Chapter 68 - Chapter 68: Roy to Capel

We were walking with Roy around the capital. I concealed myself using a hood to prevent drawing attention. "Chrono, what is that?" Roy asked pointing to a crowd of people. "Let's go and take a look." I answered. We hurried there and found street performers. They utilized wind, water, fire and earth attributes to make figurines. A charismatic older gentleman was leading the group. "Next, we are going to tell you a story that you are familiar with." The older gentleman said. In an instant, figures started forming on the ground with the largest of them about 30centimeters wide and tall. A story was told about the battle with the three great tortoise and the white eagle. It was somewhat exaggerated to show myself pushing back the trio but that was not what happened. My colleagues bought me time to unleash a powerful attack that concluded the fight. After they finished the story, the crowd was moved to tears and began chanting my name. 'White!' the lead would ask and then the crowd would respond with 'Eagle!' "Did that happen? Were the proportions of the tortoise to humans well represented?" Roy asked. "Yes although my deeds are exaggerated. The tortoise were far larger than represented here. To put it into perspective, I was smaller than their eyes pupil." I answered. "Why didn't you turn to a dr…"Roy tried to say something before I covered his mouth. "Roy! You can't say this things in public. Let's go somewhere else. Let me take you to the military training compound." I said as I led Roy to the Earth and Wind Talons' military base. "Is there a festival in town?" Roy asked. "No. unlike where you are from, people in Capel live as they see fit. Dancing and singing on the street and drinking till they fall to wash away their troubles." I answered. There was a stark difference between Orthon's and Capel's cities. Orthon's cities were orderly and hollow inside, they lacked any life or amusement. On the other hand, Capel's cities were always bustling with life and activities. Arm wrestling on the streets, seniors playing board games, street performers exciting residents at every corner and anything else that brought people joy. "This is a very intoxicating atmosphere. Do they not feel shame living their lives like this?" Roy asked. "Roy, this is Capel. You need to relax a little. See that? Let's go and try our luck." I said as I pointed at a man shuffling cups on the ground. I led Roy to the man and handed him some silver coins. I let him pick the cup with the sheet of cloth under it for a few times. "Damn it. I lost the bet again." Roy said. Roy was feeling anxious but also excited to try and win more money from the swindler. Yes I said swindler because no cups had a cloth under it the whole time. "That's fine. Let's get out of here. There many more places to see." I said. As soon as we left the game, some people started following us. This was probably due to the large sack of silver coins I gave Roy and our naivety as 'first time visitors' in the capital. "Why are you taking such a dark path Chrono?" Roy asked. "Don't worry. This is a shortcut." I said. I was leading the robbers to a secluded area so that I could deal with them. "Stop. Handover the money or you die?" a fire mage said. The rest of the thugs brandished their weapons and looked directly at us. "Chrono. This is no problem for you right?" Roy asked. "Yes. However, I leave this to you." I said. I conjured a shield and a sword and handed them over to the bewildered Roy. "What? Why…" Roy stammered. "Don't worry about it. I have cast a barrier around you. Nobody can break it." I said. Roy looked relaxed as soon as he herd that and began regaining his confidence. "All you have to do is injure them, don't kill." I said. The fire mage started the fight with a long rage attack which was blocked by my barrier. "Roy. Get them!" I encouraged. The prince jumped into action and began swinging his blade. He did not have to worry about getting harmed and was running around recklessly. Arrows, darts and fire attacks were shot at him while a spearmen engaged him at close combat. My barrier proved to be too effective and within a few minutes, they tried to retreat. "Run…" the fire mage tried to say before I caught them with vines from nearby bushes. It had been a long time since I had used the ability to control plants, drya which was why I was so inexperienced that I almost squeezed the robbers to death. I caught all of them in one go and restrained their movements. "Not bad Roy. Not bad." I said as I got close to him. "That was intense. The darts and arrows were coming from the ground. The two of them could control soil and make projectiles. The spearman also tried to throw some ice at me. This Kingdom is bizarre." Roy said. "Your sword skills are not that bad." I said. "If you were not here to protect me, I … Never mind that. So are these people like major criminals?" Roy asked. "Not really. These are just some petty thieves." I answered. "Petty thieves? It would take a large number of our soldiers to stop them back home and here they are just petty thieves?" Roy asked. "This was the reason I wanted you to explore and know the town before tomorrow's meeting with the king." I said. "I understand now. Somethings need to be crossed off my list. Having joint military training at this level is useless. We were lucky the general postponed coming here." Roy said. It was important that Roy understood that Capel was a very different place than he grew up in. what might be considered strong in Orthon is probably average at best here in Capel. "Yes. Let us head to the military. I need to show you something." I said. "What about this people?" Roy asked. "Someone will find them. Don't worry." I said. "Aren't you like a leader?" Roy asked. "Yes. The head of the military. This kind of work is done by my subordinates." I answered. Roy let it go and followed me to the military base. I removed my hood at the gate and I was ushered inside the base. "Roy let me take you to the training area." I said. A few hellos here and there as we walked until we got to a large open hall. We took seats at the spectators area ad after the combatants bowed in my direction, they took a combat stance. "Roy, I want you to watch this very closely." I said. The match began shortly after. A light mage versus wind mage. Lightning attacks, light spears, tornadoes and melee. This match had it all and in the end the light mage emerged victorious. The light mage utilized the brightness of light beams to constantly blind her opponents and land critical attacks. While the wind mage's fire power was greater, the constant blinding led to his loss after constantly getting ambushed. "Chrono! What was that? What the hell was that? Are they dragons too?" Roy asked. "No. they are normal human beings who have practiced the art of magic." I answered. "Everyone in this kingdom is insanely strong. How do you even maintain order?" Roy asked. "It cancels each other out. Everyone is reasonably strong so very few people stand out. Ooh that reminds me, I need to tell you about the hierarchy of this place… and finally, at the top of the pyramid, the head of the military which is me." I concluded. "The king is not the head of the military? What a peculiar arrangement. The Talons you mentioned, are they superior to the king?" Roy asked. "In military matters they are superior to everyone apart from me. However, in civilian matters, they are at the top of the pyramid." I said. Another match was starting so we became silent and began to observe it. A fire mage versus a light mage. Although I call them mages, they were more of magic warriors who utilized different kind of weapons to complement their attributes. This match did not last long and the victory was to the light mage. This was a different light mage which made me very curious. Is the light attribute really that strong? "How come nobody wins against those people shooting light?" Roy asked. "I am wondering the same thing." I answered. I motioned to the winner to get closer and he came quickly. "You called Sir White Eagle." He said as he bowed his head. "Yes, I want to know how the light mages are this strong?" I asked. "All light mages have received the blessings of Saint Luma inside the temple. It was an order from the light Talon about three weeks ago." The victor answered. "Saint Luma? The temple in the Kingdom of Ultra?" I asked. "Yes sir White Eagle." The victor answered. "Okay. Dismissed." I said. The victor bowed and walked away.