"You expect us to believe that you, a rank five warrior and mage of the third rank, were able to defeat such a powerful team all by yourself?" Chukaya snorted disdainfully, believing Ace was embellishing the truth to try and impress Amira.

  It wasn't just him; even Ebeze, who already believed Ace was the stro member of the team, found his team leader's story hard to believe. If it were only one warrior of the eighth rank and Haruol, a warrior of the seventh rank, then although surprised, Ebeze would be able to believe him.

  But to defeat a squad of twenty soldiers where the weakest were at the sixth rank, and three were at the eighth rank…

  It was too far-fetched for even him to believe.

  "You… You're only at the fifth rank?!" Haruol asked, uo tain his shock. "Impossible! That's Impossible!

  You really are a dem-"

  Before he could finish his sentence, Ace struck him behind the neck, directly knog the man out, too zy to listen to his rambling.

  "I'm guessing that was why yht him back with you," Amira sighed, uanding that the battlefield anders would have simir reas to her two fellow trymen.

  "It'd take too long to vihe anders otherwise," Ace shrugged. "It'll be more believable ing straight from the horse's mouth."

  Like that, the group set back off towards the front-line encampment with their unscious prisoner of war.

  Although they were still sceptical of Ace's tale, both Ebeze and Chukaya couldn't help doubting their doubts after witnessing Haruol's exaggerated rea.

  After Ace expined everything that had happehe only thing their prisoner was focused on was Ace's cultivation realm. He didn't so much as bat an eyelid at what they initially assumed to be a heavy embellishment.

  Ebeze khat Ace didn't go all out in their fight, but he assumed that, at most, Ace could potentially fight on par with a warrior at the eighth rank. Never in a million years did he think Ace's bat prowess was enough to sughter aire team of such high-ranking warriors without getting so much as a scrat his body.

  Chukaya oher hand, still refused to believe it. He had even vinced himself that Ace must've bribed Haruol somehow to py along with his tall tale.

  If it were true, it meant that Ace was undoubtedly strohan him despite the differen age and cultivation realm, and that was something he couldn't accept.

  After spending so much time together in the wild, both Amira and Leonel uood precisely how much of a monster Ace was.

  Ebeze wasn't wrong. All things sidered, Ace was only about as powerful as a ra warrior. The differeween ra and rank nine was too big of a jump for Ap even with his bloodline ability and prehension, but with his battle IQ and experience, Ace was all but invincible beh the ninth rank.

  And even if he had to face a ninth-rank warrior, Ace could still get away without injuring himself uhat warrior had reached the' impose' boundary.

  It could be said that Ace was already toug upon the very apex of the mortal realms in terms of power.

  Though he wasn't with them during their training expedition in the mountain range of magical beasts, as far as Killian was ed, there was nothing his sworn brother couldn't do. He took Ace's story in his stride. In fact, he was more focused on the spatial ring he'd received.

  Like A the past, he too dreamed of the day he'd be able to get his hands on a ste ring of his own. He never would've imagihat he'd get one so early on.

  If it had e from anyone else, he wouldn't have been able to accept it so readily, but he had truly takeo be his older brother. As such, he didn't think twice about accepting it.

  It took the group another couple of hours to finally reach their destination, and when they did, their carriage was immediately ordered to stop.

  Although they had e from the path of the empire, they were still at war. They couldn't afford to let intruders in, but as soon as their driver hahe guard ahe letter from the Emperor, he personally took them to the general's tent.

  "General Murciel," The guard ander called out respectfully when he arrived outside the tent in the tre of the camp. "I have a group sent personally by Emperor Jordon."

  As a resident, the guard ander, along with just about every soldier present, had a great deal of respect for their emperor, but the people they respected most were the Empire's nine great generals.

  In times of peace or leave, the nihe position of Duke – like Kaymin, but when otlefield, they were generals.

  There weren't a fixed number of generals, but there were only two ways to bee ohe first was to be a mage at the peak of the ninth rank.

  Though the empire had its fair share of mages, the amount that made it to the ninth rank was few and far between.

  Right now, they only had a total of three and only one of whom was at the peak, which went to show exactly how difficult to bee a general, especially in an empire that focused mainly on the ways of a warrior.

