Hoshi's sudden appearance filled the room with escalating turmoil. Both sides got up from their seats to get a better view of the outsider except Father Yamato.

"He matches the description Hirishima gave us. There's no mistaking it," spoke Kieri.

"Luck is not on our side even today," sighed Erashi

"That's the outsider? He doesn't look demonic."

"He really is just a child."

"Should we engage the imperial guards?"

"No, wait for the commander's orders."

The Warriors mumbled.

"He is unlike anything I have seen till now."

"His hair resembles flames."

"Child or not, he can't be trusted."

"Father, your orders?"

The cultists muttered.

"Capture him at once! And take him to the king!" Father Yamato got up and ordered.

"Yes sir!" the guards acknowledged.

Hirishima and Subaru diverted their gaze towards the commander but were signaled to not resist for now. The guards approached Hoshi and began their efforts to capture him.

Hoshi used all his might and vigor to ensure he wasn't captured that easily. He shook off the grasps of his many oppressors with hefty attacks of his own. Just a few seconds later, a substantial amount of backup arrived and finally overpowered him.

"He is pretty strong for his age," Erashi commented.

"Stop this at once!" Sir Warren yelled.

"Shut up! The king paid you for just a single decision in his favour. You are coming with us."

A guard besides Sir Warren pointed his sword at him.

"Should we engage sir?" Kieri asked the commander.

"Looks like we are out of options. The cultists will make a big deal of this but we can't let them do anything they want," Erashi answered as he devised in his mind.

"The guards outnumber us and we don't possess any weapons. We will sustain quite a few casualties," mentioned Kieri.

"Not if we release those two." Erashi pointed towards the two chained warriors.

Sir Warren whispered to the guard besides him, "Back off and I will give you double of what the king's offering you."

The greedy guard agreed and sheathed his sword.

"Listen up everyone!" Sir Warren's loud voice diverted everyone's attention back to him.

"This outsider will not be taken by the guard! Anyone saying otherwise will be punished by The Warriors! I give them full permission to engage the guards here," Sir Warren stated.

"Out of all people, I expect you to understand. Let the guards take him without resistance so we can avoid any unnecessary spillage of blood."

Father Yamato placed his views forward.

"This court's decision was already decided before he got here! His innocence and motives will be proved right now! Commander! Bring that outsider here!" Sir Warren ordered.

"Yes sir."

As soon as Commander Erashi moved out of the wooden divider, Tamura entered the room. He was wearing the same emerald and red battle armor with the addition of a white armband having the king's banner symbol in black. His back held a pair of katanas masterfully crafted by a skilled blacksmith.

"Just perfect, that traitor is here," Subaru growled.

"Why are you here, the king's new lapdog?" seethed Hirishima.

"Why so rude? I am just here to escort this boy to the king," Tamura proudly conversed.

"On such a short notice how did you know he would show up here?" Hirishima asked.

"The king ordered me to secure him in the court, looks like his intuition is beyond anything else," Tamura replied.

"(That's the second time the king predicted exactly what was going to happen. This can't be just a coincidence.)" Hirishima thought.

"Tell me, what's your name boy?" Tamura kneeled down to talk to Hoshi who was locked into place by two elite guards who just arrived with the king's first.

"As if I am going to tell you, I don't trust you one bit!" grunted Hoshi.

"No need to be so hostile kid. The king has something grand planned for you. Consider yourself lucky. Some people in Pandara are ready to even sell a part of themselves for an audience with him," said Tamura, grinning.

"Tamura, I gave you a chance to restart your life and walk away from violence! Is this how you repay me? By joining the King's guard and causing more trouble for The Warriors!?" shot Erashi.

"(Brother I..) Commander Erashi, don't try anything. We don't want to start a war with The Warriors. We only want this boy and you can all go back to your worthless lives," informed Tamura.

"You didn't answer my question! You said you repented your actions but now I see all of that was a goddamn lie!" Fumed Erashi as he began closing distance from Tamura.

