Shad's words cause Mark's face to greatly change. This could be said to be a secret of the Empire, a secret that very few people knew about. Even those who were privy to this wouldn't reveal this secret, but the 4th imperial prince had found out about it in less than two weeks traveling with them.
Mark took a deep breath, he had slowly grown accustomed to the 4th imperial prince's tendency of bringing about surprises. After thinking about it, he realized that the 4th imperial prince had been playing with them all along.
Going to the Mulan kingdom was just a test to see if the 4th prince was fit to lead this force. It was the test to see if he had the decisiveness and the heart to be the sword as well as the shield of the empire.
The first attack by that mysterious 7th rank expert was proof enough that he had the ability to survive the attack of a high-rank expert. The first ambush within the forest proved that he had what it takes to be their commander. In the middle of an ambush, he had charged within the enemies camp and captured their leader which proved his sharp thinking and fearlessness.
Not only that, he had even taken care of the night ambush within the capital by himself. His magic power was beyond normal and was able to use lightning energy freely from what he could see.
The way he had handled the situation in the capital of the Mulan kingdom had proven his cold-blooded side by executed a number of nobles, whether man or woman. The 4th imperial prince was the perfect candidate to lead this kind of special forces. Also, Mark had the feeling that the 4th imperial prince knew the plan of his old man all along. His old man would have never told him about that, which could only mean one thing, he had found out by himself.
After a moment of silence, he wryly smiled and slowly nodded his head to say. " Yes, it's true. It seemed like you have discovered us as well the plan of the Empire's protector way earlier than he had anticipated."
As soon as he said that, the carriage suddenly stopped.
" Can you please come out to finally meet your subordinates, young master," Mark said in a respectful tone.
Shad was a little surprised, not because Mark had asked him to meet his subordinates, but the way he just addressed him. He used the word young master instead of 4th imperial prince your highness. He was speaking to him as though he was his servant just like Monalisa.
Shad did not say anything and got out the carriage.
Outside he saw all of the hundred soldiers with a blue cloak with lightning insignia on their chests and huge flame Lion with four wings on the back which was the symbol of the Djage empire.
At this time, ten of them were holding long black crossbows. The rest of them had long spears and swords in their hands. Their armors were gone, as well as the previous weapons that they had on their hands. At this moment they didn't look like some group of soldiers but a pack of wolves. They gave off a different vibe than before.
They were looking at Shad with reverence as though they were at his beck and call and would not refuse a single of his orders, even if he asked them to cut their own throats.
" We pay our respects to the young master," They said simulstonealy as they all kneeled on one knee on the ground with their right hand on their chest.
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" This is your personal forces, they are no different from your servants and would do whatever you asked of them, their sole purpose in life is to serve you and obey your every command. Your life is tied to them, if you died on the battlefield, they will follow you in the afterlife including us." He said as he kneeled on the ground including the other three imperial knights.
Even though Shad was prepared for whatever that was coming, he was still surprised by this sight in front of him.
" Can you tell everything now?" asked Shad because there was still somethings he was not completely clear of.
" Yes, young master."
" According to the history of the Empire, In every generation within the imperial family, there was always one core member that serves as the sword and shield of the empire known as Shadow. However, the empire had never had such a person for four generations."
" While the empire was like a blazing sun that shone with boundless light within the world, behind that glory was the shadow. That shadow was there to assist and fight outside the empire against any threats and assist the continuation of the glory of the empire."
" To help the empire stays strong, to help to emperor accomplish many things that he could not, to deal with many things that could not be touched by the empire."
" A person like that had to be willing to carry the sins of the empire, give up all their status and position if needed to and abandon all glory. In this generation, the Empire's protector believed you to be that person after watching you."
" He even knew all your secrets identities and all the things you have done and accomplished since young. He had been secretly investigating you since the age of five before finally coming to that conclusion." Mark said with a slight smile on his face when he got to the last part.
Shad was not surprised by the fact the old man knew some of his secrets because he knew that not many things could be hidden from that ghost. He was like an eagle looking from above, and everything down below within the imperial capital was within his grasp.
" I see, so this old man wanted to turn me into a mass murderer, making the lands trodden by me to be paved with dry bones. I knew my peaceful life within the capital would be over one day, and I could not escape the fact that I was the prince of one of the four great empires on the continent. Sooner or later I was going to take some responsibilities to ensure the prosperity of the empire. So be it, I am searching for the truth, the truth about the things I could not understand and see, and for that, I need strength. I will take upon this task and use it as though it was a training experience to sharpen myself and increase my strength. " Shad murmured to himself while looking at the cloudless sky.
While he was saying that, he was thinking about the purple lightning seed in his mana pool as well as his reincarnation. He had never given up on the search for the truth about them. He knew that he needed strength if he wanted to uncover all those secrets. He needed the strength that can move the heaven and earth to do that, even more. One day he will leave this continent in the search of that truth. Even if he has to cross a mountain of flames and swords, he would do anything in his power to uncover these truths. he had the feeling that his life on earth as well the one here was related to this purple seed in some way,
" You all can rise. From now on you will be known as the Lightning Corps, and like heavenly tribulation in the sky, our duties are to punish those who opposed the Empire." As he said that a small ball of lightning appeared with his palm.
Without any hesitation, he shot it towards the nearby bushes that were a few meters away from the road. In the next moment, a loud painful scream could be heard as the ball lightning blasted into the bushes. the speed of that lightning ball was faster than an arrow. In an instant, a burning smell could be found emanating from behind that bushes.
After smelling that scents, the nearby Lightning corps knew it wasn't from the burning bushes but from a living being.
" These rats have been following us since two days ago. I was waiting for them to make a move but it seemed like they had just signaled their companions."
" Anyway, I will go ahead with Monalisa and you guys will wait thirty minutes before following us. It's time show me your worth as I did by hunting some mountain tigers." As he said that, he took one of the horses with Monalisa and ran towards the valley of death with an astonishing speed.