Chapter 9:

The Empire has been pretty busy the past few months due to some reasons only the aristocrats are entitled to know. The Emperor decided not to disclose any information to the mass as to not bring forth panic which could lead to disorder, destruction, and economic loss. After weighing the pros and cons, the council of advisers, also known as Protectors of the Dragon, decided to mobilize a team consisting of elite warriors and mages to investigate this current predicament. The team is made up of the best of the best field agents from different organizations. Most of them are those with backgrounds as secret agents and spies, while the rest are those with great powers.

Emperor Gustavo Gloris, the leader of the whole Gloris Empire and the one with the most power among the aristocrats, is a man of great stature. He is very noble. He is a wise ruler and does not lack the power to make those under him subservient. He is the epitome of a great ruler. People even say that he is the embodiment of power and nobility himself. He is considered to be one of the greatest Emperors to ever rule the Gloris Empire.

The Emperor went and discussed some matters with the elders and their elite warriors in a secret hall. The hall is an underground room that is spacious enough to cater to basketball games for four different teams at the same time. There are a lot of Dragon ornaments and Dragon paintings posted on the walls. One painting that is really eye-catching is the one that is located behind the Emperor's seat.

The painting depicted a human warrior donned in black armor who is riding a very large crimson dragon. In his right hand is a silver sword with a length that's almost around the same height as him that is glowing a golden luster. In his left hand is a white stave shaped like a coiling dragon. Underneath was a battlefield full of different beasts and humans wearing armors and wielding swords and shields. He looked like he pitied the world, like he wants to forgive them but is unable to do so. His posture exuded an overbearing aura to the onlooker. A very powerful man. The man in the painting is called 'The Sage Knight', the man who has perfected both magic and internal energy and has transcended from the way of normal people. He's got a lot of titles like 'The Dimension Traveler', 'The Devourer of Battlefields', 'The Peerless Warlord', and many more. He is said to be a man who is not of this world. People say that he came from another dimension to purge the world of its sins. Different stories about him emerged in the past Millennia but one thing is for sure, the strongest rulers are his seeds.

"I believe that you are already briefed about what we are going to discuss this time. I still have a lot of matters to attend to so this talk will be straightforward." The Emperor said in a cold but authoritative voice. His sharp brown almond-shaped eyes looked really menacing under the dim light. His golden-brown hair matched his raw sienna skin. He is already 54 years old but one can still say that he can definitely contend for the title 'one of the most beautiful men in the whole empire.' He leaned his back towards his seat.

"Yes, milord. We have already chosen the best of the best among our clan members. They are divided into three groups based on their specialties." An elder stood up and explained. After saying this, he signaled for the chosen warriors and mages to stand up. "We have chosen those with great combat strengths and those who have great abilities when it comes to information gathering. I hope that they'd be able to acquire the information needed by his Majesty."

"I am pleased. They not only looked strong but also loyal. If you complete this mission successfully, you will receive great honor and your names will be sung by different generations to come. In this mission, you will not only find information. This mission will give you the chance to save our beloved Gloris Empire. You all know about the ability of the Empress." He glanced at them and nodded.

The Empress has the ability to sense danger, not only to herself but also to the ones around her. It is a unique ability and is considered to be one of the greatest treasures of the Empire. This is confidential information only known by the elders of the great clans and the higher-ups in the nobility.

" I won't test you for I know and I trust the Protectors of the Dragon. This mission is urgent so I won't waste your time anymore. Go forth bring peace to our Gloris Empire." He stood up and walked out of the hall. He was escorted by 10 knights clad in red armor.

The ones left inside the hall also made their move. Each of the groups made their way towards different directions. All of them are filled with the drive to bring glory and honor to their clans and also for their own selves.

. . . .

Along a jagged road, Four people are seen riding a two-wheeled beast-drawn carriage. They were surrounded by rocks, a lot of them, big and small. Some are the size of a small hill, some are even as big as a four-story building. The four were nearing the boundary between Hereros and Saintsburg. The trail east of Croppin Valley. They looked like an eccentric group. Each of them dressed totally different from the other. They are one of the groups chosen for the investigation of the current distress of the Empress.

"So that was the Emperor? It's my first time seeing him up-close. He looks cool but he's kinda lazy. I don't know if the Empress' power is real but that guy seems to be taking it too far. I mean, maybe she's just on her menopausal stages." An orange-haired loli wielding a greatsword two times her height blew her gum into a balloon which popped just a moment afterward.

