Capital, Aztec Kingdom.
In Aztec's Palace throne room, a middle-aged man with a burly physique was seated on the throne. Kneeling beneath him were five adults which all exuded unique bearings.
The King had been having his rest when he received an emergency meeting alert sent by one of his subordinates.
"Hawk, what is it?" his voice carried a deep autocratic tone as he addressed one of the five figures, a skinny man.
"My King, it-it-it--" Hawk man stuttered, struggling to find how to break the news to his King.
"What is happening? Tell me. I want someone to make sense of it!" roared the King in fury.
"My King, my scouts have returned with news," instantly explained Hawk. The King was known to be very temperamental. If he sights an error in his angry state, he might order his death.
"Finally, what is it?" abruptly smiled the King, diffusing the previous tense state.
'Whew,' inward breathed Hawk. However, he didn't forget what he was here for, "Oratin city was decimated last night. They were no survivors. No dead bodies, only empty buildings."
The King was shocked as he heard Hawk, "What? Oratin City? How is that possible?"
"While Oratin City is not a strong city, it is not also a weak city. It is well capable of defending itself," chipped in one of the five people, the only female one, as she tried to digest the information.
The Oratin City was a low leveled settlement location in the Aztec Kingdom. It was established by an injured knight who was part of the army during the war era. While it might have deteriorated a lot over the past few years, the legacy of the knight still remained!
"Not just that. This special occurrence happened in other cities, even a high ranked one!" informed Hawk.
"This is strange. What do you think happened to the people of the cities," The King questioned his five subordinates.
"There were blood splashes found on some locations in the cities. Judging by that, I would say they were proof of a battle. The splashes were not too intense. This could only mean--," replied Hawk.
He took a deep breath, allowing his words to sink deep into the ears of everyone present before he continued, "--That they were the city forces were quickly overpowered and kidnapped."
"Oh, why do you say that?" asked one of the subordinates, the youngest looking man in the palace room.
"At first it was just a guess, but in most of the cities. They were scars of a cultivation technique that seemed like an energy blast. I reckon that the strength needed to execute such a technique must be quite….remarkable. Also, something about the technique seemed strange. It was able to influence the environment." The Hawk got jitters as he recounted what he personally saw.
"Hold on, you mean to say or something captured an entire city-worth population with just brute force?" asked the youngest subordinate.
The King became livid as he tried to picture the scenes of his subjects being captured.
"Yes, Flan, most likely, but it is unknown what the reason is?" replied Hawk, as he thought such big action should come with a big motive!
Upon hearing Hawk, the King stood up from his throne. He walked around the throne room, pacing as he arranged his thoughts.
After a while, he asked the oldest person among the five, "Lucian, what do you think?"
Lucian stood up as he addressed his King, "My King, I do not think this was a kidnapping."
Feeling interested, the King curiously asked, "Oh, why?"
"Simple, There was no motive. If they had targeted once, I would consider the possibility of a motive, but they targeted multiple cities with nothing linking them together. They did not need a reason, they just needed people, no matter who they were and where they came from!"
Sia, the only female among the five subordinates, quickly understood what Lucian was driving at, "By they, I assume you mean there is an organization behind this?"
"Think of it, they came in unknown and they left unknown. Only an organization would have the resources to pull off this stunt," explained Lucian. He could decipher all these from his years of experience.
Flan scrunched his brow at Lucian's use of words. He felt Lucian did not care about the lives involved, "Stunts?! These are lives we are talking about, not toys!"
"I know that and watch your tone, young man!" retorted Lucian.
Frustrated but the argument, The King shouted, "Enough! Based on what we have gathered, this organization is rather in need of human lives. They are sure to resurface again. We can't have them disturbing the celebration."
He paced again, before he came to a conclusion, "Lucian, increase the security within the capital."
"Ye, my King," bowed Lucian.
"Hawk, I want your eyes and ears spread past the Kingdom, especially the capital. The moment you snuff scent of this organization, report to me," The King solemnly commanded.
"Yes, my King," bowed Hawk.
"Sia and Flan, go back to your respective duties. Also, be on the watch out."
"Yes, my King," bowed Sia and Flan as they left the Palace, followed by Lucian and Hawk.
The last of the subordinates remaining stood there like a pillar. He had not uttered one word since he came to the palace room.
"Grif, you know why you are here, right?" asked the King, as he comfortably sat on his throne.
Grif, the silent man, stared at the King for a minute before responding, "You want to know the situation overseas."
"Yes, as far as I know, you were sent a letter by the sect last month," smiled the King.
While he could behave 'kingly' to his other subjects, he couldn't do that to Grif. Grif was a member of the sect affiliated with Aztec Kingdom. Though he was not as strong as the King, his connections in the titanic sect situated overseas ran deep.
"So you know that. It's to be expected. The sect asked of an evaluation on the younger generation," calmly replied Grif.
"An evaluation! Isn't it too early for that?"
"They seemed rather anxious," reported Grif.
The King propped his hand on his chin as he thought, 'This is serious. If even the sect is anxious, then something serious must be happening!'
Noticing his thoughts, Grif said"You can tell too, right?" he paused his words before continuing, "The sky has been getting darker these days."
The moment he said that lightning struck down furiously as if representing the ominousness of the situation