Sorry this chapter is so late. In apology I made it a really long chp! Hope you all enjoy. Once again please feel free to tell me how yall think im doing with the story!

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“Dad!”

As the doors to the main hall were banged open, Ryther rushed in before he stopped with a confused expression. He wondered whether he had accidentally stepped into the wrong room. The view in front of him did not look like spacious and graceful main hall that he knew, but rather a battlefield.

The hall was full of officers in their armor and the important provincial officials who were scrambling between reports and the numerous maps that had been laid out. Rosland, who was in front of the largest table in the hall, surrounded by many commanding officer and receiving their reports, raised his head at the loud shout and sighed once he saw the sight of his son rushing in. After he had excused himself, he went over to where his son was catching his breath.

“..Even though I can pretty much guess what you want to ask, go ahead and say it.”

“Are we really getting invaded?!”

“No, all the city’s bells went off at the exact time for no reason at all….”

“…How big is the enemy and how much time until they get.. Ouch!! Why’d you hit me dad?!”

“You rascal, you think you’re some kind of general? Anyways, hurry up and go pack only essential items. We’re evacuating all the citizens right now so get ready to leave with Leslie and Rem.”

Even though Rosland didn’t say anything about the enemy, Ryther felt a shiver run down his spine at the severity of the issue. If it was bad enough to evacuate all of the citizens, then that meant….

“…How much time do we have to evacuate the civilians?”

“Two hours. They’ll arrive here by then. The reserves are already guiding the civilians to pack up their stuff and go to the evacuation tunnels. We’re going to have to hold them off until then.”

“You know two hours isn’t enough to evacuate everyone dad! Let me join you in defending the city”

“THEN WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO? IT’S NOT LIKE AN ENEMY ARMY OF FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND WILL STOP FOR US TO EVACUATE EVERYONE! WHAT WILL YOU, A THIRTEEN YEAR OLD WHO HASN’T EVEN TRAINED WITH YOUR BEAST SOUL, BE ABLE TO DO?!”

Ryther flinched and took a step back at the sudden outburst from his father. The hall became silent as everyone looked toward the two. Rosland immediately noticed the silence and knew he had unnecessarily snapped on his own son.

“Ryther….that.. I’m sorry I shouldn’t have snapped on you. I’m just stressed out because of everything happening..”

As he looked at his father more closely, Ryther noticed the signs of fatigue on his facial features and how stressed he was. When he really thought about it, how could his father not know about all the issues he brought up? He already had his hands full and all Ryther did was to add to his stress. Still, Ryther felt as though there had to be something he could do to help. After a few moments, an idea popped up.

“You’re right, but I can still help another way! Dad let me help the reserves evacuate the citizens at least! Before you say anything, I’m not a kid anymore and I should be doing all I can to help the people. Isn’t that what you taught me?”

“He’s right you know, Rosland. He’s not a little kid who needs to be pampered anymore. This is a good chance to have your son get some experience. Ryther’s also been training for over a year and is quite skilled in case something unexpected happened. We’re severely outmanned and need all the people we can get. ”

As those words rang out, a hand clapped Ryther’s shoulder. When he turned around, he saw that Dylan had come. A bitter expression appeared on Rosland’s face at his arrival. Dylan was right, they really were undermanned as it was and could use all the help they could get and Ryther really had progressed and was now a competent warrior who could handle his own in a situation. After he internally struggled over the decision as a parent and commander for a while, he finally relented and agreed. After he wrote an order for the reserve commander, he helplessly watched his son leave with Dylan.

As the two exited the main hall and began to head toward the reserve command, Ryther spoke out.

“Thanks for helping me out back there Dylan.”

“What you talking about? I was dead serious about what I said. Better not disappoint me, boy!”

“Haha, anyways before we go you mind if we stop to see my mom and Rem? I should at least see them.”

“You’re right. Leslie would probably kill me for sending you off without seeing her. I’m going to leave the explaining of it to you though..”

“Ha.. how are you going to leave such a difficult task to your disciple!”

Leslie was not happy at all when she first heard that Ryther was going to assist in the evacuation. It took over ten minutes for them to convince her that it would be alright before she finally agreed. While he gave a goodbye to his mom, he remembered the necklace in his pocket.

“Oh yeah, mom. Also here take this.”

“A necklace? What is it for?”

“Of course it’s for Rem’s first birthday! Keep hold of it for me alright?”

“Oh, dear…”

After the farewell with his mom and Rem, Dylan and Ryther finally left. After they asked for and received directions to where the Reserve commander was, the two walked for another five minutes before they arrived at an open area where some soldiers were huddled around a desk and map and receiving instructions.

