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‘Imperial knight,’ Noah noted inwardly, walking forward to meet the group of five. Traversing the rugged corridor, the knights stopped before him, while his group came behind him.

“Knights of our nation, we welcome you,” Noah gave a professional bow and James who seemed to be the leader of the group stepped forward, his armor clinking whilst it shone with tens of powerful inscriptions.

“It is an honor to meet a member of the great guilds. We have heard of the feats your guildmates have achieved,” James bowed also, finding the blankness of the silver and white-haired man’s voice interesting.

Straightening their backs, both experts gazed into each other eyes and Noah took note of the changes in James’s features.

His hair had grown longer than before and he packed it in a simple ponytail. Lines of fatigue and stress existed on his still youthful features. He now looked close to his thirties.

James possessed a mature vibe to himself, and the air of confidence his figure emitted showed how much he had grown. He had also gotten stronger.

Unfortunately, Noah would not consider him on par with the monsters he’s met, but his old friend possessed above-average prowess. Noah would need the eyes of the death lord to know more. 𝙚𝙤𝙫𝙚𝒍.𝒐𝙧𝙜

Glancing over James’ shoulder, Noah nodded at the others, two women and two men plus James making five in total.

The air almost turned awkward during those seconds so Noah spoke again.

“Come, we’ve made food,” he announced, gesturing at the rest of the corridor.

They left for the hall at that point and all of them sat before it.

Noah’s side possessed all his group members, including Erolia, he had made her wear a mask also.

Unfortunately, the air grew silent and a bit dull, and it was time for James to speak.

“My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself,” he stood, and the others stood also, startling Noah’s group a bit.

“I am James, a simple imperial knight of the royal family. Even though my power fell short of the average level, the royal council was gracious enough to give me this esteemed title and position,” he explained the reason for his turquoise armor.

James remained the only imperial knight among the five others, the others donned yellow armors speaking of their normal knight-ship.

“This is Erod, Mako, Vivia, and Quella.” he gestured at the four others and they bowed their heads.

Erod was a man who looked to be in his late thirties he had short black hair and a pair of softly glowing purple eyes. His eyes complemented his dark skin and good looks, and the calm outlook he possessed spoke of his experience. He wasn’t an imperial knight, but he was the strongest of the group.

Mako looked the oldest in the group, seemingly nearing his fifties. He possessed long brown hair and a pair of black eyes. His soft smile at James’ introduction revealed the lines of stress and aging.

Noah believed the man had spent years stagnant in power since that was the only explanation for his aged look despite his power. He felt weaker than James.

Vivia and Quella were sisters, fraternal twins to be exact. They both possessed long blonde hair, fair skin, and a pair of blue eyes. However, Quella looked far prettier than her sister, even if she lacked the same incredible strength her sister possessed.

Both were twins but Vivia held a far more mature vibe than her sister, they also both looked around their early thirties.

Vivia was stronger than James but weaker than Erod. Essentially the second strongest. The third being James. Mako and Quella felt equally matched.

All four experts bowed respectfully when they were introduced, they did so mostly out of obligation.

Noah nodded. “I am Aiden,” he announced also bowing before doing the same as James. Introducing his group that is. He left Erolia out, but none could question him.

Soon all the formalities were done and they could sit and eat. Needless to say, the need for them to speak about their mission came and they did just that.

Since the group from the royals held useful knowledge they could only wait and listen whilst James laid out the information gathered.

“This is quite a bit,” Noah commented, staring at the series of unfolded scrolls before him. He played with his mask even if he kept it on.

“Yes,” James replied, still curious about Aiden’s full face.

“We managed to get this only thanks to a few individuals who remained amongst them that hate the rule of the order. Unfortunately, we do not have the type of power to free them of the order’s rule. Or the vile families that betrayed us.” James explained, his tone speaking of how much he cared about such issues.

Hearing James last words almost made Noah shake his head. Ironic how one that had betrayed another spoke wrong about others who did the same. Hypocrisy.

“Well, we have enough to aid us in this mission properly. I believe we can move out tomorrow,” Noah stated uncaring about the fact that he sounded like their leader. He was the strongest.

They all nodded having spent about an hour going over the info the royals had gotten.

“I wish us all good luck,” Noah announced abruptly standing, his action startled them. “I apologize but we will be leaving now.”

Erolia stood with him and they both left before any more words could be spoken. Noah’s group felt lost at that scene. His sudden change had been very confusing, even more so that he seemed to not care much about the opinion of an imperial knight.

Those 17 individuals were left in awkward silence, thankfully Cora summed up her courage and addressed the knights.

She based her confidence on the fact that Noah promised to ensure their safety and his ability to do whatever he wanted even before the face of such authority made her feel safe. In truth, they all did, even if it was hard getting used to.

Noah and Erolia arrived inside a room and Erolia finally pulled off her mask and she revealed her worry.

“Noah…” She furrowed her brows in difficulty.

“Sit Erolia, let me tell you a story.” Noah gently tapped the bed he sat on and she did as he said.