14 Crimson Court

Moving to the Storm Peak Fortress only took little time and as soon as he was here again the soldiers that saw him saluted firmly.

Searching for his second in command Wallace was also not taking long since he was already standing on the drill ground where he oversaw the training of the soldiers.

"Old man, gather everyone at the plaza. I want each soldier standing in front of the podium. I am going to make an announcement."

Wallace looked at Nero and nodded firmly. He could see the serious expression that Nero had. "You heard him, lads! Get your sorry asses in front of the plaza and gather everyone around." The soldiers were confused at first but the shouting from the old man only brought them to obey. "Move your feet already!!"

Being done with his orders, he looked at Nero again. "Is something the matter, lad?"

Nero sighed lightly. "It looks like war will be on the horizon and it is time to root out some unwelcome factors from this mercenary group...Also, please gather my entourage."

The entourage that Nero was talking about was 50 especially gifted knights that he trained personally and had handpicked from the thousands of men.

Ser Wallace's son was also among them and that got the old man now contemplating his words. "As you wish...But please make sure my son comes back alive to his family."

Nero smiled lightly. "Have I ever done you wrong, old man? I always keep my soldiers in the highest regard and loyalty is rewarded with riches and power."

Then his eyes wandered towards the gathering crowd since they were already standing on the podium. "And today I will make my words come true."

When everyone seemed to be gathered around and Wallace came back with another group of soldiers that stood behind him on the podium Nero started to talk. His voice was loud and clear for everyone to hear.

"Hear me, men!! Today marks a saddening day for our brotherhood! As you may have noticed some of your comrades have lost their way and quit this bloody path of ours! But it was not to settle down or take care of family, it was because of a selfish reason! We have been betrayed by our brothers and were sold to the Arl of Amaranthine. With that sold information my brother was attacked and injured heavily!"

Some of the soldiers that heard this started to whisper with their neighbors.

"I am a benevolent leader! I made sure that nothing is amiss for my men and the only thing I demanded in return was loyalty! Now today I will change my way of handling things. Those that want to quit should now leave this plaza! But remember that you will also lose the opportunity to gain more safety. And for those that think to leave to sell out even more....I will find you!"

"Now, whoever wants to stay will undergo a certain ritual and swear their loyalty to me. Shall anyone betray me they will then punished according to the betrayal!"

Nero unsheathed his blade and slammed it into the ground.

"I give those that want to leave 10 seconds. Decide now!"

Some of the new and fresh recruits did leave but most soldiers stayed.

Nero looked over to Wallace. "Investigate the soldiers that left and when they are innocent they can live without worry. Those that are rats...Get rid of them."

"Understood..." Walalce bowed and walked away.

Then Nero raised his blade and slammed it into the ground again. "Kneel!!"

The remaining soldiers kneeled down. It was a remarkable spectacle to see thousands of people kneel in front of the podium.

"From this day you are reborn as the Bright Hands! Rejoice and receive your mark and prove of brotherhood!" Nero raised his left arm together with his sword towards the sky.

Blue energy spread its tentacle-like structure into the sky. Then the sky itself became dark and rain started to fall.

The energy stained the droplets with a luminous glow and the liquid vaporized and lowered itself like a mist over the soldiers.

Their eyes started glowing a deep blue until a dark blue handprints started to shine brightly on each of their left hands.

Everyone that saw this was amazed by the occurrences.

Nero only could look solemnly at the soldiers. His gaze also lingered on the radiance of the ring. Its power was by far amplified through this world's magic. Especially so since he had a magical body that could support its power now.

It felt refreshing, exhilarating. But he also kept himself calm and lowered his blade after the deed was done.

The sky also became daylight once again after Nero stopped infusing his energy through the ring.

It took only a little moment and he could start to feel the connection between himself and those soldiers.

If they betrayed him, he would know it. In fact, there were already some that were traitors.

"Now then. There is one rule you shall always keep in your minds. Traitors to the cause will now be punished severely. And the punishment for the traitors..."

Nero made a gripping motion with his left hand after repositioning his blade to his right. His ring started to glow again and about 10 soldiers started to cry out in pain. Their screams echoed until their heads imploded on the spot.

"Is death!!" With a cold look and a blue glimmer running through his otherwise dark blue eyes he finished the execution of the traitors.

"Now get rid of those traitor's bodies and return to your duties!!"

