Free Web NovelChapter 32: Ambushing a Grumpy Cat Isn’t a Very Good Idea (1)
The field exam had started only a few hours ago.
And surprisingly...
Everything was going well.
Which was suspicious.
Very suspicious.
Kael walked along a forest path while looking at the map the teacher had given them.
"I don’t like this."
Aurelion was sitting on a rock that clearly hadn’t been there five seconds earlier.
"What thing?"
"Everything."
"The mission is easy."
"Nothing has exploded."
"No one is trying to kill us."
"Darius has only argued three times."
Darius raised a finger.
"Four."
Kael sighed.
"We just reached four.
Thanks for proving my point...
This is like the calm scenes that happen before something... epic."
Seraphina walked silently beside them.
As always.
And as always...
The Little Fat King was being carried by Kael.
Because apparently walking was for poor people.
And for Luna and Kael.
Not for kings.
"Meow."
"No.
I’m not buying you fish."
"Meow."
"You just had breakfast."
"Meow."
"That doesn’t count as an argument either."
Aurelion smiled.
"Your relationship is fascinating."
"Our relationship is constant extortion."
"Still fascinating."
Darius crossed his arms.
"I don’t understand how that thing is still alive."
The cat opened one eye.
Darius fell silent.
"Correction.
I understand perfectly."
They kept walking, and Seraphina took out some extremely luxurious fish and handed it to the cat.
Kael sighed tiredly as he watched the cat gloat while eating.
"Seraphina, please don’t spoil him, or he won’t do anything until he gets more."
The mission seemed simple.
Explore an ancient forest area.
Record monster activity.
Eliminate minor threats.
Return.
Nothing complicated.
Nothing dangerous.
Nothing suspicious.
Precisely because of that, Kael was nervous.
Because every time something seemed normal...
It ended up being a catastrophe.
And unfortunately, he was right.
---
Several kilometers away.
Among the shadows of the forest.
A group watched.
Dressed in dark robes.
Golden symbols.
White masks.
The Church of Order.
The inquisitors remained motionless while studying a viewing crystal.
In it appeared Kael.
And also the Fat King.
One of the men spoke.
"Confirmed.
It’s the creature."
Another nodded.
"The mountain.
The Abyssal Beast.
The dungeon.
Everything points to the same entity."
A third watched the images.
"And the boy?"
"Irrelevant.
He’s just the bearer."
The highest-ranking inquisitor remained silent.
Then he spoke.
"Probability of capture?"
"Eighty-three percent."
"Expected casualties?"
"Acceptable."
"Risk?"
"High."
The man nodded.
"Proceed."
---
Meanwhile.
Elsewhere in the forest.
A red-haired man watched the same scene.
And he was crying.
Literally.
"No one remembers who I am..."
Malrik Von Tempest.
Scourge of the Seven Frontiers.
Terror of the Crackling of 1164.
Destroyer of Lesser Realms.
Bearer of the Crimson Storm.
And forty-seven other titles that no one remembered.
He sighed dramatically.
"Everything was easier when I destroyed villages."
An inquisitor looked at him.
"Are you ready?"
"I’m always ready."
"Do you know the objective?"
"Of course.
Capture the cat.
And then force everyone to remember my name."
The inquisitor decided to ignore the second part.
"Just capture the creature, please."
"Understood."
Malrik smiled.
This was his chance.
His glorious return.
His big moment.
His legend would be reborn.
Probably.
Maybe.
With luck.
---
Back with Kael.
Something began to feel strange.
Very strange.
The forest was too quiet.
No birds.
No insects.
No monsters.
Nothing.
Kael frowned.
"Do you hear that?"
Aurelion looked around.
"Hear what?"
"Exactly."
Darius also seemed to notice.
"I don’t like that."
Seraphina nodded.
"There’s someone nearby."
Everyone stopped.
The atmosphere changed.
The feeling was uncomfortable.
Heavy.
As if they were being watched.
Then it happened.
BOOOOOM.
An explosion shook the forest.
Whole trees flew through the air.
The ground trembled.
And hooded figures appeared from all directions.
"An ambush!"
"I can see that!"
Kael jumped back as a chain of light struck where he had been a second before.
Aurelion summoned the Celestial Mirage.
Seraphina created multiple ice lances.
Darius called his creature.
And for the first time...
The attackers completely ignored Kael.
Ignored Seraphina.
Ignored Aurelion.
Ignored Darius.
Everyone was looking at the same target.
The Fat King.
Kael blinked.
"What?"
Another attack descended directly on the cat.
The Fat King dodged it half-heartedly.
"Meow."
"Are they ignoring us?"
Aurelion also looked confused. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
"I think so."
"That’s offensive."
"A little."
The leader of the inquisitors raised a hand.
"Capture the anomaly.
Avoid unnecessary damage to the bearer."
