Ch 21 - Ch 30

Chapter 21: Bullshit Continued

"God Bless!"

"Hail King Alexander!"

"Hail Chambord!"

Time seemed to rewind to the end of the battle under the sunset, with everyone in the palace cheering and yelling. Everyone understood the meaning of what they saw.

This unimaginable scene had shocked everyone like never before. "So the king can really communicate with the gods like in the rumors. Then that means the God of War is always blessing Chambord ... If it's like this, the cruel enemies will never be able to siege Chambord Castle!" Everyone thought.

All a sudden, the worries and fears on everyone's mind disappeared. As everyone cheered, Angela stood there quietly. This beautiful girl stared at the man in the middle of all people enjoying the resounding cheers and worship. She felt completely relieved. She didn't know where this feeling came from, either from the blessing of the God of War or from the change in Alexander.

The atmosphere was spectacular, and even Emma who was hard on Fei was affected by it, jumping and cheering in the crowd as well.

The two pots of blood water mixed with the [Minor Healing Potion] were distributed to every wounded soldier's hands under Brook's order. Surprising laughs and cheers filled the palace. In just half an hour, many of the groaning soldiers couldn't feel the pain anymore, and the lightly wounded could literally pick up their weapons to go back to battle again.

Light and hope were closest to the people of Chambord now since four days ago. All of this was because of King Alexander, who was blessed by the God of War. Everyone was looking at Fei with worship and respect.

...

...

The enemies didn't attempt to attack at night; this let most of the soldiers get their precious first night's rest in the past four days.

After healing all the wounded soldier by tricking them into drinking the [Minor Healing Potion], Fei let a couple of smart soldiers handle the rest of the situation. He went on a walk with the second commander of the King's Guards Brook. They soon got on the defensive wall. The wall looked magnificent at night. Fei stood in the middle of the defensive wall and glanced around.

Chambord was surrounded by mountains on the left, right and back. As if this small castle was endorsed by the gods, all three sides of Chambord were protected by natural 'defensive walls'. The sides of the three mountains that faced outward were steep and almost unclimbable; even a star ranked warrior would have a difficult time doing so.

What was special was that on the sides facing Chambord, the mountain was much flatter and rose more gradually. If climbing from Chambord castle towards the mountain, even little kids and elders were able to easily get to the top of the mountains. This strange terrain made Chambord very easy to defend and difficult to siege. It looked like the work of a god.

With the mountains surrounding the castle, the only artificial structure was the defensive wall. The gate was facing the Zuli moat. The wall was almost half a mile long (600m), and it closed the only gap left open by the mountains. The bottom of the defensive wall was 15 yards (15m) thick and the top was 12 yards (12m) thick; it was firm and massive. You could literally run four cars on top of it.

What was also special was that the defensive wall wasn't straight; it was designed to be slightly concave. This eliminated most of the blind spots and allowed every soldier to see what was happening on and under any part of the wall.

A third of a mile (450m) from the defence wall was the Zuli River. It was acting naturally as the moat of the castle. The torrents roared as the water flowed. The mile (1,400 m) wide river was frequently covered with mist. The river was extremely deep, so it was impossible for soldiers to get across the river without a boat or ship unless they were super powerful warriors and had the ability to fly. Everyone who wanted to swim over would be 'eaten' instantly by the current.

There was a half natural, half artificial stone bridge that linked the two sides.

According to Brook, no one knew where that stone bridge came from. Even the oldest person in Chambord didn't know who built the bridge. It had a long history and was very cryptic.

Fei observed it carefully. The stone bridge was held up by nine huge natural piers.

Observing from far, these nine piers were like inverted mountains being plugged into the water; they were really astonishing. It was impossible to have made those piers artificially. They looked more like a god had cut off the peaks of mountains far away and threw them into the river.

This stone bridge was another terrain advantage to Chambord.

It was convenient for the people of Chambord to travel out of the castle during peaceful times, and the thin bridge made it very difficult for enemies to transport huge siege machines near the defensive wall during war times.

"The terrains are extremely advantageous! No wonder Chambord was able to defend against two thousands well trained enemies for four days with less than eight hundred soldiers... This castle is literally a natural war fortress!"

After Fei's observations, he understood Chambord's terrains. Although he was no military genius, he was still surprised by that he saw. At the same time, he was also perplexed.

The wealth and labour of the current Chambord kingdom could never pull off such huge construction, unless Chambord was once glorious and powerful or this castle had a long history behind it.

Everything didn't seem that simple. However, Fei didn't recall any history about the castle. The memories and knowledge of the old Alexander didn't leave Fei with much useful information.

"Brook, people called me a retard before, right?" As if Fei suddenly remembered something, he asked Brook peacefully.

Brook's thoughts lagged. He didn't know how to reply to such a direct question from the king.

The old Alexander was a retard that had the intelligence of a three years old; he couldn't even survive on his own. Under the instigation of his 'friends', he had harmed Chambord a great deal. Even though he was the king, no one liked him. Only due to his status as a king bestowed upon him by his parents, the previous king and queen, was he was not abandoned by his people.

Even Brook himself didn't have any respect for the old Alexander. He showed a little disdain towards him. However, after witnessing Fei's battle on the defensive wall and his godlike actions that saved the wounded soldiers, who would dare treat the man who was blessed by the God of War like a retard?

Brook had completely changed his view on the king. There was no question about it, the man in front of him deserved his loyalty and respect.

"When I was shot by an arrow yesterday morning, my head hit a rock. Maybe I was blessed by the God of War. Many things appeared in my head and my mind got clear..."

As if Fei was talking to himself, he spoke slowly while touching the moss on a battlement.

"You know? That collision made me feel like I've suddenly grown up. For many things that I didn't understand back then, I can understand them now completely... Hehehe, now I know that I truly was a retard that everyone hated... Brook, can you tell me all the horrible things I did before?"

While listening to Fei's 'monologue', almost all the doubt and uncertainty on Brook's mind disappeared, "So the arrow yesterday had coincidentally knocked the king back to normal...When the old king was still alive, there was a prophecy that Alexander was retarded because he was cursed by god...It looks like the curse had finally been reversed by the god."

Fei laughed in his head as he observed Brook's expression.

Fei continued, "When I was brought back to the palace, I felt a mysterious power flowing in my body. When I woke up, I had unimaginable strength. I was able to learn anything quickly and I was able to control my strength...and I was able to use the battle techniques naturally as if they were born within me."

After listening to this, the last bit of uncertainty disappeared from Brook's mind.

The young king's monstrous strength and devastating axe techniques were things that Brook and all the soldiers couldn't wrap their heads around. But now, it all seemed as if it were the decree of the God of War.

There was no other way to explain the battle that occurred this afternoon and the blood that saved all wounded soldiers...Only divine intervention.

Fei was observing Brook's expression closely. When he saw the sudden realization on Brook's face, he knew that his bullshit worked as he had planned.

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Chapter 22

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Chapter 22: The Azeroth Continent

On this Azeroth Continent, everyone believed in gods and extreme power. Because there were many wars, the God of War was the one that had the most believers and followers. Therefore, while tying all the loose ends to the God of War seemed ridiculous, it was the most reasonable and impeccable excuse.

Fei needed an excuse to explain what had happened to Alexander. Now he had one. He knew that in a short while, what he had said tonight would be spread around Chambord by the forthright man behind him. He didn't need to explain himself to everyone again.

Sometimes, hearsay is more trusted by others than what you say personally.

Fei planned his explanation perfectly. He purposely linked himself with the God of War that most people believed in. What Fei's experience on Earth taught him was that beliefs and religions which caused disputes and wars, if used properly, could be tremendously helpful.

"I can't recall clearly anything that happened before yesterday...Brook, tell me about Chambord and the kingdom." Fei spoke causally, appearing to not care very much; he was trying to trick Brook into telling him more about the castle.

"It is my honour, your majesty. The scope of your kingdom is only Chambord Castle. According to the categorization method on Azeroth Continent, Chambord is not a separate empire, but an affiliated kingdom of an empire. The total population of the kingdom is less than 10,000, and the official military is the King's Guards, which only has 400 soldiers...." Brook tried hard to explain what he knew clearly.

"Affiliated Kingdom?" Fei had a bad feeling about it

Sure though –

"Yes, your majesty. Chambord's parent empire is Zenit Empire. It has 250 affiliated kingdoms and all the kingdoms are divided into 6 levels. Chambord is at the 6th level, which is the lowest among all affiliated kingdoms. There are 68 other 6th level kingdoms under Zenit Empire's dictatorship..."

Fei didn't know what to say; he felt like crying.

"So this is the truth...My kingdom is this small? I thought being a king was awesome...My total territory is only this Chambord Castle, and the population is less than a small city on Earth... Am I inferior to a mayor?"

For the first time, Fei felt like reality was not as sweet as he had expected. He thought about it for a while and asked hopefully, "Brook, according to this, our parent empire, Zenit must be one of the most powerful empires on this continent, right?"

Brook's expression was weird.

After hesitating for a moment, this straightforward man told Fei what he knew, "Azeroth Continent is gigantic. According to legends, even the gods can't travel through the whole continent. There are numerous empires on the continent, and these empires are ranked by their strength, from level one to level nine. Level one empires are the weakest and level nine empires are at the peak of the pyramid. However, Zenit Empire is only one of the thousands of weak level one empires on the continent..."

