Book 4: Chapter 20 – Team Leader

When Ace arrived back outside, he found his Killian and Leonel having a stare-off against their new teammate – Chukaya – with Amira standing in the middle, trying to act as a peacemaker.

"Little Mira, you don't need to protect your friends," Chukaya voiced, believing that Amira knew that he was strong enough to handle both Killian and Leo. "As long as your classmates stop being pointlessly stubborn and agree to make me team leader, I won't treat them unfairly."

Whilst Chukaya believed that Amira was stopping her classmates from embarrassing themselves, the truth was that she was stopping Leonel from tearing Chukaya limb from limb.

Since arriving at the Pavilion, Leonel hadn't made a move, so there weren't many, even in the Pavilion, that understood precisely how monstrous of a beast he was, but Amira didn't fall into that category.

When she arrived back home from the pavilion, she told her 'mother' about Leo, Bebe, and the divine Azure Dragon they met in the wilderness half a year ago.

Even her mother, who in her eyes, whilst not the most powerful saint she'd met, was without a doubt the most experienced and knowledgeable – even in comparison to Arianna – was rendered speechless when she heard there were three divine beasts of such stature in the Yulan Continent, let alone the fact that Amira ran into all of them in the space of a couple of months.

She explained that although they too were Divine Beasts like the Suanni Lion and the Ba Serpent, Divine Beasts that could jump across three realms to fight as mortals relying on nothing but their natural abilities are referred to as Apex Divine Beasts, and they're considered to be invincible to all other creatures at the same level.

Whilst it was true that Chukaya was a realm above and an elite-level talent who could challenge those above his realm, the difference between him and Leo was too big.

It wouldn't be a big deal if Ace were here because, as a Lion type beast, Leo had an innate pride (pack) mentality, and as the leader of their 'pride' Leo would always do exactly as Ace instructed, but because he was the second strongest of their group, Leo saw himself as the second in command of the group when Ace wasn't around.

Not only would he do anything to protect the rest of those he saw as part of his pride, but he also would hesitate to kill anyone who dared to insult the dignity of his leader.

"You? Lead us?" Killian snorted disdainfully. "You're not qualified."

"What did you say?" Chukaya asked coldly as he took a step forward as if he was prepared to make a move.

"I agree with Killian," Ebeze added from the side. "You're not qualified to lead this team."

"And who is?" Chukaya asked, his frosty eyes falling on his fellow countryman as if he were daring him to continue to oppose him.

"Ace," Ebeze, Amira, and Killian all voiced at once without a moment's hesitation.

"What, just because he's comprehended Impose?" Chukaya asked disdainfully, his attention focused on Amira and Ebeze, believing they would be the easiest to reason with as his compatriots. "The leader of our team should be the strongest, the one who's able to protect us best from all potential threats, and whilst it's truly impressive that he was able to comprehend impose at his age and cultivation, he's still not a match for me. I am the only one who's qualified."

"Look, even his beast partner agrees with me," Chukaya stated when he noticed that Leonel, who had previously been growling threateningly, had calmed down all of a sudden.

At the same time, Amira also no longer bothered with Chukaya, having seemed to have figured something out from Leo's passive state.

Ebeze was just about to respond to Chukaya's boastful claims when a calm yet imposing voice cut through the tension in the air.

"Enough," Ace voiced as he calmly strode towards them from the palace gates. "Everyone get on board now. We're leaving."

As soon as his words came out, both Ebeze and Killian got on the carriage as instructed.

Amira gave Ace a sweet smile and a nod, but she too got on board, leaving Leo, who was too big to fit inside the carriage, and Chukaya, who was too busy glaring at Ace, who didn't seem to even register his presence as he made his way to the carriage.

Chukaya had already felt on edge around Ace since he arrived as he saw his desired future slowly slipping out from under him, then for the emperor to have him stay behind to have a private conversation – something that had never happened to him in all his time as a citizen of the Rohault Empire – Chukaya felt his grasp over the situation slipping further and further away from him.

