Gathering At The Palace

Wooosh—

The wind energy spread throughout the vicinity, uprooting the trees into the air until they eventually became part of the tornado.

Roy clutched his bleeding shoulders and hurriedly dodged the powerful sharp winds booming in his direction.

Baaaam—, baaam—, baaaam—

The ground trembled before exploding into bits of rocks. Roy stared at the newbie, hovering in the air.

Elvin was right. He had underestimated this kid too much. At first, he thought this guy was no good but then he suddenly entered a state in which his body became covered in a red aura.

Although his power is still lower than theirs, Hans could surely injure him.

This was more than enough to prove that he was qualified to be a royal knight.

"Newbie, if you can't aim accurately, you're never going to kill me."

However, Hans' response was quite unexpected.

"Who says I'm aiming at you?"

At that moment, Roy's eyes widened.

The response didn't come from above but rather behind him.

'A clone? But I should have noticed it!'

But no matter how much he thought about it, it was too late.

Hans condensed mana into his fist and amplified it, coating it with flame energy to add explosiveness. With one solid right hook, he slammed it towards Roy's surprised face.

[Bull Thrust!]

As if he saw a raging bull charging in his direction, Roy's eyes widened.

'I couldn't move!'

He glanced at his foot and saw that Hans stepped over it. Unless he cuts his legs, he's never going to escape Hans's hook.

In the end, all he could do was pray that Hans's fists wouldn't deform his face.

Unfortunately, that was just wishful thinking.

Poooww—!

Crash—

Hans's fists brought Roy's face to the ground and slammed it with an unprecedented force.

Crack—, crack—

The floor cracked before shattering in a large explosion.

Booom—

The force of the punch could even be felt by the bystanders watching the fight from afar. In their heads, hopefully, Roy won't die.

Silence—

After a while, silence permeated. The dust settled revealing two figures panting heavily.

However, based on their conditions, the winner was already decided.

Every royal knight present at the scene rushed toward the center with their lips forming a crescent.

Elvin observed the two and after seeing no fatal damage, he sighed.

"Oh, thank god. I thought you two really killed each other."

As soon as Elvin stretched his hand to help Hans stand up, the soil beside them crunched.

Roy pulled his head that was plunged into the ground and stood up.

"Bastard, I didn't lose yet. Do you really think I use all of my power!!!? You fool, I'm just toying with you!"

He wanted to teach Hans a lesson but was the one who got schooled instead.

It was humiliating.

However, before Roy could even start another battle, the air trembled followed by a deafening sound of metal clashing with each other.

Ting—, ting—, ting—!

Everyone perked their ear in hopes to confirm if what they are hearing is truly the one they think of right now.

Ting—, ting—, ting—!

Elvin frowned. In fact, it's not just him. The other royal knights exchanged glances with their expressions gradually darkening. Roy shut his lip and the area was enveloped by an uncomfortable silence.

Ting—, ting—, ting—

In all their lives, they only heard this bell ring many decades ago. They are not even royal knights back then but they know what this sound symbolizes.

As everyone eyed each other, they nodded in affirmation.

"The war has started."

.........

Tap—, tap—, tap—

Hans followed the royal knights rushing toward the palace's direction. Everyone equipped their armors and holstered their swords beside their hips.

On the other hand, Hans wore simple leather armor as he was uncomfortable wearing those heavy-duty armors. Fortunately, for royal knights, wearing armor in the war wasn't mandatory.

Clank—, clank—

Their armors clanked as they ran toward the palace wall. They passed by the bustling streets which were filled with people gossiping around.

Humans and many other races peeked through the windows of their homes with confused expressions on their faces.

Of course, the moment the knights started running around, the streets were immediately cleaned.

After all, many of these citizens recognized the meaning of that bell.

Ting—, ting—, ting—

"Are we not falling in line?" Hans asked.

Elvin cocked his head behind and answered, "Haha, we should be there before them. There's no need for that."

Along the way, Hans saw the organized marching of the elite knights and the knights below their ranks. The commander showed his unparalleled leadership by organizing a perfectly disciplined march.

However, the royal knights run at blinding speed. Their approximate tally is just 14 people as according to Elvin, the others were already on the frontline.

'Did the war start? Why didn't Sariah inform me yesterday?'

[Probably, she doesn't trust you.]

Hans shook his head. 'That's not right.'

If the war was started by the Hell Empire, Sariah will certainly inform him.

'Maybe, another empire attacked?'

He doesn't want to go to a conclusion yet but this hunch of his might be the most likely reason. Even then, he had to know the full information first before making his next move.

'War huh…'

Hans just hoped that he could survive and complete his mission.

...….

As they entered the throne room, they were greeted with the sight of the council and the head of the 4 houses.