Fei's heart sunk – he felt hopeless. He never imaged that Chambord's status was that low on Azeroth continent. A king's status was too cheap. Royalties in this world were more common than university degrees on Earth.

According to Brook, with only a couple acres of land and a couple hundred people, anyone could become a king. These kings were just like large groups of 'bandits'.

"WTF, so after all, I'm just a leader of a big group of bandits? And a very weak one too?"

Fei's hopes were crushed. As a king, he thought he owned everything in this world, but he was only dreaming.

After a moment of silence, Fei asked again, "So... how are the relationships between the empires on the continent? ...I mean there aren't a lot of wars, right?"

"Wars are most common on Azeroth Continent..." As if Brook was addicted to 'objecting' Fei, he said sadly, "Everyone is born during wartime and dies during the wars... Both of my parents and family were killing during wars. People die every second on this continent."

Fei was shocked.

"Holy shit! Then does that mean my kingdom could be crushed any second by the super powerful empires? When wars come, an individual's power is limited by the battles that involve millions of soldiers."

"Why don't we ask for help from our parent empire? Zenit Empire has a duty of protecting their affiliated kingdoms, right?"

Brook's answer this time didn't disappoint Fei –

"If they knew our situation, Zenit Empire would send their armies and star ranked warriors to help us. The problem is ..." Brook pointed at the enemies' camps on the other side of the Zuli moat and said helplessly, "They locked down the only path that Chambord can use to communicate with the outside world, so we couldn't get our message to the parent empire out there."

"So that's how it is." Fei quickly understood the structure and key to survival in this chaotic continent from Brook's words.

There was no doubt that Azeroth Continent was huge. It was larger than any continent on Earth – even larger than all the continents on Earth combined. What was worse was that the empires on the continent fought against each other all the time; war was the main theme.

Fei felt the pressure of survival crushing him. However, Fei had caught the main point of Brook's answer.

There were laws during peaceful times, and there were also survival rules during times of war. From Brook's unclear answer, Fei felt like after hundreds of years of war, Azeroth Continent had formed an interesting pyramid system. In this system, survival of small kingdoms was possible as long as they attach themselves to the large empires.

A gust of wind had brought mist from the Zuli moat onto the defensive wall. The atmosphere was a little depressing.

Fei decided not to think too much about the future. His thoughts went back to Chambord Castle, "Brook, tell me more about Chambord, such as other noble families and influential people. As a king, I don't even know my own kingdom."

Fei was going to get all the information he could out of Brook.

Brook thought about it and said, "Other than your Majesty, the most powerful person at Chambord would be the Head Minister Mr. Bazzer. Because you were..." Brook scratched his head. He didn't know how to describe the retarded actions of the old Alexander. He hesitated for a while and decided not to mention that. He continued, "For the last three years, Mr. Bazzer was running the kingdom on your behalf. Except for the military that was under Mr. Lampard's control, Mr. Bazzer decided everything else for Chambord..."

"Head Minister Bazzer?" Remembering something, Fei asked, "He has a fat, pig-like son called Gill, right?"

"Yes, your Majesty. Gill was your closest friend!"

"That douchebag is my closest friend?" Fei sneered in his mind, "Bazzer, Gill. They are all bad eggs. One controlled the Kingdom and the other accompanied me all the time to insist me to do bad stuff."

"Continue. Except for Bazzer, is there anyone else that is influential?" Fei asked. He was definitely going to punish the father and son duo.

"Except Head Minister Bazzer, Military Judge Conca and Warden Oleg are all powerful figures at Chambord. The former First Commander of King's Guards, Mr. Peter-Cech was one of them too, but half a month ago, Head Minister Bazzer had discovered a lot of evidence revealing Mr. Cech's intention of treason and jailed him." Fei nodded.

He found something very interesting – Brook dared to call one of the most powerful people in Chambord, Bazzer directly by his name, but he was very respectful towards the former First Commander of King's Guards Peter-Cech, who was accused of treason...Didn't that point out some problems?"

Although Chambord was a small kingdom, Fei felt there were a lot of conflicts and 'undercurrents'.

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Chapter 23

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Chapter 23: He is a beast

"Anyone else?"

"Except for the people I mentioned, your majesty's butler Bast, who is your future father-in-law and Angela's father, is pretty influential too...But before the enemies attacked, Bast had left the Castle with a ton of riches and nobody knows where he went."

"Angela's father?" Fei was surprised, "Angela's father is still alive? No wonder why I've never seen him, He left before the enemies came, and he even took a lot of riches...Does that count of fleeing?"

However, Fei's initial reaction was not anger; he felt sad for Angela. The pretty and kind girl was abandoned by her father at the most important time.

"She must be covering up her feelings every day." He was suddenly worried about Angela.

...

The cold breeze blew through Chambord. On the other side of the river, the enemies' torches burned brightly in the night. Looking at them from far, they were like stars in the night sky. Fei continued talking to Brook on the defensive wall. He now had a pretty good idea about the internal power groups in Chambord.

From Brook's description, even though Chambord was only a tiny kingdom on Azeroth Continent, the complex political artifices and infighting between the internal power groups were just as much those between the super powerful empires...Fei felt that he was facing something really interesting.

"I feel like I didn't see Bazzer, Conca or Oleg in the battle today. Don't they all need to participate?" Fei thought of something and asked.

"Mr. Bazzer had actually came to the battle once; it was the time when your majesty fell off of the defensive wall...Military Judge Conca was wounded on the first day of battle, and he has been recovering in his home ever since. Oleg is a warden; although I asked him to engage in battle, he felt his priority was to guard the jail, so he doesn't have any duty to be on the battlefield!"

"Doesn't have the duty, Huh? Hehe, ok..." Fei sneered, "Then....How are their strengths? I mean their personal strengths..."

"Bazzer is just an ordinary person. He doesn't have any magic, nor does he have any combat techniques. Both Conca and Oleg are one star warriors...but the most powerful person in Chambord is Sir Lampard! With the rank of a three star warrior, he is one of the top Guardians (Guardians are powerful people that protect a kingdom or an empire) in the kingdoms around us!"

Brook's was definitely proud when he talked about Lampard.

"I remember that Bazzer's son Gill is a mage, right?" Fei suddenly had a 'bad' idea. He laughed, "Pass on my order, call up mage Gill onto the defensive wall to protect the Chambord Kingdom."

"Your majesty, Gill is not a ranked star mage yet. He is only a low rank novice mage...Of course, a novice mage would definitely be a lot help in battle..." Brook bowed as he answered, "As you wish, your majesty. I will send someone to call up Gill right away."

Obviously, Brook agreed with this command 100%.

"Eh, that's enough for tonight." Fei pretty much got all the information he wanted. He smiled as he tapped Brook on the shoulder, "After organizing the soldiers into shifts for night watch, go and get some rest. I will help with the night watch tonight."

"Your majesty, you can't! It's my duty to..." Brook was surprised.

Fei smiled and waved to cut him off, "Commander Brook, I heard from the soldiers that you haven't slept in two days. That's not good. There are more cruel battle awaiting us tomorrow... Ok, Brook. I need you to get some sleep. I will need you to kill more enemies in tomorrow's battle...This is king's command, you must follow it! Now go!"

Brook was stunned. The next second, this tough man half-kneeled, propping his double-handed sword in front of his chest. He swore seriously, Your Majesty Alexander, my honourable king. One star warrior Goethe-Brook pledges allegiance!"

...

After Brook left, Fei made up an excuse and sent away the soldiers that were following him.

He walked around and observed in detail the structures and defense mechanisms on the wall. He appeased the soldier on the night watch and walked into the watchtower at the middle of the defensive wall.

This watchtower was a two-story building made of wood and stones. Before the war erupted, this watchtower was well decorated. It served as a resting place for the soldiers that exchanged shifts on the wall. However, the battles in the previous couple days had virtually destroyed this building. It only had four partially demolished walls. Without a ceiling, the starlight shined though.

Fei picked a spot that could see the area under the defensive wall so he could react if the enemies did something. He sat down and started his night watch.

A couple other soldier stood outside of the watchtower, guarding the king.

"This is not a good situation. Although we defeated their siege today, this won't happen every day. This enemies have great equipment and are well trained. Moreover, we are outnumbered. If this continues, Chambord can't escape the fate of being conquered. There must be another way!" Fei was thinking hard.

But after a ton of thinking, not a single good idea came to mind. He was only a university student on Earth, after all. He was no assassin nor military commander. Thinking of an idea that could save the Chambord Castle was not an easy task.

"Looks like I have to improve my strength first. I'll have to deal with the rest later."

Fei gave up on thinking. He made up his mind as he closed his eyes and tried to communicate with the mysterious voice inside his head. He wanted to enter the Diablo world to 'level up' and increase his strength.

However –

"Insufficient mental strength restored. Cannot enter the Diablo world, please try again later."

That cold, mysterious voice gave Fei a response quickly.

This disappointed Fei. He meditated for a while patiently and tried again, but the answer was the same. After trying over ten time, he still couldn't get into the Diablo world. It was the same response, "Insufficient mental strength restored..."

