Shocking News

 Hearing how the Duke told them of Ryker's true strength, the guards who were displeased with the arrangement began to agree with the decision, as the Duke did have a valid reason to put him in charge of a section of the wall.

 In the end, none of the present guards disagree with the change of post. Even when the guards were in full force and not scattered around the Duchy, the one who commanded an entire front of the wall was usually a peak Genesis Lake expert.

 For someone who possessed strength comparable to a Genesis Sea to command it, it would be an improvement to the front.

 "Spread the word, the leader of the southern wall will be someone who possesses the strength of a Genesis Sea expert," the Duke ordered, prompting the guards to salute him and run off.

 Soon, the news of a powerhouse that would take command of an entire front was heard by everyone in the Duchy. While there were some skeptics among the people, when it was revealed the Duke was the one who confirmed such a thing, no one dared to voice their doubts.

-x-

 "WHAT?! He becomes the commander of the southern wall!?" the young master of the Mortola Family yelled, throwing the table at the messenger in a fit of rage.

 "Argh! This must not be real, I must be dreaming, that's it! That is what happened!" the young man laughed deliriously, looking more like an insane person instead of a dignified young master.

 Without a word, the servants and the messenger left him to his device, knowing their words would be ignored by the young man.

-x-

 The news was also heard by the other captain of the walls' guards but considering most of them are sane and believed in the Duke, they did not question it except for some of the more ambitious young masters.

 The lots had asked for a spar just to see if he was that strong. The difference was soon shown when he accepted the entire group to fight him at once. And promptly getting them behind handed to them, Ryker did not even move except for a gentle swipe of his hand that sent the entire opposition flying.

 They accepted their defeat with good manners, though they did claim they would ask him for advice when they became stronger.

 Soon, the entire capital returned to its peaceful state, albeit with more people enlisting as guards or soldiers, along with some of the resources hoarded were used to increase the strength of the entire duchy.

 Not long after, the entire Duchy soon fell into a peaceful state, yet no one, not even the commoners was fooled. Even when there are no bandits for a long period, it is only going to last until the bandits decide to break it.

 Until then, the Duchy will prepare themselves for the upcoming storm. The uneasy calm lasted for an entire week until a tragedy in a not-too-distant land occurred.

-x-

 The Duke was busy signing documents, looking back at the recent expenditures. He sighed, while there were no bandits sighting for a long time, it did not mean that the Duchy fully escaped their grasp. 

 Worst still, their economy had been dwindling with the recent uprising. It was only thanks to the fact that they could send some merchants and traders to the surrounding nations did they had a steady income for a while, though he knew it could not last them long.

 He was about to continue the boring duty that come with ruling an entire territory when a man came into his office, sweat dripping from his skin. The Duke is about to reprimand the man and his guards when he sees how pale the man is.

 "My lord," the man bowed, tired yet still had time to perform the etiquette required when meeting with the leader of the Duchy.

 "There is an urgent news from the two fronts,"

-x-

 The Duke walked to the entrance of the Duchy, one at the east, spotting a large force heading their way. While such large forces would cause the entire capital to be in chaos, the Duke had been informed of the large force and their allegiance.

 When the large force was just 1 kilometer away from the capital, two people flew towards the capital, the Duke waiting along with his three most valued advisors whom he had recalled a long time before.

 "Generals," he called the two men. The two people who flew towards them were his generals, one sent to help the two nearby baronies from being crushed by the Mizulus Duchy. However, with the way they came to the capital, it may seem like their missions failed. 

 "My lord, the baronies... were destroyed," one of the generals did not bother with pleasantries, reporting what had happened immediately. 

 Blood drained from the Duke's face as he asked, his voice barely a whisper, "What?"

-x-

While the news is urgent and needs to be clarified, the first thing they need to do is make sure the populace does not react adversely to the sight of a large army. Not to mention, the number of soldiers that returned was almost twice as large then when the Duke sent them.

 A glance at the two made them answer the unmasked questions, "Half of our forces are made out of soldiers of the two baronies," one of them explained, which helped to tell why the forces suddenly doubled though it did not help the questions of where to put them.

 After some serious consideration, the Duke ordered the officers of the combined force to stay at the barracks for now while the rest would have to camp outside the capital for now, at least until some space could be found.

 The Duke looked at them with a serious expression, "Tell me what happened," he ordered them, though the two exchanged glances with each other before pointing towards someone who seemed to be outside of his comfort zone, looking like he wanted to be everywhere but here.

 "The young man?" one of the generals asked, pointing towards Ryker who looked like he was dying from the inside.

 The Duke glanced at him, Ryker sighing before unleashing his aura. The generals have their widened to a comical degree, the other Genesis Sea experts hold their tongue though they did laugh inwardly.

 After all, they had been in the exact same expressions when the Duke introduced him to the others.

 "Even though he is not a Genesis Sea expert yet, he possesses strength equal to one, so he has the right to join the meeting," the Duke explained, making the two generals nod their heads in understanding.

 "If that is the case we will explain what happened,"