A few hours later…
Day of Satur, 8:01 pm.
"OUT OF THE WAY!"
A knight was riding a 4-legged animal called Karfax on the streets of Luxen City and shouting at everyone who was in his way.
The crowd moved to the side to avoid bumping the knight and his ride.
"OUT OF THE WAY!"
The knight's destination -- the Temple of Priests
There were also other knights sent out to other locations, such as the Adventurer's Guild building.
When he finally got to the main gate of the compound, he jumped out of his ride and rushed over to the small gate.
"ANYONE HERE?! THERE'S AN ATTACK!"
Leo, who was one of the Priests assigned at the gate and was currently on duty, stepped out of the guard house and went over to the small gate.
"Calm down. What is it?"
"The Royal Palace is currently being attacked by demon-worshipers!"
"A Wave?"
"No, but it is being led by the former Supreme Captain!"
***
At the Ranking Match.
While the crowd was cheering, a White Cloak Priest was making his way to where the Red Cloaks were seated.
Upon finally arriving at his destination, he immediately called out the Red Cloaks.
"High Brother and High Sisters, I have an important message to deliver!"
Lucius, Grana and Clementine turned towards the Priest.
"A knight from the Royal Palace came here and delivered a message that the palace is currently under attack by a group of assailants led by the former Supreme Captain Ronaldo."
The Gold Cloaks nearby heard what the Priest said and turned towards him.
"A Wave?" asked Grana.
Clementine, on the other hand, her lips curled up into a smile.
Meanwhile, Lucius didn't say anything, his face emotionless.
"The Knight said it wasn't," replied the Priest.
"Are you sure?" asked Grana.
"That is all the Knight knows. He also mentioned that other messengers were sent to inform the other organizations."
Grana and Clementine turned towards Lucius.
Lucius got up from his seat.
"We will divide our force into 3 groups. Group 1 will stand guard here in the compound, Group 2 will guard the Temple of Priests' office building and patrol around the city, and Group 3 will head to the Royal Palace."
Clementine pointed at Lucius.
"You better make sure I'm part of Group 3! I've always wanted to fight that Ronaldo! Or I'll fight you myself if I get bored!"
"Certainly, High Sister," Lucius said and smiled before turning to Samuel. "Brother, please accompany High Sister Clementine at the Royal Palace."
"I shall, High Brother," Samuel replied.
Hearing that Samuel was accompanying her, Clementine calmed down a bit. However, she was still pumped up knowing that she would be able to fight a powerful opponent.
"I really can't wait to grind the bones of that former Supreme Captain turned heretic!" Clementine said with a grin on her face.
Lucius ignored Clementine and turned to Grana.
"High Sister, you will be in charge of Group 1."
"Yes, High Brother."
Lucius then turned to the rest of the Priests around him.
"Post-pone the Ranking Match and we shall start assembling our forces right away!"
"Yes, High Brother!" they replied.
***
At the Royal Palace.
Inside a large and spacious hallway.
Ronaldo, who was wearing a simple set of leather armor, was holding a sword made out of blue mana and staring at a man in his mid-30s on his knees.
What used to be a beautifully crafted full-plated gold-colored armor with runes was now filled with dents and cracks. His gold-colored helmet, lost during battle, revealed the man's bloody and bruised face, his right arm missing with blood flowing, and his left arm and leg twisted into a violent angle with bones popping out that the mere sight of it invokes pain and discomfort.
"YOU BETTER DESTROY MY BODY OR I PROMISE I WILL COME BACK TO HUNT YOU!" said the injured man.
"I never wanted to fight you," said Ronaldo.
"MAY YOU THE ELEMENTAL GODS CURSE ON YOU!" the man said and then spat at Ronaldo.
Whooosh!
Ronaldo swung his [Mana Sword] and decapitated the man.
Thud.
Tang.
The head fell on the floor which was then followed by the armored body falling to the floor which made a metallic sound.
Ronaldo deactivated the [Mana Sword] and it vanished.
He heard incoming footsteps coming from behind and he turned around to see who it was.
It was a man and a woman -- or at least what looked like to be a man and woman.
The man had a thin and ripped physique who was appeared to be in his early 30s with white hair, dark-red skin and sharp teeth. He wore a set of black leather armor with brown accents and had an array of items on his chest, waist and thighs.
The other one was a beautiful woman who appeared to be in her late 20s with green hair that appeared to sparkle. Her eyes were purple and there were shards of vertical purple gems on her face -- a thick one on her forehead and 3 thin ones on each of her cheeks. Just like the color of her hair, she wore a set that was a cross-combination of robe and leather armor and had potions and other items around her waist.
"Did you preserve their bodies?" asked Ronaldo.
"We did," said the woman.
"It wasn't easy to hold back, you know."
"We didn't come here to kill. And plus, save your strength. Once the rest of their backup arrives, we're going to need all of the strength we can muster."
"Yeah, yeah," the man said with an uninterested tone.
"Any word from the others?" Ronaldo asked the woman.
The woman's eyes turned into a glassy texture and the purple crystals on her face gleamed for a moment before they returned back to normal.