Fei kept on trying, but fatigue caught up to him and he unwittingly fell asleep.

...

...

On the south side of the Zuli river. In the base of the mysterious, unsourced enemies.

Right in the middle of the camp was a black tent, visibly bigger and more magnificent than the tents around it. Under the flickering light of the torches surrounding it, the tent looked like a horrifying monster hidden in the dark, ready to attack at any moment.

However, it was warm and bright inside the tent.

The silver masked knight that appeared on the battlefield was sitting on a big chair. The chair covered by a huge black fur of an unknown animal. The silver masked knight was relaxed; one hand was keeping up his chin while the other was holding an almost transparent jade cup, swirling red wine inside of it.

Nineteen black warriors stood in two rows on both of his sides. On the left side of the tent, a mysterious man covered under a black cloak sat beside the table. The wand beside him had exposed his identity – a mage.

There was a strange force field surrounding this mysterious man; it made the man very blurry and no one could see his face. Although it was warm in the tent, everyone felt a chill in their bones when they looked at him.

The three star warrior Landes who was severely wounded by Fei was kneeling down in front of the silver masked knight.

"Crackle, crackle – !"

It was the sound of charcoal bursting under the fire. It was the only sound in the tent; it made the atmosphere very strange.

Finally, the silver masked knight raised his head. He looked at Landes and asked calmly, "Landes, tell me what happened on the defensive wall today. I'm curious how you were this badly injured as a three star warrior."

As Landes kneeled on the red carpet in the middle of the tent, shame covered his face.

What was surprising was that under the silver masked knight's question, the powerful three star warrior Landes seemed very scared, telling the silver masked man everything he experienced in detail.

The man was listening indifferently. He was focused on the jade cup in his hand the whole time, as if there was something that was attracting his attention.

After Landes finished, the silver masked man stop swirling the cup. He said softly, "Interesting. Hehe... Landes, take a seat!"

Landes felt like he was acquitted of a death penalty. He let out a sigh of relief. He stood up and said, "Thank you, master. I have one more thing to report. When I was fighting the three star warrior of the Chambord Castle, I found something interesting."

"Go ahead!"

"Master, I found that the three star warrior seemed injured. His water energy wasn't able to move inside his body fluently. From my prediction, he probably had an internal injury from some time ago and didn't recover...In the next, I'm confident that I can chop his head off and donate his skull into master's collection!"

Landes was hyped. However, that didn't intrigue the silver masked knight at all.

The knight wasn't interest in the most powerful person in Chambord. Seeming unintentional, he asked, "Landes, what's your opinion on the heavy armoured 'bull' that appeared on the battlefield earlier today?"

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Chapter 24

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Chapter 24: Two Complete Opposite Commands

"Him?"

The question took Landes by surprise. Those beast-like eyes appeared in his mind instantly. The eyes behind the helmet...made him shiver a little.

"That man has the strength of a one star warrior. What was strange was that he didn't have any energy, as if he was born with that strength….." Landes said as he was trying to recall what had happened. "And also, he felt like a growing vicious beast, born to battle and kill."

"A beast?" The silver masked knight put down the cup and finally looked at Landes. He laughed, "That's an interesting metaphor...Landes, what if I capture this 'beast' and send him to the Empire Colosseum. Wouldn't that be even more interesting?"

"Colosseum? That's a great idea, master..." Landes said flatteringly, "If that crazy bastard goes to the Empire Colosseum, he will be the greatest gladiator. There will be a ton of people willing to pay a high price for him!"

On Azeroth Continent, empire colosseums were the places that nobles wanted to go to.

There was cruel and bloody entertainment going on daily. Strong slaves who were trained to kill were forced to engage in deadly fights with all kinds of weird beasts and dangerous monsters all for the entertainment of the nobles.

These kinds of bloody fights had become a custom in Azeroth Continent. They were initially the sacrificial ceremonies to the God of War, but it had devolved into something purely for the thrill of the nobles. As they crazed for it more and more, the colosseums became an enormous profit chain. Numerous empires were involved in it, and it could also increase the growth in the gambling industry. Many people became super rich from it while others lost everything they owned.

What was worth mentioning was that being candidates for gladiators had a strict restriction; only slaves and the poor who didn't have a ranked title were able to become gladiators. People who were ranked warriors and mages couldn't appear in the colosseums. The Warrior Union and the Mage Union believed that it was an insult to the unions if a warrior or mage was put into the colosseums.

Of course, it wasn't this way when it started. Many nobles from the super powerful empires didn't follow this rule. There was a time when a ton of warriors and mages were forced to fight in the colosseums. This behaviour had infuriated the most powerful people on the Azeroth Continent. Five hundred years ago, many powerful people came together under the call of the Sun ranked warrior Beckenbauer and the Sun raked mage Bailey. Together, they passed the [Declaration of Honour] and wiped out 241 empires and 10,000 colosseums. After that case, there wasn't a single colosseum or empire that dared to go against the Declaration.

Under the Declaration, a great gladiator was hard to find. People like Fei who had the strength of a one star warrior but didn't have any energy were treasures in the eyes of people like the silver masked knight. If they operated everything properly, they could profit greatly. They could even network with nobles from higher empires.

"[One], after the night clears, take [Sixteen], [Seventeen] and [Eighteen] and command Chambord to surrender. Tell that retarded king of theirs that if they are willing to surrender, the king and the minister can be spared, and the citizens will not be killed and only be slaves ...If not, when we conquer their kingdom, we will kill everyone we see for three days and wash their castle with blood!" The silver masked knight said coldly.

As he finished speaking, a white, chilly energy appeared in his hand, freezing the jade cup and the wine into a nice ice sculpture.

"Yes, master!" The black knight named [One] standing to the right inside the tent stepped up and bowed.

"Eh, make sure that you convey this message to that retarded king in front of all of his soldiers." The silver masked knight had a playful smile on his face. He exhorted as he threw the cup to the side.

"Yes, master!"

[One] bowed with [Sixteen], [Seventeen] and [Eighteen], and then they left the tent.

"[Two], [Three], [Four], [Five], [Six]. All five of you prepare your soldiers. When Chambord opens their gate and surrenders, rush in with your soldiers and kill everyone except that Angela and the 'Beast'.

The silver masked knight continued issuing commands. His second command was completely different from the first. The five black knights stepped up and bowed to obey the order. However, they were surprised. [One] was going to grant Chambord a path to survival, but the silver masked knight had set such a cold order so quickly; he was trying to trick Chambord all along.

"Time is tight. According to our plan, Chambord Castle must be conquered as soon as possible. If this continues, I'm afraid that Zenit Empire will know what's going on. We have to do this..." As if the silver masked knight felt doubt in his subordinates' minds, he explained himself. After that, he turned around and said to Landes, "Landes, I hope you can do what you promised; bring me the head of that three star warrior!"

"As you wish, my master!" Landes was very confident.

"The rest of you can wait for my order...Ok, now go prepare yourselves. When the sun rises, we will take action!"

All the knights bowed and were ready to leave the tent... But at this moment-

"Wait!"

The quiet, mysterious mage suddenly interrupted them.

The man covered his face under his cloak. He nodded towards the silver masked knight as a salute. His voice was hoarse, as if someone was dragging a dull blade on a rough stone. The high pitched voice sounded horrible, "Your highness, I sense that there is a powerful mage in Chambord Castle. Your plan might be interfered with."

"A mage?" The silver masked knight's face expression changed. A mage could greatly interfere a battle easily. He asked, "Teacher, can you tell what rank this mage is?"

"This mage is hiding pretty deep; I feel he is trying to hide from something. I only sensed him moments ago...Eh, he is around three stars!"

"Three stars?" The silver masked knight was a little relaxed. "If it's only a three star mage, the threat isn't that great, but I still hope teacher can help me tomorrow when it's appropriate and eliminate this problem!"

"Eh." The man in cloak nodded: "I would, but even if it's only a three star mage, the damage could be pretty significant. Tell your army to stay away in case of accidental injuries."

After hearing the mysterious mage accept his request, the silver masked knight was relieved. He smiled, "Alright teacher. You can do anything you want, just don't damage the exterior and the defensive wall of Chambord."

The mysterious mage nodded again. He returned to silence as the cold chilling energy surrounded him once again.

...

...

The cold breeze was chilling to the bones. Fei shivered as he opened his eyes.

"Oh shit! I was on the night watch...Cough, Cough. I fell asleep? The enemies didn't attack, did they?" He was a little scared.

As he was thinking, he smelled a faint fragrance. He turned around and was surprised to find out that the beautiful Angela was sitting beside him. However, she was asleep and lying against a cold stone wall.

As if the girl felt cold in her dream, she held her knees tightly while curling her back. The crystal dew had wet the tip of her hair. She smiled as if she was having a sweet dream. Under the starlight, her fine, white face gave Fei the impression of a flower fairy.

Fei slightly moved his body. He then discovered that his body was covered by a thick velvet blanket. Angela was obviously worried and brought it to him at midnight.

Feeling the warmth from the blanket, Fei's heart was warmed as well. For some reason, the beautiful, kind girl in front of him reminded him of his first love – innocent, pure and warm...Everything was beautiful.