Silence.
Kael pointed at his own face.
"Bearer?
Are they talking about me?"
No one answered.
"How rude."
The chains of light appeared again.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Heading solely toward the cat.
And then everyone understood.
They didn’t want to kill Kael.
They didn’t want to defeat them.
They wanted to capture the Fat King.
Aurelion’s eyes widened.
"Oh.
That’s a terrible idea."
"Very much."
Darius nodded.
"Surprisingly, I agree."
The Fat King looked at the chains.
Then at Kael.
Then back at the chains.
And simply...
Lay down.
"Now?
You decide to sleep now?
Really?"
"Meow."
"Excellent argument."
The chains descended.
And surprisingly this time,
they achieved something.
A magical barrier appeared around the cat.
An enormous luminous prison.
The Fat King opened one eye.
Looked at the barrier.
Hit it once.
It didn’t break.
"It worked?"
"I think it worked."
"I don’t like that it worked."
The inquisitors began to move.
Quickly.
Coordinated.
Prepared.
As if they had been planning this for months.
Because they probably had.
Kael ran toward the prison.
"Hey!
That cat is mine!"
Aurelion corrected him.
"Technically, no."
"This is not the time for technicalities."
Seraphina appeared beside him.
"They’re going to take him."
For some reason,
that made Kael feel something strange.
Not fear.
Not exactly.
Annoyance.
He could complain about the cat.
He could argue with him.
He could be ignored by him.
But someone else trying to take him away...
That was different.
Very different.
"No.
That’s not going to happen."
The inquisitor leader looked at the group.
"We seek no conflict.
Only the creature."
"And if we say no?"
"Then there will be conflict."
"Ah.
That makes sense."
Malrik appeared dramatically on a rock.
"TREMBLE BEFORE MY PRESENCE!"
Everyone looked at him.
Silence.
Aurelion tilted his head.
"Who was this guy again?"
Malrik took emotional damage.
Again.
"MALRIK VON TEMPEST!"
"Ah.
Still no idea who you are."
"AAAAARGH!"
Even in the middle of the tension,
Kael almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
---
The inquisitors began to retreat.
Taking the magical prison.
Taking the cat.
Everything was happening too fast.
Too organized.
Too clean.
As if they had calculated exactly how to avoid a direct fight.
And then.
For the first time.
The Fat King stopped looking bored.
Inside the prison.
He opened both eyes.
Completely.
He looked at the chains.
Looked at the inquisitors.
Looked at how they were taking him away from Kael.
And something changed.
Very little.
But enough.
Aurelion noticed it.
Seraphina did too.
Even Darius.
"Oh no."
Kael swallowed.
He knew that look.
It wasn’t the look of someone angry.
It was worse.
Much worse.
It was the look of someone deeply offended.
The Fat King could tolerate many things.
Orders.
Idiots.
Mountains.
Seraphina hugging him.
Sometimes.
But apparently...
Being separated from his personal servant was another story.
Because yes.
In the cat’s mind,
Kael clearly belonged to him.
Not the other way around.
The Fat King’s ears slowly perked up.
The prison began to tremble.
Very slightly.
The inquisitor leader smiled.
"Increase the power."
The barrier glowed brighter.
The trembling stopped.
And everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Except Kael.
Because something told him this wasn’t over.
Not remotely.
The inquisitors disappeared among the trees.
Taking the prison.
Taking the cat.
Leaving behind a destroyed forest.
A confused group of students.
And an uncomfortable silence.
Malrik pointed dramatically at the horizon.
"THIS WILL NOT BE THE LAST TIME YOU HEAR OF ME!"
"Probably not — besides, you didn’t do anything."
"NO!"
And he ran off after the others.
---
The forest fell calm again.
For a few seconds.
No one spoke.
Until Aurelion broke the silence.
"Well.
That was concerning."
"Quite."
Darius looked toward where they had disappeared.
"Are we going after them?"
Seraphina answered immediately, and a large amount of ice appeared around her.
"Yes. And I’m going to kill them."
Kael didn’t hesitate.
"Yes."
Because now it was no longer just a mission.
Nor an exam.
Nor an academic problem.
Someone had just taken his partner.
Even if he was an unbearable partner.
Lazy.
Arrogant.
And ridiculously fat.
He was still his partner.
Kael looked at the dark forest ahead.
And for the first time since the exam began...
He felt that something really bad was about to happen.
Very bad.
Because the Church of Order had just made a huge mistake.
A gigantic one.
One so absurd that it would probably end in disaster.
Because they had reached the wrong conclusion.
They thought the problem was the Fat King.
They thought capturing him would solve everything.
But they didn’t understand something fundamental.
The Little Fat King wasn’t dangerous because he was strong.
He was dangerous because he did exactly what he wanted.
And they had just done something he definitely did not want.
And so the endless narrative continued.