“Alpha company, you will go to the northeastern entertainment districts and help evacuate the citizens there. Bravo company, go to the central district. Charlie company, go to the residential area and make sure there are no stragglers. Delta company, you guys are in charge of the commercial area. Don’t let the merchants block the damn roads with their goods. Echo company, you guys guide the civilians at the evacuation tunnels and make sure it doesn’t turn into chaos over there okay? Alright, are there any questions?”

“”””“Negative, sir!”””””

“Dismissed!”

As the company commanders received their orders and left, Ryther and Dylan approached the reserve commander stayed in the same place and continued to inspect the map of the city.

“Hello there, commander. Can we take a moment of your time please?”

“Oh young master, Dylan. Of course, tell me what brings you two fine gentlemen my way.”

“Hey Rob. I’ve brought lil Ryther over to help you guys out. Here’s Rosland’s orders for you.”

As Dylan said that, he handed over the parchment to the commander.

“Hm… the lord really did agree to it, huh.. Well then, not much I can say to that. Young master, it is a pleasure to work with you.”

“The pleasure is mine, commander. Also I’m not the young master anymore, just one of your subordinates for this evacuation. “

“Haha understood. Captain Meeks, come over here!”

“You called sir?”

“The young master will be joining your delta company at the commercial area. Take him to the armory and get ready to head out.”

“Roger sir! Young master, if you will follow me.”

“Understood captain. Well then Dylan, thanks for guiding me. I’ll see ya on the other side with dad and mom okay? Be careful.”

“You little punk, who do you think you’re worrying about? Make sure to take care of yourself alright? You still got a lot to learn and Leslie would kill me if you didn’t come back…”

With those words, Dylan rustled Ryther’s hair and left. After he watched Dylan disappear, Ryther also followed the commander. Once they had found a set of leather armor and helmet that fit him, the two met up with the company outside the estate. After he had given a brief instruction to his soldiers, Delta company marched out to the commercial area. What greeted them at the area, as expected though, was utter chaos.

The civilians were running around everywhere in utter confusion. Some people were even breaking down on the road in despair. The merchants, on the other hand, rushed to pack all their wares and depart with their carts. Fights also began starting as people bumped into each other or some merchants blocked a route while moving their goods.

“Haa…. First platoon! Help guide all the civilians toward the tunnels and ensure order! Second platoon! Stop those damn merchants from congesting the roads and make sure they move in an orderly fashion. Alright men, we don’t have much time until the enemy gets here. Be on the lookout for projectile fire once they do get here and protect the lives of the citizens! Any questions?”

“””””””””””””””””Negative, sir!””””””””””””””””””

“Alright, move out!”

As the soldiers moved to their position, Captain Meeks turned around and also gave Ryther some instructions.

“Young master, please supervise the first platoon soldiers and help us calm the civilians. If anything occurs, I’ll be with the second platoon moving the merchants.”

“Understood, captain.”

The next couple of hours seemed like a blur to Ryther. He constantly moved around the whole time, making sure the soldiers of first platoon didn’t have too much difficulty and stepped in when some civilians tried to argue back. The sound of battle after the first hour also didn’t help as the people began to panic. At first, it seemed as though the chaos would never end as the soldiers had difficulty setting up, but slowly as time passed, the people were brought under control and slowly moved in an orderly fashion toward the tunnels.

Just as the majority of the civilians had left and the company dealt with the final stragglers, the first projectile arrived and smashed into one of the buildings within the commercial area.

“Shit, enemy fire is coming! Men, hurry up and get the rest of the civilians out of here! Be on the lookout for enemy aerial forces! They may arrive at any moment.”

As the captain ordered, the soldiers ran around and tried to get the rest of the civilians out of the area. Even though the majority had left, there were still dozens of civilians left. Even though the men of delta company tried their best, they simply didn’t have enough time to evacuate everyone as the first batch of enemy appeared. At the sight of the enemy arriving through the air, Captain Meeks ordered his men to ready for combat.

“First platoon, call out your weapons! Second platoon, continue evacuating the rest of the civilians! We will fend the enemy off.”

Without any hesitation, the members of the first platoon rushed forward and released their soul weapons. As Ryther looked on, none of the soldiers had any hints of fear in their face, but rather determination to protect the people and their own comrades.

Ryther, on the other hand, felt quite nervous. Even though he had a lot of experience sparring with others, this was his first time in a real battle. Still, he gritted his teeth and brought forth Azuron’s Requiem. It was finally time to see whether all that training had been worth it or not.

The sight of the enemy was quite interesting to Ryther, though. As he saw the numerous people who had various types of wings on their back, he remember how his parents and Dylan had explained to him that as people strengthen their connection with their beast soul and are able to use more of their powers, they would also be able to materialize certain portions of the beast soul, for example wings, claws, tails, etc.

As the enemy neared them, some of the soldiers began to release ranged attacks at them with the help of their elemental affinity. Rocks, fire balls, wind blades, and water spikes began to fill the air as the enemies also released some barriers to protect themselves and their charges. Soon, the aerial soldiers released their counterparts who then rushed at the first platoon soldiers. First platoon, in response, bellowed in fury and rushed forward also to collide with their foes.

