Silvercolt

'Why are they here?' Lykos wondered out loud.

Arvell who was appreciating his new lease on life was also quite curious about the identity of his saviours.

'Do you know who they are?'

Lykos nodded his head.

'Those are the private troops of the Silvercolt Duchy… but why are they here?'

'Wait… I recognize that flag now! The Silvercolt Duchy… Aren't they the ducal house that manages the border security on Elantrya's side? Maybe they came to investigate the rank 6 beast's actions?'

Lykos found Arvell's deduction quite plausible.

'It makes sense. Neither country would want to risk having to experience a rank 6 beast's rampage. After all, their respective kings are the only rank 6 people in each kingdom. Unless the king came to suppress the beast himself, it would result in a large number of casualties.'

Thinking about this Arvell smiled.

He might be able to help those girls from before.

While on his own he definitely wouldn't be able to keep them safe, a group as large as the Silvercolt duchy's private army would be more than enough to escort them.

As Arvell glanced over the group, he noticed them all standing in rank and file, each with their face hidden under their helmet.

He couldn't see their expressions, but he expected that they would still help him, being he was just a kid after all.

*ROOARRRR*

The lion-like beast howled in pain, as it glared at its assailants.

It was so close to finally killing its prey, but these bastards had to stop it!

They deserved to be eaten alive!

The beast charged towards the knight who shot the arrow but was quickly intercepted by two other knights who each carried large metal shields.

*CLANG*

The beast stumbled back, while the two men's arms shook due to the impact.

Unfortunately for the beast, their companions wouldn't let such a golden opportunity pass so easily.

One of the knights nearby cast a spell which produced a bright light, blinding the beast's only functioning eye.

While another used this time to slash at its neck.

However, the beast's instincts couldn't be underestimated.

It tilted its head back at the last second, leaving only a shallow cut on its neck.

"Tch"

The knight clicked his tongue in annoyance.

However being an Arcane Warrior, he still had one major advantage.

"Cloak my sword in rapid water… Water Edge!" A young masculine voice cried out.

The knight's sword became coated with a tinge of blue, as a shrill noise rang out.

The water on the sword's blade rotated with incredible speed, working similarly to a chainsaw.

Using this time, the archer shot once more, permanently blinding the beast's one remaining eye.

With two wooden arrows sticking out of its eye sockets, the beast tried sniffing its surroundings while keeping its ears peeled for any noises.

Noises like the shrill noise coming from the rotating water blade.

Without a second thought, the beast pounced in the direction of the shrill noise, but instead of feeling its teeth and claws sink into meat, it felt a sharp pain coming from its forehead.

The beast's body convulsed as it fell to the ground, dead.

Pulling his sword out of the beast's head the knight looked down at the beast with a tired look.

The last few hours were quite the hassle for his group.

The instant they stepped foot on the Algreppa mountain range, they had been assaulted from every direction by droves of beasts.

Frankly, he just wanted to go home and lie down. Maybe grab a few drinks with his pals.

Unfortunately, life wasn't so easy.

The last few weeks had been utter hell for him and his comrades.

First, the whole incident with the lord's son occurred, flipping the entire duchy on its head, and now they had to deal with this.

He frankly just wanted a well-deserved break.

Having just gotten married to his wife, he wanted to enjoy a nice relaxing honeymoon with her, but all of this had to happen.

Being in charge of border security, they couldn't just leave the situation as is.

If the rank 6 beast decided to storm into Elantrya countless lives would be lost.

In a sense, he was doing this for his country.

However, no matter how much he loved his country, he still wanted to spend some time with his loving wife.

'Please just let this end quickly.'

The archer walked up to him to observe the corpse.

"Commander Rupert, this is a fourth rank beast. An 'Algreppian Lion' to be exact."

"Rank four… It certainly did feel that strong. Good job Uriel. Your aim is as on point as ever."

Uriel saluted.

"Thank you for your compliments, sir!"

Ruper waved him off.

"Like I said. You're too uptight. Learn to loosen up a bit. There's no need to act so stiffly."

Uriel nodded his head and saluted once more.

"I will follow your orders Commander Rupert! I will loosen up!"

Rupert put his hand to his forehead.

Trying to drown a fish was easier than getting this guy to loosen up.

He sighed and just decided to move on.

Uriel looked towards where the beast came from and noticed a silver-haired kid looking at them inquisitively, while another kid seemed to be completely submerged in the snow, with only his feet sticking up at a weird angle.

