Capítulo 111: Book 4: Chapter 23 – Nine Great Generals
"You expect us to believe that you, a rank five warrior and mage of the third rank, were able to defeat such a powerful team all by yourself?" Chukaya snorted disdainfully, believing Ace was embellishing the truth to try and impress Amira.
It wasn't just him; even Ebeze, who already believed Ace was the strongest member of the team, found his team leader's story hard to believe. If it were only one warrior of the eighth rank and Haruol, a warrior of the seventh rank, then although surprised, Ebeze would be able to believe him.
But to defeat a squad of twenty soldiers where the weakest were at the sixth rank, and three were at the eighth rank…
It was too far-fetched for even him to believe.
"You… You're only at the fifth rank?!" Haruol asked, unable to contain his shock. "Impossible! That's Impossible!
You really are a dem-"
Before he could finish his sentence, Ace struck him behind the neck, directly knocking the man out, too lazy to listen to his rambling.
"I'm guessing that was why you brought him back with you," Amira sighed, understanding that the battlefield commanders would have similar reactions to her two fellow countrymen.
"It'd take too long to convince the commanders otherwise," Ace shrugged. "It'll be more believable coming straight from the horse's mouth."
Like that, the group set back off towards the front-line encampment with their unconscious prisoner of war.
Although they were still sceptical of Ace's tale, both Ebeze and Chukaya couldn't help doubting their doubts after witnessing Haruol's exaggerated reaction.
After Ace explained everything that had happened, the only thing their prisoner was focused on was Ace's cultivation realm. He didn't so much as bat an eyelid at what they initially assumed to be a heavy embellishment.
Ebeze knew that Ace didn't go all out in their fight, but he assumed that, at most, Ace could potentially fight on par with a warrior at the eighth rank. Never in a million years did he think Ace's combat prowess was enough to slaughter an entire team of such high-ranking warriors without getting so much as a scratch on his body.
Chukaya on the other hand, still refused to believe it. He had even convinced himself that Ace must've bribed Haruol somehow to play along with his tall tale.
If it were true, it meant that Ace was undoubtedly stronger than him despite the difference in age and cultivation realm, and that was something he couldn't accept.
After spending so much time together in the wild, both Amira and Leonel understood precisely how much of a monster Ace was.
Ebeze wasn't wrong. All things considered, Ace was only about as powerful as a rank-eight warrior. The difference between rank eight and rank nine was too big of a jump for Ace to jump even with his bloodline ability and comprehension, but with his battle IQ and experience, Ace was all but invincible beneath the ninth rank.
And even if he had to face a ninth-rank warrior, Ace could still get away without injuring himself unless that warrior had reached the' impose' boundary.
It could be said that Ace was already touching upon the very apex of the mortal realms in terms of power.
Though he wasn't with them during their training expedition in the mountain range of magical beasts, as far as Killian was concerned, there was nothing his sworn brother couldn't do. He took Ace's story in his stride. In fact, he was more focused on the spatial ring he'd received.
Like Ace in the past, he too dreamed of the day he'd be able to get his hands on a storage ring of his own. He never would've imagined that he'd get one so early on.
If it had come from anyone else, he wouldn't have been able to accept it so readily, but he had truly taken Ace to be his older brother. As such, he didn't think twice about accepting it.
It took the group another couple of hours to finally reach their destination, and when they did, their carriage was immediately ordered to stop.
Although they had come from the path of the empire, they were still at war. They couldn't afford to let intruders in, but as soon as their driver handed the guard commander the letter from the Emperor, he personally took them to the general's tent.
"General Murciel," The guard commander called out respectfully when he arrived outside the tent in the centre of the camp. "I have a group sent personally by Emperor Jordon."
As a resident, the guard commander, along with just about every soldier present, had a great deal of respect for their emperor, but the people they respected most were the Empire's nine great generals.
In times of peace or leave, the nine held the position of Duke – like Kaymin, but when on the battlefield, they were generals.
There weren't a fixed number of generals, but there were only two ways to become one. The first was to be a mage at the peak of the ninth rank.
Though the empire had its fair share of mages, the amount that made it to the ninth rank was few and far between.
Right now, they only had a total of three and only one of whom was at the peak, which went to show exactly how difficult to become a general, especially in an empire that focused mainly on the ways of a warrior.