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Chapter 25

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Chapter 25: Whipped Soldiers

Fei stood up and put the blanket over Angela. This dumb girl had brought the blanket to Fei, but she. only wore a thin layer of clothes.

Fei's heart was a little hurt at that moment. However, because Angela was sleeping soundly, Fei didn't want to wake her up. He stared at Angela's beautiful face and couldn't stop smiling.

After covering Angela up, he left the 'building' quietly. The defensive wall was completely silent. There were only a couple soldiers patrolling. Looking across the Zuli River, the enemies' base was quiet as well. Fei was relieved, but when he turned around, he was surprised –

Emma was on the wall as well. She was standing against the outer wall of the watchtower as if she was guarding the destroyed doorway. She had fallen asleep while standing, probably due to fatigue. Her golden hair was disheveled and her clothes were fluttering from the morning breeze.

She looked cute when she was asleep. It was a totally different impression compared to her normally hostile attitude towards Fei. She looked really innocent as her thin body was standing against the cold, blowing wind.

Fei walked up to her and pinched her smooth cheek, "Hey, kiddo, wake up...Why are you standing here? It's too cold, go sleep inside the tower."

Who knew that Emma was still alert? As soon as she felt Fei's movement, she opened her eyes and punched Fei despite being drowsy. Fei wasn't expecting it and got punched right in the eye.

"Bang-!"

A black 'panda eye' appeared on Fei's face.

"Ah? Alexander, it's you..."

After she hit Fei, Emma finally became aware of her surroundings. She was a little bit embarrassed. She held her head down, like a little girl who got caught stealing candy. But just as soon as she peeked at Fei's black eye, she couldn't stop giggling, "Hehe, I thought the enemies were sneaking up on us...But you look alright...You're fine, right?"

Fei couldn't get mad at all after seeing Emma shivering in the cold wind. He tapped her on the head and took off the cape attached to his armour and covered Emma's small body in it. He smiled, "Alright, now go sleep inside. After the sun rises, go back to the palace with Angela. The wind here is too strong; this is no place for you girls to be in!"

Emma was stunned. She stared at Fei sluggishly. She quickly looked down as tears welled up in her eyes. Surprisingly, she didn't argue with Fei and obediently walked inside the dilapidated tower.

"Alexander, you will be nice to Angela, right?" When Emma was almost inside the 'building', she turned around and started at Fei and asked seriously.

"Ah?"

This surprised Fei. He didn't know what to say.

Before Fei could answer, this little girl continued, "I don't care what you say. Now that you acting normal, you must to nice to Angela! Alexander, you don't know how much Angela has sacrificed for you for the last three years. I can guarantee that no one would be this nice to you in the world except for her..."

After she said that, she rubbed her red eyes and swung her fist forcefully. She threatened, "Now that you are normal, you have to protect Angela like how she protected you. You hear that? If you don't, I'll...I'll ...I'll give you another black eye!"

After Emma had finished 'threatening' Fei, she turned around and walked into the tower. Emma had been hostile toward Fei for the past two days. Fei wasn't dumb; he knew why she was angry – it was probably because the old Alexander had given Angela a hard time and caused her a lot of suffering.

Although Emma was only a servant, Angela treated her like a little sister. Emma had witnessed all the grievances that Angela suffered for the past three years, so she didn't like Alexander at all. Her hostile attitude was very reasonable. Fei knew that all along, so he didn't argue with Emma. After all, she looked after and cared for the old Alexander together with Angela. This little girl appeared to be tough and mean, but she was kind and her heart was as soft as velvet.

What Emma said deeply moved Fei; she was 100% correct. After taking over Alexander and knowing what had happened in the past, he had to protect the beautiful and kind girl. He had to protect Angela like how she protected Alexander.

...

It was an hour away from dawn, the darkest moment at night. It was already late autumn. The chilly wind brought all the mist from the river onto the defensive wall. Fei's thoughts were swayed by the wind. Although it only had been two days since he came to this world, he had already adapted.

"Is it really god's decree for me to be in this world?"

Fei stood under the light of the moon and stars. He suddenly remembered what Akara said in the Diablo World. He first thought that it was something Akara had bullshitted to trick him for his items, but after he calmed down, he felt like what that priestess said wasn't that simple. It seemed like she meant something else.

While he was thinking, two strong figures approached him. It was Brook and white haired Pierce who just recovered.

"Your majesty, I have to apologize!" Pierce said as he half kneeled. He said remorsefully, "I didn't know what happened yesterday..."

Fei interrupted his sentence, then smiled as he lifted Pierce off the ground. No exaggeration intended, but Pierce was the one who shocked Fei the most in this world. Pierce's brave, risky attacks yesterday on the defensive wall told Fei that this man was trustworthy. Towards the trustworthy, Fei treated them with respect and generosity, just like Brook. In a dangerous situation like this, Fei had already started winning people over subconsciously.

"Fully recovered?" Fei pounded Pierce on the chest. The subtle action melted the ice between them.

"Yes, I'm fully recovered..." Pierce said excitedly as he posed to show his muscle. He laughed, " Your majesty, Commander Brook told me everything! Chambord finally has a king. Pierce swears an oath of allegiance to Your Majesty! Until the day I die!"

Fei could tell that Pierce was fully recovered, as his face had colour on it. It looked like the [Minor Health Potion] had an even stronger effect in the real world; only two drops had saved the life of a severely injured man.

"Come and take a look, it seems like the enemies don't have anything planned right now. Were they like that the last couple of days?" Fei walked to the edge of the defensive wall. He pointed at the enemies' base as he shifted the topic.

Brook took a detailed look. His eyebrows wrinkled, "This is strange. Those bastards never let us rest peacefully during the last couple of nights. They pretended to siege tens of time every night and continued sieging before dawn every day... Something smells fishy. They must be planning something."

"Fuck their tricks, if those sons of bitches dare to siege us again, I will smash them into meat patties with my hammer!" Pierce stared at the enemies' base and yelled.

Fei and Brook were both defeated by the IQ of this tough guy. He was so tough that his brains were probably made up of pure muscles and not any neurons or anything else.

Fei knew that while Pierce was tough, he was also reckless. He was a great warrior on the battlefield, but was also a terrible strategist. If Fei wanted him to plan out strategies and seek logistics like a commander, he'd have an easier time convincing teenagers to give up their phones.

Brook on the other hand had surprised Fei with his cool attitude, he was a perfect fit for the role of commander and general.

Fei didn't know that at that moment, he had decided on the direction of development for his first two henchmen. After hundreds of years, the stories of the [Ultimate Killing Machine] Pierce and the [Wooden Wisdom General] Brook who served under Emperor Alexander would be recited continuously by the travelling poets on Azeroth Continent.

"It doesn't matter what kind of tricks they're hiding under their sleeves. In the end, they will all be revealed..."

Fei decided stop pondering over the enemies' conspiracies. He tapped his fingers on a battlement rhythmically, "Pierce is right, it doesn't matter who it is. Anyone who wants to take a piece of Chambord will lose their teeth in the process."

Pierce laughed proudly as the king agreed with his 'suggestions'.

...

After more than half an hour, dawn was finally arriving; lights shone over the horizon. The enemies' base on the other side of the river wasn't quiet anymore.

Loud bugles had broken the silence of dawn. Looking from afar, the black armoured enemies were like ants; they were moving inside the base and smoke from cooking had risen into the sky. After breakfast, a new round of battle would begin.

"Tell the soldiers to prepare themselves. Brook, today's battle will be commanded by you; everyone must follow your orders, including me!" Although Fei's personal strength had improved a lot from the Diablo World, he was still a complete dummy in terms of war and defensive strategies. It was the best option to let Brook handle that.

"My honour, Your Majesty!" Brook didn't reject.

"Oh, right! Didn't I already call the novice mage Gill to come and help with the battle? Where is he?" Fei remembered.

Brook didn't know what happened either. He turned around to find the answer. Soon, Brook brought back two soldiers who had scars all over their faces. Brook said angrily, "The soldiers I sent were whipped by Minister Bazzer. He said Gill was sick and couldn't participate in the battle."

Fei looked at the two soldier who were whipped on the face. Rage was building inside of him.

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Chapter 26

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Chapter 26: What the King Says Counts

"That bastard! After knowing that I've become normal, he still dares to disobey my order?! Looks like he doesn't think I'm the king. It's time for me to show him who's the boss..." Fei thought.

"Sick? Humph." Fei snorted, "Pierce, take 20 soldiers. I don't want any excuses, bring Gill here. Even if you need to tie him up, bring his ass onto this defensive wall. If anyone dares resist, I give you permission to kill them on the spot!" Fei's voice was cold. Everyone felt the anger of the king and the murderous look in his eyes.

"As you wish, your majesty!"

Pierce was excited. This decisive and eminent king was the type that he and his fellow soldiers wanted to support and pledge allegiance to. After accepting the command, he rushed down the defensive wall with the soldier.

"Brook, send someone to call up Military Judge Conca and Warden Oleg to help with the defense. If they dare resist, kill them on the spot!"

Fei sent these two 'cold-blooded' commands. He was going to teach these guys a lesson.

