HEY HEY HEY! Sorry for making you guys wait for so long for this chapter, since school started again it has been hard to find some time for me to write. There has also been some personal problems that prevent me from writing, but don't worry! Here is the next chapter, I have had it done for a couple of days but I wanted to revise and edit it with the help of my editor before I published it. Once again, sorry for the wait. Let's begin!
Somewhere in the in the capital of the Re-Estize Kingdom
The sound of clanking metal echoed throughout the barracks. Though early in the morning, many of the soldiers were already awake, ready to improve their skills and techniques.
Among these many soldiers was the Chief Warrior of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff. He stood tall and proud amidst the soldiers, projecting an aura of undeniable confidence, the peak of all soldiers.
Alongside the Chief Warrior was the bodyguard of the Golden Princess, Climb. The boy came from the streets and was given a second chance at life by the 3rd princess of the kingdom, Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself. Ever since that day he had held her in the highest of esteem, her most loyal follower.
Despite his loyalty, he had always been looked down upon by the nobles and people of high birth. Every day he put in his blood and sweat training endlessly, always striving to become stronger. Why did he want to become stronger? Well, to protect his savior and princess of course. This morning, like many others, he could be found sparring with the other knights.
Where the young boy was training at the moment was known as the Plain of Endurance. The reason why it was called such a name was because the people that usually trained in this spot would train for hours on end without rest.. The mock battles would never end until one of the contestants dropped to the ground exhausted.
The Plain of Endurance was located at the edge of the barracks. Since it was outside, one could feel the warm breeze as the air calmly passed by them. But since it was so early in the morning that the sun had barely started to come out the air was as still as if time itself had stopped.
[Gazef] "You have to keep an eye on the opponent as a whole, not just their weapon, but their arms, legs, knees, and other body parts."
As the Chief Warrior said this, both Climb's and his swords had locked together preventing the young boy from getting cut in half. He used this opportunity to kick the boy in his stomach, sending him to his knees.
[Gazef] "A knight always takes advantage of the opportunities they are given. When you see an opportunity, aim your sword and the weak spot of the enemy, but you have to think about what to do after you either damage your opponent or they manage to block your strike. You must remember that the first strike is merely the beginning."
As the two sparred, the Chief Warrior Continued to give his advice to Climb. Whether that was correcting the boy's stance, where to attack after finding an opening, or what to do in certain scenarios.
Sweat rolled down the young man's brow. Bruises covered every part of his body, and a thin line of blood ran down the side of his knee where he had been knocked to the ground. Despite all this, Climb looked up at the veteran warrior and smiled.
[Climb] "Thank you for the advice, sir."
As Climb started to stand up he was once again knocked back down to the ground, but this time it was not the Chief warrior that caused it. The ground suddenly started to shake, though not hard enough to prevent the two warriors from moving. The training dummies that surrounded the pair started to fall to the ground. The birds that were happily singing their tunes a minute ago started to fly away as if fearing for their lives.
[Climb] "Sir! What is going on?"
The boy looked around as if expecting to see an anomaly of some sorts. His eyes widened with shock as he looked towards the horizon.
[Climb] "Sir! Look over there!"
Climb's words broke through the clammer as he pointed to the east. Though he couldn't see much thanks to the wall that surrounded them he could spot a thin vertical beam composed of some sort of intense purple magic erupting from the east.
As the Chief Warrior looked over he started running towards one of the towers, his form blurring with a reckless speed. Climb, not knowing what was going on, decided to follow his superior. The sound of bulky metal armor could be heard as the two knights made their way up the spiral of stairs. When they reached the top, both Gazef and Climb stared in awe and horror.
[Gazef] "By the gods."
What the Chief Warrior was looking at was a hellish purple beam that soared through the skies. though he couldn't see it, it felt as if the beam was composed of millions of tortured souls all begging for mercy and release. Despite the immense distance, he felt sick from just looking at it. He couldn't exactly see its origin since the beam came from behind the edge of the Azerlisia mountains, but by his estimate it had come from just behind the Forest of Tob.
[Gazef] "We must inform the king! Climb, I'll go see if anything happened to the king. I need you to see if Princess Renner is safe!"
The Chief Warrior's mind was in overdrive, but he could do nothing else other than to follow basic procedure.
[Climb] "Understood!"
As soon as Climb finished his sentence Gazef started to run down the stairs and Climb followed suit. Thanks to him being in his full plate armor he almost tripped more than a few times.
