In one of the ports of the Kingdom of Gaia, located in the Hobbit Territory, a red-haired woman stepped off a merchant ship.
The smell of sea air still hung in the air. The woman watched the busy surroundings: merchants shouting prices, workers unloading crates and various travelers moving along the quay.
She wore a dark-brown cloak that covered most of her body, but even so the sheathed sword fastened to her waist was clearly discernible.
And, despite the heavy cloak, it was also noticeable that she was a woman of striking curves and a voluptuous body.
As she looked around, the absurd variety of races present caught her attention.
This redhead had come from the Northern Territories of the Central Continent, where there was also considerable racial diversity… but nowhere near as vast as in the Kingdom of Gaia.
In a few seconds she spotted hobbits, beastfolk, dwarves, humans, demons, and even figures she did not immediately recognize. It was as if the port were a meeting point for all known peoples.
Before she could even take a few steps through the place, a man of the Beast Race suddenly approached her, which aroused her immediate caution.
"Lady Hilda Greyrat?" he called. "I am Oigar. I am here to escort you on your journey through the Kingdom of Gaia."
Hilda widened her eyes, surprised to have been approached so quickly, practically the moment she disembarked.
"How did you know I had just arrived?" she asked, still a little stunned.
Oigar answered promptly:
"We were instructed to ensure your safety, Lady Hilda. So we knew your position since you passed through the Kingdom of Sanakia."
While he spoke, Oigar began to reflect inwardly. Lately, he had been taking on missions like that very often.
Several times he had been summoned to escort someone important who arrived in the Kingdom, and he was beginning to wonder whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Hilda, still suspicious, narrowed her eyes:
"So you were following me since then?"
"Not specifically following, but our agents were reporting your location to those ahead. You could say… we kept an eye on you."
He kept an impassive look as he added:
"Also, your current husband did not come with you and stayed in the capital of the Kingdom of Kingdragon. Is there any special reason for that?"
Hilda hesitated for a moment, but answered still suspiciously:
"He doesn't want to meet my daughter and get involved with the high echelons of the Kingdom of Gaia…"
As much as that was true, she had softened her words considerably.
The reality was that her current husband had called the high echelons of the Kingdom "genocidal monsters," and was genuinely terrified at the idea of meeting the infamous Red Lioness, Eris.
Of course, Hilda would not say that out loud. Despite being cowardly in some aspects, she liked her husband.
Oigar only nodded understandingly.
Shortly after, a carriage drawn by two horses, which were Rank-C Monsters, approached the spot where they were.
The carriage's structure was reinforced, clearly made for speed and long distances. Hilda seemed to relax a little on seeing the vehicle and after asking Oigar a few more questions to confirm travel details.
For a moment she considered refusing the escort and going alone. But, remembering her daughter's current position within the Kingdom, she realized that would be imprudent.
She had been a noble before; she knew very well that some things simply could not be refused.
And even if she refused, someone would certainly follow her closely — so it was much better to know exactly who was in charge of it.
"…Okay, then," she said finally. "Let's go already."
She entered the carriage without further hesitation.
Thus, toward the Great Forest, Hilda departed, traveling at high speed into the interior of the Kingdom of Gaia.
---
In the immensity of the Great Forest, a little beast girl sprinted among the trees at high speed.
Her eyes, ruby-red, shone with determination as she ran with a short sword in one hand.
Although she appeared to be only ten years old, her speed was considerable.
Her target was a huge lizard-monster, three meters wide, whose scaly skin was dark green. The creature rushed through the bushes fleeing while the girl pursued it.
Ruby — Rygar's little sister — seemed determined to slay the monster at any cost.
But suddenly the lizard disappeared into the vegetation.
"Heeh?!" Ruby paused for a moment, surprised.
In the next second, before she could perceive the danger, poisonous thorns were fired in her direction, launched by the tail of the creature hidden in the thicket. The speed was too great for her to react.
But then—
A violent gust of wind swept through the forest, completely diverting the shower of thorns. The impact of the gust messed up Ruby's hair, making it fly up and fall in a disordered way.
