Chapter 31- The 12 great families

Words : 1259 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

5 years later. Rachael's POV. The loud screams of help and torture rang through my head as I sat silently on top of my white horse with my eyes closed. I can't count the number of times we went into the battlefield and returned without having as much as five repercussions. Their deaths may seem meaningless when compared to this large army behind me though. "Lady Rachael. We will soon arrive at the border of the Kingdom of Lumbrica". I slowly opened my eyes on hearing the mellow voice of my lieutenant. Jenny Leon. A basal household to my uncle the king as well as my cousin. "Is that so....we can finally return home huh..." I said with a sad tone. The King had sent us on an expedition to check the diplomatic status of the neighboring Kingdom of Tiz, east of the Kingdom of Lumbrica and just as he had feared they had ignored all warnings from our truce and had been secretly attacking the smaller kingdoms that are loyal to ours. "I can see why uncle was so displeased when he sent us out on this mission..." Jenny said, patting me on my back as she rode her horse further away from me towards the front. "....honestly...why go through all the trouble of disobeying an order just for some land..." I thought but I had a premonition that something else was amiss here. The Kingdom of Tiz is a nation with little to no rules. They serve the strongest individual as their leader and it's a system with five right arms and five left arms that guard their Supreme Strongest as they call it. Lately the new Supreme Strongest, Van Dutch Gregory has set his eyes on our Kingdom. Well that is understandable since compared to the Native Northerners and the Holy Empire, the Kingdom of Lumbrica seems like an easier opponent to deal with. "I wonder what gave them this much courage to stand against our Kingdom" I muttered as I rode my horse to walk next to hers. "Of course, it is all due to the System...". Her expression grew dark and her eyebrows furrowed into a displeasing expression. "Mother of Casualties or the goddess Mayura...whatever her plan was...for balancing the power scale..that was for naught". I pondered on her words when a knight that goes by the name Ray rushed up to us. "Captain ! The knight's at the rear noticed some movements behind us ! Permission to investigate !" "Movements ?" Jenny muttered as she glanced at me. "You don't think they sent pursuers ?" "....it's Not something we can ignore..." I said with a sigh. "I will go investigate myself, lead the others safely back to the Kingdom" "On your own ?" She asked with a panicked tone. "I can not accept that, it is best you take some knight's with you....in case they really are pursuers.." "...." I turned my gaze from her to Ray. "Have you confirmed their numbers ?" "...we have estimated at least a thousand.." "A thousand ! That's even more than our numbers !" Jenny cried out, her gaze still fixed on me. "Do not worry....I am here...." I said to her trying to calm her down. "You must be calm on the Battlefield. Didn't your father teach you that..." Her expression slowly softened and I could see a hint of regret from her earlier behavior. "I apologize, My lady" I nodded at her. "I'll take half of our knight's here. We are plenty enough to deal with those vagabonds". I turned my horse around and signaled for Ray to come with me. I walked up to our army that had waited for our reply. "Company 1 to 4 come with me ! Company 5 to 7 keep marching forward!" "Oh dear Kira....it seems you're still upset at how old you look" "Huh ? Are you courting death ?!" Kira replied pointing her index finger at her. "...ladies really shouldn't fight" Isaac Tesla, the youngest out of all the Leaders with dark hair and sharp intimidating eyes. He was wearing a mechanized suit with two drones floating over his head. "How dare a kid talk in the presence of grown ups?" Tonrook La Teur, the head of the Assassin's family as well as the oldest. He looked well aged in his appearance with a long white beard and long eyebrows. He was about to retaliate when he froze on the spot. Their attention was now fixed on Chun Kang Lin as a feeling of intimidation seeped through their bones. "Are you done ?" He asked with a chilling voice. Isaac clicked his tongue and turned his face away. "It is a shame for the 12 great families to gather and chatter like this as if we were little children" he said, with authority in his voice. The atmosphere had turned chilling with pressure when a chuckle softened their mood. "Give them a break Chun, it's only right we argue like this...we were once friends at the Academy you know". Michaelo Jun said with a smile on his face as he stared at Chun Kang Lin. The other heads felt perplexed at his mood. "...." Chun Kang Lin sighed. 'It seems he's gone far beyond our reach...' he thought as he adjusted himself on his chair. "Alright...let's get down to business.." "We were discussing the rankings weren't we ?" Michaelo asked with a raised brow. "I still feel it's better we leave it for the next generation". "You only say that because your son is proficient with the sword" Tonrook said with a dissatisfied expression. "It is best we ! The family heads fight and decide for ourselves...just as Chun Kang Lin had suggested" "....honestly..I feel it's best we leave it for the next generation as well" Mirabel said. "Oh....hope you're not saying this because Michaelo married a relative of yours" Kira said with a frown on her face. "....what a foolish thing to say Kira, of course this is simply my judgment" "...." Kira clicked her tongue in annoyance and turned her face away. "I still insist that we, the family heads, should battle for the ranking" Chun Kang Lin said, folding his hands. "..." Silence filled the room as they pondered on their response to his statement. Most of them had not made up their mind. Leaving it for the younger generation may seem like a waste of time since fighting prowess changes with time. So the rankings may not hold up during the next few years. ".....this isn't a matter of contest...we leave it for the next generation" Their attention was now fixed on Michaelo Jun as he stared at Chun Kang Lin. It was only right to leave it to them was what he thought. "And your reason ?" Chun asked and in the process the ground began to rumble and the table began to rise in the air. His aura had suddenly turned dark causing fear to seep into those that stood in his presence. "You better have a good reason" Michaelo sighed and placed his index finger on the table and immediately, the room turned calm and the table landed on the ground with a loud thud. He released his aura as well causing a suffocating effect on the assistants that stood next to them and a domineering pressure on the other heads as he stated coldly. "Not everything is a contest of strength"

Chapter 31- The 12 great families

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