Dragon Monarch System

Chapter 1152: Chapter 1152:- Boris and His Two Disciples [i]

Meanwhile, after finishing dinner, Malakor Harrington slowly made his way toward his bedroom. However, before retiring for the night, he stopped several times along the way to personally give instructions to the servants, captains, and guards stationed throughout the Harrington Mansion.

Ever since the attack on Axel City and the destruction of the Harrington Mansion, Malakor had become far more cautious than before. The incident had served as a painful reminder that even the Harrington Household was not beyond the reach of its enemies.

Rather than leaving everything to Wahid, the retired Patriarch had voluntarily taken much of the responsibility for the city’s internal security upon himself. Although he had stepped away from political affairs years ago, protecting his family and their homeland was something he refused to entrust entirely to others.

The Harrington Household had spared no expense in strengthening its defenses. Nearly 300 million Platinum Coins had already been invested into reinforcing Axel City’s defensive capabilities.

Existing city walls were strengthened, new defensive formations and barriers were installed, additional watchtowers and guard posts were constructed, while the city’s surveillance and emergency response systems were significantly improved. Every major weakness exposed during the previous attack was carefully reviewed and addressed.

Military expansion had also become one of the Household’s highest priorities.

Malakor Harrington wanted more troops. He felt that at any given moment, the City should have more troops guarding it. So even if a good portion of the troops left the territory to fight magic animals or civil wars, no one would be able to take advantage of this situation to launch an attack on the city again.

Just yesterday, a large-scale recruitment campaign had begun across the entire Harrington Territory. Every city, town, and major settlement received recruitment orders, with the objective of rapidly increasing the Household’s military strength before the coming civil war.

The recruitment itself was divided into two primary categories.

Individuals who possessed strong mana affinity and demonstrated compatibility with one of the five elemental attributes were evaluated for the Mage Corps, where magical aptitude took precedence over physical strength.

Everyone else underwent a series of rigorous physical examinations to determine whether they were suitable to become regular soldiers. Only those who met the Household’s standards in terms of endurance, strength, discipline, and overall physical condition would advance to the next stage.

However, regardless of which path an applicant pursued, there was one criterion that outweighed all the others.

Their talent for cultivation.

To the Harrington Household, raw physical ability and elemental affinity could be developed over time through proper training and resources. Cultivation talent, however, determines an individual’s long-term potential.

A recruit with exceptional cultivation aptitude could one day become a powerful pillar of the household, making that single factor the most important consideration throughout the entire selection process.

“Activate all the defensive formations.” Malakor instructed the guards before continuing on his way.

Originally, these defensive formations had only been deployed around the Harrington Mansion. Since very few people had legitimate reasons to visit the residence, especially after nightfall, restricting teleportation within the Mansion grounds had been more than sufficient.

In the event of an emergency, any visitor would be required to remain outside the Mansion walls while the guards verified both their identity and purpose before allowing them to enter.

However, Aditya believed that protecting only the Harrington Mansion was no longer enough. His proposal was simple. Expand the defensive formations to cover the entire city. Malakor immediately approved the idea.

The benefits were obvious. Once the formations were activated, no one could directly teleport into Axel City anymore. It was possible to teleport outside of the City but no one could teleport in regardless of where that person is teleporting from. Anyone wishing to enter the city first had to use the official Teleportation Array located approximately two kilometers outside the city walls.

That alone significantly reduced the possibility of enemy cultivators suddenly appearing inside the city to launch surprise attacks or assassinations.

The Teleportation Array itself was heavily guarded at all times. Elite soldiers remained on constant alert, prepared to respond immediately if an unknown individual or hostile force appeared. Every arrival underwent an initial identity verification before being permitted to leave the teleportation station.

Only after passing that inspection would visitors be allowed to travel by carriage toward the city’s main gate.

There, they would undergo a second round of inspection.

Their identities, travel documents, and reasons for entering Axel City would all be verified once again before the city guards opened the gates.

