A man's effort would never betray him.
Cherry had lived by this philosophy since he was a child.
This was among the reasons he couldn't stand those greenhorns who appeared one day and took one of the most honored positions within the castle.
A few hours had passed since dawn, and over a hundred people had already gathered in the Training Hall. Most of them were royal guards— people who came to see the fight with their honor on the line.
"Assistant Vice Commander."
Cherry, who'd been stretching his body, straightened his back and turned around upon hearing a familiar voice. It was an ashen-haired man wearing plate armor.
"Commander!" Cherry saluted. And seeing the person right behind the Commander, Cherry added, "Vice Commander!"
There were rumors going around the castle that the commander of the royal guards was retiring this year. The man had been serving the royal family for more than five decades—service dating back to the reign of the Tyrant King.
Like a father speaking with his son, the commander placed his hand on top of Cherry's head and ruffled it for several seconds. "I heard you're fighting those soldiers."
Cherry and the commander looked at the eastern wing, in the direction of the Blackstone Soldiers. Just like them, the Blackstone Soldiers were stretching their bodies and brandishing their spears in preparation for the upcoming battle.
"You know better than to question the king's decisions," said the commander. "Why did you do it? Why did you challenge His Majesty's people?"
Cherry knew that this question would come out someday, one way or another. He'd already resolved himself with an answer, "Because I believe this is the right thing to do, Commander. The throne room should be the safest part of the castle. To leave such a strategic area to greenhorns who've never even set foot in the capital before is unacceptable!"
The commander and the vice commander locked eyes. The commander said to Cherry, "You are next in line to the position of vice commander, Cherry. I will be watching this match. Don't make me regret my decision now, child."
"Of course!" Cherry thumped his muscular chest. "Please leave it to me!"
While Cherry was conversing with the commander of the royal guards, the king finally arrived in the training grounds.
"The Embodiment of God Nruz, the Heart of the Sun," the soldier guarding the entrance said in a loud and clear voice. "His Majesty, King Lark, has arrived! Everyone, show your respect!"
All the buzz and murmuring in the training grounds died at once.
Everyone knelt on one knee.
"We greet His Majesty!"
"We greet His Majesty!"
"You may rise," said Lark. Standing next to him was Big Mona.
Everyone slowly rose to their feet and gazed at the young man who'd just arrived at the training grounds. Although the new king did not have the blood of the royal family flowing through his veins, no one dared look at him with disrespect or disdain.
Even the royal guards, staunch believers in peerage, regarded Lark with reverence. They'd all seen his magical feat during the coronation ceremony, and they'd heard of all his achievements during the war with the United Grakas Alliance and the empire. Moreover, they knew that he was the same man who culled the black famine.
Lark scanned everyone in the training grounds for a moment. Upon confirming that Austen, George, and Anandra were already here, he said, "Let's start."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
With those words as cue, the royal guards under Cherry and the Blackstone Soldiers were asked to enter the arena. It was an elevated platform made of hardened stones. A battleground spanning a hundred and fifty meters in diameter.
Lark amplified his voice using mana. "The rules are simple: Fight until the enemy is rendered incapable of fighting, or until the enemy surrenders.
You can incapacitate your enemies, but killing isn't allowed. Anyone that is thrown out of the arena is automatically disqualified."
They were straightforward rules.
And it seemed that the use of magic or martial arts wasn't prohibited for this match.
"I will be personally watching this battle," said Lark. When both groups were finally in their positions, he clapped his hands twice and said, "Start."
The moment the royal guards heard the signal, they strengthened their bodies with mana and charged toward the Blackstone Soldiers.
Body Strengthening Magic was among the most basic spells mandatorily taught to the royal guards and the royal knights. A spell that made them several times stronger than a normal human. With this spell, even the weakest royal guard would be capable of taking a blow from a rampaging stallion.
"Don't resent us too much, greenhorns!" snarled the Assistant Vice Commander. He swung his wooden spear toward the nearest Blackstone Soldier, confident of taking his enemy out with a single strike.
But to Cherry's surprise, the Blackstone Soldier blocked his attack, and after a split second, diverted the impact toward the side.
Was it a fluke?
Cherry immediately followed up with another attack. He swung his spear horizontally, but to his surprise, the Blackstone Soldier bent his body back and evaded it, before counterattacking with a stab using his wooden spear. Cherry sidestepped, dodging the Blackstone Soldier's attack at the last moment.
The two of them stepped back and increased their distance from each other.
"Are you the leader of your group?" said Cherry in a deep voice.
Cherry had to admit it. The Blackstone Soldier was surprisingly good.
The Blackstone Soldier smirked upon seeing Cherry's bewildered gaze.