Healing the wounded soldiers last night was to show his kindness, while seizing a couple of nobles that escaped from battle was to show everyone what he was made of. This was the idea he thought of last night. If Fei couldn't do anything to the enemies, he could at least do something to the corrupted Chambordians.

As Fei expected, after sending the two commands, the atmosphere on the defensive wall got very serious. Fei could feel the boost in morale of the soldiers.

At this moment, Angela smiled as she walked out of the watchtower.

Emma followed her drowsily. She yawned as she rubbed her eyes. After seeing Fei, she winked at him secretly and swung her fist. Fei could tell she meant, "You know what to do!"

Fei smiled back.

After the conversation they had one hour ago, Emma's hostile attitude had already disappeared.

"Angela, you woke up just on time. I have a very important matter that needs your help." Fei said as he fixed his fiancée's messy hair.

"What do you need?"

After hearing Alexander request her help, this beautiful girl was energized. She was afraid that she couldn't help Alexander at all; now he needed her help, she was more than willing to do it. She overcame her shyness from Fei's touch as she raised her head and asked with a blush on her face.

"Can you and Emma go and ask Uncle Lampard to come? The battle is beginning and we really need him to take charge here." Fei said seriously.

"I'll go right now!" After hearing the urgent request, Angela dragged the drowsy Emma and left right away.

"One more thing, Angela. After you notify Uncle Lampard, don't come to the defensive wall. There are still wounded soldiers in the palace that need help, take care of them for me with Emma. Thanks!" Fei said.

This took Angela by surprise. However, Angela was a smart girl and knew what Fei meant instantly – the battle was about to begin, so the defensive wall would become very dangerous. If she stayed there, she would only be a burden. Alexander was sending her away on purpose; taking care of the wounded soldiers was only a bad excuse. However, she didn't object.

Even though she wanted to stay on the wall and help Alexander, she knew that she wouldn't help him at all by staying on there. So, she nodded and agreed to Fei's suggestion. Emma clearly knew Fei's intention as well.

She ran away with Angela as she gave a thumbs up to Fei.

...

After twenty minutes.

The enemies on the other side of the river had gathered together. Numerous square infantry formations stepped out of the enemies' base and approached the defensive wall of Chambord. Their weapons pointed at the sky had formed a 'forest', and they shined under the sunlight. These enemies were definitely properly trained soldiers. Looking from afar, the people on the defensive wall felt the pressure of war instantly.

As Fei observed the enemies outside the wall, a ton of noise came from his back.

"Don't touch me with your lowly hands...Fuck off! Damn it! I'll fucking kill all of you dumbasses later!" A familiar yet arrogant voice sounded.

Fei turned around to see a tied up Gill being brought onto the defensive wall by Pierce. This fatty didn't have any idea that his luck was over, yelling and screaming rampantly as he arrived.

Fei's pupils contracted as he looked past the fatty and saw the man standing behind Gill.

It was an old man wearing a red silk robe. He was thin, about 5 foot 8, and had a curved nose. His face appeared gloomy and his eyes subconsciously squinted. He was a little humpbacked, but he walked calmly and steadily. His white hair was combed together by a gem embedded golden hair ring.

"This old man looks powerful, is he..." As Fei was thinking, Pierce came up and laughed, "Your Majesty, we've brought Gill here like you commanded. But we had to tie him up, haha." He then pointed at the old man in red, "However, Head Minister Bazzer is here too."

This was the old man who had controlled Chambord on Alexander's behalf.

Fei took a detailed look at the old man. For some reason, this average looking old man gave Fei the impression of a dangerous, vicious and poisonous snake.

"Your Majesty, I need an explanation!" When Fei was observing this old man, the old man stepped by and asked Fei aggressively, "Your Majesty, I want to know what law my son Gill broke that forced you to tie him up and bring him onto the defensive wall. Please give me a proper explanation!"

As to coordinate with his father's aggressive question, Gill who was tied up yelled at Fei angrily, "Alexander, you dumb idiot! Tell these low class dirt bags to let go of me..."

Fei sneered. "You want to act all arrogant in front of me?" He thought.

He didn't even look at Bazzer. He walked up to Gill quietly and started brutally slapping Gill without saying a word.

"Pia, Pia, Pia, Pia -!"

After twenty or so loud slaps, Gill's face swelled up like an inflated balloon. Fei didn't go easy on him at all; the strength of a barbarian had completely knocked out Gill. Blood dripped from the side of his mouth.

After he had done this, he slowly walked to Bazzer, with everyone still shocked by his action. He cleaned his hand and laughed condescendingly, "I'm the king! Does a king have to explain himself to you when he does something?"

Domineering!

Purely domineering!

I will do whatever I want, and I won't explain shit to you!

That was the attitude!

Bazzer who was gloomy was about to explode. He was not expecting this at all.

He knew of Alexander's godlike performance in yesterday' battle and the mysterious linkage between Alexander and the God of War, so he actually prepared a little. His appearance on the defensive wall was well calculated. "Your intelligence is back to normal? So what?" Bazzer didn't think a kid who wasn't even eighteen was able to deal with him.

If he couldn't beat Alexander physically, then he would just use his brain and strategies.

He planned to 'reason' with the young king. Playing tricks and constructing conspiracies were his major. He was 100% confident in 'convincing' Alexander. By tricking Alexander, Chambord would still be his backyard.

However –

Bazzer didn't expect that all his planning would go down the toilet and that the 'new' Alexander would be this domineering – not even in his wildest dreams!

He suddenly regretted his decisions.

From the rumours that were circling around Chambord, Alexander only became 'normal' after he was shot by the arrow on the defensive wall and hit his head on an object. What goes around comes around. He was the one who brought Alexander onto the defensive wall. He planned to kill the retarded king in the hands of the enemies, but he had made himself a new and more difficult obstacle. However, this feeling of regret only appeared in his head for a fraction of a second. He quickly adjusted himself.

Although he was enraged by the swollen face of his son, he had to swallow it. His plan was already initiated and there was too much on the hook to be messed with. The most important reason was that the number one warrior of Chambord Lampard was walking up the stairs.

"Your Majesty, I apologize for my earlier rudeness!"

Bazzer properly adjusted himself. He bowed to Fei sincerely, "I was only too worried about my son, I was too anxious, please forgive me... But Gill is now…Eh, is now fainted, I'm afraid that he cannot participate in the upcoming battle. Can I take him back to get some rest?"

"Rest? Rest for what? Chambord is under a great threat. Every man, if not dead, must help with the defense. This light injury is nothing!" Fei didn't give Bazzer any chance.

He said something to a soldier, and the soldier carried a bucket of cold water and dumped it on Gill mercilessly. As if the fatty was stabbed by eighteen knives, he regained consciousness and started to struggle and scream again.

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Chapter 27

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Chapter 27: What the fuck are you?

"See? He's awake now!" Fei sneered at Bazzer who was literally about to explode. He then said to Brook, "Let him loose; have two soldiers protect him. I need Mage Gill to do what a mage is supposed to do on the battlefield!"

Bazzer gave a murderous glare at Fei, then quickly restrained himself.

At this moment, Fei felt a chill, as if there was a hideous monster hiding in the dark, ready to eat him alive...

He looked around but didn't find anything.

"Was it only my imagination?" Fei thought to himself.

Brook who was standing beside Fei didn't feel anything. He obeyed the king's command; he waved his hand and two soldiers carried the half-dead Gill inside the watchtower on the defensive wall. Although that was the place where the battle would be the most dangerous, a mage's effectiveness would be maximized there as well.

The fatty Gill had learned his lesson; he was scared of Fei now. He didn't dare resist, and instead stared at his father Bazzer, hoping he could do something.

The Head Minister was about to say something, but another arrogant voice sounded –

"Hey! How dare you two lay your filthy hands on Young Master Gill!" Following the voice, a tough figure rushed through the crowd.

The arrogant man kicked the two soldiers who were carrying Gill away aggressively, then quickly picked Gill up gently and sucked up to him as if he was their loyal dog.

He turned around and started yelling at the lightly wounded soldiers around him, "Why are you guys standing there?! Are you guys blind? Go find a good stretcher and take Young Master Gill to rest...Shit, these injuries are so severe... Who the fuck did it? Come out!"

After hearing his question, Fei decided to make fun of this man. He stepped up proclaimed, "I did it."

The atmosphere on the defensive wall became silent all of a sudden. Deathly silence – no one spoke a word.

This man sensed that something was wrong. In his arms, Gill was trembling uncontrollably. It wasn't because Gill was excited to see him, but because Gill was scared to death. This fatty trembled as he turned his head to look at Fei; he was scared of the deadly slaps. He had experienced it twice, and he never wanted to experience it a third time.

Fei didn't even look at Gill; he was observing this arrogant man. He was 6 feet tall and had messy blonde hair, which gave him a vicious look. A long, scary looking scar went from his forehead to his chin and an eyepatch covered his right eye; he looked just like 'Cyclops'. He looked very manly in his shiny armour, but the expression on his face revealed his ugliness.

Brook whispered into Fei's ear, "He is the Military Judge, Conca."

Fei nodded. At this moment-

"Oh, it's King Alexander. Ha, what should I say? Why are you here making a mess on the defensive wall? You should be staying at the palace. Let Gill go quickly, this is no joke!"

