CG Chapter 47: Chessboard and the Red Ruby
As the few soldiers gathered there started to return to their rooms, Captain Reynard found himself deep in contemplation while gazing at Tom. Unbeknownst to him, the person occupying his thoughts looked at him with hunger as if he were the next prey to be devoured, all while wearing a sly smile.
‘The seed of doubt has been planted, but it seems it's still too early to harvest it.’ Tom began to walk away, gesturing to Alfred to follow.
Walking down the hallways toward Tom's room, Alfred asked, “Master, what is your next plan? I don’t think that bastard will wait for much longer before he makes his move. He is far too hungry for the title.”
“I know that, and that is exactly why we need to wait. The hunger will cloud his mind, leading him to make mistakes. Once he slips, that is the moment when we should strike. Meanwhile, we should consolidate our strength.” Tom was hungrier for power than Timothy. However, due to his experience, he developed the wisdom to know when to bare his teeth and when to attack.
While Tom orchestrated his moves, the news of his return ignited a rage within Timothy.
“How did he get back alive? The only one who could have saved him would be father, but why would he? He has no reason to do such a thing.” Timothy paced back and forth while questioning his servant.
“I trained day and night while he was playing around.”
“When the days were rainy, I trained; when the days were sunny, I trained.”
“Yet after all of that, he still lives. I swear that I shall hold the title, or this castle shall burn with me.”
“I am the rightful heir; the lineage of ruling holds no value.”
Timothy's butler, Ambrose, stood by the side, waiting for his lord's rage to subside.
"He who holds both mind and heart shall win the battle. The enemy is near, and our plans have endured for a long time. We shouldn’t squander everything we've achieved for a moment of haste. If the baron wishes to protect Edward, then we only need to throw him into the flames he loves so much." Ambrose remained calm as he fulfilled his duty to his lord, serving as an advisor and an anchor.
Returning to Tom's perspective in his room, he contemplated his plans accounting for the ever-changing environment. The chessboard of political intrigue lay before him, and Tom pondered the strategic moves to secure his benefits.
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He handed a list of orders to Alfred before sending him off and then proceeded to train in his new art.
The new art, Ruby Heart, improved the fundamentals of the previous technique. Tom remembered a lesson from his journey: a man must be ready to use anything in a fight; he shouldn’t rely on a sword or a weapon. While this didn’t mean he couldn’t use them, he should be ready for a situation where he has only his body to defend himself.
In the dimly lit room, Tom focused his mind on the essence of the Ruby Heart. The core of this art was that of a ruby born in the flames of a raging volcano. This art mandated practitioners to adjust their bodies to withstand its heat. By controlling the profound vitality of a knight, they would strengthen every bit of their bodies, especially their veins, to withstand the molting blood their heart would produce.
Before training, Tom knew that an essential step in this art was to create a hot environment, so he needed to elevate the room's temperature for the best results. He collected smoldering embers from the fireplace and arranged them into a compact pile.
An ethereal transformation enveloped the air as he initiated his training, pulsating with a vivid crimson glow. This atmospheric shift reflected the rich energy innate to his art.
Tom trained, surrounded by the burning embers he had gathered. Adjusting his body to withstand the increasing heat, he focused on controlling the profound vitality within him.
The small pile of burning embers grew hotter, casting flickering shadows across the room. Tom's movements were deliberate; each step needed to push him to his near limit before advancing, preventing an untreatable degree of burns. If he moved too soon, he wouldn’t increase his limits, and if he moved too late, it would cause damage that could impact his future plans.
Achieving this balance wasn’t something anyone would dare to attempt; this technique was utterly demonic.
As he continued, Tom could feel the energy within him intensify. His muscles tightened, slowly increasing in density, allowing greater strength when striking. While his mind worked at full power to control all that, it slowly became stronger to withstand this strain.
Tom drew in the warm air enveloping him, releasing an even hotter breath that seemed beyond the capacity of any ordinary human.
The wall between him and the next level seemed so near, yet so far. He desired to sprint through the path that others took years to traverse, so he needed to endure an equal amount of pain. Knights would typically take a couple of years to reach apprentice rank, and depending on their talent and resources, their progression between the minor ranks would vary.
To walk against the current is no easy task. To push his limits, Tom chose to endure the scalding embers for far longer than before. He disregarded the searing heat and torment that would reduce others to tears for days; no, he already felt a deeper sense of despair, grappling with his inability to ascend to higher levels of existence.
He didn’t abhor it; instead, he reveled in the anguish. He cherished the torment because this precise sensation signified that he was gaining strength with each passing second.
The pursuit of power is the singular ambition that drives people to betray one another, willing to stab their own brothers in the back just to grasp even a single drop of its intoxicating essence.
The moment lingered slowly in Tom's mind as if time had come to a halt, leaving only him and the heat of the ground beneath him. He felt as if he didn't move soon, his skin would come off his flesh. However, he also knew he was on the brink of reaching a higher level. The heat within his body had reached its zenith. A race between the energy within him and the rising heat had begun.
‘I am going to walk this path until I reach perfection. This... is but a small step. ‘
The familiar euphoric feeling filled Tom, but it was far more significant this time. The sensation was accompanied by his heart beating stronger and faster. It felt as if his heart had transformed into a red ruby, filling his entire body with energy.
This feeling was greater than that of an apprentice knight who reached the middle level. The power he could unleash surpassed any other in his realm. This was due to both his experience and immensely strong art.