Hmm!
A turbid air escaped from Al Casendra's mouth. He stretched his back lazily and looked at the early morning. Though everywhere was still dark with a chilly wind blowing slowly. The cold dew dropped from the roof, while the sound of crickets and insects echoed outside.
'Runes Inscription and runesmith are fascinating.' He mused his lips and rubbed the back of his head.
'I should be able to integrate runes inscription in the next couple of days. If the book I have were more in-depth in detail. I would have resolved all the unanswered questions in my mind.' He thought, stepping out of the study.
Unknown to Al Casendra, his learning speed would put be the best genius to shame. To learn runes inscription. There are two main factors. Comprehension and Mana capacity.
Mana's capacity was quite easy. It can be increased by external factors. But to comprehend the intricacies of rune lines and understand the meaning behind the lines was difficult as ascending to heaven.
"Salute!" A voice shouted.
At once, all the soldiers with lazy attitudes stood at attention. The sleepiness in their eyes disappeared into thin. Their gaze was fixed on the young man stepping onto the podium.
Though everywhere was still dark but the slight illumination coming from luminance crystal made the training ground bright as a day. Al Casendra waves his hand and all the soldiers should be at ease.
"Are you prepared." He wrote on the board while the gentle early morning sway his hair gently.
"Positive" They chorused at the top of their voice.
Pa. Pa.
Al Casendra clap his hand twice and immediately a rush of footsteps echoed on the training. The soldiers were baffled and looked at the middle-aged man rushing into the training ground with a big box in his hand.
"Your highness." Cole called.
Al Casendra nodded and pointed to the front of the soldiers. At once, Cole dropped the box on the ground and left with a large stride.
The soldiers couldn't contain their curiosity. Though they didn't leave their formation; their eyes darted to the box. 'What inside the box?' They thought.
"Let the two captains step forward." Al Casendra wrote on the board.
Instantly, Damie and Tami step out of the formation at once. They glared at each other and stood straight like a pole, staring at Al Casendra.
"Pick one parchment and distribute the others to your squad."
Seeing the word on the board, Damie and Tami didn't dillydally. They pick a parchment and began to distribute it to their squad. In a couple of seconds, the over 200 soldiers had received a parchment each.
"Go pick your beast and come back." Al Casendra wrote.
Hmm?
The soldiers widened their eyes and quickly rushed toward their beasts. They had been wondering why would they go to such a length to capture a rank 1 beast. Besides, it only two types of beasts. The Eagle and The Wolf.
In a couple of minutes, the training field was filled with the cries of the beast and the groaning of men, dragging the beast toward Al Casendra.
Both the eagles and wolves were three times the size of a man. If not for the chain, been a magic chain, restricting the power of the beast. None of the soldiers would be able to move the beasts.
Panting.
The soldiers stopped in front of Al Casendra, waiting. No one could guess what the beast was meant for. But they knew, the moment to know the truth was near. Everywhere was quiet, leaving only the whistling sound of the cold breeze.
"Seat in front of your beast and open the parchment."
The soldiers gulped nervously and followed Al Casendra's strict command.
"Take a drop of blood from your beast and put it on the parchment."
Quickly, they follow the instruction with their mind pounding with nervousness. Some of them could already guess what was about to happen. But they didn't dare believe It.
"Now, circulate the mana in your body according to the drawing before you. After you finished the circulation, don't stop, send a strand of the mana into the parchment immediately…." Al Casendra stopped writing and looked at the face of the nervous soldiers.
"Do you have any questions?" He added, seeing their confused expression.
The soldiers shook their heads and took a deep breath to calm their fast racing hearts.
"Then, begin."
The soldiers had a different expressions on their faces. Nevertheless, everyone was nervous. Tami and Damie look at each other briefly and snorted at the same time. The two closed their eyes and began to follow Al Casendra's instructions.
Unknown to them, most of the soldiers were staring at their captain, waiting to see their result. Not that they didn't trust Al Casendra. But none of them wanted to fail.
Whimp!
Damie's parchment glowed a bluish light and the light spread to the surrounding. Since it was still early in the morning. The light was distinct. Seeing this, the soldiers widened their eyes.
Holy Molly.
The blue light dimmed after a second and shot into the eagle's forehead, sitting before her. A slight cried escape from the eagle but immediately, the hateful look of the eagle changed and turned friendly.
Dame opened her eyes slowly, and both the eagle's eyes and hers turned into four. They stared at each other for a moment before she slowly stretched out her hand and rubbed the eagle's head lovingly.
Whimp!
Tami completed the beast-taming ritual and opened his eyes with a wild grin plastered on his face. However, when he saw all eyes on Damie. His expression turned sour.
Pa Pa
Al Casendra's clap woke the stupefied soldier from their daze. Only a fool won't understand what just happened. Now, every one of them was in rush to form a contract with their beast.
"Lose their chain." Al Casendra wrote.
Damie and Tami lose the chains of their beasts, while the others fixed their eyes on the beast. Is this real. Their heart pounded. When the chain was loosened, the beast didn't run to make a sound. They stay obediently beside their master.
"These are your companions. Treat them like you will treat your family. Also, if they are two ranks higher than you. They could destroy the contract."
Gulped.
The soldiers panicked, and an imaginary pressure descended on their shoulders. Now, they couldn't afford to lose to their companion.
"You two, get on your beast and ride them. Let's see."
Al Casendra didn't need to write the word twice. Damie and Tami had been hitching to ride their beast. Suddenly, the thought of riding his beast came to his mind.
He raised his head and whistled into thin air.
Hmm!
What is going on? They wondered. Damie and Tami had yet to get on their beast when a sudden cry echoed from the sky.
Suddenly, a bigger eagle appeared on the horizon, approaching the training ground with an unimaginable speed.
Immediately, all the beast and people took a step back in panic. The eagle was bigger, and its aura was fiercer than the eagle on the ground. Its strong wing generates a gush of strong, spreading throughout the training ground.
Bang!
The eagle landed beside Al Casendra and looked at the eagles in chains for a moment before it turned to him. This was Al Cassandra contracted beast. A peak rank 1 eagle.
"Let go." He wrote on the board and jumped on the eagle's back.
At once, the eagle took off into the sky with an unimaginable speed, while its pressure send the people looking at them a couple of steps backward.
Whoosh!
Dame climbed her beast and took off after Al Casendra while Tami rode his beast with proudness. In a blink of an eye, the three had disappeared from the training ground, leaving the dumbfounded soldiers aghast.
"What are we waiting for, let's quickly follow them."
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AN: Vote and comment for more chapters.