Chapter 72: Arrival of the great families

Chapter 72: Arrival of the great families Several days later. The rain that had battered the mountains finally stopped. As if the sky had decided to take a break, the clouds slowly dissipated, giving way to a soft clarity that seemed to wash not only the earth but also the air. Everything looked cleaner. Sharper. More real. Kiran Mountain, which had been on the verge of collapse due to flooding, began to catch its breath. The fields, once flooded and barren, now breathed under the sun. The water receded little by little, and the farmers were able to return to work the land with calloused hands and modest hopes. The city also felt relieved. The streets were once again filled with footsteps, shops reopened their doors, and voices returned to the markets, not with joy, but with a sense of normalcy. And in difficult times, normality was a luxury. The villages that had been destroyed by the wild beasts remained in ruins, but the attack had stopped. The chaos ceased to spread, as if something invisible had drawn a line that the creatures would not cross. Shortly after Kael brought the captured man to the mansion, a verdict was issued. There were no ceremonies or speeches, just a decision carried out efficiently. His head was displayed in the main square alongside a brief message: [One of those responsible for the recent deaths. Let this serve as a warning.] It wasn’t just to inform. It was a way of restoring order. A gesture that showed that the Medici clan was still in control. Despite this, the wild beasts did not calm down. The mating season had begun, and with it came inevitable changes: increased aggression, erratic behavior, unusual migrations. Even so, the attacks became less frequent. The mountain seemed to be containing its fury. As the days passed, life began to return. Kiran Mountain was once again dressed in green. The sun, hidden for so many days, now rose strongly over the trails, warming the still-damp roofs and drying the clothes hanging in the wind. And Kael watched silently, his strength growing steadily. Time marched on relentlessly. In the blink of an eye, it was May. May 5, to be exact. Spring had reached its midpoint. The weather was mild, the skies were clear, and Kiran Mountain breathed life from every corner. The city streets bustled with activity, the markets were crowded, and conversations revolved around a single topic. Everyone knew what was coming. A major event was about to take place in the mountains. An event that would attract not only important figures from the Medici clan but also outsiders, merchants, emissaries, and young masters eager to make a name for themselves. A little beyond the city limits, on a high plain surrounded by forests, a large structure rose through the morning mist. Its stone walls still gleamed with the freshness of new construction. It was a battlefield. A coliseum erected with precision and purpose, designed exclusively for the event that was about to take place. Everything was ready. And although the fighting had not yet begun, tension was already in the air. In the Medici mansion, all the servants were bustling about like ants, as many of the great families were arriving at Kiran Mountain today. The place had to be in perfect order; there couldn’t be a single mistake, everything had to be perfect. Kael walked through the corridors observing all the chaos, with a calm look on his face as he headed toward the training ground; he was going to practice martial arts. In addition, he had spent all this time refining his mana essence to reach rank 8, but he was only about to reach the peak of rank 9. The higher the rank, the more difficult it is to advance. Even Kael, with his SSS-rank talent and 97% of his mana pool, cannot skip ranks and levels as if it were nothing, because he would only be hurting himself. However, with his recent studies on the Zu, he knows that several types allow him to increase his level. But this comes at a price: every time one of them is used, his sea of mana becomes contaminated, and his talent is reduced by two percent. That is, if Kael uses one of these, his mana essence capacity in his core would drop from 97% to 95%, and the higher the Zu’s rank, the more talent percentage he would lose. After about five minutes, he arrived at the training ground where the knights were running laps around the field. And on a raised platform, Lydia was already there, no longer wearing her servant’s outfit, but instead wearing a dress that clung to her body, revealing her beautiful figure that was normally covered by the servant’s outfit. Kael, before making any move, performed a precise series of joint warm-ups. He rotated his wrists, ankles, neck, and hips. He stretched his tendons, activated his deep muscles, and synchronized his breathing. Once ready, he stepped onto the platform with a steady gait. Each step was silent but solid, as if he were measuring the ground with every step. In front of him, Lydia took her stance. Her center of gravity was low, her hands open and bent at an angle. The classic style, more defensive, more