Reincarnated as a step-dad in a fantasy world

Chapter 195 : Departure (1)

'Finally!' Grace exclaimed directly in Alex's head.

'That was fast, were you really that bored?' Alex chuckled.

'You have no idea! Everyone here is busy training, and Candace is working, so I'm left alone!' Grace complained.

'You can also do some work, you know,' Alex shook his head.

'Nah, that's boring, and I'm no longer the chief here; you are!' Grace stated.

From the sound of her reply, Alex was certain that she was relieved to have passed the hot potato onto him. 

Alex could only chuckle.

'It's not like you were doing any work anyway; you passed everything to Candace'

'I won't deny that, but for my defense, I have to say that work is super boring!' Grace complained once again. 'So, how is my most cherished grandson doing?'

'I'm your only grandson,' Alex rolled his eyes.

'Yeah, sure thing, but just so you know, even if I had a gaggle of grandkids, you'd still top the list,' Grace said in an endearing tone.

'Because I'm the only one in the family with both the same hair and eye color as you?' Alex inquired as he slowed down his speed.

'I won't lie, you having the same characteristics as I do plays a significant role in why you're my favorite,' she admitted.

'Knew it'

'BUT! There are other reasons, like the fact that you're as mischievo - cough, cough - as sharp as I am, and many other things!'

'Right, I believe you, I'm your favorite one, though, I have to say, Amelia won't be happy to hear that,' Alex grinned.

'I-I never said such things!' Grace denied.

'"Even if I had a gaggles of grandkids, you'd still top the list", your words, not mine'

'N-No, I didn't mean it like that?!'

'So I'm not your favorite, huh? Well, I have to say, I'm quite disappointed,' Alex said, feigning a hurtful tone.

'N-No, that's not—Arg, don't twist my words, you brat,' Grace protested, her tone brimming with indignation.

Alex chortled and swiftly changed the subject.

'That's not why I reached out. I actually need your assistance,' Alex clarified, his tone shifting to a more serious note.

'Expected as much. What can I do for you?' Grace inquired, the previous playfulness of her voice having disappeared, replaced by a serious tone.

'Well, as you know....'

Alex explained the core of the situation to Grace and outlined what he needed her help with.

'You seem to be having a blast,' Grace remarked after hearing Alex's explanation. 'So, where are you exactly?'

Alex couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the forest, but he detailed the route they had taken to arrive there.

'I know where you are,' Grace said. 'I'll be there in an hour, and we can discuss how to proceed, but I'll only help you on one condition," Grace paused, her voice serious.

Alex raised a brow. Grace had never asked for anything when she usually helped him, so her request made him take her words more seriously.

'What is your condition?' he inquired.

'For the love of gods, get Viviane off my back! I love that sweeheart from the bottom of my heart, but her incessant asking for a spar is very tiring,' Grace pleaded, a hint of exasperation in her tone.

'Yeah, sounds like Viviane, right,' Alex chuckled. 'Alright, you have a deal.'

After that, Alex couldn't hear her voice anymore, indicating that she had likely removed her talisman.

Taking off his own talisman, Alex accelerated, his body becoming a blur as he raced through the mountain.

The more he traveled, the less darkness there was around him. Soon, Alex could perceive light.

'As I thought, there is a second entrance,' Alex decreased his speed as he finally arrived.

Before him, an entrance as large as the one on the side of the mountain.

Stepping out of the entrance, Alex observed the surroundings, a cautious expression on his handsome face.

Soon, he spotted what he had come here for: carriages.

The moment he learned from Anna that Stanis and Eric had emerged from the darkness, he theorized the existence of a second entrance and anticipated finding carriages there.

It was logical; the captives wouldn't be brought here on foot, as it would attract too much attention.

Unfortunately, there was nothing here besides the carriages and the horses they were attached to.

Alex had hoped for something valuable or at least some secrets, but even after checking with firm conviction that something was here, no secret door, treasure, or trap appeared, indicating there were no illusions present.

'Well, you can't be lucky every time,' Alex thought with a wry smile.

Since there was nothing interesting here, Alex didn't waste time. Creating fives smoke knight, he sent each of them towards a carriage.

'It had become tremendously easy to control them,' Alex smiled in satisfaction.

Before, he couldn't control more than five Smoke Knights, and even then, his control over the five Smoke Knights he could manage wasn't perfect. However, currently, controlling the Smoke Knights appeared to be no different from controlling a limb. It was as if they were extensions of his body.

