Chương 234

Silas stared at the parchment. He rubbed his tired eyes. The young clerk let out a long, heavy sigh. The golden abacus clicked loudly in the quiet room.

"We need more stone," Silas muttered. Winfred sat across the room. The old knight took a slow sip of his hot tea. He looked out the window.

"Then buy more stone, Silas."

"With what?" Silas asked. He dropped his head onto the wooden desk.

"The new housing sector took the rest of this month's budget. The witches need more alchemical ingredients. The militia needs new weapons and armor. I can't just make gold appear out of thin air." Dante sat in a padded chair near the fireplace. The elderly knight chuckled.

"You are the administrator, Silas. Figure it out."

"Someone has to figure it out," Silas grumbled. He sat up and adjusted his collar.

"Lord Rudra just buys things and leaves the receipts on my desk. Do you know how much a ton of abyssal silk costs?"

"A lot?" Dante guessed.

"Yes. A lot," Silas said. He picked up his abacus again.

"But something strange happened today." Winfred lowered his teacup.

"What is it?"

"The shipping logs," Silas said. He pulled a piece of parchment from the pile.

"Our merchant ships came into the harbor three hours early. The captains reported zero wind resistance." Winfred frowned.

"The Red Sea is always windy."

"Not today," Silas said.

"They said the water was completely flat. No storms. No rogue waves. The sea monsters didn't even come near the boats. They just swam alongside them like guards." Dante raised an eyebrow.

"That doesn't make sense."

"I know," Silas said.

"It ruins my hazard pay calculations. I had a whole budget set aside for ship repairs and mercenary fees. Now I have a surplus, and it's messing up my calculations." Winfred shook his head.

"Only you would complain about saving money." The old tactician stood up. He walked over to the window. The sky outside was bright and clear.

"Still," Winfred murmured.

"A calm Red Sea. That is..." Before he could finish the sentence, the air in the room changed. The tea in Winfred's cup rippled. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. A massive surge of blue magic pulsed outside the window. BZZZT. A loud, rushing sound echoed across the estate. It sounded like a lightning strike.

"Elysia! Mumud! Piaro! Windred! Dante! Amelda! Kentrick! Icarus! Singuled!" a loud, roaring voice boomed from the courtyard. Winfred blinked. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"I'm back!" the voice yelled.

"And I'm huge now! Come look at me!" Dante smiled and grabbed his walking stick.

"Well. It sounds like our Lord is home." Silas scrambled out from behind his desk. He grabbed his ledgers and ran for the door.

"Finally! I need him to sign these expense reports!" Winfred and Dante followed the young clerk out of the office. They walked down the stone stairs and stepped out into the main courtyard. A bright blue magic circle was fading on the cobblestones. Three figures and a giant Lion stood in the center. Kratos shook his black and gold mane. The lion looked around the yards at the knights trainees around the yard, his tail wagging so hard it generated a small gust of wind. Rudra stood next to him.

He wore his usual black trench coat. He rested a dark, crackling staff on his shoulder. He looked tired, but he was smiling. Standing behind Rudra were two strangers. An old man with a scarred face and a jagged spear. And a serene woman with a white cloth tied over her eyes. A dozen young, newly recruited knights training in the courtyard startled, drawing their steel swords in perfect unison.

But as the dust settled and the light faded, they recognized the black coat and the crackling dark staff resting casually on the intruder's shoulder, their tension vanished."" Lord Rudra!"" The young soldiers quickly sheathed their swords. They dropped to one knee, bowing their heads. Rudra waved his free hand.

"Hey guys. Keep practicing. You look good." Winfred walked forward. He was happy to see his Lord. But as he got closer, his breath hitched. He stopped walking. Dante stopped right beside him. The elderly knight gripped his walking stick/sword tightly. Rudra wasn't doing anything.

He was just standing there but his recent adventures of fighting a Great Demon, a mutated Storm Serpent and completed the 15 trials for the Champion which included facing the pressure of gods, fighting a near Legend and a phantom of an Ancient Legend. Without even Rudra noticing the air around him felt incredibly heavy. It pressed down on Winfred's shoulders like a lead blanket. Winfred was a seasoned veteran. He had fought the strongest knights in the empire. But looking at Rudra now made his instincts scream.

The young man didn't look like a simple warrior anymore. He felt dangerous. He almost felt comparable to the Dukes of the Empire. Rudra's core stats were pushing near four thousand now, and his other stats were even greater. And not to mention the fact that he could sense both divine and demonic Power from his Lord now which were conflicting. Winfred swallowed hard. He forced himself to take another step forward. He pushed through the heavy pressure and offered a crisp bow.

"Welcome home, My Lord," Winfred said.

"Hey, Winfred," Rudra smiled. He didn't notice the old knight sweating.

"Good to see you." Silas ran up. He seemed to completely ignore Rudra's heavy pressure. He only cared about paperwork.

"My Lord!" Silas gasped. He shoved a stack of papers toward Rudra.

"You are back. I need signatures. The Siren trade route brought in too much wealth. The witches requested more funds for their Alchemy. Alex, our new Head Blacksmith is requiring more iron ores as he has already forged all of our stock. The number of documents that need your approval are piling up."

"Give me a second, Silas," Rudra laughed. He pushed the papers down gently.

"Let me introduce my guests." Rudra pointed to the scarred old man.

"This is Thalassa, the Chief of the Orca Archipelago." He pointed to the blindfolded woman.

"And this is Neria, the High Priestess of the Asterion Temple." Thalassa grunted. He gripped his spear and looked around. His single eye narrowed at the tall stone walls and the armed guards.

"Too much stone. Not enough water. You mainlanders live in cages." Winfred raised an eyebrow.

"It is a fortress, Chief. We value security."

"The sea provides its own security," Thalassa said flatly. Neria tilted her head. She turned toward the tall spires in the distance.

"I sense a great deal of magic here. It is very dense. It feels... restless."

"That's just the witches," Rudra said.

"And we have a strong magician as well." Silas cleared his throat loudly. He tapped his abacus.

"My Lord. The ledgers. Please. The Siren wealth is sitting in the vault, and we need your approval to allocate the funds." Rudra sighed.

"Fine, fine. Give it here. But in the future you have my permission to approve all my documents in my absence."