Despite the urgency of the subjugation that was about to transpire in the Kingdom of Pantheos, Sun Wu didn't let the emergency ruin his schedule. As usual, he went for a morning run, patrolling the nearby Forest of Chythyllu while he was at it.
The Forest of Chythyllu borders the Lomenschwaal and the Rilegarthe Kingdom, as well as many other cities and villages by the edge of it. It was easily one of the largest forests on the land.
Most of the time, Alexander, their tank in the Heroes of Relics, would join him in his early morning run. However, today he focused on his preparations since they'd be trying to reclaim the Kingdom of Pantheos today. He couldn't understand how Sun Wu could be so carefree, considering that the fate of the kingdom is in their hands.
Since the Kingdom of Pantheos had fallen, it was up to the adventurers to take ownership of the land. After all, King Fahlrus VI had died along with everyone in his family. Technically, no one could inherit the kingdom, unless, of course, a direct heir would show up.
Even then, the efforts of the adventurers would be acknowledged, and there was a good chance that the party who reclaimed the kingdom would take its ownership.
This was one of the rare chances wherein another kingdom could expand its territory, and it's all thanks to the breach that happened from the Second Outerlayer. After everything that humanity had been through because of Ground Zero, they still found the leisure to compete against each other when it would've been much better if they'd worked together instead.
Sun Wu detected a couple of Wild Armored Boars, and he charged at them while swinging his Alprechian Staff.
'Dance Of The Dragonkin' Skill activated.
Sun Wu glowed a bright yellow as his footsteps quickened. Despite the power behind his every footstep, not a sound could be heard thanks to his sophisticated control over his Zecian Aura. He caught the Wild Armored Boars off-guard.
With two huge swings of his Alprechian Staff, he knocked the Wild Armored Boars unconscious. They were only F-Rank beasts, but their armor was especially sturdy so it would've been difficult to kill them in one blow. Sun Wu easily accomplished it, and he put the boars in his limited storage space.
Accessing his storage space, Sun Wu couldn't help but think about Albrecht. 'I wonder what he's doing right now.' Sun Wu mumbled to himself before he shook his head. He was only wasting brain cells thinking about him.
As one could see, he and everyone in the Heroes of Relics could also access some sort of storage space albeit a limited one. This further established the fact that Albrecht was not needed in their the party.
"It's not like I permanently banished him. If he would get stronger, then I'd easily accept his return. But for someone like him? I doubt that he would push himself to become stronger." Sun Wu said to himself. He was convinced that kicking Albrecht out of the Heroes of Relics is a good decision.
As if on cue, two figures appeared outside the Kingdom of Rilegarthe. Sun Wu immediately recognized who the first one was. After all, he was wearing the same clothes he did when he was banished from the Heroes of Relics.
"Albrecht? What is he doing here?" Sun Wu asked himself. He watched as Albrecht and another girl took one of the horses which were tied by the kingdom entrance.
Without further ado, they mounted the horse and rode off into the sunrise.
"Why did he come back here? When? I'd have noticed it if he got here yesterday. Why is he leaving so early?" There were so many questions in Sun Wu's mind.
With his curiosity piqued, he approached the entrance guard and asked if he knew the man that just left. He was curious as to why Albrecht came back and left just like that.
"Oh, him? The adventurers are talking about him, sir." The entrance guard responded. "They said that he was the first one to conquer the Shadow Realm Dungeon. Do you happen to know him, sir?"
The guard felt as if he was on cloud nine since the party leader of the Heroes of Relics talked to him. Before Sun Wu entered the kingdom, the guard didn't forget to ask for his autograph.
"He conquered the Shadow Realm Dungeon? Him?!" Sun Wu was mildly outraged as he tried to figure out what was going on.
After giving the guard his autograph, he wore a fake smile before he ran straight to the Rilegarthe Guild. He needed to inform the Heroes of Relics about this.
— — —
Meanwhile, back at the Lomenschwaal Guild,
After witnessing Albrecht's power firsthand, no one complained about waiting for him. Although almost an hour had passed, they still didn't budge from where they were.
There was a good chance that they might be late for the subjugation, but that didn't matter. It was a small thing compared to being injured by the mysterious Bronze-Rank adventurer.
At first, some of them were doubtful about Albrecht's rank. But after confirming with Cainsz that he was indeed recorded as a Bronze Rank, they didn't press any more questions. Clearly, Albrecht had a questionable past, and dealing with someone like that was always a pain so they didn't bother poking their nose in his business.
There were only a couple of minutes left before their time of departure.
Creak~!
As the door opened, two figures appeared. One of them was a familiar face, and the other was... well, not so much.
"Am I late to the party? I'm really sorry, I had to meet up with the king. Initially, I wanted all of us kingdoms to work together, but as you can tell, they were eager to put their selfishness first before anything else."
It was none other than Rhydderch Wintermoon. The Guildmaster of Lomenschwaal and one of the few Platinum Rank Adventurers outside the summoned heroes.
"Guildmaster Rhyd, you've arrived just in time." Cainsz greeted before his eyes shifted to the person beside him.
It was Albrecht Stein.
Apparently, Rhyd heard of his arrival, and he wanted to meet him halfway. However, Albrecht was highly suspicious of who he was despite the fact that he already showed his Platinum Tag and displayed his basic information. Albrecht challenged him into a fight, and he lost big time.
It was a splash of cold water for Albrecht, and he was humbled by the guild master. Had it been any other adventurer, he would've died. Fortunately, it was someone who was patient enough to not take his life after his provocation.
The fight also forced Albrecht to make a mental note that he still had more to learn— and that he shouldn't pick fights whenever or wherever he wanted. His power got the better of him, and it led to his downfall.
"Is this guy really a Bronze-Rank adventurer?" Rhyd teased as he patted Albrecht on the shoulder. "I like this kid. He's got spunk... and he's got the power to back it up."
Upon saying that, he turned towards Albrecht with an encouraging smile. "We'll be counting on you, Alb. Now let's set off and reclaim the land that's ours!"
The 'hurrahs' of the adventurers could be heard inside. As the doors to the guild swung open, a number of adventurers came out, walking towards the Zecian Portal in the middle of the kingdom. Last night, a Platinum-Rank Adventurer by the name of Cosmos Chronostasia had set up a pseudo portal right outside the Kingdom of Pantheos. This portal was connected to other Zecian Portals in neighboring kingdoms.
"Off we go, we'll be in each other's care, Alb," Rhyd called out once again before he walked into the portal.