Hail the King

It was a soldier’s dream to get a commander and leader who was clear on the reward and the punishment. Although these soldiers were at the bottom of the military ladder, and not a lot of people cared for them, they still wanted to be respected and be recognized. They didn’t need much; simple praises and simple smiles would them feel like they weren’t wasting their lives.

The soldiers chugged the wine with tears flowing down their faces.

The wine never tasted so good.

“This second toast is for the 236 warriors who made it back alive! Your bleeding won’t be for nothing, and your achievements won’t be forgotten!” Fei cheered, “Everyone will get the merits on the book, and you will get 50 gold coins each!”

The warriors chugged down the second cup of wine.

“This third toast……” Fei suddenly paused for a second and continued, “This thirst toast is for this damn war. Just like you all, I hope it will end sometime soon. No one likes war…… Maybe some people want to prove themselves and get credits by stepping on the corpses of others, but I’m not about that life. I hope my soldiers and warriors could live peaceful lives with their loved ones and not sleep with sharp blades in their hands. I hope I can still drink with you all after the war is over.”

After Fei said that, he chugged the third cup of wine.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became silent. However, this silence wasn’t negative. Instead, all the soldiers were staring at the tall and handsome figure with admiration in their eyes. Even commanders like Ribry and Shevchenko chugged their wine and looked at Fei as if he was a massive mountain in their sights.

……

The inside of the building was still lit, and the cheering and playing noises were still sounding.

Fei already walked out of the watchtower; as the Head Commander, his presence would tense up the atmosphere, and the soldiers wouldn’t be able to enjoy themselves to the fullest.

As he sensed the cold wind blowing on his face outside the watchtower, he had many thoughts on his mind. Although he shouldn’t let his men to get wasted like this as it would create a bad example, he couldn’t help but feel bad for them as some of them lost their limbs and would be disabled for the rest of their lives. He allowed them to party this time, and what he said were all from his heart.

Footsteps sounded behind him.

“Sir, we encountered something strange on the way back, and I have to report to you,” Shevchenko followed Fei out of the building and said.

He told Fei everything about that mysterious mid-aged mage and that cute yet dangerous boy named Arthur.

“They disappeared after a wave of a hand?” Fei frowned and asked, “According to your description, that man is at least a Moon-Class Elite…… that cute boy must be powerful as well. Were his eyes all black? That is strange……”

“I think so too. However, they were too strange, and they are so close to the city…… Although they don’t seem like bad people, I think we should be aware of them,” Shevchenko suggested carefully.

“Masters on this level wouldn’t get themselves involved in wars between empires unless they belong to one party. Besides, even if we are aware, we couldn’t do anything against them; they are just too powerful!” Fei already connected those two people with the masters that he sensed in the underground ocean.

“Maybe they were among the powerful energies that I sensed in the water……” the King had a feeling that something big was going to happen as there were too many powerful masters around.

“However, we still need to know what is going on. Tell the soldiers to report back to me immediately if these two people are seen in the city,” Fei said after he gave it some thoughts. According to tales and books, these masters all had strange personalities and behaviors. If the soldiers went up to them and questioned them, that might cause a lot of trouble.

Shevchenko nodded and understood the situation.

The King realized that he was still too weak, and he had to pretend to be a dumbass.

His current top priority was to increase his strength. After all, only the influential people had the right to talk; if Fei was powerful enough, he could easily wipe out all the threats around him.

At this moment, the noises made by the hooves of horses sounded from afar.

The lights from a few torches could be seen in the night, and they were approaching Dual-Flags City quickly. Fei already spread out his Spirit Energy, and he saw who they were. It was a team of more than 30 people, and it was shocking how they went through the campsites of Jax. After the initial chaos, the invaders of Jax moved aside and made a path for these people to get through.

Shevchenko’s expression turned serious as he waved at the soldiers around him; he signaled them to keep their guards up.

Everyone was nervous as they observed this team of people.

