Chapitre 9: Short Spar

In an area within the castle designated for training, a shirtless bearded man was swinging a sword repeatedly. His greying black hair was wet with sweat and his bulging muscle contorted with every move. With every swing, the air made a mini sonic boom that swept the dust in the floor. The man was, of course, the King's own right-hand man, Braum.

The General of the military, Tobias Williams, suddenly entered the training room as well.

"General Tobias, are you going to train as well?" Braum smiled while wiping his sweat with a towel.

"Teacher! Please don't call me with such a formal title!" General Tobias replied with a nervous face.

"Why not? That's your official title. Our relationship as master and student was a thing of the past." Braum replied.

"B-but still! I can't have that!... Teacher, why don't you go back to the military? I think this is a time when we need your leadership the most. After all, you're the legendary—"General Tobias' words were cut off.

"Tobias." Braum's voice turned serious.

"Y-yes Teacher!" General Tobias became nervous. Braum's demeanor started to turn back to the one he had when he was training Tobias.

"I trained you to become a general. You were also perfectly qualified to go to the frontlines but I had you stay in the castle, didn't I?" Braum said.

"Y-yes! May I ask why, teacher?" Tobias inquired.

"That's a reason you'll have to figure out yourself. You'll figure it out. As for why I'm not going to lead the military anymore...King Adrian needs me. Hahaha. I know that boy is now always acting tough and mighty so that he appears as a dignified King but I know deep inside he's still not up-to-par. I must guide him until he's a true King." Braum replied.

"I...see. I understand, teacher." General Tobias responded. There was an awkward silence for around ten seconds.

"Tobias. Ready your sword. We'll train together." Braum threw his towel away and picked up his sword.

"Yes! It's been a long time teacher." General Tobias took off his shirt uniform as well. His bald head with a muscular body was a sight to behold.

CLANG!

In a flash, Braum was already in front of General Tobias.

"Ugh! You have not grown weaker with age, teacher!" General Tobias was struggling to hold his sword.

"What did I tell you about pointless conversations in the middle of a fight? You'll get yourself killed in a real battle. Now fight." Braum took a step back and charged again.

The two exchanged sword at an unimaginable speed. The ground around them started to shake and the arcs of their sword swings were visible to the naked eye, that was how impressive he was. After a while, both of their swords broke in half at the same exact time.

"Hah! We can't have a real fight with a training sword, teacher!" General Tobias said while inspecting his broken sword.

"If we have a real fight, there won't be a castle here anymore." Braum smiled.

"Should we continue, teacher? I'll get a stronger sword if you want." General Tobias said.

"No. It's time I attend the King. The meeting with the elves is tomorrow. We must prepare everything." Braum said seriously.

"Alright. I will see you later, teacher." General Tobias said goodbye to Braum and he left.

"Teacher hasn't changed at all...I must also get stronger as the final General of the old world." General Tobias continued his training.

"Has everything been prepared?" King Adrian was sitting down at his study room when Braum entered inside.

"The dining room has been prepared. We have finally used the final ingredients we had from the old world, but we have also started planting the seeds inside the castle grounds so hopefully we'll get more spices within the next month or so." Braum said while standing in front of the table where King Adrian was looking at documents.

"How about the escorts?" King Adrian asked.

"The knight squad who will guide the elves here have been briefed about the plan. The intelligence department will also guard them secretly" Braum replied.

"Tch. I hope the intelligence department doesn't offend the elves any further. And the scholars?" King Adrian have also summoned historians and scholars who have survived to create a presentation for the elves detailing the history of Vathria and how the kingom was previously.

"They have also been told to prepare the presentation. The mages department is assisting them with providing a new device for presenting that they have just newly completed right before the invasion of the evil forces to the capital city. It's quite fortunate that they brought one of those devices with them to the castle." Braum responded.

"Oh? A new magical device? I hope it will captivate the elves. How about the decorations and welcoming ceremony?" King Adrian had also prepare a special welcoming event for the elves. This is all in the name of friendly relations with the elves.

"Our citizens are hard at work preparing a show for the elves. It is even quite fortunate that some citizens are capable of playing musical instruments and even brought it with them! They might not be professionals but I think it would still be a good show for the elves." Braum explained.

"Oh!?" King Adrian was pleasantly surprised. He thought every artists died but as it turned out the citizens probably did not list it as their profession. "That's fantastic. Alright, we'll do a final briefing of the rundown tonight. Summon all the related parties to the meeting room." King Adrian ordered.

"As you wish." Braum did a salute and bowed in acknowledgement.

King Adrian noticed something odd about Braum that was different than usual. "You look like you're sweating, Braum. Did you run here? Take care of your health it's fine to take a break within a period of time." King Adrian said in worry.

"It is nothing, my liege. I just finished exercising." Braum said while smiling.