The guards who arrived found nothing, but it's not to say they had no gains at all. At least they arrested those participating in the gladiator arena, as well as the relevant staff, and took them to the guard post.

The audience could resolve the issue with just a fine, whereas the staff would need to serve a few years in prison.

The laws in Milante Kingdom are quite strict in this regard.

The masked man leading them was nowhere to be seen, and his capture was left to the Kingdom Knights.

Dio and Griffith believed the other party's action was not to take their lives but simply to take their blood. What was the purpose?

After some speculation, the two suspected it might be an attempt to control their bodies.

Everyone knew that graduating with top honors from the Milante Noble Academy made it highly likely to join the Kingdom Knights.

That is the knight order directly under the King, where the probability of meeting the King, Duke, and other prominent figures is very high.

If the enemy had such considerations, the two were already prepared, which was that upon graduation, they would not choose to join the Kingdom Knights but instead opt to go to the most peripheral troop.

As long as their status was low enough, no one could use them to harm the royal family or Milante Kingdom.

Although Dio was reluctant to be ordinary, he was even more unwilling to be controlled by others.

Rather than becoming someone powerful and influential under others' control, he preferred to voluntarily make himself an unremarkable person.

A person who cannot even control his own life, no matter how much power he holds, it is all false, like clouds in the sky, dispersed at the slightest wind.

...

In the blink of an eye, the seasons changed.

Novia Town on the border of Milante Kingdom.

Aside from the functions all cities have, if we solely discuss natural scenery, Windham cannot compare to Novia Town.

The mountains stretch endlessly, the peaks rise one after another, and the dense vegetation houses many animals.

The town's residents, relying solely on hunting, can enjoy having meat in every meal like in Windham. However, in such a place, getting a bite of vegetables or fruits is not easy.

"Ah!"

Dio stretched lazily under the tree, having graduated from the Milante Noble Academy three years ago.

In these three years, he had been serving as a squad leader in the Border Defense Troop.

He was stationed very close to where Griffith was, and together, their subordinates numbered a full ten people.

The area under their jurisdiction was Novia Town, with a population of no more than two hundred.

Such a mundane life had made him unaware of any anomalies in the past three years.

But would things continue to be so ordinary?

Dio faintly felt discontent and even had thoughts of defecting to a neighboring country.

However, there were still no clues about the Treasure User from the gladiator arena, as if disappearing out of thin air from Milante Kingdom.

Looking at the blue sky, Dio spat out the grass in his mouth, no longer napping, as he got up and headed towards the town.

A subordinate rushed towards him, about in his early thirties, wearing very light armor with front and back plates.

If a real battle broke out, such armor offered no protection.

The enemy wouldn't be foolish, they'd aim for the legs or neck, which is much better than attacking the front armor.

But for a border town like this, such defenses were considered decent enough.

After all, between Novia Town and the Aithelrya Kingdom lies the Orien Mountain Range, and the rugged mountain road is difficult for large armies to pass through.

If the enemy seriously wanted to invade Milante from here, a million-strong army might be reduced to just a few thousand after crossing the Orien Mountain Range.

Though the description might be exaggerated, it does illustrate how treacherous the terrain of the Orien Mountain Range is.

Their stationing here was mostly for managing the town's public order, preventing brawls, theft, murder, and such incidents.

"Dani, why are you in such a hurry?"

Dio asked casually.

Stopping, Dani, filled with excitement, replied: "Captain Dio, a circus has arrived in our town. They said they're going to start performing here tomorrow night and are negotiating to rent the open space at the town's entrance.

You should go and take a look."

"A circus?"

Dio was quite surprised.

Novia Town was a backwater place, where only fur merchants visited throughout the year.

A high-class entertainment like a circus wasn't supposed to show up in Novia Town.

If they wanted to conduct smuggling under the cover of a circus, this wouldn't be their route.

Dio and Dani returned to the town together.

He saw that at the town entrance, circus members were already unloading their luggage.

The number of people was quite high.

With a cursory glance, the circus was of a considerable scale, having dozens of people, along with elephants, lions, and bears for performances all caged in iron.

Almost the entire town had gathered there to watch.

The circus leader was a man with a round figure and face, wearing a tall hat and dressed in a clown suit, looking very amiable.