When this team of people got closer, Fei realized that they had the flags of the Holy Church with them.

The Holy Knights on the horses were wearing the silver armors that only the members of the Holy Church could wear, and there were also more than a dozen Priests in the team. Behind these people, there was a carriage levitating off of the ground as a powerful wind-elemental magic array was at work. Although these people were all powerful, Fei’s eyes locked onto the carriage. The person in the carriage didn’t reveal himself, but the King sensed the most amount of threat from him.

“They are from the Holy Church, no wonder……” Shevchenko who was standing behind Fei murmured.

Only the Holy Church could make the vicious soldiers of Jax obedient and afraid. If they were from any other forces, these soldiers of Jax wouldn’t let them go through their campsites and defense line like that.

Soon, this team from the Holy Church arrived outside of Dual-Flags City.

“Listen up! Red-Robed Deacon Pellegrini from the Execution Team in the West Region of the Holy Church has arrived! Why aren’t you opening up the gate and welcoming him?” a Holy Knight rode up on his mount and shouted.

Shevchenko and the soldiers on the defense wall all looked at Fei for an answer.

Opening up the gate of the city at this moment was very dangerous. If the invaders of Jax decided to charge up and attack, the city could be potentially conquered. If that happened, all the defense the soldiers of Zenit put up would be wasted. Besides, who could be sure that these people weren’t enemies of Jax in disguises?

After all, the soldiers of Zenit who completed the mission all came back by climbing up the defense wall using ropes, and the corpses of the soldiers who died on the battlefield outside the city were taken back into the city via carts that were tied onto ropes. Except for the two times when the gate was open to let in the reinforcement of [Wolf Teeth Legion], it was never opened!

“You dumb idiots! Open up the gate immediately!” after seeing that the soldiers on the defense wall didn’t make a move upon hearing the name of the Holy Church, that Holy Knight got mad and yelled, “You pigs! How dare you hesitate after seeing the arrival of an Execution Team from the Holy Church? Do you want to die?”

Since this Holy Knight was so arrogant, Fei lightly released the strength of his level 99 Barbarian as he looked at that Holy Knight. As if he suddenly felt a mountain on his shoulders, this Holy Knight instantly shut his mouth and didn’t dare to say anything else.

“Open the gate,” Fei smiled and gave the order as he looked back.

“Sir, we shouldn’t. If……” Shevchenko was a cautious person. After hearing Fei’s order, he quickly suggested, “We can tell the soldiers to drop down some baskets and pull them up that way.”

“How would these high-up people in the Holy Church be willing to enter the city using baskets? They won’t agree for sure! These people are dressed fancily and are all powerful; they shouldn’t be the invaders of Jax in disguise, and Fairenton doesn’t dare to ask his soldiers to pretend to be from the Holy Church. After all, anyone who dared to pretend to be from the Holy Church were all hunt down by the Execution Teams, and they were burned alive on the cross in the Headquarter of the Execution Branch of the Holy Church…… there is even a Red-Robe Deacon among them…… hehe, we can let them in; they could even potentially benefit our defense,” Fei said after he thought for a bit.

“As you wish!” Shevchenko calmed down a little after seeing Fei’s confident demeanor. He turned around and ordered, “The Legion Commander had spoken! Open the gate!”

Crank! Crank! Crank! Crank! Crank!

The ear-piercing gear gliding noises sounded as more than 20 small magic arrays shone. Then, the steel fence in front of the gate weighing more than five tons was slowly pulled up, and the iron gate slowly opened to the two sides.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

A series of clip-clopping noises sounded as this Execution Team from the Holy Church entered the city.

“Close the gate!” the commanders on the defense wall shouted. Instantly, the gate started to close, and the steel fence began to drop down slowly.

Fei and Shevchenko walked down the defense wall; they weren’t walking fast as the King was still trying to figure out the intent of these people and wanted to see if they could be used to defend against the invaders of Jax. Before they reached the ground, they heard a series of screams followed by cursing and whipping noise.