Soon after, a dry, cutting sound echoed.
SHNIK!
The sound of a blade slicing flesh.
Ruby, confused and trying to fix her disheveled hair, blinked a few times… until she heard someone calling:
"Ruby, Ruby, Ruby… didn't Aunt Selene tell you you weren't ready to hunt alone?"
Sitting comfortably on a thick branch of a tall tree was a woman of the Adoldia tribe, her legs swinging slightly.
With one hand she held a blade stained with green blood — the lizard's. In the other, she chewed a generous piece of bacon.
It was Pursena.
Ruby raised her face, irritated:
"Hmph! You can't convince me, Aunt Pursena! I've heard that my brother was already fighting dragons and slave traders when he was my age!"
Little Ruby was about to turn ten, and the more she grew, the more she understood the stories about Rygar — and how absurd he had been from youth.
Pursena sighed deeply, sliding off the branch with a light leap.
"Look… we are from the same generation as him. Do you think I don't know how incredible your brother is? He's an untouchable target, Ruby. You don't need to try to equal him or anything like that…"
Ruby puffed her cheeks, still annoyed:
"I'm not stupid! I don't want to be like him…!"
She hesitated for a moment, averting her gaze. Then she added, embarrassed:
"I just want to be a little amazing too… It doesn't have to be much. I think being like you is already fine, Aunt Pursena…"
Pursena froze as she felt the invisible blow.
A blow that hit her confidence and self-esteem directly.
That brat was saying she wasn't that amazing?!
A vein throbbed on the Adoldia's forehead. Her smile changed from friendly to malicious as she slowly approached Ruby.
"Well… you want to be like me? Fine. I think I can put you through the same special training Rygar used to put us through when we were your age… hehehehehe…"
Ruby took an instinctive step back, immediately realizing the danger.
"S-s-special training…?"
"That's right!"
Without giving her a chance to flee, Pursena leaped at her, capturing her prey easily.
---
Meanwhile…
In the Combat Temple, another young beast faced an equally cruel fate.
Linia Dedoldia ran with all her might, completely desperate, while a red-haired swordswoman advanced behind her with savage energy — an eyepatch covering the right side of her face.
"Aaaaaaaah! NO, NO! My tail! Hey! THAT'S MY TAIL…!!"
Eris Adoldia, the Red Lioness, was in top form. Linia was not "fighting." She was just fleeing, trying to avoid becoming target practice for the crazed redhead.
Many warriors watched the fight — or massacre — from the outside, commenting among themselves.
Eris had returned from the Demon Continent and was now holding a series of fights to test her skills again.
No one seemed interested in poor Linia's deplorable situation, who was being chased like a cornered little animal by a predator.
"How can you always hit me with that eyepatch?!" Linia whined as she ran.
Yes. Eris was wearing an eyepatch.
That was the favor Rygar had asked Kirishika for: a Demon Eye for Eris. That would be very useful to her in combat, and besides, Ghislaine and Verdia already possessed one, so Rygar wanted them to match — simple as that.
But she obviously couldn't use it just yet.
On the side, Clint watched, arms crossed and a bitter expression.
"Who would have thought… in less than ten years, that girl rose so much… She beat me with a single blow."
Even though Clint was a Sword Emperor, within the Combat Temple he was already beginning to be treated as an extra in the presence of the monsters of that Kingdom.
The Flash Sword, Eleonor Hangel, crossed her arms and murmured in frustration:
"At least you saw the strike! I can't even see her move anymore… this is frustrating."
Eleonor had already been a Sword King during the Milis War, still in her early twenties.
Now, approaching thirty, even with extensive training inside the Combat Temple, she simply couldn't keep up with the absurd rise of Eris and Jino.
Eris had challenged almost everyone present — and everyone lost, except Jino and Ghislaine.
Jino was the first.
Eris wanted to take first place among the Gaia Twelve Kings, but simply lost.