"Pell, our leader, is over there."
Cherry followed the Blackstone Soldier's gaze. Indeed, the man called Pell was stronger than this one. Looking around, Cherry realized that all of the Blackstone Soldiers were holding their ground against the royal guards.
It was unexpected. After all, these men didn't know how to strengthen their bodies with mana. They were blocking and evading the royal guards' attacks with sheer skill alone. Judging by the way they moved, it seemed that these Blackstone Soldiers were already used to fighting a stronger enemy.
Cherry gnashed his teeth and began his charge again. He swung his spears left and right, each of his strikes filled with the intent to incapacitate his foe. But to his dismay, his opponent was like an elusive eel who would dodge his attacks at the last moment. Even attacks from weird angles and blind spots didn't work, as though the Blackstone Soldiers were used to fighting someone capable of attacking them from all directions.
Big Mona, watching the battle with Lark, was surprised by the sudden turn of events. "I didn't know the Blackstone Soldiers were this strong, partner."
Lark said, "We held a little tournament before I left my territory. And these men were the ones who won the competition. Although they may not look like it, they're among the strongest of the town's soldiers."
From the side, Austen and George vehemently cheered for the Blackstone Soldiers.
"At this rate, the Blackstone Soldiers will end up winning," said Big Mona.
Lark thought otherwise.
"No. This was a lost battle the moment they let the royal guards finish their body-strengthening magic," said Lark. "They would have stood a chance if they'd attacked the moment the royal guards were casting their spells. But with those spells protecting the royal guards' bodies, it'll be hard for a wooden spear unimbued with mana to hurt them."
True to Lark's words, after several minutes, the tide of the battle started turning to the royal guard's favor. Even Pell, the current leader of the Blackstone Soldiers in the capital, couldn't inflict any damage against the royal guards. Although they managed to block and deflect most attacks, some strikes would still occasionally come through. Slowly, the strength of the Blackstone Soldiers was whittled down.
After almost half an hour had passed, all of the Blackstone Soldiers were defeated and lay unmoving on the ground. None of them surrendered until the end.
"The battle has ended," said Lark. Although the Blackstone Soldiers had lost, orchestrating this match had been worth it. He'd finally seen the extent of the capabilities of the royal guards protecting the castle. "The royal guards have won the battle."
The people watching the fight cheered. But to Lark's surprise, the royal guards who participated in the battle wore grim faces—like they were dissatisfied or frustrated with something.
"As agreed beforehand, the Blackstone Soldiers will be removed from their duties in the throne room. I will also task Anandra with training them daily, starting tomorrow," said Lark. "And the two of you…" Austen and George flinched upon locking eyes with their master.
"You're prohibited from entering the royal kitchen for half a year," said Lark. "And you'll join the training, together with the Blackstone Soldiers, starting tomorrow."
The brothers fell in despair. They opened and closed their mouths, but no words came out. After some time, they sighed, nodded, and lowered their heads. They mumbled, "Yes, Master."
"Your Majesty."
Lark looked at the man who spoke. It was Cherry, the Assistant Vice Commander of the Royal Guards. The winner of the competition.
Lark wordlessly urged the muscular man to continue.
"We will gladly take our posts and guard the throne room," said Cherry.
The muscular man nodded at his comrades. They all knelt on one knee before Lark. "Forgive us if we are overstepping our bounds, but please allow us to also train under Sir Anandra! Please allow us to train together with the Blackstone Soldiers!"
A smile slowly formed on Lark's face. "You won the battle."
Cherry shook his head. "Had we used real spears instead of wooden ones, we would have lost instead."
It was true. Lark also knew that had they used real spears in battle, the Blackstone Soldiers would have won despite not using any Body Strengthening Spells. Even Body Strengthening Spells weren't capable of completely nullifying attacks from sharp weapons.
Lark was surprised that the royal guards realized this and readily admitted their weaknesses.
Not bad at all.
With such mindset, these men would grow and reach higher places.
Lark gazed at the royal guards kneeling before him. "Very well.
Training starts tomorrow morning. Do not be late."
The Royal Guards were relieved upon hearing this. Filled with resolve, they said in unison, "Yes, Your Majesty!"
*** After the match, Lark went back to his room in the castle. It was finally time to activate the communication device given to him by the dragon.
"Until I come out, do not let anyone enter the room," Lark said to the guards outside.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Lark cast a barrier and a sound-canceling spell in the room.
Lark sat on his bed. Following the directions written underneath the pendant, Lark willed his mana to flow through it. A clicking sound was heard and the pendant opened, revealing the gemstone inside.