After reaching the bottom of the stairs and exiting the tower Gazef could see a squad of 12 soldiers. They had assembled in a ragtag formation. Their gazes were filled with fear and trepidation as they looked around. Gazef would normally berate them for the hesitation, but right now, who could really blame them?
[Gazef] "Hey you! Listen up!"
His commanding voice broke through the silence like a whip, grabbing the attention of the panicking soldiers. As soon as they realized that it was the Chief Warrior they started to approach him, hope in their eyes.
[Gazef] "I need the two of you to inform the soldiers at the castle's gate that no one is allowed to enter the castle until further notice."
After the Chief Warrior gave them their orders, two of the twelve knights dashed towards the gate.
[Gazef] "Now, four of you will guard the entrance to the castle. Just like I instructed the previous pair, inform the guards that are currently stationed there that no one should enter the castle until further notice."
After nodding in understanding the four knights made their way to the castle entrance.
[Gazef] "You six will follow me to the throne room. Climb, make sure that the princess is safe."
After Gazef finished giving his orders he dashed towards the castle. Climb did the same, though walking while the ground was trembling making it difficult for him to run. More than once he fell to the ground, but just as quickly he would stand back up, desperate to ensure the Princess's safety.
After entering the castle and making his way through the halls, Climb noticed that none of the maids or people of high birth were giving him the stink eye. Of course that would be expected, he doubted that they even knew he was there. They were most likely confused and stunned thanks to the earthquake.
He fell to the ground a couple of times since running was rather difficult with everything that was currently going on. He was rather surprised that none of the furniture had fallen to the floor or shattered with the exception of a few flowerpots.
After going up a few floors and some turns he finally reached the princesses quarters. Bursting through the door he instantly scanned the room, looking for any signs of trouble.
[Climb] "Princess Renner! Are you alright?"
The instant he entered the room a sharp pain slammed into his side. Falling to the ground, his long years of training inserted themselves. With a fluid roll, he righted himself, weapon in hand, scanning the room for intruders.
[?] Oh sorry Climb, we thought you were an intruder.
As Climb looked up, his gaze was met with a short blonde no taller than 4'3. If he remembered correctly, she was a member of Blue Rose. If her blue ribbon was anything to go by she was Tia, one of the shadow twins.
[Climb] "Ouch! Lady Tia?! What are you doing here?"
Since it was early in the morning it didn't really make sense as to why the members of Blue Rose were present in the castle.
[Tia] "First of all, don't call me any honorifics such as 'lady'. Second of all, the princess invited us."
At the mention of the Princess, Climb looked around the room frantically. After a couple of seconds he saw Renner holding onto the wall with a terrified expression on her face. It was rather expected since the tremors never stopped to give them a break, the constant shudders still shaking the city.
Next to Renner was the leader of the adamantite team Lakyus. Though previously a noble she decided to leave her previous life to become an adventurer. Like always her hair was made into a singular curl that reached her hips and, resting upon her head was a single rose the color of the deep dark ocean.
[Renner] "Climb you've arrived! You don't know how worried I've been, I wouldn't know what to do if anything happened to you!"
The princess managed to let go of the wall and ran to hug her bodyguard. Her voice was made up of pure worry, if anyone could see the current scene they would take it as nothing more than a princess worried for the safety of her beloved knight. That is of course, if they didn't know the true nature of the monster that posed as the golden princess.
[Climb] "My lady, are you alright?"
[Renner] "Yes. I was quite worried but now that you're here everything's better."
As soon as the princess finished her sentence the color of Climb's face turned brighter than the sun.
After seeing that the princess was now calm Lakyus proceeded to approach her friend that currently stood on the terrace.
[Lakyus] "Evileye are you ok?"
Evileye didn't answer, she was too busy admiring the malignant beam of light. Like always she was covered with a red cloth that enveloped her entire body. Her face was covered with a white mask that had black lines all over it leading to a ruby like crystal. Her blonde hair, similar to Lakyus's, reached her waist. Just from looking at it one could tell that it was as smooth as cotton.
[Evileye] (whispers) "Such overwhelming power…"
[Lakyus] "Evileye? Hello, are you there?"
Lakyus stepped closer to her teammate.
[Evileye] "Eh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Sorry boss, I was just spacing out."
Evileye turned her head towards Lakyus, though for some reason it pains her to divide her attention away from the beam, akin to a moth attracted to a bright light. A strange feeling surrounded the beaming, a powerful attraction… It was almost as if it was calling out to her.