"Oy, Narna. Don't think that because you're pretty cute you can just curse on our Emperor like that. Remember the ones who feed you!" A slap sounded in the air.

"You bald dog! Just because you're worshiped as one the best marksman within your clan, you can hit me just like that. I won't be humiliated!" It was the dark-skinned bald man, whose eyes are dyed golden brown, who threw that slap towards the loli. He looked like someone from the comics. His body is very bulky and muscular. His height has reached around 210cm. Anyone who looks at him can tell that he's definitely a warrior. However, he did not have any sword around his waist. In reality, this hulk came from a clan that cultivates marksmen. Despite his hulky appearance, he has a very keen sight. It is said that he can shoot moving targets 100 meters away with a crossbow. The girl, on the other hand, looked small and frail. The slap looked like it might send someone flying but the girl did not flinch one bit. Instead, she grabbed the greatsword with both hands and slashed it towards the bald man. The bald man remained calm and composed. In a split of a second, he loaded his crossbow and aimed at the girl. Both weapons are aimed at each other's throats, ready to kill.

"Vines of Submission!" The mage intervened. The ground shook for a second and a large number of vines came out of the ground, thrashing the whole carriage and startling the beasts. The vines enveloped the two in an instant. The beasts who are pulling the carriage broke free from their restraints and escaped, running wildly in different directions.

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The mage is a dark-haired young man wearing a matching black robe and a black mask that covered his whole face. He doesn't talk much as he is from the Abal clan that raises magic assassins. After everything has quieted down, a blonde-haired woman wearing a silver armor under that long brown hooded cloak stood up from the rubble and drew her sword. She let out a small bit of her internal energy to assert dominance.

"If you two want a proper fight, do it after the mission. I won't interfere. Narna, what you have shown can be considered as improper behavior." She said with a cold voice. "If this goes out into the public, your sect will be greatly implicated. I believe that the Steel Mammoth Sect will be greatly saddened by your conduct." Narna sulked and stuck her tongue out towards the bald hulk. The blonde woman then went towards the bald hulk and tapped him on the shoulder.

She looked towards the bald man. "Seri, I admire your loyalty towards the Empire but I think it would be too much if you kill your own teammate."

The bald hulk of a man stood up and responded.

"I'm sorry, team captain. I... I tried my best to him with utmost restraint but I did not know that this little girl here will take it as an attack." He grinned towards the Loli.

"Please do not make this a big one. We won't be able to achieve our goal if the both of you will continue like this. If this happens again, I'll make sure you won't be gagged anymore. I'll cut off each of your fingers and skin you alive. I'll tell the Emperor that savage beasts attacked us and only I survived. Oh, there's you too, Mr. Abel Abal." She looked at them with a menacing glare. The two felt their hair erected at that moment. She turned her gaze towards the black mask.

She looked at him with serious eyes full of conviction. "I think that what you have done is a little bit too much. You like walking, don't you? The holy mountain is a little far from here. Do you have any suggestions, Mr. Magic Assassin?" She signaled towards the wreckage and sat on the ground. She looked towards Kufu and pointed at the two tied up people. He withdrew his magic and sat near the hooded girl dispirited.

"I am sorry, Ms. Loneri. I'm just too frustrated about them and did not think of anything at that point." The silent Abel looked down. He knew that without beast carriages, it will take a long time to arrive at their destination. "I'll call my uncle. He's got a pub nearby and might be able to lend us his Pegus Carriage. It will be faster with that, right?"

"Very well. We will borrow your uncle's carriage as collateral until you pay me for my carriage." She sat down and took out a map. She gave him the map and said. "Which way is your uncle? We'll spend the night there and set forth on daybreak."

. . . .

They arrived at a small town a few kilometers away from where they are, north of Hereros. The town is around 1.8 square kilometers and is inhabited by hundreds of people. There are a few blacksmithing shops filled with all the necessary tools for farming, cooking, and other miscellaneous work. There's also a small marketplace filled with different crops and harvests from their own fields. They moved towards the center of the town. The place became a little cramped because in this block, the houses were built extremely close to each other that each house almost shared the same walls. The architecture looked simple and rugged but the atmosphere speaks a little differently. The air reeks danger. The four-people team is made up of strong individuals and has no need to be careful of muggers but for a normal person, this place can only bring forth disaster. They entered a dark and wet alley and arrived at the front of a two-story building with a broken signboard the image of a rooster standing right outside the door. Beside the door, a large man around 200cm and has a very muscular body greeted them. He looked towards Narna and frowned.

