Chapter 24: Tournament At The Captial

Ken and Sirus continued to follow the path leading to the docks. They took their time talking about various things and personal stories; Ken always had an interest in hearing about other peoples journeys throughout the world.

"You said something about a tournament earlier didn't you Sirus?"

"Are you interested in participating? If so, I would reconsider."

"It sounds interesting, do you think I'd be too weak to participate?"

"It's hard to say. You seem strong in your own right. However, people that participate in that tournament come from all over the domain. Scratch that, some even come from places far, far away. The reward for winning is quite enticing."

Ken was trapped in his thinking, not knowing what the reward was. He had absolutely no ideas as to what it could be.

"A reward so great that people would travel so far..."

"Still haven't figured it out? It probably would be difficult since you have no information at all on it."

Ken gave up on thinking and decided to ask.

"Mind telling me? I have no clue on what it is."

"I don't mind. The reward is a private audience with Lord Azar. You get to talk to him and ask him whatever you want. If you're daring, you could even try to join his ranks. His private army is the second most powerful force in Zarxion, first would unmistakably be The Knights."

Ken questioned that statement by saying.

"Is his army actually that strong?"

Sirus spoke with confidence.

"It is, everyone that works in that attack force has been selected by him specifically."

"Why would so many strong individuals want to work under him, wouldn't it just be better to be free?"

"There are quite a few reasons to why they choose to side with Azar. He's a man that can be trusted, to ensure peace within this land. If they were alone, they'd fall victim to the knights and restrictions that ordinary people must follow. If the knights were to mess with anyone from his army, an internal conflict would break out."

"Does he have that much influence, other this kingdom?"

"Azar most likely the person that the current king fears the most. He's feared throughout the lands as the Dimension Shifter. Like I said earlier, everyone in his private army also aren't ordinary people."

"Then I'm left with no choice, I'm going to meet him, and see if the rumours are true."

Sirus laughed uncontrollably.

"Does that mean we'll meet again? Don't be shy, and be sure to visit me."

Ken looked at the ground and noticed a faint track of footsteps, they were barely visible, but Ken could tell they belonged to goblins. He put his arm out in front of the horse and said to Sirus.

"Stop; they're close, it seems like while we were so busy talking, we entered their territory without realising."

Sirus with a worried look began to shake.

"Does that mean we're in danger!?"

Ken casually stepped forward and said

"I'm here, so probably not."

The two heard footsteps and rustling sounds in the bushes around them. Ken wasn't worried one bit, he was so carefree, that he didn't even draw his weapon. The small green goblins began to emerge from the bushes, revealing themselves to Sirus and Ken. Ken used his wind magic to make the tip of his hand as sharp as a sword, walking forward saying but a single thing.

"Leave this to me."

One of the goblins lunged at Ken with a small knife from the side, without a second to waste, he cut through it with his hand; the goblin's blood splattered on Ken's outfit staining it. More goblins slowly started to appear from behind one after another. He spoke to Sirus, giving him a word of advice.

"Stay there, don't move that way I'll be able to ensure your safety. Looks like we might be here longer than I expected."

He channelled mana into his other hand, powering it up just like the other, waiting for the goblins to start attacking so he could take them out. The one problem he had was making sure that he stayed near Sirus, so he didn't get picked off, because of that Ken needed to be close to Sirus and his horse at all times.

The goblins started running at Ken in groups hoping to outnumber him, but it was no use, they were too weak. There were about one hundred goblins, but not a single one could even scratch him. The bodies started to pile up and what seemed to be an endless horde of goblins started to dwindle.

Sirus watched Ken slice through all the goblins that came at him effortlessly.

"Maybe he can stand a chance in the tournament... provided he trains a lot before then. No what am I even saying, there's probably people that will enter who can eat someone like Ken for breakfast. There's no way he can even stand a chance... right?"

After being covered with blood from killing all the goblins, Ken heard strange sounds coming from the trees along something seemed off...