"Who are you!" demanded Beren, raising his sword at the newcomer.

A heavy pressure descended upon Beren, making him drop his sword and buckle at the knees. He looked up at the woman in fear as he realized how outmatched he was.

She glanced at Beren with piercing killing intent and frowned.

"Be good and wait over there." She said.

Carter, who was still kneeling had frozen up, overwhelmed by the display of power.

Norman also had a look of surprise on his face, but it was of a different flavor. From what Damon could see, Norman recognized this woman.

This wasn't surprising to Damon. A retired member of the Royal Guard was sure to know of her.

If anything, the strange ones were Beren, Carter and William, who did not immediately recognize her.

Perhaps if they were a little older, or if she had not been away at war for so long, they would have known who she was.

The woman turned back to Damon and her expression completely switched; she was now all smiles again. She raised her hand and gave Damon a thumbs up.

"I'm very impressed, you dealt with that wonderfully, that's how a prince should be!" she said.

"So, when did you notice me? I'm not as good as that shadow over there, but I'm still pretty good at hiding my presence." She continued, gesturing at Alan.

Alan inclined his head at her.

Beren noticed the exchange as he struggled to stand again, and he furrowed his brows. "Did they know each other?" he thought.

"There's been a disturbance in the mana around the training field for the past few days." Said Damon.

The woman clapped her hands.

"I see, I see, so you noticed me all this time huh?" she said.

"You! Who are you! How dare you show such brazen killing intent towards an official of the kingdom" shouted Beren, who had succeeded in getting up onto his feet again.

The woman's smile dropped, and she fixed Beren with a hard look.

"So, you don't feel any shame to be priding yourself as an official of the kingdom whilst behaving like a common thug?" she asked.

"Hmph, the details of what I do don't matter because I have the greater good of the kingdom in mind. Who the hell are you to even interfere." Snorted Beren.

SMACK!

A fist sized metal plate smacked Beren's jaw, sending him flying backwards, leaving a trail of blood.

He collapsed on the edge of the training field and struggled onto his knees. He cupped a hand to his jaw, catching a loose, cracked tooth as blood pooled and leaked through his fingers.

The veins on his forehead flared as he grew livid, but his reaction was cut short when he took a closer look at what had been thrown at him.

It was a rectangular plate made of a black metal. Engraved on the plate in gold was a roaring lion head, and underneath the lion head were three stars.

Three stars – a General's seal.

Beren trembled in fear as he realized the full implications of the plate he held in his hand.

"I am General Umbra Brightclaw, commander of the Golden Lion Corp. I trust you've heard of me." She said, reaching out her palm.

A surge of aura shot forward, encapsulating her seal, and bringing it back into her palm.

"I have neither the time nor energy to waste on you. Get out of my sight and take that trash with you." She said, pointing at Clifford's corpse.

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Beren set his jaw, but bowed, struggling up to his feet, he picked up Clifford's body and stumbled his way out of the training field. He did not look back, nor did he dare to mutter or grumble.

This was the expected response, even from someone as hot-headed as Beren.

Aristia was a Kingdom known for it's military might. The Aristian army was formed of several corps, but there were five that stood out as named corps with historical significance. The Golden Lion Corp was one of them, and it's current commander was one of the strongest warriors in the Kingdom.

Besides her personal power, as a General, there were only a handful of people that out-ranked her within the army, and although the Royal Guard has in a hybrid position between the military and government, as a higher-ranking officer, it was well within General Umbra's right to court-martial Beren.

Umbra turned back around to Damon, her expression completely switching back to her smile.

"So, my father did send you then?" asked Damon, though he already knew.

"I was set to take a few years off front the front lines anyway, so I took Maxi up on his suggestion to have a look at his son." Said Umbra.

"To be honest, I planned to see whether you were worth giving some pointers to or not, but I was quite impressed by what I saw. There's a lot to improve on for the two of you, but I see some promise." She said, placing her fist in her palm.