[Lakyus] "Since everyone is now present, let's make our way towards the throne room. Is that alright with you Princess?"
[Renner] "Of course, I would love to see if my dear father is ok. I don't know what I would do if he were to get injured."
As everyone started to make their way out of the room, with some caution of course, Evileye grabbed Lakyus's shoulder.
[Evileye] "Hey boss, something about that beam feels wrong- incredibly wrong."
[Lakyus] "I know, let's make sure to keep an eye on it."
As they turned to leave the princess's quarters Evileye turned her head to have one last look at the unholy beam.
The throne room had erupted into chaos the moment the tremors began. King Ramposa had been trying to calm down the nobles since they had started screaming profanities and questioning if the world itself was ending.
After several long minutes a slight amount of order had been established. Suddenly the doors to the throne room burst open startling some of the older nobles as an imposing figure strode in.
[Gazef] "My king, are you alright?"
Accompanying Stronoff were the six knights that he had encountered back in the barracks. They made their way along the walls of the throne room, three on each side.
[Ramposa] "Oh Gazef, thank the gods you've arrived. Tell me, do you have any idea what might be happening?"
The King looked tired and worn out, and who could blame him, dealing with the nobles was always an ordeal. If they weren't stuffing their faces at endless feasts or down at the brothels they were certainly scheming the downfall of the Royal Faction. Now that look was gone, the weariness washed away as the king spotted Gazef. He looked as if he had found the person who could give him all the answers he needed.
[Gazef] "Forgive me your highness, I don't know much. I was training with young Climb and suddenly the ground started shaking. Since the tremors didn't stop I came to see if you were alright, thank the 4 Great Gods you are."
Some of the nobles in the room were whispering and slandering the Chief Warrior saying such things as; "A peasant like you training with a knight?" or "The only reason why you are here is because the king deems you worthy you leeching scum". Gazef knew that he wasn't on the good side of many of the nobles, when he was present and tried to share his opinion he was immediately interrupted by someone else.
[Ramposa] "Please do not worry, do you know if my children are alright?"
As if one cue, a knock was heard coming from the door. One of the soldiers off to the sides opened it and inspected the group of figures waiting on the other side.
[Soldier] "Princess Renner welcome, please do come in."
After thanking the soldier, Renner and her entourage entered the room. The princess herself, her bodyguard Climb, and the members of Blue Rose; Lakyus, Evileye, Tia & Tina. The warrior Gagaran was currently in one of the bars near the edge of the grand capital. She didn't really like coming with the rest of her team to visit the Princess. Not that she had anything against her, on the contrary, she felt as if she didn't belong in the castle. She was the type of person to fight monsters in the day and get drunk at night.
[Ramposa] "Ah Renner, thank god your alr-"
Before the king could finish his sentence a powerful shockwave blasted through the earth. The immense eruption could be felt all around Re-Estize. In the Capital the sound of shattering glass filled the streets with a horrific cacophony as many of the windows and most of the ornaments that were within eye view shattered.
Though that was not the only thing that happened. It was as if the shockwave's purpose was to calm the land and seize the tremors. Climb dashed to cover the princess with his body from all the debris that flew around the room, Gazef standing to the king's side did the same. Thanks to them wearing the armor that they used for their sparring none of them got hurt. Most of the nobles were shielded similarly thanks to the other soldiers in the room.
After that the room went quiet, shifting debris and rubble were the only sounds that could be heard.
[Boullope] "I-Is it over?"
One of the many Marquises asked wearily- hoping that his question wouldn't re-ignite the ire of whatever god or being began the shockwave.
[Pespea] "It would seem so."
Once everyone in the room calmed down the king ordered that all the debris and shards of glass were to be picked up. No later than 2 minutes later a multitude of maids and butlers arrived to do the king's bidding. The king spoke once more after the room was cleared out of any dangerous hazards.
[Ramposa] "I believe a meeting is in order, Renner would you be kind enough to take your group somewhere else?"
[Renner] "Oh father of course, I just wanted to tell you that if you are planning on sending an investigation party near that beam then I would gladly recommend Blue Rose, after all they are our only adamantite class team."
[Ramposa] "A beam? What beam?"
The king looked around as if looking for someone to answer his question, thanks to him and the many other nobles being inside the throne room whilst the tremors were amok he didn't notice the unholy beam.
