Chapter 158 Captain Of The Royal Guard
After the attack by the hordes of The Eye of Hermodr, the Kingdom of Tretidian and especially the Royal City were on alert.
It was terrifying to think that in the shadows lurked an unknown group of people with the ability and courage to act in such a cruel way.
However, such an event seemed to target only the center of the Royal City, because the Palace was not even attacked, except by the intense waves of earthquakes.
For the Tretidian nobles, the attack was still a huge unknown. They simply did not know the great purpose behind this whole event. For this reason, just like the streets, the corridors of the palace were soon impregnated with many rumors from those who worked there but lived in the city.
"I heard that the undead were being led by someone. Probably some madman, right?"
"Yes. My niece said the monsters were coming out of the floors and the cracks in the walls. I wonder if there's a nest of monsters below the city."
"Don't talk nonsense, Rosa. My daughter saw bugs coming out of black puddles."
"Are you guys talking about yesterday? You hardly know what really happened. I saw with my own eyes the Demon King being formed in that square near the library..."
"What happened to him?"
"That's the cool part. While the strongest mages in the kingdom were hiding in here, a strange man summoned an army of shadows and defeated the Demon King."
"Ow, that's amazing!"
These rumors had also reached the ears of the captain of the royal guard, Arthas, who was a middle-aged knight with black and gray hair. He was walking through the palace halls on his way to the throne room when he overheard the cleaners talking.
"Rita said she saw the Demon King being defeated by a dark man."
"And who was this man?"
"No one knows..."
Arthas stopped in the hallway the cleaners were in and looked at them reproachfully, which caused them to bow and go back to their work without saying another word.
'Looks like it's not just the mages who have enhanced vision in this palace...' He thought for a moment.
Arthas was pretty sure who was responsible for the attack, because the kingdom's intelligence service had found evidence of a cult growing at an alarming rate in the unexplored shadows of the kingdom's vast territory. Asking the intelligence service to investigate this cult, Arthas discovered that they were gathering in a hidden temple in the mountains north of the city.
He prepared himself and organized an attack, in order to nip this evil in the bud. However, when he got there, all he found was a message written in blood, saying that the knights should not have left the city. When they returned to the city, they were not allowed to enter, just like any other player who was outside the horde event.
Thanks to this, Arthas was deeply angry and feeling helpless for not being present at the Royal Palace on the very day of the attack. This was frustrating for him, who had been made a fool of by the mystery cult.
When he was summoned to give his report to the Queen, Arthas' uneasiness level skyrocketed. He did not foresee good things.
When the two guards protecting the throne room saw Arthas, in his glorious red armor and black cloak, approaching from the hallway, they immediately opened the large iron door behind them. As soon as the captain got close enough, they saluted him.
Arthas then entered the room and the door behind him closed.
The throne room was well lit by a set of windows that showed the landscape of the Tretidian Kingdom. In the center of the room was a large golden throne, and on the throne sat a young-looking white woman dressed in a long white silk dress with golden details. This woman had hair almost the color of her dress and a piercing gaze.
Arthas bowed, knelt down and said:
"Your Majesty, I have come to inform you of my report, as ordered."
The queen nodded. "I know, Captain Arthas. Can you tell me the reason you were not here yesterday?"
"Of course I can. Our intelligence service informed me a few weeks ago of strange convoys moving along the roads of our nation, and also more destruction of small villages happened all over the kingdom, so we had to start an investigation to act against the causers of this."
"But I shouldn't remind you that this is not your job, right? You are supposed to remain in the palace, coordinating the guards under your authority and mainly protecting the members of the royal family."
"Yes, I know, but the King..."
The woman clicked her tongue, interrupting the captain. "Tsk! What does the King have to do with your responsibilities? He is very ill, you know that, and if he has ever allowed you to investigate these kinds of matters outside your purview, I am the one in charge until he recovers, so you should have come to me for a release. Besides, there was the event with Ravastine not long ago. You didn't even act."
