Chapter 28: Valthorians

The old man straightened his back, eyes were glimmering with respect. A smile crept on his lips as he maintained a peaceful distance between him and Emil.

A sigh left Emil’s mouth as he asked. "What are Valthorians?" Curiosity dripped from his tone.

The old man’s brows furrowed; he looked genuinely confused. He extended his hand, marking every single person who was present there. "We all are Valthorians."

"I figured that much already; I know that it’s a race. But what kind of race is it?"

"We were once warriors, but those days are behind us. We’ve found peace, and we have no desire to pick up our weapons or stain our hands with blood ever again."

Emil’s temple curled as he glanced at Atlas from his shoulder, then asked politely. "Why is Atlas still fighting now?"

The old man’s gaze fell upon Atlas, and he immediately bowed his head in respect before looking back at Emil. "They aren’t like us. They’re still warriors, and not just any warrior. He’s the Captain of the First Division, Atlas."

"The rest of us are now normal civilians; we quit being warriors almost a century ago. But we waited patiently for the arrival of the heir, and finally you’ve blessed us with your presence." The old man bowed his head once again in pure respect.

Emil’s brain couldn’t fathom even a single thing he said, and numerous thoughts were flooding his mind endlessly. ’First Division? Are there more divisions? Why did Atlas never tell me about this?’

A man made his way towards the old man; he carried a huge bowl, which was filled with a shiny liquid. It seemed to be some sort of drink.

Emil was still lost in his imaginary world before the old man’s voice pulled him out of that state. "Please have some of this."

Emil glanced at the man and then at the bowl. He didn’t think more and simply grabbed the bowl and gulped it more and a single mouthful. He wiped the faint trail of drink that shimmered over his chin as he let out a long, satisfied exhale. "Hehhh... That... what’s this? I can’t feel anything while drinking it. That has no taste at all."

His words made the others blink in sheer confusion because to them it was pure delicacy, but no one dared to question Emil’s taste.

Atlas stepped forward; he grabbed the bottle, which was filled to the top with the same liquid. He raised it to his lips and tilted it back, emptying the entire bottle in one go while savoring its flavor.

A smile appeared on Emil’s face looking at Atlas chug the whole bottle in a single breath, but it didn’t last long.

A bit of the liquid dripped over his chin, which rolled down to his chest. But it didn’t matter enough because his entire focus was on the flavor. After finishing the entire bottle, he wiped the trail of it from his body as he let a satisfied exhale from his mouth. "This is good." He handed over the empty bottle. "Another."

The moment Atlas’s words fell in Emil’s ears, his eyes widened entirely as his jaw loosened. He had never imagined that Atlas could talk because he had never heard him do so. He was purely stunned by the sudden reveal that he questioned right away. "Atlas!! You can speak?!" Emil exclaimed.

The bottle still rested in Atlas’s grip; he had directed his hand forward to hand over the bottle. But his attention shifted towards Emil; he instantly knelt down in front of him, gaze fixed at the ground. "I can, heir."

"I never got any chance to prove my loyalty through my words; my prowess was enough to do so." He said, voice dripping with sheer loyalty.

Atlas’s words brought a faint smile to Emil’s face. He wasn’t upset in the slightest. If anything, the look in his eyes showed nothing but satisfaction.

"Very well. You don’t have to speak if you don’t want to," Emil said with a light chuckle. "But you could’ve at least told me you could speak. I won’t lie... that caught me completely off guard."

"My utmost apologies, heir. I’ll never keep anything in the dark from you ever again." Atlas said firmly.

"Now don’t make me feel ashamed in front of these many people, and get back up."

Atlas didn’t waste time; he straightened his back. His colossal battle axe which was kept next to him, he gripped his fingers next to its shaft and lifted it.

"So there aren’t any warriors who can fight beside Atlas?" Emil asked the old man.

The old man looked at the beastmen around him, a faint smile on his face. "No, Heir. We are all retired warriors. The strength and prowess we once carried have long faded. Now, we’re nothing more than ordinary people living peaceful lives."

Emil didn’t force any of them to fight for him because he didn’t want to pull retired soldiers from their retirement. He noticed the calluses on their hands, the scars which were on their front body.

’Yeah, it’s better to be with Atlas only than forcing these people to fight... I’d rather be a weak summoner than being a dictator.’ Emil said inwardly.

He was about to turn and leave alongside Atlas, but before he could move, the old man’s voice resonated through his ears. Emil turned back to match his gaze.

"I’ve some more things to tell you about, heir." He took a small pause before continuing.

"Please wait and stay with us for the time being, and also let us treat you to a banquet. Everyone here waited for centuries to finally be able to meet you." He said politely.

Emil’s gaze swept across each one of them; their eyes were filled with an unimaginable glow as if they were pleading with him to say ’yes’.

’Banquet? I didn’t feel any flavor from that drink, and now bland food? I’m not a huge fan of such food... but I can’t say no to them when they’re looking at me with such pleading eyes.’

Soon, all the beastmen present there walked towards an enormous fountain, and from its head, shiny liquid was overflowing into the pits that were alongside the fountain.