  The other way was to bee a warrior who had not only reached the peak of the ninth rank but had also prehended 'impose'.

  As the Empire's saints were all lofty beings that were rarely seen by the oners, the most powerful group the mortals of the Empire had the most iion with were the nine great generals. As a result, though they deeply respected the various saints of their empire, they had more revereowards the nine generals – especially here otlefield.

  Ead every one of them was like a miniature army, able to singlehandedly sweep through hundreds of enemy batants.

  "e in," A deep and imposing voice sounded from inside.

  Like that, the guard ander respectfully opehe 'door' to the general's personal tent, which was several times the size of all the other tents surrounding it, allowing Ad his group to enter.

  In the tre of the tent sat a t figure, who, even when sitting, was the same height as Amira.

  The man had dark ebony skin and short curly bck hair. He was currently just wearing a pin pair of bck trousers showing off his incredibly tyrannical physique, which was littered with scars, presumably from his time otlefield.

  With a quick sweep of his [Observation], Ace was instantly able to tell that the man eak rank nih mage and warrior of the seventh rank.

  Though not quite as powerful as Duke Kaymin, he was still a monster in his ht.

  "Princess Amira," General Murciel called. "It's been a long time."

  "It has indeed," Amira smiled as she lowered her hood. "All of us in the Rohault Empire owe you a great deal of thanks."

  Though they weren't natives of the Rohault Empire, Ad Killian had been briefed on the high-ranking soldiers on the O'Brien warfront. As such, they khat, for the st decade, General Murciel had taken the O'Brien war front as his home in the hopes that he could use the pressure to help him break through to the saint rank faster.

  "I was just doing my job," Murciel replied respectfully.

  Though he was far more powerful than Amira, as one of the most high-ranking mortals of the Empire, he knew a lot more about Amira than the ordinairy citizens.

  After what happeo Aiden in the past, other tha the Pavilion, Emperor Jordon limited the amount of time she spent outside of the pace. As a result, almost everyone in the Empire khat their princess was one of the three most talented of the new geion, but they didn't ualy how talented she was, but Murciel was different.

  He khat it was only a matter of time before she reached his level of strength and even surpassed him.

  Even though he was only a step away from being a saint, it was a step that eluded many powerful warriors and mages, some of whom were more talehan him.

  Though he had no i in politics, he still uood that showing this much respeeone who very well may be the Empress was only right.

  "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, General," Chukaya said respectfully as he too removed his hood in order to greet the hulking general before him. "My master speaks very highly of you."

  "Umm," General Murciel grunted and nodded before sing the other hooded youths present.

  Seeing his look, Ace, Killian, and Ebeze all lowered their hoods, respectfully greeting the general.

  "So you're Ace," Murciel said as he focused his eyes on the dark-haired youth. "How's your master?"

  "You know the old man?" Ace asked back.

  Although he knew Aiden was from the Rohault Empire, he also khat since meeting Arianna, his master would only return to his homend every on a while, so he didn't expect many of the mortals to know him personally.

  "I do," Murciel smiled. "He's the reason I became a warrior in the first pce.

  After reag the peak of the ninth rank as a mage, I became frustrated about my ck ress and started being reckless during my time otlefield.

  Eventually, the O'Brien Army had enough of my antid set up an ambush. That may have been the closest I had ever e to dying in my life, but thanks to your master being in the right pce at the right time, he made quick work of my attackers, including a newly asded saint who'd been there food measure.

  After saving me, senior Aiden expihat if I wao improve my ces of breaking through, I should focus on warrior prehension as prehending impose would improve my e to the ws of nature."

  "That sounds like the old man," Aodded, uanding how much emphasis his master put on 'Impose', and in his defence, Ace was starting to uand why.

  From Wukong and the other instructors at the pavilion, Aew that most warriors only uood the basics of 'impose', simply using it to augment their strength and prehend the ws of nature. But due to the saint realm being their end goal, no one would spend time actually uhing all its profundities, unlike his master, who had no way to bee a saint.

  "ime you see him, please thank him for his advie," Murciel said befng at the unsan on the floor, nnising him. "So, who do we have here?"

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  P.atreon./ACoilingDragon

  Book 6: Chapter 6 – City of Gol