The weight of Ryker’s words and actions couldn’t seem to settle in properly.

It was akin to someone slapping the Emperor in the face in public. Sure, it was logically known that you shouldn’t do such a thing, but would anyone know how to react to it actually happening?

Many just felt their minds short circuiting.

Heavily injuring a Crimson Knight with a kick, knocking the symbol of the Federation—the Crimson Lion—out, and picking up a Crimson Knight Captain by his neck…

Each thing, one after another, felt worse than the last, and the heaviness reached a point where most didn’t even know how to assess it anymore.

Especially the Crimson Lion. Who didn’t know how sacred this beast was to the Federation? Only the Crimson Knights had the right to bond with one, and most Crimson Knights didn’t even dare to casually ride on one outside of official business.

The fact that this squadron of ten had appeared riding them in their full glory was enough to paint the picture of just how much trouble Ryker was in…

And yet he attacked?

Cenhelm, Patience’s right hand and the old man Ryker had had a bit of a clash with, felt his heart sink to rock bottom. He had known that something like this might happen when Patience didn’t even bring up the matter of at least cuffing Ryker.

It was clear to him that the young Princess had let infatuation get in the way of her decision making and his words couldn’t express how much he regretted allowing things to continue like this.

However, if he had pressed any harder, it would only make his job more difficult. Although he was stronger than Patience, his status was lower and she was still the Head of the Legion. He was only here as a not too subtle reminder of who her father was and he wasn’t allowed to interfere too openly.

In this sort of sensitive time, anything the Crimson Supreme or his faction did could be used to harm the future prosperity of this most important third of the hierarchy.

And now, before he could do anything to change the course of events, Ryker had already been solidified as a problem. Although Patience’s life would definitely be safe, who was to say what would happen to these other men and women? What would the Crimson Supreme have to give up in order to keep her protected?

Rosemary and Sofia were, of course, likewise part of the Legion. They had already been ordered to return and had been helping to set up the various tents and living accommodations of the Legion.

No one knew how powerful Sofia was just yet, so she was treated the same as Rosemary and their only real role was grunt work and suffering through all-too-frequent harassing passerby comments.

Luckily, nothing untoward had happened to them, not just because Sofia was in the 4th Enlightenment Realm thanks to that torturous night, but also because women had a protected status in the Federation due to how rare they were as Mythical Masters.

Unlike everyone else, they didn’t really feel the weight of Ryker’s actions because they lacked the necessary context. But they were still intelligent in their own right. Even without the context, would it ever be good to attack the Knights of the Federation?

As for Patience, she was frozen in her own state of horror. A part of her felt that Ryker was very attractive right now. She had lived for so long, trying to forge her own way, but even her own father hadn’t protected her in the manner she thought a father ought to.

But very quickly, that part was shoved down and replaced by anxiety, angst and horror.

Her title as a Princess was fairly empty. Back when her brother was still alive, his status could hold some real sway. But now the faction of the Crimson Supreme was mostly vapid.

If not for the Crimson Supreme’s personal strength, maybe the others would have already taken action to crush him.

This weighed heavily on Patience. If only she was a man, none of this would have ever happened.

However, just as she was feeling the most despair, Ryker turned back and gave her a wink.

It was just the slightest and most casual of actions. He didn’t even bother to hide it, but most probably didn’t even notice that it was entirely for her sake.

And in the daze she entered, she couldn’t even quite react to Ryker slapping the Crimson Knight across the face.

Phoenix’s roar shook the capital city and the knees of the Crimson Lions gave way completely.

Ryker hoisted the Knight over his shoulder and leapt onto Phoenix’s back. Then, he reached out a hand toward Patience.

“Come on.”

Patience blinked and her hand moved toward Ryker’s before she could even think about what she was doing.

With a single movement, Ryker pulled her up, heavy armor and all, as though she was as light as a feather.

“Let’s go, Phoenix. Someone wants to test my Patience.”

Ryker laughed uproariously at his own joke even as Wind Type Spirit Energy enveloped him, Patience and Phoenix.

BANG!

Phoenix shot out like a speeding arrow, slicing through the air and appearing before the city limits with impossible speed.

Even after crossing through the Crimson Gates, Phoenix showed no signs of stopping, pushing through the wide streets of the Federation’s capital.

The streets were filled with beasts and their masters, many of them were comparable to Phoenix in size, and yet there was a trepidation that pervaded the air everywhere the Three-Headed Serpent Phoenix passed, the suppressive might they exuded only having grown after entering the 3rd Enlightenment Realm.

“Ryker, this…” Patience could feel that Ryker was heading right toward the most important location of the entire Federation, a place where nobles were abound. But…

“Don’t worry your pretty little head.”

Patience frowned. “Don’t give me that, what you’re doing right now is suicidal!”

