Amelia stood with her sword stabbed deep into the ground. Her face was smeared with dirt and her eyes were full of rage, but she managed to hold herself together. She stared at Richard with so much hatred that if looks could kill, Richard would be dead a hundred times over.
“Give up, Steelheart. You can’t win.” Richard snarled, displaying his shiny, silver teeth.
“You have made yourself the enemy of the Empire of Light, Silver Tooth. Be prepared to face its wrath. Retreat!” Amelia swore at Richard before calling for an immediate retreat. She had lost a lot of men in this fight. She looked around, and was even more pained when she saw that the men that fell had even been raised as Undead to slaughter their brothers. Her eyes turned red and her head snapped to the source of the Unholy energy polluting the air.
“You! I swear, I will kill you!” She growled before turning around to flee.
“Yeah, you go do whatever you want!” Leon yelled back just to spite her and laughed before recalling his summons. The battle was over, and it was time to count the losses.
Gustavo sighed tiredly and looked around. His soldiers were gathering up the fallen. Thanks to Leon’s intervention, only about thirty had lost their lives, but even then, the loss still pained the white haired man. They were good people.
“Sir!” Gustavo raised his head up to see the two Wyvern riders calling out to him. They had been assigned to protect the other side of the city, and they had done their jobs well. Only a few injuries were on the bodies of the noble creatures, and they would be healed with only a few hours of rest.
“Good job, you two.” He nodded at the two identical boys that jumped down from the Wyverns’ backs. The two boys were his cousins, and they were twins, only nineteen years old. But their talents were very useful. The two of them possessed Beast Taming skills. That was how Fort Bender had gained the protection and allegiance of these two powerful Peak B rank beasts.
“Thank you.” The two orange haired boys nodded with smiles on their faces. Smiles that instantly died down when they saw the skeletal figure approaching with a grand, silver Werewolf.
“Gus, how goes it?” Richard asked casually as he morphed back to his human form. He cracked his knuckles and looked at Gustavo expectantly.
“What? Are you waiting for a payment?! Don’t be selfish! After what you earned in Divinity’s Bout, you should be giving ME money!” Gustavo scowled but still brought out a pouch and handed Richard twenty gold coins, while he gave Leon ten. He knew that they were filthy rich now, but he was a man of his word.
“Ah, thank you. You are a good man.” Richard patted Gustavo’s shoulders and turned around. “Follow me, Leon.” He waved for Leon to follow him, but Gustavo stopped them.
“Hold on. As for you, I have something to say.” The man wagged a finger in front of Leon. “You caused this. My men died because of you. You ought to be indebted for me for not handing you over to that witch.” He narrowed his eyes.
Leon held his chin in thought. The man was absolutely right to blame him. But then he thought, what could he give this man in compensation? Surely, he could not hand over money to an A rank like this. Gustavo seemed to be much less enticed by money than Richard. Then, what about…
“I can be an ally of Fort Bender.” Leon suggested.
“An ally? Who should I partner up with you? Your Necromancer powers are strong and all, but they are also a magnet for trouble.” Gustavo hummed.
“Well, if not now, then in the future. I have a… fortress. I can move it over here, and with my presence, it will be much harder for you to be preyed on by others. And besides, I will be reaching A rank soon. An A rank ally will be worth it.” Leon smiled.
“Hmm, I will take you up on that offer. I hope you will remain true to your words when the time comes, Leon.” Gustavo shook hands with Leon, and like that, the deal was made. A deal that would serve both parties greatly in the future.
“Alright, let’s go.” Richard grabbed hold of Leon’s armor and took off into the air. His legs easily propelled them up and over the city’s walls, and onto one building close by where Moria and Nedra had been waiting for their return.
“That was great!” Nedra cheered as she hopped up and ran to Leon. Her red eyes sparkled brightly. She had returned here with Moria after the fight had ended and had been waiting for Leon to join them.
“Hehe.” Leon scratched his cheek. Behind him, he heard footsteps and turned around. Nero’s steps were imposing as his metal boots clanked against the rooftop. Behind him were up to forty humans, all B rank, but of varying levels. There were also a hundred or so C ranks on the ground by the building they were on.
“Master.” The summon fell to one knee and bowed his head. The effects of his Title and Domain had vanished, and he was left in his black armor that had a few red markings on it.
“Nero, good job.” Leon nodded his head. It was he who had ordered Nero to go around and see if he could turn over some doubters. And it had worked splendidly.
“Thank you for your praise, Master. It wall all because of your plans.” Nero thanked Leon, but still gave him the credit for everything. Leon simply smirked and turned to the people from the Empire of Light.
The Empire of Light was a strange nation. For some reason, it only accepted humans within its borders. Hybrids and nonhumans were not allowed, and if any were found, they were sent away or executed.. For an Empire that claimed to pursue the path of the righteous, they acted in a deplorable manner.
Because of the strange laws of the Empire, all the people in front of him were humans. There were more men than women, as the Empire was also a discriminator. It preferred that women were healers, so the women here had to be exceptional in their fighting abilities and talents for them to be able to get around this law.
Leon turned to the humans with a stern face and spoke, “Men and women, former soldiers of the Empire of light. Welcome to your new service.” He grinned. In truth, he had no proper speech prepared. He had always been terrible at public speaking, and usually just went along with the flow.
“You… Why did you save us?” A young man stepped forward.
“What is your name?” Leon asked him.
“Jacob. Jacob Stockton.” The young man, Jacob, replied.
“Good question, Jacob. Why did I save you?” Leon smiled and tapped the side of his skull. Because you would be better put to us under my care. You obviously know in your hearts that the way of the Empire of Light is not correct. It is shrouded in a darkness darker than my black bones. It is for that reason that your turned your back on it, is it not?” He asked. The silence he was met with was enough for him to know that they did not disagree with him.
“So, if you already know it in your heart that the Empire of Light is in the wrong, then that means you do not believe in its goals. If that is so, then you need to join a new force, and coincidentally, I am in need of people to grow my flowering nation.” Leon smiled.
“Y-your nation?” Jacob stuttered. What did Leon mean? Did that mean that he planned on killing them and turning them into his Undead minions?
“No need to be scared, I do not need more Undead minions. At least, I mean that you are better alive than Undead.” Leon raised his hands and put their worries to rest. “What I mean is that I need people who will help me grow my unnamed nation into a powerful force, and you all are going to be that. I expect your loyalty, and any sign of treachery will be met with lethal retaliation.” Leon’s voice turned cold as he uttered the last part, and chills ran down everyone’s backs as they could tell he was being honest with them.