Timet Sword Armis XII, the General King of the Kingdom of Armis, was currently being welcomed by the King of Azuria into the Royal Castle. A conference of the powers all around Azuria, and a few from far away was called and even he doesn’t really think that the Kingdom of Azuria had much of a future anyway, not taking part in these talks would put him in a disadvantage in the future.
“Thank you for the warm welcome. Let the crisis to come be the water that extinguishes our old flames of war so we can get a new one to forge a fire of friendship.” Timet said with all the class as King should have. He didn’t believe one bit of what he said but appearances were important.
“Thank you for your kind words. Now that the formalities are out of the way, may I ask you a question?” Toshiro, the King of Azuria asked.
“Yes.”
“Why did you arrive so early? We have a good month before anything starts. You are the first one to officially arrive.” Toshiro asked, truly surprised by what was happening.
“If danger is on the horizon as you informed, I need to make sure my nation can function without my direct supervision for a time. It will be a good experience for the younglings to run the kingdom so they know what they are carrying on their backs. Also, I would like to experience this great country at least once.”
“Thanks for answering. Your room is already prepared. All your staff will have their rooms fully prepared in an hour at most. Also, one of the Royal Guards will be assigned to you during your stay here.”
“There is no need. My personal guards and myself are more than strong enough.” Timet said, pointing to his personal guards, clad in dark armor and holding halberds.
“Don’t worry, the guard is not there to protect your life like your guards, it’s just to make sure you won’t die a sudden death.”
“What do you mean?” Timet asked, so confused that he couldn’t be angry.
“Well, my duty calls, anything you need the servants can probably get you. Have a pleasant stay.” Toshiro said as she just left the throne room.
—
“I’m Velor, I will be your personal guard during your stay in Azuria. As informed I will not get in the way of your guards, only truly stopping things that they can’t.” A man in some sort of leather armor said to Timet. He looked plain but anyone with a brain could see that his entire gear was extremely enchanted. The appearance was probably just an illusion.
“What did you King mean when he assigned you to me?”
“There are things that no amount of strength will protect you from. That is why I am here, so I can deal with those situations should they arise. As a man of war yourself, you should know that there is more than one power that isn’t pleased with our existence and possible alliance.” Velor said calmly and neutrally as he could.
“That is indeed true…Anyway, I will be visiting the town for now. These enchanted necklaces will mask my and my guards appearances, right?”
“Yes but should you wish, you may show yourself to the masses.”
“No fun in that.”
With that said, Timet and his three guards left the castle in disguise. The rest of the official personnel he brought along began their real mission, getting information for a possible invasion in the future.
Timet walked around the city, eating from stalls and drinking almost anything he could find. His personal cultivation technique made him immune to poison so he couldn’t even get drunk, something that he finds quite bad but he learned to appreciate the drinks themselves not their effect after a while.
As much as outwardly he was having fun, inside he was lamenting the situation of the people in the city. The people there lived like there was nothing wrong in the world. They didn’t show signs of training, the desire to grow strong, the need to survive. He knew that almost everyone in his own Kingdom did what they could to be strong. Even if they could cultivate or use magic. Not being able to fight was a capital sin in the eyes of almost everyone.
Many people from outside looked at his kingdom like he was crazy, making even the women adhere to their custom of pursuing strength, but there wasn’t anything more beautiful than a woman who could protect their children. His own wife could probably wipe the floor with most of his soldiers.
Sadly for him, there was nothing he could do at that moment. The biggest reason he wanted to conquer Azuria was their population. Azuria had a greater concentration of people than almost every nation around. On average his own soldiers were stronger but he has less body total. The last 3 generations of Kings began to try and increase the population but it will be a few decades until it bears fruit.
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Having enjoyed his outing, he returned to the castle to have dinner with the King of Azuria. He didn’t feel a single danger all day, the guard really might have been unnecessary.
—--
“Good morning Timet, did you have a good night of sleep?” Toshiro asked Timet as they ate breakfast in a strangely empty dining room.
“As much as one can when not at home. May I ask where everyone is?”
“Official duties. Various things came up and they left earlier today.”
“Shame, I only saw the Queen for a moment, I would love to at least say hi to her.” Timet said. Not a hint of second intentions in his voice.