“Is it?” Ryker laughed.

“This is the capital! The security might seem lax, but it’s anything but, especially when you’re running through the streets holding a Crimson Knight over your shoulder! Also, this beast, where did it come from?!”

Patience was trying to hold down her curiosity toward Phoenix, but this speed, this strength, this aura… it was all making it difficult, too difficult.

Ryker smiled. “This is my second Contract.”

“Second? What’s your first?”

“You’re looking at it,” Ryker pointed to a mirror behind him.

“What…?”

Patience was confused but they had already reached the end of the outer city. A smaller series of walls appeared before them, but they seemed to be made of materials even stronger than the outer wall had been. Saying that it would take ten times more effort to break down these walls despite their smaller stature wasn’t an exaggeration in the slightest.

The capital was already a gathering of elites, but even elites had dividing lines between them. This could be considered the most highly guarded area of the city and even though the gates were open, everyone who entered and exited was heavily vetted.

Maybe in the past, with her status, Patience could have casually allowed someone in. But now, with many doing everything they could to suppress her father one way or another, she was an easy target.

There was no way her face alone would be enough to allow Ryker in even in normal times, let alone now.

Ryker had broken all sorts of rules already.

Attacking a Crimson Knight.

Injuring a Crimson Lion.

Refusing to be detained.

Evading justice.

Heck, he was even breaking all sorts of city speed limits right this moment.

And he was about to break more.

“HALT!”

The voices were powerful, at least to normal people. But the guards were ultimately just 5th Enlightenment Realm experts. Impressive by normal means, but definitely not Crimson Knight level. They could only report this to higher ups, but by then Ryker would already long be gone.

Ryker wasn’t even looking at them. He saw that they were trying to close their gates and he only smirked.

“Phoenix. Soar.”

ROAR!

BANG.

A front paw slammed heavily into the ground, shattering the perfect cobblestone roads. It was followed up by a strong flap of their wings, one so strong that the storefronts in the general vicinity all had their windows blown out. At the same time, a pillar of earth rose from the slammed claw, shooting up ten meters in what felt like an instant.

Screams echoed as a magnificent creature shot into the skies.

The guards’ eyes widened.

The outer city walls were almost 50 meters tall, but the inner city walls weren’t even 20.

As for Phoenix, they reached over 30 in an instant, a rushing gust of Wind Type Spirit Energy allowing the nigh mythical beast to soar into the skies.

Patience froze, her own eyes widening as well.

She had seen Phoenix’s wings, but she didn’t really put two and two together until right this moment. She had simply never seen a flying creature this large.

All of the bird creatures of their world, even the powerful ones, weren’t large enough to carry humans.

Size was usually a function of raw strength, namely reserved for Combat Types. But the bird creatures here, and most bird creatures for that matter, were not.

A flying creature who could also help their owner soar in battle simply didn’t exist… shouldn’t exist!

Wouldn’t Ryker be invincible in battle? How could you even stop him?!

BANG!

Phoenix fell heavily from the skies and it snapped Patience out of her daze.

Ryker was intelligent. If he could have just flown right to the capital, why hadn’t he? It was obvious that this beast could only glide right now, and 30 meters high seemed to be the limit… though this was already boosted by that Earth Type skill from before.

‘Wait, an Earth Type?! Wasn’t it just a Wind Type!?’

Patience felt her whole world spinning.

ROAR!

Three heads rose proudly into the skies. A breath of fire shot out from one, a cyclone of wind from another, and the world trembled as the eyes of the third glowed bronze-gold.

Patience was so lost in a whirlwind of thoughts that she didn’t even realize that she and Ryker had reached the stairs of the Crimson Palace.

The stairs were at least a hundred meters wide. If one counted out how many steps there were, it would be exactly 33, each one shrinking around two meters in width until the top stair was likewise, exactly 33 meters wide.

The palace was formed of smooth red metal, using various shades of crimson from a deep mauve to a bright almost blood-like color to give it variety.

It was beautifully structured, but it was hard to pay attention to this when a troop of organized warriors blocked your path from even touching the stairs.

These Crimson Knights didn’t have their Crimson Lions with them, they likely didn’t have the time to gather them. But in these numbers, and with the support of Mature Spirit Energy and combination formations, they were plenty strong enough. Even Ryker couldn’t casually try and mow them down, nor did he want to.

If he had been trying to kill, he would have already done so. At the very least, this annoyance on his shoulder right now would have been the first to die.

Daring to give the order to attack him was enough to sentence him to death.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t afford to be so willful…

Yet.

“Ryker… what do we do?” Patience’s worry came back.

“Don’t worry. Just wait.”

At that moment, an 8th Enlightenment Realm old man slammed a spear into the ground. The world seemed to quake and a unified roar came from the troop of a hundred.

