With the moon rising for another day, the thirty warriors dispatched in search of Cassiel finally arrived at their destination at the gate of the east's first city, Armatia.
.....
.....
Armatia, the city of warriors. It was considered to be the strongest city in all of Rampiel, reason being, it was personally overseen by many high ranking members of the family Exanimus, the royal family of warriors.
The royal family Exanimus, the family of warriors, was officially ranked as the second strongest royal family after the Aion family's exile, being closely followed by the royal family Sombre, the family of magic.
.....
As small gusts of wind passed through the air, the pinkish-grey grass would flutter, shining under the moonlight, before being covered in shade as the Thirty Sanguine Blades traveled along the path, now only a couple meters away from the city gates, before a voice called out.
"HALT!"
It was a guard with dark, shining grey armor, trimmed with a deep red crimson color, wielding a spear in matching palette.
"Where is it you all travel from? There aren't many refugees we see that wear matching outfits..." The guard questions.
There's a moment of silence, before Albus steps forward, his hands meeting together as he bows his head slightly.
"Greetings, we are from Kotor, the capital."
The guard's expression and demeanor instantly change, as if he's threatened.
"...We... are not refugees." Albus continues, choosing his words carefully.
"Then?" The guard questions, his eyes narrowing.
"Reserves."
"Reserves?"
"Yes, we're reserves sent from Kotor, we've seen human ships traveling along the south coast, they seemed to be heading towards the far east, have the messengers not been here to warn your lord previously?" Albus states confidently, leaving no room for error.
This revelation has the guard completely taken aback.
"I-Um... I only was put on this post a few days ago..." The guard responds nervously.
"I see, that must be why... we're here to meet your lord, are we allowed to come in?" Albus continues, not giving the guard time to think about it.
"Yes... Yes you can go along now." The guard responds by bowing his head, before turning around.
"OPEN THE GATES!" He orders.
With the gates opening, Albus, along with the twenty-nine other warriors walk in confidently, not one of them losing composure.
After walking for a while longer, a couple of the warriors burst out laughing.
"A-Albus! How were you able to perform such an act!" One of the guards asks, laughing like a fool.
"Confidence, that's all you ever need." Albus responds, keeping his head forward to not show his prideful smirk.
.....
Continuing to walk through the city, the troupe quickly took notice of the quality.
The pavement was rough and cracked all over, most of the buildings had moss growing out of the bricks, there was a foul stench coming from every corner, people looked depressed, starved, and ill, and to top it off, there were multiple obscenities happening everywhere.
Had it been robbery, assault, harassment, or kidnapping, there wasn't anything the troupe believed to have not seen.
Most of the warriors were disgusted by the behavior, some even making small gags, but others, the stronger warriors in the troupe, kept their heads leveled as they moved forward, not daring to bat an eye anywhere, knowing their goal was only to retrieve their king.
With Albus leading the warriors, he realized how bothered some of them were, even without turning around to see it himself.
"...Everyone, eyes forward, you all need to remember, we aren't here for the people, that's the job of our king."
The bothered warriors' gaze all turn to Albus, most realizing he's right, the normal civilian's problem isn't theirs to deal with.
Some, however, didn't see the situation eye to eye, their sense of justice for their race was unyielding.
This small incident would be the starting cause of the soon to be civil war within Rampiel's entirety.
.....
As they continued to walk, most of them with their eyes set forward, they got ever closer to the city castle which was built in the northern part of the city.
With them getting closer, it was also obvious how much better the living situation was.
Paths were paved nicely, walls were clean, everyone wore nice clothing, there were no signs of bad behavior, and there were soldiers guarding just about everywhere.
This enraged some of the warriors.
They didn't believe in the wealthy getting protection and cleanliness benefits during one of the most brutal wars to ever surface.
They believed everyone should be in this together, united as a race, under one king.
This all made one warrior in particular, Thern, the troupe's strongest warrior besides the nobles and Albus, extremely angry.
However, just as he was about to speak up, they had arrived at the city castle, where the lord stood outside, awaiting their arrival.