"Nothing worth mentioning. But Garu and Jez'ta are still dealing with the Court Magician."
"Hopefully she's in this tower, not at the others," Ronaldo said before turning around and bursting into a run.
Vooom!
He was so fast that he appeared like a blur.
The man turned to the woman.
"Dae-Ladies dae-first? Dae-I dae-don't dae-want dae-you dae-to dae-get dae-lost. Dae-Or dae-would dae-you dae-like dae-to dae-princess dae-carry dae-you, dae-Your dae-Highness?" he spoke in the official Demon-Kin Language and smiled.
The woman let out a snort before bursting out in a blur as well.
Vooom!
"Lar-I lar-think lar-she lar-likes lar-me~" the man muttered to himself in his native tongue.
Vooom!
***
Ronaldo, who was running at full speed and focusing, finally found the room he was looking for and stopped.
When he placed his palms on the large double doors, the dark-red-skinned man arrived first which was quickly followed by the woman with green sparkling hair.
"This is it, huh?" said the man. "Hopefully, your dearly beloved is indeed here."
"She's a dear friend, not a lover…" Ronaldo muttered under his breath that anyone could barely hear before pushing the large double doors.
The woman, on the other hand, didn't say anything but was checking on the others with her purple crystals.
When they entered the large and spacious room, no one was there except for a beautifully handsome man with long gold hair in his early 20s wearing a full-plated gold-colored armor covered in runes sitting on a luxurious couch.
He had his gold-colored helmet on the side and was sipping milk with tea and eating biscuits.
"Ah, my old friend and teacher turned traitor," the man said and placed the cup on top of the coffee table in a graceful manner. "And you seem to have brought some friends."
"Desmond…" said Ronaldo.
Desmond ignored Ronaldo and turned to the other two.
"Oh, is that one of the Princesses of the Shards? Please forgive me if I don't know your name. It's not a habit of mine to remember and speak the names of demon-kins," he said and flashed a warm smile.
He turned to the other companion of Ronaldo.
Desmond looked at him the dark-red-skinned man up and down like he was examining an item, not a being.
"A Larker, huh. Well, since you're with the great former Supreme Captain, you must be decent enough."
The dark-red-skinned man turned to Ronaldo.
"Who is this pompous brat? Looks like he needs to be taught some manners."
"That's Desmond, the first son of the Second Queen," said the woman with sparkling hair.
"Desmond, I don't want to fight you. I only want to talk to your Third Mother," said Ronaldo.
An amused smile appeared on Desmond's face.
"Oh? Will you be taking her? How about my half-brother? Will you be taking him as well?"
"I only want to talk to her."
Desmond picked up his gold-colored helmet and stood up.
"Did you know they offered me your spot as the Supreme Captain of Luxen City when you left? But as you know, I can't do that because my dear mother would miss me."
"So this pompous brat is also a mama's boy? You humans sure are a lively bunch," the dark-red-skinned man said and grinned.
"Oh Ronaldo, you always had a soft spot for making friends with the wrong people," Desmond said and smiled as he put on his helmet. "I've always wanted to fight you for real one day. After all, how long has it been since you've stopped teaching me? 3 years? Or was it 4?"
He activated a series of skills.
[King's Guardian].
A 3-meter tall transparent golden knight holding a spear and giant shield appeared behind him.
[Mana Axe].
A bardiche made out of blue mana appeared on his hand.
[Enchant Soul].
The bardiche made out of mana on his hand was covered with a white water-like aura.
Ronaldo got into a fighting position and activated 2 skills.
[Mana Sword].
Unlike the sword made out of blue mana he used earlier, this time around, it was a giant sword made out of blue aura.
[Soul Enchant].
The mana giant sword on his hand was covered with a white water-like aura.
[Blood Drinker].
A translucent red aura appeared on his body.
"That Knight is called [King's Guardian] and it's a Lore Magic skill. That summoned entity is immune to all physical attacks, can pass through walls, requires no mana to activate, and he can only summon one at a time but as many times as he pleases. The best way to defeat it is to render the owner of the skill unconscious or kill the owner!" said Ronaldo.
"That's all? Easy~!" the dark-red-skinned man said with a smile and got into a position before activating 2 skills.
[Mana Dual Claws].
Two claw-like weapons made out of blue mana appeared on his hands.
[Blood Drinker].
A translucent red aura appeared on his body.
[Hymm].
A red light enveloped his body.
"You men fight it out. I'll provide some support on the side," the woman with sparkling green hair said and went over to the side before activating 2 spells.
[Plant's Protection].
[Plant's Protection].
Translucent thick green roots appeared on both Ronaldo and the dark-red-skinned man before disappearing.
The 3-meter tall transparent golden knight and Desmond suddenly charged and were both equally fast.
********************
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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
By the way, I posted some Chapter Drafts at P-a-t-r-e-o-n. And to view them, you can read them at…
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Please note that the chapters posted there are only drafts. So when those said Chapter Drafts will be published here, there will be some edits. They also involve a few secret outline notes/details that I won't publish here because they contain a lot of spoilers or dispel a lot of mysteries. And at the moment, Chapter Drafts 220-224 are posted there.
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