Once again, it was probably thanks to the enhance to his mind.

Taking a carriage himself, Alex positioned the cloud of smoke containing Lilia and Cedrix at the rear of the carriage. With a firm hand on the reins, he guided the horse around the mountain.

He would have gladly retraced his steps, but that wasn't an option. The metallic door on the other side was sizable, but not nearly large enough for the carriages designed to accommodate dozens of people to pass through. Thus, he had no choice but to circumvent the mountain in order to return to the other side.

'Hopefully, Amelia and Anna have finished by then, so we can take off directly,' Alex mused, urging the horse to increase its speed.

Half an hour later, the procession of carriages, led by Alex and his knights, completed their circuit around the mountain and finally reached the entrance to the base on the other side.

Fortunately, they encountered no obstacles or attacks on the return journey, ensuring a swift and uneventful trip.

Before regrouping with Amelia and Anna, Alex stepped down from the carriage and made his way towards a nearby tree.

As he approached, he noticed the unconscious and battered body of Todd slumped against the trunk.

He walked up to the chubby man, lifted him by the collar, and threw him to the back of one of the carriages led by a knight, without regard to the man's obvious wounds.

Climbing back onto the carriage, he directed the convoy of carriages towards the forest in search of Anna and Amelia.

A few minutes later, Alex spotted a gathering of many people near the tree where they had been seated while observing the entrance to the base.

Seeing him approach, Amelia and Anna stepped forward to greet him.

'The masks are still present, which means that the distance at which I can control smoke has indeed increased,' Alex smiled in satisfaction.

"Are there still people left there?" Alex inquired as he stepped down from the carriage.

"Everyone is here," Anna answered.

"How about those who didn't want to sign the contract? Where are they?" Alex inquired.

"In the end, even they gave in and signed the contract," Amelia chuckled lightly.

"Well, coordinate those people to get on the carriages, and once that's done, get out of here," Alex ordered.

"What about you?" Anna asked, her expression stoic and cold as usual, though, Alex could sense the worry behind her facade.

Placing a reassuring hand on her head, Alex said, "you don't have to worry about this husband of yours, nothing bad will happen to me."

Anna lips curled into a smile and she nodded her head contentedly.

Glancing at his sister and noticing her expression, which seemed to say, "I also want to be patted!", Alex smiled and gently placed his hand on her head to pat her.

"Hehe..." Amelia giggled in response.

"Now, go and try to create as much distance as you can from the base," Alex ordered as he withdrew his hand from their heads.

As the duo went to instruct the former captives to get on the carriages, Anita approached Alex.

"Are you not coming with us?" She inquired in a soft tone.

"Checking on your future husband, I see," Alex teased.

Anita's cheeks flushed red, eliciting a grin from Alex.

"I will catch up with you; I just want to give our host one last gift," Alex said mysteriously.

"Huh?" The gorgeous Virax tilted her head in confusion.

"You will see, for now, go get on a carriage," Alex instructed her.

Anita shyly nodded her head and, like a dutiful wife following her husband's orders, she went to get on a carriage.

Meanwhile, Amelia and Anna were busy organizing the captives into five groups.

The two women assigned a coachman to each group, and then the getting on of the carriages began.

Fifteen minutes later...

"We are ready to depart," Amelia announced to Alex, who was calmly sitting on a tree branch while playing with a lighter.

Alex made an acknowledging sound. "Go on, I will catch up with you soon."

She nodded and went to board the carriage at the helm. Unlike the other carriages, this one only contained members of Alex's initial group, along with Anita and Maya.

The girls waved to Alex one last time and then the convoy departed.

"What do you think he has in mind?" Anna, who was sitting next to Amelia and serving as the coachman of their carriage, questioned as she glanced back in Alex's direction.

"Probably something nasty for Night," Amelia chuckled.

As she suspected, Alex was currently flooding the entire base of Night with a familiar green smoke.

With each passing second, the smoke around the base grew thicker.

"I really hope there's no one inside," Alex stood up from the branch he was sitting on.

He glanced back towards the convoy of carriages, analyzing if they were far enough to not be caught in the incoming explosion. Once he deemed that it was the case, Alex turned back to stare at the entrance of the mountain, which was already flooded in smoke and grinned.

"Here we go," Alex tossed the lighter he had been playing with.

The instant the lighter came into contact with the smoke.

BOOOMMM!