As far as he was concerned, if he wanted to begin to rectify the situation, he had to take leadership of the team. That way, if they were to perform well enough on the battlefield, he would be able to impress Emperor Jordon and Amira in one fell swoop.

But how could he have imagined that not only would every single member of the team outright oppose him, but they would obey Ace's instruction as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

His eyes reddened with rage and unwillingness, and the popping of his knuckles rang in the air as he glared at the dark-haired youth who continued to ignore him entirely, but just as he opened his mouth to say something, the inviolable voice of Emperor Jordon rang through the air, making him swallow his words.

"Ace is the leader of the team, and that's final!"

Looking up in the sky, Chukaya saw his Emperor casually floating, looking down at them from above.

By the time he regained his composure enough to look away from his leader, Chukaya had found that Ace had already passed him by and entered the carriage.

"As you wish, my lord," Chukaya bowed respectfully as he forcibly suppressed his anger before he too entered the carriage.

He couldn't help but feel awkward as he entered, but as if to make matters worse, whether it was Ace, Killian, Leonel, or Amira, none seemed to pay him the slightest bit of attention. It was a strange feeling, but subconsciously, he would've preferred if they looked at him gloatingly like the look he was receiving from Ebeze.

After all the fuss he made wanting to be team leader, the complete lack of acknowledgement he received from them, as though this was the only possible outcome, made him feel so much worse than he thought possible. Still, with the Emperor confirming Ace's position as leader, he didn't dare to say anything else on the matter.

Chukaya watched calmly as Ace, Amira and the others left for the battlefield. He would be lying if he said he wasn't worried about Amira's safety. After all, even though she wasn't his blood daughter, he had still raised her since she was a baby. He had long since seen her as his own. But other than worry, he also felt a sense of anticipation and excitement.

He knew better than anyone that there was no better place for a warrior to temper themselves than on the battlefield. Even though she would be called back in a couple of months for the birth of her baby 'siblings', Jordon believed that the next time he saw Amira, he would be pleasantly surprised by her transformation.

"I hope this is the right decision," Sharanthia said as she appeared beside her husband in mid-air, as she watched her niece heading to the battlefield.

"Don't worry," Jordon said reassuringly as he took her hands in his. "Nothing will happen to them. Kaymin's following them from the shadows, and I've also instructed Ejiro to oversee the battlefield, just in case their identity's blown, and a saint from the O'Brien Empire appears."

She was still worried, but her husband's words did manage to reassure her, albeit only slightly. Chukaya's master, Elder Ejiro, was amongst the strongest saints in the Rohault empire. The only ones stronger than him were Jordon, Sharanthia, and of course, Aiden.

The chances of the O'Brien having a saint that strong anywhere near the battlefield was unlikely; after all, it was public knowledge that whilst the Rohault Empire was fighting for their home, the O'Brien Empire saw the battlefield as a place to hone their warriors.

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At the same time, all five of the youths were sat in the back of the carriage heading towards the battlefield with Leo leisurely running beside them.

"I know you all heard Emperor Jordon's words just now, so I'm only going to say this once," Ace said, his tone grave as his eyes swept all of his team individually. "For the duration of our stay on the battlefield, I expect each and every one of you to obey my commands as team leader. I won't tolerate the actions of any one individual put the lives of the others in harms way.

If you can't accept those terms, then you're free to join one of the regular regiments. If you have a problem with that and wish to join a regular regiment, say so now."

Even though Ace didn't mention a name, it didn't take a genius to understand he was talking mainly to Chukaya. Still, the teen in question simply snorted, before looking in the opposite direction.

It was clear that as unwilling as he was to follow the orders of Ace, he was even more unwilling to be separated from Amira.

"Good," Ace continued, his voice taking a more warm tone. "Now that we've gotten that out the way let's look forward to a productive training experience."

Even though there was nothing wrong with his words as such, the others could sense the faint bloodlust radiating from the dark-haired team leader.

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Book 5: Chapter 50 – Lord Beirut (Finale)