fluid. The knights running on the training ground stopped. The silence that fell was not out of respect, but out of anticipation. Without warning, Kael lunged forward. One step. Then another. His body moved with explosive speed, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. His right fist shot toward Lydia’s face, but it wasn’t a normal punch: he used a closed angle, his elbow tucked in close to his ribs. Lydia spun on her left heel, deflecting the blow with a soft but precise circular slap. The blow sailed past. Kael was already spinning. He used the rotation to propel himself into a downward sweep with his back leg, aiming for Lydia’s knees. She jumped, but not high enough. His foot grazed her calf and threw her off balance. Kael rose immediately and, with minimal bending, launched himself into the air with a mid-height spinning kick that whistled through the air like a whip. Lydia barely managed to cover herself with both forearms. The impact knocked her back three steps. Kael did not pursue her. Instead, he adopted a new stance, lower, with his palms open. It was the form of the Red Snake, an internal style that mimicked the natural flows of the body. His breathing slowed. Lydia charged forward, attempting to strike with a combination of sharp palm strikes. Kael didn’t back down. Instead, he absorbed the energy of the first blow with a flick of his wrist, then spun, moving his torso as if he had no spine. He dodged the second attack by millimeters. Then he counterattacked with an upward elbow strike aimed at her chin. Lydia leaned forward to dodge it, but Kael was already spinning on his supporting leg, and with a short, sharp cry, he followed up with a second kick aimed directly at her temple. Crack! Lydia was sent flying to the ground. She rolled once and got back to her feet. The knights watching exchanged glances in silence. Some felt that they were not witnessing a practice match. But that was only the beginning. Under the keen gaze of the knights, both resumed their stances. The real exchange... was just beginning. ... Two days later The landscape remained unchanged: the pines swayed in the breeze, the moss climbed the rocks as always, and only the irregular trail of migrating beasts betrayed any change.. A chill ran through the city before the shadow did. The birds fell silent. Stray dogs howled in unison, their fur bristling. Then, as if someone had turned off the sun, the light disappeared. "An eclipse?" murmured a baker, still covered in flour. But when he looked up, his throat went dry. The clouds were torn apart. Between the white shreds, a fin of rough skin and bluish hues, as wide as the market square, cut majestically across the sky. The air vibrated with a low hum, like that of a giant harp string being plucked, which shook the windowpanes. Then it emerged completely. The Great Whale. The clouds, scattered by its spiraling tail, formed ephemeral whirlpools. "It’s coming down!" shouted a woman, grabbing her son. Panic broke out. Stalls were overturned, children cried, and the elderly murmured prayers. The shadow grew until it engulfed entire streets, while the beast turned with calculated slowness, its beards filtering the light like prisms. But it didn’t head for the square. Not toward the farms. The whale turned toward the esplanade of the Medici mansion, where the perfectly manicured lawn and absence of trees formed an ideal clearing. The horses’ hooves pounded the ground in a stampede as the animals fled, and the roar of their landing shook the ground like a minor earthquake. Dust and dry leaves swirled in whirlwinds. Then, with a damp sound that echoed in the bones of the spectators... The interior light was warm and golden, contrasting with the pink, damp throat. And from there, amid vapors that smelled of seaweed and amber, they descended: the members of the great families of the kingdom of Aragon, impeccable as if the journey had been a stroll through a hall. The members of the Abraham, Valentin, Fulguer, Boleoti, Peridot, and other families, upon leaving the great whale, looked around them with curiosity. ... Kael, who was in his room refining his mana essence, slowly opened his eyes upon hearing all the commotion outside. "So they’re here," he muttered, a dark gleam appearing in his eyes. Although he hadn’t reached rank 8, he didn’t care much. He got out of bed and stood at the window, watching as some members of the clan guided the people from the great families who had arrived in the great whale. "So this hasn’t changed. Could it be that some events will never change?" Kael, seeing the familiar faces, came to that conclusion, but he didn’t take it as absolute truth. Since life is constantly changing and anything can happen, at that very moment, he saw someone who shouldn’t have been there at that time. This only made his smile grow wider. "This tournament is going to be much more interesting than I expected." With that, Kael left the room with an indifferent expression and several plans in mind, which he would now put into action with the arrival of the great families of the kingdom of Aragon.