The battle was chaotic as the soldiers hacked and slashed at each other. It was very difficult to fight as the people constantly moved and you had to pay attention to your surrounding even while fighting someone else. On many occasions, Ryther was almost stabbed by a parried attack and he also almost stabbed a comrade a few times on accident. To add to the confusion, some of the aerial soldiers stayed in flight as they launched elemental attacks at any enemy they could find.

At the moment, the battle wasn’t going well for first platoon. They were simply outmanned and, slowly, soldier after soldier began to fall. Even with their comrades from second platoon rushing in, the difference in manpower was simply too large. Captain Meeks also had been one of the first to fall so there was discord in the ranks also.

With every turn, it felt as though Ryther either slashed at or stabbed one toward an enemy. There were simply too many nearby allies and the battlefield was such a mess that it was simply impossible for him to use any of the sword forms he was taught. As he pulled out his sword from an enemy’s body, out the corner of his eyes he noticed a boy collapsed with the rubble of one of the buildings that broke down as it was hit. After he had fought over whether to stay or help save the boy for a brief while, the latter won and Ryther rushed toward him.

As he rushed forward, he got a better glimpse of the trapped boy. The boy had a young face and looked about his age. He had silver hair and a refined jaw line. His face though, showed traces of pain as he tried to free himself from the rubble with very little success. When he noticed Ryther who had arrived and was helping remove the rubble, a flash of relief showed on his face.

“Thanks for coming to help.”

“No problem. My dad always taught me to help those in need, you know? Anyways you think you’ll be able to walk once you get out of this mess?”

“Yeah, I don’t think I broke anything, even though everything hurts like hell..Watch out behind you!”

As the boy yelled out the warning, Ryther immediately slashed behind him while he turned and stepped back. As he looked, he noticed that three enemies had been ready to ambush him from behind.

“Whew, that was close. Thanks for the warning. Well then, you’re going to have to get the rest of the rubbles off yourself. I’ll stall them as long as I can.”

With those words, Ryther charged forward. Truthfully, he didn’t have much confidence in defeating the three of them at once. Still, if he didn’t rush forward, he and the boy would both die, so with a furious roar he charged forward. At minimum, he was confident he would be able to stall for time, enough for the other boy to get out and run away.

The three soldiers sneered at the sight of Ryther charging at them before they also ran forward. Seeing that the gap between them was closing, Ryther leaned his upper body forward, almost falling to the ground before he stomped his foot and rushed forward. Surprised at the sudden acceleration in speed, the men hesitated for a moment. Taking advantage of the hesitation, Ryther aimed toward the one who was on the right and stabbed forward to his chest.

Right as Azuron’s Requiem was about to stab through the enemy’s chest, a large impact erupted through the commercial area and shook the ground, which caused Ryther to miss. As he looked up to see what caused the shaking, his vision was met with large boulders and rubble that was falling down toward where he was.

Panicked, the four all tried to flee from the dangerous area but they simply did not have enough time. As the rubble fell down around him as he fled, one finally hit Ryther in the head. As his vision slowly faded, the last thing he saw was the boy he had tried to save yelling.

’Well at least those bastards won’t get to that boy. I hope he makes it out of this alive.’

With that thought, the darkness finally overtook him and Ryther lost consciousness.

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The next time he woke up, the very first thing that came into his sight was a wooden roof. As he slowly collected his bearing, he tried to sit up only to yell in surprise as a short pain ran through his head at the action. After the pain subsided, he looked around to study his surrounding.

He was currently on a bed inside a wooden room. The room itself was simply as it only had the bed he was laying in, a chair beside the bed, and a drawer under the window inside. As he was inspected the room, the door suddenly banged open and a boy with silver hair and hazel eyes took it’s spot.

“Hey! You’re finally awake! Grandpa come, he’s awake!”

Shortly after the yelled, an older gentlemen walked into the room. The gentlemen was around five foot eight inches. Traces of grey were present in his brunette hair and beard with some wrinkles on his skin. Still, the gentlemen had a solid body that could be seen even with the loose tunic and pants he wore.

“Are you feeling alright kid? Oh, you must be wonder where you are and who I am. My name’s Shin Geum. I’m the grandfather of this little whose life you saved. He told me that you had saved him and was adamant about bringing you to heal and repay you so that’s what happened.”

“Yeah man, thanks for saving me! You could have left and saved yourself but you stayed which I really appreciate. Anyway we never got to introduce ourselves last night. My name’s Chang man. How about you?”

While Shin and Chang spoke, he couldn’t help but make a complicated expression. After he had waited a few moments, he finally answered.

“I...I don’t know. I don’t remember anything.... Saving you, who I am.... I don't remember anything!”