“What are your plans for today if I may ask?”
“I plan to visit the Academy. I heard that there was this incredible girl there. I want to see it for myself.”
“That can be easily arranged. Do you mind if I accompany you? I have to resolve some things there myself.”
“Of course not.”
—-
“So, what can you tell me about this girl?” Timet asked a member of his staff as they were in his carriage, going to the academy.
“She is young, blonde, incredibly powerful and has killed an immortal.” The man explained.
“Are you sure that all of that is true? Not some plot to make this pitiful kingdom seem stronger?”
“My liege, people around here truly believed that all of it is true, so if it isn’t, they don’t know.”
“Well, we can test her, can’t we?”
A few minutes later they were welcomed at the academy. It was just after lunch, they had to wait for the visit so classes weren’t affected and things were prepared.
“Welcome General King Timet. I hope you find your visit pleasant.” Maximillian said as he guided Timet towards a portal that went straight to the colosseum of the academy.
“Quite the atmosphere. Having a tournament?” Timet asked as he sat in his special section alongside Toshiro and all their guards. The place was warded so all the students of the academy that were in the normal seats couldn’t see them.
“Not quite. Since you wanted to visit I allowed normal students to challenge the special class for a chance at a spot there.” Maximillian explained. It took a moment for Timet to recall how things work in the academy and how the special class came to be.
“Is that blond girl Mia?” Timet asked, pointing to Narissa.
“No. Nobody challenges Mia anymore so she is training.”
“Why?”
“It’s futile.” Toshiro said.
“She is just a little girl, ain’t she? How come there isn’t a single student here that can fight against her?”
“That is not something you can simply explain. You have to experience it yourself.” Maximillian said.
“You speak like she is stronger than you.” Time said to Maximillian.
“Well, my apprentice is more than capable of killing anyone inside this colosseum if she so wished.”
“Even my guards?” Timet asked, almost insulted.
“Especially your guards.” Velor said.
“Would you bet on that?”
“Absolutely. How about 20 gold?” Toshiro said.
“20 gold that a little girl can win a fight against my guard?”
“Yeah. Professor, can you arrange that while we watch the current bouts?” Toshiro said to Maximillian.
“Of course. Enjoy your stay for the moment.”
During the following hours, everyone in the special class actually fought. For the less martial inclined member, special rules were applied but even then, not a single normal student managed to win with quite a lot of them getting extremely injured. What took more people by surprise was the fact that Shishen was easily beating people up. This took even Timet by surprise when he heard she was a healer. No healer should be able to fight with such ferocity and precision.
Besides that, he had to admit, as far as kids go, the special class was something else. They were true warriors.
Once everyone cleared from the middle of the colosseum a portal appeared and from it two people came out. An older blonde woman and a young blonde girl. The young girl was bloodied and bruised everywhere. She was wearing a pink kung-fu uniform and black leggings.
“So, who should I take there?” Maximillian asked as he opened a portal from the stands to the arena.
“Sett, you go. Take easy on the girl.” Timet said, the guard just nodded and a moment later he was on the ground.
Timet decided to not hear what was happening as he saw that the girl was talking with both his guard and the woman behind her. It was fun to imagine what was happening and he could always ask later.
Sett took a defensive stance and the older woman went to the edge of the arena. The girl began to gather mana, and she continued and continued and continued. After a minute Timet was impressed, his guard must have said that he would allow her to freely attack first. But after that he began to sweat, more and more mana was gathering and it took a moment for him to understand that his guards weren't on guard because of self imposed rules, it was because he couldn’t.
An oppressive aura was showering the colosseum and the only reason he wasn’t feeling it was because of the protective wards in the place he was but now even those couldn’t stop it from sipping in. All the students were completely paralyzed and clearly in fear but they couldn’t do anything.
For a single moment that feeling stopped, all the mana around the place finally gathered on the girl’s hands. A dark green fire began to emanate from her and in a single motion of her hand it took life and became a long dragon(chinese dragon) that went straight for his guard, eating half of his body away.
Timet was in shock, he couldn’t process what just happened. In the meantime Maximillian appeared again in the arena, said something and opened a portal which the girl and the older woman went through.
“Like I said, it’s futile. Also, don’t worry, we have a really good healer available.” Toshiro said with a big smile on his face.