In a dimly lit passageway, the sound of footsteps could be heard audibly. The origin of these sounds could be traced back to a single individual, an old man dressed in light leather armour. It wasn't long before the man reached his destination, a single cell in the deepest reaches of what appears to be a prison. In front of the cell stood a single guard armed with a spear who was only accompanied by the light of the sole torch located adjacent to the door of the cell.

The guard instantly recognised the approaching old man as he saluted immediately, "Marshal Garrithos! What brings you to this desolate place?"

Marshal Garrithos waved his hand as he quipped, "Dispense with the formalities. I need you to release the prisoner contained within this cell, here's the Royal decree from King Sylvester as well as the stamp of approval from your Warden."

After verifying the authenticity of both documents, the guard stammered, "R-Right away, sir. You do know who's incarcerated within this cell though, right? The most wanted criminal in Miran history, leader of the revolution, 'Barbarian' Bartolomeus!"

Marshal Garrithos dismissed, "Don't worry too much and just open the cell, I'll handle this." The guard swiftly complied as he inserted the keys into the gate, opening it with a loud 'click'. Marshal Garrithos then entered the cell, which was almost devoid of light.

Even though the Marshal couldn't see clearly in the darkness, he could easily make up an individual lying on the straw against the wall, snoring away without giving a hoot to his visitor, his back facing the Marshal.

However, when the Marshal took one more step closer to the man, the snoring ceased immediately as a voice rang out in the darkness, "It's been ages since I last had a visitor, making it pretty boring in here. Well, at least I have 3 meals a day and a roof over my head, so I shouldn't complain too much, eh?"

The man then turned over lazily to face the Marshal, his face now in full view. The man had a rather dishevelled appearance, with long unkempt hair and a thick shaggy beard, testament to the length of time which had passed since he last groomed himself.

However, despite his incarceration in such deplorable conditions, the man still possessed a ripped body with chiselled abs, proof that he had kept up his individual training during his imprisonment.

Marshal Garrithos was first to speak, "Bartolomeus, rise and accept your freedom, for your country has need for your services once more." Bartolomeus slowly got up on his feet before dusting himself as he remarked, "About time for me to be out of this gloomy place. However, there's one more thing I've to do."

Turning to face the guard, Bartolomeus asked politely, "Hey, do you have a blade on you, anything would do except that spear of yours, it's too unwieldy after all." The guard replied nervously, "I-I only have this sword with me. W-What're you up to?"

Bartolomeus patted the man's shoulder and assured, "Don't worry, I won't hurt ya. Just lend me the sword, please?" The guard hesitated momentarily before reluctantly handing his sword over upon seeing the Marshal's cursory glance.

After all, the guard knew that he hadn't been treating his inmate well, often deriding Bartolomeus when the opportunity arose to relieve his boredom of standing guard in this dark, isolated place. The guard was now on full alert, ready to defend himself should Bartolomeus attempt to exact revenge on him for those months of abuse. To his surprise, Bartolomeus turned his back towards him before swinging his sword rapidly, too fast for the guard to follow with his naked eye.

The guard's knees felt like jelly as he fell backwards on his bottom, recognising that it was ludicrous to think that he stood a chance against the most wanted criminal of the country. To his surprise, Bartolomeus turned around to face him, revealing a clean shaven face as he thanked the guard, "Thanks, I really hated this beard all this while but I couldn't request a shaver while I'm in here, right? Next thing to cut is this thick hair on my head. There's a barber waiting for me outside here, right, Garrithos?"

The guard was shocked that the criminal was so casual with the highest ranked soldier of their army, but was even more surprised that the Marshal took it in stride as he replied with a smile, "Of course, you can't meet the King without being properly groomed first.

However, I'm surprised that you still haven't lost touch with your skill with the sword and mana armament. Otherwise, keeping your chin wound free from that sharp sword would be impossible right?"

The guard was horrified at the Marshal's revelation. After all, throughout Bartolomeus' time in prison, his meals were laced with a poison meant to disrupt his control over his mana, effectively keeping him toothless.

However, if Bartolomeus had been eating his meals dutifully, his ability to perform such fine control over his mana despite ingesting the poison implied that Bartolomeus could've actually broken out of his shabby imprisonment anytime he wished.

In such a scenario, no one except the Warden stood a chance against a monster like the 'Barbarian'. Upon further reflection, the feat of imprisoning a monstrosity like Bartolomeus was becoming more unbelievable with every passing minute the guard stood in Bartolomeus' presence.

Noticing the guard's astonishment at his feat, Bartolomeus smiled and replied, "I nearly forgot that you guys have been feeding me poison to restrain me from using mana. Well, I simply used it as training to improve not only my resistance to such toxins, but also my control over mana.

For that, please send my thanks to your Warden, it's made my prison sentence a lot more meaningful. By the way, I knew that the food was laced long before I ate it, but I couldn't resist such a good challenge to test my limits, hahaha. It's got a pretty unique smell after all."

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Bartolomeus then took his leave swiftly after returning the sword back to its owner, as Marshal Garrithos led the way out of the prison. The guard remained on the ground, trembling even more than before. The poison within Bartolomeus' food was meant to be odourless, yet the man was able to sniff it out if his words were taken to be true.

The guard wondered what would become of the world with the release of such a dangerous individual, as he could only pray that the new King could convince Bartolomeus to serve under his wing, otherwise, widespread ruin would be imminent.

When Bartolomeus and Marshal Garrithos exited the prison, Bartolomeus had to squint his eyes as they adjusted to the bright light of the late morning sun. Garrithos beckoned, "Come, the carriage is waiting for us. Once we're in there, we can talk more freely."

Bartolomeus nodded in acknowledgement as he followed the Marshal closely, eager to escape from the searing heat of the sun. When they had finally entered the confines of the carriage awaiting them, Bartolomeus heaved a sigh of relief, as he remarked, "Wow, the sun sure is hot! The heat's really making me miss the cool darkness of my cell, though I'll relish nothing more than my freedom."

Marshal Garrithos remarked, "Your sense of smell is as uncanny as ever, my boy. You truly live up to your reputation as the 'Bloodhound', with that [Canine Nose] of yours. Now, before we reach the Palace, I've to brief you on what to expect when you meet the new King of Miran, King Sylvester."

Before the Marshal continued, he lowered his head, as though in apology. Bartolomeus, who was behaving casually up till now, suddenly turned serious as he stammered, "H-Hey, old man Garrithos, what's the meaning of this? A man of your stature doesn't have to hang his head like that for a brat like me."

The Marshal apologised solemnly, "Sorry, Bartolomeus, for taking so long to free you and your fellow Banners from imprisonment. After the fall of the old Miran monarchy, there was so much change occurring in Miran that I simply couldn't find a good opportunity to bring up the matter of your release. I'm so sorry for making you suffer in such deplorable conditions for a whole 2 years."

Bartolomeus smiled brightly as he brushed the matter aside casually, "You shouldn't be feeling sorry at all, old man. Heck, you were my mentor in the Miran Army back when I was still a fresh-faced idealistic officer. Even though there was such a huge gap in our ranks back then, you never failed to offer me valuable guidance and advice during my time there.

Even during the revolution I orchestrated against Myro, you refused to bear arms against me as the highest ranking soldier of the Miran Army, seceding control of the Miran Army to that detestable Annabel by retiring early. For that, I'm extremely grateful to you, for choosing to stand by me even if it meant losing your military status."

The Marshal laughed, "Hahaha, of course I'll stand by your side. You were the very first young officer that I met that had such noble aspirations for our country, and despite being a military man, you stressed that the force of arms were simply but a means to attain peace and prosperity for our country, a rare breath of fresh air amidst those warmongers.

I used to be like them too in my younger days, but as I grew older, I realised that violence and bloodshed can only lead to an eternity of problems, as free will can never be completely subjugated by the power of arms. Hence, when an officer like you emerged, I had truly intended to groom you as my successor, to lead the Miran Army and our country on the right path.