"You must be the captain stationed in Novia Town. My name is Keo. I'm delighted to perform in Novia Town.

Here are two tickets; I hope you and your partner can come to see tomorrow night's show."

Dio accepted the tickets, though he had no partner.

Although many women in town secretly admired him, their appearances were really too lacking.

Dio didn't care at all.

He decided to invite Griffith from next door to watch the circus performance together.

"Novia is a small town. I wonder why the troupe leader chose to perform here?"

"Hehe, Captain, you're not the first one to ask me this. I run a circus not for money, but to spread joy to others.

My dream is to travel to every place in the Eastern Continent and spread happiness."

Keo smiled warmly, his rounded cheeks revealing a trace of sanctity in that moment.

Hearing this, Dio said nothing more.

Besides this reason, he couldn't think of any benefit to performing in this border town.

Everyone has their own aspirations.

...

The next evening.

Night had descended over Novia Town, the stars sparkling so brightly that the moon's glow seemed dim.

The circus had already set up their stage and related areas.

Not only the people of Novia Town, but even those from neighboring towns were stirred by the circus, and almost everyone came to watch.

After all, the ticket prices for Keo's Circus were quite reasonable, costing less than ten copper coins.

Such a price in the Milante Kingdom, even for a family in this border town, was something they could afford if they tried hard enough.

It's rare for Novia Town to have a circus performance, likely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Most villagers didn't want to miss it.

Inside the large tent set up by the circus, the lights flickered; Dio and Griffith sat in the front row on the east side.

Before them was a simple fence, which separated them from the performance area within the circus.

"Hasn't the show started yet?" "I wonder what performances there will be, so exciting." "I heard someone can breathe fire." "I really want to see the lion jump through the fire ring."

The audience chatted amongst themselves.

Griffith was quite enjoying the atmosphere; he was neither obsessed with power nor status, and had no issues with an ordinary life.

At this moment, a bell rang, and a blond man in a black suit and top hat emerged from behind the curtain.

"Welcome to Keo's Circus performance."

He took off his top hat and bowed to everyone present, then from inside the hat, a flock of white pigeons flew out.

"Oh!"

Children and parents at the scene expressed their amazement.

The blond man put the hat back on, smiling, "Watch closely everyone, now I'll perform a grand illusion!"

As he spoke, a person dressed as a clown came bouncing over and handed him an enormous paintbrush.

The blond man hummed a song as he moved comically and amusingly, using the paintbrush to draw a pentagram on the ground, then a circle outside it, adding various strange symbols.

Neither Griffith nor Dio understood the pattern; let alone the residents present, they only stared curiously at the ground.

The blond man finished painting the final stroke and smiled, "Now is the time to witness the miracle; please don't blink or be afraid."

After speaking, he took out a short knife and slashed his palm, letting a mass of blood drip to the ground.

The horrifying amount of blood made Dio and Griffith instinctively think it was fake; how could anyone bleed so much from a palm cut?

But as the blood hit the ground, the performer visibly withered like a mummy.

"Ah! What's happening to him?" "So scary!" "It must be fake."

The blood absorbed by the magic circle on the ground caused it to emit an eerie red glow.

Dio and Griffith felt a sense of unease; was this really fake?

The two exchanged a glance, uncertain of what was happening.

According to books, only Angel Envoys can draw magic circles with power.

When normal people draw magic circles, they're just shapes.

Was that person an Angel Envoy?

The bloody glow on the ground flashed, and an old acquaintance familiar to both appeared there.

After years apart, the other was dressed as before, shrouded in a black cloak and wearing a bronze mask.

"Long time no see, Dio, Griffith."

Tas greeted them as if they were old friends, his eyes twinkling with excitement.

He had planned for years, finally gathering the materials the Dread Emperor needed for a magic circle, and waiting for the right time.

"Tonight, under the rare blood moon, it's time for you to awaken."

"Everyone, run!"

Griffith shouted, drawing the sword from his waist.

This guy... After a brief hesitation, Dio drew his sword too, not out of a strong desire to protect the townspeople, but knowing that the opponent, having planned for years, would not let them leave easily.

If both options lead to death, better to fight back.

Like leopards, the pair charged towards Tas, intending to engage in close combat.

Tas smiled, raising his hands high, and suddenly the ground released a burst of bloody light!