After seeing Fei step up, Conca wasn't nervous at all. He walked towards Fei and unwillingly bowed as he spoke. He didn't give a damn about the king.

This military judge had excused himself from the battle on day one and had hid ever since. He had no clue what happened yesterday, and didn't see the scene where Fei slapped Gill vigorously earlier. He thought Fei was still the retarded king who had the intelligence of a three year old.

"Dumbass!" Bazzer swore in his mind, he knew things were about to get worse. He bent his back slightly and started coughing intentionally.

But, the military judge thought he meant something else. Like a dog who got the appraisal from its master, after hearing Bazzer cough, Conca became more arrogant. He blocked Fei and started ordering soldiers around, "You bunch of dirty bugs! You should all die on the battlefield! Go now and find a stretcher! Remember, bring all the doctors in Chambord to Mr. Bazzer's mansion and heal Young Master Gill!"

"All the doctors are taking care of the wounded soldiers now. They don't have time..." Someone responded.

"Those dirty low lives, let them all die! They are no comparison to Young Master Gill. Quick, quick, quick! Do what I said!" Conca didn't care at all.

But...

No one listened to him this time.

"Shit!" Bazzer thought again, but he didn't know how to wrap this situation up now.

After seeing that no one responded to his commands, Conca felt his prestige being challenged. He was mad, "You lowly slave! Dumb dirty bugs! Why are you guys still standing here? Aren't you guys afraid of the military laws?"

"Aren't you afraid of the military laws?" Someone asked him from behind.

"Me? Hahahahaha, military laws? I make the military laws! At Chambord, anything I say is a military law!" Conca who was enraged answered subconsciously.

However, he felt something was wrong right after he said it. He turned around and realized that the person who had asked the question was the 'retarded' King Alexander. He only worried for a little bit, then he felt relieved.

"What does a retard know? I can say whatever I want, just like always. Hahaha, what could he do?" Conca thought.

But-

"You reckless idiot!" An impatient sneer came from Fei.

Not even in Conca's wildest dreams would he imagine that the 'retarded' king would kick him on his back. An unstoppable force came from his behind and he flew forward uncontrollably.

"Ho...How?!"

Conca smashed into the defensive wall. Blood spurted out his mouth like a fountain. He was shocked; how was a retarded king able to kick him, a peak one star, almost two star warrior away like a sandbag?

"Did I miss something?"

Conca looked at Head Minister Bazzer as he was spurting blood, but he was surprised to find that the former 'acting' ruler of Chambord was standing aside quietly, not daring to say anything.

Conca had a history of being a mercenary. He may have looked tough and reckless, but he was a smart and tricky character. He moved to Chambord Kingdom two years ago; because of his one star warrior strength, Bazzer appreciated him and tried relentlessly to get him the position of Military Judge to keep him as a henchman. Conca didn't observe anything carefully so he missed a lot of key hints earlier. After he got kicked, he had finally realized that something was wrong; that retarded King Alexander...had changed!

Conca started thinking fast. He knew that he was in a big trouble. It looked like the retarded King Alexander was back in power again.

After he thought about it, he instantly understood the situation. He didn't even have time to care about his injuries. He flipped around and kneeled in front of Fei and started his act. He slapped himself and begged for mercy, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty! I...I was drunk...I don't know what I did....Please forgive me!"

The image of a 6 feet tall man kneeling on the ground and begging for mercy grossed everyone out.

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty! I'm sorry, I was drunk, please forgive me!" Conca didn't mind the soldiers' disdain. He kept slapping himself and begging for mercy.

"You are sorry?" Fei sneered, "You are right! You should be sorry! You deserve to die!"

Fei walked to the two soldiers who were kicked by Conca. He picked them up and brushed the dirt and dust off of them. He then brought the two clueless soldiers in front of Conca, who was still kneeling and begging.

"Military Judge Conca, open your eyes! Are they the dirty bugs you were talking about? Open your fucking eyes and take a good look! Which of them aren't wounded? Which of them didn't bleed in battle? When they were defending the kingdom for four days straight without sleep, where were you? The Military Judge was the one who was supposed be here in the frontline, but what were you doing?"

The thunder-like roars horrified Conca, who kneeled even more. However, the soldiers on the defensive wall were pumped by what Fei said.

Some soldiers were shivering due to excitement; tears filled their eyes. What the king said spoke to their hearts.

"Dirty bugs? No! In my eyes, they are the cleanest people in Chambord. Blood stains and dirt? So what, that is a man's true honour! Those things will never cover up my warriors' pure souls...But you… you are the complete opposite. Although you're dressed in shiny and bright armour, they will never cover up your dirty, disgusting soul! If you call them dirty bugs, then what the fuck are you?!"

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Chapter 28

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Chapter 28: One Strike! Again!

The king's roar was like a million arrows that penetrated everyone's heart. Many veterans lowered their heads to cover their eyes, but their shivering bodies revealed their feelings. Many rookies couldn't hold back their tears and started crying, partially because they had been wronged, and partially because they were happy.

Standing far away, Pierce, Brook, and Lampard were all pumped by the king's 'speech', and they felt that something was about to burst out of their chests.

On the other hand, Conca was scared to death. He kneeled there and even forgot to slap himself. Because he was so ashamed, he was trying to think of something that would reduce the king's rage.

"If you are the military law at Chambord, then what the fuck am I?!" Fei roared again and kicked Conca to the ground. He turned around and asked Brook, "Commander Brook, tell me. As a Military Judge, escaping from battles, offending the king and ignoring Chambord's military law… What's the punishment for all these crimes?"

"It shall be treated as treason and the death penalty shall be the punishment!" Brook answered honestly.

Fei looked at Conca who was struggling to get up and asked coldly, "Did you hear that? Anything you want to say?"

Now Conca started to panic. Really panic.

Although he had the strength of a peak one star warrior and was not scared of Brook and the soldiers, the number one warrior of Chambord, Lampard was standing there. Like a gigantic mountain hovering over him, Lampard gave him a ton of pressure. If Alexander really wanted him killed, Lampard could cut his head off in an instant.

"Please forgive me! Your Majesty, I'll never do it again!" Conca crawled under Fei and held onto one of Fei's legs. He cried as he begged for mercy; his arrogant and aggressive attitude had completely disappeared.

"You want me to forgive you? Ask them, see if they agree." Fei pointed at the soldiers on the defensive wall.

No one responded, but the hateful and angry stares that targeted Conca had answered that question. Conca never imagined that one day, he would have to beg the soldiers he deemed dirty and low to save his life. After thinking about the things he did in Chambord for the last couple of years, he knew that they weren't going to let him go.

Conca also knew that the king wanted to set an example; unfortunately, he was the example. His last hope was the Head Minister Bazzer.

After he received Bazzer's appreciation, he had done many dirty and revolting things to make the actual 'ruler' of Chambord happy. He hoped that Bazzer would do the same as he usually did: save his butt from any possible consequences.

However, Bazzer stood there without saying anything; he didn't even look at Conca. The laid back expression on his face told everyone that he wasn't even close to Conca.

Conca was disappointed. He looked up and found Alexander sneering at him. The surrounding soldiers had murderous looks in their eyes; if they could, they would eat him alive.

He was deserted.

"Your Majesty, what do you plan to do to me?" Conca started to calm down.

Fei didn't even look at Conca. He raised his head and said to everyone on the defensive wall, "Military Judge Conca has escaped from battles, offended the king, and messed aroung with the military law. According to the Laws of Chambord, these actions are equal to treason, and he shall be executed!"

After finally getting this chance, Fei wasn't going to let it go. This Military Judge was definitely Bazzer's henchman, and he made a mess in the military. From the soldiers' expressions, Fei knew that Conca deserved to be punished. For these people, it was best to exterminate them. It wouldn't just hurt Bazzer's control in Chambord, but would also re-establish the strict military laws and restore people's faith in Chambord's law. Fei was determined to eliminate Conca from the start.

After Fei announced the judgement, the soldiers started cheering. But at this moment –

"You want me to die? Then die with me!"

A desperate scream sounded. Holding onto Fei's leg, Conca suddenly moved. A khaki colored flame lightly surrounded his body; this was the sign that Conca had almost advanced to a two star warrior. He was a peak one star warrior when he came to Chambord two years ago, but these two years of luxury and comfort didn't improve his strength at all. However, the situation he was in had stimulated his potential, and he advanced to a two star warrior.

Moving like lightning, Conca jumped up and held onto Fei's neck.

This usually ignorant Military Judge was behaving like an abandoned dog. He yelled crazily in people's gasps, "Fuck off! Shit! Get away from me! If anyone comes close, I will kill this retarded king!"

Brook, Pierce and the soldiers were shocked. They quickly surrounded him and sword, spears, blades, hammers and all kinds of weapons were pointed at him.

"Let go of the king! You weak bastard!" Pierce swung his hammer and yelled.

Brook was nervous. Although the king had demonstrated his monstrous strength that had killed one star warriors with only a single strike, the flame-like energies surrounding Conca meant that he was already a two star warrior. Moreover, Conca had sneakily attacked. He was worried that the king would be hurt and said quickly, "Conca, let go of King Alexander! I swear to the God of War that we will let you leave Chambord alive and you can go back to your life as a mercenary."

"Mercenary? Hahaha, you want me to go back to being a precarious mercenary?" Conca had lost his mind, he laughed like a madman and said, "You think that after two years of luxury and erosion at Chambord, I'm still a qualified mercenary? I don't want to risk my life for a gold coin anymore... I need a ton of gold and two fast horses. Go get them!"

While Conca was distracted, the number one warrior of Chambord, Lampard was moving towards him slowly. The black sword on Lampard's back was shaking; Lampard was calculating the distance between them and thinking of a way to save Fei quickly...

However –

Conca discovered it.

He screamed like a stimulated mouse, "Don't come any closer! Mr. Lampard, stay away, farther...farther! I know I can't fight you, but with a distance like this, don't you think I could twist off this retarded king's head before you could get to me?"

Lampard was frustrated, but he had to back off. No one expected that it would come to this.

Brook and Pierce were worried, but they didn't know what to do. If they could, they would substitute for Fei, but...

The only one who appeared calm in the crowd was the Head Minister Bazzer. Excitment appeared in his eyes. He prayed in his mind, "Idiot, stop talking! Kill him now! Kill him. Hahaha, that will save me a ton of work..."

"Go prepare the money and the horses! Quick!" Conca was nervous from the weapons pointing at him; he yelled repeatedly.

But-

"Don't prepare that!" Fei who was silent had finally spoke.

"What did you say?" Conca was surprised.

"I said they don't have to prepare those thing. Because you don't have any more chances to enjoy the money." Fei said calmly, as if he was explain stuff to a kid.

That calmness made Conca feel like he was the one being held onto, not Fei. The extremely nervous Conca was enraged, "Haha, no more chance? Idiot, tell me why?"

"Because, you – are – about – to – die!"

"What?"

Before Conca could react, he felt a severe pain from his stomach. It felt like his internal organs were exploded by someone. Before the hand that was on Fei's neck could do anything, he lost his strength, and the sky and ground started rotating in his eyes. He was sent into the air by Fei's punch.

This scene made the crowd gasp again.

"What happened?" Many people were shocked. From their perspective, the young king who was seized moved his arm and hit Conca's stomach lightly as if he was playing...

The next second –

The flame-like energy surrounding Conca was smashed into pieces and disappeared quickly. Conca was lifted off the ground and flew up in the air.

While the people were still shocked, Fei grabbed a spear out of a soldier's hand threw it towards Conca.

"Shua -!"

The spear split air and flew towards Conca like a huge siege bolt.

Conca, who was still in midair, didn't even have the time to scream. The spear penetrated his heart accurately and the massive momentum nailed his body onto the watchtower on the defensive wall. His limbs twitched a couple times, but his head soon tilted and blood flowed out of his mouth. He couldn't be more dead.

The crisis was eliminated.

One strike?

Technically two strikes, but a two star warrior was easily killed. Although there were a ton of miracles that were performed by this young king, everyone was still shocked, including the number one warrior Lampard.

The difference in strength between a one star warrior and a two star warrior was not just the number. On the Azeroth Continent, the rank of the strength and power of warriors and mages were categorized based on the sky; there were three general ranks: [Sun],[Moon],and [Star].

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Chapter 29

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Chapter 29: [King's Sword]

Star ranks were at the bottom of the whole system. For warriors, their ranks were determined by the 'thickness' of their energy. On Azeroth Continent, when a warrior created energy for the first time in training, a magical swirling star would appear over the warrior's head. The number of stars increased from one to nine as the thickness of their energy increased. Every time a new star appeared, it meant that the warrior had went up a rank; each rank would increase their strength dramatically.

A nine star warrior was at the peak of the star rank. After that, if one could step over the peak of a nine star warrior, they would become a moon ranked warrior. However, this jump was extremely difficult. 70% of the warriors on Azeroth Continent would never become moon ranked in their lifetime.

Moon ranked warriors were at a whole new level. They could choose different training methods. There were ones that chose to focus on using special weapons that were called [destiny warriors], ones that chose to make contracts with powerful monsters and share their powers that were called [beastspirit warriors], and many more. There were many training methods to become more powerful.

Moon ranked warriors were very influential. They could easily obtain appreciation from the powerful empires on the continent. Noble status, money, political power, you name it.

Above moon ranked warriors were sun ranked warriors. They were like gods; they only appeared in legends. The same applied to mages.

Chambord was located very far from the center of the continent, so naturally, no one had ever seen or heard of sun ranked warriors or mages.

This was the ranking system on Azeroth Continent. The strength Fei demonstrated had completely changed the understanding that people had about warriors in Chambord.

Nobody knew what kind of power Fei had. Without having any energy, he easily punched through a two star warrior's energy shield and killed him instantly.

As the number one warrior in Chambord, three star ranked warrior Lampard was confused as well. He couldn't believe it; it seemed like Alexander had only used his brutal strength….. "But since when could pure brutal force contend with a warrior's energy?"

Only the honest Brook knew the 'truth'; his body was shivering from excitement: "It must be the god's power! It must be the power that the God of War had left inside the king..."

Bazzer hid himself within the crowd. After seeing Fei's action, his facial expression remained gloomy. However, Bazzer was really surprised in his mind, "This is unbelievable. The retard didn't just turn normal. His strength is also unpredictable now... It seems like I have to make some adjustments to my plan...I can't wait anymore."

Everyone was thinking about what had happened. It was completely quiet on the defensive wall.

Fei was surprised as well, seeing how he had instantly killed Conca. He felt like his strength increased significantly since yesterday's battle. After thinking about it, it was probably due to leveling up his barbarian character from 5 to 7. However, right now wasn't the best time to think about that.

"Tink!"

He turned around and drew his sword from the scabbard on his waist. He yelled, " Pierce!"

Pierce was surprised, but he quickly understood what Fei meant. He stepped up and half kneeled, "Your Majesty!"

"You destroyed two of the enemy's siege ladders yesterday in the battle and helped Chambord fend off the enemies. I shall honor your feats as king and appoint you as the new Military Judge of Chambord. You shall be in charge of the [King's sword] and supervise the defense. If anyone dares to disobey any command or back off from the frontline, they shall be executed with this sword... including me; if I back off from the battle that is about to begin, you shall penetrate my heart with this sword!"

Fei passed his sword to Pierce.

This was the idea that Fei got from the military movies he watched on Earth. Before battle, morale was just as important as the military rules and laws. Healing the wounded soldiers and pretending to be the messenger of the God of War last night helped boost morale, while executing Military Judge Conca and appointing Pierce helped set up standards and reinforce serious disciplines.

It was wise to establish both incentives and penalties.

Pierce took the [King's Sword] with both his hand and said, "As you wish, my great king!" After that, he jumped onto a battlement with the sword raised over his head and roared to his fellow soldiers, "Brothers, battle! For King Alexander!"

The surging morale was lit by Pierce's roar.

"Tink! Tink! Tink!" The sound of clanging metal surrounded the defensive wall. The sounds of swords and blades tapping on shields and armour… spears stomping the stone ground on the defensive wall...Soldiers used this method to express their respect and support for the king.

This was the king of Chambord!

The real king!

A couple minutes ago, some people were still hesitant in believing the godlike rumors; but now, everyone believed it.

There was no need to doubt anymore. Fei's series of commands and actions had shocked everyone on the defensive wall. Especially when he yelled at Conca, it pumped up the wounded soldiers who had battled non-stop for many days. Simple recognition on Azeroth Continent was more valuable than any promises or physical rewards to soldiers most of the time. A king as such deserved their loyalty.

Head Minister Bazzer stood in the crowd. Viciousness flashed through his eyes; no one knew what he was thinking about.

Fei raised his hand and the soldiers quickly became quiet. They stared in excitement as they waited for the king's next command.

Fei looked around and asked impatiently, "Why isn't Warden Oleg here yet?"

"Your Majesty, I'm here, I'm here..."

A trembling figure squeezed out of the crowd. He walked up a couple steps and kneeled in front of Fei, "Great King Alexander, after receiving your command, I rushed here instantly... God bless you, my honourable king!"

This figure was Warden Oleg.

He was a little bit late, but he saw what happened to Conca. After thinking about what he had done to Alexander, he felt a chill to his bones. He was hoping that he would be forgotten by blending in with the crowd, but King Alexander had called him out directly. Oleg didn't dare play any tricks. Although he was scared, he stepped out, kneeled down and started to praise Fei.

He even wanted to crawl over and kiss the king's boots.

But-

"Tink!"

Weapons were drawn out.

Brook and Pierce stepped up and blocked Oleg, and the soldiers formed a bladed wall in front of Oleg. They didn't want him close to the king.

Conca had approached the king easily and almost caused a tragedy. Although the king executed Conca, as the King's Guards, they couldn't let the same mistake happen twice.

Oleg was terrified.

He kept his head on the ground, "Your majesty, please forgive me...I'm different from Conca...I'm super loyal to you, I'm willing to sacrifice everything for you...I'm your most faithful servant, your commands are the purpose of my life, I..."

Fei frowned.

This warden was only 5 foot 4. He had a huge beard. With a scar on his forehead; he looked sturdy and ruthless. However, Fei didn't expect him to be such a flatterer.

"How could this flatterer manage the prison?" Fei was suspicious.

"Alright, get up..." Fei signalled the soldiers to withdraw their weapons. He walked to Oleg and said, "This bullshit doesn't mean anything to me. If my commands are the purpose of your life, then pick up your weapon and fight for Chambord! You are a one star warrior right? Look over there..." Fei pointed at the part of the defensive wall and battlements he had destroyed yesterday because of the siege ladders, "In the coming battle, I want you to guard that gap, you got that?"

Oleg looked at the gap. He knew that when the battle began, it would be the most intense battleground. Even if he was a one star warrior, he would have a hard time defending that gap...

However, he couldn't disobey the command.

The strength of the 'new' Alexander devastated him. Oleg knew that if he dared to say no, he would be nailed on the watchtower, just like Conca.

"As you wish, my honourable young king! I will guard that gap with my life! Even if I die, I won't let any enemy get close to you!"

Oleg had to accept the command bitterly.

He knew if he couldn't get the appreciation of the young man in front of him today, today would be the last day of his warden life. He accepted the command and more compliments naturally came out of his mouth.

Fei was disgusted by it and backed off a couple steps.

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Chapter 30

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Chapter 30: No Massacre if You Surrender

Time flew by. Like an ominous storm, a cruel battle was about to happen.

The enemies on the other side of the Zuli River seemed to finish getting into position. The siege was going to start soon. Brook began directing the soldiers to set up defense tools and mechanisms. The average young adults came onto defensive walls to help out with some simple and crude tools, such as wooden sticks and chopping axes.

However, the defensive power was still not enough. There were less than 400 soldiers from the King's Guards due to injuries and wounds and about 1,000 young adults who were just recruited with no military training. A total of less than 1,500 manpower was the strongest defense power Chambord could pull together.

This force was way too weak compared with the 2,000 well trained enemies.

Fortunately, Chambord had a ton of advantages due to terrain. But even under that advantage, Chambord's situation was still not optimistic.

A powerful warrior or mage was very important to wars on Azeroth continent. If enemies had one or two more fighters like Landes, then Chambord would be doomed.

Fei was extremely concerned about this.

The sun started to rise and the atmosphere was getting tense.

There seemed to be an invisible fire in the air. Most people felt a burning sensation in their chest every time they breathed.

Fei stood beside the watchtower and waited for the battle to arrive.

'Fatty' Gill was not too far away from Fei. His legs were shaking heavily from fear. The bloodiness of war had terrified this spoiled young master and his head went blank. Fortunately, Bazzer had sent a few loyal guards of his to protect Gill, or Gill would've already fainted.

What surprised Fei was that according to Brook, this red robed bastard didn't have any battle abilities. That's why Fei didn't pay attention to him after dealing with Conca and Oleg. Fei thought that he would escape from the defensive wall, but who knew that he walked onto the wall and stood beside his son.

"This tricky fox really cares about his son, huh? He does have some humanity... unexpected..."

Fei looked at Bazzer, but he didn't say anything. Everyone was waiting for the battle to begin.

On the other side of the moat.

The enemies had formed ten square formations. They approached Chambord step by step. Blades and lances shined under the sun.

On the defensive wall, it was quiet. Everyone could hear their own heart pumping.

Some of the new recruits' legs started to shake as well. Their hands were sweating like crazy; they almost couldn't hold onto their weapons anymore. A bloody battle was about to begin, and no one knew if they are able to survive this battle. But for their families, they couldn't back off.

"Tap, tap, tap, tap —-"

The enemies marched in unison. Like a black flood, they approached Chambord Castle slowly and steadily with a ton of pressure. Like drumsticks hitting the drum, the sounds hit the soldiers' heart. It became faster and faster, stifling everyone on the defensive wall.

The enemies at the front were positioned in a tower shield formation.

There were one hundred huge black shields that were 2 yard (2 metre) high, and had ferocious devil faces carved onto them. They protected all the enemies behind them and walked forward steadily, as if there were a horde of devils approaching Chambord. Their formation changed as they approached the stone bridge. In each row, the ten person formation reduced to three people, allowing them to pass the stone bridge without a problem. They were still stepping in unison as this happened.

There wasn't a single sound throughout the process. The enemies were like cruel and accurate killing machines, strictly and orderly operated. They demonstrated unbelievable discipline.

This made Fei even more uncertain about the battle that had yet to begin. The enemy had a well-trained army, no question about it. Compared with the soldiers beside him, Fei knew that this battle was hard to win.

The distance between the two parties was shrinking fast.

In less than 10 minutes, the tower shield formation would step their feet onto Chambord's side of the moat. Once they did that, they would be in attack range of Chambord's archers, and the battle would begin.

"Tink!"

Brook drew out his sword and stepped onto a battlement and yelled, "Archers...Ready!"

"Creak, creak..." It was the sound of the archers pulling their bows. More than 100 longbows were pulled into a full moon shape. The shining tips of the arrows were like the grin of the Grim Reaper, waiting for Brook's command.

But, at that moment –

"Tap!"

The tower shield formation that was at the very front of the enemy's line stopped moving for some reason. The spear formation, swordsman formation, archer formation and the other six formations behind them stopped moving successively.

The whole process was in uniform, as if it was only one person.

"What's this?"

After seeing that, Fei frowned. He didn't know what the enemy commander was thinking.

Brook was also confused, but he didn't relax at all. He yelled, "Archers ready, concentrate, no one is allowed to leave their positions!"

After he said that, there was a new change to the enemy's formation. Four black knights appeared in the formation slowly and walked to the front of the tower shield formation. The head knight was holding a three yard long (3 metre) knight lance, and the tip of the lance was lugging a helmet.

Brook's face changed. He withdrew his sword and sprinted back to Fei; he lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty, the enemies want to negotiate."

"Negotiate?" Fei was amused.

"So lugging a helmet on a lance means that the enemy wants to negotiate on Azeroth Continent..." Fei memorized this little tip; he may need to use it later.

"But these bastards have a great advantage, why do they want to negotiate?" Fei thought.

"Let them come closer!" Fei ordered Brook. He wanted to know what kind of trick the enemies' commander was playing.

"As you wish!"

Brook turned around and let a soldier signal the response of accepting the negotiation.

After seeing the response, the four knights rode their horses toward the defensive wall and stopped under the main gate of Chambord.

"Following my master's command, let the King of Chambord come up and hear the order."

The black knight named [One] stomped his lance on the ground. He raised his head and yelled arrogantly. His one star warrior's strength allowed his voice to resound loud and clear on the wall. Everyone on the defensive wall heard it and felt the arrogance in the voice.

"Say what you fucking have to say!"

Fei yelled roughly on the defensive wall. The attitude of this enemy irritated him, so he didn't bother to pretend to be nice.

Under the defensive wall, the pupil of [One] contracted.

He didn't expect that the King of Chambord was the 'bull' that injured the three star warrior Landes... "Shit! Didn't the information from our intelligence agency 'Eagle' say that the king was a retard? How did this happen?"

Far away. The silver masked knight who was observing all this on the other side of the river was a bit surprised as well.

But quickly, a smile came on his face, "This is getting more interesting. Sending a king to the colosseum, this amazing gimmick will surely get the interest of those noble ladies... Hahaha, it's more interesting than I imagined!"

Under the defensive wall.

"Master is very generous and kind; he is willing to let you all live..." The black knight [One] yelled proudly, "Listen closely, King of Chambord. Master said if you are willing to open the gate and surrender, the royalties and ministers and officers shall be protected by us. The citizens will only become slaves and not be killed..." after [One] said that, his tone changed. He sneered and threatened, "If you are so dumb and refuse to surrender, after we conquer your kingdom, we will massacre your kingdom for three days; not a single creature will survive!"

The black knight's words were heard clearly by everyone on the defensive wall.

People had different reactions. Bazzer, Oleg and some other ministers and officer started considering the 'suggestion' and were thinking about surrendering. Some citizens who were scared of death also wanted to surrender. Being a slave was better than being dead. Of course, there were people that showed disdain and held their weapons even tighter.

Everyone was looking at the young King Alexander.

The decision was up to the young king.

Fei didn't reject right away. His looked at everyone's face. After seeing everyone's expressions, he thought of something and said slowly, "I didn't expect the enemies to do this ... This is a hard choice, hahaha. Let's talk about it, what do you guys think?"

As soon as he finished, Warden Oleg stepped up impatiently.

This flatterer smiled brightly and said, "My great king, Oleg is willing to die for you on the battlefield. However, I believe you should consider the enemies' suggestions. We only have less than 400 soldiers and everyone is wounded in some way. If we continue to defend, we probably wouldn't hold up and we will provoke the enemies even more. Then everyone in the castle will die... Oh, of course! I'm not scared of dying; I'm just thinking for the whole kingdom."

Although he sounded as if he was caring, his facial expressions revealed his true feelings. A warden counted as an officer of Chambord, so he would be protected by the enemies. He wouldn't have to die, and wouldn't have to become a slave. As a coward, it was the best choice for Oleg.

Many people glanced disdainfully at Oleg as if they could shoot arrows with their eyes, but Oleg pretended that he didn't notice anything.