"(Brother I wish I could tell you)." Tamura moved up and grabbed Hoshi by the shoulder only to unsheathe one of his katanas and place it at his neck.

"Halt right there, It's your choice! I can kill the boy right now if you didn't stand down!" threatened Tamura.

"Damn it," cursed Erashi.

"A respectable soldier doesn't hide behind a child. Release him at once and prove you have some balls," Sir Warren addressed.

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"And who you might be?" jeered Tamura.

"I am the judge and in these premises, my word is absolute," Sir Warren replied.

"Is that right?"

Laughed Tamura.

"Guards, take care of this fly in my ear."

A guard from each side grabbed and pulled Sir Warren's arms while the same guard from earlier unsheathed his sword once again and placed it on the judge's head.

"Why? I said I will pay you twice as much!" heaved Sir Warren.

"No amount of money is worth going against AlSir Tamura," the guard replied while raising his arms, aiming at his target's neck.

"Ending my life will not change anything! Justice will still prevail one way or another! I believe in The Warri...."

Sir Waren uttered his last words before the guard slaughtered him.

The body fell on the table while the head rolled over and stopped right in front of the two elite warriors. The table was now covered with a pool of fresh blood seeping from the front edge onto the floor below. The Warriors and the cultists both were flabbergasted to see this sudden execution. The opposing party attempted to flee the scene and most succeeded with the exception of Father Yamato and a few others.

"Damn it! You bastards! He didn't have to die!" Hirishima fumed.

"Oh no.." mouthed Kieri.

Erashi didn't utter a single word but was clearly disturbed as he clenched his fist forcefully.

"Don't worry, I will try to remember him. Oh shit, Already forgot!" Tamura laughed.

"I've had enough of this!" Subaru enraged and stood up to dash at Tamura but was stopped by an elite guard.

"Easy now, we still have to decide you two's fate. I believe the cult leader here will handle that. Come on now you, we are leaving," Tamura addressed Hoshi.

"Tamura, have you forgotten our mother? What if she's watching us? Do you want this new version of you to water up her eyes? She sacrificed everything for us, literally got trampled and even starved for us. Is torturing her more your new goal now!?" Erashi stressed as a tear escaped one of his eyes.

(No of course not! Brother this isn't what I want at all!) Hmph. Spare me the worthless drama." Tamura fazed for a second before regaining his ground and faint smile.

Hoshi was still flustered after seeing another death right in front of him and lost his composure. His mind was filled with rage as an intense aura began flowing from his body. The elite guards were forced to release him as his body suddenly heated up to extreme levels. His eyes radiated a red glow which surprised Tamura and made him step back on instinct. Hoshi's muscles grew slightly, making him look much more intimidating.

"You monster. What did that old man do to deserve death? Tell me!" enraged Hoshi.

"He was buzzing in my ears, all I did was swat a fly I didn't like," replied Tamura.

"You... Your heartless. I dont want to kill anyone other than the demons but you can me an exception." Even the intensity of Hoshi's aura felt faint against his incensed expression towards Tamura.

"What's this? Should I be scared you brat? I would let you kn...."

Before Tamura could finish his sentence Hoshi landed a devastating punch right at his torso.

To everyone's surprise, Tamura's upper body armor completely decimated while leaving a huge bruise on his chest. He fell to his knees while coughing up blood. Everyone in the room, even the elite guards were astounded by this sudden attack.

"What the!? That's it! Show us your power!" Cheered Hirishima.

"You weren't kidding," mouthed Subaru.

Tamura began laughing at the spot and stood up.

"Now that's what I call a punch!"

He was clearly damaged by that attack and Erashi took advantage of this and ordered The Warriors to initiate their attack. Hoshi on the other hand, was completely exhausted as he fell down while black smoke emerged from his body.

"Jeez, didn't think I had to use this." Tamura pulled out a small black box and threw it on the ground.

