Chapter-29

The soldiers exchanged glances, their disciplined composure briefly disrupted by the unexpected announcement. Though they had heard rumours, none of them had dared believe that the man they revered as a living legend would retire.

"Sir, are you telling the truth?"

One of the soldiers asked hesitantly. Rex's lips twitched into a faint smirk.

"Are you suggesting I'm lying?"

"No, of course not, sir"

The soldier quickly replied, his voice filled with reverence.

Rex sighed, leaning forward slightly as he spoke.

"I was the sole survivor of that battle"

"My cultivation… it's gone. I'm no different from an ordinary man now"

A heavy silence filled the room, broken only by the faint hum of the air conditioning. Coming from the mouth of the person himself, they had to face reality and hear the bitter truth. For them, who had seen him at the peak of his strength, the revelation was almost too much to process. They had gone through fire and water, life and death with the commander in front of them. 

"You lot should have taken this time as a holiday instead of chasing after me" Rex said, his tone light in an attempt to ease the tension.

"There's no need to waste any more of your time on me"

"Go… do whatever you need to do"

Despite his words, not a single soldier moved. Callan, still on one knee, raised his head slightly.

"Sir, if I may make a bold request…"

Rex arched an eyebrow.

"Go on"

"Please allow us to become your personal soldiers."

The room fell into a stunned silence. Even Rex was momentarily taken aback, his composure slipping as he continued to blink.

"Personal soldiers? Are you sure about that?" 

Callan's gaze was unwavering.

"I don't know about the others, but my life would have rotted away in that swamp if not for you, sir"

"From that day on, I swore to follow you through fire and water, whether it be through the waters of Marltawa or the fires of the Nether"

"The army without you is not the one I belong in"

"Please accept my selfish request"

Another soldier stepped forward as soon as Callan stopped his speech.

"I feel the same, sir."

"As do I" another added.

One by one, the soldiers echoed their loyalty towards him, their voices steady without wavering. Rex couldn't help but smile faintly. He glanced at their loyalty indicators. Every single one of them exceeded ninety points. To gain this group of loyal subjects, Rex smiled knowing everything he had done during his time int he army was worth it.

"This... is quite something"

Rex said looking at the group of people who were bowing to him, looking at the ground in a mannered posture. If he didn't say less, they would stay like this for quite some time even days perhaps before they accepted it. Of course that is what Rex thought, what actions they would do and as for how long they would wait if he were to reject,... he wouldn't need to find out.

"Alright, I will accept you as my personal squad. But only if this is what you truly want."

A collective cheer erupted, and Callan, acting as their voice, spoke again.

"Thank you for accepting us, Master."

The others quickly followed suit. 

"Thank you for accepting us, Master!"

"Should I inform the rest, sir"

"No need to push anyone who doesn't wish to join. Let them decide for themselves."

Callan nodded solemnly.

"Understood, Master"

The day continued to pass till it reached the evening and the time to leave had arrived. Isabella was reluctant to see him leave. Of course his destination currently wasn't straight to home yet, it was to his barony first using a teleportation array with his personal squad to arrive there.

He had some matters to take care of here, as well as instructing Ayana for research regarding the CrimsonVine as well as ask her to take control his newly-formed squad to assist his barony. Helping the barony was, after all, an indirect way of helping him. 

He didn't need any help at home at the moment with the personal bodyguard whom his mother assigned to him ever since he retired. Though the personal was only one his cultivation was not be scoffed at.

__ __ __

A group of people arrived at the tower of teleportation, each teleport some 

Rex strolled around the barony being introduced to various things in it by Ayana. Though as a barony only three towns could exist, the towns were not small towns but rather very big. He took the whole day strolling around before leaving the barony for home the next morning. 

As he boarded the train back to the valley, Rex leaned back in his seat, deep in thought.

'I should visit from time to time finding more trustworthy aides for her'

'That way, she'll have more time for herself'

The person in question he was thinking of was his mother. Though he had given her the booklet containing the trust and loyalty of people towards her and her organization, he wasn't able to take more time to find more trustworthy people for her. The main purpose was to free her organization free from those with ill intent.

A faint chime broke his thoughts, pulling him back to the present. His phone buzzed on the small table in front of him. Picking it up, he saw a message from Sarah.

Sarah: "Brother! When are you arriving?"

From her usual cold tone to brother, it was quite an advancement. He had been chatting with Sarah whenever he had time and had already informed her of him arriving today. She was the only one aside from his mother who was in his account to chat for the time being. Sarah usually called him brother while Alisia calling him big brother back in the days. Now it was slowly turning back.

Rex smiled faintly, his fingers moving quickly to reply.

Rex: "Around an hour later"

He continued to chat with her till the train arrived at it's stop.

__ __ __

Upon arriving at the familiar mansion, Rex opened the fence gate and approached the front door, knocking lightly as a precaution. Though he had a key, he didn't want to have an accident similar to the one with Laura during the festive days, and he didn't want to risk startling anyone inside. Hearing no response, he used the key and entered.

The living room was unusually dark, the sunlight that usually illuminated it blocked by heavy curtains which were usually open by the time of this day but for some reason they were not. As Rex stepped further inside, the lights suddenly turned open as a collective voice sounded out from a direction.

"Surprise!"

A group of five familiar faces, including Clarissa, stood before him, party props in hand. Streamers and balloons filled the room, and a large banner hung across the wall with the words, "Welcome Back, Rex!" in bold, cheerful huge letters.

"You guys…"

Rex said, a smile spreading across his face at the unexpected surprise.

"Thank you."

One by one, he hugged each of them. Madeleine clapped her hands excitedly.

"Alright, I'll grab the cake"

She said before dashing into the kitchen.

"Cake! you even baked a cake, Aunt Mei"

"Of course, cake"

"This is a celebration of course"

"The last time you came, you came here unexpectedly"

"I didn't have any time to prepare, so this is the revenge"

With her a bit short stature and cute face, she declared hands on her waists as if she was a hero. Moments later, she returned carrying a beautifully decorated cake. Under the lights, the frosting of the cake shined and glimmered. Rex gazed at the cake, a smile still present on his face as he started cutting it into even slices. Taking a slice out from the slices, he used a spoon to scoop up the first bite.

Looking up he saw the expectant gaze of the four individuals except for Madeleine. Though she was also expectant, it was not as fiery as his two little secret lovers who were gazing or rather almost glaring at him as if competing who would be the first one to get the first bite spoon-fed by Rex and his two little cousin sisters who were also looking expectant though not as fiery as the other two.