Momentarily, a surprised look appeared on Gaige's face, but, just as quickly, it disappeared. Having noticed it, Anders' frown furrowed even further.
"Your face just proved that I am correct. Now bring them out, or I'll decimate this entire family. I have the elite troops of my army waiting in the forest. Even you, Gaige, the General of the Western Frontier, cannot beat me and all those troops. Now give those boys up!"
Gaige's face twisted in anger as he heard these words. Anders was blackmailing him with the Grayson Family. Deon, standing in the shadows of the library, heard these words and saw Gaige's conflicted face. Deon knew that the survival of the Grayson Family was on the line, so he only had one choice.
"General! I'm here! What do you want?"
Anders turned his head towards the source of the voice. He smiled as his eyes focused on Deon's slim figure.
"That's a good boy! Now come here. The king wants to see you."
Suddenly, Deon felt an enormous pressure exuding from Gaige's body.
"If you take him, you'll have to go through me."
In the months that Deon stayed at the Grayson Family Mansion, he got along well with almost everyone there. His kind and humble nature allowed nearly everyone to like him. In particular, Gaige thought of Deon as a younger brother.
"What's going on here?"
The Family Leader, Zeke, and Leo suddenly walked out of the hallway. There was obvious shock in his eyes at the chaotic scene next to the library. Anders bowed to Zeke, acknowledging his position as family leader. Gaige's hostile aura slowly faded.
"I was sent here by His Majesty to take the boys named Deon and Dell back to the capital for special training. His Majesty has learned of these two Godly talents within your family and will take them for training so they can be of use in the Mord Empire Army. I was ordered to take them by force and destroy this entire family if you resist."
Zeke's face displayed a worried expression. He did not want to turn over the boys to the king, but he did not want his family destroyed either. What a dilemma. Suddenly, Dell popped his head out from within the crowd.
"General, I am the Dell you are looking for. Deon and I would love to come with you. Our only condition is that you don't press charges on the Grayson Family for harboring us. Right Deon?"
Deon nodded. It seems that his peaceful time at the Grayson family had come to an end. They had done more than enough for him. Facing toward the leader, Deon spoke.
"Thank you so much for your hospitality towards me. I will never forget the favors the Grayson Family has done for me. The only way I can at least partially repay you is by preventing the destruction of your family. Also, Master, I thank you for training me over these past few months. I have developed greatly thanks to your guidance. I will never forget you as well."
Zeke's face displayed complicated emotions. After a long while of thinking, he finally spoke in a haggard voice.
"Alright. I'll allow you to take them General. But I have a few conditions. You had better follow these. Even your elite troops will take immense casualties if you dare to attack us."
Anders nodded.
"I was expecting this. Now what are your conditions. As long as they are reasonable, I will accept them."
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"First of all, you are not to merely train these two as tools of killing. Send them to the Royal Academy. Please treat them as normal students. I guarantee this will be a better way of development for them than just training for killing. Second, I want these two boys to join the army at the age of fifteen. Third, when they join the army, they will join General Gaige's army, at the Western Frontier."
Anders rubbed his chin. Thinking for a while he smiled.
"Those conditions are reasonable. Alright I agree. I can speak for His Majesty as well, since he gave me command over this issue."
Turning to Deon and Dell, he spoke a few more sentences.
"You guys. Please don't even try to escape. I don't actually want to destroy the Grayson Family. They have been very generous to me. If any of you disappear, I will be forced to eliminate the Grayson Family."
Deon and Dell stayed silent. They were satisfied with the conditions Anders agreed to.
"I'll give you three hours to prepare and bring anything you need with you. Meet me outside the gate of the Grayson Estate once you are done preparing."
Anders turned around and walked back out the entrance of the estate.
Deon and Dell sighed. They knew in their hearts that they couldn't hide forever. They just didn't think it would come so soon. But on the bright side, the Royal Academy is the best cultivation school in the Empire, so they will get the best resources, and be able to get stronger.
"And," Deon thought secretly," I may be able to find out who that old man is in my parents' memories. I'll kill him when I find him. Plus, this cultivation training will help me achieve my parents' dream even faster."
Deon headed back to his room to prepare for his departure. Looking at the Illusion Sword Arts book in his hand, Deon stopped, and turned towards the library to return it. The librarian suddenly rushed up to Deon.
"Keep the book. Think of it as my good bye gift to you. You were always polite and kind to me. This is your payment. Just promise me one thing: Keep persevering in your cultivation and cultivate to the final stage of the Illusion Sword Arts. I promise you. It won't be disappointing."
With a mysterious smile, the librarian returned to his position. Deon frowned. For a brief moment there, he had detected an enormous amount of Battle Energy in the librarian. Who was that old man? Thinking that it was a mistake, he shook the thought to the back of his mind.
Clutching the manual, Deon walked towards his room.
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After packing all of his things in his bag, Deon walked towards the entrance of the estate along with Dell. Anders was waiting outside. With his Spiritual Sense, Deon could sense the presence of close to a thousand troops waiting in the forest. None of them were below the bronze level of Battle Energy. It seems Deon still had a long way to go.
Wordlessly, Anders gestured at Deon and Dell to follow him. Slowly, they disappeared into the forest.
On a balcony of the Grayson Estate, a lone, masked figure was watching them with scheming eyes.
"Now that those two are gone. I have nothing more to fear in the development of my ten year plan. Everything is going smoothly, with those two gone. Mark my words Zeke, you will be dead at the end of the tenth year."
With these words, the figure turned around and disappeared into the shadows of its room.