chapter 4
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(writer's POV)

In the broken castle of the capital of the holy Manschrod kingdom, the very castle Ryu was summoned to, Around the time Ryu and Bruno encountered the Scout.

King of the holy Manschrod kingdom, Arthur Franz Winley sits upon his throne.

What used to the most royal and extravagant great hall in the entirety of the Manschrod, maybe even the whole eastern part of the continent was now broken, a mere shadow of its former glory....

King Arthur sat on the throne which was still somehow intact, He was visibly tired even cuts and bruises all over his body. Yet the blood could not even attempt to hide the majesty of this great king.

His face was shapely and handsome beyond words, A brown beard which fit his face perfectly was half soaked in blood now, a small nose that appears to have been crafted by a 100 craftsmen rests above it, golden eyes that radiate fire and fury accent his expression which was filled with elegance, defeat and most of all, Anger.

A crown worth a small city rests atop his deep brown and short hair.

He gazes across the hall and memories flash by of the glorious appearance of the hall and.... His life...

He remembers the happy scenes of his coronation, the ecstatic and proud faces of his beloved fiancé, his beautiful and kind mother, his strong and just father, his cute and immature little brother ,his elder sister who he always looked up to, and hundreds of important people from throughout the continent in this very hall....

The ceiling which once supported the most magnificent crystal chandelier now fallen at several places....

The stained glasses which depict the known history of this kingdom shattered beyond recognition....

Paintings and Banners decorating the walls with the imperial heraldry of the black eagle soaring in the sky now half burned, half fallen to the floor like yesterday's newspaper....

Only the throne remained un tainted. Perhaps waiting and preserving for its rightful owner, king Arthur.

The Erlik army was extremely strong.....

Much stronger than Manschrod's army, the invasion started about 36 hours ago, at the beginning the humans put up a good fight. The mages and warriors defended the capital side by side but in front of the Erlik army's arsenal of varied spells they never really stood a chance.

Using the Element of surprise and higher adaptability the Erlik destroyed the human's main defence line and some large spells even destroyed the interior of the city even thou the commanders didn't take part in most of the battle after initiating it.

Seeing that there was absolutely no chance of winning from these "demons" as he called them at the time, king Arthur decided to rely on something he never even imagined to be real.

There has been a particular myth in the royal family and their close ones.....

I guess now it could be called more of a prophecy.....

"When the sun rises from the east ,

Not with the warm breath of life,

But brings along an all-consuming fire,

Agents of chaos shall wreak havoc,

The end of all in Gaia is set in stone.

Only one being can destroy that stone,

The holy maker will send the one,

If you appeal with life and method."

Along with this was a formulations of a spell.

King Arthur himself had fought in this battle and now he declared from his position overseeing the battlefront and everyone heard it loud and clear "As the king of the holy Manschrod Kingdom I declare a surrender!! I ask for 1 day to regroup and heal! We shall leave the doors of the walls open as proof".

Arthur with his keen insight had already seen and inferred from the battlefield that these invaders were here to conquer not eradicate. He decided to buy time but not with the cost of people's lives.

He stood there waiting for something and as if it was the most natural thing in the world a red skinned Erlik fell from the sky yet landed softly in front of Arthur as if had taken a small leap and not just crossed over a 50 meter high wall and them some height.

The red Erlik looked so much like the red hulk that he could very well have been a multiversal counterpart of red hulk, about 8 feet high, wearing loose fitting clothes which resembled a karate uniform with a brown kimono and bluish pants. The clothes could still be easily told to be war garments as it had heavy looking ornate shoulder guards, areas of chainmail underneath, and a very fancy one horned helmet which couldn't be said if it was for protection or just showing off.

He had muscles which would put professional body builders to shame, yet his face was a mix of scruffy and elegant. It was a mystery in itself how those two traits could meld so well together. He had shining blue eyes and a barely maintained beard.

He started to introduce himself

"greetings to the human king. I am Khulgana! The second in command on the righteous great army of Erlik. By the right given to me by the truth bearer Khaankur ousama I shall discuss the terms of your surrender".

Everyone around Arthur who saw this being was terrified!!Some more than others....