A portal opened which resembled those the demons used back in the attack on Exilir. Tamura hastily picked up his katanas and exited through the portal after grabbing Hoshi with a few elite guards by his side. The portal closed immediately before Erashi could reach him. The warriors were perplexed to see something this bizarre.

"Damn it, not only did you have the audacity to show up with your new rotten personality but also lack any honour!" angered Erashi.

There were four elite guards remaining, all standing outside to command lower ranked guards to attack the warriors who all jumped over the partition.

"Everyone get ready! I will get weapons for you! Kieri, release the prisoners!" Erashi loudly ordered before rushing at six armed guards right in front of him without hesitation.

He used his heavy shoulder plates to bash into two guards, pushing them back at the others behind. He then grabbed two swords that flew out his enemies hands and threw them back at Kieri. She grabbed both swords and swiftly cut through each of Hirishima's and Subaru's chains to release them free before the guards standing besides Sir Warren reacted. Upon release both elite warriors charged towards the four guards and knocked them out with their impactful fists.

They proceeded to secure four swords from the fallen guards and threw three of them towards nearby warriors. They kept the one covered in Sir Warren's blood and gently placed it besides his deceased body.

"Go, make sure these cultists here don't move an inch," Hirishima ordered.

"Yes sir," the three warriors acknowledged.

"You can't win! They outnumber you by a huge margin!" Father Yamato shouted.

"It wouldn't be any fun if they didn't," Hirishima proudly replied.

"You sit there like a loyal mutt and no harm will come to you," Subaru advised.

"We're really doing this huh?" Kieri joined the two.

"It had to be done one day anyway, I just hope we could avoid many casualties," Hirishima spoke.

"Kieri, you should stay here and watch these cultists. They might try something vile in desperation," Subaru suggested.

Kieri nodded as the two elite warriors finally joined Erashi who was using a spear's shaft and hilt to fight half a dozen guards at the same time. He had already knocked out more than ten guards without a single drop of blood spilled.

"About time you two showed up. Avoid killing anyone if you don't have to," greeted Erashi.

Hirishima and Subaru acknowledged and didn't pick up any fallen weapon but leave them for their subordinates. In just a few moments more than 30 guards were knocked out by the immense combat skill the three possessed while the remaining lower ranked warriors all picked up weapons from the ground and awaited Erashi's further orders.

"The court has been cleared! I want at least five of you to hold your position here under Kieri's command, rest of you follow me outside and engage the enemy!" Erashi loudly ordered.

Together the three exited the court to a fairly open field full of reinforcements of more than a hundred normal guards with four elite guards commanding them. In addition to those, on a slightly elevated area there were at least 10 archers arranged. Upon Kieri's orders five warriors stayed behind to monitor the cultists. The rest of the warriors about 25 in number rushed out to the battle.

"Hirishima and Subaru focus on those archers first and then join in with our soldiers who will take on the close range guards, I will immobilise the elite guards," commanded Erashi.

"All four of them against you?" reacted Subaru.

"You doubt my strength?" asked Erashi.

"Not at all. I think Subaru meant to say, just four of them?" jeered Hirishima.

Erashi nodded and led the way with the regular warriors right behind him. Hirishima and Subaru ran obliquely at different sides in such a manner that attracted the archers attention towards them.

"Listen my warriors! You have full permission to kill if your own life is at risk but your main objective is to hold the guards off until Hirishima and Subaru return. Now fight like it's your last!" Erashi yelled and the warriors showed full enthusiasm.

Xiang was still on the roof of the longhouse and was observing the escalating battle.

"(A single warrior is more competent than at least three guards of the same rank. The king is aware of that, yet I don't see any more reinforcements even far from here. The palace seems awfully quiet as well, it's obvious he isn't in there. Then where could that rat be hiding?)"

He then moved back at the window and observed inside the court.

"(The cult's leader is still here? Also Hoshi and that tough looking dude disappeared somewhere using some kind of supernatural spell. Even after witnessing everything, that nutcase wasn't too surprised. Maybe he can give me the information I am looking for now.)"

End of chapter eleven.