"Boss, we have two kids here."

Rupert looked at the two kids Uriel pointed out.

"Oh right the ones we saved. Let's go talk to them. They might know what's going on here. Also, we should probably ask why they even came here. It's far too dangerous for kids to be here. Wait… Now that I think about it… How did they even get here? There were hordes of monsters on our way here."

Uriel nodded his head.

"I agree sir. I am also quite perplexed as to how these two children made it here."

Rupert looked at Arvell with a scrutinizing gaze.

"I have never seen anyone with silvery-white hair like that before. Furthermore, he appears to be quite handsome, to the point where it's otherworldly. We don't know if he's even a kid or if he's hiding his real appearance with illusion-related magic. Just be on guard."

"Yes sir!"

Gathering his men, Rupert approached Arvell, who simply watched their actions calmly.

"We are the knights in service of the Silvercolt duchy. I would like to ask you… Why and how are you even here."

Arvell sighed inwardly.

He wanted to avoid the border for this exact reason.

Getting investigated his origins wouldn't be beneficial for him.

Even so, he had to keep his alibi consistent. Once Zen awoke, they would surely interrogate him as well.

If their alibis didn't match that would only make Arvell seem even more suspicious.

"My name is Arvell Silvanus. I was kidnapped by slave traders and taken to Vispia to be sold off to nobles."

The knights appeared to be quite shocked despite covering their faces with helmets.

Rupert was quite shocked at this new information, but he quickly spotted the 'obvious' holes in his alibi.

"If you were abducted as you said, how did you escape your captures? Or even make it back here for that matter?"

"The group that kidnapped me was attacked by beasts, and by biding my time I was able to escape. As for how I got back? My friend here," Arvell pointed to the unconscious Zen, "Was also kidnapped, but his abductors used a hidden pathway through the mountain range. Using the same pathway, we were able to cross the mountain range relatively safely."

Arvell caught himself.

"Except for being attacked by that beast."

Rupert looked at Arvell as if he was speaking a foreign language.

"What do you mean? What hidden pathway?"

Arvell sighed. He found interrogations like this quite annoying and tedious.

However, if he didn't comply it would be even more suspicious.

"If you want I can take you there. There are a group of captured girls being held by slave traders. Your group could rescue them."

Rupert pondered for a moment before nodding his head.

"We will check it out. If it is as you say, we are duty-bound to help them."

'Even kids their age are being abducted and being sold as slaves,' Rupert pondered, 'Maybe the same thing happened to the young master?'

Arvell walked over to Zen's sprawled-out body.

"But first can you give me a hand and help up my friend?"

Nodding his head, Rupert sent out one of his subordinates to help out Arvell.

Arvell didn't want to reveal his extraordinary strength if he didn't need to.

Better keep your trump cards a secret if there is no point in revealing them.

If these people turned on him, he could use the element of surprise to escape.

As they grabbed his legs to pull him out, Zen's body suddenly began to move on its own.

'He finally woke up'

Zen flailed around aimlessly before realizing where he was.

Since he was still trapped under the snow, he obediently let Arvell and the knight pull him out.

However, as soon as he was out he looked around in shock with his mouth agape.

Arvell chuckled lightly.

'This guy must have thought he had already died.'

"Don't worry Zen, these guys killed the beast. We're safe now."

Zen's mouth opened and closed like a fish, he still appeared to be quite shocked.

Turning to Rupert, Arvell decided to clarify any misunderstandings before things got awkward.

"Don't mind him, he's just shocked to see he's finally come home."

However, as soon as he said that, Arvell saw Rupert remove his helmet, revealing a young man with a scraggy unshaven beard.

What surprised Arvell the most wasn't his appearance (well he might have looked better cleanshaven but that was beside the point), it was his similar agape expression.

It is quite similar to Zen's current expression.

Arvell was quite confused now.

'Was this some kind of Elantryan greeting? I never heard anything like this before? Do you know about it Lykos?'

'Don't look at me. I'm just as confused as you are.'

Unfortunately, Lykos denied any knowledge about this.

Finally, Rupert walked up to Zen to take a closer look at him.

'It can't be… But the kid named Arvell even called him 'Zen'! It has to be him!'

Rupert's mouth quivered as he was too shocked to speak properly.

"Y-young master Zenos… I-is that you?"

***

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