Hidden Realm Under Attack

 The leading bandit, slightly weaker than the Duke chuckled as he flew to the front, "Why did we come here? Of course to see the infamous hidden realm itself,"

 The Duke's blood turned cold. The hidden realm is a journalist's secret at this point, but its location has always been, well, hidden. Only the best among his subjects could obtain the chance to enter and learn of the location, most of them forming a portion of the Duchy higher-ups.

 The leader smiled before taking out something from his storage ring. The Duke's face turned from a very to shock, as he watched the head of one of his generals pulled out from the storage ring. The worst part, he recognized the man, a Genesis Lake expert who had once gotten the chance to enter the hidden realm 5 decades ago.

 "This man over here graciously tells us about the hidden realm. Though, it took a lot of 'persuasion' for him to finally make him talk. I even told him I would let him see you one last time, dear Duke. Look how nice I am," the Duke clenched his fist at the mocking tone of the bandit's leader.

 While he was the strongest person in the area currently, they still outnumbered him greatly, not to mention his priority was to ensure the hidden realm was protected and didn't suffer harm less the youngster would be in danger.

 He also wanted to wait fo- "My Lord! We are here!" his current High Captain flew towards his side, followed by his current Marshal and the Advisor, the leader of the Great Families coming from behind.

 "Looks like we are not welcome here. Oh well, let's do this quickly then," without saying another word, the leader launched an attack toward the hidden realm. 

 The Duke quickly intercepts the attack, blocking it with ease before glaring at the leader who let out a slightly upset whine. The Duke then flew towards the man, his fist ready to cave the man's face in.

 Behind the Duke, the rest of the Genesis Sea experts with the exception of the higher up of the Adventure Guild and Craftsman Alliance were the only ones that were not present. The leader of the bandits did the same, the rest of the bandits' top experts charging towards their target, ready to fight in what to be the first battle of what would be later called, the 'Bandit War'.

-x-

As the Genesis Sea experts clashed, the hidden realm began to experience some quack, shaking the one that was inside.

 "What was that?!" the heir of the Lur Family asked, a frown on his face as he looked around for any sign of where the earthquakes were coming from.

 Nearby, the rest also have the exact same expression, confusion on their face as they didn't know what and why caused the earthquakes in the first place.

-x-

 Ryker remained focused on his task. With so many anomalies 'repaired', his comprehension had leaped and bounds. Of course, he intended on solving most of them, all if it was possible in the constraint of time.

 After all, there were still time limits to how long he could remain inside the hidden realm, and he knew he was close to it. And he still didn't find his objective. He let out a sigh. He did hope he could stay here longer, as it would give him the time to get what he wanted.

-x-

 As the Duke remained in front of the hidden realm, blocking any attack from hitting it, he cursed, wondering why the bandits suddenly made their moves today. His eyes widened as he came up with a horrifying realization.

 'Are they strong enough to finally launch an uprising that could destroy my nation?' he thought, before shaking the depressing thought away.

 Even if they did possess the strength and means to do so, he wouldn't be giving up the nation he and his father had built in their lifetime. 

 He let out another roar before unleashing another attack, a fist made up of earth headed towards his opponent.

 The leader of the bandits grimaced. Even if he could block the attack, he would be injured. While not too bad of an injury as he is still a Genesis Sea expert, it still will make his advantage go null, allowing the Duke to press on his attack.

 As for not avoiding it, the attack would hit his subordinates. While he didn't care much about his underling, losing a Genesis Sea expert before the war began would cause a serious setback, forcing them to be more on the defensive side, something he didn't want.

 He jumped in between his man and the attack, creating many qi barriers to weaken the attack. Despite all of his attempts, the difference between cultivation realm is present, as the Duke's attack smashed through all of his defense, sending him flying away. 

 With the biggest obstacle gone, the Duke began his rampage, targeting the Genesis Sea experts who were being held up by his subordinates. 

 The Genesis Sea bandits, with their hands already full of holding back their current opponent, didn't have any chances to protect themselves. The Duke's attacks were ferocious and vicious, focusing on killing blows, and if that is not achievable, then crippling them is the next best thing.

 In a matter of seconds, the tide had been turned, the number of Genesis Sea bandits killed was 3 while the rest were badly injured and forced to retreat or else, they would lose their lives right there.

 When the bandit's leader returned to the battlefield, he watched as his subordinates began their retreat. He wanted to curse them but withheld them from doing so as they would likely cause trouble in the future if he did so.

 Instead, he glared at the Duke, who gave him a triumphant smile. He clicked his tongue, before looking at the Duke, before giving the man a smile devoid of warmth.

 "Do you think you had won?! Well, this is just the beginning! But before I leave, here is a present for all of you," the leader clapped his hand.

 Soon, several bandits, all of them at the Genesis Spring and Genesis Lake rushed towards the hidden realm. Before the Duke could stop them, they burned their life force before glowing brightly.

 The Duke paled, knowing what the glowing light meant. Knowing he wouldn't be able to stop them in time, the Duke took out an amulet and crushed it, causing the hidden realm to shine brightly.

 The leader, not knowing what was going on and frankly not having time to worry about it with his currently injured form, fled the scene, cackling madly while at it.