A few years back, the Alliance had suggested the use of elites to attack the Black Masks strongholds and various hotspots that the Allfather might be in. For the most part, the White Knight project had been doing exceedingly well. The Black Masks were pushed back, and many of their highest executives were wary of the White Knights' existence. However, everything changed when the Allfather first made his appearance…
With one wave of his arm, the Rank 99 Spirit Saint annihilated half of the White Knights, tearing up the fabric of the Alliance from its core. Hundreds of powerful Spirit Lords and Spirit Kings were massacred while a handful of Spirit Emperors barely managed to escape from the abyss. It was a disastrous scene and by far, the worst failure in the Alliance's history. From then on, the three superpowers became hesitant to provide more elites to the Alliance, fearing that their best Spirit Users would suffer the same fate as their seniors.
The Alliance Head, Raphael, was having recurring headaches because of that fact. Although the three superpowers were willing to send troops to bolster the Alliance's forces, the cream of the crop were held back and would only act within their own nation's borders. Without adequate firepower, the Alliance had no chance when it came to countering the powerful monsters that ran the Black Masks.
Fortunately, Shin's Guardian Sword was willing to fill that void. Shin, the Prince of Water, was more than a rising star. Among the three superpowers, he had good relations with both the Himmel Empire and the Lantis Republic. Even among the Kori Federation, Shin maintained a favourable relationship with the Dalgeom Sect, one of the most significant powers within the country. Adding the fact that Shin landed a fatal blow to the Allfather's plans, many of the world's top executives were seeing the young man in a different light.
A Prince that has the backing of the Azure Dragons and the Lantis Republic as a whole. A friend of the newly ascended Himmel Prince, who was slated to inherit the strongest Spirit in the world. A man that is betrothed to the Witch of the South and the future son-in-law to the Highgarden Duchy. If an organisation created by Shin wouldn't succeed, then no organisation in the world could.
Guardian Sword could become the next White Knights… No, given how influential Shin was, it could surpass the White Knights by a good mile. The Lantis Republic had already promised Shin that some of their top Luminaries would extend their services to Guardian Sword. Meijing Bingying, Qilong Hu, Jingyu Taiyi, Longyu Linji, Xunyu Feifei… All of these geniuses were going to join Shin in combating the evil that was the Black Masks.
Therefore, it wasn't strange for the Himmel Empire to do the same. Isadore and Elrin were definitely joining up with Shin, so that was a no-brainer. However, the Imperial Family didn't stop there. They'd sent seven of their country's top talents, helmed by none other than Suji Lasgeor, to join Guardian Sword.
"I didn't expect that you'd come..." Shin tried his best to keep a straight face as he shook the colossal man's hand.
Shin wasn't short. Some would even call him well above the average man's height. However, Suji was just a hulk of a specimen. During his teenage years, the Son of War was already 1.8 metres and possessed a full set of muscles that could easily be mistaken as armour. Now that he was fully grown, Suji Lasgeor was easily two metres tall. His veiny muscles intimidated any that dared to breathe a single word his way and his presence was no different than that of a seasoned general of a thousand battles.
Shin had seen many heroes in his day, he had even seen multiple Spirit Saints and powerful Primordial Beasts. Therefore, Shin wasn't daunted by Suji's presence. Still, it didn't change the fact that Shin had to look up at the gargantuan man.
"No, you're the unexpected one, Shin Iofiel..." Suji smiled. "Or should I call you Prince of Water?"
"Please spare me from that," the young man replied with a wry smile. "Unless you would like me to call you the Son of War from now on?"
"... I guess we both have our own troubles." Suji's short reply drew out laughs from the tense atmosphere.
A few years back, Shin and Suji had been competing wildly to see who was the best of their generation. In fact, Shin's explosive growth during his freshman year could be accredited to Suji's constant pressure as the top dog in the Academy. As both of them grew older, they'd put behind their foolish hot-headedness and focused more on self-improvement. Shin pulled ahead in cultivation while Suji whole-heartedly poured his soul into improving his combat arts. However, there was one thing that remained constant…
They were both unquestionably… Geniuses of their generation.
Isadore butt into their conversation with a brilliant smile: "Suji and the other six would be joining Guardian Sword for the next ten years. I was the one that personally wrote the contract for them. I don't think you have an issue with that right?"
"Of course not! Guardian Sword would love to take in as many talents as it can get!"
Although Shin was the leader of Guardian Sword, much of the organisation's power was evenly split. Isadore was responsible for the information networks, Elrin would be accountable for the finances and Kanari would be taking care of diplomatic affairs. In essence, Shin was a figurehead that signed any document that came to his table. For Isadore to write a contract signing seven of the Himmel Empire's top talents… Shin couldn't be happier.