Lark channeled mana into the gemstone and activated it.
Unlike the communication crystals Lark had created before, the one sent to him by the dwarven envoy was of high quality. The moment the gemstone was activated, illusion magic seeped out of the artifact and enclosed the entire room. Soon, Lark found himself inside pitch-black darkness. Within this darkness, he could see five pairs of reptilian eyes gazing at him.
The slit-like pupils moved, as though scanning Lark from head to foot.
Voices in draconian language could be heard.
"He really came."
"I told you, Shahaneth could see fragments of the future."
A long period of silence followed.
"But… isn't he just a boy? He is too young, even among human standards."
"What does age have to do with anything, dear?"
"You said it yourself! This is the human who will be leading us in the future!"
"But, dear, even if he—" Lark frowned. Slowly, he released the mana inside the communication crystal. This immediately made the voices stop. All reptilian eyes stared at him.
"What is happening? Why is the human disappearing?"
Lark said coldly, "I came here in anticipation of making contact with the dragon guarding the dwarven kingdom. I didn't come to listen to your rumblings. Bickering like children in front of a human."
Lark was certain from the brief exchange that the five pairs of eyes belonged to dragons. He'd seen more than a hundred of them back in his previous life and could even discern their type by their eyes alone.
"H-He speaks draconian?"
Lark's image must have become nothing but a hazy mist by now.
"I came here despite my busy schedule," Lark spat, disappointment evident within his voice. "What a rude bunch."
Lark removed more mana from the communication device. If nothing was done, the dragons knew that the human would disappear completely.
Lark saw two of the five pairs of reptilian eyes widening.
"Wait!"
A voice echoed.
As though a gust of wind had blown everything away, the pitch-black darkness vanished. In its stead, a colossal cavern filled with gigantic crystals revealed itself. Five crimson dragons, each of them fifty-meters tall, stood right in front of him.
Lark supplied the communication crystal with mana once again. His mist-like image in front of the dragons reverted and solidified.
"So, what did you call me for?" said Lark.
The two dragons at the back looked at each other. They'd probably never encountered a human as fearless as this one.
"Interesting."
"We didn't mean to be rude, human. But our presence alone would have been enough to render normal humans unconscious. Please understand."
Lark knew they were probably lying.
If the dragons willed it, it should be possible for them to suppress their dragon fear and converse normally even with non-magicians.
According to Lady Ropianna, there was only a single dragon guarding the dwarven kingdom. But seeing that there were five of them here, it was apparent that the stories circulating among the humans weren't true.
Did the dwarven race close off their borders because they disliked the human race, or did they do it to protect the hatchlings, a few centuries ago?
Lark had a hunch it was the latter. That under the pretext of protecting the dwarves from outside forces, the dragons closed off their borders. But in reality, they did it to protect their young. The three dragons at the front were clearly younger than the two at the back.
The adult dragon at the back—the one who seemed to be male—spoke, "One of my children received a revelation from the so-called Gods of humans."
The female adult added, "A war so great will soon come and rip apart this continent. And no nation, no matter the race, will be spared from its wrath."
The three younger dragons at the front remained silent. They all stared at Lark with eyes filled with interest.
"We believe that you are the man in the revelation," said the adult male. "And we delivered that communication device in hopes of making an alliance with your nation."
Lark gazed at all of the dragons inside the crystal cavern. Although humans revered these creatures as the epitome of wisdom and strength, Lark knew full well that they shouldn't be easily trusted.
Unlike the Scyllas, the dragons were capable not only of great magic but also deceit. These were the same creatures who learned polymorphism just to mingle with inferior races.
"What do I get in return for this alliance?" said Lark.
The adult male replied, "Equivalent exchange, human. We shall lend you our strength during the upcoming war, but you need to promise that you will also protect our race, our nation, should dangers arise."
Lark fell silent.
Although he did not fully trust them, it wasn't a bad offer.
"It's a tempting offer," said Lark.
"Then—!"
"But I need you to show sincerity first," said Lark. "A binding contract.
Made using dragon's blood."
"What an untrusting human!" spat the male adult. "Humans and dwarves revere us as Gods. Do you really believe that we won't survive even if we don't enlist the help of your nation? You could even consider our offer as a gift! Think carefully, human."
Lark remained unmoved.
"I will not repeat myself again," said Lark. "Show your sincerity. If you really wish to become allies with my nation, come to me personally. A binding contract made of dragon's blood. That's all I need."
"But, human—!"
Without hearing the dragon further, Lark cut off the supply of mana from the communication device completely. He put it back inside the pendant.
Lark opened the window and looked outside.
He believed that if they were really sincere, those lizards would soon visit the capital.