Priorities

"Then take these," he said, pulling two sets of golden armor and weapons out of his dimensional bag. Then he put them into his old dimensional bag and gave them to Sora.

Sora had seen the armor and weapons when William took them. He looked at them with admiration. They were certainly examples of excellent craftsmanship. He knew that they could be more expensive than he had imagined.

"Sir, what are they for?"

"Give them to my father and grandfather as a gift from me. Tell them I have no problem killing other princes, but Leslie doesn't deserve to die yet."

"As you wish, sir!" said Sora and then added. "By the way, tomorrow the Academy will announce its new rules, so you should prepare as much as you can for the next contest in a month. Don't worry about the war."

"Do you think I'm worried at all?" William circulated qi in his body. He showed his strength, which was close to bronze level.

Sora's eyes widened. It was even more surprising than the armor and weapons he gave him. With a trembling voice,

"Sir, you..."

William cut him off. "Yes, I will be bronze before the contest. Then I will kill the other princes!" he said.

"Sir, Prince Jaymond is bronze rank. But don't worry, I'll be waiting for you outside the academy that day." Said.

"It does not matter! If I said I would kill, I would." William said his last words with a frown on his face. Sora felt as if the former Baron was standing in front of him.

"As you wish, sir!" he said and bowed.

"You may go."

"Yes, sir!" Sora left in a hurry. He would return faster than he came. The gifts he carried with him were more valuable than his life. He would go first to Baron Theo and then to the older Baron Thedo.

William sat on his bed after he left. He brooded in silence for a few moments. Finally, he said, "There is nothing to do.[1] The future that had to come was the future that should have been. You knew this day would come." He said to himself and took the introductory book to the Fire Element out of his bag.

He couldn't relax anymore, he had to read these books as soon as possible, then draw blood from the wolves and reach the bronze level before the contest. He kept complaining that he had too much to do and not enough time. Once again, he was stuck in such a situation.

...

Four days' journey from the Academy, outside the great walled city from which William had been forced to flee, thousands of warriors stood silently in teams of twenty. At the front, they awaited the command of the man who looked old, but who stood on his horse like a spear.

The banners were decorated in black on red cloth, with a roaring tiger on two crossed swords.

The old man stood patiently on his horse. After a while, two people appeared on the top of the walls.

The old man called out when he saw them. "Seymour! You have no man! You have no strength! You have no support! What are you waiting for?"

The man on the wall had a dark look on his face. He hadn't slept well today, his bags under his eyes had grown. On the wall, he looked back. He saw less than a thousand people and less than a hundred regular soldiers waiting to escape.

He still cursed that damn mage. He wanted to cut off every inch of his flesh when he found him. Even he wants to eat!

At the moment, he had neither a man nor a civilian that could be called a city. He stared at the empty city behind him, his home for generations. In great disappointment, he called to the gatekeepers below.

"Open the door! Welcome your new king!"

His words came as a shock to the people behind him, the soldiers, and even his son next to him.

The old man was Thedo, of course. He was happy that he had made the right decision. After all, he didn't want to kill an old acquaintance. He knew that the city was almost empty and defenseless right now. He just wanted to give some face to old acquaintances.

He looked at the heavy, slowly opening doors. He pointed at the city with an extremely sharp sword that emitted a metallic light.

" Walk!" All the soldiers behind him, including himself, began to move in the same order, at the same pace. The army could be said to be the only one in the world in terms of discipline. The Count's father and son looked at the army with greed and envy, but there was nothing they could do. They had neither the money to feed such an army nor the charisma to gain its trust.

After a while, when they saw Thedo approaching, they went downstairs and decided to meet him at the door. On his way down, he told his butler to prepare a feast with everything he had.

They waited for Thedo at the door. They smiled as if they had made the right decision when they saw Thedo riding slowly through the door.

Thedo's majesty was like that of a king! He was like the absolute embodiment of the concept of nobility and power. Despite his age, he was definitely like a tiger that could tear the youth to pieces.

Thedo came in front of them with his regular army behind him. He dismounted from his horse, took off his helmet, and tucked it under his arm.

The two immediately bowed. The new count spoke, "The Seymour family pledges eternal loyalty to the new king!" he shouted. The people behind them and some new soldiers bowed with him. They laid down their weapons. The two waited with their heads down until they heard Thedo's voice. After a few seconds, Thedo ordered them to stand up, as befitted a king.

Then he got back on his horse and started riding towards the Count's castle inside the city.

The two of them immediately took a horse and followed him through the kneeling citizens as if they were in a parade.

The crowd was not large, but it was still reminiscent of the glorious parades of the old days.

When they entered the castle, Thedo took the main seat in the great hall.

"You were quite comfortable in his seat," he said, stroking the armrests.

The former Count Seymour spoke at once. "Not worthy of you, sir, but that's what we have."