"It looks like I'll be taking this training job quite seriously." She flashed them a wide-toothed grin.

Something about the way she said 'training' made both Damon and William shudder.

Despite this, Damon smiled to himself. When he requested that his father send him a tutor, Umbra was the person he had had in mind. In his previous life, she had come to the capital at the behest of the King but had left shortly after as she had not found a suitable apprentice amongst the people Kane had recommended.

Damon had rightly concluded that if anyone were to be sent, it would be her, so long as it was in the same general time-frame. He had been proven right in his conclusion.

Damon was eager to have her as a teacher, not only because of her personal strength, but also because it was rumored that part of the reason why she had come to the capital in the first place was to find someone to pass on her personal aura techniques to.

Umbra was famous for having strength comparable to most grand generals, who were all level 8. This was even though she was only level 7. This strength was purely due to her training regime and her aura techniques.

Umbra was not a native of Aristia, and was not even from the continent of Terril, hailing from the southern continent of Rultum. Based on her ability, she had climbed her way up the ranks. She had even been granted a County and given the family name Brightclaw.

Having her as a tutor would give Damon another leg-up in future.

Umbra stretched lazily as she strolled towards Norman and Carter.

"How do you plan to deal with these two?" asked Umbra.

Norman and Carter looked at Damon. Carter had a resigned look on his face, but Norman still had pleading eyes.

Damon waved his hand magnanimously.

"Out of gratitude for Mr. Rolcur's training of William, I will spare Carter's life. In return, I trust you will upkeep your end of the bargain regarding the aura techniques?" said Damon.

Norman prostrated on the floor again, grabbing Carter's head and having him do the same.

"Thank you, your highness! I will make sure to deal with any issues that pop up and have the techniques delivered by the end of the day." Said Norman.

"Thank you for your kindness your highness, I apologize for my foolish words, and I swear to be more mindful in future." Parroted Carter.

"Will there be any issues in securing the techniques from the Guard?" asked Damon, nodding his head at their words.

"No, your highness, even if there are any problems, just the name of the General will be enough to smooth things over." Said Norman.

"Good, you may leave." Said Damon.

Norman and Carter bowed once more, and then the older man helped his nephew up on his feet and guided him off the training grounds.

Umbra stood by, watching the exchange without any particular interest. Once Norman and Carter were gone, she strolled over the Dueling platform and sat on the edge of it.

"Why did you let him go?" she asked Damon.

William also looked at Damon, he was interested in the answer.

"They can't really do anything." Said Damon.

"Beren is the type to twist the story of what happened here. I'm sure that the story the first Queen and her faction hear will place the blame on Carter, Norman and Clifford. If Norman and Carter want to continue existing, they're going to have to rely on me and my faction. His life in exchange for the loyalty of a veteran of the royal guard is a pretty good deal." Continued Damon.

William nodded in understanding, whilst both Umbra and Alan smiled in appreciation.

"Are you not angry that I let the tomato go?" asked Umbra.

"Tomato?" asked Damon, raising an eyebrow.

"The red haired, red-faced one." Said Umbra.

"I'm going to have to remember that for later." thought Damon. It would rile Beren up.

"I'm assuming that it's either because you're staying away from politics at my father's request, or that you don't want to cause any conflict between the Golden Lions and the Royal Guard." Guessed Damon.

"Heeheheh!"

Umbra laughed at Damon's response.

"What a smart boy you are. You're quite right, both those things are part of the reason." She chuckled.

"Do you want to know what the main reason was though?" she asked, still smiling.

"What was it?" asked Damon, genuinely curious.

The smile on Umbra's face disappeared and she switched expressions, taking on her cold, grim face.

"I don't plan to fight your battles for you. Whatever enemies you have, whatever danger you face, it will be up to you to get through it. I will do my best to teach you and prepare you for battle, but if you were to fall, well, then that's all you were worth." Said Umbra.

She stood up onto the Dueling platform, and her face switched to her bright smile again.

"So, are you ready to start your training?" She asked.