The other way was to become a warrior who had not only reached the peak of the ninth rank but had also comprehended 'impose'.
As the Empire's saints were all lofty beings that were rarely seen by the commoners, the most powerful group the mortals of the Empire had the most interaction with were the nine great generals. As a result, though they deeply respected the various saints of their empire, they had more reverence towards the nine generals – especially here on the battlefield.
Each and every one of them was like a miniature army, able to singlehandedly sweep through hundreds of enemy combatants.
"Come in," A deep and imposing voice sounded from inside.
Like that, the guard commander respectfully opened the 'door' to the general's personal tent, which was several times the size of all the other tents surrounding it, allowing Ace and his group to enter.
In the centre of the tent sat a towering figure, who, even when sitting, was the same height as Amira.
The man had dark ebony skin and short curly black hair. He was currently just wearing a plain pair of black trousers showing off his incredibly tyrannical physique, which was littered with scars, presumably from his time on the battlefield.
With a quick sweep of his [Observation], Ace was instantly able to tell that the man was a peak rank nine earth mage and warrior of the seventh rank.
Though not quite as powerful as Duke Kaymin, he was still a monster in his own right.
"Princess Amira," General Murciel called. "It's been a long time."
"It has indeed," Amira smiled as she lowered her hood. "All of us in the Rohault Empire owe you a great deal of thanks."
Though they weren't natives of the Rohault Empire, Ace and Killian had been briefed on the high-ranking soldiers on the O'Brien warfront. As such, they knew that, for the last decade, General Murciel had taken the O'Brien war front as his home in the hopes that he could use the pressure to help him break through to the saint rank faster.
"I was just doing my job," Murciel replied respectfully.
Though he was far more powerful than Amira, as one of the most high-ranking mortals of the Empire, he knew a lot more about Amira than the ordinairy citizens.
After what happened to Aiden in the past, other than when at the Pavilion, Emperor Jordon limited the amount of time she spent outside of the palace. As a result, almost everyone in the Empire knew that their princess was one of the three most talented of the new generation, but they didn't understand exactly how talented she was, but Murciel was different.
He knew that it was only a matter of time before she reached his level of strength and even surpassed him.
Even though he was only a step away from becoming a saint, it was a step that eluded many powerful warriors and mages, some of whom were more talented than him.
Though he had no interest in politics, he still understood that showing this much respect to someone who very well may be the next Empress was only right.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, General," Chukaya said respectfully as he too removed his hood in order to greet the hulking general before him. "My master speaks very highly of you."
"Umm," General Murciel grunted and nodded before scanning the other hooded youths present.
Seeing his look, Ace, Killian, and Ebeze all lowered their hoods, respectfully greeting the general.
"So you're Ace," Murciel said as he focused his eyes on the dark-haired youth. "How's your master?"
"You know the old man?" Ace asked back.
Although he knew Aiden was from the Rohault Empire, he also knew that since meeting Arianna, his master would only return to his homeland every once in a while, so he didn't expect many of the mortals to know him personally.
"I do," Murciel smiled. "He's the reason I became a warrior in the first place.
After reaching the peak of the ninth rank as a mage, I became frustrated about my lack of progress and started becoming reckless during my time on the battlefield.
Eventually, the O'Brien Army had enough of my antics and set up an ambush. That may have been the closest I had ever come to dying in my life, but thanks to your master being in the right place at the right time, he made quick work of my attackers, including a newly ascended saint who'd been there for good measure.
After saving me, senior Aiden explained that if I wanted to improve my chances of breaking through, I should focus on warrior comprehension as comprehending impose would improve my connection to the laws of nature."
"That sounds like the old man," Ace nodded, understanding how much emphasis his master put on 'Impose', and in his defence, Ace was starting to understand why.
From Wukong and the other instructors at the pavilion, Ace knew that most warriors only understood the basics of 'impose', simply using it to augment their strength and comprehend the laws of nature. But due to the saint realm being their end goal, no one would spend time actually unearthing all its profundities, unlike his master, who had no way to become a saint.
"Next time you see him, please thank him for his advice for me," Murciel said before glancing at the unconscious man on the floor, not recognising him. "So, who do we have here?"
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Book 6: Chapter 6 – City of Gol
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