The 10 members of the council stood right below the Emperor's throne. Hans observed their faces one after another.

All of them are old. Even then, the calm expression on their faces displayed their tough mental state.

On the other hand, the four heads of the 4 royal houses were seated in the chairs behind the Emperor. Unlike the council, they were equipped with full battle gear except for the helm.

Just by looking at them, Hans could pretty much guess that they were prepared for their dispatch.

The royal knights walked forward and all eyes shifted at them. They were, after all, the most powerful knights this empire could offer.

Hans sensed the numerous gazes crawling at his skin. However, one of them seemingly contains hostility as if it wanted to devour him on sight.

'It's him right?'

Even though Hans didn't want to look, he couldn't help it. Turning his head, his pupils glanced at a certain man.

Ely Von Hearthe, the current head of the Hearthe Family.

He was also the man who loathed him the most when he first met the Emperor.

As their eyes met, an invisible spark crackled between them. If not for the people around, they might be able to see the tension rising between the two.

'Interesting…' Hans thought.

Ely seemed to be more than a knight. Unlike the others who were geared with shining metallic armors, he was donned in a magician robe. Under the robe, he wore leather armor just like Hans' attire.

This profession was not common. It was one of the highly respected classes in the Empire.

'So he's a magic swordsman.'

A magic swordsman both uses mana and sword together to produce a more powerful and versatile set of attacks. Hans could also be considered one but he mostly uses mana to buff himself or cast spells.

After a brief staredown, Hans shifted his gaze to the Emperor. That cold-blooded gaze of his made Hans a little surprised.

When they first met, his expression was calm. Even when Ely and he both aroused their mana, the Emperor was seemingly not impressed or bothered.

However, this time was different.

It's as if an ancient beast sleeping in a den was suddenly awoken.

"Your majesty."

At that moment.

Every royal knight kneeled on the red carpet and lowered their head. Unlike the first meeting, Hans also kneeled with others this time.

After all, he's a knight of the Harisan Empire. Additionally, he's also a Duke. Although he doesn't have a dukedom yet, he was still a noble of the empire now.

Of course, this would only last throughout the mission. Once this is all done, he will leave anyway.

Silence filled the room with uncomfortable feelings. Even then, no one dared to speak and they quietly waited for the Emperor's orders.

"First and foremost, I welcome you to the royal knights, Hans."

Hearing the Emperor's recognition, Hans smiled.

"It's my pleasure, your majesty."

Emperor Alexander nodded before shifting his eyes around the other royal knights.

With a serious tone in his voice, the Emperor spoke.

"I gathered you all here because as you all heard, the war has started."

Everyone listened attentively.

"The threat looming around for ages finally arrived. All of their forces are slowly advancing to our territory and we cannot let that happen."

Elvin raised his head and interrupted, "Your majesty, we'll do everything for the empire. We, the royal knights, await your orders."

"Thank you for your loyalty, Elvin but don't be hasty. We have to strategize our every move so I'm afraid, all of you might have to stay here for a while before I'll send you tasks."

Elvin closed his lip and nodded. Indeed, this war would never be the same as they participated in back then.

This war will determine the fate of the Harisan Empire so a foolproof strategy is a must.

However, Hans shook his head. A plan is a must but if the Emperor wanted to minimize the damage at the early stages, he had to send them to the frontlines.

Despite this, Hans didn't voice his thoughts. Perhaps the emperor has other plans for them.

The Emperor heaved a heavy sigh. This war already exhausted him even though it hasn't even reached the climax yet.

The tension in the atmosphere increased as the emperor delayed his speech. Even Hans, who was relaxed and calm, couldn't help but wipe his hand due to the sweats forming in it.

At that moment…

"I will be frank with all of you. This war might be the final war we will be in."

........

"Welcome to the Beast Empire." A humongous monster with a body of a human and a head of a lion greeted the two men entering the empire.

He's a beast-man.

"As long as you don't break the rules here, you two will be out of harm here." The beastman explained as he received the entrance fee for these two.

"Thank you, brother beast."

"No worries, my friend. Enjoy your stay."

Gab and Jacob waved their hands and bid goodbye to the kind beasts. These races loathed humans and it was rare to see one not having a shred of hostility toward them.

Fortunately, the empire is free to enter as long as they pay the entrance fee. Although it somewhat hurt their pockets, they knew it was worth it.

As the two walked together, a sudden gossip entered their ears. It was coming from a group of beasts conversing with each other.

Deciding to listen, Gab and Jacob exchanged meaningful glances and nodded.

They decided to eavesdrop on their chats but to not be notice, the two continued walking albeit a little slower this time.

"Have you heard of the war?"

"I just heard it from my father. The monster empire seems to have started it."

"Yeah, and we'll be involved soon."

At that moment, both Gab and Jacob stopped on their tracks.