"I'm sorry but we do not let underage teens inside." He spoke mockingly. He's not afraid of anybody in this town. He's a level 9 warrior and also a level 4 mage at the same time, no one in this village can touch him. Narna glared at him but she did not lift her greatsword. She's too afraid of their group leader.

"Oy! Jason, it's me, Abel!" Abel threw a silver coin at him which was caught by a hand-shaped shadow. The shadow disappeared together with the coin. The giant man knitted his eyebrows and inspected the masked man and exclaimed.

"Master Abel! You have come. It seems you've brought friends. Are they as strong as you? Please come in." He became polite as soon as he recognized Abel.

"Of course! Each one of them is stronger than I am, maybe even stronger than father. By the way, is uncle inside? I'll be needing his help."

"Oh! I'm sorry for my rudeness. Please come in." The man opened the door. A strong scent of alcohol, sweat, and other bodily scent crept into their noses. Narna felt like puking but decided to hold it in. The four-man-team entered the room. The pub is not your usual drinking place. They offer a lot of services like selling of information, drugs, prostitution, and etc.. They were greeted by a young man with a butler attire. He led them towards a lit up hall and went ahead to knock at the room located at the end of it. The four people behind him walked after him. They heard moaning sounds at one of the rooms. Narna who's not used to living in the dark side of the world was baffled. Her pupils enlarged. Her knees shook with anger.

"What the heck is this place Abel? I don't like it here." Narna looked down and made a fist. Abel was about to speak when Loneri, the magic swordswoman, stepped in.

"Don't get too worked up. If you make a mess in here, I won't be able to protect you from these guys. This place doesn't only serve those who are part of the Dragon's Protectors but also those from the Dragon's Neighbors. The Emperor even turns a blind eye at them in order to stop them from waging war. They have already infiltrated the Empire and it will be hard for the Emperor to make a move to them. If a war breaks out, the surrounding enemies will sniff the smoke and we will never be able to handle that." Loneri patted her shoulders and started to move towards where the butler is. Three naked women went out of the room looking at the new guests with thankful eyes. The four people went in and had a talk with Abel's uncle.

. . . .

'Oh shoot! I overslept. Every bit of my energy got drained from last night. Fuck it! I'm just gonna go now. It's not like I'm smelly or something. I've got my perfume right in my pouch. It's not like people care much about their hygiene here. Altair even got so excited about my soap.'

Pshhht Pshht.

Priston took out the perfume and sprayed on his whole body. It was ten o'clock in the morning and he has not even eaten yet. His body got too shriveled last night that the moment he went inside the door, he dropped down motionless on the floor. He fell asleep in an instant, making the twins carry him up to his bed.

He took a comb out his pouch and brushed his hair tidy, brushed his teeth, and put on his uniform. That blue and red uniform that looked ridiculous. He opened the door and rushed towards the forest and into the school grounds. It's 5 minutes before the class starts and he's just a few meters away from the room when he saw the Principal, Trepolos Hali, taking care of his plants.

"Oh, good morning Priston. Off to school now?" Trepolos smiled at him. The old man did not know what his mate did to the child so his smile looked pretty welcoming for him. Unfortunately, this is not the same for the young boy.

'Damn. How come everyone in this world that I knew has very absurd mood swings? Man, I'm unlucky back then but I'm getting more and more unfortunate now. Damn you, whoever you are that brought me here. After I kill the demon king, you're next on my list.'

He swore deep within, but he sucked it in. He did not want to be tortured anymore and his class will start in less than 5 minutes.

"W... we... well, yeah. I've got flesh and blood manipulation lectures right now so I'll be going now, sir Trepolos. We'll se... see each other tonight, right?" His voice got a little pitchy as his mind is now in an emotional rollercoaster. He never would have thought that this very gentle old man, who's also his pledged brother, is also one of those sadistic demons. He remembered Nina again. He got out of his stupor and bid goodbye to the old man. He went into the lecture hall in a hurry. He's very excited to experience new things in life, just like a normal human would be. This is one of the very first steps that he needs to accomplish in order to achieve his goals in life. He can't mess up now. This must be executed perfectly.