Jino was an explosive prodigy, driven by infinite motivation; he wanted to defeat Rygar, and for that he needed to evolve to extraordinary speed.
She pressured him, but Jino left no room for defeat.
Against Ghislaine, however, it was different.
If Eris hadn't been missing an eye, Ghislaine would have lost without a doubt.
Ghislaine herself stated that as soon as Eris got used to her new Demon Eye, she would lose without question — especially considering the nature of the Eye.
An explosive laugh echoed through the training hall.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! You are all idiots!" Ornthorn laughed, pointing at Jino.
"I'm the only one who didn't get beaten except for this monster here! You know why?! Just give up! Didn't you see she arrived with blood in her eyes?!"
Eleonor laughed with disdain, facing him sideways:
"Of course you're proud of fleeing a fight. Why am I not surprised?"
"Huh?! You want to fight, woman? I may not be able to go against Eris, but you're no problem!"
The two seemed about to fight when Ghislaine intervened:
"It doesn't matter much. If Ornthorn doesn't want to fight, so be it. But he can't run away from an official challenge after all."
Ornthorn opened a proud smile — which died instantly when he heard the end of the sentence.
The others laughed.
Jino then turned his face toward Verdia, who also wore an eyepatch, and asked:
"And you, Verdia? Aren't you going to fight to climb your ranking?"
Verdia smiled gently and shook her head.
"Not for now. Maybe when I have some results in Summon Magic research. Then I'll fight a few times, just to test."
The group continued talking about various subjects.
The Gaia Kings were always split into different missions, so it was rare to gather so many in the same place.
McEarntown had to constantly protect the King. Kilian was still returning from a mission. Taes supervised Legion affairs. And so on.
Even so, those who were there already made up a good number — and therefore trained and fought among themselves to measure each other's progress.
At that moment, a scream echoed:
"Aaaaaaaaaaa-"
Everyone looked toward the arena.
Linia had been hit by another blow and was defeated by Eris's fury.
----
Higher up, in the central hall, built near the top of the mountain, inside, Rygar lay comfortably in a hammock.
Aisha, beside him, wrote with a quill while organizing several papers.
Rygar commented:
"Hm... The Spirits of Perugius are quite complicated..."
"They are quite mystical, Master!" Aisha replied promptly. "But don't worry! Since I know their abilities, I've already begun to create countermeasures. They won't be a very big obstacle if we are prepared."
Rygar nodded. That was Aisha's way: upon hearing a problem, she would already begin to create two or three solutions mentally.
He then asked, looking at her for a moment:
"What do you think about the war for the throne of Asura, Aisha?"
After rummaging through Arumanfi's memories, a plan had already begun to form in Rygar's mind — but listening to Aisha was a habit ever since she was a girl.
Now, she was a grown woman and extremely competent.
Aisha toyed with the quill, thoughtful.
"Hmmm... It's a chance, Master."
"A chance?"
"That's right! Let's see... logically speaking, the Dragon God Orsted should be used to experiencing this event, because it's quite important. That means he probably won't be expecting our interference. Also, even if it's not in our interest to kill Princess Ariel, Rudeus or Orsted himself now, that doesn't mean we shouldn't weaken them, since they will be enemies in the near future."
Rygar watched her in silence.
"Hitogami has also been very quiet lately. It's possible he intends to act in Asura. If we go there, he won't be able to predict any future movement related to the Master… so that's a big advantage."
She paused, analyzing Rygar's reaction. Seeing that he agreed, she continued:
"Emotionally speaking, Ghislaine and Eris have scores to settle with the nobles of the Kingdom of Asura. And, honestly, most of them are a bunch of pigs anyway. Besides... with the formation that Princess Ariel is invading, the Grandmaster Reida, the Water God, could end up dying — and I know the Master doesn't want that."
Rygar smiled proudly as he looked at Aisha.
"Very insightful. Although you left out some personal grudges…"
Aisha averted her gaze, feigning innocence.
"Other than that, it's a good analysis," he concluded. "Gather those down there for a meeting. We will participate in a royal selection."
-----
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