Emperor's Reckoning

After a silence, the line knights started to chuckle as their shoulders shook their armors. The clattering noise filled the entire island. Every one of the opposing sides laughed but one.

The black knight didn't show any expression as he looked at him. He had experienced far more battles than his subordinates. He had met powerful people than his own. He knew what the characteristic of such people had and Lyon had checked all of the lists.

One of the wyverns flying above was ridden by an archer from the same armada. He twitched his mouth seeing the arrogant young man below him that stood unfazed against the show of might that they performed. 

(Cocky bastard...) thought the archer as he slowly reached out of an arrow from his quiver. He carefully guides the wyvern a bit farther behind the others before he nocked the arrow on the string of his bow. The wyvern opened up its wing as it maintained the altitude before the archer took a peek beside its neck. Adjusting his cheeks and aligning his view on the target, he closed his right eye. Guided by the point of the arrow he smiled as Lyon's nape was wide open.

(The perfect blindspot!) thought the archer with a smile on his face.

"Your choice will determine the life of your whole subordinates," said Lyon with an overabundance of confidence. His hair was fluttering freely against the wind as if nature was his own mother.

The black knight crossed his arms as his emotion was hidden under the helmet. He was not provoked by Lyon's taunt but his mind was in a conflict. Though how he behaved and how the aftermath of what the Andro Kingdom was, was clear as day, judging by his cultivation level, it was not a possible feat.

(Magic Items? If it's so then they must have been exhausted by now but that smile of his).

Without shifting his neck, he noticed one of his archers was not inside the formation they were usually in. With his experience, he knew what that subordinate of his was intending to do. 

The others looked at his allies with chuckles but kept quiet nonetheless. They keep their own thoughts for their own. 

(Die..) thought the archer before a voice rang inside his head.

(Don't kill him, we need him alive).

The archer raised his eyebrows before he understood whose voice it was. "Yes, commander."

(Then disabling him is an option that I don't mind) thought the archer as he pointed his arrow against Lyon's right back. He let go of the nock with a proud smile.

"?!"

The moment he released the nock, the moment where the arrow didn't even leave the bow. The young man he was targeting actually looked right back at him with a glance and a smile. His eyes opened wide as the arrow left the bow. The metallic point of it was breaking the wind with a swoosh as it shot toward Lyon unhindered.

*thuck

The arrow hit the ground and was embedded in it. The ground was made of solid stone yet the arrow managed to penetrate it. The nock was trembling post the impact amidst the silence. The wyvern ridders and the line knights were taken back as the arrow was missing the target. The formers were about to laugh at their teammate before they realized that the case was not about missing the target.

(Impossible) muttered the archer as his eyes opened wide against the figure in front of him. Time seemed to slow down as his teammates felt an absurd weight on their necks as they tried to glance south. The lining knights couldn't keep up with the figure's movement let alone those the figure was flying against.

(Are you saying, he is faster than my arrow?!) his mind screamed as a spinning kick was coming to his face.

The sound of an armor clanking was heard before a loud boom broke the archer's and his ride's eardrums. The impact caused distress to all the wyverns as they frantically moved away from the scene while the archer and his wyvern fell to the ground. 

The line knights froze as they saw what's happening in the sky. Their proud commander actually had to step in and intervene hands-on. 

The black knight was holding Lyon's right kick by his forearm. The two were pushing one another but Lyon had his arms crossed the whole time with a smirk on his face. 

"You are probably more capable than that guy that wore a royal coat," said Lyon.

"King Loewe?" muttered the black knight.

"Don't know, he had an Imp as his guide."

The black knight turned silent and didn't let out a comment before he pushed the kick away. He understood right away that Loewe died by Lyon's hand considering all the proof of destruction and the contest of strength he just made. (His cultivation is far below mine but his power is the real deal, not to mention his age).

"I humbly invite you to meet our emperor, please," the black knight bowed.

His act surprised all of his subordinates. They never knew what's on the commander's mind but they didn't dare to question it. Bowing to the enemy was a smack to the empire's face but when the leader was the one doing it, it's a different matter. 

Lyon raised his eyebrows, "Now this is a surprise, first time I see this one."

(A trap? Quite possibly) thought Lyon, but the curiosity inside his heart was far greater than what traps lied ahead. 

"You know I killed one of your kings, right?" asked Lyon.

"I only act on orders, vengeance is not something I'm a slave to," answered the black knight.

Lyon smiled, "What does he want from me?"

"The answer only lies in his majesty's mind."

Lyon shook his head with a smile before he descended down. With his hands behind his head, he walked forward toward the beach, "Tuey we are going on a trip."

"Eh?" the latter responded.

The black knight raised his hand, "Get ready to set sail."

The people were dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events that the knights still couldn't get around to what's happening as their hands were on deck.