumped and landed through the train windows. Nothing out of this world.

  In fact, many of those machines were used to transport the mercenaries. The train’s security agents captured and chained the remaining mercenaries who were still on the floor, waiting for the train to reach a station before Laika. All of them were handed over to the authorities, including the body of the puppeteer mage. However, the dwarf and his daughter were never turned in.

  —Are you sure about this, Axel? —asked Maxwell—. The dwarf might come back to attack us. We shouldn’t have let them go.

  —I don’t think anything will happen —replied Axel—. After all, they owe us their lives. Losing a life-or-death battle and then being spared is a total disgrace for them. Dwarves have a basic code of honor, but they stick to it. They promised not to bother us again, and they owe us a favor we can cash in later. I assume Peach, having been raised by Durok, follows the same rules.

  Axel paused and added:

  —By the way, there’s a mole within Hirica’s government leaking information. We need to find out who it is, but we’ll leave that for another time.

  Shortly after the interrogation, Axel and Maxwell went to check on Eustace and Gunter, who still couldn’t move after their fight. They found them in a train car full of children, who were painting their faces. The scene was so absurd that Axel and Maxwell couldn’t help but laugh.

  —Looks like they had more fun than we did —said Maxwell, chuckling.

  Meanwhile, in a military office within the Empire, Dmitriy Popovich, a bald, middle-aged man with thick glasses, was reading a book. Behind him stood an elven woman with a fake smile. Beside her was another woman, pale and with deep dark circles under her eyes.

  —Well, baldy —said the elven woman—, it seems your men failed their mission. What are you going to do about it?

  —Lady Priscila, I beg your forgiveness —replied Popovich, nervously—. I’ll hire more mercenaries if necessary.

  —No! —interrupted the pale woman—. That won’t be necessary.

  Popovich looked at her curiously.

  —And who is she? —he asked.

  —She’s my companion —answered Priscila—. She’s very competent and even more terrifying than I am, but she’s loyal to the goddess Galatea. She wants to speak with you.

  —As Priscila said —continued the pale woman—, I am a servant of Galatea, just like her. I’ve come here in person to judge you and see if it’s worth helping you become emperor. And, you know what? You passed the test. I’ll tell the goddess to help you achieve your dream.

  —Let’s go, Priscila —said the pale woman—. We have much to discuss.

  Both women disappeared in a curtain of smoke.

  In Galatea’s underground temple, Priscila knelt before her goddess.

  —My lady, I know your orders are absolute, but I’m curious: why did you approve of the baldy?

  —Isn’t it obvious? —replied Galatea with a malicious smile—. His mind is simple and easily manipulated. With him, we could control the Empire’s resources. By the way, Priscila, what did you see with our insect and spider spies? What happened to our puppeteer mage?

  The puppeteer mage, Oscar Palmer, was a sadistic being from the Empire whose sole purpose was to entertain himself in combat and kill civilians. Sometimes he took “trophies,” such as the corpses of children after winning a battle, and turned them into battle puppets. He was a loyal servant of Galatea who had infiltrated the train as a mercenary.

  Galatea frowned with intrigue after hearing Priscila’s report.

  —That Axel fellow seems like an ordinary guy —she murmured—. Why is the Princess of Babel so interested in him?