(2) Chapter 21: Defiance!

Chapter 21: Defiance!

Carl, his wives, the crown prince, and Hillary were the arrivals from the Great Eagle Kingdom to the Vechnos Kingdom.

Since the marriage was going to happen at night, Henry asked Victor to make the guests feel comfortable. Since the other party was the King, either he or Victor needed to be present all the time.

"Where is Ryan?" Henry asked Loraine.

"He is training," Loraine responded with a helpless sigh.

"Even today," Henry said and then proceeded toward the training arena.

***

"Today is your marriage, this might be the most significant day of your life, and you are here, training," Henry reprimanded Ryan in the arena in front of all the guards.

Ryan only stood there and listened to his father. After Henry had stopped talking, Ryan raised his head up, looking straight into Henry's eyes, and Ryan announced, "Father, I am going to attempt the breakthrough to Great Knight."

"What rubbish are you spouting?"

"You aren't ready for the breakthrough yet," Henry growled, clearly not expecting anything of such sort to hear that day.

All the frustration about him being able to do nothing to heal Ryan or the war that had been announced erupted all at once, and Henry vented all of it on Ryan.

"If you even dare to think about the breakthrough before the year ends, I will break your bones and make you stay on bed rest for the entire year," Henry threatened at the end.

There seemed to be defiance in Ryan's eyes as he kept looking straight into Henry's eyes. When his father had vented, he responded, "Father, I am going to be married today. I want to marry as a Great Knight."

Sigh!

The deathly stare competition between the father and son duo continued for a while. Henry became the first to give up.

With a deep sigh, he patted Ryan's shoulder and left after wishing him good luck.

Ryan could understand that he had deeply hurt his father that day, but he had to do the things he needed to do. He was too weak to do anything in the war that might erupt any day.

Now that he was marrying Hillary, he had her to protect as well. He could only do that when he could protect himself.

When Henry was venting, the guards had already left the arena, so at that moment, Ryan was all alone there.

Attempting the breakthrough required to be in optimal conditions, so Ryan first went to take a bath in cold water. After that, he sat down in meditation for an hour, calming his mind and heart.

When Ryan felt he had reached his optimal condition, he decided to start the breakthrough. The next moment, he released the lifeseed. His body expanded while his eyes started to turn slightly red.

The breakthrough to the Great Knight was an excruciating process since the Prana stored in lifeseed needed to touch every part of the body.

As the prana released from the lifeseed traveled through Ryan's body, his face started to turn red. The process continued for a while, and finally, the Prana stored had filled every corner of his body.

After that stage, it was time for the most important stage. Ryan began to gather the Prana back into a core. It was easier said than done, as the Prana energy had deeply embedded itself into his veins and muscles. Taking it back was like cutting muscle.

After gathering the energy into the core, only the last step was left. The next moment, the core exploded, and the Prana passed through every corner of his body.

Wherever it passed through, his muscles would tighten and grow. The first absorption was to make the body get used to Prana. The second was to get the body accustomed to losing Prana, while the third was to let the body learn to absorb Prana.

All three steps were extremely dangerous since many High Knights died due to vein ruptures in the first step. The second step was the easiest, but it was also the most painful. While it was happening, Ryan wished for true death since the pain had reached such intensity.

The third step was the last step and also the most dangerous since the body was absorbing Prana on its own. The better the foundation of the body, the better the absorption would be, and the lesser the chances of failure.

Ryan needed to be attentive since if any part absorbed more than it needed, that part would explode. The Knight Training Method detailed the process in simple explanations, so Ryan didn't fall into that.

Ryan finally reached the limit and was about to pass over to the next level, when suddenly the flow of Prana turned violent. Ryan gritted his teeth and kept going through the method.

At one time, the flow had become so violent that several of Ryan's veins had ruptured, and blood could be seen spreading inside through his hand skin. Fortunately, the veins weren't near any vital organ.

The violent flow finally calmed down after a lot of struggle from Aakesh, and he crossed the level.

The next moment, the Prana present in the air was attracted to him and started to melt into him.

Ryan's body had reached its limit, so right after the breakthrough was over, his eyelids turned heavy, and they drooped down.

Thud!

The next moment, Ryan crashed on the mat, falling asleep. Immediately after, Henry appeared in the room.

His face had a relieved sigh as he saw the breakthrough was successful. He then gently picked Ryan up and left after placing him on the bed. The marriage was still hours away, so until then, he could sleep peacefully.

***

"I am sorry for forcing you to marry, but I don't have a choice. Ryan is a good boy, he will treat you respectfully," Carl said with a smile, looking at his daughter, who looked beautiful in the wedding attire.

Hillary nodded since she remembered the promise made by Ryan to her that he wouldn't marry any woman after her.

***

A/N: Please vote GT and PS on the book. Please also leave a comment, telling me your response to the chapter.