Chapter 120 - Central Palace (1/2)

There were few times Luke had the audacity to get this close to the Central Palace after what had happened in his childhood, and it certainly brought back memories.

The area was very different from what it used to be. The buildings seemed larger, and everything seemed even more dystopian from the reality in the Lower City. At one point, the stone roads changed to something more sophisticated, of a material similar to light basalt, where the horses' footsteps were even louder.

Besides being the largest building in the entire city, the Central Palace was also the tallest building and the one located at the highest altitude as well. At its entrance was a colossal staircase with hundreds of steps.

In front of the staircase was a broad plaza, and in it, Luke saw a sea of people. Many of the people were wearing imposing armor and carrying their weapons. At the foot of the staircase, there were more than fifty knights in steel armor, forming a chain of protection so that no one dared to climb the steps.

That day, the half-wolf experienced first-hand the privileges he earned by working for the Strogueher. The carriage he was in made a turn and turned onto a side road. The car stopped, and Luke saw through the window that the coachman handed a document to a guard and a bag with money.

Then the passage of the three carriages, which made up the Strogueher protection train, was cleared for overtaking. Then the carriage drove up a side road to the top of the Central Palace so that they would not have to stand in the middle of the crowd.

When they finally arrived at the Palace, Luke admired the massive building from a distance he had never imagined. The Central Palace was not only a beautiful building in Oukiwa; this was also the place where everything happened.

'Ow... that thing is even bigger up close.' He concluded as he looked up.

The Central Palace sits on top of a small mountain, plus it is the only building that can be seen even from outside the city. Its characteristic pointed towers, reminiscent of the Gothic Era, is one of the most beautiful features of its architecture, in addition to the dozens of glass panes with designs that pay homage to The Four Heroes of Calamity.

”That's pretty high up here!” Livia exclaimed, leaning on the ledge that separated her from a cliff.

When Jilly saw her sister, she inhaled and shouted, ”Get out of there, you crazy girl!”

”Oh~? Why~? The view is so cool from here!” Livia threw a little tantrum. She was really very excited.

Luke didn't blame the girl; after all, since they had started training together, he had always seen her trying very hard, as well as showing good progress.

”If the goal was to get attention...with them it won't be hard.” Luke joked with Nathalia, who laughed at the situation.

Shiro saw that and compared it to his past. If he had been told a year ago that he would be competing in the Tournament of Legends alongside his great childhood friend Luke and three other members of the Strogueher Family, he would have found it hard to believe.

”Then why did we come up here?” Livia asked, walking away.

Since the escort had already left, Nathalia had to deduce. ”I believe my mother must have asked us to have a better view of the Presentation of the Sensory Magician who will be running the rounds, and also so we wouldn't be in the middle of all that.” She spoke and pointed to the thousands of people in the square below, who were now the same size as insects.

”We were lucky that this year the city chosen to host the competition was Oukiwa... If it was in Broteforge, we would have had to travel for at least a week.” Spoke Jilly as she held her sister by the arm, so she wouldn't go to the ledge again.

Everyone nodded; after all, it would be a terrible thing to travel in such a hurry for an event that requires so much preparation.

The quintet was not the only group of competition participants that were in the Central Palace, and they were slowly beginning to attract attention. This was the only group of Stroguehers that was participating in the Tournament of Legends this year, and this was reason enough for many to respect and hate them.