"My lord, is it really wise to let your son lead the opposition against the throne?", a middle-aged man with a slightly pale face walked alongside an old man with sharp white hair standing straight like a pole.
Their eyes glinted scarlet, showing that they were possessed by the demonic essence.
"Are you a moron? Being the high king is a hindrance to my plans. Erik is driven by ambition and greed. He is unaware of the constraints that will be placed on him once he becomes one."
The elderly man came to a halt and yelled at the middle-aged man.
"How do you think the Elder Council came to be? People see it as an extra hand to dethrone a high king should it be necessary. Little do they know that the elders wield the most influence and power in Norva Assili."
"My lord, you mean-"
"Erik will be a puppet to anyone. To the demonic creatures, or to us so don't be too worried that that ambitious fool will take the throne.", the old man snorted before walking again in a hurry.
"Garron was only able to suppress us due to his status as a radiant knight. The only one that could contend with him is his other brother and god knows where that man is now."
They arrived on top of a guard tower occupied by two guards equipped with bows and arrows. The two saluted before making way.
Narrowing his eyes, the old man stared at the army of northerner warriors stationed in the distance.
"Talking about the devil, they sure are quick to react.", he sniggered, "How long have they been there?"
"They have just arrived, my lord.", one of the guards replied.
"Everyone was gathered here, right?", he asked again.
The guards nodded.
"Good, stay here. I'll walk out and have a little talk with our high king."
…
Garron stood alone a hundred meters from the southern gate of Arsolo Stronghold. His broadsword was stuck on the ground to his right, and he was crossing his arms and staring at an elderly man who was slowly approaching his position.
"How does it feel to be the high king for once, old man Flinthal?", Garron asked with a hint of anger from his tone.
"I don't know.", Flinthal shrugged, "Maybe we will after your death, High King Garron."
"Bastards from the Siegfried Clan, how dare you cooperate with those wicked creatures of the Otherworld!", Garron shouted, "I will have every member of your clan, direct or not, repent for their sins once everything is over!"
"Ooh, what a terrifying threat, High King Garron, but you ought to do better than that.", Flinthal cackled.
"Oh, I am about to."
Immediately following the conclusion of their brief conversation, High King Garron picked up his broadsword and dashed to the old man, swinging his weapon with brute strength.
Flinthal raised both of his hands and blocked the attack, shocking the high king.
"This is the power of demonic essence, my dear high king! Something you will never attain for the rest of your life!"
Flinthal pushed the broadsword to the sides and let go of it, sending a punch to Garron's face.
The latter reacted quickly and let go of his weapon, channeling the might of the frostal polar war bear from his chivalric core and enhanced his retaliating punch against Flinthal.
Their attacks clashed with one another, cracking the earth 50 meters around them.
"Hah! Even if I'm just at the reality realm, I can already match up to a radiant knight as weak as you!", Flinthal was elated after seeing the results.
Garron snorted and ignored the old man's insanity.
'Let's see you keep up with this.'
An ethereal figure of the frostal polar war bear emerged behind his body, "Chivalric Assimilation!"
Thick white fur grew out of Garron and his eyes turned red. The bestial instinct and savagery of the frostal polar war bear took over him.
Garron roared, blasting Flinthal a meter away, "Bring it on, be-!"
A swift kick shut him up. The transformed Garron picked up his weapon again and charged it up using his chivalric will, throwing the weapon at Flinthal's face like a spear.
The immeasurable power of the broadsword ripped the air apart, sending chills up Flinthal's spine. He was well aware that if he faced this attack head on, he would be severely injured.
He couldn't move freely because he was still in mid-air, and channeling his chivalric won't save him in time.
Three figures rushed to the scene just as the attack was about to hit him, "My lord!"
They collectively blocked Garron's attack but the might of the polar war bear roared in the sword, sending a shockwave that blasted the three figures and the weapon away.
Garron leaped high up, catching the stray broadsword and readying another attack. The three warriors quickly recovered and channeled their chivalric will to defend.
However, Flinthal noticed the slight grin on Garron's face, alerting him of the incoming danger.
"No, get away, the three of you!", he shouted but it was too late.
Garron landed fiercely in the center of the three, blasting another powerful shockwave to the earth and conducting its power to his enemies' feet.