His soul essence was extremely calm, too calm to be true for someone who had just shown this feat of strength. This could only mean that this was indeed a being who had extreme mastery over control, It was like a deep lake that was so clear and still that it appeared to be shallow. The men who understood this didn't want to believe it. Except Arthur....

Arthur was glad. At least discussion was possible. Thou he was most curious about some things...

"I Arthur Franz Winley, king of the holy Manschrod kingdom, greet you. And before we started the discussions may I ask a question?"

"No!" that is indeed what Khulgana said. "only the strong have that right and I sense that you do not have enough"

Arthur was surprised, he couldn't have predicted such a situation. To be denied the right to ask a simple question, To be called weak, to be looked down upon so much. His pride was hurt and only his sense of duty stopped Arthur from challenging Khulgana right there and then.

"hmmm.... I'm disappointed. But oh well It can't be helped then. Then I must ask this, how will we discuss things if I can't ask any questions". Arthur said this and smirked. After all he was a King and had the strength and wisdom to face any adversity with courage.

"HAHAHA!!! You are indeed a good fool, once we take over this continent you will be the private entertainer of ousama"

Khulgana went from an elegant commander to a haughty man in a second....

"you can ask the questions that I permit you to ask you got it?" Khulgana wouldn't actually do anything should Arthur ask a question without permission, he just wouldn't answer. It was just his personality and pride.

"I guess that will do. The most important thing is how will you treat the people after we surrender"

Khulgana got serious again at this question.

"It is very simple. All those still resist will be killed without question. people with skills and strength will be given tasks and positions accordingly, They will not be free but they would not be oppressed either. Everyone else will be given menial tasks and they will be taken care of enough to live and be given opportunities to rise above. The still left deadweight who do not comply will be punished"

Khulgana surprised Arthur again, this really did seem like they were here to colonize our continent and yet not destroy them but rule over them. His words seemed generous but Arthur knew that this "arrangement" was treating us as cattle. You treat a horse good because it is a valuable commodity, but put down the ones which lose their ability.

But he did not have a choice, He now truly believed in the myth of the chosen for that is the only thing he had left to cling to in his despair. He said...

"I shall comply but I ask you two things, give me 1 day to explain my decision to the kingdom and allow people to care for those who themselves can't work"

"that is a weak mindset human king, but alright.... In the name of Khaankur ousama I accept your surrender. Declare to your people of this and their rights. I sincerely hope someone strong defies us hahaha...."

"But what assurance do I have that your people will stick to the agreement and not oppress us later? Surely as the king I have the right to that"

"The weak do not have rights, always remember that human king. Humpf.... For the sin of questioning my honor I should kill you right now but Fine I shall bind the promise into my mana itself, even you people should know what that means"

Putting inscriptions on your own or someone willing's body such that if the bound person thinks that he/she has broken the agreement they shall loose the ability to control the soul essence in great quantities, essentially never being able to use anything but basic spells.

It requires such concentration and control that maybe only 100 people in the whole human continent could perform such a binding. Yet this huge brute says he can do this?

"mana.... So that is what you people call soul essence. Indeed such a technique exists in our continent, but surely you can't be thinking of doing it yourself. Give me a little time and I shall call for our most brilliant inscriptionist for this task."

Inscriptionists were people who understood difficult spells greatly but didn't have a magic core strong enough to perform these or they were simply too slow to be used in actual combat. So they could leave an impression of the spells on objects.

"no need human. I am quite capable of doing this myself."

As he said it, He showed his bare chest which looked like it was made of red rocks and started concentrating on his finger. Ethereal light shinned from his finger and he started gliding it over his chest while saying out loud-

"I khulgana swear on my strength and truth that I shall do everything in my power to ensure the safekeeping of my oath to fulfil the agreement made with Arthur Franz Winley, King of the human kingdom"

Markings glowed on his chest for everyone witnessing this scene to feel the ethereal awe and accept that this being was greater than themselves. And soon the markings disappeared....

"I shall come back tomorrow at midnight, you will surrender all power to us then. If anything sketchy happens till then than you may kiss your kingdom goodbye....Hahahaha See you soon"

Khulgana jumped and disappeared from sight in an instant. Arthur hastily returned to the castle to set in motion what he had sacrificed the kingdom's freedom for....

The ceremony to appeal to God...

The very reason Ryu was summoned in the first place....

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