Winter Is Coming

Instantaneously, Asher's muscles bulged up. He felt slight discomfort throughout his body for a split moment before it normalized. The slight increase of his muscles was quite noticeable, as previously he looked skinny and sickly pale, but now his bones were well covered with muscles, transforming him from a weak youth to a fit one.

His face became more structured, and his eyes possessed the glint of a fearsome wolf. Although his strength wasn't at the silver rank, he had risen from the ranks of ordinary men, skipping the iron rank and becoming a bronze-ranked warrior.

To rise in the ranks of any profession, practicing Battle Force Arts was crucial, but Asher's butler had just watched the impossible happen. His lord had moved from a sickly man to a bronze-ranked warrior, and not just that, this advancement happened in one day!

Sirius came and nudged its head against Asher's chest, and he stroked it with a soft smile. "I'm glad you're back on your feet, buddy."

Kelvin watched the reunion with a trembling heart. He did not know what kind of talent his lord awakened, but that talent defied all terms of understanding. He had read lots of history books, but this sort of talent had never been mentioned.

With such ability, his lord could build a powerful army to withstand the beast tide this upcoming winter.

.....

Inside the stone castle's dining hall, two identical men clad in leather armor stood at the other end of the dining table, staring at a stout man seated at the head of the table feasting on a roasted pheasant. 

This brown-haired man was none other than the sole silver-ranked swordsman in Ash Town, Peter, chief guard to James Ashbourne, Fredrick Ashbourne, and Thomas Ashbourne.

A row of three maids stood at his right, and another row stood at his left. 

"Alec, Alex, the famous sword and shield twins, what brings you here?"

Alec, who had a bigger frame and a rectangular shield attached to his back, furrowed his eyebrows. 

"Winter is coming, and with it a horde of beasts. We haven't recovered from the last one; our walls are weak, most of our men have deserted, and the ones remaining are not properly trained nor well fed. And yet, you sit here all day eating!"

Peter frowned. A whitish silver force billowed out of him, and his eyes also grew sharper, almost as sharp as literal blades! 

"Don't forget you are speaking to a silver-ranked swordsman."

His voice dropped a few degrees.

Alex, the one who had a heavy sword attached to his back, held his brother's arm and took a step forward. "Sir Peter, we need to see Baron Thomas's kid brother. We are rightfully supposed to speak to him, not you." Alex's tone was calm, respectful, but blunt.

"You want to see the brat who can't even feed himself?"

"On the contrary, I abhor to eat those ill-prepared meals anymore."

The moment that voice rang, everyone, including the maids, turned to the large wooden doors. The doors swung open, revealing Asher on the back of a terrifying wolf. Just seeing him reminded them of the Ashbournes of the legends.

"Is that the man you call sickly?" Alec raised an eyebrow. 

Upon seeing Asher, Peter threw the heavy dining table toward him and rushed toward the wall. Alex acted instantly as he unsheathed his sword and sliced the table into two while his brother was already at the back. 

His shield was before him. The table slammed his shield, but Alec perfectly withstood the impact. 

Asher was amazed by the twins, who acted like one flesh, but dealing with Peter was of utmost priority. At this moment, Peter had reached the wall and grabbed the sword hung on it.

As he brandished the sword, a silver-blazing force billowed out of him in the form of burning flames. The temperature of the hall increased instantly, but Sirius snorted, and the temperature dropped.

Asher came down from his pet, and a glint flashed through his eyes. An order was given, and Sirius acted swiftly. It launched toward Peter, smacking the sword out of the experienced swordsman's hands and ripping his chest open.

Sirius also had a grudge toward this man that had been tormenting it for years. Peter stared at his chest and at Asher with disbelief. 

"I grew tired of eating black bread and vegetable soup." Asher managed to say before Sirius chomped down. 

After watching Sirius devour Peter, the swordsman they all feared, Alec, Alex, and the maid half kneeled and bowed their heads at him.

"Lord Asher!"

Kelvin smiled and followed his Lord to the head seat. Asher sat down and looked at the hall. It did not have enough space to accommodate the future size increase of his pet beast with the dining table and chairs. Good thing it was destroyed.

"From now on, this hall will be called the sacred hall." 

Indeed, the sacred there means it was a place for an Ashbourne lord and his pet beast. His surbordninates and vassals were allowed, but for a small amount of time. There would be no seat except his own.

He got this from the mural in his room. 

As he sat down, Kelvin stood on the right side of his seat, and Sirius lay before him. Judging by how it looked at Alec and Alex, it might still be hungry!

Cold sweats soaked their backs.

"Who are you?" 

Asher's young, authoritative voice fell into their ears. 

"We're your servants, Lord. Captains of your troops."

[Criteria fulfilled. Both warriors are commander-level material. Would you upgrade Alex to silver-ranked swordsman and Alec to silver-ranked shieldman? Yes or No?].

Asher's eye glowed. Commander-level materials, according to Boundless, meant these twins had at least B-grade talents!

Since they already spoke up for him before he came and deemed themselves his servants, Asher decided to upgrade them, as Kelvin had informed him about winter, which was dangerously close. When winter came, the depths of the wasteland would become too cold for the beasts, so they would run to warmer places, and Ash Town happened to be the first human settlement between hordes of beasts and human civilization.

Because of this, he needed a powerful army, and a strong army needed great leaders.