"Bear's Earth Pounding!"
The three felt like they were grounded by electricity as immense pain swelled inside their bodies. They wriggled around and died soon after.
The darkened earth caved a few meters down, forming a hundred-meter-wide crater around the impact's center.
Garron raised his head and saw that Flinthal had already escaped.
"Run like the weakling you are, coward!", he shouted to the heavens, "What demonic essence bullshit?! I will enforce justice to those who were betrayed by the likes of you, Flinthal Siegfried!"
Pointing his sword at the gate entrance, Garron empowered his voice, "Army of the Norva Assili, attack!"
The army stationed on the mountaintop roared in fury before igniting their chivalric wills and charging straight at Arsolo Stronghold. The ground quaked at their mere presence and running.
The bell from the guard tower not far away rang in distress, alerting its defenders to ready themselves for an assault.
Elder Flock and the two dragons landed beside High King Garron.
"High King, I remind you to not kill all of them. The Heavenly Magic Academy might be in need of the traitor's knowledge or memories at the end of this incident so do not get carried away by your emotions and waste such an opportunity.", the elder repeated.
"Don't worry, elder. I won't forget an easy task like that.", Garron grinned and joined his army on the charge, leaving the three behind.
Arahon and Harrtugg Naaw jumped high in the skies and transformed into their original bodies. They roared fiercely and flew to the northern side of Arsolo Stronghold where a powerful demonic aura resided.
"I hope you don't chicken out, my dear friend. Are you ready to kill the foul creature that has corrupted your dragon eggs?", Arahon asked.
"Enough with the talk, I just want to kill and kill some more!", Harrtugg Naaw flapped his wings and breathed out a cold wave of ice.
Elder Flock silently observed the two dragons in the skies, wondering something in his mind.
"Elder.", Haera and the five youngsters approached him from behind, "Please, let us in on this as well."
Elder Flock turned around and shook his head, "I thought that I have told you-"
"My big sister is in trouble, Elder Flock, and I don't think those northerner warriors will differentiate a slave to an enemy of theirs.", Emi interjected.
"Elder, we won't bother the northerner army of their business, but unless we get to my junior sister's big sister on time, I'm afraid they might kill her off before she could negotiate with them.", Jinmu added.
This barbaric army was so crazy about exercising their vengeance that it has clouded their minds to a great extent. Yes, they could withdraw their swords if the army saw them but not Akane who had inadvertently become a slave under Erik Siegfried, a member of the current northerner army's number one enemy.
Olivia could have the possibility to persuade them otherwise but Jinmu wasn't willing to take such risks.
Elder Flock sighed after hearing their arguments. He knew that this bunch of youngsters were in the hot-blooded stages of their lives.
"Fine, but let me analyze the situation inside first."
The old man closed his eyes and moved his mana around, "Where is the Siegfried Clan located, Princess Olivia?"
"They should be in the eastern part of the stronghold, at the outer edges near that mountain cliff.", she pointed at the huge wall of earth blocking the path eastward.
Elder Flock managed to locate using pure mana sensory alone. As an archmage, manipulating the mana in the surroundings was the most basic thing to do.
Jinmu, on the other hand, observed Elder Flock's movements and traced how he was controlling the mana under his will.
'His experience is simply what drives the mana to move wherever he desires. Nothing more than years of accumulated exercise that his body had long ingrained such results, and it became natural for Elder Flock to do.'
Shifting his focus away, the old man opened his eyes and relayed the information that the six of them needed.
"There isn't any strong fluctuation of aura inside this… mansion of theirs. The most powerful of them is someone at the higher-blade of the imprint realm.", he turned at Solordo and nodded, gesturing that his superhuman strength will be greatly needed by his acquaintances.
"I won't be giving you a free ride. The leader of the demonic creatures may notice my aura nearing that place and I don't want that to happen.", he reminded them.
The enemy might take it as him needing someone or something inside that place which will force the enemy to react, preventing Haera and the five students from acting at all.
"And don't put yourselves in immediate danger. You should be aware that if something bad happens to the five of you, I will bear the brunt of your academy master's wrath."
They understood and bowed, "Thank you, Elder Flock. We will be right back."
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel