- Another Step Forward

When Edge showed himself to the guards above the dungeon, he threatened to kill the whole Entolo family unless they call for a hero he could trust and that they bring a healing unit.

To his surprise, it was a kingsguard who arrived. Thankfully, it was someone he knew.

Edge dropped his weapons and told the kingsguard about what happened and that Arissef needed immediate medical attention. He also told him about his wife's corpse and that he killed Barazi Entolo.

Hearing this, Barazi's parents and siblings were shocked and started to scorn him.

The kingsguard knew better and whispered to Edge: "I'm afraid I can't do anything to help you get out of this one. If Barazi was alive, we could have made him tell the truth even if it was by force."

"You and I both know that was never gonna happen." Edge shook his head.

The Entolo family was the biggest supporter in the current king's election two decades ago. Not to mention that Barazi was like a precious younger brother to the king.

The kingsguard closed his eyes, wallowing in the disappointment in his heart.

Days later, Amber was buried in the grave of heroes by the orders of the king.

Unfortunately, Edge was not allowed to attend and was kept deep in the dungeons of the castle and Arissef was in a coma only to wake up after 2 weeks.

Dhana was the only relative who attended her mother's funeral, she was but 4 years old at that time, still confused at the sudden loss of both parent's presence.

As Dhana's godfather, Drago's servants were made to take care of Dhana in the meantime while Drago was still on the battlefield.

The Entolo family charged Edge with murder and despite the king's reluctance to do so, his political advisors urged him to pass the charges, sentencing Edge to be executed in public.

Other than killing Barazi, Edge was also found guilty of killing 3 heroes who were assigned to watch over him during the restraining order. Of course, those heroes were hired by Barazi to kill him in his sleep but that did not matter.

There was no proof.

The moment Drago heard the news from one of his messengers, he handed down the command of the army to Brius and rushed back to the kingdom. Although the king did not approve of such an act, what could he do? Court marshall the kingdom's pillar of strength?

"My king! I beg of you to reconsider the sentence on Edge! He was trying to save his wife!" Drago, the hero who accomplished the greatest feats in the history of Grimley, was now kneeling with his head almost touching the floor.

The sight dumbfounded the kingsguard and the king himself. However, with a heavy heart, he did not agree to Drago's request.

When Drago kept kneeling in front of the throne despite his orders for him to stand up and leave, the king ordered the kingsguard to escort him outside of the castle.

Unfortunately, Drago was stubborn and he kept kneeling in front of the castle gates for 5 days and 5 nights without food nor shelter.

On the sixth morning, the king ordered Drago to be taken into the throne room.

When Drago plopped to the ground and knelt in front of him once again, the king shook his head and said: "I will postpone Edge's execution until the election. I will leave it to the next king to decide his sentence."

At these words, Drago was filled with gratitude and finally let his tears fall.

He once believed that Amber would live a long and happy life after he let her go. The guilt in his heart for not being able to protect her and be there when his long-time friends needed him the most crushed his heart.

When he finally listened to both Arissef and Edge's retelling of what happened, he swore in his heart to become stronger and protect the only family he has remaining.

...

The election was completed a month later and thus began the rule of King Galian of the Red Rose Family.

Every 20 years, there will be an election for the crown from the three major families composing the triarchy. Each active hero and the head of each noble family had one vote. The head of each of the four vineyard families had two votes and the head of the major family where the previous king was from had 3 votes.

The election was between Galian and a candidate from the White Spear Family with Galian winning 28 to 17.

One of the first orders that Galian made was the revision of Edge's sentence. He remained on death row but will have to undergo a soul contract with the king, making him unable to betray the kingdom nor take his own life.

In exchange, he will be given additional time based on his merits on the battlefield.

The king also decided to secretly build a shadow unit and made Edge the instructor, fixing the lack of a strong information network to monitor the kingdom and... Fix 'difficult' problems.

This arrangement by the new king relieved Drago, Edge, Arissef, Brius, and even the young Dhana as she was allowed to visit her father's cell from time to time.

Arissef, however, had a big problem on his hands... More specifically, his nerves.

The [Envoy of Lightning] technique took a large toll on his body as his nervous system was exposed to so much electricity that the nerves in his arms were damaged beyond repair.

His mana circuitry was also damaged, rendering him unable to cast many of his spells.

With this, he took leave from the battlefield and underwent a pilgrimage across the land to find a way to fix his condition.

After settling Dhana down and providing her with guards, Drago, along with Brius and Edge, took to the battlefield once again.

During this time, King Galian organized the 16-hero system and made it so that this number will be filled as soon as possible through the hero trials.

After 3 hero trials, the roster was completed. Of these heroes were Falna, Hevan, and Caylin.

To replace Amber and temporarily fill up Arissef's absence, Falna and a mage hero were added to Drago's assault and conquest team.

The number of kingsguards was increased to four from the original 3, and the remaining 6 heroes were given tasks within the kingdom.

Under king Galian's rule, the Kingdom of Grimley quickly achieved its peak power in just over a decade.

When Arissef returned after close to a decade, Drago and the others noticed a drastic change in the mage.

At the young age of 35, Arissef achieved the title of 'Archmage', mastering various spells from different disciplines, including light magic, which became his primary element in future battles.

Through various 'missions' and becoming an instructor for the shadow unit, Edge developed his techniques and mastery over death energy, earning him the moniker 'Phantom of Death'.

The 'Three Monsters of Grimley' were born as nearby kingdoms feared their name.

In the 14th year of King Galian's rule, a rumor spread in the neighboring kingdoms that a demon army was being amassed within Aberrant Fields, close to the border between Grimley and the kingdom of Hekel.

King Galian ordered Hevan and Caylin to scout out the area only to confirm that the rumor was true.

To cull this impending threat from its roots, 3 kingdoms unite, amassing an army of 500,000, led by their strongest heroes.