At the end of the reunion, Sun Wukong was walking alone as people on either side gave him a wide berth.
He was generally calm but they all knew a simple trigger could change him into a bloodthirsty maniac that would not stop until someone died.
Already used to this isolation, Sun Wukong did not care much about them. They were unworthy of his attention and interacting with them was a waste of time.
At least this was so for nearly all of them.
“Wukong.”
Sun Wukong stopped, turning toward the only one he cared about in this place. Someone who was akin to his adopted mother,
“Shuten.”
Wukong ignored the outrageous attire his adopted mother was wearing. He always found it odd that she walked around so brazenly when she had nothing to show off outside of a childish body. In his opinion, any man who actually found her attractive was someone they should be careful about.
But he knew better than to say this to her face.
“You noticed, right?”
The two started walking together and as always his mother was one to go straight to the point.
“If you are talking about the King’s aura, Indeed. I have noticed the changes.”
“What do you think?”
“Weak.”
Shuten gave a bitter smile but this all Sun Wukong had to say. He was not a Puritan nor a martial arts fanatic who believed one shouldn’t use powerful weapons.
Thanks to his own weapons, he knew how important having powerful weapons was. But at the end of the day, no matter how strong a weapon was, it was useless if it was not wielded correctly.
“He is not using a weapon. He is being used as a weapon.”
Divine weapons were powerful and the power they bestowed had an equal price attached to it.
Even so. The current state of the King was nothing but pitiful in his eyes. A man who sacrificed his own life for a fight, not because he wished to best his opponent but simply because of the Fear of failure.
As an individual, Lupus certainly became stronger. But as a warrior, Sun Wukong had lost all the little remaining interest he may have had in the man.
“You are as strict as always.”
“A warrior who discards his pride for victory is not a bad warrior. But a warrior who discards his pride because of fear is nothing but a failure.”
Fear was useful. Fear was a great teacher. A warrior should never lose the sense of fear deep in their hearts. But they should never let themselves be ruled by it.
“Well, I will take that into account for our calculations. Do you still plan to go all out?”
“Indeed. My loyalty is not to the crown and even much less to the King. Only to myself. For my own selfishness, I will be an obstacle standing in the way of the success of my friend’s son. Whether he knocks me out of the way or fails is of no matter to me.”
Sun Wukong's eyes shone quietly, “This war will usher in a new age, I believe so. But more than anything, I will finally be able to test my mettle against the Blade of the Sword saint.”
The light dimmed a few moments later, “Though, it’s a pity. If only this war happened a few months sooner, I would have been able to face her as an equal now though. I fear it will be impossible without me severely restricting myself.”
“You…”
Shuten stopped when she heard Sun Wukong’s words. Her mind moved swiftly as she finally realized the meaning of his words.
“Seriously…?”
Sun Wukong grinned, like a mischievous happy at being praised,
“I have broken the wall. I only lack one more step.”
—--
[1st Frontier Lustburg/Wratharis: Twilight Fortress]
Standing up near a stream, an old man with graying hair was observing quietly the large fortress that was standing and had been standing for years now to protect the frontier of Wratharis.
All his life, one of his goals had been to take down that fortress. For this, many people shed blood and many failures befell them.
But now…Things were about to change.
He turned around and looked at the people who were overseeing the construction of the teleportation Matrix.
This was a sight he had not had the pleasure to observe since the last war against Gluttony foss. After all, creating those matrices was no easy feat. The amount of expensive materials that had to be sacrificed was impressive enough to make one faint in fright.
Even more so since the matrices for such a long distance had a limited number of uses.
‘It seems like the crown is really going all out this time.’
A bitter smile formed on his face as the image of a young prince appeared in his mind, causing him to sigh.
“General Gerald. What do you think?”
Gerald was brought out from his memory when a mature voice addressed him. The respect brimming in their voices was evident.
“Ah…Viktor was it? No, should I call Lieutenant Viktor.”
The man named Viktor showed a large smile, “I am happy the general remembers me.”
“How could I forget the young man of the time who rushed head first in the trench before anyone else only to flee back as fast when he realized he started marching before the signal was given.”
The man coughed lightly, clearly embarrassed about his embarrassing display,
“I was just a kid back then, General. Now I have matured.”
“So I see. Though you are mistaken about one thing. I am no more a General. In this place, I am just a foot soldier like anyone else.”
Viktor furiously shook his head, “The order of the crown makes no sense. You and General Tyr will always be the only true Generals in my mind. Lustburg would not be what it is now without the support of the Highland family.”
“Be careful with your words.”
“I will. But I believe only the nobles of the Capitals would bother using cheap tactics such as defamations. All the Knights and nobles present here will challenge me to a duel if they do not like what I say.”
There was pride in his words and Gerald Understood it. The nobles at the frontiers were generally left to their own devices and had to face constant small wars and fights.
For the frontier nobles, those at the center were simply pigs that could not fight and for the nobles at the center, those at the frontier were nothing but Barbarians who knew nothing about being a true noble.
In the end, this was nothing more than one of the many ways the crown kept the nobles in check, by creating divisions and stopping them from allying and working together.
A few nobles understood this and played the game. The vast majority though…Were let’s say a little too enthusiastic.
Clearly, in Viktor’s mind, Gerald was as white as snow and he was demoted to this place because he lost a battle of influence against some nobles.
Despite the technology, some information was easily distorted after a certain time.
“Very well, you asked me a question?”
“Yes. What do you think will happen?”
Gerald looked in the direction of the matrices in constructions.
“I believe that tonight and for the remaining week, we will not be able to sleep.”
Those words were as accurate as a prophecy.
On that night — Wratharis launched its first attack.
The war had officially started.