Being finished with his speech Nero turned around and walked past the fifty knights behind him.

"Follow me." A smile appeared on his face. All of them were loyal and did not betray him. It brought some good mood to him.

Walking together with the group Nero lead them to a building with a big hall that was ornanated with many statues on each wall.

The first half of the hall was rather spacious and not much but those sculptures stood there. At the other end of the hall stood two long tables on each side and a single crescent-shaped table in front of an elevated silver throne behind all that.

Nero walked over and climbed the various steps up the small stairway that was leading to the throne. There, he sat down. Leaning his chin on one arm he looked at the fifty knights.

"Andrej Krizano, Roderick Gilmore, Elise Pantrenoa, Torfin Grimfist, Artoria Pendragon...."

Nero stopped counting certain names while looking over all the knights. He had stopped at a female knight with long lustrous blonde hair tucked in a high ponytail and soft emerald eyes.

She always let him fall deep in thought and brought certain memories to him. But she also had little in common with the character besides name and gender. She was no king. Not even a noble.

But skill, she did possess. Maybe he was also a little bit biased towards this woman but he kept it mostly hidden...

"...Eduardo Pensalo and Joshua Kentwood. Step forward."

The 7 of them were confused since they were the only ones named. But they all obeyed the order and stepped forward.

"From this day onward you are going to be my supreme leaders. I have picked you because each of you is showing a tremendous talent for magic."

Nero was not lying. With the connection, he established with his soldiers he could feel their reserves of mana inside their bodies. They had the gift of a mage but just not an awakening yet.

Some mages may even never awaken their hidden potential. No matter how great it may be.

But with his ring, he could easily sense it. It would also amplify their powers and the stronger he himself became, the stronger would also these seven become. Naturally the same would also apply to himself. So he had a reason to let them grow.

"I can clearly feel your mana now since you have undergone the ritual. You seven will be known as the 7 deadly sins from today onwards. Syllia here will become my right hand and you only receive direct orders from me or her. Do you understand?"

The seven of them and even Syllia at the side nodded.

"Andrej Krizano." A middle-aged man with short blond from Antiva saluted in response. "You will be known as the sin of Gluttony."

"Roderick Gilmore." The young talented knight from the Cousland household was also included in the mix. "You will be known as the sin of Sloth."

"Elise Pantrenoa." A beautiful but also tough-looking red-haired woman with various golden and silvery ornaments smiled at him. She was his best ship sailor. In fact, she was an ex-pirate that he convinced to join them. Her expertise was adding a lot to his group. "You will be known as the sin of Lust."

"Artoria Pendragon." Nero had little to explain about this person but one thing. She had the greatest potential among all these seven. "You will be known as the sin of Pride."

"Torfin Grimfist." A small black-haired dwarf with a long same colored beard was seen rubbing his nose. "You will be known as the sin of Greed."

"Eduardo Tensauli." A lightly tanned male with a well-trimmed goaty smiled in response. Orlesians were always keeping their looks in fine order. Some even may take it too far and it may seem like a forced tick of theirs. "You will be known as the sin of Jealousy."

"Joshua Kentwood." A handsome young man in his early twenties with brown locks of hair responded with a proud smile. Nero looked at Wallace's grandson and also probably his greatest pride.

He still remembered his joining. After his son took a place in his administration staff it did not take long for his grandson, the child of his daughter, to show interest.

The old man always kept bickering to keep him away from danger and not include him in mercenary business.

But in the end, he still joined and now even became one of the most valued soldiers. He had the aptitude for it and Nero was not someone that would stop a fortune-seeking man to gain glory.

"You will be known as the sin of Wrath."

Nero hoped he had somehow put each sin to each person accordingly.

With each of them having received their title a crimson red tattoo appeared on their left arms right above the now invisible blue hand mark. Each of course indicating another animal.

"Now then, take a seat at the crimson table" The crescent-shaped table decorations suddenly changed color to a blood-red with the seven chairs respectively doing the same. Such simple magic needed no hard understanding of the arcane.

Especially with the power that Nero wielded now.

"The others may take place along those two long tables. You are also going to become commanders of my army."

After everyone took their place and looked at Nero he cleared his throat after looking at his ring. He already started thinking about what to do next.

"Well then. It is time to prepare for war, ladies, and gentlemen."

With that the first session of the crimson court took place. Later it would be documented under a different name.