"Let me introduce you, I'm sure you're familiar with Suji, Danroy and Natasha." Like a salesman, Isadore started his pitch to acquaint the seven talents with Shin. The front three needed no introduction. Suji, Danroy and Natasha were all part of Shin's year, and each one of them had crossed swords with Shin before. It was the remaining four, who had their fists clenched by their sides, that needed to talk.
Isadore first pointed to the woman who stood directly behind Suji. "Alyssa Lasgeor. The first daughter of Marquess Stanret and first daughter-in-law of the Lasgeor family. Twenty-seven-years-old and a Rank 41 Spirit Spectre."
"Greetings, your highness." The woman immediately gave a polite curtsey. Her posture was impeccable, and she looked completely at ease when greeting Shin. Alyssa was a beautiful woman, there was no question about it. Her reddish-brown hair flowed like a spring's stream down to her shoulder blades, hiding her two charming ears. Blue eyes and porcelain-like skin, Alyssa was the prime example of a Himmel Noble.
"Wait… first daughter-in-law of the Lasgeor family? Don't tell me..." Shin's eyes shifted from Suji and Alyssa.
"That's right, Alyssa is my wife." Suji succinctly affirmed Shin's conjecture.
"H-Hold on one second! You got married?! When?!" The Prince of the Lantis Republic was panicking, and with good reason. Although Shin knew that Suji had a betrothed, he'd never would have thought that Suji would marry this early. After all, the Son of War wasn't known to be the affectionate type.
"Right after graduation," Suji wasn't fazed though. His face was still as expressionless as a dead specimen. "Alyssa had been my fiancee for many years, and she wasn't getting any younger… So I thought it would be better if we simply tied the knot as soon as we could."
"..." Alyssa's lips twitched, and her elbows were about to jab into her husband's rib. However, like a true noble, Alyssa caught herself quickly and reverted back to her amicable smile.
"T-That… I didn't know that you were such a romantic, Suji..."
The Son of War didn't take the praise well. Instead, he let out a sigh: "I'm no match for you, though. You took away the future Duchess of Highgarden, after all."
"Haha, I guess that's true..." Shin chuckled as he turned to the remaining three blank faces. No, Shin vaguely remembered seeing some of them before, when he'd attended some of the Himmel Empire's High Society functions. One woman and two men, all three of them seemingly below twenty-five... 'They must all be nobles...' he theorised.
"Lynne Rahchell, daughter of Marquess Rahchell. Twenty-one-years-old and Rank 37 Spirit Adept. Her specialty lies in the auxiliary class and can boost her allies in battles, like Elrin."
"Nice to finally talk to you in person, your highness." Lynne did an impeccable curtsey as well. Her chestnut hair bounced as she made the firm noble's move.
"Nice to meet you, Lynne. Weren't you in Imperius Academy as well?"
"That's right! I was in the same class and Elyse and Fionn!"
"Ah, that's great!" Hearing that Lynne was in the same class with his two younger sisters, Shin's favourability of the girl rose dramatically. "I would be counting on you to tell me all of their mischievous deeds back in school. These lasses never tell me anything, even after I ask them multiple times!"
"Hehe, leave it to me!" Lynne rubbed her nose and declared with all that she had.
"Shin!" Of course, that drew protests from Elyse, who had been sneakingly downing many sweets, but Shin ignored her. Clapping his hands with Lynne, Shin made a mental note to befriend this young woman who knew all of his sisters' secrets.
"Next is Fabian Dicregin. Son of Count Dicregin. Thirty-years-old and a Rank 47 Spirit Spectre. A combat-oriented cultivator." Isadore redirected Shin's attention to the oldest looking person in the group. Although he didn't have Suji's massive height, the man had a colossal build, one not to be scoffed at.
"Nice to meet you, your highness." Fabian gave a simple bow, and Shin received it with a smile.
"Finally, this man right here is Baron Deandre Clamen. A twenty-nine-year-old officer in the army that's slated to become the Himmel Empire's next big general. Although he doesn't have a noble background, Deandre is considered to be our military's greatest talent. I hope you wouldn't mind him joining Guardian Sword."
"How would I dare? I wasn't from a noble background, either!" Shin smiled. He gave Deandre a firm handshake. "It's a pleasure to have you onboard, Deandre."
"Your Highness, you're too kind." Deandre smiled as he willingly allowed Shin's senses to invade his body. As a Rank 60 Spirit King, Shin had all the ability to look into someone with an inferior cultivation level.
'Rank 46, huh? Isadore really brought over some great talents!' None of the seven elites that Isadore brought here were simple. They were all youngsters that had the potential to become Spirit Venerates in the future. If they were counting Isadore as well, two of them could well be on their way to the elusive Spirit Saint realm!
Guardian Sword didn't lack resources, they lacked talented manpower. Although with a simple word, Shin could round out every elite in the Lantis Republic, it wouldn't be the same as having a unified front of all the three superpowers. The Himmel Empire had sent some of their elites and Shin was about to request the Kori Federation do the same. Only through unity could humanity weather the storm that the Allfather was going to bring...
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