At the end of the reunion, Sun Wukong was walking alone as people on either side gave him a wide berth.
He was generally calm but they all knew a simple trigger could change him into a bloodthirsty maniac that would not stop until someone died.
Already used to this isolation, Sun Wukong did not care much about them. They were unworthy of his attention and interacting with them was a waste of time.
At least this was so for nearly all of them.
“Wukong.”
Sun Wukong stopped, turning toward the only one he cared about in this place. Someone who was akin to his adopted mother,
“Shuten.”
Wukong ignored the outrageous attire his adopted mother was wearing. He always found it odd that she walked around so brazenly when she had nothing to show off outside of a childish body. In his opinion, any man who actually found her attractive was someone they should be careful about.
But he knew better than to say this to her face.
“You noticed, right?”
The two started walking together and as always his mother was one to go straight to the point.
“If you are talking about the King’s aura, Indeed. I have noticed the changes.”
“What do you think?”
“Weak.”
Shuten gave a bitter smile but this all Sun Wukong had to say. He was not a Puritan nor a martial arts fanatic who believed one shouldn’t use powerful weapons.
Thanks to his own weapons, he knew how important having powerful weapons was. But at the end of the day, no matter how strong a weapon was, it was useless if it was not wielded correctly.
“He is not using a weapon. He is being used as a weapon.”
Divine weapons were powerful and the power they bestowed had an equal price attached to it.
Even so. The current state of the King was nothing but pitiful in his eyes. A man who sacrificed his own life for a fight, not because he wished to best his opponent but simply because of the Fear of failure.
As an individual, Lupus certainly became stronger. But as a warrior, Sun Wukong had lost all the little remaining interest he may have had in the man.
“You are as strict as always.”
“A warrior who discards his pride for victory is not a bad warrior. But a warrior who discards his pride because of fear is nothing but a failure.”
Fear was useful. Fear was a great teacher. A warrior should never lose the sense of fear deep in their hearts. But they should never let themselves be ruled by it.
“Well, I will take that into account for our calculations. Do you still plan to go all out?”
“Indeed. My loyalty is not to the crown and even much less to the King. Only to myself. For my own selfishness, I will be an obstacle standing in the way of the success of my friend’s son. Whether he knocks me out of the way or fails is of no matter to me.”
Sun Wukong's eyes shone quietly, “This war will usher in a new age, I believe so. But more than anything, I will finally be able to test my mettle against the Blade of the Sword saint.”
The light dimmed a few moments later, “Though, it’s a pity. If only this war happened a few months sooner, I would have been able to face her as an equal now though. I fear it will be impossible without me severely restricting myself.”
“You…”
Shuten stopped when she heard Sun Wukong’s words. Her mind moved swiftly as she finally realized the meaning of his words.
“Seriously…?”
Sun Wukong grinned, like a mischievous happy at being praised,
“I have broken the wall. I only lack one more step.”
—--
[1st Frontier Lustburg/Wratharis: Twilight Fortress]
Standing up near a stream, an old man with graying hair was observing quietly the large fortress that was standing and had been standing for years now to protect the frontier of Wratharis.
All his life, one of his goals had been to take down that fortress. For this, many people shed blood and many failures befell them.
But now…Things were about to change.
He turned around and looked at the people who were overseeing the construction of the teleportation Matrix.
This was a sight he had not had the pleasure to observe since the last war against Gluttony foss. After all, creating those matrices was no easy feat. The amount of expensive materials that had to be sacrificed was impressive enough to make one faint in fright.
Even more so since the matrices for such a long distance had a limited number of uses.
‘It seems like the crown is really going all out this time.’
A bitter smile formed on his face as the image of a young prince appeared in his mind, causing him to sigh.
“General Gerald. What do you think?”
Gerald was brought out from his memory when a mature voice addressed him. The respect brimming in their voices was evident.
“Ah…Viktor was it? No, should I call Lieutenant Viktor.”
The man named Viktor showed a large smile, “I am happy the general remembers me.”
“How could I forget the young man of the time who rushed head first in the trench before anyone else only to flee back as fast when he realized he started marching before the signal was given.”
The man coughed lightly, clearly embarrassed about his embarrassing display,
“I was just a kid back then, General. Now I have matured.”
“So I see. Though you are mistaken about one thing. I am no more a General. In this place, I am just a foot soldier like anyone else.”
Viktor furiously shook his head, “The order of the crown makes no sense. You and General Tyr will always be the only true Generals in my mind. Lustburg would not be what it is now without the support of the Highland family.”
“Be careful with your words.”
“I will. But I believe only the nobles of the Capitals would bother using cheap tactics such as defamations. All the Knights and nobles present here will challenge me to a duel if they do not like what I say.”
There was pride in his words and Gerald Understood it. The nobles at the frontiers were generally left to their own devices and had to face constant small wars and fights.
For the frontier nobles, those at the center were simply pigs that could not fight and for the nobles at the center, those at the frontier were nothing but Barbarians who knew nothing about being a true noble.
In the end, this was nothing more than one of the many ways the crown kept the nobles in check, by creating divisions and stopping them from allying and working together.
A few nobles understood this and played the game. The vast majority though…Were let’s say a little too enthusiastic.
Clearly, in Viktor’s mind, Gerald was as white as snow and he was demoted to this place because he lost a battle of influence against some nobles.
Despite the technology, some information was easily distorted after a certain time.
“Very well, you asked me a question?”
“Yes. What do you think will happen?”
Gerald looked in the direction of the matrices in constructions.
“I believe that tonight and for the remaining week, we will not be able to sleep.”
Those words were as accurate as a prophecy.
On that night — Wratharis launched its first attack.
The war had officially started.
