"Kid, are you nervous?" Emperor Fei asked with a charming smile on his face.
He noticed Lucien's movements stiffened the moment they got to the stone stairs. He also knew Lucien was aware that the invaders were not too far away so he found it reasonable that the kid would be a bit nervous when facing off against those people that almost killed him last time.
"No… not that… I think I am… I am excited by all of this… I have always wanted to be of use to this empire… I have always wanted to be useful and not just someone that is always getting looked out for! That's why I worked so hard…" Lucien was practically speaking to himself, rather than others but they could still hear him well.
Pa!
Looking up, Lucien was met with instructor Han's indifferent gaze which soon crumbled as a genuine smile bloomed on his face.
"You are really… something" Instructor Han said before walking up the stairs again.
The emperor also shot Lucien a warm smile and nodded at him before walking up the stairs, alongside instructor Han. Seeing their reactions, Lucien couldn't help but feel happy. Remembering the gaze his parents and grandparents give him, it was more like a man gazing at his expensive castle or a woman gazing at her expensive pieces of jewelry and this is why he always wanted to leave because he felt like if he wasn't this talented, these people won't bother looking his way. Right now he didn't care if it is from the humans or beast-men, as long as he could meet people who truly appreciate him not for what he can do but for who he is, he is willing to leave his family behind for them.
"Are you not coming?"
The voice snapped him out of his deep thoughts and only then did he notice that the emperor and Instructor Han had gone quite far. Right now they stood there waiting for him with their hands extended.
"SORRY! COMING!!!" Lucien screamed as he ran up the stairs.
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Blink had arrived at the top of the stone platform and in front of there was a wall stretching all the way to the black liquid above. On the wall was a small crack, enough to fit only one person but a protective barrier prevents anyone from entering through it.
"The power source is here but it's protected by some sort of barrier! Luckily the barrier will soon fade, just in a few minutes" Blink said with his usual smile but then his smile froze and his facial expression turned serious.
Looking at Clovis, he could tell his partner had also noticed the immense aura walking up the stairs. The aura was so powerful, if he didn't take his time to try and find out how many enemies they have to go up against, he was sure he wouldn't have noticed the two other aura.
"Whoever is coming up here is stronger than us" Clovis said with a serious look on his face.
"Individually… if we join hands we should be able to take deal with him or her… by the way we still have the trump cards our masters gave us!" Blink added.
Hearing their words, the ten weaker warriors and mages with them couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. To see the successors of the death and life gods in their world openly declare that someone is stronger than them didn't really sink in well and they couldn't help but feel anxious.
"You don't have to worry… I am pretty confident that Clovis and I can suppress this enemy if we join hands… As for the other two enemies… we leave them with you guys… there are ten of you and judging based on their aura, I can tell you guys can deal with them if you work together and fight properly…" Blink said to the ten anxious men standing by his side.
The aura coming from the stairs below kept rising and getting fiercer as the figure kept getting closer. Soon the owner of the aura appeared! It was an elderly man with a youthful vibe. He had shoulder-length gray hair and he wore a sleeveless mage robe, revealing his muscular biceps and triceps. Beside him were two people Blink and Clovis were acquainted with!
"I see the spatial mage and the cocky brat came with you… what happened? Does this empire really lack capable mages and fighters?" Blink sneered.