"You don't have to talk to me like that for now. I prefer a bit more intimacy." He said.

Thedo wasn't used to his old acquaintance talking to him like that.

"Seymour, come sit down." He said.

The two quickly sat down on either side of him. Hurim stood next to Thedo. He gestured to Hurim with his finger. Hurim quickly took the large animal skin box from his back and pulled out a large map. After spreading it out on the table, Thedo stood up.

The other two also rose with him.

Thedo began to speak, pointing to the map with his finger.

"I know that you father and son are going through hard times. That's why I'm not asking anything of you. We will use this place as our base of operations. All I ask is that you defend this place while I'm gone. I promise that when the day comes, you will be rewarded for your hard work," he said.

The old count asked immediately. “How many soldiers will remain?”

"Hundred! One hundred Iron-level warriors and twenty advanced apprentice mages. Five of them are specialists in healing." He said.

"It's okay, it's okay. Even if the royal army comes personally, I can hold this place for three days. Don't leave your eyes behind."

"Good, that's what I want too! I want your name to be called count again in the future." He said and smiled. Then Hurim picked up the map on the table. Thedo went to the door to leave."

"Sir? Where are you going?"

Thedo replied without turning around. It's early, I'm going to flex my muscles." He said.

"Sir, I was preparing a feast!" shouted Count Seymour after him, worried about him leaving like that.

"No feast until we have a victory!" said Thedo again without turning around.

"Sir, wouldn't this count as a victory?" Count Seymour shouted again from behind him.

Before finally walking out the door, Thedo turned and looked at Count Seymour.

"What do you think?"

He walked away, leaving only that question. The two watched him go in amazement.

Then the old and the new count sighed in disappointment.

'True, not even a victory.' They thought to themselves.

Then the old count looked at his son, and a fire began to burn in his eyes.

"We will try our best! Maybe we'll have a place with the new king." He said and left.

He had to organize and place the soldiers who would be under his command. The new count was still learning. He was currently unqualified for some jobs. This was the perfect opportunity for both of them to shine.

...

William was still in his room, unaware of most things. This knowledge was extremely new and stimulating to him. He hadn't known before that the fire element could be used in many different ways. Now, new ideas and techniques were constantly coming to life in his mind.

After a while, he got hungry again and went to the dining hall. His other three friends weren't in the dining hall, so he quickly swept the table. On his way back, he saw a banner hanging over the academy's mission building.

A large crowd had gathered in front of it. He saw Merlon and the others but did not approach them.

The content of the banner was simple and clear.

All the words were written in order. It said that a month later, a contest called the 'Fresh Blood Contest' would be held, and the being of the Principal's student would be the biggest prize.

There were many rules written underneath. It didn't mention killing, so he was free.

The continuation was even more interesting. Now the missions were mandatory! They set a mission requirement of one mission per month, and the mission had to be equal to or higher than your own level. Anything below that would not be accepted!"

Leaving without permission or without a mission was forbidden until the day after the competition! It was written that people who left without permission would be searched for, and a reward would be placed on their heads!

Those were really tough words.

William could hear some gossip swirling through the crowd.

"Did you hear? The Dark Elves have surfaced! They attacked the Elm Kingdom! They even killed the king in his own palace on the first day. They have taken the capital city by storm!"

"Are you serious? You're not joking, are you?

"Why would I joke? Do you think I'm joking?"

"You're right, what happened next?"

"What happened next? All the nobles and Oasis lords have gathered and are preparing for a counterattack! But the dark elves have already settled in the capital! It should be easier from now on!"

"I can understand what they did. They had been living underground for a long time, secretly amassing power. They must have wanted to see the sun at last." The two young people chatted, not caring that others could hear their voices.

William also thanked them in his heart. He could guess that his father would have encouraged the dark elves to attack. They, too, had emerged from a new war for the throne. His father must have made some promises to the new king. Things were getting messier and messier, and William felt weaker by the day.

He stopped reading books. All he had to do now was to increase his power as quickly as possible.

The following information was just too complicated, so he stopped reading for now. He decided to look at it later.

He quickly went to the mission building and took the Earthworm mission suitable for his level. He could easily find these creatures.

The deadline was six days. They had given him enough time to complete the mission in four days and return home. If he didn't complete the mission within six days, a search warrant would be issued in his name.

Although the academy's move seemed to help his father, he could not trust anyone. His priority was his own strength. He longed to draw blood from the wolves.

Now he had made his decision. No matter what, he would absorb the bloodline power of the Moon Devouring Wolf. Since this wolf was the subject of legends and stories, there was a possibility that the Silver Moon Wolf was descended from it. In this way, it was more profitable for him to carry the bloodline power of an older and more powerful creature.

After he left the academy, he ran like crazy. He didn't care about his earthworm mission. He had to find that sneaky bastard in the forest as soon as possible!

...