CASTLE OF MIGHT
It was an empty, spacious hall in the premises of the mighty castle. The hall existed at the top of a tall building, it was rarely visited by members of the Castle of Might.
A powerful wind force drifted across the empty room, blowing dust into the air and creating a noise that broke the silence prevailing over the hall.
A few seconds after the strong wind appeared, D'andre and the survivors entered.
The survivors looked around the strange and wide empty hall with curious expressions on their faces. Including Rowan and Riela, everyone wondered where they were, as they had never been in a place like this before.
Only D'andre and the surviving spy knights appeared calm, they could already tell where they were by the appearance of the hall. Though it had been a long time since they visited this place.
"Take care of them. I have to discuss something important with your master."
D'andre calmly instructed the spy knights before flying out of the hall through one of the big windows.
Rowan observed as his the white haired archmage flew away, his eyes landed on the sky outside, and he didn't fail to notice just how close the sky appeared. He quickly understood that they were at the top of a tall structure.
"Come with us."
The group followed behind the four spy knights who led them down a spiral staircase.
When they exited the structure completely, they were greeted with the magnificent structure of the Castle of Might.
"Woah."
"This is majestic!"
The group halted to take in the splendid views.
The Castle of Might was nothing short of beautiful and powerful.
The simple view reminded Rowan of powerful castles in medieval fantasy movies.
But the Castle of Might was several times bigger than any of them.
It spread across a long distance and was filled with tall, intricate structures.
The towering structure they had just stepped out from was even several times smaller in comparison to most of the other structures inside the territory of the Castle of Might.
Very far ahead, standing gallantly above these towering structures, was an even taller and more intricate castle — the main Castle of Might, where the king actually lives.
"Damn."
Rowan was a little bit envious of the owner of this structure. He wondered just how strong this person would be and what the rank of this territory was.
Rowan was already suspecting that it was more than B or even A rank — for the dwelling place of the leader to be this big, the kingdom itself must be thousand times bigger.
"Just who is this person?" he muttered to himself.
Unknowingly to Rowan, this person was actually his icon back on Earth and also the person mentioned in his mysterious dreams several times.
Unfortunately, he was unaware that fate was tangling him inside a bigger mystery.
The spy knights gave the group enough time to marvel at the magnificence of their king's territory before leading them towards a big hall.
Stepping into the hall, they were greeted with the scene of a grand dining hall — it was very spacious, a long well decorated rectangular table was in the middle, and atop the table were numerous delicacies.
There were beautifully dressed maids standing beside each seat with pleasing smiles on their faces. Their beauty and smiles even captivated the attention of some young men in the group, more than the food did.
Rowan observed the place with a calm expression on his face, everything in this place just kept reminding him of just how poor he was.
He swore to himself to make sure his territory becomes like this in the near future, even more splendid and wealthier.
While Rowan was almost lost in his thoughts, the maids walked gently towards the group that had halted at the entrance to stare at the beautiful scene. They politely greeted them and led them to the dining table with beautiful smiles on their faces.
While their actions were nothing but pure and gentle, it easily triggered the emotions of some young men and they began flirting without a single consideration for their dignity.
"I am going to be a Lord soon, you can become my one and only wife." Eliman said to the beautiful blonde maid with a perfect body figure.
Rowan turned to look at his friend and shook his head before taking a seat close to Riela.
The aroma of the tantalizing dishes on the table evaded his nose. At that moment, he forgot the dark thoughts and only the urge to devour these dishes remained in his mind.
"Please enjoy yourselves. If you have any particular dish that is not available, you can inform the maids behind you and they will provide it right away. We would be away to report to our master, feel at home."
The spy knights left the grand dining hall.
Rowan and the other survivors had already felt at home the moment they arrived, they began devouring the dishes without a single consideration in the world.
Most of them haven't had the opportunity to taste food like these in months, even years. So they took the opportunity without looking back.
The grand dining hall was soon filled with the sound of brandishing cutleries and peaceful discussions. A soft harmony dwelled over the dining hall.
….
Throne Room, Castle of Might
The white haired archmage could be seen sitting opposite the red haired leader of the Castle of Might.
Silence prevailed over the throne room as both powerhouses appeared to be deep in their thoughts.
D'andre looked especially serious.
Those who knew the archmage knew him as a character that was always happy and unserious no matter the situation. He is the kind to even make joke in the middle of a gloomy funeral.
But his current visage was different now, it was serious and there was even hint of deep sadness, a major contrast to his usual self.
He was deep in thoughts.
After a few seconds, he heaved out a long sigh and turned to venerable Mario who was also deep in thought.
"I'm certain of my prediction that the cult would be coming back stronger, but I'm not sure when. You're the only one I know in this continent with enough military power to be on par with them, you should actively try to evolve your military power before then. Those bastards are no jokes."
D'andre and Venerable Mario discussed for a short amount of time and then the archmage left after both of them came to a conclusion.