Chapter 43: Iron Gate Fortress
It was pure dishonesty to say he didn’t enjoy his time in the clan. Kage relished it—and the boons he received.
He studied the badge in his hand, a silly expression crossing his face.
’Who would’ve thought I’d become the richest teenager on the entire continent?’
Kage wasn’t sure about the West, but here in the East, he could beat his chest and declare himself the wealthiest. And that wealth would only grow from here.
He sighed and leaned back into the seat of the Automated Carrier while the two Iron Knights drove in utter silence.
An hour had passed since they’d left Stormbreak Citadel—home to the massive main clan—and they’d been tearing through the rocky terrain at unhinged speed.
This Carrier was a Series IV Sovereign model. It had space enough to fit six people who didn’t even have to sit close to each other. The tires were 1.8 meters in diameter, crushing through the uneven terrain without effort.
The sound was subtle, but each time the speed picked up, the Carrier let out an intimidating growl—like a snarling beast.
It could be considered a beast, really. An even larger, more daunting formation of reinforced metal than what had collected him at the Middlepass.
Kage pulled out a book and began to read. The cover bore the title: The Scroll of Rejected Disciples.
After another hour, the Carrier finally stopped.
Protective guards in lesser model carriers trailed behind them. As soon as they halted, Kage’s door opened.
He was receiving top-level honorary treatment despite being a bastard, but it felt slightly uncomfortable. He’d only ridden in a Carrier once in his past life—all the money he’d earned had been too precious to waste on such a muscular scrap of metal.
Plus, now he was traveling with an entourage.
But Kage wore a rather disgusted look. The more this went on, the more he realized how deep these clans’ sins ran. If they continued like this, he really might consider destroying them a second time.
[The Heretic Inquisitor of Eternal Truth laughs at you and shakes his head]
As Kage stepped down from the Carrier, a knight lowered his head.
"We’ve arrived at the Iron Gate Fortress."
Kage sighed as he looked up at the colossal black metal wall that rose and cast a vast shadow across the entire mountain pass—even though it was still early afternoon. It made things look like a storm was approaching. Or like one was approaching a storm.
Granted, that storm was Kazuto, heir of the Ironstorm clan. Iron Gate Fortress marked the official boundary between the Highland Domains—where Stormbreak stood—and the Central Heartlands, which they’d have to cross to reach Pearl Harbor and leave for the Mistral Archipelago.
Iron Gate was a strategic checkpoint where they collected toll fee, inspected people’s identity and travel papers.
Right now, the gate of the massive iron wall was crowded. Traffic clogged the entrance—Carriers and Caravans of lesser models, and beast-pulled wagons carved with strong metals, though none intimate enough to match the massive tires of this Sovereign Series IV Carrier.
Kage cared little about bragging. He was escorted forward, walking through the rough terrain, guarded on all sides by knights in silver armor bearing white halberds.
They reached the gate, and immediately upon seeing him, the Iron Wardens bowed in deep respect. They might not recognize the clan’s bastard, but the deep grey and black hanfu he wore—with the sash bearing the clan’s sigil—was enough for them to know this was a direct descendant.
The sigil was the same one the Master of this Iron Gate wore.
Kage was ushered into the fortress while the knights who’d escorted him retreated to Stormbreak.
Inside the fortress sprawled a vast network of mountain roads. There were a few massive structures, but all of them paled beside the fortress whose seven spires seemed to pierce the sky.
Soon, Kage reached the Iron Gate Fortress proper and was shown to a room by servants, where he freshened up.
The building style within the Fortress differed from Ironstorm’s. The bathroom was inside the main room, which Kage found very weird. What if he had a visitor and he was pooping?
He wasn’t going to entertain an extensive thought process about... poop, so he simply sank into the narrow bathtub and continued reading The Scroll of Rejected Disciples.
The book had hooked him from the very beginning—and this was certainly not the seventh time he’d read it across two lifetimes.
The Scroll of Rejected Disciples wasn’t written by anyone in particular. It was a collection of letters gathered by an Archivist named Wei Brightquill.
Kage didn’t know—and hadn’t been able to confirm—if the letters were genuine. But the point was, they were all written by different people who’d been rejected in life due to talentlessness, inadequacy, poverty. The reasons varied, and Kage certainly wasn’t reading it because he related to how they felt.
Each of these people had turned their lives around after rejection. But what about people like him, who was rejected for being talentless, died talentless, and even regressed still talentless?
’I have twelve ancient humans, though, who are willing to do absolutely nothing about my predicament. That works for a note of difference, I guess.’
[The Wolf of the North feels praised.]
Kage frowned slightly, then continued reading. It was remarkably pleasant to sit in a pool of water and just read—he’d recommend it to any scholar he met in the future.
A few minutes later, his peace was interrupted by a knock on the main door. He finally stepped out of the bathroom and went to answer it, only to find no one there.
This made Kage frown—until he heard a tiny voice yell:
"Down here!"
Kage slowly lowered his gaze to see an impossibly cute little girl.
She had soft, layered white hair tipped in pale green, giving her a lively, spring-like appearance. Her eyes were slit and bright, glowing in shades of yellow and turquoise. She studied Kage with curious thoughtfulness.
"Are you... supposed to be my uncle?"
Kage looked down with strange confusion. This level of cuteness was deeply unsettling to him. He responded hesitantly.
"I... guess? What’s your name?"
"Aira. What about you?"
Kage smiled.
"I’m Kage."
The girl smiled back, making the rare colors of her eyes radiate with beautiful light.
"Uncle Kage, mother asked me to invite you for lunch with the family."
Kage was confused again.
"Lunch... the family has lunch together?"
Aira stood with arms akimbo, giving Kage a stern look, her ethereal eyes blazing.
"Listen!"
Kage nearly jolted back at the yell, stunned by the girl’s sudden seriousness.
"Mama says—and always says—it’s important for a family to dine together! Division starts by eating at different tables. A family that dines together, stays together!"
She pointed at Kage’s face.
"You’re Papa’s brother, so you’re family! Even though Elder Brother Kazan says you’re weak and useless... you’re still family, okay?"
Kage forced the corners of his lips upward, closing his eyes to suppress his petty indignation.
"Sure, sure. I must thank this Kazan."
The girl studied him for a long moment.
"Elder Brother Kazan is strong."
Then her expression turned disappointed.
"But arrogant."
Kage chuckled.
"I see. Well, give me a moment to dress properly. I’ll be with you shortly."
She exhaled and nodded before running off with tender steps, yelling back:
"Don’t take too long like Mama whenever we’re going to Goldenheart!"
Kage watched her disappear into the light of the vast hallway, a small smile lingering on his lips.
Then he muttered:
"I never knew eldest brother had kids..."