"WHAT WAS that?" King Cadmus Augustus Ciltara gloomily asked the knight commander who came to report.
"Your Majesty, a pack of wolf beasts was found surrounding the area. It is estimated that there are at least fifty of them. The lowest would be two-star beasts, while the rest were three-star beasts. With how high their fighting capacity is in quantity and quality, there must be an alpha king among them."
The report from the commander made the king's already gloomy face darken.
The numbers of the pack were doable and with their own numbers, they could easily defeat all the beasts. But knowing that it was all higher-ranking beasts, two were the lowest, which was twice the number of knights. Then what about the other three-star beasts? Let's not forget about the possibility of an alpha king joining the fun at the end.
If they had to divide their group, the mixture of ten knight soldiers and five knight commanders was already enough to fight those thirty two-star beasts. As for the twenty-rated three-star beasts, will their one and only knight master be enough? Then who will also take that alpha king?
"Brother!" The very eager voice of Calleous sounded.
And the darkened face of Cadmus became helpless, just like that. Holding his head, Cadmus helplessly sighs as he turns to look at his brother.
Actually, the real reason why Cadmus' face turned dark after he heard the report of the knight commander was not the danger it brought to them but because of this only brother of his.
There is no doubt that once Calleous heard the news, he would become just as excited as he is now. And it will only be natural for Cadmus to feel dreadful since, as a 'bro-con' as he is, he will be seeing his lovely brother send himself to those ferocious beasts.
However, he wanted to be proud like his fanatic mother; being a fan has a different tendency than having an extreme brother complex. Not even a mother's like their mother can beat him when it comes to caring for his one and only brother.
Unfortunately, he is a king now. And just like what his father told him, he no longer has his' brother's welfare as his priority but more so, he has to think of his people as his top priority.
Yes, Calleous must be part of those people but he can't be biased now or he won't make it as a king.
"What now, Callie?" He subconsciously asked.
"You're really asking that?" Calleous quickly retorted.
"Fine, fine. Do whatever you want. Just don't overdo it, okay?" Cadmus answered in recession.
His answer put a cheeky smile on Calleous' pretty face, highlighting his stunning features. And it made his acquiescence worth it. He no longer remembers all his efforts to put a handle on his younger brother.
He really had it hard. All Cadmus wanted was to show his love and care as a big brother but unfortunately, he has no sovereignty when it comes to Calleous. It was the other way around.
Hearing Cadmus' assent, Calleous promptly stood up. Because of the suddenness, the carriage shook roughly enough that Aleera, who was still sitting on the carriage's floor, had to hold onto something to keep herself from falling down.
"Get a grip, Calleous. Your strength is not on par with the carriage." Cirius reproached Calleous while holding his wife.
"Oh, sorry, mother." Calleous quickly apologized.
Aleera gently smiled at her youngest while she barely pinched the hand that her husband was holding to her. Feeling a slight pain, Cirius only frowns, dissatisfied with how low his dominance is in their family. But he had no fortitude to speak about it.
"No, it's nothing, baby Callie. Don't mind your father. Just go ahead there and destroy all those bad guys. I'll be cheering on you here. May the goddess bless you! You can do it!" Aleera enthusiastically cheered.
Calleous sheepishly grins at them one by one before standing up. With large strides, he reached the door of the carriage, a few steps from the windowside where Cadmus was seated, listening to the report of the knight commander.
Speaking of the knight commander, the person mentioned was still waiting outside on his horse for the next command. And when he heard that the result was that their prince, as well as the only blood knight in their kingdom, and the whole Auraxia would join the fight, he swiftly dismounted from his horse, obviously to offer the horse to the latter.
Calleous was already at the opening when he suddenly stopped stepping out of the carriage and looked back at his elder brother.
"Brother, cheer on me as well, okay?"
Cadmus' immediate response was to smile and slightly nod his head. Then, like a switch, his smiling expression turned serious as he warned his brother, "I want you to come back in as complete a piece as how you left this carriage, Prince Calleous. Either a scratch, a small wound, or any injuries I find on your body once you return, you will be punished. Do you understand, Your Highness, the prince?"
Calleous' mouth twitched. He might find it gratifying if Cadmus calls him 'His Highness', but once it is added to his identity as the 'prince', the pleasant feeling will instantly convert into a scowl.
But because of other people's presence, he could only curb it into a dissatisfied pout. "I will not forget that, Your Majesty."
Hearing the obvious hint of disapproval as well as dissatisfaction in his younger brother's tone, Cadmus almost can't hold back raising another white flag. Fortunately, Calleous was really unhappy with the end result so he quickly did a neck bow before taking the reins of the horse from the knight commander.
Then, in a swift way, he mounted the horse, kicking it on the side and motioning for it to start galloping. Cadmus and the others can only watch their precious youngest son/younger brother galloping ahead, taking the lead of the other knights.
