Way of the Knights

Chapter 751

The old man looked weak. It's as if even the slightest wind will topple him over. His back was slightly curved and he supported himself with a cane. 

He wore a dirty gray robes, torn up pants and wooden slippers. He has a few missing teeth and he's all wrinkly. 

At least at the surface, this is what he looks like. In the eyes of the twins though the old man's so much more that that…

'Monster…' is what Nina and Tori thought. 

They can't see but it doesn't mean they can't feel it. The old man was a monster. What little aura he was leaking was enough to cause the twins to shiver on the spot and start sweating. 

"It's dangerous out here, Old Man." One of their teammates said. Causing the twins to panic. 

"That's true! Are you here by yourself?" 

"Are you lost? Let us help you." 

"Guys-!" Norman called out but none of them were listening to him. 

They watched as the three approached the old man who was still smiling. The old man lifted a foot and suddenly vanishes. Everyone was confused, the three people who were approaching the old man was surprised when he vanished, meanwhile the twins were frozen, most like in fear.

…the old man was standing right in front of them. They didn't even manage to react when he moved. 

"My, my. What do we have here…?" The Old Man chuckled as he gave the twins a knowing look. 

The old tapped his cane on ground, sending a weak pulse. However, that pulse was strong enough to knock the others unconscious. 

"Oh my god!" Tobi was stunned as he watched his friends topple over like sack of potatoes. He instinctively rushed towards Norman's side, trying to seek comfort but the latter was trembling in fear too. 

"Senior, please explain yourself." Norman tried for a diplomatic approach. "I don't recall us doing anything that would warrant such aggressiveness from you." 

" 'Aggressiveness' " The old man raised a brow as he looked at the fainted people. "You call this aggressiveness? I meanly knocked them unconscious. Want me to display what true 'aggressiveness' is?" 

"No thank you!" Tobi hurriedly replied, "What do you want, Old Man? Why are you doings this?" 

"Oh well, nothing much." The old man shrugged, "I just wanted to have some fun! I mean, it's been a while since I've met such pretty girls…"

Nina and Tori shivered. Their expression turned solemn as they gripped their weapons ever tighter. 

"What are you talking about, Old Man? Can't you see these bulging muscles? How can you mistake me for a woman?" Tori flexed a bit and showed off. 

Meanwhile, Nina fought the urge to not roll her eyes. Tori was so defensive that her words pretty much just confirmed that the old man's guesses were true. 

"Impressive." The old man nodded, still smiling. "A nice and delicate looking arm, you have such a fair skin too. That violet gown looks impressive as well, say you two much be some sort of a princess, yeah? A noble at least, judging by how you carried yourselves."

His vivid description was the last nail in the coffin. Now, there's no doubt in their minds that this old man can truly see through their disguise. 

"Yes, kind of." Nina sighed, Tori gave her a look of disbelief but she only shrugged: "What? There's no use on lying to him anymore. We might as well cooperate, he has our friends as his hostage."

Tori can only sigh in defeat. Well so much for keeping a low profile. Now they're in deep shit. 

"What are your names, Ladies?" The old man asked. 

"I'm Victoria, this is my twin sister Venina. Since you can see through our disguise, we might as well keep it on. We have our own reasons for doing so, please understand." 

"Oh! I see. Very well. That's not a problem." The old man grinned. 

He then moved and tapped his cane once more, getting the unconscious people as well as the fallen demonic beast up in the air. He beckoned his hand, placing the unconscious men on one side and the fallen beast on the other. 

The old man snapped a finger and instantly, the demonic beast erupted into flames. Nina and Tori were shocked, the white flames radiated such immense heat that it reduced the beast into ashes within a second. 

Then, they saw that not everything was burned by the flames. The essence of beast remained untouched. Instead, it was refined into five black pills which emanated a rich medicinal smell. 

"Here, candies." The old man chuckled, "A small token of apology for frightening you Young Ladies." The old man took a jade bottle and kept the pills in them, handing it over to the twins. 

Nina's eyes were shaking as she received the bottle of pills. She looked incredulously at the old man and muttered:

"Peerless Alchemy!" 

"Wait, what!?" Tori was dumbfounded. 

"He didn't use a cauldron, just an alchemical flame and exquisite control. All pills are at 100% purity. Not even those smelly old men at the Empire can achieve such feat!" Nina was trembling in excitement. 

It was obvious that she was at awe from the Old Man's display of skill just now. Nina herself is an alchemist, she was renowned young genius back at the empire but her meager skills were nothing in front of this old man. 

"Who are you, Old Man?" Tori became really curious and suspicious about the old man's identity. She isn't a fan of alchemy but it doesn't mean she's ignorant about the craft. She knows a thing or two because she is Nina's sister. 

An Alchemist would be treated generously wherever he's placed amongst the Empire, not to mention someone of his caliber, he's enough to threaten the positions of the Alchemy Kings but he's out here in the wilds, why? 

"Who I am isn't really important for now." The old man chuckled, "I approached the two of you because I have an offer." 

"What kind of offer?" Nina asked. 

"I need some body guards." The old man stated, "There is a certain ingredient I need but I can't go there personally. I need someone to fetch it for me. I can see that you two are skilled and I want to hire you. Sounds simple right?" 

The twins found this offer extremely suspicious. They can tell that this old man was up to something, what it is though was the question. 

Nina and Tori shared a look. The former then asked: "Can we discuss it amongst ourselves first?" 

"Sure." The old man nodded. 

The twins them stared at the old man. That lasted until Tori said: "We meant all five of us." 

"Ah! No." The old man chuckled and refused firmly. "These three aren't included in my offer, they will stay me throughout this trip as a…contingency…yes. So go on, discuss it amongst yourselves." 

Nina and Tori deadpanned at the old man. How is that no different from forcing them to agree? The twins looked at each other and sighed. Nina then asked:

"We'll participate if you make an oath which guarantee our safety by the end of this. I meant all five of us."

"Hoh! And here I thought you'd be asking for an extravagant price." He chuckled, "Well, sure. I can do that." 

The old man then sworn an oath in front of them. The oath he pledge was thorough and didn't have any loopholes. It guaranteed that all of them will be returned back home safe and secured by the end of this mission. 

After the Old Man sworn and oath, the twins signed a contract with the old man. Once the contract was established, the Old Man kept the three unconscious men inside a safe space and three of them began their journey. 

"So, where are we going Old Man?" Tori asked. 

"South." He replied plainly, "We are after a rather elusive ingredient which will serve as a great primer." 

"How far away are we from this ingredient?" Nina asked.

"Very far." The old man chuckled, "Our destination is the South Pole." action

"South Pole!" The twins exclaimed. They looked at each other, faced laced with wonder and little bit of alarm. 

They've heard about that place but they've never explored that far. This will be the first time that they will be going there so they feel a bit excited. They wanted to travel the world after all, unfortunately there's bound to be some dangers around, and the two of them aren't confident if they can survive in such a harsh setting. 

"I can tell that you're worried." The old man chuckled, "But I did make an oath remember? Don't worry, I won't let any of you die." 

Nina and Tori sighed, at least they have that going for the both of them. 

On their way though, the suddenly felt strong tremors beneath them. The twins were alarmed by they saw the old man completely unbothered. They then heard a loud roar and a hulking beast suddenly appeared right before them. 

Tori was alarmed, she then shouted at the old man: "Oi, Old Man. Do something about that!"

"Why?" The old man tilted his head in confusion. 

"That's why!?" Tori yelled as she pointed at the beast who started rampaging. 

"But…you aren't dying though? So why should I?" 

"Oh my fucking…"