Although the process was far stricter than before, very few people complained. After witnessing the destruction caused by the previous attack, everyone understood that these measures existed to protect the city rather than inconvenience its citizens.

The system was especially effective during the night. Activity throughout Axel City naturally declined after sunset, and after ten o’clock, the streets became almost completely empty aside from patrols and the occasional traveler or cultivators.

That made it far easier for the guards to identify suspicious movements, while any unauthorized attempt to bypass the city’s security would immediately draw attention. Combined with the city’s defensive formations, the new security measures greatly reduced the chances of another surprise attack succeeding.

After finishing his inspections and issuing the necessary instructions, Malakor finally turned around, intending to retire to his bedroom for the night.

Just then, the sound of approaching carriage wheels echoed through the courtyard.

A carriage came to an abrupt stop near the mansion entrance, and before it had fully halted, one of the guards jumped out and hurried toward him. Judging by the urgency on the guard’s face, something unexpected had happened.

“My Lord. There are two suspicious men waiting outside the city. They requested to see His Majesty Boris.”

Malakor’s eyes immediately narrowed.

‘Were they sent by Emperor Ren… or by that mysterious organization?’ That was the first possibility that crossed his mind. Given everything that had happened recently, he had no intention of lowering his guard simply because someone claimed they wished to meet him.

“Tell them to leave the city’s perimeter immediately. If they refuse, kill them.” His voice remained calm, but his decision was firm. The Harrington Household had only recently finished rebuilding the city and strengthening its defenses. He had no intention of allowing another potential threat anywhere near Axel City.

The guard, however, quickly continued his report. “My Lord. Those two men are Seventh-Order cultivators, and they claim they have come from the Imperial Capital specifically to meet you.” It wasn’t that the guards had failed to perform their duties.

They had done exactly what they were trained to do.

The problem was that the two visitors standing outside the city were both Seventh-Order cultivators.

Against beings of that level, the ordinary soldiers stationed around the Teleportation Array and the city gates simply had no realistic means of stopping them. Even if every guard in the area attacked together, the difference in strength was so overwhelming that it would accomplish nothing besides costing them their lives.

Fortunately, the two powerhouses had shown no signs of hostility.

Despite possessing the strength to ignore the city’s defenses altogether, they had chosen not to. Instead of forcing their way into Axel City or flying directly to the Harrington Mansion, they had patiently remained outside the city’s perimeter and formally requested permission to meet Malakor.

That single action spoke volumes. It showed that they had come with respect rather than arrogance.

Had they truly harbored hostile intentions, they could have bypassed the guards entirely and appeared before the Harrington Mansion within moments. The fact that they willingly followed the city’s security procedures, despite having no practical need to do so, reassured the guards that these two Seventh-Order cultivators had no intention of causing trouble.

The moment those words left the guard’s mouth, Malakor’s expression changed.

A faint smile slowly appeared on his aged face.’So they’ve finally decided to show themselves.’ He immediately knew who the two visitors were.

After all, there were only two Seventh-Order cultivators from the Imperial Capital who would come looking for Boris at a time like this.

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Knock! Knock!!!

“What is it?” Boris opened the door and asked. Boris looked as if he was ready to go to sleep.

“Your two favorite disciples are waiting outside of the city for you.” Hearing this, Boris’s expression became serious.

“Those two brats have finally decided to show themselves.” Boris said with a broad smile as he slowly cracked his knuckles.

There was unmistakable excitement in his eyes. Anyone unfamiliar with Boris might have mistaken his reaction for that of a teacher happily welcoming two long-lost students.

Those who knew him better, however, understood that the smile on his face carried a very different meaning. It was the smile of someone who had been waiting a long time for an opportunity.

After all, it had been years since he had last seen those two disciples. Boris fully intended to find out just how much they had improved. And if words alone were not enough… A few friendly exchanges of fists would reveal everything he needed to know.

Malakor merely glanced at his old friend before shaking his head with a helpless smile. He had seen that expression on Boris’s face countless times over the years. It almost certainly meant that what should have been a simple reunion between teacher and students was about to turn into something far more… physical.

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