GIGGADON EMPIRE IMPERIAL PALACE.THRONE ROOM."Is what you said true?" Izzak asked the envoy in a confused tone."Yes, every word I have just spoken are the words of the emperor himself," Ralphye, the envoy sent by the Thorka Empire, replied.The room fell into silence as Emperor Maximus, Izzak, and the lord chamberlain stared at Ralphye intently.*TAP**TAP**TAP*Emperor Maximus tapped the edge of his throne's armrest three times, his gaze fixed on Ralphye with an amused expression."Heh, from how fast his heart is beating, I can tell he's afraid of exposing the fact that the old man is dead. However, I already found out that, through Shadow... Though the old man wasn't as strong as I am, he could unite all the kingdoms and empires in the south to prevent my army from conquering the South. And with him serving as the leader of 'SOTO,' I had to stop my conquest of the South. But now that he's dead, the 'SOTO' is like a snake who lost its head. So, why..."Emperor Maximus pondered i
IN HELENA’S ROOM *RUFFLE *RUFFLE* “Wow, the princess’s hair has become even softer and more luscious. As expected of the hair of…” Nora thought to herself with a smile on her face as she gently dried Princess Helena’s wet hair with a towel in front of the dressing table. “Nora?...” Helena called. “Yes, Your Highness,” Nora replied. “I know you must have heard about the change in the empire’s succession law,” Helena said in a serious tone. “Yes, Your Highness. I have heard such rumors,” Nora cautiously replied, aware of the sensitivity surrounding the imperial family. However, she believed these rumors to be lies, especially since the birth of the first prince of the Giggadon Empire. “It might be surprising, but those rumors are true. All children of imperial blood, both male and female, are now allowed to fight for the throne of the Great Giggadon Empire,” Helena announced. *WHOOSH STANDS* After speaking, Helena got up from the dressing table’s chair and turned towards Nora, c
"Keuk!... It hurts... it really hurts," Grace murmured to herself, lying on the ground, trembling with pain. Her injuries began to heal rapidly, and as seconds passed, she felt the throbbing ache subside.*THUD* *THUD*While still on the ground, waiting for her body to fully recover, Grace sensed heavy footsteps approaching quickly from behind. Realizing she couldn't remain vulnerable and waiting to be attacked, she mustered her strength and forced herself to stand, despite not being fully healed yet."Kukuku... what a surprise. I thought I shattered every bone in your body. How are you still able to stand?" Cobra said, his tone amused, upon witnessing Grace rise even after his attack, which would have paralyzed an ordinary person.Hearing Cobra's words, Grace turned to face him, her eyes filled with determination and a glint of bloodlust."Even after using 80% of my strength to attack him, he is still unscathed. Unlike me, who almost died from one of his strikes... and the other on
SEVEN HUNDRED METERS AWAY FROM SILVERWOOD MANOR.*PITTER-PATTER**WHOOSH*"Team leader, what do you think made that howl? Did a beast really get into the capital?"Tristan, a knight in the Wrathguard/8th squad - team 1, asked while running behind the Team leader toward the source of the loud explosion and howl."That should be impossible... but we'll know once we get there... pick up the pace!"Sir Galen, the Team leader, commanded with a sense of urgency.-------------------------------------------------A FEW MINUTES LATER, IN FRONT OF SILVERWOOD MANOR'S ENTRANCE GATE."Whoa... What sort of beast could cause this level of destruction to a manor in the capital? Especially one protected by a magic formation?"Aldric said with a shocked expression after seeing the damage done to the manor while still outside the entrance gates."Did a beast really do this? It should be impossible for a beast to get into the capital without the magical detection devices detecting it,"Sir Galen pondered
AT A MANOR A FEW BLOCKS AWAY FROM THE SILVERWOOD MANOR.*VROOM*“This one has also been deactivated,”Draven said with a concerned expression, revealing the manor’s barrier formation with his mana.“That’s what now? Like three manors, all with their magic formations deactivated. This cannot be a coincidence,” Aldric commented.“Yeah... you’re right. It’s too much of a coincidence for all four manors we’ve been to, to have their magic formations deactivated. Someone must be behind this, but why? What is their purpose in deactivating the barrier formations?”Draven said, his expression mixed with wariness and curiosity.“This situation seems suspicious. Should we request backup from Team 2?”Orion suggested.“No, we can handle this on our own. The team leader and the others are taking care of things at Silverwood Manor. So, our task is to gather any clues we can find about the identity of the person or group responsible for deactivating the manors formations,”Draven asserted with a d
*SHING**SHING**SHING**SHING*Draven, Aldric, Orion, and Evander unsheathe their swords, as they prepared to confront the source of the unknown voice.*STEP*"Hey, there's no need to draw your swords," Scorpion calmly interjected, stepping into the illuminated area, revealing himself."Why does this man look familiar? I think I've seen him recently, but I can't recall where." Draven pondered silently upon seeing Scorpion's face.As Draven struggled to recall where he had seen Scorpion before. Aldric steps forward from the group wearing an annoyed expression and walks toward Scorpion.*THUD** THUD**THUD*The sound of Aldric's steps reverberated through the tense silence as he approached Scorpion. After closing the distance between them, he raised his sword and points it threateningly at Scorpion's face.*SWISH*"Who the hell are you?... Huh?”Aldric asked, his voice laced with a threatening tone, as the tip of his sword’s blade drew nearer to Scorpion’s face.“…”But Scorpion sto
AT THE SILVERWOOD MANOR.*WHOOSH**BOOM**BOOM*“Keuk!... how is it so strong?”Galen thought in his mind while flying through a wall after being tossed from the east side of the manor to the west.*CRASH*“Urgh…”Galen groaned in pain as he crashes onto the floor. But quickly got back on his feet, sword in hand and his guard up. Glancing around, he noticed he was back at the center of the manor’s entrance hall, bathed in moonlight.“What the hell was that beast? Blocking its attacks sent me flying across the manor… Ugh.”Galen muttered, with a pained expression. He looks down at his hands and noticed them tremble from the impact of blocking the beast's attacks with his sword. Then he realized that if he hadn’t blocked the attack he would have gotten seriously hurt.“Taking more attacks like that would be dangerous.”Galen thought in his mind with a cautious expression.*WHOOSH*“RAAAAAAAOORR!!”Grace's deafening roar pierced the air as she appeared in front of Galen, launching an inc
“AAAAAHHH!!”Tristen and Percival yelled in pain, covering their eyes as the intense light temporarily blinded them. The sudden and overwhelming brightness disoriented them, leaving them vulnerable and unable to see their surroundings.*WHOOSH*“Did you not know that in a fight, you should not take your eyes off your opponent? Kekekeke.”Cobra said in a mocking tone as he appears behind Tristan and Percival.“!!!”Tristan and Percival’s hearts pounded in fear as they heard the unknown voice behind them. Panic took over, and they instinctively turned around, blindly swinging their swords toward the source of the sound, hoping to hit their unseen assailant. Their actions were fueled by a mix of adrenaline and fear, but the lack of visibility made their attacks wild and unguided.*SWISH**SLASH**SLASH*“Whoops… Kekeke, how do you expect to hit your target if you don’t look at it?”Cobra jeered, his mocking laughter resonating through the hall. As he displays remarkable ease and agility,