[Gazef] "If you would allow me to speak your highness, like I mentioned before, whilst training, one of my comrades pointed out a hellish beam. It seemed to have come from just behind the Azerlisia Mountains, near E-Rantel."
As Gazef spoke Evileye, Climb, and Lakyus nodded their heads.
[Ramposa] "If what you are saying is true then I will gladly take your request into consideration."
After saying her goodbyes to her father and all the other people present, Renner and Blue Rose, along with Climb, exited the room.
[Ramposa] "Now that everything is in order I would like to hear your opinions about what to do in this matter."
King Ramposa looked around the room waiting for someone to speak, he already had a semblance on what orders to give but it was proper etiquette to ask the other members of the Royal Faction and the members of the Noble Faction.
[Blumrush] "If you would permit me to speak your highness I believe that it would be a good idea to send the Chief Warrior to investigate this matter. If it was someone from the Empire such as Paradyne then I believe that the Chief Warrior would be the only one capable of defeating him. Same goes for the Theocracy. But the odds of one of them being behind such a matter is nearly zero, that is why I suggest that we send the Chief Warrior with around fifty men. Since he will most likely not find a strong opponent then I suggest that the Holy Treasures stay here within the castle."
[Urovana] I second this your highness, though the princess's idea was not half bad I believe that this matter should be handled by the Chief Warrior. If something else comes up or the tremors return, then Blue Rose would be able to assist us. After all, it is well known that they are friends with the Princess. If something were to happen, such as another tremor, then I believe that they would gladly help. If not then we can always hire them, they are adventurers after all.
After many of the nobles agreed with Blumrush's idea the king couldn't refuse. It's not that he didn't want to. It was a good plan but if something were to happen to Gazef then the kingdom would be left without its most powerful warrior and the king would lose a great friend.
[Ramposa] "Very well, it seems that this matter will be handled by the Chief Warrior Gazef Stronoff. If anybody here has any objections, raise them now."
After no one in the room spoke up the king continued.
[Ramposa] "Gazef, you will be leaving Re-Estize tomorrow evening. You will be accompanied by an entourage of 50 men of your choosing. All the National Treasures shall stay here within the safety of the castle's walls."
[Gazef] "Your wish is my command, your highness. If you would permit me, I would like to gather my men. There is much that we need to prepare for a mission such as this."
[Ramposa] "Of course, please take as much time as you need."
After bowing to his king, Gazef left the throne room. He hurried down the halls as quickly as he could. He already had an idea on who to take with him, with the permission of the king Gazef had started to train a specialized group of men for purposes such as these. Conveniently there were around 60-75 men in this elite squad so he could take almost all of them.
Back to the throne room
[Ramposa] "Now, with that I believe that everything is settled. Is there anything else we need to discuss before we end this meeting?"
[Raeven] "No, your highness. The meeting for economics is next week whilst our meeting about the yearly war is the day after that."
Having nothing else to discuss the king ended the meeting and the nobles started to funnel out of the throne room. After reaching a certain distance count Lytton approached Marquis Blumrush.
[Lytton] "Do you believe that the peasant will manage to return alive?"
[Blumrush] "Who knows? Maybe he will or maybe he won't. Should we call our acquaintances in Eight Fingers? I'm sure that Six Arms would love to dispatch of the Chief Warrior."
[Lytton] "Maybe we should-"
After ending the brief conversation both the Count and the Marquis parted ways.
Blumrush & Lytton were the type of men that would always step on someone to reach their goals, not that they were the only ones. Many of the nobles had ties to associations like Eight Fingers or the newly blooming Moonshine Company. If any of them had a problem with something or someone then they would pay one of these companies to take care of it.
Out near the edges of the barracks
[Gazef] "Some of you may be wondering why I have amassed you all here today. As you may know, earlier today a shockwave along with a tremor and beam that was emitted near E-Rantel shook the capital of our great kingdom. As loyal knights and soldiers it is our task to deal with any threats that may arise towards our kingdom, which is why I have personally gathered you all here.
[Gazef] We have been chosen to investigate this matter as soon as possible. We will be leaving tomorrow evening towards the location of the beam's origin. That being said, we will not spend this time lazing around or going around the city! We will train until the moon plagues the sky and we fall to the ground exhausted, for it is our duty to protect this Kingdom! Am I understood!"
[Soldiers] "SIR YES SIR!"
Satisfied with his men's answers Gazef turned his head east, wondering- and worrying- what tomorrow's journey will bring.