Chapter 230: Sword Sect (1/2)

”YouW-Why do you have that thing?!” the guard freaked out as he the insignia. It was a property of the sword sect, and whoever had it was considered the master of the sect. after three months passed, no one had any doubts about the fate of Alexander. They were convinced that he was dead. Now, Ed appeared along with his comrades and flashed the insignia like it was nothing.

”You don't need to know the reason of why I have it. You only need to follow my orders. Understand, mister guard?” the guard, upon hearing Ed's domineering voice, could only make his body seem smaller. He realized that the person in front of him was the one that killed Alexander, the previous sect master. Otherwise, how could he have the guts to visit the sect?

”Lead me to the sect,” Ed told the guard as he passed through the gate. The guard, upon noticing the monsters accompanying Ed, froze in his place unable to make a squeak. ”Didn't you hear me?” Ed's voice caused the guard to start fidgeting as he tried to take the lead. As they started walking, the nameless guard couldn't help but sneak some looks towards his back, afraid that Ed might attack him.

Ed and his companions started to look around the city. It was smaller than Avalon and seemed to have fewer citizens as well. However, what caught his attention the most was the fact that the citizens all seemed malnourished. The children had patched clothes, while some of the adults didn't even have shirts on. They didn't even seem to notice the presence of Ed and the others.

'Is this the result of the sect master disappearing, or is there someone that doesn't want to Sword sect to prosper?' Ed thought to himself as he surveyed the surroundings. He noticed that some of the houses were partially destroyed, indicating that a battle took place not too long ago. The shop stalls on the streets didn't have much to sell, yet chose to remain open. They sold semi-rotten vegetables and dried god-knows-what animal meat it was.

”Ed, this is” Emilia tugged on Ed's shirt as a saddened look emerged on her face. She realized how bad the situation was in this city. She remembered how her kingdom turned out to be even after Norris took over as king. It wasn't as bad as the situation in Sword sect's city.

Before long, Ed noticed a wall that spanned hundreds of meters in the middle of the city. He guessed that this was the sect grounds, and summarized that it took up the other half of the city. Just as he opened his Map to monitor the situation, the guard said, ”Sir, please I need to return to the gate. I can't afford to leave my post! We have many enemies!”

”Hmm? You don't need to worry about that, I have everything under control.” Ed wasn't lying. On top of his Map which he was about to activate, he had long since activated his En, which spanned hundreds of meters. He focused it on a cone-like shape, so he could monitor anyone trying to approach the city.

”But, still” the guard tried to argue but remembered the difference between him and Ed. He held his tongue and continued to guide them further inside.

”You, you're the gate guard, right? Why aren't at your post? And why did you allow strangers to enter the city?! The orders of the young miss were clear, weren't they?!” One of the guards standing by the sect grounds started to berate the guard guiding Ed.

”Uhm, well, it's because this person is” the guard said helplessly as he turned around to look at Ed.