Shepherd Wizard-Chapter 164.1

Translator: Pai_

"Did you see that just now too?"

"If you have eyes, there's no way you couldn’t have."

"To be able to watch something like that without fearing for our lives, what a stroke of luck. I wish we could’ve seen it a bit closer."

"If we had, we’d be dead."

The sparring match between Turan and Haroon, for wizards of their caliber, was merely a warm-up, yet even that was a truly transcendent battle in the eyes of ordinary wizards.

The stone deflected by the gun shattered nearby rocks and scattered debris in all directions, while Turan's body, knocked back by the bullet, carved a trench over a meter deep and several dozen meters long into the ground.

Not to mention the countless shadow tendrils and the marks left by the fierce melee between two powerful family heads, it all left scars resembling the aftermath of a meteor strike, practically akin to a natural disaster.

Of course, some of the wizards from Parsha and Lavitas had already witnessed the transcendent power of family heads during the previous Varaha War, but many of those gathered here had not.

Among them, some of Parsha’s wizards had even loitered around the training mountains just to catch a glimpse of Turan’s skills, and thus their sense of awe was even greater.

"Good work, Head of House Parsha."

"It wasn’t much work. Just a light warm-up."

As Osel, who had been observing the fight from the closest distance, reached out his hand, the wound on Turan’s forearm from the bullet healed.

It would have healed in a day or two anyway, and Turan could’ve mended it himself, but he deliberately allowed Osel to heal him.

To show the alliance between Parsha and Lavitas to the House of Zahar.

As Osel healed his forearm, he leaned in slightly and whispered in a low voice.

"So, how was it?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you fought seriously, could you win?"

"Well, if it were a prolonged fight, maybe there's a chance..."

In the previous bout, neither of them had used proper weapons, but it was likely Haroon had held back more of his strength.

Not only had he not drawn on his true power as a Night Hunter, he hadn’t even used the power of his Alchemist Bloodline.

If the ability to transform all substances into poisons potent enough to affect even nobles had been in effect, all of Haroon’s attacks would have been far more threatening.

If the arm hit by a bullet or the leg scratched by shadow tendrils had started rotting while still alive, the damage would have been considerable.

Of course, Turan wasn’t without a countermeasure for this.

Thanks to a sacred relic, Turan possessed the Lavitas Bloodline, which includes the Purifier Bloodline capable of eliminating all forms of disease and poison.

Generally considered nearly obsolete in combat, much like the Ruler Bloodline, this ability could potentially act as a direct counter to the Alchemist Bloodline.

While Turan and Osel conversed, nobles from the three families cautiously began to interact more openly.

Naturally, not everyone mingled freely and disrupted their formations; only a few influential figures from each family moved about.

One person even approached Turan, his grandfather, Talis.

He had brought a woman with him, wearing a brazen expression as if the insult he’d just suffered hadn’t fazed him at all.

"My apologies for earlier, Head of House Parsha."

As before, Talis used the utmost honorifics when addressing Turan.

Considering how he had acted superior when they first met, more precisely, when Talis had met Turan in the past, it was truly a dramatic reversal.

Of course, at that time, Turan had been a mere warlord of Kalamaf, whereas Talis was the representative of Zahar, so it had been expected.

The authority that comes with official status is not something to be dismissed lightly.

Turan stared quietly at Talis, who had bowed his head, before politely nodding in a way that still conveyed pride.

"I can forgive that much. You're not a stranger, you’re my grandfather."

Though it might sound like a friendly conversation between a grandfather and grandson, it was actually closer to a reprimand, affirming that what Talis had done was indeed disrespectful.

Moreover, using honorifics here actually placed more burden on Talis.

Receiving honorifics from someone who had just faced off against the head of House Zahar would excessively elevate Talis's status.

"Is the Head of House Zahar all right?"

"Yes. He's just a little tired and resting. Considering his age, naturally..."

At Talis’s brazen remark, Turan had to suppress a sudden urge to laugh.

Though Haroon’s body was indeed old, he wasn’t so aged that he was on the verge of death like Badal, and he certainly wasn’t aged enough to deserve such talk.

It was merely the toll from drawing upon god's power.

So, even though they both clearly understood the truth, they exchanged harmless small talk for a moment, until Talis subtly stepped aside and presented the woman who had been standing behind him.

She looked to be in her late twenties to early thirties by commoner standards, with mid-to-upper-tier magic power.

At first glance, one might think Talis was once again playing the matchmaker, but Turan didn’t frown.

Thanks to Berit, who had been gathering internal information on House Zahar, Turan had a rough idea of who the woman was and why she was being introduced to him.

"This is my daughter, Aril Zahar. She shares the same mother as my son Karim, the father of the Head of House Parsha."

"It’s an honor to meet you, Ruler of the Gray Zone."

The woman bowed her head with a formal air, her voice low and slightly husky.

Turan silently observed his aunt, whom he was meeting for the first time, then shifted his gaze to Talis.

"A pleasure. But what brings about this sudden introduction?"

"As I mentioned before, I don’t know much about Karim, my son. In contrast, Aril spent a good amount of time with him. I thought she could share with you the kind of stories you might wish to hear, so I brought her."

Talis assumed Turan would be curious about his father and that this could serve as a bribe to earn Turan’s favor.

Indeed, it was a precisely targeted move worthy of one of the gods’ top strategists, directly striking at Turan’s desire.

If Turan had to choose between a powerful sacred relic and a chance to meet and speak with his father, he would choose the latter without hesitation.

Turan’s longing to understand who his father was and where he came from had been partially eased when he learned of his mother’s past in the Gray Zone, but the matter hadn’t been fully resolved.

Especially now, as Turan had become a father himself.

Even among the information Berit had collected, there wasn’t much regarding his father.

Since he had died over twenty years ago and had little recognition beyond being Talis’s son, few people remembered him.

Even Reto, who remembered Karim's face, knew a bit more only because she had belonged to the same unit as him.

Turan took a moment to organize his thoughts, then nodded.

"That’s... welcome news. In that case, may I have a word alone with you, Aunt?"

"Aunt- please, I’d rather you not call me that."

"But you are my aunt, are you not? You said you’re my father’s sister."

At Turan's definitive words, Aril Zahar simply bowed her head deeply instead of arguing further.

***