"Did you hear the announcement?"
"Lord Resker said we're leaving the clan estate.
"This is cowardly—just giving up our land rights to an outsider?"
"Well… I mean, it does sound crazy, but…"
Whispers ran like wildfire through the Rame estate. Servants, guards, and workers spoke in hushed tones, their voices layered with disbelief, uncertainty, and quiet fear. The idea of abandoning the estate—the very foundation of their status—was unthinkable.
A deep voice suddenly cut through the murmuring.
"All of you, shut up!" Lucius barked, his eyes sweeping across the courtyard like twin blades. The crowd instantly shrank back under his glare, heads lowered, voices silenced.
He stepped forward.
"Tell me, do any of you want to fight the Ranjit family? With all their men and resources? Are you that stupid?"
No one answered.
Lucius pressed on. "Yes, we'll be called cowards. Yes, we'll lose face. But last I checked, losing face doesn't kill you. Charging into a war we can't win? That will."
Silence hung heavy.
"We leave before sunrise tomorrow," he finished. "Be ready. No excuses."
"Yes, sir!" came the chorus of reluctant replies.
Inside the study, Resker sat hunched over a desk, chewing anxiously on his thumbnail. The plan was simple—but any strategist knew that the simplest plans were the easiest to ruin by a single, stupid variable. And this world was full of variables.
A knock at the door broke his spiral of thought.
"Come in," he called.
Lucius stepped in, firm as always.
"How did it go?" Resker asked, unable to hide the tension in his voice.
"No doubts. No resistance," Lucius replied. "They're convinced. They think we're too cowardly to fight."
Resker let out a shaky breath. "Good. That's what we want. Let them whisper, let them mock."
Lucius gave a short nod. "I'll ensure preparations are finished by tonight."
"Thank you. That'll be all for now."
With a respectful bow, Lucius turned and left.
Meanwhile, outside the estate walls, the rumor mill churned without mercy.
"You heard what happened, right? The Rame family's giving up their land."
"They didn't even try to fight back?"
"Seems suspicious. Lord Resker has a fiery temper—this doesn't feel like surrender."
"Maybe they're trying to win favor with the Ranjits."
"No, no—I heard Missus Anna just gave birth. Maybe they're trying to avoid conflict for the baby's sake."
"Oh, that baby! The servants said he didn't cry when he was born. They had to slap him just to get a sound out of him."
"Really? Creepy."
The talk drifted. From politics to war to the child who, somehow, made people feel uneasy even while swaddled.
Across the streets of Grey City, the story was the same. Resker's estate was pulling out. Giving ground. Even handing over a share of their business rights to the Ranjits.
Far from the city, in a dust-kicked camp along the eastern trade route, the hooves of horses thundered on hard-packed earth. Carriages creaked and armor clanked. Inside one of the largest carriages, a nobleman lounged with practiced confidence.
"Lord Frista," said Karot, bowing slightly as he entered. "We've received word. The Rame family is retreating. They've even started transferring parts of their trade rights to us."
Frista raised an eyebrow, then turned to Karot with a sly grin.
"So, they want to make peace? Or are they just that weak?"
"Could be both, my lord."
"Either way, they'll be useful," Frista said, leaning back. "Let them crawl. If they want to serve, let them serve. They're one of the major families in Grey City. We'll use them to tighten our grip. Once we've taken the city, they'll be the first to bleed."
Karot nodded. "I'll keep an eye on them."
Knight Divisions of the Mortal Plane
In the mortal plane, power meant survival—and knights were power incarnate. They were the sword arms of kingdoms, clans, and noble families.
The knight system was split into five stages:
1. Apprentice Knight
2. Life Knight
3. True Knight
4. Grand Knight
5. Legendary Knight
Each stage was divided further into beginner-tier, mid-tier, and expert-tier.
To become an Apprentice Knight, one had to undergo rigorous body tempering, using rare medicinal ingredients to prepare the body for life energy. Advancement to the Life Knight stage required absorbing life energy from life jade—an extremely rare and valuable resource. Without it, the body would reject the energy, leading to fatal consequences.
Life jade could be purchased by rich families from the royal capital, or—more dangerously—sought in the Forbidden Passage.
The Forbidden Passage was the most treacherous zone in the realm. Said to be the path to the god plane and inferno plane, no one who entered had ever returned. Its origin was unknown, and its legends older than memory.
The True Knight stage was more spiritual. Knights at this level had to temper their will—to shape their sword, to dominate battle with intent alone. This transformation could only be forged through blood, suffering, and war.
Grand Knights went further. They merged life energy and tempered will into a construct called sword will. The longer the sword will, the stronger the knight. A blade of more than two meters marked a peak expert Grand Knight—also known as a half-step Legendary Knight.
As for Legendary Knights… there were no records. Only whispers. It was said they could take on elemental will forms, but no living knight knew what that meant. No one in the Malu Kingdom had reached that level. Possibly, no one ever had.
Among the Rame family, only two knights existed: Resker and Lucius. Both were beginner-tier Life Knights—strong by civilian standards, but not against a true war.
The Ranjit family, however, had four knights: one Apprentice Knight, two beginner Life Knights, and a single expert Life Knight.
That one alone could defeat both Resker and Lucius without much trouble.
And the Ranjits' former allies? Their downfall had come when their mid-tier True Knight died in the Forbidden Passage. Without him, the other major families had torn them apart, forcing the Ranjits to flee.
Now, they sought to rise again.
And the Rames were standing in their way—at least, on the surface.