Chapter 34 - 7 Pillars (1/2)
In the capital of the Kingdom of Artanza, the army was gathering as it prepared for war against the Lockhart Kingdom.
They had received a lot of equipment from the Neverwinter Kingdom as they supported them in this war which had raised their overall strength.
”Commander, are we really doing this?” asked a woman in the late expert stage who was also the Vice Commander of the Artanza Army. The army was nervous going against the Lockhart Kingdom helmed by the Hero.
They knew the consequences of going against the Hero and were worried about this war. They did not want to go against the Hero but they were too weak and could do nothing but obey their orders.
”I am not sure if its the right thing to do, but this is our best chance.” said the man who was in the Mid Master Stage and had black hair, he was Rick Sullivan, the Commander of the Army who was going to attack the Lockhart Kingdom.
”Do you have the map ready?” asked Rick.
”Yes, there are four major cities in the Lockhart Kingdom,” said she as she laid out the map.
”The biggest and most powerful is the capital, New Heart, followed by Arafina, the city at the southern tip of the Human Realm, connected to the Ocean being the Port City.”
”Next is Rizvaria, the city connected by the rivers, it is the most connected city in the Kingdom and is the hub for all transportation, military, and civilian, this is the city we need to take if we want to stall their movement.”
”Last is Terana , this will be the hardest as it situated on several mountains with varying degree of terrain and is surrounded by high walls, capturing this will be a nightmare but it's also the least influential city in the Lockhart Kingdom,” said she as she recounted her analysis.
”We need to take Rizvaria first and weaken the Lockhart Kingdom, it is also the closest to our borders,” said Rick as he looked at the map.
”Alright, prepare the Army, we will set out as soon as everyone is armed,” he said as the Vice Commander saluted to him and walked out of the tent.
He rubbed his temples as he looked at the map, if he could avoid this war he would, but he knew the Hero would come for them eventually, especially considering the past rivalry they had, even if the Hero did not care about that he would at some point unite the human realm.
While he was not the ruler so he might not be affected, he still didn't want to be under someone else's rule. He did care about the current Royal Family as they had treated him well since he was a kid and he had received their support which had made him so strong and get to this level.
Back in New Heart, the recruitment test had commenced.
The recruits were divided into four groups for the roles they applied for. The four roles were the Vanguard, Healers, Scouts and the last group being Infiltrators who carried out special missions which were extremely dangerous but also more rewarding than any other role.
Julie, who had the leadership skills and firepower applied for the Vanguard position , the group was currently being tested for their powerful attacks which were a necessity for being the Vanguard.
In the examination area for the vanguard, there were 7 pillars in a straight line formed from Holy Aqua Magic by the Supreme Commander, Natalia Phoenix.
Every recruit took turns attacking the pillars, the more pillars they could destroy, the higher their score.
Most of the people applied for the position of vanguard as it had the highest chance of getting leadership positions in the army and this meant it also had a higher rate of rejection.
They were asked to pour all their mana into a single attack and try to break as many pillars as possible with a single strike.
The people who were not able to break even a single pillar were disqualified from the Vanguard test and were asked to either leave or reapply for another role.
Most of the people were able to only break a single pillar using all of their mana, some people were able to break two, most of them being from the noble families who had access to more powerful magic, even fewer people were able to break 3 pillars.
It was now Gray Ward's turn for the test, Julie watched by the side, she was the last person who was to be tested and was extremely nervous, she didn't come from a noble family or even a wealthy family, the magic she knew wasn't very powerful but this was all she had since she was a kid and thus focused just on this one magic.
She saw her new friend walk towards the platform as the pillars of water remade themselves for the next person.
He definitely caught a lot of attention because of his striking hair color and his status of nobility, but also because he was from the Ward family that were not good fighters and the test did not allow the use of any magical equipment at all.
He took the glaive that the army had given him for the test which had no engravings on it as he activated his skill.
As he channeled his mana through his arms it increased his physical strength, he held the glaive in his hand and slashed down towards the 7 pillars, as he sliced it down there was a shrill piercing sound as the attack went through the first pillar slicing it in half as it went for the second one.
It did not stop and kept crushing pillar after pillar as it broke the 6th pillar made of water and finally stopped.