Of Barker and his brothers, at this point, Barker, Ankh, Boone, and Gates had all reached the ninth rank. After transforming, they had the power of a Saint. As for the third brother, Hazer, he was just one small step away from reaching the ninth rank and could break through at any moment. Of the five brothers, Barker, Gates, and Hazer had already mastered the art of ‘wielding something heavy as though it were light’.
“After my little brother’s grand wedding, we’ll head for the Anarchic Lands. With the assistance of Barker and his brothers, things will be much simpler.” Linley’s eyes glowed with an unspoken light.
Linley was extremely excited and couldn’t wait to begin his future life in the Anarchic Lands, where he would do battle against the Radiant Church.
Aside from the wonderful surprise of Boone reaching the ninth rank, everyone was also eagerly anticipating the upcoming wedding. Wharton was all smiles every day as well.
This time, Wharton and Nina would be holding their wedding ceremony in the imperial palace. The excitement and hustle bustle would far exceed the engagement ceremony.
Within a quiet courtyard.
After having finished his training, Linley sat next to a stone desk. With a flip of his hand, he retrieved a flask of fruit wine. While drinking wine, he stared forward, pondering. From the look of him, he was clearly thinking about something.
Bebe stealthily peeked at Linley.
“Swish.” Bebe suddenly scurried onto Linley’s table.
Linley was startled by Bebe. “Bebe, what are you doing?”
Bebe stood up straight, folding his claws over his chest, staring at Linley with an appraising gaze. “Based on the observations of myself, Bebe, I’ve discovered that you, Boss…are thinking lustful thoughts about love!”
Bebe spoke with the aura of absolute conviction.
Linley didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. “I’m thinking about those dear bros of mine. In a few days, it will be Wharton’s grand wedding. But Boss Yale, Second Bro, Fourth Bro…none of them will be able to come…”
Linley let out a long sigh.
“I wonder how the three of them are currently doing.” Yale, Reynolds, and George, these three dear friends of Linley, held a very firm position in Linley’s heart. Their love for each other was as deep as that of real brothers.
Reynolds wasn’t doing very well. After that short break, he had returned to the army. Even after learning of Linley’s duel with Haydson, he hadn’t had a chance to come watch.
This was because, as a soldier, he had to follow orders and procedures.
Although Reynolds was quite sloppy and lazy, when he was in the army, he absolutely was a man who would do what he said he would and who would obey orders without question.
At the borders of the Southeast Administrative Province of the O’Brien Empire, in the area south of the city of Neil [Ne’er], was the area where the O’Brien Empire intersected with the Rohault Empire. This was also a fairly chaotic area.
The Rohault Empire was located to the south of the Anarchic Lands and west of the great plains of the far east.
Due to constant warfare with the steppe riders of the great plains, the Rohault Empire had a very ferocious, martial spirit, and their armies of mounted knights were legendary for their prowess. The Rohault Empire and the O’Brien Empire constantly engaged in warfare in the area near Neil City, and the blood from those countless battles had stained the very dirt itself a dark red color in the wilderness outside the city.
“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” The strong wind howled through the wild grass, which was half the height of a man. The wild grass bent from the wind. Through it, one could see that there was a small creek nearby, where dozens of stallions were drinking water with their heads lowered.
Several dozen knights were seated on the ground, resting, while several others were maintaining a watch.
Right now, Reynolds was sitting atop a tree, his hawk-like eyes constantly scanning their surroundings. When he was in the army, Reynolds was very different from how he acted in private. Right now, he wore a deep blue armor which had a golden insignia of a flame emblazoned onto his chest. This represented that he was a member of the ‘Golden Flame Legion’, one of the elite legions of the O’Brien Empire.
And the design of his armor gave testament to his rank; senior captain.
Reynolds withdrew a watch from his breast-pocket and checked the time. “Three in the afternoon. At five, the others should have arrived.”
“Milord.” A blue-haired knight walked over with a laugh. “The Rohault Empire is currently not in a state of warfare with the O’Brien Empire. Don’t you feel that we are wasting energy by maintaining such a long watch?”
“Tiger, stop talking.” Reynolds frowned.
“Yes sir.” The blue-haired knight no longer dared to laugh.
Commanding this squadron of knights was actually a downgraded position for him as a senior captain. In total, there were three medium-sized squadrons with nine hundred people total. Right now, they had been separated into eighteen smaller squads and taken separate routes. The squad which Reynolds was leading was actually his personal squad, and a very powerful one.
He had already been in the army for quite a few years, and Reynolds had slowly risen through the ranks from common soldier to his current position.
“Although the Rohault Empire has not been in open warfare for over ten years with our O’Brien Empire, aren’t there always small skirmishes? Each year, the Empire suffers over ten thousand casualties from these border skirmishes.” Reynolds said solemnly. “And based on my calculations, it has been a very long time since a large battle. I imagine the population of the Rohault Empire has already reached its limits, and they will therefore force some battles. Thus, we must be careful.”
The meaning of warfare was very simple.
When the population rose too much and there wasn’t enough land or food to support the people, the Empires would naturally begin to war against each other. If they didn’t, the Empires would fall into internal chaos. After two Empires both suffered a high amount of casualties, the reduced population would mean that the amount of land they had was sufficient to sustain their people. Naturally, they would cease fighting.
In truth, this was one of the most basic principles.
After all, to most commoners, the most important, basic necessity was that of sufficient food and a place to live.
“Yes, milord. We will be careful.” The blue-haired knight laughed.
“Right. Milord, you previously were at the Ernst Institute with Master Linley. I heard that he fought Lord Haydson to a standstill?” The blue-haired knight said quietly.
Hearing his subordinate ask him about Linley, Reynolds couldn’t help but begin to grin.
“The only reason he suffered a slight loss was because he didn’t have enough battle-qi.” Reynolds said calmly. In his heart, Reynolds actually felt quite regretful that he hadn’t been able to go watch this life-and-death battle of his beloved bro.
Turning his head to stare westwards, Reynolds squinted his eyes due to the scorching rays of the sun. His dear brother Linley was in the imperial capital to the west.