As Ethan was inspecting the quest, the sound of the war horn going off alerted Ethan.
"They're already here?!" He looked to the hills in the distance and saw the warriors of the enemy steadily crescending the hill.
"William!" Ethan shouted in haste, urgency evident in his expression as fear flickered ever so slightly in his eyes.
Not long after his call, the doors to his chambers were pushed open, and a middle-aged man with black and white hair, a short mustache, and black attire entered Ethan's room.
William Kenworth was the royal butler. He had served his father, and now, after the death of the previous king, he serves Ethan.
The Kenworth family has sworn servitude to the Darkwood family for generations and is considered the most loyal of all the families that presided over the kingdom.
"Your Majesty"
William bowed curtly; his voice was a deep, resonant voice as smooth as velvet. He raised his head, and his grey-blue eyes stared at the young king before him in anticipation but remained in silent wait.
"Call for my Generals to meet me in the war room," Ethan said, his eyes still on the warriors who appeared beyond the castle walls. Their presence was menacing and almost fear-inducing.
Especially to Ethan, here he was. A man who had never seen blood drawn from battle, standing as a king of a near-extinct kingdom, a kingdom on the verge of collapse.
When his father died, they had lost the majority of the army, and not many warriors and knights remained in the kingdom. Seeing the numbers of the enemy made his eyes constrict.
He hoped that the so-called commanders and generals who had stayed behind would have a solution for what was to come.
"As you command!" William nodded and bowed once more before he rushed out of the chambers.
***
A large room situated in the west corner of the castle keep had a large open table in the middle, and a map of the city and the kingdom was laid out before them.
Ethan stood at the head of the table, his gaze locked onto the maps. Surrounding the young man were three men,
One of the men looked to be almost 50. He had a sturdy, muscular frame and short, cropped brown hair that greyed slightly at the temples.
He stood right next to Ethan. His deep hazel eyes were locked onto the map as well.
When Ethan walked into the room, he could not help but glance at the old man. He had a prominent scar on his left eye, and he had a neatly trimmed beard to round off his facial features.
When he finished overlooking the maps, Ethan turned his gaze towards the old man to his right, "Uncle, how many men can we expect to be able to fight?"
"How many are wounded? And what about the dead? Give me the numbers," he asked, a sense of panic and nervousness assaulting him. These numbers would be vital in order to try to win this battle; he needed to know what their chances were.
The older-looking man to his right was called Asher Stormborn. He was a loyal and trusted friend of the royal family. He and the previous king had been friends, and from what Ethan could gather, he had always been in the kingdom.
He had watched Ethan grow up. He was the most trusted general of the army, which is why Ethan could not understand the reasoning for leaving this man at the castle when his father had left with a part of the army.
Nonetheless, this was not the time to worry and try to understand the reason for such actions. They were about to go into battle!
"Following the death of the previous King, we lost our strongest warrior, and another warrior at the rank of Disciple stage 2 died in the ambush with roughly 60 trainees." The man they called Asher began to speak, his voice drifting into the ears of the men around him.
"Those who are wounded amount to 30 Trainees. Given these facts, we have just under half of our military strength remaining. I am the only remaining general, and these two are all that's left of the commanders." His voice was like a weathered stone, deep and resounding.
Ethan nodded. His concerns had lessened a bit. 'I thought it would be more,' he sighed in a relieved manner before turning to the two men on his left. Given their appearances, both men were also in their later 40s.
"Commander Magnus, what is the scale of the invaders?" Ethan asked curiously, his eyes resting on the nearest commander. He was broad-shouldered and muscular, with a towering stature. The man's short, cropped silver hair contrasted sharply with his dark, trimmed beard.
Ethan locked his gaze with the man's forest green colored eyes, staring at him intently.
"They have 140 Trainees and only 4 of their Generals and commanders are accounted for, including their King - Orion Thornblade." The large man said, his voice slightly gruff as he spoke.
As soon as the name was called, the three other men's expressions hardened, their eyes constricting. They grew solemn as they took in the weight of the words spoken.
King Orion was the Blackthorn kingdom's 5th stage Disciple knight and their strongest warrior; only the previous king in the Verdant Vale was able to contend with him.
"And… what about the rest of the army they brought?" Ethan asked, concerned, a slight quiver escaping his lips.
"Two stage 1 Disciples warriors and one stage 3 warrior excluding their king."
Ethan was able to understand the terms and words spoken due to the memories of the previous Ethan.
This world is divided into different tiers of kingdoms, and in those kingdoms, knights and warriors were the mainstays of the force.
Their strength was divided into several ranks, which go from weakest to strongest: Trainee, Disciple Warrior, Master Warrior, and Mortal Knight.
Ethan did not know if there were any realms above these, as the surrounding kingdoms, even the strongest ones, according to his information, only had Mortal Knights as their top-level strength.
This little kingdom only had 5 disciple-ranked warriors, with his father being the strongest at the 5th stage and Asher and Magnus being 4th stage and 3rd stage disciple-ranked warriors, respectively. The last remaining commander was only a 1st-stage disciple-ranked warrior.
The thought of being at such a disadvantage soured his mood even further, his expression already grim from the details. They were outnumbered and virtually outgunned; the only things in their favor were the castle itself and the surrounding terrain.
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For all the people who are reading this for the second time due to the new changes. Here is a short summary of the current changes made during the chapter:
Knight Power Ranking
Trainee
Disciple ranked warrior
Master ranked warrior
Mortal Knight
The Human knight realm has been removed and the Mortal knight realm is the real beginning of the era of knights, the rest are powerful warriors.