Time passed slowly for some and quickly for others. Two weeks later, four people arrived in the city. They all had armored guards, and Albert greeted these individuals at the gate. These people were the teachers Albert had begged for. They immediately went to work and began teaching William, keeping him busy.William had no time to take his mind off his education. Every morning he either endured beatings until he couldn't get up, ran, or lifted weights, followed by lessons from his four teachers. And that wasn't all; in the afternoons, he learned from Albert about the social structure and nobility of the Empire. The few hours of free time he had were not spent playing games, but playing chess with Albert or the other teachers. It wouldn't be wrong to say that these were the only moments when he could truly rest.William worked like a machine until he was exhausted, but he couldn't say a word. Although he wasn't afraid of anyone, he wasn't very optimistic about speaking. That's why he

Albert followed closely behind William on his horse, reminiscing about the old days. Six or seven years ago, Albert had started reading fairy tale books to keep William interested.William's favorite book was called "The Legend of the Nine Stones". He was particularly fascinated by the story of Tianlong the Dragon and its rider, Yu Sheng. The story still played vividly in his mind whenever he remembered Yu Sheng's story.Yu Sheng, a princess born in the Great Xia in the East, was to be sacrificed to end the incessant rain that had been falling for eight months due to some foolish traditions. During the sacrifice ceremony, luck was on her side as all the water around her was transformed into a magical force that turned into a dragon to save Yu Sheng. Of course, this was only a brief summary, but the legend was built on it. Yu Sheng later gathered enough followers to conquer Great Xia with the power of the dragon. However, these events took place in the second book, and William didn't l

Matz and the others simply bowed their heads in sadness. They had known William since childhood. Most of them had gray hair on their heads, and the sad streaks in William's hair carried more sorrow than the sorrow on their faces at this moment.William was no longer just a prince to them. He was a brother, a friend, family. Over the years, Albert had added hundreds of new blood to their group, but none of them had the warm blood and sorrowful heart of William. None of them were religious, but they all prayed silently for William from the bottom of their hearts. Matz even gave him his word that he would protect William for the rest of his life. He would work harder and stay by William's side no matter how much William grew in strength.After taking a few steps forward, William approached the armored figure. "I wish to duel with you," he said, crossing his twin cavalry swords in front of him. He was a bit nervous and had begun to sweat. However, the cool air of the cave made his sweat c

"Loyal ones! Go to the other and wait." At William's command, the ten loyal ones behind the table obeyed his orders and slowly left the room. Albert and the others still couldn't believe what had happened, but since they weren't hurt, they were just worried."What is this? Where is this place? Who is the corpse you are bowing to?" Meanwhile, Albert looked to see if there were any notes left on the table, but all the papers were full of scribbled drawings. Apparently, they were all failed products."That corpse you see is the 'Devil' of the legends." William said calmly. At the same time, he pushed the body aside, cleared the chair, and sat down himself. "But as you can see, he has neither horns nor a body different from ours. He was just the previous owner of the Stone of Wisdom."William shook his head. It looked like a very meaningless gesture, for his face was expressionless. "All the information he has is in my head, and he's definitely not like the stories."William knew more abo

Three days later, major changes began to take place in the castle, and it was William who gave the orders for these changes. First, he received a military report from Matz.His grandfather's army consisted of very few men, one hundred and eighty men to be exact. What made these one hundred and eighty men important, even though they were few, was that they were all experienced soldiers. Many had fought in smaller wars before and then joined Albert. The remaining minority had gained their experience fighting bandits.Highrock's own army was nowhere near that number. Only 51 men. For years, Albert had underutilized the city's guards, allowing them a comfortable life. Now William gathered all the guards together and made sure that a total of two hundred and thirty-one received the same training. This training, which began with running every morning, was reinforced with various postures. Then, with the help of abundant meat meals and baths, the soldiers began to grow stronger and develop r