Julius breathed heavily as if he finished a satisfying workout. “I understand. Alright, I accept. What a big risk you are taking.”
Daiyu stood from her seat, unzipping one of her dress pockets. She pulled out what appeared to be a red wallet with the “龙月” imprinted on the flaps. Longyue. Julius wondered why the capital’s name was on the wallet as Daiyu walked up to him, handing him the red wallet.
He took it and opened the wallet, revealing a stash of cards filling up all the left card slots and various monetary assets hidden behind the two main compartments. Partially lifting one banknote out of the compartment, he saw a picture portrait with a thousand-dollar number printed on the two right corners. “If I called it Thalers, what would I call your currency?”
“Caibi,” Daiyu said.
“All of the officials get those wallets. Even after resignation or not in duty, it’s permanently yours,” Empress Cai added.
“Thank you. And do I get a picture or some kind of identification?” Julius asked, tapping his finger on the flap.
“Once the upcoming meeting is over, Daiyu will take you to the Department of Staff photo ops—”
“You are coming along?” Julius asked.
Empress Cai leaned her head back a bit with a couple eye blinks. “Oh, you are inviting me?”
Julius shrugged with a smile. “I don’t see the problem for a walk. If you want my experience, then it just started.”
“You are an interesting man. I can’t say no then.”
“Great!” Julius replied as the door abruptly opened. A flash of daylight shone through the entrance.
Here they come. Julius’s attention turned to the incoming masses of silhouettes from the heavy brightness of sunlight. Once they stepped forward, all the appearance became apparent, revealing the multiple old men in traditional clothing and long goatees. Dirty white hair like dust long past their shoulders.
Daiyu stood straight and bowed to them. Julius still remained in his seat, analyzing if they had any qi in their bodies. Especially in a large crowd, it can be detected if traced carefully in a focused manner. Looking around the hall, other than those six chairs occupied by him and Daiyu, there were not enough to suffice the entire crowd of at least ten.
Because he was sitting down about to be towered by these old individuals, he couldn’t see the others behind them. The old goatee men added up to be around six, matching the amount of seats in the hall. They were focusing on interacting with Daiyu and each other. Julius, not keeping his eyes away from them, had to decide before the hall settled into the next meeting.
< Were you listening? > Julius asked.
<< Most of it. Have you decided on your options? >> Licht affirmed, questioning Julius.
< Either option, there’s no way out of it. The journey over the course so far pulled us into this. However, I can’t wait any longer. Playing the rules is why I got stuck and weakened in that damn tournament for the first half of the year. I don’t like saying this, but I have to thank that bastard. >
<< Sounds like you are leaning toward the second one. >>
< Mm-hmm, > Julius mentally hummed in agreement. < This way I don’t have to deal with these ‘anticipated’ conversations filled with old close-minded people who obviously don’t know the shit they are doing. Like outdated. No wonder Lord Buhne, David, and Thora existed to seek control of Kriegshan. The endless desire to obtain most of the relics as one of the causes of this war is an end deal. We need to bring back the military into governance. >
<< You’ll think there will be hope in sight? >>
< I mean I’m still here. The rest of the Skolritters too. I survived the torture and loss of weight. What else have I got to lose? >
<< Point taken. However, it must be clear that no one just entered leaves this hall alive and uttering words. >>
< So that’s at least ten bodies to be dealt with. Well, whatever, this will trigger chaos within the entire dynasty…There’s this one saying I had back at home. >
<< What’s that? >>
Julius stood from his chair as one of the goateed men turned his attention to him. << Peace through strength. >>
“Who’s this stranger peasant in the hall?” The old man commented in a ridiculous manner.
Julius with the fist and palm salute. “My name’s General Julius. Unfortunately, all of you are fired under the Empress’s orders.”
“Humph, rubbish language,” he commented, turning to the Empress. “My lady, allow us to escort—”
Slash!
“I said you all are fired. What is so hard to not understand,” Julius muttered, while being covered in red blood. He turned to the other part of the group. Daiyu’s snapping fingers ringed his ears, summoning an entire group of maids like earlier, surrounding the entire startled group.
“My lady, you are making a mistake!” one of them yelled in a weathered voice.
Empress Cai hurdle jumped from behind her table, leaping to the floor. She sprinted upright to that man who dared question her. Julius nudged away as she thrust her hand out, grabbing the man’s neck.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“A mistake? The mistake was my father recruiting any of you, in an attempt to keep me in line before he passed. All of you can reunite with my father in hell,” Empress Cai scolded while tightening her grip on the man’s neck.
Julius stood there silent as he watched the suffocation of one of the remaining old men. The next second, a sequence of sounds forced into the air of the hall followed by a thumping of the knees. Daiyu’s summoned maids each thrust their feet into each of the group’s popliteal Fossa in the open. When they dropped to the floor with their knees crashed down, they couldn’t move as Julius quickly perceived their legs were completely paralyzed.
“If it wasn’t…for your father, you wouldn’t be…here,” the old man grunted as Empress Cai’s neck grab caused the man to bleed through his mouth.
“What a shame being your last words,” Empress Cai mumbled before turning to Julius, giving him a nod of approval.
Thump!