Sadly, by a drastic turn of events, the previous King of Miran suddenly announced his intention to wage war against Nirvania, claiming it to be the perfect opportunity to reunite the old Human Kingdom. I heard that when this news reached your ear, you were thrown into a frenzy as you immediately made the decision to revolt against the Miran monarchy with your trusted aides and soldiers, who would form the Revolution.

The Revolution would go onto be very successful in Myro, and as what you had said, the previous King demanded me to lead the best of our forces to crush the Revolution. Considering the relationship we had, there was no way I could do it so I decided that the best way would be for me to step out of the picture completely by retiring.

Eventually, the Revolution was defeated by the 5 Pillars of Miran excluding Lord Panzer, who refused the call. The 4 Banners were captured and imprisoned, while the rest of the surviving members of the Revolution went into hiding for fear of being persecuted. That's all I know from my side. You got anything else to substantiate?"

Bartolomeus burst out laughing, much to the Marshal's surprise. Bartolomeus chuckled, "Those old farts from the previous monarchy told the country that the Revolution was defeated by the 5 Pillars? That's got to be the biggest joke they've ever made! The truth is, we 4 Banners of Revolution surrendered to the Miran Army led by the 5 Pillars, in exchange for leaving all the other members of the Revolution unharmed.

It was the best deal for the monarchy at that time. Subjugate the Revolution without the loss of a single soldier to combat. Considering the fact that the monarchy then wanted to wage war on Nirvania, it could ill-afford to spend much resources in fighting the Revolution. Hence, the previous King of Miran hastily accepted my proposal and allowed my soldiers to escape scot-free, only capturing us 4 Banners and imprisoning us.

Garrithos, you of all people should know what I'm capable of. Do you think I would be defeated by that arrogant woman who over-relies on her Enigma Ability? I don't wish to brag, but I can confidently say that the 5 Pillars, even Lord Panzer, is no match for us 4 Banners."

The Marshal, who wore a stunned expression after listening to Bartolomeus' revelation, swiftly composed himself as he asked, "Well, if that's the case, why did you choose to surrender? If you had the upper hand in the fight against the monarchy, why didn't you press the advantage you had on hand? It doesn't make sense for the superior force to bow to the will of a weaker army after all."

Bartolomeus grinned, revealing his 2 slightly long canines that resembled the fangs of a vampire, "Garrithos, you know that the reason why I climbed the ranks so quickly in the Miran Army was due to the merit I've accumulated from consecutive victories against tough foes. People have often said that I possessed the wit of a genius strategist, enabling me to outsmart my adversaries.

However, that couldn't be any further from the truth. I'm no tactical genius and in fact, I hardly study and use any tactics in battle. I simply decide when and where a battle should be fought to win the war, with the use of my gut feel. My gut feel hasn't let me down throughout the past few years, especially those trying moments during the Revolution, which contributed to our success against the Miran Army then.

It was just before I gave the order to strike down Myro when an unknown sensation struck me, different from all the previous gut feelings that I had. This particular feeling was very much like a vision of the future, where I could see the 'shadow of death' hovering over the previous Miran monarchy, but more importantly, Miran herself.

I realised that if I had attempted to overthrow the previous monarchy then, I would be plunging the country into dire straits with our infighting, weakening our defences against this unseen threat. On the contrary, I actually didn't have to lift a finger, as the previous monarchy's time was done for, its self-destruction under the hands of Nirvania assured.

Now, the reason why you've freed me and the rest of the 4 Banners. This 'shadow of death' that threatens Miran has finally shown itself, hasn't it? After 2 long years, let's hope the time I'd spent in such a pitiful cell is well worth the wait."

Marshal Garrithos could only look on in amazement at the omniscience displayed by Bartolomeus, as the young man before him looked out of the carriage window with disinterest, as though he was preoccupied with thoughts of the times to come…