"Give me the current head-ups," Calleous asked the only knight master in the group after he also took the lead with the knights at the front.
Master Luc Hickman, a fourth-degree knight, gives a salutatory gesture in front of Calleous. Although a knight master is almost at the same level as a kingdom's prince in terms of noble ranks, because Calleous has the highest degree as a knight, which was even acknowledged by the goddess herself, it was natural for him to humble himself.
After all, a blood knight acknowledged by the goddess Aurora and a king blessed by the goddess have the same position, both in rank and nobility.
"Reporting to His Higness, we have cleared up the total numbers of the wolf beasts and as the first estimation, there are really fifty of them. Thirty are two stars and the rest are all three stars. This pack of wolf beasts now surrounds us within twenty meters, while the alpha king wolf beast was waiting kilometers away from the north."
Calleous kept his indifferent eyes ahead of the road as he tried to divide their own group to rival the group of beasts, maybe not in numbers but through wit.
"How many knights are available to fight?"
"Answering His Highness, there are approximately nineteen knights, including me. As for the coachman, we recruited a few servants to sub. Among the nineteen knights, five are knight commanders, while thirteen are all knight soldiers. Despite their low ranks, I guaranteed His Highness that these men were all veterans when it came to facing beasts."
Calleous mumbled a low hum in acknowledgement of Master Luc's positive remarks about the mentioned knights. Then, without giving a side glance at the knight master beside him, Calleous unhurriedly shared his quickly made plan.
The longer Master Luc listened, the more he became amazed at how fast the young fellow thought of a perfect plan. He might not speak or show it but Master Luc still has some dissatisfaction with the obviously inexperienced princes in front of him.
Not only him who felt this way but almost all the knight masters and commanders in their order were unsatisfied with Calleous. Without enough time and effort to prove himself to these veterans, it was only natural that they would never find it pleasing that a newbie would directly overrun them in rank.
If not because it was acknowledged by the goddess, perhaps these old men had already started a revolt.
But now, hearing how fast the young fellow's mind is processing a strategy that can be the best in their current situation, this dissatisfaction is slowly turning into admiration that may end up in reverence.
Maybe if he watches him in action, this evaluation might end up as facts that these old fellows didn't expect. Just like the effect of Calleous on his own family, this may not be far from the future.
But for now, let's focus on current events. After laying down his plan, Master Luc quickly put it into action. He gathered all the available knights and men with them as he retold them the plan.
Once done, everyone moved according to their given tasks and positions. All thirteen knight soldiers will be the ones to kill the two-star beasts, while the five knight commanders, including Master Luc and Calleous, head up front to the north.
Master Luc and the five knight commanders will take on the remaining three-star beasts as they give way for Calleous to go directly to the alpha king's position.
As for the person in charge of guarding the carriages, there were those black knights to protect the king and the royal family. They may be called 'knights' but unlike the holy knights of the order, these black knights were normal knights trained to protect the king and all the next kings on the throne.
But don't look down on them, having received no blessings from the goddess. Because of their personally earned strength from training since they were young, they can fight with a knight commander with their preferred armor.
Sounds of howling and shouts from the beasts as well as the knights echoed in the forest, breaking the peace and quiet. The knights made their first move, and their small but fierce bodies rushed up with formidable certainty as their hold on their weapons was firm and steady, aiming to take lives.
The surrounding bushes moved and from there, a big shadow jumped out. Black wolves were twice the size of a mature man, with big paws that had their sharp claws extracted. With low growling sounds, their big mouths were wide open, readying for a bite as ferocious teeth basked with saliva flowing out.
The group of these two star beasts, as well as the knight soldiers, paired up as rivals. While the team of Master Luc also came face-to-face with their own group of opponents.
"Take this way, Your Highness! Just go straight down that path and you'll find the alpha king. You can concentrate with the beast king and let these extras be for us, Your Highness." Master Luc shouted at the still on the horse, riding and galloping, Calleous, while using his own strength to push away the big black wolf beast's head that jumped on his way for a bite.
Calleous' horse neighs in response, galloping a little faster. His face was full of resoluteness as well as excitement about his future fight with a much stronger beast.
This wasn't the first time Calleous had a personal fight with a beast. Since he knew how to fight, he had been going in and out of Wispwood Forest to practice his fighting styles as well as his proficiency in using his double swords.
But most of those fights were between one-star beasts and two-star beasts. The only time he fought with a three-star beast was before the knighthood ceremony. At that time, he wasn't even a blessed knight but an ordinary fighter who fought based on pure strength from training.
When he came back after defeating the three-star wild boar beast, he was so deeply injured that, if not for the palace doctor, he couldn't have attended the knighthood ceremony.