The sensation was a little weird, but this time it was more intense than the previous times that I had used the portal.
I think it was because the Hozora kingdom was much further away.
I could feel the sensation of weightlessness, as if there were no gravity. The surroundings blurred, and at the same time, I could feel a gentle pull.
And as the blinding light faded, I opened my eyes.
The Hozora kingdom that I arrived at was much different than the first kingdom.
What was the name of the previous kingdom again?
I forgot to ask.
Nevermind that.
If the previous kingdom was a warm blue color, then this kingdom would be depressing gray.
Smoke and gray clouds filled the sky, which completely blocked the sun.
It created a very depressing atmosphere.
There were a bunch of soldiers clad in black uniforms with medals and different symbols on them.
At the same time, there were knights and people in different colored robes. They were all busy transporting items, with some carrying stuff and others rushing around.
Huge golems were hauling heavy items, such as cannons and crossbows.
Horses with carriages filled with weapons or magic crystals followed them.
But as soon as they noticed that I had arrived, they all stopped what they were doing and made a salute.
Strangely enough, it was only the soldiers who saluted; the others kept doing their tasks.
I saluted back while being a little surprised.
And soon I heard someone shout.
"Rylan Ashencroft has arrived! Open the portals to the other kingdoms!".
And as I turned around, I noticed that instead of one big portal like the first kingdom, there were multiple.
Soon, people started to come through the portals. Knights, mages, and even people who looked like mechanics and blacksmiths entered.
'This was getting serious'.
The way all these people coordinated was amazing, and the numerous people and items that came through the portal shocked me.
I continued to walk forward, and soon somebody blocked my path.
"Sir Ashencroft, follow me." A woman with glasses who looked like a military secretary stopped me.
As she walked ahead, I followed, and she started to speak.
"The monster horde came out of nowhere. A bunch of monsters were seen heading towards us, and we have dispatched two scout squads to investigate their strength". She said this while walking towards a huge rectangular building.
I see.
Her job was probably to escort me and inform me about the situation.
This was probably a normal occurrence when monsters attacked.
As I followed her, I looked at the buildings around us.
The buildings were all gray and had a rectangular form.
No buildings with triangle roofs or things that would have been a waste to have.
Soon, we were right in front of the rectangular building. There was a huge logo of two swords making an X symbol.
"The other commanders are talking about the situation." She said, as she indicated, that I should enter.
I opened the two doors, and immediately I heard shouting.
"We should not spread our forces like this." A middle-aged person with a military uniform around his 40's said while pointing at a map on the table. "That will open up too many areas!".
"We don't have enough manpower to do that. We need to make strongholds because of our lack of manpower." A slightly chubby person in a military uniform interrupted.
As they saw me enter, they stopped shouting and saluted me, and as I saluted back, they continued again.
There were four people around a massive table that had a map of the kingdom.
Two people were in black military uniforms with medals pinned to their chests. One had glasses and a green robe with the logo of 7 books, and the last one had silver armor with a black cape with the logo of a gryphon on his back.
The strength that I felt coming from the man with glasses and the knight was way stronger than the golden knight from the first kingdom.
"Listen, the monsters were spotted coming from the north. So most of our battlepower should be in the north." The man in the robe said it calmly.
"But what if the monsters attack in other directions? A lot of civilians will die because of that decision. The man in the armor asked.
"We should instead wait for the scouts before we make a decision like this." The man in armor suggested.
So the monsters came from the north, and we are waiting for the scouts to come back and report. That was the whole situation.
"We can't just wait here till the scouts come back. We need to at least send someone to the north to defend." The man in his 40s said,.
"We need to at least send four S ranks to the north, just in case an S rank monster shows up." The man in his 40s continued.
"This monster swarm looks much bigger than the previous monster swarms. We might have to send an SS rank to the north instead." The chubby man said.
"I agree. Usually, for a normal monster swarm, 50 people with a few S ranks would be enough. But now that the scale is that big, I think we need to send at least 100 soldiers, but who should be the SS rank?". The man in the robes asked.
They keep on talking about sending S ranks, but what I don't understand is why at least 4 S ranks are needed to fight an S rank monster.
I thought an S-rank could kill a S-rank monster alone, but it doesn't look like that when I listen here.
It's like multiple S ranks are needed to kill a S rank monster. Since I was a SSS rank, that probably meant that I couldn't kill a SSS rank monster alone.
That fact terrified me a little, because I thought I had possessed one of the strongest in this world.
"We should send Arnoldus. I heard him complain that there was not enough action, and his strength should be sufficient." The man in the armor said.
"I agree"
"I agree, but we should send 3 S ranks just in case. Let's send one each." The man in the robes said.
"The rest should be a mix of A-rank warriors and mages.".
They quickly told some soldiers that left the building to notify the others.
Soon the doors violently opened, and a soldier rushed in with a panicked face. He had a small logo of a pegasus on his left chest.