A pile of lifeless bodies lay on the walkway carpet, staining the floor with a puddle of blood. The maids dissipated from the scene except two as they took a step back when Daiyu came back from the door after locking it with a heavy wood plank that Julius doesn’t know where she randomly got it from.
“So now what?” Empress Cai sighed.
“It already started,” Julius replied before looking up at the ceiling. “Tell me…is there anything above this ceiling?”
Empress Cai shook her head. “No, there’s no upper floor. Only separate buildings and the tower have anything beyond the ground floor.”
Julius smiled. “Perfect, bring the bodies over there.” He pointed to the empty area of the hall to his right.
“What are you planning?”
“I’m gonna burn it obviously. It might cost the roof a little, but we have to clear these bodies somehow,” Julius said, grabbing one of the bodies and throwing it to the spot.
“Then what about the roof.”
“I can ask Solomon to fix it. He handles the blacksmith and construction work.”
Empress Cai scratched her face before fully trusting him to do the burning of the bodies.
Daiyu and her two summoned maids each lifted at least three bodies over and tossed them to the body Julius had thrown earlier.
Wielding Licht, Julius gave a one, thrusting motion upwards, initiating his blue qi to engulf the blade. He took a step back while gesturing to others to do the same. Daiyu snapped her fingers, and the two maids disappeared. She stayed close but with a few nudges away, watching him doing the process. Her eyes are like a video cam recording a scene. Julius knew she was staring, which he began to find a little uncomfortable.
He lifted the greatsword right up to his chest and rubbed his left palm on the blade’s spine once. Subsequently, he gave a slamming gesture right to the pile like a sledgehammer, inflicting a pool of qi hovering over it. He nudged away, and the pool of qi exploded straight into the air in the shape of a beam, crashing the ceiling.
Daiyu leaped backward, landing right next to Empress Cai. Julius stood solid, watching the bodies begin to disintegrate within the blue beam. The skin and blood immediately evaporated. Then the clothes and skeletons. Afterward, Julius dashed right at the beam, giving a clean cut in half.
The beam dissipated without causing any potential damage, leaving Empress Cai relieved. Julius was right, proving her further trust with the only hole in the ceiling of the hall. “See, only the roof, nothing else.” The flooring wasn’t damaged either. A first-time case, possibly by luck because the obvious magnitudes were enough to hit the roof and leave a mark.
“Alright. I believe you…By the way, what’s that move?”
“I don’t have a name.”
“None?!”
Julius shook his head. “All of what I can do has no names.”
Empress Cai smirked. “Oh, my Yinhai. That means more time to learn how to make one.”
“Does that make a difference?”
Her face turned to dismay with her eyes widened. “Of course it does! Knowing the name of your moves by head like a person amplifies its power.”
That sounds like a cheat code. How much can it even go? What could that mean for Licht himself? Will he get it too? Julius mentally comprehended her statement. Additionally, no one has mentioned his greatsword or taken a hint of his weapon being a relic.
Daiyu slowly placed her finger on his greatsword while Julius’s attention was still on Empress Cai.
“I forgot did you mention something about rank—”
Zap!
“Gyah.” Daiyu whispery yelped
I stand corrected. Julius took the thought back when Daiyu turned right to Empress Cai, urging her to feel the greatsword. When she touched it, she got the same reaction but more nonverbally expressive.
“Before I answer…Is that a relic?”
“Uh, yes? And how can you tell because some have already had a similar reaction when they see this a while ago when it’s still a katana. You two are the first to notice the upgrade.”
Empress Cai stayed silent as she was picking up words. “You know that jolting feeling when you first wield or touch one?”
Julius took a moment and ultimately shook his head. “No. It felt like multiple weights slowly stacking on my hands a minute after wielding it the first time. No vibration sensation in my body in any way.”
Empress Cai began walking to the entrance after grabbing her folder at her desk. “Sometimes being different can be so difficult. We have to leave now; answering your question, you are rank two without any training is bizarrely impressive.”
“Then what are your two ranks? What is the highest so far?”
--
Hunger in effect.
0/7000 Calories daily limit warning
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“I’m at rank fifteen. While Daiyu is eight. Only one reached up to twenty as far as I know.”
A hundred eighty apart from the Skoltor’s max of two hundred. “I see, well good to know. Now let’s get out of here. Get my identification registered and have something to eat cause I’m starving.”
“You are lucky it is almost lunchtime,” Daiyu commented before shoving the heavy plank away and opening the door.
Empress Cai stepped out first, relieved no one was nearby. Julius quickly closes the door. Daiyu then twisted the door handle to the point it looked dented and distorted, making it impossible to open. The Empress would head off, directing Julius to the Department of Staff through the lengthy grand hallway.
Along the way, there was a handprinted or drawn map of the palace complex with various named buildings listed in the legend. Julius didn’t expect it to need an entire wall to map out the entire place. He stopped for a moment, viewing it in awe. Empress Cai’s finger tapped at the small building labeled "工作人员部" (Department of Staff). The dot beside it is where he and the two are currently at. He turned to Empress Cai.
“Once we leave the hallway it leads to a long breezeway. The first building to the right while going straight is the Department of Staff…Trust me, you will like the view of our place from the outside,” Empress Cai ensured before departing.
“Take me away,” Julius muttered, getting intrigued.