The water was travelling back inside the fountain through a small circuit which was placed just below it; the water was magically getting sucked to the top and getting used to spray once again.

A spree of thoughts appeared inside Emil’s mind. ’That’s a wonderful technology. How did these people learn this? I’d definitely want to see if there are more wonders like this in here.’

Atlas was walking right beside Emil; he stood taller than the others, which made him the odd one out. His battle-axe was gently resting on his shoulder, and his eyes were fixed in front.

Several houses stood before him, some larger than others. Each had polished terracotta windows, and the sounds of people talking drifted from inside.

Suddenly, everyone’s march came to a halt, which made Emil raise a brow because they all had stopped at a very particular place.

’Why did we stop here? Literally, we’re in the middle of the road, and there are people living here,’ he said inwardly.

Emil was lost in his thoughts, but a loud roar of a blowing horn erupted through his ears, which pulled him out of his imaginary world.

His gaze shot to his back, where a beastman was blowing the horn at the top of his lungs; his cheeks were completely puffed.

Emil’s eyes widened; confusion devoured him whole. ’What the hell is he doing right now!?’

Doors of the houses opened instantly; people living there stepped out. Beastmen, beastwomen, and even the kids. They all made their way towards the old man and the rest of the population.

A huge smile was glued on their faces as if they had heard spectacular news.

Emil looked around him once, then at Atlas. A smile was on Atlas’s face, which he had never seen until now; to him, it felt like he was looking at an entirely different being. ’Is this the same Atlas I know? This man never smiled until now; he always carried that stoic look, and now... why?’

"Everyone, the day has finally come," the old man said, his tone filled with enthusiasm. "The heir has finally arrived in our city!! Today no one will work because it’s time to celebrate this day!!" He exclaimed loudly.

For Emil, this situation was more confusing than welcoming because he still hadn’t comprehended that he was an ’heir’, and now they all were celebrating because he had finally arrived in the city.

He took one deep breath as he composed himself. The noise of people, the loud roars of happiness, the loud chants of the title ’heir’. He didn’t want to ruin this occasion which everyone was celebrating so dearly.

A smile crept onto his lips, and he crossed his arms and finally said out loud. "So, what’s for a meal?"

Everyone who had been celebrating turned to look at Emil when he spoke those words. An eerie silence fell over the surroundings for a while, but then even louder chants echoed.

Emil’s expression hardened, convinced he had done something wrong. In reality, the exact opposite was true. The noises gradually increased with time; some of them had started to whisper among themselves.

"The heir definitely talks like a warrior."

"As expected from him, his spirit is burning with fire already."

"Let’s throw a huge buffet in front of him and feed him as much as we can."

His gaze was fixed on them, but instinctively he gulped. ’The way they all are built, I’m damn sure that they’ll eat tonnes of food. And if I don’t match their pace... I’d get called out for that.’

Time passed, but the scenery didn’t change. The sun was still on the horizon, spreading its golden rays across the land. A hot breeze of air flowed through the surroundings, which helped soothe the sweat slightly.

Purely white clouds covered the blue sky, covering some parts of the ground, which helped animals residing near the civilisation find shelter.

Emil noticed that some beastmen travelled towards them carrying huge sandworms which seemed to be over twenty metres long on their shoulders. They were purple in colour, and long teeth were sticking out from their jaws. Their hard shells, which had once seemed indestructible, were now covered in cracks and deep dents.

His jaw dropped as he wiped the sweat off his eyes to see if he was imagining things, but eventually, he wasn’t. ’What the fuck!? Their size is so huge that I’m definitely sure those monsters aren’t below level hundred at least... and these people are carrying them single-handedly?’ He screamed inwardly.

They dropped the sandworms on the ground; small particles of sand erupted the moment their skin made contact with the sand. The ground shook as a huge roar echoed throughout the city for a few seconds. Yet everyone around him remained firmly in place as if nothing had happened. But Emil had stumbled slightly from the sudden tremor.

A hand rested firmly on his shoulder, which helped him stand back perfectly. Emil’s gaze shifted towards the person it belonged to, and he spotted Atlas.

A smile appeared on Emil’s face; he gently patted Atlas’s hand. "Mate, you helped me save my face in front of all these people."

Atlas nodded once before standing back normally. Both Emil and Atlas waited patiently as they watched the beastmen rip through the bodies of sandworms.

The shells were removed; pink-coloured, delicate skin was hidden behind them. On the other side, a few of them were breaking the shells and forming them into a sharp knife to cut through the meat.

Emil noticed that they weren’t using any tools to sharpen them, but their own skin. This situation made him take a step backwards; confusion fell over him as he grabbed his temple and caressed it slightly.

’What the heck!? They’re retired warriors, I can understand that much... But how the fuck is their skin strong enough to sharpen this shell? It looks sturdy enough that even if I struck it with all my strength, I doubt I’d leave so much as a dent.’

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I Don’t Know Why, But I Wanted To Make This Chapter Long... Absurdly Long!!