Chapter 30: The Black Dragon Trials Begin

The first rays of dawn spread across Blackwood.

For the first time in decades...

The territory was alive.

Smoke rose from hundreds of campfires.

Warriors sharpened swords.

Archers checked their bowstrings.

Mercenaries laughed over breakfast.

Former knights polished old armor they hadn't worn in years.

More than sixteen hundred applicants had camped outside Blackwood Manor overnight.

No one wanted to lose their place.

No one wanted to miss the beginning of the trials.

On the balcony overlooking the massive training grounds, Kael stood beside Darius.

From above...

The crowd looked endless.

Lily walked onto the balcony carrying a fresh report.

"More people arrived during the night."

"How many now?"

She checked the parchment.

"One thousand eight hundred and eleven."

Walter whistled.

"We're going to need more food."

Edwin smiled.

"We already prepared."

He pointed toward the fields.

Nearly thirty cooking stations had been built overnight.

Rows of tents stretched toward the nearby forest.

Water wagons stood ready.

Medical stations had been established.

Everything was organized.

Kael nodded with satisfaction.

"A trial isn't just about testing warriors."

"It's about proving Blackwood can organize thousands without chaos."

Darius glanced sideways at him.

"You're thinking like a ruler."

A massive bronze bell stood at the center of the training grounds.

Bram rested one hand on its wooden beam.

He looked toward Kael.

"Whenever you're ready."

Kael nodded once.

Bram swung the log.

BOOOOOOOOOONG!

The sound rolled across the valley.

Conversations stopped instantly.

Nearly two thousand people turned toward the balcony.

Silence followed.

Kael stepped forward.

His voice wasn't magically amplified.

Instead...

The entire crowd had become so quiet that every word carried.

"My name..."

"...is Kael Asterion."

"I am the Tenth Prince of the Empire."

"I am also the Lord of Blackwood."

His eyes swept across the crowd.

"I won't waste your time with promises."

Murmurs spread.

"I won't promise glory."

"I won't promise riches."

"I won't promise survival."

The crowd became quieter.

"What I will promise..."

"...is fairness."

"If you earn your place..."

"You will stand beside me."

"I don't care if you're a farmer."

"A noble."

"A mercenary."

"A former criminal."

"A foreigner."

"A beastman."

Or...

His eyes settled briefly on Grom.

"...a goblin."

Gasps spread through the applicants.

"In Blackwood..."

"...merit decides your worth."

"No one is born above another."

"No one is born beneath another."

"You will prove yourselves."

"Not through your family name."

"But through your actions."

A noble wearing polished silver armor stepped forward from the crowd.

His expensive cloak fluttered behind him.

"My Prince."

His tone was polite.

Too polite.

"My name is Lord Victor Ravenshade."

"Third son of House Ravenshade."

He bowed just enough to appear respectful.

"May I ask a question?"

Kael nodded.

"You may."

Victor smiled.

"If birth no longer matters..."

He looked directly toward Grom.

"...why should loyal Imperial nobles stand beside monsters?"

Several noble-born applicants applauded.

Others looked uncomfortable.

The commoners remained silent.

Waiting.

Kael didn't answer immediately.

Instead...

He walked down from the balcony.

Across the training grounds.

Until he stood directly before Victor.

The two young men faced each other.

Victor was taller.

Broader.

Confident.

"I'm waiting for your answer."

Kael smiled.

"I'll give you one."

He slowly turned toward the crowd.

"How many people here have lost family to monsters?"

Hundreds of hands rose.

Kael nodded.

"I have."

The crowd looked surprised.

"How many have lost family because of corrupt nobles?"

This time...

Even more hands rose.

Victor's smile faded.

Kael continued.

"So tell me..."

He looked directly into Victor's eyes.

"Which monster are we talking about?"

The field fell silent.

"No race owns virtue."

"No race owns evil."

"I judge individuals."

"Not blood."

Grom crossed his arms.

For the first time...

There was unmistakable respect in his eyes.

Darius stepped forward.

His voice boomed across the grounds.

"The First Trial..."

"...is not strength."

Confusion spread.

"If you expected a tournament..."

"You've already failed."

He pointed toward the mountains visible in the distance.

"The first trial..."

"...is a march."

Several mercenaries laughed.

"A walk?"

"That's it?"

One burly man grinned.

"I've marched for weeks."

Darius smiled.

"So have I."

Then his expression hardened.

"You will march..."

"...eighty kilometers."

The laughter stopped.

"In two days."

"With forty kilograms on your back."

"No magic."

"No mounts."

"You will carry your own food."

"Your own water."

"And your own equipment."

If one member of your assigned squad falls behind...

"The entire squad fails."

Shock rippled through the crowd.

"That's impossible!"

"I'm not carrying someone else's pack!"

"What if they're injured?"

Darius' gaze became as cold as steel.

"Then carry them."

Silence.

Kael finally spoke again.

"The Black Dragon Banner..."

"...will never abandon its own."

"If you cannot help the person beside you..."

"You are not worthy of wearing it."

The system appeared before Kael alone.

"Main Quest Progress"

The Black Dragon Banner

Objective:

Recruit 50 worthy warriors.

Current Progress:

Leadership Phase Initiated

New Evaluation Criteria Added:

✔ Selflessness

✔ Discipline

✔ Endurance

✔ Leadership

✔ Integrity

Strength remains only one part of the evaluation.

Kael dismissed the screen.

Below him...

Nearly eighteen hundred applicants were already being divided into squads.

Some smiled confidently.

Some complained loudly.

Others quietly helped strangers adjust their packs before the march had even begun.

Kael noticed those people first.

Because Darius had been right.

The greatest soldiers weren't always the strongest.

Sometimes...

They were simply the ones who refused to leave anyone behind.

Far away, standing beneath the shade of a lone oak tree, Grom watched Kael with folded arms.

Then, for the first time all day...

The old goblin smiled.

"...Perhaps," he muttered to himself, "the boy really can build an empire."