They hadn’t known what the threat was before, they simply acted out of duty. But if they couldn’t believe it was one person, they certainly didn’t show it on their faces.

Patience felt herself shrink.

There was already a huge gap between the 6th and 7th Enlightenment Realm. To her, the 8th Enlightenment Realm was a different sort of beast altogether.

However, Ryker didn’t seem to notice. In fact, it was Phoenix who got angry, feeling the man’s aura daring to try and suppress them.

They three heads roared again, but this time it was all pointed toward a single man, so imposing and direct that the old man’s wrinkled skin peeled back, threatening to fly from his bone.

“Hold!” The old man barked, the corners of his lips flying back. “READY!”

He pointed his spear forward.

Ryker inwardly nodded to himself. These Crimson Knights were well disciplined. At the very least, this Federation didn’t seem to be falling apart at the seams. There was a reason the Shadow Clan was trying to use underhanded means to take control of them as opposed to overtly doing so.

But he didn’t have the patience for this.

He took a breath, his Silver Mirror trembling.

Then, he used a technique he hadn’t in a long while.

[Soul Ripple].

The technique had a myriad of applications and the last time he had used it, he used it as a conduit to feed his senses through a small crack and find that deposit of Violet Spike Crystal that had served him well.

However, that was just one of its applications.

Disrupting an enemy’s senses, amplifying one’s soul strength and senses, and even creating a Quasi Ascension Domain even before reaching that stage.

Ryker was still a hair away from succeeding in doing the last, but the first two were firmly in his wheelhouse.

[Soul Ripple]’s sense distortion ability was what his illusion clones were based on. And now…

“Crimson Supreme, if you don’t come out now, I will have no choice but to think you are dead and lead a slaughter in your honour.”

Under the effect of [Soul Ripple], everyone in the city didn’t just hear Ryker’s voice, they felt it. It was like he had whispered into each one of their ears, and as the echo spread, that whisper became akin to a roar.

Patience didn’t even know how to react to these words. But, she suddenly felt herself relax. Maybe he actually did have a plan after all, because she felt that at the same time [Soul Ripple] moved, the coordination of the troops below were thrown off as their senses were disoriented.

In truth, these people were exceptionally lucky that [Soul Ripple] was the only soul technique Ryker had in his arsenal. The gap between a 9th Circle talent and these people, versus a Pure Soul talent and these people couldn’t be compared.

A Pure Soul was a level even above the marker of a 9th Circle Talent, which meant the gap of Ryker’s soul and everyone else’s was unfathomable.

He had planned to lean into this advantage with the mirror but… it had ended up coming with an unexpected affinity, causing it to take the back burner once again.

Aside from some clone making and some scouting, he didn’t really use his Silver Mirror for anything else. Once again, these warriors of the Federation could only count themselves lucky.

Ryker grinned as he sensed a booming aura.

The doors of the Palace began to slowly open as though the Crimson Supreme had been standing just behind them all the while. However, Ryker knew quite well that it was because the man was simply that fast.

‘Oh. He’s stronger than I thought he was, but that’s not bad either. Though, the man is a little, well… Maybe I should find a nicer word than “cowardly”.’

The Crimson Supreme was a hulking man. Ryker himself stood at 6’9”, and the Crimson Supreme was only around three inches shorter than that, but he was far broader.

Ryker had a stature that was not too slender and not too bulky, but beneath the armor and the square-shaped jaw, the Crimson Supreme looked like a man barely taller than he was… thick.

It was immediately obvious to Ryker who Patience got her armor-wearing tendencies from. Though he could only shake his head. It was truly a waste of the gods’ gifts for a figure like that to be hidden so often.

The Crimson Supreme square jaw was matched well with his rich brown skin and stern expression. His eyes were actually crimson, a sharp difference from Patience’s delicate brown, and this told Ryker something else.

‘Spiritual Resonance? It seems Patience didn’t awaken hers. But it’s odd, even the Federation has a Spiritual Resonance Lineage?’

The Crimson Supreme met Ryker’s gaze. The man was clearly used to people avoiding his own like the plague, which made it all the more surprising when Ryker didn’t.

When Ryker did look away, it wasn’t to avoid him at all, but rather because he realized that Patience was shaking and staring hard at the ground. Well… Phoenix’s back.

He had been about to speak, but he chose to grab her hand first, prickly armor and all.

Patience was startled and looked up, almost trying to wrestle her hand back. Unfortunately, Ryker’s grip was much stronger than her own.

Then, he looked up at the Crimson Supreme again with a grin on his face.

“Oh, you’re alive. That’s good. I was really worried when I got the message. I thought the Federation had been taken over by someone with shit for brains. Since you’re still here, it must mean that there’s been a mistake, of course.

“I’m Ryker Valorian—Junior Crimson Medallion recipient. It’s nice to meet you.”