Arthas' countenance showed his complete surprise and internal confusion. "But, Your Majesty, it was you who forbade me and any of the guards to interfere with the challenge."
She shook her head negatively. "I am not talking about that. I am speaking precisely about the duel being interrupted and you did NOTHING about it. As a Royal Family, we should be the example that even when lives are at stake, one should not interfere in a challenge.... Frankly, I have made up my mind. You will be removed indefinitely from your position as captain of the Royal Guard."
"What? But, Your Majesty..."
"You have failed in your responsibilities. You were absent on the day of the attack when I was in danger and I will not tolerate that. If I were dead now, you would be at this moment being beheaded by a guillotine, but I have regard for your services and will not mete out such a harsh punishment."
The queen then pointed to two guards who were standing behind her and they approached Arthas to escort him.
"Your Majesty, I beg you, for the love of the gods, at least let me investigate the cult to find out why they attacked the city."
"No, you are removed from your position and that is final. You may remain here in the palace as a guest for a week, until you find a place to live, but you may no longer work as captain of the guard or meddle in the affairs of the intelligence service."
Arthas stood paralyzed in place. His mind was racing, thinking of anything until, in desperation, he exclaimed:
"I have obtained the King's trust since I was just a boy! There is no one better than me to command these men!"
At that moment, Queen Niah Spelloyal smiled evilly, taking her right hand on her chin. "I'm glad you said that, because now I have a chance to present to you your replacement." She then clapped her hands together twice.
*Clap, Clap*
From the darkest corner of the throne room, a man with black hair and all-black robes stepped out. He had pale skin, neatly arranged hair, a serious countenance, and his eyes targeted Arthas as if it were a nuisance to see him in front of them. Behind this man were three city guards wearing white armor with royal ornaments. All these guards were inexpressive and had blank stares.
"Arthas, I present to you Thenomor, the new captain of the royal guard. He will be responsible for protecting me, the king and the princesses. He grew up in the Lamuriant Mountains, so he has a somewhat unusual appearance, but certainly the place where he grew up has made him stronger than anyone here, no wonder he has already gained the loyalty of some guards throughout the city." Queen Niah said.
Arthas could not believe what he was seeing. His eyes were burning with anger, but he couldn't do anything out of respect for the authority of the kingdom, so he just remained silent.
"Thenomor, you can get to work right now. Show former captain Arthas the way out."
Thenomor nodded, then turned and began walking toward the door. Arthas, for his part, remained motionless, looking at the Queen with an expression of shock and sadness.
The footsteps of Thenomor's social shoes echoed deeply in Arthas' mind. The moment the new captain walked past Arthas and their eyes met, Arthas felt an overwhelming and oppressive aura.
"Arthas, you may withdraw." The Queen said with a debauched smile, which woke Arthas from his trance-like state. He turned and left the room accompanied by the five guards present.
*
As the rebuilding of the Royal City began, the mood of the local people was a mixture of melancholy and relief. Certainly, the monster attack had left deep scars in the hearts of those who had witnessed such chaos, and this was most pronounced on the faces of those who had lost someone important. And much darker times were fast approaching in this human realm.
However, one person, and perhaps the only person, could prevent all this. Who this person was, most people did not know, but soon his name would be recognized all over the world.
"Kaizen! So you really are back!" Ravastine exclaimed as he opened the door to the waiting room and saw Psyker.
When he turned to look in her direction, the young princess realized how shameful this shout was and quickly tried to tidy up that situation.
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"I mean, you... you seem fine to me despite everything that happened yesterday in town. Where did you go yesterday when you left here? You were injured."
"No, I'm fine. I had to go help some friends." He said and smiled. "But that's not why I'm here today. If you are going to be one of my partners in the challenge against Taznaar, how would you like to join me for a test?"
Ravastine's shy face quickly changed to complete excitement and she nodded as quickly as she could.
...
Edited by: DrHitsuji
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