Chapter 26: In front of the King

It wasn't until nightfall when troops, men on horses entered the third village of Barran.

The head lieutenant was a general, whose main goal was to find out why two lieutenants had failed to report back to the king.

"Tighten your formation!" He ordered the small elite team he had with him, which were his soldiers.

He had smelt the stench of blood even before he stepped into the village and thought nothing more of it.

Hazor had most likely killed a few people just like the other two villagers, something he would have also done simply to put the fear of the king in them.

'I wonder what happened. Braco isn't a careless person!' Jarulah thought to himself as he gestured using three fingers for three of his men to go ahead.

Regardless of what happened, it was a common rule to not allow one's self to become victim to an enemy's traps.

He watched silently as the three men made their way forward, his eyesight good enough in the dark for him to see the world around him like he was day.

He felt his men's apprehension but he hadn't been prepared for the sight that he saw.

Bodies of imperial soldiers littered the ground, the pieces of whatever was left of their uniforms being the only means of identification he could see.

"Check for survivors!" He ordered as he remained standing in the very center, wary of hidden enemies that might have been waiting for them.

Whosoever had done it was worthy enough to be his match, even though he was a general.

'Was it the Yoret? I heard they were powerful with magic but not this powerful!' Jarulah wondered, waiting patiently for his men's reports.

He didn't have to wait long before one of them moved closer to do so.

"My lord! We found one but he's barely breathing,"

Jarulah didn't hesitate to move closer to the said survivor, shocked at the appearance he saw.

His eyes seemed to have been grievously wounded and his arm cut off.

Whosoever had hurt him must have wanted him to suffer greatly before he died.

Without hesitating, Jarulah cut himself, patting open the mouth of the man in front of him and pouring his blood down his throat.

He had taken part of the founder's blood the second he began General, which meant that his blood was extremely potent.

'This will keep him alive long enough for us to get back to the Palace.

He didn't even have to wrap his arm up before he watched the wound slowly close up.

"Pack him up!" Jarulah instructed moving around until he came across the body he presumed to belong to Hazor and Braco.

Something he wasn't completely sure of because of how badly burnt they looked.

"The gold on their sleeves. I think it's them my lord!" one of the men in charge of carrying the bodies confirmed.

Jarulah simply nodded before jumping back on his horse. He didn't once glance at the villagers who were all dead and was simply impressed by the display of power around him.

"Head back!" he commanded, spurring his horse ahead first, impatient to report his findings.

If the king was going after the Yoret then he needed to be the one to do it.

His red eyes sparkled with bloodlust at the thought of how it would feel to have a taste of his blood.

********

Jarulah was allowed inside the inner Palace the moment he returned to report to the king.

Waiting inside was not only the king but other members of the Royal family, including the direct ministers under the king and all the ranked generals.

Even the Royal human pets stood waiting by the side, kneeling on the ground.

"Enter! Dispense with such mundane greetings and inform me from the beginning of what has happened!" The King ordered the moment Jarulah entered and bent his knee to greet the king in the manner he was due.

Having been instructed against such actions, he instantly straightened himself back up and simply bowed his head before he began to speak.

"Everyone was dead when we got there! Burnt to a crisp!" Jarulah explained doing his best to paint the exact picture of what he had seen.

"Hazor and Braco are also dead and it seemed like they'd been unable to fight back," Jarulah continued to explain his gaze fixed on the ground like everyone else there.

Looking at the King's face without permission was a sign punishable by death.

Regardless of how young their king looked, they knew better than anyone that he was as old and as powerful as time itself.

"Really? The Yoret, he's that powerful?" The King seemed to mumble to himself, a question that Jarulah felt compelled to respond to regardless.

"Yes, my king. He also killed all the villagers. No villager was spared. The damage was also enormous!"

"However, we managed to bring back one man. The one that had previously informed us of the identity of the Yoret."

"He survived? That's interesting," A man sitting on the left side of the king spoke up with a curious expression on his face.

Jarulah instantly identified the voice to belong to that of the Prince, heir to the throne who had spoken to him but even though he could raise his head, he chose not to.

"Yes, but with severe wounds. I had to feed him my blood just to ensure that he survived. Both his eyes had been damaged and his right arm had been severed,"

"I'm surprised the Yoret didn't outrightly kill him. He seems brutal but he's obvious that he also has a soft heart," a feminine voice rang out, but considering that it was from a woman that sat by the Kings left, Jarulah continued to bow his head, bowing a little lower considering the Queen was known to be even stricter than the king.

"Yes your Excellency, I agree!" Jerulah responded, not brave enough to bring up a counter-opinion.

Even generals with higher ranks than him had previously warned him against doing anything so foolish.

"Bring the survivor in! Of what use is he, if he can no longer identify the Yoret?" The King asked a heavy trace of displeasure in his tone.

All the generals in the room instantly tensed up.

The main reason why no one had ever thought to revel against the Royal family was simply because, with the founder's blood in their hands, they were powerful enough to have ultimate control over everyone RED.

Going against them, or displeasing them meant immediate death.

"Yes, your Majesty. I'll have him brought in!"

Jerulah had barely left for a couple of seconds when he returned with a man walking beside him, one he had to hold on to.

Pushing the man to the ground the second he stopped walking.

The man had been heavily wounded and had just been bandaged up but Jerulah knew that his blood was enough to ensure that he survived until the king was done deciding his fate.

"Here he is my king!" Jerulah said, dropping to his knees this time around, and remaining there.

"He looks just as terrible as you said!" The King softly responded, getting to his feet the next second.

Instantly everyone else dropped to the ground like it was the most natural thing in the world including the Queen and the Prince, who had blank expressions on their faces as they did so.

Jerulah with his gaze focused on the ground was still wondering why the king had gotten off the throne when he was stunned to see the edges of a royal purple robe appear in his vision.

Instantly, he smashed his head against the ground, shocked at the thought that the king stood right in front of him.

The aura emanating from him was too much for him to move a muscle.

Mino wasn't any different. If before he had been tossed to the ground, he willing lowered his head the second he realized that the king had gotten off his throne.

"Give me a reason why I should let you live," The King said, speaking directly to Mino, who found it difficult to speak for a few seconds until he realized that it was his life that was on the line.

"I-I know his voice. No one here knows anything about him. Even if I describe his face, he might have done something to change it,"

"Al-also, If my eyes get better I can recognize him," Mino responded, squeezing his eyes shut in fear.

If he was given the founder's blood, even as a Santor, he was confident that he would be able to see, since even after the general gave him his blood, his eyesight in his left eye had slightly improved.

But at the same time, he was terrified that the king would kill him for daring to indirectly ask for it.

"I'm not sure your eyesight will. What if I break your mind and extract your memories myself?" King's words sent a terrifying shiver down his spine.

'Tha—thats possible?' Mino wondered with his eyes bulging in shock.

But he was still horrified that he was about to die when he felt the oppressive aura close to him suddenly disappear.

But everyone had just felt the oppressive aura they felt recede when and noticed the King return to his throne when they heard him speak, in the form of a decree.

"The survivor stays alive but if in a year he proves to be useless, kill him!"

"As for the Yoret! I want him found! He's probably weak right now but he's bound to resurface. Yorets are strong together but alone…HIS HEART BELONGS TO ME!"